Courtney for Christmas

This is my youngest child Courtney. She recently turned 22.

She lives across town with her very significant other of almost two and a half years Nathan.

They are very much in love and very happy.

There is however one small problem.

We don't get to see her very often.

And as seldom as we see her, Alexandra and Lorelai see her even less. The girls really love their aunt Courtney, and have been asking why she is never here when they come to visit or for Sunday dinner every week.

Lisa and I have worried that they may start to forget her. After all, to a five and seven year old, a few months without seeing someone feels a lot longer than it would to you or I.

I mentioned this to Courtney and asked her to please try to make a little time for her adoring nieces.

*******And guess what?*******

She DID!

She decided to send Nathan to spend some Christmas Eve time with his family, (well actually, I think it was mutually decided, Courtney's not that bossy) and Courtney came and spent Christmas Eve with us.

Were the girls excited to see their mostly absent Aunt Courtney?

I'll let you decide.

We let her open all of her presents from us since she wouldn't be around the next day for Christmas.

Lex and Lori were more than happy to be a part of it. After all there's nothing like a little vicarious present opening for two little girls who have to wait til Christmas morning to open theirs.

She couldn't resist checking in with Nathan.

She is a product of these super connected 21st century times after all.

The second gift she opened were the slippers I had gotten her. The girls were so astonished (and thrilled) to see that they were the same kind that Donald had gotten for them just a week ago.

A picture had to be taken as proof of course.

From Donald and Lisa?

A gift card to one of her favorite places.

She really appreciated it too.

One small note; A couple of weeks earlier Donald and Lisa had also given her one of the best gifts they possibly could.

Donald's old (but still very nice and mostly reliable) car when he got himself a new one. I am so proud of the love and generosity my children show towards one another!

Courtney and Nathan might be completely happy together in their little place but they are also usually flat broke as well. Something they take in stride quite well, believe it or not.

Well, as you know, all good things must come to an end.
The girls had gotten a nice long visit with Courtney. She had a really good visit with her loving family. But she and Nathan were really looking forward to spending their first Christmas together all on their own.

And they all lived,


*********** Happily Ever After**********

Update

OOPS. . . . . . .

Sorry Kelly.

I was wrong about the gift card being from Donald and Lisa.

It was from Kelly. Who very lovingly and generously got really great gifts for everyone in the family. I hate making these kinds of mistakes.

Next time:

more research!

Sorry to take so long to show you what Shawn gave me (and Don) for Christmas.

He was so excited for me to open it and I assure you he was not disappointed.

I told him that I thought it was a really good choice. I pointed out to him that I loved Alien (As well as Aliens, after that I thought the whole franchise fell apart. Why can't they ever leave well enough alone?) And, I told him that I liked Predator as well.

Of course it was agreed that it was also appropriate for his viewing since it was PG13. And of course he showed me his favorite part of any DVD box.

The "Rating".

But more importantly why it has received that particular rating. Shawn read it to me with great pride,

PG-13

Violence, Language, (he kinda tried to skim past that one. The little stinker) Horror Images, Slime and Gore.

The last three descriptors, Horror, Slime, Gore, said with great emphasis.

It should be pointed out that Shawn loves those "off the beaten path" descriptive words the best.

Have I watched it yet?

No. I haven't.

I will though.

One day.

I'm pretty sure that as long as I'm willing to "share", that he won't really ever feel the need to check on whether I've actually ever watched it or not.

Thank you Mr Shawn.

Next time, I think I will have to point out to him how much I would like a DVD copy of "You've Got Mail".

So. How was your Christmas?

A Shawn Christmas story

See this picture? Do you want to take a guess what it's all about? First of all the big black lump is our kitty Sasha. She is not a part of this post. She just enjoys laying under the Christmas tree.

As for the significance to the rest of the picture, I doubt you would be able to figure it out so I will tell you.

Thursday, Shawn had VIP.

I've mentioned VIP before but to refresh memories or for those who are newer to my blog or maybe just missed some posts, I will explain that VIP is an ARC program. It's meant for their higher functioning clients. Those who don't need constant supervision. They go out on Tuesdays and Thursdays to do different things around town. They go shopping, bowling, swimming, (Shawn does not go on swimming days, btw, the thick chlorineey air makes him sick, the same as it does with me).

They go to movies, to lunch, things like that. Roughly twice a month they stay at the ARC building and have cooking days, or game days or watch a dvd days.

Shawn loves VIP.

It gives him something fun and social to do. And even better for me, I get two days off a week.
This Thursday they went shopping.

To Wal-Mart.

One of Shawn's favorite places to not only shop, but to also hang out in the Home Entertainment section pouring over every dvd in the place, and, sometimes checking out the games and cd's.
I usually give him some money to shop with. Not more than five dollars though.

I'm not being stingy here. I just know my son.

He has very little understanding of money. If I give him too much he gets frustrated if he has leftovers. I've told him more than once that he doesn't have to always spend every last dime. And in typical Shawn fashion he says, "I know that mom. I know that!"

Then he will come home all agitated because he couldn't find anything to spend his last 62 cents on.

Shawn "knows" lots of things.

He can recite all kinds of rules, and he knows why they are important and why he needs to follow them.

The only problem is that when it comes to acting on those rules he most often doesn't. It's not that he is misbehaving, it's just that a rule that is known and a rule that is actually followed, in Shawn's mind you are talking apples and oranges.

Remind me to expound on this one of these days.

Well, this post does have a point. A very nice one too.

On Thursday I gave him five dollars. I also gave him 35 cents for tax. Sometimes I don't think about the tax. As far as Shawn is concerned, if he has five bucks, and the item that he wants to purchase is five bucks then he has enough money. There is no point in trying to explain to him that you also have to tack on 8.3% for tax.

Like I said earlier, apples and oranges.

So yesterday he came home from VIP. He didn't have any money left over. I asked him if he had spent it all, and he answered that he had. Then he said, with great pride, that he used it to buy a present for me and dad.

This is BIG!

Shawn has been sent on his merry way, to many, many, Christmas shopping excursions. Before he had VIP, his school class always had their shopping day every Christmas season. Just a few days before Christmas break.

I always gave him a fistful of cold hard cash.

I would even give him little pointers on some things he could buy with his money. Usually they would be ideas for gifts for his sister Courtney. Shawn is very devoted to her and was always fond of the idea of getting her a present.

Here comes the rather sticky part.

He would come home from his shopping. I would ask what he had decided to buy. And even as he was telling me what he had gotten for his sis, he would be opening it up and either eating it or using it himself. Of course, he couldn't help but rationalize, that Courtney probably wouldn't like that pack of cookies. And of course he realized that he probably needed that box of band-aids much more than she ever would.

That, in a nutshell, was how Shawn did his Christmas shopping.His intentions were always pure.
Every once in a while he would even go so far as to bring home his purchase, declare it was for some family member, and hide it in his room so it wouldn't be inadvertently discovered. The fact that by that evening he was already opening it and eating or using it hardly mattered to Shawn's way of thinking.

Well, yesterday, I witnessed a semi miracle.

Right after he told me that he had bought a present for me and dad, he took it upstairs to hide it in his closet. I don't know for sure just what he got but I pretty much assume it is one of Wal-Mart's five dollar DVDs. That would be the most likely five dollar item for Shawn to buy at Wal-Mart.

I waited a bit.
I came upstairs to see what he was in his room watching.
I fully expected it to be mine and Don's present.

IT WAS NOT!

He told me to not come in his room because I wasn't supposed to be snooping. The present was in hiding in his closet. I was rather politely told to stay out. Hmm. Could it be? Is it just possible that my present isn't on tonight's TV viewing schedule after all.

Cut to today.

By 11:00 this morning he had referenced the gift hiding in his closet no less than 30 times. Of particular worry was the exciting fact that Jeff and Heidi and Abbey and Lindsay would be here in a few days.
Shawn loves his nieces. He and Lindsay have a particularly close bond. They have been known to sit in his room watching movies and Mickey Mouse cartoons for hours on end. I guess this is what had him worried.
He mentioned over and over that when his nieces, Abbey and Lindsay (specific names are always used. I guess to avoid any confusion) get here he will tell them that they are NOT allowed to look in his closet.
Apparently this is one huge concern for him. It's easy to tell because by 1:00 he has mentioned it to me at least 50 times.

I told him that I had a rather handy little solution to any supposed snooping by two little nieces. This is after I had already pointed out to him several times that the girls aren't likely to even want to look in his closet if he doesn't say anything to them about it.

I mention to him that the best way to prevent any unwanted snooping would be to wrap that pesky old present up.

Light Bulb Moment!

Oh boy! (This said while rubbing his hands. His favorite way to show excitement) I honestly don't think he had thought that far ahead. All of a sudden the new Dollar Store Christmas wrapping paper that I had bought a few days ago, takes on a whole new importance.

Yes you got that right, I got it at the Dollar Store. They have some really good stuff.

Sometimes.

After a thorough inspection of all the Christmas wrap we have at the moment, it is formally decided that the Disney Pluto wrap will be best suited to his gift wrapping needs.

I offer to find him scissors and tape.

Which is quite silly of me. I strongly suspect that Shawn is a big reason why there is never any tape or scissors to be found in our house.
He seems to have things well under control so I get back to my sewing. I have procrastinated to the point that I now have, like, ten things to make in six days.

Not to worry. I can handle it. I've done it before.

A little while later Shawn comes downstairs to inform me that the present is wrapped. Obviously he is awaiting further instruction.
I ask him if he would like to put it under the tree. Oh BOY! Does he ever want to put it under the tree.

It is of some importance to the situation for me to mention that we don't have any presents under the tree just yet. (I'm almost done with the shopping I just haven't gotten around to any wrapping).

I assume that is the reason he felt the need for permission to stick it under that empty tree.

So, at the moment, the Sorenson household has exactly ONE present under our tree. From Shawn to mom and dad.

Now please understand that this is really a big deal. I don't think Shawn has ever before,
A. Gone shopping with real money (plus tax) to buy a Christmas present and not claimed it for himself in the first 24 hours.

And,
B. Actually wrapped said present all by himself, AND placed it under the tree.

As to what it will turn out to be, well, I have no delusions as to what it will most likely be. Remember when Homer bought Marge a bowling ball with the holes drilled to fit HIS hand? Remember when Fred Flintstone got Wilma a set of golf clubs with his name engraved on the bag.

Uh huh. Get my point here?

I am well aware that it is almost for sure going to be a five dollar dvd that Shawn felt our household was badly in need of. In fact, Shawn couldn't resist showing Kelly what he had got for mom and dad.

DON'T WORRY.
Kelly's no bean spiller.
He simply let me know that it is exactly what I would expect a Shawn present to be.
None of these details are of any real importance. The thing that matters to me is the fact that my Mr Shawn has done something that he's never done before.

He went Christmas shopping.

He bought something for me.

He didn't give into temptation and decide he needed it more than I did.

He wrapped it.

He placed it under the tree.

And now,

he will discover that special joy that comes with the knowledge that he has done something nice for someone else,
and,
if he can last the next week without telling, he will be treated to one of the best "happy & surprised" reactions I've ever given to anyone!

I will start practicing immediately.

Sitting here thinking. . .

I know I have been doing quite a few posts lately asking you to first go read another post, but I want you to go read this post that Lisa's brother David published just recently.
Wasn't that a wonderful story about an incredible dog?
Well reading it reminded of something I had been thinking about just last week.

First, a little background

I am a Mormon. I'm pointing this out because having been born and raised in the church I find sometimes that I don't have a lot of knowledge of what other Christian churches believe.
As Mormons we believe that everything that our Heavenly Father has created, that is alive, has a spirit. Someone once told me that other Christians only feel that humans have spirits, not animals. I have a hard time believing this though, so, if I'm wrong on that please feel free to correct me.

I always enjoy hearing about other's beliefs.

Okay, now you will know where this idea of mine is coming from. And let me make it clear that this is entirely MY own idea. As far as I know this has never been official Church doctrine. Of course we believe that we are all able to learn things and figure certain questions out on our own. We believe that each person is entitled to personal revelation. Usually it is meant to mean that we can pray for and receive inspiration to help our family or anyone else we have stewardship over. But a lot of the time it's wanting to know things to help us have a better understanding of God and his good works.
Here is my question, and the answer I have come up with;

Do animals pray?

I have realized that I believe they do. Every time I hear about some heroic feat performed by an animal, I can't help but think, wow, that is one righteous dog.

Or cat. Or bird. maybe even ferret.

I think that since animals have spirits, that they are just as aware of a loving Heavenly Father as we are. Now I don't know about the lower life form creatures. I can't really comprehend a slug or frog or rattlesnake being very aware of their God. But then who knows. Maybe having a spirit, no matter how limited their intelligence, gives every living creature some vague, remote, idea, of something out there greater than themselves. I'm not going to tire myself out by thinking about something like that.

I do believe though that the more intelligent animals do have some kind of knowledge of their creator.

I'm sure that everyone has heard stories of people's pets performing amazing acts. How many times have we heard about a dog or cat finding their way home after being left somewhere hundreds of miles away from home?
It's a complete mystery as to how they could do something so amazing. And how about those animals who save people's lives. How do they know that someone is in trouble and needs help? Quite often they even know that something is about to happen before it even does.
They can be trained to sense when their owner is about to have an epileptic seizure. We all know about the wonderful companion animals who provide their selfless service to their blind, deaf or quadriplegic masters.

On the other hand, there are definitely animals who are just plain bad. Dogs who attack and kill for their own satisfaction.
Remember that chimpanzee who attacked and almost killed it's owners next door neighbor? I think that just like humans animals can be wicked as well as incredibly good.

The next time you hear of an animal who has done something amazing, the next time a dog shows up at his home after being lost several hundred miles away, stop and think about how they were able to know what they knew.

I have no way of knowing if it's true, but I think that it is quite likely that they know their Heavenly Father. They know that he will guide them, either back home, or, to find someone who can help in whatever situation where they realize that help is desperately needed.
The next time a cat wakes up his owner because the house is on fire, or the baby has crawled outside and is heading for the pool.

Ask yourself, how?

No matter how mysterious what they have done is, we know that there has to be some kind of explanation. So is it too far fetched to wonder if an animal's prayers are simply being heard and answered?






A last thought;

If this is interesting to you, go and google something like "heroic pets" you might see more and more evidence of Divine influence than you would have ever thought possible.

One last, last, thought;

I realize that I didn't actually define my ideas about animals praying. Animals are animals. they are not humans, so therefore the way they think and act would be according to whichever way a dog or cat would think or act. I didn't mean that they would literally get on their knees and say a formal prayer. That is how we humans pray. I won't presume to guess how different species go about their interactions with God. I'm sure that it is in a much more primitive way than we ever would. My point is that I believe that in their own way they are just as aware of God and his blessings as any human could ever be.

wisdom

A Note of Warning: I know that this post is going to be extra long. I hope you will stick with me though. I think this is going to end up being one of my favorite posts of all time. Please take the time as well, to go to my daughter's post that I refer to and read the list of things that have inspired me to write this one.


I just read my daughter Heidi's newest post. She received an e-mail of beautiful thoughts and ideas written by a very wise woman named Regina Brett. Follow this link to her post and please take the time to read them all. You won't be sorry.

After reading this wonderful list I found that I was quite pleased at how many of these tenets I already have learned to follow. Even though several of them have taken me around 48 years or more to learn. I look at myself and realize how much more I like me, certainly more than I did 20 or 30 years ago.

I know that so many of the things I have learned can usually only come with age.
I sure hope that if I can make it to my 90's that I will have as much wisdom to share as Ms. Brett does.
A few of those little "pearls of wisdom" really resounded with me.

Non-assuming Number 17 struck me like a thunder bolt.

I realized that I already follow this one quite a lot. In fact the thing that I immediately thought of was the 2 dollar bill that I won from David several months ago in one of his blog giveaways.

I will never spend it.

I simply keep it in one of my drawers. Every time I'm looking through them for something and I see that perky little 2 dollar bill, I just have to smile.
The same thing goes for a wooden paper doll that I've had for so long I can't even remember when I got it. I absolutely remember how I got it though. My youngest sister Janice had taken a trip somewhere, again, I can't remember where. Anyway she went into this charming little rustic store, where she saw a display of little wooden "paper" dolls.

I have loved paper dolls my whole life. Janice knows that about me, which is what motivated her to get it for me.

I have also always loved making them. When I was a kid I was forever making them and building up their wardrobes to the point that there have probably never been better dressed paper dolls. My most recent paper doll making was about ten years ago for my youngest Courtney. One day I just got the urge and decided to make a series of dolls for her and her best friend Karleen to play with. They took them to school and played with them at recess. After a while several of the other fourth grade girls wanted to play with them too. So I made copies.
It makes me happy to remember those little dolls. I actually still have them and sometimes I bring them out and let Abbey, Lindsay, Alexandra and Lorelai play with them.

My main point here is, that i have a darling little wooden doll that my sister Janice got me years and years ago. I keep it in one of my drawers. I come across her quite often and each time I pull her out, I can't help but smile as I think of my sister getting her for me, "just because".

Another thing in one of my drawers, (i do actually have clothes in them as well. Really.) Is a Happy Meal, International, Dutch Barbie. I am part Dutch and I was thrilled to be able to get her. I almost missed out because she was one of the first distributed and by the time I knew there had been a "Dutch" Barbie, I was told that they were all out of that one. Lucky for me that I have a well developed sense of tenacity. It took a while but I finally snagged one at the McDonald's in Richland.

It's a Long Story.

Again, I've had her for so many years I can't even remember just how long it has been. I've even left her in her plastic wrapper, you know, just in case she's ever worth something? Which is totally moot at this point seeing as how i would NEVER part with her.

Last, but absolutely, not least, of my little treasures, and also the oldest, is a darling china, fat little pink and white piggy bank with the sweetest little wreath of flowers around her head. I got her at a present swap when I was seven years old and in Girl Scouts. As soon as she was opened by another girl it was instant love for me. I tried my hardest to get her when my turn came around.

And I did!

And then nasty little Nancy took her from me.

Ooh, I have never felt such white hot intense hatred towards another person as I did that day in my friend Janey's basement. I have mentioned before that my little Lorelai has that same hot temper that I had at that young age.
I did have enough grace to not haul off and slug her right in her nasty, smug, little face. But what I did do was get up and run upstairs and flop myself down on my friend Janey's couch and burst into a completely uncontrollable crying fit.
I don't remember which girl it was anymore, but one of the girls got it away from stupid Nancy.

Bless her sweet seven year old heart.

I heard footsteps coming upstairs, and I knew I was probably in for a major chastisement. Instead it was sweet little seven year old girl, who's name I can't remember and Janey's mom.
The little girl handed me the piggy bank.
For just a moment I didn't know if I was going to keep crying or if I would laugh.

Again, that is a detail that escapes me.

All I know is that the dusting powder that I had been booby prized with, went home with my sweet little seven year old savior. And the pink and white piggy bank with the wreath of flowers around her head went across the street to my house with me.

It hardly matters that my dear little "Piglet" has been broken three times over the years. Each time due to a naughty little brother.
(Don't worry Mike and Brian, I won't name names)
Each time I lovingly glued her back together. Wait, , , ,now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure that the third time, it was broken by my own child.
Donald always was too curious and inquisitive for his own good.

Today my little "Piglet" sits in a place of honor on top of my dresser. If Courtney didn't want to inherit her so bad I swear I would want her to be buried with me.

These things that I have talked about, for me, are the best kinds of things to keep.

I have so many small things that I really love. Most of them are items that someone going through my drawers would look at and never guess that those seemingly small, trivial, little possessions are of great importance to me.
And you know what little piece of wisdom I realize I have learned from all of this?
I, like most people, would put my family;
my dear husband Don, of 33 years;
My five wonderful children and my cherished son and daughter-in-law;
My five precious granddaughters;
Obviously, I put them ahead of anything else of importance in my life.

That certainly doesn't mean however that in case a fire, once I knew that my loved ones were safe and accounted for, that I wouldn't want to go back in and grab as many of my treasured items as I could.
Consequently, if I was to lose everything except my family I would be sad to have lost these few beloved items that mean so much to me.
The comfort would be, of course, that even if I was to lose them all, I would always have my memories of them.

As I sit here and write this up I just can't help but be thankful for the wisdom I have gained. I know and understand SO much more now at 52 than I would have ever thought possible at, say, 28.

I have absolutely no fear of getting old.

I know that the wrinkles will come, I can only assume that my really bad knees will get even worse. I will most likely lose a little more of my hearing and my eyesight. I may even find that I have no control over whether I fart or not.
Ya know what?
Big deal.
Bring on those years.
I can hardly wait!


side note; my next post will hopefully be pictures of the little treasures I have talked about here. I just need to get Lisa over here with her camera.

The coat that tried to eat me

I needed a new coat. My others had gotten too big. So, a few weeks ago while shopping at my friendly neighborhood Kohls, (neighborhood is actually a bit of a stretch, it's roughly seven miles away) I suddenly realized that I needed a new coat.

The fact that the coats were all on sale for 50 % off was a pretty good reminder.

I started trying on. Eventually I found two that I really loved. One of them was a beautiful black wool coat that I fell in love with immediately. Then, wouldn't ya know, that I just happened to look up a few racks and saw coat number two. It was red with a really warm fur type lining. I had to have that coat. Hmmm.

What to do?

What to do?

Well, I did the only logical thing and got them both.

The black coat is my absolute favorite, so I started to wear it right away. The red coat comes in at a very close second, and, it's quite a lot warmer due to the "fur" lining.
This last week and a half has been really COLD. Yesterday for example was around 22 degrees but felt a lot colder when you factor in the Wind Chill.

Well Saturday, I needed to go to Fred Meyer. It was cold so red coat got her chance to prove her stuff. She did a great job at keeping me warm.

There was just one teeny tiny little problem.

The longer I wore her, the smaller she got.

Go ahead, laugh, mock.
I'm well aware of how bizarre that sounds.

But the truth remains that my new red coat started getting tighter and shorter (in the sleeves and shoulders that is) the longer I had it on.

It took me a while to really notice just what was going on.

Screeeeeeeech, I have to back up a bit and mention the first real sign of a problem. Funny how quickly things can be forgotten.

You see, a few days earlier I had worn her to Walmart. It wasn't too cold that day. It mostly just felt like a Red Coat Day to me. Under that red coat I was wearing a scoop necked sweater with elbow length sleeves. After about an hour things started to feel kind of weird. It took me a while to figure out why. I wanted to try on a few items and in the dressing room I discovered what was wrong. That coat had pulled the sweater I was wearing all the way off of my left shoulder. In fact the neck of my sweater was closer to my elbow than my face.

Weird.

Before I left the dressing room I made sure that my sweater was put back where it was meant to be. That red coat had other ideas. Within 15 minutes I could feel that my left shoulder was no longer covered.

Okay. I have established precedence here. Back to Saturday at Fred Meyer.
Again, it took me a while to figure out why my arms as well as armpits were all of a sudden feeling very tight. I looked down and saw my arms. The sweater I had on that day seemed to have grown in the length of the sleeves. they were about 2 inches longer than my hands. And to top it off, the coat sleeves were about 5 inches shorter than they had been when I had first put it on.

What the??????

I thought about taking the coat off and putting it back on, but I was afraid that with as tight as it had gotten I may not have been able to get it back on. Now this is important to understand. That coat fit me perfectly. It was loose enough that I could wear bulky sweaters underneath. The sleeves were just a little long, they hit around my knuckles. Not a problem for me. I'm used to sleeves being kinda long.

So you can imagine my horror to look down and realize that my coat was shrinking on me.
In fact when I got home, I couldn't even get it off it had gotten so tight. I had to have Don pull those sleeves off of me. That was the only way that silly coat was coming off.

Fast forward to Sunday.
When Donald, Lisa and the girls showed up for dinner, I just had to tell Lisa about my "Coat of Terrors". I knew she wouldn't believe me.
I mean would you?!?!

I didn't even completely believe it and I was the actual victim!

I decided a Show and Tell was in order. I put it on and did up the buttons. It took it a little bit but it started shrinking just as I knew it would.
The first noticeable thing of course were the sleeves of my sweater suddenly growing super long.

See Lisa! SEE?!?!

Well my little presentation had to be cut short.

A. I was really getting way too hot, and

B. I was making dinner.

An activity not exactly suitable to the wearing of coats.
Oh well, I thought. I'll have to wait for another day.

Yesterday.
I had to go over to Donald and Lisa's for something. I realized that I now had my perfect opportunity for Lisa to see my coat in action.

Plus it was really, really, cold.

On with Miss Red Coat. Out to the van. Out of the garage and onto the street. Wait, wait, wait, for the van to warm up. Carefully feeling for signs of coat shrinkage. Not yet. Not YET. Oh but I know you too well Red Coat.

You and I both know that you can't resist forever.

I arrive at Lisa's. Of course I am greeted by a happy little Lorelai. Elisabeth is on the floor. I get down and play with her. She is up on her hands and knees! She is also in complete "I love grandma" mode. Kisses and more kisses. Elisabeth loves giving kisses. She also loves being kissed.

All the while, no matter how awkward, I keep Miss Red ON.

Elisabeth's therapist shows up so I get ready to take off. I go to the bank to make a car payment. I almost head for home, but,

GUESS WHAT????
Red Coat has done her incredible shrinking act on me yet again!
I head right back to Lisa's. Therapy is still going on, but I know my dear Daughter-in-Law.

Lisa absolutely can NOT turn up a chance for a good Photo.

She takes pictures of me in my shrunk coat.

Tah Daaah!

YES!

Finally!

The photographic proof I needed!

Now they will HAVE to believe me.
So, to prove that I am not crazy. And also NOT Paranoid.
Here are pictures to prove that my coat comes alive and tries to squeeze me to death.

Here we see Miss Red Coat shortly after I put her on. See how innocent she looks.

Okay, here we see that she has started her nasty little shrinking fit. Trust me, it gets even worse, the longer I wear it.

Do you believe me now?

Oh. And since she is still my most favorite. And she does NOT shrink on me. And even though she may not be as warm as Miss Psycho Red coat. I still really love her. So, she gets her picture on this post too.