Santa

I just love this santa. I know he is not in his traditional red suit, but does santa really were his big red suit everyday of the year or only on Christmas eve? He is just the cutest sweetest old man. We have been to see him for the past 6 years. He wears a snowman shirt and striped socks. Owen really likes santa this year because santa also wears "work gloves" like Owen. Perrie is full on believing all the "magic" this year. It is cute. We didnt think we would do the santa thing before we had kids but somehow our hearts have softened to him.

If love could heal you, you would live forever.

Mary Lydia Kilmer

December 28th, 1922- December 8th, 2007

My memories will keep me smiling until we meet again.

www.marykilmer.legacy.com

Christmas Poem

As one of our advent activities, we wrote some poems. Here is one by Perrie.

Christmas
...smells like warm cinnamon
...sounds like jingled bells
...tastes like homemade lufse (a seasonal norweigan treat)
...feels like a green pine tree
...looks like a bright star
Christmas.

Owen Funny

I caved in to the excited pleas of Perrie and put up our Christmas tree yesterday. She wanted to hang some red balls on right away. Owen immediately grabbed his bat and ran over for batting practice. Those little cheap balls held on for dear life and stood up to his beatings real well. Perrie was concerned for the little fellows and begged me in tears to stop him. I had to suppress my laughter as I wrangled the bat away from him. (right after I grabbed the camera) He then proceeded to get his work gloves on and with his toy ax in hand he tried to chop down the tree. Here is an action picture of the scene (not too good but…) He also called the nutcrackers “cowboys” which we thought was pretty cute. It is going to be a fun Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my Grandma K. She is not doing well and we spent part of our thanksgiving at the hospital visiting her. She has influenced my life a lot; more then I know I’m sure.

My love of crafts came from her. She was always knitting or sewing something. She worked in a crafts store for many years and always made the holidays special with her handiwork. Each Christmas she made us a new ornament. I will always remember the care bear Christmas and my handmade doll clothes.

I also learned to enjoy cooking from her. She could make any dish or pastry, and liked doing it too. She loved having dinner parties and made them really fun. My birthday cakes were always very special. Certain foods will always remind me of her, like wild rice casserole, homemade mac and cheese, fudge, potato chip cookies, homemade scones with soup and many more.

I love hearing her old stories and smiling in disbelief as she tells me of her wild youth. I wear her out making her tell me the stories of her life. I’m afraid I waited too long to get them all. Our elderly have so much history and knowledge in them just waiting for someone to ask. Please don’t wait till it’s too late. Love you Grama!

How to be Silly

1. Personify things. Give objects emotions and personalities. Examples;
"Blankie is sad you wont lay down with him" (Pretend to cry)
"The shirt monster is coming to get you, yum yum yum"
As the broccoli is running off "No, no don't eat me!"

2. Dance crazy without thinking. Just let your body be taken over by the music. Kids are good at this. Do the Russian squat dance or a graceful ballet if the music tells you, or just spin around till you get dizzy. Our favs are classics for kids, Nutcracker ballet, Shrek soundtrack and many others. Classical music is fun because is has alot of emotions in it.

3. Sing Songs. I think singing is a very powerful mood enhancer, kids know this but we forget as we grow up and get too serious. We love Raffi- he sings "Baby beluga, & Down by the bay." We also love fun church songs, kindermusic and for some weird reason Enrique Englesias "Escape." (this is all I'm allowed to listen to right now)

4.Rename Food. Garbanzo beans can become dinosaur eggs, broccoli is little trees and bagels become donuts. (this could start a new diet trend)

5.When reading books, make different dramatic voices for each character. Kids love this. The three bears is a favorite.

6. Play Fun Games. Hide and seek, hide the pumpkin/tractor/remote control/whatever is around, puppet shows, dress up, mini olympics, obstical course, play house, play resturant, shoe store, grocery store, marco pollo, ....

You certainly don't have to have kids around to do these things. I'm sure your husband would like to play hide and seek with you, you could change some rules (LOL). Next time you are feeling blue or the gray clouds and rain just wont go away try some of these ideas that help us.

What about you? How do you stay fun and silly?

Everday Hero

I had to post these pictures, they are so sweet. My kids have some amazing role models in there lives. Owen is so lucky to be close to his papas and greatpapa. They each have something special to share with him. I believe kids really need these heros. Owen got some powertools for his birthday and feels very big and important now. He is often saying "I help." Lately he has been helping out his papa and insists on wearing papa's leather work gloves around for hours.

Fairytale

My brother, Will, had a fairytale wedding this fall in Montana. Here is a few of my favorite pictures...

Here is a link to the National Geographic Geobee. Geography bees are very popular at Perrie's school so I am trying to keep some sort of my intellectual brain alive. Check it out for daily quizes.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/

The Three Bears

We went to Montana for my brothers wedding (pictures to come) and stayed around after to play at Glacier National Park. One word- BEARS!

I didn’t really expect to see any, because that seems to be there big marketing logo. We camped at a remote lake in the park and within a few hours a giant grizzly bear walked right thru our campsite as we were making dinner. It was very intense. He looked over at us but didn’t stop his graceful stride. I grabbed Owen and slowly walked toward the car, just in case! I didn’t have my camera handy of course. All our heads were on a swivel after that and needless to say I didn’t sleep too well that night. I felt extremely vulnerable; my false sense of safety was gone. The park ranger said it was extremely rare to see a grizzly, that they must be coming down from the high country for the fall. I consider us lucky to have seen him, now that we are home in our safe, strong walls.

We also saw 2 other black bears (from the safety of our car), a baby one on the side of a hill and a large black bear off the side of the road. We were lucky to see mountain goats and rams up very close. We saw tons of deer and 3 foxes one night. Not to mention the mountains. They were very powerful. I have often wonder what western Washington looked like before the cities and suburbs, now I think it must have looked something like Montana. I pray this sacred place always remains wild and raw and dangerous.

I reminisce for a moment...

I was a boy chaser. I don’t know why, I have lots of brothers and a loving father. I never really caught them or would have known what to do to them. In fact an older boy “caught” me once and made me kiss him. That was very horrifying. I remember my first crush, Cade Smith. I think he tripped me and skinned my knee later on. Was that my first romantic moment? Ah, grade school love.

I do remember stuffing a newborn puppy into my backpack in kindergarten. I was going to bring him for show & tell. He didn’t even have his eyes open yet. The teacher heard whimpering as soon as class had started and we had to do show and tell early. My surprised mom was called to come and get the puppy. How did she not notice that one anyway?

what are your school memories?

on my nightstand...

I am in the middle of reading 3-4 books right now.

1) Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland.
I think this is actually a textbook for college art programs. It is very inspiring. They say art is about starting over again and again, not quitting. Your work is your guides, (more works = more guides). I like this quote by Ansell Adams they included, “ The perfect is the enemy of the good.” This can be true in all aspects of life; marriage, jobs, relationships. This book is not just for college students but anyone who is creative- every single person if you ask me they may just not realize it yet.

2) Writing Down the Bones- Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
She is a writer with some great advice for other writers to help open up that door to you. She gives some great exercises, like sit down and write for 20min or whatever time. Just write, don’t edit or think or worry about what anyone will think. “Like grating a carrot, give paper the coleslaw of your consciousness.” She says you have to collect experiences and let them “compost” for awhile and turn into rich soils. It is hard to write in the moment. And again, like the other book, she says you have to practice, practice practice like a runner or dancer.

3) Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro
Just started this one but easy to get into. It comes highly recommended from several friends. Unhappy with her looks, her life, and her empty marriage, Louise needs help -- and she finds it in a secondhand bookstore. A forty-year-old encyclopedia of style titled Elegance promises to transform even the plainest of women into creatures of poise and grace. However she's about to find out that there's more to every life than what appears on the surface ... and that everything, even elegance, has its price.

4) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
I haven’t quite started this one but it also come highly recommended and it is sitting on my nightstand. Everyone says you can’t put it down.

What are you reading right now? I love a good recommendation!

Picts

Im saving up for a new camera. I am decided to not get a SLR that I really want because I want to actually use it and take it places. Im afraid the SLR would sit at home wrapped in velvet, locked in the safe alongside its thousand dollar lens. Anywho, here is some recent pictures with the old bity. (lens smudge and all)

Holiday

I think my creative muse takes a holiday in the summertime. My energy comes out in more active ways like hiking a mountain or biking an old railroad line.
There is something about the winter- the darkness and cold, having layers of wool sweaters on, sipping a hot beverage. I am forced to create something then when I have no other options. (Sounds like an Ingmar Bergman film)
I am giving myself this excuse for not finishing or starting any projects lately. How about you? Got anything cookin?

"End of the Spear"

We just met a new neighbor who happens to be a film producer. He lent us a copy of one of his films, called "End of the Spear." It is a true story I had never heard before but many have.

It is about an indigenous tribe in Ecuador who are senselessly killing each other off. A group of missionaries goes to them and tries to teach them about God, but end up getting killed. The families of the missionaries eventually go back to the tribe and live with them converting them all to Christianity. You can read about the real story online, Steve Saint is the son of one of the missionaries and wrote the story. This was one of the most powerful movies I have seen and I cried a good portion. I just cant say enough about this great film. See it!

T

Baby Rabbits

While doing some landscaping in our yard we disturbed a rabbits nest with newborn baby rabbits. We left it alone but the mother did not come back (and one of the 3 died) We had to rescue the other two baby rabbits and are now nursing them ourselfs with kitten milk. They havnt even opened there eyes yet and are only about 2.5 inches long. They are the cutest things ever. We are planning to release them as soon as they can eat greens and run away from us. What should we name them?

change of scenery

Hey gang,
I changed my blog to have more artistic freedom and less adds. (Here is the link to my old site http://tkpost.spaces.live.com/ )