Happy Birthday AnaMaria!

Today is Ria's birthday...actually her full name is AnaMaria which is my middle name translated into Spanish. All of our children got Spanish names because their daddy was raised in Venezuela (even though he was Polish by birth) and that was his native language. When Mario came to the States from Venezuela, he couldn't speak ANY English, so he had lots of Mexican and Puerto Rican friends at first.

Much as I love chocolate, I would sure love to have a piece of that cake pictured at the right or maybe it will be above this. Looks like it could be a hazelnut whipped cream delight, a definite favorite of mine!

Back to AnaMaria...when she was little she couldn't say her name, but she would try. It came out as Aaaa...ria, so the last part stuck with her and now she prefers it, although I love the sound of her full name. Having lost our first baby, a son born too early, I was ecstatic to be taking our daughter home, but Mario found me crying in our bedroom that same day. He very tenderly asked what was wrong (he couldn't handle my tears ever) and, even though I was so young, I said "She is going to grow up too fast!" It was good that this happened to me as it was such a blessing to make me cherish each moment as she was growing up.


Yesterday I forgot to mention that when I went down to help with the moving, we were eating together one night (before I asked if they ever pray at all), I waited for Ria to sit down and she asked why, so I said "So we can say Grace together." All she answered was "You didn't have to wait." She did hold hands with me and say Grace so that was a blessing that should be remembered.

Her favorite color as a little girl was purple and one of her first words was burble (her version of purple), something her Grandpa John proudly taught her.

Now for the Tickled on Tuesday jokes:

Birthday Surprise

A husband went to buy a birthday gift for his wife. Some friends had been invited over that night to celebrate her fortieth, and he wanted to get something special. At the store he spotted some cute little music boxes. One blue one was playing "Happy Birthday."

Thinking they were all the same, he chose a red one and had it gift-wrapped.
Later, at dinner, he gave it to his wife and asked her to open it.

When she lifted the lid, out came the tune to "The Old Gray Mare, She Ain't What She Used to Be!"

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Zero to 200

A couple had been debating the purchase of a new auto for weeks. He wanted a new truck. She wanted a fast little sports-like car so she could zip through traffic around town. He would probably have settled on any beat up old truck, but everything she seemed to like was way out of their price range.
"Look!" she said. "I want something that goes from 0 to 200 in 4 seconds or less. And my birthday is coming up. You could surprise me."
So, for her birthday, he bought her a brand new bathroom scale.
Services will be at Downing Funeral Home on Monday the 12th. Due to the condition of the body, this will be a closed casket service. Please send your donations to the "Think Before You Say Things To Your Wife Foundation," Dallas, Texas.

Since Ria was born a blond, I can do these jokes:

House Fire

A dumb blonde calls the fire department and says, "Help me- my house is on fire!!" The fireman says, "Where do you live?"
The dumb blonde replies, "I don't know" The fireman asks, "How do you expect us to get there?"
The dumb blonde replies sarcastically, "Duhhhh, the little red truck"

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Birthday Gift

A fellow was very much in love with a beautiful girl. One day she told him that the next day was her birthday. He told her he would send her

a bouquet of roses... one for each year of her life. That evening he called the local florist and ordered twenty-one roses with instructions that they be delivered first thing the next morning. As the florist was preparing the order, he decided that since the young man was such a good customer, he would put an extra dozen roses in the bouquet. The fellow never did find out what made the young girl so angry with him.

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A Blonde airhead goes for a job interview in an office. The interviewer starts with the basics. "So, Miss, can you tell us your age, please?" The blonde counts carefully on her fingers for half a minute before replying "Ehhhh... 22!"
The interviewer tries another straightforward one to break the ice. "And can you tell us your height, please?" The young lady stands up and produces a measuring tape from her handbag. She then traps one end under her foot and extends the tape to the top of her head. She checks the measurement and announces "Five foot two!"
This isn't looking good so the interviewer goes for the real basics; something the interviewee won't have to count, measure, or look up. "Just to confirm for our records, your name please?" The airhead bobs her head from side to side for about ten seconds, mouthing something silently to herself, before replying "MANDY!"
The interviewer is completely baffled at this stage, so he asks - "What in the world were you doing when I asked you your name?" "Ohhhh, that!" replies the airhead... " I was just running through that song - 'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear...' "





~~~~Thank you Lord for the blessing of Your infinite patience with us as we stumble and do things less than pleasing to You...please help us to be more patient.