jeanette kay musser gruenhagen

tomorrow will be a month since my last post.

2009-07-19T20:00:00.002-06:00

sorry about that. it's been a great month though.

1. Libby's family came to visit colorado! (Dan, Tono, Maya, and baby Mateo)
a. High Tea at the Brown Palace with our little princess Maya.
b. Celebrated 3 Englehorn Birthdays! (with awesome cakes by libby!)
c. Hung out at T Leprino's place on Lake Dillon. Always the bomb.
d. Good times at the good old White Fence Farm. Bamm.
2. 10 days in Minnesota
a. Haakon secretly packed the flu in his suitcase and unveiled it soon after we landed. The generous boy that he is, he shared it with 8 people. What a guy.
b. The third annual "Cousins Camp" at the Applewood Estate brought 18 cousins and 25 adults. Great times were had. (awesome to see you kocher!! i love you!)
c. Cabin time at the Gruenhagens place in Big Fork was fun.. Giant sized mosquitos..Haakon rode a four-wheeler with Grandpa Wayne..fishing in solitude. AND, Haakon was so stinking excited about his first trip to northern minnesota that he decided to wake up every half hour all night long for three nights straight. I don't blame him though..it IS pretty great up there.

d. Haakon got to hang out with his friends Charlie and Weseley..a highlight of his trip.

e. Lots of swimming in the Applewood pool. It just doesn't get any better than that.

3. Cohen Wright Musser turned one today! We hung out at Splash waterpark with the fam and thanked God for the blessing that he is in our lives.

4. We're watching the garden grow and still doing the csa thing too.
5. Shawn g is working like a ...like a ....like a lot. He is amazing.

6. We love you.
7. Talk soon,

summer days

2009-06-20T04:24:00.002-06:00

Good morning! Its's four in the morning right now, and the birds are waking up here in the city of edgewater. They sure are early risers. I'm just up for a few...just shaking off the fact that sweet haakon is still teething and still waking up lots more than usual. But the good thing is that in addition to his two big bottom teeth, he just cut four on top. OUCH! He was born 8 months and two hours ago from this very moment. Shawn and I were dazed and amazed at that time. And while he is a big babe now, I think we still spend most of our time in the same state of mind. It's just so stinking rediculously great being parents. Who-da-thunk?

My sister Libby and her awesome family (dan, tono, maya, mateo) will be leaving kato this afternoon and heading to see us musser/gruenhagens for an entire week! We are stoked and can't wait to show off our city and our mountains to them. More to come on that.

I better get back to bed. Christy and Lewis Smirl are sleeping downstairs, so there is bound to be an epic breakfast happening in just a few short hours. Must rest up.

Goodnight/Goodmorning/Goodbye.

is it my birthday?/i am riding my bike right now.

2009-05-12T09:42:00.004-06:00

Mothers Day just happened..and it was kinda like a second birthday...I got some new gardening gloves, a bird feeder, and a blue tooth. Score. And all I had to do was give birth and child rear. Easy Peasy. And soo stinking fun and amazing! I mean look at this rocker? He is RADICAL!

Also noted. I am riding my bike right now. On the trainer. I scored on borrowing a bike that is about 15 pounds (literally) lighter than mine..and the fit is the same..so I'm putting in some time in the saddle before the 100 miler this coming Saturday. I think I might even finish..but maybe I'm just being optimistic. :)

dedictating this man to jesus!

2009-05-07T09:29:00.002-06:00

"You ready for this buddy?"

Dedicating..

Pete and Cohen doing tricks!

Triple Grandma Threat!

Last weekend all the grandmas came to town to support our babes (Haakon and cousin Cohen) and to aid in the dedication of our sweet sons to our good God. It was super special and while we trust God with their future faith journeys, we loved the symbolism of giving our little guys back to their maker; praying that their lives are faith filled; and hoping God would grant us abundant mercy and grace in this parenting endeavor. As you can peep in these pictures, the cousins sported matching brown checkered vests made by Grandma Nan. They were outrageously cute!

April Eighteenth

2009-04-18T19:42:00.002-06:00

So. This is what's up.

1. A foot of snow in our yard. 2-4 feet just miles away. And crazy amounts of consistent precipitation for 48 hours straight. Wet wet wet.
2. This is the second "don't leave your house unless you absolutely need to" snow storm in the last 3 weeks. And then second one that I have been cooped up indoors with an infant while Shawn has been out of state. Let's just say its been a bit boring.
3. I am in a Beth Moore study on Esther. It is amazing. And, it turns out, Queen Esther was AMAZING.
4. I have about 300 indoor seedlings started. If only 10% sprout, I'll be satisfied.
5. I'm painting something for my mom for mothers day. But I left it out in the storm and now its wet. I hope it will dry out. It's got kites on it. My mom loves loves loves kites.
6. Haakon fell off the bed a few nights ago. This means that I made him fall off the bed. And that I suck and have failed as a parent.
7. I'm working with a family (in my oh so part time job as a therapist) with 4 kids under 6. And it totally makes me want to have lots of babies. It's just so beautiful and amazing and rich and good. We will see what I can negotiate with Shawn.
8. Tomorrow we are having a 30th birthday/house warming party for my brother Andy. He is a really great guy and we're really happy for him.
9. I am organizing a sample sale for all of shawn's vans samples. I am hoping and praying that all the high schoolers will buy us out so Haakon can eat more than milk for the rest of his life. (It's on May 23rd in our back yard.)
10. I went on my first bike ride last week with one of my hero's, Terry Leprino. My tube and tire both blew out in the first mile. I was so close to actually beginning my 'training' for the 100 mile bike ride I'll be doing for Young Life on May 16th! Oh well, there is always 'next' time.

Fenwick is cool. Haakon is jealous of Cohens new toy from John Kocer. We get a blizzard. I build a snowman. Megatron visits.

2009-03-27T16:28:00.000-06:00

Fenwick is a cool bird that was given to Haakon by the darling Laura Matson. He is from Detroit.

Despite the look on his face, Haakon really likes this new car/toy/thing/contraption.

We got a blizzard last Thursday. Brr. 15 inches I think. Brr. We stayed inside. Brr.

And then, with Haakon's help, I made a snowman. Very cool. It melted in about 12 hours.

Megatron Bock came to visit Haakon. Very sweet.

Haakon Turns 5 Months and Schwarto Visits!

2009-03-20T16:21:00.002-06:00

Haakon turned 5 months old! (hard to believe he's been around so long)...and he's enjoying a robust eighteen and a half pounds on the bod. Awesome, right? Joel and his sweet Kato friends Laura and Kristin came for a night in the airstream (thanks Laura and John Mark!)..we loved hanging out with them and their oh so lovely midwest charm (and Haakon was WAY into them too.)

5 months!! Too bad Haakon was asleep for the carrot cake and singing.

one of those.

2009-03-06T16:18:00.003-07:00

Haakon woke up about two bazillion times last night..seems to be a new trend with the teeth coming in. So I woke up wanting to be transported to another planet..(even though its hard to be bummed when haakon g's attitude and smile can knock the badittude right out of me..)..but it started out as one of those days.

So Haakon and I went outside for some sidewalk chalkin'..and the rest is history. It's been a really great day. :)

so what is new?

2009-02-27T17:21:00.005-07:00

What is new with us? Hmm..it seems that nothing is new..and everything is new..at the same time. We've been loving the radical (warm) el nino weather in denver...doing tons of jogging (s0ft j) with molly..throwing ball at the park..baking lots of whole-wheat-pumpkin-flax-chocolate-chip-cookies due to their popularity..enjoying every crazy awesome amazing day with haakon..and loving the fact that we are blessed to have pete, ali and cohen nearby. What a relief to have them by our sides as we go through this adventure of parenting...we're really so thankful. And it's incredible watching the little dudes interact..pretty funny stuff! Cohen is so stinking beautiful..right?

"What!? I'm not up to anything..just playing with my cousin.."

"Mom! Cohen is trying to take my sock again....."

"Give it back Cohen!" "Make me Haakon!"

"No you didn't."

2009-02-21T14:08:00.002-07:00

OMG. It happened. Haakon bit me. With his first TOOTH! Too cool for school, we thought we'd add some excitement to the celebration and give him a little taste of some smashed banana. He did awesome and seemed to like it. What a day!

Birthday Party #4!!

2009-02-21T09:00:00.004-07:00

Haakon turned 4 months old yesterday! He had a big day with a visit to the pediatrician (where he did get his first vaccination..turns out he's totally not into shots). Haakon weighed in at 16 lbs, 7 ounces and he's growing tall at 26.5 inches! We're stoked and so dang thankful that he is healthy and doing well. We're so blessed it's redonculous.

"I was born 4 months ago. Cool, huh?"

"My dad gave me this wierd stuffed 'animal' for my birthday. It kinda creeps me out, but its something to suck on I guess."

"Dude. My Tio Pete is the bomb. He hung out with me at my birthday party because his baby, Cohen, was in Minnesota visiting the family. He taught me how to count to four on my fingers..it was rad!"

"I totally don't have any idea what cake is yet, but I'm definitely into staring at candles."

should i apologize for my picture taking obsession?

2009-02-15T20:21:00.004-07:00

I just can't help it. I think this kid is so dang cute.

heart breaker.

hanging out at lake dillon. bumbo baby!

who you callin' four eyes?

haakon thinks it's a bummer that his mom is not a candidate for lasik as long as he is drinkin' milk. but he won't give up the milk. it's just too good.playing with dad before bath time.

awesome!

Here's Haakon's hang out. Note the amazing quilt by the incredible Sarah Fitzgerald and the awesome pupsit stuffed animalish thing from Schwartzo (all the way from Paris!!). He loves his digs.

Another father-son nap. The most common bonding between the fellas.

Just checking things out.

2009-02-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

Haakon's recently been seeing things..people, objects, pets. Here he's chillin with Quatro the cat.

Enero 2009

2009-02-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

January was as incredible as most months are. Here's our highlight reel.

Haakon was stoked here..after a bummer of a uti ...he bounced back a week later and recieved a clean bill of kidney health from the doc. This kid can laugh moments after the cath was removed..we think that he's got the ability to look on the bright side of things..and we're hoping he carries that strength through out his life.

Tia Ali and Sobrino Cohen celebrated Shawn's birthday with us..

Shawn G turned 28! He was pumped on his uber tasty german cake. And so were the rest of us.

Haakon started playing with his hands..and smiling. and melting our hearts.

Chris G hit the slopes with his amazing friend Rachel, who Haakon happens to love!

Tio Pete is the bomb...I think he's the perfect candidate for multiples.

no news has been good news

2009-02-03T07:06:00.002-07:00

Forgive my delayed update on the kidney and such...we've been thanking God for weeks now...all is well in the kidney area!!! We are stoked! Thanks to yall for the prayers..Haakon baby has been growing and changing like crazy. Current hobbies include sucking on his hand, talking tons, looking amazing, and laughing. Ah. So cool!

Haakon and I just got back from a trip to the Arctic Circle, aka Minnesota. I'm amazed that life exists up there...but for those of you who love it, i will hold my complaints. I'll leave it at "brrr". We had a great trip with friends and fam. Highlights included a party for Haakon with Amber, Holly, Rachel, and Jaime.....Hang out time with Max, Jaime, and Leo....Snickerdoodles with Kocker...Cribbage with my Mom and Dad....a looong over due visit with Naomi, Clara, Mark, Megan, and Maeva......Punch Pizza with Heather, Anne, and Jake....and, as always, time with my best sister on the planet Libby.

We left Denver at 72 degrees...and returned to 59. Not bad for early February. Now we're hanging out in Salt Lake with Shawn. Well, he's outfitting buyers with boots and snowboarding all day while Haakon and I take the city by storm. All is well.

journal for today.

2009-01-13T11:27:00.002-07:00

A look into my journal for today:

"Today is so wonderful and beautiful. Haakon didn't sleep great..he was up 8-10 times. but we woke up together (all 3 of us) with total joy. Haakon smiled and stretched and melted our hearts.

Dr. Wendell called-she thinks his UTI might not be related to his kidney-but his renal study on thursday will clear up any uncertainty. Now that I'm a mom, I deeply appreciate those that love and care for my son. I'm so grateful to our pediatrician, for healthcare, for insurance, for access. We're just so dang blessed.

So we'll see what happens. But whats so sweet is what the Lord teaches me when things are so desperately challenging. What a gift to learn more about his ABUNDANT LOVE for us. I'm totally blown away. I played with Haakon for a long time just now before I put him down for a nap. And we just talked to one another. He looked deep into my eyes. wow. And I just cried and sang praise to God, and prayed, and was absolutely filled with joy. and I'm thinking, "Does it get any better than this?!" Ahhh. "

trust. and hope. and pray.

2009-01-12T16:01:00.002-07:00

After a few days of not being quite himself, oh sweet Haakon baby had a bit of temp on Saturday morning. So we headed into the doctor. After a catheter, 2 big shots to the thigh, a big needle poke for blood work, and his very first tear (and many of mine), we found our precious baby had a urinary tract infection, specifically due to his kidney. We've known his kidney might have some issues since my 20 week ultrasound..but we just crossed our fingers that nothing would come of it.

It's so crazy how a year ago we didn't have Haakon baby..we had never seen his gummy smile..we had not yet marveled at his beautiful squishy thighs..our hearts had not yet been so totally full and warm with love...and we didn't have the responsibility or blessing of keeping him happy and healthy. But he came around, and suddenly everything has changed. But what was true before he came around is still true now that he is here: God is always faithful..and we'll choose to trust, to hope, and to pray.

So for now, he's on some antibiotics. And on Thursday, he'll have a full renal study that should expose any problems with his kidney. We'll get to the bottom of it, and we're trusting and hoping and praying that our dude will be just fine with the help of some modern meds.

mega and the alpaca

2009-01-04T07:21:00.003-07:00

Mega brought Haakon this amazing alpaca sweater from Chili. He was pretty excited!!

i'm in love with another man!

2009-01-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

His name is Haakon!!!!!!

christmas, baby jesus, and baby, and baby, and baby.

2009-01-01T08:59:00.005-07:00

Christmas was incredible in kato! Highlights included breakfast at the Coffee Hagg with the gang, Christmas Eve service at the new Covenant Church, watching Tono and Maya ski in the back yard via their snowmobile shuttle, going to the Y with Lib and the babes, singing and ringing the bell at Cubs with the family, meeting baby Ayuu, and of course, sharing Haakon with everyone. The following pics were from a foto shoot compliments of Heather Gruenhagen. Baby Jesus is definetly the best baby ever being that he came to save me and what not...but Cohen, Mateo, and Haakon come in a close second.

oh the kidney.

2008-12-16T13:57:00.002-07:00

Little baby Haakon had an uncomfortable test done yesterday at the hospital. He's still got a little fluid on his kidney that we are still trying to figure out...it'll all be fine in time, but for now, it means occasionally wearing amazing hospital gowns as shown here. Haakon's always keepin' it real and lookin' cool, no matter the situation. :)

bath time is the best time

2008-12-11T07:32:00.002-07:00

Is this dude amazing or what!?

A week without Pappa Shawn

2008-12-06T15:46:00.006-07:00

Shawn was in Utah for the week and Haakon and I were on our own. We had a great week and we both loved having some extra room in the bed! There aren't alot of advantages to Shawn's absence, but that is one of them. Haakon spent some good quality time with our dog, Molly, enjoyed putting up the Christmas tree, and practiced smiling huge and talking loud!

I'm so stoked for Shawn to pass on his amazing traits to Haakon..like his kindness, his compassion, his sense of humor, his love for people and for jesus..the list goes on. Hopefully these things will wear off on the little dude man, but for now, we settle for the trait of sleepiness and the ability to nap like a rock star (is that possible?!). You get the point. Minutes after Shawn got back this afternoon, he was showing his son how to nap. It's been two hours and they are still in the same position even as I type. It's beautiful.

Sooo thankful.

2008-12-01T18:43:00.004-07:00

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with Pete, Ali, and Cohen at Lake Dillon. We ate good food, played with babies, walked in the snow, played games, and watched movies. It was great..and we remembered how lucky we are. Super grateful. God is so good.

haakon likes hoodies just like his dad.

shawn had his hands full with haakon and cohen. getting them to nap at the same time proved impossible for even shawn g. and what a bummer for shawn. he loves naps.

pappa pete taught cohen his favorite facial expression. they both nailed it in this photo.

i assisted ali in the kitchen as we cooked our first thanksgiving meal ever! it was a success!

the baby whisperer

2008-11-24T09:40:00.002-07:00

Our awesome friend Amanda came to visit Haakon yesterday..he's really into her.

the smirls

2008-11-24T09:09:00.003-07:00

this is christy and lewis. we love them major. and they love haakon major.

maya and tono visit denver last year..

2008-11-22T12:57:00.004-07:00

Libby brought Tono and Maya out for a visit two springs ago and I just found the pictures! It was a great trip and we all loved having them here in Denver. I remember that Maya slept in my closet (don't ask) and months later I found gum wrappers in my shoes! Hilarious! It was a sweet time for all of us!

Singing happy birthday to Pete!!

The amazing Casa Bonita menu. Order at your own risk.

Tono and Maya loving on Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman (RIP D.Q)

Dang, she's cute. Am I right?

No trip to Denver is complete without a trip to the infamous Casa Bonita!! (don't come hungry)

The gorilla visited our table..Maya WILL NOT look up. If she can't see the gorilla, the gorilla can't see her, right???!! It was awesome!

The beautiful Libby poses with her robber and dancer. Another reason the Casa Bonita is tops!

this kid makes us sleepy

2008-11-22T08:50:00.004-07:00

and we make him sleepy too i guess!

happy one month birthday haakon!!

2008-11-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

pappa shawn

2008-11-14T15:51:00.002-07:00

haakon thinks his dad is the bomb!

painting party!!!

2008-11-14T12:57:00.004-07:00

The babies painted their first canvasses..they were naturals!

a week with lib= fun!

2008-11-13T15:31:00.004-07:00

I just got to spend a whole week with libby. she taught me how to take care of my baby haakon..shared her amazing baby mateo with me...we laughed super hard..and she kept me company while shawn was gone. it was the best ever and i'm sad she is gone. someone should talk her into moving to denver.

Hey Cousin!

2008-11-11T17:22:00.002-07:00

Cohen Wright Musser (8/19/08)
Mateo Paxton Englehorn (9/22/08)
Haakon Musser Gruenhagen (10/20/08)

You'd have loved this photo shoot. It was hilarious!

home boys.

2008-11-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

cohen and haakon. sideways. awesome.

kirby puckett

2008-11-07T08:39:00.003-07:00

Haakon received a pack of 1987 baseball cards from our friend Franky and the top card on the stack was Kirby Puckett himself. It was pretty awesome.

my new best friend

2008-11-03T14:29:00.004-07:00

So do you know that i get to spend almost all day every day and all night every night with my new pal Haakon??!!! Yup, its true!!! It's soooo stinking fun. I am the luckiest!!

Haakon Musser Gruenhagen

2008-10-28T13:56:00.002-06:00

He's Here!!!!!!

7 lbs 13 oz

21 inches

10-20-08

2:30am

AWESOME!!!!

mateo paxton englehorn!!!

2008-10-06T10:59:00.009-06:00

Tie-Dyed Beauties!

I am a bit late on these pictures of the newest addition to the musser family tree. Mateo is awesome, weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces when he was born 2 weeks late. Momma Libby was incredible! Mateo likes to eat, sleep, and smile a lot. He is a bit bigger than his cousin Cohen even though Cohen was born about 4 weeks before him. I think he looks like Harrison, but time will tell..crazy how much the babes change in their first months!

just kickin' it with cohen

2008-10-01T14:13:00.002-06:00

Cohen is getting so big! He is 10 weeks old already..and is becoming more of a little man every day. I am his most dedicated baby massager. We rotate his wrists and ankles, rub his feet and palms.. stretch his legs and all of his joints...then I massage his back and tummy and chest..he says it feels great!! My mom is a big baby massager, so I am trying to follow in her footsteps.

He doesn't know it yet, but yesterday I stenciled a painting for his room. It's not nearly as cool as he is, but it's all I've got.

oh its been a bit..

2008-09-23T13:50:00.002-06:00

Hello to the zero people that know about my blog. maybe its better that way..no one knows i stink at updating it. but today is the second day of the best season of the year: fall of course!! i have less than three weeks till operation gruenhagen's estimated arrival date. things are great. i feel great..although things are a bit difficult to navigate with the huge tummy. i am thankful to be feeling good..and looking forward to feeling better soon. the last few weeks have been filled with some preparations, some fun reading, good meals with shawn, lots of chocolate ice cream, and just really mellow and peaceful moments. its been great. i have also been trying to gets as much information from cousin cohen as possible, being that he is 3 months ahead of baby gruenhagen. he doesn't want to share much with me it seems, but still, i love trying to get it out of him.

bien venidos a mateo!

2008-08-23T11:41:00.002-06:00

(crazy that 8 hours before this pic, mateo was still in lib's belly!)

Grandma Wendy, Granpa Harry, and Mateo

Baby Boy Musser

2008-07-24T19:14:00.005-06:00

Cohen Wright Musser was born at home on Saturday, July 19th! He is awesome!!!

my full heart

2008-07-15T15:43:00.002-06:00

No pictures to even show for my amazing week in Mankato. But it was just fantastic.
I'm back in the good company of shawn g now, but I was sad to leave before I even left.
I find myself totally overwhelmed by my love for my family and their love for me. I really
don't want to live in kato, but I know I am missing out on a lot by living here in denver.
I am just so blessed and really grateful to God for the gift that is my family.

kato kato kato. oh man!

2008-07-10T18:07:00.000-06:00

Highlights thus far include:

1. the filet minon that i just ate. my dad is the bomb cook.
2. swimming with tono and maya at the musser estate.
3. hanging out with mitzi and nicole duea and their awesome kids.
4. the rubbing of my belly by my mom.
5. nancy g buying baby g a car seat.
6. libby musser.
7. taking naps almost every day.
8. good minnesota milk.
9. dilly bars.
10. cribbage with the rents.

What a great week of road trips!

2008-06-30T09:17:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday after my 7 day home stretch of work at the stadium, Shawn and I headed to Jackson Hole for Shawn to visit some shops for work and for us both to hang out with some of our best pals ever! We had sooo much fun. Great meals, amazing conversation, swimming in ice cold, beautiful, mountain lakes in Teton National Forest, and fishing too! Molly had fun hanging out with sweet little Lola as well. We got back to Denver on Thursday night..only to do our laundry and repack for our 4 am departure for MN! We got into Mankato in time for a great dinner with Wayne and Nancy and a game of "Duck Duck Grey Duck" with Maya, Tono, and the Musser fam. Shawn and I also got to rub Libby's belly a bunch which was incredible!
On Saturday we headed to the Flower Farm in Stillwater for Anne and Jake's wedding. What a good time. Our hearts were filled by so many precious friends that we love so much. An awesome wedding for sure that really blessed us. We got back to Mankato late and crashed hard...then woke up for a quick breakfast at the Gruenhagen's, some cinnamon rolls to go from Applewood, and a stop at Mitzi's where Brendan and Katie made our morning!
We pulled into Denver around 10 pm...safe and sound!! We are thankful for safe travels, awesome time in the car with one another, and incredible times with our friends and family. We are so lucky.

Now back to work.

Enough is Enough

2008-06-22T04:12:00.002-06:00

It's like 4 am and I can't stop dreaming about dip n dots and squishy!!!

Tomorrow is the 7th and final day of this home stand. I can't wait till tomorrow evening when I am free for a week. A week to road trip with my favorite friend Shawn to Jackson, WY and to Anne and Jakes wedding in MN. It's bound to be AMAZING. I just hope these crazy work dreams stop soon. I haven't dreamt about Squishy for 4 years...here we go again!?...

Sum sum sum sum summer-time!

2008-06-18T10:14:00.002-06:00

I love it. It's June and yeah, its getting hot. But its awesome. I like sleeping in until I wake up, making pancakes, drinking tea, reading outside, playing with my sweeeet Molly Brown, using lots of ice, watering the lawn at night, eating tons of fruit, coming home really late from work and enjoying the cool night. Summer time is the right time.

I have yet to hit the pool though..I think I need to get a Water World pass, don't you?! Lazy River or bust.

My achin' feet!

2008-06-11T09:09:00.003-06:00

I quit my school counseling job last Thursday and started a new job at Coors Field on Friday. I like it there. So many fun memories of vending with friends and family. But now, due to baby in the belly, I can't run or lift heavy squishy and snowcones anymore. So it's on to supervision which sounds more important. And maybe it is, but dang, it's soooo much more difficult! 10 hours walking around the stadium is making my feet so sore! Today I'll look for my friend Doctor Scholls. Otherwise, I might freak out soon.

5 Months since I blogged last...

2008-06-05T17:51:00.002-06:00

Our good friend Matt O photo shopped our unborn baby. You like?

But today is a good day to blog again. It's been so long since I have..5 months really. 5 months of lame work stuff..but today was my last day of work!! I can't wait to de-stress as time mends me back into more of the real me that likes life!

The last 5 months have kept my body busy making a baby. Weird and awesome.

Hopefully the baby won't have a gun or a grill, but still will have the attitude of a G.

Winter Wonderland Minnesota

2008-02-29T06:47:00.003-07:00

Inga Peterson

2008-01-27T23:14:00.001-07:00

Have you ever met my friend Inga? If not, you should. She'll make you want to have kids because she is sooo cool.

Mad Molly Brown

2008-01-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Mega Cute. And Shawn is in love with her. I think she is pretty cool too.
Life is a bit more interesting with her around....we think we'll keep her.

uncle bill

2008-01-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

Please don't tell my other Uncles, but my Uncle Bill is my favorite. Shawn and I are really into him.

ardus wangen

2008-01-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

Grandma Ardie.
Ardalicious.
Grams.
4 feet, 5 inches (and shrinking..)
93 years old and still sooo amazing.

Isn't she just beautiful??!

my grand teton national part snow globe is my fav

2008-01-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

hump day is here again..and almost gone.
but really, its radical. because.
shawn g is coming home on friday with my little
dog friend molly..and we are gonna have a kickin 3
day weekend. oh yeah mlk. i love you for more than
your civil rights bravery!

movie to see: juno
music to listen to and love: !303!

freed my heel with my boyfriend today

2008-01-05T17:55:00.001-07:00

today shawn, molly brown, and I spent the day playing in the snow at winter park.
while hundreds of people ooooooed and awwwwed at molly's beauty, g and i
jibbed with the groms and enjoyed the dumping of snow.

always good to free my heel, free my mind.
tele-up butter cup!

joy i like. fear i hate.

2008-01-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

so joy can't live in the presence of fear.

and right now i am scared.

rob bell says having joy is being
aware of the gifts that we are given.

im so lucky im so lucky im so lucky im so lucky.
how do i get joy to chase this fear out of me?

08 is just so great

2008-01-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

today is the 2nd day of 08.
and the 3rd day that shawn and i are mad molly brown puppy owners.
good times house training and gosh, trying to be a good role model to
the puppy ain't easy when one of shawn's favorite things is chewing on shoes.
we all need to make sacrifices for her though. :)

i dig 08. it seems like each year that comes and goes
grows more and more gratitude in me...my heart just gets more and more
full each year..even while life seems more complicated in ways..
i find more reasons for joy and gratitude. i like it. i love it. i want some more of it.

life is the rad.

christmas and baby jesus and baby and baby..

2007-12-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

christmas in kato was fantastic this year.
everyone was there..
santa brought me 2 new snow globes.
santa brought shawn a joel schwarz original.
with dans help, santa brought libby a little pudge in the womb.
with petes help, santa brought alli a little bun in her oven.

yup. two new babies due to this family on august 8th, 2008!!!

baby jesus was most important as usual...but you know, other babies are cool too...

we are blessed this christmas.

wrist bands are cool

2007-12-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

our good good good pal franky gave me a christmas gift tonight from london.
i thought they were tea and scrumpets..but nope. they were plaid (black and red)
wrist bands and they are radicle. i am wearing them to work tomorrow.

franky is the rad.

nobody knows it but me.

2007-12-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

yes, that's right.
i know something no one else does.
and i'm not tellin'!

despite rumors that i can't keep a good secret....

i can.

and because at this point in time, absolutely no one
knows that i have a blog, i am going to keep my secret here.

i bought shawn a puppy for christmas.

i know this gift will clinch my title as "Best Wife of the Year"
and will also increase my validity as a secret keeper.

sneezy mcsneeze alot.

2007-12-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

shawn is taking a nap on the couch.
he capital hates it when quatro sneezes in his face.

and.
quatro just sneezed in shawn's face, waking him up to a wet shower of kitty boogs.

h i l a r i o u s.

not to brag.

2007-11-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

but.
yesterday my best pal in the planet was name the 'visual merchandiser of the year' for vans. boooooooooooooooo yah grandmother.
(god is good all the time)

its a celebration people!

2007-11-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

today i had my second client. me, a therapist. its humbling. and empowering. and reason for celebration.

loooookin forward

2007-11-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

some times you just need your mom.

shawn and i are heading to minnesota next friday for the thanksgiving week.

I
CAN'T
WAIT.

wendy musser is a saint.

we are the three amigos!

2007-10-31T17:25:00.000-06:00

A fantastic movie lived out by Luke, Becca, and Ryder Jay. Ryder's mustache is attached to his nook. Muy Bien!

rest in peace doctor quinn medicine woman

2007-10-30T15:21:00.000-06:00

someone shot my kitty cat last night. our neighbor Dave found her and called us because it looked like d.q. might have been hit by a car and broken her leg. Shawn and I took her to the vet right away. the x-rays showed a pellet/bullet right in the middle of her vertebrae. her back legs were totally paralyzed and her insides were too. suck. we had to put her to sleep. we took her body home with us. Shawn dug out a grave while I held her. Then we buried her.
I love doctor quinn and miss her alot.

october 22nd was a wild one.

2007-10-22T21:23:00.000-06:00

shawn is in salt lake and here i am, enjoying the end of a manic monday. the song is so dead on and i am exhausted.
feelin
empty.
need
som
e
fill
ing.
feelin
disc
ouraged.
need
som
e
hope.

living in 3 d

2007-10-20T12:00:00.002-06:00

hello to today. i slept in this morning. a glorious experience. this week was awesome with a family rage to the edgewater inn on skateboards, bikes, and fast legs only to be stopped by officer rollins, edgewater p.d. keeping the neighborhood safe. he saw pete biking on the sea foam wave rider and me, chasing after him. the po-po thought pete stole my bike. fun. a great week of cold feet at the cross country meet, skate-church and blazin hot wings with cool high school kids, an early vans christmas party brought by the ups man, and 'the nightmare before christmas' in 3-d. oh yes. and a celebration for pete's completion of the argile project with investors and all at pasquini's. delish. fall is here today keeping me company while shawn is away. snow tonight? if so. i will have to break out the first viewing of the 'elf'. nothing welcomes the winter like buddy. whoever you are. i love you most likely. yes. God is good and 3-d is best.

coors field, oh the times we had...

2007-10-17T16:54:00.001-06:00

listening to the rockies on the radio is the best thing ever.

matt holliday.........foul ball!!! dang.

and this is the best the rockies have done in 12 years. so its just fun. for about 3 years in college we all worked at Coors Field vending for the O'Brians/Observ. What a blast we had. Running stairs with flats of cotton candy, squishy, lemonade, and snow cones. I think I have literally ran tens of thousands of stairs at Denver stadiums.

One summer there was like 10 of us..Pete, Ali, Shawn, Joel, Matt, Joe Palmer, Pete Lindberg, Brittney Stevens Crest, Loren Hall, and me. yup, ten. WHAT A SUMMER! We would all pack into someone's car..we all lived at West Hills in Lakewood at the time..and we would be running to catch the employee bus..we would work a few hours and then head home together after making 100 bucks or so..of course we would eat a couple of snowcones before we left.. I even made it onto the jumbo-tron as one of the many employees of the week. Best moment of my life! jk.

I remember Joe dancing on the dug out with dinger, and the time he posed as a ball player and ended up signing dozens of brand new balls and gloves while wearing a 'mankato united' soccer t-shirt. Hilarious.

And each year it seemed like the Rockies got worse and worse. So it is so rad
to watch them tear it up..be the hard working underdogs with character as they
are saying..

fun times.

GO ROCKS!

i like yellow.

2007-10-17T16:45:00.000-06:00

today i like yellow. and yellow things are neato like bananas and sunshine and banana popsicles and banana laffy taffy and yellow squash are good when they grow in my yard and also yellow taxis are classic and um and um. gosh, not many things are yellow these days..maybe yellow isn't the color i once thought it was. hm m m m . and yellow fever is super bad. so that's not good.

dis is me.

2007-10-16T15:53:00.000-06:00

hola my friends.
today i love things like: gretchen shardy because she gave me a hug and made me feel like i don't totally stink at my job; almond joy because i tasted one today for the first time and it was delicious; the colorado rockies baseball team because i was able to beer vend last night and had so much fun watching them enter the world series; german exchange students because they are so deutchland and stuff; skateboarding to the library because shawn is con yo and we have fun!

that is all for today. so far. more things i love to come. hopefully.

wax on. wax off.

2007-10-01T16:57:00.000-06:00

Shawn Rayman Gruenhagen

Sure. He eats candy in secret, for breakfast, at every chance he gets.

And. He buys Neil Diamond CD's and acts like he bought them for me. (almost as obvious as homer giving marge the bowling ball with his name inscribed on it..)

But.
I think that is all that I can complain about.
Yesterday I came home. After a bit, I made it upstairs. And I found pumpkin candles with BIG BEAUTIFUL WHITE ROSES. And more importantly, he typed out the lyrics to the Karate Kid hit song "Your the Best Around"..and he even changed the 'man' to 'woman' ..AND.. he couched it all in an epic pic of Mr. Miagi himself. Nothing says "I love you" quite like the martial arts.

Geeeesh. I love this man.

New kittens via Dr. Quinn

2007-08-01T22:58:00.000-06:00

talk about cute. Holy Cats!

My Baby's Babies

2007-07-31T16:56:00.000-06:00

Tono and Maya and I had a blast at Uncle Dave's Cabin. I wouldn't rather be anywhere with anyone. Northern Minnesota with my beloved family.