Post-updating

OK, I just discovered this pretty cool feature about blogging. It’s possible to post something in the past! So even though I am a couple of months past the day we celebrated Brooke’s birthday, I can publish my blog post on the date we celebrated it! Makes it look like I’m much more on the ball than I actually am.  :-D  I also published 4 book reviews for books I read in January and February. I’m trying to keep up on my book reviews, because I want to keep a log of books I’ve read. And typing up the reviews and remembering that I read them all in less than 2 months helps me to realize why my blogging slacked off so much in January and February.  Oh yeah … I was reading! I’m glad I can account for at least some of my time.  :-)  So, for those with sharp eyes, you may notice me back-dating a blog post or two. ;-) 

A few pictures of a little of what we’ve been up to lately …

Listening to Rachel learning her latest repertoire. My favorite would either be Chopin’s “Trois Nocturnes” or Beethoven’s “Sonata No. 9 in E Major”, 2nd movement. She’s been working hard on these, and the others and has really been diligent about practicing her scales every day. Sometimes, we even find ourselves humming along with the scales. Ha!

Comparing pictures of Grant and Mick taken at the age of 5 years, 9 months. Definitely some similarities!

And just a few weeks after that picture was taken, Grant has sprouted facial hair already! How time does fly.

Shhhhh…

Apparently my blog is asleep.

The other day, one of the girls told me I needed a schedule to make sure I update my blog regularly. :-) Then she told me it had been over a month since I’d updated it. What?!  I couldn’t believe it! But I checked and found I’d written nothing during the month of February.*  I know we did do things in February. Let’s see, there was a birthday celebrated, the Olympics watched, meals made, diapers changed, kids carted around, books read, dark chocolate consumed… Let’s see, what else? We did things as wonderful and momentous as meeting our newest niece/cousin, Elianna



and as mundane and boring as filing our taxes (no picture).

Yesterday, I was talking to Minda and she told me that she checks mine and Kelly’s blogs every day to see if we’ve posted anything new. So, this post is for you, Minda!  So far in March, I’ve already topped my posting total for February, so that makes me officially on a roll. I’ll see if I can’t get another post or two up before Easter. 

* I have recently discovered the ability to post blog updates in the past.  So now there are a few February posts. Still need to add one for Erica's birthday, but that is in the works.  :-)

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot


Very interesting story about a woman whose cancer cells ("HeLa") were grown in culture in the 1950s and have been used in a myriad of ways in science and medicine since then, and all without her family's consent. This is an ambitious book which covers decades and was written over the course of ten years. At times, I got a little lost in the details of the science of genetics and had to push my way through some chapters, but I still enjoyed learning about the unique and difficult story of Henrietta Lacks and her family.

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“The Perfect Storm” by Sebastian Junger

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very well-written story that pulled me very quickly. I knew practically nothing about the life of a modern commercial fisherman, so this book was a real education in that way. It gave me a tremendous amount of respect for the work they do and the constant challenges and dangers they face. It also gave me an incredible feeling of awe and respect for the power of the sea. Parts of the book went into more detail about boats and fishing than I cared to know, some of it I couldn't quite understand, but overall, it was a great book that skillfully told the true account of this sad story.

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Erica’s 14th

Dateline: February 12, 2014. The Midwest is locked in something the weather people are calling a “Polar Vortex.”

The days are short. The nights are bitter. The icicles are long.

Cabin Fever is setting in. People are considering drastic measures to survive.

They try to come up with new ways to stay warm.

But it may be too late; morale starts to drop and sinister ideas are formed. Is this the end?!

But what’s this? A birthday! A visit from Grandma and Grandpa! Gifts and good food! We’re saved! Hooray!

We feasted on a dinner of seafood and a chocolate birthday pie. And we laughed and toasted and celebrated another year with our child #3, Erica Danielle.

One of Grandma and Grandpa’s gift was a 14th-birthday doll figurine 

It wouldn’t be a birthday without books, and Erica got several, including the Sherlock Holmes mystery she’s looking at here.

It also wouldn’t be a birthday for Erica without a Reese’s heart!

And now, for a trip down Memory Lane. This was taken when Erica was about 3.

Here are a couple pictures of Erica from some vacations: Virginia Beach in 2003 and Pigeon Forge in 2004

Erica and cousin Kate when they were about 4. They’ve always been so close.

This was taken on Erica’s 8th birthday; I was about 6 months pregnant with Grant. :-)

This has always been one of my favorites. It was taken on the 4th of July when Erica was 6.

  

Erica holding Whiskers (I think).

From her 11th birthday:

I love these taken in 2010 with baby Trent, just before Erica turned 11.

 

Another favorite from last Fourth of July:

Happy 14th Birthday, Erica!!!

“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a difficult, fascinating read. Very well done and made me want to find out more about the people involved, including author Truman Capote. At the same time, it was such a sad, horrible crime against a completely innocent family that I can't read it a second time. That would be the only reason I won't read it again, and why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. A 5-star rating is for books I'd re-read. I definitely understand why it is a modern classic in the non-fiction novel genre. Masterfully written.

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Brooke’s 10th

Brooke’s birthday this year was sandwiched by snowstorms. In fact, we needed to reschedule the party due to snowstorms and extreme cold, all due to a “polar vortex” they called it. Obviously these extreme winter conditions did nothing to dampen Brooke’s enthusiasm. In fact, I could almost say there is NOTHING that will dampen Brooke’s enthusiasm. I often tell people she is a very happy-go-lucky girl.

One of the things Brooke asked for was a pair of cowboy boots.I wasn’t sure where to start looking for those, but Mick came through: he found this great pair in just her size at Rural King!  Yes, she was v-e-r-y excited. 

Here’s the funny story about these boots. I had asked one of the older girls to wrap the birthday gifts in our bedroom. Somehow, the boots got overlooked. When Mick got home, he found Brooke reading a book in our room, about a foot away from that box! HA! Obviously, she didn’t notice them and we were still able to surprise her.

And here’s the cowgirl heading off into the sunset on her pink “pony.”

Another funny story: it turns out that Mick brought the bike into the house a little bit too soon. Also, he might have overestimated Trent’s ability to keep a secret. While Brooke was waiting upstairs for her grand entrance, he brought the bike in from the garage and hid it under a blanket behind a chair in the living room – all while the other kids were watching with great excitement. Trent just had to tell somebody about the bike Daddy just brought in, so he ran up and told Brooke.  :-P  She was a good sport about it and showed proper excitement when she pulled the blanket off.  :-)

Ah yes, you can really see that blond tint to her hair in this shot. I clearly remember being the first thing I noticed about her when she was born. She looked like the others … but she’s BLOND!  :-D

This next picture was taken at the State Fair when she was 18 months old. The girls were sitting on bleachers set up for the purpose of watching a cow give birth. Brooke was just excited about getting to sit on the bleachers by herself.  :-D

 

 

Quite possibly my favorite picture of Brooke ever.  :-)