About 10 years ago, I was challenged by my friend, Rachael, to list 101 things that make me smile. It sounded like a simple list to make. Well, let me tell you, it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to complete. Here is a sampling of what I wrote 10 years ago. 1. My son's (J) inquisitiveness 2. M's (my youngest son's) boundless energy 3. The smell of coffee in the morning 4. Rain on a tin roof. 5. A long hot bath. 6. Dinner with a friend. 7. The peacefulness of Christmas 8. Old classic, sappy movies. 9. Planting flowers and watching them grow 10. Rachael's laugh. These were the top 10 thing that made me smile. The only thing that has changed on this list is I can only smile at the memory of Rachael's laugh. She passed away in April of this year after 12 long years of battling cancer. She has been on my mind today. Maybe that's why I thought about this list and decided to re-read it. I have also decided that I will be re-writing my "things that make me smile" list over the next couple of days. I think it will be interested to see the changes. I challenge anyone who reads this to make their own list. It's an eye opener. Russ and I are going to be babysitting our grandson tonight. It is the first time his parents are leaving him with us. We are both very excited. He is a cutie, but then I guess I'm biased. Here he is at his 1st Fourth of July Bar-B-Que.

Isn't he just handsome.