This week at our house...

Right on the ledge next to the front door we have a robin's nest. I am afraid that two of the eggs haven't hatched because we keep using the door too much...But this little guy is thriving and is now at least twice the size of this pic. I will have to get another one. Soon. I feel so blessed to see a bird nesting and caring for her young up close.
Sad news: 3 of my friends are moving away this month. This is the going away gift I made for Rachael. Kara and Liz's gifts are still in progress (as is my mom's Mother's day gift from LAST year! I think I have a problem, folks!)
My organizer I made on the wall and working hard.
And last week, Seth helped me with assembling this rag quilt to go to a baby/mom in Mali. An 11 year old girl from our church has a ministry making blankets for the hospital there, and we were privileged to help out.
Other news: Seth and Gavin had their last 2 skating lessons (at least till after summer is over), and Daddy got them their own hockey skates and upgraded their sticks (Gavin had outgrown his) and put fresh tape on them. Seth got to play soccer today. He rarely touches the ball during games, but has a good instinct where on the field to move to get in good defensive position. He did have one good run down the field! Gavin missed his game because it was during church time this morning. :o(! Andrew's deployment got cancelled. This means that he will probably be having a new deployment scheduled to leave in June and be gone for longer... This messes up a lot of our summer plans and I am grieving him not being there to pick me up from the RAGBRAI and for family vacations, and also my friends leaving. We are however enjoying having Andrew home with us for a little longer this spring for sure!!!

Flying the Open Skies.

Saturday I had the privilege of going on a spouse's flight. That means we got to go on a trip on a plane similar to Andrew's. This does not happen very often, and we were going to have an opportunity to do a fly over of Mt. Rushmore. The bad news was that the weather there was not cooperating. The good news is that we had a great flight, I met some new spouses and was able to thank in person the key spouse who helped me solve my snow shoveling problems this winter, and we flew out to Denver/Colorado Springs and home again. We also beat the big storm that hit several hours after we got home (hail - marble to golf ball sized). I got to wear Andrew's headset and hear everything going on in the cockpit and talk with others on board.The view out a big window in the side of the plane's cargo door. We got to walk around and see everything during the whole flight after takeoff - very fun!
They have a window in the bottom of the plane with a video camera attached. We were able to watch the ground on take off, and then climb down in the hatch and check it out. Kind of like a glass bottom boat. :o)
I got to sit in this seat between the pilots for a little bit and ask them anything I wanted to (the navigator was right behind to the right.
Spouses looking out the big cargo door window.
View of the Rocky Mountains between the clouds.
The airplane travels to Russia to monitor nuclear sites in accordance with peace treaties. They travel with their mechanics and their tool boxes that are just like Pete's! Locked down in metal frames for safety!
We got to see our plotted and actual course on the monitors.
The pilots let me come back up into the cockpit for a picture while they circled DIA. "Hi, Abby!"
It was really nice to get a little taste of flying like Andrew does when he is gone on his missions. To Denver and back home again in a few hours - AMAZING!

Happy Mothers Day!

My boys gave me a great Mothers Day. Yesterday Andrew took the boys on a Daddy Date to the Children's Museum while I biked and got a facial. They came home with flowers for me that they had picked out themselves. The also gave me my gift early - a bikerack for hauling the bikes on the car. Then we went to Andrew's hockey game - they are in the playoffs and his team won. This morning I got breakfast in bed! Today we had church, pizza lunch (keep this in mind for going out to eat on Mothers Day - you don't have to fight the crowds!), and this afternoon we have soccer and I have another bike ride ahead of me.

Quote of the day - last night at dinner (out of the blue, mind you) Seth asked, "Mommy, is there no farting on Mothers Day?" That would be correct, my son, and I will be reminding you of this for years to come!!!!

Happy Mothers Day! Love from NE!

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)