Magical Moment 447, "Dr. Pepper Pajama Pants"

Eddie has this pair of pajama pants. They're ridiculous. He's had them since college. They're bright blue and have the Dr. Pepper emblem all over them. But, like a broke-in pair of jeans or your favorite comfy sweatshirt, they are his favorite.

Unfortunately, one day they ripped from the very bottom, all the way up above the knee. And not a straight tear either, zig-zagged the entire length. When Eddie saw what happened, he was crestfallen. He held them out to me with hopeful eyes and said, "Do you think you can sew it?"

Now, I'm a compassionate person. I'm not however, a seamstress. I don't own a sewing machine and the thought of mending the pants by hand, stitch by stitch, made me cringe. I thought this would be a good opportunity to say goodbye to the threadbare, Dr. Pepper pajama pants. So I put them in the garbage and broke the news to Eddie, hoping we could begin the healing process.

But Eddie couldn't let them go. The next thing I knew, he had retrieved them from the trash and was hard at work with a needle and thread. I could tell there was no arguing, so I let him be as he toiled away on his precious Dr. Pepper pants.

After about an hour of tangled thread, meticulous stitching, and a small amount of blood drawn from accidental needle pricks, Eddie had repaired the massive rip. With the final knot secured, he held the pants out to me with a face as proud and radiant as can be, and said, "Look!"

I examined the pants. The uneven stitches looked as though a blind man made them. I opened my mouth to tease Eddie about this when I looked again at his proud expression, just waiting for my approval. It was as if a child had just written his name for the first time in wobbly, backwards letters and expected a parade in his honor. So, I bit my tongue, stifled my giggles, and offered an encouraging, "Good honey!"

Those Dr. Pepper pajama pants are still around. More importantly, the tear is still being held together with Eddie's amateur stitches. I guess if you want something bad enough, you'll figure it out.

Another funny story inspired by Eddie's wardrobe:

My Bum

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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