Christian the Lion

For anyone who missed this…

 

The loss is great because the gift was extraordinary …Goodbye Maggie Anne

 

MARGUERITE STEWART On Sunday, July 6, 2008, Mollie and John Stewart IV of Henderson, said goodbye to their beautiful daughter, Marguerite “Maggie” Anne Stewart, at Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Las Vegas. Maggie was born at Henderson’s St. Rose Siena Hospital May 9, 2007. Although we only had her physically for a short 14 months, her spirit and our wonderful memories of her will be with us forever. Energetic, social, happy, coy, cuddly - all describe Maggie. Always on the go with a need to be in the middle of every gathering, her smile lit up the room and the accompanying little head tilt melted it. But, as big and strong as her heart was figuratively, it required some fine-tuning physically, and the minute or two of rest or cuddling that reenergized and revitalized her was no longer sufficient. Complications during a procedure to make her heart as perfect as the rest of Maggie led to God bringing her home. Along with Mollie and John, also surviving her are grandparents, Andrea and John “Stew” Stewart III of Lodi, Calif., and Bonnie and Mike Scott of Henderson; great-grandmother, Martha “Mimi” Howatt of Lodi; aunts and uncles, Shelby and David Matthews of Alexandria, Va., and Kelley and Nichole Scott, and their children, TJ and Kylie of Coon Rapids, Minn.; and a multitude of other caring relatives and friends. God blessed Maggie - His real blessing is giving us Maggie. Services for Maggie will be at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave. Viewing will start at 2 p.m. A ‘Marguerite “Maggie” Anne Stewart Memorial Fund’ has been established - the funds will be distributed to ‘The Children’s Heart Foundation’ and Las Vegas’s Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Pre-School Scholarship Fund. The fund address is: Wells Fargo, Attn: Travis French, MAC S4733-011, 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV 89169.

Culture Shock…

When our family agreed to host a foreign exchange student from South Korea we anticipated a culture shock. Today our anticipated world traveler discussed where she is currently living and we have decided that the culture shock will be greater than a transition from American to Korean, this Korean girl will travel from a very large port city in South Korea and find herself in a very small rural upper Midwestern city for the next 9 months.

Here are pictures of Busan (Pusan) South Korea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yikes…culture shock! 

Nothing More Dangerous…

My son and I were just having a hoot over Ms. Woo Woo’s recent post. It’s about a polydactyl cat named Sheba but nicknamed Satan. In short the cat looks like it’s wearing mittens because of its extra digits but this also mean that the cat has opposable thumb and can open things other kitties can’t like the latch on its cage. My son wants a polydactyl cat and we loved Ms. Woo Woo’s post, read it and enjoy!

Bringing Korea Home

My daughter spent part of her winter pouring over information on becoming a foreign exchange student. Bubble-Girl loves to travel but she has a deficient immune system which makes her school attendance impossible. She decided if she couldn’t be an exchange student that our family should host one, a request I ignored…like when she says mom can I have a Husky.

One of the factors that swayed my decision was the fact that Bubble-Girl has to attend high school online, so she’s removed from the everyday high school stuff. Having another high school student around might give her a window into the everyday high school scene while bringing a brand new culture into our home. If we couldn’t send Bubble-Girl to an Asian culture, maybe we could bring the Asian culture to Bubble-Girl…I was softening on the idea.

What sealed the deal was Da-Young, a 15 year old Korean girl who said in her letter that she loves to read, talk, shop and preferred to be placed in a home with pets. Her letter was candid, light hearted and what the heck we have a number of pets to make her feel at home. She seemed a very good fit for our family and she is eager to leave Korea to see the Mall of America.

 Da-Young has called frequently and our families have exchanged emails and photos. She has decided that she wants to be called Rossana during her stay in America and will attend Royalton high school in the fall.  We expect her to arrive mid August and hope to take a short trip out to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands before school starts.

In the meantime, I have downloaded Korean to my MP3 player so I can communicate with her parents, I have also purchased Korean cookbooks and I will begin learning to cook some traditional Korean dishes. I admit that I was pleased to see that many seasonings used in Korean cooking are available anywhere but I think I’ll shy away from raw fish dishes.

This will surely be an adventure!

 

Seeds of Change

I wasn’t really looking for a career change, but when a really great opportunity presents itself you have to jump on…tuck your feet and arms in and roll with it.

I took a job about 6 weeks ago which is why A Novel Spot has been so neglected. It wasn’t planned but I loved the job description then I loved the board of directors, the rest is history.

I worried that taking a job would inhibit my ability to continue writing The Eyes to See Grace. Fiction writing is so very different from any other writing that I just didn’t know if I would be able to do both. About a week ago I added yet another chapter to my book and proved to myself that I still could shift into fiction mode. I’m convinced at this juncture that my book is a universe and entity all its own and it exists independent of me, I just have to tap into it and write what I see.

On the flip side, I have less time to dedicate to writing but as my life begins settling into a new routine I am finding pockets of time to spend doing what I love the most.

In addition to adding a job I have also planted a garden. The main character of my book is a seed saver so this year I purchased rare heirloom seeds, tilled the back yard, purchased a greenhouse and created micro samples of Grace’s universe. Gardening is dirtier than expected, Grace doesn’t mind as much as I do. Nonetheless I have 30 crowns of organic asparagus, organic German butterball potatoes, Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Sugar Snap Peas, Monkey Ass Tomatoes, Vadalia Onions, Arrow Green Peas, White Cucumbers, Organic Roma Tomatoes, Brandywine Tomatoes, Rosemary, Thyme, Italian Basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Christmas Lima Beans, Cranberry Runner beans, Organic Yellow, Orange and white Peppers, Claytonia, Eva’s Burgundy Lettuce, Kale, Strawberry Spinach…and many others. My non-organic indulgence was to plant hundreds of Peaches and Cream Sweet Corn plants…a favorite of my family.

Suffice it to say I have been reading and studying in order to write Grace’s life, but I’ve also planted Grace’s garden, an activity my 26 year old son has helped with. He says gardening has a Zen sort of quality that he finds peaceful and relaxing. Some of the plants will be used for food, others will go to seed so we can add to the seed bank and plant again next year.

The frequency of my posts will certainly be effected, but gradually I am finding time. There are many things I like and that I am good at but fiction writing makes me feel larger than life. It’s like throwing open the window of your soul to a spring day and taking a deep breath.

Twilight - The Movie Trailer

My daughter plowed through Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series at least a thousand time, I downloaded the audiobook version of Twilight and I loved it…even if I felt silly admitting it. We are awaiting book 4 Breaking Dawn in August and Twilight the movie due for release in December.

For anyone else who is shamelessly waiting, here is the trailer to Twilight the movie!

4 Meme

My good friend Ms. Woo Woo has tagged me for a list of 4.

4 Jobs I’ve Had: Executive Director, Administrator, T.V. Producer, Lobbyist

4 Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once: Pride and Prejudice, Silence of the Lambs, Almost Famous, Office Space

4 Places I’ve Lived: Coon Rapids, North East Minneapolis, Blaine, Little Falls

4 T.V. Show I’ve Watched: America’s Next Top Model, What Not To Wear, Trading Spaces, Bret Michael’s Rock of Love.

4 Places I’ve Been: London, England, Tampa, Florida, New York, New York, Reno, Nevada

4 Places I’d Like to Visit: Ireland, Italy, Spain, China

4 People Who Email Me Regularly: Ms. Woo Woo, Karen, Dee, Mary S.

4 of My Favorite Foods: Alaskan king crab, tri tip steak, roasted potatoes, asparagus

4 Things I’m Looking Forward to This Year: Earning more money, replacing my sofa, using the patio at our new house, taking a vacation.

4 People I’m tagging: I don’t know 4 people with a blog….

Prom 2008

I snapped this right before Alexa’s prom date arrived…

From the Pages of My 17 Year Old, II

Earlier this year I posted a couple of paragraphs written by my daughter. This evening she gave me permission to post a story that she’s been working on. Since my schedule has been booked tight I’m glad to have something new to post. Enjoy!

The Council of Ettaldens

My life had never been the fairytale I had always wished for. I grew up on a small farm where my father was a blacksmith and my mother just a wife and mother of two kids. She was also a skilled healer with herbs and home remedies that I never got the chance to learn.  The towns folk whispered tales of her being a witch, but when they needed help with a sick child or a dying grandmother they would come to us with no shame.

 Everything seemed better when I was a child, the sky was brighter, and the grass was greener, nothing could possibly go wrong in my world. The biggest dilemmas I ever had were the days my brother thought it would be fun to play cruel pranks on me. Even then mama would feel sorry for me and I would be able to get a treat out of it. No, my childhood was nothing to complain about. I also remember the day every thing changed, the day when I was forced to be no longer a child and to think for myself.

It was cold, damp and cloudy, the dark sky hovered over us as rain threatened to make itself known at any moment. A group of men came riding up to our small wooden house, dust flying behind them. They wore silver helmets with black and red fabric starting from the top and falling to the side. I had never seen men like them; they fascinated me but, I was also terrified. They bore no smiles and as my father went out to greet them, he showed no welcome as he always did with others. The largest man in the group, whose long course black hair came peaking out of his helmet, trotted forward and began to talk. He had a deep voice that boomed like thunder but low enough for none of us to be able to make out a word. I shuddered as I clung to my mother’s apron. Tonan, my brother, began to walk down the porch to stand next to my fathers’ side, but mama stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. We all stood there silently watching, my mother would gulp for air every so often as if she were holding her breath. My eyes studied the men who sat behind the one who was talking to my father. They sat there with no emotion, stern as the sky above them. Each of them had a hand resting on the sword that hung lazily at there sides, as if there would be a need to use them at any moment. I avoided the thought to even to think about were their swords had been.

My father, usually a gentle man, began to raise his voice. Tonan began to fidget and I looked up at my mother, whose eyes were glued to the scene in front of us. Her curly blonde hair rustled in the wind, she looked down at me sensing my confusion, her pale blue eyes looked sad, but she smiled and whispered me soothing words. I smiled and looked back at my father and felt my mother stroke my head. The leader handed my father a scroll, I watched him try to hand it back to the man but he only shook his head and turned his horse around to leave. The rest of the group followed obediently. My father stood there dazed, staring at the scroll that was now laying in his hands. Tonan ran out to my father, I watched him jump, being brought back to reality, my fathers smile reappeared to his face and he patted Tonan on the head.

“What was it?” My mother called out to them in her soft velvet voice. My father looked at Tonan and then back at my mother.

“Take Aurelia to the forest to gather some berries, tonight your mama can make a treat for us.” He then walked into the house leaving us standing there quietly staring after him.

Tonan began to protest but my mother raised her hand and went into the house too. Tonan glared at me making me stare down at my feet in defeat.

“Well get your basket” he barked making me cringe. I hesitated but then did as I was told.

“You don’t have to be so mean” I said as I ran to keep up with him as we followed the trail through the forest, his long legs glided quickly. Compared to my short stubby legs it was always a race to keep up with him.

He was sixteen years, eight years older then I.  A young man in my fathers eyes but still a boy in mine. He had my mother’s features, her blonde curly hair and gentle eyes. He wanted nothing more in life then to be my father.

I stumbled a little and stopped to balance myself. “Just find your berries Aurelia” he sighed and sat down on a large bolder a few feet away from me. My face turned red, I hated to feel like I was being a burden so I quickly went into the forest. I hurriedly gathered as many berries as I could, ignoring the stabbing pain that would go through my hand as I would carelessly shove my hand into the bush.  I would stop every few second to sneak a few berries into my mouth and then would go back to gathering. I heard my brother call my name and I grabbed the basket and ran back to the path.

“Come on, I want to find out what’s happening.” He began to walk away. I frowned and went to catch up with him.

“What do you mean?” I asked confused. He sighed and I could tell he was annoyed that he would have to explain it to me.

“Do you really think that Pa wanted a pie all of a sudden?”

I pondered the question, but he didn’t wait for me to answer.

“He wanted to speak to Mama alone” He said quietly. His sudden mood change worried me even more.

“Who were those men Tonan? Why did they give a scroll to Papa?”  I looked up to see his face frown but when I stumbled again I went back to watching the ground below me. Tonan grabbed the basket away from me noticing that it probably wasn’t best for me to carry them and I silently thanked him.

“They were men of the Kaldron army, I assume they want to take Papa to war with them.” He looked down at me and smiled a weak smile. “I shall go with him if he does.”

I gasped; I had never heard of a war, why would we need an army?

“Who are we going to war with Tonan? Why does the army need Papa he is but a blacksmith.” I fought the panic that was threatening to take over.

“I will get into trouble if I tell you Aurelia” He quickened his pace.

“Tell me Tonan I want to know. “ I pleaded.

“Kaldron will go to war with its own people and the time is coming to chose sides.” He paused to look at me, I stayed silent, waiting for him to go on. Tonan stopped walking and knelt to look me in my eyes.

“Aurelia they are many things you do not know about Kaldron, rightfully so. You are still very young, what I tell you, you can not tell Mama or Papa that I told you okay?”

I nodded feeling dazed by his seriousness.

“There are such thing in this world called Ettalden, they are like humans but poses the power of the elements. Most only have certain elements but some poses all four. The king of Kaldron, Syrian, views these humans as creatures and wishes to rid all of Kaldron of them. Many people of Kaldron disagree and that brings us to the war.” He studied my face, maybe to search for fear. But my face was stone I would not let him stop.

“Syrian has been killing these Ettalden without the knowledge of the people, now that his secret is out; people are beginning to stand up for the Ettalden. Syrian expects his people to follow him in his decision of murder against these harmless humanoids. That is why I think a few of his army men came to Papa, to tell him to fight with them.  I had heard they were coming from some town’s people earlier this week, but I couldn’t be sure.” Tonan opened his mouth to say more but then closed it and began to walk again. I stood there by myself taking in every thing that I had just been told.

“What will Papa do?” I called out, now feeling very small compared to the world around me.

Tonan stopped and turned around to look at me. “He will fight with the Ettalden against Syrian and his evil doings,” and then Tonan disappeared down the trail leaving me standing there.

“But what will I do?” I whispered to myself.