Keepsakes, cousins, culture, and Midwest connections

The kids and I had a fun time painting some gifts for johon's birthday at a little store called Creat A Keepsake. They're excited to surprise them with their art work on Friday. Jason and Addie's kids spent the night, and we had heart shaped pink pancakes for breakfast. Autumn is excited to go visit her mom, and I pray that it goes smoothly. Jaimie wanter her mom to bring her daughter Sarah to her, but Dan said she couldn't go because of kindergartne round up. Both Dan and Jamie have some issues, and I pray that they can rise above them to be the best parents they can be. We had a fun Culture Night at our house on Sunday with families from MCS displaying different countries and offereing a typical food from their country. The kids wrote what they learned in their passports. I started a new little publication about thing to do around IA called The Midwest Matters, and I'm just putting some out n about around town for people to grab in hopes that people are more informed, engaged, and connected. A couple days ago, my student, Maci, told me that our friend, Mith McCrink, passed away on Sunday. He was just 22 and had a great heart, even greater smile, but just had an addictive personality and not enough self control. Our friend, Austin, was with him that night and tried to wake him at 10am when he left the apartment. He wouldn't wake up but was breathing, and he left, and now he feels guilty for not trying harder to wake him or get him help. He will be missed greatly. His half sister, Ashlee Barker, asked me today if I would speak at his funeral. I pray that I have the right words to truly capture his beautiful free spirit and the hapiness he brought to those around him. I pray for his mom, who is battling cancer, his brother, Stevie, and others who were so close to him and are grieving. We had fun doing exercises at the nursing home on Saturday morning. Sometimes the crazy ol residents remind me of Mitch, wild and wacky, no inhibitions or fears, free to be. Gotta go. peace!

Inexpensive memories

We had a great time packaging rice at St. Paul's. It was great to see so many people come together and bag 20,000 meals. My student, Maggie, came by herself, and that was great to see a youth take the initiative to do something positive on their own. We had a wonderful potluck lst night. Beth and Dan brought Luke, and they broght their guitars and drums, and we had a fun little jam session from 9-10. The kiddos were super sleepy this morning, but they were having so much fun banging on laundry baskets and making memories. Scott and Willy came over, and they were pretty tipsy, and it was funny to watch Willy with his long mustache play a little lap harp. Myles and Joe came and did some networking with Luke and Beth about farming. Addie and Jason and kids came from Waterloo and had fun playing with Kanan and Blue's daughters. Porky and John fried up some great fish and fries and hushpuppies, and their kids had fun playing with the remote dinosaur with Luke. Addie told me that Autumn's mom moved to Arkansas the weekend that I took the kids out to the movie, and that she figured that I knew about that and did it to cheer up Autumn. I thank God for putting that on my heart when she needed it even though I didn't know. David called looking for Charlotte because they had a hard discussion about the stress of her dad living with them. I pray that they can communicate and compromise and keep their marriage and their children as top priorities. Today Tutugirl came and asked if I was going to be joining them for lunch. I didn't have any money and had brought lunch from home so I told her I would tomorrow, but now I think that maybe I should have or at least asked her if she wanted me to. Also today, my student and friend, Maci, took time to come and introduce her friend, Erica, to me. I thought it was pretty cool that she liked both of us well enough to want us to meet each other. Maybe I'll start the pizza lunch idea next Friday and pass out some little invites to people that I see smiling, helping, caring...Beth and Dan's simple bear necessities life style really inspires me, and I hope that I can have more self control over my unecessary wants for concerts, movies, entertainment, eating out...I am excited to put on the Photos For Thought exhibit at the Fisher Community Center auditorium, and I hope that I can take a few new pictures before then that I really love that capture people helping, loving, or teaching others. I hope that John and I can go to a Tibetan activity in Cedar Falls together tomorrow and learn more about the Dalai Lama. My student, Jo, might babysit for a couple hours until my mom comes over. Jo is such a sweet girl, and I pray that she does well at Special Olympics this summer and has many more opportunities to shine in her future. Today my fourth hour class had a good discussion on the lack of celebrations, assemblies, activities, gatherings...that our school has and the importance of making school wide memories like a talent show, culture fair, or field day. I hope that my students and I can come up with something purposeful and educational but also enjoyable and memorable and that the administrators let us implement it this year. I pray for the ability to plan the events that I am putting together right now, for the appropriate wording when I'm trying to tell students about the need to be responsible, and for to be a more productive mom in the evenings and work with TJ on reading and with Mara on writing, and with Chloe on some of her Girl Scout try it badge projects. My student, Mykal, was sad in class today, and I pray for her. My mom went to an Oscar Awards party last night so she couldn't stay for the party, but she dropped off a fun little treasure hunt for the kids which was really nice. I pray that now that it's getting dark later that she comes over more often and we can go for walks together and play at the park. I pray for our friend, Joe's daughter and for Matt and Chauncy's daughter. I pray for kids who don't have shoes and for us who have luxuries to help those less fortunate knowing that their dream is our dream. They want their kids to be in good health and get a good education, and without shoes, they can't reach their dream. I pray that people attend the walk and the photo exhibit. I pray that my family and I will be satiated with love, faith, hope, and peace, and not feel that we need material things and expensive entertainment to be happy or to make a memory. I made some cool tie dye cupcakes yesterday while the family went to deliver some cookies, and that was a $1 memory, and next time I'll wait til the kids are home and can help make them. I will try to think of more creative lessons for my students that make them feel like they're having fun in Preschool again but still learning new things. John's 33rd birthday is coming up, and I need to plan something for him. I will come up with something fun for us all that is inexpensive and memorable. I pray that his friends and family will come together and celebrate the great man, brother, son, grandson, husband, dad, employer, neighbor...that he is. TJ had a great guitar lesson tonight and learn some vocabulary and the E chord. I visited Iris and baby Vanessa again tonight, and her family had all driven over from California, and it was great to meet her sister, Yamilet. We had fun making tie dye pancakes tonight. Our friends, the Christens, who bagged rice with us emailed today saying that they forgot to pay to participate, and I told them that they were covered under a grant that we received so they could keep their $100. Later I got an email from the kids' school saying that someone made a $100 donation for our tuition. God is good. Well, Ian and Matt are over, so I'm going to go chat with them. So blessed to have so many friends that we can all lean on each other when we need to. John bought our plane tickets to go to Power to the Peaceful in September. They were only $130 which is awesome. Can't wait. Mara will be going for her first time. I was the top bidder of a pair of TOMS at the summit, so I think I'll give them to my cousin, Andy, when I see him next. I hope that I can get a small group together for a Style Your Sole party next month. I decided to have a St. Patrick theme party for John on his birthday, and my mom is going to take the kids. Our friend, Erica, is taking a trip to Jamaica next week, so I'm very happy for her, and I pray for her safety. I will send her a birthday card and some money to treat herself to some jerk chicken and Red Stripe. Hopefully someday John and I will be able to take a trip there. I pray for Chauncy to not be selfish and to be kind and thoughtful and that she will make better decisions to maintain a decent relationship with Matt so that they can be the best parents they can be for Alex. I pray for continued memories with our friends and family and for God to help us make decisions such as whether we should go to Nashville for Easter, how we can be better aunts/uncles/godparents/grandchildren...It was great to see so many kids laughing about Hang Man, an egg hunt, and drumming on laundry baskets last night. Great to hear that my old student, Joe, is working on his GED and got accepted at MCC. So great to eat Addie's pound cake, Dave's brownies, and Beth's vegetarian casserole with smoked cheese that Dan and his brother made. Cheers to inexpensive memories and community building.

Faith and forgiveness

Well, I thought I was still young and could go with little sleep, but those couple late nights this week wore me out. I think this is the second Saturday in a row that I'll be in bed at 9:30. John and TJ had fun ice fishing last night, and John and Matt are out again tonight. We're going to fry a bunch of fish at the potluck tomorrow. Chloe had a great time at her Galactic Getaway. So awesome that her teachers put so much work into that. What a blessing they are. We had fun at Ethen's birthday party today and then went to the movie, Alice in Wonderland, with Savanna and Isaac. The movie was cool but lacked emotion. Tonight we ate a delicious meal at First Friends for a fundraiser for their youth camp. God sat me next to Curtis, the young man with whom I had a little confrontation in the hall a couple weeks ago over his inappropriate shirt. I was very nice to him, and I hope that he appreciates my spirit of forgiveness and maybe even says sorry for his behavior someday. Yesterday we received a surprising letter in the mail from our godson, Tommy, whose official name is Manuel Olivares. He was writing from prison and spoke very eloquently about the dark life he's led since his dad died and his thought of how it could've been different if he could've stayed in Iowa. I am so grateful that he remembers us and isn't angry that we weren't as involved in his life as we would've liked to be, and I hope it's not too late. We were amazed that he remembered so much from our times together back when he was just nine. I wonder if his family in AZ is supportive and loving and encouraging. I wish he weren't so far away. I applied for us to be able to visit him, so hopefully that is approved, and we can go to Tuscon this summer. Until then, I pray that I make it a priority to write him once a week, something I should have done for the last nine years, and I kick myself for not being the godmother I shouldv'e been. I think about him every Oct on his birthday and about how his aunt would throw away the birthday gifts we'd send him because they were Jehovah's Witnesses. He wrote in his letter that he prays to God, if he exists, that this letter finds us. I hope that when he hears back from us, that his doubts of His existence are vanquished, and that when he gets out of prison in two years, that he considers moving to Marshalltown. I am going to do a little photo exhibit with a couple friends on May 1st at the Fisher Community Center and sell some greeting cards, record bowls, and baked goods to raise money for Haiti relief. I gave Grandma Betty the book of bilingual poems that my students wrote, and she said that she has been learning a lot of Spanish from it. Yesterday was Grandpa Bill's birthday, and I forgot to call or write. I need to start writing "SEND ... card TODAY" in my planner a few days before someone's birthday. Grandma Ruth always made a calendar for everyone for Christmas with photos from throught the year and everyone's birthdays on it. I wish that I would have taken time to make this for Grandpa Fred and all of our family on John's side in honor of Ruth. I want to keep in better communication with our cousins, Jessica, Mary, and Robert. I need to get their email addresses and phone numbers and be a better communicator and advocate for keeping the family together. We have seen less of each other since Grandma Dolores died. Chloe said the other day when I told her that a lady looked like Dolores, that she barely remembers her. I want to be better at keeping scrapbooks and looking at them with the kids. I made a cool flier for the Day Without Shoes walk, and now I need to think of a name for our photo exhibit and pick ten photos to display. Our friend, Brent Nuese's dad, George, passed away, and I pray that they all find comfort during this hard time. I want to get some of Tommy's school papers and things out of storage tomorrow and send them to him. I wonder what his feelings are toward his dad and his mom and if he has any contact with her. She was not involved in his life at all when we were friends with Tom, and I wonder if Tommy has any anger at his dad for his dying and not having a will...I pray that Tommy will learn from his experiences and be a better man because of the adversity he's overcome and has a wonderful future ahead of him and that we can help him in anyway we can. Maybe Mindy and Justin will take a trip to Tuscon with us to see him. I really am amazed that he remembers so much about IA. I pray that he has no hard feelings toward our lack of communication and know that we love him and knows how badly we wanted him to stay with us after Tom died. I pray that Tommy is reborn and can completely leave his dark past behind and maybe become a leader in helping other youth get away from the gang, drug, robbing, violent life. Tomorrow we are bagging rice with Kids Against Hunger for Haiti. I hope that we package thousands of meals and are able to make a difference and that people who attend learn how rewarding it is to serve others. I remember when Tommy was baptised and we gave him a Bible, and just yesterday Ms. Harris told her class that one of the jobs of a godmother is to teach her godchild about God and his love, strenth, forgiveness, and power. I hope that it's not too late for me to do that. There is a new movie coming out called Letters To God, and it looks so wonderful. I would like Tommy to hear Michael Franti's song, Hey Hey Hey, right now and know that it doesn't matter how life is today, and to hold on, have a little faith, and not let another moment slip away, and that we believe in him.

Hope

I had a fabulous day full of learning, networking, and brainstorming at the Omaha Young Professionals Day. I didn't get to Grandma's until 9, but she was waiting up for me with a piece of meatloaf and rhubarb pie. We got caught up on the family and talked about how important getting together for each other's birthdays, milestones, and accomplishments is, and how rejuvinated she felt after spending time with our family and friends at TJ's 6th birthday party. My Aunt Ann has been working crazy hours at her hospital in San Francisco for too long, and finally decided to resign and take on a less stressful half time position there, and I'm so proud of her for choosing her own happiness and health over her job. My cousin, Erica, is taking a road trip to FL with four friends, and I pray that God has something exciting planned for her, and that she sees His plan when He reveals it. I met some great people yesterday named Diana, Gustavo, Tina, Cat, and Kristin. I also got to meet Blake, founder of TOMS shoes, and I gave him my business card in hopes that one day he'll need an extra person for a shoe drop, and coincidentally find my card and call me up. Ya never know. The counselor here told me that a student of mine who they simply dropped from my roster without telling me anything was sent to Mary Greelys or placement. I called MG, and they didn't have him registered there, so today I will find his family's phone number and check in on him. I pray that Rey is fine and has the strength and hope to learn some life skills and get on a good track to personal and professional success. This morning a coworker of mine, Lisa, who I love, asked me if I could help her come up with a problem statement for a paper she's writing for her masters. It made me feel validated and appreciated that she would come to me for advice. I bumped into my cousin, Rachel, at the concert last night. I had tried to call her several times, but she had gotten a new phone number. She is a dance instructor, and she is putting on a recital this weekend and has taught twelve dances to different aged girls, and I'm so proud of her and hope that everything goes well and that she is rewarded for all her hard work. I learned a lot about team work, the importance of making a genuine personal connection and memorable experience with those I meet, being an innovative agent of change, saying "yes, and..." in conversations to give the other person affirmation of their idea and to build upon it, to always defer judgement, to expect to succeed when you walk in a room, that we all can help build awareness and public will for important issues if we are passionate and perseverant, to see brainstorming as a group as fuel for fabulous collaborative ideas, that small towns can be an excellent place to come out of the conventional closet and release one's creativity and lead a group into advocacy and action, and that I need to seek a "vu ja de" moment as often as possible in the words of George Carlin, that fresh feeling and new point of view that you've never experienced before. I hadn't seen my cousin through marriage, Jackie Cutler Lund, for a year or so, and I saw her at the summit doing great business. She owns the only store in Omaha that carries TOMS shoes, called Roots and Wings, and I was proud to see her having such success. I hope to reconnect with her and spend time with her and her family. I have some great ideas about a Day Without Shoes Walk, an art auction for homelessness where local artists talk with local homeless and tell their story through art, a video and/or t-shirt contest for the walk, and a Bobcat Style your Sole party. I also learned to be a solution finder, that the smart take from the strong, and that someone who knows nothing about a topic whether it be making shoes, marketing, rallying a group, can do it if they understand that the best leaders want to work in a group and hear other's great ideas and insights and expertise instead of thinking they know it all and trying to do it alone. I hope that I can be a better team player that embraces fusion instead of fission. John and I had a great night in St. Paul on Tuesday. We checked out our friend, Waldo's shop, and I'm proud of him for going for his goals and going to CO to learn how to blow glass. So many people just sit around and talk about their dream and never actually do it. It was great to see Andrea, Annon, Peter, Tom, Lisa, and all. The show was shorter than I'd like but rocked. I hope that Spearhead has a lot more followers after this big tour. They deserve the success. I had fun reading The Onion over a cup of chilli at McGoverns. I'm trying to not be so serious and have a sense of humor, and I was laughing outloud about the naughty but hilarious articles about the racist, misoganistic, homophobic John Mayer and about the sex addicted Tiger Woods. I was proud that I ate healthy even while on a road trip and at a new restaurant. I'm so thankful for Bill and Tracy and my mom and Dave for taking good care of the kids. Chloe is excited for her Galactic Getaway on Friday, a fun astronomy retreat at school. Tonight I'm going to Council Bluffs to spend the night and go to the summit in the morning and then hear some more Franti. My sister actually might be joining me, so I'm super excited for that. There was a misunderstanding between the secretary and me about when I needed the substitute to come yesterday, because I left early. I was a little upset that I had to go talk to the principal about it, but I was releived when the secretary actually said I'm so sorry about it, because that's hard to say. I was glad that I was calm and tactful, and that I was dressed very professionally today, because I felt like that might have effected the principal's understanding about the issue. Eventhough I don't agree that one's appearance should matter, I am starting to understand that it does to many and that I want to come across as worthy of their respect and attention. I am going to make some quick business cards today so that I can do some networking at the YP Summit. I saw a girl named Courtney who I had met at the Santorini show, and she was giving her business card to J Bowman, and this mornign I read about a friend who had her art published, and I think that the more you talk about your goals, passions, hopes, skills, plans...the more people know about your drive and dedication and abilities and can let you in on opportunities that you may not have known about or collaborate with you if they have similar abilities and missions. There is another person from Marshalltown going to the summit and the show tomorrow named Wade, so I hope to chat with him and meet someone in town with the same interests as me. I'm excited for our potluck this Sunday and that the sun has been shining brightly. I thank God for safe road trips, good friends, and awesome children. Mara asked me how my night was, Chloe wrote the band a poem, and TJ was telling me all the friends that he wants to invite to the tie dye party, and when I gave him this little monkey stuffed animal that we got at this hilarious but awesome Good Will Outlet, he said, "You didn't have to, but I really love it". I got a tambourine signed by the whole band to auction at The Market for Haiti relief. I thank God that Michael Franti mentions important issues such as the earth quakes, that the best things in life aren't things, and inspires people to have hope.