98 degrees...

and pool party.






It was probably hotter, but "98 Degrees and Rising" was the title to an album put out by none other than the hot boy band, 98 degrees...a few years ago. :)

Regardless of exact temperature yesterday, it was the perfect day for our family pool party. Before I jump into the highlights of the day, I'd like to talk about family.

First of all, I can hardly believe that I have found my home in Texas...being born and raised as a Minnesotan. Not that there is anything wrong, strange or weird about Texas, it was just so far away that I never imagined actually living here. So, to have called this my home for FIVE and a half years now, is a bit crazy to me. Keeping in mind that I grew up in MN as did the LARGE part of my family, it's even more incredible that we hosted a family pool party with 20+ attendants. What I'm getting at is how incredible it is to be at "home" in TX and to share that title with so many dear, family members...all who have migrated from our original home in MN.

Every year that I age, I become more and more appreciative of family. Growing up, my wonderful dad, Kevin, would use certain times to remind us of the importance of family. For example, there were a few times when on a Sunday or Holiday I would want to spend time with my friends. At that time, my friends were far more exciting than my family...even if we were only going to watch tv (and tv watching on Sundays or Holidays is pretty dull). My dad would kindly decline my request telling me that "Sundays are family day" or "It's Thanksgiving, we are going to be spending the entire day with family." I was so annoyed at how uncool he was and how uncool he was making me appear to my friends. Nonetheless, I was a good girl who followed his rules (most of the time). Year after year, I grew smarter and when asked by my friends to hang out on a Sunday or Holiday, I didn't even bother asking, I'd just respond "I can't. My dad won't let me. It's Sunday." The ironic thing is that as we got older, my friends would take my dad up on his suggestion of coming to our house. My cool friends who thought I was uncool for having to spend Sundays or Holidays with my family were now wanting to spend them with us, too. Had I made it back into the "cool" category? :)

Regardless of my status with my friends, this "tradition" if you will, instilled in me the sense of family pride that I am now focused on passing on to this next generation of children that I am proud to be a part of raising. Yesterday was a fabulous time and I loved every minute of hosting such a fun event.

The party included:
The Anderson Family, Aaron, Ann & Alex (10 months). Christy Streff, here for the summer.
The Girard Family, Brandon, Kirstin, Matthew (5) & Cameron (2 1/2). Jeanne, visiting from MN.
The Williams Family, Kevin, Jody, Jada (4 1/2), Emory (almost 3), Ian (5 weeks).
The Ragosino Family, Jeannine & Addison (1 year on 7/28). Dom not able to attend.
The Barcks, Cathy & Sandy.
The Rains, David & Carol.
Surprise visitors, Mike & Enisha Williams.

The top 10 highlights are as follows:

# 10: Cameron, the anti-swimmer, became so comfortable in the pool that he jumped off of the shallow ledge without his swimmies on. Upon being rescued, he neither cried nor asked to get out.

#9: Jada & Emory went off of the diving board numerous times AND Jada attempted flips.



#8: Matthew can catch a ball while in the air as he jumps in off of the diving board.

#7: Malibu & coke.

#6: Aunt Jeanne, visiting from MN, was in attendance.

#5: Cathy and Sandy celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary with all of us.



#4: Kirstin brought the potato salad and it was AWESOME.

#3: Mom brought the cake, it was in the shape of a sun, it was huge and it is almost gone because it, too, was so good.

#2: We celebrated Jody's birthday and last year of her 20's. (And she's ecstatic about her next birthday).

#1: Cathy tried to open a can of beans with my Pampered Chef can opener. She couldn't get it, my Mom helped but was the opposite of help, Christy helped and the end result was an open can of beans...and bean juice all over Cathy, Christy, the floor and cupboards. I know the Huber women, they are stubborn, determined and a bit prideful, so I didn't get in their way. :)



Family, pool day was a fun, memorable day!!

Our life...

is not our own.

My mother in law, Cindy, has been living with cancer for over 3 years and it has just spread to her brain. Is your first reaction, "oh, poor Cindy" or "that's so sad?" Probably. Why wouldn't it be? It is sad. But what if we look beyond that? I have known Cindy for almost 5 years. Even before I met her, Aaron told me so much about her and of her incredible faith and devotion to God. Everything Aaron described has been affirmed time and again as I have gotten to know her more. She has such spiritual insight and lives as an example to so many others.

The most recent news of cancer on her brain brought Aaron, Alex and I to make a sudden trip to Denver. Cindy was in Illinois visiting friends when she learned of the reason for her headaches, nausea and vomiting. Doctors advised her not to travel back to Colorado, but instead to undergo surgery in Illinois. Most people would do exactly as the doctor instructed, fearing further suffering or death. Cindy heard the doctor's suggestion, but turned to her heavenly Father for the ultimate instruction.

We arrived in Denver early Monday morning, enjoyed some time at the airport and met Cindy at her arrival gate around 12:00. I was nervous about the state that she would be in, after all, she has brain cancer and that can't look pretty. Much to my suprise, through the jet bridge walked Cindy. Cindy, just as I know her. Looking better than ever, brain cancer and all. She greeted us in her high pitched, familar voice and gave a look as to say, "what's all the fuss about?" Aaron instructed her to get into a wheel chair. She almost refused, but probably understood Aaron's concern and decided to go with the flow.

The week went on as we spent time sitting at the kitchen table, talking, laughing, watching Alex entertain. The time was spent with so much more purpose, intent, appreciation. We also had the opportunity to meet and spend time with the fabulous neighbors. Cindy and Mike have talked so much about the incredible network of friends that they've met since moving to Fox Hill. Meeting them revealed how significant they truly are in Mike and Cindy's lives. Those friends and neighbors will tell a different story and they did as each of them brought meals and came to say hello. They shared with us how much Cindy has impacted their lives.

These neighbors all meet for bible study weekly. We can probably appreciate the things that come out in a bible study...real people, being real and seeking Godly support from Godly people. In other words, people sharing their junk. At these meetings, I can only imagine how God has used Cindy to speak to her friends offering support, prophetic words, a smile, a hug. She is an example of what God wants in us as Christ followers. He wants to use us as a light unto others, as salt on the earth. He wants to use us to bring others to Him.

I KNOW that many people have seen the love, mercy, grace, comfort, forgiveness of God because of Cindy. He has a purpose for her life and she is living that purpose every day. She knows that her life is not her own. It is God's. And when the day comes for her life on earth to end, she has the comfort and joy of knowing that she will meet her marvelous maker and that he will greet her with open arms and say to her, "well done my faithful servant."

Aboulomania

...pathological indecisiveness.

My dear friend, Theresa (Stahl) Anderson, inspired me to create this "outlet" for the only way that I know how to be artistic. I would call it journaling, but the new age term is blogging...and as I approach 30, why not try to keep up with the times? :)

So, how does the term aboulomania fit into any of this? Well, it's a Sunday at the Anderson's and I shared with Aaron my desire to start a blog for our family. First task, come up with a clever title. We began a brainstorming session. In order to really exhaust all options, Aaron looked up "unusual a words." As we read through them, we found the word aboulomania. He laughed when he read the meaning...so did I. We both knew that this fit me all too well.

Aaron was now on to creating the blog. This shouldn't be complicated. In fact, Blogspot's home page advertises that you can do it in 3 easy steps. Somehow, these 3 easy steps all meant decisions. First, which email address, what password. Then, what name. Ugh...what name. I looked at the results of our brainstorming, told him which ones I liked, debated, thought, asked questions, thought some more. Then Aaron prompted me, "which layout?" "Wait, which layout? What did you put for our name? I wasn't sure yet. Maybe I don't like that." Fine, on to the layout. Not that more choices are better for someone like me, but I didn't feel that there were enough. We previewed a few. "Nope, too much color. Too dark. Too much orange." By this time, Aaron passes the computer off to me (and I'm thrilled to have control). As I try to narrow down the options, Alex starts to crawl up on my lap. In one quick motion, he's slapped his hand on the computer and the screen changes. It now reads "set up complete, begin blogging." Nnnnnoooooo...I didn't want that layout!! Thankfully, it appears that you can make changes. :)