the twins are coming!

A little early perhaps. And with Papa and Grandma still in Budapest. All I know so far is that Lori and Jer are at the hospital. More news later.

Sherri


UPDATE: Are Here!

2-2:30 pm. It's a boy...and another boy! Despite all the ultrasound predictions that it was a boy/girl. Ha.

The first baby was 4 lb. 4 oz. 17 inches and the second baby 4 lb. 3 oz. 16 1/2 inches. Lori and Jer and all the babies are fine. Even big-brother Jamus, who didn't get to go to the zoo today.

Now - what are their names?

Sherri

becca is skipping

Skipping school that is. Not in a bad way - she has just been matriculated as a senior at the School for Arts and Academics, which means that she will be skipping a grade and graduating a year early, all things being equal and she stays on current track.

Only Kristen is mad because that means Becca doesn't have to do both a Junior and a Senior project.

In the end, it just means that we will have two seniors next year, Kristen AND Becca. That puts Atreyu the next in line. What a world.

It also means that my college commitment has just doubled. I wrote out the tuition check for Becca's first college class yesterday. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the education funds - we couldn't do it without you!

The Momgoose

cousin jim

The other great thing that happened last weekend when I went to Utah was that I got to spend time with Jim.

There's something great about having a close cousin - it's kind of like a sibling, but without all the rivalry. Maybe because we are the oldest of the grandkids or the fact that we were around when all the rest were just babies. We've got dirt on each other as far back as almost 40 years....that's what I'm talking about.

It was always a much anticipated visit to/from the Wests, and that was long before the twins and Michael. Back when it was just Jim and Tom, me, Debbie, Brad and Sandi. Back when we could all crush into the back seat of Aunt Linda's VW Bug. We've floated canals together, hiked all kinds of trails, shared birthday parties, pinatas (is there still the infamous film?), Easter egg hunts, picnics, frog ponds, baseball games, snowball fights, Thanksgiving dinners, fishing trips, weddings, funerals, births, middle-of-the-night phone calls, writing, emails, thoughts, fears, prayers, triumphs.

More than once last weekend, I was cared for through Jim's perceptive awareness - he took me to get coffee twice, driving around until we found a place the first time. Without stress or drama, he moved us all through a busy evening of nickle arcade, pizza, burgers, movies, and another round of cake at Grandma's. I watched him prepare breakfast for everyone Sunday morning.

I have so much love and gratitude for Jim. He is a man of depth and generosity. He has given me nothing but unfailing love and support.

Thanks, cousin. I carry you in my heart.

Sherri

extreme sheep herding

A long time ago, I was a dog groomer. Poodles, terriers, cocker spaniels. It's true. As a result, I became really good friends with one of the other groomers, Pam. She lived on a couple acres just outside of Hill AFB, and I lived just up the hill - right under the flight path to the AFB runway, to be exact. Pam had a border collie named Bob (named so because he had no tail) who was so persistent about herding anything that moved that she finally bought him a flock of ducks that he would herd to and from the pond at the back edge of the horse pasture.

Bob has since made it into several of my stories, most notably as himself (Bob - played by Bob) in the burning cockroach story - A Burning Thing (published in Dark Sky magazine summer 2007).

This video totally reminds me of Bob. I couldn't pass it up without sharing it somewhere.



Sherri

grandma is all a-glitter

My darling grandma celebrated her 90th birthday with a whole bunch of us, thanks to mom, Aunt Linda, Uncle Bob and Aunt Jan, and all the grandkids who pitched in. What a great party!!

Amy took some great pics of Grandma, all stunning in her yellow sequined party dress. Stacy (and Krista?) made an awesome slide show of 90 years of pics - yes, that was baby Grandma in the big white bonnet. Debs played guitar and sang along with a whole batch of great-grandkids. And then sang with Susan and Carolyn - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - Debs attributes her dancing skills to Dad's "groovy dance," and truly, the similarities were quite apparent. Carolyn nailed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in a big way - I was beyond impressed. Sandra played the piano. Children sang. There were speeches. There was crying (way to go, Ames). Brad ate three (or four) pieces of cake while we were talking through the NBA playoff scenarios.... all in all, an amazing party.

(Quiz: can you spot which ones are siblings?)

Later that night, a bunch of us went over to Grandma's for the party after the party. Grandma had MORE cake (carrot - her favorite) and we watched the end of the Chicago/Boston game. It's been a lot of years since I just hung out at Grandma's house, and I can't remember my grandparents living anywhere else.

Grandma was adorable. Her party dress was stunning. Her hair was perfect. She is a lady full of grace and beauty. Cousin Jim rocked the apple cart when one of the guests introduced herself and said that she played bridge with Grandma, and Jim replied "Oh, you must be the one she always beats." Oh, that was certainly NOT her, the lady replied. "I beat her all the time." Sorry, Grandma - there may be ongoing repercussions from that little conversation.

Becca and Kristen and I organized a gift book for her: Things that are as Old as Grandma. She loved it. Here's a sampling:

Lillian May Belliston Farrell
May 4, 1919


Things that are as Old as Grandma:

• dial telephone
  
• Spanish flu
  
• parachute patent
  
• followed closely by the first parachute jump (made to prove that one could do a delayed free-fall jump without becoming unconscious)
  
• rodeo bucking chute
  
• neutrons - not the neutrons themselves, just the theory
  
• Grand Canyon National Park - just the "park" part
  
• Einstein's theory of relativity is proven
  
• zipper
  
• gas tax - $ .01 per gallon enacted by the state of Oregon
  
• pop-up bread toaster

Things that happened in 1919:

• Black Sox scandal
  
• Spanish flu killed more people than WWI (that had just ended)
  
• The horse Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby
  
• Prohibition began
  
• Jackie Robinson, Red Buttons, and Eva Gabor (and Grandma) were born
  
• The average salary was $750 per year
  
• The Zeigfeld girls made $75 per week
  
• Milk was $ .32 per gallon
  
• Whiskey was $3.50 per gallon
  
• The U.S. population was 92,407,000
  
• 30 million people went to the movies every week
  
• There were 76 lynchings that year
  
• The tango was banned in Boston, New York City, and Cleveland for promoting loose morals, lipstick, and leg exposure
  

It was good to see some of my cousins that I haven't seen in a long time: Tom, Krista, Stacy, Carolyn. It dawned on me too late who Bobby was, and he was already gone. I don't think I've ever known Cousin Tyler - how did I end up with children older than my own cousins? It's beyond difficult to sort out the great-grandkids, but they were all adorable. I did recognize Stacy's littlest one from her family blog, and she's just as darling in person, too!

Spent the night in Ogden at Aunt Linda and Uncle Roy's along with Jim, Stephanie, Carolyn and all the kids. It was the first time I've met Stephanie in person for the first time, and she is a beautiful, amazing woman of strength and depth. I adore Jim - and not only did he make me breakfast the next morning, but he drove me to get coffee. Cousin Jim ROCKS!

Got to spend Sunday dinner with Marne and Scott and the little ones. Thanks to my mother for pulling together a meal after my impromptu invitation.

I came home late Sunday night with lots of gratitude and love for my enormous family. Thanks to mom and dad and Marne for getting me there, dad's truck to get me around, and for then for getting me on a plane when my return flight fell through at the last minute. (Rick also thanks you for that)

Sherri