Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alice, christmas, Dogs, Family, kenzie, mackenzie, maddie, madeline, matt, matthew, mel, melanie, nils, twix, twizzler
To all my wonderful online friends and readers …
Just to cover those of you that are not on FB (or my FB friend yet)
… here is our Bertelson Annual Photo 2010 edition 🙂
If you are my FB friend, you can see the photo (and comment 🙂 HERE
Everyone can see it here (and larger)
http://bertelsonfamily.com
All 205 photos were taken by Maddie’s (White #6) friend Reid Garnett – he has been her friend since they
were 3 years old in pre-school. Very talented phtotographer … his flickr stream is HERE
After picking the finalist/winner photo I created a stop-motion video all 205 photos in sequence, with some
awesome, very appropriate music underneath …. that you can see (and comment 😉 here
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas/Holiday – full of smiles, laughter, relaxation, suprises (good ones!)
…. and here’s to an awesome rockin’ 2011
Filed under: Alice, Family, Matt | Tags: alice, christmas, matt, matthew, mumto4ms
This will be a mishmash of bullet point, pics and videos I think …
Where were we before … Oh yes, this year the infamous Bertelson Bulletin 2008 Christmas edition, along with annual family photo will NOT be reaching you before Christmas!!
Fear not though, it WILL be reaching you (especially anyone who sends US a newsletter and or family photo – hint hint – I love getting them, but not just a card with no news or photo, I always feel that such a waste of a stamp these days!!) ….
…it will reach you sometime in the New Year – sort of a welcome to 2009 nugget/suprise for you once you’re back in the doldrums because the holiday season is all over and the bills that made it happen are starting to roll in!!!
The reason behind this is because we (all 6 of us) are going on a Christmas Cruise (east carribean) with my MIL Joanie, and SHE’S footing the whole bill – yeah baby!! We leave on Dec 20th and return Dec 28th ….
We will be taking our family photo sometime while on this cruise, the exact location and or background to the photo will remain a secret to further build your anticipation… although as the children get older, they are less receptive to my crazy wacky ideas of how to do the photo!
Sadly, and I know some of you are SO sad at this (snort) Twix and Twizzler will not be featured in the family photo since they cannot come on the cruise with us.
Matt – recent photo – was going surfing (the water is chilly, well for us Floridians it is!)
Was taking a bunch of photos of Matt (to showcase his almost 70 lbs lost in the last 8 months)
What amused me about this photo, so I zoomed in was the girls chores pasted on the door behind him!!! His head is blocking Maddie’s (12) list, don’t worry she doesn’t get out of chores! Mel is 17, Kenzie is 11
What else ? – Done 50% of the shopping, we will be doing our Christmas on Dec 19th before we get on the cruise, so sense lugging all those presents onto the ship (well maybe not ALL those, but the few there will be, trying to not go overboard this year)
Oh here’s a Hairy Happy Greeting from Twix!!
She’s The POSTER child, well I mean dog for ‘A Norwich Terrier that needs stripping” – LOL
Her hair is SO long and shaggy, I stripped (grooming term – google it!!) Twizzler recently (3 hr job!) but neither hubby or I have gotten around to doing Twix completely – you can’t see it but her rear end is done, so she looks even weirder from the side.
She is SO cute – we love her
Filed under: Alice, Family, Matt | Tags: alice, homecoming, matt, mother, son
He’s been gone for 6 months – we did get to see him briefly for a few days in NC early August. He was slimmer then, but NOW – WHOA – he looks SO slim and handsome …. no really, I’m not talking like a biased mum here – well maybe I am, but he looks magnificent and it’s SO great to see him, hug him.
He’s just gotten over being sick, so hopefully he won’t get the awful flu strain that Mel is getting over, Maddie has full blown and I think I’m getting!
After spending an hour or so with us (Nils at firestation) – Matt took off to make the rounds to see all his friends and such.
I look like a WHALE, so I had to crop this photo above !!
I am kind of melancholy today, a sum of several reasons…
My heart hurts for Steve Curtis Chapman and his family as they grieve the loss of their youngest child Maria, who was only 5 years old. (click on the link, it’s a home video of her and SCC washing dishes, being a normal daughter and Dad – it’s so sweet)
I think it’s especially ‘raw’ for me today because my oldest, my first born, my golden little sunshine boy, who is now a man at 19 is leaving home today to start his life out in the world on his own.
He is flying out tonight, first to NY to work this weekend with his boss, then they are both going on up to Massechusetts to set him up there in an apartment ready to work and oversee the operations there for the next 6 months to work at the Six Flags up there. Fire School will be Jan 2009
… and as excited for him and as proud of him as I am, there is still an incredibly heavy sadness kind of mourning in my heart.
He is the same age my husband (his father) was when I met him – time flies!
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this song, inspired by his 2 youngest adopted daughters .. it is called Cinderella – listen to the words (I will post them lower down) – listen well, things can change in an instant 😦
I love you my golden haired boy, live well, live full, live happy. I shall miss having you around in our daily life here at “Chaos chez the Bertelsons”
Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman
She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I’m sittin’ here wearin’
the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do,
She’s pulling at me saying “Dad I need you!
There’s a ball at the castle and
I’ve been invited and I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I’d approve of a dress
She says “Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
She will be gone.
Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin’ and tellin’ us all they had planned
She says “Dad, the wedding’s due six months away
And I need to practice my dancin'”
“Oh please, daddy please!”
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
Filed under: Alice, Family, Kenzie, Maddie, Matt | Tags: alice, kenzie, maddie, matt, mel, mother, song
…. to ME
…… and to all the (as my pastor once said) “Mothers, Grandmothers, whatever kind of Mother you are” out there on Flickr 🙂
This is what was brought to me this morning by my 4 children … cooked by my oldest (19) son Matt 🙂 – I didn’t finish it all!
Melanie aka “FelonyMelanie” on Flickr (almost 17) gave me the book “Extra’s” by Scott Westerfeld.
I have already read “Uglies” & ““Pretties” and Specials” (she is currently reading Specials)
The inscription inside the book…
“Mom, I’m so grateful to have a mother I can talk to about anything and everything that’s going on in my life. LOL 🙂
I really don’t thank you enough for all the things you do for me.
Happy Mother’s Day & Happy reading 🙂
I love you, Melanie.
P.S. finish quick so I can read it :P”
Maddie (12) gave me a B&W framed photo of her and her big sister (it’s actually in Melanie’s flickr stream HERE) and a hand-made card card that said …
“Dear Mom, Kenzie (10) gave me a lovely hand made card that said the following ….
You are a great mother who deserves appreciation. You have about 3 special days and today is one of them. You are to be catered to, pampered, fed and honored. For all the hard work and money you give to us, U deserve today. We all love you Happy Mothers day,
Love your 3rd daughter, Maddie”
Kenzie (10) gave me a lovely hand made card that said the following ….
“Dear Mommy,
I know I get you mad a lot, but you know I love you and I’m sorry. Thanks 4 being my mother, I am really thankful,
I love you, Kenzie”
Church was GREAT today – we had a parent/child dedication on stage – always a tear jerker, but while they were up on stage, Genie sang the Sara Groves song “You cannot Lose my Love” … I just cried the whole way through it, It just rung so true to me … here are the words. – you can listen to the song HERE
You will lose your baby teeth.
At times, you’ll lose your faith in me.
You will lose a lot of things,
But you cannot lose my love.
You may lose your appetite,
Your guiding sense of wrong and right.
You may lose your will to fight,
But you cannot lose my love.
You will lose your confidence.
In times of trial, your common sense.
You may lose your innocence,
But you cannot lose my love.
Many things can be misplaced;
Your very memories be erased.
No matter what the time or space,
You cannot lose my love.
You cannot lose,
You cannot lose,
You cannot lose my love.
I went by the kids school today to pay the tuition for next year and when I saw this it made me a bit sad.
This was Matt’s parking spot at the school last year… They get to decorate and paint their concrete spot marker!
Next week all of the concrete markers will be painted over with grey in preparation for the new year of Seniors.
Yes he’s no longer a child, he’s graduated, he’s 18, he’s an adult, he’s working full-time
A new phase has begun
I still have the 3 girls at the school !!
Filed under: Alice, Family, Matt, Nils | Tags: alice, flowers, matt, roses
Hubby flew in from Colorado last night at midnight – he did not make it home ON Valentine’s Day though, so it’s even sweeter that Matt got me the flowers!
Hubby said he sent me a card LAST Friday but it still hasn’t arrived yet!
Little drama last night picking them up from the airport!! Matt (the aforementioned just turned 18 yr old) was the one that took the van to go get hubby and his 2 friends (and all their snowboarding gear) – So the last time I talked to him on his cell phone was about 11:30pm, he was at the airport, had talked to hubby who told him to go wait in the parking lot of the dog track (right by the airport) and he’d call him on his cell when they were ready to be picked up outside arrivals.
OK, so can you guess what happened?? Nils calls me on my cell phone in a panic at 11:50pm all freaked out saying he’d called Matt’s cell phone 6 times, no answer and now it was going straight to voicemail. So I had to get the 2 youngest girls up (15yr old was not here, or I would have left the 3 of them) which was a palava in itself as they were groggy and out of it, so we drove to the airport (about 30 mins) – was almost there when hubby called again to say all was ok.
He’d sent a police officer over to the Dog Track to check and there Matt was fast asleep in the van (his cell phone battery had died) – needless to say I wasn’t too happy!!
And if he hadn’t given me these roses earlier, well who knows!!! I hear mother’s eat their young sometimes!
WOW – it doesn’t seem like 18 years ago that these pictures were taken!
On the left, it’s still Feb 2nd 1989, Matt is less than 1 day old, we are still in the hospital.
CHECK out my HUGE glasses!! (had Lasic surgery in 2000!)
ON the right is Valentine’s Day 12 days after Matt was born – Can you BELIEVE that I was that skinny and so soon after giving birth (wasn’t that way after #2, #3 and #4 !!)
This is a photo of Matt and me now
Remember back in October and Matt’s car accident that resulted in this???
It took almost a month, but we finally got the $2800 from the other lady’s insurance company as payout for the totalled car… So we were on the look-out for a second hand replacement car for him – hard to find!
Today we gave Matthew a Brand NEW 2006 Scion XB today
It is for his Christmas,
18th birthday (Feb 2007)
High School Graduation (May 2007)
Pretty-much-all-presents-for-the-next-5-years!
From us and my hubby’s parents.
He was speechless and shaking, he had NO idea!
Here is a video clip of his verbal reaction!
More photos of him and his siblings seeing the Scion XB for the first time are here!
Nils came home with a trampoline for the kids yesterday.
It’s our 3rd in 10 years!
1st one wore out from use,
2nd one got attacked by Hurricane Wilma,
3rd times a charm.
This one (15 ft)
is even bigger than
the last one (14 ft)
My kids LOVE them, it is great exercise.
~ Bertelson Bulletin ~ 