2014 Good Things (from the Good Things Jar). And some from 2015 too.

In 2014 (and 2015), we kept a large, blue jar that everyone added to throughout the year.  We dropped in little slips of paper with "good things," big or small we wanted to remember. Mia turned 6 in October 2014. Meredith graduated high school in June 2014. Maddy finished her sophomore year. Liza, 8th grade. And Lainie, 3rd--just to give a little snapshot of everyone's age.  Here are the "good things" in random order, but exactly as written by whomever submitted:

-1/6/14-Mia got new, pink tennis shoes w/laces and learned how to tie her shoes the very same day! She also learned how to double knot them. AND she started buckling herself in her carseat. 
She grew up on me all in 1 big day! (Mom)

-Meredith and Madeline did their first surf contest at Pleasure Point
-Meredith graduated SVHS with a 4.0 GPA
-New Year, New You (L, M,M dressed the statue. 2nd Annual.)
-Maddy went to State Cross Country for the 2nd time and came in 1st for the SV girls at CCS!

-Mia Gym (picture on back to go with it)
-"This cotton candy is magical! You put it in your mouth and it melts without even chewing it." -quote by Mia

-Our hot tub works after it broke multiple times
-We played Werewolf with the Winters. It was awesome (Lainie)
-We got to go to Disneyland with the Camerons. Tower of Terror--Mia went too! We did independent study that week, and went kayaking with Grant and Morgann and then we (Mad, Mer and I) went and hid at Rio Del Mar and took pics of Grant proposing. <Morgann thought we were hobos. (Liza)
-"Free week" at Divinitree Yoga; went 2 times with Maddy, 1 with Mom and 1 by myself (Liza)

-Meredith graduated seminary and gave awe-some hablar (Maddy)
-Feb. 2014- "I like the rain. It's like polka-dots coming down from the sky!" -Mia at age 5.
-In SF, after going ice skating, we went to Ghirardelli store and we got hot fudge sundaes, three in all the we finished clean! (Lainie)
-Maddy did Lainie's hair...wait, jk--
most wouldn't consider this a "good thing" (Maddy)
-Liza and Maddy went on a random hike and ended up at La Madrona Athletic Club! (Liza)
-We brought the Christmas spirit to our Secret Santa Fam--Dan and Shawnee
-We got to play Wits and Wagers! (Mia)
-We went to the new Annie Movie at 7:20. It was AWESOME. (Lainie)
-I got to do Cross Fit for the first time. I want sushi right now. 
Random, I know. (Liza)
-Mia did her first hip hop class. 
"She hips, and she hops, and can coffee grind!" (Meredith)
-Maddy went for a run and is healthy again! :) (Dad)
-Kelly's out of the hospital! Caleb's on his mission. Grandma Barbara is in heaven! (Lainie)
-Anteres and her first son, Sean, got reunited after 27 years! Miracle and blessing. 
-Ashlee (Earl) and Meredith are German twins! It's official. 
-Meredith is a "certified adult!"...What?  (Maddy)
-The week before we left for Disneyland, Mia had an eyelash that came off and she got it on her finger. What do you do with an eyelash? Of course, you make a wish as you blow it off your finger!  So, she got all ready to make her wish--but then she stopped quickly, and said "Hey! Actuallyl, I was just about to wish that we could go to Disneyland!  But we DO get to go! So, I don't even have to wish that now!"  Happy, Happy times! (Amy)

-Meredith can do a handstand and headstand against a wall. (Mer)
-Maddy finally told Jason to STOP! (Maddy)
-We boogie boarded at Sunset with the Winters at Santa Moe's
-In SF we went to the Nutcracker.  Soooo fun and cool. 1st time. (Love: Lainie)
-G'ma Olga came for the graduations (Mer and Liza, 8th grade), and Whoa-Howdy-ho-hoe did we have a grand time! (Madd)
-Liza (accidentally) did a headstand then (fell) into a bridge hang ten! 
Shaka-bra. (Liza)
-Sunday drive up Hwy 1 to Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Ano Nuevo Beach walk
-Surfing Doheny with just me and my girls. 
Hanging 5 for 50 yds. Ya Baby! (Dad)
-I kinda learned a handstand (Mia)
-We surfed 6 times on our trip!  2 in San Diego. 2 in San Clemente. 2 in Doheny. (Liza)
-Meredith finally hung five successfully. Wahoo! #stillakook (Mer)
-"Bros for Life" Mike and Monica (actually Kaila) for dinner at their house. Mike, I mean, a gorilla, was there and they showed us their telepathy! 
Hilarious friends.

-Dad helped make lunches before we got up and Dad put my carrots in a rice scooper! (Lainie)
-Listening the first time, and not saying "But, why?" (Mia)
-Meredith isn't here to read these. See ya Suckahs! (2015--June, Mer left on her mission. We read these on New Year's Eve.)
-Dropped in on a Jazzercise class at Dana Point, and all of the old ladies were mildly jealous of Maddy's moves. (Madd)
-Face Yoga!  With Kris Hewitt!  haha. Tones and Lifts! No guarantees.
-Maddy administered shock to Liza b/c she was having behavioral issues 
#itwasnecessary #C-lear
-We did independent study and I barely had any work! I saw about 10 dolphins approx. 5.3 ft away from me. (Liza)
-Meredith and Ashlee went to SF, and slept there in the Passat.
-Club "Vamos a la Playa" had their 1st official meeting on March 12, 2015 
#glowsticksurfingeventhoughitwasn'tdark
-For family home evening activity, we sucked helium. 4/20 (Mer)
-Sitting on The Love Sack watching general conference (Dad)
-Meredith got 3rd place in the 500 and broke 6 mins and got 2nd for the mile, stopping twice b/c she thought it was 62 laps,not 66!  And ripped the bum of the suit, so "cracked" everyone. What a sight!  (Mer, for West Valley swim team)

-1st day I rode a bike by myself! (Mia)
-Me (Lainie)and Dad and Mia made Marabelle a good pen and "house" and rode her at Henry Cowell for the first time! Next time, Wilder? (Lainie)
-Meredith pooped on "no brakes" hill on a run... of course! Just poopin around. And started a blog: All the places I've pooped at in Santa Cruz and more. (Mer)
-First day of school!  (Mia) (She drew a picture of her first day of kindergarten!)
-Nadamos in una planta de tratamiento! "Peligro Beach" (2015--Maddy) (Haha!)
-Dad became Bee-shup (Bishop) #weallknew #thatwas #coming (Madd)
-Friday pizza nights still going strong, and ice cream on the couch dates too. 
-Grandpa made a bocce court. #bringiton #cantwaittocheatitw/him (Madd)
-Ice skating in SF! #justlikeridingabike (Madd)
-3 X's Tower of Terror!  I floated!! (Dad)
-Lainie and Liza (with Dad's help) learned to do a cool trick on the slackline! "Gib on! Gib off."   "Gib off, Liza!" <quote by Madd
-Liza's PR is 6:22 mile and she broke 7 earlier this school year. (2013-14) Liza
-1st day of playing t-ball (Mia) picture included
-Liza came in 1st for Cross Country SV for jv league finals at Pinto!
-Liza and Maddy are getting/hopefully by now they GOT their braces off!
-Meredith made it to Norcals with her polo team! And got 1st team for Coast League/honorable mention for Norcals!  (West Valley Water Polo)
-We watched "She's the Man" again
-Liza had an awesome bday party at Sunny's Cove & then paddle boarded to 38th, rode Marabelle, ate berries and cookies, went on the zipline, in the hot tub, and dressed up crazy to go to Marianne's Ice Cream!
-We put antlers and a nose on the statue!  Merry Christmas!
-Bro Allen shredded his tie. #classic
-Liza got a 94% on her 10 min speech & and 100% on her grad portfolio (8th grade) and History Binder!  Her biggest struggle was passing AR (Accelerated Reader).
-Meredith got her Personal Trainer training on the same weekend that Dad and Mom and Maddy and Liza ran the Rodeo Beach Trail Run in Marin Headlands. Dec. 2014
-Maddy hung FIVE!  #toes on the nose
-Maddy made cheese taste like other cheeses
-We had an "extispicey" year!
-Liza made her surf goals: successfully hung 5, did a headstand, did a backbend, duck-dived and short boarded!
-Lainie was top-seller of cookie dough fundraiser for 4th grade trip. She got to "Roll in the Dough"!  Fall 2014
-Maddy's spleen is no longer enlarged (As of March 3rd.) ;)
-Mer, Mad, Liza and Ashlee jumped into the SF Bay after running across the Golden Gate Bridge
-Dad went on Tower of Terror and put his hands up!  Wahoo! Check this Dad out!
-We found a path to BK neighborhood
-We proposed to Morgann...err...we helped Grant
-Lainie did Bronchitis Lady imitation--"Ain't nobody got time for 'dat!"
-Mia had her first day of hip-hop, her first day of school,1st day of t-ball, and "kinda learned a hand stand." 

McRae Bam Fam Reunion McCall Idaho: July 2017

Before I forget about some of the mini miracles of our McCall McRae Reunion July 2017, I have to document them!

*Sam came!  And it was just fine!  And he made homemade raspberry ice cream for all of us on the first night and had us all gather to share it!  He went above and beyond some of the times to try to connect with individuals.  He really did try hard to keep it good. And it was!  So thankful for a successful time together!


*Alan's glasses got knocked off into the Lake and he instinctively jumped in after them and FOUND THEM before they sunk to the murky depths below!  Seriously a miracle! And he said he would have had to get new one immediately if he had lost them. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to function. And that would have been super hard to get new glasses for him in that little touristy Idaho town.

*Huckleberry Trail bike ride!  Last afternoon of the reunion, Joe, Meredith, Liza, Kathy, Alan, Katie, Scott, Kristin and Brett and I decide to go for a bike ride in the state park.  I was wearing flip flops and no helmet, as were many of the rest.  The ride turned into a pretty technical mountain bike trail halfway into it! We were so not prepared, mentally or physically! And Brett literally launched off of his bike at one point and landed himself BETWEEN two trees in a very skinny opening!  SOOO much better than landing into one of the trees.  Miracle he wasn't seriously injured.

*We rented a boat one day to ski and wakeboard and wake surf and tube on Payette Lake. Matt landed some RAD flips while wakeboarding, and an incredible dock start. Sam tried to dock start--without success.  But the miracle was that he didn't get hurt in the process of trying. When Matt landed a flip on his wakeboard, Lainie proclaimed in awe: "How is he NOT married?!"  She was serious.  The rest of us laughed so hard.  Kathy is particularly on his tail to have him work on getting himself married--or at least seriously dating.  She laughed the hardest of all.

*We played some family games at the state park on the grass.  One of them was cabbage ball!  LoVe that game!  It's basically family softball with a perfect ball you can catch without a mitt.  The grass was a bit slippery though, and as I tried to round second base, I full-on did the splits!  Ouch. Haven't done those in 20 + years.  The miracle?  I didn't injur myself,  AND I kept my back foot on the base!  I was safe!

*One of the other games we played was "Whack the Cracker."  No one got too hurt, except their feelings and their pride.  It got way out of control among the Barton sisters, me included.  No miracle there--except that it didn't end any worse than some bruised feelings that hopefully mended quickly enough. Though I think that I will personally outlaw the game from future family gatherings.  That may have been our last round. Ever.

*Lots of good times, tasty treats and good laughs.  So thankful for my forever family. And an absolutely gorgeous place to celebrate them in!  McCall was eye candy for the soul!

8.2017: Meredith. Mexico Mission. Intervening from the Lord. Ministering Angels.

Meredith returned home from her mission to Sonora, Hermosillo Mexico filled with stories in her heart that she had reserved to tell us in person rather than share by email. Stories she had not chosen to share until then because she knew of the distinct possibility of my hopping a plane and coming to take her home had she divulged these experiences prematurely. Stories where I, indeed, did not need to intervene--because the Lord had:

First area, first week, a man follows Meredith and her companion with a machete. But they miraculously escape any harm.

A knock on the wrong door, "May we share a message with you?"
"Come in," they say. And then they lock the door behind them. 
Meredith and her companera share a heart-felt message, hearts truly beating loudly. And upon finishing, they are told, "We usually do not let strangers leave this house alive. We are going to let you go out that door (pointing to a back door), but you must never return!"

Another time, a man approaches Meredith and her companion in a van and forcefully tells them "jump in the van right now!"  In the moment of hesitation and incredulous reaction that follows, Meredith reports that this man suddenly looks behind Meredith and her companion--and seems to see others with them, realizing that they are not alone. He changes his mind and speeds away. Who were those angels with Meredith and her companion that suddenly became visible to that perpetrator? The Lord had yet again intervened.

Meredith would share that, multiple times, she felt that she and her companion were not walking alone as they traveled the dusty streets of Mexico. And in fact, she sensed that one who often accompanied her was my Dad, Rulon McRae! My father, who in 1981, died in a plane crash in Southern Idaho.  My Dad, who Meredith never knew in this life.  She had seen pictures and heard stories, and had quite recently met his brother, my uncle, Burr McRae.  Yet, she knew my Dad was with her at times. She reports that when she first met Uncle Burr, (while currently serving her mission) she felt an inexplicable familiarity that she could only chalk up to her experiences of feeling my Dad's presence as one of her guardian (or ministering) angels.  The Book of Mormon speaks often of ministering angels. President Joseph F. Smith said "When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred and friends...bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, of reproof and instruction." 

The idea of my Dad sometimes accompanying Meredith as a bonus companion on her mission, fills me with gratitude for the divine Love of an earthly father who is now in heaven, and our Heavenly Father who knows exactly how to take care of our vulnerable hearts--the one walking the streets of Mexico with a name tag over the top, and the one kneeling back home, praying for her safety as she serves Him.

Why am I so tired?

"Why am I so tired?" I asked myself last night when I was in the throes of putting Mia and Lainie to bed. Joe was at a meeting, and had gone there straight from work. Just one of those days. No big deal.

My mind did a quick review of the day. And I decided I deserved to be tired. Now I am going to share my day, not to impress anyone but myself. And to show myself how very entitled I should feel to sit down on the couch and fall asleep just past 10pm--even though my norm is to keep on cruising till midnight.

Here goes some of the highlights:

5:30am wake up and run 6.3 with Joe (to Skypark and back)

Drop off Maddy and Liza at SVMS

Drop off Lainie and 2 friends at Brook Knoll

Give an invitation to the church Luau Party to my friend

Meet Melissa & Marina and take their 2 sweet peas home to play with Mia until noonish

Make huge pot of soup (or at least start it)

Wash Mia, Meredith and Lainie's bedding

Pick up Lainie and Meredith from school

Farmer's Market fun

Trader Joe's stop

Pick up Maddy and Liza from SVMS

Soccer Carpool to Blue Ball Park

Errands in Capitola

Dinner to the Ballard's*

*complete with homemade french bread (when did I have time to mix that?!?)

Bed making for Mia, Meredith and Lainie with fresh sheets

OH--and Mia's I got to do twice in one day because she wet the bed in the morning AND at nap time! Awesome.

And somewhere in there we actually ate dinner

And back to the bedtime wrestling routine which led to me my question...

"Why am I so tired?"

Hmmmmm.

Cheesy Chicken Chowder--Soul Food

Cheesy Chicken Chowder:

3 cups chicken broth

diced and cut potatoes, carrots, onions, and broccoli (totaling abt. 4 cups or so. Very exact, I know.)

diced and cubed chicken (or my version is to throw in one can of the canned chicken from Costco)

*Place all in a large pot, add salt and pepper and cook at med. heat with lid on, until veggies are soft.

*In separate pot on stovetop. Melt 3 Tbsp. (or less) butter. Then add 1/3 cup flour gradually (to make a roux). Then slowly add 2 cups of milk and stir continually. Once this begins to thicken, add about 2 cups of cheddar cheese slowly and stir to it is all melted through and thickened.

Once the roux is complete, add it to the veggie and chicken mixture and continue to heat entire soup through on low heat.

Eat it up Yum! Excellent for dipping french bread into.

When Life Gives You Cloudy Guck...Make Cheesy Chicken Chowder

Outside looks like cloudy guck. Even though there is a perfectly plump watermelon sitting on my counter, it's just one of those days for making Cheesy Chicken Chowder. Actually, not just "one of those days"~but in fact, THE first day of the season for it. It must be time for seasons to change. It's that awkward, tween stage, where there's a mix of the old and the new: the watermelon on the counter. my favorite Autumn wall quilt (that Natalie made) already hung (put it up 2 days ago so as to maximize wall time). Swim suits from yesterday still drying on a hook. And Cheesy Chicken forming up nicely on the stove, while my "Caribbean Fruit" Yankee Candle aroma exudes summer in a bottle.

It's obvious that I am NOT ready for summer to end. It never really came and warmed me to the core yet. One of those way-too-mild Santa Cruz summers two years in a row now. I feel quite cheated actually. But since I look out the window and see only gloomy clouds, I might as well make the most of it. Which means it's time to pull out the soup recipes. The old lemons/lemonade thing. And though Cheesy Chicken Chowder has hardly crossed our minds the past few months, it is one of those comfort foods my family can become emotional about. Eyes light up, smiles expand, and the next question is "Are you also making french bread?" I'm glad to give them the thrill of Cheesy Chicken for dinner, but my only question is "Do I also serve the watermelon?" Which brings me back to that awkward tween stage.

This must be how my 6th grader feels. That awkward tween stage. The mix of the old and the new. Goodbye to elementary school and all that it embodies--ultimately the innocence of childhood. And hello? to middle school and all the hassle of growing up, or at least trying to, or trying not to, or cloudy guck.

Watermelon. Cheesy Chicken Chowder. Summer. Fall. Elementary School. Middle School. Changing seasons. It just makes me hungry.

Nothin' Like the First Blog!

friday, december 7, 2007

Nothin' Like the First Blog!

Our First Official Entry on the BlogSpot!!!So, Nicki (my young and hip friend) has brought me into the next century by helping me create my very own blog. What a great word is "blog!" Kind of describes how I feel about doing this. "Blog" is such an awkward word, and I feel a bit awkward about "bearing my soul" and then posting it online for all to see. But she assures me I will love it...

Can I do this without posting it on-line??

I do love that this is a spot where I can write the menial happenings, the memories afraid of being forgotten, the gratitudes of living. I'll give it a shot--throw caution to the wind. Launch our lives into the great oblivion for any to happen upon--and just pretend that it's all a part of my bedroom library journal collection that only I peruse. Oh, wait, I don't have a journal collection yet, really! Hmmmm, guess that's why I'm giving this a shot.

**************************************************

So that was my "first official" and ONLY blog entry about 4 years ago! Awesome.

Under a different blog name, and with new & improved determination to write down the bones of my life, here I go again. Hold your breath...