'77 Holst

While driving to the aiport in Chicago, my dad and I talked a little about our favorite memories over the Christmas holiday. He told me that his was waking up with the babies and watching them interact while the other "adults" slept in. I would have to say that this was a highlight for me as well (watching the babies, not sleeping in, although the latter is sorely missed these days and most appreciated). It was so wonderful to spend time with my entire family, and I always feel a little sad when we have to part ways. If Clara and Lucas were able to articulate what their favorite times over the holiday were, I'm guessing that they would have something to do with the car that my grandfather built for my older brother Jon in 1977. (It sounds like there is a twin out there that was built for Ben). The kids spent a majority of their time crawling in and out of this wonderful little car. Clara would get a serious look on her face as she placed the key in the ignition and turned it just like mom and dad. Next time we all get together it will be interesting to see if Clara has learned to share yet. :) 

Peter

So, in the effort to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas, we have again been going thru the "What Does God Want For Christmas?" manger scene. The quick explanation is it is a manger scene designed for children. Each day leading up to Christmas you open gift which is another player in the manger scene. The 7th day is a box with a mirror in it, answering the question, "What does God Want for Christmas" with an image of yourself. Each day has a story that  goes with it, and the little story at the end of each day points to the last box answering the most important question. Anyway, we have been building on that, letting the anticipation build, hoping that we are instilling in our children the true meaning of Christmas. After doing the 6th box tonight and talking about Jesus and why he came as a baby, I asked the boys "So, what do you think God wants for Christmas?" Isaiah just kind of looked at me like I was some kind of idiot and said "He's a baby all he wants is his pacifier." and Dominic quickly responded "no, he wants a 'mote contol monser twuck, just wike me." (translation "no, he wants a remote control monster truck just like me.") So, there you have it.  Hmmm.  Better luck next year. 

Actually Isaiah and I had a heart warming/tear-jerking (for me) talk later on about Jesus as a baby and Jesus on the cross. While all the dots might not be totally connected yet, he gets it. He gets that Jesus died for our sins, and that he is a sinner, that we all are sinners. It was one of those moments, in the midst of snow boots, stuffed animals, plastic snakes, dirty clothes and hot wheels cars, that I felt the Lord sitting next to Isaiah and I on the couch and He was even more touched by our conversation than I was. I hope as the next couple of days unfold into our Christmas celebrations that I can, in the midst of all the busyness, remember why and for whom we are celebrating. May the peace and life-giving truth of what this season is really about rest in your hearts. Merry Christmas!!

I will try and post some pics in the coming days.

Love, Kim 

Christmas Memories

As I sit and reflect upon memories of Christmas, I think back to the FIRST plane ride I ever went on. It was to San Diego to visit Grandma Kay, Bob, Mary & Katie. It would be my first Christmas in WARM weather and NO snow for sure!!! It brings a smile to my face to think back to that trip. It was my first REAL memories of Mary & Katie, we went to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful S. Calif. weather. Grandma smiled from ear to ear the entire time we were there. Bob was such a gentle/loving man that was wanting to get to know Kay's family. Fast forward to Christmas '08... Now being married and trying to balance seeing both the Holst & Stohr family is difficult at any holiday. This year Jen and I decided that it was important to do our best to see both families. I'm very glad we did. We went to Minneapolis on Christmas Eve day and returned to Yankton on Friday. We were able to see Jen's family, of which her grandparents are both living at 80+ years old! Each year that goes by and they are around is a blessing.

We were then able to catch up with my mom (who lives in Ames, IA) and both Ben & Eric as well as their families. I wa

s able to be the uncle that entertained Friday night as the kids finished watching KungFu Panda they were all feeling a little rambunctious. Easy enough, we set up a large dog bed with multiple blankets and they started doing body slams off the automan!! They loved it. We then went to the unfinished basement and had "races" from one end of the basement to the other. After running crazy, Wyatt and Dominic came back upstairs and wanted to body slam Uncle Andy off the automon onto the couch. Next thing I knew, Wyatt was dive bombing me off the couch arm! I LOVED every minute of it!!

This year we decided to minimize the gift exchanging among adults and I enjoyed our time as much or more!!! The gift was our time spent with one another. As I get older I notice how the time spent with family is more and more important. It was a blessing this year to spend time with both the Stohr and Holst families. Sitting and reflecting on the memories and putting them in writing has been a good excercise for me as well!!!

Wishing everyone a great New Year in 2009!!!!

Andy Holst (I wish I had some pictures to post, but I don't)

The best gift I received this year came unexpectedly. Richard and I were on our way back from Manuel Antonio and stopped at a roadside cafe along the coast near Carara Biological Preserve. Now I'd been to Carara two other times specifically to see the scarlet macaws, a magnificent bird that once thrived here in Costa Rica and is now near extinction. On my first visit I came up empty sighted. On the second (with Barb and Jim) we saw one macaw and with our guide's help managed to get this picture before it flew off deeper into the park.
But on this December day as Richard and I walked back to the car after having coffee I saw a couple large bright birds land in the palm tree just a few feet from where we stood. "Hey, look at those big parrots." I said to him, not even thinking about what we were seeing. One of the pair was slightly hidden by the palm fronds, but the other was clearly visible, the sunlight causing his bright red, blue & yellow plumage to glisten like precious jewels. He squawked loudly and then he and his mate flew over our heads displaying an expansive wing spread and length close to three feet. It was the long, forked tail that made me realize we were seeing a pair of macaws, a rare sight in this country where they once filled the skies.
Carara National Park is the home of around 40 pairs of these birds, a population they hope will grow larger. We had the good fortune to see this pair as they ventured out of the park to the nearby beach. I wish I could send you a picture of them in flight, it is an awe-inspiring sight.
What I hope to share is the sense of wonder that came to me in viewing these magnificent and beautiful birds.

Mary

Christmas in Illinois

Being a grandparent is all it's cracked up to be. You get to play with the babies until they're fussy and then hand them off to their parents. You get to buy them obnoxious, noise-making gifts and not be subjected to the chaos that creates. You get to laugh at their cute antics and not bear the consequence of the reinforced behavior that is no longer cute. All of that I expected. What I didn't expect was to experience grandchildren as such a strong link to my own family of origin, to Mom & Dad, to memories of Auntie Litz, Jim & Jane, Terry & Kari, Grandma Holst. Clara and Lucas loved Dad's car...the one he made in duplicate for Ben & Jonathan. As Clara learned to insert the ignition key in the right place and Lucas figured out how to open the hood without mangling his fingers I wondered if Dad was smiling over them.

We all went to the bowling alley on the day after Christmas for a family outing suitable for all ages (as long as there are grandparents to distract the babies). I saw the real bowlers with their wheely bowling bags and remembered Mom & Dad's '50's style bowling bags; Dad's efforts to teach me to throw a straight ball and my total resistance to learning anything from him.

I wondered if Mom & Dad got as much of a thrill out of seeing me become a parent as I get out of watching Suzanne, Jonathan & Peter with their kids? If it made them as happy to see Mary become Aunt Mary to my kids as it makes me to see Michael be 'Uncle Mike'? Did they come to love Jim the way I love Elizabeth, Amanda & Jay? Were they as grateful for Jim as I am for these 3 who love my children?

Katie is the best gift of all this Christmas. Every single one of us agrees that Mary is the greatest...she made her visit possible. Jonathan says that Katie reminds him of his Aunt Mary, in her mannerisms, an occasional look about her. All I know is that, like her mother, she makes us all laugh. Who else would have found 'obscene' bandaids to put in Jay's stocking? (you can imagine the words printed on the bandaids!) And like her father she can tell a story with perfect timing that has everyone in stitches.

Families can be hard, they can be painful. What in life isn't that way sometimes? But for this Christmas of 2008 I feel tremendously blessed...in my immediate family, in my extended family, in my family of origin. And very grateful.

For Mary

More to come soon...

Tis the Season

I just thought that I would share some fun photos from over the weekend. I am not sure if this is redundant because of the facebook connection, but I will do it anyway. The kids LOVE the snow, winter, sledding, and all that jazz. We had a wonderful time making cookies last weekend and then decorating them. Here are a few photos from our recent festivities.

It is finished...I hope.

So I took the GRE last Friday and many of you have been asking about how it went.  As I looked at the entire application process I thought that I needed to score around 650+ verbal if I were going to have a great shot at entrance at Vandi.  Anything more would be wonderful, and anything less would be thinning the ice I was standing on.  I felt the test went fairly well.  The overall journey was arduous and had me near tears more than once.  The last sample test I took made the outlook bleak, but I was going to go in with confidence and give it my best shot.  I went in with fear and trembling and walked out with a moderate level of confidence about my admissions possibilities.  I ended up with a 630 verbal score and a 650 quantitative score.  Life is never easy or straightforward.  I will be competing with at least 60 other applicants for 2 measly spots in the Vanderbilt Graduate Department of Religion and know that God will put me right where I need to be, when I need to be there.  Thank you all for the love and support that you have shown through this process and I will keep you posted.  You inquiries and encouragment mean a great deal to me.  This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the connection that our family has been able to work on over the past year.  I know it has been over a year now since grandma left us all, but her spirit is alive and well in each of us.  She has to be elated at our amount of communication between her family as the result of her passing.  It would be fantastic to see people post what they are thankful for as we all prepare to indulge in some feast or another in the next seven days.

Christmas pet photos

This past weekend Jen and I volunteered our commercial showroom space to host the local humane society Christmas pet picture fundraiser. It was a lot of fun to see a number of people from all walks of life come together because they support the work of the human society. Jen and I as most of you know have 3 dogs. 2 yorkiepoos (marley-black one, nilla-white one) and a lab retriever mix (Jazzie). You can see their funny little pics attached. We will all be waiting for Big Willies picture with little willie. He or Julie can explain that one.

Have a wonderful Christmas wherever you spend it. Enjoy the company you are around and take some time to reflect back on how many things we as Americans can be thankful for (even when the media makes it sound like everything is going to implode on itself!). Oh yeah, since I'm in business can I get some of the govt. bailout money too?? LOL!!

Andy & Jen Holst

Each morning since we've arrived in Costa Rica I sit in my rocking chair in the 1st floor living room and look out at Lake Arenal. Several of those mornings have been cloudy, the sun coming out later in the day. But two days ago the morning dawned clear and I could see the volcano Arenal at the east end of the lake sending up a plume of blue smoke that drifted across the deepening pink of the morning sky.
I love the early mornings here; the air is filled with the sound of bird songs and monkeys' howling, all around me is the lush green of the tropics. It's peaceful and I feel incredibly grateful to be at home here. But not all is idyllic. We arrived to find that the front door we'd installed just before leaving last year had swelled so much with the rains that it could no longer be closed. And a broken pipe in the (concrete) wall was causing water to pool in what will be the master bathroom on the main floor.
Plus neither of our vehicles would start...the Trooper just needed a new battery, but Richard is still trying to figure out what's wrong with the little Ford pickup. So our first week was spent working on the presenting problems, next week we hope to get to work on the actual construction that's required to finish the house.
The whole main (second) floor has yet to be done: interior walls need to be constructed, the bathroom and kitchen put in, the ceiling installed, etc. etc. There's no lack of work. Unfortunately I injured my back somehow in our first days here (it might have been lugging the suitcases that were crammed with the various things I can't get down here - including a kitchen sink!) So my abilities are fairly restricted at the moment. However I have great faith in my body's ability to heal itself. I'm a bit better each day and trust that I will soon be back to working on the many projects that await me.
I look forward to getting the main floor finished so that we will be able to entertain guests. We will have lovely guest accommodations in the quarters we're currently inhabiting. I'll keep you all posted on our progress - and will take booking reservations at any time!

Mattie's 4th Birthday

I have been wanting to write this post for a few weeks now, but just have not had the chance.  Now it is a crisp Friday morning with snow falling ever so elegantly outside of my window, and I have a chance to type.  Matigan's birthday was on the 25th of October, however, I had to be in a wedding that day.  The solution to our dilemma was to celebrate her birthday before we left for the wedding, so we had three other little girls come over for a Fancy Nancy Princess extravaganza!  As some of you may know, I had a major paper that was sandwiched between the princess party and leaving for Fremont, NE.  While Wyatt and I decorated Mattie's cake I had a chance to reflect on how much has happened over the last four years.  

Four years ago I had absolutely no idea what is was to be a dad, or how phenomenal it would be to have a child.  Each day is a new adventure full of joys and frustration.  A guy I coached with in Belle Fourche once said, "Being a bad parent is pretty easy, but being a good parent sure must take a lot of work."  This has been a profound statement for me, especially coming from an unmarried man without kids.  The milestone of four seems to be one of those ages where you realize that your baby is really growing up.  She no longer needs our help to change her clothes, pour her cereal or wipe her bottom, but she will always need our love, support, and parental investment in her life!  Sometimes the humor of our Lord results in terrific blessings.

Also, I thought I would throw a few Halloween pictures in for you to look at.  It was quite the event.

Clara's Many Faces

Can I tell you how much I love being an aunt? I hope that some day my niece and nephew (and the others still to come) have as many good memories of me as I do of living across the street from my Aunt Mary and around the corner from my Aunt Sharon. My aunts always seemed SO much cooler than my mom (especially Aunt Mary--I couldn't believe she was related to my mom). I don't know if I'll ever seem cooler than Elizabeth and Amanda, but I love being an aunt at least as much as I loved hanging out at my aunt's houses when I was a kid. Check out how many different faces Clara can make...clicking on any of the pictures should take you to my album from the trip.


Clara is amazing; she's almost walking, almost talking, almost feeding herself and getting frustrated every time she wants to do something that she can only almost do. It reminded me a lot of life with a tween. Both Clara and Alina want to do things that people just a little bit older than them can do easily (in Clara's case it is walk and feed herself, in Alina's it is to be in charge of her social life and be alone with boys). In both cases, when things don't work the way they want them to, the girls get frustrated (in Clara's case she cries, in Alina's she slams her bedroom door and turns the music up really loud). It was helpful to me to see the parallels between these two life stages and it made me hopeful for both of them. I've yet to meet a toddler who didn't eventually learn to walk or feed herself...

Where's Bill & Julie?

Haven't heard from Bill or Julie since the Maine trip. Where are you? How was it? What's up??

Korea: My Reflections

Jim & I flew into O'Hare airport this Monday, October 27th, at 9:30 a.m. after leaving Seoul, Korea on Monday, October 27th at 11:40 a.m. It was my first experience with time travel and my body is still trying to figure out what happened to it. I lie in bed at 3:00 a.m., wide awake, my mind going everywhere except to sleep. It's a good time to reflect on all that we saw, did, tasted, observed, felt and experienced in another country, another culture on the other side of the globe.

I kept lists in my head during the ten days we were gone: of things that made me smile (like middle school girls walking arm in arm down city streets), things we could learn from Korea (like bank CEO's who are the first to take pay cuts and also take the blame for the current financial crisis), amazing facts (like quality ginseng must grow for 6 years before harvesting) and (my favorite) the ubiquitous list. This list is in honor of Mary who we teased quite unmercifully about her use of this word when we were in Costa Rica together.

Ubiquitous: "present everywhere, or seeming to be"

#1. Kimchee: a sidedish made from cabbage, garlic, green onions and chili paste which is fermented and then stored. Kimchee can be made of other ingredients as well, and is usually only one of multiple side dishes served with every meal. Now you can purchase all sorts of kimchee at the local supermarkets (which are quite modern, as you can see). Even though you can purchase it at the supermarket, the modern Korean kitchen has a separate refrigerator dedicated just to kimchee. When KJ was a girl her mother would buy 200 heads of cabbage in the fall, make a huge batch of kimchee and store it in a huge crock in the ground. It would be gone by March or April. Jim loved kimchee, which made Young & KJ (our hosts) very happy. KJ told Jim that he must have been Korean in his previous life. When they learned that his middle name is Lee (the most common Korean surname) their suspitions were confirmed.

#2. American music: usually bad

We visited an elementary school near Hyun's home on Wednesday morning. As we walked up the stairs to the second floor I heard a teacher speaking in English and kids repeating phrase by phrase: "There's nothing you can do that can't be done

(there's nothing you can do that can't be done)

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung

(nothing you can sing that can't be sung)"

And I'm thinking to myself, I know that...what poem is that? The teacher continued: "Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game. It's easy" at which they all broke out into song: "All you need is love, all you need is love..." I could hardly keep from bursting out laughing, which probably would have seemed rude to our Korean host who wasn't as familiar with the Beatles as the English language teacher from New York who was using the song for his English curriculum for the day. But American music truly is ubiquitous--and not usually of Beatles quality. Generally its schmaltzy 70's-80's music, the same sound track running in every mid-high class restaurant we visited with the lyrics usually in English, occasionally translated into Korean. Must be the popularity of Karaoke...everyone also can sing along!

#3. Cars, cars, cars!

Seoul is a city of 12 million people, and they all seem to be on the road at the same time, though KJ said that's because I have no concept of 12 million people. That's true. We were happy to get out of the city to the countryside, where the other 36 million people live. 48 million people in a country the size of Illinois which is 70% mountains. So nearly all the housing is high density housing, tall apartment/condominium buildings which continue to be built in new developments of not one or two, but hundreds of buildings. And all of this modernization has happened in the last 40+ years. It is mind boggling and it is also hopeful. Young kept saying that Korea is a poor country, that they have no natural resources except human resources, so they rely on ingenuity and hard work. We saw both in spades.

#4. Graciousness and generosity

Before we left for Korea our neighbor, who taught English for a year in Korea, taught us a few Korean phrases, the most important and useful one being : kum sam nee dah (or something like that). It means 'thank-you' and is said with a lilting tone and a little bow. Everywhere we went in Korea people treated us with kindness and generosity. At the mountain restaurant in the picture at the left the woman who cooked our food and served us (and posed with us) brought us a very special offering of marinated mountain mushrooms, which we understood from Young to be a delicacy and not a regular inclusion in their array of side-dishes. Whether we were in a supermarket, an airport, or restaurant, visiting a school or tourist attraction, each person we interacted with was so gracious and helpful. None more than Young & KJ, who made each day of this trip a memory. There are only two other times in our lives that we've experienced anything like this outpouring. One was when we visited Anja's family in Germany and the other was when Maria la Guia Tica shephered us through Costa Rica. I don't believe we deserved that kind of outpouring...from Young & KJ, from Anja's family, from Mary. All I can say is "kum sam nee dah"!

The Elder Son

This past week I have had a deluge of things to do, so these thoughts are more last week than this week.  In addition, I didn't want to publish a post entitled "The Elder Son" on the heels of my elder brother's post!  As many of you have noticed, I often post after reading something of interest.  I recently read Henry Nouwen's "The Parable of the Prodigal Son."  Nouwen, having been inspired by Rembrandt's painting of the same name seeks to write a reflection on each of the three characters in Jesus parable.  The one that I find has the most impact is the elder son.

The elder son has always been labeled as the "good" son because he did not leave home and squander his inheritance.  How good can he be if he is full of hostility and resentment?  What is the value of service if it is out of duty and not love?  Nouwen reflects on the bitterness that the elder son harbors against his younger brother and his father for what both of them have and have not done for him.  When one is full of resentment they are unable to move into the joy and celebration that is present in their Father's home.  It is far easier to complain about the treatment that our siblings are getting and not focus on the love our Father is lavishing on us.  Once animosity and murmuring creeps into the body of the Church, complaining multiplies like a cancer and pushes out the full life that John speaks of in chapter 10 verse 10 of his gospel.

The reality is that we are all the prodigal son and we are all the elder son.  Once we return to our Father's house we forget about the sublime welcome party we received and quickly transition into the role of elder son.  Our churches have been obliterated by the condition of the elder son.  How often we sit in out pews and judge the prodigals who are returning or walking up the driveway instead of running out to embrace them as our Father does?  When we lose sight of the blessings and love that are ever present in the Father's house and begin to back bite at our siblings, sibling rivalry rips His house apart.  Our Father does not show favorites, nor does he withhold any good gift from his children.  We need to stop competing with one another inside of our Father's house and start living the abundant life that he desires for us.  The animosity I feel for the party that returning siblings receive only hurts me and the relationship that I have with him.

As I look at our two children I think about how I treat them now, and will treat them in the future.  I pray that I will not show favoritism or partiality to either of them no matter where they go or the decisions they make.  I must look beyond our temporality and to the eternal paragon father that is our Lord.  I am not sure what will or will not resonate with any of you, but I know it struck a real chord with me and the life that I have lived within my family over the past twenty-eight years.  May we all abide within the Father's house and embrace one another and the abundant life He desires for us.  

Change in seasons

Hello everyone,

This is picture is from Jen's cousin's wedding she was in a few weeks ago in St. Paul, MN.

I haven't posted much as of late. Every spare minute we have had has been spent outdoors doing something. As the forecast says rain/snow this week, we are in complete understanding that the beautiful fall days can quickly pass us by. Jen and I are outdoor people and love just being outside with each other and our 3 dogs (Jazzie - lab mix, Marley - yorkiepoo, Nilla -yorkiepoo). We have been out to our lake on the Missouri River, quite a few times this fall on the weekends to walk and enjoy the colors. We have also been golfing when time allows. Yesterday we went for a nice motorcycle ride along the river to enjoy the sights and smells of fall.

Jen and I have been trying to spend more time relaxing lately and less time being BUSY. I tend to be a busy body and always am on the go. Must be a Holst acording to other postings!

The economy has been a crazy thing for me to watch lately as a small business owner. We haven't seen any dramatic impact on our sales, but I am taking a cautious approach to planning for the months to come. I am hoping that our customer base is diversified enough that we will spread out any decreased spending among all of them. Crazy times we are living in!! It has been an interesting time to be in business. I think things will be up and down for the next 9-12 months, thus making it non-typical from what I have seen in the last 5 years.

I don't have any deep insights to type about, but as things come to me I will try and put them on "screen".

Who's number is this??

Do you ever get those random numbers that show up on your caller ID?  I was able to provide that for a groggy Michael on Tuesday!  Nikki and I made the voyage to Nashville on Sunday night after dropping the kids at my mom's in Ames and spending the night with a friend who is ill.  I am in the process of applying for doctoral programs around the country and Vanderbilt is numero uno on the list, so we were advised to visit and give the faculty there a chance to get to know me.  We arrived in Nashville on Sunday night and went out for a quick bite to eat before crashing.  Monday was a day full of Vanderbilt.  I had three meetings followed by an afternoon class that I was able to sit in on.  Unfortunately Nikki had to spend her Monday getting our brakes fixed at some Nashville repair shop : - (  Monday night we went out to experience downtown Nashville.  Nothing says touristy Nashville like the Wildhorse Saloon!  Beer, rips, live music, and line dancing, does it get any more Nashville?  Tuesday I had one more meeting with the professor who would be overseeing my doctorate.  His main focus is comparative theology and does a lot of work within the Hindu/Christian conversation and was very interested in my pursuits.  I left that conversation, and the campus feeling very good about my 1 in 30 shot!  That is right, there are around 60 applicants for 2 spots!  Much of my entrance comes down to the GRE score that I will have before I sit down for turkey and dressing next month.  

The rest of our Tuesday was spent driving around the Music City!  We checked out Michael's alma matter, the Parthenon, Opryland, and some other neighborhoods that we simply drove through for fun.  The time in Nashville concluded with an outstanding meal at a great place Michael recommended.  We had some great food, delicious beer, and even better conversation. As we sat their chatting over our meal I couldn't help but be saddened by the years we have missed as cousins.  Nikki and I are still talking about the amazing talent that Michael has and the giftedness that he has been blessed with.  I can hardly sing a note, let alone compose/write, sing, edit song after song that gets national TV play.  If I am a finalist for the Practical Theology fellowship at Vandi I will have another chance to get back to Nashville and will certainly be out to listen to Michael's band.  We had a great time over dinner and wished we would have had more time, but had to get started on our journey back north.  

Nikki and I headed to Peducah Kentucky for the night and finished our journey to Ames on Wednesday.  As we drove Nikki bit her nails and wondered how long the next few months will really take!  The timeline is as follows: GRE (11-17), Application (12-15), Interviews (2-1-09), Entrance (Mid-March).  I really have no idea where I will rate with the other applicants, but know that my trip to campus certainly didn't hurt my chances of getting in.  I will keep you posted.  It is crazy to be disconnected from the internet for so many days in a row!  The blog has been busy, woo hoo!

Nashville & points beyond

Eric, Nikki and/or Michael: Tell us about meeting up in Nashville. Eric, what did you think of Vanderbilt? Michael, did you get a chance to share your music? And what's the word on Bill & Julie? I take it they're in Maine. When will they be back.
We're leaving for Korea in the morning to spend a week with special family friends, who I know will treat us like royalty. We're a bit anxious about the flight (14 hours non-stop from Chicago to Seoul), especially as both Jim & I have head colds. But we're excited about the opportunity to experience a totally different culture. I'm sure a blog with pictures will follow.

Barbara

Some thoughts from Mary on family

Throughout my adulthood, an unwavering source of family connection for me has been my relationship to Wayne. Despite our divorce we have maintained a close connection. I have invited Wayne to participate in this blog because he is part of our family. He's also one of the most honorable men I know. Wayne has been a wonderful father to Katie, I can't imagine her having a better dad. She has inherited from him her delightful (and quirky) sense of humor. She shares his love of story telling and his prodigious memory for detail. During Katie's youth, Wayne was constant in his support of her, both financially and in his presence in her life. He always did what he said he was going to do, he was someone we could both count on. When Frank became a part of Wayne's life our family expanded. There were challenges for Katie in having a gay dad, but she has become a more expansive person because of them. She learned to speak her mind. But that is Katie's history and is her story to tell.
My desire here is to simply acknowledge and honor Wayne: for his loyalty, his constancy, and for his huge heart. What some of you may not know is that a few years ago Wayne and Frank took in Frank's Aunt Julia. She was in her 90's, her health and memory were failing, and she had very few financial resources. Wayne and Frank's response to Julia's need was to sell their house in Escondido and move into a larger home in Murietta that had enough space for Julia. For several years, these loving men arranged their lives to care for her. Wayne tells many heart-warming stories about this woman he came to know so well; tears fill his eyes as he describes her gradual loss of acuity. Their dedication to her, their sacrifices for her still take my breath away.
On September 20th of this year, after living together for 21 years, Wayne and Frank were married. I applaud the state of California for making that step possible. I look forward to the day when we are able to embrace the diversity of life styles and choices that exist in this country and that are exemplified in part in these two men.
Part of who I am, dear family, has been shaped by my knowing and loving Wayne Blizzard and I wouldn't change any of it one iota.

Squirrels for Palin!!!!???

Well.  We have good news and bad news.  The bad news is that we think a gang of Republican squirrels live in our neighborhood and decided to vandalize our Obama yard sign!  Really.... is this what I'd like to believe?  I don't want to believe that people would actually do this.  Regardless of your political views, why would someone be so compelled to be so nasty??  Argg.

Anyway- the good news is that we had a wonderful visit with Grandma & Grandpa Linder as well as Aunt Mary this weekend!  Thanks for coming.  We had a fabulous time and miss you terribally.  Check out our fam's blog for more pictures etc.... www.lindernotes.blogspot.com

We love you guys, and watch out for those squirrels!

More Pictures

I just finished uploading some pictures from Alina and Calvin's final cross country meet to picasa and thought I would share them with you all as well. You can click on the photo and it will take you to the album.

I had yesterday off from school and had a delightfully unproductive day. I watched a couple episodes of my new favorite TV show, Mad Men, went for a long walk in the park next to my house, had lunch with a friend and then spent the afternoon floating in the same friend's heated pool. Can you believe I went swimming on October 13th in Illinois? I can't. I even got sunburned. Jay and I finished the day with a double date to meet my friend Nathan's new boyfriend. All in all, a very relaxing day.

Today, I have returned to the real world and I find myself with a pile of writing tasks. I've agreed to write a section of a grant for Books to Prisoners that is due in 36 hours (haven't started that yet), I am applying for a teacher's trip to Costa Rica (I may see you this spring, Mary) the application for which is due by Friday and I've only written half my essays and I have a lesson that has been accepted for publication pending revisions that I just can't seem to make myself do. It seems slightly ironic that I'm wasting time by writing a blog entry.

I also gave an exam to my sophomores today that I need to grade, have a meeting at Calvin's school in a little over an hour and am hoping to figure out something simple I can make for dinner before rushing off to attend senior night for the Uni High girls volleyball team.

Whew. I think I need a nap.

Web Pages, Blogs and Wikis, Oh My!

All of my computer energy in the last couple weeks has gone towards updating my school web page. It's now current and you can find links to the blog I maintain for my Sophomore English class as well as the class wiki that we are in the process of constructing. I suspect that the contents of the blog and wiki will be most interesting to Mary and not terribly interesting to those who haven't chosen English education as their vocation. There is also a link to Antipodean Adventures, the blog I kept during the six weeks of my Fulbright to New Zealand in 2004.

They said it would go bye fast...

I can't believe how quickly she is growing up!  She used to stay put all swaddled up her her blanket from the hospital and now she is always on the go, talking, laughing, with a mind of her own and a huge baby belly!  I wish I could bottle up these sweet baby days and take them out on a rainy day 15 years in the future...Sigh...

Elizabeth

A weekend at the Eric Holst House...

That is really an oxymoronic title, because the reality is we were hardly ever home.  What some of you may not know about Eric, and sometimes myself is that we typically plan every weekend to the maximum amount of craziness.  I am not sure what possesses us to do this over and over, but I guess the answer is that we really like to "do".  I think I just like having something to do, and I think my husband is a Holst in some ways by nature.  He likes to set his mind to doing something , and he can't really do it half-a**ed.  He wanted to be able to do weddings, so by golly...he figured out how.  He wanted to run a marathon because if Puff Daddy could do it, then certainly he could do it too.  So guess what?  Eric just started training without any previous interest in running.  So, being married to such an over-achiever can sometimes be daunting, but I am happy to sit back and do the cheering.  I enjoy that Holst part of him:)

Moving on...Thursday he ran the wedding rehearsal, Friday he performed the wedding ceremony, Saturday he got our children in to their own race, and this morning he ran his own.  I will let him share about his race experience if he so chooses.  I am proud regardless of what he says!

Eric just gave me the password to your sacred site, so I thought I would drop a note since Mary encouraged it:)  I do not boast a poetic repetoire or a huge passion for politics...but I will tell you that I really wish the world would decide to look at the more simple ways of life that my grandparents led.    Where family and meaningful relationships meant a lot more than they seem to today.  The rain today has left me out of anything more meaningful to say, but I am proud of you all for seeing a problem and deciding to fix it.  Must be that Holst thing in you all!!

Enjoy the pictures!!