Celebrating the Blessing of a Wonderful Woman

Last Friday was Mother's birthday. For her birthday, her two sisters came out and surprised her. It was quite an adventure, because Sheryl and I had to get the house cleaned and our bedroom ready without her discovering! As it turned out, my dear trusting mother did not suspect, and even if she had suspected that something was up, she would not have guessed the truth.

My dad picked both of his sister-in-laws up at the airport mid-afternoon and then brought them immediately home. When Sheryl saw Dad pull up in the van, she rushed into Andrew's room, "You have to have a question NOW." Apparently, Andrew had a bonfied math question, and so kept Mom's eyes off the window while her sisters entered from the garage. Then, my dad led them into the room where Mommy was sitting unsuspecting, and he turned her around. Utterly surprised, all she said was "It's my sisters." Mission complete.
Thursday evening was sister time, so the three slipped away to Applebees, while Miss Ronda and we three kids jumped into food action: shopping, baking, prepping. On Friday, the gang headed into the City via bus and then took the subway all the way up to Brooklyn to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The gardens were spectacularly beautiful and the weather was perfect for strolling about plants and flowers. Each of the gardens had a theme which defined which plants were planted there. The first garden was the Japanese garden centered around a pond shaped in the Japanese character for "heart." The path around the garden was quiet and relaxing. The garden to earn the award of Most Creative was the Shakespeare Garden which had plants referenced in Shakespeare's plays or sonnets. Many of the placards had the specific quote along with information about the plant. "The king is but a man. The violet smells the same to him as to me." - Henry V. The garden adjacent to the Shakespeare Garden had a multitude of raised beds with flowers of distinct texture and smell. Designed particularly for the blind, this garden was geared to assault the senses other than sight. Pretty cool idea! In search of more beauty, we set out to find the rose gardens, only to discover that April is a bit too early. Great horticulturalist we are! However, the quest of the roses (sounds like something from English history) led us directly towards what was in bloom. The main attraction of the gardens towards the end of April are the rows of multicolored azaleas. The photo-op was priceless as well!
After about four and a half hours of strolling about and soaking in the natural beauty that God designed for us to enjoy, we took the subway back into Manhattan. A slight miscalculation on the part of our fearless leader we rose to the surface on the wrong side of Manhattan - at Grand Central Station instead of Port Authority. Not realizing the mistake until we had existed the subway, we headed out on foot to cut through the jungle of NYC. Everything has its blessings, and this time blessing took the shape of McDonald's ice-cream and a peek at Times Square - almost exactly 24 hours before the recent terror attempt. Finally, weary but triumphant, we spotted Port Authority and consequently our ride home. Once home, we ordered Chinese food and enjoyed a relaxed evening opening presents and celebrating the wonderful gift of our mother, wife, and sister.

Hitting the Slopes - Carlson Style

Snow on the ground, untrampled, unused is beautiful and picturesque, but when, I ask, have the Carlsons ever chosen picturesque over fun? As soon as snowflakes start descending from the clouds, thoughts start to accumulate in the three little minds in the Carlson home: sledding, snowballs, friend time . . .

By Friday, we had cleared our schedules sufficiently to hit the slopes of the Lee's backyard. Paul and Hannah Sullivan joined us. Andrew is despicably flawless in his stearing abilities. He and Paul built up a treacherous jump at the bottom of one of the runs. Hannah and Sheryl had some difficulty in ever reaching the jump, because, well, let's just say they're women drivers, and also apparently like the taste of tree bark. At one point, they managed to hit the jump and went flying into a gully full of tree branches, leaves, and assundry sharp objects!
After a little while, Jackson Lee, the grandson of the Lee's, came out with Mr. Lee to try sledding. Jackson was a little unconvinced at first that fun could be included in sledding down a hill with snow flying into his face in danger of branches, stumps, and thorns, but Mr. Lee with his typical lawyer logic told Jackson that down at the bottom of the hill was "Oblivion" a special place for him to visit. That changes things! Jackson was quick to jump onto "Jacksonian Express" after that for memory-making runs into Oblivion. Of course, we were all curious as well to see Oblivion, so the rest of us followed Mr. Lee and Jackson into blissful forgetfulness . . .
In keeping with Danielleian tradition, we executed several sled train rides. The most successful one was with Hannah and me (Julie) on the same sled in front steering, with Sheryl, Paul, and Andrew on seperate sleds behind pushing and steering. A very unsuccessful run was with Andrew and Paul lying on the same sled and holding onto Sheryl. It was unsuccessful because Sheryl had to also hold onto them, which left Hannah and me pushing all the weight as well as steering.

Ah, yes - We love snow!!

Snow!!

NNJYO Orchestra

January has come and gone, and with it, several beautiful concerts. Here is a video of Sheryl's orchestra concert. This year she earned principle chair of the second violins (quite an honor). The concert culminated months of hard work. We hope you enjoy this condenscened version of the concert which many of you could not attend.

Daddy Barton

Stuffed up and somewhat miserable, Father dearest has been attacked by a winter cold. Yesterday, he preached a wonderful sermon on Exodus 11 but at the expense of his voice, and the worship last night was interrupted a couple times by his voice cracking.
Over break, he's enjoyed some intensified time with his good friend, Pastor Hofmaier, who has just returned to the Philippines after a few month furlough in the states. We've also enjoyed having him around the house more during the holidays and at events such as the youth days.

Mother Karen

Mommy has utilized the Christmas break to its maximum potential, playing games with her children, serving others with hospitality, and filling in the cracks with projects. One multi-leveled project has really excited her. She is making a four week meal plan with corresponding food-shopping lists for the weeks when busyness precludes creativity. Furthermore, she stocked up her pantry at Shoprite's can-can sale. Of course, as soon as you buy more items, you must fit them into the pantry, and so that too had to be organized and tidied. (see the picture)
On the whole, the break has been the culmination of many weeks of busyness and stress. Julie's first semester being over was disputably more relieving to her mother than even to the student herself. Andrew's seizure activity has decreased over the break allowing her to hope that it will soon be under control, and the relocation of the couple living in our home allowed her to attend to some of the areas of life that had otherwise been neglected.

Julie Louise

I am enjoying my month long break from college immensely, reading books of my own choosing, completing projects of my own designs. The Crown is almost completely finished (and that redundancy is to intensify the length of the wait and the magnify the frustrations of the obstacles). Sheryl's and my closet is reorganized. I have finished Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, Life in Christ by Edward Donnelly, and am almost done with Perelandra by C.S. Lewis. Just getting caught up on life in general is a rewarding feeling and the best way to prepare to get back to the employment of my life - school!! I've also relished the unhurried "people time" with my family and friends, which this break has afforded. The picture is from one such time on the second, when the Morrisons, Becky and Phil came over for some game time while all our parents attended the TBC staff Christmas party. The result of hurried or neglected relationships is the worst effect, in my mind, of the privilege of formal education, and I am always thankful for respites that allow for reaffirming friendships.