Only Luke - "I am an animal"

Luke and I spend a lot of time together. Yesterday we went to get him shoes that he can race in for his BMX bike. On these trips, Luke and I will talk about life, play word games, 5 questions or "I am an animal." If you don't know this game, one person thinks of an animal and the other has to guess it, asking the person simple "yes" or "no" questions. Some questions are:

Does you animal live in the ocean?
Do people have it as a pet?
Is it a carnivore?

You get the idea. This goes on until you guess the animal or you can ask for a hint. This is where Luke trips me up. We stopped this game a couple of years ago because his hints were a little cryptic. I'll tell you why.

We started with Luke having to think of an animal. 10-15 minutes later, I got it; he was a mouse. I called Darcy because I was so excited, I hadn't guessed his animal in years. Now it was my turn. I picked a moose. Luke asked tons of questions but couldn't guess it. He knew it stood on four legs, people sometimes hunted it, it had a big nose like a horse and had fur. He couldn't guess it. So he asked for a hint. I said, It has a type of antler/horn on it's head." Still no luck. Finally I said that it started with the letter "M." He got it. Moose.

Later that night, as Luke and I are in the habit of doing, we talk for a time before he goes to bed. He said that he did a great job guessing. I disagreed and said that my hints were too easy. Giving him that hint that it started with an "m" made it simple. Luke agreed. He said he would have given a better hint. I asked what his hint would be for "moose":

"It's a type of gel"

Only Luke.....

Karina's Mother's Day

I'll admit I was worried as we approached Mother's Day and the one year anniversary of Karina's mother's death. But Karina has such a joyful heart, nothing deters her. She asked Darcy to be at the Mother's Day lunch in her class. Darcy took off the afternoon so she could be there. Karina happily tells everyone that her mother is in heaven and is an angel.

Karina and Mark are leaving for the summer and will be gone for over two months. Karina will probably stay long periods of time with relatives she has never met. I'm not worried, they speak English and if there is anyone who I have ever met who can joyfully adapt to new situations, it is Karina.

Next time you open your eyes, we will see each other again

My friend David Anderson died last night. He was the man who performed the wedding ceremony when Darcy and I got married. He was my friend Mark's father, but he was much more than that to me. We were friends. He always wanted to remind me that he considered me his fourth son. That was and is a great honor. We celebrated his 50th birthday party at my house. We had his son Mark's wedding reception at my house also. He was such a strong man of faith, humor, compassion and intelect that even my brother said he would attend church if David was preaching. I saw him in Phoenix on my way to a bike race last November. We spent a few hours together and they were so very special. His body was failing him, but his mind and his spirit were not.

David and I shared such great memories and laughter that they are too numerous to mention.

The strength of my faith and the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ assures me that David and I will meet again. Nobody is exactly sure what heaven will look like or what we will experience but the Lord will reunite us with those Christians that have fallen before us. I would like to believe that David will be in great health, sitting in a comfortable chair and then we'll share the stories that made us laugh so hard we'll cry. There are no tears of sorrow in heaven but I have to believe that tears of laughter are all around. Even more so since David is there.