Nehers in....Nebraska

my first-born turns three....

2009-02-03T16:36:00.012-06:00

on january 27th, my sweet first-born, Finley David d'Argy turned three years old. (also on the same day, Clive Thomas turned three months old). i am so proud of how grown up finley is now, how smart he is, how funny and kind. he is such a doting brother and a loving son. as his mommy though, i shed a few tears that day as i grieved his babyhood coming to an end. there will be no baby like my "baby finley", and our time together these last three years will be deeply treasured in my heart forever. i look forward to sharing the riches of clive's first three years in the same way, but precious and unique little "fin-fin" will never be replicated. (check out my shout out to him on one of my favorite blogs).

we celebrated his birthday with just a few of his little friends, since i didn't want to throw a "party" - i didn't have time to do invitations, or plan activities, etc. so literally, the last minute, we had the west family, the landreth family and the liden family over for some cake and ice cream and some playtime.

finley had a great time, especially when everyone sang him the birthday song. he told me he was "so 'cited" to blow out his candles on his cake. his only request was that there were cars on the cake. i had already decided to make a number three cake with tie dyed batter, so the cars on the tray were an afterthought. he did have trouble getting his candles blown out, because like most three year olds, he blows (while spitting) through his front teeth like a gopher. he nearly burned off his eyelashes trying to lean in for a better angle. he managed to get one out and daddy helped with the other two.

today, he had his three-year well child doctor's appointment. he was so cooperative that it made me very proud. he was so cute as he followed all the instructions in his thomas the train undies and his little patient's gown. he was even brave and didn't cry when the nurse pricked his finger to draw blood. he watched nonchalantly as she squeezed and squeezed the "red paint" out of his finger for about five minutes (she could barely get enough out!). (but oh did he cry when he caught sight of the band aid she was going to put on it. guess his band aid phobia is still alive).

he weighed 35 pounds and measured 38 inches. this puts him in the 75th percentile on both his weight and height. (this is a big deal for those of you who know that his entire life he has been in only the 10 to 20th percentile range for his height. so, for those of you who have noticed and have asked lately, yes he has gotten much taller all of a sudden! yeah!) he also had his first vision test. instead of reading a chart with letters on it, the chart has three little pictures - a house, an apple and an umbrella for the kids to identify from a distance. he stood behind the line and the nurse pointed at the pictures. he got them all right, except he called the umbrella a balloon, and the apple a heart. but what was funny was, when she pointed at the apple on the teeniest row, he identified it as "a pair of underpants." he made the nurse laugh out loud...but, he was dead serious of course.

i am so thankful to have such healthy and happy children, even though they are a major handful right now. i especially love that finley is now at the age where we can sit and talk to each other, he can tell me stories, and i can watch the wheels of his little mind spin. he's such a little miracle. such a little man.

to see a full album of finley's third birthday, click here.

funny conversation with finley....

2008-12-17T14:11:00.009-06:00

This afternoon while changing Finley's diaper, I joked with him affectionately:

ME: Ooh, this is stinky, you stinky little scumbag*!

(*scumbag is an odd term of endearment matt uses for us, using a strong new york accent for humor)

FIN: I'm not a scumbaaaaaaaag!

ME: Well then who is? Is daddy?

FIN: Naaaah!

ME: Is Clivey?

FIN: Naaaah! Just Julie is!!

ME: Whaaaaaat?!?!

FIN: (while laughing) Just joking! 'Hers' is not.
None of us is scumbags....we're just the Nehers.

christmas is in the air...

2008-12-13T18:19:00.015-06:00

wow, i haven't posted since the day clivey (as finley calls him) was born. life has changed so much for us since then! fall came and went in the blink of an eye. now it is suddenly winter, and it is almost christmas! although matt is once again in the midst of law school finals and i have my hands full with two very lively neher boys, we managed to get our house all decorated for christmas. and it is looking lovely if i do say so myself.

christmas is my favorite time of the year. i start listening to christmas tunes the day after halloween. and each thanksgiving, my husband traditionally gives me a new christmas cd to help our family bring on the christmas spirit. something i need no help with, but he sure does. this year he finally got me sufjan steven's 5-disc christmas box set. and i love it, of course. i have wanted it since it was released a few years ago.

every year matt asks me, "is this the earliest we've ever decorated for christmas?" - as if he can't believe it is that time of year again. and no, it wasn't this year. we didn't decorate until after thanksgiving this year, and usually i do it around the first of november! this is our first year to have lights up on the outside of our house. before now, we always lived in apartments or duplexes, so it was nice that my dad, papa glenn, was kind enough to put them up for us when he was here for thanksgiving. we were the first on our block to light up our house, but now our neighbors have followed suit. :)

this is the sixth or seventh year that little george has topped our tree as the most curious angel. the robe and wings i made him our first year of marriage are holding up quite nicely! finley thinks that is one of his georgies but it is mommy's - something he doesn't seem to understand.

surprisingly, finley doesn't try to touch the tree, the ornaments or even the gifts underneath! he likes to admire the ornaments as much as i do... we have collected them in our international travels and throughout our 7 years of marriage.

finley is being so cute about christmas. i think he may love christmas as much as his mommy does! he has been wrapping up some of his favorite toys (cars mostly) and putting them under the tree. each day he picks them up and reminds me that these presents are for his baby brother. and today i caught finley "taking pictures" of the christms tree with his toy camera. he even climbed up on the chair for a better angle. precious!

i love putting out my willow tree nativity scene. each year my beloved mother-in-law gives me another part to add to it. this year i got the stable animals and the copper stars. thanks, mimi!
finley has his own little nativity scene too. he refers to it as his "baby jesus and the kings" who live in the soft barn. he arranges it daily. sometimes they all commune on the roof of the stable. most of the time they are in some sort of single file line. and they get many dinosaur visitors. hey, it could be possible that a tricerotops visited jesus in his manger. and, there may not have been any room at the inn, but there is always free parking at the stable.

we are planning on taking finley and c.t. to sit on santa's lap for a photo. a fun and terrifying family tradition. finley's pictures with santa his first two christmases are priceless and we are hoping to continue to add to the collection. i mentioned to finley that we were going to go see santa this weekend for a picture and he said politely, "no thank you, mommy. i don't yike santa." then when i was out of the room, he pleaded his case with matt. "daddy, i don't want to go see santa. tell mommy, okay?" then last night after playing at a friend's house he said to me very seriously, "mommy, we watched a movie with santa claus in it and i did not yike it."

he tells me that santa is "rude" (a word he adorably misuses) and that "it isn't funny to be rude at christmastime." how can i not agree? however, i will still drag my son into the scene of his very own nightmare and make him sit with santa anyway (i will be sure to post the results). and one day, he'll probably figure out that it was mommy that was rude, not santa.

(click here to see photos of my christmassy house)

introducing baby......

2008-10-27T23:27:00.006-05:00

clive thomas neher

born monday october 27th
1:13 p.m. via emergency c-section

9 lbs 15.4 oz. (yes 0.6 oz short of 10 lbs)
21.5 inches long (2.5 inches longer than Fin was)

written monday night by groggy mommy: labor began at home just after 1:00 am - i woke matt at 3:35 when they became regular and less than 5 minutes apart. i hated waking him as he has spent weeks preparing with a partner for his Moot Court competition at law school which was today at 4:30. oops. baby had other plans. thankfully his partner is a good friend and the Moot Court board was sympathetic and allowed their team to reschedule for 7:30 a.m. on tuesday. kinda stressful but we're thankful for their understanding.

we got to the hospital around 4:30 a.m. leaving finley snoozing in bed with his Mimi Neher (who is the Godsend grandma visiting from NC). they monitored me for about 2 hours before officially admitting me. because i was five days overdue and a previous c-section case, they knew they had to keep me around and that this baby would come today, one way or the other. my plan was to labor through and work towards a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). but my progress was slow although my contractions were strong and steady.

after about 11 hours of laboring, i finally reached a meager 3 cm dilation and the contractions got more intense. i then asked for my epidural which they delivered. just after it took effect my doc came in and checked me and i had moved up to 5 cm. so she burst my water to get things moving. she had told me all along that i had a massive amount of fluid surrounding my large beach ball belly (as my friend corissa detected this summer). so when she burst my water, a tidal wave ensued. the doctor and nurses present were in shock and awe at the continual flood and said that is was the most they've ever seen. i believe the words were "that is a COPIOUS amount of fluid!" they even called other docs and nurses into to witness the event, laughing in amusement.

then in a matter of seconds the amusement turned to panic. as the water flooded out, the baby's head pinned the cord to the cervix causing a umbilical cord prolapse. basically the force of the flow really pinned it down, and like a kink in a garden hose, the baby was suddenly without flow of oxygen and umbilical fluids. all the nurses and doctors started talking in panicked code (though trying to smile and not make us nervous). "O.R. - STAT!" (they really do say that!) was what we heard next.

i was whisked into surgery fast and matt was left in a panic on the other side of the swinging doors. i was lifted onto the operating table under the big round light, an oxygen mask covered my face and then my lights went out. picture the "woman's work" scene from the movie "she's having a baby" - exactly like that, no joke. apparently they cut him out of me in two minutes. two minutes!

i woke up about an hour after he was born and had it all relayed to me. when my eyes opened, my weeping husband was standing over me letting me know our son was perfectly healthy. it was so scary and traumatizing, and it was crazy how quickly the events turned. but i felt safe in the hands of the professionals and am very thankful for their quick action and work.

i am still a little drugged and numb from the waist down. this afternoon and evening with our new son has been euphoric and joyful, a time of thankfulness, awe and adoration. i know tomorrow though that my pain will set in and my long road to recovery and healing will set in. but he is so worth it!

it took us nine hours to decide on a name, but after spending quality time with him, we decided he was a clive. clive thomas. C.T. he is a healthy nurser, a peaceful sleeper and is absolutely adorable. he looks JUST like my baby pictures.... we'll see if he stays looking like me or if he'll morph into another mini-matt like big brother finley. speaking of, finley will come to meet his brother tomorrow. that will be so fun to witness!

so thanks for your prayers! thanks mimi for being here and being so helpful and loving your grandsons so much. thanks matt for your loving support and sacrifice. thanks to friends who have already poured so much love and excitement on us - keep it coming. and please keep praying for us as we transition and i heal.

click here for album of clive's first day!

sing loud!

2008-09-22T17:06:00.002-05:00

in august, while visiting his mimi and papa in north carolina, finley starting singing. we had always sung to him and then with him...but last month he starting just singing on his own. and he sings all the time!

he sings what he calls his "baby songs", which would include the abc's, twinkle twinkle, etc. and he sings songs he learned on TV, like some of the theme songs to his PBS shows and he even sings along to commercials! oops! he even hums tunes, including the tunes to my very favorite game shows (yeah!). the cutest is when he sings the song his daddy has always sung to him at bedtime... "L is for the way you look at me, O is for the only one I see...." he knows the whole song! the best part of that song is when he sings the word, "ex-tra-ordinary" with gumption!

his favorite tune is the alphabet song though. he sings it many times a day. sometimes he makes up new words just to sing along to that tune. for example, he might sing about all the things he is eating for "bress-us" (breakfast) to the tune of the alphabet song. i have tried to film it, but he says, "mom, don't take my picture!" and clams up. today he was sitting in his round chair, reading his children's bible and singing away. i snuck in and he sang the whole song for me, though he acted very silly. he says "sing loud!" a few times at the beginning, and he even broke briefly into his "dinosaur voice" which you'll hear for "T-U-V". after i took this video he said, "that's enough mommy. no more pictures."

i should be embarrassed....

2008-09-05T14:38:00.003-05:00

there are so many reasons why i should be embarrassed to share this story, but i will anyway because it is such a classic finley situation. and i know he was embarrassed, not to mention, posting this on my blog will just give him another reason to hate me one day! ;)

it was a typical morning, we had just gotten up (hence his huge pillow hair - he went to bed with wet locks). he was feeling really independent and did not want me to help him with the potty. so i let him remove his own diaper and take a seat. because he was urging me to leave him alone with his business, i went around the corner to put some stuff away in his room. after he was all done, i tried to help him get a new diaper on, which he also wanted to do himself. knowing he'd never figure it out by himself, i left the room again for a second to let him give it a try. next thing i know he is crying in pain.

"mommy, help i used mommy's diaper and it hurts me!" (no further explanation needed). but you can guarantee he won't get into my cabinet again!

bossy little finley......

2008-07-30T11:05:00.003-05:00

here are some funny/sassy quotes from finley in the last 48 hours:

after asking finley to help me pick up his flashcards which are all over the floor, he said, "do it yourself, mommy, i am busy reading my book."

when i was getting some fabric out of my craft closet, which is in his playroom, he whipped around and said, "mom! i am tryyyyy-ing to watch calliou, so SHHHHH!" with his teeny finger across his lips and his uni-brow furrowed.

he came running mischieveously out of the bathroom with a huge proud smile on his face...he said, "i ate it and i'm going to be sooo sick!" (still smiling). "come here i'll show you.....see, i ate mommy's soap.!" he had pulled his potty chair up to the sink and pumped my hand soap into his mouth.

we are working on potty training and he opted to go in his pants instead of the potty. i told him he shouldn't poop in his pants anymore and he should use the potty like a big boy. he said, "no mommy, just change my bopper (diaper), okay?"

i walked upstairs with a coke and he said, with finger pointed at me, "you drink upstairs, you better not spill! no spill!"

i guess i'm getting my mothering words spat back at me. especially when he says, "obey me, mommy!" (don't worry, i tell him not to talk to me like that).

he says some sweet things too:

matt and i were sitting together on the couch and finley came over, climbed up and hugged our necks and said, "aw, look, we're all together!"

he woke me up saying, "good morning, mommy, have sweet dreams?" i said yes and then asked him what he dreamed about. he said with a smile and sigh, "oh, i dreamed of daddy." i asked what he and daddy did in his dream and he said, "we hugged."

bolly-what?

2008-07-10T11:46:00.003-05:00

being a HUGE fan of bollywood cinema, hindi music and, of course, american reality tv competitions, i was thrilled to see this last night....
(ignore the cheesy judges).

i love me some OM SHANTI OM!

unscathed....

2008-07-01T10:27:00.003-05:00

as you may or may not know, omaha was hit with a freak storm on friday afternoon. it was this fast-moving monster cloud that swept though and was gone as quickly as it came.

finley and i were at home, it was almost five, and we were just waiting for matt to get home from his job in lincoln (an hour drive away). i was sewing and finley was playing in nothing but a diaper. because i'd been home all day, i was still in my pajamas or "housecoat" as my grandma might say. i heard them talking about high winds and thunderstorms coming our way. they were saying it wasn't a tornado but more like a hurricane - 90 mph straight line winds with rain and hail. i could here the warning sirens outside, but i, like the news reporters were, was mostly concerning myself with everyone outside for the huge concert in memorial park and also the crowds and vendors at the downtown arts fest. but it still wasn't raining and not even the leaves were blowing on the trees.

next thing i know, out of nowhere, the trees started swinging wildly and the wind was howling. i looked across the street out my studio window just in time to see a tree fall on the transformer and the white explosion that followed. that blew out our power and i grabbed finley and ran downstairs. as we were running downstairs, it sounded like a tornado was over us. we could hear the sounds of trees snapping, the wind howling, metal twisting and that haunting "freight train" sound. i got us down to our dungeon of a basement and it was pitch dark in there. i stuck finley in the baby exersaucer that is stored down there (so he couldn't escape into the darkness and mess of the basement). that's when i ran back up to find a flashlight or candles.

when i got upstairs to the front closet (where i never found a flashlight) a huge object slammed into the outside of our house on the other side of the wall where i was standing. (i found out later is was the neighbor's adirondack chair from his porch). then i heard it scrape down the side of the house (we later found it broken inside finley's play fort). then i looked out the front window just in time to see the neighbor's 100-yr old 40 foot tree rip out of the ground and slam into the street and then saw my patio furniture and all my pots and plants get literally sucked off the porch. they didn't slide along the ground, they picked up into the air and flew over the patio wall and scattered around the neighborhood. then the hail started. it was coming at as fully horizontally. our front bay window was being slammed with rain and hail and that window is under about a 10 foot overhang. all that happened in about two seconds while finley was wailing in the basement. so i ran down to join him and we hugged and tried to call daddy.

when i finally got through to matt he has driving toward omaha on the highway and had no idea about the storm. and then it was all over. since i was still in my nightgown, i grabbed a t-shirt from the laundry basket and put it on. then finley and i emerged out of our house to assess the damage, along with all the other neighbors. i surveyed our house and found that the only damage we had included missing roof shingles, holes in the window screens from the hail, and detached rain gutters. i tried not to be too outwardly sad that all my lovely plants and gardening were destroyed. all my pots were dumped and scattered. some pots i found down the street under a neighbor's car and some pots i never found. all my lilies and hydrangeas were snapped off at the ground and my hostas were shredded. my patio furniture was in the front bush, in the street, and even under the fallen fir across the street. we had a huge tree branch fall in our front yard but it didn't hit anything. i didn't complain though, because when i looked across the street i saw that all the houses had trees on their roofs and major structural damage.

i finally met all the people that live in my neighborhood though! too bad it had to be under those circumstances and that i had to look like white trash at the time. remember i was still wearing my nightgown with a t-shirt over it, and i had a bandanna on my head b/c was about to take a bath. also finley had on nothing but a diaper and neither of us were wearing shoes. ha! matt didn't get home for almost 2 hours after the storm. all the traffic lights were out and trees covered all the major thruways. while we were assessing the damage around the neighborhood, he was caught in traffic and in an angry mob of rush hour drivers trying to make their way home on a friday night. click here for the pictures i took immediately after the storm.

when matt got home he anxiously informed me that he had HOURS of work still to do for his law firm and it couldn't wait. but we had no power! soooo, poor us, we had to go to a hotel for the night. finley and i got to eat, bathe and sleep in a/c and matt got to work on his report late into the night. the next day, we got home about 2pm and found our power restored, thank God! however, the people across the street did not, nor did most people in the area. many will still be without power til the 5th, so we were very lucky.

the whole weekend was community cleanup for our neighborhood and our whole city. we were able to clean up our yard and house and make it look almost exactly as it did before. matt and i felt kinda rude on sunday when we were merely weeding the yard and adding some mulch to the front beds while the people across the street were trying to get trees out of their living rooms and collect all the bricks from their chimneys. ah, the pleasant nebraska weather! when will be get a break?

my inflation, thus far

2008-07-01T01:53:00.003-05:00

watch as i expand. here i am in weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and now week 24 of my pregnancy! how much bigger will i get in the next 16 weeks? my guess: HUGE!

baby pillow fever!

2008-06-25T13:30:00.005-05:00

wow, i just counted and i have made over 200 personalized patchwork taggy pillows for my etsy customers! i love looking at the pillows all lined up together, but it is the back sides that take all the work. i'll reopen my etsy shop soon, and these will be back on the market!

click here to see the other items i have sold in my etsy shop since opening in november 2006. i've been busy - but once this second baby comes, i don't think i'll be able to do so much multi-tasking. especially if this baby isn't as easy as finley was!

head(less) shots

2008-06-23T16:33:00.003-05:00

june 2008:
finley's first tan lines of the summer, and
baby boy #2 compromising my waistline

It's a BOY!

2008-06-20T10:11:00.009-05:00

it's week 22 of my pregnancy and we had our big revealing ultrasound yesterday. we found out that we are having another little boy, a brother for finley! they were able to confirm that my previous due date was accurate - october 21. and, that he is healthy, strong and has all his parts! thank God!

i asked if he was going to be enormous at birth like finley (9.5 lbs). the doc said that the baby was measuring average sized for now, according to head measurements, but that the baby usually grows into its abdomen size by the time of birth. this baby's current abdomen size is in the 85th percentile, so he'll definitely be on the large size. with all his large measurements, i looked up at the screen and asked, "what is that 8th percentile measurement?" and of course, it was his leg length. yes, 8th percentile. so he'll be just like his big brother, with huge head, shoulders and stomach and teeny short shrimp legs. thankfully finley's legs grew to catch up and hopefully this baby's will too.

a witness to great beauty and love....

2008-06-05T13:21:00.013-05:00

this past weekend was the wedding of daphne and caleb. i had the honor of being one of daphne's witnesses, as she threw out the traditional "bridesmaid" position. it was great because i got to be a part of the wedding party and all that it entails, but did not have to buy or wear a bridesmaid's dress or carry an awkward bouquet. instead we got to dress ourselves, within the wedding color scheme, and wear beautiful handmade corsages, made by audra mcavaddy. this dress idea came in handy for me, because i am in maternity wear now, being 5 months pregnant, and we all know pregnant girls and bridesmaid dresses just don't mix. thank you daphne and caleb, for including me. it was beautiful and so fun and definitely one of the most unique and memorable weddings in my experience.

the weekend's highlights for me (in words and images):

witnessing daphne and caleb exchange vows. after all these years of watching their love grow, it was touching to watch them bond their lives together. after being so moved emotionally and spiritually by the ceremony, matt and i both commented later about how anyone could take the act of marriage lightly. it is so serious and God-ordained. all wedding ceremonies should be done with this much beauty, depth and spiritual signifigance. the spirit of God was in that chapel.

hanging with sarah lance, all the way from india. it was so great catching up with sarah who flew in from kolkata for the festivities. she brought with her all the beautiful saris that were used as table runners and she wore a beautiful sari herself. i loved hearing about her continued work with wmf india and the women of sari bari.

seeing my boys walk in dressed to the nines. i was away all day doing wedding duties, so matt had to bathe, dress and bring finley to the church on time. and he did! they came in like such gentlemen and i was so proud. finley even behaved himself mostly, though he spent most of the time on the floor.

meeting baby sarah and baby ada for the first time.
the landreths came down from fargo for the wedding bringing 10 week old sarah maya with them. she was even more precious in person! we have already arranged the marriage between her and finley, so their first meeting was important. apparently she made an impression on him, he's mentioned "baby seer-ah" at least once a day since, even in his bedtime prayers!

and twyla o'callaghan came out from atlanta with little ada brigid. also more precious than words. i didn't get to see much of her though since chris heuertz never put her down the whole weekend.

getting the whocares girls together. all but two of the girls from the whocares blog were present at the wedding. i got to see everyone in person and put faces to names and blogposts. what fun!

hanging with caron easley and hearing her sing. caron came out from illinois and was also part of the wedding party.
we haven't been able to hang out since she moved from omaha a few years back. but we laughed and had fun like we did in our troublemaking asbury college days. also, i got to hear her and ali serenade the crowd during the reception and it was lovely!

receiving caleb coppock artwork as a wedding party gift. everyone in the wedding party received a different print of a caleb original. it was such a unique and meaningful gift to receive. we all know starving artists can't just be handing their art out for free. so this one will be framed and cherished!

dancing to the voyage music of breaksea caravel. breaksea caravel is the minneapolis "theatrical orchestra" who performed at the wedding and at mick's the night before. they were so talented and fun, and a blast to dance to. it was great seeing everyone sweat and jive to the music, especially the bride and groom. (here they are performing on another occasion):

and last, but not least, watching brent anderson play the trombone with the band. after the crowd chanted his name to hit the dance floor, he blew us all away by picking up the trombone and playing along with the band to a whole song. we only found out afterward that he had never touched a trombone in his life. perhaps that explains why he was holding it upside down and why he pulled the two pieces apart while trying to play the deep notes. funny and unforgettable - thanks brent.

best wishes, mr. and mrs. coppock, and enjoy your honeymoon in maui!

feeling green...

2008-04-14T09:21:00.011-05:00

...as in queasy, morning sickness!

i was hoping since i am nearing week 13 that my morning misery would begin to subside. i was feeling great the whole last week, and not today - it is back. i just want to lie in bed and close my eyes for hours! but finley just won't let that happen, i am sure of it! plus, i am exhausted because finley has been waking me up at least an hour earlier than usual since transitioning to a toddler bed.

last week, he finally started diving out of his crib, which resulted in a bloodied lip and a bruised face. i didn't want to wait and see if he could break his neck, (or his arm like his older cousin had), so i took the front panel off his crib and made it into a big boy bed. i put a rail up so he wouldn't roll out in the night, but he can still get out of if when he wants, which i thought would be a battle. i put two gates up at night so he can't leave his room, thanks to my sister's suggestion.

so far, he's been a dream at bedtime! we just tell him to go get in his bed. he stands and the door and says, "night, daddy, night, mommy!" then shuts his door and climbs into bed. then don't hear a peep from him til morning! but at first he was waking up really early in the morning, opening the door and yelling through the gates. he would scream repeatedly, "MOMMY!!! DADDY!!! OUT!!!!" so we told him that he wasn't allowed to shout in the morning. so now, he stands and the gate and politely and quietly says, "mommy, i'm ready please." and if i don't come, he starts with his dad. but he knows how to pull heart strings so he calls for his daddy the way his daddy calls for him, "hey buddy, hey buddy" ever so softly. it is sweet and hilarious!

everyone told me that with my second pregnancy i would "pop" sooner than before. they were right! i already have a baby bump and i am just finishing up my first trimester. here is a self-portrait i took in the bathroom mirror last night. and yes, i am already wearing some maternity pants. my regular jeans are already too uncomfortable! if my belly is this big now, i can only imagine how enormous it will be in six months. i am hoping to not get quite and mountainous as i did with finley. i will try to do things a little differently with diet and exercise this time around, but who knows if that will even make a difference. we'll just have to see! let's not forget just how HUGE my belly was last time.....

(ok, so the nepali mu mu isn't very slimming).

OMG! how did i even manage?!?!?!?!??!?!

bring on the bump!

2008-04-08T11:09:00.004-05:00

ok, so we didn't make an official announcement. but maybe you connected the dots from the baby countdown widget, the facebook comments, or (if you have seen me in person) my obvious chest and tummy plumpness. or maybe you noticed me ordering water instead of wine, my constant "feeling under the weather" or taking extra naps.

but it's true, the neher family is brewing another chubby, stubby, big-eyed baby! this week starts week 12 for me. that is 12/40 of the way there. how did we keep this to ourselves for so many weeks? well for one, i had to give myself some time to adapt to the idea. i have a two-year old currently transitioning to his big boy bed (and thus not sleeping enough) and he is about to start potty training, God willing. also, i wanted to make sure everything was progessing smoothly in my womb and get a due date confirmation from the doc.

so usually at your first pre-natal visit, the doctor will take an ultrasound of your womb to locate the uterus and the baby's sac inside it. they must make sure that it has "implanted" in the proper location in the uterus and is the appropriate size for the date of conception. from there they can confirm a due date (range) and proceed with the pre-natal lab workups.

however, due to my severely tipped uterus, they were unable to locate it or the baby inside it on the first visit, or the second (two weeks later). but two weeks after that, they finally found it! it was way over the the right, but should continue to center itself as it grows.

inside was a 1.5 inch long baby with kicking legs and a fluttering heartbeat in its chest. so here he/she is! please pray for this baby and for me, for health and growth and ease! we'll keep you posted as we grow and as we approach our october due date.

does anybody even read this blog?

2008-04-05T16:27:00.003-05:00

if so, then you may notice a new widget on the page.

i'm just seeing who you are, that is, if there is anyone.

the beginning of the blunt toddler honesty....

2008-04-04T12:21:00.004-05:00

kids say the darndest things....and the most honest! i have heard my mom, sisters and friends tell me stories about their kids' honest remarks. until now, finley hasn't been talkative (or opinionated) enough to give me his two cents. but i am starting to learn what he really thinks of me.

how were my parents not mortified when my older sister (as a toddler) told a group of minglers in the church foyer, "my daddy has a tail." how did my sister not get her feelings hurt when her son looked at her beautiful wedding photo and said, "mom, you look really gross!" and when she asked him, "well, do you think i look better now?" and he thought for a minute then replied, "no, worse." or when a little neighbor girl sat on my grandma's lap and said, "oh, you're fat." to which my grandma replied, "yes, i am." my mom had always taught us to never talk about people being overweight. that some people can't help it and some people just "eat too many cookies" (her dumbed down explanation). after clearly absorbing this lesson, my older sister carol (as a toddler), kindly told a stranger at the in the grocery aisle, "you ate too many cookies!" oh no! my sister lindsay was especially outspoken with her truths as a little girl. sometimes my mom feared what my sister might say. when she was about 3 or 4, my mom was pushing her through the piggly wiggly in the shopping cart. a man came through the doorway who was morbidly obese and could barely walk. lindsay covered her mouth and started to giggle and carry on. then she pointed at him and said, "mom, he's barefooted!" shew! my favorite one was when she was in first grade, she told her sweet white-haired teacher that she looked just like her grandma. the teacher said, "how's that?" to which she replied with great affection, "you have the same hangy down skin on your arms, and those blue lines on your legs." ouch!

about a year ago, my innocent little one year old boy was watching sesame street when this clip came on. he pointed at the tv and said, "mommy! mommy!" i was touched that he would compare me (or confuse me) with norah jones. ok, so maybe his vision wasn't too sharp and all he saw was the long brown hair. whatever the case, it was sweet.

now he's two and a few months and talking and understanding a lot more. this morning over breakfast we were watching pbs and a commercial came on for amazon grocery. there is a woman, clearly not a morning person, wearing a huge bathrobe, with disheveled hair and a grumpy face. her kids are running amok and she is ransacking her kitchen cabinets searching for coffee grounds. she even stands up on the counter, throwing things over her shoulder, only finding one empty coffee can after another. while this is happening, finley points at the tv and says, "look, it's mommy! and in mommy's dress!" and proceeds to giggle and laugh. (yes, i wear my robe a lot, almost every day, even over my clothes! but is it my "dress", my uniform? according to finley i guess so). so then the commercial goes on to say, if you use amazon grocery service, you'll never run out of whatever the particular item is you need, yada yada. at the end, the woman sighs and smiles and sips on her steaming cup of coffee. after which finley burst into laughter and exclaimed, "she NEEDS her milk!"

i guess i better just prepare myself for all the honest statements that will come out of finley's mouth over the next few years. hopefully he won't say much in public places, or to his teachers, grandmas or strangers!

do you have funny stories of toddler honesty? if so, share them with me!

my growing easter bunny

2008-03-24T11:22:00.015-05:00

i can't believe this was finley's third easter. his first easter, (2006 in lexington, ky) he was two months old. he was so enormously fat his first easter, we could barely close his easter outfit around his huge legs and bottom.
last year, (2007 in lansing, mi) he was 14 months old and he looked so cute in his seersucker pants and vest. however, he was pretty cranky and did not care much for his easter basket.
this year, (2008 in omaha, ne) he is 26 months old and his legs are finally lean and lengthened. his is still a little guy though, and he is wearing the 12-month size vest from the year before! ;) this easter was fun, because he listened when we read him the Easter story from his children's Bible, he understood and enjoyed the easter egg hunt, and thankfully, still hasn't discovered candy.
he's still our sweet snuggle bunny and we are so blessed to have him!!

wasting time on you tube

2008-03-21T13:02:00.003-05:00

i love stuff like this. if i had more time on my hands i would probably do ridiculous stuff like this. unfortunately i don't have that much time to waste, and anything i could think of is already on youtube somewhere.

cute kid video! i love it!

i love anything having to do with japanese competition!

portraits of a two-year old

2008-03-19T16:17:00.023-05:00

finley turned two at the end of january and i have been meaning to get him to the studio for his two-year old portraits. i finally made him an appointment and we went today, just in time for easter.

so this morning i ironed his dress clothes, trimmed his bowl cut and got him well-rested and fed before heading to the portrait studio. he was so quiet and well behaved when we first arrived. once the photographer starting taking his pictures he started getting really rascally. if he was supposed to stand, he sat. if he was supposed to be sitting, he ran behind the backdrop. he also never stopped talking so i wasn't sure if we were going to get a smile out of him.

then we moved from one area in the studio to another area to use the white backdrop. when we got there, we had to wait in line because some babies were being photographed in there and it was taking forever. finley sat patiently with me for a few minutes and then started to fidget. i thought to myself that all his good behavior was being spent as we sat waiting and there would be none left when it came time for more photos.

i was right. he then noticed all the props in the studio. tons of stuffed animals, balls, blocks, rocking chairs and toys. he started yelling and demanding toys and balls and other assorted things. at one point he broke free of my hold and ran and grabbed a toy out of someone else's diaper bag! the little girl who belonged to the bag yanked it from his grip and said "that's not yours!" he immediately burst into tears. not the i'm-not-getting-my-way tears, but man-my-feelings-are-hurt tears. he then threw himself into my lap completely sobbing his eyes out, complete with tears and snot and slobber. i tried to wipe his face, recomb his hair, and attempt to get the carpet lint off his clothes but he wanted none of it.

so by the time it was his turn again, his hair, face and clothes were a mess and he insisted on holding animals and balls or else, tantrum!

then when we sat and looked through the proofs with the photographer to order prints things went even more downhill. i was holding him on my lap so he wouldn't run amok or interfere with someone else's portraits. he was arching his back, kicking, hitting, spitting, and doing a constant angry bat screech. i was so stressed and embarrassed that i was sweating and unable to concentrate! i ended up buying way more prints than i went in there for all because i couldn't focus. thankfully i got some cute ones and he doesn't look like a pure brat. thankfully she didn't snap shots while he was open mouth crying or lying face down on the floor.

to see the whole set, click here.

catch-up week.....

2008-03-14T22:37:00.007-05:00

becoming a mother has taught me that i can miraculously take full care of another living breathing human being - he has survived, in tact, for over two years now! unfortunately taking care of myself has gone out the window. i mean, a girl can only do so much! so for some reason this week, i was zapped with the motivation to get all my ducks in a row. maybe it is because for once in several years now, i feel settled and "at home". maybe it is because i just turned 32 and i am nervous about aging gracefully, or disgracefully. or maybe it is because i am a stay-at-home mom who wears what my husband calls "house pants" and a tangled ponytail everyday, and while my 2-year old could care less, i was starting to feel like a schlumpadinka.

whatever it was, this was my catch-up week.
monday i went to the dentist for the first time in years. all my panicked nightmares of waking up with shattered teeth falling to a pile of dust on my pillow were unnecessary. by some act of God i still have no cavities! yeah, me! but i am a grinder and though i wear an enormous (can't-close-my-mouth-around-it) night guard, i have still shaved down my enamel and "shortened" my teeth. gross.
tuesday i got my haircut for the first time in at least a year and a half. i already gave up on coloring it a few years ago in nepal, hence the ever increasing silver strands. but apparently i gave up on cutting it too, and it has grown to the longest it has ever been in my life. and it is chock full of split ends and frizzy overgrown layers. i always kept it in a ponytail to try to disguise the mangy hay bail on top of my head. i finally got bangs cut although i have written and signed notes to myself from 2001 and 1992 (10th grade) warning myself to NEVER cut bangs again with many reasons listed why my forehead was not compatible with bangs. but i disobeyed myself and did it anyway. i am such a rebel. so far so good, except when i wake up in the morning i look like richie sambora. nothing a little water can't tame.
wednesday i had a check-up at the doctor. clean bill of health. no lumps, bumps or stumps. just headaches still. they are trying to help me find the source of my headaches, but it seems it is something they can't medicate. it is either hormonal (Lord help us all) or one of the side effects of teeth grinding. oops!
thursday i went for a walk outside. wow, big breakthrough, right? well, after the winter we've had, i have never had such cabin fever. plus, i am not much of an exerciser, though i always am a wanna-be. i always say, "i used to be an athlete" but that may not be evident in my life anymore. i am such a weakling! chasing around a 2-year old boy keeps me from being stationary, but actually getting outside, breathing fresh air, feeling the sunshine on my face and walking around the neighborhood really energized me. i took finley out too (poor boy hasn't played outside much). i pushed him on his tricycle in his enormously ill-proportioned helmet. i laugh to myself the whole time because he looks exactly like elmo when he rides his trike around sesame street. except peach and smooth.
friday i dusted off this poor old blog and i am writing something on it! but, of course, not until after i watched the price is right's primetime million dollar spectacular. ain't nothin gonna interrupt my pricing games!

so i am doing all this stuff this week with the intention of staying on top of it all from now on. who knows though. i may end up having another catch-up week in a few years. if you see me after while and my teeth are chipped and rotting out, my health and fitness are failing miserably, and my hair is looking anything like michelle duggar's, let me know it's time.

two and a half years later.....

2007-03-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

i can't believe it has been two and a half years since i wrote on here. wow, look at where i was then, and where i am now. i was so inspired by my environment there - all the beautiful people, the culture, the Himalayan landscapes. i miss having so much going on around me. so much to keep me thinking and reflecting on this life and God and humanity. it used to overwhelm me at the time, but now i miss it. now that i am back in the US, living in michigan, and staying at home all day with my son, i forget to think about stuff and reflect on the deeper things of life. of course my son brings out a whole new kind of inspiration, but i find myself tied up with so many spills to clean up, diapers to wash, and mouths to spoon-feed, and the busy-ness consumes me.

i love where God has lead us and for the gifts that he has given me, but i miss living in constant awe of God, his creations and other people. here in lansing, i am surrounded by the gray of a cement city and rainy skies. the people stay behind their locked front doors, only to emerge to the porch on an unusually rainless day. i went from a place where we'd be surprised if there was a moment that no one was coming through our door, to here, where we are surprised (and almost startled) when there is a knock at our door. i used to sit and listen to the street sounds outside my window at night: the hindi beat of music, the sing-song sounds of foreign languages, barking packs of dogs, rickshaw bells and taxi horns, street vendors or processional parades of a wedding or a funeral. it was "noise" but it was the sound of life happening. now i hear nothing from my windows. even when i step ouside i hear the silence of people living privately. only an occasional siren in the distance. my ears are filled with the repetitive tunes of baby einstein and the repremanding voice of judge mathis on tv.

going from my senses being constantly overtaxed to the gross under-use of my senses has really done a number on me. my challenge before was to find those small moments of quiet and privacy to reflect and refuel. my challenge now is to break out of my fortress of constant quiet and privacy and throw myself back into life out there.

writing on this blog is my first step.

2004-10-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

Overlooking Pashupatinath
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

A Sadhu offering a blessing at the temple
photo: Julie Neher

Bringing Life to Places of Despair

2004-10-24T10:29:00.000-05:00

Today we decided to go out and see Pashupatinath, the most sacred Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It is located on the banks of the holy Bagmati River so followers can take a dip for spiritual cleansing and blessing. It is inhabited by a large population of Sadhus (Hindu holy men) who have devoted their lives as a sort of monk-hood to the god Shiva, the god of death and destruction. They wear bright yellow and orange and paint their faces like Shiva’s. They cover their bodies in ash and dread their long locks. They sit within the temple giving blessings to temple visitors for money. Some even do different bodily contortions or poses of meditation for passers-by. Besides the many Sadhus, the temple grounds are infested with monkeys. They know they will always have enough to eat there with all the puja (offerings of food, fruits, rice, flowers and dyes) offered by devout worshippers to their idols. Today we went so my visiting friend, ‘Becca, could get the Hindu temple experience here in Nepal. It is a good place to observe, as an outsider, some of the rituals of daily life as a Hindu. Since Nepal is primarily Hindu, this is a good place to get a glimpse into the lives of the people.

Because Hindus believe in reincarnation, they believe that after death one must be cremated and given back to the earth. Pashupatinath is the holiest place in Kathmandu for such cremations. All along the river that runs through the temple grounds are cremation ghats (concrete slabs on the river bank for cremations) where bodies are brought throughout each day and wooden pyres are built for the final ceremonies. It is important for the cremations to occur on the banks of the river, because the ashes must be dumped there. In this way, the body of the deceased rejoins the earth to become a new life, so they believe. The river is very polluted, not only because the pyres are dumped in there, but it is also filled with trash, dead animals and sewage. Ironically this is the same river where people come for bathing and spiritual cleansing.

After walking around the temple for awhile we decided to sit on the steps by the river bank and watch all the activity. Coming from a Western culture it is very eerie to be a spectator at a cremation. But here in Nepal it is part of daily life. We watched body after body be brought to the ghats for preparation. By the time they arrive to the ghats the families have already treated, wrapped, oiled and decorated the bodies depending on what is ritually required for each caste of people.

We watched as one family brought their loved one to the ghat with drums and musical instruments. The family members, who wore the clothes of laborers, were participating in this Hindu ritual, but were also doing all the rites of a Buddhist family. The body was draped in layers of Buddhist prayer cloths and scriptures in Tibetan script were read over the body. As it was finally laid on the ghat, a woman collapsed in grief, crying loudly, inconsolable. Her family members lovingly carried her away as she sobbed and the pyre was lit. Was this her husband, her father, or worse, her child? My heart ached to see such pain in her face.

Then another family approached the pyre. They were organized enough to have pallbearers all dressed in long white tunics and white pants. The women wore nicer clothing and covered their heads with their scarves. The body was draped in yellow Hindu cloth and had hundreds of strung marigolds piled on top. The face of the deceased was of an elderly woman, adorned and decorated beautifully for the ceremony. Following her was a frail and small white-haired man, her husband. As the rites were carried out he began to weep. He stepped up on the pyre to ritually encircle it before it was lit. He was weeping so much a few of his sons had to hold him up as he circled her. We all sat silently as we reflected on the moment. I knew that since the head is the most sacred place on the body in Hindu belief, that it would be the first place to be lit for the cremation. I knew I did not want to watch this but I could not turn away. I had become so drawn in by the emotion. As her frail husband set alight her body he encircled her again, this time stopping at her feet. He leaned down and kissed her feet and held them to his face as he wept. “He spent his whole life with that woman,” Matt commented quietly. I imagined them meeting at their arranged wedding as teenagers and love growing between them over their many years together. I became overcome with emotion and began to weep. I looked up to Kara and ‘Becca after the long silence and noticed the tears pouring down their cheeks. Seeing that little old man mourn his bride was heartbreaking. But a large part of my weeping came from the knowledge that they spent their long life and never knew the living God.

We all walked away silently and headed for the gate. We were all tired, hungry and ready to get back home. As we headed to the road we passed the Home for the Dying and Destitute (Missionaries of Charity) that is located on the temple grounds. We all decided to duck in to say hello and love on some old folks. The residents in this home are all those who have been abandoned by their families and left to die. Their families drop them off at the river hoping for a quicker re-entry into new life; an easy way to wipe your hands of someone you do not want to take care of. The sisters at this home take them in and give them a loving place to live, and for most of them, a place to die. Everyone living at this home is at the end of their life, either from old age or sickness. We had just left a place that signified the end of life and the despair of a Godless destination for those over whom families mourned. But now we entered a place that was full of life despite the end of life being near.

‘Becca had her one-year old son, Chas, with her as we entered the home. As we turned the corner, smiles beamed and arms rose in embrace. As their eyes saw little Chas they opened wide with joy and awe. ‘Becca put Chas down and he ran straight into the arms of a one-legged man that sat on the ground. As I stood at the corner a little old deaf woman came to me and signed, they say a baby is here, where is he? I pointed around to where Chas was, surrounded by joy filled residents, and she leapt with joy and ran to him. Everyone shouted, Babu! Babu! (baby boy), and reached to him for a touch. Everyone who was able touched his face, hugged him, or picked him up. He was passing out smiles and hugs left and right. Peoples’ eyes were filling with tears as they laughed. It has been so long since we’ve held a baby, said one lady. Chas entertained one small crowd by stealing a man’s walking cane and dancing around with it. Everyone laughed with joy, and again, I began to weep. As Matt took Chas around to all the inquiring men and women, I looked again at Kara and ‘Becca and tears flowed down their cheeks again. Before it was with sadness, and now it was with joy. “This is exactly why I brought my sons,” ‘Becca said as she watched her son love on the unloved. He did not see their disabilities, smell the urine, or see their wounds. But he did know when they were smiling and laughing and he laughed and smiled with them.

If only I could see people and love people as baby Chas does. To see the people with Christ’s eyes and love them with Christ’s heart.

Lord, make me like a child so I can bring life to places of despair...
...and there is no shortage of despair here...

2004-10-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

A burning ghat creating a haze over the Bagmati River as mourners look on
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

Chas sharing his loving touch
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-24T10:25:00.000-05:00

Thank you for the love
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

Women at the temple
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-10T02:41:00.000-05:00

Feeling pink
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-10T01:10:00.000-05:00

The final dreary days of monsoon
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-10T00:51:00.000-05:00

Surviving the Teku slum
photo: Julie Neher

Midnight on my side of the world...

2004-10-09T15:14:00.000-05:00

It's Saturday night at our flat here in Kathmandu which indicates it is dark and quiet; a typically uneventful evening. It has been a long, but pleasant day. It all started by me waking to the phone ringing in the other room, but I couldn't get up to answer it. When I woke up, both of my hands were (strangely) behind my head on the pillow and both of my arms were dead asleep. Although it was just my arms, it made my whole body feel paralyzed and helpless. Matt just rolled over and laughed at me. He helped me put them down by my sides, but that was just about all the assistance I received.

The days are still hot, but the mornings and evenings are pleasantly cool. Finally, I can sleep with my blanket and not wake up sweating. I love pulling out my long sleeve shirts! Nepal is perfect right now, as far as the climate is concerned. We still get the sweltering tropical heat, but now it is conjoined with the icy Himalayan breeze. It is an intriguing mix. Just as intriguing as viewing the white-capped Himalayas through the branches of palm trees. God's creation is amazing, and here in Nepal, I am constantly reminded of that.

Matt and I prepared ourselves and our stomachs for a challenging lunch today. We were going to the room of a friend to eat whatever she would happen to cook for us, and we had only heard horror stories about her cooking. It is usually cold, way too spicy, and tastes like "the worst food in Nepal" according to friends with experience there. That is not even to mention that her heaping servings are way too big for anyone's stomach...much less weak and feeble ones such as ours. We didn't eat breakfast to make plenty of room. And I packed a liter of water to follow my typical ritual of swallowing entire meals without managing to chew anything. I have quite perfected the skill of swallowing food whole. Most of the the time it doesn't even bother with my taste buds since it avoids touching my tongue. The Nepalis haven't caught on to my scheme, but my American friends see right through it and laugh at me as I do it. But then I am the one laughing when they bite down on a bone or something else inedible from their plates of mystery food. Some friends of ours here have a mantra: Where ever God leads me I will follow. Whatever God feeds me I will swallow. Sad, but true. This is what I repeated aloud to myself as we turned the corner off the main road into their mysteriously beautiful riverside slum.

We walked down a small alley lined with beautiful faces and dirty clothes. We stepped up a neat pile of stones and ducked into Sahida's small room constructed of cardboard, tin, wood scraps and tarp. An old torn up piece of linoleum covered a section of the mud floor and a tiny window in the corner shone the bright sunlight on all the room's inhabitants. We sat on the platform that is used as a bed just after Sahida's eldest daughter straightened out the cloth that covered it. Sahida greeted us with Namastes and kisses while her eldest daughter and some neighbors sat shyly in the darkened corners. Then two of her younger daughters ran in from outside, out of breath from all the playing they had been doing. Their smiles remind us why we'd come all this way.

She served us our food and we prayed for our ability to eat it. When served food in a typical Nepali household, the entire family watches you eat every last bite before partaking themselves. It is quite heavy pressure and often brings me nearly to tears! But today, thank God, despite what I had heard, the food was tasty, not too cold, only semi-spicy, but still way too much. Thankfully we worked it all down - though it took us an hour and a half to scrape the last bites off our tin plates. (I beat Matt - thanks to my water method). While we finished we chatted with Sahida and her family, and her little ones danced for us. "I taught myself," Absana kept telling us. It was kind of obvious, but still quite impressive for an 8 year old. Nepali girls can innately do amazing tricks with their hips and wrists. God's creation is amazing, I thought again to myself.

After several hours there, we made our way back home. Any trip home requires unavoidable meetings with many of our friends on the street and usually a few stops for tea. Today we met Sabila and her boys, and Kushbu and baby Najani. Always a pleasure having tea with these feisty ladies. Matt gave the boys his usual dose of male attention as I held the baby and chatted about this and that. It is always hard for me to hand this particular baby back to her mother. If I could I would steal her and make her my own. This teeny premature baby is perfect in all ways. Again, God's creation is amazing.

Finally at home, we prepare for our WMF community and cohorts to share in worship together. It has been a beautiful day so we head to the roof for fresh air. When we worship from the rooftop we feel as if we are sharing the Lord with those in ear shot. We hope our melodies will move some hearts or at least ease people into peaceful sleeps. We sang by candlelight and had beautiful worship together. As we prayed together, I thanked God for Sahida and her amazing family. I thanked Him for the light in their dark little slum and for the joy and peace that resides under her tin roof. I thanked Him for their dancing and for their bright faces. I thanked Him for my belly full of rice. Then Ramesh began to pray. Ramesh is a recently rehabilitated IV-drug user who has been joining us for worship. His words rang in my ears. He lifted the names of his street friends and asked that God would use him to share His love with them. He said several times "they desperately need you, Jesus" with his face clinched in emotion. As I looked up at him he thanked God for his new life. He thanked God for His love and for caring for even him. Tears flowed from my face as I was floored to be a witness of such words from such a man. I thought to lift my hands in thanksgiving and then I remembered their lifelessness from this morning. I laughed to myself, wiped my tears and smiled. Today was a good day.

God's Grace is amazing.

2004-10-09T14:29:00.000-05:00

Light in a dark place
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-09T14:26:00.000-05:00

There's always room for dancing
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Little baby Najani
photo: Julie Neher

2004-10-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

Me with Najani and her mother Kushbu
photo: Julie Neher