Every Man Needs a Little Colorado

Aaron went skiing with his brothers and friends in Colorado and had an incredible time -- check out the elevation!

Thoughts from the Sidelines

I knew it would happen one day: Bleacher Butt.

It started when I was in college, watching every game Aaron ever played. I love watching basketball - live - no professionals, please. When I was teaching in Michigan, I went to so many high school basketball games for our school, I think I could've been the official mascot. Aaron helped coach, so every Tuesday and Friday night in the winter, you could find us in some gymnasium somewhere (or fellowship hall, depending on the budget of the Christian school...).

I love it, I really do. Tonight we went to K's game - she plays JV Basketball. We walked in and I took a deep breath. "Ah, I love that smell," I said to Aaron, "a mixture of school gym and popcorn!" K played great; she looks so at ease out there. And then the band played as the Varsity ran in, and I could see my oldest son taking it all in, looking back at us with the expression that said, "Whoa!"

G & D have started basketball camp at our local Y on Saturdays and just love it. D plays at 9, G at 2, so it's a crazy day, but fun to see them learning.

D sitting beside his buddy RW! (The boy, not the girl...)


I can see G doing this for a long time. He seems to have the right, uhm, personality for basketball. Intense, quick, aggressive...these can all be good things, right? I love this shot of him as his coach was talking about different sportsmanship things...gotta love that enthusiasm.

And focus!

Baby sister and I will have lots of time to practice our cheers, I'm sure. She doesn't seem too excited about this yet.

New Eyes

What I love about my kids is that they make me see the world in different, new ways. They increase my heart's vocabulary.

But other times, they just make up stuff that cracks me up.

Example: Jonny's pronunciation of Chapstick? CHICK-STOP. Seriously. Does it get any better?

I love this article

I read about this experiment in a book. It took place in 2007 in Washington, D.C.

It made me think about how many times I "miss it" --the beauty around me, the miracles I probably witness everyday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

I think being observant is an understated quality, but when you teach yourself to really look, really listen, then no day or moment is ordinary.

Reading from 2008

Aaron makes fun of my attachment to books. (And I quote: "Do you ever think there might be such a thing as reading too much?" Which always leads me to fits of giggles.)

He may never quite understand it, the way my eyes glaze over as we drive by Barnes & Noble, how my heart pounds upon entering a bookstore, and I inhale deeply the scent of words yet read...

Some of you know what I'm talking about. Some of you, like me, have dangerous piles of books on your nightstands, and one day they'll bury you in your sleep. Which doesn't seem like a bad way to go, actually.

I am a nerd and keep track of what I've read along with the genre and author. So here's a glimpse of what I read this past year, books that invaded my world for awhile.

Contemporary Fiction:

Songs Without Words - Ann Packer
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
The Bright Forever - Lee Martin
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted - Elizabeth Berg
Cotton Song - Tom Bailey
Out Stealing Horses - Per Peterson
Light on Snow - Anita Shreve
An Unfinished Life - Mark Spragg
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright
The Shack - William P. Young
Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

Non-Fiction:

Raising Kids for True Greatness - Tim Kimmel
Crazy Love - Francis Chan
Multiple Blessings - Kate Gosselin
Me, Myself, and Bob - Phil Vischer
A Woman's Call to Prayer - Elizabeth George
Guide to Summer Survival - Kathy Peel
Walking with God - John Eldredge
I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids - Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile
The Sound of Paper - Julia Cameron
Desperate Households - Kathy Peel
What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self - edited by Ellyn Spragins

Memoirs -

The Horizontal World: Growing Up in the Middle of Nowhere - Deb Marquart
Queen of the Road - Doreen Orion
Here if You Need Me - Kate Braestrup

This is for you, Ashley

HAPPY BLOG BLESSING DAY!!!!

That's right, this is a blog blessing, and even if it doesn't exist, you're getting one.

Erin came up with this awesome idea to make January 15 a day to shower you with blogs blessing you and your sweet baby, coming soon.

Patrick and Ashley are definitely part of the reason God wanted us to be in Texas for a season of our lives. They were a surprise -- coming out of nowhere -- to become part of what we called our "Texas family."

Ashley approached me one day after a bible study and asked if we could get together sometime. She wanted to meet with someone who was a little older, been married longer, etc. (Translation: Just how old do you think I am?!?!?)

I was a little hesitant at first, wondering if we'd have much in common, wondering if I was "mentor" material...but, it only took a short phone call to realize this was someone I wanted to get to know better, to share life with.

And then we got our husbands together. All it took was one mention of Wyoming and they were instant comrades. Ashley and I were giddy school girls, watching them become such great friends.

I was pregnant with Jonathan at the time, and Ashley was my #1 go-to-help for Dr. visits as she watched the older boys at the Mall indoor playland next to my doctor's visit. We went to Chick-fil-a AT LEAST once a week (insert tears of withdrawal here) and she put up with all my kids' antics and behaviors.

And now, she's only weeks away from having her first little bambino after years of trying and wondering if this was even in God's plan.

I can't wait to meet little Benjamin and praise God for the path He's had them on. It will be challenging, exhausting, full of joy, and miraculous to mother a child. Ashley, I pray God enlarges your heart and that you are filled to overflowing! I love you so much and wish you all the best.

What's Wrong with a Nice Girl?

Is it just me, or do you feel like nice folks get a bad rap?

Seems like everywhere I turn lately, nice girls/pleasant girls are getting laughed at in the media, or at least not taken very seriously.

I saw a funny movie tonight where the girl felt like she'd been "too nice" her whole life. Which, in one way, I understand. You do have to stand up for yourself. But doggone it, we could sure use a lot more nice around here.

My friend Beth and I had a quote in college: "I don't want to be perfect, just pleasant." I think we were saying we knew we couldn't be Pollyanna all of the time, but we at least wanted to be pleasant to be around. (Correct me if I'm wrong, BW)

Since when did you have to be mean and aggressive to be respected? That's the world we live in. That's okay. Not my home anyway.

knowhuttamean?

I am a true child of the 80s, and am slightly embarrassed by how many times I watched this ridiculous movie: At Aaron's brother's house over the weekend, he put "Ernest Goes to Jail" in for the kids on Clear Play (a DVD program that plays movies without bad language/violence, etc) and I thought I'd bust a gut.

Is it dumb? Yes. Is it juvenile? Oh, certainly. But I still find myself giggling uncontrollably and feeling about 13 years old again. It would have been really delightful if my younger brother had been there, cackling with me just like the old days.

I remember getting to know Aaron and deciding he was definitely a keeper when we were talking about how many times we'd seen Ernest movies.

For a really enjoyable waste of time, hit YouTube and look up Ernest Commercials. Seriously good times.

Whose kids are these?

Some of the best pictures seem to come before we're ready - these crack me up so much, I can barely stand it. I'm learning to take shots before they "pose" -- much more realistic...

Our house is a study in personality and temperment. I think they'll be able to get along with anybody if they can get along with the people under this roof.

Give a man a camera...

..and he does ridiculous things like this. No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. That is my husband at the bowling alley last week. In a terribly rare moment of insanity. Kaela and I were shocked and delighted that we got to keep the picture before he deleted it.

Does the kid know how to pose or what? Aaron said it looked like he was working at NASA. If only we'd captured Jonny's dance -- after every throw of the bowling ball he would turn around and just get down with his bad self.

It was PRICELESS.

Okay, that's more like it.

Before she fell asleep in her stroller, Hope liked cheering on her Mommy at the lanes.

Kaela and Daniel

And this little video is just for fun - it's the first time I used the video option on my camera and I just wanted to make sure it worked. Kelli and I were tinkering with it and then finally figured it out. Duh!

I've fallen in love...

With this sweet little machine:

Aaron surprised me with this beauty for Christmas/Anniversary. I've had a Sony CyberShot for YEARS, and it's done it's time. The little bugger worked hard through the births of children, and numerous toddler antics, but we were ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Needless to say, I took a lot of pictures this week with family in town and a new toy to play with.

Taking a family picture is never easy. Oh well, we tried. Grandma and Greg at Applebees!

What you can't hear are my delighted giggles at getting great shots inside for once in my life...

Our "studio shots" turned out pretty good! My brother, Doug, and his wife Kelli. LOVE this shot! Up next: Scenes from a Bowling Alley...