I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today.

Probably has everything to do with being home and all my babies not home.

As I was looking through pictures tonight I came across this one. I have vivid memories of our kids swinging on this tree swing when they were little. The kids love this place. The Cabinhaus. They all talk about going back - I'm sure it has to do with all the memories and love they felt here.

This is the place we learned to camp. Cara was 5 months old when she went camping for the first time, Nate was only 2 weeks old! Danae was under a year (but only because she has a September b'day)! We've done Disney and other vacations with the kids, but it is the camping trips they still talk about. The times with each other without an agenda.

Ramblings from an empty nest: Fridge was fixed today (dang-I hoped for a new one). Our pool became a 25,000 gallon hot tub today....it was 97 degrees! I finally vaccumed our bedroom. The washer and dryer were available - I did 2 loads of wash - and didn't have to wait!

Time for a swim in the "big" hot tub and off to bed I go!

Cheri

Does this picture mean anything to you?

It does to me.




Somehow it happened to us today.
Inspite of all the planning, packing, loading vehicles, the drive to Winona . . .

Arriving at the dorm (Nate) and apartment (Danae) . . .

and the unloading - and setting up ---

I was still, somehow, caught off-guard.

Kirk and I finally pulled out of town (Winona) at 9:00 pm tonight (after unloading at two residences, dinner with the kids, and grocery shopping). We were driving separate vehicles.

All the sudden it happened. The floodgates opened. I cried. I prayed for each of my three kids. I cried again. I prayed more. I cried and prayed.

Then through my tears I started to think about how absolutely, positively proud I am of our children. They are among my heroes, each in their own way. (and that will be a different blog).

Cara, Nate, Danae --- I know you will continue to keep making "Good Choices".

More later, right now I'm physically tired, and emotionally spent.

Love you,

Dad & Mom

Sometimes I have absolutely nothing to post on the blog. Sometimes I get an idea at the last minute. Today happens to be a good day - but a bit disjointed. I hope you don't mind!

Thursday: Nate took this during a downpour. We see it whenever it rains - but we still get a kick when it happens. (hint: it's an underground gutter from the house)

Friday evening: Maybe you were going to a movie, or out to dinner. We were spending big bucks at Sam's Club (and the Walmarts) buying school supplies and dorm food. Oh for the days of buying crayons, glue sticks & lunch bags!

Saturday: I got up at stupid o'clock to hang pictures, etc. at the church building. Then came home to this: Some of you may be thinking that my wonderful hubby defrosted the freezer and cleaned the fridge. What this really means is that when I woke up early (I don't like to get up early) - I found a puddle of water in front of the fridge. Not sure this 15 year old is gonna pull through. The fridge doctor hasn't called us back.

Timing? Yeah, not so good. Danae took a load of stuff to her apartment this afternoon and sleeping there tonight, then home tomorrow for load 2. Kirk and I will go with Nate and Danae to Winona tomorrow to help move in the rest of DJs stuff and move Nate in.

So, guess it looks like we are living out of the garage fridge and cooler for a few days.

Now for the last installment of horse facts, by Natalie....

"You can tell how old a horse is by looking at its teeth."

Can you name this famous horse and his human friend?

How did we get from this

to this . . .

so quickly?

This morning we sent our first baby off . . . to her "grown-up" world --- in the far-far-away land of Cincinnati, Ohio. We hugged and kissed her good-bye at the Minneapolis airport....then drove off.....and although it felt wrong . . . it also felt right. My tears were a mix --- part sad - but alot happy and proud of our girl. She's a brave, strong & sensible girl (woman) who is very capable and equipped to enter her nursing career doing what she does best --- caring for others with her God-given gifts.

Cara - we love you!

Do you remember the 80's? I do. But, mostly I remember my little sister's "lion hair" (held together with a can of hairspray), and her nearly white lipstick and eye shadow. Last night Danae and her friends dressed up 80's style and went bowling. Though they were born in the second half of the 80's, they didn't do too bad. I wasn't home when Danae left for the bowling alley scene, when she got home at midnight (or so) -- I'd just crawled into bed -- but seeing how cute she looked, I forced myself back out of bed to take some photos!




I kinda like the red lipstick on her!
I'm signing off now....road trip 2008 begins in 5 hours! We are getting up at stupid o'clock tomorrow and leaving at dumb-thirty. I'll be posting from Montana tomorrow! Pray for us. :)

Another step into "grown-up land" is taken by our first baby.

C is moving into her own place the first week in August. One of her immediate needs was a bed, so while we were in Cincinnati for her graduation, we helped her purchase a mattress & box spring. Which meant a lot of laying around .... and testing.

DJ just wanted to rest and not be a part of the process.

Of course you have to lay on each mattress the way you would normally sleep.

Even if it is embarrassing.

That's the winning set (above). It's really comfy and will feel especially good after C gets off her 12 hour (night) nursing shift.

Excuse me now while I go cry 'cuz my baby is moving away.

p.s. "Special Places" to be continued, later.

We experienced a rare occassion at our home last week, we all had dinner together! Actually, since that day last week, I think we've managed another dinner together. Not bad for us, 2 times in two weeks 5 people from the same house - sitting down for a meal together. The first time was for a little family celebration of Nate's birthday. The last time was, wait....Last Night! I have to say that one of my favorite things to do is to have dinner and spend time with my kids and Kirk.

So, since I just "happened" to have my camera with me, I begged and pleaded to take a photo of the three of them together.

and being the well-mannered, lovely children they are, they were agreeable.

to a point, that is.

they are always open to a group photo . . .

but sometimes, it's on their terms

and I have to be very patient

until they choose their favorite pose

which is totally up to them!

and I thought it was a challenge to take their picture together when they were 1, 2 and 3 years old!!! Love you kids!

Cheri

Final graduation weekend photos . . .

(thanks for indulging me!)

Downtown Cincinnati --- on the way to:

Graeter's Ice Cream! A Cincinnati icon. Notice Cara pointing the sign out and nearly clocking Luke in the jaw? That's Faith and Danae behind Luke...then Kirk and dad.

Cara's FRIEND, Luke.

Four years ago Cara spoke at her high school graduation. I'm including that speech below -- because, well, it is applicable to everyone --- even today. And so I will end all the blogs about graduation weekend with this . . .

When people make speeches on occasions like this – we look for inspiring words that we can remember and that might make a difference in our lives. Those words for me came from my aunt. It’s just one simple sentence: “You always have a choice and it always makes a difference”.

My aunt uses that phrase as a slogan for her own life. She teaches it to her children – she shares it with the kids at the summer camp she leads each year and she shared it with me.

“You always have a choice and it always makes a difference” – those were the words that helped me get through eighth grade – the most difficult year of my adolescence. I was making bad choices. I was depressed. I was losing hope. That year I almost lost myself. And then I remembered – “I always have a choice and it always makes a difference”

Those words meant that even though life wasn’t the way I wanted it to be – I wasn’t powerless. I always had a choice. And even though life didn’t always go the way I thought it should – I still had power… because my choices always made a difference.

All of us are faced with thousands of choices a day. Some of those choices seem small: what time To wake up, what clothes to wear, whether to smile and to say hi to someone passing on the street or just keep looking down. All small choices – but they all make a difference. Some of our choices we just know are huge, whether to go to college, go to work, or join the military. Whether to use drugs and how we use our sexuality. These are the kinds of decisions that frighten our parents because they know “we always have choices and they always make a difference.

Some of these choices we’ve already made – some of the consequences we’ve already faced.

There is no group of people facing more choices or the excitement of those choices than high school graduates. We are about to leave our homes and step out into a world of choice. How we make those choices will make a difference. What we choose to do, whether big or small all make a difference. Ultimately being 18 or graduating from high school doesn’t make one an adult. Being an adult – is all about the choices we will make.

Author Max Lucado wrote about the choices of a single day. I’ve stolen his thoughts and reshaped them to fit me – my life on this day. Let me share them with you…

In a few moments the day will arrive, soon I will be exposed to the day’s demands.
It is now that I must make a choice. And so I will choose.
I will choose love…
No occasion justifies hatred;
No injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love.
I will choose joy… for it is mine to choose.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…
I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.
I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity
I will choose peace… because I have the power.
I will live forgiven.
I will forgive so that I may live.

I will choose patience…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
I will choose kindness…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.
And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I will choose goodness…
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.
I will confess before I will accuse.
I will choose faithfulness…
I will keep my promises.
I will choose gentleness…
For nothing is won by force.
I will choose self-control…

I am a spiritual being not an animal that lives by instinct.
And I will seek God – for without him my life means nothing
My choices have no direction. And I am blind without a guide.
And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

My fellow graduates. My many friends. We are living in the dawn of a new day - a day that is filled with choices. And so I ask you “what will you choose?” Don’t let life just happen to you. Make the choices that lead to a better life and a better world.

My wish for you – for all of us: when each day or our lives is done, we will place our heads on our pillows and rest with a deep satisfaction that comes from the choices we have made.

And no matter what happens – how hard or wrong or difficult some of our lives become I hope that we will remember one sentence that my aunt taught me…

We always have a choice.

And it always makes a difference.

Cara, Class of 2004, Rochester MN

With love, from one proud mom,

Congrats . . .Cara!

The marqee on the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati . . ."Congratulations Christ College of Nursing & Health Sciences Graduates"

Our girl after getting her degree !

Within minutes of graduating nurse Cara is called upon to care for Grandpa!

. . . because my (huge) camera slid down my shoulder and hit him in the arm on his delicate skin, which caused it to rip open.
Cara jumped right into action finding a band-aid and taking care of Grandpa ~~

And Grandpa was so happy he thanked his nurse with a kiss!

Driving is so tiring. Maybe I neglected to mention this in the past, but I really don't like road trips. I get antsy sitting in the car. I'm so limited on what I can do. Sitting in a car for hours on end is like torture to me. Yesterday was torture. We spent 11 hours driving to Cincinnati, OH yesterday. I do admit the pay-off at the end was worth it...getting to see our first born!
Shortly after we arrived her friend Cari showed up and we all went for dinner at LaRosa's, the local pizza joint. Then we went to WalMart to pick up a few things and a certain circumstance (which shall remain confidential) got us all laughing so hard that I was crying, and came very close to losing "control" if you ladies know what I mean. Remember, we are in the middle of WalMart...the cereal aisle to be exact. So, yeah, Cari got an authentic introduction to our family. Ok, to me. Sheesh.

Tonight is graduation. Hard to believe one of our babies is graduating from college and moving out on her own. Ok, more of that gushy stuff later. Gotta run and find her a mattress and box spring now!

Those hazy, lazy days of summer.

Oh, the life of a college student . . . . . . in the summer.

This was the beginning of Monday evening. . . then there was strawberry shortcake for dinner. Which is a bit of a tradition at our house in strawberry season. Then 3 more college students arrived. Danae gets tossed (accidently) :) in the pool by Aria. Aria jumps in out of sympathy, I guess. Now that two are wet, the other three decide they want to go downtown to RochesterFest for cheese curds! Aria borrows shorts, boxers, shirt from Kirk (is that TMI?) and off they go at 9pm (earlier than usual for a night out). Me? I go to bed! And that is exactly where I am going now!

Sweet dreams,

Happy 21st Birthday Nate !!

This handsome guy is our favorite son and brother!

He is celebrating his 21st birthday in style -- in Paris !!

If you are lucky enough to know Nate,

you already know that he is amazingly patient with young children.

Kids flock to Nate -- and hang on him, and sit on him, and pester him,

but he never loses control with them,

and seems to have total control of the situation.

You also know that Nate is fun to hang with. You never know when his quiet personality will flip into a comedian. He laughs at his own jokes (among other things), and can do some pretty good impersonations. Nate also has many movie and tv lines committed to memory which he pull out at appropriate times to make everyone laugh.
And....you also know he is VERY creative and a Harry Potter fan. That's Nate's creativity at work in the photo above . . . and yes, it is Nate, not Harry. Have I mentioned how well he writes? For a sample of Nate's creative writing, read his blog.

This cute kindergartner may some day be teaching your children history (his absolute favorite subject) --- or geography, or spelling, or math. . . because he is currently a student at Winona State University where he is studying to be an elementary school teacher. An excellent choice of matching his gifts to his job!

Natey -- we love you and miss you lots, but we are also VERY excited you are living a dream by traveling in Europe!

Happy 21st Birthday!

Love Mom & Dad

It's not easy to get Kirk to go shopping. Somehow I convinced him that tonight was a good time to go find him a couple new dress shirts and ties. Let me tell you, he was WAY over do for some new ones. We were all getting tired of seeing him in the same blue shirt with his suit!

Just so happens that Danae & Kate were at the mall too, so after we got ourselves a Northern Lites cooler at Caribou, we decided to visit our little shopper in Wet Seal. . .

I think the dressing rooms are nice in this store.

The lighting is really neat . . . see how it pours out the doors?

There she is. We told her that her children will laugh at this outfit someday. But I have to admit it does look cute on her.

Oh yeah....the shirts! This is what we settled on. An ivory shirt with a maroon/ivory tie and a lavendar shirt with a paisley tie! They look better in "real life". Kirk looks so good in a suit...I can't wait to see these on him.

Good evening. No, really, I had a good evening. No housework, no yardwork. Just doing stuff I like to do. Like cooking, eating outdoors, spending time with family...and friends. Guitar playing (not by me). Candlelit evening. A fire.

The grillmaster cooking our yummy Spiedies!

Danae's friend, Aria playing guitar.

...and singing. romantic songs

Candlelight

There are currently several 18 & 19 year olds on the patio. I'm glad they are here. I do miss our Nate though. I wish he would call! (Got that hint Nate??)

Good evening blog friends (and family) ;)

He's off to London to visit the queen!
Ok, so he won't be visiting the queen (unless he happens to run into her), but Nate is off to London!

These are the three ladies he is traveling with!

What do you think? Does the boy look happy? Excited?!

I still can't believe how light they all packed! They'll be gone 4 weeks!

Ok, one more.....I want a close up.....

Danielle, Nate, Michelle, Kelly

Nate called us from Chicago at 9:00 pm. They were supposed to get into Chicago at 4pm. Their connecting flight to London was at 9:30!!! They raced through O'Hare when they landed and made it to the connecting flight. Last time we talked he was on the plane. Phew! Turns out the plane coming from Chicago (their plane) was delayed because of storms. Finally on the plane to ORD they had to take a different route....as in over Omaha! As they headed to ORD the pilot came on the PA system and told them if they couldn't land at ORD they would have to land in Rockford because they were running out of gas! If that had happened they would have missed their flight to London. It's all good now.

Nate is SO organized and informed about this trip. One of the girls said, "I'm not even worried about anything on this trip, Nate has all the details and is SO organized". Those of you who know my boy realize how "out of character" that is. I'm proud. He has done his travel "homework" and is taking the leadership role.

How cool to be traveling with 3 ladies?!! Oh, and Kelly, the girl on the far right....Nate has known her since he was 5 years old! Kelly used to live next door to us!

A little bon voyage dinner ...

To send off our Nate to Europe!

I decided today that I am excited AND nervous about it. I know he will be fine. But it's my job as the mom to be a little anxious.

Have fun Nate...be safe!

A smile is worth a million words . . . and this smile is no exception!

Nate got his braces off today ! To read about this historical day in his life, click here because Nate is an excellent writer and he can tell the story way better than I!

If for some reason you can't get to Nate's blog by clicking the link above, you can find it by clicking on "Nate's Blog" in the right hand column on this page.

Are you my mother?

Today we decided to test how the adult chickens would take to having the chicks around. First we only let Rosie in with the chicks since she was so "motherly" to the younger chicks last summer. Rosie did great. The other two hens....well, let's just say they were not as happy to have the little ones around! We only had the little ones in the pen for awhile before taking them back to their warm little "nursery" in the garage.

Then we did a little "Chicken Chasing" . . .Sometimes we are especially nice to the hens and let them out of the pen to scratch the ground and get some of their favorite foods.....bugs. The challenge comes in when we want them back in the pen before they want back in. . .

Just when you think you have one.....they escape your hold

and make a run for it again

It can be quite a challenge to get them out from under the spruce trees

But it is Very hard for them to resist a bright red strawberry!

Finally....within reach

Chicken hypnotizing: "repeat after me......never, run away from the people"
~~~~never a dull moment I'll tell ya!

Can you do this?

Danae can. This is a photo from Mother's Day at Applebees. Ask her sometime, she'll tell you how!

Today I am tired. Kirk worked on the barn all day. I worked in the yard, flower beds transplanting and planting. For you weather junkies....it was a perfect yard work day ending with a lightening storm, and a little rain.

Later,

Too cute not to post -- Cara in her new scrubs. Who wouldn't want this smiling face in these bright scrubs to care for you in the hospital?

She's doing "transition" this month -- which means she works the same schedule as her preceptor (a nurse). It's part of her training, so she doesn't get paid, but she gains loads of experience. Last week she worked an 11pm - 11am shift followed by an 11pm - 7am shift. Monday she'll work nights, then go to work at the GAP, then to class in the evening. Yikes. I'm a bit concerned. If you think of her, maybe you could pray for her too.