Masterpiece

A few weeks ago after church this masterpiece made its way into my arms. I asked Warren (the artist) who was in the picture. He said that David was in blue and I was the one in green. I asked what the large circles were (just to be sure) and he replied, "Your boobs." Wow. I also asked what the box was that begins under my legs. He said that was my body and inside my body is my heart. It remains unclear to me what my (large, saggy) chest has to do with the topic of the day, but maybe Warren knows something I don't.

New Shoes

I had forgotten how a new pair of shoes could cause so much joy to one's soul. Sean reminded me. Darin took Olivia and Sean shoe shopping, and while Olivia was very pleased with her purchase, nothing could match the excitement displayed by Sean for his new shoes. He came home and announced that he had already made it around the entire cul-de-sac in 24 seconds. As he came inside he was running from one side of the house to the other...getting snacks, finding books, and sometimes just running for the sake of running. He turns to me and says, "I don't know why I love running so much in these new shoes. It's almost like they control me." As bedtime approached, his shoes decided they wanted to stay on, so he slept in them. The next day he made trips to several of the neighbors' houses to show them how fast he could run in his new shoes, and we even needed to take a special trip to Grandma and Grandpa's to demonstrate the power of the shoes. I shirked a little bit as a parent, though. The day after the new shoes were part of the family, Darin's sister came over to pick up her computer. She was in the house for less than a minute, and after she left Sean asked, "Why didn't you tell her about my new shoes?" I tried to take pictures that would do the shoes justice. Please take note of the puffy basketballs on the tongue of the shoes AND on the bottom (both of those contribute to the fast-ness of the shoes). Most of all, I want a little boy (and his mom) to remember how incredibly overjoyed he was for a simple purchase...something that seems to fade as years are added.


I tried to get Sean to pose for a photo, but it simply was not going to happen. These shoes need to RUN!

Golden Years

My parents recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary (WOW!), and to celebrate we had a family par-tay with a Hawaiian theme. We wanted it to be a surprise, so I invited them to our house for a birthday party for David (we had already celebrated the night before). When they were on their way I told them theat I had been cleaning my oven and my house still smelled smoky so we were going to let the kids run around the gym of the church. When they came in we greeted them with a big ALOHA and gave them their shirts. We had Hawaiian haystacks, fruit kabobs, rolls, and lots of yummy desserts. The gym was all decked out in cheesy Hawaiian decorations (thanks to Dollar Tree). After dinner each child gave a short memory or presentation, then we watched a DVD put together by Jodi. It was great to be together celebrating this momentous occasion. My parents are such wonderful examples to me and to all of their posterity. I think the highlight of the evening was when we turned some time over to them to give a little speech. I know that their advice will bring many people joy and peace in the future (if we listen!). 50 years of marriage is a huge accomplishment, and I am proud to belong to them!

Then...

Now...(Nine kids, 39 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren later)

Don't they look amazing? I hope to look as vibrant as they do when Darin and I celebrate our 50th!!!

Here is a portion of their posterity: (in order from oldest to youngest)
(For family history's sake, and also so you won't be confused, I will color code. My parents' children will be in bold, their spouses will be in red, grandkids in blue, spouses of grandkids in green, great-grandchildren in purple.)

Kramer, Max, Laura, Victoria, Sarah, Hunter

(not pictured: Tyler (married to Sarah), Spencer, Parker (on a mission in Ohio), Chandler

Jason, Janet, Mark

Not pictured: Justin, Jessica, Emma, Jared, Jordan

Tanner, Renae, Michelle, Josh

Kelsey, Rob, Camille, Eric, Kirsten

Oliver, Doug, Heidi, Taylor, Kaden

Bridger, Harrison, Avynlee

Brad, Jeff, Jodi, Rylee,

Kamryn, Lexi,

Coleman

Not pictured: Devon, Heather, Sterling, Siri, Soren, Seth, Sawyer
Not pictured: Rich, Whitney, Ally, Erin, McKay

Darin, Deanne, David,

Warren, Olivia, Sean

The final musical number was the grandkids singing "Families Can Be Together Forever"
My mom's sister, Joanne, was also there, and was able to join in the fun!
After we had cleaned up, some spontaneous dancing broke out! (We had the Disney MOVE IT cd playing)

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! (And to us, too! Darin and I are privileged to share the special day with them, but they got all the attention this year since 50 years is kind of a big deal. It doesn't change the fact that I would say 'yes' all over again. Love you, hun!)