Easter

I enjoyed making the boys ties for Easter. It may become a tradition. They just glowed when they saw the fabric they picked turned into something they could wear. It made me so happy and the late night worth the effort! We enjoyed a quiet day as a family, and I attempted cooking my first lamb roast - yum. We especially enjoyed reading our new Easter book and doing our resurrection eggs. It is amazing how much they remember of the story and how it is becoming more meaningful to them as they grow. We are so thankful to have received such a Godly heritage and for the privilege of passing it on to our sons.

News From Nebraska

The wind - I biked into the wind today for 53 minutes. The return trip took exactly half of that time! CRAZY!

Allergy Season: Seth has a bad bout of it for the first time. I also am feeling sick and miserable. I hope I am not making others miserable having to be around me. I have started shots, but it will be months before they take full effect.

Cars: We had one crashed in our yard when we got home from errands today. The guy driving took out a light pole and fire hydrant at the other end of the block, then near the path ended up on the sidewalk/edge of our yard. He managed to thread the needle through the light pole and utility box on the edge of the road and our fence. He came to a halt just before our garden and a second fire hydrant. Amazingly there is no damage to our yard. An eyewitness said he tossed something from his car towards the empty house across the street and got out of his car and danced in the road. The grass was fine. No one was hurt. Not how anyone planned to spend part of our Thursday. The boys enjoyed seeing the tow truck and the police dog, though.

Rumor: I might be getting an iPad for an anniversary gift. We checked them out at the store, and within minutes the boys had figured out how to use them. Seth found an app that helped someone speak to a doctor and tell them what was wrong with them? Suddenly I hear, "private parts" "private parts" "private parts"... Nice, Seth. How do boys find these things?!?

Skating and Soccer: The boys are really really enjoying both (Pictures to come as soon as I figure out how to download the picture from my email. I seem to not be able to do this every other time I try it.)

I think there was another funny story I wanted to tell everyone, so if I remember it I will post it later.

We did get one shot of everyone on Easter, so hopefully Andrew emails it to me, and I can post that as well.

Love to everyone!

Thankful.

For time alone - even if it is late at night.

For being able to face my panic when I had to take Gavin to the ER on Friday.
That Gavin seems to be improving, that they think they know what is wrong with him, and that we have medications to help him.

For a beautiful day at the zoo with my fun, crazy boys and some great friends.

For a husband who gives up evening and weekend time to get his masters degree and work hard for our family.

Those who inspire and encourage me to keep my focus.

For beautiful fabric and an amazing sewing machine to make things with.

For my mom. I sure miss her lately, and knowing what great parents I have really encourages me. Thanks for always answering the phone when I call, Mom! :o)

For colors. I love color.

For blue skies. And wind.

For my bike and a challenge that is too big.

For "Hosanna!" Knowing that when I call on Jesus to save me, to save us - that he has and will.

Bike Log.

This was my route (click on the link). It took me 40 min. to get to the park, and 30 to get home. I am thinking being well hydrated and having the wind at my back is a good thing. 13 more miles done. Oh, and I got zipped past by a guy wearing a RAGBRAI jersey (I am guessing he was a good 15 years older than me.) I sure have my work cut out for me! :o)

Cool link.

This is an update to my last biking log. I found a website that records routes you take, milage, feet of incline... I put in the route I took, and it tells me how much elevation I gained on my last ride: 574 feet. The first day of RAGBRAI we climb 4000+, so I am guessing that riding in this area is going to help me a LOT with getting used to hills.

I just did the route that I took to Bible Study a couple of weeks ago into strong headwinds. That shows .6 miles less than the odometer on my bike, and the elevation graph doesn't show the HUGE hill I had to climb at the end. However, I am guessing the elevation increase is probably in the ballpark, as I am coming away from the river as I bike -almost 384 feet of climb. It sure felt like a LOT more that day!

Log.

Total mileage to date: 44 miles. A LONG way to go to get to 1000 before the last week in July, but the good news is that I did the same ride I started with - 12.8 miles and shaved 13 minutes off of my time. Then I rode home on the streets - up and down some killer hills. I worked hard, but got home a lot more quickly. I think that has something to do with coasting down some of those hills (top speed 31.2 mph!) NO shame about coasting here. :o) Now to clean the kitchen, organize my home and get ready for a fun cookout with great friends tonight.

Lungs.

Appointment today. Not going to do anything till we find out how much the problems are being caused by the allergies. Not torture for me today. :o)

Hives and Answers

Yesterday afternoon I had a follow up appointment with the ENT specialist. They did allergy testing on me. 25 shots to a 2 inch square of my arm. Then a steroid shot to my butt. I reacted strongly to almost every single thing - dust, trees, mold, weeds... I ended up with hives all over my upper body till about 9:30 at night. There is a really good chance that all my sinus issues will be resolved as we treat the allergy issues. I start with getting shots every Monday morning, and figuring out how to fix any mold problems that may exist in our home. I am so thankful to start getting real answers. Today I have a second appointment with lung doctors to find out more about my asthma problems.

Nesting Geese Week 2.

This is the second week we have walked out on the boardwalk to watch the nesting geese. These geese are RIGHT next to the boardwalk. Last week they were building their nest. This week they have eggs (we got a quick glimpse of at least 4 - Nana showed great restraint and didn't poke her with a stick to get her off the nest!) Last week the big male in the front came at the boys hissing - I hissed back and he has pretty much left us alone ever since. We were told this is their 4th year nesting in this same spot (the female is banded.)This nest was being sat on last week and this week. We did get to see eggs in the nest, but it was too far away to get a good picture of them (there was major drama of a bachelor male trying to climb up on the little island - then the mate came flying in and ran him off - the boys are starting to really enjoy the drama of nature unfolding as they learn to watch and listen.)
This couple is on the other side of the boardwalk, and they were building their nest still. I am guessing they will be sitting on eggs next week.
Nana and the boys looked it up, and they sit for about 4 weeks, so we are guessing 2 more weeks till we see the first goslings.

Skating Lessons.

I finally remembered to take my camera! The bad news is that I got a funky glare off the glass in a lot of my pictures. This week Seth looked like a pro skating backwards. Gavin has a hard time with backwards, but is working so hard! Gramma Nana got to come see this week and was VERY impressed with their progress.Both boys skating backwards!

Colorado Weekend Getaway

Abby and I got a weekend with no kids thanks to our loving and supportive husbands. For me, this couldn't have come at a better time. I had a long drive each way, but it was totally worth it. We found an inexpensive B&B, went shopping (the quilt store and the mall), ate Greek gyros (Abby for the first time), Abby got her hair done, we went to the flea market because we felt like it (Andrew made fun of my Aztec salad servers that I got a good deal on), and worked on sewing projects for uninterrupted hours. We planned on going to Church in the City on Sunday morning, but the weather forcasted snow - and the clouds rolled in as we were loading the car. We decided I needed to make a quick getaway. I tried outrunning the storm and was on the edge of the cloud cover till halfway through Nebraska, with crazy strong winds the whole way. We have the winds and clouds here at home today, but it was nice to finally see the storm in my rearview window. Here are my only pictures:
Abby and I lost in the parking lot looking for the car.The storm in the rearview mirror with blue skies ahead.