Welcome to Iowa...

I checked the local weather this morning because we are under a "wind chill advisory" and the weather.com read, "-4 but feels like -27"....Yep NEGATIVE 27 degrees...Holy cow! I don't even wanna walk outside! Anyways, we had Christmas with my family this weekend, it was such a fun time! I have a little story about Christmas. When I was little, we had this cheesey little elf:

Not sure exactly where it came from but we have had it for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, as soon as the Christmas decorations were out, I would take the elf off the tree and go to my room and play barbies, or house with it. When it was time to put the decorations away, my mom would have to search my room because I would hide it from her. I don't exactly know what my fascination was with this dorky decoration. Anyways, this brings me to one of my Christmas gifts from my parents this year. A big(ger) elf Christmas decoration:Apparently there is a childrens book that talks about how the elf sits on the shelf and every night when kids are asleep it goes back to report to Santa on the good and bad things that the kids do during the day. Now, I don't know if the little elf has anything to do with the story, or where my mom even got the elf 15 or more years ago....
but I have to say, they do look a lot alike....

"Great Great Great" Woman

I want to wish my mom and dad a very happy 26th anniversary today, however, I know my mom is going to have a hard day because this morning my Great Grandma died at 105.... She was definately a Great grandma and we will miss her deeply - heaven is so lucky to be getting her!

A couple weeks ago, I got together all of the jewelery that my Great Grandma had given me over the hundreds of times I visited her when I was little. My mom found the neatest idea in a magazine, so I took all the backs off of the (clip on) earings and pins and glued those and some pendants and bracelets to a frame, one for myself and one for my mom..

Big Birthday!

Today my Great Grandma turns 105! That is one milestone I hope to never hit!! I remember when my cousins and I were little, every single day during the summer we would go visit her for a couple hours. I don't know if it was more to get away from day-care (both my mom and my cousins' mom had in-home daycares) or if it was for the ice cream. We really enjoyed listening to her stories and looking at her old pictuers. When we got new puppies, we ran all the way (ten blocks) to the nursing home to tell her about it, she asked to see them so we ran all the way home and brought them back and knocked on her window. She was inside her room smiling, clapping and waving - she seemed to be so excited for us. We took the puppies back home and got on our bikes to go back to visit with her. When she could leave for visits, she always came over for Christmas - as soon as she would get here, she would park her wheelchair in front of my piano and refused to eat until I played her a couple songs. The pictures are from her 100th birthday and sadly that is the last year she had her full memory - she was sharp as a tack up until her 101st birthday. We go to visit occasionally and she gets so excited when you walk into her room - you think it's because she recognizes you but she just gets excited to have company. My favorite quote she used to say to us everyday when we were getting ready to leave "Oh I could just eat you up but then I wouldn't have you anymore". Happy Birthday Grandma!

Tom and I with my grandma at her 100th birthday.

Five generations - myself, my mom, my grandpa and my grandma

Take your time

That is what I ask of you this Thanksgiving day. My second cousins (my moms cousin) husband found out the worst possible news yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving. To be honest, we haven't been close to that side of the family for years. We exchange Christmas cards and talk when we run into eachother uptown, but that's about it. So I have been reading updates on his caringbridge site. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shawnberg Shawn turned 37 on Father's Day this year, a few days earlier, he found out he has cancer. Up until a couple weeks ago, they had no idea what kind it was, adrenal cancer. Yesterday he went for a scheduled visit in a lot of pain. The doctor told them that they were going to be taking him off of his cemo because it was causing more bad then good. They were then told the news you never want to hear, that they were sending him home with a hospice nurse and he should start saying his goodbyes to friends and family, including his two daughters, Isabelle - 7 and Peyton - 4.
This is why I say take your time. Not just today, but everyday. Take the time to think about what really matters to you. Take the time to thank God for what you have. The vaccuming, the dusting, the laundry - it can all wait - stop what you're doing and go play catch or barbies with your kids/nieces/nephews. It's a sucky realization that I have come to see, watching my grandpa lose his battle with cancer - watching my mom kick cancers ass (Mom, you are my hero!! I love you so much!!) You never know how much time you have, so spend your time with those you love most! I have been praying and continue to pray for my cousins family. And I am asking for your prayers also, they are needed and will be greatly appreciated. I commend my cousin for looking through all of this and seeing the good times that they have had and will continue to have.
I hope you all have a very Happy, family filled, Thanksgiving.

All in a days work

Our shed guys finally made it! I went to work at nine thirty yesterday morning and when I got home around four, this is what they had done...wow they are quick!

What I wouldn't give..

To be a kid at Christmas. Lately I have been having these...I guess you would call them memories...or flashbacks(??) of Christmases past. Nothing long enough to enjoy, just couple second clips when I see/hear/smell certain things this time of year. For example, in the grocery store the other day looking down the aisles and seeing the hanging Christmas decorations, it was a pretty easy flashback because I think the grocery store in town has had the same decorations for 15 years.
Every year the day after Thanksgiving, my dad would take us to the local Christmas tree farm and pick out a tree. We would go to a little rinky-dink resturaunt in town (now gone) and have fries and a pop and then go home and decorate the tree (lights first, then ornaments and the star last). The Saturday before Christmas was always the Milton Christmas (my dads family), my grandma and grandpa spent their winters in Arizona and would fly back for a few days to have Christmas. Above picture is the entire family (minus one, not born yet) Bottom picture we would take turns dressing up each year, myself as Santa and my cousins as Mrs. Claus and the elves.

Christmas morning we would wake up early, go downstairs and open presents, one at a time, youngest to oldest. After presents, we would get together with my aunt, uncle, grandpa, grandma and cousins (moms side) either at our house or my aunt and uncles. Bottom picture is Christmas morning, my cousin and I (in my favorite Christmas dress of all time).

I know this is kind of early, but I have had my Christmas decorations out since the day after Halloween - if you haven't guessed, it is my favorite time of year!

Wacky Weather

We didn't have the best weather for harvest this year! First it rained.......They had to fill the grain truck on the road because it was too wet to get out of the field with a full truck...noticed the mud on the road in the foreground??
Then we had ONE day of sunshine! (yesterday)....
And today, it snowed (still is snowing and boy is it windy! Fifty mile/hour wind gusts today)....but seriously, I'm not joking! Take a closer look...the white stuff in front of the green on the tractor and combine is not bees-wings*, it's SNOW!! I guess it IS that time of year again! **Update - I found a better picture showing the snow in front of the combines so you don't have to "take a closer look"

Yea, it's snowing outside and we still have two trees in our front yard FULL of bright green leaves....(and yes, that white stuff on the leaves is snow)

*Bees wings (according to Tom) is the wax-y coating on the kernel (of corn) the protects the kernel. (according to me) is the little pink-ish dust that flies everywhere when you are combining and dumping loads...it even flies a quarter of a mile from the elevator to our house to put a nice little coat on our cars.

A girl and her uncle

I have to say this is my favorite picture so far this year

Molly & her "Unkie-yom" (Uncle Tom)

P.S. Becky, I am hoping to send a picture order in by the end of this week if you could get your order to me by Thursday afternoon. Thanks!!

The tables have turned....

I should have asked Becky what I could use to bribe little miss Elsa!! Molly sat so still for me and smiled for most of them (until I told her to hug Elsa). But Elsa just did not want to sit still. As you can tell from the top picture, I had her in a little crate to keep her somewhat contained..

This is where she was done smiling - she wasn't so much hugging Elsa as she was hold her back...

What a couple of

sweet little girls!

This might sound bad...

....but, Becky - I was wondering how I could possibly bribe Molly into taking a picture or two with Elsa when I watch them Thursday??? Last time my M&M's didn't do the trick, just wondering what she is really into right now that might help me out a little :) Thanks!!!

Girls, girls, girls..

Wow, these girls are really growing up! Bria is going to be 12, Bailey will be 10 and Izzy just turned 7. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was trying to get them to sit still for pictures - this photo shoot only took a half hour - I took 60 pictures and I think there were only a couple of them that I didn't like (eyes closed, cheesey smiles, a yawn - Bria) Anyways, Bria is already as tall as me - I remember when I would get home from school and she would crawl up the stairs as fast as she could to get to me.

I was very surprised when I said, "okay, hug eachother" - they actually did!! And smiled while doing it!!

Not only are they growing up fast, but they are growing up into great young ladies - I wish I could go back in time, because they really did all this sudden get old!!

Recovering..

Most of you who read this probably already know that Tom was in a derby accident last week...I guess I don't know if you can call it an accident since he knew he was going in there to crash into people...
Anyways, we woke up this morning before the sun (which is very rare for us this time of year) I don't think either of us got much sleep last night...I have to admit - I was a wreck - not so much that I didn't trust the surgeon (who, I think it is important to mention, was no older then us) but more-so that I was worried with some of his medicine allergies that he was going to have problems with the anesthesia (not to mention I had a dream that he didn't wake up after surgery)
We got to the Mason City Surgery Center at 6:15 - were called back at 6:30 for prep (which took an hour and fifteen minutes). They came in at 7:44 to take him into surgery and I was sent back in the lobby waiting room.
19 long minutes later (okay so 19 minute surgery is not long, but it felt long to me) my Medipass started vibrating and beeping - I was taken into a little room where I waited for the doctor. He came in and said that the surgery went well and that it'd be approx. a half hour before he would wake up and I could go back and see him. The next words out of his mouth were "I did the best I could"...He said that the x-ray didn't give the break justice and that instead of two or three big pieces there were "a lot.....a lot of little pieces, too many to count" He said he did the best he could trying to reconstruct his nose putting the little pieces together as best he could. After that fun little meeting, I was sent back to the lobby waiting room.
About a half hour later, my Medipass started vibrating and beeping again and I was taken back to see him...He seemed okay - said that he wasn't in any pain. The longer we sat in recovery however, and the more the pain medicine wore off, the more pain he was in. We were home by 11:30 and he is sitting on the couch right now, trying to get some sleep as I tap at the keyboard.. He said the re-break and surgery is more painful right now then when he broke it in the derby..
That's all I have for you now - he's supposed to go back on Monday to "see if it took", Tom said "I don't care if it takes or not, I'll live with a crooked nose, I'm not doing this again."

Where's the goats?

People have been requesting goat pictures for a while - I don't have many on my computer, but these are a couple I did have. I will have to get out and take some pictures here soon.

No special reason for this one, I just thought he was cute.

This is the first set of quadruplets that we had that survived. They were born while Tom and I were in Vegas this winter, so in December - this picture was taken around April/May.

This is my favorite picture of the four Billies - they came all the way from Africa!!!

Finally!

I know I haven't posted forever, but I have been having problems with this stupid sight. It hasn't been letting me upload pictures. No, I don't have it figured out yet, it took me four hours to get these eight pictures up. These are the 2008 "glamour shots" of my older nieces.. Whenever I say, I wanna take your pictures, they huff and puff, but ever since I started calling them glamour shots - they think it's the coolest thing and actually ASK me to take their pictures!!

Bria


Brooke

Bailey

Isabel

A couple of cute little girls...

In front of a "cute little farmhouse".

Hey Becky, I forgot to get the picture order from you last night. If you know what you want, you can just leave a comment on here and I can get those ordered for you, thanks!

Molly & Elsa

Becky wanted me to take pictures of the girls together in their cute, fancy pajamas before they outgrew them. I watched them for a couple hours this past week, and tried to get a few of them together. Becky failed to tell me, thought, that M&M's don't work as a bribe for Molly to sit by her sister anymore. However, she still wanted them after our little photoshoot. I did happen to get her to sit with Elsa long enough to get a couple cute shots. Becky doesn't know this yet, but the bribe I used was that she could jump on the bed for a minute after we were done.

Even though I only got four or five pictures total, the ones I did get turned out very cute - but how couldn't they with such cute little girls??


Becky, does this look okay for your 10x10 or do you want me to do a different color for the background or different font for her name? Also, were these the right pictures, I tried to remember, but not sure if I got them right.

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

These first two pictures make me laugh, as you can see, they are obviously taken before I started my Indian dance.

And this picture was taken during my Indian dance - what a difference, huh?? I told my mom, I don't know what I am going to do when he doesn't think my Indian dance is so funny anymore. Look at poor Chelsea, she's thinking, you're telling me I am actually related to that one??
Bria, Isabel, Dylan, Brooke (holding Chelsea) & Bailey

Brooke, Dylan & Chelsea

I will do anything for my nieces and nephew...and the nerdy dance I do to get Dylan to smile like that is proof! That little boy has to be up and going all the time - he hates to sit for pictures! So, while watching Barny one day, he was mad cause his mom was taking too long to make his lunch, there was a guy doing an Indian dance...I started dancing and making funny noises and he went from crying to laughing in a snap! Who would have thought that would be the only way I could get him to smile (laugh) for pictures. I bet my parents neighbors were thinking "What is she doing!?"