Courtney is Home!

Courtney is the daughter of my dear friend, Rebecca. Courtney is just 5 years old. Courtney has been teaching me a lot lately. Let me explain.

Courtney was diagnosed with leukemia on Feb 26, 2007. Since her diagnosis, Courtney has had many rounds of chemotherapy. And her little body has been fighting the cancer and winning.

Courtney even got to go to the first day of kindergarten in September. Here are some pictures of her first day.





The day after her first day of school Courtney had another treatment of chemotherapy. But this time, she developed a very serious complication. The main vein to her liver became blocked which then caused lots and lots of other complications. Courtney ended up in the Intensive Care Unit in Children's Hospital for 2 weeks. She was sedated and intebated. It was really scary.

Rebecca was amazingly strong during this time and I did as much as I could to help: buying food - not cooking it - for Rebecca and her husband, Matt; taking care of Larissa, Courtney's little sister; & visiting at the hospital. But the best thing that I did was to pray and ask others to join me in asking God to heal Courtney. Literally hundreds of people prayed for Courtney and her family.

God answered our prayers. Courtney's liver situation was resolved through new medication, and lots and lots of special care by the doctors and nurses in Children's Hospital. Thankfully, Courtney's body has done very well to improve following her 2 week long nap.

Courtney has a ways to go in gaining back her strength and her appetite. But I'm so excited that she's made it through that really tough trial.

I wish that I could say that her battle is over. But Courtney resumed her chemotherapy treatments 2 days ago. She's in maintenance mode and will be for another 2 years.

I also wish I could understand why God has allowed this little girl to get so sick. Her cancer is no one's fault and it isn't fair at all.

But I know that God is always good. Please join me in praying for God to continue to strengthen Courtney and Rebecca and Matt and Larissa. To Jesus be all Glory.

First Day of School 2007

It happened again. Peanut and Boo started back to school on Tuesday.

I love this time of year. I love the rhythm and routine that school necessitates. I love the new beginnings and the opportunities to learn new things!

Peanut loves this time of year in that we have to go school shopping. Here's Peanut with all of her flair before catching the bus for her first day of EIGHTH GRADE!



Boo puts up with this time of year. His outfits aren't laid out the night before like Peanut - but he usually finds something to wear - that may or may not "match". Fashion is very optional in Boo's FIFTH GRADE world.



Darn, I'm proud of them!

Hayward Cabin 2007

We are very blessed to visit my Aunt Kristi and Uncle Keith's family cabin each summer. I have been going to the cabin since I was about 7 years old. It is so great to spend time in God's creation with wonderful family and have LOTS OF FUN! I really enjoy sharing this place that holds so many great childhood memories with my own husband and children.

Here are some picture highlights!

Sunny on the pontoon boat with Toula and Uncle Keith.



Peanut and Piper on the tube getting ready for a trip on the lake.



Timothy with Baby Clementine. Clementine is Aunt Kristi and Uncle Keith's new goldendoodle puppy - she is so cute. She looks like a teddy bear!



Here is Nana Lee with all SIX of her great-grandchildren.



Jake always the goof-ball when I take his picture with Zane in the boat!



Aunt Kristi and Mugsy the Pug!!!



Thanks Uncle Keith and Aunt Kristi for all of the fun! We had a great time (and I got lots of great napping in!) ;-)

Peanut and Max Birthday Bash

I can hardly believe it but I am now the mother of a teenager!

Peanut celebrated her birthday with 4 different parties! Her first party was a sleep-over shopping extravaganza with 3 girlfriends. Her second was a dinner gathering with the Fries. Her third was on her actual birthday - we had a bar-b-que at Grandma Nicki's. And her fourth and final party was a shared party with her cousin Max - who turned 3!

Our family has a tradition of wearing the birthday CROWN - complete with wand! Here's Peanut's turn!



Now Max in the act - isn't he just darling?!! I'm biased as I'm related and all - but darn!




The evening isn't complete unless the BOYS (Boo, Jake, and Max) dress up and run around like crazy kids - with swords, capes, and Boo's warrior headband.



The shared cake - half Bob the Builder and half Disney princesses!



Finally, a picture of Peanut, Tim, my brother, Scott, and Toula the wonder boston (with her bone) enjoying the party!

The Dells

All of us Larsen people (except for Toula - but then she isn't a person???) went to the Wisconsin Dells for a family vacation and Peanut's national dance competition.

We had an awesome time at the waterpark. I really really loved the Howling Tornado (THANKS STEPH!)

Boo and Timothy had a lot of "guy time" while Peanut and I were at the dance competition.

The Boys went to Wizard Quest and played putt putt and spent a lot of time (and $$) at multiple arcades! Here's Boo with his gargoyle buddy at Wizard Quest:



Boo got thrown into the stockade at the mini golf place - guess he missed one too many putts!!!


We took the Wisconsin Ducks tour. It was a beautiful evening on the water and the amphibious boats are really cool.



We also enjoyed dinner at a local tourist restaurant with a bunch of friends from the Dance studio. (HI CHARLENE, KENZIE, CAROL, & KARLA! Thanks for the fun!)



Peanut's dance competition was a BLAST! Peanut danced very well. I love cheering on all of the girls - hooting and hollering - jumping up and down on the chairs (in the back of course) and generally making a fool of myself to support their efforts. I still know very little about the dance judging so I'm just the cheerleader and it's a great role for me!





(Note my braceless smile - got them off on June 7th! Yippee!)


Finally the kids loved the road trip - as evidence I present this picture:

Toula's New Doggles

Had to buy these DOGGLES for Toula. Doesn't she look cute?!



She's worn them for a total of 30 seconds - so far. Well worth the money!

Dance Recital 2007 - We made it!

In my previous post, I wrote about Peanut's dance competition experience. She had an amazing performance year and we've both had lots of fun going to competitions.

Yesterday was the end of year recital. Peanut danced all her competition dances in both performances. Plus, all of the competition girls did an amazing finale!! It was really cool.

The recital performances started with a BANG. Now I must tell you that Peanut and I have been going to the Mother/Daughter dance class since January. We've joined 8 other Mother/Daughter pairs in learning our routine. We danced to "DREAM GIRLS" - which meant that we danced sort of like Vegas Show Girls.

Obviously this was a big stretch for me. Now don't get me wrong - I love to dance and I especially LOVE to dance with Peanut. But dressing up as a show girl complete with boa and head dress definitely got me out of my comfort zone (think golf clothes and you're in my comfort zone)!

I decided to go all out! Why go part way?! I wore fake eye lashes and lots of makeup and nylons and heels and dress and boa and head dress.

So here's pictorial evidence of our adventures and the DVD is on order.....




So there, Laura, I do wear a dress - very infrequently....

A BIG thanks to all of the family that came to the recital to watch Peanut and suffer through our Mother/Daughter performance - I hope that you got a good laugh! We sure did!

Peanut Dance Spring 2007

Peanut is on a competition dance team again this year. She's been having lots of fun dancing in competitions this spring. She's danced at the U of M, the Mpls Convention Center, Monticello High School, the State Theater in downtown Mpls and Eden Prairie High School.

In each competition she's danced her 5 dances and has become quite good at quick changes as each dance has its own costume, shoes, and hair style, etc. I'm getting good at applying her fake eyelashes and black eye-liner... even in the early morning.

Peanut's 5 dances are:

- Hip Hop "Bossy Girlz"
- Jazz "Nightglow"
- Tap "You Can't Stop the Beat"
- Lyrical "Wild Horses"
- Jazz "One in a Million"

I am Peanut's BIGGEST fan! I had a t-shirt made that says "DanceXchange Mom" on the front and "GO PEANUT!" on the back. I am so blessed to be Peanut's mom. I'm so proud of her.

The big difference between Peanut's dance competitions and my golf tournaments is that for dance it matters how you look... the make-up and eyelashes and hair are part of the deal. Thankfully there are no style points for golf (I wouldn't get any).

Here's Peanut showing off some of her dance style:




Peanut waiting for awards at Monticello:



Peanut and a couple of her dance buddies in front of the State Theater:



May 19th is the recital and the second week of June we all are going to Nationals at the Wisconsin Dells. Should be lots of fun.

Braces Update

I just celebrated the one year anniversary of getting my braces. The tin grin is still in! I'm still hopeful that they will come off by June.

Christmas 2006!

I just love Christmas. This year I took the whole week off of work and we spent lots of time seeing family and friends, shopping, and of course eating!

Here's a picture of me, my cousin Sunny, and our Nana Lee.



Here's a picture of my brother, Scott, and me.



And Peanut with her cousin Piper.



Here are my pseudo-nephews. Max, the little one, has the greatest face ever in this picture - he's holding the Bat Man that we gave him!




Peanut also spent one afternoon putting together a gingerbread house - from a kit of course.



Here's a picture of Timothy with his new hat and Toula in her party dress!



And I love watching the kids open their gifts. We have a tradition that Peanut and Boo each receive 3 Christmas gifts from us. This tradition is to somewhat remind us of the gifts of the Magi for the Christ Child... and put some limit to the madness. Both Peanut and Boo are very aware of where their presents are under the tree. This only heightens the fun.

Jesus is SO wonderful and we are so blessed.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The Hunt for the Tree

We have a lovely family tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree just after Thanksgiving. This year the weather was so warm it seemed that we were in the Carolinas instead of Minnesota.

This tradition is especially fun as we go on our trek to locate the newest Larsen Christmas tree along with our dear friends, the Fries.

Here's a picture of the Fries:



Here's a picture of the finished decorated product:

Thanksgiving 2006

We spent Thanksgiving this year at my Mom's home. For the past 3 years we have eaten the Thanksgiving meal at a local golf course - with a large and elaborate spread. Appetizers galore, Couple kinds of turkeys, ham, beef, potatoes, stuffing, and lots of dessert choices (including the famous CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN).

Peanut has decided over the past couple of years that her favorite Thanksgiving dish is the Sweet Potatoes. I promised her that I'd make Sweet Potatoes for her this year... So my Thanksgiving culinary adventures innocently began...

A friend sent me a recipe - and it looked simple enough. Remember that it is very unusual for me to cook without the help of the recipe on the back of the box or a favor packet!!

The prep work went well - and I successfully baked the yams in the sugar/butter sauce.

However, I was aggressive in applying the marshmallows and didn't realize that they would expand at 500 degrees....
  and flow over...
   and burn in my Mom's oven...
    and cause smoke...
     and trigger ALL of the fire alarms in her condo...
      and cause the dogs to howl...
       and have to open all of the windows to air out the place
       just a few moments before we were to sit down for the meal....

You can't buy holiday moments/memories like that!

They tasted great and Peanut loved them - which was the main point. I caused a little more stress for my Mom then I intended....

I guess if they had come off perfectly I wouldn't have anything to talk about! (And the pies that I purchased were wonderful!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three
His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life

Dr James Allan © 1926.

Boo's 10th Birthday

My boy is getting so big.

Here he is with his cake:



Here he is with his new pirate outfit:



And his new air hockey game that Peanut insisted he needed:

Moose on the Loose

I was on my way to work, driving into my office complex, when I saw a MOOSE in the parking lot. A real moose... with a rack, etc.



By moose standards, I understand that the bull was little. But he sure was big to me.

Unfortunately, he left our office parking lot and ventured onto the highway. The police had to put him down to prevent him from causing a terrible accident.

It was quite the start of my day!

Moose on the Loose!!!

First Day of School 2006

I can hardly believe that Peanut has started junior high. Where has the time gone? It doesn't seem like that long ago she was boarding the bus for a half-day of kindergarten and here we are with a seventh grader!

Of course, Peanut is very excited about school and is adjusting better than me to catching the bus at 7:20 in the morning!!!

Boo, because our home must be balanced, is not as excited about school. He's mostly in denial that school has started. He much prefers having more play time - and video game time. None the less, the school year is upon him and I think that fourth grade is going to be a great year for Boo.

Since the munchkins are now going to different schools we actually took separate first day of school pictures! Of course Boo was still in bed when Peanut left for school, anyway.

Peanut - the 7th grader (gulp!):



Boo- the 4th grader (man! he's grown a lot lately):

Boo's Camp Adventures

Boo went to camp at Lake Beauty Bible Camp for 4 days and 4 nights without a parental unit! He didn't shower - or use soap - while he was at camp. But he learned about Jesus and had a great time.

Here are some fun pictures of his camp experience.

Peanut's Birthday

Peanut's 12th Birthday! She's so cute!

Family Party at Kristi and Keith's



Just us Larsens at Macaroni Grill celebrating!