Happy birthday from Norway

Campbelle’s special birthday greeting from Norway!  She has such great family – all over!!

Campbelle’s 7th Birthday

View Full Album

Our little girl is 7!  Wow – hard to believe it was that many years ago that Leif and I drove to Merit Care hospital during the middle of the night.  Feels so fresh in my mind – as we drove down those quiet Fargo streets – the feeling of our lives about to be changed forever.  Only I had no clue then, about how absolutely amazingly wonderful it would be. 

She is, as she always has been for the past 7 years, our precious, sweet, goofy, a bit dramatic, ok a lot dramatic, caring, soft hearted little girl.  Only major differences now is, she listens to music a bit too loud, discovered eye rolling, and has a fierce sense of fashion.  And we love it all madly.

Happy Birthday little girl.  Don’t grow up and move to Paris too soon.  (Unless of course you have a guest bedroom for your mother).

8 years

I reprinted this on my blog last year on this same awful anniversary.  I have no idea from where it came.  I did not write it.  My sisters did not write it.  But it feels as if we could have. 

I close my eyes and feel her still.

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said "Yes and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed them, and taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a bike and reminded them to feed the dog, and do their homework and brush their teeth.

The sun shone on them and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this." Then the nights came, and the storms, and the path was sometimes dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her arms, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come." And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.

But at all times she said to the children, A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms. And with this, she gave them strength to face  the world. Year after year, she showed them compassion, understanding, hope, but most of all....unconditional love. And when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

The days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she became little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And the mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned so much and are now passing these traits on to their children." And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her, and gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers. 

One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill, they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk with dignity and pride, with their heads held high, and so can their children after them." And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still.  A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows every emotion.......happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow..... and all the while, hoping and praying you will only know the good feelings in life. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow  with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space...............not even death.

Birthday Room Makeover

This past weekend we had a secret room make over for our soon to be 7 year old.  Gina whisked her away for the weekend and Leif and I painted, decorated, and detailed her new room.  Not only is everything pretty much new, but we also switched her and Christian’s rooms (better set up in the other room for boys and bunk beds, which will be coming in the not too far off future).  So she even has a new ROOM. 

It was so much fun to do for her.  And the room is soooo Campbelle.  How this kid has gotten into all things Parisian, I’m not entirely sure (Fancy Nancy books maybe??)  But she now has her own little Paris Apartment!  Complete with chandelier!

Oh la la….

This little sweet little chair I found on Craiglist for just a few bucks and my clever, Martha sister was able to recover it beautifully.  And she sewed all the cute pillows too.

Isn’t she amazing??

She has only left her room for a quick dinner.  And even then she asked if she could eat in her room.  I think going to school tomorrow might be hard for her. 

Now we’ll get ready for her friends birthday party this weekend… and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a French Cooking party! 

 

And just so you know, Christian totally digs his new room too.  Complete with his own reading nook.  But he is anxiously awaiting bunk beds and Beckett and his ‘Come Together Makeover’ scheduled for Winter 2011!  :-)

I am a Girl

Campbelle and I have watched this video about 8 zillion times.  Love it!

I Am A Girl - The Girls With Glasses Theme Song from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

Cartoon of the Day

Laughed out loud at this cartoon this morning…. pretty sure the same conversation transpired in our house a few days ago.  Can you guess which one of us took on each of these characters???

I thought you could probably guess.

Everyone loves a Fool

Could I get more clever with my titles?  I don’t think so.   I’m talking about the dessert called a Fool.  Rhubarb Fool.  I could go on and on about the geeky research I did on the naming behind the dessert – blame it on the Brits – and tell you all sorts of interesting facts I learned about the dessert Fool but I’m afraid you’d change your opinion of me.  So just trust me that it’s good, and in-deed called Fool.

And as you can see, Christian loved him some Fool.  (Typically not drunk, I think he was just trying to lick out what was left)

Rhubarb Fool

2 1/4 lbs rhubarb (trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch slices

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1.  Bring OJ and 3/4 cup sugar to boil.  Add rhubarb and return to boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring only a few times so rhubarb doesn’t get too mushy.  Continue until tender – about 10 minutes.  Refrigerate until cold.

2. Beat cream with remaining sugar until stiff.

3. Gently fold cream in rhubarb mixture and serve in the fanciest of glasses.

 

I happen to have some strawberries that I needed to use, so I did half of each.  Strawberry-Rhubarb Fool - turned out great!  The sweetness balanced the tartness of the rhubarb nicely.  Another combination I’ll try when we pick fresh blueberries is Blueberry-Rhubarb Fool with fresh Ginger.  Yummmm  But get your rhubarb now and freeze some (especially if you don’t live in the Midwest) because it gets really hard to find in a few months from now.