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  1. Silver Lining

    February 22, 2012 by Katie

    Well, with every cloud there is a silver lining.

    In a matter of just a few hours, I booked a last-minute flight home, packed our bags, grabbed my trusty little sidekick and flew back to be with family.

    Even though I would’ve preferred 110% not to make this trip, the silver lining was that we got to see lots of family I hadn’t seen in awhile; many whom Elise had never met. Plus, she got some extra cuddle time in with grandpa & grandma. That little girl can help brighten even the darkest of days.

    {little e + big E}

    We spent two nights back on the farm, and enjoyed some time with my cousin Lori and her little boys. Harrison is one week older than Elise, and Lincoln…well, Elise just loved Lincoln and his silly snorts and kisses.

    Then we spent two nights in Kansas City at a hotel so we could be closer to the visitation & funeral. Elise & I had our own room, and we each got a big bed to sleep on. Kinda like a little mother/daughter slumber party.

    Little Cousin B was there too! Love having the cousins get to spend more time together {Elise says thanks for sharing your toys with her, and she’s sorry for pooping on your bed}.

    It was nice to just wake up and get to enjoy breakfast with several family members. Plus, me being a ‘single mom’ for four days, I always welcomed the extra hands willing to take Elise so I could relax/eat/shower/hold my nephew.

    {Elise with Uncle Gene & Aunt Barb, who drove up from Phoenix…look at that huge grin.}

    I think Elise thoroughly enjoyed being amidst all the friendly faces; so many people excited to finally meet her. And, I also learned that her chubby full cheeks are apparently a Strahm family trait that I’ve never noticed, but that was pointed out by several relatives. Makes me love and kiss those squishy cheeks even more.

    {getting in one last hug with her favorite uncle, Ben.}

    It was nice to have the comfort of family and some moments of joy during a time of sorrow.

    Category Family | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Captain Ron

    February 20, 2012 by Katie

    This weekend we remembered my dear Uncle Ron.

    Ron is my dad’s brother, just over a year younger, but they could practically be twins. They shared a love of family, God, the outdoors, working on cars/planes/boats/motorcycles/you name it, and bonded over their love of flying. He’s the best pilot I know {and in an extended family of lots of pilots, that’s no small feat. I’m pretty sure if you could look at the genetic makeup of our family for the past several generations, there’s a flying gene in there that keeps getting passed down}.

    {1988: dad, me, ben & uncle ron}

    We loved it when he would fly up from Kansas City and land his plane in the field just across the road from our house.

    {1990? Somehow we all managed to convince Grandma to join us at Oceans of Fun.}

    This picture cracks me up. I’m wearing a pink polka dot swimsuit and ball cap, and my brother seems to have overexerted himself a bit much.

    There was never a dull moment with Uncle Ron. Being that he and my dad were so close, he was almost like a second dad to my brother Ben & I growing up…..the dad who rounded up the entire family for fun adventures and gave ‘CLAVICLE!!’ squeezes as signs of affection.

    I’m feeling very reminisceful today and found myself going through some photos on my computer.

    Below is the last photo I have of him & I—taken at our wedding a few years ago. It pains me that I don’t have a more recent one. Or one where we’re both looking at the camera. But, I find it comforting that we were deep in conversation amidst the chaos that can come with a wedding reception. I remember him telling me how happy he was for me and how I’d grown into such a fine young woman.

    Uncle Ron….I can’t say enough wonderful things about this guy.

    And if you knew him, then you already know.

    The sparkle in his eye, the orneriness in his grin, the care in his voice, the love of a hard-working hand squeezing your shoulder….he was grandpa…only younger {& thinner, as my cousin Sandy pointed out :) }.

    But, one thing that I think sums him up best, is that knowing him made me a better person–and I’m pretty certain that everyone who knew him would say the same thing.

    Captain Ron….I love you. I wish I would’ve called you up and told you that. I’ll miss you SO much. And yes, someday, we’ll go fly together again.

    Category Family | Tags: , | 1 Comment

  3. Too Cute Thursday

    February 16, 2012 by Todd

    OM NOM NOM

    { "OM NOM NOM. My right foot tastes like mashed potatoes & gravy!" }

    (Or at least it must — she gnaws on it all the time, so it must be good)

    Category Too Cute Thursday | Tags: | 1 Comment

  4. XOXO

    February 14, 2012 by Katie

    So today is apparently a holiday, of sorts—or so I’ve been told. :) You may or may not know that I personally do not celebrate Valentine’s Day.

    *GASP!*

    I know, right?

    I’ve been a proud anti-Valentine’s Day girl since 2001. In college, my friend and I tried to get ‘Half February Day’ as the official replacement, but there’s a lot of hoops to jump through to make that happen worldwide, so we gave up.

    I’m not here to explain why it’s a silly holiday or convince you to come over to ‘my side’. And just because I choose not to acknowledge it as a holiday, doesn’t mean I want you to do the same.

    Now, all that being said…..my mom has always continued to send me Valentine’s Day gifts every year, which I greatly appreciate. I just never send any lovey dovey stuff back.

    Until this year.

    Putting my feelings aside, I knew the grandparents would appreciate some kind of token of love from Elise.

    Key words: from Elise. Not me.

    So I did what any good mom would do, and helped Elise make some handmade items to send to her grandparents.

    She picked out some cute hand towels at Target, made some heart-shaped cookies {by ‘made’, I mean we made a trip to Trader Joe’s}, snapped a cute photo of herself to put in a heart frame, and finally, she created a little valentine with her hands.

    Lots of work for a little baby, but she persevered.

    I just put some cookies in a ziploc bag and stapled a tag {that Elise designed, of course} to the top of it.

    thanks for being so sweet to me

    Simple dimple. And much cuter than just sending the bag they came in—which was yellow, and totally didn’t fit in with the color scheme.

    Elise is picky like that.

    Next, we traced her hands {as best I could—some of it ended up being freehand, since anytime paper touches her hand it goes directly to her mouth} and made a tiny accordion style card.

    i love you….THIS MUCH! {and more}

    Awww…….

    And since she’s too young to use a needle, I stitched up a little felt envelope to hold them, then we threw everything in a box and doodled love notes on the outside.

    I think she had fun making everything, despite me mumbling out loud, “I can’t believe we’re drawing so many pink hearts”.

    The moral to this story is that having a child changes things, no matter how much you always told yourself that it wouldn’t*.

    Somewhere, somebody is laughing and saying, “i told you so!”.

    *I still won't celebrate it, but if Elise wants to, I will draw pink hearts 
    like my life depends on it.


    Category Holidays | Tags: | 1 Comment

  5. Grandma Kathy

    February 13, 2012 by Katie

    20120213-114446.jpg

    {hope it’s wonderful!}

    Category Baby | Tags: , | 1 Comment

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