Because Sometimes You Just Need to Smile!

Today was one of those days when nearly everything I looked at made me smile! Those days are sometimes few and far between in an era when we have a lot of images that are put before us that we had just really rather not see. I am always refreshed by the great pictures my friends send my way, as well as those provided by my ever-comical family!


The first image that made me smile was this one! This is my sister-in-law Steph (short for Stephanie) and she was going to do her "surprise" face with my niece, Kelsey some years ago at Christmas as we opened packages. However, Kelsey faked her out, and Steph ended up making funny faces all by herself! :)



Today is Steph's birthday (all at once now: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPH!) She is a wonderful wife to my brother ("Parson" Dan) and a great mother to her three kids, Kelsey, Ben, and Lauren! She is also a super daughter-in-law to my parents and a loving and caring sister-in-law/aunt to my family! Steph is a peacemaker, soft-spoken, and very godly in the way she lives her life before others. Being a preacher's wife is never easy, but she handles the pressures gracefully and prayerfully! She wears many, many hats, and she makes us all very proud! I should note that she doesn't always have the Surprise Face! Sometimes, she looks like this:










In other news, My crazy brother Doug sent me some great email today. I don't know if you have seen these pictures, but I thought they were adorable.

Apparently, this tigress was born in captivity, and she was nursed for four months by a pig. She evidently developed quite an attachment to her surrogate mother, because now, she does not mind playing with little piglets. The pictures are pretty self-explanatory. They are all in a Thai zoo, according to the email, but be aware that I did not check out the story. I am content to take the sweet images at face value, because they, too, made me smile today.












































































(The last one reminds me of myself in bed at night, when all the kiddies pile in.... :)

And finally, here is a news story that made me smile....

I am sure you have all been following the case of the missing Nun Bun, right here in my own back yard! The Nun Bun turned up in a coffee shop in Nashville several years ago, when a man, starting to eat his morning pastry, noticed that it looked like Mother Teresa. After several patrons confirmed the man's thoughts that his cinnamon bun looked just like the famous nun, the bun was shellacked and put into a case at the restaurant, where many made the pilgrimage to see the resemblance for themselves. Sadly, a "crummy" thing (sorry, could not resist the pun on the bun) happened on Christmas Day, 2005. Someone broke into the Bongo Java coffee shop and stole the Nun Bun!

By now, the owners had pretty much given the bun up for lost. The Nashville Police Department wrote up the theft report, giving the bun a value of $25. All of us who eBay know that she is worth so much more. (A partially-eaten grilled cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary went on eBay for $28,000 last year! Just imagine what an untouched cinnamon bun could fetch!) Now, someone has begun sending pictures to the local Nashville paper claiming to have the "Immaculate Confection" and photographing it with religious statues around the nation. With a complete lack of shame, the would-be ransomers are taunting the owners of the Bongo Java, who claim to have no interest in making money off the icon. Who would dare to fence such a "hot" item on eBay or in another visible market? (Sorry, again!)

For the full story, read here: You be the judge! Do you think the bun looks like her or not?



So that's it for today. I hope you have smiled a little, too. And please keep an eye out for our pastry-gone-missing! It needs to come home!