Overall Boy

I was messing around with the camera yesterday, and thought Jeremiah looked too cute in his overalls to pass up the opportunity for a few photos. He was smiling for me a bunch--until I got the camera in my hands that is.

The October Storm

It was ten years ago that Lincoln was hit by what we call “the October storm.” The month had been relatively nice, and all the trees still had the majority of their leaves, later in the season than usual. Now, imagine over 13 inches of wet heavy snow on everything. It basically made Lincoln a disaster area.

Tree branches snapped under the weight of the snow, power lines were down, roads were impassable. I can remember sitting in the house I shared with three other women at 54th and Madison Avenues, and listening to what sounded like gunshots all around. It was the sound of tree branches snapping. That next morning, there were no church services anywhere mainly because it was difficult to get anywhere with the roads blocked by snow, branches and, in some cases, downed power lines that were still live.

Our power went out late in the day on Sunday. We were fine through Monday morning when I got up to a very cold house. I was never so glad to go into work, where there was heat. We ended up staying at the parents’ of one of my roommates, who still had power, until ours was restored a few days later.

One very good memory I have of that Sunday evening is when several people from our singles Bible study decided to brave the roads and come over to our house for pizza. One of those people was a guy named Jon Kroesche who had recently moved to Lincoln. I really hadn’t talked to him much, but I do remember joking and laughing with him that night and thinking he was a nice guy. That night was really the start of me getting to know Jon and becoming friends with him. I think it was about eight months later that we started dating.

I don’t have any pictures that I took of the storm, but here’s a link to several on the Lincoln Journal-Star Web site. The paper this morning talked about how the trees still have most of their leaves today, so a repeat of the October storm could happen. However, the weather forecast doesn’t have any chance of snow in Lincoln’s immediate future, thank goodness. One October storm is enough for me.

Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower this week. My former co-workers threw us a nice little get-together, with cupcakes no less, on Wednesday at Back to the Bible. So many people gave us so many wonderful things for Jeremiah. They have all been part of our journey, too, as they've been praying for us over the years as we've waited for a child. It made the shower that much more of a celebration of God's goodness and faithfulness.

For those wanting a Jeremiah update, he's now seven weeks old and is really smiling, cooing and responding a lot more to Jon and me. It's fun to go in his room in the morning and to be greeted by a great big smile. He also loves singing and clapping his hands (which his dad and I do for him).

Grandparents

We had a great visit from Jon's parents this weekend. They hadn't seen Jeremiah since he was four days old, so they were amazed at how much he had changed. I think Sue took 46 pictures in the few days she was here.

Jeremiah is blessed to have both sets of grandparents still living, plus two great-grandmas. He's going to have such fun with them riding horses, canoeing, cooking, singing, playing, and all sorts of things. I know I have great memories of spending time with my grandparents. Making fudge with my grandma, because my Mom always thought it was too messy. Spending time in the summer with my grandparents in North Platte, going to Cody Park to ride the rides and feed the raccoons and other animals. Hanging out at my dad's parents after school if my parents went to town. Jeremiah is going to have a blast!

Overhead

I've been doing some travelling lately. I was on my way back from Napa, CA to Des Moines, IA yesterday and found myself over familiar territory. I was the white jet stream overhead Lake McConaughy, waving at the in-laws, at 5:30 PM (4:30 MDT) and overhead Lincoln at 6:00 PM waving at Mindy and Jeremiah. You can check out my flight path on the link below for N645G. I'm writing this blog from Willimington, NC, where I'll be until about noon. I'll be headed back to Lincoln via Omaha and Des Moines. I should be home around 5:00 PM tonight.

Wedding Out West

This last weekend, we headed to my folks in Western Nebraska for my cousin's wedding. It was also Jeremiah's first road trip of anything beyond 45 minutes.

We had a great time with my family. It was fun to be back on the ranch and although neither Jeremiah or I got on a horse, Jon did. He helped my dad and brother move cattle and rode about 7 miles on horseback. He was sure feeling it the next day!

It was also fun to see my entire extended family at the wedding and show Jeremiah off to everyone. He got to meet my 91-year-old grandmother, my aunts and uncles, and all my cousins, their children, more distant relatives, neighbors, friends, etc. Jeremiah was held almost the entire evening, Jon and I got to try out some of our dance moves on the floor, plus the food was great (there were 8 different kinds of wedding cake!). All in all, it was a great time.

Jeremiah at Work

No, we're not breaking any child labor laws. But for the last two weeks, Jeremiah has been coming in to work with me (Mindy) as I finish everything up. As you can see, my co-workers have enjoyed having him around a lot.

Today was my last day at Back to the Bible. In a way, it will be strange. That place has been part of my life off and on since the summer of 1993 when I did a volunteer internship in college. Officially, I've been an employee for ten years (two five year stints combined). There have been lots of ups and downs, just like any job. But I feel like I was truly blessed to have the opportunity to work with such great people and to do a job that had an eternal impact.

However, I must say I'm really looking forward to staying at home full-time. I know there will be challenges and days when I'll wish for adult interaction, but all-in-all, it's what I've been longing and praying for for over six years.

New Orleans

OK, So we haven't been very faithful with blogging every day. It will take us a while to get into that rhythm. This post is a little different as it isn't about Jeremiah. I just returned from a trip to New Orleans. This was my first time there. Flying in I was amazed at the city's location. New Orleans, from the air, looks like it's stuck right between Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. I was surprised to see this city surrounded by so much water, I had no idea. Many of the stores and unnumbered houses were vacant. The houses and stores I saw were on my short drive from the airport to a downtown hotel, so I didn't even get the full picture. Sorry I don't have a picture to share with this one as the camera was at home. If you'd like to see my flight path you can go to the link at the bottom of the page and type in the tail number, N645G.