Kristine's Birthday Party

(Kristine with her sisters--Kimberly and Leslie, and her mom, Arlene)

I love birthdays. I love Kristine. I love chocolate-dipped strawberries. Kristine says that birthdays are just an excuse to have dipped strawberries. Gosh. If I had been able to use this kind of logic in that philosophy class I failed 14 years ago...I might have been able to graph an argument "logically". And Jeff says that I'm not always logical. Hmmm...I don't know about that. Birthdays, friends, chocolate strawberries...all together are the most logical way to celebrate.

Well, my dear friend Kristine Stevenson, had a birthday this week. Going to a nice lunch just seemed par for the day. (Shhh...really, we go out several days a week for nice lunches--so we really just needed to step up the ante for the big day). I love 'munch and mingles' and so I sent a few e-mails, and her sisters sent a few e-mails...and before you know--we were on for a party.

Kristine started another round of chemo 3 weeks ago. The doctors said her hair would start coming out between weeks 2-3--right around birthday time. I ran into a mutual friend one afternoon who asked what she could do to "help" Kristine. I said I didn't know of anything in particular (except the lots of faith and prayers Kristine requested, but we'll get to that in a minute)--I said that I wished I could give her some of my hair. This friend said that was a great idea--to give her hair. (Beware--"lack of logic" example coming...) I laughed and said that was pretty funny--brown hair mixed with her blond hair. Wig hair didn't dawn on me at this point until the said friend says she would like to donate some cash for Kristine's hair. LIGHT BULB moment. Philosophy 110 logic: Wigs are expensive. Kristine likes expensive. Friends want to help pay for hair for Kristine. SOLD.

The thought was born to have a "Hair-raising" Birthday party. I found funny/funky hair-dos and figured out how to paste them onto the birthday e-mail (this being the hardest part of creating the invitation). Everyone was invited to donate what they would have spent on lunch out to Kristine for her birthday as a means of paying for some beautiful hair to wear over the next few months of chemo--till the real stuff comes back in lush and long. I had so many great responses and I was thrilled that it was received with the light-hearted sense of humor I hoped it would be.

Thus the "Hair-Raising" Birthday Party was born. I don't know if it seemed a little odd for the lack of any gifts during the occasion. I had a bucket set by the front door to catch the cards and envelopes with the token gifts. We had lots of yummy desserts and snacks...and most of all, it was just nice to visit with so many people who love Kristine.

A few weeks ago Kristine said that all she "needed" was peoples' faith and prayers to take on the challenges of the next few months. That thought stayed with me for days until it occurred to me to have some of her friends share their prayers and thoughts with her. So 2 weeks before her birthday I rounded up the names of some of her friends and started to contact them one by one. She is no recluse or hermit. The list is gargantuan. If the idea had sprung from the thought factory a little sooner, I could have persisted and followed-up with more people. But as it was, I was able to get so many responses back from her friends and family--to the tune of 30 pages. My intention is to have them published into a book form with some beautiful pictures as a momento of her amazing 39th birthday.

So, needless to say--I had a great day on Kristine's birthday :) She's amazing. She is the standard I find myself trying to measure up to. Tall in spirit, not just body--is what I see as the embodiment of the truest of friends. I wish Kristine a fabulous year and 60 more fabulous birthdays to come!!

Garage Sales....

Today is the neighborhood garage sale. Obviously, no one wants to do this except my Cameron-boy. Jeff has a bunch of power-tools and lawn equipment he'd like to replace, being that we have a new lawn to contend with. Problem is that Cameron thinks that they are his tools too. He made some signs and is acting as "salesman" in the driveway. I'm sure that Dad will give Cameron a commission for his diligence...but he has to sell the goods first.

Cub Scout Cake Auction

As you may know, I am a Cub Scout Committee Chair for the cub scouting group at church. We got permission to let the boys earn some money for day camp....(That's a-whole-nother story). We had planned a cake auction before and had had it canceled--only to revisit the notion after a stake meeting explaining the how-to's of fundraising without "fundraising". So--we planned a fun family night and I gave each of the boys a cake mix and the instructions to be as creative as possible--"The Pinewood of Flour." It was fantastic to see the results of creativity and achievement. At the auction tonight, I had each boy introduce their cake and what is was....some needed more explanation than others. Each of the creations were unique--like the boys, themselves. And the twist of luck--they earned almost to the penny what they needed for day camp. It was lots of fun and there was truly not a dull moment in our time together.

(Note: Ice-cream cone cupcakes--Caleb Christensen; Lego cake--Ethan Cleaver; Hamburger and Fries--Ryan Frank; Volcano--Garrett Springer; Happy Faces and Owls--Jolinda Eibert; Baseball--Collin Adams; Australian Star--Elijah Child; Chocolate and Candy Cake--Nathan Eibert; Rainbow cake--Braden Eibert; not pictured: Cameron Eibert and his Pair of Jeans cake; Robin Flood and the Frogs and Suns cupcakes.

Drama at 4:30 this morning.........

Today was the much awaited day of the much-planned, much-fund-raised, much-talked about week of my oldest daughter's life. It started at 3:45am. Ashley got up to take a shower and finalize the packing list for her week away from home. Needless to say, fellow bed mate and sister crawled up the stairs with her. The drama began with, "Ashley, I don't want you to go!" Not so quietly, I might add, in the dark morning hours. When it was time to go, the tears and whining started. I got the first glimpse of the week ahead of me. While Ashley is tromping through the rain forest on the Olympic peninsula with 69 other 6th-graders from her school--having a multitude of great experiences and true hands-on education...I am going to be listening to the bellowing and whinging for a much-loved older sister; probably to the point of giving Jessica my own version of a "hands-on education". I'm just kidding...maybe ;)

I love the bond that that exists between my girls. The younger one is and has been a shadow to the older one since she could walk. Ashley is just as important to Jessica as her mama and daddy. Who knew? I've been waiting for the tension and animosity to start between the two, but it is really a special bond that has its' roots in a deep love for each other. So I know that while Ashley is away, Jessica will pine and whine...but it will be all over on Friday night and we will all be able to rest peacefully--Me, because all of my kids are back under the same roof. And particularly for Jessica that her best friend is back.

If you notice, Jessica has found her favorite spot to color...in front of the computer with a picture of her and Ashley in the background. I knew Jessica was obsessed, but here's proof.

Landscaping....at last

Well--we will have been in the house 3 years this August, and the yard is finally starting to come together. It's been a long and painful process. Last year, I seeded it by myself, sans husband-support or help--no grass and a TON of fat quail in the neighborhood. This year, we decided we have to stick out the 7 year economic rollercoaster in Spokane--and so we need a yard and a garden. Finally. Jeff releveled the front slope, took out the sprinkler system he put in 2 years ago and started over. The designated flowerbeds were decreased to mom-friendly areas (ie. very small and just the front of the house, rather than swoops and swerves all over the front yard). I had a field day buying pretty shrubs and the kids got excited to use a shovel...or at least, three of them did.

I positioned the shrubs to what I thought was most aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Now, I'm not a gardner or a shrubologist. I wouldn't know what to tell you if you asked what kinds of plants are in front of my house except that there is: the green ones, the purple ones, and the striped ones with coordinating purple and green-striped grasses. I have a miniture Christmas tree as a "focal" shrub--he gets the "focal" designation because I only bought 1 of him. I do know that once the sod is down later today, my next job is to find a river rock that I like to fill the gaps between the house and the sod. We are going to do the concrete edging next summer.

Jeff and I have been married 15 years next month and have never planted and produced a garden. This is a milestone year because we are going to do it. The back yard (just a quarter of it) became the recipient of 10 yards of good, dark soil. That's a huge investment in the property because this area we live in is ROCK garden!! We marked off a 55ft by 16ft area for the garden. I have a small fortune in starts on the deck...so the commitment is there. I figured we would give everything a try at least once. Out of everything I bought (corn, zucchini, carrots, lettuce, watermelon, pumpkin, tomatoes, etc.)--I'm most looking forward to the 12 raspberry and blueberry plants. I hope we get to reap the rewards for our best intents as well as our efforts.

One of many recitals to come....

Tonight was Ashley's spring recital for the advanced elementary orchestra. It's a combined orchestra made up of four elementary schools in our district. She's been going every Monday and Thursday morning before school for an hour. I'm secretly pleased that next year she will get to go to the middle school and have orchestra sometime during the school day and we won't have to transport her early in the morning anymore...Oh, wait. I have other children that may be in the music programs as well. Scratch that thought. I won't get a break from early morning music rendezvous' for 7 more years. Anywhoo....

Ashley played the Bach's Brandenburg Concerto in a quartet tonight that sounded really good. (Parental disclosure: the first couple of years of elementary orchestra is quite painful to listen to, but eventually you start to hear the progression and tonight was a little payback for all those other recitals that you wanted to plug your ears and scream along with the screeching noises that were somehow being emitted from the beautiful instruments).

Ashley plays the Viola.... I guess that would make her a Violist...hehehe. Sounds silly, huh? But they are not as plentiful as violinists and it makes the playing opportunities even more available. I wasn't exactly supportive of the viola at first because I just wanted to hear the stringed instrument I was most familiar with--the violin. You have to be truly exceptional to stand out as a violinist. But viola....now there's a great instrument not every one's starting. So--with a little more practice and a wave of luck mixed with some opportunities, maybe a scholarship will come her way. She's already on the road less traveled...here's to a great daughter and a great musician.

The Cup theory.....neither Full or Empty when you're only Five!

Well--what's more precious than a little girl imitating her Mama? This one made herself into a lingerie model to illustrate her point. These kids are like sponges and they miss nothing. So here the story goes. I was having a leisurely morning a few days ago when a certain part of my wardrobe went missing. She had donned my bra and went to show her daddy what she wanted to wear for the day. She was giggling away. She came back into the bathroom to show me what was so funny. Ever had to wrestle a kid for your bra back? Didn't think so. Now the cuteness of the moment came when Jessica explained that one day she was going to be a Mom and wear one of these too. (Gosh--gotta love those little girls that love their Mamas!!) I didn't have the heart to tell her that you didn't have to be a Mom to get the honors. I thought I'd save Ashley the embarrassment...being that she is only 12 and similarly challenged. Oh the tiddly bits that make life so enjoyable.