He's got the blonde girl thinking

Many of you know that I'm a true blonde and often poke fun at myself for being flighty but I gotta tell you about a blog that I follow that kicks me out of my "not a thought in my head" kind of mode. I'm not a muller of thoughts or a deep thinker in any way but I soooo look forward to his posts because I know that I'm going to get a new perspective on things and love the challenge of being more in this world than who I am and of doing more for it than I ever thought I could.

Ryan's blog today is powerful - be sure to click the link and check it out. This is Reverb

The New Citizen Oath

Today Aanika took the oath of an official "new" citizen! (Sorry, I have no pictures). Even though she technically became a citizen on the day that our plane landed in Chicago in 2003, there was still some final paperwork that would make it official. I've procrastinated for five years with getting this taken care of but I'm so glad I didn't get it done when she was a baby. After seeing her her stand there with her right hand raised promising to protect her nation, bear arms if necessary and to be a productive citizen, it was worth it! It was even better when the officials that oversee the process complimented her on how good she did with the oath....sure wish I could have recorded it!

First snow and other stuff

SNOW!
We've gotten our first snow of the season so, of course, I had to stick Smudge out in to check it out. He wasn't too sure of it and I bet he's glad he's got a cozy house to go back into!

FAREWELL
We've had to say goodbye to a good friend recently. Vivian is a consultant friend of ours who lives in California, flies in each week and then would leave on Friday just to do it all over again on Monday. Well, we adopted her into the family and she and Miss Alex (another consultant friend) would come over one or two times a month for a home-cooked dinner and some fun on the Wii. She told us that, because of our family, she saw what she was missing in having a family of her own and that's why she resigned her position. We're sad but we wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors. Playing on the Wii will never be the same for us after having played with her! Check out the clip of her with Aanika playing Tennis.....
VIOLIN PLUCKING
Technology is a wonderful thing. Aanika has a program on the computer that she can play along with an orchestra for her at-home practicing. As her training advances she'll be able to analyze her skills with it. Very cool to say the least! The clip below is of her using it for the first time.

5 years ago today.....

Five years ago today, as we landed in Chicago with our sweet little girl, Aanika became a US Citizen!

Here she is pictured at her homecoming with Auntie Sue (holding her), Uncle Matt and Aunt Chrissy. Lots of other folks were in the background but too many to write here. We were so happy to see all of you there!

Here she is today - all grown up! I can't even begin to imagine what her life would have been like......

Little Reader

How old were YOU when you started reading? I started school when I was still four years old but I didn't start reading until first grade. Was I just behind or was that the norm back in the early 70's? I'm a bookworm now and love to read so hopefully Aanika will keep up her love of it through her life too.

Here's our little Kindergartener sounding out her words and reading a book. They have a reading log that shows how many books you've read for that month and if you fill every line you get an award of a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut with their Book It program. Boy, talk about motivation!

First Violin Lesson

Violin. Who'da thunk it? I personally have no musical ability even though I was named after the patron saint of music, St. Cecilia. My daughter on the other hand is everything artsy that I am not so I guess I'll have to live vicariously through her.

She's asked for months to be able to learn the violin and she's finally gotten her wish! She had her very first lesson with Ms. Melissa but I think little miss Aanika was sorely disappointed when all she got to do was pluck some strings with her fingers and learn proper finger and hand positions. : )

Remember, she has visions of Celtic Woman dancing on stage with her violin and she wants to be HER! (check out this link, it's awesome)

My new obsession

Confession: I'm obsessed with a person I've never met and her name is Ree. Check her out yourself at ThePioneerWoman.com.

I found her blog recently and am totally hooked! She lives on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma, is a photo nut (fabulous pics!), sounds like a hoot to know and is madly in love with her Marlboro Man.

If you're into reading and like great stories, you gotta read hers: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. I started from the very beginning and (blush) haven't gotten a thing done in my house for at least 3 days!

Here's a link to all the chapters http://thepioneerwoman.com/category/black_heelstractor_wheels/the_night_i_met_marlboro_man.

My kitty's a killer

He's a killer. That's all there is to it. After being with us for a month, I now know how he survived in the woods. I have to acknowledge that my sweet little kitty is a killer and can take out a small rodent in no time at all. This is only a toy .... yeah, it's best if I don't think about it.

I adore my husband

I adore my husband. He's my sweetie. He's the kindest and sweetest man I've ever known. I've also never known anyone who actually lives up to his name....Kevin means KIND and Sprecher is SPEAKER. How cool is that? He's taken a few days off to play while my dad is in town.

I love these shots of him because he looks totally relaxed.

I'm so thankful for him.

Golf, Dad & Vacation stuff

Cil's dad has been here for almost one week (two to go) on the second part of his bi-annual visit. We love having him here and we have so much fun together! We've been golfing twice already this weekend and managed to squeeze in a trip to St. Louis to go to Union Station on Thursday when it was drizzly. It's been about 62 years since Dad came through there (1946) when he was in the military. It was the standard norm to travel by train back in those days and was quite the place to be. It's very beautiful and I can only imagine how much life it had back then!

I've uploaded some new videos (look in the side bar for golf ones). Below are some pics from the last couple of days.


Union Station in all it's glory although the picture doesn't do it justice!

Dad/Leo on the tee

Golf buddies (-2 for the day!)

Vacation slideshow

Eureka Springs Vacation

Wow, what a great weekend we had! Aanika with Oma and Opa, Cil & Kev golfing and window shopping in Eureka Springs. Did I tell you it was gorgeous? We couldn't have ordered up a more perfect time to go because the weather was fantastic!

Aanika played at the local parks in Branson and got to take pictures with her very own disposable camera - pics to come later - and even made some new friends in their neighborhood. She said she had a real good time so it'll be interesting to see what her pictures are of!

Cil & Kev played golf Saturday and Sunday on Holiday Island but went in to town and window shopped and ate some awesome food on Friday and Saturday nights. We also skulked around some really cool, Victorian-style neighborhoods as well as one of the local hotels that they say is haunted. I never got the heebie-geebies so that was good!

Here's our view on Sunday morning on our way to the course. Psssttt....those are clouds, not water!


Here are a couple of other pictures but if you'd like to see more, I'll be setting up a photobucket account soon that you can go to. I'll update this when it's done!

Mountaintop golfing at it's best!

It's my Birfweek!

Wow! Another year has come and gone and I'm a whopping 43 years old! Hey, I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering why I still feel like a kid and not the grown up lady I am. Age is just a number right? It's all about how you feel about yourself and where you're at in life. Right now I'm feeling great about the ME I am, I'm making progress in my fitness life and I have an awesome family. What more could a girl want?

My sweetie took me out for my birthday dinner to The Cheesecake Factory last night. Aanika picked Steak Diane for us to share and then Kev and I shared my favorite cheesecake - The Tuxedo. Yummy! Here's our self portrait to commemorate our fun evening out.

For those of you wondering, I have thus declared Birfweek! It started yesterday on my actual birthday and will go through Sunday. Kev's taking me golfing in Eureka Springs, AR and Aanika will spend the weekend with Oma & Opa. Yea! I can't wait!

For those of you who don't know what a Birfweek is, here's the definition:

Part 1: A birfweek is an extension of a birthday-day (as in “it’s my Birfday!”). It is up to the person celebrating to decide if the days preceding or following the actual birthday are part of said birfweek (the birthday has to fall somewhere within these days). Birfweek ‘start’ has to be verbally declared, with sufficient notice, for planning by the spouse or significant other.
Part 2: The person celebrating their birfweek is allowed to purchase at least one birthday item of their choosing (within reason) and not have to explain why it was purchased. This does NOT count as the gift from the significant other!
Part 3: Something has to be purchased for or done for, in regard to the person celebrating, on each day of the birfweek in recognition of said celebration. (i.e. massage, not cooking, salon trip etc.)

NOTE: No children are allowed in the practice of Birfweek. This is designed for spouses and significant others ONLY!

Teen Mania

We were a host home this weekend for 4 amazing girls from a group called Teen Mania, based out of Tyler, TX (click on the title to check them out). They are 19-21 years old, live with 31 other people on a bus that travels all over North America and work hard to put on youth conferences called Acquire the Fire. These kids are working 17+ hour days to reach other teens for the Lord. How awesome is that?! It was great getting to know them and to hear them talk with such passion about what they are doing. We're sooo looking forward to doing it again next year!
Here they are L-R with their home state:

Danielle (MA), Andrea (CA), Jyl (OK), Joanna (MO)

My favorite time of year

Everyone has one, right? Their favorite time of year - it's usually linked to a "reason" for having it. Is it the smell? The feel? A good memory? For me, it's all about change. What's my favorite time of year? Autumn, without a doubt!

I like to paint rooms of my house. Not for any particular reason, just to paint it. I like to see the transformation of something and it can't be subtle...it's gotta be different. My sweet hubby thinks I'm nuts, but I have to paint something if I don't get to do a room. Give me a basket, a picture frame, a candelabra - anything - I'll paint it.

It's a fantastic day outside today and the colors are starting to show in the trees by the river and in the hills by our house. I can't explain it but I get this silly kind of smile on my face when I see it. I guess it's the anticipation of the change that will paint our landscape in some of the most beautiful and dramatic colors you can imagine. Can you feel it? It's coming!! Yeah, I LOVE this time of year!

Strange, I never thought of it this way before but it sounds kind of like life and the people we meet, doesn't it? Hmmm....I'll have to think about that one a little more.

Oops, Ok - he's a boy

Ok, so I've only ever owned one girl kitty - guess that explains why I and two other people didn't know Smudge is a boy! I wonder what he's gonna do about wearing the pink collar Aanika picked out......

He had his first check up and shots yesterday and got a clean bill of health. His ears needed to be cleaned and he did NOT like it one bit! For such a sweet kitty, he sure has got a loud voice when he's mad. He's gonna go for a snip-snip on Thursday seeing that he's getting close to "that age" when they start marking their territory. The vet thinks he's about 5 months old because he's losing his baby teeth (incisors) and has yet to lose his canines.

Check out his newest fascination:
Poor tree hasn't got a chance against those claws!

Our newest addition

Meet Smudge.

She's the newest addition to our world and she's absolutely as sweet as can be! Much to Kevin's dismay, I've thrown caution to the wind (bad cat allergy), and went and got attached to her and refused to give her up.

I found her on the side of the road on Wednesday while I was walking along the river road. I carried her 1 1/2 miles home and she never tried to get away....she purred the whole way home! I tried for three days to find a home for her but I guess she was just meant to be a part of the family. : )

She's such a nice cat - only about four months old - very calm and loves to be held and snuggled. She loves to be held so much, I finally made her a little sling so that she could be close to me but yet I could have my hands free....Yeah, she's spoiled already.

This is a picture of contentment........

Remembering my Mom

Wow, it's been five years since my mom passed away. Five years of no pain, no worry, no sadness....how could you ask for anything better?

She was a spitfire and quite a handful at times, but there are so many days when it'd be so nice if she was just a phone call away. I miss her checking up on me. I miss her birthday calls. I miss seeing her wrinkle her nose when she smiled at me. I miss watching her ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl because I'll never forget her laughter when she was on it.

These are the memories I hold on to until I can see her again.

My friend's song for me

My friend, Doria, who lives next door recorded this song for me. It's her version of Martina McBride's song "In My Daughter's Eyes" - she posted it on her MySpace page and dedicated it to me. I am so touched; words really cannot express my feelings about it.

Listen by clicking the link below:
http://ksolo.myspace.com/ms/showSong.do?sid=24553&rid=453133&uid=4053101

Remembering Feather, the fish

Sad day in our house. Feather, one of the funniest fish ever, died unexpectedly yesterday - we've had him for over 1 year. He was a hoot to watch swim because it was sort of this upright, wiggly dance-swim movement and then he'd add in a corkscrew turn to it. Very strange but very amusing! He's the orange one on the right in the picture below.

We found him just before bedtime so it was a sad and sniffly prayer time while we explained things to Aanika. She asked if I'd take her today after school to find a new fish-friend for Tiara and Chewie. At Aanika's request, we're going to print out a picture of Feather and tape it on the tank (picture side in) so that the other fish can see it. Too cute, but sad too!

Aanika's Hip Hop moves

This is Aanika doing some hip hop moves. Too bad I didn't get any of her spin moves in the clip!

Kindergarten - First Day

Wow, is this day really here?! It seems like she was just learning to talk and walk and now she's picking out her own clothes for the first day of school.
Did you notice the Cheetah print skirt? Yeah, we're letting go a bit and letting her show her personality through her clothes....within reason of course! Pictured is Aanika, Luke and Owen. Unbeknownst to the teacher, she put them all side by side in class but we parents are guessing that they won't stay that way for long. Let's just say that Aanika and Luke both LOVE to talk!

The video is of Aanika and her other great friend, Kendall, getting on the bus together. 55 kids, one bus driver - thank goodness that the school is only a few minutes away.

Practicing violin

Check out this little video of Aanika practicing on her violin. We're still searching for a teacher but hopefully we'll get her going with one soon!

The Big Dig

Yea! Ground has been broken this morning for our new patio!

We've come up with a lovely design with red stonework that will include a planter along the back of the house along with three light fixtures in short columns, a fire pit and a small stair leading out to the yard.

Now we wait!

Tug A Bug test ride

We are in the market for a new ride for Aanika. She's getting too big to continue riding in the Burley when we're out on a bike ride so we're thinking of buying a Tug A Bug. Aanika's not too excited about it but everyone at the bike shop were rooting for her during the test ride!

The Hummingbirds Fighting

Wow, I sure do love it here. A little mini-heatwave and now it's glorious and in the low 80's....perfect weather!

My hummingbirds have seemed to enjoy the change too because they're going crazy at the feeders. I have two feeders on my deck and you can hear their chatter that they do when they chase each other - they even take out feathers when they fight! You'd never know that a little bird could have personality, but they do! They're a ton of fun to watch and I'll miss them when Fall comes along.

Sleepover for Aanika

Aanika has been invited for a sleepover (her second official one) at her friend Sophie's house tonight. When it was all finalized last night and I told her she was going today, I thought she was going to explode! She started doing some kind of crazy squealing giggle along with a wild little jig....Kev looked at her like she was insane - very funny!

Woohoo! Looks like it's date night for momma and daddy with a nice quiet dinner out without the chatterbox along (a.k.a. Aanika). I'm really looking forward to being able to have a whole conversation without having to explain what we're talking about. : )

Heatwave and the walker

Yikes! It's HOT....I like it warm as many of you know, but this is even too hot for me!

We're under an advisory tomorrow because the heat index is supposed to be around 110 degrees and it's like pea soup because of the humidity. Bleah! It's been very up and down lately - one day it's in the 80's and the next day you're in a blast furnace. Hopefully it won't hang around too long because it makes for a miserable exercise companion! Tomorrow morning's walk oughta be pretty interesting. It's supposed to be well into the 80's by 9 a.m. and I'm sure it will be kicking my butt by the time I get to the end of my walk at 10:00. Bah! The things we'll do to keep our shapely figures....sheesh.

Aanika's Violin Fitting

Today was the big day - Aanika was fitted for her first violin! You won't be fortunate enough to hear her first sounds on it in this clip but I gotta say, she did a pretty good job with it. It might not be as much of a noisy acquisition as I thought it'd be....time will tell! ; )

The Ballerina and the Violin

Aanika had her dance recital for the year and she did wonderfully! The theme for the entire program was Fairies and Aanika's class were in Fairy School where she graduated and got her wings that were shaped like a flower petal. She was also a Chatty Elf for the Jazz section where they got to do a lot of sassy dancing and giggling. Too cute!
Sadly, Aanika has asked not to do dance again this year. If you've been reading any of the past posts you'll have seen that, for many years, Aanika has had an infatuation with Riverdance. There is a part in it where there is a violin player performing solo on the stage and, apparently, she really liked it. Fast forward to 2008 where she sees Celtic Woman on PBS and there is a very beautiful woman rockin' out on a violin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXanHvrjQO0&feature=related
Yup, Aanika's asked for violin lessons. We'll keep ya posted on how that goes!