Spring Updates

It is offically Spring, but, as my photos will mostly attest, it has not yet fully sprung here in Colorado! We have had a wonderful busy month of school plays, TKD testings, operas, surgeries and many other adventures. Here's a peek at the last four weeks of Moeller fun, not necessarily in any order! And here's to Spring ..... please come soon!

Sam is a Black Belt! (First row, second from Left)

Monday night, in spite of the blizzard, he insisted on going to his first Black Belt class.

Buds.

1950's Fellini Don Giovanni with Elvira (in purple). I'm on the far left (aka Waldo).

Minor eye surgery to remove an abcess. Sweet girl was a trooper and is healing beautifully.

Spring hike with SP! (and BF). Our 4th blizzard started the next day.  

Ted (L) and Sam (R) five years ago!

Playing in the snow. Do we live in Alaska? It's April!

Sam asked Ted to tie his black belt at the testing. So sweet!

Please come back, Spring!

March already?!

Where is the time going?! Goodness me, but it's flying! Here is a quick update!

• Sam earned his First Degree Recommended Black Belt . This means that he is almost a Black Belt! He will test on April 20. His attitude at testing was upbeat, serious and strong. I was so proud of him. He really rocked it. He is very nervous about his board breaks so we took a trip to Home Depot to stock up on the wood boards he will break. You ROCK, Sam!!!! 

• Ted turned ELEVEN on March 5! Amazing. He is turning into such a serious, hard-working young man. He took his Math Placement Test at Summit last week and reported that it wasn't hard at all, though he wasn't able to do the optional advanced math test. He is feeling confident and excited! At school itself, they are doing a lovely program on transitioning and there will be a Transition Ceremony (so Boulder!) in April. I am so proud of the young man he is turning into - he is such a great kid!

• Mae tested for her Blue Belt and did a great job. She is now in the Advanced Class (with Sam, albeit briefly) and this will be the first testing that all three of us have the same form! We are enjoying that immensely. She is having some girl drama at school and it makes my heart ache for her. Boys are so much simpler, emotionally. But she is still happy to go to school and she is doing a great job on all her work (she did a PowerPoint Book Talk this week! Impressive!) so all is well.

• Paul got kicked in the ribs at soccer last week and is out for a while. We are sad that he is hurting but his presence on Friday meant we could enjoy Shabbat at Temple with him, which is a rarity! We hope he'll be back on the fields soon! 

• I am so busy! Opera Colorado rehearsals have started up for Don Giovanni (50's style!) and our director is a hoot. I also have extra rehearsals for Easter services at church and a bunch of gigs with Temple Sinai for Passover and Shavuot! It's a busy season but I'm enjoying it. 

• We were supposed to get a crazy snowstorm but it's pretty weak. I think it's just too warm for the snow to stick around. I went to my morning church rehearsal, but then my afternoon opera rehearsal was cancelled so I got to come home! I took a nap, played with the kids, baked some cookies (that I then burned ... oops). It was a great day! 

What's going on in your life lately? Are we really this close to Spring?

InstaFriday!

It's been a while! Hello, InstaFriday! I guess copious shots of people in dressing rooms wouldn't be all that interesting anyway. We had this week off, before delving into Don Giovanni, and we had some fun!

It's opera season! 

Crave - our favorite stop for a latte, chai or tasty treat.

Our family's stone in our temple's paver project. 

Sam loving climbing class!

Like father, like son. 

Skinny girl. 67 pounds and holding.

Join us on InstaFridays with Jeannett!

Nit-pickiness can be a virtue...

Through the advice and counsel of good friends, both on-line and in-person, I have decided to start a small, home-based, copy editor business. I have three tiers of service, and anything can be tailored to the needs of your blog!

Growing up with a High School English teacher for a mother, my papers were always edited. As I began to take a deep interest in writing, editing became very important to me too. I never want a mistake to take away from my audience's experience, whether it be a short story or a persuasive essay. Thanks, Mom!

I read a number of wonderful blogs and the majority have a surprising number of grammatical errors and simple mistakes that can be avoided with proper proof-reading. I understand that most blog writers, moms like me, take more effort in their story-telling than they do their proofing, which makes sense.

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I read a variety of blogs, but they all have one thing in common: they are written by mothers. We are mothers who communicate to other mothers. We share our families' milestones and challenges; we ask for help and help others. I love the community I have created in this modern-day technical neighborhood.

I saw a need in our beautiful circle. There is a need to elevate our writing to the level of professionalism we expect as consumers. There is nothing worse than reading a recipe from a favorite blogger only to realize the Tablespoon or teaspoon measurement was left out! (A simple proof-reading error would have solved that.) Or, while deeply immersed in the drama of a mother's tale, I will come across a word that is completely omitted - making the sentence unclear. I must then go back, re-read, and hazard a guess as to what the word might have been.

These types of errors stand between the reader and the writer. This is where I come in!

Small though it is, here is the link to my endeavor. Click over for a description of services, rates, and more!

I look forward to building new relationships with clients that desire a more professional feel to their writing, as well as budding authors (both e-books and hard-copy). Thanks for reading!

Out with the old - in with the new!

Happy 2013! I have always loved the freshness of January 1, in spite of December 31 dishes and laundry still un-done! We have a Labrador calendar this year and January's mama dog looks just like SP with a little black puppy! So cute!

Here is a quick photo recap of our vacation together! We have loved having a non-working daddy in the house (in spite of the cold he acquired a few days ago - boo!) and have spent each day relaxing in our own favorite ways.

Sun-bathing kitty.

MineCrafting brothers.

Delivering antibiotics to Mae in her new loft bed (thanks Ben R!)

Happy snow dog. This is her kind of weather! 

Stretching out for a nap.

Treading lightly...

Conquering the creek!

Fun at the creek.

All three kids are looking forward to seeing their friends. Since all three kids were pretty severely sick, we've had ZERO play-dates all break! This has resulted in a very sweet bond between the boys that always comes on in forced togetherness. Mae is a little left out of this, but she and I have been cooking up a storm and hatching our dragons in DragonVale, so it's all good!

I'll be happy to return to routine, but not to the alarm clock. I love sleeping in - even if sleeping in means 7:15am! Opera Colorado rehearsals start this Friday (See you in May, Paul!) so I'll be very busy at night for four months. I'm looking forward to it, though. This season we are doing Romeo & Juliet, Don Giovanni, and the premiere of The Scarlett Letter. Great season!

As for New Year's Resolutions, I don't usually make them because I know myself. I get things done when I set my mind to them, but I can only set my mind to one or two things at a time! In the immediate future is earning my black belt, step by step and class by class, as well as our big trip to China. Just in case I win the lottery and get into the New York City Marathon, I also have a running goal to run daily; this is as much for SP as for myself. And I am also determined to finish the 30-day Shred before the big 4-0 on the 26th! After that, who knows? Do good. Be kind. Help others. Lots of that!

Happy New Year!

CLICK HERE for a Sweet Pea update!

InstaFriday

Happy Friday! Hanukkah started Saturday night and we've had a nice evening ritual of lighting candles, opening presents, playing dreidel and eating latkes. Yum! It's also been a busy TKD week; tomorrow morning Ted will mid-term and after lunch all four of us will compete in the first ATA/FMA all-school C tournament. It should be a fun but busy day. Next Thursday is our Holiday Party at TKD and Ted's in the demo - it's going to be really cool. Fun stuff!

12:12pm on 12/12/12. Cool.

So pretty.

Dreidel!

Latkes ... mmm...

Sam's first year to light his menorah without help!

On Instagram? Join us!

What Does Giving Look Like?

This week at Compassion International, we are asked to write about what it looks like to give in today's culture.

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This is an interesting question in this season of giving. The myriad ways of giving are a sharp contrast to what was available when I was a child. I remember little envelopes that my parents would tuck a check into, for a charity that spoke to them. What did giving look like when you were young?

These days, I can guess that about 98% of our giving goes through the Internet. Whether it's a donation to the kids' school, our monthly temple dues, or Peter's monthly sponsorship, giving through the Internet is fast, easy and secure. When I wanted to start our own little fundraiser for Mae's Heritage Trip, it only took minutes to find a dozen on-line giving sites. How much more difficult, for both the giver and the person who was needy, was giving before the Internet and PayPal? Often, as recently as last week in my case, I will come across a blogger that I read and find a link to a giving website. Water, adoption costs, whatever. It is so easy to pop over and donate $10. I would venture to guess that giving is easier in today's culture. 

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Granted, not everyone in the world has the resources we have - but they are probably not the ones giving in this way. For there are many ways to give, are there not? I don't think my $10 towards a well is any more important than the little hands that prepare Papa's lunch every day he digs. Nor is it more helpful than the amazing people out in the field making little miracles like this happen every day. Oh no, there are many ways to give.I think the most dangerous thing is to think, "My donation will be so little; it won't help anyway." Never think this way. Always give. Only what you can for you and your family. And only for those causes that strike a chord with you. We can't all give to everything, after all. 

One easy way is to shop the Compassion Christmas Gift Catalog. Quick, easy, secure and meaningful. It's just a suggestion. Help at a soup kitchen this month. Buy a few canned goods for the food pantry. Anyway, anything ... you can help. 

Happy holidays!