Christmas Eve Day - 2008

Dean took our 3 children and my sister's 3 children skiing today! The snow was gently drifting out of the sky most of the day and they were able to enjoy the fresh powder up on Granite Peak.

Pictured from left to right:
Allison, Elle, Caroline, Jack, Sam, Anna, Dean

In the meantime, I stayed home and cleaned and cooked :o) I will catch the slopes in the days to come!

Good News Of Great Joy!!

Actually....It's the "Good News of Greta Joy!" Our famiy's little miracle is finally here. She was born the morning of December 22 weighing 6lbs. 14 oz. Greta Joy is little sister to Grace Elizabeth. All babies are miracles, but some babies are a little more miraculous than others...and baby Greta is one of those incredible miracles! We were so excited to meet her before we had to leave the Christmas festivities in snowy Michigan. Congratulations to Aunt Deb, Uncle Matt and Big Sis' Grace!! We can't wait to get to know our little Greta :o)

The Apples of My Eye

disclaimer: proud mother is about to brag.....

SO...this is the first time in 7 years that I have been in charge of a Christmas music program. Although I am not a real music teacher yet, I was asked to take charge of teaching the 1st-8th graders the music for the church's Christmas Musical. Now, this isn't just any old production. We rehearsed most Sunday afternoons since October, had a full set of actors, soloists, scenery and props. To say I was stressed out about this production is an understatement, but that is not why I write this blog.

I write to you now to say that for the first time ever, I was able to direct a program with my own children involved. I'm used to watching everyone else's kids following my lead, but to look in the faces of the choir and see my own angel faces singing back just warmed my heart. AND...the cherry on the top...Elle was given a solo!! (NO..I did not have anything to do with that...I swear!) She was so cute and sang so perfectly in pitch, it was all I could do to keep the lump in my throat from taking over my directing abilities. To top it off...she loved the microphone. The audience of 500 did not phase her one bit, not either of the 2 nights we performed it. Sam also played the part of Jospeh (non-speaking role) and he also said a bible verse on microphone. Jack was in the preschool choir, and the cutest boy up there :o)

So I share with you now, a short 3 minute version of each child doing their role. As an unbiased blog writer (yeah, right) I recommend you take a minute to watch the Apples of my Eye :o)

http://www.viddler.com/explore/RogerB1/videos/8/

Just click on the above link and it will take you to the video!

A Boy and His Dog

Let me tell you a story...

There once was a boy and his dog. He loved this dog very, very much. The dog loved her boy just as much. One day, the boy layed his head lovingly on his dog. The boy felt sleepy as he layed on his dog and he found sweet dreams with his furry best friend. The dog continued to love her boy. The dog loved her boy until the heat from the boy became too much to bear(for this dog truly loves the snow!) So she left her boy to sleep alone. And although they rested alone, they continued to dream of each other, for nothing can come between a boy and his dog.

Season Opener

It's that time of year again! And I don't mean the Christmas season, although it is that time of year again too...but rather, It's Ski Season! Not to mention, there is NO SNOW right now :o) I love that about skiing...you don't need snow cuz they make it for you! Notice in the picture the white snowy ski hill with the background being all brown and autumn-like. It's really quite comical.

So how did it go, our first time on the runs since last March?? It's like we never stopped skiing! Sam and Elle are considerably faster already (my nieces will appreciate that!) and Jack is just incredible. This child never ceases to amaze me with his athleticism. He is a mere 4 1/2, and his first time skiing since last season he learns how to go down from the top of the Granite Peak ALL.BY.HIMSELF. Last year, he could go from the top, but he was hooked up to a harness (fondly known as the "leash") and Dean held the reigns as he bombed his way down the hill. By the end of our ski time today, he was turning, stopping, and avoiding other skiers with complete control as he made his way down from the top of the hill, all by himself. I had a lump in my throat as I watched my baby ski like such a big boy. He is still my baby, after all.

Needless to say, we had a blast, and we are looking forward to enjoying another ski season here in the northwoods!

No Longer Livn' in the Burbs - Part 2

I can't even count the ways life has changed for us since moving north 18 months ago. And one of those ways has much to do with living in our treehouse.

Gutting out our old fireplace and replacing it with a forced-air fireplace has done more for us than heat the house. It has turned my hubby (who, if you IL friends remember correctly...hated to mow the lawn!) YES - Dean...into a LUMBERJACK! My man loves to go into the woods to cut down trees! And not only does he cut them down, he splits the wood into nice burnable pieces, built his own trailer to haul the wood from the forest, admires his outdoor woodstacks on a daily basis, has cut enough wood to heat our home this winter and next winter, and has my children doing real chores!

Dean and Sam spent the whole day in the forest today cutting up fallen trees and came home with a whole trailer full of wood. Upon arrival, Dean also gathered Elle and Jack, who helped Sam stack all the wood you see in the picture above. That's right...my 3 children stacked every piece of wood you see in that picture! Dean did not help them as he was busy splitting the big pieces. I did not help them because, well, you know...I'm just that way....and it was cold out. Anyway, they worked for 3hours on that wood pile! They were so excited that they kept coming to get me to see how big the pile was getting :o)

And the rewards are amazing. It has been snowing lightly on and off for 24 hours, and we still haven't turned our furnace on. As a matter of fact, our furnace has not been on yet this fall! (except for the 2 weeks Dean was out of town on business and not here to maintain the fire) It's like the NienHouse challenge...how long can we go without turning on that gas-guzzling furnace? The fire you see in the picture was taken tonite, with the wood that Sam and Dean cut down today :o) It's a very typical scene in our home these days.

I often feel bad for not being more "green". But I am getting better at recycling, and we have replaced most of our lightbulbs with the energy effecient kind. And then I look at what Dean is trying (and really succeeding!) at doing with heating our home with wood, and I think of all the gas we WON'T be using this winter, and then I feel a little more "green" :o) More green for the environment, and more green in our pockets!

For the men out there who might be interested, Dean has cut and split 4 chords of wood. We have wood piles around the side of house, out in the woods by our house, and in our garage. It's quite amazing.

And nothing like living in the burbs!!!!!!

More Halloween PIcs

Here you will see our 2 Captain Jacks (Jack with his best friend, Caden...who really is like a brother to Jack as they spend every morning at school together and every afternoon together at each other's houses while his mother or I are substitute teaching...)

Here you will also see our 2 good Witches (Elle with her BFF Eden)

And you will also see Darth Vader with his daughter, Princess Leah (Sam and Erin, both in 3rd grade and trying to be good friends without getting teased about it!)

And then you will see the whole trick-or-treatin' crew! My gang with Beth's gang, with the cousins to Beth's gang too!

Happy Halloween!

This is the first time we have gone through a fun "holiday" for a second time here in our new town. (did that make sense?) As we have been here about a year and half now, we are starting to make memories for a 2nd time around....with phrases like "remember last year when we...?" It's so good to feel so at home.

So Darth Vader, the Good Witch, and Captain Jack trick-or-treated in our pseudo-neighborhood again this year. (My friend Beth, who lives in the same neighborhood as my sister, has a home in our 2nd neighborhood) Beth's kids...who went as Princess Leah, another Good Witch, and another Jack Sparrow, trick or treated with our kids and scoured every house in the neighborhood, coming home with way too much candy. The weather was perfectly warm for the last day in October, which made the evening even more fun.

All the kids already know what they want to dress up as next year ;o) And now the candy begging begins......

Our house Rule: Let them eat as much candy as they want for a whole week...then it's gone and the begging is done. The faster it is out of the house, the better!!!

Post-Military

"Cause I Can". It's a phrase commonly heard by Dean. But there was one thing he could never do....until now. Grow a Goatee. His military commintments wouldn't allow it, and it was the one thing he wanted to do once he became a retired Major. So if you'd ask him now...why are you growing a goatee???

He'd say "Cause I Can. Finally."

So.

It's been a while. I have pics to show, but they are all on Dean's computer, and Dean is out of town for business, so I guess you will just have to wait to see the pics of Dean with a goatee :o)

I've been subbing a bit. I was the high school art teacher for 3 days in a row. Let me tell ya....B-O-R-I-N-G. I took the job cuz I thought it'd be easy. Well, it was. Too easy. Kids come in, I take attendance, kids work on their art, do homework, try to sneak food, try to sneak a text, I stop them, watch the clock slowly tick by and then they leave....only to have another group come in and it's more of the same. It made me appreciate the excitement and non-stop of grade school kids. The day certainly goes faster in an elementary school. Next week I'll be a fifth grade teacher and a third grade teacher. I really do love subbing. I can pick my days and the jobs. And none of it comes home with me at night!

I have to take a class this weekend, the first of 5 classes this year. It's out of town, and I'm going by myself. I'm not scared to travel and stay alone, but it's just not they way I want to spend my weekend. Oh well, I'm an adult now. I have to realize that in the real world, we can't always do just what we want to do. whine whine whine whine whine

Well, until I get the pics off Dean's computer....I'll be seeing ya.

Vegas, Baby. We love it there. Our 5 day long date was just fabulous. The MGM hotel and casino with 90 degree weather, a gorgeous pool (make that 3 pools and a lazy river), dinners to die for, a show that is out of this world, and yes, a little POKER. Ok, like I said earlier, ALOT of poker :o) You win some, you lose more, but you have so much fun doing it!! Nothing beats sitting at the table, listening to the sound of chips clinking into the next pot, wondering what card the English tourist or annoying dude next to you has, while sipping on drinks on the house. Nothing. Nothing beats watching Dean put all his money in the pot only to see that the guy who bets against him has him beat....until the last card comes up to give Dean the "trip Jacks" he needs to win and take all the other guys money!! Nothing beats it.

On other fun notes, we saw the show "Le Reve". WOW. I can't even describe it to you, so I won't.

Have you ever had shrimp that melted in your mouth?? I hadn't had anything like that until we ate a place called "Simon's" (last pic shown was Dean sitting at the bar there) Again, you can't even describe it except it was out of this world!!!

Fun conversation:
Cab Driver: (to me) I like your sunglasses. What are they?? (as if they are some sort of brand name...)
Me: Ummmmm, I just got them at a store. They aren't anything. (how embarrassing)
Cabby: Well, I really like the sides of them....
(In the meantime, the cab, which is much like a minivan, stops. I pull on the handle and let myself out)
Cabby: How did she know how to do that door? No one ever figures it out.
Dean: She's a soccer mom.
Cabby: SHE'S a MOM???????
Dean: Yup. 3 kids.
Cabby: Does she....drive . a . minivan?????
Dean: You better believe it!! She's a soccer mom!!

So you see...I still got it :o) It doesn't come out often, but being in Vegas seems to bring it out. 40 is the new 30...so that makes me 25, right?????? :o)

In the pics, you will see Dean and I in front of our hotel (MGM)... Me inside of the Wynn hotel and casino (fancy schmancy) ....and the 2 of us on top of the Palms at the GhostBar, overlooking the strip at night. We won't be back for another couple years, but we have some great memories.

"You can't lose with the stuff I use". quote by annoying drunk smelly guy while playing poker...spoken at least 30 times in 20 minutes. no lie.

Away We Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Vegas, Baby!! Tomorrow, Dean and I take our bi-annual trip to the grand city of Las Vegas. We board our plane at 7am only to return late Thursday evening. No kids, no dog, no leaves to rake, no homework to get done, no meetings to go to, no classes to teach for someone else, nothin'. Nothin' but 90 degree days, reading books, evening shows ...and, well, maybe a little Poker. Ok, maybe a little more than a little. BUT, it's our entertainment money, and once the set amount is lost, we are done. It's really just one big 5 day long date. The challenge is to get through dinner without talking about the kids :o)

Speaking of the little devils, they are staying home with their MI grandparents visitng and their Wausau grandparents close by to help out if needed. All is well. I'll be back later in the week....with pics :o) Until then.....I'll put a nickel in the slot machine for ya!

Sisterly Love

Grindey had the opportunity to play with her litter-mate sister, Kuken. It was so fun to see the 2 dogs together. One will never know if they recognized each other, but they were certainly equally playful and excited. FYI, Grindey has the thin white blaze on her head and Kuken has the wider one.

New Beginnings

It's been a big week for us. For starters, the kids began their new school year. I absolutely cannot believe that I have a THIRD GRADER in the house!!! When I taught at Lincoln, 3rd graders were at the top of the food chain and I was only pregnant with Sam back then. It baffles me to think he is that old. And Elle is in first grade, but thinks she's in high school. Every day she wants to look "fashionable". Don't ask. And Jack....he's in pre-kindergarten, everyday all morning long. He loves being at the same school as his older sibs, and I love him there too :o)

In other news this week, I had an interview to begin my substitute teaching, and was accepted. I could start as early as next week. Yikes!! How to be a teacher and a mom is yet to be determined, but I have good feelings about it. I am ready to be in front of the troops again, and after going through all my old teacher stuff, I even feel excited. Who knew???

And last, but definately NOT least...Dean has his last drill this weekend. Ever. He has served 20 faithful years to his country in the Army National Guard and now his time to retire has come. When he leaves Fort McCoy on Sunday, he will not return. God has been so good to us. His entire battalion deploys to Iraq in March, and Dean would be one of them had his retirement not come perfectly this September. Thank you, Dean, for serving your country in ways the rest of us just take for granted. Thank you, God, for letting Dean serve his country here on U.S. soil.

As for our new beginnings...onward we move.

Never Forget Where You Came From

My grandma is 94. Almost 2 years ago, she suffered from a bad stroke leaving the left side of her body paralyzed. She is ready to go to heaven, but for some reason, God is keeping her here. She is a strong woman, and someone I hope to be like someday. Everyone who knows her, loves her. We cherish our times with her now, even if they are short. I had the privelage of visiting with her again this past Saturday, and sharing her with my children. She will be leaving an awesome legacy someday.

Summer Fun!!!

Believe it or not, we did do other activities this summer besides decorating! The kids and I spent countless hours at the pool, and I watched Elle turn into a little swimmer and Jack, well, you just have to be there to understand. The child does backward and frontward sommersaults in the water, perfectly round. He "swims like Michael Phelps" (so I'm told) as he propels himself 6 feet across flayling his arms all over as though he were doing the front crawl. And then there is the countless "hand stands" (again, so I'm told). The pool was warm and great fun. It closes on Friday. It's a very sad thing.

The pics you see here were taken at the sprinkler park. Gramps B took them there while I was at the dentist. Enjoy!!! I love summer.

The New TreeHouse Fireplace!!!

Eat your heart out, Trading Spaces!! Welcome to the new and improved great room at the treehouse!!

For your viewing enjoyment, please notice the first picture is of the new fireplace, followed by 3 BEFORE pictures, followed by all the wonderful AFTER pictures. Please notice the new carpet, the take down of the walls that separate the kitchen and living room, the stone half walls that replaced them, and the new paint colors in both rooms. Also, there is no longer an ugly white and brass ceiling fan, and the brass can lights have been painted black. The last picture of Elle showcases the fireplace insert.

Dean is making the first fire tonite. I can hardly wait.

Comments welcome :o)

Did you know...........?????

.....that when you rip up carpet, you not only rip up the carpet and padding, but EVERY.SINGLE.STAPLE needs to be pulled up as well????????

I didn't know that. Now I know.

It's finally OUR house!

I apologize if you are sick of reading blogs about the renovations to my house, but since it's my blog filled with stories from my life, I guess you must just deal with it.

Truthfully, house projects are all that's been happening in my life lately...so read on.

Yes, it is finally feeling like my house. How can that be, you may wonder?? It's true, I've been painting rooms of the house all year long...whittling away at the pink, mauve, peach, navy, more pink, darker mauve and even the IrishSpring Green walls that greeted us here when we moved in. BUT our main living area (kitchen and fireplace room) have remained pink (i.e. UGLY) until now. With the take down of some walls, the gutting of a fireplace, and now new paint in all the rooms, I can finally feel at home in my kitchen and new great room! I literally spent all weekend painting the kitchen, and it was so worth it. It's definately not a "Joel line" across the ceiling, but I don't know if anyone can ever match that. It still looks good enough for me, and I'm the one that lives here :o)

SO...this is my last housing post until the big post coming August 12...Befores and Afters of the whole shootin' match! You seriously won't believe it's the same house!!!!

Construction Update, Part II

I've been getting a lot of questions about when I'm going to blog OUR NEW FIREPLACE :o) Yes, that's right. It's finished!! Along with the new half walls. All real stone looking quite tuscan/european. I can't wait to show it all to you....BUT...I'm waiting patiently for the new carpet to go in on August 11! In the meantime, I have already painted the new living room and am currently dreading the kitchen that is looming in front of me. By August 11, everything should be painted, new carpet, new light fixtures...everything but new furniture. Then I will show you. I promise!!! Until then...paint on.

(Joel...I need you!!!!)

TreeHouse Life

Life in our new home is so different from our last home. Here we have so many trees that every window you look out of looks like we are perched in a tree (hence the blog name). Here we have a firepit made out of rocks we found on our own land. Here we have an apple tree. Here we have deer and rabbits that like to eat our apples and other such landscaping. Here we have wild turkeys that flock the yard in groups of 10 or 15. And here we have blackberries and raspberries! I don't grow a real garden (yet, or maybe never) but my children can go and pick enough blackberries to make a pie, jam, or blackberry shakes! And that is just what they did! The other night, Dean and the kids made blackberry shakes out of the freshly picked berries found right in our backyard. Too Fun!

Construction Update

The stone is coming! The stone is coming!!

Tonite, Dean is driving 2 hours to pick up the stone for our new fireplace. On Wednesday, Mr. Contractor is coming to begin putting the stone on our new fireplace and half walls. The carpet samples are abiding and the paint swatches are getting ready to be taped to the wall. I can hardly wait!

Chiropractors: Skeptic or Believer???

Dean and I come from a very medical family. My sister is a nurse, and now runs the NICU at the local hospital. Dean has 2 sisters who were oncology nurses, and a brother-in-law who is a podiatrist. We are firm believers in the medical advances that have been made and the great care that comes from medical doctors.

But we have always been curious about the natural care given by chiropractors (against my family's better wishes!) We even spent a time under chiropractic care when Elle was 1 1/2 and I was pregnant with Jack in hopes of curing Elle's ear infections and taking away my pregnancy back pain. Eventually, the cost was just too high and we had to quit our appointments. Many insurances don't view chiropractic care as "valid medical care" and they won't cover any of the cost.

Today, my eyes have been officially opened to the real validity of such care....so let me tell you a little story....

About 4 months ago, my neck went out. Badly. I couldn't even turn my head. Dean called some friends of ours from church who own a chiropractic business and I found myself being adjusted the next day. A few days later, Elle was complaining of yet another ear ache, and instead of bringing her to her pediatrician for more anti-biotics, I went to take her to see Dr. Baker, a pediatric chiropractor. Dr. Baker checked her ears, but more importantly, noticed one of Elle's shoulders was higher than the other. This lead us to the Xray room where we found out that my little 5 year old was already showing signs of scoliosis! Her little spine was already quite visibly curved. Holding back the tears with a huge lump in my throat, I vowed that we would do whatever it takes to cure her of this before she reached the age of back braces and surgery.

Twice a week, then once a week...we made our appointments for Elle's adjustments. Three months later, we took new Xrays of her back. The proof is in the pudding, people. HER SPINE IS STRAIGHT! I couldn't believe my eyes. All those little clicks on her back, which truthfully seemed like it was doing nothing, moved her spine back into place!! She will need adjustments her whole life to maintain this genetic disposition, but those adjustments will be once a month, or even once every 3 months. Surely beats back braces and surgery!!!

When I think of how bad this could have gotten had we not had her checked out, I am just so thankful to God that my neck went out that day or we never would have started our chiropractic journey once again. I wish I could post the before and after pics of her Xrays. You wouldn't believe your eyes either!!

(side note: Dean's Wausau insurance DOES cover some of this care. Thank you, God!)

Top Ten Things We Do With Our Cherished Visitors

Since moving to Wausau, we have discovered the many different facets to living in central Wisconsin. Although we love it here, we also dearly miss all of our friends and family from out of state. Therefore, we love visitors!! And when our friends visit, we like to share all of our favorite pieces of Wausau with them. Having just had another great summer weekend with beloved visitors, I have been contemplating all the actvities we have shared so far....in hopes of maybe enticing (sp?) more of our missed friends to come visit!!

Here is my list of the top 10 things we like to do when people spend a weekend at the TreeHouse:

10) Fun in the Tub. The hot tub, that is. And that's mostly a kid activity :o)

9) Watch the National Kayak Races! That's right, the nationals take place right here in our city.

8) Listen to a Concert in the Clouds. 4 times a summer, there are free concerts on the top of Rib Mountain. We haven't gone to one with guests yet, but it's only cuz we haven't had any on those weekends.

7) Listen to a Concert in the Park. Also a free concert, but located in historic downtown Wausau's central park square. Those of you who know and love Ravinia will find this very fun.

6) Sam's Pizza. A hometown favorite. We love taking visitors here. Parents eat while kids play!

5) Eat at our newest restaurant, The Red Eye Brewery. Urban atmosphere. Urban food. Very green and very delicious. Unlike any other restaurant in Wausau. Much like most restaurants in Chicago :o)

4) Go mountain biking. I've never done this but Dean has gone several times with Sam and various other guys. Everyone who goes just loves it.

3) Walk up to the top of Rib Mountain. This hike is great excersise, and quite scenic for the outdoorsy type. Dogs are welcome on this excursion! (as seen in above picture, taken just this weekend on our hike up the mountain!)

2) Visit the top of Rib Mountain (by car). A fun place to see the whole city from 1000 feet up. A fun place for kids to climb on the glacier rocks while the moms freak out that the kids are going to fall and crack their skull. (it's never happened, thank goodness!) For those who really love heights, you can climb 4 stories higher up the tower to really see central WI for miles and miles.

And our most favorite thing to do with our many guests........

1) Downhill skiing!!

(note on pic of Jack sleeping...the kid sleeps in the strangest places....I just had to share this pic taken by Cari this weekend....)

Where we were a year ago

...as Dean and I celebrated 12 years of marraige today, I found myself reading last year's blogs. Blogs about selling our home in McHenry and living in a 2 bedroom apartment with the unknown looming in front of us. To look back to last summer and to see where we are now is to see how truly we have been blessed. Our home sold just in time to get us into our new home a week before Sam and Elle started school. Within this year, we have had a blast redecorating our new pad (mostly just new paint with some other fun projects), the kids got completely settled into their new school and have made some wonderful friends, Dean and I have made some great friends as well, we have gotten highly involved in our new church, we obtained a new pet for the family, and we learned how to downhill ski! It just amazes me as each year passes how quickly the time flies and yet so much seems to happen in that year. Just goes to prove, never take life for granted, and always have faith that everything happens for a reason. We still can't believe we are actually living here!

To highlight the "should have been written but never were" blogs of summer thus far:

*Friends from IL visited. We had such a great time with them. I actually went through a day of withdrawl after they left.
*The kids attended "College for Kids" at the local university. Fun for them, lots of carpooling for me.
*Renovations continue as the wall is torn down, the fireplace is installed and we are awaiting the stone for the fireplace.
*The fourth of July found us in Tomahawk visitng our friends' family's house on the lake. Pontoon boating all day, sunburns all-around, and water-skiing for the kids (even Jack!!) The day ended with fireworks on the lake and sleeping children in the boat :o) What a perfect day!
*Elle has begun her birthday celebrations...can you believe she is almost 6!! I certainly can't. We had our family party with Caroline and Elle sharing their July birthday celebration (as pictured above).

Last summer we had no friends and didn't know what to do with ourselves all day long. This summer we are so busy I can't even get the laundry done. It's a great feeling to be settled. It's great to feel so at home. Life is good.

Another Major Milestone

OK...maybe this isn't a milestone for Elle as much as it is one for me!! I can't believe I let her get her curly locks cut off. OK...maybe her locks weren't that curly anymore, and maybe thost locks were full of old split ends, and maybe her hair looks cute and spunky and healthy now....but it is still cut off. Sigh.

Luckily, she's pretty darn cute anyway.

Busy Busy Busy

Even though we are 3 weeks into summer, I feel busier than when school was in.

Week 1: Remodel began. See posts below.
Week 2: Recover from remodel, followed by 5 day trip to MI to include camping and canoing with Dean's parents and relatives. (notice pictures)
Week 3: Recover from trip to MI while carpooling loads of children to College for Kids all morning long. Also, painted the 1/2 bathroom, and got ready for company this weekend.

I am waiting for a summer day where I don't have to wake my children in the morning, clean, paint, or run children around to activities....except maybe to the pool for an afternoon of sun and splash :o)