What I Can Learn

As I was watching Bennett draw the other day, these thoughts were floating through my mind:

1.  Take time to do what you love, even if you don't think you're good at it.
2.  The more I learn, the less I know
3.  Take time to appreciate the little things in life
4.  Share your passion, joy, knowledge, gift, hope, and creativity with others
5.  I might not get it perfect, but at least I tried
6.  Just being together is fun whether we're doing the same things or not
7.  Time is a gift, enjoy it with all your senses
8.  Childhood is full of curiosity of the amateurs; to be so curious and unjaded again

And then I realized I was thinking too much.  So I stopped.  And enjoyed being in the moment.

How To Plan Your Free Time

Yesterday was a "free day".  I actually had zero planned.  Nothing on my plate.  Freedom.  I love it.  To me, freedom means getting to read whenever and as along as you like where ever you like.  It means long walks, long talks, eating a happy snack whenever you're hungry.  Sipping tea by the fireplace.   Apparently, my image of free time and Chloe's are drastically different.

Not only did I have a free day yesterday.  So did the kids.  They were off for President's Day.  I just love it when they have a day off.  It means we get to spend so much time together and just enjoy each other's company. I was giddy with anticipation of a relaxing, free day off.

However, at breakfast, Chloe presented us with her LIST for our day off.  Seriously?  We have to plan our day off?  We can't just aimlessly sit around eating and reading?  Nope.  We must be organized and have a plan.  We must know what to expect and when.  I get that.  I did that for years when the kids were babies and toddlers and we lived and breathed by the nap schedule.  But now we don't have to.  We are free.  We all communicate with words and can even make our own food.  Life is good at this stage of the game.

Chloe would prefer some order to her day though, so me and boys accommodated her.  Thankfully, she allowed us a vote on what we all wanted to do and in what order.  Our first order of business for the day was me getting last night's dishes done.  Once that was out of the way, we were free to play Nertz.

Just a side note here.  Another benefit of older children is that the games we get to play with them now...we actually like.  No more Chutes and Ladders my friend.  No more Trouble or Candy Land.  We're doing fun stuff like Ticket To Ride, Qwelf, and best of all Nertz.  Nertz is my all time favorite card game.  It's very fast paced and requires a lot of multi-tasking and I love it almost as much as Michael Jordan.  I own the Nertz table.  I rule. It is my domain (if I may be so humble - there are only like 2 things in this life that I'm actually good at and this is one of them).  Chuck asked me the other day, "Do you think the kids are ready to learn nertz?"  They think we let them in on an adults-only club.  They feel big, empowered.  They now know the game.  Now that I have more challengers other than Chuck in the house, I am a happy camper.  The game just took on new depths.  This is a good day in our household. The children have reached 'The Age Of Bonafide Nertz Players'.

Needless to say, Nertz was a fun as we all thought it would be.  Then it was on to our next great activity.  We have these art books called, "Draw, Write, Now" and they teach you how to draw very simply.  We each picked a book and went to town.  Some people follow the steps to a tee (Chloe), others think way outside of the box and use the picture as an 'idea' (Gavin) and still others enjoy the story behind the picture (Bennett) more than the actual art - it must have meaning or why draw it.  I tend to fall into the last category with Bennett.  I also really enjoy the coloring of my picture.  I still have some colored pencils left over from college (obviously I didn't do alot of coloring while in college - in my art classes, not for fun).  I'm, shall we say, a wee-bit possessive of these pencils.  They have very soft led (good for blending) and they were very expensive (thus why I monitor their use ever so closely).   Somedays I'm in a generous mood, other's, not so much.  Yesterday was one of the days I didn't feel like sharing my colored pencils with people who would abuse them and color them down to the nub (you've got to have boundaries).  Bennett did a better example of sharing than did his mother.

Chloe was generous enough to allow each of us to choose what we would like to do on our own.  This was not her original idea - I have to admit, I coaxed her into this one.  She might be able to spend 24/7 with people, but I can't.  I need space, quiet time.  So, for a glorious hour and a half, I was finally able to plop myself down in front of the fire with a cup of hot tea and a good book.  Ahhhhhh!  Chloe enjoyed some time learning how to play by herself in her room (I had to keep reminding her that she wasn't in trouble - this was a good/relaxing thing to do.   I explained how she needs to learn to be okay with alone time, to process what she's learning, to think, be creative, read - I don't think she bought it.).  The boys decided to go outside to play in the woods (in the 30 degree temps!).

Remember 'The North Pole'.  Well, the treaty has been signed and boundaries have been set.   Bennett was not going to be outdone.  Two can play this game.  So he set up 'The South Pole' (minus a signed treaty) directly next to The North Pole.  Gavin texted me about an hour into their playtime:  I love you, Mom.  Bennett and I have a new motto:  adventurers never come prepared.   Chloe already has plans in the works for either an 'Equator' (if the space is between the boys) or 'Siberia' depending on where her space is located.  They plan on doing some serious fort building after school today.

Thus our wonderful Private Time came to an end which ushered us into the next phase of our plan, "The Lego Building Challenge".  The multiple, color-coded bins of legos where strewn hap-hazardly  across the family room floor.  Grooveshark (an online music streaming site) was blaring.  Serious creativity was in full progress.  We created for a good hour.  Very fun.  Daddy was the judge on the best project.  Bennett won, I came in second.

Lo and behold, it was getting close to dinner time.  Since we've done everything together today, why not cook dinner together.  So the crew and I broke out the ingredients and the aprons and started cooking.  They even admitted that dinner was better having had a hand in making it.  Pride in a job well done!

Watch out summer break - we've got a plan for you!  And Chloe is in charge of writing it all down.

Who Does This?

Gavin was antsy waiting for Daddy to get home from work last night.  The sun was going down and he was a man on a mission.  The sun could not go down before his task was done.   We were all hoping Chuck would hurry up and get home so that Gavin would calm down.  The millisecond Chuck's foot stepped through the thresh-hold, Gavin announced, "Okay everybody.  Family meeting outside in the backyard - now!"  This included the neighbor girl who is always with us, whether she liked it or not, she was coming to this family meeting.

What was so important that we all had to congregate in the backyard in freezing temperatures amidst the hazy lighting of dusk?  The Treaty of the North Pole - that's what.

Gavin has spent the past week working out back (not by his own choice - but he came to genuinely love the work and took much ownership in it).  This little plot of land he was working on, he decided to dub "The North Pole".  And because it was now "his", he wanted to layout some guidelines.

I kid you not.  He typed out this "Treaty" in under 15 minutes.  Not once did he consult an actual legal form to find appropriate verbiage.  This came directly out of the depths of his very own brain.  Makes me wonder what other stuff is up there I don't know about (or can't understand):

Winter

When we told everyone we were moving to Minnesota, many people were more or less shocked.  Not so much that we were moving, but where we were moving to.  When you think of Minnesota, you think of cold, snow, below-freezing temperatures, heavy jackets, and more cold.  Honestly, the cold was a wee-bit intimidating for me.  I was very apprehensive about it.  Everyone who knows me knows that I am practically a sun worshipper.  I need the sun!  I love the heat!  I'm a Texan.  This was going to be a major change in climate.  Would I be able to do it?  I feared maybe I wouldn't.

I hadn't realized how scared I was until winter actually descended upon us.  Thank God, in his mercy, he gave Minnesota an extremely mild winter this year.  So much so that we are even having a snow drought.  But even mild here is colder than I'm used to. I've never worn long underwear in my life.  Now I can't go a day without them.  Staying warm is the name of the game.

The first time the temperature fell below freezing I was so scared.  But I gave my fear over to God and asked Him to carry me through this.  I know that sounds corny to many, but it was a real fear for me.  He not only carried me, but He made it one of the most beautiful days I've had since we've lived here.  The birds were even chirping.  I didn't even know there were still birds left here that hadn't already migrated south.  That little bird song brought the biggest smile to my face.

I've learned more in winter than I ever would have learned had I not lived in the depths of it.  I see winter in a whole new light.   Not just the yearly season, but also how we can experience winter in the cycles of our lives.  Many times I'm in a place where I don't "feel" God or love or acceptance.  Many times I have to go through a very tough time and wonder where God is in all of it.

And then I'm reminded of winter.  We HAVE to experience winter.  We can't grow without it.  It's part of the beautiful cycle of life.  If we didn't have this season of dormancy, we would never advance to the next season of growth.  When things (read feelings) seem 'dead' around you, rejoice - because it is when the growth is going on inside of you, in your heart.  Spring is just around the corner.  And then the glorious season of summer where you get to relish and enjoy the growth that Spring brought on only because you experienced winter.  We can't feel or see growth happening in winter.  That is where faith is.  That is when you continue on.  Keep trusting.  Keep living.

I've come to love winter!  I love the beauty I see in the 'dead' and dormancy all around me.  Sometimes the beauty takes my breath away.  I get to experience and see life in a whole new way.  And I'm humbled.  I'm full of gratitude.  I'm awed.  I thank God again and again that He allowed me to walk through the winter with a heart of thanks because now I will appreciate the spring and the summer more than I ever dreamed possible.  I won't take seasons of growth for granted any longer.  I'll live fully in each season, for I believe that's exactly the meaning of carpe diem.  But more importantly, it's the meaning of faith.

English Inconsistencies

I think I'm going to help Gavin start carrying the torch about the absurdity of the English language. I've taught it to my children (by default and educationally) all their lives and never really took a good hard look at it.  When it's your own language, you just accept the nuances as 'normal' and teach them as such.  You know how to speak and read it, so you don't really care when certain words don't follow the rules.  But now that I'm teaching English to non-English speakers, I see our language in a whole new light.  I'm trying to walk in their shoes and see the world through their eyes...its a humbling, awesome experience.

I'm also reading a book titled Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (fantastic by the way!) in which one of the characters also just happens to have a beef with the phonics of English.  He felt that we should only spell phonetically, thus eradicating many, if not all of the inconsistencies in our language.  He wanted to write a book titled: Ghoti Out Of Water.  The 'gh' is pronounced as an 'f' as in 'enough'.  The 'o' is pronounced like an 'i' as in 'women'.  The 'ti' is pronounced as 'sh' as in 'nation'.   I love it!

I rest my case.

Chloe's Love Horn

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to bring up the topic of Chloe's Love Horn.  Her description, not mine.  You see, this lovely winter hat was bestowed upon her for Christmas.  She loved it like no other.  It is a unicorn, as you can clearly see.  It has a lovely stuffed horn perched up on top.  Her favorite thing to do is come poke you with her love horn.  She calls it giving us a love transfer.  She has also given the actual unicorn a name, "Uni".  Bennett has too, "Spike".  Chuck has too, but we'll keep that to ourselves.  You may read into this blog whatever you like because this is really, really funny.  And she is so, so innocent.

*By the way, this gift was originally given as a white elephant gift to an anonymous extended family member who in turn gave it to Chloe.

Sharing Joy

Bennett decided to go out back to go bird watching today.  He was armed with his binoculars, his bird Identiflyer and snow boots (although we only have mud right now, no snow).  It was a crisp, sunny day, perfect for roaming the woods and listening for birds.

When he came in from his adventure, he couldn't wait to share his joy with me.  A smile was permanently etched into his face.  He proclaimed, "Mom, this is the BEST DAY EVER!"

I agreed with him by reminiscing over his basketball team's first win of the season earlier in the day.  He quickly said, "Oh, that was great...but this was even better!  Mom, it was just so beautiful out there, you have no idea.  I was just walking around in the woods pressing the calls for different birds when out of nowhere they'd come flying towards me when they heard their call.  I stood still for a while and kept pressing the button for the call of the Chickadee.  Pretty soon all the Chickadees in Minnesota were surrounding me.  Mom...I was so happy I cried!  I've cried because I've been sad before, but never because I've been so happy.  It was really cool!"

His eyes were tearing up as he was telling me.  So were mine.  That my boy was overjoyed with the presence of these precious little creatures touched my soul deeply.  And he wanted to share it with me.  He couldn't wait to share it with me.  I'm honored to enter that hallowed place in his heart, that place where he holds things so dear, they spill out with emotion and touch all those around him.

We were on a walk as he was sharing all this with me.  He talked and talked and talked while I kept telling myself, Drink it all in, Cori, enjoy this exact moment, this heart to heart connection while looking at him, all smiles.  He apologetically said, "I'm sorry for talking so much about birds...I don't mean to force them on you."

"Oh not at all Honey!  I love your passion. It's because of you I've learned to have a much greater appreciation for birds, their songs, the way they move and look.  Thank you for teaching me.  Your excitement for birds is contagious!"

It's the simple things in life....

* He blogged about it as well.  You can read his experience in his own words here.

Living On The Edge....Of The Bunny Slope

Last week, for my 39th birthday, Chuck proudly handed me a homemade coupon for a special date day - at the local ski hill.  I was super excited since I had no clue what to expect (yet).  Plus, it was a whole day with my beloved - how could that not be fun?!

And then as the icing on the cake, he handed me the best gift he's EVER given me - thermal foot warmers!  I did not know these existed.  They are my new best friend to survive the Minnesota winters with.  I will now stick them all over my body, not just my feet.  I screamed with joy upon receiving these miraculous inventions.  They stay HOT for 9 hours!  All you do is stick them to the bottom of your sock and voila - hot feet.  This is huge for a person who's feet and hands go numb within 30 minutes of being exposed to the elements (even with gloves and 3 layers of socks on).  I can now enjoy the beauty of the snow and frigid temperatures with the rest of humanity.  My life is now complete.

But I digress...back to my ski hill story.  So, the coupon was actually for snowboarding, something neither of us have ever done.  We're obviously not getting any younger.  If we don't start now, I see the probability of starting decreasing with each new year.  Seize the day, right!  Oh, we seized that and more!

We were both giddy with excitement.  We're layered up in multiple layers of clothing as well as all our snow gear on top of that.  We look like some middle aged michelin men.  Not quite the look I'm going for on a date with my husband - but at least we look the same and can laugh with each other.


I then ask Chuck, "So, what time are our lessons?"

"Lessons?  Who needs those.  We're going to figure this out on our own.  It can't be that hard.  John said just to watch a how-to video on youtube."

"Seriously?!?" Nervousness is starting to set in.  I quickly google "how to snowboard".  I wish I'd googled "how to attach yourself and unattach yourself to the snowboard" first.  There was not enough time for more than one "lesson".


It took us a good 45 minutes to figure out how to get the snowboarding boots on and attached to the snowboard.  There were no instructions...you just do it.  And you don't dare look like you have no clue cuz there are little kids sitting right next to you who know exactly what they're doing.

Humility was the word of the day.  We would be watching those same kids all day long and wondering how in the world they stay up on their boards and go down the hill with such ease.  But right now, priority number one was figuring out how to look "natural" and "nonchalant" and try to blend in with everyone around us all while having a clueless look on our faces.  But hey, we were together and this was going to be fun, right.

We manage to make it out of the ski chalet and found the closest little hump of a hill so we could "practice".  We inched closer and closer to a guy giving a little kid a lesson and tried to glean any pertinent information from our contraband lesson.  We learned how to unattach one foot and "walk" with your snowboard still attached with your other foot.  No small feat!  And we learned how to scoot really well.  We spent more time scooting over the snow than actually going down the hill.  It was the best core workout I'd ever done.  We scooted to the moving sidewalk (which brought us up the bunny slope).  We scooted out of other people's way.  We scooted to get unstuck (which was a lot).  You get the idea - we got really good at scooting.

Speaking of the moving sidewalk.  It was going up the hill at a steady incline.  This bunny slope was of mammoth proportions in my eyes.  Not what I envisioned a bunny slope looking like.  So, about an hour after getting to BuckHill, we finally arrived at the top of the bunny slope.  I ask Chuck, "So, how do we get down there?" pointing to all the small, ant-like figures at the bottom of the "hill".  I will never forget his response, "How about I just push you?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  I'm trying to be a good sport about this Babe, but seriously.  You think taking your wife who is deathly afraid of heights, to the top of a hill on a fast moving object, that she hasn't had any lessons in steering or stopping on, and suggesting you just push her down the hill is really going to work with me?  Do you even know me at all?"

And then I start doing the only thing I know to do...I scoot down the hill.  But suddenly, it's not flat anymore and I'm actually going fast.  And then I realize I have no clue how to stop, steer or even fall.  I pray I don't hit anyone.  And then I see Chuck zoom past me and fall violently.  All of his falls were like that - violent, like he hit a tree and just fell backward and rolled a few times.  The one bit of advice he gave me that I actually took to heart was, "If you feel like you're going to fall, just sit down."  Ok.  Can't hurt.  So, whenever I got going too fast, I'd just sit down.  Speeding down a hill isn't my favorite activity, even though that's what we were there to do.  But the only problem with sitting down in the middle of the hill is that you have to get back up again and start scooting again so that you can start speeding again.  It was an endless cycle.

I did so many up-hill sit-ups.  I couldn't stop laughing the entire time.  Laughing at myself, laughing at Chuck. Laughing at the madness of what we were doing and calling it "fun".  It really was the perfect day.

At one point I "snowboarded" (if that's what you want to call what I was doing) into two trash barrels (since I couldn't steer).  I could not get away from them.  Once I fell, I couldn't get up, I taught myself how to crawl out of trash cans with a board stuck to your feet.  I'm still pretty proud of that one.  And my feet were still warm.  That's really all the matters.

A week later and Chuck is still not 'back to normal'.  Remember those violent falls?  Too bad I didn't get one of video.  But he fell on his elbow somehow.  He thought he broke a rib.  Turns out he strained the muscles around his ribs and is still hobbling around and taking shallow breaths. Or maybe that happened the time he fell off the moving side-walk.  Either way, he's in pain.  I still have bruises up and down my legs (even as padded as they were) from "sitting" on the hill so abruptly so many times and landing more on my boots than the soft, cushy snow.  But don't worry...we'll both make it.  And I'm sure this won't be the last time.  But next time, we will definitely get lessons.  But you will NEVER see me riding the ski lift.  Those things go even higher than the bunny hill!  Sometimes you just gotta put your foot down...even in the snow.

Live Life Fully

"Wherever you are, be all there."

                                                                  -   Jim Elliot

The Simple Life

Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus.

                                                                        -  Ann Voskamp

Welcome to Winter

The Tubing Hill

The ride back up to the top

Me...contemplating whether or not I should take another run
down the hill or run back to the warming hut so I can get feeling
back in my numb toes and fingers.  Hmmm...what to do.

The abominable tubers, able to play outside for two hours 

in sub-freezing temperatures all in the name of fun!

But oh was it worth it!  

Spy House

One of my children, who shall be kept anonymous to hide his identity, has a 'thing' for anything spy related.  Always has.  He even has books on how to be a spy.  A series of books actually. He has read them 5 times over.  He takes this business with the utmost of seriousness. In a moment of weakness, he let me in on a secret.  He can actually disguise himself in under a minute.  All he has to do, he reveals, is to just take off his glasses and mess up his hair and put his shirt on backwards and bam! no-one would recognize him.  I will leave my comments to myself on this one so as not to burst any spy bubbles.

This whole spy business is the natural progression of growing up a super hero.  He's had an alter ego ever since he could talk.  It comes as no surprise that we would replace the childish superhero with the more mature spy.  I especially like all the gear that comes with being a spy.  This particular child goes nowhere without his trusty dusty whistle/compass/magnifier/flashlight necklace combo zipped securely in the inner pocket of his winter coat.  There's that and his phone that has a built in GPS that we won't let him use because then we'd have to activate a data plan and that's just not happening so that we can be more spy-like.  Spys have budgets you know.

But the best are the latest in technological advancements.  This son has his own security system taped all over his bedroom door.  You must crack the system before entry into said bedroom is allowed.  First you must pass the "eyeris scanner" (his spelling, not mine), then the voice recognition device, then the palm print match, type in a 497 digit code on the keypad, subjet yourself to the brain-scan device and then lastly have your "coolness meter" read.  Once you successfully make it past all these pieces of paper with serious drawings indicating all this real technology, then you may proceed into his room.  If you are a guest visiting us, I apologize ahead of time.  It seems that this same room is also the guest room.  You might want to start working on your "coolness factor" so that the "coolness meter" will grant you access.  Or you might be sleeping on our couch.  'If' you make it in, you can be assured of the highest quality of security while in your room.  No one has yet to break in and steal the 1999 clamshell laptop sitting in open view on his desk.  So, we're sitting pretty tight here.

The funniest part of all of this though are the random pieces of paper I have been finding taped in the oddest places around the house.  One day as I was reading on my bed, out of the corner of my eye, I happened to see a small square piece of paper with a circle hastily colored in pencil sticking out behind my mirror.  I went over to investigate.  That is exactly what I found.  Since I knew the only person who would color anything in pencil might be, I called this person into my room and interrogated him.  For all his spy prowess, he couldn't wipe that silly little grin off his face.  He finally broke down under my withering glare (obviously I'm joking) and confessed to the whole thing.  "I can't believe you found it.  It's my spy cam so I can keep an eye and ear on everyone in the house and know what's going on at all times."  Seriously?!  I grew up with this as a real threat and now I'm living with this all over again as a pseudo one?  Life definitely repeats itself.  Then Chloe comes into my room after the suspect fled and passed on some key information, "Mom.  Did you only find one?"

"What?!  There's more of these?  Where?"

"Oh yes.  Everywhere.  But I didn't tell you."

Try as I might, I could not find anymore of these 'bugs' around the house.  But every now and then  I end up coming across one months later.  Each time it makes me laugh out loud.  I see touches of my adorable little spy all over my house and it makes my heart soar.  I have already found one behind my computer and just today found one behind some picture frames in the kitchen while I was cleaning.

I just love paper with messy pencil circles on them.  It reminds me that I'm loved.  It's my little spy's love note to me.  Without even knowing it, he just made my day.