Janet's Blog

It seems like such a long time ago, when the celebration of Christmas was new to me, and so exciting, and sparkly, and holy. And yet, in some ways, it just seems like a short time ago, when I posed in my red velveteen skirt in front of Grandma's tinsel-covered Christmas tree in Bloomfield, my newest doll in one arm, with my other hand resting possessively on the handlebars of my new (to me), light blue tricycle. Little Danny had something new to ride, too, a rocking horse, possibly made by Grandpa in his basement workshop. His left hand was poised on the horse, ready to ride into the sunset, sixgun pointing at some invisible villain. He was even dressed for the job, just like every other little boy who lived in the late 1950's. This is the only Christmas picture I have from my childhood. Black and white photos, like this one, were only taken on special occasions and, even then, we weren't guaranteed a good picture, since we had to wait and see what developed, weeks later, w...

May your Christmas be merry, and your New Year, better than the last one. It began on Christmas morning, when baby Jesus was born  In a stable there, in Bethlehem, that sacred, starry morn,  When the shepherds came to worship, and the angels hailed his birth:  Glory in the highest! God’s son has come to Earth.  Sing glory….Sing glory…. 2020 has been quite a year for our family, filled with a little good, a lot of bad, and a whole lot of ugly, or so it seems. I'll get the bad and ugly out of the way first:  In January, Meagan had a late, first trimester miscarriage, just a few days after she had publicly announced her pregnancy.  In February, my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and mild dementia, and was hospitalized, and then moved to Heritage Care Center in Fairbury.  In March, Levi began Zooming instead of attending school, and Victoria had to stop volunteering at Minatare Prestart, because the school, like all of the others in our area, c...

It was just a year ago when I flew to Wisconsin to welcome WilliamTyler to the world. He weighed four and a half pounds the last time I held him. I never dreamed that a whole year would go by without another chance to hold him again. Will doesn't look so tiny in this picture. Closeups can be deceiving . But when his Mom, Erin, held him, his size--or lack of it--was evident. I'm not alone. Social distancing has wreaked havoc with in-person relationships for almost everyone. Often, we speak to other people through our masks, from six feet away. Or, we rely on modern technology to communicate through Facetime and Zoom.  I have been so thankful for the ability to use Zoom for Levi's parent/teacher conferences and my grandkids' piano and dance recitals, and even for worship services last spring. I get to Facetime with Erin and Will regularly, so I can see how he is growing, and listen to him talk, and observe his wobbly walking. I would have loved to wish Will a "Happy ...

When life seems dreary, extra lighting helps. On an overcast day, we turn on extra lights in the house, and light the fireplace. During a tedious year, like this one has been, colorful Christmas lights have the potential to lift spirits. When I was a little girl, it was great fun to climb into the car just to look at the Christmas lights as Dad toured the town. Back then, lights were vibrant blue or brilliant red, or multicolored, twinkling strings that vied for our attention. The best displays were those that covered the eaves and every tree in someone's snowy yard, or even a whole neighborhood. Some yards boasted spotlighted, wooden cutouts of Santa and his sleigh, or intricately painted nativity scenes, but there was no front yard animation then, no accompanying music, and no oversized, blow-up figures.  This year, the Christmas lights in my neighborhood have been amazing! In their efforts to counteract the dullness of our current Covid season, many of my neighbors put up their ...

Fall has arrived and, with it, I can't help but notice the timely arrival of the Canada geese. They are everywhere, swimming in every river and lake for miles around, or grazing in the open fields. They fly in lopsided V formations at sunrise, and again at sunset, honking wildly as they search for a place to forage for food or spend the night.  Canada geese, sometimes called Canadian geese, are common thoughout much of North America. Many of them breed in Canada, as their name suggests. Some flocks winter in southern Canada, but most travel further south to the US or northeastern Mexico. A good number spend the winter here in Nebraska. They are large birds, with wingspans reaching from four to six feet. They mate for life, and can live from 10 to 24 years in the wild. Most flocks of geese migrate every spring and fall, at the rate of 40 to 70 miles per hour. With a favorable tail wind, Canada geese can fly as far as 1500 miles in a single day! As you would expect, Canada geese eat ...

My four local grandkids ate lunch with me on Tuesday, as they usually do while their mother, Meagan, is working at the church. After I put all the fixings for tacos on the table, I encouraged everyone to wash their hands before sitting down at the table. Since Levi didn't have school this week, he joined us for lunch, too. When I asked for a volunteer to say the prayer, two-year-old Ari waved both hands in the air while grinning from ear to ear, and shouting, "Me!" As everyone else bowed their heads, Ari folded his hands, bowed his own head, squeezed his eyes shut, and said these words, very clearly: "Thank you for this food. Amen." Then he opened his eyes and beamed at everyone gathered around the table. This Thanksgiving is going to be very hard for many people. We are missing loved ones who usually join us for dinner. Some of us are sick with Covid, or still recovering, or concerned about friends and loved ones who are sick or even in the hospital. Some of us...

I've heard that it was a good year for pumpkins. Meagan grew more than 30 nice, orange pumpkins in her garden. My grandkids know that I never have much luck growing pumpkins, so they made my day when they brought me several from their abundance. I plant pumpkins and various squash every year, but I feel blessed if even one of the plants produces anything but leaves. You see, my garden is just too shady to grow much besides tomatoes and green beans. That doesn't stop me from planting pumpkins and squash anyway, because their vines produce some good ground cover even if they don't give me any squash or pumpkins. This year, I was thrilled to pick several zucchinis and yellow summer squash. The acorn squash I planted didn't grow at all, but I ended up with a prolific pumpkin vine that invaded the onions and green beans, climbed the tomato cages, and even scaled the wood fence that separates my garden from the neighbor's yard. Unfortunately, it was all vine and leaves, o...

I was hiking along the old Oregon Trail the other day, on the path that leads to the west from the Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitors' Center. As the sun was just disappearing behind the nearby bluffs, half an hour or so before the official sunset, I started to think about the pioneers who had traveled that same route so many years ago.  My trek was easy: I just drove my car the short distance from home, then got out to walk on the path for a while before heading back home again, an hour later.  Those long-ago travelers didn't have such an easy time of it, though. They had to plan carefully, leaving Missouri in early April so they could make it to Oregon before winter. They didn't have any convenient bridges or paved roads, and no motorized vehicles. They had to depend on simple, canvas-covered wagons with wooden wheels, pulled by a team of mules or oxen. So much could go wrong. The trail was littered with belongings cast aside to make the load lighter, and graves of s...

As I was driving down Fifth Avenue in Scottsbluff the other day, I couldn't help but notice how many local campaign signs line both sides of the street. It's that time of the year--the election is looming, whether we like it or not. I'm not a particularly political person. I'm well informed about the issues, though, and I have definite opinions about some of them. I'm not thrilled with much of anything that's been happening in Washington, and throughout our country, lately. I really wish we had a better choice of leaders who are running for office. However, I can certainly understand why many of the most upstanding and responsible leaders do not have any intention of ever running for national office. Quite frankly, the political climate in our nation stinks! I will vote in the upcoming election, though, and trust God with the outcome. That's all I can do, when all is said and done. Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from G...

Just last week, Meagan and I took the kids camping for one last time this year. Now, cold, yucky weather is upon us, and it's time to winterize the RV and park it until next spring. Due to the Covid pandemic that has been ruling our lives this year, we weren't able to go camping at the beginning of the summer. We didn't even bring the RV home from storage until June. Then, some of the local campgrounds remained closed for several weeks, and when they finally opened, it was just too hot to be comfortable, and there were too many reports of rattlesnakes. So, we waited. Bill suggested that we camp in the driveway, but that's just not real camping! Unless we can get outside, someplace where we can enjoy God's beautiful creation, sleeping in the RV would be disappointing, to say the least.  Stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect kn...