Homes - apartments/houses/etc.

To celebrate the sale of our former home in Indiana, I thought it would be fun to remember all the places we lived in our 16+ years of marriage. We were married in Jan 1993 while I was finishing graduate school in Minneapolis MN. We left there when I finished school to start our professional careers in Omaha. The first year we were in Minneapolis it snowed a crazy 30+ inches on Halloween. (plus I had no car for the first 5 months, so I had to walk to campus (I guess even after I had a car I walked to campus- brrrr)

The semester before we were married our roomates married each other and Ken lived with wonderful people the A* family. B* was a grad school friend and his wife and son welcomed Ken into their home for a little over 4 months. This act of kindness goes on my list as "some of the nicest things people have ever done".

There was this lovely view of Minneapolis from our apartment -(if you lived on the other side of the building :)

There was a great pool, but to be honest, it was usually too cold, or I was too busy with graduate school to use it! In my defense I only lived there one summer.

What a great brother (and son).

While I am being thankful, I would like to shout out to all my siblings to call and thank their brother Joe for taking such good care of their parents, especially when the snow flies. The snow-blower and shovel no longer reside at my parent's home and my brothers forbid Dad to touch the stuff. After each snowfall, Joe (or when needed, his friend Jeff) show up bright and early at my parent's home to take care of the snow. Isn't he great?

Count your blessings

As you know our family was sad to leave Newburgh and all its wonderful people behind. Today, however is a day to be thankful for all we have been given. This post is specifically about the gifts we received because we moved to Iowa.

We will get to see friends from Omaha, South Dakota, Minneapolis and Iowa much more easily. Here are snap shots from my friend Kayla's visit to see us in January. It was wonderful to see her again. As you can tell by the picture, my entire family thinks she is awesome. Today I mentioned that I was using a recipe of hers and the kids were very excited (she really knows her way around a kitchen!).

Buying Christmas presents for my husband has gotten easier. This weekend he took the big kids to celebrate his gift of Hawkeye basketball tickets. Originally he was just supposed to take one of his children, but he got a good price on kid's tickets, so he took everyone over the age of 2! (Ok - it kind of ended up being a gift of peace and quiet to me, but it was HIS idea to take them all.) I think the kids enjoyed spending time with their cousins the most, and I enjoyed seeing my brother, his wife and their 3 children.

Most importantly, we are much closer to our family (my parents, Ken's parents and several of my siblings).

Chicks (Carolyn and I) with sticks (one each)

Let's pretend for a moment that Anna is loving the first crochet project her mother has done since she was Matthew's age.

Actually, she hasn't quite developed the love for the scarf that I am sure will happen one day. Here is Joel trying to get her to wear it for picture. Oh well :)

Here is Carolyn's work in progress (she is at school, otherwise I would get a picture). Her goal is to make her work long enough to add buttons that would be shaped to spell her "nickname" Carly. I really love that she will sit down and really work at her craft.

How fitting for my "word for 2009"

I found this in the paper today (ok it is Tues. and I am finally looking through Sunday's paper). It fits my word of the year perfectly. You might need to click to enlarge it to a readable size.

New Zoo

My kids had the day off on Friday, so we trekked to the Blank Park Zoo. Matthew wasn't too hip with the idea because he "doesn't like zoos". I told him that when he was younger he loved them and that the little kids shouldn't be deprived because he was their big brother. He seemed to agree, after trying to convince me he could stay alone. (Matthew doesn't like being cold unless the word "sled" is involved.)

The trip was nice, but a bit disappointing because many of the animals we love - zebra and giraffe - were off display. We did get to see the big cats (VERY CLOSE and a bit eerie after the California zoo incident) and as a new treat - penguins and sea lions. There was a great Discovery Center that all the kids enjoyed. Anna especially loved the gigantic salt water fish display.

Joel through the ages

Joel turned 5 years old last week and I wanted remember the him as a sweet little guy as he gets ready to head to kindergarten next year.

February 5, 2004

February 5, 2005

February 5, 2006, Joel was willing to share his birthday party with a couple football teams. We were invited to a fun Super Bowl Party at the Conrad's on his birthday - so we brought his cake to share with all. Note the traditional McCleary Turtle birthday cake - a 2nd birthday tradition.

February 5, 2007

February, 5, 2008

Recess - Go Banana's

At the McCleary house we get to go to Chuck-E-Cheese when someone turns an age with only the number 5 involved. (That means Anna's next followed by Daddy at age 55!) In Ankeny there is a place called Recess Go Banana's - think Chuck-E-Cheese + Pump It Up + St. John's summer social. Anyway we told Joel he could choose to go to Chuck-E-Cheese or Recess. He chose Recess - good choice!

Joel The Birthday Boy!

Joel at age 5. He love Hotwheel/Matchbox Cars and everything the big kids like (things they never did/had at his age - DS, Pokemon, Spongebob!).

Here are the biggest loves in my life.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. For my first post I wanted to share my "word of 2009". This idea was shared by a friend of mine, Suzanne, who mentioned it in 2008. My word for that year was "JOY" and there was much joy for my family that year. (Perhaps the word for that year should have been perseverance, but I am glad that JOY always can fit into my life despite the need to persevere.)

My word for 2009 is "BALANCE". I often feel the need to balance the many needs in my life: family/work, productivity/relaxation, cleaning time/playing time, exercise/hanging out, eating healthy/snacking, discipline/praise. The list goes on.

I am not sure who said it....but once I heard, "You can do anything you want in your life as long as you are willing to sacrifice anything to get it." (It makes me think of Lance Armstrong and his ability to be so single focused on biking.) Fortunately, the top 10+ priorities in my life involve my family and I am not willing to compromise on any of these priorities in order to prioritize one goal in my life. There isn't one thing in my life that can be my only focus. My children and DH each have needs as well as gifts they give me each day. I can't focus on any one of these people for too long, without one of the others needing my love and attention. I may look and feel like a chicken with my head cut off, but it is a balancing act. It is my challenge in this world and I accept it.

Any advice on balancing more effectively will be readily heard.