Reflections on our walk/run for Children's Hospital

We have been fortunate in that our children and now our grandchildren have not had to make use of Children's Hospital.

When we decided to walk in this particular "fund raiser" we just wanted to do it because we wanted to be a part of a big group of people walking together for a good cause.

We felt it would be a good way to celebrate a Tiziversary, something we would remember.

It turned out to be so much more.

I was humbled and moved by all the "teams" that were walking for children who were either fighting horrible diseases, had already lost their battles, or the lucky ones who had survived and thrived.

I was feeling blessed by the good health of my children and grandchildren amongst so many who had been dealt a very different hand.

Everywhere one looked, this is an example of what we saw:

While I don't know any of their stories, it was amazing to see all of these brave people walking for their loved ones.

Tizita and I would look carefully at each and every shirt and then talk about what story that shirt might tell.

We could tell which ones told the story of a child who had lost their battle because often the dates of birth and death were on the shirt.

It was sad to see those which often had a picture of the child, too.

Most of all, it made me say a big prayer of thanks to God for the health of my children and grandchildren.

That is nothing we should ever take for granted.

A Sixth Tiziversary Celebration

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Tizita and the day she came into our lives.

On Friday night, we started the celebration with dinner, a pink cake, and her presents.

We gave her a gift of gymnastic lessons, a personalized water bottle, and gymnastics bag.

Sorry, these pictures are not very good.  I think I had the wrong setting ont he camera, but at least I did get these two.

Tiz really liked her gifts and we had a great night of celebration.

On Saturday we got up bright and early to head into Milwaukee for our walk/run for Children's Hospital.

It was a cool, fall day, but we were dressed for the weather, so that was not a problem.

We parked at the Summerfest grounds and then took a shuttle over to Marquette University where the walk started,

What a fun place, there were cheerleaders, beauty queens, bands, dancers, basketball players, face painting, and many other activities.

The girls had lots of fun checking out all the activities.

 The girls had these cute crowns painted on their forheads.

 This is our team.  Soli didn't want to be on the picture so she is hidden behind Courtney.

 John needed to pose with the princesses!

After our three mile walk along Wisconsin Ave to the lake, Tiz and I were the first ones to cross the finish line.

There were lots of fun activities at the Summerfest grounds after the walk, too.

 The girls got to go up on stage with a band and sing along.

It was lots of fun for them

There were inflatable jump houses set up, too.

After hanging out there for an hour or so, we went over to the Ethiopian Restaurant,

This year we tried a different one and liked it just as much as the other one.

 Tiz loves her some mango juice.

 The happy family celebrating six years of Tizita.

 The yummy food and beautiful presentation of the Ethiopian food.

It is so nice to just be able to eat it with our fingers and by using the injera bread to scoop it up.

Tizita lover the spicy red lentils, I really like the beef tibs and the lamb dish.

And here is our family.

What a great celebration for Tizita and for all of us.

We came home and just hung our for the rest of the day and night.

Church and a walk to the park today ended our perfect weekend.

Happy Tiziversary Sweet TIzita, we love you.

A Sixth Tiziversary is just around the corner

Six years ago Courtney and Paul were in Ethiopia meeting Tizita for the first time.

I can't even put into words the emotions that were running through my mind at that time.

In many ways, I imagine it is similar to when a daughter is in labor with your grandchild, but in so many ways it is very different.

I was teaching Preschool at the time, but I don't think I was very effective while I waited to hear any word from Courtney about their meeting.

I do remember a call coming through during one of my stories and the relief I felt at hearing that Tizita was healthy, happy, and enjoying her time with her parents.

I could not wait to meet her.

On September 12, 2008, just two weeks after Alissa and Nathan's wedding and just a few days after John got a new job, we met Tizita Desta for the first time as she walked off a plane from Ethiopia and into our hearts.

I will never forget that moment.

I cannot imagine our life without our sweet Tizita.

We love her so much.
The reason that I came up with the idea of a Tiziversary was so that we could celebrate the day that we met Tizita.
We could take time each year to remember those feelings and to share them with Tizita.
Each year, I try to come up with a fun theme, usually involving something that Tizita enjoys at that particular time in her life.
I wrote a song for the Tiziaversary that we sing each year, I bake or buy some special cake, and we go out to eat at the Ethiopian Cottage in Milwaukee.
This year she will get the gift of gymnastics at a big gym in Oshkosh, she will also get a personalized gymnastics bag, water bottle, and hoodie.
We will have homemade cupcakes with little gymnastic girls on them.
All my items were purchased from Etsy.
I am excited to share them with Tizita, I know she will love all of it.
Here are some photos from previous Tiziversaries.

This is from her first Tiziversary in 2009

She loved Curious George at that time, so that was our theme.

 We used pandas as the theme for the second Tiziversary since she had just seen the pandas at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

Here we are at the Ethiopian Cottage in 2010 celebrating her second Tiziversary.

Her third Tiziversary involved Princesses.
2011

Her fourth Tiziversary, 2012 was centered around this Barbie cake that I created.

 And last  year on  the Fifth Tiziversary, we gave Tiz a set of drums, so everything revolved around those drums.
Such happy memories.
So much to be thankful for.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think my grandchildren would arrive from halfway around the world, but I thank God everyday that He had the perfect plan for our family.
I am so excited to celebrate another Tiziversary.
I will post about all the things we did after the weekend.
I will close with this sweet face, which is the way Tizita looked that very first time I saw her!

Weekend Recap

We have had a very laid back kind of weekend around here and it felt good.

Sometimes we are on the go so much that it is nice to just be able sit around and do little.

On Friday night we did our usual grocery shopping and came home to watch a few movies.

On Saturday on had a "Coach Me" class at the gym at the early hour of 8:30.

John came with me and spent his time in the weight room.

I spent my time with my coach, Cathy, who showed me how to use some more equipment in the circuit room.

Now I have to go back at least two times this week to do the workouts.

I like the program because it gives me some accountability.

I have been going to the Y faithfully since I started the program.

When we got home from our workouts, John took the old steps out from our hill in the backyard.

My dad had put them in years ago.

They were made of railroad ties and while they served their purpose well for many, many years, they had started to deteriorate and were no longer safe.

John thought it would be a very big job and he came out armed with a pick, an axe, and other assorted tools, but because they were so rotted, they practically fell out.

Today John put dirt down and planted grass seed, so hopefully by next spring we will have a grass hill where the steps used to be.

I will miss those steps on trips up from the park, but the hill is small, so I will just have to climb up.

Another part of my dad, gone, but not forgotten.

So blessed to be living in the house that I grew up in and my dad lived in for all his adult life.

Little bits of him are all over.

After the step removal on Saturday, I did a lot of school work because a teacher's work is never done.

I made play dough with my essential oils and it smelled so nice in our house.

I know the kids will enjoy playing with it.

Saturday night we watched two more movies.

Sunday was church, grass planting, a walk, and more school prep.

A nice, quiet weekend.

It is just what we need every once in awhile.

Here's to another good week in Preschool!

Another First is in the Books

According to my calculations, today was my 36th or thereabouts "first day" as a teacher.

I have had other "first days" as a student and as a parent.

One thing does not change.

It does not matter if it is your first "first" day or your 36th "first" day, there is always that excitement laced with anxiety that goes with any "first" day.

I have watched parents shed tears as they drop their babies off at my Preschool.

I have watched more students than I care to remember shed tears as they are "left" in my classroom.

But today was different.

For the first time in all my years, I did  not have a crier!

I can only speak for the students, I am sure a few parents shed a tear or two.

What a blessing.

If the day is any indication of what the school year will be like, I think it is going to be one terrific year!

Here are just a few pictures of the smiles I saw today.

Bring on the year, I am ready!