Janet's Blog

As I ventured out of Erin and Reed's house this afternoon, for a walk in their neighborhood, one word came to mind: FRIGID. The temperature hovered in the mid-twenties, but the humidity was at least 80%, so the air felt much colder, even with no wind. After thirty-seven western Nebraska winters, I had almost forgotten what winter is like in the Northern states. Erin and Reed's house A few stray snowflakes sputtered down from the leaden sky as I walked briskly along the sidewalk. Soon, I was wishing for the snow pants and warmer gloves that hadn't fit in my suitcase. These wetlands are within easy walking distance from the house. I headed for the wide, asphalt path that led through the wetlands, just a couple of blocks away. The grasses were brown, of course, and tall, framing a perfect circle of ice in the middle of the marsh. Except for a lone cardinal scooting through the air, I didn't spot any wildlife. This gravel path winds through the neighborho...

Baby Will was supposed to be a Christmas baby, but he didn't quite make it. Our oldest daughter, Erin, and her husband, Reed, have been anxiously waiting for the day their first baby would arrive, hoping he wouldn't follow in his mother's footsteps, and make them wait an extra week or two. Instead, his doctor noticed that he wasn't growing much at all in the womb during the last three weeks or so, because the placenta's blood supply seemed to be compromised. Because of that, Erin was induced last week, and William Langdon Tyler made his appearance on Saturday, December 7th, at 1:08 in the afternoon. Will weighed four pounds and fourteen ounces, and was 18 inches long at birth. The blue light you see in the photos is from his Bili blanket, because his bilirubin is high. The special light will help his body  rid itself of unneeded red blood cells, wh ich turn his skin the telltale yellow that signifies jaundice. This is a common problem for  low birth weight  bab...

It's been nearly three weeks now since Levi and I set out for our adventure in and around Madison, Wisconsin. We started very early in the morning, rising long before the sun was up, at the (almost) ungodly hour of 3:30, so we would arrive at the Scottsbluff airport in plenty of time to catch the 6 a.m. flight to Denver. It should have been gratifying to see that we weren't alone. The airport filled up quickly, and the plane was nearly at capacity, too, for our first short flight. It was still early when we traipsed through DIA, walking, even on the moving floors, riding escalators and the train, until we finally reached our gate and boarded the next flight to Chicago O'Hare. From there, we caught another puddle jumper to the Milwaukee Airport. (Tickets were much more affordable to Milwaukee, rather than Madison, and Erin was willing to drive a little farther to pick us up, so we made the cheaper choice.) I've been to Wisconsin before, first driving through as a tee...