Memorial Day around our house typically involves one of the following events: cookout, traveling (usually from a grandparents’ house), swimming, fishing or visiting.  Sometimes, it includes all of these.  Those are the best Memorial Days.

Being a day set aside to remember those who have given their lives for the freedom of our country, Memorial Day holds a special place in my family’s circle.  I have several relatives who have served - uncles, cousins, aunts - and family members who are now gone but were an integral part of different events in history, such as my grandfathers and even further back from that. Read more…

I went to the birthday party of one of my dearest friends’ daughter this past weekend - her first birthday.  It is a monumental occasion, those first birthdays.  It is a reflection of the past twelve months, of the accomplishments and milestones that have been crossed, of remembering that amazing moment when parent and child first lay eyes on each other.  And, in Addy’s case, it was extra-sweet: she had been born nine weeks early, spent six weeks and NICU and overcame some pretty big obstacles along the way.  Here she was, a year later, diving into a applesauce-sweetened spice cake and smearing pale pink icing from ear to ear (and not necessarily just her own ears!).  Those first birthdays are definitely a major milestone.

It was time to turn on a bit of the think-tank to come up with a present for Addy; after all, there were over forty other people in attendance (don’t freak out - they were all mostly relatives) and all bearing gifts.  Your typical tub toy or outfit wouldn’t hold a candle to this crowd.  So, I sat down and created a list of some ideas for gift-giving to be a little bit “different”.  Read more…

We spent this weekend in the company of my family.  My parents were in town, as well as my uncle, aunt and cousin from Slovenia.  And, my almost 92 year old grandmother was here as well.

There’s something nice about being around family, especially those you don’t get to see all that often.  And, for the boys, it was a wonderful experience in meeting a great group of people who are a part of their family history. Read more…

My favorite photo from our wedding isn’t one that the professional photographer took.  It is a 4×6 snapshot I have in a frame on my desk, taken by a close friend of ours at our reception.  It isn’t anything fancy, no formal pose, just Scott and I, grinning from ear to ear and glancing around at the camera.  A true capture of the moment. Read more…