Glory

I was standing at the window THIS even colder morning (see yesterday's entry), watching the warm lights of Tim's car pull away into the gloom with my three kids and their kind father snug and warm inside, and I noticed that on one particular house about about two blocks away, it looked as though their windows were lit with a soft pink light that stood out in lovely contrast to the greys and indigos everywhere else. My eyes couldn't make sense of it; I wondered what sort of indoor Christmas lighting they could possible have to make their whole house light up so beautifully, so delicately. Then I realized it must be a reflection of something, and indeed it was! I turned around and saw out the back of our house that the low opposite horizon was glowing with a small but magnificent stream of molten colors. It was lovely! I, in my fluffy robe, mug in hand, sat on the couch so that the brightest point was centered on the center window, and I gazed. What started as a magma colored line quickly spread along the horizon line and spilled the most beautiful corals and fuschias and pinkish purples you could ever hope to see. I wanted to swim in it! I gazed and watched it take over the whole southeastern sky until all the pre-dawn gloomy colors and blacks were simply beautiful foils for its brilliance.

I wanted to sit there all day, but since actual sunrise was still a way off, I couldn't. But what a God-glorifying show it was. I am so grateful that He caught my attention with the soft reflection of his handiwork on a faraway window, and I was struck with how the gloomy and hard things in this world serve to point us to the light of God. It is in the dark times that the hope He offers is the most dear to our hearts and most clearly reflected.

One More Use for Candy Canes

I always kiss my kids goodnight on the lips when I tuck them in because I love them and because I can tell if they've brushed their teeth. Timmy pulled a new one on me this week, though. Turns out he had a bunch of candy canes stashed in his bed....I happened to catch him sucking on one under the covers. Minty fresh breath accomplished! Oddly he did not see the problem with this! It's the perfect case of the misbegotten idea: "The ends justifies the means." And he's the only one who had cavities this year....hmmm.....

It's already started

Remember, she's three.
This conversation took place this morning as we were getting ready to leave for church.

Lily: "Mom, are you wearing that vest to Bible Study?!"

Me: "Yes."

Lily: "Oh no."

Me: "Why? Don't you like this vest?"

Lily: "I like the vest. Just...(pause while she thinks how to word it...) ...it's not too good on you."

In hindsight, it's the "Oh no" that gets me...sort of like she saw this coming. Incidentally, it's a beige vest which I wore over a brown turtle neck with jeans. It's not worthy of an "oh no!" Go figure.

92!

I don't believe this. I just counted, and I have 92 mateless socks in my orphan sock basket....and I just went through it and matched, so I know there are no pairs in there. Can you believe that????

Product Review: Mashed Potatoes

Three cheers for those refrigerated mashed potatoes you find in the dairy aisle! With a little doctoring up, I can't tell the difference from homemade from scratch potatoes. While they obviously cost a little more than if you started with a bag of spuds, they aren't the thing that's going to break your budget and you won't end up with half a bag of rotten potatoes that you didn't use....They are often on sale as well, which is when I tend to buy them, but with the holiday coming up, here's a quick shortcut on a sidedish that will certainly be admired.

For my family of 7:

Take 2 packages of the mashed potatoes and put them in a deep casserole dish. Throw in cream cheese, butter :) and sour cream to taste (I use one block of cream cheese, half a stick of butter :) and no sour cream because my kids don't like it too tangy.) Microwave it until it's all nice and hot and the extras are melted. Stir until blended. Top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese melts and browns and the potatoes are piping hot. Done! No peeling involved unless you count peeling the cellophane back from the potatoes. So good!

Attention! Existence of Parallel Universe(s) Proven!!!

Yes! Just released to the associated press.! It is true! Evidence of at least one parallel universe has been discovered at a private residence in a quiet St. Paul suburb!

The primary proof of this parallel universe is the lowly sock. It seems that the membrane separating our universe with a parallel one, (hereafter referred to as P.U.) has holes in it that allow socks to slip out of one reality and into another. However, once a sock is through, the membrane repairs itself in some manner as to prevent the mate of that sock from following. That is the reason that puzzled housewives everywhere wonder at the statistically absurd number of mateless foot apparel in their laundry baskets.

However, there sometimes occurs an as of yet unexplained phenomenon where a small percentage of the socks are catapulted from the P.U. back into our universe! We know this because they inexplicably "appear" in the back yard in no apparent pattern. Scientists are also following other trends of rogue socks, as these mysterious items are called, reappearing in flower pots, light fixtures and behind television sets. Theories as to electromagnetic forces affecting their re-entry are still being formulated at the time of this writing.

Socks are by no means the only objects prone to intra-universal travel. Other common items which routinely disappear from our universe, and thus must reappear in another, include but are not limited to the following: batteries, kitchen shears, fingernail clippers, chap stick, rolls of duct tape and finer writing utensils. Homemakers have long wondered why it seems that no matter how many of these items they buy, there never seems to be any when they are needed. Now we have the answer! Whether there is a separate universe for each of these items or just one universe for them all remains for speculation, but interesting observations are continuing to be made.

It is also notable that the Reverse P.U. effect is also to be observed with some specific items. In this schema, we are the P.U. and items are showing up in our universe with regularity. No matter what the average person does to get rid of these objects, there always seems to be MORE! The list is currently incomplete, but observations are being done on stuffed animals, fast food type toys, half drunk water bottles and hair binders. Techniques to send these unwanted items back to the universes from whence they came have been unsuccessful, and the state of the art recommendations are to have regular garage sales and garbage pickups.

If your household experiences a large number of P.U. phenomenons, you may want to explain to all of the members how your mood swings are connected to these occurrences and enlist their help in controlling the situation. Perhaps, with proper funding, these disconcerting episodes can somehow be controlled, but until then we continue to be amazed at how so much can get so lost.

No title

Ha ha ha. I have to laugh. God is still good, but about an hour ago, Lily threw up on the ivory colored center medallion of the one and only expensive wool oriental rug we own. I've thought about it, and I'm pretty certain that that spot is THE most expensive square foot in our whole house....maybe the piano keyboard would be more, but otherwise, she picked the best!

God's Good

Aaaaahhh, I'm frustrated because I seem to have NO TIME. But there have been so many ways that God has been merciful and good to us this week, and I just feel that I have to give him thanks! God has provided some lovely, Christ-following friends for Katie who rallied around her last week when her face exploded in a horrible skin reaction caused by a virus. God has helped me through an incredibly busy couple of days, and even provided an afternoon of childcare for Lily (thanks Lisa!) which I didn't expect but don't know how I would have done without. We've had good conversations...two sided and everything, with the older boys, and it feels so wonderful to have open communication with them. He has protected our health amidst sickness. He provided a fabulous conference for me to go to that provided me with tons of encouragement and new ideas....and I thought I was just going for the fellowship...and He gave me that too! I feel like I am a lot more connected with the younger women at church now. Wow...so many blessings...God is good, and I just wanted to say it!

"That's Where I Lost It!:

Lily: "MOM! I lost my nuk!" (begins ticking off on fingers...with attitude): "I had my nuk on Monday. I had my nuk on Tuesday. I had my nuk on Wednesday. I had my nuk on Friday."

Me: "Wait! Didn't you have your nuk on Thursday? You forgot to say Thursday."

Lily: "That's where I lost it!"

(Note: This is why 3 1/2 year olds should not have pacifiers.)

Chicago Day Two and Three

Shedd Aquarium: Day Two

OK, I'd better finish this vacation blurb before I forget where we went or what we did! I'm going with the "picture is worth 1000 words" approach.

Here's Lily and the Giant Pumpkin...waiting to get into the aquarium.

Katie was absolutely riveted by all of the aquarium exhibits...she would have stayed for hours more. Timmy was engaged too. The older boys....

We all loved the 4-D show...I mostly loved seeing the kids in the glasses...so cute!

And here's Lily about 2:30 in the afternoon...Zach is beside her (but on a bench thankfully).

We shopped on Michegan Ave. at the Nike Town store, and then headed to Giordanno's for what the boys quickly named, "the best pizza ever." In this picture, Lily was told to smile pretty and show her teeth. MmmmHmmm.

Katie and Tim at Giordanno's. I love this picture.

Wheaton: Day 3


Katie, Sophie and Lily...coloring.

We enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing morning with Dan and Micah. The kids were so happy to be together that they practically took care of themselves. It was great.

We got to see both Sophie (on top here) and Emme play amazing soccer games! The cheering section was loud and rowdy, you can be sure!

Aunt Micah introduced us to the wonder of Dunkin' Donuts! And luckily, there's one on every block! We had some here, right before watching Josiah play a basketball game. It was so fun to get to see him play, and he did a great job!

And we had some (chocolate donut) HERE, on our way out of town after attending College Church (where Tim and I were married back in 1991) on Sunday morning. Zach is saying "Enough with the camera...help me here!"

We had a great little trip, lots of fun memories, and it only took me about a week to get the suitcases unpacked and the clothes washed, so that's pretty good. There's a lot more to do in Chicago, of course, but I think we had a good taste and certainly had a good time together.

Chicago! Day One

We took a four day vacation to Chicago over the MEA weekend last week. It was terrific! We left Wednesday from Andrew's LAST football game in South St. Paul (a searing loss to be sure) and arrived in the windy city about 12:30 am! As usual, I got the graveyard shift, and thus found myself driving the streets of Chicago, an experience I'd clearly stated I never wanted to have! But it was a good thing that I did, because I got the lay of the land around our hotel (Embassy Suites), which served me in good stead the next day since I ended up driving (in crazy lunchhour traffic) then too. Never say never! We enjoyed a fabulous breakfast just the kids and I, while Tim went to his CLE classes on Thursday. The kids really enjoyed the abundant breakfast buffet and cook to order options and ate so much and so well...it was fun to watch. It was great just to be together in a pretty setting and on vacation!


















After breakfast, we hopped in the car and drove about 15 minutes to the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park. I thought it was a cheaper deal than some of the other museums, but the truth is it was the same because we had to pay extra for the imax shows and to tour the
















submarine, so by the time that was all done, it was all about the same. But we enjoyed it nonetheless, especially the German WWII submarine and the mirror maze. There was also fun with the dry ice vapors as you can see. Ya gotta love dry ice. Since I had forgotten to pack a stroller and had been too cheap to rent one, we also had a very exciting time keeping track of Lily. The older kids were tremendously helpful; it's not easy moving as a group through a museum like that because everybody wants to spend time at different spots.

Having got there when it opened, by noon we were ready for some r and r. We went back to the hotel (a harrowing lunch hour trip), snacked for lunch, and then while the boys hung out and waited for Tim to get back, Katie, Lily and I took off on foot to meet Joy,a roommate of mine from college whom I haven't seen for 15 years, and her four girls at...you guessed it..
The American Girl Store!!



It was so much fun to get to watch all the girls enjoy putting their "wish lists" together. Katie had brought her savings along, so she opted to buy the Samantha doll since that doll will soon be "sent to the archives" which I think is a perfectly horrible sounding way to say that they are going to stop making her. It sounds like they are locking her in the attic or something.

Joy and I visited as best we could while keeping the six kids in one place more or less...the worst was Lily, of course, especially in the Bitty Baby section. She brought her Bitty Baby, which she calls "Baby Baby" with her
















in a carrying pack, and I didn't think we were going to get her out of the store! The stroller with the twins in it which you see her pushing here is now number one on her Christmas list. She was pushing it around like it was her own. They certainly know what they are doing in that store...it's a marketing extravaganza to be sure. We ended up leaving with only a Felicity movie because I think the first doll I will buy Lily (not at this age, though) is Felicity. For now, though, I think I'll get her some of her own Bitty Baby clothes since all the ones we have are Katie's and she keeps them all organized and nice.







Then we all took off for Navy Pier where we met up with the boys who'd spent the latter part of the afternoon putt putting. We walked around, rode rides, and enjoyed the fresh air with Joy and her family. A beautiful day!









Ed Debevicks for dinner, where Timmy was nicknamed "Little Nerd" by the waiter. Zach took the name "Big Nerd" so that Timmy wouldn't feel singled out. The food was awful, the bill was high, but the memories are great!














My favorite 15 year old.














No explanation needed.
And that was the first day.

Move'm Up Move'm Out!

Ta Da!!! The boys have officially moved down to the basement!!!...we aren't done with everything yet, by any means, but there's carpet and light fixtures and plumbing, so there they go, leaving a trail of debris behind them! I spent the week in Kohls, and a lot of money as well, setting up their beds and getting everything looking nice. We still need to find desks and artwork, but we've made significant progress. Zach now has a queen size bed instead of the small twin he's been cramming himself into for the last few years.. It fit him fine when we got it, but if you've seen Zach lately...we bought a full size for him, but took it back still wrapped up when he laid down on it and hung over from his shins on! Anyway, he's pretty happy about the queen and says it's the most comfortable bed he's ever slept on!

They've slept down there for two nights, and I will say that Tim and I don't like it at all. They seem so far away; it makes me nervous, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

As soon as they were moved down, Katie was ready to boot Lily out, but I don't want to move Lily until I get her room (Andrew's old room) painted. Katie isn't happy, but she'll just have to be patient. I don't think Lily will want to sleep alone anyway.

Anyway that's the big (and boring) news around here, but I thought you'd like to know that a project that has been in the works for a year and a half has finally reached such a major milestone! Wahoo!

I'll upload pictures once it's all done.

Still Painting

If you are wondering why I'm not blogging much (not that anyone out there is), we are still working on the room redo for Katie, and we are about 3 weeks or so from moving two teenage boys out of rooms they've occupied since 2000, and down to new rooms in the basement. Lily will move into Andrew's old room. Everyone is getting a total cleanout and a new coat of paint. THIS IS NOT AN EASY THING. Katie wants, desperately, to keep EVERYTHING. You can't GET her to throw a thing away...not a note, not a sticker...nothing. Andrew WANTS to throw EVERYTHING away...yearbooks, artwork, photos... His idea of cleaning his closet out is to put it all in the trash. Zachary, so far, has just "taken to the hills" and won't deal with it. So I am prying things out of Katie's clutches, sifting through Andrew's trash for things I paid a lot of money for, and I can't find Zach anywhere. This has been my week. Plus laundry. Plus Bible Study. Plus Football and basketball and another broken dishwasher and light fixtures and rugs. So maybe someday, I'll get back to blogging, but for now...not so much.

Day of Rest???

Ya know...you get all upset about the little drips of paint in your life, but then some Sunday afternoon, somebody knocks the whole bucket of silver metallic paint on your white carpet....and you laugh...because what else are you going to do? Here's our white carpet, and here's about 1/2 a quart of metallic silver paint!

Somehow...I'm never sure how this happens....I found myself doing a room makeover for Katie this afternoon... this one is worthy of HGTV....we decided that along with "Key Lime Pie Green" walls, metallic silver would be just the thing for her three large pieces of furniture. "IT'S A DISASTER FAYE!!!! ("What About Bob") The paint was SO drippy, and transluscent-- I found out later when I read the can to see just how many coats it was going to take. We dripped everywhere, and I was having a heart attack each time...that was until "someone" whose room we were redoing, knocked over the can. There was nothing to do but laugh and put a basket over it so that we wouldn't step on it! The dresser was so bad that we ended up scraping off the half dried paint and trying again....this is what it looked like:


Like I said....not good. I told her we're only doing the dresser!

So then I moved on (while waiting for the umpteenth silver coat to dry) to painting the trim on all the walls. (I said thanks but no thanks to a bucket kicking assistant on this one.) So after a couple of hours of trimming, Katie came in and said she didn't like the color because it was too babyish! "Babyish," I said!!!! "NO NO NO...THIS color reminds me of lime sherbert...it's even CALLED KEY LIME PIE and I KNOW you LOVE KEY LIME PIE!"
"I DO!" she said...."I LOVE key lime pie!!! Mom can we make a key lime pie right now???"
Well, anyway, she decided she liked the color....and it is pretty yummy.

Meanwhile......

Andrew decided, since it's DUE tomorrow, that he'd better construct his water bottle rocket! So while I'm having the paint disaster, he keeps calling me in asking me how to build a water rocket!! (which I have NO idea about!) THEN he mentions he has a partner for this! This was great news, I thought! But when I suggested Andrew get his partner over here, he said that no, he'd told his partner ("Bo"), that he'd just take care of it!

"You mean you told your partner "Bo" that YOUR MOTHER would take care of it! NOT! "

"Come on Mom, just help me. It's easiest to just do it myself. I don't want to call "Bo"

Well, I left him at this point, and although he still doesn't get the concept of "PARTNER," he did put together a pretty nice rocket WITH a parachute! Here are the pictures of that!

And THEN, just because there wasn't enough chaos and because he felt like he should be doing something, Tim decided to rake out and CLEAN Timmy and Zach's disaster zone of a room.

All the while Lily coped with the circus by trying on all her swimsuits (despite the 60 degree temps) and trying very persistantly to get me to paint the walls purple instead of green!

I will be keeping you all updated on how Katie's room makeover turns out. And I have no idea how I'm going to solve the carpet problem, but I'll think of something...... At least it's not as bad as the time Zach was sleeping on Mari's floor (this was long ago), and threw up red kool-aid all over his pillow, flipped the pillow over and went back to sleep until morning! Some things are just funny every time you remember them!

Lily Rockin' and Rollin'

I took these of Lily tonight as she was listening to some Christian rock a la Zach's ipod.

A Picnic

Well, I'd had enough of football...I mean REALLY, they play it every evening, I wash football gear every morning, they manage their football fantasy teams almost daily...an activity that has rendered each and every pro football game in the entire country of sudden and dire importance....they play it on the Wii. I mean at this time of year, the males in our house have FOOTBALL on the brain...or for a brain...just kidding...but anyway...

I'd had enough. So yesterday morning before church I had Tim inform the members of our household that following the service, we would be going on a family hike and picnic at Katherine Abbot Park, and we would not be bringing the television set!! Now for you hikers out there...DON'T be calling us to go hiking with you...the Lindquist's are NOT hikers (just ask us about the Grand Canyon sometime). When it was mentioned that walking was going to be involved, the groans became louder and continued pretty much unabated all the way to church.
We had a good time, though. The weather was perfectly gorgeous! We walked about a whole 1/3 of a mile until we felt like we were really out in the wilderness, plunked down our picnic, ate, talked and napped in the sun. It was great. I highly recommend a Sunday afternoon picnic anytime you are able. Here are our pics, and if you happen to see a football shaped object in any of them, well, "you gotta...know when to fold'em."

TicTac

L: Here, Mom, here's a candy from the grocery store. It's for you! It's orangy, and it smells like orange!"

(Hands me an old tic tac...you know...the kind that isn't glossy anymore because it's really old and has been held in sweaty palms too long and dropped under a bed or somewhere.)

(long pause while I contemplate my options...)

L: "MOM, aren't you going to eat it? I got it for you!"

Me: "Well...I don't know if it's what I..."

L: "You'll really like it, Mom! It's SO delicious! Aren't you going to eat the candy I got for you?"

(she looks at me with big blue eyes...and watches me as I swallow hard and put the tic tac in my mouth.)

The proud smile on her face was worth whatever disease I get.

Wild Wings Can Be Expensive

Now...There just comes a time, when you know it's time. Yesterday, Tim and I bought our second television set in our seventeen years of marriage! We were contemplating running to BWW's for some "wings" to feed our hungry children during the Vikes game when suddenly it hit us that our fuzzy (and not at all flat-screened) 1991 television set-- with the chips in the glass circa A and Z's toddler years was ...well....it just was. So one of us (Tim or I, I'll let you guess) suggested that on the way to Buffalo Wild Wings, we should swing by Best Buy and avail ourselves of something more... well... more. Now the unique thing about us and our typical decision making process, is that we didn't think of this last weekend, say, or even a couple of hours before gametime. Nope, not our style! We got this major brain wave at about 6:00 p.m....exactly one hour before Vikings first game kickoff! We like pressure. So off we went, me trying to keep up with Tim (he was moving fast.)

Back then... Now the first television we bought back as newlyweds was also from Best Buy. That time we spent a leisurely half hour (holding hands) picking out just the right one...which is to say the one that they were out of stock in so we could offer to buy the floor model and talk them down in price. (I believe we saved $50.) We figured if it lasted a couple of years that would be great.

Back to now... Seventeen years and I don't even want to think about how many tv hours later...here we were again. This time, though, we didn't hold hands, we talked very fast, it was tons more complicated and I don't need to say more expensive. Long story short we were back at home at 6:50 with ten minutes until gametime to get it all going!!! You should have seen the scene! There were cables and cardboard, batteries and packing paper, remote controllers and antennas, and I suppose somewhere there were instructions! T was sliding down the hill on the big box before we realized it, so we were fairly committed to keeping it all! L was sobbing while clutching my leg, Tim was unpacking and I was hooking and unhooking cables as fast as I could! Z was cheering, K was asking questions and the clock was ticking!!! Did we make it in time for kickoff?.....

Nope. We got it all programmed somewhere mid first quarter, though, and standing amidst the boxes and plastic baggies and the multitude of irritating little twisty tie things scattered around, I looked at my family and thought how great it all is. It was a beautiful moment..until Z said, "Mom I'm so hungry!!! What's to eat?" We had forgotten the wings.

Just a Walk in the Park

After spending the last three days digging out the family debris of summer and painting a few walls in my spare time, the "mother guilt" alarm bells were clanging pretty loudly as far as little L was concerned. So this morning I put on my "good mother" hat and suggested a picnic in the park. It all went pretty well until we got to the front door to leave. :)

L pushed hard to wear the "BEEEAUUUTiful" collectible leather clogs that Nana had given to K and which she'd unearthed in K's closet, but I held firm that the park was no place for collectible footwear, and tennis shoes prevailed (worn with a conglomeration of various and sundry clothing items that L had chosen from her drawer plus a purse full of jewels (costume jewelry) which seems to be her latest obsession.)

I told her to hop in the car, and at this point she made it quite clear that she strongly wanted to ride her bike (a tricycle, actually, that has a handlebar behind it that an adult can push and steer.) Although I had reservations about appearing to give in, I conceded the point mostly because of the extra jiggle here and there that I've been noticing lately. Fitness first, right? It's a bit of a hike to the park anyway, but we made it longer by detouring to DQ (did I say "fitness"?) to get our lunch.

Upon walking into DQ, L immediately pointed to the green Arctic Rush and asked if she could have "that green drink." "Sure, no problem," I said. Then I asked her if she wanted a cheeseburger, hot dog or chicken strips. "Chicken strips," was the clear reply. The drink arrived, and her immediate response was, "Why isn't it purple?"
"Because you said you wanted a green one."
"But purple is my favorite color, you know."
"Well, you got green this time...taste it..it's delicious.
She grudgingly agreed.

We continued on to the park, and when she opened her food bag she excaimed, "Where's the cheeseburger with ketchup?
"You said chicken strips. I got you chicken strips just like you said!"
"But I LOOOOOVVVEEE cheeseburgers!!!!"
She tried to eat the chicken strips and fries, mainly because I threatened to haul her home immediately if she didn't, but they just wouldn't go down her throat. Nothing would...until I pulled my carefully chosen "Grilled Toast Ultimate BLT Specialty Sandwhich" out of the bag. That, apparantly, went down her throat just fine because she ate the whole thing, at least the whole middle part with all the good stuff in it. I got some crusts which still smelled like bacon and had a few dabs of mayo here and there. When I tried to take a nibble of her abandoned chicken strip, though, she told me that I couldn't eat her food. I told her to take a hike.


Well, she played, she swung, she bossed all the other little kids at the playground around, although to their credit they pretty much ignored her. Then it was time for the LONNNGG walk home, and L's legs were tired because even though I pushed her, she still had to pedal.
"Mom, do you see that car over there? There's nobody by it."
"Yes I see it."
"Can we take it? I don't want to walk home."
"That would be stealing, Lily! God doesn't want us to steal!"
"Oh...but, Mom, we NEED that car and it's all alone."
" The person it belongs to would come back from their walk and be sad because their car would be gone."
"They could come pick it up at our house. C'mon Mom!"

At this point I decided I needed a nap as much as she did, and we made it home without incident. L is now out cold in her bed with almost none of the usual protests, so I guess you could say that it was worth it.

Second Day of School

Everyone always makes a huge deal about the first day of school. There are the pictures by the tree and the cool school supplies and the brand new outfits chosen carefully the night before. The kids pop out of bed on the first day of school like they are on springs. You can feel the energy! They are perfectly groomed in record time; they even brush their teeth after breakfast without being reminded....BUT...THAT was yesterday.

TODAY was the SECOND day of school. On the second day of school, I have to "coax" them out of bed with a cattle prod. Throats are sore and noses stuffy. Clothes, though still important and often new, are a little less accessorized and certainly less color coordinated. Breakfast is a granola bar, and missing the bus is a serious possiblity. The bloom is off the rose. That is why nobody takes pictures the second day of school...unless you missed taking them on the first day and try to "recreate," but this is hardly ever successful. The happy, anticipatory faces are not to be found. No matter how great the first day might have gone, the second day arrives with a grind and a growl, and that's just the way it is.

For the Lindquist's, school is off to a GREAT start, despite a few "second day" dramas. All four kids are in brand new schools this year. T has moved over to O. H. Anderson, the 3rd through 5th grade building, and has the same teacher, Mrs. Anderson, whom A had and loved. K and Z are back at Mahtomedi Public Schools this fall after four years at Liberty. This is a huge change for them, but yesterday went smoothly, and the many choices for lunch (after years of "bagging it") were much appreciated. (K ate two lunches.) A is beginning his high school career at MHS, and between Honors English and Honors Football (just kidding), he's going to be busy to say the least. (He ate two lunches as well...what d'ya do?) L and I are home digging out the debris that is left by a whirlwind of a summer...I expect that that will take a few days if not weeks, but that too is just the way it is.

Best wishes and prayers to you as you leave summer behind and greet the Fall.

Hello!

Welcome to our blog! (That has to go on the list of things that you'd have never imagined saying 15 years ago.) Actually, this is my (Suzanne's) blog, since I'll be doing most, ok all, of the posting...anyway...welcome to what will hopefully be a glimpse into our family and our lives.