Beautiful Day

Well, Dale and Olesya's wedding has come and gone. It was really joyful and beautiful and they are so happy.

They all arrived from Russia on December 15^th. Dale and Olesya, and her mother Zoya.

We were so happy to meet Olesya for the first time, and to get to know her mom using any means we had available to overcome the communication barrier. Most of the time we had someone to translate, but other times we resorted to what few Russian words we knew, broken German, hand gestures, Weston’s polish, and occasionally Yahoo’s online translation tool. Zoya is an absolute gem. I am so glad to have a new friend in her. She loved playing with the kids, especially Annelise. We were very sad to part company with her yesterday.

Oh. And just for the record…

It was SO. COLD.

The final wedding day was a culmination of the exertion and manpower of many people. Many late nights were spent discussing, planning, and then re-planning. By the time we got to the wedding day we were ready to execute our master plan.

So, since this is my blog and we all know that blogging is inherently narcissistic; I will now unapologetically proceed to list the many and various personal skills that I had to call upon in preparation for this wedding. In doing so, I don’t mean to suggest that my efforts were solo or of supreme importance. I also must note that I wouldn’t have been able to help so much with the wedding if Weston hadn’t been so willing to take the kids and allow me to abandon my motherly responsibilities for hour upon hour. Thanks, sweetheart!

So here it is…

SKILLS I USED FOR THE WEDDING

Event Planning

Menu Planning and execution (hosting international guests for 10 days)

Catering (Bridal Shower)

Card Making (Bridal Shower Décor)

I designed this dessert table for the bridal shower. I made these pretty little cards to highlight pictures of the happy couple. Each card had a different function inside.

1. Gift List

2. Written advice from the guests

3. A poem for Olesya written by Dale

4. The list of questions that Angie asked both of them for the newlywed game.

Embroidery (pillowcases I made for my wedding gift)

Hair Dressing (For the bride)

Sewing (Helping with last-minute alterations to Zoya’s dress)

Personal shopping assistant (I don’t really know if I can count this since I was technically present on the last-minute all-day shopping trip, but on the other hand I am the one in desperate need of a personal shopping assistant, so I don’t know that I would really call it a skill, but I did it.)

Decoration and Design

This is my personal favorite. My dad and I set ourselves to the task of disguising the basketball standard in the church gym. I knew we could do something lovely if we just persisted a bit. We did a dry run a few days before, just to make sure it would really work since we only had 3 hours to set up for the reception. My dad hung the flood light from the basketball hoop and draped the backboard in a darker color. Then I hung the tulle in 3 pieces from the hoop ring, including Christmas lights to frame the entrance to the canopy. Then I covered it all with a valance up at the top. Isn’t it beautiful? All night I kept looking at it, so pleased with my efforts, and saddened by the fact that I would have to take it down in less than 2 hours.

And here it is in black and white. Just in case you wanted to see it again.

Set Striking (with very sore feet)

Speaking of beautiful, Angie designed these breathtaking centerpieces that were used at both the luncheon and reception.

You may not have noticed that music was not listed in the skill set I was required to use. Thankfully so. My sister, Ellen, took care of all the music by organizing the grandkids into various ensembles to cover the time.

This is my very big family. My parents have 8 children and 30 grandchildren now.

That’s my sister Melanie. Isn’t she gorgeous?

See? I told you. They are so happy.

Oh. And so is he. Whenever he is eating.

Ah, the joy she is.

All the little girls had this beautiful dress for the wedding. Unfortunately the attempt to get them all together for a photo was not successful.

And here’s our little family. We took this picture toward the end of the night. Yes, my feet were already hurting. And no, Adam is not technically picking his nose at this particular moment.

The Duck That Could Swim and Fly

The Duck That Could Swim and Fly

a story in 3 chapters

by The Blond Guy

as dictated to mom

Chapter 1

Once upon a time there was a little duck who could fly and also swim. Giggle…is that funny? He could even wear glasses when he flies or swims because they couldn’t even come off. Giggle…is that funny? He even had a trampoline. It gives him the powers then he jumps on the trampoline and he gets to a superduck. He turns into a superduck cause he has squirt fire eyes. He jumps on the trampoline every day because he wants powers every day. The powers are forever, so he takes them away. And one of the powers that he gets on the next day, which is on chapter 2, he gets a power that shoots big fire soccer balls that shoots big giant hard trampolines that bonk people’s heads and the balloons can be broken forever.

This is still chapter one. There is a special power where the duck makes poison inside the hoods of his jacket. But his fire, and he also had laser powers, and his fire could not break his lasers, mom. And his lasers could not break his fire. And his fire or lasers could not get killed by anything. Not by ice or water or anything. Not even the lasers.

The end of chapter 1

Chapter 2

The soccer balls had poison inside of them, and then he shot a giant one. And the giant had sharp teeth, and he shot one of the soccer balls in it. The teeth opened the soccer ball. Poison squirted out and the giant died. And the giant stayed dead forever. And then one day a bad guy came. So Superduck used his yellow lasers at the bad guy. And the bad guy died. And then he jumped on the trampoline and then tomorrow he got, oh actually squirt fire, and then tomorrow he got a power that shoots glass dolls with matches in them that wipe on the doll and the doll has fire on the matches and then it shoots at a giant. The giant dies. And then what happened tomorrow again, he got a power that shoots pillowcases with pillows inside them, made out of poison. And then one day he went inside the house and played with legos and built a house. And then tomorrow he met a nice guy whose name was Mr. House, who was a superguy. He was a kind of superman but we’ll just call him superguy for now.* And then the superman got a power from the superguy’s trampoline, he got a power for shooting stones. Big, big giant stones at bad guys and they get squished with the stones once he shoots them at someone. And the superduck got that, too. And then the superduck jumped on the trampoline again, and he got a power that shoots jars that are made out of what candles are made out of, the part that the fire goes on…

Mom: you mean wax?

TBG: yeah.

And then he opened up the jars amd then he got a match, wiped them on the box and put it back in the jar. When the bad guy came he shot the jar at the bad guy, and then the bad guy turned into fire, and then it died, but there wasn’t a hole in the ground, cause that was where his sidewalk was. So he filled up the hole so that people could still walk in the sidewalk.

And then he jumped on the trampoline again and then he flew up into the sky, and then what happened was, there was a powered bad guy that takes away powers from ducks with powers. But he tried to take away the powers from that duck, but the powers didn’t really get taken away from the duck, cause that duck was really hard to take the powers away. Because the trampoline gave powers that are really hard to get out of people’s bodies. And then his family came and said, “good job, you protected yourself, so keep on jumping on the trampoline.”

The end of chapter 2

Chapter 3

He jumped on the trampoline and then he got this power that throws stocking hangers, but they were stocking hangers that had sharp hooks and they were facing forward when he shot them, so it gets bad guys. And then he jumped on the trampoline again, and what happened was he got this power that gets boxes that traps bad guys once they shoot the bad guys. And then he jumped on the trampoline again and he got this power that throws printers that don’t really print stuff, but he shoots them at swords and the printers break the swords by just (sound effect) pointing the metal parts down. And then he jumped on the trampoline again and he got this power that shoots fireplaces that are already lighted up. And he has to shoot them at monsters or giants or dragons, and it breaks on the monsters or giants or dragons so then they die. And then he jumped on the trampoline again, tomorrow, and tomorrow he got this power that shoots chairs.

The end.

*this is my favorite line

It's all about communication.

Scene 1: I'm having a conversation with an adult. The Blond Guy approaches with something urgent to say. I try to explain that I am talking with someone and he needs to wait. He freaks out. Later we talk about what happened and he explains that he can't wait to tell me what is so urgent because that will cause him to forget his words. I offer a solution: Why not turn away and whisper to yourself what you are going to tell me so that you will remember what to say when it is your turn to talk to me? He agrees. In subsequent similar situations he puts it into practice with a little reminding. "I was gonna tell my mom that........ I was gonna tell my mom that....... I was gonna tell my mom, etc."


Scene 2: I'm teaching a violin lesson. The Blond Guy approaches with something urgent to say. I tell him I'm not available because I'm teaching. He turns away and starts whispering, "I was gonna tell my mom...." Feeling a bit sorry for the lad, and knowing he won't be able to whisper to himself for the duration of the lesson, I suggest he write down his thoughts so he won't have to remember them for that long. He leaves the room and later returns with this missive:

Ples can I hav a sgoodr, I wonid a sgatbord, acchlee. Its litning mcqueen.

Please can I have a scooter, I wanted a skateboard, actually. It's Lightning McQueen.


Scene 3: Post-Thanksgiving. I have been prodded into bringing my violin to give a little casual recital for the in-laws. The Blond Guy, who is 5 days into a vacation filled with very late nights and wii overstimulation, is not in any sort of mood to sit and listen to violin music. First thing during O Danny Boy, he storms into the bedroom and shuts the door, making clear his disapproval. Then, somewhere in the middle of Orange Blossom Special, he emerges and returns to his craft project. Soon, Stone and I begin our joint number, Devil Went Down to Georgia (yes, it's humiliating. don't ask.) TBG starts pulling on my leg and trying to talk to me. Stone tells him several times not to interrupt. He grumpily makes his way back to the crafting table. Last thing on the program is Greensleeves. Just as I approach the final 3 measures, I look down and see a little blond boy holding up a full sheet of paper for me to read. This time the message is short:

STOP.

Love

This is me.

I am in love.

With these beautiful golden curls

That just figured out how to walk.

Beautiful golden curls walking around.

What's not to love?

Family Photos

My very talented artist-of-a-brother, Kirk, agreed to take some photos of us with that jolly nice camera of his. Here are just a few highlights from the photo shoot. Perhaps there will be more to come.


Oh, and in case you're wondering, Yes. It is almost impossible to get everyone to hold still and smile at the same time. Fortunately we only needed one winner, and that one you will find displayed in all it's glory on my header.

Pics From My Phone--Part 2

Last Spring I signed The Nog up for an art class through Montgomery County.

It was just because I wanted to have an opportunity for us to do something together, just the two of us.

It was a big ordeal to arrange babysitting for my other two kids, and then drive all the way to Chevy Chase for only a 45-minute class. And I'm sure he's already forgotten it by now.

However, I still think it was worth every minute and every penny. We both enjoyed it so much. And because he is the "middle child," the moments we have to spend together one-on-one are very few and far between.
His teacher told me several times, and very enthusiastically, that my son is "VERY talented." I didn't have the heart to tell her that it just might be because he was a good 6-12 months older than everyone else in the class. But that session was the only one that fit with my schedule so that's the one we took.

I love this kid.

Pics From My Phone--Part I

Amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing to move, my phone broke. We had to replace it and were supposed to send in the broken one within 10 days.

We didn't.

That's because there were pics on my phone that I wanted to keep and we didn't have the necessary hardware to get them off. So now we are probably going to receive some astronomical bill from Verizon because we took so long to send in the broken one. But you, my friends, will be the beneficiaries because I am going to display those pics here.

And you will have to get your fill because the bad news is that our real camera is also broken, among other things including our curs-ed van. Heaven knows when someone will plug up that money drain long enough for us to replace our camera. There may be a dearth in photo postage in the near future.

But what am I carrying on about? We have a beautiful baby to talk about here!

I took these photos on one of those lazy Maryland summer afternoons. I was playing around with the color settings on the camera-phone. The boys were blowing bubbles. The baby was smiling that beautiful smile.

I miss this life so much already.

First Birthday

First cake.

First refined sugar.

First chocolate.

can I offer you some more?

Well....if you insist.

Well, we made it.

It was a very long drive, with some really late nights and then some fun visits with our peeps in Colorado. The good news is, we didn't have to clean up any vomit. Not once. Thanks to good-old, homemade, laffy-taffy-encrusted dramamine and an in-house dvd player. Truthfully the only really annoying thing about the drive was how much time we wasted looking for that blasted binky.

And while I still don't have internet access on my own computer, I decided to go ahead and post something for those of you who tell me you are repeatedly disappointed when you check for an update. But keep in mind that my photo selection is limited to what I've been sent via email in the last little while.

p.s. when I get my computer back I am going to post one wham-dinger of a photo you won't want to miss.

Speaking of missing, here are just a few things we already miss.

The Blond Guy's fiancée

We've had so much fun this year listening to TBG talk about his plans to marry H. He speaks of it very matter-of-factly. It's just the way things are. Not until a few days before we moved did she actually confirm that his plan was, indeed, accurate. When he realized we were moving he asked how he could still marry H. I told him he would have to write her letters. (He's way into letter writing lately.)

Sadly enough, only about 5 days after we arrived in Utah, I heard him say...."Mom, what's A's sister's name? The one that's 4 years old?" He was spouting out variants but couldn't quite arrive at the right name. Stone and I just looked at each other in amazement. How quickly we forget.....

I'm also missing these ladies, and all the other girlfriends I made during my 6 years in Maryland, pictured or not. My girlfriends have been my life's blood in so many ways. We swapped babysitting, carpools, freeze-ahead meals, and just about everything else you could ever think

to co-op. They also came to my rescue on so many occasions beyond the long recoveries I had with each new baby. In fact, I was amazed by how much help I received just with the whole moving process. I had enough offers for help that I had 2 playdates a day for almost every day of the week we moved so that I could focus on packing and cleaning. I could hardly believe it. I also had 3 angels of mercy come to me on Thursday night to help clean my house when I wasn't ready to do it and was also struggling with a very sad, feverish baby. Thank you so much, ladies. I really can not thank you enough! I love you and hope we will always stay in touch.

A Child's Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thankyouforthisfood. Bless mom and dad, bless them to be not sick.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

That is The Nogster's rote prayer. It's strong and steady, and has been repeated verbatim at every opportunity for several months now. First it started out by naming every person in the family. Then it got pared down to just mom and dad. As part of the daily routine, we didn't put much stock in it.

Then just yesterday, Stone and I both had the simultaneous realization that since he has been praying for us to not be sick, we really haven't been sick.

And we're talking about the family that ALWAYS seems to be sick. So much always that it's embarrassing. I won't bore you with details. But to have had a steady couple of months with no illness has actually been very nice.

It has left us free to concentrate on other things. Like moving.

Packing, selling, planning, moving.

That's right, folks. We've decided to move across the country. It has been a long, drawn-out decision making process and there are several reasons why we finally arrived at this decision. The two most significant reasons are:

1) We want to spend some time living closer to our families. We've grown so tired of all the hassle associated with living so terribly far away.

2) We want to buy a house, and we don't want it to be in Maryland. Even though the buyers' market has tamed down significantly and we could probably force our way into a house if we wanted to, we're not willing to make any of the concessions it would take. Dual income? nope. Hours-long commute? nopers. Fixer-upper? not if we can help it. Teensy-weensy house we've already outgrown? not.

There are so many great things about living here in DC. We have loved our time here so much. However, even with all the wonderful things there are to love about it, I guess you could say the cons have finally caught up with us.

So, with Stone having finished his MBA, there's really no reason to stay. I wish that the dear friends we are going to leave behind could be a valid reason. Unfortunately, life must go on and we can only try to preserve and cherish the friendships we have made.

I know what you're thinking now. You know how I know? It's the question everyone asks when we tell them we're moving.

DOES STONE HAVE A JOB?

Well.....no. Not yet. But we have been praying for a door to open for quite a long time and we felt it was time to open the door ourselves, even though we don't know what's on the other side yet. And guess what? The doors are opening for us now. Only after we made the decision to move. One example--NIH may allow Stone to telecommute through the end of the year. This is a huge blessing for us! Stone calls it "lengthening the runway" to give him more time to find a job before surrendering his income.

So now we are really trying to have enough faith and trust that when the time comes, we will be shown the way, one step at a time. And putting a lot of stock now in our other child's prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this day.

Please help us to have a new house and a new job.

Please help us to have the word of God.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

Westward Ho! (part two)

We had a fabulous time in Idaho with all our extended family. This is just a small sampling of the things we did, the people we were with, and the pictures we took.
When we arrived on Grandma's (but really Uncle Boyd's) farm, one of the first things we did was take the kids over to see the horses. I love both of these photos: Stone with the boys (above) and his dad walking down the lane in his awesome hat. I think I could win a photo contest with this one.
Another benefit of hanging out on the farm--going for rides on the 4-wheeler.

Here's Grandpa taking on the kids in a wrestling match. At times, I couldn't tell which side didn't stand a chance. It got to the point where the kids realized they would need something more so they resorted to weaponry. It started out with wooden spoons...then something went awry and The Nog came out of the kitchen with a very big, very sharp knife. He looked me sweetly in the eyes and said, "Mom, can I have this?" I can just imagine if that had been allowed to go any further. He turns to grandpa and says, "I'm gonna cut ya!"

We managed to spend a day in Yellowstone and meet up with the Tolks at Old Faithful. We had a fun day. Below is Nogster's reaction to Old Faithful erupting. He held this Superman flying stance from beginning to end. Awesome.

We went to the Rexburg, ID Temple with Shannon and Ky.

We managed to visit Stone's grandma Ricks a couple of times while we were in Rexburg. She's 99 and going strong at The Homestead assisted living center. I was really pleased when we arrived at the homestead to see that it seemed like a pleasant place to live. The staff was friendly, the home smelled nice and had a real-home feel to it, including a nice kitchen with beautiful cabinets and dining area. Grandma said it wasn't a bad place to live and the staff was kind to her. I even saw a staff member (or volunteer) painting the fingernails of another resident in the lobby while we were walking through. To me it was just a relief to know that she's in such a pleasant home.

Here is our family of 5 on the steps of Grandma Howard's house. Last time we took this photo was in 2005 as a family of 3.

4th of July.

I have had more and more people comment that Goldilocks looks like me. Do you think she does? I think she looks like her brothers.

4 generations.....kind of. I think Stone was supposed to be in my place but then...with a guy in there it doesn't really work it's magic and I guess that's how he felt about it. So just pretend for a second that I genetically belong in this photo. Isn't it sweet?