emily's shower

We celebrated together the upcoming marriage of Aaron and Emily.  Alissa and Kim hosted a wedding shower for Aaron's adorable fiance, Emily.

It was fun to meet Emily's mom, Lynette, from Northfield.  The guys went fishing for the day.

 Alissa planned some fun games . . .

This was a trivia quiz. . . "how well do you know the bride and groom".  I think I got 18 correct.  I missed favorite book, favorite soda, and favorite Christmas movie!

. . .  and a "price is right" game.  I did terrible on this game!

Kim's home is always so inviting and everything she hosts is wonderful.

The decorations were beautiful.

The cake was beautiful.

 . . . and the chocolate cupcakes were beautiful :)

Celebrating weddings and babies are wonderful opportunities to see people I don't get to see that often.  It was good to see Kim's mom and aunts.

 Henley got a fist full of chocolate cake as grandma Kim walked by with the plate full of cupcakes!

Time for presents!  Everyone (except me:)) included a favorite recipe with their gift.  I will have to mail Emily my recipe:)

 Grandma Irene hiding from the camera!

 Emily received so many nice gifts!

. . . LOVE this card:)

What a blessing Emily must be to Jeff and Kim.  What a gift she is to all of us.

graduation

It finally came.  Graduation day.  

Sam and Isaac took off for school... Sam's last day of school.  He looked at me in his rear view mirror and waved.  I felt the familiar lump in my throat and my eyes filled with tears. . .

A scene I wouldn't see again. . .

We made it to the Recognition Assembly.  Lots of awards. . . the tennis team was honored.

3-sport Senior athletes were honored.

And it begins.  I sat in the arena wondering how we got to this point.  It didn't feel real.  

Sam spotted us:)  

The band sounded awesome.  Isaac is in the middle playing his trumpet.

Each Senior handed Mr. Zutz a lego piece as they shook his hand.  The last student gave him the directions to a lego car that he would build with all the pieces he received :)

A congratulations hug from Mr. Reynolds. . .  Sam will miss him so much.

What a good feeling to see family all around you. . .

What did Sam call this?  photo-bombing??  haha!

Grandpa Don and Jo. . .

friends. . .

what would we do without Grandma. . .

. . . more friends

 what a great hug. . . I'm going to miss these kids so much.

. . . to quote Sam, "there is nothing like a gang of little boys". :)

. . . Sam's turn!

. . . Henley and Grandpa Jeff :)

blessed by their presence. . .

. . . good friends

“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”  -- Dr. Seuss

". . . create by relating deeply"

Love these ideas from Danielle's Blog. . . I highlighted the areas that strongly resonate with me:)

What’s your Creativity Pattern?

As artists (and we’re all artists) we have patterns of creating. A way that we typically make things happen. A style in which we pull ideas down from the ethers and put them into form. It takes a while to figure out what your pattern of creativity is. You need to have cranked out a few projects, raised a few babies, made a few flops and masterpieces to have something to ‘retrospect’ on.

Styles of creating, in no particular order, with no superiority to each other:

Pounds at possibilities like a stick on a piñata until it rains down candies of goodness.
Plods like an ox and patiently awaits the harvest.
Falls in love again and again with ideas and people and keeps falling in love every time.
Dances with harmony, always looking for the most beautiful solution and energetic alignment.
Moves mountains no matter what listening to heavy metal or Madam Butterfly cranked in the background.

Stops ‘n starts. Rushes in.
Studies. Awaits providence.
Sticks to the plan. Plans big. Has no plans.
Yields. Pushes. Paints it red. Sets it on fire.

As for me, I’m the fool who rushes into creative love. I create when I resonate. As Mumford & Sons puts it, “I will love with urgency, but not with haste.” I wait, I wait, I wait — patient as a cat in the sun — for the right collaborator, for the God Blessed Right Idea, and then BAM. It’s game on. Full on, right away, tight deadlines and all hands on deck. Run with the gold.

I’ve judged my Creativity Pattern over the years — and believe me, it’s been judged by my collaborators.Overly selective. Too impulsive. Too fast. I should have a five-year plan, and, you know, some goals. But everything great I’ve done shows evidence of the same rhythm. Selective impulsivity works for me in all kinds of ways.

I’ve polished my pattern over time. My launch dates are more humane. (Kinda.) I’m more patient. (Debatable.) But mostly, I’ve gotten clear that I create by relating deeply — deeply, with an idea, and with the people who can lift up those ideas. Like I said, Fool For Love and proud of it.

When you identify your Creativity Pattern you’ve got a very powerful opportunity: Change the way you get stuff done because it’s killing you, or keep mastering your tao of doing because it’s getting you beautiful results across the board.

There’s a pattern to what you’ve pulled off in the past. It wants to show you your way in the world.

prom 2013

our children

"It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless." -- L.R.Knost

coffee with Ben

There are a lot of good reasons to attend conferences, symposiums, and workshops.  Obvious reasons include continuing education, exposure to new ideas, exchanging stories, and affirmation of ideas.  Another good reason is seeing other therapists that I may only see once or twice a year. . . friends from college and past co-workers.

Another good reason to attend symposiums in Fargo is coffee with Ben.  After the first night of the symposium, I met Ben for supper. . . and then a drive. . .  and then coffee.  We shared a lemon tart in an adorable pastry shop downtown.  Being in his presence just makes me happy.  He is my son.  He is also a thoughtful and intuitive soul.  Conversations with Ben are meaningful and layered.  They often take time to unfold and are complex.  And we had time. . . and we took our time. . . and we talked. . . and we sat in silence. . . and we talked. . .  and we soaked up the energy created by the beauty of our surroundings and our conversation.

Being in his presence just makes me happy.

Asperger's

I just returned from a conference in Moorhead on social thinking.  This video was presented and I made sure I tracked it down when I got home so I could watch it again.   It's a short clip of a boy with Asperger's interviewing his mother.  It's a real interview and part of a series of videos, "StoryCorps", produced by NPR.   It's wonderful.