October 29, 1906 — February 17, 2009

Yesterday was a sad day for the Hemmert family. Brad's Grandma, Bess Johns, passed away. She was an amazing woman who lived her life to the fullest. In her 102+ years, she had a family, traveled, read from her Bible everyday, gardened, made pastel drawings and other had crafts, and lots more. Everyone loved her. There are two things I will always remember about her. Her rings, and her sense of humor. She wore three rings. Her wedding band and wedding ring, which for most of her life she never took off. Her wedding band was very thin and sharp for all of the years worn next to her wedding ring. Her wedding ring had orange blossoms on it and was very beautiful. The other ring was a family ring. It consisted of two thin bands one representing the mother, the other represented the father, and sandwiched between those bands were three stones. One for each of her children. I would love to have a ring like that some day. As for her sense of humor, even in her old age she would make jokes. One day she was reading the paper on the back porch (obituaries) and said, "everyday I look to see if my name is in there (smile)" Well yesterday she must have seen it. We will miss her dearly. We love you.

Better late than never, right?

The Holidays...

Brad's parents came for a visit just before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see them, and Lucy loved having them here. Brad had a seizure while they were here so we took it easy. We did fix some plumbing in the kitchen and basement (Our friend Kevin Summers helped). We went to Green Bay to Lambeau Field. We also had a tour at Miller Electric (good job Brad! :))

We had lot's of Christmas parties to go to, Miller Electric's party was at the Children's Museum. Lucy had a lot of fun, and talked about it for days. We left there early so we could make it to our Ward Christmas party and we were just in time for Lucy to sit on Santa's lap.

My parent's came for Christmas. IT WAS FREEZING!!!! (But it got worse after they left) The one thing my Dad wanted to do was go to the Allen Edmonds Shoe Factory, so we spent a day in and around Milwaukee. Christmas Eve we had a quiet evening and read the Nativity and some other Christmas books with Lucy and then sang some Primary Christmas songs. We all got to open one present (PJ's) and then it was off to bed. Christmas morning my Dad and I got up early and went to take some pictures down on the Fox River near the Locks at sunrise. It was cold, but clear. We got some good ones, but needed a little more time (Had to get back to see what Santa brought) Lucy was a hoot! She would have been content with the toothbrush from her stocking, but she loved everything she got.

As for a current update, we are all doing well. Brad will get to drive next week (no seizures in 90 days!) Lucy is talking up a storm—singing and yelling too! She is now sleeping in a toddler bed. That has been tough on the naps this past month, but maybe we are getting her back on track. We are also working on the potty training. Not too serious, but she will go pee pee any time you put her on the toilet. She loves to color, listen to "doggie music", dress up, and cook. Grandma Hemmert did great with the tea set and table linens. She loves them. I have started to knit and crochet a little, and running. We enjoyed a few days of spring like weather and a good melt of a lot of snow. Lucy wondered where the "river" was going (puddle of water on the sidewalk being blown in the wind). She is pretty observant and smart. One funny thing, the other night we were driving home, and you could smell smoke from someone's fire. Lucy took a deep breath and said. mmm... smells good. She made that decision all on her own, although I tend to agree with her.

Here are a few of my photo's Christmas morning.

I did it!

For those who don't know, I'm training for a half marathon. It's the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab UT on March 21st. I've been wanting to join most of my family and do this for a few years now, and this year just seemed like the right time. I started training the 1st of December. I had to join a gym because it was too cold and dark to run outside here. Saturdays are saved for the long run and today was 8 miles! I'm so proud of my self, that is the farthest I have run before and I don't think my time was too bad either (1:25). For the most part I feel pretty good, although I've been having some trouble with my IT Band (hip pain) so, I'm working to fix that. Lucy likes to go to the gym with me, and will ask me as we are leaving "you do a good job running?" Of course that is in between all of her goodbyes to anyone who will listen. She will also run around the house saying "I have to go running, I have to go running" or "I run fast, like Dash" (from the Incredibles). It's pretty cute.

Perhaps I should mention that we are having a heat wave here. It was 32° when I went running this morning and now it is up to 45°. I can go outside in jeans and shortsleves and the temperature feels good. I think I've lived in the cold too long.

STINKER!

I have been having some trouble getting Lucy to take her naps the last month or so. She learned how to climb out of her crib, and the day that she was running away from me (scared because she was supposed to be sleeping), she was trying to climb back in her crib and split her lip. So, we decided it was time for the big girl bed. She does really well at night, just not the naps. So frustrating. Well, yesterday I was listening to her on the monitor and I heard a few things that could have meant trouble. I decided to ignore it and wait a little longer. Soon, I heard a crash and decided it was time. I go up to her room and find her with the cardboard from her window (to keep it dark—white trash, I know) on the floor and Lucy standing there naked with her diaper and pants on the floor. Maybe she is too into doggies right now (101 Dalmations) because she marked her territory—bed, pillow, blanket. What a mess! Everything went in the wash, and the little stinker, was triumphant again in avoiding her nap!