Janet's Blog

When you are a toddler, everything is new and exciting, and sometimes a little scary.  Even brightly-colored Easter eggs are intriguing--what are they for, anyway?  This rock will fit in that basket just as well as that egg.  But, if you point our another egg, I'll pick it up and put it in the basket just because you want me to.  I won't smile, though.  I have to concentrate! It was a beautiful day to be outdoors, a beautiful day for an Easter egg hunt.  Victoria hid the eggs carefully in our backyard.  Levi and Sheridan found a few, but they were most interested in helping Toby find more eggs.  He was so serious about his newly-acquired job, even though he lacked some basic understanding of its purpose. He didn't give up; he just kept plodding along, dutifully picking up each egg and placing it carefully in the basket. Then, it was time to fill the pond!  What an adventure--holding the hose, catching the water in his hand, and running away when a little water spr

Today, the wind blew.  And blew, and blew some more.  It was a horrific west wind, blowing steadily at nearly sixty miles an hour.  When the wind blows that hard in March, at the end of a dry winter, the topsoil blows, too.  Anyone unfortunate enough to be outdoors this afternoon ended up eating dirt.  Visibility was near zero.  Today's wind caused several car accidents, and damaged some property.  And it isn't done blowing yet.  It's March, after all.  We all know that March is historically a windy month, at least here in Nebraska. When we lived in Michigan, I was surprised to find that the wind doesn't blow much there.  Oddly, I found that I missed the wind.  A rare, gentle breeze would instantly remind me of Nebraska and home, but even more, it reminded me that God was present with me in the wind, even though I was far from home.  Since then, I find that windy days always remind me that God is here with me, and that he is ultimately in control of all things.  Tha

The challenge was daunting, at least to me.  One person would write, while the other dictated the highlights of his life in one minute.  I chose to write, because I didn't think I could possibly summarize my life so succinctly, in a way that would be entertaining.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the results were read aloud to the entire group as a way for us to get to know one another a little better. Some condensed life stories were funny, in spots.  Some were informative; I learned some things about certain people that I hadn't known before.  Many were predictable--"I was born, I lived, I graduated, I got married, I work, I have children and grandchildren..."   In a way, the vignettes reminded me of obituaries. I still don't think I can summarize my life, thus far, in one minute's time but, maybe, I can condense it to the length of a blog.  The real test is to make it interesting.  Hmmm, here goes... Grandpa Wegner often called me his "Georgi

Young children don't have a very clear concept of seasons.  They assume that snow falls only in the winter, so any snowy day, even in October or April, must be a winter day.  Some kids think that a sunny winter day, with above freezing temperatures, must be spring, even in January.  And, now that March has finally arrived, children think it must be spring for sure, because the first day of spring comes in March. Yesterday was a beautiful, breezy day.  It was jacket weather, for sure.  After church, Levi pulled on his green shorts and came downstairs to ask if he could wear them.  I sent him right back upstairs to change into jeans, but he got to wear a short-sleeved shirt all day, and his winter coat stayed in the closet.  It was a small step toward spring.  We're counting the days. Even though I am able to think more logically than my preschoolers (and my son), I'll admit that I, too, am hoping for instant spring.  That's why I was so excited this afternoon, when I