Mike grad announcement, full circle:)

The Inspiration Board » Edit - 3 girl grad open house

The Inspiration Board » Edit - 3 girl grad open house

5x7 Folded Card

Simply Classic Graduation Card

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Sweet And Scrappy Christmas Card

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Dynamics

The forces at work in family life are incredible. There can be push and pull and everything in between. Our Ben is gone working this summer and will head off to college soon! That leaves things a little different in our home:) No longer do I need to worry about pushing him on to do something good with his time, now Mike has slipped into that role. And Lauren is trying to break the mold of being in the middle--still mostly all about her though:) The house is devoid of that fun laugh and big hugs and we miss him! He is at a BSA summer camp teaching scouts merit badges on the lake such as swimming and sailing. He called the other day and relayed a bit about what he was doing and what he said made his Dad and I so proud. He had a very full week of scouts and about 50 doing sailing which is so many at a time that he and his instructor partner divided them in half because all couldn't sail at the same time. At this particular part of the camp the beach is near the doctor and his/her family that come for the week to volunteer their time and service. Well Ben and his staff were asked to take them out for an afternoon sail amidst this surplus of scout sailors! His staff partner lamented to Ben that they couldn't possibly fit them in to which Ben replied that indeed they could and would fit them in! That's our Ben--the best versions of us shining through! Tim would do for anyone at anytime and I have taught him that nothing is impossible. Those are some pretty powerful forces at work that can pass on attitudes like that.

We are so grateful that he has been able to attend church up in Bemidji and spend part of each weekend with Ken and Shirley and their good family. I was at a Time Out for Women seminar this Spring when I visited with Shirley(my YW leader as a youth:) again and told her Ben would be coming up there and not sure that he could get to church. She told me right away that she would be happy to get him and have them stay with him. What a tender mercy that was and is! He has had wonderful visits with them and he has called to say how much he loves them! That is the most powerful force of all and he is sooo good at loving. It meant so much to him that his grandparents and most of my siblings came out with their families for his graduation.

Ben grad announcement

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influence and perspective

The kids are growing up so fast now. I look back now over more time and memories than I have left with them at home. I remember days after school in 6th grade with the oldest boy rocking him still as he struggled with what friends would give the right influence for him. We talked about who he would be and who he wanted to be with. Several years of trying different ones on and now he seems to have found a stability in who he is and who he identifies with. Now he is looking up to young men a few years ahead of him and influenced by their example. I am glad I have helped him meet/associate with these young men(EFY and YM counselors,LDS friends and missionaries). These people have a framework that they are living their lives around that provide positive values and perspective. They are not perfect and the organization they are involved in is not perfect BUT the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and for me that separation is simple and complete. It can be messy but in these difficult times the simple vision I have to teach my kids how to be good people with successful relationships lies there. My daughter will be larger and better than I but I hope she remembers that simple way. She will do great things. She too has found what makes her happy in friendships and clearly sees the influence people can have. Now I see the baby making his way to 6th grade smiling from ear-to-ear as he is invited to play with friends, still navigating the way through influences and I hope I can show him the same or guide him along his own journey. I love seeing the people my kids are becoming and I am so glad to know them. They are my greatest work.

My marathon

I started playing the flute in 9th grade (most started in 6th grade) and I taught myself how to play with some help from my band teacher the summer before. My journal entries from that time are all about what goals I had and playing each day to reach them. Then I played in a flute choir and took a few private lessons in college for a year. I really enjoyed it but didn't have some of the basic skills such as counting mastered very well. So for the past 6 years I have been taking flute lessons again and I have had lofty goals for myself. One was to be able to play a really extensive piece memorized with my teacher playing piano. With recitals in the winter and spring I have probably played a dozen times now in front of an audience in this venue and I can now make it through the entire song, not lose breath and I have memorized a Debussy piece! as well as keep counting to stay together with piano--difficult esp when nervous!!!! This is me playing Prelude to the Afternoon of a faun by Claude Debussy. --minus the middle half due to time constraints for the recital. Enjoy! Now I would like to work on enjoying the audience more but that is a way off I think:)http://www.motionbox.com/videos/d498deb1191be3c35c

Doing

I can usually find no shortage of things to do to keep me busy. Today I am fondly thinking of all the places I have lived and found activities to do in and around. Just the other day I was telling the kids about when I lived at the top of a very long hill in Council Bluffs, Iowa and how my Dad would take a running start in the car to make it up, which I remember taking a few tries to do in the icy winters we had there. In the summer we kids would ride our bikes down the hill, oh so fast, with our legs flying out like we were ready to take off with wings. I actually hit the curb with such speed that I bit through below my lip once. Then when we moved to Bemidji my parents bought us ice skates(I actually have memories of doing this in Iowa too but at parks) and my Dad would flood the front yard and we had our own personal pond. One Christmas we all got Nordic cross-country skiis and we would go on the trails very close to where we lived by the Concordia language village. I have taken these skiis with me wherever I lived after I got married and used them in Pocatello on a golf course that they groomed with trails. Tim got a pair as well and then they went in storage. Not much snow in Seattle close to where we lived and we didn't go and do much in the way of getting out and enjoying it. But we did visit the beach and we had a great walking path and bike trail close to our house there. But the skiis stayed in storage. We moved back to MN and for the first time yesterday I pulled them out of the garage, tried on the old boots and made my way to the park/lake across the street. It was a beautiful day. The conditions were just right. It had snowed a few days ago. February snow is so good for skiing and it was still cold enough to not be sticky. The no-wax glide bottle was frozen (purchased in Pocatello) and after a brief thaw and application to the skiis that had been dug out of the garage cobwebs and brought in the house, I was off! I have been looking forward to this all week. I could just tell it was going to be perfect. I arrived at the edge of the lake, and no one was around except the busy city traffic and freeway nearby. I looked up as I had a feeling I wasn't alone as the birds were all a twitter and this guy/gal Eagle had probably just finished a meal of fish.

Well there is no better greeting than that for a good morning! So off I went and someone else had broken a trail before me so I hopped right on to the frozen ice and skiied around the trail. It didn't go all the way around the lake so I made more trail on the other side. Now it is said that cross-country skiing is one of the best aerobic excersises to do. It doesn't seem like one does much but I was sweating and shedding layers after 20 minutes. Another 30 minutes later and trying to take photos of myself, I headed for home. I had a marvelous time and it is a gray day today so I am going to surround myself with these photos!

ringing in the new year

The boys and I rang in 2010 with our traditional "bubbly" and episodes of Mythbusters on Netflix after a couple rounds of Scrabble Slam! card game--thanks Grandma and Grandpa:)

just for me

A few moments to myself at the end of the year. I made an artichoke ricotta pizza and lemon poppy seed bundt cake--yummm, while watching "Under the Biltmore clock", an American Playhouse movie which is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Myra meets his family". Very good.

Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade

Here is one of the links to Ben playing in the Edina High School Band parade. He marches two rows in front of the white tubas to the left of the center yellow line of the road. I know they all look alike but that's where he said he was! http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=e5c15fcb-b026-4683-b4a6-69e21501d1bc&src=front

This is why. . .

I'ts that time of year when sales abound and taunt and the desire for a new winter sweater popped out of my closet! So off I went to Macy's and looked and looked for an hour, finally settled on one and tried it on. Something just wasn't quite right so I left it and begged my daughter to come back with me later on that day to see if she liked it on me. I thought her ideas of what looks good on me might help see what I was having trouble with. She wouldn't do it. Farmville, an old episode of Heroes and talking with her friend on the phone was more important. So after dinner Tim and I went out to learn how to use our OnStar from the car dealer and he asked if he could help with what was bothering me. "Just a silly sweater", I said. He drove right to the mall when I had just decided to forget it and 20 minutes before closing watched as I tried it on and then saw exactly what was wrong with it for my body type and then helped me sum up what does flatter my shape in the most perfect way. He even branched out and helped with pants and that is even harder for me to find the right fit. Anyway, it is "New Moon" release week and maybe I am a little love sick but . . . I love him.

Lauren's backyard summer projects

This girl is doing every bit as much as Ben did for his Eagle project! Way to go Lauren:)http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbId=2275448
Remember to hit the button to the top right to view in full screen--easier to read

Reading

I pulled some lower back muscles last week during my body pump class so I decided to get back to reading as I couldn't do much else. I just finished The Help and now I am starting Peace like a River to read along with Ben. Mike and I are into Chet Gecko mysteries. I just finished reading The Hunger Games with Lauren and took her to see a local community play, Wait until Dark.

Visitors after the game

Well this is a fitting way to get back to posting again. These little guys made my day last Saturday, around noon after our first freeze. Lauren had just finished her last high school soccer game of the season. This flock of Eastern bluebirds were on their way through and stayed the afternoon in our backyard Maple and would fly down to the grass and grab something. Their song was so pretty although it was a bit nippy to be out watching them. A guy at the wild bird store thought they were probably grabbing the bugs that had frozen and fallen out of the tree overnight. So here are a few shots of them and one of Lauren at the game.

Going to see my sisters

I love visiting with my sisters. Now that we are old enough to enjoy each other, the visits we get are so fun. Love them! So here is a little preview of gifts I am bearing as I come:) http://www.brittneysscentsations.blogspot.com/ Can't wait!!!!!!!

June is such a busy month

June is always so busy for us. The winding down of school and that busy schedule gets replaced with a more relaxed but still project-oriented busy, esp. outdoor projects. This year Lauren wanted to lay a patio and have it done for Father's Day. My birthday fell in the middle of the two week span she devoted to the project from planning, buying and assembly. So we squeezed some fun in there for that too! So here are some before, during and after photos.

Surrey bike rental and sling-shot for Mike(he wants one of these real bad!!)

The work continues . . . she enlists more helpers!

And FINISHED for lunch on Father's Day.

Ben spent all week putting the grill together:)

Complete with tiki torches that she had drawn into the plans at the start!

Dads at home

Two or three Dads in my neighborhood that I know of are staying home this summer with their kids. Two have lost their jobs in the last several months. These are tough times, but I see both making "lemonade" with their situation. One just had a newborn baby 2 weeks ago and he will be home with his baby. I hope he knows that time will not be a regret. And the other has a 9 year old that just said to me last night that she is looking forward to being around to play with the kids more because she won't have to go to the summer day care program. He also has a 15 month baby. I hope both men know what value that have at home and around the neighborhood too.
My Dad was home with us when I was elementary school age and those are fond memories I have. Some playing around the house and watching Sesame Street together and a few field trip places. All of it are memories of being together with my Dad that I don't think any kid would regret. Maybe I will get a chance to tell them that. I think I have with my Dad. Do they know how just really coool they are! Wonderful times:)

happy day

Lauren and I just went over to the Mall and got ourselves some of these to celebrate my happy news from my doctor. A few weeks ago, my doctor said the words no woman wants to hear, "have you felt this lump?" as he was examining my breast on regular yearly exam visit. That moment was a little surreal at the time and I wasn't shocked until later esp. when I told my husband when I got home and he freaked out! A mammogram and ultrasound later with no definitive answer we saw another doctor to discuss biopsy/removal or watching and waiting. We opted to remove and test so today I found out from my doctor that nothing was abnormal in it soooo big sigh of relief and hence the treat of chocolates!!!!! Lauren was pretty worried like her Dad and I was resolved to deal with what I needed to, but I had a good feeling all along. Moments of contemplating your own mortality in a serious way like this affect people differently. I was happy with everything I have done in my life and have no major regrets. I definitely have more I want to do yet and am grateful for delicious chocolates:)