Madeline Therese!

After a busy and very fast few months, our little one was born! Madeline Therese was born on March 16 and weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces. She is now just over a month old. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed!

 8 months pregnant

 Madeline just a few hours old

 

Madeline a few days old

The three of us with Monsignor Nemec at Maddie's Baptism on Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil Mass)

 

Maddie almost one month old, and getting tired of pictures!

Maddie almost one month old

Little one at 6 months!

Our Little One at 19 Weeks

Had our ultrasound today!!!

 

The ultrasound tech said that our little one is doing really well, weighing in so far at about 10 ounces with a heartbeat around 145 bpm. Evidently I'm 19 weeks along rather than 18, though many people have said that our little one will come whenever he or she is ready!

Hurrah!!!

Our Little One and Tomatoes

Hello!

Finally took a tummy picture, though I'm not much bigger than before. We'll see how much our little one grows over the next few months (maybe that's why I have such a worried look)!

 

Gen + Little One at 16.5 Weeks

They're calling for a freeze tonight in Lincoln, so Doug and I had to pick our green tomatoes. We'll leave them inside for a while and hope that they ripen. We picked 40 pounds of tomatoes between two plants! (It's hard to believe so much fruit came from two tiny seeds!)

Easter, "Flat Lily," and St. Joseph the Worker

Not too much new to report, but I have a few new pictures to share!

This is me and Doug just before the Easter Vigil Mass. Easter weekend was simply beautiful - Easter Triduum Masses, plenty of sunshine, and time to do a bit of yard work. On Easter, we made a ham and invited one of Doug's friends over for the afternoon.

Earlier this week, "Flat Lily" came in the mail. It is a project that Lily and her classmates are doing in school, and it was our job to take Flat Lily on adventures around town. In the first picture, Flat Lily is helping us do a bit of gardening. We have quite a few plants started so far, including carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumber, rhubarb, basil, oregano, rosemary, and salad greens. We'll see how they handle summer in Nebraska! The second picture is Flat Lily hanging out to dry, as she got caught in a spot of rain.

One last thing to share. I came across this prayer through my work at the Thrift Shop. It really helps put one's work into perspective!

Glorious St. Joseph, example for all who are engaged in toil, pray with me, please, to obtain the grace that I may work in the spirit of penance, and so make atonement for my sins… that I may work conscientiously, keeping devotion to duty before my personal feelings… that I may work with thankfulness and joy, holding it an honor to use and develop by my labor the gifts I have received from Almighty God.
Pray with me that I may obtain help to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, and never shirk duty because of weariness or because of difficulties encountered, and that, before all else, I may work with a right intention and with detachment from self, keeping always in mind the hour of my death and the account I must give then for misused time, for neglected talents, for good not done, and for any foolish pride in my success - a fault so fatal to the work of God.
All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, Joseph most faithful! This shall be my motto in life and death.
Amen.

Long time!

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've posted! Quite a bit has happened, I suppose, like moving to Lincoln, adjusting to the city, Doug's first year of graduate school, three different jobs for me... Plus it's almost time for new Easter pictures again! Where does the time go?

I think the best way to get caught up is to post some pictures.

This is Vermillion when we left last summer:

And this is Doug on his first day of school in Lincoln:

We were able to spend Thanksgiving in Sioux Falls with Doug's Mom's side of the family:

And we were able to spend Christmas in Wisconsin!

Doug even found time to make a bookshelf over Christmas break. Notice the new TV on the right (courtesy of Mom and Dad)!

Though it was a mild winter here, we still had a few good snowstorms in January and February.


Before we knew it, spring had arrived!

We were able to spend some time in South Dakota for Spring Break:

Although it's been a long semester, Doug hasn't gone crazy yet:

He's pretty happy as long as he gets to help his Dad with hay deliveries every now and then:

And he enjoys the occasional math conference, too:

I love the work I do now. I spend my mornings babysitting Keshav, the two-year-old son of Srikanth and Jyothsna (the couple in the middle). Keshav loves Dr. Seuss, birds, and playing with water.

I spend my afternoons housekeeping at the St. Theresa's Rectory (the building on the far left). The priests, secretaries, and volunteers at St. Theresa's are so kind and encouraging - it really is a beautiful place to work.

It has been a good year full of blessings and challenges, and I am so glad that the Lord has been with us in every moment of it.

Hopefully I'll have more pictures posted soon. :-)
Gen

June

It is about time for an update! Doug is working in Lincoln and I am working in Vermillion through the end of July. I am going to start packing our things up and doing minor repair projects in the apartment starting next week. On the 1st, I'm planning to go to Lincoln to sign the lease on our new apartment, and we will also re-paint our new kitchen at the very least! It is an exciting time, though I miss Doug quite a bit.

Not much news on the flooding in these parts. They are releasing more water than originally planned from Gavin's Point Dam in Yankton, but Doug's folks seem to be far enough away from the river that their house might be okay after all. However, portions of their farmland have 4-6 inches of standing water as a result of the heavy rains we've had recently. They're calling for another 1-2 inches tonight.

Speaking of flooding, I want to share a prayer given out by one of our local priests, Bob Lacey. He happens to be the older brother of two of our best friends, Josh and Aaron Lacey. Small world! Anyway,

"Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, look upon us with love and mercy.

In the midst of storms, Jesus reassured His disciples by His presence and called them to trust in Him and to not be afraid. Strengthen our faith in this time of risk and worry.

Give us the favorable weather we need to deliver us from the dangers of flooding. Give us the wisdom we need to manage well the waters already fallen.

Be with our brother and sisters who are confronting the devastating impact of flooding waters. Grant them comfort in their suffering. When afraid give them courage, when dejected give them hope, when afflicted give them patience, when displaced give them consolation, when alone assure them of the support of us all.

With faith and confidence we offer our prayer to you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen."

A nice prayer and so fitting for the events and spirit of this summer.

No blog post is complete without pictures! Please enjoy some of our more recent photos, and please click here to see a picture of me in action at work.

Easter 2011

At Jenny's 8th Grade Graduation

Our closest friends in Vermillion: Katie Raker and Josh and Aaron Lacey

Doug lost about 70 pounds this year. This is one of his old shirts...

The Bluff in Vermillion