Of Family Pictures and Other Things

In response to all of you who have commented hoping that I'm feeling better, be advised that I'm slowly recovering from The Cold from Hell. This morning I just feel like I've been beaten with a 2x4 instead of feeling like Galveston after Hurricane Ike's visit. I guess that represents progress. The lesson, dear readers, is this: if a toddler with a cold wants you to drink from her sippy cup...don't.

One of the things Agnes was intent on doing while her parents are visiting was to have a family portrait done, and so yesterday we herded the family cats to a rendezvous at a local Sears portrait studio for the Great Event. I was prepared for an escapade worthy of a classic episode of the old TV show Mission: Impossible (forget the stupid Tom Cruise movies), but it turned out better than I'd expected...Leya was happy, well-rested, and in peak cute mode, none of us looked especially stupid on any of the pictures (and believe me, I can look stupid in pictures), and we were much entertained by the nice young photographer who evidently took first place in her class on Making Silly Noises to Get Children to Smile.

In twenty-six years of marriage, I think I have managed to take one picture of Agnes's mother actually smiling. The photographer got one yesterday on the first try...of course, Dad acting silly helped:

The whole family group was a bit harder to arrange, as nobody wanted to agree on exactly when to look at the camera. But we managed it somehow:

And, of course, we needed the mandatory Four Generations picture:

We do have some very nice-looking ladies in this family, if I say so myself.

I was glad that the picture taking went so well, because it helped to offset my feelings when I looked at the CNN website home page this morning. Here is a sampling of the headlines:

* Czech Ambassador Killed in Pakistan Hotel Blast;
* Weekend Attacks Leave Dozens Injured in Iraq;
* Dozens Killed in China Mine Accidents;
* Seven Hurt in Basque Bombings;
* Bush Seeks $700 Billion for Bailout; and,
* Teen Smiles After She's Convicted of Killing Roommate.

There's just more of the same when you start scrolling down the page. The closest thing to a good-news story is:

* Dachshunds dash in wiener suits.

Which is, nevertheless, probably a bit embarrassing if you're a dachshund.

So if the best news around is about wiener dogs racing in wiener suits, I'm glad I have a great family to fall back on.

I hope you do, too.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo