Saturday, February 06, 2010

Bethany & Josiah

In 2001, I had a joint bridal shower with one Bethany McNichols in Seattle.  We were both to be married that summer to our respective fiances, whom we met in the Theatre department of Seattle Pacific University.

We laughed, exchanged gifts, socialized, ate, and somehow ended up dressed in gowns made of wrapping paper and bows.

It was the beginning of the next stage of our lives.  But I have a feeling that at that time, if you had told us that less than 9 years from then, we would both live in Texas and be hanging out with our combined 4 kids, we probably would have laughed in disbelief.

Funny how the times change…

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Kaelin’s Party

Several people have reminded me that I’m a little behind on this site… so I’m trying to catch up.  Things have been a little, um, crazy around here lately.

We had Kaelin’s birthday party at the Wiggly Play Center this year.  It’s the first time I’ve ever outsourced a birthday party.  For the most part I was pleased, though I will note that WPC’s idea of a “Party Host” is not the same as MY idea of a Party Host.

That said, it was great to be able to show up to the party without having to prepare anything ahead of time.  And Kaelin had a great time playing around with her friends, eating cake, and totally ignoring her pizza.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t in the highest spirits because she started coming down with whatever illness Koren had brought home most recently and passed around the family.  I was still recovering from it and had very little voice, so I kept having to use Jens as my loudspeaker.  Kaelin’s voice started to fail her almost immediately and by later in the day she had a fever.  Pretty crummy deal to get sick on your birthday.  Still, she had as good a time as could be expected under the circumstances.

We had 12 kids in attendance, which was more than we were expecting, but the WPC only charged us for 10 kids, which was nice.  Kaelin was thrilled to see all her good friends from school, church and the neighborhood.  And Koren had the time of his life being the busiest little busy-pants in the world.  He came home and slept for 3 hours, which - in his world - is virtually unheard of.

And now, for the pictures*, which you have to log in to see because of the whole “putting pictures of other people’s kids on the internet” thing:

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Friends from Russia

This weekend we were blessed by a visit from our friends Tatiana and Michael, who run a ministry for orphans in Russia.  While making their way through the US to raise awareness, volunteers and funds for Sunegos International, they had the chance to pay us a visit for a couple of days.

We went to school with Tatiana and were delighted to have the opportunity to meet her husband and 17-month old daughter, Liana.

Liana enjoyed the toys in our sun room, particularly the slide.

Kaelin was thrilled to have company and enjoyed playing with Liana, even though it took her an entire day to learn how to say her name.  Poor Liana - she got called everything from Leah to Maryanna, and then when Kaelin finally learned how to pronounce it correctly she couldn’t stop saying it.  “Liana!  Liana!  Liana!”

Fortunately, Liana is pretty laid back and didn’t seem to mind.

Since Liana and Koren are so close in age, they enjoyed playing together.  Koren was quite taken with Liana and tended to follow her around.

We got to take our guests to On the Border for some good Tex-Mex food, as well as Yogurtville - because you can’t come to Dallas and not go to Yogurtville.

Tatiana and Michael, thanks for stopping by!  We hope to see you again some day on the other side of the world!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Mortality

There seems to be a lot of death going on around here.  I know that’s nothing new, but it seems to come and go in waves.  At times, it’s particularly sobering.

My great uncle, the last of his generation in my mom’s family, passed away this weekend - at the age of 102.  At the age of 100, he was still working out three times a week and volunteering at Cook’s Children’s Medical Center and the American Red Cross.  He had a quick wit, a big heart, and a good sense of humor about his age.  He kept his mind through to the end, even after his vision and hearing failed him.  I think that’s remarkable.

“I thought I just wanted to live to see the year 2000. I did, and it was just the same as 1999. Time does go by faster now. When I was a kid it seemed like Santa Claus never came. Now it seems like he’s coming every two months.”

M. Garrett on the passage of time, 2007

He will be missed.

I wish I could publish a more detailed account of his life, but I would certainly get my facts mixed up without some further research.  He’s being cremated and there will be a memorial soon.  Personally, I think that’s an excellent way to go.  I for one do not want people looking at me after I’m dead.  Also, burial plots are expensive.

It seemed as though he was ready to go.  And that’s good.  In that respect, he had reached a place so many others are not afforded. 

With that in mind, please keep the family of Connor C. in your thoughts and prayers this week.  Connor lost his 4-year battle with cancer this weekend. 

He was 8. 

He is survived by his parents, two brothers and a sister.  His younger brother Mason was in Kaelin’s class at school last year.