Rehearsal!

Jack and I are sitting in the Rendezvous at the Club. We are all set for our guests for Wayne and Julie's rehearsal dinner. It is such a magical time! We are so blessed. 

It's not that bad!

I just reread my post from last night. I promise that I am not that much of a Debbie Downer! And I really am not depressed or down in the dumps. I was in one of those waves of grief which has eased with the bright sunshine of today. There is so much to be thankful for this Christmas and New Years and much to celebrate...especially Wayne and Julie's wedding!!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

4 posts in December is just pathetic

I just noticed that I have posted only four times this month so far. Four times. That is just wrong. If I am really a blogger (though no one ever said I was; I just write this blog which is different than being a blogger), then I should be posting more often than that.
I am not exactly sure why I have not been more faithful to my blog. My best guess is that my dear departed loved ones are heavy on my mind this month and I am not certain that folks want to keep hearing about that.
But that is kinda where I am.
Winter break started Friday at 3pm. It has been productive so far. I have started and almost completed my Christmas shopping in just these past three days. Of course, I don't have that many people to shop for :)
On Saturday, we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday. We met for lunch at a fabulous microbrewery in Bucky's neighborhood. It was so good to be together. There is always lots of yakking and it is fun to sit there and take it in. I love to listen to the younger generation and even better, I love to hear Jack's dad's very astute questions and comments about his grandkids' lives. I love how close our family has become. We have always been a pretty tight family, but for me, it has just gotten deeper and more meaningful. We have been through a lot together in the last three years and it has only made our bonds stronger.
On my side of the family, it is pretty much the same story. Sue's house went on the market on Friday. Jenny has worked many long hours on getting the place ready. It is absolutely amazing the amount of work she has put in. Jack and I went there yesterday (Sunday) so that Jack could replace a broken light switch (Jack is pretty darn good at electricity). As I walked up the steps, I was flooded by memories and sounds of my family. It was kinda comforting in a strange way. When I opened the front door, I could almost hear a dog barking. In my mind's eye, I pictured my mother sitting at the kitchen table, reading one of her four newspapers. I heard my dad laughing. There were so many great memories in that home, which was in our family for over 40 years. I am hoping and praying that it will become a home for another loving and fun family. The other day I told Jack that I felt Sue's physical presence in our house. He asked if I felt her presence as in she was coming to get me...but no, not that at all. I just felt her with me.
And that is a beautiful gift.

Britt and Chase

Britt and Chase's wedding was this past Saturday. It was such a lovely day. Weddings are such a happy time and this one especially so. These two kids are so loving and caring and humble. I couldn't be happier for them. The ceremony was in the same church as Caylen and Joe's was (and our friends, Jeff and Andi). Beautiful. 

Adding to the joy of the day is all the people who are brought together to celebrate the bride and groom. We were thrilled to be able to spend time with Rick and Pat, our best man and his wife. (See post from June about our trip to their daughter's wedding in Georgia).

So many good stories to tell about a fabulous wedding weekend, but I am still in the midst of getting all my ducks in a row for the last two days of school before winter break. I will leave you with a few pictures. 

Pat and Rick

family!

Britt and Chase chat with Rick

Del Rio's!

Last night, we celebrated our fifth annual Christmas dinner at Del Rio's with Steve and Christy. We had a discussion beforehand as to whether our first trip there was in 2009 or 2010. I checked this blog and I did not post about a visit there in 2009, so I am pretty sure that 2010 was the first year we went.
Not that it makes any difference, but you know how I am.
Last night did not disappoint! We had reservations for the 5:15 seating and met at a place called the Tap House, just down the block from Del Rio's, so we would guarantee an on time arrival. It was Steve, Christy, Matt and his wife Jen, Caitlin and her friend Allie, and Jack, Wayne, Julie and me.
Dinner was great, but the highlight, as always, was the performance by singers from the Lyric Opera. There were 5 singers and they sang a mix of opera, show tunes and Christmas carols. Our table was perfectly situated, right near the piano, so that the singers were less than a foot away from us. The power of their voices!!! Amazing! Some of the songs are sing-along, including the ever popular Twelve Days of Christmas, with each table getting assigned a day...and when that day comes up, the people at the table have to stand up, sing and act out their part (example, four calling birds). It is the most fun when you get one of the lower numbers because that means you get to do your thing that many more times (eleven pipers piping only get to stand up twice, for example). The Lyric Opera performers do the assigning. Every year, we are anxious to see what number we get. I think the first year we had 8 maids a milking. Well, this year, we ARRIVED because we got PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!!! We were so excited! It was so so fun and light hearted!
Thanks to our generous and thoughtful friends who make this tradition happen every year.

Sacrifices

Yesterday, a grandson was born to one of my coworkers, Barb. Barb's daughter, Dana, lives in San Diego and was in labor with her firstborn. It was exciting to be on baby watch! At lunch, we were taking bets on the time of the baby's birth as well as the gender. I guessed birth time to be 4:06 pm (the time that Wayne was born!) and that the baby would be a girl. I was close. Miles (a boy!) was born at 3:37. 

What I found so interesting is the fact that Dana was giving birth without her husband, Trey, present.

Dana and Trey met in the Navy. Dana just left active duty, but has been a ballistics expert. Trey is currently deployed on a ship in the Gulf and is commander of intelligence. I don't think that is the actual wording of his title/job, but it is a big deal. Trey and Dana were able to talk on the phone for a few minutes, but no facetime or videos. Trey will not see Miles until JUNE!!!! Holy cow! 

This little family will not be together for another 7 months. And they are not complaining. At all. Just busy serving their country and trying to keep us all safe. 

And Barb cannot go out to San Diego until winter break (obvi!) but she isn't complaining either.

Everyone is just grateful for the blessings of a new life.  

Advent

I woke up this morning so full of hope. It must be because it's Advent. It's a time of anticipation as we wait for the greatest Gift ever. 

Life is full of challenges, but over and over again I am reminded that God is always there. It all becomes clear. It always does. (Our family motto!) 

I will continue to do the possible in my life and let God do the impossible. 

I am so grateful for the life I have been given and for the people in it. 

Happy December! 

Thanksgiving 2014

Bucky and the grandkids

Wayne, Lauren and Julie

missing Grandma

missing our Suz

Here it is, Sunday morning of Thanksgiving weekend. It has been a good one with lots accomplished. Fair warning, this is one of those kind of boring, "Dear Diary" kind of posts!

WEDNESDAY: Jack and I did our traditional trip to Kramer's to pick up the turkey. Kramer's is our neighborhood grocery store and we always run into friends and neighbors there. It's a festive and cozy start to the day.

Sally had to work half a day, then came over and had lunch with us while we continued our Thanksgiving preparations. In the past few years, Jenny, Sally, Sue and I had begun a new tradition of a family lunch at TGIFridays. Jenny and I decided we weren't going to do that this year. Instead, we met at my house and did a trial run of Marmar's stuffing. My mom made the stuffing every year and after she died almost three years ago, Susie took over the duties. She did a great job. The written recipe that was passed on to me did not include any proportions, so that complicated things. Jenny and I ended up creating something very similar to my mom's version (plus Matt was also bringing some dressing so we knew we'd be ok). Karen offered to help us since she had watched my mom and Sue make the stuffing, so she stopped in on her way home from work and shared her expertise. To add to the fun, Arne, Beth, Abbie and Nina stopped in to help with preparations. So fun! It kept the mood light to be with those who were all missing Suz too. 

Everyone left by 6pm, then Jack and I returned to our cleaning and cooking duties. We worked hard until around 11:30pm when Wayne and Julie arrived home. We sat up until 1am, visiting and catching up on life and wedding plans. Always one of the best things about holidays...having kids under roof.

THURSDAY: Sally, Matt and Otto (their puppy who is now around 6 months old) arrived around 11:30am. We did the last few tasks and got ready to enjoy family time. Sue and her fiance Don, and Lauren and Brendan stopped by for a drink. It was great to catch up with them. Dinner was served around 3:30. We did two tables and drank a toast to Grandma and Susie and all of our other family members who were not present. It was also our first year without Kjell here, but at least he wasn't dead, just at Lisa's family's house!! It was an upbeat day. We were all thankful to be together. 

Sable was not too interested in playing with Otto

Sally and Bucky

Julie and Sally enjoy late night treats

FRIDAY: We drove Wayne and Julie to the airport; they were flying to Cleveland to spend time with Julie's family. Other than that little outing, our day consisted of the following sequence on constant repeat: cleaning up a bit, eating leftovers, napping. At one point, Matt and Sally stopped by to pick up some leftovers.It was about as chill a day as one could get. It was awesome.  

SATURDAY: Rested and a bit recharged, we hit the ground running. We went to our favorite small business shop, Ashley's, and worked on invitations for the rehearsal dinner. We stopped by Jack's dad's with the leftovers that I forgot to give him on Thursday (just all of the side dishes! Geez.) and then went to Sue's house to work on her closets. Tough. We stopped at mass on the way home and then stopped in at Lynn and Greg's to pick up a treat that she made us (an apple gallotte!). We were in bed by 8:30.

SUNDAY:  I walked at 6am with Jean. I did not walk Thurs, Fri or yesterday and man, did I need a good walk! I was home by a little after 7 am and just started attacking the refrigerator and the residual mess left from Thanksgiving. 

We are going back to Sue's house today to finish up what we started yesterday and I have school work to do. Then it is back to reality and the start of December, the wedding month!

Thanksgiving week!

This is my favorite week of the year. I love love love the short work week and the feeling in the air. It is the beginning of the holiday season and it is all about family, friends and food.
Jack and I are coming off a most productive weekend. On Friday, we finished up watching the last four episodes of  Breaking Bad. That was productive, right?? It did not disappoint. On Saturday, we spent pretty much the entire day cleaning house, getting ready for hosting Thanksgiving. It felt so good! I did not even go out of the house until we left around 6 to go to Bucky's house for dinner. I had on my big puffy winter coat, not realizing that the temperature was around 50 degrees!! We had fun dining with my father-in-law. I made pork chops, asparagus and brownies and Jack got a couple of twice baked potatoes from Whole Foods. Fun and realxing. On Sunday, we went to 7am mass, then got back to work on Thanksgiving prep. We were in bed by 8:30 pm!
Today the weather started out warm and rainy, but by noon, it was cold, snowing and blustery. Three of my afternoon students did not want to come to school and had to be coaxed or carried in to school. It was that kind of day, better spent on the couch with a book or the remote. However, we won them all back over to the happy side. It really did not take much, just a few m&ms, a little change in the routine and they were good to go.
I stayed at work late tonight to finish up all of my IEP updates.
One more day of work, then time to enjoy family.
Do you like how positive I am keeping it?!

End of another era

Late this afternoon, Jenny and I took Susie's car to Carmax. It was time.
It is difficult letting go of things that have so many memories, but what is the alternative?
Sue's car was originally my mom's, a car that my mom purchased in 2002. A Buick LeSabre. Tom helped my mom pick it out and negotiate price etc. It was the first car my mom had ever owned by herself; my dad always purchased the cars (boy, did he love cars!!) After my mom died almost three years ago, Sue had a car just coming off a lease (from work) and so she decided to take the Buick and drive it until she was ready to buy a new car (which she never did, btw).
So many memories in that car. Trips to Walt's (the neighborhood grocery store), emission tests (driving Miss Shirley to get the tests). I can picture it in the parking lot at TGIFridays as we joined together for our sisters lunches.
Just a few months ago, Susie and I rode in the Buick to Jenny's retirement party.
Sigh.
The reality is that all the great memories are there, whether or not we have the car.
It is still sad. It's just another reminder that Suz is gone from this earth.
Oh my gosh!!!! How depressing! I am sorry! I am such a Debbie Downer!
But thanks for listening.

Catch up weekend

It was just the kind of weekend I have been craving. Relaxing, productive, no rigid schedules and with a little family time thrown in. 

Oh, yeah. And lots of Breaking Bad. 

Friday was a busy and stressful day. In the morning, I was evaluated using the new state mandated PERA. It was the first of two formal observations/evaluations (plus an informal observation) and it was in the hardest part of my job. Mon-Thurs? I know that part of my job so well, including the documentation/paperwork aspects. Fridays? Those are a bit trickier, for many reasons. Thank God for the amazing teams I work with. The evaluation went well. 

Friday night Jack and I carried out pizza and from 5:30 on, we binged on Breaking Bad. We watched 4 episodes. 

On Saturday, I slept til 8:30am. Heavenly. Then we pretty much just got stuff done all day. And oh, yes, we watched 4 more episodes of Breaking Bad 

Today I had a nice walk with Jean. Snow flurries, brisk late fall temperatures.  I got a ton of schoolwork done and even a bit of house cleaning. 

Tonight Jack, Wayne, Julie and I had dinner with Bucky. Julie may be using something of Grandma's for her something old or something borrowed. We were working on that, then had dinner together. It was a fun night. Great family time.

  And the  perfect end to a relaxing weekend? One more Breaking Bad! 

Omg, so tired

There is nothing like taking a nap at 6:30, right after finishing dinner, then waking up long enough to take off my make up, put on my pjs, blog a little bit, then go to bed. Ahhhh. Heaven! 

I left work around 4:45 today, got stuck in some traffic and then stopped at the grocery store. Jack grilled some burgers and Brussel sprouts and that was our night. 

Simple pleasures! 

Hello, November

November. Already.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is less than three weeks away. I am trying sooooo hard not to type "and we have two less people at our Thanksgiving table this year". Because that is true. Marie, my mother-in-law, and my sister Sue will not be joining us this year, at least not in the physical sense. 

I am so frustrated that whenever I start to blog, it turns out to be all about the losses! I am losing my faithful readers, I am sure. 

But there is that stinkin' grief. It pokes its head out whenever it sees fit. 

Since I have opened the door, I am just going to go ahead and walk through. 

Our Thanksgiving guest list is down 7 people since we first started hosting it. The list: Pawp (1997), Magin (2000), Dane (2005), Tommy (2007), my mom (2011), Marie (2013) and Susie (2014). Added in there is Mike (2011), though he, Sue, Lauren and Brendan always celebrated with Sue's side of the family, Mike and whoever was available, would stop by for appetizers. So let's say 8 family members.

We have never had over 20 people at Thanksgiving, so that is a pretty high percentage. 

I should ask my son-in-law the actuary about those odds. 

Bringing it up....

I have much to be thankful for and know that without a doubt. 

I really really need to blog about the two showers that loving friends threw for Julie and Wayne. 

Bay Village shower

shower at Christy and Steve's

I need to blog about Kjell and  Lisa's wedding and the fact that they are expecting a baby GIRL in March!!!

I need to blog about how hard Jenny is working on Sue's "stuff". Amazingly so! Oh my gosh. 

I need to blog about the very meaningful and special times that we are spending with Bucky. So fun. I can't adequately express how much Jack and I appreciate the time we get to spend with him.

corn and meat casserole in the red dish!

I think what I need to do is just start posting something on here everyday because life is full of so many blessings, including and not limited to, the election results on Tuesday!

Scenes from my day

I have to admit that I have been having a hard time blogging lately. Granted, things have been super busy with weddings, showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and  full time work thrown in there as well. But the real issue is that it is difficult to write about fun stuff when I am still processing my sister's death. I am definitely finding  great joy in all the happy times, but I am not taking the time to document them. I am hoping to get my blogging mojo back soon. 

In the meantime, I give you two pictures that I took with my iPhone today. One is the beautiful view out my window at work. I get to look out and see this. 

The second was the "Jesus sky" on my drive home tonight. 

Both pictures are reminders to me of Who is in charge and that brings me great peace. 

Bringing it up with some happy news

I am sorry for neglecting my blog. I feel a responsibility to keep things up to date here and I hate it when I go this long without posting.
I am just not myself yet.
At work on Friday, Ruthanne was checking in with me, asking how I was doing. I told her how I did not feel quite on my game. She equated it to how she felt last year as she waited for news about when she would finally be able to bring home her third son, Wilson, from Haiti. Ruthanne used the word "cloudy" and that is a perfect description of how I feel. Cloudy. That helped and brought me comfort to know she understood.
In the last month, I have neglected to share some of the very happy and positive happenings in my life.

So, in the happy news department, my nephew Kjell got married on October 4th! The wedding was beautiful. Jack officiated!!! Kjell's bride Lisa is a kind and gentle soul. She and her son, Jake, are a great addition to the family and there will be another addition to the family next March as Lisa and Kjell are expecting a baby! Such a blessing!
More happy news on the wedding front....Wayne and Julie's wedding season has begun! Their first shower was scheduled for the day after Sue's memorial service and we went ahead and had it because we knew that was what Suz would have wanted. For certain, no question about it. It was a couples shower at Christy and Steve's, cosponsored by Cath and Mark and Teri and Chuck. It was so incredibly powerful to have mourned with family and close friends on Friday and then to rejoice with many of those same people just 24 hours later. Truly Ecclesiates 3, a time for every purpose under heaven.
Julie and Wayne's wedding season continued this weekend with the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Julie's was in the city last night with about 30 women in attendance. Very fun women!  Wayne's was in Lake Geneva and started late Friday afternoon and continued on throughout the weekend, with guys joining in as their schedules allowed. Jack, as Wayne's best man, took charge of planning the event. From all reports, it was quite a success. One of the highlights was a video montage with snippets of Wayne's life.
I am going to go ahead and stop this post right now as Jack just walked in the door from the weekend and I can't wait to hear all about it!!!
More later!

Life goes on

Yes, it does. Life just keeps going on and I suppose that's a good thing. No, I know that it is a good thing. I would not want the world to end.
Grief is difficult to explain and hard to experience.
I had to go to Hobby Lobby tonight to get some googly eyes for the spiders we are making with the kids tomorrow. Everything I saw reminded me of Susie. Everything. Never mind that Sue was not a crafty sort of girl and we never ever set foot in a Hobby Lobby together. I miss her and so wherever I go, there she is.
Sue's death has hit both me and Jenny hard. A friend asked me why this death has seemingly been harder than some of the others I have experienced.
Hmmmm. Really?? Well, for starters, Sue was my sister. Of my family of origin, there are only 2 of us left. Two. Me and Jen. And we were a family of 7, though my sister Marcia died before I was born. Makes you consider your own mortality. Like, a LOT. And Sue was only 6 years older than I am.
And my sister was a big part of my life and who I am. Big time.
The last six weeks of her life were a game changer for me. Humbling.
It is difficult for me to write about it or even think about it yet.
I knew Suz was dying. I don't know exactly why, but I knew.
It is going to take me a while to process her death, but in the meantime, I know for an absolute fact that Sue wants me to be happy, enjoy life and carry on and all that.
And I am and I will.
But I will take the time to grieve when those waves wash over me. You might have to read about it here, but I know you will  understand.
Especially if you have lost someone you love.

Sad September

It was a difficult September this year. Probably the worst ever for me.
Sue, my dear devoted, kind, loving, generous, caring and funny sister died on September 15th.
Dear Lord,  I miss her.
I have tried several times to write about it. When I say "it", I mean her death. It is almost impossible to process that Susie is gone. I have two half-written posts that I was going to try and finish, but words aren't adequate.

Here is one of those posts that I began on Thursday, September 18th:
"When I woke up on Monday morning, I thought about it being the birthday of three special ladies in my life: my niece Lauren, my dear friend Lynn and my favorite 80 year old Ellen. I was trying to come up with a clever, meaningful post for Facebook to wish them all happy birthday. I kept thinking, wow, September 15th, what a great day to be born because these three ladies are all very strong, loving women.
As it turned out, September 15th is also a good day to die. My strong, loving, brave sister Sue went to heaven on Monday around 3:30 pm.
I still cannot believe how the day unfolded. God's hand was in every moment of it.
Susie had a doctor's appointment at 4 pm and Jenny and I were going to take her. Jenny arrived at Sue's around 1 pm, got her lunch, took Sue's car for its emission test, did some housework...you know, the everyday busyness that needs to be attended to. Around 3:15, Jen went up to Sue's room to tell her that I was on the way and asked what time she wanted to leave for the doctor appointment. Sue was getting ready, doing her hair, putting on makeup. Jenny went back downstairs, washed some dishes, then went back upstairs to see if Sue needed anything.
Sue had collapsed on her bed. She was gone.
Jenny called 911. The fire station is about 5 blocks away. I was heading up the street and had to pull over for the fire department lead car.
I knew in my heart where it was headed.
I just knew.
When I pulled up, Jenny was in the front yard, her phone in hand.
She looked at me, crying, and said, "Sue's gone".
I ran inside, up the stairs,  because the paramedics were not there yet.
Dear sweet Jesus. My sister. Bella, her Newfie, was by her side, not barking, just there. Bella didn't leave her side."

How incredible that Susie died in her room, on her bed, with Jenny downstairs and me a few blocks away. And of course, with Bella by her side. Also, her best friend, Karen, had a dear friend from out of town visiting, so when Karen heard the news, she had Joanne with her and Joanne stayed with her for the next three days. God was there for all of us when He called Sue home.
God is so good.
It was less than three years ago that my mother died in that same house, in her own bed, with Sue, Jenny and me there.
Amazing.
I know that my whole family has gotten so much comfort from the memories that Susie's friends and coworkers have shared. Sue was loved and cherished by so many people and that legacy will live on. And I hold on to my belief that there are things far worse than death and that Suz is now at peace with all those who we love and have gone before us.
God is great.

Suz and me, taken by Abbie Aug 2014

Out of the rut Saturday

Today was one of the most beautiful days of the year. Cool. Blue skies. Sunshine. Somewhere between summer and fall. And we had an out of the rut kind of day planned.

Jack and I needed to meet up with Wayne to deliver tickets for the Bears game tomorrow. My dear sweet sister Suz is missing the first opening day in 32 years. Sue has had Bears season tickets for that many years; the tickets were willed to her by a grateful patient that she had cared for. Sue is still struggling with pain and mobility issues and decided she would not go to the game tomorrow. Wayne and Kjell are going in her place. She will be well represented.

I got the tickets from Sue yesterday and  Jack and I offered to deliver them to Wayne in the city. Wayne suggested we meet for lunch and then go to see the apartment where he and Julie will be living. We decided to make it an out of the rut Saturday and invited Jack's dad, too!

It was a great day. 

We picked up Bucky around 11:45 and reminisced as we drove down the Dan Ryan expressway (did you know that Jack and his family drove on the Dan Ryan the very first day it was open, back in the 60s?) We had lunch at Marge's Still in Old Town with Wayne, Julie, and Jocelyn, one of Julie and Wayne's BFFs. The food was super slow in coming out, but we had  fun visiting. After lunch, Julie and Jocelyn had to scoot to get to a yoga class. Wayne took Jack, Bucky and me to see the new apartment. It is charming, in one of those 3 flat brownstones. It has crown molding, beautiful light fixtures, marble fireplace, and a parking spot! I think it will be a lovely first residence for the newlyweds. While we were in the vicinty, we also drove by the house where Jack's Aunt Toots lived (don't you love that name, Toots?) A trip down memory lane :)
What a great way to spend a Saturday, with remembering the past, enjoying the present and looking forward to the future.

Wayne, Julie, Jocelyn, Bucky and Jack

Aunt Toots' house

Wayne and Kjell will represent Suz well

September begins

Labor Day weekend. The end of summer. The annual Labor Day party at Mark and Cath's. Thank goodness for that party because it makes this holiday weekend (i.e., back to reality time of year) bearable.
The party was fantastic as always. Mark and Cath are amazingly generous and hospitable. This year the party was even more special than usual because there were FOUR grandchildren, double the number from last year :) Baby boom! Cathy and Mark's son Jeff and his wife Andi have two children, Mason (4 years old) and Lila (16 months). In February, Adam and Kristin had a baby girl named Savannah and in April, Chris and Krissy had a boy name Casey. How blessed are they all? And they know it which is the best part.
We had fun passing around the babies and enjoying each other's company. And some amazing food and drink.
So thankful to spend time with folks like these wonderful friends.

Kids and grandkids :)

love my girlfriends

Sally, Matt, Julie and Wayne

Mason having a serious conversation with Mamps

Showering our Britt

Last Sunday, a week ago today, we celebrated the upcoming wedding of Brittany and Chase. It was a such a lovely afternoon and the culmination of weeks of planning with a fun committee. Sally and I co- hosted the event with Ellen (Britt's grandmother), Colleen (Brittany's aunt) and Robin (Brittany's godmother). We had several Saturday morning meetings at Starbucks and many email exchanges. The planning was fun because of the ladies involved and we were all there for one reason...to shower our bride with love.

The hostesses arrived at 10am at the country club where the shower was being held, with guests scheduled to arrive at 11:30. It was such fun to watch the planning come to fruition. The room was beautiful, the food delicious, the flowers exquisite and the mood light-hearted. We had a cocktail hour, then a toast by Colleen followed by  a buffet luncheon. We played a game that Sally suggested between lunch and dessert. It was called "The Brittany and Chase Game". There were 11 questions about the bride and groom and each table had a white board and marker. Each table wrote their answer on the white board and then shared it. The final question was "What piece of advice would you give Brittany and Chase...about the wedding, marriage or just life in general?" We started opening presents and then used the pauses to have each table share their answer. It was awesome. Lots of wisdom in that room. My favorite piece of advice came from my friend Deanna's table. Deanna said a proper older woman, married 40 years, had given it to her at her own bridal shower many years before. The advice? "Pick one room to be good at and stick with it". Pretty profound and fun.

It is hard to put into words how special it was to be part of this celebration. Brittany and her whole family have a place in my life that cannot be defined by just friendship. What a privilege it is to have shared so many of life's milestones together.
Here are some pictures from the shower:

Sally, me, Colleen, the bride, Ellen and Robin

Chase and Britt open presents

beautiful MOB and bride

game time 

MOG and groom...such wonderful people

Impromptu Pizza Party

Jack and I hosted a pizza party at our house on Saturday. It was about as impromptu as it gets. It started with Wayne and Julie making plans to spend the night at our house on Saturday. I mentioned this to Sally and Matt on Friday and invited them to join us for dinner. Sally asked that I make homemade pizza. Jack and I called Bucky Friday night and asked if he wanted to join us. Sally was texting with Lauren on Saturday and invited her to come over. Lauren then relayed the info to Brendan and Sam, who ended up coming by to hang out, but not for dinner.
We had ourselves a party!
There is nothing like the younger generation to make an evening fun and full of laughs.
Oh my gosh, they are so much fun!
I wanted to get a picture of Bucky and his grandkids. Then Wayne began doing his imitation of me and my (what he calls) random pictures of unlikely combinations of people. Not true! I always have a reason as to why I want certain folks in certain pictures. It's just not always clear to other people what the connections are!
Here are some pictures from our fun night:

Matt, Julie, Wayne, Sally, Bucky, Lauren, Brendan, Sam

one of the groups Wayne called out

I also need to add that the newest member of our family, Otto, Sally and Matt's Welsh Springer puppy, joined the party, too.

party puppy!

By the end of the night, Otto was out like a light at Matt's feet. Adorable.

can't keep up with us :)

We were way past due for family time and it was a fabulous way to spend a Saturday night.

Northwoods

I enjoyed my first trip to the Northwoods this past week. Matt's folks, Bob and Mary, have a place up near Minocqua and they have been asking Jack and me to come visit. Well, we finally made it happen. It did not disappoint!
Jack and I left late Wednesday morning. Our first stop was for lunch at a cozy little restaurant named The Weary Traveler in Madison WI. We pulled into Wausau around 5 pm and had a relaxing evening. There was a restaurant next to our hotel named The Great Dane Pub and Brewery...which of course we had to go to because of our Dane.
On Thursday morning, Jack googled the best breakfast place in the area, like he did when we were coming back from Georgia earlier this summer. We ended up at a cute little place named The Mint Cafe.
Hmmm. There seems to be a theme to this post. It's all about restaurants! I don't want to give you the impression that all we did was go to restaurants. That is not true. We also went to pubs :)
We checked into our hotel, The Pointe, in Minocqua, around noon on Thursday. The Pointe has slips for boats and Matt rented one for his family's boat. Matt, Sally, T (Matt's brother), Bianca (T's fiancee) and Matt's Uncle Brian sailed over to pick us up at the hotel and we began our traveling lunch.

here they come!

 Bob and Mary met us via car at our first stop. This is where I got to experience my first Spotted Cow. I liked it. A lot.

me, Sally, Mary and Bianca

We sailed off to a few more places and then got dropped off at our hotel. For dinner, we went to a supper club named the Red Steer  and had a phenomenal meal.

On Friday morning, Sally and her puppy Otto met Jack and me at the hotel and we walked into town. Jack enjoyed hanging out with Otto for many reasons, not the least of which was all the attention they got.

We had lunch with everyone at The Shamrock. One of the things that is cool about this place is that my parents used to go there with their close friends back in the 70s and 80s. I even have a picture of my mom and her friend Char standing in front of The Shamrock. I just need to find it.

After lunch, we went boating for a while, then rested up for dinner at Norwood Pines. Another fantastic meal!

a little indoor shuffleboard

sailor Jack

A little blurry, but aren't they cute?

We are so grateful for Mary and Bob's hospitality and for our thoughtful and kind son-in-law that they raised. We are blessed!

I'm baaaaack!

Wow, this might be the longest I have gone without blogging.
I have missed you all, my faithful readers :)
Here is what has been happening in my life the past few weeks-
My sister Sue has been dealing with crazy awful back pain. Not the run of the mill pain, but the kind that makes it hard to move for over 2 weeks. I hate it when someone I love is in pain and I cannot do a thing about it. I do not want to violate her privacy or anything (though I just did!), but it has been quite a trial for Suz. I think things are on an upward trend for her, but please do pray for my dear uncomplaining sister.
I also have been winding up the summer, with Institute Day just two days away. Really.
In addition, Jack and I just returned from a three day vacation in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. That will be its own post.
Thanks to all who check in here. I appreciate your patience in between posts.

Clark Lake weekend

Sheila invited the Birthday Club girls to her house on Clark Lake, Michigan for this past weekend. Only five of the twelve were able to go. We missed those who weren't there, but managed to have a great time anyway :)
Sheila, Jean and Carol left Friday morning. I had committed to doing a presentation at Midwestern University with my coworker Kristen on Friday from 11:30-12:30, so I couldn't leave until later. Christy and I left around 2 and arrived at Clark Lake around 8 their time. We made a quick stop on the way at .....where else?? Schuler's! I hadn't eaten lunch and decided to hold out for some Schuler's meatballs. It was a fun adventure! Schuler's is only about a mile off of I94. We went into the Pub section, told our waitress that we wanted to split an order of meatballs and then take two orders to go for our girlfriends. We were in and out of there in less than 25  minutes.

meatballs + barcheez+ crackers=yum

When we arrived, the girls had dinner and drinks waiting for us. Sheila made a 24 hour salad and Pam's cheese bread. We sat on the porch and ate and drank and talked. The highlight of Friday night was hearing all about Sheila and Marty's trip the previous week. They went to Fort Drum NY to welcome home their son Jack from Afghanistan. Praise God that Jack made it home safely! We were all praying for him. We so appreciate Jack's service to our country and know how hard it was for his family.

coffee cake and brownies before bed

Saturday was all about boating, eating, drinking, chatting and relaxing.

hanging out on the boat 

a view of Sheila's house from the lake

I had the most relaxing weekend. I have realized that is difficult to fully relax unless I am away from all of the distractions of all that needs to be done at home. I appreciate that it could not possibly be as relaxing for Sheila since she is the hostess, but she never makes it seem like her guests are a chore. Sheila creates such a cozy and welcoming environment. It is special that her lake house has been in her family since the early 1970's. In fact, the check that her dad wrote for the house is framed and is hanging on the wall. Family pictures and memorabilia, all beautifully displayed, capture some of the happy days spent on Clark Lake. 

Such a great place to relax and renew.

Sheila's dad's golf clubs are at the foot of the stairs

Summer Time Fun!

July 22nd. Already. This summer is going by so quickly and seems so much shorter than most. That may be because school was out late due to making up snow days and Institute Day is August 11th. That is a mere 20 days away, but who's counting? I guess I am.

The previous two weeks were crazy busy with the summer evals. I did 7 the week of July 15th, then had 8 MDCs last Tuesday and Wednesday. That meant many hours of thinking and writing. I love doing the group play-based evaluations with the school psychologist, occupational therapist, sometimes the physical therapist too, and the social worker. And I like the MDC (multi-disciplinary conference) when we sit down with the parents, the team, the school district representative and give the results. What I do not enjoy is all of the writing!!! That post I wrote about the cheesy potatoes? That was just to avoid working on reports. That weekend I wrote reports all day on Saturday and most of the day on Sunday. Luckily it was a rainy weekend which made it a bit easier to be indoors. 

I thought I was done with my shift of evals, but am picking up one more tomorrow to help out another SLP. Only one more report to write this summer!

Since last Wednesday, I have felt like I am on summer vacation since I am just doing 4 private speech therapy sessions each week. Those are so fun and only involve about 4 hours total over the course of the week. I have been trying to maximize my feeling of summer fun. 

I started with a fun sushi dinner with Mark and Cath and Jack on Thursday night. Super relaxing and so great to visit. Definitely felt like a vacation night.

Cath and me

On Friday, I did a speech session in the morning, then Jack and I had a late lunch with Sally and Lauren. We went to Gibson's and sat in their outdoor area. That was like being on vacation for sure. We sat in the sun and enjoyed catching up on life. After lunch, Jack and I went home to nap (I really can't have a glass of wine during the day if I have any hope of being productive afterwards). Lauren and Sally went back to Sally and Matt's so Lauren could meet Otto. And that's when Lauren got a call from Northwestern U saying she had been admitted to their accelerate MBA program for this fall!!!! So proud of her! Lauren is such a hard worker and smart and focused. She is also incredibly loving and caring. What a dynamite combination! 

love me some Sally and Lauren  

That made for a fun summer Friday. 

On Saturday, we had Abbie and Nina for a sleepover. Arne and Beth had a wedding to go to, so we picked up the girls at 1pm then took them to Matt and Sally's to meet Otto. While we were there, Jenny and Jay stopped in, too!

We left Matt and Sally's and took off for a grand adventure... pony trail ride! It was quite the escapade. Great low key farm and lots of animals and nice people and beautiful trails. I have this one piece of advice: have one of the workers walk with you. Let's just say that I am not the best pony handler. 

Abbie on Rocket

Nina on Daisy

Wayne surprised us Saturday night and came out to spend the night too!!! Between Wayne teaching Nina how to do a coin toss and Wayne starring in a play with Abbie, it was one fun night. 

coin toss

Saturday night creativity

On Sunday morning, Jack fried up some bacon (no one does it quite like he does) and I made Lynn's famous pancakes (they are SO good! Abbie wanted to make sure that I share the recipe with Beth). The girls and Wayne all slept til 10:30!

Abbie helping with the pancakes

After Arne and Beth picked up the girls, Wayne, Jack and I worked on wedding "stuff" and got tons done. We ended the day with dinner with Bucky at Ken's. Awesome. 

three generations of Vonder Heide men, checking out the technology

Summer livin' at its finest!