Happy 27th birthday, Alan! We had a nice cookout in the backyard. Maggie is getting big, but she's not spoiled. Can you tell?
Disappointment in my reproductive system took me to the Emergency Room a few weeks ago. Although the pain is gone, questions are still unanswered. I took a sick day on the 12th and still want' feeling up to par for work craziness. Thankfully I was canceled on the 13th and could enjoy a short visit with Nana during her family reunion of sorts. The Hickman side of the family hadn't met for 20 years. I love my Nana. This past weekend we enjoyed the company of my mom, my niece and my cousin. We did St Louis!...the arch, zoo, children's museum, water park... WHEW! Alan and I had trouble keeping up with their energy level. I know I'm still young at heart when an ice cream sandwich puts a smile back on my face.
Remodeling our home has been an adventure. Although crazy and expensive like all hobbies getting rid of the 70's motif has given us a new found way to acchieve positive feedback. In fact our confidence in skills keeps growing. Alan has been suprising himself in the current bathroom remodel.
yesterday we got a new puppy!!! A sweet 15 week old female Boxer. The breeder wanted to keep her as a new mom, but let us take her home instead. We're thrilled to start the journey of dog ownership. Our first 30 minutes with this adorable pup were spent cleaning up her 4 bowel movements and vomit in our car (the new one, of course). Alan and I kept joking around that "shit happens". Other than that, our 2 hour car ride was boring.
The cats have been cordial, but not friendly. Bella's tail has been really poofy as of late. Sam just wants to know what's going on.
We named her Maggie because she's so sweet. She's already turning her head to the sound of her name. She's picking up on things really quickly. This morning we worked on going up and down the stairs independently despite the cats' location. Now she spends 30 minutes at a time repeating her new accomplishment until we stop her. We're doing the whole crate training thing and she LOVES her crate. So far it's really easy to talk her into getting in and difficult to convince her to come out. We enjoy celebrating her every potty and poop outside...mini parties every time: so fun! I can't wait until she picks up on wearing a leash and going for long walks.
~~~~ Over Memorial Day weekend we enjoyed the company of my brother and his fiance down at the Wommack house. Alan and I ran in the town's 5k and I met my goal of running it in it's entirety. That evening to celebrate all of the kids coming home, my parents threw a little party for the engaged couple and even had a hot air balloon come for rides. My mother-in-law came down from KC, our family friends from central Kansas came with their 5 kids, and my niece was there to name a few. Amazing weekend full of new memories.
In later blogs I will share updates of house projects. Must go play with Maggie again.
I wanted to include you on a portion of my job interview at a different local hospital.
The interviewing manager asked, "What made you want to be a nurse?"
And of course I reply, "Honestly,... I love poop. I found an occupation where I can talk about poop all day. and I love people." (Emily adds in hoping her nervous chatter can be overlooked by the redemptive qualities of a "world peace" answer.)
In slight shock and overcome with the blunt statement of reality, the interviewing manager replies, "well, we certainly do have a lot of that here." and she smiled and laughed under her I'm-trying-to-be-professional persona.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That leads me to my favorite question. Have you pooped today?
spring break was last week. I don't think I've ever spent a spring break on a road trip in college. we were always doing some music/choir tour...great trips none the less. We enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing in Pensacola, FL. sitting on the beaches, reading a book, making sand creatures, laughing at the southern accents, eating tons of seafood, playing dominoes, captivated by the blue jellyfish in which we later found out they were Portuguese Man O'War ... The older I get the more sheltered in life I realize I was growing up...We've enjoyed exploring the world together.
Another sign of spring is in the vegetation. GREEN!!! I miss the green grass and the birds chirping in the morning. I planted a 4x6 garden a few weeks ago. You'd have thought I had found a $100 bill as I was gleeful to see my lettuce starting to poke through. I planted a purple and green leaf lettuce as well as a row of carrots and several cherry tomato plants. The lettuce is only a centimeter tall, but I'm so ready for real veggies! I'm also proud of myself for "MacGyver"-ing a deer deterrent system made of 2x4's and chicken wire. Take that you hungry little deer that think our backyard is a highway for your hoof prints. Our backyard has also become a home for a mole (Alan's arch-nemesis). Although the enemy has been defined we have chosen to be humane and are hoping if we just starve the sucker to death he will leave our dominion... aka use a powerful grub killer.
Our household is currently debating what kind of dog/puppy to get. We have a few features defined. Has to be a medium build, Sammy has to still be the dominate animal, has to be a stray or from the shelter, no froo-froo dog. Possible dog breeds: Terrier, Shar Pei, hound, boxer, beagle... The World of Wegener continues...
Black and white is what I want. Simple decisions...even those are hard sometimes. What am I going to wear today? What should I eat for supper? Should I brush my teeth or wash my face next? Then there are decisions that make up the gray in life. What would make my life better? Do I like my job? What are my goals this year? How are my relationships doing?... Recently I've noticed there is a very fine line between frustration and contentment and happiness. Currently I am in limbo everyday about my job. Some days I love being a nurse and serving others that I can overlook anything and enjoy having a job. Other days I am pulling out my hair in frustration and desperation for having such a crappy nursing position. Then on other days I'm just content having a job, security. So why am I undecided about my nursing career? Why am I so indecisive? Is being indecisive a bad thing? Is it me? James 1:2 Consider is pure joy, Emily, when you have troubles. Because you know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested so that you may be mature and not lacking in anything.
In preparation for Andy's wedding (my brother) in August, I have looked into many wedding songs since we've been asked to sing a duet. However most are really corny and unrealistic in representing marriage.
Endless Love • When I Fall in Love • True Love • Annie's Song • Let It Be Me • I Swear • Up Where We Belong • The Prayer • Don't Know Much • All I Ask of You • Tonight I Celebrate my Love • Somewhere Out there • Beauty and the Beast • I finally Found Someone • From This Moment On • Household of Faith
There are some fantastic lyric in "Come What May", from Moulin Rouge.
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And there's no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather,
And stars may collide
But I love you (I love you)
Until the end of time(until the end of time)
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
I think the lyrics from this song better represent the attitude newlyweds need to have in our world today. "Bring it on". A love that flows throughout all seasons in the marriage, a commitment until the day you die to love each other, learning to love more and more...
I was thinking back to our wedding and the music we utilized. At that time in our life we loved hymns! We had our guests sing with us. I liked that.
I've started visiting the library again. My hope is to challenge myself with consistantly going to the library every 2 weeks. I want to start reading the Jane Austen books and then move onto something else. Any suggestions?
Posted November 18, 2008 -- For the interviews and promotion Beyonce is doing in support of her third solo project, I Am…Sasha Fierce, the R&B singer is shooting down rumors like a sniper. From pregnancy rumors to Kanye'sRihanna comment to the one about her back-up dancer being a transvestite, Bey has been ready for all the questions that are posed to her. Since Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video leaked to the internet, the industry has been buzzing that one of the dancers seems a bit too masculine. Though numerous unconfirmed claims have popped up in regards to the matter, Beyonce killed the notion once the topic was addressed during her interview with NYC's Power 105 radio station this morning (Nov.18), “That is so silly man, that is silly,” Beyonce told host Ed Lover and former 106 & Park host Free. Ed Lover then asked her if she had actually heard the rumor (of course she did) in which she then went on to defend both her dancers, “Both of the girls, they’re ballet dancers and their bodies are unbelievable; pure muscle,” she explained. “So I guess, people were feeling like her body is so strong, but that’s crazy."
This cracks me up for several reasons, but most importantly because Alan is frustrated because he can't identify if the back up dancers are both females. I just think it is amazing a female body can move like that...if it's not the case, power to him!
The invention of YouTube, Facebook, TiVo, Cooks.com, ...these are all things I can't live without.
I am debating my career goals. Is it worth changing jobs? Do I want med-surg or continue to critical care? How much do I have to hate my job to make a change? Which hospital should I be at? Do I focus on getting a Masters in Nursing Education? When did it become okay for patients and family/friends visiting to yell and harass the nursing staff?
I thought after college you would have most of these questions figured out. You get married, have babies, and enjoy your career. Simple right!?!? HA!
The great thing is Alan loves school and likes hanging out with his classmates. He got his lens kit that has hundreds of different refractory lens in a new shiny leather case with some other optometrist tools the first week of school. He giggled and is so excited looking at the lenses. The kids help Alan study almost every night.
I deeply desire and miss 2 things: church friends and singing in a professional choir.
Boppies (Emily's paternal grandpa) went to heaven the week before Christmas (December 18th, 2008). The one year anniversary of my Aunt Patsy going to Heaven was January 24th, 2009. Life is too short.
I went to Boston the last week of January to spend amazing time with my parents, brother and future sister. I felt we did an eat-across-Boston tour; it was fantastic!
Alan and I are excited about going on a spring break road trip to Florida with 2 other couples. A really nice condo near Pensacola, Florida has our name on it in March.
Meowy Christmas! This is your annual update from your favorite Christmas Card-writing cat. Overall my girlfriend, Bella, is still fun to hang with, and my parents, Alan and Emily, are healthy and happy. I’m 5 years old now, and that means mom and dad celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary last August 2nd.
Dad started optometry school at UMSL (University of Missouri-St Louis), a 4-year program. Prior to moving to the St Louis area, mom and dad enjoyed traveling. In April they took a five day cruise in the Bahamas. In May they spent one week on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii only came home for two nights and then went to visit Alan’s Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob in Juneau, Alaska. From warm sandy beaches and snorkeling to whale watching near the glaciers, mom and dad left me to take care of our house while it was on the market. Then in June they left again to join mom’s side of the family at the Burress Family Reunion which met in Tennessee this year at Fall Creek Falls State Park.
I thought traveling was out of their system, but then the boxes came out. We moved our family clear across the state from the Kansas City area to the St Louis area. I love my new house in Maryland Heights. There is a wooded area across the street where I can watch deer in my front yard. Mom lets Bella and me sometimes play outside in the backyard when dad is at school. Bella likes to catch the butterflies and grasshoppers; I would rather just enjoy the warm sun.
Mom really misses her friends from work and is still trying to find a good fit in her new job. Currently she is working as a float pool nurse at Christian Hospital (northeast area of St Louis). Mom and dad also miss their friends at Harmony Vineyard Church, but are hoping to find good fellowship at St Peters Episcopal Church. Dad has brought over some of his school friends, and mom has enjoyed helping me play host.
We have definitely started a new journey in our lives. Dad keeps talking about letting me pick out a puppy to play with in the spring when he has summer break, but I’ll be the judge of that idea. The best thing is we are going to have the same address for the next 3½ years. We hope this letter is greeting you and yours in good spirits.
Meowy Christmas from the best Christmas-card-writing cat. I do love updating you on the past years events and what my parents will be dragging me into in the future. Last Spring my girlfriend (Bella) had surgery, but she still smells good and is fun to play with. She’s a lot smaller than I am which makes it hard for me to chase her into some spots.
Dad played softball again last summer; this time playing on two different teams every week instead of just one. I don’t really know what softball is, but it has to involve lots of rolling around because he always came back dirty and smelling good. Dad stopped working for the eye doctors this summer because he had to get a few more classes out of the way, and right now he’s substitute teaching in the Rat-town school district. Or is it Raytown… so hard to keep them straight.
Back in July, I started noticing mom smelled a lot different, and I tried to tell everyone, but they wouldn’t listen to me. Eventually, they found out they were pregnant and said they were sorry for not listening to me. September 7th was very sad for everyone; mom lost the baby that was in her belly. Mom and dad did very well with the miscarriage news and they realized how many people love them. For some reason, I got lots of extra hugs. Nothing is wrong with mom and dad; they will be able to have a baby when-ever I give them permission. All during this time we just bought a new house that came with all these new rooms to hide in and lots of new smells. I’ve been helping mom and dad do lots of work on it along with help from their friends and family so hopefully we can sell it to make a good profit. What’s really great about the house is they let Bella and me into the garage every once and a while to look for bugs and explore. I have to keep an eye on Bella though because she doesn’t always come in when mom and dad say so. Right now it’s a little cold in the garage, so we run around in the house instead.
Mom loves being a nurse at St Mary’s Medical Center in Blue Springs. Dad has been accepted to join the fall 2008 class of optometry at St. Louis. So it looks like we’ll be moving again next summer. Mom will easily be able to be a nurse in St. Louis and maybe go on to get her masters. I know I’m the most important thing in their lives, and I’ll go with them wherever life takes us.
Merry Christmas! It’s Sammy Wegener, your favorite Christmas-Card-writing cat. I do enjoy sharing the highlights of this past year and what my parents (Alan and Emily) have been doing. This summer was very busy. My mom stopped working at Children’s Mercy in May and started working in June at St. Mary’s Hospital in Blue Springs on an adult Medical/Surgical unit on dayshift. Mom really enjoys working at her new hospital. Dad’s optometry office moved in mid June, out of the mall and into a private practice in Lee’s Summit. It was nice to have mom and dad on the same daytime schedule, and then I could start eating on a regular schedule. Because the humans’ jobs have moved locations, we moved our home too. We now live in some really nice yellow apartments just west of Independence Mall. Our apartment is on the 3rd floor and I love hanging out on my patio. Besides job and housing changes, I have had some relationship changes. My first beloved girlfriend, Daisy Mae, went to kitty heaven on September 11th from cancer. Losing her was really hard on our family; I even had trouble eating and getting back to my regular activities. Although it was hard to move on and get used to change, mom and dad found me a new girlfriend, Bella. She is really pretty and extremely fun to play with. Bella keeps me entertained and she is very fun to hang out with. Mom and dad are involved in many activities and travels, which means I can sleep more when they’re gone. My parents still sing in the Kansas City Symphony Chorus and even went to New York City with the group to sing at Carnegie Hall the end of June. They also traveled to San Diego to see Shamu and other things with Grandma Barb, Dan, and Alan’s brothers. Some really good smells were brought back with them. Besides choir, my parents have been involved in Harmony Vineyard Church; they have tons of new friends that sometimes come over to play with me. The future holds many options for my parents and me. My dad is eagerly waiting to hear from the optometry schools in which he has applied. Dad applied all over the country: Boston, MA; Memphis, TN; Chicago, IL; Bloomington, IN; and St. Louis, MO. This spring we might move again if he gets accepted. I know I’m the most important thing in their lives, and I’ll go with them wherever life takes us. In the meantime, I’m hoping Santa will bring me lots of catnip.
The time of year has come to update you on my parents, Alan and Emily. The last year began with mom in Florida fighting the gators and mosquitoes in the Everglades in a canoe on the Outward Bound Adventure; her luggage smelled so great when she returned. Then mom finished her final semester of coursework at William Jewell College and she got her first gray hair from nursing school – now she matches me! Mom spent her Spring Break with the Concert Choir on tour and organized lots of stuff as president. Dad stayed home with me and we played. May was very busy, mom graduated from nursing school, went on a medical mission trip to Honduras, and I hid a lot since we had so much company all the time. Meanwhile dad went to Canada on a fishing trip with the Wegener boys, leaving me all alone in a new house with all of our stuff still in boxes. That was cool, but dad didn’t bring back any real fish. Mom and dad came back, and we have lived in this new house in Independence, Missouri ever since. I like the new 2-bedroom house; it has wooden floors I can slide on, a basement with bugs, and lots of windows to look out at the birds and the squirrels. They say the basement isn’t ‘finished’ but I hope it stays the way it is. Mom started a new job as a nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospital in downtown Kansas City. She works great hours at night and takes naps with me during the day. Mom took the nursing board exams in July and passed on the first time; she is really happy about being a RN. Dad seems to really like eyeballs still, currently working for the optometrists at Lens Crafters inside the Independence Mall. My parents keep talking about moving again next year for dad to go back to school to become an eye doctor. Moving is rough… Dad has applied to optometry schools in Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis and Houston and is waiting for them to call him for an interview. I don’t care where we go as long as mom and dad can take me with them. But if I had the choice, I hear there are lots of fish in Boston. Mom and dad have kept singing and are now in the Kansas City Symphony Chorus. I really like when they have concerts and dad wears his tuxedo with tails and I get my hair on his black suit. I try to sing with them sometimes but they just laugh at me and pick me up. Then I bite them. They keep talking about going to New York City with the Symphony Chorus and singing at Carnegie Hall in June. I wonder who they will leave to feed me. Recently my girlfriend, Daisy Mae, has come to live with us. Daisy is a 9 year-old, white longhaired cat; she is so fun to chase around the house. I really enjoy taking naps with her on the couch, but sharing my food and litter box with her took a little getting used to; she keeps whining about ‘privacy’. Best of all, she smells great! Mom and dad plan on spending Christmas in Parsons, and I will take care of the house for them. They want me to tell you they like getting phone calls and updates from you, so keep calling their cell phone thingies. Make sure to come by and see my parents and me; I love when the doorbell rings. As always have a great year, may it be full of catnip and other great stuff.
It’s that time of year when my mom writes a letter for me so I can tell you what has been going on with my family. I’ve been really good this year, except when I knocked over the lamps to catch a fly. Oh, well. Since last year my dad, Alan, graduated in May from William Jewell College with a Chemistry degree. Over the summer he went on a fishing trip to Canada with other Wegener boys and came back smelling really good. In July he got a job working for the optometrists inside the Lens’ Crafters at the Independence Mall. He works mall hours and gets to spend time playing with me in the mornings. He has been filling out these papers for eye doctors’ schools and talking about how much he likes eyes. He still plays ultimate Frisbee on Sunday nights and he enjoys hanging out with friends. My mom, Emily, has been really busy with school. She is planning on graduating in the spring with a Nursing degree and Music minor. Mom likes to practice her nursing stuff on me sometimes. Over the summer mom took 3 summer classes and was overwhelmed taking 12 hours of coursework. On mom and dad’s first anniversary (August 2), mom lost her favorite cat, Sarah, to old age (18 years old); she cried a lot and I tried to cheer her up. When school started again she brought home more books and paper…paper tastes good. Mom is taking 18 hours of courses and she is still in Concert Choir and Handbells at school. Over the Christmas Break in January, mom is going with other Jewell students on Outward Bound, an adventure in the Florida Everglades. When she graduates mom is going on a mission trip to Honduras at the end of May while dad is going to fish in Canada again. We really do not know where we are going to be next year at this time; it is all dependent on dad getting into eye doctors’ school. Mom thinks she wants to work at a children’s hospital, but I’m okay with where ever we go. Now that you have a little update on us, my parents and I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. In the New Year, may God’s love be prosperous and may the catnip be plentiful. Love, Sammy Wegener
My mom agreed to write this letter for me. I am Sammy Wegener, a gray tabby cat and the newest member to the family. I was actually born about two weeks before my parents got married, August 2, 2003, but they did not adopt me until I was 5 weeks old. That’s enough about me; I want to tell you what my mom, Emily, and dad, Alan, have been up to lately. Dad has been busy as a Chemistry major at William Jewell College. He will graduate in the spring of 2004. Dad continues to play ultimate Frisbee on Sunday nights when he can. On Monday nights he is busy with his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, and really enjoys his guy time. The rest of the time he is working at Enterprise Rent a Car as a car prep dude or at the Harriman Arts Program at Jewell doing miscellaneous fun stuff and getting paid for it. Dad also likes to wear shoes with laces; I love shoe laces. Next semester dad will have a heavy class load, so I will try not to bother him when he’s doing his homework. However I do like chasing the mouse on the computer screen. Mom has been busy with school also. She is a Nursing major at William Jewell College and has lots of important paperwork that tastes really good; I don’t think she likes when I eat her papers. Her hard class is Adult Health, an 8 hour course. On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings she wakes up really early and wears white scrubs, but she doesn’t like to wear shoes with laces. That’s okay because we play ball every morning on the kitchen floor. Mom has three more semesters and a semester of summer school left. Mom sometimes lets me ride in the car with her; I like riding in the car. We go and visit the girls’ dorm at WJC where I can find so many places to hide. In between her classes she works at the Advancement Office at Jewell and volunteers as a Cardinal Blazer, giving tours to prospective students. Both mom and dad are in the Advanced Hand bells Choir and Concert Choir at school. They also took ballroom dancing lessons at Jewell and sometimes practice in the living room; I try to stay out of the way. Anyhow, on December 15th I have a scary surgery coming up. Mom and dad told me I’m going to be an “it” and lose my front claws. I don’t know what to expect. Our one bedroom apartment in Liberty is really nice. I love climbing on the furniture. I love to hide in the kitchen cabinets, closets, and refrigerator. …yeah I said refrigerator; mom and dad tell me I am weird, but they still love me, except for when I knock over their big plants and when I scratch mom’s feet…most importantly I want to tell you Merry Christmas and my parents want to wish you a very happy new year.
I've started a blog... Living so far (4 and 6 hours) from family makes me miss them that much more. We are in Maryland Heights while Alan is an optometry student at UMSL. I think the easiest way to catch everyone up is to let our son, Sammy, share his series of Christmas letters with you.
Christmas 2005 Sammy’s Update
