Monday, August 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!


Your Dad and I cannot believe it has been 13 years since we held you in our arms for the first time....our little curly girl has grown into a lovely young lady. Hunter we are so proud of the young person you have become....your amazing grades in school, your passion for your skating, your dedication to the little children you tutor in french reading, your love of literature and your yummy cookies from the kitchen. I cherish the goodnight kiss you give me at bedtime.
Kisses to our big girl.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

room with a view...

A pink room for the little 8 year old girl that moved into this house.


The almost 13 year old young lady decides she would like a little more sophistication...so after a shopping trip with Dad to buy new bedding....and a trip to the paint store with Mom.....

This one day project is done. A new room for a young lady. Happy Birthday Sweetie!! xo

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Nie Nie....

Meet Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson. She is lovely. A wonderful wife and mother of four. Also a talented blogger who writes the "nienie dialogues". She wrote about the joys of being a mother, wife, and keeper of the home. It was amazing stuff to read....and was, and still is, one of my favorite blogs. Nie lived in Arizona with her family....a happy life.

August 16, 2008 is a day that all of us nie nie dialogue readers will NEVER forget. Nie and her husband Christian were in a plane crash while on a short day trip to New Mexico. All 3 occupants of the plane were seriously injured. Friend and pilot, Doug Kinneard, died the next day of his injuries. Christian and Stephenie both clung to life with severe burns over much of their bodies. The reports were not good. Stephenie suffered burns over more than 80% of her body, and was not expected to live. Her four small children were taken to Utah to live with her sisters. Nie's sister, Courtney, kept us blog readers updated as to her condition. Stephanie was in a medically induced coma for months while burn unit experts worked away at repairing her body with skin grafts. All of us nie readers prayed and the blog community went to work with fundraisers to help the Nielson Family. And slowly, progress was made. Nie woke from her coma in November. She was moved by air ambulance to Utah to be near her family in December. She learned to walk again. In January she came home to her family. She started blogging again on January 16, 2009...exactly 5 months after the accident. She has worked hard to overcome body pain, regain the use of her limbs and to reclaim her role as keeper of the home. And slowly, she is regaining her life. Her biggest struggle lately has been dealing with her new appearance. She recently shared this picture with her blog readers...the first time we have 'seen' her since the accident.



I think she is more beautiful than ever.
She has made amazing progress and in my heart, I cheer for her every day.
I read with joy as Nie wrote about the happiness of making school lunches for her girls as they started a new school year this week. Something so mundane a chore as the making of school lunches, which all of us mothers bemoan at times,....... brings Nie great joy....because she is here.
She has walked through the fire. She has lived to tell the tale.
She is living, breathing and taking care of her family. And she is keeper of my heart for her courage.

Monday, July 6, 2009

home....





Home just feels so good. Lots of people are complaining about the amount of rain that is coming down...but I am taking a "glass half full approach". There are so many things to enjoy...the company of family and friends....the beautiful lush green plants everywhere...good food and fresh seafood...and a total slowed down pace of life. My kids had so much fun with their "Chicago Cousins"....we hung out with them everyday and played and ate and visited. It was pure bliss.
Dear daughter was invited for a 3 day camping trip to PEI with some friends...and we were so very grateful for this wonderful invitation. She came home looking so happy and refreshed. We have had friends from the city drive to the Valley to see us. We are truly blessed.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

making a home...


"Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it--memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey."



Tad Williams, Stone of Farewell

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

father's day....


We took our Big Daddy out for dinner. It was such a treat for us because we don't often go out to eat since we cook most of our meals at home. We decided to try a totally different dining experience...we went to a Japanese restaurant where the chef cooked our meal at our very own table with lots of entertaining knife tricks, salt & pepper juggling and a smoking onion 'volcano' on the grill. We enjoyed a wonderful 5 course dinner of soup, salad, shrimp, steak and chicken.
We really relished this experience and look forward to trying some other fine dining experiences in the near future. Next time, however, I might leave my camera at home....the diners were not super happy when I pulled out the camera. *sigh*...What's a girl to do?

Monday, June 22, 2009

yummy goodness...

We are so very lucky in this house. A 12 year old loves to bake. A few Saturdays ago I left the house for a few hours. When I came home I found out that the 12 year old who had read this.....


then got busy and made these....


chocolate chip cupcakes iced with chocolate ganache. yummy!



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