NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!

So, along with Ryan's page of translated words, one thing that he says regularly is, "Nice," as in, "Yes," "Nice, I like what you are thinking," or "Totally!  Now we're tracking, Lady!"

It's pretty much my favorite thing, along with "Peas" and "Deek Doo" which translate: Please and Thank you!

Without further ado, here's the little man after breakfast this morning...



Ryan is NICE from Jason Graves on Vimeo.

Boot Camp

Emily goes to a fabulous school based on Outward Bound Expeditionary Learning style.  She just got back from 5th grade camp where they packed in and set up their own tents, dug their own latrine, and drank filtered water from a mountain stream.

In addition to base camp set-up, they did high ropes, made their own meals, built relationships, and had a blast, too.  The only thing they didn't do was shower...the grime on my shower floor when she was finished was, well, grimy.

She has flourished at her school and applied her love of learning she regained from homeschool back into the classroom.  I wish it went through 12th Grade!  Before Em started school I asked her what some of her spiritual, personal, and academic goals were for the upcoming year.

One thing she said was, "I would like to be done with Reading Plus.  My goal is to never have to do it again!"

I said, "What if that means you have to do it this year but by the end of 5th Grade you would be done with it?"

She said, "That's fine!  Whatever it takes!  I love reading I just don't love being outside of the classroom in that program anymore..."

On the first day of school her Reading Plus teacher from 4th Grade told her she had graduated from the program and did not need to return.  She was ecstatic!  And we were, and are, so very proud of her and the time she has put into developing her reading skills!

Way to go, Em!

All this to say, her school is doing a Boot Camp and each student is encouraged to seek pledges or one time donations to support funding for continued education outside the classroom walls, as well as science and technology.  They are also collecting non-perishable food items to stock a local food pantry at Douglas County Task Force.

The kid who raises $1000 in donations gets a Kindle.  You should have seen Em's eyes light up when she knew a Kindle was the prize!  "You mean it's GREEN and for reading?!"

We understand times are tight, but Em asked me to please post on here to raise awareness and support in case anyone was interested in sponsoring her.  Thanks, in advance, for reading and for supporting your local schools, wherever you may live!

Here is the link to Emily's Boot Camp Page.

Ryan's Translation

Thanks to everyone who tried to translate Ryan's language!  It was good for me to read through them and have a laugh, for sure :)

The girl you'd want to have on hand if it were just you and Ryan alone in a room is.....

Karen Hochstedler

Congratulations, lady!  You got 16 correct!  

Heather Gieske and Annie Shoberg came in with 15 answers right, or as Annie said, about 30%...which, if I should have to point out to any of you, would not take you to the next grade level :)

Here's the official KEY as translated by this guy:

Moo, moo = Cow (freebie)
Pay noun =  Penguin
Moe neen = Morning
Hail puh = Help
Honey = Sunny
Jiss = Juice
Obble bus = Applesauce
Moody = Smoothie
Icky = Snake
Eeb rah = Zebra
Hop hop = Kangaroo
Eebitt = Ribbit
Nay nay = Horse
Cow = Moo Moo
Boof = Bruce (Dog next door…)
Me Oh Me = Emily
Yay dee = Lady
Deet = Deer
Oonie = Ernie
Beet boot = Big Bird
Boot = Burt
Sue = Zoo
Rarrrr = Tiger
Boat Ee Goo = Bald Eagle
Dough Ghee = Doggie
Oat shyed = Outside
Bay oh = Bear
How whoooo = Coyote
Bieber = Beaver
Hoo hoo, ha ha = Monkey
Pwffft = Elephant
Maah tee =Manatee
Booty = Birdie
Poopie = Pee
Boobie = Boobie
Dood doy = Good Boy!
Mook = Milk
Dood nye moon = Goodnight Moon
Num num = Vitamin, or yummy
Cuckoo = Goldfish, as in the creature

Thanks, again!  That was good for my heart :)  

*Karen, email me your address :)

Some Friday FUN!

Below you will find a quiz.  It's a language quiz.  And by "language quiz" I mean, it's the language of my 2 year old son, Ryan.  A language I am expected to interpret and act upon every day.

Let's be honest, it's more like a game of MadGab, but I want to remember his sweet words at this stage in his life, so thought it would be fun to make it into a test for everyone else.  Don't worry, I'm recording some of this, too, and will post those later next week so you can hear how sweet it is.

In the comments section, answer as many of the questions you can with one guess/translation per question.  I will keep this open until Tuesday, September 25th at midnight Mountain time.  The person with the most correct answers wins a pair of sterling and freshwater pearl earrings from bebe&boo.   *Hint:  "moo moo" does not translate = moo moo, it actually means something...


Welcome to my life...please translate the following words in your comment (I'll go easy on you, to start...because I'm nice like that...)

1. Moo, moo = Cow (freebie)
2. Pay noun = 
3. Moe neen =
4. Hail puh = 
5. Honey =
6. Jiss =
7. Obble bus =
8. Moody =
9. Icky =
10. Eeb rah =
11. Hop hop =
12. Eebitt =
13. Nay nay =
14. Cow =
15. Boof =
16. Me Oh Me =
17. Yay dee =
18. Deet =
19. Oonie = 
20. Beet boot =
21. Boot =
22. Sue =
23. Rarrrr =
24. Boat Ee Goo =
25. Dough Ghee =
26. Oat shyed =
27. Bay oh =
28. How whoooo =
29. Bieber =
30. Hoo hoo, ha ha =
31. Pwffft =
32. Maah tee =
33. Booty =
34. Poopie =
35. Boobie =
36. Dood doy =
37. Mook =
38. Dood nye moon =
39. Num num =
40. Cuckoo =

Have fun and have a fantastic weekend!

xoxox

Girlfriends, part 3

And then I met them...

Women from coast to coast.  Beautiful women with beautiful stories.  And, by “beautiful” I mean, real, candid, authentic, raw, not watered down, genuine, broken, not shattered, but broken wide open to reveal true heart and true grit.  My kind of real.  No sunshine blowing, yet tons of laughter and joy.  No competition amongst us, yet damn strong fighters.  Beautiful, beautiful women.  New girlfriends.  I am humbled I had the opportunity I did to be there with them all in that space and time.

On Saturday my friend Jessica introduced Kristin Armstrong to the group.  In her intro she shared a bit about her own love of girlfriend-time and a time in her life when she was really feeling drained without it.  This is the counsel a minister gave to her:  

He said, “Girlfriends are sacred.  They are part of your spiritual formation.” 

I wrote that down in ink and on my heart.  Wow!  The retreat could have ended right there for me!

Then, when Kristin shared with us, in her fabulous young 41-derful years, she spoke as a peer, unassuming and so candid, yet her wisdom was that of a true and faithful friend of 100 years.  She set the tone for authenticity.  It was a safe place for all of us to share, and that we did. 

Each one of us went around and shared our hearts.

And then she said it... 

…the hook, line, and sinker of the whole weekend for me, driving home what Jessica had stated earlier…

Kristin said, “Having girlfriends is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.  It’s mandatory.” 

(She wrote it out more thoroughly here on her blog...)

She also told us how she has recently boycotted the word, “Busy,” from her vocabulary, as well as not allowing her friends to use it around her, either.  Of course we’ll ALWAYS have stuff to do, places to go, blah, blah, blah, but the truth is, since deep heart friendships with women are sacred, we need to make the time.

This year God’s been teaching me to love myself.  As I mature, if you will, each year, I will say I am more and more self aware of my needs or desires, here on earth.  Clearly I need water, some food, shelter, a pair of jeans and comfy flip-flops.  But in order to be a better me, I also need:  time to quietly sit with God’s word each morning, hot mug in hand; date nights out with my husband; and couch-time snuggling with my 10 year old daughter as we dig into a great book.  And, I need to kiss my son on his neck and cheek, smell him and then tickle him so I can hear laughter from deep in his belly, a laughter I’m not able to conjure up on my own most days because I’ve seen too much.  I need solitude, too.  

And I need time with girlfriends.  It’s not always going to look like a weekend away without any responsibilities.  I know that.  But time with friends is something I long for and something from which I walk away refreshed.  I’ve loved it ever since I was a little girl and still cherish it as a grown-up. 

So here’s our takeaway:

• ·       Girlfriends are sacred. 
• ·       They are part of our spiritual formation. 
• ·       Girlfriends are NOT a luxury.
• ·       Time with girlfriends is a necessity. 

If the word "Busy" were deleted from your vocabulary, is there something else that is holding you back from spending time with life-giving friends?  It doesn't have to be hours on end...even just a half hour is a step in the right direction.

It's time for women to start building bridges for friendships to be nurtured and grow.  Imagine a world where healthy, beautiful friendships were everywhere we looked because they were established on trust and authenticity.

We all have stories...What is yours?

The world doesn't need more superficial relationships based on mistrust and name brand jeans.  The world needs women who are willing to go deep, women who are willing to cherish one another.

Yep.  That's what it needs...

Now, let's go carve out some time for the relationships in our lives which matter most!

Ready:  GO!