Sept. 2007---Talbott's

Hello to all and particularly the Wiles family. Many congratulations to Elissa and Matt on your upcoming nuptuals. Tim and I would like to participate in your celebration. I cannot speak for our next generation, and know that the #### add up when planning such an event.

Tom introduced his friend, Brenda, to the family at Thanksgiving. She is from Schuyler and will finish her BS in nursing next May. She is interested in trauma nursing. Quite ironic, since Heather is now an RN and works at the Bryan/LGH West trauma unit.

Ben and Heather joined us for dinner on Thursday and then he was called to work. His run for the day was to Sioux City, so he called at about 6 pm and said the train would go through Yutan in about 20 minutes. Sure enough, as several of us ran out to the vehicles, we heard the long whistles of a freight train. We roared down to the crossing east of Mom and Dad's and waited for the train to arrive. It was right on time and we were treated to Ben's greeting. He does control the whistle as the engineer. It seemed like the train was extra long. Ben told us on Friday that it was 7200 feet long!!!! They don't go very fast on that stretch of track, so it took quite a while for the whole thing to pass. I was very happy to actually see him doing his work and very impressed with the responsibility he is entrusted with.

Saturday Tim and I took his mother back to Lexington. She was with us for a week and seemed to enjoy the change of pace. She is 89 and quite sharp mentally. She does depend on a walker for mobility, but otherwise is quite independent.

Time to close,
Connie

More info from Janice

I probably should have told you that the date is not yet set in stone - any time in September, depending on the venue chosen and availability. And this is just to get an approximate idea of numbers, not a binding RSVP! So, actually, Nancy, your answer was fine. (If numbers get tight, we may not be able to include the 2nd cousins on the guest list.)

Love you all,

Janice

RSVP from the Meyer family

Dear Janice,
I can say for certain that Stan and I will be at the wedding and I would hope that a few of the offspring might come, but there are no guarantees. So, my response is 2 up to 6. I'm sure that will help with your planning :)
Love,
Nancy

Wiles wedding plans

Dear family,

As you all know, Elissa and Matt are planning to be married next September in Kansas City. We are trying to pick a venue that would be an appropriate space for our guest lists. I know this is very unorthodox, but I could get an ulcer if we don't make some progress on this very soon! We have no idea how many friends and relatives may be able to work out the travel involved for this event. As KC is so far away, it would be very helpful if you could give me a 'possibly', or a 'probably not', so we would have a better idea of numbers. (I guarantee your answer will be very helpful, and there will be no hard feelings. We just want to get these two married!)

Thanks.

Janice

Pictures from Nancy

I got the pictures to load this time so you can share our misery :}

Nancy's Update

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!
We had a nice holiday, traveling to Syracuse for dinner at the Senior Center with Erma's family, then on to Yutan to see the Bull family. I'm always glad when everyone's back at home safe and sound. Beth just called to say she's back in Missouri, so I can breathe easier about that.
We've had some disruption in our basement the last few weeks. Here's the abbreviated version: I found the carpet soaked for an unknown reason while there were 15 people upstairs for a meeting; our Pastor stayed afterwards to help us move furniture and pull carpet; diagnosis was that water was coming from the kitchen sink and dishwasher and bubbling up through a crack in the concrete; Pastor helped tear up concrete by crack--no pipe; pipe was six feet away; pipe has a half inch split along the bottom for as far as we can reach under the floor; we're waiting for a return call from a contractor to take out the 20+ feet of concrete that have to be torn up to get to the pipe (people in small towns don't have to take every job b/c they have a monopoly); we have gotten quite good at washing dishes in a large pan, then carrying the water out to put on thirsty bushes. I remember Grandma Bull saying how grateful she was for the water pressure she had in her kitchen after they moved to town and I totally understand. I didn't realize how nice a kitchen sink was to have available :}
I've tried to attach some pictures, but once again, my computer skills are failing me. I'm going to try another post so you can see, but they don't do justice to how strong a smell can come from fermented muck. The plywood did help, though. We're hoping our home insurance will cover most of this, but during Stan's first conversation with the agent, he said the company would cover cleaning the carpet and that's all. Yikes!!! I'll keep you posted on my posts.........
Have a healthy and safe Christmas season, everyone!!
Love,
Nancy

WE HAVE A NEW COMPUTE R PEEPS!!!!

hellllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooo (from Seinfeld). We have FINALLY got a new computer!!!! W00t! So like I know, long time no talk and long time no absence, but hey, at least we have one :). So it's back to usual here :).

Quickie update. School is going well. I have a personality paper I'm working on. It's due in a couple of weeks. My paper is taking 3 models of personality and rating them according to the author's criteria and then after that, writing my own theory of personality. So therefore, I'm incorporating the Birth Order Effect, Big 5 Personality Traits, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and Buddhism into my theory of personality. That way I will have enough to cover the pages necessary for my paper. Problem Solving is going well.

I'm pre-registered for 6 credits at CCC this spring (criminal justice courses) and 2 classes at Doane, plus an internship (hopefully at HRC where I work), and 2 flex classes. Okay, it sounds like a lot, but I'm really counting on CCC to be easy and not a problem. So therefore I will be carrying 33 credits, but the internship would be done in a month, and the two flex classes are one before the classes start after break from Doane and CCC and one during the last week at Doane for the 8 week term. So really, it's not going to be that bad. But if I have to drop some courses, I will so I don't overstress myself :).

Umm Doane doesn't have criminal justice, but they will add it next year. So right now I'm majoring in Human Relations at Doane and will have a double major once I get done :). That will be good. I'm applying for a new job right now, but I doubt that i will get it. But it's worth applying :). Anyway, I love Doane in GI and really enjoy the night classes for 4 hours better than being in Kearney all day long. It's just better for me.

What else? I guess nothing. But I just wanted to alert you that I have a computer now (oops, I mean WE). I'll be absent at X-mas time unless it's not on a day that I work. I work X-mas and pretty much the whole week, but I don't mind. Plus I work Turkey day and the day after--fine with me :). Well, I better quit before I go on too much longer.

I have to go get ready to do an appt at 11 in Hastings and then get ready to head for Grandma's :). Trans-Siberian Orchestra is here at the Qwest Center tonight, so I'm going and dad is going with me!!! I'm soooo excited! I'll post and tell everyone how it went tomorrow! Toodle loo for now!