Father's Day

Since we recently had a post dedicated to our mothers for Mother's Day it is only appropriate that we do the same for our fathers. Both of these are great men who have blessed us throughout our lives. Here we go.

Steve Reedstrom

Dad. It's hard for me to put in words how amazing of a father you've been to me. I remember thinking as a little kid that you were a man of little words. But looking back now, maybe I just wasn't listening enough. When I actually start to listen, you speaks words of encouragement, of faith, of life lessons, of love. And your words speaks even more volumes through your actions. Because of you, I learned what to expect from a husband. I learned to find myself a good husband who will cook for our kids someday, like you did. (and still do!) I learned to find someone who is always helpful and supportive, like you have always been. I learned to find a hard working husband so that our kids will look up to him and know the value of hard work, like I have with you. I have learned to find a husband who cherishes and unconditionally loves his family, like you do.
I have so many memories of us that I could share but I think I'll just pick out my favorite ones. I loved growing up (and even now) and having friends over and having them be able to call you Dad. You were always the friendly and fun Dad who would always joke around with my friends and scare off any boyfriends. :) I love watching you interact with little kids, whether it's at church or a family event. And it makes me excited to have children someday so that they'll be able to have such a fun and loving grandpa!
Growing up  I always knew that during the fall and then again in the spring, you would be busy with farm work and not at home as often. But it was also during those times that I looked forward to some of the other things we got to do. Like bringing you dinner in the field and you letting us ride along in the combine or tractor. I remember the first time that you let me drive the combine by myself and even stepped outside the cab so that I was completely alone inside! I was terrified I was going to screw up your harvest! :) But you had faith in me and trust that I wouldn't. And I don't think I ever did, right? Or those summers where you paid us to help walk beans. It was no fun walking beans, but it was a nice chance to be with you. And it was then that I started to realize the importance of hard work. The Dairy Queen ice cream mom would bring us always seemed to help too!
I have one memory that I believe was the summer before or after my freshmen year of high school. I don't remember but I couldn't drive yet but it was my first summer working at Pioneer. It was within my first week that we got rained out and were sent home early. You came to pick me up and it must have been a day that you were farming but we were both so muddy! And I can't tell you why I thought this, but I remember thinking how cool that was - father and daughter muddy with proof from a hard day in the field. In that moment, I felt so connected to you.
Another favorite memory is when you returned home from a Via de Cristo weekend. As soon as mom left for her weekend, you ran out to your truck and brought in your bag of goodies. You spread it all over the table and told us all about your weekend - what you did, the people who were there and what it meant to you and your relationship with God. It was the first time I remember you talking so much out loud about your faith. But at that same time, I realized that you don't always have to speak about your faith. That day proved to me that a silent faith can be just as deep and powerful as a spoken one. I saw you differently from that day on.
And finally, there was my wedding day. The memories of you walking me down the aisle and giving me away, your seven page speech (which you said you weren't even going to give!) full of advice and wisdom to a new husband and wife and our father-daughter dance. Each one so special by themselves. I remember those memories often.
You have blessed me so much throughout my life and I know that you will continue to do so. Again, I don't know how to put into words how much I appreciate all that you've done for me (and all that you will do) and how grateful I am. And of course, how much I love you. I thank God for you every day because I could not have asked for a better father and a role model. And I will love you until the sky ends.
Happy Father's Day!

Bruce Zaruba

A few years ago, during a college class, I was asked, " Who is your favorite person in life?" Without hesitation I said, my Dad. He is my Hero! A man who has been an incredible role model and quite honestly means the world to me. I do have to admit that I have not done a good job of letting him know that. Let me change that. So here we go...
There are so many memories I have from the past with Dad. Like when he would get done doing chores and after eating lunch - all of us kids would climb all over him and drink pickle juice which of course gave us super strength so we could interrupt his naps (sorry about that by the way). Or riding in the tractor or combine with him back in the Zaruba farming days; really it was more about just being with him and learning about what a real MAN did! But there was one memory that is still very special to me. It wasn't pickle juice. It wasn't even on the farm. It is forever attached to one of my cherished memories from my childhood, and that is the day I was selected for the Iowa All-State. Quite possibly THE life altering moment for me - I believe that day is what defined the career path I chose.
Dad was the very first person that I hugged after seeing my name on that list. Amongst the screaming, the hugging and the celebrating - was still that initial embrace. I know, a hug seems so simple - but let me tell you, this hug was slow motion for me because it was more than just a simple hug. My life had just been changed for good. For me, it was one of the those moments where i truly reverted back to kindergarten - I was just a small boy in my Dad's arms. To top it off, I remember him saying, "Good job, Son!" which made the moment authentic.
There were sons in that same gym, at that very moment which did not have their dad there. I did. Thank you, Dad.
I hope that you will always know, whatever I do, where I go, there is one thing I will never outgrow and that is my love for you. In my eyes, you are the most talented individual I have ever known, no son could have ever asked God fora  better Dad than you.
Dad, I want to be a son that you are proud of, and sometimes I wonder if I have ever let you down or if maybe you have ever been ashamed of the person I have become. All I know for certain is so much of me is made from what I learned from you. And I love you.
Let me write that one more time to be sure you really "hear me".
So much of me is made from what I learned from you and I love you.
Happy Father's Day!

Summer & Graduation

Summer is here! Well maybe not the "official" date of summer, but it sure feels like it! AJ is done with school and is enjoying some time off by staying up late and sleeping in. :) It is extremely hot - at least down here in Omaha. And my little brother is officially graduated from high school!

Over the Memorial weekend, AJ and I traveled to Tipton to spend some time with our family there. It was really great to see them but we were a little disappointed that it wasn't quite warm enough to use the pool! :) But we had a great time hanging out with our parents - doing some shopping and cleaning out some cars. On Sunday we attended Mass in Solon in remembrance of the one year anniversary of the death of AJ's Grandpa. It was really great to have so much of the family together and the service was pretty eventful. A very loud storm came through involving pounding rain, high winds and even hail. So that was exciting. After church, we ran (literally, because it was still raining!) up the road to the Firemen's Breakfast - which they had moved indoors because of the storm and enjoyed some yummy pancakes! And we made a stop out at the graveyard to say hello to Grandpa as well.

While we were in Tipton we switched vehicles with AJ's dad so that we could haul some stuff up to Minnesota the following weekend. We learned quickly to enjoy our small and gas efficient cars versus the large truck! But we were grateful to be able to borrow it.

This past weekend we drove up to Minnesota for the weekend. We arrived on Friday night and were woken up early on Saturday to help get the house ready for Dan's graduation party. It started out by setting up a tent - which actually wasn't too bad. What was bad were all the gnats. They were no fun. But we got the tent sent up and some of those bug repellent candles and torches set up and it was much better! We had the party from about 11am to 2pm and it was a lot of fun. We had a lot of people stop by and it was really fun to see so many family and friends. Dan even did a great job playing host for the day. :) The food and the cake were of course great and the root beer keg was a hit! We also had some fun playing with our cousin's seven month old son and another family friend's daughter. AJ especially had a lot of fun and made some new friends. After the party we cleaned up the house and even took a little nap - or at least I did. :) That night we just relaxed by a bonfire and reminisced about old stories.

On Sunday we went to church in Rapidan where my mom was doing the service for the day. It was a lot of fun to see her up there in her element and she did a great job with the sermon - not too long! ;-) Then before we knew it, it was time to head into town for graduation. We found some good spots and watched as my little brother because a high school graduate. It was a nice ceremony - pretty short since it was a smaller class. It was so weird to see Dan up there - first accepting his honor cords and then accepting his diploma. I can't believe how fast he's grown up but I can say that he has grown up to be a very fine young man. I am very proud to be his older sister. It will be crazy this fall once he is up at NDSU, my sister in Wisconsin for her internship and AJ and I down in Council Bluffs. We really will be all over the place.

So it was a very eventful weekend but a lot of fun! Hopefully this weekend will be spent with just AJ and I enjoying some relaxing time together.

PB&J: Political Blog and Junk

I like politics. I've always been interested in the way our government works. I love a good political debate. I thrive during elections. During the 2008 presidential election, I was part of a group on Wartburg's campus called First in the Nation (FIN). For this program, we paired up with a school in New Hampshire and studied the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primaries. We followed the current election from the beginning, the announcements, the rallies, the caucuses and primaries, the campaigning, the DNC and RNC and finally the election. We spent time out in New Hampshire with our fellow FINs and they spent some time in Iowa with us. It was a great opportunity and I met a lot of amazing people - including many of the presidential candidates and even President Obama (before he was president, of course!). I had a seat at Obama's speech at the DNC in Denver. I was a part of history. 

I have a lot of thoughts when it comes to politics. Not just politics either - but the events and issues that are intertwined with politics. I sometimes have a hard time keeping these thoughts to myself. And as we start to begin the process of another presidential election, there's a good chance I'll probably have some thoughts through it. And I'll probably want to share those thoughts. :) So I'm going to use this blog to do that. I understand however, that not everyone cares about my political thoughts and that's fine. I understand some people read this blog to be kept up to date on what's going on in mine and AJ's life. And so in fairness to them: for any blog that I'm going to write about politics or my thoughts on current events, I will start the title with PB&J which stands for Political Blog and Junk. (Clever, right? Funny thing is I don't even like PB&J sandwiches, but love politics! haha) That way everyone has a 'warning' in case they don't care what I have to say!

When I first started writing this blog, there were some issues that I wanted to address. Well, time got away from me and now those news stories are no longer current. Actually, I'm not even sure I can remember what all the stories were even about! I do know that there have been a lot of stories I've read lately on the ban on gay-marriage vote in Minnesota. There's a lot going on with that and as it is my home state, I feel personally involved - even if I'm not currently living there. It breaks my heart to see things like this pass through the legislature because there is no good reason to deny rights to anybody. And unfortunately, this 'theme' is all over the United States. Another story that really disturbed me was one that came out of Tennessee. A bill was signed into law by the governor that basically promotes discrimination against LGBTs. How anyone can think this is a good idea, I have no idea. 

What I do know is that things need to change. We need to continue to stand up for equal rights. We need to be allies against discrimination. And it starts with you.