A letter to my clients and future clients...

Dietrich Daniel arrived June 26th, 2017.  He will be two months old tomorrow somehow!  We've had a great summer so far.  We were able to take some short weekend trips to Illinois to see my family and also to Branson for a family reunion on Dan's side.  I also spent some time at home rocking my baby boy in my easy chair. 

I wanted to drop my clients a note to say thanks for your patience as I ease back into work.  My maternity leave was rather busy balancing a new baby and continuing to work some, as I checked email and came into the office at least a few times a week to keep things running smoothly.  Our kids are now back in full time daycare and our older girls are going to pre-school part time too.  I plan on being back in the office more starting next week.  I'm also considering hiring some office staff to help with my business in the next year.  If you need to see me, you know you can always call my cell phone at 785-406-0416..

Balancing work, family, and my responsibilities at home with our farming operation, can be challenging but I've realized that I've had to become much more intentional with my time.  Each of us is only given 24 hours in a day.  I'm here to help take the stress out of your financial planning process so you don't have to worry about the "what ifs" in life.  I pride myself on treating my clients the way I would want to be treated and my goal is to make sure every client understands his/her insurance and investments.  If you are looking for a financial planner that understands your busy life and wants to help you protect, preserve, and plan your financial future, I'd love to meet and chat sometime. 

July 2017

What to do when you are nervous...

Monday night we attended the Linn Lutheran Talent Show at St John Parish Hall.  It was such a fun night.  We had a potluck meal, various students shared talents like singing and playing the piano, and even the pastor shared a fun German sing-along song (most of the audience knew it because of their German Lutheran heritage), but this mostly English girl did not know the words and couldn't sing along!

The pre-school kids also got promoted to the next grade.  Lorena graduated from the 3-4 year old class to the 4-5 year old class.  She hasn't been on stage much, but from past experience I've known her to not like being in the spot light.  She usually "freezes."  She went to the front of the room with her classmates and they were supposed to sing and dance to a few songs as their teacher led them.  She barely moved a muscle and looked like she was going to cry most of the time.  When we got home that night we asked her why she didn't sing with the other kids and she said "I was a little nervous."  I'm not sure where she heard that word as I try to not say or imply that she is nervous, or shy in front of crowds, but apparently she knows what it means somehow.

Even though she didn't participate, she did stay on stage with her classmates.  She was nervous but she persisted.  We explained to her that night that everyone feels nervous and it's perfectly ok to be nervous sometimes.  Not that I'm a nervous nelly by any means, but I have my moments where I have to do things I don't like doing.  It can be at work when I have to make phone calls all day long, or when I have to have a hard conversation with a co-worker...or when I have to do a devotional in front of a large group at work,  or lead a panel discussion for our local chamber of commerce....or whether it's at home and I don't want to clean the house or pay the bills stacked on my desk...my point is that we all have to do things sometimes that we don't want to do or that get us out of our comfort zone.

Lorena did something she really didn't want to do on Monday night and I'm proud of her for it.  I'm sure some of the other kids that performed vocal and piano solos were also nervous like Lorena when they got on that stage, but I'm so glad they chose to do it anyway.  They were able to share their God given talents with the audience and we were all blessed as a result.  As the saying goes, we don't grow unless we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone.  I'm glad I got that reminder from my brave 4 1/2 year old this week.

Back where it belongs

Most of you probably know that Dan and I live in the house where he grew up.  My father in law built a china cabinet in the wall at the house decades ago.  Cindy and Ernie's wedding china sat in the cabinet until we got married in 2009.  At that same time, they let us buy the house and they moved off the farm and into town.  Their china sat at their house in town until last week when we moved it back where it belongs to the cabinet Ernie built at our house.

We didn't get any fancy china at our wedding, so Dan's sisters decided the china was for us to keep.  We don't have the biggest house and I can be pretty picky about what I keep, but I was really happy to get this china set.  I like family keepsakes that have memories and meaning.  This china was given to Cindy and Ernie at their wedding by Cindy's Aunt.  Cindy treasured it and brought it out for special occasions.  We usually ate on it for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Sometimes, she used it just because she wanted to!  I remember one night when I was visiting from Illinois (Dan and I had just started dating at this point), Cindy decided to bring it out for the evening meal.  I think Cindy was trying to impress me.  Ernie and Dan seemed somewhat perplexed as to why she would use it on an ordinary night, but I think she was doing all she could to get me to stay with Dan!

I definitely treasure this china set and look forward to using it for special occasions in years to come.

Thinking of my in-laws this Easter

Easter is tomorrow already.  It kind of snuck up on me.  Dan has been busy getting ready to plant in a few days and is out spraying now, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to gather my thoughts while the girls are watching Disney Channel.

I've been thinking about Ernie and Cindy a lot recently.  It's in the quiet moments when I'm getting the girls settled for bedtime and they talk about Grandpa and Grandma but also in the not so quiet moments when all the cousins are coloring Easter eggs and there's just someone missing from the table.  Like April has done, these moments just kind of sneak up on me and can be overwhelming if pushed under the rug.

I get to meet a lot of people through my line of work.  Some clients knew Cindy and Ernie and share fond memories of them with me.  I truly love those conversations.  I've heard stories of Ernie racing a classmate's car around the high school track when he was in high school, and even crazier stories of him being out late and stuck on a mud road and "having to borrow" the county's paving equipment to get his car unstuck.  I've had several people tell me that Ernie was probably the hardest working guy they ever met.  I've also learned that Cindy used to sell Bosch mixers and grinders to mill your own flour (that was news to me!).  Others have told me that Cindy was a friend to them when no one else was, and that she was a true woman of faith that helped them change their lives for the better.

It saddens me that the girls talk less about them as the days march on.  If we can instill one trait from each of their grandparents, I pray that we can instill in them Ernie's humbleness and Cindy's faithfulness.  Being humble isn't natural for a lot of people, but it was one of Ernie's strong points.  He didn't' care how much money he had in the bank as he knew his blessings were his family and ability to work each day on the farm he loved.  Cindy had several struggles in her life.  She faced her autoimmune disorder head-on and didn't let it hold her back from starting a business and being an awesome grandma.  Her faith in God helped her have a positive outlook on life, as she knew there were better days ahead for all of us in Heaven.

If you have in-laws, please treasure them this Easter Season.  I've come to realize that I had two of the best in-laws that I could have asked for in this life.  I'm thankful for God's promise that we will meet each other again someday.  Easter Blessings ~ Lydia

Easter 2015

New Year, Same Me

2016 was a hard year for our family.  The death of Dan's parents, plus the miscarriage last summer, along with a new career for me and a farm business transition for the entire family, added up to be one of those years that we will never forget, and probably never want to relive.

Heading into the New Year, I remember saying I was so excited to be starting fresh in 2017.  I was so ready to be done with the previous year!   Somehow it's the middle of January already and the hurt and grief from 2016 are still fresh.  I thought that magically all the pain would go away when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, but it didn't.  I still miss Ernie and Cindy tremendously.

Christmas went ok.  Cindy had purchased books last fall for the kids before she passed away, so they got a present from her which was special.  She also had picked out jewelry for Kate, Laura, and me.  Cindy's tradition was to give the girls jewelry in our stockings.  It always made us laugh.  None of us are fancy people and very rarely where showy jewelry, but she always picked out big earrings and long necklaces that she thought "looked like our style."  She purchased our jewelry during one of her last stays at the KU Medical Center Gift Shop in September.

There's just lots I miss right now about Ernie and Cindy.  They were a big part of our support system, watching our kids if we ever needed a date night.  I miss randomly dropping by their house in Barnes.  I miss going to the bakery for coffee and good conversation.  I miss calling Cindy to tell her something good that happened that day and also calling her to complain about something Dan did that reminded me of Ernie.  I miss seeing Ernie pull up to our house on the farm each morning.  I miss texting Ernie pictures of his girl Ida.  I miss seeing the girls play with Grandpa Ernie and Grandma Cindy.  Lorena still talks about them a little, but mostly stating that they are buried up on the mountain and are in Heaven with Jesus.  I miss everything that used to be normal in our lives that seems to be turned upside down at the moment.

Matthew 5:4 reads, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  I know that God will wrap his arms around me if I trust in him.  Not that' I haven't trusted in him...I think I've just pushed all the feelings aside for the time being and joyfully waiting for the New Year to get here so I wouldn't have to deal with them.  It's funny how grief catches up with you, and it has caught up with me finally.