{Lilacs in Bloom} Happy Birthday, Mo!

Happy 9th Birthday, Morgen!

How do we know it's your birthday?  

Because the lilacs are blooming!! 

What do I tell you every year?  

Stop getting big...but I can't stop!

Morgen Rae Markgraf was born on May 20, 2004 around 8 or 8:30 am. She made me an aunt for the first time. I still remember the day she was born: I worked a half day so I drove from Watertown straight to the hospital in Minneapolis, and I spent the next week helping out at the Markgraf house.

Back to that special day - for a good hour into my drive I was waiting for a call from Eric about her name. We knew she was a girl and that maybe her name would be Meg, but all other name possibilities were kept a secret. I eventually got the call and found out that they made up her name that day: Jen and Eric's little lamb was born in the morning - Morgen (German for morning) Rae (Hebrew for little lamb).

This little lamb changed my life. She knows this and eats it up. Morgen, or More-Jen as the sisterhood has named her, is the first to compliment your outfit, your jewelry, your shoes, or your hair. She's the queen of all shopping queens - out doing her own mother if given a chance.

I love you, Mo!!

2004

 

Left 2005 - Morgen ~ Right 1976 - Auntie Bek 

2005 - Easter trip to Watertown

2006 - Strummin' with Aunt Anna in Indiana

 

2007 - Taggin' along with Dad

 

2008 - Fun at the Mall

 

2009 - This girl loves her Pedicures! (Click to Enlarge)

2010 - Snoovies!

 

2011 (Click to Enlarge)

2012 - Hawaiian Birthday Girl

Click here for more posts about Morgen.

{200th Post?}

Well this was supposed to be my 200th post, but that didn't happen. It's looking like my 219th post, to be more accurate.

__________________________________________

I'm going to try to make this interesting for you, my readers, but I make no guarantees (as a member of the financial field, I'm not allowed to guarantee anything anyway).

So, let me tell you what I've been up to lately...

1. Foster kiddos. About 12 weeks ago Jess and Luke started caring for 3 little boys: E(3), BV(16 mo), and FD(1 weeks old). It goes without saying that Jess and Luke's world was turned upside down, but the rest of the family has been able to help out and pitch in whenever we can. A couple days a week, Jen helped out during the day while Jess worked. She had a couple of basketball players who helped out the other days. I've been able to babysit quite a bit during the evenings and weekends - mostly after they're in bed when Jess went into the office or while they went out on a date or ran errands. I also spent a weekend with Jess when she was single-parenting it while Luke was in Boston at wedding. About 3 weeks ago Jess resigned her hr/accounts payable position at church; she's now a full-time stay-at-home mom and the boys are loving it! At this point we don't know how long they'll be with Jess and Luke, but we're loving on them as much as we can while we have them.
2. Fundraising for Metro Women's Center. If you gave money to the annual walk event, I thank you. This past fall MWC was able to purchase a home and many people been working on fixing it up and furnishing it to be ready to be used by those in need. If you were thinking of giving but didn't yet, you can still by going to my FirstGiving fundraising page. For more info about the Amazing Grace Home, I invite you to visit Metro Women's Center blog.
3. Work projects - I've mentioned before how I was interviewing for a new hire in my office. Well he's hired and thankfully not my responsibility; my co-worker gets to train him. We call him "Sabrina's* Slave". We're also in the process of changing 160+ investment accounts and ~100 insurance policies to a joint rep # for clients that we are buying out from another advisor. This is just Phase I of the accounts coming to us. Thankfully Phase II is a much smaller list. Something else I've been working on  is the planning of our annual client golf event to be held in August. Invites went out the middle of the month and RSVPs are already rolling in. You can check out our website that I help with. The bulk of it is designed and updated by a marketing company, but I'm responsible for content that is firm-specific.
4. May Birthdays - My nephew Ethan turned 4 on the 15th and we enjoyed a yummy dinner at Red Robin on that Tuesday evening followed by cake at my sister's. My niece Morgen turned 8 on the 20th and she celebrated at a birthday party with 10 of her closest friends. Mom, Dad, and the rest of the Mpls Gang were all in attendance as well. It was quite the hub-bub-a-loo! 11 screaming 8-year old girls, that's something you've got to experience first hand! Jess's oldest E(3) enjoyed splashing the girls while he was hanging out in the kiddie pool; they enjoyed egging him on as well. 
5. Baseball and Kindergarten Graduation - not to be left out from all the May activities, my nephew Carsten (6) graduated from Kindergarten and started little league baseball during May. His graduation program included songs and a play from all the seasons while one of his classmates kept asking when he could fly his kite. Each season he would ask, "is it time yet?" and finally, when it was Spring, he was able to fly his kite - and it actually flew! They had rigged up fishing wire for him and made it fly above the stage - pretty cool for kindergartners! :-) The baseball games haven't been the most exciting, but it was fun to see him connect with the ball for the 2nd time. 
6. Weekends with Mom and Dad - It's been fun to have Mom and Dad so close - they've been able to come over on different occasions and I think they were here 2 times in May and I went to their house over Memorial weekend. Of course, that wasn't so much a fun weekend as Mom was sick. I did enjoy getting to see my aunt and uncle though! Dad's baby sister, Jan and her husband, Dale, drove up from Rockford, IL on Saturday to spend some time with my parents. Unfortunately Mom wasn't feeling so great, so it was up to Dad to entertain them :) Jan did make a yummy strawberry-rhubarb crunch. I was able to have some on Sunday when I got there.
7. It's a girl! Probably the biggest news is our latest Flaming addition, my 3rd niece, Ella Taylor. Ella was born to Jake and Meg and big sister is Lily Bug who will be 2 in a week! You can read about Ella's arrival and see some pictures on their blog. There's also some cute comparison pics of Lily and Ella. Ella was born on Thursday and came home on Friday. Here's what they've been up to since she came home.

I'm pretty sure their are many other things I've missed here, but I think I'll stop for now. 

And I wasn't going for a 7Things post, but it appears that's what this turned out to be! For many weeks in a row I've missed writing my 7Things posts. Back in March, I think it was, I scheduled about 2 months worth  "A Year Ago on Not the Last to Know" posts.  Next year I think they'll be a little bit more exciting since I had been blogging a bit more regularly this year (...until about mid-April...). 

Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the blogging habit again, but don't hold me to it. June and July are looking to be busy months too! I think I'll work on some picture posts. I downloaded 430 pictures from my phone tonight. I need to go through them and see if any are blog-worthy :)

*named change to protect the innocent

birthday week cont.

Taking a time out of this busy week to stop and smell the roses...er, whatever these trees are! I actually took the picture because it looked like snow! We're very familiar with snow around here, but are enjoying the lack of snow this week! ;-)

While we haven't had snow for a while, it's actually LILAC time!! And you know when the lilacs bloom, it's time for my first niece's birthday! (These lilacs are courtesy of the side of the road. I wanted to pick more, but a car was coming!! My house sure does smell lovely!)

We celebrated Morgen's 7th birthday tonight with a small family affair including white sauce & chicken pizza and an ICE CREAM cake from DQ. Of course this was all at the birthday girl's request and it was delicious!!

Dinner was followed by presents and my parents were able to join us via Skype! The funniest part was that my parents video feed was frozen so they were talking to us but we were just looking at their picture. Ethan seemed intrigued and kept showing them the presents and chatting with them - giving his version of a play-by-play. Once the presents were opened we were able to get the video feed corrected and then Ethan was not so sure about talking to them...weird kid!

I remember the day this sweet girl was born - May 20, 2004. It seems just like yesterday! Her birth day was scheduled so it was not a surprise. I worked a half day and drove up from Watertown that afternoon. While she was born at 8:30 am, we did not learn her name until mid-afternoon because her parents were still deliberating. Morgen Rae: Morgen means morning in German and Rae means little lamb in Hebrew. I still remember Eric telling me, "Our little lamb was born in the morning."

Seven Reasons I Love You, Morgen Rae:

1. Your smile is infectious!
2. You're a girlie-girl and love to play dress up (and go shopping).
3. You know I want you to stop growing up but you don't listen to me!
4. You have so many characteristics of your mom and your aunts, but you're your own person too! 
5. You love horses and dolls and coloring.
6. You'll drop anything to do a PROJECT - you call yourself the Project Girl!
7. You watch movies that I like - Annie, Little Women, and more!

In case you missed it, click here to read about Ethan's 3rd birthday!

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{newsy notes} Part 2

As you may have read I've been feeling a little mailman-neglected and decided I need to start writing more letters. Here's more, enjoy!

Dear Credit Card Debt, Just 3 more slightly chunky payments and you’re all gone! I’m excited, not gonna lie! Then I'm on to the ol’ school loan--you’re going down!!

Dear Hair, It's been 3 looong months since your last cut. Please be mindful to stay smooth and manageable as there are a few more months before you will see scissors! Oh, and would you mind not growing any more gray? Thanks.

Dear Future Car, No, I’m not talking about a futuristic car. I mean the future car I’m going to own in the near, near future. Yes, You! (I’m really hoping Future Car is not, You!) Anywhoo, hope you’re resting up for some road trips!!

Dear Slaves Interns, Only a few more weeks and then you are ours--for 3 months! Hope you’re ready to learn all about the financial planning industry by reviewing client documents (a.k.a. scanning!). Don’t worry, Boss has many other projects to throw in the mix!

Dear Mo’gen, Thanks for spending last weekend with me. It was fun hanging out with you and doing whatever you wanted -- including a trip to Target where you asked for everything you saw! Can’t believe you’re about to turn 7!! Didn’t I tell you not to grow up?!

Dear Lily Bug, You're soooo cute - I could eat you up!! When you come to visit me, I'll be sure to make you a strawberry and banana smoothie (your cousins looove them and practically demand that I make them!). We'll also work on you saying my name ;-) Lots of love, Auntie beK <3
 

Got a stamp?!

Oh, and I think I'll post some pics soon so stay tuned!

{newsy notes} Part 1

Lately I haven’t had much from the USPS mailman, and it got me to thinking: maybe I should write more letters...hmmm...

Well, that's not likely so I hope these notes put a smile on your face and make you want to run home, pull out the ol’ paper and pen and send me lots o’ letters!

Dear Sebring, Thank you for getting me to and from work each day and all the other places you take me. At ~148,000 miles in 15 years (that’s ~68,000 miles in 6 years with yours truly), I believe your almost ready for retirement -- we’ll have a party soon, I promise! Party date and location: TBA.

Dear Anti-lock Brake Light, Thanks for going off today as the streets were wet and there was a chance I might actually need the anti-lock brake system. Normally I do enjoy how you and Check Engine Light brighten up my dash!!

Dear Traffic, Thank you for getting out of my way when I needed to merge. I didn’t want to bring out my south-of-Chicago-learned driving skills, but I would of, if I had to...Yo, Westside!!

Dear Vincent A Restaurant (French - oui, oui! ...or si, si!, according to the English to French dictionary), yesterday your $14, The Vincent Burger was delicious and filling: so delicious and filling I didn't finish the fries! Not sure I would have chosen you on the menu description alone (Ground Beef, Braised Short Ribs, Smoked Gouda), but two fist pumps for the assist (a.k.a. recommendation) by compliance branch manager, Cindy!! So glad I didn't have to pay the $14!

Dear Camera, Wow! I haven’t pulled you out since, well, I’m not sure when...Christmas?! My phone has been an acceptable replacement with it’s easy Facebook sharing features and, well, I just am too lazy to make sure you, Camera, have charged batteries, too! But I did pull out last Sunday for the kids' choirs at church last Sunday, so thanks for standing by!

Part 2 coming up soon!

{Conversations with Littles}

If you're a regular reader, you probably know that my oldest sister has three littles who I spend a lot of time with. Last night I headed over there after work to play "catch up on Favorite Aunt status" since I hadn't seen them in a week or so. The reason I hadn't seen them was because they had taken a trip to Grandma & Grandpa's. They also saw Aunt Anna while they were there - she's my biggest competition, you know! I don't carry a gun or drive a car with lights & sirens...

So I asked Ethan about his trip:

Me: Did you go to Grandma & Grandpa's?!
E: Yes.
Me: What did you do?
E: I hit Tarsten [Carsten].

Apparently my "what did you do?" voice was a little too serious! Or he just automatically answers "I hit Tarsten" when he hears that question. :)  :)

Me: Oh. You were naughty then?
E: Yeah, I hit Tarsten.
Me: So, did you have fun with Grandma & Grandpa?
E: [I think he started rambling about how he didn't hit Grandma & Grandpa, just Carsten, but it was not clear. Then he started talking about his pig and cow he was playing with.]

Morgen, Ethan and I started to watch the of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers while Carsten went with Jen & Eric to Carsten's kindergarten open house. After almost an hour or so Morgen asks, "When is this going to be over so we can play?!" I'm not sure if that's a reflection of her opinion of the movie or if she really would just rather have been playing. She did get some new/used toys that same day so I think they were more exciting than a musical.

During the movie Ethan decided he wanted to cuddle with me so as he was coming over I asked him if we needed a blanket. I think it came across more like, "Where's my blanket?" though because he said, "My blanket up in my bed. Your blanket at your house." Yeah, he went up and got his blanket and shared it with me.

Part of the new/used toy collection was American Girl doll horse cards. As Morgen and I started to look through them I said, "I wonder if they have an Appaloosa horse in here?" Sure enough, we found one! We talked about how Grandma used to ride Appaloosas and how the info on the back of the card listed the height of the horses by hands. Oh, and I forgot to bring home the card she kept insisting that I could have...oops!

When Carsten returned from the open house he was excited, I could tell. He had his cute-little-Carsten-grin on his face and he was eager to show off his coloring pages. He told me he started kindergarten in the morning...uh, no. His mom had to break the news that he didn't start until after the summer...bummer! He took it all in stride, but I think he was a little crushed...

What are some of your favorite conversations with Littles?! Do share!

kid's choirs

Wednesday nights I help with Jr Choir. Jen usually leads the group, but she took the past few months off main director because of their big move, etc. Jonathan Shevy stepped in as director and did a great job.

The kids also got to do handchimes this year (led by Christie Gotzman) and I got to help them with that too.

Here's video from the Cherib choir practicing right after our group for this coming Sunday evening's service. Pics are from a little bouncy-ball game time that Jonathan does with music. Clay decided to show off his juggling skills, with permission, of course - see video#2.

open house

Jen & Eric hosted an open house for their friends to come see their new place. I was in charge of making coffee :) Here are a few pics. Can you tell when Morgen picked up the camera for a little photo fun?!