It's been forever...

Well, maybe not forever, but it's been a really long time. I think I'm using my old blogging time for new Facebook time. Lots has happened since my last post. The saddest thing is that in early February, Mark's Grandpa died. I loved that man. He was truly an incredible human being. Yesterday would have been his 98th birthday. Everyone thought for sure that he'd easily live to be 100. He would have...except he fell and broke his neck. He was actually recovering well from that and then he had a heart attack. Again, Grandpa rallied back. The day they were to move him from ICU to a regular room, he simply died. Although I miss him, I'm glad for him. Grandpa wouldn't have wanted to spend even 1 day in a nursing home and he would have had to have gone to one for rehab from his broken neck. So now Grandpa Walters is with Grandma Walters once again. I'm so glad that Hope had a chance to know her Great Grandpa. I'll post some pictures of the two of them soon.

Hope is growing like a weed! Literally! Every time I put a pair of pants on her it seems they're too short. I bought a couple pairs of size 4T slims for her around Christmas time and I thought for sure they'd be too long for her. I'm so glad I put them on her because they fit! I would guess they'll become too short for her some time this fall. She's doing well in preschool and at day care and is learning how to play with other children. Not an easy task for an only child who has only been around adults most of her life. She had her first dance recital a couple of weeks ago. SO CUTE!! There's a great video of her on YouTube. Here's the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N-gznJ5GRk Hopefully that gets you there. The little girl next to Hope is Maiya. She's in Hope's preschool class and her Mom is also Hope's day care provider. The absolute best day care provider in the world!!! Hope has grown so much through Sheri's guidance. We are truly blessed.

That's it for now. Enjoy the video.

Actually, I was wrong!

So just when I thought Sunday, January 11, 2009, couldn't have gotten any worse, it did. I found out on Tuesday that a friend of mine from high school (she graduated 2 years behind me) died on Sunday morning (around the same time as Kim) of pancreatic cancer. What the heck??!!! They say bad things happen in threes. I got done with my three (and they were DOOZIES) all in one day. I guess ultimately that can be a good thing. 2009 has nowhere to go but up, right?? I say that a little cautiously.

Update on Freckles, the Wonderdog and the husband that will be in the dog house for a very long time: Mark and Mark (Brue and Klanderman, not necessarily in that order...lol) found Freckles 2 hours after he had been hit by the car. As is normal for a dog that has been injured, he ran off to hide. He was in the neighbor's yard. I'm so glad that I saw him get hit or we wouldn't have had any idea what had happened and he very well could have frozen to death over night. Anyway...they found him and I immediately got into the Honda with Freckles and drove to the ER vet in Oakdale, MN (about 30 minutes from River Falls). As it turns out, the vet that we saw that night used to be at the vet office where we normally take Freckles, so it was nice to see a somewhat familiar face. Let me just say that Freckles is the most amazing dog on the face of the earth. He once again hurdled death and serious injury. After being hit by the car the only injuries that he sustained were three fractured ribs (and the fractures were so small that the vet had to look at the xrays more than once just to see if they actually were fractures) and some fluid build up in his chest cavity which has pretty much been taken care of through his coughing. He's still a little sore, but he's doing amazingly well. So, after 4 trips to the vet and over $500 later, he really is a wonder dog. Even our incredible vet (Dr. Bloom) called him a survivor. A few things you should know about Freckles so that you understand why I'm saying he's a wonder dog. 1) He has epilepsy and has to take seizure meds twice a day. That's been going on since I got him and that's over 10 years now. 2) About 5 years ago the vet found a tumor on his back end. The vet told me that almost always when a tumor is found in that particular location, it's cancer. So he removed the tumor...and it WASN'T cancer!! YEAH!!! 3) About 4 years ago Freckles got viciously mauled by the neighbor's husky. I wasn't home at the time, but Mark saw it happen. He said the dog had Freckles by the neck and was dragging him around like a rag doll. He was in complete shock by the time I got home from church that morning and had suffered several puncture wounds. The police came by and ended up putting the other dog down per the owner's request. The vet said that Freckles recovered amazingly well for those kinds of injuries. 4) Getting hit by a car on Sunday night. Again, the vet is amazed at his recovery. The bottom line is that Freckles is cursed and has to spend a few more years by my side. lol

So, that situation ended up turning out better than expected. PRAISE GOD!!!!! As for Mark being in the dog house for not putting Freckles on his leash: he'll be there a while longer. I do think he's learned his lesson though and will FINALLY do what I ask in this case.

Now, on a good note...Hope and I ventured out in this blankety-blank-blank-blank weather this morning. Yep...it was actually -45 degrees (wind chill temp) this morning when I woke up. LOTS of schools in the area were closed because of the temps. Smart!!!!!!!! But we bundled up and headed to the Target Center in Minneapolis to see Elmo Live! It was so much fun! We met Hope's friend Kahea and Kahea's family there. Hope likes Elmo, but she LOVES Abby Cadabby. She was thrilled to see her today. I do think I have a performer on my hands though because Hope got VERY upset when she couldn't go on stage and sing and dance with Elmo and his friends. lol After the show was over we all met at the Oliver Garden (as Hope calls it) for lunch. It was really nice hanging out with the Sloan family today. It's just weird to think that I'm so much older than the rest of the parents of the kids in Hope's class. I don't know if they know that or not though. Maybe I can keep it a secret. hehehe

I did take some pics at the Target Center today so I'll post those later. I'll also get a picture or two of the Wonder Dog so those of you who have never seen him can put a face with a name.

So that's it for now. Time to do some more laundry (does that ever end?) and some organizing. It's going to be a VERY early night for all of us tonight. Thank you for all your prayers.

Today could NOT be any worse

So this morning my friend Kim died. Now tonight I was headed to Hudson to meet a friend for some much needed and much deserved Mexican food and Margaritas. I was almost to our car in the driveway when I heard this noise. I looked up and saw a van driving by. It sounded like it lost its muffler or something. The van slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road across from our house. That's when I noticed a dog coming from underneath the van. A dog had been hit. The dog got up and ran a little, the van backed up and that's when I noticed that it was MY dog!!! At least I thought it was. It was so dark I couldn't tell for sure. I called for Freckles just in case it was him and the dog was coming towards me. He seemed to have stopped in the pampas grass by our mailboxes. He was crying and whimpering. I ran to the house to ask Mark if he had the dogs out. He said yes. So it was indeed Freckles. That incident happened at about 7:10 tonight. We still haven't been able to find Freckles. We have NO idea where he is. I'm sure he's somewhere suffering...or maybe he's already dead. If there were any possible way for him to get back home, he'd be here. He always comes home.

Here's the part that some of you may not want to hear: I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO mad at Mark right now. I seriously may never talk to him again. I have told him a MILLION times that when he lets the dogs out he MUST put Freckles on a leash. He's a Border Collie! He runs. He herds. Those are his instincts. But Mark either doesn't understand or doesn't care. I knew this was going to happen someday. And sure enough, it happened...and today of all days. I need this like I need a hole in the head. I know I ask for a lot of prayers, but I'm asking for one more for those of you who get this post soon. PLEASE pray that Mark is able to find Freckles. It's so cold outside and it's so dark. I feel helpless not being out there hunting, but someone needs to be home with Hope. Mark's brother in law and nephew are here helping, so that's good. I've had Freckles for MUCH longer than I've had Mark. I was fortunate enough to find Freckles at a shelter in Carrollton, TX, when I lived in Dallas. He is such an awesome dog. He was there for me when my Dad died. He wouldn't leave my side that night. Such a faithful, loving companion. I always referred to him as my "first born." lol I just had him to the vet about a month ago and the vet said that he is such a healthy dog. He figured he'd live to be about 15. I was looking forward to 3 more years with him.

So far 2009 is a year I'd prefer to sleep through. I hope it gets better.

The Circle of Life

Kim, Kaitlin and John Warneke

30 years ago today a beautiful baby boy was born to Ed and JoEllen Allen. That boy, Barry Justin Allen, is my first nephew. I will never forget when we got the news. I was a 5th grader at Friendship Grade School in Friendship, WI (you'd think they could have come up with a more original name for the school, but, whatever). My younger sister and I were laying in bed when the phone rang just before 10pm. It was my sister, Jo, telling us that Barry had FINALLY been born. If I remember correctly, he was like 2-3 weeks late. Can you even imagine?? YIKES!!! He had a beautiful head of black hair. I was so proud. Now, 30 years later, I'm STILL so proud of him. He's an amazing human being. He graduated from UW-Madison and entered the Peace Corp. He served the PC in Benin, West Africa for two years. Now he's in South Korea. I'm hoping that someday he'll come back to the States to live, but I'm not so sure about that. Barry is so kind and loving. I'm very blessed to have him as my nephew.

Who knew that 30 years to the date from Barry's birth, I would experience the death of my friend Kim. Let me tell you about Kim. Kim Warneke is one of the most amazing women I have ever met in my life. I got to know Kim when I began working as Children's Minister at Ezekiel Lutheran Church in River Falls, WI. I had her daughter Kaitlin (now 16) in my ministry there. What a loving, kind, positive person Kim (and her husband John and Kaitlin) was. It's so hard to talk about her in the past tense. Kim was young...I think about 45. She taught 3rd grade at Hudson Prairie Elementary School in Hudson, WI. That's the same school where my sis-in-law teaches 1st grade, so Cheryl is very much hurting today, too. Lots of people are. About 6 years ago or so Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer. NOT fair...but life is seldom fair. She beat it. She was almost 5 years cancer free when they found the cancer had come back. That was in March of this year. Kim has endured treatment after treatment after treatment. She did not wint the battle this time. I should say she didn't wint the PHYSICAL battle this time. Kim entered the hospital on Wednesday because they knew her time was very short. She was having a very difficult time breathing and they found the cancer had gotten to her lungs. It had also been in her bones for quite a while and she was in so much pain. I went to visit her on Thursday night and I didn't even recognize her...except for her beautiful spirit and soul that, even to the very end, remained. Even in death Kim was gracious and kind. Never complaining. Please keep Kim's family (especially John and Kaitlin) in your prayers. Funeral arrangements will be made tomorrow. I'm so glad that my friend is no longer suffering.

So it's the circle of life. Barry was born, Kim has died. Hope is also at a BIRTHday party for one of her classmates today. So it truly is the circle of life. Peaks and valleys.

I'm going to end this post with a dream I had last night. I dreamed that Kim and I decided to take a nice drive along the Mississippi River. It was beautiful and peaceful. We had no destination, no schedule. Of course we did take a detour to a shopping mall so we could go shopping. lol At about 4:50 this morning I shot up from a deep sleep and it took me a while to remember what day it was because I had been sleeping so deeply and woke up so quickly. I couldn't get back to sleep. Finally just after 5:30 this morning peace overcame me and I was able to go back to sleep (although not for long since I had the alarm set for 6:30 so I could get to work on time). Just as I was about to step out the door (running late...UGH!), the phone rang. Caller ID showed it was my sister in law. Mark wasn't going to pick up the phone but I asked him to because I knew what it was. I knew it was Cheryl calling to tell me that Kimmy had died. I was right. Kim passed away at 5:30 this morning. I think I already knew.

Hold those dear to you a little more tightly. Life is too short and too precious to hang on to pettiness, anger and all those things (and people) that drag you down. I think I have my New Year's Resolution. Thank you for all the lessons you taught me, Kim! I love you and miss you. Be well! Be at peace!

Santa and Mrs Claus

Mark and I took Hope to see Santa and Mrs Claus (and a couple of the reindeer even!!) at the River Falls library on Tuesday night. I wasn't sure how the experience was going to be because she hasn't been a real fan of Santa's thus far in her life. But she seemed excited when we talked about it and on Tuesday when I told her it was time to get ready to go see Santa she said, "I'm so excited!" YEAH I thought! So we got there and had to wait in line (images from the movie Christmas Story came flooding to my mind...lol), but it was nice because I got to talk to the people in front of us and in back of us. Just FYI: the people in front of us are moving to Texas in February. Lucky them! Then we got into the room where Santa and Mrs Claus were and Hope got a little freaked out. Long story short: she did GREAT!!! Santa and Mrs Claus were so good with her and we got a great picture, too! Thanks to my friend Mark Perry for scanning this picture for me so I could share it with you all on my blog.

Hope told Santa that she wants the black (I'm trying to get her to say African American, but that's a little much for a three year old I guess) Baby Alive that poops and pees. lol Dr. Hallman told Hope that that doll sounds like a lot of work and wouldn't it be more fun to have a doll that just plays instead? I thought that was pretty funny. Now she's also asking for the Talking Princess Vanity, but I'm thinking Santa can't afford that AND the Baby Alive. One thing I think Santa might be bringing her though is tickets for Hope, Mommy and Daddy to go see Sesame Street Live in January at the Excel Center (or is it the Target Center?? I always get those two places confused...lol). She keeps asking if someday we could take her to Sesame Street, so I thought that might be a good thing for her.

Anyway...Hope had a great morning with our friends Ron, Beth and Hope H last Saturday when they came to our house and we had our first annual gingerbread house decorating party. They ended up being graham cracker houses instead, but we had so much fun! I think Ron had just as much fun as the girls did, while the Moms were constantly telling the Hopes that they couldn't eat all the candy. Being a bad Mom, I didn't take any pictures of the event, but Beth was snapping pictures left and right (thank you, Beth!!), so as soon as I get them I'll post them.

Time to get supper going. Enjoy the picture of Hope with Santa and Mrs Claus.

Prayers please

I just received some horrible news and I'm asking that each of you prays for my friend Kim. Some of you may know about Kim. I've mentioned her many times in this blog. But for those of you who aren't familiar with her story, here's a little background. I met Kim, her husband John and their daughter Kaitlyn when I started working at Ezekiel 6 years ago. Kim and I became fast friends. She is such a kind woman...and her family is exactly the same. Gentle, peaceful, happy, helpful, etc. I just love them. When I first met Kim she was just finishing her battle with breast cancer. She had won!!! Almost 5 years after having been pronounced cancer free, she learned the cancer was back (that was this Spring). Well, here is part of her latest journal entry from her Caring Bridge page. It tells about the results of the latest PET scan she recently had.

"Basically it was pretty bad news. The cancer has gotten much worse and is now in the liver. I have been in severe pain on my left side the last few weeks with this week being aweful and found out it had spread into the inside of my bones( I had spots but now they are growing. That is what most of my pain is from so I am on a patch for the pain as well as morphine and some other drugs we are trying for the pain. I will also be using a cane/ walker to help keep me stable and to keep me from falling. Not the news we were hoping for. Continue saying those prayers please."

I always try to be optimistic, but this isn't good. Kim is only 45!!! Her daughter is a Jr. in High school. She needs her Mom. I am just sick to my stomach about all of this. Please, please, PLEASE keep her and her family in your prayers. God is a God of miracles, so I know He can completely heal Kim. I pray that's His will.

I wish each of you could know Kim. She is such an amazing woman of faith. She's been so hopeful through BOTH of her journeys with cancer. Always upbeat. Always smiling. Always more concerned about you than herself. I'll keep you posted on her progress. Thanks for your prayers.

History Made

OK...so my candidate didn't win today. I'm not ashamed to say that I vote pro-life and always will. I also have many questions about Obama. And don't even get me started on Biden. ZOIKS!!! But they will be the new leaders of the United States come January 20th so I will do what I do EVERY time we elect new leaders for our nation: get on my knees and pray. I know this is a great country because God's hand is always on us. That will not change. So I'll buck up and things will be great.

Time for bed. Oh...Sarah Palin in 2012!! WooHoo!! Or maybe a Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin ticket. That would ROCK!

Just a quick note

It's been a while since I posted and I'm happy to report that everyone's attitude at the Brue household has improved since my birthday. THANK GOD!!!!!!! lol I did end up getting what I asked for for my birthday: an Aaron Rodgers jersey. Well, I actually asked for Aaron Rodgers himself, but he's a bit busy right now, so the jersey was the next best thing. lol

Today I had a humbling, emotional and a little over whelming experience. I've often mentioned my friend Kim who is dealing with her second bout with cancer. She continues to fight this nasty disease with everything she has. She's so amazing. Well, today was my honor to take her for her chemo treatment at the Minnesota Cancer Care Center in Maplewood. From start to finish I was with Kim around 4-5 hours today. We had a good opportunity to chat. I asked her how she was doing emotionally. She said this time around is tougher than the first time. Going through this with Kim today made me realize how blessed I am with my health. It also made me realize how much I love Kim and how sad I will be if this disease wins. Not only will I be sad, but I'll be angry. I'll ask a lot of questions of God. The other thing that I realized today was how wide spread this disease is. There must have been around 2 dozen recliners in this huge chemo room today and every one of those chairs was filled the whole time we were there. As a matter of fact, when they were finishing up with Kim, a man came in and had to wait because they had no more chairs left. It was so sad seeing these people---different in so many ways, but they have this one unfortunate thing in common--having to go through this. Most of them were upbeat and still seemed to love life, but it's amazing how many people have cancer. It got me really thinking about the cause of this: is it environmental or is it just that we're talking more about it and catching more of the cancer than we've been able to in the past?? I'm sure it's a combination, but it's an overwhelming thing to think about.

Please keep Kim in your prayers. She has to have a brain MRI tomorrow because of some things that have been happening to her lately. I'm SO hoping that what she's experiencing is because of the medications she's on and not that there are spots of cancer on her brain. I'll keep you posted on her progress or you can check out her caring bridge page at www.caringbridge.org. Type in kimberlywarneke when asked for the patient's name (no spaces between her first and last name).

Thank you for your prayers.

Happy Freakin' Birthday!

Yep. Today I turned 41. I was SOOOOO looking forward to having a nice day with my daughter. It started out nice, kinda. She did wish me a happy birthday, but then she started crying because she wanted it to be HER birthday. Quick thinking Mommy said, "But Hopie, it IS your birthday today. It's your Baptismal Birthday!" So we got her baptismal candle out and put it in a pretty candle holder and set it on the dining room table. We also set pitures of her baptism on the table. We told her that we'd have a special celebration at supper time tonight and she seemed perfectly fine with that. (By the way, today really IS her baptismal birthday, so I wasn't just telling a little white lie to her.)

So we had a nice day planned. We first had to go to the DMV in Hudson (I know...not real exciting--but they renewed my license in like 10 minutes from start to finish so I was happy about that), then we went to the pet store in Hudson to look at the animals. My big hearted girl was pretty good through that. Then we went to Caribou for breakfast and the demon started coming out a little. Then it was to Target where I could see yet a little more of the demon. Then lunch at Mariachi Loco where the demon REALLY came out. Holy Hannah! The rest of the day was downhill from there. I don't know who took my sweet little girl or what they did with her, but the replaced her with someone who LOOKS just like her but acts the complete opposite. Long story short: I'm hoping whoever took my little Hopie brings her back tonight and takes the subsitute we had today away forever. This was by far the hardest day in Hope's 3+ years of life for me. And of course it had to fall on my birthday. I shed some tears today. I said that I wasn't coming home when I go to Texas next. I told her that she and Daddy can be crabby pants by themselves. And of course I feel an immense amount of guilt for not being a little more patient with her today. Tomorrow is a new day and I think I have every right to get a birthday "re-do."

On a good note: Hope made me a birthday card and gave it to me this morning. She is SO good at writing her name. Inside the card was a GREAT picture of Aaron Rodgers that Mark had cut out of a magazine. I love that boy (Aaron, that is...lol). Looks like I'll be getting my Aaron Rodgers jersey after all. Hopefully I can have it before the Packers beat the Cowboys (I say nervously) on Sunday.

OK...time to finish my wine cooler (maybe another one is in order for today?? lol), play some Scrabble and go to bed.

Sorry for being a total downer.

2nd Day of Pre-school

I had to get this written down before I forgot about it. Friday was Hope's 2nd day of pre-school (her first full 2 hour, 15 minute day). While we ate breakfast on Friday morning she asked me if I was going to be in the same parent's classroom that I was in on Wednesday while she was in class. I thought for a second, "Should I lie and tell her yes or should I opt for the truth even though it will probably mean tears??" I opted for the truth. I told her that I was going to drop her off in her classroom, make sure she was set and then I was going to Light House (one of the coffee shops in town) and then I had to go see Dr. Melissa (my chiropractor) so she could make my back better. Then I told her I'd be there to pick her up when class was over. I thought to myself, "Oh no. Here come the tears and the pleas to not have to go to pre-school today." Well, I thought too highly of myself apparently because she looked at me and said, "OK" and then went on with eating breakfast without missing a beat. So I dropped her off and she was just fine. I told Mrs. Wunrow that Hope could be a little bossy. She said, "Melody, she's great. She's very helpful. She also has a very big heart." My heart swelled with pride. She's already seen Hope's loving heart in such a short time. I also thought it was very nice of her to translate my "she can be bossy" into "she's very helpful." Maybe Mrs. Wunrow should think about being in politics. lol

So...no tears when I dropped her off. I went to get coffee, went to the chiropractor and did a few other errands. Then Mark and I went to pick Hope up. As soon as she saw us and Mrs. Wunrow dismissed her, Hope slid under the table because she didn't want to go home!!!! Sheesh!! We're not THAT bad of parents, are we??? No other kid hid under the table when they got picked up. I'd rather have it that way then have her kicking and screaming when I leave. So pre-school is a big hit. Hope is already bringing home things she's learning at school. They must have talked about going potty on the potty chair, too, because Hope said something about Mrs. Wunrow saying they should use the bathroom if they have to go potty. Mrs. Wunrow also taught the kids to say "Yes, please" when they get their milk at snack time.

This is going to be a great growing year for Hope...and for her parents. We have much to learn, for sure, and I can't think of anyone better to learn these lessons from than Hope.

With that I'm off to sleep...hoping the Badgers don't blow it in the 4th quarter. C'mon Badgers!!!! Let's go! PRAISE GOD!!!! Fresno State just missed a field goal that would have tied the game. And don't get me started on that AWFUL call the refs made in the 3rd quarter. The call SHOULD have been reversed because it WAS a fumble and WAS recovered by the Badgers.

A new career begins...

For Hope, that is. Today, September 10th, 2008, Hope began her school career as she walked into her first pre-school class. I know what some of you are thinking: oh man! I bet Melody was a WRECK!!! No, actually. I shed no tears at all. Now when she goes to Kindergarten that will be an entirely different story. Pre-school was only an hour today, so while Hope was in class, Mark and I were in orientation with other parents. I know what else you're thinking: certainly Mark and Melody have to be the oldest parents in the pre-school. Yep. We are. lol And guess what??? I don't mind at all. I don't think anyone can tell that I'll be 21 a week from tomorrow, can they?? Or maybe they think I'll be 81. I'm not sure. At any rate, the other parents of Hope's classmates are great. Get this...there are 9 kids in the class: 8 girls and 1 boy!!! That poor boy. If I were a bettin' woman I'd bet that Gavin doesn't get a word in edge wise all year long. lol We looked in the classroom at the end of class and there was Gavin, sitting right in the middle of all those girls. hehehe SOOOOOO cute!!

Anyway....I wasn't sure how Hope would be today. She still hates it when I leave her to go to work. Monday was REALLY bad. She cried almost all the way to Baldwin saying, "I don't want you to leave me. You'll be too far away." The good news is that the only tears she shed today was in the car on the way home from preschool as she told us she didn't want her friends to go. YEAH!!! A success. Oh...four of the 8 girls have birthdays within a month of each other. One little girl was born at the end of June, Hope's b-day is July 19, and two other little girls' birthdays are at the end of July. One of them was born exactly one week after Hope was born and her parents were in the same birthing class as Mark and me. It was nice to re-connect with them again, too. We have our first fundraiser coming up on October 19th. It's a pancake breakfast, so if you live in the River Falls area and would like to eat some really great pancakes and support Hope's preschool (money raised will help with scholarships for families who can't afford the whole tuition), let me know and I'll get you some info. The pancakes are being made by one of the guys who cooks at Perkins, so they're going to be YUMMY!!! I'm excited to chaperone field trips, substitute teach when I can and maybe even do some music from time to time with Hope's class. I can't believe my little girl is old enough to start preschool. Where have these three years gone?? OK...so I didn't cry when she walked into her classroom this morning, but a few tears are coming now. Maybe I'm a little more sentimental about this milestone than I originally thought. Hope is growing up WAY too quickly.

One more memory from Hope's first day at school. After class her teacher (Cathy...a friend of mine) told me that Hope told the class all about our trip to St. Croix Falls this summer. I just laughed, imagining Hope giving all the details about Fawn Doe Rosa. Then I asked Cathy if Hope told them that she fell asleep in Sommerset and slept until we got to St. Croix Falls. Yes. She had. Cathy laughed. That's when she told me that Hope is just great. Of course I was beaming with pride. Then Lori, who was Cathy's helper for today, told me a couple of times how great Hope was. I think they probably got a big chuckle out of her vocabulary. I have to say that she has an incredible vocabulary and speaks very articulately. She says a lot of things that don't usually come from the mouth of a 3 year old. I'm sure Cathy will get a lot of chuckles out of Hope this year.

Lots has happened recently and there's much to tell, but I'm exhausted tonight. I'm also dealing with a back that is incredibley painful right now. It's been hurting all week, but last night it got REALLY bad. It was so bad that as soon as Hope and I got home from Baldwin I crawled into bed. Mark went to the store to get something for supper and Hope stayed home to take care of me. She was in bed snuggled up next to me and suddenly started getting out of bed. I asked her where she was going and she said, "I can't tell you. It's a surprise." Pretty soon she came back with one of her quilts from her bedroom. She gave it to me and told me I could use it so I would get better. I just melted!

A couple of things real quickly so I remember to post about them sometime soon: Hope and I got to see a calf be born at the farm on Sunday. My friend Cassie had a baby boy over the weekend. Aaron Rodgers rocks (I think I might be his biggest fan). Confirmation and Sunday school are off to a great start. I think I'm going to Dallas again soon. And did I mention that Aaron Rodgers rocks?? hehehe I'll post more about these things, but for now here are pictures from Hope's first day at preschool. I'm going to take a pictures on the first and last day of school...both by herself and with her teacher. It'll be great to see how much she grows each year. I'll do this every year...at least as long as she'll let me. I'm guessing that the pictures with her teachers might stop right around middle school, but who knows???

On our front porch

Hope's new friends

Hope and Mrs. Wunrow

That's my boy!!

Take THAT you Aaron Rodgers haters!!!! WooHoo Packers!

Happy Birthday, Happy BIRTHday and Happy Coming Home Day.

First of all, I'd like to wish my husband Mark a very happy birthday today. OK. So I know there's only 1 1/2 hours left of his birthday and he's already asleep, but it's the first time I've had to post all day. We had a great birthday time today. We both took today off work and had a nice family time. Last night I was trying to think about some things we could do today and a plan came together. I love it when that happens! We headed north to St. Croix Falls and took Hope to Fawn-Doe-Rosa. REALLY cheesy name, but a fun place. There are deer, goats, geese and other kinds of animals just roaming around, waiting (and sometimes begging) for you to feed them. There are also lots of cool animals in pens. Thank God for the pens because I'm talking about animals like Grizzly Bears, Badgers, Bobcats, a Lynx, etc, etc, etc. It was a beautiful day and Hope finally got used to feeding the animals. I have lots of pictures, but I'm way too tired to get them on the computer tonight. That'll just be something for you to look forward to. LOL

After our time at Fawn-Doe-Rosa, we headed just north of St. Croix Falls to a winery called Chateau St. Croix. Very nice!!! Mark and I tasted a few wines, Hope had "kiddie wine" as she called it (it was a non-alcoholic sangria), and we had some cheese and crackers. We also ended up with a case of wine in the back of the HHR. YES-- we paid for it. And guess what??? That box of wine (12 bottles, in case you were wondering) will last us for a VERY long time.

Then it was home for supper, a bath for Hope (man was she DIRTY tonight), and bedtime for everyone...except for me....but I'm very close.

I'd also like to say happy BIRTHday to Matthew Seguin Jr. He's the brand-spanking new son of my friends Amy and Matt. He was born today (on Mark's birthday) at 4:20pm. He weighed just over 7 lbs and was 20" (or so...I didn't write down the details) long. I'm so glad that Amy and Matt got their little boy. Matt has a sister, Heidi, who will be 3 in January. Amy told me that Matt said to her not long ago that if they had another girl they might have to try one more time for a boy. I don't think Amy was too excited about that. LOL Hopefully in the next couple of weeks Hope and I will make a trip to Dodgeville, WI, to see the new baby. The really exciting thing about this is that I had a feeling they were going to have a boy and I'm ALWAYS wrong!!! I was finally right. WooHoo!!!

Please keep the family of Phil Kuss in your prayers. Phil and his wife Ruth are members at Ezekiel Lutheran Church in River Falls where I used to be the Children's Minister. They are WONDERFUL people and I love them dearly. Phil died on Friday at the age of 74. I am going to miss him so much. He always had a wonderful smile, kind words and engaging conversation. When I was pregnant with Hope he told me that I should have the baby on the 26th of July because that's his birthday (my due date was July 27th---my Mom's birthday---so having her on the 26th was a real possibility...but it didn't happen). He also thought that IF I had the baby on the 26th and IF the baby was a boy, Mark and I should name him Phil. That's a special memory I'll always carry in my heart. Thank you for the prayers for that incredible family.

OK...that's it for me for tonight. I've been totally getting sucked in to the Olympics and I love it. I think Nastia just got robbed of a gold medal though. Oh well, she DID win the gold in the all around, so I guess I'll be satisfied with that. How do those people make these events seem so effortless??

Night night!!

#1

So now he has 1 NFL start under his belt. Of course I'm talking about the Green Bay Packer's new starting QB, Aaron (A-Rod) Rodgers. I wasn't able to watch him play because I was teaching VBS tonight, but from what I heard, he did alright. I'll take alright. He did throw for one TD and also got us close enough for a field goal, so that's great! But he also threw for an interception. But ya know what?? If I'm remembering my stats correctly, doesn't Brett Favre have like the most interceptions in NFL history??? It's something like that anyway. Now I'm not a Brett hater by any means. I still love him and it still seems like a very bad dream that he's playing this year and not wearing a Packers uniform, but life has to go on. I'm just glad the drama is over. I'm behind Aaron 100%. Plus, he's so dang CUTE!!! lol The Packers did end up losing tonight, but it was close, so I'm happy with this first performance. I got to see the 3rd string QB (Flynn) play and he did a great job, too, so I think this year is going to be OK. I know---it's only pre-season, but---WAIT----they're interviewing Aaron on ESPN. Yep!!! He's really cute. Look at those dimples!! Could he be interested in someone old enough to be his mother??? OK...I'm just kidding (mostly). lol Anyway...here are his stats for tonight:

he went 9-15, threw for 117 pass yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, and had a 79.0 passer rating. So I think that's OK. He'll only get better. ESPN is saying that he handled himself well. Aaron has HUGE shoes to fill (understatement of the year), so he could have come out and totally let the pressure get to him tonight, but he didn't. OK....I'm done with Aaron Rodgers for tonight. I know when Mark reads this he'll totally disagree with what I've said, but I'm a Packer fan: through good times and bad times. Yes, I'll miss Brett like crazy, but I am looking forward to football season anyway. I've requested an Aaron Rodgers jersey for my birthday next month.

Speaking of seasons...as I was driving home from work tonight at 8:30 I started getting this heavy feeling in my heart. It was already getting dark. Not too long ago it would stay light until almost 10. The shortening of the days means only one thing: we're getting closer and closer to winter every day. Even the nights here have been in the 50s. UGH!!!! In all honesty, I don't know how I'm going to get through another Wisconsin winter. I'm not looking forward to the darkness, the cold, the lack of color outside, the ice and snow. There is absolutely nothing about winter here that I like. And it seems to go on and on and on and on. I'm praying that this will be our last winter in Wisconsin and that I can find a way to convince Mark that it would be a really good idea for us to go where it's sunny and warm most of the time. That, of course, would be Dallas, TX. I don't think I'm going to have much success with that though. BUT...lest I end this post on a totally depressing note, I just happened to remember that there IS one thing I like about winter: it's also football season. That brings me full circle. GO PACKERS!!! GO AARON!!

Not the best picture of him, but it's better than the old pictures of him with his long hair.

Cat bites, hair cuts and a brush with fame

Weird title, huh??? Well, the Brue family is just a little bit weird if you haven't noticed yet. Tonight we'll start with the cat bites.

So a week ago tomorrow I got Hope in the car and we headed to her secondary day care provider's house. (NOTE: Grammy and Papa are the primary care takers of Hope while I'm at work and a friend of mine who does day care in her home watches Hope 1-2 days a week. This allows Hope to interact with other children AND it gives Grammy and Papa a break.) So we got to the house, I took Hope in and sat her at the kitchen table with L and her kids. The babies were sleeping. When it was time for me to leave I headed for the front door and I noticed that one of L's cats was sleeping between my shoes. I went to slip my shoes on so I could leave and that's when all hell broke loose. The cat apparently didn't want me to have my shoes so she hissed at me and attached herself to my left leg with her claws and her teeth. Well, the second cat of the house heard this and came to the defense of the first cat and then SHE attached herself to my left leg with HER claws and HER teeth. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. It was horrible!! Well, L heard the noise and came running and when she saw what was happening she was able to get the cats off my leg. She told me to quickly scoot out the front door before they came after me again. I was starting to head out the door when I looked down at my left leg and noticed that blood had saturated my white---YES, WHITE--capris. Blood was literally gushing down my leg. Instead of scooting out the front door I scooted into Ls bathroom where I gushed blood all over her floor. I couldn't believe the blood. I got my pants down and saw that most of the blood was coming from my vericose vein that one of the cats had punctured. YIKES!!! I got it to stop bleeding, L took my pants to put them in the wash and she gave me a pair of hers to wear. I got Hope in the car and we headed back to River Falls and to the clinic. They got me in right away. I didn't need stitches, but they cleaned my puncture wounds (8 in total) and gave me a prescription for an antibiotic so I wouldn't get an infection. Didn't work. I got an infection anyway. My leg swelled up and got red and I could barely walk on it for 2-3 days. Finally on Sunday the swelling started going down and the redness started going away. It's pretty much back to normal now, but the puncture wounds still look pretty nasty. Here are a couple shots I took on Saturday...

This is a tricky situation because L and I are good friends. That hasn't changed at all, but I don't feel that I can leave Hope there while I'm at work while she still has the cats. I'd be too concerned that something might happen to her. The cats have never attacked a child before, but I'm not the first adult they've attacked. What is preventing them from attacking a child for the first time?? I hope that never happens.

Now on to the hair cuts. Back in May my sister gave Hope her first real haircut. She took off 4-5" at that time which made Hope's hair just a little longer than shoulder length. I initially wanted to get it cut quite a bit shorter, but I got cold feet. Well, her hair has grown like crazy since that first haircut and although her hair is beautiful I made the decision to get it cut again...and this time a lot shorter. So here are some pictures of Hope's new 'do:

Lastly, I got home from work today and Mark and Hope were just getting back from one of their "adventures." Usually their adventures finds them roaming around the UW-RF campus. It ESPECIALLY finds them roaming the UW-RF campus now that the Kansas City Chiefs are in town for training camp. Well, today they headed to campus and Hope got to meet head coach Herm Edwards!!! I was SOOOOO jealous when she told me. It was either just before or just after their morning practice and Mark was letting Hope bounce on the big bouncy thing (technical term for that large thing that the pole vaulters land on once they're over the bar) and standing just a few feet from them was Herm. Mark told Hope to say hello, so she said, "Hello Herm." He came over and talked to her!! He asked her her name, how old she was, etc. Mark said he's a really nice guy. We don't have any pics of Hope's brush with fame today, but if you don't know what Herm Edwards looks like, he reminds me of Tony Dungy (head coach of the Indianapolis Colts). If you don't know what Coach Dungy looks like, you really should get out more. LOL The other day when we were on campus we met one of the Kansas City sports reporters named Erin. Really, really nice girl. It's that time of the year when the Chiefs are in town and, frankly, it's one of my favorite times of the year. It's fun having these guys in town. Plus it's summer...and it's HOT and HUMID right now. I'm in heaven! It's no Dallas (it's going to be over 100 degrees every day this week down there....lucky them!), but I'll take it.

And now she's THREE!!!

Yep. That's right. My baby turned three on July 19th. I wanted to post about her exciting birthday weekend before now, but it's been a crazy week (I'll post about that in the next couple of days). So here's a synopsis of the weekend and some pictures to go along with it.

We left River Falls on Thursday, July 17 and headed south to Wisconsin Dells: tourist trap of North America. But it's a fun place, so what the heck. We got a great hotel with lots of swimming pools and Hope was in HEAVEN!!! She's a little fish that girl is. Our room overlooked one of the pools, so that was fun to her. We went to the mall in the Dells that night before supper and Hope made her first Build-A-Bear. Bearamy (she came up with the name on her own) is a bright pink bear with white hearts all over. Hope had a great time filling Bearamy up, putting a special heart inside her, giving her a "fluff bath" and then picking out a cute little outfit for her to wear. So cute. Bearamy is special in Hope's life not only because Hope made her, but because Bearamy has taken the place of Hope's much beloved pico (aka pacifier). More on that later. We went to Uno's for pizza after our trip to the mall and had a great time. Hope got to make her own pizza and after we were done eating, the wait staff gathered around our table and sang Happy Birthday to Hope. They also gave us a great dessert: a warm brownie with ice cream, whip cream and chocolate syrup on top. YUMMY!!!!!!!! There was a family sitting kitty-corner from us and as they left one of the girls (I'd say she was about 15) came up to Hope and wished her a happy birthday. So nice. We found out they were from Stevens Point. Love it! Then it was back to the hotel for more swimming and a good night's sleep.

In the morning we left for Madison. We headed to the Vilas Zoo and had a great time. The Henry Vilas Zoo is a free zoo and it is a wonderful place. It reminds me of Como Zoo in St. Paul, but Vilas has more animals. It was HOT that day and I was in heaven!!! I felt sorry for the Amish families I saw because they were in their traditional "garb." They must have been so hot. After 2 1/2 hours at the zoo we headed for my brother's house. We got to visit with them and they made an awesome supper for us. I don't get to see Gene and Tammy nearly enough. I love them. After getting party bags together for Hope's party, we headed to our hotel and, you guessed it, went swimming. We stayed at a very nice hotel in Madison, too. I love the deals you can find on the internet!

Then came the day. Saturday, July 19th. Hope's 3rd birthday. We headed to Gene and Tammy's house to help get things ready for the party and then we headed back to Vilas Zoo to meet our family and friends. We weren't at the zoo very long because it was very hot and very humid (at least by Wisconsin standards) and we had several toddlers as well as an 8 month pregnant friend in our party. So we ditched the zoo early and went back to Gene and Tammy's for the rest of the party. They did SO much to make Hope's birthday special. We had a great meal and great company. All of my siblings were at the party and so were our friends Amy with her daughter Heidi (Heidi will be 2 in January), Amy's sister Becky and Amy's "almost here" baby (Amy's due in early August). Brian (the best man at our wedding) and his girlfriend Patricia also joined us. It was a good day. Friends, family, food and fun. Who could want anything more?? Oh...I even set the alarm clock on my cell phone to ring at 3:42pm. We sang Happy Birthday to Hope at the exact anniversary of her birth.

Before we left Madison on Sunday morning we stopped at West Towne Mall and did a little shopping. I got some great deals on clothes for Hope for this fall, next summer and next fall at the Boston Store. YEAH!!!

We celebrated Hope's birthday with Mark's parents this past week and next weekend we'll celebrate with his sister. Emily (aka Miss Hudson 2008) found a crown to give Hope for her birthday. She's going to LOVE it since she was eyeing Em's crown the night of her coronation. There are some other cute things that Hope will be getting from them, but I can't write it here because Mark doesn't know what they are yet and he wants to be surprised...and yes, once in a while he reads this blog. lol

Now that I've bored you with the details of Hope's birthday, let me tell you that I can't believe my baby is three already. I have NO idea where the time has gone. It really does seem like just yesterday Mark and I were on our way to the hospital because my water broke sometime between 2-4am on July 19th, 2005. I remember that day like it happened yesterday. One of the things I remember most is my first look at her when they held her up and carried her to the warming bed. I was so worried about her because she was SOOOOO tiny. She weighed 5lbs, 10oz when she was born. Little, little, little. They assured me she was just fine...she was just tiny. And she is just fine. And she's still pretty tiny, but she's growing like a weed! And I swear that in the past 2-3 weeks she has grown up and changed so much. She really IS pico-free. I'm so proud of her progress with that. I thought we were in for a rough few weeks when we made her go cold turkey, but it only took a couple of nights. She doesn't even ask for it now. YEAH!! Our next big hurdle is to get her to go to bed on her own. That's another story. And she's even been asking to wear barrettes and pony tails in her hair. That is COMPLETELY new. Usually she doesn't want any of that stuff. The funny thing is that she's scheduled for a haircut tomorrow and I was going to have them cut it SHORT. Now I might have to reconsider getting it cut so short.

Today we watched some of the video we took on our September 2006 vacation to Texas and Colorado. Hope wasn't even walking on her own during that vacation. She was close, but hadn't mastered it yet. Such precious memories. Such a precious baby. Such a precious three year old. God has so blessed my life with this special little girl. I think it's amazing that God gives to parents exactly the baby they're supposed to have. Always mixed in with the joy of Hope's birthday will be the sorrow I have about losing my first baby due to a miscarriage. Hope's birthday is July 19th (2005). I had the miscarriage on July 23, 2004. Not even a year between those very two events. I'll always wonder if my first baby was a boy or a girl. I'll always wonder what that baby would have been like, what he/she would have looked like. I think that's normal. But I find comfort and solace in knowing that we have been given this incredible gift that we named Hope Christiana...and she's exactly the baby we were supposed to have. I can't imagine life without her.

I could write a ton more, but I won't because this is WAY longer than I anticipated. Here are a few pictures from Hope's birthday party.

Mark and Hope by the rhinos.

Hope in the pouch of a kangaroo.

Mommy and Hope in front of the beautiful flowers.

Intently opening yet another gift.

Brett Favre a (GULP) Viking???

Say it ain't so!!! So some of you may have heard the latest today: Brett Favre has supposedly asked the Packers to release him from his contract. YIKES!!! As a retired player, Brett has the right to ask the NFL commissioner to reinstate him. That means he'd once again be on the active roster for the Packers. After that, the Packers organization would have to decide to either bring him back or see where they'd get the best deal for a trade. Or the Packers organization can simply release Brett from his contract and wish him well. THIS STINKS!!! I can't decide if I'm more upset with Brett for being such a diva (and keep in mind that I LOVE Brett Favre) or the Packers organization for not really encouraging Brett to come back. It's probably a combination of the two. So...speculation has it that if Brett does indeed come back, he might end up in Gold and Purple. WHAT??!!!! ANYWHERE BUT MINNESOTA, BRETT!!! How odd would this scene be: Brett's jersey is supposed to be retired in Green Bay at the first Monday night game...against Minnesota!! Can you imagine the bedlum if that happened and Brett ran out of the tunnel as a Minnesota Viking??!!! Oh man. It makes me want to hurl just thinking about it. I just want this whole drama to end nicely. I know there are so many more important things happening in life, but this has the potential to be pretty sad.

On a good note: God answered my prayers today and the storm didn't hit River Falls until after the River Falls Days parade was over. YEAH!! So we got to see Emily in all her Queen-ness on the Hudson float. She was having so much fun! She even blew Hope a kiss when she saw her. So cool!

OK...time to read some more. I'm on book for of James Patterson's "number" series. This one is called "4th of July." I'm glad I've gotten back into reading this summer, but the late nights are killing me. Thank God we're on vacation next week and not going anywhere except to Madison for Hope's birthday. Oh..,.and I picked up Hope's usual b-day gift from Mark and me today. Starting with her 1st birthday (I wish I would have thought of it when she was born) we get her one pearl from Fennern's in Baldwin. I have to buy a chain soon to put the pearls on. I figure that we'd be better able to afford a string of pearls for Hope if we bought one pearl at a time as opposed to one whole string at one time. I wanted to get her something for her 1st birthday that would be sentimental, lasting, kind of a family heirloom that she could pass on down the line. I had this pearl idea and even though right now Hope doesn't appreciate it, she will some day.

3 year check up

Hope went to see Dr. Raverty today for her 3 year check up. I know she's not 3 until July 19th, but Dr. Raverty is pregnant and due any time, so I wanted to get in before she has her baby.

Anyway...Hope is growing like a weed. Ever since she was born she's been in about the 25th percentile for height and weight. Always 100% percentile for head measurement though...lol!! Today she made it into the 45th percentile for height AND weight!!! YEAH!!! She's still at 100% for the head. hehehe So she weighs 30.4 lbs and is 38 1/2" tall. She was a really good girl at the doctor today. We took a giant step in getting rid of the pico (aka pacifier) today, too. Hope has 3 picos that she doesn't really like all that well, so we took those with us today and gave them to Dr. Raverty for her baby (I'm sure they made it promptly into the garbage can after we left). Hope did better with that than I thought she would. The real challenge will be to get her 2 favorite picos away from her in 1.5 weeks. At the end of the appointment she gave Dr. Raverty a big hug and said, "I love you Dr. Rita." SOOOOOO cute!!! She did that all on her own. Oh...and she wore her own stethescope to the appointment, too. The nurses loved it.

That's it for now. I have some pictures to get up, so I'll do that one of these days.

The envelope please...

Mark, Hope and I just came from the Miss Hudson Pageant. (Hudson, WI, that is.) The 2008 Miss Hudson Queen is Emily Klanderman...OUR NIECE!!! YEAH!!! We are SO excited about this. Emily is an incredible young woman. A strong, strong, Christian. A wonderful spirit. A beautiful (inside and outside) girl. I was so proud of her when she decided to run for Miss Hudson because she has always been really shy. When she got into high school I wasn't sure how it would go for her because she was shy. But she's come out of her shell and amidst that has still retained her beauty, her spirit, her kindness and her innocence. So from now on when you're at a town's festival and you see the Hudson float, you'll see Emily as the Queen. We are just praising God tonight for this blessing. Just incredible!!!

Now...for those of you outside the area I'll try to explain a little bit about what this town festival thing is. I grew up in central Wisconsin and we NEVER had anything like this. It was new to me when I moved to River Falls. Each of the towns in this area has it's own "fest." It includes the crowning of royalty (usually some princesses and a queen...although there is one that also crowns a king), food, a carnival, a parade, etc. It happens throughout the course of a weekend. So this weekend is Hudson Booster Days. Hudson is the town next to River Falls (and it's the only thing, next to the St. Croix River, that separates us from Minnesota. Thank God for Hudson. LOL). That's where Mark's sister and her family live. Next weekend is River Falls Days (original name, huh? sheesh!!). Every weekend during the summer is a different festival. The City of St. Paul (MN) has the Winter Carnival. So now you have a better picture. Well, each town has its own float that the members of the royalty ride on...and each town has its float in every other town's parade. It's crazy. So, as the Hudson Queen, Emily will be riding that float ALOT (pretty much every weekend) for the rest of the summer. She'll also be representing the town of Hudson at other community activities. Next year at this time she'll get to crown the next Miss Hudson. She will also receive a scholarship next year. She is going to be a very busy girl this year (there goes our babysitter), but she is going to represent Hudson beautifully!! In her personal interview last week with the judges, one of the questions they asked her was what would be the hardest part about being chosen Miss Hudson. Emily's response: that she'd feel bad for the girls who didn't win. That's our Em. She's pretty amazing. Such a great heart for God and for God's people. I think tomorrow I'm going to make T-shirts for Mark, Hope and I to wear to the parades that we'll be going to this summer. They'll say something like "Miss Hudson is my niece." How fun would that be?? I think I'll even get to do a few of the parades with my sister in law which will be fun. Oh...the parents of the royalty are just as busy as the royalty themselves. So Mark and Cheryl will be incredibly busy this year as well.


I've got lots of new pictures of Hope to post, but for tonight I'm just going to post some pics of Em from tonight. I'll get pictures of Hope up sometime this weekend. Enjoy!!


Bethany (Emily's sister), Emily (Queen) and Courtney (Princess). I gave piano lessons to all three of these girls once upon a time.

Emily, Hope and proud Uncle Mark.

Em, beaming Aunt Mel and a mad Cousin Hope (when she saw Em's crown she promptly said, "I want a crown, too." lol Maybe we have a Miss River Falls in our future??)

Glad and Sad

Today has been a sad and glad day. Yesterday I thought it looked like I might actually get rid of this head cold some time this century, so I was feeling pretty good. But this morning I woke up and felt pretty crappy. All day I've been on the edge of feeling really bad. My throat got worse and worse throughout the day and by the time we went to church tonight (more on that later), it was really bad. Now it's REALLY bad...which is how this head cold I've had all week started last Sunday. UGH!!! I hope I don't have to do the whole thing over again. So that part was sad.

Glad: Hope and I went to the new Hudson 12 Theater today and saw the Noon showing of "Kung Fu Panda." It was cute, but the best part for me was watching my girl. She looked so grown up sitting in the chair next to me. She was so good. This was about her 4th movie (we've taken her to see "Ice Age 2", "The Bee Movie," "Horton Hears a Who" and now this one). She sat on the edge of her seat (she can't sit all the way back or the seat would fold her up), watching the movie, eating popcorn with me. In my mind I could see Hope as a teenager, going to a movie with her friends instead of her Mommy. That made me sad and glad.

After the movie we came home to pick Mark up so the three of us could go to the farm together. We saw the cutest calf!!! We think it was born this morning. It's a red and white holstein. SOOOOOOOOO cute!!! Almost as cute as Reddy (the jersey), but not quite. We named her Carmadillo (a combination of caramel and armadillo...hehehe). I told Mark and Hope that I wanted to go next door to the maternity ward to see the Mamma who gave birth to such a beautiful baby. Well, here's the sad part. I saw the soon to be momma cows and then one in particular caught my eye. I said to Mark, "Hey...look at that one...she's laying down and she's outside the barn." I looked closer and she WAS laying down and she WAS outside the barn...because she was dead. It made me want to cry. I went closer (I know this is weird) to see what tag number she had on her ear. 775. I know that means nothing to anyone, but since we go to the farm almost every day I feel like I've gotten to "know" the calves and the soon to be Mommies. This poor cow must have died while giving birth. I'll have to get the story next time I'm at the farm. So Hope asked some questions today about the cow. That's a tough one. We told her the cow was very sick and now she's in heaven with Jesus. OK. I have a degree in Theology. I know there's absolutely nothing theological about a cow being in heaven with Jesus. As a matter of fact, before I became a Mommy I thought people were nuts when they'd talk about their beloved pets being in heaven. Now I understand. I also know that God has a big enough heart that even if animals don't actually go to heaven, He's OK with us telling our kids that in order to bring them some comfort. That's my two cents worth on that. So the farm was sad and glad today.

I'm taking tomorrow off from work/church, so we went to church at Bethel Highlands in Hudson tonight. It was a contemporary service and was really, really nice. It was nice to be able to worship and not work (although having a toddler in church with you is work...but Hope was really good tonight).

So that brings be to the end of my day. I'm sipping on some hot tea with lemon and honey, hoping that'll help my throat and that tomorrow I'll wake up and feel great. I'm going to read a few more chapters in my latest James Patterson read (3rd Degree) and then I'll hit the hay.

Thanks for reading and for not thinking I'm TOOOOOOO weird about the whole cow thing. Or at least thanks for not saying anything. LOL If I remember, I'll take the camera to the farm with me tomorrow so I can get a picture of Carmadillo. She is seriously so cute!!!