Tradition

I come from a family of few traditions.  (Last year's family Christmas gathering consisted of a Wii tournament,  no tree, no stockings...you get the idea.  This is not at all a bad thing...we have a great time, just different from what most people expect!)

But, don't worry, some of my closest friends are the traditional type.

Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" again with my Andrea (all the Charlie Brown holiday specials were "must-sees" in our college dorm room) and sharing it with Miles for the first time!

Cutest pumpkin I've ever seen!

And then, Sarah and I participated in our annual "Take Silly Pictures with the Meijer Christmas Decorations" tradition.  We're weird, I know...

We actually got a head start a couple weeks ago with the winter hats....

Cheap entertainment...what can I say?

The holidays are officially here!

Ready or not...

...Here it comes!

While Facebook's all abuzz about apple cider and donuts and hoodies, I'm not ready to give in just yet.  I have kind of a love/hate relationship with fall.  I love the colors and the crispness and the apples and the cider, but I just hate to see summer end AND it also means that winter is on its way (and winter always comes way too soon and lasts way too long).  It's bittersweet, I guess.

I learned awhile back (well, maybe just a couple years ago...) that it's inevitable.  Summer will end whether I like it or not and fall will come...then the dreaded winter.  And I can be mad about it, but it doesn't stop it from coming.  Or I can come to terms with it and try to enjoy it.  It's hard, though.  I have to do a lot of talking myself into it.  So, I'm trying...but I don't think I'm there quite yet.

Summer, don't go!  I want more of this...

 

View of the Bay on bike ride from Petoskey to Charlevoix

My lovely parents

Surprise along the way...c'mere deer

View from a coffee shop in Charlevoix...made it under cover just in time for a rainstorm!

 

 Mackinaw City

 Well, we had planned on walking the Bridge...

...until we got up at 5am and it was cold and rainy and we wimped out!  Dad and Grandpa braved it, though! Good thing we didn't actually buy the t-shirts! ha!

I got to ride on a fire truck! :)

Oh summer, don't go.  Not yet.

Plant Sale Up Close

Don't Let It Get Away...

Spring is finally here!  I seem to appreciate it more and more every year.  After so much waiting and anticipation, I just want to drink in all the beauty of the green grass and the new leaves and the beautiful flowers.  This year I have been particularly enamored by the tulips.  (Now, this is quite the development seeing how much I hated tulips -- and all things Dutch -- when we first moved to the Holland area! Just ask my parents.)  

There is a certain group of tulips along the driveway at work that I just LOVE.  There are little clusters of  yellow and red and pink and orange and I think they're just perfect.  Every time I drive by I just want to stop and stare. I wish there was some way to bottle them up.  They make me so happy, but at the same time I feel a twinge of sadness...for I know the beauty is temporary.  In a couple weeks, they'll wither and fade.  Then it will be another whole year before I'll be able to enjoy them again.  

Why is it that we can't fully embrace joy without a little hint of sadness?  Every good thing in life seems to come with some sort of string attached.  But I suppose I wouldn't appreciate the beauty quite so much if it were there all the time.  

So I try to be aware...to notice the little things...to enjoy them while they last.  And to marvel at how wonderfully creative our God is!

Lots of Laughs

This last month has been crazy...working 10+ hour days, 7 days a week...going, going, going.  And now it's all over.  The Festival is done and I feel like I'm coming off the summer camp high all over again.  It's great to have free time and to get back to normal, but it's also a little bit of a letdown.  What do people do with free time??  I also have next week off....I don't know what I'll do with myself!

Highlights of the Festival:
Learning LOTS about tickets, website updates, merchandise sales and tons more
Seeing Bill Cosby
Watching a full house of inner-city school kids clapping and dancing at a kids concert
The amazing teamwork among our staff
Our wonderful volunteers
Seeing the support and excitement of the community
Watching almost 1000 people throw rubber chickens!

Life has been crazy this past month.  Friday will be my first day off in about a month!  Update coming soon!

Snow Day

It's funny how weather unites people.  How even adults get excited about 'snow days.'  I just walked to the entrance of our neighborhood and was greeted by more neighbors than I've even seen in the last month, much less spoken to.  I even had a short conversation with a guy who was smoking a cigar while watching is son snow-blow half of the street so they could go to work tomorrow.  People complain about being snowed-in and how the plows won't come for days...but secretly they enjoy it...they like the adventure, the digging out, the feeling like they're 'roughing it.'  By no means is this really a crisis...I'm sure all my neighbors have plenty of food and other necessities, along with all the latest electronic devices to keep them occupied and even connected to work.  But there's still just something about a snow day that thrills us all and makes even grown men feel like kids again. :)  Happy Snow Day to all!

Praise God!!

As of Friday, I now officially have a full-time job with benefits and paid vacation!  Woo hoo!  God is good!  (I was originally hired in December on temporary contract, but now it's the real deal.)  It's exciting to work for a place that has a positive impact on the community and to work alongside great people who are so welcoming and encouraging.  I'm starting to feel a little like a grown-up!

In other news, it is definitely winter around here!  The snow just keeps coming every day.  It has been pretty and I haven't hated it yet...hopefully this continues for the long haul....or, rather, hopefully the snow isn't here for the long haul!

Nothing else very newsworthy to report.  I've been lacking in blog inspiration lately.  Maybe next week...

End of the Year Update

Well, I guess it's been a while...

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed having my brother home, as well as seeing cousins from out of state. It's been years since we've all been together, so that was a blessing.  Instead of exchanging gifts this year, we had a family Wii tournament starting Christmas Eve and finishing up on Christmas day.  We played two games of bowling, 3 holes of golf, and one round of cow racing.  It was lots of fun with some good competition.  My mom thought she had it in the bag until Dave came on Christmas and surprised everyone with his amazing cow racing skills!  He came in first place and got to choose the charity that everyone would contribute to.  Fun times!

I ended up back at Gull Lake for the New Year's Conference. (I stopped by a few days before and somehow got talked into it!)  It sounded like a great idea until the end of the first night when I was exhausted and aching all over!  It was strange being in 'my' kitchen and dining room and feeling like I knew nothing (a new chef started since I've been gone and all of the processes have changed) and also not knowing a majority of the staff since I wasn't there this summer.  It was humbling, but good for me. :)  I ended up really enjoying the weekend, even though it was a lot of hard work.  It felt good to be doing something productive and it was fun to see so many families that I knew from summers past.  It makes me feel old to see how much some of the kids have grown since my first summer!

I had a memorable start to 2011 when I came down with the stomach flu the other day!  Luckily it was the 24 hour variety and I'm feeling much better now.  It definitely reminded me to be thankful for good health and feeling normal!

I started a new job in December doing administrative work for a cancer and grief support organization.  They're putting on a huge comedy festival in March, featuring Betty White and Bill Cosby among many other well-known comedians, so that's my main focus.  It's pretty exciting to be a part of!  The festival will raise money to support the organization and is shaping up to be quite the event!

I'll try to be more faithful in the blogging in 2011.  No promises or resolutions, though. ;)   Depends on how interesting my life shapes up to be!