Life on Painted Ridge - Planner Required

I've gotten away from regularly writing, and with the start of 2019 I decided now is the time to revisit writing! It's a great way to look at events happening in our lives and remind ourselves of the blessings we have no matter how busy or complicated life gets! Part of 2019 includes returning to school work for me. As I look at my future goals for my career, I decided the time is now to look at getting my degree in Organizational Leadership.  I applied for admission to Metropolitan State University ( www.metrostate.edu ) and started courses in January! 1 week in and I'm already wondering why I thought this was a great idea. This first semester back at it will most likely be the most difficult as I'm taking on 3 courses - if I survive this, I'll be able to make this happen! What this means is fitting in course work during lunch breaks and after the girls head to bed, and of course hours on the weekends. If I look a little tired, this may explain the bags under m...

Saying goodbye is never easy, in fact it's one of the most difficult things to do.  Our strength is being tested today as we make the decision for Botti that means we have to put his needs before ours. I will never forget the day we drove to get Botti.  It was a complete surprise to Emma, a Minnesota spring day, March 2006.  She was grumpy about having to go to the Twin Cities with us, thinking it was about getting stuff for the store.  But then we pulled up to Petco in Eden Prairie, again she thought we were just picking up things for the cats and Rosie.  Then we got inside and met up with the animal shelter there for pet adoption day and asked to see the collie puppies we had inquired about.  That's when we met Botti and a few of his litter mates.  His eyes captured our hearts.  Emma's smile was priceless when we asked if we should bring him home. Botti hasn't had an easy road health-wise, but he made it clear that he would always watch over...

Crazy Cousins This will be of no surprise to anyone who knows me, that I have a daughter who LOVES animals and learning everything about them.  While all of our girls love animals, Aryn's passion easily exceeds the others.  So when Aryn turned 4, there was no question about the theme for her party and cake.  There is this fabulous show on PBS called "The Wild Kratts". Aryn would watch this show all day if you let her and she would be able to tell you fascinating facts about each animal too.  So, on Sunday, April 13th we enjoyed a gathering with family and close family friends to celebrate Aryn turning 4.  Complete with a Wild Kratts cake made and decorated by Susie Johnson at Almich's Market here in Granite Falls. It is still amazing that my little baby, sweet little Doodle Bug, is now 4 years old and talks non-stop.  She has the best facial expressions and knows exactly what she wants.  We're still working on the having patience part. ...

After another hiatus from the blog, it's time to return!  And just in time to reflect on celebrating Joelle's 6th Birthday!  What a fun one it was too!  The hardest part - determining the party guests.  I wish I had the ability to have 10-12 girls in my house at the same time ages 5-7... this is an important piece to recognize about oneself.  Months went in to the guest list and while we had a fun group of girls, there were a few I later realized we should have invited.  Luckily there are more parties to be had in the years to come. Back to the party at hand, while avoiding that our sweet Joelle is now 6 years old, we focused on an M & M themed party!  Primary colors and fun and cake!  We set up a painting station for the girls to paint a rainbow trinket box and a cupcake money bank.  Each girl had their own painting apron and paint brush.  All of these items came from Oriental Trading, along with fun pearlized acrylic paint! ...

Somehow we sailed through the summer months without one update.  And by the looks of it outside, I totally missed the fall season too! As the snowflakes fall and we enter one of my favorite times of year, I start the annual year in review process and think about all the changes in the Carter household.  So much growth and change it's hard to keep up! During the summer months, Joelle became an avid swimmer!  It was so fun to watch her confidence grow as she tried new ways of jumping in and perfecting her doggy-paddle.  We also had the fun of regularly watching for our little tree frog friend who took up residence poolside! This summer we enjoyed a wonderful family week at Bug Bee Hive Resort in Paynesville!  Our first full fledged family vacation!  We had a wonderful cabin just down the road from the larger "Lundell" contingent to make for a super week.  To add to the excitement my Aunt Sue Hedlund and uncle Brian joined us and stayed in the cabin...

What an amazing and exhausting week. Such a milestone in a young person's life and so much to be thankful for as we look back and reflect. And I have to say, we appear to have done something right as parents! The Commencement service Friday night was just perfect.  Beautiful music by the choir and band - - Emma's last official performance... A perfect student message by Allison Carmany and nice messages from the superintendent and high school principal.  Other than a warm gym, it was great! YME Class of 2014 with Grandma and Grandpa Lundell With Great-Uncle Phil, Great-Aunt Mary and Great-Aunt Barb Friends!!! Sophie, Nicki and Taylor Forever friend Keysha... We enjoyed a short celebration after the service with some ice cream cake!  Then came a day of final touches and setup at the college for Emma's party on Sunday! We were only able to make it to one of the open house parties to which we were invited, I wish we had been able to fit in m...