Merry Merry Christmas

It is almost impossible for me to believe that Christmas has once again come and gone. I know I am the worlds worst blogger, but one of my resolutions for 2012 is to be more present in life and communicate more with those I care about. So, why not start now.

2011 in a quick look back

January - celebrated the new year at home and then spent the better part of the month buried in work. Everything else seems to come to a stop during January when work gets hectic. We tend to drop out of sight while I get my work done and Paul maintains the kids lives as best he can while working 2nd shift.

February/March/April - sorry to report no fun winter getaways, but it was a nice month work was much slower, the kids enjoyed school and their activities. We spent a bit of time with my family as they live so close. March brought the 1st anniversary of the death of Paul's brother Steve and the 2nd of my grandpas death. Those are tough days for sure, but we were able lean on God and our faith carried us through. Steves' family is doing well, it's tough for them at times, but they are moving forward as best they can. The best thing that happened was in April Paul accepted a new job and moved to Cummins Electric in Fridley. He works in logistics and is enjoying the change. He was still on nights, but now had his weekends free, which was a wonderful change for us all.

May - I took a trip to San Francisco with the kids and my cousin and her daughter. We stayed 5 days at my brothers river house in Sonoma and had a ball. We spent mothers day in San Francisco and touring and taking a harbor cruise. My Brother Lee and Ed treated us to a wonderful lunch and we were able to meet up wiht them again for dinner in sausalito. It was a truly wonderful day. The trip included time in Bodega Bay, inlcuding a stop at the beach where the filmed the birds. All the wonders San Fran has to offer and even a trip to old faithful, yes there is one in CA, I will say a bit cheasy, but the kids had a ball. The highlight of the trip was spending several hours in the ER one day to find out all 3 kids had strep. Okay that was not really the highlight but it was still interesting. Luckily they all felt well enough that night to take a drive into the redwoods, the views were breathtaking. It was a great trip, and one we hope to do more often.

June/July/August - Summer was upon us much quicker then you think it will be. The kids finished 1st grade and although sad to leave their teachers, were excited for vacation and to be 2nd graders. WE didn't get to any trips, but enjoyed our annual rib party at my parents. Where, we are once agreed Paul makes the best ribs around hands down. We enjoyed the Hudson fireworks with my brother David's family on their boat on the St. Croix. I was able to take some time off in August and although we didn't make it out of town, we visited, the zoo, waterpark, saw several movies, had an adventure day where we just went as the day took us and even saw a guy get arrested for shopping at target, that was an adventure all it's own.

September, the kids started back to school and Jacey started up again in girl scouts. She loves these girls in her troop, one of them lost their mom which was tough on the troop, but they have surrounded this girl with love and support which has made it easier for everyone. They also received 2 weeks of swim lessons in school, which turned jacey from a waterphobe into a water lover, she was jumping in the deep end at the end of the two weeks with no fear. the kids also started choir and orff at church again. With their love of music this has been a true gift for them.

October - we packed October with all sorts of fun, inlcuding a Monarch butterfly festival, trip to the raptor center, punkinmain, spookamaga and of course the annual trick or treating. The kids and I also got in a long weekend over MEA to David and Susans in Kansas. We rode down with my parents and had a ball including an early halloween part at Deanna Rose zoo. My mom mad all the costumes again, Alex was Russell from UP and Jacey was dorothy, and they were both cute as could be, but I may be a bit biased. We rounded out the month with some trick or treating and fun was had by all.

We ushered in November by celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. The night was a blast and included dinner and a movie all with no kids present. That was a gift in itself. I sometimes cannot believe I have known Paul for over 17 years now and that we have shared 16 years of marriage. Like all marriages we like each other some days more than others, but continue to hold true to our vows and our truly enjoying being parents and watching the kids grow up.

We were able to head back to Kansas for Thanksgiving and my family was all together. WE had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner and relaxing day of fun and games. WE managed to get some shopping in on black Friday, and saw the new muppet movie. I do believe the adults enjoyed it more than the kids. That night we headed to the Plaza in Kansas City where a limo picked us up for a 2 hour lights tour followed by dinner at Bucca De Bepa. It was a great night and the kids got a kick out of their limo ride. As always the time went much too quickly, but a good time was had by all.

December has gone by in a blur, work has been busy, lots of holiday celebrations, concerts, school events, scouting outings and just fun. the best gift we got early in November, was Paul was moved to a day shift. For the 1st time in over 10 years paul and I are working the same shift. It's great for us to have the family time each evening and weekend and I am enjoying sharing the evening routine with him. Definitely takes off the pressure when I am busy.

So, here we are almost as 2012, and thinking of what may lie ahead this year. I have so much to be thankful for and not in any particular order, here are some of them.

My job which allows me to work from home and be here when my kids need me.

Paul working in his new job affording him more time with us.

Better financial security for us.

Jacey and Alex the two most wonderful children God could have blessed us with .

My family who are all healthy and active, especially my parents who take such an active role in our lives.

Paul's family, who although far away keep us close in their hearts. Paul's mom celebrated 86 this year and we are so grateful to have her around an that our children are able to know her.

A home filled with laughter and love, although there appears to be sibling bickering some days, we are truly blessed with a home to call our own to raise our children.

We look forward to the blessings and even challenges that lie ahead in 2012.

Of course no post of mine would be complete without a bit of time on my soapbox, so up I hop and here goes.

I have been thinking of politics and faith a lot lately and how closely they are linked. I know that this country was founded with the belief we should separate church and state, but I truly dont' want to live in a place where the people leading have no faith. Other countries clearly show what this can lead too. Having said that, I also know how important it is to lead without allowing ones faith to cloud their judgement on matters that greatly affect our country. I think about healthcare and how so many believe healthcare is some kind of privilege instead of a right. If that's true, then how do we decide who is privileged enough to received it. Should a parent ever have to decide between putting food on the table and getting medical attention fort their child. I have been a tax paying person since I was 16 years old and I believe I am entitled to affordable healthcare. I am very lucky to be covered under my company's policy, so i can take my children to the dr. when they are ill without worry over the cost. But, so many are not so fortunate, and for them my heart aches. I am SICK of the fighting and politicing over this issue. If the people that govern were forced to live on a public healthcare system, I think it would not take long for this issue to be resolved.

As we barrell into another election I fear what will happen to this country. I am afraid that politics have become so dirty and ugly that we are hard pressed to find the good in any candidate. I worry that people who don't have a clear educated view on issues will make rash decisions and elect people that do not have this countries best interest at heart. I also worry that I will not do a good job at making my voice heard and being a part of the solution and NOT the problem. I intend to get involved in the process this time around in a more active and purposeful way. But mostly I worry that people will not be able to set aside differences, meet in the middle and do what it best for ALL Americans, not just the one with the most money or the ones with the most influence. We all have a voice, use them, but also listen and have constructive discussions to help make educated decisions come election day.

Lastly as ask anyone who reads this to pray for those struggling right now. For those that need work to feed their children, or a home to keep them safe and dry. Pray for those who are sick, especially for my friend who has just celebrated her last Christmas and is preparing for the end of her journey on earth. Pray for those grieving the loss of someone that the new year brings them comfort and hope. But, mostly let us pray that we can remember to listen more, talk less and really be present in each others lives in a meaningful way.

Merry Christmas everyone, love joy and peace to you!!!

Helen

Christmas Joy

I can't believe I haven't updated since the beginnig of the month, I wanted to write about our traditions, but that apparently went the way of most things this month. I dont' have tons of special traditions in my family, but we do Christmas right that's for sure. My mom and I each have wonderful friends, we have baked with for years and this year that was shot down by weather and busy schedules, so that one was out. But, we managed to hold onto the actual Christmas traditions.

Christmas at my parents is well, perfect. Their house is beautifully deocrated, including cute little lit christmas trees through out the house even in the main bathroom. It's my favorite time of year to be at their house. We attend church at St. Andrews, and the last two years have gone early to hear our kids sing in Choristers. It was a great services this year and the kids sang their little hearts out. Then back to the folks for a huge scandanavian dinner of norwegian meatballs, ham, potatoes, lefsa, swedish rye bread, rice pudding (with one almond for good luck in the year to the recipient) and this year we added rutabaga a family favorite, it was wonderfully delicious. I look forward to this meal all year long, it's not the food, but the feeling of that meal and the quiet of the time together. No one rushing to eat adn get somewhere, no tv's commitments, just being in the moment together as a family and creating memories.

The rest of the evening was busy with kids getting to sleep even with all the excitement and then of course the business of getting all the gifts under the tree and filling the stockings. I actually got to bed by midnight and was able to get some good rest, a first for me since we had kids. the morning brought the usual mayhem of gifts, this is quite exciting with 12 people including 4 kids ages 6, 6, 7 and 8. Jacey had almost more fun helping my dad open gifts as she did opening her own. The kids were thrilled with everything, and the adults enjoyed their gifts and the joy of watching the kids. It's great to be in a room full or the sounds of oooh, ahhh, cool, awesome, and the thanks of a truly grateful child.

We then enjoyed a big breakfast, followed by a day full of snacking, soups, games and some good family time. We played a new game called spot it, I HIGHLY recommend this game, you can play with most any ages of kids and it's really for the adults too. WE mad homemade wild rice soup and taco soup. They were both delicious and of course had a buffet of other fun foods to munch on during the day and evening.

I love Christmas day, with no where to be, and the kids loved spending the day in their PJ's playing with new toys and putting together the pieces of the lego sets. There are some pretty cool lego creations out there for kids.

Sunday we had my dad's family over there for our Sutherland Christmas. We played a rousing round of the dice game, with gift stealing. It's always fun to see which items become the thing to have. This year it was stuffed snowmen and miller light glasses. We could also give our items away this year, which also was a lot of fun. You just never know what you will end up with during those games.

As much fun as all the gift giving and activities were, the real joy for me is just being in the moments. Christmas eve is my favorite service of the year. The music, the message and all the people are a wonderful inspiring combination. The earlier services at St. Andrews are geared for families, so the sermon is very kid friendly. This year the message was about the meaning of Christmas and the birth of Christ as told in the song Oh Holy Night. A woman sang versus of this song throughout the sermon, it was moving and I sat there with chills.

I know Christmas is very commercial and a lot of people focus on getting what they want, spending money, getting that must have item. So, it's easy to forget why we are actually celebrating. I am hoping my kids learn a little more each year about what's really important on Christmas Day and why it is so important to our faith.

As a woman who cannnot and have a baby, I am in awe of the whole birth experience. I am obsessed with friends pregnancies and love to hear the details. So, I can only imagine what it must have been like for Mary, this young girl, to have gone through that process in a stable with all it's unique sounds and smells. It must have been terrifying and joyful all at the same time. I can just imagine those last moments before he was born, then holding him for the first time. What a great moment made even better by the knowledge that this birth was God's true child and the anticipation of what that would mean for the world. Maybe in those moments those thoughts were not even with Mary. Maybe she was caught up in the joy and beauty of her first child. Maybe she was exhausted and overwhelmed. I guess those details are not important. But, thinking of the way we have babies now, in a hospital full of people ready to jump in at the 1st sign of trouble, makes you really admire women over the years and what they experienced just giving birth to a child let alone raising them to adulthood.

So, there sat Mary and Joseph there were no cell phones to call their parents and friends. No digital cameras to record the blessed event and the 1st moments of Jesus's live. And yet, the news of this birth was spread, to shepherds and wiseman and a star was shining so bright to show the way to this child. What it must have been like to have been there and witness that blessed event. One can only wonder what the journey must have ben like for those that came to visit and meet this child.

Today we remembe this event and celebrate what it meant for us. Really it's the crux of our faith, because the birth of this child put into motions that events that would lead to his death, resurrection and ultimately our salvation. I have had people of different faiths tell me, well Jesus wasn't even born in December, so why celebrate. Seriously? We celebrate lots of things even though we dont' know the exact day. I mean do we know for sure it was a thursday that the pilgrims and indians sat down to a meal together. I am certain none of them got up early the next morning to head to Best Buy for some door busters. I don't know with 100% certainty of the days my children were born. But I celebrate with them on the days they gave them in China. It doens't matter if it was actually that day, it's just the day we get to celebrate them, their life and the blessings they bring to our lives.

For me this is what is important of Christmas. Not that I know this is the actual day Jesus was born in a stable, but the fact that he was born, lived and died for us is what matters. I wish eveyone could feel the joy I feel during this seaon. A joy that has nothing to do with gifts, cookies, egg nog or mistltoe, but the true joy of that birth so many years ago. A birth that changed the world, and gave us a gift no one can ever top. Unending love, grace and the promise of eternal life. No, toy, electronic gadget, cooking utensil, piece of clothing or jewelry could ever measure up to that first and most important gift.

May the Joy of Jesus's birth live within you and be with you always.

I will be back with New Years wishes. For now, though I will leave you with some Vacation pictures I finally downloaded.

Smiles & Sunshine,

Helen

At A Loss

It's not often I am at a loss for words, but I have started this post three times over, and can't seem to decide what to write about today. I have worked hard at my job this week, the kids had school, it snowed and as usual I didn't get enough housework done. Last night Alex got to have a sleepover at my folks and Jacey and I went to see Tangled, loved the movie and especially the music. Beautiful snow fell last night, and we awoke to a winter wonderland. Unlike the last few inches, these are here to stay, it finally feels like Winter. I grumbled as I got up much earlier then usual, braved the cold, cleaned off my car and hit the icy roads at 7:00AM this morning. I have truly become spoiled with no commute.

We arrived at our destination and there was not another thought given to what it took to get there and the work invovled. You see Jacey and I helped at a fundraiser for a friend of hers battling cancer. Yes you read that's right, Jacey's friend has brain cancer. We volunteered and worked at a pancake breakfast to raise money for the family. Their church donated the space and donations were taken at the door to help the family with upcoming medical and living expenses. Jacey's friend is one of the spunkiest girls you could ever meet, and her spunkiness is only made better by how cute she is. We love having her around and her house was the firsts place Jacey ever had a big girl sleeopover with a friend I didn't really know. The family is a great family, with lots of love, faith and hope. This, of course, is a very trying time while their daughter goes through this battle. But, so far she is doing great, and they are very optimistic about the outcome and her future. When we found out about this a few weeks ago, I sat Jacey down to tell her. As hard as it was telling my 7 year old about her friend, I can't imagine telling your child when they are the ones going through it. Seeing her today, other than the lack of long hair, you would never know she is battling anything. 4 brain surgeries in the last few weeks, and she is as bubbly as usual. Jacey and her are no longer at the same school, but were happy to see each other today. We are hoping for a real playdate very soon.

It puts life in perspective to see a family being so joyful in the midst of such a trying time, and makes me realize how all my grumbling was so pointless this morning. After all this kid is going through, my early morning is NO BIG DEAL. I am not mentioning her name, as I have not asked to share her story or details, so I will keep that private, but I would ask if you are reading this to keep her and her family in your prayers. The surgeries were a success, chemo is hopefully over and she is now preparing for 6 1/2 weeks in FL for radiation. Hopefully that will be the end and she will recover and go on to live to be an old lady. I know God is gracing them wiht his love and healing presence, but I know the family will much appreciate any prayers you can offer up for them.

Once again I am updating without pictures, but will do a picture post this week.

Since I have your attention, I am going to do some writing about Christmas cooking and would love for you to share with me a favorite food, tradition or recipe. I am always looking for something new to try.

Smiles & Sunshine,
Helen

Giving Thanks

This is the time of year we all like to take time and give thanks. sitting around our delicious turkey dinner on Thursday we took some time to all give thanks. The kids even chimed in, it's such a great way to reflect on our lives and truly focus on the good.

Paul's mom, Jeanne, was with us this year and we all celebrated at my parents. I sat there thinking what a tough year Jeanne had with losing her son Steve. But, even through these tough months she had so much to be thankful for. Listening to her speak, I realized how we so often focus on wants not needs. Especially this time of year with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the crazy ads, it's hard not to think about what we don't have. A friend of mine and i were talking recently and we was telling me that as working American's making over $25,000.00 per year we are in the top 5% worldwide in wealth. That really puts things in perspective that 95% of this worldl makes less than we consider poverty level and yet we are always wanting for more. We want the bigger house, newer car, latest gadgets, bigger TV and on and on.

Truthfully I am guilt of this as well. During Christmas I dream of all I want to give my kids, forgetting that we have what we need. We are blessed to have a lovely home, with heat and running water. Two cars that are reliable and keep us safe. We both have jobs and in this economy that is saying something. The kids have amazing teachers and are learning every day. We have food on our table, beds to sleep in and enough to have vacations, eat out sometimes and have entertainment. We are so richly blessed. We are by no means upper class, we don't have a money tree in the backyard. We work hard and have to watch our money, but in the end we have exactly what we need thanks to God's blessings and unlimited Grace and Love.

I am thankful for so much, it's hard to even list them all, but here are some of the top ones.

I am grateful for a mother 5 years cancer free. I have learned how to be a mom, a cook, a friend, a hostess and most importantly a good person thanks to her. My mom is oftent the first person I call with good or bad news and I value her opinion more than most. I am blessed for every day God gives me with her.
I am grateful for a father with unlimited support and love for me. He is my voice of reason, my moral compass, and the 1st man I ever loved. My dad has taught me to laugh often, right and wrong and most importantly that worrying never changes the outcome, so be happy and enjoy life. How blessed I am to have him as my dad for 42 years and counting.
I am grateful for my husband. Paul knows me better than anyone, and loves me just the same. He accepts me flaws and all and helps me to be more than I think I can be every day. He puts up with my moods, craziness and lack of organization these days. The day I married him was just the beginning of an amazing life.
I am grateful for my child. As a child my only goal was to be a mother, and never did I think it woudl happen this way. God managed to match me with 2 children that are a perfect fit in our family. How this happens is a true miracle and every day being their mother is a gift.
I am grateful for my friends. I have always had lots of friends, but the older I get the more I treasure my friendships that have real depth and substance to them. I have many good friends, that would be there for me rain or shine. There to laugh in the good times, pick me up when I am down, support during the times that feel unbearable and there to dry my tears. Without them my life would be just a little less great.

Of course I am also grateful for all my blessings, work, home, food, and alike. But, really the things I treasue do not have a pricetag, they are just the experiences, moments and memories of my life's journey. Those are the things at the end of my life I will reflect on and treasure.

So, we gave thanks, then stuffed our bellies with an abundance of good food and of course created some great memories along the way.

Jeanne stayed for several days and it was hard to see her go yesterday. Having her here is so much fun for us and a great opportunity to learn more about her and the life she has led. She is a facsinating person and if you ever have the chance to meet her, spend some time talking to her, you won't regret it. She is a wonderful story teller, a writer and champion cheerleader of all her children, and grandchildren.

Now on to the craziness of the holidays. Working on some new photos to be downloaded, so will update again soon.

Helen

A year in review

It has now been over one year since I posted on this blog. But, I think of it all the time does that count? I just never seem to do it. I am not going to promise to do better, but I am going to try. I love to write and especially on my blog. There is something so cleansing about. Okay that does sounds dorky, but for me it is a very good thing. I thought about the last year in our life, and how in Christmas letters we cram everything into that little letter, and now here I am trying to do it for anyone, if there is anyone, that still reads my blog. I thought I would go month by month and see what I can come up with.

October 2009

I left off this month. It brought fun for Halloween, Jacey was Pinkalicious from her favorite book of the same name, my mom designed and sewed the perfect replica of her dress. Alex was Harry Potter complete with magic wand and scar in place, plus the cutest glasses I have ever seen. The night was much to cold, but we managed to hit some houses and have a lot of fun. Here is a picture of their costumes. These are from their character parade at school, in my quest to organzie my photos, I have organized the actual halloween pictures away.

November 2009

Of course the highlight of November is Thanksgiving, but this year was extra special. My family traveled to San Francisco where we spent 10 days near the beach, enjoying the weather, sight seeing and most especially just being together. For us the only down side was Paul had to stay home and work. Here are a couple pictures from that trip.

December 2009

Of course we celebrated Christmas. The kids sang in church at the family service, then out to my parents for our traditional dinner. I sang at two later services, and battled some great snow drifts to make it on time. Dad even had to help me out at the corner just to get up the street. The services were beautiful, it was a magical night. Christmas morning was the usual mayhem followed by great food and together time it was wonderful Day. New Years eve we stayed home and quietly rang in the new year. What an exciting life we lead!

January 2010

This my busiest time of the year at work. Yes I went 9 days and did not leave my house at all, except to get the mail. NO, I am not kidding, I had groceries delivered, and my parents picked up the kids from school. As I said it is our busiest time and I about went crazy but survived and learned some valuable lessons on planning better for 2011.

February 2010

This was still a busy month at work, if memory serves, but we got back into the swing of things. At one point I think we took a weekend and headed to Des Moines to meet my brother David and his famil, but as my memory is failing that may have happened in March. Other than that nothing too exciting happened. The kids were settled in at school, but Jacey started showing a lot of anxiety and stress over her teacher, we did what we could and just hoped to get through the year. I headed to Chicago for just one night of fun with my coworkers, we had a great dinner, some craziness and stayed in downtown at a great hotel. It was a great 48 hours.

March 2010

I finally made it a year after losing my Grandpa. I was still sad to think of the loss, but was beginning to focus more on all my great memories instead of the loss. Then bad news found us again. On March 4th Paul's brother Steve was killed in an automobile accident. It was, of course, completely unexpected and devastating for his wife two children and all who knew and loved him. Paul and I traveled to Whitewater, WI to be with Noreen and the kids for a few days right away. As hard as it was to see all the grief, it was great to be there and provide whatever comfort we could during those 1st terrible days. They held the funeral two weeks later, so we traveled back with the kids this time and were able to spend several days with Paul's entire family. We hadn't all been together in many years the time was very bitter sweet. Noreen is a wonderful woman and actually spoke at the funeral, although I have no idea how she did this. There was so much music, both his kids played and I was able to sing, which I loved. There was a full choir, a band and many other wonderful pieces of music during the service. Then we were treated to the BIGGEST potluck buffet I have ever seen. I have to say Steve would have loved every minute. The church was filled to the brim inlcuding people standing everywhere, amazing music and endless food. It was a perfect celebration for a wonderful man.

April 2010

Still working through the loss of Paul's brother and all that brought to his family. Then things fell apart for Jacey at school. She was struggling so much and her teacher was just not on the same wavelength as us. IT finally came to a head one day when she started yelling at Jacey in front of the class and pounded her hand on Jacey's desk. AT this point I was done, I couldn't send my little girl into this situation anymore. I called the school and long story short, she never returned. We opted to enroll the kids in our home school district. Their school is now across the street and they both LOVE it. Alex had trouble leaving his friends, but went from an intense full day program to just afternoons, he loved it right away. Jacey's teacher at Willow was so sweet and loving and just what Jacey needed after almost two years of the intense immersion experience. WE held Alex's postponed birthday party this month and many of his friends were able to join us for a day on the farm complete with pony rides and lots of fun on the farm.

May 2010

The kids were thriving in school and Jacey was not showing any of the anxiety we had seen earlier in the school year. They were still singing in the choir at church and enjoying life to the fullest. Jacey had her birthday party at my cousins farm just like Alex. Her party was a bit smaller, but still lots of fun. It was especially nice to see her making new friends in her new class. I chaperoned her field trip to como zoo and was pleased to see how nice all the kids and teachers were in the 1st grade.

June 2010

The school year came to an end with a revelation I was not really prepared for. The school recommended Jacey repeat the 1st grade. She was just too far behind in the English school system to be able to move forward. Although she had come along way, 2 months was just not enough to make up for the first almost two years in the Chinese school. It was hard for me to hear, but Jacey took it in stride and only concerned that her friends would all go to college the year before her. I pointed out this would give her another year home with me, to which I got an eye roll, yes she is only 7, but has that down pat. Her teacher also offered tutoring for the Summer which we jumped on. Both kids were invited to summer camp at the school for 3 weeks in August.

July 2010

Hot Hot Hot is what I mostly think of from July. The weather was hot but we managed to have some good times. One really fun thing was a trip to the new target field to see the Twins play. IT was a great fame followed by a exceptional fireworks display. We had our annual rib party at my parents, the food was great and company even better. The night was topped off by David and Dad's annual fireworks extravaganza, which Jacey hates, so her and i headed home early and Alex stayed for an overnight. Jacey is not a fan of loud noises, so these are just two close for her to handle. The rest of the month flew by, again work was busy and we managed to keep up with all the kids wanted to do. WE also celebrated Pauls' birthday, but nothing too fancy just a fun dinner out at Red Lobster, it was DELICIOUS!

August 2010

Of course the most important event was my birthday. I had to be in Chicago again for work but instead of coming home to MN I hitched a ride with my sister in laws friend to Whitewater, WI and met Paul and the kids. We left the next morning (my birthday) and drove 10 hours to Pittsburgh with my sister in law Noreen and niece Stephanie. You may be thinking why Pittsburgh in the middle of Summer. Well, it was actually a very big occasion. Paul's sister Grace has devoted her life to God and was completing her vows to become a nun. Once again his family all gathered together. This time was much more of a celebration, but it was hard to be together without Steve. The mass was lovely followed by a wonderful meal and a lovely day of family time. It was WAY too hot, but the company more than made up for that. We headed back to WI the next day and home to MN the day after. So, 30 hours of driving and 12 hours in a non air conditioned convent, top that for a summer vacation storry! HAHA! Actually our kids love to travel and are great in the car, my sister in law and niece are a total joy, so we had a very good time. I took the rest of the week off and enjoyed just hanging with the kids. Sadly after coming home a cousin of my dad's died. I was able to visit him in the hospital before he passed away. It was fairly unexpected, but his wife, kids and grandkids were all there to say goodbye. Tony was a really fun guy that I always enjoyed seeing at family gatherings. His presence will be missed.

September 2010

State Fair, of course we headed out for a day, unfortunately I was having back problems, and couldn't walk much, but we still had a great time. We spent Labor Day weekend camping in my parents yard with the Janisch family. Being able to use their kitchen, bathroom and take nice hot showers is the way camping was meant to be I think. Then came Back to School day. They kids were excited and enjoyed meeting their teachers on back to school night. Alex knew several of the kids already from Kindergarten and Jacey happily learned the names of some new kids. I was worried how it would go for her, but she is loving school and just blossoming. Of course her teacher is a truly wonderful teacher which helps a lot. Alex is also enjoying school and interestingly they are perfectly matched with their teachers, I can't imagine them in the other classes. God truly had a hand in that decision. We had our annual Sutherland picnic, the date changed this year and we had a great turnout. But, it is still hard to look around and realize how many we have lost in just the last couple years.

October 2010

Here wer are a year later, and I managed to remember many things from this year. October was by far the most fun of the last year. AFter many years of planning My parents took our entire family for a 10 day trip to Florida. We spent the first few days at a disney world resort spending time at the parks and enjoying the resort. The kids went from sun up to well past sundown every day and loved every minute. WE then left the resort and boarded the Disney Wonder for a cruise to the Bahamas. We stopped in Nassau and Disney's private Island Castaway Cay. Having never been on a cruise I had no idea what to expect, but as is always the case, Disney does this right. There was more than enough activities, sightseeing, food and beach time for everyone to enjoy. It's hard to tell you how great this vacation was, but we had so much to celebrate together. David's birthday was the day before the disney adventure began. Mom and Dad celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary and most importantly mom is now 5 years cancer free. I am grateful for every day she is here with me, and so proud of how she triumphed over her cancer. She promised me when she was diagnosed that she would not die from it, and thankfully that has turned out to be true. I thank God for that and for the blessing my parents have been in my life. They were my moral compass and shining example of great parents growing up. As an adult I see now and appreciate so much all they gave each of us. They raised us on little money, but I don't ever remember feeling like we didn't have anything. We had each other and made lots of great memories. My parents weren't too busy for us, they attended our functions, knew our friends and took an interest in us as people. I pray often that God will help me be that kind of parent.

So, what have I learned in the last year. Well, quite a lot actually.

I have learned that work is work, but my family has to come first. I have to take the time to be here for my family and be able to balance the demands of my job and my home life. Working from home can at times make this challenging, but the course of this year has brought me a much bigger appreciation of my job situation and more importantly my family. I faced some hurdles at work in the last year, but learned from them and was able to come out even better in the end.

I have learned how fast the kids are growing and how important it is to cherish every minute. Whether it's taking the extra time to read an extra book at bed time, cuddling before bedtime, or a after bedtime pajama dance party on a school night. Each of these moments count and I will never look back and wish I worked more, but I will regret not having these moments with them.

I have learned to be at peace. I am completely at peace in my job and that has never been the case for me. I seem to always be thinking of what elese might be out there, or focusing on what doens't work right. Not this time, I have fully embraced the positive things my job has brought to my life and feel 100% content with where I am. My company is great, and workign from home is a great fit for me and our family.

The most important thing I have learned is to cherish my life and the people in it. I know it is a cliche, and when we lose people we love, we all say it and mean it but then time passes life goes on and we forget. I am working hard at remembering this and embracing the blessings in my life. I may not have a huge house, fancy cars, exotic vacations or tons of money in the bank, but what I do have is this. A family I love, A husband I can't imagine my life without, children that I was clearly meant to have as my own, a job I love, a lovely home, food in my cupboards, and friends that have become my family too.

This year brought some highs and vey low lows. I am hopefull for the next and intend to share my journey as it happens now, no more yearly updates. So get ready for more of the Lamsam Adventures!

Thanks for reading and following me if you have hung in there with me...thanks! Oh and I will share more pictures, I know that is the best part of a blog.

Balloons, Meatballs, Mary Poppins and Storybook Characters

Well, that title has a lot of things that obviously have nothing to do with each other. Since I haven't updated in over a month (I know shame on me) I am going to catch you all up on what is happening in our world.



I will try to go in order, so we will start with Mary Poppins. My wonderful Friend Mark (my wonderful ex room-mate that announced to everyone at my wedding rehearsal he was the guy I used to live with haha) called a few months ago to tell me that he had 2 tickets to Mary Poppins at the Orpheum, and would Jacey and I like to use them? I jumped at the chances and so we planned a big girls night out. I told her she could pick any place she wanted for dinner, and we ended up at the Capitol Grill, not sure how that happened, but we had a super fun fancy girls dinner and then headed to the theater. The play started at 8:00pm and by the time it finished at 11:00pm Jacey was happy, but completely done for. I let her pick a souvenir and she picked the book, which is quite wonderful and I picked out the CD, so we have been listening to a lot of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The play was full of wonderful music, beautiful sets and even a little magic.

Dinner at the Capitol Grill

Outside the theater

Tickets - check, fancy dress - check, excited to see the show, now let's go...

Now for the balloons. My grandfathers 94th birthday would have been on September 22nd. Jacey has been bugging me to send some balloons to him in heaven, so we decided this would be a great time to do it. We headed to my parents for a dinner grandpa would have loved. Homemade soup and bread and some delicious side items. After dinner we headed outside with balloons in hand. it was a beautiful blue sky with clouds at about 20,000 feet (according to my dad the ex airforce weather man) We had 10 balloons total to let go, so we each released two of them. There was little wind that evening, so the balloons literally just went straight up into the clouds. We watched them finally disappear into the clouds. I wish I had brought my camera, it was an amazing sight to see. We ended the evening enjoying some delicious eclairs. It was a wonderful way to remember him and an evening he would have really enjoyed. It is still hard to believe he is gone, I just wish so much to hear his voice again and be able to give him a hug. But that is the selfish part of me, the rest of me knows he is at peace now and free from pain.

Anyway, on to the meatballs. There were no actual meatballs, but mom and I took the kids to cloudy with a chance of meatballs in 3-D. Truly a fun kids movie, great story, sort of sweet, a little romantic and funny. One the whole family could enjoy. Now the kids are anxious to see where the wild things are.

The kids school has an annual storybook character parade in liu of Halloween festivities. The parade was yesterday and Paul was able to attend and get some pictures. Each child can dress up, but they have to be a character in a book and also carry the book. Alex decided on Harry Potter. Jacey had more trouble deciding, but since her all time favorite book is Pinkalicious and purplicious, she decided to be pinkalicious. My mom stayed up half the night on Monday to make her the perfect dress from scratch. The kids were both thrilled and really looked the part. The best thing is we are now ready for Halloween a week early!

Sweet Little Pinkalicious

Handsome Harry Potter

There has been a lot more we have done in the last month including pumpkinmania, horseback riding at my cousin's. sleepovers with friends, playdates and MEA break. OH, we also made it apple picking at a friends orchard, which was a total hoot. We mad it out there twice once just us and one with the Janisch clan. The kids had so much fun and we are all enjoying the fruits of our labor (literally..haha).

I have been sick all week, and Paul is now battling it as well, please say a prayer for me that this dose not become Pneumonia again, I am doing everything I can to rest and take care of myself. Work is super busy, but I am blessed and grateful to have such an amazing job. My coworkers are such great people, I never know work could be so much fun and so intense at the same time.

Two last pictures the kids, got their school pictures back, so have to share. Have a wonderful weekend and I will check in again soon.

Jacey 1st Grade

Alex Kindergarten

A Little Catching up to do

Just a reminder for my personal ramblings, please check out my new blog mysoapbox

This one is just going to be for family fun from now on.

So, I have some catching up to do. Here is the somewhat quick version and a few photos to boot. Our vacation to South Dakota was absolutely wonderful. I journaled the whole thing, and will find a way to add the file here eventually in case you are interested in reading it. The kids had such a great time, the highlights including, hiking at Devil's Tower, Bloodshed at Mt. Rushmore (I am not kidding Alex bumped his head and bloodshed ensued) witnessing a dynamite blast at Crazy Horse (4300 tons enough to fill 360 dump trucks) a fun alpine slide, camping, hotel rooms, water slides, and a trip through bear country. The best part was being together for all those days and enjoying the company of the Barrett Clan they are not only great friends, but a part of our family forever.

Readjusting to life after the trip was hectic to say the least. We had only a few days to school shop and get the kids ready for the big day. Of course it included some time at the state fair and a family picnic. My dad's family gathers every year for a picnic at my Uncle's farm. It usually fun, but this year was a little bittersweet. It was hard being there for the 1st time without my grandpa and the other family members we lost this year. But, the day was lovely and company great. It really turned out to be a good day. Before heading home we stopped at the cemetary to visit those no longer with us, another emotional moment, but it gets a little easier every time.

This years state fair was as big and crazy as ever. We ended up making two trips, one with my family and another with the Janisch's They are a lively fun crew and everyone had a great time. The kids got to go on the big slide, eat lots of fun fair food and be little farmers. We also watched the lumber jack show, which is a lot of fun, but not as much when you have someone next to you telling you what comes next......JENNY!!! haha! We had never seen it before, and the people were so funny and autographed the kids arms at the end, they were in heaven.

Before we knew it Tuesday was here and it was back to school time. Jacey started Tuesday with Alex beginning on Thursday. Jacey was excited, but the morning of got pretty nervous and anxious. We did our best to reassure her, and I am happy to report she jumped into the car at the end of the day and exclaimed it was her "best day ever" and she loves 1st grade. I was so relieved. Alex just started yesterday and what a bundle of energy he was. He happily hopped int he car and couldn't get to his room fast enough. He ran in greeted his teacher and looked around like finally I am here! Having them both going to the same place, certainly makes mornings easier around our house.

It's now Friday night, I am the only one awake and i am loving the calm. It was a hectic week, but we are settling back into our routine. The kids are starting gymnastics this year and have joined the choir at church. Realizing I don't do enough that is only for me, I joined the St. Andrews Choir, I survived the audition and am thrilled to be among the crazy 2nd Alto women, they are a great bunch. We sing every Sunday and practice once a week, it is a big commitment, but I welcome the time that is just for me. Here are some pics to get you caught up. I will blog again and more often now that I am back to a routine. Please check out my new blog, I am kind of proud of it.

Blessings,

Helen

Buffalo's in the badlands Our favorite "merry" dogs as the kids called them

Jacey and Alex our 1st night out Alex and Monica, his girlfriend and future wife

Setting up the tent at Devil's Tower

The Lamsam's The Barrett's

Alex trying to stay ahead of Josh Josh making his big move

Jacey and Papa Sharing a treat

Jacey's 1st day of school Alex's 1st day of school

Both kids on Alex's first day, they LOVE going to school together