Adeline turned six a few days ago. Six!?! I am starting to realize that for every one of Addie's birthdays I am destined to find myself saying something along the lines of, "How in the world is my baby already _ years old?!"

When a guy at work asked me how old Addie is he said, "She's already lived out 1/3 of the time she'll be under your roof. It sure goes fast." I about started weeping in his office. Honestly, who says that to a mother? A waxing nostalgic father of two grown daughters, I suppose. Not noticing my distress by his first comment, he went on to say how 6 years old is the BEST time, and to cherish every moment. When I left his office I wanted to quit my job and pull Addie from school so I can spend every living second of her 6th year with her.

I am all too aware of how time is flashing by. I know that soon she won't want to snuggle on my lap in the mornings. She won't think doing dishes or helping clean the house is "fun." She won't want me to play dolls with her. Soon she won't want me in her room, much less reading to her at night. I do realize that all of this preciousness is fleeting. That is why we partied hard for her 6th.

We celebrated Addie's birthday three times. On her actual birthday day, I picked her up from school and let her pick what restaurant she wanted to eat supper. I knew this was a huge gamble, risking some highly unpalatable choice along the lines of "Chuckie Cheese." Fortunately, Addie selected the Mongolian Grill by explaining, "I want to go to the restaurant with the chopsticks and the giant fire." Suh-weet!

On Friday we celebrated again with her girlfriends. Dennis picked up six little girls and brought them over to our house for a play date. I'm happy to report that there were limited tears, and no one was injured on the trampoline - Addie's 6th birthday present. And Dennis and I got to hang out with all of the wonderful girl's fabulous parents. A win-win.

On Sunday we celebrated again (yeah, we Popes know how to party), this time with the family. Addie's cousin, Elsa, turned 2 the day after Addie's birthday, so we hosted a double birthday party for Addie and Elsa. It was an uncharacteristically beautiful day (it's been the worst spring!), so we all spent a lot of time lounging around on the front porch and playing in the yard.

It was a beautiful week full of celebrating our beautiful girl.

Nearly Two Hundered Years of Friendship

I have great friends. I know because they've put up with me for a VERY long time. When people make friends with me, they better mean it. I'm pretty difficult to shake. These photos prove it. Over the past three weekends, I've been blessed to spend time with some of my oldest and dearest friends.

On this past Sunday I spent 3 hours catching up with my high school English/Speech/Drama teacher, Mrs. Koch. My BFF, Anita was in town so we could go to The Decembrists concert in Omaha that night. Since she was heading this way minus the kids (thank you Art!) she wanted to try and arrange a get-together with the teacher we both have credited with keeping us sane in high school. Anita, Kjell (who I’ve been friends with since we were 4) and Mrs. Koch (I can't call her Patsy. It feels weird!) sat at a restaurant for over 3 hours catching up. Anita and I hadn't seen her since we graduated 20 years ago (make that 21, ahem!), but we laughed and talked like it was yesterday. It was so great.

Three days prior to that I met my friend Liz, whom I met in college, for dinner. I hadn't seen her in several months, but it's like no time has passed. She is always up to something great and is very creative. (check out the link to her purse site on ETSY.com on the right). We then went to The Bookworm to attend our mutual friend's book launch. Rainbow has been writing ever since I’ve met her - either for the Daily Nebraskan on campus, the Omaha World Herald or copy for an Omaha ad agency. She's been brilliant at all of those, so it's no surprise that when we arrived to her book launch an hour after it had began, all of her books were sold out ("Attachments" by Rainbow Rowell) - and had been for nearly an hour! I've since picked up a copy, and am enjoying it so much. It's fun to read something by someone you know so well. I have all this context that others won't. It adds to the fun of it being a great read in itself. It makes me realize that there really is no such thing as pure fiction. At her book launch we took a photo together of all of us who lived together in Pound Hall at UNL Melissa, Liz, Rainbow and me. We ate a LOT of pizza together, listened to Liz Fair records, cried over boyfriends and did some studying, and lots of laughing. Then two weekends ago I met with my "book club" - which I have to say in quotes, because we did start off reading the same book, but have since given that up to just getting together. We talk about books, but not all the same one, which I personally think it better. These women are my delight. We all met in college, but didn't really get to become close friends until we were well out of college and starting our own homes and families.

So these three photos represent over 160 total years of friendship. How did I get so lucky to have such talented, beautiful people in my life, and for so LONG? All I can say is it's one of my life's biggest blessings.

My Poor Neglected Blog

Oh my poor neglected blog. Is anyone still out there?

I’ve been full of good intentions – sort of like my intention to can and freeze everything in my garden last summer (which I did!), or my intention to get rid of all of Addie’s old clothes (which I didn’t!).

So, just in case there is someone out there who is still actually reading this – a quick recap is in order (get comfy):

Last summer was full of fun in the sun, and a VERY productive garden. We just did our first planting for garden 2011 this past weekend, and I’m already starting to panic about trying to keep up with the bounty! We certainly have been enjoying the frozen veggies all winter. I’ll try to remember that when I’m up to my armpits in tomatoes come September!

Addie started Kindergarten in August with very little fanfare. She is still at her same school and in the same classroom. The main difference is that she started attending school all day, every day. She was one pooped little girl by 4:30 this fall, even zonking out in the car on the 5 minute ride home from school. But she has now adjusted to being a full-time school kid. She’s learning to read, and reads me a book each night before I read to her. It’s been so fun. (esp. last week when she misread the word “fort” as fart. Mommy couldn’t help it- we both laughed until we cried.)

We spent Labor Day weekend with John and the boys in Columbia, MO. We had a great time riding bikes on the Katy Trail and just hanging out. I think Addie has a crush on Jackson. Smart girl.

The holidays were a blast from Halloween right on through Valentine’s Day. We hosted our first Thanksgiving with me making my first Thanksgiving dinner (whew!). Christmas was crazy-fun in Cozad. Granny had our week jam-packed with great activities that included swimming, shopping, movies, and a dance (yes, my fundamental friends, a DANCE!) Who knew my family had all those pinned up dance moves? It was a wonderful time together.

On the farm we re-roofed the house this fall and have the replacement windowns in. We have kept all of the chickens alive except one who died a very mysterious death. They stopped laying eggs this winter, but are swiftly making up for lost time. We have a new little kitty on our farm. We’ve named her Phoebe. Albert isn’t pleased, but is putting up with her OK.

We took our annual trip to Florida to spend a week at the beach with grandma and grandpa Pope the last week of February. We had beautiful weather in the 70s every day – which made up for me having the flu and the other health challenges we dealt with on the trip, which included a trip to the Florida Department of health (everyone is fine). One highlight of the trip included meeting up with my folks at Wakulla Springs State Park. What a magical place!

Time with family has become even more precious after experience the lost my grandma Edith Marie in October and my step grandpa Aldeberto Castillo in December. As different as they both were, they had a lot in common. Both were talented, self-taught artists, both loved to garden, and both loved their spouses - Mamo and Papo were married 71 years, and Grandpa Al and Grandma Ruth were married 32 years. Mamo was someone I grew up with at my side. She loved to sing, paint, bake, plant, and laugh. She had a wonderful laugh - more like a girlish giggle. She taught me to appreciate healthly food, the gift of singing together, and family. Grandpa Al married my grandma Ruth when I was 6. He was a soft-spoken giant of a man who would never leave the house without his cowboy hat. He was a WWII vet and a die-hard liberal who wrote scathing letters to the editor. He had a tremdously dry whit that was never mean spirited, but laugh out loud funny. I will miss both of these beautiful souls forever, and am so thankful they were a part of my life.

And so that brings us to spring. Even though it's still cold you can feel the hope of spring. The birds are in the air, tree buds are swelling and the sedges and crocuses are beginning to poke out of the ground. We took a 1 hour family hike yesterday at Spring Creek Prairie despite the cold and ice pelting us from the sky. Spring is coming – I just know it is.

I shouldn’t rush it. Spring means yard work, garden work and no more long cozy nights by the fire playing endless games of Crazy 8’s and Old Maid. Maybe winter isn’t so bad . . .