The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. I remember when we were attending the county fair on these days of August, but I guess we slowly move closer to year-round school day by day. Today was a special first day of school, because it was Lydi's first day of kindergarten. She had a great time and was more than fired up when she came home. I knew that she would do fine, and she didn't disappoint us. She is such a go-getter once she breaks out of her shell.

It was also a special day because this year Laurel and I are both in third grade. She is, of course, in Judy's room instead of mine, but it is fun to see her when we line up and so forth. It will be really neat to see how she performs from a professional perspective. I am sure she will step up to all of the challenges put before her.

I am already exhausted after just the first day of kids. You forget how much energy it takes to keep them on task. I have to remember that they are essentially 2nd graders more than 3rd at this point. The kids are very sweet, with great dispositions, and it will be very easy to love all of them. I am really excited to have been asked to sit on a committee at school that I have been interested in for several years. I am sure many people would think that I am out of my mind to say that; however, it is a core committee and I like to be at the core of things. I like to know what is going on first hand, not through the grapevine. I am also hoping that maybe if I sit on this core committee, I won't have to put in my time on any others. Maybe this was their way of corralling me! LOL

I already miss the lackadaisical feel of summer, but I know that I am a much better mom and get much more done when I am teaching. It is amazing what one can get accomplished when you have a small window of opportunity to do so. As for the rest of this long day, the girls are in bed, and I am anxiously awaiting Jarod's return so I can ride my bike down to Lori's for a nice glass of Nebraska City wine on the front porch. If he doesn't hurry up, my 9:30pm bedtime is going to come before I get any of that wine!

Summer Gone By

Holy cow! I cannot believe that the summer is over. And what a summer it has been! I can honestly say that it has been an absolutely wonderful summer. Each and every day was filled to the brim. I think that if I had to give this summer a "label," I would call it "friends".

From junior high friends, to high school friends, to college and beyond, we were so blessed to spend time with the wonderful friends that God has given us. I am so glad that the girls and I trekked to Iowa and Illinois to see the Mavins and the Gudemans. We had so much fun, and I am so thankful that so many years can go by and it still seems like we saw each other yesterday. We were also blessed with a trip with Diane to visit Julie Schowalter and her family. We have learned so many things from her over the last 20 years, it is always inspiring to have our spiritual cup refilled with her wisdom.

This summer has brought me an exceptional blessing in the form of a crafting partner. I always say that I am the youngest old person you will ever meet, and it really isn't meant to be a joke. It is true. I am old in spirit, and I feel so blessed to finally have someone my age who understands that. God had a plan when He called us to enroll Lydia at Redeemer for preschool. Not only did she grow in His love, but He intended for me to meet Lori while waiting for the kids. I am so thankful to have a friend who lives 4 blocks away who will share honey for granola, who doesn't ring the doorbell before coming inside, who will treat my children as one of her own (including freaking out when they come in covered in mud), and who is willing to spend countless hours sewing and hashing over the world. We joke that we were born in the wrong generation. We love to sit on our porches and drink wine while dreaming up crazy things to do with the treasures she found at an auction. I am sure many people might think we are a little nuts, but it is just so nice to have someone to be nuts with.

I was really dreading the start of the school year, as it would mean the end of clockless afternoons and evenings, and an end to all of the fun we've had. However, Lori decided to start the school year with us as our school nurse. I am so looking forward to working with her in our professional capacities, and hope she'll be in the building when I need to escape to our creative world for sanity purposes!

Time

Where the heck does time go? I had a whole list of things I wanted to do this summer, and it seems the days are just slipping away! Maybe if I attempt to reflect on all of the things we've accomplished, I might feel like it has been a full summer and I won't be so sad that school is starting in less than a month.

Things accomplished:
* vacation with hubby
* vacation to visit friends
* lots of landscaping and lush flowers
* in particular, a circle garden for my roses
* a new swingset for the girls
* backyard crafting for the girls and others
* a new business,
* lots of time spent drinking wine while accomplishing any task at hand
* many afternoon snoozes on the couch with Princess
* many, many assembled burp cloths
* dried flowers for cards
* hours spent researching more crafting ideas
* a trip to Royal Gorge for a family reunion
* a trip to the Rose Theater, leading to a season membership
* a few stops at Ivana Cone
* not donning my bathing suit at the pool
* two days spent on Language Arts curriculum
* had some moles removed


Things yet to be accomplished:
* creating pressed flower notecards
* figuring out a way to make my hotpads without using binding
* visit Lauritzen Gardens
* get a pedicure
* visit my favorite fabric shops, Cosmic Cow and Material Girls
* maybe a few more naps
* still avoid donning my suit at the swimming pool

Nope! I still am not ready for school to start!

Ockander Adventure, Part 2

It's been a few days since we've returned from our travels. It seems to be that I am pretty good about blogging about the first portion of our travels, but seem to need a few days to recuperate before blogging about the rest!

On Wednesday of last week the girls and I trekked from Grinnell, IA to Goodfield, IL (southeast of Peoria about 30 miles). We were headed to see my friend Kristi and her family. Kristi is another of my college friends who lives too dang far away! So far that it had been nine years since I'd seen her. That was on my wedding day, when she and Dan drove in for the wedding and had to head back yet that night. (June is not a good time for a crop chemical salesman to be traveling for a wedding!) We met at Rainbow World in Wayne, America...a daycare center where we relied on each other for sanity! She was already married, but since Dan traveled a lot for his job, we had lots of time to just hang out. They were even sweet enough to let me camp out in their basement for a summer. They say hindsight is 20/20....I think that we both agree that maybe living together didn't work out as well as we'd hoped; however, the most important thing is that we've come full circle and when she opened her door Wednesday afternoon to greet us, my heart just melted with her big smile and open arms!

We had a blast at their house! The minute we got there the kids were into their swimming suits and on the inflatable water slide. We hit another t-ball game that night, and didn't get home with pizza until 9:30pm. I forgot to mention that Kristi has 3 boys.... so it was a 180 degree turnaround in the play world for the girls. We finally got the kids to bed and it was 1am before I got there myself.

The next day we headed into Peoria to visit the zoo. They have a brand new African exhibit that was really neat. The kids then played at the park while we soaked up the sun. We tried to wear them out for Dan, who was in charge of babysitting that evening. Dan cooked us supper, Kristi and I bathed the kids, and then headed out for an evening of our own. We talked about a movie, but then decided that if we just shopped we would be able to visit more. So we closed down Old Navy at 9pm, Kohls at 10pm, and then headed for a beer since there was nowhere else to go! Such a hardship, I know! At nearly midnight we decided we should stock up at Walmart for the next day.....I always wondered when they stocked those shelves....now I know! We made it home just in time for some chatting on Facebook, and another late bedtime.

Friday we decided to head in the other direction and see a movie in Bloomington. We ate dinner at the family's favorite Italian restaurant, Avantis. It was very good, and perfect for the kids. We then saw the movie Up. What a wonderful movie! and what a fun day, until the girls and I packed our bags to head home.

We had decided that we would trek into Iowa yet that late afternoon with the hopes of arriving in Iowa in time to hit the outlet mall at Williamsburg. Our trek was a little delayed by two severe thunderstorms, one waited out in a rest stop, and the other at Subway. Two hours behind schedule, we finally arrived at our destination! However, there were no rooms available! So we did a little shopping and trekked down the road. After our friendly, and free, travel agent/occupational therapist/mom's salvation (a.k.a. Diane) found us a room, we finally checked into a motel and crashed at 10:30pm.

We finished our travels home on Saturday. I think the Ockanders are traveled out! Even though it took us several days to recuperate, it was such a wonderful week! I am so thankful that despite our differences or mishaps, we can still be such dear friends. There is just something very special about the girls I met at Wayne State! They are all so very different from each other, and yet they are all so very special in so many ways! I love them all dearly, and I am so very thankful that years, or almost a decade, can go by and it is just like we saw each other yesterday! Now, I only have one request, dear friends.....that we could all meet in the middle.....because it is even more fun when we're all together!

Girls' Vacation

While Jarod is at National Speech contest with Michaela in Birmingham, Alabama, the girls and I decided to take a little vacation of our own. We left home on Sunday morning (late morning) and made it to Omaha before having to stop! We had a gourmet meal at McDonalds and decided it was time to chuck our old dvd player that would play only play one movie ~ Hello Kitty! We purchased a new dvd player at Walmart, grabbed some guilt-free snacks and headed on our merry way. Our next stop was about 100 miles later. That was all the further I could make it after my refill of Coke at McD. We did manage to make it to Grinnell, IA without any other stops.

We have been staying with the Mavin's since Sunday. Laurel and Lexi are only 9 days apart, and their habits and mannerisms are spookily similar. Brea is 3, and has the best vocabulary of any 3 year old I've known. Needless to say, the girls have played, played, played. Sunday we just got everyone acquainted and walked to the local ice cream shop at the end of the block. Yum! 4 kids, 3 dogs, and 3 adults took some acquainting. Yesterday I attended Jenn's gentle yoga class, and was the youngest student by about 25 years or so! The girls were entertained by the daycare at the studio. Then while Jenn taught another class, the girls and I got coffee and treats at the coffee shop and played at the park. Yesterday afternoon brought lots of relaxation, an early evening t-ball game, and some homemade granola in the evening.

This morning Jenn and the girls introduced us to Tiny Circus. I wanted to see what this was all about. It is a group of very artsy people who are interested in traveling by modified Airstream campers to do Artists in Residency. Their "medium" is animation. So they have people rebuilding Airstreams to meet their specific needs. They also have people working on animations. It is called Tiny Circus because they would travel in their "Mini-Airstreams" as a circus would. Very interesting! How I long to be that carefree! The girls were able to create some monsters on paper and then were aided in creating an animation of their monsters! They were very, very pumped to see their monsters turned into a 5 second cartoon!

This afternoon we hired a babysitter for the girls while we shopped around downtown Grinnell. We started at Basil Thai restaurant for some basil spring rolls and pad thai. We then headed directly to the quilt shop where I could not resist a beautiful yard of Amy Butler fabric, and also got some "boy" batiks for burp cloths. That was to be the extent of my purchases. That lasted until we got to this little craft consignment shop where I fell in love with a little black desk and chair for the fine price of $30. So once again I will be hauling home a piece of furniture in the back of my van! But it will look great in my kitchen!

The girls are finishing up our stay here with the making of a popsicle stick puppet show. I am trying to finish the pillowcases that were supposed to have arrived completed, but didn't. One more to go. It has been a wonderful time reconnecting and I think it is safe to say the girls are occupied enough they aren't asking for their Dad - yet! We head off to the Gudeman's in Goodfield, IL tomorrow! Can't wait to see more friends!

Day 4 in San Francisco

The final day in San Francisco started with an excellent breakfast at a 50's diner, Lori's. It appears to be a chain and is very good! We then rode the bus down to the AT&T Stadium for the Giants/Cardinals baseball game. I am sure many of you are thinking that I was probably not too excited about this little venture; however, to be honest, I really do like Major League Baseball. The food is usually very good, the stadiums cool, the people watching excellent, and I even do understand the game (somewhat)! In fact, this was my 4th MLB stadium I've been to in California alone. I've been to the Dodgers, the old Anaheim Angels and the old San Diego Padres. I'm not sure why they needed to build new ones, but it is my understanding that my "stadium visits" are a little outdated!

So...all that being said....we arrived at the game 2 hours early. We were actually in line 15 minutes, waiting for them to open the doors to the stadium, because they were giving free hats to the first 20,000 people in the stadium! I guarantee we may have been in the first 200 in the stadium! If you know Jarod at all, he will NEVER pass up on anything free! The weather was about 59 degrees, but the windchill was at least 45! We froze! We were in the very top row of the entire stadium! After being there for 4+ hours, we decided we were frozen enough and left at the 7th inning stretch! The Cardinals lost anyway, so we didn't feel like we missed anything too major!





As you can see the stadium itself was really cool! I loved that the outfield was next to the bay! Yachts and kayaks would fill the bay in hopes of catching homeruns! It was a very beautiful scene!

After the game we went to the ferry building to check out the open markets. The funniest was called "Salty Pig Parts". We did get some excellent coffees...even bettter than Starbucks. However, the fun didn't last much longer. We headed back to the hotel to look up the address of the restaurant we wanted to visit in Chinatown, check in online with the airline, and then it hit...the bug I acquired from somewhere in San Francisco. It was not a fun evening! Come the next morning I felt a little better, but not the best. I did manage to make it home without any major incidences, and I was very thankful that Jarod kept my attention away from the newsbreaking stories about the missing flight from South America. I would have definitely NOT been boarding any planes if I'd known about that!

We were excited to see the girls, and the feelings were mutual! It felt so good to come home to our nice big house, with its nice green yard! I couldn't wait to get out there to prune and weed! I think the cats even missed us! All in all it was an awesome trip! We definitely got a mental break, but a physical workout!

Day 3 in San Francisco

A little side note: I got behind on the blogging due to being too tuckered out on Saturday, and having a little travel bug on Sunday. I will continue to blog about our travels, just a few days late!

Yesterday we woke up bright and early to meet our tour guide for a trip into Napa Valley. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide who had a "Carol Weber" laugh! She taught us a lot about wine making and trivia about the area. The first tour we went on, V. Sittui was by far the best. We were allowed to choose the wines we wanted to taste and we purchased some excellent artichoke cream cheese spread to eat with crackers and proscuitto. We had a nice picnic lunch with a couple from South San Francisco. The next vineyard made sparkling wines. It was very modern, quite yuppie-ish. The sparkling wine we tasted was good; however, not very sweet. We purchased a rose sparkling wine that we actually didn't taste. I hope we aren't disappointed. We then proceeded to two other wineries, Andretti and Black Stallion. It quickly became apparent to us that these wineries specialize in wines that are much drier than what we usually drink. Jarod enjoyed some of the reds, and we did have a chance to try some quite expensive Moscato.

After our visits to the wineries we then rode the ferry from Vallejo back to San Francisco. It was a wonderful day for many reasons. We met many wonderful people from many parts of the U.S. We got out of the city and had the chance to see the land, and hence the lifestyles of the area. It was about 20 degrees warmer than San Francisco and the sun was heavenly. Of course, the wine was also a huge plus! The tour was absolutely worth every penny, and I think we would both be willing to take another!

Upon our return we took the recommendation of our tour guide and had seafood once again. It was a very nice restaurant, and Jarod had some amazing scallops and I had shrimp scampi. My thoughts on the seafood restaurants are that they are way overpriced for what you get. I realize that it is a specialty; however, prime rib is a specialty around here and we don't charge "an arm and a leg" for it! Just my thoughts! I'd still take a rib eye or a prime rib over scallops anyday!

Day Two in San Francisco

I so badly wanted to sleep in till 10am this morning, but that would have been noon CST, so I should've known better. By 7am I was wide awake and starving. After getting ready at a leisurely rate, we decided to embark on the F-line (an historic bus line) down to the Fisherman's Wharf. It took us through a part of San Francisco we'd never been to and it also gave us an idea of where we need to meet our tour tomorrow. We discovered that we really didn't explore Pier 39 yesterday, and so upon arriving at the wharf we made our way to visit the sea lions.




Around noon we headed over to Sausalito, a little island accessible by ferry or the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we were a little wimpy we decided not to bike across the bridge and opted for the ferry. The reason I wanted to visit Sausalito is because there was a segment on CBS Sunday Morning about all of the houseboats on the island. We were determined to walk until we found some houseboats. We came across a small "colony" of them about 2 miles down the stretch. I am certain that there are many more; however, after walking through on the boardwalk, we quickly got a feel for the eclectic sense associated with this lifestyle. It was unbelievable that people call such a place home. It truly was a culture shock in a very short distance!



Despite the culture shock of the houseboats, Jarod and I both really liked the quaint feel of the island. It reminded both of us of Key West, with its laid back feel. We did venture up one very steep hill to explore a neighborhood away from the tourist attractions. We discovered homes that are built several stories high in a community that is built on a steep island. We found tons of Jupiter's Beard, which I unsuccessfully wintered in my front yard. We stopped to smell many, many beautiful roses and discovered a lemon tree full of huge lemons! I guess you can take the girl out of the small town, but not the small town out of the girl!



The ferry ride took us by Alcatraz. We opted not to visit the prison. Jarod had been there as a kid, and I was just too creeped out by the whole of it. Maybe I have read too many Jodi Picoult books involving prisons and the horrible things that occur in them. Anyway, it is still quite amazing from the bay.



Upon our return to the city, we thought we would take one last trip on a cable car, since we don't intend to go back the the Fisherman's Wharf again. The line was terribly long. We walked a few blocks thinking we could just hop on at an intersection, but the cars were so full they weren't even stopping. So we trekked back down and rode the historic bus back to Union Square. We had scoped out a Thai restaurant on our way down to the bus this morning, and were more than ecstatic this evening when we knew what we were ordering, the food was absolutely to die for, and super cheap (even for Nebraska standards). As we were eating we got to experience our only "rally for a cause" since we've been here. I am not really sure what the cause was; however, the guy in the pink tutu led to the obvious. The rally started with a few motorcycles escorting some bikers, one of which was decked out with huge stereo speakers. This was the start of a bicycle entourage that consisted of probably over 500 bicyclers. They literally stopped all traffic. They were hooting and hollering, as were many of the pedestrians on the sidewalk. It was really amazing to witness. Of course many people did not appreciate the stopped traffic and were honking horns, but Jarod and I thought it was great!



Tomorrow we are headed on our wine tour. We know where we need to go to meet the tour, I just hope our time approximations are somewhat accurate!

Day One in San Francisco

Our day started at 6:30am when we left the Ockanders for the airport. We had two really smooth flights, thank goodness for that! Once we arrived at the airport we managed to get our checked bag and found our way to the BART (subway). We made it to Union Square, and then all heck broke loose! We didn't know where we were supposed to go, there were no square blocks in sight, and some weirdo wanted too badly to give us directions (and I doubt it was just out of the kindness of his heart)! We finally figured out where we were, and only ended up making a huge 2-3 block circle to get back on track. Next came the trek to our hotel - uphill - at at least a 45 degree angle - suitcases in tow! We did arrive in once piece at our hotel and it is very quaint!

After dumping our bags in our room we decided we would trek out to Nobb Hill and see where the day took us. Jarod thought we should go to Sausalito today. After looking at the map, we decided that we could get on the cable car at this one particular intersection. Silly us! You can get on the cable car at pretty much any intersection. Our own personal walking tour took us through some very pretty neighborhoods; however, we are totally amazed that nobody has a patch of grass! A few plants, but that is it! We finally stopped at this little corner cafe and had the best sandwiches. Instead of waiting for the next cable car we decided to keep on walking down to the Fisherman's Wharf. Now, the 2-3 mile trek wouldn't be that big of a deal in DC; however, there is nothing flat about San Fran....and it is not just a hill or two....it is like a walking roller coaster! We were very excited to see the water at the wharf!

After asking some questions and doing some exploring, we definitely now know where the heck we are. We did visit Ghirardelli Square, saw a Degall exhibit, and ate seafood at a back alley restaurant suggested by some guy who tried to get us to visit his timeshare talk. We didn't fall for that! We just did a lot of walking and figured out where the heck we need to go to get on the ferry to tomorrow. We also figured out that we were totally crazy for walking all of that way; however, we both agree it probably was the best thing we could've done to truly get oriented with the area! We rode the cable car back to our hotel and visited with the nicest people from Georgia. They actually are leaving tomorrow and had passes to ride the cable cars and other public transportation through June 1st. They were kind enough to share their passes with us and saved us $36! We are very excited to head out tomorrow, knowing how we might get to our destination and back!

The Rocky Mountains from our airplane! Very cool!

The hills we walked up to get to our hotel and Nobb Hill.

Lombard Street

Diane warned us about this man who hides behind these branches and scares unsuspecting people. We appreciated her warnings, and watched from the other side of the street!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Maybe if I sing that song tomorrow when I am on the runway, I won't be so panicky about flying! Truth be known, I really do hate to fly; however, I am hoping that it will be worth it. I am semi-packed. I am so amazingly calm about the whole ordeal - I wonder if I am sick!

The girls and I are headed with my mom to Walmart for some final items and for dinner while the guys golf men's league. Then we will head to Gretna late tonight so we are that much closer to the airport = that much more sleep on our big day! The girls will be staying with my parents for the majority of the weekend, ending up at the Ockanders so they are in Omaha when we fly in Monday morning.

Watch for daily posts and pictures about our adventures in San Francisco!

Summer

I cannot believe that summer vacation is already many days in the works! It is so liberating to look at the clock and see 10pm and not stress out because your kids are still moving at full force! Summer usually comes with a list of tasks to be accomplished! However, this summer the thing that I hope to accomplish more than anything is to relax and enjoy each and every day!

On Thursday we leave for our trip to San Francisco. I am hoping to tote along a laptop so I can share all of our adventures. I am so excited to escape reality for a few days, sleep in, eat good food not cooked at home, and engage in lots of uninterrupted conversations! Upon our return we will quickly prepare for Youth Theater, and then on to other fun travels!

This weekend was an absolutely perfect start to my summer vacation! On Friday, I convinced Jarod that I need to move 11 of my roses out of their current home to a place uninvaded by other plants. So we traveled to Menards to get 120 half-moon pavers, and I got the garden of my dreams - a circle garden. When I was growing up these old ladies (sisters) lived on our block and I absolutely loved their circle gardens! I have always wanted one of my own...and now I have it!

So Saturday brought a 5am awakening to head to Brownville to the flea market. Lori and I had a blast checking out all of the "treasures" that everyone toted to the market. We got a few fun things, my favorite being vintage flour sacks that will become pillows for my porch swing. We had wine at the winery at 10am (a huge sacrifice to not have to use a port-a-pot!), and spent the rest of the day in Lincoln buying goods for our future summer endeavors. We even took a little break at Diane's for some decadent dessert!

Tonight was spent in great company with April and Diane reminsicing about the "good old days"! What a blessing to be able to share so many memories with such wonderful people. It does make me a little sad though that April lives in Redding, CA. Here she is expecting a baby, and won't make it home again for us to throw her a shower or visit her in the hospital to share in her blessing! Why can't we all just live at home like me!?

The Grand Savings

$48.00! That is how much I saved at Walmart last night using coupons! Start clipping girls!

Savings Update

$52.10 ~ The amount in coupons I have clipped! We'll see how it goes!

Coupons

I cannot believe it has been 15 days since I last posted. We have been very busy working in the yard getting things situated and on their way to full bloom. In the meantime I have started walking with Lori in the evenings. Some evenings....when it works out! She has inspired me to get my rear in gear and start clipping coupons and stocking up when things are on sale. So that is my project for the week. I cleaned off two partial shelves in my storeroom and covered them with contact paper. This will be the "pantry". I am currently printing 11 pages from coupon.com. Thursday will be the big shopping day! If I use all of the coupons I can save a lot of money! Over $40! I will have to let you know how it goes! and if I save all of that money, I won't feel guilty with treating myself to Starbucks for all of my hard work! ;)

Peaceful Morning

I think it would be nice to live in the country on a morning like this. The sun is shining, the sky true blue, and my flowers need watering. I've had a yummy pecan roll from HyVee, a strong cup of Starbucks Breakfast Blend, and now I am ready to go out and start watering. The problem....I want to just do it in my robe. If I lived in the country, nobody would see me out watering my flowers with my coffee in my fuzzy lavendar robe. I think I provide the neighbors with unintended entertainment on a regular basis (i.e. trying to relocate plants that are way too big). I don't need to add robe-gardening to their list of entertaining antics.

Eyebrows

So I took the girls in for a haircut today. Lydia has decided she wants her bangs to grow out, and promises to pull them back when they get too long. We'll see! Since we were there, and Rachelle had a few extra minutes, I decided to get my eyebrows waxed before next week's appt. in an attempt to save some pain. Fewer hairs is supposed to equal fewer pains ~ not sure about that! Anyway, with my little audience at hand, Rachelle pointed out that the freshly waxed eyebrow looked sooo much better than the hairy one. When asked what she thought, Laurel pointed out that she thought the unwaxed eyebrow looked better because it wasn't all red like the waxed one! The perspective of a 7 year old!

What to Do?

I am not really sure what I should be doing right now! It seems like there are lots of things I should be doing, but I am not sure what they are. This typicallly happens this time of year. We have 3 full weeks of school left.... teaching/assessing needs to be finished....scores need to be recorded.... parent signatures need to be collected.... report cards need to be completed.... ordering needs to be done.... copies need to be sent to the Educational Service Unit to be prepped for next year (.5 cents/page = dirt cheap).... meetings need to be attended.... banquets are too many.... but here I sit, blogging about all of these things, doing none of them because none of them can really be done at this moment.

So I should probably get off my keister and think about doing some sort of exercise. I am NEVER going to make it through Jenn's yoga class if I don't get movin'! But instead, I will probably saunter to the dryer, stopping at the tea kettle on the way to turn on the water, switch the laundry, brew a cup of jasmine tea, and read a book instead. I may do a sit-up or two. Maybe a few downdogs, and a pigeon if I feel fiesty. We wouldn't get too crazy, though!

Interstate Travels

I have an obsession with license plates....not the kind of obsession like my mother who has some fancy math problem she does with every license plate....I love to ponder where everyone is from. I especially love travelers from out-of-state. I always wonder where they are headed....to visit family or friends....are they headed in the direction of home or away....have they been gone on business or pleasure....are they excited to be traveling or weary?

Last night we came across this little Subaru that was pulling a very little trailor. It had a young (dark and handsome, if I might add) guy in it. It was packed full of stuff, and was traveling from New Jersey. I couldn't help but wonder where he was headed and why. Was he moving to live with a girlfriend? Maybe a new job. Maybe hopes of a better life due to tough times had. Would he travel all night or stop in some little Nebraska town? So many things to think about!

Straight and Narrow

That is Laurel. She is going to keep me, her sister, her dad, and anyone else on the straight and narrow. She will hopefully not be the playground police, but probably already is! Tonight it was my turn to be put back on the path of righteousness. We were driving home from getting her glasses adjusted in Columbus. I was listening to Froggy 98 (the local country station) and the song, "She Thinks my Tractor's Sexy" was playing. Laurel advised me to find something new to listen to because this song had some naughty words in it! Needless to say, I quickly switched it the KGBI (the local Christian station). Sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and other times they are very blatant!

Anxious

I am so anxious for the real gardening to begin. Our little town received a grant to replace old, dead trees with mature ones. So, they are currently in the process of cutting down and replanting a ton of trees. I am assuming that this is the source of the huge mulch pile out at the brush pile north of town. Regardless of where the mulch has come from, it has been many years since we've had the opportunity to haul home free mulch by the truckload. I should say, Jarod's had the opportunity. I, of course, am always at home waiting to offer my ten-cents-worth about where it should go, and I am also in charge of laying down the newspapers to cover up the grass underneath. It has been wonderful because we expanded the area between our two trees out front, and it would have cost us a fortune to fill that all in with purchased mulch. I appreciate Jarod's willingness to embark on the inexpensive, yet cumbersome, task. It wreaks havoc on his allergies, and isn't too great for his back, but when the price is right, you do what you got to do!

However, it is not that much fun to just spread around mulch. Planting flowers is much more fun. I saw this lady at Walmart with these two really beautiful ferns in hanging baskets. They had obviously arrived before the helpers in the garden center drowned them with their "per shift watering." Which leads me to think that I should risk the cold and get mine before the helpers drown mine, too!

Creative Clovers

We finally have our 4-H group in full swing! We have four families involved, 8 actual members, and a few younger brothers and sisters who are along for the fun! At our first meeting we did a craft for St. Patrick's Day and got organized. This meeting we had a full agenda, a cooking lesson (stuffed celery) and practiced our measuring skills! Lots of fun!

Meals on Wheels

One day last summer Macy (Laurel's friend) received a mid-morning phone call at our house that her aunt would be picking her up to help deliver Meals on Wheels. The girls decided they would go along for the adventure. That one day turned into twice-a-week, and then days off of school, and who knows how often they'll rope Mary Ann into taking them this summer. It may be more days than not! Today at noon they had a Volunteer Recognition Dinner. Laurel attended with the other kids. She was the first person to have her name called. It is my understanding that she just flew out of her chair, wildly waving her hand for her certificate. She loves visiting the "old people," and has nicknames for all of them. Both girls point out the homes they deliver to as we drive through town. It has provided many life lessons along the way...including what happens when you find someone deceased. Laurel has such a grasp on life....a deep understanding that I think many adults don't have. I attribute much of it to her faith. Neither girl batted an eye when I told them that one old gentleman who had died no longer needed them to bring him meals, God was going to make him dinner from now on!

Thanks, Merrill!

Merrill came to babysit this afternoon while Julie went to Kelly Veskrna's funeral. It worked out great because Laurel was out of school at 1:30pm and needed a place, too. I really appreciate her willingness and ability to come over and stay with the girls during the school day! Thank goodness for home schooling!

So while Merrill was here, I asked her to help me find a new template for my blog! She was great help and saved me a ton of frustration! Thanks Merrill for B & B! (babysitting and blogging)

Crystal Clear

Clean...crisp...clear as water...sweet...hmmmm.....2Brothers from James Arthur Vineyards. We had this wine the other night when my parents were here for dinner. It was very good and I enjoyed it at the time; however, I didn't really pay much attention to how clear it was...probably because I was too worried about Lydia eating all the fish that was cooked for my parents on Good Friday. (Note to selves - more fish, less chicken!) But tonight when we opened another bottle it was the first thing that I noticed. It looked like water in a fancy glass.

I really like wine. I like the sweetness of it. I like how it makes me feel all warm and toasty. I like that it quiets my mind. But more than all of those things, I like to see how the taste changes with different foods that you eat. Just this simple glass has a completely different twist when accompanied with a nice, warm brownie. It would be interesting to see how it might change with some cheese or something like naan or bread. And yet it is so good just by itself! Intriguing how something so simple can be so complex!

Looking Forward

I feel a little bad about posting such a crabby post on such a special day yesterday! But I guess I can't be accused of giving jaded perspectives!

So today I shall blog about some very exciting things I am looking forward to! The first of course is our little trip to San Francisco! I think this is going to be the perfect start to a very fun summer! For the past two summers I have contemplated hosting a "backyard crafts session" in my backyard. I think it would be fun for the girls, and I think my little third graders would be interested too! However, everytime I bring it up, Jarod just thinks I've gone off my rocker and shrugs his shoulders and says, "whatever". BUT...this year is different....I've found someone as crazy as I am who thinks it is a great idea! So in addition to 4-H, Lori Robinson and I are going to try out this little Backyard Art "project". It is going to consist of a weekly, hour-long crafting session. You can sign up for only one session or all of them, and we are limiting it to ten kids (not counting our own) per session. I think it will be a lot of fun, and hopefully not too much work! That will run for 6 sessions.

Another thing that I have wanted to do for the past few summers, but haven't, is visit my college girlfriends. So this year when Jarod packs up and heads south to Alabama for Nationals, the girls and I are heading due east. We will visit our friends, the Mavins, in Grinnell, IA for a few days, and then we will continue on our way another 4 hours to Goodfield, IL, to see the Gudemans. I cannot wait for the whole adventure! Lots of kids our age...lots of fun times to be had...lots of wine and hefeweizen to be consumed! Dad may just beat us home! That little adventure will take place mid-June.

As for the rest of the summer....who knows what we may do! I do know we won't be going to any t-ball games...."It's just not my thing!" ~Laurel. We will be having 4-h a few times a month, preparing our projects for the fair. We will be taking private swimming lessons for the first time. Hmmmm....the possiblities are endless!

Easter Sunday

Hoping everyone had a very blessed Easter Sunday! We spent the day at the Ockanders in Gretna. It was a nice day; I will give it three stars and a wish!

Star #1: The church services in Gretna are always contemporary at 10:45am, and it is so fun to have a band and sing upbeat songs. I always feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when we visit Good Shepherd. Pastor Woerhling is such an amazing pastor...so in tune with the Lord and his people!

Star #2: How can you go wrong with ham, hashbrown casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, jello salad, lemon meringue and peach pies. Needless to say, I am still stuffed, but it was soooo good!

Star #3: The kids had so much fun playing together. Now that Eli and Korben are 2 and 3, the kids can go downstairs and play with the toys, and the adults can visit (or watch golf~ick!). This was the first time that we've really seen that independence and I think they had a great time!





Wish: I know better than to go empty-handed. I typically head into Omaha after we eat for something to do; however, with it being Easter, I didn't do that. I CANNOT just sit....and watch golf....and have minimal conversation. In my family, we visit...about everything and everyone. Jarod's family is just different in that way. So, I usually busy myself with a list of goods that I need, or a book from home, or any handstitching that I might need to do. Today....nothing. I did chat with Kristi on Facebook for awhile! That was a huge treat ~ and I think we came up with a plan for the girls and I to extend our visit to Iowa into Illinois to see the Gudemans, too! So that was great! I did outlast all of the children in coloring, too! They came and left in shifts! Lesson learned...NEVER go empty-handed to the Ockanders. A lesson I learned a long time ago, just something I needed reminding of!

I am looking forward to the fact that we still have another day! I cannot believe that we are a month and a week away from the last day of school! We have so many fun things planned for this summer...but we'll save that for tomorrow!

Waste Not

I received this email from a dear friend. It is so true that I thought I would post it here!

I grew up with practical parents who had been frightened by the Great Depression.. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a Name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. It was the time for fixing things; a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that repairing, eating, reusing, I wanted just once to be wasteful Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer 's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it.... it's best we love it... And care for it..... And fix it when it's broken...... And heal it when it's sick.

This is true..... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards...... And dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents..... And grandparents....And friends ....We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special..... And so, keep them close!

Facebook Quiz

I like Facebook! I really like Facebook! I love knowing what my girlfriends are doing from afar! I care when one of them has a sick kid, or gets something exciting like new knitting needles in the mail! I am also not going to deny that I have taken my share of those cheesy Facebook quizzes, even if half of them are grammatically incorrect. However, today was the topper: "Where will you go when you die?" Seriously...I am not kidding! Just the thought that one would even feel compelled to take that quiz to see what the answer is makes me freak out! My answer is, "If you need a Facebook quiz to tell you where you are going when you die, we have some SERIOUS chatting to do!" And the audacity of the creator of the quiz! Ok, I am going to close now, before I really explode. But I will close on this thought ~ I know where I am going when I die, because Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and is my Savior! I will live my life to be a living example of His love, and pray that my family will do the same!

Spring in the Midst of the Storm

Fun with Fur-iends on a Fur-iday

In the process of cleaning out her mom's house, Diane found these fur coats to be donated to the One Act Dept. Diane, Jason and Laurel had a blast hosting our own Fashion Runway!

Sleepover

Due to the fact that all of my girlfriends live too far away and traveling with little ones is not much fun, I seldom get to have them come for a sleepover. Diane doesn't need to sleep over because her parents live a block away. So last night and today was a special treat. After our dinner last night, Tricia stayed over and planned to just hang out today. Jarod was in St. Louis, Lydia and Laurel were at my parents', and it was so much fun to just talk about whatever we wanted with minimal interruptions while we made ebelskievers for breakfast. When the weatherman announced that the day would look pretty decent (minus the 40 mph wind), we decided to take the girls to Lincoln shopping. I needed to buy fabric for a sewing project I want to tackle during the snowstorm. We bribed the girls with a ride in Tricia's cool car with a built-in DVD player and a trip to Ivana Cone. They were very good and we had a fun time! I think I should have another slumber party sometime soon! Anyone want to visit!?

Proud of Myself

I am pretty darned proud of myself! Tonight I am having 5 women over to have dinner. My friend, Tricia, is cooking Thai and Indian food. Mostly different curries. This has been a food adventure for the Ockanders lately, and I am excited to try to some new things. However, that is not why I am proud....I am hosting dinner in 3 hours and I did not spend the day cleaning, scrubbing, stewing, fretting, folding, freaking...the usual! After kindergarten round-up Lydia and I ventured to the library to check out books and visit with Gina. Then we checked out the little new antique shop (Boo hoo my vase was sold in the relocation process!), and then after doing our business at school we hung around to visit with a few people. We stopped off at the flower shop and had the special treat of picking our stems out of the cooler in the back, and sealed the deal with a nap on the couch! I shoved the laundry that is clean in the closet. I kind of washed the kitchen floor, and I will probably vaccuum. I am hoping that Tricia doesn't want to shower tomorrow so I don't have to clean it, and if my guests are lucky I might change clothes before they get here! Bring on the wine so nobody notices the cobwebs, just the gerbera daisies in the middle of the table instead!

Full Day

Today has been a very full day! I accomplished a lot of things at school...feel like I "knocked off" several items from my ever-present list. I decided to bake cookies after school, something I haven't done for a long time. I tackled a few loads of laundry and even put them away. I managed to hem my new pants, and those for Lisa that have been sitting here for over a week. And of course there are those daily things like dinner, baths, cleaning up the kitchen. And now...I am tired. To be honest, I am stalling by writing this blog. I couldn't really justify crawling into bed at 8pm to read "Handle with Care" by Jodi Picoult....but now it is 8:18pm according to my computer and by the time I go through my little bedtime brushing your teeth/washing your face ritual it will be 8:30pm, and I have no qualms with going to bed at 8:30pm. So, Good Night! Sleep Tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite! and if they do, hit 'em with a shoe until they're black and blue! (Rhyme compliments of Jarod's sister, Remi.)

Hello, Babies!

I love spring! I love all of the babies it brings. Baby chicks, ducks, lambs...you know what I'm talking about. Here is a new sign for my garden that I bought from Kelsie, my personal Uppercase Living Consultant.



Here are a few pictures of MY babies:

Seedum

Bee Balm

Daisy


(I know, I'm a little crazy, but I love watching them grow!!!)

My Alices

I think that one of the greatest blessings in my life came in the form of two beautiful women named Alice. Two very different women, but women created in God's image, with a passion to raise families that serve Him. I feel so blessed that these women came into my life at a time when I was really searching for who I was going to be. While my own mother was a perfect example of who I wanted to be, it wasn't really "cool" to want to be your mom when you are 13. So I looked up to these women for guidance, encouragement, and friendship. Many, many hours have been spent in discussion or contemplation with these ladies. (Twenty years worth!) I seek their wisdom because I see that they are a living example of what God wants me to be! I look at their children in awe, wondering how they have managed to raise them with such an understanding of their faith. I pray that when I grow up I can be like the Alices. And I pray that when my girls grow up, they will glow with a knowing of who they are and who the Lord wants them to be, just like the Alices' girls do!

Husband

I distinctly recall a ride home from Columbus with my friend Mistyn. We were having the typical conversation about our husbands. I remember telling her that if something ever happened to Jarod I didn't think I would ever get married again. I didn't need a husband to take care of me. I already managed the household with the exception of the mowing and the trash (both of which I could do). It was a "been there done that" mentality.

This winter I learned something about myself. I don't need "a" husband. I need my husband. This winter I realized that the trials and tribulations of the past 2 years regarding friendships was all a part of God's plan to help me realize that it truly is important for my husband to be my closest friend. That we are in this together! I think I had begun to realize that over the course of the past year; however, it wasn't until this winter that I truly realized how much I need his daily interaction, the commraderie we call marriage. And so this first week of having him home in the evenings has been pure bliss! Things are just back to normal...he cooks supper and I clean up the mess. He rough-houses and teases the girls and I send them to bed. Once the children are in bed, he retreats downstairs and I stay on the main floor. It's who we are, it's what we do....and it's what God intended for us.

Life Restored

Well, it is here....the moment I have been waiting for since January 1st. The end of speech season! I am so happy for Jarod that he won the state title, that he avenged the fact that he didn't get one for one act, and that he is the first team in 14 years to beat Raymond Central. However, I am even happier that our home life will now be restored. I would say "back to normal," but I am sure many of you might agree that nothing is really ever that "normal" around here. What is normal anyway?!

So today I am going to celebrate first with a huge brownie and a cup of coffee (or 3) for breakfast, and then you can find me covered in dirt and filth cleaning up the remnants of fall from my flowerbeds! It donned on me the other night, when we tackled the first tenth of this project, that I now have an ipod that I could listen to in the yard. This is an addition since last gardening season. But I don't know if I can do it.....listen to my ipod in the yard.....then I might miss Barb singing or playing the trombone, my kids arguing in the sandbox (or playing nicely), cars driving by with a wave, the morning dove with her incessant "whoo whoo". Maybe after I have been out there for 4 or 5 hours the quaintness of it all will wear off and I may have to jam to a little "Chicken Fried" among my rose bushes. Poor neighbors!

Sheets

I love sheets! Yes, sheets....the kind you sleep in! I love pretty sheets with tatting or embroidery done by my ancestors! I love nice, crisp white sheets to make me feel nice and cool in the summer! I love soft, fuzzy, warm flannel sheets in fun colors to snuggle under in the winter! My favorite sheets of all are the ones that come right out of the dryer, toasty warm, begging to be snuggled with in the middle of an unmade bed. I love burying myself under the pile, enveloped with warmth and freshness, pure heaven!

However, when the warmth wears off, then the sheet-freak comes out! The sheet-freak is this person who has to have her bed made perfectly. All layers pulled taut, each layer ending a little bit shorter than the layer under it. The layers must be pulled tight every night before they can be crawled under. There was a time in my life (about 20 years worth) when my bed had to be made EVERY day! However, right before my wedding this picture appeared.....a picture of my bedroom in Grand Island....a bedroom in total disarray....and a bed unmade! I think Diane took that picture because she was proud of me! She used to laugh at me every night when she would point out that my bed was perfectly smooth with the exception of my body lying under it.

Some things have changed since then....I still love fresh clean sheets! I still love to snuggle with them right out of the dryer! I still love different sheets for different seasons! I still pull the sheets tight every night before I crawl under them! BUT.....I never make my bed....at least not in the morning before going to work! Just at night before I get back in it!

Confession: I knew that Jarod was going to be gone for two nights, so I waited until today to wash the sheets so I could selfishly enjoy their cleanness all to myself!

Goodnight Princesses!

Princess decided that Lydia looked a little too snuggly to resist!

Dirt Under My Nails

I NEED dirt under my nails! It is absolutely imperative for my mental well-being! This is actually going to be the first time in my entire life that I am going to have nails long enough to dig dirt out of, but somehow all of these years past, there still managed to be dirt under them!

Today, against my dad's better judgement, I cleaned up a portion of the leaves from my yard. We started with the daylilies out front. They are starting to peek through, these tiny little green tips! I just wanted to get down on the ground and kiss them...they are so cute...and soooo welcome!!! Then I moved over to clear out some other lilies and the bee balm! I didn't want to kiss the bee balm, because if you've ever smelled it, you know why! But I was super excited to see that there was new growth there, too. My azaleas have tiny buds, my hydrangeas do too! I cleared out the leaves from the daisies and can't wait to fill in that space with coneflowers and black eyed susans and let them go wild!

My hands are all scratched and dry...my sweats and t-shirt are dirty and I am pretty sure I have dirt in many other places, too....but I feel sooo alive! My heart was pumping, my arms were aching, my legs were squawking as I carried basket after basket to fill the pickup to the brim. And tonight, as I am ready to crawl into bed to read my new book, my mind is finally quiet. All I can think about is what treasures we will uncover tomorrow! That, and maybe what new things we can add to make our yard even better....I think this is the year for some climbers...definitely an arch with climbing roses leading from the front to the back....and perhaps some trumpet vine on the side of the barn! I wonder if my Jupiter's Beard survived the winter!? Hmmm....

Ta Da!!

Here it is! Finally! My very own Birdie Sling (pattern by Amy Butler)! I absolutely love it! I had borrowed the pattern from Barb Knox 3 months ago, but Jenn's fun pictures inspired me to get my rear in gear and make my own. The birdie fabric is not in honor of the title of the bag....I just absolutely adore the fabric. It is from the Moda Urban Chiks Blossom collection. I had already made a pair of pj pants using this fabric; however, there aren't too many people who get a glimpse of those! So, I thought it would be fun to have a bag made of it for spring!

Frosty

Feeling deprived of Nebraska winters, Remi decided she and the girls should spend some quality time outside practicing their rollerskating technique. I volunteered to take the pictures! Brrrr!

Giddy

OK....I am beyond giddy at this point! Jarod and I finally sat down and talked about my little plan to escape to wine country this late spring! (Thanks to Mr. Phillips for cancelling all practices this evening!) A little birdie named Remkea had clued me in to airfare prices supposedly being lower early this week, and she was right! Our trip became more affordable as the days went on, and so we decided to bite the bullet and book the trip! We are flying out May 28th for a long weekend ~ the longest part is going to be waiting for it to arrive! (P.S. I did learn from Amanda and CJ, though, and did pay the extra $100 insurance just in case something weird comes up ~ like the flu!) Now I am going to try to go to bed! Yeah right! Yipee!!!!

Wishin' and Hopin' and Thinkin' and Prayin'

I am always doing these four things! I really truly wish my mind would just shut up once and awhile! However, this past month I have really been wishin' and hopin' and prayin' that Jarod and I would be able to sneak away on a little vacation this summer. With the celebration of being credit card debt-free, our eyes have been opened to the possibility of having extra money to set aside for something we really wanted to do! Ok, something I really wanted to do. Jarod just keeps saying "sure" because he is so wrapped up into speech right now he truly doesn't process anything that isn't labeled with an acronym like OID or PIA (oh, that's mine, sorry!).

Anyway, I have been doing some "research" (as limited as it may be), and think I have the perfect little retreat planned to San Francisco at the end of May. I am so pumped! We are hopefully going to be staying at a boutique hotel that will be quaint and unpretentious. And it has a "literary theme". How obnoxiously appropriate! A trip through the Napa Valley ending with a cruise through the bay sounds pretty heavenly about now. Who knows about the rest! All I care about is uninterrupted conversation and relaxation with my hubby! The only thing that would top it all off is if we could convince Matt and Diane to join us on this little adventure! and if we agree to leave our swimsuits at home!

The Irony of it All

March, 1999.... Grand Island Central Catholic speech team competed at the State Speech Meet in Kearney. That same day good ol' DCHS performed on the opposite hours of GICC. So while my students were waiting for their next round, I snuck in to watch a few kids that I babysat compete for a medal. Upon waiting for a round to start, Audrey Mathiesen introduced me to her assistant. We got to visiting, comparing stories about teaching junior high reading/English, and then it was time to get back to business.

A month later Diane intercepted a phone call at our apartment...a guy looking for me! Since this was pre-caller id, when I returned home that night we had to call *69 to get the number of the caller. It was a David City number. So, at 11pm, Diane and I sat in her bed, snuggled under the covers, combing the David City phone book looking for this number. No listing. The operator was willing to give me a number for a name, but not a name for a number. So our only solution was to call this mystery number, and pretend that it was a mistake. And, being the dear friend that she is, Diane got to carry out this very junior high plan.

"Hello."
"Uh, is Mary there?" (Why did she use my mother's name!?)
"No, there's no Mary here."
"Oh, well, who is this?"
"Jarod Ockander. Who is this?"
"Diane Hilger, Scott's sister, and boy do I have a story to tell you!"

And as they say....the rest is history! Jarod and I talked for 2 hours on the phone while we watched the coverage on CNN about Columbine, both shocked beyond belief that something that horrible could happen. We went on a date 2 weeks later....we both knew on the first date that we would be married....we dated for 5 months before getting engaged.....and were married the following June.

Ten years later I am here at home, caring for our children, and he is still off doing speech. It is his passion, his love, it drives him and haunts him at the same time. The ironic thing is that the activity that brought us together is now the very thing that keeps us apart for 3 months of every year. My dad always reminds me that I knew what I was getting into when I married him. He is right.... and Jarod is amazing at what he does. I am just not that amazing at being a coach's wife. I am very proud of all he's accomplished....but would be just as proud if he hadn't accomplished any of it! I am counting down the days till speech is over (13 to be exact), because any minute spent with us means 100 times more to me than any banner hanging in the gym! So knock their socks off, dear, but we'll be more excited to have you home for an evening than any piece of hardware you could bring through our door!

Flowers

Oh, how I long for spring! Today's warm weather made me all the more anxious! I cannot wait for the days when I count the minutes till 4pm arrives, longing to get home and start diggin' in the dirt! I must make a confession though....in mid-January I took my scissors to the High Country Gardens catalog, clipping my future purchases, and keeping them in a safe place on the refrigerator. I had them all layed out on the counter, making sure I didn't have too many of one color or type. Jarod just shook his head, knowing that it was definitely a lost cause. Everyday I think that maybe I could place my order, because this company allows you to select a week when you want your plants delivered. However, if you know me at all, you know that I have zero delayed gratification.....so if I place an order in early March, it is going to drive me bonkers to wait two months to have my plants delivered! So I will wait....and while I have come to despise the snow....it sure makes waiting for flowers a lot easier!

Perspective

As I was visiting with Diane and Mary Lou-hoo at the funeral dinner today, we were discussing that life gets so busy that we need something like a funeral to slow us down and put things back into perspective. They were so right! The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind at home and school, that I feel like I just want to curl up into a ball and pull my flannel sheets up over my head! If you looked at my calendar, you would notice that the past two weeks really haven't been bogged down with any more appointments than any other week. However, the manner in which I have chosen to tackle my daily tasks has obviously had a little bit to be desired. So this week (what's left of it) I am going to try to have a better perspective on everything! Maybe a little more quality time spent with my girls would alleviate the tiffs that arise when left to entertain themselves. I found that I managed to get 2 loads of laundry put away and 30 minutes of yoga squeezed in between 8-9pm. From my perspective, that's an accomplishment! The time before that was spent looking through book orders, reading books, and trying to stay out of the way at District Speech (that didn't work so well). So as I go to bed, I feel like my girls were happier and I am, too. And maybe it is all just a matter of perspective!

I Can Only Imagine - Mercy Me

Here's to you Grandpa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FS5GYvg6uU

Small Town America

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love living in a small town! I woke up this morning to quite a bit of snow in my yard. Jarod was off to speech, so the scooping had two options: me or wait. So as I drank my coffee, in my nice flannel pj's, communicating with my cousin on Facebook, I hear Barb McClintic's scooping getting louder and louder. I look out my window, and here she is scooping my sidewalk. I stuck my pony-tail-on-top head out the door and told her she didn't have to do that, but she is about as stubborn as I am! So I guiltily closed the door, returned to my coffee and Facebook, only to hear a snowblower coming down the same sidewalk. It was Becky Hopwood coming to finish off the rest of MY sidewalk for Barb. What a huge blessing those two women are!

So, I pulled on some jeans and a sweatshirt over my flannel jammies and headed out to tackle the rest! I think this snow was the greatest blessing God could have given me today! I got out in the brisk cold, worked up a sweat, got my heart pumping, inhaled some quality, non-filtered oxygen, enjoyed the twinkling snow, and was blessed with a little help from Lydia. I cannot tell you how much that snow did, not only for my body, but my heart! I feel like a new woman! A frosty one, but ready to tackle what the Lord has in store for me today!

Grandpa

Growing up, my Grandpa Ayers seemed like a giant. He stood 6'4" and I don't know how much he weighed, but he was solid. He had the hairiest arms and chest, and the hands of a gorilla. He was always doing something. When I was little he owned an appliance store in Schuyler, but then became the Supt. of Utilities. But that was just his day job. At night he would tend to his cows or some rye grass he might have planted. He would go for coffee at least twice a day, and we always knew if he wasn't at the office, we could find him at Western. We also knew that he would always be gone on Thursday nights, because he would be looking for "treasures" at the auction in Fremont.

He absolutely adored us kids, and we knew it! He would give us ice cream for breakfast, let us dodge cow pies in his pasture with the golf cart, taught me how to drive at the age of 12 so he could pick up fence, and would even let us sit in his giant-size recliner (for awhile). He teased us endlessly about boys we liked (when we were too young to like boys), and was never to welcoming to the boys we brought home (when we were old enough). He absolutley adored my friend Diane, with the red-hair! I think it was because she would give him as much shit back as he gave her! and his favorite joke was, "Want a Hurtz Donut? (Punch in the arm) Hurts, don't it!"

As life has its way with all of us, my Grandpa gradually slowed down. He refused most medical attention, and if he would agree to some sort of procedure, he would never comply with the rehab. For example, when he had back surgery many years ago, he was on the tractor two days after returning home. No doctor would touch his knees because they knew he would never do the exercises needed to break in the new ones. Life took its many twists and turns over the past 10 years, and my grandpa ended up moving to david place, much to his chagrin.

I have really enjoyed working at david place the past few months, because it has given me an opportunity to visit with my grandpa in a more "casual" manner. He would come to me, ask what I was doing, and then go on his merry way. That was just him. To go and sit in his room for a visit deemed long enough in duration would've been way too long for him. He was busy, he had things to do. But over the past two months, I noticed that he wouldn't even see me in the window anymore. He would just scoot on by without stopping to say hi. This larger-than-life man had slowly become a prisoner in his own body. He wanted to roam, to go, to be busy.....none of which he could do. And so, this morning of his passing, I am happy for him that he is now free. Maybe God will find something for him to fix, just to amuse him!

What is God thinking?

I don't think God is going to be very pleased with me, 67 + years from now, when I arrive at His pearly gates and demand to know his rationale behind giving out children to parents. I think this subject is so dear to my heart for two different reasons. My first reason is professional. Each day when I see so many of those ragamuffins pour down our hallway, my heart just breaks. So many of our children come from parents who couldn't care less about their basic needs. Many of them receive two warm meals at school, and eat junk until they return the next morning. Their once white t-shirts slowly gray as the year goes by, a prophetic symbol of their lives. I often find myself at odds with what my heart feels and what my head thinks. My head says that these third graders need to learn to meet their needs if their parents aren't going to. Things like brushing their teeth, taking a shower, packing their mittens and boots. But my heart says that as a third grader most of them are merely 8 or 9 years old. They are just little kids. They are supposed to be chasing each other on the playground playing Star Wars or acting like horses. And yet God saw these hoodlums (parents) fit to take care of His children.

The second reason this is so dear is personal. For some reason God has chosen many of my dear friends to struggle with the woes of infertility. People who love Him and serve Him. People who are educated, hard-working, deep-rooted. People who not only have the monetary capacity, but the mental capacity, to truly raise children in His word. I don't get it - I just don't get it. Why does God continue time and again to bless so many people with children when they don't take care of the ones they have?

This is one area where I really struggle to understand what God has planned. While it is really hard to sit back and watch my girlfriends melt into tears with each menstrual cycle that shouldn't have come....it is even harder to stand on the street corner each night and watch my "kids" leave with parents who seldom seem happy to see them. I am sure that God will have a very good response when I ask Him my question, as He knows my heart and will have had many years to prepare a solid explanation. In the meantime, I will pray for my girlfriends who dearly want children, and for the parents who have children they don't really want.

(And if you added up the years, I have every intention of living to be over 100 years old!)