you've come a long way...

My Eli! You really have come a long way in the last year + some. Yesterday we met with LPS to evaluate if we need to continue services with them. We sat at the table and they did some assesments with you. I'm sure they seemed like fun games as you smiled the whole time. They asked questions until you hit a "ceiling" or a point where you could no longer consistantly answer the questions correctly. I think you enjoyed the challenged = ) While she couldn't show me exact results, we know that you are now testing at and well above the verbal and expressive language requirements. When we started the program, you were barely below one of the required levels, but for the other, you were well below the required level. Almost into the level of "severe", whatever that means. It was the source of many frustrations for you, which resulted in behaviors I didn't know how to deal with. We will never know if you were just a late talker, your sisters did all the talking for you, or if working with LPS gave you the boost you needed. What I do know is I'm EXTREMELY proud of you and all you have accomplished. In a few short weeks, you will be 3!! Wow! Things I love right now is that you can count to 20, you can recite your night time prayer and lead dinner time prayer (and are often the first to remind us when we forget). You are sweet and sensitive mixed with a little mischevious.

Mark and I enjoyed a day up in Omaha last week! My dad braved taking the kids to a movie and over night!! Thank you! We got the majority of our xmas shopping done and enjoyed dinner and after drinks with my brother and SIL. It's been a long time since we've done that and I LOVE that my bro is close again! We went to Dario's Brasserie. Everything was simply wonderful. Top notch food, fine beers, and an elegant french-style ambiance. For beer, I chose the Lindemans Framboise, which is a beer with a mix of raspberries. I strayed from my usual dark, Guiness like beer. However, we all chose a variety and tooks turns sampling so I did get a sip of the St. Bernardus Abt 12, a nice dark beer! For my entree, I chose the Mussels blue cheese. I HIGHLY recommend going here if you have the opportunity.

A summary of Thanksgiving in pictures.

Long trip down. Eli watching Shrek. Not pictured is the girls in the back watching High School Musical.


After a little while on the road he's out! Yeah = )


Did I mention eating? In typical Thanksgiving fashion, good food and desserts were plentiful. Eli helps himself to 2 servings of dessert.


Play time. Pick-up time. Play time. Pick-up time. You get the drift.


Lots of love and chillaxin'!

time for a change...

I'm FINALLY getting around to changing my blog header. It's going to take me at least a couple of tries to get things just right. So, the blog is in a state of ever changing flux at the moment. Don't be surprised if you see a couple of different "faces" during the the process = )

her prayer

For Schuyler's bedtime prayer, this is what she said, "Dear God, Thank you for all the snow and cancelling school so my mom could stay home with us for 3 days. Maybe you could do this again in January." How very sweet is that?!

Being off the past 3 days has been good. At times, I wondered if we were going stir crazy but yesterday was truly a good day. We played lots of games... sequence, which Eli is now into, Sorry, and the Wii! Tuesday and Wednesday we enjoyed sledding down the walk path next to us. Thursday, they got the streets plowed so we could leave home. We went up to Southeast High School for some more intense sledding. Mark had got a couple more sleds so there was no fighting and everybody was sharing!! It was very apparent to me that Eli is NOT so little. Seems like the past few years I've had to carry or help him up the steep slope. Not this year. Not only can he make it up all by himself but he doesn't want mom's help nor her hand. In fact, he's able to carry the sled up and on multiple occassions (after I tried to help) he told me, "I do it by myself"!

Last night we listened to Polar Express on cd. I need to go to the library and get more books on tape/cd.

Here are my 2 of my 3 snow angels = )

This one was not wanting me to take his picture. "Don't take my temperature!!". I'm sure he meant picture but for the record, he doesn't like his temperature take either!


This ones love the snow and was screaming with glee! Some of our neighbors may beg to differ on the sound. See, you must live with her to know her different screams = )

where, oh where...

does the time go? This post will mostly be randomness as I just don't have the time I would like to devote to it right now.

Last week I found a sign written in Schuyler's handwriting and it was taped to Schuyler and Mack's bedroom door. It said, "I want to be left alone." Does it have to start so soon?! It's a little bit heartbreaking. It's independence and the need for space.

Eli is a master puzzler. The kid has an addiction. He's good. Really good. It started with 20 piece puzzles and it's now up to 50 or 60. Wow!

Mack is happy that the lights are up on our house. We did it the weekend before Thanksgiving, when it was warm. Everyday when we get home, she plugs them in. We finally put the tree up this week. She was ready to do it the minute we got back from our Thanksgiving break. Never mind the unloading, unpacking, laundry etc... that needed to be done. According to her, everybody else had their tree up. It took 3 days to get it up and decorated, with activities and what not. It passes her inspection of beautifulness (barely). Apparently, it needs more ornaments. I wanted to tell her it was because of her and her siblings we don't have as many as we used to. However, the rest of the house is not beautiful in her eyes. I think she has been looking at too many potterybarn magazines or better home and garden. So, I will be attempting to beautify my home. This is NOT my forte so I'm seeking inspiration - on a budget please! Leave me a msg or send me an email with suggestions. I don't want to let my daughter down = )

I know some of you enjoy your beer and adult beverages as much as I do. I highly recommend Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale. They had samples at the grocery store and my hubby picked it up for me. I evidently am grocery shopping at the wrong time!! They don't have these samples when I go, which always tends to be with 3 kids!!!

3 dogs...

Me: "Eli, what do you want for Christmas?"

Eli: "Three dogs."

Me: "Um, that's a lot of dogs. What would you name them?"

Eli: "Green"

Me: Hmmm, that is his favorite color. "What about the other dogs? What would their name be?"

Eli: "Pink"

Me: I might be seeing a trend. Pink is Mack's favorite color. "What about the last dog?"

Eli: "Red."

Me: Here I thought he would choose yellow, which is Schuyler's favorite color. Sorry Schuyler, guess he's going with Dad's favorite color. Wouldn't those be interesting dog names. I can just hear it now, "Come Green, Pink, and Red. Oh, and Sadie." It's a good thing the Lincoln city dog limit is 3!

Mack is officially racing around on her bike without her training wheels!! I have NEVER seen a girl so hard on herself. I think she thought she would take them off, get on her bike and go! When we started, she would get frustrated with everything. From the leaves and acorns on the sidewalk to any other pedestrian with whom she had to share rights of the sidewalk with, but specifically her brother and sister. She would play the blame game. "Mom, you're helping too much. Now you're not helping enough." After this little episode I told her I would help if she could be nice otherwise I was walking away and the choice was hers. Let's just say I didn't help and actually, I think we were both better off. She still had moments of frustration and a melt down or two but she did it herself. Go Mackie, go! Next task, learning to turn around in drive ways = )

You are probably expecting pictures of the kids. Sorry folks. I have another landscape. I shouldn't tell you this but I took it from a moving car!! Even though I would have composed it differently given the opportunity, I still like the image.

a traditional Halloween

As far as costumes are concerned. Here is our spooky spider, witchy witch and crazy cat. The spider has detested costumes since his first Halloween! Loves it until it's actually time to put it on!! Our witch LOVES Halloween and couldn't sleep the night before because she was so anxious. I can't imagine what Christmas will be like! Our cat was a bit under the weather and ran a low grade fever but that didn't keep her down. Well, really nothing keeps her down. She's kind of like an energizer bunny. These were taken BEFORE we painted faces!!

spider...


witch...


cat (with spider peaking)...


Eli has developed an obsession with Kung Fu Panda! I'm wondering when his love affair will end? He's done this with other movies... Shrek, then Lion King, now Kung Fu Panda. Time for a new one = )

Mark and I attempted and a photo shoot for our xmas card. As if it wasn't challenging enough, I thought it would be a good idea to take Sadie along, too! Hmm, must have had some crazy juice for lunch or something!! I *think* (ie crossing my fingers) we got 1 with all 3 kids and maybe one with the dog, too. I know I got a great image of Mack and Eli. As much as I'm dying to share, you might not get to see until the xmas card is done. In typical fashion, there is always some drama when we attempt a photo shoot. As we are packing up the van, Eli slams Mack's fingers in the door. Instantaneously, there is high pitched screaming and tears flowing down her face. It's already swollen and black and blue. We race home (thankfully we weren't far)! Mack is still screaming and crying and we sit her down on daddy's lap with 2 ice packs. (We figure we better double up.) She calms down with the assistance of some fruit snacks. It is still swollen and black and blue but much better than we initially feared. Hopefully, I have not scarred her for life and she will eventually do another photo shoot = )

how spectacular

How spectacular is this?! This is what I witnessed on Sunday evening, along with several other beautiful scenes. See, I had some time to myself traveling back from a photoshoot. On the way there, my mind was racing, making mental do lists and reminders and flipping through the stations. It wasn't until the way home that I let my mind rest and take notice of my surroundings. The natural beauty that God has created that I don't take notice of often enough. The way the sun illuminated the cornfields, the sky filled with beautiful white clouds, the red barn sitting in the middle of the lush green grash, and SO many other things. Had I not needed to pick up Mack from a bday party, I would have made several stops and attempted to capture some of God's beauty. I was fortunate enough to capture this sunset. I have looked at it several times as a reminder to myself to laydown my heavy burden I have put on myself. It is not God who puts it there but me. I fulfill a million roles a day... photographer, care giver, mother, wife, friend, teacher, etc... but rarely do I fulfill the one role I need to, which is child of God. I'm to busy making it from day to day, hour to hour and sometimes minute to minute. In the past 3 days I have vowed to spend more time with Him. Even if short periods. I'm laying my burdens at his feet, waving my white flag and asking for help. It's hard for me not pick it all up b/c I like the control. But really, even when I think I'm in control, I'm not.