Around the World in 8 Minutes

Maria's Odyssey of the Mind team competed today at the regional tournament. OM is a creative problem solving competition where teams are encouraged to come up with solutions by thinking out of the box. The majority of this team has been together since 2nd grade and they work well together.

At the awards ceremony, they found out they got 1st place and are going on to the state competition in April! John & I left after they got their medals since Mom & Dad were coming. Then, after we left, they were awarded the most coveted prize in all of Odyssey of the Mind, the Ranatra Fusca, for extreme creativity! The dress Maria has on is the one she made out of a sheet which she dyed yellow.

Flash Back Friday 10

Edward & Maria in the park, October 1993

Digital Natives

Maria, 1993, playing the Froggy game

My friend Annette went to a conference last week in NYC where they talked about "digital natives." These are people who are age 25 or younger, and if you have any of these in your home, you know who they are talking about.

Here are a few stupid little things I have thought of lately that highlight the difference between the digital natives and the rest of us:

-When Maria was about 5 and saw her first deck of cards, she realized you could play solitaire outside of the computer.
-When I see old episodes of Seinfeld, I think of how much easier their lives would have been with cell phones.
-Oh, and perhaps strangest of all, my kids love the story of how I saved up my money(for a long time) when I was in high school to buy a calculator that could do trig functions.

Yesterday's Phenomenon

We had over a foot of snow on the ground and it hit almost 70 degrees F! It was also my friend and adopted sister Lori's 40th birthday. We celebrated by going out for lunch and then going hot tubbing. Although it was so warm out and we grew warmer in the 105 degree water, we could seek relief by sitting in the snow. On my afternoon walk, the melted snow was rushing down the street like a cold mountain stream and I felt like I was in a different country. Yes, the changing seasons are a miracle.

After supper, I went to a surprise party for Lori, so I basically partied all day because my friend finally reached 40. At this party, she played us a phone message of her 70-something year-old parents on the phone discussing whether or not she is indeed 40 this year or still 39. Fun times.

Middle Schoolers

Last week, I received a call from Bridget's school and they asked if I could fill in as a substitute teacher Friday afternoon for some 8th grade classes. A few years ago, I did it frequently, but since I started working in the mornings, I haven't.

My memories of subbing are these: "Yay, we have Mrs. S today!!!" I used to love it, but Friday afternoon was a different story. They wouldn't shut up. I'm shorter than they are. I was out of the swing of things. I finally got some attention by saying, "My name is Mrs. S., and I do give out yellow cards." This didn't last long when they realized I could never write all their names down. I hate being a grouch, but I suppose somebody has to do it sometimes.

On the bright side, My middle schooler did some posing for me.

DST Lag

I am suffering from daylight savings time lag today. I yawned all the way to work!!! It's really bad this year since it happens 3 weeks earlier than usual. I know: If that is all I have to suffer from, I must have it pretty good.

So, since I have to make up for this hour that evaporated, I am going to post ""stupid" kitty pix today:






Leo pawing at goldfish in a baggy

Great Expectation

John, I mean Clark Griswald, is on his way to Washington DC this afternoon for a conference, so we are on our own for a few days. The girls and I headed down to our church for an afternoon baby shower. This dear girl, Katya, was so excited when she told us she was about 1 week pregnant, so this baby seems like a long time coming. She is from Bolivia originally, and so she doesn't have her family around. She does have her husband's family though and duh, her church family.


She knows it's a girl.


Maria & Bridget enjoyed the games at the first baby shower they had ever been to.... We felt 20 brown paper bags of baby stuff and had to guess what was in them. After awhile, everything felt either like a rubber bouncy thing or a baby washcloth. None of them turned out to be either of these.

Flash Back Friday 9

December 1998, The Cousins with Their Wooden Shoes

The Birds of New Hampshire

Uncle Alan has been able to do some birding in New Hampshire where he lives. This makes me wish we had a bird feeder.


Cardinal, the Ohio State Bird


Downy Woodpecker


Penguin - I think the National Audubon Society would be so impressed with this bird spotting.

All photos by Uncle Alan

Sunny Day

We had a blue sky here today. I took this picture of Maria when she dressed up one day for Homecoming week - it was "career day" and she dressed as a super model?

The Snow Desert

When I was out taking my walk yesterday, I noticed the sun falling on the snow piled up at the edge of the road in such a breathtakingly beautiful way. The shadows are light blue! I attempted to go out in the backyard to take more photos, but the snow was literally knee deep, and I didn't last long.

Stuck in the Everlasting Winter

I have been thinking that Michigan has perhaps detached itself from the rest of the continental United States and is now floating somewhere perilously close to the Artic Circle or at the very least, near Greenland's icy mountains. I suppose if this did happen, it would be all over the news though. We are still dealing with slippery roads, snowblowers, big piles of snow and cold. It occurred to me today that it might not seem quite so unbearable if I didn't insist on marching around stubbornly in a light windbreaker just because it is March.


This is our actual sidewalk on Sunday, March 4.

Someone in church yesterday thanked God for the changing seasons because they always show us something new. This is true. I think from now on, I will think of the changing seasons as the miracle that they are, and I can't wait for Spring.

Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Acts 14:17

Remembering Oma

My sister Marianna reminded me that our dear Oma died 4 years ago today. I wrote about her in a post last year on what would have been her 90th birthday, but since we could never say enough about her, here's another one! We used to love to go visit her down in Florida where she would go to Publix every day to make sure we had enough mint chip ice cream or cheetos or donut holes or whatever.

Oma & I on the trip where she reminded John that I was only 1/2 Dutch, 1988. You can tell she loved me anyway. She was always after me to gain weight - but look! I am gigantic compared to her!


The church with the leaning tower in Bedum of the Netherlands where Oma used to run by as as a little girl because she thought it was going to fall over on her.


The cute little tile-roofed house in Bedum where she lived.

Cross Cultural Discipline

Yesterday, I was off doing one of my favorite team sports: grocery shopping. I say "team" because I always try to be as cooperative as I can in the store by reaching things for short old ladies and pointing out where things are to old men. And also, you know how you pass someone in an aisle, and then you past them in the next, and suddenly, it feels as if you are shopping together! Anyway, I came upon the cereal aisle and was deep in concentration with the brain of a math major-turned-mother, calculating the ounces and cents versus the health benefits and what each kids likes and so on. There are probably hundreds of boxes of cereal at Meijer and to make it even more complicated, there is stuff on the other side of the aisle which I need to look at. Suddenly I overheard a hispanic woman say in a stearn tone, "Uno, Dos, Tres," to her little boy running up the aisle and I chuckled at how this expression or method of discipline must cross cultural boundaries. But somehow I can't picture Oma B. saying, "Een, Twee, Drie..."