Spring 2012

Here are a few highlights of Spring 2012.

Our neighbor Brianne Grogan reading to the toddler pack.  

Brothers forever

Colin 20 months old

So my vote for Colin's looks is that he is a mix of Grandpa Ed Rodgers and Neil.

Ansley contemplating life

I went to see Sean in Rome for a weekend in February.

Roman Coliseum here we come.

Aunt Denelda, Neil's Mom's sister, passed away at the end of March .  We miss you Aunt Denelda!  

Evan's Fourth Birthday, March 2012

Evan and his Tres Leches cupcakes

We had a simple family celebration.  With three children it is always a party.

Colin is weighing in on the situation.  I am one and I want some more cupcake.

Proud four

Big sis

A Day in the Life of Evan, February 2012

February 7, 2012

Today I was talking to a friend about crock-pot recipes as the toddlers and I were exiting their tennis lesson.  I must have been engrossed in the conversation.  I will admit food is my favorite topic.  Suddenly I realized Evan had run off.  Not too concerned I left to search for him.  I looked in the bathrooms of the tennis complex, the eating area, the indoor courts, and outside.  Evan was nowhere to be found.  Of course at this point my heart was racing.  I could only invision him running out to the parking lot and getting hit by a car.  I loaded up Ansley and Colin into their car seats and locked the car, so I could give my full attention to searching for Evan. 

As I walked back into the building I spotted Evan out of the corner of my eye.  There he was in a field next to the tennis complex, and it was beginning to snow with giant fairy tale like snow flakes.  My first thought was to run to the field and scold him for leaving my side.  Instead I thought to myself,  I will teach him a lesson.  So I stood behind the glass and watched him outside the window and waited for him to realize I was nowhere near.  I could see him but he could not see me.  As I watched him out of the window my angst slowly turned into wonder.  He stared up at the sky of snow flakes and then proceeded to run around the field like a horse before a rain storm.  Next he picked up the largest stick he could find and started to swing away at the snow flakes.  After that he decided to throw pine cones.  I was witnessing this whole scene at a distance and in my heart I felt the miracle of childhood.

In these passing moments I recalled my own fond childhood memories of the snow: building snow forts, rolling snow men, and creating snow angels.  I was now relishing every moment I observed of my son's simple joy and awe of the falling snow.  Finally his hands started to get cold and he looked around for me.  At this point filled with happiness to be reunited with my son, I exited the front door to meet him on the sidewalk.

He said to me,  "Mommy you see those tracks in the field, those are my footprints."

Evan age 3

Colin age 17 months

Colin update for February 2012-For a couple of months I have been trying to get Colin to say hello and wave.  My attempts have been unsuccessful.  Then yesterday he started to say Guten Tag and Hallo in perfect German.  Then I realized he does not hear hi or hello often.  

Medjugorje February 2012

We left Dubrovnik in the morning and drove through the mountains of Croatia to cross the border into Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Immediately as we crossed the border it became apparent that we were indeed in a former war zone.  Many bombed-out, abandoned houses dotted our path.  In several town centers all the business buildings were spotted with machine gun holes.  Even though the Balkan war ended about 17 years ago the evidence is still present.  We even saw a couple of teenagers marching down the street with guns on their back.  Neil promised that they were air guns, and I believed him.  Still it was how the manner in which they carried the guns so nonchalantly down the road.  

As we climbed higher in elevation more snow was on the ground.  By the time we were almost to Medjugorje there was approximately two feet of snow cover.  We were in a rental Seat.   I know what you are thinking.  A Seat is Spanish car pronounced Zeat.  To the English speaking word this is very confusing name for a car brand.  No I don't just want a seat, I want the whole car.  Black beauty carried us through the snow.  Meanwhile Neil muddled under his breath.  "Don't these people know what a snow plow is?"  Medjugorje does not usually receive large snow falls. Meadows of orange, lemon, and olives trees surrounded us paradoxically as snow covered the ground.  Most of the citrus trees were in full bloom.  The road near Medjugorje was very dicey.  Neil was worried we would high center and get caught in the ruts of snow.  Somehow, farm boy prevailed.  We drove fairly quickly over the snow.  Neil said it was safer to go faster but personally I think he liked the thrill of testing the Seat's aka Zeat's motor capabilities.  

Jones Family at the top of Apparition Hill

Both of us have always wanted to visit Medjugorje.  Growing up Catholic, we have heard the stories and miracles that have taken place there.  We wanted to say some special prayers with Mary. She has a special place in our hearts as the mother of Jesus.  We even brought a rosary to help the children learn to say it.  

We checked into the Pension Madona.  Right away the owners served us coffee and hot chocolate.  Our room was cold like an icicle.   We cranked the heat in our room for two days and were only able to raise the temperature in the room five degrees.  I slept by baby Colin to keep him warm.  

The next day I bundled up the children in multiple layers.  We set out on our snow adventures.  We started early in the morning with a 7:30 mass.  Then we decided to attempt to find the famous landmarks, the Blue Cross and Apparition Hill.  Shop owners were digging their stores out of the ice and snow as we climbed the small path to Blue Cross.  We said our first decade of the Rosary.   I asked Mary for three signs: a rose, a heart, and the holy water from the knee of the Resurrected Jesus statue.  

Next we made a solo journey up Apparition Hill.  Later we met a group of nuns and priests and an Irish man on the trail.  But for most of the trail we were by ourselves.  We feel very blessed to have had this experience in a place where a million visitors pilgrimage each year.  The ice and heavy snow made the climb more of a physical test and spiritual journey.  Every so often up the hill there was a station of the cross and we sat down as a family and said a decade of the rosary.  

The heart someone crafted on the snow trail up Apparition Hill

A third of the way up the hill, I spotted a perfectly made heart in the snow.  It was not a miracle, someone had made it as a dedication to Mary.  Still I considered it a sign.  It was shaped impeccably and glossy in appearance.  

After climbing 500 meters we finally reached the top of the hill. The sun was shining behind the  statue of Mary.   There was the classic Medjugorje statue that is supposed to resemble the Mary that appears to the six individuals that have reported the sightings at Medjugorje. The six individuals started to see Mary in their late teens.  She always gives a spin on the same message.  She calls for prayer, fasting, penance, and conversion.  The statue of Mary has delicate features and is pale white with a circle of stars around her head. 

After we come down from the hillside, we walked to the gift shops to pick up a few religious items and to find a rose to give to Mary.  We were able to find a perfect rose in the gift shop and the two children presented it to a statue of Mary. For me this was my second sign.  

The children gave Mary a rose.

Next we walked around the back of the church to a mosaic stations of the cross and finally to the Resurrected Jesus statue.  Before going to Medjugorje, I read a long list of supposed miracles that have occurred when pilgrims collected the holy water from the Resurrected Jesus statue with a prayer cloth.  Then they would pray over themselves or a loved one with the prayer cloth.  The prayer cloth is an ancient Christian tradition.   This is one place I was especially intrigued by in Medjugorje.  We saw the Jesus statue and sure enough holy water was dripping from his knee.  We took our prayer clothes and collected the holy water.  We also noticed the statue was luke warm around the inner legs and the area where the holy water was coming from, even though the temperature was in the 30's.  At last this was my third sign.  

The Resurrected Jesus statue  

At this point I prayed to Mary and God and gave them every intention I could remember past, present, and future.  We decided due to the heavy snow fall we wanted to depart before the road conditions became too severe.  We left with a superb feeling of peace, faith, and hope for ourselves and for our children.

Here is an example recent quote from an apparition:

Latest Medjugorje Message, February 2, 2012  - Apparitions to Mirjana “Dear children; I am with you for so much time and already for so long I have been pointing you to God’s presence and his infinite love, which I desire for all of you to come to know. And you, my children? You continue to be deaf and blind as you look at the world around you and do not want to see where it is going without my Son. You are renouncing him – and he is the source of all graces. You listen to me while I am speaking to you, but your hearts are closed and you are not hearing me. You are not praying to the Holy Spirit to illuminate you. My children, pride has come to rule. I am pointing out humility to you. My children, remember that only a humble soul shines with purity and beauty because it has come to know the love of God. Only a humble soul becomes Heaven, because my Son is in it. Thank you. Again I implore you to pray for those whom my Son has chosen – those are your shepherds. ”

The New Year 2012

Happy 2012!

My in-laws came to visit for Christmas and my two sisters in-law joined us for the New Year.  I was ecstatic that the Jones clan had decided to reunite in Germany.

With the blessing of family, we began our New Year celebration.  We went to the local German Mass and put God in his appropriate place as first.  Then we headed home for a hunter's feast fit for kings.  Neil had been hiding out in the kitchen with his sister Holly creating a culinary surprise.  He had recently shot a deer on his assigned hunting plot.  

The Germans are organized in all facets of life including hunting practices.  Each hunter has to gain the rights to an assigned space whereby to manage the game on his particular plot of land.  

Holly is a skilled restaurateur herself.  We left the experts in the kitchen to do the work.  Smells of wine, onions, garlic, and mushrooms stewing started to immerge from the kitchen. (I was envisioning caramelized onions the whole time.)

Jones Family Christmas 2011

To further set the ambiance we proceeded to light a fire in the fire place and stoke the fire.  

As the festivities began, the children performed for the adults and recited the holiday classic, "The Night Before Christmas", sang the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and showed off their newly acquired Irish dance moves from Irish dance lessons.  As the jigs reeled our hunger grew.  We let the children open several belated Christmas presents and finally dinner was ready.  

We gathered the table situated close to the fire and everyone's attention was drawn to the mass of egg noodles being heaped on our plates covered with the red-venison-braised meat.  As a side pickled German cabbage added to the eye appeal of the meal.  As I took my first bite of the stew I gasped with an "oh my".  There was nothing gamey about this grass fed cutlet.   I did not want to see the pile of my noodles and stew disappear.  I tried to slow down and savour the bites but it was almost impossible.  

After dinner as "The Night Before Christmas" proclaims, we "tucked the children snug in their beds as visions of sugar plums danced in their heads."  Now it was time for my favorite part of the evening, adult party time.  We decided to play the German board game Zug um Zug, called Ticket to Ride in English.  We planned our routes across Europe and tried to acquire points by fulfilling our routes.  Midnight was approaching quickly.  By then we had given ourselves game names.  Mine was "Black Death", Holly was "The Blue Tide", and Heather was "The Seductress."  To be honest I cannot remember who won because we were having too much fun laughing our way through the game.  Only a German board game would have so many rules and nuances.  Those Germans are obsessed with laws and playing by the rules.

Suddenly midnight was upon us.  We broke out the champagne and the cork went barreling across the room.  Then all six Joneses toasted with our crystal champagne glasses.   As the Facebook count down told us it was midnight we counted down to our toast and each Jones family member announced a wish or a resolution.  We toasted to good health and reuniting again in 2012.  That would have been a perfect evening already except there was more.

The fireworks started to go off.  Loud ones and fancy ones, way up in the sky line similar to the Fourth of July, but better because it was our nearest neighbors lighting off the fire works.  The bursts and sparks were ubiquitous.  We raced outside to catch the spectacle.  Two of the local businesses in town had amassed a particularly attractive display.  We climbed to the top of the hill on our property.  Holly in her excitement was tromping through the mud in her slippers and Grandma did not want to leave the children unattended and was seen perched sitting in the window sill.  

Aunt Heather's Story Time

It is always the unexpected moments that are perfect.  The Blitzkreig continued for a half hour.  The general rule of conduct was the fireworks could go off anywhere as long as no one was hurt.  I really trusted the industrious, rule abiding, organized Germans in this endeavor.  Duane Jones, my Father-in-Law claims the quote of the night, "These austere Germans know how to celebrate New Years."

Alsace Region of France, October 2011

Here is a few stories from our trip to the Alsace Region of France.  

Now it was time to head to Colmar, France.  When we arrived we found parking rather uneventfully next to psychoanalyst's office.   I wondered if he or she would be willing to help two crazy parents wandering aimlessly through Europe with three small children.  Colmar was indeed charming with half timbered colorful businesses, hand painted iron signs,  French bakeries and stained glass windows.  In some ways it seemed we had visited France only to come to see more of Germany.  The local cuisine is definitely German and even includes sauerkraut and sausage.  Luckily the fashion and baked goods are distinctively French.  German baked goods are incredible in their own right, less sweet than American baked goods.  However, French bakeries are always the third hitter in a baseball lineup.  One comes to expect a home run.  

Colmar, France

Eguisheim, France

Mostly out of necessity we decided to eat out and experience some Alsatian food.  First Evan urgently had to go to the bathroom.  True to our usual form child bathroom urgency dictates many of the sights we see. This time Evan and I were in a long que and he was expressing his urgency.  The door to the precious chamber was being slammed in our face by a French women who claimed there was no more room in the bathroom.  After about five minutes in line the same woman who had abruptly turned us away from the bathroom pushed her way forward in the line.  She elbowed her way to the sink. Then pulled out a miniature bottle of pink hairspray and held it for those standing in line to witness.  Two teenager girls waiting in line looked at each other then burst out laughing.  Then the women proceeded to spray her hair proudly and left without using the bathroom.  I understood this cultural message, hair first.  No one wants a bad hair day.  

We love the view from this playground.

Next Evan and I made our way back to our table to join Colin, Neil, Evan, and Ansley.  Our waitress was very kind and took our order immediately.  Literally everyone in the restaurant starred at us like we were a rare dog breed.  Ansley danced around her seat and the couple behind us got up and relocated to another table.  I craned my neck to all corners of the restaurant as we had been sitting at our table for five minutes and still everyone starred.  Finally the stares subsided.  Our children were impeccably well behaved.  That is until Colin started dropping his food on the floor.  The food caught the attention of some local pigeons.  The pigeons swooped down for the feast.  Soon birds were swooping all around the table. 

Neil's Wild Boar Hunt, September 2011

A View from Neil's Deer Stand

Recently Neil hunted for a wild boar in his deer stand.  He is assigned a piece of land to hunt and manage the game on.  He videoed the boars and set out field corn to draw them in.  One night he went out on a quarter moon with overcast skies to scout from the deer stand.  Sure enough a gigantic boar meandered in.  He watched the boar for twenty minutes to confirm it was indeed a male.  Finally he shot and went down to view his catch but he could not find his kill.  Neil went to find the forest ranger, a friend of his to help him hunt down the whereabouts of the pig.  They followed the blood trail till its end and discovered a mass of coarse hair with rounded sharp tusks.  The meat had to go to the forest office.  

Neil and the boar

The forest office butchers the meat and sells it to restaurants.  If a hunter desires the meat of his hunt he must purchase it.  Neil's boar meat went to make the brots at a local fest.  Naturally we had to go to the fest and taste it.  We arrived at the Rodenbach Fest and heard the sounds of a chain saw.  Chain saw wood carving was occurring before our eyes.  An over sized log was being converted into a meticulously carved eagle.  Another man carved the trunk of the tree into a husky looking mans face teamed with a burly beard (think Father Time).  Our main goal was to try out the wild boar.  We headed to the food stand and ordered stewed deer meat in wine sauce and of course wild boar brots.  We ate happily to Neil Diamond's greatest hits playing in the background and at the moment "Sweet Caroline" was ringing along.  The brots were indeed fantastic.