Who won Homecoming?

I think everyone won homecoming.
So there!
Sure class competition is fun, but part of me just wishes we could all have fun celebrating being part of Lee, not class against class. Isn't fun just to wear your hair crazy, or paint your face blue and gold? Shouldn't we offer face-painting from 7 to 7:30 am the day of the parade and game, just to get everyone in the school fired up for being part of Lee?
OK, So I believe everybody should win, that nobody should win - because that means somebody loses.
I LOVE PARTIES
So why can't homecoming just be a great big party, a celebration of LEE.
Nuff said, time to get off of the soap box:)

Lee High Homecoming

An Awesome parade showcasing creativity, school pride and community. Rebels Rock!

Summer's Swan Song

So my best friend and lover (yup - Andy) sat and talked and pondered how fast life moves when all you do is smile. I read 2 books in 3 days, listened to friends on the Red Dock, and sailed the lake. Just look at this sunset - what a glimpse of the wonder of the world. Brings tears to my eyes,... how in the world do we deserve all this? thank You thank You thank You.

Many Happy Reunions

We took a crazy 3 day road trip to Penna to attend Andy's high school reunion! What fun, and a double bonus was spending 24 hours in the car together talking. We have been much too busy and needed the time to connect.
We also visited my mother, who didn't know who we were, but loved the attention. So some of the weekend was spend rekindling friendships, and some time was spent just remembering. Praise God from whom all things flow, and may we live to acknowledge every minute of it.

Stars in their Eyes and Meteors above

Saturday we collected to hopefully view the Perseid Meteor Shower, but really just to sit around a campfire on the beach. The waves of Lake Michigan, the rustle of the dune grass and the slow soft conversation of friends and family. Denver, Livonia, Chicago and Grand Haven, scattered parts of a whole, family in the true sense of the word. Laughter, love and connections, that's sometime all we need:)

Celebration of Kids and the Coast Guard

So today was the kick off the the Coast Guard Festival week with the Kids Parade. And what better representation of the fun and joy than the young wonderful students who volunteer to dress up and entertain the children along the aprade route! Their goal - to get smiles and have their picture taken with the little kids! It was a HOT but beuatiful day - and our Crew that puts on the Kids parade was AWESOME! Every year they have more great ideas - save some candy and freebies to give to the families and children that are in the parade - so when the neighborhood floats come back to the staging area - there's Al - ready with treats and gifts to say thank you. Everyone on the Crew is a treasure - thank you Barb, Dawn, Carol, Al, Bruce, Ron, Bill, Branden (who sweats the most!), Jeff, Hank and Louann!

Virtual Geocaching

So another way to keep in contact, share in fun experinces and help each other is to geocache, but across half the USA! So Sean and Sarah found a webcam geocache and needed someone to 'capture' their picture to be able to claim the cache. It took 5 tries, (timing was an issue) but here it is - a picture captured on a computer in Michigan of a couple standing, holding up their GPS unit, in Washington. I should try it with Lisa in Budapest or Brett in Cologne! I love life - my kids- what fun!!

A bit of heaven on earth...

So almost every Wednesday evening, wonderful friends open their hearts and their boat to a loosely knit group of friends. We friends have in common three things; thankfulness, admiration and love for our captain and his first mate:) (also wine and great food)
They help make this, our life, a blessing in so many ways. Thank you G and S:)

Choose to be Positive

Today we celebrated a birthday, a bon voyage, and friendships. Every moment, every day, we can decide, between the happening of an event and our reaction to it - what our reaction will be. Should we be sad that dear dear friends are moving, or celebrate the adventure that they are starting. Should our heart hurt because hugs will now be missing, or find new ways to reach, teach and love across the ocean.

Exploring, adventuring, questioning is what makes us grow, mentally sharpening our perspective on life and how we connect with our world.

So that leads me to my next picture, a 'red thread' across Europe, pins showing where Brett has been so far, exploring our world, and hopefully sharpening his mind with the insights and awareness of the oneness of the human race. In his moments before reactions, does the Spirit inspire him to a greater understanding of the blessings of the diversity of this world?

Invisible thoughts of love

So this is my first attempt to merge pictures, what a mother will do to get a family photo! I really don't have to spend a lot of time with my family, or go on trips or celebrate holidays, I just want to 'chat' with them over a morning cup of coffee, or a late night 'talk' in the kitchen. Quality times that don't have agendas. Difficult in this fast paced world..... and I love them so much. The people in this picture love the world, others and special individuals. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, wives and husbands; now and possibly in the future. So much love....

The Jigsaw Family

It seems that as a mom, I feel one of my roles is to try and keep the pieces of our family connected. Actually, truthfully, I find doing it a great deal of fun and fulfillment. So we brought home Sean and Sarah from Seattle, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jerry and Scott came from Livonia, and we included Sarah's parent's and our 'travelin man's girlfriend and her family. So the resulting pictures show geo caching on Sunday and canoeing on Monday.

Brett's European Lodgings

So just for fun, I am posting two pictures to show how Brett's is living these days, the first proves that he is living in a glass house, and the second shows the kind of furnishings they have at hostels these days. Actually both were taken at the Lovre, and I could mention DeVinci and Napoleon to set the stage:) I miss him, and can't wait to hear the stories!

More on Flyleaf

Here's what they look like in concert. Check out
http://www.flyleafmusic.com/

Flyleaf visits

So our neighbor's son 'Hurricane' is driving the rock group Flyleaf's 1 million dollar bus around the country for their tour. They are a hard rock Christian group from Texas that sings about hope shining brighter than despair. They played at the Intersection in GR Tuesday night, and we were luckly to have Jared the guitarist and his wife stay in Brett's room on Monday. I went golfing for the day, and Andy, dear wonderful man that he is, told them to use everything, washing machine etc. I woke them at 10:30 the next morning, and they loaded onto the bus and went back to sleep until they got to the venue for set-up. 10 people sleep on that bus, with bunk beds, 14 TV's, black leather sofas, everything. Sort of like Brett sleeping on the trains in Europe:)
I wish we had more traveling groups to share our little spot of heaven with..., it's what makes us happy.

Shining Glory

This weekend was wonderful, as we sat on the deck night after night with good friends, the glory of this world was embedded on our brains. It seems in summer everybody's more positive, happy, healthy, and outside! To wander the town, eat greek for dinner, a choice of 7 places to walk to for ice cream - it's heaven here. We are so blest!

Bright sun off snow and smiles

So here he is, Brett on a glacier in Europe. I don't know which is brighter, his smile or the sun. I hope the joy was keeping him warm, as he didn't take much else! Kite Boarding Festival is this weekend - anyone bunking down in Brett's area? I haven't heard from anyone.... remember - we like company and noise!

Illuminations: Make Some Noise?

Illuminations: Make Some Noise?

Make Some Noise?

So generally in my life I make some noise, sometimes it's good; like yelling at games, convincing kids to keep pursuing a dream, quiet exchange of ideas, hopes and happenings. But sometimes I need to learn to be quiet, because then I get to hear the birds, the wind in the pine trees, the lapping of the waves, and my own thoughts. I hurry too much, people need more silence sometimes before they feel comfortable in talking. I think we all need to be sensitive to other's pace of sharing. Sort of like my golf swing, if I slow down, somethings work out better. Just my thoughts:)

German Street Streams

So my son sent a CD and Video clip from Prague, only took 5 days! And I told him I would find a way to link his pictures so eveyone could view them. So please be patience with me as we are volunteering all weekend at an Indie Film Festival and I can't set up the link until Monday. Wouldn't it be wonderful, since we are eliminating the countryside with our urban sprawl, if we could also have babbling streams as part of our streets?

A Super Nova

Today was a going away, thank you, and love party at our school. Our art teacher of 11 years is leaving to join her family in Hungary. Both middle and high school staff gathered, around food of course, to acknowledge her impact on the school, themselves and our children. And that's what makes Lisa, and our school unique, at least to me. We are small enough to see our students as more like our children, and therefore we seem at times to be more like a family. It hurts to have an integral part of the family blast off to another sphere, it hurts my heart, my throat and my eyes. A Super Nova is a star which explodes so violently that for a few weeks the star outshines its parent galaxy. Lisa hasn't exploded, but she outshines because of her heart. We will miss her. I, very much.

The Great Sigh

Today in church our sermon linked the Pentacost, Desmond Tutu, Rosa Parks, our new graduates and the miracle of our present exisitence; all with a great sigh. A sigh that is so deep and profound, that it expresses beyond words our communal existence in this world. We live in a time where children can be off on adventures, friends gather to play 'crazy' golf (hence the picture) and human life is destroyed by war or nature. Do we sigh in despair, or in acceptance? Those I love choose to sigh with, and as part of, a God that wants us to explore, examine, celebrate and love all that is good, and call into question all that seems wrong or hurtful to others. I sigh in amazment of a world faceted like a precious diamond, so many faces that I will never see, but a richness of opportunites ahead. I am blessed with a husband who dances in the middle of the street under a full moon, and yet can see well enough to pick up other's forgotten trash on the walk home. Can you hear it? sigh....................

Shining into the future

Tonight is a momentous event in the lives of 54 students and their families and friends; high school graduation. Anyone who is in anyway involved, from teaching, encouraging, making the school safe and clean, from providing transportation to feeding, clothing, and getting them to school on time - it all ties us together so that at 7:00 tonight, all hearts will expand and all eyes get misty. 54 treasures that we all have been blessed to share; how can we not help feel optimist about the world, the future, our own personal lives. My prayer is that the dreams, courage, respect, and actions of all graduates make a difference in our world. They will create the next 'village' that raises our children.

Looking forward

So my Fitz and Jessica seem to be contemplating a future, slowly finding and treasuring the multitude of parts that make a person whole. How blessed to be able to share in their 'waltz' for the past several years. I can only think of him as 'my son', but am constantly reminded that he is a gift, and only a gift to be shared, not owned. How wonderful life is.

Two launching a new adventure

So Brett in Europe has begun his trek by train, and Annie here in Michigan has begun a new job. Both are showing the adventursome, self-motivated spirit that gives hope to all us "oldsters'.
My prayers are with them as they discover new insights about themselves, and others around them.

When I started this blog, it was to prove the point that I am not totally 'out of it' although technologically challenged at times. But now I find it might be a way to keep those I love connected, and perhaps sharing a bit of their lives with each other. One son and daughter-in law live across the States, another son and his 'special someone' live 8 miles away, and yet the last son is traveling in Europe far from his family and his 'special someone". So if I can figure out how to upload photos, for them to view, maybe they will recognize the love, caring and repsect they all seem to have for each other.

Reflections from pictures

When I started this blog, it was to prove the point that I am not totally 'out of it' although technologically challenged at times. But now I find it might be a way to keep those I love connected, and perhaps sharing a bit of their lives with each other. One son and daughter-in law live across the States, another son and his 'special someone' live 8 miles away, and yet the last son is traveling in Europe far from his family and his 'special someone". So if I can figure out how to upload photos, for them to view, maybe they will recognize the love, caring and repsect they all seem to have for each other.

The First Light

Illumination, either myself, my family, friends, fellow workers or anyone; that is what this is all about. Bring to light an individual's triumph's, their dreams, adventures or random thoughts. A way to connect others to 'shed some light on' ideas, issues, differents or commonalities.