“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”
~~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hi all,

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms of all varieties out there.  I hope your kid/dog/cat/other pet/etc. treated you well today!

In case that opening didn't clue you in, I'm one of those "families come in all shapes and sizes" people.  So rather than just celebrating moms in this issue, I decided to have some fun with parenthood in general.  Enjoy!

God bless,
Jenni

PS- No easter egg this time.  Still working on that writing project!  Also, my apologies for any typos.  Wanted to get this sent before the weather posed issues!
So over in Dyeland, Andrew has found himself serving as a father figure for Shelby, Max, Violeta, and now Belle.  One wonders at the...
Top Ten Ways Parenthood Might Change Andrew

10.  Whatever lingering distaste for Halloween that he has will be gone when he sees his little princess/clown/superhero/etc. bounding up to him and ready to go trick-or-treating.

9.  He'll change out of those white suits immediately upon return to Dyeland lest they end up covered in pudding, ice cream, or grape juice courtesy of Belle.

8.  You thought Andrew was protective before...  I'm not sure I envy Shelby's and Belle's potential suitors.  They're gonna get interrogated!  Politely, of course!  But still...

7.  In spite of his gross-out reaction when Tess tried to help remove his mime make-up, he's going to find himself cleaning Belle up with his own spit.  Yup.

6.  He'll be so sleep deprived that he might show up for assignments with mismatched shoes and smelling of baby formula because he forgot to put the sweater Belle spit up on in the hamper.

5.  He'll find himself humming songs from the Disney Princess Collection videos and wondering why the guys on the basketball team he's working with are all looking strangely at him.

4.  When JenniAnn's birthday rolls around, Andrew will discover that nice dinners, slow dances, and sentimental bric-a-brac have all been trumped by one most desired gift: a nap.

3.  Woe unto you, Deans of the world.  You best get your acts together before Andrew ends up assigned to you because I'm not so sure he's going to settle for just going after computers any more.  Not that I think he'd ever indulge in physical violence.  But I foresee verbal beatdowns of epic proportions. 

2.  While Andrew was never lacking in love for the Father, he'll likely find himself appreciating and loving Him even more as he experiences the agony and ecstasy of parenthood.

1.  He'll be even more passionate and gentle as he tells his assignments "God loves you" because now he really and truly and always feels what it is to love and want to nurture a child.  Sigh...

Both when I agreed and when I didn't, TBAA taught me a lot.  So today seemed like a good time to reflect on those lessons that I'd like to teach my kids.  Whether I ever have kids or not, there are certainly people I hope to nurture... maybe with these lessons.
Things I Want to Teach My "Kids"


1.  God loves you.  No matter what.  Seriously.  There are no asterisks, no conditions. 

2.  It's up to you to show that love to the world.

3.  As much as others' words may hurt, only God's judgment really matters.  And the things we get judged about so much here?  He doesn't even really care about a lot of em. 

4.  Don't be ashamed of your faith.  But don't be pushy about it, either.  God doesn't need to be shoved down people's throats. 

5.  Death isn't scary.  We all die eventually.  But we don't die alone.  God is there.  An angel (or, who knows, maybe several) will be there.  And on the other side... life!

6.  Be good to other people.  You really do never know if they might be angels (or God!).  And even if they're not, we humans are pretty great, too.

7.  God made you.  He made your skin, your hair color (well, unless you've dyed it), your eye color, your body, etc.  So don't get sucked into the trap of needing the perfect body or face.  God loves you just as you are!

8.  Family and friends are important.  It's important to live up to your responsibilities on the job but when those start to conflict with time with those you love... might be time to re-prioritize. 

9.  Try not to judge other people or fly into a fury over the smallest slight.  You just plain never know what others are going through.

10.  That being said, don't let people consistently treat you badly.  You're a beautiful creation of God and deserve to be treated and loved as such!

11.  Everyone out there is your brother or sister, created by the same Father.  Respect and love them.  When they're suffering and you can help: do help.

12.  Pray!  God wants to hear from you!


This newsletter is dedicated to John for continuing to teach me so many lessons through his work on TBAA, other projects, and their legacy.  From the trivial to the profound, I don't think there's a day that goes by that I don't learn something that somehow traces back to my enjoyment of his work.

JABB TOC

JABB 411

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)