A Veritable Cornucopia of Topics

I knew a girl in college who loved to use the phrases, "It's a veritable cornucopia of ideas," or "that's a plethora of words." So, since this blog is going to be full of various topics, and it's harvest season, veritable cornucopia seemed like a good title.

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My parents came for a visit at the end of last week and over the weekend. Thankfully, they left the snow in Western Nebraska . While Jon and my dad drove an hour away to look at a tractor, Mom, Jeremiah and I had a lot more fun going shopping at a quilt shop, the mall and other stores. I guess I should say Mom and I enjoyed it. Jeremiah wasn't especially thrilled about it, and let me know by screaming. A lot. In very quiet stores. I hope it's just a stage, and a short one at that.

It was fun to watch Jeremiah warm up more quickly to my parents than he ever has in the past. He quickly realized that it was fun to sit on Granddad's lap and play with the pen in his front pocket. And he liked it when Grandma looked at books with him (and shared her food with him, too).

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Have I mentioned that we have a picky eater in the house? No, it's not Jon (though sometimes he qualifies). Jeremiah is extremely picky about what he will eat. The list isn't long--milk, crackers, yogurt, cheese, pudding, applesauce, pureed fruits and vegetables, green beans, cheese, strawberries, and bread (sometimes and only certain kinds). Oh, and ice cream and anything else that's sweet (muffins, cake, pie, etc.). He refuses to eat meat, and routinely throws his food off his plate. We keep trying to introduce meat and non-baby food fruits and vegetables to him, but he squishes them, like he's using his fingers to taste them, and then, whoosh, off they go to be gobbled up by the eager Weimaraner waiting in the wings.

But I've been reading a book (The Baby Whisperer for Toddlers) that basically is telling me to chill out about it. To stop trying to get him to eat more and just relax and know that when he's hungry, he'll eat. So, the last couple of days, I've been trying to just let it go when he only has a few bites of food and signs "all done." Maggie's still enjoying the leftovers, Jeremiah doesn't seem any the worse for wear, and I'm not as stressed at mealtimes.

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This isn't our year for appliances. At the beginning of July, our fridge decided to quit. For one week, we ate out of a cooler full of ice on the kitchen floor before our fridge was fixed. Our latest appliance to quit was the dishwasher. It was only three years old, and unfortunately the warranty had expired. To fix it would cost about the same as a brand-new dishwasher, which is the way we went. In fact, Jon's on the kitchen floor right now trying to remember how he installed the old dishwasher so he can uninstall it. I haven't heard too much muttering yet, but I know it's not going as smoothly as he'd like.

I have a very generous husband. He gave up buying a few things this month that we'd been saving for so that we could get a new dishwasher. He said he knew it made my life a lot easier. Jon has many qualities that I'm thankful for, including being thoughtful and considerate. Thanks, Ron and Sue, for helping to instill that in him.

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I've known that our library has a toddler time for a while, but always thought Jeremiah was too young. They recommend the time for ages 18-2. But after pretty much being on my own with a 14-month old for 5 days, I felt the need to get out of the house today for something other than a doctor's appointment or church. So, we went. And Jeremiah did great. There was singing with lots of clapping, stomping, and actions, plus an interactive story about the Hungry Caterpillar. Jeremiah had a great time and also enjoyed running around the library later on in the kids section where they have some toys and puzzles. I had to restrain him from pulling all the books off a shelf or two (guess what he likes to do in his room?) and he would have rather put the books in his mouth rather than have me read them to him today, but I think we'll go again soon.

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Well, that end my cornucopia, other than I just have to express my sadness that my favorite Lady Huskers volleyball team just lost their first game of the season!!!! And to Colorado no less. Oh, well. That happened two years ago, and they went on to win the National Championship. Maybe I should have Jon get me tickets to the Final Four in Omaha for my birthday? Here's hoping.

A Moment in Time

The second weekend in October we made a whirlwind trip to my parents (Jon) and then up to my brother's place. While we were visiting my brother's we had one of those times that we both agreed was one of our favorite moments for the weekend. It was one of those times, which I'm sure you've all experienced several times in your life, where you wish that time could go on for much longer than you're actually able to experience. I'll try and set the scene for you as best I can.

We were all hanging out in the living room, and Nathan plugged his Ipod into the stereo and started playing random music. Isaiah and Phinehas knew this as their cue for a "dance party." They pushed the bench from the table up to the couch to use it as a sort of "runway." Then all the boys and some parents began dancing to the music. As I sit here writing this I'm at a loss for words as to how describe the feelings in those moments--contentement, wonder, grace, joy, treasured, peace. Let's just say it will be a time that I will strive to hold on to in my mind.

The Last Few Weeks--Condensed Version

Ok, it's been almost 2 weeks again since we've posted. (Sigh) The days have gone by so fast. We got back from Sioux Falls, and now we're headed that way again this evening, as soon as Jon gets back from a trip. I've had a lot of writing deadlines, but have the big projects all done, for now anyway. We've made apple crisp, apple bread, apple cake, apple butter, and have a lot of apples in the freezer. Jeremiah (the picky eater that he is) has tried some new foods. Some were a hit, like a cheese quesadilla, green beans, and strawberries. Some were not, like the broccoli that was thrown across the room. Jon's been to Arizona, California, Kansas and Iowa.
So, that kind of sums up the last couple of weeks for us. Here are just a few pictures from when we were in Sioux Falls. Jeremiah had a blast playing with his cousins.

September Days

Hello . . . hello . . . is anybody out there? I can understand if nobody is, since we haven't had a post for two whole weeks. So, for the last day of September, here are just a few pictures from that time. Some are from an orchard we visited. We also had a great visit from Dusty, Brandee and Kaylee.

Jon's in Arizona right now and won't be back until the end of the week. So, this afternoon, Jeremiah and I are headed up north to Sioux Falls for a visit of our own to Nathan, Kristin, Isaiah and Phinehas.

Ranch Centennial Celebration

In 1908, my great-grandfather, James Wilson, left the coal mines of Tennessee to come to the Sandhills of Nebraska to seek a better life for his family. Under the Kincaid Act of 1904, he took over a relinquished homestead and over the years built up what is now my family ranch—the Lazy Five.

This Saturday, my family held a centennial celebration for the ranch at my parents’ house. Let me just say, it was a wonderful time. My parents had invited all the descendants of my great-grandfather, neighbors, friends, and business associates. We didn’t know how many people to expect and still aren’t sure of the final count, but Jon (who is good at estimating such things) said there were easily over 200 people there.

After a soaking all-day rain on Friday, the weather was sunny, clear, and beautiful. My brother did a lot of work putting together a slide show of the history of the ranch, which constantly ran throughout the day. There was also a varied display of photos showing ancestors, the ranch throughout the years, Hereford bulls, etc., plus several photo albums, historical documents, scrapbooks, and more.

Following a huge lunch with almost every kind of salad and dessert you can imagine, plus some yummy meat my parents’ had catered, Dusty gave a short talk on the history of the Lazy Five. Then, my cousin Ryan played some of my grandparents’ favorites on the guitar and my cousins Wheeler, Kelton, and Weston (with accompaniment from their dad, Troy) entertained us with some down-home fiddle playing. I organized a scavenger hunt for the kids, which gave them a little history while taking them from place to place hunting for clues. Wheeler (the ring bearer in our wedding who’s now 12!), told me it was fun and educational.

I saw cousins and family friends whom I hadn’t seen in years, plus got to meet new friends of my family. We ate good food, played with the umpteen kids who were running all over the place, laughed at jokes and stories, and just plain had a good time.

My immediate family (who planned all of this) didn’t know what to expect, but we were so pleased with how the day turned out. There were a few times when my parents almost decided not to have a party, but now they’re glad they did. Because as my mom said, it’s not as if we’ll be around to do it again in 100 years!

On the Road Again

Well, we're off to Western Nebraska again tomorrow morning. This time, we're going for the 100th anniversary celebration of my family's ranch. We'll post more on that next week, along with some pictures.

Before we go, here are some random photos of Jeremiah. In this first one, he's letting me know he's ready for his snack.






He also likes to drive his car around saying "vroom, vroom" (or have Mommy drive him around).


And he really likes bathtime. Daddy is good at making him laugh.

He's All Boy

What exactly does it mean when someone says, “He’s all boy”?

Several people referred to Jeremiah with that phrase last week. At the time, he was busy exploring a new place, crawling, walking, climbing to see new, tantalizing items that we either don’t have at home or have been put away, out of sight.

So, does “he’s all boy” come into play when Jeremiah pushes his little car around the house, making vroom, vroom noises? Is he being all boy when he takes all the pots and pans out of the lazy Susan, banging lids together, stepping into bowls and sliding them around the floor?

How about when he’s sitting with Mom on the loveseat, crawls to the side and hangs over the edge (with Mom holding on to his feet, of course) so he can see Maggie lying on her pillow?

These all fit with the stereotypical meaning of “he’s all boy” (i.e. active, climber, yeller), but let me suggest one more scenario that I think fits as well. How about those times when he snuggles in my arms after he wakes up from a nap? Today, he woke up early, so we sat and rocked for a while. He quietly played with a tie on my shirt, content to be cuddled up close. After a while, he looked up and I smiled. He smiled back. And we just sat there for several minutes, rocking, smiling, content just to be there together.

Then, he fell back asleep, and I kept rocking. I looked at his sweet little face, his long dark eyelashes lying on his smooth, perfect little boy skin, and my eyes filled with tears of joy and gratitude at this wonderful, amazing gift God gave us a little over a year ago.

Yep, he’s all boy. Whether awake or sleeping, laughing or crying, getting into everything or snuggling with Mom or Dad. He’s all boy, and I’m so thankful he’s ours.