... jump in puddles, of course.

I have an obsession with The Muppets lately. Jim Henson was a genius. The Muppets and Sesame Street were the best thing on TV when I was a kid. Hands down.

My kids watched The Muppet Movie recently and have taken to comparing me to Animal, since we both play drums (although he can grow much better facial hair than I). They asked if I was a better drummer than Animal, so we went online looking for drum off's with Animal, as I recalled watching them on TV when I was a kid. So, here you go Animal up against Buddy Rich:

And Harry Belafonte:

I didn't remember the Belafonte drum off, which doesn't have as dramatic an ending. But I did remember the Rich drum off. Anyone remember others?

A few months ago, Paige started drawing different outfits in her sketchbook. This quickly turned into custom outfits for her dolls. She has really taken to designing clothes from scratch. While Brooke was in the hospital with Sam, she would crawl on to Brooke's bed and ask if she could watch Project Runway (we don't have TV, so this was a serious treat). She would intently watch commenting on the different designs.

Well, today, it was kind of quiet so I started looking around the house for the kids. Matty was laying on the floor watching Paige hard at work as she pinned her lasted creation on to Mommy's mannequin. Look how serious she is!

Without looking away she quipped, "Mom said I could."

I love how creative and innovative my children are.

via gregor

what better way to end a full weekend?

If you've been in our home over the last 13 years, you've met Tasha, our wonderful dog. Part ridgeback, part pitbull, she was the sweetest animal I've ever known. Brooke and I adopted her when she was a year old from the human society. Our kids often called her "nana" after the dog in Peter Pan that looked over the children. They knew Tash' had their back. She even saved me when I was attacked by a pitbull twice her size in our alley several years ago (true story). Last week she died. She had a really bad seizure or stroke while Brooke and Sam were still in the hospital. Within a week, she went from the energetic, muscular ball of energy she was to almost completely debilitated. It was sad. Matty had the roughest time with it. We've been asked if we'll be getting another pet. Which is kinda weird. You can't replace a companion that's been with you that long. We're excited to get Matty a lizard for Christmas, but it's not to replace the dog he's known his whole life. ... It has been a crazy few weeks! But we are surrounded by so many loving people that it's really been okay. I think folks have thought we'd be in worse shape. Sure, it's been rough but it does feel like we've been handed an extra dose of grace through the amazing people in our lives.

Brooke's aunt and uncle were generous enough to get us a handheld camcorder to film Sam for those who couldn't visit him while in NICU. I, of course, have lagged on actually putting anything online. But here it is, Sam's first movie. We visited him tonight. He's doing well and was really alert. He is scheduled to come home around noon tomorrow. Yeah!

Well, tonight is Sam's last night at the hospital. We are so excited. He continues to do well and is eating like a champ. Brooke came home last night. It's so good to have her home. Brooke and I have been visiting the hospital to feed him. In fact, we're leaving in a few minutes to feed him again. So, rather than a longer post, I leave you with some pics we took from this afternoon while visiting with him.