Category Archives: family

family memories

  By Kevin | February 21, 2012 - 7:37 pm | family
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In 2006 my brother paid to have all of the 8mm and Super 8 movies my dad had recorded converted to a digital format. They were converted to digital video tape and then my brother converted them to .AVI files. Over the years since Christmas 2006, the family has talked about finishing the project. The videos are in some order but not completely and there needed to be some editing of heads and tails on many videos. Recently I volunteered to push this project forward. I had hoped to have it completed by last Christmas (2011) only five years after we received the files, but I didn’t quite make it.

Since around Thanksgiving I have worked on them. We started out with 76 Files (after removing blanks and titles,) totaling just over 4 Hours. I’ve split all the multiple files and eliminated all the heads and tails on the videos, loosing about 5 minutes worth of movies. But now we’re up to 160 files.  However I’m taking a little break from this project for I’m not exactly sure how to proceed.  The videos are now all on YouTube. They still need titles and more information.  (Mainly dates so that they can be put in order, but also names of people and places.)  Lately I’ve been working to make family memories/archives more readily available / share-able but in the back of my head are personal privacy issues.  I don’t think the content of these videos would make or break anyone’s life, but I’m curious how people feel. I’m not sure how many of you family members visit here but if you have an opinion let me know.  Also I’d love it if you want to make comments on the videos (with any sort of info you have. I’ve restrained from putting names on them in case people don’t want these showing up in a google search, but if you’re okay with it, feel free to let me know and I’ll add the info eventually.)  Also as personal touch, above I’ve shared what is probably my first time on camera, circa 1974, I’m the one with the red hair and the diaper.

valentine’s day

  By Kevin | February 14, 2012 - 9:42 pm | family, love, married life
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I have to admit that I believe that Valentine’s day is a holiday more for men that are courting than for people in a relationship. I prefer to celebrate other holidays (Christmas, birthdays, etc.) and celebrate our love everyday. So when Meg suggested we exchange small gifts and celebrate at home relatively simply, I agreed wholeheartedly. Meg was gone last weekend and I wanted to re-connect so we exchanged gifts early (ok I couldn’t wait – I thought my gifts for her were too awesome to wait.) We enjoyed a nice dinner at home tonight.

For the record, Meg gave me an awesome kitchen torch and vanilla beans for making creme brulee at home. and I gave her a number of fun pads from Knock, Knock. including the paper tweet.  I think we both hit home runs.

Now, if you’ll indulge me for a minute, let me gush about me wife.  Meg started a new job a few weeks ago.  She now works as the Community Manager for Hennepin County.  It’s been a lot of change (from weeks of waiting to tell people, to working both at the county and for the library, to now getting used to a new job and new coworkers, etc.) but she’s been a great trooper about it.  She always seems on top of it all, including keeping things running well at home.  (If it were me, we’d have run out of toilet paper or something else important by now.)  I’m really proud of her for taking this big step and trying something new.  The county is very excited to have her working there, and based on the large attendance at her going away party (you make a lot of friends in a 10 year tenure) they’re going to miss her tremendously at the library.  I think this is a beginning to a great new chapter in our lives.

balance

  By Kevin | December 13, 2011 - 2:50 pm | family, home, love, married life
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So I’ll admit, I’ve been having some problems with balance lately.

  • Work – Home Balance
  • Regular Work – Freelance Work Balance
  • Social Time – Contemplative Time Balance
  • Project Time – Relaxation Time Balance

Luckily for me my work schedule is based on an academic calendar so I get some time here in Dec-Jan to reset the scales again and get things back closer to unity.  Look forward to some posts then (including a 2011 wrap-up)  In the meantime watch this video of one of Meg’s Calm Jars.

facebook with family

  By Kevin | July 17, 2011 - 7:44 pm | family, married life
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Meg and I have always had different opinions about asking people (we already know) to be connected on Facebook and other social media networking sites. There isn’t any wrong with either of our approaches to this situation but I feel like I’m beginning to move toward her method (which as I understand, consists of asking anyone she knows to be connected on Facebook.)

We attended a lovely party today with all the family and friends (on my side of the family) who came to wish us congratulations and good luck with our new wedded bliss. During one of the many conversations we had today, someone mentioned facebook and “who really wants to know if my son lost a tooth?” Well the truth is I guess we do.  As I introduced Meg to various family and friends she hadn’t met before I sometimes recalled that I hadn’t seen them in years. They have children I haven’t met, and we all regret that we haven’t seen each other more often.  This desire to keep in touch seems more difficult in this age where we all live where the work is and we try to live lives of happy existence, but we start to loose touch with those out of sight.

So I’m going to get over my un-substantiated fear of sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong (or isn’t wanted) and start connecting to more family and friends on Facebook.  However I’m still not promising this will make me more active on Facebook, but one step at a time.

From Des Moines to St. Paul

  By Meg | June 21, 2011 - 8:11 pm | family, married life
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This is the weirdest summer ever! 103 degrees one week, 60 degrees the next. We had beautiful weather for a drive to Grinnell, Iowa to see Chuck, Nicole, and baby Colin. And despite drizzle and some rain, spending time with Emily, Jason, and Andrew in Des Moines. Memorial Day was a good time to get out of town and regroup.

Even with the crazy weather, we’ve also managed to spend more time outside walking. One warm, sunny day, we took the long stroll down Grand Avenue in St. Paul for Grand Old Days with Jill, Jason, Steve, Alicia, Rachel, and another of my favorite kids:

I love how Nate wears his Packers hat with pride. Someday, our kids will have similar loyalties.

We spent part of last weekend in Lowertown, St. Paul at CoCo MSP for Unsummit. It was an exhausting, exhilarating day. I loved having Kevin at Unsummit a second time. He was a huge help to the conference and even attended my session.

Up next, New Orleans.  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

H. Arnt Gerritsen 1945-2011

  By Meg | March 30, 2011 - 10:34 am | family, love
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Hendrik Arnt Gerritsen was born in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands on February 11, 1945. Arnt immigrated with his family to the United States in the early 1950’s and grew up in Munster, Indiana where he attended Hammond High School. Arnt graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Germanic Languages at Indiana University Bloomington. There he was a Big Ten Championship sailor and met his wife, Mary Cornea Gerritsen. Together with their daughter Margaret they sailed the Great Lakes on their boat the Windekind. He also loved travelling in Europe with his family. Trains were Arnt’s passion and hobby. He enjoyed a career as a model train designer for Overland Models measuring every bolt and detail on actual trains to create scale drawings for museum quality models. Arnt was a cancer survivor for more than thirty years and although he endured numerous surgeries and disability, he loved life. Preceded in death by his parents Hendrik and Cornelia. Survived by his wife Mary, daughter Margaret (Kevin) Knodl, sister Anneke and her family and sister-in-law Noreve and her family. Arnt was a voracious reader thanks to the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and his family asks that memorial donations be made to the service (http://www.loc.gov/philanthropy/giving/step1.php#blind_handicapped). Library of Congress Development Office, Attn: National Library Service for the Blind, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washing 20540-1400 Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 2 pm at the Shorewood Forest Clubhouse, 410 Shorewood Court, Valparaiso, IN 46385.

sad news

  By Kevin | March 26, 2011 - 1:11 pm | family, love
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I had hoped to post soon since I’ve been deficient in posting lately.  Unfortunately I had hoped to post with more pleasant information than I now have.

On Monday, Meg’s dad Arnt went into the hospital for a bowel obstruction (similar to the problems that kept him from attending the wedding.) They performed surgery to correct the obstruction that day.  Sadly, the surgery wasn’t successful.  He spent the rest of the week in the hospital without any progress.

Yesterday he was moved to the VNA (Visiting Nurse Association) Hospice in Valparaiso, IN.  Meg flew into Chicago in the evening and I drove down overnight.  Today we’ve been spending time with Mary and Arnt at the hospice.  Meg and Mary have been making phone calls and visiting with friends here at the  hospice.   (thanks for visiting,  Tom / Diane / Monica / Iris / Bitsy / Barb / Don & Kathy / Sally / Linda / Bob & Lonnie.)

Please send your thoughts and prayers our way.  Thanks for all your support, we’ll try and keep everyone updated.