30 Years Together

This post isn't about Christmas, but it definitely deserves attention!  On this date (December 4) in 1982, my parents got married.  Thirty years later, they are still in love and going strong.  Now if that isn't "the good", then what is??

Here is a link to my recent post on the Quad City Moms Blog, dedicated to my parents:
                                                      
                                                       Everyone Has A Story

And here is a picture of my parents, enjoying lunch with their three grandchildren, on their 30th anniversary.  It was quite the fancy lunch, considering my son picked the place (Hungry Hobo!).  Thank goodness they settled on his second choice...the first choice was Taco Bell, haha.

O Holy Night

The Christmas music on the radio begins earlier and earlier each year….this bothers some people. I am NOT one of those people. I swear it was still October this year when I was walking with my boys through WalMart and I spotted the Christmas decorations and lights at the far end of the store. I’m not sure who yelled “yay!”louder…them or me. And the music started even before Thanksgiving this year; much to my husband’s dismay. I have been blaring it in my mini-van ever since.

By far, my FAVORITE Christmas song is “O Holy Night”. It is a beautiful, beautiful reminder of what Christmas truly is: about that night, so long ago, when a little baby was born in a faraway land and the world changed forever. I have always loved this song, but after becoming a mother, I am even more appreciative of this amazing story of this little tiny, yet world-changing, baby.

No matter what your favorite Christmas song is, do me a favor this year: take the time to sit down and actually listen to the words of the song. Sometimes the lyrics are so familiar that we just sing along with them without a thought…this is great, but it might lend to us forgetting what we are even singing. I know I do that! So, when you are sitting at home (not driving your car!), try to take a minute (or three) and relax, close your eyes, and let the words sink in. No matter if it’s the beautiful lyrics of “O Holy Night” or the silly lyrics of “Frosty the Snowman”,just let it sink in. Enjoy the moment.

**My two favorite versions of this song are by Josh Groban (of course!) and *NSync (they do an amazing acapella version)

O holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night
Of the dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope
The weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine, oh night, oh night divine

Chains shall He break
For the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord, let ever ever praise Thee
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
Noël, Noël
Oh night, Oh night divine
Noël, Noël
Oh, oh night, oh night divine

25 days of Christmas.

I'll admit it...I love Christmas.  I love EVERYTHING about it.  As a Christian, I relish in the story of the baby Jesus and I love singing all of the Christmas hymns in church. But I also love all of the commercialized aspects of Christmas as well...I can't help it! Many people spend "Black Friday" out shopping like crazy people...I spend it at home with my children, drinking hot chocolate, turning on the Christmas music, and decorating our house from top to bottom with Nativity scenes, Santa Clause, snowmen, and twinkling lights.

In the spirit of this blog, looking for the good, let's spend the next 25 days enjoying the Christmas season.  Whether you are spending the holidays in a pew at church singing hymns, or going to the mall for your kids to visit Santa, let's just enjoy this month, these 25 days of excitement, peace, and family.

Come to "The Good" from December 1 to December 25 for your little dose of Christmas...songs, recipes,  videos, stories, traditions, etc.

Happy, happy holidays to all of you who faithfully read my blog. You are MUCH appreciated!

A Legacy of Love

 Today I have a love story to share with you.  Today also happens to be my husband Matt and I's 12 year anniversary, but this love story is not about us; it is about the Nagles, who built our house and raised their family here for nearly 50 years.  One of their daughters, Therese, has written for "The Good" before ("Home Again"), and is a faithful reader of this blog.  She has written a beautiful tribute to her parents and their love story.  When she sent it to me, I couldn't wait to share it with all of you, because it includes some of my very favorite things:  Iowa City, a sappy love story, and a house full of kids (which happens to now be my house!)  And so, without further ado, I give to you...

Destie and Jack:  A Wonderful Love Story

I love to read. Love it, love it love it. Mostly fiction, but I am a fanatic about the morning paper. I don't read romance novels. That is not my genre. I sometimes fantasize about writing a great novel, or just writing in general. But, nothing I write would do justice to what I was privileged to experience first hand. My parents – Destie Monnig and Jack Nagle.

They met decades ago in Iowa City. My Mom was an undergrad, and my Dad was in law school. There is some confusion about how it all came about. Newman Center picnic, my Grandma telling my Mom... Jack Nagle wants to go to the picnic, why don't you pick him up? My Mom, driving the family car, picking my Dad up, her younger 12 year old brother needing a ride to boy scouts and asking my Dad (in the passenger seat) for the $.05 dues. All these years later, I like the idea that my Mom was driving and embarrassed by her pesky younger brother.

Nagle wedding

The picnic is legendary! We all talk about the Newman Center picnic. The picnic started it all! At some point, they started dating. And, my Dad moved back to Davenport (his home town) and started being a lawyer. He proposed. My Mom said yes! They had a great wedding and honeymooned in New Orleans.

They settled in an apartment in Davenport. They were a family. And, they starting expanding that family. They had kids, moved a few times, had more kids, bought a bigger house, the family grew, they had more kids, and settled on building a house (which my Dad helped design) as the ultimate home.

Ok, my parents were great parents. But, but, but, they loved each other and they were the best life long partners. That was the best thing they did. They loved each other. They supported each other. My Mom did so much and my Dad supported her career pursuits. He was so proud!



Dancing to their song

My parents loved each other. They were each other's rock. There was romance. There was passion. There was - as my favorite uncle pointed out before my wedding –friendship. Friendship is what its all about.

One of my favorite stories....years ago, my parents were spending the winter in Florida. I flew down for a couple of days to spend time with them. We were out at dinner with an old client of my Dad's – a woman I had just met that evening. A song came on and my parents looked at each other and immediately stood and said “This is our song, we have to dance.” I had not known that before that night. They had a song. But, I always will have a soft spot for Tony Bennent singing about leaving his heart in San Francisco.

My parents set the foundation. There IS such a thing as life-long love stories. They were married 65 years. My Dad died last January. November 23rd would have been their 66^th wedding anniversary. I like to think that my Dad is listening to Tony Bennent. And dancing.

 

 

A special thank you to Therese Nagle-Kiser for sharing the wonderful love story that was the foundation of the home in which my growing family now lives. I don't know if we will ever be as big in number (they had TEN kids!), but I pray that we will be as big in love as they were.  Today as we celebrate our twelve years together, Matt and I will be thinking of the example that Destie and Jack set.  Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Nagle. 

Is This Really Happening?

Sometimes your college roommate comes to visit.
And you decide to take her and your other best friend to lunch at one of your favorite places.
You pull up to the restaurant, and:  Closed.
No worries, your friend suggests another place.
Closed.
And a third place? Only open for dinner. (Seriously, do people not go out to eat on Sundays?)
So...we settle for a place we have taken her before and enjoyed.
We sit down, enjoy our appetizers, and start eating our entrees...until the waiter comes rushing over.
"I'm sorry to do this, I know you just started eating your food..."
The three of us just stare at each other. Where is he going with this?
"...but there is a fire in the back, and we have to evacuate."
(Now, let me just mention, my friend is almost 8 months pregnant...you do not make a pregnant woman stop eating.)
So, we move to the patio.
Two fire trucks roll up, lights on and sirens blaring, and there we are, sitting on the patio eating.
(Like I said, you don't make a pregnant woman stop eating.)
So...we finish our food, take a little trip to Target, and decide to get some ice cream.
We go to Dairy Queen, and in the course of the half hour or so that we are there, a big car accident occurs outside the Dairy Queen.
As we drive home in disbelief, amidst the two banged up cars, pieces of cars, and policemen walking up and down the street, it really made me think...

...after so many mishaps and crazy things happening, in the end it was still an afternoon with my two best friends. A good time with two of my favorite people. No matter what was going on around us, we were enjoying our time together, because these days that time is not much.  (And I can only say that because no one was hurt in the fire or the car crash)

So, did that really happen?  Yes, it really did.

A New Meaning of Vacation (100 words or less)

Our mini-vacation in Wisconsin Dells this weekend:

Five minutes after arriving, Sam slips and falls and breaks open his chin.

We rush to first aid. They butterfly bandage it and send us to Urgent Care.

Can’t have stitches because: A) we are going swimming

B) the numbing medicine has been recalled

They decide to glue it instead.

Cooper, in the waiting room, has explosive diarrhea.

Because we left the hotel in a hurry, I have no diapers in the van (but luckily do have wipes).

I change him, and stuff a stack of napkins in his pants.

....

Back To Vacation!

Getting his chin glued!

 

All fixed up! Brave boy!

The Big Day.

Well, tomorrow is it. My first day back to work since giving birth to my precious baby girl, miss Nora Jean. Of course the emotions are running high...but I think I'm doing pretty good.  She is currently laying on my lap as I write this post, snuggling me and saying (with her eyes, of course!) "no, Mommy, don't go back to work!". Or at least that's what I'm telling myself...

As I put my boys to bed tonight, my mind wandered to my other "first day backs".  With Sam, I was finishing my Master's Degree when he arrived.  He was born in August, and he attended my graduation in December, all decked out in his hawkeye gear.  I got a teaching job for the following fall semester, so I ended up having an entire year at home with him; the school year started one week after his first birthday.  What a long day that was, my first day away from my first baby boy.  I missed him so much, I didn't know what to do without him.

With Cooper, I was teaching until about two weeks before he arrived, in May.  Therefore, I had the entire summer with him, and returned to work at the end of August, when he was three months old.  I remember feeling guilty that I had spent an entire year at home with Sam, and Cooper only got three months...

...and now it's Nora's turn. Her due date was the first day of school this year. Literally.  So, of course, I had to make other plans.  I ended up teaching online for the first four weeks of the semester, and tomorrow marks week five of the school year, so it is my first day on campus. Luckily, Nora decided to arrive three weeks early, so I actually got seven weeks at home with her, instead of the four that we were expecting.

Now that the day has arrived, I can not imagine how I would have gone back when she was only four weeks old. No way! It will be hard enough to leave her at seven weeks tomorrow! When I have left her (for a few hours at most), I have felt like a piece is missing. I know it's cliche, but it's true. And with our other babies we lived with my parents part of the time and had a lot more help with them, so this time I've felt even more attached...it's basically just been me, feeding her and putting her to sleep and taking care of her all the time.  She's attached to me, and that will make it even harder for me to leave tomorrow...

...but, as always, I'm going to look for the good in the situation, and I will end this post on a happy note.  Because, in the end, we have so much to be thankful for as young parents.  Not only do we now have three healthy, wonderful children, but we have a boat load of family right here in our own town, and our babies have never in their lives had to go to someone that we don't know and love very much; in fact, they have only stayed with non-family once!  Crazy!  We know how lucky we are in that respect, we really do.  Matt and I frequently talk about how we don't know what we would do if we lived far away from our parents and family members, because we usually don't go a day without seeing at least one of them and our kids are so lucky to see their grandparents so much. 

So now, as I head to bed tonight, I am choosing to be thankful for the life that my husband and I have...one in which I don't have to work full time, and that I can be home with my babies all summer long.  What a blessing!  And most of all, I am thankful for the fact that when I go to work each morning, my children are in the care of people who love them.  However, that doesn't mean that I won't be shedding a few tears as I drive away tomorrow...

The Perfect Day.

Five years ago today, I walked down the aisle to my happily ever after.  As most of you know, I have been in love with Matt Meehan since we were sixteen-year-old high schoolers. We went to class together, went to all the dances together, graduated together...I went off to college, and Matt spent every weekend in his car driving to visit me.  And then one night, as we drove back to Iowa City after Thanksgiving Break, he turned to me in the car (yes, while driving) and asked me to marry him.  Two months later I left for my semester in Spain (longest five months of our lives!), and when I returned, the planning began...
...on September 8, 2007 (Matt picked the date because it was 09-08-07 and therefore it would be easy to remember), I woke up as a single woman for the last time in my life.  As I put on my make up and did my hair that day, surrounded by my closest friends and family, I could not stop smiling at the thought of marrying my best friend. As the ceremony began at 4:00, I hid behind a door in the back of the sanctuary and watched the entire thing...as it got closer to my walk down the aisle, I could see the excitement growing on Matt's face.  I will never forget how he looked that day, as I peeked through the glass window and watched him wait for me.
Our ceremony did not go by without a hitch (the sound person played the wrong song twice), but if you ask me it was perfect.  ALL of our friends and family were there...all of the special people in our lives.  Our vows were beautiful, and as we said the words "you are my best friend", both of our voices cracked with tears. I get goosebumps just thinking about that moment.
The rest of that day was spent celebrating with our favorite people.  Food, dancing, fun times.  We literally danced the night away...we were still out there on the dance floor as they began sweeping up the floor and tearing down the decorations.  Matt and I got into our stickers-and-balloon covered car and drove downtown to our secret hotel room (you will understand this if you know our friends...or if you knew them at that point in our lives. if they knew where our room was, there would be NO privacy whatsoever! Gotta love them though!)  Matt carried me across the threshold of the hotel room, and as we collapsed from exhaustion onto the bed, we both realized that we had not eaten dinner.  Matt disappeared for about 20 minutes, and came back with the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich I have ever eaten (along with some candy bars and a pop, all of my favorites!). 

The day was absolutely perfect.  It TRULY was.  The weather was perfect, the wedding was perfect, the reception was perfect, and we shared every minute of it with our favorite people in the whole world.  I would not change a SINGLE thing.

Five years later, and I love him more with every year. He is the husband I always knew he would be...in fact, he's more.  He has given me a beautiful life, one that many girls would truly kill for (well..probably not truly kill for, but you know what I mean!), and the three most wonderful children in the entire world.

Happy anniversary, Sparky.  You are my favorite.

Sam Said What?

In continuing with the post "Cooper said what?", I am sharing with you today another one-liner from my hilarious boys...this time it's Sam, my four-year-old. Although he became a big brother to Cooper at 21 months old, he has recently become a big brother yet again, this time to his baby sister Nora. With Cooper, he was...well, let's say...we had to watch him EVERY minute.  He pushed, hit, bit, kicked...all before Cooper was even six months old!  With Nora, it's a totally different story. He LOVES her.  He brings her toys, sings to her, tells her stories, and protects her from Cooper at all times.  However, I know that he is still dealing with the idea of having another baby in the house, another person to steal Mommy and Daddy's attention.  I can see this in the way that he acts sometimes, even though (thankfully) he is not taking it out on Nora.  One of the things he has been doing is baby-talking, which honestly grates my nerves. We tell him to talk like a big boy, and usually he does it right away, but the other day the baby-talking would NOT stop.  I finally just looked at him and said "Sam, do NOT talk like a baby!". He looked at me, then he got his "I'm thinking of a response" look on his face...finally, he smiles and says "Mommy, babies don't talk."

Guest Blogger: "Home Again"

I am so excited to finally have this post put together.  The author is Therese, who grew up in the house where my husband and I are raising our children. I am SO glad to have her as a guest blooger for "The Good"!  Take it away, Therese...

You can go home again --- at least to Sara and Matt's house.

 

I know it is cliché.  You can't go home again.  Like up there with “things will get better”.  I did have the fantastic experience and discovered that I could go home again; even if the home belongs to strangers. 

Nagle family in front of the fireplace, 1967

Let's back up.  I was one of the family of ten children that grew up in where Sara and Matt live.  My parents picked the lot to build a house on based on the proximity of the new Catholic high school as it was going up a couple blocks west.  When they moved in, they had 5 kids (well, my brother was born two weeks later) and then proceeded to have five more.  My parents also made a home for Gloria, a Ukrainian orphaned by WWII.  Gloria lived with my family for seven years.  Gloria  moved with my family from their house on Denison Ave. to the new house.  She left in the late 50's when she became a nun.  Needless to say, the house was bursting in many wonderful ways.

the Nagles, 1979

My parents lived in the house for almost 35 years.  They sold the house to one of my brothers who lived there with his family for ten years.  The house was in the Nagle family for almost 45 years.  It was sold again and the rumors were not good.  At one point, it went into foreclosure. 

Several times when I was back to visit, I knocked on the door, but never found anyone home.  About 18 months ago, I was down visiting my parents and my Mom and I were running errands.  “I want to drive by the old house”  I told her.  It was on a weekday afternoon, and finding someone home was not likely.  We pulled up and I told my Mom I was going to see if anyone is home.  Matt greeted me and I explained who I was and asked if I could come in.  A few steps in and I was pleased and shocked at all the changes.  The house looked gorgeous and very different.  I told Matt that my Mom was in the car and would really enjoy seeing it.  Matt was gracious and very generous that January afternoon.

My Mom and I spent a delightful 45 minutes (thank you Matt) going through each room, exclaiming over the wonderful and beautiful renovations.  We walked through each room and told stories, reminiced  and throughly enjoyed ourselves.  The renovations were amazing.  The kitchen has an island! (Not in fashion when I lived in the house).  The kids' bathroom upstairs has become a laundry room and my old bedroom is now a bathroom!  Wait a minute, I did not agree to this!  I am not serious, the house looks beautiful and the changes make a lot of sense.



the Meehans in front of the SAME fireplace, 2012

Matt humored us.  He didn't even complain when I opened up a cabinet in the laundry room f/k/a kids' bathroom because it was the only thing left of the bathroom I used for almost two decades.  I think Matt enjoyed hearing our stories as well. 

While we were getting ready to leave, I wrote my name down and suggested that he “friend” me on Facebook as there were photos on my FB page taken in the house when I was a kid.  Sara friended me and we have become FB friends that most likely will never meet.  It has been wonderful fun to see photos of her family living in the house, photos of her kids playing in the same rooms I did. 

I told Matt that day in January, all those months ago, I will take liberty and speak for all of my siblings. We are thrilled to see another family laughing, growing, living in our (their) house. 

You can go home again.....even if it is someone else's house.   

Therese Nagle Kiser

Just When You Start to Doubt Yourself...

As you all know, I've been working hard to catch up on the days I've missed writing on my blog since my baby girl was born.   Some of you are probably asking yourselves, why does it matter? why not just leave those days unfinished and keep going?  Well, it matters to me.  My goal with this blog was to write every day, to try and make people see the good, look for the good, find the good, every day.  So that's what I'm doing.  Slowly, but surely.

However...nobody is perfect.  And everyone has their off-days. I was having a couple of them last week.  I didn't post anything, I didn't try to play catch-up, and I even started to doubt myself.  Does the blog really matter?  Is anyone really reading my words?  You know how it goes...we've all doubted ourselves at some point or another.

And then, an old friend shows up at my door to bring me something.  We talked for a little while, and as she was leaving, she said she had been having a rough couple of days.  "But," she said, "tomorrow will be good.  I've been reading your blog everyday, and when I read it, it really makes me think about finding the good in everyday."

Just when you start to doubt yourself...God will remind you of your path.  He will send someone to remind you that what you are doing does matter, no matter how small you think it might be.  And even if my blog were only reaching one person every day, it is worth it.  It really is.

Thank you to that old friend...you know who you are.  Thank you for reading my words faithfully, and thank you for telling me what they mean to you. I really needed that.

And in the end, tomorrow really is good...isn't it?

Look for the Good in People

When I started this blog, nearly five months ago (hard to believe!), I made a call to action to all of you faithful readers of my words.  I asked you to look for the good in people. I asked you to put a smile on your face and try to pay it forward.  I asked you to look beyond the grouchy sales clerk or the super-rude co-workers.  Because you just never know what they might be going through.  And, when it's your turn having a bad day, or a bad week, or God forbid a bad year...never under-estimate the power of a smile and a kind word to cheer you up, even if it's only a little bit.

Since I started this blog, I've really been trying to remember my own advice.  To be honest, it's not always easy.  But it does always feel good in the end.  I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life, and they deserve credit for all that they do for me...they make it a lot easier to look for the good in this world.  This summer when I was on bedrest, they were here at a moment's notice to help me with my boys, to clean my house, to make us dinner.  During the last miserable month of my pregnancy, they were here...laying in bed with me, timing my contractions, driving me to the hospital for false alarms. 

And in the days since my precious baby girl arrived, we have been blessed beyond words.  Countless home-cooked meals, beautiful baby presents, loving words and friendly visits.  So much help, so much love.  And for that we are immensely grateful.

So let me ask you the same favor again...look for the good in people.  Turn the other cheek when they treat you wrong, and try to always treat others as you would like to be treated.  There's a reason they call it the golden rule.  I, too, will continue to try my hardest to live with this mindset, this goal in mind to always look for the good in everything.

And so continues the blog.  I pray that you all stay on the journey with me.


Have you found some good in your life lately?  What was it? Please share!

The Best Birthday Ever

Monday, August 6, 2012 was my 28th birthday.  At 28 years old, I don't really feel the need to celebrate or receive birthday gifts (even though my family always makes us all feel special on our special days).  But this year I got the best birthday present I've ever received...my baby girl!

If you've been following the blog, you know how extremely uncomfortable I have been for the last 3 or 4 months.  Contractions, back pain, false labor...and all of that after a first trimester full of nausea and daily vomiting! Disgusting but true!  I was SO ready to have this baby!

Happy birthday mommy!

After she arrived on August 4th, we spent the next two days recovering and falling in love with her in the hospital. I have cherished those days with all of my babies--no cleaning or cooking to do, none of the daily stresses or worries, and most importantly, time with their daddy, who works so many hours and rarely has days off with us.

And then on Monday, on my birthday, we got to take her home! As we drove up the street by our house, we saw her two big brothers jumping up and down on the sidewalk at the corner with their grandma and grandpa. I will never forget that sight, seeing my boys so excited for their sister (and their mommy!) to come home.

Happy, happy birthday to me.

Welcome to the World, Nora Jean.

On Saturdays we look for the good in people...well, this Saturday that won't be too hard.  There is a BRAND new person in my life:  my daughter, miss Nora Jean!

Born at 5:03am on Saturday, August 4th, 2012.

What more could we ask for on a Saturday morning?  Life is GOOD.

A Good Cause.

Looking for something good to do for your community this week?

From now until August 12th, find a few minutes to go through your drawer full of bras that you don't wear (you know you have some! we ALL do!).  If you find some gently-worn (or maybe never worn!) bras, take them into Soma Intimates and donate them for their Bra Donation Event.  According to their website, bras are some of the most-needed, yet least-donated items for women in need.

So what are you waiting for? Get to your room, pull out all those bras you don't wear, and give them to someone who will wear them!

*Locally, you can find Soma Intimates at Northpark Mall.

Life is Good.

For those of you who don't know, my mother-in-law Debbie has been fighting the cancer fight since May (see earlier post, Just Keep Swimming ).  She has undergone both radiation and chemotherapy, and the treatments ended about a week ago.  Of course we have to wait a while to find out the results of everything, but we are so happy that she doesn't have to go through the painful treatments anymore.
Today is one of the first days that she has felt good enough for us to bring the boys over to play.  Matt and I took them downtown for beignet donuts this morning, and we got a box to go for their Dede (that's what they call Debbie).  Sam decided he would take his superhero cape to play with at Dede's house, and he said he was excited to go.  Matt and I told him that Dede would be so happy to see him and he said "I love her, you know".  My heart just melted.


So, we spent the rest of the morning with their Dede. Cooper started screaming "dede's house!" when we pulled in the driveway, and Sam grabbed his cape and ran up the steps.  It was so good for all of us to see her.  She looks so good, and she was even up to baking cookies with Sam!  His favorite thing!



I've been using the blog to complain a lot lately about how my pregnancy has been taking a toll on me, both physically and emotionally.  But today, none of that mattered as I watched my boys play with their grandma.  This is what life is all about. And today, life is really good.

Doctor's Office, Gift Shop Cookies, and Sweet Memories

My younger son has a doctor's appointment today.  Just a follow-up, nothing big. (thank goodness our entire family is feeling better now!) But after his appointment, I know exactly what I will be doing with my two little boys.

You see, their doctor's office is in the hospital by our house.  The same hospital that has a gift shop that serves our favorite cookies.  The gift shop is on the whole other side of the hospital, but that doesn't matter to us!  We just get off the elevator, and Sam finds the big blue arrows on the carpet--he knows they will lead us straight to the goods!

Obviously kids like cookies.  And it's a nice treat to give them after a hard doctor's office visit (AKA the ones that include shots).  But these little trips to the gift shop hold a lot more meaning for me.  It was at this same hospital where my grandpa Sam was treated on the oncology floor for months and months.  It seems like only yesterday, but it's actually been 9 years now.  My boys weren't around, they don't know the significance of that hospital, but yet they love to walk those halls and find the bright lights of the gift shop and the aroma of chocolate chips.

The funny thing is, long before my grandpa ever got sick, he loved the hospital cafeterias.  Weird, I know.  But he was a strange one!  Whenever we would drive to Iowa City for Hawkeye basketball games, we would see all the cars driving into all the different, yummy restaurant parking lots for a pre-game meal.  But not us....nope, our car would drive straight to the University Hospital parking lot.  We would grab a tray, walk through the cafeteria line, and enjoy ourselves a "gourmet meal" before walking over to Carver-Hawkeye arena. Hilarious, I know!

And so today, as I follow the blue arrows on the carpet with my two little boys, I will be thinking of my grandpa Sam.  Oh, how he would love to be there with us...eating lunch in the cafeteria and following it up with one of his favorite things:  chocolate chip cookies.  It's so heart-warming to see my own Sammie, named after his grandpa, walking (or usually running) along with his chocolate-covered face.  Those two would have been quite the pair, big Sam and little Sam...


...sometimes life doesn't turn out the way we thought it would.  I never thought my kids wouldn't know their Grandpa Sam.  And yet, in a way they do  know him, from all of the stories they've heard and memories I've shared with them.  And sometimes it's the funniest places (like a hospital cafeteria) where we get to share those memories and remind our children of the ones they never got to know.

Today's cookies are for you, Gramps.  We miss you.

People Change.

Some may try to argue, but there’s no use:  people change.  Some for the better, some…well, some not so much.  But people change.  Sometimes the people we are really close to become almost like strangers.  It’s sad, it’s hard to understand, and yet there’s one thing we must realize:  we can’t do anything about it.  All we can do is love them like we always have, and look for the good in who they have become.  Perhaps we won’t have the same group of friends ten years from now…but perhaps we will.  You just never know.

On the other hand, sometimes the people who don’t give us the best first impression, may turn out to be some really great friends in our lives.  Life is funny like that.  It never ceases to amaze me how relationships form, grow, and even fall apart, in this crazy roller-coaster we call our lives.  I’ve learned to be prepared for anything—you may think that people are predictable (which many times they are), but you just never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball or two, or twenty…

People change. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.  Let us just remember to love them, to ask them why things are changing, and to do our best to love them for who they have become, or who they are becoming.  As I’ve said before, the most important people in my life today are those who have been with me, and loved me, for who I was, for who I am now, and for who I’m hoping and striving to become.  Life is a process—just make sure yours is filled with people who support your changes, who still love you when times are hard, and who will be there on the long road that we are all traveling to become our true selves.

Let people change…let yourself change.  Change is growth.  We could all use a little growing-up now and then, right?

The Days Are Long But The Years Are Short

This is taken from Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project".  The days are long, but the years are short.  And you never understand that fully until you have children...


These last few days have been long. Very long. Even with all of my helpers, it's just been long.

And then yesterday, as we played at the waterpark, I looked at my boys and realized how short the years are.  I looked at them, and then I looked at my friend Barb's son, now a teenager. As he ran around with his friends, all of them at least a foot taller than me, I couldn't stand the thought of my boys being that big, of me not being able to hold them and carry them around anymore.


Yes, the days are long. Sometimes they are forever long.  But the years...no, those are short.  Too short.

On that note, I'm off to spend the day enjoying my boys.  My little boys.

Midnight Feedings

No, this post is not about babies.  Well, not exactly...

...due to two sick children, being pregnant and uncomfortable, etc., I haven't slept more than a couple hours in the last five nights.  This is not normal for me.  And during the precious hours I have gotten to sleep, my lovely youngest son Cooper has decided to wake up and come to our room and torture me...he is the worst to sleep with ever!

Wednesdays posts are about food, and that's what this is all about. Any time I get woken up, no matter what time of night, I am starving.  I'd like to blame this on the pregnancy, but it's really how I am all the time--just worse when I'm pregnant, of course!  And so last night, after the kids finally got to bed at 11 and 12 (yes, that's right! too much birthday partying at our house I guess!), I had a snack and drug myself up the stairs to my bed. Two hours later, I was up again.  And again three hours after that.  You get the picture...

Unfortunately, I have had so much pain during the night, I can't even bring myself to get out of bed and go downstairs to the kitchen for a bite.  I feel so pathetic even typing this, but it's true!  So I lay there and think about food...and last night was the worst, because my refrigerator is full of yummy food that people brought for the party we had. It's pure torture!

So I leave you with this thought today:  be thankful for a full night's sleep, if you get one.  I've never had trouble sleeping, so now I have a new compassion for those of you who suffer with insomnia!  And another thought...keep a snack by your bed.  :)

Here's what was running through my head last night...

my grandma's red white and blue-themed birthday spread last night...

birthday cake #1 (my grandma's)

birthday cake #2 (my mom's)