Last Little Family Trip Together

We decided to take one last little trip with just our family before things really start to change. I made an executive decision to go to Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula. I've always wanted to go. And it was beautiful. It's the second largest Falls in North America. It's very remote. And it has a nice 4-mile hike between the smaller lower falls and the larger upper ones. The kids got ahead of us right off the bat, and we heard that had a grand time singing and goofing off on their way, as did we.

The next day we went to Mackinac Island. It was raining and rather chilly when we left on the ferry. Consequently, and to our benefit, not many others chose to visit the island that morning.


By the time we got there the rain stopped and we had such a lovely walk around the homes, including the Governor's mansion


and we played on the lawn of The Grand Hotel




(remember "Somewhere in Time"?).







We biked around the island on tandems






and enjoyed incredible view of lighthouses






and the Mackinaw Bridge on the way back to Mackinaw City.



With the family as a whole, this trip will be a sweet memory to cherish!

Mother's Day Activities

We were involved with the Mothers Day program at church today. Todd was asked to speak, and the talk he gave was just perfectly on target! He spoke about some of the (random) women who have influenced his life for good. He began with the nurse at the hospital when he was born who would not hand him to his mother before his thick mane of red hair was combed flat (only to spring back up again). He named a 5th grade teacher who was mean, but encouraged him to be better. And named Julie Schindler who influenced him with her frugality. He also quoted from Sister Nadauld's talk about the kind of women our world needs more of. It was just a wonderful, encouraging tribute to women, without gushing about mothers or wives. Our entire family also sang with the choir, and I was able to sing in a small group of women a beautiful song called "My Sisters Hands" by Sally DeFord. The memorable part of that for me was that the group included Suzanne Leonhardt, Kierste Wade, Wendy Plewa, and her sister Jenny Jordan Frogley. (There's a little claim to fame for me.)



While I came home and became unconscious on the couch, Todd prepared a fantastic dinner of steaks, flaky biscuits, roasted potatoes and salad.

After dinner activities included the Todd taking a well deserved nap ...



the boys bouncing each other on the trampoline ...




and Carley creating dessert! (Looking forward to forest cake brownies.)


For Mom's Movie Night we'll be viewing my new dvd "Mrs. Minever".

Happy Mothers Day!

Slow Learner

I've just finally been learning how to add pictures. I can't seem to make them do just what I want. But I have been able to go back to older posts and add on to them. This is going to become more fun as I figure things out!

And just for fun (because I think the kids would laugh) here's a picture of Sunday nap time on the little love seat in the living room.

We're All Together Again

I know I've felt this happy before. But I am just so very happy. Having my children all home this past several days has been a hutge treat.

Alex arrived in Detroit about noon thirty on Thursday. We carpooled with friends picking up their daughter, so the drive for me was relaxed and wonderful. But with some bad traffic, we didn't arrive home until nearly dinner time ... starving! So I took the kids out to Asian Express and we enjoyed some delightful Korean, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Knowing that the next day was going to be a beauty (and warm) and basking in the glow of Alex being home, I succommed to Brigham's plea: "Please, please, please let me stay home tomorrow!" Grant wasn't feeling well due to allergies, so I figured I'd keep him home as well. Carley and Kimball both went to school, but came home for lunches, bringing lots and lots of friends (it was our weekly Lunch Bunch day). And the day was PERFECT! Warm without being too hot, slight breeze, calm and peaceful. I would have been contended to live it forever. The only thing missing was Todd. He was in Arizona on business. (If he had been home I may have let him talk me out of keeping the little boys home, so it probably was all for the best.)

Alex has been a trooper,being very good natured about sharing a room with Kimball for a few days. Our friends who have been having a lot of trials finding a home here needed to come back again this weekend to find a home for sure. So they stayed with us again. We didn't see much of them, but when we did it was delightful. They even provided two roasts and lots of fruit and other good things for our Sunday dinner today. We look forward to them moving here permanently.

We watched "The Kid" for Mom's movie night tonight. As usual, it made us all laugh and cry and think. I just enjoy it every time. We will probably be immitating finger moves and eye twitch all week.

So now Alex is moving his things down to "his" room, and we will all slip into a routine of all kids at home, and helping a boy prepare for his mission. This will be a joyful and busy season. I plan to bask in this joyful glow all summer!

Spring Break

Here is a Spring Break stop at the formal gardens at the Lilly Mansion in Indianapolis. We loved our walk through here. No blossoms yet (other than magnolias), but very promising and lovely.

I love to connect and stay connected with people. And I made an interesting discovery recently -- yesterday in fact. I enjoy people. I never ever thought of this as unique until a conversation with a spouse and a friend regarding our Spring Break plans caused me to just say it "I enjoy people", and the reaction I got surprised me. "Yes you do, and we don't so much" was basically the answer. I know they love people. Especially they love the people that they love! I have been the happy recipient of that affection. However, in that particular crowd, I stood alone in prefering to just visit with people to some other activities. But this morning as I am catching up with other's blogs and deciding to update mine, I will go public an say that I just enjoy people, generally and individually. I love knowing their quirks and strengths and soft spots and being able to communicate with them on levels that are meaningful. It's fulfilling and I feel my love and unerstanding of them and myself deepen.

So here I am in Inianapolis, IN with my family and our friends. We chose to rent a home at a golf course which is a state park here, and it's an old colonial home (I think the beds are from the same era, unfortunately). It used to be a military post of some kind, but now is a golf course/resort. It's too early in the year for the golfing, but we will love the surroundings and take advantage of them by having a fun easter egg hunt on the golf course with the kids this afternoon.

If you have happened to peek in on this blog and find yourself bored and wondering why you have read this, I really apologize for wasting your time. I have not got my footing on how I want this to go yet. But I plan to have some bigger news soon as Alex is expecting his mission call to arrive today. I may want to post about that!

Without pictures for now, but maybe worth something somehow.

I can't seem to make my computer post pictures to this blog. I know that someday I will figure it out, but for now, it's all in the words.

I have been amazed over the past few weeks with the experiences I've been having reconnecting with people on Facebook that I haven't had contact with for 20 - 30+ years. It has surprised me how much emotion it has brought to the surface to recall experiences with them and to place them (in my mind) in their current situations, and somehow try to process it all in my mind and heart. It's been sweet and happy. I had no idea how happy other people are to also try to communicate with me. I have often felt like I might be a little too demanding or impulsive about wanting to know how my old friends and acquaintances are, and at times have felt a little overbearing about trying to keep in contact. So over the last decade or two I have backed off and tried to accept that as normal and let it go. Now as I've been "friended" by people, and I have taken the time (and importantly have seen them take the time) to "catch up", it has sort of rekindled my faith in humanity. I guess that may be putting it a little strong, but I have felt so grateful to be a part of a general interest in peoples' lives. I've been surprised how important it has been to me to see people working at being happy and productive. It's gratifying to see us all, these many years later, working toward largely the same kinds of goals.

Though I have many other subjects I've been thinking on, that's all for tonight.

Shoveling Snow

Todd usually performs snow removal at our home, but yesterday he needed to leave for work before that happened, and anyway, I had plenty of time to lend my back to the task. I admit that I turned first to the old little Toro snowblower, but couldn't keep it started. So I shoveled. Invigorated by the exercise and fresh air, I did a spectacular job. Using the back side of the shovel, I even scraped up teh underlying ice from Sunday's storm. Many times I thought my back was going to break, but I changed positions and all seemed to be well. I even took pictures of me with my work-out partner and the admirable job that we did together on the driveway and walks.

It was a frustrating afternoon. I began to think that I had rheumatoid arthritis, or some other chronic and terrible ailment. Though I have been struggling for months with tendonitis in my foot and arm, now everything seemed to hurt, and magnified! I began to emotionally make plans for a very sedentary rest of my life. Then Todd came home, and after complimenting my excellent snow shoveling, commisserated with me about my aches and pains. He made a shocking observation ... couldn't I hurt because of the shoveling?

It snowed again over night. Just an inch or two to move. Of all the nerve. ... I spent very little time shoveling today, just clearning the walks. My back screamed and cramped the whole time. The majority of the driveway will just have to remain snow covered. I feel I have just learned a life lesson ... what does it mean? No matter how well you clear the path, it will always snow again. Or, the joy is the journey, not the destination. Or, endure to the end, and you never know when you're there, so just keep going. Well, I'll keep mulling it over, while it keeps snowing.