A Ridiculously White Christmas

I don’t think anyone in eastern Nebraska will forget the Christmas blizzard of 2009 for awhile. This was a doozie - a snow event that lived up to childhood memories of how it “used” to snow in Nebraska.

The rain/ice started on the 23rd. It proceeded to cover every outside inch of everything in ice. On Christmas Eve the snow started in the early afternoon. It wasn’t done until the morning of the 27th.

Needless to say, this totally bungled up our Christmas plans. My mom was in town visiting from Missouri. I had taken the entire week off so we could have lots of holiday fun together – going to the movies, Christmas shopping, and general hanging out. On Christmas day we were all planning to head to Sterling to spend the day with Dennis’ folks. As it turned out, Dennis, Addie and I celebrated a very quiet Christmas day at our place, my mom was stuck in a hotel room by herself for 3 straight days, and we’ve yet to celebrate Christmas with Dennis’ family.

I love my family, and I’m a true homebody, but there is a profound difference between choosing to say home and being trapped at home praying we didn’t lose power or our sanity. I’m being a bit dramatic, but when our neighbor came and plowed out our driveway I wanted to climb into his tractor cab and kiss him.

So, I’m in mourning for the Christmas that wasn’t. No oodles of time with my mom. No Christmas Eve church services. No time with extended family. When I called my parents and could hear everyone’s voices in the background as they gathered for their Christmas dinner, I wanted to weep.

Still, I need to rejoice for the Christmas that was. We were abundantly blessed. Everyone was safe and sound (I personally know of someone whose son was killed on I-80 during the storm, and another who suffered a scary medical emergency during the blizzard – see Misty’s blog at left.). We could have been stranded on the side of the road or sleeping on the floor of the airport. What in the world did I have to gripe about?

It made me think about the virgin Mary. I’m sure her Christmas plans weren’t exactly what she had in mind!

This was a beautiful Christmas. Dennis kept our fire roaring. We had plenty of food and fun. We sledded. We skied. We built a snow man. It was a regular winter wonderland for goodness sake!

That being said, I’m still greatly anticipating the full-on family gathering. So what if it doesn’t’ happen until next year.

Santa

Christmastime is upon us. We’ve got the tree up, names exchanged, lists sent to “Santa Central” (a.k.a. emailed them to Grandpa Wes). Addie even got to speak personally with Santa last week. We were a little worried about this visit because she’s old enough to question the concept of Santa, and were afraid she’d just ask him directly.

Addie had been asking a lot of questions about Santa. The usual questions – “How does his sleigh fly?,” Why is there more than one Santa?,” “Why does he live in the North Pole?” and so on. Then came the more profound and difficult questions, “What happens to Santa when he dies?” and the doozie “Is Santa real?”

Even though we haven’t worked hard to perpetuate the (spoiler alert!) myth of Santa Clause, we certainly don’t want her to be the kid who ruins it for everyone else! When she asked me if Santa is real, I just asked her what she though. She said she didn’t think so. Yet, she hasn’t really surrendered the fun of Santa, which makes me very glad. Santa is fun, and I don’t want my kid to be deeply vested in reality and pure fact at the ripe old age of 4 ½.

So, yes, Adeline, there is a Santa Clause - in your heart and at the Gas n’ Shop (we saw him filling up his Nissan), and at the Mall, in the Star City Parade, and Uncle Zach’s Shriners Hall . . . and it’s all good.

Thankful

Another richly blessed Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had the BEST time. We headed to Granny and Granddad’s in Cozad for the holiday. After a bright and sunny drive down I-80 we arrived Wednesday to help Granddad pack the rent honey given out to those who allow daddy to put bees on their property.

Dennis and Addie had never had the pleasure of filling honey bears, but we soon developed a rhythm and got over 30 boxes packed in an afternoon. Part of that was due to my dad’s ingenious “devices” he creates to make repetitive tasks simple and streamline. He developed a template for putting the cardboard boxes together, and rigged a contraption out of an old queen excluder and some boards that created a perfect slot for sliding the empty honey bear under the mouth of the honey tank just perfectly so it wouldn’t spill. It even had enough tension that it wiped the lip of the spout off so there were no drips when removing the full honey bear. It was fun to be in my dad’s warehouse, his world, for an afternoon. It was also just fun to work together as a family, with my family, doing the work I grew up helping my dad do. I was really impressed with Addie’s work skills. She not only dutifully stayed on task, but when her job was completed she anticipated what she should do next. I’ve worked with a lot of adults who don’t have that skill, so she made her granddad proud, “that little girl knows how to work,” which is the ultimate complement for my dad.

We had a small gathering by our standards, just 16 folks around the dining room table that Cynthia had richly prepared with candles, china, decorations and all around loveliness – and then the FOOD! Granny is a genius in the kitchen – turkey, ham, sweet potato soufflé, butter beans, biscuits, mashed tatters, gravy, two types of stuffing, fried okra, and so many pies (thanks for making my favorite, Granny - French silk). Yum.

We had the BEST weather, too. It was in the upper 60s the entire weekend. We spent as much time as possible outside. Dennis brought his GPS units from camp and we made up a small treasure hunt using GPS points. The best part of the day was taking Mamo outside for a “walk.” Daddy pushed her all around the acreage in her wheelchair, and she just loved it. We took her out to see the chickens, around Cynthia’s dormant, but still beautiful garden, while the great grandkids weaved in and out of her path. It was great.

Addie and Katherine played the entire weekend, and had so much fun. She and Kat are like sisters and love each other fiercely, but fight just as sisters too. They had a very wonderful time together, and Addie can’t wait until Christmas at Granny’s.

And the best part is we get to do it all again on Saturday at Dennis' family's Thanksgiving gathering. I'm pullin' for more French Silk pie . . .

Halloween is done, and I’m exhausted! We took in all the Halloween fun we possibly could last week by attending Halloween festivities at the Zoo on Wednesday, the Children’s Museum on Thursday, and Uncle Zach’s Shriners event on Friday. It was a ton of fun, and Addie had a different princess outfit for each of her engagements (thanks Anita & Granny!). Before Halloween even arrived we were up to our armpits in candy.

Then the BIG day arrived, and we had more fun in store. The Sheldon Art Museum was having a Dia de los Muertos celebration with dancing, music and crafts for the kids. Jill joined Addie and me at the museum, where we enjoyed the beautiful masks, altars and music.

Later we met up with cousins Carter and Elsa and friend Sidney for some trick or treat action at the mall. After that we headed over to a friend of Addie’s house for our very first “neighborhood” trick or treating experience. Cate and her parents invited us to come along with them through their beautiful neighborhood. It was a perfect fall night – just cool enough without being cold and a big, bright full moon.

Dennis and Addie headed home to bed after trick or treating ended, but I met up with Jill so we could go out on the town for a bit of our own Halloween fun. Jill is my go-to-girl for Halloween. We’ve celebrated together whenever we can, and it’s always a lot of fun. This time didn’t disappoint.

We headed downtown, and I’ve honestly never seen Lincoln so festive. There were people in costume lining O Street. I wish I’d gotten photos of my favorites, which were: 3 guys dressed as orange construction cones, Billy Blanks (the OxyClean guy), Julia Child, Richard Simmons (a girl), Hanna Montana ( a guy), Rosie the Riveter, an American Idol, Mozart – and I could go on and on. People got really into it.

After all that fun, the Pope’s are pooped! Thank goodness for the extra hour we got with the time change . . .

Welcome, William!

Addie has a brand new cousin! William Avery Taylor was born Oct. 17, which was just a tad ahead of schedule (just 4 days), but it sure made for a mad dash back to Cozad for the grandparents!

Anna’s mom had flown in to Omaha from Arkansas on the morning of 17th. My folks went to Omaha to pick her up and had David and Anna’s two children, Katherine and Devon, with them just incase Anna when into labor early. She wasn’t due until Tuesday, and had never delivered early, so no one ever imagined she’d go into labor that afternoon.

Addie and I got in on the excitement since we were hitching a ride out to Cozad to meet up with Dennis who was heading through Cozad on his way home from working in western Nebraska.

We were all enjoying our time together sailing down I-80, smooshed into the suburban, when around Grand Island, the cell phone rang. Anna was having “slight contractions,” and we were all still two hours away.

To make a long story short, we arrived in time – but not by much. When we pulled into David and Anna’s driveway, David was loading their truck, which was idling in the driveway.

Anna had a good labor, and William was born after about four hours. Anna is my hero.

William gave us a little scare. Doctors notice he had an irregular heartbeat, and Anna and David had to take him to Children’s Hospital in Omaha to have his heart checked out by specialist. Thankfully, everything checked out OK and Williams little special beating heart will do him no harm. Thanks be to God!

So, welcome, William! You came a little bit early, and with a little drama, but we’re all so glad you’re here!

Snow Blows

Well. Just like that fall is over and we’ve moved straight into winter. And I’m bitter. Fall is my favorite time of year. It’s time for being outside. Doing harvesty things – hay rack rides, pumpkin patch visits, planting mums, picking apples, camping, hiking, jumping in leaves. Not this year. We woke up Saturday morning with snow on the ground and still actively falling from the sky. What the WHAT!? Burrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!1

A Beautiful Day in Chicago

Let me first say that I love my girlfriends. They are a spontaneous, fun-loving group. When I emailed them waaaay back in March asking if they wanted to buy tickets to see U2 in Chicago (and BTW, I needed to know THAT DAY!) they all wrote back and said they were IN. So began our pilgrimage to see our favorite band exactly 17 years and one day from the day we saw them for the first time in Ames, IA.

In 1992 Kathryn, Megan and I participated in a lottery to get arm bands to line up to buy tickets to see U2 during their ZooTV tour. I don’t remember who actually got the best place in the line to purchase the tickets, but I’ll never forget walking back – no FLYING back – to Kathryn’s house with our tickets in hand.

Flash-forward 17 years and I’m happy to say we haven’t grown up a bit. Of course our little adventure to see a U2 show involved a few more details (husbands, children, jobs) but thanks to our wonderful husbands, children, jobs - and everyone else who helped make it possible (thank you grandma, grandpa, Uncle Zach and Aunt Stacy!!) – we all converged in downtown Chicago on Sept. 12 for what will be one of my most treasured girlfriend gathering memories.

Our time together was richly blessed. We all arrived safely. Met up effortlessly. The weather was perfect. The city was beautiful. And Chicago had a palatable buzz in the air because the BOYS were in TOWN! It was beyond cool.

After a crazy cab ride to a delectable lunch, a beautiful stroll back to our hotel along the Magnificent Mile and Grant Park, we hiked to Soldier Field. It was truly a pilgrimage. U2 fans of all ages were streaming towards the field, and everyone was friendly and excited about the show.

I was excited, but I didn’t have really high expectations. For me, the concert was about spending time with my girls. The last U2 concert was just OK, and I honestly thought it was because I’d grown up and moved on a bit. Well, as it turns out, I still have the heart of a 19 year old because when the show started I screamed, jumped up and down and swooned like a Jonas Brother’s fan.

What. A. Show. Seriously. It was magnificent. The stage was inspired, and really made the show for a stadium audience. The sound was amazing. And - much to my surprise – our seats were really quite good. We sat straight back from the stage, so our view was perfect and so was the sound. And the cute Irish opening band didn't hurt things a bit! : )

I’ll spare the details, but it was an out of body experience. Kathryn was there to pull me back down to earth as she’d reach over and put her arm around me and we’d sing out the lyrics to our favorite song together.

Kathryn and I have good U2 concert karma. Back to 1992 again, we decided that one viewing of ZooTV was NOT enough. So we bought some scalped tickets to see the show again in Kansas City. Long story short we ended up in the very first row of Arrowhead stadium (see pic at right) for what is still one of the most amazing nights of my life. Is that a little sad? I guess there’s nothing sad about doing something you love with the friends you love.

I wonder if anyone will be up for hitting the second leg of their 360 US tour . . .

BIG Family Fun

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer, but I think it’s also the unofficial time to hold family reunions. Both Dennis and my family held their respective reunions this past weekend, and it was really great.

The Brewer cousins’ reunion was held on Saturday in Johnson, Neb. It was a beautiful day held at a really beautiful park. We ate a lot and talked even more.

The next morning we headed to Cozad to celebrate my grandparents’ 70th wedding anniversary. Yep. Seventy years. It was definitely time for a party, and party we did.

My Aunt Myrna graciously hosted the gargantuan event at her home. My family knows how to procreate. Check out this pic.

The only bad thing about this weekend is that it made me wish that we lived closer to our cousins and their kids.

Is our children learning?

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?” George W Bush, Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

And our country is up in arms when our current President wants to talk to school children about the importance of working hard, studying and staying in school?!

Incase your local school district decided our President's words were too controversial to be heard you can read Mr. Obama's remarks here - http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

It's pretty subversive stuff - ask questions. Push yourself. Set goals. Don’t give up.

Yikes!

Thank goodness several parents had the sense to make certain their impressionable children didn't hear such offensive rhetoric.

Parents wouldn't want their children to have the opportunity to listen to a person who may share a different viewpoint than their own.

That, I'm terribly afraid (literally) would be un-American.

10 Years and Still Rockin'

Dennis and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Friday. We have always talked about doing something BIG to mark this milestone, but with Dennis’ schedule at camp still being really busy (how did we ever manage an August wedding?!) we ended up spending the day together as a family at the Omaha Zoo.

It was a beautiful day, and there is more than enough to see. We all ended up getting pretty pooped out. I was the first to fade, but I had a good excuse. I had been up late the night before rocking out at a Green Day concert.

This was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. Billie Joe, the lead singer, would not let this audience act like a typical Midwestern audience. The minute he hit the state he yelled, “Get UP! You’re not watching TV!” and wouldn’t let up on the crowd until they were in a full-on punk-out frenzy. It was a beautiful site, and F-U-N.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my back hurt the next morning. It was quite a work out! Plus, I’m no spring chicken - although, I was far from the oldest person there. I saw people in the audience from 6 to 65. There were a couple dads with their sons sitting by me. It reminded me of going to concerts with my mom. She took Ellen and me to see Rick Springfield at the Nebraska state fair in 1982 when I was in 5th grade. I wish mom and Ellen could have been at the Green Day show with me. They both would have loved it.

It’ll be fun to take Addie to her first concert. Maybe that’s how we’ll celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary – but we’ll have to pick a band daddy would like too. Maybe the Indigo Girls will still be playing then!

After leaving the zoo, we went back to camp to drop off Dennis. We decided to pay a quick visit to Sonshine Chapel where we were married. It’s still as beautiful as it was then, and being married to Dennis has gotten more and more beautiful each year.

Ellen's boys

July has been FULL of wonderful fun with family and friends, but we had a very special treat in being able to spend time with John and the boys. John had a conference in MI and made an out-of-the-way detour to spend the weekend at our place. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw how BIG are Jackson (nearly 8) and Parker (6)!

They are both such GOOD boys. Ellen would be so proud to see what a sweet, sincere, kind and affectionate boy Jackson is. He looks like her. He has her hands and her easy way of being with people. Ellen would be amazed to see her little baby boy, Parker, run, kick, climb and fearlessly try anything. Parker is smart. He's quiet, but his rivers run deep. He's a thinker - like his daddy. He sits back and assesses the situation then dives right in - but only if he feels like it. He's his own man. I totally dig that.

Ellen was never very cerebral, but she could work a room. I'd be the one hanging back while she'd charm everyone. After working her magic I'd ease out of the shadows. Jackson and Parker seem to have this same sort of thing working. It's so amazing to recognize that in their relationship as siblings.

Jackson said to us a couple times, "I really miss my momma", but he didn't seem sad. This was just a fact stated with the simple honesty of a child. I'd put my arms around him and say, "me too."

We'll always share that loss, but I hope I can also be a link to his mom and teach him all the stuff about her he may not have ever guessed - like she was an amazing dancer. She loved photography. She could sleep through anything. But her biggest legacy is how much she loved her boys and being a wife to John.

We Are Family

The week before the 4th my family gathered at the camp Dennis works - Carol Joy Holling - to celebrate Dad and Cynthia’s 20th wedding anniversary. It was such a wonderful time. Our only complaint was that John and the boys couldn’t be there, and that it ended too soon.

Dennis did a great job at keeping all of us entertained with all of the fun things at camp. We went on hayrack rides, kayaking, paddle boating, hiking and swimming. The highlight was the high ropes course and zip line. There’s nothing that brings a family closer than hanging from a rope 50 feet off the ground with your life literally in the hands of your loved ones as they hold the rope so you don’t plummet to the ground! (that's daddy up there!)

It still doesn’t seem possible that it’s been 20 years! The photo below shows it. David is a baby, and I'm currently almost as old as Cynthia was in that photo! Time has indeed passed, and it's been quite a journey.

My dad and Cynthia had what most would consider a whirlwind courtship lasting only a few months. They “dated” via hours on the telephone since she lived in Georgia. I still remember my dad and me fighting over the use of the phone because we both wanted to talk to our significant others.

The first time I met my new brothers and sister was a few days before the wedding. (Imagine!) I was a snarky 17 year old who was nobody’s fool and knew the drill. This was my dad’s third marriage, and I was less than enthusiastic with the timing.

“Can’t you just wait a year until I’m out of high school and at college,” I’d beg my dad. To a self-centered teenager that didn’t seem like a lot to ask, right? Well, I’m glad he didn’t wait. Despite all of the trials in blending two families I’m thankful I was a part of it all right from the start.

Our 20th anniversary celebration gave my brothers, sister and me the opportunity to share our memories of bringing our families together. It was fun to reflect on that first week when we all met.

David was the same age as Luke (the oldest grandson shown in the photo above with the flag) is now. I remember giving him a big hug the first time I met him. He later told me that completely freaked him out. Poor kid! I’m sure Ellen and I were hard to take for an 11 year old!

Lara was sweet right from the start. She said she was so excited to have sisters after spending the first 13 years of her life with only brothers. Her sincere delight showed. Even though she was 4 years my junior she was far more mature in welcoming me into her world. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.

Then there was Chris who was so handsome he made my head spin (sorry, Chris!). But right from the start he was just great fun and easy to hang out with. Plus he had a cool best friend who had a REALLY fast car (sorry, daddy), so Chris was, “like totally cool,” even for me, who thought she was “all that,” and supposedly hard to impress.

We sat in the camper swapping these stories and laughing until we had tears running down our faces. It will be one of my most treasured memories.

Another great memory will be singing dad and Cynthia’s wedding song to them the last night of our time together. Anna found the music and lyrics to the song, and we kids rehearsed on the sly. They were completely surprised. It was the perfect ending to the perfect celebration of what it means to become and be a family.

Off The Wall

My generation’s Elvis is dead.

I’ll never forget – even though the memory is dim – my mother standing in the living room of our rented farm house staring at the TV with tears running down her cheeks. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “The King died,” and she began to tell me about Elvis who was a beautiful young man with an amazing talent who died much too soon.

Michael Jackson died yesterday at the age of 50. He’s my generation’s Elvis. No matter what you think of him, it is impossible to deny that he was a groundbreaking, electrifying talent. I wasn’t a “fan”, but I am still surprised at my level of sadness in learning of his death.

I had my mother’s “Elvis moment” yesterday when I left work around 4 PM. The radio was playing “Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'.” Naturally, I cranked it – “mama say, mama sah, mama coo sah”. The radio kept playing Michael Jackson songs back-to-back without interruption. When the DJ came on with the news I was surprised to feel my eyes well up. No actual tears were shed, but man, I was so sorry.

The first album I bought was “Off the Wall”. I was in 4th grade, and I still think this was his best record ever. My sister bought Thriller, like 30 million other people (imagine) and we tried to learn the dance moves (impossible!).

Still, despite so many of us loving him, the jokes were flying this morning at the water cooler. We are so cruel. I know that Michael Jackson’s life turned into a pitiful display of losing all sense of reality, but do we really have to pick him apart? Still? Now?

Instead of jokes about an obviously ill man, I would like to hear more about what he accomplished as an artist – like being the first black artist to be played on MTV (really?!), or co-writing a song that helped feed millions during a famine in Africa.

And the music! If you haven’t tapped your toe to at least one of the three decades of Jackson’s music, you may need your hearing checked. One of my favorite memories of my wedding is dancing like mad with Ellen to the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” There are literally millions of people who also have a “favorite Michael Jackson memory”. We are the World, indeed.

His videos still make me stop in my tracks and watch with a big 12-year-old goofy smile on my face. The man could move. He could float. Thrill-ING.

Sooooo much talent. Such a sad waste. Despite the mean jokes, I’d like to think a lot of us were pulling for him. Wouldn't it have been nice to see him make it through the poison of fame? Wouldn’t it have been nice to have him grow old and teach his kids his dance moves? But, it didn’t seem like he was ever a grown up, so I guess it’s sadly fitting that he never got to grow old.

Neverland.

Rest in peace.

Lost in the House of God

At church on Sunday they asked for all the children to come to the front for a lesson. Addie didn’t give it a second thought and walked right up to the front of our BIG church. I was so proud of her! There was NO WAY I’d have done that when I was 4 - or 14 for that matter.

When the lesson was over and the children started back to their seats I watched for Addie, but she never came. I started walking around the back of the church looking down each isle for her. I found her in a matter of seconds, but to us both it seemed like an eternity. When she saw me she ran to me and burst into tears. It was the saddest cry – scared, embarrassed and relieved all at once. It broke my heart, and mommy's eyes welled up a bit too.

I realize that this is just the beginning of watching my beautiful girl be brave about something and then have it all go wrong. It’s all part of growing up.

I just read “Howe in the World’s” most recent and beautifully written blog post, (see link to the right) and it sounds like her four-year-old son knows exactly what Addie felt on Sunday. It’s hard to be four.

I remember being four. I remember gathering courage to go up to a girl at a pool party where I didn’t know anyone. I asked if I could play with her and she pointed at me and said, “Your boob is showing!” Sure enough - my swimsuit had shifted and was displaying a good portion of my undeveloped chest. It was mortifying enough to remember it 30 years later!

At four you don’t have sarcasm or the ability to laugh at yourself. All you have is open excitement, and raw rejection and crushing disappointment. Ouchy.

But that’s where parents can step in and change the story. On a separate occasion I remember how my mom helped me when a kid made fun of me at pre-school. After telling me the usual “mom” stuff, she asked me to sing his name out loud to the “Name Game” song. His name was Bart. Try it. You’ll see why that would make a little kid laugh and feel a lot better.

I just hope that I can be a comfort to my daughter whenever she feels hurt, scared, angry and disappointed. There’s nothing better than hearing her laugh.

Bart-Bart-Bo-Bart. Banana-fana-fo-fart - Yep. Still cracks me up.

Addie Turns Four

Addie celebrated her 4th birthday this past weekend. She is so happy to finally be four years old she can hardly believe it. Neither can her parents.

Four!?

We celebrated Addie’s birthday by having a BBQ and invited all of her little girlfriends and their families. Granny and Granddad made the trip from Cozad and brought cousin Katherine along. Grandma and Grandpa Pope, Dennis' brother and sister and their failies were there too - even Auntie Malia - who was 8 days overdue made the party! Addie was pretty thrilled to have some of her favorite people together. Plus there were LOTS of chocolate cupcakes; so that always makes for a good time.

I have to say that I love four. I probably said the same thing about three, but four is GREAT! She is so AWARE of EVERYTHING. She asks the best questions. Some are silly. Some are gross (I won’t share them here.) Some are serious (Momma, what happens to us when we die?). Some are humbling (Momma, are you unhappy at me?). Some are spiritual (Momma, why can’t we see God?). But they all offer a small glimpse into her little mind, and I love what I’m seeing.

It’s especially sweet to hear what’s on her mind at bedtime. She’s been saying the same bedtime prayer for months now - “Dear Lord. Thank you for my friends, my family, my kitty and my toy house (aka doll house).” Then she may throw in some embellishments – like grandparents or girlfriends – whatever is on her mind.

Lately she’s been praying for her band new baby cousin, Elsa. Elsa was born the day after Addie’s 4th birthday. It’s been so fun to see how excited Addie is about this latest arrival.

Adeline is a sweet, sensitive, creative, happy, easy going, beautiful kid. (I’m partial) But she IS! It’s been such a pleasure and a joy to watch her grow.

Just don’t do it too fast, OK? It seems like just yesterday Addie was as big as Elsa Mae.

Mother's Day

All week I’ve had other women at work asking me “what are you going to do/get for Mother’s Day?” When I reply that we don’t really celebrate Mother’s Day they joke about me needing to “train” my husband to get me something expensive or pamper me in some way.

Well. I don’t mean to brag (OK. Yes I do.) But I don’t need Mother’s Day to feel honored and loved by my family.

My Mother’s Day started off like any other Sunday – I slept in until 8:30, came downstairs and found Addie dressed (she’d picked out this little number herself!) and Dennis in the kitchen cooking breakfast. The only difference between this and any other Sunday was the card Addie had colored for me and a beautiful hanging basket of flowers for our porch.

The handsome man cooking breakfast after letting me to sleep in was not a Mother’s Day anomaly. This is my life. I love my life. I don’t need jewelry.

Why I Love Jill

I had to work last weekend, which is really unusual for me. I was asked to judge presentations by high school students at the state Envirothon competition. So, nothing too brain-taxing, but it was still time away from my family, and I was a tiny bit bitter.

On a whim I called up my friend, Jill, and asked her if she’d like to volunteer too and come with me. Luckily, she said, “sure!”

This is why I love Jill. She’s always game. She’s always up for anything – including driving 3 hours to Ponca State Park to listen to high school students drone on about biodiversity. Jill has a PhD in Latin American Indigenous studies, or something like that, so biodiversity isn’t her forte. But, she still said, “sure!”

As usual, Jill and I had a blast. That’s the other reason why I love Jill. She’s fun. I never laugh more than when we are together. It was a great trip, and a great memory.

I hope she had as much fun as me so I can sucker her into coming again next year!

Ben & Jerry's

My friend Ron sent this email to me. Being a big fan of Ben & Jerry ice cream, I thought this was apropos. I wish I could take credit for some of these . . .

“Ben & Jerry created Yes Pecan! ice cream flavor for President Obama. They then asked people to come up with a flavor for George W. Bush. Here are some of their favorites:
- Grape Depression
- Abu Grape
- Cluster Fudge
- Nut'n Accomplished
- Iraqi Road
- Chock 'n Awe
- WireTapioca
- Impeach Cobbler
- Guantanmallow
- imPeachmint
- Heck of a Job, Brownie!
- Neocon Politan
- RockyRoad to Fascism
- The Reese's-cession
- Cookie D'oh!
- The Housing Crunch
- Nougalar Proliferation
- Death by Chocolate... and Torture
- Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream
- Chocolate Chip On My Shoulder
- Credit Crunch
- Mission Pecanplished
- Country Pumpkin
- Chunky Monkey in Chief
- George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate
- WMDelicious
- Chocolate Chimp
- Bloody Sundae
- Caramel Preemptive Stripe
- I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands...with nuts”

So, April is nearly over. I’ll never stop being amazed at how time marches. Except time doesn’t march in my life. It sprints, dashes, and tears by – “Wait! What was that? Oh. April.”

But it isn’t like we live our lives in constant gallop. Our lives are just – FULL. There’s a difference. Maybe everyone feels this way about their lives, but I don’t feel like we’re just madly rushing around throughout days. Our time is spent in a pretty comfortable pace, but it’s just FULL of LIFE.

April started with a wonderful night out with our dearest friends Jill and Joaquin. We hit Lincoln’s “First Friday” where all the galleries in town open up and show off their latest. I’d be lying if I said I was into the art. I’m more interested in the free aps and bevies and the great people watching. I’ve never really “gotten” art. I can appreciate a well made canapé or great glass of complementary wine far easier. But, I think good food and drink is an art form as well.

Speaking of food I have another must read. “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver is brilliant. Everyone who enjoys cooking, eating, gardening or the planet should read this book. It’s mind blowing in its simple message that we should pay attention to the foods we eat. How was it raised? Where did it come from? Is it more environmentally conscience to eat organically or locally? Think cheap food is really cheap? Think again. Someone always pays the piper, and it’s often you, me, and the family farm down the road. I’m making it sound like a really depressing book, but it isn’t. It’s often funny, and always interesting. Plus, it’s full of great recipes on how to cook up the plethora of summer veggies (zucchini!) that nearly run you out of the house come July. Please check it out.

April also brought two occasions to celebrate the impending birth of my friend Malia’s first child. The first occasion was a small affair of just “the girls.” It was a weekend full of lots of laughter and sage words about motherhood, friendship and keeping your sanity during one of life’s biggest life-changes. Check out the “Eat at Lucy’s” blog to the right for a full recap.

Since Malia also happens to be my sister-in-law, I got in on the “family” shower as well. My other sister in law graciously opened her home to about 25 women for a lovely brunch. There we presented Malia with the baby quilt Carol (Dennis’ mom), Stacy (Dennis’ sister) and I have been working on. Stacy and I picked out the fabrics, and Carol did the lion’s share of the stitching. Stacy came in a close second and I was dead last having spent just a couple hours on the quilt. Still, we all had our hand in it, and we hope the “littlest Pope” - as Malia likes to call the baby - will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed sewing it for him/her.

April also presented me with the opportunity to travel to Atlanta for a conference. The conference was OK, but the biggest highlight of my trip was being able to spend time with my brother Chris and his family at their beautiful home outside of Atlanta. It was just wonderful to be in their home. Our visits usually occur at Granny and Granddad’s home in Cozad, so it was great to see them truly “at home” doing their chores and bedtime prayers. I so wish they weren’t so far away and we could have dinner with each other every week.

I was once again amazed at how much I missed Dennis and Addie during my three nights away. No matter where I go, nothing compares to being home again.

Dennis isn’t seeing as much of home lately as his schedule picks up out at camp. He’s been doing a lot of training sessions for his summer staff. He’s also managed to expand our garden this year. Hopefully we’re not getting in over our heads here, but we’re both pretty excited to have our pantry overflowing with leafy green things. Dennis is also expanding the number of bee hives he’s going to run this year. He and Addie will head out to Cozad next week to help Granddad make “nukes” or new boxes of bees. Hopefully it warms up a bit.

Our spring has been not so springy. It’s been really gray and cold with a couple spastic days pushing 90. Not so much with the 70 degree sunny days. Let’s GO spring, already!

But then everyday is like spring living with our little sunshine, Adeline. Honestly. She is the sun. She is a bright, shining light of bouncing joy. She is a constant pouring forth of imagination and stories. She is spinning, breezy blur of a three year old, who never stops dancing. Man. How IS it possible to love someone this much?

Addie is acutely aware that it is spring. She has been asking when she will turn four since about Halloween. I’ve always said, “In the springtime.” And now that it IS spring, she’s constantly asking, “am I four yet, momma?”

Four? Really??! How DOES this happen? Time does fly.

Am I REALLY Ready for Spring?

Oooh, spring is in the air! When I walked out of my house this morning the birds were not just singing – they were rejoicing! Robins were bouncing across the grass and I immediately pulled the tuque off of Addie’s head and removed my gloves. Spring is coming! I can feel it.

That makes the fact that I haven’t blogged all winter glaringly obvious. What am I going to do when I can be out planting peas or sitting in the porch swing instead of inside sitting in front of a computer monitor, blogging!? Still, it does make me sad that I neglected to capture all the beauty of our winter. It’s been pretty great.

Last year I was SO over winter by the end of February, but this year we’ve had just the right amount of snow without it being ridiculous or treacherous. Plus, it’s been clear, bright and still after the snow so we can go outside and enjoy it! We’ve also had plenty of reprieves from winter with days in the 50’s, 60’s and now 70’s (today).

Our snug little house has been a perfect winter refuge. Addie all the time says “I like home,” and I completely agree. We received several games for Christmas, and we spent many winter nights on the floor in front of the fire playing “Shoots and Ladders,” “Candyland” or “Princes Memory”. That’s a perfect “date night.”

Speaking princes, Addie is still fully in her “princess phase.” She loves all things pink, poofy and princess. We’re swiftly making it through the Disney staples – Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, but her favorite is “The Little Mermaid.” She’ll break into the – “ah,ah,Ah – ah, ah, AH” – Aerial theme song several times a day. The kid loves to sing!

We’ve really enjoyed winter for just being able to spend a lot of time together. I love that about winter. Dennis’ schedule slows WAY down, and we have full, continual weekends together to just hang out. It’s great.

I know Addie has really loved it too. She is such a sweet little kid. The other day she put her arms around Dennis’ and my legs, looked up at us and said, “I love my parents.” I mean come ON!

So, it’s been a wonderful winter full of cozy, warm memories. We haven’t been up to anything really earth-shattering - just watching the snow flakes fall and listen to the fire crackle, and now, I’m not sure I’m ready for spring.

Maybe a good March blizzard will change my mind!

"I'm Not Dead Yet!"

We're still here! I just have NOT found the time to write. I have no excuse. Life has been fun and full, and we're currently anticipating a trip to the BEACH to hang out with grandma and grandpa.

Plus, can I blame my dad and brothers and sisters in law? Thanks to this collective group of dear ones I have entered into the world of iTunes and iPod. I am in LOVE. I am a downloading fool, and giddy with joy at hunting for long lost songs, books and pod casts. Woo-hoo!

A good way for a quick catch up is to click on "Pope Pictures" under our links. The pics highlight all the fun of Christmas and time in Cozad with the cousins (or darn near most of em!). You'll also see Addie's first attempt at ice skating and other winter fun. Afterall, pictures are worth a thousand words, so that should pretty much cover the last 2 1/2 months that I've been AWOL on the BLOG.

My bad.