Momma Ruth/Bruce/Druce

I am a new aunt once again! This time is all the more fun because this baby makes my sister a mom for the first time. Vincent Gary Cook was born on Sunday December 9th to a very tired girl. Although I haven't yet met the wee Vince, Nate and I will get our chance in a couple of weeks from now; we are very excited. As this is a cause for celebration for not only me, but the new Cook family, I dedicate this blog to them.
It's an odd thing for me to have my sister become a mom; it seems so grown up for her...may I cite a few reasons why?
1-see the clown blog
2-I was conned into signing a contract with the following terms: 1 bite of frozen ice cream Crunch bar in exchange for $1.00...she never collected on the deal (sucker).
3-I was conned into accompanying Ruth to K-Mart for a photo session (I was in high school, that =Ruth was out of high school). The catch? We first needed to buy pantyhose to put over our heads, THEN walk back to the studio and create some memories. If I had the photos in a digital format, but in the meantime, ask my brother Jim, we should still be in his wallet-eh Alisha?
4-Each summer Ruth and I perfected ways to avoid cleaning our room that we shared. Ruth, being the more artsy of the two, decided she would record tapes for me while I was out of the room. My favorite tape included Ruth singing the Berenstain Bears "The In-Crowd", only to be cut off by the sound of a door opening, and my tiny voice yelling, "Mom's Home!!!"
5-8th grade German class. I was to present material on Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms (pronounced Vorms). Ruth wasn't keen on her own homework, so she spent the night making puppets for the presentation...now that I think of it, I may have helped with her US History.
Yes, I could be talked into anything (cinder block pizza, Jim), but Ruth could/can make anything-especially embarrassing-fun. Let's hope Vince develops his sense of humor quickly. Congratulations to Ruth and Matt!

The Ice Queen

Nate and I at the Stake Nativity Festival Dec. 2

I always have a hard time getting moving on Sunday mornings, and while our 1:00pm meeting start time should help, we usually manage to still arrive fashionably late. This most recent Sunday was no different, as we had stretched our nap schedule to the limit. As we got dressed and ready to go, I dreaded the idea of loading 40+ nativity sets back into our car to redistribute to the ward members. (I was in charge of my ward's contribution to the annual Nativity Festival that was held last weekend). I knew this process well, and after 6 or so times either loading/unloading, I wanted a miracle-I could hear the rain outside too. Nate got a call from our friend in the ward and got some unexpected news...church was canceled on account of the weather. The vain side of me felt cheated--I had purchased new tights to show off to the Young Women-I need to prove I am still stylish!-and I briefly wondered if my silent hope of a miracle had been granted...oops. The rain I had heard earlier had quickly turned to ice and Nate and I experienced our first ice storm. I've noticed we've had several firsts, most in the form of weather phenomena in Toledo, so add this one to the list.

After hearing that church had been called off, we set out for the Twelmeyers, who had offered to host our church meeting for the day. Nate ran to get the car....I started tapping my foot...what could possibly be taking him so long. When he returned, Nate informed me that my car was covered in ice...did I have a scraper? Luckily I did, and luckily the ice came off in sheets--it all looked very easy to remove...from the inside of the car. I believe our next dose of ice will be on its way tonight, so stand by for pictures. The effect of an ice storm is a treat for the eye-everything is sparkling and beautiful; yet on my way out to our car that night, I managed to almost fall several times...so I'll trade the beauty of winter for the safety of fall.