Wordful Wednesday- Winter

Weather. 

I grew up in Albuquerque.
In Albuquerque, you don't really think about the weather.  It just is.  It is usually nice.  And if it's not, it will be soon. 

And then I married someone from the Midwest.  My in-laws talked about the weather all the time.  I did not understand their obsession.  We lived by the water and in beautiful places with moderate conditions.  Weather was still basically a non-event.  In Hawaii, you wake up expecting sunshine, and if it is not sunny, you are surprised.  In the Puget Sound region, for at least a good part of the year, you wake up expecting clouds, and if there are none, you are suprised.  But weather was rarely an event. 

Until we moved to Omaha.
Weather is most decidedly an event in Omaha.  In the spring, severe storms bring wind sheers and sudden torrential rainfall and tornado watches and warnings.  In the summer, heat and humidity create that still air that completely stifles.  With fall arrives that lovely but ever so brief lull until winter.  And then, there is winter.

This winter, we have experienced two blizzards, record-breaking low temperatures, a solid week of fog, and then, today, ice.  I was to meet a friend for breakfast early this morning.  I slipped off my front steps and then proceeded to slide over the glazed sidewalks to my driveway.  Once at the foot of the driveway, I considered how would I could possibly make it up that tiny but VERY steep incline into the car.  There was nothing to hold on to.  There was nothing to grip.  The audience watching the hidden camera of my life was surely laughing at my baby steps, my inability to move forward, to even stay upright.  Thankfully, there was yet a border of snowpack that provided cold, but solid, footing.  Once in the car, I dare not get back out to scrape the ice off the windows.  I slid the car down the driveway, popped it into four-wheel-drive, turned on the defrost, and got out to scrape, while fervently hoping the emergency brake would hold and the car would not start sliding backwards while I chipped away at the windshield.

Walking outside my house this morning, you can audibly hear the ice on the trees and wires, creaking and cracking.  I wonder how long branches, heavy with ice, already stressed by earlier snows, will hold before snapping under the added weight of their glossy coatings.  I wonder how much longer the creaking and cracking of my soul will hold before the thaw and promise of spring arrives.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1  That is the promise that keeps my footing sure even on icy ground.

For more Wordful Wednesday, be sure to visit Seven Clown Circus!

Wordful Wednesday- Spring Storms

We were three days into spring, three not-so-bad-this-might-REALLY-be-the-beginnings-of-spring kind of days, when on Monday, the tornado sirens sounded for the first time this season.

Such is spring in Nebraska.

Inevitably, it starts in the late afternoon. We can look west and see the skies begin to darken. We see the wall of clouds form, ominous in their intent. We begin to think, what today?

My girls retreat to the basement. I turn on the news. Every local station is focused on weather. We get the super duper double Doppler this and that. Honestly, they know where the storm is headed virtually within a block.

And after you have been through a few storms, after you have been through a few dangerous storms, you have a sense of whether it is dangerous or not. But my family has lost a friend in a tornado, and we now know that does happen. We'll probably never hear a storm siren quite the same.

Monday's storm was not dangerous for us, just a nuisance, really. Within an two hours, it had passed and the skies were gloriously sun-filled. We wait for the next spring storm to roll through, or the snow that is forecast for the weekend...

Such is spring in Nebraska.

For more WordfulWednesday stories, visit SevenClownCircus. (and if you're a FoodNetwork fan, like we are, BE SURE to read Lula's post!!)

(photo credit to BZalewski at Flickr)

Wordful Wednesday- Lemonade Stand

This photo appeared in our local newspaper this morning- on the front page of the Midlands section. That's my S and her two best buddies from down the street. Su, L & S, and those buddies, and their brother, have been entrepreneurs this week. Motivated by sunshine and the promise of spring, it was time to open their lemonade stand, on the corner in front of our house.

I was, admittedly, skeptical. Yes, it was a beautiful day. It was sunny, and after a winter of freezing temps, 70 feels almost hot. But it was the middle of the day. Our street doesn't get a lot of traffic. Who would buy lemonade?

Imagine my surprise when yes, drivers did actually stop. And buy. I watched in amazement as a car passed by, stopped, returned in reverse, and stopped again. Three baggy-shorted teens hopped out and ambled over to the stand, bought three cups of lemonade and returned on their way. The lemonade stand grossed nearly $6 that day. (of course, it's all profit- they have underwriters...) And, they caught the eye of the local photographer looking for "sunny day" pictures for the paper.

They have business sense, these girls. They sell their lemonade for 10 cents a cup.
"10 cents?," I questioned. "That's not very much."
"Oh, we know! People think it's cheap and then give us more!"
Ah-ha!

The money? They are going to keep collecting it, and divide it between the Crisis Pregnancy Center and the Humane Society. And I'll keep providing lemonade and cups for the cause.

More Wordful Wednesday? Get over to SevenClownCircus.

(photo credit to Matt Miller at the Omaha World Herald)

Wordful Wednesday- 10!

It's Wordful Wednesday!

My twins are 10.
10 years old!
A decade!

When we had one very little girl, a cranky little baby, but absolutely a genius first born in the eyes of her parents :-), I thought I knew a lot. Then we had a very chubby and extremely content little boy, and I thought “NOW I know everything! A girl. Fussy, sleeps rarely. A boy. Happy, sleeps and eats.” And then I had number 3, and if it is possible for there to be yet another 180 degrees of difference, it was that little girl. “OK! NOW we’ve seen it all!” That was about the time I received the biggest and most unexpected surprise of my life. I was at a standard 17 week ultrasound appointment when a friendly radiology tech told me, “Your husband is going to be surprised when you tell him that you are having twins.” TWINS! “OK Lord! I surrender! I confess I don’t know a thing!”

I am convinced that parenting is the ultimate example of the old adage, "the more you know, the more you realize you don't know." But I do know that God is good. I do know that my children, and these two girls that arrived in a span of 8 minutes, are our delight. These two girls make me laugh every single day. They love each other like an old married couple. They love others selflessly. And their dad and I absolutely rejoice at watching them grow.

Happy double digits girls!

Click over to SevenClownCircus for more Wordful Wednesday posts...

Wordful Wednesday- International Dinner

This weeks edition of Wordful Wednesday features photos from the ESL International Dinner on Monday. Notice "photos"- as in more than one. I couldn't decide on one!

Food- delicious food! Homemade tamales and frijoles and posole from our Hispanic friends. Potato chaps (say: "chop") from our Nepalese friend. A rice dish from Colombia. Chinese noodles. Meatballs. Icelandic cake (from a staff member from Norway!). Apple pie.

Friends- lots of friends. Here you'll see a couple members of my family- the gringos in the pictures. Two friends from Mexico played accordion and guitar. We have grandmas and toddlers and everyone in between. We have students from 7 or 8 countries. Including our staff, we have 5 continents represented.

So we feasted and fellowshipped and then went off to class- a good Monday night.
Good for a Wordful Wednesday!

Wordful Wednesday- Soccer

My k took this picture of the indoor soccer field last week.

Soccer.

I played through middle school and high school and college- never really well, mostly always on recreational teams, always for fun. Soccer was never NOT fun for me.

I was a ref through high school, watching the herd that always is found when young kids play soccer. I started to coach in college- young kids, boys and girls, that made me laugh. I coached kindergarten kids. I coached middle school girls. I coached when I was pregnant with the twins and had to wear the same jersey as the team- making me look something akin to Tommy Lasorda. I even coached the twins through their first four years in soccer. Soccer is a great game for young kids. You don't have to be super athletic to contribute in a soccer game.

My twins play soccer- right now we're in the indoor season. Generally, one is on the field and one is in the goal. They seem to enjoy it as much as I do, and that's a blessing.

You rarely see a soccer field as seemingly empty as k captured it last week. Good eye, k.

For more WordfulWednesday contributions, don't forget to check out SevenClownCircus!

Wordful Wednesday- Christmas Past

It's Wednesday, and a Christmas eve Wednesday at that, so for this week's Wordful Wednesday, we're going back in the archives...

Last year, my sister gave me a great gift- scanned images of the slides my grandparents collected over the years...

I'm guessing this photo dates to, oh, 1970, 1971?
The boots are a great clue. :-)

I know that this photo was taken at my grandparents' house in Albuquerque. I recognize the blue carpet, and the table in the background. When cleared off, that table was great for sitting and spinning on.

I recognize our stockings hanging in the background- for my sister and me. My mom made those stockings herself, and I still have mine. Mine is red felt, with my name and little ornaments in sequins. That was a faithful stocking for many many years.

But the funniest thing about this picture is the outfit, because even if you are only a little bit acquainted with me, you will know there is nothing about this outfit that I would wear today. Not a short plaid skirt. Not shiny white boots. I don't even care for turtlenecks all that much. Certainly not a bow in my hair.

But I bet it was working for me in 1970...

Visit SevenClownCircus for more WordfulWednesday posts!
:-)

Wordful Wednesday- Creativity

I was away from the house yesterday afternoon for a while, at a meeting, driving kids. Even so, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in my absence- several calls from home, AND a photo record of sorts.

I arrived home to find that, after completing, ahem- most, of her schoolwork, my youngest went to work creating this mask.

Cool, I told her.
Why a mask?
Oh, I saw a mask in a book and I haven't made one in a while.

Ok.
Good enough for me.

My mask-maker- she's one creative girl. Give that girl a box of crayons, a few pipe cleaners and a roll of tape, and watch out. (Adhesives are key. Tape and glue are coveted in this house. If I really want to keep them, I hide them from creative girl!)

On my camera there were photos of the mask being created and photos of the mask complete, but flat. It takes on much more character upright and worn properly.

There was also a photo of a shoe stepping on the mask. Hmmm... perhaps NOT a photo of domestic tranquility. Photo evidence. But that, perhaps is better left for another Wordful Wednesday.

Thanks to 7ClownCircus- be sure to visit and check out what else is Wordful this Wednesday!

Wordful Wednesday- Wandering Son

If it's Wednesday it's time for Wordful Wednesday, that weekly photo carnival hosted by SevenClownCircus.

My contribution this week- this photo of my family at Hubbard Glacier in the waters of Alaska this summer, my husband, my four girls, and my... WAIT! Everyone EXCEPT my son! And hence, a Wordful Wednesday story...

True to the blog title, many in my family are prone to wander. On this day, my family was headed to one of the observation decks to go outside to, well, glacier watch. (you just never know when glaciers will get exciting. They can break, calf, at any moment, you know...) I went to fetch youngest daughter from an activity and left the others headed topside. (hmmm... that might be submarine, not cruise-line, lingo...)

So while I'm away, our son hops on the elevator and no one else joins him. Did he jump off? No. Did my husband stop him? No. Did my husband shout words of advice like, "Stay on the elevator!" No. In fact, the family witness gives testimony that he actually waved as the elevator doors closed and said "Goodbye." And then, my only son was gone.

Now the good news and the reality of being on a cruise ship is that there's not far to wander and you certainly won't starve. Once back in our room to hear messages, we had periodic posts from wandering son, the likes of "Hi, this is your abandonned son. I'm on the Lido Deck at the Taco Bar..." and "Hi, again, this is your abandonned son. I'm in the restaurant with a slice of pizza." Apparently glacier watching wasn't high on his priorities.

We did eventually find said son, in less than an hour, and we did marvel at the wonder of the glacier. And we did get that family photo, my husband, my four girls, and my son...

Don't forget to head over to SevenClownCircus to enjoy more Wordful Wednesday contributions.

... while the sun shines

If it's Wednesday, it's time to visit SevenClownCircus again! This week's Wordful Wednesday shows a shot of my kids, taken last week on our outing to find pumpkins. An outing that almost turned much more expensive than I planned.

It's a fall tradition for me and my kids to head to the local farm stand and enjoy the traditions of fall and buy a few pumpkins. We've been doing it since my oldest two were toddlers. (except Hawaii... not many pumpkin farms in Hawaii...) For the last few years, we've journeyed a short ways from home, but time got away from us this year, and it was practically the end of pumpkin season before we journeyed mere minutes to a nearby pumpkin patch.

On October weekends, I guess this small family owned farm has a lot going on, tractor rides and pumpkin painting and all that. But on this Wednesday afternoon, it was just me and my kids, and a small group of preschoolers. We wandered around the barn, a lady asked us if we needed help, and I told her no. We kept wandering. We meandered outside. We tramped through corn stalks, formerly known as a maze, but now pretty much trampled and thin. We hopped over a few bales of hay. We climbed over an old tractor. And then we went back to the barn to pick out our pumpkins.

We strolled back into the barn and the lady looks at us and asks, "Were you in the playground?" "Playground?," I asked. Apparently we had crossed over into the entertainment zone and now owed $5 each. $5 times 6 people. ouch. The pumpkin budget is diminishing quickly.

I dug out the checkbook and got ready to write, when suddenly, the lady had mercy on us.
"Well, I'll let it go this time, but next time you'll have to pay,"she told me, sternly.
"I understand, and thank you so much," I told her gratefully, when I was really thinking, "There will be no next time, but lets buy some pumpkins and get out of here!"
We bought 4 nice pumpkins, both because I didn't want to completely stiff her and because that's why we were there in the first place, and such was the adventure until next year.

Make hay while the sun shines!
And have a great Wordful Wednesday!

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones

One Crafty Mama reminds me that it is once again Wordful Wednesday over at 7 Clown Circus.

So...
from the archives I bring to you Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones. That's me and my sister (me on the left, my sister on the right), in oh, about 1970. I cannot for the life of me remember which of us was Mrs. Smith and which was Mrs. Jones- I have a feeling that we probably never knew!

But, I am quite sure that our Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones personas required the wearing of the hats, and of the beads. And, there were probably a couple of purses stuffed to the rim involved. I know this now because I have four girls who have dressed up over the years, and hats and beads and purses are mandatory.

The duckie blow up ball?
I have no idea...

Wordful Wednesday

Since I obviously have no original ideas on Wednesday, thanks to Seven Clown Circus for hosting Wordful Wednesday!

The rules, as written by SevenClownCircus herself...
*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

My photo, taken just this afternoon, as we made caramel apples!
HOMEMADE caramel apples in all of their rich sticky goodness!

And it was easy! And they look so pretty!

(So pretty! We won't include photos of the wrappers floating all over my kitchen, or of youngest daughter burning her finger when sister "helped" her twirl the caramel, or the pan that is yet to be cleaned and is probably crystalizing into caramel hardness...
So pretty!)

Wordful Wednesday!