Well 2007 went out with a bunch of excitement. On Dec. 29th we all headed down to the Brewer Christmas celebration in Auburn, Neb., with our cell phones on and fully charged. Stacy and Zach had gone into the hospital the night before for Stacy to be induced. It looked like baby Watson could be born at anytime on Saturday.

We were happy that we could still head down to Auburn and see everyone. Addie especially had a great time playing with the big girls – Miatie, Rachel, Jessica and Brook were all so sweet to her. Addie even sat at the “big girl’s table”. I think she felt so grown up!

It was great to see everyone, but it did feel a little rushed, and I know we felt a little distracted. We’d all jump whenever a cell phone would ring!

Stacy called around 4 PM and said that she could go in a couple hours, so we all jumped in the car and headed for Lincoln. We got to St. E’s around 6 PM and popped in to see how Stacy and Zach were doing. Zach said that Stacy had been in a lot of pain earlier due to back labor, but the epidural was working well, and she was doing fine. When we went into the room Stacy was lying on her side watching TV. She sounded just a tiny bit drugged, but was really alert and didn't seem to be in pain at all, so that was great to see.

We all cleared out of their “birthing suite” to hang out in the waiting room just one door down. Zach popped over about an hour later and said “It’s working!” and then there was a flurry of activity of nurses zooming in and out of their room. It was pretty exciting! About 30 minutes later Zach popped back out and said “It’s a boy!,” and we all cheered. I went over to hug Carol who was crying and told her “your baby just had a baby”, then I started crying too. Addie looked at us and then she started to cry too! I picked her up and told her it was a happy cry, but I still think she was pretty confused by all of our behavior!

We were all allowed into the room to see the baby. They named him Carter Thomas. He was 7 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 inches long.

It was just amazing! One minute he was inside of Stacy, and the next he was in the room with us. A real miracle.

He was so alert and relaxed. He didn’t fuss or cry at all while he was being passed around the room. He has the sweetest little face too. He really is a beautiful baby.

We left the hospital around 9:30 that night. Dennis and I had never had that experience of waiting for a baby to be born. Our experience was so completely different so it was really a blessing to be able to be there for Carter’s birth.


Addie was a real trooper too. She stayed up past 10 PM for the first time in her life, and didn’t have any super. She was just a peach the whole time. So, we were feeling pretty thankful in many ways as we drove home and talked about what an amazing day it had been.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is already over! Ours was busy, but fun, which is probably why it all went by so quickly.

The holiday started with a visit from my mom. This was really nice since we hadn’t seen her since June. She couldn’t believe how big Addie had gotten.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend much time together. She got to Lincoln later than planned, and then we left for Cozad on Saturday. Mom was also planning to leave on Saturday for south Texas, but the weather was a mess just south of here, so she decided to stay put.

In hind sight we should have stayed here too on Saturday and spent more time with her. But they were forecasting snow, so we thought we should try to get to Cozad while the weather was good. As it turned out it didn’t snow a flake. Oh well.

Our time in Cozad was nice – but life sometimes got in the way of the festivities.

I ended my last blog entry saying “growing old is a blessing”, but this Christmas reminded us that growing old is also very difficult. My dad was pretty consumed this Christmas with dealing with the painful challenges associated with his parents growing older and their ability to fully care for themselves. It is a heart wrenching thing to go through for everyone involved. I just hope that Addie is as faithful a caregiver as my dad and Cynthia have been to my grandparents.

Despite this very hard situation, we all managed to have a nice Christmas, and enjoyed being together.

We really enjoyed hanging out with Anna and David. Granny and Granddad watched the kiddoes so we went on a double date to the movie “National Treasure” in North Platte on Sunday afternoon. On the way to the movie we somehow started talking about politics and then the economy. On the way home we talked about the war. It was the first time I’ve ever had such a weighty discussion with my little brother. It was cool.

Christmas Eve was spent helping Cynthia out in the kitchen preparing for the dinner party she was holding that night. We were like a perfectly orchestrated team of choppers, stirrers and measurers – everything turned out beautifully. It was a lovely party with the house all decorated and lit up.

After dinner we opened gifts and sang Christmas carols. That got to be pretty silly with different groups assigned to stand and sing a designated verse of the "Twelve Days of Christmas". Dennis and I did “8 maids a-milking” and we pretty much stunk! David did actions for “6 geese a-laying”, but his interpretation looked more like “one 30 year old a-poopin’” (I’m sure you can just see him!). So there was a lot of laughing.

The next day we headed to David and Anna’s place for Christmas dinner. We got there mid morning to open gifts. Christmas with two two-year-olds in the house is quite an interesting affair! “NO!” “GO AWAY” and “MINE” were constantly flowing from my child’s mouth while Katherine tried to get a closer look at Addie’s gifts. Both sets of parents were constantly working to keep the peace “Give that back to Addie, Katherine” and “Don’t yell and Katherine, Addie”, were said at least a dozen times during a 40 minute period!

Devon on the other hand is just the most content little guy ever. He hardly ever cries, and when he does it’s more like a throaty growl. He’s just a peach, and Addie LOVED him.

After the gifts were opened Dennis and I were able to check out their new house. It is SO nice!! They finally have some ROOM!

For Christmas dinner Anna made up a “southern” meal of chicken and dumplings, fried okra, corn bread, black-eyed peas, lima beans, lace corn bread and a bunch of other trimmings. We were in heaven!

We had to skedaddle right after lunch because snow was starting to fall, but we made it home without a hitch.

I went back to work on the 26th, which was weird, and totally anti-climatic. I’m usually off the week between Christmas and New Years, but we wanted to be back in Lincoln ASAP since Dennis’ little sister is due to have a baby any minute now. We’re all really hoping she goes into labor before Saturday, which is Dennis’ extended family’s Christmas in Auburn, Neb. Come on baby Watson!

Some other BIG news in Dennis’ family is that his older brother, Derek, proposed to his girlfriend, Malia, on Christmas morning!!! I’m really excited because Malia is one of my close friends (they met each other visiting the hospital after Addie was born). It will be really great to have her in the family. So the Pope family continues to grow!

Well, that’s a run down of the holidays for us! No big plans for New Year’s Eve, which is OK with me. I usually fall asleep before midnight anyway!

This weekend was jam-packed with birthday celebrations. My friend Maggie took her husband, Collin, out for dinner on Friday night for his birthday. That meant we got to watch Syd for the evening. When she arrived she and Addie immediately began to squeal and giggle. That went on for about the next four hours. They played really well together despite Addie having been at daycare all day and not having much of a nap. The only mishap was during a rendition of “ring around the rosy” which lead to bonked heads during the ever popular “we all fall DOWN!” part. Other than that it was all smiles.

The next night we were guests at Syd’s parent’s home where they had a celebration for Collin’s birthday. There were 8 kids ages 3 and under running around. It was loud and crazy, but also really fun. Ring around the rosy was played again over and over, and resulted in no black eyes. All the kids did really well together.

Then on Sunday we got to see Syd again when Addie went over to play while Dennis took me out to dinner for my birthday. We had hopped to go to a “grown-up” place with candlelight and some nice wine, but we soon discovered that Sunday evening is not a great night for trying to go out for dinner in Lincoln town. We did end up having a lovely time together anyway, and Addie and Syd were still smiling after spending the last three days together. Maggie even reported Syd saying “Addie’s my best friend”.

I spent my actually birthday day at work where I received several birthday wishes via email, (thanks Mindy!), and a call from mom and Aunt Loretta singing “Happy Birthday” to me on the phone. Jill took me out to lunch and then Anita and I had a nice long birthday chat. As soon as I hung up with her the phone rang again and dad and Cynthia were on the line belting out “Happy Birthday”. It’s impossible not to smile when someone sings to you on the phone. It was a good day. The only sad thing was to turn older than my older sister ever got a chance to be. It is indeed a blessing to grow older.

Burrrr. Is winter over yet? I shouldn’t say that. I like winter. I like seeing everyone all bundled up in their stocking caps and mittens (and Addie in her snow suite is the BEST!). I love seeing our Christmas tree lights through the window when I pull in the driveway at night. There’s nothing better than sitting by the fire with a warm cup of tea. And there’s REALLY nothing better than waking up and learning you don’t have to report to work due to ice and snow, which happened here on Tuesday. Yippee!!

Ok, I’m over it. Winter is really nice. It causes us to slow down. It quiets our world and makes us more appreciative of the basics - like food, shelter and electricity. Which reminds me - after Cozad’s ice storm last Christmas and us just narrowly avoiding Tuesday’s ice storm by a mere 40 miles, I think I’m going to ask Santa to bring me a generator!

Thankfully, the threat of ice and snow didn’t keep Stacy and Malia from heading out to our place for our “book club” meeting on Saturday. I put book club in quotes since we don’t read a common book anymore. We do talk about the books we’ve individually been reading, which may be more informative anyway.

We had a great time baking up batches of Christmas goodies while listening to Chirstmas carols and drinking mauled wine. It did me good to have my girls near after such a heart wrenching week. We caught up on each other’s lives while we mixed sugar and butter, measured flower and steamed over the kitchen windows. I don’t think my oven had ever been on for 4 consecutive hours before!

Saturday also brought Addie’s first Santa encounter. Earlier that morning we attended a “Breakfast with Santa” benefit for Children with Autism. We went with Maggie’s family so I don’t know if Addie was more excited to see Santa or Sydney. All I do know is that if Syd hadn’t been up on Santa’s lap there would have been NO way Addie would have ever gotten up there. I guess I should be happy that she’s not real keen to sit on strange men’s laps – even if it is Santa Clause.

One minute you’re reflecting on the wonders of the holidays, and the next you hear that eight of you fellow Nebraskans were gunned down while doing their holiday shopping at Westroads Mall in Omaha yesterday. I haven’t been personally affected by the tragedy, but it leaves me shaken. When I hugged my husband and baby good-bye this morning I wanted to burst into tears. I know they could be taken from me just like that. Poof. Life is so precious and so fragile.

I also know that I’m hyper aware of life’s fragility this time of year anyway. Sunday marked the 3rd anniversary of Ellen’s death. So this time of year is always hard. The holidays used to be a time to look forward to seeing my sister. Now the holidays will just never be the same. I don’t care if it’s been 4 or 40 years since her death. I will always miss her, and my life will always be changed because of that void.

Now there are eight other families who have started that journey of grief, and then eventually, the dull realization that you won’t see that loved one sitting across from you at the holiday table ever again. And for what? Because some selfish, screwed-up kid decided to “go out in style” and become “famous”. What sort of world have I brought my daughter in to?

I shouldn’t blog when I’m this heart sick.

We had such a beautiful fall. I’m sad to see it go, and go it has. The day before Thanksgiving we saw our first snow. It was thrilling to see the big, fat flakes zooming out of the north, but also shocking to the system. November had been so warm! We hadn’t even started our stove. That all changed this week.

And so the day after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree. We put on the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album and got to work. Dennis patently fixed the lights and assembled the tree. I un-dug all of the ornaments.

Addie helped decorate the tree this year. She would carefully inspect the unbreakable ornaments and then place them on the tree. I later noticed that she had piled them all into one branch. I should have left it alone, but I re-decorated the tree when she lost interest. When it was all done we sat back and ceremoniously plugged in the lights and enjoyed the dusting of snow on the ground. Christmas season is here.

It's Thanksgiving eve, and there is much to be thankful for. Naturally dear friends and my precious family are at the top of my list. Words can't describe how amazing my husband is, and to try here would just really embarrass him - and me!

Then there's amazing Adeline. She is just so much fun! Her latest thing that made my heart glow is she pretends to be a dog. Those who have known me awhile may remember me pretending that I was a dog when I was a kid. I pretended to be a dog for so long that friends and family were starting to wonder if I needed some help!

Addie isn't stuck on being a dog though. She also really loves acting like a snake. She sticks her tongue in and out really fast and hisses. It really cracks me up. I'd get that on video, except that I dropped our $500 DVD recorder on the driveway pavement last night. And there's no hope of Santa bringing me a new one after the blue streak I let out after doing that. Straight onto the "naughty" list for me!