Northwoods Conservatives

18 hours ago

May 12, 2026, the 132nd day of 2026 Somrtimes the Kid Comes Out I can be so serious and polite and then something will unexpectedly surprise me and suddenly the little kid in me comes out.... View MoreMay 12, 2026, the 132nd day of 2026 Somrtimes the Kid Comes Out I can be so serious and polite and then something will unexpectedly surprise me and suddenly the little kid in me comes out. I think that it happens to most people who actually love life and have not gotten bored or jaded. But still, it can get embarrassing, especially if you are somewhere the attitude doesn't fit the situation. Sometimes it pops up like,, "oh, oh, oh, don't forget me!" And we are back to that excited, attention grabbing moment, losing decorum and later wondering, "what the heck was I thinking?" But if others smile along with us, when those moments happen, they pass by pleasantly enough. But if someone berates us, and takes the moment over-seriously, it can become an issue. Then we may become overly self-conscious and that is not good either. When the kid in me comes out and then the adult me starts to scold it, I often have to stop myself and ask God what He thinks of it. What does God see and and how does He feel about it? Those moments keep me humble and remind me that I am still a child in God's eyes. Though I may be an adult, that doesn't make me all grown up. Sometimes that inner child will scold me and remind me of what it was like to dream big dreams and to not give up the joy of imagining. If losing that child in me means losing my love of life, the excitement of discovery and the surprise changes in an unexpected moment, I would not surrender it, even if it can embarrass me at times. It has taken me some time, but I have stopped berating myself over it. And it makes me smile a warm smile when it happens to another. There really are kindred souls out there, even if we only catch a brief glimpse of them. We should never grow blase' or stuck up, or look down on another who gets excited over something that may not excite us. We may look foolish and we may feel foolish afterwards, but it is all part of the give and take of different kinds of people being together. Sometimes we do need to apologize, as we would expect of any child, if our exuberance took away from another. But quite often it is only awkward because others have lost touch with that part of them that would be excited for us, and with us. A child heart sometimes pops out in unexpected ways, in us and in others. When we understand this we can accept each other's little quirks better and we may find that we enjoy each other more as well. For my part, those family and friends that I am the most relaxed around, are those who understand this and have their own quirks. Stay strong! Enjoy the uniqueness of the people in your life, including your own uniqueness. NAN

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Nelani Nettrour

18 hours ago

May 11, 2026, the 131st day of 2026 Baby Bonanza! It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though the flowering trees are barely showing more than leaf buds.... View MoreMay 11, 2026, the 131st day of 2026 Baby Bonanza! It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though the flowering trees are barely showing more than leaf buds. It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though it was 24°F this morning and the cool breeze chilled us when it blew over us as we sunned at 53°F. It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though May 11th looks and feels more like the beginning of April. Why? Because of the baby bonanza today more than any other day! One mama hen not only hatched one chick egg--which is not too unusual--but she hatched 10 ducklings as well! Ducks have been hatching babies since May 5th. 5 ducklings hatched on the 5th. Then 2 ducklings hatchef on the 8th. 1 duckling hatched on the 9th. Not a lot on any one day, until today! 11 hatchings in one morning, from one mother, on the 11th! Well, mama hen could not keep the 10 ducklings. They are waterfowl after all and need a duck to raise them. So they had to go to a mama duck. It is not that unusual for a chicken egg to get hatched by a duck, though often they will get crushed because duck eggs are so much harder and require getting wet near the hatching time. If a duck manages the chick needs removed right away because the ducks have big feet and are not delicate at all. There is a time difference as well. 21 days is usual for a chick to hatch. Most ducklings hatch in 28 days. But Muscovey ducklings, the kind that hatched today, usually take 35 days. The chicken egg had to be laid on that pile of eggs at just the right time for a 21 day hatching to happen at the same time as a 35 day hatching. So that was pretty cool! After all that hard work mama hen has one baby chick, but there are still more chicken eggs, so she should be getting more babies yet. All I can say is what an amazing job that little mother hen accomplished! God works in mysterious ways, that is for sure! And His creation is a marvel to behold! Stay strong! It is always good to do your job well, even if another gets the benefit of it. NAN

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Nelani Nettrour

May 10, 2026 4:47 pm

May 10, 2026, the 130th day of 2026 Happy Mohers' Day! Mother's Day is always harder when your mother has passed away, but it is still good to remember the impact they had on our lives.... View MoreMay 10, 2026, the 130th day of 2026 Happy Mohers' Day! Mother's Day is always harder when your mother has passed away, but it is still good to remember the impact they had on our lives. Mothers have so much placed upon them that we will never fully understand or comprehend. Carrying that life within them changes a woman. And caring for the child or children that follow mean that she will never be truly her own person again. Mothers will stumble as they adjust to their changing situation. They learn and adapt. It is not about being perfect or even good at motherhood. It is about giving life to a child, that without her many sacrifices would not have been born, or reached adulthood to complain about their upbringing. So, today, I want to stand not only as a child of my mother, but as a witness to her never-ending fortitude to keep going, even if stumbling along the way. I loved her deeply and miss her terribly! When I look back at my mom, I am amazed that she didn't go nuts raising us nine kids. It was not an easy task. And for the beginning of her marriage she didn't even have the help of her mother, a newly-wed at 16, living in Hawaii. Then at 17 she gave birth to her first son, before ever returning to the mainland. My mom went to Hawaii as a travel companion for a friend of her mother. It was supposed to be a vacation on the tropical islands. She was supposed to return to her mother after that trip. But my mom was swept up in the romance of it and my gorgeous 18 year old airforce dad, who was a hunk. Who coule blame her? My would-be grandmother had decided that she would be the perfect wife to her son, stationed in Hawaii. They had 8 children together. She was pregnant almost every other year, nursing us in between pregnencies. How did she manage anything else! But she managed a lot!!! She had a farm. We lived in Sothern Wisconsinat at the time and she became a crack shot at hunting rats that tried to invade the barns. She made homemade bread, made pickles, jams and jellies. She cooked and cleaned, sewed and danced. She loved to dance! Music of all kimds filled our home, opera, ballets, and rock and roll. She took us to church and she took us to church events. Even without much money I never felt poor. She would teach us that we were to help the poor. Then she became a widow in her early 30's. She never lost her love for Hawaii, and on her own with 8 children in tow, she moved us to Kawai, one of the most beautiful islands in Hawaii. The coconut man came to our door in the mornings and split open a coconut for us. We drank the liquid and chewed on fresh coconut. We ate fresh fruit and the amazingly womderful guava juice we usually called "lava juice" being kids. But being away from family was too hard on her. No one could visit us and in the dead of winter, back home we went. Though gorgeously warm where we were, we piled onto the airplane and headed back to the states and the jarring cold of winter. Eventually she fell in love with our second dad. They married and at 36 we welcomed baby 9. I was ecstatic! When I look back I think, can you imagine this woman and all that she had gone through. All of this, days and nights tending us. Any illness going through our family meant weeks of illnesses that could stretch into months by the we all were done. We got measles, mumps, Germany measles, chicken pocks, besides numerous colds and flus! Life was NEVER boring! And that was just being one of the kids. I cannot imagine what it was like to ne the mom! And our house was always open to any of our friends who wanted to visit or needed a place to stay. Mom would not turn anyone away. She almost died when she got pregnant with the 10th child. That miscarriage caused her to almost bleed to death before waking to the fact that she would die if she didn't call the ambulance. But she went on to live a pretty long life after that and saw many of her children married and became Grandma Goose to a multitude of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Happy Mothers' Day Mom! Stay strong! Love you moms. If you are living to read this, they deserve your love and thanks. NAN

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Nelani Nettrour

May 9, 2026 10:34 pm

May 9, 2026, the 129th day of 2026 Celebrating Mother's Day Weekend We had more time together today to celebrate Mother's Day with the family. Tomorrow after church we are doing different things, g... View More

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Nelani Nettrour

May 8, 2026 11:17 pm

May 8, 2026, the 128th day of 2026 Be Praise Worthy People Sometimes we skip over introductions and commendations because of the treasures in the Bible after them and around them.... View MoreMay 8, 2026, the 128th day of 2026 Be Praise Worthy People Sometimes we skip over introductions and commendations because of the treasures in the Bible after them and around them. But, we really should read them, not just skim over them. This one caught my eye today. "Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved." Philippians 4:1 We may notice the admonition of: "stand fast in the Lord", and miss the words that describe how he thinks about these people: "beloved and longed-for brethren", "my joy and crown". You don't get that kind of commendation for being barely passable Christians. We should not be satisfied with being barely passable in our walk with God. We should strive to be people who leave an impact that is good, that brings joy to the hearts of fellow Christians. The world may despise us. The darker the world becomes, the more the light of God will irritate them. Unsaved friends and family may not understand us, so they may find it difficult to feel the same thing in our presence that a child of God will feel, even if they care for us. But we should be a balm to fellow Christians, our brethren. We should be someone that they look forward to seeing and knowing--not someone they dread. But it really doesn't happen that often, even in Christian circles, because of spiritual warfare that we often don't take seriously. Because one of the biggest fears of Satan must be the strength of Christians being of one heart and mind. So, he is constantly trying to cause misunderstandings and divisions among us. It does not help that we often get hurt feelings because of misunderstandings. We make things worse when we push them aside, ignoring the cause because we don't think it is worth bothering with, rather than facing it and fixing it by prayerful communication. None of us are perfect and we will have misunderstandings with fellow Christians as well as others. We have to be able to work through them. We should not give up because we may stumble. We may never hear words of commendation spoken to us in this lifetime. We may never know if we really matter to the people around us. And we should not need their commendation to continue to be that kind of person who deserves it. In the long run, as long as Jesus is pleased with us, it doesn't really matter if anyone else is. But if we are truly being pleasing to Jesus, I would imagine that the people who love Jesus, would care about us as well. We should choose to be the kind of people who would be worthy of such praise as given to the Philippians, even if we never get it. Stay strong! Try to notice more of those verses that get skimmed over. They are there for a reason. NAN

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Nelani Nettrour

May 7, 2026 9:11 pm

May 7, 2026, the 127th day of 2026 National Day of Prayer All across America people are praying. And I am so thankful that we have a President who prays and believes in the power of prayer.... View More

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