Sing us a song, you're the piano man...

Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
-Billy Joel, Piano Man

Hi folks - Luke here. Everybody else in the fam has gotten to write on this blog, and I've finally convinced mom to give me a turn. (Jay hasn't written in a while, but he's been pretty preoccupied lately.)

I got to tell y'all, this Ronald McDonald House is the place for me. Seriously, people here adore me. The RMH volunteers all come to visit me and ooh and ahh over how cute I am. They make lots of comments about my sticky-up hair ... something about a mohawk? I dunno - my hair just does this. Most days, I hang out in this super cool playroom and play the piano. WITH MY FEET! My mom seems surprised at my talent, but really, it isn't too hard. Check me out:



You can't see it too well, but there's a microphone on the side. And boy can I sing! In fact, I can get the entire microphone in my mouth and can still sing around it. I have a pretty big mouth. Mom says I got it from all that grinning I do. I'm a pretty happy guy, what can I say? Of course all that time I spend with my mouth wide open and smiling also means that I do a fair amount of drooling. People keep asking if I'm cutting teeth (not sure what teeth are, but mom says I'm not cutting them). Mom and these rotating grandmothers pretty much keep a bib on me as a fashion accessory because I do like to soak things with my drool.

I really like to eat here, too. When we left Raleigh, I was just eating a little bit of baby cereal. I mean, it's cool to get something other than milk now & again, but that stuff tastes and smells like wet cardboard. I eat it, cause I pretty much eat anything. But it's not my favorite. My favorite is Mangoes! And bananas! And green beans! And peaches! And carrots! And sweet potatoes! I pretty much love it all. Oh, I'm getting excited just thinking about food - and thinking about it makes me drool, too.

I'm really a rock and roll kinda guy. I can roll over both ways, and now mom finds me on my tummy most mornings. I keep telling her that she doesn't sleep on her back, so why should I? And I can sit up for a bit, too. The world is far more interesting when there's something to look at other than the ceiling. I sometimes crash over when I've been sitting too long, but they usually have a pillow or blanket nearby to cushion my fall. And to catch my puddles of drool.

But the thing I like best about being here is that I almost never have to sleep in my bed. See, I'm having such a good time that I've started getting up about 1:00 a.m. every night to see if I'm missing out on any fun activities. Mom says I should be sleeping, but I'd rather not. Night time is party time!! So, to get me back to sleep, she gives me milk. And rocks me. Then, she lets me sleep in her arms, or sometimes even in the bed with her. She says these are bad habits to be starting, but she gives in because she doesn't want me to wake up the entire RMH. She says going back to Raleigh will mean "baby boot camp". And that sounds like I'll be sleeping in my own room & my own bed again. I'm not too excited about that, 'cause a boy could get used to this rocking chair.

So while I'm not too excited about that part of going home, I am missing all my friends at church and at school. I hear lots of y'all have been praying for me too, and I'm glad. You know, sometimes we second kids get kinda forgotten, especially when our big brothers need lots of remembering. But there's no forgetting this big grin!