WW- Foggy

Starting

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

It may be a brand new year but each day is a fresh start too. A chance to do better, forgive, start again, lend a hand, be brave, be kind, be compassionate, laugh, seek joy, dance, work hard, play hard, love harder.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with 365 fresh starts.

WW- The View

A bench with a view.

(This one is for Betty)

A tree with a view.

Surf City?

In the small little county where I live we are known for our brats, cheese, and toilets. What people may not know is that my tiny midwestern city is also known as the #1 fresh water surfing site in the world.

Just a few miles down the road from my house is a beach where surfers like to catch some waves.

I drive by the beach pretty much every day as I take Grace to and from her ballet class, go to a yoga class, drop the boys at school, or even just run errands.

Most mornings Grace and I sit at the lake and read in between the boys' school drop off and her school drop off.

No matter what the weather, how early or late in the day, if there are waves there are surfers.

The kids and I comment how we would like to learn to surf. So far the cold water has kept me away. Cold water, but no sharks, so I guess that is a pretty good trade off.

WW- Solo

Starting Out Cold

School has been cancelled today. And perhaps tomorrow as well.  It is cold here.  Very, very cold.

By now you've heard of the drastically cold temperatures making their way across the Midwest.  This morning it was -11 when I woke up. It is now -15 with the wind chill climbing it's way down to -45. Yep. That's cold people.

Luckily, we had fair warning that this cold was coming.  The last few days the grocery stores have been jam packed. Bumper to bumper shopping carts in every aisle. I'm glad I ventured out yesterday because I am more than happy to stay home today. I'd love to have a fire going but I honestly don't know if I even want to venture outside for the wood.

This boys are all rough housing in the basement. Grace is chilling out on the chair next to me, nursing herself back from a stomach bug (passed on to her from Joe, who had received it from Tommy- good times). The Christmas trees still stand in their spots, ornaments still in place.  I can't bring myself to take them down just yet.  I think I need the cheery lights to help me through this bleak weather.

The past week we finally saw the first Harry Potter movie, and then the second. Tonight the third is on tv and I will DVR it so that we can watch that one as well. Last year I attempted to get Joey to read the series. Never one for fantasy books he got 10 pages in and announced that he just couldn't do it. It bored him. After watching the first two movies all of the boys are itching to read the series. The books have been ordered (I am always more than happy to comply with reading requests) and will arrive shortly. I must say I'm excited to read them as well. I guess we are quite a bit behind the times, but better late than never.

Also in the past week we have had two appetizer parties for ourselves. One for the game we shall not speak of that occurred last night. And one on New Year's Eve. We even managed to get Todd's sis, her family, and Todd's mom over last minute to ring in the new year with us. We celebrated with too much food, a few drinks, and poker.

Good times.

I wasn't going to hop on the beginning of the year exercise fad but I got the itch to go running and joined in anyway. It had been two months since I ran and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I got into it again. I am going to try and get back on the healthy eating track since I indulged far too much over the holidays, but I'm not going crazy with it. Healthy living is my motto.

Yes, life is chugging along in these parts. And other than a few stomach bugs (and subsequent late night vomit attacks and sheets/blanket washing) and hideously cold weather life is good.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go put on another pair of socks and a second sweatshirt.

Thankful

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and it seems that many (especially retailers) would prefer to skip right over it and go straight on to Christmas. Even Mother Nature seems to have jumped on the Christmas bandwagon. Personally, I'd like to enjoy Thanksgiving before moving on to Christmas. I have much to be thankful for.

This morning when I awoke and saw the layer of snow on the ground, and big, juicy snowflakes furiously falling, I didn't feel like being thankful for the turn in the weather. I am not a fan of the cold. Good thing I live in Wisconsin.

But slowly as the kids came down the stairs, heavy with sleep still worn on their faces, I couldn't help but feeling thankful again. Four sleepy kids at my breakfast table. Thankful.

Yesterday Joey returned from deer hunting with his dad. Since Todd will be staying up north until Wednesday Joey rode halfway home with a friend of Todd's and then the kids and I drove the to the friend's house in Oshkosh to pick him up. We decided to make a day of it and I took all four of my kids (it was good to have all 4 with me again) to the EAA (Aviation/Airplane museum that my kids LOVE) for a few hours and then to an early dinner.  It was a fun day and a nice welcome home for Joey.

The drive back home was eerily quiet. Joey was overtired from lack of sleep at deer camp and the rest of the kids were worn out from the exciting day. While Gracie slept Tommy and Ben told Joey about an accident we saw on the way to Oshkosh. A huge accident. A scary accident. Firetrucks, police cars, ambulances, and helicopters were all on the scene. We all said prayers for the people involved and were reminded again how lucky we are. I think it had an impact on us the rest of the day.

It was very dark by the time we got home.  Showers were taken, snacks were handed out, and we all snuggled together for a movie before bed.

It was very strange not having Joey with us this past weekend. One by one the kids will be joining their dad up north for deer hunting and Joey started the tradition this year. I think deer hunting season will just get weirder and weirder for me from here on out. It has been just me and the kiddos during this week for so long and I am starting to see that fade away. Bizarre how quickly this time has come.

But this morning there they were around my kitchen table.  All four of my sleepy children munching quietly on their cereal. The more the snow fell the wider awake the kids became. The bigger the snowflakes the bigger the smiles spread across their faces. Soon our house was bustling with the excitement and chatter of all FOUR of my children.  And I was thankful again.

Thankful Thursday

I'm coming out of hiding to be thankful.

Life has been crazy busy around here and I have all but ignored my blog lately.  So much going on in the real world that I don't even feel I have time to write anything down.  Good things and bad things have been happening.  But today, I'm focusing on the good things.

We are approaching Thanksgiving and these days I am reflecting on all the things I am thankful for.

- Today would be my dad's 82nd birthday.  I am so thankful that I had such a wonderful father.  I miss him every day and I'm thankful for that too.  I am grateful that I had the type of father who leaves such a void when he is gone.

- A few days ago I was hauling firewood and with a huge stack of wood in my arms I felt a sharp, stinging pain.  I dropped the wood on the ground, pulled up my sweater sleeve and saw two bite marks on my bicep.  It looked like I had been bitten by a vampire. And it hurt.  It immediately started to get red and puffy.  I started to worry that it was a bad spider bite and the boys helped me look around on the ground for the source of my bite (you know, in case it was a horribly poisonous spider). I was very relieved when Tommy found a huge wasp on the ground.  Stupid wasp stung me but I was very thankful that it was only a wasp and not, say, a black widow spider or something.

- The wasp stings kept swelling and left a huge red, raised patch on my arm.  The next day I went to go and give blood and I warned the phlebotomist of my wound.  I was told it wouldn't be a problem.  The phlebotomist attempted to draw my blood from that same arm but just couldn't get a good stick (which is weird because I NEVER have a problem as I have great veins).  She was jabbing me all over, moving the needle all around, calling other people over to try it.  My poor left arm went through hell before another phlebotomist decided to try my right arm.  The right arm worked out just fine until the phlebotomist began talking as she was taking out the needle and was gesturing with her arms, thus moving the needle all over.  I now have two massive bruises from giving blood, and one massive bruise from the wasp stings (which is still itchy) on my arms.  I look like a crazy person.  BUT, I am thankful that I wasn't allergic to the wasp stings and that I was able to donate blood for Veteran's Day.

- I am thankful for all of the brave men and women that give everything they have to protect the freedoms we have in this country.  Nothing we could do would ever be enough to thank them.  I have so many people in my family that have served in the military and many friends as well.  I am so grateful for them and all the other thousands that serve every day.

- This morning after I dropped the kids off at school I drove by the lake on my way home.  I noticed a huge coal ship fairly close to the shore and I was so thankful that I had decided to put my camera in the car that morning.  I took a few shots of the ship (the kids are gonna be thrilled I got such close ups of the ship) and then continued on my drive.

Further down the beach I noticed a few surfers off the point (the beach comes to what is referred to as "the point" where beach juts out a bit. The waves are usually bigger but not many surfers surf there because it is rocky).  I was able to capture a few shots of a surfer catching a wave.  I am so thankful that I live so close to Lake Michigan that I can see cool stuff like this every day. It was 38 degrees this morning when this brave surfer took to the water.  I was thankful to be able to watch from the warmth of my car.

- Tommy picked up my very old copy of Little House In The Big Woods a while ago and LOVED it. He is an outdoor boy and loved reading about all of Laura's adventures.  He is so excited to move on to the next Little House books now that he is finished with The Big Woods.  I love that he loves these books.  Love it. It also made me remember that I have a few of my favorite Little House episodes recorded on the DVR and I showed it to the kids.  They love it.  Every day when they come home from school they ask if there is a "new" Little House episode. It just cracks me up that my three boys love to watch a show about three little girls. I am so thankful that my kids like a show that has such wonderful lessons and stories to tell.  They really don't make shows like that anymore.

- This morning I had an appointment for a haircut.  I have been feeling like I am in a hair rut so I decided to change things up a bit.  I chopped about 6 inches of my hair off. I was feeling pretty good about myself as I left the salon until I picked Grace up from school.  The minute she saw me she freaked out and started crying. "Why did you DO that? I don't like it!" she cried and cried.  It made me laugh at first, but I gotta say, it did start to bother me a little bit after about 20 minutes of crying.

So my thankful post on the hair front is that while I'm not thankful that my new haircut makes Grace cry, I am VERY thankful that the hubby absolutely LOVES it.  Whew!

- Joey is busy growing up. Every time I turn around I see him reaching a new milestone, trying something new, learning an important lesson, and basically growing up before my very eyes.  This week he volunteered to be the song leader for the school mass.  He was paired up with his classmate and together they led the entire congregation in song.  And they did beautifully together.  I was so proud of Joey.  It takes some major guts to get up in front of so many people and sing.  All the singing I've done in my life and I never would have had the guts to do that when I was in 5th grade.

The picture is a little blurry, but you can see Joey standing and his friend standing on the stool.  Their voices blended so well together and they sounded awesome. The music teacher was thrilled and asked them if she could use them for church more often. Very cool. And very thankful that Joey has the confidence and courage to try something new and intimidating.

- Last night was parent/teacher conferences at school.  I could not be more proud of my kiddos.  Their grades are good, they are respectful, kind, and listen well.  When I asked their teachers what we could help our kids improve on none of the teachers could think of anything. Each teacher did say that the respective child was silly at times but that is not something I'm willing to ask my kids to do away with. As long as they aren't disruptive and they stop when asked (the teachers assured me they do) then silliness is fine by me.  I am so thankful for my sweet, silly kids.

- That is not to say that everything is all sunshine and roses around here these last few weeks.  We've had many trying moments.  Lots of arguments (Todd and I) and temper tantrums (all of us) and tension. But we have managed to work out our problems once again and I think I've learned something from each situation that will help me be a better wife and a better mother.  So, even though the past few weeks have been trying, I'm thankful for the struggles too.

- I am currently adjusting my parenting (as a result of some of the above struggles). I have always been somewhat of a control freak and with 4 very small children I think that is a necessity.  However, the kids are getting older and I need to loosen the reins a bit now.  I need to let certain things go and give the kids a bit more freedom to be kids and make mistakes.  I'm also trying my best to focus on the bigger picture and not nitpick all the time. And I'm trying to model good behavior.  I need to learn to control my temper better, and the way I speak when I'm angry, so that my kids can learn how to do the same.  It is a lot to work on all at once, but so far this week has been so much better.  I am a work in progress.  I know I'll fail over and over again but I need to keep trying.  And I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to try again every day.

- The weather has been less than delightful.  It has been cold.  Too cold.  And it snowed here this week. I don't like snow in November. Or even early December.  But I am thankful that the snow has already melted and there is no snow in the immediate forecast.



So much to be thankful for.  I really could go on and on.  And I'm thankful for that too!  Tell me, what are you thankful for these days?

(If you made it the entire way through this very long post you deserve a special prize.  I wish I could give you some of our Halloween candy or something.  ;)  At least I can add you to my thankful list! I'm thankful for all my bloggy friends who are always so sweet and supportive and whom I continue to learn from every day!) 

Alone

WW- Misty

WW- This Is What -8 Degrees Looks Like

Please click on the pictures to enlarge.

Temperature:  -8 F
Wind Chill:    -26 F
Wind:             Gusting to 25 mph


Me:    COLD

You Capture- Favorites

This week for You Capture we are to post our favorite pics of the week.  I think I already posted many of them on my Halloween posts here and here, but I did find a few more favorites I had left out.

A shot of Joey's favorite bird, the Cedar Waxwing.  Love the little red dot on his wing and the yellow tips of his tale. I had to add this pic to my For The Birds post since it is such a nice close up. 

 Another shot of a wild Lake Michigan.

 Grace all snuggled up in daddy's sweatshirt early one morning.

 Our front yard all prepped for trick or treaters.

Wicked

Even all the way over here in the midwest we are feeling hurricane Sandy's wrath.  The winds have been blowing, seemingly bending trees in half, and kicking up 20 foot waves on Lake Michigan.  The wind is smashing against the house and even from inside I can hear the waves roaring from below the cliffs.  It is a wicked one out there today.

Nothing like what those on the east coast are experiencing, of course.  I was glued to the tv, watching it all unfold.  I think what struck me most was how overwhelmed the shelters were with homeless children who don't have parents.  Kids who live out on the streets had no where to go.  Truckloads of children were shipped into the shelters.  Some of the kids even had their own kids.  Homeless kids with kids.  I want to adopt them all.

But here I sit in my warm, safe house with my own children playing LEGOS behind me. Lucky is the word that keeps running through my head.  Lucky, and unfair.

Instead of trying to figure out where we will live, or how we will stay warm, I am wondering what faces to carve on the pumpkins, and what costumes will be worn tomorrow to combat the cold and wind.

Lucky.

So we make each day count.  We don't take each other for granted.  We hug our kids a little tighter.  We pray for all of those affected by tragedies and those who have such hard lives.  We pray that we are able to be there for those that need us.

We enjoy each day because we never know what tomorrow will bring.

Amazing

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

 

Ever since Todd and I started having children I've been taking family Packer pictures. Once we had a couple of kids Todd and I removed ourselves and now the pic is just the kids in their Packer gear, usually taken on the day of the first game of the season. Typically I blow the picture up and frame it in our living room. Looking back at all of the pictures just amazes me at how quickly life changes.

This year as I took the Packer pictures I couldn't help but look back at the past couple of years and compare how much my kiddos have changed and grown.

200920102011

Kinda of crazy to see what a few years can do.  And it makes me wistful.  And melancholy.  Oh, the days are so long but the years are so short.

In my quest to get a great Packer picture I decided to venture away from the typical "couch" photo of the last few years (seems I've always had a baby so it was difficult to do anything else) and take the kiddos down the road to the lake for a few shots.  The weather was warm and windy and the waves were huge and beautiful.

This one is by far my favorite shot.  I think it is my new kiddo Packer shot. 

This one really makes me smile.  I'll have to figure out some way to use it.

I love this shot because you can really see each individual personality come shining through.  Love.

This one actually kind of chokes me up a bit. 

This one makes me proud.  Gracie is trying so hard to follow my directions and she did such a great job.  And my boys were being so patient with me.  Just made me proud of them. 

And this one is just cute. 

It is amazing what can happen in just one year.  Or two.  The changes.  The growing.  It is a reminder to me, to let the little things pass.  To grasp what I can while I have it.  Enjoy it.  Relax a little.  It goes quickly. 

 


 

(I'll have you know that the kids were all rewarded, handsomely, with playing at the lake and a trip to a nearby park.  Our little photo shoot didn't take very long because my kiddos know me well enough now to understand the the quicker they cooperate the sooner it will all be over and they can play.  They are so smart.)