Posts filed under 'Friends'
Each year our family takes time to pause, gather round the Christmas tree, turn out all but the holiday lights, and listen, together, to this song:
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear
- John Lennon
It is my favorite Christmas tradition, and the only one that really matters to me. To stop and take a moment and remember how blessed and fortunate and thankful we are for all the many good things in our lives: Good heath, amazing children, wonderfully loving families, supportive friends, jobs we enjoy, our comparative wealth, and the ability to share this time of peace in peace with those we love.
And to you, too, we wish health, peace, joy, and much love this holiday season!
December 24th, 2009
It’s really good to be home. Per expectations, the doctor gave Tara and Noah their final checkup and cleared us all to go home by mid-morning. By lunchtime we were back at home, where Granny and Anna had just finished making “Welcome home!” signs for Noah and “pinkalicious” cupcakes for the “big sister party” we’d planned for Ms. Rose.
Everyone’s doing well. Noah’s still spending the vast majority of his time sleeping (as is only right and good!). Anna is as enthusiastic about her baby brother as you could expect an almost-three-year-old to be (“he’s a real baby!”). Max greeted the newcomer with reasonable interest and has spent most of the afternoon upstairs hanging out with all of us (compare to Anna’s arrival, when he hid in the basement for about a week). And Granny’s been a superstar, handling most of the cooking and cleaning.
We’re off to bed soon. We’ll see how our first night all together goes — here’s hoping we manage to get a little more sleep than we did at the hospital.
But it’s good to be home.
Note: I just posted the day’s photos on our Flickr site, including a pretty cool video of Anna singing a rousing rendition of “baa baa black sheep, havin’ you da wolf” for her baby brother.
January 17th, 2009
Tara and I were devastated to hear that Keith Foskin, a great artist, scholar, philosopher, and friend of the family, passed away two days ago.
We always looked forward to spending time with Keith and his brother Kevin during holidays and family gatherings. His love and appreciation for music was impressive in its diversity and scope, and his humor was sharp, sensitive, and quick. We always felt that Keith truly embodied what it meant to be an artist — he was overtly and openly passionate about his art, his ideas, and his politics, with his heart on his sleeve and always trying his very best to live his convictions.
What impressed us perhaps most of all was his fierce devotion to his friends, and in this terrible moment we wish we could speak with him just once more to thank him for his friendship and the good times he shared with our family, and my father in particular.
Keith, Kevin, and their friends and family are in our thoughts and prayers.
February 4th, 2008
Anna had her 18-month check-up last week on Friday. She now weighs 26.2 lbs (this after a day of throwing up! Thursday was not fun) and is about 33 or so inches tall. Everything seems to be on track!
I’ve been busy making Halloween costumes for Henry and Anna. We’re planning on taking them for pictures with their costumes – hopefully they will cooperate and wear them during the photo shoot.
We had dinner last night with Taara, Erik and Ian! We hadn’t seen them in about 6 months, and were amazed at how much the babies had grown. We had a great time and hope we can get together again soon.
Anna’s new orthotic is causing some bruising on her leg – so we have an appointment with the orthotist so he can modify the brace.
That’s all for now. It’s raining here…has been all day long. Very dreary and cold. Makes me want to stay in bed with the covers pulled up to my chin.
September 24th, 2007
This last weekend was the March of Dimes WalkAmerica. Team “Miss Anna” drove down to Denver and walked 6 miles around downtown. It was a beautiful day – plenty of sun. Neal, Anna and I were joined by our friend, Wil. Unfortunately, Henry and Uncle Gus weren’t able to join us due to a family emergency. Anna managed to sleep in the stroller during a large part of the walk, but enjoyed the final 45 minutes or so riding in the backpack. When I figure out how to get pictures off my cell phone I will post a few we took during the walk.
Some very special thanks are in order here. Thanks so very much to those of you who supported our team. We were able to raise nearly $2500 for the March of Dimes thanks to your generous donations. Every penny counts! And thanks to our Team “Miss Anna” members: Henry, Gus and Wil. Each member raised money on their own, which contributed to our team total.
Thanks again for your support of the March of Dimes!
May 1st, 2007
You there! Shhh! Heck, I’m probably typing too loudly as it is. And I’m honestly concerned that the crickets chirping away outside might wake the baby.
This realization hit me recently: It seems like we spend a lot of time tiptoeing around our own house these days.
I guess that’s just part of life with a new baby around. Especially when she’s been sick for so long. We try to do everything we can to make sure that when she’s sleepy she can actually go to sleep, and stay asleep for as long as she can. So we throw each other dirty looks as we’re putting away the dishes (that clink might wake Anna!) or get a drink (the ice maker is too loud!), and hope that the kid stays asleep.
Fortunately, the whole family had a good night last night. Tara slept. I slept. Max didn’t wake us up with his usual antics at three o’clock in the morning. And most importantly, Anna slept from about 9:00pm through to 4:30am — without coughing! I don’t think she’s entirely over her cold, but the antibiotics do appear to have helped a bit, and she’s seem to be on the upswing at this point.
I’m going to go and try to sneak off to the gym now. Very, very quietly…
July 26th, 2006
We’ve received so many gifts of flowers from family and friends over the past few days that our home seems like a veritable greenhouse. Thanks to everyone for the beatiful flowers and your kind thoughts and words. They really do lift our spirits!
March 23rd, 2006
My cousin Dean was able to post an update about our nephew Ben on the Steadman family blog last night. Unfortunately, all our worst fears have come true: The MRI results show that Ben’s tumor has doubled in size compared to what we saw in December and is significantly impacting his motor skills on his right side. They’ll be talking more with Ben’s doctors today to discuss their options.
Why this is happening to a kind, intelligent, and sensitive six year-old boy is beyond my understanding, and beyond my willingness to understand.
We love you Ben, Madie, Melinda, and Dean. You are the bravest people we know.
March 7th, 2006
My buddy Erik Vedvik and I graduated high school together, parted ways for almost ten years, and then ran into each other at my job interview at e-InfoData.com back in 2002. I’m pretty sure he helped me get the job, and we’ve had some good times at work and outside of work since then.
Well thanks to this blog I just learned that Erik’s wife Taara (mother of wee Ian) was college roomates with Gus Brockmann’s (father of wee Henry) sister Liv. Liv plays in the same bell choir as Tara, and she’s also Max’s vet. Max likes turkey, and — get this — so does Erik!
It’s a very small world sometimes.
March 6th, 2006
So now just about everyone we know either has a new baby, or has one on they way. First Josie and Gus, then my buddy Erik Vedvik and his wife, and of course we’re in the middle of things.
But wait! There’s more. Many hearty congratulations go out to my cousin Dean and his wife Melinda, who just announced they’re pregnant!
Anyone who’s not looking to get pregnant should probably stay the heck away from northern Colorado at this point.
February 13th, 2006
Previous Posts
