Another Special Day!

My baby girl turned 31 today... wow! She is an amazing woman and her father and I are SO very proud of her. Hard to believe she arrived during a blizzard in 1979 in Grand Rapids, MI. After giving us a scare and showing up 7 weeks early, she proved herself to be a very scrappy 5#4oz. bundle of joy! (Imagine Katrina at about the size of your basic small bag of flour!)

This morning we called her on iChat and got to watch her open her gift from us... and it made us SO happy to see her onscreen if not actually in person. So here's to you, Katrina! May your next 31 years be as wonderful, exciting, and blessed as your first 31!

Two by Two

Marriage is on my mind in this post...
On Dec. 29th 2009, Ed and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. We chose to remember the day by going out to dinner with all our kids and grandkids. The place? Frankie Tocco's restaurant on Jefferson and Main St. in St. Charles.... one of our favorite eateries and a place where families are always welcomed warmly. So there we were, all ten of us, and I looked up and down the table feeling really thankful for all the people we've been blessed with in our lives.
My girls are both married to great guys and you can tell by these shots that they have great "personalities" and senses of humor... that is something Ed and I have found to be an integral component in our marriage... an ability to laugh and find humor in the day-to-day things that life brings. So here's to married life, our daughters, their hubbies, and laughter that binds us all together!

Pre-Holiday Blessings & My Girls: a Mama's Joy.

It has been an incredibly exciting week for us! Well, actually more for our kids which as those of you who are parents know makes it equally exciting for the parents! Our daughters have had major blessings come their way and it has left us all so excited, happy, and (of course) proud that we feel like we got our Christmas gifts early this year. So if you don't mind, I'd like to share.

Our eldest daughter, Gretchen, was surprised by a HUGE promotion at her company, Concordia Publishing House. She has been made the Director of Public Relations and Corporate Communications for the company. Just slightly less than 2 years ago she began working at CPH so this is a great vote of confidence by her company in her abilities to do what she does for them! The job comes with some obvious new benefits (a bigger desk chair among them, we hear) and wider responsibilities, but she has a great team of folks working with her so we know she will be wonderful at her expanded role for CPH!

Next, our younger daughter, Katrina, has been quietly working on her first novel throughout the past year. In August she informed the family that she was going to "go for it" and seek getting it published. This week saw exciting developments in that adventure... she has a literary agent now working for her! Her book got some great feedback from several agencies but she has now chosen a very prominent New York based firm to work with her in marketing her novel. So in the new year we could actually get to see her work in stores with a cover on it! This is a dream come true for her and is especially exciting to both of us who have taught her English over the years and seen her talent and voice develop! Now, don't ask me the million dollar question as to what the book's about or if I liked it, because in typical Katrina-fashion she's been very quiet and private about it. None of us in the family have had the privilege to read it yet... but are told that once it "has a cover" we'll get a chance to read it. All I know is that it's Young-Adult Fiction genre and involves the great lakes plus the mythical creatures of mermaids... (not certain how many). My students are waiting with baited breath for a chance to read one of their fellow LHS alumni in print. So stay tuned in the New Year for more about my girls!

St.Patrick's Day Run - 2009

Will she make it? Only time will tell?

Today I did something for only the second time in my life; I ran in a race. This time it was to celebrate the almost 30#'s I've lost since Sept. 17th of 2008. Kate and Nate joined Ed and I, and we ran in the St. Patrick's Day Run. It's a 5 mile jaunt through downtown St. Louis, quite scenic and very silly with a large percentage of bizarrely-dressed people running in everything from green tights to leprechaun suits! I am happy to report I survived it and managed to finish the whole thing. Kate, Nate, and Ed completed it some 22 minutes ahead of me; but all in all, I feel really good about getting out there. (It's not a bad thing to discover that you can still go 5 miles at 53!)
We had a gorgeous morning to run with temps in the 40's and nice sunshine. It was Kate's first-ever attempt at running in a race and I think she had a good enough time to do it again in the future.
When we finished, we celebrated with pastrami sandwiches from Carl's Deli and frosty cold Fitz's root beer! It was a great morning!

Nate and Kate sign up and get their numbers!

A shot ahead of some of the more than 9,000 people who ran today.

Well, I didn't come in last.... actual time 1hr.16min. for 5 miles.

The happy finishers! Let's go eat and celebrate!

Cousins Get Together

Asher gets to be more fun each day!

Rhylah is into her toys now that she can sit up on her own.

Sydney is still little enough to watch all the goings on and wonder what it's all about.

It's Stroller Time!

Moms and kids head for the park! Roll em, roll em, roll em!

It's been a wonderful week here! Kate arrived on Tuesday for a 5 day visit. Asher and Rhylah came along... Gabriel had to stay home with his dad so he wouldn't miss school. The weather turned more spring-like this week so the when the sun managed to shine it was delightful! Kate watched Sydney for Gretchen on two of the days she was in town. Both moms had fun swapping notes on what the babies were up to and taking the kids out in the strollers. We got to spoil them each night when we got home from work! All in all, it was a wonderful week for being a grandparent!

Another Snow Day and a Birthday

The "massive" snowfall that resulted in our "snow day"!

To quote an old family bit of wisdom.... "That's ice!!!! That's ice!!!!"

We're at home again today... the phone rang at 6:15 (as the sleet was falling) to tell us that we would not have school. While snow days are one of the so-called "perks" of teaching, we are now into the "make them up" phase since our school saw fit to only build one day into the actual calendar and today marks our third snow day. The funny part is that I am almost embarrassed to have such a day. If you've ever looked at my daughter Kate's blog, you will see that Sheyboygan is up to their heineys in snow... they have piles and piles of it EVERYWHERE. My grandson has gotten very few days off even with all the white stuff. But pictured here is what constitutes "snow day" level precip for St. Charles... we are total snow wimps!

Perfect "Snow Day" fare... Homemade Corn chowder!

Happy birthday Ed! You only get better!

On the upside, today is Ed's birthday... and a special one too... his "star" birthday of a sorts... born in '54, today he turns 54. So he got a day off as a gift. True to form, he decided to cook something new for his birthday.... so we will be enjoying a delicious corn and pasta chowder and two of his own homemade French-style baguettes for lunch! The guy just gets more and more talented at the stove as each year goes by!

That brings me to the final thing on my post for today.... and I owe this to my daughter Kate. Thanks to all of Ed's great cooking (and to my total enjoyment of the results)... there is much more of me to celebrate his birthday than I really care to admit. Katrina had the idea to post her weight goals on her blog and ask that her readers help her "stay on track". It struck me as a marvelous idea. (possibly because I don't have all that many readers who will be motivated to guilt me into working out....) but anyway.... I have much more weight to lose than Kate does.... and thought that perhaps just seeing it staring me down when I open my blog will motivate me to hop on the treadmill a bit more frequently. So it's up there..... and I would greatly appreciate a gentle and loving nudge from any of you who notice my numbers stuck in one place for too long! And on that note.... Have a Nice Snow Day wherever you are!