Emmy Stories (aka stories about Emily)
My wife Cindy has a real hard job, One that I know I couldnt handle as well as she does. She babysits, and one of the children she keeps is named Emily.
On a nice afternoon, last year we decided to take the kids to the Zoo, Emily was 3 yrs old at the time, and being the shy kid she is (ha ha), Was afraid of getting close to the cages to look at the animals, I was calmly trying to get her to take a closer look, and not having much luck.
Next thing I know I turn to see Emily standing face to face with a duck in the middle of the path, The duck opens his bill and makes a noise I cant describe, Emily takes a step backwards wipes the front of her shirt, then leans forward and gives a PHHHBBBBTTT!! into the ducks face. I yelled for Emily, She yells "He spit on me!!", and the chase was on!!, OK picture this, Duck running up the path, followed closely by Emily, who is followed closely by Cindy, I couldnt help much due to laughing so hard, Seems as if everyone else at the Zoo were standing with one hand over thier mouth and pointing with the other.
The duck did win the race, Thanks to Cindy being able to catch Emily just before she got a grip on the tail feathers. The story from Emily after that was, How this duck had spit on her new shirt. I'm glad we went that day, We had a really good time, laughed a lot, and Emily is not afraid of the animals now, The biggest thing I am glad of is. We are still welcome at the Zoo!
Ft.Sumner,NM Trip with Emmy
A few days before the "Duck Story" above, Cindy's parents were in town visiting us from California, They had never been to Ft.Sumner, NM to see Billy the Kids grave and Museum. So we decided to spend a day with them in Ft. Sumner. Emily was all excited about making a trip with Nanu & Papa but somewhere along the way she started talking about going to see the Monkeys.
Cindy's Mom (Nanu) was enjoying the excitement coming from Emmy as she told her stories, and all the while listened to Emmy talk about the Monkeys (that only she saw evidently). It was a fun trip listening to this wide eyed little girl telling Nanu about all the Monkeys, and Nanu pretending to see them and carrying on a long conversation while we drove down the road.
We pull in to Ft. Sumner and stop at the Museum first thing. We make our donation and spend a long time going through every exhibit, and making the necessary stop at the gift shop, Before going out back to the graveyard where Billy the Kid is buried. This is an old time cemetary with wooden crosses, faded marble headstones, and a lot of graves with no markers at all. On the back side in the middle is Billy the Kids grave with 2 of his buddies. This grave is completely covered with Iron bars to prevent vandalism and or theft (The headstone has been stolen a couple of times but thats another story).
We walk up to view these graves inside what looks like a big cage, And the drama begins, Nanu is carrying little wide eyed Emily and Emmy is looking at the graves, When all of a sudden she throws her little head back, places her hand over her heart, and at the top of her lungs yells "Oh My God!! The Monkeys Are Gone!!!" Nanu nearly dropped Emmy right there. I was laughing, Emmy was still yelling "Look The Monkeys Are Gone!!", Cindy is trying to help her Mom hold on to Emmy, and the whole crowd is looking at Emmy trying to figure out what is going on.We take Emily back to the car to make our exit while she is yelling at everyone we pass, The Monkeys Are Gone The Monkeys Are Gone!!!
Needless to say when we went to the Zoo the first stop was at the Monkey cage. Emily was satisfied with the fact that the Monkeys had returned, and we went on through till we ran into the Duck, Oh Yea I already told ya that one.
Here is Cindy & Emily a couple years before the famous Monkey Story, in front of Billy the Kids grave.
I want you to meet a good friend of mine, She is one of the best people you could ever hope to meet,She is always there when you need her and always has a smile and a good word to give you. She has never used the "Dis" part of Disability, And because of her positive outlook on life and the way she shares her thoughts with you, I now know "I Can Do It" Here is a picture of Virginia and my wife Cindy, Thank You Ladies I don't know where I'd be without you 
LIVABETES(aka diabetes)Is a condition a lot of us deal with, I have been dealing with it for 30 yrs, and for 28 yrs had no complications, after having been diagnosed with Neuropathy, My life has slowed way down and forced me to use crutches to walk on the good days and a wheelchair for the not so good ones. Friends who can relate will get you through anything, Tony has helped me keep my head on straight, and talked me through a lot of situations we couldnt change but had to deal with, He even came up with the term "Livabetic" (because diabetes is not a death sentence)Thank You Tony for being there, Tony U ROK MAN
Here is Casey with 2 Iraqi boys (16 & 17) that befriended him while he was deployed in Iraq. According to Casey they were very proud to have us in their country, and were very willing to help him in any way they could and make him feel at home as much as they possibly could have under the circumstances. 
