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The Light That Shines - Magazine

Not only have Sue Bryce and Hailey Bartholomew made a beautiful, moving documentary, but Sue's beautiful photography and Jill's emotional, inspiring story are also a beautiful magazine. Check it out, and make sure to also watch the video below this entry.

"The Light That Shines" A Pure Inspiration! Please watch!

The Light That Shines from hailey bartholomew on Vimeo.

Apples, Pumpkins, and a Character Check!

It seems Sunday was a test of my integrity. 

We've all seen them -- the stories on the news where somebody finds a large chunk of money on the street, in a store, in a cab, etc., and turns it in to authorities instead of keeping it for themselves. While I believe that people are  mostly good, I also believe that for every one of those feel good stories there is the other side, where somebody finds money and just keeps it.

So which one are you?

I've always believed that I would be one of those people who didn't even think twice about it and automatically turned it in. Today, at the Weston Red Barn Farm, I had a chance to test that theory. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly proud of my reaction.

With just a few weeks before Halloween and a trip to Nebraska planned for next weekend, I wanted to take the kids to Weston's Red Barn Farm while we had the chance. The Patriots played at 3:00, so Kevin opted to stay home since we were getting out of the house pretty late in the afternoon.

When we arrived, we paid for our tractor trip to the pumpkin patch and two pony rides, and headed for our adventure. Our first stop was the pony rides where both kids waited with excitement. About every couple of minutes, Brendan would remind me that he wanted to ride the ponies and I had to tell Emily to settle down and stop messing with the rope just as frequently.

After our pony rides, we headed towards the animals and a walk through one of the apple orchards. Of course, I had to make the kids pose for photos, so after the apple orchard we headed towards a bench in front of a large, gnarly looking tree. On the way there, I spotted a $20 on the ground and without thinking, scooped it up.  I held it in my hand as I positioned the kids and snapped their pictures, and then we moved onto the pumpkins all lined up on the ground. I hadn't checked the money to see exactly how much was there, but I slipped it into my pocket and figured that based on the thickness there were at least two bills. Once we walked around a little more and snapped a few more pictures, we headed to the country store to inquire about their apple picking. While Brendan played with miniature tractors and Emily with books, I decided to pull the money out of my pocket to total up the bills.

To my surprise, there was more than just two bills in there and I was a little taken a back. (It wasn't a LARGE amount, but it was larger than I expected. I have decided not to say exactly how much though.) Suddenly I found myself in that position -- found money, what do you do?  Honestly, had it been only $20, I hate to say it, but I probably would have kept it. There have been several times I've lost a $20 bill, or a $10 bill, so maybe it's just the universe paying me back. Plus I figured, just $20 -- nobody is going to come back or go searching the farm for $20. But it was more than $20 and if I were them I would have at least made the effort to see if anyone had turned it in.

Even though I was pretty sure I knew what I was going to do, I am actually ashamed to admit that I did have second thoughts temporary. So much so, that I actually sent text messages to my mom and a friend to see what they suggested.  It was unanimous between the two of them that I should turn it in, so after we finished picking apples from the orchard behind the barn I was going to find someone to turn it in to.

We headed back into the store to pay for our apples, and yes, I turned in the money. I handed it to a lady who was either an owner or a manager, and when I explained that I had found the money, one of the girls cashiers mentioned that another lady had actually just been in a short time before asking if anyone had turned in any cash. Suddenly, the pride I felt in doing the right thing and turning in the money was diminished a little by the knowledge that I may not have done it quick enough. I was a bit shocked that the lady didn't give them her name and number in case it was found, but I had done my part and I felt good about it.

By that time I had gotten tired of hearing Brendan beg to go on the tractor, so we headed down the hill to wait our turn. When it pulled up, I almost had to stop Brendan from cutting the line to get on. Once we got on and began our trip to the pumpkin patch, he was a happy boy.

 There were hundreds of pumpkins in the patch, but the kids didn't seem too interested in picking them.

Since I wasn't too excited about trying to tote them around by myself, I didn't push it, and we ended up boarding the tractor without a pumpkin. The trip on the tractor was more about the tractor itself, which was evident by the cries of my poor baby boy when he learned we weren't going to be able to ride again. In fact, he ended up crying for most of the remaining time at the farm, even as they both picked a small pie pumpkin to take home. As we were standing at the checkout, I saw the woman I had given the money to earlier and asked if she had found the owner yet. She said she had not and that she had been told that it was the money they had taken out of the ATM to buy pumpkins and stuff for the family. One of the other girls at the register heard our conversation and mentioned that a lady had come by earlier looking for the money, but once again, didn't leave any forwarding information. The woman I gave the money to said that if no one claimed it, they would donate it to a church or another organization, but it would be put to good use. Honestly, the Weston Red Barn Farm is such a neat place that I would be perfectly happy with just contributing it to them.

Our final stop was to purchase a huge bag of kettle corn, specially requested by a finally calm little boy who only wanted popcorn for dinner.

So, what would you do if you found a wad of money in a busy location?  I am kind of ashamed to admit that I even thought about it keeping it, but very happy that I made the decision I did. While we definitely could have used it, I wouldn't be a very good example for my children if I had chosen to keep the money. They didn't know anything about it, so it would have been easy to just take and run, but it was now a learning situation and I did mention it to them in the car ride home.

I always thought I wouldn't even hesitate to turn in found money, but I guess I was wrong. I did hesitate.

What would you have done???

The Unofficial End of Summer - Heit's Point

I don’t know that I have ever looked forward to the end of summer like I am this year! I normally love summer – backyard barbecues, playing in the backyard pool and sprinklers, swimming with friends at The Springs, sunset walks, and hours at the park – but this year it has just been too hot to enjoy any of that. Most of our time has been spent indoors, with the kids going stir crazy and me needing an extra glass of wine after bedtime to recover from it all. We have spent some good times with great friends, but still…I’m ready for fall, cooler temps, sweatshirts, and football!

Emily started school on Wednesday, so I guess summer is unofficially over. This year we ended our summer the same way we did last year and the same way I hope we do for years to come – with a trip to Heit’s Point on the Lake of the Ozarks for a wonderful weekend with great friends.  Kevin isn’t big on the outdoors, so we let him take a pass and stay home this time. However, the kids and I do enjoy spending time outside, so we packed up the car Friday afternoon and headed to Lincoln, Missouri to meet up with our friends.

The weather Friday was PERFECT for a road trip! When we finally arrived at Heit’s Point, we picked up our key and headed to Cabin No. 2, our home for the next 24 hours. We stayed in the same cabin last year, and while it’s tiny, it was perfect for our family of four with a beautiful view of the lake off the wrap around deck.

When we got inside, we surveyed the room before heading back out to grab our stuff. As we looked out the sliding glass doors, through the curtains we saw the silhouette of a wasp, which I assumed was outside but we went out to get the wasp spray and fly swatter that I brought, just in case. When we came back in I discovered the wasp was indeed INSIDE the cabin, so we quickly made our exit.

After a quick phone call and a visit from friends to check out the cabin (the wasp was nowhere to be seen, but I know he was there), we decided to move our party into the Spitz Center. While I was kind of sad that we were going to miss the seclusion of our two room cabin, I knew there was no way I was going to be comfortable sleeping in the cabin – fearing that there may be more. The room we ended up in, with its two pull out couches and AMPLE space for the kids to run, was the perfect accommodation and delivered a very peaceful sleep.

Friday night, after eating dinner, we headed to the Lodge to join our friends for homemade ice cream, chocolate cake, and devotions. It was a great evening and a perfect beginning to our Heit’s Point fun!

Saturday morning, after breakfast, we joined some of our friends for a hike and along our walk, stopped at the mini-farm on the property. 

 

After walking a little while longer, the kids decided they had had enough, so we headed back towards our rooms for lunch. On our way back, we stopped by the lake where the rest of our group was paddleboating and decided to stop by to say hi. Of course, when we got there the kids all decided they wanted ride too, so we stuck around for awhile while they hopped from one boat to the other.

After paddle boating we returned to our room for our corn dogs and Goldfish crackers. After lunch, we returned to the lake for swimming. Emily was all over the place, playing with her friends, while Brendan wouldn’t leave my side and was constantly latched to me. Even with his life jacket on, and even in water he could stand in, he still wouldn’t let me go. After an hour or so in the water, I was finally able to get Brendan to let go by giving him a noodle wrapped under his arm. Pretty soon not only was he floating by himself, but he was “chasing” me through the water, in water too deep for him to stand, and was having a blast! He was as proud of himself as I was of him. It was a big step for my little boy!

And apparently it’s not a King of Kings trip to Heit’s Point unless one child ends up in the emergency room. Last year it was a cracked chin after a slide on the stairs leading to the top of the water slide, and this year it was another child, smacking her knee on the rocks after going down the slide. After a trip to the hospital, she came back with a sprained knee, bruised hip and crutches.

After swimming, we returned to our room for a little bit of relaxation before dinner, and then it was out to meet the gang for archery and BB guns. Brendan had fallen asleep in the room, so he wasn’t very happy with me when I drug him outside. He spent the first part of the activity sitting his chair looking a bit annoyed.

Meanwhile, Pastor Frank assisted Emily on shooting her first BB Gun! She was having a good time and was doing a pretty decent job.

Then it was time for archery. Emily wasn’t quite as into the archery as she was the BB gun, and while I tried to help her, she just wasn’t feeling it. Brendan did have an interest, so the two of us shot several arrows, sometimes missing the target. Okay, mostly missing the target, but we were having a good time.

As the sun began to set, the kids were getting tired and hungry, so we said our goodbyes and headed to our respective homes for the evening.

We decided to just stay one night, but we wanted to stay late enough to participate in all activities. Since home was about 2 ½ hour away, instead of heading all the way there we spent the night at Kevin’s sister’s house in Sedalia, which is only about 40 minutes from Heit’s Point. I think the packing and loading of all of our junk took about as long as a trip all the way home would have, but after showers and loading, we piled into the car and headed home.

Before actually hitting the highway, we stopped by the Lodge to pick up my ketchup and to get some advice on a funky smell coming from my car. After a thorough examination by a couple friends,and a determination that nothing was wrong, we headed out on the dark highway towards our resting place for the night.

We made it to Sedalia safely and all fell asleep not long after our heads hit the pillows. By the time we woke up around 8:00 packed the car up again, and headed for Kansas City. On our way home, we drove through some welcomed rain showers and cooler temps that allowed for me to leave the AC off for the entire ride home.

After unloading and unpacking, I finally sat down to go through the pictures I took and reflect on the brief, busy weekend. While we missed Kevin, the kids and I had a great time, Emily made a new friend in Lillie – whom she knew but had spent such little time with her that she didn’t REALLY know her, Brendan swam by himself, the kids got new experiences (archery/BB guns), we spent quality time with our wonderful friends, and we unofficially ended the summer of 2012 with what is becoming a family tradition.

Can’t wait of Heit’s Point summer of 2013!

15th Wedding Anniversary and Local Discoveries!

I've been in a happy place a lot lately, and I like it!  It's a much better place than the alternative. Maybe it's because summer is here now and I'm filled with giddy anticipation of all the fun I plan to have. The trips to the pool, grilling with family and friends, camping, and all the fabulousness that summer has to offer. Not to mention the longer days and the abundance of sunshine.

My "Happiness Project," which I began full steam a couple of months ago, kind of fell off track a little and I'm really not sure why. I found myself feeling blah more days than I would have liked, but I guess that's just how it goes. You can't be happy all the time. But recently I've had more happy than blah days.

It really started a couple of weekends ago, when I went back to Nebraska and did the Warrior Dash with one of my best friends from high school. We've talked a lot online, but it had been almost a year since we've actually seen each other, so it was way overdue. After running the Warrior Dash, I spent the evening with her family up at their lake house. Even though we never got into the water, it was definitely what I needed. We sat on the dock and talked, I almost threw my phone into the water (I did lose what I had left of my case), we rode around the lake on their "T-Rex", and then wrapped up the night chatting on the deck, watching the beautiful sun set as it reflected off of the lake. It was the perfect, peaceful ending to a crazy, mud-filled day. It's amazing how a setting like that can remind you what's important.

Beautiful sunset on the lake.

Back home in KC the following weekend, we were joined on a four-day weekend by my mom who spent most of her vacation hanging out with us. Thursday we had lunch and then went to Men In Black III in 3-D and had so much fun, we saw it again on Saturday night in the regular movie theater. Friday we traveled just south of Kansas City to Powell Gardens, which blew away my expectations. The gardens were gorgeous, the scenic views were inspiring, and I enjoyed their fruit and vegetable gardens and vineyard, and being able to show my kids where it all comes from.

The rest of the weekend was shopping, eating, hanging out, and kids water play.

That led to another four day weekend, this time to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary! As of Wednesday night, I had no clue what we were going to do and where we were going to go. All I knew is that I wanted to go somewhere we haven't been before, I wanted to try to support local businesses where possible, and I hoped that whatever crazy ideas I had, Kevin would indulge me. Lucky for me, he did!

At the City Market

We started with a trip to the "Westside", just south and west of downtown, with a stop for lunch at the Blue Bird Bistro. It's the kind of place I might normally shy away from -- old apartments (could have been a house, not sure) converted into a cute little restaurant, serving organic and sustainable food. I say it's the place I normally shy away from, because I sometimes fear the unfamiliar. I'm afraid I'll stick out like a sore thumb from the "locals" or look like I don't belong. But I've learned over the last year or so that stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to wonderful experiences and new favorites (like duck tongue tacos or roasted marrow bone from "Extra Virgin"), so we parked our car on a side street and walked two blocks to the restaurant. I LOVED the colors!

The colors and the blue bird on the post makes me happy!

We walked in and were led up a long flight of stairs to our table. Had I known there were stairs involved, I might have wore different shoes! Once up the stairs we were taken down the hall, through one room into another. The wood floors and pale green walls made for a very welcoming and inviting atmosphere. The waitress poured water into our glasses from a beautiful blue wine bottle (that would be the perfect decor for my new yellow kitchen walls) and we poured over our menu. 

Love the glass blue water bottle

Kevin opted for a bacon egg sandwich, while I chose a bison burger with sauteed mushrooms and garlic and a side of some wonderful dill potato salad. I have to say I was very pleased with my choice and definitely look forward to going back sometime soon.

The burger was a little dwarfed by the homemade bun, but it made for a tasty mushroom, tomato sandwich!

With a list of other snack places to try, we didn't get to stop by Blue Bird Bistro's newest neighbor "Little Freshie," a "soda fountain and espresso bar" that I'm told has amazing snow cones. However, it's definitely on the list. We did drive quickly around some of the neighborhood, with me "oohing" and "ahhing" over the houses. I definitely wouldn't want to be that close to my neighbors, which was like a walkway's distance between each, but the colors, the architecture, the history in those houses...definitely something that is missing from the cookie cutter neighborhoods being built today. I wish I would have taken more pictures as we drove down the street, or had more time to really walk around and see it all, and someday we will as it's also now on "the list."

After leaving the Westside, we headed down to the Crossroads District for my first ever visit to Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates! I've had one of their chocolates once before and have been dying to go try it for myself! The chocolates are expensive at around $1.75 a piece, but their flavors are so creative, the chocolates themselves are so beautiful and soooo tasty, that they are really worth it!

(Top row) Bananas Foster, Chamomile Honey
(Middle row) Fresh Mint, Strawberry Balsmic, Butterscotch Bourbon
(Bottom row) Brown Butter Pecan, Fleur De Sel, Raspberry

The next stop on our tour of locally owned food spots was the City Market and the delicious Bloom Baking Co. We had stopped there once last year and I had the most amazing almond pastry and a delicious focaccia, and I have been wanting that almond pastry again ever since! Unfortunately, they didn't have them in stock, but the owner did an amazing job on selling me on some fresh brioche bread and their homemade bread pudding. Having never had bread pudding before, I split it for breakfast Friday and Saturday and it was good! A little rich, which is why I split it, but definitely worth the hype. We used the brioche along with the Bloom Baking Co.'s recipe that we were given for french toast for dinner with friends on Friday night and everybody -- including the kids -- agreed it was delish!

Bloom baking co. in the City Market - Yum!

With that checked off my list, we headed to the Country Club Plaza looking for fresh macarons at Natasha's Mulberry and Mott. Unfortunately they were out of macarons, but I did buy some homemade marshmallows for me and the kids.

The last stop on my list was Glace Artisan Ice Cream, also owned by Christopher Elbow. Much like his chocolates, his ice cream selection has a lot of interesting and surprising combinations. I would have liked to have try everything, but I decided on a scoop each of french lavender and fresh mint chip. Wow! Awesome flavors! Both were good, but the french lavender was by far my favorite. So much so that I had Kevin run across the street to CVS to purchase a small cooler so that I could purchase a pint of french lavender ice cream to take home. I never would have thought it would have been so yummy!

Glace Artisan Ice Cream on the Plaza's south side

I love that blue

French Lavender and Fresh Mint Chip. Yum!

All day, my husband had been indulging my whims and going with me on my tour of local KC food establishments without complaint, so after ice cream it was time to make his one stop -- Gomers Liquor Store. His day was made by finding the last 6-pack of Newcastle Founder's Brew and a 6-pack of DAB, and I continued my "buy local" mission by buying a 12-pack of Boulevard Wheat.

After picking up the kids and dropping them off at our friends' house, we headed to Zona Rosa for our anniversary dinner at Swagat Restaurant, Fine Italian Cuisine. This was the first time for both of us to eat real Indian food and we've been wanting to try this restaurant for a long time, so with no kids for the night, this was the perfect time. We started with an appetizer of Paneer Pakoras (homemade cheese, deep fried in spicy chick-pea batter) which Kevin really liked, but for me it was just okay. Dinner for Kevin was Chicken Tikka (skewered strips of boneless chicken breast marinated in herbs and spices, grilled in a clay oven) and for me it was Butter Chicken (Boneless chicken cooked with fresh garlic, ginger, touch of tomato in a light creamy sauce and spices). I took some pictures of the food, but it doesn't seem to look as good on camera as it tastes, so I'll skip posting that. But believe me when I say, it was YUM-MY! We will DEFINITELY be going back and I will be trying something different every time.

Swagat at Zona Rosa.

After dinner we walked around Zona Rosa a little, doing a little shopping for the kids at Crazy 8, browsing at Barnes and Noble, and stopping at Topsy for a treat for Kevin. I was saving myself for the creme de menthe brownies that my good friend Michelle had made for me us. So we headed back to pick up the kids and celebrate a little with our friends, who are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary exactly one week after us. We celebrated by popping the cork on a wine we purchased 15 years ago during our honeymoon at the Biltmore Estate Winery.

American Chenin Blanc purchased during our honeymoon at the Biltmore Estate

And Michelle created a special presentation of brownies just for us.

Michelle's Creme De Menthe bars specially designed for our anniversary

And that was our 15th wedding anniversary celebration! The time spent just the two of us was definitely needed and enjoyed. There wasn't one argument we had to break up, no voices raised at disobedient children, no diaper changes, just us, doing stuff. And I also got to check some things off of my Kansas City list (but I also found more to add to it).

I'm in my happy place, and you know what? I'm happier there! Go figure! It makes it so much easier to love the little things!

My Kansas City Project: Part 1 - KC Royals!

We have now lived in Kansas City for a little over 16 years, which is a huge chunk of my life.  For roughly the first 10 years or longer, I continued to call Lincoln home even though there wasn’t really any plan to move back. Truth is, while I had a job and we had some family and friends in the area, it never really felt like home. My friends, my family, and my heart were back home. 

Having kids changed all of that.

Nine months after Emily was born, we finally bought a house – 11 ½ years after moving to Kansas City. A few years later we joined our current church, became a complete family of four with the arrival of Brendan, and met the people I know consider some of the greatest people I know. Life has changed in the last few years, and I finally consider Kansas City home!

Recently I’ve come to realize that there is so much about my Kansas City that we are missing out on! So many great restaurants, museums and activities that we haven’t experienced and it’s really rather sad when you think about it.  That’s why a few months ago I began planning what I call “My Kansas City Project.”

Originally, I was going to make a list of everything and every place that I wanted us to try by the end of the summer – both as a family and with my girlfriends – but that list became rather long. With the limited time and finances of summer, I realized it was going to be an impossible list to tackle in a few shorts months, so the goal then changed from a list of want-to-do’s by the end of the summer, to just a list of want-to-do’s.

While the goal isn’t to get it all in by the time school starts, there are a lot of items on the list that are either only possible in the summer, or at least much easier, so those are the ones I am concentrating on first.

I’m happy with the progress so far.

Take the kids to a Royals game = Check!

This was the first item checked off of the list, and it was an easy one thanks to my firm’s “Family Day at the K”. It was a hot one and we didn’t stay for the whole game, but we enjoyed free food, a lot of sun, and a little bit of baseball.

It was very bright and Sunny, and this squishy nosed face is a Brendan classic!

Emily enjoyed her first Royals game.

Last weekend I was able to check two big items from the list, thanks to a four-day weekend and a visit from my mom! She took a few days out of her vacation to come see us and accompany us to both Worlds of Fun and Powell Gardens.  Those activities require detailed explanation and a lot photographs, so I will save those for their own posts later this week!

I'm really exciting about experiencing all that Kansas City offers, so if you have any suggestions for “My Kansas City Project,” I welcome any ideas! Sometime soon I plan to post my current list, and hopefully this week I'll be able to cross some more off that list or discover things that aren't even there yet.