Miss Becky's Blog

2nd Annual SMILEY's FUN RUN

Dear Friends,

Since SMILEY's FUN RUN was such a fun, good experience for our family and friends, especially the Chinese children at the Gao Chun Special School, we have decided to make it an ANNUAL event.

The purpose of the FUN RUN will be to have FUN together as we

* Promote good health and fitness for family and friends,

* Raise $$ to support the SUNSHINE Project in Nanjing, China, and

* Put SMILES on the faces of all who participate!!!

It will be held each year in the fall around Ken/Smiley's birthday in honor of the first FUN RUN, where we were able to pull off the most "spectuar suprise" of Ken's life!!!

Our "Top Secret Mission" was accomplished AND our grandchildren loved it. Months ago they started asking what we were going to do to celebrate Pappy's birthday this year? That got Ken and I to thinking and we have been in contact with the Sunshine Project leaders in China to set it all up.

The 2nd ANNUAL SMILEY's FUN RUN will be held on: Saturday, October 27th 2007 in Logan, Utah and at the Gao Chun Special School near Nanjing, China AND anywhere you live, for example our son K.C. will be "running" in Las Vegas and is inviting some young friends to participate as a service project.

The FUN RUN will be 7 miles again here in Logan, or whatever length that would be a good goal for you and yours. Some of our younger grandchildren will "run" a shorter distance, with some stops along the way to do some FUN activities. We post a report of our FUN RUN on my BLOG after October 27th.

We have challenged each of the Chinese children and our grandchildren to set their own GOAL for what they want to accomplish this year and EACH will be rewarded for reaching their GOAL!!

The SUNSHINE Project leaders in China are printing t-shirts for the children there to save shipping costs --- our family will use our shirts from last year. We are sending some "smiley" prizes for each of the children who complete their "walking, jogging, running" goal.

I'll also be posting several articles on health/fitness on my BLOG at: http://www.xmission.com/~kmitch/becky/ that to be used by the Chinese teachers to promote greater knowledge and awareness of the vital role exercise and positive emotions (love, caring, & happiness) play in our health, overall well-being and fitness.

If you live in Logan, you are invited to come "walk/jog/run" with us at 10:00 am on October 27th. If any of you want to do something for your health and "walk/jog/run" where ever you are, we would appreciate knowing and receiving your pictures so we can share with the Chinese children, all those who participated.

We are inviting our grandchildren to make any donation they want to the Sunshine Project, rather than giving Ken or I birthday gifts. AND it has to be money that they have "earned" themself, not just given them by their parents. We want them to learn early to care about others and learn to give!

Donations of any amount to the SUNSHINE Project will be welcome:

In China donations can be sent to:

JIN JIAN (Jane is her English name)

Bank of China in Nanjing, HuNan Road Sub-Branch, PR China

Account number 4447802-0188-052027-3

Jin Jian, is the treasurer of the SUNSHINE Project and if you have any questions please call her at 13851986887.

In America, donation checks can be sent to:

Ken & Becky Mitchell

149 East 700 North

Logan, UT 84321

Phone: 435-752-2466

If you would like to learn more about the SUNSHINE Project, please go to my BLOG and click on the Category "Sunshine Project - Nanjing, China."

Hope you all have had a good summer and are enjoying beautiful fall or autumn weather now. It's very beautiful here in Logan, we are especially enjoying cooler temperatures after a hot, record setting summer.

KEEP MOVING AND SMILING!!!

Much love,

Ken and Becky Mitchell

Ken's Reflections on Life & Death

This is a letter that Ken/Smiley wrote to our family following his heart attack, which he likes to call his "cardiac event" which occurred on May 4, 2006. He talks about a time when our daughter Amy was involved in a car accident and Jason was very seriously injured in a car/motorcycle accident. Our daughter-in-law Missy also is mentioned. She had several medical procedures to correct a heart problem before it was finally corrected. I'm sending this letter so you can see how Ken feels about Life and Death...

My Dear Family,

Thanks to each of you for your love, support and concern the past few days.

In addition to this wonderful family, the support of many friends and medical people was over-whelming! I'm not at all surprised but it's still humbling. I haven't learned how to accept love and support without emotional feelings.

I want to express to you some thoughts I had Sunday night (when he had the heart event), which really were not new but I actually put them into action when this experience arrived.

For many years Becky and I have discussed these type of adversities. Until 1995, actually eleven years ago May 4-5, when Amy and Jason became the first serious adversity we'd faced, Becky and I would warn ourselves that our "smooth sailing" wouldn't last forever. Of course, Jason holds the trophy for the "most serious" trauma we've faced. Nothing else that's crossed our path holds a candle to that sad experience. However, just as in my "cardiac event" it was excellent medical people who performed their "duty" and Jason made a great recovery from a most serious situation.

We held our breath until Missy was correctly patched.

For me personally, I have taken the attitude for many years that I've been allowed far more of the wonderful things of life than I ever expected or deserved and I'm daily grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing me all these things. Which, interpreted means, "I respect that The Lord giveth and The Lord taketh away." If The Lord had taken me Sunday night, so be it. I have no concerns about that. I invite you to consider a similar attitude.

Becky and I both desire that if anyone has to be taken from our family, "Please, Lord, let it be one or both of us." Having said this, I encourage each of you to "look inside" and see if you are "prepared" for a serious adversity. I firmly believe we owe it to ourselves and those around us to "take a stand." I don't expect anyone to follow my/our approach but I don't hesitate to suggest to you that you must face the fact that we have no control over the exit of anyone of us. I respect that as stated above.

It will always be my attitude to "celebrate the life" of one who exits. I will not ask "why?"... I will not be "knocked out" by it... I'm not "copping out"... I firmly believe that I'm accepting "the way it is." I will celebrate that life, old or young, and give thanks to Heavenly Father for the time we spent together.

Of course I/we have no control over this so you might think, "your attitude is simple, it's a way of managing the sadness." I feel my attitude is based on a grateful heart. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't feel helpless... I feel empowered.

My sincere request is that each of us do what we know will allow us a healthy and extended life... there are no secrets about how to do that now... it's a choice. Let's be together on this earth as long as possible... if the exit is earlier, so be it. Celebrate the life.

Sincerely and with love to each,

Dad/Pappy/Ken

****************

From Becky: It was just two months after my mother had passed away that Ken had this "cardiac event". I was in Provo (over two hours away from Logan) taking care of my Father that Sunday. Our son, Jason, took Ken to the hospital and then called me to tell me what was happening. They had to "fly" Ken to Ogden where there were the medical resources to help him -- it was in the middle of the night. I arranged for my brother to take care of my Father and after a prayer with my Dad, I drove as fast as I could to Ogden to be with Ken. Of course, I was praying all the way. My son had assured me that it did not seem too serious, but I was still praying. Then the comforting feeling of my Mother's presence came over me, assuring me that Ken would be alright and that she would look out for him until I could get there -- I also felt her "thanks" for taking care of her husband, my Father. I truly believe that it was God's will that Ken live longer -- there are still things that the Lord wants him to accomplish.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!

Dear Chinese Friends . . .

You all have been in my thoughts as I've prepared to Celebrate the Chinese New Year with my family. Celebrating Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) in China was a very special experience for Ken and I ... we really learned a lot about Chinese culture AND now I love sharing that with our family, especially the grandchildren. In fact some of our grandchildren celebrate the Chinese New Year in their schools.

Each month I send stories and books to my grandchildren that live in other states to read with their parents -- I call it NANA'S BOOK CLUB. This month I sent them the story of how the 12 Years were Named and a calendar so they could figure out what animal they are. I also sent a few Chinese Folk Stories, some "red couplets" for them to color and cut apart and put on their doors, along with other decorations and New Year's Prints AND a small red envelop with a silver dollar and Chinese treat for each of them.

Tomorrow, February 18th, your New Year's Day will be Sunday. We'll have a special Chinese Family dinner, including Jiao zi (which is Ken/Smiley's favorite Chinese food). Our son, Jason and his family who live with us and our youngest son, Brady, will be here with us.

I plan to read some of our Chinese books to the grandchildren and we'll play MahJong with the adults. We may also watch a video I taped from the TV, an excellent documentary entitled: "China From the Inside".

Since Spring Festival is such a special time for Chinese families, I want to share with you some pictures of some of our family members.

This is our son, K.C., his wife Holly and two little girls Savanah (3) and Allie (1).

K.C.'s family lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our daughter, Amy and her family lived there for a couple of years, but now live in Arizona. Amy has three boys and they often return to Las Vegas to visit family and friends. The pictures below were than there a couple of weeks ago when Amy's boys went on a hike with K.C.'s family.

Here's Jack (5), Savanah (4) and Gavin (3) -- they really do LOVE each other and are great cousins!!!!

This picture shows the beautiful desert landscape in the Valley of Fire, near Las Vegas, where they were hiking.

Here are all four of the children. Savanah is hugging her little sister Allie, who is 2 years old now and our youngest grandchild.

Allie, the littlest one, gets a ride from her Dad. Gavin (3) was able to walk the whole way!! These are the kinds of things that our family like to do.

I hope you'll have a wonderful HOLIDAY with your family. I would love to hear from you to know how you celebrated the New Year!

Our best wishes for a WONDERFUL and HAPPY New Year to you and your family.

Love,

Miss Becky

Happy Holidays!!!!

I'm writing to you from my Father's home in Provo, Utah (on December 3rd) as we watch a special Christmas program on TV. It's coming from New York City -- Christmas at Rockefeller Center. This is a traditional program for almost 75 years where they turn on the lights of a huge Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center ... it was started during the depression when some on the construction workers on the Rockefeller Building put lights on a small Christmas tree to give people hope. There are 100,000 people crowded in the streets there in NYC to see the program and the lighting of the tree AND thousands more across America are watching it on TV.

Two years ago I took my daughter-in-law and two grand daughters to NYC during the Christmas season and it was soooooo wonderful. We went ice skating at Rockefeller Center under the huge Christmas Tree and we saw the traditional Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall which is located at Rockefeller Center. It was a wonderful experience to share with those I love.

Happy Thanksgiving

Last week Americans officially began the CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON by celebrating THANKSGIVING ... a special time for families to be together and give thanks for the many blessings we have. (The story of the FIRST Thanksgiving in America is told in the following article -- or click on the Holiday category to find it.)

I have soooooo much to be THANKFUL this year, including the peaceful passing of my Mother after years of poor health; the miracle of modern medicine in saving Ken's life; the joys and challenges of family life including all our special children and grandchildren; and the opportunity to care for and spend lots of time with my Father. He will be traveling with me to Aronzia next week -- I will be caring for my daughter's three little boys while she has some minor surgery AND my father will have some dental work done by my son-in-law who is a dentist.

I'm so very GRATEFUL for FAMILY -- I'm blessed to have had good parents and great brothers and sisters and wonderful children. I'm very grateful for all our special friends in America and China who have enriched our lives so much ... In fact I feel like we are all ONE FAMILY -- MANY HEARTS!

I'm also very grateful for all the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of good people who have lived on this earth and many any contribution that has left the world a better place --- today we enjoy so many wonderful things and opportunities because of the faith and efforts of those who have gone before us.

Merry Christmas

Millions of people around the World will be celebrating Christmas this month ... there will be lots of TV programs, stories and books about Christmas; many family celebrations and traditions carried out; many parties with friends and family; lots of gift giving AND there truly is a special feeling of love and kindness in the air .... everyone seems more friendly, happy and willing to do things for others. Our family always does a special service project at Christmas time, usually it's being Santa Claus (providing Christmas gifts and dinner to a family in need). We are doing that this year.

The SUNSHINE Project started as a Christmas service project of the Nanjing University 4-H club I had organized there, but as you know this project continues thru the year and brings out the most important thing about Christmas:

Christmas is more than a day at the end of the year,

More than a day of joy and good cheer.

Christmas is really God's pattern for living

To be followed each day unselfish giving.

Then peace on earth will come to stay,

When we live Christmas every day.

I'll post more articles about Christmas in the coming day.

This is a busy but most wonderful time for me ... I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Miss Becky

My FATHER's BIRTHDAY --

My Father, S. Glenn Smith and my husband, Ken (Smiley) Mitchell share the same Birthday -- October 26th!

My Mother passed away last March and my Father's health has not been good. So all my brothers and sisters decided to come to Utah to celebrate his 86th birthday. (Two of us live in Utah, two in Colorado, one in California and one in Alaska.) Dad's celebration was scheduled the same day as SMILEY's FUN RUN in the afternoon and evening. That's why my sisters were both here in Utah to participate in the FUN RUN. They had come to Celebrate my Dad's birthday as well. Dad knew we were all coming and I had told Ken about it and we were planning to come to Provo that afternoon for Dad's Celebration. That week at my Dad's home -- I stay there 3 - 4 days of the week to cook and care for him -- I had been busy baking and cleaning for the Celebration which was at his home.

My three brothers took Dad to the BYU Football game that afternoon. My Father LOVES sports and especially likes to go to the games with his sons. He will even record the games from the TV and send them to my brother in Alaska to see.

After the football game we all met at his home for eating, visiting and celebrating!!! Here's a picture taken that evening with Dad and his six children ... I'm still wearing my "Smiley" shirt!!!

From left to right, Front row: Dianne, Dad, Susan. Back row: Brad, Derrell, Craig and Me -- I'm the oldest of the six children and we were all born within seven years. Dianne and Derrell are twins and I'm only 16 months older than the twins. Being close in age we grew up being the best of friends -- and we still get along well and enjoy each other. We all have children about the same ages -- that night about 21 grandchildren attended the Celebration and there were 14 great-grandchildren, along with my brothers and sisters and our husbands and wives.

My sisters and I along with our brother from Alaska stayed the night in Provo and attended Church with our Father the next day. His belief in God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been the major influence in his life and it was wonderful to be with him on Sunday and worship with him.

We did SURPRISE Dad with a unique gift -- a special book that my sisters and I developed with stories from most of our family members telling about "Prayers Answered" in our lives. It's very inspiring to read and Dad has read it more than once.

It was AWESOME for me to be able to CELEBRATE the Birthday of my Dad and Ken in the same day!!! In fact, my Father was very supportive of our Top Secret Adventure and gave me the first donation of seven dollars and then he did seven miles on his treadmill, 10 minutes at a time, because he has lost so much of his physical strength.

The celebration for my Dad also added to Ken's celebration, as he drove to Provo to Dad's Celebration with our daughters, Kara and Amy, and had a wonderful time talking to them -- it's a two hour drive. Amy was leaving early the next morning and Kara left early on Monday morning, so he enjoyed visiting more with them.

On Sunday afternoon as Ken and I drove home, we had lots of time for me to share more with him about the Top Secret Adventure, telling him all about the people in China and America who had participated. He was so pleased to raise so much money for the SUNSHINE Project. On his Birthday (October 26th) we were flying to Las Vegas to attend a memorial service for one of his special friends who died two days before the FUN RUN. On the plane I gave him the special notebook that I had compiled all the letters, birthday wishes and pictures from the participants ... he spent the whole flight reading the material and said ... "What a great event!!!"

We both hope that it does not end here --- let's all continue to walk-jog-run to maintain good physical fitness!!!

KEEP SMILING and MOVE IT!!!

SMILEY'S FUN RUN -- Logan, Utah - October 21, 2006

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE REVEALED . . .

On Friday, the day before the BIG SURPRISE, Ken was assigned to officiate a high school football game, a long way from our home. That was really good because Ken left town early in the afternoon and did not return home until late that night, allowing family members to gather in Logan to prepare for the event. Our daughter Kara flew in from Boston that day and daughter, Amy and her son, McKay flew in from Arizona. McKay was so excited about coming that he called to tell me that he was about to get on the airplane, but Pappy (Ken) answered the phone. McKay asked to talk to Nana (that's me) and Pappy told him that I was in Provo and to call my cell phone. When Ken asked McKay how come he was calling in the middle of the day, shouldn't he be in school -- McKay made up some story that he was on his way to school late that day because of a Pep Rally or something. Often McKay will call and talk to us as they are driving somewhere, so Ken was not suspicious AND Ken later said he really didn't understand what he was saying about a "pep rally" ... but then he often does not understand the grandchildren when they are talking on the phone.

The morning of October 21, 2006 a layer of fog lay on the floor of Cache Valley where Logan, Utah is located ... the valley is surrounded with mountains. The fog was due to the cold temperatures and the mositure in the air, as it had rained all day and most of the night before our FUN RUN.

The layer of fog covered the lower part of the valley that included the Golf Course where we intended to start the RUN. This picture shows the Temple, a special landmark in our city. It is in the middle of our town, on a hill so you can see it from all points in the valley. Our RUN took us past the Temple, which is over a 100 years old. The Temple is a very special place for us and four of our five children were born in a hospital that was located just across the street from this place at the time. That hospital was removed when a new one was built about 20 years ago.

Here is Lindsay, a niece; daughter, Kara, my sister, Dianne (mother of ten children); Emilee, niece, Katie, niece holding her baby and son, Brady. These three nieces are all Dianne's daughters. We are gathering at the Golf Course for the start of the RUN ... the fog still in the air and you can how cold it was.

The sun arrived before Ken did, but you can still see the fog coming off the water areas and the frost on the grass in the shadow of the Club House. It became a beautiful fall day in our valley as the sun touched the earth the frost melted quickly and the fog was gone so we started SMILEY's FUN RUN in the warmth of SUNSHINE --- so fitting for the SUNSHINE to come out as we "ran" for the SUNSHINE Project!

A friend picked Ken up following a basketball meeting and drove him to the Golf Course. We were all waiting in the parking lot and Ken just stared at all of us, wondering what is the world we were doing. I came and opened the door of the car inviting him to get out. He was surprised to see me as he thought that I was in Provo at my Dad's home.

At first all he saw was a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign and lots of people singing Happy Birthday to him -- there were four of our five children, a daughter-in-law, four of our eight grandchildren, Pingle, our dog, several nieces and cousins from Salt Lake City, my two sisters from Colorado and California, one brother-in-law and several friends and neighbors. At first he was a little embarrassed, because he does not like to draw a lot of attention to himself, but when I told him about SMILEY'S FUN RUN to not only celebrate his 70th birthday, but to raise funds for the Sunshine Project, he was really pleased and touched.

Ken starts SMILING and LAUGHING as he realizes what is happening. Here he hugs our daughter, Kara, who flew in from Boston the day before. Ken had returned her phone call the night before and Kara had thought it was a friend calling her and when he asked where she was, she answer she was in Utah!!! Realizing her mistake, she quickly said something like she couldn't hear him well, her phone had a bad connection, so she would call him back. She waited a while and called him and told him that she had taken some medication that had made her confused and she was not feeling well, so she would talk to him the next day. Ken believed what she said because he knew that she was suffering some bad backpain and was seeing a doctor about it. When Ken saw her that morning, he said, "So you really were in Utah!" That is why she is laughing so hard and he SMILED as he began to understand it all!!!

We gave Ken a shirt and here he is with Richard Criddle, his golfing buddy, who had brought him to the Golf Course. Richard had his jacket zipped up covering his FUN RUN shirt when he picked up Ken.

Here's Ken with the Birthday sign we made for him and it was the first thing he saw with all the people at the Golf Course. McKay and Baylor, our two oldest grandchildren, are helping to hold up the sign.

Turning the Birthday sign around, we see the FUN RUN sign we made the night before. McKay and Baylor are still the sign holders, while Ken/Smiley talks to our daughter, Kara and our son, Jason who had been at the basketball meeting that morning earlier with Ken. Jason left the meeting called us to let us know the meeting was over and our friend went to get Ken, as he had asked Ken to help him with a project that morning and had told him he would pick him up after the meeting. Then Richard drove Ken to the Golf Course!!!

The FUN RUN begins on the Golf Course Road with the children leading the way. Pingle, our dog is really pulling Kayla, a niece, along. After we got to the first corner, we rolled up the sign, as Baylor and McKay wanted to "run" ... the rest of us "walked and talked" and had a great time.

The course of the FUN RUN to covered seven miles ... Starting at Ken's favorite Golf Course, where he LOVES to play golf and "hunt" for lost balls, to finish at Ft Smiley, the name Ken gave our HOME some years ago!!! Our FUN RUN would take us pass most of the special places in Logan where we and our family had spent time and had many special memories of.

We first passed a park where Ken and our children had played ball games, then a small Zoo, where a bull elk was bellowing and charged us, but ran into a fence before he reached us. You can see the fence was just before this row of trees!! It was exciting for the children, they loved seeing such a big animal so close.

Our son, K.C. and his family who live in Las Vegas did the FUN RUN there that morning, shirts and prizes for the children had been sent ahead of time.

As we were "walking" along K.C. called my cell phone from Las Vegas to report that he had completed his miles that morning -- K.C. and his wife, Holly, each completed 70 miles for our project. Ken/Smiley talked to him on the cell phone as we walked and told him how surprised he was -- he had no idea about what we had been doing. OUR TOP SECRET MISSION WAS ACCOMPLISHED!!!

While K.C. ran his wife took their little girls, Allie (1 1/2 years old) and Savanah (four-years-old) to the park where Savanah rode her bike and Holly pushed Allie in the stroller getting some more "miles" for our project.

The Las Vegas Mitchells had finished their FUN RUN before we had completed the first mile of our's in Logan. In this way ALL of our children and grandchildren participated in SMILEY's FUN RUN...that was REALLY special to Ken!

Our walk took us pass many interesting places and several different friends along the way including these horses:

Two of our granddaughters who love "horese" and are taking horse riding lessons and had to stop and pet the horses.

We walked pass the Logan High School Football field where our sons played high school football and Ken has officiated many football games, including several Little League games (for younger boys) just two Saturdays earlier. This is the school where Ken currently coaches basketball. Then into the center of our town we stopped for some water and snacks.

We did not have time to stop at Ken's favorite bakery, which he finds hard to pass on his way home from golfing!!!

This building, the Tabernacle, is located on the Main street in the middle of our town. It is a special place where all our children were baptized and we have attended many church, community meetings and concerts there.

We had "walked" for over two miles, when my sisters and their children turned around, returned to the Golf Course to get their cars and headed to Provo for a Birthday Celebration for my Dad that day.

It had really warmed up and we were enjoying a beautiful fall day.

Many of the streets are lined with trees in our city and it was fun to walk in the leaves that had fallen on the sidewalks.

Our two oldest grandsons along with our daughter Amy were "running" most of the route and way out ahead of the rest of us. The two grandsons wanted to "win". I had already told Baylor when he asked what the "winner" would get, that everyone in the FUN RUN was a "winner." Everyone who finished the SEVEN miles were winners!!! That was a really big challenge for the children. All the grandchildren received a bag of "smiley-faced" toys, pencils, notebook, candy, etc. when they finished, just like all the children at the Gao Chun school will receive when they finished their FUN RUN the next Saturday on October 28th.

The Three Mile marker was right in front of the Temple and then we continued walking pass Adams School, the elementary school that all our children attended, which had been built the same year that Ken was born! Up that street led us to the foot of Aggie Hill, the top of that hill is the campus of Utah State University.

This is the "Aggie Hill" ... the letter "A" is on the top of the tower on Old Main (the main administration building on campus -- President's office is in this building as well as teaching classrooms.) The small building on the left-hand side of the picture is the "Media Services Building" where Ken's first office was when he was hired at Utah State University to be the Sports Information Director.

We "walked" across the campus, pass all the buildings that Ken had worked and played in ....

This is the Field House, which has an indoor track, basketball and tennis courts, fitness and weight-lifting equipment, etc. This is where Ken would play basketball at noon most days when he was working at USU ... the group he plays with call themselves the NBA -- Noon Basketbal Association. Even after retirement, Ken returns at noon to play "hoops" at least three days a week.

This is the USU Football Stadium. Ken's job included serving all the media or press people at the football games -- notice the "Press Box" at the top of the bleachers -- that was where the press/media people would sit, broadcast the games from and Ken would see that all their needs were met. This location was the FIVE MILE Mark in our FUN RUN. Our daughter, Kara, rode in a car because of the pain she could not walk ... she would meet us at each MILE marker and give each child a "smiley-faced" sticker for each mile they did.

We headed for the Finish Line (Ft. Smiley) and passed our first home when we moved to Logan.

When we moved to Logan we only had one child and this small home was just right. It was located on 600 North. After the birth of two more children, we needed more room and moved to a larger home just a couple of blocks away on 700 North. That is the home we have lived in ever since.

Our son, Jason pulled a red wagon giving the children turns to ride and take a little rest. Ken talked with some friends who were not able to come to Logan for the event.

Pingle, the dog, in her shirt, completed the whole seven miles, walking at the end with Ken.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED --- The Finish Line . . . Ft. Smiley ... 149 East 700 North ...

Baylor and McKay were the first to arrive, with Amy very close to them. It worked out well, as Amy is preparing to "run" in a race in Las Vegas in December, so she really wanted to "run" more than "walk", so she stayed with the boys. They were sooooo excited to have been first -- a tie -- they jumped up and down and wer giving each other "high fives", my neighbor reported who was waiting and watching for us to come. She helped put out the water, fruit and muffins for people to eat when they arrived. Some neighbors and friends stopped by to see us along the way and others came to our home giving us donations for the Sunshine Project.

Here are the GRANDKIDS: (from left to right: Jake, Baylor, Kayla, Gwen, Britt and McKay) celebrating their accomplishment -- note the "smiley-faced" stickers they got at each of the mile markers. These were my special "Secret Agents" in our Top Secret Adventure ... they all did some training miles to prepare, helped me make the signs, blow up the balloons, prepare the shirts for shipping, and more AND kept it a SECRET from Pappy-Ken-Smiley!!! After the race I paid them eacn $1.00 for every mile they had completed, including the 7 done that day. Each of them put some of their money in the donation box for the SUNSHINE Project.

It was truly a wonderful project for our family and we did have lots of FUN!!! That afternoon, Britt said, "I want to have a FUN RUN for my Birthday." When I asked her how many miles she wanted to do for her FUN RUN, she replied, "Nine. Because I'll be nine years old." I hope that they will all continue to be Active and Healthy and Fit because it will all so much Happiness and Joy to their lives! That is also my hope for all the children at the Gao Chun Special School.

A special THANKS to EVERYONE who helped us accomplish our Top Secret Mission -- over 200 people participated and no one gave it away -- MANY, MANY THANKS. Ken/Smiley was completely SURPRISED and TOUCHED that so many people in China and America participated. As we "walked" along on the FUN RUN I told him about each of you and what you had contributed. I'm making a special "Birthday" book for him with your pictures and information. The thing that made him most happy was being able to help the special children in China that we both love!

SMILEY's FUN RUN in Logan was a WONDERFUL, SUNNY DAY, full of LOVE and JOY; FAMILY and FRIENDS that will remain in our HEARTS forever.

SMILEY'S FUN RUN -- GREAT SUCCESS!!!

WE DID IT ... We surprised Ken/Smiley this morning with over 25 people at the starting line of our seven mile FUN Run. Mission accomplised, Ken did not know anything about it!

It was a BEAUTIFUL fall day here ... it was cold and foggy this morning but it warmed up and turned out to be great.

I will write more later and post pictures. Please sent me your reports of your runs and we'll look forward to the students at the Deaf School doing their SMILEY's FUN RUN next Saturday, October 28th.

Got to go now to Provo to celebrate my Father's Birthday with my family ... Ken and my Father share the same birthday (October 26th) ...

Thanks again for all your help and support ... Ken is quite overwhelmed and hasn't had time to learn about all that has happened. I'm planning to complete the book and give it to him on his actual BIRTHDAY on October 26th. So if you have any message and/or picture you want in the book e-mail it to me immediately: missbecky@xmission.com

THANKS for all your great support and help ... our donations in America now total more than $2,000!!!! YOU ARE ALL GREAT!!! And we are getting close to reaching our 7,000 mile goal!!!! Yea!!

I LOVE YOU ... more later!!!

SMILEY -- KEN'S NICKNAME

A nickname is a name given you or a name people call you by that is different than your given name.

Here is the story of how Ken, whose given name is Kenneth Mitchell, got the nickname "Smiley".

Ken was born in a rural area of western Kentucky, a southern state in America. His mother died when he was three years old. Ken and his older sister lived with different relatives while their father worked in another state to earn enough money to purchase a farm in Kentucky. Ken, his sister and father moved to the farm when he was about 10 years old. There was no running water or electricity. They worked hard for about five years but were not able to make the farm productive.

When Ken was 15 years-old, a sophomore in high school, his father moved the family across the country to the state of California, at the invitation of his sister. They lived with her until his Dad got a job and place of their own. After attending a one-room school, Ken lacked self-confidence in the new high school of about 2,000 students. He had an accent when he spoke that made it difficult for others to understand him. His self-esteem was low.

One Saturday, early in that first school year, Ken was at the play ground watching some boys from the high school play basketball. The ball got away from them and rolled toward where Ken was standing. He picked up the ball and threw it toward the hoop from the half-court line. The ball went through the hoop!! Ken, without an expression on his face, started walking off the court. One of the boys called to him, "Hey, Smiley ... do you want to play?" Of course, he wanted to play and joined them. No one knew his name, so they all continued to call him "Smiley."

Ken lived up to that name ... he became a happier, smiling person and developed a fun sense of humor. He made many friends, played on the baseball and basketball teams, was the Sports Editor of the school newspaper and was called "Smiley" by all his friends throughout his high school years ... and when any of those friends see him in later years, they continued to call him "Smiley".

I've mostly called him, KEN, as that was what people called him when we met in college several years after his high school. Ken's children called him "Daddy" and "Dad" and the grandchildren call him "Pappy" ... that was the name that Ken called his grandfather, so he wanted to be "Pappy" too. Our youngest grandson, when he was learning to talk, would call "Pappy", but it sounded more like "Happy" -- Ken loved it ... Gavin would be running after him calling, "Happy, Happy, Happy!!!" Gavin also has a wonderful SMILE is is such a "happy" little boy.

Another "nickname" for Ken was given to him by the men that he played basketball with for years. They would play at the fieldhouse (large gym and indoor track) on the campus of Utah State University at during their lunch hour almost every weekday. They called themselves the NBA (Noon Basketball Association). Not only did the group enjoy the physical activity, but also the emotional release and social intereaction. Ken is a very competitive player and believes that everyone should "hustle" or "move it" to play their best. He believes that to play good defense, you have to "move it"... After yelling at the other players to "move it" many, many times, it was only natural that they started calling Ken, "Move It". This group of friends also call Ken, "Coach" sometimes because he tries to "help" they be better players!!!

Now that Ken has been coaching basketball for a few years, there are several young men who also call him "Coach", because that is what he is now.

When Ken and I started teaching in China, he gave the students the choice of what they would like to call him and most of them chose to call him "Smiley". Some of the students even called me "Mrs. Smiley" at times! They loved his "smile" and sense of humor. One of the songs we taught our students was "WhenYou're Smiling" ... (click on English Songs to see the words to this song).

So "KEEP SMILING" as you "MOVE IT" to participate in SMILEY's FUN RUN on October 21st 2006!!!!

BAYLOR -- # 1 Grandson

Baylor Phillips Mitchell born on June 11, 1996 is our first grandchild and such a good, special boy who has enriched our lives so much.

He's currently in the fourth grade at Edith Bowen Elementary School that is part of Utah State University (USU) here in Logan, Utah. (Both Ken and I worked at USU for many years.) The following are his words from an assignment his new teacher asked all the children to do to introduce themselves to the class and teacher ... each child wrote their name vertically down the left side of the paper and then had to write a sentence about themself that started with that letter from their name. Here is what Baylor wrote:

B - Baseball is one of my favorite sports.

A - An Activity I like to do is camping.

Y - You should know I like sports.

L - Lemonade is my favorite drink.

O - Outside is where I like to be most.

R - Reading books about snakes is fun to me.

He did really well describing his interests and the things that are most important to him.

Here's a picture of Baylor with his Dad, Jason, our oldest child. This picture was taken a couple of years ago, but shows how much he loves his Dad ...

In 2002 Jason wrote, "Baylor's hero is the crocodile hunter. He told me a while ago that he has 2 Dads, me and the Crocodile Hunter ... That's OK because today he had a friend over from school. Baylor came down to my office to tell me that his friend was here and I told to bring him down and introduce him to me. Baylor ran off and I heard him say 'Come here, I want to show you my Dad. He's stronger than your Dad.' Seriously. Isn't that awesome!" Jason and Baylor have a really good relationship. Baylor loves sports and plays some sport every season of the year, and sometimes plays on two teams at the same time. Jason has been one of his coachs in basketball, baseball, and now football since they have lived with us for the last nine months.

Here's Baylor, #66 in action ... American Football. That was his father's favorite sport. Jason was an All-State Football player in high school, meaning he was one of the best in the whole state of Utah. Baylor is also a good football player and loves to watch football games on TV with his Dad.

Ken/Smiley's favorite sport is Basketball or "Hoops" and he helps Jason coach Baylor's basketball team.

Here Pappy (that's what our grandchildren call Ken) is playing "hoops" with Baylor, #23, and McKay our second greandson, a year younger than Baylor.

Last May Baylor had the "Happiest Day of His Life" ... the story is told in the following article, an e-mail message Jason wrote to our family the day after Ken's heart attack.

Along with sports, Baylor loves animals, especially snakes ... he decided a few years ago that he wants to be a "snake scienist" and he has been learning about them ever since. He has a pet snake that lives in his room now. He earned the money to buy it. Baylor is responsible to care for it and buy it's food. He named the snake, "Jerry".

Here is a picture of Baylor when he was 7 years-old and got involved with "The Crocodile Hunter" (Steve Irwin) and the Australia Zoo over the internet. He loved watching the Crocodile Hunter on TV and learned much from his programs. Have you hear of or seen "The Crocodile Hunter"? He's known all over the world for animal conservation.

Baylor wrote a letter to "The Crocodile Hunter" and he (his assistants I'm sure) sent him a bunch of Croc stuff, so his Mom took some pictures to email a thank you note.

That year for Halloween Baylor dressed as "the Crocodile Hunter" and in this picture with the help of a small toy crocodile, he acts the part of Steve Irvin, the real Crocodile Hunter!!

Last month when Steve Irwin, "The Crocodile Hunter" died, Baylor was very sad. We watched the special memorial for him from the Austrialia Zoo. Steve was a great person, he LOVED LIFE, his FAMILY and all kinds of ANIMALS. You can learn more about him and his mission on his web site: http://www.crocodilehunter.com/ There is an introduction to Steve on my blog under the category "Making a Difference in the World".

Our TRUE STORY from Nana’s Book Club this month (October 2006) is dedicated to BAYLOR, our Little Croc Hunter, and to Steve Irvin, the real Crocodile Hunter. Steve was a great example of “Living, Loving, Learning and Leaving a Legacy.” His “legacy” lives on among his many friends, both human and animal, all over the world … including “Owen and Mzee”. Click on the category "Reading and Books" to get this story.

Baylor is just a really GOOD Boy. He is an excellent student for a 10 year old. He has two younger sisters, Britt, age 8 and Gwen age 6.

This picture was taken at Easter time a special spring Holiday celebrated in the Christian world.

I LOVE BAYLOR!!!!!

Baylor's Happiest Day

This is an e-mail message written to our family by Jason, the day after Ken/Smiley's heart attack ...

I thought we should all start feeling a little better today. Dad is in good hands and resting well. He should be home by Wednesday. I was reading Mom's email and thought I would go ahead and share Baylor's experience this weekend. I know Dad loved hearing about it.

Happiest Day of My Life. That's what Baylor said about May 6th.

To set the stage if I haven't already told you about his competitive baseball team here in Logan they have really struggled. In Maryland Baylor would have had to try-out to be on the 9 year old travel team and he would have made it and been a good player on a pretty good team.

Well here in Logan we show up for the first practice with this 9 year old travel team and I thought we stumbled into a t-ball team on accident. Nobody would play catch with Baylor because they all were afraid of how hard he throws. It's all perspective - he isn't a phenom - these kids just haven't played much ball.

Without too much detail that gives you the setting for this team. I should also add that while we are still struggling the boys are getting better and we have won 2 out of 10 games and were close in 2 others. In fact in our second game on Saturday we played a team that beat us 14 to 1 earlier in the year and this weekend we played them even most of the game until we gave up a big inning and lost by 6 runs.

That's the team experience. The personal side of this is that Baylor is the new kid in town and these guys on his team think he is a baseball phenom - which he isn't - and is going to win all these games for them. They have been good to him, but he has felt the pressure. Even the coaches expected a lot from him as a pitcher because he could throw so much better than the other boys.

But, he has not pitched much in his short career and not off of a pitching mound like they do in this league. So he has started slow. His first 3 starts he was only in for 2 innings each. The first time he really struggled. The second start (our other win) he did better, but still struggled. His 3rd start he actually pitched quite well for 2 innings, but we were getting killed because his defense behind him couldn't get any outs.

He really wants to be able to pitch and so he has worked on it a lot. He will ask me almost everyday - whether his team has had practice or not - to come out and catch for him.

Saturday, May 6th, Lundstrom Park in Logan - beautiful day and we are the first game of the day on the field so it is in great shape. We are playing the Bandits. A team from Farmington that is pretty good. In fact we lost to their 8 year old team - this is their 9 year old team so they have got to be favored to win.

If you think you don't like baseball, you haven't seen a game like this. Both teams played well and it was close all the way. Most of these games only go 3-4 innings because either the mercy rule is invoked or both teams are scoring so much the innings take a long time.

This game went to 6 innings because both teams were pitching and playing defense well. Baylor was throwing better than he ever had. Still too many walks, but way more strikes than he has thrown. In this league if he throws strikes he can get strike-outs or if he gets hit they are usually very playable ground balls.

We are the home team and start the 6th inning (and final inning) with the lead 3-2. 3 outs and we win and Baylor pitches his first complete game. He looks stronger than ever in striking out the first two batters. He gets the third batter to hit an easy grounder to third - one of those soft ones that isn't even going to make it to the infield dirt. Our third baseman comes charging in at it and runs right by it when trying to scoop it up.

I don't know if it was mental - knowing the game should have been over - or physical - just being tried from having thrown so many pitches, but Baylor couldn't keep it going and walked the next 3 batters. The coach brought in another pitcher to try to close it out, but before we got the third out the Bandits scored 3 runs.

What a great game he pitched. He either struck out or put-out (fielded balls hit to him) 12 of the 18 outs we got in that game. Even if we had lost I think he would have felt OK about his pitching. He should have felt great, but you can't feel great when you lose the lead in the last inning. When he came out I told him how well he had played and told him not to get down because he would still have a chance to help his team win.

So, it is the bottom of the last inning and we are now losing 5-3. First, batter gets on with a walk. Next batter gets a good hit and we now have 2 runners on. They advance to 2nd and 3rd on steals and the runner on 3rd scores on a past ball. 5-4.

The batter at the plate stikes out. The next batter walks and then steals second so we have 2nd and 3rd again. Our next batter hits a grounder to second which they take to first to get the out while our guys scores from 3rd. So, its 5-5 and 2 outs. If the inning ends the game is over as a tie, but a tie is not appealing with how hard they have worked on this game.

The next batter gets a walk giving us 1st and 3rd and bringing Baylor to the plate. Our guy on first steals 2nd. Baylor has the count at 2-2 and it really becomes a battle. Their pitcher fires a strike in there and Baylor fouls it off. Another good pitch and another foul ball. Another good pitch coming to the plate and this one Baylor is all over. Line drive to right-center driving in the winning runs!

The kids on the team charged him out on the infield and had a good celebration, but they did a good job not getting silly with it. The coaches got them together pretty quick to give the other team a cheer and shake their hands. While they are doing all the end of game stuff I am cleaning up our stuff getting ready to leave. Baylor is getting so much attention from everybody that I just stay back and let him enjoy it.

After a while people start drifting away and the dugout starts to empty. So I head in to give him my congratulations and what I got was a moment that is one of the happiest of my life. When Baylor saw me he literally jumped into my arms and said "Dad, did you see that!"

Baylor and I get along great, but he is getting to be big guy now and is more reserved with his displays of affection. This was like when he was a little guy and would come running when he saw me. It was such pure, innocent joy that he wanted so much to share with me. I told him I sure did and how awesome he played and how exciting it was that he got that chance to help his team one last time.

We obviously relived the game a lot that afternoon and it was at a reflective moment he looked at me and said, "This is the happiest day of my life." I could just feel the weight of the being the new kid and all the pressure being gone from his body. I was so happy for him.

That night as I tucked him into bed and we talked about it one more time I told him that as amazing as this day was, he will have better days. He had a hard time believing me, but we talked about what many happy days he has ahead of him in his life. Then I told him that I have made big plays for my team and I'd give every one of them back for that hug he gave me in the dugout.

With that experience and then having to take Dad to the hospital last night in a very distressed situation the gamut of life experiences has hit home this weekend. Thank God for those choice moments we get that can stay with us always. Those you can take with you. Get as many of them as you can!

A Special Anniversary Celebration

The following letter was written by Smiley and Becky on September 11, 2001

Dear Students and Friends,

Today, September 11 is a special day for Smiley and Becky... it is our 37th (sun-shrr-chee!!) wedding anniversary!!!!!!!!!! We were married on September 11, 1964 -- 37 years ago.

This picture was taken that day at the wedding celebration. The wedding ceremony had taken place in the Salt Lake Temple earlier that day.


Here is a picture of Becky on her wedding -- she had made or sewed her wedding dress and she looked beautiful.

In our culture weddings are very important -- it's the start of a new family and we celebrate that day each year -- it's called a wedding anniversary. It's a good way to express and celebrate our love and remember that special wedding day. We don't know if you do that in China, but we want to tell you how we celebrated this wonderful event in our lives.

(By now you know about the terrible terrorist attack on the World Trade Buildings in New York City which occurred this morning at 6:40 am our time, 8:40 pm your time... it made us very sad for all the people who died and their families... so, our anniversary celebration wasn't as happy as we'd like. Many of you know that our son, Brady, is a missionary in New York City... he is ok... his apartment is about 8 kms north of the attack. He called this morning to tell us he was ok... he said he and his companions went to the roof of their building and they could see the smoke from the attack.)

Our anniversary... Over the years we've done some unusual things to celebrate the anniversary... gone to musicals, gone to a mountain town for the weekend, gone to Hawaii on our 20th anniversary... and sometimes just do more simple things... This one was a very simple celebration but a very unique and wonderful experience. Yes, this was Becky's idea and it was really special!! She prepared different types of food that we have enjoyed over the years... the best being a Mexican dip which we used to eat a lot... now we don't because it's fattening... then she cooked a Chinese dish (we don't know the Chinese name!!!) which has chopped up chicken meat, peppers and nuts to be eaten with rice. It was really gooooooooood!! THEN, she had prepared MY FAVORITE dessert... it's called Cherry Delight but is a lot like a cheese cake... I can eat the whole thing without stopping... but I didn't... but, I know I'll add some kgs to my weight from all this... we just "pigged out" and enjoyed it!! Now we must trim back to control our weight!!

Becky started the evening by putting on her original wedding dress... again she was beautiful in it... it was very special to her to be able to wear it after all these years... because she had controlled her weight she was able to wear it, and it fit just like 37 years ago!!



(Ken took this picture of my that night wearing my wedding dress and holding the roses he had given me. This is in the front room of our home where that special celebration took place.)

When Becky served another food dish she would change into another dress from some special occasion in our life... it was great!! When she served the Chinese dish she put on one of her Chinese dresses!! We ate by candle light... I got her two big red roses... Some men think you have to buy a dozen (12) roses... I think the number isn't important... it's the meaning... to me, two roses means two lovers together (am I right?)!! (And, roses are very expensive in America... if we were in Jinan I would have bought 37 red roses!!)

Last year we were in Jinan on our 36th anniversary... We remember we went out to find a Pizza restaurant... finally ended up on the top floor of the Simpson Hotel where the chef (a guy from Long Island, NY) made us a pizza... we became friends with him and associated with him for several months. Becky can remember so many things (why is it women can remember so many details and men don't?!!) about our years together... I can only remember the scores of ballgames!!! I really enjoy hearing about the things we did and the places we went... one was a football trip to New York City where our Utah State University played the U.S. Military Academy (Army)... we stayed in NYC and went to a Broadway play and went out to eat at a famous restaurant called "Mama Leonne's." We both agree that it is still the best restaurant dinner we've ever had... we "pigged out" there also!!

For background music she had a CD with the songs, "You Light Up My Life," and "The Rose." It was really beautiful. Some of you have the words to the song, "The Rose." We sang it with you in some classes. It is so beautiful. The words to both songs are as follows:

YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE

So many nights I'd sit by my window
Waiting for someone to sing me his song
So many dreams, I kept deep inside me
Alone in the dark, but now you've come along.

And you light up my life
You give me hope, to carry on
You light up my days
And fill my nights with song

Rollin' at sea, adrift on the waters
Could it be finally, I'm turning for home.
Finally a chance to say, "Hey, I love you"
Never again to be all alone.

And you light up my life
You give me hope, to carry on
It's can't be wrong, when it feels so right
'Cause you, you light up my life.

THE ROSE

Some say love it is a river, that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love it is a hunger, an endless aching need.
I say love it is a flower, and you it's only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance,
It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance,
It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed that with the sun's love in the spring becomes the rose.


Now from Becky . . .

It was a very special, romantic evening and I'm so glad we did it last night. I surprised Ken and prepared things while he was at a meeting on Monday and told him when he returned that since it was September 11th in China by that time, we could start our celebration!

Along with the roses, Ken gave me a beautiful card that has some very special words that I want to share with you. It reads:

FOR MY WIFE,
Thanks for the Wonderful Memories . . .

"A marriage isn't magic that 'just happens'
It's something built with time and love and care.
It's made of laughter, tears, and understanding.
Of loyalty and simply 'being there.'
A marriage is a bond between two people
That's stronger than the sum of all its parts,
A beautiful, rich tapestry of living
That's woven of the love between two hearts."

Thanks for the wonderful memories that add so much joy to this day...
Memories of all the kindness you've shown in your warm, loving way.
Memories of help that you've offered and dreams you've been happy to share,
Memories of how you've stood by me and shown me how deeply you care,
Thanks for the beautiful moments that passing time only endears...
Thanks for the wonderful memories, thanks for the wonderful years.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

I loved it -- the words were very meaningful to me and the card had roses on it -- roses are the flower of LOVE and I've always LOVED roses!!! There is nothing that brings more JOY and HAPPINESS than TO LOVE AND BE LOVED. It is our hope and desire that each of you will find a special person that you can love and build a successful, happy marriage with -- a relationship that can be deep, meaningful and fulfilling for both partners. For those of you who are already married, keep the magic of love alive by understanding "the Seasons of LOVE" and how to nurture love's special needs. I'm soooooooooo thankful for our marriage and the special things that we have shared over these 37 years. It has not always been easy, relationships have to be cared for just as a garden: watered regularly, new seeds planted and weeds remove and even after all these years, we have to continue working in the garden! But it's all worth it -- because Ken really does "Light Up My Life."

Love and Hugs to all,

Smiley & Becky

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE . . .

Would you like to be a "Secret Agent" and help us carry out an exciting ADVENTURE to recognize and honor Ken (some of you know my husband as "Smiley") on his 70th Birthday, which will be on October 26, 2006.

Our mission will be to WALK, JOG OR RUN 7,000 MILES IN 7 WEEKS TO SURPRISE AND HONOR KEN/SMILEY AND TO RAISE MONEY FOR OUR SUNSHINE PROJECT IN CHINA.

You may not know that Ken had a "heart attack" last May ... he's OK and we are very grateful for the MIRACLE of modern medicine and the doctors tell us he should have several more years to enjoy on this earth. (The complete story is posted on this BLOG in the article entitled: "Smiley's HEART Miracle" and can be found by clicking on the category "Miracles" or "My Family".

We are very grateful that Ken is doing really well physically, he was back to golfing less than a week after the "heart" experience. He's done some jogging, lots of outside work in our backyard, some "hoops" and is now busy officiating American high school football games. This experience has made us more grateful than ever for the blessing of healthy bodies. I know he would not have done so well, if he had not been "jogging", playing "hoops" and staying activity the past several years of his life.

To encourage better fitness and heart health in our family and among our friends, we will celebrate Ken's 70th Birthday AND raise funds for the SUNSHINE Project that we started in Nanjing, China in 2003 (complete information and pictures of this ongoing project are also posted on my BLOG ... go to the category "Sunshine Project.)

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE--is the name of our project, because Ken doesn't know anything about it ... we want to SURPRISE him ... so PLEASE DO NOT SAY OR WRITE ANYTHING TO HIM ABOUT THIS. Please reply to this e-mail address only: missbecky@xmission.com

THE EVENT: We are planning a special running/jogging event called SMILEY'S FUN RUN, here in our hometown of Logan, Utah. It will be on Saturday, October 21, 2006 and we'll Walk, Jog, or Run seven (7) miles. For "fun" we are using the number 7 because Smiley will be 70th years old! Ken does not know anything this. One of his friends will make a "golfing" date with him that day and when he arrives at the Golf Course, a number of friends and family members, will be waiting to "surprise" him. We'll begin SMILEY's FUN RUN there and other family members and friends will join us along the way. We'll "jog" past many special places in Ken's life including the high school where he coaches basketball now and the university where he worked for 30 years. The "finish line" of the "run" will be at our home for food and celebration with friends, family and neighbors!!!!

It will be very meaningful to Ken/Smiley to have so many of the people he loves participate in this physical fitness activity, because he KNOWS how important regular exercise is to keeping your heart healthy...especially now!!! Also, recent research has concluded that the NUMBER ONE thing you can do to keep your brain healthy, young and smarter, is to "Move It" ... get regular aerobic exercise. (See article on my BLOG entitled "Seven Ways To Make Your Brain Smarter" under the category: "Art of Living".)

You do not have to live in Logan, Utah to participate in this event ... you can select any seven mile route and Walk, Jog or Run it that day. Those of you near a university campus could use the track at the sports field (four laps around equals ONE mile). Not all of our family or friends will be able to come to Logan, but they are planning to participate where they live, for example our daughter, Kara, will run in Boston, K.C.'s family will run in Las Vegas and friends will be running in Provo and California.

THE SUNSHINE PROJECT -- It is common in America to raise money by getting donations and participating in special running events or marathons. We have had family members and friends do this in the past. We'll raise money for the Sunshine Project, by inviting friends and family to make a finanial donation to the project as a Birthday Gift to Ken. Each participant in the FUN RUN will pay a "registration fee" which will also go to the project.

TRAINING MILES COUNT -- Now is the time to begin training and preparation for this event ... it's SEVEN weeks away. When Ken and I ran a marathon, which is over 26 miles, we trained and prepared for over three months. So if you start this week, you can be "ready" by October 21st to do SEVEN MILES. Remember you don't have to RUN the whole way ... a combination of walking and jogging is best AND you can even WALK the entire way if you want, but it should be fast walking to get your heart rate up!!!!

It would be so AWESOME to have American and Chinese people BRIDGE the huge ocean that divides our countries, and come together, "heart to heart" bringing SUNSHINE into the lives of these special deaf children. If we were to build such a BRIDGE, from American to China, it would be about 7,000 miles long. Our GOAL in this project would be to meet in the middle of that imaginary bridge by counting all the "training" miles each individual does, along with the 7 miles of the FUN RUN! That means the Americans need to total up 3,500 miles and the Chinese need that same amount. Working together WE CAN DO IT!!!! Start this week with your preparation and record the number of miles you are able to do each day ... if you did 10 miles a week by the time of the FUN RUN you would have done a total of 70 miles!!! Our group goal will be to do 7,000 miles in 7 weeks!!!!

YOU are INVITED to participate in this TOP SECRET ADVENTURE in any or all of the following ways:

* E-mail me your Birthday wishes and thoughts for Ken/Smiley, giving an update on your life and what you are doing now and send a current picture of yourself. I'll print it out and put in a special Birthday Book we are making for him. Please send to me at: missbecky@xmission.com .... do not tell Ken, this is part of the "secret".

* Register to participate in SMILEY's FUN RUN, by sending me an e-mail message (missbecky@xmission.com) with your Chinese name, English name, correct e-mail address and the location (city or area) that you will be in on October 21st to do your "running". I will e-mail you back giving you the name of the contact person in your area. You will need to pay them your "registration fee" which is your "donation" to the SUNSHINE Project. The amount of the fee is whatever you can pay from 7 to 70 RMB. (In honor of Ken's "70th" Birthday, we use the number SEVEN as offen as we can!) People can give any amount they can that ends in seven, for example 7 yuan, 17 yuan, 27 yuan, etc. This "donation" or registration fee tells us they are committed to participating in the FUN RUN. All who successfully finish the seven miles that day will earn a prize.

* Begin your TRAINING now, by "jogging" each day ... except Sunday. We've found that a day of "rest" is really good for the body and I run much better on Mondays when I've rested my body on Sunday. Research also shows the same health benefits for those who do six days of aerobic exercise and those that do seven days. It is also good to "rest" your body the day before the race ... that's what runners do when they run marathons. Record (write down) the miles that you do each day.

* EACH SUNDAY REPORT YOUR TOTAL MILES FOR THE WEEK TO ME ON E-MAIL at: missbecky@xmission.com. I will post an UPDATE each Sunday on my BLOG giving the total number of MILES for both the American and Chinese teams, so you can see what progress we are making toward the Total Goal of 7,000 MILES. Be sure to check my BLOG each week to get the latest information on this project! When you go into my BLOG, go to the listing of Categories on the right hand side of the screen and click on ADVENTURES -- TOP SECRET ... that will be the best way to get the latest update on the project.

* After, finishing the FUN RUN, on October 21st, REPORT the total miles you "ran" that day to me on e-mail OR to your contact person.

* You are welcome to invite other friends to participate, sharing the opportunity and blessings it will bring.

By your participation in this project you will be giving a special

* GIFT to Ken/Smiley, a

* GIFT to the deaf children in Nanjing China, and a

* GIFT of better health and fitness to Yourself.

TOGETHER WE ARE MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER, HAPPIER PLACE -- KEEP SMILING!!!

P.S. ... Remember to keep this a "secret" from Ken/Smiley

Smiley's HEART Miracle!!

Smiley's HEART Miracle!

On May 7, 2006 my husband, Ken, who some of you call "Smiley" experienced a "heart attack". Thanks to the "miracles of modern medicine" and his otherwise healthy, strong, active body, he is fine now and the doctors say he has at least 15 more years of life! Here's the story, if you're interested.

It was a Sunday evening. I had gone to Provo that afternoon so I could drive my Dad to the airport early the next morning. Ken/Smiley stayed home that day and was resting since he had been busy the last couple of days at a basketball camp for his high school team. Around 6 or 7 pm he felt some tightness or discomfort in his chest. Thinking it was indigestion and since he had not been moving that day, he went outside in our backyard, did some walking around, hit some golf balls for an hour and a half. When he came in the house, the pressure in his chest was worst, so he went to the computer and looked up the signs of a heart attack on the Internet. He had only read the first paragraph and realized that, yes, he was experiencing all the signs of a heart attack, including shortness of breath now.

Since I was not home, he called our son, Jason, who was at his office that night doing some work, to come and take him to the hospital. Jason was only about 10 minutes away and he could tell from the sound of Ken's voice that he was in trouble. Ken went out on our front porch (just outside the front door of our house) and laid down there, as it was easier to breath, to wait for Jason. (Jason's wife found Ken there and thought he was dead!! She told me that we just about had another heart attack that night -- we laugh about it now, but at the time it was very scary for her. Ken had not told her his problem because she was busy caring for their three children, and he did not want to scare them.)

Jason arrives and takes Ken to the Emergency Room at the Hospital, which fortunately is only five minutes away. They begin working on him, giving him some drugs to open up the clogged artery. Soon he is feeling somewhat better, trying to sit up and joking with the medical people. But, they life flight (sent him on a medical helicopter) to Ogden, a larger city about 40 miles away. There they have a Cath Lab where they immediately take him for tests to determine which artery is blocked.

Jason called me on the phone and explained all that was going on. I called my brother to take my Dad to the airport the next day. My father and I had a prayer together and I drove to Ogden, about a 80 mile drive from where I was. It was late at night, so the traffic was not bad. I had a very peaceful, calm feeling come over me. I felt the presence of my mother, who had died two months eariler, and had the strong feeling that everything was going to be OK. Jason, drove down from Logan and met me at the hospital in Ogden. It was about 2:00 am in the morning when we got there and we were the only ones in the waiting room outside the lab. The nurse, kept coming out and telling us what was happening and assured us that Ken was doing well. She gave us the computer picture of his heart showing the artery that was blocked and said that a special doctor was inserting a "stent" into that artery to open it up.

Here's more information about the procedure the doctors performed:

After the procedure was successfully completed, Jason and I were allowed to see Ken and he looked pretty good. There were lots of tubes, etc. going into him, but he was not experiencing any pain. We went with him to his room in the caratact intensive care area ... after getting settled into his bed, we talked with him for a while. Then he encouraged Jason to go home, as he had a presentation he needed to do at his work the next day. Jason left and I stayed with Ken through the rest of the night, sleeping in a chair in his room and we slept for a few hours.

The next day Ken had to stay still and flat most of the day. The "stent" was put into place using a catheter that was in a sheath that had been inserted into an artery in the groin. That sheath was not removed until late the next day -- that was the most painful part of his hospital stay. Ken felt good, was hungry and ate everything they brought him to eat. The medical people did LOTS of different tests that day, physical therists came and worked with him and we got a big binder full of nutrition information. Family members and friends called through out the day and a couple friends going through Ogden even stopped by to see him. That night he was even able to get up and go to the bathroom himself. He felt good but tried. After I got him already to sleep, I drove home (almost an hour drive) and slept well in my own bed.

The next morning, I returned to the hospital with some things that he wanted and we spent the day seeing different medical people and getting the results of all the tests. The Doctor told him that there was very little damage to his heart, because the medical people in Logan were able to open up the artery so quickly AND because he was in such over-all good health, living an active life-style. He was doing so well that the Doctor let me take him home that night.

He has to take several medications each day and the Doctor said told him to take it easy, but to do what he felt like doing ... but not to play "hoops" for a while. I brought him home on Tuesday night and by Friday that week he was on the golf course.

He did go to cartica rehab a couple of times and found that he knew several of the people there who had suffered different type of heart problems, one man had had eight heart by-passes! Max Peterson is one of the people he saw there. Max and his wife had taught English on the Shandong Medical University campus the 2004-2005 school year and lived in the same building that we did. After they returned from China, Max had a heart attack, when to the Logan Hospital, was flown to Ogden and had a stent put in there ... their stories were almost the same. It's interesting to note that the "life flight helicopter" often flies right over our house ... now when we see or hear it, we are reminded of Ken's experience.

Ken perferred getting his exercise doing the things he likes, such as golf, jogging and hoops. He has also done a lot of outside work around our house this summer. And he takes naps as he needs them. It has been my job to help him by providing "heart" healthy meals and he has lost some weight and wants to lose some more.

At the follow up visit with the Doctor in Ogden, we were told that the artery that was blocked affects 70% of the heart, so it could have caused major damage to his heart. Again we are so grateful for the "miralces" of modern medicine, that it happened when and where it did so he was able to get medical attention quickly AND we are especially grateful that Ken is doing so well and looking forward to many more wonderful years here on the earth.

Update on My Life ...

Today, July 19th, 2006, I'm at our small cabin in the Logan mountains, just about a 15 minute drive from our home. I do not have internet here, so I'll have to post this when I return home in a couple of days.

This has been a very busy month for me:

* Drove to Montana to attend a memorial service for a special friend who died in June. A friend drove with me and we listened to some tapes about the medical advances in treating mental illness that have come about in the last decade. This was very interesting to us, as our friend who had, died had struggled with a mental illness for years. This information was helpful in understanding mental disabilities better ... now doctors are treating the brain as another organ of the body and we know that chemical imbalances in the brain can cause illness for people and there are a variety of things that can cause those chemical imbalances. The good news is that there are now medications available to assist in the treatment of these illnesses.

* Took care of the three grandchildren that are living at our home for four days while their mother was leading a group of young women in a summer camping experience. It was a busy week getting them to all their summer activities, which included summer camps at the Historic Farm, 4-H Adventure camps on the USU campus, and supporting Baylor's baseball team as they played in and won the end of the season tournament -- this was all in addition to preparing meals, washing clothes, reading stories, etc.

* One weekend, I drove to Boise, Idaho (about a 5 hour drive) where my son had just moved a couple of weeks ago. He called and asked me to come help, as they were having to move to a different house because the one they were living in had mold and a water problem in the crawl-space under the house that could make his children ill. So I drove up early on Saturday morning and tended the children (two little girls) while they moved everything on Saturday. I stayed until early Tuesday morning helping my daughter-in-law get things organized and tending the children while she unpacked.

* When I arrived home, my brother’s two children, Kayla (10) and Jake (9) were at my house … I had invited them to come to give their parents a week to themselves to celebrate their wedding anniversary. My brother’s wife has an older son who is a drug addict and has problems with the law. He finally is in jail now and we are praying that it will help him to overcome his addictions. This has been very hard on his mother. These children are near the ages of our grand children that are living with us now, so they had a great time playing together…. Kayla and my granddaughter, Britt, attended a 4-H Adventure Art Class on the USU campus each afternoon during the week. Jake and my grandson, Baylor, had a great time shooting bows and we only got two arrows on the neighbors roof. All the children loved playing in the water and sand in my backyard. They all went tubing down the canal, saw a new movie; had a cook-out, watched the video, "Iron Will" and slepted-over at our cabin in Logan Canyon, where we also made and decorated pinewood flutes. I helped Kayla and Britt sew some matching pj’s and I made them small bags out of the left-over fabric … I also made matching pj’s for Gwen, who is too young to use the sewing machine yet. It was a busy and fun week.

* Also the same day I arrived home from Idaho, friends of ours from California arrived. They have an RV (Recreation Vechile) they had driven to Alaska and back. The RV contains a bathroom, bed, kitchen, etc. They parked it in our driveway and stayed for three days. They had been pullling a small car in back of the RV, which they would use to get around places after they arrived. The car was having some problems, so Ken took it to the man that works on our cars and he was able to fix it for them for a lot less money than it would have cost them in California. Bob and Sherry are really great people. Bob and Ken when golfing two days, I took Sherry sight-seeing in Salt Lake City as she had never been there before. Did you know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the world's largest Family History Library inb the world in Salt Lake City?Sherry put her grandfather’s name in the computer and on a website, we found LOTS of his ancestors, some as far back at the 1300’s. We printed off 30 pages of names for her. She is really excited about that and wants to do more family history. They took us to dinner one night and on the way we stopped at a cemetery where several of Bob's ancestors were buried. Sherry took photos of all the headstones we could find with the information she needed. The last night they were here, they cooked out at the cabin with us and all the kids.

* Also, last week, with the cooperation of my husband and daughter-in-law to take care of all the kids, I made another trip to Salt Lake City on Friday to attend a court hearing for a lady that I've been working with for almost a year. I met her in the class that I taught at the county Jail. Since the first of the year, we have become closer friends thru visits and letters. She has been transferred to another jail and asked that I be there for her in court. It was good for me to learn more about the charges against her and to see the justice system in work!!!

* Our Chinese friend, Zhai Wei, who has been living with us for the last three years, decided to move to another apartment, to make more room for Jason's family as it looks like they will be with us for several more months and she needed a change of environment. I hope this will be a good thing for her. I think she wanted to be more independent of us. Ken and I have spend hours this month helping her move, driving her to the airport to take a trip to Florida to visit friends and picking her up and taking her calls in the middle of the night when she has had problems in the new apartment.

* I've also made some trips to Provo to check on my Dad, who continues to have a variety of health problems. My niece is living there for a month and Dad is really enjoying her little boy, who is two-years-old. While she is there, I do not have to go down as much.

On top of doing all these things, I've suffered a bad cough since the first of the month. It has kept me awake at night so I've not slept well, the cough medicine helped a little, but I was just too busy to take better care of myself. So Monday, I went to a doctor and found that I have a sinus infection, and some problems with my stomach. The doctor gave me four medications to take and I have to drink lots of water and rest. So that day I packed up my things, got food for the week and headed to our little cabin in Logan canyon, where I’ve been staying ever since … doing lots of RESTING and sleeping and trying to get better.

Love to all ...

Miss Becky

P.S. I was not able to get this posted earlier because I had a problem with my computer and it had to be sent away to be repaired. I've spend the last couple of weeks getting better and cleaning and sorting things at our home to make more room for our son's family.

I can't believe that the month of July has passed ... Ken and I will fly to California on Saturday (August 5th) to visit family and friends and Ken will be playing golf with his friends from his high school years. Hope you all have enjoyed a great summer.

Hello from Boston ...

Ken and I arrived in Boston, MA yesterday afternoon. We left our home in Logan, Utah last Sunday (May 28th) and have been driving our daughter's (Kara) car across America to bring it to her here in Boston on the east coast. She has been living here since last August and is working on a PhD in Education at Boston College.

Kara just moved to a new apartment closer to her university, but not near the subway or "T" as they call it, so it takes her about an hour to get to school, as she takes two or three buses. She also needs her car to travel to some of the public schools in Boston where she will be doing some teaching and research projects next year. Kara had left her car at our home this past year and used public transportation. Ken drove her car while he was living and coaching in Las Vegas last fall and winter. It also costs more to have a car in Boston, but at her new apartment there is room to park a car (at the old apartment she would have to pay $150 a month for a parking place).

So, Ken and I drove Kara's car to her. It was a nice, interesting and long (almost 3,000 miles) trip.

It was cold the morning we left Utah as we had been having a lot of rain and even some snow in the high mountains. We drove through the canyon in the mountains just east of our home, through the corner of Wyoming (a neighboring state) and then back over the state line into the north eastern corner of the state of Utah. There we stopped for a couple of hours so I could visit with a lady that I've been working with who had been transferred from the Cache County Jail (in Logan) to the Daggett County Jail near the Utah border. I had not seen her for about five months and we had a good visit, while Ken reorganized some of the things in the car that we were bringing to our daughter, so he could see out of the back window better. He also did some walking and sleeping!!!

The rest of that day (Sunday) was spent driving to Denver, Colorado where we spent the night at my sister Sue's home. Did you know that Denver is called the "mile high city" ... because it is a mile high, over 5,000 feet. In getting there we drove through some very high and beautiful mountains ... the highest elevation was over 9,000 feet above sea level At that point we experienced a snow storm. That day my sister's daughter, Anne, went into labor giving birth to her first child five weeks early. Anne's husband was out of the country on business, so my sister went to the hospital with her and stayed with her for the birth. Ken and I arrived at her home that evening before she and her husband had returned from the hospital. All is going well for the mother and baby, which weight over five pounds -- good for a pre-mature baby.

The next morning Ken and I stopped to visit with my youngest brother, Brad, who lives near Sue in the Denver area. It was neat to see them and I especially enjoyed learning more about my sister-in-law's little home business ... I promise to do a article on it and post in the future. After getting gas, we were on the road again.

Monday, it was different driving. There are are freeways all across America. A freeway is a highway or major road that has no stopping on it ... there are no traffic lights or stop signs. There are places where you enter the freeway and places were you leave or exit the freeway, but there is no stopping, so you can travel at rather high rates of speed and can get places much faster than driving on roads where there are more cars, traffic lights and stop signs. That day we drove on a freeway across the rest of the state of Colorado and all across the state of Kansas (the landscape was lots of agriculture land, fields, farms, very flat with no mountains or hills) to Kansas City which is located on the border of Kansas and Missouri. We stayed that night in a hotel on the Missouri side of Kansas City.

Ken did most of the driving and I enjoy reading and sewing (cross-stitch embroidery), listening to music and sleeping as he drives. When he gets tried, I drive and he sleeps or checks the road map to find the best way for us to travel, and sometimes he reads as well.

On Tuesday, we travel across part of Missouri to the city of Columbia, the location of the University of Missouri, where one of our Chinese friends is a graduate student. We stopped at that campus and tried to locate him, but were unsuccessful. We continued across the state of Missouri (all on the same freeway that we had traveled on from Denver) to the city of St. Louis which is on the border of the state and that border is the Mississippi River ... the largest and longest river in America running from north to south (starts near the Canadian border in the north and runs the length of America to the Gulf of Mexico in the south). We took another freeway now and drove south, crossed the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and entered the state of Kentucky. This is where my husband, Ken, was born and lived until his family moved to California when he was 15 years old.

Ken was born in an old family home on Bizzel Bluff, a very rural area of the southern most western part of Kentucky. Paducah is the largest city, near his home area. We drove through there, got some dinner and then drove to his cousin's home for the night. She had gone to North Carolina for her sister-in-law's funeral, but had told us we could use her home, which is located on "Mitchell Road". This area is very beautiful, green, rural and quiet. You can not see the nearest neightbors' home from her house. The second night we were there, I was unable to sleep, so decided to get up and read for a while. As I got out of bed, I noticed lighting in the sky and looked out the window to see many fireflies or we also call them "lighing bugs" ... they have a "light" in their tail section that goes on and off and in the dark night all you see is the light going on and off. A couple of these bugs had even gotten inside the house and their lights were going on and off in the dark room. It was so beautiful ... like a fairy land ... I just stood and enjoyed the sight. I had never seen such a sight -- very unusual for me because we do not have this type of insect where I live in Utah. Our climate is too dry for them there. I've only seen this type of insect in the east and southern parts of America.

Wednesday morning, Ken and I took a long walk over the country roads that he had walked as a child ... the only difference was that the roads are paved now and when he was a child the roads were all dirt or gravel. It was beautiful, green with rolling hills and soooooo quiet ... a very nice experience! The rest of the day was spent visiting and talking with several of Ken's relatives and friends. One of his cousins, who was like a brother because Ken spend many summers at his home as a boy, is still working ... he's over 70 years old and has worked for this company for almost 50 years!!! I always enjoy coming here and listening to the people talk ... I always learn more about Ken and his early life.

Thursday morning, we left the Paducah area and drove north east across Kentucky. This is a very beautiful state ... many hills, lots of green forests ... both sides of the freeway. There are also lots of horse farms with green meadows, miles of white fences and nice barns or stables for the horses. We also saw lots of very nice homes. We arrived in Lexington, Kentucky early in the afternoon and met one of our special Chinese friends from Jinan. Her name is Dong Bei, some of you will know her. She has been at the University of Kentucky for a few years working on her PhD. When she arrive in America, she came to Utah and visited us at our home on her way to Kentucky. We had been able to contact her ahead of time on our cell (mobile) phone so we met them at the Medical Center on the U of K campus. It was great to have lunch with her and meet her husband, who is a very fine Chinese man she met here. He was a student at Shandong University at the same time that she was studying on the Shandong Medical University campus, but they did not meet until here at the University of Kentucky where they were classmates and both working on PhD degrees. They returned to China in June of 2004, met each others families and married there. Now they are expecting the birth of their first child in August. Her mother will come to help care for the baby the first six months so Dong Bei can continue her research work and his mother will come the next six months. It was soooooo great to see her again and share in her joy and happiness at this time of her life.

Late that afternoon, we left Lexington, driving north east toward Boston. Just outside the city there was an accident on the freeway and all the traffic stopped for over an hour. We stopped the car and got out ... Ken visited with the man whose car was in front of us and I took the opportunity to take a walk. I walked down the road pass all the cars in front of us, as we could not see what that problem was. I walked close to a mile and got to a point where I could see the road ahead where the accident was. I talked to some people there and then started walking back to Ken and our car. On the way, I talked to several people who asked if I had been able to see the problem, so I told them what I had seen. Soon after I returned to our car, the traffic (all the cars) started moving ... it was really slow for a while, but once we got past the site of the accident, we could drive faster.

From Kentucky we drove northeast across part of the states of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and into the state of Massachusetts where Boston is located. Thursday night we drove through some mountains ... not as high as the mountain in our home state of Utah, but very beautiful and green. We chose to drive most that night. About 2:00 am Friday morning, we left the freeway, parked the car and slept in the car for about three house. Then, I felt rested enough to drive and drove while Ken slept some more. Three hours later, we stopped for breakfast and to get gas and then Ken drove the rest of the way. We arrived at our daughter's apartment that afternoon just in time for her to drive her car to the campus for a summer class that she is taking!

After Kara's class, we went out to eat and then she took us dancing ... she love "swing" dancing and it was fun ... bought back lots of good memories for Ken and I, as we did a lot of dancing when we were dating and courting. There was a "Big Band" playing for the dancing and it was so fun to see Kara dance ... she's really a good "swing" dancer. This summer she tells me that she is planning to take a "tap" dancing class with a friend. Kara's really a fun person, great teacher/student and really loves to learn and try new things.

Kara and I both slept in late this morning (Saturday) and it has been raining here all morning as well. So Kara has been doing some studying, I'm writing this message. Ken has taken one of Kara's roommates to get some things she had purchased since she does not have a car and he will be taking Kara to get a new chair as soon as we have some lunch. I hope that the rain will stop by tomorrow so we can do some sightseeing here in Boston, as Ken has not been here before. We are planning to visit Kara's campus on Monday, which is really a beautiful campus and looks a lot like the campus of Oxford in England. Then on Tuesday, Ken and I will fly home to Utah.

It has been a good trip and nice to be with Ken ... our life has been so busy and we have been separated most of it during the last couple of years, so now we need to get reacquainted!!!