Christmas Wishes 2008

Happy Holidays!

It’s hard to believe another year has passed. Once again, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year and the blessings we have been given. We’re so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area of the country and to enjoy freedom and security. Here’s a little taste of what we’ve been up to this past year…

David still flies the friendly skies several weeks a month with his job as a Senior Construction Manager at the Wal-Mart Home Office. In the last couple of years, he’s gotten to know parts of Michigan better than he ever thought he would! He tries to hunt and fish whenever he can, which isn’t as often as he’d like. David’s recently put his DIY skills to the test as we’re repurposing the garage…It was going to be a den for the family/design studio for Kristen, but he’s now dubbing it "The Craft Cave" after seeing the amount of scrapbooking and crafting supplies that are coming to the surface in their move across the house.

Kristen is always found volunteering at church or the three different schools the kids attend, or hanging out at the scrapbook store where she teaches classes. She’s starting her own business designing scrapbooks for others and selling scrapbooking kits; "Urban Butterfly" should take full flight in the first part of the new year. Our family expanded a little this year in the most surprising way…her birthmother Marianne recently found her after years of searching. They are looking forward to a reunion in the upcoming weeks. What a blessing it has been to be able to personally thank her for the ultimate gift of life.

Colin, 15 and 6’ 1" tall, keeps us constantly moving…with high school cross country, track, and basketball, (he plays on both the sophomore and JV teams) and his traveling lacrosse team, there’s always a sporting event we can watch. He’s a little sad that he took a year off from football after several years on the field…and his high school just won the state title without him! He got his drivers’ permit a few months ago and is anxiously awaiting the Sweet 16 in March that will allow him to drive himself freely around town. Funny thing, he hasn’t really mentioned dating much, and the fact that the magical upcoming birthday opens that door, too…though with all the girls that follow him around, we’re sure it’s not far behind.

Lindsay turned 11 this month, and she is growing up faster than we’re ready for her to! She’s quite the musician, still taking piano lessons, and now singing in both the middle school’s choir and the Bentonville Children’s Choir. She also plays lacrosse and has turned into quite the athlete! She’s become a whiz on the computer and a babysitter extraordinaire. She has a bold imagination and is not afraid to try anything, and we love her courageous spirit.

Rebekah turned 8 last month and she’s anxiously awaiting her upcoming baptism. She’s also growing so fast—Kristen’s bound to be the shortest person in the family in the not-so-distant future! Bekah is definitely the trivia princess at our house, with a genius brain that remembers everything she learns. She takes piano lessons, and she also sings in the Bentonville Children’s Choir. She loves the second grade and is interested in everything—especially space, which is her latest love. She’s determined to be an astronaut when she grows up, and we’re sure she can do anything she puts her mind to.

We hope you are all happy, safe, and well this holiday season. This year, more than ever, we’re taking time to remember the reason we celebrate Christmas and to give thanks for our savior Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us. May you find peace and joy in the coming year.

Love,
The Blacks

Happy Birthday, Lindsay!

Time for birthday fun again at our home...

Lindsay has turned 11!

Really? My little baby girl is this old?

We celebrated the night with our family that lives close by and her favorite dinner: fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, garlic bread, corn, and pink lemonade. And Mom's famous Texas fudge cake for dessert. Yum. Good choices, babe!

Funny how the gifts are getting more grown up--no toys for this tween! She racked in a new pair of pierced earrings so we can try this process again (don't let the holes close up this time!), trendy new boots, a gorgeous sweater and necklace, a couple of books, and some cold hard cash so she can buy the perfect little trinkets for herself...hey, these are cool gifts that I wouldn't mind having myself! What happened to the Barbies and the coloring books?

Lulu, when did you get to be such a young lady? Sometimes looking at you takes my breath away. You've grown up so fast--we can see the woman you'll become in your face and your mannerisms, in the way you speak and the profound thoughts you have. You're a gorgeous girl, and we're excited to continue to watch you learn and grow as you reach your potential. Never lose sight of your infinite worth.

But just when I get really sentimental, you walk by with a stuffed animal in your arms, with your hair all up in weird barrettes from a styling session with your sister. Or I catch you playing with every Littlest Pet Shop piece we have as you and Rebekah create a city. Or I find you in a blanket fort, or up in the branches of a tree, or bringing in the latest creepy crawly from the yard. You're not completely out of your childhood yet. And I'm glad--I'm not ready for this stage to pass quite yet!

It's going to be quite a year with you! We love you!

(And just for the record, don't forget that this is the year we learned that if you put candles in the hot fudge cake right after it comes out of the oven, the hot fudge actually causes them to melt into the cake. And they shrink fast. And it doesn't taste good. Who would have thought? This mistake will not be repeated!)

Christmas Q & A

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper unless I'm in an absolute bind!

2. Coordinated tree or hodgepodge? Hodgepodge. I love that our tree has ornaments we've collected from various people and places over the last 20 years.

3. When do you put the tree up? As soon as we can after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as we can after New Year's Day

5. Do you like eggnog? Absolutely. Crave it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? (embarrassed to admit...) My ebony, upright, baby grand Yamaha piano. I was 15.

7.Do you have a nativity scene? Yep. About 1o of them ranging from a tiny one-piece to a massive multiple piece set.

8. Hardest person to buy for? David's mom and dad

9. Easiest person to buy for? My girls

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? ???? thinking on this one. Probably some clothing item that I would never wear.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail them. Most years. I've had a couple of off-years lately!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story. Gotta love that 24-hour run of it on TBS each year!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Some time in the summer...when I find a deal I stash it away.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Appetizers, breakfast casserole Christmas morning, carmel corn, basically anything tasty!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored. The more the merrier.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Joy to the World, by Kurt Bestor

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home that morning, but will travel to family and friends later in the day (though I'll take a fun vacation any time!)

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph. And Olive.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star now, though we used to have an angel I made. The poor thing fell apart.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. Sometimes I cave in for one gift for the kids on Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The materialistic event it's become, and the fact that most people don't actually celebrate Christ's life. And stringing the lights on my tree. (Please, Santa, bring me a pre-lit one!)

23. What I love most about Christmas? Time with family, watching the tree glow in a dark room late at night, my husband being home for days on end, movie marathons, friends

24. Favorite Christmas tradition? Singing in the Ozark Mormon Chorale, the square lighting, caroling, the parade, our annual Black Family Christmas Eve narration and sing-a-long

Wanna play along?
Merry Christmas!

This day is brought to you by the letter "F"

...as in family, friends, food, football, films, and fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're in the middle of Iron Chef Thanksgiving in my kitchen. In just a few hours, we're headed to our friends' home to eat the traditional feast.


And what a feast it will be...the fun of combining families is that we all have to bring those dishes each family can't do without. Mmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about it!


In the meantime, my kitchen is covered in flour, roll dough, potato peelings, and other assorted remnants of the many dishes I'm taking. And we're starting to be blanketed in wonderful aromas.

So I thought I'd share a couple of photos from last year, in anticipation of the good eats to come...like Colin and his annual turkey-leg-a-palooza.

We know we're so blessed at this time to have a bounty...of food, of friends and family, and of so many other blessings that fill our hearts and lives with joy.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful day and that you're surrounded with love and joy! Thank you for what you bring to our lives.

Enjoy your day!

See Kristen find the Christmas spirit...

See Kristen.

See Kristen wish she didn't sound like such a Grinch in her last post.
See Kristen admit that she likes Christmas music. It was just too early to hear carols on the radio for her that day and she was not ready to decorate a tree yet.
Tired, tired Kristen.

See Kristen hear from friends that she needs to find the Christmas spirit.
See Kristen feel sorry that she made people feel unhappy and like she was squelching their Christmas fun.
Sad, sad Kristen.

See Kristen realize that she's been practicing for the Ozark Mormon Chorale's big Christmas concerts since the first rehearsal on October 17.
Kristen loves to sing Christmas carols.
Silly, silly alto!



See Kristen at the Bentonville Lighting of the Square. She is listening to her daughters sing in the Bentonville Childrens' Choir as they perform for hundreds of people.

See Kristen join in the sing-a-long of Christmas carols.

See Kristen wearing a Santa hat at the square!
Silly, silly Kristen.

See Kristen listen to her two daughters practice their songs for their Christmas piano recital...over and over again.
See Kristen pull out Christmas music and play some herself.
Forgetful, forgetful Kristen!


See Kristen teach a scrapbook class in which the project she designed 6 weeks ago is a Santa Countdown Box.
See Kristen talk to her customers about Christmas traditions.
Happy scrappy Kristen.



See Kristen drive a carful of 12-14-year-old girls to a church activity last night, while they're singing along to a Christmas CD at the top of their lungs.
See Kristen laugh.
Funny, funny girls. Kristen loves these squirrelly young women!

See Kristen find the holiday spirit.
Merry, merry Kristen!

True love is what brings us together today...

I just have to share some photos from our recent trip to Omaha, Nebraska, for my sister's wedding. She and her new husband James got married on November 15, 2008, in the Winter Quarters Temple of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints. We all traveled up there to witness the ceremony and join in the wedding festivities.

After the wedding ceremony and while we were waiting for Terra and James to get spiffied up and come out of the temple, we had to have a little fun...



Everyone got a chance to put their mark on the car (here are Lindsay, my brother Derrick, and David caught in the act), but I especially loved what Derrick then did to my parents' car:















May I introduce the bride and groom:
Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson!


Colin and Lindsay had been peeking in the doors, watching for them to come. I love how Lindsay is jumping with joy as she opens the door.




















Terra had a gorgeous snow-queen-like dress, which was fitting since it spit snow on us off and on that day. It was freezing cold!

This is living proof that if you wait long enough, the right match will come. These two adore each other! I'm so happy that Terra has found true love in James.

(insert voice of the priest from "The Princess Bride": "Twue wuv is what bwrings us togevwer todaaaay...")

And here's a photo I love, since the three of us aren't together that often. (Yes, I'm wearing heels. But so is Terra. I really am that short...or they're just that tall.) For those just seeing my siblings for the first time, I'm the oldest, my brother Derrick is the middle child, and my sister Terra is the youngest.

Here's a good-looking group of guys, if I may say so myself!

After the ceremony and hundreds of pictures, we went to the wedding luncheon at a quaint little Italian bistro in downtown Omaha called Vivace. It had amazing food, and great decor. What a fun choice!

Here's Colin, sneaking a kiss from the bride at the luncheon...


And Rebekah, loving on her new uncle:

And Lindsay, being our drama queen and dreaming of her day to come...



Terra and James, we wish you an eternity of happiness!

Eight is Great!

Happy Birthday, Boo! Another sign of getting older…my baby is now eight! Thanks to my sister and her out-of-state wedding the day before Rebekah’s birthday, we got to celebrate on the road. I took these pictures of Bekah at the wedding luncheon, which was held at a darling little Italian bistro in downtown Omaha called Vivace. I can’t believe how old she’s getting, and how much she’s growing into a young lady. This is age 8 minus a day.

Here’s a little recap of her birthday weekend. Yep, it lasted all weekend. Why not?

The wedding was at our church’s temple in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday, November 15, so we took off on Friday to get ourselves situated a little early. When we got to the hotel, Grandma and Grandpa Voss, Uncle Derrick, and Terra and James were there already, waiting in the breakfast room with gifts and cake. Yeah! What a nice ending to a seven-hour road trip! Gotta love that the bride and groom gave her Bride Barbie and Groom Ken and a spiffy car for them to drive. So this was Birthday Celebration #1. With a late-night swim in the pool and a night in a hotel bed (somehow, this is a treat for her!), the day was complete. It was great to see Uncle Derrick, though it would have been most exciting to have Aunt Monica and our cousins Maya and Linda come, too!

Fast forward to Saturday morning…I hope that getting ready in pretty clothes, the wedding, pictures, and an amazing luncheon at a sophisticated restaurant made Rebekah feel like it was not just Terra’s special day! After the happy couple drove off, it was time to really party Rebekah-style! We headed off to the movie theater to see Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa (she’s a huge fan!). Then we picked up pizza from Dominoes, wings from Quaker Steak and Lube, and soda and chips from a nearby Wal-Mart, then took them back to the hotel’s guest area and opened the presents we had hauled up there. Birthday Celebration #2 and it wasn’t even the official day yet!

At this point, I think the Marriott people thought we were there to take over the hotel. We treated our new pseudo-family member at the front desk with leftover wedding cheesecake, and I think we made a friend for life.

Sunday morning we woke up and finally got to sing Happy Birthday on the actual day! After checking out, we went to the Winter Quarters Visitor’s Center to learn more about our church history in that area. The temple that Terra and James got married in is located there on the grounds, next to the original pioneer cemetery that gives the area its name. We got a private tour, and then Rebekah got an extra treat….five darling sister missionaries came out to the foyer to sing a beautiful version of Happy Birthday just for her.
And then it was time to head home. We felt bad that she had to spend much of the day in the car, but the rest of the weekend was so fun, she didn’t seem to mind at all. We were checking every exir for a place to stop for dinner that she would enjoy when the Birthday Fairies smiled upon us…there, on the highway Places to Eat sign…was a placard for Ryan’s. Could. Not. Believe. The. Luck. It’s not the greatest restaurant, but it’s a decent buffet and it was one of her favorites. The Ryan's restaurant near us in Arkansas closed a few months ago, and she had been sad to realize she couldn’t spend her birthday there. (This also has to do with her best friend being named Ryan, by the way.)

And so we dined on a little of everything in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. That’s all she needed to make her day complete. A little singing from the servers, and ice cream with sprinkles on it, and we had Birthday Celebration #3.

Celebration #4 came a week later when our families got together to celebrate the four birthdays that the Arkansas Black family members share. And Celebration #5 will come at her upcoming party. Enough, perhaps. We’ve milked this one for all its worth!

I truly hope she realizes how much we love her!

Bekah, as you look forward to your baptism and the responsibility that comes with this age of accountability, I hope you always keep smiling and remember who you are at all times.

Seriously? Bah Humbug!

Okay, I'm all about the Christmas spirit and the joys of the season, but it hardly seems like you can go into any store after October 1 without being confronted with early holiday cheer. I'm not clueless, and I know how the marketing elves work. Look, I teach scrapbooking classes in a high-end specialty gift/scrapbooking store, and we've been selling out of all kinds of Christmas doo-dads for a couple of months. We're known for our uber-cool, trendy items. It's what we do (click here for a shameless plug to Signed Sealed Delivered) and we do it very very well.

And my local Wally-World has had a tree up for a month or so. That I can deal with. It's their job, and, frankly, it keeps my household in milk and toilet paper and Oreos, thanks to David's hard work building the big boxes they sell from (so please shop now and shop often--momma needs a new pair of shoes).

HOWEVER...

I was not prepared to be driving home from an evening event last week, idly flipping radio stations in my car, when I hit on the last part of Delilah pontificating about some relationship and wishing the caller all the best in their joyous life (really, you can all now hear her voice in your head--sorry in advance for any internal trauma that may occur).

But what really got me was the vaguely familiar swelling of music in the background. This is what made me stop on that station and listen a little closer. I couldn't quite place it...it had been maybe 10 1/2 months since I'd heard that song...no, it couldn't be...wait for it....

Oh, yes. It was the dulcet tones of Michael Buble, singing "The Christmas Song."

REALLY?

It was November 6. Good grief.

I wish I'd heard the first part of the call. I have no idea if the guy requested this or not...maybe it was the song playing when he first kissed his significant other...there was probably a good reason, but whatever. It was November 6.

(Keep in mind how much I love music and how much I LOVE Christmas music and that I've already started weekly rehearsals for the annual Christmas Chorale I sing in because we have to start a couple of months early...but this is the public radio.)

I wasn't going to complain publicly. I do love the song--have even performed it before--but it just seems a little early for the radio holiday season. Truly, I just threw out the dead pumpkins on my porch. We're still digging through the candy leftover basket for Milky Way bars no one else has claimed.

And then I drove by my neighbor's home last night and my attention was immediately distracted by the multitude of bright, twinkly lights I saw through her front window.

And they were attached to a tall, green tree with baubles on it.

And then this morning she and her husband were outside hanging the tons of decorations that light up the street every December.

Again, I say...

REALLY?

I don't need this kind of pressure. I don't even know for sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving.

So here's the question...any of you started the Christmas season yet? Did I miss a memo that Christmas was coming early to combat the doom and gloom that society is trudging through lately? Any ideas how to pull me out of my pre-holiday funk?

On the other hand...this does mean I can now buy my favorite holiday addiction--egg nog!

Stay off the sidewalks!

I've learned the true meaning of fear.

And it has a face...

Yep, that's Colin. And yep, he's holding a driver's permit. We waited as long as we could...but at fifteen and a-little-more-than-a-half, he won the battle he's been fighting hard since he turned fourteen and the concept was even possible. And so, a couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to let the man-cub wield a heavy piece of machinery in traffic.

And so commenced the driving lessons. Not that Dad hadn't let Colin drive down the back alley and park the car in the driveway, without telling Mom that Driver's Ed had officially started. (Imagine my horror the first time I actually happened to catch one of these sessions in progress.) They'd been doing a little training on the sly as they prepared for the big day. Good Daddy. Save Momma the trauma.

Don't get me wrong. Colin is not a bad driver. Actually, he's a little more cautious than I would have expected, and I appreciate that. But I can still feel my heart in my throat as I sit buckled up to the hilt on the wrong side of my van. And he's learning lots of lessons on taking constuctive criticism from parental figures. Especially since he drove us home from church on Sunday and he had Dad in the front passenger seat, Mom in the back seat, and two sisters next to me all correcting his every twitch and turn. Talk about your backseat drivers! Poor kid. We made it home alive, but he's the one who probably needed Tylenol more than anyone else!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've come to forgive my own father for all the bad jokes...like bringing a broom and hanging it out the passenger window, telling me "I might as well sweep the gutters since we're driving in them anyway." (True story) And driving me to a large corporate parking lot after hours and making me park exactly in the middle of a parking space over and over and over until I got it right several times before I could even get close to a main road and a stop sign. (And this took more than one night, though I think he was just delaying the inevitable.) I understand the panic that comes when you realize your offspring is taking his own life--and others--into his hands.

And now I understand why my mom never had a single moment of driver's ed trauma with me. She was smart enough to leave it to my dad. I don't think I drove her anywhere until I'd had my license for a few months.

So fair warning. Colin's legal, and loose on the streets!

Honestly, though, I think you'll be safe. I'm proud of this kid!

Tagged! I'm Quirky and I'm It!

So my dear friend Sarah noticed I've been AWOL, and she blog-tagged me to get off my pitoosh (Rebekah's word) and find my blogging voice again. Thanks, Sweetie!

Here are the rulesfor "MY UNSPECTACULAR QUIRKS":

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

So here are My Unspectacular Quirks, in no particular order:

1. Because of my background as a professional editor, I have to make sure everything I write for public consumption is exactly right. Maybe that's why it takes me so long to blog sometimes! I shudder to think I might be sending a typo or dangling participle or split infinitive into cyberspace! This post will probably take me way longer than it's supposed to, as I will write it and then let it percolate, coming back to it often to edit and tweak. Keep in mind that I had a professional editing and writing business for many, many years, and I still do a little work with it. I think this issue stems from my desire to never let my education wither away.

2. I love the TV show Monk, not just because of its subtle humor and insight, and the fact that I wish I were a detective in real life, and that I think Tony Shalhoub is a brilliant actor. But because I sympathize with Adrian's plight...many of his OCDs are more than familiar to me. I won't embarrass myself by listing which ones, but I, too, have some bizarre quirks that make it hard to get through moments in my day sometimes. (But I definitely do not have his aversion to milk.) I credit my family for being so patient and quietly knowing the answers I need to hear sometimes.

3. I do not like some items that most people consider necessary to daily existence. I will not eat anything that contains nuts, raisins, or coconut. I will not even try to pick them out of scrumptious-looking cookies. So adding them to anything sweet is really a good diet-enhancer for me. I will, however, pick nuts out of a salad or main dish, especially when it's what's for lunch and I have to be polite. But I will politely turn down the dessert. (I've been to luncheons where there are nuts in the salad, the main course, and the dessert. What's up with that? Am I the only one with this aversion? What about people with real nut allergies? How would they eat anything?) It's not allergies in my case, just a really really really really really strong dislike of all those items. Picture in your mind the bridal shower given for my by David's and my best friend Bruce's mom in Colorado, for all the ladies of the ward where David grew up. And she served a very moist and possibly tasty carrot cake with ALL OF THE ABOVE in it. I picked around what I could and talked a lot until a helper came to clear my plate. I'm so grateful for that shower so long ago, but I will never forget trying to be so polite when served such a large piece of something I would ordinarily run from. WITH THAT SAID, there's always an exception. I absolutely love toffee and have been known to eat it if there are small pieces of almonds in it.

4. I tend to procrastinate things, and therefore I'm not always be right on time for events. I absolutely cannot stand this problem. I'm working on getting better. But it's a slow and gradual process. I really can't stand this trait about myself.

5. I must read for a small chunk of time every day, epecially before I go to bed. I love love love books. I'm usually reading 2-4 of them at a time. And I'm often listening to a book on CD or tape in my car when I'm alone. Mysteries and thrillers are my favorite, but I like to have several types going at one time. I belong to three book clubs, and I love discussing what I've read. That's the English major in me. Here's a minor quirk associated with books: if I hear of a series of books that I should try, I have to start with the first one and read them in order. No skipping, because that would ruin some of the plot before I read it first-hand. And I will never read the last page of a book before I'm done. No spoiling the ending for me.

6. I cannot stand to sweat. Or as I prefer to say it, to glow. This not a good problem for me, as my body seems to need to sweat often when exposed to the slightest bit of heat. And since my body needs me to work out more often, I have a conundrum. I would definitely be in better shape if it didn't involve sweating. If you have a solution for this, please let me know! And I really can't stand to watch other people sweat. All those Rocky movies, or the boxing my dad would watch on the weekends, when the guy would get hit and the sweat would fly? Or any sports we watch on TV and the players are a little drippy? Insert gagging sounds here. It's bad enough when my own sweaty, stinky offspring gets into the car after lacrosse/basketball/cross country/track/football practice. I seriously have a hard time getting home fast enough sometimes. I make him throw his own wet and smelly clothing into the washer because I don't want to touch it...but to my credit, I have learned to cope with this as he's often in bed before those nasty loads of laundry get done and I won't let it sit on my laundry room floor.

(Breathing deeply now)

Too much information? Probably, but it's been fun to think of things that make me so special and unique. Or odd and anti-social. You choose.

So without furthur ado, here are the lucky friends and family I'd like to tag. Your replies can be much shorter than mine. Put your thinking caps on. It's your turn:

1. Meg
2. Betsy
3. Jennifer
4. Sherry
5. Shelly
6. Nicki
7. Karen
8. Jenn

Let me paraphrase a quote from Sarah, my tagger: I know that's eight. But that's another one of my quirks. I don't always like adhering completely to the rules as long as no one gets hurt.

There are a couple of blurkers I'd like to tag as well, but they don't have blogs: Marianne and Terra, wanna post your replies in the comments here?

Now you know some deep dark secrets about me. Your turn!

The Story of a Lifetime

It is time.

Thanks to all of you who have recently checked on my well-being, since my last posting in which I hinted at some big amazing news and then dropped off the face of the earth.

So now I've had time to process, rejoice, and reconnect my brain cells, (and catch up on several projects which I completely abandoned in the process) and I'm ready to share.

Here's the deal.

Three weeks ago tomorrow, I got a registered, certified, restricted delivery letter that I had to go pick up at the post office. It was just another Saturday and we were running errands before heading home to family dinner and movie night. The letter the clerk handed me was a plain white envelope with my name and address typed on it. The return address meant nothing to me, but the name on the return label niggled at the deep recesses of my mind as I opened the envelope. Here's the text of the letter:


Dear Kristen:

Thank you for taking a moment to read this note

I am trying to contact Kristen Paige Voss regarding a personal family matter. If you are Kristen, born March 10, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

I can be reached at *** (phone, cell, email followed)

I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Very sincerely,

Marianne Merrill


And then something spoke to my heart and I knew exactly why that name was so familiar. It wasn't the one my mother had spoken of so many years ago, but it was close enough.

Did I mention I'm adopted?

I emailed the sender, telling her that I was indeed the person she was looking for and asking for more information about who she was. Although I thought I already knew.

And two days later, I learned I was right. I received the most beautiful email explaining to me who she was and telling me that she just needed to know I was okay.

My birth mother had found me.

It didn't take long until I was on the phone. I had to call her...a conversation needed to happen. Simply emailing back was not enough. I had questions and things to say, and I needed to talk to her in person. With David at my side, I took a deep breath and dialed the home number she'd listed in her letter.

I can't describe the myriad of emotions that ran through my soul as I was able to tell her in person...thank you. Thank you for making the choices so many years ago that allowed me to be born and raised in the Voss family. Thank you for loving me so much that you knew I needed to take a different journey in my life.

As I've gotten to know her a little more over the last three weeks, I know for sure that she would have taken great care of me. I know I would have been surrounded by a vital, loving family. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she made the right decision to place me in another family.

My parents are ecstatic. They've been able to tell her thank you themselves. My mom emailed her my whole life history and lots and lots of photos. I'm so grateful for their support and the way they raised me, with such love and respect for her and her choices.

So that's my story. There's lots more layers to it, but this gives you an idea of what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks. My family tree has another branch to it. Somewhere in the world, there are actually people who look like me.

Today Marianne celebrates her 60th birthday. Join me in wishing her well on this momentous occasion by posting a comment on this blog--she told me earlier today that I've made her a blogger since she's started checking up on me here, so I know she'll read this!

And let me say it again, but in front of friends and family--I'll shout it to the world!

Marianne, I've thanked God all my life for you. And I'm so eternally grateful that now I've been able to thank you in person. You have blessed my life in so many ways. You're an angel in my eyes.

Happy birthday, Marianne! Know that you are loved!

Snap, Crackle, Pop, OUCH!

First, let me say to those who have been keeping up with my keeping up with Betsy's "How Many?" game, that I know I'm seriously behind. She's had some great topics, too, so I will catch it up because it's been fun to write about them.

But I have a good excuse. I've had the most amazing past three days and I'm still trying to absorb it all and much of my brain has been in freeze mode. I have a massively exciting and previously unexpected event to share with you all, and I'm trying to find the way to put it into words.

But for now, I give you today's topic...

"How many bones have you broken?"

Easy answer. Five. And they're all toes. And subsequently two of them haven't bent since 1983. Seriously.

I smashed the smallest three toes on my left foot walking onto the gymnastics mat during team practice my junior year in high school. You read it right--not by landing a tricky vault, not by missing some slick move on the balance beam. I was walking from the hard floor on to the practice floor mat, and whacked my foot on the side of it. Keep in mind that the mat is probably about two inches thick. That took some talent, baby!

Q: How do you fix a broken toe?
A: You don't. Tape it to another one and be tough.

So I did it again right before college graduation. Ring-finger-type toe on right foot against the leg of the couch. Couch wins. Student wants to walk across the stage at graduation but NOT with the unattractive crutches. Student crams sore foot and still-broken toe into black high heel shoe and hobbles across the stage, hiding the pain rather well. Student is crazy and every once in a while has flashes of pain when said foot is overworked, thereby reminding her that vanity causes more pain than necessary.

Student still has much to learn. But this last time was truly an unavoidable accident...

A sliding cabinet drawer came off its track recently and fell, pointy corner first, onto my second toe, left foot. None of the other toes ever got so purple and so swollen so fast. It was actually a rather cool medical experiment, and I was in a public place so screaming out loud was not an option. Now all that's left to injure is the big toe on my left food and we have a full house.

Broken bones aside, I've further scarred myself with the double hernia surgery I had when I was nine, the C-section baby I delivered 15 years ago (imagine those three scars together and I have a smiley face on my abdomen--TMI!), the carpal tunnel surgery I've had on my left hand, the one I need to have on my right hand, and an odd assortment of stitches and gluing back together of body parts. They haven't required casts (okay, the hand surgery did), but they were nonetheless painful and expensive and trauma-inducing.

Oh yeah--and I'm raising Captain Accident. Colin's broken a wrist (both bones, all the way through at the same time) and a thumb, and he's had any number of sprains, dislocations, tears, rolls, and other sports-related injuries that make me wonder why I keep buying the uniforms and paying the medical bills.

And now I think I need some Tylenol. I hurt just thinking about all this!

What about you?

Eeeew. Gross. Yuck. Click!

Just another typical afternoon at our home...the girls and their friend Ryan were playing outside after school. One of their latest pasttimes has been to carry all the empty jars we have outside and collect bugs.
Eeeew. Gross. Yuck. Why?
Today it got a little more heart-palpitating than normal for me. Lindsay came inside with nothing other than a large praying mantis. Very large. In a shorter jar. Without a lid on the jar.



I should get some serious "Good Momma" credit here. I did not run screaming from the room. I did, however, grab a baggie and cover the jar as quickly as possible. All the while pretending complete interest in what she had found. And edging her ever closer to the back door without being obvious. This is what I was taught to do in Good Momma school.

In my heart, I believe praying mantises are e-vil. Scary. And not part of my home decor theme.

And then I made her take it outside. Good girl that she is, she obliged. And then good scrapbooker that I am, I took pictures of it.


You can't see the creature very well in this picture. But it's there. Inches from her mouth. And she's taken the baggie off the top of the jar.

She did not get this hobby from me. Trust me.
This is SO not genetic!

The praying mantis was liberated in a safe location, free to pursue and devour another mate.

And then five minutes later, Rebekah came in holding yet another jar, wanting to show off her new pet katydid. Thank goodness she had a lid. That bug was even more mobile.

Where, in their genetic history, did they get this insane hobby? David's not such a bug guy, though he has rescued me from many a terrorizing moth.

But I won't squash their fun. Maybe their bugs, but not their desire to be scientists (as they call themselves) and learn about nature.

However, remember that katydid? He's still sitting in a jar on a table in my entryway. Let's hope she forgets about him before she wakes up. I'm releasing him into the wild under cover of night. Maybe if I spin the jar around really fast three times he'll get dizzy and forget his way back home. I can only hope.

Showing off, if you don't mind

Okay, it's been bugging me...

In my post on Saturday, I added a family photo we had taken that included my dad's dog, all with the purpose of sticking to the topic of how many pets we had (or didn't, in our case). But that picture was just one of many proofs we had taken that day, and it's not the best one. So I want to go on record with our favorite shot. Though these were taken a year and a half ago (and David wasn't feeling too well that day), it's still the picture I have hanging in my front hall and the one I've scrapbooked in several projects. I don't think we'll ever take a family photo that I will like nearly as well. For the record, my mom took these pictures in her studio.

Thanks, Mom!

And just to show us in our natural state, here's another one:

Man, we're weird, but I love us!

Not mentioning the unmentionables

If you're looking for today's "How Many?" post, I think I'm going to choose not to participate fully. The question of the day was "How many bras do you own?" The answer: Not enough good ones!

But if you want to reply, feel free!

Here Kitty, Kitty...(cough, sneeze, gasp)

Today's "How Many" question from Betsy is a rather simple one for my family...



How many pets do you have?

The answer, quite simply, is none. Thanks so much to our own oldest two-legged creature, his allergies to any kind of animal with fur have kept us from having any extra bodies sharing the heating vents on cold mornings. (By the way, this allergic condition extends beyond the domestic household animals. Horses, deer, and oxen who blow snot on his neck are included, among other friends. And yes, he's allergic to ox snot as evidenced by the large hives that immediately came to life.) We did try to babysit my niece's two beta fish while her family lived in Japan for a year, and we did quite well for a long time. Then we thought we had killed them ourselves until we found out they had lived long past their life expectancy, and very old age was the culprit. But Jennifer, I'm still sorry!



Growing up, I was exposed to any number of animals...like when I was in first grade and we lived on 1 1/2 acres in California with 3 cows, 2 sheep, 6 geese, a bunch of ducks, a parakeet, 60 chickens, and 2 dalmations who liked to eat chickens for breakfast. Nothing like starting your day picking up fresh chicken parts from the back lawn.

And I'm still not sure why my parents would send a tiny seven-year-old into a small coop full of feathers and sharp beaks to collect eggs.

Need I point that that to this day, I'm still quite afraid of chickens?

Then it was a succession of dogs and cats and rabbits, including my favorite best friend, Souffle (Souffie for short, thank you). She was a poodle/cocker spaniel mix, and she was my buddy for eight years. David grew up with three different dogs over the years, too.

We always thought we'd have at least one dog roaming the yard as our kids grew up. Not so. We've had any number of family and friends try to share their pet abundance over the years, but we've had to turn them down...much to the chagrin of our daughters. But we love the fact that any of us can walk barefoot in the lawn and not step in any presents left behind.

So for pet fixes, we take the kids and a bottle of Benadyl to my parents' home, where at this point, two poodles and one blind cat rule the roost. And so I leave you with the only related pet picture I can find in a pinch...Christmas 2006 when my mom took our family photos in her home photography studio and Rebekah was sure that one of their newest puppies--Miles--needed to be in this particular shot.



Not the best photo in the bunch, but it's us...and a makeshift pet.

What about you? Are you a pet person?

Something I Can Dance To, Redux

Time for my new daily journaling prompt, thanks again to Betsy (see yesterday's post). Today's "How Many?" question is

How many songs do you have loaded on your mp3 player?

The answer? I don't know. As many as possible. I can't add any more. And my playlist on my blog is full, too. I wish I could add more, but that would involve a new MP3 player or another playlist. (Hint, hint, Santa Claus.)

Her follow-up question was even better:

What music moves you?

To which I've already written the reply. Indulge me, please, while I link you back to one of the first few posts I wrote:

http://sunshineinmotion.blogspot.com/2008/01/something-i-can-dance-to.html

This gives my answer in greater detail than you probably wanted to know, but it's all there for the reading. I have added some favorite new artists since I wrote it, but this is the music that really moves me. Literally.

So what music moves you? Post and let me know! Wanna groove right now? Check out my playlist to the right.

Boogie on, baby.

Playing the "How Many?" Game

My friend Betsy just inspired me with her latest blog gimmick...it's a "How Many?" question she creates and answers every day to keep herself blogging regularly. Nice trick! Since I just checked her blog today for the first time this month, I'm a little behind, but I'll catch myself up. (Feel free to play along...)

The first four questions:

1. How many kids do you have?
If you've been reading my posts, it's not hard to see...
The answer to this simple question is three.
Colin is 15, Lindsay is 10, and Rebekah is 7 (but she'll say she's almost 8).

2. How many cars have you had?
Ooh, good question. Let me see if I can remember that far back...

No, wait. Too many memories bubble to the surface. Let's save this one for another day and its very own post. David has to get in on the act, too. He's been the primary driver of our most bizarre and unconventional vehicles.

3. How many minutes is your snooze alarm? And how many times do you hit it?
(Sigh) First let me say that I hate alarm clocks. Probably because I hate getting up in the morning and the two seem to work hand in hand. I think my clock has a 7-minute snooze window. And my clock has two alarms. The OCD person in me (who is always afraid the alarm won't go off) had to have two, one as a backup. So I set them for a few minutes apart. And then one goes off, I hit the snooze, then the other goes off a few minutes later, then I hit the snooze, then the first snooze session is over and the first alarm goes off again....rinse and repeat. I think I hit the snooze at least three times each morning. And since my clock is set to be at least 10 minutes fast, I really have no idea what time I really get up in the morning. Let's just say it's early, since Colin has to be out the door for Seminary (early-morning scripture study for teenagers in our church) at 6:45 AM, and we read scriptures and have family prayer before he goes.

Did I mention I hate getting up in the morning? But when I think of all I get done by 8:30 each day, I amaze myself.

And the last question to catch myself up to date with Miss Betsy:

4. How many jobs have you had?
I think I'll save this one too. It requires quite a bit of thought, as I've been working for the last 27 years of my life!

Wanna play the game? Reply to this post and answer the questions, or let me know you're doing it on your blog! If you want to check on Betsy's answers (or get the questions first-hand) since this is her game, click on her blog link in my margin above.

How many days do you think I can post my answers on time? :)

Blog-busted

So I stopped by a crop at Signed Sealed Delivered late the other night to drop off something for a friend...little did I know that lurking in the aisles was another friend who cared about my online welfare.

And dang it, I got blog-busted.

(That's my terminology for when someone says "When are you going to update your blog?")

Good question.

We've had such a crazy, fun, unpredictable summer that I haven't taken the time to share my bounty of photos and memories. It's been bugging me that I've wanted to share the events and pictures that have cemented themselves in our family history and I haven't done it. I thought I'd fly under the radar for a bit while school got started. A couple of people have even tagged me lately. And I've written the posts in my head...

So now it's time for a mental dump. I'm going to back-date some of these posts so the dates match up with what we did. If you're interested, check out some of the posts immediately before this one.

And thank you, Sherry. The thoughts that have been running around my head for a while are pleased I'm letting them out. This one's for you!

Back to School, Parts 2 and 3

And now it's time for the rest of the kids to head back to class...both Colin and Lindsay started school today.




But first, I made them all pose for me outside of the building on the way to Lindsay's school. Notice how Rebekah's face says "Mom, I've already done this and I'm going to be TARDY if you don't hurry!"

(For the uninitiated, Spring Hill Middle School and Elm Tree Elementary School are attached. And they're in our back yard, so the travel time is great! To our credit, Rebekah was not even close to tardy.)

Then we took the new middle-schooler to her fifth-grade classroom. Lindsay was excited to go, but once she got in the classroom, she decided that it wasn't cool to have her mom there taking pictures. (Not like I was the only mom there with a camera!) But I appreciate that she was a good sport about it!








And then David went to work and I headed off to the Back to School Celebration at the high school. It's a great idea--parents can attend all the classes with their students the first day to meet the teachers, hear their expectations, see the class syllabus, and walk through a day in our child's school life. The best part for the boys is the two-hour off-campus lunch when the moms take them to CiCi's pizza and let them fill up and play video games.
That's my cute tenth grader in the middle.



And of course, Colin and Dallas also found some lovely friends to enjoy the day with...


So now what? We now return our lives to their normal insanity already in progress.

Back to School, Part 1

Summer is officially over for one of us! August 4 was the first day of school for year-round schools in the area, and that means Rebekah is back in class. I can't believe my baby is now in second grade! She loves school and was more than ready for the big day.

I love this shot I took on the way to school in the morning--the girls often reach for each other's hands without even thinking. Lindsay, David, and I joined Rebekah on the first-day walk.



Two more children to go...two more weeks to wait!

Big gulp at the gas station

(And I'm not talking about a soda here...)

A friend and I took a road trip to a craft convention in Chicago, and found that everything is more expensive in the great state of Illinois. But nothing got to me as much as this sign for gas in downtown in The Windy City...so I had to take a picture (mind you, we're traveling around a corner in a car at night and I didn't have time to focus...but the numbers are clear enough!)

$4.66 a gallon for gas for the CHEAP STUFF! As my dad would say, that's highway robbery!

It was slightly better in the suburb where my convention was being held:

But it was still a shock to the pocketbook at $4.37 for the lowest grade. Here in Arkansas, we danced around the $4 mark, but it never quite crossed over to the dark side. A penny away, maybe, but I've only had to pay more than $4 out of state (thanks, Kansas and Missouri!).

Still, when did society ever get to the point that we think the $3.47 we pay now is a relief and a blessing? I remember the gas crunches in California in the mid-70's where it was about 80 cents and that was bad...my how times change.

Daddy's Girl

This is one of those photos that just takes my breath away. I took it on April 10, during one of Colin's track meets...free time during one of the loooong stretches between his events. I came across it tonight while browsing through my photos and had to share it. It's just a random shot, completely unposed, but it captures so much emotion. I love capturing these small snippets of life through my lens.

Happy Independence Day!

What a holiday today is...sleeping in, watching movies, swimming this afternoon in a friend's pool with my family, then music and food and fireworks tonight. My friend Jane plays the flute in the Bella Vista community band, and we're going to their patriotic concert tonight. It's at beautiful Blowing Springs park, and we're meeting up with her family beforehand to have a picnic and let the kids play in the stream that runs next to the pavillion. We did this last year, and it was the perfect way to spend this particular holiday--because of the demographics of Bella Vista, many of the concert goers are older members of the community, and several of them are veterans, which makes this event even more meaningful. Afterwards, we'll all head off to watch the large local fireworks display and then set some smaller ones off in our neighborhood. What a Fourth! Family, friends, food, fun, fireworks...I'll have lots of pictures to post and scrapbook later!

In the meantime, enjoy your day. And while you're at it, remember the reason this day is a holiday and give thanks for those who fought--and are still fighting and working today--to give us our freedom in this great country.

Giving Wal-Mart some serious credit

Wal-Mart gets some bad press once in a while, but after this year's Shareholders' Week, we have to give it some serious props. This is a most important employee benefit in our family. In the span of three days earlier this month, we saw some major concert attractions...and all for free. Let's take roll, shall we?

Tuesday: Taylor Swift and Lifehouse
Wednesday: One Republic, All-American Rejects, and Journey, baby!
Thursday: Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban

So let's do the real math here. With anywhere from 2-5 people in my family attending each night, probably $50 per ticket PER PERSON PER INDIVUDUAL CONCERT had we had to pay admission for each one...it's too much work to do all that math.

And figuring that this is the ninth year we've attended the Shareholders' concerts, seeing several major recording artists each year, that's quite a savings.

What's Wal-Mart's new slogan? Oh yeah... "Save Money. Live Better." Check. They got that one right!

Thanks, Wal-Mart! And for those who missed it, please enjoy this photo I took at the JOURNEY concert! It won't win any photography awards, but it's proof that I was at the concert I've wanted to see all my life...

What time is it? SUMMERTIME!

Oh yeah, last day of school! I came back from girls' camp for a couple of hours this morning to participate in the last-day-of-school activities for the girls.

For Lindsay, it was the fourth-grade final walk-through the elementary school halls, the awards assembly where she cleaned up with four awards, and then party time, including popsicles in the classroom.

For Rebekah, it was the first-grade year-end party, with games and pizza outside, and a little face painting on the side.

It's hard to believe the school year is over. And only six more weeks until Rebekah starts it all over again...but not Lindsay! Moving to middle school next year means moving to the traditional calendar. Two extra weeks of summer!

Sign of Summer

It's Colin's unofficial last day of school (he doesn't have to go Monday, which is the real last day, because his finals are all done). It's the start of a gorgeous looks-like-summer weekend. The grill is all fired up for the summer BBQ season. Why not have a celebration on the back patio?

So it was time for some too-tall burgers with absolutely everything on them, my famous (seriously) macaroni salad, and our family's favorite baked beans, along with other tasty concoctions. And this is one sure sign that summer is on its way...

The Battle of the Davids...Idol Style

It's a big night at my house...the end of American Idol Season 7.

We have a slight problem. We're split down the middle in the battle of the Davids.

My girls have loved David Cook since day one (and we're not sure why at first, but it didn't take us long to follow), and I've been a fan of David Archuleta...something about that smile. My David and Colin seem to be fans of both.

Honestly, I'd be okay with either one winning, for the first time ever. They're both good, and they're both going to do amazing things after this is over. Last night was the best final I've ever seen.

So what's your vote? Post a comment and let me know!