A combo, please

I always read Michelle's and BonnieRose's challenges and today I thought I would combine the two! Both had very thought provoking challenges and I felt that they were related.

BonnieRose-List your immediate family members, young and old -- and share what you admire most in them.

Michelle-Let's face it, no parents are perfect, they all do things we swear never doing it to our own kids. What's some on your no-no list?

I am an only child so my immediate family is very small. And this is the #1 thing on my No-No list-Not to have an only child! And yes(wink) we are working on it!

Charlie~My Love-He never stops to amaze me. Last night for example. His work has been relentless the last couple of weeks. I knew he didn't get a chance to get me anything for V-day. But here he comes, walking in the door last night with a dozen roses, big box of chocolates and a funny card. I was completely surprised. I also admire his ability to see the positive side of things. I like to think of myself as positive but sometimes I get so overwhelmed with life. He always manages to make it all seem so small and insignificant. I love this man!

My Mother-A very quite woman but I owe alot of my creativeness to her. I also owe my love of animals and gardening to her. My mom stayed home with me until I was in high school. It was good to have her home. I'm trying this now with our little one. Maybe try to work a little from home.

My Dad-My Dad!! What a guy. Always the life of the party. Complete opposite of my mom. To him I owe my love of reading. My dad has done alot of things in his life & he always reads about any new thing before he starts. He also has a gift to talking to people and they always open up to him and tell him all kinds of stuff. On the No-No side-For a couple of years, my dad have to work out of town alot. He'd spend a whole week out of town. This really put a strain on my parents relationship. And now when Charlie has go out of town, we both insist that he comes home each night. As for my parents, now you can't get them away from each other :0)

My Grandmother~Gigi-What an inspiration- 92 and still going strong! A very extraordinary woman. To her I owe my red hair(even if I have to help it along), love of cooking,and fashion. My grandmother's real name is Grace-hence my name "Bella Grace".

My Grandfather~Papa-I owe my love of nature to Papa. He's always outside working in the yard or in his workshop building a birdhouse or something. I guess some of the creativeness comes from his also.

I guess I don't have a long list of No-No's. Just want to make sure that both of us are able to be with our kids whenever they need us. And listen to them. And encourage them to be true to themselves.

SOUP OF THE DAY:
And now forgive the past and accept the present, be gracious and merciful to me and do not deprive me of sight, or take from me the art of love.
--- Plato
DESSERT OF THE DAY:
And now abideth faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. --- Corinthians