It's Christmas Eve Day.  We are at home.  The kids and I slept in...dear hubby seems unable to achieve this feat...he watched the weather channel in bed while waiting for me to wake up...lol.  After getting up we enjoyed the breakfast of champions (and our family favorite) pflinzen (aka crepes) with combinations of cinnamon sugar, syrup, and, yes, pb & honey.  Then we read, relaxed, watched tv and played games. Bret made a quick dash to our favorite store, Menards (home improvement) to buy supplies for a new wood rack for the shop.  He came back laden with wood (they had a sale) which he has connived the children into helping him move.  I spent some more time reading and relaxing (in between loads of laundry).  Now I'm gearing up to make lunch/dinner:  kabanade (I realized I don't know how to spell this, but Bret calls it farmer's pork chops), baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli.  Tonight we have a candle light service at church and will open a few presents before turning in for the night.  It looks to be a relaxing and fun Christmas at home this year...

Speech

My daughter memorized a duet with a friend for speech club and performed unflinchingly in public several times. She won a first place ribbon at the state speech competition.

This after about 2 years of insisting she is SHY.

I have never believed my daughter to be shy.  Since she was old enough to sing, she has sung and since she was old enough to dance, she has danced, doing both in the aisles at supermarkets and onstage at ballet recitals, in restaurants and at the park.  Who knows what the future holds for this girl...but at least she is not deathly afraid of public speaking!  :-)

Speechless

Last night my son came into the kitchen after dinner with a pile of money in his hands.  He dumped the money on the table and began looking through a brochure.  After a minute or so he began asking questions like, "what animal should I send money in for?"  I wondered what this line of questioning might mean for me (in terms of work :-) and time)...but then realized it was a Heifer International pamphlet and my kid was looking to spend some of his allowance to buy an animal for a needy family. I'm speechless.

Zoo babies...

My "babies" have loved the zoo (every zoo we came near) for many years, but now that they are growing up those trips to the zoo seemed to be gone forever.  BUT, this summer our zoo had a litter of four baby Siberian Tigers, and this we could not resist!!!  Above, if you look closely, you can see two cubs and the mama taking very good care!  Hard to imagine Siberian tigers as gentle, but I guess we're all a little protective when it comes to our babies!

The clarinet, the clarinet...

 We actually could identify the tune of Jingle Bells the other day!  How exciting! 

There is still the occasional squeak, but what's life without some unexpected surprises.  After all the Christmas concert is still a few weeks away!

Just a couple of kids in love...

 We celebrated our 18th anniversary in Chicago, the birthplace of our romance.  We enjoyed the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier and sailed the tall ship Windy as pictured below.

 The Chicago skyline was lovely at sunset, especially while sailing along on Lake Michigan!

My daughter broke into tears today because our plans for camping on Labor Day (Labour Day for our Canadian readers) were cancelled due to rain.  I wanted to burst into tears myself (mostly because I'd already done most of the preparatory work), but I pulled myself together and helped my 10-year-old pull herself together.  What a bummer!

Spent a lovely weekend with the love of my life in Chicago.  Visited the Art Institute (where we had our first date about 21 years ago) ate Chicago style pizza at Giordanos (best in the world!) and sailed on the tall ship Windy with the Chicago skyline outlined against the sunset.  Heavenly...  But, what made it all spectacular was my best friend and life partner, holding my hand...  even after 18 years of marriage!!! Sigh.

Minnesota camping!

Had a great time camping in Minnesota with our extended family.  Despite two nights of heavy rains, we were mostly dry in our tents.  We swam and caught sunfish, played games, learned about bats, and rode bikes.  It was a great camping experience!

This was Ben's first fish and it was so fun for Uncle Bret to share his love of fishing with another young convert.  Below, all-important nap-time!

We enjoyed holding our baby cousin, and had to share and take turns...  :-)

 

 A peaceful moment considering what to write in the journal!

 Tents that kept us dry during the storms!  Yay!

The tents held out despite the thunderstorms.  Above, the loaded down Jetta, which still managed to get about 30 mpg.  We filled every nook and cranny with some kind of camping gear!  Here we are heading home after four days of camping.

A little stranger...

We found this little stranger in our yard this week.  It seems that he may have lost his mommy.  Schwarz has been very busy barking at the little raccoon, letting him know that he is not particularly welcome at our residence.  Hopefully he'll find his way home.

Backpacking Saga II

 The terrain was beautiful, hilly, rocky and lots of trees.  We enjoyed a lot of shady resting spots.  Our usual hiking process is that Bret is the leader and I am the caboose.  He keeps us from getting lost and I herd the slow ones and encourage the frustrated, etc..

 Below you see the dog resting while still carrying his pack.  He tried, I've got to give him credit for doing his best.  I wonder what he was thinking.  Everytime we took a rest, he seemed to hope we were stopping for the night and when we got up again our 8 year old puppy looked at us like we were nuts.  Several times he just refused to get up! 

Well we all survived, and Schwarzie is truly part of our pack.  At the beginning he was the "slowest gazelle" (our term for whoever's last--you know what happens to the slowest gazelle!) and I was always turning around and calling him.  After we took the pack off the dog, he went a little faster and when he got ahead a little ways, he stopped and looked back for me.  What a sweet memory of my faithful puppy!

 There were several places where massive stones stood close but not touching each other like this.  Some places the path went between.  I found it a little claustrophobic!

There was one shady spot where Bret found a rattlesnake, we steered clear of that.  We saw very little wildlife, deer and the snake, but the ticks were prolific and we found several on our clothes and skin.

Backpacking Saga I

I may have only one part to the saga, we'll see how it goes.  The trip was a resounding success in that we all departed and returned (having travelled to and through Shawnee National Forest) with sound minds and bodies (at least as sound as usual).  Other than that...all bets are off!

We left with the best of intentions.  To arrive at the Garden of the Gods, stay one night, and hike the approximately 10 miles to Pounds Hollow Lake and swimming.  Then after two days of rest, to return to the Garden of the Gods (and our car) for the drive home.  Well, you know what roads are paved with good intentions...

;-)  So what we did not anticipate includes the following (and possibly many other things):  Schwarz's pack continually falling off his body and dragging on the ground, the VERY hilly terrain which exhausted us and the dog, late departure and slow progress (due in part to the dog stopping to lay down every time his pack fell off!), and more than 10 miles between our departure point and destination.  After a while we realized that Schwarz was not going to make it with the pack, so at 2:30 when we stopped at the top of a long hill for lunch, Bret cleverly built a travois.   This was a great idea, however no one could explain to Schwarz in a language he could understand what a great idea it truly was.  He remained unconvinced and did not pull the travois.  Bret did, however for about .5 miles before he realized that a travois on rocky ground is really noisy.  Finally we just split Schwarz's supplies between Bret and myself.

At about 8:00 pm (still 2 to 3 hilly, winding miles from our destination) we stopped at a street and waited for God to send us an angel.

Thank you Lord!  The angel arrived in the form of an older couple who stopped their pickup to see our pathetic and tired little troop.  They provided Bret a ride to our car and he then came to pick us up and drive us to our campground.  After setting up the tent we managed a quick swim (which helped the blisters) and then at about 9:30 I found myself heating soup for supper on our campstove.

We stayed the rest of the weekend at the lake, swimming daily and hiking short distances to points of interest.  We enjoyed each others company, grew in faith and knowledge of God's grace, and experienced a family adventure together.  It's definitely a story for future generations, plus, we came home with a new appreciation for the comforts of home!

Lessons learned:  Know the topography because it REALLY MATTERS when you're walking with a 45 pound pack on your back!  Talk to somebody who actually hiked there before, such as park rangers.  10 miles a day is a bit of a stretch for beginner backpackers.  Don't count on your dog to carry his pack!

Teens these days...

 We've been trying to keep in touch with our Canadian Roots.

Crazy Canadian Trivia is definitely worth a laugh, EH?

Recess

Mom showed up with the camera for lunch with a precious girl and 4th grade recess.  Those fourth graders can make some serious mileage out of the playground.  It was challenging to keep up with them, but I might not be allowed for 5th grade recess, so I have to come visit while I can...she's growing up too fast.

American Girl

 At the American Girl Store in Chicago, celebrating a birthday with friends, pink lemonade, and cute little finger foods, seats and snacks for the dolls AND the girls, an experience of a lifetime and three very happy girls!  The moms will remember this day forever too!

I'm writing again!

There will probably be a series of new posts coming in the next hour...  :-)  I have waited so long that I have a backload of pictures and topics for blogging about...  Oh, well!

Here is a girl who got a sewing machine for her birthday and sewed the bags she is displaying below all by herself (with very little direction from mom), I can't believe how crafty our 10 year old is!!!  How did that happen...

Update at Last!

This was a practice hike at Matthiessen State Park to prepare us for our weekend backpacking trip to Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.  Schwarz tried out his small but useful pack and the kids carried an assortment of books and other "heavy" things in their smaller packs.  The enthusiasm for hiking is clearly visible in our son's face...don't you think?

More evidence of enthusiasm below!  :-)  When asked if he'd like to go to outdoor camp (where they hike and sleep in tents) my son responded, "Why would I do that when I can just do that with you guys?"

They did have some fun, I think.  At least they didn't complain the whole time.  I'm not sure if we're giving them valuable life experiences and opening up the natural world for them to explore...or...if we're preparing them for years of expensive therapy sessions!

Victory!

I've been making homemade laundry soap for several months, but it never quite turned out with the consistency I wanted. Today we have a victory! It is looking just how I hoped and finally I have inexpensive laundry soap that meets my standard. Yay! If you'd like the recipe...just keep reading. It certainly beats Tide's price ($20 for about 3/4 gallon.) I made about 3 gallons for about $5.00!

Laundry Soap
2 bars Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap (grated)
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
water

Mix 1 gallon water with the grated bar soap in a large pot on the stove over medium heat until dissolved. Add the borax and then the washing soda, stirring till dissolved, or a little longer. Should begin thickening in the pot. In clean 5 gallon bucket pour 1 gallon warm water, then add soap mixture and stir well. Add additional 2 quarts/liters of warm water and stir more. Voila! Use about 1 cup per large load.

Just a Reminder...

Just sending out a reminder to those of you who also blog. Because this is a personal blog, I do not make it accessible to the general public. Please do not put a link on your blog to mine, or publish my blog info (including url) on facebook or any other online media group. I send out my blog information to family and friends and am glad to share it, but I prefer to do this myself and keep my readers to just family and friends. Thank you for adhering to this request!

Doing Nothing!

Ever have those days when it seems you can't do anything? Even if you're trying, nothing actually seems to be accomplished at the end of the day. In fact, it seems like everything is in worse shape than when you started! Last week was like that for me--yes, the whole week! (I was sick, so I have an excuse--oops, an explanation) So glad that this week is going better. And there's a bonus because the sun is out and my hubby tilled the garden on the weekend. And now I can't wait to get in there and plant some lovely seeds and plants! At least the bad days don't last forever!

I LOVE MAGNOLIAS!

Look at what's growing in MY yard! (Yay!)

Motorcycles etc.

Here goes my baby...

The gear is still a little big, but she's off with her daddy...

sniff...

sniff...

Gray Day

This morning at 5 am we saw my sweetie off to the airport. He'll be in Texas all week. I'm a little bummed now, and a storm moved in almost immediately after we dropped him off, so it's a gray day.

I'm only painting Katie's bed frame this time (which I meant to do for the past three weeks but haven't gotten to it). We have a bunch of appointments this week with doctors and the orthodontist so it will be busy and (hopefully) pass quickly.

But the neat thing is...my sweetie went to extra trouble before leaving to fix a noise in the car (which turned out to be the alternator). Then he stayed up late last night filing our taxes, so he'd be sure things were taken care of before he left. :-)

Warm day for a ride!

Today we broke our record high, with 82 degrees. It was almost hot, without the usual requisite March sweater/parka. We tooled around the country roads and stopped by a property that caught my eye online. 11.5 acres in our school district. It's a nice thought, although when we slowed near it we saw a ravine running through some of it...

...oh well, anyway it was a much warmer and much nicer day for riding around with the love of my life.

Tomorrow he leaves for Texas for the week so we'll have to manage without him. Hopefully the trip will be uneventful and not be extended. As it is he makes it back just in time for Katie's birthday.

Cold day for a ride.

Me and my hubby spent a little of our Sunday afternoon (it was sunny but cold) braving the early March winds. I got on the back of Bret's new motorcycle (first time in 13+ years) and went for a lovely but bitingly cold ride. Didn't go far and it took me a cup of cocoa and several hours wrapped in a blanket before my bones didn't feel the chill.

On the way out (I must confess) I spent most of the time in prayer. Reminding God that there's so much still to do before I'm whisked away. :-)

I know it's morbid, but you must remember that in addition to getting pregnant, we also had a motorcycle accident prior to giving it up many years ago.

On the way home, I began to relax and enjoy the feel of the wind. I reminisced about warmer days and happy memories.

I confess that, at 20, when I first started riding, my frontal lobe (in the brain) had not yet fully developed and I was certain that nothing bad could happen as long as we were together. :-) These days (although I am certainly more deeply in love with the man) I am more realistic about the risks. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the opportunity to get out just the two of us and now I will wait for a MUCH warmer day to do this again!

Pondering

My kid has gone to Jr. High camp with his youth group and their leaders.

This is just a weekend at camp. He'll be fine. But, it is also a beginning of things to come. Our son will do more and more without us.

I am pondering.

Will he remember to brush his teeth...wear a sweater...put on his boots and hats and gloves before he goes outside.

Will others treat him well...include him in activities...accept him...encourage him...

Will he remember who he is...our child...God's child...

Will he choose well without us there to guide him? Does he have what he needs to move forward in his life, successfully, independently, walking with God?

My valentine.

So you saw the roses in a previous post, but you didn't hear about the big surprise on the Saturday after Valentine's Day. I knew something was up because he told me that I shouldn' t make plans and not to ask questions. :-) So, it turns out that my hubby, with some other hubbies of friends of ours, reserved a room at church and decorated with candles and flowers and pictures from our respective weddings. Some of the women had managed to get the scoop from the men, but a few of us (myself included) were really surprised. They made a lovely dinner with appetizers, salad, lasagna, and dessert. It was wonderful. Thank you, again to my wonderful hubby and valentine!

Motorcycle Man

Here it is. After 13 years, my patient hubby has finally returned to his love of motorcycling. Yesterday we bought this 2005 Suzuki C50T (touring) complete with leather side bags and fairing. You'll notice the second seat (for me, mostly) although we have helmet and safety padded jacket for the kids too. We'll have to see about that... :-)