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One Crazy Fascinating Tree – the Dewey-Granby Oak

August 26, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

dewey granby oak
We’re got to show you this fascinating tree we visited recently; the Dewey-Granby Oak. But first, a quick update on unrelated happenings.

Life is still pretty busy here, with work still flowing in steadily, but I’ve found I’m getting better and better at this balance thing I have worked at all of my life. For one thing, we’ve been distracted with the excitement of a new school year beginning just around the bend! The more organized we get, the more exciting it is!! The school room is almost ready, from umpteen summer crafts and projects the kids had going on. Somehow, I can look at an after-mess, born from creativity flowing, a little longer, than other kinds of messes. But it was time to tidy up, clean out, pack away and make room for new books and supplies – and all that we’ve begun.

But back to our recent family vacation we’ve mentioned; My father (the kids Papa) was determined to bring us to see a tree he has told us about, for what seems like forever. It was a beautiful sunny day for a drive, so we headed out from his house, on our tree adventure. We knew it had to be something, because he talks about it ALL of the time, and how we just needed to see it. Well let us tell you….he wasn’t kidding! This tree is worth the trip!!

Now let me preface this by saying, it was a bad time of a very sunny day to photograph this tree (or much else). It was not ideal lighting, whatsoever. Really bright out, and pretty much high noon. Had I know it was so photograph worthy, I would have asked to come later in the day. What’s more….this tree is SO gigantic, and crazily spread out, it’s tough to find an angle with a camera, to really appreciate it’s stature. It’s really one of those things you need to really see in person, …walk around…and climb, to appreciate the reality of it. And you would do so in absolute awe. Nonetheless….I took photos anyway. Try to look closely at the enormous width of the trunk, and the great big limbs that so gracefully just flow and dip to the ground.

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The tree is known as the Dewey-Granby Oak Tree. As equally fascinating as the sight of this tree, is it’s incredible history. This tree is rooted in the middle of nowhere, in Granby, Connecticut-just on the other side of the MA line, I believe. It is 450 years old!! The town of Granby goes to great lengths for the protection of this tree. The time, seasons, and changes in civilization that this tree has stood through, is so amazing to stop and consider. If you Google, you should find a great brief history, by Carol Laun. As well as more other information.

Here are the kids hanging out on one limb that comes right down to the ground.

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This is on the other side of the tree, on am equally crazy limb. Just look at it!

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And to think it was once just a tiny acorn . . .

A Sunday at the Seashore

August 21, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

I had planned to blog more about VBS, but honestly, I am pretty much VBS’d out, although the kids aren’t! They are still singing and dancing all of the songs. lol. There are other little recent things, though, that I’m looking forward to blogging about, but still have some highlights we wanted to post from our little vacation!! (I may backtrack to that in the next few posts.) Business is still booming (thankfully), though we work daily to find some balance. So I think we’ll bypass blogging about the rest of VBS. Most of the photos have other friends in them anyway. But suffice it to say, that VBS was very successful and FUN. I was impressed with the collective efforts that made it all possible and run so smoothly. The lessons of service have seemed to stick somewhat.

This past Sunday we were invited for a cookout, and some QT, with some very good friends of ours. These folks are a little just a bit older than us, (but very young at heart and appearance : ) and serve as extra grandparents of sorts to our children. The kids call them ‘Mammy and Papa Dave’. We’re very blessed to have them in our lives, and we love them dearly. Having some real time with them all together was very much overdue, so we were happy to accept their invitation. Their home is right on the shore, and it is simply beautiful, as is the view and atmosphere.

We decided to head straight over right after mass, and decided on the way out the door to change there instead of stopping home first after mass, thus grabbing the 3 top shirts off the laundry basket– the matching of the 3 little ones wasn’t purposeful this time, but what a great color with the blues!! Thought we’d share a some photos of the day. If you do not live near the seashore, hopefully it’ll give you a little virtual experience. The kids were born and raised near the seashore, so they feel pretty at home there. We had a wonderful meal together of grilled cheeseburgers and fresh salad, out on the deck that they have set up so elegantly, overlooking the spectacular ocean scenery. What a great time we had!

{O} and {S} exploring.

A seaweed rock {J} found. Now if you’re thinking ‘Boy, does that boy need a haircut’, that’s exactly what I thought when I saw this photo! So he has had one since, and so has his brother. I am always astonished at how fast their hair grows. I actually like long hair on boys, but it doesn’t suit this boy right — he has LOTS and LOTS of hair like his Daddy. Anyway, he carried this funny rock around for awhile.

{S} shows me a little seashell he found. He knocked, but no one was home inside.

{S} just hanging out in the shade.

I don’t know how long {A} spent exploring and looking for crabs. She has loved doing this since she was 3 years old.

Pretty good at it too!!

{A} brought the bucket up to the deck, and Mammy decided to google how you can tell if a crab is a boy or a girl. She found that you can tell by the design on their bellies; boys have the shape of the Washington Monument, and girls have a shape like a honeycomb, or the Capitol Dome in Washington D.C. ! See? Ocean Science and U.S. History all wrapped in one! lol

Looks like this one is a boy, Mammy!

Summer is flying by, and even though we are looking forward to the coming Autumn season, these are the days we hold onto, in our hearts and memories. And photos, of course.

Practically a Perfect Saturday.

August 16, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

We had SUCH a fine day today, all the way around. After such a scheduled and active week with VBS and 5 early mornings in a row (big deal for us), today was just what we needed. It was practically a perfect Saturday.

We slept until 8:30 and then had a leisurely morning . just the way we like them, and almost always have any day of the week. Lingering, sleepy cuddles, and then up to hot coffee sipping and playing, until breakfast in pajamas.

Once we were all ready for the day, we headed out on a mission or 2. We had to deliver a job to Michael’s customer, and then we were on a quest to find dried lavender, for a craft project. I had called a few places before we left, but no one seemed to have it. So we thought we’d try the Farmer’s Market.

Farmer’s Markets; another one of those things I get silly-giddy about. I just love everything about them. The colors everywhere, the scents on the air of freshly-picked-this-and-that, and so many items hand or home made. We can appreciate the work that went into every produce or craft, and the hopes of the sellers to make profit. We love to support local businesses, and our community as a whole, anyway. It’s fun to go, and it’s wonderful to bring home such fresh and locally grown foods to enjoy together. Today, we picked up apples, tomatoes and 1/2 dozen ears of corn.

After another attempt to find the lavender, we gave up, and ended up having a spontaneous picnic. The weather was SO nice. We found the great grassy and shady spot, and had a mini feast on apples, clam strips, fries and ice tea. Afterwards, the kids played some old fashioned yard games (Red Light -Green Light, What time is it, Mr. Fox?, etc.)–as us parents laid on the spread watching them, and the fascinating clouds in the blue sky float by. Every moment was so enjoyable.

When we got home, I got so sleepy, and ended up taking a little cat-nap. (We went to bed way too late last night, again. ) As I awakened and blinked open my eyes, I found one of my little boys cuddled right up to me, just gazing at me with such love in his eyes — wide awake. If that didn’t make me smile enough, my little girl came in and gave me another incredible foot rub!! (She seriously could make a good living at this, already, even though she’s only 5. lol)

Soon it started storming – AGAIN!! We have had more summer storms this summer, complete with thunder and lightening. We all just love storms. The kids get downright excited — running from window to window, watching the flashes and counting down to the big crack-ba-ba-BOOOMMmm!!! Next thing we know, it was HAILING like mad, and that just pumped their excitement. They have never seen hail before, and boy was it coming down!!

I reached out on the deck and grabbed some, and all of the kids touched it. Then they had a spontaneous lesson on hail: why it forms and when it comes down in storms. Weather science at it’s best!! It really was amazing, and the kids were very amused at the way it bounced all over the place. I was having fun taking photos — even though I got wet every time, trying to quickly open and close windows or doors to take the shot. My favorite is the Little People shot on our deck table at the top of this post. I wanted to scream at her “Will you just get in the boat, already??” lol

Then it was time to start dinner. I had a perfect and simple summer dinner planned; tomato sandwiches and corn on the cob. As I was filling up the pan, which was on the counter, with water, {A} started urgently yelling for us to come see this:

…..the rain just pouring off our hillside into our not-yet-done retainer-planter walls. We were worried it was going to ‘take out’ our pumpkin patch! The water that was rushing off was just unbelievable, and of course was also photo-worthy. So I got my camera, and opened the window to get this shot too. Next thing I know, {A} is yelling again, from the kitchen this time. Guess why?? Remember the pan I was filling with water for the ears of corn?? Yeah……………..I never shut off the water when I dashed away to see what she was yelling about the first time. Typical-ADHD-me. : ) I didn’t feel the need to take a photo of that.

By the time the water in the kitchen was cleaned up, the sun was out!

Dinner was just….well, perfect!! Most especially the corn……WOW!!! It was the perfect corn we’ve tried to make 100 times before, the same exact way. But this time….it was all that we’ve dreamed. And we know why: It was farmer market fresh!! We really wished we got a dozen, and have plans to get more at the next Farmer’s Market Day. We have GOT to have some next time the kids Papa (my Dad) comes down. He just loves corn-on-the-cob that’s ‘just-right’. (He’s a natural-born food critic. Trust us.)

So that was our exciting and practically perfect Saturday. Just a simple day together, full of the kind of moments we love, that make up our life together. Just makes us look forward to tomorrow.

{A}’s Birthday Celebration

August 6, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

So in an effort to catch up a little bit here, I’ll start with {A}’s birthday celebration, which was over a month ago now!

Birthdays are a big deal in our family. We really like to take the day, and acknowledge the birthday person with gratitude for their life, and the blessing they are to our home and family, the best way we know how. We try to instill in the children, that just like Christmas, birthdays are not about the gifts we get, nor do we care for them to be the focus of our celebrations. They’ve learned that birthdays are about the celebration of their life, and gifts from loved ones sometimes come along with that occasion. Special birthday packages for the children often do come from loved ones by mail, as our extended families are for the most part not local to us. We know these packages are sent as an expression of love and birthday thoughts, and are accepted with love and gratitude.

So over the years some birthday traditions have come to be that are very special to us, as the ways in which we always celebrate birthdays in our family. It goes something like this:

No work, No School:

No matter what day a birthday in our family lands on, no one works that day (us parents), and we (primarily the kids, and so us too, as their teachers) don’t have school work either. The birthday person decides ahead of time what they want to do, or where they want to go, on their birthday. Sometimes it’s a family trip from overnight to several days, sometimes it’s a day trip, or an activity,….it can be anything within reason. The point is, we spend the day all together, focusing on them, and giving thanks for their life. We inevitably talk and share about the memories we cherish regarding their life, such as when we were expecting them, and the day they were born. We let them know, each in our special ways, how much they mean to us, what an integral piece they are in our family, how blessed we feel to have them, and how much we love them.

Birthday Pancakes:

Daddy started this tradition with {A}’s 1 year birthday breakfast. What is special about the birthday pancakes is that they are made into the age of the birthday person. This year, {A}’s pancakes were extra personalized, with not only her age, but her age in a roman numeral > She LOVES roman numerals, so she was very excited about that. As if pancakes don’t make her excited enough! This time, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to eat them, or not!

For her birthday, {A} first chose to go out to western MA to her Papa’s for a few days. Since there were people we needed to visit out that way as well, we planned that for our summer vacation and went the following week . For her official birthDAY, she wanted to go bowling! She said she thought it would be extra special, since it was the little ones first time going bowling. (Aawwww!) They all had a really great time. As luck would have it, Mama and Daddy were pretty excited about that idea too, because we LOVE bowling. We actually went bowling a LOT, back in the day when we were ‘courting.’ (More ‘aawwwww’) We did 10 pin bowling, but {A} wanted to go candlepin because it would be easier for {J}, {O} and {S} to do. They were all so cute and funny, and as usual, I took LOTS of photos, and here are just a few:

The birthday girl going for a strike!

Here she is again, being as silly as she often is. (Kind of missed the shot, but it is so HER, I had to include it.)

Our left handed man, {J}.

This is {O}; She was so funny, because she would hold this stance after every roll, until the ball had disappeared. She was quite the bowler!

{S} Oops! But nice form!!

Love this shot of our 4 bowlers.

After bowling, we took {A} surprise shopping to pick out a new skateboard. She’s been big into skateboarding for quite awhile now, so we knew she’d be thrilled. After 2 stores, she finally found one that she felt suited her skill and liked the look of. She left that store beaming, bouncing through the parking lot with her new board. She was really excited to break it in.

She decided that she wanted to save her cake (which she insisted on making herself) and the special packages/gifts she had received for the next day after mass (which she was happily serving at), which sounded great to all of us, because we were all plum-tuckered out too. And it just gave the opportunity to extend her celebration to an extra day.

So the next day after late morning mass, and lunch, she opened her gifts. She received many books, a journal, some money (very old for her collection, and to spend), a very special keepsake box from her Godmother that has ‘their’ special saying on it, and some other cool things too, but here is what she opened that day and she just loves it all.

Cake:

The birthday family member also gets to choose what kind of birthday cake they want. {A} chose (and made herself), chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting. I love the series of photos, so I had to make a collage with them. lol. The last photo (bottom right), she broke out laughing because when she blew out the candles, all of the smoke came my way where I was trying to take the photo, and I was pretending to really choke over it.

All in all she was very happy with her birthday celebrations she had planned out. She said it was ‘icing on the cake’ to be scheduled to alter serve at mass that day too. She was really hoping she would be able to serve on her birthday weekend, and she got her wish. She said she really wanted to serve because , in her words, “Serving is important to me. It makes my faith grow stronger, and I really wanted to spend some time with Christ, serving Him, for my birthday.” (Wow. We love that.)

As she says every year, “This was the best birthday I ever had!”.

The end of August brings the triplets birthday, and they have all been in a flurry of excitement, planning out their special day next! You’d think it would get tricky with 3, but somehow so far every year, they’ve all discussed their ideas and agree to the same things.

{A} – We’re glad you enjoyed your birthday celebration as much as we enjoyed celebrating you. May the light that we see in you every day, continue to bring you joy every day of the coming year, ‘and many more…….’. We love you!!

11 Years Ago …

July 5, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

11 years ago last night, on the 4th of July, 1997, we were in labor with our first child. I knew all along it was a girl. I just felt her in my heart….she was always there. As if she always had been. And then she was born, and I somehow recognized the sweet baby girl, who my heart had felt it had known all along. And we were never the same.

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She changed our world. She changed our souls. She changed our definition of love.

To {A} – You will never know how much you mean to us. To our whole family. We know God has special and amazing plans for you and your life, and we feel so very blessed to watch it all unfold, to watch you grow, day by day, becoming all God meant for you to be.

We love you so very much. Keep listening to your heart, and being just who you are. You are a gift to the world.

Happy 11th Birthday Baby Girl!

Love ~ Mama, Daddy-Boy, { J}, {O} and {S}

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And to think it was once just a tiny acorn . . .

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