A Night in Italy for Kim

      Sorry I haven't posted in the last couple of days...I was torn between reporting on the bambini and our runnings, while working on projects for Kimberly's Foundation...and decided to let you know about the first of the fall fundraisers.
     
       First, let me back track to Friday, when I found myself running the 5 flights of stairs, at St. Joseph's, to the floor that Kim lived on, and to see the caring souls that took care of her...

   

          I ran the five flights in flip flops...my new, comfy ones by Reef...twice, because once just did not seem good enough today.  I had just met with John Gimmler and Nancy Kirk (who administers Kim's fund for me through Carondelet).  John is in the fund raising business, too.  Nancy thought I might be interested in his latest project.  A chapel.  At St. Joseph's. 
          The current chapel is on the fifth floor.  I spent a lot of time there, when Kim would drift off into an uneasy sleep.  First, I'd run stairs.  Then I'd pray.  Most times, I'd be praying while I ran, too.  The chapel is about the size of two hospital rooms, with folding chairs in it.  It served the purpose that I needed it to serve, yet, I found myself thinking, on more than one occasion, that I missed the old chapel that they used to have.  It was torn down back in 2005 for hospital expansion into neurology, a much needed wing.  But, prior to being able to build a new chapel, the economy went south...
          I can see the need for a chapel.  The hospital workers agree, as do the patients.  You need a place to regroup, re energize, etc.
          Also, many years ago, Kim asked me 'what would you do if you hit the lottery today?'...I told her that I'd build a church, on the piece of land just south of the wash that runs behind Cottonwood elementary.  She liked that idea...and added that we could build a school to go along with it...so when John and Nancy asked if I'd like to get involved in utilizing the funds from the fall fundraisers for Kimberly's Foundation, I said 'yes!'.  They showed me the plans.  The chapel will be uniquely shaped and outside, there will be soothing gardens with benches.  I'll add some as I get files that I can attach.
          Of course, Kim will be remembered there, at some level, depending on how much I can raise...and that is where my energy will be focused over the next several months (if anyone has ideas on how to raise large chunks of money, or works for companies that donate to non-profit foundations, let me know!!)...

           Fundraiser #1 will be on Saturday, October 22nd from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Desert Sky Middle School.  There will be a movie for the children.  Jumping castles, too.  And Viro's Italian Bakery will be catering the event!!  Lasagna, chicken marsala, salad, bread, dessert, drinks, etc...I hope to have tickets on sale at Cottonwood, Desert Sky, Desert Willow and Rincon Vista (and you can get them from me, too of course). A family night out, A Night in Italy for Kim, for $15.00 ($6.00 for a spaghetti and meatball dinner for kids!).  We are looking for sponsors to help with costs - and will create a placemat and posters for sponsor recognition.  It will be a fun night, right here in our community!

            You know Kim gave so much to our schools, our church and our community...I feel driven to keep her alive, through her foundation, that will help so many here in Tucson...

            Love,
                   Dave

Babies everywhere!

             Another great day.  I always love Thursdays, going into the little one's classrooms and trying to help out where I can...today, I was in Autumn's class, where her teacher, Casey Rudzena, continues to amaze me with her integration of technology into her learning plan and the delivery of her teaching, the enthusiasm - I know she is giving Autumn and her class a huge edge on the learning curve!  I got to see Autumn deliver her current event on last week's earthquake on the east coast - wide eyed as she told her classmates that all of her relatives live back there, careful to disclose that Cody, Antonio and myself live here, though.  Her bright blue eyes sparkling as she let the class know about the magnitude of the quake, but, thankfully, there were no fatalities...it was priceless...
             Now, Casey has about two more months to go before she has her baby, but she is not slowing down, having recently joined the Vail Choir and working on her second masters degree, while continuing to work at least 50 hours a week teaching!!  Amazing.
           Tonio is adjusting well to Mrs. Stevens taking over for Jenny Rienstra, who had her baby the day after our home visit on Monday and is doing well...
           So, the big thrill and honor for us today, was going to meet Brinley Montes!!  Mary (Tonio's and Autumn's kindergarten teacher) and her family have been so inspirational to ours since we started at Cottonwood with Cody 10 years ago.  Her sister, Ami, had Cody all those years ago and Kim and I enjoyed that year so much (washing away her fears of the public school system!).  They have been like extended family to us, encouraging, upbeat, and so good for the bambini.  Mary sure had a lot of patience with a young Antonio who needed to get his wiggles out!!  Why, they even volunteered to help with opening day at Kohl's when I opened that building back in 2003!!  What a crazy day that was!
          Kim really enjoyed the year she got to be a parapro assistant with Mary the year Tonio was in kindergarten.  She'd always come home, so impressed with Mary's patience and teaching abilities, giving me specific examples to clarify her point.  Mary has said, during her whole pregancy and birth of Brinley, that she felt the calming presence of Kim, her angel.  That has meant a lot to me...I know Kim would have been  is so happy for Mary and Emilio.
         Mary remembered that first day we brought Antonio into her classroom, how we were gushing that it was the first time we'd be alone since Cody was born and that we were going to lunch together.  A date. We were so excited, but it sure felt funny not having the bambini with us.  I told her that we went to Mama's Pizza, not far from Mary and Emilio's...it was such a nice lunch - we talked the whole time, but, I swear I never took my eyes off our Kim's face the entire time we were there...what a great memory that is...
         You know, Mary and Emilio are not your typical first time parents - these two look like seasoned pros.  Mary immediately offered to allow Tonio and Autumn to hold Brinley.

                    Tonio looked a little apprehensive, but Mary was able to help keep him calm and Brinley sure didn't mind!

                                  Autumn was thrilled to have the chance to hold Brinley!  Again, Mary and Emilio did not at all seem like your typical, nervous, first time parents!  Look at that gorgeous head of hair on little Brinley!  She is such a beautiful bambina!!
                                Emilio let us know that he had ordered some Bengals onsies for Brinley so she'd be ready to root for his favorite team come kick off of the regular season!!  He had the Bengals/Colts preseaon game on (I envied his flat screen, wall mounted t.v. with all of its high def glory!) - cool as a cucumber.

Emilio and Mary have such a great, positive attitudes - they are going to great parents!!  Even their english bulldog, Rocco, has that parental instinct, being so careful around the baby and protective.  We made sure to give Rocco plenty of loving while we were there, too.  And Mary hooked the kids up with some of her favorite blonde oreos - did they eat half a bag of them??

It was a nice way to end our day and we were glad to see Mary doing so well and Emilio having instantly adjusted to fatherhood -I can't say enough about how special they are and how happy we are for them -  they are always great to see and we look forward to having Mary back at Cottonwood!

Who's next?  Anabelle Pearson, another kindergarten teacher who was there when Cody started kindergarten is pregnant, too!!  Lots of blessings coming the way of our Cottonwood family and we have Angie's daughter, Kim's, baby to look forward to in just about a month!!  Wow, where did that time go (although it probably seems longer to Kim than for us!)?

After Kim and I had Antonio, I realized that if we had started having kids younger...we'd probably have ended up with five or so!!  They are so fun!!  It is true, the kids keep us young...

Love,

 Dave

                 

A Day Off

                  My day's off with Kimmy were a special thing.  It did not matter what we did.  We did it together.  Typically, we just had a lot of running to get done, before the bambini finished school, knowing that, bringing them along would just mean a longer day that was more costly, as well.
                 I had off today, and the kids had a half day....
                I dropped them off at Cottonwood at 7:30...ish.  Yes, we were tardy, which I turned into a something of a song for the Perrini's, who hailed us as we ran down the sidewalk, waving our arms and screaming 'We are TARDY!'...
               ...I brought a book with me.  "Mr. Peanut" by Adam Ross.  A dark comedy of sorts, where bad things happen to mediocre people.  I was on my way to get the Expedition (great white whale - made to order by middle eastern oil moguls) emissions tested...
               ...I arrived at 8:00 and the lines to the 4 bays snaked out into the street - I was glad I brought my book!  As I neared the cavernous entrance to bay # 3, I took notice of the young men working inside.  There is no hustle in this environment.  Most of them wear protective glasses, but nothing to protect them from fumes.  It does have high ceilings and exhaust fans, but still, the thick car fumes must be intoxicating and judging from the banter and antics, I was not very far off.  I estimated that during their 8 hour shift, some form of mutation had to be occurring as they drank in the toxicity...but, I passed and I immediately stopped caring as I drove off to Office Max to by card stock for Kimmy's Foundation Fall fundraiser (more on that later...not tonight though)...
                   Card stock in hand, I encountered my first dilemma...Jack in the Box for breakfast or Jamba Juice...I opted, at the last minute, for the healthy choice and I was pleasantly surprised that for less than 5 bucks, I enjoyed their awesome very berry oatmeal and a Mega Mango (Kimmy's favorite drink, that I got for her nearly every day that she was in the hospital)...I am now on a first named basis with the manager, Devin.  'How are the kids?' he asked as I entered...Clamoring for Jamba Juice I told him...
                   I gassed up and donated $70 to those very same middle easterners that I mentioned above.
                   Then, I went by the local Enteman's bread outlet, where I 'stole' two overflowing bags of bread products for $10 bucks.  Damn.  The cashier seemed to be spewing an endless litany of savings that I would enjoy.  Double punches Wednesday.  Free item cuz I spent more than $7 bucks.  Oh, Boboli?  Half price today...on and on.  God bless her.
                  As I was leaving, I got a text from my friend Karen, who happened to be at the beach in N.J. (not the 'shore', the beach dammit).  She had found Tastyklairs.  Which I had eaten daily in high school.  'You should receive them by Friday and eat each one as if it was your last!'  she told me.  I will.  I cannot say how many years it has been, but I look forward to Friday.  If you haven't ever had one and are east coast based (and have electricity - my Dad has been without since Saturday!!), get one.  If you are out here, look me up and I'll share a bite with you.  They are that good.
                 I headed west on Broadway to Toys R Us.  I had called ahead at 9:00 a.m. to see if they had a particular item in stock.  The lady who answered listened politely to my request and told me "you'll have to call back.  We don't open until 9:30.".  Fine.  Then next time don't answer the phone.  I did not drop my name to try to get early help.  I snuck in the Babies R Us side, got my item (which I cannot reveal Mary, because I won't see you until tomorrow!), and got back out, having a chance to visit with Nydia, who worked there way back when I managed that building over 8 years ago...
               On to Fry's at 22nd and Harrison.  I generally avoid shopping at the Rita Ranch location, if I can at all help it...I picked up all sorts of topping for the Boboli...so the bambini could make their own pizzas later!!
               Time was slipping away and it was time to get to Cottonwood!!  I literally got the last spot in the parking lot and damn near melted in the 108 degree heat with 80% humidity as I walked up to the front door and burst into the main office to wait for the bell...only, there is no bell on half days!  I scooped up the little ones, who, by the way, did have a great day!  We drove over to Desert Willow to pick up Andrea's girls, Lexy and Breanna, parking illegally on the loop to avoid the parking lot snarl.  After a quick stop at Andrea's so the girls could change, we ran over to Cienega H.S. to get Cody.  And, speaking of parking lots, you would think after a kajillion years of schools being open, that someone could design a parking lot that had decent traffic flow...
                Cody had a ton of homework to do, so we dropped him at our house and made our way to Viro's for lunch. 
                To say the kids were hungry, would be an understatement.  They ate great!!  TonioBreanna a nice turkey sandwich.  Incredibly, the best cappuccino maker at Viro's, Breanna (no relation to our Breanna) walked in with two of her sisters as we sat down.  She saw us, came over and offered to create one of her magical drinks for me!!  Rose and Vito also came out to be with us.

             After the kids devoured this feast..Breanna got them all gelato - the biggest gelato's I've ever seen!!  It is soooo good, but I didn't get any for me, just sat back and waited...sure enough, Lexy could not go on and offered me her tiramisu and mint chocolate chip gelato, which was delicious. 
            I asked them what they'd like to do when we finished up eating...they were torn between a movie or going to Target.  So, we swung by the theaters, found nothing playing at the moment and opted for Target - these guys are good shoppers!  Then to Redbox for a couple of videos...and back to our house.
            Here's the amazing thing.  We had just spent several hours eating, shopping, driving around and the kids were having so much fun together...but, when we got home, they agreed to knock out their homework for me and proceeded to do so...I was blown away...
            By 6:00, they were ready to build some Boboli pizza's!!! 

          

Breanna's is the one in the forefront - all pepperoni, a dab of black olives and mozz (of course I made the sauce!), Lexy's is back left, pepperoni and mozz and Aut's is back right, mozz, black olives and red bell peppers (Antonio decided on mozz and pineapple!)...they were fun to watch building these creations and ate them up!  Andrea arrived as they were finishing with some incredible chocolate chip cookies (my kryptonite)...

....Cody and I finished off the night with a little quality time, watching the latest Jason Statham movie to hit DVD 'Blitz'...it did not fail us.  Statham plays a tough cop dispatched to take down a serial killer who has been targeting police officers.  The bad guy reminded me of Gary Oldman's character in 'The Professional' (one of Kimmy's favorites!  She loved Natalie Portman in that one).  Best line? "If you are picking the wrong fight, at least pick the right weapon!". 

Well, it turned out to be a good day.  Even though it was a lot of running.  I'm used to it and enjoyed the days spent with Kimmy in this fashion!!

                     And here we have a shot of Jenny and Nick Rienstra's (Tonio's teacher) little blessing, Nathan!!  All 8lbs 9oz and 22 inches of him!!  We were all excited for them!!


"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Psalms 127:3

                         Love,
                                   Dave

Dreams

                   I've had some dreams.  Maybe not as many as I'd like to have had, but, you know, I feel like any that I do have are a bonus. I'm sure Kimmy's busy up there - no surprise!  I've read somewhere that the dreams that stick with you, that do not fade, are visitations.  I like that idea.  I have six now, that are as clear as the night that I had them.  They are precious to me.

                   I love when people come up to me and tell me they had a Kimmy dream.  Especially when they can remember the details and vividly tell me about it.  Her niece, Niki, recently emailed me that she had a nice dream that Kim was in, and just the feeling of peacefulness that she experienced when she awoke.  Kim had that way...
                    Lupe and I talked tonight about angels.  She recently heard a program that said that when you wake up between 3-4 a.m., it is your angel checking in on you.  I like that idea, too.  And, I seem to be awake many nights between those exact hours.

                 Last night, in fact.  I had such a dream...and, I woke up at 303 (good band out of Boulder, Colorado, coincidentally), not sure what had woken me up - the dream still so real that I could touch it, feel it, believe it...and I walked the entire house searching...

                  Let me know if you've been dreaming...

                Got some great news tonight, when Mary Montes called to let me know that Jenny Rienstra had her baby, Nathan tonight!!  8lbs 9ozs 22 inches long.  Linebacker, or tight end?  Either way, we are so happy for her and her family!!  Tonio was so excited, when, we received word from Jenny this morning before 6 a.m. that her water had broken at 1:45 a.m. and she was in the hospital waiting for Nathan to arrive.  Congratulations!!
                Funny thing was, during her home visit last night, she felt that she was going to go the distance (9/9) and possibly beyond.  She said she felt great.  Maybe it was something in the fruit salad I made her.  Or the marinara sauce...?  Either way, we are glad she and her baby are doing great!

                The sweetest thing, while talking to Mary, I could hear Brinley making the cutest noises in the background!!

                The bambini and I just stepped out to say goodnight to Kimmy.  We thanked her for watching over us...and baby Brinley and Nathan...The clouds were phenomenal, swirling together in a tight circle around the Big Dipper...Thanks Kimmy.

                  Love,

                        Dave

"Give encouragement to each other and keep strengthening each other..." Thes 5:11

                 

The Home Visit

        One of my favorite things about the Vail School District, is the teacher home visit.  The teacher sets up a time to come spend an hour or so with the child at their home.  The child gets to set the agenda.  Over the years, I have seen the bambini's teachers ride Power Wheels Harley Davidsons (Ami Bunch!), have a full course meal with our family (Mary Montes), play pinball (multiple), soccer (Ami again), go to movies (Casey Rudzena), but mostly hang out and play board games with the kids while Kim whipped up some fantastical snack for them to enjoy. 

      The thing I love about this program, is, the child gets to interact with their teacher in their own home, a comfortable setting.  I feel it helps build a bond and gives the teacher more insight on how to teach our children, a better understanding of them and what makes them tick.  Also, how fun for the child to get to dictate what games or activities they get to do with their teacher!  And, what snack Kim would create for them...

       Cody would normally have her make her famous cheese cake brownies.  She as made profiteroles (Italian cream puffs drizzled with dark chocolate).  Limoncello bars. Cakes.  And many other exotic dishes.
      

        Today, we had the pleasure of having Tonio's teacher, Jenny Rienstra, over to our house.  Jenny's countdown continues - 10 mores days until her due date and she is doing great!  Still possessing a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and energy!  She had been to our house once before, when Autumn had her for a teacher. 

        I decided it would be best to ask her what she'd like for a snack.  Being pregnant and all, I thought there may be food she's avoiding (indigestion) and perhaps foods that she is craving.  I feel like she let me off easy - 'fruit salad'.

                                            I did my best to at least Kim it up a bit!  Raspberries, blueberries, grapes, water melon balls (Jenny noticed that I used the melon baller tool thingy!), honey dew and peaches (from Colorado!  They are so good!!  Thanks Angie!).

             Tonio was so excited to have Jenny over, he could barely contain himself!  'When is she coming?  How much longer?'  He was also excited because he had another great day in school!  Jenny has him so pumped up and feeling proud of himself - he loves to tell me about his day, now.

             Tonio decided to play Kerplunk with Jenny.  They played multiple games - Tonio thoroughly enjoying himself.  He showed her his Lego creations (especially proud of the Space Shuttle that Janene gave to him for his birthday).  Then, it was snack time.  Tonio put mounds of whipped cream on top of his fruit salad!!

                                 Tonio's pretty much hogging the whole container of whipped cream!

                 And, when it was time for her to go, I packed up a container of freshly made marinara (yes, Kim's recipe!), some angel hair pasta, salad (in a bag) and a big loaf of bread from Viro's.  Jenny fondly remembered when Kimmy had made her a dinner to take home with her when Aut was in third grade - chicken piccata.  Kim would say, 'these teachers work hard all day.  It's a long enough day as it is, and here they are doing home visits (Jenny had three today) and then they have to go home and cook dinner?  No.'  So she would make the piccata.  Or the marsala.  Or the vodka or bolognese sauce.  Or the marinara, which I decided to make for Jenny and her husband Nick.

   

                Antonio had a great visit!!  Thanks Jenny!!  He even got his homework done quickly for me because he was so excited for his visit and didn't want to have to do it later after Jenny had left.  Now, he is reading the newest 'Magic Treehouse' book to me - Jenny complimented him on being able to take the accelerated reading tests now that he has more time to read - since she helped him catch up on all of his school work.  He is motivated!!

             Love,

                    Dave

Random Bits:

                We went outside to say goodnight to Kim and found this hairy guy was crawling up the wall on the back porch next to our back door!!

 

               Bella takes herself for a walk in our living room!  Kim sure knew what she was doing when she picked us out this girl!  She is high spirited, high energy and keeps us all laughing.  She loves her kids so much, too!         

Winnie the Pooh

Sometimes, I get the urge to write about a particular memory or period of time - and I know that I have photos to share with you.  But, sometimes I can't seem to locate them in time to get the blog written and out of my system!  And, other times, it seems, I stumble across more of Kimmy's hidden cache's throughout our house, that, incidentally, has no basement and no true attic...none the less, Kimmy found ways to improvise!

                                  The above photo is my favorite of Aut and Lexy from dance.

                                        Here's a shot of Autumn, who found the highly polished wooden surface of the stage just a bit too slippery for the dance moves she was executing.  A sympathetic Mr. Frank assists her.  Lexy is to the left of the stage being held hostage!  I was so glad to have found these photos, well, actually, Autumn found them while cleaning her room!

                           Today, the bambini talked me into taking them to Mass at St. Pius - Autumn wore a dress.  I can't remember the last time she would.  But, last week at Kim's Mass, Lexy and Breanna both wore dresses and I think Autumn was impressed.  Kim so loved her to wear dresses.  So, I surprised her with one the other day and she loved it!

                      She looked so sweet!  Thanks Lexy and Breanna for making Autumn feel comfortable wearing a dress!!  I had to find one that covered her shoulders, though - she will not show her shoulders!

                    Later, we took Lexy, Breanna, Autumn and Tonio to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie.  Now, Kim loved Disney in general, but, she had always had a soft spot for Winnie the Pooh.  Especially Eeyore.  I would get her different Eeyore statues and stuffed animals when we were younger.  When we made it to Disney World, she always needed to get her photo taken with Eeyore.  I bought her Eeyore earrings there.  Same thing in Disneyland, where I bought her an Eeryore sweatshirt on a night that was suddenly colder than expected, following the plunge on Splash Mountain! 
                  When she was pregnant with Cody, I bought her a giant stuffed Eeyore.  With Autumn, a giant stuffed Tigger.  And Tonio, a giant stuffed Pooh bear. 
                  And, we had all of the Winnie the Pooh movies, initially on VHS and then on DVD.  The kids would watch them over and over, tirelessly...and anytime a new one came out in the theatres, we'd go as a family to see it.
                When they started to advertise for the newest Winnie the Pooh movie, right away Autumn and Tonio both said they had to see it.  Tonight, we finally made it there...
                 All of the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.  They seem to follow the same general recipe in all of their movies - Eeyore loses his tail.  The animals try to help.  At some point, Christopher Robin needs to go away and leaves them a note.  Owl misinterprets the note and they think he's been captured by a terrible monster!  But, in the end, they figure it out and everything is ok.  Good stuff.  They even recycle a lot of the same lines - like when Pooh needs to come up with an idea, he says 'think, think, think!'.  This was a Kimmy mantra...she used it to solve many a problem around our house.  This movie would have warmed her heart and made her chuckle along with Lexy, Breanna, Aut and Tonio!!
               It warmed mine to see these little ones enjoying it, and each other's company, so much...

                   Love,
                       Dave

                          

That smile, that laugh...

                    Wow...  That smile.  That laugh, so sweet.  So contagious - the corners of your mouth begin to turn up involuntarily, without thought - no fighting it!

                   I came across this video and some other footage and it was like finding buried treasure.  Or a beautiful secluded beach.  There are precious few shots of Kimmy in the frames that I found. 

                 We got our first video camera when Cody was born.  You know how it goes.  The first born always has the most pictures taken of them, and the most videos, too.  We video's everything, every movement, every milestone.  We do have a decent amount of video of Autumn, too.  But, certainly, it is evident, that the filming declines for the second child.  Then there was Tonio.  Kim would often lament that we had not taken enough video of our youngest.  Our baby.  It was something like work to remind each other to drag out the video to capture whatever moment in time that was occurring for the bambini by the time we had three.  We did ok, though.

                  It seems that, as parents, we are so focused on making sure we have adequate photos and film of our children to capture their childhood forever.  Memories of yesterday to make us laugh and reminisce as we get older.  "What if we wake up one day when we are 55 and say 'I wish we had had kids?'" Kim said to me one day when we were in our early 30's.  (and don't think the irony of her choosing to use the age 55, and the number of days she was sick, have escaped me...)  She was right.  I'm so glad I listened to her on that one!  But, I wish I had taken more footage of her!  We just thought to film the bambini, so when we were old, together, we could pop in a tape and nostalgically relive the kid's childhoods.  I guess what I'm trying to say, is, don't make this same mistake - take the film/photos of your loved one now!  I suppose we just never thought - well, we just knew that we were going to be together forever...

              This video footage was from Easter of '10.  Just weeks after our dear pup, Zona, passed away suddenly from spleen cancer.  She must have been terribly sick already.  There were signs, I just missed them...

              I feel so blessed to have found this particular clip.  It has it all!  Kim's smile.  Her laugh.  Her sweet, angelic voice...I showed it to the bambini and they stared, speechless - soaking it all in.  Then, intuitively, Autumn leaned closer to look into my eyes...I gave her a smile - she smiled back and looked back at the screen. 

             There is a longer clip I found, of the bambini playing on the slip 'n slide out back.  Kim is trimming the olive tree.  One foot on the garden wall, the other on the kid's playground rope ladder, precariously balancing so she could cut a errant limb.  The rope ladder is swaying and I happened to pan over, making a comment  - Kim did not miss a beat, instead of answering in words, she began to mimic a monkey!  "That is the most exotic monkey I have ever seen" I replied.

             She was spontaneous, funny - and able to turn the mood in any situation in a heartbeat. 

            Kim and I focused on the bambini - they were/are our life.  So, I feel even more blessed that I captured this moment...captured Kim, on film...to enjoy over and over...and to share with you.

             Love,

                   Dave

Another Recipe

          Autumn's been after me to make Kim's grilled balsamic london broil.  It's been more than 8 months.  Today, I surprised her.  When the bambini burst into the kitchen after school today, she stopped dead. "Mmmmmmm!  What are you making?  It smells so good!!"
          We never ate a lot of red meat - not that we were 'watching' how much we ate, just that, aside from carne asada, we've never been big fans of it.  But, Kim's london broil was different.  I think the kids probably would have welcomed it weekly.  It was a treat when she made it, sliced it thin - on her big, beautiful Italian platter - arranged so tastefully, that it looked too good to eat!

          Grilled Balsamic London Broil

    Ingredients:
    5 large garlic cloves
    1 tsp salt
    1/4 cup dry red wine
    1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
    1 tblsp soy sauce
    1 tsp honey

         Mince the garlic and put in a blender with the salt, red wine, balsamic, soy sauce and honey.  Blend well and pour over your London Broil.  Let it marinate for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours.
        Bring london broil back to room temp before grilling.  Remove from marinade and place on grill until done to your taste.  Kim would grill it about 10 minutes on each side.  Transfer london broil to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into thin strips.

          Next, she would arrange some baby mixed greens, with arugula on a large platter.  She would then arrange the slices of london broil on top, with shaved pieces of parmesan cheese, and topped with marinated Italian red peppers.  Then, she would mix up a dressing made 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of balsamic, tsp of oregano, 1/4 tsp sugar.  Whisk and pour over entire salad.

Autumn was a big help setting the table!  The bambini ate the entire platter!

Finally, I got to make and post one of Autumn's top 5 Kimmy recipes!!

Special congrats to Mary and Emilio Montes!!  Proud parents of little blessing Brinley, who checked into our world today weighing in at 8lbs 4 oz!!  Nicely done guys!!  Glad your 'special angel' was watching over you to keep things going smooth and your minds at ease...

Love,

 Dave

         

Channeling my Inner-Kim

Two weeks until Tonio's teacher, Jenny Rienstra, has her baby...and I had to ask myself, What Would Kimmy Do?  A shower seemed obvious!  Lupe (Tonio's little buddy, Monsi's, Mom) agreed and we collarborated to put something together to show Jenny how much we appreciated her and to make sure she had some more things to take care of the baby with!!

Kim loved all of the teachers at Cottonwood.  She absolutely loved to do special things for them and to surprise them.  And, of course, she loved babies!!  She so enjoyed her time being pregnant and every minute with each of our children.  She would get so excited when she heard one of our friends was going to be blessed with a baby.  I tried to channel that, as we planned for this event - and thankfully, Lupe had some great special touches to achieve that Kimmy feel!

Let me start with the cake.  We held Jenny's shower at 10:00 a.m. this morning, so I thought I'd try to make Kim's famous apple-blackberry breakfast cake!  My first challenge...what the hell is a 'spring pan'?  I dug through the cabinets, searching, holding each cake pan that Kim owned up and trying to make it tell me if it was a spring pan.  I finally found the only thing that could possibly be a spring pan.  I was ready.

                               This is only the second cake that I've ever made from scratch.  The directions said to cook it for 55 minutes in a 9" spring pan.  I had a 12", so I improvised and checked it for doneness at 35 minutes.  Close call.  It was done!

I quickly learned that the spring pan is sheer genius!  Simply unlatched it and pop!  Out comes the cake!

   Ingredients:

   Granulated sugar for pan

   1 1/2 cups of flour

   2 tsp baking powder

   1/2 tsp salt

   3 oz (6 tblsp) butter, melted and 2 tblsp cut into pieces

   3/4 cup brown sugar

   1/2 cup milk

   2 eggs

   4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges

   1 cup (1/2 pint) blackberries

   1/4 tsp cinnamon

        Preheat oven to 375.  Butter a 9" springform pan and dust with sugar.  Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, milk and eggs in another bowl.  Whisk in flour mixture.

       Spread evenly into pan.  Arrange apples over batter, sprinkle with blackberries.  Gently press fruit into batter.  Combine 2 tbsp of brown sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over fruit.  Dot with remaining 2 tbls of butter.  Bake until top is dark gold, apples are tender and a knife comes out clean, about 55 minutes.  Cool and serve.

          Came out great.  Thank you Kim.

               We ended up with a nice assortment of fruit, gogurts, rice krispy treats and cake.  Thanks to Isaiah's mom, Julie, for bringing in drinks and staying with us to help serve and clean up!!  Once the sugar absorbed into the kid's bloodstream, things started to get interesting!!

                As I mentioned above, Lupe came through to add the Kimness to the shower:

                         She had each of the children dip their thumb in green paint and then her husband, Manny, drew faces and arms/legs to make them frogs, Jenny's favorite!!  What a nice keepsake!  She also provided the decorations and some great cupcakes.  Lupe took all of the stress out of the details - I really only had to sweat the cake!

                 They were delicious and decorated with a tiny baby rattle!!

                     Tonio loves Mrs. Rienstra!!  He was so excited for today, yet was able to keep it a secret!!  "I suspected something might be up when Lupe was taking the kids into the pod yesterday..." she told me, but otherwise, noone let it slip.  Tonio helped make the cake by adding ingredients and doing all of the necessary whisking!

                 We are all wishing the Rienstra family much happiness and enjoyment when their new little blessing, Nathan, comes into their lives...pretty soon!

                    Love,
                           Dave

 

    

More Kimmy's Journal

         I had a few ideas, a few more memories that I wanted to add tonight - and I apologize - I'm tired...Today at work, I burned out.  I had the opportunity to deliver books to the good people over at Ellie Towne Community Center, not too far from my store.  Catholic Social Service operates some incredible programs there for seniors, teens and children.  They provide free or low cost meals to 75-100 seniors per day.  They have doctors, a dentist, art classes, games, etc for seniors.  They have a pre-school for disadvantaged children and a youth center for after school, so these kids have a safe place to go and hang out.  Most of the people who work there are volunteers or work for near minimium wage.  They do it for the love of people and their community.  It is so inspiring and I always feel blessed on the days I get to go there.

        But, for different reasons...it wore me out, too.

       And, I found myself, around 2:00, sound asleep at Jaimelyn's (Asst. Store Manager) desk.  I was reading her developmental plan she had prepared for me...and then I wasn't.  I was out.  Deep.  Mary, another A.S.M., walked in and asked 'Are you asleep?'...at the sound of her voice, I was like a diver, coming up to the surface, way to fast...the benz!  My brain was sluggish...yeh, I guess I was...So, they kicked me out.  Mercifully.

         And, I got my second wind as I scooped up the bambini from school (thanks Jenny and Casey for keeping these guys and helping them with homework!) and ran home to cook up some of the wonderful chicken stir fry that Andrea taught me to make - the kids eat a ton of it, and tonight was no exception!

        But here is the next entry in Kimmy's journal:

       February, 25, 2004

          "Today is my Dad's birthday.  We are all remembering the wonderful dad, friend and person he was to eeryone.  We went to the Mission this evening to light candles in the sanctuary (Mary's, the same on that I go to each Friday to light candles for Kimmy) and to say a prayer.  Thank you Dave for your loving words for him.  Cody had 'Rodeo Day' at school and Autumn, Tonio and I saw the white bird overhead as we watched the festivities.  Autumn said a prayer to 'Granpop' and blew a kiss to the sky...she's a sweet little honey.  Tonio lightened the mood of the day by waing for the first time : ) . Dave ended the day by getting me a special dove charm for my bracelet (from Italy!).  Dad will forever remain in our hearts."

        We feel the same way about Kimmy...she's in our hearts...

             Love,

                      Dave

Here's another photo of Autumn and Lexy on the day of their dance recital!

Little Dancers

         From Kimmy's Journal:

        February 16, 2004

                      "  Autumn is a little dancer!  She signed up for a 'tap' and 'ballet' class at Dance West Studio.  Her little buddy, Lexy, joined and told us about it.  The girls are adorable together!  We filmed Autumn's debut and needless to say, I shed a few tears.  We're so proud of our little princess.  It's a joy to watch her blossom.  She wore a beautiful pink gathered leotard with white tights and a little white sweater to keep her warm (she loves sweaters!).  She is having so much fun and Andrea and I really enjoy being there to watch these two dance!  We are planning to take the girls with us for coffee or dinner together after some of these lessons, too, to extend our day.  We can't wait until her next class next Monday when she and Lexy can dance again! "

                     I love this picture!  The first girl, on the right, is frozen with fear - crying.  Autumn and Lexy are the next two, looking so pretty in their little dance dresses!

                     The dance recital was precious.  Held over at Pima Community College's west campus. It was a full house, but, Andrea got there early and saved us all seats.  We got the girls little flowers - they looked so cute!  It was a great show...  Sadly, Autumn did not keep up with dance - she had Kim's shyness level, but, we were blessed that Lexy talked her into it for that season, so we (especially Kim) had a chance to see her dance...

                   I'm glad Kim journaled what she did.  I sometimes wish for more, wish she had written everyday. But, I'm thankful for the pages that I do have.

                     And Antonio is beginning to write regularly...he's so cute, pulling out his journal when he sees me getting ready to blog.  Tonight, he wrote the memory of finding a seashell for Mama, drawing an elaborate seashell and ending it "I love you Mama"...

                      Love,

                              Dave

In the Face of Fear

     In the Face of Fear...one of the best books that I've read.  It is a compilation, of works by people like the Dalai Lama and Jack Kornfield, promising 'Wisdom in Challenging Times'...it really was inspirational.  I used one of the lessons this morning, on the way to Mass at St. Rita, where they were having a special Mass for Kimmy.  As we hurtled down the highway, I told the bambini the story of the woman who lost her son.  She approached Buddha and said to him 'Buddha, my son has died and I know that you can bring him back to life.'  Buddha agreed and told her to seek out a mustard seed and deliver it to the house in the village that had not experienced loss...This book helps you see the good in all things - in fact, one of the short stories is entitled 'It Would be a Pity to Waste a Good Crisis'!  Most of the stories focus on ways to take the fear or panic out of any situation, so that you can think clearly, see things clearly and make a sound decision on how to feel or react.  There are answers for every situation any one of us might be facing.

       I was explaining the lesson to the kids when my phone rang.  It was Janene. 'Where are you?'...Apparently, having been so engrossed in my dissertation that I missed my exit, I was on my way to Patagonia.  I found a turn around, as the next exit was 19 miles east.  Autumn asked 'Are we allowed to turn here?'  No.  'Then what are these turn arounds for?'  I explained that they were for police and emergency vehicles.  "But, we are late for Mama's Mass - that's an emergency!" she reasoned, those beautiful blue eyes fixing on mine in the rear view mirror, Kim like.  Yes, but, unless we happened upon a very understanding officer, I would get a ticket, I told her.  "I bet Brad (Janene's husband, who works for the Tucson Police Department) would let you go!"  she answered.

       It was a nice Mass.  We took up two pews between Angie, Andrea, Janene, Kim, Cody, Autumn, Lexy, Mariah, Tonio, Breanna, Bryson and Micah.  It was a comfort to be surrounded by them as we reflected on Kim and shared her Mass together.

       The Homily, talked about how Jesus can see the potential in all of us.  His disciples were far from perfect, yet, he knew what was in their hearts and how to work with them, patiently, taking the time to mold them into what they became.  I was riveted, as I thought back...over the years...remembering the exact day, the exact moment that Kim came into my life - changing it forever.  Helping me to turn a 180, Kim saw the potential in my heart - it took Jesus about 3 years to shape Peter into 'The Rock' - he did not start out that way, rather, Jesus taught him and shaped him.  And I'm thankful that I am where I am now, while continuing to work on moving forward, thanks to Kim and to God for putting her into my life.

           After Mass, we all went to Viro's for lunch, where we met Brad and Kason.  Rose and Vito made sure that the 'big table' was ready to go for us.  And we ate cheesesteaks, roast beef sandwiches, pizza, pesto sandwiches, Italian wedding soup, buffalo chicken sandwiches and gelato.  In the midst of this feast, Rose brought us out a huge plate of her famous deviled eggs - "she puts bacon in them!" Janene marveled.  Lena made Andrea a special mocha latte and, for me, a cappuccino, of course.  Then, Rose brought us a plate of chocolate cake with chocolate mousse frosting and a strawberry cake, as well!!  We spent a couple of hours there, easing into our afternoon, remembering Kimmy and all that she did, knowing she would have been enjoying our day..."You know Kimmy's smiling down on all you do right now" Andrea told us.

             The Mass, the lunch, were incredible - and once again, I know how blessed we are to have this family to be there for us, for support, for motivation, for healing...

               Janene and Brad took Tonio with them when we finally were ready to leave Viro's.  He had a fun day playing with Bryson and Kason and doing a little roller skating.  Janene excitedly told me that Tonio came in first place in the races for his age group!

               We took Breanna and Lexy with us and the girls all had a fun afternoon at our house building, watching t.v. - it warms my heart so much to hear Autumn's laughter and to see her having so much fun and being at complete ease - Lexy and Breanna bring out the best in this little girl.  Kim loved to see these guys together and their creativity when they played.

               The bambini never got hungry...until 9ish, when they all decided to have cereal - the lunch tiding them over for the whole day.  I kept asking the girls 'want some grapes, fruit...pasta?'  'Nope, we are still full from Viro's!'

                Tonio and I finished reading Neil Gaiman's 'Graveyard Book' - Autumn snuck in to listen to the end - her and I read this one several years ago together - it is a great book.  We talked about the ending - was it sad?  The main character, Bod, was leaving the graveyard, where he grew up, leaving behind all that he knew...or happy?  Bod was excited by his prospects and the chance to see the world...the kids decided it was happy...

               To end the evening of a perfect day...I invited Tonio to do his journaling while I began writing Kimmy's blog...he pulled up a chair, next to mine and began drawing...and elaborate scene of a seashell, being tossed up on the beach and of Tonio and Kim finding the shell and picking it up, as I stand nearby smiling.  The sun is beaming down wearing sunglasses and a large, puffy cloud is smiling.  Birds happily fly throughout the sky....

                  As I wrap up, once again, I am thankful for all that I am blessed with...the bambini - their love and needs keep me going day to day....Angie and her family - for making us feel that we still matter...our health...our schools...I could go on and on...

                    Love,

                            Dave

Tonio, on gardening

         Each morning, that I am able to take the bambini to school, we walk through the rear gate, past the pre-school, past the 1st and 2nd grade classrooms, holding hands, saying good morning to all of the teachers who bravely stand among the swarming, energized children...to Kim's 'Smiles Grown Here' garden.
        The kids love a little quite time as they take in the beauty of the flowers, shaded by mesquites.  Autumn will sit on the stone bench that was added by the PTSA...Tonio will pick out bits of fallen mesquite pods...and weeds. 
        Last week, he noticed some exceptionally large weeds had invaded the garden.  Each morning, he would try, in vain, to remove them.  Finally, yesterday, he succeeded in ripping off a large part of the stalk.  It was so big, he could not throw it over the fence into the desert.  Cody went over to help him. 
        After school, his teacher, Jenny Rienstra, told me how during recess, Tonio once again attempted to remove these large weeds.  "He had a good day in class and finished his work", she smiled with a thumbs up..."But...he's obsessed with those weeds!"

          I was glad he had a good day, so did Autumn.  I told Tonio, let's go home, change and come back to school with shovels and bags for the weeds.  "Thanks Dad.  I'm obsessed with those weeds!"  Parroting Jenny : ) !

         And we did.  His little friends Monis and Alyssa were still there and quickly came over to help.  We dug out the largest ones and pulled the little ones.  Tonio was finally satisfied.  At peace.  He carefully and lovingly, replaced the memorial stone for Kim's 'Smiles Grown Here' garden.  "There."  He said, standing back to admire his work.  "Now everyone can see Mama's stone and read it too!"

          It was hot and humid as we left Cottonwood to drive over to Cienega to pick up Cody.  But Tonio was not finished gardening yet.

          These guys know how much Kimmy loved her garden.  She'd sit out there most mornings...and spend at least a few hours a week trimming, dead heading flowers, etc.  Her neat little piles of clippings along the top of the garden wall - I'd follow behind her with a garbage bag cleaning up.  She understood the therapeutic value of a garden - it is why she felt so strongly about having a 'functional' garden at the school for the inclusion kids to be able to dig and plant flowers and to have for the entire school to enjoy...This time of year, with the monsoon, brings growth, greenery and a kaleidoscope of color from the flowers...

         

          I told the kids there were tigers out back.  And, possibly, jaguars.  Recent rains had the grass growing rapidly (a good thing!), weeds too.  So, Tonio came out and helped me get things back under control. I have all of the kids help in the garden from time to time.  When a plant or flowers need to be replaced, I will have them choose what they'd like to add to Mama's garden. Tonight,  Tonio weeded.  And when I trimmed up the olive trees, he raked the clippings into piles (carefully rehanging the few angels left in the large olive tree out front) and heaved the piles into the waiting garbage can.  He picked ripe cherry tomatoes after weeding our little garden (basil, egg plant and cherry tomatoes).  Watched me cut the grass and trim the edges...and then went hunting frogs - he found two little frogs and a lizard!

           Tonio had restored order to two gardens that he loves, that give him some sense of closeness to his Mama, the gardens that she so loved...the flowers attract beautiful hummingbirds and butterflies that the kids will sit and watch.  Recent rains have the garden looking the best it has since Kimmy lovingly tended to it up through last September...the bambini find smiles out there...

             Love,

                      Dave

Tonio's memory...

       I know I told you, that I asked Kim to haunt me...I spoke with Lupe and Manny about that last night, wondering, if sometimes I 'stretch' this, looking for meaning in the stars.  Making things into something...like the clouds today...they reminded me so much of the dancers that Kim had once painted so long ago...

       And then, today, I listened to the Offspring's 'Gone Away', for the first time in awhile, remembering how appropriate those lyrics are.  I replayed it several times...and dammit, when I pulled up Kimmy's blog tonight, the jukebox randomly que'd it up - coincidence?  Or haunting?  I'm inclined to go with Kimmy on this one...You could hit play on the jukebox and sing along, if you'd like - I do.  Although I prefer the studio version, it was not available on this particular jukebox...

Gone Away Lyrics Artist(Band):Offspring Maybe in another life I could find you there Pulled away before your time I can't deal it's so unfair And it feels And it feels like Heaven's so far away And it feels Yeah it feels like The world has grown cold Now that you've gone away Leaving flowers on your grave Show that I still care But black roses and Hail Mary's Can't bring back what's taken from me I reach to the sky And call out your name And if I could trade I would And it feels And it feels like Heaven's so far away And it stings Yeah it stings now The world is so cold Now that you've gone away Gone away, gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Oooooo, yeah oooooo, oooooo, Ohh yeah. I'll Save Your Soul Whoa. Yeaaaaaeeeaaeah. Mm. I reach to the sky And call out your name Oh please let me trade I would And it feels And it feels like Heaven's so far away And it feels Yeah it feels like The world has grown cold Now that you've gone away Gone away, gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah And, from Aunt Becky, who told me about Happyplace.com: I had blogged that Kim once wanted to go to clown college!!!  Haunting?  You decide.

        Anyway, I spent the day at school today.  First, in Jenny Rienstra's class (she has a wonderful teaching style and the kids really respond) having the opportunity to grade papers, file, staple progress reports (trying not to peek!) and, my favorite, helping some of the kids read and then take accelerated reading tests on the books they finished (I got to read with Tonio's best bud, Monsi!).

       Next, I walked on down the sidewalk to Casey Rudzena's class (innovative, engaging - a fabulous teacher!) and graded some papers, did a little cutting and filing, deliveries, etc.  It's so nice to give back to these dedicated teachers who give so much to our children.  Especially for all that they do for Tonio and Autumn!!

        After school, as we hopped in our truck in front of a big monsoon blowing in, Antonio piped up "Dad!  I have an idea for Mama's blog!!"...and here it is;

               Two Halloween's ago, Tonio was very sick...too sick to Trick or Treat...he laid in bed, very sad...Kimmy attending to him - sending me out into the land, with Cody and Autumn, so they could knock on strangers doors and demand candy...
               "But Mama had a plan", Tonio remembers..."As soon as I felt better, she dressed me up in the scarecrow costume." circa 2000 - Cody wore this at age three, Kimmy made this!  "She gave a piece of candy to you, to Cody and one to Autumn and had everyone go into their bedrooms.  Then, she held my hand and we walked to Cody's room and knocked on the door.  When he answered I said 'Trick or Treat!' and he gave me a piece of candy.  Then, we walked down the hall to Autumn's room.  We knocked on the door and she gave me a piece of candy, too.  Then, we knocked on your door and you opened it and when I yelled 'Trick or Treat', you gave me a piece of candy, too!!  That was so fun.  And so nice of Mama."

               The mind harbors many more memories than we are capable of having floating on the surface.  Some, necessarily, sink into the murky waters of our minds...who knows what brings them flailing to the surface, demanding our attention??  This was one memory, that I was glad resurfaced for Antonio.  A happy memory.  He was so excited to contribute.  And that was what Kim did.  She took a bad memory, of Tonio being sick for a favorite holiday, and replaced it with an awesome memory!

                The monsoon was good to us tonight.  We enjoyed nearly two hours of thunder, lightning spreading multiple arms across the sky and lots of rain, bringing the sweet smell of the desert...I chose to grill during it.  Wielding my spatula like a mini lighting rod as I grilled chicken and asparagus (thanks for telling me about Janene's olive oil on tin foil with asparagus trick, Angie - I added two cloves of minced garlic, for good measure)...Then, we opened up the house to bring the monsoon in to us...Autumn thought it was chilly as the temps dropped into the 80's! 

                So, it was a good day - the best part for me?  Sharing my home brewed iced tea...And the bambini were all home for dinner tonight, devouring the chicken, asparagus and corn on the cob (sprinkled with Tajin)...as we enjoyed the rains...

                  Love,

                       Dave