Aaralynne's B-day Party

Today was Aaralynne's Birthday party and it was pretty busy in my mom's house. I nicknamed her house The Dollhouse because it's cute, but small. It is perfect for my mom and Aarralynne, but on days like today, it's a bit snug. But all the better for getting to know everyone and playing together! I think that every child was told at least once, "give that back" or "leave her/him alone". Well, except Glenn. He, however, did get to sit on Aaralynne's lap when she decided to pick him up. It was cute, but made my heart race a little. :) Genny had her hair in pigtails for all of five minutes before she took them out and exclaimed "no hair ties" when I tried to put them back in. *sigh* Ok then, I guess you'll have a mullet hairdoo.

It's so nice to be in my mom's house. There are so many pictures and items that remind me of happy times. Plus now that it's Christmas, her house emulates the season.

Fundraising Walk

I have decided to do a Fundraising Walk to help a little boy who can't help himself. It will be on New Years Day, and I haven't decided how far I can make it in the cold Northern Michigan weather yet, but any suggestions will be weighed!

Dan and Emily have a son (step-son to Emily, biological to Dan) and he needs our help. He's caught in a situation that no child should be in, yet some find themselves in. His home life has been woven with abuse, neglect, and the death of his older brother (which he witnessed). The extremely unfortunate thing is that the court system sides with his mother. This is a wonderful normalcy in most courthouses, since (in most circumstances) the mother is the best choice when deciding which parent to place the child[ren with]. But sometimes mother's don't deserve the title they hold, and this is one of those situations. Dan and Emily have fought tooth and nail for custody of Dylan, and have racked up a sizable debt in the journey. They can't appeal until they chip away that debt and until then, -scratch that, until they have Dylan safe in their home- they can't rest. They have sent out a plea to their friends and family to donate as much or as little as they can, and I'm taking this plea and bringing it to my friends and family. I can't imagine neglecting my children, or claiming they're liars when they confess abuse. Children deserve to be loved in a safe, happy home.

We donate to charities all the time, not seeing the effect the money has on it's cause. Granted, this is not a tax-deductable donation. But this is a cause with a face, with a story. This is a chance for us to try to right the wrong, to fix the broken, to heal the wounded.

Please leave me a comment on this blog or on my facebook wall if you are able to donate even a small amount. They have $20,000.00 of lawyers fees to pay down and every dollar helps get them closer to fighting again for Dylan's safety. Dan and Emily are frugal in every sense trying to pay this down to fight for Dylan. Again, this isn't a case of credit card debt or flashy vacations when you can't afford one. This is a mother and a father trying to give their child a fighting chance of a normal childhood even after all of these horrible things have happened to him.

If you are unable to donate, (or even if you are) prayers are such a blessing at this time to help the family.

Here is the link to Dan and Emily's blog:

A Kitchen For Genny

After a day of living here at Christine's house, I realized that Genny needs a little more girl in her toy selection. She's done well using her imagination with construction cones as ice cream cones, and a cylindrical toy as a bottle. She did, however, need something a little more... I had thought about getting a few girly toys off craigslist, or checking out any garage sales in the area, but then something from Toy Story 3 made me think of making her a kitchen. In Toy Story 3, the boy uses boxes as space ships, stores, pretty much any large item. So I thought I could recreate the kitchen she has at home. With a cardboard box. It worked! She's used it several times since then, and baby Nickel loves to use it to climb on (much to the dismay of his mother).


This is just about the crudest kitchen you'll come across, but it does the job! (that's a microwave on top!)

This Little Girl

Misses her Daddy.




She just wanted to be next to Uncle Chris tonight and in the second picture she's twirling his hair.

She's been very interested in Uncle Chris lately, and it made me tear up tonight to think of what love she has for her father and how enamoured she will be with him when he comes home; I can see her emulating that with Chris.

Thank You, Cherry Republic

One of the best things about Traverse City (or northern Michigan) is it's cherries. We have Cherry Festival every year around Independence Day and sometime in the years I've left TC they've acquired a store dedicated to cherries and their goodness. Cherry Republic is a store downtown TC and it features a variety of cherry products. From their traditional dried cherries to their spicy cherry salsa, you can find a gift for anyone (unless they don't like cherries!). I found gifts for a few people, starting with my aunt Kathy who hosted Thanksgiving this year and graciously let myself and my two children stay with her for a few days while we were visiting. With the help of my sister, I chose a few items for her, including the cherry salsa (something I would never try/like).

In the mood for giving, I chose some dried cherries and cherry jam for someone back home [California] but have since opened them both, enjoying the cherryness of this trip. I will no doubt make another trip to Cherry Republic before I go home!

Thanksgiving

Since I'm here in MI this year for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to see my IN family, we [my mom, sister, brother in law and I] decided to venture the 300 miles south to Griffith, IN for Thanksgiving at my aunt Kathy's house. My aunt Karen usually hosts holidays, but she recently (a few weeks ago) moved to her retirement destination of Arizona. One of Karen's children (my cousin, Emily) was unable to join her family in Arizona for Thanksgiving due to a career change from History teacher to Movie Star Hairstylist because she had to work on Black Friday. [wink and smile to Emily] So we had one of the Karen clan present to celebrate with. Emily also stayed with Kathy, as well as Kathy's daughter and her boyfriend. In a three bedroom house, we were snug but it was wonderful at the same time. It's been years since I've been able to be with that side of the family for a holiday, and I am so happy and grateful I was able to.

It was a day of giving thanks, and even though none of us verbalized our thanks, it was present in our laughter and quiet listening when one of us was telling a what-I've-been-up-to story. My grandmother (Genny's namesake) made a duck, and we all had traditional Thanksgiving food as well.

Our hosts for the day

My brother Adam (I hadn't seen him since I was pregnant with Genny!)

The Great Wide Open [Backyard]

My sister's new house is a dream. Three levels (thanks to the Michigan's soil they have basements here) and it sits on an acre in Long Lake Township. The backyard is a giant half acre and is fenced in. I look out the living room and kitchen windows every day I'm here and I think, 'Wow, that's a great back yard." Not to say that my back yard isn't nice, we just need to do something to make it a place where we can play.