February 28th, 2010

This day has new meaning for me.  It is the day I figured out quite a few highly important tidbits about life.

#1  My husband is 100% Canadian.  (yes, he did get his US citizenship…. I’m talking about lineage here.)

#2  I am 50/50 Canadian and American.  (You’d think I would have figured this out by now.)

#3  My children are 75% Canadian and 25% American. 

#4  I’m out numbered in my own household when cheering for Olympic hockey games between the States and Canada.

#5  A silver medal in the Olympics is awesome…. except in hockey.

#6  Crosby is a sweet last name.

See?  Today was foundational for me.  More next month. Please stay tuned.

Young Victoria

It was my last day to play with my baby sister who was in town for the scrapbooking retreat.  We went and saw the movie Young Victoria and I LOVED it!  It didn’t have the plot intrigue of Miss Potter, but the British accents were darling.  I’d like to check a few of the historical facts as well.  We just finished studying Kings and Queens, and although we didn’t spend a lot of time on Queen Victoria there were a few bumps in the movie for me.  Yes, I’m a closet history buff with very limited historical facts in my head… but I’m pretty sure the new sovereign holds the orb while sitting in the coronation chair.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.  What is the orb, you ask?  Well, when my boys reenacted the coronation, it was a tennis ball.  I’m pretty sure theirs is a little fancier… maybe even solid gold.  Not lime green and fuzzy.

Moving on, before you’re bored to death, the Scrapbooking Retreat was fabuloso!  Here are a few photos… yes, it snowed in AZ last week.  It was purely serene… taking me back to my carefree days (before children) living in northern Canada.

I have been planning my strategy for mucho amounts of scrapbooking for months.  Realizing that my scrapbooks are all events (like Christmas or a vacation) or a conglomeration of my favorite photos that have nothing to do with each other, I decided to do a Daily Life book for 2009.  I completed Jan – Nov.!!!!!  So a few more pages and the album is done.  No, it is not the fancy-shmancy kind of pages that I like to use to showcase every blinking blingy item in my scrap box.  They are functionally beautiful and the kids truly enjoy looking at them. Pictures of homeschooling and friends and piano lessons and spring break.  I should really take a few pictures of the pages and share, but I’m off to watch the Olympics at my parent’s house.  This is the only time I regret not having a TV.  But alas, we have family and friends who like to show off their big screens.  For their generosity and large TVs I’m thankful.

Conniejo, Chris, Michele and Christy

Moi and my Lake Tahoe page!

Joy!

Ok, I so laughed when I found this picture of a GUY wearing this shirt!  Live!  Love!  Laugh!  Scrapbook!

Tonight my sister flies in from Washington and tomorrow we leave for four days of scrapping in the pines of Northern Arizona.  It calms my soul and brings peace to my heart as I anticipate our next four days of relaxation.  Yes, we go twice a year.  Yes, we stay in a 1970s decorated cabin.  Yes, someone cooks and cleans for us.  Yes, we just stay in the cabin and scrapbook.  But we also leave once in a while for a hike or two… and we watch movies.  Girlie movies with love and romance and laughter and bliss.  See why I like this outing so much?  And we laugh.  Til we cry.  And then we laugh some more.  It’s basically an emotional release weekend without hubbies or kids.

This year I am prepared to work on a 2009 family album.  I usually do “event” albums of Christmas, or one holiday or vacation.  But I figured out that I don’t have the day-to-day photos in a book for all to see.  So I printed about 27 hundred photos from 2009 and I already made the first double page spread of each month.  I’m SO ready!

But first I have to unpack my suitcase… and wash my favorite comfy clothes.  Then re-pack my suitcase. 

I’ve given up making menus for my family for the time I’m away…. it seemed the more effort I put into making meals, schedules, grocery shopping, etc…. the more often the family went out to eat.  So now, I do nothing, other than replenishing the fruit bowl before I leave.  (I did that yesterday.) 

I will take my laptop, so I may blog, but no promises from this girl.  Nope.  There is only internet service if you drive to the front of the campground and sit in this one spot.  And even then, it’s iffy.  So, as I said, no promises.

Have a grand weekend.  I will.

Roughing can be Rough

We are in Corona, CA for a hockey tournament for our son Austin’s bantam team.  I don’t know why I come to these?!?  It just makes my blood pressure go up and I question my motives and my Christian sportsmanship as I scream at the refs……  {sigh}  Anyway, tonight was a rough game.  Our team is not large in physical size.  We do have two rather large 14 year old “boys” (whom I believe shave already) but the rest are 98 pound weaklings boys.  The team we played tonight are all on growth hormones.  Seriously.

So during the second period one of our smaller players went down by the boards behind the net… get this… with one of the large man-childs from the other team on top of him.  If that wasn’t bad enough, their player started punching our player…. blatantly.  Four or five slugs.  The refs did jump in and save our player from major bodily harm, however, they LAMELY refused to call the penalty for what it was.  They deemed it roughing… not fighting.  Last time I checked, throwing punches is FIGHTING.  Roughing gains you two minutes in the bad boy box.  Fighting gets you thrown from the game, as it should. 

Being slightly competitive myself, and loving RULES as I do, I stood up in the stands and tried to help out the refs by letting them know what they should be doing by yelling, “Kick him out of the gaaaaaaammmmme!”  They must not have heard me.  I was rather loud, which sometimes just comes bursting out of me when I least expect it.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day.  Another day for the refs to do a better job. Another day for me to consider taking a sedative before my son’s game.

Be Afraid…. be VERY Afraid!

For a mere $24.99 you too can have an authentic plastic knight’s helmet…. for……. um…. for….. Medieval Festival night!  OR, you can be a homeschool kid and make one out of cardboard, tinfoil, paper mache and spray paint…. for $1.99.

We spent the day yesterday wandering around a huge Renaissance Festival in Apache Junction.  I thought it a bit ironic that the “civilized” people of Europe chose the blood stained lands of the Apache to have their festival.  But I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of the 3,000 people who attended that had that thought.

There was much merrymaking and bowing, gnawing on turkey legs and riding human powered rides, viewing of the falconry show (with the most stubborn falcons I’ve ever seen…. not that I’ve seen many… but I anticipated a much more well behaved bird) and mummery.  The day was enjoyable and educational all wrapped into one.  There was a jousting tournament!

We all took our turns playing the psaltry.  I LOVED it!  It had such a sweet sound and was very easy to play.

The boy’s favorite was this boat ride…. a boat hung on ropes.  We could so make one of those for the backyard!  Their hands were bright red and they couldn’t open their fingers, but they begged to go again!

There were three lambs born THAT day!  This little lamb still had it umbilical cord attached.  It was so wobbly and cute!

 

The tree blossom made the air fragrant!

The glass blower was my personal favorite.  That is one job requiring patience!!!!

Superbowl Sunday

Not what you’re thinking.  I’ve been painting Zaza’s tea table and chairs since I got up this morning.  Holy Guacamole, this takes a long time!!!  I started a week ago!  I’ve done at least two coats of paint on every color…. five coats on yellow the infamous see-though color.  And I’ve gone back and touched up everywhere paint appeared in the incorrect places.  Whew.  I have to re-do the teeny white lines in between the pink and green squares under the table top… and THEN I’M READY!!!

Ready for what, you ask?… swirlies and roses and polka-dots and checkers and butterflies and more polka-dots.  I just can’t decide what to do! I’ve printed about 16 pages of pictures of painted table and chair sets, but I can’t decide.  I’m usually not this bad… but alas, the game is starting and we are off to a friend’s house to eat and sit in the jacuzzi and yes, I think there’s a football game on.  I’m not real big on the Superbowl.  I did watch last year when the Cardinals played… being the home team and all.  But the previous Superbowl game I watched was Superbowl XVII.  You figure it out!!!

Yoga

Tonight my daughter laid on the floor, tummy down, and proceeded to raise her shoulders up as far as her arms would push.  Her hips stayed down and she was peering at the ceiling behind her back.  A graceful J curve.  (Position #7 on the chart above.) #2 son notices the “salutation to the sun” position and asks, “Are you doing yoga?”  She replies, “No, I’m just stretching my stomach.”  #1 son adds, “Isn’t yoga a religion?”  “No,” answers my daughter, “that’s Yoda!”

That’s all I have for you tonight…. I’m busy painting Zaza’s tea table and blast it all, I need lighter pink!!!!  This pepto bismal color is no good!

Happy B-day, Rickey!

Today is my husband’s 43rd birthday so I thought I’d share some photos of him at what he does best.  This first example is “Being Cool.”  See how he’s instructing his fine young men to be cool too.  It’s an important trait to master.  Being cool.  It’s also all about crossing your arms and pushing your muscles to look bigger than they actually are.  Being cool.  And sunglasses.  Not just any sunglasses… cool sunglasses, like the ones Rick is sporting here.  He purchased them in a women’s boutique in Sedona when the supremely awesome sales lady told him that men from Scottsdale buy her glasses all the time…. and, get this…. that he looks like Elvis.  She could have sold him bedazzled capri jeans for himself!!!  Being cool!

Here, we have Rick protecting his most valuable asset, his beautiful 16 year old daughter. Being scary, that’s what this is called.  It’s important when you have a 16 year old daughter.  Being scary.  Rick looks kind of teddy-bear-ish in this picture, but that’s because you can’t see his concealed weapon that he only shows to teenage boys. Being scary.  He has given his daughter a stack of his business cards to hand out in case any teenage boys want to talk to her.  It’s an easy out for her, “Here’s my dad’s number.  You can talk to him first…”  It hasn’t actually happened, probably because the truth about the concealed weapon has been leaked. Being scary. He’s good at it, if need be.

This is what he does best, here in this last picture of the photo tribute for his 43rd birthday… Being fun. The untranied eye may not be able to decipher it, but let me help you. See how his mouth is? He has either just said something funny, or is in the middle of saying something funny.  Being fun.  This may not seem like an all-encomposing-highly-important trait, but it is.  Being fun.  It was actually a requirement to marry into our family.  Being fun.

Happy Birthday, Rickey!  We all love you!

For Such a Time as This

This has been one of my favorite Bible quotes for some time.  It’s so amazing to me how God uses the most unlikely people to fulfill his desires. Queen Esther’s story is especially close to my heart as she was an orphan who obeyed and SAVED her people…. from death.  Not just from suffering, or torture, or plague, or some other Old Testament trial…. DEATH! 

A few times in my life I have felt the presence of God breathe on to me when I was in the midst of a “such a time as this” moment.  I’m in the midst of one of those miraculous moments right now.  I feel unworthy to tackle the task ahead.  I don’t want to be overwhelmed or all consumed.  But I want to do what I’m suppose to do.  No, I’m not saving my people from death….(who are my people, anyway?  Not sure.)  But a gargantuan opportunity has surfaced and I’m willingly stepping through open doors.

As I lay in bed last night with wide eyes staring at the ceiling in shock/wonder/fear/trepidation/shock/shock/shock, my husband infused me with strength and support, as he is sooooo gifted at giving, with the simple words, “If not you, then who???”  I had no answer.  Probably because I don’t know anyone else crazy enough to accept the challenge and then actually rise to it!

Funny thing is, I remembered something today that was remarkable.  I had a dream about this seven or eight years ago, but dismissed it as one of “those” dreams…. the ones that follow spicy pepperoni pizza, or corndogs from the county fair.   I haven’t even thought of that dream for years and years.  Mainly because it is so OUT there…. in the It-Would-Take-God-to-Pull-this-Off realm.  It’s amazing to me how the Lord gives us glimpses of a few of the puzzle pieces of our life fitting together every now and again.

I can’t wait to share it with ya’ll!  It might be several weeks before the creases are ironed out and it goes public, but until then, please pray for our direction to be God’s desire!