Friends of Trees and Volunteering

In commemoration of the Martin Luther King Jr holiday and Kevin's lifelong pledge to community service through AmeriCorps, our family spent Saturday morning volunteering to plant trees in the neighborhood where Kevin serves through PDC.

It's been ten years since I first planted with Kevin on a misty Portland morning, and it's always fun to go back through our old neighborhood and point out the trees that we planted together. Now we get to share the excitement with Kieran and Makenna. While Makenna was only along for the ride, Kieran truly got into the act this year. He was digging, filling, helping deliver twine, pouring water, sweeping...you name it; he was helping. Fun stuff.

 

 

 

Kevin turns the big 4-0!!!

Yes, the "baby" of the original Cronin Family is turning 40. Kevin was very surprised yesterday when the kids and I colluded with his co-workers to surprise him at work. We planned for his colleague to show him a PowerPoint to review that they will be presenting at a community meeting next week. He took the bait, only to have Kieran barge into the conference room with a chocolate cupcake. Then we went on to show a little PowerPoint of his own, litterally all the photos he has from his childhood. If you're a real Kevin Cronin die hard (and not the REO Speedwagon kind), you can view them all here on Picasa.

Kevin's surprises aren't over yet, as I've even more up my sleeve to celebrate this momentous occasion

Happy Birthday Kevin!!!

Christmas with the whole Cronin Clan

We had a really special Christmas this year, back East with the whole "Cronin Clan." It was especially meaningful because Kevin's parents are selling their quaint country farm house and the beautiful acreage surrounding it. While the "kids" didn't grow up their, it has become home for the whole family. Kevin's brother was married out on the vast rolling field of a lawn, and Kevin proposed to me in the living room packed with family on Christmas Day 2001. The place will always have a special place in hearts.

Our visits are always a bit bittersweet in their brevity, as we don't get to gather with the extended clan but every year or so, and we know that all the cousins will grow and life will be different the next time we all are together again. So, we do our best to savor the moments, and capture the memories. Here are some my favorite photos:





























PS Yes, Miel and James joined the whole clan for the holiday!

The Danish "julefrokost"

I know it's the new year (Happy 2010!!!), but I've got some catching up to do to post on all of our holiday adventures...

Each year I try my best to share the significance of holiday parties in Denmark, but I always feel like I can't quite articulate the true meaning (unless I were to ramble on and on, as I'm sometimes known to do!) I found this article shortly after our annual Danish holiday party, and there was a lot of truth to it "Only the Strong Survive Julefrost." I think both my Danish and American friends and family would get a kick out of this article, please comment if you want to add something to the topic.













PS Yes, Kevin did dress Makenna in her "Life's better with Boobs" shirt, instead of the "Santa's Helper" one I was planning on...

PPS And yes, I did enjoy my share of Akvavit, brought by my host brother Niels from Sweden this past fall, Tusind Tak!

PPS Next year I want to get the kids decked out in little nissehue, does anyone have a sewing pattern for some?

Tis' the Season!

We've really been getting into the holiday spirit lately. Here are some fun pics and a hilarious little video clip!


Portland's traditional Christmas Ships! Our first time, and we went to a potluck on a floating house right on the Columbia River!

 

 

 

Family Advent service at Grace. The moral of the children's sermon: give to those in need. We've been giving to those in need this season in many ways.

It's hard to imagine that Makenna wasn't here last year, thankfully my mom made an extra stocking for her, now we just need to stitch her name!

 

Kieran thinks that Santa only comes to the Portland Water Bureau's annual holiday pancake breakfast...he's never seen one in a mall! This year he had our director placing bets on whether he would come back for another sausage...he ate 5 big sausages, two pancakes, and eggs!

Kevin: "Oh my God that's hilarious!"

Civil War - Go Ducks!

If you live in Oregon, you would have to live under a rock to have not noticed the Civil War frenzy. One of the longest college football rivalries, the annual match up between Oregon State University and University of Oregon is not to be missed. The game lived up to the hype, and the Ducks were victorious.

Previous season game, Kevin couldn't help but get her the cheer uniform.


Makenna hasn't learned how to sign touchdown like Kieran used to at her age, but she sure has the cheer squeel down! Now she's got until the Rose Bowl to learn her touchdown.

Giving Thanks!

Two-thousand and nine has been an exceptional year for our family. I know that this is not the case for many others who have lost their livelihoods and homes, or for those who live in unimaginable poverty around the globe. This is why it is so important to give our thanks. This week Kieran has been very ill with the flu, and today is his first day out of the house in six days! So, I'm going to take this moment of rare silence to reflect on all that we are thankful for:

- Healthy family, and health care when we need it
- Friends and family who love us and keep our life interesting and fun
- Abundance of good food...almost too much a good thing yesterday
- Meaningful careers where we can make a difference in our community
- Excellent place for our children to be cared for and learn, plus we can visit
- Kiki, who teaches us about our humanity and is always ready for lovin'
- A loving marriage and friendship, this week marks 10 years since our first date!
- Warm home with things that comfort us
- Vibrant garden to grow food and flowers, connect us to nature, and play
- Beautiful place to live and grow, mountains and beaches, rivers and trees
- Connection to the web of life...via the living spirit or the Internet ;-)

Here are a few photos from our Thanksgiving 2009! We hope you are enjoying this relaxing holiday weekend.