big catch

congratulations to rj on his master angler 5 pound 3 ounce large mouth bass. how exciting. i can imagine how thrilled he must have been to catch this fish.

and i love this comparison shot of chris's bass catch of the day.

what i think is really awesome is how this stepfather & stepson have found something they enjoy doing together. it's great how they enjoy spending time with each other.

front shot

front shot "before" pictures. "after" shots to come later.

buddies

cooper's had a great buddy to play with him during baseball games this summer. when we got out of the car last week he saw andrew right away and said, "there's andrew. he's my favorite." so sweet.

the other night someone (it just happened to be andrew...) was spinning cooper & others on a tire swing. they had a blast. but pretty soon cooper came over to find me holding his tummy and said, "mommy i feel full," and threw up all over the ground. his lips & face were pasty white! then he was fine about 1/2 hour later. none of the kids wanted to spin again though.

baby's face transplant

chloe's baby had major surgery today. after many rounds of stitches to her old face, baby underwent a face transplant. i'm sorry that a baby had to give her life for chloe's baby, but chloe's smile makes it all worth it. though she kept saying, "she looks different," she loves her just the same. (i was worried that chloe would be sorry after we'd done it, but she is happy.)

today's events

whew. this has been a busy day.

we closed on the house in imperial. we officially own 2 homes until later in july. yikes. we are very thankful that God provided a buyer for our minden home so quickly. and for providing us with a home in imperial.

we have lots to do in that one i tell you. lots to move out, lots to sort out, lots to clean & lots of new curtains to buy! it'll be cute when we are done. i took pictures but i'm not sure i'm ready to post them. i don't know if you can see the full potential of the house without seeing it in person...right now it just looks a little bit (or a lot) interesting...

i may post a picture or two after i've downloaded them, we'll see.

hunter's team lost tonight in a tight game. they lost by 1 run in the final inning. this was a team that we beat early in the season by 1 run. they are very evenly matched teams. it was fun to watch, hard to lose.

show me the money

tonight was hunter's first game in the little league tournament. nail biter.

minden 1 vs. holdrege bd
1st inning- minden 1, holdrege 5
2nd inning- minden 1, holdrege 5
3rd inning- minden 1, holdrege 5
4th inning- minden 5, holdrege 5
5th (extra inning)- minden 6, holdrege 5

yeah for minden! they advance to thursday night's game.

i told hunter during the 3rd inning that i'd give him $5 if he hit the ball. he gets up to bat during the 4th & hits a foul ball right off & then hit a single base hit. ok, so is that $5 or $10? i didn't specify fouls didn't count...(i'll learn)

5th inning, (while cooper & mommy had to run to the car to change wet pants--just a little accident--he's been doing GREAT!) hunter gets up to bat & hit it again (another $5) and a batter ran in for the winning score.

whew!

and i missed it. i heard all the whooping & hollering from the car parked a looooong ways away.

can't wait to see another great game this thursday.

closing

thursday we look forward to closing on our new home in imperial. this seems like a busy week between getting ready to head west & shuttling children to baseball games.

hunter's little league tournament started last night. their team plays tonight. if they win they will play thursday night. which would mean a quick trip back from imperial.

we'll be cleaning out furniture in the new house (i mentioned we bought the house with stuff in it...). it'll be like a treasure hunt of sorts. then we'll try to paint everything before we start moving in.

maybe, just maybe we'll be "living" there by about july 4.

we won't close on our house in minden until july 21, the monday after all of our friends are helping us re-shingle it! thanks in advance to our roofing crew!!! we love you guys.

hobby

have i mentioned that i love to vacuum? i love seeing the filth that comes out of the carpet. it also grosses me out to see what we are living in, but it's a great feeling to dump that canister full of filth.

i always empty it before I begin so i can see how much dirt i suck up in each room or at least each vacuuming episode. i'm always amazed at how much i pick up even though i vacuum fairly often (since it's my hobby. sad, i know).

i don't have to vacuum nearly as often without having a dog in the house. that is nice. but i also can't blame any of the dirty stuff on the dog anymore. he was probably my scapegoat far too often. poor dog always getting the blame.

by the way, sunny is getting along great with his new owners. he gets to go with his master every day in the pickup--which sunny always loved. he runs along the river where they live & loves to play with their grandkids.

our kids miss him & i do too at times. but it's great knowing that sunny is getting along so well with his new family.

big boy pants

cooper has been wearing big boy pants for a few days now. he's doing a great job. he went today on the toilet & kept saying, "i'm a big boy!" when he got done. hard to believe that we may actually be done with diapers soon...after 10 years of at least 1 (or up to 3) in diapers at a time.

cooper did take a break from the big boy pants yesterday because i had to keep giving him benedryl for his mosquito bites. they were making his eye swell shut. he was just too tired to think about the big boy pants. i give him the option of a diaper or undies, so it is his choice to wear them or not.

tinkle treats. somehow he has talked me into getting 2 gummy bears each time he goes rather than just one. i can't resist that little guy.

packing update

as i look around the house wondering what to pack next i sometimes see that i've already made great progress. i think, "wow, there's not much left here."

then reality sets in. i re-open my eyes and see all the stuff multiplying right before me. i wonder how in the world we're ever going to get all this stuff moved.

i did get nearly everything packed that was on the upstairs walls today. that in itself felt like a big accomplishment since it has to be wrapped so carefully.

my packing secret weapon? ends of newsprint from the republican. they are great! i just keep the roll right beside me & wrap it around & around, tear it off & put it in the box. i use as much or as little as i need to.

big day

tomorrow is a big day for parker. he goes to beginner camp at nebraska youth camp (just south of kearney) thursday through saturday. no big brother. no parents.

he'll have 3 cousins there (2 campers, 1 counselor) and 1 friend there and i know he'll have lots of fun.

growing up, i spent many a summer at nyc when my parents helped there. great memories. i'm anxious to hear about the new memories my children will have. hunter will go for the whole week sunday through saturday.

have a great time boys!

houses

great news! thanks for your prayers on our house selling quickly. we signed papers yesterday & have a closing date set for july 21! we also found a house in imperial & will close on it next week.

it'll be interesting. we bought it with a lot of stuff still in it & will get to see what treasures we find! there are some really neat dressers & some tools in the garage that brad is excited about. it is a smaller, older house but it'll be nice & cozy for us. a little paint & tlc will make it cute.

keep praying for all the house closings to go smoothly & for our transition back to our western nebraska friends. it's been awesome to see how God is putting all the details into place.

now, to pack...

how do you know if he really loves you?

you've heard giselle sing in the movie enchanted "how do you know if he really loves you?" here's proof my man loves me.
the snake killer in action.

thanks honey. you're saving me from one serious heart attack while i mow.

i did kill my first snake the other day with the lawn mower. i had to restart my heart after i nearly walked on top of the monster, ran to the sidewalk & then quickly decided that i'd better chase it with the mower or chance seeing it again. so, i repeatedly ran it over & it kept getting flung out from underneath grossing me out. so i kept running it over until it finally coiled up & died on the sidewalk. then i yelled at hunter to grab the shovel! hunter was the man of the house since brad was gone.

i love buses

cooper's 3rd birthday cake

we took the cake to the park with grandpa & grandma bond but forgot candles. (the wind would have blown them out anyway) we told him to blow out the candles & he did! here's his fake candle-blow-out.

where's 2nd base?

this is too cute of kamrie looking for 2nd base. a kid was standing right on it so she couldn't see it.

lip

cooper's teeth went almost all the way through his lip a couple of weeks ago. dr. grow took great care of him, though he didn't stitch it. he fell off of a box onto the floor & cut the inside & outside of his lip.

is it a prince?

the kids captured a frog & held it captive in the bike stroller.

make-up party pictures

Pitcher

Hunter did a great job pitching 2 innings tonight. First time pitcher struck 6 batters out! He did excellent. I was so proud of him.

Birthday Boy

cooper 2 days old

chloe 2, parker 4 1/2, kamrie 3 1/2, hunter 7 1/2, cooper 1 week

cooper 3 months

I remember

when I was just a couple of months along with Cooper, we were sitting at the table at my parents' house and Parker tells my mom, "I've been praying for a new baby at our house because we have an extra bed."

Brad & I just looked at each other like, "WHAT?! THAT'S why!"

We hadn't told ANYONE we were pregnant & didn't until I was about 1/2 way through our pregnancy. We got tired of comments like "don't you know what causes that?" so we decided to keep it our little secret as long as possible.

Anyway, even though Brad & I didn't really plan on baby #5, we are so glad that God did. We can't imagine life without little Cooper. And we are so happy that our kids all love each other enough to even pray for another family member.

Cooper Maxwell turns 3 tomorrow. I can't believe it. What a joy he has been for all of us.

cooper age 2

getting out of trouble

yesterday as cooper sat on the forklift pretending to drive brad heard it beeping because cooper had turned the key on.

he walked over to him & said, "cooper, you can't turn the key. that is a no-no."

cooper smiled at him, held out his arms and said, "dad, i love you."

does that boy know how to get out of trouble or what?

no offense

as you read this post keep in mind my children have learned about stepmothers from movies like cinderella. please take no offense if you are a stepmother, have a stepmother or know a stepmother...

one day as i was making chloe clean her room and help around the house, she said to me, "mom you're kinda like a stepmother."

guess that day i was being the wicked kind.

lightning bugs

as i sat doing my life journal tonight i heard it start to rain, again. this time it is a gentle rain, no wind. nice change.

i looked out the window & saw a lightning bug.

that isn't something you see everyday in imperial. have you noticed that? i grew up around here, where i remember plenty of nights getting our jars to catch lightning bugs at night. mom & dad would help us poke holes in the lids so they could breathe. we would wipe their glowing guts on us so we had glowing spots. ok, i don't personally remember doing that, but i'm sure someone i knew did. if you don't mind bug guts i'm sure it is pretty cool to look at it glowing on your skin.

it must be the humidity here. i'm sure maybe right near enders lake or a pond or something, maybe there are lightning bugs. but, i don't think i remember ever seeing them in the 10 years we were there.

ok, those of you with ponds on your land or who spend time at the lake--are they there?

broken slumber

nothing like a tornado siren in the middle of the night to break a peaceful night's sleep. no damage here, but there was a tornado spotted north of town.

this has been the rainiest summer i can remember. it is starting to storm here again this afternoon.

we're waiting to hear if hunter will have baseball in loomis tonight...

vbs quotes

for a laugh you should all seriously consider helping the preschool class at church or vbs. i've been with them this week & am enjoying them immensely. they are so funny!

i was wishing i was writing some of them down, but here was my favorite from today:

a storyteller was talking to our 10 preschoolers. he was telling them how he was going to pretend to be a man named peter. our one lone boy in the class, pipes ups & says, "i like to pretend i'm tom. i love tom & jerry."

Official Announcement

I hereby proclaim this to be the official announcement of us moving back to Imperial.

We have our house on the market for sale. Pray it sells quickly!!!

We were talking about possibly downsizing anyway after brad had changed jobs in February, but after a complicated decision process we’ve decided to move back to Imperial. We hope to move by the first part of July, though Brad will start work there next week. Brad is looking forward to it & so are the rest of us. He will work with his parents at Lamar Fertilizer.

Imperial is "home" & we have the unique situation that we can go back. Not everyone who wishes they could go back is able to. We are thankful to Brad’s parents for letting us go so graciously & then welcoming us back when we realized what we want. We feel like we've been given a new perspective about what is important to us. While we don't regret the 1st move (we've learned so much & met so many great people), we are sure looking forward to getting back "home."

We are looking forward to re-connecting with all our loved ones there.

Makeup Party

The girls finally got to have their makeup party they've been begging 2 years for. It was me, 8 little girls (8 & under) plus one very helpful & great sport, Jenna, age 10.

We had Barbie cake & spent lots of time in the bathroom putting on makeup & doing nails. Thank you Jenna for helping them with the polish!

This party celebrated Chloe's birthday last week + Kamrie invited 3 friends since she's never had the privilege of having a birthday party. Her New Year's Eve birthday has proven to be difficult for us to get her friends together.

However, Brad & I decided we won't put it off any more. We will not allow 1/2 birthday parties because we are sick of hearing about her 1/2 birthday makeup party!!

Anyway, it was a fun day, the girls all got along great. Ahhh. Now I can rest until the next birthday rolls around.

1 movie

1 lost library movie=lots of time spent looking & wondering where in the world it is

I KNEW that movie was somewhere in our house. I'd checked with the ladies at the library, searched our vehicles (twice), searched in every cupboard, under every bed, in all the dressers. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out where it would have gone. I figured someone (with little hands) probably picked it up in passing & stashed it somewhere.

The librarians said they've heard every possible reason for losing something, they say they almost always show up. They gave me all kinds of odd places people have found their movies including in the freezer...

After a long week spent searching, the lost movie is finally found. Guess where? In the freezer. No little hands swiped it, no one stashed it. Brad found it in a sack of bread that I'd put into the freezer. Not sure how the movie got in there, but sure enough, there it was.

I'm going to sit & watch it this afternoon while the kids are napping. I'll let you know the review later...