The Ya-Ya's

Ten years ago ~ Catherine was only 8 months old and I was in California when we took the 1st official Ya-Ya trip. It seems like so long ago. I honestly don't even remember how it really came together. I know that Sue came out to CA for a ski trip and when we hugged good-bye we said we needed to make a comittment to see each other at least once a year -- the trip began that next summer.  Sue, Jenn, Char, and Jayme and I met in Gulf Shores with Christopher, Reed, Rachel, Camille, Alex and Jayme's boys for our 1st trip. We were all 32 with Sue having a lead on the parenting and Char just starting out with Baby Brianna. We  had a great time re-connecting and hanging out on the beach -  but decided we would do the trip the next year without kids. So - we began the tradition. 1x a year, we would meet for 3-5 days in Gulf Shores to recant all of the funny or not-so-funny stories, to laugh, cry, console, encourage one another.. the group has changed members ...Nicole joined in year 3 and hasn't missed since.. Kim has joined many times, Lucy came after our 20 year reunion and Melissa came for 1 trip. We all turned 40 together 2 years ago and it was truly one of our best ever trips. I think what keeps us so connected is that we all knew each other when we were young and had our whole future ahead and now here we are in our future and we are sharing it together. God has had a hand in this little trip for many years as we have grown in our faith through the blessings and trials of life. It's a reflection point ~ each year as we get ready for another trip... we look back to see how the year has gone--- I can honestly say that when the trips started more than 10 years ago I could NEVER have predicted how our lives would all evolve in such a short period of time. One thing is for sure - it's hard to keep 5-7 women connected across several states with very busy lives.... but we've managed to do it year after year. I pray that God will continue to bless all of my dear Ya-Ya's and our time together regardless of our life circumstances!!

The days are long, but the years are flying by!

Well - we are 6 weeks away from the end of another school year. Next year Catherine will move on to 5th grade and Christopher to 8th. It hardly seems possible that my "babies" are in middle school and junior high. How many times have I been told - "you blink and it races by". It's true!!

 Last night, Catherine had her full barbie world set up by the pool. Christopher had his race cars and various toy lizards and frogs diving off of a ramp into the hot tub.  I love this place and time that we are in right now. It's simple, it's uncomplicated. They love being together and they love being at home. Friday - when Catherine came bouncing in from school she raced upstairs to get all of the American girls set up because her neighborhood friends were coming over to "play school." I love that! The strongest memories of my childhood are between 4th and 6th grade. Lisa, Louise, Elizabeth and I were either making pine needle houses in the yard, setting up a roller skating school on the driveway or getting ready for another Monopoly marathon.

I constantly stop and remind myself that when Catherine is all grown up in her 40's like me-- these days -- right now are the days she will remember! When Christopher is a dad - he will be telling his kids... "I remember when all I did all day was build legos!"

so..... when the days are long -- and they are! I need to remember that the years are flying by!! and cherish every moment.

What makes a house a home?

This is our 7th house we've lived in over our 19 years of marriage. I just laugh when I think about this journey we've had with our many houses starting with the 1st one in B'ville! which was actually a rental. Thank God for Gramma Ann and Miss Peg who shipped boxes of decorations to us and then showed up for 3 days of whirlwind transformation. They were like Fairy Godmothers magically appearing to turn our cold, dreary 2 story raised ranch into a cozy, comfortable home. We had very little furniture-  a butcher block table from Gramma and Grandad Joe - a bedroom set from PaPa Russo, a Waverly print couch we bought when we got married. We unpacked many boxes including those shipped by bus to reveal pieces that became a beautiful green armoire. That armoire was our primary piece of furniture in our family room. It took on many different lives in our next houses... it became a living room piece in our 3rd home in New Hampshire and then a tv chest for our Master BR in California, to the basement in St. Louis, to the guest room in The Woodlands and now sits charmingly in Catherine's sweet pink and yellow room.

as I try yet again to transform this new house into a "home", I think about the green armoire. The green armoire has history, it has a story and when we see it ~ it brings us back to many many memories and fills the space in a way that an ordinary new piece of furniture can't do. What makes a house a home is making it a place that has unique and special meaning for our family. Our front hallway has a canvass picture of Christopher and Catherine at 3 and 6 and every time I see it I smile. I think about how Catherine cried and Christopher was so sweet and tried to make his baby sister smile for the pictures. I think of how we were running late and Lisa gave me a crystal barrette at the last minute for Catherine's hair and how beautiful the Strausburg dress we borrowed from Jenn looks on our baby girl. Our dining room has "The famous Armoire" ~ that I bought with Miss Peg in Chicago when we lived in St. Louis. In the hallway are 2 very special pictures that my mom and dad received from my Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw when they were married and I got them when I was married. There is a beautiful maple hope chest in Cat's room from Grandma K, and a maple table converted to a desk in our guest bedroom that was Grandma File's kitchen table, many treasured gifts -the "Cafe Kasparek" canvas - from Mark and Shawn,  a wooden bowl on the kitchen table- from Jennifer, our china hutch filled with crystal from years at Anheuser-Busch... my kitchen desk with flower pots painted by Christopher and Catherine each in Kindergarten... and on and on!

so my house may not ever be finished... there will probably always be a "wish list" .... but this I know... there is history in the "things" that fill this home, there is great joy in the memories remembered with the many collected items throughout our home, and making a house a home is just as much about what we do while we're here than what we fill it with! Because it really is true that "home is where the heart is!!" and my heart is here with my family!

Two very different children

Jon and I are so very different in many ways and completely alike in other areas ~ and our kids are completely the same. I was thinking about this today after a typical Saturday at home. Jon left the house early for a round of golf. It didn't bother him one bit to get up at the crack of dawn (6:00 am) to get ready to get out on the course. (yuck! dreadful) I was fast asleep until 8:30 when Cat came to "snuggle" with me in my bed. I love sleep! and I hate getting up early for anything!!  I had a ton of little house projects to get done and by 10 am I had started the laundry, made breakfast for everyone, cleaned the kitchen, had my coffee - visited with Heather on the phone, organized 2 drawers in the laundry room and made a long "to-do" list for the day. and nothing made me happier than having my music on throughout the house, plugging away at my day and getting things done.

Our little mirror images had the same kind of day. Catherine scurried upstairs after breakfast to get herself dressed, fixed her hair, came down and picked up her Friday night palette she had made with about 10 blankets and pillows, and went upstairs to clean her room. Then she played on the driveway for awhile - singing to herself, jumping rope, hula-hooping, sidewalk chalk ... and on and on. (i've had no greater joy than many many moments of watching her "on the driveway" since she was about 4 years old.. entertaining herself!) She had to do her school reading - so she came in - brought all her babies downstairs to read to them and then set off on her bike to play with friends (constant motion.... ). Where was Christopher all this time? - in his pajamas - completely relaxed - watching some Egyptian movie and then headed to the Lego room for building. It never occurred to him to "be bored" or move from one activity to the next or be restless and ask "what are we doing today?" He was content.

It really made me think and remind myself. We are all different! What motivates me and makes me happy - is completely different for other people. If I have free time - I can't wait to work on my scrapbooks, read cookbooks, watch cooking shows, read one of my many bedside reading books (usually parenting related! or bible study) The idea of just sitting still and "relaxing" for hours - gives me anxiety. I feel like I am "wasting" time! Yet, Christopher teaches me that there is true peace in being focused and content with what's in front of you.

We have to look no further than our own family to learn all we need to learn about ourselves!

"Texas Snow Day" at home

okay so we had work and school cancelled today for weather conditions. There didn't actually end up being any SNOW... but it was really cold outside. So we decided we would stay in our pj's all day, light the fire and have a relaxing day. Cat got set up with all the dolls and stuffed animals and pillows and blankets... (quite a production!) and Christopher retreated to the Lego Room for hours! I made a big pot of chili and Jon worked in the office organizing files (the least exciting activity of the day!). I wouldn't want to have cold weather all the time.. but it was nice to take advantage of it inside today!

At Home Spa Day!

What could be better than an "At Home Spa Day" with Catherine. We set up our pedicure station complete with our foot spa tub (thanks MawMaw!) and all of our nail polish selections and tools. We had our comfy robes and slippers set out, background music, dimmed lighting with candles lit. Of course with Catherine - Spa Day wouldn't be nearly as much fun if we didn't put on the full act. We hang our Spa Sign on my bathroom door and one of us is the customer and the other the owner. My treatment tonight included a full pedicure with polish and foot and leg massage, a hand and arm massage with lotion, a neck massage, a full hair brushing with a hair styling included, and a face lotion application. While the treatment was taking place, I was presented with my favorite magazine and refreshments! Seriously - what could be more FUN!!

Memory Making Madness

Saturday, January 29, 2011

About 3 years ago, my dear friend Sally introduced me to the world of Scrapbooking! She invited me to a weekend Crop. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up. Scrapbooking is serious business. I was immediately hooked in by the endless choices of patterned papers and stickers and embelishments... but more than anything - I was drawn to the idea of "capturing memories". The women I've met in the "scrapping world" are devoted to their families.. to building something of value - day by day. I've been at it now for 3 years and honestly - it's a slow process when you first get started and expensive!! and for me- I am truly addicted to the beautiful papers and tools and accessories. In the beginning, I spent several weekends just getting my backlog years of digital and non-digital photos organized. But, now I am finally caught up and I have begun the process of building 2 books - one for Christopher and one for Catherine. My favorite part of the process is the journaling. With every page layout - you can add you own memory of that picture. I started Catherine's book with her first "school days" - PreK 3 at age 3 & 4. Just sifting through the photos and coordinating each page is such a joyful experience because you re-live each memory everytime you see the photos.
So today, I went to a Quarterly -ALL Day Crop at our church called Memory Making Madness. I got there at 8am, along with about 100 other women, with totes and scrapbooking equiptment and laptops and all of my scrapping materials and picked a spot to work. I worked on my books until 8 pm and loved every minute of it. It's a day filled with fun as you sit with friends sharing ideas about pics, sharing stories about your family and knowing that what you are putting together will be cherished by your family for years to come.
Thanks for getting me hooked in Sally! I'm loving it!

A simple life- my kid's point of view

Tonight reminded me of how wonderfully simple kids can see the world and oh how I wish I could be reminded of that when life gets overwhelmingly complex and busy! It was an overcast day and after church Catherine was already making plans for a cozy afternoon at home. She had it all planned out - comfy clothes (pj's and robes and slippers), converting the couch with pillows and blankets, lots of snacks - popcorn and pretzels and fruit and settling in to watch our American Idol recordings to "vote" on the contestants. One of the singers had a very moving story that brought us all to tears. We were curled up on the couch, with tears in our eyes and I was loving every minute of it. Then tonight at bedtime, I got Christopher all settled in his bed. He fed his new pet frogs and we had a very engaging conversation about how he wanted to ask God after he went to heaven if he could come back as a frog and if he couldn't be a frog, he wanted to be an eagle or an owl .. an owl because they make that cute little "whoo" sound and can turn their whole head around! We sat there for a long time discussing this when he said- Mommy, I like it when you sit here with me and talk with me and I agreed that I liked it too!

My kids are so good at reminding me to slow down and enjoy the here and now! I can't always have cozy couch days .. but I sure will enjoy them every chance I get.

13!! We Officially have a Teenager!! Happy Birthday my precious son!

Thirteen years ago, in a hospital room in Columbus, OH - with snow on the ground and 2 weeks past his due date - Christopher Lewis arrived at 8'11 lbs, 21 inches. After 28 long, exhausting, emotional hours of labor - our beautiful baby was finally here. I was completely overtaken with tears the moment I saw him. He was absolutely PERFECT! God is really amazing and this little boy is our sweet miracle. All my life I dreamed of being a mother ~ and for 9 long months, I dreamed of what this sweet baby would look like, what our life would be like with him and what the future would hold for him. I could never have imagined the love I would feel for my sweet son. He was an adorable, happy baby... who smiled all the time! He walked at 10 months and ran days after he walked. He was busy! He loved music immediately ... and still does today. He loved singing and dancing and books and Barney & Elmo and building and being outside. I smiled and cried tears of joy when I met him and I've been smiling and crying tears of joy for 13 years now. Before I was ready and almost overnight, my sweet boy is quickly becoming a young man. He's sprouted up this past year to 5'9 and a size 10.5 shoe. His voice is deeper and all the regular signs of puberty of kicked in. Christopher is gifted with creativity and loves to draw and read and writes amazingly thoughtful, sensitive narratives. He is a sweet, loving big brother to Catherine. While so much is changing - some things remain the same. Christopher still loves music - Rascall Flatts is his favorite band, at 2 he loved legos and frogs and he now has miniature frogs for pets and has his own "lego room" for building.

Christopher - my wonderful, loving, special son - we thank God for you every day. We praise God that you have such a loving heart and such a gentle spirit. Our prayer for you is that you continue to discover your God-given talents and always know who you are in Christ! I cherish every day with you and can't wait to see what this next chapter in your life will reveal. We pray for God's protection over you each and every day and praise Him for sending you to us! We love you  sweet boy. Happy Birthday!!!!

Welcome 2011! & A Lookback at Memories from 2010!

Catherine-1st day -4th grade

Christopher - teaching Cat to
play trumpet

Welcome 2011! Every year, as we start fresh and look forward - I can't help but look back first! It always amazes me how much the year brought with it that was unexpected and reminds me how much can happen in the year that awaits. 2010 was no different for our family. In January, we moved into our new house. It was bittersweet for us as we were so thrilled to finally be getting settled and out of our temporary apartment, but a final reminder that we were saying good-bye to our 1st house in the Woodlands where we had so many wonderful memories. Catherine was only in pre-k when we moved in the old house and Christopher was starting 1st grade.
In the new house - we were beginning a new chapter to finish out 3rd and 6th grade. I got settled into the new job at SWN and Jon was busier than ever carpooling the kids to 2 different schools and all the after-school activities. He and Christopher were busy with Scouts and B2 and Outer Limits, & Quest on Sunday nights. Cat had Flips gymnastics.  We welcomed little Baby Lucy Paige in March and had another great ski trip in April. We swam with the Hurricanes swim team for the 1st time and had a blast. Both Chris & Cat got reading glasses. We left Galatas and Mitchell in May and then had a very busy summer. Catherine went for her 2nd year at Camp Nakanawa- this year all by herself on the plane. Christopher went with Dad to North Carolina and then stayed at Camp Timberlake for 2 awesome weeks. I went on my 10th Ya-Ya trip to the Beach and every year we say it was the best one! Both kids went for 1 week of Camp MawMaw in Lafayette and then we all went for our best ever summer trip to CO with Gramma and Grandad Joe where we went whitewater rafting, horseback riding and golf for Catherine. We started 2 new schools in August (Coulson Tough-4th and McCullough -7th). Cat kept very busy with golf, soccer and the Woodlands Civic Ballet. Christopher took up trumpet in the school band, discovered that he loved drawing and reading! Jon took on the WJGA Coordinator role and before we new it the Fall was gone and we were finishing our first year in the new house. God blessed our family throughout 2010. We were healthy and happy and growing as a family. Who knows what He has in store for us in 2011! We pray for wisdom, protection and mercy as we enter the new year!

Catherine-baking
 banana chocolate chip muffins

Christopher- Tim Hawkins Concert

Chris- drawing in CO - looking at the mountains

Christopher-First day 7th grade

Catherine and her American Girls!
(and Rosie & Ruthie)

Our Christmas Tradition

For 16 of our 19 married years we have not only celebrated Christmas day with our family, but traveled to see them and woke up on Christmas morning with Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw or Grandma and Grandad Joe. Our first 3 years we traveled between Houston and LA while I was in law school. Our most exciting Christmas was in 1995, when we camped out at the hospital all day and late into the night waiting for sweet baby Morgan to be born. The hospital couldn't believe it when the Russo crew converged on the waiting room complete with Christmas dinner! Then, in 1996, we moved to Baldwinsville, NY - "pre-kids" and had no vacation time and spent our first Christmas alone. I cooked a turkey and set the table and we sat at our little rented house with 8 feet of snow outside and missed our family. The next year, we were in Columbus, OH and I was 9 months pregnant with Christopher and was praying that he would be an early "Christmas baby" like Morgan because I was so ready to see him! We sat around all day thinking that this was our last Christmas with just the 2 of us and we couldn't wait for every Christmas for the rest of our lives! Christopher arrived 4 weeks later! 3 years later, we had another Christmas away ~ this time in California. It was a very special Christmas because we had our little 2 month old Catherine with us! Christopher played outside in shorts on his big wheel and she hung out in her baby swing ~ and we felt very blessed to have our 2 beautful babies. Every other year we have traded off between families. 3 times we flew to Colorado for Christmas. The first time, we actually flew from St. Louis on Christmas day and met Grandma, Grandad, Uncle Sam, Aunt Nicole and Unlce Ben. Christopher(5) and Catherine (3) went to ski school and we had a great time. The next time we went to CO, it was our first year back in Houston. We had a very special Christmas day with Grandad K in Conroe and then flew out the next day for CO. Though we didn't know it that day, he would leave to be with Jesus, just days after our great holiday together. 3 years ago, we flewback to CO on Christmas Eve and had a great Christmas with G&G and Unlce Ben& Aunt Jill, then Uncle Sam, Aunt Nicole, Ryan & Noah came and we all went sledding and skiing and had a great time.

This year, we had decided we needed to have a Christmas morning at home. We were all set for a quiet Christmas eve and then a drive to LA late on Christmas day. At the last minute, we changed our mind, rushed to pack the car and surpirsed Maw-Maw when we showed up the day before Christmas Eve. Aunt Heather and Aunt Holly were there and like so many other Christmas mornings, helped to make it special as we opened gifts and got ready for the rest of the cousins to come over. On Christmas day in our usual Russo Tradition, we played a game of "little Sally Walker" ... with all of the kids and adults. We had a blast as usual. We were happy we had changed our minds and decided to travel at Christmas. because while it hasn't always been easy to pack up gifts and kids and travel for the holidays.... what we realized it that this is our Christmas tradition and it's brought us many blessings to share the most important day of the year with family!

Getting the House Decorated!

Home from the Tree Farm! now how do we get it down and inside?

Christopher - loves the tree and is ready to decorate

Here it is - THE BIG TREE!!

LuLu having some hot cocoa and watching Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer!

Love, love the fairies!



Finally all decorated! It looks beautiful!



Mark Roberts Christmas Fairy!

Our new dining room table looks great (even with the uncovered chair seats)

My favorite - Christmas photos through the years!

Christmas 2010

I love Christmas! I always have ... and look forward to it all year. I love the weather, I love the music, I love the focus on Jesus and I love that most "Christmas related activities" involve friends and family. We started this Christmas season off with a rocky start. Catherine got the stomach flu so Jon headed out to the tree farm alone to pick out our tree. When he got home, Christopher and I ran out to see the tree tied on top of his car. They got the tree into our wagon and managed to get it inside. About 30 minutes before Jon got home, Christopher helped me completely re-arrange the family room to fit the tree. We lit the fire, put on our Christmas music and prepared for the decorating. Once we managed to get the tree into the holder it was time to cut away the netting. Jon got up on the ladder, cut away the string and all of a sudden we had this enourmous tree taking over our room. I insisted that the tree had to go back - how could we possibly manage with this huge tree. I think a couple of "what in the world were you thinking...." comments were repeated over and over! Then, my sweet boy came over and said to me - "Mommy, I love it. It's beautiful. and it's Christmas, don't you think you can make it work?!" and just like that .. that darn tree did look beautiful and perfect. I thanked Christopher for remindind me that we aren't looking for perfection... and yes.. we can definitely make it work AND then, I asked for the clippers. After a pretty hefty trimming of the bottom layer, we got the tree to a more manageable size and Jon and I decided to laugh about it and call it "The Year of the Big Tree!" The next day, when I got home, Jon said, come on in and see your big tree! and we cracked up laughing.

Tonight, we got out the ornaments and Christopher and Catherine had a ball reminiscing over their favorite ornaments. Each time they found one of theirs .. they said, "aw this one is my favorite, aw I remember this one." Then, for the 8th year in a row (started when she was 3!!) Catherine got up on the ladder and put our Angel on top of the tree. We watched the Polar Express and then picked out a Christmas book to read. The Christmas season is officially active now.

Thanksgiving with the Kasparek's

Thanksgiving 2010 (Conroe)

Thanksgiving 2010 ~ Catherine (10), Christopher (12). We had a great holiday at Grandma and Grandad Joe's in Conroe. Aunt Hope and Uncle Russ came with Nick, Christopher and Elizabeth, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jill and little Lucy Paige and Uncle Sam, Aunt Nicole and Ryan & Noah. We had way too much food of course... including favorites like Aunt Hope's spinikopita and corn maque choux. Everyone had to keep their eye on little Noah. He's quick and fearless ~ jumping off of everything and climbing on anything. Lucy was on the move and was thrilled with all of the attention in the house. She continues to be the "world's best baby!"Catherine had a great time with Elizabeth. They both brought their American girl dolls and had a great time playing. Christopher was happy to hang out with Nick and Chrisotpher File. Everyone wanted to fish ... but the fish weren't biting so we will have to try that again another day. As we set the table and prepared the meal, it was hard not to be overwhelmed by how truly blessed we all are every day. God is so good to us and we are THANKFUL for His neverending and neverfailing love and mercy!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2010! We have so much to be Thankful for this year! God continues to
bless our family! We thank God for healthy, amazing children who bring us joy every day,
for 19 wonderful years of marriage, for the gift of all of our family which continues to grow ~
and for so many special friends in our lives! We hope you ALL had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Fall Soccer

Catherine had another great game this morning. It was one of those days that couldn't be more perfect. The weather was perfect and "The Lightning Strikers" were ready to defend their undeafeated record. They knew it would be a battle because they were up against another undefeated team. It was a great game... and we ended with a victory 4-2! Catherine played hard and came very close to a goal right at the end!

Catherine (#34) on the Lightning Strikers... making a shot on the goal! Her 1st year of Soccer is off to a great start. The team is undeafeated and today with 76 degree weather and a 9:15 game the team was ready to go! It was a great game and Catherine played hard the entire game!

WJGA - Woodlands Junior Golf Association

Catherine loved the WJGA this summer and made great progress. She moved up from being a 2 hole player to a 3 hole player. She won 1st place in the WJGA Club Championship in her 3 hole category and she unexpectedly received the award for Best Sportmanship! We are so proud of her tenacity and it is so much fun to her having fun with a new sport!

Recruiting all Family & Friends to become a Follower!!

Hi all! Day 2 of the family blog and I officially have 1 follower! yeah Mom!! Jon is making fun of me for starting the blog... but I am determined! hoping to "recruit" more followers this week!

Mommy I love to dance!