MASdesigns

A month of photos

I've been a very bad blogger. No really good excuses, life has been busy and I just haven't taken the time to post anything. So instead of trying to make up for lost time and write a huge post about all the stuff going on-I thought it would be more fun to have a little show and tell session. 

Brad does it again at the District Pinewood Derby race. The trophy is for Best Scout Made car. The Boy Scouts are trying to drive point home that the cars should be made by the boys and NOT by their fathers. Brad's car was obviously done all by himself! He was so happy when they announced his name-since it is ALL ABOUT THE TROPHY! Way to go Brad!

Miranda had her first swim meet on her new team. She's the one in lane 4 on the blocks ready to dive in. This was at Eastern Michigan University at a 50 meter pool. After only swimming in 25 meter pools this one look HUGE. She did great though. I also found out the hard way that flash photography is NOT allowed at swim meets. After I snapped these photos I got yelled at by the officials that were sitting right under my perch in the bleachers. Ooops. 

Brad has been busy making guns out of paper. Our garage as become the gun factory and we have white paper and tape everywhere. I'm not complaining though. I'm happy whenever my kids use their creativity! 

Over Memorial Weekend we took a short trip to Indiana. There was an amusement park the kids just had to check out. Not exactly Cedar Point-but the kids had fun.

Brad just couldn't pass up a chance to shoot a gun at the arcade. Notice a theme here?

Miranda enjoyed an Italian Ice while Brad and Brian rode one last carine ride. She looks happy here-but she spent the the whole time at the amusement park whining about going back to the hotel so she could swim. You would think that 2 hours of swim practice a day would get old fast-but I swear she is part fish and if she spends too much time away from the water her gills start to dry out! 

Finally, sometimes the kids leave little surprises on my camera. Not sure when this one was taken, but I'm pretty sure what Brad was trying to communicate to his sister. Can't you just feel the love here?

Spring Flowers and Love - a perfect combination

I've always liked 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter on love. When I read it in my favorite version of the Bible-The Message-it took on a new meaning and I knew I had to make a card from this verse. I'm sending this to my mom for Mother's Day (hi mom) but it would be perfect for an anniversary or wedding card. The photo was taken right outside our front door of the tree that sits in the courtyard. Every spring the tree explodes in pink blooms and every spring I'm out there with my camera taking pictures. 

19 Years Ago

Brian and I said "I do".

Actually that was 19 years ago this past Tuesday-April 28. 19 years ago today we were in Barbados sipping Rum Punch, listening to steel drum bands, and loving life. When I looked back on our wedding and honeymoon pictures I'm stuck by a couple things. First, holy cow do we look young. The second is, I took really crappy pictures of our honeymoon. Seriously, not one good one in the bunch. I know this was before digital-but really, for someone who studied art in college and took a couple photography classes-you'd think I would have one good photo to show. Oh well, at least I have the memories. Happy Anniversary Brian- Love you Megatons!

Big Foot

Yesterday I took Brad shopping for new shoes. He wears a size 7 men's shoe! He's 9 years old and wearing 7 men's!! Yikes. Out of curiosity I tried on his new sandals. Guess what....they fit. Here, let me show you.....

....the foot on the bottom is mine and the one on the top is Brad's. Hopefully he won't totally trash these sandals this summer. They are nice Ecco shoes and I call dibs when Brad outgrows them.

And the winner is......

Do you know what 9 year old boys like more than winning a trophy? 

Winning two! 

Brad walked away with two trophies at his Boy Scout Pinewood Derby today. One for 1st place for his den and one for 2nd place for the whole pack. 

Many thanks to Grandpa Sherwood who worked with Brad this week to make his car. 

Congrats Brad, we are proud of you!

We have an athlete in our house

Who knew that this girl of ours, the one who couldn't kick a soccer ball to save her life, who had no interest in softball or basketball and who almost came in last place at cross country meets, would turn into such a star swimmer. She has definitely found her sport and it is so much fun to watch her in action.

Miranda's been on our health club's swim team for the past year and on her middle school team for the last month or so. Yesterday she tried out for the Canton Cruisers, our local competitive swim team, and she made the team. This will bring a whole new level to her swimming, and a new level of commitment on her part. But I can't tell you how much swimming has boosted her self esteem and confidence. 

This whole athlete thing is so strange to us. Neither Brian or I are what you would consider athletes. We do exercise, but an elliptical machine or a cycle class is totally different than competition. We are both happy that she is doing so well at this sport and that she loves it so much, but we are ecstatic about one thing. It's something we both think about when we watch her compete at swim meets..... a possible scholarship! 

Keep swimming Miranda-you are doing great!

Teva Weather

Yesterday was 68°. I broke out the Teva's. 

Brad spent hours after school shooting hoops and riding his bike.

And look at what I found in our flower beds. 

Welcome Spring!

Who's stranger than who

Miranda and I were at Panera Bread in Ann Arbor last week while Brad was at his youth activity at our church. Since our church is a half hour away so we usually just drop Brad off and then hang out at Panera until he is done. So last week we were doing our usual thing, me with a big cup of coffee and my lap top catching up on work, Miranda with a bottle of Orange Lime Jones Soda finishing homework. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan and is a huge draw for international students. You expect to see lots of different nationalities and hear many different languages spoken, so there was nothing unusual when a young Indian man sat down at the table next to ours and began taking in a very thick Indian accent on his cell phone. He finishes his phone call and suddenly his phone rings again. This time however he answers with "Hey dude, how are ya?" with absolutely no accent at all. Miranda and I just looked at each other over the lap top and start laughing. And that's not all. When he is done talking he starts eating his meal. Eating is too polite. He slurps and gulps down his food making as much noise as possible. Again, Miranda and I are doing our best not to laugh out loud at this guy. Then he gets up and swishes....not walks, over to the garbage to throw away his trash. He swishes back and then opens one of the five books he has with him and begins studying. Do yo think he can do that in the usual way.....OH NO HE CAN NOT. He begins to rock back and forth, hard, like someone with Autism might do. Miranda dubbed him the "Confused, Gay, Indian, Autistic, Guy". We laughed so hard at this poor guys expense, not just that night but every time she re-tells the story. Then I had a thought. What if someone-somewhere is laughing while telling a story about something I did in public. It's possible. In fact, earlier that day I was on my way to a client meeting in downtown Detroit and had to use the bathroom in the worst way. After stopping at three gas stations in a row looking for a restroom and being told "no bathrooms here" I lost it and starting crying at the attendant to "Please....please let me use your bathroom. I'll pay you to use it" He took pity on me and unlocked the tiny, filthy bathroom. Yeah-I bet that night he was telling his wife about the crazy lady who was about to pee her pants. So, who's stranger than who? Guess I really shouldn't laugh about other people....it's really not nice. We all do some pretty laughable stuff in public at times. But, you know, the way Miranda tells the story about the "Confused, Gay, Indian, Autistic, Guy".....it really is funny!

New Favorite Verse

I read this verse the other day and liked it so much that I made a card out of it. Click on the picture to enlarge it. It's perfect for right now-when worry over the economy and our job situations can just eat me up. I just have to read it every time I feel that panic and out of control feeling.....every time I need a reminder of who is in charge and when I need a sense of God's wholeness at the center of my life.

No-sew Blankets

The kids are off for mid-winter break this week. To help keep them busy we made a stop at Jo-Ann Fabrics yesterday and picked up some fleece to make no-sew blankets. It was fun watching the kids pick out the fleece they wanted to use from the many rows at the store. 

Miranda picked two shades of blue (surprise, surprise). A solid light blue paired with a darker one that reminder her of water. She is into anything that has to do with swimming these days. 

Brad chose a camouflage pattern for the front and dark brown solid for the back. Again-no surprise here. 

 

When Brad was done with his blanket I asked him to hold it up so I could take a picture. He wrapped it around himself and then ran to the kitchen and came back with a coffee cup. Didn't know what he was up until he smiled and asked, "Got any change for the poor?" This kid cracks me up sometimes!