Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Matthew!
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuu!

Matthew is 5 years old today!!! Watching Matthew is like watching Greg all over again. They are SO much alike! Matthew is a perpetual motion machine. He never stops.

Greg and Amy had the whole gang at their house for a cookout and cake and ice cream! It was a great day to sit out on the deck and watch all of the kids in the yard.

Matthew got lots of presents and was the perfect birthday host! He and Bryce had a great time playing with the new wrestling ring (and wrestlers). They both speak "wrestling" (which, personally, I don't get but then I AM old) - announcing wrestlers and matches like the pros. I guess it was cowboys and horses back in MY day. *sigh* Sounds like about a hundred years ago. It was almost that long ago.

That's the birthday boy in the middle!

What could be better than a wrestling ring???

He's growing up so fast - starting his first day of kindergarten in a few days. Gregory is going to junior high - Alex is back at Forwood - and Matthew starts kindergarten at Forwood. Greg and Amy's gang are all going to be in school this year. Life changes before your eyes!

More of our crew...

Bubble Girls!

Kate and her water bottles

I love this picture of Kate and Michael!

Bryce is the next one to have a birthday!

Scott and Bryce

Kate, Bryce, Alex and Mia's feet

Julie, Scott & Richard - around the table

Greg - taking a short break

Who is the man behind the tin foil?

You could take a vacation in this treehouse!

Matthew is going to have another birthday party next week with his friends from pre-school. If I can get some pictures, I'll put them up next week.

Till then...

Happy Birthday, Matthew!!!

Oh Atlanta ~ I hear you calling

Traveling to Atlanta to take Chelsea for Mission Year - I kept hearing the song "Atlanta" by Alison Krauss in my head, BUT was it in anyone's iPod? No! I have no idea how that happened, but it WILL be corrected!



ANYWAY... Chelsea is in Atlanta.


We left Delaware around 6:00 Wednesday night, stopped in Henderson, NC around midnight and then got up the next morning and arrived in Atlanta in time for a quick tour before we took Chelsea to meet her Mission Year group at 4:30.

While Chelsea and her group had a meeting, Michael and I found a terrific pizza place about 10 minutes away.

At 7:00 it was time to take the kids to their house. We were anxious to see where she lived - who she would be living with - what kind of neighbors she would have.

They're in a neighborhood called East Point, outside of Atlanta, in a house that's in a trailer park. The trailer park is mostly hispanic, so I'm sure Chelsea's Spanish will greatly improve this year! :)

The house was originally a disaster - floors caving in, etc. Chelsea's Mission Year group is affiliated with another group, sponsored by 88 Baptist churches. That group came in to prepare the house before the kids arrived.

They scrubbed and cleaned, replaced and repaired and with the help of the East Point community, the house was finally ready!

The kids arrived and filled the tiny living room with their luggage, and musical instruments - 3 guitars, a ukulele, and a keyboard (I think that's it). Oh and a harmonica (or 2) and a rhythm egg (can't forget the rhythm egg).


There are 2 bedrooms in the house. The 4 girls will sleep on bunkbeads (which they all had to build upon arrival) in one bedroom and the boys will sleep in the other bedroom.


Then off to find the kitchen. I'm sure they will all be able to make a meal out of almost nothing by the time their year is over.


And finally out on the porch to take a picture of the whole group before we left.

God bless Chelsea!Chelsea, Kim, Rachel, Joseph, Kelly and Andrew

I'm sure this will be a life-changing experience for Chelsea (and her new friends). We're so impressed with her courage - her heart - her faith. I know I've said that before, but being in East Point, looking at the challenge in front of them, the sacrifices they'll be making - knowing how busy they will be - how little time they'll have for themselves - we are in awe of their willingness and enthusiasm to live a year of service. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them daily.

After, saying good-by to Chelsea, we were on the road again - leaving a little after 8:00 pm - back to Delaware.

Chelsea's "Going Away" Dinner - Part 2

FIRST of all... I don't know if I said where Chelsea is going. Did I?

If I didn't... Chelsea is going to Atlanta for a year to work with Mission Year.

From their website:

• "Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor."

I'm impressed with Chelsea's courage - her heart - her faith.
So... that's why we're having "going away" dinners - so that Chelsea can see all of her friends before she leaves for Atlanta.
Friday was fun! More of Chelsea's friends (and some repeats) - dinner at 6:30(ish) - meatballs, chips, soda, cake, ice cream - casual - fun.
After dinner - back to the livingroom with the guitars out. Ashley came for dinner and brought her mandolin...

And where you find Barak (yes, I spelled it right. The President obviously spells his name incorrectly) you will almost certainly find a guitar.


Stephanie played Chelsea's guitar while Chelsea accompanied on the ukulele. At least that's what it looks like here. In reality there was more "denial of talent" on Stef's part than there was playing, but as you can see, they had a good time.


We think Stephanie has more talent than she claims. I mean, after all... a "Ramone's" t-shirt? If that isn't inspiration well... let's just say it... um... IS inspiration. Rock on, Stephanie!


So... are we going to do this all over again when Chelsea comes home???
Sure! Why not?!?!?! :-)

Chelsea's "going away" dinner - Part 1

The plan for Thursday did NOT work out as expected. It turned out MUCH better than planned!

The plan was - Dinner for Chelsea on Friday - 5:15 (or so) - meatball sandwiches - easy. So... on Wednesday, Chelsea contacted her friends to come on Friday and I texted Richard and asked if he and Julie and Kate could come for dinner "tomorrow night". He replied... "sure". (or something similar)

On Thursday, Chelsea called home and asked if she could bring home some friends for dinner. The "Thursday plan" was hamburgers, baked beans, chips - pretty casual. We were glad to have Chelsea's friends, so of course we said "Yes!"

In the meantime, one of the breakers in the electric box went off and we couldn't get it back on. On that breaker was:
- one of the outlets in the den
- the pantry light in the kitchen
- one outlet in the computer room
- two outlets in the diningroom
- the diningroom light
- the garage door opener (we found out later)

I called Richard for the name of the electrician who's Greg's neighbor. During the conversation, he asked what I was doing and I told him that I was making meatballs for tomorrow night. "Tomrrow night????" he asked. "You texted me yesterday (Wednesday and said ... tomorrow" - which was now, today. I checked my text messages, thinking he must be confused. He was NOT confused. I invited them for Thursday instead of Friday.

I told Richard that Michael was running up and down the basement stairs - unplugging something and then going to the basement to see if the breaker would reset - then coming back up and doing it again and again. I told him that if we weren't in such a mess, I'd tell them to just come. But the electric was out - Chelsea was bringing home 3 or 4 people for dinner and I was a little unstrung. He said he had to hang up quickly and call Julie. She was probably on her way. We hung up and I texted Richard and Julie apologizing. I felt awful.

As soon as I sent that text, I was sorry. Why not have everyone? It's summer - not too dark at 5:30 - 6:00 and besides, if there's one thing we have, it's candles! A little electricity confusion was not going to stop us.

We had PLENTY of ground beef (I was making meatballs, after all)sooooo I called Richard back and asked him if they could come. He said he'd try to reach Julie AGAIN. Poor Julie. "Come - don't come - come" What a mess! Confusion DID reign - but only briefly!

Julie and Richard (and Kate) were great sports and agreed to come.


Chelsea's friends came home with her. It was fun night!


Kate was great, as usual - always busy - playing with her "baby" (the first doll baby I EVER bought in my life, by the way)...


Or some of the other toys...


I bought the cutest hat for Kate from a lady at the Farmer's Market who makes hats. The hat had to be big because of Kate's hair. She has such thick, curly, curly hair! The hats for kids her age are just too small.


I'm glad that Richard, Julie and Kate got to come and say "good-bye" to Chelsea before she leaves for Atlanta. She enjoys them so much - and the feeling is mutual.

Richard and Julie and Kate left at about 7:00 - bath night for Kate.


Chelsea's friends stayed later, laughing and talking in the livingroom. A good night, for Chelsea, I think (I hope).

The evening brought back lots of memories for me - from when Richard, Greg, and Scott were in high school - the house always full of kids - the refrigerator stocked and ready - lots of laughter - lots of noise - fun times.

Life is SO good!

The Time Traveler's Wife

Did you read the book? The movie is SOOOO close to the book! I was expecting to be disappointed (strange point of view for an optimist, I know), but the movie was F*A*N*T*A*S*T*I*C ! Definitely 5 Go's!

Chelsea and Michael and I went last night. Chelsea and I both read the book - Michael did not - and I think we all enjoyed it equally. There were things in the book that didn't make it to the movie that Chelsea and I would have liked to see in the movie.

We thought some things could have been more clear - like the age differences in Henry were pretty subtle, for the most part. We would have liked more library stuff in the beginning - that kind of thing, but I know they did have a time limit. If the movie had been 2 1/2 hours long, I'd be complaining about THAT! Anyway.. I don't want to say too much and ruin it for anyone. Just go.

In the end, we laughed - we cried, just like we were supposed to. I mean, isn't that the eventual movie litmus test? So good! Sooooo good!

Rachel McAdams (Chelsea's favorite actress) and Eric Bana were beyond terrific. (I'd love to be just half as nice as Claire was) It was easy to just... be there - to forget we were watching a movie.

Go see it!

(And don't forget your tissues!)

Julie & Julia (The Movie)

5 Go's for this one!!!!

Michael and I saw "Julie and Julia" on Tuesday. We loved it!!! Meryl Streep definitely deserves an award of some kind! She was F*A*N*T*A*S*T*I*C!!!

And how cool is it that it was a blogger (on Blogspot, no less) who wrote one of the books that was the basis for the movie (Julia Child wrote the other one)! BLOGGERS rule!

We laughed out loud, it was so funny! After watching this movie, I wish I could have known Julia Child. She appeared to be an incredibly bright and pleasant person.

I have a mental dinner list of people that I find interesting and would love to spend a couple of hours with - as if they'd come - or as if I cook. I added Julie Child to my list on Tuesday. I know she died in 2004, but since she wouldn't come anyway, what the heck! She's on the list. Can't come - won't come - same end result. It's all just details!

Sooooo go see it! NOW!

How to Rate a Movie

Let's begin with the premise that I really have NO discernment when it comes to movies. I like them all - some more than others, but it's rare that I don't find some redeeming quality in even the worst movie.

Sooooo for me to rate movies, it's just a matter of degrees of "GO!"

1. 5 Go's is the best! Get there! Quick! No excuses!
2. A 4 Go movie is really good! You can wait 'til next week, but no longer!
3. 3 Go's means that I really liked it - probably more than you will.
4. 2 Go's will give you a pleasant escapist afternoon. Beyond that - no promises.
5. 1 Go means that there were probably 2 of us in the theater, and the other person was sleeping. It can wait. (unless you're bored today - then go)
6. The dreaded Pfffffft! You won't see these very often. A Pfffffft! movie takes time and money that you'll never get back. Buy a book and sit in book store and read if you want to get "away". Don't waste your time on this one.

Clear? All right, then! Now we're on the same page!

Michael is 18????? Please!!

Not everyone gets TWO birthdays a year. Personally, that would not be a treat for me! One is pllllllllenty! BUT... Michael has been clean and sober for 18 years today! Truly a day to celebrate - well worth having a second birthday! You go, Michael!

Happy 18th Birthday to Michael!

Dinner and a goat

Note: That's dinner AND a goat - not dinner WITH a goat. (Just clarifying)

Dinner last night with Richard and Kate at Red Robin. I got the best hug EVER from Kate. She was content to just stay on my lap and let me hold her. Color me melted! So sweet! I wasn't sure she was going to get off of my lap to eat - which would have been fine for me, too! I would have held her as long as she would have let me.

By the time we left, she was out of the huggy mood. I was lucky to get a quick squeeze on her way to the car. She was semi-obsessed with carrying her booster seat to the car BY HERSELF, so she was a little distracted. She had to give up the booster seat to give me a hug, so she was more than a little distracted. Tenacious... that's it. That's Kate.

Julie stayed for a little while, but she was meeting friends for dinner, so she had to leave before our dinner came. I'm glad for the time that Julie has with her friends, but we do miss her when she's not there.

Julie and her parents went to the Brandywine Zoo (here in Wilmington) last Friday and Julie had the cutest picture of Kate "chillin' with a goat" as Julie titled the picture.


I mean... really... c'mon! Cute or what????

Life IS good!

Brave Little Boy

Poor little Matthew is in a cast. He fell down the stairs at home - from the living room to the family room. The house is a split-level, so there weren't a lot of stairs, but he landed on his wrist and elbow and he knew right away that something was very wrong.

Greg and Amy took him to A.I. duPont Hospital for Children (we are so fortunate to live so close to such a wonderful hospital) where they x-rayed him and put him a cast.


Quite a trauma for a little boy. (Matthew will be 5 this month and starts kindergarten in September.) Greg and Amy said that Matthew was a real trooper - soooo brave.


They took good care of him - hooked him up to an IV for pain meds, which could be traumatic, in itself if you were just 5. He looks so calm - sad, but calm. (Matthew has the most beautiful, expressive eyes.)

Home at last, resting in the recliner.

Michael and I met Amy, Greg, Gregory, Alex, and Matthew for dinner last night at Grotto's. This has been a tough couple of days for poor Matthew. He was so tired that he fell asleep in Amy's amrs before his dinner came.


Amy looked tired, too. I don't think there's anything worse than seeing your child hurt - no matter how young or old that child may be.

Matthew goes back to A.I. this week and they'll look again at x-rays and decide where to go from here. Depending on what they find, he could be in a half-cast for his wrist, or a whole cast from his wrist to his armpit. I'm praying that a half-cast will do it (or no cast, of course).

All prayers gratefully appreciated.

The lunch bunch

Lunch with Richard AND Greg today. Quite a treat! Pizza at Gallery Pizza.

Richard and I decided to do the lunch thing and Michael came from home to join us. Greg was on his way back to the shop and since he was going right by the pizza shop, he stopped by for a quick slice (or two) of pizza AND the best company he could possibly imagine. Now... if we could have only grabbed Scott, too! :)

We were talking and Greg got off on a "what if" tangent that had us all hysterical. His "what if's" were pretty funny, but the real killer was watching Greg laugh so hard. It's impossible to watch someone laugh that hard and not end up laughing just as hard - well, at least that's how it goes for me. Before I knew it, I was laughing so hard I was in tears - and I have no real idea why. Oh well! They say laughter is the best medicine! If so, we surely cured SOMETHING today! :)

Quiet afternoon watching the Phillies and napping on the couch. I'm SO tired this week. I've developed this "thing" about waking up for the day between 4:00am and 4:15am. NOT fun! No matter how hard I try to go back to sleep (hmmmm maybe "trying" is the problem), I'm pretty much done by 4:15. By the time I get up - sometime between 5:30 and 6:00, I feel absolutely rotten. I guess I should just get up at 4:15 and be done with it. Now why didn't that occur to me before?!

Chelsea's friends returned to Indiana yesterday, so the house is almost too quiet. We really did enjoy their visit. Even though Chelsea will be in in Atlanta until next August, Meredith says she's coming back next summer for her annual visit! We're looking forward to it!!!

If you knew that you would die today...

Saw the face of God and love
Would you change
Would you change
~Tracy Chapman~

So! Guess who WE saw last night????


We bought the tickets a lonnnnnnnng time ago. When we saw that they were available, we HAD to buy them! I mean... well... it IS Tracy Chapman. She had never been to the Keswick before (that I know of) so we decided that we should go. One of our better decisions!!!!

What a great show! It was sold out (of course) and the crowd was amazing - appreciative - enthusiastic - all the things you would want an audience to be. And as you can see by the pictures, we had GREAT seats!


Like guitars? You would have been happy at this show! Ms. Chapman played 8 (count 'em... 8) guitars during the show -
3 Martins
2 Paul Reed Smiths
1 Fender Telecaster
1 vintage Vega guitar that Michael said he thought was from the 50's
AND 1 guitar that we definitely recognized as "her" sound, but that we couldn't identify. Any ideas anyone?


She also played a wooden box and a scrub board, and although it seems she DOES collect guitars, I doubt if she has a wooden box and scrub board collection. You never know, though. She might! Add to that list, a harmonica and a set of bongo-type drums.

At one point in her life, Ms. Chapman studied African rhythms - and we were the benefactors of that last night.


Tracy Chapman possesses a grace that is palpable - not something we've seen very often. It's the same kind of grace and humility that we found when we saw Richie Havens. Quite a presence!


It was a wonderful night! I'm a fan for life!!!

Every day a holiday

Or... so it seemed last week. We had a crazy busy week, but one that was sooooooo much fun!

Richard, Julie and Kate came for dinner on Wednesday - BLT's and corn-on-the-cob - my favorite summer fare. Chelsea had to work, but her friends, Meredith and Kelly (tall Kelly as opposed to short Kelly), who are visiting from Indiana, were here for dinner.

Kate and Meredith had grilled cheese sandwiches. Boy, did they miss a treat! It's now possible to get local tomatoes and they're soooooooo good! I think I could live on corn and tomatoes all summer!

Watching Kate eat corn-on-the-cob is a stitch. She LOVES it! I um... "borrowed" a picture from Julie's blog of Kate shucking corn at their house. Soooo cute!


I mushed up some fresh strawberries and we had them over French vanilla ice cream for dessert. Or... some of us did. Julie, Kate and Richard were too full from dinner. (Imagine! Too full for dessert????? Amazing!!)

On Friday, Greg, Amy, Gregory (11), Alex (8)and Matthew (4) came for dinner - nothing fancy - meatball sandwiches and chips. Matthew is beginning to feel really comfortable at our house and it makes me smile. He loves to drag toys up from the basement to play with in the livingroom. He's great at dragging them back down again, so I'm happy to oblige his pleasure. Such a cutie!

Chelsea and friends (Meredith, (tall) Kelly, and (short) Kelly made it back from their trip to PA in time for dinner, so we had quite a crowd. Fun!

The strawberries and ice cream were such a success, we repeated it on Friday with the addition of some cherry water ice from Rita's for a "make your own gelati" treat for the kids.

Amy and I had fun in the kitchen, playing with jewelry. She found a pair of earrings that she loved and in spite of her best efforts to pay for them, we sent them home with her at a deep family discount. :)

What good is it to make jewelry if you can't pass along a treat every now and then? It's a pleasure to make things for "the girls" that they love.

Tonight, Michael and I met Chelsea, (tall) Kelly, Meredith, Julie, Kate and Richard at Grotto's downtown for dinner (short Kelly had to work). This is Meredith's 5th trip to Delaware and Grotto's is a "must do" on her list when she comes. Richard and family joined us to turn dinner into a truly festive occasion!

AND... Kate pee-peed in the potty TWICE (for a grand total of FOUR m&m's) while we were at Grotto's! Of course, I think it took 5 or 6 trips to complete the mission, but she did great and our whole table applauded when she was successful. How funny! Chelsea went to the ladies' room and demanded the same applause when she returned (which we cheerfully accmmodated). Unfortunately for Chelsea, she forgot to request the m&m reward. Maybe next time!