Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Baby! Today is David's sixty-first birthday! The first birthday we celebrated together was his 40th. Here we are 21 years later. Who'd have thought? Kate, Molly and I have plans for today. We are taking David to see the movie Invictus, with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. After that, we are going to Tre Bella an Italian restaurant near my school. Happy Birthday, my darling from three girls who love you very much!

P.S. In case you're wondering, David is the one on the far left playing the clarinet and yes, in this picture he is (a lot) younger than 40! It was definitely made before my time!

It's never too late for an update on Kate!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the title. Too much Dr. Seuss, phonemic awareness and rhyming schema in my balanced literacy teaching brain! :) This is a current pic of her on tour with the Heidelberg University Concert Choir. She just came home from a trip to Chicago to see/hear and visit with the Chicago lyric opera. While there she also got to see two high school friends. One, is a student at Loyola and the other was visiting the French Consulate to get a visa for an exchange program. From what I understand, they had a great visit, but it was just too short. Kate is talking about Arts administration and vocal performance for her master's work......all big decisions, but who knows what the future holds. Me? I'm just waiting to be a fly on the wall when student teaching begins in the next year or two. I do know what the present holds--two great daughters and a husband I am very thankful for, great family, great friends, great life! Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Day to Remember

Here is my dad in 1945. What a handsome sailor! I love you Daddy.
P.S. Thank you.

A tree for David

I am getting crafty in my old age. I am making David's 61st birthday gift. HA! For many years, my wonderful husband has wanted a Jesse tree for our house. I don't mean a second tree... I mean our one and only Christmas tree would become transformed. I really didn't want to go there. I've always hemmed and hawed about wanting to stick with our "traditional" tree, our cute ornaments, etc. This year I decided to make the change. I'm not sure why. I know that my prayer life is becoming deeper, richer and more fruitful. I know that God is using me in remarkable ways that I never dreamed possible, and I know that I have been given a gift and a vision from God. Maybe I just wanted to give David a special gift. I don't know that the reason for the tree change even matters. I do know that my life (as well as my tree) is being transformed. That matters.

For more information on the Jesse tree visit: http://www.kingofpeace.org/advent/advent.htm.

P.S. The ornaments are ceramic discs with ceramic paint and permanent sharpie pen. I sealed them with a ceramic sealant. I will post more pics as I make the ornaments. There are around 20 all together.

Amen.

Today, the United States Senate took an historic step toward ensuring justice for the victims of hate crimes targeted for violence due to their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

By voting overwhelmingly to extend to these often-targeted Americans our nation’s decades-old bias crime legislation, senators sent the message that hate crimes will not go unpunished, and local governments and law enforcement agencies will not run out of financial resources to provide justice to these victims and their loved ones.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act was attached earlier this year to the annual Defense Department spending bill, and Thursday’s 68-29 Senate vote to approve the final House-Senate compromise on the defense bill now sends this important law enforcement provision to President Obama, who has vowed to sign it.

Under the legislation, federal prosecutors could step in to try violent hate-crime cases if local authorities cannot or will not secure an appropriate conviction. It also opens up federal funding for law enforcement to handle the typically high cost of investigation and judicial proceedings in such cases, and would make grants available for training and prevention programs at the local level.

The act is named to honor Matthew Shepard as well as James Byrd, an African-American resident of Texas brutally dragged to death in 1998 in a notorious hate crime. Matthew’s parents Dennis and Judy Shepard have campaigned for the legislation’s passage for more than a decade since their son’s murder in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998 in an anti-gay hate crime.
(www.matthewshepard.org)

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Amos 5

I have followed Matthew's story for 11 years. I am so prayerfully thankful the legislation passed. Let us all pray for the day when there will be no need for anti-hate laws. Read the book. Listen with your heart.

Boys will be Boys (or What One Man will do to get an antenna!)

You know, I really love brothers. I mean, I have a great one myself. He always did his best to torment and torture me, but all in all, he's a great Guy (get it?) I've often wondered what I missed not having sons. Then I really started thinking. Not only do I not have sons, but none of my siblings or David's siblings has more than one son. So, for much of my life, my only real knowledge of how two or more brothers operated was listening to my dad tell about life with his SEVEN other brothers. Anyway, I finally got a real taste of how the double brother thing works. It started when Phil came and decided to take the antenna off our roof. He'd been thinking about it for a year or two, but on this weekend, he decided to do it. David was not interested in helping out at first. Amy and I were on hand to document the whole thing with photos and calls to 911 already preprogrammed in the phone. Phil suited up in a nifty little harness thing, hoisted himself up on the roof, and started sawing. David eventually came out to watch and in his best big brother tone told Phillip what he was doing wrong. As you can see, David ended up on the roof assisting. It actually turned into a fun BIG boy playtime as the antenna got stuck in the tree and a variety of saws, ropes and contraptions were required to get it down. Amy, Molly, Winston, Maggie and myself brought lawn chairs down from the porch, made tea, and invited all the neighbors to watch since the antenna antics began drawing a significant crowd. Short story? The antenna came off the roof (more or less) in one piece. More importantly, the big boys came off the roof in one piece. Long story? I learned that brothers are like puppies. If you have more than one, they are about ten times more likely to get into trouble than if they were by themselves. So, cost of antenna to Phillip, nothing. Cost of entertainment by crowd, priceless.

Homecoming 2009

Molly and the Varsity girls

Molly

Wow! Homecoming has come and gone for another year. I can't believe the Loar family has only ONE MORE left! It is amazingly cliched, yet amazingly true, how time flies. Molly will be a senior next year...... She looked really cute. She ordered the dress online. I was skeptical, but she made a believer out of me. It came shrink wrapped in a package the size of a match box. After a trip to the dry cleaners, it was all good. The heels are pink. This picture was made at the Shaffers' house. Jordan and Molly have been friends for 12 years. His mom, Elizabeth, cooked for their group, about 20 kids. David and I did the coat check at the dance. We were totally entertained, so a good time was had by all. My baby's growing up. My how time flies when you're having fun. You keep it fun, baby girl. I love you.

Thin Spaces

Christ in the seeing
Christ in the hearing
Christ in the speaking
Christ in the touch

Christ in the loving Christ in the caring Christ in the serving Christ in the heart

Christ in the thinking Christ in the working Christ in the wondering Christ in the mind

Christ in the hurting
Christ in the anguish
Christ in the weeping
Christ in the pain

Christ in the watching
Christ in the waiting
Christ in the silence
Christ in the peace

Christ in the praying
Christ in the praising
Christ in all living
Now and forever

Amen.

Dearest Jim and Nancy. You are so missed. You are so loved. I'll see you when this life is but a dream and the spaces thin....

Ready or Not?

Molly is contemplating her junior year of high school. She is happy with her schedule and her life right now. Varsity soccer, captain of the soccer team, student council, dance....the list goes on. As for me, I'm just happy it comes complete with a driver's license. I love you, baby girl.

The Thrill of Victory ??

The Firestone Varsity soccer team just elected this year's captains....don't newly elected Molly and Alana look happy? Remember girls, no whining! Won't early morning Sunday practices be fun??

Twenty and counting..."The Get-away"

David and I spent two nights and three days in Holmes County, Ohio at The Inn at Honey Run. We celebrated twenty years of marriage. Our actual anniversary was in April, but due to our schedules, the girls' schedules, etc., we finally were able to pull it off last week. We had a wonderful time....we read, walked, we talked, we visited the town of Berlin and went to historic Schoenbrun. I found two more cookie cutters to add to my stash and a recipe for Moravian sugar cookies. It was really fun to just be the two of us...something new we are only beginning to enjoy. Kate and Molly did a wonderful job managing the house, the dogs, their jobs and social activities. Kate managed to go to Cedar Point with some H'berg friends and travel to Toledo for a voice lesson. Molly attended the Dave Matthews concert at Blossom, plus dance lessons and SAT tutoring. There was only one mishap... Winston chewed the plug off the vacuum cleaner. (Thank goodness it wasn't plugged in.... I can't imagine a curly coated boxador.... :). I had some insights during our "getaway." One, it is possible for David to live without a blackberry...GASP! The second, you really never "get away." We left a part of ourselves at home on Keith Avenue. Wondering if it would rain at Cedar Point, worrying if Molly would be okay at the concert, hoping the dogs stayed off the couch, and that Paul would mow while we were gone. Just like we leave a piece of ourselves everytime we go to Tennessee. Wondering if mom and dad canned the last bushel of beans, wishing we had some more peaches, thinking about how cute the boss is, and amazed that he is walking. Worrying about those we love. Thanks, David. For twenty pretty wonderful years and for being with me while we never get away.

This. Is. The. Great. Aunt.

Ross the Boss! We had a great day at Center Hill Lake. It was a typical beautiful Tennessee summer day. The Boss and I shared catfish, french fries and hush puppies. Ross had spent several days with me and his Gigi and great grandparents in Crossville. Then, alas, I had to return him to his parents. I think they were worried he might become corrupted or something like that. Highlights of our week: practicing walking, watching Mr. Rogers get an "immunization" which is a special kind of "inoculation," carrying Mrs. Noah around in his mouth, playing with Carlos the bus driver and all the other diverse people on the Fisher Price bus, and canning green beans! We also pondered the eternal question...."Is the Sur La Table spatula really better than the the rubbermaid ones?" Ross seems to think so. Little cutie. Lucky Aunt.

Be careful out there

Molly S. and Kate at graduation, May '08

This is a picture of my daughter Kate and her best friend MollyS. The reason best friend Molly has a special suffix to her name is because of our Molly. Believe it or not, MollyS. has an older sister named Katherine/Katie. You can see how it becomes pretty confusing. Also, Patty, Molly and Katie (and Joseph's) mother is one of my best friends and the sister of my heart. Yesterday morning she was in a serious car accident. It happened in our residential neighborhood. Someone driving a van (and in a hurry) ran a stop sign at a high rate of speed and hit her as she was crossing the intersection. She is in the hospital today, in the pic-unit (one below intensive care) with a fractured ankle, fractured pelvis, internal bleeding, spinal fractions, neck traction and a host of other less serious injuries. She is going to be fine and I know she is receiving the best of care. Her doctor husband promised me :). The guy who hit her walked away from the accident. According to our dog walking neighbors, the van driver had been reported for speeding before. This time it looks like they caught him. Too bad someone had to pay the price. Please pray for Patty's recovery. Pray for her family. And pray for the van driver. Please be extra careful with you and yours today. I love you all.

The End.....(for now)

Well, year 26. It's done. Over. Finished. Fini. It's hard to believe I have taught school this long. It's really remarkable to me because every September it's a new beginning. It's just like starting again. I haven't done anything for 26 years in a row, except breathe! I can't believe I have it in me to stick with anything this long. I've been a sister my whole life, an aunt for 31 years, a student for 19 years, married for 20 years (this time:), been a mother for (nearly) 19, ...you get the idea. I have taught school over half of my life! YIKES!!! I've been teaching sooo long that now parents are asking me, "Mrs. Loar...How much longer do you think you'll be doing this?" That line always cracks me up...."doing this," like I might be involved in some type of nefarious or shady occupation. Anyway, the answer.....until it quits being fun. Until it quits being rewarding. Until I no longer have the passion and excitement to teach. When September rolls around I'll be there.....one more time.

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge--

That myth is more potent than history.

I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts--

That hope always triumphs over experience--

That laughter is the only cure for grief.

And I believe that love is stronger than death.

Robert Fulghum

Home again? (Happy Mother's Day)

Founder's Hall-Heidelberg College

Wow! David and I just spent the better part of yesterday packing Kate's "stuff" to bring her back home after her first year at college. Well! It took about four hours longer than I thought it would, and she had ten times the amount of "stuff" to bring home than she took with her last August. You know, when they were little I thought a lot about the two of them leaving for college one day. I thought about the first day, the moving in, the tearful departure. What I didn't think about was the RETURN!! We left Akron yesterday around 10:00 ...stopped for a leisurely breakfast, and got to HC around 1:00. When we got there, I thought Heather, Kate's roommate, was still there. Alas, no, it was all Kate's "stuff." We packed her car and my car to the brim. Refrigerator, books, musical scores, song books, oboes, sorority paddles, sorority Hbags, assorted purple items of sorority "stuff," popcorn, dishes, hangers, iron, etc...... :) Oh, yes, we also packed towels, sheets, assorted clothing and bedding....ALL DIRTY!! So, what's a mother to do? First, take Kate and her friend Kim to Walmart to buy more assorted "stuff" for the choir trip (plus meet tons of HC students--Tiffin is a small town). Second, send dad down the street to the HC baseball game, Third, grab some bins and get started. Fourth, two hours later call David to come back. Then the three of us make six trips to the dumpster, twelve trips down the elevator, and several trips up and down the stairs. We decide to go eat at Bob Evans (the only game in town) before we take off. We make enough room in the two cars to transport three people. We are just seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, when Kate utters the fateful words....."Oh, Can we stop by Brenneman? I need to pack up my music locker." After squeezing in more "stuff," we head to B.E. for dinner. We ended up seated next to three of Kate's professors, Dr. Vickie Ohls, music, Dr. Younger, honors college, and Kate's sorority advisor. It was nice. We had a great time talking. I'm so glad she is so happy at a place that I have come to love as well. Who knows? Maybe she is just coming home for a visit. Maybe when she returns to Heidelberg in the fall she'll be home again. Home... I guess it really is where your heart is. Happy Mother's Day to my mom. Thanks for giving me the guts and the vision to make a home of my own. I love you.

Easter

i thank You God for most this amazing

day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything

which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,

and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth

day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay

great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing

breathing any--lifted from the no

of allnothing--human merely being

doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and

now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

ee cummings

Good Friday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCh4AsVrHhY

Why am I surprised?

You would think after living in NE Ohio almost 14 years I would quit being shocked over the return of spring. I mean, it happens more years than it doesn't.....the shock part at least. Yes, spring does manage to return in its own sweet time. The flowers bloom, the trees leaf, the grass grows. The shocking part is that winter has to have one more final laugh at our expense. Today snow is covering the ground. The wind is blowing so hard that I can hardly see the house across the street. The siding on the house is rattling and moaning. The poor little daffodils are managing to hold up their heads, but barely. Our forsythia is only blooming at the ground level this year....why? Because the top buds were frozen and the only ones left to bloom are the ones covered by snow. Geez! Enough already!
But, I do have some blooming going on around me. Kate is coming home tonight with two music major friends to see Renee Fleming at E.J. Thomas. She is getting ready to finish her freshman year at Heidelberg. Amazing! Molly looked at her first college yesterday and is contemplating her junior year schedule. Winston (the pup) has gained ten pounds and is beginning to blossom into a deeply spoiled and over indulged family dog. I have two great nephews and one great neice all born within 7 months of each other. My 82 year old dad just got hearing aids, and for the first time in 6o years has heard the dog's toenails clicking across the floor. Sounds like change. Sounds like life is stirring no matter what the temperature says. Sounds like blooming to me.

Welcome the world, Baby Girl!

It seems like all I do is wait for babies these days! The last one has arrived (at least for this round)! A girl, too! Welcome to Addison Diane Bond, born on March 31, 2009 at 10:52 p.m. Six pounds and 8 ounces of pure sweetness! It's hard for me to believe that my favorite #2 nephew is a dad! I know he'll be a great one. Congratulations to Charles, Megan and Addison Bond, but most of all congratulations to me....I love being the Greatest Aunt Ever!

Guess what???

A little update....our new baby, our beloved little Winston.....well, he isn't a solely a boxer lab mix. Our vet just told us he has a shar-pei tail. So, we know he is half lab...and it looks like he .25 boxer and .25 Shar-pei. He is a cutie and has a great personality. So far, he has gained 4+ pounds. Only about ten more to go.

Winter Formal

Molly and Renton!

The men!
Molly and the ladies!
Firestone High School 2.21.09

Last night Molly and her friend Renton, attended the Winter Formal at the high school. They had a great time and so did their great group of friends. I feel so fortunate that Molly has some really great friends. They give me a lot of hope for the future.

Welcome Home, Winn

Well, we finally did what we have not been going to do for at least four months. We got another dog! Yikes, what were we thinking! Actually, he is pretty perfect! We started out looking for a labradoodle. Let me tell you, they are as scarce as hen's teeth and more precious than diamonds. I actually considered buying a puppy, and a very expensive one at that. My very wise elder daughter (actually I have two very wise daughters) said (and I quote...) "Mom, you'll end up rescuing another dog. It's just the kind of people we are." Well, she was right. After tracking down leads on labradoodles, that ended up fruitless, David (my sometimes wise) husband suggested we look at other lab hybrids. There are a myriad to choose from. We decided on a "boxador" or a "blab" because we love the two breeds. We were lucky enough to find one at our city pound. We went and looked and now #31 has a new home....and a new (but old) name.....Winston. Winny is a winner today. Hope all the other numbers find their new homes too.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

One of my favorite pics, Egypt 2007

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'”

Robert Browning

I hope the next twenty are as much fun as the first. I love you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

February Thaw?

We're in the middle of a thaw. We were just in the heart of one of our largest snowfalls ever. In Akron, we missed the January record snowfall by 0.5 inches! I think the grand total for January snow in 2009 was around 41." Today there are patches of green (brown, really) in the neighborhood yards and the roads are clear. Water rushing down the gutters sounds like spring. But, DON'T BE FOOLED! February thaws are not what they appear. Life can be like a winter melt. People you know can be like one too. Unpredictable. Messy. Unsure of their season. Sometimes you feel they live to make your life a misery. You can't change them. No matter how nice you are, they are still their same old baffling, blustery selves. Sort of like a February thaw--just when you think the ice is finally gone...SURPRISE! It's back again just like those boots and gloves you thought you could finally put away for good. Winter will leave when it is darn good and ready. There is nothing we can do to hurry it, rush it, or make it go away. I have discovered that people are like that too. You can't hurry them, rush them, or even make (some of them) go away. You can't blaze them with the truth when their heart is cold. You can't make them change when they prefer to live a rigid, frozen existence. So what do you do? You learn to live with the winter. More importantly, you learn to live with the uncertainty of spring's arrival. You trade snow boots for muck boots, you learn to mop up dirt two or three times a day instead of once a week like you did before the season (and the people) changed. Lastly, I think, you learn to tip your hat to winter's bitter chill. To smile and say, "I see you, I know you're still there, but I'm looking past you and I'm moving on. To spring.

Imago Dei

The sacred Isle of Iona, Scotland

...We are born in the Image of God. Today's prayer is from the service at Fairlawn-West Church. It is too beautiful not to share. It is from the tradition of my roots...a prayer in the style of the Ancient Celts.

A Mid-Winter Prayer

From the rising of the midwinter sun to its setting
Scatter the darkness with the light of your love, O Shining One.
Make me short on mean thoughts, long on offering words of comfort.
Make me short on being driven, long on paying attention.
Make me short on focusing only on my own, long on looking beyond.
Make me short on obsessive lists, long on spontaneous acts of kindness.
Make me short on mindless activity, long on time to reflect.
Make me short on tradition as a habit, long on re-discovery and re-owning.
Make me short on rushing and tiring, long on walking and wondering.
Make me short on false festive jollity, long on stilling and rooted joy.
Make me short on guilt, long on being merciful to myself.
Make me short on being overwhelmed, long on peaceableness
as I set forth this day.
from the Celtic Wheel of the Year by Tess Ward

Beginning with good old reliable......

I like old things. Houses, furniture, clothes, husbands (just kidding, David.) I like to recycle things and keep them a long time. The older I get, the less interested I am in new stuff. We are planning to buy some new living room furniture. We have been planning it for several years. I just can't seem to find anything I like any better than what I have now. We just visited a furniture consignment store that opened near our (old) house. What a rush! I loved it. I didn't find anything I wanted, but just to know it's there to visit and prowl through....! Just the thought of looking through that stuff makes me giddy. I was reading my (old!) brother's blog about used cars and it made me think of ours. We have 4 great used cars. That's really David's department. As long as it gets me where I'm going safely, I'm pretty open to anything. We currently own: a 2003 Honda Civic COMPLETE WITH SUN ROOF (Martha), a 2001 Saturn wagon (Kate), and 1997 Ford Escort (David), and a brand new (old) 1999 Ford Escort. The '99 Escort will make its big debut this summer after Molly gets her license. She and Kate will then wrestle in the grass to see who gets the new (old!) car which by then will have new tires on its (old) rims. We love our cars! I love the low, monthly payments because new car payments can get (old!) fast!! Which makes me think....I'm not sure I have anything new! I eat off of old china, I use my grandmother's flatware, I rest on my mother in law's old couches, my kids sleep in my old childhood beds, my dining rooms tables are used, my favorite clothes are vintage, I think my towels once were moms...OH, WAIT! I do have one new thing. Several years ago David and I bought a new queen sized bed. It is awesome...pillow topper and all. We had a group of (old!) church people over for dinner and I was showing them the new bed. Since we used to sleep on a double bed, I was telling them the pitch the salesmen told me...about how a double bed was really the size of two crib sized mattresses, and that the queen would have ever so much more room. Then I said the most classic line ever....." I never knew what a difference six inches would make in bed".... I'm not sure who was laughing the most after that...unless it was David :)

Original Children

My niece, Jessica, just wrote in her blog about her "original children." That phrase stuck with me. I like that phrase.....original children. One of the largest commonalities in our family, if not the largest, is our children. It really doesn't seem to matter how many legs they have. Four is almost as good as two. I realize that may change some, now that Ross and Caleb are here, but for the most part we love the dogs, cats and the kids in sort of one big lump. I think to say we are dog lovers is kind of like saying the titanic was a rowboat. Even the cat defectors in our family love dogs too. Even if they don't own a dog nowwwwww...well, they're just preparing for a dog in the future. David and I have had our share of dogs. Mostly the rescued kind. The pitiful, miserable, pull at your heartstrings ones. We have had Magnum, Kahlua, D-O-G, and faithful Tighe. All older and abandoned labs who have gone to dog heaven (if you don't know about dog heaven, read the book by Cynthia Rylant.) Now we share our life with Maggie. When Tighe was alive, she wasn't certain about her job. Now that he's gone, she gets it. She's the bed warmer, the couch sitter, and the yard watcher. She is the lady of the house and the other lady of the house's abiding companion. She's the reason we're looking for another one and the reason we haven't gotten one. I figure one day we'll be out somewhere and a new Maggie or Tighe will worm their way into our hearts. Until then she'll stay our only, original child.

Strange Beginnings

My husband was recently stranded at the Atlanta airport. You can probably relate to this story. He had left (snowy, cold) Akron to visit his mom and step dad in (warm, sunny) Tucson. The journey there was uneventful, but the return home was long, hard and miserable. Flights cancelled, schedules re-routed, long lines, crabby people, old magazines, continual and soundless CNN. It must have been like the wait in the endodontist office that never ends. Along the way, though, he made friends. He talked to people, listened to their stories, and by his presence probably made some angy people a little less upset. He spoke of the hospitality offered to him by other people and how he tried to offer it in return. It made me think a lot about what it means to offer that to others. It is so easy to shower it on those we love and those we feel are deserving, but what about everyone else? I recently read an amazing transformational book, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. It is a story of hospitality. Greg Mortenson became lost while climbing in the Himalayas. He stumbled across a small village that took him in, fed him, clothed him and got him back on his feet. He promised he would come back and build the village a school. The rest of the book tells the amazing journey of how he is continuing to build schools all over the region, mostly to educate young girls. The villagers hospitality saved him. Greg is not a teacher, nor did he know anything about schools. He saw a need and with literally no preparation, stepped out in faith to begin something new. He says his life began again that day. He became committed to hospitality. So, where does hospitality begin? Does it begin in church? Or, does it begin when we offer it to the wayfarer and the sojourner...the strangers we've yet to meet?

"Snowing" Down

There is nothing like snow to take you to the beginning. Usually, it's the beginning of something new. A new project, a new dish to cook, a new book to read, a new scarf to knit....you get the idea. The reason this happens is because anything you've planned to do gets cancelled and you have to begin again. From scratch. Often with what you have at home because you can't go anywhere to get anything. For example, you rediscover all of your old beads. Beads you haven't looked at in a long time because, well, you just forgot about them. Yarn you weren't entirely satisfied with a day ago, suddenly looks like your next and most wonderful scarf yet. That can of peaches suddenly becomes a great new dessert for the dinner you've planned to cook all week. "Snowing" down means that life that has been running a million miles a minute just stops. Time seems to exist in a suspended state while you and life around you rests. Minutes become easy. Moments pass while you stare out the window and just let everything be. Time enough to get back to business when the plow comes. I usually envy my southern most cousins and their snowless days. Not today though. I wish you were here just snowing down with me.

at the beginning again

Another beginning....Kate arriving at Heidelberg College as a new freshman. I can only imagine how her grandfather Alton Loar felt when he arrived at Heidelberg College as a freshman in 1939.

Some special beginnings

Molly begins her dance at St. Bernard's Church in downtown Akron. She choreographed a solo dance to a piece sung by Summit Choral Society (Kate's former choir.) Needless to say, the dance and the dancer were stunning.

happy new year

Well, I have to admit it. I feel a little intimidated. Not much, mind you, but some. I am totally amazed at the talented bloggers in my family! Merc, Erin, Charlotte, Megan, Jessica...you leave me in the dust! Your blogs are amazing! I just love reading them. I've decided that between blogs and facebook we never even need to see each other again :) -- Just kidding! I really love being able to "visit" you when I read about you. It's not as good as the real thing , but it beats wondering what you all are up to all the time. As for me...what am I up to? Still thinking about beginnings....about new babies, new marriages, new school experiences, what it's like to be parenting a college student and a high schooler. Also what it's like to be (almost) 5o. Sigh! Well, now I'm going to find out what it's like to begin to take down the Christmas decorations.