A Home in Mound

Blog issues

2010-05-02T01:43:00.003-05:00

Blogger is making some changes which may change things here... I will keep you updated as things move along...

GML4

Cease and Desist!

2010-04-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

This is unbelievable...

Today in the mail I got a cease and desist letter from a lawyer in Kankakee Illinois. They represent some home design company in Mound, Illinois. Apparently this business, which is called "Home in Mound" has issues with us calling our blog "A Home in Mound" and want us to stop using this name.

I can't find any information about the company online, and it's not like we've been getting calls looking for home design information, so I'm not sure why there is a problem.

What should I do? Should I ignore this, or fight it? Any advice?

Bedtime Stories - The Wheels Story

2010-03-13T22:38:00.002-06:00

Tonight's adventure was a short one involving Challenger visiting 57 Chev.

While their parents were visiting inside, 57 Chev and Challenger were racing in the park and street, when Challenger noticed a puddle next to the trailer 57 Chev's parents owned. Challenger had a big thrill driving through the puddle of course, made much more fun as it splashed water and dirt on the trailer. 57 Chev got into the action too, driving through the puddle, and making the trailer even dirtier! Both cars were having a blast racing through this puddle, seeing how much mud they could get on the trailer.

After a while, their parents came out and were horrified at the mess the young cars made. Challenger and 57 Chev felt terrible about it. After a stern, short discussion about how to treat other peoples things, they helped their parent clean it up.

The End.

Linkert Winter activities

2010-03-13T00:53:00.000-06:00

I took the kids to the Early Childhood "Daddy and me" night out with the girls. It was a nice event with crafts, snack, play, and another dad brought his guitar and lead some songs. The girls were not on their best behavior unfortunately.

We met up with the Sebaskys to go ice skating at the Shirley Hills ice rink.

I had taken our girls out a couple weeks earlier, so they were a bit more familiar with being on the ice... this was Kendall and Masons first time, they really stuck with it though!

Last year Janet bought this helper for new skaters. Here Kendall takes a turn.

Cecelia skated strong. She moved around the ice pretty good with no assistance.

Maeve is more cautious... but got around a bit without assistance.

The kid in the background was showing off... zipping around at perilous speeds. Punk.

Cecelia and Mason share.

Uh... that's not skating Maeve.

Here's the gang. Had a great time!

Maeve imitating the Speed skaters while watching the Olympics.

Local Mound businesses the other day organized a Moonlight Trail Walk at the end of February. We hooked up with the Villamils for a nice dinner, and some cupcake decorating.

Here we are on the walk. The path was not as easy to walk as one would've hoped, but the kids did great, and we made part of the trek.

Stopped at the campfire on the way back and enjoyed some suckers.

Maeve kicking back.

The girls love helping mom in the kitchen.

Cecelia turns Four!

2010-03-12T01:18:00.004-06:00

Cecelia's birthday was a couple days ago, so we invited some friends over Saturday for a party.

The highlight game was musical chairs... I don't think I've ever seen a musical chairs game go _so_ well.... we played it twice!

Even Isaiah played... though he wasn't so sure about the whole thing.

The game was supposed to be herding balloons with brooms... but the wind just lifted the balloons off the deck and just made things difficult... so we just made it a relay race.

Cecelia's fish cake... prepared by mom.

Then Sunday we met the Burfiends, my folks and the Bradways at a bowling ally to celebrate.

The kids did a great job!

Cecelia sends it down the lane!

Enjoying our time with Hans.

Grandpa takes a turn.

There goes Seth!

Happy Birthday Cecelia!

Cecelia Horse cake (also shaped in a number 4)

With one of her gifts was makeup... sigh.

Late winter days at Basso

2010-03-12T00:27:00.003-06:00

We got a new friend coming to Basso!

Josh has been busy learning colors... he's busy learning yellow here.

We like cars... we like ramps... we like cars jumping off ramps into the bins!

Sawyer enjoying a book.

Josh flashes some necklaces he made.

Our old friend Peter stopped by. Here he's playing games with Cecelia.

The kids like playing on the rocking recliner lately.

Shaping things with play-doh.

Isaiah flashes a grin.

We enjoy our freshly snowless deck. Once it warmed up... it was pretty easy to push the ice and snow off the deck.

Coloring some green with Sawyer and Isaiah.

The Basso gang.

Isaiah pushing trucks.... everyone likes to push the trucks!

I guess everyone likes tea parties too... this one hosted outside by Cecelia and Maeve.

Janet realized Isaiah had a shirt on that had a striking resemblence to a cake pattern in a book she recently acquired.

Sawyer is a little slow to eat, but loves watching what the other kids are up to.

Maeve peeking around the corner

Tea party inside this time... hosted by Cecelia and Maeve. These seem to be happening quite more frequently now that Janet is home.

Sawyer and Josh playing with the laundry baskets.

The Little Voice

2010-03-07T22:51:00.003-06:00

This was one of those days that one never forgets.

A couple months ago, if you would've asked me who Allen Anderson was, I would've shrugged my shoulders and given you a blank look.

A couple months ago I got invited to be a part of an online support group for Allen Anderson. Since the name meant nothing to me, I figured it was an accident, and nearly clicked ignore, but something stopped me. That little voice in me that always wants to do good, suggested to wait... think about this... it could be important.

I thought about it throughout the day, and into the night. Looked again at the people who were joining this group, and _none_ of them looked familiar with the exception of my Aunt Carolyn, who had invited me to join this group.

It must have been a mistake. Allen Anderson was some kid who clearly got into trouble and was trying to work it out. I wanted to be supportive, but really... who was I to this kid? Do I join this group, or do I ignore? The little voice that wants me to do good, was getting louder, said wait... think about this... it could be important.

All day long today, I've been thinking back to that moment when I had that choice. How easy it would've been to just ignore the invitation. No one would've said anything. No one would've missed me. My life would've continued as it was, Allen Anderson would've never known the difference if I had joined his support group or not.

It was late in the evening, on the second day with this choice that I made the connection. Allen was my cousin's kid. This was family. Granted... family who I rarely see... hardly know... but they are family. Allen and his family was looking for support. I confess... I still hesitated on joining the support group. I was skeptical that something like this would be meaningful in anyway to Allen, his family, or to me for that matter. But I joined in hopes that my cousin and his family may, in some small way, be uplifted that we were paying attention.

So I joined Allen's support group on Facebook.

Again, just a small gesture. I did little else except to read the updates from Allen's brother and mother on the page. Allen enrolled in MN Teen Challenge, and was recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. Recovering from a life where he was constantly getting into trouble that nearly killed him. His brother and mother would occasionally ask for messages of support that they could share with Allen. That small part of me wanted to write something... but Allen wouldn't know who I was... anything I could write would be meaningless. So I never did. I just read the updates, and hoped things would work out for Allen.

We are fortunate at our church that we have MN Teen Challenge come once a year to share a service with us. This includes having about 60-80 adults, aging from 14-60 come in front of our congregation, and share some wonderful music, and testify some of their personal stories of struggle and triumph. The music and the stories make a powerful presentation of how effective this program is to help people get a second chance in life. There are stories about mother's who have their children taken from them because of their drug problems, men who lived in homelessness just trying to get that next high, people that were stuck in a bad situation and couldn't, for whatever reason, make the right choices, and constantly getting themselves in life threatening situations. This program (MN Teen Challenge) has a good record of helping these people overcome their struggles, and give them the confidence and life skills to make a better life for themselves, and their families.

We are also fortunate at our church to have a member, Jim Mackin, who works for MN Teen Challenge.

I am also very fortunate to have a wife who will say and ask questions that I may not. She must work with that little voice in my head, because she asked Jim about the possibility of having Allen come to our church. He suggested to her that it would be no problem.

So I stood again at a choice. Is it weird to pull strings so that Allen could come to our church? Allen's family was clearly going to all the churches Allen was visiting... would they be comfortable coming to our church? We had already made tentative plans for celebration of Cecelia's birthday party, if Allen came, how does that change things?

I'm sorry to share that a big part of me suggested that I shouldn't make a fuss. Don't bother our friend from church with our personal business. Allen will never know that we decided to bypass on the chance to have him come to our church, his family will never know, the world will go on... but that little voice in me persisted.

Janet was also persistent. We talked about it for over a week until finally decided to push the button, and ask Jim to see if he could make things work out. In effect, we decided to bother our friend to have Allen, this kid... this distant cousin of mine who wouldn't know me from anyone else, come to our church and hear about his story that we knew very little about. My gut ached all week, as I wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do.

I could spend the next several paragraphs detailing what happen Sunday morning at my church, but I would be wasting my time. If I were given a microphone, and allowed to have an hour of broadcast time on the radio to tell you what happened when Allen and his family greeted me, it would mean little to you. If I had the ability to hire Shakespeare and Steven Speilberg, and have them write and produce a movie about my Sunday morning, it would be a huge flop, and no one would want to see it.

All I will say today is that Allen and his family gave beautiful testimonies today about their struggles and their triumphs. They inspired many tears from the congregation, including me. After the service, it was a great opportunity to sit down, and share a memorable meal with Allen and his family.

Today was one of the days in my life I will remember forever, and keep close to my heart. Today was one of those days where I could look back at those seemingly unimportant decisions that I made... and now know that they did matter... they did mean something. Not only to Allen and his family... but to me.

A couple months ago, I listened to that little voice. I think tomorrow... I'm going to listen for it a little harder.

Our Valentine Inspiration!

2010-02-13T10:27:00.002-06:00

A Valentine wish for our mothers on this special day from Basso Child Care!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What do I do when Janet and the girls are gone for 10 days?!

2010-02-04T13:21:00.002-06:00

I imagine I would've done an inside out potato man whether the girls were here or not, but I thought it was visually interesting.

I couldn't find the mouth, and putting the hat and feet on wasn't possible, but did get the earrings on.

The task I took upon myself to do this week (without consulting Janet) is cleaning out our pantry. This is most of the food stuff that was in there (3 shelves worth). Most of which has been put back.

Then I start looking at these boys and their hair and I think, hey, I could do something with their hair! So here they are all styled up! Isaiah's turned out very nicely I think!

Josh didn't have as much to work with, but I did get two little piggy tails.

Evolution of a doorway

2010-01-31T17:39:00.002-06:00

I found a flickr group a few days ago where people were piecing together photos from the past and present, and I was inspired. Here's my first attempt, putting 6 photos together of our entryway that were taken a various times during the construction of our home.

Things lined up pretty well, but the angle isn't always right. At the bottom, you see the hole and original basement floor, then the concrete block and stairs as they were finished along with pictures of the house, before, during and after it was built. (along with a gaping hole of nothingness, as I didn't plan very well)

Look who's growing up!

2010-01-28T11:44:00.001-06:00

It's always a fun day when the little one first sits with the big kids. Baby Isaiah isn't a baby anymore!

School days

2010-01-05T18:23:00.003-06:00

Monday Janet and Cecelia visted Maeve's class to celebrate Maeve's birthday.

Our 5 year old enjoying a cupcake.

Due to some recent changes, we can now get Cecelia to preschool, so she started today. Here she is flashin

Here's our new preschooler!

Off to school. She did great!

2009 Christmas letter

2009-12-25T00:45:00.003-06:00

2009 LINKERT FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER

(to the tune of Good King Wenceslas)

Those good Linkerts send this out
in this festive season,
to share this year's fun happenings,
nothing out of reason.
Brightly shines the moon this night
though the frost is cruel
Our house is laughter every night
our children are our jewels.

Our 2009 was good
healthy, happy, pleasant.
Hope you think we're not a prude
sharing rhymes on parchment.
We've had activities old and new,
camping, dancing, boatin',
Road trips, yes we've had a few,
Williams, NC, Princeton!

Maeve soon will be 5 years old
a sweet and funny lady
works on letters, colors bold.
Plays hide and seek with Daddy.
Cecelia writes well, and likes dance,
her laughter is infectious
creative thinker, blue eyes glance
hair is full of blondness.

Children come to George each day,
laughing, singing, playing.
Janet cut ties with Tar-shay
Wish her luck in looking!
Play our music when we can,
Alumni Band and Big Band.
Scrapbooking on a weekend
Visiting parks with woodland.

Hither friend and family
share with us your news please.
We love updates, doubt not me
online, visits, tel-lee.
May your Holidays be fulfilled
happiness be plenty.
find some moments to be stilled
and a time for whimsy.

Happy Holidays from the Linkerts, and all the best in the New Year!

First Snowfall 2009

2009-10-10T09:04:00.002-05:00

As a Minnesotan, and blogger. I am legally obligated to share pictures of our first snowfall. Here, Cecelia couldn't wait to get a taste of it.

The winter cloths not pulled out yet... I put the kids in sweaters and tennis shoes suggesting they would be fine for a bit.... they were.

And of course, snuggling under the blanket to warm up afterward.

Here's pics from our first snow last year.

Summer turns to Fall in Mound

2009-10-08T13:58:00.005-05:00

Fall is here... Maeve is off to school most days now, and Cecelia has really enjoyed tracing letters...

The girls on a nature walk at Carver Park.

The three on a adventure.

Finishing our walk, now to the promised playground.

Maeve's last baseball game was in September.

Out at the playground, all the kids decided to play at the backstop for some reason.

Maeve and Cecelia exploring all the different ways one can go down a slide.

There's a nice path on the far side of the park, perfect for tricycles and wagons.

The hint of fall coming in our neighbor's trees.

Janet found this doll in our bed one day.

The girls and I again to Carver Park (I was inspired by the recent Ken Burns series about National Parks).

Working together to get to the top!

Cecelia takes the lead.

Now dragging her sister.

It's a lovely place... I'm so glad to have regularly visited this summer. We'll have to wait and see what the winter brings.

Now off racing ahead!

Cute girls!

The playground there has a cool flower garden next to it the kids can run around in. I was standing in it, taking a picture of the girls on top of the slide in the background.

Brother Josh working on a puzzle.

Maeve's pre-school class went to Voyaguer Enviromental Center for a field trip the other day. I was fortunate to be able to go with and see the class in action. Here, her teacher, Mrs. E. discovered there were two Gopher fans on the trip.

It was a bit cold and rainy, but we had a great time experiencing bugs, and animal fur and tracks.

If you didn't know it, Maeve is a ham.

On the way home, we sat in the back, and were the cool kids on the bus. Maeve loved feeling the bumps!

Missing Mommy.

2009-09-26T23:26:00.002-05:00

Janet and Becky (Kendall and Mason's mom) happen to be gone away for the weekend... so this is mainly for them.

Please support DSAM and TEAM HERO

2009-09-11T14:57:00.001-05:00

Dear friends and family,

We hope this letter finds you in good cheer as a new school year begins! After an action packed summer of camping, and biking, we are very excited to see Maeve start a new year of pre-school at the local Elementary school. She and Cecelia are also excited about starting dance classes through the community ed program through the Westonka school district.

As you know, Maeve and Cecelia are a great joy to have in our lives. They are such good girls, and are growing fast. They love to talk about their daily activities with their dad at the childcare. They sing, and dance with the best of them, show great intelligence as they are learning their letters and numbers, and show great prowess on the playground and t-ball field.

We may have told you before about the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota [http://www.dsamn.org/]. It is a wonderful non-profit organization that we became a part of nearly immediately after we learned Maeve Hero would be born with Down syndrome. The individuals and families that work in this organization are very welcoming and helpful people, and have become very important in our lives. They provided wonderful information to us, as we started learning about what Down syndrome was, and what it might mean for Maeve and our family. The events and programs DSAM holds are all uplifting and heartwarming as we share with other similar families our triumphs and struggles. Janet and I have ended up co-facilitating a parent group that meets monthly for local families in the Minnetonka area, DSAM supports our group with training, and helps provide materials to allow our group to run smoothly.

This generous organization only asks us to help fundraise once a year, in the Fall, at the annual Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk(formerly Buddy Walk) in St. Paul [http://www.dsamn.org/walk]. The event on Sunday, Sept 20 helps promote DSAM, and brings awareness to our community about people with Down syndrome. We hope that you consider supporting DSAM, Maeve, and her fundraising team, TEAM HERO by giving a donation to our fundraising page. We have set a modest goal of $500, and hope you can help us achieve it. You can conviently donate online at...

http://www.firstgiving.com/linkert

If you want to take an additional step, and join us for the walk, we would be most honored, and you would be most welcomed! There will be music (including our friend, Len Yeager's dixie group, Lazy Does It, playing at the pavilion!) activities for kids, and lots of great folks. Let us know that you're coming and we'll make arrangements to meet you!

As DSAM is important to our family, it is your support and acceptance of Maeve that means the most to Janet and I. We consider ourselves so lucky to have you as friends and family. Please know, whether you contribute or not, that you are greatly appreciated, and we are very fortunate to be surrounded by your love.

Sincerely,

Janet and George Matthew Linkert

Busy Linkerts

2009-08-14T14:56:00.003-05:00

Decided to post a bunch of pictures showing what we've been up to lately. A couple weeks ago, we had the neighborhood night out picnic in the park across the street. It's always fun to visit with the neighbors!

A police squad came by with McGruff.

And we recieved the obligatory crayons and books from Officer Hughs.

The neighborhood girls get locked up.

Then the girls got to check out the firetruck!

And get the obligatory firefighter hats.

As we were eating, Maeve suddenly got it into her head to give everyone a hug. She went from table to table hugging nearly everyone.

Can't forget about Donna!

As I mentioned before... Cecelia been big into these Duplos lately.

Maeve had her final t-ball game last week. It was an exhibition game in the middle of the Babe Ruth Regionals, so there was a huge crowd. Maeve went along the entire outfield fence to give all the fans a high five!

Here are her buddies. They had a lot of fun I think.

Our friend Alisa came to play. She did a great job running the bases... even when it wasn't her turn to bat!

Cecelia and Mom watch.

Maeve coming home!

Alisa gets some help from Mom.

A big hug from teammate Riley. Coach Tim was great!

Daddy and Cecelia watch.

Dairy Queen donated some Dilly bars to the players.

Our friends, the Quevedos came by for lunch on the deck, and a nice visit.

The annual Link/Nessel get together at Howard and Ellies happened last weekend. They live on a great, sandy lake with virutually no weeds. The girls loved swimming!

Maeve was queen of the big yellow float for the day.

Cousins enjoying the water.

Zach pulling mom and dad around.

As I said, the water was perfect. Warm, and very shallow. The kids had a great time!

Captain Ken took us out for a bit of a boat ride... Cecelia loved going fast. We gotta get another boat soon.

Water volleyball is the standard game to play at the Nessels.

The girls and I having some fun!

We went to Roger and Tina's quintet concert at Lake Harriet. The girls loved dancing!

For some reason or other... we biked alot this last week. It started Tuesday when all I really needed to do was to go to Carver Park to pick up a dropped hat. It ended up with us loading the car with our bikes to include a bike ride.

A gift from Sweden... cute dresses.

And a Pippi Longstocking book!

A quick supper before our 2nd bike ride of the week at Baker park.

Taking a break on our ride.

Some nifty new clothes. Very sheek!

A dragon!

Rain!

2009-08-11T15:38:00.002-05:00

Rain!

Huh?!

Up!

Wet!

Down!

Puddle!

March!

Sandals!

Splash!

Penultimate!

Wet.

Basso at Carver Park

2009-08-10T14:48:00.003-05:00

With Josh gone for the day, I loaded the kids up in the "Bandman" (or new car) and we headed to the Carver Park Reserve for a nature walk, play, and lunch.

They have a cool nature center there, with lots of neat stuffed animals to see.

Then on our walk around Crosby Lake! Maeve takes the lead.

Rock memorializing Mr. Crosby.

"Which way should we go kids?"

Ok... that way!

Good friends.

Taking a break on our walk.

Then onward we go... Wait Maeve!

We take a break at every bench.

Kendall and Maeve get ahead of us a bit... but wait nicely.

Mason is the plodder, but he keeps moving!

Tree inspection.

Mason takes a break.

The kids do a great job staying together!

The playground here is fun... full of "habitats" so they can pretend they are animals. Here we have bees pollinating flowers.

Cute picture of Kendall.

Cecelia inspects the beaver dam.

Mason leaps from lily pad to lily pad.

Then a picnic lunch. What a great day!

Fun in the Sun at Basso!

2009-08-06T00:43:00.003-05:00

Seems like everyday is Josh's birthday. Here Mason and Kendall make up some sand cakes to celebrate (again)

Kendall gives Josh a birthday ride.

Cecelia tries to ride, too much for Kendall.

Isabella and Maeve laugh at the others.

Cecelia gives Josh a ride... has difficulty pulling in the grass. I suggest she take him to the path!

Ah... much better! Hey... who's steering this thing?!

I've been having the girls start doing the fireman pole. They are getting pretty good at it... though Kendall tried it without me a few minutes after this picture was taken and had a fall. (she's ok!)

Kendall also is doing great on the Tricycle.

Maeve loves the fireman pole!

Cecelia has her turn.

We've been having a lot of fun with the sprinkler on the deck! (Ok... Josh has an opinion of his own, but he'll change his mind soon!)

See... he's ok now.

I find the simple sprinker works just fine... and doesn't break like the kiddie ones do.

Mason didn't like the water in June, but really has fun with it now!

Maeve and Isabella play with the duplos. We've had these since Cecelia was a baby, and have been played with seldom until these last couple weeks. Now the kids can't stop playing with them it seems!

Cecelia showing off a helicopter she made with the Duplos.

It was Isabella's first day of school the other day, so we got all the kids lined up for a photo.

And then we had them make faces!

Isabella's backpack... almost as big as the bearer herself!

Time to get on the bus!

Such a big girl!

Cecelia looking both ways before crossing the street.

Mason and the trucks.

Dancing, Marching, and Parades!

2009-07-21T14:49:00.001-05:00

Showing some of the fun we had last weekend!

Parade on Avon Drive

2009-07-16T14:41:00.001-05:00

The kids and I practice up for the big Kiddie parade in Mound tonight!

Fun fun fun!

2009-07-15T00:03:00.002-05:00

If funny how often the kids want to color Maeve a picture, or put together a party for Maeve when she's away for school. Cecelia and Kendall wanted to color a picture for Maeve this day, so I gave them a big white sheet of paper.

I thought it was kinda fun how you can so easily see, compare, and contrast Cecelia, Kendall's and Masons coloring techniques.

We took Mason and Kendall in the new car tonight to the Mound city beach. Fun to fill it full of kids!

Having a snack out on the deck.

Josh turns and says, "Hey George, look at me... I'm sitting with the big kids!"

Linkert camping 2009

2009-07-12T15:46:00.003-05:00

Once again, a great weekend of getting together and camping with our Linkert cousins!

We are fortunate the good guys (Jon and Chad) make up eggs and pancakes for us on Sat. morn. Mmmmm.

Cecelia enjoying the pancakes.

Maeve practicing up for the big pinata event later in the day.

Cecelia enjoyed Grandpa's scooter. (What? Doesn't _your_ grandpa have a scooter?)

Maeve and Grandma enjoy a moment.

The tension of the big pinata event starts getting to Abbi.

Logan studies the wind's effect on the pinata.

Sara distracting the kids while we wait for the Yurkoviches to go to the potty.

All the kids are ready, and given instructions for the pinata.

Cecelia, being the youngest, takes a swing.

Maeve flashes mom a smile before swinging.

Avae gives it her best... that Grandma built a strong Pinata!

Ella takes her turn.

Abbi sends the Pinata high into the tree... but fails to crack it open.

Grandma's pinata finally fails the second time through. Now it's George's pinata's turn, which goes much quicker!

After some swimming and napping, the girls enjoy some bread. I love how Maeve has her legs crossed!

Mommy and Maeve share a moment!

The new thing this year was showing movies. Janet brought her laptop and projector, we set up a big sheet, and played movies for the kids at dusktime. It was a big hit, and even had some other camping kids come by to watch the second night.

Sunday morning... who's still sleeping?

We love camping with our cousins!