My Friend, Jackie.

I just got home from an amazing 40th birthday party. The party was for my friend Jackie who lives just up the street from us. One year ago she brought us a shamrock cake decorated beyond belief to welcome us to the neighborhood. We were blown away and thought, "Wow, what a great street we found. . .she was really nice." Tonight I baked and attempted to decorate a birthday cake for her, the "cakemaster".

The Murphy's kitchen was elbow to elbow people. . .all there to celebrate Jackie. I met a lot of new people tonight. Real people. And everyone agreed on one thing over and over again and that is this, once you make a friend in Jackie Murphy you have a friend for life. Jackie is the kind of friend who will be there for you when you need her most , she will laugh with you, she will cry with you, she will go to a movie with you. If you pop over she will make a cup of tea for you and ask "How are you?" and then she will sit and listen to every word you say. Jackie is the real deal all the way through and what you see is what you get. You will always know that you are dear to her. She has the truest heart and I hope this friendship never ends.

Jackie. . .here is to you!
You are loved by so many.
Happy Birthday!

Love,
Jodi

Knitting in the Treehouse

It has been such a beautiful weekend. . .55 and sunny and it even smells like spring! The kids have been busy riding scooters and bikes, playing in the treehouse and swinging on the treehouse swing. Anyhow, at one point Christen asked, "Mom, could you bring my knitting up to the treehouse for me?" How could I refuse. When I delivered it she said, "Mom, could you stay up here for a while so we can just chat?" So I did. We talked about how the warm sun felt on our backs and about how we could hear birds chirping and dogs barking in the distance. It was really a great moment. When I went into the house I told Larry. . ."Connecticut isn't so bad. Our daughter is knitting in the treehouse." The smile that spread across Larry's face was so wonderful!

This picture is for Granny, who taught Christen how to knit at Christmastime.

"See how long it is getting?"

Neville, the Flying Squirrel

We would like you to meet Neville. We (or should I say, Connor) believe that Neville is a flying squirrel. We also believe that Neville is nesting in our birdhouse and awaiting babies. Flying squirrels will readily use artificial nesting sites such as nesting boxes, especially in immature forested areas where natural cavities are uncommon. Does this mean they also move into vacant birdhouses like the one in our backyard?

Unnatural Homes, bird houses, stacked cordwood piles, attics of homes and other buildings have been utilized by flying squirrels as nesting sites and refugia since the colonization of North America by Europeans.
Isn't she cute? Click on these pictures for a close up view!

We waited to see if she would fly, but no such luck. I don't think she wanted to be too far away from her nest of babies.

Happy Birthday Connor!

How can it be that this boy is 10 years old?
Tyler, Liam Connor, and Ian

Crazy boys!

. . .and girl!

Well, this morning we celebrated Connor as a family. When Connor woke up he walked through streamers and crawled in bed with us. We talked about the day he was born. . .sharing all of the memories as we do every year. Then he opened some gifts and got ready for school. Larry had to leave for California mid-morning so he would not be home tonight for the usual birthday dinner and cake. Connor has been rather bummed about that. So. . .I decided to surprise Connor by scooping up a few of his friends while he and Christen were at Tae Kwon Do and surprising him with a cake party at home. Needless to say he was VERY surprised and said it was the best birthday ever!

March 3, 2010

March 3, 2010

You are looking at a boy who has just turned 10 years old today and is about to become a published poet! We just received word yesterday that a poem Connor wrote last November has been chosen to be published in the 2010 edition of Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. We are so proud of his work. His face was just beaming as he read the letter out loud at his birthday-eve dinner celebration last night. The smile on his face was so big that I don't think he could have wiped it away even if he tried! Here is what he wrote:

I am thankful for my family

I am thankful for my dog,

He once got away,

Smack-dab in midday,

But we found him anyway.

I am delighted for my teachers,

For my sisters and my friends,they have the truest heart,

Impossible to part,

May this friendship never end.

(I hope you enjoy this little poem and story as much as we have.)

Click here for a blast from the past. . .

A Proud Poet

We review many thousands of poems each year and only the most creative of those are chosen for publication. The Anthology of Poetry is not a contest with a fixed number of winners. Instead, each entry is considered on its own merit and is selected for publication only if it meets our criteria and standards. Established in 1989, we are one of America’s oldest and most reputable publishers of students’ poetry and short stories.

One Year Ago

It was a year ago this week that our family embarked on a new adventure. An adventure that required that we say good-bye to Libertyville and hello to Guilford.

It was a year ago that a United moving truck pulled up to our new house and unloaded all of the things we brought with us from Libertyville so that we could make it a place we now call home.

Helping Each Other

I snapped these pictures the other day. . . at first they don't appear to be anything special. When you look again you will see that they are. I just happened to over hear Connor teaching Christen how to play a song out of his performance book. It was a song that he was not assigned, but thought he would sight read and see if he could teach himself. And he did. The song was Somewhere Over The Rainbow. When she heard him playing it then she had to learn it, too! He was so sweet teaching her. . .it gave me a warm fuzzy. They are really enjoying piano lessons.