The Cracked Pot

This story just really speaks to me & I wanted a place to document it for later.  I hope it touches you as well....


The Story of the Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfections, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work and you don't get full value for your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it hadleaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as we seek ways to minister together and as God calls you to the tasks He has appointed for you, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway.

Summer Honors Orchestra

Nate was again selected to participate in the Summer Honors Orchestra for our school district.   He made 1st chair for 2nd violin and is the 3rd from the left in the first row in this picture.  The orchestra practices daily for a couple of weeks and then puts on a concert to showcase what they've accomplished.  It's amazing what they can pull together in that short amount of time!  Good job Nate!

Camping at Interstate Park

This summer we went on our first family camping trip since we lived in Michigan.  We sold our pop-up camper before we came to MN so a few years ago Steve bought a family sized tent.  He's been using it when he goes hunting up north, but this was the first time our whole family camped in it together.  I was surprised by how big it was!  We had plenty of room for all our sleeping gear.  Of course, no Dufon camping trip would be complete without a rain shower or two, but I'm happy to say that the tent kept us and our stuff nice and dry!
We set up camp on Friday night and then on Saturday we spent the day in Taylor's Falls at Wild Mountain adventure park.   We had gotten a gift certificate at Christmas that we could use there and the kids were very excited because it's not just a waterpark, but has go carts and alpine slides too.   The water was nice, but we spent the most time on the alpine slide and go carts.  The kids wanted to go over & over & over again!
On Sunday we spent the morning hiking through Interstate State Park and checking out all the glacial potholes.   Nate and Sarah especially like climbing all the rock formations.   Natalie of course couldn't be left out so she followed along as much as we would let her!
We had so much fun that we've already decided to go back next summer.

Happy 4th of July!

Natalie's first experience with sparklers......

Minneman Triathlon

Steve completed his first triathlon on July 3rd!  He placed 1st in his division.  Hopefully I can convince him to sit down and write a little about it......the kids and I had a great time cheering him on.  It was exciting to see him do so well after training all year.

New Pool

After 2 years of thinking about and researching different pool options, this was the year that Steve decided we should do it - put a pool in the back yard!  We decided on an above ground pool to save money and also so that it wasn't permanent in our backyard....we will always have the option of taking it down if we should ever need to.  The pool is a 27 ft round and is 52" tall.   The water is about 4 ft deep when it is filled.   We also put in a salt water system so that we don't have to worry about all the chemicals.  We had it installed around the 4th of July and have been in it almost everyday since.  The kids are having a blast and spend as many hours as we will let them in the pool.   We've put stones around the outside and the sod is growing back, but we're not sure if the deck will get built this year or next - there's always some kind of project going on around here so we've added that to the list :-).

Nana & Papa visit

The kids sure do love it when grandparents come to visit!  Steve's parents came in the spring and my parents came for Natalie's birthday - double bonus for the kids!













Dad, Sarah, Nate, Natalie & Mom

Fargo Soccer Tournament

Sarah's competitive soccer team (the Thunderbolts) went to Fargo for a soccer tournament on the last weekend in June.  We were lucky enough to have Nana and Papa come for a visit at that same time so Me, Nana & Sarah went on a road trip to Fargo, ND while Steve, Papa & Natalie stayed home.  We stayed at a very nice hotel in Fargo and spent time with the other families on Sarah's team.  It was a great time for the girls to hang out and get to know each other better and a nice time for me to meet some of the parents as well.   Sarah had a game on Friday afternoon, then 2 on Saturday.  Unfortunately our game was cancelled Saturday morning because of lightning in the area, but the girls were still able to play that night.  They did not make it to the play-offs, but did win some and were able to play some teams from Canada.

Summer Fun with the MOMS Club

After we picked strawberries, we took a picnic lunch and met up with our friends from MOMS Club at a splash pad nearby.  Natalie's best buddy Hannah was there and they eventually ran through the sprinkler with a little help from the bigger girls.  I do daycare for Hannah and her older sister Sarah 1 day a week so Natalie has become very close to them.  I also do "daycare" for Sarah's friend Abby 3-4 days a week so she comes along on all our summer adventures!

Strawberry Pickin' 2010

Time for the annual trek to the strawberry patch!  Every year I've taken the kids to pick berries and then we come home and make jam.  This year was no exception and Sarah and Abby were a huge help!  They cleaned and hulled all the berries for the jam.  In a couple of years they'll be able to do it all by themselves. Natalie was a little helper too - she washed the berries all by herself in the sink!

Father's Day

Father's Day was a beautiful day spent together doing things that Steve loves to do.  We went to the early mass, then out to breakfast at IHOP and then loaded up the boat and went to Lake Orono for the afternoon.  The girls enjoyed fishing with Daddy and wading in the lake on the sand bars.  The only thing that could've made the day even more perfect would've been having Nate with us.  He was on his way to Milwaukee with the mission trip.

Catholic Heart Work Camp Mission Trip

Nate is one of 15 youth from our church who have chosen to go on the mission trip this year.  They are serving in inner city Milwaukee which was chosen by CHWC because it has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.  We are so proud of him for wanting to do this and being willing to give up a week of his summer to work on homes, serve food to the hungry and help children living in poverty.  These are pictures of the send off this morning.  I'm sure he will have many stories to tell when he gets home next weekend.

Garden 2010

Steve built some raised beds for our garden this year and we are very excited to see how things do in there. We were able to use our compost to fill the beds and are hopeful that we will have a good harvest.  So far we have kept the critters away......

Ft. Snelling

On Memorial Day weekend we decided to spend a day at Ft. Snelling here in Minneapolis.  It is located at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers and has a rich and controversial history.  We enjoyed the many demonstrations and participated in some games and training exercises while we were there.  The staff are all dressed in period dress and go about the day as if they were living in the 1800's.   Here's an excerpt from the MN Historical Society webpage:

The United States gained control over the Upper Mississippi Valley through the Revolutionary War with Great Britain and later Louisiana Purchase from France. This vast territory inhabited by fur traders and Indians still loyal to the British in Canada lay well beyond American settlement. After the War of 1812, the government took physical possession of the valuable Northwest frontier by establishing a chain of Indian agencies and supporting forts from Lake Michigan to the Missouri River.

Pool time

May 26 ~  Natalie enjoyed her 1st opportunity to play in the pool this spring....Tucker enjoyed it too!

Track and Field Day

Sarah had her last track and field day at Ramsey Elementary in May.  She was presented with the Presidential Fitness Award for the 2nd year in a row!  Way to go Tweetie Bird!

Spring in the flower garden

Here are a few pictures of the flower garden in front of the house.  Some were taken about a month ago and then I just took some today of the window boxes.  The front of the house has a fresh coat of paint, but we still haven't gotten the shutters back up......

Fishing Opener

Steve took Nate and Sarah fishing for the "fishing opener" - it's practically a holiday in MN :-).  They didn't catch much, but sure had fun!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is always a special day for me....Steve does a great job of helping the kids pamper me and this year was no exception.  My day started off with the traditional breakfast in bed, church, and then we went to a Minnesota Orchestra family concert that afternoon.  Steve made a wonderful dinner and I got to sit back while everyone else cleaned up!  I love you guys!

Florida 2010

My forever friend Jodi and I embarked on our 2nd annual "Sister Chick" adventure in April. Last year we spent a long weekend in Chicago so this year we headed for some fun in the sun down in Florida. Jodi's parents were kind enough to put us up in their time share in Orlando so we spent 4 days exploring the area. We both flew down and actually were able to meet up in Milwaukee before flying into Orlando. Then we rented a very fun, light blue VW Bug and cruised into Orlando. We both wanted to go to the beach so we drove over to Daytona for the day and wandered around. It was pretty overcast so our dreams of lounging in the sun weren't realized, but it was fun to park on the sand and people watch!


We both put in some volunteer time and earned free passes to Disney so we chose to go to Epcot for a day. I've never been there and really enjoyed visiting the different "countries". It brought back fond memories of living overseas - especially the fish and chips complete with malt vinegar! The funniest thing was being greeted by Princess Aurora as "her Majesty". You know you're getting old when the princess calls you that :- )


We ended our week with a day at the pool and then an evening at Cirque de Soleil which was an amazing show. It's always fun to spend time with my dear friend and the days flew by. Wonder what adventure we'll take next year?

Bumpa & Gigi visit

Like I mentioned before, Steve's parents came for a visit in April.  We had a lot of fun while they were here.....did the Cabela's tour, went to Nate's spring orchestra concert, saw one of Sarah's soccer games, and pictured below is Steve, Natalie,  Mom & Dad in front of the James J. Hill house in St. Paul.

Here are some more pictures from their visit.... the last few are when Gigi helped Sarah sew a dress while she was here!

Cabela's Tour

Bumpa & Gigi came for a visit in April and one of the first things we did was go on a tour of Cabelas.  I'm a member of the MOMS Club and they were the honored guests for the tour :-).  All the kids were very excited to have grandparents along and it was nice that Bumpa and Gigi could meet some of Natalie's friends.

New Durango

We found another Durango to replace the blue one....still prefer the blue over the silver, but this one has a few "extras" that are really nice!

Sarah's 11th Birthday

For Sarah's birthday this year, she invited a few friends over and had movie night.  The girls ended up playing outside more than they watched the movie, but that didn't stop them from eating all the movie theater snacks that we had!

Easter 2010

Happy Easter! This year the Easter Bunny left a "trail" to all the easter baskets.....the kids woke up to different colored yarn running all over the house and they had to follow their color to find their baskets. There was much laughter involved as Nate and Sarah climbed over and under obstacles. Natalie's search was a little more straight forward, but she still had to follow her trail.


After the early morning hunt, we got ready for church which was held in our newly expanded space. Steve and his crew did a beautiful job turning a warehouse into a "prayer house" and we had a record crowd. The easter egg hunt followed in our backyard and this year Natalie knew exactly what to do. She raced with Nate and Sarah to find her eggs and enjoyed the rewards!

What a Birthday!!!!!?

My 39th birthday was a beautiful spring day in Minnesota, Natalie had a playdate with her friend Hannah so that I could get some Easter shopping done before the other kids were home for spring break, the sun was shining, I had my flip flops on - great start to the day!

All that changed after we were rear-ended by a distracted driver going 55mph.  I was waiting to turn left at an intersection and he never saw me.  God was certainly with us that morning because we were hit, then flipped onto the passenger side, spun around and ended up across the intersection in the other lane of traffic - and we walked away with only a few bumps and bruises!   It is a miracle that Natalie wasn't hurt - she rides on the passenger side - but the side airbags deployed and she was buckled tightly into her carseat.  The police officer told me that my birthday present was being able to walk away and I am so grateful for that gift.  It certainly puts things into perspective - so what if the house is a mess,  I've gained a little weight, the laundry is piled up again.....I get to hug my husband and kids for one more day!

Childhood Flashback

Here's a flashback to my childhood:  3 minute eggs for breakfast....YUM!

I'm passing on the tradition - so far Sarah is the one who really likes them.   I remember eating these when we lived in England.

Sarah's New Look

Sarah got new glasses yesterday - she looks so cute in them!  

1st outdoor bike ride

We've had some fairly decent weather lately so Natalie was able to take her bike outside for her first ride outdoors.  She got her bike from Santa and at Christmas she couldn't get on it by herself at all.  Now she can not only get on and off, but pedal full steam ahead and turn!

Girl Scout Activities

Sarah has been very busy this year with her Girl Scout troop.  They are Junior scouts now which means they take on more responsibility for their activities and meetings and they are even more involved with the greater GS council in our area.  Her troop recently participated in Winter Fun Day.  They got to play broom ball, cross country ski, do BRRRR bowling, and go snow tubing.  

They also participated in International Night on Feb. 21st.   This year they chose to represent the country Spain and acted out a bull fight.   We were able to get some authentic spanish items to put on display from Nana and Papa.  They sent some guide books, Spanish currency, pottery and jewelry ~ all things from when we were stationed at Torrejon AFB in Spain.  I also still have my GS sash with the Madrid patch on it from when I was a girl scout in Spain.  Sarah played the part of a bull and made her horns to wear that night.  The troop served Paella for their food.

Happy 13th Birthday Nate!

It's official ~ we now have a teenager in the house!

Not to embarrass him too much, but he is a great kid growing up into a great man.  He has always shown great empathy for others and still does.  He's a lot like his dad in that way - very kind hearted.   He's also as tall as mom now and has size 11 feet - Wow!  He still loves to read ~ in that he's a lot like his mom.  I was an avid reader starting in childhood and can still be found with a book in my hand most evenings.  

For Nate's birthday I took him and a friend to see Avatar in 3D (notice the glasses).  We all really enjoyed the movie, the special effects are as amazing as they say.  We had some great conversations afterwards about things that came up in the movie and I was once again amazed at the mature conversations I'm able to have with Nate.  We just have this great connection and can talk about stuff - from serious stuff to fun stuff.  I truly enjoy spending time with him and am very proud of the person he's becoming.
               I love you Nate :-) Mom

Edina JV Invitational Swim Meet

Nate had a swim meet during the Christmas break. He swims for Anoka High School on the JV team. The team includes 7th - 12th graders. This is his first year and he seems to be a natural and is really enjoying himself despite the 6 days a week of practice. Their are about 60 boys on the combined Varsity and JV and the older boys do a great job of mentoring the newbies. At this meet Nate swam in 4 events: 50 yard freestyle, 50 yard breaststroke, 100 yd freestyle and 100 yard breaststroke. The best event for him (that we saw) was the 50 yard breaststroke - he placed 3rd in his heat and was the only 7th grader swimming in the heat!

New Year's Eve

We had a couple of families over for New Year's Eve and all the little girls decided to be princesses.  They made good use of the dress up clothes that Natalie's cousin Elizabeth gave her.  This was a momentous occasion because up until now, Natalie has not wanted to dress up at all.

Mall of America

As many times as my mom has been here to visit us, she's never seen the Mall of America. Well, we took care of that this visit ~ the girls went to MOA for a day of fun ~ the boys had absolutely no interest in joining us! I "watch" Sarah's best friend Abby so she came along with us. Sarah, Abby and Natalie enjoyed a few rides and Natalie decided to use her Christmas money to buy an American Girl doll. She picked out the Bitty Twin that looks just like her and named her Gracie. She has been sleeping with her ever since!

Christmas morning 2009

This was the year that Natalie really got into Christmas!   She came downstairs and was so excited to see that Santa had brought her what she asked for....a BIKE!  Nate and Sarah also got what they wanted ~ a bike for Nate and a DS for Sarah.  This is a small sample of the many pictures we took that day....we were blessed once again this year with a wonderful Christmas and family to share it with ~  Merry CHRISTmas!

Christmas Eve

Our tradition every year is to attend mass on Christmas Eve. This year Kim and Sarah sang in the choir and Nate accompanied the children's choir on his violin for their song "Lullaby to Jesus". We were very happy to have Nana and Papa join us this year from Ohio.

Christmas Eve sledding

We started off Christmas Eve with a little sledding in the morning. We had gotten quite a bit of snow for a couple of days before so it was time to pack it down and make some sled runs! It started with Steve, Kim, Nana, Papa and all the kids, but Nate and Sarah ended up going to a neighbor's house before we got our runs finished.....we didn't let that stop us. As you can see from the pictures, Steve, Mom, Dad & I had a ton of fun sledding with Natalie (and without :-) )!

Macy's 8th Floor Santaland

Dec. 23rd we went to downtown Minneapolis for a visit to Macy's Santaland exhibit: A Day in the Life of an Elf. This was the 47th year for the holiday display. This year's show tells the story of two young elves and all that happens at the North Pole as they prepare for Christmas. Natalie wasn't sure about all the moving displays, but the rest of us really enjoyed it. It was amazing the level of detail that was in all the displays. The girls even got to meet Mrs. Claus! At the end of the exhibit the girls were able to write a letter to Santa and drop it in the mailbox. It was fun having Mom and Dad here from Ohio to join us and Sarah's friend Abby came along too!

5th Grade Wax Museum

Sarah participated in the wax museum at Ramsey Elementary on Dec. 22nd.  She chose to be Narcissa Prentess Whitman - the first white woman to travel the Oregon Trail.  Sarah had to research her historical figure, create a presentation, come up with a costume, and "perform" at the wax museum.   She spent a lot of time reading about Narcissa Whitman and created a fantastic powerpoint presentation about her.  She also had a 2 minute speech that she gave during the wax museum whenever anyone pushed her "start button".  

A visit to the ranch

Our good friends Wayne and Vivian Jeffrey took Nate and Sarah out to their friend's "ranch" one Sunday after church. Artie is an avid hunter and has many exotic trophy mounts that the kids enjoyed seeing. Some of them scared Sarah a little and Nate was awed enough to forget to take any pictures of them! Artie and Pat also have a barn full of horses, goats and a few cats. They also have a dog that Sarah really enjoyed. As you can see from the pictures they had a great time touring the barn!