Thanks a million...

Maximillian for being such a cool cousin & nephew. We love you!

Happy Birthday, Max!

Time flies...

Today we celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary...almost 12 years together. How blest we are! Darren's parents generously watched the kids so we could go out yesterday. First, we went to see the new Transformers movie. (Supposedly I earn a lot of "cool wife points" for that.) Afterwards we enjoyed some tasty food at Misty's downtown & then night prayer at the Pink Sisters. It was a great evening on the town. Here we are looking excited & windblown before we left. Happy Anniversary, Darren!

I love you! Here's to many, many more!

***

PRAYER FOR A HAPPY MARRIED LIFE

Lord, bless & preserve my cherished husband,

whom you have given me.

Let his life be long, blessed, comfortable & holy;

let me ever be a blessing & a comfort to him,

a sharer in all his sorrows,

a consolation in all the trials of life;

make me forever lovable in his eyes & dear to him;

unite his heart to mine in fondest love & holiness,

& mine to his in all sweetness, charity, & submission.

Keep me from all ungentleness;

make me humble & obedient,

that we may delight in each other

according to Your blessed word.

May both of us rejoice in You,

having our portion

in the love & service of God forever.

Amen.

Sprinkle's an eggplant

Well, we've almost hit 25 weeks. That means that Sprinkle is the size of an eggplant. ; ) We had another ultrasound today & all looks good. The baby weighs 1 lb. 10 oz., wow. That's so tiny to be so perfectly formed! We saw the arms, legs, brain, heart, kidneys, even eyelids. Incredible. Please, keep praying for a healthy baby & safe pregnancy. Sprinkle was in peek-a-boo mode so once again we didn't get any good facial shots. This one was our best. Sleeps snuggled just like Andrew. =] Third trimester, here we come!

Tis the month of weddings...

and anniversaries!

Happy 37th Anniversary to Darren's parents!

Happy 4th Anniversary to Cara & Taylor!

May God bless you all with many more joyful, love-filled years together.

"Green" Grandpa

We ventured up to Ashland Guard Base this weekend to meet up with Green Grandpa. He drove over 100 miles in an antique tractor ride across Nebraska.

I was surprised to also see my Uncle Ralph who was taking turns driving with a few of his buddies & my friend Chase who now works for the radio station that sponsored the ride but at the time was singing polka music on stage. : )

Thanks for the fun & the 182 tractors, Grandpa!

P.S. Can you guess now why we call him "green"?

Happy Father's Day!

To my Dad, who has always been an amazing example of hard work, sacrifice, & standing up for what he believes in. Thank you! We are so blest to have you leading our family. Happy Father's Day!

***************

We started out Father's Day weekend by welcoming our newest priest to St. John's. Fr. J joined us for dinner, pinball, & lots of fun. Andrew & Rebecca are totally in love with him. He's such a good sport!
********

On Sunday we ventured out to some fun Safari stops downtown,

took advantage of a free train ride at the zoo,then headed up to Darren's parents for a cookout & fun with the cousins. Rebecca spent most of her time playing...or sitting...in the fountain. ; )

*******

Father's Day Interview 2009 with Andrew age 4 1/2

(some highlights)

What's Daddy's favorite food?
Meat.

Daddy loves to cook…
pizza.

If he could go on a trip, he would…
get his sunglasses & his hat & his backpack & he would go to the beach.

When Daddy shops, he loves to buy…
stuff.

I really love it when Daddy…
tucks me in bed.

His favorite chore is…
cleaning out the bathrooms.

My dad loves to relax by…
me.

Daddy is as handsome as...
Andrew.

What does Daddy do all day?
He takes naps, hugs me, reads me books, that's all.

What are you going to do for Father's Day?
Give him a cake, give him balloons, turn on the lights, say surprise, make him his own breakfast in the morning, always gonna hug him all day!

Where do you like to go with Daddy?
I like to take him to the play store & go to weddings & play police to wear my black pants & socks & shoes & belt and...POLICE!

What does Daddy teach you?
I like to do equals & plus & how many & numbers & letters, ABCDEFGHIJKLMN ...oh & read books!

What does Daddy do to make you laugh and smile?
He tickles me & bounces me on his bed, gives me flowers & buys new things for me.

What do you do to make him laugh?
I tickle his belly button & sometimes in the morning I get him dressed & I pick girl clothes.

What do you like to do with Daddy?
Everything. Secrets from Mom. Spray weeds & stuff & play with him.

Why do you love Daddy?
Because he's smart & he's my favorite kind of Daddy in the world.

Anything else you want to tell him?
That's a lot of stuff; I don't want to make him tired. Just tell him "Happy Father's Day!"

"New" Style?

Andrew: Why did that daddy & that boy have hair like a giraffe?

It does kind of look like a giraffe &...I don't know! They were part of two separate groups at the restaurant yesterday. I guess mohawks are coming back in? Are you thinking of getting one?

Little John

It's been fun to watch

you grow!Happy Birthday, John!

We're so blest to have you as a nephew & cousin. See you soon!

Has it already been 45?

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wow! Congratulations on 45 years together of love & sacrifice. You have forever affected the lives of so many around you...including the 7 of us & our families who wouldn't be here without you. We love you so much. God bless you always!

Dancing Sling

Rebecca's idea. Should we market it? I guess this could come in really handy for all the mommies on Dancing with the Stars.

She kind of naturally has the whole Flashdance thing going on with her shirt, too.

Our Little Bookworms

Our kids love to read. Andrew has loved listening to books from day one. Rebecca took a little more training but now will sit to listen pretty well or flip through her own while the rest of us read one. Quiet time used to be pretty much completely "reading" of Andrew's library books, though that has morphed a bit.

We hadn't even gone to the library in weeks until we ventured out for the "Musical Petting Zoo". They were able to talk to members of the Symphony Orchestra while they attempted to play the saxophone, violin, xylophone, & trumpet. Super fun! We also got a new gaggle of books. Here they are enjoying a few stories with Uncle Father Jon & with Daddy.

Creative Craziness

Andrew has been such a creative little goofball lately. Ever since we visited the firestation & saw all of the different equipment/clothing that they wear, he's been making his own "head sock" to keep fire off of his face. Yes, that is Ironman underwear.

He's absolutely in love with his little sibling & is constantly offering toys, food, hugs, etc. to the baby in my tummy. As he was in fireman mode Tuesday he offered, "Here, baby, do you want an ax?"

When I tried to call him "Fireman Andrew" the other day, he said, "No. My last name is dude not Andrew. My middle name is buddy. I'm Fireman buddy dude."

These fireman episodes are only to be topped by astronaut ambitions. He wears the cake saver on his head like a helmet & uses various old ponytail holders to "keep the oxygen in" his suit. His little mind flutters away with ideas. Check out this conversation from yesterday.

Andrew: Mommy, why did God make Pluto if nobody lives there? Isn't that like wasting?
Mommy: People can't live there because it is so cold & far away from the sun.
Andrew: Well, if there were 200 ovens THEN I would live there.

How can anyone resist?

That grin. Happy Birthday, Adam!

Thanks for being such a fun nephew & cousin.

Curse of the Jelly Bean

This morning at breakfast...

Mommy: Rebecca, would you like more yogurt or some cereal?
Rebecca: (long pause) Jelly bean!

***

Wandering into our room around 3 a.m....

Rebecca: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes, Becca.
Rebecca: Jelly bean?
Mommy: (stifling my laughter) No jelly bean. Go to bed.
Rebecca: Jelly bean??? Can I???
Mommy: No, Becca. Go to sleep.
Rebecca: (almost crying) Jelly bean???
Daddy: The jelly beans are all gone, Rebecca.
Rebecca: Oh. (And she goes back to bed.)

***I'm rethinking using jelly beans as a reward for potty training. She rarely even asks for one unless it's a very inconvenient time or she's prompted by her big brother. I'm just glad there are only a couple left in the jar, and that she doesn't know it. ; ) Maybe I'll have a midmorning snack...

To my Godson...

Sweet baby James... is now three! Happy Birthday, James!

We love you so much & we pray for you everyday.

May God bless & protect you always.

Record breaker

"Can I have some more cream?"

Rebecca just spoke her first six-word sentence! Her phrases have been getting longer, especially when they involve "Can I...?" but I just had to share this one. She is a lover of all things dip...with a unique love for sour cream. ; )

Jazzy

On Tuesday we went downtown to enjoy Jazz in June. It was a perfect night to be outside, relax, people watch, & enjoy some great tunes. I was proactive in feeding the kids before we left since they get so distracted in a picnic situation. They just ran around, climbed the tree behind us, & spotted every puppy in sight. Darren & I enjoyed some fare from the street vendors...oh so delicious. The quote of the night is worth sharing. I was trying to eat as the kids were grabbing my silverware, asking for bites, sneaking drinks of my lemonade, trying to sit on my lap, & flying my napkin around in the air. In my building frustration I jokingly said, "Go bother your Daddy for a little while!" Andrew looked straight at me & exclaimed,
"I can't! He's eating!"

Quotables

Rebecca: Stay right there!

Daddy: Eat your food not your finger!

Andrew: Can I have mustard on my peanut butter & jelly sandwich?

Mommy: You don't dust with your tongue!

Lions & Tigers & Bears...not quite

Yesterday was a perfect day to go to the zoo! We had beautiful weather, fun friends to join us, & happy kids. It was awesome. Our little zoo doesn't have many large animals, though there was a really cool leopard that we saw jump up a rock wall & a crazy gibbon that made faces at us.

We enjoyed the goats, tortoises, & butterflies followed by climbing on the "spider web" & riding the train. Andrew was a big fan of digging up dinosaur...okay cow...bones in the sand pit. Very fun stuff! Rebecca thought that going through the train tunnel was a hoot. She just said, "Wheeeee!" all the way through.

I've never before bought the feed for the goats, we just always found the leftovers on the ground. ; ) But yesterday we splurged & I let Andrew go for it. Rebecca was disinterestedly eating her bag of crackers. Then she decided to try & feed one to a goat! The goat licked it, she pulled back...& then ate it herself. Ewwww.

Ah, fun at the zoo...with all our little monkeys. =]

Prayers, please

Darren's cousin Lisa is expecting triplets! Three times the joy! They are so very excited. All had been going great so far until last week when she went into the hospital with water partially breaking at only 20 weeks along. Turns out that all three still are surrounded by water which is awesome, but it's a pretty fragile situation. She's still in the hospital, hoping to get the babies to 24 weeks gestation. That's still tiny. Being almost identical in due dates makes this incredibly real for me. I can not imagine the tough road they have ahead regardless. Please, please pray for their entire family. Thank you.

Made just for me

In the paper on Sunday was a list of the 20 most helpful websites. Personally, I didn't think many of them sounded that helpful except for this one:

http://www.runpee.com/

Helping your bladder enjoy going to the movies as much as you do.

Because a bladder is a terrible thing to hold.
Hilariously clever. They take all of the current movies playing, mark the best places to take a quick break, & even give you a synopsis of what you missed! They also tell you if there is anything good after the credits to try & stick around for. Brilliant! If we ever get a chance to go to a current movie again...that's pretty rare around here...I'm definitely checking this site out first.

Could it be???

I've spent the last few days in disbelieving wonder. Rebecca decided recently that she was a big girl...as evidenced by behavior in my prior post...& has pretty much potty trained herself! In the last four days, she's had a total of four daytime accidents. FOUR. That's including her waking up dry from naptime or coming out to go after she's already laid down. I'm flabbergasted.

I was all set to give it a second shot with her potty training starting this week...that was MY plan. I didn't tell her & I haven't really been proactive, either. When we were endlessly potty training her brother, I realized that a lot of his making progress had to do with my perseverance in helping him stick to it. She doesn't really seem to care; she's doing it anyway! Well, if this is what it's like to train girls, I hope we have 5 more of 'em. =]

Gus

It's hard to believe that this little guy...is now this big guy!

Happy Birthday, Augustine!
Thanks for being a fun, caring, & cool nephew & cousin. We love you!

There went the bride

Last weekend we had the joy of witnessing Darren's little sister, Katie, marry our fantastic new brother-in-law, Brad. We were all in the wedding, so it was a few whirlwind days again, but very exciting. They are so obviously a perfect match. : )

The rehearsal dinner was in their parents' backyard. It was fun & beautiful. Andrew was giddy to receive his ringbearer gift: his own digital camera!

Katie surprised us all with a song she wrote for Brad...then sang for everyone without bawling. I was very impressed. =]

The kids did a pretty good job playing their parts, too. At rehearsal we practiced that they would walk down with their cousins...all four in a row holding hands. They were all grinning as they happily walked down the aisle straight to us. The day of the wedding they somehow ended up walking in two separate pairs, this time carrying pillows & baskets of petals. Well, not one petal was thrown intentionally on the floor by Rebecca, since we'd never even talked about it. Oops! When she & Andrew made it down the aisle, they were too distracted by the congregation to remember to come to us. Rebecca proceeded to lift up & offer her basket of petals to Father!

The whole day was quite the adventure. I have to offer a huge word of thanks to my parents who helped out with the kids all day...& especially Rebecca during the homily/vows/Eucharistic prayer as she continued to loudly exclaim, "Becca hungry!" Mom took her out for a break. Thank you! There are many more stories, but these few pics off of our camera will have to suffice for now. It's hard to take many when you're in on all the action & juggling kiddos. Hopefully there will be some good shots from others forthcoming!

Addicted...

My friend said just to try it. I was going to resist, but I gave in to the peer pressure. Just once couldn't hurt, I thought. Now I can't stop using it. I think I'm addicted. Hi, my name is Robyn & I'm a WordTwistaholic.

http://www.wordtwist.org/

According to their rating system, I stink. But that doesn't make it any less fun! I've learned a bunch of new words including: qis...a 10 pointer. My best score so far is 119. I won't say how many tries it took me to get a score that high. ; ) Can you beat me?

Yummy in the tummy

Thank you to Andrea for introducing me to this awesome granola bar recipe. They're much better than the boxed ones! Considering how fast a box gets devoured at our house, this will be more convenient & cheaper. Here's the recipe with my modifications.

4 1/2 C rolled oats
1 C white flour
1/4 C wheat germ
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
3/4 C softened butter
3/4 C honey
1/3 C brown sugar
2 C mix-ins (I used chocolate chips, craisins, sunflower seeds, & almonds)

Bake in greased 9x13 pan at 325* for 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes & cut. Enjoy!
Andrea said they freeze well, so I might make a few more batches while I'm at it.