(It seems I forgot some news from the boys.)
A post from Joel:
Since we were so early for the Piston game, JB and I made our way down for some autographs. We managed Amir Johnson and Mike Tirico. JB was far less interested in the autographs than actually just watching the players warm up just a few feet away. He totally checking out the size and routine of Dwight Howard of the Magic.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
That's Emma - on the floor of the Detroit Pistons on Friday night!! She and nine other dancers performed a Highland Fling during the pre-game show as a fundraiser for their regional dance association. It was a very exciting night for everyone! Emma did great and we all had a fantastic time at the game.
It's was kind of a sports-themed weekend for our family. We kicked the weekend off at The Palace, continued to the kids' lessons on Saturday, and then watched the Spartans trounce the Wolverines in some basketball today, topped off with some family skating in the park. (The pond is finally frozen!)
We did have a lovely adult evening with our friends Deb and Jamie on Saturday which began with a pleasant surprise - fireworks in downtown Rochester in the middle of the prettiest snow flurry! How often do you get to say that? Okay, maybe those of you out west have seen that, but . . . that was a first for at least me. Dinner was delicious and the company was such a treasure. Grown-up conversation, delicious food - truly a great night. (Thanks again, guys!)
I'm going to experiment a little with uploading video - but once again left my journal entry this evening until too late and that pesky thing called a job looms on the horizon, so it's a short entry tonight. Really, though, other than Emma dancing at the Pistons game (seriously - how cool is that?!?!) we really couldn't top that, so there's not much news.
Check back for some video. If I ever figure it out, that is.
Have a great week everyone!
Oh, the short ribs with cola sauce was a huge hit. If anyone's interested, let us know and we'll share the recipe. At the very least, don't be surprised if you're served it in the event of a visit. :) Yum!!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
We're having technical difficulties tonight, and I'm very close to giving up and trying again tomorrow. I have a new slide show for this week and Picasa is causing me considerable frustration. Moving on to our news . . .
I forgot to mention last week that JB was recognized at school for participating in a national competition called "Reflections." Students can submit creative writing, drawings, and other "creative" methods of their reflections on a selected theme. This year was the theme "How Can I Make a Difference" and JB submitted a drawing. The school held a breakfast to recognize students who participated in this event and Joel was able to attend and snap a photo of JB receiving his certificate and ribbon from his principal. We are of course crazy proud and I'm further annoyed that the slideshow isn't up and running so you can see the delight in JB's face. (I know, I need to let it go.) Anyway, we think it's a great event and were thrilled that JB came away from it with a positive feeling.
Joel's dad is home again with Erich and family and is recovering well. Thank you to everyone for their prayers for his health. Oh, and I looked it up - and I did spell it wrong. It's stent, not stint. I sort of knew that at the time, but this blog doesn't have spell check. It wouldn't have caught stint anyway. :)
We had a pretty normal week, but boy did we ever top it off with a load of events! We all went to Joel's game on Friday night to watch him in action as a referee. The kids LOVED that! (Did I mention the slide show's not working? When it is, look for the guy in stripes.) And the kids decided to round out Friday night by having a "sleepover" in the girls' room. What that means is that they invite their brother to sleep in their room on the floor - and apparently this is appealing to him. To a degree. The kids have tried this many times before and inevitably JB calls the whole thing off about an hour into it. Well it's been a while, so they gave it another shot. And just as before, JB wanted out when the novelty wore off. But we called his bluff and he muddled through enough to enjoy himself. They all managed to stay up too late, and thankfully slept in on Saturday morning.
Saturday brought skating and lacrosse again and those activities are still going well. On Saturday night we all went out to eat dinner at our brand new Chili's because our friends are working there and we were able to catch Valerie's shift. I had some gluten-free soup and everyone else had a glorious gluten-filled meal complete with dessert. Sugar rush - yeah! After dinner we came home and had movie night and the kids chose to watch The Incredibles since we haven't seen that in so long. It was a fun time and everyone crashed after the movie.
This morning, we had an extra blessing in church of listening to Emma's choir sing. And we took the afternoon slow before heading out to separate events. JB went to my parents' house and watched football with Grandpa without the annoying interruption of sisters. He loved that. :) Shannon and I headed to our friend Carly's birthday party this afternoon - a Fairy Tea Party. What a blast!! Dress up, make up, tea, cake. And little fairies running everywhere. What could be more fun? Shannon had a great time and was still talking about the party when I last saw her. Emma and her dad enjoyed some Daddy-and-Daughter time at Build-a-Bear and then by having dinner together. From the report I got, it sounds like they had a terrific time together and I know they each treasured their day.
The kids are off from school tomorrow and so Nana and Grandpa are hosting a sleepover tonight with some fun events tomorrow. I think the Science Center. ?? I hope they take photos! Joel and I dropped the kids off and headed to a movie for some "us" time to finish the weekend before heading back to work tomorrow. Date night is always a shot in the arm for me.
But even though it's a national holiday tomorrow - I do indeed have to work and it's a doozy of a day ahead, so I need to call an end to the weekend. (It is almost midnight after all, and I usually call 9:00 my bedtime!) I'll enter the ring with Picasa again tomorrow. C'mon, it gives you a reason to check back another day, right? :) Wish me luck!!
I forgot to mention last week that JB was recognized at school for participating in a national competition called "Reflections." Students can submit creative writing, drawings, and other "creative" methods of their reflections on a selected theme. This year was the theme "How Can I Make a Difference" and JB submitted a drawing. The school held a breakfast to recognize students who participated in this event and Joel was able to attend and snap a photo of JB receiving his certificate and ribbon from his principal. We are of course crazy proud and I'm further annoyed that the slideshow isn't up and running so you can see the delight in JB's face. (I know, I need to let it go.) Anyway, we think it's a great event and were thrilled that JB came away from it with a positive feeling.
Joel's dad is home again with Erich and family and is recovering well. Thank you to everyone for their prayers for his health. Oh, and I looked it up - and I did spell it wrong. It's stent, not stint. I sort of knew that at the time, but this blog doesn't have spell check. It wouldn't have caught stint anyway. :)
We had a pretty normal week, but boy did we ever top it off with a load of events! We all went to Joel's game on Friday night to watch him in action as a referee. The kids LOVED that! (Did I mention the slide show's not working? When it is, look for the guy in stripes.) And the kids decided to round out Friday night by having a "sleepover" in the girls' room. What that means is that they invite their brother to sleep in their room on the floor - and apparently this is appealing to him. To a degree. The kids have tried this many times before and inevitably JB calls the whole thing off about an hour into it. Well it's been a while, so they gave it another shot. And just as before, JB wanted out when the novelty wore off. But we called his bluff and he muddled through enough to enjoy himself. They all managed to stay up too late, and thankfully slept in on Saturday morning.
Saturday brought skating and lacrosse again and those activities are still going well. On Saturday night we all went out to eat dinner at our brand new Chili's because our friends are working there and we were able to catch Valerie's shift. I had some gluten-free soup and everyone else had a glorious gluten-filled meal complete with dessert. Sugar rush - yeah! After dinner we came home and had movie night and the kids chose to watch The Incredibles since we haven't seen that in so long. It was a fun time and everyone crashed after the movie.
This morning, we had an extra blessing in church of listening to Emma's choir sing. And we took the afternoon slow before heading out to separate events. JB went to my parents' house and watched football with Grandpa without the annoying interruption of sisters. He loved that. :) Shannon and I headed to our friend Carly's birthday party this afternoon - a Fairy Tea Party. What a blast!! Dress up, make up, tea, cake. And little fairies running everywhere. What could be more fun? Shannon had a great time and was still talking about the party when I last saw her. Emma and her dad enjoyed some Daddy-and-Daughter time at Build-a-Bear and then by having dinner together. From the report I got, it sounds like they had a terrific time together and I know they each treasured their day.
The kids are off from school tomorrow and so Nana and Grandpa are hosting a sleepover tonight with some fun events tomorrow. I think the Science Center. ?? I hope they take photos! Joel and I dropped the kids off and headed to a movie for some "us" time to finish the weekend before heading back to work tomorrow. Date night is always a shot in the arm for me.
But even though it's a national holiday tomorrow - I do indeed have to work and it's a doozy of a day ahead, so I need to call an end to the weekend. (It is almost midnight after all, and I usually call 9:00 my bedtime!) I'll enter the ring with Picasa again tomorrow. C'mon, it gives you a reason to check back another day, right? :) Wish me luck!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Maybe I should rename this blog "A Day Late." Boy, we're not even out of January and I'm already finding things about this journal thing that are a constant challenge. I don't always have the best of ideas - and I'm not the most flexible person in the world. And what I'm learning about this new hobby is that I'm still in a state of constant change with it. I like defined expectations - not "grey area" or loose parameters. I like a menu. I like to stick to it. I like a schedule - update it every week on the same day. Those sorts of things. So let's see, so far I've missed two Sunday posts, entirely missed changing the menu one week, and I'm already starting to re-think the whole "This Week's Photos" slideshow. (Mainly because we didn't really take any photos this week.) Ahhh, change. I surrounds me. Constantly challenges me.
Anyway . . . I've just come from my Celiac support group meeting. It was great. There was a chef from one of our tri-county grocers there who prepared a few dishes for all of us - and they were scrumptous. WAY better than the cheese and hard boiled eggs I've been living on. Okay, it's not THAT bad. But seriously - this stuff was really good. And it's made with stuff I can't even pronounce.
To recap the week (in an effort to stay within the original parameters of this journal) we did accomplish all we set out to do last week. And, as predicted, collapsed. The girls started their skating lessons and did fantastic. Shannon's even moving up a class this week. Remember last week when I mentioned she fell every five to six feet? Well, at lesson on Saturday she was confidently skating the width of the rink in the short 30 minutes of lesson. Crazy! Emma's also working on things I would NEVER have thought to introduce to her, so she's well on her way to surpassing any skating skills I ever possessed!
JB successfully started lacrosse and had a great time. Here's a great photo of him all geared up, but it was taken with a phone so the pixel quality is not so good. In a nutshell, he embraced the new sport and is anxious to go back. On a really great side note from a parent's point of view: Joel (talking dad here) is super excited about the new organization. Apparently this league is run much better than last time. Which is important to my details-oriented husband. (See, I'm not the only one.)
But when you play hard you usually pay a price and the girls are both battling colds now. I swear for Emma it's a matter of exhaustion. The kids have Friday and Monday off school, though, so they'll get a chance to recharge. Joel and I on the other hand . . . well, we'll see. Joel seems fine to exist on little to no sleep. Me - not so much.
To top off the week, Joel's dad decided to shake things up a little in the routine by having a heart attack. Thankfully, he received care in time to prevent things from getting too severe and was able to come away from it with a small addition to his stint (sp?) collection and is on his way to a full recovery. We managed to buzz down for a very quick visit with him in the hospital over the weekend and returned last night. (That's where the collapsing came in.)
This week looks a little more normal. So a Sunday entry is looking good!!
Oh, and for those of you who care - my alma mater lost by 30+ points at the big game last Friday night. But we still had a LOT of fun. :)
Off to get some sleep! Have a great week!
Anyway . . . I've just come from my Celiac support group meeting. It was great. There was a chef from one of our tri-county grocers there who prepared a few dishes for all of us - and they were scrumptous. WAY better than the cheese and hard boiled eggs I've been living on. Okay, it's not THAT bad. But seriously - this stuff was really good. And it's made with stuff I can't even pronounce.
To recap the week (in an effort to stay within the original parameters of this journal) we did accomplish all we set out to do last week. And, as predicted, collapsed. The girls started their skating lessons and did fantastic. Shannon's even moving up a class this week. Remember last week when I mentioned she fell every five to six feet? Well, at lesson on Saturday she was confidently skating the width of the rink in the short 30 minutes of lesson. Crazy! Emma's also working on things I would NEVER have thought to introduce to her, so she's well on her way to surpassing any skating skills I ever possessed!
JB successfully started lacrosse and had a great time. Here's a great photo of him all geared up, but it was taken with a phone so the pixel quality is not so good. In a nutshell, he embraced the new sport and is anxious to go back. On a really great side note from a parent's point of view: Joel (talking dad here) is super excited about the new organization. Apparently this league is run much better than last time. Which is important to my details-oriented husband. (See, I'm not the only one.)
But when you play hard you usually pay a price and the girls are both battling colds now. I swear for Emma it's a matter of exhaustion. The kids have Friday and Monday off school, though, so they'll get a chance to recharge. Joel and I on the other hand . . . well, we'll see. Joel seems fine to exist on little to no sleep. Me - not so much.
To top off the week, Joel's dad decided to shake things up a little in the routine by having a heart attack. Thankfully, he received care in time to prevent things from getting too severe and was able to come away from it with a small addition to his stint (sp?) collection and is on his way to a full recovery. We managed to buzz down for a very quick visit with him in the hospital over the weekend and returned last night. (That's where the collapsing came in.)
This week looks a little more normal. So a Sunday entry is looking good!!
Oh, and for those of you who care - my alma mater lost by 30+ points at the big game last Friday night. But we still had a LOT of fun. :)
Off to get some sleep! Have a great week!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
I wasn't sure I was going to meet my goal tonight of posting an entry like I had hoped. But here I am - kids are in bed, kitchen's clean, I'm not totally exhausted yet. The planets aligned, that's all I can say. Maybe this week-by-week plan for my new hobby might just work. :)
Today was a fun day. The kids each received their first pair of ice skates this year for Christmas from Nana and Grandpa, and today was their first day on the ice. What a trip!! Out of the five of us, I'm the only one who has skated before . . . and the last time was when I was 17. (You do the math.) I have to say, I didn't know how many falls on the cold, hard ice the kids would have in them ~ or me for that matter. Well, they LOVED it. 
Shannon must have fallen over a hundred times ~ or a better description would be every five or six feet. And each and every time she laughed with delight. Emma took to it very quickly and needed very little help at all. JB took a few laps to get his balance down, but once he did he was off and loving it. He even got the whole side-to-side thing down. Do I have a little Apolo Ono on my hands??? We'll see. When the buzzer went off and we had to get off the ice, the kids immediately asked "when can we come back?" So I think it's safe to say we're off and running with a new activity around here. Even daddy enjoyed himself. (Although he was the one with the camera today, so I don't have any evidence.)
This week is a busy one for all of us. It's the first full week back to work and school after Christmas break, but we have a few really cool rewards in store at the end of the week if we survive it. The girls start skating lessons this Saturday and JB will start up again with his lacrosse, but this time in a league. The kids are all stoked about their new activities ~ the excitement around here is electric. On Friday night we have the "Crosstown Showdown" in Rochester. Which is the boys basketball battle between Rochester High (my alma mater) and Adams High (the cross-town rival) played at Oakland University. We went last year (which was the first time they held this event) and we had an absolute blast. They sold out the stadium and we never sat down. Big days all weekend. We'll probably collapse after church on Sunday ~ but with smiles on our faces. :)
Have a great week!
J.Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year everybody! (a day late naturally) I can't believe this is the first time since Christmas Eve that I've had a moment to sit down at the computer. Back to work and school tomorrow - where did the time go???
We were buried in snow again for the second time this season and Joel spent another 48 or so hours straight plowing snow. So while he sleeps, and Emma is out making snow angels, and her siblings play on their brand new Wii (thank you Mimi & Papa!) I thought I'd steal a moment to "log in".
It's been a great break visiting with SO many friends. Like I said, I feel like today is the first day "off" really. Not that I would trade the time off for anything. I'm sure to be crabby tomorrow!! :) At least it's just for a couple days.
So I'm officially off and running with my 2008 hobby of blogging. My plan is to sit down and add a journal entry every Sunday. We'll see. As you'll notice, the weekly menu has been the same for over a week now. So that's something that definitely needs some tending to! Maybe this weekend.
The laundry's done. The plowing and shoveling are done. Homework is done. I guess we're as ready to go back as we're going to be. Oh yeah - I'll have to do something about the big green thing in the living room with all the pretty decorations on it. Hmmmm - my helpers all seem to disappear when I mention breaking down the tree. :) Oh well - maybe Saturday. By then there'll be more laundry, shoveling, and homework anyway, right?
Until then . . .
We were buried in snow again for the second time this season and Joel spent another 48 or so hours straight plowing snow. So while he sleeps, and Emma is out making snow angels, and her siblings play on their brand new Wii (thank you Mimi & Papa!) I thought I'd steal a moment to "log in".
It's been a great break visiting with SO many friends. Like I said, I feel like today is the first day "off" really. Not that I would trade the time off for anything. I'm sure to be crabby tomorrow!! :) At least it's just for a couple days.
So I'm officially off and running with my 2008 hobby of blogging. My plan is to sit down and add a journal entry every Sunday. We'll see. As you'll notice, the weekly menu has been the same for over a week now. So that's something that definitely needs some tending to! Maybe this weekend.
The laundry's done. The plowing and shoveling are done. Homework is done. I guess we're as ready to go back as we're going to be. Oh yeah - I'll have to do something about the big green thing in the living room with all the pretty decorations on it. Hmmmm - my helpers all seem to disappear when I mention breaking down the tree. :) Oh well - maybe Saturday. By then there'll be more laundry, shoveling, and homework anyway, right?
Until then . . .
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