And the Decision is...

I am a little late in sharing this news, but I thought I'd let you know that we've made a decision about Patrick's first duty post. If you've read his blog, then you are already "in the know". After doing some research, we have decided to select Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma as our first post. If everything works out, we'll be there in March of 2009. We will be much closer to Patrick's family in the OKC metro and still be not terribly far from my family in Texas and Arkansas. We are excited!

Also, I have just begun a new business venture! I am in the process of becoming a Pampered Chef consultant. Not a full-time job, but definitely nice extra income! I am sure I'll be blogging more about that adventure as I get deeper into it.

I know this post is short, but I have to get ready for one of the things we get to experience as Americans - JURY DUTY!!! Say it with me - UGGGHHHHH! I am sure I won't get picked for the jury, and that's why the process is such a pain! I'll let you know what happens!

Have a great Monday!

34 and 75?

Okay, Okay. I won't bore you with a countdown everyday, but I just had to let you know that there are 34 days left of school and 75 days until Patrick ships to Basic Combat Training for the Army!

I can't believe it. Before we know it, we'll be moving to a new place and a new time in our lives. Yesterday, we found out the options for Patrick's Station of Choice. We are praying about which post we should choose. This is a tough decision and we want to make the right one.

We have so much to do! It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the cleaning, purging, packing, moving process. Part of me wants to completely get rid of everything we own, just so I don't have to decide what to keep, store, move, etc.

It is our goal to glorify God during this process. I am learning to trust Him during every step of the way.

So Nice To Get Away...

Just in time for a much needed break, Patrick and I were able to go camping this past weekend. Melody and Danny came along to Lake Murray in Oklahoma. I absolutely love being outdoors! It was a beautiful weekend on a beautiful lake. We learned that Danny is a closet lumberjack and can build a pretty mean fire!!! Thank you, Danny for helping us stay warm! The first night, we almost froze to death in our tents. Thankfully, it warmed up a lot so the second night was more comfortable. If you are not the camping type, I urge you to at least give it a try sometime. I am so thankful God allowed us to have a great time. We even got to use our kayaks!

Here are a few pics:






And a few more:

Urgent Prayer Request

Dear Blogging Friends and Family,

I want to do a shout-out to my Uncle Clay. Hi, Clay! I want you to know that we are praying for you and for Cheryl. I hope you don't mind if I share a little bit of your story.

Uncle Clay has been suffering at home for several months after doctors sent him home with out a hip. Can you believe the absurdity of that statement? He had hip replacement surgery about a year ago and let's just say things weren't done exactly right. Doctors removed the hip and, after a long stay in the hospital, they basically said "we're done" and sent him home. He has been bed bound for months and his only link to the world is a laptop computer and maybe the tv, but I'm not sure about that. He has recently re-entered the world of blogging through his blog Netblogger2. To add to the urgent need for prayer, Clay's wife Cheryl is having surgery today to remove a tumor on her spine. This was a sudden development and now leaves them both with major issues of medical care and concern.

If you have the chance today, please join us in praying for Cheryl's surgeons and a quick recovery. Also, please pray that someone can step in and take up Clay's struggle to receive proper medical care!

Thank you!

It's Official - We're In the Army Now!

Just wanted to let my faithful readers know that it's now official! Patrick has just been sworn-in to the US Army as a Band Member. We will give you more of the details as the weeks progress. At this time, we do know that he will "ship out" to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for basic training on June 24th. We will not know his permanent station for a few more weeks. Thank you to those of you who have been praying with us about this. We know that you are a big part of our lives. Please continue praying that all of the details will be worked out.

We will both fulfill our contracts with the school district. Our last day will be June 13th. Not sure of the living arrangements after that, but I know we will be ready to go!

Stay tuned to Patrick's blog for more details.

Healing Family Hurts (from James MacDonald)

This post is borrowed from one of my favorite blogs. I felt it was very timely today.

Taken from "I've Been Thinking: A Weekly Devotional" from pastor and author James MacDonald)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, ESV

Have you got some hurdles to overcome in your family relationships? You know . . . some things that need to change and improve at your house? All of us can at one time or another admit to family problems, causing family pain.

I have just one word to offer you as you seek help and healing for your family: love. Love is relational dynamite that obliterates all obstacles in its path. Talking won't do that for you. Pressuring won't; prodding, insisting, demanding, getting selfish-these all will only tear your life and family apart. But 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, "Love never fails" (NKJV).

Love never fails to what? Let me point out three things that it will handle for you:

#1 Love never fails to conquer selfishness. I am selfish and so are you. All of us need help here. You never have to work at self; it's just right there barking for attention. Love conquers the biggest obstacle in me: selfishness.

#2 Love never fails to conquer skepticism. Over time, it's easy to doubt that anything is ever going to change. Your family disappoints you. Someone does something foolish or hurtful and you want to bail out. But love holds on. Love is being used by God to transform that person-even when that person is you.

I wonder if you've read this far and are thinking, James, we've got real problems over at our house and some pep talk on love is not going to fix it.

You're right-that's why 1 Corinthians 13:6 sits in the middle of the passage: "[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth."

#3 Love never fails to rejoice in the truth. Love doesn't sit back in some happy delusion that everything will be okay. Love doesn't deny problems, but works to see them changed. Love is an action before it's a feeling.

In love, serve your family when they choose to be selfish.

In love, humble yourself before your family when conflict creates distance. Be the one to go back and say you're sorry. Own your part of the problem. Humble yourself first.

In love, lavish on them words and deeds of kindness and affirmation.

In love, forgive your family by releasing them from the obligation that resulted when they hurt you. Let it go. Don't hold it over them.

And lastly, in love, speak God's Word in any situation regardless of the cost. Truth, delivered with love, is what sets us free. Stand for what's right.

"Love bears all things," says 1 Corinthians 13:7. Love tries again. Love trusts again. Love gives God an opportunity to work. Love is part of the solution. It's a tool in God's hands to work through you in helping your family.

James MacDonald
Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel

The Absurdity of Human Expectations: Translation - You expected me to do/think/feel what?

I realize that I am not old enough to be considered wise. I certainly don't claim to be a sage. So, if what I have to say is full of holes, then please let me know.

In my relatively short life, I have noticed that the majority of human conflict and disappointment is caused by unmet expectations. These expectations are often too high and unattainable, or worse, they are never made known to the people or groups they are placed upon. One of the common situations in which we display such error in judgment is in our marriages. I am sure I'm not the only one who has placed undue expectations upon my unknowing spouse, only to act hurt when he doesn't meet them. If you don't identify with me, then please keep your perfection to yourself.

As unfair as it is for me to judge my spouse based on my secret expectations, it is equally unfair for strangers to hold any of us to any secret expectations. It is even more reprehensible when family members do this to us.

Have you ever taken a test without knowing what would be on it? Have you ever gone to a movie without having some foreknowledge of the plot or the characters? Do you ever go in for a job interview without first knowing what the job is?

If you answered any of those questions with "NO," then it must be because the more you know of what to expect, the more you can prepare!

Now, what does it all mean? Let's face it - when people get upset with us because we didn't meet their secret expectations, there really is no way to win. How can we be expected to make anyone happy, or at minimum, not angry. I guess the only way to avoid such conflict is to avoid the situations that create it. Or, we could cease to have hidden expectations and simply love people for who they are (faults and all). You would think that in a family, this would be a given - an absolute - a DUH! Unfortunately, we are humans. And humans fail.

God has given us His forgiveness when we do not meet His expectations. The big difference is that God has given us His specific expectations in his word! Knowing what God expects of us can be found through reading the Bible and through hearing Him speak to us. He has a right to be disappointed. He's the only one who can determine if I'm living up to them or not, because He created the expectations! I have no excuse for not doing what I've been instructed to do. However, unlike God's expectations for me, I cannot meet human expectations that have not been made known to me.

If only I had time to Write!

Wow! What a week of highs and lows. I've got tons of stuff buzzing through this brain of mine, but I really don't have the time right now to wax philosophical with you!

However, for a great read, please read Beth Moore's recent blog post: Just Dreaming!

I don't know where to start...

I really want to vent some major emotion today, but I'm trying to restrain myself. I found out some very disturbing information this morning and I would like to spew words of anger and disgust, but God is working on me! It's hard to know how to express this emotion without saying something I'll regret. Some people just amaze me with their level of maturity, or lack thereof. Why can people not act their age? I admire my husband because he can handle this kind of thing much better than I can. He is always the voice of reason when it comes to saying the right things in this situation. Unfortunately, this particular struggle has gone on way too long. I think that it is time to settle things once and for all. Please pray that I'll know how to handle this.

One Man's Leaves are Another Man's... LEAVES!

Ugh! Don't get me wrong, I like trees. In fact, I almost chose a career that was based on trees - forestry. I border on tree-hugger status.

However, it is the lovely little remnants of trees that have my focus today. It never seems to fail. I live in a house with no trees in the yard, yet I find myself having to rake mega bunches of leaves from other yards on my street. Not fair! I realize that when a leaf falls from a tree it can land wherever the wind takes it. I find no fault with the leaf itself. My problem is with the nearest neighbors who choose not to take care of their own leaves and instead put them off on me. You know, I think they actually use blowers to blow them out of their yard and onto mine. In fact, we had one rude passer-by that allowed some already bagged leaves to fall into our front yard. Of course, upon landing the bag busted and spewed its contents onto our lawn. Today, I raked up two huge bags of leaves and have another pile waiting to be bagged.

God made the trees and God made the leaves. I just wish that I didn't have to break my back raking them.

Monday Musings

Back to the real world and real routine. It was nice being away at convention, now it's time to get back to life as normal. We actually managed to get up and work out this morning. I feel like I am on a weight-loss yo-yo! It is so frustrating. Hey, at least I feel better, right?

Patrick passed his audition on Friday. He now will have about 40 days to go to Military Enlistment Processing Station. If he passes everything there, he will be sworn in as a soldier in the US Army. Whew! It is going to be an intense month while we work out and try to get in shape for that. MEPS was the step last year that prevented him from joining the Army. He didn't pass the hearing test and that led to a surgery to repair his hearing. We are praying that God's will is done this time around, no matter what that means. Of course, we're pulling for the Army, but ultimately we want to follow God's direction.

On to the bizarre news of my week. Most of you know that Patrick and I have not been able to have children for whatever reason. Out of nowhere last week, we received a packet of "Baby" coupons in the mail. It was addressed to us. They are coupons for expectant mothers. I don't know how we got onto that list because we obviously aren't expecting at this time. As if that wasn't weird enough, we received more mail when we got back from convention. This time it was from the Welcome Addition Club (for expectant mothers). It included a free can of Similac. I guess we'll be donating that to the church's food pantry. Unless there's something we don't know about, I'm pretty sure we won't be needing that anytime soon.

Well, better get going now. Happy Monday to you all! Enjoy Presidents' Day!

New routines, new passions...

It's been so long since I've posted much. There is so much going on. Okay, not really, I've just been placing other things ahead of blogging in my list of priorities.

Just a quick update for my readers.

Patrick and I are in our fourth week of mostly consistent exercise. The alarm goes off at 5:15 am and we eventually make it to the YMCA by 5:45 or so. It has been hard, but I feel much better. I haven't lost weight yet, but have so much more energy and feel great. It also jump starts my day.

Usually, we come home and I make breakfast burritos. Then, after Patrick leaves, I try to do work around the house or do my grocery shopping. I admit, there are some days where I just sit in a trance in front of the computer catching up on my favorite presidential candidate and reading my favorite bloggers (you know who you are). But, eventually I do get some work done. Some is always better than none... Right?

I'll quit with the boring stuff.

NEWS UPDATE: Patrick will be auditioning for the Army Band again next week. Probably on Feb. 15th while we are at convention in San Antonio. In case you weren't aware, he passed an audition last spring, but failed the hearing test during Medical Processing. So, after a miraculous surgery to repair his hearing, and another important sinus surgery that he needed, he is going to re-audition. If he passes the audition, he will have 45 days to go through processing again. We should know a bit more about our future by April.

Well, I have to go catch-up on a new passion of mine: the election. Never in my life have I cared about the election this early in the game, but I am very passionate about my candidate. I also never have been so frustrated by the voting process and the liberal media. I hope Texas gets a chance to say something in this process. How un-American and un-Democratic (not the party-the type of government)is it when most of Americans don't even get a say in the nomination experience because of the whole delegate zoo? Why don't we choose the nominee like we choose the actual president?

Here I go... I've already said more than I should. So, let me say bye-bye for now!

And, even though I'd never tell my readers what they should think... I am entitled to share my opinion:

GO, MIKE, GO!!!!
www.mikehuckabee.com

*Where. Intheworld. is. LiptonOnionSoupMix?

And if you can answer that, you can probably tell me where to find pesto, black olives, white shoe peg corn, dry mustard, and a host of other ingredients that I've been buying over the past month. Let's just say that my grocery shopping is taking more time with each visit than it used to when the USUAL was all that was on my list.

It's not that I'm especially inept at shopping, it's just that some of these things haven't been located where my feeble mind assumes they should be. Like the onion soup mix... I went to Walmart twice in the same day (long story) and asked two workers, my friend Julie, and a total stranger where I might find onion soup mix. Each had a different answer, and I tried all of them, including my first instinct. However, it took a last resort of asking another Walmart employee, and together we found it above the Raman(?)noodles.

So, needless to say, my new cooking adventures have been just that. Some meals have been super, others have been duds. Here are a few of the ones we've liked: BBQ Chicken Dinner Packets, Pepper Steak over Rice (crock pot meal), Meatball subs, Chicken Pesto Mushroom Bake, Baked Greek Tilapia, Russian Chicken (crock pot meal), Pepperoni Loaf (YEA, BABY), Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta, and Corn & Sausage Chowder.

So far, only two duds: Swedish Meatballs (which we used for the subs mentioned in the super list, but the gravy on top of the first meal was YUCK!) and Meat & Three (crock pot meal that had a mistake listed in the ingredients). I think both of these could easily be changed to be better.

Now on to this week's menu... Tortellini & Sausage Soup, Slow Bake BBQ Chicken, Crunchy Chicken, Beef Macaroni Casserole (we'll substitute turkey), and Overnight Cinnamon French Toast (a do-ahead breakfast). Each meal has included alternating sides like steamed fresh broccoli, salad, and steamed fresh green beans (which are so much better than the canned junk).

If you are interested in any of the recipes, just let me know.

Yes, this post was started last week, I just now took the time to finish it...

*The title of this post is set to the beat of the title of a tv show from my childhood...Not hard to figure out!

Now We're Cooking With Gas! (Wait, I'm just cooking...period!)

For those that know me, it is a well-established fact that I do not cook. Not that I'm necessarily terrible at it, I just don't do it. Don't get me wrong...my mom, grandmother, grandfather, and my dad and his family are all wonderful cooks. I just never seemed to find pleasure in the act of cooking. Being all-knowing as He is, God blessed me by providing a husband who is very gifted in the kitchen. If this were not the case, I would be even more over-weight than I am currently because we'd have been eating out for every single meal of our eleven year marriage.

So, what's my point? Drum Roll PLEASE...

I have cooked five meals this week!

Okay, now you can pick your chin up off the floor. They have by no means been "meals" of the multi-course variety, but meals none-the-less. Two were for dinner and three have been breakfast. Yea, yea...I know... But please remember this is a life-changing habit for me, so I am taking BABY STEPS!

The overall themes of my New Year's Resolutions are "TIME,HOUSE, and WEIGHT MANAGEMENT". For nearly six months, I have totally squandered the available time I have had to make my home a better place to live. I only work half of the day (afternoon) and I began with lofty dreams of using the other half of the day (the morning) to keep my house clean, to plan for dinner, and to exercise. Like I said - I totally wasted that precious time.

So this week I started life over again. I decided the only way to make it work is to wake up with Patrick at 5:30 am and go to the gym. When we get home, I make breakfast (which this week has been eggs and sausage and breakfast burritos). The next step crucial and most important step is to spend personal time with God in prayer and Bible study. After that step, my goal is to clean the house and keep it clean with small steps and projects throughout the week. And I do mean small steps. It's not that our house is terrible filthy, it's just that I need to develop some important easy routines to keep the ship running in top shape. I've enlisted some ideas from Valerie, as well as FLYLADY.

As far as the cooking goes, I have enlisted some help as well! Through HomeLife Magazine I found a wonderful website called E-Mealz. For a few dollars a month, they give you menus for dinner each week and even make a shopping list for you. I just did my first E-Mealz shopping last night and it was great. I haven't made any of the recipes yet, but I am ready to. The dinners I've made this week were one-pot kind of meals for which I already had recipes.

Well, all I can do is pray that the Lord will help me continue developing good and healthy habits. I'm already past my newly assigned computer/internet time limit, so I better say by for now!

OOPS! We missed a TOLL!

Okay, several tolls!

Talk about a huge oversight on our part. While driving in Illinois last week we blatantly ignored the toll plazas. We were under the assumption that we'd just be billed from our license plate...(I know...WE WERE STUPID!). There are a few toll roads in our area of Texas that will do that. So, having done just a bit of research, we were under the assumption (yes, I know what assuming means) that we could go on-line and pay our missed tolls. This is one of those times when it would have paid to read the fine print (or at least all of the print).

Much to our huge disappointment, upon our return home, we failed to remember to promptly pay our tolls (had to be done within 7 calendar days). Now, upon deeper digging, we have just been made aware that we are in VIOLATION and will receive a NOTICE in 3 months to a year. When I asked if we could pay the tolls now, before we receive violation notices, I was told NO! I mean, come on... Our trip North happened on Monday the 24th, and our trip South happened on Thursday the 27th. Because they are both now more than 7 days ago, we must wait a few months, possibly a year before we get slapped with a possible $160.00 bill. Not only will we owe the piddly $.80 cent toll per plaza, but we will also owe a $20 fine per plaza. Which, by our research comes to 4 toll plazas on each direction of the trip. You do the math.

Man, if we'd have just taken the few minutes of headache by stopping at each toll plaza and paying the minor toll, we wouldn't be in this mess!

Okay...Let the lessons on obeying the law commence... Just be gentle, we are already bruised from beating ourselves up over it!

At Home, At Last!

We are finally home from our mammoth trip. Not too adventurous, just lots of travel and wonderful visits with our families...

The holiday travel extravaganza closed with a quick but great trip to Oklahoma. It was a joy to spend time with our nephews, Clayton and Carter, as well as their parents Brandon and Jennifer, and Patrick's parents.

It's back to work today and we will probably be totally lazy the next few days when we aren't at work. I personally have postponed the start of any New Year's resolutions to next Monday. More about the resolutions later. I will say this, my resolutions are very similar to some of the bloggers I have linked to my blog. I will be taking some of their advice, as well as some great advice from my sister Valerie about blessing my home.

Stay tuned...and Happy NEW YEAR! Here's to something great in 2008!

I would drive 500 miles, and I would drive 500 more...

In case you've missed my recent blogs or my husband's, you may not be aware of our latest travel adventures. Okay, so they really aren't that adventurous, but it has been a bit crazy.

First, there was the 2600 mile round-trip to Virginia last weekend with the fam in an RV. Then, just for kicks, we left home on Friday with Melody and Danny in tow to head to Houston for an overnight stay to attend a family Christmas party (yea, yea...huge run-on sentence...). That was probably about a 400 mile trip. And then, just in case we had not had enough, we left Sunday night for a 2000 mile round trip to Chicago. We arrived Monday afternoon for a visit with our sister and brother-in-law and their two daughters. It has been a very special visit because they've not ever had the opportunity to be with family in their own home for Christmas. We are so glad we could make the trip. Our nieces are growing up so fast and because they live so far away, it is not easy to spend time with them often. Our trip back to Texas will begin tomorrow. Lastly, because we really want to see our nephews for Christmas, we will leave home again Sunday on a much shorter trek to Oklahoma for a two day stay. Needless to say, our car is in dire need of a scheduled oil change... we've been putting miles on it like crazy... But, then again... isn't that what cars are for?

This Christmas has definitely been different. Not in a bad way... just totally unusual. As we all get older and more geographically spread out, we have to make changes in the way we do things. The good thing is that we know the real reason we celebrate Christmas...The birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When our niece Kinley was asked what Dec. 25th was, she answered "It's Jesus' Birthday." In fact, we got to participate in a new De Leon family tradition of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and having birthday cake after the Christmas dinner. As long as we get to spend time with family and focus on the true Deliverer, old traditions can take a back seat. I am so thankful that our families are flexible and love us no matter if they see us on Dec. 25th or not. They know it's not the date that is important, it's the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for our lives!

We Made It!

We made it home from our RV Road Trip! The picture above (I know, the quality is not that swell) was taken right before we departed from Virginia on Sunday morning at 8:30 am. Our time in Virginia was wonderful...

We left Texas on Wednesday at 4:30 pm. After we fought Dallas rush hour for a full hour, we were under way. We stopped in Arkansas to pick up my grandparents and continued on our journey. Basically, the five us who were able to drive each took a four to five hour turn driving. If we weren't driving, we played video games -mainly Guitar Hero- or just tried to sleep. About 22 hours later, we arrived at my brother's house. Needless to say, we basically crashed for the rest of the day.

On Friday, we each took turns running errands or being lazy. After some morning shopping, Danny and Mason installed some outdoor lighting that Mason had been needing to finish. Patrick and Sarah went on a longer-than-planned outing to purchase Mason's graduation/Christmas gift. Later, all the ladies went clothes shopping at our favorite store. The best news of that trip was that I had way over spent my clothing budget and purchased a total of $260.00 worth of clothing. However, our fabulous cashier saw to it that I received a whole lot of undue discounts. I left there only paying $117.00. Merry Christmas to me! Friday night, Sarah's family came over and we had a small graduation party for Mason. We also did our big Christmas gift celebration at that time.

Saturday, we all got up early to make the three hour trip to Averett University for Mason's graduation ceremony. He received his Master's in Business Administration. After the three hour trip home, we all just spent time being lazy. Sarah provided a super Christmas meal for dinner. Then, the kids (that's all of us under 50) piled into a vehicle to take a Christmas light tour and stop at our favorite ice cream place, Brewster's. It's amazing... we stopped for ice cream in freezing cold temps. WE are so crazy!

Sunday morning, we woke up and started packing the RV. We were on the road at 8:30 am. About three hours into our trip, we ran into a snow storm. The further we drove, the thicker the snow got. As we came into Tennessee, we could see the snow that had already fallen. The video that is below shows the beginning of the snow. My batteries were dead by the time we saw the beautiful white stuff on the roads and hillsides.



We stopped in Arkansas at about 2:00 am Monday morning to let my grandparents out. At about 6:00 am Monday, we pulled into Danny and Melody's apartment complex. We were all so totally exhausted. Despite the fatigue, we had a super great time. I'd recommend the RV thing to anyone. But, we did break a few rules...like the one that says everyone must be seated and buckled in while the vehicle is in motion...OOPS!

ROAD TRIP!

Okay, hold on to your hats! We're heading out on a fun-filled, adventurous, yet a bit insane Road Trip today! The "we" includes myself, my husband, my sister and her new husband, our mom, and our grandparents. Yes, you read correctly...SEVEN of us! Mode of transportation - RV from Cruise America. Destination - Mechanicsville, Virginia (basically Richmond). 1st Purpose - To attend my brother's graduation for his Master's in Business Administration. 2nd Purpose - To do our Christmas celebration all together!

If you are asking yourself, "What are they thinking?" you'd be justified in that response. Back when we started planning we knew my grandparents wouldn't fly and that it would be cheaper if we could all ride together and take turns driving. We'd also save money on hotel rooms if we could just drive straight through. So, we chose the RV route.

I know the trip will be fun, but I am nervous about driving such a big vehicle in traffic, rain, and wind... which are all in the forecast!

Please pray for our safety during the travel and for our sanity during the time together. We love each other very much, but sometimes we can get on each other's nerves.

I'll keep you posted with our progress if possible. If not...I'll catch you up when we return!

Christmas Fun!

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Christmas Story

Loving, fun, and totally crazy. Don't shoot your eye out!

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Have fun taking this cute quiz. I did. Of course, I still believe in Santa even though the true awakening came in about the 3rd grade when I asked for a computer and my mom told me that sometimes Santa can't afford computers! My greed also got me the truth about the Tooth Fairy...I asked for a raise per tooth, and the fairy left me a note in my tooth pillow that read "Sometimes the Tooth Fairy can't afford a raise." Can't remember how old I was then.