Winter Song 12.16

Humans die-love never does.

The best Christmas song ever (IMHO)

When I hear this version of the song by Michael English- I get goosebumps.

The message rings so true for me and helps keep me grounded in this sometimes frantic season.

Merry Christmas to you and yours-
Love,
Kimberley

A Tribute to Brandon Roy

Brandon Roy retired from the Blazers this week. Too young, too soon, too unfair. One of my fondest memories is going to a Blazer game on Christmas with Nick and the boys- the game that Brandon scored 40 points against the Lakers and we won. Everyone was cheering so loud and on the max ride home- there was a party going on! Nick loved basketball and as a family it's one of our favorite past times. I don't know who could take Brandon's place on the team- he was nothing short of a miracle on the court, every time. He never let his team or fans down. I'm going to miss cheering for him.
Thank you Brandon for bringing principles and good sportsmanship back to Portland. We will miss you!

Lunar Eclipse from Oregon

Lucas and I woke up early to see the Lunar Eclipse this morning. This is a photo taken by my friend Kim Patterson's talented daughter. It was really moving (no pun intended)and just makes me mindful of how God created this spectacular, beautiful, complicated world for us to enjoy.

Going with the flow

I have joined the twitter world. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but I'm not happy with facebook these days. You can tweet me @skygaloc

Moon over crown point last night

I never tire of this beautiful view.

Lucas had the best game of his life!

OK- I can't post this on facebook or he would kill me for 'bragging'.
But Lucas scored 31 points! in a basketball tournament this weekend. He was named on the 'all tournament team' for point guard.

So excited to see Lucas' hard work pay off for him. Basketball is his passion. He has grown nearly 7 inches this year and at 5'10" is no longer the shortest player on the team.

He has always admired Steve Nash and has taken more pride in his passing game and assists- but this day the team needed someone to step up and score and Lucas answered the call.

I will post a youtube video highlight reel later.

I doubt he will have many more games like this one- but it's encouraging to see the possibilties for Luc and his basketball season.

XOXO,
Kimberley

PS: Don't tell him I told you. ; }

A brighter future begins...

....with a great education.

Matthew is working towards his degree in business marketing this Fall at Eastern Oregon University. Class of 2013!

Christian has been accepted to Warner Pacific College beginning this Fall term as a transfer student. Christian's goal is to become an attorney.

Very proud of our boys for taking these important steps to further their education. Grateful for FAFSA loans and grants that make it possible.

Mother's Day gift... priceless

Courtesy of the very talented Hannah Robinson- the boys sat for a photo shoot and presented them to me in a collage frame for Mother's Day.
I was really surprised and very touched.

I have the most awesome sons ever.

And of course they happen to be the most handsome as well.

XOXO,

This is my favorite. Check out Tessa!  : )

kimberley

TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO....

Wow, first of all I can't believe I haven't visited this page in 6 weeks?!  Where has the time gone?
Happy Birthday to Christian on January 17th.  We celebrated with his close friends Tim and Seth at their favorite restaurant: Changs Mongolian Grill.  Second year in a row- I guess that means it's a tradition?
Our family has a great love of traditions. 
They give life order and a sense of continuity- which we desperately need.
Especially now.

Lucas is nearly at the end of his Sophomore year basketball season.  It's not been the best season.
We haven't had a consistent coach and the team is too big.  It's scattered a bit and it makes it difficult to
get a great team chemistry going. But we've been fairly succesful and I have enjoyed cheering these boys on-that I have watched grow up with Lucas.  They are a wonderful group of kids.
The best part about living in Corbett and attending the school here is spending time with the families we've grown to love.

And lastly...tomorrow, February 2nd 2011. 
The day I married Nick 25 years ago. 
I am not sure the East Coast O'Connell's even know???  That Nick and I were married twice!
We were engaged at Christmas time- we set the date for 8/10 to let family have a chance to make travel arrangements and for us to book the church, reception hall, etc...
But we soon found a house to buy.  It had once belonged to my grandmother Bernice Cooper.  It had a lot of great memories for me.   And the price was right.
However, I did not want to move into that house and not be married.
Nick didn't care really care.  But I certainly did.
I'm a traditional girl for sure.
So we bought the house and we eloped!

Nick's best friend Thomas and my good friend Susan were witnesses for us.
A judge married us on a Sunday afternoon.
It was tres romantic.

Poor Nick- it created a lot of confusion over the years- having 2 anniversaries!
He would always ask about 2 days before the big day- are we celebrating this one? (February) or the OTHER one?(August). 
I of course, had to remind him that they both count and we should celebrate everything!

Girls are like that.

This morning I woke up at 6AM wishing someone would bring me my morning cup of coffee to bed.
Nick always did that- even when he was sick. 
I miss him so much and I wonder how we would have celebrated tomorrow?
I'm sure it would have been sweet and I would have been spoiled-just as I have been for half my life with the husband I never deserved.

XOXO,
Kimberley
My song for Nick today-

An early Christmas present for us-Range Hood installed

I have been so lucky to know some really generous people.  One of those is Russ Prewitt.  He is an amazing person-AND bagpiper!
He came over this week and worked very hard to help me get the range hood installed.  He finished today.  And then left to work 10 more hours at Alaska Airlines.   Very, very generous.
And as you see here- he does fine work.
We are getting closer to finishing this facelift in the kitchen.
Still don't have propane hooked up or windows trimmed out and painted-but we're making progress!
I am still stunned at how lovely and charming it turned out.
The boys said "Mom, it looks like you took all of your favorite things and just threw them together".
and that's a BAD thing????
That's exactly what I did. 
I dreamed up this Kitchen and dreamed about this kitchen for about 20 years. 
I hope the boys and I can enjoy many more years of family dinners here...
that includes you of course!

I took these pictures with my phone camera- so they're not the best, but you get the idea....  : )
Photo below is our Christmas tree with gifts beneath from Ozzie!!!!!!!  Thank you so much!

Nick's corner.
Kimberley and the boys....

One Year ago...

I can't believe it's been one year.  It hardly seems possible.  We miss Nick everyday and we always will.This day is too hard to even write about.




It's impossible to believe even after one whole year that Nick is gone and really never coming back.




We couldn't have survived this year without all of the love and support from our close friends and especially from the O'Connell family. 

 Thank you John and ozzie for coming to visit and for feeding us and cheering us and letting Nick know he was never alone in the journey.  And John for making Christmas happen last year with a tree and gifts for all.  We will never forget what you both did for our whole family, as well as your brother.

Thank you Jenny for making Thanksgiving bearable, by radiating your joy into our lives.

Thank you Peter and Adele for cooking and hugging and massages and gifts and advice and....everything!

Thanks Nancy and Vinny for sharing your time and for the winning pool cue!

Nick loved his friends and your visits did more than cheer him- they gave him the will to fight.  He didn't want to leave any of you.

Camp and the brothers- Nick loved nothing more.  This smile says it all.

Clan O'Connell-words can't express our love and gratitude for this great, great family.
Rare and beautiful love.

Today was endurable because of all the support we have.  I was thinking about this time last year every hour and remembering what we were doing every second of Nick's last day.  Remembering when Peter left, how scared I was. I called my friend and asked her to come.  Please come is all I could get out and she did.  Linda Mack was here with us for 24 hours.  She was amazing and we couldn't have made it through the day without her.  I still don't know how she kept us all going.  Hospice came, but they didn't stay.  They came and evaluated, ordered pain medication that was delivered at the door and then they were gone.  It was too much for us and just so frightening.  Thomas came and stayed as long as he could also.  What would we all do without friends and family? 

We love you very much and thanks for the outpouring of love today.

XOXO,

..short clip of Nick being a great Dad-fishing with the boys in Idaho in 2008

Kimberley and Matthew and Christian and Lucas O'Connell

Lucas

Lucas 2008 basketball season

We're excited about a new basketball season.  This video is from 2008. 

Of course we didn't make one for last year.  No one felt like it.  

This is going to be a great season for our cards we have a great team, and Lucas has learned to love making the assist as much as making the shot. 

Lucas needs to work on his confidence.  Nick always encouraged him.  As have just about every referee we've met.  I think they see the fight in the smallest kid on the team and how much he can do with sheer will power and focus.  But Lucas just sees in himself a small kid who can't dunk. (yet).

Of course he's not the smallest kid on the team this year!  : )

XOXO,
k.

I love this kid!

Giving Thanks

The day I have been dreading for months came and went.  Thanksgiving.
It's not that I don't have a heart of gratitiude for all I have been given. 

It's just THIS YEAR is so very hard.

There is always this pressure during the holidays to be happy, to have wonderful experiences with family and for some sort of perfection.   I have always struggled a bit with that.

Last year at this time is when Nick really started taking a turn for the worse.  At the time I was in some sort of fog bubble.  Too close to the forest to see the big tree falling.  This year as it draws near the one year marker, I find myself reliving it all more vivdly than before.  Dreams are relentless and sleep doesn't come easy.   December 16th looms.  It's the next hurdle.

But this holiday we did much, much better than I ever thought we would.  I ruined a perfectly good turkey-AGAIN!  "What is with you Kimberley- it's easy?!"  But we laughed a lot, saw a movie and had a wonderful visit with best friends Linda and Tom Mack. 

Matthew and I were talking about how we learned through this last 18 months that what you fear you can't endure-God gives you strength to  rise above, face head on and even find the ability to feel joy.

We spoke of gratitiude for our family- especially the East Coast O'Connell clan.  Our good faithful friends and a warm home home in a beautiful setting. 

We're grateful that Adele was able to recover from surgery enough to enjoy the day. Beautiful Jenny came home from Ghana with a nasty infection in her leg, but grateful that she is recovering and has a great support group in San Francisco.  

Christian is grateful for the love in his life-Hannah.  Lucas is grateful for the promise of a new basketabll season and Matthew may be offered a new opportunity with his employer.

I of course am grateful for my boys who continue to enrich my life with pride and joy and inspiration.

We're all starting a new chapter in our lives, gaining independance and the confidence that we have the strength to carry out the dreams that Nick had for us.

God bless you dear friend-thanks for caring and as always thanks for loving us.
XOXO,
Kimberley

Crown Point at Sunrise- Corbett, Oregon

Had to share this photo a friend took.  I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

The Gorge-- from The Women's Forum- Corbett, OR

PUNKIN

I know I posted awhile back that I would not have anymore pity parties here. 

I lied.

As we speak, our orange tabby cat-Punkin is lying on the floor of my bathroom.  Not eating or drinking-sleeping mostly. He won't be with us much longer. 

I brought Punkin home from the parking lot of Alberstson's in October-1995,  He was the last kitten in a cardboard box- offered up by a sweet little girl.  I had never owned a cat before and decided we needed one!  Living in the country-everyone needs a cat to maintain the rodent population. 

Punkin was the cutest little thing!  I went to school to pick up Christian one afternoon, shortly after we got the kitten, only to come home and find Punkin had his head caught between the slats of the kitchen chairs.  It's about a 2 inch gap.
How the heck did he ever get his head in there in the first place?  It was not easy getting him unstuck.
There was bleeding and pain involved.  Mine- not his.

He didn't stay little, he got huge and reminded me of a lion.

That's the thing about Punkin' he was kind of a Cujo cat.

He would lurk on the stairs until one of the kids would innocently  walk by and THWACK! His little paw would come out and he would swipe at the ankles.  
Tiny, little, scary cat.  Matthew was scared to death of him.

He has done his job over the years and brought us all kinds of 'gifts' left on the door step.  He was a great hunter.

He also had a knack for knowing when someone in the house was sick and he would come climb on the ill person's lap.  Other than that he didn't really care to cuddle.  I always wondered how he knew???
He turned himself into a liveing breathing hot water bottle.  Cool trick.

Today would have been my Mother's 90th birthday.  She loved Punkin.  I think she thought of him as some kind of kindred spirit.  All tough on the outside and jello on the inside.

Punkin- you are a cool cat and I will miss you.  Give Nick and Dixie a swipe for us.

Now, can we please go more than 3 months without losing somone we love?  I seriously think this is the very, last straw.

XOXO,
K.
PS: Punkin passed away this morning.  Godspeed.

A fresh start in the kitchen

Here is the refrigerator cabinet where the pantry used to be.

My range looks so tiny!  It's 30"  The sales rep told me a bigger one would just give me a burner I would never use and cavernous oven that would take longer to pre-heat.  But I wish I had gone with the 36".  I stand and stare out the right window forever.  I love the addition of those 2 windows- they let in so much light!

This is what we call the bar area-or pass through.  It used to be a wall that housed the refrigerator on the kitchen side. Now the upper cabinets hold all of our glassware and the doors on both sides open and are glass.  It's a cool mottled glass that looks like rain.

Another view...I mixed white painted and mocha alder because I thought this bar area would not look right if it were white.

I love this chandelier- it goes with the pendants and it's so so pretty.  Over the island- which used to have hanging pots and pans-remember?

Fireplace with new mantel.  Chandelier from Pottery Barn.  I have another larger one that will be hung (sometime) in the staircase.

 The kitchen Island.  This first bottom drawer houses compartments for trash and recycling.  I love it!  To the right of that is the Sharp microwave drawer.  We will never have burned popcorn again!  Coolest feature: Sensor popcorn!

There she is... I'll load more photos when it's completely done if you want?  Missing: Trim around the windows- in and out.  Baseboard trim too.  Copper range hood.  Backsplash tile.  Draperies/swag curtains.  I have the fabric- I'll make those last. My only serious regret in this kitchen is the choice of marble for counters.  Too, too much headache and worry.  Not for staining like everyone thinks but for the scratching and etching.  But it is very pretty and cool to the touch. 

So what do you think????  : )

My latest obsession

Well, I can't remember how I came upon it, but Goodwill has an auction website-very much like Ebay.
I don't have much art work on the walls of our home because good art- (not the mas produced stuff you find at home stores) is so expensive and I don't have much extra $$ in the budget. 
(Who does these days?)

So, I have been checking out art work- specifically paintings and drawings on the Goodwill website.

I really wanted this painting so, so badly.  I love it!  I started bidding at about $8.  It sold for over $400 with shipping.  Too much for me, but I have been pining away ever since.  If I could do it again- I would have splurged- I love it that much.

I did buy a painting:  (below) for the jam room or maybe for Christian's room if he likes it? 

It was only $6.

BUT the shipping cost is $51!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WHAT the heck? Are you kidding me?!

Kimberley: READ the fine print idiot.  Why oh why do I always do that?

I don't think I like it enough to spend $60, but it's coming to our house anyway.

 It reminds me of New Orleans and that has a special place in Christian's heart as he worked there on a mission trip to help re-build after Katrina.

Check out shopgoodwill.com
Maybe you will find something fun there? 
Just review the shipping and handling charges first!

XOXO,
k

PS: Kitchen is still not done- I'll post photos when it is.  I'm waiting for someone to rescue me and finish my windows(they are only temporarily placed), my range hood needs to be installed and my lights need to be hung.  When all is done, I might be able to get propane to my range so we can eat pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken fettucine and.... I'm still so hungry!