New clothes...

You needed clothes - BADLY!!! I just bought you a bunch of clothes about 3 1/2 to 4 months ago, but you've outgrown them. I didn't even get that bill paid off yet. Wow. You grew almost 4" - I can hardly believe it!!

Poor Benny! You were down to next to nothing. You never really complain about that kind of stuff. Oh sure, you'll complain about the bugs and nats flying around your face. You'll complain about mowing the lawn in the heat of summer.... this summer was really hot and humid too! But, shoes too tight, pants getting short, underwear pinching you?????? You never say a word. You are just like your Dad that way.

Your brother on the other hand --- a clothes hound!!! He's just like me! I found 13 short-sleeved t-shirts; 17 long-sleeved t-shirts; 7 jackets and at least 12 hooded sweatshirts. But he has only one pair of jeans! Go figure! How'd that imbalance happen?

So, today, I got to go shopping with you! Just you and me. It was fun and we did it all for under $90.00. Kohls is awesome!

Thanks for a wonderful morning!

Opportunities

We found... stumbled into, an opportunity for one of you today. An opportunity to spend time with Mission Aviators. Since you are interested in becoming a pilot, we thought this would be a great opportunity for you.

We can only open doors. We cannot force you to walk through. With the right mentors in place, we can only pray that you will find an interest that will create a spark for you. Prayerfully, that spark will grow into a lifetime of enjoyment, fullfillment and financial gain and prosperity.

We can no longer take you by the hand, we can only guide and counsel. I pray that we are up to the task. I pray that we can help you prosper and be the men that God created you to be.

Baking

I'm glad you guys learned to bake bread -- and so are our friends!!! Your bread is fantastic! You make a yummy garlic and cheese bread.

Ben makes a banana bread that is out-of-this-world! He says it's his secret recipe, but I have it too!!

We got started making bread when friends of ours - the people we bought this house from - gave us a loaf of home-made bread when one of us was sick. They eventually showed us how to further our bread making skills by grinding our own wheat berries. We loved this so much - and I loved the cost effectiveness - that we used a tax refund one year and bought a ginding mill machine.

I hope that you take this talent into your own homes and families, further spreading the joy and love of baking to your dear ones.

School's out.... sort of...

Ugh!! Getting you two to finish up your schoolwork is a daunting task!!! I can't bribe you with a long summer. You don't care about money enough to make it worth while. Taking away your "toys" doesn't even work for very long!!!

I keep singing Alice Cooper's song, School's Out, in my head!

So, this year, you are ALMOST done. After several curriculum requirement changes, you are BOTH still grumping about feeling sorry for yourself. It doesn't help that I've given you enough time and now nag you like mad!!!

Oh well! I can't do the work for you and I'm not very lenient with you. Actually, I've been told by your public school counterparts that I'm very hard on you academically. That's RIGHT!!! Get that school work done! Don't meet a deadline? Too bad!!! You may get one more chance or you might receive an 'F'. Your employer won't like it if you don't get the required work done, so consider schooling employment practice!!

You're both very good students and your grades are fine, but I do like to tease you so!! (You still have to get this year's required work done.... SOON!!)

Hugs,
Mom

Your Love Languages

You each have your own love language. They are as different as you two are!

I read a book: The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Actually, I read The Five Love Languages of Children, The Five Love Languages of Teenagers, The Five Love Languages of Apology and the original - The Five Love Languages. He has several more and variations of the original. They're very good. I've purchased several over the years and have given most of them away - only to have purchase more in the hopes of keeping one for myself! It will definately be a must read for each of you the closer you get to an engagement.

My oldest, your love language is "Time Spent", then a tie for second is "Touch" and "Gifts"

My youngest, your love language is "Touch", then "Words of Affirmation".

Your Father is "Touch" and "Time Spent" both equally.

I'm "Acts of Service" then "Time Spent"

I hope you remember this and never lose your copy of the book that I will make sure ends up on a bookshelf in your next home away from ours.

Pets ~ 6/23/2010

It's always so sad when you have to put a beloved pet down. Today, Benny had to put down his little friend, Rascal.

Rascal was one of the best rats we've met. He was very docile, much like his owner. We aren't sure what happened to Rascal, but it sort of looked like a stroke. He had a hard time getting his left side to work. What set us off in worry was his left eye. It would no longer close, so it looked bad. It must have watered constantly, since it wouldn't close. That, in turn made it feel irritated and Rascal must have kept on rubbing it - that's what made it look bad. However, the wobbly left side also indicated a stroke.

We got Rascal as a rescue, along with Templeton. They didn't have a good healthy start due to their first owners' ingnorance. So, we rescued them and got their health to be the best that we could. Obviously, the damage of malnutrition was irreversible, since they both had some minor rat health issues. However, you did a wonderful job loving them and being a good friend. Rascal had a fun life with you as his best friend and he got to eats lots of healthy food and snacks. I'm very proud of the way you took care of him.
I've been writing children's stories with Rascal as the main character, now he can live 'forever' in the books that I hope to have published.


Today though, I thought of one more story for Rascal and that would be about how strong and caring his beloved human was to him. Good job Honey. I really believe that Jazzy met up with Rascal today. I picture him riding on her back and they are no longer in pain and they are happy chasing squirrels.

Fast Freddie ~ 1978/1979 and 1984

People have a hard time believing some of my stories. However, I swear that this one is true. You can ask Mindy anytime and she will tell you the same thing.

When we were younger, Mindy lived on Elm Street in Horicon. We'd often spend long weekends at Gramma's house and since it was well before MTV, video games and the internet, we had to invent our own games. Some of the games reflected TV shows we watched; others were more simple like Hide and Go Seek or Toss Across. Incredibly enough, there was one game that we played that was a scary game. We didn't tell ghost stories, instead we'd play scary games. One such game was called Fast Freddie. Now, it doesn't sound scary, but Fast Freddie was a child killer. For some reason he was scary to look at, like he was ugly, burned, disfigured or something. He had razors for fingers that cut you into pieces. Sometimes he'd stab you with his fingers and always, he'd chase you until you no longer had the strength to keep going.

Eventually, our pretend games gave way to the other things I mentioned. Table top video games were invented - miniatures of the arcade games that sat on your table at home. MTV first began - with videos by Rick Springfield, Duran Duran, Wham, Cindy Lauper and Madonna. We turned towards the things that teenagers turned to in the early 80's and kept going.

Suddenly we were old enough to babysit at someone else's house and we got paid for it! This meant that our free weekends were spent going to the mall, eating at the food court and then to a movie. All this on $5.00 or so for the whole weekend. The 80's were awesome! Totally!

The year was 1984. I was in the 9th grade. It was a cold autumn weekend - a Friday night. My best friend, Cheryl, her sister, Heather and myself went to the Fond du Lac Mall. Of course, Cheryl's parents had to drive us. We went to see a scary movie called, Nightmare on Elm Street. I could not believe what the story line was!!! A creepy burned man named Freddie killed kids with his razor hands!!!!!!!!! I was so freaked out by the movie. On the way home I told Cheryl's parents about the game we used to play. Cheryl's Dad, being the forever prankster, slowly put his hand down along the side of his seat... we never noticed... and then in the middle of our jabber, he suddenly grabbed my foot! I SCREAMED!! Then Cheryl and Heather SCREAMED TOO!!! Cheryl's Dad just kept on laughing at us, but I think I peed my pants! He didn't even know who's foot he was gonna get, but he said my reaction was great!

When I got home after my sleepover, I called Mindy and told her the whole thing. At first I don't think she believed me, but eventually news of the movie got out. She was just as creeped out as I was!

Mindy and I like to think that someone heard us playing and turned our game into their own movie idea. How else does something that horrible come to be???

Creeepyyy!!

My Driver's License ~ 1986

Right now Rick has his temps. Ben is next. When the time came for me to take Behind-the-Wheel, I was in California living with my Dad. I didn't want to drive on the freeways, so I skipped that part. When I got back to Wisconsin though, my Mom made me get back into it all. So I took Behind-the-wheel with the next class. I already had my class time in, all that was left was Behind-the-wheel.

This was the hard part. I was supposed to put in so much time every week with my Mom. The hard part was that she didn't believe in me. She claimed I was terrible and she was terrified and just couldn't do it. So, I didn't get any practice time in between classes. I don't know how she could have know I was terrible because she only got in the car with me two times. My Gramma took me out three times. Gramma let me drive to Beaver Dam and practice there, since that was the city where I'd take my driver's test. Gramma was smart! At any rate, no one else would take me out, not even my Mom's boyfriend.

When it was my turn to drive for Behind-the-wheel I was so nervous. I tried to act calm, but then the instructor asked me for my time sheets. I didn't have anything recorded on it. He kinda yelled, but didn't. I'm sure he knew that I had to have a parent take me out and that it wasn't my fault. I think he called my Mom to tell her to take me out - that's when Gramma started taking me out. Gramma lived in Horicon. She had to drive 20 min. to our house, drive me back to Horicon to practice there and then she had to take me back to our house! She never complained to me, but I sure would have liked to hear the earful she gave my Mom!

So, I was able to somehow pass the Behind-the-Wheel portion of the class. When it came time to take my Driver's Test I couldn't parallel park, so the guy flunked me.

The second time I had a different instructor. A lady! I told her that I still couldn't parallel park very well and that I didn't have anyone to take me out to practice. How can I get practice without a licensed adult to take me? She said that if I was like any normal woman, that I'd NOT parallel park anyway - that I'd drive around the block until I found a place I could park in. whew! I passed that time!

Having my license was so freeing at first. I saved up my money from my job at Main Street Pizza and I got my own car - a HUGE light blue station wagon! I paid for my own insurance, gas and I got a pair of eye glasses that year too! (good thing!) It was freeing to me, because I knew that I could pack up my stuff and drive anywhere I had to, if I needed to run away again.

Thankfully, I didn't have to run very far. Your Daddy saved me!

Yes, the sun does rise and set on your.... tush!

There's a scripture, John 14:6 ... No one comes to the Father except through me. That 'me' being Jesus.

I have a saying that you both just laugh and laugh about: "You cannot get to the son, without going through the Momma!"

What I mean is, there isn't a girl out there that will be good for you... UNTIL after she's my friend.

Yes, my dear sons, your Mother fully believes that the sun rises and sets on your ass. I used to be so protective. I would even take your Daddy aside, after he was disciplining you; I'd say to him, "Why/What are you doing/saying to my son?!!!" I wasn't very nice about it either!!! I'm waay more relaxed now and YOUR Dad and I are STILL married and happy! L&L&LOL

I know you can both be poop-heads and I know that you aren't perfect, but I sure do have fun being your Momma!

Warm Oranges ~ 1985

When I lived in California with Dad and his family, it was 1984/1985. I met Mario for the first time. I spoke with him for the first time. He was 3 years old by the time I knew about him. I think Dad tried to tell me, but my Mom never let me know. I loved Mario so much. He was so cute! Claudia had three other children, Anthony, Greg and Shauna. Me the oldest and Mario the youngest. (By-the-way, I got the orange tree photo from lovethatfeeling.com, they were very nice and said I could use it! ~ special thanks to them!~)
It was when we lived on Poplar Street in Vacaville that we had an orange tree and a lemon tree in the backyard. Claudia and I sang a song for the lemon tree. It went like this: Lemon tree, very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat. But the flowers did smell beautiful in the Pacific breeze.
Our orange tree, now that was something! That tree was taller than the ranch-style home we lived in! The oranges were bigger than softballs, but smaller than volleyballs.

I asked Claudia if we could eat them, she said we could. So, I climbed up on the picnic table and picked oranges for all of us. We ate them fresh off of the tree. They were the juiciest oranges - the sweetest and they were sun-warmed. It was wonderful! The best oranges I've ever eaten.

Here in Wisconsin, we don't get to grow orange trees, nor do we get to experience fresh oranges off of the tree that are sun-warmed. That's why I wanted to include this memory in my blog.

Laughter IS The Best Medicine

There are, of course times when we get crabby. However, it is next to impossible to REMAIN crabby when listening to Veggie Tales, Veggie Tunes. We'd sing with Larry Boy to The Hairbrush Song. We'd croon along with Cheeseburger. We'd try to keep up with the Song of the Cebu. One night when Dad was still working at Quad Graphics, we stayed up until about 2 a.m. singing entire Veggie Tales soundtracks!!! Laughing the night away.

When the temps get to 80 deg. and the humidity levels are high, I tend to get cranky too. It's at times like these, knowing myself well enough, that I declare a swim day. We'd often pack up and go to Green Lake for some swimming and for me to cool off. You would get a bit quiet and nervous, knowing the "Momma is crabby", but you knew that the minute I got into the car, rolled down the windows and cranked out the Veggie Tunes that all would be better. Once I, literally, cooled down, we could all be happy and laugh once again.

If you didn't get enough sleep at night, you'd be cranky in the morning. Sometimes you'd get sent back to bed for more sleep. Othertimes you were forced to take a "Quiet Time" in the afternoon. During our "Quiet Time" you could read or sleep, but you had to be quiet and you had to be in your room. Sometimes we'd do Quiet Time in the backyard. Other times we'd do Quiet Time in the living room watching a movie with the volume down really low. I'd turn the answering machine on and lock the doors. I'd pull the blinds and let the soft light of the late afternoon gently filter through. Sometimes there would be a soft gentle breeze, moving the blinds gently against the window sills. The final 'rule' was that no one got to disturb the rest of the family until the timer went off. I used this time regularly to regain my sanity, catch-up on my reading or writing. When Quiet Time was over, my boys were happy and joyful once again. You were ready, willing and able to laugh with me once more.

There were many times when our lives weren't constantly happy, but we were full of joy, we were together and eventually the sadness moved on. But through it all, we'd laugh and we were glad to be together.

~ Love you! Momma~

Hiking ~ 2006 to present

We first started taking you hiking in 2006. We went to Door County and hiked down the cliffside to the water below. We even took along our Golden Retriever, Jazzy. She loved it as much as the rest of us! When we arrived at the water's edge, we found a huge teepee made out of drift wood logs. The teepee was approximately 15' tall and at least 15' at the base. It was awesome! We all sat inside of it. We've tried to find it since, but no such luck.

Today, we went hiking at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin. We hiked the East Bluff Trail. This time we took our Golden Retriever, Sophie. Jazzy wasn't far from our thoughts, however. We knew that she wouldn't have been able to make the hike. We used up all of Jazzy's Fun Energy since 2006 and had to put her down. However, today we thought of her and knew that, had she been younger, she would have had fun hiking with us. But, to the present, Sophie did a wonderful job. Many people, I'd say 98% of the people that came across us hiking, would stop to say hello to Sophie. They'd ask if she had enough water. They'd give her a pet, call her a good girl or say, "Hey buddy, you're up here too?" She did well with the other dogs - actually, I think all of the dogs were so worn out that they didn't have enough energy to even sniff butts!! One little cutie white fluffy poodle type was being carried. I said to Sophie, "Don't get any ideas, I'm not carrying you." The other owner just laughed and laughed. Sophie wanted to go first and picked the trail for us most of the way. There was one time where we were on a switch-back and she thought she could just jump down and get to me. In doing so, she almost slipped off of a huge boulder.

The trail we took today was absolutely beautiful. There happened to be lots of people hiking today, but it wasn't annonyingly crowded on the trails. We even saw a blind man and his family making their way on the trail. I imagine most of the people were on the beaches and in the picnic areas. Being a holiday weekend - Memorial Day combined with great weather, it's no wonder that Wisconsin most popular State Park was jam-packed full today!

Going up to Door County last week, we bought an annual State Park sticker so we could hike at Penninsula State Park both last week and again in October when we go on vacation. We decided to use our State Park sticker every weekend that we can this year, to get our money's worth. However, I think we will be using it mostly at Devil's Lake and then Penninsula the most. We'd like to get you to Governor Dodge this year. That's a favorite because it also has waterfalls. There is one more state park that I know of, with waterfalls, but it's waaay up near Superior - an 8 hour drive; we'd need to spend the night somewhere to get in some hiking.

Both of you are so funny! You've both asked for ibuprofen since we've gotten home. Sophie's feet were so hot!! We got out her little pool and let her cool off - it was funny when she sat and cooled off her pooky - could almost hear her body go. psssssssssshooo as she cooled down. But Dad and I are good, once we got some cold iced drinks at the Kwik Trip in Baraboo, we were good to go.

We all had a really good time. Hiking is one of the things that we all like to do. Whether we are in Wisconsin, Montana or California, hiking has always been our favorite activity. Thank you boys for the wonderful day! Remember to thank Dad for driving!

Last weekend we went to Door County to find our autumn cottage. We hiked at Penninsula State Park. That was alot of fun too. We went on the Eagle Trail. Sophie did really good there. I really like that trail because of the rocky climb and the cool temperature. Also, it goes down to the water! Since Rick just got his Temps the day before, we had him do all the driving in the Park. He did a great job and got some good practice in!

Bangles and Memories ~ 1974-1975

I love my bangle bracelets that jingle and ting-ting along with my movements. I love the look of several jangly bracelets on other women too. Women from India can pull off the look of 15+ bangles on one wrist. I have a friend that has the most beautiful wrists and forearms. She wears several slender bangles, thin bangles and the really thick ones that you have to put on sideways.

A young lady friend of mine makes jewelry. When she told me, I was extremely excited because now, I could actually get bracelets that fit over my wide hands. Typically, off the rack bangles don't fit over my hands. This is probably why I like the look of them on other women so much -- because I rarely find any that fit me. So when my young-jewelry-making friend told me about her business, I placed an order for three. Then, I went to a craft store and found some baubles and trinkets and gems that I wanted to have made in jingly bracelets. I placed another order. Then another...

I'm happy with the jingly ting-ting sounds that my bracelets make. My Lola Mom used to wear gold bangles on her wrists and a slender chain anklet with a tiny charm on her ankle. She would jingle and ting away while she cooked. We could hear her bangles while she puttered around the house. My favorite sound was when she was in the garden.... it was the sounds of the neighborhood, the birds, her laughter and her bangles. Tiny clink-clink and ting-ting, jingling quietly in the thick Pacific heat, under the shade of her exotic trees, plants and flowers.

Two of my Aunties also wore bangly bracelets. They usually were gold or silver. Not the fake stuff, but the real silver and gold. I clearly remember them sitting there in the Pacific heat, drinking wine out of a slender glass and their bangles clinking when they lifted the glass to their lips. The contrast of the silver and gold metal against their Pacific tanned skin was beautiful. In the background Otis Reding was probably singing: ".... sitting' in the evening sun...."

When I hear the quiet jingle of my bracelets, I sometimes think of Lola Mom and my Aunties. When I hear my bangles clink against my desk while I'm at work, I notice that sometimes little girls will look towards the sound and tell me that my bracelets are pretty. I remember being that small; looking at my Lola Mom's bracelets and telling her the same thing... and it brings me peace. I hope it does for you too!

Introduction

One of the things I'd like is for my boys to know my childhood. For them to know things about the little girl that I used to be. For them to know the time in history that I grew up in.

I want them to know me.

If you happen to stumble across this love blog, sit back and enjoy!

In order to do that, however, I've got to get the stories written down for them. This is the purpose of this blog. I want it to be a love journal of sorts for my children.