In 2010, I will...

Continue to get healthier... goals - 100 situps w/o a rest, 40 push ups w/o stopping, loose 1.25 lbs a month, reach the top end of my ideal weight range.
Spend more time with God... by creating a dedicated place for study, reading, prayer and meditation and... goal - use it daily.
Improve my photo skills... goal - finish the next three units of my photo course.
Design a school in Kenya... goal - by the end of January have a new design to discuss with the president and CEO of Visible Grace, by the end of February have January meeting details worked out.

Create more scrapbooks for my children and family... goal - one album every two months.

Continue to throw things out... goal - to remove all piles from my home.
Turn my bedroom into a space of peace and escape...
Play with my children more...
Read more...
Love more...

Evolution of a name

At one she called him "I-ah"
By one.5 it had become "Yi-Yuh"
Shortly after 2, since this past Monday, it has been "Siah"

3 inches of unexpected snow

At four I suggested to my husband that he get himself on the bus and head for home. He decided to do so. He spent four hours waiting for a bus. He is still on the bus, it is 10:30. People in this city can't deal with the snow. it's a mess out there.

top two Adaya phrases

"Me too."
"Read this."

Really?

I was looking for photos for Josiah's school project and came across a family photo from the park, July '08. I was a bit blown away by it. Who is that woman? The second photo is more recent, October '09. I am a different person. I hit a new low on Saturday too. You too can make positive lifestyle changes.

Looking for photos of me w/the kiddos

Does anyone have any decent digital images of me with my kids (from Oct '08-Oct '09? I'm working on their album and so far I have three images of myself in it (two from Christmas treeing last year and one of me, my parents, and brothers from Scotty's wedding). It's kind of sad. Anyone out there have some or even one? Ashby? Ketahs? Krista? Scotty? Anyone?

Fred and Caleb Show

Go to Minkers.com and watch the video. Our friend Phil made it. :O)

PS. Phil, Josiah wants to know when you're going to make another one.

Adaya's 2 yr well check

What a brave little girl I have! First they spray her nose (each nostril) with the N1H1 vaccine. Then they stick her 3 times. Not a single tear!

I'm a bit surprised by the growth charts. I didn't realize she was in the 75th percentile range for height. She seems short to me. I mean she's still wearing 18 month clothing. Who knew? She is still hovering in the 10th for weight. Growing at a constant rate.

Also of note would be the length to weight chart. She is below the 3rd percentile. Meaning, she's a skinny little thing for her height at this age.

Alas, now she is cranky. Best get her a snack or something.

dream

So I had a dream last night that I need to tell you about.

Wes and I were putting Josiah to bed. His execution was scheduled for the next day. I commented that maybe he wanted to stay up all night and read. Wes gave me a look. We were trying to keep life light and normal. I was a bit on edge but I kept thinking that surely my seven year old would be given a pardon. Surely his paper work would cross Obama's desk and he would let my seven year old have a lifetime to do whatever a little boy dreams of. So I didn't seem too worried. (No, I don't know why he was being executed. Yes, in the dream he was seven, but in real life he'll be six on monday.)

Next scene, I'm in a large room and restless. Other people live in this large building. People I know have left stuff laying around. There is a tv. I pick up the remote. An older gentlemen walks in, he's maybe about 70. He asks if I've found my egg. There are plastic eggs everywhere. Humm, Easter. Wes brings me the yellow one that was under a piano bench he was sitting at. It has a smaller egg in it and a piece of paper. I can see this through the still closed egg. I sit down on a table? Wes still has the egg. He opens it for me and pulls out a whole sheet of paper from the little egg. He is reading it over my shoulder. I glance over it and see at the bottom that our friends have reserved the annex for us and left us dinner so we can have a special evening together. Wes is throwing his fists into the air victoriously. I go back to the top of the letter and notice the only part of the letter he has read. There is a bold boxed section. It states that I have been given a stay of execution for the next year. At this point I was the one being executed. I weep. I bawl. I sob. Wes holds me tight as the tears fall and fall.

I wake up.

Interesting dream I think. Execution. Easter. We have all been given a stay of execution from our Saviour.

10 years ago...

...I wrote dozens and dozens of thank you notes. Um, I just found ten of them in a box. Undelivered. I thought I'd done so well. They most have been packed in the move and gotten lost. We bought our first house just four or five months into our lives of married bliss. One of them is even the one I wrote for my maid of honor. Smooth, Angie.

If a picture is worth 1000 words...

then I threw out 1,100,000 words today.

Yes, 1100 prints. You know, from before the digital revolution.

Save the date!

Sunday, October 11th

Instead of having two crazy days of birthday parties this year, we are having one. Yes, two parties, one day. I think it will be saner that way. They will overlap at food and cake.

If you are so inclined to attend the 6th and 2nd birthday parties of my adorable children, then you are invited.

Adaya will be celebrating her 2nd birthday at 11am. It will be a play date consisting of ponies, finger food (fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese), and cake (more finger food for the youngsters). Party will conclude around 1:15 (also known as nap time which is unlikely to happen due to company).

Josiah will be celebrating his 6th birthday at 12:30pm. It will begin with previously mentioned food and cake. It will then proceed with all things Lego. Beginning with Duplo, and after the young ones have parted, continuing with major choking hazards. There will be a lego building challenge (MOC - my own creation), lego awards, lego games, and abundant free build time.

Be there or be square (without studs).

And so it begins, again...

This weekend my daughter said a very simple word. Yet it is a word that requires much of a parent. It will probably continue to be a much used word for the next several years. Today it was her most used word.

Why?
Why?
Why?

women's backpacking day 4 drive home

Our trip home included a stop at Saltz Falls. Note our hitch hiker, Ben, in the first photo. We learned on the way home that he is a friend of our friend, Megan. And Megan was supposed to be on this hike only she hurt her back.

Meet random person on trail. Agree to give lift home. Discover you have a mutual friend. Learn more about person over lunch at A&W. Realize that you have prayed for random person you ment on trail. Conclusion: Perhaps it wasn't such a random meeting afterall. God's hands are all over this one...

women's backpacking day 4

It was a foggy, foggy morn. We set the alarm for 6 so we could get Brenda home by three. It was an early, early morn.

It seems that I don't have any decent pics of the trail home. We hiked out about 6 miles. It was an easy hike. Took about two hours. We picked up a fifth person on the way out. That's an interesting story...

women's backpacking day 3 at camp

Diamond View Lake was amazing. We were the first to arrive and picked the very best campsite. The view was beautiful. Well, I guess you can see that for yourself. As for the afternoon's adventures, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. No, there was no dip, just wading, the wind was too chilly. Most of my sunset photos were taken on a log while Juli fixed up my heal blister, which had gotten worse every day. Our day ended with a little fun around the campfire with "the stick game."

women's backpacking day 3 on the trail

It was a gorgeous day for a hike. The beautiful weather carried through the day. It was accompanied by gorgeous views. Day three was a gentle 5.5 mile hike. It brought us to our camp site at Diamond View Lake by one thrity.

women's backpacking day 3 morning at Marie Lake

It was a beautiful morning. The fog rolled across the Lake. The sun glistened through the tree. We left early in hopes of getting to our next campsite early enough for a dip in the lake. We were feeling greedy too. After climbing down for water, we had hopes of getting a better camp site.

women's backpacking day 2 campsite

We camped on the ridge at Marie Lake. There were lots of people on the trail and the campsites at water's edge were taken. So after setting up camp, we had to climb down to get our water. While Kristan pumped the next day's water (I pumped all the water for that day's hike that morning), I took a foot soak. Oh it felt good to get my tired, blistered feet in cool water. I don't know exactly how I went on two packing trips without blisters from my boots and managed to get them on this outing. Of course we had beautiful skies that evening as the storm cleared out before sunset. Then I saw about three shooting stars in the crystal clear skies before bed.

women's backpacking day 2 on the trail

Our second day was a bit easier. I do believed we hiked over 8 miles though. It was an overcast day. The sky was white all day, except when it was looking grey of course. We spent a good deal of time playing the ABC game with animals. During lunch it began to rain. Thus we were unable to climb Diamond Peak (which would have made the second day the most challenging). We'd have been fools to climb a mountain in a storm. So we put on our rain gear and continued hiking to Marie Lake.