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Happy New Year!

by nebraskawheatie

We’re about to say goodbye to 2011 and ring in a brand new year. As I look back on the past year, I think about how each day brought new challenges and joys, bad days and good, lots of miles under the ‘ole belt and a new son-in-law. 2012 is anxiously being anticipated. One thing is for sure, there will be changes.

New Year’s Eve has never been a big deal to me and Jim. Most years it seems the girls (whichever ones are here) and I sit in front of the tv watching the ball drop. We quickly run to the kitchen, grab a couple of pans, spoons and start banging on them to make noise – lots of noise – to bring in the new year. And to help make them feel like they’re doing something special while everyone else in our little piece of the world is having fun. They enjoyed it – I enjoyed it. We usually had a meal of finger food and sparkling grape juice.

The day is coming, though, when I won’t have anyone to run outside with me and the “noise makers”. I’ll miss that. I’ll miss the traditions of this night when the final girl has realized there’s more to the night than what they’re used to. I hope one day, they will look back on the New Year’s Eve’s of the past and smile. Maybe even grab a pan and a spoon. head out the door and start ringing in the new year. I love that I’ve been able to share these past Eve’s with the girls, having our own special way of celebrating and looking forward to the new year ahead of us.

I expect your 2012 will be filled with good days and bad (just like any year). I pray the bad days are made a little easier with the help of family and friends and the good ones are so awesome you HAVE to share them with family and friends! Happy New Year!

Sounds of the Season

by nebraskawheatie

I LOVE Christmas music! I insist all passengers of any car I’m in endure the sounds of the season with me. I’ve even blessed them with my beautiful voice :). For those of you who have been with me during this glorious season, you know what I’m talking about! I’m sad to think that in one more day, the Christmas music will have run its course and I will have to wait another year to hear the sounds that bring back so many memories of Christmas’ past.

For me, there are two songs that really mean Christmas is on the horizon. The first one is Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. Actually, any of Gene’s songs or those sung by Burl Ives can get the ‘ole memories flowing and that’s when I really find my singing voice! The other song I dearly love is “Oh Holy Night”. Watch out when that one comes on the radio!! And…it doesn’t matter who sings this song – it ALWAYS brings the goose bumps!

For the girls, when they hear Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting On an open Fire”, the radio is turned up way loud and they feel like it’s Christmas time once again.

This year, I have found a new song that meant a lot to me the very first time I heard it. This one, I’m going to share with you. Listen to the words very carefully and let them sink deep into your soul!

I pray that today brings you lots of great memories and it’s Christ’s birthday that you celebrate!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ENTIRE ZEORIAN CLAN!

One of my favorite Christmas traditions

by nebraskawheatie

This past week has been CRAZY!

When I got home from Washington, DC on Saturday, I knew I was going to have to hit the ground running since I had only purchased one gift for Christmas. On Monday, the race began. Every day it was a trip to the big city to find the perfect gift for each name on my list. I was still looking for those gifts last night and am still short one (that I know of). It has been one of the longest weeks ever! Thank goodness Jamie didn’t have to work on Monday and was able to tag along with ideas and pointers for her sisters.

Wednesday night was the night set aside to head to the mall for the annual Santa picture. I didn’t get any bad vibes about doing it until we were standing in line (a very long line) with a whole bunch of little, little kids. And, of course, the camera was having issues so we had to wait. At least I didn’t have to try to keep my kids happy and deal with the crying like most of the other parents did. However, while we were standing there, I was informed by my kids they were the oldest ones in line and this would probably be the last year for this tradition. Ok, I suppose I have gotten away with it a lot longer than I ever anticipated. I decided tonight, though, that I would share the “firsts” and a few “in betweens” just in case this IS the last year. While I was looking through the book, the pictures I saw reconfirmed the reason why I have insisted on this tradition. It’s great fun to see how the girls have changed from 1986 to present.

Today was spent entirely in the kitchen. It started fairly early this morning and ended about two hours ago. I haven’t made holiday sweets in quite a long time. We always make our traditional sugar cookies for Santa but nothing more than that. I used to make goodies to give to my neighbors along with a Swedish Kringle. BUT, it got to be too much and trying to be Martha Stewart was killing the holiday fun. Today just about killed the holiday fun once again. So much work and most of it will probably get thrown away in a week or so.  We started the morning making Oreo balls, Mocha balls, some sort of Frito chewy treat, bugle snacks dipped in white almond bark and an m&m candy (looked like an ice cream cone), spritz cookies, cut out sugar cookies and brownies frosted with cookie dough. Tomorrow afternoon will be spent decorating the sugar cookies and making Jim’s favorite – peanut brittle. Guess what…there’s zero calories in all of this 🙂

As I’m typing this, my personal elf, Miss Callie, is wrapping my presents. I think Christmas is actually going to happen in the Zeorian household after all!

Gosh…I look so young! The first year of being a mommy – 1986. Jamie was NOT happy about sitting next to that big man dressed in a red suit. That’s why I’m in the picture, too.

1988  – Jamie was almost 3 and Jenna was 7 months.

1994 – Taylor had just joined our family 7 weeks prior to the picture. Jamie was almost 9 and Jenna was 6.

1997 – Fourth and final addition to the family. Callie was 2 1/2 months old, Jamie nearly 12, Jenna 9 and Taylor 3.

2000 – Jamie was too cool to join the sisters for the Santa picture. She was nearly 15 years old at the time. Jenna is 12, Taylor is 6 and Callie is 3.

2003 – Jamie decided to jump back in the pictures in 2001. She is 17, Jenna is 15, Taylor is 9 and Callie is 6.

2006 – This was taken on Jamie’s 21st birthday, Jenna is 18, Taylor is 12 and Callie is 9.

2009 – Jamie is nearly 24, Jenna is 21, Taylor is 15 and Callie is 12.

P.S. Happy 26th birthday, Jamie!

A little biased

by nebraskawheatie

Today I am going to brag on my daughter’s blog (Jenna aka Yensy Photos). Check out her gift of photography by clicking on the link below:

http://yensyphotos.wordpress.com/

 

Our little piece of the world

by nebraskawheatie

The snow we got yesterday afternoon and overnight amounted to about 3 inches of new powdery snow. I went out this a.m. and scooped it away – again. Warmer temps are predicted for the weekend so maybe the sun will help me with the rest. It was so pretty, I thought I’d share with you:

 

Ooops

by nebraskawheatie

I thought I should tell my readers who may be family that the Grandma I am referring to in my previous posting is Jim’s mom. I am not talking about my Grandma – who is as well as she can be for being 94 years old. I asked her the other day what sort of medication she takes and she answered, “a blood pressure pill and vitamins”. I hope that’s all the medicine I’m taking when I’m 94 years old!

The PERFECT Tree

by nebraskawheatie

The above picture is the end result of an afternoon spent looking for the PERFECT tree!

After what seemed to be an untraditional Thanksgiving weekend due to Grandma being in the hospital, it ended on a holiday note.

Grandma is doing MUCH better! After watching her struggle for every breath for a couple of days, it appears she’s progressing well enough to be moved out of ICU tomorrow. Thank you for the prayers! Once again, I am reminded God IS in control!

I LOVE Christmas! And will try to do all I can to enjoy it as long as I can. The tradition of getting the Christmas tree up and decorated over Thanksgiving weekend began long ago in our household. After growing up with an artificial tree for most of my childhood, I decided that when I got married, I would have a real one. My tree of choice is a cedar tree from a local farmer’s pasture. Through the years, it has been Jim’s job to find the tree. He would take the older girls along with him while I stayed home with the younger ones. As the years have gone by and the kids have grown, we all go. Our tradition is being carried on through the newly established Hermesch household.

We headed for the pasture yesterday afternoon. The temperature was a little on the “nippy” side but the sun was shining. If you didn’t have a hat and mittens, you certainly would have been wishing for them. The brisk air definitely helped remind us that Christmas is just around the corner. Hey…at least we didn’t have to walk through snow!

 

Curt & Jamie found their tree first.

Some years, it takes us forever to find the PERFECT tree. There’s usually too many decisions and you never know if the one beyond will be better than the previous one spotted. By the time the PERFECT tree is found, we’ve walked further away from the pickup than you would have ever guessed.  This means that all the hills you’ve just gone up and down will have to be retraced dragging a tree. It tends to be a good workout!

“Give me the saw, Taylor, this one’s mine”. Jenna

We ended up finding four trees – one for us, Curt & Jamie, Jenna and Taylor. It’s just fun carrying the Christmas spirit into your own little world (bedroom).

This is our PERFECT tree!

 The PERFECT tree is always in the eye of the beholder. And, through the years I’ve found that even the not-so-perfect tree will look beautiful once it is decorated. Our trees tend to become a part of the family (silly, I know) and are dearly loved. The Christmas music is turned on while we put on the lights and the decorations. The girls make sure their special ornaments are put on year after year – as do I. It wouldn’t be right not to put on the same ones that we’ve always put on. Once decorated and boxes are put away, we turn off all the lights and admire our newest member of the family. Magically, the tree has become more than a tree. As far as we’re concerned, it grew in that pasture specifically for the purpose of providing us the memories of searching for it and becoming a part of our Christmas traditions. It’s so hard to take it down when Christmas is over. Probably because that means one more year of Christmas tradition and memories have come and gone. For now, though, welcome to the family dear PERFECT tree!

It wasn’t supposed to be like that.

by nebraskawheatie

Thanksgiving…a day of family, food and memories. That’s how it’s supposed to be!

Yesterday morning, Jim’s mom called me early to let me know she wasn’t going to be able to attend our Thanksgiving meal. She and I had talked the night before and I knew she wasn’t 100%. I could tell she was out of breath. Yesterday morning, though, she was a lot worse. Worse enough that I woke Jim up and told him he had to take her somewhere for help. He didn’t even argue with me. He got up, got dressed and called his sister. Here’s an instance of seeing how God works in our lives. Maureen (Jim’s sister) usually has a house full on Thanksgiving. Not this year. She had Thanksgiving on Sunday (a little weird, I thought) and wouldn’t be celebrating on Thursday. So, when Jim called her, she was able to drop everything and head to Omaha with him (without leaving food preparations and a house full of people). God is so good all the time!

Our meal was supposed to be ready at 12:30. It was placed on hold until further notice. Our crowd was slim as Jamie and Curt were in Kansas with Curt’s family. Jim wasn’t there and neither was his mom. So, those of us that were here just sat around the kitchen table and in the living room watching tv. The time seemed to drag. Once in a while Jim would call with an update. Finally, at 1:00, he said he’d be home at 2:00 to eat. The cooking began, once again. At 2:00, Jim called and said he didn’t feel like he could leave the hospital and we were to go ahead and eat without him. We said our grace and began feasting. It sure didn’t taste as good as it should have. As I was staring at my plate, I got to thinking about the previous years and it hit me – this was the first time in over 30 years that I hadn’t been sitting at the table on Thanksgiving with Jim. Weird. He was where he needed to be. We all missed him. He showed up – about 3:30 – with information about Grandma. She was in ICU and was resting but had a very tiresome day. Her Thanksgiving included a lot of poking, prodding and testing. The doctor diagnosed the shortness of breath was due to fluid built up around her heart and in her lungs (as a result of congestive heart failure). She was wore out from struggling for every breath she took. How often do we take that next breath for granted? All the time. Makes me want to take a DEEP breath right now!

(The girls in their after turkey coma state)

God prepared us for yesterday even before we realized why. Grandma is still in ICU but is resting more comfortably. Today, she was tired but thankful for the company she had throughout the day. I hope she rests well tonight and knows that God is watching over her. Thanksgiving wasn’t supposed to be like that. We were supposed to celebrate the day just like we have every other year…

A day full of thanks and giving

by nebraskawheatie

Today is one of those days that we can all sit around the table and give thanks for whatever we’re thankful for. My thanking would be way too long. What I’m most thankful for, though, is the time I have with my family – ALWAYS!  We’re not together like we used to be all the time so when we are, I never want it to end. My heart goes out to those of you who are missing family members today – and every day. The pain of not having them at your Thanksgiving table hurts.

Not going to write much today as I’m trying to get our feast prepared and I’m sure you have more things to do than look at the computer. So, I’m going to post two videos. The first one is Adam Sandler and his turkey song.  It will always be a tradition of ours simply because when we would go to Jim’s sister’s house for Thanksgiving, this is the one song we were guaranteed to hear on the radio. The lyrics are a little to be desired in places but that’s Mr. Sandler for ya! The other video is of Callie and one of her many songs that she “belts” out while playing her guitar. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s official – I’m getting OLD!

by nebraskawheatie

No school today…ALL day. I say this because the kids usually have to go to school at least 1/2 day the day before Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, they had a full day off today so, by gosh, we’re going to take advantage of it!

Callie’s been studying and studying to take the written Nebraska driver’s test. She’s 14, so she’s eligible to drive to school. However, she’s required to have the learner’s permit first. We went to the DMV office this morning. Poor girl, I could feel the butterflies in her belly the whole way there, while waiting in line and while talking to the nice-lady-behind-the-counter. It was finally time to take the test! About half way through, the computer decides to unexpectedly stop. I happened to still be in there talking to the nice-lady-behind-the-counter when this happened and, of course, heard them saying, “this has never happened before”. Times like this seem to be reserved only for the Zeorian’s! The issue got fixed but it meant Callie had to take her picture again after learning SHE PASSED! The last one of the four girls is now legal to be behind the wheel of a car. If that doesn’t make your hair a little more gray, I’m not sure what will.

Because Jamie had the day off work too, she was also at the DMV office to get her name officially changed from Zeorian to Hermesch. Jamie will be 26 next month. Do the math…12 years between my oldest and my youngest.  When Jamie was a senior in high school, Callie was starting kindergarten. The name change on her driver’s license was the last piece of I.D. that needed to be taken care of. Jamie’s visit to the DMV wasn’t an easy one either. She started at the Douglas County DMV with her certified marriage certificate from the State of Florida.  She got there early this a.m. only to encounter a not-so-nice-lady-behind-the-counter. She was told that even though she can change her Social Security number with the certificate via the US Federal Government, it was not enough for the name change on her Nebraska driver’s license. “You must call the county office in which you were married and get more information before I can take care of this for you”, she was told by the not-so-nice-lady-behind-the-counter. She calls me because she’s frustrated beyond belief. I don’t blame her! A brief thought enters my head, “tell her to go to the Sarpy County DMV”. So, I did and she did and she encountered a nice-man-behind-the-counter who had no issue with the certified marriage certificate and took care of the issue for her. Hmmm……..interesting, huh?

Back home now. The sun is shining and two girls are a little happier than they were a few hours ago. Callie got to drive home – on the highway with rock trucks and a speed limit of 60 mph. I’ve been through it three times already so I’m convinced that I’ll make it through one more time. What I’m not so sure of, though, is Jamie being officially un-Zeorianed (the BEGINNING of a new trend in this family, I’m sure).