Happy Birthday, Michael!

Celebrated my 59th birthday today. As my brother, Chris, says, "Dangerously close to 60." But I have to admit I'm pretty lucky. I am retired and have some control over how I spend my time, I have a job that I enjoy, I can pay my bills, I have a bit of extra money in the bank, I eat pretty well, I have 6 fabulous grandchildren, and I get to wake up every morning next to my best friend and the most amazing person I've ever known, my wife, Jane.
I had what I consider a prefect day. I slept in, Jane cooked us breakfast and we cought up on the news and had a few laughs. I spoke with or heard from my daughters and grandkids who all seem to be learning to say "Happy Birthday, Poppa" with enthusiasm. I talked with Chris for about 45 minutes and Jane and I spent some time at Barnes and Noble reading and just enjoying each other's company. We also ran into my dad and his friend Marion there as well. We ended the day with a dinner of steak, asparagus and potatoes... and of course German Chocolate cake and ice cream. As far as I'm concerned, life doesn't get much better than that!

Warrior Month

In ancient Rome the tradition was that all wars began on the New Year which was in the spring. That's why March is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. However in 52 BCE Lucius Postumius Albinus, a Roman general, wanted to go to war against Spain, and rather than wait until March he just moved the New Year to January and began his war immediately. And that's when the New Year has begun ever since.

This week with a winter storm advancing on us Thursday Jan. 6 it certainly felt like war. Jane and I made our plans and prepared to do battle with Mother Nature. We have a 24 inch Airens snowblower that is capable of obliterating anything in its path, a couple of all metal Ames snowshovels, an old coal shovel that would have been my Grandfather Henri's weapon of choice, and enough other snowshovels to equip all of our grandchildren. We also just added a small Toro power shovel ( on sale at Menards) to clean up the areas the Airens cant reach.

To supplement this arsenal we also have a snow pusher and assorted brushes to clean off the cars and a roofing shovel with hardened teeth to break up the ice on the front porch. Even with all of this weaponry we only managed to fight the snow to a draw. We did reward ourselves for all this effort with a comforting meal of pork roast, sauerkraut, and dumplings cooked all day in our Crock Pot. We then retired to the living room to watch a couple of movies. We finished the day by watching the last of the snow fall from the comfort of our hottub before turning in for the night. We love winter.

Winter Sunset

I'll be glad to see the days get longer eventually, but there's something I love about the shorter days at this time of year. It's easy to see both sunrise and sunset... they kind of frame my day. The quality of light at the end of the day is absolutely beautiful. There's something about it that makes you want to be at home with your loved ones and a hot bowl of soup or stew. There's a reason they're called comfort food. The cold and dark makes me want to draw into myself, be close to those I love, and focus on whats most important in my life... friends and family.

Cousins

I love watching how much fun my grandchildren have when we all get together for a family function. They all watch and learn from each other and before you know it theres a kind of zany crazyness in the air. It takes all of the adults to keep some kind of lid on the energy in the room. The focus is definitely on the kids... we adults hardly have time to visit, but its all fun anyway. I think Trevor and Sully are often the most fun to watch. They are at the perfect age to begin hanging out and getting into lots of mischief together. I managed to catch them here in a rare moment of well-behaved creativity.

Alex's Baptism

Before the beginning of time, out of the vast and formless void of space, the Lord breathed life into the universe by saying "Let there be light." Alexander, you are that light. You have been that light for us since the day you were born. We see it in your smile every day. May you always be the light for those around you. Thank you and welcome. We love you. Poppa & Gramma

Winter Fun

One of the best ways to enjoy winter is to go outside (as Bec says "Embrace it!") and enjoy it with children. I've had a number of opportunities to do that lately and mother nature has certainly cooperated by providing lots of snow and winter weather. We closed out 2009 by visiting Lincoln Park Zoo and the Peggy Notebart Museum with the grandkids. Jane and I were joined by Andy and Sarah and my brother, Chris, who taught O, Charlie, and Sully to throw snowballs and also taught them some sneaky snowball fighting strategies that I'm sure will serve the grandkids well later in life. But most of all we made some wonderful memories together. My New Year's Resolution is to make as many memories as possible and to get back to sharing them regularly in my blog. I hope 2010 is filled with amazing adventures and memories for the whole family and that we get to experience as many of them as possible together!