generosity: take two

Have you ever put on five pounds in one evening before?  It all began when I walked through the kitchen door after school yesterday and found Jackie in the kitchen baking away.  Not only was she making some great cookies, but she told me to look in the refrigerator where I found a FIVE POUND box of freshly picked AE-munds that Will sent me for Christmas!  That's right, AE-munds.

What is an AE-mund, you ask?  Well, we call them almonds, but he was quick to point out to Jackie that us Easterners pronounce it all wrong!  So from now on, they are going to be AE-munds.

When Dawn saw FIVE POUNDS of AE-munds, she immediately suggested that Jackie do something special with them, like, turning them into freshly roasted cinnamon AE-munds.  Oh-ma-gosh!  They were simply fantastic!  I couldn't quit eating them!

Dawn picked up with the whole baking thing when she came home from work, and between my two girls they made more goodies than I could resist.  From the dough to the finished product it was all irresistible!  Hence, the extra FIVE POUNDS that I had to carry around my waist to school today.  Probably end up taking me a month to get rid of it, but ohhhh-ma-gosh, was it ever delicious!  Wanna know what I did when I got home from school today?  Guess.  [Hint:  buckeye, reese's cup cookie, cinnamon roasted AE-munds... get it yet?]

Unexpected gifts are sometimes the best though.  Today the middle school teachers surprised me with a gift certificate to the Peppercorn and Vine Restaurant that I blogged about a couple weeks ago.  They used it as a "thank you" for the work I do in private dining.  [Aside:  I just took a trip into the kitchen to grab a drink and a handful of... you guessed it... cinnamon roasted AE-munds!]  What is private dining? Basically, a form of discipline we use to help students who misbehave focus on more productive behavior and decision making processes.  But what an incredibly cool surprise!  [Another aside: I just finished the delicious handful of AE-munds!  Might need more...  I know what you are thinking, "Only FIVE?"]

Brittany, one of my students, brought me in a plate full of cookies and fudge.  FIVE and counting!  Thanks Brittany!

On a sadder note, you might be wondering about Emily.  She is still having some major troubles.  The doctors wanted to do a MRI on her to try to get a better picture of her liver and kidneys, but Emily couldn't stay in the tube and crawled out.  They tried to sedate her so she could relax enough to stay in the MRI, but even sedated she couldn't handle it so they decided not to continue.  At this point, it has been decided to keep her in the hospital through Christmas so there will be no coming home for the holidays for Em.

Dawn and I plan to stop in to see her on Christmas Eve.  Maybe I'll carry the guitar along and some songbooks and do a little caroling in her room.  Just the mention of that plan perked Candy up and she thinks that Emily will really enjoy that, too.  It is simply too hard to imagine what it would be like to be so sick at Christmastime and stuck in a hospital getting poked and prodded every day, all day.

So much going on and so little time to share... Will came home today, Jackie went to pick him up at Pittsburgh Airport.  Basketball game tonight, Lions won by one point at the buzzer after the ball bounced around on the hoop.  Pep Band had a blast tonight.  Sunday services were FANTASTIC and an extreme blessing to all!  (More on that later... stay tuned)  Dawn's mom has stabilized, still tough on Mel, but now can breath a bit easier.

Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

God Bless!
Greg