thoughtful and kind

My grandma Bredberg's christmas card came today. It was a beautiful watercolor that she drew herself. And inside was this note. I just thought it summed up her thoughtfulness and generosity well. The Jago's adopted from Ghana a year ago, so their share of the money went to that orphanage. Pretty cool, grandma. And like Larry the Cucumber says, "Everybody needs a waterbuffalo. Some are fast and some are slow."

there and back again...

I drove to Minnesota on Saturday and back to Nebraska on Sunday. 12 hours of driving for 16 hours of Minnesota fun...only 8 of which I was awake for. Was this a crazy last minute idea? Yes. What it completely worth every single minute in the car there and back? Hello. Not even a doubt.

My nice Maddie was in her high school production of Annie. She was Lily, Rooster's ditsy girlfriend and she was amazing, stunning, hysterical and perfect in this role. On Thursday my parents saw the show and my mom called me Friday morning insisting that I come home to see her in this play. Dad was able to get us tickets, and at some point on Friday, we realized that Annika and her family would be in Minnesota after their 23 hour drive from Montana so she and Mara could come too.
Mara is an Annie fan like no other. She has every word memorized and was completely star struck that night. She was so excited to get her picture taken with Sandy. And her reaction to seeing Annie after the show was similar to how most kids react when they meet Cinderella at Disney World. She was in love.

I was so glad I made the trip...although soon after I hit the road, Rory started to feel ill, and by the time I was in Minnesota he had been hit with the 12-hour violent flu. And had no one to care for him...total bummer. He's better now, but yowza. It hit him hard. Now we're just praying that I wasn't a carrier, bringing that lovely illness to Minnesota just in time for Christmas. I am praying hard.

Being with family and seeing them shine is such a joy. Jack, my nephew in middle school, mentioned that he just tried out for his spring musical, and even though it is only a "60-90 minute show, auntie Becca, I think you might like coming back for it too." Sounds like a great plan to me.

crafty christmas

These sweet snowmen are at my sistah Lisa's house. Made out of old socks and beans, each snowman represents one person in their family. So stinkin' cute.

A coworker of mine brought these in today. Her kids made them and she was boxing them up to send them to relatives out of state. They crack me up. And are pretty cute too. They're made out of pop bottles, styrofoam balls, googlie eyes, old socks for hats and fun foam.

oh baby.

Our next door neighbors have this fantastic one-year-old who we adore. She is one sweet, laid back, easy-going girl, and we love getting to babysit. So tonight her folks had a christmas party and we've got her for the evening.

Last time she was here, she was just crawling, and basically stayed wherever you set her down. But oh my word, things have changed in two months. This girl is mobile, and fast, and curious. And we are utterly exhausted. Thankfully she fell asleep in Rory's arms and now she's sleeping on the couch. But man was tonight a reality check!

Veggie Tree

We celebrated last night at the Carol Joy Holling Christmas party. The evening was lovely...good conversations all around. Plus, it was so fun to see who everyone is married to! I'm amazed by how much time you can spend with a co-worker, but not really know their home life at all.

This tree was on the buffet table. I hadn't ever seen anything like it and found it completely blog-worthy. The shrimp was also presented on a lettuce tree. Super festive and fun.