They're Home!

Today Jim's dad and stepmom returned from their 5 week stay in Omaha for Dan's kidney transplant, in which Sandy was the donor. They are both doing well considering all that they have been through. The kids and I made a welcome home sign for their garage door. The kids have been so excited all day. We finally got to see them this afternoon and it was so cute. Of course, I forgot to take my camera with me, but I did take a picture of the sign this a.m. when we put the sign out. We are so glad they are home safe and hope Dan continues to get stronger each day.

Nothing New

I don't have anything new or exciting to post, but feel a little lost because we have been without cable or internet for 2 days. Some contractor cut a fiber optic line that cut the connection to 4 or 5 citites. How do you cut a fiber optic line? I can't imagine it is easy to do. I bet someone's butt was on the chopping block. Can you imagine how many calls the cable company got in the last few days. It is one thing to lose cable, especially with all the new shows starting, but it is another thing to lose your internet connection. I was lost. What to do without my daily dose of reading blogs and shopping?
On another note, I am starting to dread the upcoming weekend. Jim is on ER call Fri., Sat, and Sunday. It is either super easy or terrible, not usually much in between. Ryan has a soccer game Sat morning, but I have a feeling it is going to be rained out. It is supposed to rain all weekend.
To change the subject, I am giving blood tomorrow morning at our church. I have not given blood in at least 8 years. I hope I don't pass out. :)
Sorry for such a boring post. Maybe I will have something more exciting to post tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Today is Ryan's 5th birthday! I can not believe he is 5 years old. He is simply one of the sweetest boys we know. He has changed our lives so much. We look forward to seeing his smiling face each morning. There are so many things that we love about Ryan, but here are just a few.
*The way his eyes sparkle, especially when he is up to no good
*The long lashes on his eyes
*He is everyone's friend
*His obession with Yugioh cards
*The special connection he has with his great grandma
*His love of school and learning
*His dimple when he smiles
*The highlights in his hair (it makes me sick considering how much I have to pay for mine)
*He adores his little sister

Thank you Ryan for being such a good kid. We love you so much and are looking forward to your birthday party on Saturday.

September 11th, 2001

I can vividly remember almost every detail of that terrible day. I was a day overdue from having my 1st child, Ryan. I was sitting in my green chair watching TV because I couldn't sleep and eating the only thing that didn't give me heartburn at this point, toast with peanut butter. They broke into "Good Morning America" with reports that the WTC had been hit by what they thought at first was a small passenger plane. I was talking to my dad on the phone and watching it live when I asked him if he just saw what I thought I saw, another plane hitting the towers. I could not believe it. From then on, I must have said every prayer I knew and even a few "Hail Mary's" that my child would not be born on this day. Jim was working at the VA at the time and was sent home early. Our good friends, the Larsen's, brought their kids and came down to our house to watch the days events unfold (they didn't have cable at the time). No one really knew what to say to one another; we just sat there sick to our stomachs. The only good thing was that Ryan was not born that day. He waited until the next day (12th) to be born. He will have quite a story to tell when he gets older. I can't believe that it has been 5 years and I can't believe my 1st baby will be 5 tomorrow.

The rest of the week...

We headed home from Omaha Thurday afternoon because Jim had 2 cases on Friday and I needed to get ready for my sister's baby shower. My sister Shannon is having her 1st baby, a girl, in December, so my other sister Erin and I threw her a shower at my house. It was so much fun. It rained ALL day Saturday, but that didn't stop anyone from coming. There were over 30 ladies in attendance. It was great! She got so many nice things from everyone. I think this made the uncoming birth more real for her. My friend made a cake for us and it was amazing! It was so cute and tasted amazing.
We ended our night by watching Texas lose to Ohio State. Even though I am a die hard Cornhusker, I do root for UT (except when playing NU) since Jim's stepdad works for UT and we got to go to many of their events while living in San Antonio.
Our crazy week ended with us going to mass on Sunday with my family and my cousin and her kids. My cousin Tracy and her 2 girls stayed with us Sat. night. Ryan and the girls had a blast. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of them together. We all fell into bed early Sunday night. It was a long week, but everything turned out great.

Where do I begin?

This last week has been so crazy that I don't even know where to begin. It started last Tuesday with us getting ready to go to Omaha for Jim's father's kidney transplant and for his stepmom's surgery since she was the kidney donor. We planned on leaving right after Jim got off work, but didn't leave until 2 hours later because they were concerned they night have to delay the procedure because of some last minute complications. In the end, they were both cleared, so we got in out car and headed to Omaha. We knew the kids wouldn't get to see Dan after the transplant in the hospital so we wanted to get together with them that night. To make a LONG stort short, we finally got to my sister's house and in bed at 11:30 that night. (Considering that my kids go to bed at 7:30 most nights, it was super late for them). It has not been quite a week yet since the surgery and they are both doing fantastic. Sandy has already been released and Dan should soon. We thank everyone out there for all of their prayers. We know it made a difference. (Part II of the crazy week up next.)

NU 49 LaTech 10

Congrats to the Huskers for winning their first game of the season. As you can see from the picture, Alex and her friend Madilyn were enjoying the game as much as the adults.

Go Big Red!!!

We love fall in our house. It means that football season is here! We are die hard fans (are there very many people in NE that aren't?) in our house. We have been wearing our red Husker shirts all day long and been counting down the hours until kickoff. The game is at 2:30 and is on TV. We can't wait!! GO BIG RED! GO BIG RED!