tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23892909294347820482011-11-09T08:47:28.433-06:00Stories from my childhood, and about my children. Anything that is on my mind or on my heart is fair game for this blog. Mostly it will be about my family, past and present.LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.comBlogger101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-38688804730091125412010-10-09T20:58:00.002-05:002010-10-09T21:30:07.634-05:00

A study in stained glass.

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-58636515027423291732008-11-15T16:34:00.011-06:002008-11-15T18:39:15.154-06:00

Last night was opening night of our local High School fall musical. This year they are doing "Annie", which I find particularly pertinent (in a funny sort of way) in light of the current economic and political climate. The play is set in 1933 -- in the midst of an economic depression so pervasive that it came to be known as "The Great Depression". Franklin Delano Roosevelt was fairly new to

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-81881334618510033442008-10-18T07:22:00.002-05:002008-10-18T07:26:51.370-05:00

The old couple who lived here were my grandparents. The house is gone – obviously. The two story structure remains fixed in my childhood memory for its sunny porches, for its wood burning stove in the kitchen, for its grate in the floor of the upstairs bedroom that let warm air tinged with the the scent of woodsmoke and strong coffee brewing waft up from the main floor in the early morning

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-48161860952782202772008-10-13T14:44:00.008-05:002008-10-18T07:31:17.568-05:00

Okay -- I'm having a really hard time getting this post to look right. So bear with me...Isaac recently turned 10. TEN! I can't believe my baby is now in double digits! With all of the turmoil in our family recently, it was good to have a reason to take time to stop and celebrate life.On Saturday we had a samll birthday party for him. We invited six of his friends, but only three could come.

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-76406983801886769272008-08-19T07:06:00.021-05:002008-08-19T11:32:32.938-05:00

...the newest member of the Land of Lakes Choirboys Nordic Choir -- Isaac!!! We spent the past week at choir camp near Lake Mille Lacs. Mark and Grant both attended as junior counselors and I returned for my 3rd year in the kitchen. This was Isaac's 2nd year as a camper. He was apprehensive about the whole camping experience, and about his chances of moving up within the choir ranks. He wants to

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-62505373790580882882008-08-06T17:01:00.005-05:002008-08-06T17:14:51.098-05:00

Well, friends, I made it. I've hit the half-century mark. I can't say I am excited, exactly, to be here, but really -- why not? Life is good, and I have been blessed in my life with love, health, friends, and family for 50 years now. How could that not make me happy? Every day brings me something new to be thankful for. In days I am 18,280 days old. If I had only one thing to be thankful

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-41857954550239635382008-07-31T07:47:00.005-05:002008-07-31T09:02:21.697-05:00

Last Saturday (July 26), after we rushed home from our annual family vacation, we attended a "farewell" party for a man who has been an instrumental part of the Land of Lakes Choirboys organization since the very beginning. He is leaving the organization to take another job in southern MN, one that affords him the opportunity to build some security for retirement. He did not leave by choice, but

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-76243708689171162652008-07-14T10:51:00.001-05:002008-07-14T23:39:26.041-05:00

Yesterday morning (Sunday 7/13/08) we discovered that our first two chrysalises had opened and two butterflies had emerged. I was disappointed that we had missed the actual moment the butterflies came out, but realized that we still had 4 more opportunities to catch the "big moment". We played with our two newborn butterflies a little bit yesterday, and released them early this morning (7/14/08).

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-248932610382414362008-07-08T18:37:00.000-05:002008-07-08T20:19:50.636-05:00

We have had a fun summer project happening at our house. A retired couple from our church asked me if I thought Isaac would enjoy raising monarch butterflies. When I responded "Absolutely!" they generously made arrangements to bring us a butterfly cage they had constructed, fully loaded with 5 caterpillars, milkweed for the caterpillars to feed on and twigs for them to climb around on. After a

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2389290929434782048.post-5442017576014223872008-04-26T15:04:00.000-05:002008-04-26T16:04:01.163-05:00

You probably know that Isaac loves all thing "Titanic". He became fascinated by the story of the Titanic about a year ago when he saw parts of James Cameron's now famous movie from about a decade ago. Since then we have acquired quite an extensive personal library of Titanic related books and videos. Earlier this year, Isaac's class did a unit about the Titanic, and he had to write a report.

LeahVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04309568917527262934noreply@blogger.com0