Double Dragons!

12 years ago, many reliable sources told Mike and me that having a son born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Dragon is extremely fortunate and that having twins sons (a.k.a. Double Dragons) is even MORE extremely fortunate. We agree. Happy 12th birthday to Alex and Jacob, our amazing Double Dragons!

Emily's Bat Mitzvah!

Here's a taste of Emily's Bat Mitzvah! It was a super day. Emily is an amazing daughter of Torah! She did all her readings (some in Hebrew and some in English) with ease and chanted from the Torah so beautifully. In her discussion of her Torah portion, she explained some of the story of Joseph and the jealousy his brothers felt for him. Her insight was like a breath of fresh air; the gist of her message was basically that everybody gets jealous feelings sometimes, but you can deal with it in one of two ways: 1. Let it get to you and seep into your life or 2. Consider what it would be like to have all that you ever wanted... would you really need all that? Would it make you happy? Instead think of all that you have to be thankful for already and try to be content with that because it is probably more than enough. (I am paraphrasing... her message was much more eloquent!)

Emily displayed such a confident style and a lovely voice, and it all came shining through in her terrific smile! I only wish I had more photos and video clips to share. There's a video clip of The Von Shore Family Singers (or are we the Shornblairbitskys?) in this smilebox that features our family's blessing in song, Modim ah Nach Nu Loch, which we were honored to sing during the service.

Photo album made with Smilebox

This next smilebox is just for fun. It has a little video clip of our little buddy Jack from the "Bat Nitz-bah" party, and it includes a bunch of random photos, some of which made the Big Bat Mitzvah Scrapbook!! Also, there's a video clip of Uncle Monkey Squared singing "The Jewtheran Blues" at the after-party!

A free digital scrapbooking design by Smilebox

I hope you enjoy these snippets of this wonderful day! Emily's mitvah (service) project was to set up the temple to be a more ecofriendly place, so she has already purchased recycling bins and made signs for the building and she is covering the cost of the pickup of recycled items for the next four years. Emily, you are awesome! I love you!

p.s. To Mary, Brian, and Rachel -- you were stupendous hosts this weekend! You showed us all so much love and generosity and you arranged for several miraculous spreads of delicious food and drink and happiness! Thank you!!!

Quirky-Corky Creative Outlet

My sister Mary inspired me to learn how to make these cute little guys using yarn, knitting needles, and a wine cork. Oh yeah, and a lot of time! Aren't they cute? They are called Korknisse (cork - niss - ah). I believe the plural form is Korknissa-nissa-nissa-nissa-nissa. Lots of knitters think they are way too fun to make, as evidenced here.

It has taken me many attempts to perfect the technique, and I am still not very good at making them. Although they do still look adorable, if I do say so myself, even with the many mistakes and the shortcuts on the true pattern that I take on each one.

The tall blue one turned out the funniest because I really went off the book while knitting that one during the Bears game last Sunday. Instead of watching the game or concentrating on the pattern, I couldn't stop thinking about and praying for my book club friend Christa, who recently discovered that she has a brain tumor and will be undergoing surgery this Tuesday. So I have dubbed this blue guy my first "prayer korknisse" and I plan to give it to Christa as a gift. (I only wish that it fit the cork better! I might need to send it out for alterations first.)

Thank you, Mary, for your patience with me while I have been trying to learn to make these guys! Every time I get close to finishing one of their hats, I say to myself and anyone around who's listening, "This is the last Korknisse I'm ever going to make." But then after some time has passed, my fingers grab another ball of yarn and four of those crazy chopstick needles, and I start casting on to make another. That sort of crazy must make me an official knitter, finally!!!

So many possibilities!

Earlier this afternoon, I said hasta luego (see you later) to my niece Kate. She is embarking on a 1-year adventure with the Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program through the ELCA.

Kate will be working in México City at a women's center. She explained, "There, I may facilitate dance and creative writing, care for kids while mothers attend sessions at the center, and create workshops to present at public schools so that more people can learn about the services offered at the center. I know I am going to learn so much from the women at the center, and the many people I’ll meet in México City."

It was so nice for me that, as a stop on their way to drop off Kate for her week of training in Chicago before she flies off for a year in Mexico, the whole family stayed here with us to rest a bit and gear up for the hardest part... saying good-bye and letting each other go.

We had a wonderful visit... sharing laughs late last night, taking a walk in the forest preserve this morning where a game of frisbee/Monkey in the Middle broke out, sharing some techno tips and some packing techniques, enjoying a Swedish pancake breakfast and a Jimmy John's lunch together, and even starting Katie's own blog. As the two of us sat at my computer, I said something like "There are so many possibilities with a blog..." so Kate decided that should be the name: "So Many Possibilities!" I think it's the perfect title for her blog because it matches her outlook on life. We even found a perfect template that matches Kate's free spirit and passion for flowers.

Kate is a wonderful writer with a boundless creative spirit. So although I am going to miss her physical presence at family gatherings this coming year, I am very much anticipating following the chronicles of her experiences so far away.

To start off, she shared with me a few pages of inspirations that she's bringing along with her. Here are a few especially fitting ones for this day:

The nature of God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. - St. Augustine

I am not free unless my sister is free. - Audre Lorde

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you recognize that your liberation and mine are bound up together, we can walk together. - Lila Watson

I will be keeping Kate and her family and all those she encounters this year in my prayers, and I ask that you do the same. The wonderful girl whom I have loved so dearly since the day she was born has matured into an inspiring young woman whom I greatly admire for being open to taking such a remarkable journey.

Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9

I love you, Kate! You are always in my heart!

Zip!

Here are some photos of our adventures last week on a zipline tour with friends in Door County, Wisconsin.


The bad news is I tried to upload a short self-video of my turn doing "The Vomit Comet," but am sad to report (although you may be relieved to find out) that the video would not upload to the blog.

The good news is that I will tell you all about it anyway! The shaky video started out with some goofy and unfortunate angles ("Hello, Cleavage!"), but it became pretty silly and not too vertigo-inspiring in the end.

Essentially, I got tossed off the edge of the precipice by two people who sent me spinning. I am here to tell you after two Vomit Comets that it was SO MUCH FUN to literally spin through the woods, and that I did not vomit nor end up in flames even once. But I was a little dizzy. So there you go.

Anyway, ziplining through the trees is quite a rush and is now one of our family's favorite things to do while on vacation in our favorite part of Wisconsin!


Alex takes off on The Vomit Comet!

Zip Daddy goes upside down!

The guides told us to give a yell when we were ready to go. "For Narnia!!!" was wildly popular. We also liked to give a shout-out to Little Orphan Annie in her scary chase scene: "PUNJAB -- HELP ME!!!"










But wait! There's more!

We liked the zips that we did with our friends so much that we signed up to do it again later in the week with our family.


Little did we know that some of them (names withheld to protect the acrophobic) were a bit more afraid of heights than we remembered. Uh oh.

But everyone bravely zipped along, and all's well that ends, well, with a ZIP (and/or a "death grip")! "Never fear, Punjab will catch you! Ah ha ha ha ha. Buddha says, 'A child without courage is like a night without stars!'"





An added bonus of this crazy experience is that now everyone (including the teacher among us) has a great inspiration for a personal essay for the first days of school, even if one or two of them are entitled, "The Day My [Sister/Aunt] Pushed Me Off the Top of a Tree!"

Escape

Escape the heat with some cool water, Lake Michigan's Green Bay.



Egg Harbor sunset




Peace



Deep, glassy water near Chambers Island




Happiness

Lily Lake, Colorado, 7 am, 8/6/09

Rising early to enjoy our last morning in Estes Park, Colorado.

Learning to row a boat.

Following where the ducks take us.

Sharing peaceful, joyful moments. Ahhhhh.