Just a trace . . .

Most of my readers know that Jason, Roxanne, Annikah, and Evangeline were home from Africa for several months this fall and winter for Evy's birth. During those months we were blessed with their presence on three extended visits. The memories will have to last us a long time since they don't expect to return before late summer of 2011. One day soon after they left, as I walked up the stairs I saw the sweetest trace of evidence of their time with us. It was Anni's little hand print on the wall. I tried to capture it with my camera - if you look closely, you should be able to see it. I haven't yet cleaned it off - love the sweet memories it gives as I go up my stairs each day.

Easter

It was fun to have our daughters and their families with us on Easter. After Jim, I, Jorie and Mark attended a wonderful Easter service at Stonebridge, Justin and Annie joined us for an Easter dinner of rib roast, asparagus, spinach-strawberry salad, homemade crescent rolls, and Mexican wedding cake. We almost felt like Jason and Roxanne's family was with us, too, because we were able to skype with them and see Anni and Evy. Joel, Silas, and Claire were so excited to tell Anni what they got from the Easter bunny, and Annikah made sure to tell us about the new princess tent that she got. Even little Claire seemed to understand that she was really looking at her beloved cousin Anni on the screen, and said loudly and clearly, "Hi, Anni!" So cute! I think the highlight for the adults was the food, but the highlight for the kiddos was definitely the Easter presents and the egg hunt they enjoyed outside. By the time we got around to picture-taking, most of the kids were tired and cranky, so they didn't turn out the best. But we tried!

Slicing the rib roast - dinner's ready!

A high chair at each end of the table!

Claire loved modeling her Easter dress - just like her cousins' dresses way off in Africa!

I found one!

Joel was willing to pose for this picture!

Three handsome brothers.

Grammy and Claire.

Florida Getaway

Jim and I recently enjoyed a wonderful relaxing week as guests in John and Alice's condo located in Ft. Myers, FL. It was a much needed reward after a very L-O-N-G winter with lots of snow! Though temperatures were cool for Florida in late March - low-mid 70's - (and though it happened to be warmer than usual in Iowa that week - only a couple of degrees cooler than FL), it felt great to lounge at the pool, enjoy long walks, bike around Sanibel Island, and relax on the beach. We loved seeing John and Alice's condo - beautifully decorated and so welcoming. Another highlight was reuniting with long-time friends from Wheaton Bible Church - Paul and Lynette Carlson. Vacations for us also usually include - as did this one - dining out and enjoying wonderful food and drink, and shopping/buying stuff even though we might not really NEED it. Our favorite restaurants on this trip were the Lighthouse and Mimi's in Ft. Myers; the Bubble Room on Captiva Island, and the Crab Trap near Sarasota where we enjoyed fresh fish on the way back to the airport. Here are a few pictures to highlight our trip!

The building that houses John and Alice's condo (on the third floor).

The small pool nearest their building. The water was 85 - 90 degrees - just walk right in!

One of the walkways along the beautiful golf course that winds through the residential areas as well.

Adorable breakfast nook in the kitchen.

Looking back into the condo from the linai.

The porch/linai that overlooks the golf course. We spent LOTS of time out here with our books and our wine.

We enjoyed exploring Sanibel Island on a tandem. Biking the trails on the island is the best way to see it.

Jim is about to enter the Bubble Room on Captiva Island. It's a fun place to eat. The entire restaurant is decorated with Christmas bubble lights, electric trains that travel from room to room, and fun stuff everywhere. The tables you eat on are glass showcase tables filled with memorabilia.

We didn't want a full lunch so we just tried their homemade potato chip/fries basket.

The one and only time asked a stranger to take our picture on the trip was supposed to show us in the boat coming out of the tunnel of love. But the random photographer didn't quite capture what I had in mind. You can't even see the boat or the sign above us. Urrrgh! :(

It was fun to see Paul and Lynette Carlson at their home in Port Charlotte, about an hour's drive north of Ft. Myers. They moved to FL five years ago, and we hadn't seen them since Annie's wedding in 2003! We became friends when Annie and their son Alan were babies, so it was fun to reminisce with them.

Catching up - St. Patrick's Day

Keeping busy with teaching, family, vacation, etc. PLUS a sick computer for awhile has kept me from updating my blog. Today I'm going to attempt to post some stuff I've had in mind to do for awhile.

On St. Patrick's Day Cedar Rapids has an annual parade, and in the ten years we've lived here we have never attended. I'm sure that is because it is usually a work day, and since we're not Irish, it's not a high priority for us. But now that we have grand kids close-by, events like this have more appeal. This year I was not working that day, and Silas wanted to go, so I took him to see it. Jorie had hoped to come, but she ended up having emergency dental work done so wasn't able to join us.

First of all, I was shocked to see the THOUSANDS of people that to to this parade! It was crazy to see all of these people NOT at work OR SCHOOL, and dressed in their St. Patrick's Day apparel totally partying it up!! I've never seen downtown CR so full of life! Here are a couple of pics to show how much these Irish folks totally get into celebrating this day:

Not sure who this is . . . St. Patrick?

Seriously . . . dyeing your dog??

A real live leprechaun!

. . . with his rainbow and pot of gold!

Latest Owl Sighting

About five years ago (??) our family started a little game. It all began when Grandma Lin (Jim's mom - aged 94 now) gave Annie this spotted owl figurine-type-thing for Christmas. At that time Grandma Lin was in the habit of finding things among her basement treasures to give to people as "gifts." Annie somehow voiced a "thank you" upon opening her gift which was the owl, but the rest of us were laughing quietly to ourselves, wondering what in the world Annie would do with this hideous gift. I'm not sure who - was it Jason??- came up with the Hide the Owl game, but we've been playing it ever since. I'm not even sure Jim and I knew the game was on until several weeks after that Christmas (I mean, it was a LONG time after), I was taking something off of a shelf in our family room, and there sat the owl staring back at me from my shelf! In horror I recalled all of the times we had entertained guests in our home, or the times our cleaning lady had come during that time, not even knowing that the owl had been displayed on my shelf for all to see! It was actually pretty hilarious! So began the tradition. When visiting the home of one of the other family members, the holder of the owl tries to unknowingly find a place to display the owl in their home. It must be a place where it can be seen, but you try to find a place also where the unsuspecting homeowner won't discover it right away. Once discovered, the owl is to be photographed and sent to the rest of the family to share the news of an Owl Sighting! The rest of us know then to be on the lookout for the next sighting!

I think that Jim and I have been the most frequently surprised participants, as it seems the family members all come to our house the most often. Most recently the owl had been mysteriously in hiding for more than a year, but then resurfaced on our china cabinet a few days after Christmas this year. Unfortunately, the rules are against putting it in someone's suitcase to be discovered upon arriving home. If that were allowed, we could have tried to send it to Africa with Jason and Roxanne. So for now, the owl won't be traveling too far from home. But Annie and Jorie, BEWARE! One of these days you may be experiencing an owl sighting!!

Family Pictures

During Jason and Roxanne's last visit with us we all gathered at our house for a family photo shoot. With six kids age five and under it was really tricky! Not one of the entire family shots has everyone looking at the camera, but at least we have proof that we were all together!

Original Fam

The Inlaws

Everyone

The Village People?

Who ARE these people??

Our precious grandkids

Who Will You Be?

When I "retired" from teaching in 2008 Jim gave me a book written by Maria Shriver called Just Who Will You Be? a sweet book about becoming the person you want to be during the next phase of one's life. I pretty much thought I'd just concentrate on being a grandma, and didn't care about a new "career" or huge life-change. But when Annikah was here she saw things differently. I brought her downstairs one day to choose some new books to read from my children's library. I explained that I have so many children's books because I used to be a teacher. She thought for a minute and then asked me, "Bibi, are you a baker now?" I guess that was a pretty good observation because during the time her family was with us I baked cookies, two cakes, a pie, and prepared lots of meals in my kitchen. In her eyes that was what I do most of the time, so that must be my new job or calling in life! So precious!