I just wanted to share this; maybe you've seen it.

Welcome To Holland

by
Emily Perl Kingsley

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

daBOYZ!~

HOWDY! Wow, this this has gone hog wild...or wait, should that be HoltherWild? Anyways, I am glad that everyone is getting so much enjoyment out of it. I guess it would be good for me to check it more than once a month huh?

This past January 4, we started a new tradition called Kacee's Gift. Family and friends of Kacee donated money to provide Kacee's gift to a non-profit organization and we amazingly raised $390 that was given to the Packard Community Clinic in Ann Arbor. The PCC believes in helping everyone no matter if they have the means to pay for quality health care. This is also where Kacee's family doctor worked and continues to work. More information about Kacee's gift can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/mi/daKipper/kaceesgift.html

There is not a lot going on in Bay City except for the snow falling and then melting to create a big ol' winter time mud puddle. My job is going well, and I have learned that everyone should get a wetland determination done on their property before building - too many people find out the hard way... I am thinking about buying a home over here, but that is one of those commitment things and we all know how I am with those... Ugh!

Alrighty, I will be back in about a month or two...

Yet another January Birthday!

Actually there are 2 more January birthdays: My Samantha's is the 22nd and Anne's Tami is the 23rd. We will just be having a very small family get together on Sunday for Sami. She is so excited about being one year older! Boy do I wish that I had that kind of excitement over birthdays! I am just too old to anticipate them anymore... Bob and I are celebrating our 8th anniversary this week as well. We are doing dinner and a movie tonight to celebrate. Love to all-- Cyndi

Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep burning, unquenchable.
Henry Ward Beecher

Today on the Cyndi and Wendy Blog...

All righty then. I am NOT coming back here for ONE week. That will be next Thursday. I think by then someone or three can manage to pen a little ditty. Any volunteers? Sit down, Cyndi. You don't count. You are one of the regular contributors. One whole week! That is a lot of time! (Kip, you started this and you are being a.w.f.u.l.l.y. quiet out there.)

Well, I am going to go now. I've said enough.

It's the....Wendy and Cyndi blog!

But seriously, the mysterious W and I seem to be the only ones with any free time to do an update or 3 these days!
If anyone wanted to know how old our bunch is looking, here is your opportunity!

Hey Wendy-- If I was coming over, I think that I would bring you a New York style milk chocolate cheesecake with strawberries and heavy whipped cream. Would anyone be bringing Grandma's refrigerator rolls? I would but I can't make 'em raise and mine are always like little somewhat softish stones.
Michael just walked up to me and told me that I have to find him something to do! I don't think that I can recall ever doing that to my mom, but I am sure that it happened. So I told him to use his imagination and find something to do and he informed that "that is boring!" If only he had cousins around and not just his sister to play with. We always had the BEST games that we came up with! If it wasn't so wet, drizzly and icky outside, I would send his behind out the door. It is so warm. (It should be a small relief on the heating bills for a month!)

So what was YOUR favorite game that we came up with as kids to play together? I think that "jewelry thief" was pretty cool ( when Grandma would let us destroy her catalogs by cutting out all of the jewelry and we would hide it all around her house), but it ranks right up there with cowboys and Indians when Brad, Kevin, Karen, and I would tie up the little cowboys to the light in front of Grandma and Grandpa's house then go play our own games!
I have had no book or author of the week because I just have not read anything worth mentioning. I did start reading Sue Grafton's alphabet series but it is ho hum... Hoping to get Phillipa Gregory's new one from the library this week, but as usual in this small town, they don't have it and they have to request it from libraries as far away as Indianapolis.

Well, I am off because I have to get ready to go and bar wench tonight- fun. fun. fun....cyn

Love not what you are, but what you may become. -- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

And if relatives were indeed coming to my house...

this would be my menu wish list. And, of course, I know it is wishful thinking but hey, we all have to have dreams!

Aunt Jeanie - Marinated black beans
Abbigail - Artichoke dip
Kevin & Regina - Tamales
Aunt Kathy or Aunt Jean - Shrimp Salad
Amanda - Funky salad with all the yummy ingredients with raspberry dressing (good description huh?)
Caroline - Raisin scones - Oh, I have developed such a fondness and CRAVING for these

I don't know what the rest of you specialize in but I'm open to surprises too. (Ann? Kip? Jannah? Shelly?) Think I'll go have a snack......


Geesh, do Cyndi and I have to CARRY this blog thing or what? The holidays are OVER. Someone can certainly find some time to entertain us with some writing, right? So get busy and jot already....


My son, Zane, has one of those binder clip things, like the ring things that open and you can put papers on it and flip them - ok, so I'm lacking in descriptive qualities tonight - anyway, he has it stuck in his nose like a bull ring. He is going around pawing the ground and snorting. Perhaps a good mother would stop him. I'm laughing my head off...so, I guess I won't be putting my mother of the year award on the mantle tonight. In fact, a good mother would be thinking of putting her children to bed by now. Heck, even an all right mother would be thinking about this. So, because I'm being all the mediocre mother I can be, I am now leaving to work on this task.

Be thinking about this menu thing, ok?

Godt Nyttår!!!

A very Happy Norwegian New Year is wished to all! It sounds as though the infamous "W" had a far more interesting New Year's Eve than we did!
Mine started out on Friday bar wenching. I started waiting on several drunk, or soon-to-be-drunk, people at 6 p.m. and finished my 'night' at 3 a.m. after cleaning up after said drunk people. And I while I was on the phone with one of my good friends, I realized that those people were probably out drinking last night and today while watching pro football and would probably continue right on through the bowl games tomorrow! Ewwww! I got to bed at around 4 a.m. and the kids allowed me to sleep in until right around 8:45 a.m. then Bob, the kids and I spent our day shopping. The kids had gift cards and cash from Christmas that were burning holes in their pockets! We got sodas and snacks and spent the rest of the day and evening all together in front of the fireplace watching football and then Dick Clark's Rocking New Years Eve. Wasn't it nice to see him back?
Michael and Sami wanted to stay up to watch the ball drop, but Sami could only hold out until about 11 o'clock before she fell asleep on the couch. Michael watched the whole darn thing though and still didn't want to go to bed! I was wiped out though. I am getting too old for these late nights (unless I am reading a good book, of course!).
Like W, I am happy not to have those nasty hang overs to recover from. They are just not worth it, in addition to the potentially humiliating things that may occur before the hang over! It was a lot of fun just stepping back on Friday night, watching all of the people make idiots of themselves! And most of them were not youngsters! I would have to say that they were in the 30 to 65 age range! Go figure! ;-}~
Michael just stepped over to have me tell everyone, "GO IRISH!" and "GO COLTS!" He is such a turd. He realizes that most of his Holther relations would rather scream GO BLUE, but he is definitely his father's son! And I am going to go out on a limb here too because I really like the coach and have been rooting for Irish football all season. If Charlie ever leaves them though, my appreciation will go with him. BUT it only extends to football! Has anyone seen a petition to fire Lloyd Carr yet? I just can't cheer my boys until he is GONE!!!
Happy New Year to all. Enjoy your life, your faith, your family and your friends! Cyndi

Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other - it doesn't matter who it is - and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.
Mother Teresa

Happy New Year

Hello all -

Happy New Year and Happy January Birthdays to all who qualify!

What did everyone do for New Year's? We were pretty laid back this year, as is the case these past years with children. No more waking up with a hangover on someone else's couch! What? That shocks some of you? *snicker* Much easier recovery these years, that's for sure.

We stayed home with the boy children. Around 6:30 p.m. Ron's sister and family came over. They brought stuff for pizza and we had stuff for pizza and we made pizza. My boys love my nephew, and we didn't see them much all evening. It is so strange that even Zane is big enough to play for long periods of time without constant monitoring and care. Although, I take a leap of faith that Ryan and Spencer will be keeping a bit of an eye on him, too! We had a variety of snack-y stuff out and every so often a blur of motion would materialize, and the snack trays would be significantly reduced when the air cleared. I also got them pop. That was a big hit as none of them get pop very often. I am lucky to be one of the chosen few my dear niece girl loves, and I spent a lot of the night googling at her and snuggling her.

Mom and dad popped in for a few minutes, and mom brought up chocolate baked goods. Go mom! Mom told us a story about her car and men and how they think they know everything. What's that? You girls all are nodding your heads. Ah, yes. We've all been there! She told dad a few weeks ago that it smelled in the car. Could a mouse have died up in the motor? "Hahaha...No, of course not....hahaha!" Then, the last week or so each time the car was started the window would roll down. Yesterday, the check engine light came on. Dad opened the hood of the car and what do you suppose he found? Do I need to even finish? Well, ok. All together now - A Mouse Nest! And, the mice had chewed through some wires as well as stinking up the place with their deadness.

It was our intention to play cards, but that never happened. We all just visited and before we knew it, Grace was fussy and ornery and it was 11 o'clock.

After they left, Ron wanted to go to bed but the boys and I were determined to wait those last twenty minutes to see the ball drop. Ron is such a party pooper! He tried to go to sleep, but the boys got in bed with me and we watched the gala and noise-making at Times Square. We TRIED to be still and quiet....somehow Ron was still up and stirred himself enough to count down from 5 with us. Then, much hugging and kissing and shouting of "Happy New Year" commenced and I was happy to see the excitement and joy abound! And, because it is my nature, I immediately began thinking about how this thrill over such little pleasures would soon enough be a memory too.

But for now, happiness reigns in our little world and I resolve this year to try to hold it a little tighter and cherish it a little better...and sneak in as many more hugs and kisses as I can.

So what did you do?

*edited to add* Ancient Chinese Proverb: Better to end up on someone else's couch in yesterday's clothes than to end up on own couch in someone else's clothes.