Geez....this is bad.

Wow - it's been months since I've actually posted. How bad is that? You might think we lead boring, uneventful lives; therefore, I have nothing to say. You'd be wrong. It's actually quite the opposite. Oh, please don't think our lives are to the extreme now either. It's just that "time" is hard to come by these days. Our schedule is full and our house shows it. We are gone almost every night until the weekend hits, and then we can crash. Who am I kidding - then we try to pick up the house that has merely been our dropping grounds. It's a good busy...I think. The kids love their activities, and I believe it helps them excel as an individual. They definately learn time management if nothing else. Pictures - you bet - I have a ton of them. Will they ever get on here? I have no idea. Maybe - when I figure out how to add more hours to the day.

It's a dog's life.

Sadie is so patient and easygoing. She seems to be enjoying the nice weather like the rest of us. Trevor snapped these photos the other day. It was very important he have the camera immediately. Yep, I surprised myself when I handed it over to him and watched him head out the door.

Where does the time go?

Wow, FALL was my last post! What happened to Christmas? Hence my title - where does the time go?

December was packed full. I was able to pull off a little revenge on my dear, sweet husband this Christmas. A gentleman from our church found me a lump of coal. That's right - coal. You guessed it... it was headed straight for Bryan's stocking. I was nice and wrapped masking tape around it that said, "ha, ha, ha" - but Trevor's reaction was priceless. Glad I videotaped it. I probably should have been more considerate to my 4 year old son, who watched in horror, thinking Santa really does give rocks to naughty people. Poor kid. Some day he will know better.

January and February have put us into full swing with basketball. Between practices and games we are never home - which is probably why I really LOVE being home. Although, that usually means tons of laundry and trying to clean up the house; otherwise known as the pit stop. Things will start to wind down here shortly. We only have two tournaments left. Spencer and Cassidy have come a long way with their skills and abilities on the court. They are so fun to watch. I like a good game of - well...anything, but I truly believe I lOVE watching my children excel even more.

It has hit me hard lately how blessed I am. I have friends who struggle with their children - and I'm not saying we don't have issues and for every age there is more issues, but my children like to go to school and they do well there. They have friends and enjoy participating in activities. For that, I am truly a lucky mom.

We did some sledding last Sunday - it was gorgeous outside. Well, actually...Bryan took them all sledding. I was cleaning the, ahem,...pit stop.

Fall.

The kids have started school and so the chase begins. By now football is winding down - two weeks to go. Then we move to indoor sports which are much warmer for me! Trevor came home from G&G's with 3 huge pumpkins. He's so proud. Trevor is also attending preschool three days a week. He gets to ride the bus just like Spencer and Cassidy which according to him makes him a grown up. I think he's still my little pipsqueak.

It's official....everyone can knee board!

sometimes U need a leap of faith ~

The water has warmed up nicely & for the most part we spend as much time as we can playing in it. Trevor casually jumps off the end of the dock - Cassidy tries to jump on any tube she can (including the neighbors)- and Spencer is perfecting his knee boarding skills. Trevor attempted to knee board this past weekend. He didn't make it far, but the good news is he says he is willing to try again. Time will tell.

no fear -

On a hot day we

It's progress.

**4 shots with 2 tears
**1 blood draw from his arm with 0 tears (he held perfectly still & watched)
**1 urine sample (who would have thought peeing in a cup could be so fun)
**8 stickers for being so tough

****THE RESULTS ARE IN****

Trevor has moved to a class 4. Considering we were way above a class 5 this is indeed progress. Yes, we still are Epipen ready. But it feels great to believe we are finally heading in the right direction...cautiously.

makes my heart melt...

8 years seperate these two - you would never know it. I pray the bond they have now continues throughout their entire lives. Spencer is so lucky to have someone put him on a pedestal and Trevor is so lucky to have that someone be his big brother.

Little man turns 4!

...one of the sparkles in my life...

Track & Field day photos...

On a gorgeous Monday morning I ventured over to watch Spencer and Cassidy participate in Track and Field day events. Spencer ran numerous events and received first place in every one. His long legs carry him well. Cassidy ran an event as well and received third place. She enjoyed the three-legged race with her best friend. They placed second. This last photo of Spencer is when he crossed the finish line. He had a pretty good lead on the pack and he was beaming proud.

Office - check.

We've been discussing plans for well over a year and finally this past May we finished the office. I shouldn't say "we" really...the work was all hired, but we paid. Oh yes, I did the painting. Does that count? It is set up for two work stations, so both our computers are in there now. I would love to hide out in the office for hours, but somehow the noise coming from the other rooms requires my presence. Go figure.

It's been chilly, but.....

God's creatures are starting to show up everywhere. The kids (Dad included as supervisor) have been catching fish - only to throw them back in the water. Not quite the opener yet. Trevor caught two big Walleye's. He didn't mind putting them back in the water. He thinks he'll just catch them later.




Trevor and I were shocked one day when we came home to this creature staring into our basement window. He obviously doesn't like the wind either.



We have Wood ducks that show up every morning. The females sit in the nest while dad stands guard. They are beautiful.

Are you enjoying the Spring?

What's that noise?

I was on the other side of the house when I thought I heard water running. Not just your typical faucet running, but the sound of water filling up. As I run for the noise which sounded from the kitchen, I round the corner to find this...


"Trevor! What are you doing?" I ask. "I'm taking a bath mom - but the water is cold, brrrrr." Seriously? I have never given him a bath in the sink. What would possess him at this age to take matters into his own hands? Trust me, the entire weekend consisted of many baths in the sink. That'll teach me. From now on, I'm leaving dirty dishes in there!

Watching and waiting

Why would a dog lay on a huge snowdrift...first off, so she wouldn't fall through and sink up to her head, but why would she remain so still for minutes and minutes...


I hear something...


Stop bothering me...I'm waiting...


There he is!

Enjoying the view

There are many reasons I'm thankful for where I live...here's a few photos for you to enjoy as well. I love waking up to the sun rising on the lake and looking out the kitchen window and watching the sun set behind all the trees....God definitely loves color.

trick or treat fun

Sister was kind enough to help Trevor color...or watch anyway.

Get the goo!

This past weekend turned out to be quite fun for the entire family. Even though I was busy planning a carnival - I did finally get some pumpkin carving in. Yes, it was the day before Halloween, but at least our pumpkins looked fresh on the steps. The seeds got roasted and life was good. On Halloween we all attended the carnival downtown. It was full of games, prizes, food and fun. When it came time to go trick-or-treating, I realized how old Spencer and Cassidy have become. Spencer ditched us to go with a friend - which only triggered Cassidy to do the same. So, Trevor and I headed out on our own. Which, honestly, was a whole lot of fun. He had the whole process down flat. If the homeowner waited to long, he would dig into the bowl himself and take ONE treat. If they had DOTS, licorice, or a dum dum sucker those were his first choices. Those that gave him chocolate - he would politely say, "thank you" and then when they closed the door he would look at me and say, "They gave me chocolate. I can't have chocolate. I'll give it to Cassie." I was so proud of him. He has come a long way with this allergy and is understanding more and more about his limitations. About two weeks ago, he experienced a reaction which lasted about 90 minutes. I thought a food was safe & was wrong. It made him extremely sick. It was a very rough 90 minutes. He never wants to do that again. (and neither do I or his dad). *still praying he outgrows it*

Last days of summer...

We soaked up what rays we could...spent as much time on the water as we could...Spencer spent many days and MANY hours on the lake catching turtles. We took care of 7 for a few weeks along with 4 toads. What is it with kids and creatures. The joys of watching toads eat bugs that we caught for them. Let's just say they didn't go hungry. In fact, just the opposite..poor things were so fat it was uncalled for. The turtles tried to make a run for the water every time they were let out, but let's just say that was NOT going to happen. Ah, yes - the last days of summer....

After playing on the water we took on a thunderstorm with hail.

It was raining so hard the kids & dads enjoyed the overflow of water.

Trevor loved the penguins at the Omaha Zoo.

Feeding the birds, but they were constantly flying about.