Pope Pages

August has been a crazy, busy month. Shortly after returning from our trip to Denver my friend Anita and her two kids visited us. They recently moved from Chicago to Kansas City, so I' am really thrilled to have them closer. The only bad thing about their visit was that Arden, Anita's youngest had a terrible cold, which he generously shared with Addie. Not a huge deal except it eventually lead to her being put on antibiotics and having the first fever she's had since her seizure incident. So, that was a bit nerve wracking, especially for our sitter, Julie. Julie did everything right and got the fever down right away, but it still made us all a little nervous. It stinks to have to be afraid of something typically as benign as a fever, but I'll never forget the image of Addie hooked up to a ventilator after her ordeal. Bleh. So I'll be one of those mothers freaked out about germs and sickness forevermore. Friends, family - please bear with me! : )

On the 14th Dennis and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. Can't really believe it's been that long. Seems like yesterday when we were surrounded by friends and family round a campfire singing and eating smores. I may be biased, but our wedding was a total blast, and actually, so is our marriage. I couldn't ask for better, and Dennis is far more than I deserve. Here is a photo us then and now. The wedding photo cracks me up. I have a bit of a farmer's tan and I don't think Dennis even combed his hair. And look at Dennis' baby face! I must be aging him!

The last weekend of August we all flew to St. Louis. I had another conference there so we decided to all fly out early, rent a car, and drive down to Blue Mountain to visit John and the boys. I was a little nervous about going since we hadn't been back since Ellen's funeral, so I knew it would be really hard, but I was happily surprised that it wasn't as difficult as I imagined. Just seeing the boys so happy and full of life was all I needed to enjoy our time there. We were only there for a couple days, but we were there for Jackson's 5th birthday and his first day of kindergarten. Jackson and Parker were really sweet to Addie, and she seemed in awe of them.

Naturally, I missed Ellen terribly. Being in her home and seeing all of her personal touches everywhere make my heart ache. It just drove home what fun she had in making a house a home. She loved her life with John and the boys, and I'm so thankful she was able to fulfill her dream of being a mom and a wife before she passed away.

I visited her grave. I wasn't sure what to expect. I've never really visited anyone close to me's grave before. My first impression was how lonesome her gravestone looks. It sort of sticks out there by itself. I stood at her grave awhile and waited to feel something - grief, comfort, something significant, but I mostly just felt empty. I felt closer to her in her home and around her family, so after a few minutes there I went back to the house.

I'm so thankful we were able to spend time with John and the boys. They are planning to be back in Nebraska for Thanksgiving. I'm sure John will be brushing up on his backgammon skills so he can beat Dennis a few times. I'm really rooting for John. Dennis needs humbled! : )