tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25242135634240396692024-03-13T13:14:10.417-07:00A Houseful of Boys!One crazy mom...one day at a time!Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.comBlogger1636125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-45332602617182544822019-06-29T14:21:00.000-07:002020-01-18T13:58:48.909-08:00It's Time...<div style="text-align: center;">
...to move on.</div>
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They've grown up here. And so have I. </div>
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Every word, every story, every post (over 2,000 of them!)...they aren't going away. This place will stay as I slowly export all of it into a written book...not for sale, but to be tucked into my attic for my family if they ever choose to read it. None of my boys have baby books...they have a blog instead.</div>
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Once I figure out how (and if anyone knows, shoot me an email!), this whole place will be moved on over to my new home on the world wide web. It's a new place and it feels more like me than this place has for awhile. Quite simply, over the years my houseful of boys grew up and became a houseful of men. </div>
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Just to put it into perspective, here's where we started:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj68As3Fi4vKqvpyKhuFDcPOvC2NPsHZJftDyTH_q06VeNR7Dz3OVojEZdwkxE_86s8eLS9PDjow1-inhVfy2Lb7UtWjU0Usw2W1ut0C3CZWYITZKY4-fCVIdBqpmjeFckqXqor-CQ1I/s1600/fullsizeoutput_6c0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbj68As3Fi4vKqvpyKhuFDcPOvC2NPsHZJftDyTH_q06VeNR7Dz3OVojEZdwkxE_86s8eLS9PDjow1-inhVfy2Lb7UtWjU0Usw2W1ut0C3CZWYITZKY4-fCVIdBqpmjeFckqXqor-CQ1I/s640/fullsizeoutput_6c0.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And this is what has happened:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqngIBPB-fP2KPxR4nXu-CYkEWsVfNpDfKZMNrWDHtTvnHY5cjywuqgLgQsmSbUrg0wyMfKnXOWB1aMsZ5ANa5hIFE2exAshvGZKCnJ6qs_NG5HY-dRmM5i4adJxpodAFMQznvEGvVoSM/s1600/IMG_5502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqngIBPB-fP2KPxR4nXu-CYkEWsVfNpDfKZMNrWDHtTvnHY5cjywuqgLgQsmSbUrg0wyMfKnXOWB1aMsZ5ANa5hIFE2exAshvGZKCnJ6qs_NG5HY-dRmM5i4adJxpodAFMQznvEGvVoSM/s640/IMG_5502.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Grown up, living life, working hard (all of them!) and still making me laugh. I prayed for them to be close...to never forget that they are part of a chosen trio that God created. So far, so good.</div>
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So, all that being said, please visit me here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.littlehousebigtable.com/" target="_blank">www.littlehousebigtable.com</a></div>
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Once there, you can sign up to follow and get email notifications, just like you did here. </div>
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Thank you for all the kind words and for loving this place as much as I have over the years. I will miss it, too.</div>
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Much love,</div>
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Michele</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-53801912608774216562018-11-20T22:12:00.002-08:002018-11-20T22:12:28.187-08:00Deleted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Imagine my surprise when I clicked on my blog and found that everything had been deleted. As in, farewell to every childhood memory my children have. Poof! Gone!</div>
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'this blog is no longer found...'</div>
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Thanks to a really nice google guy who listened through my hysterical crying, all is well and recovered and whew. What a relief. But hey, that original email I used to set this whole thing up? Does anyone remeber what it was?</div>
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Yeah...me neither.</div>
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And yes, I gotta back this thing up sometime soon.</div>
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Summer came and went. We bought a pizza oven and learned that even though we own a pick-up truck, 1/12th of a cord of wood really does fit in a convertible.</div>
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Probably one of the tastiest summers ever.</div>
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Our dog became a real dog who barks and begs and nuzzles people under the table during parties in hopes of a scrap being tossed his way.</div>
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He's, well...annoyingly perfect.</div>
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We said goodbye to our Maggie cat. She had a stroke and it was terribly sad.</div>
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And oh, did we vacation.</div>
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There was Paso Robles for wine with friends. Some, like the guy in the gray shirt, became a friend over a couple of whatever it was we were partaking in.</div>
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My beautiful girlfriend turned 50 and we celebrated in the Eberle winery caves.</div>
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We tried Air bnb - and it was awesome! We'll totally be doing that again!</div>
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We went to San Francisco and stayed at The Palace and it felt so very grown-up and absolutely perfect.</div>
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We drank Irish Coffee's at the Buena Vista...yum!</div>
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We went to Florida (me for work and that guy that I like so much as a tag along) and then we did a 24 hour jaunt to Colorado, where we went to the most perfect wedding ever. </div>
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Sigh.</div>
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Like, how magical is this?</div>
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We said goodbye to not one car...</div>
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...but two.</div>
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(everyone is ok...thankfully, but neither had collision so were junked)</div>
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Boy #1 is still working in China and playing professionally for a lot of cool stuff, most of which can't be posted publicly quite yet.</div>
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That trumpet of his is making some pretty good sounds though.</div>
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All three of my houseful of boys were here for about 5 weeks this summer. It made my momma heart full and the fridge empty and the water bill high and the neighbors heard it all and I loved every minute of it. </div>
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This growing up and moving away thing? Not sure how I feel about it.</div>
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They took off on their own adventure because hellooooo, the Broncos were playing and Colorado was calling.</div>
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And then, Matthew returned to China. And this not so little guy headed to Dublin to study overseas because med students get real cadavers sooner than they do here. </div>
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He turned 20 and we toasted via face time.</div>
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And along with the med stuff, he made the American football team for his university - how fun is that? </div>
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(Even if the last time he played here, he broke his wrist and was told to not play again...but I'm trying to not think about that.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBc3uBcd4jRWRNNbfF9I01-jzD9CT4EajSgfMiWeEKc6XymokS8FrKmv5WqwlPAmI01i94lPm8gSo9OaXprKRa4P_NbQ04-XnTvJMwCeIfTDBOXhW4DMvY11KhGAklNjcpWjOiMwFCZU/s1600/IMG_5750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="890" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBc3uBcd4jRWRNNbfF9I01-jzD9CT4EajSgfMiWeEKc6XymokS8FrKmv5WqwlPAmI01i94lPm8gSo9OaXprKRa4P_NbQ04-XnTvJMwCeIfTDBOXhW4DMvY11KhGAklNjcpWjOiMwFCZU/s640/IMG_5750.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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The boy in the middle moved home and has taken his place as my favorite lunch partner....when he's not working all.the.time that is. I am loving that he's back for a bit...this house is WAY too quiet for me.</div>
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The garden was so pretty this summer...lots of parties and lots of pizzas and lots of great conversations.<br />
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This is our happy place.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XM9r2SSwXCXoSNHT1jRxrhvZSQEo8-BR5XEnbg-5MLUA8UOXIiUMZWBsLwZcBP35V3IBCmtLdPWlcajAajp-0kLpSK_X-5hvOnSjFPq6130Jb4ysOiq-gRF9qFDpR2hWUtUCTYNS1dI/s1600/IMG_5448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XM9r2SSwXCXoSNHT1jRxrhvZSQEo8-BR5XEnbg-5MLUA8UOXIiUMZWBsLwZcBP35V3IBCmtLdPWlcajAajp-0kLpSK_X-5hvOnSjFPq6130Jb4ysOiq-gRF9qFDpR2hWUtUCTYNS1dI/s640/IMG_5448.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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And in random catch up stuff:</div>
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1. That guy that I like so much was called to serve at a new for us, very big, very in transition church...you know, on top of his regular job. I text him his address a lot as a reminder that he still lives here but for reals, it has awakened something in both of us. God is shaking the ground there (in a really good way) and it completely feels like we are where we are supposed to be. But the hours he's working are long. And I miss him.</div>
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2. This book. It really made me think. Such a good story!</div>
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I've been not very much me the last few months. I'm worried for all sorts of things that I have absolutely no control over and am struggling to find the new 'normal'...the one where boys aren't just grown, but spread over THREE continents. The one where my boyfriend, who has been a church worker our whole entire marriage, is now busier than ever...and not just Christmas busy. I'm sad about the job I have always loved, and still do, but is a place fueled by others failures...and that goes against all that I know.</div>
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And so I stare at the below graph and will myself to chill out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hc6CmCQY2rlpBSrUjiBDAlh9Dg50x8tFNq_PY8j1kQqFkTs3jhIup6kgbjHpm1Fn4AMOelTUpEz5uF4pF65vf5rw6vK3twf460jhY33lGaClahtWDfaNPdjOxeLxY2THN2uwVIwE9bo/s1600/fullsizeoutput_7736.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hc6CmCQY2rlpBSrUjiBDAlh9Dg50x8tFNq_PY8j1kQqFkTs3jhIup6kgbjHpm1Fn4AMOelTUpEz5uF4pF65vf5rw6vK3twf460jhY33lGaClahtWDfaNPdjOxeLxY2THN2uwVIwE9bo/s640/fullsizeoutput_7736.jpeg" width="358" /></a>\</div>
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I can't even remember the time when I last laced up my shoes and hiked the trail. That place is so special to me...it's my quiet place where I can talk out loud to God and sing and complain and sweat out some of these feelings. I just can't seem to make myself go...maybe tomorrow?</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-28143424970197730252018-06-21T11:54:00.000-07:002018-06-22T11:56:05.754-07:00Summertime. Almost. And An Anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm dreaming of summer...both night dreaming AND day dreaming. This is my quiet week at work...the week before I officially shut down for a few weeks and soak in the real quiet. But until then, there are things to be done...paperwork to be completed, files to be filed, emails to be sent, school start-up trips to be planned.</div>
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I'm tired and more than ready for a break. </div>
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So today, we decided to play. Hello, Disneyland!</div>
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Our friends from Indiana were visiting the parks, so one of Alex's friends signed us in for the day. We gave up our annual passes last month after a decade (or two) of having them...the prices kept creeping up and with work and life and the removal of the 3-hour free parking, we found we weren't using them as much as we used to. </div>
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So today was special. We were only there for about 4 hours and it was lovely. Crowded, but lovely. I'm excited to miss it and know that we won't be away forever.</div>
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Today is our 32nd wedding anniversary. I love this picture of us...blurry, half my face, that guy that I like so much laughing. It's just us. </div>
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We don't have a secret...we've just been blessed. Raising a houseful of boys is HARD, church work is hard, having a mortgage is hard. But it's fun to do the journey together...to be in it so long now as to know the way to phrase things to sway the vote your way, to know when to just shrug your shoulders and give in, to look at the clock in the mid-afternoon and know that in a few short hours the 'real' part of our day will begin. The part that revolves around just being together, sharing a prayer, eating a meal, loving on whoever walks through the door. </div>
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So Happy Anniversary to us. Here's to 32 more. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-20397213401788197972018-06-20T00:00:00.000-07:002018-06-20T00:00:01.876-07:00Possibly Stealing Back Our Own Car<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you have been a long time reader here at a houseful of craziness, then you might remember that we've had a few car stories to tell.</div>
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If you are bored and you'd like to refresh your memory, here are a few:</div>
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<a href="http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2010/04/you-cant-teach-stupid.html">http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2010/04/you-cant-teach-stupid.html</a></div>
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<a href="http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2010/04/follow-up.html">http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2010/04/follow-up.html</a></div>
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<a href="http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2013/04/here-we-go-again.html">http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2013/04/here-we-go-again.html</a></div>
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<a href="http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2013/05/absolutely-unbelievable.html">http://ahousefulofboys.blogspot.com/2013/05/absolutely-unbelievable.html</a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And hopefully, this will be the last one.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last December, we sold our car for pennies, due to the fact that it needed a new transmission and power steering and tires and, well...she was tired. And so was my pocketbook. </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I signed over the title, was paid cash and never knew that you were supposed to send in the release of liability.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">My bad.</span></o:p></div>
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And then a few weeks ago, a letter comes in the mail letting us know our vehicle, which now has been fixed up and sold twice more, is in an impound lot.</div>
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And while it's been sold a few times we are still, technically, the legal owners because no one ever registered the car in their own name. The current owner/driver was pulled over for expired tags and detained for a suspended license...and the car was towed and impounded. </div>
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The thought of what could have happened is too much...so we'll rest in the fact that nothing did. Whew.</div>
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The guy we originally sold it to has washed his hands of it. If we don't pick it up, then it will be auctioned off. And if that's the case, then we are in the position of reclaiming the car (that we still technically own) back.</div>
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I spent a long time at the police department chatting about what we should do. I couldn't lie to them - I mean, we sold the car after all and I wanted to be honest about that. And then, while telling the story, I couldn't help but laugh...I mean, who makes this stuff up????</div>
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The guy who had bought the car last has a whole lot of clearing up before he can reclaim it. His license has to be cleared, as does the title of the car changed to his name, insurance brought current and the impound fee paid. My hope is he is able to do all that and so, we're waiting for the 30-day hold to play out while we decide what to do. But the PD thinks this will be another case of car abandonment because it'll be more than the price he paid for the car.</div>
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The other fun part? If it's auctioned off for less than what the impound fee is, then we are liable for the difference. Because...yeah, we still technically own the car. The other, most likely option - because we don't need the car, is to simply release the liability and back date it to the original date of sale. That makes the most sense...but nothing we do seems to make much sense, so who knows???</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-91249799816386531362018-06-19T00:00:00.000-07:002018-06-19T00:00:09.621-07:00The Opening of the Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last year when we returned from Italy, a few treasures continued to arrive over the summer. Mainly wine...and really good wine at that. One of the most fun deliveries was from a small vineyard in Tuscany where we got lost and upon arrival, walked into someone's home thinking it was the tasting room.</div>
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Oops.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WrkOS0BMrkwo2wVJ-K1nWIh__jqiVQH3_AJtGhgH0gML1NHDaYXeGRLWdO8sfV6FMhsqUrwJCilKXZgq2LBdd5poRehj8G0FE7Y5W1FC3zfOXLbCJLtGMOdEtQQW_rsQXKornuhE17g/s1600/IMG_5120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3WrkOS0BMrkwo2wVJ-K1nWIh__jqiVQH3_AJtGhgH0gML1NHDaYXeGRLWdO8sfV6FMhsqUrwJCilKXZgq2LBdd5poRehj8G0FE7Y5W1FC3zfOXLbCJLtGMOdEtQQW_rsQXKornuhE17g/s640/IMG_5120.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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But once we got yelled at (in Italian, which made it sound gorgeous) and found where we were going, we discovered a wine we loved and in a moment of weakness (or pure joy, however you want to look at it) we had shipped home a magnum.</div>
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A four bottle magnum.</div>
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We were saving it for something special...and for a time when we had enough people over to not just drink four bottles worth, but enjoy four bottles worth because that's a lotta wine!</div>
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Fast forward to mid-May and the opening of the garden, which was so special a party that our besties from Colorado flew in for the weekend.</div>
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NOW...here is where the fun part comes in. See in the picture below, behind the wine glasses? Not Brian, but the shelves with the dishes on the wall?</div>
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Every dish I own? On the wall?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-R7yHJJb9_OzKDo8kbePKcKtCnjWm7puu4mHFqIJf264aFRR80a4j1TmfubSw2Kmzk7g3vg-eqytpsdbuU4a6jCMbtg3tXhkNCtDYZiJZ4BTEFSnZcdg8y6kHuCoiPsdFagTyRJWRnMU/s1600/IMG_5123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-R7yHJJb9_OzKDo8kbePKcKtCnjWm7puu4mHFqIJf264aFRR80a4j1TmfubSw2Kmzk7g3vg-eqytpsdbuU4a6jCMbtg3tXhkNCtDYZiJZ4BTEFSnZcdg8y6kHuCoiPsdFagTyRJWRnMU/s640/IMG_5123.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Shortly after we toasted, there was a LOUD crash and the shelves...those shelves holding all my plates, came crashing (and I mean crashing!) down.</div>
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We all stood there for a few seconds in shock. Dishes, and the sink full of freshly washed glassware, were everywhere. Some broken...some surprisingly not.</div>
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It was...funny.</div>
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Like, OH MY, what? What just happened? </div>
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The damage?</div>
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broken plates - 12</div>
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broken wine glasses - 2</div>
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broken whisky glasses - 3</div>
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broken big bowls - 3</div>
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broken small bowls - 6</div>
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broken coffee mug - 1</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYRzD4aFpAocSWKUz75mzGbxT_Wvl78v15HGvVmBn_cZKGPru7nus8Bzw0K0BNBHln2MFZbv2FPIGRGpnt9qXM6e_ZCskpdLrM2BfjAgpwbHM0WsKtJxOeUCZBr3Hc4HAmojHFbMFqhs/s1600/IMG_5138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYRzD4aFpAocSWKUz75mzGbxT_Wvl78v15HGvVmBn_cZKGPru7nus8Bzw0K0BNBHln2MFZbv2FPIGRGpnt9qXM6e_ZCskpdLrM2BfjAgpwbHM0WsKtJxOeUCZBr3Hc4HAmojHFbMFqhs/s640/IMG_5138.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I keep describing it as a big Greek wedding, one where everyone smashes dishes...except we aren't Greek and there wasn't a wedding.</div>
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And how blessed are we that #1 - there were people here to witness this grand event so the story can live (and grow) forever and #2 - there were people here who jump in and fix things.</div>
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And #3 - that Crate and Barrel delivers.</div>
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The bonus? We all went into a month-long clumsy-fest where we kept breaking things. I broke 3 more wine glasses, another plate and my favorite coffee mug. That guy that I like so much broke a wine glass and a shoelace. </div>
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Welcome to our life.</div>
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The next day we escaped for the sea and rented a duffy boat for the afternoon. We packed some snacks, grabbed our peeps and sailed off into the harbor. </div>
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It was so much fun! Definitely on the list to do again this summer.</div>
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Besides, we have our very own driver - he's working towards his captain's license. Driving a duffy is a bit below his level of expertise, but that's ok.</div>
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I ended up having to take an overnight, last minute trip to Florida for a meeting a few weeks ago. It wasn't easy - fly all the way across the country, spend the night, go to a 10:00am meeting and then straight to the airport for the flight home. </div>
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I was gone for 44 hours - 12 hours were spent in the hotel, the meeting (and prep) lasted 4 hours and the rest was travel time.</div>
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Yawn.</div>
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Adventures in watching boys grow up continues with fun texts reporting in about yummy dinners they are cooking.</div>
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And others that take time to settle in.</div>
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And yet others where we say a prayer and trust. Typhoons, when you live on an island, are a big deal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcmxGkJMnd_mL2Y8SBz7wV5-LFPrDhWFEgRNn32yap8yp54BfoMVoE0CikB45f7ZleBWuISeNCv6X0oLZqY35s9-pi7HC1iW2nQoSWQAZ1Ew7ue3F3_cXIJLbCnr8U24JeL2NTh4swsQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_75e8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcmxGkJMnd_mL2Y8SBz7wV5-LFPrDhWFEgRNn32yap8yp54BfoMVoE0CikB45f7ZleBWuISeNCv6X0oLZqY35s9-pi7HC1iW2nQoSWQAZ1Ew7ue3F3_cXIJLbCnr8U24JeL2NTh4swsQ/s640/fullsizeoutput_75e8.jpeg" width="358" /></a></div>
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All is well...the typhoon dumped its rain and continued on. And hello, can we get an AMEN for technology?!</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-6378014456396130252018-06-18T12:01:00.000-07:002018-06-18T12:01:14.895-07:00A Bunch Of Random Stuff and WE BOUGHT A PIZZA OVEN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm sitting at my desk (in my pretty home office) and staring at piles and piles of papers. The school year is over for all but a handful of programs and this is the week I am going to get all caught up...and maybe a little bit of planning ahead for once, before I take a 3-4 weeks off for summer.</div>
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The bummer is that no work means no pay, so that is just hard. But...well, it is what it is and the best part is, after all these years I finally have a much healthier perspective on my work life. So there's that. </div>
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The best part is the word 'summer'. The garden had a soft opening and then a real opening and it is going to be a beautiful season.</div>
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Group chats keep us all up to date on the important stuff. Haha.</div>
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The Seniors from Concordia arrived for their turn at dinner in the garden and I made piles of pizzelles for dessert. Buying a 2nd iron has made things so much quicker...I'm actually, gulp, thinking of ordering a 3rd one. </div>
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That moment when grown-up students (who are like family to us) come back with their not so littles for visits. What? Weren't they just the littles themselves?</div>
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And that guy that I like so much...what a year he's had. God keeps throwing things his way and he answers yes and jumps in with both feet. </div>
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I love that about him.</div>
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Mother's Day 2018. The sun was warm, I saw two boys in person and was able to talk to our one who lives so very faraway. </div>
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And the best gift ever....flours from my boys. Because...pizza oven. </div>
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One last Florida work trip with a super quick, I'm finished for the day and have a crazy early flight home, visit with my peeps. </div>
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They make me feel...like me. </div>
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May brought my birthday, Michael's birthday, Mother's Day, the Senior dinner, graduation, a ton of recitals, a retirement party, and an official opening party for the garden. </div>
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Lots of lists, lots of cooking, lots food, lots of laughter and big talks and little talks and a few tears. </div>
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It's all good. </div>
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Throw in the 'hi, I cooked too much, come over' invitations that have me running full speed (which is quite the sight) across the street for supper.</div>
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Lucky, lucky us.</div>
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The youngest of our houseful finished his sophomore year of college - WHAT??? His choir went on tour to Hawaii and he had a miserable time. Not. He came home tan and tired and retired...no more choir for him. Next year he's jumping the pond for study abroad and we will have three boys on three different continents. Not just three different cities or three different states or three different countries...but in true Busch form, we've gotta stress the mama out as much as possible and spread out as much as possible.</div>
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But I do love them.</div>
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And then there's this:</div>
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So, a while back we had a conversation about pizza ovens. We've pretty much had that same conversation over and over...ever since summering with our littles on the Italian island of Elba, where Napolean was exiled (lucky him!). While wandering a village we found a restaurant that had gone out of business decades before and in the middle of the ruins was a beautiful pizza oven. </div>
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I wanted it, but with three little boys, it just didn't fit in our luggage. We walked by every day for a week and I drooled and plotted and cried and it was, along with the leg of prosciutto that I wanted to hide in my suitcase, a no go.</div>
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But it started a conversation that went on for years.</div>
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That guy that I like so much researched. And measured. And researched some more. And measured some more. He envisioned a built-in and we just couldn't figure out how that would work with all the different types of parties we host and more importantly, how we want our little garden to feel when we are out there.</div>
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One night, a special wine was poured. One simple click and it was ordered. </div>
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A few weeks later, a fork lift delivered it to our little house on our little street. But with all that measuring and planning, no one (and there were a few involved in this process) thought to measure the back gate. </div>
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IT DIDN'T FIT.</div>
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Uh-oh.</div>
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Enter our Turkish neighbor who knows absolutely everything about everything...and if he doesn't know it, he knows a guy who does. Who needs a tool box (or a blow torch or a ladder or a recipe for homemade olives) if you have Bulent for a neighbor?</div>
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The oven was disassembled and then reassembled...all by the light of the moon and away from the prying eyes of our crazy association board members, because even though there is no rule about pizza ovens, they will find a way to add one if need be. </div>
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A pizza oven is a process...an event even. You need wood...real wood that is untreated. A fire needs to be built, dough needs to be made, wine needs to be poured. Our first time using it, I never left the kitchen which goes against everything I believe when it comes to hosting a party. I couldn't make the pizzas fast enough and because the oven gets to just under 1,000 degrees, the pizzas cook in one minute.</div>
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And they're so good, that they got eaten in that amount of time too.</div>
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But now we've learned. We slow it all down. We not only do pizzas, but we throw whatever we can think of in cast iron pans - from vegetables, baked cheese, berry cobbler, fish, steaks and throw them all out in courses. It encourages people to slow down, to talk, to not rush...so very European. </div>
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100% worth it.</div>
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This is going to be a fun, and delicious, summer.</div>
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And hey...did you know my SoCal town has not one, but TWO lumberyards???</div>
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Very, very convenient.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCntDF-jLS2FXEtI2Md0Hj2-swo-jzbXQTBXCXxTw_Fjb3TuqwkogVVDh3lKFaB_F91154544IDO8GzqmaHGBuVejpawXDkGYxBalObYI1AeOq7hmqnfFB6Vvacq5cYk61rA2gUXkkgtU/s1600/IMG_5116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCntDF-jLS2FXEtI2Md0Hj2-swo-jzbXQTBXCXxTw_Fjb3TuqwkogVVDh3lKFaB_F91154544IDO8GzqmaHGBuVejpawXDkGYxBalObYI1AeOq7hmqnfFB6Vvacq5cYk61rA2gUXkkgtU/s640/IMG_5116.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Back to paperwork for me...I'm SO ready for summer.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-35824651901865346772018-04-08T18:31:00.000-07:002018-04-08T18:31:04.373-07:00Easter 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's Sunday, the week after Easter. I'm in my typical place...sitting at my kitchen counter on a bar stool. All the windows are open even though it's a bit chilly (68 today...sorry east coasters) and that guy that I like so much is grilling a whole bunch of random, bottom of the bin veggies and a marinated tri-tip. I'm drinking a summery aperol spritz and dreaming of long, hot, sunshine-y days.</div>
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Summer is coming...I feel it in my bones.</div>
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I'm catching up on messages from my boy who lives in China. They keep me laughing...I really love the way he writes. I love that we send voice messages and can video chat, though I notice as he settles in and gets busier those become a bit fewer and far between. And that's the way it should be. But I do miss him.</div>
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The azalea tree in our back yard blooms only once a year and it's the most beautiful thing ever. Never once have we timed it for Easter Sunday...it's always a few weeks before or a few weeks after and I've tried asking it nicely to cooperate with our schedule and it just doesn't. Kinda like children...try as you might, they always have their own schedule. Or maybe that's just the way mine work.</div>
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But when it blooms?</div>
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WOW.</div>
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We had dinner at our friends the other night and if I had to choose a last meal, this would be it. Or one of them. Turkish meets Greek meets perfection. </div>
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But more than that...it was a night of friendship. Stories and laughter and wine and whisky and then a long walk home. Or at least it felt long...all 50 yards of it.</div>
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I am making a conscious effort to get back on my trail...or at least walk around my lakes, each and every day. I'm stuck to a computer and a phone and I need to make moving my body a priority...not so much for my physical health (important, I know!) but for my emotional well being. </div>
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I'm just grumpy if I'm all work and no play. And a grumpy Italian is...well, a grumpy Italian.</div>
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Good Friday was a quiet day off for that guy that I like so much and he spent it doing the thing that makes him so happy...he planted. And planted. And planted some more.</div>
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Our garden this year is more beautiful than ever before and I'm counting down the days to the grand opening party.</div>
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Easter Sunday...4 HUGE services for Michael and we, the fam, decided to go on Saturday night instead. It was...weird. Not sure we'll do that again but the service itself was beautiful...but it just didn't feel like Easter. </div>
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I cooked - roasted pork and pesto lasagnes and garlic green beans and a ginormous salad. Our friends brought roast lamb and potatoes and my sis-in-law brought desserts. We sat in the garden, my New York niece made a surprise appearance, we had some students over too...and the day was lovely. </div>
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I took one picture and it was one that makes me so happy. These are my people.</div>
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They hunted eggs and played corn hole and football and I just love filling this little house with people.</div>
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Earlier this week the palm trees came out. They were growing into the fence and into the bbq and they were, frankly, annoying me to no end. So enter Alejandro and Juan and out they came.</div>
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Thanks, guys!</div>
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A new one will be planted soon...a smaller one that will grow big and tall in 20 years or so. </div>
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We'll deal with that then. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-81406811461327157412018-03-26T18:34:00.002-07:002018-03-26T18:34:29.236-07:00Far And Away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The month of March, specifically Spring Break, had our little family spread out across the world. Alex and Brian traveled for hours and hours and then some more hours to China...this was just a layover for them. See where it says Da Nong, near Vietnam? The little island above that is Matthew's island.</div>
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It's far away. Very far away.</div>
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He, as in Matthew, spent the last few months traveling his new country and then vacationing all over Thailand. He studies jiu-jitsu and centers his travels around that...and food, of course. Both take him to some interesting places and he's met lots of fun people along the way.</div>
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In the meantime, he was sending us messages via wechat of his American shopping list..everything from deodorant to contact solution to shaving cream to whiskey. Three huge suitcases full of stuff...all things we take for granted here.</div>
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And then, all in one day, I put that guy that I like so much (and his 60 college students) on a flight to Portland and my two youngest boys on a flight to go visit their older brother in China.</div>
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AND THEN, because this deserves to be in all capital letters, I did something very, very strange. I went home. Alone.</div>
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Because, for the first time in 28 years...since I became a mom, I slept all alone in my own house. Yes, I've been alone in hotel rooms and alone for long days...but I have never spent an overnight home alone. There has always been a husband or one boy or another who has been here with me.</div>
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And you need to know...it was GLORIOUS. Not that I want to live alone, but it. was. blissful.</div>
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Quiet.</div>
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I took a long, hot bath. I ate popcorn for dinner while I watched three (3!) back to back hallmark movies...all Christmas, and no one rolled their eyes at me. I slept smack dab in the middle of the bed, which, if you must know, I do anyway.</div>
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But it was the quiet that I loved. At least for those few days.</div>
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And on day #3, I'd had enough quiet and hopped a flight to Seattle to meet up with that guy that I like so much. </div>
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Oh, how I love that city.</div>
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He had to work...and so did I. But my work is portable and so I was able to wander all over town. The shops and the coffee and the yummy food and the friendly people...sigh.</div>
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I ran out of time and am SO bummed that I didn't buy these peppers...and can't get them here.</div>
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Oh well.</div>
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In the meantime, the pictures and videos started coming in.</div>
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These three...where do I begin? I love them. I love that they love each other. I love that Alex didn't get lost.</div>
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The reason I ran out of time and had to leave those lovely pepper flakes behind was because upon checking in for our next flight, I realized I had forgotten my passport. And we, as in that guy that I like so much and me, were heading for a few nights in Victoria...and he had forgotten his too.</div>
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Victoria is in Canada.</div>
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And ya'll...you gotta have a passport to fly to Canada. </div>
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Thanks to some magic elves who grabbed them from the safe place at home and paid a million $$ to have them overnighted to us and whew, they made it in time. </div>
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All was well...even the prop plane in a storm. Yikes.</div>
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We landed,hopped a taxie to The Empress and checked ourselves into the Gold Level. </div>
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Oh my.</div>
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We had tea and yummies and settled in while the rain fell. It was cold outside and happy inside and so very, very perfect.</div>
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I love high tea. And I love the gold level. </div>
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Thank you off-season for making it affordable!</div>
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So here we were, on our best behavior with our pinkies out and this arrives in our in box.</div>
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This kid...he's too much.</div>
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Back to us in Canada. We wandered out for supper and had the most amazing dinner in a tiny restaurant with brick walls and cozy nooks to sit in. We ate oysters that were caught that morning. Yep...me. I ate oysters and liked 'em. </div>
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Hell is freezing over.</div>
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We had kinda decided to not do much on our little 46-hour getaway, but Butchart Gardens was calling and so we wandered out into the quiet mist for a walk. It was empty and still and so very green.</div>
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Like where the Hobbits live.</div>
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And then, just as quickly as it began, we all traveled home via different parts of the world. We had all brought back treasures and more than anything, I loved hearing how Matthew is doing so far away. </div>
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I get it. I moved away from family too...but a whole different continent is different than a whole different state. It makes it hard. But the stories were fun and he is doing well. </div>
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I love that they were able to be together.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish88v1-cGTKH_447IXQFj2gWLFIodu3AmdZU9CBtTKh0Er9Q7yNTXt5VCIksVE1SZchmE5dwQtsMpimdxHQo4XialE04buOsANQ_fzqyjgI-MsfR-r4qMbDiywwZswOGHrRqgUCBVp6k/s1600/IMG_4843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish88v1-cGTKH_447IXQFj2gWLFIodu3AmdZU9CBtTKh0Er9Q7yNTXt5VCIksVE1SZchmE5dwQtsMpimdxHQo4XialE04buOsANQ_fzqyjgI-MsfR-r4qMbDiywwZswOGHrRqgUCBVp6k/s640/IMG_4843.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And among the treasures? Purple gin made especially for the Empress Hotel, which turns pink when you add tonic. A large bag of (gulp) MSG and a cryo-packed package of chicken feet. Big feet.</div>
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Thanks, boys.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-91556674690545157162018-02-11T19:45:00.000-08:002018-02-13T15:26:07.687-08:00Seasons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have always loved seasons...Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. The changes, even if slight in southern California as well as the super noticeable ones in my former homes...I feel them all. I love the seasons of the church calendar too...the seasons of Advent and Christmas and Easter. The times of preparing and waiting and celebrating.</div>
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This has been a dry season for me...a long season where there have been no published words. A season of so much change in this little house on our little street. A season of preparing. A season of waiting.</div>
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We are no longer a houseful of boys...and with that has gone a big part of who I am. Of my role. Of my place in this big wide world.</div>
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And while that season...the season of being a mom to my trio of males has been one of preparing and waiting for them to grow, because I knew all along that it wasn't forever, has ended as I knew it would. But it just seemed to go so fast.</div>
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Not the days...because those days were LONG. The ins and outs, the cooking and the laundry and the lack of sleep and the driving, driving, driving...those days felt endless at times. But the years...the overall years of raising a family?</div>
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Whoosh.</div>
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I was blessed that this last season of boys leaving the nest came slow. Matthew left for college in 2008. Alex stayed put here until this past summer. Brian left for college last year but has come home to live after his roommate situation fizzled, though he's a grown up now and is rarely here.</div>
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But me?</div>
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I'm still here.</div>
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The season of being a full-time mom...the season that felt so overwhelming at times but actually whizzed by, has come to a rather sudden end. The worry is still there and I'm thinking that season won't end for a long long LONG time (if ever)...but the boys?</div>
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Soaring to grand places.</div>
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Matthew is traveling the world and while I am SO THANKFUL for technology, I haven't hugged him since August. Alex is settled into his real, grown-up life and career...and so is Brian. That guy that I like so much has been a grown-up for decades...nothing new there.</div>
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But me? I married so young...and would do that all over again. In a heartbeat. I had my first baby so young...and would do that all over again. In a heartbeat. But through those seasons, I never once thought about the end. Maybe because I never thought it would end?</div>
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But then one day, not too long ago, it did.</div>
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I now work each day at a regular job like most people do. It's a paycheck and while I believe in what we do and why we do it, it is an extremely negative place to work. I suppose most places are, but I just don't want to play that game...yet each day I get up and do the work needs to be done because again, I believe in what I do. <br />
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But I miss what was.</div>
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I miss the past seasons.</div>
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I so don't want to be one of those people that lives in the past...that remembers only the good from the past and not the real stuff from the past. I don't want to live in the past, period. And so these last few months...many, many months, I've been trying to find my new place in this new season.</div>
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I am blessed with a circle. A wide, wide circle. People who I can share with, pray with, drink with, spill my guts with, whine (a lot) with, talk (endlessly) with...friends who have walked the walk, who listen and don't judge. </div>
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Not to mention a very patient husband.</div>
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And so I am stepping into a new season. I'm not kicking and screaming, but I'm stepping gently...baby step by baby step while I figure out what is next. But I do know one thing...I'm still the mom of a houseful of boys, even if none of them live under the same roof. Or even on the same continent.<br />
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Needed the same? No. Loved the same? YES.</div>
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I've been traveling a lot lately and that been a distraction...a work trip to the other side of the country, a much-needed visit with my family, an even more needed girlfriend weekend in the snow, in a town that I still call home.</div>
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So blessed. So very, very blessed.</div>
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There have been lots of other changes here, too...because this past season was the season of change after all. That guy that I like so much had one church job end and another, much more demanding one begin...and with that, we are now worshipping (yet again) somewhere new. But woah, I feel like I am being fed a steak dinner every Sunday in church and it's been so great.</div>
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God...He is present. And God...He is good.</div>
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The garden has closed for the season and with that winter closing comes a lot less parties. It's good in that it gives us time to replant and water and miss it a bit before things pick up again later this Spring. Things are pretty brown and droopy out there right now but with a lot of regular water and some new growth and warm sunshine, it'll soon be brought back to life. </div>
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And we'll be here. Ready. </div>
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And so here I go into this new season, this season of Lent, and treating it as a time to think and prepare and pray for what is coming. The coming of both the next season and the coming of Jesus. <br />
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Both are good.</div>
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And through this all, I am still cooking. Massive amounts of cooking because people still need to gather and be merry. So even if it seems that everything in my world is changing, other things remain the same.</div>
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If you cook, they will come....because people still need to eat after all. Not matter what the season.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-51868696134522731872017-12-25T08:00:00.000-08:002018-01-13T17:46:33.746-08:00Merry Christmas, My Friends<div style="text-align: center;">
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Merry Christmas!</div>
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I'm sitting in the quiet - well, somewhat quiet, as we wait for the family to arrive for all that this day brings. We've got carols playing and the coffee is hot and we were just able to have a quick video chat with Matteo in China. </div>
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It's strange to not have him here, but it's ok. We're a church worker family so Christmas has always been about everyone being someplace different and arriving at staggered times and then naps once they arrive...so having a son on a different continent is just a little like that.</div>
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Sort of.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyBbku_HAHTIkfnVVHMYGY31-EKYPJcAiDjabpTbHdxIV3LqsUeCUDFPtR8cD3UjI41fRLYkA3edMFnc33DoJMc02gC91TlbnePpsVYv2hmQ1Nf0gE_UYjhL-y0e-8QDkpT9Mlj-L49U/s1600/IMG_4461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyBbku_HAHTIkfnVVHMYGY31-EKYPJcAiDjabpTbHdxIV3LqsUeCUDFPtR8cD3UjI41fRLYkA3edMFnc33DoJMc02gC91TlbnePpsVYv2hmQ1Nf0gE_UYjhL-y0e-8QDkpT9Mlj-L49U/s640/IMG_4461.JPG" width="512" /></a></div>
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This season has been so much harder than usual. It's me...and I know that. I just keep waiting for that 'feeling' to come...the feeling of Christmas. The warmth, the joy, the peace.</div>
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I realize much of that is the timing of the actual holiday this year...working through Friday and then boom, here it is! But still, I've been waiting.</div>
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There have been so many parties this year and each one has gotten more and more fun....so there has been much good. The gifts are all wrapped and under the tree and this year there was a conscious effort to keep things simple and smaller...every few years I notice that Christmas gifts begin getting bigger and bigger and we (as in me) need to dial it down. That this family of mine has everything they need and don't need piles and piles of more things. </div>
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But I do love to spoil everyone just a bit with something they've had their eye on....whether they need it or not, simply because it's fun.</div>
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But this year I've been waiting. And waiting. Waiting for that 'feeling' to come...the feeling of Christmas. The feeling of being little again and sitting at my Grandparents with all my cousins. Of the smells and sounds and sights of Christmas past.</div>
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But things change when you become the Matriarch of Christmas present. And the change isn't bad...but the change does bring a bit more organization. And a bit more menu planning.</div>
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And then last night, while sitting in church, I realized. I'm waiting for a feeling to come...but Christmas is not about a feeling. Christmas is about faith...and faith alone. Faith is knowing and trusting and believing without seeing or feeling.</div>
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I still want the feeling...but I want the knowing a whole lot more.</div>
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This past season has been harder than any other we've walked through. We haven't shared and we won't, but the last few months have just been hard. We hold hands, we pray, and we wait...we wait for life to become a little easier. And still, God continues to throw down hurdle after hurdle after hurdle and then to top it off, there've been walls for us to climb over. </div>
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And we do, one step at a time. </div>
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I think of Peter in the boat and of Jesus holding out his hand and telling him to trust. That if he does, all will go well and he will not sink. And so Peter begins to walk and rather than having faith, he begins to doubt and starts to sink...and then Jesus grabs him and all is ok. But first he gives him a reminder that his savior is always there.</div>
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And through this valley we've been trudging through...the one that has felt very long and very dark, we know that Jesus is gently guiding us. That he is standing, hand out, asking us to trust.</div>
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But sometimes, it's just plain hard.</div>
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I'm trying to focus on the lights. And the smells. And the sounds...because woah, the music has been glorious this year. Quieter than usual, and that seems fitting. </div>
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My human brain continues to settle into the negatives though and that makes me ashamed because I do know better. I have so much to be thankful for but it's just been easier to sit in the ugly...even at this beautiful time of year.</div>
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And yet there is so much joy and so much laughter and so. many. cookies.</div>
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Because as we all know, cookies make everything better.</div>
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Merry Christmas, my friends. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-90762992655048965062017-12-07T12:53:00.000-08:002017-12-07T12:53:09.382-08:00Ah-CHOO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday morning, the local buffet place - the one conveniently located next to a 24 hour fitness, opened it's doors for around 50 hardworking school crossing guards. As a Christmas gift to them, we bought them all lunch and let them rest their feet a bit.</div>
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But no one really rests their feet at a buffet place because you just keep getting up to get more food, so it really is like working out and eating at the same time. Mashed potatoes and stuffing and meatloaf and green beans and banana pudding and enough already...but it was soooo good. I texted our middle boy while I was there knowing this is his kind of place...all you can eat comfort food. We'll be back together next week.</div>
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And then I got a call from that guy that I like so much, who had an invite from friends for dinner. Every year at this time I begin to wonder if our schedules can hold even one more event but I can't think of what we'd let go of. Besides our sanity, that is...but I lost that years ago while raising this houseful of boys.</div>
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And oh, how I long to be rid of the piles. And the dirty tissues because yeah, it's also cold season and while I'm in denial, I'm miserably sniffly and sneezy and (according to my boyfriend) snore-y. </div>
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Because hello, stuffy nose.</div>
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I'm continually blessed by technology and the fact that I can not only hear, but see, where my boy lives. His kitchen is getting fancy thanks to China's version of ebay and he's already said that his wok is the most amazing thing ever. </div>
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It's still a bit surreal...he's lived away for so many years that it just feels like he's the next state over. We video chat almost every day as he walks to school, I've 'met' his colleagues, I've seen and heard his handsome face.</div>
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God is good. (and please keep him safe. amen.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNyAtHk1n0Z2ht8GEti6sWF8CFJqN7cG3MYmaABXVLqx5WYFI_BymbiDdyM18Sj4VdkDcdnZhb5DAEi9MGJRinrnflG31C8nuPjL8JSxfVxvLxDi-5XMQlcfkuEFHNH94cHQYoKwtoG4/s1600/IMG_4415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNyAtHk1n0Z2ht8GEti6sWF8CFJqN7cG3MYmaABXVLqx5WYFI_BymbiDdyM18Sj4VdkDcdnZhb5DAEi9MGJRinrnflG31C8nuPjL8JSxfVxvLxDi-5XMQlcfkuEFHNH94cHQYoKwtoG4/s640/IMG_4415.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In other healthy food news, I made this sweet/salty frito mix for people to munch on while we waited for the turkey to cook on Thanksgiving. Heve I mentioned that yet? That the bird came out and rested and when that guy that I like so much went to carve it, it wasn't all the way cooked? As in RAW? Carved it up anyway, threw it in the oven at 425 and nobody was wiser. Except me. And everyone else who was here.</div>
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But alls well that ends well and it turned out just fine. But I'm buying a new thermometer.</div>
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Anyway, this mix. Found it here (http://togetherasfamily.com/2015/09/fritos-sweet-n-salty-snack-mix/) and doubled the recipe but only made a single batch of the caramel. I think it would be too sweet with a full batch. </div>
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YUM.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuDA06aErCeXNtE2GBIiJN8KL5UDRKnfLz3NHN-8HUJQNqtJdd5glLmb7POiYx9LEJxBHz1vdKy7qeHgaA_V0k6jpz-taMg9Lbnnyl2JT5OibsiPhsodlRheWQUR-7cy_xhfKKa8a_lI/s1600/IMG_4350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuDA06aErCeXNtE2GBIiJN8KL5UDRKnfLz3NHN-8HUJQNqtJdd5glLmb7POiYx9LEJxBHz1vdKy7qeHgaA_V0k6jpz-taMg9Lbnnyl2JT5OibsiPhsodlRheWQUR-7cy_xhfKKa8a_lI/s640/IMG_4350.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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And outside the winds are blowing hot, hot gusts while my beloved state burns and burns. Pray for SoCal...it's so dry here and the fires are burning out of control. We're way far away but know so many who are right there and it's sad and scary. </div>
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=(</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-86848939698211919222017-12-05T16:54:00.000-08:002017-12-05T16:54:24.346-08:00When I Grow Up...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
....I want to be the Innkeeper.</div>
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He was doing his thing, running an Inn. I picture the sweeping of floors, the making of beds, the making of food and drink. The laundry and dishes...because there is always, always laundry and dishes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHX_ve23zrLwob33NbPdp5IrDQJyItyhEfSGei3JnifrevFUGkGd69a6CLUSI9InrTWJ_oQ0TekgS1PL_7uhBcl3BF9Y_U_1s5S6uPy8VWn3cmNuTkZzeyZ0sRgv1my1ZAcAWnIyloGBA/s1600/IMG_4349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHX_ve23zrLwob33NbPdp5IrDQJyItyhEfSGei3JnifrevFUGkGd69a6CLUSI9InrTWJ_oQ0TekgS1PL_7uhBcl3BF9Y_U_1s5S6uPy8VWn3cmNuTkZzeyZ0sRgv1my1ZAcAWnIyloGBA/s640/IMG_4349.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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He, I would think, had a partner helping out behind the scenes. Someone who was chopping wood and onions, spreading hay, feeding animals. Someone who, when the sun dropped behind the hills and the moon rose high over the fields, would lay down next to him and share in the secrets of the day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgU3w7xVCGpC1uBQhWCbaUq-jkIxJqo2NzU2xAiUB3xreLzthuLGqCdeAv3t2-xzArPeUsTZlkyadTBegnKeHX1IKpmOmpOuNGxrmEOMtONClQ5eonuLQwTUHl_sas6jm_JnzdzEGeQI/s1600/IMG_4359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgU3w7xVCGpC1uBQhWCbaUq-jkIxJqo2NzU2xAiUB3xreLzthuLGqCdeAv3t2-xzArPeUsTZlkyadTBegnKeHX1IKpmOmpOuNGxrmEOMtONClQ5eonuLQwTUHl_sas6jm_JnzdzEGeQI/s640/IMG_4359.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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He was 'just' an Innkeeper. And he was probably thrilled when the decree came to have all return to their hometowns to be counted and taxed because times for most were tough and that ruling meant that business, for a short time anyway, would boom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBARPBJJZRUC-fj6W_1gOQ6eyaqHLYqJQCW_GZOUw8UPlhwcXG8YWdQBm2FFphLkctH3ARZdkylJUTOp6MgzLZYGW5jWYpgzzXbIgts2wUNpoCBPECIxShweil70zQT9sOWFYNGYmB8ZQ/s1600/IMG_4412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBARPBJJZRUC-fj6W_1gOQ6eyaqHLYqJQCW_GZOUw8UPlhwcXG8YWdQBm2FFphLkctH3ARZdkylJUTOp6MgzLZYGW5jWYpgzzXbIgts2wUNpoCBPECIxShweil70zQT9sOWFYNGYmB8ZQ/s640/IMG_4412.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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And then, into the town of Bethlehem, came a sweet new couple. They were tired from the journey and probably cold and a little bit hungry. She was so very pregnant and feeling heavy and maybe a tad bit cranky...or was that only me when carrying my babes?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vpx_X6A8ewFeuyA0kykozQdZybL1BxkybynNgV4_ChYh9f_hINCVd2rSa-gsui8bML7AAn_Q_JK_tzj7bht73y58OKcX3ppj25oiAfinhwuamOC2EN5pvvz1LVdavDzmmVEBUFFgCVI/s1600/IMG_4360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vpx_X6A8ewFeuyA0kykozQdZybL1BxkybynNgV4_ChYh9f_hINCVd2rSa-gsui8bML7AAn_Q_JK_tzj7bht73y58OKcX3ppj25oiAfinhwuamOC2EN5pvvz1LVdavDzmmVEBUFFgCVI/s640/IMG_4360.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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It was dark and the journey had been long. They knocked and knocked and no one had room.</div>
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But the innkeeper...he saw something. Or maybe it was that person I envision standing beside him. However it was, he saw beyond two people and their donkey begging for a place. He saw two human beings who needed help.</div>
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I'm assuming that life hadn't always been easy for the innkeeper because there are so few that haven't ever had to work hard, to figure things out when life was tough, to worry. He was just an innkeeper after all...not a king or a prince or nobleman.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnEAB5LDzQamjbPZwZwJBCOMH9L9swNbZBZB4h7F7u03LuCP_HBVE2JoFgAWQ9035dXpygkW6zqkHGJdjTmovAIL47RrGMnxEbKrNw5POYZnG3BJCM3TQ3-IjbXmNCoGRLBwawlT8Jk4/s1600/IMG_4411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnEAB5LDzQamjbPZwZwJBCOMH9L9swNbZBZB4h7F7u03LuCP_HBVE2JoFgAWQ9035dXpygkW6zqkHGJdjTmovAIL47RrGMnxEbKrNw5POYZnG3BJCM3TQ3-IjbXmNCoGRLBwawlT8Jk4/s640/IMG_4411.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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He knew every bed was taken and maybe even all the couches, too. He knew that there simply was not enough room anywhere in that little inn, but rather than turn them away, he saw something in them. They were real people. He then thought to his stable. It was warm in there and trampled hay softens to a silky sort of smoothness. He set them all up, inside and away from the harshness of the weather.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm8kKhFbrD8S1JTrubI87xfNeUXNziZUO8LyX_oBfyTB_jS5z8bIiv1pbRn47fVUKEIjCMavP7yQx2lsmZVHfC6pl_r_sCT9mT9i7Z4uwQAIHSOk8KXEzeSBJvC0mvVDldvFSUOk6Nj0/s1600/IMG_4417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm8kKhFbrD8S1JTrubI87xfNeUXNziZUO8LyX_oBfyTB_jS5z8bIiv1pbRn47fVUKEIjCMavP7yQx2lsmZVHfC6pl_r_sCT9mT9i7Z4uwQAIHSOk8KXEzeSBJvC0mvVDldvFSUOk6Nj0/s640/IMG_4417.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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He didn't know anything about them and yet, rather than turning his back, he helped. He gave his last available space to them for the night. That Innkeeper didn't know that she was carrying a prince, a king, a savior. </div>
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He just did what he knew in his heart was right. That Innkeeper wasn't too proud to offer his stable...our Lord wasn't too good to be born in one.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZepj43nRnB7Pazpjtnovh0_8QBNv22vlXZqWBE2YZ-cktvV2j3BaJilpvm0J3GMLRuPsv8osbuVrcXCDlWekaU-yb31NXaQLmlPV6_JLW1MD_HvkFVSuLj3UHPoMnIweTXLK9bRTtFqU/s1600/IMG_0405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZepj43nRnB7Pazpjtnovh0_8QBNv22vlXZqWBE2YZ-cktvV2j3BaJilpvm0J3GMLRuPsv8osbuVrcXCDlWekaU-yb31NXaQLmlPV6_JLW1MD_HvkFVSuLj3UHPoMnIweTXLK9bRTtFqU/s640/IMG_0405.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I want to be like that Innkeeper. I want to throw open our doors of our little house and welcome all in. I want to close my eyes to the clothes people wear and the cars they drive and the work they do. I want to greet all who knock. I want the conversations to be safe and the laughter to be great and the music to be lovely and the food to be plenty.</div>
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I don't want to stress about the laundry or the sweeping of floors or the chopping of onions. I want to honor my savior in the way I open our home.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS13yc55uYuA0O5RO20x9kqnbarmHqPTSBiI12LKOA5J8AQ677bp3k5Qyj4BVr2p11bZwXVMAc28knXJyc3MlHGC0613C2fiyFGrc-lQSlkes1R-otwKY5tCg7x_Jya9-sGMJEJqq3lJk/s1600/IMG_4353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS13yc55uYuA0O5RO20x9kqnbarmHqPTSBiI12LKOA5J8AQ677bp3k5Qyj4BVr2p11bZwXVMAc28knXJyc3MlHGC0613C2fiyFGrc-lQSlkes1R-otwKY5tCg7x_Jya9-sGMJEJqq3lJk/s640/IMG_4353.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I pray that those who enter will have a glimpse to the bigger picture of what it is we are trying to be in this little house on this little street. </div>
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Innkeepers.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-35742024173698634972017-10-27T11:09:00.000-07:002017-10-28T11:11:52.129-07:00Hotter Than Ever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The word of the week is HOT. Like, hotter than hell kind of hot. Hot and dry and windy and hello? It's October and we're ready for Fall.</div>
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I've turned up the AC and currently have a pork loin slow roasting in the oven with green beans, onions and potatoes because it's too hot to even turn on the grill but because the oven is cranked up, the house is struggling to cool down.</div>
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Oh well...smells good in here.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVBbKU1cTNtinBcisCtw4xuOIFiqD3UilOF3CJWnHq2_yJbvnrXNBMWHQ_GwN57BGmvnUTVTgilnk-aWMhYjTW4ueWG8ZwxZcFtemJn2xFN0TtSvohRBxNGmSytRMkt_WTxaqr1bpvMM/s1600/fullsizeoutput_724a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVBbKU1cTNtinBcisCtw4xuOIFiqD3UilOF3CJWnHq2_yJbvnrXNBMWHQ_GwN57BGmvnUTVTgilnk-aWMhYjTW4ueWG8ZwxZcFtemJn2xFN0TtSvohRBxNGmSytRMkt_WTxaqr1bpvMM/s640/fullsizeoutput_724a.jpeg" width="358" /></a></div>
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Brian had his first official men's chorus concert this semester and whoa! Look like your Dad much?</div>
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What a cutie this youngest of our houseful of boys is. He's still full steam ahead pre-med but is leaning towards physical therapy...kinda fun to watch the 3rd child figure things out. We've lost that whole parenting pressure thing and the bottom line is - he'll figure it out. We can't micro-manage the heck out of every move he makes because we've been worn out by his older brothers.<br />
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Lucky him.<br />
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=0)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJsEBZt4WB4BDARxkXJ3nBbXzfTXTcp68clALd62uAqHUCbvlFEOY3i7fNHsvycSKnbwXhDOXMsAlO8chLLN9j14r20j8yYS7NnbQvl12qPAqIiH77pFELBKVb1ny9NIdQyXxE1SL9VU/s1600/IMG_4167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJsEBZt4WB4BDARxkXJ3nBbXzfTXTcp68clALd62uAqHUCbvlFEOY3i7fNHsvycSKnbwXhDOXMsAlO8chLLN9j14r20j8yYS7NnbQvl12qPAqIiH77pFELBKVb1ny9NIdQyXxE1SL9VU/s640/IMG_4167.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I've been doing a bible study on Proverbs 31 that had started as an online group but has turned in to something so much more for me. I'm struggling, my friends...struggling to find that happy medium of being a wife and a mom (to grown boys) and homemaker and working woman. My work is ok...I do it because it is something that God has handed me but I know to the very core of my being that I am a true homemaker.<br />
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And I miss it. A lot.</div>
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I will forever be thankful that I could live that calling while our boys were being raised. I know it's not for everyone but for me it was the best gift ever...that guy that I like so much worked so hard, without complaining, to make that happen. What a beautiful gift that is...more valuable to me than a fancy car or jewelry.<br />
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Insert sappy tears.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwA__J1_HkXPE4QIo6PXgNl7BT9kKnGJAEvJYqHcx4hr1M9HxB2i2Q60HsMMbynw817cswMCeneKtmRruO-L3WOv5A23bY5x5M0Ean4q7VK26grmE6UfROcdqDg0lAVh62_QVLfZpL4c/s1600/IMG_4174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwA__J1_HkXPE4QIo6PXgNl7BT9kKnGJAEvJYqHcx4hr1M9HxB2i2Q60HsMMbynw817cswMCeneKtmRruO-L3WOv5A23bY5x5M0Ean4q7VK26grmE6UfROcdqDg0lAVh62_QVLfZpL4c/s640/IMG_4174.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In other news, we have an avocado!</div>
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ONE.</div>
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One is more than none but really???</div>
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The fav breakfast around these parts is avocado toast...toast some bread, smush on an avocado, sprinkle with salt and olive oil and yum yum yum.</div>
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Our little house on our little street might have emptied of boys, but it's still full of pets. The kind that shed loads of fur.</div>
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Good thing they're cute!</div>
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This weekend is going to be fairly quiet. Lots of football for him, lots of Hallmark for me. The annual Christmas fruitcake will be made - it needs to soak for 30 days before it can be eaten. My desk is a mess, the laundry is piled up, and on one of the weekend nights I'll roast a few chickens and the garden will fill with people we love...the weather is turning, so sweaters will probably be involved.</div>
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Feels good to be back here.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-51805031690139377242017-10-22T21:19:00.000-07:002017-10-22T21:19:10.751-07:00A Much Quieter Houseful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, my friends. I've gotten your emails and yes, I'm still here. Ready for an update?</div>
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Matteo arrived in China and is navigating through 3rd world challenges in a part of the country where no one, aside from the two other people on the music faculty that he is teamed with, speaks English. But this kid of ours has such an adventuresome spirit that he's doing it all with a smile (and red sunglasses) on his face. </div>
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We've got a great app that we are using and have a fun family chat going at all hours of the day and night...because hello, there's a 15 hour time difference. Thankfully we can text and call and send videos and while I have always had a love/hate relationship with technology, I currently love love love it.<br />
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But China, my friends, is far away. And when your boy texts all his life stuff...things like passport issues and work permit issues and he tells you about flights to not close at all cities where he lands and then has to take an hour-long taxi ride to the embassy that my oh my, being the mama of an expat is hard. But it's also good.</div>
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Alex has moved, too, and yowza, do I miss him. He's bigger than life and while quiet, you always know when he's around because he's...hmmmm, how do I say this nicely?</div>
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Alex is a slob. Like a full-on Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. So while I miss his wit and humor and funny comments, I do not miss his stuff being everywhere he's been. From socks to dishes to water bottles to ripped open mail...he could keep a full-time housekeeper busy day and night.<br />
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But he is so happy and that is infectious to be around. <br />
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I had to travel to Florida for work and was able to squeeze in an Italian dinner with my favorite Italians. These trips are so busy and so packed full and work feels so very very hard right now that this was a beautiful respite. I'm finding that I'm struggling with my attitude...with finding the joy in day to day life because I'm, well, feeling sorry for myself and mourning what was and knowing full well that I need to let all that go and begin living the gift that I've been given today.</div>
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And so every day I remind myself and as of this week, I'm usually able to make it to 8:00am before I start grumbling.</div>
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Ah well...it's a process. But a quick visit with my family who I love so much was a blessing.</div>
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I flew home in time to gather with some of my favorite people on the planet at Oktoberfest in Anaheim. I look forward to this all year and it's just so. much. fun.</div>
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Loud, but fun.</div>
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We (as in my boy and our friend) built a tall tower of cups and we all danced the chicken dance and drank great German beer and laughed and talked and I just kept hugging all my peeps. </div>
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But whoa...it's not cheap. But then again, nothing is.</div>
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I really love this kid.</div>
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And if you want a taste of real life, and of my real life personality...well, here's me having it out with security. I mean COME ON - why can't we dance on the tables???? </div>
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Though at this point I think I was inviting him and his whole family to dinner, because that's how I roll.</div>
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😳</div>
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Our little house on our little street is clean more often than not because it's no longer a houseful of boys...but rather a houseful of pets.<br />
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Might have to change the blog name, except there still seems to be a lot of boys in and out.</div>
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That guy that I like so much has been working all sorts of crazy long hours because as Lutherans, this is a big anniversary year...and because of that there seems to be event after event followed by a huge concert on November 1st.</div>
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But then we had an afternoon where we escaped reality and headed for the happiest place on earth for a few hours. The weather was beautiful and it was exactly what we needed...though I think, sadly, this will be our last year of passes for a while. </div>
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You know, the whole boy in college and it's just not easy thing...and we've gotta be responsible adults.</div>
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This past Friday night we filled the garden with friends and then on Saturday morning we had coffee with Matthew while he told us all the news in his part of the world. Things like the fact that there are no western toilets anywhere (yikes) and that they found oreos in a nearby town (green tea flavored) and that he's comfortable enough now to get out of a taxi if they won't give him the price he wants. </div>
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Brian (and his dad) had a concert Saturday night and Sunday was a church visit for that guy that I like so much followed by a huge afternoon rehearsal. But then Emily and Alex came for supper and I cooked a prime rib that I found in the back of the outside freezer, complete with twice baked potatoes and a big salad.</div>
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It felt like a weekend, even though it was so busy.</div>
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I had a moment today...a moment where I was taking communion at church and the choir was singing 'ubi caritas' and it sounded - and felt like heaven. Like there was no noise...just this warm peace that enveloped me. Like God himself was hugging me and in that moment, nothing else mattered. The tears came and I didn't want to move...I didn't want to leave that sacred space. </div>
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I can't explain it but it was bigger than me and oh, how I needed that reminder of how big, and in control, my God is. I'm holding on to that as the week begins.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-5801482540528715932017-09-26T12:46:00.001-07:002017-09-26T12:46:30.629-07:00There's Been A Good Reason...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...why I haven't been around these parts. So many changes in our little house on our little street and even as I sit at my kitchen counter and write, the tears just can't contain themselves.</div>
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Crying...it really should burn more calories than it does.</div>
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The big things that are happening are the moves of our boys. One local, one far away...but both, while so exciting for them, have hit me pretty hard. I'm feeling the change of our family and if I can be honest, it scares me a bit. I know we've raised them well and they are thriving...but suddenly our little house is so much quieter. I'll get used to it...but it's just a bit sad.</div>
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So...boy #1. New job, teaching at a college conservatory in Haikou, China. Thousands and thousands of miles away. His excitement makes it all ok and also, the 'wechat' app ROCKS...though we're all going to have to adjust to the 15 hour time difference.</div>
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Having Matthew home this summer was a blessing - for me and for his brothers. Cramming 5 adults into 1,200 sq ft was a challenge...lots of food, lots of showers, lots of (if I'm keeping it real) beer, lots of late nights, lots of friends in and out and lots of me asking questions while they rolled their eyes.</div>
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My role is simple. Cook, clean, and listen. </div>
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I fail every. single. day.</div>
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Summer came to an end and with it, the closing of the weekend garden parties. There will be a few more here and there but all in all, we're all back to real life.</div>
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Bummer.</div>
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We discovered jackfruit and as soon as it was cut open (with a machete!), we vowed to undiscover it. </div>
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Quite simply...ewww. But fun nonetheless!</div>
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Boy #2 signed a new lease yesterday and is moving this weekend to the next town over. It's been fun having him around, too, and I will probably feel his absence more than any of the others. With Alex comes more than Alex...there's the whole group of friends that are always in and out of our home. </div>
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But it's time and I'm so excited for him. He's worked so hard and has taught us so much and here I go again...waterworks. I'm just going to miss him, that's all.</div>
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If the kitchen looks like this, then it's a Friday night. Or a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday. So many dishes...but so much fun.</div>
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And hey there...it rained this summer in the middle of a sunny, humid day. We kind of thought the world was ending but then it stopped as quickly as it started.</div>
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Insert the Twilight Zone song...</div>
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Going away party #1.</div>
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Got the basics covered.</div>
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Our friends moved across the street and so we had a housewarming garden party to christen their new home.</div>
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Any excuse for a party.</div>
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I'm back to work and in a new, much bigger, position. The jury is still out on my feelings but each day, I wake up and tackle what needs to be done. I'm settling in, slowly, and it will all be good.</div>
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My pretty desk has always been in our bedroom...it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture. The problem is, I am now staring at it all the time and can't ever escape the work that needs to be done...but with Alex moving out this week, a little rearranging will be happening as I move my 'office' into the other room.</div>
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Kinda exciting.</div>
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The last panforte from Italy was eaten as a way of ending the summer.</div>
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So yummy and I'm going to miss them and man oh man, I'm now crying about a fruitcake.</div>
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That guy that I like so much ended his church job...it was just time for that chapter to close. Such great people and he's enjoying the little bit of time that has freed up...but it's all a bit sad too because he loved doing it so much.</div>
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Sensing a pattern of God giving us all these changes at once????</div>
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While this week is all about Alex packing up and moving, last week was all about Matthew. Necesseties when moving to China...toothpaste, deopderant, hot sauce. Lots and lots of hot sauce.</div>
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Trying to fit everything you need in two suitcases...especially when three trumpets needed to go along for the ride, was challenging. Lots of weighing and moving things from one place to another.</div>
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In the end - the toilet paper stayed. The basketball did not.</div>
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One last OktoberFest and one last reminder of what great friends he has. I love that about my boys....they each have surrounded themselves with incredible people.</div>
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Crying again.</div>
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Sunday night, before his 1:40am flight, one last family dinner. We were missing Alex and Emily, but they were there in spirit. </div>
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And then we loaded up and as we drove off, our Turkish friends threw water behind our car to wish Matthew good luck. It was all very cool...and yep, still crying.</div>
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I held it together until it was time to say goodbye and then I just couldn't. I'll forever be thankful for this summer and that he let us be a part of this whole expat process...it's been a journey even before the journey. None of it was easy...or cheap, but it all worked out in the end.</div>
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I'm going to miss him...especially at Christmas. But first, baby steps. </div>
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This mom gig...what a trip. Raise them up and watch them fly. I know they'll never understand and my prayer has always been that they won't have to because they'll just always know that my love for them is constant. Unwavering. Unchanging. </div>
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I think they know.</div>
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(insert more crying. I'm giving myself a few more days before I toughen up...)</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-74977802207655645622017-07-26T20:50:00.000-07:002017-07-26T20:50:23.425-07:00Winding Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer 2017 is winding down...though I'm not sure it ever truly winded up in the first place. I know most professions don't get summers off and it's something we truly cherish...but every few years a summer comes along that doesn't feel truly 'summerish'. Lots of travel, lots of boys, lots of balls in the air.</div>
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It took awhile to settle in and now it's already time to re-enter real life.</div>
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Out houseful of boys has truly been a houseful of boys this summer and every square inch has evidence of a male presence. On the down side, there is a bit of a frat house vibe going on in our little house on our little street. They just keep different hours than the parental unit does and I hear every coming and going all day and all night long.</div>
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On the upside? The oldest shrub bakes bread. Like, real bakery style bread.</div>
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Heaven, I tell ya. Heaven.</div>
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Our oldest moved home this summer and now the cat is finally out of the bag...he's taken a college teaching position in China for the next 2 years. We've known for a few months but were asked to keep it under wraps while Mandarin contracts were negotiated and visas were secured and all sorts of crazy steps were taken. And so he moved home at the beginning of June as those steps were being worked through and now, it's become public.</div>
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I'm breathing in and out and trusting in this whole process. This boy of mine is going to have a grand adventure...and I can't wait to be on the other side of his facetime calls.</div>
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So much cooking going on this summer - lots of boys home plus lots of friends in and out, in and out. It's been so much fun in that every night, we never quite know who will be here. I'm cooking for 10-12 every single night and there's often times (too many for my comfort) been just enough food to feed everyone. </div>
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I've taken to making big pots full of things...chicken cacciatore, pot roasts, stews, pastas. There's been some grilling too, but more often than not I'm just throwing things in the oven so that that guy that I like so much can be free to man the bar. He's so good at it and it's fun to be able to watch him become a mixologist...though it's a bit disturbing as well. I mean, I just hope he doesn't quit his day job.</div>
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The garden is amazing. Green and lush and happy.</div>
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I like happy.</div>
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I think the theme of this summer has been 'last minute'. </div>
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Cook dinner and invite people last minute.</div>
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Throw a party together last minute.</div>
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Celebrate the end of the week last minute.</div>
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I like last minute.</div>
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Our little house is never clean enough. It's never big enough. It's never fancy or put together or quiet enough. </div>
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I love this quote from Van Gogh that says 'Great things are done by a series of small things brought together'. </div>
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And so I let go of the 'perfect' and embrace the 'great'. The noise, the food, the people.</div>
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The small of this house and garden is great. And I love that.</div>
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Sometimes disturbing, but always great.</div>
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And now, we slowly start winding down. I've been working all week, but kind of still dipping my toes in one at a time. That guy that I like so much heads back next week and that's when it becomes real that summer is ending...but for a few weeks after that we'll still have weekends in the garden.</div>
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I'm hoping there will be lots of them before the weather changes.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-44857800496250610172017-07-09T11:41:00.000-07:002017-07-09T11:41:26.545-07:00Looking Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're still processing this past jaunt to Europe...the sights, the tastes, the people. It came at a time when things were feeling so heavy here...heavy with normal life stuff. Harder than normal work lives for us both, paychecks where we were struggling to remember that we are living 'called' lives rather than profitable ones, a little house that was feeling a bit more broken down than usual, bigger than normal decisions needing to be made by a few of our boys.</div>
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In other words, life was real and we needed to get out of dodge.</div>
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There was a group of 150 this time...much bigger than the usual 50-60 that are normally along for the ride. It's a historic year for us Lutherans, a 500th anniversary of when a change happened in the church and so the land of Luther is being flooded with pilgrims.</div>
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And pilgrims we were. </div>
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We walked. And walked. And walked some more...exporing places we had been before but not in many years, so it was like exploring something completely new.</div>
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Germany and Austria in May are so incredibly green and in the middle of all the big cities there are huge parks full of trees and walking paths. You wander, enjoy the quiet and then turn a corner and you're right back in the middle of the big city.</div>
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Berlin was one of my favorite places this trip. Last time I was there was shortly after the wall had fallen and so to revisit with it full of color was incredible. But then there are the reminders that are always there...the wall itself, the towers, the new and old, the momorials to those that died.</div>
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It was moving.</div>
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And at the beginning of the journey we were greeted by our favorite turkish travel agent who came to hang with us before she left back home for our little street in our little neighborhood.</div>
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How fun is that???</div>
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The performances were incredible...beyond incredible, if there is such a thing. Packed houses in historic places and each one topped the prior one.</div>
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What a gift his 'job' is.</div>
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I can't escape work either, no matter how many thousands of miles I travel.</div>
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=0)</div>
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I was giddy the moment I stepped foot on the plane this time. Ready to go...ready for the adventure. My role on these trips is simple...keep that guy that I like so much's life as easy as possible. Love on his students, make sure they are all good, make sure he is all good. But most of all, to make this adventure a positive one for them...to show them not only how we travel but why we travel. </div>
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As with all of these trips, because there are so many personalities involved, there were moments of 'wow, this is hard.' We embraced those few hours every day where we were able to escape, sit and have a cocktail, enjoy the quiet and regroup because there were times along the way where Satans voice seemed to be so very, very loud. The comments, probably meant to be harmless but tossed in with tired feet and (what I now know) a weary heart...from questioning why we haven't paid off our 'little' house yet (really???) to why are we veering from the schedule (flexiblity, my friends) to the food isn't what we'd like (group of 150 in small places) to I've already been here so I can't wait to move on to the next city.</div>
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But those were balanced by the fun of watching people who had never travelled fall in love.</div>
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And then He came in the form of rest. In an extension to our trip...just the two of us. To putting the group on their plane home, knowing that 99% of them had a glorious time. </div>
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We flew on to Rome and in a move of super smartness, had already arranged for a driver to pick us up and drive us to our hotel in the historic center. Even the Rome airport felt like home ot us and once dropped at our hotel, we immediately headed to Piazza Navona for a spritz while the sun began to set.</div>
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And after a quiet 15 minutes, we worked through all the comments that were feeling so hurtful and so heavy...the comments that to me felt like failure. Our little house is not paid off...but we'll conitnue to work hard, and how blessed are we that we live in such a beautiful place. Did we not only talk about flexibility...did we show it enough? That attitude is 100% everything when traveling to faraway places? Did we talk about exploring and discovering and also about just being...sitting and watching and talking?</div>
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In the end...peace. And the beginning of our next adventure. Italy has always been our place and someday, we'd love to lead friends here and show them why we love it so very much. If you need a tour guide, let me know.</div>
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Truffle season was in full swing. Ah, Rome...you showed your true colors again and again.</div>
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We wandered my Grandmother's birthplace and I expected it to be emotional...and it was, but not in the way I thought. It was such a joyful place and the tears that flowed were happy tears...tears of all the good memories rather than the sad.</div>
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After five glorious days just wandering Rome, we headed for the hills (literally) and settled for the next 5 days in Montelpulciano. It was not about the quiet...it was all about the wine.</div>
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This trip was different than all the rest. For the first time ever, we had nothing to worry about back home. We had a few nickels to rub together. The language felt easier and the food tasted better and the people felt even more friendly than usual.</div>
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We relaxed and settled and in each of those churches we wandered in to, we sat on cold wooden pews and talked to God, lit candles and said prayers (we even saw the Pope!) and this feeling of thankfulness pushed away all those voices I had been focusing on.</div>
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And now we're home and, boy, does home feel good. Cooking, sitting in the garden, sharing our stories, laughing with friends. </div>
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I still want to go back...and I know we will, but in the meantime I've been reminded of the simple that Europe brings to our lives. The reminder to slow down, eat good food, drink good wine, turn off all the outside distractions. To be thankful. To live with joy. </div>
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I still forget...but I'm easily brought back.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-73668205150111124112017-07-07T21:52:00.000-07:002017-07-07T21:52:05.247-07:00Summertime In The Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer has arrived and with it...parties. So. many. parties.</div>
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I've actually lost count of how many parties we've hosted but I'm pretty sure we are in double digits.</div>
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It's been fun. Super fun. The kind of fun where I'm dreaming about summer never ever ending...but I know it has to.</div>
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Oh well.</div>
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We've got a houseful of boys home for the summer...the first summer since 2005 that everyone has lived here. There's not much space in our little house on our little street...in fact, there's not a whole lot of space at all. But it's been fun having them all around. Everyone has crazy work schedules and some of us (mainly that guy that I like so much and me) have a few weeks off, so there's always someone coming and going. </div>
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But I like them. A lot. In fact, I like them more and more each day. It's fun watching them become grown-ups...though I'm still not sleeping well because if it.</div>
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Work. Sigh. I have a new position and it's just not an easy place right now. But as I've been there for awhile now, I have a different attitude...one of riding a wave. Ups and downs and moments of feeling like I'm being dragged on the bottom of the ocean while slowly drowning.</div>
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So I keep kicking and trying to keep my head above water, one stroke at a time.</div>
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This has also been a summer of friends. Friends from close by and friends from out of town. I'm feeling so blessed in that department and I've come to realize how important my friends are to me. How they love us, how they listen to us, how they hold us accountable.</div>
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But mainly, how they laugh with...and at us.</div>
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That guy that I like so much and I celebrated a big anniversary a few weeks ago...our 31st year of being husband and wife. Thirty one years! It was a work day for both of us but we both shut things down early and celebrated with a wonderful dinner out...the kind of dinner where we sat at the chefs table and they cooked just for us, based on all the things we liked most of all.</div>
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Italy was our big celebration but this was pretty gosh darn special. We tried to walk through all the years...we remembered a few of them but not as many as we thought, but that's ok because we lived them all and each one was a step along the way to where we are now.</div>
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What a gift it is to walk life together.</div>
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We made friends along the way in Italy and because of those friendships, we continue to get deliveries. Fun deliveries. We've discovered some new to us wines and sadly, we've taken a step up in our price point for what we like most of all.</div>
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It's rough...but not really.</div>
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And FYI...it pays to know people.</div>
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Mornings have been quiet...coffee and avocado toast seem to be the regular routine...though the avocado's are not (yet) from out tree. That silly tree is up 50% from last year and by that I mean, we have THREE avocados on that million dollar tree. </div>
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But that's what grocery stores are for...though if you have an abundance of those green jewels growing at your house, keep me in mind. Please.</div>
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Every evening as the day begins to wind down, it becomes cocktail hour in this house. The current favorite of mine is an aperol spritz, though a glass of bubbly is always a good choice too. That whole hour seems to be a good divider between real life and relaxed life and I find myself looking forward to it all day long. </div>
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We play the music just a tad too loud, yell out our windows at our neighbors who are walking by, send a mad amount of texts to those that aren't super close and suddenly, a party is born. </div>
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Summer...I wait all year long for these few weeks of the year.</div>
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My boys are freaks of nature who don't eat junk food, so plate after plate of veggies are what make them happier than anything. Throw a bit of green goddess dip in the middle and all is well in their world...and mine too. </div>
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Though truth be told, I think anyone who doesn't eat ice cream has to be some sort of alien, so obviously all three of these boys have got to be from outer space.</div>
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And then there are the nights where you just think, "I wish I had a hot meal prepared by someone else" and suddenly, it happens. Not just a hot meal but a meal of epic greatness that you almost weep with joy as you are eating it. </div>
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And not only do you get a hot meal for yourself, but they send you home with enough for one of your boys to eat for lunch the next day and you (gulp) hide it in the fridge so he can't find it.</div>
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Oh yes, I did...because I wanted it.</div>
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And it was worth every single bite.</div>
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The cork bucket that hangs in our kitchen was over flowing and so it had to be emptied and all I could think was how many memories each of those corks hold. Garden parties and quiet parties and everything in between. </div>
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Ah well...the bucket will fill again.</div>
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I'm trying to just settle in to each day. Coffee in the mornings and a little Jesus time. Afternoons doing regular life stuff like the never ending laundry and errands. Evenings bring long dinners in the garden, which is especially beautiful this year. It's hard to not focus on the things that aren't going as well...a boy who is making us worry, bills that seem to always be there, work that isn't as smooth as we'd like. But for these few short weeks we are trying super hard to just take lots of deep breaths and relax...and so far, so good.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-23498790848886544422017-06-15T18:16:00.000-07:002017-06-15T18:16:44.460-07:00Feeling At Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have so much to talk about...so many thoughts and stories and feelings to process, but for now, a quick little story.</div>
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That guy that I like so much and I spent three weeks in May in Europe...he was working the first 12 days in Germany and Austria, guiding 150 people through a concert tour. I'll write about it soon but know that God was present...but so was Satan and while parts were beautiful, parts were hard.</div>
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But again, God WAS present.</div>
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On the 12th day, he put everyone on a plane for home and he and I hopped a short flight to Rome...and from the moment we landed, it felt like home.</div>
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The language? Home.</div>
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The food? Home.</div>
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The people? Home.</div>
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The whole way they live? Home.</div>
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We both got teary eyed as we drove towards the historical center and once in our hotel, swung open the doors to our piazza.</div>
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Home.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjN2EJ5L7MF5I7JF3bsZm3Ndgwr_CA31qZovXt0ovbaHeWZcKrfr65LFr7_ugim0w4HNuU3yOxmHVLfR3cLhjtx7-TbZt-n0yLQTHsZ8NUvWNX2UdfaS7i4fkF0sOsscfb1JT1HIbdOqQ/s1600/IMG_3784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjN2EJ5L7MF5I7JF3bsZm3Ndgwr_CA31qZovXt0ovbaHeWZcKrfr65LFr7_ugim0w4HNuU3yOxmHVLfR3cLhjtx7-TbZt-n0yLQTHsZ8NUvWNX2UdfaS7i4fkF0sOsscfb1JT1HIbdOqQ/s640/IMG_3784.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here is the difference between Italy and where I live in America. Where I live, life is full of garages and streets. Italy is full of piazzas.</div>
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All streets end every few blocks in a piazza...or little square. And the thing about piazzas is that people gather in them. You walk...and then you stop. You greet people around you. You talk, laugh, cry, wave your arms, maybe eat some pasta or gelato. You look around, hesitate for a moment, settle in a bit and then go on your way.</div>
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Piazzas are a way of life. A social experience. A reminder that life IS hard, that work IS hard, that problems DO exist...but they are also a reminder that we are not here to do it alone. That part of making this life bearable is who we surround ourselves with and who we choose to let in.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsbJtPyjPP6p0THReX3eAL4g1wOfgYHdX9Ae9cpw32q79TLyj78nG700AfRcmihP67bvB0U7vz-Xx9sJ_Lfs866iiOSog4zYkM3x9CT9jAJbdOOoQPNPDy2Af_szhd36LXzVD6BwWEJc/s1600/IMG_3590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsbJtPyjPP6p0THReX3eAL4g1wOfgYHdX9Ae9cpw32q79TLyj78nG700AfRcmihP67bvB0U7vz-Xx9sJ_Lfs866iiOSog4zYkM3x9CT9jAJbdOOoQPNPDy2Af_szhd36LXzVD6BwWEJc/s640/IMG_3590.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I realized while I was there that I want our little house on our little street (and our garden) to be like a piazza. I want people to want to gather here, to feel comfortable, to be fed, to feel like they belong. I want them to feel God's love, to sit for a bit, to relax, to breathe. I want it to be social and fun and joyful. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77Xho6iSgo5uijujuuRlQw_lgq9qG_OUt_-dKGAEvXqIioMLPyyBhkepVRPaoq3cvtYi_9TPOJpAyiufGoSj7ZX0ZOjBv73_FDD9DxKiahvEuL05f8fUkiCRG3KxawVajZF7Yxnid4QE/s1600/IMG_3716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77Xho6iSgo5uijujuuRlQw_lgq9qG_OUt_-dKGAEvXqIioMLPyyBhkepVRPaoq3cvtYi_9TPOJpAyiufGoSj7ZX0ZOjBv73_FDD9DxKiahvEuL05f8fUkiCRG3KxawVajZF7Yxnid4QE/s640/IMG_3716.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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And so, that is what we will strive to do again this summer. To be a piazza to those who need it.</div>
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I miss everything about Italy...but I'm going to live like I am there until I can return again.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-27775671585744566222017-04-30T20:04:00.002-07:002017-04-30T20:04:53.050-07:00The Month Of April...In Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm wondering how I'm even keeping up...and I'm also wondering how loved ones, in the height of busy schedules, communicated before text messaging???</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LDGmPPzNtuai66gpaxd4luhnE1_96MnVZeit3PwPP3IVATrnzUTEcyhDKMGZeIFDWN8Isv-IbeCUG9kwSYFbY0swwi5EJFoo1jhi-DYs_OqK7IA_N_sFMc-dXaWSNZyOH3jIHI35k6U/s1600/fullsizeoutput_6fd1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LDGmPPzNtuai66gpaxd4luhnE1_96MnVZeit3PwPP3IVATrnzUTEcyhDKMGZeIFDWN8Isv-IbeCUG9kwSYFbY0swwi5EJFoo1jhi-DYs_OqK7IA_N_sFMc-dXaWSNZyOH3jIHI35k6U/s640/fullsizeoutput_6fd1.jpeg" width="358" /></a></div>
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I've had two weeks of traveling and two weeks of so. much. change. at. work. that. I. just. can't. handle. much. more. </div>
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How's that for enunciation? </div>
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Or maybe I can...I'll let you know once I've had time to chill a bit. It was all good until I was butt dialed by a boss and let's just say, a lesson needs to be learned: make sure your phone is off before talking trash about others. And also, thanks for talking loud and clear because I heard EVERYTHING.</div>
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Yikes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhok0Ghpli7_itRr3XSUV2wL53mLat99pY0rSfijKKbUIURmhfYJzBZEZVp7lyKY1BM8ATWGUI3CtS5KUdlSIlXtDUKka4exFQl6NZXqAKam5WjPVZKALEUeWWBvORhtVb7DNZzRJKyu6o/s1600/IMG_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhok0Ghpli7_itRr3XSUV2wL53mLat99pY0rSfijKKbUIURmhfYJzBZEZVp7lyKY1BM8ATWGUI3CtS5KUdlSIlXtDUKka4exFQl6NZXqAKam5WjPVZKALEUeWWBvORhtVb7DNZzRJKyu6o/s640/IMG_0369.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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I spray painted the heck out everything I could get my hands on, including my bare feet and let me tell you, that stuff is rather permanent...that's good for the stuff I painted but not for my toes.</div>
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This was a rather precarious situation and one that most likely won't be repeated for quite awhile.</div>
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But they sure are cute!</div>
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I ran and ran and ran and BOOM....the flu caught me like a fast moving freight train. It hung on for 3 days and then left just as fast as it came, but I've gotta say that the older I get, the longer it takes to bounce back. </div>
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No fun. No fun at all.</div>
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Turkish olives...which were the only thing that tasted good for 2 of the 3 days I was laid low with the flu. I seriously think I have some turkish blood flowing through my veins...except for the yogurt liking part. Not sure I can ever join that team.</div>
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And along with the flu, a diagnosis of an autoimmune disease that had me both relieved to finally have answers and scared for how my life was going to look from here on out. Along came my own personal health guru who arrived on a jet plane and talked and talked and talked me through my new life. </div>
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And that whole thing where your best friends become best friends is just way way cool.</div>
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Girls need girlfriends....it's just a fact of life.</div>
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Lots of hiking at the beginning of the month...the mustard grew well over my head and while it looks so pretty, lots of creepy crawly slithering things like to live underneath. My trails are beautiful and I found some great podcasts (S-Town...wow!) to listen to, but seriously, I spent a lot of time looking down for snakes. </div>
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None yet. Whew.</div>
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These two babies, born to parents who went to college together, are now going to college together.</div>
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WHAT????</div>
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Found myself a few Sundays having church at my lake. I'm not one to ever miss but found myself slipping down a slippery slope...a slope that the devil himself was smiling and watching with glee. I just was feeling...well, alone. And that's the other thing...I'm used to being alone in church, so this whole lonely, feeling sorry for myself thing was just not groovy at all.</div>
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But church at the lake? It was beautiful and quiet and....good. It was just super good.</div>
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I had dinner with all three of my boys....something that just hardly never happens at this stage of the game due to where they all live, but we laughed and laughed and laughed. Their relationships with each other are so hilarious and for that I am thankful.</div>
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They're a fun bunch, my houseful of boys. Exhausting, but fun.</div>
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The oldest of our trio has been down this way quite a bit for gigs and I'm just soaking it all in every time he comes home.</div>
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UGH.</div>
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We're hoarders...and here's the proof.</div>
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1-800-please-come-help.</div>
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That guy that I like so much has had the most exhausting semester ever and it's just one major thing followed by another major thing and he never, ever complains. But then I watch him catch moments in the garden...just him (and usually one or two of the older boys, if they are home) and he looks so relaxed and peaceful with a pipe in one hand and a single malt in the other.</div>
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This middle of life stage, while exhausting, is also quite fun.</div>
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The garden has woken up from it's long, rainy winter slumber and we've been filling it here and there with friends and family. Garden party season won't officially begin until June...and I'm so very, very ready.</div>
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Easter - He is risen! </div>
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And the bunny cake was yummy.</div>
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Trip one for me...Texas.</div>
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Lots of work and lots of rain.</div>
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We almost left one of the bosses asleep in the airport but in the end, decided it best to wake him up. Someone needs to sign the paychecks.</div>
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Home for a weekend and there was a black tie gala at the university where that guy that I like so much works. I grumbled about going but it was super fun.</div>
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And the next night, there was the dinner party at Ruths Chris...those hot plates with the sizzling butter are the stuff dreams are made of.</div>
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And then - back to work! Florida this time!</div>
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It took me a few days to settle in this time around...I was just plain ole tired. But this was such a sweet trip in so many ways...and might be my last one there. It just makes more sense to have someone running the show from that side of the country rather than flying me back and forth, and I get that, but I have a great team there who work so hard. </div>
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So I was able to see all of them...from Key Biscayne to West Palm Beach to Kissimmee to Ocoee to Tampa and wow, that was a lot of driving in four days.</div>
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Key Biscayne has the best cuban pastries in the world...filled with guava and cheese and served with shots of cuban coffee. I could eat that same thing every day of my life and never get tired of it. </div>
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So yummy!</div>
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By the time I arrived in Orlando, I was exhausted and when I walked up to room 1802, I noticed the sign 'presidential suite' and kind of laughed...until I realized they had given me a little upgrade. All 2,000 sq feet of penthouse were mine for 2 whole nights...complete with an atrium with floor to ceiling windows.</div>
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Oh yes yes yes yes yes.</div>
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I almost called in sick...but didn't.</div>
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A first for me...called in this litlle 4 foot alligator to wildlife control because he was too close to where children were.</div>
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He was all freaked out...oh wait, that was me. He just stared.</div>
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Flight delays - seems to be the story of my trips, but they're always a bit sweeter when I'm still on the company's dollar and can have a fancy cocktail....or two.</div>
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Bonus if you can snag an outlet, too!</div>
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And today, the last day of April...church at our home church this morning. Thai food for lunch. A meeting at school (for him) and laundry and meatball making (for me), followed by a few hours in the garden. He's off to yet another recital tonight and I'm off to bed...I need to be up and out early tomorrow morning.</div>
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Tis the season...but thankful for the moments.</div>
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Tomorrow is May and while the month will be busy, summer is coming. I can see it...and I'm ready. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-48341740577275148302017-03-10T08:15:00.000-08:002017-03-10T08:15:13.570-08:00Hey March!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And just like that, another month has gone by. I blinked and it was over!</div>
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I've logged almost 100 miles on the trails in the last month...I'm finding that a long hike late morning helps clear my brain and makes me feel like my work life isn't winning. I'm still struggling with things that are happening at my place of work and trying to find my new normal...and laced up shoes and fresh air are a big help.</div>
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That guy that I like so much came down with a horrible case of the flu, as did a few of my boys. I became a mad woman, disinfecting everything that was in front of me. Finally....FINALLY, everyone turned a corner just as this quarters shipment of bubbly arrived. Perfect timing.</div>
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Lunch, while working.</div>
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Dinner, while not.</div>
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We had a strange, severe storm blow through and had so many broken trees and flooding all over these parts. It was crazy....we hunkered down but it felt like the big bad wolf was huffing and puffing and trying to blow our house down.</div>
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So. Much. Rain.</div>
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But So. Much. Green.</div>
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A Saturday morning coffee with a girlfriend in Laguna. The beach in the winter is so perfect...empty and quiet. But then again, the beach in the summer features warm sand and my toes love that so much more.</div>
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I'm in love with rae dunn mugs...love, love, love them. Cute sayings, a funky (I guess some would say organic?) shape that hold a lot and are easy to drink from. I'm on a constant hunt for them because they are so cute!</div>
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The ultimate, wad them up and throw them in your suitcase tuxedo shirts for that guy that I like so much...as well as one of our boys who also lives in a penguin suit. These are really only for travel and aren't cheap...but I like anything that can be thrown in the washing machine.</div>
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I wish our dog could be...he's pretty smelly right now.</div>
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I dropped my work phone and thought that meant I could take the day off. No such luck. Good news? I got a new one. Bad news? Lost everything.</div>
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Such a bummer.</div>
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The youngest of our houseful of boys is home for Spring Break and I'll be honest, his hours of operation are doing me in. His 'day' literally starts at 10:00pm and because I am a mother, I hear everything. </div>
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But he's cute and I like him a lot and can't believe he's almost done with his first year of college. Still on the pre-med track and doing well!</div>
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Sunday after church in a town 30 miles away and who do we run into but our neighbors. It's a small world, friends....also known as 'you can run but you can't hide'.</div>
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That guy that I like so much has also been on Spring Break and so we lunched at Disneyland. Mr Toad's is still one of my very favorite rides.</div>
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We took Brian to dinner at Nick's and splurged on dessert...they have the best spumoni. And the best food. And the best servers. And the best everything.</div>
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Yum.</div>
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The garden has been planted and we had our first supper outside last night and tonight, we will again. It's a bit chilly but it's coming friends....garden party season is coming. I can feel it...and I'm ready.</div>
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And those yellow poppies? Dreamy.</div>
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The oldest of our houseful of boys makes the BEST bread...plus, he's super cute. Still teaching music, still playing trumpet and now he's a master baker. </div>
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And not to be left out...but boy #2 is around too but I just haven't taken a recent picture of him. Still working as an apprentice electrician for a construction company, going to school, dating his high school sweetheart. </div>
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I blinked and they all grew up on me!</div>
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And that is that...all the pictures from my phone. I'm still cooking (and cleaning) and walking the dog and parenting grown boys, working my way (slowly) through the book of Ruth and trying to work a normal work day. I love that it is Lent and I'm trying to be more intentional about praying because sadly, my prayer life hasn't been all that great. Hiking helps...it's usually quiet and still. I am calmed by the faithfulness of God and that he never wanders or waivers, unlike me...how comforting is that?</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-53044415767922320782017-02-13T20:13:00.000-08:002017-02-13T20:13:25.478-08:00Hello Again...Hello!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have no excuse for not being here except to say that the words were too many and the time was too short. Life...in this stage where my home responsibilities should be lessening but I'm finding they aren't. And that's all ok because it means we are still living life to it's fullest.</div>
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Kinda.</div>
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So a brief, brief time of catch up.</div>
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1. My brood. All are good. But this youngest of mine has suddenly grown-up so much, so quickly. This whole college thing, and the fact that he's barely 18, just came at a time when he was ready but my mama heart wasn't. He's soaring though...immersed in a super tough program and I'm thankful for his occasional visits home for 'real' food.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc15BNSQh8hSfB74H_uYkLkfvuE5kcp6FWzslB5Fs4P6HAAiOVo0df9rqynq_aGU-d1A4MyAnYNAya29DIfy8U-rFpOZgpCJNbuQsJFccQlGWrXV79XbLW10ccLDl8J2sPS_qDAgOyK4/s1600/IMG_0357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc15BNSQh8hSfB74H_uYkLkfvuE5kcp6FWzslB5Fs4P6HAAiOVo0df9rqynq_aGU-d1A4MyAnYNAya29DIfy8U-rFpOZgpCJNbuQsJFccQlGWrXV79XbLW10ccLDl8J2sPS_qDAgOyK4/s640/IMG_0357.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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2. A planned girls weekend to Napa was rained (flooded) out and another, with my high school girlfriends almost was, too...but they were great sports and came here for a long weekend. There is just something about being with people who knew you back when...there is a bond that I can't explain and one I am so thnakful for. </div>
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3. Did you know you can fit an 8 foot ladder in a tiny Kia? Where there's a will, there's a way.</div>
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It currently holds all my afghans and is super, duper splintery...but cute!</div>
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4. My boys all flew home to Colorado for a weekend with our great friends. I was jealous...but loved that they were making memories. But next time? I'm going, too.</div>
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5. Rain. Mother Nature has dumped buckets of it and quite frankly, I'm ready for it to end. Everything is so lush and green and...muddy. </div>
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6. We took a short overnight trip to NorCal...flew up and then drove home. We were driving along, singing to the Beatles when that guy that I like so much looked at me and said 'I never knew I would like our kids so much'...and I got all teary eyed. Two minutes later they were all annoying me like crazy...but for that brief moment I totally embraced that warm, fuzzy feeling. </div>
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7. Rae Dunn mugs. I'm obsessed. I had a few and then my girlfriend found me the motherlode...and I love them sooooo much. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjAFRME8lAx4N5daRYxFdmuYWxaBnq3zw26zUNMPD-gnoC93xxLlNyTpb-ABNEzpxKk1KZMFm8r9dVA9794-o2pxf5cgxJIjrhnCoaQX8KGtzPdC2Yz2uK3ivTV_uAfHVRIb0sUZLCjI/s1600/IMG_2731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjAFRME8lAx4N5daRYxFdmuYWxaBnq3zw26zUNMPD-gnoC93xxLlNyTpb-ABNEzpxKk1KZMFm8r9dVA9794-o2pxf5cgxJIjrhnCoaQX8KGtzPdC2Yz2uK3ivTV_uAfHVRIb0sUZLCjI/s640/IMG_2731.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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8. I logged many, many miles on my trail last month and I'm struggling with blisters and aches and pains and grumbling and an overall bad attitude. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease in December and am getting used to my new normal...and hiking helps. Or so I keep telling myself. I do everything I can to prolong going but once I'm there I am so glad that I chose to go.</div>
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One step, two steps, three steps, four.</div>
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9. College tuition payments, an exploded water heater and a car that lost its transmission. January...you decided to keep us on our toes and our credit cards working overtime. Yet another reason I hike...to laugh. And cry. And pray.</div>
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10. A quick work trip to Florida. I'm at a crossroads with my work and for now, I'm trusting and praying and letting God lead. It could be that I'm just tired?</div>
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And rain. Rain in my business just makes everything so much more complicated. </div>
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11. Missed connections in Houston mean margaritas and 10,000 steps on my fitbit while walking from one terminal to another and then back again a whole bunch of times.</div>
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Silver lining. </div>
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12. Cooking. Lots and lots of cooking for lots and lots of boys. And a girl or two or three.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtuJWLDbeoxqMM9vuieewAOexO-uLtxpGc-KFzoHmV7mvcEB9rsQsReT-75OhfXuKi2_uU85Dj9mMPqKrc60iIIOsH_IQwoVqsi0A9JpKulR4wck9FhcydJHRq6gzpX_JAYHGU-RkJyU/s1600/IMG_2761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtuJWLDbeoxqMM9vuieewAOexO-uLtxpGc-KFzoHmV7mvcEB9rsQsReT-75OhfXuKi2_uU85Dj9mMPqKrc60iIIOsH_IQwoVqsi0A9JpKulR4wck9FhcydJHRq6gzpX_JAYHGU-RkJyU/s640/IMG_2761.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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That's about it. I'd like to find my way back here more...it seems that Instagram is my quick go-to lately, though I'm often told I'm too wordy for that platform. But I just can't help myself...I mean, how do you only write a single sentence? Short and sweet...not my gift.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-8613558083275853522016-12-24T14:26:00.000-08:002016-12-24T14:26:42.976-08:00And A Very Merry Christmas To You!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I used to choose a word of the year and focus on learning more, growing more, settling more on that word and what it means to me...but this year I chose to not do that and to just live life the way it was supposed to be lived.</div>
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This was a big year for me...and for my whole houseful of boys.<br />
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But this year I didn't choose a word...though if I had, I'd say it would have been 'change'. Or maybe 'adapt'? Or maybe 'roll my eyes at every little annoying thing that happens'?<br />
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I turned a half century. That guy that I like so much and I celebrated our pearl anniversary. Our nest emptied as the youngest shrub went to college and moved into the dorm.</div>
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Change seemed to be the theme around here. <br />
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And now, as I sit at my kitchen counter while I wait for the cookies to bake, I can't help but think back on what this year was like for me. It was a happy year....a fun year. But quite frankly, I was a mess.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWcRAMCTIBbOpvfaTOPPfNenfJSc5YZorJqdH-x0zA14tQCs1Q1KeaNy2e3f3zFewFchafXmtOcErKs_ciXbcyMk9DoYv9zP5I1cBkfxGpW0uxylXWOJzxX5x7KeHeHQI83O8-h7FS6M/s1600/IMG_0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWcRAMCTIBbOpvfaTOPPfNenfJSc5YZorJqdH-x0zA14tQCs1Q1KeaNy2e3f3zFewFchafXmtOcErKs_ciXbcyMk9DoYv9zP5I1cBkfxGpW0uxylXWOJzxX5x7KeHeHQI83O8-h7FS6M/s640/IMG_0351.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I was quick to anger. I felt anxious at things I shouldn't have felt anxious about. I was tired and grumpy and not the best friend or wife or mother. I just wasn't. I'm not even sure that others noticed...but I felt it.</div>
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But the biggest thing?</div>
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I pushed God away.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA43FG6EGi0-SmyDYuPo4UNIBzFqou41_CYluWsZygS1y48wGWaG3CRjX9JSvj54NHz62sxlPuCTVxV_WPvzDOcWmgP_4O-XXh3sPvoDPVjT-z5xX8HEF2-j4lQd1iNzECA3q_EmAMn3c/s1600/IMG_2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA43FG6EGi0-SmyDYuPo4UNIBzFqou41_CYluWsZygS1y48wGWaG3CRjX9JSvj54NHz62sxlPuCTVxV_WPvzDOcWmgP_4O-XXh3sPvoDPVjT-z5xX8HEF2-j4lQd1iNzECA3q_EmAMn3c/s640/IMG_2521.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I stopped making a priority out of my spiritual life. Everything else took precedence....everything. I had time to work. I had time to play. I had time to cook and clean and watch movies and spend time with my people. I had time for so many, many things...except Jesus.<br />
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I blamed it on sitting alone in church. Of falling in to that 'no one notices if I'm here anyway' mentality...one that is easy to have if you have a loved one in church work. I blamed it on being too busy or too tired or too something or other.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMZmHqH8YfwCc6C4kGPtCQuxjUSfUbehlaxvCjzI8lRrnasrEnH4PisKu89E5PMKevFPsHoXbEmx5JDNypbeonqDnEZCbt3ZlVY048wTJuPVjPPxawcLNBQqoCAVrMUxeHhbHmhdta84/s1600/IMG_2523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMZmHqH8YfwCc6C4kGPtCQuxjUSfUbehlaxvCjzI8lRrnasrEnH4PisKu89E5PMKevFPsHoXbEmx5JDNypbeonqDnEZCbt3ZlVY048wTJuPVjPPxawcLNBQqoCAVrMUxeHhbHmhdta84/s640/IMG_2523.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Last night I was awake in the middle of the night and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I kept focusing on the things that didn't happen and then, while the rain poured down from the sky and the thunder rumbled in the background and I knew...I just knew. Jesus...He was never far. I pushed and pushed and pushed Him back and He just stayed put. Watching and waiting as if to say 'ok, Michele...are you done yet?'</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVa7OzlqXGFi8i-oq1-TqsikOjngqRCs_kd1haE7AD77ZKNPC3eTVb6C5P3cOExmncqucYy1ew4zZ95U_N9oz5WeiiEEldDIjRcsTfEO40y-0nl0IsDKNtLPz0VR63ZpPsAzojuKSPoq0/s1600/IMG_2527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVa7OzlqXGFi8i-oq1-TqsikOjngqRCs_kd1haE7AD77ZKNPC3eTVb6C5P3cOExmncqucYy1ew4zZ95U_N9oz5WeiiEEldDIjRcsTfEO40y-0nl0IsDKNtLPz0VR63ZpPsAzojuKSPoq0/s640/IMG_2527.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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So as I finish out this year, as I try and end things higher rather than lower...as I focus on what a gift a faith in God is and that even when I fall short there are others who are there to hold me up - well, I've decided to once again have a word to focus on for 2017.</div>
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My word?</div>
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Move.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHq2jZO8xPZEmB8J4NJGjPXmxYJd7IT3-XVkaOpJyfree7leUOSHLeTENlGpK5UaQ2vjbu4VsdxArGr1AHxWFt5VzdB-ZCTUKpIwlbpId2nAboBv25eiYyCm7ZHnkaAgy1IpMT4Hf0aSk/s1600/IMG_2546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHq2jZO8xPZEmB8J4NJGjPXmxYJd7IT3-XVkaOpJyfree7leUOSHLeTENlGpK5UaQ2vjbu4VsdxArGr1AHxWFt5VzdB-ZCTUKpIwlbpId2nAboBv25eiYyCm7ZHnkaAgy1IpMT4Hf0aSk/s640/IMG_2546.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It kind of seems like a strange choice and that's ok. I'm going to move this year. Not as in a move houses sort of thing...that's not even on our radar AT ALL unless the Holy Spirit chooses to shove us out of where we're happily at. But move as in move my body...whether it be out of bed early to spend some quiet time with God or getting myself back out on my hiking trails so that I can center myself and just chill out, or move as in move closer to Jesus.</div>
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Move closer to Jesus.</div>
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I want to pray more. Read more. Write scripture more. </div>
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I want to give Him my best. My first fruit gift of time and energy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMYzwTMfa0LqhAEpjwaKMQX8LB_rUsDdfDtUzDqd99IqmM48q0BhnhyphenhyphencJMkPQ7C0i9vN1QMfdziXOcyLMZxGb0d02LADGNwPR2OdUkUFXdq_u64lNjzU-sbZ1N6EkvM1pj_RfU4IT46g/s1600/IMG_2540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMYzwTMfa0LqhAEpjwaKMQX8LB_rUsDdfDtUzDqd99IqmM48q0BhnhyphenhyphencJMkPQ7C0i9vN1QMfdziXOcyLMZxGb0d02LADGNwPR2OdUkUFXdq_u64lNjzU-sbZ1N6EkvM1pj_RfU4IT46g/s640/IMG_2540.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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But first there is Christmas. The gifts have been wrapped and under the tree for some time now. The meals are all planned and shopped for and are waiting to be cooked. The cookies are baking today with the help of my mother-in-law and Emily and our little house smells SO good right now...all cinnamony and chocolatey and sugary. It rained last night and outside it is green and lush and fresh.</div>
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We're only missing one boy, who as a professional trumpet player is in high demand at this time of year...so he'll be arriving home after playing late tonight. He's playing for a church tomorrow morning, too...and Michael has responsibilities as well, so we'll settle in for Christmas at some point after noon.<br />
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But the true gift has already arrived. He's here, walking among us and as much as we push back, He's not going anywhere.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7Q3_fp6AL4BticAgGZBoI48Ui7uBVOl_aw0e7xRstwAmbLU6o7z5NIzuZW8bFDbiNqcaBl8vGwa1-jAyNaSWBEps4QkBtFhncZkfRWIEdhUWkZvy1ZSj4373WxzIIk9ERBfgTdARc-g/s1600/IMG_2551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7Q3_fp6AL4BticAgGZBoI48Ui7uBVOl_aw0e7xRstwAmbLU6o7z5NIzuZW8bFDbiNqcaBl8vGwa1-jAyNaSWBEps4QkBtFhncZkfRWIEdhUWkZvy1ZSj4373WxzIIk9ERBfgTdARc-g/s640/IMG_2551.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Merry Christmas, my friends. Thank you all for playing such an important role in the lives of my family...from your emails and comments to just reading along and praying for us. It means a lot to me.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrAf6JrHQOqmgNZ8jHEgOkdbDGUzmHh1RFPoXlfkvnuZ6ZJ28sOmeATiponjB-2L4njGuL0GHFl9raEXEJplBekjWgL1g2iFSXaFH_9Quby8bsNiwCTS3Ynds6Ca3KX3g4cBfeJQsTpA/s1600/IMG_2560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrAf6JrHQOqmgNZ8jHEgOkdbDGUzmHh1RFPoXlfkvnuZ6ZJ28sOmeATiponjB-2L4njGuL0GHFl9raEXEJplBekjWgL1g2iFSXaFH_9Quby8bsNiwCTS3Ynds6Ca3KX3g4cBfeJQsTpA/s640/IMG_2560.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm ready to sit and enjoy the next few days with all my boys, my houseful of boys, all here under one roof for the next night or two. There won't be quiet, but there will be life...and right now I'm ready for that. I might hide out now and then in my bathroom just to grab a bit of peace from football (hello...the Broncos have to play on Christmas Day? At dinner time???)...but hey, all moms do better if they grab a few moments of quiet amidst the chaos. </div>
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Can I hear an Amen?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYkmOjedQZ_XyQQp01fqnweaq2fFe6Qh4QJx3vrbwb9cmME7r6imDvNDK5yaaMqnwAaormJ052u79tRaOYtdmqrF_0q32uOPCOAPCAdeyW3VpxCMCiUOjnP0Y53OMqUJSrXIiY3u7kpw/s1600/IMG_2593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYkmOjedQZ_XyQQp01fqnweaq2fFe6Qh4QJx3vrbwb9cmME7r6imDvNDK5yaaMqnwAaormJ052u79tRaOYtdmqrF_0q32uOPCOAPCAdeyW3VpxCMCiUOjnP0Y53OMqUJSrXIiY3u7kpw/s640/IMG_2593.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And if you leave your computer unattended while switiching cookie sheets around, you just might find a little note from one boy, who shall remain nameless.</div>
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Haha.</div>
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Alex and his two sisters Brian and Matthew would like to wish every a merry christmas. So..........merry christmas!</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-39462517946810878742016-12-04T15:40:00.000-08:002018-12-16T17:41:01.898-08:00And On Earth, Peace<div style="text-align: center;">
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That guy that I like so much asked me to do the devotional before his first big concert...the theme is And On Earth, Peace. No pictures today...just words.<br />
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=0)<br />
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~<br />
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I was looking through my work emails yesterday, searching out a problem that needed to be dealt with. My computer was running super slow...probably as a result of xboxes and playstations and cell phones and the dishwasher and the wind and that cotton pickin' cloud that looms overhead and stores every detail of every move I make.<br />
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I don't pretend to understand that cloud.<br />
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Yet the sun was shining. All three of my boys are doing well in this moment in their respective areas of life. The dog has finally stopped barking at every dog that walks by his precious tree outside and only barks at the little ones now...a vast improvement. A big pot of meatballs and 'gravy' was simmering on the stove and the whole house smelled like heaven.<br />
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But the internet was slow and that's all I could focus on.<br />
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Peace?<br />
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No.<br />
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There wasn't peace at the beginning of his life. He was conceived in a way that is so hard to understand. His mother and father had to endure a lot, face a lot of questions, hold their heads high, stick together. And then people needed to be counted and everyone was in a rush to return to where they'd come from and this girl...this young, very pregnant girl had to travel far.<br />
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Peace?<br />
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No.<br />
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And then to arrive....to arrive and have no place to sleep. To labor in the darkness of a barn to deliver a baby on prickly hay.<br />
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Peace? <br />
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No.<br />
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We delivered a baby who came too early...his due date was Christmas Day and yet it was only November. It was snowing and he came fast and with a whole lot of excitement...and not necessarliy the good kind. You'd never know by looking at him now but he was the kid who stumped doctors and kept the surprises coming. <br />
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Peace?<br />
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No.<br />
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There were times in our young married life where there seemed to always be choices that needed to be made. Electricity...or food. College tuition (for ourselves)...or cable tv. Gas for the car...or quarters for the laundry. We were so poor in the beginning...but rich in love or whatever that saying is which makes it sound a whole lot better than what it was because really, it was just hard. There were times when God felt far.<br />
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Peace?<br />
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No.<br />
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Fast forward to now. A washing machine that caused a flood this week. A friendship that feels not as close and confusion as to how to fix it. Parents who are struggling with their health, a car with a check engine light that won't go off, an election that has caused more divide that anything any of us have seen. <br />
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Peace?<br />
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No.<br />
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There wasn't peace at the end of his life either. He was alone, hurt, burdened. He had a purpose and there was only one way to fulfill it. It involved nails and a cross and a crown of thorns...a parade through town where he was spit on. His friends just watched. His mother just watched. His fathers, both the earthly and the heavenly, just watched.<br />
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Peace?<br />
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No.<br />
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In Isaiah 57, God says 'that I live in the high and holy places, but also with the low-spirited, the spirit crushed, and what I do is put a new spirit in them.' Peace...it's a promise to us. A promise that we are not alone. A promise of an eternal life so pure and simple and beautiful...one free from dollars and cents and from pain and from check engine lights. A place where the internet is never, ever slow.<br />
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But first, we need to live here. On earth. We need to search for the peace, for the common ground and for me, that peace comes when I sit in a pew and listen to a choir sing. You all know what it's like to work hard to put this whole concert together but for us in the audience, it just feels easy. The music quiets us and for a few short hours, there is nothing but peace. To close my eyes and truly listen...to hear the words that remind me of what is to come empower me to go out and spread joy, share love, stop complaining about the 'no's' and to focus on the good. When I watch and listen to a group of people...all of different backgrounds and church denominations and skin colors and political beliefs - that's when it becomes real to me. To listen to all your voices...all your different voices from all different walks of life become one in glorious song?<br />
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On earth, that's peace.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNefkS2Lx6yCjG2EkNkz7XUAhzJsiA4DbXMagxC6lkcCW_Iej6y6k2dfmvEAt6FDEEZXGuAJy7U19haghC6491DYK5gWLnBuWEWLwiyg-abNjx_rB6FfcTOs-__BE9rwgXDLVg6ezv_m4/s1600/IMG_2520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNefkS2Lx6yCjG2EkNkz7XUAhzJsiA4DbXMagxC6lkcCW_Iej6y6k2dfmvEAt6FDEEZXGuAJy7U19haghC6491DYK5gWLnBuWEWLwiyg-abNjx_rB6FfcTOs-__BE9rwgXDLVg6ezv_m4/s640/IMG_2520.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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(Ok...just one photo. Our fig tree, which only blooms in the summer, is blooming right now...in December.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/C0F3ACF859DF20A581FFAAB43B2B74E6.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2524213563424039669.post-1863056043577716232016-11-27T17:06:00.001-08:002016-11-27T17:06:57.443-08:00Thanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm worn out.</div>
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Thanksgiving has come and gone and with it, all my oompf has gone with it. Between the cooking, and the cooking, and the cooking some more, and the house being full 24/7 with boys and their friends, and having to spend time worrying about the easy child who decided to not be so easy, and the broken washing machine and the two (not one...but TWO) broken down cars, and the lack of exercising and taking care of myself...well, I'm just plum tired.</div>
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But at the same time, I'm happy...so go figure.</div>
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Women are allowed to be complicated.</div>
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So much is going through my head and it's not even worth trying to spell it all out here...and really, I just think I'm tired and feeling a bit like God is preparing me for something. I'm not sure that even makes sense, but I'm feeling unsettled and I'm not sure why.</div>
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My normal course of action is to lace up my shoes and hike my trail and talk it out with my heavenly father, but today He sent rain...much needed rain for the ground but not for my mental state. And so I did what most everyone else in America is doing this weekend....weeped my way through the four new Gilmore Girls movies.</div>
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A hike would have probably been better but it felt good to be lazy today too.</div>
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Our Thanksgiving was really nice and thanks to the fact that almost the whole meal can be made in advance, the weather was close to 80 which meant we could eat in the garden and that every person who walked through our door could be put in the 'easy' category...it was just a super fun day. </div>
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The cousins spent hours playing corn hole and football, we ate around 3:30pm, hung out for a few hours outside because it was so beautiful and then the annual family viewing of the movie Elf...and half way through the movie everyone tackled, and demolished, the leftovers.</div>
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No one went hungry.</div>
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The night before Thanksgiving we celebrated Kenan's birthday...he and Alex have been best friends since kindergarten. They're all grown up now and have the best group of friends....I'm not sure if they have more fun or if the parents do. </div>
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then:</div>
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now:</div>
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Thanksgiving night and early into the morning, grown up cousins sat around the table playing board games. Big kids are just fun...super fun. </div>
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Fun, yes...but not always easy. Lots of lecturing and frustration go along with the fun parts and I finally retreated one afternoon to my bed to watch the hallmark channel for a bit with my sweet, never talks back, kitty.</div>
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Sometimes moms just need to hide. </div>
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That guy that I like so much spent hours on the roof hanging Christmas lights but inside we are still firmly planted in Fall. I guess I'll get to decorating the inside this week at some point but in all honesty, I was just too tired to even think about it today.</div>
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It'll get done at some point.</div>
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In happy news, our boy in the middle is working as an electrical apprentice and saved us a ton of money by diagnosing our electrical issue...and then fixing it. I now need one son to become a plumber and another to become a mechanic and we'll be all set.</div>
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The Bronco's are playing tonight, supper will be pasta amatriciana, and I'm thinking it'll be a quiet night. Brian is settled back in his dorm room and Matthew's been down for the weekend but is heading home soon. I do like having them all home, sleeping under our little roof on our little street...they're a loud crew but I like them all a whole lot. But tomorrow is back to school and work for all of us and I guess I'm ready for the routine to start again too. And I"m praying for a small window of time to hike...I'm really needing that time.</div>
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Oh...and I did the majority of my christmas shopping online and it feels super good to be ahead of the game. Poor, but done!</div>
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<br />Michelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09238509599192268279noreply@blogger.com0