Photo Story

These pictures are all out of order, but oh well! They tell a little bit of our Christmas 2010 story.

On Christmas Eve we went to church and then spent the evening at John and Carolyn's with the Tauke's and VanNordstrands (hope I spelled those right!). Santa came too! Jude LOVED him and kept pointing and saying, "sanna." But when it came time for him to sit on his lap, he was NOT having it. Yeah, Santa's a little scary!

This is kinda blurry, but it is what Gil and I had ready for Jude on Christmas Eve morning (since we were in CB on Christmas morning). Some balloons (his new fave), and John Deere tractor which was Gil's from his childhood, and a hockey stick and puck (thanks Colleen!).
We got to spend part of a day with three of my wonderful college friends, Kelly, Mel, and Val. We had a great time and Jude got to meet Val's little one Mady.
Mitch and Minette found this Roman soldier outfit in Italy and brought it home for Jude. Isn't he hilarious? We got to spend four days with them and the rest of the Ridenour gang the weekend before Christmas. It was nice to spend so much time since we don't get to see them often.
One of Jude's favorite new activities is pulling people wherever he wants them to be. Uncle Mitch is the victim this time:)
Jude has discovered playing in the snow. Although he loves it, he gets cold very quickly and wants back in the house.
Here is Jude with his second cousin Whitney (just two weeks older than him). They hit it off at the Buhman Christmas. Jude couldn't stop giving her hugs!
Brittany came this week for a visit. She and Gil went hunting and we all played LOTS of Hero Quest! Jude loved having "Bri-ee" around too:)
Another snow pic. Jude got a great new snowsuit. I think Gil is trying to get some buggers!
Here are the stockings hung with care at my parent's house! Jude and Ashtyn of course will not look at the camera.
Another activity of the season included finding out we are having a GIRL!!! That makes things a little more complicated since we have everything we need already for a boy. But it is also a lot of fun because I'm already planning the new room decor (including fabric I purchased to make my very first quilt...yikes), getting a few pink things, and thinking about what a little girl might be like as an addition to our family.

We also were surprised to find out that Mitch and Minette are expecting as well! Their baby is due in July on Minette's birthday. This was very fun news for us, and we are excited to have a Ridenour niece or nephew and cousin for our kiddos!

Still other fun stuff was having all of my family over to our place for dinner and watching "Despicable Me" twice, eating at Cali Taco, eating sooooo much stuff that was soooooo good and not having to cook it all, playing TONS of games, going to the Buhman and Erwin Christmases and the Koester one still to come, and best of all....NOT being snowed in at any point or having to miss any parties.

P.S. Merry Christmas to all!!! Thank you to everyone who sent us cards and pictures. We love having them up on our fridge. Sorry we stink at sending them...but look for a baby announcement sometime in...June?!?!

More Tree

Here is a pic of our tree actually lit up. Jude really likes it! He always says, "ooooohhhhh" when I turn on the lights. Also, here is the Barster. He is doing SO much better, but has come to love the house (especially today in the blizzard!). And another one of Jude bundling up to go outside and play. Just a funny pic I thought.

The last is of my phone cover. Or what has become of it. The other night I was attempting to multi-task and it all went wrong. I was trying to get the fire in our wood stove going as I was talking to Gil on the phone on his way home from class. I had the phone braced between my ear and my shoulder when suddenly Gil shouted, "Well!" (to his benefit he was really talking in a normal voice, but because the phone was pressed against my ear it sounded like shouting). Anyway, it scared me to pieces and I dropped the phone. It landed on the lid of the stove, but the case fell off. No problem. I picked it up and quickly found the back part of the case on the floor...but not the front. I hung up the phone and discovered the front had flown into the fire. That was no problem either because as I said I was only trying to get the fire going, not much had happened yet. Nevertheless, I decided to be on the safe side and not use my fingers to pick it up. I grabbed the fire poker thingy and lifted it out with that. Problem. Apparently the non-existent fire had gotten the fire poker hot. Too hot for a plastic phone case. The plastic immediately started melting and was very hot (my fingers found this to be true). I quickly put it under water, but the damage had been done. Mutilation. Lesson: don't try to build a fire while on the phone! Not smart!

P.S. This incident reminded me of a time when I once tried to put out a candle with a kleenex. And when I tried to light a candle at night on a school bus. Neither activity is recommended!

O Christmas Tree

This past Saturday we took the road trip once again to Logan, IA to Tannenbaum Tree Farm. This year we took some friends of ours along who have a little boy almost the same age as Jude. It was a lot of fun and made the long trip fly by. Unfortunately we discovered that all the large trees have been picked over and not too many tall ones remain. This leaves us questioning next year's purchase, but for now we got a great big 15 footer. It is skinny, but it is heavy! Much heavier than last year's white pine.

In other news we are still Babbs-less and looking like we might remain that way. It is so sad to think of never having her happy little self running around the place any more. I guess we are glad though that Barry is here. In fact he is lying right at my feet as I type. He has made the house his home over the past week!

Here is the tree sticking out of the back of mom and dad's truck

Jude and his friend Eli.

Jude's stocking. Any guesses why I chose a monkey ornament?

Here is the tree, minus the colored lights.

Unbelievable Barry

In my last post I stated that there is no place like home especially when my husband is here. Little did I realize at the time that it is also not quite home without a couple other special creatures!

As most of you know we have two beagles on our ranch: Barry, who came with the house, is a male, and is a very well-mannered dog, and Babbs, who is a little over a year, a female, and who we've spent time training from a pup. Sunday when we finally arrived home we brought the dogs in the house (a special treat for all!) and Gil was so excited to see them he couldn't resist taking them for a drive. They went outside around 4ish and Gil started calling them back around 6:30. No dogs. That was strange for nighttime, but I didn't think much of it. They hunt a lot and always return before long. In the morning we called. No dogs. A little more strange. Gil went for a drive to look for them. No dogs. All day long as I am home, no dogs. Gil gets home in a furry about where they could be and goes out to look again. No dogs. Tuesday morning, no dogs. At this point we are at our wits end. They don't just forget how to get home. We figured they were either stolen or shot by some crazy person. I took a sign to hang up at daycare about them. I called neighbors about them. No dogs. We get home Tuesday afternoon and Gil sees a paw print. He runs to the barn. There is Barry, in his dog house in the barn. He picked him up and ran to the house. Barry looked terrible! He had a huge swollen neck and a little blood on his head. He could barely stand. We rushed him to the vet, got some pain meds and antibiotics, and were told it was probably a coon...

Right now he is in "recovery" on our back porch. He is still having trouble standing and moving, but has an appetite! He is in such bad shape. We just can't even believe he made it home. I wonder how long it took him to make the short trip. Two days it seems! I can't imagine his crippled little body hobbling home. I wonder where he even was. I really wonder where Babbs might still be!!

While we are still holding out hope of seeing Babbs again, we are in awe of our unbelievable Barry. And so glad he is back...feels a little more like home again.

There is no place like home...

Especially when my husband is here too! Gil flew in to Omaha on Friday night. Jude and I were there to pick him up. He wanted a shower and some junk food just as I'd predicted! He made it through a rough trip through a rough country, but had a great time with some great students and met some great Hondurans too:) Jude and I also survived our time without him. We are so thankful to have friends and family to be with so we really didn't feel like we were ever alone. We even made a trip to Lincoln last Wednesday for Brittany's volleyball game (happy birthday to Brittany today too by the way!).

So we went to bed early and slept in down at John and Carolyn's in Council Bluffs (even though John and Carolyn happened to be in TX!). We did a little shopping on Saturday, made some pizza, watched Toy Story 3, and then had the pleasure of attending our friend's wedding. Amy and Dan's wedding was held at the Holland Performing Art's Center in downtown Omaha. It was just beautiful! The happy couple also met on a blind date (like Gil and I). It was a fun time with some fun friends. Jude hung in there through the service and food, but really came to life when the music started. He didn't want to be anywhere but on the dance floor!

Now we are home and getting back to life as usual. I'm just wondering when it's my turn to leave Gil with the dishes and laundry and baby etc. for 10 days!!!

One of these things is not like the others

Here are some pictures that are getting out-dated, so I decided it was now or never! Oh, and I did hear from Gil in Honduras!!! It was brief but things are going good:)

My first chicken baking in the crock pot. And mmmmm was it good!

The hunters: Uncle Max, dad, Cousin Jacob, Cousin Colton, and Gil. Alissa is not in the picture which I guess is fitting because she did not get a deer this time :(
Kinda gross, sorry! This is Gil's all ready to go to the locker.
My second pie ever and my first pumpkin pie!
This was too cute of a smile not to share!

Here is a video of Jude watching the NE state volleyball championships with me. He LOVES watching and cheering for sports of all kinds!

Third World

Well, Gil has arrived in Honduras! I know this because I got an email saying Sr. Janet had sent an email to someone saying it was so. We are not to expect any contact until they return to the States the day after Thanksgiving. In 8 days. No contact for 8 days!!! I knew this all along, but right now on the first night he is gone 8 days seems like forever. In fact after he left me in bed alone at 3:30 am this morning I had a crazy dream that I just wanted to share with him (even though he isn't always a fan of my dream sharing!). I was so bummed that I might have to wait 8 days to tell him and then I would probably forget. Luckily he called me from the Houston airport and I did get to share a brief version! But what about my dream tonight?! And what about the story of my awful class today and the new things Jude is saying and doing? I think that is what I will miss most--being able to share my life with my life-sharing partner. Isn't marriage a great idea!?!

But then there is the other stuff about Gil being gone. Like that I now have sole responsibility of doing chores for the next 8 days. And I have to water the plants, take out the garbage, and attempt to keep a fire going at night and days we are home. I have to haul the wood up from the basement even!

Tonight when Jude and I finally arrived home I decided to light the fire. We had shut off the heat so it had gotten down to 54, but Gil had thoughtfully filled the wood stove and had it all ready to light in preparation for this moment. He even hauled up enough wood to last through the night. Well, it turns out I'm a little rusty on my fire building skills. The fire that was "ready to go" didn't want to go at all! I attempted to get this thing going for at least 45 minutes before it took off. And even then it seemed very slow going with the heat. Gil can get that thing roaring and the house so warm we need to open windows in no time; but even now it has only gotten up to 74 for me. I know that probably seems pretty warm, but I am a wimp when it comes to cold and actually have a blanket on me now! That is what I love about wood stoves, you can get it really really warm and not feel too guilty about your heating bill:) Anyway, I have been checking that thing like it's a new-born baby all night. It is constantly on my mind. When Gil is home I don't think twice about it.

The only real positive thing I can think of is that at least I am not snowed in like I was last time Gil left for Honduras! Oh, and the ME day I'm taking tomorrow: Dad/Brett are going to watch Jude (should be interesting!) while I go to the doctor, get some Taco Bell (one of the cravings I've been having that I haven't fulfilled yet. Cali Taco next weekend!), go to Target, get groceries, and get a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Sounds good to me!!!

New(s) Things

I thought I should write to update a little bit about things going on at the Ridenour Ranch. Before I get to that I will share my grossest bug story yet. Remember the Asian beetles we've had bombarding our home for the past few months?! (I'm hoping this cold weather will finally beat them down). Anyway at night lately I've been bringing my nice big water bottle (the one they gave me in the hospital when I had Jude) upstairs for the nighttime thirsties. This morning I brought it downstairs and decided I had the morning thirsties so I took a nice big swig. Now mind you this water bottle has a lid and a straw, so as I'm sucking up from the straw I notice something of a lump come up with the water. My water is not usually lumpy. And as soon as it entered my mouth there was like this instantaneous realization (because of the lump and the horrible taste, which I had never experienced, but because of the smell knew in an instant) that an Asian beetle had crawled down my straw and into my water and was now in my mouth!!! I turned to the sink and spit it all out. There was the culprit...still crawling!!! GROSS. Now to me that's more disgusting than butchering chickens any day!

Ok, on to news! First things first, the reason I now need my giant water bottle wherever I go (and the reason I make a few trips down the stairs in the middle of every night to visit the bathroom) is because Gil and I are expecting our second child on May 23!!! I am almost 13 weeks now. I have been feeling well for the most part. Better than with Jude anyway. A little sicky, but nothing to complain about really. (warning: TMI, I have only puked once!). So we are excited about that and like our doctor and already got to have an ultrasound at 9 weeks:) Here's the little one:

In other news Gil is preparing for his second trip to Honduras with Briar Cliff students. They leave next Wednesday and will be gone until the day after Thanksgiving. It is going to be a lonely week for Jude and I, but he will have a great time digging trenches, sleeping on the floor, not showering, and eating "traditional" Honduran food!!! This time the area they are going to is even more remote than last year so I don't think we'll even get to talk on the phone:( But we are having a very exciting week before he leaves. He is doing a little deer hunting and writing a 30 page paper for the class he is taking. Ok, so maybe not that exciting. But we do get to travel to Council Bluffs on Sunday for the Ridenour Thanksgiving, even if we do have to miss Brittany's game tomorrow night that we were supposed to be able to go to (sorry Brittany!!!!!).

When Gil comes back from Honduras he with start the second of the three semesters at Briar Cliff so his schedule will change a little. My schedule will change a little soon as well. This semester I have been teaching two sections of a class at Wayne State called "Succeeding in College." I have really enjoyed it even though my first section is a challenge and I feel that some of my students are not quite succeeding! Next semester there are no classes available for me to teach so I will hopefully pick up on my subbing in the area. But I do plan to return to Wayne next fall to teach 3 sections. Should be a whole lot easier now that I have a little experience under my belt!

Another activity that has kept me busy this fall is the new MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) group in Wayne that I have been a part of starting up. I am the discussion group team leader. We have had two official meetings now and meet again next week. I really love getting together with other moms and the best part is the new friendships I've made. In fact, our friends Melissa and Tony (who we met at church in Wayne one Sunday after Jude chucked his shoe at them!) have a little boy just four months older than Jude and are also expecting in May, just 11 days before us!

A few other new things have popped up inside our house recently. The first is this handy dandy wood stove gate. We decided that we really needed something for peace of mind since it is impossible to watch Jude constantly. He is getting the concept of hot and staying away, but this gate (although a pretty penny) is PERFECT! It can detach and attach to the wall easily and actually goes the entire length. It also has a section that opens so we can get inside.

The final new thing is our Christmas Cactus that John and Carolyn brought down to us last weekend. It is a replant off of one that they have at their house. I think these are so pretty and it seems to be doing well!

The day has finally come...and gone!

Beautiful sunrise with a sliver moon!

Jude holding the new baby kittens we found in the barn yesterday. They were so calm they let him hold them right away and he loved it! He has become much more gentle and even loves holding his "baby" (precious moments boy dolly).

We held our first annual (did I just say annual?!) chicken cleaning day at the Ridenour Ranch yesterday. 20 broilers and 3 roosters were done for and are now soon to be dinner! This also means a lot less chores:) If you feel left out, there's always next year!

The moms/grandmas were hard at it in the kitchen doing the dirty work of cleaning and cutting. I did the bagging!

Our city friend Cas even came out for the day and got his hands dirty!

This is the dunking/gutting station. Sr. Janet took charge of the gutting!

I'll spare you a picture of the head chopping station! Brett and John took care of that mostly.

Here are our dads plucking away.

Gil and Sr. Janet doing some plucking as well.

Here is Jude playing with his two papas and two grandmas...well not playing "with" so much as close to! He's not the best sharer yet...notice he's really good at saying, "ME!"

He must've got worn out by the chicken day or else it was daylight savings, because he went down for a morning nap today at 9:30 and has been down for over two hours already!

BAD!

Here is a great one of Jude doing his thing!

Autumn

Here are some pics of the changing leaves. Such beautiful foliage in the fall:) I heard on the radio that is completely unmanly to use the word foliage so I'm trying to use it as much as possible just to be cheesy!

So I took this amazing video of Jude dancing to a Michael Jackson tune last night. He was going crazy and he even busted out his new move of the somersault! Unfortunately the video has "disappeared" and is no where to be found. I'll have to get another one though because it is stinkin' hilarious! (unlike the poo he decided to leave on the carpet and the pee puddle on the wood floor right after his bath the other night...NOT hilarious!).

Until then here he is in his somersault position

The Bugs...

Well I have to say this fall has blessed us with some tremendous weather. I was reminded the other day that last year our first snow came on October 10 and it didn't let up until April. Oh man. I had repressed that! Anyway, along with the great temps and mild wind...have come the bugs. Some days it was literally too buggy to be outside! Now we have had a great multitude of bugs all summer. I don't know why. I'm not a bug scientist. But I do know that it started in June with the mosquito. Millions arrived one day and it just wasn't worth being outdoors! Then it was the little yellow butterflies. Those were pretty and I felt like Cinderella singing in nature with the little guys fluttering all around:) Next, the fly. We have battled those all summer. Even Jude gets in on fly swatting (not sure he's ever actually got one yet!). But this fall came the Asian beetle. This thing is disgusting. There have been days that the minute you go outdoors they swarm you. Plus they bite, don't fly away when you move, and stink. And they get in the house like no other bug has yet. Maybe they are just trying to survive the changing weather, maybe they have a personal mission to make my house gross, I really don't know. All I know is that these guys, along with a few big black flies and box elder bugs, have become my enemies. I vacuum basically on a daily basis just because otherwise there are dead and alive bugs ALL OVER the windows and sills (our back porch is a buggy tornado!), and all over the house too. We (or I should say Gil) are doing all we can to prevent these suckers from getting in. Caulking, tightening stuff, other things (??). Everyday Gil comes home with a new idea for how to stop the bugs. Tonight the idea was to go up into the attic and start vacuuming (where I don't dare to go and where there are too many to imagine!). As he was doing this tonight he discovered a couple other friends...bats! Now, funny thing is I'm to the point with the bugs that I feel like welcoming these black furry creatures as friends (they eat bugs right!?). So now there is that to deal with (Gil's job again!). As for me, I guess I'll keep on a keepin' on with the vacuuming. Oh, and another bug on the rise out there, the Caterpillar! It just doesn't end...

Here are some attempts to show the bugs.

Here is another story altogether. So on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I teach Jude and I have developed a routine. He gets up at 8 or so, has breakfast, plays a little, then we go outside to do chores and play. When we come in around 10 it is time for me to get ready and for him to watch Sesame Street. This kid LOVES TV (as I've mentioned and as long as it's a kids show--how does he know that already?). And he really likes Sesame Street, so it works out usually. One morning he was being particularly quiet and when I went out to check on him this is what I found. The booster seat I purchased recently at a garage sale, and that we keep in the kitchen, was moved up onto the coffee table making a perfect little seat from witch to view Ernie! I snuck up to take this picture. He was really into it and didn't even notice me! Thank goodness for Sesame Street:)

Pumpkin Pleasure

Gil was out cutting up a dead tree the other day and it spontaneously combusted! Okay, so it just started on fire from a spark from the chain saw. It was weird though and smoked for over 24 hours!

Here is our 2010 pumpkin produce. A few watermelons and butternut squash are thrown in too.
Here is the lovely centerpiece I made from some of them.
A few others I threw in the decorative jar from our wedding that previously still had Christmas balls inside...I need to get with it!
Jude is starting to enjoy coloring. He really enjoys it actually. So much that he wants to eat the colors! That is the problem. He also thinks it is fun to see how many he can hold in his hand at once. He really doesn't get it...but neither does his mom because I was encouraging him to color the phone book!

A church story:

Bringing Jude to church is (dangerous, scary, brave, torture, exhausting)...an...experience (there that sounds slightly positive!). This is how a Sunday service typically goes: Jude is sitting on my lap, Jude is down on the floor, Jude in getting into the diaper bag, Jude is trying to run down the aisle, Jude is standing on the pew, Jude is yelling (that was the first 5 minutes). This continues until either Gil or I take Jude out and run around the hall with him or (if available) sometimes to the nursery. As you might have figured out Gil and I get very little listening done and very much entertaining of a one-year-old in if Jude is with us in church. This past Sunday was even more fun. We had the pleasure of sitting with our good friends and their little guy who is about 4 months older than Jude (and has an entirely different temperament!). Eli sat still and quiet and occasionally wanted a snack or a toy. Jude did his normal church behavior (which is pretty typical all-around behavior) only every time Eli had something he didn't have he yelled, "ME!" (That's his new thing--"me"). So Eli got to share his fruit snacks and goldfish and coloring book and toy truck and about everything with Jude. I don't think our friends quite knew what they were getting into with this boy! We made it through almost the entire service, however Gil did take him out when it finally got to be too much. I can only hope for the day when Jude will sit quietly during church...but I am afraid by that time he may be 25 years old!

Preparing for Winter

This past weekend we had 'The Great Wood Split.' Gil's parents came up for the weekend and my parents came over too. We got a good start on Friday which was good because Saturday was miserable and cold! We didn't get it all done, but we did alright. Man, burning wood is hard work! Now we are just crossing our fingers for a mild winter. Usually the first snow of the year is kind of exciting. This year I think I'll curse!

The dads/grandpas

The proud woodsman in front of his stacks
This was my job, running the tractor gears. Seems easy, but it wasn't!
Gil and Jude at the Outdoor Expo in Ponca.
Grandma Carolyn holding on to the wild man.