Good times, Bad times

I wish I could make this picture bigger so the facial expressions could do the pic more justice. This is in my all time, top 5 favorite photos as of this week. Joni's cousin Shon, who is now on a mission in Detroit, is holding a saw in his hand when they went "Clark Griswald" on a forest to cut down thier Christmas tree. Shon has a devilish look on his face and Andrea is completely unaware of the whole kodak moment to be. I laughed for at least 5 minutes straight and even peed a little bit...not in my pants. It is now a screen saver on our computer. My eyes are so tired right now I don't even know why I am blogging right now, but for some reason I just feel like it. I played guitar a little bit tonight for the first time in a LONG time, and my fingers are hurting now. You have to build up callusses on your fingers in order to play, and I definately don't have any of those right now, so it kinda hurts. Tonight a woman started screaming outside of our apartment, the kind of blood curdling scream that makes you know something is wrong. I went outside after some investigation from the window, and there were a ton of people outside who obviously heard the same thing. Turns out a woman was attacked right when she got out of her car and a man ran away with her purse. She was smart enough to start screaming right away, but the guy got away. We live in a gated community with security but there is a railroad track right by our house and I think someone hopped a fence. Not to sound negative or anything, but with my job getting more and more not fun, and Joni's internship getting longer by the day, along with the crime all around us, we want to leave Dallas as soon as time allows. I don't feel scared for myself but I constantly worry about Joni. We have a pretty good system between us to make sure she is safe, and she is a smart girl. It is important to be aware of surroundings no matter where you are. We only carry what we need in our wallets now.
Sunday was a day that I think was meant for us at church, so I am glad we were there to hear the messages. The talks were on teaching and raising special needs children. Despite the hardships, we have come to love all the kids in our class. Hannah, the little girl in the wheel chair, adores Joni. Every time we see her she gives us a big hug and gets all jumpy and excited. One of the kids parents came to us to thank us for being her son's teachers and that he always talked about what we did in class, which felt really good because we always wondered if we were getting anywhere with them. I had fun with Isaac too, the other autistic child, I find that sitting with him on the ground and giving him one on one attention keeps him more settled down. I taped his two pinky's together as a joke and he thought it was the funniest thing ever. Isn't it funny sometimes how things can seem so depressing and messed up, then when you find whatever it is that makes you happy it changes everything. I think everyone needs a place to "get away" in thier mind. Mine invloves being with kids, reading the latest sports updates, playing guitar, going to the movies, church, working out, milkshakes, laughing, and playing games. Some music and 80 degree days make me feel pretty good too. I think I would be embarassed if someone listened to some of the music that pumps me up, Rocky never fails man.