Magical Moment 427, "Make Someone Happy"

One of the best feelings in life, is the result of seeing someone you love happy. It's why we give presents at Christmas and birthdays, why we work and toil at our jobs, and why we sacrifice our free time. It's usually for the greater purpose of pleasing someone we care for. And when that happens, our heart soars and everything is worth it.

I know from experience how hard it is to see someone you love unhappy. It's torture. His name was Theadore, and he was my teddy bear when I was a little girl. I loved him SOOO much! His dark eyes, his sweet face, and his pudgy little stomach. The only thing was, Theodore frowned. His creator sewed his yarn mouth into a downward pointing frown. I couldn't understand it. I wanted him to smile at me. After all, I played with him, cuddled with him, drank tea with him. Still, I couldn't make him smile. Lucky for me, it was Granny, the sewing master, to the rescue! After a minor surgery with her scissors, needle, and thread, Theodore forever after smiled at me. What a difference that made! It gave my childish heart peace and joy to know that my lovable teddy was happy now!

Well, I was reminded of that little story today after Eddie wisked me away on an impromptu, surprise, birthday trip (as you may recall, we like to make big deals out of birthdays). He wouldn't tell me where we were going, only that I needed to take off work and have my suitcase packed by this morning. The first stop, was Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Sussex, NJ. Knowing my love of critters, Eddie took me to this one of a kind wildlife zoo that absolutely amazed me. We spent hours at the indoor museum, then outside walking around the vast acres of land complete with every exotic and domestic animal you could possibly imagine. I was absolutely blown away and thrilled! When I asked Eddie if he was having fun he replied, "I'm happy because you're happy."

My little Theodore?! How you've grown!

These 3 were almost too cute to handle!

This was one big, scary bird!

I just love these cute little critters!

Eddie dared me to kiss him. I lost the dare.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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