Today is my brother’s birthday. Well, by the time I post this blog entry, it will no longer be his birthday where he is, but who’s counting? It is, as they say, the thought that counts.

Mark always was a snappy dresser.

I’m sure I’ve written about him before, but I miss him a lot. He’s stationed in Norway, after only one year living locally; I do wish I’d made better use of that time. We played some games and Laser-Tag together, and celebrated various holidays with him and his family, but it wasn’t quite enough. At the time, we had hoped he might choose to retire here, maybe after a three- or four-year tour at Fort Lewis, and so it didn’t seem so urgent that we see each other right now.

Mark sure looks young (and shaggy) in this picture (left), from our wedding.

Mark has been a good brother to me; I frequently encourage my boys to be good brothers ‘like Uncle Mark was to me’. He protected me, encouraged me, taught me things, played with me, went ahead of me into various unknowns (jobs, schools, etc.) and loved me enough to sacrifice his interests on my behalf hundreds of times.

He never would share the machine-gun, though.

Happy Birthday, beloved brother.

Tim

There is a slight problem with blogging and letting the world (such as it is) read your rambling thoughts of photo despair; when you make a mistake you have to do some serious retracting.

Tim reminded me today that we took family portraits in March of 2006 when his sister was visiting from Georgia.

You have got to be kidding me!!!!! How could I have forgotten? We even have a lovely picture hanging in our entry way. I’m so embarrassed. My only excuse is that it wasn’t in a studio. Pretty pathetic, if I do say so myself. Tim’s mother made all the grand daughters gorgeous skirts and we were all coordinated in white, red and black. We took hundreds of pictures, with at least 5 cameras.

Sigh.

Please excuse my terrible lapse in memory. Hanging head in shame and heading to the store. Do they stock brain cells anywhere near the children’s clothing?

Someone in WA

Okay, you all are amazing. Friends, family and total strangers chimed in on yesterday’s blog to suggest great ways to transform our family’s eating from junk food happy to healthy, fit and vibrant.

Instead of sticking with snacks like these:

Austin (my sweet friend, Jodi’s, son) checks out some serious candy options in downtown Williamsburg.

…instead I guess we have to bring these kind of “treats” into the home:

Fruit, veggies and more.

I was so encouraged by all the helpful comments. A hearty thank you to everyone who responded. This morning Sarah and I went to the store and I made sure to fill up my grocery cart with plenty of fruits and vegetables. The kids gobbled down the apples and oranges like starving urchins and everyone enjoyed a big salad this evening.

I think I forgot that a healthy lifestyle requires continue work. I don’t know why it should be so surprising, the laundry doesn’t ever end (Hooray, I did 6 loads of laundry, now I’m done for the month. Ha! Right.) and housework is a constant responsibility, working out effectively means regular, consistent time set aside for exercise, and the spiritual disciplines are life long pursuits.

I bought two bags of apples, a bunch of bananas, a container of cherry tomatoes, some lettuce, carrots, and a big bag of oranges. These will last just days at our house. Seven people can go through a LOT of produce. However, I really appreciate all the supportive words about the importance of feeding my family healthy, nutritious food.

You all are the BEST!!

Dinner with the Daniels

This picture has nothing to do with today’s post but it does center around food so I figure I can sneak it in. When Tim and I were in Virginia, we had the opportunity to spend some time with my aunt, uncle and two cousins. They fed us an amazing dinner. It was so delicious my mouth is literally watering over the memories.

When Tim and I were going to school in VA, and later when we lived in Connecticut, we would occasionally drop by (unannounced, of course) on my dad’s sister and her family. Inevitably, they would be hosting some sort of party or gathering. As poor college students and then poorer newlyweds, Tim and I quickly realized this was a GREAT way to get a hearty (FREE) meal. We somehow managed to “stop over” for Christmas parties, barbeques and high school reunions.

No longer impulsive college students, this time we planned far in advance. I called Saturday to see if we could come over Sunday. It’s astounding how much a person can grow and mature over the years. Ever the gracious hosts, Aunt Lee Lee and Uncle Jack put together a beautiful dinner just for us.

We managed to convince my cousin, Sye, and his wife to join us for a picture.

In honor of this topic of healthy eating, I should remark that Aunt Lee Lee served a huge fruit salad, a fresh green salad, broccoli casserole and baked sweet potatoes not to mention several other dishes. Please excuse my growling stomach, I don’t think I’ve eaten that well since we left Virginia.

If you read through the comments and think of something brilliant that was neglected, please don’t delay, get typing and pass along your Fruit and Veggie Wisdom.

Kathy

I did post a blog last night. Really, I did. Some of you even got a nice little e-mail notification. Sorry about that. Is there such a thing as blogging false alarms? The gal who cried “Blog!” Thankfully it wasn’t a very brilliant or witty, or even mildly amusing, post. The pictures, often a redeeming factor in the blog, were only average. So actually, you should be thanking me for sparring you the annoyance of a sub par blog.

What happened is I posted the blog to our old server whereas Tim has moved everything to the new server. It all seems a bit science fiction-y to me but I listen attentively and murmur words of encouragement as needed. I’m sure that I am a big help.

It has definitely been a big job to move everything over to this new server. I still don’t understand why the hosting company isn’t more helpful. Let’s see, I pay you MORE money each month and then I do all the work myself? Of course! Silly me.

David is VERY upset about all of the website trouble we’ve been having. Look at that agony, the boy is suffering.

To add insult to injury, I left my camera at our pastor’s house last night when we were over for dinner. Boy, getting it back from him is probably going to be costly.

“Sure, Kathy, you can have your camera. Which class would you like to teach for VBS? Oh, sorry Kathy, I left your camera at home. You can have it tomorrow, maybe, but first let’s talk about the need we have for nursery workers.”

Shew. Holding a camera for ransom seems low, even for a pastor.

What would I do without these self-portraits of some of my favorite children?

Of course, being an overachiever in the Project 365 department, I do have a few other pictures to choose from for the odd blog (odd being the number, not content or state of the blogger). On Sunday we had lunch with Tim’s family. During our conversation it came out that Rebecca (15 yrs. next month) has some sensory “issues.” She even went so far as to call my beloved orange chair (Orange Crush) “almost evil.” I guess the pseudo velour fabric isn’t to her liking. So, of course, before she left we had to tie her up and make her sit in it.

That’s the kind of loving family we are.

How can you NOT like this chair? Some people have no taste.

Tim’s brother insists that these kind of odd quirks and eccentricities always accompany a true genius so we’re trying not to be overly concerned about Rebecca.

Of course, when I’m not tying up nieces and nephews and forcing them to face their fears, I occasionally torture them with family pictures.

“You’ll thank me later,” I tell them but so far no one has. Blogging has created a photo monster in me, what can I say. I’ve heard scrapbookers talk about how, after years of scrapping, they begin to compose pictures to fit in their oval and circle cropping stencils. Some even dress their family members in clothing matches their scrapbook paper. By comparison, I’m almost normal. Almost.

Three generations!

We aren’t wearing matching shirts or even perfectly coordinated colors but I think it works.

We needed Tim’s sister and her family to complete the photo shoot.

I apologize for any any e-mail troubles you’ve had with our account or wild blogging goose chases you might have experienced this week. Tim is slowly working through all the steps to ensure everything is working smoothly.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 203

Okay, why is it that all the computers in the house work fine with the new wireless connectivity except mine??? Are there mischievous blogging imps sneaking around, trying to keep me off line? All I want to do is blog away happily. Is that asking too much? Well, I would like to be able to get my e-mail, write a few back here and there, read all the blogs I’ve been missing over the vacation and comment excessively. My requests are simple. Really.

We’re going to the chapel for a wedding! The cousins and I pose with Aunt Stephanie and Aunt Kate.

I have to be careful, though. If I’m very vocal about my complaints, my mother will hand me a piece of paper and tell me to try to remember those ancient days before they had things like google and the internet and blogging. Gasp. I suppose they also developed film and mailed the doubles away to friends and family. I hope there aren’t any children reading this. The shock might be too great for them.

Mom sits in a pew with Rachel and Sarah, looking oh so coordinated and lovely.

In the midst of my hardships, I’m hobbling along as best I can. It’s important to keep the readers happy and I’m willing to do what it takes. Right now it takes some creativity, a USB memory key and access to another computer.

Cousin Chase and Uncle Dan flash big grins for the camera.

I’m here for you all. Don’t despair. I won’t even mention the tragedy that happened tonight when Dad and I took the children to a fantastic park nearby and I, horror of all horrors, forgot my camera. Sigh. It didn’t help that my father kept saying, “Boy, this would be a perfect blog picture,” as the kids ran up and down the grassy knolls, oohed and ahhed over baby ducks and took turns on the zip line.

Rachel gets a hug from her new aunt, the gorgeous bride herself.

We won’t even talk about it. I’ll stick to stunning wedding pictures. Much more satisfying than any old baby ducks. Sniff. Thankfully, most people will skim over my fussing, not really bothering to read the blog itself, and just enjoy the happy family shots.

Sarah and Aunt Jenn pose for one last picture before the day ends.

Until next time. May you be surrounded by friends and family who love you and computers that blog along speedily.

Kathy
Project 365 - Day 174