Meet Isaac

I got to meet my new nephew, Isaac, today. I had a lot of fun with the little guy, and watching how happy his mom and dad are! We've decided he's already a very talented lad - he's figured out how to suck his thumb, he can almost fit his whole fist in his mouth, he's a great Italian who talks with his hands, and he has an excellent soprano voice :) I'm so glad he's a part of our world!

Here are a few pics.

The happy family



Little Mr. Lovely



Mr. Lovely's cute ticklish toes



The aunts with our new love!


And one just in case you thought he didn't have eyes (we were beginning to wonder too)


Welcome again Issac - we love you very much!!

Happy Birthday Isaac!!

Congratulations Jordan and Stacy!

Today they became the proud new parents of Isaac Charles Mancini. We're all VERY EXCITED!! Isaac was lucky 7 (7 pounds, 7 ounces) & 21 1/4 inches long when he was born early this morning. He is doing perfectly, and so are his parents. What a blessing!!

I'm hoping to be able to go visit the new parents and Isaac this weekend, and will be sure to put up pictures soon after I do. Because even though (here's where almost every woman in the world stops liking me) I've never found babies to be as cute as everyone says, I have a feeling that THIS baby is going to be handsome as all get-out! :) I'll share him with you soon. Meanwhile, say some prayers for the family, and help me in thanking GOD for the gift of new life!

Congratulations again Jordan and Stacy, and welcome to our beautiful world Isaac!

Simple laughter

I've had a few rough days lately, and today I decided I had to do something to lift my spirit! So I turned to the good old and always helpful "Laffy Taffy" jokes. So simple, yet creative, and just what I needed for a quick pick-me-up this afternoon. In case you need a laugh (even if it's just at how ridiculous they are, or how weird I am for actually finding some of these cute or funny) here are some of my favorites:

* How do you mend a broken jack o' lantern? -- with a pumpkin patch.

* How do you get a peanut to laugh? -- you crack it up!

* What do you call a horse that likes arts & crafts? -- a hobby horse.

* Why did the little cookie cry? -- because his mother was a wafer so long!

* Why is it so hard to play poker in the jungle?.... Because there are so many cheetas!

* What has 10 letters that starts with gas? – Automobile.

* What do you get when you cross an elephant with a fish? -- Swimming trunks.

* What do you call a baby with a drum? -- A baby boomer.

* What do you get when you cross a pig with a Christmas tree? Porcupine.

* What do you get if you cross a stereo and a refrigerator? -- Very cool music!

* What do you feed an invisible cat? -- Evaporated milk.

* What do you get when you cross a goose with a camel? -- Goosebumps.

* What is the hardest thing about learning to rollerskate? -- The pavement!

* A man was adrift on a boat with a pack of cigarettes but no matches...how did he get his smoking fix? -- He tossed one cigarette overboard....and that made the boat a cigarette lighter.

And last but not least...

* Why is a bad joke like a poor pencil? -- Because it has no point!! :)

I hope this helped give a spirit-boost to anyone else who needed it today!

And the winner is....

Last Sunday was a day full of celebrations of life!

For starters, our family and several of his good friends gathered to honor Jordan, the father-to-be. They're due in a month, and it is so exciting to see them getting so close and to hear them talking about the upcoming birth! We had a good time celebrating with them, and I think they had fun too (especially when it came time to telling stories about when he was a baby :D). Thanks to everyone who came and helped make it a fun celebration of life and family!

Some of us aunts and uncles with the expecting parents (aahhh, I'm going to be an AUNT!!!)

Jordan and Stacy, we are all so excited for you and are already proud of the parents you are!

Then came the "fancy" party. For the past few years Jesi and I and random others have made a point to watch the Academy Awards. But this year we spiced it up a bit - we held a special "red carpet" party for the Oscars viewing. There was a 'dress and tie' dress-code in order to get in to this exclusive engagement. Even the younger kids (who had no clue what an Oscar was before 7:30pm, and even now it's still a bit questionable) dressed up for the event. It was quite entertaining (not to mention good-looking)!

My favorite part of the night was when Jesi, in her snooty red carpet interview voice, asked "Dustin, who are you wearing?" And, dressed in his superhero dress-shirt and tie, he replied in a tone that suggested she was an idiot for not knowing the obvious, "SUPERMAN!" I loved it....eat your heart out Versace! :)

In addition to our fancy clothes, costume jewelry, and special home-made slushies (we couldn't afford caviar), we also had "ballots" with all the categories and nominees listed, and we guessed before each award was named. Mike won, with 13 correct "votes," although Josh and I weren't too far behind. Despite my losing at that game, I felt like a winner over-all! I was so excited to see my hopeful Slumdog Millionaire (a movie I'd highly recommend!) win 8 awards, including best picture, in addition to my beloved animated favorite of the year, Wall-E, taking home a statue.

But more than the awards is the fact that I had such a tremendous evening - seeing others' remarkable talents, enjoying the company of great friends and family, engaging in friendly competition, being goofy, looking ridiculous, laughing lots, and reveling in the simple pleasures of life. I mean, who would have thought that a superhero shirt and Tang-flavored slushies made with snow would add up to one of the most enjoyable Sunday evenings I've had in a long time! I wouldn't trade my life with any of those celebrities!

And the winner is....Life! (I'm a huge fan!!)