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!