Relay for Life

We headed to Newcomerstown Friday for my parents' annual Relay for Life weekend. Their church has been involved in the overnight cancer fund-raising event for probably about 10 years now, and I always enjoying going to show my support for a cause that is close to my parents' hearts, even before my mom's diagnosis.

It starts on Friday with lots of walking around the high school track, music and events. When it gets dark, they turn all the lights off in the stadium and light the luminaries that have people's names on them - survivors as well as those who battled and lost.

My mom had a luminary bag this year. As a survivor. God is good.

As the survivors and care takers and those walking in memory of someone walk around the luminary-lined track in silence with glow sticks in their hands, the announcer reads off the names from survivors list and from the in-memory list.

They are both very long lists.

It is a powerful, sad, provoking moment.

Then members of each team continue to walk the track through the night and into Saturday. Closing ceremonies around noon on Saturday conclude the event by handing out prizes, energizing everyone for next year's event, and announcing the total raised.

This year, minus the proceeds from the auction (which I'm sure will be $1000 or more), this tiny little sleepy village of Newcomerstown (filled with very determined, awake and aware people) raised over $93,000 for cancer research and support for those battling cancers of all kinds.

That's amazing! And inspiring!

Amidst the event full of meaning and camaraderie, Sam and Lena had a great time running around and sweating. They had fun playing inside my high school's cafeteria (during a round of thunderstorms) and making new friends.


We stayed as long as we could, the kids snuggled in their jammies, cozy under our umbrella tent. When it became apparent that by midnight they were far from falling asleep, though, we packed them up and headed to my parents' house.

Lena slept hard until Rich had to wake her around 11:30. She takes after her mommy.

Sam's internal clock, on the other hand, woke him up the same time as always regardless of what time he goes to bed - 6:30 a.m. And since he slept with me, we both got up and headed back to the stadium to finish up the event with Mom and Dad and the St. Paul's Lutheran team.

Anyway, that's a long blog about a simple sentiment.

I love my parents.

I love the things they pour themselves into. They inspire me. And I'm so proud of how they've handled my mom's diagnosis. And how they, through that, have inspired others.

Sam the Fairy

Earlier this week we were up in Lena's room getting her dressed for the day. Sam saw her fairy wings and pink tutu from her birthday last year (Lena's 1) hanging on the hook and he wanted to put them on.

This might seem like a strange request from a boy, but we recently watched Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue on Disney and now he's hooked. He and Lena both. They love those fairies. And I have to admit, I do too!

So of course I let him put them on. Isn't he the handsomest fairy you've ever seen?

Right after I took this picture, he looked up at me with a very serious expression and said "Can I fly now, Mommy?"

He thought since he was dressed up like one, he could fly like a fairy. I love that he thought that. What an amazing world this must be through the eyes of a kid who believes he can fly.


So I told him he just needed to find some pixie dust. Unfortunately, we were out...

Who am I to tell him he can't fly?

I'm in Love with a Plate

I found a website today through one of the blogs I follow (Little Willow).



And I'm in love with it, with Thomas Paul and his products.





Especially his line of melamine dishes - so beautiful. I've never been a big plate displayer, but I would hang these all over like art! So if you're just wracking your brain for a gift for me, these are all pretty affordable on Ebay! Just kidding, well, not really, but you know what I mean...

Chickenpox

Sam has chickenpox.

Yes, he's had the vaccine. So has Lena.

But yes, he still has chickenpox.

It seems mild - only some itchy bumps on his back and head and a few on his legs and arms (probably no more than 20 total), no fever, a little runny nose. I read that you can still get it even with the vaccine, but it's usually very mild.

Please let that be true.

I gave him a little Benadryl and put some Cortizone on his bumps - he seems comfortable and hasn't itched for a while. Let's hope it stays that way.

Lena has a couple of little red marks on her face this morning, too. But I think chickenpox normally starts on the torso, so I'm hoping hers are just marks, not pox. She'll definitely get it if she's going to, though, because they share drinks and feed each other and kiss and spit and are in each others faces all the time.

They kind of sound like camels, don't they.

I'm praying for quick and easy recoveries for everyone. Won't you join me?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

My office has a box at the new Clippers stadium and, when the partners don't use the tickets, they hand them out to us, which I think is pretty cool. My friend Joan had four tickets left for last night's game that no one could use on such short notice, so I said we'd give it a shot.

Rich and I have been to one Clippers game courtesy of Casto at our box at the old stadium, but that was before the kids were born. So even though I knew the kids wouldn't last the whole 3 hour game, I just couldn't pass up free box tickets to the brand new stadium.

So we rushed home, shoveled a quick dinner down our throats, packed up some snacks, drinks and pj's, stocked up my diaper bag and off we went.

I love working downtown and having an awesome free parking space and access to our office for functions like this. That made a short walk from my building to the stadium, where we had a great time.

The only downside was that it was 100 degrees and the box wasn't closed up and air conditioned. It was open and hot.

Very hot.

But it's free, so even hot and sweaty, it was awesome!

The kids had fun climbing up and down the steps and clapping and dancing to the music. Ballparks are just a great place to be, and I'm not a huge fan of baseball as a sport. But I honestly love the American-ness and nostalgia and tradition of it and the sound of a nighttime baseball game on the radio or TV is one of my favorite things about summer.

Anyway, after about an hour and a half, the kids were melting down, so we took off. That's the beauty of free - no pressure to stay for the whole thing.

We walked back to my office so we could clean the kids up and put them in their pjs. Lena didn't want to hold my hand on the way back, but when Sam ran back to check on her, she held his hand. So it was hand in hand (and hot red cheeked) they walked down the street to the office.


What an unexpected fun night. Thanks, Casto!

A Hot Day at the Zoo

We went to the zoo on Saturday late in the afternoon. It was a blisteringly hot day, but by the time we got there around 5:00, the zoo was nearly vacant and the temperature was on its way down. It was like we had the whole zoo to ourselves. And that's just awesome.

We were alone at the polar bear exhibit for a long time.





Lena loved being under the water so much that she said her first "fishies" when she saw them floating over us. I captured the moment.


Obligatory zoo photo op.


Then we went on a train ride. The train didn't go quite fast enough to cool us, but it was fun and the kids loved the whistle.


Then onto the lions and the aquarium, eating a light dinner I packed along the way (meat and cheese, apples, grapes, crackers...quite refined for a couple of toddlers).

We made it to the car before the hail storm began. What a mess! We finally had to pull over under a gas station canopy to wait it out.

All in all, one of my favorite visits to the zoo!

My Husband

Today is Rich’s 35th birthday! What a great day!

Rich is the last of six kids, quite a few years behind his closest siblings in age. His parents must have been exhausted by then – seriously. But they found the energy to raise this boy who became a man, a real man, an honest man, an intellectual, funny, passionate, handsome, kind, gifted man.

Rich’s mom says that he was an energetic kid, always into something, curious, active, playful. Sounds like his beautiful blue eyes aren’t the only things he passed down to both of his kids.

He’s also quiet and pensive and observant and has extremely interesting thoughts banging around in his head once he decides to talk them out.

Rich is good at everything he attempts.

Everything.

Music, cooking, woodworking, fathering, husbanding – you name it, he can do it better than most. God spared nothing when he heaped his blessings and gifts on Rich.

The only real problem that he has is recognizing his blessings and his gifts. He thinks he’s just average, just going through life the way a man should which, to him, is nothing extraordinary.

But if you ask me or his parents or my parents or sister or any of my friends, we’ll all tell you that Rich is completely unique and extraordinary and that not many men can measure up to him.

Rich works hard and is good at his job and, most days, likes what he does. On my work days he drops off and picks up the kids, entertains them once they’re home, cooks them dinner and is usually laughing and having fun while feeding them by the time I get home. Never complaining.

He also cooks and cleans and takes immaculate care of our yard, he plays with and disciplines and is goofy with and adores our kids, he loves me and shows me that in every way that I need him to, he builds things and fixes things and takes out the garbage, he runs errands, he listens to metal music and reads computer books and loves learning, he chooses to spend time with us and truly enjoys his family.

He does more and is more than most men.

He is extraordinary.

He’s Rich.

Happy birthday to the biggest blessing God has given me.