Jackson, 2, was playing in the living room with his 9-month-old
brother Woody.  When Woody put a bug in his mouth, Jackson went
to tell his mother.  She, of course, was quite upset. Jackson
then told her, "But Mom, I told him to chew it good!"  
-- from Holly (mother of Jackson and Woody) of Georgia

* * *

Myrtle's friend, who was very pregnant, was discussing when her
baby would be delivered. Myrtle's 3-year-old daughter was listening
in on the conversation and she asked, "Mommy, is she going to the
hospital to get her baby or is the doctor going to deliver it?"  
-- from Anita Burney (of Kansas) who says her mother, Myrtle, told
her that story many times.

* * *

Kim, 9, had a school project that required her to make a family
tree poster.  Her great-grandfather was half Indian, so Kim and her
mother (Sandra) had a discussion about what percentage of Indian
she is.  Sandra tried to explain that Kim's grandmother would be
one-fourth, Sandra one-eighth and Kim would be one-sixteenth.
Kim said, "No, Mom, you don't understand.  I want to know what
part of me is Indian. Is it my arm, leg or what?"  
-- from Sandra Hatton of Bruceville, Indiana

* * *

Mallory, 3, and grandma were playing when Mallory wanted to listen
to some music. She noticed some old 33 1/3 rpm records that had
Disney characters on the cover.  She was curious and had to open
one. Upon pulling the record out of the sleeve, she said, "Boy,
Grandma, this is a really big CD!"  
-- from Ryan and Dawn Jackson (parents of Mallory) of 
Kendallville, Indiana

Karl, and his stepson, Joey, 4, went to get haircuts. Back at home,
Karl was joking with Joey and said, "I thought you were going to
get your hair cut just like mine." Joey immediately said. "But
Mommy didn't tell them to cut it like yours ... Mommy, next time
we go, you tell them to cut my hair just like Daddy's and make
sure they cut out that spot in the back, too!" 
-- from Lorilee Sichelstiel of Frederick, Md.

In one classic analysis, social historian Jeanette Lauer and her husband, Robert, a specialist in human behavior, studied couples with enduring marriages. Among the couples the Lauers studied were 300 who had been happily married for 15 years or longer.

The Lauers described in an article in Psychology Today how the couples reflected a we-ness approach to their marriages. The couples made many "we" statements when describing their married life.

"We agree on aims and goals." "We laugh together." "We agree on a philosophy of life."

"We share outside hobbies and interests." "We agree about our sex life."

"We have a stimulating exchange of ideas." "We agree on how and how often to show affection."

"My spouse is my best friend." "I like my spouse as a person." "I confide in my spouse."

The happily married couples studied by the Lauers tried to do as many things together as possible. One husband said of his wife: "I would rather spend time with her, talk with her, be with her than with anyone else." Another said: "We try to share everything."

For these couples, said the Lauers: "'Till death do us part' is not a binding clause but a gratifying reality."

U.S. psychologist Nick Stinnett and John DeFrain, his colleague, have conducted studies of what they call "strong families." More than 3,000 families from all around the world contributed to the research and conclusions these authors described in the book Secrets of Strong Families.

They found that these families had several characteristics in common, in spite of the fact that they lived in such far-flung corners of the earth as the United States, Central and South America, South Africa or Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The we-ness factor loomed large as binding glue in their marriages. "Members of strong families feel good about themselves as a family unit or team," wrote authors Stinnett and DeFrain. "They have a sense of belonging with each other -- a sense of 'we.'"

One husband said: "It came to me that the joy of life comes from the two of us together rather than outside things like career, hobbies, or leisure activities."

Strong families do not let careers slash into marriage bonds. Said one wife: "My husband and I decided that family is very important to us. Our relationship and our relationship with our children will outlast jobs and cars and houses."

These husbands and wives are first and foremost "we-always" couples. They are, we might say, wired together. "They share all (or nearly all) aspects of their lives with interest and joy," wrote Stinnett and DeFrain. They are mates, lovers, companions, partners, and best friends."

---------------------------------------------------------

Jeanette C. Lauer is Research Professor at U.S. International University, San Diego. She received her Ph.D. in Social History from Washington University, St. Louis. She has published numerous journal articles and co-authored fifteen books. Most recently she co-authored Becoming Family: Building a Stepfamily that Really Works. She is a member of the National Council on Family Relations, and the Stepfamily Association of America.

MARRIAGE SECRETS

Do you mind if I get a little personal today?

Last week Anita and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary.  That
means I have now officially been married longer than I was not.  I'm not
exactly sure what that means, but it must mean something.  Mustn't it?

Anita and I were talking about it the other day (which, it turns out,
is what old, long-time married people do -- a lot), and we decided that
we've learned a thing or two through the years.  Don't get me wrong -- we
don't have all the answers.  Not by a long shot.  But there are at least 13
things we've learned about marriage -- and who said 13 is an unlucky
number?

1.  Marriage is NOT a 50-50 proposition.  It just doesn't work that
way.  I mean, exactly where would my 50 end and Anita's 50 begin?  The
best marriages are those where both partners give 100 percent to the
relationship, and neither one worries about who did what for whom last.

2.  It can get better -- no matter what "it" is -- as long as husband and wife
continue to work on nurturing their love.  Just as a plant needs steady
doses of water and sunlight to flourish, a marriage requires regular
maintenance with plenty of tenderness, compassion, interest and
attentiveness (and it doesn't hurt to occasionally spread a little fertilizer
here and there, either).

------------------------------------------------------------

The #3 secret is pretty insightful:

The four most important words in a marriage are "I'll do the dishes." 

But I won't tell you the rest! You can easily read them at Heartwarmers.com (to which the
writer, Joseph Walker, is a regular and well-loved contributor) by clicking here.

MILLINOCKET, Maine, August 15, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A bumper sticker saved a baby’s life, as reported by an e-newsletter. Pro-lifers Dave and Mary Labun came out of the house to their parked car to find a handwritten note on the windshield thanking them for their “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart” bumper sticker.

The note reads as follows:

Hello,

This might be very weird, but I wanted to thank you. I’m not sure what you believe in, but I’m a strong believer in God, and right now I am 17 and pregnant. And on my way to school one day, I was really wondering what to do – I was really thinking about abortion, because I was scared.

Full story

When Terry's son was 5 they introduced him to a family favorite: sauerkraut and dumplings. He tried a few bites, then put down his fork and proclaimed: "I don't like this sour crap and dumb things!"
- from Danielle's mother Terry Hart of Superior, Wis.

Sarah, 4, loved to go to work with Carol, who had a small business. One day a customer was looking at a figurine of two rabbits sitting on a bench kissing. The customer asked Sarah what she thought of it. Very solemnly Sarah replied, "I didn't know rabbits could do CPR!"
- from Carol Morris of Auburn, Ind.

Twelve-year-old Rachel Kramer of La Quinta, Calif. tells this story. Her 9-year-old brother Phillip was reading the ingredients on a container of her make-up. "Not tested on animals," Phillip read. "Duhhhh. When do dogs wear blush?"

* * *

Leceta Chisholm Guibault of Joliette, Canada, was spending the day at the lake with her daughter Kahleah, 2. It was a beautiful day and Kahleah was fascinated with all the activity on the lake, including a boat pulling a water skier in the distance. "Hey, Mom," Kahleah said, "look at that man trying to catch the boat!"

Erica, 4, was sitting next to her Grampa on the couch. She kept glancing sideways at his enormous pot belly. "You know, Grampa," Erica said, "you have a big belly." Grampa, amused by the comment, played along. "Yes," he said, "that's because before I came over here to visit I ate a watermelon." Erica very seriously answered, "Next time you should cut it first."
- from Erica's mother, Audrey of Taunton, Mass.

Sources: Funnykids and Kidwarmers

"MIRACLE BABY" BORN, TORRES FAMILY SAYS "LIFE IS A GIFT FROM GOD"

ARLINGTON, VA., USA, August 3 (CNA) - Susan Torres, a brain-dead woman who was kept alive for almost three months to give her unborn baby time to develop has given birth to a girl two months premature.

The baby is being monitored at the neo-natal intensive care unit at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia.

Torres, a devout Catholic, suffered a stroke on 7 May after an undiagnosed cancer spread to her brain. Doctors said she was brain dead but they offered to keep her alive for the sake of the baby.

She was four months pregnant with her second child. The baby, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, was delivered by Caesarean section at a Virginia hospital on Tuesday and weighed 800g (1lb, 13oz).

On Wednesday, the Torres family released a statement saying that "earlier this morning, after a brief goodbye with her husband, parents, and other family members, and after receiving the last sacraments of the Catholic Church, Susan Michelle Rollin Torres passed away after the machines, which sustained her life for the past 12 weeks. She was 26 years old."

"This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," says the statement. "We are overjoyed at the birth of Baby Susan and deeply grieved at the loss of her mother. From the beginning, we knew that two things would get us through to the baby's birth: God's providence and Susan's determination. Susan was always the toughest person in that ICU room. Her passing is a testament to the truth that human life is a gift from God and that children are always to be fought for, even if life requires -- as it did of Susan -- the last full measure of devotion.

The family especially gave thanks "the many thousands of people who have taken this story to heart, donated to the Susan M. Torres Fund, and most especially, sent us their prayers and best wishes. This family has literally been lifted up in prayer, and I can never express adequately our gratitude for the prayers and support we have received from people all over the globe."

-------------------------------------

I got the preceding news article from EWTN News. The following is a more recent feature from LifeSite, which delves on more details about the story of hope which has gotten considerable attention worldwide, especially in the United States. Sonny Torres -- the father of Susan's husband Jason -- offered the following when asked his opinion about why the story has gained widespread attention: “I guess, and I kind of hope it is, that people are really tired of seeing nothing but Terri Schiavo stuff, they’re really tired of reading about Laci Peterson and her baby just being thrown away. And it’s nice to see somebody that’s going the other direction.”

Susan Torres' Husband and Parents Reveal Strange Happening on Night of Susan's Tragic Collapse
As told for the first time in interview with lifesitenews.com

ARLINGTON, VA, August 5, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The story of the heroic struggle to preserve the life of the unborn child of life-support patient Susan Torres and her husband Jason, and the miraculous birth of their baby girl, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, has unexpectedly received worldwide publicity. Thousands of news sources picked up on the fight for the life of baby Susan and broadcast the evolving miracle to hundreds of millions of readers and viewers across the globe.

In lengthy interviews with LifeSiteNews.com the parents of Susan’s husband, Jason—Sonny and Karen Torres—talked about the events that have plunged their entire family into suffering beyond imagination, and provided information and insights into their struggle that they say they have shared with no other news media.

Jason’s soft-spoken father, Sonny, has given express permission to LifeSiteNews to print the details of what both he and his son have increasingly come to believe was a shared mystical experience, foretelling the great influence of the miraculous story of Susan and her unborn daughter, and ordering it to be spread. Sonny told LifeSiteNews that until now he has not provided any other news media with the following information because he was afraid that the mainstream media would fail to understand and would distort the story. “I want it to be done the way pro-life people would want it to be done,” he said.

Full story