The McCracken Family

The past 8 weeks or so...

2010-12-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

(Ready for a little after-dinner Psalm singing)

Just catching up again. I kind of like looking back over photos to see what we've been up to. It's easier than just sitting and trying to remember! Then again, there's plenty that goes on that never ends up on the memory card (the camera's, that is -- well, and my brain's, too).

What we've been up to:
Well, I discovered these great photos below when I downloaded stuff from the camera! Connor's been taking an interest in learning about photography, and apparently has been trying out some techniques around the house.

(So was he lying down in the middle of the street for this?! Connor, do you know how fast cars turn onto Grant from Maple?!)
Sheryl Ridley, a friend of ours, has been working on her photography skills and has been a good source of information - and inspiration (Connor's been quizzing her about camera features -- getting informed as he saves for a future purchase). Kaylee enjoyed a photo shoot with her after Sheryl asked to spend an afternoon with her, working on various techniques in different settings (with Sheryl's daughters as able assistants :-). A few of the photos from her camera:

What else did I find on our camera? Well, this:

I believe it's another snowboard "feature" that Connor designed for a contest (Analog's Unlikely Feature contest? I might have that right; I'm not sure. :-) He enjoys using the SketchUp program on the computer. I'd love to see him learn CAD stuff. Not that I know what it is -- but it has to do with computer aided design.
Oh, going all the way back those full 8 weeks or so -- this (above) is Little Piggies. Graham's. On the way to the airport to go back to Oklahoma after Sally and Nathan's wedding. Wish his little piggies were out HERE!

And this is fence-fixing (and subsequent kindling-cutting, using the old fence boards). Projects around here usually draw in a few neighborhood friends.

There's been reading, too. And Polly. I wonder if she preferred North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskill, or Isobel Kuhn's biography. ("What about Lassie?! Or Incredible Journey?! Don't these people have any of the GOOD stories around here?")

We found out that tho Polly's skinny and she shivers when it's chilly, she just doesn't care for clothing. It kind of paralyzes her (which we tried to use to our advantage a few times).
Found this on the camera, too. Connor's mini dry-erase board that he uses for chemisty problems. I guess after working it all out, he felt the need to preserve it for posterity before wiping it clean.
This turned out to be the better way to keep Polly warm: Tim built a bigger house (box with doorway, big enough for her and Connor's 2 cats, both of whom are bigger - and furrier - than her). He attached a heat lamp to it - and they're all set!
Ah, the filming of the Doritos commercial - with Jake Holly. There are more of these photos - and the video, too. Hmm, if I knew the website address, I'd send you to their contest entry - and you could click on it hundreds of times to help them win! I'll have to ask Tim for it tomorrow and put the link in the "comments."
Kaylee and I drove to L.A. for Kendra's (Jenny's sister-in-law) baby shower. Kaylee enjoyed her little girlies :-) We had a great time together, stopping at the Tulare outlets on the way home.
And here are just a few of our many Wawona photos. What a great time we have every year up there with our church family!

The river. And walks. It's all about just having time together. (I love this. James and Tim. Walking. Talking. Time together.)

Friends. Games..!

And fire.

Kaylee decided to spend some time with the young junior-high age girls at church, leading them in a Bible study in our home on Sunday mornings. You can see that Polly is helpful in her study and preparation.
Our church wanted to reach out to our neighbors through a holiday meal - and David Vidal stepped up to the plate as head chef -- with Christina and her mom at his side. It was our church kitchen's first big initiation (this past year we added appliances so it's truly a working kitchen!).

Making the bread pudding. And DELICIOUS fresh ham.

I found these photos that Kaylee took at the guys' ensemble rehearsal. There's a video, too - but I don't think I can load it here.... (I believe we've tried, and failed, before). They did a great job! And Tim had a blast, as usual. :-)
Kaylee's birthday present to Connor: a trip to Iceoplex for a skating session. He'd been wanting to go for a long time. They had a great time (and she learned something about which socks to wear -- NOT the kind she had - in order to preserve the flesh on your ankles).
And just in time for the cold weather's approach: We headed out to the Parishes to cut up an old fallen oak for firewood. Kaylee loves the dogs there -- here's good ol' Shiloh, Max's dog.

And then Thanksgiving at the Parishes. With new friends.

Lots of little singers.

There was a reenactment of Sally and Nathan's wedding (by all the little girls; no groom!), followed by Lilly's Confederate flag dash. Not sure how that tied in.

'Tis the season for pie-making, according to Kaylee (with the hearty approval of the rest of us).
There was much laughter at the Harikians, following a Sunday evening gathering for Psalm-singing, devotional, and desserts! Thank you, Lord, for good friends.

And kitties. Tater and Poppy. Licia's kitties love to snuggle - and we enjoyed them after Christmas caroling at the zoo.
After singing for the flamingos (and whoever happened to walk by) at the opening night of Zoo Lights at Chaffee zoo, we enjoyed hot chocolate (and then BBC's "The Choir" back at Licia's. Great show!)
More friends. The crew who usually cuts Christmas Trees at the Honey Hill cabin. Gathered at the Roccas after 2 feet of snow above Oakhurst thwarted our tree-cutting plans.
And the Clovis Christmas parade. (Going by here, pack horses with Christmas lights.)

And a spinning cart-type thingy with lots of lights.

More friends at the parade. Sweet girls :-)

They're very efficient in Clovis. The final parade entry is the street sweeper, cleaning up as it goes.
And what a wonderful day: David Vidal (a 5 yr old neighbor when we came here 22 years ago) professed his faith in Christ, was baptized, and joined the church! (We also enjoyed having Don and Boni Piper from Seattle with us that weekend -- same weekend that we hosted the neighborhood banquet.)
And most recently: last night's Soli Deo Gloria concert, with the PSCA Girls' ensemble (which I accompany and Licia directs) invited to join them for a piece, along with a song of their own. A great concert!
There's certainly more that goes on in our lives than what's recorded on camera, but it's fun to look back and see some highlights - and to be reminded of how God has graciously blessed us. Soli Deo Gloria - to God alone be the glory.

Time passes.... (it's catch-up time again)

2010-10-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here's Graham, after a long and fruitful afternoon at the fair. I wonder if HE'S pondering the passage of time....

Haven't written much in the past several months... and yet things have happened. Big things. And little things. So, I thought that (for the sake of my own desire for a little continuity) I'd chronicle a bit of it. If you want it chronologically, start at the bottom. (This is kind of like my Kings and Queens of England book - starts with the more recent and works backwards.)
Nice to have Jenny and Graham with us for a few days here in October - and right when the Fresno Fair was up and running. Had to take Graham to see the animals. :-)

Connor introduced him to the shooting gallery.

Nice to just walk around and be together.

Oops - got this photo out of order. This was at Sally's wedding rehearsal. Uncle Connor just LOVED hanging out with Graham!

Back to the Fair. "Cows!"

Sliding with "Papa."

Ah. Now we're at Sally and Nathan's wedding. She came across the hills in a carriage with her dad... and left the same way with Nathan (they didn't exactly ride off into the sunset... but almost. They came back for photos before sunset - then the reception - THEN they drove off, in a balloon-filled truck).

Handsome ring-bearers. Graham DID smile -- I just didn't click at the right time.

Kaylee was one of several bridesmaids...

... as was Jenny. (You can see a tiny hint of their next little one, due to arrive in March. :-)

Rehearsing the next day's events!

Tim, the happy sound-technician.

Now we really jump back in time - to the civil war. Connor camped out and participated in the reenactment for the weekend. Kaylee just donned her dress for Saturday evening's activities (following a day of participating in a "Set Apart Girl" conference with Eric and Leslie Ludy).

Gun cleaning after each battle.

"Climb Every Mountain." This time it was, once again, Half Dome. This is the traditional "make mom think you're about to die" photo.

The hikers/climbers - Connor, Tim, Jeremy, Jesse - at the top.

Back down to the flat lands. Enjoying time out at the Goehrings - one of several August Sunday evening gatherings with our church in various homes.

Shirt-making to commemorate the rich friendship of several girls.

It was a summer of good-byes for Kaylee -- Kelsey to Capernwray Bible school in New Zealand, Samantha H. to Ballet Magnificat in Mississippi, Samantha P. to UC Irvine, Ariel to Geneva College in PA, Laura/Hannah/Mim (2nd cousins who visited) back to PA, Jenny/Max/Graham back to OK, along with the weddings (with their "goodbyes") of Ashley/Ryan and Sally/Nathan. Kaylee probably has all kinds of thoughts she could share (another blog entry maybe) about what God's been teaching her and how He's been directing her. (Along with singing with the Sierra Chamber Opera and teaching ballet to about 40 young girls, she's now leading a study for some Jr. Hi girls and thoroughly enjoying becoming a part of their lives.)
It was also a time of wonderful "hellos" (with their accompanying "goodbyes" to follow, of course!). Kaylee (another one - from Southern CA) with her new twin brothers at our church's summer conference.
What a wonderful week at Oak Glen - the site of our Pacific Coast Presbytery conference. Volleyball is always a highlight there (this year rousing games of dodgeball were added to the lineup). (Notice the nasty rug burn on Ariel's and others' legs - a consequence of carpeted gym floors.)

Lots of wonderful talk-time with cousins. Sweet girls!

A little air time for Andrew!

Moving on (or rather "back") to Ashley and Ryan's wedding - tho you wouldn't know it from this photo. This is a weakened little hummingbird that Connor found at their outdoor wedding and subsequently brought home , who, after a night of clever feeding (sugar water dropped from a turkey baster into the bird's beak and into the center of several flowers placed near the bird), regained its strength and soared amazingly out of sight when we released it from its little makeshift cardboard box home! It was beautiful and remarkable!

Ashley and Ryan's lovely wedding. (In reverse order:) Entering the reception area...

...entering with her dear dad, Bus, to be given away to her husband, Ryan.

We were oh so happy that Jenny, Max and Graham came out here for Ashley's wedding in July (and Sally's in October). Jenny sang beautifully during the ceremony (and during Sally's, too) while Max accompanied her. (I played for the rest of the lakeside ceremony and nearly fell into the water when I tripped over the keyboard - but no one got a photo of that to post here. :-)

Enjoying every bit of Graham-time that we can get!

So nice to have Jenny and Max in our home for a few days.

We had an invigorating - well, maybe slightly tiring, too! - day at Pine Flat reservoir with our church family. Wave Runners, pontoon boats, motor boats with inflatable rafts and water skiis to pull... lots of fun!

Farewell to Kelsey following Bible Study at the Evans' home.

Summer travels - back east (again, in reverse order). We flew to IN to McCracken grandparents and cousins, bringing Jenny and Graham in for a few days, too -- then drove to PA to Habecker grandparents and Aunt Lyril.

Lots of car time.
Kaylee drove, too, but we always make sure that it's during a downpour and in heavily-traveled construction zones. :-)

The park in Grandma and Grandpa Habecker's neighborhood. Fun times!

Reenacting the annual "fly off the swing into the wild beyond" stunt.

A fun evening with Aunt Lyril and Edd (and the singing/talking bird. We have videos of Kaylee and the bird singing - and then laughing together.)

Lots of Grandma love. Grandma Habecker (above) and Grandma McCracken (below - with Luke). Goodness, where are my GRANDPA photos? THEY provide lots of love, too! :-)

A cousins' corn-shucking party.

Amanda inside her bubble umbrella.

Oh the fun these girls had. :-) (Enjoying having cousin Avery around, too.)

A bit of Psalm-singing sillies (the result of mixed up words...) :-)

And, oh yes, Kaylee's June trip to Oklahoma to be with Jenny and Graham while Max attended a Ravi Zacharias conference.

Simple pleasures. Tooth-brushing.

And kitchen-painting.

Swimming!

Popcorn!!

Baths! (with someone messing around with the after-bath grooming :-)

Looney tooney goof balls.

And oh what fun to have Aunt Lyril join the girls for several days in Oklahoma! (A good storm was brewing here, I think - complete with flooding... tho no tornadoes this time.)

This is the "I'm going to Jenny's house!" look. :-)

And another happy time for Kaylee: a trip to Disneyland with dad. This was her Christmas present - tho actually "earned" by volunteering and getting free tickets to Disney . (Connor's Christmas present was a ski trip last winter with dad.)
Then a quick jump back to May - to the end of the school year. This is the guys' ensemble that Tim and Connor enjoy -- Tim directs, Connor sings with them.
And then - everyone needs token Aussies in their life. :-) Well, not really. But we're sure glad to know THESE: Steve and Robyn. Great friends for many years... from back before Tim and I were married... when his parents lived in Australia (and Tim spent 6 months there). Such encouraging, fun folks (let's see, we could use a few more adjectives here -- those don't seem to say enough! :-) They spent a few days with us... with one day at Yosemite, of course.

Well, this was a really long post. Bummer that it's not actually in print in a scrapbook so that I can sit and page through it and keep it over the years (after blogger's a thing of the distant past...). Still, it feels good to have looked back and noted the blessings of the past months - even with their difficult times and sad goodbyes. God is good and faithful. May He continue to enrich all of our lives through each other.

Refriger-rhyming

2010-06-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

We recently rediscovered the joys of magnet poetry and have spent many a free minute sitting beside the fridge, piecing together poems and the sort. It's quite amusing and can become a source of much silliness.

A Shakespearean response to a Shakespearean insult :-p
~Kaylee

response to the response :)
~Mom

And now they come in a rather random order

Am I right? :)
~Kaylee

A Polly and Watson dialogue :-p
~Mom

good one
~Mom

woo woo woo :)
~Mom

~Mom

hehehe!
~Mom

~Mom

Aye, Aye Cap'n
~Mom

silliness :-p
~Kaylee

More silliness :)
~Mom

Starbucks!
~Mom

I like this one :)
~Mom

~Kaylee

A Girly Night : )

2010-05-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

I just love it when a brainstorm comes true and it doesn't even take wishing on a star. A moment where you say, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun if we..." and it becomes, "Hey, remember that time we...wasn't that great!" This was the case when us girls and our moms were out to coffee following the yearly spring choir concert. We were chatting, reminiscing, and simply sipping our lattes, us gals at one table and our significant (m)others at another :-p, and realized it had been far too long since we had had a "girly night" and it was high time to plan one. And lo and behold it worked! The next evening we all took a trip to the Wishon Studio to watch Samantha perform for the last time before she goes to Mississippi (SO excited for her!!). After a breathtaking performance in which Sam shone as she danced/worshiped to In Christ Alone, we decided to finish the already delightful evening with a late dinner (or should we say midnight snack :)), all gathered around one big booth, to soak in the last minutes of our spontaneous girly night.

We're a crazy bunch, I know. But we love each other :)

Catching up and hearing bits and pieces about Jenna's time at Capernwray in England and her trip to Israel

The girlies :)

The Aunties :)

The End :)

~Kaylee

Robynn wants us to eat healthy food :-)

2010-05-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is a grilled Louisiana Hot Link.

I just betcha it doesn't fall into the category "healthy food." That's too bad, cuz Connor and Tim really enjoyed theirs out at Jason and Marie's the other night! HOWEVER, before falling into deep dark depression and excessive misery, let us be heartened by the fact that Robynn would like to send us to Chipotle's, and I think she IS calling THAT good food. Or real food. Or something like that. AND she wants us to eat bread (I LOVE bread, but it seems everyone else these days wants us to put on the full armor of God and fight against our secret desire for it). So, go visit Robynn at http://www.robynnsravings.blogspot.com/ and enter her contest for FREE BREAD and FREE CHIPOTLES and a FREE DVD about "real food." (I think they'll probably tell us that there aren't any real pigs with real hot links wandering around Louisiana waiting to be chopped up and sent to Whole Foods or your local farmer's market. Oh, well. Our grill's about shot anyhow.)

Taxing Stuff - the daily grind :-)

2010-04-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

We'll try ANYTHING to survive the computation of taxes for all this "independent contractor" stuff around here! I thought a chocolate chip per line might brighten the process. :-) (More tangible than "think happy thoughts.")

Uh oh. Looks like slightly sick and definitely crazed expressions still betray our fuddled mental states.

Connor's got a good plan. Everything's better with a puppy. Well -- not true, really. I can think of plenty of stuff that's NOT better with a puppy. But, geometry with its congruence theorems is actually served well by the presence of a warm fuzzy snuggly pooch, according to Connor (except when pencils, protractors, and compasses prove to be excellent puppy-teething aids). And when all else fails, just take a nap.

Neighborhood Outreach

2010-04-24T13:55:00.001-07:00

About a week before Easter we hosted an outreach to present the truth of the Resurrection to our neighbors. (Big thanks to Mrs. Myers and Mrs. Evans for their ideas and administrative gifts!) Preparations were needed, and lots of folks from the church pitched in! Who knew that so much could be constructed from paper bags -- story books (above) and baskets (below).

Gathering clip art for the presentation of the Story.

The day of the event arrived, and after a sparse start (maybe 4 kids and a mom) we eventually had about 45-50 neighbors.

Let the games begin!

Easter tattoos (with sponges and water :-), sidewalk chalk, drawing, crafts, snacks - with the truth of the Resurrection intertwined and then presented with visual aids (a thorn, a nail, etc) by Mr. Evans.

Gustavo sporting his He is Risen "tattoo."

This was the start of the egg relay. The little ones decided it made no sense to try to balance the egg on the spoon; just HOLD it on! (There are some real cutie-pies around here! :-)

(Mrs. Myers can draw anything! Here, helping to fill the time before our official 'start.')

What's on our minds, end tables, and bedside stands

2010-04-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

There are times when our minds aren't ENTIRELY focused on the dearest little guy in the world (Graham :-) See posts below)... or on snowboarding (that would be Connor...), or on the endearing-yet-exasperating puppy, Polly. We do manage to have other thoughts, many of them related to books we're reading. So, I thought I'd share some of them below.

I was drawn to this book (above) when I saw it recommended at the Westminster Bookstore online.

Lately, I've been concerned about encounters I've had with folks dissatisfied with church. I hadn't been aware of the many "disgruntled-with-church-as-we-know-it" books that are circulating these days (this book called them to my attention). I'd just come across the sentiments in facebook conversations ("I've found more Christian fellowship here on facebook in the past couple of months than I ever did in all my years at church..." ??!!) and in snippets from conversations ("We don't go to church. We are the church..." , which had a certain clever ring to it, but left me uneasy.)

So I was interested to read J.I. Packer's thoughts on this book: "Two young men, a pastor and a layman, here critique the criticisms of the institutional church that are fashionable today. Bible-centered, God-centered, and demonstrably mature, they win the argument hands down. As I read, I wanted to stand up and cheer."

It's good to know, too, that the authors, under a section entitled, "The Church Has Issues," write, "How should we handle these criticisms? Well, it's always a good idea to start by listening."

This is a really engaging book - not difficult. (And who can resist guys who refer to P.G. Wodehouse: "You may not be disgruntled, but you are certainly far from gruntled." :-) For lots more info. on this book (and even a sample chapter, I think) go to http://www.welovethechurch.com. Read the "About" section - and the reviews - and the sample chapter - (and then the book!) -- and let's all talk. (Hmmm, don't know who "all" is -- but we're thinking this is a really important book, so share it around and let's chew on it together!)

These are the same guys (above). A group of young people at church have been reading and discussing this book for the past several months. (http://www.notemergent.com)
And tho' we've been at this one *forever* (how do so many things crowd out read-aloud time?), we're coming right up on the climax and end of Safely Home.
Tim and Connor just started "Stand Fast" together (tried reading aloud at La Boulangerie, over a bear claw and coffee. The snacks were great, as were the distractions. Maybe Eddie's bakery. Everything's more memorable with a tasty pastry). http://www.bondbooks.net/fatherssons.htm

Kaylee and I have been reading this one. Very helpful. Very challenging. A good approach, I think. There's a good summary of the book here: http://www.alexchediak.com/summary_with_one_voice.php. And then take yourself on a worthwhile reading journey, following the links connected to "The Fruit of Immaturity" at the bottom of the summary page. (Chediak is an intern at Bethlehem Baptist, where John Piper is the pastor.)

After seeing an excellent live performance of Ballet Magnificat's rendition of The Hiding Place, Kaylee and Connor took up these books again. It's good to be reminded of and challenged by such vibrant Christianity. (Kaylee did have a "cautious" thought about the Tramp for the Lord book. She felt that perhaps the stories that are told don't give a complete picture of how to follow the Lord on a day-to-day basis, with a prominence instead given to "miraculous leading" as compared to the more mundane, but none-the-less rigorous and Spirit-enabled daily obedience.) And, by the way, if you ever get the chance to see Ballet Magnificat, GO! Our good friend, Samantha Harikian, has just been accepted into their training program in Jackson, MS and we're SO excited for her. God-honoring and masterfully executed ballet. Amazing! We were deeply moved by the performance (which seems a shallow word - "performance" - for what we witnessed).

[I also just picked up a copy of Elie Wiesel's "Night." Wow. From the back cover: "The terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man." I took a break from it for a night or two to shake the heavy weight of also having read Safely Home (persecution of Chinese Christians), and watching the movies The End of the Spear (martyrdom of missionaries to the Wadani people) and Awakenings (the story of the "awakening" and later regression of institutionalized catatonic survivors of an earlier encephalitis outbreak - and the doctor who fought for their recovery and their personhood).]

Kaylee's been enjoying Miniatures and Morals, The Christian Novels of Jane Austen... along with a bit of a re-read of Pride and Prejudice. She says that there's a "new" Northanger Abbey (BBC maybe? or A&E?) that Jenny enjoyed. (I remember an old one that weirded me out...) So, with her new understanding of its nuances, we may have to watch it (purely educational, of course :-). Oh, and check this out - a pdf file from the publishers that lets you read the first 29 pages, I think! http://www.canonpress.org/forms/minimorals_PP.pdf

I got this devotional book for Kaylee at Christmas, and she's really appreciated it. She's had a go at Burrough's "Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" (ah, gotta love the Puritans who wrangle every ounce of meaning out of every word, including the conjunctions!). This Contentment book was a little less tedious :-) yet rich and refreshing. (Again, a recommendation from the Westminster bookstore http://www.wtsbooks.com).

Had to add this, too - cuz it's so pretty sitting next to Kaylee's bed. From Grandma and Grandpa McCracken for her birthday. The newest edition of the Book of Psalms (which we sing from at our church) in mini-form, making it easy to take along anywhere (in case you want to break into song at Winco :-) Available at www.crownandcovenant.com.

[By the way, TIM reads on his own, too :-) I just didn't get photos of the stuff he pours over (he pours coffee over some of his stuff - unintentionally - costly when it poured over his laptop awhile back. But I digress...). He's been preaching a wonderfully helpful series on the book of Revelation for many weeks now, with lots of research going into it. Along with side studies on inspiration of scripture and canon (not "cannon" - that would be for the civil war reenactors among us). Oh, and he leads a study every-other-Monday night on John Piper's book, "Future Grace." And Connor's been reading Julius Caesar for a literature/composition class, reminding Jenny on a day that she visited: "Beware the Ides of March!"]

~Lori

The long awaited visit

2010-03-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

After months of looking ahead to Max, Jenny, and Graham's visit, they came and are now back home again. It went by far too quickly, but it was lovely nonetheless. Graham has grown so much! And it's amazing how much is going on in that little noggin of his. :)
We went to pick them up in Sacramento and they then stayed at the Parishes for a few days during which they held the Return to Manhood conference. After that was over, they came to our house for a few days and at the end of their stay Mrs. Parish, Sally, and the Littles took them back to fly out of Sacramento. It was a sad goodbye, but I have my tickets to see them this Summer!

One happy Auntie :)

First In-N-Out burger :)

Goofing off with Uncle Connor

sisters, happy to be together again

Uncle Connor's so funny :-p

"Can I have a kiss?"

Uncle Simon comes to take them out to the property for the weekend

An Auntie's heaven

Serving dinner to the conference attendees

The dinner roll queen (she made 200!)

The guys enjoyed jammin'

Great times with Grandpa :)

"There's a cow!!"

...the things we do to get a baby to laugh. :-p

Grandpa's so funny

just like old times :)

Graham joins in the song

watchin' a movie

dog tired

Graham LOVED spaghetti factory (we bought their sauces, cheese, and dressing, and took it home to enjoy)

Space Mission Graham-O-Man

Catchin' up on world news

More kisses :)

Snuggles and Snacks

Sweet, sweet Sally

awwww :)

The guys singing a new song that dad found

Stories with Grandma Sandy

Uncle Simon playing "Jesus Loves Me" for the Littles

almost time to say goodbye

~Kaylee

Back from Blogger's Block

2010-03-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

"Hi! I'm good! You? Great! Haven't seen you in a while. What's up? wow. Neat. What about me?? Let's see. hmm, that's funny.....can't call anything to mind just now. Well, gotta go. Bye :)."

And so it goes. The typical conversational "remember 'what's up'" block. As it happens, the same symptom that causes that in small talk has kept me from blogging (well, to be honest, I just needed a better starter than "Laziness and How It Affects Blogging.")

Well, no, it's true. As I've looked through pictures and the such, there hasn't been much that pops out as blog material. Or if we did do something that was blog worthy, we forgot the camera.

But days pass and things go on despite the absence of extensive photographic evidence so...

"Here's what happened..." (Adrian Monk :-p)

Grandma and Grandpa McCracken came to visit "Sunny" California ;) We had a wonderfully relaxing week doing lots of not much. We talked, laughed, played games, sang, had a delicious (truly delectable) meal at Sweet Tomatoes along with many delightful ones at home, enjoyed the quirks of "Monk" on top of the games in Vancouver, and simply (and most of all) basked in each other's company and God's goodness to us.

aaaand.....

I have a puppy. :) You knew that, but I thought I'd just throw that in there since she's been a bright part ("biting" part?? :-p) of our lives for the past few months. ("Polly? Poooolly? *:-0* Polly! NO. Drop the sock. Drop it. Good girl! Ouch! Ouch! Let go of me!".......and so on :-p)

annnnd.....

JENNY'S COMING! (Can't leave that out). She and Max and Graham will be here in approximately....*checking clock*.....2 days, 19 hours, and 27ish minutes. (if I calculated correctly) :) yes, I'm counting. I'm more excited than...than....than a normal excited person...usually is....:)

Speaking of Jenny coming, the reason they're coming is because the Parish family is holding another Return to Manhood conference (go to http://www.returntomanhood.com/ to register. Come on out! It's for everyone AND it's completely FREE!) and mom and I are baking cookies! Hundreds of cookies! Scads of cookies! Cascades, mountains, cloudbursts of...*ahem*...yes, moving on. In other words, the house has smelled of chocolately sweetness and other like goodies for the past couple days. In fact, I had a grand old time just the other afternoon when all others were out and about. I whipped up a double batch of cocoa-y, weep-when-you-mix-it-because-it's-just-so-beautiful-and-you-just-have-to-have-a-taste-oooor-two dough and then proceeded to watch the Princess Bride in 10-15 minute increments. It went something like this:

"True love is the greatest thing in the world! ....except for a nice MLT, mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, when the mutton is niiiice and leeeeean, and the tomatoes ripe, so perky, I love that. But that's not what he said! He distinctly said, 'BEEEEEPPP, BEEEEEPP.'"

And so I'd pause the movie, make my way to the kitchen , take out the cookies, set the timer for another 10 minutes to let them cool and skip back to the sofa where my groggy puppy waited to be curled back into my lap for the next short segment of the Princess Bride. I enjoyed this thoroughly, and it got the cookies made, which was the intent. :)

Well, enough for now. :) I actually intended to put the pictures at the top of this post down here.....but this is blogger and it wouldn't let me since I had already entered text. So I'll end with that.

Blessings,

Kaylee

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12

2010-02-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

How many times have the folks at our church quoted that verse? Well, our family has been in Fresno for 21 years, and we've spoken those words nearly every Sunday at the close of Sunday School (for birthdays and anniversaries). And who knows HOW long they were all saying it before we arrived on the scene. It came to mind as I thought about a "catch-up" blog - looking back over the past 2 months. And sometimes, looking back over a couple of months, especially months that cross over a New Year, makes you look back even further... and look forward, too. Graham's little newborn hand, near the dawn of his life, wrapped around his Grandpa Tim's finger.
(Edit update: Hmmm.... Kaylee thinks this is her hand, and Graham's. She took several photos, some with Tim's hand and some with her own. They've been comparing hand wrinkles and such, and have determined: It's Kaylee's. Do you think so?)

And a really pretty sunset. No particular evening, no particular signifance EXCEPT a reminder to be in awe of the greatness of the Creator.

****************************************

Our last post was just prior to Christmas... and much has happened since then that we could write about. However, just before then, we spent a lovely Thanksgiving day out at the Parishes, with a relaxing hike up the hill and back (I'd never been up there before. What a view!). Speaking of numbering our days.... one of the bulls that Simon's tending in the photo below (Simon's keeping us from a nasty encounter) DIDN'T number his days. He is no more. Well, actually, he IS -- meat in the freezer.

Sweet girls, Kaylee and Sally. Looking over December and January's calendar: there were choir concerts and orchestra concerts (the kids Connor helps with) and Christmas caroling, a visit to Marta in Santa Cruz (a friend in a mental health facility), and of course there was Christmas itself - a quiet day, where I couldn't help but notice (with a bit of a pang) the fact that there were only 4 of us, which hadn't happened since before Connor brought our number to (at least) 5 (some Christmases have been blessed with Grandparents' arrivals, too).

Connor was one of several soloists in a guys' ensemble that Tim THOROUGHLY enjoys directing! He enjoys all the guys so very much -- and loves great harmonies, meaningful words, rousing renditions, you name it! Anything wonderful that you can think of relating to music is what makes Tim's day!

Marta , whom we met thru her "random" phone call to us several years ago (opened the phone book to "churches," then closed her eyes and pointed), has had a tough life -- part of "the system" (psychiatric) since she was 14. Over the past years, she's come to call us family (she's been completely separated from her actual family - hasn't seen them for about 10 years, I think). She gets moved all over the state, and tho it's easiest to see her when she's in Fresno, we decided to take a drive over to Santa Cruz when she got moved there (we were allowed 45 minutes with her).

Connor, Lori, Marta, Kaylee, Tim

Santa Cruz means..... BEACH! First it's a fun piggy-back ride (cuz Kaylee's feet were freezing). But then - "NO, CONNOR! Don't you DARE!" as he rushes toward the water with his sister on his back! :-()

He resists the temptation ... and brings her safely back to (comparatively) dry ground.

From brisk beach runs to snowy slopes --

Connor and Tim took a ski/snowboard trip to South Lake Tahoe (a Christmas gift to Connor). They postponed their trip by a week, since blizzards and avalanches were predicted. [:-o] It wasn't just balmy weather the next week, either! But, wanting to take advantage of Simon's willingness to house them (near Placerville, CA) while he was still at his heavy-equipment training school, they decided to go for it! (Their comment during one precariously snowy part of their trip: "Mom would have a COW!") Someday they'll have to go back when they can see more than 10 feet in front of themselves -- and really take in the view!And then, what I hadn't mentioned yet:

Kaylee's sweet little pooch, Molly, was hit by a car and killed a week before Christmas, while we were gone at some friends' house for the evening. Neighbor kids had gotten into our backyard and left the gate open (which Tim had just talked to them about the day before). We came home to the heart-wrenching situation... which left us with a deep sadness. Molly was such a bright spot around here. Everybody loved her -- even the neighbor kids who afterwards seemed rather callous to it all. The days and weeks after that had some really rough moments. We eventually began looking to get another pooch, and that, too, had its tough times (one beautiful, bigger dog that we brought home, a basset hound/lab mix, seemed so sweet but ended up with Cuddles' head in her mouth, ready and willing to go for the kill, we thought. So... we sent her back).

But now... after quite the search, we've got Polly. She's a real cutie - and a real puppy, with all that goes along with puppyhood. She looks so calm and tame in these next photos. Don't be fooled. She can grab laundry and shoes and towels and pillows faster than you can blink - and be gone with them, racing to stay just out of your reach. But for all her nixy-ness (that's my PA Dutch coming out), she's brought a lot of joy and many snuggles. She's a great snuggler - when she's sleepy.One final (almost) note...

We've all been reading a really good book out loud together: "Growing Up Christian -Have You Taken Ownership of Your Relationship to God?" by Karl Graustein with Mark Jacobsen (P&R Publishing, 2005). I won't write a whole book review here, but you could check it out (I believe I first saw it recommended at the Westminster Seminary bookstore).

And then finally (for real, this time) --

This has been looking at me out of our closet. It's Kaylee's oh-so-realistic :-) rendition of her dear daddy, through her 3-yr-old eyes. She painted it on one of his t-shirts the year that Jenny's kindergarten class made shirts for themselves. Kaylee thought daddy should have one, too. It's been hanging/hiding in his closet ever since.
Talk about couting our days.... that little wispy-blonde haired girl turned 19 a couple of weeks ago! (I remember when the kids were little... musing that someday these little ones will be 10,8,and 5.... and someday 13,11, and 8.... or 18,16, and 13.... OR 21,19, and 16! And it happened! And someday they'll be 40, 38, and 35 - and we'll have sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law and a slew of grandchildren making funny little t-shirts for us again, Lord willing. :-) (For starters, for now, you can head over to Max and Jenny's blog and the Parish family blog to catch up on some fun photos of Max, Jenny, and Graham. :-) Or go to facebook to see the CUTEST videos! Grandchildren are wonderful. :-) So are children - and sons-in-law - and daughters-in-law, I'm assuming. (Oh, and husbands. I love you, Tim. Happy Valentine's Day!)

~Lori

Another year of Honey Hill memories

2009-12-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

Friends gathering at a family cabin (Honey Hill) for a day of Christmas tree cutting ... and lots of laughing, eating, singing, and praying together. It's a great way to begin the Christmas season.
(Rather random order of photos -- and I managed to accidentally delete some, too. Wrestling with blogger... but we'll see what we can do.)

Warm fires :-) in the fireplace and the old cookstove in the kitchen.

Annual guys' football game.

Our gracious host.

Gotta capture these memories in photos.

Teamwork.

Timmmmmmmmmmberrrrrrrr!

Gathering for our traditional time of worship together. John blesses us with some great playing and singing while we all join in. It's so good to pray together again, too. Over the years, we've brought the Lord some weighty matters out there in the woods...and the care of our friends as we join together in prayer reminds us of HIS great love for us.

My Candyland friend :-)

Mark, Ben, and Connor load up our tree (Tim was leading Bible studies at the Corcoran Prison and couldn't join us this year).

Thank you, Rod and Kim, for another great day at Honey Hill. We pray for God's blessing on your family as they've shared this "retreat" over several generations.

Creature comforts

2009-12-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

Cuddles - a good ol' dog... pretty old now, but she's been a good friend.
(Yes, she's overweight and practically deaf, and she kind of wheezes when she breathes - but give me a few more years, and that'll pretty well describe me, too.)

Molly, who will do practically anything for a Cheerio.

GLAMOUR SHOTS, thanks to Connor. Oh brother!
(Kaylee's hairpiece from when she was Clara in the Nutcracker. Lovely.)

"Say 'please,' Molly."

Molly, well-loved for her snuggly / nuzzly tendencies.
Molly, ever faithful: "No matter what, I'LL love you."

More prep... then.... the feast

2009-11-29T22:06:00.000-08:00

The view from outside.
And inside (below).

Privileges of clean-up: lick the whipped cream spoon

A break in preparations - "magic" tricks, thanks to Fernando, who stopped by early.

David and Vic at work

Some of the preparations -- injecting the turkey with broth. Connor and Jesus gave it a try, too.

Lunch time in the midst of preparations. Arwen (on the left -- medical student staying with us for a month) put sandwiches together.

Weeping over the onions.

Wow. Two huge days of preparations and feasting!
We were so glad for the opportunity to host the boys. Maybe we'll have to do it again -- after we rest up!

~Lori

Prep for Neighbor boys' feast - Day One

2009-11-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

A beautiful bouquet - ready to go inside two turkeys. :-)

Connor decided several weeks ago that the boys in the neighborhood needed to join us for a sit-down dinner. The idea grew to a Thanksgiving Feast for about 15 to 20 guys who spend their afternoons hanging out around our house.

Tim enlisted the help of a friend of ours, David Vidal. David grew up in this neighborhood -- he was just 5 years old when we moved here 21 years ago. Since then, he's graduated from culinary school and is hoping to get a catering business off the ground. (His website - www.davidjoecatering05.com)

3 guys in a kitchen

4 guys in a kitchen

5 guys in a kitchen (with 3 of the 15 or 18 or 20 or ? boys who will join us tomorrow)

Dishes anyone?

Cuddles praying for manna from heaven

So, David, you just DUMP the salt in?
(Soaking turkeys in brine)

Tim tries his hand at fancy roll-shaping Jesus, Angel, and Connor pitch in as evening ROLLS around :-)

Time out for a little improv with Tim

Day one complete.
Pumpkin pies and blueberry pie and 6 dozen rolls and corn bread and roasted corn for the stuffing. Turkeys soaking in brine. David's special potato salad (white and sweet potatoes, cilantro vinagrette, roasted corn and red onions...)nearly complete. Peach cobbler in the works tomorrow (oh happy collection of desserts!). And who knows what else will appear tomorrow?!
Time to sleep and get ready for Day Two.
And then we'll rest up for a day before -- Thanksgiving!

Wawona

2009-11-19T19:23:00.001-08:00

I look forward to Wawona year round. The minute I leave it I'm already anticipating next year's retreat. Unlike some other camps which have hour by hour activities/seminars/etc., Wawona's basic schedule is "put another log on the fire, heat up more hot cocoa/coffee/tea, take a leisurely walk if ya want, have another pleasant conversation/heart-to-heart, laugh til your sides ache (in some instances :-p), find a game to play, strum a guitar and/or listen to someone strum a guitar." So seeing as this is a fabulous concoction of some of my favorite things, and adding the fact that I've gone since I was a pixy in a Pooh Bear blanket sleeper, it's not suprising that every year about this time, a girlish grin will involuntarily creep across my face meaning one thing - we're going to Wawona.

Megan and Saundra in the great potato prep race. I wish I could have been an eye witness to this. All I caught of it was hysterical laughter coming from the direction of the kitchen as it neared the dinner hour.

As those in the kitchen prepared potatoes, others were outside grilling chicken

self-explanatory

Ryan and Josiah puddle-jumping

Paul and Timmy duke it out

A captured moment from what was (in my opinion) the best game of Taboo I've ever played :-p

Mrs. Clorox - "what can I bleach for you?!" :)

Making ornaments

This weekend's latest styles- brought to you by Maddie Myers :)

Sweet friendship

More from Taboo....in which Mrs. Holly and those in close proximity could hardly function due to an infectious case (epidemic really) of side-splitting laughter

having a chat

laughing is contagious and it's advantageous, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

God has seen fit to LAVISHLY bless me with precious jewels in the form of close girl friends.

Yes, you've guessed correctly....these, too, come from that same game of Taboo. Who'da thunk that a thermometer coupled in reference to a nose could be so funny.

Darel recited a work of Tennyson for the talent show

They found ice (and Connor grew horns out the side of his neck?!?)

Just about 360 days to go til next year's retreat.....(359...358...) :)

~Kaylee

Around the house, and various performances

2009-11-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

Molly is a shameless beggar. We taught her to "say please." Now her usage of the trick is frequent and more to the tune of "gimme gimme." In this instance, "I'd like some of those purdy mashed taters, if'n you don't mind." :-p

She has also mastered the "heart-melting snuggle/grovel" technique. :) Sometimes I think she's a little too cute for her own good.

At this semester's community choir/command performance, Connor was asked to play a piece (Tarantella, by William Henry Squire) . He's excelled in his studies, loves his instrument, and performed beautifully. Well done, Connor.

And then there are my ballet students who just did their Fall ballet recital - A Thanksgiving Portrait. Above are my oldest level girls (ballet 1). They performed as a Prayer of Thanksgiving.
( A BIG thank you to Mrs. Ridley for the use of her photos!)

These girls are some of my Indians (pre-ballet). Such sweethearts :)

And this is one of my four Pilgrims (also pre-ballet). I can't get over how adorable their costumes turned out. :)

introducing my classes

two of my older dancers

My Harvest dancers getting ready (beginning ballet)

tendu! :)

The program

One of the top 10 ways to brighten my day :)

More adventures with Connor's boys

2009-11-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Three of Connor's buddies from Biola Elementary School (his charges for the evening).
Peoples Church hosted a Halloween alternative and sent a bus out to Biola to pick up kids. Connor rode along and helped chaperone the evening.

Great "dad practice!" Carrying his little guys' loot!

Speaking of "dads," Tim enjoyed the evening, too :-)

We came across a few little princesses that we know!

And Kaylee found one of her young ballet students.

Licia Clark and Connor checking the list -- all present and accounted for? Ready to get back on the bus?
Off they go!

Connor's musical ventures

2009-10-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

These photos are in a bit of random - or at least reversed - order. But it's been kinda tricky to rearrange them... so piece the story together! Let it be an educational experience -- "Kids, can you put these pictures in the right order?" :-)

Above, Kaylee, Connor, and Ellen are heading back to the car after a big day of performances - this last one being the Biola Strings Orchestra's performance for the VIP Reception for supporters of Fresno County's "Afterschool" program. Connor and Ellen help out with the kids' orchestra at Biola Elementary every Wednesday afternoon. (No, you're eyes aren't having troubles. The night-time photo got blurred.)

Finishing with a flourish!

Fresno's Chief of Police, Jerry Dyer, addressing the group. We're blessed to have believers like him in influential positions.

Connor checking up on the cellists (above) and helping them get set up (below).

New topic: Fresno State Choral Festival. The Peoples School of Creative Arts home school choir and ensemble participated -- and both won "Superior" ratings!
And I'll tell you, they were hard won this year. Phew! Tough music that just wasn't quite coming together til the last minute!

Warm-ups (with odd hand motions, sometimes). I (Lori) accompany the choirs (beginners' choir up through concert choir).

Ensemble rehearsing outside before the performance for the judges.
Great job, all of you. And Connor, we're very proud of you and your diligence both in choir and in your volunteer work with the kids at Biola!

Sierra Chamber Opera

2009-10-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Taylor Abels-British/ Tracy Lee Jones-Chinese/ Barbara Vlymen-French/
Kaylee - Italian sous chef (understudy)

Sierra Chamber Opera -- "Chefs Go 'Round The World"
(great set!)

This is such a great opportunity for Kaylee! We're very grateful to her voice teacher, Barbara Vlymen, for hiring her as part of the cast. (You may recognize the set -- Jenny performed with the same group a couple of years ago - as an American Chef.) The Sierra Chamber Opera has been performing in schools for (let's see if I get this right) 33 years, I think. They hope to get in about 200 shows per year, introducing many elementary school children to classic opera music with a twist (age-appropriate and humorous educational story lines). You can visit their website at http://www.SierraChamberOpera.org.

Sewing... and still sewing...

2009-10-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

The project: a Civil War era dress.

Still smiling after hours and hours of work.
Lots of hand-sewing goes into this dress.

Molly is so very helpful.
"No, Molly! Get away! Molleeee!! Somebody put the dog out!"

Adjusting the length.
Buttons, hooks and eyes, hem and collar still to come.

HEY!! Watch out for the tail!

~Lori

Taking a step back in history

2009-10-18T20:34:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Connor and I got to participate in the local civil war reenactment at Kearney Park. We thoroughly enjoyed spending a few days getting to dress up (I felt like a little girl playing house again), act out history, and be surrounded by other reenactors. In fact, I am in the process of making my own dress (the one I wore was borrowed from a friend), and Connor and I, along with some of the Parishes, are going down south in a few weeks to participate in an even bigger reenactment than the one we have here. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Private Smith and Private McCracken

3rd Arkansas Unit

Sally, after the battle, searching for family and friends among the "fallen"

She found Simon...he hadn't survived the battle :(

Our brothers were such gentlemen - offering us their arms, giving us their jackets when it was chilly in the evening, etc.

Mr. Parish soaks in some smiles from his granddaughter, Emmy

The tragic deaths of Simon and Jeremy - fallen brothers

I hadn't seen Kendra in what felt like AGES. It was SO good to see her again. She and Daniel and the girls made a spontaneous trip to Fresno on the last day.

Taking a morning stroll with sweet Sally

Keeping Anna warm :)

making my own dress...

...and trying to maintain my sanity whilst sewing sleeves :-p

"Food is an important part of a balanced diet."

2009-09-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Kaylee's been on a roll -- meal-planning, shopping, cooking. Hmmm, I say. This is very nice! "So, what's for dinner tonight, Kaylee?" I ask, sipping iced tea from my recliner.

(Well, maybe it's not *exactly* like that...)

Salsa fixins.

The Happy Cook.

The Sad Cook.

What to do for hot pepper burns on hands? Quick - Google it! "Wear gloves." Well, it's a little late for that. "Rinse in bleach... turns the peppery stuff to salt, which rinses off." Tried that. "Don't EVER use bleach!" A little late for that, too. Mayonnaise. Sour cream. Lemon juice. Milk. Aloe. Kaylee chose ice cubes - "Maybe I can just freeze my hands so I don't feel them." (By the end of the evening, the good friendship of the girls she'd hosted for dinner -- the "girlfriends from way back" -- had healed her aching hands:-)

A beeeeauuuutiful pizza! And delicious!

And now, just some fun cooking quotes (thanks to a google search) in honor of Kaylee's fine service to us:

There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves. Thomas Wolfe

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. Voltaire

Never eat more than you can lift. Miss Piggy

Leopold: "Where I come from the meal is the result of reflection and study... It is said, without the culinary arts the crudeness of reality would be unbearable." Charlie: "We had a saying in the McKay house: You shake and shake the ketchup bottle; None will come and then a lot'll." Kate and Leopold

Tis a superstition to insist on a special diet. All is made at last of the same chemical atoms. Ralph Waldo Emerson

(This one's for Robynn, to go along with the Ravings at her blog:-) Hey Baby - do you like fine cooking? Cause you know what? I got Swanson's Dinner in the freezer with your name on it. Jimmy Fallon

sweetness...

2009-08-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Just one photo for now... Kaylee will want to add others of our trip to Oklahoma. But for now, just pondering life and relationships and the sweetness of it all... and the bittersweet moments. (Wow, Robynn, thanks a lot for getting us all going on this! www.robynnsravings.blogspot.com Gee whiz! Bring on the Kleenexes! Guess that's what our Moms Night is about this Friday? :-)

So glad we can trust the Lord. Our families are in His hands. That's really good.

(In the past few days we've heard of several friends going through huge trials - death of a dad, grave health concerns for several moms. We know God is in control. He's not impotent. He cares. But still, such trying, difficult times. Kind of helps me to put my own concerns in perspective. A friend shared some helpful thoughts the other day at her blog: www.thankful-hearts.blogspot.com)

~Lori

A day at Pine Flat

2009-08-12T15:22:00.001-07:00

The Archers and Hemphills had the idea of going out to Pine Flat for a day with our church. We rented two pontoon boats and spent the day out on the lake inner-tubing, riding the wave runner, jumping off the top of the boats, barbecuing and just hanging out. It was a perfect day. The weather really couldn't have been better; not too warm with a beautiful breeze. Thanks for planning this Archers and Hemphills!!

"This isn't flying! This is falling...with style" :)

The scary sun-screened Bus

attaching the two boats

Ashley took us for some wild rides, lemme tell ya :) (great fun)

"Among all those I took on the wave runner....Matt was definitely the most aerodynamic" ~Bus

just hanging out up there, Andrew?

We're moving...

2009-07-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

...furniture, that is.

Jenny sent us a photo tour of her place. Here's a picture or two of ours.

(Come and make music with us around the piano.)Kaylee and I heaved furniture around (while Connor mowed lawns, coming in to assist us with the immovable armoire).
We need a photo of Graham up there. And Tim and me, too, I suppose. Got some missing links in our representation of the generations, I'm thinking.

Relaxing in the newly re-arranged living room.
(Molly's belly spots match Kaylee's skirt. :-)
Speaking of "lawns"...
(a few lines ago.... just trying to connect a story line, here)
...we had one. For awhile. A short while. Flowers were planted. The tree was growing.
The lawn was green.
Water was applied.
(Did you hear that, mom? Water was applied. Sometimes we've missed that step - but not this time.)

Perhaps water was applied to more than just the lawn. There's a glint in Kaylee's eye, a hose in Kaylee's hand, and Connor's back was turned.

(He didn't really do it.)

Back to the lawn...

it isn't there anymore.

All gone.
Fungus? Dogs doing what dogs do? Fescue instead of Bermuda? Enemies salting the land? The Fall of Adam and all creation? (Connor's been trying to solve this mystery while working for a landscaper this summer.)

But, ending on a more pleasant note -- heading up to Kaylee's re-arranged bedroom. (Taking Molly up to her little kennel in Kaylee's room.)

(oops... lamplight's a bit bright for the camera)

Kaylee's current entry on her chalkboard.

(And don't miss Kaylee's posts below. They could have sat there longer without me adding one above them -- but I was waiting for the washer to finish so I could get Connor's work clothes in the dryer for 5 a.m. tomorrow morning... figured I'd post a few things while waiting...)

~Lori

Firs Conference

2009-07-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago our church had its annual family camp/conference. This time it was in the beautiful town of Bellingham, WA. Whenever the season for camp rolls around, there is much excitement as we anticipate taking the two day trip as a caravan with others from church, and look forward to a week that promises much encouragement in the Lord through the fellowship of his saints. Getting to breathe in the beauty of God's creation on the way adds to the overall enjoyment of the trip.
After the first day of driving, we stopped at a Motel 6 for the night and enjoyed the convenient location of a Dairy Queen, just a hop, skip, and a jump from our sleeping quarters. When one doesn't get to partake of the Queen's delicacies (because it has been all but completely removed from the state of CA.....) the sight of one is very refreshing. We couldn't resist. So we ventured to hop, skip, and jump over there (very literally) and indulged ourselves with blizzards.
Upon arrival in Seattle, WA, after another day's travel, we went our separate directions to our weekend hosts - Ariel, Samantha, and I to the Perkins, Mom and Dad to the Pipers, and Connor to the Cunninghams with whom he and some others went to a Seattle Mariner's game. We all greatly benefited from a restful Sunday spent with the Seattle congregation and went back to our host families to spend one more night before camp began the next morning. We girls enjoyed reuniting with a friend from Seattle and she was invited to spend the night with us at our location. Much of the evening was spent in catching up, laughing, and....tossing M&Ms..... :)
After a good night's rest, Mom and Dad came to pick us up and we headed to Pike Place in the heart of Seattle for the morning and early afternoon before beginning our treck up to the camp-ground. We sipped coffee from the original Starbucks and wandered the shops. We even ran into friends from Fresno that were in Seattle to visit a cousin. (How weird is that?? Two states away and we find people we know from home in one of the busiest places in Seattle where you could hardly hope to even find someone that you knew was going to be there!)
In the afternoon, we left Seattle for Bellingham. The first night we all gathered for dinner and a reaquainting night where we played some games, ate sundaes and had campfire. The rest of the week consisted of teaching sessions in the morning on The Growth of God's Kingdom, followed by discussion groups, a missions presentation from our missions coordinator/leader, a talent show, and then sports and games of all kinds, lake-side activities, crafts, and lots and lots of fellowship. God really showered his blessings on our time and used his people to encourage and build each other up. I feel so blessed to be a part of this corner of God's kingdom.

Timothy heaves the heavy suitcase

basking in our blizzards

Ariel and Sam and I took a lovely walk around Greenlake at sunset after dinner at the Perkin's.

going to Pike Place Market

we found a fish 'n' chips place!

Starbucks in Seattle - nuthin better

2009-07-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Snapshots of the week

Time with the little tykes

Youth presentations from different congregations

A peek into the talent show

"If I had a fine white horse..."

What's a talent show with out Mr. Short??

Bananas and Bandannas

A week of laughter and fun

Timothy was hysterical during "Apples and Bananas" - he was bent over double, laughing

"when I'm at the Firs...."

"wake up dad....daaaaad" :-p

Lake-side and sports

The 4th of July

2009-07-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

Jenny and I made a promise to keep each other updated through phone calls, emails, and blogs. So, Jenny, here's to more blogging! :-)

Some of "my girls"..... Thank you for surrounding me with your love and sweet friendship especially as I've dealt with Jenny leaving. I love you guys very muchly :-)

look left

... and now right....(that is if you can keep it together :-p)

"Did you say Mrs. Myers made muffins?? Give me one of those"

pain or drastic team spirit?

JUMP!!

her "sword and shield" :-)

homemade cookies and cream ice cream

Wishing Jenna a happy birthday

Dad searches for the ball on the ground, "it's gotta be here somewhere!" (nice dive, Dad)

woohoo Daddy-o!!

the force is strong with this one

Serve that ball, Connor!

Commemorating their 26th proposal anniversary

Saying Goodbye...(a therapeutic post)

2009-07-02T12:03:00.001-07:00

Well, they're packed and we've said our goodbyes. I remember thinking on Max and Jenny's wedding day back in Jan. of '08 how hard the day they moved was going to be, but also thinking, "It's a ways off." As it turns out, I hit it right on the head with that first thought but I missed the mark with the second. But wasn't their wedding just yesterday?? (For that matter, wasn't it just yesterday that Jenny and I were running around in our PJ's toting rubber ducky and dancing to Linus and Lucy??)
Time sure has a way of passing. Good times always pass too quickly and hard times have that talent of feeling like they last longer than they should :-p Seasons come and seasons go. And just when we think that the next chapter couldn't possibly be as good as the last, God says, "If you trust me, I can make it better than the last." This day is definitely one where we are turning a page and beginning a new chapter. And though we cry and watch with tear-streaked faces as a season closes we cling to the promise of God's comfort and perfect plan that says, "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28, NIV)
My darling sister: I miss you....I miss you SO much....I LOVE you so much.....and I can't wait to come visit you, Max, and the Graham man in Oklahoma. Goodbye my best friend (hugs and kisses).

(blogger isn't allowing me to rearrange my photos, so here they are in a rather random order)

watching them drive away

sisters .....best friends

Ranger shows signs of the general morale

sunrise over the hilltop

goodbye sweet boy xoxoxoxoxox *sniff*

getting in as many snuggles as is humanly possible

"so loooong, fare weeeeell......goodbyyyyyye!"

off they go!

Graham - unaware of the number of hours he'll be spending in that seat over the next few days

getting the car onto the trailer

And then to finish......some pictures of the cutest baby there is: the Graham burger (would you like a roll with that? :-p)

"you've got the cutest little baby face..."

Set Apart Girl Conference

2009-06-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

How do I even begin to describe this? It was indescribable.

Looking back at the days leading up to it, I know that I wasn't anticipating anything like what I actually experienced. God's hand of blessing was on everything from the road trip, to the seminars, to the sweet hours spent in prayer, to the time given to sharing scripture and thoughts.

The message was a powerful one - deeply convicting, but wonderfully encouraging. I wish I could lay out every detail of what they shared with us, but it wouldn't fit on one blog. In the most compact way that I can put it, they zeroed in on living a life totally and completely abandoned to Christ; everything (yes everything) surrendered, and nothing "taken into our own hands." They took all the things they knew that any girl (if she's human) struggles with, "nailed it on the head", and encouraged us to wrestle in prayer over the things that stood in the way of a "poured out" life. There is so much more detail I could go into, and I would love to tell more, but that will have to wait for later when I can be with you in person and can be even more specific.

What a gift it was to grow closer together and closer to Christ with these 13 women I drove with to CO.

May the Lord receive all the glory for this wonderful week and may we, as his daughters, shine with a heavenly beauty that flows out from within us making it clear that "I am His, and He is mine!" And may we be selfless. And may the world look on and say, "that girl is set apart." Amen and amen."Rise and shine! It's 4:45 am and it's time to get on the road!"

First stop - the keys are locked in the car.....we lasso the lock with an ear-bud and pry the door open. Only 15 min. lost - not bad :-) Good work, gals.

*click*

what a car full (hi Gabi ;-p)

a sign above us: "no overnight parking. Violators will be towed"

Too late :-p

Our wonderful chaperons (thank you, thank you!)

I couldn't help but take this shot. She was so beautiful.

You can't have a group of girls and a camera and NOT have this traditional shot, so here ya go

making our way to the dorms

Nicole

I really could go on and on about Annie. She was the coordinator for the conference and she shown with the light of Christ. What an amazing women. And so patient and sweet! She had gobs of girls flocking to her, and she spoke to each one as if she was a close friend and made a point of encouraging each of us personally.

Oh, and Krissy, too. Krissy is Eric Ludy's sister and she spoke on the blessing of singleness. Everything she had to say was so encouraging and up-building.

our nosey squirrel friend, fondly known as Hezekiah Zeke...

...he was after our spoiled sweet potatoes. He can have 'em, if you ask me. *nasty* A childhood phrase of mine sums this one up : "Num bluckly bluckly lah" :-)

Ah, Chipotle...

"you want that to go? Ok. I'll go get the dolly. " ~Tim Hawkins

Great food....great quantities :-p

Friendship is such a sweet thing in life. I rather like it :-)

I loved getting to know Katherine. She flew from Texas to be with Sally for a while and then drove to the conference with us.

Missin' you, girl!

you could almost fancy that God had his own camera out when I took this...(check out the upper left hand corner :-p)

the lucky charm presentation :-)

breakfast! num num

A sweet "welcome home" that the younger Werzinskis gave us

This past month...

2009-06-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

Kaylee graduated!And who showed up? Our favorite kindergarten teacher! :-) Mrs. Tapley (from Fresno Christian). Seeing her "little Jenny" and Kaylee Kangaroo after all these years - and Jenny's baby??!!!! Oh my goodness - time passes!We had a fun weekend of graduation and various parties. Sunday evening our church family gathered at the Archers for an evening of blessing our seniors (about 9 of them, I think). Bus got us all weepy (and of course laughing, too!) as he talked about Ashley. Surreal rugby... And just a lot of nice sit-around-and-talk time Sunday evening.
But before graduation ... our Indiana / Colorado McCracken family came to southern CA (the desert!) for a week of vacation with us!
Kaylee and some cousins... and Uncle Andy and Aunt Susan

Tim suggested an early morning fishing trip to the Salton Sea (never heard of it? It's bigger than Tahoe!) Two hours of waiting... and waiting... and waiting... then just as they'd packed up to head home, other folks started pulling fish in right and left. A school of Tilapia had arrived -- and the cousins' poles came out again -- this time pulling in fish faster than Tim could get them off the hooks and on the ice!
Fish tacos for dinner!

Don't DO it, Lindsey!!

Scrabble was a hit.

I don't think this was the Joel/Grandpa game! Tim and mom :-)

Seems whenever we've had a family reunion, there's always an "Uncle Tom cooking breakfast" photo. Yum! Tom and Lillian really know how to put together a hearty meal!

And there was much swimming! About 4 or 5 times per day, I think. With crazy races and goofy stunts.

And TWO babies! How fun is that?! Connor with Graham (his nephew). Caleb with Luke (his brother).
Other happenings in the month of May:

Samantha's ballet performance. She was lovely.

(Isn't "Auntie Teresa" pretty? :-)A fun evening at the Bohans - with the Reilly family, too.
And the last senior Bible study at the Goossens. What a great group!
The Myers gave us a call on Mothers' Day and told us to come on over. What a fun day!
Complete with lots of music

(several guitars, banjo, violin, cello, piano... and lots of singing).

And coming back to the past couple of days: Grandma and Grandpa McC. stayed on for a week after our vacation time in order to be here for Kaylee's graduation. Grandpa helped Connor get his small garden into spiffy shape. Now we just need to keep Molly out of it. (And speaking of Molly, she learned all kinds of tricks, thanks to Grandpa's confidence that she was smart and could learn some fun stuff!)

It was a full month - with the high school banquet, choir performance at the policemen's memorial, senior Bible study, evening with Bohans and Reillys, Mothers' Day with the Myers, , a ballet performance, a couple of meetings in L.A. for Tim, preaching at the rescue mission, Bible studies at the prison, a performance for Connor's after-school- orchestra program kids at Biola, a family vacation, and graduation! (Oh, and a sleep-over/rattler-shooting at the Parishes for Connor!). Wow.

We're so thankful for relationships - for family and friends. Our lives are full and rich because of them.

Happy Mothers' Day (from me... and to me)

2009-05-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

To my mom -

who likes to find that a new blog has been posted.

(I should print these photos for you, shouldn't I?!)

And to me -

a reminder of the treasures that I've been given.

Mommy kisses and Auntie kisses

Licia Clark and Graham yucking it up

Not graduated yet -- but heading to the park for class photos

In the same sink his mommy was bathed in :-)

Tim and I sang with the PSCA community choir.

The guys' ensemble (Peoples School of Creative Arts) that Tim put together and directed.

Tim - a treasured gift for our family. He, by God's grace, loves us with all his heart. And we have given him ours. We know him to be a gentle shepherd - and good, and wise. We trust him to lead us, knowing that he follows the true Shepherd and calls us to follow, too. Thank you, Tim, for rejoicing with us when we rejoice, and weeping with us when we weep. (Isn't it odd how rejoicing and weeping aren't always all that many days - or hours - apart?!) I suppose this could sound like a Father's Day tribute, but if it weren't for you, Tim, I wouldn't be celebrating Mother's Day with this precious family. So, Happy Mother's Day to me!! And Happy Mother's Day to you, too, mom!

~Lori

The Last Fat Tuesday... and performance

2009-05-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

The school year was coming to an end, and Kaylee was soon to graduate, so it was time to document our last big Tuesday at Peoples School of Creative Arts.

First on the day's schedule: Beginning ChoirMrs. Clark's cozy blankets on the floor. Fun stories of composers and orchestra instruments. Silly rhymes. Then off to the auditorium to get a feel for the steps and risers for the upcoming concert.Meanwhile (during part of the story time), I peeked into the dance room and found Kaylee warming up before teaching her girls' classes.I've spent some of the most delightful hours of my life watching my girls train and discipline themselves through the art of ballet. (I don't get to see them very often since they've stopped taking classes, so it was a treat to catch a glimpse of Kaylee, even if it was just warm-ups before teaching.)

And Connor? He'd been assigned by Licia (our choir director) to place the promised reward for memorized lyrics on each of the Beginning Choir seats, so that when they returned from the auditorium -- "Surprise!!!!" Ring pops!

After the younger choirs (Beginning and Children's) - the Youth Choir (6th-8th grade) with Reginia Teter. What a brave soul to take on (with great success!) this group of changing and emerging voices. (She also leads vocal warm-up exercises for the concert choir.) She's a beautiful lady with a beautiful voice (she blessed us all as she sang "It Is Well With My Soul" with the Community Choir at the concert on Thursday!).

While the Youth Choir finishes up, Kaylee leads the Girls' Ensemble in vocal warm-ups. (She's sitting at a piano, here, peeking over the top of the file cabinets in the copy room where they usually rehearse.)Some of the warm-ups are rather ... unusual.

It turns out that I wasn't the ONLY one documenting this last day.

Hello, there, Mrs. Reilly :-)Never a dull moment with these girls!

And with this director! Such fun!

But then.... hmmm, what happened THERE?! What was THAT note?!

(This look seems to pop up frequently in "Great Gettin' Up Mornin'" -- and last semester, too, but let's not talk about last semester, huh, girls...! Hooray for SECOND semester! :-) NOW we're talkin'!) Through it all, Mrs. Clark loves her kids! And she loves that "girl time" that she gets with the ensemble.

Following a quick, almost-half-hour lunch break, it's time for Concert Choir, where the fun - and work - continues.

"Ben, what WERE you SINGING?!"

"Oh, was I only to be THREE octaves below the girls?"

Our faithful organizer, Mrs. Holly, bringing us.... announcements!

Then it's outside with Mrs. Ridley, for an end-of-the-year ensemble photo.

OK, girls, 1,2,3..... Aaaaaghh! What's THAT! A snake?! A HUGE worm?!!!

Lovely Samantha gracefully, delicately, removes the foul intruder.There -- *click* -- Lovely girls. Lovely.
And now just for fun...

Meanwhile... Connor gets out his cello for lessons with Mrs. Alvarado. Recently, they've had some great opportunities to perform. The two of them provided dinner music at the local Pregnancy Care Center's annual fund-raiser banquet, which followed on the heels of another fundraiser concert for the Pregnancy Care Center and Fresno Right to Life (Max and Jenny, along with Max's brother, Simon, plus the Girls' Ensemble also performed). And last week the cello quartet of Mrs. Alvarado, Connor, Simon, and their friend Nicole performed in the lobby of a local theater for the opening of the movie, "The Soloist." (Boris Nixon of the Fresno Philharmonic - whose hands were used for the up-close cello shots in the movie - was also there!)

Kaylee and I have a little time to kill while Connor has his lesson, so we head to a practice room to work on Kaylee's voice lesson - well, and to have fun, crooning our way through The Secret Garden, Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella, etc.

And then, with Fat Tuesday drawing to a close, the empty auditorium awaits Thursday - with its all-morning rehearsal and concert in the evening. At 6 pm we arrive, with others from the Community Choir, for one last run-through. (The Community Choir had its own concert at the end of March, and is singing during the offering at this concert.) Us.

Tim.

And why is Tim a bit antsy?!
See below.

Celtic Thunder, aka PSCA Guys' Ensemble, will be performing for the first time.
Singing "Heartland."
"Make it thunder, guys!" said Tim, their director.

And they did!
Oh, for a video clip here!

(On our facebook page, "McCracken Family," we've posted a link to Mrs. Esau's video of their last rehearsal on Thursday morning.)

GREAT JOB, GUYS!

And Tim -- wow. You poured your whole heart - and some sweat - into that. And it showed. (The heart, not the sweat.)After the concert, Mrs. Clark wanted to recognize each of the seniors (17 of them, I think). So, in a rather impromptu way (yes, that's the way of Mrs. Clark! :-), she did a quick interview of each. Aaaghh! Speeches! Do we HAVE to?! And right here, on the spot, decide definitively what we're going to do with the rest of our lives -- and tell it to the audience?! Well, I should have photos of all the choirs -- complete with video clips. But -- I was at the piano through the whole concert (except during the guys' ensemble). So, you'll have to check out choir members' facebook pages to see if they've got any pictures ... or get a DVD or CD of the concert (oh, wow - that reminds me, I've got to get my order in!).

I do have an "audience" photo.

This is Mrs. Clark's parents.

And they come to everything.

So I thought you should meet them.

:-)

Well, we'll be back for more Tuesdays and more performances next year - and the next - and next - Deo volente - with Kaylee teaching ballet classes during the day and singing in the community choir on Tuesday evenings with her dad and me, and Connor singing in the concert choir and playing the cello. And I'll be at the piano most likely. Enjoying myself thoroughly.

Come join us!

~Lori

Quick glimpses

2009-04-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

Some quick looks into happenings in our life - so that Grandparents back east can see what we're up to! :-) There are many more photos... many.... many...! But for now, just a quick glance. When Kaylee gets back from Disneyland and Huntington Beach (her senior trip, with dad along as one of the trusty chaperones) she can post more fully about the various events. Of course at that point, she'll have trip photos to share! Connor as part of a trio (2 flutes, 1 cello), playing a Haydn piece. Well done!!
Some of Kaylee's littlest ballerinas

and their sweet dresses.

And speaking of sweet.... Graham and Jenny.

Something else sweet: the lovely birthday cake that Kaylee baked for her friend, Hannah.

I suppose some would say, "SWEEEEEEET!" to this. Evidence of guys (with guns) camping.

And the beautiful place they went: Black Rock reservoir.

(Tim, Connor, and James and Hunter Reilly braved the cold and rain.)

Speaking of beautiful :-)

Sally, Jenny, and Kaylee went to a dinner theater to see the production of Little Women.

And before that (this post goes in chronological order - backwards), our church went to Woodward Park for a fun afternoon and potluck. It was freezing cold and windy. Connor did not perform baptisms. However, he did threaten a good sprinkling. This wasn't a baptism either - or a "down to the river to pray" moment. It's Andrew rescuing the ball from the freezing cold pond. When you play volleyball and football at the water's edge, this comes with the territory.And finally, we were the last ones at the park - cleaning up. And Kaylee was enjoying the beauty of the fountain all lit up. "It's so romantic," she said. Of course, it was just Jesus (our neighbor, about to be doused by Connor in the previous photo), Connor, her dad and her mom there with her to share in the lovely romantic setting. Sigh. But it was lovely, nonetheless.

Oh, and for my mom and dad: Here's the tree we planted while you were out here! See the flowers?

And our loaded rose bush!

And now it's time for bed... then off to Monterey and the beach and aquarium tomorrow - with our friends, the Myers, who so graciously invited Connor and me to join them while Kaylee and Tim play at Disneyland!

~Lori

"Taxes! Taxes!"

2009-04-16T21:35:00.001-07:00

I knew that taxes were inevitable. You work, you pay. But man, they are not up my alley. I have phobias. I think lots of people do and just don't admit it. Well, I have a taxes-phobia (among others - bankphobia, deepseacreaturephobia, arachnophobia, conductyourbusinessandsoundintelligentintheprocessphobia, etc.). All that official paper work is overwhelming to the point that I could curl up in a ball and go nuts. (If anyone finds me in said state, you'll know the reason.) :-) Dad was nice enough, though, to do the bulk of the grunt work and just called me to go over everything, explain the process and have me write checks and sign papers. I love my dad :-)
And don't get me wrong - I am VERY grateful for the job I have. I have been so blessed to get to do something I love for a job in these days where finding a job is like finding a needle in a haystack. God has been very good to me! It's just the taxes that make my skin crawl. Like I said, it's just not up my alley....... (I probably PAID for that alley....:-p)

"Return to Manhood" conference

2009-04-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, the Parishes hosted a conference called "Return to Manhood." Several dads addressed the men and encouraged them and pointed them to scripture on the subject of godly manhood. God provided the perfect weekend with beautiful weather and a wonderful turnout of families. God really blessed every little tiny detail. How good He is!

Like Sally says in her post regarding this same event, we, too, have a shortage of "guy" photos. You'd think we'd have more of those considering how many guys were there for the conference. But, alas, when the girls have the camera, the lens tends to point toward babies and littles and landscapes....:-) We did catch the guys in a couple, though.

See? See? There were guys there!

Simon and the littles on the swing Simon made

dramatic readings of Curious George

and everyone's gotta have some Graham time :-)

sweet Olivia

Oh, how I love him!

Aunt Lilly and her niece :-) Jaelyn

time with Aunt Sally

some more "men" at the conference

I just love talking with Sally - and doing so under the vast expanse of the starry night sky was icing on the cake. (though I should use a better metaphore cuz...I'm not all that fond of icing....well unless it's penuche) :-) This was taken on the evening before the conference. We had gone out that day to work in the shop and set up.

CHEFA square/contra dance

2009-04-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

On Friday we attended the CHEFA square dance. Connor was my faithful partner all night (thank you, Connor!), well except when dad cut in for a waltz. :-)

Virginia Reel

the butterfly!

much laughter

the wind blew phenomenally hard - perfect for kite flying, hard for ourdoor dancing :-)

in action "swing!"

dancing with Benjamin and Emily Bohan

silly Connor

the closing waltz that Dad eventually cut in on :-)

the chilly observers (It was SO cold)