CURRENT JOURNAL (1/17/2005)
Sunday - January 30, 2005 - Here's something I've thought about for a long time.....only because for so many years I had to take medication prescribed by a doctor!! When they write the prescription for 30 pills each month, if you take your pills for a year, you're going to end up 5 pills short (and 6 short in a leap year). 30 x 12 = 360 Does anyone know how this is ever resolved? I guess you have to go back to the doctor every so often and get a new prescription for 30 pills. Does those 5 days fall through the cracks? I've never heard anyone else talk about this discrepancy which doesn't mean they haven't. It just means I haven't come across it. Plus, if the insurance companies won't pay until you're out of pills, then you're going to come up short at the end of January (because there are 31 days). This is going to throw the whole year off. Just one of my musings. Speaking of bicycles, I've been saving these pictures in a special place so that every time I'd come across a bike rider, I'd put it in the stack. So, here they are, the BICYCLE BOYS!! bye for now, djb
Very young Andrew on his "little bike"
Andrew (me in back) and Jarrett on their tricycles in North Aurora in the fall
Andrew on his bike in the driveway (this photo was fuzzy)
Jarrett on his bike in the driveway - he had the best balance of anyone so young
Nick on his bike in the driveway - April 1996 - right before they buried the time capsule
Jarrett on his bike in the driveway - Andrew with no shoes playing basketball
James showing us a wheelie - fine form
Andrew said, "I can do that."
Saturday - January 29, 2005 - This morning, I woke up to NO HEAT. That was a cool surprise. But now everything is fine. The temperature has gone from 61 to 68. My hands have started to thaw out but my nose is still cold. Speaking of cold noses, here's a couple of more pictures of Andrew and Mr. Mo. He loved that cat! see ya later, djb
Andrew trying to attract Mo Jo's attention. Mo is saying, "Please get this kid away from me."
Mo Jo looking down at Andrew and thinking, "Nyah, Nyah, you can't reach me!"
later (1/28) - I just found this picture of Andrew with Mr. Mo. It belongs with the other ones but I'm going to put in here first so you can see it and then I'll move it later. It makes me laugh. bye, djb
Andrew's thinking: "Nice kitty." Mo Jo's thinking: "I've GOT to get out of here."
Friday - January 28, 2005 - Yesterday marked the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the Andrew and Jarrett website. Isn't that amazing? Hard to believe that almost every day for the past year, I've come downstairs to this room and I wrote something on here. At times, it didn't have anything to do with Andrew and Jarrett.....it was all about ME. If you want to see where it all started, go to the Home (Casa) page, click on the Journal Archives and then click on Journal 1 (week of 1/27/04) and you'll see that I was much more chatty in those days. Now, I'm more interested in the pictures. The one thing that has remained constant, however, is the fact that I miss them every single minute of every single day - yeah, that's 24/7. Until Bob got home last night, I didn't talk to another person all day. That happens from time to time. Not necessarily on purpose but in the winter it occurs more often. I'm not agoraphobic (fear of the marketplace) but I've always enjoyed my own company so it isn't that I'm hiding out or acting weird or anything. My reason for getting up every single day for almost TWENTY YEARS was first Andrew, then Jarrett. That's a long time. When I got home from the hospital after my splenectomy, I'd get up and hobble around because they "needed" me to help them get ready for school. No one really NEEDS me any more - not like that. That's sad. Bob needs his eye drops and I guess Hobbes needs his food but I'm not sure if he counts. I stopped taking my antidepressant because for the next month I want to be able to FEEL my deepest emotions whether they be sad, happy, whatever they are When you're on those things, you don't FEEL ANYTHING except neutral. That's counterproductive to my grieving process. I know that people think I should be OVER this by now. Actually, I said the same thing about someone else a while back. Sorry, I won't EVER be OVER it. I may get distracted by a shiny object from time to time, but I'll NEVER be over it. okay, it's 9 am already - I have to go outside and pick up the newspapers. It's 5 degrees - brrrr. See ya later, djb
Jarrett, Eric, Donna, Andrew, Bob on February 15, 2003
later (1/27) - I found this picture of Andrew trying to get bit by Mo Jo the cat. It is really funny because Mr. Mo would only put up with the kids for a very short time and then he was long gone. bybybye, djb
Andrew is trying to stick his finger in Mr. Mo's mouth. The picture is blurry because I was trying to prevent a bloody disaster. Yikes! 2nd in the series
Nice Kitty - this is the picture I put in the other day - Mr. Mo with Andrew - 1st in the series
later on...(1/27) - Here's some funny pictures from Woodhaven. I just have to put them in here because they make me laugh. Slowly but surely, I'm digging to the bottom of the piles. see ya sooner or later, djb
Andrew giving bunny ears to Jarrett while Grandpa sits and tends the fire and keeps an eye on the weasels
Jarrett and Grandpa watching the fire at Woodhaven
Thursday - January 27, 2005 - Today, I think, is Ginny Woodard's birthday (either today or tomorrow). Once I know for sure, then I'll know for sure. If I'm wrong, Ginny, let me know. When we were seniors in high school (Rochelle Township HS), it was common practice for the members of our group (it was NOT a clique) to make a birthday cake for the Birthday Girl, and bring it to school to eat at lunch. I had made the cake for Ginny's birthday, however, as she reminded me, when we got up to get ready for school on Friday morning, January 27, 1976, we were told there was NO school because of the Blizzard of 1967. So, basically, my brothers ate Ginny's cake. I had to make another one when we finally got to go back to school. It was a HUGE storm. Since I'm on here earlier than usual, let me get my papers before it snows. Here's a picture of Ginny and also the picture of the huge pile of snow next to Diane. Happy Birthday, Ginny. bye bye for now, djb
Ginny in Galesburg in 1987 - a dear friend for a long time.
Diane next to the gigantic mountain of snow in 1967 - my sweet sister.
Wednesday - January 26, 2005 - It seems as though I keep finding more birthday pictures as I dig deeper in the pile of photos! These were taken on Jarrett's 3rd birthday. Since it's still January, it's okay to put these in here because January is Jarrett's month. Here we go. Enjoy. See ya in a little bit. bye, djb
Jarrett's 3rd birthday - with his snowman cake and red juice stains on his mouth and a sticker that says "I'm 3"
Andrew with his mouth wide open, Bob smiling, Grandpa Burkholder looking serious, Grandma smiling and Jarrett looking like he owns the world.
Jarrett and Andrew posing with the snowman cake - Jarrett is wondering WHY Andrew still has his mouth open
Jarrett smiling and his snowman cake is smiling
Jarrett is very excited about the candles being lit on the birthday cake for his third birthday.
later on today - (1/25) - I found some more snow pictures!! hurray! This is part of an earlier series of pictures. This is such a gigantic project. I'm going to get easily distracted by a shiny object. I'm sure. bye for now, djb
Andrew lying in the snow probably 1991
Jarrett after pinning Andrew in a WWF wrestling move
Look ma, no hands!
Tuesday - January 25, 2005 - Okay, it's only 11 months until Christmas. Can you believe that??!! This morning, when I read the newspapers, I had two conflicting horoscopes so I guess that means that I might as well just do whatever I want. The UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS plays Wisconsin tonight. Oh boy, that's going to be QUITE a game. It begins at 8 p.m. I just heard on the radio that they changed the time for NATIONAL TV exposure. Be there or be square. (whatever that means) Right now, I'm going to put in some very funny pictures of Andrew and Jarrett. I'm planning to spend a major portion of the day trying to get the scattered photos in their proper albums, so I'm sure I'll come up with many more cute pictures. See you later. bye for now, djb
Andrew eating ribs from the Wasco Inn before they went downhill. They had limp salads and rude waitresses.
Jarrett was eating spaghetti or maybe he was wearing it. I'm not sure!
just a bit later...(1/24) - Here's a picture of Andrew trying to get friendly with Mr. Mo (aka Mo Jo) who was our cat in North Aurora. While the boys and I were in Florida, Bob called to say that Mr. Mo had gone to sleep and went to kitty cat heaven. I know why he left - he was trying to get away from the kids! They loved him to pieces - he couldn't stand them. He was old and set in his ways. It's interesting that when we picked out Hobbes at Anderson Animal Shelter, he looked like Mr. Mo. Actually, Hobbes picked us out because he was so cute and just looked at us like, "Please take me home." So, we did. Now, I REALLY have to get my skeedaddling shoes on. I'm serious. bye for now, djb
Mo Jo and Andrew - "nice kitty"
Monday - January 24, 2005 - It was nice to get a shout-out from Gayla yesterday. Personally, I couldn't tell that she didn't have makeup on in the picture because she looked great to me! If I were younger in this day and age, you can bet your bootie that I would have PURPLE hair! That's right. This morning, I had to change the light bulb in the downstairs bathroom shower. Of course, any time I get out the ladder, Hobbes has to check on things. He's my sidewalk superintendent!!! What a nosy guy. This morning, I have to go into town and get a bird feeder. I have a lot of birdseed, but nothing to put it in - it was ravaged by some fierce winds last summer. Poor birdies. Here he is King of the World - Mr. Hobbes. Talk to you later, djb
Hobbes on top of the ladder wondering WHY I'm so interested in taking his picture.
Sunday - January 23, 2005 - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It's ZERO once again. Yes, we have NO DEGREES!!!!! This is going to be a storm everyone remembers because so many people have been hit by it across the country. Bergs told me that it's going to get in the 20's in Orlando sometime soon - maybe tonight. Yikes!!! That's just not right. It should be against the law to get that cold in Florida. I found a picture that I should've put in here earlier. It's from Christmas Eve 1987. Some people accuse me of only putting in pictures that flatter me. Well, this one doesn't!! haha Here's another picture of the fairly somber boys. I don't recall exactly when this was, but probably in 1990. At that time, Andrew had the Spiderman pajamas. Jarrett had the Bart sweats. Must get some hot coffee to warm me up. Brrrr. Have a wonderful SUNNY day. bye, djb
Christmas Eve 1987 - Donna pregnant with Jarrett - there's that darn green bunny rabbit again!!
Spiderman (Andrew) and Bart (Jarrett) looking rather somber while standing back-to-back
Saturday - January 22, 2005 - It's snowing right now at 8:16 a.m. We didn't seem to get as much snow as Chicago, but there's still a LOT of snow out there. Until I get out and start shoveling, I can't really tell how much we got. I think everyone is just glad that it's a weekend. I can't even imagine going out there and driving in this mess. Yesterday, I went to the grocery store to stock up on food. It seems as though everyone else had the same idea. You'd think we were going to be snowed in for a week!!! That's funny. All right, here's some pictures of the snow. See ya a bit later with an update. bye, djb
The evergreen trees along the driveway - it's my benchmark photo
Don't the grasses look lovely in the snow? The answer is YES.
Another benchmark picture - the swimming pool and the SLIDE
Friday - January 21, 2005 - They're trying to scare us with warnings of HUGE amounts of snow in our near future. It's supposed to start snowing tonight at 6 and then the wind is going to start blowing - sounds like a blizzard to me. Yikes!! We'll see what transpires. At least, one good thing about it is that it's happening on the weekend. This is like an old-fashioned winter we used to have when I was a kid. haha I love to say that. Yesterday, I found this excellent picture of Judy and Steve and their boys. They had come over for some type of family get-together, and Steve was rolling around the floor with Andrew and Jarrett and his boys. It was a hoot!! I'd better go watch the weather channel. I'll be back with updates!!!! bye bye, djb
Steve and Judy with Joseph, Philip and Anthony
later - (1/20) - I just found this picture that goes along with last week's (January 12) series. I'm getting sooooo organized! woohoo Slowly, but surely. We always called Andrew and Jarrett the bottle boys because they LOVED their bottles. see ya, djb
Jarrett smiling while sucking on his orange juice bottle and reading his book in March 1990
Thursday - January 20, 2005 - Hobbes and I just saw (and heard) the snowplow go by. We had a little bit of snow last night....just enough to be annoying. We're still not sure how much we'll get tomorrow night into Saturday but I guess it doesn't matter because it'll be the weekend. I found this picture of Jarrett and Andrew in the turtle sandbox in North Aurora. I can't figure out how old Jarrett is in this photo. He's definitely quite young. Then, I came across the other picture with the purple bottle - that's funny, too. I'll be back later. Let it SNOW!! bye, djb
Jarrett (NICE HAT!) wearing Andrew's hand-him-down coat and Andrew in his new coat outside in the turtle sandbox when it was actually used as a sandbox before it became a frog swimming pool.
Jarrett standing in the door with a purple bottle at our house in Elburn - once a bottle boy, always a bottle boy!
later...(1/19) - I found this picture yesterday. It's the final one in the Dr. series pictures. What a hoot! They just make me laugh when I see them. We're supposed to get snow later tonight. I sure hope Aunt Gladys got to O'Hare for her trip to Texas. It snowed last night but it was only a couple of inches. However, we're supposed to be getting 4-8 inches this weekend. Yikes!! Although, having said that, I'm sure they'll be wrong once again, and we'll either get no snow or 20 inches of snow! The mall was nice - very empty. ORANGE CHICKEN!! yum. See ya later. bye for now, djb
The last picture in the Dr. Andrew and Dr. Jarrett series. "Take a deep breath, little buddy." "I hope he knows what he's doing. As I recall, he went to school to become a Veterinarian."
Wednesday - January 19, 2005 - I am not kidding when I say that this month is flying by. When I went outside this morning, it felt absolutely wonderfully WARM. It's 33 degrees right now so that means that we are officially WARPED. Many years ago, I did talk to someone who lived in International Falls, MN. She said it was weird. ya think? This morning, I found some pictures of KrissyKaren wearing a sweater I bought for them. They each tried it on and then I took their picture. It was colorful as you can which was why I bought it. The other picture is Bob and me with Andrew in Florida when he was 3 months old. What a riot! We look so funny. I've got to be going now. Going to the mall this morning. I'll report back on my adventure. See youse guys later. bye, djb
Bob, Donna and little baby Andrew - 3 months old - in Florida for the first time.
Karen holding her cousin, Jarrett
Krissy waving at Aunt Donna
the latest - (1/18) - Here's another one! Happy Birthday to You. Update on sickly Bergs: They're eating chicken soup and I got interviewed by The Elburn Herald while I was at the post office. It's going to be in Thursday's Herald... I hope I don't sound TOO stupid or mean! I do tend to ramble. haha See ya in the funny papers!!!! That's a good one. It's getting warmer. bye, djb
Alan, Jason, Gayla and Veralee a few years ago at Avis & Bergy's Christmas party in Rochelle
later this morning...(1/18) - I spent a while looking for this picture of the four generations....I just love it! The other day, I got a new program (Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10), and once I get on the site, I stay there for longer than I should because it's so AWESOME!!!! Anyway, here are the girls - it was taken last September on the Berg's 2004 Fall Tour of the USA (during Hurricane Frances). It's 10 degrees - oh my mercy - a HEAT wave. Talk to you later. bye, djb
left to right: Granny in green sitting on green because she's Irish, Veralee in the back of the bus because today's her birthday, Gayla (yes, that really is pink hair) holding Hope who is not looking at the camera and Zoe in front knowing exactly where to look - FOUR GENERATIONS
Tuesday - January 18, 2005 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO VERALEE. Veralee is my brother, Alan's wife, mother of Gayla and Jason, grandmother of Zoe and Hope, and mother-in-law of Jake. So there. She's a year older than me so you know how OLD she is today. I don't mind birthdays because it means I'm still here, eh? Bergs are getting better - they're on the mend. Granny still has a wicked cough, however. Of course, I KNOW how they feel because they have what I had - the flu. It's kind of odd because I've always thought of the flu as the barfy flu instead of an extremely horrendous cold, ache, fever, etc. This was a classic. I think they should start counting people who got the shot and still got sick. That would be two in Florida. Of course, I didn't get the shot and I got sick. So, that's one in Illinois. I'm sure we're a microcosm of the entire country. It was ZERO degrees when I got up this morning. My computer says that it's zero degrees. Oh where, oh where have my little degrees gone - oh where, oh where can they be? haha Sorry. I did spend a lot of time with the youngsters in the olden days. I have some good smiling pictures of the boys this morning - it makes me happy to see their smiles. Must be going out to get the papers. It takes quite a while to get bundled up. I don't think I have to say brrrrrrrrrrr do I? Okay, I won't. See ya later, djb
Andrew wearing his Bull's jersey - GO BULLS. GO ILLINI
Jarrett showing us his new shirt while wearing a Chicago Mercantile Exchange sweatshirt - and Uncle Ron is in the background.
Monday - January 17, 2005 - I should've started this new page last week, but I didn't! So there. It's still very cold here in the northlands, but the sun is shining so it doesn't seem like it's ZERO! I found some pictures of Andrew playing basketball. I can't remember exactly what year it was but it was January and it was colder than this!! This was the year that Jarrett played on one team and Andrew played on another team so Bob would head out one way and I'd go the other way. It was a lot of fun though. We have more video of them playing basketball than photos. Must finish this sooner rather than later. It always takes a bit of time to start a new page. I'll chat with you later. bye, djb
Andrew shooting a free throw in the old gym at Sugar Grove grade school.
Jarrett reading a book - a nice artsy photo.
Andrew with his slicked down hair.
Hobbes taking a nap - it's all just too much for him.