ohdeedoh...

Check out Ellie & Olivia's feature in the kid's design blog, OhDeeDoh!! Click here.

1 year ago...

1 year ago...I took my dream job to a whole new level.

1 year ago...I invited my closest friends to one of the most intimate experiences of my life, and can't imagine them not being there.

1 year ago...I waited impatiently for someone who was in no hurry.

1 year ago...I met a stranger that seemed so familiar, like I'd already known her a lifetime.

1 year ago...I fell in love all over again.

To my sweet Olivia...you light up our lives! Your humor and compassion give life to our family, and we've been more rich this last year with amazing moments than we've ever been before.

love you, proud of you, believe in you,

4 years ago...

4 years ago, I started my dream job.

4 years ago, I learned the fulfillment that could be birthed from sheer determination.

4 years ago, I watched the Olympics in my hospital bed while feeling the faint rhythm of a new heartbeat.

4 years ago, I came face to face with a miracle.

4 years ago, I was introduced to a love like I've never know.

To my sweet Ellie, you are beautiful beyond measure and you've taught me more than I've taught you. I love serving your dreams, you are more than a blessing to me!

love you, proud of you, believe in you,

Ms. Bug Cather and other Olympic Oddities...

Sure, these Olympics will be remembered for the outrageous opening ceremonies, Micheal Phelps record setting swimming, and the pre-pubescent Chinese gymnasts. But what about these fun contributions to making this the wackiest Olympics yet, found here. Some of the highlights:

-Water polo players wear bathrobes for introductions and hear the theme from “Jaws” as they go for the ball as games start.

-A crowd favorite at the beach volleyball venue, Ms. Bug Catcher, whose sole purpose is to watch for flocking moths that swarm the court as day turns to dusk, and do some martial arts on them with her trusty bug net.

-the lifeguards that are posted at the swimming and water polo sites...just in case?

-cheerleaders...at badminton? Come on, it could use a little excitement. But not for Xiao Xincui, who according to a news briefing, is 97, a grandmother and possibly the most avid badminton fan in the history of the sport. She reportedly traveled nearly 1,500 miles to watch the badminton matches. The news release said Xiao left her home in the Hunan Province in central China on March 5 and arrived in Beijing on April 11. It said that she rode a tricycle pedaled by her grandson, who wanted to thank her for raising him after his father died. Apparently, the two even secured coveted tickets to the 110-meter hurdles final.

I'm also enjoying the Chinese picks for the most riveting Olympic soundtrack in history, which include Madonna, the theme to "Ghostbusters", and other American classics.

Could the Olympics be any more entertaining?

is this really my child?

My dad, being a sportsman and coach, ended up having four girls...I'm the youngest. Needless to say, I grew up catching fish, playing sports, camping, jumping off cliffs, dissecting frogs, and loving the outdoors. For some reason, we don't think our children will be any different.
Enter my sweet Ellie. She's a blonde bombshell that wears more makeup than me at 3 years old. She would wear a dress every moment of her life if I let her. My friends laugh at me because they can't believe I'm the one that ended up with a princess, superstar, city girl. In Alaska, we kept asking her if she wanted to go catch a fish, and her response was always, "No, I need to stay at the cabin and do some work", or "No, I don't want it to flop around". It was a struggle to convince her that those sandy, slimy shells on the beach were actually treasures. We finally talked her into going fishing the day before we left...and she actually enjoyed it! Didn't touch it or anything, of course, and let Dad do all the work. But hey, it's a start.

alaska vacation pics-part 1

priceless...

So many people wonder, what could you possibly do for two weeks in a remote place with no tv, no internet access, no shopping, and no work? Here's a glimpse at our to-do list while on vacation in Gustavus, Alaska:

Walk to the Salmon River and fish for Dolly Vardens
Walk to the marsh and pick wild strawberries
See tadpoles at the gravel pits
Go to the beach and look for treasures, build sand castles, fly kites, have a campfire
Go to Glacier Bay National Park and hike on the Forest Loop trail
Explore the tide pools
Drive around and look for bears and moose
Go golfing
Play basketball at the school
Go to Salmon River Park playground
Go sailing
Go whale watching
Catch a fish (Mike caught the biggest, a 215 lb. halibut...I caught two 40 lbers)
Go to church
Play cards
Do watercolor paintings
Hike to the plane crash (in 1958 a small National Guard airplane crashed in the forest near Gustavus. It's eerie to see all the twisted metal with the forest growing up through it.)
Get ice cream at the ice cream parlor

...and we did almost everything on our list, plus more! It's priceless to spend two weeks doing everything we wouldn't normally do in our routine lives at home. There's such perspective you gain when you step out of schedules and into nature. I found myself countless times soaking up the pure, marine air while drinking deep of the moment...trying desperately to bottle the bliss that I was experiencing as I stood in awe of God's creation. I'll never stop enjoying the raw living and adventure of visiting remote Alaska...and now I get to teach my girls how priceless it is!