A NEW CAR!!!

Dennis and I did something on Saturday that neither one of us have ever done before. We bought a brand new car. We got a 2009 Honda Civic!

Those who know us best know what a really HUGE deal this is. We are practical and frugal folks. So this was a loooong time coming, but I’m so happy to say that we finally have a vehicle from the 21st Century in the family!

Hurray for ABS breaks and 6 airbags! Hurray for keyless entry and an MP3 jack. Woo-hoo! Hurray for just finally having a car that everything on it works! It’s a beautiful thing.

Of course this purchase did come with a bit of pain. Naturally it was difficult to fork over the chunk of cash, especially during this kooky economy. But what made me the saddest was saying goodbye to my faithful Mazda.

The Mazda was my first grown up car. I sold my 1967 Corvair, which I was also sad to see go, and bought the Mazda in 1997 from one of Ellen’s Hastings College professors. He had babied this car and it was in excellent shape. I hoped it would last, but I had no idea car would run for 18 years and accumulate over 275,000 miles.

Dennis and I joked that we bought Addie’s school car when we bought the Honda. Hopefully that is true, and this car is just as good as the Mazda. But in the meantime, it’s all mommy's and daddy's to enjoy!

Thanks

It’s time for my all time most favorite holiday – Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving for many reasons - being with those I love the most, eating home-cooked delicious meals, and taking time to express thanks.

A Thanksgiving tradition in my family is to pass around a small notebook and jot down the things for which you’re most thankful. I’m not sure when Cynthia started this tradition, but it’s been a good one. It’s a lot of fun to look back through everyone’s entries over the years. Some are really witty (my Aunt Barbara). Some are embarrassing (most of mine!). Some are poignant (Ellen’s last entry saying she was most thankful for being a wife and mother). But all are priceless and deeply cherished.

Since I won’t be with my side of the family for Thanksgiving this year, I thought I’d just use my blog as that little notebook, or “book of blessings.” Here goes -

1. My amazing husband. (He doesn’t read this blog, and would be mortified, or at the very least rolling his eyes right about now). But I can’t help it. The more I’m with him the more thankful I am to share my life with such a wonderful man.

2. My beautiful daughter. She is a complete delight and I love watching her grow.

3. Our health. It’s something I take for granted, but I am soooo thankful.

4. My family. All the wonderful mix - the biological, the step, the in-laws - my life wouldn’t be as rich without each of them in it.

5. My friends. I know it’s a girl thing, but I LOVE my girlfriends. They make me a better person and my life just plain fun!

6. My job. During this economic crisis, I am especially thankful for the blessing of being able to work and support my family at a job I enjoy.

7. The basic comforts – food, shelter, fear from want.

8. My country.

9. My freedoms.

10. My life.

My list is pretty boring really. But that’s OK. Basically, I think we’re all most thankful for the things in life that we don’t deserve, earn or even expect.

It’s good to take a few moments to sit back and think about all of the blessings that surround me everyday. And then not just count my blessings, but take the time to truly be thankful, to be grateful, and humbled by all of the good fortune that surrounds me.

Thanks.

A Great Book

This is one of the most inspiring books I’ve read in a long time. It’s about how one man has made a real difference in the villages in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has done this not through politics or war, but instead through the simple act of providing children the opportunity to go to school. It’s pretty profound, and speaks to the staggering importance and power of an education.

One of my favorite quotes is by Margaret Mead - “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” This book is about that very thing. We all have the power to make a difference in our own ways. Check it out . . .

Congratuations America!

We did it!! Finally. After eight long years of watching our country being led into the ground by an indignant, blustering, maniacal, moron, we finally have a leader I’m proud to call our President.

So Congratulations, America. You have finally elected a leader to which the ideals of this country aspire.

Yes. We. Can.

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween. I love seeing little kids in their adorable costumes. I love jack-o-lanterns. I love the theatre of it all. And I’m happy to say so does my daughter.

She had several opportunities to “get her Halloween on” this year. We went to a local church’s “Trunk or Treat” event where we filed through a parking lot full of parishioner’s SUV’s and mini vans that they had decorated for Halloween. We also did Pioneers Park’s “Spooktakular” again this year. Addie is finally old enough to really enjoy this event. I still think her favorite part was just walking down the trail with her BFF, Sydney. Then on Halloween we met up with Syd and Uncle Zach and Aunt Stacy and cousin Carter at the mall for another round of trick or treat.

Addie had always wanted to be a princess for Halloween. I was just planning to put her in the dress she wore for Uncle Derek’s wedding, but Dennis’ coworker had a Snow White dress that fit Addie perfectly. You should have seen her face when Dennis brought that sparkly, poofy dress home. She beamed, and also wore it every night for a week leading up to Halloween.

I will have to say that I think peanut allergies have ruined the candy haul this year. Addie got loads of junky hard candy. Dennis and I are pretty bummed about this.

Freedom of Speech?

This pretty much sums up the idiocy of the whole Bill Ayers debacle . . .

On Saturday morning it was really foggy. When Addie woke up and looked outside she said, "the clouds fell down, mommy."

I just think that's perfect.

Vacation

We recently just got back from a vacation to northern Minnesota. Dennis needed to head up that way to check into a cabin that a couple offered up to Dennis’ camp to use. Dennis is planning to use their cabin for a winter trip to the area for snowshoeing, cross country skiing and dog sledding.

We drove from Lincoln to Marshall, MN, and spent the night with Dennis’ aunt and uncle. It was really nice to see them. Addie sure loved being there. She was always crawling up in Aunt Dixie’s lap. It was very sweet.

The next day we drove seven hours across Minnesota. It was a really pretty drive, but it was long! Adeline did really well in the car. We arrived in Ely, MN, around supper time and drove out to the cabin, which was located on a lake. “Cabin” doesn’t aptly describe this place. It is a three story log home complete with indoor theater and a boat house. You get the idea. We were in the LAP.

The couple we stayed with was really great. We’d never met them before, but they were very sweet and easy to be around. Addie did well, too. She doesn’t know a stranger! They cooked us really yummy meals and took us out on their boat to tour the lake area. .

Later that evening we took Addie out for her first canoe ride. She seemed to really like it. We saw fish jump; some ducks take flight and got really close to a Great Blue Heron fishing.

We left the cabin on Thursday and drove down the north shore of Lake Superior. It was another beautiful drive. We took curvy roads through thick forests decked out in fall foliage. Then the road opened up and the lake was before us. It looked like the ocean.

As we drove along the north shore of Lake Superior we stopped at several hiking trails and Gooseberry Falls State Park. It was perfect weather, and Addie really enjoyed every chance to get out of her car seat.

We ate lunch at Duluth, MN, and took in the harbor. We didn’t get to see any large ships come up the canal, but it was still neat to see the light houses.

On Thursday we made it to our friend’s house in Aitkin, MN. Sarah is a pastor at the Lutheran church in town and her husband, Nick, works at a church camp in a very similar position to what Dennis does at his camp. They have two kids, and their oldest, Nathaniel, is just a couple months younger than Addie. They were really cute together and all the kids got along really well.

The next day we were able to visit Nick’s camp. It has a high ropes course, and since Dennis’ camp just got two of these types of courses installed at his camp, we had to give Nick’s a try. This was my first time up on one of these courses. I’m not terribly afraid of heights, but being 35 ft. in the air and only balancing on a cable can be pretty nerve wracking! I think I did OK and only fell once (we were always attached to a cable via safety harnesses).

Then it was time for the loooong drive home. It was a very nice trip. I hadn’t been back to northern Minnesota since our honeymoon nine years ago. It was really fun to visit some of the same places we were during our honeymoon and have Adeline with us this time. I can’t believe it’s been nine years!

Pope vs. Palin

Maybe if I cut bangs I could be the next Vice President. I have almost as much experience as Sarah.

I’m not an evangelical, former beauty queen, right-wing zealot. But does being a Christian, former prom queen, libertarian count?

This is the United States of America. Anything is possible. Anyone can become President. Precisely what currently scares the pants off me.

After eight years of the Bush administration I wondered how it could possibly get any worse. I think we just got that answer with love from Alaska.

(I could have totally nailed that “Bush Doctrine” question, BTW. . .)

Tanzania memories

This weekend we had the wonderful experience of seeing an our old friend, Bildad, whom we met when we traveled to Tanzania, Africa in the summer of 2002.

He as spent the summer at Dennis’ camp. Dennis invited him to spend Friday night at our place. We met up in Lincoln before heading back out to the farm.

It was “First Friday” which means all of the art galleries in town have free admission and provide free eats and drinks. We all took in some art at our campus gallery, The Sheldon.

Addie really LOVED it. I was so surprised. Art often eludes me, but my kid ran from item to item with total abandon. Maybe I need to embrace my inner child . . .

After wondering through campus, taking in some jazz and eating ice cream at "Ivanna Cone" (the BEST!) we ended up at Ten Thousand Villages where they were holding a drumming circle. Our friend Bildad joined in and wowed the other drummers with his skills. He had a blast.

Later at our place after Addie had gone to bed, we drug out the photo album of or time in Tanzania. It was so wonderful to hear from Bildad about how some of the many other people we met there are doing, how the trees we planted at the youth camp there are doing and just hearing about the country’s progress in general. It’s amazing what national debt forgiveness can do for a developing country.

Hopefully we can take Addie there someday. That remains one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Addie and Dennis are gone for another week starting today. I was pretty blue this morning to tell my dearest ones goodbye for five whole days.

When Addie was asking if I was going to come too, I told her no, but I was going to really miss her, and that it made me sad. She said, “You can play with my toys on the porch.”

When I told her I was going to be lonely, she said “You can play with Albert.”

Is it Friday yet?

H.O.T.

It's finally gotten hot and definitely feels like summer. And sure enough, right on the very hottest day we’ve had this summer – our AC went kaput. No idea what went wrong, but we soon learned that our hot water heater had stopped working too. So at least we could take cold showers! Then two steamy days and nights spent sleeping in the basement, they both started working again. Was this just a quick little reminder of how wonderful these modern conveniences are? I don’t care, as long as they keep on working since it’s been pushing 100 for the past week.

Addie has been in preschool for two months now. I’ve noticed that she has become a lot more independent in wanting to do everything for herself. “Momma me do it” has become a VERY common phrase around our house.

She has been given complements from her teacher as bring very kind and easy going. Although, I bet Uncle Zach and Aunt Stacy might think otherwise after trying to get her to nap last Sunday!

Anyway, I’ve also been told that she is very good at speaking clearly. I love this because there is no better sound then her little voice, which chatters on constantly it seems. I’ve been meaning to write down some of the cute stuff she says. So bear with me with the following “she says = she means” list:
Van-bade = band aide
chip-lack= chapstick
Police pants = capries pants
Puhnaanuhnuh = banana
Chockohlat = chocolate
swimming cool = swimming pool
Eat at straw = eat at a restaurant

Other funny things she’s been saying lately is “Mommy, watch this.” and then she’ll proceed to do something like hop on one foot, make a funny face or wink. Another one is “Mommy, know what? There’s a girl in this house. ME!” And my favorite is “Momma, we’re friends.”

She’s also been a big fan of saying “huh?” a lot. I’ve tried and tried to get her to politely say “pardon” instead, but have only made myself realize how much I say “huh” in the process.

She has also been going over the things she's learned like, "mommy, we don't eat poop." (she hasen't ever tried to do this) and "mommy, I don't pee like daddy" (she has tried this). I'm glad she's gotten these things down.

I can’t believe July is over. The lightning bugs have stopped blinking as wildly, and the locusts are in full scream (we do have the coolest summer insects!) We’ve had a really fun summer – going to the farmers market, enjoying outdoor concerts, going to the lake or the pool, and lots of visits with family and friends. Busy enough to have fun, but not so busy that we feel harried and down-right pooped.

Now, I can’t speak for my dear husband. Camp has just come to a close – with another record-breaking Quilt Auction (over $160,000 raise, people!). His summer has been a busy one, and I’m sure his fall will be little better.

As a reward for working full time again this summer he traded in our 1947 Ford tractor and used riding lawn mower for a new super duper lawn mower – no MACHINE! Being the ever thrifty man he is I am so proud of him for biting the spendy bullet. It has saved him countless hours coaxing our tractor to start and repairing our second hand rider. I think he likes mowing now, and even Uncle Derek wants to come out and mow. Bring it! (It must be a guy thing.) If he’s happy – I’m happy, and our yard looks fab.


Who ever thought a lawn mower could make us happy. We’ve really settled.

Joyous June!

June was super busy, but a lot of fun. We were blessed with visits from several friends and family we haven’t seen in awhile.

The month started with the 100th Anniversary celebration for my home church, Mt. Zion, in Cozad, Neb. The church was started by my great, great grandfather – Elder S.I. Gardner, and My Uncle Donnie served as the pastor there for nearly 30 years.

The Centennial celebration brought together several friends and family that I hadn’t seen in years. Unfortunately, we ended up missing a bunch of them since Addie caught strep throat the day before we were to head to Cozad.

My brother Chris and his family were still around by the time we made it, and Addie had a bunch of fun playing with her cousins Tori and Katherine. It’s so much fun to have the girls so close in age.

I also had a really fun time with my brother’s and sister. It’s been awhile since we’d all gotten to spend a good deal of time together.

It’s always fun to be together, but it’s also always tinged with sadness, because Ellen is missing. That glaring fact is always with me, but it becomes really obvious when I’m with the rest of my brothers and sister. We all shared a moment talking about how much we miss her and what makes us think of her. It was a precious moment that I’ll always treasure between us all.

Even though my siblings are technically “steps”, I never refer to them like that. I will always miss Ellen, but what a blessing that I’ve been given these amazing siblings to help fill the void and share the grief. My older brother even married my first cousin, Melissa (now IS an important time to remember the “step” quotient here, people). With Melissa, she is truly my blood kin that I’ve known my whole life. So we can share memories that Ellen and I shared. So, I even have a serrogate sister in my sister-in-law! God is so good to me! I can’t imagine how daddy and I would be right now if he and Cynthia hadn’t wed and made our family complete.

Dad and Cynthia celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary on June 19th by heading to Lincoln, so we got to celebrate a little with them. While they were here they were able to come to a family picnic at Addie’s pre-school. They were very happy to get to see where she goes to school, but I do kind of wonder what they really thought of the place.

To say the place is liberal is an understatement. It’s VERY crunchy. There are several parents with various piercings and tattoos. And almost every car in the parking lot has a bumper sticker that says something like, “Meat is Murder”, “Nebraskan’s for Peace” or “Dennis Kucinich in ‘08”. Not really my parent’s crowd. Still they really seemed to enjoy touring Prairie Hill and getting to meet some of Addie’s teachers and classmates.

June also saw visits from Julie who came and spent the weekend with us. Addie still has such a special relationship with her even though Julie hasn’t babysat Addie for over a year now. It’s really sweet to see them together.

During Julie’s visit my friend Anita and her kids passed through on their way to Cozad. The kids all had a blast playing together and with Dennis while Julie, Anita and I got to visit on the front porch.

Julie and I have both decided that the very best place to be this summer is on our front porch swing. Y’all come on and check it out!

Preschool!

Addie started preschool on Monday. She is attending at an idyllic farm/Montessori school/kid heaven. If you ever visit it you'll want to quit your job and spend your days there too.


Now, just because we're really excited about her new school doesn't mean that it hasn't come without some growing pains. After our orientation tour last week Dennis and I were both blue - Ok - he was blue, I was a blubbering fool. Gnashing my teeth and weeping over the fact that my baby girl is entering into “the world” of other people for more than one day a week. Sheesh.

Thankfully, I got a grip and was able to celebrate Addie’s third birthday (yes – again!) by having a BBQ at our place. BTW, don’t buy polish sausages from Wal-Mart. They were B-A-D! I publicly apologize to our guests.

Despite the odd tasting pork products, we managed to have a great time – especially Addie – who at the age of three is able to grasp the concept of a day devoted to herself. She had a wonderful time with all of her little buddies, and many cupcakes were consumed.

Then on Monday the day arrived. Dennis dropped her off, and he said she made the transition like a champ – basically just asking to go play. No tears, clinging or even a “Bye, daddy!”. So that was a great sign.

Then it was mommy’s turn to pick Addie up. I found her over by the chicken pen with a group of her new friends. They were feeding the chickens and laughing every time the rooster crowed. It was a pretty great sight. But then I noticed that there were no adults watching these 3-6 year olds. When I located the teacher a few feet away visiting with another family I had to tell her I was taking Addie home - all the while thinking (my-God-how-does-she-know-I’m-not-a-pedophile-or-crazy-person-and-why-wasn't-she-watching-my-kid's-every-move!!!)

For a mom who is accustomed to picking her kid up from a daycare facility that has a locked front door and each child has a code to type into a computer to check them in and out this was a little too relaxed.

Maybe this is all just the Montessori way? Maybe I’m a hypersensitive, over protective mom? (maybe? try definitely). Needless to say this is going to take some getting used to.

Memorial Day is usually reserved for cook outs, camping and remembering loved ones, but this year had a little more in store for us! It started in central Nebraska on Friday. In my home town of Cozad they received over 10 inches of rain and the town flooded.

Cozad is located in the Platte River Valley, and it’s as flat as a table top. When that much water falls there’s nowhere for it to go. Thankfully my parent’s home was spared any water damage – just barely. Water was up to the sliding back door of the house. They are currently holding their breath – and cutting back on flushing – and hoping it doesn’t rain anymore for awhile.

Eastern Nebraska wasn’t spared any of the weather fun. That same storm roared over our little farm around 2 a.m. and literally shook the walls. We did not get much rain however.

Then it was our turn again Sunday night, and it was worse the second time around. We thankfully got everything inside right when it hit – 70 mph winds and buckets of rain.

The storm blew out as fast as it blew in. We had water come in the house and the basement, but suffered no damages. We did loose one giant ponderosa pine, but it was nowhere near our place. It was snapped in half, and it was a good 10 inches across.

We learned later that we had experienced wind speeds equivalent to a category one hurricane. I can’t image how terrifying a category five must be!

Besides the violent weather the rest of the weekend was very nice. On Saturday we spent the day with our dear friends Rich and Marcy and their two kids, Owen and Norah. Addie had SO much fun with the kids. And Dennis and I always love hanging out with some of our dearest friends. That night the grown-ups got to go out on a double date (thank you Derek and Malia!). We had a wonderful meal and went to see the latest Indian Jones movie. Perfect. (even if the ending was a little goofy.)

On Memorial Day we got our cook out in. Maggie and Collin invited us over for burgers and s’mores. Addie loves any chance to get together with Syd, and I love any chance to not spend the day home alone while Dennis slogs away out at camp! (thank you Aldrich’s!).

So, despite the storms and touch of sadness (Saturday would have been Ellen’s 39th birthday) it was a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Good times with good friends, and good memories about loved ones lost.

Beautiful Weekend

This past weekend marked a couple BIG milestones. On Friday my dear friend, Malia, married my dear brother-in-law, Derek, on a beautiful spring evening.

Derek and Malia met at St. E’s hospital. They were both there visiting us after Addie was born. Malia, Megan, and Stacy all happened to visit the same time Derek was there. As it turned out, they noticed each other that day, and as they say - the rest is history!

The other major milestone celebrated was Addie’s 3rd birthday.

For the past few weeks/months Addie has been asking me if she’s three. So when the day finally arrived I went to get her out of bed and started singing “Happy Birthday to YOU!” at the top of my lungs. When I opened her bedroom door she was standing in her bed grinning ear to ear.

We started celebrating right away with some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Granny and Granddad called and also sang Happy Birthday to her. This started a trend, and throughout the day Addie would ask, “Momma, can we sing?” and we’d break into the birthday song again.

The day was actually pretty quiet. With the wedding and all the fun surrounding it we were both pretty pooped come Sunday. Addie and I did whip up a birthday cake from scratch – which turned out pretty yummy if I do say so myself.

Dennis got home that evening, and we sang happy birthday AGAIN, and then dug into the cake. We finished the evening with a partial viewing of “Chicken Run”, and then it was off to bed.

I think she had a pretty good day. She knew it was birthday, and seemed really excited. That made it really fun.

I remember feeling really sad on Addie's birthday last year because my baby had changed so much. But this year I wasn't sad at all. Nostalgic, maybe, but I've learned that every year just gets better and better. And every year I grow to love her more and more.

I can’t believe my baby girl is three.

Road Rage Hits Home

I had an interesting ride into work this morning. I noticed this pickup speeding on the parkway into town, so I had my eye on him once we reached downtown. Sure enough, he nearly ran into me as he cut across two lanes. I honked and braked and followed him for a few blocks wondering if he was feeling bad for his mistake. We then ended up at a red light side by side. I looked over to see who this excellent driver was - half expecting to see a 17 year old kid behind the wheel. Instead I saw a very angry 40ish guy, in a bill cap, with a red face who was yelling at me through is open window. I was completely amazed. As his face grew more and more red I started scanning his cab to see if this genius had a gun rack. He proceeded to call me every name in the book until the light turned green. To prove his point, he then raced in front of me and slowed down just to show me who's boss.

Boy. He sure put me in my place. I'm sorry I got in his way this morning. Really. I am.

This unpleasant, and thankfully inconsequential, experience really got to me. I was physically shaking when I got to work. It was scary. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me angry. Having my life and personal property put in jeopardy tends to tick me off. But it mostly just made me sad.

There’s too many angry people out there. If this gentleman got that mad over something so small, what would have happened if he'd actually hit me this morning? Maybe I need a gun rack . . .

Granted, I am no angel behind the wheel. In fact, I would say that I am a little on the aggressive side. I have been known to criticize other drivers and their lack of driving prowess, but I've never verbally assaulted anyone. Still, I need to remember, what goes around comes around and I should give people a break. And I certainly need to be a better example to Addie.

So, I’m going to really try to be a nicer person, not just behind the wheel (God help me!), but in general.

Just don't cut me off, you #$&*#@!!!!

Sigh.

Sex Sells as Parents Sell Out

I just read an article in the Omaha World Herald about the whole "Hannah Montana" in a bed sheet photo fiasco. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1219&u_sid=10333220

I know this isn't the first time, nor will it be the last. I remember a Rolling Stone cover of Britney Spears - back when she too was a favorite of pre-teen girls - posing seductively on a bed with silk sheets and a black bra when she was 17. Who would let their little girl do that? And then there's those John Bena Ramsey pageants. Ick.

Helloooo, earth to parents. Come in parents . . .

I don't think a 15 or 17 year old kid has the judgment to say "I'm not comfortable with those images." "Or that's inappropriate." When I was 15 I probably would have said, "Wow! I look like, HOT!". And that's when mom and dad step in.

What bothers me the most is that it even occurs to anyone to photograph a 15 year old naked in a bed sheet. When did that become OK or even mainstream? Isn't this child porn? Or am I just naive? Our societal reaction shouldn't be "she's being exploited" - which she is. We should all be saying "Eww!" and feeling our skin crawl. It should be repugnant. Not just disappointing that she's being "a bad roll model" - which she is.

As the mom of a little girl I'm so sick of the sexualization girls and teens. It's harmful on so many levels, not to mention dangerous. Girls clothing has been overtly sexualized for quite sometime - basically the entire 21st century. Even some of clothes for Addie I think is too grown up, and she's not even three. I can't imagine what she'll be asking to wear when she's 13.

Dennis can't have kids sit on the ground at his church camp without getting an eye full of thongs peeking above low cut short-shorts. And don't get me started at what kids show up to church in. And there they sit in the pew right next to their parents. When did it become OK and mainstream for our little girls and teens to dress like hookers? At church?! They're not clubbing. They're worshiping. Seriously. This isn't just a famous kid's problem.

Or am I just a prude?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful moms out there – and grandmas, too! I’d especially like to send a very special shout out to Grandma Pope.

Ever since Addie was three months old Grandma Pope has been spending one day every other week babysitting her. This has been such a huge blessing for us all. A big blessing for Dennis and me who knew Addie couldn’t have been in better hands and a blessing for Addie who now has such a beautiful relationship with her Grandma.

Next month Grandma will relinquish her responsibilities as Addie moves on to pre-school. This hardly seems possible to Dennis and I.

Dennis seemed a little blue this morning, and when I asked him why he said it was because his time at home with Addie is going to change. Our baby girl will inch out more into the big ole world. I know she’ll thrive. She’ll have a wonderful time, but we also know that times are a-changin’.

So, thank you Grandma for helping make our kooky child care arrangements work for the past three years. You have been a blessing to our little girl and to us.

My Mother’s Day weekend was very nice. Dennis’ present to me was to clean the entire house, do all the laundry, fold it and put it all away while I took a Korean cooking class with friends on Saturday. Who could ask for a better gift than that?

Sunday was also a very special day. We all gathered at Sheridan Lutheran for Carter’s baptism. He was so sweet. He slept through the entire thing.

It was a beautiful afternoon so after the baptism celebration we went home and planted trees, shrubs and the garden. Addie and I were in charge of the garden. Addie dug intently in the dirt and helped me plant spinach, lettuce, peas, cucumbers, carrots, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers and zucchini. Now, we’ll see if any of it grows!

Pike

Addie completed her first swimming lessons class yesterday. I’m going to miss her saying “Quack, quack! Pull the water back!” while doing the crawl stroke at the dinner table.

She has passed the “Pike” class with lots of smiley faces on her evaluation from teacher Mary. As a reward Mary asked if any of the kids wanted to go down the water slide – ALONE! Addie and one other little girl said they did, and Addie was the only kid that wanted to keep going down the slide. She went down a total of four times before they had to cut her off so the other swim class could begin.

So, do we have a little dare devil on our hands?

Lucky Girl

I’m a lucky girl. After my last woeful blog entry on Thursday my husband and baby girl were there to greet me when I came home from work on Friday - a whole day earlier than expected!! I got misty when I saw them. I was SO happy to get to see them before heading out for a much anticipated girls-weekend in Des Moines.

The Des Moines weekend had been on the books for nearly a year. It was planned WAY before Derek and Malia’s engagement as just a girl’s get way weekend, but we decided to convert the weekend into a bridal shower/bachelorette party for Malia.

We had planned the weekend to take place in Des Moines simply because it’s the mid-point for the six of us. But I’m actually pretty impressed with all the fun things Des Moines has to offer – this of course, comes from a girl who lives in Lincoln, so . . .

But I think we would have had a blast if we had met up in Podunk, IA or Onehorse, NE, because my friends are just F-U-N! I think the most laughs were just sitting on the beds in the hotel talking. Which may mean that calling our weekend a bachelorett party is a misnomer. When we were coming back to our hotel after a leisurely Italian dinner around 10 p.m. we saw another bachelorette party heading out. This group of young women had the scantily clad bride in a veil and her friends looked like call girls. What the!? Our definition of fun involved heading up to our hotel room, taking off our heels and getting into our jammies.

So, we took our sensibly-dressed selves up to our hotel room to enjoy some amazing cheese cake and wine and showered Malia with gifts. We must have been a little on the noisy side because “Hotel Management Services” came to call around 11 pm asking us to “please keep it down”. Smack dab in the middle of my “how well do you know Derek” quiz. Jeez!

We all laughed a LOT, and relished the time to go shopping without having to take a toddler potty, or eating a 4 course meal without worrying about the kid’s bedtimes. But the best part was just spending time with such a great group. These women are beautiful, talented and smart, and I’m so lucky to call them friends.

And how amazing that one of these wonderful women will soon become a member of my family. I’m a lucky girl, indeed.

I Want My Baby Back

When Dennis said that he and Addie would be spending the week in Cozad, I didn’t panic. I actually thought it would be fun to have some quality ME time. I could hang out with friends, eat out, shop, get a pedicure and see a movie in an actual movie theater.

The week started off nice. I got a much-needed pedicure with my mom-in-law on Monday. Went shopping on Tuesday. Went shopping again on Wednesday – to take back stuff I bought on Tuesday. (I’m obviously out of practice.) Tonight I’m going to a movie with Malia. So, I’ve had a really fun-filled week. It’s been nice, but - I MISS MY BABY!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

I’m trying to be strong, but I miss my sweet little girl. I walk by her room, and my heart hurts. I miss her asking me a ton of questions – “Momma, is Addie three?” or “Momma, does Albert (our cat) have a jinee (vagina)?” I miss her just spontaneously saying, “Momma, I love you.”, and giving me hugs and kisses. Or her keeping my road rage in check “Momma! Don’t shout at people”. Or her breaking loudly into song “JUST A SPOON FULL OF SUGAR!!” I LIVE for that!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I also miss Dennis. I HATE it when he’s gone. But Dennis and I are used to being apart. We never lived in the same town, or country for that matter, while we were dating, and with camp he’s usually MIA pretty much all summer, so we’ve got the whole being apart thing DOWN.

With Addie it’s a whole different ballgame. This is the first time I’ve ever been apart from Addie for longer than a few days. It will have been SIX whole days!!!

She’ll probably be in a training bra and shaving her legs when I see her again. Sniff.

A Material World

I completely sympathize with the author of this short article about trying to raise her kids in a world fueled by consumerism and materialism. http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/52/childhood-unplugged/all

I know my dad tried to keep me away from explicit movies and videos, but I just went over to friends houses and watched there. Did I turn into an ax murder? No, but I am sure it did steal my innocence and alter my interpretation of what amounts to "normal" behavior. And that was the 80's. That was when MTV showed videos, not what basically amounts to soft porn or "reality" shows of sweet sixteen birthday parties where children dress like hookers and their parents shower them with sports cars and designer gear.

It makes my heart sick, just as I'm sure it made my dad's heart sick to find his little girl listening to Prince or me plastering my walls with posters of men wearing eyeliner. Somehow my enthusiasm that Prince played all of his own instruments didn't impress my dad. Just as I'm sure my grandparents weren't impressed by Elvis' hip swivels or Jerry Lee Lewis' piano playing.


Still, it's a slippery slope. In just 50 years we've gone from where hip swinging or saying the word "pregnant" was inappropriate for TV to where you can say basically anything and see murders, drug use and sex on non-cable TV all before noon. And don't get me started on the Internet . . .


I know what all of this REALLY means. I'm a parent of a small child. I'm on the "wrong side of 35" (according to Jane Austen novels). Simply, I'm getting OLD.


See my friend from high school Misty's blog entry linked in the menu on the right about how she and her husband's favorite radio station's format was switched from easy listening to "top 40", and they can't stand it. I've always thought that top 40 radio stunk - but that's not the point.


The point is that all of this is normal. It will be OK. I need to remember that Dennis and I will have the single biggest influence on our child. Even when she's telling us she hates us for not being able to watch ax-murder movies, dress like a floozy, eat junk or whatever it is she'll end up hating us for, it will all be OK.



It will be OK. It WILL be ok. Won't it?

Easter Undies

Addie was so much fun to watch experience the fun of Easter. At first I wasn’t going to get her an Easter dress, basically because I’m cheap and I hate shopping. But I did end up finding her the sweetest little dress at TJ Max. And she LOVED it! Dennis and I often err on the side of excessive practicality, and our poor daughter suffers the consequences. I need to remember that sometimes the frivolous accumulation of material goods is just plain FUN, and that’s OK. Sometimes that’s hard for us bleeding heart liberal tree hugger types! :)

She just loved her little dress. She would twirl around in it and say “I have a PREDDY dress, mommy!” Then after church with Uncle Derek and Aunty Malia we hit the road for Grandma and Grandpa’s. Addie immediately saw the bunny cake grandma had made and beside the cake was an Easter basket full of goodies.

I guess it was a tradition when Dennis was growing up that every year in their Easter baskets all three Pope kids would be given new undies and socks. Not breaking with tradition - and to celebrate the fact that Addie is now wearing undies - she had a package of bran new “My Little Pony” underwear along side her chocolate bunny.

The most exciting part of the day for Addie was the egg hunt. Since she was the sole egg-hunter, her basket got really full. By the time the egg hunt was nearly finished, her basket was overflowing. Whenever she’d run ahead to the next egg she’d spotted she’d leave a trail of eggs that had fallen out of her basket in her wake. It was pretty cute.

I know I keep saying this, but I love the age Addie is right now. She is just so expressive and funny. We often crack each other up at the dinner table while daddy looks at us in quiet puzzlement. The funniest things pop out of her mouth. The other day she out of the blue said “I’m obnoxious!” in a very enthusiastic voice. (I swear on a stack of bibles that I’ve never called her that, BTW.) My favorite quip so far has got to be when she - bear with me. It’s a potty story - after several minutes on the potty climbed down, turned around and peered into the bowl. She turned her face up at me and said, “WOW! That’s a MAN poop!” Now isn’t that – um, sweet? Anyway, my little girl is such a joy. She’s a complete drama queen and a ham who doesn’t know a stranger. I love her.

New Kitchen

The kitchen is done!!! It is soooooooooooo nice to have a modern, sleek, kitchen. Which, trust me folks, I did not (see the Jan. 21, 2008 entry as proof). When we started our first load in the dishwasher I nearly burst into tears of joy. I have to send a completely inadequate and overdue shout out to my amazing husband who did – let’s face it gentle readers – ALL of the work. He puttied, sanded, primed, painted, pulled a bazillion staples out of the floor, and probably inhaled countless carsenogens. God bless you Dennis Pope!! You are indeed Dah-MAN! Here are the final results . . .

The Boss

Dennis and went to see Bruce Springsteen Friday night in Omaha. Mom had bought Dennis’ ticket to the show for his birthday, and of course he couldn't go alone, so I got to come along! (Click on this post's heading for a link to the review.)

We both enjoyed the show, but were a little annoyed that it started over an hour late after rushing around like fools to get there. As we sat, and sat, and sat, waiting for the show to start, Dennis kept wanting to go get something to drink and some popcorn. But he knew if he left his seat the show would start. After he sat there for nearly an hour he finally got up. Sure enough, as soon as he was gone the lights went out. When he rushed back in in total darkness and tried to sit down there was someone in his seat. He thought it was me and tried to get “me” to move over. He finally realized he was in the wrong section! Luckily the crowd was extremely nice, and that woman didn’t deck him!

As for the show I loved the very beginning and the very end. But I thought there were portions in between that lagged just a bit (see the set list below). That was probably my fault for not being more familiar with his stuff. But I wish he’d played more hits, and I bet the majority of the audience felt the same. The crowd was fairly lame, and would only really get into the show when he’d play top 40 stuff. They stood when he came on stage, but sat down when they started to play (what the?!) I was the only person who stayed standing in my entire section. I stood for the first three songs, but then feared having a beer lobbed at my head, and sat down. Who sits down through an entire concert?! This isn’t the symphony!! No one around us really got into it until he played Born to Run, and then the place totally erupted.

Dennis said he had a good time, but he was even less familiar with his stuff, and he mostly owns non E Street Band Springsteen records, so that didn’t help. But he still appreciates an amazing group of musicians when he sees them, and he had a good time. This was his first major rock concert, so that in itself was fun.

We dropped Addie off at our friend Julie’s house before the show. Julie used to baby-sit Addie one day a week while she was in grad school at UNL. We hadn’t seen Julie in nearly a year, so it was fun to finally get together. I was looking forward to that as much as the concert. I was a little worried Addie wouldn’t remember Julie very well and would be upset when we left her to go to the concert. But they had a blast, and Addie stayed up way past her bedtime watching her favorite movie “Mary Poppins”.

Julie works for a nature center in Omaha and lives on the nature center’s property. It’s right on the river and surrounded by hiking trails. It’s a lovely place. The next morning Julie made us a big breakfast and we all went on a long hike down to the river.

It was a perfect weekend. A fun night out with Dennis and a fun night out for Addie with her good friend Julie. And I finally got to spend some time catching up with Julie. It had been WAY too long! We’ve got to schedule another visit to her little paradise soon.

Set List: No Surrender, Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day, Gypsy Biker, Magic, Reason to Believe, Because the Night, She's the One, Livin' In The Future, The Promised Land, Waitin' On A Sunny Day, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The River, Devil's Arcade, The Rising, Last To Die, Long Walk Home, Badlands
Encore: Girls In Their Summer Clothes, Thunder Road, Jungleland, Detroit Medley, Born To Run, Dancing In The Dark, American Land

This past weekend we went to hear my oldest and dearest friend, Kjell, play his music at a house concert. It was hosted by his mom, Karna. Going into Karna's home feels a lot like going home. It is full of huge, beautiful plants, interesting artwork, and it smells like Kjell and Karna - oil of patchouli. It was a wonderful evening. Just seeing Kjell cracking jokes and singing - doing what he's always loved most - was a blessing and a gift.

He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in August of 2006. After radical brain surgery and several months of chemo and radiation at the mayo clinic he's back pickin' and singin'. I swear his memory is sharper than mine, and I haven't had part of my brain removed or radiation shot at my head for several months. In the words of Johnny Cash he's a "walkin', talkin' miracle. Walk on."

Florida Fun

We had such a wonderful trip to Florida. I can't believe it's over. We've been looking forward to it for ages. We were really starting to miss Grandma and Grandpa, and we SOOO needed the break from this endless winter. The only bad part was coming back to extremely cold temps. For the next few mornings Dennis and I bitterly thought about Wes and Carol sitting on their deck drinking coffee and watching the sunrise while we bundled ourselves up in goose down parkas and warmed up our cars in the driveway. Burrrrr! When we landed in KC it wasn't so shocking - like maybe 40 degrees. But when we woke up the next morning it was minus 50 wind chill. That's freeze your face off in 20 minutes cold! Going from 70 to minus 50 in 24 hours can't be good for a person! In fact, I got the flu the Sunday after we landed. Thankfully Dennis and Addie haven't got it. For photos of our trip click on the title of this post and enter in the password "adeline".

A Super Super Bowl Sunday

Addie and I decided to head home to Cozad for a quick visit on Saturday. Dennis had flown to Portland, OR, for a conference on Thursday, and we were feeling lonesome. It turned out to be a beautiful day for a drive.

When we arrived we found dad and David out at the warehouse busily preparing the camper and truck for Dad and Cynthia's 3-week trek south. David was installing Dad's new satellite radio. There's an all Elvis station, so I'm sure that will be getting a lot of use. I just hope he doesn't drive off the road trying to figure out all its buttons!

That night Cynthia whipped up a yummy dinner and invited the Bonds and Anna and David over. Addie and Katherine played together really well. I think they giggled for a solid hour.

Dad and I left the dinner gathering a little early to go in and visit Mamo and Papo. They have moved out of assisted living and into the nursing home. They've been there for just over two weeks now, and the transition hasn't been easy, esp. for Papo. It's harder for him because he physically doesn't need to be there. Mamo really was needing that level of care. She can hardly walk anymore, and was really struggling to care for herself. So Mamo seemed much better than she did at Christmas, but Papo seemed a little blue to me. I'm sure it's soooo hard for him, but I know he wouldn't want to be separated from Mamo. What's also hard is that since Mamo is immobile they haven't been to church for the last two Sundays. It was really strange and sad not to see them in "their" pew - second from the front on the right hand side. I just hate that, but dad says they're looking to find a handivan that can take them to church. I hope and pray they can locate one soon.

Addie and I hit the road shortly after church to drive back to Lincoln. Dennis was scheduled to land in Omaha around 5:30, and we had been invited to a Super Bowl party, so the plan was to just meet up there. Unfortunately, Dennis' flight was delayed. Word to the wise - NEVER schedule your fight through Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend. Who knew how many fools fly in to Vegas to bet on the Super Bowl? Or maybe we're the fools for never even thinking about that! Anyway, he left Portland at 7a.m. PST and wasn't home until 10:30 CST. It was a LONG day.

I'm glad we had a Super Bowl party to attend while anxiously awaiting Dennis/Daddy's arrival. Addie had a blast with her friends at the Super Bowl party. Within about 5 minutes of our arrival Addie was running through the living room in a purple tutu and beads pushing a grocery cart followed by 4 other little girls all similarly adorned (Erin isn't in the photo). They were much more entertaining than the game or the commercials. I LOVE little girls!!

Maybe just a tad distracted?

My poor husband has to frequently deal with my bouts of absent mindedness. But this morning something happened that made me feel like I was in good company. Dennis comes in this morning and had a sheepish look on his face. "Um, honey" and he bagan to tell me that when he went out to start my car this morning (yes, God bless him!) he noticed that I had left my car door wide open and the check book sitting on the roof of the car. But then he went on to say that he then noticed that he had left the shop unlocked - which is currently storing our new dishwasher, microwave and fridge for our kitchen remodle, not to mention several other valuable tools and implements - AND he had left the keys to our house hanging in the lock on the outside of our back door. Boy, the theves REALLY missed their chance!

Yesterday the Pope family lost one of its most loyal, and furry family members. Milo passed on to that great prairie in the sky, where I trust he is happily chasing rabbits and feasting on his favorite meal - Old Roy dog food. Milo lived to be 15 years old and was just a puppy the first time Dennis brought me back to Sterling to meet the family. He was a stray, I think, that Wes had brought home after finding him seems like along the road somewhere, but I may have that all wrong. But his rough childhood didn't manifest in any maladjusted behaviors. He was a good dog in so many ways. He was a sweet natured guy that always wanted to be rubbed and patted. You'd have to make the sign for "touchdown!" if you didn't want him to bug you to death for want of being petted. Then he'd be back about 3 minutes later nudging you with his nose or putting a reminding paw on your lap, and sometimes even jumping up in your face as if to say "HEY! YOU! PET! ME!" but not very often. Like I said he was a good dog. He wouldn't dig up the garden. He wouldn't even poop on the walking trail. Now how many dogs do you know who are that considerate? We're talking one-in-a-million dogs here. And oh how he loved to go on walks. Even in his later years he'd bounce around like a pup whenever we'd pull on our walking shoes and head down the trail.

This was the only photo I could find of him without really digging. But this is pretty perfect. He was always near his people and following wherever they'd lead.

Milo will be creamated and his ashes will be spread on the Pope's tall grass praire. Pulling up to the Pope's without seeing Milo coming bounding out to greet our car will seem most sad and strange, indeed.

Demolition has begun! I don’t know what it is about MLK weekend, but that’s the same weekend we started working on our bathroom remodel last year. In that same tradition, Wes and Dennis completely disassembled our kitchen on Jan. 19th.

Here's what it looked like when I went to work:

Here's what it looked like when I came home:

I went into the basement and they had set up an entire kitchen in the basement. They basically carried the cabinets downstairs, and set the countertop back on top of them. Dennis set up a utility sink and moved our new stove down along with the old fridge and microwave. So we have a fully functioning kitchen! The only problem is that it’s been about 300 degrees below zero here for the past week, and our basement isn’t finished at all. It’s about 50 degrees down there. Burrrr!! And to think we used to go down there to shower before we remodeled the bathroom!! How did we DO that!? I’m sure we’ll look back on our old kitchen after we’re finished with the new one and wonder how we survived in such conditions.

So, this MLK weekend - and truly no disrespect meant to Dr. King - but I have a dream. I have a dream for a kitchen sink that isn’t stained and whose faucet is actually attached to its base. I have a dream for kitchen cabinets that close completely and aren’t covered in a dirty film of funk. I have a dream of walls not covered in wheat-shaft and straw hat wallpaper. I have a dream of no more cream countertops with flecks of gold sparkles. I have a dream of having a dishwasher! It brings tears to my eyes to think about having a dishwasher!!

2008 came in with a CRASH!

We enjoyed a lovely, quiet NEY at Derek and Malia's. Malia made an amazing spread of food, and showed Derek that yes, she really DOES need all of her dishes! : ) We were in cream-cheese heaven. When the clock struck midnight their neighborhood went nuts! There were party horns blaring, dogs barking, people cheering and then the fireworks started! Since they had just moved to the neighborhood 10 days ago, they weren't expecting fireworks, but the Country Club just a block away had quite a display. Now we know who's hosting the 4th of July party!

The next morning we started the new year with doing some much-needed cleaning. We had borrowed Dennis' mom's steam cleaner over a month ago and decided that today was the day to break it out. Dennis spent the morning cleaning all the carpets down stairs and had nearly finished the upstairs carpets when he ran out of water. As he was coming downstairs for a refill his wet shoes slipped and he came crashing down the stairs.

I was in the kitchen and heard him yell and then a huge CRASH! It scared me to death. Thankfully he wasn't hurt - but what a mess.

I ran into the living room and saw brown, dirty water running down the stairs, our wall and covering our couch, floor and end table. The dirty water from the steam cleaner had flown everywhere.

So we spent the rest of the morning cleaning up that mess. Thankfully, we didn't have any permanent damage. I don't know how Dennis managed not to hurt himself!

What's funny is that before heading over to Derek and Malia's I had fallen down the basement steps and twisted my ankle. So let's hope that Addie doesn't fall down any stairs today and our family's clutsy curse will be broken!

On a better note, we did get to see Carter a couple more times over the holiday weekend. We stopped by to see them in the hospital before they were released on Monday. Carter was just as sweet as ever. Dennis finally got his chance to hold him.

The next day we took Zach and Stacy super and some breakfast casserole. Stacy was pretty pooped, but everyone was doing really well. Carter was getting the hang of nursing, and Zach was getting the hang of changing diapers!

Here's the link to Carter's photos from the hospital nursery: http://www.our365.com/webnursery/webnursery/Baby/BabyPage.aspx?birthid=0&babyid=0