Ode to Jason

Four years ago I married you, my best friend. Jason, you are such a wonderful husband - always going above and beyond to make my life happy. We've experienced the joys of traveling, concerts, your baptism and entrance into the Catholic Church and now parenthood, and have survived the challenges of infertility, illnesses, job loss and home repairs. But through it all, I've always been assured of your support and your commitment to us.

Every day I am grateful that I'm the one who get to wake up and fall asleep next to you - and I look forward to living a lifetime's worth of adventures with you.

You are a treasure and I treasure you.

New floors

Finally, after more than a month of walking around on carpet without padding and then exposed wood floors (ruined by a leak in our fridge over Labor Day weekend), we now have beautiful wood floors installed - thanks to my awesome hubby, Jason.

He spent all day Saturday and Sunday on his hands and knees, going up and down stairs and in and out the door to lay the flooring. He's saving us about $600 by doing it himself. Poor guy has a sore back and achy knees ... and has the rest of the hallway to do.

I can't tell you, though, how wonderful it is to have our appliances back in their places in the kitchen! Last night I forgot I had access again to the dishwasher and started washing our dishes by hand. Good think Jason reminded me before I got too far!

Here are some before, during and after shots:






Madelyn and I hung out at home the best we could despite the constant banging. We went for a couple good drives so Madelyn could get in some naps, but I was careful to keep her out long because she'd had high fevers - due to a reoccuring ear infection and thrush - for about 5 days. She's better now. :)

Here's Madelyn feeling pretty good:

Weekend at mom and dad's

Madelyn and I had a fun time in Lincoln last weekend at my parents' house. We stayed there while Jason tore up the subfloors in our hallway, kitchen, dining room and bathroom (ruined by the Labor Day flooding).

Here are a few highlights:

Hangin' with Grandpa


Meeting Belle for the first time


Eating with Nana


Crawling around, exploring


Playing with cousin Henry


Me and Henry


The twins showing off their new hardhats

10 years

Today is my 10th annivesary at the Catholic Voice. I can't believe I've been here a decade! I praise God, though, for the opportunities I've had working in the Catholic press and at the Omaha paper. I've learned about the teachings of my faith and how to better live my faith,and I've interviewed many wonderful people - laity, religious and clergy. I'm grateful to my late boss, Charlie, for hiring me with very little experience, and for always supporting me in my work. I love spreading the word of God for a living!

Here are some photos from my 10 years at the Voice:

Me and my former coworker, Gretchen, had a lot of fun together before she moved. We often at late together at my apartment.


For several weeks we had Gretchen's baby, Emily, with us at the office. She was such a sweet distraction!


Sometimes our fridge needs a good cleaning.


On this particular day, me and my coworkers all showed up at work with the same color on.


During our stay in NYC for the Catholic Press Association Convention, my coworker Jaci and I skipped the morning session and hung out at the Today Show with the signs me made at work.


My sister and I got to go to Italy in 2004 on the first Catholic Voice-sponsored pilgrimage.


We all got Catholic Voice polos and wore them in this publicity shot for the web. My current boss refused to be in it.


This photo makes me laugh because it was taken for a story we did about me during Catholic Press month. It was the one and only time I wore a suit to work.


This is a promo shot for a contest Jaci and I did for fish frys.


And me and Jaci at a few fish frys.






A shot of me and my current boss, Randy.


Me and Archbishop Curtiss


Surprise, Jason! Looks who's on my desktop.


Working the Luis Palau festival


And finally, the photo of Jason I took when I met him ... as it appeared in the paper.