Sometimes I thought I was a good mom. Sometimes, I felt like I spent the day nagging ( 唠叨不休) my kids rather than _______them, especially my strong-willed son. But a family get-together taught me an important _______.

My son was ten at the time and we were on a late night family _______ tip to Cleveland for the get-together the next day. I was taking my_______at the wheel while my husband and my small daughter _______. My son, full of energy, was wide awake in the back seat. I needed to stay awake, too, and I didn’t want to _______ the radio. So I asked him to talk to me to help keep me awake . “Sure, Mom,” he said, “what do you want to _______?” I told him I’d talk about _______ he wanted to talk about. “How about frogs (青蛙)?” he asked. I said that would be fine, and for the next hour or so we talked about the _______between frogs and toads (蟾蜍),and ________ --basketball and soccer. He was quite ________ when we talked about Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson and how they got to be so famous. Now and then he would ________, but we’d continue to talk as I drove down the ________ road.

About an hour and a half later, when I finally arrived , the bright lights woke everyone, and the magic of our discussion ________. But I knew that I had taken the first step toward changing a bad ________ habit with someone I love very much.

When I helped my nephew (外甥) George put some things in his truck, I _________ his toolbox. My dad also had one. He was a hard-working man, who _________ work that could be performed by either tools in a toolbox, or a good set of hands. He always encouraged us to do jobs requiring hard work. My dad would _________ George’s interest if he were alive. He would love watching George learn new skills and _________ his hobby.

My dad died young. _________, at some family gatherings, people often share some small _________ of someone no longer around. This helps them _________ these people. My family is no exception. My sisters were good at telling these stories over and over, _________ they would make us laugh—they could always succeed in creating a very _________ atmosphere for us. For me, that was a perfect way to confirm (证明) my dad’s ____________ in our world at a time when we were little girls.

My dad never got to meet any of this grandchildren, which is ____________. Therefore, we ____________ to keep him alive for these children by pointing out the ____________ things that keep him alive for us. The photos, the stories and some places we visited all have helped us____________ a person for them, at least a person that rests in their heart. We want them to have more good ____________ of their childhood.

When Chandra saw his baby girl, Karunia, for the first time, he wept. But as he looked upon his little daughter’s face and hands, the dreams and hopes he had prayed for came _______.

The girl’s fingers were formed together into a club (一团), where there had five _______ tiny fingers and nails because of Apert syndrome (综合征), which _______ hands and feet while there is no cure. He wrapped the baby in a blanket to cover her feet and hands before handing her to his wife with a(n) _______ smile. Then Chandra called his friend to help break the news of their daughter’s _______ to his wife, Angelina. “I just cried and wondered why,” said Angelina.

Neither Chandra nor Angelina had a good education and they _______ to care for the baby girl who needed _______ care. But help came from the local Compassion Survival Program when the girl was a year old.

_______, the couple had a better understanding of their baby’s disability. Their fears and anxieties _______, and they accepted her condition.

Early intervention and monthly ________ checkups helped Karunia to become healthy. Staff helped the family to ________ a government program for low-income earners that funded a special surgery to create fingers on her right hand, while the program ________ the costs of her medicine. A second surgery ________ to provide her with more ________ in her right hand.

“She is our own flesh and blood, and we have to ________ her for she came into our life,” said Angelina.