Dadism.....

Sitting with dad today eating this great ice cream cake Sariah picked up from Dairy Queen and having a "how many calories are there in this thing anyway" type of discussion. Then dad pops off with one of his "dadisms". He has many, but this was new and felt I needed to add it while it was fresh in my mind.


DAD:

"Well, yunno, once you cut the cake and lay it on the plate..... the air gets to it, releasing all the calories into the air....basically calorie evaporation....."

Works for me.

Happy Fathers Day Father. I love you.

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to James Wayne. I love you dad. I love your kindness, and humor, your sensitivity and strong powers of empathy. I love your bear hugs, your huge grin and your ability to always make me laugh no matter what is going on. You've had a hard life with so many struggles....but you have managed to stay loving and kind. Not an easy feat. I'm on my way to Becky's to see you and give you a massage, although I suspect you may not let me, but I'll get one in somehow! I love you dad, thanks for being my father.

To My son Chris. Hmmm....I love you so much I don't think I can find the words to tell you. You are always respectful to me, always loving even when your angry with me...which doesn't happen often. I love your humor and I've been so impressed with how well you've matured without a man in your life, without a father, to be an example. Your ability to love unconditionally is amazing to me. Not many people can do that....you are rare. It's a wonderful gift you give to those you love. I'm blessed to have you in my life, I'm blessed to have you as a son, and Addison is blessed to have you as a father. I love you!

Fav Quote

This quote is from the movie "Chocolat"......

Père Henri:

I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity.

I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life, here on Earth. His *kindness*, His *tolerance*... Listen, here's what I think......

I think that we can't go around... measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think... we've got to measure goodness by what we *embrace*, what we create... and who we include.

Kat's Mother's Day 2009

I had a great mother's day this year. I was able to spend time with my son Chris, my daughter Meagan, my grandson Sebastain and my grand daughter Addison.

Sebastain's mom, Brandy was sweet enough to let me have Sebastain all weekend, giving up a mother's day with her son so I could have my sweet grandson all weekend. I love spending time with him. He's just the perfect kid, does everything I ask, he's respectful, funny, fun and has WAAAY too much energy.

He saved up all his money and bought himself a Wii game system. He's 8 years old and he was able to save $250 dollars for a Wii. I am so impressed with him. I know adults who can't save $5, but this young man has the foresight and self control to save to buy something he wants. He's got a great teaching mother as well.

He brings his Wii with him every time he comes and we go back and forth between his Wii and my XBox. I like Wii sports the best. I can play other games, but I have absolutely no chance to win at any of them. I suck at them. He's really good at them, but I suck more, and Wii sports is are the only games I have any chance of winning at all. But it's about being with him and having fun, and we do, but.....I still like to win every once in a while.

Chris seems to forget days like mothers day....or birthdays ....or anniversaries. He means well, he just has a really bad memory. His gift to me was to pick Meagan up from across town and then take her home at the end of the day. It was a great mothers day gift! Especially since I'm unemployed, money for gas is harder to come by. I love my son so much, he's so tender and kind and easy going and very handsome. I also love his sense of humor. I've enjoyed seeing the changes in him as a man and a father since Addison's come into the world. Thank you Chris for a great mothers day! I love you.

Meagan was sweet enough to treat Sebastain and myself to a movie on her. We all went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. I loved it. Meagan, Sebastain and I all love going to the movies. It was in 3D and Sebastain and I particularly enjoyed things jumping out of the screen at us. Some of the 3D effects made me a little nauseous. I felt as though I was riding a roller coaster, but that was part of the fun.

Addison is always a joy to be around. She has a joyfullness about her that I can't get enough of. I took Addison and Sebastain to a Special Olympics regional swim meet. I packed a lunch, some snacks and drinks thinking that we could stay for awhile and watch the athletes. Addison had other plans. The minute we got there she tried relentlessly to get into the water. She loves the pool here at home and it was all I could do sit for a minute without her darting for the water. I think we were there all of 20 minutes before I decided we should go before Addison got her way and took a dive into the water. We left and went to the park instead and her cousin Sebastain loved playing with her and showing her how to play on all the equipment. They are both so special to me. I'm not sure I could have had a better mothers day gift from any of my children or grand children. I'm very blessed.

This is spanky, my cat by default. He's really Chris's cat he found in a tree one night. He named him spanky after his brother Adam. "Spanky" was Adams nickname when he wrestled in high school. We found spanky around Adams birthday, so we gave him Adams birthday as well. At first I wasn't really excited about having him. He sheds, I have to clean his cat box, he whines at night and thinks he has to sleep with me under the covers right by my face. I've come to enjoy him and even look forward to him. Mothers day morning he was up in the window and had his tongue out. He stayed that way for awhile.......it made me laugh and was a good way to start the day.


Sebastain is really good with Addison, and she loves it when he comes to visit. Addison looks at him adoringly and Sebastain looks after her like she was his little sister, Nennie. I think Sebastain has a soft spot for girls. He's a caregiver for sure. He likes to have a purpose and is very unselfish. Addison hangs on him and sits right next to him whenever she can.

Meagan is great at entertaining Sebastain. I think she's telling Sebastain some tall tale and from the look on his face, he's not sure if he should believe her or not..........smart boy.

Sebastain is playing toss with his Uncle Chris. He loves Chris so much and everytime he's over, he has to go over to Chris's house pretty quick or I don't hear the end of it. Since Adam isn't here, Chris is the closest thing to his Daddy Adam he will ever have.

(Addison)..................." uuuuuhhh......another picture"!!

The two pretty girls. My babies......

Family Pictures and Links

My grandpa Everett Haselden. I love him so much. He was a character. He was crusty on the outside and a marshmellow (at least to me) on the inside. I don't think he could get through a sentence without a curse word, but even as a kid, I didn't think anything of it.....it just seemed to be a part of who he was and he didn't mean anything by it. I can tell where my dad got his good looks.

Here are some more pics from the Haselden Family Website.

http://www.haselden.org/

My brother Kirk created and maintains the website. It a great source for family connections, history, folklore and to veiw our crest as well as find and communicate with family members all over the world.

Kirk then......

Kirk now...........

Me then.......

My now pic is on the blog to the side, but here is one of me blond. I tend to go back and forth between the seasons. Darker in fall and winter and blonder in spring and summer. I get bored easily.

Here are some pictures of my grandpa haselden, parents, myself and kids. I hate taking pictures and always have, so pictures of me are hard to find.

Mom and dad......

Us six kids........then. The line up is (from left, oldest to youngest) Becky, Leah, Luann, David, Me, Kirk.

Us six kids now. Well, maybe not so now.....I think this was taken in the 80's but this is the last picture taken of all of us together. The line up is (from left, youngest to oldest) Kirk, me (what was I wearing!!) David, Luann, Leah and Becky.

Well, I was updating this post with more pics and I ran across this one of all of us, sans David. He lives in Florence, SC. and couldn't make it up to Kansas for this. I sure miss him. This picture was taken a couple of years ago on Kirks birthday.

My Mom with my granddaughter Addison. Mom is a wonderful, strong, tenacious woman with a great faith in God. She taught me through example how faith will get you through anything. She is a very small framed woman, but huge in determination. Once she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her. I have some of that in me, thanks mom.

My son Chris on the right, grand daughter Addison in the middle, and Chris's fiance Angela opening presents at Addison's one year birthday party. She has daddy wrapped around her pinkie already. He's a great father and I am so proud of him and despite the lack of the presence of his father in his life, he has become a great dad and on his way to becoming a great man. I love that I have so much family around and can be a part of their lives. It's such a gift.

This is my dad James Wayne Haselden with my daughter Meagan Spackman. My dad is the kindest, sweetest most loving men I will ever know. He taught me compassion and what it means to have a sense of humor to get you through the rough times. That was an invaluable gift.This picture was taken about a year after her accident in 2002. I am so proud of all the progress Meagan has made. I love her so much.

My Brothers Opinion / My Opinion


This is an exerpt from my dear brothers blog which I read often. His is the first entry and mine is the response (2nd entry).

I admire him so much and think all men should be like my brother. I would love to find a man as kind, intelligent, gentle, spritual, loving, handsome, a great father and husband and brother who is highly motivated, accomplished and he even has a wonderful sense of humor. I think he broke the mold.....


A day in the life...
Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Paradoxical Observation :

Tatoos everywhere

I'm in San Francisco for a conference and just got back from going out to dinner. I went to a Chevy's right down from my hotel. San Francisco is such an enchanting place this time of the year. The fog is hanging low and my hotel room on the 5th floor is right at the fog line. In the mornings it's at street level. It's also a bit chilly right now, just perfect for me. Probably in the 50 degree F range. So, I'm quite comfortable walking around with my usual shorts and polo shirt. Stopping at a street crossing, a gal came walking up from a different direction all bundled up with a scarf around her neck and a knee length coat on. I chuckled cuz she was so bundled up. There's steem coming up out of the manholes because of the difference in temperatures above ground vs. in the mantunnels, I guess. As we were standing there a slight breeze wafted the steam coming out of the manhole in our direction. The lady standing next to me started waving her hand around her face as if to avoid the steam like you would camp fire smoke. I'm normally pretty sensitive to smells etc. but was unaffected by it and wondered why she was being so melodramatic about a little bit of steam. Then I started thinking, maybe she's really ultra health conscious or something. Maybe she's just trying to avoid getting sick, or maybe she's like the divas get upset anytime someone so much as coughs around them. Either way, I thought how concerned she seemed for her health. Then as the walk light turned green, I happened to glance down at her stylish jack boots and noticed a tatoo running basically from her angle to her knee on the outside of her left leg.Later while in the restaurant, I overheard two college girls talking about where one of them should get a tatoo. The one said, "You should get it on the back of your neck. That way nobody will see it. Unless you hack off all your hair or something." Now, that confuses me. Why get a tatoo if you're going to try to hide it? They discussed other locations as well, like around her belly button and a few unmentinable locations. That's about the time I tuned out and started watching the kids on the other side of my table who had multiple piercings, multiple shades of purple, neon yellow and blue hair. Oh, and yes, they had tatoos as well...There's so much about this world that I really don't understand...
posted by Kirk at 9:17 PM

1 Comments:

Kat Chrisman said...

(I got a giggle out of this one)....Here's why:

I have a tiny,tiny tattoo on the small of my back, probably no bigger than a half inch in diameter. One pink heart with a smaller red heart off set inside the pink one. The pink heart is for Adam and the red heart is for Bret,(two sons who passed). They are, for me, symbolic and personl.I have my navel pierced also; I wear a small diamond inside,like an earring for my belly, very pretty and feminine. It doesn't seem a lot different to me than ear piercing....(makes me keep my tummy in shape too)!These things were done later in life with much contemplation, and I must admit-I love them and I'm happy I did it. It was difficult for me, however, to do something that society still has such a stigma about. I've always been one to worry so much about what others thought of me.Having revealed all this-I have to admit-I'm not a big fan of gaudy tattos in very conspicuous places on the body and facial piercing. I guess maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite. Then again I don't understand why anyone would paint their house neon yellow or hot pink, or drive a truck jacked up 8 feet in the air, or a barbell mustache......or, well............I could go on and on.............beauty is in the eye of the beholder.........self expression and all that jazz.........some people love their self expression so much that they want to share it and say to the world "this pink house is who I am, not the neighbor next door whose house looks like two hundred other houses, and my mustache is the same kind that my great, great grandfather sported and he was a great, great man that I admired, or the huge tattoo on my breast of a flowering rose bud is symbolic of my coming into my own and taking charge of my life after surviving breast cancer."I actually asked them - why did she paint her house pink, and why the barbell mustache, and "pretty rose, but why on the chest?" Those were the answers that I got. My thought was, "how brave."I'm with a lot of folks in my generation that don't understand rap, pants that bag down below knees (looks like they're wearing a diaper with a heavy load), or lip piercing that make a person look like Frankenstein's long lost cousin. I will never paint my house pink, put a lift kit on any vehicle, mustache myself in any way (maybe my body will have a different opinion on this one). But with age and my own self evolution, independance and voyage into self expression, I've softened my view.

Love,

your sisterKat Chrisman

8:53 AM
Post a Comment

Pikes Peak view from my window........

This is the house we lived in when my family lived in Colorado Springs. The thing I remember most about this house was that at the time we moved in, the neighborhood wasn't that built up and I could look out my bedroom window and I had a great view of Pikes Peak. I thought that was just about the best thing in the world at the time.

I struggle to pull out memories, but I have a few of Colorado. I remember having a very physical fight with a boy with whom at one time I had a big crush and he and I were "boyfriend and girlfriend" what ever that meant. I don't think I ever kissed him, but we held hands and hung out a lot. What caused the fight was all his fault (of course, it's my story......). He was hanging out with his friends and he called me a sissy, I told him to take it back and he wouldn't so I think I smacked him. Can't tell you where.....just pretty sure I struck the first blow. It turned into a rolling on the ground, biting, scratching, kicking and hair pulling fight. I remember he had scratch marks on his face and they were bleeding. I felt as though I had proven my point and was pretty sure I wasn't going to get called a sissy again......at least not from anyone in the "hood". That was the first and last fight I can remember being in.

Dustin's back....hide your young and impressionable

Ah......Dustin. What can I say about Dustin. He's a party in pants that boy! I love Dustin so much. He and my son Chris get together and I laugh so hard I should probably have a "Depends" on standby. We met Dustin at the Airport when he came back from basic training. Kid's goodlooking and lost a bunch of weight, something like 30 or 40 pounds I think he said. He's pretty ripped and in great physical condition and feeling good about his path in life now. I think all of us that loved him worried about where he was headed, but he's taken a higher road and traveling down road going somewhere better than where he was headed. Good going Dustin! I love ya with all my heart......keep it going sweetie.

Kirk came back to ICT!

It doesn't happen very often that we get to see our little (youngest) brother Kirk, what with continent hopping, speaking in front of thousands, family, church, friends, book and article writing and his various hobbies. Busy man that he is, we are always happy that he finds time to drive all night from whatever state where happens to be that is somewhat close to Kansas to see us.

We all relish the time we have with him. For some reason he seems to gel the family and for awhile, we all enjoy his humor, wit and engrossing storytelling (he's got some good ones) and his general easy going and charming nature. I think I will always be impressed that he rubs elbows with Bill Gates......and I'm not easily impressed. I would love to find a man like my brother. I think the world of him and I love being around him.

We thought he was coming in the week before, but we got the weeks wrong (actually it was my eldest sister Becky who got it wrong, but I'm not one to point fingers or anything....).

We had a great time despite the fact our entertaining and much missed brother was not there. We kind of had a practice gathering to warm up our sense of humor, wipe the copwebs off our storytelling and sharpen our wit before Kirk arrived. We all decided we didn't make time to get together enough and should try and do it more often and not just when "Golden Child" came to town (giggle), we love ya Kirk!

From left to right: My nephew Dustin(Luann's son), Samantha (my 16 year old younger sister), my dad Wayne in the chair, Leah (in purple, second oldest), Luann(third oldest), then Becky (oldest of all of us and our second mom).

Home in Althornbach, Germany

My brother travels quit a bit with his postion at Microsoft which gives him the opportunity to visit some of the places we lived as children when dad was in the military. While he and his wife were visiting Germany he went to Althornbach and took some pictures of a house we lived in while stationed there. Most of the cities we were stationed in we lived in the family baracks, but we got to live in the city with the civilians at Althornbach and it was a great experience for us all. That's where I learned to speak German, while playing with the german kids. I have lots of memories of this house. I especially remember the coal drop and having to go down into the creepy, dark and spider infested basement and fetch coal. It probably wasn't as bad as I remember it.

This is a back view of the house. I remember this well. I especially remeber that little balcony. My sister Luann threw a doll that I loved with all my heart off that balcony once when she got mad at me. My poor doll was never the same after that. It was terribly traumatic (she says dripping with sarcasm). One of my best memories was when all of us kids would get together in an upstairs "play room" that had wood floors and we would play "foot eater"? I think that's what we called it. We would all wear socks and the designated foot eater had to move around on all fours.........while all the rest of us skidded frantically around on the hard wood floor trying to get away from the dreaded foot eater before he caught us and ate our feet. Ah....good times. I can't imagine what that must have sounded like to my parents underneath us. But maybe that was a small price to pay for all six of us to be out of their hair for a few short minutes.

This is the back yard. I spent lots of time back there. We had a vegatable garden, mom always made sure that if we had a patch of ground somewhere, we were growing vegetables. I know I griped a lot about weeding and watering, but some of my best memories are being in the garden with my mom. I now love growing things.......just about anything, and I know it was because of mom and her gardens. Anyway, one of the most poignant memories I have are of my brothers pouring salt on the slugs in the garden. They thought it was so cool to watch them shrivel up. I hated it and thought for sure I could hear little slug screams while they melted under the salt.

Here are some other pictures of the church we went to and of the farm house across the street from us. I don't have as many memories as the rest of my siblings, except that the services at church were in German, I was bored and would play with my dad's huge hands. Funny the things we remember.