Happy anniversary!

Robomom

After a quick walk around the block on a super humid day... my hair curls up a lot like hers.

 

About a month ago, Andrew & I were having a lively game of baseball in the backyard.  Supper was ready to go in the oven, Sarah was having a blast in the swing, & the big girls were checking out the garden.  Then, it happened.  I jumped up for a high ball, caught it, & then came down with half of my foot on the cement & half of it on the significantly lower grass.  I sprained my ankle.  Trying to catch myself as I fell, my hand wasn't much help since it still had a glove on.  I sprained my wrist.  The brunt of my weight fell on my elbow.  Yeow! 

 

Severe dislocation led to me laying there whimpering until Andrew brought over super-friend Stephanie to save the day.  Her parents watched her kids & ours while she ran me to Urgent Care.  Darren met us there & took over.  2 hours later we finally saw a doctor, who told us we  needed to go the ER.  Yep, seriously 2 hours later.  After some more waiting, some x-rays, morphine, & all kinds of fun, they tried to pull my bones back into socket... to no avail.  Sedation.  Finally, 5 hours after it happened my elbow was back in place.  Thank goodness! 

 

I've been in this brace now for a while & they say it could last up to 6 weeks.  I guess we'll see!  Until then, I get to be the woman with the bionic arm... or Robomom as the kids like to call me.  Darren & Andrew have taken over pretty much everything around here & I've been doing a whole lot of hanging out on the couch.  This walk around the block today was one of my first! 

Thank you to everyone who has helped us out with rides for the kids, meals, & general love.  So grateful for all of you!

Cumpleanos feliz

Another year.  They seem to come so quickly these days!  I had a busy but fun birthday.  A breakfast of caramel rolls & surprises from my kiddos was a great way to start the day.  Andrew even made me a game called "Star Battles" that he came up with all on his own.  He knows his mama loves games!

I taught all day & heard "Feliz cumpleanos" sang to me more times than I can count.  My favorite was an ambush of 5th graders who turned off the lights & hid until I came in the door before they jumped out to start singing.  A 2nd grade class & each of the 4th graders made me cards, too!  Some were really sweet, others were really hilarious... mostly due to the proliferation of tacos. 

 My brother joined us & we went out for a delicious birthday dinner.

 Rebecca showing off my present from the kids via "Grandpa Bob" at Church.  He wanted them to give it to me.

Thank you, God, for another year & for the abundant blessings you have given me!

Happy birthday, Mom!

 To celebrate my mama's 70th birthday, we had a girls' weekend in Omaha!  It was so fun to be with her, my sisters, & a couple of my nieces.  We started off the weekend on Friday night with Stations of the Cross at this gorgeous St. Peter's Church.  It was incredible!

 Uncle Fr. Jon generously drove Sarah & I to Omaha, so he was able to join us for the evening.  My Dad also brought Mom to town so he hung out on Friday night as well.  We were sorry to be missing Doug!

 We had a delicious dinner at Upstream Brewery.

 These little ladies did amazingly well, considering how much high chair, stroller, & carseat time they had to endure.  They were hilarious together & a constant source of snuggly entertainment.  We stayed at the Magnolia hotel which was beautiful.  Spent a good deal of time relaxing in this loft room... a little too much when we probably should have been in bed!

 My mom is a tea aficionado, so after a leisurely breakfast & some Old Market shopping we had proper tea on Saturday afternoon at the beautiful Crook Manor.  It was General Crook's 1860s home at Fort Omaha full of antiques & stories.  I think that Dad would have loved it, too!  I giggle now every time that I use a tea bag thinking how much it would disgust our Tea Guide Mona.  Goodness she knew a lot about tea.  She was a riot!

 Sarah enjoyed some of the egg salad sandwiches & sugar cookies.

 Lily was just too busy to sit down & enjoy her tea.  Lots to do, lots to do!

 We went back to relax at the hotel prior to Saturday evening Mass at St. Peter's.  Afterwards we had a delectable dinner at Vivace & way too late of a night laughing in the loft.  Chris brought a personality assessment that was a little too easy to predict in our group... found out I'm gold & blue.  No surprises there!

I didn't take any more photos (waiting on some goodies from my lovely sisters) but they wouldn't do the time justice anyway.  It was wonderful.  It was much needed.  It was such a gift to be together without a million monkeys running around like usual.  So thankful! 

Happy birthday, Mom!  Hope we can do it again next year!

Las chicas

Had an awesome night out with the gals!  A couple of them I met during college, but most were friends from St. Anne's Moms group that I started going to when Andrew was a baby.  I feel like I "grew up" in my motherhood with these amazing women.  So thankful for their friendship, wisdom, & inspiration!

Happy Birthday to me!

 Thank you for all of the kind birthday wishes & prayers! It was such a nice day. I woke up to this delicious breakfast made by the kiddos (complete with the chair-sign) & then was able to spend the day with Darren who took his first day off since the day Sarah was born!

 We went to Mass, hit the Rodizio grill for lunch (ironically, amid all the meat, the glazed pineapple was my fave), fun with the kiddos after school, birthday Blizzards, & then out to the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra that night. I felt really spoiled.

  God is good!

Say "cheese"!

The girls

Babymoon

 We've made it a tradition to take a weekend "babymoon" before we welcome a new little one into our home.   Darren's parents generously offered to watch the kiddos while we enjoyed a quick weekend in Nebraska City at the Lied Lodge.  It was a little more brisk outside than we were hoping for, but beautiful nonetheless.  Lots of hiking, reading, eating, laying around & talking without constant interruption... just the break we needed.

Now I feel ready for the busy next month followed by a few semi-quiet summer weeks waiting to meet this little one.  :)



Been there

The tradition continues

Trivia Night

 The Big Kahunas

 

My favorite category was all word games:  Thinkety Pinkety. 

 Not the highest scoring group in the bunch overall, but goodness we had fun!

Merry Christmas

 After Saturday Mass at our parish for the 4th Sunday of Advent, we headed home to pack for our Christmas travels.

 We had a wonderful & almost quiet time at the farm with my parents.  Lots of chatting, cards, dominoes, singing, & playing.  Even some napping happened!  I can not remember the last time I was able to take a nap on a holiday there.  Made it even more enjoyable.

 My brother Doug's family was able to celebrate with us for part of the time as well.  We all loved spending time with sweet baby Lily.

 Rebecca working on her scrapbook.  She received the cutest kit from her cousin!  Yes, that is rows of sequins on the page.

 Our quiet Christmas Eve dinner

 After Christmas stories, singing Happy Birthday, & placing Jesus in the manger, it was time for presents!

 All were very pleased with their gifts.  Teresa was especially thrilled by her "sparkle toy" from her cousin.  She asked Santa for one a few weeks before, but we had NO IDEA what in the world she was talking about.  Thank goodness someone did!

 Relaxing upstairs after the kids are in bed

 Christmas morning:  Santa came!

 Christmas tree cinnamon rolls

 Mass at St. Francis

 After Mass we headed back to the farm for a lovely brunch, more fun playing, & packing.  We headed out the door (only returning once for forgotten items) & off to our next celebration with Darren's family.

 We had a much busier crowd at their house & lots of fun.  My highlight?  Listening to Andrew make baby Ryder giggle over & over & over again.  :)  Having too much fun to take any more photos. 

Merry Christmas! 

May the joy of our Savior's birth fill your heart with peace.