By Fidelity and Fortitude

Sonnet 29

2012-02-10T00:26:00.001-06:00

One of the things I love about literature is that the good stuff is always good and sometimes, it gets better.

For instance, I have read Jane Eyre I-don't-know-how-many times but each time it means something a little bit different and something more than it did all the times before.

Shakespeare's sonnets are adored and reviled by high school students the world over and when I first read most of them, they left me if not cold, at least lukewarm. Old dishwater warm.

They seemed like the ramblings of either a pathetically rejected lover or a dismal old man.

Now, years...many years...years upon years upon years...later, I begin to understand a little bit more and appreciate a little bit more what that rejected lover and dismal old man felt.

When I was newly in love, the first lines of Sonnet 116 seemed to exquisitely capture my sentiments: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediment...[Love] is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark..."

But as we - John and I - get older, some further lines have gained significance as well. "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom."

I seem to identify more closely with that dismal old man, too.

So when I came across Sonnet 29 again, its lines spoke to me in ways I'd never heard before.

Maybe there is something to this "older and wiser" thing. Maybe "getting" poetry is a sign of wisdom. Maybe wisdom means seeing more than we could see before, hearing more than we could hear, feeling more than a twenty-something year old is able to feel. Maybe wisdom means understanding that life is mostly made of maybes.

Maybe I should wrap this up before I posit anything truly ridiculous. Or am I too late? I should let Shakespeare finish this off. He always says it best.

Sonnet 29:
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Brag

2012-02-07T01:34:00.000-06:00

Well, if you can't brag about your kids on your own blog, where can you brag?

Last night as I sat up in bed reading, my oldest wandered in, probably looking to delay bedtime, but in an amicable, chatty mood. I put down my book and we chatted for half an hour about school and life, everything and nothing. No big life questions going on, no agenda, no discipline (good or bad), no particular purpose, just chatting. It was balm to my heart that aches too often with the tension between a teen who is growing, stretching, testing, and parents who are worried, feeling our way, and, frankly, basically clueless. Quiet time to reconnect is too infrequent with busy schedules and loaded timetables, so this just warmed my heart.

This afternoon, Micah scored four points in his basketball game. These were his first points for this basketball season (which is almost over) and his grin was so good to see. His team won by one point so that made his points all the more important! I love to see my kids succeed!

Last week, Johanna moved up to the next level of math. She is now in Saxon 6/5, if that means anything to you, or 5th grade math, if it doesn't. She has been working since the beginning of the school year to try to do this and for her to make it...in math, no less!...I'm just proud as punch. She obviously got her father's math gene, not mine!

Sam just keeps me smiling in general. Tonight he was looking back through his math book and reminiscing. He said to me, "Remember 86? Page 86? I remember it like it was yesterday." (It was several months ago, now.) He is still willing to snuggle with me occasionally and lets me read to him.

Funny how I used to feel like I'd be reading Good Night, Moon forever and now no one asks for it at all.

I don't stop to enjoy my kids enough so when I realized all four of these things in one evening, I had to write them down.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the precious gift of my children.

Happy birthday, Micah!

2012-02-02T23:37:00.000-06:00

This is slightly belated,but happy 12th birthday, Micah!

Micah was born the day before my dad's birthday.

We were kind of hoping he'd hold off so the two could celebrate on the same day, but it seemed pretty clear that the little guy was on his way and I wasn't going to hold off another nine hours just for that!

Micah is a true joy and we love him SO much!

Thunder Pickle

2012-02-02T10:38:00.000-06:00

Last week, the 7th and 8th grades held their annual science fair.

William's experiment was on how pickles conduct electricity. He and his science teacher had lots of fun plugging in pickles and testing their glow factor.

William didn't win any prizes for his project, but I daresay he had the most memorable title for his board.

Adoption update

2012-01-31T22:30:00.000-06:00

It's been quite a while since we have said much about our hopes to adopt. I guess it has seemed useless, maybe downright pathetic, to keep talking about something that is just not happening.

"Look at the poor nice people who want to adopt. Too bad nobody wants them."

But many of you have been praying and have occasionally asked about where we are in the process. I have vacillated between truly appreciating the love and concern, and wishing people would stop asking because it's so annoying to keep saying, "Well, no, we haven't heard anything in months and we have no idea when or if this might happen."

And now it's time to renew our home study. Again.

Renewing is not as arduous or as expensive as the initial home study, but it does involve updating paperwork (like getting fingerprinted again, just in case our fingerprints have changed?!) and just today we found out that we are required to do six hours of "education." I'm all for education and we certainly have more we can learn about adoption, but after all this time, it feels like another obstacle, another road block, and another evidence that we're not good enough/smart enough to adopt a child.

I know. I know. That's not what it means. But that's how it feels.

And like we've just wasted three years and hundreds of dollars for...what?

And yet, we can't give up the idea that we are supposed to adopt; that God is calling us to do this. And, I suppose, if God calls you to do it, you do it, no matter how long the wait or how discouraging the journey.

Currently, our earthly hopes are bound up in a new agency, Faithful Adoption Consultants. They deal exclusively with adoptive families and facilitate the adoption. The longest wait they have had so far is nine months.

Nine months would have been lovely.

We're still not sure when or if this adoption will happen, but we continue to wait and hope and trust the Lord for His plan and His timing.

We appreciate your prayers very much. And you are welcome to ask about it any time!

And our baby is going to know that we prayed and hoped and waited a long time, just for her.

Book Club

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-06:00

For a few years now I've been involved with a book club par excellence.

It was started by a bunch of ladies who attended church together and wanted to tackle some more challenging literature. But as with any journey, this endeavor sounded much more do-able and fun with companions, so they started reading, meeting, and discussing. A few years later, a friend invited me to come along for the literary trip and I am so glad she did!

We try to stick to classics, but that still leaves with a good number of books to choose from!

We've read American, British, French and Russian literature. We all have a penchant for 19th century British literature so we treat ourselves to a Jane Austen every once in a while. But we've also tried Solzhenitsyn, Shakespeare, Cather, Dostoevsky, Waugh, Dumas, Stevenson, and many, many more. We occasionally read short stories, like a collection of Flannery O'Connor stories, or what is considered children's literature, like Anne of Green Gables or The Secret Garden.

This month, we are reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. A novel I have meant to read for a long time but lacked the proper motivation. Now I have it!

One of the things I like most about this book club is that it motivates me to read things I wouldn't otherwise try. Thankfully, no one has insisted on Dickens because I might have to be very busy the night of that discussion! But I certainly wouldn't have tackled Solzhenitsyn on my own!

The discussions themselves are pretty great, too. We are no longer made up of all ladies from the same church, but we are all Reformed in some way, so we have a common worldview to start from. But the discussions still get pretty lively sometimes! I always walk away from a discussion feeling that I understand the book better, even if I didn't agree with everyone's take on the tale.

One of our usual hostesses, Joy, does a lovely job of fixing food that goes with the book. For instance, when we read A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich she made black bread - it was MUCH tastier than what the prisoners ate, but was visually appropriate to the novel. Just a fun little addition to our reading experience.

When I hosted a discussion of Brideshead Revisited I made cucumber sandwiches, melons with prosciutto, and tea since all three were mentioned in the novel.

Our next meeting is the 27th and I'm hosting. Wonder what I should fix for food.

First things first, though. I'm only on chapter three. Guess I should go read!

Wisdom

2012-01-09T10:01:00.000-06:00

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
― G.K. Chesterton

Annual Cookie Decorating

2012-01-06T23:05:00.000-06:00

A week or so before Christmas, we held our annual cookie decorating party. We've done this every year since Will was little. This year he tried to object that he was too old for such things, but once he got into it, he enjoyed it as much as ever.

Our smallest cookie decorator was quite the ar-teest.

One kind of frosting I made with egg nog and it was all we could do to keep John out of the stuff!

The cookie recipe is one that was published in 2000 in Victoria magazine and became a favorite the first time I tried it. One year I even made another batch for Valentine's Day. Might have to do that again...

The decorating was fun, but the eating is everybody's favorite part. Yum!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000-06:00

Reindeer Games

2011-12-20T15:25:00.000-06:00

These days with kids home can be rather long, so I thought we'd make some of these cute little reindeer.

Here are our ingredients:

And the results.

Of course, the boys had to get "creative" and make cyclops reindeer and two-nosed reindeer.

Or combine the idea into something like this:

Even when taking the more traditional approach, the reindeer sometimes came out as merely deranged.

Or downright creepy.

Doesn't this say something profound about humanity, its infinite variety and how it takes all kinds?

Or maybe we should just stick with "It's a yummy snack and a good excuse to eat chocolate, marshmallows and pretzels."

New Layout

2011-12-19T11:53:00.000-06:00

So, I'm trying a new layout on here. What do you think?

It's quite plain; not really my style; but a nice change, I guess.

In the top left-hand corner you see several display options. These are intriguing to me because I don't understand what's happening there.

Can each person choose how he/she wants to view my page?

Or is it set to whatever I choose?

These questions perplex and fascinate me. And if a blog design can do that, it must be good.

Cookies!

2011-12-09T23:54:00.000-06:00

Just look at those cookies. As near to perfect as one can get this side of heaven, I'd say.

And how did I become such a master baker, you ask?

Well...I...uh...

Okay, fine, it's a box mix. There.

And since I've admitted it, I'll go on to say that these are so fast and easy!

And, of course, delicious!

The troops are happy and I don't think a one of them minded that they came from a box mix.

Saturday

2011-11-26T09:15:00.000-06:00

It's nearly 9 o'clock here. I got up about 8 and all of the kids are still in bed. I could get used to this vacation schedule!

Especially when I think of what's coming in the next three months...

Basketball Season.

I dread basketball season like some people dread the holidays or a root canal or a colonoscopy.

But, unlike the root canal or colonoscopy where I might get some sympathy from my family, when it comes to basketball, I am out in the cold.

John loves basketball. It is his favorite sport. He can remember specific moments of games he played twenty years ago - not just tournament games - but everyday regular season games. And then he can describe games he watched on TV, games he saw in person, games he heard about from a buddy.

And now that he's coaching? Ugh. We go out on a date and he talks basketball! He doesn't seem to be able to stop himself. And if I finally convince him to stop talking to me about it, I know that his mind is racing with strategies and drills and questions.

This passion is slowly infecting our children, too. William is pretty much a goner. He is on the team John coaches and so they can talk basketball for long periods of time.

Micah and Johanna are less infected but they both play on teams for Liberty and, in practical terms, this means that 90% of our after-school time is dedicated to basketball and its fall-out: practice, travel, games, showers, exhaustion, etc.

What redeems this whole thing and makes basketball season palatable for me is that I see my husband and my kids sharing something, connecting in new ways, making memories. Not just memories of basketball, which I'm sure John will be able to recount to our grandchildren ("When your dad was in 8th grade, during this one game..."), but memories of working, hoping and playing together.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll make it to March.

On this day in history...

2011-11-22T20:32:00.000-06:00

On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

On this day in 1963, author and philosopher C.S.Lewis passed away.

But for some, this day, November 22, has more joyous memories.

On this day in 1908, a baby boy, John Orville Edgar, was born.

John O. Edgar, my grandfather, was a wonderful man.

He was a pastor, preaching and counseling for many years in pulpits all across the country.

He was good with his hands; he designed and built the church and parsonage in Glenwood, MN, and wired a good many barns in Lisbon, NY, during WWII when most of the usual electricians were gone to the war. Even into retirement, he tinkered in his shop and turned out many step stools and "tax shelters."

He had a lively sense of humor and my favorite memories of him are when he was telling a funny story with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Grandpa passed away just before Sam was born, but particularly on November 22 every year, I remember him and thank the Lord for the Godly heritage I have.

Reformation Celebration 2011

2011-11-01T11:44:00.001-05:00

Friday night we had our annual Reformation Celebration at church.

We played "Pin the 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Church Door" and William ran a "fishing game" which I wanted to call "Lucky Dipping," but figured that would be lost on the kids.

They were most interested in the attendant candy, of course.

This year we added a costume contest and had quite a number participate, both adults and children. I don't know if you can blow it up at all to find my kids but Johanna is on the right (holding the bumble bee), dressed as Queen Elizabeth; Micah is in the middle, dressed as Luke Skywalker; Sam is beside him, very well disguised as bad Spiderman (I don't know if that's his official name, but that's what I'm going with); William is in the middle back, officially dressed as a pirate but looking much more like a Hasidic Jew.

One family, recently transplanted from Canada, came as a hocky team; one young man came in a vintage Marine uniform, circa 1950; one lady won a prize in the swimsuit category (sponsored by Sports Illustrated, of course) for wearing her grandmother's wool bathing suit, complete with bloomers underneath.

On a more serious, educational note, a small group of volunteer singers performed four selections with tunes rooted in the Reformation. From the Psalter we sang 95C and 38B with tunes by Louis Bourgois; from the Trinity hymnal we sang 220 and 554 with tunes written by Martin Luther. I'm not sure how we sounded but we had fun rehearsing and "performing."

We also had our twin grad student guitar players perform for us - a lovely treat whenever we get to hear them.

A good deal of yummy food and a good deal of warm fellowship rounded out the evening.

All in all, a very good way to commemorate the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg church door and unwittingly sparked the Protestant Reformation. We celebrate God's goodness to us through men like Martin Luther and John Calvin and give thanks for His preserving His Truth so that we might live freely by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone revealed in Scripture alone to the glory of God.

State Fair

2011-10-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

Every August, the Minnesota State Fair rolls around.

This is one of those times when our experiences growing up come into a little conflict.

John grew up in Columbus, Ohio, the capital of that fine state, and every year his family went to the state fair. One of those implacable traditions that families develop, and, all in all, I think, a fairly good tradition.

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania where the biggest fair within driving distance was the Canfield County fair and I don't think I went to it above once in my life.

So, when state fair time rolls around here, our attendance is a foregone conclusion for John. Not so for me.

I've suggested various alternatives: Renaissance Fair, picnic at a lake, staying inside in the air conditioning.

I've pointed out the many attendant evils of the fair: overeating; enormous, sweaty crowds; greasy food; smelly animals; heavy, sweet foods; sunburn; tired, aching feet; deep-fried Twinkies; the high cost of everything.

But, no, nothing but the fair will do.

It's one of those implacable traditions we're creating in our family, building relationships and fortitude. This year, one of the ways we did this was by sharing a deep-fried Twinkie among the six of us.

I think that we had plenty of relationship and fortitude building right there. Enough for many years to come.

One of the new areas this year was the Alphabet Forest which Johanna and Sam enjoyed very much. Here, you can see that they picked out letters and made large signs for their names (Johanna thought her name was too long so opted for JoJo, a common nickname for her around here. Her brothers give her other nicknames, too, but she's not as fond of those).

The three youngest kids did a bungee jumping "ride;" we visited the birthing barn; we watched a horse show; we saw a troupe do Irish dancing; we ate lots of delicious bad food; we saw many of the arts and crafts entries; we visited a college booth (which freaked me out just a little, that we have a son who isn't quite thinking about that but will soon); and finished it all off with a bucket of Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies and many cups of milk.

Not a bad tradition, really. But I'm glad it comes around no more than once a year.

Fallen into Fall

2011-10-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

Our temps have fallen. Today's high was 46 F, firmly in the autumnal range.

I refuse to think of the snow soon to fly.

I choose to think about pumpkins and sweaters and hot cider and smoke in the crisp, cool air.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

– George Eliot

Birthday

2011-10-13T23:24:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday, my love!

Indian Summer

2011-10-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, the fall sports teams had pictures taken. Here is Johanna, the player, and Mom, the assistant coach. William and Micah's soccer team is in the background.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns"
– George Eliot

We are enjoying an unusual, prolonged Indian summer. It seems to me, if my memory is correct, that anything we've called "Indian summer" around here has lasted a day or two, not a couple of weeks. We've had sunshine and temps in the 70s and even 80s for quite some time.

Last night, John and I went out for dinner and ate outside on the patio with no jackets or heaters or thermal underwear. Very strange. But a welcome strange.

The picture above was taken (with my phone!) a week ago near Johanna's school. Around here, most of the trees turn yellow or brown so a red tree really stands out. Simply beautiful.

Much Ado About Nothing

2011-09-30T00:56:00.000-05:00

"Is falling in love only for the young?"

This is the advertising catch phrase used for the Guthrie Theater's newest production of Shakespeare's rightly beloved play, Much Ado About Nothing.

With the baby boom generation getting along in years - no offense, I'm just sayin' - it looks as though being old is cool again. Or at least not as un-groovy as it used to be. One example is the actress Helen Mirren. She's well beyond qualifying for AARP and was recently voted sexiest woman alive, beating out much younger sex pots, like Megan Fox.  Okay. Sixty is the new twenty.

So, when director Joe Dowling put 60-something actors, Dearbhla Molloy and Daniel Gerroll*, in the roles of Beatrice and Benedick, it was unusual, but not nearly as far-fetched as what other directors have done with the bard.  The witty wordplay, comic timing, and a few clues within the text indicate that Beatrice and Benedick have known each other for some time and have a rather unhappy history, making the older casting not improbable.

The difficulty came for me when the production's pace became not merely mature, but geriatric. Molloy and Gerroll are amazing actors, I do not argue that, but despite their pedigrees, their romance left me rather cold, and that's difficult to do since the romance between Beatrice and Benedick is my favorite in all of Shakespeare's work. Gerroll has the ability to convey a world of emotion in the lift of an eyebrow; Molloy can say volumes with the quirk of her lips, so I was amazed at how often he did not raise that eyebrow, she did not quirk that lip. The emotion and energy were stunted somewhere, in Gerroll or Molloy or both; I'm not certain where the breakdown came. Or were they directed to under-act?  Under-acting, I discovered tonight, is nearly as annoying to watch as over-acting.

The relationship of Beatrice and Benedick is at the heart of the play. If it is right, then the rest of the play can be mediocre and one might hardly notice. Thankfully, the rest of the cast had some shining stars, like Michelle O'Neill as Hero, Emily Gunyou Halaas as Margaret, Bob Davis as Borachio, and Dennis Creaghan as Leonato.

Sets were lovely and costumes were gorgeous.  The production was set in the late Edwardian era, perhaps to capitalize on the Downton Abbey craze.  The flowing dresses, the ladies' huge, feathered hats, the shoes - love, love, love, the shoes. The music, composed by Adam Wernick, suited the era and made for some fun dance scenes.

So, since this is my blog and on here I can be the expert if I want to be, I would have to give this production of Much Ado About Nothing, a solid B.

*Gerroll turns 60 on October 16 of this year.

Well, who'd a' thunk?

2011-09-26T18:07:00.000-05:00

Twenty-*mumble* years ago, I played on the volleyball team at my high school, BCCS. My senior year, I was a co-captain, mostly because I was a senior, but still, I was a captain.

Fast forward twenty-*mumble* years with no volleyball playing in that time, and we get to today when I officially began my new (volunteer) job as assistant volleyball coach for the middle school girls' team.

Yes, it's a prestigious title, no doubt about it.

Okay, it may not be prestigious, but it is fun.

Johanna is on the team, making it 4th through 8th grade, so we're a young team playing in the 8th grade division. We may not win many matches. We may not win *any* matches. But the players are learning and hopefully having fun, getting better and getting ready for the next year.

I really didn't think I'd be coaching volleyball, but here I am. And I'm glad.

Summer Vacation, Part 2

2011-09-14T11:41:00.000-05:00

After the hubbub of the wedding weekend, it was time to sit back and relax a little.

We spent one night out in the country at Dave and Val's. The highlight of this, for Johanna anyway, was getting to ride Becca's pony. The daylight was too far gone for me to get a good picture of the event, but you may imagine the bliss.

One day, Tom, Katie, John and I took the kids to a place - like Chuck E. Cheese's - with games and play equipment and flashing lights and noise and plenty of chaos to go 'round. John, William, Katie and I played a round of mini-golf. Katie took the early lead, but fell off on the back nine, where John's masterful play took the day.

Another day we went to Moraine State Park for fishing and swimming and then went to Eat n' Park for dinner. The food there is no great shakes, but it means we're in Beaver Falls.

I call this one, "New Song: 2021."

One day the girls decided to give Aunt Katie and me a spa treatment. Look how relaxed Aunt Katie is!

After a lovely time in Pennsylvania, we headed on to Columbus, Ohio, John's old stomping grounds.

On Saturday we went to the zoo with John's parents. In the picture above, everyone is watching the polar bear swim around above us.

Here's Sam reading the map. Whose idea was it to put the 5-year-old in charge of the map?

Monday we were off again, this time headed to St. Louis for a quick overnight before Kansas City.

We got there early enough to go up into the Gateway Arch. You can see from the sign behind Micah's head that we were 630 feet up in the air.

Personalities really came out when we reached the top. William was first fine, then cautious, then pretty well freaked out. Micah was eager, then happy, then bouncing off the walls for fun. Johanna was uncertain, then cautious, then serious and very ready to go back down. Sam was mildly interested, then bored.

John and I handled it with admirable equanimity.

So, we saw the arch and a little bit of St. Louis, then went to Steak n' Shake (we are deprived of such in Minnesota) for dinner, then to our hotel to swim and sleep.

Next day we were off to Kansas and you know all about that already.

It was good to go, good to come home. We were thankful to sleep in our own beds again! But even more thankful for a store of good memories from time spent with friends and family.

Vacation, Part 1

2011-08-25T21:49:00.001-05:00

Not being big on chronological order (numbers are so unwieldy), I will now go from the end of our vacation to the beginning.

I will attempt to be somewhat chronological from here on. I only promise to attempt it, though.

We left Minnesota on Wednesday, August 3rd, just one day after New Song left us after a lovely weekend of singing and sweating (no a/c for any of their concerts here).

We planned to get as far as Toledo before stopping for the night. By the time we got to Toledo, though, it seemed silly to stay when we were practically within reach of Beaver Falls. So, I called Tom and said, "We're coming on through!" We arrived at about 1:30 a.m. our time, 2:30 local time.

That way, the next morning, John got to sleep in and the kids saw "the cousins" even sooner! Win/win.

Thursday night, we went into Pittsburgh to see our very own diva, Katie, er, Kathryn, star as the countess in The Marriage of Figaro.

The opera was staged in a building just across the street from Heinz Chapel (above) and the Cathedral of Learning.

Katie was brilliant, of course! I had not heard her sing live for several years so it was extra special to hear how her voice has matured. I was so proud, I wanted to tell the whole audience, "That's my sister!"

Friday and Saturday, we turned our time and attention back to the Shaw side of the family for the wedding of John's niece, Kirsten. She married a great guy, Trevor, and we all enjoyed seeing them so happy. John and I had the joy of doing pre-marital counseling with them (via Skype) and John got to to the wedding ceremony.

I like the picture above because Val and Kirsten look so surprised and amused. I don't know what was going on, but the looks on their faces here are great.

The day was extra special because Johanna was the flower girl.

The only "bummer" was the she had to walk back up the aisle with the ring-bearer. Icky!

All four brothers and all fourteen cousins were there as well as Grandpa and Grandma Shaw. We were mostly well behaved, although the uncles (Jeff, John and Joel) got a little rowdy at the reception. Not as rowdy as the swing dancers, though! That was a lot of fun!

Coming soon: Part Deux

Grandpa's Birthday

2011-08-25T17:33:00.000-05:00

I'm starting from the end of our vacation, but this was probably the most important event of our trip: Grandpa Copeland's 90th birthday.

Grandpa was born in 1921 on a farm near Idana, Kansas, the third of six children. Other than a stint in the army during World War II, he has lived in Kansas, Nebraska, or Iowa all of his life. He and my grandmother, Arvilla, raised three boys. He now has grandchildren and great-grandchildren across the country and around the world (my uncle Stan is in Germany and cousin David is in Iraq).

Here are the six grandchildren who could make it to the party. (This picture was actually taken the next day when we had dinner at Perkins.) Only one of Grandpa's sons could make it (Stan in Germany; my dad still laid up from foot surgery) we still made a pretty big crowd of Copelands!

We had a lovely party with the folks at Shawnee RP Church; they've been Grandpa's church family for many years now and we were glad to share the celebration with them.

Times like this remind me of the amazing, Godly heritage I've been given and I praise the Lord for his goodness and grace. I pray that that heritage extends for every generation of our family and beyond until the Lord comes again.

Just in Case

2011-08-05T19:05:00.000-05:00

Just in case you feel like you might melt from the heat...

...remember this!

And this!

It will come again before you know it!

Chaotic Gardener

2011-08-02T18:53:00.000-05:00

As you might guess, I am not a "Constant Gardener" who insists on neat and orderly rows of vegetation.

I thrive on the chaos theory.

I love planting a bunch of stuff and waiting to see what comes up where.

This year, I planted cantalope, watermelon and pumpkin beside the garage. But not necessarily in that order. I don't really know what I put where.

So now we're watching all of these vines grow and blossom and guessing what each of them is. It's like a lovely vegetable mystery.

What's this? We don't know, but isn't it pretty? And I love the little curly-q vines that grow beside the blossoms. So cute.

This is my jungle of tomato plants. Who knows what kinds are in there?!

It is a mystery waiting to be revealed by time, sunshine and rain.

Chaotic gardening is a niche just waiting to be filled on those gardening channels. You know that, right?

Raspberries

2011-07-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

These are my lovely raspberries. Believe it or not, raspberries are one thing I've always wanted in my garden. So, when a friend offered raspberry plants a couple of years ago I eagerly accepted.

This is what they looked like at the beginning of July.

This is the biggest harvest I've gotten so far.

But since then, disaster has stricken. Struck? Strucken? Disaster has hit.

Disaster in the form of chickens.

Our neighbors have chickens. No, the girls did not get out and eat my raspberries. Rather, they attract flies by the million who all decided that my juicy raspberries looked like a lovely treat.

And they did look like a lovely treat. For a while. Until, well, you know.

Now, my beautiful raspberries are shriveled up and decaying on the vine. Or stalk. Or cane. Whatever.

The point is they are too pathetic to even show here. So. Pathetic.

So, tomorrow I'll go to Sam's Club and buy a plastic carton of giant raspberries that have been hepped up on steroids and sprayed with cancer-causing pesticides to make them more attractive to consumers.

I'll bet those pesticides repel flies. *sigh*

Northwoods Getaway

2011-07-21T23:49:00.000-05:00

Monday through Wednesday of this week, we went up north and stayed in a cabin loaned to us by some friends.

Most of the time, it was too hot and/or humid and/or rainy to go outside so we stayed inside in the a/c or went to the pool. It was no hardship to stay in such a lovely spot.

Most relaxing of all, we didn't have to spend a boatload of money to have a lovely, relaxing get-away. Thank you, Swansons!

Biker Dude

2011-07-13T12:23:00.000-05:00

Sam has been surprisingly reluctant to try biking, despite the best efforts of Pat and Katie in getting him outfitted and on his way.

This week, though, he's been out a couple of times and seems to have decided that he likes riding his bike.

He's still no daredevil, though. He got up to something above a "crawl" and said, "I'm going pretty fast, huh, Mom?"

He is quite adept at falling safely. He turned a corner and one training wheel dipped into the grass. The bike started to tip so Sam threw himself to safety, landing in the soft grass.

Whew! Close call!

Eventually, we'll get everyone geared up for a family bike ride. Hopefully, William won't be gone to college yet when that happens!

Summer

2011-07-09T00:07:00.000-05:00

This morning, the kids and I went to Lake Elmo to swim and hang out for a couple of hours. The kids played in the water and sand and I got to sit under a tree and read my book. Quite an enjoyable way to spend the morning.

This afternoon, the kids - mostly Micah and Johanna - set up a lemonade stand down the street at the park. They have been begging to do this so, finally, I said they could. They did all of the planning and work and did it quite well. After a while, Johanna came home with a blue mouth, grinned at me with blue teeth and said, "We got ice cream." Seems they used the profit they earned from selling 5 cups of lemonade plus the original change and bought themselves ice cream from the ice cream truck.

Obviously, the most logical way to use the money. At least by 9 and 11 year old logic.

Sam came home holding an empty popsicle stick, covered in something sticky, and so very happy.

This is summer.

A Visit to Green Bay

2011-07-04T23:51:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Kohler for the funeral of one of John's uncles.

The two older boys were busy elsewhere so we only had Johanna and Sam with us.

On the way home, we had to stop at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers (Dad, that's football.).

The last time we were there, Johanna was 3 and Sam wasn't even born yet! So, John had fun cultivating a couple more cheeseheads in the family.

New Post

2011-06-27T11:48:00.000-05:00

I have sat down in front of the computer countless times, even downloaded pictures into the post form, but have always been distracted and/or called away to other things. Obviously, life around here hasn't really slowed down much since the end of the school year!

In fact, today is the first day in a long time when we have all six of us together for the day - no camps or play dates or meetings for any of us. And how do we celebrate this event? With chore charts!

Even Sam had a chore chart this morning: get dressed & put away dirty clothes (okay, technically, that's two), complete 1 page of math workbook, complete 1 page of phonics book, wipe down doorknobs and light switches. He finished his work in a timely manner and has been bugging his siblings and me ever since.

Maybe his list needs to be longer.

The other kids have lists which are considerably longer, including reading for an hour, various school-type tasks, and several house-cleaning chores.

This has been a favorite method of torture around here for several summers, so the initial handing out of lists was without much comment or resistance. As the work has dragged on, though, attitudes have deteriorated. Thus we work on our mutual sanctification as well as mental and physical skills.

So, that's what's happening at Casa de Shaw today.

I'll include a picture to inspire you in your own tasks today:

St. Andrew's Cathedral, St. Andrew's, Scotland

Drama

2011-05-21T22:55:00.001-05:00

What do you get when you mix a golden goose, a brave little tailor, Peter Pan and Shakespeare?

Liberty Drama Night, of course!

Here is Miss Johanna preparing for her roles as Mrs. Darling and Tinkerbell in the 3rd grade production of "Peter Pan."

Here she is looking far too grown-up as the lovely Mrs. D.

Isn't she...darling? Ahem...

And here's Tink, wings and all.

Micah's class did scenes from four different Shakespeare plays.

Micah was Tybalt, Hamlet, Hortensio, and a Scottish lord. As you can see, the "drama" continued at home.

Sam loved the masks from Romeo and Juliet, though he used this one for a far less romantic role. He was some sort of superhero avenger, very fierce whoever he was.

It was a long night, but a good one.

Johanna said, "I wish that when one drama ended, we could just start another one right away!"

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

The kids in their Easter finery

Look out, ladies.

These are some of the beautiful tulips from church. Suddenly it feels like spring in our kitchen!

My favorite Easter song, or here, anthem, is by William Billings. I've posted it before at Easter time but here it is again. It's worth repeating.

"The Lord is ris'n indeed,

Hallelujah.

Now is Christ risen from the dead,

and become the first fruits of them that slept.

Hallelujah.

And did He rise?

Hear, O ye nations, hear it, O ye dead.

He rose, He burst the bars of death,

He burst the bars of death and triumph'd o'er the grave.

Then I rose,

then first humanity triumphant passed the crystal ports of light,

and seiz'd eternal youth.

Man, all immortal hail, hail,

Heaven, all lavish of strange gifts to man,

Thine's all the glory, man's the boundless bliss."

Retrieved from http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Easter_Anthem_(William_Billings

Shakespeare's Birthday

2011-04-23T00:10:00.003-05:00

Today is the Bard's birthday!

How shall we celebrate?

See a production at The Globe? I like your thinking...but no. Airfare? Theater tickets? No shows in production yet? Can't do it.

Dress as Elizabethans for the day? Hmmm...maybe not. Stomachers and ruffs and farthingales are not as much fun as they sound like.

Read plays? Watch movie versions of the plays? Listen to recordings of the plays? Twine flowers in our hair and gaze into our true love's eyes? Why, yes. That sounds like just the thing.

Well, at least I know that John and the kids will go for cake and ice cream. And maybe, just maybe, I can sneak in a little from the prologue to Henry V.

"O, for a muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention..."

Happy Birthday, Sam!

2011-04-19T20:32:00.000-05:00

Finally, last Thursday, the long-awaited Birthday arrived!

In addition to birthday excitement and cupcakes, it was pajama day at preschool, so Sam got to wear his Spiderman pj's all day long!

In the evening, we had Pat and Katie as well as Andre, Heather, and little Joseph over for cupcakes and present opening.

Sadly, there was no cookie launcher among the presents.

After such an extended lead-up, I'm not sure the actual day lived up to its hype. Sam's teacher commented that he seemed a little tired. No wonder when he didn't get to sleep until late the night before and woke up earlier than usual on the morning of.

But, then, perhaps the anticipation is most of the fun. On Friday, he started planning for his 6th birthday.

Godric

2011-04-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

"Five friends I had, and two of them snakes."

So begins Frederick Buechner's novel, Godric. Isn't that a great first sentence?

The novel retells the life of the 11th century saint, Godric of Finchale. It is at once earthy (and I use the word in all its euphemistic glory) and heavenly, both in what is told and how it is told. Buechner's prose is so akin to poetry I had to stop a few times and re-read, certain that the lines I had read rhymed. But no, this prose/poetry does not rely on rhyming. Its lyrical quality comes from sentence construction, word choice, and well-placed figures of speech.

A sound-bite is not sufficient to prove this point, but a few sentences are so good they are worth putting here:

"What's lost is nothing to what's found, and all the death that ever was, next to life, would scarcely fill a cup."

"As a man dies many times before he's dead, so does he wend from birth to birth until, by grace, he comes alive at last."

"What's prayer? It's shooting shafts into the dark. What mark they strike, if any, who's to say? It's reaching for a hand you cannot touch. The silence is so fathomless that prayers like plummets vanish in the sea. You beg. You whimper. You load God down with empty praise. You tell him sins he already knows full well. You seek to change his changeless will. Yet Godric prays the way he breathes, for else his heart would wither in his breast. Prayer is the wind that fills his sail. Else waves would dash him on the rocks, or he would drift with witless tides. And sometimes, by God's grace, a prayer is heard."

Godric's faith is rooted in 11th century Christianity but entirely modern, or rather it transcends time and place; it is timely in any century. I'm not saying that I would agree with all of Godric's (or Buechner's) theology, but I recognize a like faith and a faith from which I can learn better how to love and serve the same God. One may be spiritually sound without being entirely theologically sound but let's not throw the baby out with the baptismal font.

So, I commend to you Godric, both for its literary as well as its spiritual merit. I would not, as another reviewer claimed, mark my life before Godric and after Godric, but I would have to say that it holds a unique place in my understanding of literature and writing and what makes for "good" writing. Godric, both the novel and the main character, is unforgettable.

(I do extend the caveat that, as with all literature, one must read with discernment and wisdom. Godric lived quite a secular life before taking up his holy life and never did clean up his language entirely.)

"Dancing in the Minefields"

2011-04-16T00:08:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago John discovered the work of a singer/songwriter named Andrew Peterson and became an immediate fan. I was reluctant to try yet another whiny, Jesus-is-my-boyfriend Christian "artist." But I should know to trust my husband more than that.

Tonight we went and heard Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive in concert and it was good. Really good.

I know that it's partly the fact that he is in life where we are - married for 16 years with several kids - and he writes about it in some of his songs. But he writes about a lot of other stuff, too -- stuff like sin and pain and love and resurrection, about being human and longing for the divine.

One of his songs is called "Dancing in the Minefields" and it's about marriage. Here's a little bit of it:

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

'Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

His musical style - a melange of folk/country/bluegrass/rock - may not be to your liking but his poetry is undeniable.

In "The Magic Hour," the chorus goes like this:

Here at the magic hour
Time and eternity
Mingle a moment in chorus
Here at the magic hour
Bright is the mystery
Plain is the beauty before us
Could this beauty be for us?
What is this voice that sings
Holy and hovering
Over this hill in the still of the evening?

Beautiful, eh?

In another song, Peterson talks about Jacob wrestling with the angel and in the morning being "wounded by a blessing." He has lots of phrases and passages like that which could feed some pretty good discussion.

He also has a song about the isle of Skye which has only one verse and a chorus - I wish it was 3 or 4 times as long; it is almost as beautiful as the Scottish island it describes.

We listened to Peterson's Counting Stars album on the way home and decided that while we like the CD a lot, we prefered the less polished sound of the live performance. I guess that's why musicians still tour, right?

If you're curious (and not turned off by my gushing), you can check out his website: http://www.andrew-peterson.com/. He also runs and occasionally contributes to a great arts blog called The Rabbit Room.

More of Spring Break '11

2011-04-13T20:14:00.000-05:00

My little eaglets. I love my full nest.

The view across the river.

Junior Bird Man.

On the way home we drove along the river on the Wisconsin side and stopped off in Pepin to see the replica of the Little House in the Big Woods. Johanna has read the book since we were there a few years ago so she was especially interested. Not much to see but a few fun pictures and items in there.

She's not really saluting, just keeping the sun out of her eyes.

Spring Break '11

2011-04-10T23:48:00.000-05:00

Over spring break, we headed south to Wabasha, MN.

On the way there, we stopped at the Red Wing museum/shop. Johanna and Sam had fun dressing up in outfits which go with Red Wing boots.

Micah enjoyed pretending to be a construction worker on a high rise.

This one (above) proves that I am the "...old woman who lived in a shoe..."

In Wabasha, we spent several hours at the National Eagle Center. We had a family picture taken with our newest family member, Harriet, the eagle. See how interested she is in John's shiny head?

Apparently, Harriet took exception to something. John was a little freaked out but the kids thought it was cool.
We stayed at an AmericInn, went swimming more times than I care to count, ate decadent meals out and had a great time together.
We spent the rest of spring break at home but it was fun to get out of town for a few days. And we could claim we went "south" for spring break!

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

2011-03-10T22:24:00.000-06:00

Today, my class from Baldwin, WI, came my direction and we visited the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

This "Sunburst" by Dale Chihuly is made of blown glass and weighs more that 3,000 pounds. It hangs in the foyer of the museum and greets visitors as soon as they enter the building.

This piece is a tiny portrait of Charlotte of France, done by Jean Clouet in about 1522. I'm not sure what I like about this -maybe the detailed clothing - but I like it.

My friend and fellow teacher, Maribel, introduced my to this disturbing number. One might well swear it is a man in drag! The fact is that this subject was a married woman about 34 years old.

And so that I don't leave you with that unsettling image...

This "Veiled Lady" by Raffaelo Monti is carved from a solid piece of marble. It is part of the permanent collection at the MIA and a real beauty.

We also got to see a travelling display of Titian pieces. (My teens handled the nudity with admirable maturity. After a warning on Tuesday!).

It was wonderful to spend the day surrounded by such beauty.

Score!

2011-03-08T15:39:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, William and I rewarded ourselves for surviving another violin recital by stopping at Half-Price Books.

I don't usually look at the movies and music, but this time I did, and I'm so glad I did.

I found copies of both The Scarlet Pimpernel

(love Anthony Andrews in this role!)

and The Young Victoria.

Strangely enough, John was not nearly so enthusiastic about my finds, but I'm pretty excited.

Now, I'm not exactly looking forward to John being gone to Presbytery in a couple of weeks, but at least I have something fun to do while he's gone!

Sam's Birthday Wish-list

2011-03-07T14:22:00.000-06:00

Sam is extremely excited about the prospect of his fifth birthday. This excitement began soon after Micah's January birthday and was, I suspect, fueled by well-meaning but misguided older siblings.

My policy is to avoid discussing birthdays until a week before the big day, thereby minimizing expectations. With a bossy older sister and party-lovin' older brother, though, Sam could hardly avoid the birthday hysteria.

One day a couple of weeks ago, Sam wanted me to help him write down his birthday wish-list, so I wrote while he waxed eloquent on the secret wishes and desires of a soon-to-be five-year-old.

The list included:
Hero Factory
Transformer Legos
Lego knight set
Lego Pharaoh Quest
Bionicle star

I'm not completely familiar with all of these items but they seem like what one might expect from a little boy.

What I didn't expect were the following:
cookie maker
tortilla maker
apple muffin maker
pretend medicine
watch (why? he can't tell time yet!)
slippers

And the one that still makes me chuckle: a cookie launcher. What that is or where he got the notion, I do not know, but it's pretty funny.

If anyone knows where to get a good, cheap cookie launcher, please let me know. Maybe Craigslist...?

Then again, maybe I'm thinking too literally and he is talking about computer programming. I always knew I'd give birth to a genius.

Sam

2011-02-20T23:06:00.001-06:00

"Look, Mom, I'm a BFI agent!"

("BFI agent" push-ups there.)

I see a dazzling future in law enforcement for this kid.

Bowl-a-rama

2011-02-19T22:33:00.004-06:00

Last night, we celebrated Mission OPC's 6th birthday with a bowling party! This is the second year we've done this and, once again, it was great fun.

Even the littluns, like Sam, had a good time, thanks to a ramp and bumpers.

Yes, a good time was had by all.

But, tonight, I confess, I am sore. So very sore.

At least I know that once they are healed, I won't have to use those particular muscles until this time next year!

Poetry?

2011-02-16T21:04:00.000-06:00

Today I assigned my 7th grade English class to write a poem which incorporates all 10 of this week's vocabulary words.

Since William was whining about the assignment, I decided to give it a try myself and see what sort of masterpiece I could some up with.

Here is my attempt. I've underlined all of the vocab words.

I lie here listless and cold
in my confidential boudoir.
My love, once ardent and urbane,
is remiss in his attentions to me.
I, who once boasted of the imminent conquest
of his heart,
now sit tentative, perturbed, unsure of myself.
My own heart is nonplussed by
his cold departure.

Whaddaya think? Am I a poet? Or should I keep my day job?

Introducing: George Washington

2011-02-09T21:15:00.001-06:00

Last week, Johanna gave a presentation to her class. The subject was George Washington.

Most of the other students have had costumes to represent their character from history. Unfortunately, my bag-wig and Continental Army officer uniform were at the cleaners, so Johanna had to settle for wearing her dad's letter jacket.

Any ideas what the connection is to John's high school letter jacket?

Yes, that's right, the Maranatha Christian School mascot was a Patriot and George Washington was a patriot.

John came up with that clever connection. It became a good way for Johanna to introduce her talk.

You can see her display board behind her.

The hardest part of the whole thing was getting up and talking in front of everyone. This struck fear in the heart of our quiet, timid, retiring daughter.

Now, those of you who know this daughter are chuckling. But, it's true. This business of getting up in front of people caused a few tears the night before.

But she did very well and we were proud of her!

Micah's Birthday Party 2011

2011-02-06T08:30:00.000-06:00

Saturday, Micah had four friends over for sledding, gaming, pizza, and cake.

Sam joined in the fun, unwilling to be far from his "buddy."

It was loud and crazy fun!

Two down, four to go.

2011-02-05T16:16:00.002-06:00

My schedule at the moment is a little bit crazy, crazier even than usual. I am currently subbing every morning, first period, for William's English class. His teacher is on maternity leave for six weeks; her other classes are covered, but they needed someone for that particular class. Since it was William's class and since they were scheduled to read The Scarlet Pimpernel, I agreed to do it.

I am enjoying the class - I know this class pretty well since it is William's class and I was their Language Arts teacher two years ago. They certainly have a distinctive personality, but I love them.

It does make for more planning, more grading, and toughest of all, getting four or five of us out the door at 7:40 a.m., fully clothed and equipped with lunches, snow pants, and books.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I get four of us to school and come home right after my class (unless I have agreed to sub for someone else or have play practice with the 5th graders). So those are my days to plan, grade, clean, grocery shop, etc.

Tuesday and Thursday, five of us, including Sam, get out the door and are gone all day.

Then most days either basketball or music lessons or both come up in the afternoon/early evening. And healthy, nutritious meals in there somewhere (corndogs count as healthy, right?).

I do this sort of thing to myself about once a year. I seem to feel like life is getting too easy and so I take on something more to really make me stress out. Then, when it's done, I can feel like I really accomplished something. I guess. I'm not really sure what motivates me to do these things. At the very least, it makes me appreciate the less hectic times.

Can someone explain this psychological phenomenon?

The saddest thing is that I know there are other women who operate at this frenetic pace all. the. time. I'm thankful to know that this is a relatively short amount of time for me.

So, now I have four more weeks to go and at the end, I have spring break awaiting me. It's faint, but I'm beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Happy Birthday, Micah!

2011-01-29T13:12:00.003-06:00

Here's the birthday guy two years ago at Christmas time.

Amazing what a difference two years can make.

He looks so much more mature now.

We love you, Micah! Enjoy being 11!

The Social Network

2011-01-29T12:18:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, John and I went to see The Social Network. The simplest explanation of the movie is that it is about the founders of Facebook. "People wanna go online and check out their friends, so why not build a website that offers that. I'm talking about taking the entire social experience of college and putting it online." It is based in fact but is really a fictionalized account of a time about which no two people involved will tell the same story.

At its most complex, though, it is about our society's narcissism and continual desire to have the world revolve around us. This is most clearly seen in the movie when the main character, Mark Zuckerburg, ruins his relationship with his girlfriend and then blogs some truly horrible things about her. Later, he tries to apologize, but she, very rightly says, "...As if every thought that tumbles through your head was so clever it would be a crime for it not to be shared. The internet's not written in pencil, Mark. It's written in ink...You write your snide bulls**t from a dark room because that's what the angry do nowadays. I was nice to you. Don't torture me for it." This is Facebook to a t. How many status updates have gone up with little or no thought and have hurt or offended for no good reason. (Offending for the gospel is one thing. Offending because you have something clever to say and can't think through the consequences is another.)

Many more insightful and erudite writers have written about the implications of this movie so I won't try, but this movie brings up some excellent questions about life on the internet. Another character, Sean Parker, says something like, "First, we lived on farms, then in cities. Now we're going to live on-line." What does this mean for us as a nation, as a culture, as a church, as families and as individuals? In a world that seems so far from 1st century Galilee, what does Christianity look like now? How do we as a church minister to those who live, essentially, on-line? What happens to the rest of civilization while our best and brightest pour out their best and brightest on a keyboard and cursor?

And, finally, did the world experience a similar identity crisis when the printing press was invented?

Ooh, that was good. I think I'll post that as my Facebook status.

2011-01-17T09:33:00.002-06:00

Once again I have to apologize for abandoning my blog. I guess you just have to love me when I'm here and learn to be content when I'm not. It's tough, I know, but you can do it. If you really miss me, though, you can come and visit in person! Tomorrow night's low is predicted to be minus 13 degrees, but we do have a furnace and many warm sweatshirts and blankets so it won't be too bad!

Our Christmas trip to the warm and sunny south (Pennsylvania and Ohio) went well. Clear roads there and back again. Many siblings, cousins, in-laws and parents enjoyed. Many marvelous presents exchanged. Much laughter and joy for all. That pretty much sums it up, I think.

January 2 it was back to reality with school and basketball and work and lessons and...well, real life. God is good, though, and we're thankful that we can be involved in all of these things.

We're also thankful for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his tireless work for a holiday in January, just when we need it.

Cookie Decorating Day

2010-12-18T23:42:00.004-06:00

Today was the day to decorate Christmas cookies, always a fun day. I cut out and bake the cookies some other day so when it's time for frosting we can focus on frosting! Everyone helps out, except Daddy. Daddy won't wield a knife himself, but he hovers around offering encouragement and criticism where needed (as he defines need, of course).

I think I could title this photo, "Focus."

Always lots of laughter and many sticky smiles for this annual family event!

I'm happy to say that for the first time, I was easily able to give up control of the cookie decorating and allow the kids to make whatever hideous color combinations they wanted to. I completely overlooked the uneven coverage and stray drips and blobs. This year, whatever they wanted to call a masterpiece was a masterpiece for me. Most of you will know that I'm pretty laid back about most things, but there are a few things I have trouble letting go of. In earlier years, cookie decorating was among those things; this year, meh. Let them have fun. So, you see, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Blizzardo Diablo

2010-12-11T16:08:00.003-06:00

Pretty to look at...

...Tiring to shovel.

Most snow I've ever seen in one place at one time!

little tree

2010-12-11T08:27:00.002-06:00

little tree
by: e.e. cummings

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid
look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,
put up your little arms
and i'll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy
then when you're quite dressed
you'll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they'll stare!
oh but you'll be very proud
and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we'll dance and sing
"Noel Noel"

"little tree" was originally published in The Dial Vol. LXVIII, No. 1 (Jan. 1920). New York: The Dial Publishing Company, Inc.

William's Birthday

2010-11-21T19:51:00.002-06:00

This year, William had the audacity to turn 13 years old. We strictly forbid it, but he did it anyway.

And, then, being the indulgent parents we are, we threw a party to celebrate the day!

William invited all of the boys in his class which is not as daunting as it sounds since there are only six boys in the 7th grade. And we took them bowling. We didn't take ourselves too seriously and had a good time. Below, William is wearing the birthday hat one of his friends made for him. A bunch of goofballs in his class, but we love 'em!

After a couple of hours of bowling, we went back to our house for pizza, ice cream cake, presents, ping-pong, and video games.

So, a fun day for all.

But also a little sad and nostalgic for me. This giant teen-ager with a voice squeaking into puberty was the first little one to steal my heart. I can remember simply sitting and watching him sleep because he was such a miracle to me. And he still is, of course, just in a very different way! Still just as precious but a lot harder to snuggle!

William's birthday generally falls somewhere close to parent/teacher conferences at Liberty and (at least so far) this has been a tremendous opportunity for us to hear others tell us what a wonderful young man our son is becoming. We try to hide it while we're there, but we go home every time beaming with pride.

We're eager to see what the Lord has for him to do with his life and so thankful for him in our life.

Thomas the Tank Engine

2010-11-10T13:26:00.001-06:00

Here's Sam in his Thomas costume.

He has kind of a love/hate relationship with any costume. He loves it until he has to wear it and then he hates it.

Happened at pre-school and, to a lesser degree, at the Reformation Celebration.

But for the moments he wore it, he was the cutest Thomas the Tank Engine ever!

Added on Friday morning: This morning, as Sam was working on yet another bead creation, he said, "Look, Mom, I'm a artist." Well, it's really cute when he says it. :)

Busy-ness as usual

2010-11-08T10:37:00.002-06:00

Everyone now, "It's the most busy-est time of the year..." Okay, loses some of its charm, I guess. But is oh-so-appropriate for our life right now!

We were cruising along nicely through September and October, busy, but not too busy. We still had dinner together occasionally. We still sat down to watch a movie together occasionally. We still started the day with a resting heart-rate.

No more.

November has descended and with it, the rush. Quarter grades, parent/teacher conferences, birthdays, holidays, basketball season, doctor and dentist appointments (note to self: schedule those things in months other than November and December!), due dates, lesson plans, etc., plus the regular insanity of housework, homework, instrument lessons and daily meals.

I think I have this panic attack every November, but every November is cause for a fresh phase of panic!

If I sit back and think about it, though, with that eternal perspective we're supposed to have, it's all good. God is good and He has November and December well in hand, even if I don't!

Girls' Day Out

2010-11-03T20:09:00.004-05:00

In honor of Johanna's birthday (which is Friday but Katie's schedule made it necessary to go today), Katie and I picked up Johanna from school at noon-ish and took her to lunch at Panera, then to the Mall of America for a shopping spree.After we shopped 'til we nearly dropped, we went to the American Girl store for late afternoon tea.

Johanna picked out this lovely young lady, named her Kirsten and proceeded to take good care of her while we partook of our tea.

When we got home, Johanna tried on her new outfit. She is quite the fashionista!

So, we're home now and ready to put our feet up. We had a pretty wonderful time, though, just us girls!

Reformation Celebration 2010

2010-10-30T16:28:00.005-05:00

Last night we had our fourth annual Reformation Celebration at Mission OPC. A fun night, as always.

We started with food. Can't go far wrong with that! Add some authentic Reformation food and it's perfect.

I know there was something about a Diet of Worms in that history book. Boy, they ate some crazy stuff back then.

I read the story of Katherine Luther to an enthralled audience. (I think Johanna was actually sitting on Sam at one point to keep him still.)

And we had some gorgeous music from these two lovely grad students from the U.

We ended with some games, including the famous "Pin the 95 Theses to the Church Door!" Sam won this year.

Really, we just wanted an excuse to sugar up the kids and trick-or-treat is out because it falls on Sunday night this year. So, the kids were well and truly sugared by the end of the night!

Amazingly enough, both Sam and Micah had about ten bites of apple apiece before gorging themselves on candy!

So, another fun night of celebration and a good way to commemorate the start of the Reformation so many years ago!

Keepin' It Real

2010-10-25T09:37:00.003-05:00

This is our kitchen in its natural state: groceries waiting to be taken downstairs, garbage waiting to be taken outside, every available surface covered in school papers, empty pretzel bags, half-empty cups (or half-full cups depending on whether or not I'm feeling optimistic that day), broken art projects, spare Lego parts, etc. And this is what it looks like when company's coming:
When I was little, I famously incurred my mother's wrath by noticing the family effort to clean the house and then asking, "Who's coming?" And now my kids ask the same thing, only with more just cause than I had for asking.

It's true. I confess. I clean more vociferously when company is coming than when it's "just us chickens."

Contrary to popular belief, though, I do clean in between times, too. I do!

It's just more fun when I know that someone will actually see and appreciate my efforts, rather than running in the front door, tracking mud on the carpet, dropping backpacks around the living room, shoving into the kitchen, strewing snack projects all over the kitchen floor and table, seeming only to appreciate my efforts in so far as it makes more room for them to make a new mess! (Sometimes a run-on sentence is more satisfying.)

After all, making the mess is where all the fun is.

Don't worry. I do put my built-in cleaning crew to use quite a lot. I had children so that someday I wouldn't be needed when it's time to clean up.

I'll go and put my feet up and watch me some Lawrence Welk.

In the meantime, I live in the already/not yet world of training my crew to put me out of a job.

And I do that by "keepin' it real."

My Girl

2010-10-24T20:39:00.003-05:00

Friday Favorites

2010-10-22T17:43:00.003-05:00

These are my three favoritest boys in the world.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-20T23:11:00.004-05:00

Gooseberry Falls

2010-10-16T22:13:00.004-05:00

On our way home on Wednesday, we also stopped to see Gooseberry Falls. It is probably more spectacular in the spring but was still very pretty.

We considered this trip a sort of scouting trip for our family camping excursion next summer. We are now armed with at least a little bit of knowledge about where we'd like to stay and where we'd like to go.

Forewarned is forearmed, or something like that.

(But not four-armed. That would be creepy.)

It was nice to visit these places and know that next summer when I'm not hobbling from a grueling 6-mile hike, we will be back to enjoy the views.

(John is talking about taking the two older boys hiking up Eagle Mountain, but Johanna, Sam and I will find a quiet little beach and hang out there for the day!)

Up North

2010-10-14T14:27:00.005-05:00

Thanks to the help of a bunch of people, John and I were able to spend Tuesday and Wednesday up north.
We had beautiful weather for both days.

Tuesday, we hiked into the Boundary Waters and climbed up Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota.

Above, the view from the heights of Eagle Mountain.

Wednesday we celebrated John's birthday with a leisurely drive along the lakeshore. We stopped at the Split Rock Lighthouse (the view above is from the lighthouse). We also stopped at a quilt shop, Gooseberry Falls, and Betty's Pies.

When we got home, we retrieved kids from their host families and went out for a birthday dinner to Red Lobster.

A wonderful two days, all told. And I'm still enjoying the aching muscles from our hike up Eagle Mountain - six-miles round trip and up-hill all the way!

A Crafty Fellow

2010-10-08T11:07:00.001-05:00

Now that poor Sam has been abandoned by all of his older siblings for most of every weekday, he has had to turn to other sources for his entertainment. Of course, his first choice is TV, movies and video games. But, occasionally, his mean 'ol mom puts a moratorium on the screens and forces him to do something else. One of his favorite activities has been these tiny neon beads.

The kit comes with four templates and a gajillion little beads. Sam spends a long time, often in silence, sometimes explaining some video game to his half-listening mother, putting these beads onto the little spikes. When all are in place, mom goes and irons the whole thing so that the beads melt together and we get shapes like...

...this!

Sam enjoys the work and is proud of the product. I like the quiet and the fact that he's not ruining brain cells in front of a screen. Happiness reigns. And all for the cost of a bead kit! It's no substitute for siblings, but it'll do.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T08:55:00.001-05:00

October

2010-10-04T11:30:00.004-05:00

I am happy to say that the older I get the more I appreciate poetry. Poetry, apparently, takes more wisdom, perception, or perhaps an openness that I simply didn't possess when I was 16 or even 25. And even now, in my wise old age, I still don't sit down and read volumes of poetry for fun. But certain sights and experiences sometimes make me wonder what the poets have had to say about it. And, almost always, the month of October makes me feel particularly poetic. Here are some gems I found when I looked up October poetry:

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."

- Carol Bishop Hipps; In a Southern Garden

"O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hourOctober's bright blue weather."

"I know the year is dying,

Soon the summer will be dead.

I can trace it in the flying

Of the black crows overhead;

I can hear it in the rustle

Of the dead leaves as I pass,

And the south wind's plaintive sighing

Through the dry and withered grass.

Ah, 'tis then I love to wander,

Wander idly and alone,

Listening to the solemn music

Of sweet nature's undertone;

Wrapt in thoughts I cannot utter,

Dreams my tongue cannot express,

Dreams that match the autumn's sadness

In their longing tenderness."

- Mortimer Crane Brown, Autumn Dreams

"When gentians roll their fingers tight

To save them for the morning,

And chestnuts fall from satin burrs

Without a sound of warning;

When on the ground red apples lie

In piles like jewels shining,

And redder still on old stone walls

Are leaves of woodbine twining;

When all the lovely wayside things

Their white-winged seeds are sowing,

And in the fields still green and fair,

Late aftermaths are growing;

When springs run low, and on the brooks,

In idle golden freighting,

Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush

Of woods, for winter waiting;

When comrades seek sweet country haunts,

By twos and twos together,

And count like misers, hour by hour,

October's bright blue weather."

- Helen Hunt Jackson, October's Bright Blue Weather

And that's not even including Robert Frost and other great ones!

Pretty Good Food

2010-10-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago I caught an episode of Nigella Lawson's show on the Food Network. She was making these darling little cupcakes and they looked so easy, so yummy, and so pretty that I found the recipe on-line and hunkered down to wait for just the right occasion to serve them. That occasion came today when we hosted our Mother/Daughter book club here at home.

The cake part is vanilla and the icing is Royal Icing so it's beautifully smooth and glossy as well as being decadently sweet. I bought the little flowers at Michael's in the Wilton aisle. There were not quite enough flowers to top all twelve of the cupcakes, so I topped the extras with candy pumpkins from John's stash in his office; not quite as pretty but equally yummy.

The cake part was, I confess, a little bit dry, although the flavor was quite good. I made them on Friday, though, so I wonder if they would have been a bit moister if eaten on the same day. Still, I'll keep the recipe; they're worth a second try!

The taste and the appearance elicited many appreciative "oohs" and "aaahs" from our guests.

Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/cupcakes-recipe2/index.html so you can try them yourself!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-29T18:40:00.001-05:00

Tomato/To-mah-to

2010-09-27T12:21:00.002-05:00

However you pronounce it, we've got plenty!

I confess that I am hoping this is the end of the crop.

I am amazed at how many tomatoes we're still getting even when September temperatures have been so cool.

We're thinking of calling Mulder and Scully to check out this one. These are undoubtedly alien markings, some sort of communication between Martians and their human conspirators, showing the path to the mother ship. Do I watch too much TV?

Now the question on all of these tomatoes is...what do I do with them? Any recommendations or requests?

Friday Favorite

2010-09-25T22:12:00.006-05:00

Years ago, when I was in middle school, I, like many others, found Victoria magazine and fell in love. I was more than a little disappointed some years later when the magazine was discontinued. I was equally elated a few months ago to find that Victoria has made a come-back!

I can get lost in its pages, full of wildly romantic photos, not to mention wildly expensive products. It's not a catalog, though, it's a mini-holiday to beauty and elegance.

It feeds my love of

Candlelight

Silver

Roses

Sunlight filtered through lush green leaves

Teacups and lace

Quaint English villages

Misty moors

The blue-green Lake District

Adirondack mornings

Tartan anything

And much more.

Completely impractical, I know. I can in no way justify the purchase of such frivolity except that a little dose of beauty every once in a while is good for the soul. And that is why I chose it as my Friday Favorite.

Fall TV Line-up

2010-09-21T21:19:00.005-05:00

As fall gets into full swing here, TVLand wakes from its summer of reruns and makes another go at capturing and keeping viewers. I find that as I get older, I have less and less patience for TV or even movies - maybe the internet is ruining my ability to sustain a story line in my head for more than 3.5 seconds - so if a show is going to grab my attention it has to offer something I'm really going to like - something that keeps me coming back for more.

At the moment, those shows are:

Psych - John and I discovered this show this summer and it is hilarious!

Chuck - who wouldn't love a computer geek turned international spy?

Castle - Rick Castle is a mystery writer who shadows a police detective. He has corny humor and literary elan, a perfect combination.

Covert Affairs - this isn't a "can't miss" for me but quite enjoyable when I do catch it.

19 Kids and Counting - Johanna and I love to watch this show and marvel at this family and think, "What if *we* had 19 kids." (I try to shield her from the harsh reality of what *our* house would be like with that many kids!)

So, what are you watching?

The Week in Review

2010-09-20T10:39:00.002-05:00

As mentioned in my last post, John recently broke his foot. With typical determination, he coached a soccer game two days later. It's hard to see in this picture but he's wearing a large black boot on his left leg. I took along a chair for him and set it up on the sideline with strict orders for him to sit as much as possible. He didn't sit down once for the entire hour. *sigh* I do what I can. Thankfully, the boot did its job and his foot didn't suffer too much extra pain or swelling.

Two days later, he took off for Philadelphia and Chicago for a week of denominational and presbytery meetings.

Leaving me a single mom.

Common wisdom says that when the mom is away, dad will let the house go to pot, kids eat pizza and cold cereal for every meal and mom comes home to a disaster. Well, we didn't do a complete reverse, but the kids and I were certainly...um...laid back.

I did accomplish a few useful things, including canning six half-pints of basil jelly and six half-pints of tomato butter.

The basil jelly is something really new to me. We have all of this basil in the garden and John keeps pestering me to do something with it, so I started looking on-line to see what could be done besides pesto (this was after I had already made three batches of pesto). My first reaction was "Ick!" but when I heard the recommendations for how to use it, it started to sound pretty yummy.

I had never canned before but I borrowed a canning set from a friend and followed directions. The jars certainly came out looking lovely, although I haven't tried any of the jelly yet so I'll have to report back when I know how it tastes!

The tomato butter is an old-fashioned favorite of my grandfather's. I made it for him - I just hope I can find a way to get it to him soon! In order for tomato butter (tomato, sugar, cinnamon, cloves) to be appetizing, you must switch from thinking of tomato in savory terms and remember that it is a fruit, like apples or pears. It is odd, I grant you that, but quite yummy.

So true

2010-09-11T21:18:00.003-05:00

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are…Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow.One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
- Mary Jean Iron

Days like this when we remember major catastrophes - 9/11 - and even minor things - John's broken foot, my crowned tooth, the kids' fevers - remind me of the truth of this statement and the value of every ordinary day.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Fair and First Day of School

2010-08-31T22:34:00.007-05:00

No fancy titles this time; these days I'm going for simple, straighforward and informative. My creativity gets squeezed out of existence during busy times like this.

But just so my reading public doesn't become too restless, I will post a picture from the state fair and some from the first day of school.

The picture to the left was taken during our annual cookie break at the fair. We get a bucket of Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies, a bag of mini-donuts, and several cups of milk (with free refills!) and pig out. We have fewer and fewer leftovers to take home as the kids get older! But it's tradition and it's a good one.

We had a good time at the fair. We were faint with exhaustion but not with hunger when we finally headed to the car after a record-breaking nine hours there!

That was Friday. On Monday, bright and early, the three oldest kids, three of my babies, mind you, set out for school.

Why must one always bribe children with a silly shot so that they will submit to a few good shots?

Of particular note, is Johanna's first day; her first day in a "real" school. She was a little nervous, a little tearful, the night before, but was all smiles and laughter by the end of the day.

God is good.

Back to School Craziness

2010-08-26T13:36:00.004-05:00

Well, here we are, ready for another school year, another autumn, another football season, another soccer season (August was sad for some and a blessed relief for others while there were no sports going on!), another adjustment to getting up when the alarm clock rings rather than ignoring it and sleeping until the sun insists you get up, and so on.

This year, we have four kids and one mom gearing up for school. Johanna is going into 3rd grade at Liberty, her first year in "real" school. Needless to say, she is terrifically excited! Micah is entering 5th grade, top dog at the LCA Lower School. And William is starting 7th grade, firmly in middle school and nearly a teen-ager! This fact is too incredible for me to even comment on it.

As for me, I am thrilled to be teaching at Baldwin Christian School, a classical Christian K-12 school in Baldwin, WI. Yes, that is an entire state away from us! But, we live about 20 minutes from the state border and the school is about 20 minutes beyond that. The commute is long, but I couldn't pass up these classes: literature, creative writing, and rhetoric. I will have students in grades 9-12 and small classes so grading will be minimal.

Like most teachers, I would teach for free but you have to pay me to do grading!

I will teach Tuesdays and Thursdays for most of the day.

On those days, Sam will come with me and attend preschool at BCS. He is quite excited to be starting his formal education, although he just thinks it's fun!

Poor John will be left in a quiet house all day Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever will he find to keep him busy and to keep him from missing us all too terribly?

Not to be left out of the fall frenzy, John will once again be coaching the middle school soccer team at LCA. At least he'll have something to do!

Goodbye, summer! See you in June!

Lake Itasca 2010

2010-08-12T22:16:00.003-05:00

Well, our trip was a mixture of really great and really not so great. Mosquitoes and rain were the two basic themes running through most of our time. Here's more than you ever wanted to know about the Shaw Family Camping Adventure of 2010.

Monday: We finally left home a little after noon and then had 2+ hours of errands to finish before we actually set off. On the way north, our "scenic route" turned out to be badly marked and our several wrong turns made the trip longer than anticipated. We arrived 7-ish and began setting up camp. Our "neighbor" came over to tell us that her toddlers woke up screaming every night about 1 a.m. So, since the only spot to put our tents was right beside theirs and because there was no level ground there anyway, we switched campsites to the one right next door - level ground and further from the screaming. :)

While John went and got our new campsite approved, I made sandwiches and bedtime started for the toddlers next door...and lasted for almost two hours! I really don't think the kids or the parents were unusually bad or anything, they just had three little toddlers learning to go to bed, but *why* would you go camping then? There were other families with small kids there so I'm not opposed to little kids camping (we did, after all, have a toddler with us) but you gotta know your kids and when you're going to annoy an entire campground!

Minor annoyance, really. So, we got squared away, but by the time we were settled, there was no time for a campfire. This made my children nearly as despondent as the bedtime toddlers! We went to bed, though, and slept, or tried to sleep. Along with the usual difficulties I have in sleeping outside, I had forgotten batteries for the air pump for the air mattress! So, I had to sleep on the (okay, slightly cushioned) ground with the rest of the plebs! See what I do for my family? Sainthood? Well, thank you. I wouldn't have suggested it myself, but...

Tuesday: Got up about 6, not sleeping anyway, so why not? Fixed eggs and spam for breakfast (so Minnesota!), served to an enthusiastic clientele. Quite warm and muggy with grey skies. When we got breakfast cleaned up, we went to see the headwaters of the Mississippi where we could walk across the river,

then went swimming. Both very fun.

After swimming, we went back to camp then tried a hike. Big mistake. We went into the woods and ten minutes later had so many mosquito bites that we turned and ran back the other way! We emerged with 2 to 15 new bites per person! Thankfully, Sam was at the low end (despite the swarm of mosquitoes I kept shooing away from his head!) but William and I were definitely at the upper end! So, that was a fail. We went back and had an early supper. And a good thing, too, because almost as soon as we were done cleaning up, the rain started!

We went on the "wilderness drive" around the park in our dry van. There was not a lot to see besides trees and more trees, so when we finally got to the marker for an unusual tree - the tallest white pine in Minnesota - John and the kids determined to go and see it! We found the ponchos I had purchased for just such an occasion and the four of them ran up the trail while I waited in the car with a sleeping Sam. Strangely enough, the ponchos made us laugh and the whole thing felt like a silly adventure. According to the hikers, the pine tree really was quite impressive.

When we were done with the drive, we went to the restaurant in the lodge, mostly to avoid being at our campsite in the rain. We could see from the radar that it was supposed to clear off by midnight, so we headed back about 9 and got to bed, wet and exhausted.

The boys' tent had leaked and soaked William's sleeping bag, pillow, and a book, and most everything else was at least slightly damp. That was a long night, despite the comfort of my freshly pumped air mattress (we picked up batteries at the exorbitantly expensive camp store). I slept from 11 to 1, then we were all awake from 1 to 4 with trips to the bathroom, etc. I even tried sleeping in the van, but it was stifling hot in there, plus there was a friendly mosquito whining in my ear. So, no possibility of sleep. I went back to the tent and slept again from 4 to 7.

Wednesday: We woke to sunshine. And a good thing, too, because I will admit my weakness and say that I was very much in favor of leaving immediately, if not sooner. We had a simple, fortifying breakfast of sugary cereals and Pop-Tarts. Then I took John and the 3 oldest kids to the bike rental place and left them to pursue a biking adventure. Sam and I went to the air-conditioned visitor's center and learned about butterflies then went back to camp to stick all of the wet chairs, sleeping bags, etc. in the sunshine. Our van looked like a giant drying rack.

The bikers had a great ride and then we all went swimming. Even *I* went swimming because by then I stunk so much I was making myself gag! We had lived in a miasma of sweat, bug spray, and wood smoke for too long to mention and it had to end. The water felt really good and I'll never see any of those folks again so no one can make fun of how I look in a swimming suit!

After swimming, we all took showers and felt much more human. We set out to enjoy a quiet evening, roasting hot dogs and making S'mores. And, finally, after an hour of sweating, discussing, fanning, fretting, and eliciting the sympathy and help of some neighbors, we got a fire going!

We had our long-awaited hot dogs and we had our S'mores and had just settled to hearing some of the silliest "scary" stories from our children, when those same friendly fire-starting neighbors came over and invited us to have blueberry pies from their mountain pie makers. We had a little party! Sam was in rare form, talking constantly and loudly, but managing to charm everyone. Finally, the park ranger came over and reminded us that quiet hours started at 10 and we realized how late it had gotten.

(By the way, if you want a real conversation killer, have someone ask your pastor husband what he does for a living. Regular Joe (welder, veteran): "So, John, what do you do down there in the Twin Cities? John: "I'm a pastor." *crickets*)

So, we got to bed. Sam was asleep in about 3 seconds, Johanna in 20. I slept, but it was spotty and not very restful sleep, interrupted by potty breaks and raccoons. (Thankfully, I didn't actually have to get out of the tent for either of those. Wm and Micah hiked to the bathroom together and John scared away the raccoons.)

Thursday: Wakened by raindrops hitting the tent. *groan* I got up and started organizing, preparatory to packing up. Forget pancakes, we're getting out of here! We didn't know the forecast, but started to hear thunder. This was great motivation. We packed up in record time and left our campsite by 9 am. and had pancakes at McDonald's. This turned out to be a blessing, though, because it meant we were home by 2 so we had time to dry things out, start laundry and get ready to pack up for Kansas City.

We had a lot of good times and definitely some good bonding time! We met those nice, fire-starting neighbors and got some useful camping tips from them. We enjoyed swimming and biking and S'mores. We have a bunch of souvenir mosquito bites, a few good pictures, and many good memories, some of which will get better in years to come when we remember the Shaw Family Camping Adventure of 2010.

Oh no! Our family is on the rocks! All that time together led to rocky relationships!

Just kidding.

We're rock solid, baby!

Whew!

2010-08-07T16:17:00.003-05:00

Was that the summer I just saw whizzing past? Goodness! We've been so busy I've neglected my blog even more than usual! Didn't know that was even possible!

Well..."Let me 'splain. No. 'Is too much. Let me sum up." (Anyone recognize that from the most quotable movie ever?)

Anyway, let me fill you in on our summer escapades.

Soon after my last post, John's parents arrived for a visit. While they were here, John and I escaped the kids and the city for a little 15th anniversary weekend away.

We went an hour south to Red Wing, MN, a charming town which happens to boast the Largest Boot Ever Revealed to Civilization! Yes, it's true. Come visit us and we'll take you to this very special, highly unique Minnesota site! (We haven't made it to the Spam museum yet, but that's next on our list.)

The person who could wear this boot would be 20 stories tall. They would *even* be too big for my dad! (Sorry, Dad, couldn't resist. ;))

We stayed at this lovely bed and breakfast where no children demanded anything of us and someone made cookies for *us!*

The next day, we went still farther south to Winona, MN.

(If you've read the Betsy-Tacy books, you might remember they have a friend named Winona who was named after this little town. Who says my blog isn't educational?!)

The town of Winona hosts the Great River Shakespeare Festival every summer.

Above is the set for "The Comedy of Errors."

As I am *certain* you will remember, I saw "Comedy" last year at the Globe theatre in London, so this production had a lot to live up to. It was a very different version, set in a New Orleans-like town, complete with lounge singers and southern accents, and extremely well done. It took a little while to adjust to deciphering Shakespearean language disguised in a southern accent, but thanks to hanging around with my friend Suzanne, the southern belle, I managed just fine.

I think I could stand to go back again next year. If John *really* wanted to go. I might be convinced.

Maybe.

Hmm.

Well, that brings us just up to July 17 and I'm exhausted. I'll have to continue my account of summer later, although I confess it might be *much* later since we leave on Monday to go camping and then go to Kansas City after that. *sigh* Check back in a month.

Bedroom Makeover

2010-07-13T10:31:00.001-05:00

To my husband's chagrin, I am occasionally stricken with inspiration and when inspiration strikes, action must follow. John thinks I can't leave well enough alone; I call it inspiration, or, if you like, homemaking. My way of making a house into our home; putting a unique stamp on this space for the time we have it.

Some women think that homemaking means cleaning. I like to think that I'm beyond such mundane definitions of homemaking.

Sparkling floors don't make a house a home. No sir, ma'am.

Forgive me if I wax lyrical. This is the realm of inspiration, after all.

All this to say that I finally decided to tackle the master bedroom and make it into the inviting retreat we want and need.

Here's the "before" picture. You know, the one where the room isn't wearing any makeup and is frowning slightly just to emphasize the crow's feet and crease lines.

(The pile of stuff on the bed is part of the staging; it's supposed to be there. Ahem.)

As rooms go, it's fairly inoffensive but deadly dull. Dare I call it "blah?"

Enter, color!

And white, lovely white. (Do not even ask me how long the white will stay white. Do. Not. Resist those "buzzkill" urges. Believe me, we'll all be happier.)

I still want a new light fixture, something shiny and crystal-y, I think.

I did this for about $150. I don't like to be too specific on those dollar figures, though, because, really, can you put a price on inspiration?

Don't answer that, dear.

So now we have our lovely oasis, our own "blue heaven." As soon as we get the deadbolt put on the sound-proof door.

I am so happy with our new room! I think I'll stay in bed all day tomorrow just to show how much I love it! Can I?

Don't answer that, dear.

And next time inspiration strikes, don't even bother to remind me of how sore it makes my muscles and how the rest of the house goes to pot and how much I hate painting projects. Don't bother. Inspiration cannot be denied.

And look at that room. Inspired. If I do say so myself.

Goin' to the Lake

2010-07-12T21:54:00.004-05:00

Well, I would imagine that by now I've lost any loyal readers I may once have had! But in case there are a few of you still checking in occasionally, I'll post. I guess I've been too busy living my summer to write about it!

Last Friday, our friends called and invited us to the lake, so we slathered on the sunscreen, pulled the beach towels out of the dryer, and slipped on the flip-flops.

The day was gorgeous and the friends were - as always - lots of fun.

Above are Sam and Johanna, below are Micah (on the left), Sam and Micah's BFF.

Despite the spf 30 I had slathered on, I did get a bit of a sunburn but no other casualties were reported.

The kids swam, chased each other into deeper water (just deep enough to thrill the kids but not deep enough to scare the moms), swam races to Mom at the finish line, jumped off the dock, and made sand castles with impenetrable moats.

It was a day to simply enjoy summer. Aaah!

Orchestra Camp

2010-06-28T12:51:00.004-05:00

Last week, William attended an orchestra camp with other middle-schoolers. He moaned and complained about having to go to the camp, but once he went, he admitted to having a good time. Ha, ha, mom was right.

Parenting 101 - gloat when you're right because it will happen less and less frequently.

Here's the maestro after Friday's half-hour concert.

The camp was well-done and the concert was enjoyable. William seemed to learn a lot and have a good time.

Future Minnesota Orchestra concert master! I guess New York Philharmonic would be okay, too.

I had to include this picture because it is so indicative of the kind of craziness around here. Unfortunately, Micah is missing from the scene so it can't show the full scope of the insanity, but you can get some idea.

Remember the bumper sticker that read: "Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids?" Yeah. Now I get it.

Tea for Two

2010-06-26T14:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Johanna and I went out for a special mother/daughter tea. Why? Well, just because.

We went to the lovely Avalon Tea Room in White Bear Lake.

We ordered the "Cream Tea" which consisted of a pot of tea and two yummy scones for each of us with lemon curd, Devonshire cream, or Queen's jam to go on top.

Since Johanna doesn't like tea, we ordered an herbal tea called Bumblefruit, hoping that would be more palatable. Unfortunately, even with two sugar cubes, she didn't like the tea. I thought it was delicious but was not equal to the task of drinking the entire pot-full!

The tea room was elegantly decorated with toile, lace, flowers, and white lights. They also provided hats for those who chose to indulge. Johanna picked out this little number for me. It's difficult to see in the picture, but it's a small black satin hat with a spotted veil and a tuft of black tulle in the back.

Johanna picked out this fetching number for herself. Put a ribbon under her chin and she could be Little Bow Peep!

A lovely morning for girl time!

The Best Buy Tornado

2010-06-16T11:25:00.002-05:00

This from today's paper:

"A powerful tornado hit the Twin Cities 29 years ago on Sunday, June 14, 1981. In its 26-mile path, the tornado touched down first...in Edina, then tracked northeast ... into Roseville, causing a great deal of damage to the Har Mar Mall.

The Sound of Music Store was hit hard. Afterwards, the store sold slightly damaged radio electronics and called it the Best Buy sale. The best buy sale was so popular the company changed its name to Best Buy.

--Belinda Jensen"

So there's your bit of Minnesota history for today!

Family Night

2010-06-14T21:40:00.002-05:00

To celebrate the last day of school (yes, quite a while ago now) we decided to go out for ice cream at Cup 'n Cone.

Cup 'n Cone is no Brewsters, but it was pretty good. Unfortunately, the ice cream melted fast, even on a not-so-hot evening.

Apparently, the day was exciting enough to wear out even this young warrior. Notice that he sleeps with his sword to hand, prepared to defend his castle at a moment's notice.

There's a special joy in seeing your own little bundle of non-stop energy zonked out at the end of the day, his face in repose, his hands resting, his legs momentarily stilled.

Until you realize that he's just recharging, preparing for the next day of non-stop action!

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

2010-06-09T15:07:00.002-05:00

My dear Grandma Copeland passed away ten years ago, just before Micah was born. A year or so ago, a bunch of her recipes came into my possession and I had lots of fun looking through them, watching for names and handwriting I recognized. Most of the recipes were not for foods I particularly remember from her, but the handwriting alone is enough to make me feel a little like I felt as a little girl, watching her take dinner out of the oven or carrying forks to the side porch to set the picnic table for dinner.

Now that it is fresh berry season, I wanted to make a dessert which features the fresh blueberries and farmer's market strawberries I have on hand. So I decided to make Grandma's recipe for Hot Milk Sponge Cake. I had never made this particular recipe nor remember this from her kitchen, but the card is written out in her handwriting and that's what matters most!

It is rather nice that it tastes good, too, though.

I mixed up the simple ingredients and poured them into a pan. I guessed on the size of pan since Grandma didn't write it down, but 9x13" was right.

It came out a delectable golden brown.

Warm cake topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries: pure, simple, delicious.

I like the using old-fashioned recipes. They generally use ingredients I have on hand, like milk, eggs and vanilla, so I don't have to run to the store for fancy stuff, like real vanilla beans or wasabi paste.

(Wasabi paste is rarely called for in cake, but you know what I mean.)

I also like using old-fashioned recipes because it gives me a sense of being connected to previous generations. How I would love to sit around a warm kitchen with my mom and grandmas and chat and swap recipes! Since that's not possible, using their recipes is a dim second, but is the next best thing.

So, Grandma, in honor of you, tonight your great-grandchildren will have their cake and eat it, too.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

Beat 4 eggs

Add 2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

Sift together and add: 2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

Heat 1 c. milk and 2 Tbsp. butter

Combine all ingredients and spread in 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Motherhood

2010-06-08T17:22:00.002-05:00

Today, I read an article in Thriving Family which says so well what I have felt since the day I came home from the hospital with Baby #2 I knew I had to share it here.

The author, Carol Barnier, starts off telling about a talk-show guest who joked that mothers need to borrow a business model and learn to multi-task. "Was he kidding?" she asks and describes the five tasks she was doing at the same moment she was hearing this guy blather about motherhood. ("Blather" is my word, not hers; she's much more charitable.)

She goes on:

"No, Mr. Television Guest, you missed the mark completely. What we moms need, what our minds miss most and what our hearts intensely seek is the seemingly lost ability to monotask. We long for a quiet moment on a porch swing to laugh with a child, a chance to linger over dinner with our husband and the satisfaction of allowing a burgeoning idea to playfully work its way through our brain. Ah...to feel the linear path.

...The world of motherhood is one of perpetual motion. Calendars with no blank days. 'To do' lists that do not end. Spring cleaning that runs deep into August. But multitasking isn't just a solution for improved productivity; it's a value statement that says more is always better and quiet times are unproductive times.

I suspect that God couldn't agree less. The Bible does not say, 'He leadeth me in the path of astounding productivity and dizzying accomplishment whereby He is exceedingly impressed.' No, God wants us to lie down in green pastures, and He wanst to lead us beside still waters to restore our souls.

I know raising children is a season, and a short-lived season at that. One day my kids will be grown. The quiet will be mine to fill and enjoy. I will probably miss the noise and disorder that many little feet used to bring to my world. But when that happens, I intend to read my favorite magazine, from cover to cover, all in one sitting."

Well said, Ms. Barnier.

taken from "Mommy-tasking" in the May/June 2010 Thriving Family from Focus on the Family

I'm an Author

2010-06-04T17:29:00.002-05:00

Look at me! I'm a published author!

Drake's Treasure

I don't know the readership of this blog/e-zine, but it's rather cool that I was asked to publish this story.

Next stop, NYTimes Bestseller List!

Hmmm...maybe I shouldn't hold my breath.

Still, I'll take this small achievement for now.

Micah' First Baseball Game

2010-06-03T20:40:00.002-05:00

Much to John's chagrin, Micah has never been terribly interested in any sport and never had a desire to play baseball. Micah finally decided, though, that he wanted to play this summer for our local rec center. John approved of this decision. I sighed and bowed to the inevitable. Tonight was Micah's first game.

I don't know what the score was but I know we lost. That's okay, though, because no one was counting, right? It's just a learning experience, right? It's just for fun, right?

The team has lots of players so Micah played the bench as much as any of the others, but he also played 3rd base. He even made the 3rd out in the 4th inning.

Even better, he seemed to have fun.

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T11:49:00.003-05:00

Today, we are celebrating Memorial Day in the modern way: sleeping in, lounging around, cooking out, watching the Memorial Day concert from D.C. from the comfort of our own couch.

We also remember, though. We honor the memory of those who have fallen in the service of our country and those who have served honorably.

My grandfather, Wilbur Copeland, served in the army during World War II. He was a hospital administrator in Guam.

My uncle, Stan, was a medic in Vietnam and an army chaplain for many years. In fact, he was overjoyed to be called back into service recently. He's now an army counselor stationed in Germany.

My dad served in the army during the Vietnam War. He was stationed in Georgia and sang in the Third Army Chorus, tongue-in-cheekily called "The Pink Berets."

(I just made up that phrase "tongue-in-cheekily." Yeah, I'm pretty much a modern Shakespeare.)

My brother-in-law, Joel, served in Afghanistan as a doctor.

I have three first cousins who serve/served in the Army and several more distant cousins who serve in the armed forces.

I am proud to claim kinship with these soldiers and appreciate their service.

Thank you to the soldiers, past and present, who have served and who have died in that service so that I can enjoy freedom. I'm sorry that I take them for granted sometimes.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." Winston Churchill

One Year Ago Today...

2010-05-27T19:17:00.002-05:00

...I was in London!

Violin Recital

2010-05-19T09:58:00.002-05:00

Last week, William played in a violin recital with nine other students. William has taken 3 1/2 years of violin. He is not the most diligent student when it comes to practicing, but he is making good progress. This is Wm's most common "pose" for pictures now. I hope it's a phase.
Here are Micah and Sam waiting for the recital to start. Apparently, Sam had been imbibing of the punch already.
Here's the beautiful girl in the family.
William did fine. He performed it better at home without an audience, but he did fine.

We sure are proud of his hard work and improvements.

Oh, the Drama!

2010-05-14T08:38:00.006-05:00

Last night, Micah's class performed "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for a crowd of adoring parents and grandparents (and exhausted teachers). This performance was absolutely their best effort and a great success. An audience transformed these 22 children from a bunch of easily-distracted-goof-offs to performers.

There were certain lines from the script that I had given up on ever hearing again. I thought they had the gist of the line and the play still made sense so I wouldn't make a big deal about it anymore. Well, last night, these same lines miraculously re-appeared, as though they were lurking in the backs of the actor's heads, waiting for an audience to draw them forth.

Titania was queenly as she never had been before. Puck was lively and mischievous as he never had been before. Francis Flute/Thisby was over the top as he usually is. Bottom was more ridiculous than ever. Lysander looked around with a pleased grin when the audience laughed at his lines and this spurred him on to even more enthusiastic delivery of his lines. The entire cast was injected with new energy and excitement.

Without all of the practice this performance would not have been possible. Equally, without the appreciative audience this performance would not have been possible. Seems rather unfair.

But the process has been fun in and of itself, as well. I have enjoyed getting to know the students and the teachers and I have enjoyed delving into Shakespeare at least once a week. I have not enjoyed the minor dramas over casting and costumes! But those go with the territory as well.

Finally, I must mention the outstanding performance of Micah. Micah shared the role of Puck with another student and both did very well last night. But as Micah's doting mama, I must say that I am so proud of how Micah did. He had fun and it showed.

So, another show we may consider a success. Next year? Hmmm. Not ready to discuss that yet!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T18:59:00.002-05:00

I have had the blessing of knowing and being loved by many extraordinary women in my life. My beautiful and talented mother, Louise. For thirty-seven years she has comforted and encouraged me, taught me how to pick my battles, how to recover -and even learn - from defeats, how to love myself enough to love those around me, where to find my true value, the importance of making others feel valuable, how essential a kind word and a genuine smile can be, how to keep going when I think I can't, how to use humor without belittling others, how to bend without breaking.

Even as a teen-ager I didn't think it would be such a bad thing to be like my mother and now I fervently hope that I am.

Somehow I've failed to pick up on much of her patience, but I'm still working on it.

Thank you, Lord, for giving me my mother. You picked well.

Besides my mom, I have had the privilege of knowing both of my grandmothers: Arvilla Copeland and Ida Edgar. Both were immensely talented, amazing, God-fearing women and I cannot overstate the effect they have had on my life.

Grandma C. was an English teacher (among other subjects) and loved literature. She loved her family and was the only person I've ever known who loved me without seeming to notice my faults. I need a lot more people in my life who know my faults and encourage me to get rid of them! But it was a blessing to have one person who always thought I was the best at whatever I did, even if it was just being a girl.

Grandma E. was a pastor's wife extraordinaire. She had a gift and a flair for hospitality. I love to use her china because she loved to use it. She gathered whoever she could - from visiting pastors to Harold Giles, the farmer down the road who kept potatoes in his pockets to ward off the rheumatism - and made them welcome at her table. She was not a fancy cook, but made delicious, "plain" food, served with so much love her guests never missed the bouillabaisse.

These women continue to be a blessing to me even now and I thank God for them.

My mother-in-law, Mary, is another extraordinary woman the Lord has been kind enough to put in my life. So many people have funny and not-so-funny horror stories to tell about their mothers-in-law and I must say that I feel robbed in that department! Mary is a loving mother and grandmother, always willing to help in whatever ways she can and I thank the Lord for her in my life.

Besides these four, I have Pat, Katie, Carla, Joy, Jody, Joyce, Beverly, Shirley and I know there are some I'm forgetting at the moment.

The Lord knew that I needed all of these women in my life - I need all of the examples and encouragement I can get! Now that I look at the list, I am humbled by how far short I fall of the examples I have had. These women have shown and continue to show me Christ and I thank them for that and pray that some day I may be such an example to other women.

For now, I'll do what they have shown me to do: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with my God.

The Merry Month of May

2010-05-08T15:57:00.003-05:00

The month of May has been its usual busy self so far this year. This coming week will really be the height of the action-packed month with final rehearsals and performances of the 4th and 5th grade drama, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

As always, we're having lots of fun with practices, but it's always a little more fun when the students suddenly realize just how close the performance really is. This little shot of fear is a great motivator. We had a dismal dress rehearsal Friday afternoon, but I anticipate the rate of improvement to accelerate rapidly this week and we will pull off a creditable performance on Thursday night. Still, a good dose of prayer would not be amiss, if you know what I'm sayin.'

At the beginning of May, I also added babysitting two days a week into the lively mix of games, practices, lessons, errands, meetings, play dates, etc. in our lives.

A little more than twelve years ago, when William was about a month old, I started babysitting a baby who was just a month older than my own baby. This arrangement was a total disaster from my perspective. I was so new to motherhood; I had little idea of what I was doing with my own baby, let alone someone else's. I had to nurse and bottle-feed at the same time, or as was more often the case, listen to one scream while I fed the other. I was so relieved when we moved to Dayton and I could stop this job. I swore that I would never babysit again.

But, three babies and much experience later, I felt ready to tackle the challenge again. I know I went back on a promise to myself (and to John. He wasn't a fan of "psycho-wife."), but it's okay this time. I am really enjoying little Joseph. He is two months old and very sweet.

I'm pretty sure it helps that my own "baby" is now four years old and potty-trained.

And my hormones are not recovering from pregnancy.

And I usually get 7-8 hours of solid sleep every night.

Those things might make a little bit of a difference.

So, we've thrown these things into the mix of our usual mayhem. And that is this month's excuse for why I haven't kept up my blog better.

Free Multiplication Worksheets

2010-04-28T10:27:00.000-05:00

Once again I find myself trying not to pass on my math anxieties to my children while introducing them to such hive-inducing concepts as...multiplication!

I searched out some new worksheets to encourage the magic and found this cool site.

Free Multiplication Worksheets

Keyword being, of course, "free!"

There are good things on the world wide web. Like someone who will do math for me.

Party time!

2010-04-26T22:35:00.003-05:00

Once again, Pat and Katie hosted Sam's birthday bash. This year, the party started with an outdoor scavenger hunt to find bags of lollipops! Yes, you count five kids in the photo above. The little girl on the right is the daughter of some friends from China who joined us for the fun. (Pat [in the green] had shoulder surgery and was still sporting the sling.)

Here is Sam with his apple cake. Months ago, he took it into his head to have an "apple cake" at his birthday - don't know how or why the notion came to him, but there it was and there it remained. I asked if the cake should be shaped like an apple or have apples in it, and he definitely meant for it to be shaped like an apple. So, Katie took the challenge!

And did very well!

There's my baby blowing out 4 candles!

Sam received many wonderful presents, including this Webkinz shitzu from his siblings.

Special thanks to Pat and Katie for another lovely birthday party and to the grandparents and friends who sent gifts to make it so much fun! I don't think Sam will ever worry that he is unloved!

Behavior Issues

2010-04-19T12:12:00.005-05:00

A few months ago, William's school trapped me (through smiles and flattery) into volunteering to keep track of all of the tardy, correction, and behavior slips in the middle and upper school. They said they needed someone reliable and trust-worthy; what could I do in the face of such warm praise? They needed someone who wouldn't reveal the deep, dark disciplinary secrets at Liberty. But I can trust you, right? Besides, all of the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Or, even the not-so-innocent in this case.

This is not a difficult job, but, as I have discovered, is incredibly tedious. It was made even more difficult by the school secretary accidentally erasing many hours of work in one well-intentioned flash drive clean-up.

It is occasionally amusing, though, particularly in the "Behavior" category. This category is saved for the especially terrible crimes, crimes which go beyond tardiness or violations of the uniform code. Things like "talking in class after many warnings" and "running in hall." The really funny ones, though, are the ones where individual personalities really shine through. Ones like, "rollerblading in class" or "put snow in T--'s hood." How about "whistling in class and loud crying when told to stop?" Or the cryptic "water bottle, repeated warnings?" Hmmm.

I find myself wondering about the thought processes of these criminals. What made him or her think that rollerblading in class or melodramatic crying was worth getting into trouble?

Did it seem cool at the moment?

Did he consider backing down but was too far in and his pride held him to that particular course?

Did he need a spectacular event to attract the attention of someone - a particular someone?

And, in the end, was it worth the laughs? Was there any regret? Any reconsideration of that chosen course?

These are mysteries which would stump even the experts on "Criminal Minds," for who can understand the mind of a teenager?

All those hormones running around? *shudder*

I realize that I once was one of those creatures but have worked long and hard to push all of those cringe-worthy memories into the obliterating mists of time. I can't revisit those days!

The certainties! The uncertainties! The hormones!

What is even more alarming is the thought that within a relatively short period of time, John and I will be expected to try and parent such a creature!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

2010-04-14T16:51:00.002-05:00

Here is the birthday boy on his 2nd birthday. His first birthday. We won't go into how long it took me to decorate William's first birthday cake as opposed to how long it took me to decorate Sam's first birthday cake. William got a fancy cake and Sam gets his entire life chronicled on a blog. It'll all come out even in the end. Right?

Look how cute! Oh, my. Don't cry, Anne, don't cry.

Here's the handsome fellow now. Four years old today. We love you, Sam-Sam!