City Girl Goes to the Country Part II: Thankful for my family

I previously wrote about my trips to the “farm” as a child and the ranch now that Terryn, my honey, has moved (City Girl Goes to the County).  With it now being November and just having gotten home from a recent trip out to western Nebraska, I thought it would be a great time for a second post about a city girl that goes to the country.  
 

Riding horses during one of the trips to the "Farm"

I am blessed with grandparents who have been and continue to be a major part of my life.  The trips to the farm when I was a child are all because of them.  They grew up in small town Nebraska and even though they moved to the city once they had children, they wanted to share their heritage and family with their children and grandchildren.  On a regular basis, they would take us to visit family on the farm and we would get to do typical farm things that weren’t a part of our daily lives, ride the 4 wheeler and horses, see cows, and collect eggs.  

Meeting Cheyenne

 On most of the trips during the drive the pleading began the minute we got in the car, “Can we pull off the highway at the first entrance so I can drive down the lane, please?”  Looking back I am not sure why I was so excited about it, the lane was maybe a quarter of a mile and by me “driving” we probably ended up going about 5 miles a hour on that stretch making the trip take longer.  But never the less, it was exciting and something I asked to do every time we went.  

My son's first horse ride (8 weeks old)

This most recent trip to the ranch was a special one for me, I got to take my eight week old son for the first time.  While I know he is young and won’t remember this particular trip, I found joy in sharing the things my grandparents shared with me at an early age.  I took my little man on his first horse ride and was happy that it was on my favorite horse, Cash.  (He doesn’t have to know that we just went around and around in the yard close to the house!)  As he grows up and we continue these trips I can’t wait to find out what part of it will bring him joy and excitement that driving down the lane brought to me. 

 As I think about the things I am thankful for during the month of November, I have to thank my grandparents for being such an important part of my life and sharing the experiences at the farm with me.  I look forward to passing on this part of my life with future generations!

Meeting our buddy Cash

Happy Retirement Pops!

October 31^st marked a huge milestone in my Pops life, he retired!  He may be retiring from receiving a normal paycheck, but knowing my Pops, he will be anything but retired.  For starters, a week after his so called retirement, Grandpa Daycare will be opening!  At his retirement party a few of his coworkers got up to say a few words.  His coworkers commented on Pops “gift of gab” which if you know my Pops it is pretty obvious.  He is someone who enjoys connecting with people and treats them with kindness.  This gift leaves a lasting impression on those that he meets.  Growing up we couldn’t go anywhere without Pops running into someone he knew (the grocery store was the worst, there was no such thing as running in to just grab a gallon of milk!) and if he didn’t happen to know anyone, then you could count on him meeting someone new for us to run into the next time! 

As I think about the impact Pops has not only made on other people’s lives but my own life, two words come to mind, hard-working and loyal.  Over the years, he worked at a small chemical company and a trash transfer station.  Pops never had glamorous jobs, but he could be counted on to do whatever task was needed.  Every day he went to work and made the most of it. In my lifetime Pops has had two jobs, the last one he was at for 16 years.  Through schedule changes, task changes, coworkers changing, warm and cold weather he stayed through it all.

While Pops will be experiencing a new chapter in his life, I am also starting a new chapter in mine.  After almost 7 years in public accounting, I have decided to leave the firm I have been at since college and move into the private accounting world.  This will allow me to spend more time with my family throughout the year.  The decision hasn’t been an easy one, but Pops has taught me the importance of being a part of your kid’s life. 

I have learned so much from my Pops over the years and am so excited for my little man to get to spend time learning from Grandpa the way that I did.  I wish him all the best in his “retirement” and can’t wait to see what this new chapter in his life holds!

I love you, Pops!

Joys of Motherhood

Two days before I went into labor!

Well it happened!  Six weeks ago my heart grew and is now overflowing with love for a little boy that we named Dexter.   There are absolutely no words to describe the feeling that I had when the Doctor placed my little boy on my chest.  How quickly I have forgotten about the “joys of motherhood” that I joked about while pregnant, morning sickness (that wasn’t just in the morning), the sore back and hips, peeing my pants a little when I sneezed, a foot being pushed out the side of my belly, and we can’t forget about the 27 hours of labor.  These sarcastic joys of motherhood have been replaced with the real joys of motherhood, my baby snuggling up to his Momma, the middle of the night “my belly is now full” smiles, witnessing the love that his Daddy has for him, listening to the baby squeaks and groans, etc.  This mother is still learning, dealing with a “fire hose” is a completely new concept and mastering diaper changes without the fire hose going off took some time, but we finally got it!

Our sweet baby boy.  Thanks to Meri Valentin Photography!

My daily routine is nothing compared to what it used to be, a shower first thing in the morning has been replaced with being satisfied to get a shower in at some point during the day.  For someone who used to cherish her sleep greatly, I have absolutely no problem waking up in the middle of the night because my baby is hungry (the bonus is we get to take a nap together during the day).  People attempted to explain all of this to me before, but it didn’t sink in until I got to experience it first-hand.

Baby Smiles!

Each day brings new joys and excitement.  The difference that just 6 weeks has made is remarkable.  You wouldn’t think so but there is a big difference between a six pound baby and a ten pound baby.  The newborn size outfits that were baggy and falling off of him at birth are now stretched tight and it won’t be long before they will be nothing but history.  It is somewhat sad to see my baby grow so fast, but very exciting to see what he learns next.

They say your life changes and while I am still learning what that truly means I wouldn’t change this for anything.  The joys that I experience each and every day now were totally worth anything that I went through for those nine months. I am truly blessed to be on this journey called Motherhood!

Mixed Feelings About the Upcoming Husker Season

The calendar has turned my friends, which means we have reached my favorite part of the year, Husker Season!  Yesterday was Husker Fan Day, the day when the media coverage picks up and the internal excitement for the upcoming season starts to build.  There is no way for me to describe the feeling of joy I get from being in our seats for pregame with all the action in the stadium and then the Husker vision screen goes black and it starts….the tunnel walk!  With all that said, this year I have mixed feelings.  

Anyone who knows me and my husband, knows that starting towards the end of August through Thanksgiving, on home game Saturdays from 8:00 am until sundown we can be found in the great city of Lincoln, NE.  My husband has attended every home game for the past ten years, and our annual vacations are set around Husker away games.  Some of my favorite memories of my husband and I were made at the Husker home games we have attended.  The Stadium holds a special place in our hearts, so much that when he proposed to me, he did so as we were on a walk around the outside of the Stadium.  That proposal was over 6 years ago now, our lives have changed since then and are about to change in a big way very soon.

As my belly continues to grow and I head into the last 3 weeks of pregnancy, reality is setting in. While I am totally overjoyed about this little boy growing inside of me and can hardly contain the excitement to meet him, a piece of me is sad that I know my normal fall Saturday routine will be changing.  As a new Mom-to-be, I don’t really know what all the changes will entail.  I do know that sometime very soon my Saturdays will probably start before 8:00 am, and won’t include loading up the car, stopping by both the coffee and donut shop before heading to Lincoln.  My Saturday mornings will include new things like getting my little man dressed for game day which, thanks to his dad, he has a plethora of outfits to choose from. They will also include late night, early morning and all day feedings, naps, snuggles and passing along the love of Husker football to my little man from the comfort of the couch. 

 

While my Saturdays may change for awhile, I also know that there is no shortage of family that will be willing to watch my little man, so that my husband and I can have a “Date Day” in Lincoln and I can experience the joy and excitement of Husker season from inside Memorial Stadium.  While I will always cherish the memories of Husker home games from the past seasons and will miss not making new ones at every game this year, I have no doubt the memories I will make with my little man this season will easily become some of my new favorites!

Go Big Red!