Snowbound: Our Christmas 2009 Adventure!

We knew for days ahead of time that the storm was on it’s way. All of the headlines read “White Christmas”.  We awaited the freezing rain and the 6+ inches of snow they said were coming. But we were not prepared.

Not prepared for 50 mph winds.

Not prepared for 10’ high snowdrifts.

Not prepared for 18 hours with no electricity.

The rain/sleet/snow mix started on Wednesday morning. The highway was okay to drive if you went s.l.o.w. 

I had given my Thursday morning shift to one of the college girls, so when I went home Wednesday morning, I was home for the duration. The wind began to blow and the snowflakes were huge and abundant.

The rest of the family still had to work on Thursday, but each of them arrived home safely by mid-afternoon and I said a quick prayer of thanks that I had my little family together under one roof for the holiday.

Then the wind began to blow harder. Through the night I awakened several times to the howling and creaking and banging noises it made. Each time, another prayer of thanks that everyone was warm and safe at home.

By Christmas morning we were officially snowed in. Greg started periodically scooping by the back door so the drift there didn’t get so high we couldn’t open it. His brother came by with a blade on his pickup and made a path so he could get the Bobcat and start clearing the driveway.

We were able to get out and drive the block to Nanny’s and Poppo’s for lunch and presents, then back home to snuggle in and stay warm. Yeah, warm. For awhile, anyway.

I went to bed just after 10:00, falling asleep quickly. A few hours later I awoke, feeling the chill of the air in our room. I was puzzled since I’d set the furnace temp to stay at 68 through the night – usually it’s programmed to go down to 64. Anyway, I opened my eyes to darkness. No alarm clock numbers visible – no electricity.

By the time everyone got up and moving at daylight, I was heating some milk on the gas cooktop for hot chocolate. It was the best way to start this chilly day. This is what we found inside the front door when we opened it…

Greg got out and onto the Bobcat right away. Nick scooped by the front door, then went out to uncover his car – it was completely buried except for a few inches of antenna.

This is looking out the front window at Nick’s car. It’s out there – somewhere…

After the baby ate, Jess and Nick took him down to Greg’s brother’s house where they have a pellet stove and a generator. He stayed toasty warm all day and enjoyed having everyone love on him.

I stayed home and cleaned up our Christmas mess, keeping a big pot of water hot on the stove for dishes and handwashing. By mid-afternoon, though, I succumbed to the cold and headed down the street to enjoy the warmth of the pellet stove with everyone else.

Shortly before 5 p.m. the power was restored and we didn’t have to have a huge slumber party at Greg’s brother’s house after all.

I have no idea what the official total of inches of snowfall we had, but it had to be double digits. I’m thinking we not only had a white Christmas, we’re going to have a white winter.

A long, white winter.

My Tree on the Avenue

For the past few years the local library has offered their “Avenue of Trees” event for the holidays. They invite the public to bring decorated Christmas trees for display in the building from the weekend after Thanksgiving until the weekend after New Year’s.  Each year a growing number of individuals and groups bring trees of every size, color, and theme,  and turn that library into a Christmas forest!

The first year of the event, I think it was 2006, I was still at Head Start and we put together a small tree with crayon bundles and small wooden alphabet blocks as ornaments. It was simple and sweet and a good way to advertise for us.

The next year I took Grace to the library one day, not remembering about the trees, and she was entranced. She would have been just almost 3 and we spent a long time going from tree to tree, touching what was allowed.

This year I decided to take a tree of my own. My theme is “In Loving Memory” and I made ornaments with photos of loved ones who have passed on – my parents, my brother Arlan, all of our grandparents, and some of the great-grandparents.

The ornaments are photos sandwiched between two pieces of microscope glass, then soldered around the outside. While soldering, I attached a jump ring to the top so the ornament could be hung with a ribbon.

This is the wedding photo of Greg’s grandparents, Fred and Myrtle Wolfe:

My dad’s high school senior photo:

Mom when she was 15:

There are only 10 soldered ornaments and it’s a 4-ish foot tree, so I filled in with plastic silver ornaments and silver/white wired ribbon. A small plastic topper and some white fleece around the base finished it off.

I’ve had several compliments on the tree and a woman from Exeter called the last week wondering about the ornaments and where I got those frames. She said if I ever want to make her a dozen or so, give her a call. :o)

My tree is in the foyer of the library, and time was short the day it was set up, so I’ve not been to see the rest of the Avenue for this year. Perhaps this week? The twins will be here for the afternoon on Thursday, so maybe we’ll stop in after preschool and take a look. If so, I’ll share our favorites with you!

Decking Some of the Halls

Thanksgiving weekend began the decking of the halls as we helped decorate at our church here in town. It’s  tradition to wait until the evening of the first Sunday in Advent to traipse up the narrow, winding wooden stairs to the attic and haul down the boxes of festive adornments for the sanctuary.

(The photos I’m posting here I took from another blog by Nile Buch, our current supply pastor.)

The first thing to be set up is usually the model church. Like a dollhouse, it has furniture (pews) inside and is decorated for Christmas. You can see that it is lighted on the inside. There are lots of little details I’d love to show you – that’ll be a separate post.

I don’t know how old this church is, but it’s been on display at Christmas every year since I became a member of Zion 26 years ago.

Another tradition is garland and bows all around the sanctuary. Greg worked with a few others on that project.

 

I helped with the tree. A little bit.

Several years ago the congregation donated white and gold ornaments to replace the aged and worn ones we’d used for a long, long time. I think it makes for a beautiful tree.

 

Decorating the church has always been a family holiday tradition for us, but as the kids grew up and moved away, we got away from it. I was very glad that Greg signed us up again this year. It was a fun way to begin our holiday season!

Grandboy Update

WARNING: HE’S THE SWEETEST, CUTEST, STRONGEST, SMARTEST BABY IN HISTORY, SO I WILL BRAG ABOUT HIM.  :o)

Bradley will be 10 weeks old tomorrow and is growing and changing quickly as babies do. At his two-month check-up he weighed 12 lb., 14 oz. and was 23” long. Definitely a big, healthy boy.

He’s been pretty strong since birth, and is now pushing his upper body up off the floor, holding his head up and looking around.  Leslie took this one day last week:

Bradley is a happy baby, evident by the smiles and giggles we get all the time now. He’s vocalizing a lot, “talking” to us in baby jabber, squealing, and the sweetest contented sighs while he’s eating.  He’s pretty ticklish, especially under the arms and on the bottoms of his feet.

He’s always been a pretty good sleeper, going a good 6 hours at night, but a few weeks ago he had a couple of 8 hour nights. Last week he had his first set of shots and there were a couple of rough nights, but he’s been back to sleeping those eight hours again. I think one reason is that he’s found his thumb and can soothe himself back to sleep if he wakes in the night. (We love thumbs and will not discourage his use of them!)

He’s noticed the TV a few times, couldn’t tear his eyes away from the movie “Star Trek” the other night (Uncle Nick will be proud!), and loves to watch Giada DeLaurentiis on Food Network. He doesn’t care for Rachel Ray (again, Uncle Nick will like that).  Last night he paid rapt attention to the Nebraska football game.

His first Thanksgiving went great – he doesn’t mind being passed around in a group of strangers, or the noise in a house full of family.

Jess and I haul him all over Creation to run errands or workout at the gym, but when the weather is bad, he’s happy to stay with Nanny & Poppo or Aunt Leslie and the kids.

We truly feel blessed to be able to share in Bradley’s first months, to be able to hold and care for him daily.  I have to confess that I say a little prayer of thanks every day that he and his mommy are here.

Oh the things you see…

Yesterday I cleaned out photos on  my cell phone. This means I downloaded anything I didn’t already have, then deleted everything off my memory card. Sometimes there are odd photos on that cell phone and I wonder “why?”.  Obviously some are taken as blog fodder, but never offered up since I’m so great about blogging on a regular basis…

Anyway, here are a few things I found on my phone that I intended to share with you:

This is Baby, the “stray” cat I’ve been feeding for a few months in the hope that she’ll keep the mice at bay in the garage. (I put stray in quotes because I think she belongs to the neighbors who bring cats from the farm and then just let them run  all over.) She likes to sleep in the garage rafters and is very friendly. When working in the garden she’d come lie down nearby and purr when I scratched her head.  I must also mention that I’m not the only one in the neighborhood who feeds this darling. We’re all hoping she’s a good mouser.

Next up, a pretty decorated wine bottle:

 

One of my regulars at the gym in the mornings bought this at a huge craft show in Omaha recently. She knew I’d like it, and was kind enough to bring it for show and tell one day. I’m thinking something like this would be neat back in our wine center, so I snapped some photos in order to be a copycat. There are four empty wine bottles in the garage waiting to be donated to a friend of Greg’s brother’s for use in his homemade wine-making hobby – one of them probably needs embellishment. Stay tuned.

Last, but definitely not least, we have perhaps one of the oddest things we’ve ever seen. Jess and I were in Lincoln in early September and when we drove past this, um, display. It struck us both as being hilarious, so I slowed the car way down and she grabbed a photo. Doesn’t this just make you want to buy ice cream?

I didn’t think so.  :o)

After the Carnage

It’s been almost a week ago that the shelf fell down in the laundry room and we lost almost all of the produce we’d canned during the summer.  Today I finally gathered all of the surviving jars next to the sink and washed each one. Several were coated in syrup, and shards of glass glued to the outside. Don’t ask me how I discovered that…

Here are the survivors, all shiny and clean after a hot soapy bath and vinegar water rinse:

I removed and tossed many dented rings, but the seals held on everything except three jars of apple butter. 

I appreciate all of the kind comments of sympathy. I truly feel fortunate that we have anything left of our hard work and each time I open one of the surviving jars, I’ll be a little more thankful than before. :o)

Losing the Bounty

So yesterday morning at 7:15 Jessica called me at work and this is how part of our conversation went (approximately):

J: “Mom, where did you keep the stuff you canned this summer?”

Me: “Where do I keep the stuff I canned?”

J: “Where did you keep the pickles and green beans and stuff? I know where they are now, I just want to know where they were.”

Me: “It’s all on a shelf in the laundry room, why?”

J: “No, it was on a shelf in the laundry room. Now it’s all over the floor.”

Me: “The shelf fell down?!” (Thank you, Captain Obvious!)

J: “There is broken glass, pickles, and green beans everywhere.” (Compelling reading, no?)

Yes, the shelf that Greg safely installed high up on the wall in the laundry room had too much weight hanging off the front of it (where I had hung Bradley’s full clothes hamper to get it off the floor…) and the metal supports just couldn’t handle the load. They bent almost 180 degrees, pulling the shelf out of the brackets and flat against the wall, perpendicular to where it had been.

There were jars of green beans, dill pickles, cinnamon pickles (the syrup!), and apple butter stacked neatly up there, along with extra jars and a box of miscellaneous canning supplies. Here is a snapshot of what I found when I got home:

Jess had cleaned up much of it already so I never saw the entirety of the mess. This was enough to sicken me, though. Yes, that is the cat box in the lower left-hand corner, full of fresh litter and now, dill pickles.

It took me about an hour to get through the broken glass and scattered food on the floor, mop up the syrup and bean juice, and run the Swiffer over it all to hopefully pick up all of the tiny shards of glass. That was all I had time to do before we had to leave for Jess’s and Bradley’s six-week check at the doctor’s office in Lincoln. By the time we got home early in the evening, the floor had dried with a sticky syrup-glue coating. It was just staying that way overnight. I was tired.

First thing this morning out came the bucket, rags, and scrub brush. It took almost an hour to do just the laundry room floor, but now it’s all shiny clean and our shoes don’t make that sticking, slurpy sound when we walk back there.

If I have to guess, I’d say we lost 80-90% of what we canned. There are a few jars of each thing that did not break, and a couple of empties that survived the crash. Fortunately, this loss doesn’t mean we won’t eat this winter, though it is disappointing to lose what we worked so hard on together. It all sucks, but if we look on the bright side, which I always must do, no one was standing back there when it happened, so no one got hurt. And I’m sure there would have been injuries if a person had been under that shelf when the Mason jars came tumbling down.

I still need to wash those jars that survived and put everything back where it belongs in the laundry room, and the baby is asleep, so now’s my chance. Off to work…

Baptism Day

Baptism: The act of baptizing; the application of water to a person, as a sacrament or religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church of Christ. This is performed by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring.

Today was Bradley’s day to be officially welcomed into the body of Christ that is Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. His family and friends pledged to raise him in a Christian environment and teach him about the church, “placing into his hands the Scriptures”.

Sara and Nick, along with Jessi’s very good friends from North Dakota are his sponsors.

(From l to r: Sara, Nick, Jake, Jimmy, Marae, Brandon, Bradley, Jessica, Pastor Buch)

In a few short years he’ll be old enough to attend Sunday School and VBS, and have a part in the Christmas program. We haven’t done any of that in a long time, and this Grammy looks forward to it again. :o)

What fun we had!

Halloween has always been one of our favorite holidays. We enjoy the costumes, the decorations, and passing out the candy.  When our kids were still young enough for trick-or-treating, Greg and I would take turns each year, one of us staying home to answer the door, the other toting the kids around town for the candy-fest.

Obviously, with our kids being 22 and 25 years old, we haven’t done the trick-or-treat thing for several years. Instead, we just enjoy the young ones who come to the door, chatting with those who aren’t too shy, and pretending to be horrified at the scary ones.

The past few years, Wyatt, Garett, and Grace have been our helpers, answering the door and giving away handfuls of candy to each trick-or-treater who came up on the porch. This year they did the same, up until time to head out into the neighborhood themselves for their first time to wander the dark streets, begging strangers for candy.

Here we are when they first arrived and were pretty cooperative about picture-taking. Wyatt is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, the good Transformers. Garett is Bumblebee, guardian of the kid in the movie, also an Autobot, and only talks through the radio. Bradley the Cat has no idea what in the sam-hill is happening, and Grace was the Snow Princess with beautiful hair, though you can’t really see her hairdo in this picture. 

When it was time, we met up with niece Hannah and her two young cousins, Olivia and George, who are visiting from Hawaii with their parents. Grace decided Olivia was pretty wonderful and the two of them walked and talked. We didn’t get to hear much of their conversation, but at one point Grace was heard to tell Olivia, “I live in the country.”, to which Olivia replied, “I live in the jungle!”

Here they are at their first house, getting treats from our sweet neighbor, Jo:

(Bradley had to stay home with Grampy.)

For awhile, Garett followed behind Olivia, clucking like a chicken. We aren’t sure why. :o)

We pass out candy for the trick-or-treaters, but I always have something else for Wyatt, Garett, and Grace. This year the big hit for Wyatt was the glow-bracelets and glow-sticks that I picked up at Dollar Tree. We’ll definitely invest in those again. Here he is using two bracelets to make himself some eyeglasses:

It was a very fun evening, and I enjoyed that little blast-from-the-past from when my kids were little. Next year, if the weather is good, little Bradley may get to go along. Oh, Grammy can’t wait!!

Back to the Past

I wanted to make this a weekly topic with a different photo each time, but “life” has gotten in the way lately. Let’s get a fresh start, shall we? :o)

This is perhaps one of my most favorite Adams’ cousins photo ever. I do realize it’s only a portion of the final cousin-count, but I love the colors and the faces and and the old wallpaper and Grandma and Grandpa looking tired. Who knew they still had 15 or so more babies to come into this big, loud, raucous family?

So we’ll start with Grandpa holding Jody and go clockwise. Grandma is holding Tonita and in front of them is me. Then Bart is to my left and Jesse is next to him, grinning. Jeff is in red, Bobby in turquoise (some of you got cowboy clothes for something…). Paula seems to be staring down the camera, and  Barbie closed her eyes. Teresa in red, Debbie in turquoise, and Mike in front of Grandpa. Weren’t we all just the cutest bunch of kids ever?

I have no idea what the occasion was, but since Jesse and Paula, and Bobby and Bart are there, I’m going to guess it’s Thanksgiving and pheasant season?  It looks like we’re having, maybe, potato soup and there’s a plate of leftover turkey in the middle of the table?

I wonder when Grandma got that bright yellow table? She gave it to my mom years later, and Dad still had it when he died. Randy had it in storage at a rental house and unfortunately the tenant ruined it. I regret that I didn’t bring it home and wedge it in here, somewhere.

It was a good, solid table and there were hundreds and hundreds of family meals eaten while sitting at it. Goulash, meatloaf, pot roast, and fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Thousands of bowls of cereal, pancakes, scrambled eggs. Lunch meat sandwiches and potato chips, bowls of soup, bread and butter.  Our entire family sat together every evening at 6 p.m. for supper. No TV, no radio. One of the best rules my parents had, I think.

Our birthdays were celebrated around that table with cake, candles, and ice cream. Usually we had a white or yellow cake baked in a 9x13 pan with chocolate frosting.

Eventually I not only sat there with my family for meals, but also served them  meals I’d prepared. Never a tablecloth or centerpiece or candles. Food was served in the pans they were cooked in, condiment bottles set in the middle. Casual and informal. Pretty much just as you see in the photo.

There are more than food memories associated with the yellow table. We did our  homework there, and played games and paper dolls. I literally covered it with piles of cut-out Christmas cookies one year, polished my fingernails, and folded hundreds of loads of laundry on it. Mom and her friends and sisters gathered ‘round with their babies and “community” glasses of iced tea.

Yes, there are tons of warm, wonderful memories for me associated with that table, but there are also some sad and painful memories. Fights and tears and sorrow. Sitting with family after our brother died. Getting in trouble for various childhood bad decisions. One of the last times I sat at that table was with my brothers to plan our father’s funeral.

I was 16 months-old in that photo, and the last time I sat at that table I was 43.  To me, that table was a symbol of how our family was the most important thing, no matter what else was going on.

Okay, so you see how this post ended up in a totally different direction than it started?  That’s kind of how it works sometimes…

The H1N1

We’ve had an uninvited and unwelcomed guest in our home for the past several days. Jessica was the first to succumb to it’s charms, just a tickle in the back of her throat that turned into an annoying cough, then it went downhill from there. On Friday morning I piddled around in town after work and didn’t get home until almost 11. I found Jess and Bradley in bed – Jess had a temp of 102.2  and a terrific headache.

Immediately I called the clinic and the appointment desk clerk balked a bit, telling me they were only taking emergencies. When I (politely) explained that Jess was a mere 11 days postpartum and running such a high temp, an appointment time miraculously opened up.

The flu test was positive and the doctor prescribed several medications, Tamiflu being the first. I asked for a prescription for both Greg and I as a preventative, and was denied.

So guess who else got sick?

I called the clinic yesterday afternoon when my own temperature reached 102. They didn’t even make me come in, they just went ahead and called in a prescription for me. (That is a MIRACLE for this clinic!)

I called Greg and asked him to pick it up on his way home. He asked me to call the clinic and get him a script, too, since he had started the irritating little cough that was the first symptom. I made him do it himself (hello! I was sick and he just didn’t want to talk on the phone to a stranger…) and they agreed (TWO miracles in one day!), so as soon as he got home we loaded up on the drugs.

He just now called me from work, sounding so perky I wanted to shoot him. I feel better, but still tired and achy and coughing.  Thankfully I haven’t had a fever today.

So far the baby is fine. There was nothing they could do for him that was preventative – we just take precautions to not breathe or cough around him. Those little masks from the pharmacy work great. No, you won’t see a photo of any of us in those. :o)

So while I am pissed off (pardon my French) that the doctor Jess saw on Friday wouldn’t give us the Tamiflu and save us from becoming ill,  at least we’ll be immune to H1N1 the rest of the winter. I guess if we have to find a good thing to come of this, that would be it.

To end this pathetic and whiney post on a high note, I’ll include a gratuitous photo of the little man,  or Tiberius as some call him (I’ll have to explain that one later…):

The Pumpkin Patch

A week ago Saturday we took a little field trip to Helgoth’s Pumpkin Patch near Grand Island. This is the same place Nick and I took the kids last year. This time it was Leslie and Jessi and I who accompanied them and we had a wonderful time.

Here are a few highlights:

The inflatable pumpkin:

Grace on the tire swing:

Garett in the big tube slide:

Garett looking at the sky through the telescope:

The tricycle track:

Wyatt made a length of rope:

And, of course, everyone took home a pumpkin:

We had a little picnic afterward at a very nice Boy Scout park/lake just down the road. Jess was terrorized by a tiny little spider while we ate, but other than that, a good time was had by all! :o)

Are We Telepathetic?*

As I arrived home from work this morning, the song on the CD player was “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (1971).  I hate to turn off the car in the middle of a song (OCD much?), so I usually just turn off the engine and listen to the remainder of the song before exiting the vehicle. (I love Dr. Hook’s music and was able to see them live at the State fair when I was in High School.)

Jess and Bradley were (and still are) snuggled in the recliner, and J and I chatted a minute. I’d taken some migraine meds when I got home, so I sat in my chair with my eyes closed, waiting for the meds to take effect. While sitting in the quiet, that song, “Sylvia’s Mother” was going through my mind - “Please Mrs. Avery I just got to talk to her, I’ll only keep her awhile…” 

Out of the blue, Jess says, “Sylvia’s Mother keeps going through my head this morning.”  I started laughing and told her it was the song I was listening to on the way home, and it was going through my head too!

We do this once in awhile – one of us will start singing a song or quoting a movie that the other was thinking of. Either we’re telepathetic* or we just spend way too much time together! :o)

 

*I know the word is “telepathic” – see this movie quote from Stepmom (1998):

Ben Harrison: See Mom? I told you! I'm telepathetic.
Jackie Harrison: Telepathic.
Ben Harrison: That's what I said.

Hey Baby!

This past week has gone by in a blur, and here’s the reason why:

Bradley Nicholas Lott was born on Monday, September 28, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. He weight 7 lb. 4 oz. and was 21” long.

Jessica began having contractions on Sunday afternoon, but we didn’t head for the hospital until 1:30 Monday morning. It was a very long day waiting for the little guy, but all went well with labor and delivery.

I was Jessi’s coach, so it was my privilege to watch Bradley be born. Jess says I deserted her to watch at the end of the bed, and I did, but what an awesome blessing to be witness to that miracle.

They let me cut the cord, and my hand was shaking so much I was afraid I would poke the baby with the scissors.

He had such a sweet little cry, not frantic or scared, just curious. Does that make sense? Quiet and like he was saying, “Hi, I’m here. Now what?”.  They needed him to really cry, so they took him to the warmer and rubbed him all over with a blanket – he gave some good wails then, but when I touched his cheek and started talking to him, he immediately stopped crying and looked around in wonder. I could tell he was listening to me, so I just blathered on like a person does when talking to an infant. Everyone does that, right? :o)

 

After they weighed him, I went out to the hallway to make the announcement. He was about 10 minutes old by then, and Greg said nurses kept coming out of the room, but no one would give them any details about anything. I think he was a bit worried, but I assured him all was well and after awhile, he met his grandson.

I brought them home on Wednesday and slowly our life is taking on a new routine and a new “normal”. Jess is a natural at being a mommy. Right now they’re snuggled into the recliner, both asleep.

He’s a lucky boy to be so well-loved.

Going Back to the Past

With the imminent arrival of the next generation, I've been thinking a lot about documenting stories about our family, and decided to do part of that on this blog. Every week I'm going to post one or two of the old photos that I have on my computer and talk about what I remember about it. I welcome input from anyone else who remembers when the photo was taken and what was going on at the time. (It's REALLY EASY to comment here, and I know there are many family members reading who probably can add to my stories, so I hope to hear from you!)

Since today is Dad's birthday (he would be 69!) my first photo memory will be from his file... (click on photo to enlarge)

This is from the early 1950's. From left to right we have Aunt Jan, Uncle Eugene, Dad, and Uncle Wendell. Notice their clothes and boots behind the tank on what looks like rolls of fencing by the windmill.

I do not know the story behind this specific photo, but I chose it because I have a personal memory of swimming in the horse tank at Grandma's house.

I am the eldest grandchild on the side of the family, and the only one who remembers "the farm". They moved to town when I was five, so it must've been the summer I turned 4 that I remember spending several days on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma was busy all day with household and garden chores, and I remember her letting me play in the horse tank while she worked outside. After we went inside, Grandma had me take a bath, and the best part was that I got to keep my swimsuit on! :o) (My poor mom, I asked for weeks to bathe with my swimsuit on after that.)

Well, after spending time in the horse tank, then time in the tub, my little hands were wrinkled beyond recognition. Grandma was ironing clothes and when I noticed my hands and showed them to her, she offered to iron them for me to smooth them out. Of course I declined, and she assured me that my hands would eventually return to normal without the ironing.

I also remember helping Grandma set the table for supper, and she told me about how, during the Dust Bowl years, she had to set the plates and cups upside down so they didn't get too dirty to eat off of before the food got to the table.

Okay, Jan and Wendell (and Eugene if you still look at my blog), I'd love to hear the story behind this photo. Any details and memories you can add are appreciated!

Hey There!

I've had complaints that I'm not blogging enough, and I know the reading has been slim the past few months. We've been busy getting ready for Jessica to have her baby, and the garden did really well (I dreamed about canning tomatoes last night - does that tell you about my weekend?), and I've had the privilege of having nieces and nephews here now and again over the summer, but just haven't made the time to tell you much about any of it.

I really want to show you how Jess is setting up the baby corner of her room, but she wants me to wait until we've finished personalizing it, and we can't do that until Baby is here since we don't know if we're getting a he or a she.

I do have a few photos from her baby shower which was held a little over a week ago. Family and friends gathered to wish her well, and she had a wonderful time.

Grace and Taylor were such good helpers with the gifts. Taylor wanted every toy and rattle, saying "This is Tay Rae's". She was in charge of bringing me the trash, and being two years old, wanted to throw everything away. We brought the trash bag home and salvaged quite a lot of tissue paper and a few bows, but nothing major. In this photo, Hannah is decorating Grace's, er, behind while Taylor wonders why that bow wasn't thrown in the garbage bag. :o)

Everyone was very generous, and Jessi had such fun sorting through all of the sweet gifts the next day. Everything is washed now and ready to be put away until they're needed.
Doesn't she look cute? She won't let me post "belly" pictures, but she's looking wonderful. Remember to go fill out an entry for the baby pool. Just click on the red button on the top left column of this blog. It's easy and free, and you just may win the prize!

In My Life...

'Twas a long day of work, housework, then Jessi's dr. appointment in Lincoln, so tonight we're just watching "Biggest Loser" and I'm cruising blogs. I found this little quiz thing here and decided it would be fun.

The instructions are to copy and paste the list to your blog, highlight the things that you have done in your life and then link back to me so I can see your list!

1. Started your own blog
Three years, 11 months ago I started my first blog, Play For A Moment. On March 17, 2007 I wanted to share what we're cooking, so I started Living Dangerously While Eating. I've also contributed to a few other blogs.

2. Slept under the stars
Yeah, but not for years.

3. Played in a band
Just once, in elementary school. Had no clue what I was doing...

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower
I used to get the kids out of bed in the middle of the night and drive to the country to watch the Perseid meteor shower in August. The last time was five years ago when Jess and I took her convertible out and parked it in a cow pasture.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity
Yeah, but apparently I could afford it since our standard of living didn't change because of it.

7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
Disneyworld with Jess and the Benedict High School Band. I'd like for Nick and Greg to be able to see it, too.

8. Climbed a mountain
I love the Rockie Mountains!

9. Held a praying mantis
only to move it

10. Sang a solo
Not on purpose...

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
counted cross-stitch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning
After eating at a Mexican restaraunt - both Greg and I got sick.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables
Oh yes.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight
many times

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
I wasn't ill, but one of my children was. I've truly never called in sick when I wasn't.

24. Built a snow fort
Back in the olden days when we got lots of snow all winter long

25. Held a lamb
Petting zoos are great for this

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse
In elementary school

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
I see the sunrise just about every single day.

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise
Once to Alaska, once to Mexico

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community
South of Amana in Iowa, and kinda sorta in Virginia

36. Taught yourself a new language
not enough to be conversational, but I did teach myself quite a bit of Spanish when I worked at Head Start
Took German in High School since Grandma and Grandpa Regier spoke it often.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Money doesn't make for happiness, so no matter what our bank account says, as long as I have my family I'm satisfied.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance
Followed the ambulance transporting my son...

47. Had your portrait painted
pen and ink sketch drawn...

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain
:o)

53. Played in the mud
mud pies, mud cakes, mud goodies all around

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
I remember my parents loading up all five of us in our pajamas, blankets, pillows, and a grocery bag full of popcorn. Oh, and my first date was to the drive-in...

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business
home day care

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
I was an enthusiastic cookie salesgirl for many years!

62. Gone whale watching
near Juneau, Alaska - there were four whales all together and it was amazing!

63. Gotten flowers for no reason
gotta love those dandelions!

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Tried once - they finally got the needle in a vein, then took it out immediately. Ugh.

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
I don't think I ever could...

67. Bounced a check
way back in college when my mailed deposit arrived at the bank after my check...

68. Flown in a helicopter
from Skagway, Alaska to Denver Glacier and back. I hated it at first, but then decided it was really pretty cool!

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
a baby doll that my mom named Stacy - don't know where she is now

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Three times so far. One of my favorite places in D.C.

71. Eaten Caviar
Never thought I would, but it is SO GOOD!

72. Pieced a quilt
does a comforter or several count?

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
Driving it myself, thankyouverymuch! :o)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book
Been published in a book, but I didn't write the entire thing.

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car
Yes, and it hit 100,000 miles today.

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper
It's York - everyone has their photo in the paper at one time or another...

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House
stood outside the fence and ogled it

87. Nursed an animal back to health

88. Had chickenpox
Had everything - chickenpox, mumps, measles

89. Saved someone’s life
called 911 for my brother - don't want to ever have to do that again.

90. Sat on a jury
had to go through the selection process, but never got called

91. Met someone famous
Tom Osborne - he came into Village Inn when I worked there in High School. He is too famous!

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one
too many...

94. Had a baby
A couple of times. :o)

95. Seen the Alamo in person
It was a little overwhelming to stand there and know that so many people died...

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
I've seen it from an airplane...

97. Been involved in a law suit
only from a distance

98. Owned a cell phone
own it but hardly ever have it on

99. Been stung by a bee
You can read about it here.

Take a Guess!

Jess has just under a month until her due date, so I thought it would be fun to have a Baby Pool. If you want to take a shot at guessing stats, click on the button at the top left of my blog that looks like this one. You will go to the baby pool site where you can easily enter your predictions about baby's sex, birthdate, weight, etc.

I will have a yet-to-be-determined prize for the person who comes closest.

Here are a few facts that may or may not help you:
a. We do not know the sex of the baby.
b. Heart rate is consistently between 140-152.
c. She's carrying high.
d. She's measuring farther along that she is now, so the dr. thinks it will be a large-ish baby.
e. Her original due date from the calendar is October 4.
d. Her due date from ultrasound is October 2.

According to the dr., since it's her first baby, they don't want to induce labor. Even if you don't join in the pool, we'd appreciate your prayers for a safe and healthy delivery (and as close to the due date as possible - she will not entertain the idea that she could go overdue!). :o)

Reading time!

Wyatt has been sick for a couple of days and missed school on Friday. When they came up to watch the football game last night (GO BIG RED!), Leslie brought his homework along. He was tired and didn't feel great, but was kind enough to allow me to record him reading aloud for a minute. (Well, I told him it was for Aunt Tonita!) :o)