"Hey! That's mine!"I gave it to him and told him to go put it in his room. He thought about it for a few seconds, threw the toy on the floor and said,
"No. It's yours."
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Not worth the effort?
I was picking up some toys yesterday. Gabe saw me holding one of them and announced,
Sunday, December 18, 2011
A man's best friend is...
I knew Owen (12) was listening to a Country Music song when he I heard him ask,
"Is he singing about his wife or his dog?"
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
How "Those Days" Change
Yesterday I had "One of Those Days". It started slow and continued to get bogged down as the day progressed. It wasn't an "everything that could go wrong did go wrong" day. It didn't even compare to this day that I navigated over 3 years ago. It was a day that just kept chipping away at me until my nerves felt exposed. There wasn't even any 'thing' or any 'one' that I could point to as the culprit. It was just a-lot-of-straw-on-the-camel's-back kind of a day.
Keith came home and asked how my day was. I just said it was "A KT Oslin Never Gonna Come Back" kind of a day. I'm not sure where my mind went to dig up that decades old song. I'm not even terribly familiar with the song (I got the title wrong). I just remembered the thought of wanting to run away from everything, but stopping and coming back. I didn't go anywhere but I felt like going.
A successful birthday evening for Shane with a crowd of 15 around the table and a great night sleep later and the KT Oslin song was forgotten.
Until I received a blog comment in my email box this morning. It said,
My run-away song came flooding back to me as I pondered how well I "handled" the experience of yesterday. It also made me think back on how things have changed over the years and how I've reacted to the changes.
I used to call my bad days "Calgon Days" from the Calgon-take-me-away commercials.
I remember my Calgon Days being the 20+ years ago when I had 2, 3, and 4 children under the age of 5. My poor sister-in-law, Jodi, heard way too much about my Calgon days! I don't dismiss the difficulties of coping with dozens of diapers a day, spills, messes, runny noses, shoe-tying, lots of crying, and no help or conversation. But I didn't see the benefits that came with that time in life. Night time for the children lasted close to 12 hours and they all took a 2-hour nap in the afternooon. Keith and I had hours a day to ourselves. My house was clean--beds made, clutter tended to, laundry done systematically (there was so little of it I hardly remember doing it), dishes kept up with....all daily. And weekly I cleaned everything--floors vacuumed and mopped, bathroom scrubbed, dusting done, even the doorknobs and light switches got disinfected. I routinely kept up with letter writing and sewing projects.
When I had "One of Those Days" it looked a lot different that my current "One of Those Days". Thanks have changed. Laundry is no longer a project to start and complete in a day, it's an ongoing part of life that fits into my daily routine. The floors get mopped when I'm sticking to them or Gabe's feet are dirty just from walking through the house. I cleaned a doorknob a few weeks ago,...somewhere. And I've morphed into not being stressed about any of that. It gets done, it's just spread out among a lot of different people and not nearly so scheduled as it once was. We've lived in our home for over 13 years and I've never had the entire house picked up and clean all at one time. One day I might.
What pushes me to my new edge now is the juggling act, physically and mentally. I still deal with the diaper changes and messes, along with the shoe-tying, runny nose, and crying--but not from several children, I only have one with those "challenges". I now work with--a couple of siblings who think their purpose in life is to correct, admonish, and otherwise destroy the self-confidence of the other. A child who works through weeks of math lessons perfectly then completely blanks on the test. When in the middle of the Algebra 1 book and faced with the problem 4x = 3 1/3 I really struggle with the the comment, "but they don't tell me what x is". I now have schedules to keep, people who know what to do but don't do it, and expectations to meet from those who used to just be satisfied to know I was only as far away as the next room.
And it's not that any of those things are impossible or might not even be humorous on some days. But some days they become part of "One of Those Days".
I looked up KT Oslin's song and learned that it's called, "Hold Me". It's also about the relationship between the husband and wife more than their day to day life. Still, the message is there about wanting to take off, but not doing it, and being willing to pick up and get back at it.
There will probably always be "Those Days". The commitment keeps me going, and not just filling shoes and making a presence (which I admit is kind of what I felt like I was doing yesterday). But I'm committed to draw deeper from the well of Jesus so I can smile and love while getting piled with straws. The straws seem to pile up a lot faster and feel a lot heavier when my countenance is down. In fact, I think most of the straws are actually created by the sour countenance!
So, Kelsey, thanks for the encouragement to keep on "handling" "Those Days".
Keith came home and asked how my day was. I just said it was "A KT Oslin Never Gonna Come Back" kind of a day. I'm not sure where my mind went to dig up that decades old song. I'm not even terribly familiar with the song (I got the title wrong). I just remembered the thought of wanting to run away from everything, but stopping and coming back. I didn't go anywhere but I felt like going.
A successful birthday evening for Shane with a crowd of 15 around the table and a great night sleep later and the KT Oslin song was forgotten.
Until I received a blog comment in my email box this morning. It said,
Cindy,
I would like you to know that your blog brings a smile to my face every week, also a tear.. whether in sadness or in laughter..
Thank you so much for sharing the experiences that many of us probably couldn't handle!
God bless,
Kelsey
My run-away song came flooding back to me as I pondered how well I "handled" the experience of yesterday. It also made me think back on how things have changed over the years and how I've reacted to the changes.
I used to call my bad days "Calgon Days" from the Calgon-take-me-away commercials.
I remember my Calgon Days being the 20+ years ago when I had 2, 3, and 4 children under the age of 5. My poor sister-in-law, Jodi, heard way too much about my Calgon days! I don't dismiss the difficulties of coping with dozens of diapers a day, spills, messes, runny noses, shoe-tying, lots of crying, and no help or conversation. But I didn't see the benefits that came with that time in life. Night time for the children lasted close to 12 hours and they all took a 2-hour nap in the afternooon. Keith and I had hours a day to ourselves. My house was clean--beds made, clutter tended to, laundry done systematically (there was so little of it I hardly remember doing it), dishes kept up with....all daily. And weekly I cleaned everything--floors vacuumed and mopped, bathroom scrubbed, dusting done, even the doorknobs and light switches got disinfected. I routinely kept up with letter writing and sewing projects.
When I had "One of Those Days" it looked a lot different that my current "One of Those Days". Thanks have changed. Laundry is no longer a project to start and complete in a day, it's an ongoing part of life that fits into my daily routine. The floors get mopped when I'm sticking to them or Gabe's feet are dirty just from walking through the house. I cleaned a doorknob a few weeks ago,...somewhere. And I've morphed into not being stressed about any of that. It gets done, it's just spread out among a lot of different people and not nearly so scheduled as it once was. We've lived in our home for over 13 years and I've never had the entire house picked up and clean all at one time. One day I might.
What pushes me to my new edge now is the juggling act, physically and mentally. I still deal with the diaper changes and messes, along with the shoe-tying, runny nose, and crying--but not from several children, I only have one with those "challenges". I now work with--a couple of siblings who think their purpose in life is to correct, admonish, and otherwise destroy the self-confidence of the other. A child who works through weeks of math lessons perfectly then completely blanks on the test. When in the middle of the Algebra 1 book and faced with the problem 4x = 3 1/3 I really struggle with the the comment, "but they don't tell me what x is". I now have schedules to keep, people who know what to do but don't do it, and expectations to meet from those who used to just be satisfied to know I was only as far away as the next room.
And it's not that any of those things are impossible or might not even be humorous on some days. But some days they become part of "One of Those Days".
I looked up KT Oslin's song and learned that it's called, "Hold Me". It's also about the relationship between the husband and wife more than their day to day life. Still, the message is there about wanting to take off, but not doing it, and being willing to pick up and get back at it.
There will probably always be "Those Days". The commitment keeps me going, and not just filling shoes and making a presence (which I admit is kind of what I felt like I was doing yesterday). But I'm committed to draw deeper from the well of Jesus so I can smile and love while getting piled with straws. The straws seem to pile up a lot faster and feel a lot heavier when my countenance is down. In fact, I think most of the straws are actually created by the sour countenance!
So, Kelsey, thanks for the encouragement to keep on "handling" "Those Days".
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving Weekend Entertainment
My description of this year's Thanksgiving weekend--a fabulous, fun-filled, friend and family frenzy. We set a record for the number of people gathered for dinner (56) and even added a few more for pie. Our habit for decades has been to open our home for any family and friends who want to gather and/or don't have any family in town. We were thrilled to have so many join us this year! The weather was perfect for the annual football game and gave everyone a chance to get out and run off the meal. I suspect, however, that the old guys were calling huddles just to catch their breath. (Light and Mendo, you remember how cold it was when you were here that we even had trouble keeping warm by the bonfire--this year was warm and I didn't even wear a coat when I went out to take pictures!)
For some people it is strange that anyone would not live near their relatives and for others it is the norm. We discovered that out of the 9 couples present (18 of us) only 2 were actually born in Wisconsin. Even more surprising was realizing that 7 of us were born and/or raised in California. We felt like a real example of the mobility that is available in our modern society.
On Friday, we planned some meals, activities, and game times for our immediate family and one of the highlights was having Bryce produce and direct some lip sync videos. Most of them will remain private and be enjoyed only by the ones who are now regretting letting their inhibitions run away with them. This one, however, shouldn't embarrass anyone and was our favorite of the bunch.
For some people it is strange that anyone would not live near their relatives and for others it is the norm. We discovered that out of the 9 couples present (18 of us) only 2 were actually born in Wisconsin. Even more surprising was realizing that 7 of us were born and/or raised in California. We felt like a real example of the mobility that is available in our modern society.
On Friday, we planned some meals, activities, and game times for our immediate family and one of the highlights was having Bryce produce and direct some lip sync videos. Most of them will remain private and be enjoyed only by the ones who are now regretting letting their inhibitions run away with them. This one, however, shouldn't embarrass anyone and was our favorite of the bunch.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
THIS IS MY SISTER!!!!
Recipient of TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans) Award, 2011. Go Kari! I've seen her "at work" and she is just awesome and amazing and inspiring at what she does. She was probably their number one pick (out of the ten) for this award.
Here's her modest bio:
Kari has been producing human potential events for disease-related causes since 1998. She is the founder and executive director of Charity Events of Minnesota – a non-profit organization created in 2007. CEoM produces the Breast Cancer Ride and in 2012 she and her team will be producing a new event that focuses on men’s cancers. Before founding CEoM, Kari was the original executive producer of the Red Ribbon Ride, which is a four-day bike ride for HIV/AIDS and was also a staff member at Pallotta TeamWorks where she helped produce the AIDSRide and Breast Cancer 3 Day Walks. In the first three years of the Breast Cancer Ride, she has helped raised more than half a million dollars for their beneficiaries: Open Arms of Minnesota and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Minnesota affiliate. In her time with the Red Ribbon Ride, Kari helped raise 2.7 million dollars for nine different nonprofit beneficiaries. Kari also dedicates personal time to serving her community as a member of the Community Services and Planning Commission for the City of Richfield and volunteers her time with organizations like Open Arms of Minnesota, Stone Family, Dakota Woodland Feed My Starving Children, Rosemount Family Resource Center Special Olympics, and serves as a “Big” for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters. She credits the many people in her life who have “poured their life into her” and acted as a mentor. Kari wants to raise young leaders up and lives by the motto “my ceiling is your floor” – words shared by her pastor that resonates with Kari and motivates her to mentor others.
Here's her modest bio:
Kari has been producing human potential events for disease-related causes since 1998. She is the founder and executive director of Charity Events of Minnesota – a non-profit organization created in 2007. CEoM produces the Breast Cancer Ride and in 2012 she and her team will be producing a new event that focuses on men’s cancers. Before founding CEoM, Kari was the original executive producer of the Red Ribbon Ride, which is a four-day bike ride for HIV/AIDS and was also a staff member at Pallotta TeamWorks where she helped produce the AIDSRide and Breast Cancer 3 Day Walks. In the first three years of the Breast Cancer Ride, she has helped raised more than half a million dollars for their beneficiaries: Open Arms of Minnesota and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Minnesota affiliate. In her time with the Red Ribbon Ride, Kari helped raise 2.7 million dollars for nine different nonprofit beneficiaries. Kari also dedicates personal time to serving her community as a member of the Community Services and Planning Commission for the City of Richfield and volunteers her time with organizations like Open Arms of Minnesota, Stone Family, Dakota Woodland Feed My Starving Children, Rosemount Family Resource Center Special Olympics, and serves as a “Big” for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters. She credits the many people in her life who have “poured their life into her” and acted as a mentor. Kari wants to raise young leaders up and lives by the motto “my ceiling is your floor” – words shared by her pastor that resonates with Kari and motivates her to mentor others.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Welcome Veda Dawn!
At 6:31 am EST (this morning, November 19) Chet and Priscilla welcomed little Miss Veda Dawn into the world (pronounced VAY-da). This beautiful little girl weighs 8 pounds 5 ounces and is 20.5 inches long. Priscilla was admitted to the hospital at noon yesterday with high blood pressure and early signs of pre-eclampsia. There was talk of having to induce her amid some concern for her health. God answered our prayers and not only brought her blood pressure back down; but, just as they were beginning to set up for an induction her water broke and labor proceeded naturally! Priscilla felt like she was birthing "forever" because she had spent the entire day in the hospital, but her actual labor was only 9 hours long and everything went very well. Even though she claimed her make-up all got wiped off during labor I think she looked every bit as radiant as Dana.
Two babies in two days! It sure brings back memories. Dana was born just two days after her cousin Mark and she is excited and hopeful that these two cousins will have as much fun growing up with each other as she and Mark did. The two girls are just 27 hours apart.
I mentioned in the last post that we were all together for supper on Tuesday night, but what I failed to include is that we had a cake for dessert that I jokingly named "Labor Cake". It was actually the top to Chet and Priscilla's wedding cake that has been in my freezer for just a few weeks shy of two years! Yes, we all braved it and actually ate a piece. It survived quite well and tasted pretty good. I don't know if it had anything to do with bringing on their labors (both in less than 72 hours). But, just in case there's anything to it our advice is: Save your frozen wedding cake until you're ready to go into labor. And if you want the exact recipe you can contact Priscilla's dad for the recipe (yes, he made her wedding cake).
Here is Veda with her Daddy, her Granddad, and Uncle Gabe.
Veda, 8 hours old, sleeping with a little bit of a scowl
Chet, 24 hours old, sleeping with his own little scowl
Nana holding my 4th granddaughter, the daughter of my 4th child (I just have a thing with numbers!).
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Welcome Sadie Jean!!
At 2:12 am (this morning, November 17) Dana and David became the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. Sadie Jean weighs 7 pounds 7 ounces and is 19 inches long. Wonder-woman-Dana only had 4 hours of labor. I went and saw her this morning and she looked radiant and way too lively for not having slept at all last night. David looked great, too, but I won't say radiant (I think he'd prefer I kept it that way).
Both Dana and Priscilla were here for supper on Tuesday night (both overdue) and I suggested that they each have their baby on the 17th. Our first four grandchildren have birthdates with the numbers 1 and/or 7 in them (11th, 17th, and 7th) which makes it very easy for Nana to keep track of! You can't get any better than 11-17-11. Apparently, Sadie thought it was a good idea because she complied beautifully!
Unhappy Baby Sadie
Almost 21 years ago, an unhappy baby Dana
Holding my 5th grandchild, daughter of my 5th child.
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