All together..."AAAWWWWW"

We could use some prayers for healing along with some plain ol' sympathy. Hope is sick, sick, sick. She started coughing on Saturday, has had a fever (never over 102.1, but still warm and fluctuating), etc, and everything else to go with it. Anyway, at the Dr. this afternoon we found out that it all boils down to an ear infection and a bad, bad cold. The coughing is the worst! It is so scary when she gets going and can't catch her breath. She gets scared too and starts to cry, which creates more "gunk" and perpetuates the whole cycle. The Dr. said she may possibly have strep since her throat is so red, but he said the antibiotic for the ear would take that out too if it is more than just a sore throat. We've had a rough couple of days without a lot of good sleep, so if you could take a moment to send a couple prayers and good wishes our way we'd really appreciate it.

Thanks everyone.

Beth

Super Bowl Commercial

Check this one out...pre-game. I LOVE that the Deaf community and culture will be a part of this huge venue.

P.S. GO GIANTS! (I just want them to make it a good game.)
~~~~~~~~~~
From the newsroom of the Associated Press, Thursday, January 24, 2008 .....

Only deaf people will get this Super Bowl ad.
PepsiCo's 60 seconds of utter silence will stump the hearing-abled.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Amid the wall-to-wall sound during next Sunday's Super Bowl, one commercial from PepsiCo could send some viewers grabbing for their remotes to check whether they'd accidentally hit the mute button.

The pre-game advertisement features a joke that originates from the deaf community and will play out on screen over 60 seconds of total silence, a veritable eternity when it comes to the noisiness of Super Bowl ads.

"It's a popular story and we just turned it into an advertisement," said Clay Broussard, a supply and logistics manager at PepsiCo who proposed the idea for the ad. "This is the PepsiCo flavor of that joke."

The joke goes like this: Two guys are driving to their friend Bob's house to watch the Super Bowl. Once they get to Bob's street, neither knows which house is his. They sit in the car, arguing, until one of them has an idea. He starts laying on the horn, and one by one, the houses light up and dogs start barking.

One house stays dark and quiet: It's Bob's. Deaf people will be falling out of their chairs in disbelief, National Association of the Deaf president Bobbie Beth Scoggins wrote in an e-mail response to questions. Hearing people, Scoggins wrote, will stop what they're doing to see why there are no sounds. She believes it's an historic first for an ad featuring American Sign Language to get such prominent play.

"I was glad to see this part of deaf culture awareness shared in a most clever way," Scoggins, who is deaf, wrote by e-mail as she was traveling.

Broussard, who plays Bob in the commercial, has worked for PepsiCo in Dallas for 27 years. He got involved in the deaf community through a church he and his wife attended, where the services were conducted entirely in sign language. Broussard is not deaf.

The two actors who play Bob's friends - Brian Dowling and Darren Therriault - are also PepsiCo employees, and are deaf. Dowling works for Frito-Lay in Arizona, and Therriault works for PepsiCo in Chicago.

Broussard worked on the ad concept on his own time. He said, "This was all extra credit." It was 18 months before he showed it to senior managers, who decided they wanted it for the Super Bowl. The ad was directed by Baker Smith, with creative help from BBDO-NY. A PepsiCo spokeswoman declined to say how much the ad cost.©

2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~
Check out the ad here: Bob's House

Marka? "HI!"

This is a sweet video of Hope on the phone with Grandpa Mark (otherwise affectionately known as Marka). She loves talking on the phone and she loves her Marka so this makes for a perfect combination.

P.S. - Can you just imagine what the conversation sounds like on the other end? :)

Nakuh?

I thought people might like to see this video from a couple weeks ago. Hope is very meticulous at meal times and likes to make sure everyone has what they need...including her. She's so smart. :)

Now, the kicker is that because she likes to have her nakuh, we are often washing legs or having to change clothes after meals because she's often reaching under her butt for her nakuh and we have syrup or katchup all over by the time she's finds it. :)

Have a great afternoon all...CHEER LOUD FOR THE PACK TONIGHT!

SNOW!

We've had such a strange winter so far with snow. We missed out on playing in some of the first fluffy snow with some of Grandpa's services and Christmas celebrations but it was wonderful to have an actual "white" Christmas. It was so pretty. Then...of course, we had a period of warmer temperatures and most of the snow melted! Don't ask Ron about his snow fort. It was pretty devastating. Well, it was snowing this morning again. I'm not sure that we'll see much accumulation, but I thought I'd post some photos and video to share Hope's first experiences with the white stuff.

Hope's first snow (I'm pretty sure) was back in mid November. We had a dusting and took Hope out to the back yard for a few photos. They were posted here in a special note to Grandma and Grandpa since they were out of town. She wasn't too sure what to think. Her expressions are pretty cute.

These new pictures and video were taken just after Christmas on Dec. 28th. We had some beautiful snow and Hope LOVED it!








SQUEALS OF JOY!

Ayla

Good evening everyone. I read a post on one of my Yahoo groups this afternoon from Tonya at The Bramblett Bunch. Please go to her site and read about their sweet little daughter Ayla. Ayla is from Guangxi province, as is Hope, so I feel a bit of a special connection here. But, that aside, she is just one darling little girl who is being confronted with a very tough challenge. She was diagnosed this week with retinoblastoma, cancer behind her eye. Ayla has a long road ahead and needs our prayers.

Thanks - Beth

Friends

Hope loves her friends!

She just lights up when she sees other children. And, I happen to know, that Hope will be dear friends with the two girls I'm about to mention for years to come. We have very special family friends who we simply don't see often enough. But, when we are together, it is as if no time has passed at all. We were lucky over these past couple of weeks to get together with a few of these families.

On the 14th we met our good friends Wendy, Larry, and Hannah for dinner and had a great time catching up with them. Hope and Hannah colored on the placemats, laughed and giggled across the table, shared their dinner, and exchanged a couple of gifts. Among them was this darling little umbrella that will no doubt get some good use this spring.

How do you work this thing?

OK. I think I've got it.

Well, maybe Daddy can help me a bit.

THANK YOU for meeting us and THANK YOU so much for the gifts. We can't wait to see you again soon. P.S. I think Hope especially liked the hugs. :)

Another family we love came to see us on the 29th. We were supposed to see them Christmas day, but due to my fun flu that was a "no go." So, Brad, Tricia, and Lauren were so gracious and drove to town to spend the afternoon and have dinner with us on Saturday. You wouldn't believe the activity in this house. We all spent the afternoon just playing. Ron and Brad enjoyed some Wii golf and tennis. Tricia and I also tried a little tennis...far cry from our high school doubles skills, but a good time just the same. :) And then we have Lauren and Hope. Boy did they have a good time! I think Hope giggled all afternoon! Some of the most fun was had when Lauren taught Hope to play "Ring Around the Rosie." Ready for a chuckle?

The girls also exchanged gifts. THANK YOU so much for the doll and stroller! Hope walks her babies from one end of the house to the other, pausing every so often to offer a bottle and to reposition the blanket on the baby properly before resuming her stroll. Hope also loves her new book. We've "scratched and sniffed" every night since you were here. :)

"OK - If we just sit still for a second, maybe we can get to those gifts."

"Ready? GO!"

Hope loved sitting with Lauren.

Oops - tipped over.

Favorite of the night ~

Now we've come to New Year's Eve. Hope put on quite a show. She was so excited when our party guests (Keri and Dean) came to the door that afternoon. They had visited us briefly on the 26th as they were headed out of town. I don't know if Hope remembered them, but she was sure happy they were here. She and Keri especially bonded over some reading time. And, of course we can't forget the yummy chicken and soup Hope served up with her new kitchen utensils. Hope went to bed at 7:00 as usual while the rest of us had a great evening playing games, watching the ball drop, and toasting the new year. I think we finally called it a night at about 2:00 or so. It was sure tough to wake up with Hope at her normal hour...5:30! Luckily, she had some warm milk and slept again until a little after 7 so we were able to get a couple more hours of rest. Thank you so much for making the trip up to be with us. And, BTW Dean...I wanted to remind you that I'm putting in a pre-order for those mini cutout cookies for next year. :)

Wii Bowling ~ Yes, Hope does have a mini "me/Wii" character! It's pretty darn cute! ;)

Just one more roll before bed? I love the expressions here!

Pre-Bedtime Stories with Keri ~


Here are a couple of shots from New Year's Day.

Hope's Breakfast Prayers ~

So Pretty Under the Tree ~

Hope & Ella ~ SWEET ~

We have such special friends. We just want to say again...thank you for everything. We're wishing you all the best that life has to offer in 2008. May you have a year blessed with joy and love.

Beth, Ron, & Hope

P.S. We hope you feel better soon Grandma!