Sunrise

I took this picture Thanksgiving 2006 at my aunt's house in Juniata, NE, right off her porch. I profess that I am NOT a landscape photographer and have a lot to learn in this area but hopefully this image will give you a feeling of the beautiful sunrise we experienced that a.m. I love Lincoln. It's not too big and I'm comfortable here, it's been my home since I was 5. But I love rural Nebraksa as well and being on a farm. I remember all the wonderful memories of staying at my grandparent's house on the farm. I think it's great that we still have relatives who live in the "country" that we can visit so our kids can hopefully have some of the same memories. We are heading there on Saturday = )

I really want to share some pics of the birthday extravaganza but haven't had time!! The kids got to bed late on Sunday, Mark started golf league on Monday and left for Texas yesterday for the week. So, it's busy. For now, I'll share some highlights and the pictures will eventually follow. We survived the sleepover! We started the evening at Lost in Fun - a new indoor playland with huge play sets (like you would find outdoors), 3 bouncehouses, basketball, glow in the dark putt-putt, and things for little guys like Eli - ball pit, sand box, little play houses. As we were getting ready they had a really cool bubble machine where bubbles would fall from the ceiling! Kids were dancing in them and trying to catch them or clap them. The owners and staff are wonderful and the food was excellent. We thought for sure this would tire the kids out. Uh, not so much! I had 5 silly, giggly girls in the van with me and Mark had Eli. Once home, we had soccerball cupcakes and opened presents. Then, the real fun began. Getting the girls to get ready for bed, brush teeth, and call parents if necessary (or, 2 of the parents called us = ) Lights were out by 9:00 but not asleep until 10:00! We had one girl who was sad and cried, Madysn. We tried bringing her upstairs, giving her something to cuddle and called her parents for the 2nd time at 9:50 and I honestly didnt' think she would make it. Mack would not stop talking so I told her she could sleep with mommy ;-) Schuyler and her soccer/church bud, Paaka, are 2 peas in a pod! While upstairs with Madysn, I came back down to find them in the bathroom giggling! After re-tucking everybody back in bed I laid with them and they finally all fell asleep. I put Mack in her bed but at 4:40 a.m., Mack and Madysn couldn't sleep so I through them in bed with me and kicked Mark onto the couch. All were up at 7:00 a.m.!

Well, if that wasn't enough excitement we had a little incident with Sadie. The girls had all been picked up, Mark had left to help a friend with a project, and I had just got Eli to nap so it was now time to break into one of the new craft kits Schuyler had received. As we were making crowns I noticed Sadie pawing at the back door. I didn't think anything of it b/c she usually does this, but then I noticed a big mark on her face. Poor Sadie had a nasty cut on her face and I knew it needed to be looked at it. I don't handle these things well and did the best I could to clean it with Mack crying because she didn't want Sadie to die! I assured her that Sadie wasn't dying and she may need stitches. Well, this settled her some but she was still very upset. Luckily, Mark's parents were close and once they got there I took Sadie to the emergency vet hospital. The cut was very superficial and although it was bad, stitches were not required. They shaved some of the fur to verfiy and cleaned her up real well. It still looks yucky and she will have a scar but we are so thankful it's not anything worse!

Sunday, we celebrated with family. Schuyler chose a red and yellow, lemon soccer ball cake. Actually, it turned out more like hot pink and yellow but still very cute. She has been enjoying all her presents. If all this had not been enough, I spaced treats for school. So, Monday night we make some healthy oatmeal cookies and she took those yesterday.

Okay, probably more than you wanted/needed to know. I'll try to follow up with the pictures, which will be much more exciting then just words = )