Janet's Blog

It had been years--decades, really--since I last worked on a paint by number project. I hadn't planned to do one now, but I wanted inexpensive turtle artwork, in just the right colors, for my updated primary bathroom. I checked on Amazon, and found that the artwork I liked the best was more than $200. I didn't want to spend that much on a bathroom turtle, no matter how much I liked it, but the less expensive options were too small for my space, or too subdued, or just plain ugly. Then, I came across a paint by number option that I truly loved. I thought about it for a few days. I could have painted my own turtle without much difficulty but, during the holiday season, that would have required more brain power than I had left after shopping, making travel plans, and organizing a myriad of activities, including our 50th anniversary celebration. So, I decided to try this paint by number. Almost done I ordered the kit from Amazon, and waited impatiently for it to arrive. I opened it...

It was a gorgeous, mild, sunny afternoon in late December or early January, at least five years ago. I was walking with Jackson, my fluffy little dog, on the path that runs parallel to the Monument, and rejoicing in the sunshine, which was beginning to melt the four or five inches of fresh snow covering the path. When we were almost back to the car, a young jogger came running up to us, nearly out of breath. "Be careful!" he panted. "I just heard a bunch of coyotees !" Now, I had heard the coyotes, too. There is at least one coyote family that lives on the national park land, and it isn't unusual for me to hear them, especially around sunset in the winter. In fact, it hadn't been too long since I had actually seen one adult coyote, leaping from one prairie dog mound to another, trying, unsuccessfully, to pounce on its dinner. I had snapped a couple of pictures with my phone, but the coyote was too far away, and too close in color to the brown prairie grass, ...

It was quite a week, that week leading up to our wedding on the 21st day of December in 1974. Bill had insisted on having our wedding right after he graduated from Milford Technical School (now Southeast Community College), so he had just completed finals and his family had driven the nearly 400 miles from Gering to attend his graduation the previous weekend. His dad wasn't too pleased about having to ask for time off work twice in a week's time during the sugar factory campaign, where he worked rotating shifts at the height of the sugar processing season. And the thought of making that long trip four times in 10 days must have been more than a little irritating for the whole family. Mom and I were both attending Concordia College (now Concordia University) in Seward, so we both had finals that week, and Mom technically graduated, although she didn't have a graduation ceremony just then. Mom had to drive back and forth to Seward for each of her finals, while I was still liv...

  Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, (which means "God is with us.")     Isaiah 7:14 NLT Once again, it's time to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. In a year filled with inevitable ups and downs, we rejoice in God's gift of a Savior, born as a baby in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago, and still present with us today.  Last Christmas, we were certainly glad that God was with us after Bill's dad died suddenly on December 21st at the age of 98. And then, when Levi and I contracted Covid soon after Christmas and were unable to attend Al's memorial service, it was comforting to watch the live-streamed service from home--an unexpected result of the pandemic. January brought us record-breaking snowfall, but spring arrived early enough that I could plant things like snow peas and spinach in early April. We had an abundant harvest that continued even after June's devastating hailstorm, with more tomat...

We don't get to see our youngest granddaughter as often as we would like, because she lives with her family in Ohio. Little Anna Elizabeth is 13 months old, and Anna is truly a Little Person. Anna She was diagnosed with Hypochondroplasia, a rare type of short-limbed dwarfism, when she was just a few months old. When doctors suggested, even before she was born, that she might have dwarfism, Erin and Reed passed it off as another misconception about their family's relatively small stature. None of them are tall people, and both Erin and five-year-old Will were always near the bottom of their respective growth charts when they saw their doctors for well-child checkups. Doctors had voiced similar concerns before Will was born, but he does not have any type of dwarfism; he is just small for his age.  Will, Erin, Anna, and Reed Anna, on the other hand, has been in and out of the hospital since she was born, first for breathing issues, and then for focal seizures, which are manifested...

Almost every fall, just as the leaves are showing off their vibrant colors, my daughter, Meagan, decides to take family pictures of her children and, of course, she wants at least one good picture that includes Andy and her, too. So, most years, I go along to Northfield Park (or wherever she decides to go) to help with crowd control and snap a few pictures of the whole family with her camera, after she sets it on the tripod and makes all of the necessary adjustments. I usually have to make a fool of myself in an attempt to get everyone to look at the camera, and maybe even smile, but the final results are certainly worth any momentary indignity.  Getting ready for the perfect family photo I love going along because, along with schlepping equipment from one promising spot to another, helping kids with wardrobe issues, and entertaining the little ones who are waiting their turn, I get to snap a few photos with my phone. Unfortunately, sometimes I get to do a little unintentional phot...