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| Here it is the morning after...I stayed up as late as I could stand (after opting to attend two exhilarating E.U. basketball games back to back over listening to the talking heads all night on t.v.), so I did not learn the results of the various elections until today. My kids asked if I were upset by the results. It's interesting, but I can't say that I am. A little disappointed maybe, but angry or upset, no. I know these things: - I did what I was supposed to do. I studied and learned about the issues and the candidates, and I voted my conscience; and I respectfully assume the other voters did, as well.
- God is sovereign. HE ordains those who will be in authority. He will raise them up and tear them down.
- Regardless of who wins an election or what bills are passed and defeated, my mandate as a Christian and as an American remains the same. I will pray for those in leadership, and I will live my convictions and do my best as a parent to instill those values in my children.
- My hope for my country, for my family or for my future does not rest in any politician.
Of course, I must laugh when I hear the newly elected state senator pronounce, "The People have spoken!" A 51% victory is not a landslide. I don't know which is more naive, the candidates who think they will have the power to honor their campaign pledges or the voters who believed them.  | | |
| I had a rather sobering realization today as I was leaving school and watching the students heading out in droves for fall break: it is a month until Thanksgiving and two months until Christmas. Oh my. | | |
| Of the four, my second baby was the hardest. The pregnancy was difficult and further complicated by an incredibly busy and fearless 2 year old needing constant supervision. He was my biggest baby, but because he was nearly 23 inches long at birth, he looked pretty scrawny. (I knew I felt his feet in the back of my throat, but noone believed me) He was jaundiced, so we had to give him "light therapy" at home. This entailed keeping him blindfolded under strong lights, turning him from back to side to tummy to other side every 30 minutes, round-the-clock for several days. He would eat, then promptly spit it all up. It wasn't normal, but the doctor didn't believe me. His jaundice wouldn't go away, so I took him in for daily blood tests and continued to express my concern that he wasn't getting enough nutrition to stay inside. After three weeks of this, to appease me, the doctor agreed to run a test. The baby had to drink a bottle of barium, then they would x-ray him to see if he had any blockages. As I suspected, they saw that he did and rushed him immediately for surgery to correct his pyloric stenosis. In the stressed-out, sleep deprived state that I was in, it was all rather overwhelming. It was a blessing that not only was Brian in town that day, but also his mom and sister were visiting, so they could watch Brinnae while I camped out at the hospital...
Ross recovered from his surgery and began to quickly put on weight. He was always distracted by whatever was going on around him, so he never really finished eating; hence, he was ALWAYS eating...a habit which continues to this day. He also had a very hard time falling asleep, so I'd rub his back for hours...another habit which continues to this day.
This baby that cried every time I set him down or walked out of a room turned 15 this week. He is several inches taller than me even when I'm wearing my highest heels, but he's still very skinny. It is funny to see his stats on the football roster, Ross Roggow, Wide Receiver, 5'10", 123 lbs. 
He doesn't need me so much anymore and hardly notices now if I am in a room or not, but there are those moments,usually at night when he asks me to rub his back before he goes to sleep, that we look at each other and just smile, because we both know he's still my baby.
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| Comparatively speaking, I have a fairly high pain tolerance. This can be evidenced by the fact that even though my morning sickness lasted the entire nine months each pregnancy, I had three more babies after going through childbirth the first time; that I wait until a headache is on the verge of migraine status before taking anything to subdue it; and that I refuse to stop wearing certain darling shoes (just because they match) even though they cause my feet to cramp mercilessly when I remove them... This proof of my fortitude notwithstanding, I will avoid pain of any kind at almost any cost. Thus, I still am not toned after years of complaining, because every time I attempt to work out, I am in great distress for at least a week following. It isn't just physical pain I avoid, either. I truly hate mental/emotional conflict. There are occasions that arise when there is no possible way to avoid deep, gut-wrenching, heart-ripping pain regardless of one's options. It just is going to hurt BAD either way, and all you can do is hope you can endure it. The refiner's fire is never a pleasant place to be.
So not knowing my inner struggles, a colleague gave me a book to read with a quote in the front that I found to be timely, relevant and encouraging. "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." Viktor E. Frankl (psychologist, author, holocaust survivor)
It will hurt, no doubt, but since circumstances are out of the range of my control, I have to work on me...
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| My birthday present this year was 6 days with just me, the car, lots of music, "think" time, great scenery and three very gracious relatives who let me spend a night with them on my trip from Missouri to Wyoming (pictures below). In addition to having a wonderful time with my cousin in the metropolis of Holdrege, Nebraska, my sister and brother in law in Gandy, Nebraska and our newly wed cousins Lyndsey and Ryan in Overland Park, Kansas, I:
-put an additional 2,400 miles on the odometer
-got my first speeding ticket from a very kind and generous trooper in Wyoming (who could have hauled me to jail for going 25 mph over the speed limit, but as a birthday gift wrote me a $60 ticket for going 5-10 over...)
-"roomed" next to bikers from all over the country (not the scary kind) who were on their way home from some huge yearly rally in Sturgis
-learned that even barreness can be beautiful
-found great shopping everywhere!
My return was marked by two trips to a St. John's facility. One for Bridget's scheduled tonsillectomy, which went flawlessly, and the second to have Ross's hand x-rayed after an injury in football practice. Let the fun begin!
 Cousin Kim and me enjoying mochas from her coffee shop in Holdrege
 Devils Tower, Wyoming
 Carla and Jay Wardrobe--great in-laws
 The newlyweds :)
 Bridget "practicing" breathing in her mask
 ugly tonsils "before"...
 ugly tonsils "after"  | | |
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