Happy Birthday dear Emma














As for ourselves, yes, we must be meek, bear injustice, malice, rash judgment. We must turn the other cheek, give up our cloak, go a second mile.
Dorothy Day



Some people, were born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people, dance.
~curious case of ben buttons



Some people were born with an old soul. Some have nothing. Some love words. Some have a wicked sense of humor.
And some people, care.


Beloved. Emma.


See you soon. Like real soon.
Party time. Uptown.

kiss. kiss.
Mom

p.s. have I told you how important it is to forgive?

It's Flash Back Friday time!!!






It's 1979. I've just graduated from Hillsdale College.
I lived in an apartment in Wausau Wisconsin and went to sign language classes at the Tech. school there for a bit.
My apartment was 1/4 of a historic home. It was very Mary Tyler Moore.
I only lived there six months...but it was long enough to meet my husband at Pranges, where we both worked.

I am wearing Levi cords. Small white sweatshirt and a sand dollar necklace.

I probably have Dr. scholls on or I am barefoot.
My camera is a Minolta SRT 201 film camera.
Sue took this picture of me.
I miss her.





Here it is 1990.
Columbia Missouri.
Cindy turning 30.
Susie is expecting.
Emma is wanting me.

We are all wearing Laura Ashley dresses.





Here is Emma and her cousin Willie.

They are fishing on Green Bay.

Emma's birthday is tomorrow.
Isn't her curly hair amazing? I think so :o)

Apparently I was very afraid my girlie would fall in the bay.





How is the for a mug shot?
Sheesh.
Note: Do not line your children up like this.


Patrick and Emma.
1991


Happy Flash Back Friday.

Enjoy your blessings...they grow up too quickly.
Seriously. Enjoy your life.
There is always something to be thankful for.

Where there is a thankful spirit...there is joy.

Love Wins,
Donna

Five minutes from my house you are in the country.
(This picture is exactly 50 miles from my house.)

When people hear Wisconsin. They think this ^^

But we live in town. We are surrounded by houses and trees and lawns and people.
We can even hear the highway. This is very un-country-like in my opinion.






If I really lived in the country.
I would have a donkey.
And an alpaca.
And some chickens.






And I would always drive carefully around the buggies.
And smile.




Anybody can be good in the country. ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray


THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry






Encourage one another,
Donna

I get outside so much more with a pup in the house...well...out of the house.
We have a pair of Sand Hill Cranes that fly over nearly every day. They make the funniest sound in the world. You can hear them coming and know that it's them. It's a bit like a turkey and a goose mixed together.
I think these two are a couple.
Ichabod and Olive.


The grass is so soft.
Patrick mowed it already.

My feet get terribly dirty.
I don't like shoes.


Yesterday the wind was very strong. It reminded me of Janet.
So I made her a movie for her birthday.










Sometimes Ginny is too playful and rough for Katie.
She came to the screen door looking pitiful.
I told her to STOP.
I grabbed my camera.

This is a re-enactment.

Acting. You know.

hehe.

Not only do I tell the girl to find the light. Now I command her to ACT!


She loves me anyway.

Donna, the bossy encourager.

r

Happy Birthday Janice and Janet!!
You live in the softest spot in my heart. You are our babies.
You will always be our precious, special twins.

Mean it.







In looking for pictures of the twins....I found this funny picture. Apparently this is not the first time the wreath has come down in March! Sweet.





“It will last, as long as it is remembered.”
~All this and heaven too



I will remember the morning you were born.
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning.
Grandma was there. She came to our house while we were sleeping.
Two Girls.
Two more girls.

Beloved.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Walking around the block with Ginny and Katie.





Having a dog helps one be more social. I know this is not breaking news.
Walking a dog has been a babe magnet for guys for years.

But for me it's a new experience.

Ginny loves to see new people and dogs and they want to see and meet her too.

Yesterday a man was so happy to see a lab puppy that he called us over and told us about his dear labs.
He even went into the house to get his wife. She came out with a little poodle mix. I let the man hang on to Ginny's leash to manage that situation. He is wanting another. His wife was not ready for another lab puppy. I can understand both of them :o)

Then we walked a bit further and encountered an old yellow lab on the corner. This girl dog was Lucy. I thought she had an electronic fence(since I have walked past her before), but no, her owner says she has always just stayed in the yard. Ginny got to learn what this doggy liked and Katie and I got to learn about Verona Lacrosse :o)


Ginny tasted many dead worms.

Dogs are strange.





I enjoyed other people's flowers.
Delightful bunches of yellow flowers.






Labs: Teaching Socials Skills One Person at a Time.


********

It finally feels like a real March day today. Not like the May days we have been enjoying.

Here is John Updike's March poem;


March
by John Updike
The sun is nervous
As a kite
That can't quite keep
Its own string tight.
Some days are fair,
And some are raw.
The timid earth
Decides to thaw.
Shy budlets peep
From twigs on trees,
And robins join
The chickadees.
Pale crocuses
Poke through the ground
Like noses come
To sniff around.
The mud smells happy
On our shoes.
We still wear mittens,
Which we lose.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Wet puppy.




waiting puppy



I am reading this delightful book. I am just about to find out how the French bebe's 'do their nights'....
It is common to have sleeping thru the night bebe's by 2-4 months.

I used a book called Dr. Turtle's babies.
This worked too.

I happen to parent my bebe's quite French so far.

But we have not gotten to the eating yet.

I know that my little Boucher's did not eat like French children.
AND I did not gain weight like a French woman waiting for her bebe.

So interesting.

Druckerman, so far, has written without acting judge-y.
That awful Tiger Mom turned me off, big time.

*******




I made this when Emma was home. It was super delicious.


Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

8 soft taco shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in sour cream. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.
what I do.
Katie would not like the green chillies. So I do not add them to the sauce.
I put the green chillies in the rolled up tortillas. I make a few without the green chillies.
I keep the chillies-less tortillas on one side and try to remember which side.
5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Emma adds lots of salsa to spice hers up.


***recipe found at Joyful Momma's Kitchen
I have altered a few things.

Have a great weekend!!!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Pinterest is making a few really good changes.

Really happy.

Now we need to stop the printing of pins.

There is hope.

Flash Back Friday





Patrick and Donna.
1980
Lake Forest

Minolta SRT201
Timer.

I have never seen Patrick without a mustache.
He is wearing a Penguin shirt.
Those are very hip now.

This could pass as our engagement shoot.
We were married the following November.

I know exactly what I weighed.




Patrick Jr. and Matthew
Marinette Wisconsin
12-88

Canon Sureshot
Film

I have hundreds of pictures of the children.
Most are pretty poor quality.

This picture of Matthew and Patrick is a true favorite.

LOOK at Matthew. I love the paper Jesus hat.
I love the Golden Hearth shirt. (Emma is pictured in that shirt one week ago)
And I especially love the expression on his face and his very pretty eyes.

The hand holding is precious.
Patrick is being a good boy. It's not his best picture.
But it is him. Being a good boy.


We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up. ~Christopher Morley



Encourage one another,
Donna

A spring evening in Wisconsin.

Katie took Ginny for a walk around the block all by herself.
I was afraid this was never going to happen.
But they got along and didn't fight.

I told Katie this morning that 'the walk' was a dream come true for me.

She smiled.




****




Gee.....what does this look remind me of?

















johannes vermeer
girl with a pearl earring




How about that?



*******

Patrick and I watched two movies last weekend.

The Decendents

and

My week with Marilyn

****

The Descendants is written by the same man who wrote About Schmidt.
About Schmidt is slow and thoughtful and funny.

The Descendants is not as good as About Schmidt.

Warren Schmidt: I know we're all pretty small in the big scheme of things, and I suppose the most you can hope for is to make some kind of difference, but what kind of difference have I made? What in the world is better because of me?

[Warren is on top of the motor home under a starry night]
Warren Schmidt: Helen, what did you really think of me, deep in your heart? Was I really the man you wanted to be with? Was I? Or were you disappointed and too nice to show it? I forgive you for Ray. I forgive you. That was a long time ago, and I know I wasn't always the king of kings. I let you down. I'm sorry, Helen. Can you forgive me? Can you forgive me?
[a shooting star passes by]

Oh my. About Schmidt was so much better.


Emma was right, The Descendants is depressing and the daughter's have very foul mouths that even shocked me.
(shocking, I know.)

My week with Marilyn was charming and pretty to look at and sweet and revealing.
The acting was very fine.
It is a gentle movie.
I liked it very much.







Lots of love,
Donna


P.s. Tune in tomorrow for the first Flash Back Friday!!!

Trying.






She said I couldn't.
That it wouldn't work.

But I was determined.
I wanted it to work.

I knew I could do it if I just kept at it.

And finally.
I did it.

It was not perfect.


But it was my very first wreath.

And I did it.

*smile*


Love and sunshine....
Teaching without trying....

Donna Elsie

What I said then.

And what I will say now.




1) Jack Wagner, soap actor from “Bold and the Beautiful,” General Hospital” and “Melrose Place” — with Anna Trebunskaya
I know Jack Wagner most from General Hospital and he is a golfer. He went to Janet's alma mater. UofA where I am pretty sure his dad is the golf coach. Don't know if he can dance.

Jack wore a hideous blue suit. It was not his fault. He is not a klutz, but he is in the bottom as far as natural dancing talent.



2) Melissa Gilbert, played Laura Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie” — with Maskim Chmerkovskiy
Might be interesting. Maks always gets the old ladies. (ducking)

Melissa was a hot mess in my opinion. I didn't like her dance at all. Her personality is nice and she has natural ability. But all I can think of was tornado when I think of that dance.

3) Donald Driver, receiver for the Green Bay Packers — with Peta Murgatroyd
Go Donald.

Donald is a big fan of DWTS. He came out there with no fear and was a great dance and showman. He got to longest ovation of the night. The judges were hard on him.

4) William Levy, telenova star known as the “Brad Pitt of Mexico” — with Cheryl Burke
Will probably get voted off early. No fan base in US. Unless he is talented.

I was totally shocked and delighted by William. He can dance!!! Really, really well.

He had a fan base in LA as far as I could hear from the hoots in the audience. Wooza!

5) Sherri Shepherd, co-host of “The View” — with Val Chmerkovskiy
Her body type will distract me. She is a funny girl so I will enjoy her comments and filmed packages I am sure.

Sherri is super funny and has nice dancing ability. She just happens to be on a season with many excellent dancers. She is not a stand out talent wise.

6) Katherine Jenkins, opera star — with Mark Ballas
Never heard of her.

Gorgeous girl. Very sweet spirit and fantastic slow dancer. She is extremely graceful.

She got very high scores and she deserved them. Nine, eight, nine.

We shall see how she does with the Latin dances. Probably fab.

7) Gavin DeGraw, singer known for “One Tree Hill” theme song — with Karina Smirnoff
Is he under 30? Geez. I hope so. This show is getting to look like Lawrence Welk.

Gavin was just adorable. He has natural grace and I think could really learn to dance. I'm not sure he will be around long. But I would like to see more of him. Darling smile.

8) Martina Navratilova, tennis pro — with Tony Dovolani
All I can think of is....she will be a klutz.

Again...I was very pleasantly surprise. Martina was lovely and sweet and she was graceful.

She is not in the top....but gosh, she is already tons better than that awful klutzy soccer star from last season.

9) Roshon Fegan, star of Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up” — with Chelsie Hightower
Huh? What? Who?

Katie was excited to see this young guy. He is the youngest and I liked him least, I think.

Cute personality and some dancibility...just not my cuppa.

10) Maria Menounos, co-host of “Extra” — with Derek Hough
Lucky Derek. He usually gets a good one. I thought he was not on the list as a dancer this time. But I'm very glad he is because he is the best. Him and Maks.

Maria went first and I can barely remember what she did. I do remember thinking Derek always gets the good girls....

However she did not stand out like a few of the other dancers. I think she will do fine.

11) Jaleel White, best known as Steve Urkel in “Family Matters” — with Kym Johnson
"Did I do that?"

Jaleel was graceful and good. I thought his shoulders were too high and was distracted by that the whole dance. The judges didn't even mention it. They loved him.

He is sincere and talented.

12) Gladys Knight, singer, or “empress of soul” — with Tristan MacManus
woo. woo.

Gladys is the very best older dancer that has ever been on this show!!! She looks great and moves great. I just loved her. The audience stood and cheered forever.

(And by older I mean 67) She is absolutely amazing and I think she could win it all.

*****************

My predictions for the first to go and the final three.

First to go based on popularity and dance ability.

Jack, Gavin, Martina, Melissa.

(How's that for nailing that down.)

Final Three

William, Katherine, Gladys, Donald.

(I never said I was good at math :op)

Honestly. This is the very best season of talent I have ever seen on the show.

No one was embarrassingly bad like Cloris or Kenny.

No one was mean and crabby like awful Nancy G. or Hope.

There is no one on the show that make Cindy and Janet NOT watch until they are voted off.

Thank goodness.

I like that we have talent and not drama queens this season.

Watch it...if you can stand the costumes. I'm oblivious to them.

Except when they are a hideous color, like Jack's cheesy Boca blue suit.

It's gonna be great fun!!!

********

Katie and I had fun on the way home from school yesterday.

Happy happy Spring!!!

Happy happy longer days and green grass!!!

Encourage one another,

Donna

We have a nice little screw in the ground 'lead' for Ginny.
Guess it's longer than we thought.

You(I) really must be careful with this kind of thing. When we lived in Wheaton we had a six foot fence around the yard. After our parents died, my sister Nancy married her fiance and moved into our house. Binky was a dog lover. We never had a dog in the house until this time. I think the doggie was Zorba. For some reason Zorba was on a chain in the back yard....or was it a leash...or just her collar...but Zorba jumped the fence and hung herself ( I seem to think Zorba was a girl...not exactly sure). It was horrifying as you can imagine.

We had a rough few years. Parents dying. A fire on Christmas morning. Tragic dog accident.
It's a wonder we all made it thru. We were bombarded with bad stuff for a while.
I am thankful that we were resilient.

I am thankful Janet did not break her neck when I had her jump off the trampoline onto my shoulders. She missed my shoulders and flew over my head. I caught her feet/legs.
She just broke her arm.

How is that for a rabbit trail.

Dog on table leads to story of death and survival.








I do not have a tragic story about kilts.
I have never even seen Braveheart.



The St. Patrick's Day parade in Madison is about family.
I was pleasantly surprised by this.



I was very happy to see the cool cars. I want this car. I want to give it to my husband.




Donna Boucher Photography
Portraits. Dogs. Cars.




This little doggie was a honest to goodness hood ornament.



Sweet wheels.



Rag Tag band.
rat a tat tat.




We loved the bag pipes.




Dr. Donna Doolittle at your service.

I'll let you know when Ginny can get her own leash.
Hope.
Hope and prayer and thankfulness.




Encourage one another,
Donna

We haven't been fortunate enough to go on many spring breaks trips as a family.
Katie has never been on one.

Once we went to Kiawah Island with Patrick Jr. Matthew and Emma.
Emma turned three, I think. Her birthday was on Easter that year.
It was absolutely the most wonderful vacation.
Except for the throwing up on the drive home. That was hard.
But we loved it down there.

Five years ago, Patrick and I took Emma and two of her friends to Paris, Florence and Rome for 'spring break'.
(the friends paid for themselves...we would love the be THAT generous.....)
Anyway. It was just the most glorious trip and I have the best memories.














(can you tell I didn't have photoshop yet? those pictures could use a boost)


We had hoped to go to a beach for Katie this year. Me and Katie hoped. Patrick has never hoped to go to a beach.
But it just didn't work out.




But something amazing has happened.

Spring break weather has come to Wisconsin!



We are going to enjoy every drop of sunshine and eat brats for days...and for goodness sake....get another Shamrock Shake.

It's St. Patty's day!

Dye something green!!!




Love you!
Mean it.

Donna