Lola!

The kids' grandmother took them out today to find a puppy. They found Lola, a four-month old terrier mix and instantly fell in love with her.

Taking Christmas Pictures

We went out this weekend scouting for places to take some pictures of the kids for our Christmas cards. We found this little old country church remarkably close to my office. I never knew it was there. This isn't the picture that we are sending with the cards, but this one was definitely worth sharing.

I Bet I'll Never See This Again!

We're driving down the road today and I look over to my right just in time to see Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph getting in a little red Cavalier. I make a quick right and beg them for a picture. Asher was afraid of the trio, but Kinsley happily posed.

Laughter Heals

One of my favorite comedians, Craig Shoemaker, has created a non-profitable charitable organization whose goal is to promote healing through laughter. I have always believed that laughter benefits the soul, if by no other way than alleviating someone's worry or anxiety. The foundation's website (http://www.laughterheals.com) contains several testimonies of the good work done by the organization and provides easy links to contribute. Please check it out.

Here I Am!

I think I am actually the last person in the world to create a blog. For those who have known me for a while, I used to maintain a web site devoted to my family, but I got tired of paying for the site and have decided to try this out since it is free.

One of the reasons it took me so long to create a blog is that I tried to find a good name for a blog that would be light-hearted and could not be subject to any possible negative misconceptions. A few months ago, I was driving through downtown Birmingham and saw a sign advertising a delicacy I have never experienced:

My first thought was, "That will be the name of my blog". But then I started thinking I might not want to be known as the Pig Lips Man. So I thought and thought some more about a name and finally decided on "Laughing Right Out Loud". This name comes from a song title (by Bleu Edmondson) and kind of describes my outlook on life. I am easily amused by things I encounter every day and I try to find the humor in almost everything I do. Thus, the blog was born.

Since this blog will chronicle the goings on in my life, I should start by posting pictures of the two most beautiful kids in the world.

This is Kinsley (age 10) enjoying the Kenny Chesney concert from the front row. She was excited about the concert she and her mother attended. Since this is not really my taste in music, I asked her to wear her Cross Canadian Ragweed shirt to the show.

Here is Asher showing eager anticipation of opening his birthday presents on his 4th birthday.