Tonight, Butch and I did something we've never done in the history of our marriage since we've had children.
We went to church together...without the kids.
It all started this morning when I was having a hard time getting everything ready for the day and getting myself ready in time for church.
Then, I remembered: I have a child who can DRIVE NOW!!!
All three of the biggers went together and Butch and I made the plan to go to 6pm Mass. 6pm mass is normally not our very favorite because we're not fond of the contemporary music where the verses last FOREVER and are so repetitive that everyone around us starts looking uncomfortable...BUT, it is MASS and sometimes you just go and try to filter that stuff out.
We sat there feeling just ODD.
Here are the things we did NOT do (that we NORMALLY do, when we have kids with us):
1. Flash the peace sign across the crowded pew.
2. Take any bathroom breaks.
3. Have to move from kneeling to sitting to kneeling to sitting to walking out of church because some child is trying to get us to pick them up during the kneeling part.
4. Miss the entire Gospel and most of the homily because some child needs to be set right or brought potty.
5. Wonder how many people are staring at us and wondering "Are all those kids from those parents?".
and many other things that I thought about during Mass...that I actually kind of missed!
Yes! Surprisingly, while I was very happy to have the time to reflect on how it did feel a little like back when we were in RCIA and we would go alone together all of the time, I saw a little baby girl who was SO cute and it made me think about my little baby girl that was the first little one we brought to church...and THAT made me think of every other baby I brought to church over the years...which brought me right to the present and my little baby girl at home with my biggest baby girl...and I couldn't wait to get home to all of them.
We were walking out of church and I commented on a friend's little girl and how big she was getting. She and her husband noted "How did you get to come here with NO kids!? THAT must feel strange!"
We both laughed and kind of let out our breaths. It was SO weird to sit there the whole time with the elephant in the room being the one that was at home (namely, our missing family). I actually started to wonder if we were being stared at because we normally have so many bodies between us and the people at church maybe thought we were strangers or something! It's all about context, right?
The whole thing made me reflect on something I told a friend last night at a cancer benefit that Butch and I got to go out to last night. I was telling her that I was thinking how, someday, all of our kids will be grown and we might be faced with an empty nest of some sort. I was saying how very odd it would be and what the heck would we do without any children to care for and just each other? I thought about it a little more and then I laughed. YEAH! RIGHT! Duh... because we've increased our potential for MANY grandchildren and there will NEVER be a time when we have an "empty nest"! That's the most ridiculous thing ever! We'll ALWAYS have people in our home. Our doors will always be open to the people that need care. If it's a friend, neighbor, child, grandchild, great-grandchild...as long as we're living, we will have someone who depends on us and who we depend on to help us get through this life.
I'm so very glad to share it with the ONLY man who understands me and loves me as much as he does. I like time alone with him, but I like time with him and the people we love TOGETHER, even more.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Anna's Wedding Pictures (part 1)
Go HERE for the blog of the photographer and some samples of pictures from the big day! The cutest one is of the flower girls (can you spot Analise and Mari? It was the only one where Mari wasn't pouting about something or other that day!). I'm glad she didn't put any of me (except a very small one of the whole church and I'm the ginormous black splotch next to Anna on the altar) because I am HUGE! I know I know, I don't REALLY care, but it's quite shocking to see pictures of it all. I was so busy with the kids that day that I didn't have time to take pics myself. I'm so glad that she had such a great photographer and that I can share the site with you!
Oh, here's a shot of all the boys (all the cousins/kids of my siblings and mine) while we were getting ready and taking pictures. It's a good thing we had Matty there that day to help entertain the boys. He also served Mass and did a great job (rang the bells for the first time!), considering it was only his THIRD MASS EVER!
Shoot, I just realized that Johnny isn't in that picture! He's the same age as Mari and has really red hair. He's such a cutie...I'll have to find a pic that includes him.
THERE he is! Over there on the far left.
L to R:
John, Thomas, Wyatt, Matthew (holding Vincent), Roman, Niklaus
Tommy, Matthew and Niklaus are mine
John is my brother, Nick's
Vincent and Roman belong to my brother, Peter
Wyatt is my sister, Katrina's
(I stole this one from Megan Norman's blog post to show all the girls in the wedding. She is a fabulous, professional photographer and she did a great job that day with our huge family and the young age of the wedding party! She had tremendous amounts of patience, which should serve her well when she has her new little one very soon!)
Top row: Gabriella, Anna (holding Madeline), Anabella, Lucia, Analise
Mid row: Alexis, Paulina, Mariela
Bottom: Sofia, Anika
Gabriella, Anabella, and Paulina are my sister, Katrina's
Alexis and Anika are my brother, Nick's
Lucia and Sofia are my brother, Pete's
Madeline is my brother, Rudy's
Mariela and Analise are mine!
The only one missing is Katrina (mine) because she was a jr. bridesmaid and I don't have a picture of her, yet. I'll get one on here as soon as I see all of the professional pics!
Here's the toast I wrote and gave at Anna and Matt's wedding feast:
The kids instantly loved him. That day, in the garage when we all first met Matt, all the kids were in awe. They stared up at him and just grinned. Even my Matty and BUTCH all had sneaky smiles on their faces, as if they JUST KNEW the hyjinx they’d be getting up to in future years together. It really was a magical, mysterious day. Here’s what happened: After church, Matt and Anna stopped by to meet everyone at our house. My family met him first. I got my first impressions, asked all my nosey questions, and went into the house to get some snacks ready. Trine’s family came next and SHE got to do the same thing I did but I hadn’t talked to her yet, by the time that Nellie and Pete’s family made it over to meet him. Nellie came into the house and asked me what I thought. I took about two seconds to say, “He’s goofy, sweet, and really…I just think he’s really HUMBLE!” She laughed and said that she ran into Trine outside and that she had said the exact same thing! I look at our family like an old, beloved family puzzle. Sometimes we get it out and put it together even though the box is falling apart and we know that it’s missing a few pieces. Matt was one of those “missing pieces” and, of course, because he was made to by God, he fits perfectly.
Attention! (a sorta poem)
When sweet baby Anna was born, we all sighed with joy
Us two oldest girls didn’t think we could TAKE another boy!
We cuddled and loved her and treated her with care,
We fussed over and dressed her and groomed her curly blond hair
We treated her like a princess, and maybe that is why
When she grew into a toddler, she would often cry.
Did I say cry? I mean she would scream!...and flop on the ground, and dramatically say that everyone was being MEAN!
Around about the time she started grade school, she tried to fit in and be really cool.
But us two older girls were teens now and in our boycrazy years, we missed a lot of the angst and insecurities and tears.
Thank goodness she had friends like Lydia, to help carry her through, keep her honest, accountable and always true.
Along came Butchie, Anna’s new big brother. They picked on, teased and generally bugged each other.
But, they also shared their First Holy communion day, and many days of joy.
And big brother Butchie dreaded the day he’d have to approve of a boy…that would take away his baby sister and live up to his high expectations, someone who’d side with him in fights on family vacations. (pause for uncomfortable laughter from the family).
Then one day, Anna said she’d met her “match”, some dude in a uniform and a somewhat creepy ‘stach.
Well the ‘stach is gone, but the uniform’s still there, so Trine and I drooled and couldn’t wait to stare. And STARE we did when he walked up the drive. We thought “that dude is HUGE, at LEAST 6 foot five (turns out it’s only 6’ 3”)!
…and HOW could it BE that when Anna and he grins, they have identical teeth, dimples and chins?
I’m at the end of my lame rhyme so I won’t take anymore time and bore you with inside jokes and jeers. So pick up your glasses, hold them up high and simply just say “CHEERS!”
Oh, here's a shot of all the boys (all the cousins/kids of my siblings and mine) while we were getting ready and taking pictures. It's a good thing we had Matty there that day to help entertain the boys. He also served Mass and did a great job (rang the bells for the first time!), considering it was only his THIRD MASS EVER!
Shoot, I just realized that Johnny isn't in that picture! He's the same age as Mari and has really red hair. He's such a cutie...I'll have to find a pic that includes him.
THERE he is! Over there on the far left.
L to R:
John, Thomas, Wyatt, Matthew (holding Vincent), Roman, Niklaus
Tommy, Matthew and Niklaus are mine
John is my brother, Nick's
Vincent and Roman belong to my brother, Peter
Wyatt is my sister, Katrina's
(I stole this one from Megan Norman's blog post to show all the girls in the wedding. She is a fabulous, professional photographer and she did a great job that day with our huge family and the young age of the wedding party! She had tremendous amounts of patience, which should serve her well when she has her new little one very soon!)
Top row: Gabriella, Anna (holding Madeline), Anabella, Lucia, Analise
Mid row: Alexis, Paulina, Mariela
Bottom: Sofia, Anika
Gabriella, Anabella, and Paulina are my sister, Katrina's
Alexis and Anika are my brother, Nick's
Lucia and Sofia are my brother, Pete's
Madeline is my brother, Rudy's
Mariela and Analise are mine!
The only one missing is Katrina (mine) because she was a jr. bridesmaid and I don't have a picture of her, yet. I'll get one on here as soon as I see all of the professional pics!
Here's the toast I wrote and gave at Anna and Matt's wedding feast:
The kids instantly loved him. That day, in the garage when we all first met Matt, all the kids were in awe. They stared up at him and just grinned. Even my Matty and BUTCH all had sneaky smiles on their faces, as if they JUST KNEW the hyjinx they’d be getting up to in future years together. It really was a magical, mysterious day. Here’s what happened: After church, Matt and Anna stopped by to meet everyone at our house. My family met him first. I got my first impressions, asked all my nosey questions, and went into the house to get some snacks ready. Trine’s family came next and SHE got to do the same thing I did but I hadn’t talked to her yet, by the time that Nellie and Pete’s family made it over to meet him. Nellie came into the house and asked me what I thought. I took about two seconds to say, “He’s goofy, sweet, and really…I just think he’s really HUMBLE!” She laughed and said that she ran into Trine outside and that she had said the exact same thing! I look at our family like an old, beloved family puzzle. Sometimes we get it out and put it together even though the box is falling apart and we know that it’s missing a few pieces. Matt was one of those “missing pieces” and, of course, because he was made to by God, he fits perfectly.
Attention! (a sorta poem)
When sweet baby Anna was born, we all sighed with joy
Us two oldest girls didn’t think we could TAKE another boy!
We cuddled and loved her and treated her with care,
We fussed over and dressed her and groomed her curly blond hair
We treated her like a princess, and maybe that is why
When she grew into a toddler, she would often cry.
Did I say cry? I mean she would scream!...and flop on the ground, and dramatically say that everyone was being MEAN!
Around about the time she started grade school, she tried to fit in and be really cool.
But us two older girls were teens now and in our boycrazy years, we missed a lot of the angst and insecurities and tears.
Thank goodness she had friends like Lydia, to help carry her through, keep her honest, accountable and always true.
Along came Butchie, Anna’s new big brother. They picked on, teased and generally bugged each other.
But, they also shared their First Holy communion day, and many days of joy.
And big brother Butchie dreaded the day he’d have to approve of a boy…that would take away his baby sister and live up to his high expectations, someone who’d side with him in fights on family vacations. (pause for uncomfortable laughter from the family).
Then one day, Anna said she’d met her “match”, some dude in a uniform and a somewhat creepy ‘stach.
Well the ‘stach is gone, but the uniform’s still there, so Trine and I drooled and couldn’t wait to stare. And STARE we did when he walked up the drive. We thought “that dude is HUGE, at LEAST 6 foot five (turns out it’s only 6’ 3”)!
…and HOW could it BE that when Anna and he grins, they have identical teeth, dimples and chins?
I’m at the end of my lame rhyme so I won’t take anymore time and bore you with inside jokes and jeers. So pick up your glasses, hold them up high and simply just say “CHEERS!”
Friday, December 11, 2009
That Lovin' You Feelin' Again
You know that twitterpated, wonderful feeling you have when you think you might first be in love? You know how it consumes you and every time you think of your beloved you get that feeling? You could be sitting at class, strolling a cart through the store, walking down the street, working out at the club and all of the sudden, you think of your new beloved and whoooohoooooohoooooooo you get "that feeling"?
It's amazing, isn't it? Do you remember how it would hit this little part at the bottom of your stomach and all of the sudden your face would flush and you felt like you just HAD to see your beloved at that very moment? You just KNEW at that moment that you must, for sure, LOVE that guy/girl! Oh, it is glorious (and I don't use that word, ever)!
I was talking, one time, about this to my sister, Katrina. We both agreed (big surprise) that people don't realize that they will NEVER feel that feeling again, ever. Some people have that immature notion of "love": that they must only "love" their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend if they have "that feeling" and if they don't have "that feeling", no matter how hard they try to get it back again, then they must not really "love" that person anymore and it's over.
SO WRONG!
Here's the thing: Love is so so so soooooo much more than "that feeling"! I didn't even really realize this until about 5 years ago. CRAZY WOMAN! Why would you admit that? Don't you LOVE Butch?
Of course, you fool! I really, truly, and with all my heart, body, and soul LOVE my husband. At first, I loved him because he seemed to be right for me (selfish) and he seemed to really like me for who I was (selfish) and he seemed to really think that I was great, even when I didn't feel so great about myself (selfish). I had "that feeling" and it was awesome!
Then, we had children and got busy and took each other for granted. I still "loved" him but it sure seemed like it came a little harder than it did before and it was on occasion that I ventured to imagine why people left their marriages. It was scary and stupid, I decided, to leave the person with which you had so much stability and comfort...even if you hadn't grown past "that feeling".
I don't know when the "change" happened, but I feel like, with every passing year, I LOVE Butch more and more and feel even more bonded and IN LOVE with him. It's a NEW kind of twitterpated, a new and wonderful kind of love that makes me have a funny feeling in my stomach. It's sort of the mirror image of what I felt way, way back when. It's the kind of funny feeling that comes up when I think about how I would feel if I would lose him...sick to my stomach about EVER being with anyone other than him. I know it sounds a little bit naive, but I could never, never be with anyone else. No one could love me like he does. No one could love my children the way he does. No. I chose very well, back then. I used to think that I made my decision based on "that feeling" and that I might have chosen differently if I had given myself a chance to mature...but now I really don't think that matters. I really believe that REAL love happens when you stop waiting for it to happen and you start WORKING and BUILDING right where you are.
I told a young man in a new relationship (tonight!) that, if you don't "know" within the first few dates, then it will be a choice: you start to decide what you will "put up with" and, if it's too much, a person should just call it and leave with honor. That's why I believe that "marital relations" should actually be saved for actual MARRIAGE. You have NO regrets when you leave a sub-par relationship. Your body didn't get in the way of your decision and you have left no part of yourself behind to dwell with that other person and any other relationship they might have in the future. You actually COULD leave and "just be friends". What a great thing it would be to not have to play those stupid, emotional games!
This horrible Tiger stuff brought those thoughts around again. Why would ANYONE feel like "the grass is greener" or need anyone other than the person with whom they CHOSE to build a life? I don't understand it and, I suppose, I don't EVER want to understand it, because that understanding would mean that I don't love Butch, and never did. What if Tiger would have expressed to his WIFE how he felt having so much overwhelming wealth, talent, popularity made him feel like life was "too big" to be contained within his marriage? What if he had told her that he had women throwing themselves at him and that it was too much for him to handle, as a man? Maybe, if they had gotten help with that reality, they could have gotten even stronger in their relationship and teamed up to repel all of the evilness that is constantly trying to break apart ALL families? I don't know, but I do know that he wouldn't be in the trouble he's in now. I pray for his family, but I don't know how you come back from that kind of betrayal.
I wish all people who were thinking about being unfaithful could see, in a magic ball, the tragic and sickening consequences of their actions. I wish they could FEEL what it feels like to each person involved (spouse, children, in-laws). I wish they could, for one moment, take that moment and banish the thought forever. The moment a person gives attention to, or accepts attention from someone, other than their spouse, is the beginning of the end of any chance at that REAL, lasting love that God intended for the original couple.
Love is an ACTION! Love isn't a touchy feely FEELING...it may start out that way, but it can't hold on without many ACTS of love on the part of both people in the relationship.
Find ways to ACT upon love, to strengthen the bonds of love between you and your beloved, EVERY DAY.
No one has/could ever build a life of PURE JOY out of a sordid, "secret", skanky affair. It's tacky, embarrassing, life-altering, family murdering, miserableness for all humanity.
Thus ends my rant for today. I've been working on this one for a while. If you are still with me here, you must really, really love me (or be a glutton for punishment...either way, I love you right back!).
Latergaters.
It's amazing, isn't it? Do you remember how it would hit this little part at the bottom of your stomach and all of the sudden your face would flush and you felt like you just HAD to see your beloved at that very moment? You just KNEW at that moment that you must, for sure, LOVE that guy/girl! Oh, it is glorious (and I don't use that word, ever)!
I was talking, one time, about this to my sister, Katrina. We both agreed (big surprise) that people don't realize that they will NEVER feel that feeling again, ever. Some people have that immature notion of "love": that they must only "love" their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend if they have "that feeling" and if they don't have "that feeling", no matter how hard they try to get it back again, then they must not really "love" that person anymore and it's over.
SO WRONG!
Here's the thing: Love is so so so soooooo much more than "that feeling"! I didn't even really realize this until about 5 years ago. CRAZY WOMAN! Why would you admit that? Don't you LOVE Butch?
Of course, you fool! I really, truly, and with all my heart, body, and soul LOVE my husband. At first, I loved him because he seemed to be right for me (selfish) and he seemed to really like me for who I was (selfish) and he seemed to really think that I was great, even when I didn't feel so great about myself (selfish). I had "that feeling" and it was awesome!
Then, we had children and got busy and took each other for granted. I still "loved" him but it sure seemed like it came a little harder than it did before and it was on occasion that I ventured to imagine why people left their marriages. It was scary and stupid, I decided, to leave the person with which you had so much stability and comfort...even if you hadn't grown past "that feeling".
I don't know when the "change" happened, but I feel like, with every passing year, I LOVE Butch more and more and feel even more bonded and IN LOVE with him. It's a NEW kind of twitterpated, a new and wonderful kind of love that makes me have a funny feeling in my stomach. It's sort of the mirror image of what I felt way, way back when. It's the kind of funny feeling that comes up when I think about how I would feel if I would lose him...sick to my stomach about EVER being with anyone other than him. I know it sounds a little bit naive, but I could never, never be with anyone else. No one could love me like he does. No one could love my children the way he does. No. I chose very well, back then. I used to think that I made my decision based on "that feeling" and that I might have chosen differently if I had given myself a chance to mature...but now I really don't think that matters. I really believe that REAL love happens when you stop waiting for it to happen and you start WORKING and BUILDING right where you are.
I told a young man in a new relationship (tonight!) that, if you don't "know" within the first few dates, then it will be a choice: you start to decide what you will "put up with" and, if it's too much, a person should just call it and leave with honor. That's why I believe that "marital relations" should actually be saved for actual MARRIAGE. You have NO regrets when you leave a sub-par relationship. Your body didn't get in the way of your decision and you have left no part of yourself behind to dwell with that other person and any other relationship they might have in the future. You actually COULD leave and "just be friends". What a great thing it would be to not have to play those stupid, emotional games!
This horrible Tiger stuff brought those thoughts around again. Why would ANYONE feel like "the grass is greener" or need anyone other than the person with whom they CHOSE to build a life? I don't understand it and, I suppose, I don't EVER want to understand it, because that understanding would mean that I don't love Butch, and never did. What if Tiger would have expressed to his WIFE how he felt having so much overwhelming wealth, talent, popularity made him feel like life was "too big" to be contained within his marriage? What if he had told her that he had women throwing themselves at him and that it was too much for him to handle, as a man? Maybe, if they had gotten help with that reality, they could have gotten even stronger in their relationship and teamed up to repel all of the evilness that is constantly trying to break apart ALL families? I don't know, but I do know that he wouldn't be in the trouble he's in now. I pray for his family, but I don't know how you come back from that kind of betrayal.
I wish all people who were thinking about being unfaithful could see, in a magic ball, the tragic and sickening consequences of their actions. I wish they could FEEL what it feels like to each person involved (spouse, children, in-laws). I wish they could, for one moment, take that moment and banish the thought forever. The moment a person gives attention to, or accepts attention from someone, other than their spouse, is the beginning of the end of any chance at that REAL, lasting love that God intended for the original couple.
Love is an ACTION! Love isn't a touchy feely FEELING...it may start out that way, but it can't hold on without many ACTS of love on the part of both people in the relationship.
Find ways to ACT upon love, to strengthen the bonds of love between you and your beloved, EVERY DAY.
No one has/could ever build a life of PURE JOY out of a sordid, "secret", skanky affair. It's tacky, embarrassing, life-altering, family murdering, miserableness for all humanity.
Thus ends my rant for today. I've been working on this one for a while. If you are still with me here, you must really, really love me (or be a glutton for punishment...either way, I love you right back!).
Latergaters.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Prayers for Grandma *Update with Concern
(in comments from Trine):
Update for you: I just got a call from one of Matt's sisters. Not to alarm anyone but Joyce does have a low grade fever which could or could not mean some type of infection, though they don't know where. It could be something as "minor" as a bladder infection. Either way, these days in recovery are going to be tough and she is not 'out of the woods' yet. The other word we got was that she may potentially need a pacemaker. Her heart rate appears to be slowing too much when they slow down the temporary external pacing. They are bringing in a specialist. She says she doesn't have any pain and considering that her breast bone is in two pieces currently being held together by staples and her heart was just operated on, I'd say she's pretty heavily on pain meds. Therefore, she isn't really remembering much when people visit but she is doing okay.
In other words, thanks for the prayers so far and if you could spare a few more that would be great!
I'm going to tell you a little story and end with a prayer request. Skip to the end if you've heard this one already:
My hubsie used to run with a weird crowd of peeps back in the high school days. They were mostly jocks and party guys who's parents had some dough, and lived the good life. He did have this one, odd feller friend named Matt. Matt was the youngest of ten farm children and had tons of fun raising his pigs and working on the farm. Matt was mostly cared for and tried to escape from his older sisters (and did a fair job at it) throughout his youth. He had a hard, but interesting life out on many acres of beautiful land. Rolling hills, peaceful pastures, swampy backwoods were his life. To get "into town" for football or wrestling practice, he had been known to drive the farm truck before he had his official license. See, farm kids could drive work vehicles (under age 16) around town if it was "official farm business". So, to get out of any potential troubles in that regard, he would throw a few hay bales in the bed, just in case. Him and Butch have all kinds of goofy stories about their adventures on the farm. Some of them involving beer and uneven lines in the fields...but that's a story for another day.
Matt's parents were very special to Butch. He almost looked to them as other parents and loved them very much. Matt's dad passed away a few years ago but I can't really talk about that without getting very sad. All I can say is that I miss his grin and his ginormous hands until I see Matt's hands and Bubby's grin.
Matt's mom, Joyce is an angel on earth. She is simple, wonderful, sweet, and loving. She's also very wise in many ways. I could go on and on but one thing that could illustrate the impression she has had on Butch is that I pretty much had to pass muster with Joyce before our relationship could continue (I met her only a few weeks after I had met Butch!). I knew it was a "test" when I met them. It's a good thing I came from a farm family environment because I felt right at home with that nutty bunch! I think back to that first meeting and how she hugged me the moment we met...I could never imagine that we could be REAL FAMILY someday and that Joyce and I would share genes with some of the most loved children in the world!
Trine sent me this email today:
As most of you know, Joyce (Matt's mom) went in for a routine check-up last week and the dr. found what he thought was a 'minor' blockage in one of her coronary arteries, so she was slated to get a stent put in early this week. Well, yesterday they found that she had at least 3 maybe 4 arteries with serious blockage thereby requiring open heart surgery. Her surgery is scheduled for 11am today. She is at Abbott. She is feeling really good (didn't have any symptoms or signs that she recognized anyway) and some of Matt's siblings were there until late last night and all 10 will be there today before and after the surgery. The surgery is said to last at least 4 hours. I don't know any other details but I will update you as we hear news.
Please say a little prayer that God is watching over Joyce and her doctors and keeps her safe. I don't know about you but I would be DANG scared knowing I had to have this procedure. But she's one tough cookie and I'm sure she'll be fine for her surprise 80th birthday party coming up in July!
She IS a tough cookie and has survived a few other major surgeries and uncomfortable procedures (Matt was 13 pounds for pete's sake!) but please, take the time to pray for her today! She might be tickled to know that people from all over the world prayed for her during this scary time!
Thank you!
*We just received word that everything went well. She had to have a triple bypass and as far as I know, no other procedures. She is heading to the ICU soon.
I just spoke with Matt and I'm going to be leaving work to head to Abbott shortly.
Thanks for your concern and prayers!
Katrina
Update for you: I just got a call from one of Matt's sisters. Not to alarm anyone but Joyce does have a low grade fever which could or could not mean some type of infection, though they don't know where. It could be something as "minor" as a bladder infection. Either way, these days in recovery are going to be tough and she is not 'out of the woods' yet. The other word we got was that she may potentially need a pacemaker. Her heart rate appears to be slowing too much when they slow down the temporary external pacing. They are bringing in a specialist. She says she doesn't have any pain and considering that her breast bone is in two pieces currently being held together by staples and her heart was just operated on, I'd say she's pretty heavily on pain meds. Therefore, she isn't really remembering much when people visit but she is doing okay.
In other words, thanks for the prayers so far and if you could spare a few more that would be great!
I'm going to tell you a little story and end with a prayer request. Skip to the end if you've heard this one already:
My hubsie used to run with a weird crowd of peeps back in the high school days. They were mostly jocks and party guys who's parents had some dough, and lived the good life. He did have this one, odd feller friend named Matt. Matt was the youngest of ten farm children and had tons of fun raising his pigs and working on the farm. Matt was mostly cared for and tried to escape from his older sisters (and did a fair job at it) throughout his youth. He had a hard, but interesting life out on many acres of beautiful land. Rolling hills, peaceful pastures, swampy backwoods were his life. To get "into town" for football or wrestling practice, he had been known to drive the farm truck before he had his official license. See, farm kids could drive work vehicles (under age 16) around town if it was "official farm business". So, to get out of any potential troubles in that regard, he would throw a few hay bales in the bed, just in case. Him and Butch have all kinds of goofy stories about their adventures on the farm. Some of them involving beer and uneven lines in the fields...but that's a story for another day.
Matt's parents were very special to Butch. He almost looked to them as other parents and loved them very much. Matt's dad passed away a few years ago but I can't really talk about that without getting very sad. All I can say is that I miss his grin and his ginormous hands until I see Matt's hands and Bubby's grin.
Matt's mom, Joyce is an angel on earth. She is simple, wonderful, sweet, and loving. She's also very wise in many ways. I could go on and on but one thing that could illustrate the impression she has had on Butch is that I pretty much had to pass muster with Joyce before our relationship could continue (I met her only a few weeks after I had met Butch!). I knew it was a "test" when I met them. It's a good thing I came from a farm family environment because I felt right at home with that nutty bunch! I think back to that first meeting and how she hugged me the moment we met...I could never imagine that we could be REAL FAMILY someday and that Joyce and I would share genes with some of the most loved children in the world!
Trine sent me this email today:
As most of you know, Joyce (Matt's mom) went in for a routine check-up last week and the dr. found what he thought was a 'minor' blockage in one of her coronary arteries, so she was slated to get a stent put in early this week. Well, yesterday they found that she had at least 3 maybe 4 arteries with serious blockage thereby requiring open heart surgery. Her surgery is scheduled for 11am today. She is at Abbott. She is feeling really good (didn't have any symptoms or signs that she recognized anyway) and some of Matt's siblings were there until late last night and all 10 will be there today before and after the surgery. The surgery is said to last at least 4 hours. I don't know any other details but I will update you as we hear news.
Please say a little prayer that God is watching over Joyce and her doctors and keeps her safe. I don't know about you but I would be DANG scared knowing I had to have this procedure. But she's one tough cookie and I'm sure she'll be fine for her surprise 80th birthday party coming up in July!
She IS a tough cookie and has survived a few other major surgeries and uncomfortable procedures (Matt was 13 pounds for pete's sake!) but please, take the time to pray for her today! She might be tickled to know that people from all over the world prayed for her during this scary time!
Thank you!
*We just received word that everything went well. She had to have a triple bypass and as far as I know, no other procedures. She is heading to the ICU soon.
I just spoke with Matt and I'm going to be leaving work to head to Abbott shortly.
Thanks for your concern and prayers!
Katrina
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Just Friends
(Weazy gave me this Valentine this afternoon. She's so sweet!)Have you met so many people online that you have trouble keeping track of them? Have you ever re-met someone that "knows" you but you don't really "know" them...and then, later, you remember how you "met" them?
Ever since I started blogging waaaaay back in 2003 (I started blogging on an old site called "diary.com" or something like that until I graduated to the big-time blogger haha), I have this problem. I tried to categorize my friends in my "favorites" files but they kept getting all jumbled and sometimes, I would put a "Catholic, Homeschooling Mom" in a "family and friends" file or a priest in a "funny blogs" file. After a while, I just started putting everyone in a "Catholic Blogs" file.
I noticed that not all of the people in that file were Catholic, and that not all of the sites in that file were actually blogs.
I never did get the hang of google reader.
When did you start calling people you learned about through your blog "friend" instead of "blog friend"?
I think it sounds silly to call a blog friend "blog friend".
Isn't a friend a...friend?
My sisters are my best friends. We don't always agree. I'm not "just like them" and they are not "just like me" but we come from the same place, and we understand each other.
It's easy to love someone who loves you back despite your obvious flaws, "issues", baggage, and, all that other stuff that drives away people who don't want to bother or don't have time to deal with your junk.
It's also easy to love someone that you don't have to deal with every day, who lives halfway across the country (or even the world!) and that only has nice things to comment to you every time they check your blog! You don't necessarily have to find out the nitty gritty, everyday junk about them so you find yourself thinking, "Wow, I wish that person lived next to me, she/he would make a great pal!" But there's really no way you could know that unless they actually DID move right next to you and you KNOW the reality is you'd probably have the same good/bad ratio of neighbor relations as you do with your current neighbors!
I guess I'm reflecting on all of this because it's St. Valentine's Day and it's supposed to be all about the love. I get daily doses of love from my hottie hubs. I get tons of drawings and lovies from my babies (even the big, teenager ones). I get weekly reminders that I come from parents who loved me dearly and still do. They say I'm their favorite. I'm pretty sure they tell the other ones that too, but we know the truth, right?
AND:
I get tons of love from my friends. All my friends. I used to not have too many of them. I had some good ones, some fair ones, some occasional ones and some old ones that came/come back once in a while and we just pick up where we left off. I think it's because I had trouble finding the time to dedicate to more than just my family. Now that I have a blog I have some new ones. All of them add something pretty neat to my life and I'm grateful for them. I don't really differentiate "real life" friends from "blog friends" anymore because, well, blogging is part of my "real life". Therefore, blog friends are my REAL FRIENDS. If someone had tons of time and energy, a spiteful heart, and loads of gall, I suppose they could totally fake themselves into my life via the blog...but I sincerely doubt it. I've met some of my friends in person, called some on the phone, but all of them seem to be as genuine on their blogs/in their comments as they are in person. It's so nice to have someone who checks in to see how I'm doing once a week, or month, or emails me to ask what I mean and/or if I'm really okay after reading a post. They take the time to care, bs with me, tell me I'm full of crap, tell me how hilariously funny I am (okay, I might have made that one up), and maybe even critique my grammar or overuse of commas.
I LOVE the comma...almost as much as I love cereal, but not nearly as much as:
I love you.
You know who you are.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Matt Cubed
My sister, Anna is 12 years younger than me. She is 10 years younger than my sister, Katrina (there were three boys in between us but I'm not talking about them right now). When she was born, us girls were so happy. We had a little, beautiful, living doll to play with and adore. She grew in much love and grace and today is a wonderful person and I'm so proud of the woman she's become.
We missed her horribly when she went to college. We couldn't believe we let her live in Alaska for the summer after she graduated college but we knew it was a good opportunity for her growth. We felt sorrow that she couldn't seem to find any man who would treat her so well that he'd be deserving of her love but we knew that someday (even if it didn't seem like it to her) she'd find the perfect person to share her life with.
Ahem (excuse me whilst I get a tad verklempt).
Last spring, she found that man. He's a sailor out in the Indian Ocean (but from Wisconsin) and was working out there when they met. They got to know each other from afar which was an unconventional but ideal way to start a relationship (in my opinion!), and when they met in person? Oh man, I'm pretty sure they both got hit with the fireworks pretty instantly! Katrina and I met him and we both KNEW that this was IT. That was just this summer! We met his family and can see where he gets his good nature and happy, good attitude. We are already planning the years to come and Matt is intertwined in our family and our plans.
Matt is a total goof and fits in with the boys in our family so well, you'd think he's been around forever. Upon our first meeting, both Katrina and I told our SIL separately (without having talked about our first impressions with each other) that one word to describe him would be "humble"!
We've all fallen in love with him. I have a hard time NOT referring to him as "your uncle, Matt" even though they have one of those already (Matt is my sis, Katrina's hubs and also my son's name...in case you didn't know).
So, Matt has to share names with his future brother in law and future nephew (no, they're not engaged yet...a girl can dream) and he's also going to have to share Anna's best love with me and Trine (thus, "Matt Cubed"! Hahaha! Get it????) but he's so sweet, he can handle it all.
He had to go back to his job on the Ocean for four months and we are already missing him so much. We said goodbye at Thanksgiving and I got a chance to take some pictures of him and Anna and also took some video which perfectly illustrates how comfortable they are with each other and how DANG CUTE they are together.
Check it out and just TRY not to say "awwwww". I dare you.
Happy Birthday to you, Anna (December 24th) and Merry Christmas to Matt on the other side of the world.
We missed her horribly when she went to college. We couldn't believe we let her live in Alaska for the summer after she graduated college but we knew it was a good opportunity for her growth. We felt sorrow that she couldn't seem to find any man who would treat her so well that he'd be deserving of her love but we knew that someday (even if it didn't seem like it to her) she'd find the perfect person to share her life with.
Ahem (excuse me whilst I get a tad verklempt).
Last spring, she found that man. He's a sailor out in the Indian Ocean (but from Wisconsin) and was working out there when they met. They got to know each other from afar which was an unconventional but ideal way to start a relationship (in my opinion!), and when they met in person? Oh man, I'm pretty sure they both got hit with the fireworks pretty instantly! Katrina and I met him and we both KNEW that this was IT. That was just this summer! We met his family and can see where he gets his good nature and happy, good attitude. We are already planning the years to come and Matt is intertwined in our family and our plans.
Matt is a total goof and fits in with the boys in our family so well, you'd think he's been around forever. Upon our first meeting, both Katrina and I told our SIL separately (without having talked about our first impressions with each other) that one word to describe him would be "humble"!
We've all fallen in love with him. I have a hard time NOT referring to him as "your uncle, Matt" even though they have one of those already (Matt is my sis, Katrina's hubs and also my son's name...in case you didn't know).
So, Matt has to share names with his future brother in law and future nephew (no, they're not engaged yet...a girl can dream) and he's also going to have to share Anna's best love with me and Trine (thus, "Matt Cubed"! Hahaha! Get it????) but he's so sweet, he can handle it all.
He had to go back to his job on the Ocean for four months and we are already missing him so much. We said goodbye at Thanksgiving and I got a chance to take some pictures of him and Anna and also took some video which perfectly illustrates how comfortable they are with each other and how DANG CUTE they are together.
Check it out and just TRY not to say "awwwww". I dare you.
Happy Birthday to you, Anna (December 24th) and Merry Christmas to Matt on the other side of the world.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Still Crazy After All These Years
Yesterday Butch and I celebrated 15 years of wedded bliss...or, as I told him on the phone, "more like, 11 or so great years and the rest not as great" heh!
Yes, we had to "celebrate" our anniversary on different sides of Minnesota. He was working in Duluth and I was on a mini-vacation with the kids near Nisswa. I didn't even remember it was our anniversary until I was "On a Bus to St. Cloud, Minnesota" that's the truth! Just outside of St. Cloud, after talking to him and saying our "goodnight"s, I had to call him back around 9pm and wake him up because my mom called me and asked if we were home yet and joked that we "sure had some kind of anniversary, huh?".
Whoopsie!
Hopefully we'll be able to go out tonight (when he gets home from Duluth) or maybe we'll just get the movie "Return to Me" and have some alone time after the kids go to bed.
I've already said on this blog all of the nice things about my husband but I guess it doesn't hurt to say a few more...
I love him more and more every year. He is more attractive to me than any other guy out there (yeah, I gots me the 'love blinders' but bad!). He is the finest father I could ever hope for for these children of ours. I really don't know what I did to deserve him. He is immensely patient with my womanly worries and neurotic tendencies. He really understands me and is my bestist best friend (with benefits heehee).
He works at places like this:
to keep us fed and clothed and housed in the manner to which we have become accustomed (man, I've always wanted to use that phrase!).
Umm hmmm, he took that picture from the top of one of his jobs just last week.
He has been working in places like that for 12+ years.
He told me a long time ago that he's still afraid of heights.
THAT'S how much he loves us.
That's how much he loves ME.
I couldn't ask for more, nor would I want to!
P.S. Please pray for Butch right now for a special intention, thank you!
Yes, we had to "celebrate" our anniversary on different sides of Minnesota. He was working in Duluth and I was on a mini-vacation with the kids near Nisswa. I didn't even remember it was our anniversary until I was "On a Bus to St. Cloud, Minnesota" that's the truth! Just outside of St. Cloud, after talking to him and saying our "goodnight"s, I had to call him back around 9pm and wake him up because my mom called me and asked if we were home yet and joked that we "sure had some kind of anniversary, huh?".
Whoopsie!
Hopefully we'll be able to go out tonight (when he gets home from Duluth) or maybe we'll just get the movie "Return to Me" and have some alone time after the kids go to bed.
I've already said on this blog all of the nice things about my husband but I guess it doesn't hurt to say a few more...
I love him more and more every year. He is more attractive to me than any other guy out there (yeah, I gots me the 'love blinders' but bad!). He is the finest father I could ever hope for for these children of ours. I really don't know what I did to deserve him. He is immensely patient with my womanly worries and neurotic tendencies. He really understands me and is my bestist best friend (with benefits heehee).
He works at places like this:
to keep us fed and clothed and housed in the manner to which we have become accustomed (man, I've always wanted to use that phrase!).
Umm hmmm, he took that picture from the top of one of his jobs just last week.
He has been working in places like that for 12+ years.
He told me a long time ago that he's still afraid of heights.
THAT'S how much he loves us.
That's how much he loves ME.
I couldn't ask for more, nor would I want to!
P.S. Please pray for Butch right now for a special intention, thank you!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
One Of Us
I just LOVE the fact that people use blogs to advertise! For instance, Rachie and Billy's photographer has a BLOG! She posted a BUNCH of cool pictures of the wedding. Now you can see how beautiful and fun the wedding day was for all of us and I didn't even have to take any pictures! My sis, Katrina took one of all of us sibs that were involved in the wedding (Me, Nick, Trine, Anna) so I'll post that one later. In the big, outside B&W shot of the whole party, I'm third bridesmaid from the left. My mom and dad are the ones on the Schntizelbank picture (don't they look so cute?). The 23rd one down, the one with the guy in the orange shirt, is one of my favorite. Pete (my bro) is the one in the orange shirt. My uncle Tommy (who MY Tommy is named after and who is my dad's brother...Billy's father) is singing like crazy and in between them, is my funny cousin, Randy (he's a devout Catholic, about 25 years old, and SINGLE...girls? girls?) who sprayed Billy's mouth before the big kiss.
Anna and Trina are in the shot right below that one cheering and toasting. My brother, Rudy is behind them as well. The whole family had such a great time. We were all invited and all included in some way or another and my children were all invited and they ALL stayed until the last dance (Butch and baby Tommy went home around 10, they both needed some sleep after the long day of me being gone for pictures and the wedding). Bocker and Matty danced nearly every dance and they love it. I really gotta take them out more! The girls danced almost every dance and twirled so pretty in their dresses (isn't that what dresses are for?).
Rachie and Trina went to school together and were bffs since about 7 or 8th grade and by proxy, Rachie has been my friend that whole time too! Billy is our cousin (same age as my brother Nick). Theirs is a LONG and beautiful story. Sometime I'll tell it (when I don't have a bathroom to paint or a 2 year old who likes to put her feet on the keyboard and needs a nap)!
Enjoy the pictures and please comment about them, I'm sure Rachie and Billy would appreciate it!
Anna and Trina are in the shot right below that one cheering and toasting. My brother, Rudy is behind them as well. The whole family had such a great time. We were all invited and all included in some way or another and my children were all invited and they ALL stayed until the last dance (Butch and baby Tommy went home around 10, they both needed some sleep after the long day of me being gone for pictures and the wedding). Bocker and Matty danced nearly every dance and they love it. I really gotta take them out more! The girls danced almost every dance and twirled so pretty in their dresses (isn't that what dresses are for?).
Rachie and Trina went to school together and were bffs since about 7 or 8th grade and by proxy, Rachie has been my friend that whole time too! Billy is our cousin (same age as my brother Nick). Theirs is a LONG and beautiful story. Sometime I'll tell it (when I don't have a bathroom to paint or a 2 year old who likes to put her feet on the keyboard and needs a nap)!
Enjoy the pictures and please comment about them, I'm sure Rachie and Billy would appreciate it!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Dancing With The Stars...
...preschool style! Presenting...Cousins and Future ballroom partners:
Niklaus(4) and Gabriella(5)
Niklaus(4) and Gabriella(5)
Friday, January 11, 2008
Mysonthecrazymatty
Matty graduated from advanced blue belt into red belt in karate tonight. He also decided to stop going to karate after tonight(the dojo wasn't the very best and I had a lot of issues with the way they run their business, we'll probably all join a place that teaches Thaikwando in the fall). He really liked baseball last summer and is looking forward to it this year, and maybe trying football in the early fall.
Tonight, I was both embarrassed by him and so proud of him at the same time. See, when they finally receive their belts, the instructor asks them individual questions as he's putting on the belt. Such as: "Are you going to work really hard for your (next color) belt?", "Are you going to listen to your mom?"
To which the kid then says, "YES, SIR!!!" then each kid gives him a high five and they move on.
A thought occurred to me and I quickly tried to get Matty's attention. I mouthed to Matty, "Just say 'yes sir'!" because I saw that "Matty twinkle" in his eye and knew darn well what he was planning. I also knew that he was struggling as much as I was with what his answer would be...but after he saw what I was trying to get him to do, he looked pretty, darn confident in his decision.
Sigh.
So, the instructor called his name, told him to raise his arms up, and as he's putting on the belt he asks, "Matt, are you going to work really hard for your advanced belt?"
"NO! SIR!"
"Are you going to work really hard for your black belt...someday?"
"NO! SIR!"
What could I do? It's a small room with a ton of people in it, probably all thinking how disrespectful this kid is or that maybe he has "behavioral problems"? But, I just smiled (after I kind of cringed) knowing the truth behind his answer.
Matty will NOT lie. He will not say he's going to do something if he means not to do it. He will NOT say something just to appease everyone (even very publicly) if it is not the 100 percent truth.
(Oh, I forgot that before we even went tonight, we were discussing whether or not he'd continue with this place and he told me the reasons he didn't want to. One was that he was concerned that it was too much money. Two was that he didn't like the fact that the owner/instructor didn't teach them very much and he relied on his student/instructors too much. Three was that he thought it was appalling that the owner had a framed dollar in his office. I explained that that's just what new business owners do, that it was kind of a tradition to frame your "first dollar" but the more I explained it, the stupider it sounded and I realized that I have an very observant son. I knew (just by knowing him well) that he thought that that was a kind of blasphemy or "money worship" of some sort. I don't lecture or talk about that kind of stuff so I was surprised that he even thought of that!)
That's Matty. Oh, two more things about this goofy son of mine...After karate, we went to Papa Murphy's to pick some stuff up for supper. I went in by myself (Weazy and Matty were in the van) and I came out with arms full. Matthew jumped out of his seat and leaned into the driver's seat and asked, "What can I help you with, Mom?". It struck me that he NEVER forgets or misses an opportunity to help someone when they need it. I told him that. I told him how happy and proud I was that, when he sees someone in need, he doesn't EVER hesitate to help that person and that that was a quality that most people DO NOT have (especially so young, he's had it forever). He said, "Sure they do, everyone does that, right?!". And that's what he really thinks.
Weazy helped, too, but only after seeing Matty's example. She's been doing that a lot lately, too. She also sat and counted the cinnamon rolls that I got for breakfast tomorrow morning and noticed that there was one extra roll than person in our family. I joked to her, "Yeah, that's for me because I'm a 'two-fer'! I have a whole, extra person inside me right now, so I get TWO of everything!" She and Matty sat and thought about that for a second and Matty blurts out:
"Hey, Mom...AND you have TWO hearts inside your body right now!"
I love that kid.
Tonight, I was both embarrassed by him and so proud of him at the same time. See, when they finally receive their belts, the instructor asks them individual questions as he's putting on the belt. Such as: "Are you going to work really hard for your (next color) belt?", "Are you going to listen to your mom?"
To which the kid then says, "YES, SIR!!!" then each kid gives him a high five and they move on.
A thought occurred to me and I quickly tried to get Matty's attention. I mouthed to Matty, "Just say 'yes sir'!" because I saw that "Matty twinkle" in his eye and knew darn well what he was planning. I also knew that he was struggling as much as I was with what his answer would be...but after he saw what I was trying to get him to do, he looked pretty, darn confident in his decision.
Sigh.
So, the instructor called his name, told him to raise his arms up, and as he's putting on the belt he asks, "Matt, are you going to work really hard for your advanced belt?"
"NO! SIR!"
"Are you going to work really hard for your black belt...someday?"
"NO! SIR!"
What could I do? It's a small room with a ton of people in it, probably all thinking how disrespectful this kid is or that maybe he has "behavioral problems"? But, I just smiled (after I kind of cringed) knowing the truth behind his answer.
Matty will NOT lie. He will not say he's going to do something if he means not to do it. He will NOT say something just to appease everyone (even very publicly) if it is not the 100 percent truth.
(Oh, I forgot that before we even went tonight, we were discussing whether or not he'd continue with this place and he told me the reasons he didn't want to. One was that he was concerned that it was too much money. Two was that he didn't like the fact that the owner/instructor didn't teach them very much and he relied on his student/instructors too much. Three was that he thought it was appalling that the owner had a framed dollar in his office. I explained that that's just what new business owners do, that it was kind of a tradition to frame your "first dollar" but the more I explained it, the stupider it sounded and I realized that I have an very observant son. I knew (just by knowing him well) that he thought that that was a kind of blasphemy or "money worship" of some sort. I don't lecture or talk about that kind of stuff so I was surprised that he even thought of that!)
That's Matty. Oh, two more things about this goofy son of mine...After karate, we went to Papa Murphy's to pick some stuff up for supper. I went in by myself (Weazy and Matty were in the van) and I came out with arms full. Matthew jumped out of his seat and leaned into the driver's seat and asked, "What can I help you with, Mom?". It struck me that he NEVER forgets or misses an opportunity to help someone when they need it. I told him that. I told him how happy and proud I was that, when he sees someone in need, he doesn't EVER hesitate to help that person and that that was a quality that most people DO NOT have (especially so young, he's had it forever). He said, "Sure they do, everyone does that, right?!". And that's what he really thinks.
Weazy helped, too, but only after seeing Matty's example. She's been doing that a lot lately, too. She also sat and counted the cinnamon rolls that I got for breakfast tomorrow morning and noticed that there was one extra roll than person in our family. I joked to her, "Yeah, that's for me because I'm a 'two-fer'! I have a whole, extra person inside me right now, so I get TWO of everything!" She and Matty sat and thought about that for a second and Matty blurts out:
"Hey, Mom...AND you have TWO hearts inside your body right now!"
I love that kid.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Giving Thanks
I was feeling a little sorry for myself as three of the kids are down for the count (croupy cough, fevers, headaches) and we may not get to enjoy Thanksgiving festivities.
But...
Then I read about this and I can't think about much else.
Butch is home from out of town, we get the next few days off to do some organizing and getting healthy again. We get time with each other.
We are all HERE. We are all alive. We may not be 100 percent healthy, but we are generally healthy and well.
Hug your babies! Whisper a prayer for ALL of our brothers and sisters that can't this weekend.
But...
Then I read about this and I can't think about much else.
Butch is home from out of town, we get the next few days off to do some organizing and getting healthy again. We get time with each other.
We are all HERE. We are all alive. We may not be 100 percent healthy, but we are generally healthy and well.
Hug your babies! Whisper a prayer for ALL of our brothers and sisters that can't this weekend.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
When Laura Met Butchy
(This picture was taken right around the time we got engaged...six months after we met! It's also one of the ONLY pictures I have of Butch with a beard! He never grows it because it itches him WAY too much and he can't have one at work. I just got this from my grandma the other day. She's moving and gave us grandkids our albums she lovingly made for each of us. I had forgotten all about this picture!)
I have told this story so many times that I feel like every one's heard it! Shelly just requested it in my comment box, so here goes:
(stop reading if you've heard this one!)
ONCE upon a time, I was eighteen and just graduated from high school. It was the lovely month of June and I was looking forward to a summer of work before I started a technical college in the fall with the hopes of becoming an LPN (or something...wasn't quite sure about that one) and enjoying my freedom.
I only had one trip planned for the summer and that was to go to North Dakota where I would spend a week as a camp counselor (my third year) at an Indian reservation (2nd and 3rd graders).
My friend, Jen called me out of the blue and asked me if I would like to go out with a friend of her new boyfriend (she had fixed me up like this before and it had resulted in a nice, but ultimately wrong relationship that lasted a few months the year before).
My answer to her went something like this, "UGH! NO! I am going to my cousin's wedding on that weekend and I really want to go to the reception. It's going to be so fun and the music is supposed to be awesome! What is the deal with this guy anyway...is he cute?"
She proceeded to tell me that he was cute, that he was her boyfriends best friend and neighbor since childhood, and that he had recently broken up with a psycho girlfriend who, incidentally, came over to his apartment while Jen was there with her boyfriend visiting. Psycho came knocking on the door (according to Jen) and, drunk as a skunk, demanded Butch to give her a ride home or it would be on his conscience if she died in a car crash. Butch didn't give in to her psycho-ness and told her to leave (I think he called a cab, it's a little sketchy at this point). So, Jen figured he could do much better and she was trying to fix him up with ME!
I gave in, just because Jen kept after me and making me feel guilty (it wasn't hard to do that back then) and we got ready that Saturday night (after I attended the wedding...I'll always remember my cousin's anniversary was June 15th, 1991!) for our "big date" that supposedly the boys were in charge of planning. Mmmmhmmm. We called them and they said, "We thought YOU were making the plan.". So, we went over to Butch's parent's house (he still lived in the cities then and was visiting for the weekend), planless, to meet this dude I didn't really know anything about except he had a psycho ex-girlfriend and that Jen thought he was cute.
Not very promising sounding? I was NOT happy with the situation, and I wanted nothing more than to bag the whole night and join my family at the reception that I wanted to go to in the FIRST place!
So, I sat and grumbled the whole way to the house (he only grew up about 15 miles from me in a town about two towns away) and kicked myself for suckering into the guilt-fest given to me by my friend.
When we arrived at his house, Chad and Butch were playing cribbage at the kitchen table and I was introduced to them both. They finished their game (I was both repelled by the cribbage game-because my dad never taught us girls that game...only the boys and that always made me mad...and attracted-it was cool that he did the things that the men I loved knew how to do. WOW, was that kind of a strange revelation there? It played perfectly into my theory that I have now; that we look for the things we love about our family in our spouses and friends!) and I stood there stupidly forgetting which one was "Butch"...you know...the one I was supposed to be hooked up with? I was hoping it was the "cute one" (no offence to Chad, they were both cute, but I thought one was more my type: tall, dark, and handsome!) so I took a deep breath and asked again who was who. YAY! Butch was the cute one!
We all hemmed and hawed about what we should do on our "date" and we came to the conclusion that we should watch a movie (Butch's mom was a movie-pirate galore...she had hundreds of movies on VHS at the time!). We watched "When Harry Met Sally" which I had never had any interest in before, but found absolutely HILARIOUS and perfect for a first date that night. It is a classic, don't you think?
During the movie, I was acutely aware of the fact that Butch was sitting across the room (due to the movie viewing arrangement) and that, in retrospect, a movie wasn't really a good idea for a first date and getting to know one another! I had my hair up in a "do" for the wedding, so I took it out of my pins to be more comfortable. Did I know what this would do to Butch? You darn tootin' I did! Yeah, I didn't know him yet...and yeah, it was a little mean to put that temptation in front of a guy when he didn't even know if I would last through ONE date, but I was feeling kind of brave and more than a little "I don't care" about what happened with my life at that point. So, I decided to (literally) let down my hair. I knew what that move did to any red-blooded dude and I didn't CARE! I was pulling out all the stops that night, I tell you (heehee, I didn't have any "moves". I was a good girl so I had to keep the fire going, if you know what I mean. Us good girls didn't just "give it all up" so we had to learn how to be mysterious!)!
You see, I had had lots and lots of dates and boyfriends in high school and I was TIRED of it all. I had looked into maybe becoming a nurse so I could have a useful skill when I went to Guatemala to be a missionary...or something like that. I was even thinking about becoming a nun because it seemed like there was no boy/man who could really be the "one" and I was always dissatisfied by something in their personality. I really thought it was me. I never blamed any guy for my problems with their personality. I rarely came across any true "jerks" it's just that, after "going with" someone for a while, I would get bored, wonder what it would be like to "go with" so-and-so (a different guy I was attracted to at the time), and then break up with the guy knowing that it wasn't fair that I was having feelings for someone else. That was very fair of me, don't you think?
After the movie, Chad and Jen went out for a walk to have some "alone time" and left Butch and I sitting there like a couple of dorks, wondering what the heck to talk about. Well, it turns out that he likes to talk almost as much as me, so we had NO problem in that arena! We chatted nicely about many things, including the stuff in the paragraph above! We went for a walk, too, to continue the conversation and it was such a nice night. I don't remember the other things we talked about, but I DO remember that we both expressed that we would probably never get married (to anyone...we weren't really together, remember? so we were just talking about ourselves!) and we would most definitely never have kids!
Okay. I'll give you a moment to stop laughing your head off about that one...
After Jen and Chad met up with us again, we chatted a little more, then Jen and Chad said "goodbye" to each other in private (winkwink) and left Butch and I again. Standing there. Feeling pretty dorky. Soooooo....I did what any good, proper, modest, devout Catholic girl would do. I sidled up to him and gave him a huge smackaroonie!
He was shocked (but I didn't find that out until much later!). He was a VERY good kisser! Looking back, I think I did this impulsive thing for three reasons:
1. He looked so goofy there, wondering what would be proper to do, so I decided to take the pressure off of him.
2. I wanted him to know that I really liked him and that I was available for future dates.
3. He was flippin' cute, but it didn't matter that much if he was a bad kisser...so I had to just figure it out asap.
He tasted like strawberry yogurt (I think it was the beer he drank, and the fruit we were munching on earlier). It was nice.
So, the next weekend Jen and Chad called for a second date...this time to the actual movie theater. We went out on our own the following weekend...and the weekend after that...etc., etc.. We outlasted Jen and Chad (Chad eventually married Jen's sister!) and we live, most happily, ever after.
The End
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
14 Years Ago Today...
...I would have never guessed that 14 years from that time, I'd be sitting in my living room, pregnant with my umpteenth child all from the man that I married on that day! I didn't have any future ambitions with Butch, I was just happy to finally be with him and looking forward to whatever was going to happen to us, together.
It was a hot day. I mean HOT. There was a flash flood in the morning (so it was pointless to even do my hair that day, as evidenced by the wedding pictures) but the rain did nothing to alleviate the humidity and steam coming off of the sidewalks. The whole day was a blur and I only had about 1 glass of wine all day!
Today it was pretty, dang hot, but it wasn't as hot (even on my two mile run this afternoon) as it was under 3 crinolines and a very heavy, satin dress...With long sleeves...That were poofy. Really poofy:
Okay, I'm getting sidetracked...
The wedding day was one, teeny blip on the radar screen of our lives. If I were to do it all over again I would have eliminated all the fluff, gotten a simpler dress, gathered flowers from the garden instead of paying through the teeth for "professional floral arrangements", invited only close friends and family, had a night (candlelight) ceremony, and had a daytime reception in the backyard, made a yummy desert instead of an icky ol' cake, had ONE maid of honor and ONE best man and THAT'S ALL for a bridal party, and I would have had some kind of pig roast or maybe a prime rib roast instead of lame-o chicken.
BUT...
I can't do it all over again because, holy man, why would I want to get married again? I did okay the first time and I'm still with that guy! He wanted to watch a movie tonight but I am going to work (I got a very part time job at a children's store in the area for at night, when the kids are in bed and I'd be up on the computer or reading anyway! I pretty much spend my income on the super-sale priced clothes that I get for an extra 30% off!) so I think we'll move the festivities to the weekend.
I love him very much and would like to do another tribute to him, but I'm afraid I'd bore you all with the mooshy gooshy stuff. Let's just say that, even after all these years, he still makes my heart go all aflutter. Especially when I see these, sexy things sitting around the house when he comes home from work:
AWWWW, Yeah, baby! That's the STUFF! I swear there is nothing hotter than a pair of Redwing work boots that someone actually WORKED in! Okayyyyy, it might not be for every woman. Some ladies really get all cranked up by guys who are all unnaturally buff, wear designer clothes, and get manicures. It may seem strange to those ladies that I find a trim waist on a guy to be kind of disgusting, but it's true! Give me a well-fed, naturally muscled (from actual WORK), slightly scruffy guy over those pansy guys any day of the week (oh, except maybe Sunday, I wouldn't mind if he actually styled his hair or spiffed up a little for church!)! No pretty boys allowed!
NOT FOR ME!
There's something so endearing to me about the manly-man stuff like, oh, I don't know...Working, taking care of your family, practicing ball with the kids (even in the house), teasing everyone and loving them so much that they don't so much mind the teasing, vacuuming, and just being a great husband who makes a woman feel so loved and desired at all times (yes, even when U.G.L.Y like when my eyes were puffed shut after having Mari and I cried, got all bloated, and went crazy for a couple of days after I got home from the hospital. If he could stay with me after THAT, he either has REALLY LOW standards, or is very love-blinded).
Alrighty, I said I wouldn't go on and on about that guy, so I'll talk about some girl stuff now.
I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring about 3 years ago. The prongs got entangled in the carpet when I was playing with the kids, and one day I realized that the "big" diamond was missing. There were two, teeny diamonds on either side of it and the bigger one was set up higher than the other two. It was VERY simple, which is how I liked it. I didn't mind so much not wearing a wedding ring set because my hands are so ugly and short-fingered, wrinkly, and freckly with short, bitten nails.
I thought that I would never really get around to getting it fixed, and even toyed with the idea of not replacing it with a diamond, but a CZ or something instead. I started to bring Trina to the custom jewelry shop to make a ring for herself with some of the other homeschoolers (Katheryn said she wanted to help someone learn about what she does and I was happy to oblige! She did this on her own time and for free) and I finally brought my ring in for Katheryn to look at for some ideas. My sis gave me the idea of a colored stone. It's my October birthstone (pinkish-purpley) in tourmaline and she added some white gold in the crack of where the engagement ring and the wedding band were fused together. She used half round bezels instead of prongs and replaced the two, little diamonds because she said she ruined one when she was making it all. I think they are much prettier and I can't believe how little she charged me. I think she gave me such a discount because I helped her when she needed a wine-pourer for her grand opening (again, happy to oblige!). She's a very talented woman and a very sweet friend! Here is a picture of how it turned out. I took it at night so it's kind of hard to see:
Pretty, huh?
So, all in all, today turned out to be like most days but I like most days. So that's just fine by me!
I look forward to many more years and maybe many more children with this hunk of a man. Happy Anniversary Hubs!
Ah loves yew.
It was a hot day. I mean HOT. There was a flash flood in the morning (so it was pointless to even do my hair that day, as evidenced by the wedding pictures) but the rain did nothing to alleviate the humidity and steam coming off of the sidewalks. The whole day was a blur and I only had about 1 glass of wine all day!
Today it was pretty, dang hot, but it wasn't as hot (even on my two mile run this afternoon) as it was under 3 crinolines and a very heavy, satin dress...With long sleeves...That were poofy. Really poofy:
Okay, I'm getting sidetracked...
The wedding day was one, teeny blip on the radar screen of our lives. If I were to do it all over again I would have eliminated all the fluff, gotten a simpler dress, gathered flowers from the garden instead of paying through the teeth for "professional floral arrangements", invited only close friends and family, had a night (candlelight) ceremony, and had a daytime reception in the backyard, made a yummy desert instead of an icky ol' cake, had ONE maid of honor and ONE best man and THAT'S ALL for a bridal party, and I would have had some kind of pig roast or maybe a prime rib roast instead of lame-o chicken.
BUT...
I can't do it all over again because, holy man, why would I want to get married again? I did okay the first time and I'm still with that guy! He wanted to watch a movie tonight but I am going to work (I got a very part time job at a children's store in the area for at night, when the kids are in bed and I'd be up on the computer or reading anyway! I pretty much spend my income on the super-sale priced clothes that I get for an extra 30% off!) so I think we'll move the festivities to the weekend.
I love him very much and would like to do another tribute to him, but I'm afraid I'd bore you all with the mooshy gooshy stuff. Let's just say that, even after all these years, he still makes my heart go all aflutter. Especially when I see these, sexy things sitting around the house when he comes home from work:
AWWWW, Yeah, baby! That's the STUFF! I swear there is nothing hotter than a pair of Redwing work boots that someone actually WORKED in! Okayyyyy, it might not be for every woman. Some ladies really get all cranked up by guys who are all unnaturally buff, wear designer clothes, and get manicures. It may seem strange to those ladies that I find a trim waist on a guy to be kind of disgusting, but it's true! Give me a well-fed, naturally muscled (from actual WORK), slightly scruffy guy over those pansy guys any day of the week (oh, except maybe Sunday, I wouldn't mind if he actually styled his hair or spiffed up a little for church!)! No pretty boys allowed!
NOT FOR ME!
There's something so endearing to me about the manly-man stuff like, oh, I don't know...Working, taking care of your family, practicing ball with the kids (even in the house), teasing everyone and loving them so much that they don't so much mind the teasing, vacuuming, and just being a great husband who makes a woman feel so loved and desired at all times (yes, even when U.G.L.Y like when my eyes were puffed shut after having Mari and I cried, got all bloated, and went crazy for a couple of days after I got home from the hospital. If he could stay with me after THAT, he either has REALLY LOW standards, or is very love-blinded).
Alrighty, I said I wouldn't go on and on about that guy, so I'll talk about some girl stuff now.
I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring about 3 years ago. The prongs got entangled in the carpet when I was playing with the kids, and one day I realized that the "big" diamond was missing. There were two, teeny diamonds on either side of it and the bigger one was set up higher than the other two. It was VERY simple, which is how I liked it. I didn't mind so much not wearing a wedding ring set because my hands are so ugly and short-fingered, wrinkly, and freckly with short, bitten nails.
I thought that I would never really get around to getting it fixed, and even toyed with the idea of not replacing it with a diamond, but a CZ or something instead. I started to bring Trina to the custom jewelry shop to make a ring for herself with some of the other homeschoolers (Katheryn said she wanted to help someone learn about what she does and I was happy to oblige! She did this on her own time and for free) and I finally brought my ring in for Katheryn to look at for some ideas. My sis gave me the idea of a colored stone. It's my October birthstone (pinkish-purpley) in tourmaline and she added some white gold in the crack of where the engagement ring and the wedding band were fused together. She used half round bezels instead of prongs and replaced the two, little diamonds because she said she ruined one when she was making it all. I think they are much prettier and I can't believe how little she charged me. I think she gave me such a discount because I helped her when she needed a wine-pourer for her grand opening (again, happy to oblige!). She's a very talented woman and a very sweet friend! Here is a picture of how it turned out. I took it at night so it's kind of hard to see:
Pretty, huh?
So, all in all, today turned out to be like most days but I like most days. So that's just fine by me!
I look forward to many more years and maybe many more children with this hunk of a man. Happy Anniversary Hubs!
Ah loves yew.
Friday, June 29, 2007
If You Had ONE Chance...
...to help a person understand that the Catholic faith is NOT a cult and that person was open to reading A book suggested by you...which one would you choose? Please help a friend of mine by praying for her and suggesting a book that you believe may open her mother's heart to her daughter's faith and to better understand where her daughter is coming from. My new, beautiful friend is having a very tough time with her mother and needs the healing that only the Lord can provide. She (my friend) told me tonight that her mother was "ashamed" of her and that our faith was a "cult". I know her mother must be a very good person (because of her daughter's great faith, and how she blessed her mother by becoming a wonderful mother herself!) so she just needs a little "boost" in the department of understanding.
Please pray for my friend's mother for the grace of understanding and wisdom.
Please pray for my friend for perseverance in loving her mother despite the lack of understanding (we could all probably use help in this area!).
*Faith Of Our Fathers was given as a suggestion by another friend, do you have any input about it?
Thank you!
Please pray for my friend's mother for the grace of understanding and wisdom.
Please pray for my friend for perseverance in loving her mother despite the lack of understanding (we could all probably use help in this area!).
*Faith Of Our Fathers was given as a suggestion by another friend, do you have any input about it?
Thank you!
Friday, June 08, 2007
Anna's Alaskan Adventure
I know the REAL stories will be exciting enough, but I couldn't help posting this story from my very best favorite romance author (taken without permission from my combox). I hope she's inspired to write more. She's quite talented!
Installation number 1 of Anna's Alaskan Adventure:
I can picture it all now. She is standing there, a bear ready to pounce, her feet are stuck in the snow. An eagle calls out across the azure sky just as the bear growls and takes a step forward. She shouldn't have taken his salmon...
The wind shifted and on the air there was a hint of bay rum.
Out of the trees jumps Mountain Mike.
"Stay back, Anna," he speaks calmly, his voice deep and rough from lack of conversation.
The bear stares at Anna with hunger and anger, than at Mike.
A long moment passes as Anna reaches forward and grabs a hold of the back of Mike's red flannel shirt.
The woods are silent waiting for the moment that was to come. Mike clicked the bullet into place on his rifle, the sound echoing off the trees and mountains around them.
The bear lifts its paw and then with a huff turns and walks back to the river for another salmon. It wasn’t worth it.
Anna takes a deep breath and lets go of Mike's shirt.
He turned with a smile and pushed back the rim of his John Deere hat. She looked down at the salmon she had dropped and asked his softly, "Are you hungry?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered. She saw the sunlight glint of the crucifix around his neck and knew her sister would approve right before he took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.
Installation number 1 of Anna's Alaskan Adventure:
I can picture it all now. She is standing there, a bear ready to pounce, her feet are stuck in the snow. An eagle calls out across the azure sky just as the bear growls and takes a step forward. She shouldn't have taken his salmon...
The wind shifted and on the air there was a hint of bay rum.
Out of the trees jumps Mountain Mike.
"Stay back, Anna," he speaks calmly, his voice deep and rough from lack of conversation.
The bear stares at Anna with hunger and anger, than at Mike.
A long moment passes as Anna reaches forward and grabs a hold of the back of Mike's red flannel shirt.
The woods are silent waiting for the moment that was to come. Mike clicked the bullet into place on his rifle, the sound echoing off the trees and mountains around them.
The bear lifts its paw and then with a huff turns and walks back to the river for another salmon. It wasn’t worth it.
Anna takes a deep breath and lets go of Mike's shirt.
He turned with a smile and pushed back the rim of his John Deere hat. She looked down at the salmon she had dropped and asked his softly, "Are you hungry?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered. She saw the sunlight glint of the crucifix around his neck and knew her sister would approve right before he took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Another Beauty
We welcomed another niece into the family on Friday. Her name is Sofia Elizabeth and she was induced 9 days early and weighed 6lbs 2oz. She is as gorgeous as her siblings Roman and Lucia (don't all those names sound wonderful together!) and she will probably come home on Sunday. Please pray for my sister (the "in law" is too formal, she really feels like my actual sister) because she is suffering from a very painful kidney problem and with three little ones, the next few months (heck, years) won't be easy ones! This picture doesn't do Nellie justice (my SIL) but, after all, she DID just have a baby a few moments before it was taken! She is a beautiful woman with a HUGE heart and I'm so proud to call her "sister"...that, and she makes some CUTE babies!
Oh, I should probably mention my brother, Peter...he had something to do with the whole thing but...I forget what. (scratching head) Oh well, he was there (so I've been told...he's in the pictures so...) but I could barely notice him through all the other people that were there:
Nellie's mom, Beth...
her two sisters, Jolene and Jody...
Trine...
and me!
He might have just been an "extra" in the whole event, but Nellie is so glad for his support and love (He had to fight his way to her side through the whole delivery. It was kind of funny to see him trying to edge his way through the women to even give Nellie a kiss or brush her hair from her forehead! Just kiddin', Pete, you are a great daddy and you did a good job, too!). We have made quite a scene in that hospital ever since we started deliveries there (Trine's 4, Nellie's 3, and one of mine). Every time, I think, we've had at LEAST two other people besides the husband there to witness the new babies come into the world. The staff there might be getting annoyed, but they are very accommodating and we are getting very good at shrinking into the corner and being quiet and polite when the dr. or nurse comes into the room so no one gets "kicked out"! I LOVE being surrounded by my "posse" when the baby comes! After experiencing birth this way so many times (either me or witnessing my sis/sis-in-law) I imagine that only having Butch there would almost be depressing! No offense to Butch, it's just that the party atmosphere takes your mind off the pain and the worry of what is to come. A good friend of Nellie's was delivering down the hall (her first) and she said today to my sis that she heard the cheers when Sofia was born...everybody heard! Now THAT is a great way to come into the world...with a built-in fan club, joy, and more love surrounding you than you can possibly imagine!
Oh, I should probably mention my brother, Peter...he had something to do with the whole thing but...I forget what. (scratching head) Oh well, he was there (so I've been told...he's in the pictures so...) but I could barely notice him through all the other people that were there:
Nellie's mom, Beth...
her two sisters, Jolene and Jody...
Trine...
and me!
He might have just been an "extra" in the whole event, but Nellie is so glad for his support and love (He had to fight his way to her side through the whole delivery. It was kind of funny to see him trying to edge his way through the women to even give Nellie a kiss or brush her hair from her forehead! Just kiddin', Pete, you are a great daddy and you did a good job, too!). We have made quite a scene in that hospital ever since we started deliveries there (Trine's 4, Nellie's 3, and one of mine). Every time, I think, we've had at LEAST two other people besides the husband there to witness the new babies come into the world. The staff there might be getting annoyed, but they are very accommodating and we are getting very good at shrinking into the corner and being quiet and polite when the dr. or nurse comes into the room so no one gets "kicked out"! I LOVE being surrounded by my "posse" when the baby comes! After experiencing birth this way so many times (either me or witnessing my sis/sis-in-law) I imagine that only having Butch there would almost be depressing! No offense to Butch, it's just that the party atmosphere takes your mind off the pain and the worry of what is to come. A good friend of Nellie's was delivering down the hall (her first) and she said today to my sis that she heard the cheers when Sofia was born...everybody heard! Now THAT is a great way to come into the world...with a built-in fan club, joy, and more love surrounding you than you can possibly imagine!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Poem For Butch II
Last night we were joking around about something (having to do with height?) and he walked away kidding with the words, "What are you talking about? I'm ten foot, two!" to one of the kids. It put some funny ideas in my head and I couldn't stop rhyming so I decided to blog about it. He IS ten foot, two in my book!
BIG BUTCH (sort of to the tune to "Big John")
He's ten foot, two
two-twenty, too
He's got big, bad pipes
and a heart that's true
Big Butch
He rolls with the flow
He hates the snow
(Except for plowing)
He'd like to tell it where to go
Big Butch
I love that man
Beside him I stand
He's got a crooked hip
But I love his can
Big Butch
One day he'll go
What I'll do I don't know
He drives me crazy
And I love him so.
Big Butch
BIG BUTCH (sort of to the tune to "Big John")
He's ten foot, two
two-twenty, too
He's got big, bad pipes
and a heart that's true
Big Butch
He rolls with the flow
He hates the snow
(Except for plowing)
He'd like to tell it where to go
Big Butch
I love that man
Beside him I stand
He's got a crooked hip
But I love his can
Big Butch
One day he'll go
What I'll do I don't know
He drives me crazy
And I love him so.
Big Butch
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