Janet's Blog

Let's face it; sometimes, life is just hard.  Work can be stressful.  Unexpected injury and chronic illness are always challenging.  The people around us may be hard to live with or work with.  Money worries may become overwhelming. Sometimes, the modern conveniences that we rely on just quit working.  And, why does it seem like we have so much to do and not enough time to do it? Then, there are those big things, like changing jobs or retiring from a lifetime of work, or moving to a new home or even a new community, or losing a loved one through death or divorce. Change of any kind is harder than we like to admit. Conventional wisdom says "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"  It would be so convenient to magically take all the negatives that life throws our way and turn them into something good.  But that is often easier said than done. This year, it seems like my family (and extended family) has had more than our fair share of the ...

I called the tree lady a few weeks ago because we needed to have our dying birch tree removed from the front yard before it fell on a car--or one of the kids. And, while we were at it, we asked her to take out several overgrown yew bushes, and trim the dead branches out of our mammoth blue spruce.  At the last minute, Bill decided to ask if she could give us some advice about the huge old hackberry tree in the backyard, right next to the garage.  He had noticed a small split in the trunk a few months ago, and wondered if she thought it would help relieve some stress on the tree if we removed a major branch or two. Bill did not realize just how long and wide that crack had extended since he last took a good look at it.  The tree lady recommended removing the whole tree as soon as possible, before the next heavy, wet snow or 60 mile-an-hour gust of wind dropped a large section of the tree onto our house.  And, what's more, she declined to take down the tree ...

I've been noticing lately that many people I know and respect, including plenty of Christians, have been bashing our president, publicly ridiculing him every chance they get.  Now, I can't say that Mr. Obama is my favorite president, and I will readily admit that I don't agree with very many of his policies.  Even though I dread the thought of another muck-filled presidential campaign that is approaching much too soon, I am looking forward to a change in national leadership.  I hope that a different president will be able to make wise decisions that will bolster our nation's economy and foreign relations.  Even more, I hope that a new leader will be truly respected by the majority of citizens from every state, every political party, and every walk of life. In the meantime, halfway through this president's second and final term of office, I have been feeling disturbed by all of the blatant disrespect I've been witnessing.  It is true that several politicians...

Right now, it seems as if this Earth is in a world of hurt.  Over the past couple of weeks, we've heard about terrorist activities, ISIS, a major plane crash, starving and enslaved children, massive flooding in Arizona (Arizona!), sudden deaths of well-known celebrities, an Ebola crisis in Africa, wars and rumors of war in several locales.  Closer to home, West Nile disease is rearing its ugly head again.  Early frost threatens crops, and late summer snow is predicted this week across Nebraska and surrounding states,  Some vocal Nebraskans question the decision to bring a missionary to Omaha for treatment of Ebola.  And, here in my little world, two nieces have endured car accidents, a friend is fighting encephalitis, the kids and I have been sick, work has been stressful. I could go on and on, but it's too depressing to continue. News media seems to revel in the latest glut of news.  When TV and internet and newspapers are plastered with graphic detail...

Finally, Evie's room is ready; her crib can be moved in as soon as her eye teeth erupt and she is sleeping through the night again.  For the time being, just as a cozy nest is the best place for a baby bird to wait for mama bird to bring a juicy worm, Mom and Dad's room is much more convenient for those inevitable middle-of-the-night awakenings.  Evie will get to sleep in her own room soon enough. I started painting the mural in Evie's room nearly a month ago, but school preparations intervened.  Finally, on Labor Day, after a couple of weeks of school, I had time to get it done.   Since both of Tobin's rooms (in the old and new houses) had a farm theme, we wanted Evie's room to coordinate, at least a little, while maintaining a unique atmosphere just for Evelyn.  Tobin was the one who insisted that Evelyn needed pink roses in her room, as well as a scarecrow in the garden.  And, what little girl (especially one with Vawser heritage) doesn't lik...