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Johannah had some professional senior photos taken, but in all honesty, the photographer has been terrible about getting back with us.  So, until I figure all of that out, I headed out and took my own photos. In all honesty, I'm seeing a business for Glo and me.  I get the girl ready (dress, hair) and I find a good day with the weather.  I even take the pictures (although with the classes Glo has taken, she often gets a better shot when we are both shooting at the same time).  Glo, however, is the master at editing.  She can take a photo that is too dark and make it look perfect.  Again, it's amazing what some education can do for someone!  John suggested we start an actual business, and after pondering options for names, he came up with "Glorious Photography".  Just think about it. Got it? Here are some of the final shots that I really liked.

Two things I love about where we live:  it's on the way to just about anywhere, and we can easily (and happily) accommodate anyone who is willing to stay the night. Our friend, Doug Craddock, is an Englishman who lives in Italy with his Italian wife and their three kids.  We met them in Bitburg, Germany, and have been friends ever since.  In fact, Doug likes to remind us that he is the reigning Siedler world champion.  I recently noticed that Doug has been taking trips to the US, and with us living only four hours from New York City and New Jersey, I wondered why he didn't contact us. When I shared this with John, John did what any self-respecting friend would do, and called him up.  You know, they haven't spoken in eight years, but John calls him like we still lived just down the road from each other.  Turns out, he was coming down I-80 from Chicago in a couple of days.  John insisted that we meet for breakfast. Friday afternoon came around, and...

I recently saw a buzz feed about normal, ordinary words that mean something completely different to the Mormon population.  One of those "normal" words?  Sunday, or the Sabbath. For most people, Sunday is a fun day.  A day to take the boat out.  A day of barbecues and picnics.  A day to do the grocery shopping.  Since none of those things are approved for Mormons, you would think it would be a pretty laid back, relaxing day for us, yes? No. Instead, we Mormons like to fill our Sundays will a whole heck-of-a-lot of other things that are good, and righteous.  And down-right exhausting. Last Sunday was no exception.  I give you the Sabbath, Mormon style...with a dash of Kennedy. 7:30 a.m.  Wake up, get dressed in my performance blacks.  Notice that John is not home, and wonder exactly which congregation he is visiting that day.  Say a quick prayer for Hannah (at HOBY), for Mark (in Russia) and for Ethan and Rebecca (in Utah)....

The end of an era is coming quick. Almost four years ago, Ethan left on a mission to Poland.  That's right.  He gave up everything he had going for him at American University in Washington DC, and devoted two entire years to being a missionary for our church in Poland. Fast forward two years, and his brother, Mark, was leaving to do the exact same thing (although this time in Russia).  Mark left behind rowing for the Michigan Men's rowing team, and a lot of momentum in his music career.  However, he exhibited the same faith of his older brother. My promise to them?  I would write them everyday of their missions.  That's right--EVERYDAY.  John and his siblings have spoken about how terrible they felt as missionaries, never receiving mail from family, so I was determined to keep my boys from having that story. So what did I do four years ago?  I headed to our local Staples, and bought this: Since then (if you calculate all the days they...

A couple of months ago, I decided to take up running...again.  The doctors couldn't do much for my hip except inject it with steroids, because as they said, there was nothing really wrong with it (bursitis was the final diagnosis).  I figured then that there was no harm for my hip in running (even though there always is for my back).  I signed up for a Beginner 5K running program. I love the website I use:  Active Trainer.  It figures out exactly what I need to do to be successful and tells me each day how far I need to walk, or run, or cross train.  It's not based on mileage, thank goodness, because that can be the mental death of me.  It's all based on time i.e. run for five minutes, walk for two, run for five more.  Last week, I ran my 5K. This is HUGE for me.  For years, I haven't even been able to run a mile, let alone THREE!  Granted, they were the slowest miles on the planet, and it wasn't easy, but I did it. I might have ev...

Let me tell you, folks, I have pretty high expectations for Mother's Day.  I know it sounds terribly selfish, but in all honesty, I feel like it's the one day in a mother's life where she CAN be selfish! :-) This year, my family totally came through for me, and I was incredibly grateful.  It was one of those perfect weekends (i.e. times spent in Ireland, or Michigan), and I just didn't want it to end. The best part?  Ethan was home.  It would be nice to think that he came home just for me, but he had a conference in Washington DC the week before.  What was nice was that he decided to stay for me.  I told him that it rivaled the one Mother's Day when Mark performed the unthinkable:  after attending a regatta in Philadelphia the Saturday before Mother's Day, he drove back to Michigan with his team (it was required), hopped in his car, and drove back to Pennsylvania, through the night, to spend a few short hours with me that day....before driving ba...

I love that over the years, Celebration of the Egg has become the premier event in the Kennedy holiday household.  In fact, when people ask me about Easter and what we did for it (thinking that maybe we visited family), I casually drop the name of the event, and their interest is immediately piqued.  In fact, over the past couple of years, some of my friends have actually stolen the idea, and are now hosting their own celebrations! I love Celebration of the Egg.  It is a party unlike any other.  Think of the Olympics, Easter style. We actually postponed Celebration of the Egg this year.  Ethan and Rebecca were flying back home three days after Easter, so we waited until the following weekend.  It gave me a glimpse into what it will be like, having kids who have their own lives.  It was a monumental effort for me to plan Easter on the actual weekend, and then plan a party the next weekend.  I'm thinking that in the future, it will be more of a ...

Date Night.  I remember when this used to be a treasured term.  It was a night when John and I would get all gussied up, hire a babysitter, and throw away the cares of the world for a few blissful hours. Date night is a fairly regular thing now.  Two things have made a difference:  the kids are all grown up, and we have more money ;-)  In fact, date night regularly includes the girls.  I guess we should just call it "family night" now.  If John and I do actually go out alone, it's only because the girls are too busy to join us.  Yep, that's what happens when you realize you only have a few more years with kids living under your roof--you want to spend every minute you can with them. It happened to be one of those nights when both of the girls were busy, so John and I headed out to Texas Roadhouse.  Talking to friends who happen to be in the same life stage as us, I find that a lot of us end up eating out.  I guess after spending year...

*deep breath* I've been sitting at my computer for a while now, trying to figure out exactly how to start this post.  Let's see if we can get things rolling. Something John and I have tried to teach our kids from the beginning is that you never know what the Lord's will is; you just need to accept it and "go with the flow".  From Ohio, to Germany, to Pennsylvania, John and I have just trusted in the Lord that he needs us in the places where he sends us.  I personally am not always very happy with where we end up, but I can't deny that it's exactly where we are supposed to be. I firmly believe that the Lord has very specific paths for my children to walk down throughout their lives.  If they are sensitive to the Spirit, they will go where the Lord wants them to go, and it will be the best thing for them.  That being said, it's certainly not always the easiest thing.  Sometimes the Lord sends us places where we can grow the most (*cough cough* Pe...

Lucky Glo and me.  Both in braces at the same time.  Ethan is also in braces, but he's done in a month, so he doesn't really count ;-) The other day, Glo had an orthodontist appointment.  Some of her permanent teeth are finally coming in (after pulling five baby teeth and waiting a year....until she's 14 years old....), and she was scheduled to get brackets on those new teeth. As it turned out, my fake tooth (which is painted into the plastic tray that is correcting my teeth) had become brittle and popped out the day before.  So, not only am I wearing braces, but I'm back to channeling my inner hillbilly.  Not cool. So, I figured the office could paint a new one into my tray in just a matter of minutes.  Wrong-o.  I ended up hijacking most of Glo's lengthy appointment.  In fact, at some point in time, she was left like this for more than 15 minutes: Glad Glo embraces the Kennedy texting-selfies spirit, never letting a "precious" moment ...