A little friend has been hanging out at our house recently.  It is a little frog who we usually see in the evening (around dusk) at various places on our front porch.  He loves to hang out on the hood of our porch light.  When it is turned on at night it draws all sorts of insects and bugs and I guess he sort of thinks of it has his "evening buffet."  But several days ago we began missing him.  We looked for him but he was no where to be found.  We thought perhaps he had moved on.  But, the other day my wife got her water bucket and filled it so she could water the porch flowers.  As she tried to begin watering, for some reason the water wouldn't come out; something was blocking the flow.  After emptying the bucket of water and examining the spout, to her surprise, she found "froggy."  He was stuck in the spout; so she quickly rescued him.  He was still alive and seemed to be doing ok.  But apparently he had gotten into the bucket and couldn't get out.  Had he stayed there he would have surly died.  When she got him out she placed him on the handle of the bucket, and with no apparent fear, he sat there as she took his picture.  It also most seemed as if he was saying, "Thank you.  I was in an awful spot.  Thank you for rescuing me!"...

Our daughter, Beth, recently spent five days in the hospital with abdominal pain, vomiting, and dehydration.  The picture above was taken on the day she was released (the heart of the problem was finally determined to be the gallbladder which was removed a week later.)   As we gathered her things and prepared to leave the hospital she exclaimed, "Don't forget my flowers!"  These were very special flowers indeed...

Recently my daughter, Beth, spent a week in the hospital.  She was admitted on an emergency basis following a visit to the doctor's office for abdominal pain and vomiting.  While in "emergency" her white cell count was discovered to be 26; antibiotics and fluids were administered immediately.  The picture above was taken as she was being released.  As you can see she is smiling; but this return to health came only after five days of treatment, tests, scans, and a considerable amount of anxiety and worry....

It is always good to see "old friends."  Every year my wife, daughter, and I enjoy visiting the Tulsa state fair.  We don't  go to ride rides; we mostly enjoy seeing various exhibits and shows.  But every year one of our highlights is visiting the petting zoo.  For the past several years I have shared attention with one particular llama.  Over the years we have sort of become friends.  Honestly, I doubt, from year to year, that he actually remembers me; but I remember him and always enjoy saying, "Hi," and petting him for a while.  Friendships can be meaningful in so many ways....