Happy birthday, brother!

Twenty-two years ago today, I became a big sister! Happy birthday, Jonathan.

You are a blessing to me and to many, many others. I pray for you much joy today and in the coming year. We love you!

The book is available!

My mom is an author!!! Her first book, shown above, was released today! I already have a copy, and it is a beautiful book. Here is a snippet from the back cover:

My Mom Has Alzheimer's chronicles the inspirational and sometimes humorous adventures that Linda and her mother have shared together. One hundred readings provide Christ-centered coping strategies that will enable caregivers to find strength and hope in God. This very practical book includes:

• Daily readings that contain stories about caregiving and related Scriptures.
• Words of hope for caregivers.
• A question-and-answer section that addresses issues such as respite care, legal counsel, and choices related to long-term care.

This book has been a labor of love for my mom. I am SO proud of her! If someone in your life has Alzheimer's Disease or if you are a caregiver of any kind, I highly recommend this book. It will be a blessing to you. Check out my mom's website for more information about the book and about ordering a signed copy. The book is also available at Amazon and Christian Books (although it is cheapest at my mom's site).

Thankful for home and family

I am so thankful for where we live. I love small towns. I love being near our families. My parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle and first cousins all live in the same tiny town as us. Brian's family are all within a short driving distance. As I looked through the photos I had taken this past week, I realized that there were shots of Daniel being read to by his aunt and both uncles. What a lucky little boy to have so many people nearby who love him!

Corn Party

We had a corn party at our house on Sunday afternoon! What, you might ask, is a corn party? Well, my dad had planted sweet corn in part of one field. It has just ripened, so he picked 6 feed sacks full. He and my brother shucked it and cut off the ends. Then, they brought it to our house where Brian and I helped to wash it, blanch it, cut it off the cob, bag it, and freeze it. We put up 60 pints on Sunday and another 26 pints on Monday. That's a lot of corn!






My mom had perhaps the most important job...babysitting Daniel!

Keepin' it real

I often use this blog as a scrapbook for Daniel. I have a difficult time getting photos developed and put into albums, but this blog is one way I keep record of his babyhood. Therefore, I typically only post the happy, memorable events in our little world.

Well, here is a less-than-perfect moment for the record. On Friday night, Daniel did NOT sleep well. I pieced together about 4 hours of sleep, which is just not sufficient for me. In addition, we had someplace to be on Saturday morning, so there was no lazing around the house. Brian was working, but I managed to get Daniel and I bathed and dressed and packed to leave. Just as we were pulling out of the driveway, I got a call letting me know our plans were canceled. Suddenly, we were all dressed up with no where to go. My exhaustion seemed to make this situation much more depressing than it really was. Brian came home, we got Daniel fed, and he went down for a nap. I had been yearning for this moment all morning. I was free to take a nap myself, dirty house be danged. I ate some lunch, checked my email, and just as I was preparing to lay down, guess what happened? That's right...little Mr. Man woke up. I desperately tried to rock him back to sleep to no avail. I felt like screaming. I felt like crying. I felt like I would never be well-rested again! I scooped Daniel up and carried him into the living room where Brian was studying for his crop insurance test. I plopped Daniel on his lap and said, "I can't do this anymore!" I ran to the bedroom, shut the door, and crawled into bed fully dressed with the covers over my head. As I laid there feeling sorry for myself, I thought I could hear Daniel crying. He must feel upset and rejected by his mommy! I pulled the covers off my head and then realized it was not crying that I heard...it was great peals of laughter. They were obviously quite alright without me. So, I stayed right where I was for over an hour. When I finally emerged from the bedroom, Daniel and Brian were having a great time outside in the kiddie pool.

After reading this post, I feel kind of sheepish. A little sleeplessness seems enough to push me over the edge sometimes. Sigh. Perhaps I need to reread this post and take some of my own advice. I pray that I can learn the lessons God wants to teach me and enjoy this precious little boy He has given to us. In the meantime, I am thankful for a husband who picks up the slack when I have a mommy meltdown.

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is pretty big business in our little hometown. Brian, Daniel, and I took in many of the local events. We went to the tractor show, transportation show, and dog show, all of which Daniel thoroughly enjoyed. We watched the parade and the fireworks, and Daniel even took his first pony ride. On Sunday, we went to the truck and tractor pull. Oh, and I even entered the cookie contest, and amazingly enough I got first place! Brian saw the cookie recipe on Everyday Food and thought it would be a winner. Anywho, here are some photos of our weekend!

Watching the parade

Grandma Linda and Daniel

His first pony ride!

Daniel was perhaps the only child at the tractor pull whose mom forced him to wear ear muffs.

The men

Watching the tractor pull

Father's Day Weekend

This past Saturday we visited Brian's dad. It rained on us the entire way there, but the skies cleared shortly after we arrived, leaving us a perfect afternoon to go to the zoo! It did open up and pour on us once at the zoo, but otherwise the weather was great. Here are some photos of our day.

At the petting zoo, we decided to feed the goats. They started getting pushy as soon as Brian walked toward the food machine.

They got REALLY pushy once we had the food in hand. Daniel was a little intimidated by them, and I wasn't too thrilled about them jumping up on us!

Daniel and his Grandpa Roger

Daniel was very interested in all the children we saw.
He wanted to play!

Daniel decided to give daddy an impromptu kiss in the herpetarium!
He is a very kissy boy these days. :)

On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day at my parent's house. My grandparents, parents, and brother were all in attendance. We had an awesome meal (thanks, Mom) and played cards afterward. We gave my dad a bag of dum-dum suckers, which both Dad and Daniel love. Daniel managed to eat two suckers before mommy said no more!

Showing his sucker to the camera.

Pointing at the sucker bag because he wants another one...now!

My grandma and grandpa

Brian and his little man

Garage sale

On Saturday our little hometown had a city-wide garage sale. With oodles of help from our families, Brian and I hosted one at our house. We had items belonging to both of our grandmas, Brian's sister, Brian's mom, and a few things of our own. If you have ever done a garage sale, you know they are LOTS of work! Thankfully, our crew was very energetic and industrious. We brought in over $300 total, so I think that can be considered a success! Most importantly, everyone got rid of their old junk. Hurray!

Brian's sister and mom

Sara, my dad, and Daniel hanging out.

Daniel had fun "shopping" around and trying out the merchandise.

Brian and I managed to do a little garage saling of our own. I found some really cute clothes for Daniel, and Brian got a few coffee mugs. Everyone took turns babysitting Daniel. He wanted to put his little hands on everything! It was a fun, but exhausting day.

Saturday in photos

On Saturday, Daniel had quite the day. We had visits from family, fun in the water, and lots of playing. Here it is in photos!

Daniel feeding Grandpa Roger's new little dog. She is a cutie!

Three generations! Brian's dad (Roger), Brian, and Daniel

Daniel checking out the swimming pool for the first time. He was a little hesitant!

Brian and Daniel blowing bubbles.

Daniel LOVED playing in the sprinkler.

We also walked to the park, played on the equipment, and ate supper outside. It was a very full day, but the little man still didn't sleep through the night. Oh mercy, what are we going to do?!?

Back in the saddle again!

When Brian and I were first dating, he had a motorcycle. I loved riding on the back of that thing with him! He sold it before he moved to Washington, but on nice days we still often say, "This would be a great afternoon for a motorcycle ride!" Well, recently my brother bought a motorcycle, and he brought it home from college yesterday. Oh, Brian had such fun taking it for a spin! I also got to ride on it, but I must say, I have changed somewhat since my college days. I am so much more safety conscious. When Brian got going over 40 mph, I started yelling for him to slow down. You feel (and are) so much more vulnerable on a motorcycle than in a car. First of all, you are balanced on two narrow wheels instead of four. You are completely out in the open. And it only takes a little loose gravel or a squirrel in the wrong place at the wrong time for things to go awry. I kept mentioning helmets to my brother, but notice how I hopped right on without wearing one myself. Good grief.


Daniel just loved sitting on the motorcycle, and I am already beginning to pray about his future desire to have one of his own. Sigh.

I love this photo of my brother and Danny. Everyone says they look so much alike. They do have identical hair and eye color, but my baby photos look more like Daniel than Jonathan's do. And Daniel definitely has some of his daddy mixed in there too.

Fishing trip

On Sunday afternoon, Brian and I took Daniel on his first fishing trip. The weather was absolutely perfect...cool, sunny, nice breeze. We saw one snake (yuck), two skink, and a family of mice. Brian caught 4 or 5 fish, which Daniel found to be very entertaining. He carried one fish around for awhile, and when told to throw it back in the water, he walked to the edge and tossed it in perfectly. We stopped by my parent's house on the way home and saw some of their new baby kittens. Brian and Annie happened to unintentionally get too close to one kitten, and the mama cat attacked them both! Yikes! Other than that incident, we had a wonderful afternoon of "first" experiences for Daniel. I love this stage...wish we could get past the teething and sleeplessness, but I love this stage nonetheless!

Crocs rock!

As you can see, we are a croc-wearing family. I have never been super fond of the way the things look, but they are just so darn handy! We love wearing them around the yard and garden because any dirt can just be hosed off. And they are comfortable too! Daniel has been wearing his cute little pair constantly this spring. He longs to be outdoors every waking moment. He likes playing with the dog, sitting on the lawn mower, picking dandilions, collecting rocks, and just being in the fresh air. When it was raining yesterday, he stood at the screen door and looked forlornly outside. Every so often he would point at something and "talk" about it at great lengths. I am afraid he will have several more rainy days to endure this week!