Lessons from an attack dog....and the many expressions of Eden

Eden had her 2 year pictures taken last weekend in Huntley. Jane does such an awsome job of catching Eden as she discovers something. Narrowing it down to post only a few pics was a hard job! (If you want to see them all, email me and I'll send you the direct link.)


Eden, happy as usual.


The magic of wonderness......

Where would a child be without rocks, really?

In case anybody wants to know of the uneventful things in our life this past week:

The dishwasher had stopped dispensing soap, the clothes washer has stopped ringing out the clothes, the young plummer thinks the smell in the bathroom is the air freshener & the experienced one thinks it's the smell of soap. (This is still being voted on...) An entire days stack of mail has disappeared, the cradle sheets that I ordered are 6" too small, & my crocs shrunk in the heat, so I'm down to one pair of Birkenstocks until the replacement order gets sent (please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery).

Eden is back to stripping full time.

The doctor claims that I'm no where near delivering a baby. Thanks, doc.

Eden cried for AJ, Reilly & Lexi until Wednesday. When she wasn't screaming their name, she was wailing for reasons unknown to me. And since my Mom was out of town, I couldn't cry to her, so my hubbie had to hear my irrationality that Eden didn't like me any more. Now that it's 4:00 in the morning, I see how stupid I'm sure this sounded. And since he had just walked in the door from a funeral of a young man, I'm now also sure this was fairly petty.

I canned 11 pints of tomatoes.

We are a little closer to having a name, but not much. I say this only because we have ousted each other's lists to the point where we know what the child won't be named. (I'm trying to look at it from the positive).

From Thursday on, things improved around our house. Eden was in a better mood, therefore, Mommy was in a better mood. She still asks for AJ every day, though, which is really sweet and pitiful at the same time.

Friday, Finley (ambulance captain) & I took the ambulance up to the 1st home football game. His kids were stow-aways in the back and Al walked Eden up in the stroller. We all sat in the end zone eating popcorn and candy, kind of watching the game. I know our team lost, but we scored first, so that should count for something.

Before the race started on Sunday, we took our evening bike ride, contemplating what to order out for supper. On the way home, Samson got attacked by 2 unleashed dogs. I thought we could out run them, but alas, I was wrong. One of the dogs went smashing into the rear tire of my bike, sending me sailing sideways until I came to a full stop on the cement with Samson trying to protect himself and me from a 2 on 1 assault. Not wanting to let go of his leash, I was stuck between the bike and the pavement, with the dogs fighting on top of the bike, and subsequently, on top of me. I hollered like a mad woman, people came to watch & Al quickly rode back to me, parking Eden far enough away, got a hold of Samson, and yelled for the owners to get their dogs off his wife. (They, too, were watching). I'm sure it was only a minute long, but seemed to go on forever. I was so worried that Samson was getting eaten alive, but apparently, he held his own. I was doing my best to re-enact the fetal position, complete with a head tuck, so I missed the actual viewing.

After catching our breath in the middle of the road, we biked the rest of the way home. Me bleeding & bunged up, with a gaping hole in my maternity shorts (you know how hard it is to find comfortable maternity clothes?!?!?!), and my NEW bike more damaged than I thought. The back wheel doesn't really turn right anymore, and my handlebars are out of line. Not to mention the puncture wounds in my bike seat and real life rear end.

Lesson #1 from dog attack: 38 week pregnant women cannot out bike mean dogs.

Yes, I went to the hospital to get checked out. All is fine. I'm having contractions, but nothing too progressive.

We got home from the hospital at 11:00 p.m. and Al got a death notice at midnight, arriving back home somewhere in the later-early hours of this morning. So he got little to no sleep last night, while I slept in, as Eden had gone to somebody's house for the night. Now, it's 100 degrees this Labor Day, and I'm going upstairs to wrap Christmas presents.

Quote of the week:
I read recipes the same way I read science fiction.
I get to the end and I think, "well, that's not going to happen."

Eden is Two!!

Eden turned 2 years old on Wednesday the 22nd. At her check up, she weighed in at 21.5 pounds and is 31" tall. No, she is not malnourished, lethargic or chained up all day. She's just small for her age. And, no, I'm not worried. Frankly, I wish I had her problem...

We celebrated with a fellow mom named Amy & her boys, Mitchell, 3, and Jay who is ??10 months. Their family moved into town late this summer from Central Nebraska, and the kids have already hit it off. Chocolate cake with cream cheese icing and vanilla ice cream was devoured quickly! Mitchell brought her a colorful tea set, which has already been put to good use. Last night, when I was on the phone, she'd climbed up on the island, opened the jar of peanut butter, and used her plastic knife to eat PB from the jar for a good 5 minutes before anybody noticed she was missing.

On Thursday, Eden & I drove to Wilcox to stay the weekend. I worked at the Bumblebees sale in Kearney. I always have so much fun doing that, and this time was no exception. I bought a wooden rocking chair for the nursery, so got to use it to collect tickets at the door. It was charming. Of course, shopping was the highlight. I didn't realize how much I missed what Kearney has to offer!

Lisa & I took the kids to garage sales on Friday. Wanted to go to Yaney Park, but the weather was cool and rainy. I was very bummed, as I know Eden would love it there. Maybe next time. We stayed at their house for pizza dinner, then headed back to Movie night at the Jenkins. Everyone was able to enjoy frozen alcoholic beverages except me. I was relegated to an ice cream shake. Though, it was very good.

We stayed at the Jenkins, and Eden really became attached to the kids. Sunday during church, she kept calling to "AJ" in the balcony. That afternoon, as we drove home, I had to stop several times to tuck in the tarp on the truck. Every time we stopped, Eden said, "AJ?" and I'd have to say, "no, we're going back to Bridgeport to see Daddy". And she'd say, "WReilly? Le-Kii?" and again, I'd have to say, "no". Naturally, staying there for 3 nights, and I never took any photos. So, you'll just have to imagine it instead!

Now, I have the last of our stuff from Wilcox (which was being stored in the Stoddard's storage unit) and I have to either find a place for it, garage sale it before baby, or give it all away in one shot. Any recommendations??

We're still looking for names, so keep them coming. It's getting down to the wire now, as I only have 3 weeks to go! Will post Eden's 2 year old pictures as soon as the computer cooperates and reads the disc that they are on.... thank you, Jane, for that!!

That's all for now.....

Ice Cream Social

Eden loves to swing. She yells 'whee'...........

Whoo Hooo! My house is clean and we're completely unpacked!

Al and I spent this past week getting ready for the Ice Cream Social & Open House for the congregation. Thinking I would kill 2 birds, I deep cleaned the house so that I didn't need to worry about anything next month before baby #2 comes along. To avoid the ladder, the 105 degree heat & the elbow grease, I hired window cleaners & I can again see out my windows. :-) I got the last 6 boxes unpacked, and Al hung an entire two walls worth of pictures and cleaned the garage. The curio cabinet has all the china and 'special' stuff in it, and I even got 2 scrapbook pages done while the carpet dried from using my new Bissell Carpet Cleaner. Not to mention the nursery is pretty much set up, minus the things I'm hoping Dad will put together when he gets out here. Needless to say, it was a busy week, but we managed to find time to play, as well.

The Ice Cream Social was fun, however hot at 100 degrees. The kids played in the hose, and the adults hung out wherever the shade was. I think we had about 50 people throughout the day. People seemed to like the trimmed trees and newly mulched gardens with blooming flowers. Everybody was pleased with the new windows & the newly remodeled bathroom, as well as other minor improvements that have been made throughout the house & garage. We're sure happy with how well maintained this place is!










Pastor scoops ice cream

Jeanette Hall serves the Koozers

All the kids enjoying the ice cream

IMPORTANT: SEND US NAMES
or this one's going to be called Baby Strawn #2 forever!

HOT

As you can see by the thermometer, this past week has been HOT. And, believe it or not, once irrigation pivots begin, it does get quite humid. Heck with the 'dry heat' theory of not being as bad as 'humid heat' because, once it hits 100, it's just plain hot and I don't really care if it's humid or not. It's time to stay indoors.

Because of that, I have been getting outside first thing in the morning (when it's still only in the 70's) and working in the yard. I have a lovely little vegetable garden that is starting to produce cucumbers and green peppers. I will have a bunch of onions very soon, and the 3 tomato plants are full of little green circles. Eden insists that the plant is full of 'ball', but I won't let her pick and throw for the dog. He eats enough off the apple tree. I also managed to get all the gardens mulched with a beautiful shredded redwood and still have half a pick up load left that I need to use to fill in the thin spots.

Once the noon hour hits, we head for indoors and stay there. We are having an ice cream social at the parsonage next Sunday afternoon, along with an open house, so I'm trying to get the house cleaned up and Al is working hard at getting some things done that we've been going to do since we moved in. On Friday, he put together a book shelf, hung three wall shelves, mowed lawn and put together the hardwood cradle we got for baby #2. Eden was full of help. As you can see, she took to the cradle immediately. (Yes, she climbed in all on her own...)

Saturday, we had dinner with our neighbors across the street to the south. He is the bank manager and she is the kindergarten teacher here in Bridgeport. It was very nice, though I was covered with a layer of sweat, having just walked from the hospital for some reason or another. We sat and ate steak sandwiches, deep fried zucchini, baked asparagas, and some frozen dessert that hit the spot, then chatted on the back deck until way past Eden's bed time. We are blessed to have such great neighbors!

Yesterday afternoon, we dug out boxes of pictures and wall hangings from the laundry room and Al did the balancing routine of standing on furniture saying, 'Does it look good here?' and me saying, 'No, a little to the right. Now down. Too far, go back up. A little to the left. Perfect!' By 11:00 p.m., we had most everything hung and only a few things to figure out what to do with later.

This week promises to be busy. The pastor has several afternoon and evening appointments and I, too, have two afternoons away, plus a fire meeting. I'm sure that if the house gets cleaned this week, it will be a wreck by Sunday! Oh well, it's the fellowship we're looking for, NOT the dust bunnies!

Quote of the week:

All of us should take a lesson from the weather.
It pays no attention to criticism.

Morrill County Fair

When I think of a County Fair, I naturally think of the kind of fair that I grew up with. First off, a big parade with marching bands, floats, football players and their cute little cheerleaders, old cars, lots of businesses promoting their own, the ambulances and fire trucks, and them little Shriner cars with the old guys in them. After the parade, you walk in the middle of the street, because the road has been blocked off for the whole weekend! There are dozens of food vendors, sidewalk sales, talent shows, loud music, face painters, evening concerts, arts & crafts booths and, the ever most popular RIDES.

Do we all remember the Zipper and the Tilt-A-Wheel? Or that whirly thing that goes around so fast, the floor disappears and you're stuck to the wall? The Swings and the Octopus? The 'fun' house with it's funky mirrors. The Duck ponds, baseball batter booths, shoot the balloon and win a goldfish booth, basketball hoops for a teddy bear, and the like. All admissible with those precious little paper tickets Mom and Dad had to buy at the 'ticket booth'. And who could forget those dirty, greasy Carnies who made all that fun possible?

Well, here in Western Nebraska, the fair is a bit different. Certainly gives you less of a stomach ache at the end of the day, if you can get past the smell of the cattle barn. The Morrill County Fair is held at the fairgrounds, just south of town. People bring their campers along to stay for the week long event, as everything happens right at the fairgrounds. People can wander through the barns to see the different animals. Eden was Ok until we got to the pig pen. They are bigger than in the books and the "oink" is more of a wet, snotty snort. We didn't stay there too long.

We had a junior rodeo, a big truck & tractor pull, a roping competition, swine (pig) show, rabbit show, sheep show, cow show, poultry show and I'm sure I'm missing an animal here show..... All with different categories to be graded on. Before the show, all the barns were full of parents and youngsters getting their animal ready for showing. Here you see the pastor attempting to sheer a sheep before a show. Talk about pressure! Also, awards went to the different 4-H garden growers. Many winning vegetables sat out for us to see, along with jams & jellies, cakes, cookies and muffins.

They had a building set up with much of the kid's art from throughout the school year. There are many talented artists in our midst. Photographs from the way of life out here were displayed. Quilts were hung with care, including a quilt made solely out of Crown Royal bags that Al thought was pretty neat. Different clothes that people had sewn were also on display. One of our youth did an amazing job of creating a peacock out of colored wire. Hats off to Kendall for that one!

The week wound down with no fair-related ambulance calls. Al and I took Eden to the pool to cool off on the invitation of a member. Eden and Lauren played in the kiddie pool together. A new week is here, along with the 100 degree heat. Blessings to all!~