Grandma

February 23, my Grandma went home to be with Jesus. I had prayed that God would heal her; knowing that that really only meant one thing... but I didn't want her to be in pain on this earth. I am still sad though that she is no longer here. I miss her. She was a great woman. She was spunky. She was a talented quilter. She was a fantastic cook. I blame her for my size; I definitely didn't inherit Grandpa's dutch genes. :)
I keep hearing phrases Grandma would say... "Oh, forever more!" "For crying out loud!" "Hi-eee" "Hallo" .
I keep picturing her standing with her hand on her hip, a tissue under her watch and/or belt, always wearing a dress (she did recently wear pants, but I missed it!), her SAS shoes...
Her absence leaves a void on this earth, but I am sure she is enjoying the presence of God. I know she is able to stand tall in heaven.
I will always love my Grandma and I will miss her always. She was a special lady.

Until I see you again, Lillian Tuin...

Lillian LaVerne Tuin
June 16,1918 - February 23, 2012

Just for fun...

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~Irish Proverb

Merry Christmas!

"Cant Stop Now"

by Shey Harris

The spotlight brightens the music begins.
I'm up on my toes as I twirl and spin.
I raise up in point, then down in plie.
Performing what I practice, for so long everyday.
To dance is my dream, I can't let it die.
For when I dance, I feel I can fly.
The world can disappear, my troubles can cease.
For just one moment, I am truly at peace.

passing through

I can't get my mind wrapped around death. Especially the death of a young, vibrant, talented girl... and her sister and father... all of who had so much to give in this world. I have to have faith that God knows the big picture. All I can see in this is one little tiny pixel - if I can even see that much. God knows all, sees all, cares for us all. I can't grasp the loss. Not just the loss for us, which we are definitely saddened by, but the loss for the community as well. I can't grasp the loss for her mother and younger brother.
I do know though that the reality of it all is that we are all just passing through this world. None of us are going to stay here forever. Our forever is going to be spent on the other side of this life. When that day comes, I know I will be praising God, dancing and laughing along side of many others that have gone on before me. I am passing through this world.
It is still hard to grasp though. Good-byes seem so final... especially unexpected ones.

Favs

Here is one of my favorite pics. I am not a photographer, but I must say, I was proud of this one. :-) I took in Cambria, CA this summer.

Anniversary Memory

Back in the day when Dave and I were first married with very little income, we used to do creative projects together. We have always enjoyed being creative together, we just don't do that as often anymore... work, kids, busy life. This year for our anniversary (#16!) we decided to spend it creating together. Back in February (during a snow day from school) we painted one wall in our bedroom. We left a space for a special piece of artwork, which we didn't own, nor did we have one in mind to purchase. An idea came to us on Thursday to go get a blank canvas a create a special piece of art.
We painted and we were so proud of what we came up with. It is fun to be able to work together to craft not only projects, but memories as well. We are a great team!

Reunion

I had a reunion of sorts with some of my college buds. I flew to CA all by myself and met up with six of my close college friends. It is great to see these friends and know that it doesn't matter how much time has passed... we can pick up where we left off and it feels so natural to be with them. These are all wonderful people and I am blessed to have them in my life.
We spent the weekend in Cambria at a great house near the ocean. Our time was spent talking, walking, shopping, eating and laughing. It was a relaxing time away and a great 40th birthday celebration for all of us. :-)


Here I am getting ready to get on the plane...

The "Gang" (minus Rachel)
Robyn, Marcia, Wendy, Heather, Jen, Melissa and me

Our ocean view. :-)

On the way back to Orange County, we stopped at Westmont to tour around, take a few picutres and shop at the bookstore.

We just had to get a shot by the fountain.

The Crafty Bug...

I have a bug. A crafty bug. I am totally living in my right brain these days. I have been sewing a ton of things. Let's see, I have made 2 sleeping bags and pillows for the girls' American Girl dolls, shirts for the three of us girls, skirts for us as well, and an apron for Anna. I even chopped up a dress of mine and refashioned it into a skirt and shirt (thought I am not sure how it looks). A serger machine would have been very useful for the dress refashioning. :-/
I have so many ideas rattling around in my head. I need more supplies though... like fabric, elastic, spray paint, wood... not all for the same project, mind you. :-)
Any fabric donations you want to make? Old sheets with some interesting designs? Tablecloths? Curtains?

July 4th

On the 3rd, I felt like being crafty... so I rummaged through the fabric I had laying around and found a lot of red and white gingham... so I whipped some shirts for the girls and me to wear. :-)

We spent the afternoon/evening at our friends' house. We all enjoyed the pool!

We even played croquet.

And we goofed off during the fireworks.

The fourth was filled with fun, food, fellowship and friends. :-)

Joplin

We are on vacation in California. We decided to drive it again this year. We drove right through Joplin, MO and saw some of the devastation that the tornado recently caused. It was a sobering time as we looked around. We took a few photos, but we also felt guilty as we did. These people lost everything! Here is a little of what we saw.

This first photo is from the outskirts of the tornado damage. It shows a mobile home that I don't think belonged in the yard where it currently is. There is a mobile home park a couple of blocks away. I am guessing it belonged there.


This area is a little closer... notice the trees are mangled and the houses are damaged... but look at the playground in the middle of it all, seemingly untouched.


Here we were, a little close to it all... notice the horizon line... this was once a neighborhood full of houses, now it is nothing but a pile of debris.

More debris...

And still more debris...

Neighborhoods and shopping malls are gone. The landscape has changed immensely. This town lost so much!



I can't even fathom what the rebuilding process will be, nor how long it will take. This was complete devastation! So sad!

Emma

This is Emma's first year to go to KFC (Kids for Christ) Camp. It is a week long (Monday-Friday) - away from home camp. She was super excited to go... she started packing a few days ago. We took her to church this morning and watched her get on the "old school" church bus. I am sure she will have a ton of fun this week. I, on the other hand, am not so excited. I miss her horribly! She is a such a joy to have around and I miss her being with us. Our family doesn't feel complete without her. Something is missing...

Emma

Joy is in heart.
It shines through her eyes.
Compassion is in her heart.
It flows through her actions.
Love is in heart.
It shows in her hugs.

When she is not around
I am sad.
She is my helper,
My shopping buddy,
My friend.

Though she is only 10,
She is one of my favorite people.
A week without her is too long.
I can't wait for her to come back home.

SUMMER!

School's out! School's out!
It is summer! It is summer!
We have sun! We have sun!

Way to go, Dave!

This was a big weekend. Dave received his Master's degree in Educational Supervision and Leadership from Ball State University. He has worked hard for this and I am so proud of him! Way to go, Dave!

I am ready for Spring!

It is May. Mother's Day is 4 days away. There are only 15 days of school left. And I am wondering when spring is going to get here! Summer is on the horizon and all I really want at this point is to feel spring. C'mon weather! Cooperate already!

Vacation Surprise

For Spring Break this year, we wanted sun and warmth, so we went to Florida. We all had a blast! We surprised the girls with a Disney World trip. We did one park (Magic Kingdom) for one day. It was so much fun!

Anna's favorite part was meeting Rapunzel. Emma enjoyed it too, though she won't admit it. :-)

80's Zumba Night

I go to Zumba at CSA (Community School of the Arts) here in Marion. They had an 80's theme night with 2 hours of Zumba. It was a blast! And definitely a blast from the past! It was fun to come up with a costume and to see everyone else's costume too. There was a lot of bright colors in the room! I don't know that I have ever exercised for 2 hours straight before. I am a little sore today, but not too bad. It was so worth it! :-)

Photo above is of my sister, Jil and me.

Organizing

I am on a spree of organizing. I spent the past weekend organizing (and purging!). So far, I have made great strides in the guest room, our bedroom and bathroom and the loft. I even found a couple of websites to keep me inspired. One blog has a 21 day challenge to getting your house organized... she suggests doing it baby steps at a time. Today's challenge was the medicine/vitamin cabinet. I took the challenge and tackled the cabinet. I have also been checking out FlyLady. I am able to go to sleep tonight with a clean sink and I spent just 15 minutes today in the girls' playroom (with their help of course!).
My organizing is not limited to my house... I am doing it at school too. I sifted through my "dump box" today and filed away a bunch of stuff. I also went into the equipment room in the gym and (with the help of a fellow teacher) organized it a bit.
I am on a roll!

I am looking for some good ideas.

Know of any good blogs or websites about decorating? I am looking to redecorate and reorganize. I tried to get some ideas online, but haven't really found much. I KNOW it is out there... I just don't know where to begin... any suggestions?

I would describe my taste as being vintage contemporary with an oriental flair. How's that to describe what I am looking for? :-)

The Zumba Craze

Zumba seems to be the new craze... like aerobics, jazzercise, and step-aerobics were back in their glory days. I never really got into all the exercise crazes before. This time around though, I am on the band-wagon. Zumba is really fun. It is a great way to exercise and yet not feel like I am really suffering. I highly recommend trying it. :-)