What a difference a year makes! April 29th marked the anniversary of Addie's seizure. Needless to say, this year was a MUCH happier day. We had a lot of fun celebrating the birth of Max Latta.

Max's baby shower was orriginally planned before his birth back in February, but due to a blizzard, the shower was postponed. We all agreed that it was much nicer to sit outside in the breeze and eat grilled hot dogs, so it worked out well.

It was a lot of fun to see all of the kids together. We have quite a big group now that we all have a kid or two. All of the kids have fun hanging out together, esp. Addie and Syd. When Dennis and Collin (Syd's daddy) kept the girls while Maggie and I went out for a girls night, Dennis said that when Addie left Syd's house she told Syd "I love you", when they left. Little girls are so sweet!

We also got to see another one of Addie's good frineds earlier this month. We met Nick and Sarah in Omaha for our annual meet up. It was pretty amazing to get our "babies" together and see that they've both turned into toddlers. Since that day was so cold and wet after dinner we hung out in the lobby of the Embassy Suites. That gave the kids lots of room to run, and as a bonus the hotel had a waterfall and pond with real fish, which Nathaniel and Addie thought were pretty cool.

We're happy that Addie has so many great friends to play with - and we're happy that they have such great parents!

Well, once again I've fallen behind in keeping up with the Blog. Here's a quick recap from March:

March roared in like a lion with a blizzard, so we finally had our snow day, but within a week and a half the weather was in the 70's.

On March 2, Addie's school celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday.

We made a quick trip to KC to visit the Menke family March 10-11. Anita was doing well, but ready to have that baby! Addie had a good time playing with Arden and Aislinn. Dennis had to work at a camp nearby KC, so Aislinn was pretty disappointed that Dennis wasn't there for her to play with. She got teary-eyed when she woke up on Saturday morning and Dennis wasn't there to play. It was pretty cute!

On March 14, Grandma Ruth passed away. It wasn't unexpected, but it was still hard. Addie and I flew back down to south Texas to attend the funeral. I was apprehensive about flying that far without Dennis, but Addie was a angel.

We arrived in the valley on Friday night and the funeral was the next morning. Uncle Dicky and Aunt Charlotte were there, with Uncle Dickey officiating the memorial service. Aunt Charlotte kept Addie entertained while I met mom's old classmates and some long-lost relatives I hadn't seen since I was a baby.

There wasn't a full-fledged funeral. Grandma always insisted she didn't want one. "Come and see me when I'm alive!" she'd always say. The service was simple, but full of wonderful touches. Aunt Charlotte made a beautiful "memory board" made up of photos highlighting grandma's 92 years. A guitar trio played some Mexican spirituals, then Grandpa's nephew, Grandma's niece, Uncle Dicky, Aunt Charlotte and I got up and spoke about grandma. The comon theme among all our memories was grandma's love of life and spunk. The thing I most wanted to say was to thank grandpa for taking such good care of grandma all these years, esp. the last couple when she was so sick. I was thankful to have had that opportunity.

I was really touched by Grandpa's open and shameless grief. For the rest of the time we were there he'd just quietly start to cry and talk fondly about grandma. It wasn't blatant or uncomfortable, just sweet sadness. They were married 30 years.

I am so glad we were able to be there. It did me a lot of good, and I know having Addie and I there meant so much to grandpa and mom. The morning we flew home grandpa called and said "having you here made everything better."

Now I know grandma is in heaven and in no longer in pain and confusion. In fact, mom and I like to imagine her up there cackeling with Ann Richards and Molly Ivans. Heaven just got a lot more fun! : )

The last full weekend of March we headed to Cozad for a quick visit. It was fun to see how much cousin Katherine has changed since Christmas. Dennis helped dad load up some honey barrels, and dad told us all about their trip to CA to scatter bees on the almond orchards. Now, why didn't daddy keep bees in southern CA when I was growing up instead of Whishek, ND?!

The rest of March has been taken up by being sick - first me with some horrible stomach bug then Addie with a nasty fever and cold, which I promptly caught. Thankfully Dennis has avoided our crud! I think Addie and I are finally on the mend.

We had a nice Easter at Dennis' parents. Addie was thrilled to spend time with her grandpa. She would ask for him as soon as she woke up from her nap and say "where grandpa go?" whenever he'd leave the room. Uncle Derek helped Addie have her first Easter egg hunt. She helped hide and find the eggs. Addie made quite a splash at sunrise services in her bunny hat! She was needing her Easter nap when this photo was taken!

We all arrived back from sunny south Texas on Wednesday. We had a wonderful trip, but I know we all felt like we didn't spend enough time at the beach. Dennis' parents rented a condo at South Padre Island for the month of February and my mom recently moved to McAllen, TX, to help care for my ailing grandma, so this gave us the perfect reason to head south for a visit and a break from winter. The weather was beautiful. Clear blue skies and green grass, palm trees and flowers - all sore sites for our winter weary eyes.

We had a good trip out after a few hang ups - icy roads and frigid temps in Nebraska and a two-hour delayed flight out of KC, but we arrived in one piece - sans luggage - and into the arms of our folks. It was pretty cool having Dennis' parents and mom all there to greet us at the Harlingen airport. We were starved so we headed to the nearest Whataburger (Lubby's had stopped serving) while we waited for our luggage to arrive on the next flight from Dallas.

We spent the next three days at mom's beautiful apartment. She lives in a "retirement community" where you have to be 55 or older, which was a good thing because otherwise Dennis and I would have moved in! The next morning we met grandpa for lunch at the best authentic Mexican food in the Valley - El Patio.

Addie wasn't quite sure what to think of grandpa with is thick Mexican accent, towering height and big white cowboy hat. He wasn't shy though, and gave her a big smooch. He quickly won her over by wiggling his eyebrows up and down, which in turn made his cowboy hat move up and down on his head. Addie thought that was pretty hilarious.

We then went to visit Grandma Ruth. When we arrived she was asleep, which was a good thing because I immediately began to cry. She just so reminded me of how Ellen looked when she was so sick. But when grandma woke up she blinked her eyes in disbelief and said "well, howdy!", just like herself, but then she seemed to immediately shrink back into herself. She did respond more to Addie. Addie wasn't sure what to think of her wheel chair at first, but warmed up after a bit, and would pat grandma Ruth on the leg and look up into her face. It was so very sweet. Addie even got a small smile out of grandma Ruth, so that was worth the trip right there.

The next two days were basically the same. Between Addie's naps and eating we'd visit Grandma Ruth. We even got in a game of dominoes with her, and although she didn't win, she kept up with the game really well.

We also were able to visit Grandpa at the house. We went around the yard and picked oranges, grape fruit and avocados from his trees. He seems to be doing really well out there all alone, but I'm sure he's very lonesome. He and grandma have been married 35 years and have probably only spent a few days apart. I can't imagine how hard this is for him.

I'm not sure how aware grandma Ruth is of what's happening to her. Not very, in my opinion. She seems to be really withdrawn from the world. I know that's hard on mom too, but I'm really proud of her decision to go down there to care for grandma Ruth and grandpa. Grandpa is now all finished with his cancer treatments, and is waiting to see if any follow up treatment will be needed. Mom just needs to remember to take time to take care of herself!

On Sunday morning we all drove to South Padre Island to spend the remaining time with Wes and Carol in their condo, and what a lovely condo it was! It was right on the beach and had an incredible view of the gulf. Addie LOVED the beach! She wasn't really sure what to think at first, but once she got used to the sand and surf she couldn't get enough. Dennis would take her down to the surf to chase the waves. Wes brought bread to feed the gulls, which caused Addie to just squeal with delight, and she loved the sand so much that she would lay down in it! Everyday we would take at least one long walk along the beach picking up shells and seeing what we could see. It was just great! We are so glad grandma and grandpa Pope shared part of their vacation with us!

We've been home for two days now and Addie is still pointing out the window and asking "beach?". When I lift her up to the window to show her that the beach is no longer outside her window she says "uh-oh". Mommy and Daddy relate. We didn't give ourselves enough beach time. Before we knew it, it was time to fly home. We had a wonderful trip home without a hitch, just in time for our next blizzard. They're predicting 6-8 inches this weekend. Sigh . . . I think we'll be watching the DVD of our trip a few times this weekend!

The first month of 2007 has been full of excitement. We started off the new year with a big snow storm, and have proceeded to have either snow or mind-numbing cold every weekend since. Addie has gotten more used to the snow. We even got to do a little sledding down the loading ramp of our big barn. Addie thought that was pretty great, and exclaimed "weeeeee!" every time.

Granny and Grandad spend MLK day with us. With more snow and cold we didn't do much. In fact dad and I spent the day un-stopping the bathtub drain! While granny was giving Addie a bath one of the wash cloths got sucked down the drain. This is not the first time this has happened, and Granny made Grandma Carol feel so much better because the same thing had happened to her!

Addie also had fun that weekend celebrating her friend, Sidney's, 2nd birthday. It's fun to hang around Syd because since she's 4 months older than Addie it's like a preview of coming attractions. Looks like it just keeps getting more and more fun!

Addie is really growing. It's amazing how she's absorbing words! She understands so much, and then just blurts out a the name of something or a color that we had no idea she even understood. She loves putting on other people's shoes and walking around in them. And I've really noticed her imagination starting to take off too. It's great.
Another great thing - we're updating our bathroom!. It is currently all tore up, but we're hoping it will be finished by the end of February. I can hardly wait. I'll have to share some photos of the mess. I just pray we aren't all being contaminated by whatever funky building matter bathrooms were constructed of back in 1929 - like lead paint, asbestos . . .

This last bitter cold weekend Addie attended her first political demonstration. I met Jill, Joaquin and my friend Brooke and her two little boys and we marched at the Nebraska state capitol in protest of the Iraq war. We were surprisingly joined by at least 300 other hearty souls who braved the 20 degree temps and 20 mph north wind. I was happy to see that the crowd was really diverse. There were the typical hippie types, but there were also clergy, grannies, mommies and lots and lots of kids. Hopefully that made the people who drove by and flashed obscene gestures at us feel a little foolish as they saw a 10 year old girl holding a sign that said "We shouldn't hate or fight." From the mouths of babes . . .

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that the holidays are over and we're moving into 2007. It was a nice holiday season, spent well with family and friends. There were a few selfish disappointments - my mom no longer being in town to celebrate with, not being able to see much of my brother (who was working like a dog trying to restore electricity to the ice-covered Dawson County area), no Christmas Eve church so I didn't get to dress up Addie in her super cute Christmas dress (thank you Anita/Aislynn!). But all in all it was a really nice holiday.

Our holiday season was kicked off by celebrating the 35th anniversary of my birth. : ) Dennis invited the family over and whipped up a couple of the best batches of chili any of us have ever tasted - at least I think I can say that for Zach. I had to restrain myself from eating too much because later that night I went out to a club downtown that was having "80's night" to do a little dancing. I was feeling a little old, as one of the few patrons who had fully experienced the 80's first hand - out of a diaper, but we had a blast and proceeded to shut the place down. The experience made me really miss my sister, though. She was a phenomenal dancer and had great taste in music. She introduced me to a bunch of "cool" 80's bands that I still love - New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Ramones (or were they strictly 70's?). Anyway, I was lucky to have had such a hip sister.

Christmas was a whirlwind. We drove out to Cozad on the 22nd and awoke the next morning to a land covered in ice. It was amazingly beautiful, but soon learned that the ice had cut power to many of the area households. This meant that I would see my brother David for about an hour during the 2.5 days we were home. There would be none of the traditional viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life" together. There were too many families without their Christmas lights on. And poor Anna, David's wife, spent the holiday without her husband. The ice also played havoc for my best friend, Anita. She and her family traveled back to Cozad from KC only to discover that her folk's place was without power. This was a treat for us because they got to spend all that Saturday with us, but I'm sure it was a huge bummer for her. Not an ideal homecoming to spend it at someone else's home.

During our very brief visit to Cozad we managed to get together with some old friends from high school who were home for the holidays. We met up at Michele McNally's home for a quick reunion with Misty (Dishman's), Anita (Menke), Michele and I's families. It was pretty cool to see all of our kids playing in the basement where I spent a majority of my free time durning high school!

We left Cozad on Christmas Eve morning and headed to Dennis' folk's place where we had a yummy Christmas dinner waiting for us. Eastern Nebraska was like another country compared to Cozad. There was no snow or ice to be seen and the temp was in the 50's. After opening gifts we went for a long walk. We ended the evening by watching the classic "A Christmas Story". On Christmas day we headed to Great Grandma Brewer's place for lunch. Great grandma and Addie read stories and had a tea party.

We celebrated Christmas with Dennis' extended family on the 30th. There were the usual goofy $20 gifts exchanged between the guys - Justin gave Wes's $20 in a diaper filled with raisins. Dennis' $20 was wrapped in a pink Victoria's Secret box, but the most photogenic was the item accompanying Dennis $20, which Zach opened. His $20 came with 4 sets of "funny teeth". I think this should be Zach and Stacy's Christmas card photo for next year.

New Year's Eve was going to be celebrated with friends at our house, but ole man winter had different plans when we woke up to a full-blown snow storm. So we rug in 2007 with a fairly lame DVD and some decent Champaign by the fire. Not too shabby.

We took a moment to reflect on the most significant events of 2006. We agreed that the most significant was watching the amazing transformation of Addie from a baby that was just learning to sit up to a toddler who is running and talking. Where did our baby go? We agreed that it's gone by way too fast, but it's been a good year. Here's to a happy and peaceful 2007!

Addie continues to amaze and entertain. The other day when I got home from work I found her in her old bouncy chair watching a baby Einstein video. She didn't even turn around when I walked in the door. She was totally chillaxing and in "the zone". I was a little amazed/horrified at at the power of the boob tube, but I just kissed her head and told her that mommy can relate to the need for some down time (then grabbed the camera). This was just after Thanksgiving and being surrounded by people - dear people whom we love dearly - but I honestly think she was just enjoying some quiet time. And the fact that she caught a horrible cold probably played into that. She's on the mend, but poor daddy is now suffering with the same crud. My poor babies.

Addie's latest skillz:

1. Her favorite word is "uh-oh"
2. She loves to give daddy "knuckles" when daddy says "solid". (We even taught grandad how to do this over Thanksgiving.)
3. She's getting really good at feeding herself with a spoon.
4. Other "words" she says include: mommy, dada, thank you, moon, ball, shoe and hi. She's a total genius, I know.
5. She understands us when we ask her to get up to the table, to get her shoes on, that she may NOT have a cookie, let's brush our teeth, etc. It's constantly surprising me what she seems to understand - and a little unnerving! Time to become more aware of what we say around her. : )

She also has molars! This came as a total surprise last week. I peeked into her mouth and noticed that she has 4 coming in. We had no idea.

Another major development is that this past weekend my mom left Lincoln. She's moving down to Mission, TX to help care for Grandma and Grandpa Castillo. It is so sad to see her go! We've seen each other on a weekly basis, and often daily basis, for the past 16 years. To now have her 1,000 miles away is going to be a hard adjustment.

Still, I'm really thankful that she's able to help care for Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer this summer and also seems to be suffering from Alzheimers. She is currently in a nursing home, but seems to be doing really well despite all of the changes she's gone through recently.

Grandpa Al was diagnosed with prostate cancer this summer also. He's currently undergoing daily radiation treatments, which will continue for about a month. He seems to be getting along with that very well so far.

Is it just me, or does cancer seem to be everywhere? Yesterday we went to a welcome home party for my oldest friend, Kjell. He and his wife had been at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for 2 1/2 months where he was undergoing treatment for brain cancer. He has been amazing in his fight. The only way you could tell he has been through anything is by the large scar on his scalp. When I asked him how he was feeling yesterday, he said "I'm just happy to be home and ready to kick cancer's ass." I say Amen to that.

The first weekend of December marked the second anniversary of Ellen's death. It just seems to me like it's been soooo much longer than that. Hasn't it been decades since I've seen my sister? This year was harder for me in a lot of ways. One of the major ways was that Addie is the same age that Parker was when Ellen died. I can't imagine not getting to see Addie grow beyond this point. I also turn 35 in a couple weeks, and Ellen was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks after her 35th birthday. I'm just relating to her death more on her level this year as a mom and as a woman.

Just so many reminders of how precious life is. I need to cherish everyday.

Man. I'm really getting bad at keeping up the blog! Here's a quick rundown from November -

On the first Saturday of the month we belatedly celebrated Wes' 61st birthday at our house. It was a beautifully warm day, so we grilled out. We really had a lovely time - contrary to what this photo shows! The next day was even more gorgeous, so Dennis, Addie and I took a long walk down the bike trail in Lincoln after having a picnic lunch.

The next weekend Dennis and his dad installed a brand new back door. It's amazing the technological advances that have been made in the door since 1929! That night we enjoyed a wonderful meal at our friend's Jill and Joaquin's apartment. As soon as we got there Dennis asked to turn on the TV. He had to catch the end of the Husker game. Joaquin tried to act interested, but the draw of American football still alludes him. Dennis asked him about soccer, and Jill rolled her eyes and said "Oh, boy," and Joaquin proceeded to launch into a passionate description of the sport and his home team in Seville. It was a display any Husker fan could relate to. Jill and I remain mystified. : )

On the weekend of the 17th we took the short road trip to Kansas City to visit Anita and her family. It is so wonderful to be able to pop in the car and drive down to see her! We were able to spend some quality time together while the guys took the kids to the zoo. We went to the movie "Shut Up and Sing", which was an amazing film about what happened to the Dixie Chicks after their lead singer made a critical comment about President Bush. Makes you wonder just how free our speech here in the USA really is.

Thanksgiving was celebrated back in Cozad with all of my family. It was so good to all be together again. John and the boys and us arrived first on Wednesday, then Chris and Melissa and Lara and Duane on Thursday. David and Anna arrived last on Friday night. It was the first time we had all been together since Ellen's funeral. Granny and Granddad "camped" every night out in the camper with the boys, which they just loved (the boys, that is!). We also all got to see the newly remodeled kitchen and family room. It is just beautiful.

Thanksgiving day was a beautiful warm day. Aunt Myrna hosted, and the kids had a blast on their trampolene and huge swing set. And I think the adults were pretty relieved that all the kids could play outside! : ) After the meal a group of us took a walk down to the lake, and the guys played a 9 hole game of frisbee golf.

That Friday was spent hanging out at the house. Emily and Crystal went shopping, but the rest of us just relaxed, watched the Huskers, and even played a bit of touch football. Daddy was impressed with Dennis' creative play calls. I think the "fake you're hurt" and the "square dance" plays will become family folk lore. And after Chris went down - agian! - after one of my "tackels" we all agree that he should be forever banned from playing football at any family function. I'm happy to report that Dennis was nowhere near him in this incedent.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we celebrated mamo and papo's 90th birthdays with an open house at Aunt Myrna's. All of daddy's brothers and sisters and most of their kids made it back for this celebration, so to say there was a housefull at Aunt Myrnas is an understatement! It was amazing to see this impressive throng gather around the two people from where we all originated. It was such a blessing. Dad had written a "book" of mamo and papo's lives together and then I put it together. We handed it out at the party for everyone to look through. It was so interesting to learn more about their lives as children and when they had first met. I hope Dennis and I can be so blessed after 67 years of marriage.

On Sunday John and the boys and us headed back home to be with mom who had just returned back from Texas. We hit some icy roads and only got as far as Hastings. We finally made it back to our place on Monday where we visited the childrens museum and watched "Cars".

John and the boys headed back to Mississippi on Wednesday morning. It was so good of him to make that harrowing journey with the boys. I know it wasn't an easy trip on many levels, but that he was willing to make such an effort to be an active part of Ellen's family is beyond meaningful. He'll never know what it means to us. And Chris and Melissa! They drove for 2 solid days each way with 4 kids in their mini van. They all make such an effort to come to Nebraska at least once a year. That's such a generous sacrifice for them to make.

We are so thankful for our family and their willingness to get together for the day to day stuff - like putting in a back door - and the monumental stuff - like celebrating 90 years of life. It's easy to find many things to be thankful for.