Kris Walter Soccer Tourney

Olivia had a blast with her friend.  

They ran around, got grandmas to buy them treats, yelled cheers for their sisters 

and ready for more in a couple weeks.

 Reagan in the Norfolk (pronounced Nor.fork) game

 Reagan sending the ball to the other side of the field

Cousins, Bailey and Lauren got to play against each other.

 Look at that stretch!

 Our first class goalie...great job this weekend!!

Playing OFC Gold division 1 

This kind of pushing was typical all weekend.

Be strong Ky!

 Can you see how much smaller we are?

Great things come in small packages!

Great job #7

 Go Gab!!

Reagan powering in another corner kick against Lincoln Shock
This game was a heart breaker.  As far as skills go, this Lincoln team really wasn't that great and yet we lost to them 2-1.  I'm not sure what happened to our intensity.
Their 2 goals were not earned.  Goal #1 was headed in by Reagan...poor dear was devastated that she scored the tying goal for the other team in the first half.  Goal #2 came in the second half.  It bounced off of our goalie's hands and trickled into the goal.
These things happen and it's nothing for the girls to hang their heads about.

 Is there anything better than girls having a blast?

 Mentally getting ready for the championship game against Columbus

 Parent meeting after our final game.

Look to the left...Heidi made it to a couple games.

 Reagan receiving her medal from Coach Boatwright

Proud of these girls!! 

It was a hot weekend in Lincoln but so much fun.

The girls won their bracket and made it to the championship game today.

We came up against a great U11 team from Columbus.  

The Fusion girls brought home a 2nd place trophy.  Great Job!!!

Always gotta have the silly picture!

Good Job Girls!!

1st day of 4th grade

Last day of 4th grade

Mr Campbell has been one of my favorite teachers at the girls' elementary school.  He is known as a "hard" teacher but we have a different view of him.  Both Emma and Reagan found him to be a very positive and caring teacher.  He pushes students to do THEIR best and always reach for the next level of success.  I have heard him use his firm teacher voice but never say a cross word to or about a student.  Mr Campbell, you are a top notch teacher and I hope you plan to stick around so Olivia can have you also.

1st day of Kindergarten

Last day of Kindergarten

Mrs Mosby is a very kind hearted woman.  Truly the perfect kindergarten teacher.  She took kiddos who didn't know how to write their name or even recognize a single letter in August and made them ready for 1st grade.  I have no idea how she did it.  I wish she was looping up next year but she is nearly irreplaceable in kindergarten.  Livie will miss you this summer.

No, Emma wouldn't let me take a picture of her with all of her middle school teachers...I just don't get that!

Emma's 7th grade team of teachers

7th grade Recognition Day

Going up for her awards

All 3 of our daughters had a wonderful year in school.  We are so blessed to have children who not only excel in school but actually enjoy their time in class.  Thank you girls for working hard, being positive role models and respecting your teachers as authority figures.  Your effort is noticed by many.  We love you all!

Dragonflies

 Is there anything cuter than a little girl with her daddy right before they take the field for the very first time?

The Dragonflies are coached by the head varsity and asst varsity softball coaches at Millard South High School.  Steve and Chris have equated coaching 4-6 year old girls is much like "herding cats!"

 The original plan was to have 3 practices then the games would begin.

Living in Nebraska it is ridiculous to schedule an outdoor event for 3 weekends in a row and think all 3 days the weather will cooperate.  With two rainouts, we got one practice in then Friday we started games.

In this recreational league all the kids play defense at one time and everyone bats each inning.  (Don't worry, it's a two inning game.)  No one gets out and everyone runs all the way around the bases eventually (only one base at a time, unless you are the last batter).

At the end of the game the girls asked, "Did we win?"  Coach Chris answered, "We didn't lose!" They all cheered. On the way to the van Liv said, "I can't believe we had only one practice and we were still that awesome!"  Love it!

 She's ready to catch a ball but I don't think she ever did.

At this age, they hit off the "T"  Great job girl!  After hitting the ball she even knew which way to run.  I highlight that because there were a few girls that headed straight for the pitchers mound.

Liv's two big sisters were assistant coaches.  My official job is to take pictures, bring snacks and cheer on the team.  What a great day at the ballpark!

Tooth Fairy

The day my little one has been waiting on.  After months of a loose tooth and then at least a week of seeing that thing barely hanging in there...it is OUT!!  I love seeing the proud moment of the first tooth coming out.  It's another sign of growing up.  Do they really have to grow up?

We loosely promote the tooth fairy in our home.  In typical Raabe fashion, the tooth fairy brings 2 quarters not $5 or worse yet $20.  (what is wrong with parents these days?)  It's a fun little fictional story that is not emphasized but we do let our girls tell us if they think it is real or not.  Their rationalizations are fun to hear and certainly note worthy for the baby book.  I grew up putting my teeth in the pocket of a little pink pillow that Aunt Delma made for me.  I think my brothers just put theirs under the pillow.  However, in Chris' family they put the fallen tooth in a glass of water on the kitchen counter.  In both cases the child would find coins the following morning.  In our home we do the tooth in a cup of water...that is so much easier!!  Do you remember the movie a few years ago staring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson playing the part of the Tooth Fairy? It kind of shook up the image of the sweet dainty magical fairy, it still makes me smile thinking about a rough hockey player becoming the tooth fairy.  Whether you support or reject the idea of letting children believe for a time in this fictional character, we can agree or disagree and still both go to heaven.

I would love to hear about your traditions as you grew up and what you did/do with your children.

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Giving a shout out to my cousin Erika and hubby, Fritz.....congrats on your new baby girl.  She was the exact size of my first.  8lbs 4oz and 21in.  Their lives are forever changed and for the better I do believe.  Praying for sleep and strength in their home.

David Crowder

...was not at our church today but we did have David Potter back for a wonderful church service filled with music. "Rock the Temple"  Loved it!  David Potter left Christ Community Church about 18 months ago to pursue seminary in St Louis, Mo.  What a blessing it was to be lead by David again.

There was a line in a song today that spoke to me.

"I lay no claim to this blood bought life."

What a powerful reminder that it has nothing to do with my "greatness" it's all about the shed blood of Jesus.  What I do here on earth is nothing compared to the life of the perfect lamb that was slain at my expense.  Thank you Jesus!

I pray that you experience the peace of our loving Father.  God gave all he had to save us from our sin. 

**************BOOK UPDATE***************

I wish I had more to tell you...soon my friends.  But what I can tell you is this, I finally read all of book #2.  It is good.  OK, it is really good!!  There are some new characters introduced that you will enjoy getting to know. The book brought me to tears a few times, I laughed and even felt uncomfortable in a few situations.  The author received a suggestion from me that he did not readily accept.  Speaking as a mom, I wanted some stuff taken out of that book, we'll see what happens.  :)  I can't wait to hear your responses. 

Chris has been revising (FINALLY) and got through to the final page last night.  Revising book #2 is a little different than the first.  Chris has noticed he did a better job writing this time around. We are still hoping for an October release.  More news later as it becomes official.

Blessings to you all this week.

Getting Braces

My girl has had a rough few days.
FRIDAY: the trackster had an impromptu meeting with the asphalt. All it took was a toe catching the corner of a hurdle and seconds later she was bloody with a brief moment of blacked out vision. The poor dear came home with bandages and a headache with a nauseous stomach to follow soon.
SATURDAY thru MONDAY: nothing but a whole bunch of R&R for her, which normally would be the definition of heaven for Em but this time she missed fun activities and felt crummy.
TUESDAY: Braces put on first thing in the morning.

The girl has done a great job coping.

 Walking in

 Waiting to go back

And here is my beautiful daughter with her new braces

Hang in there sweetie!  Day one is done just 16-18 months left to go.  

Passwords

What do you do about them? 

How do you keep them all straight? 

Oh My Word!  I think I might be getting weak in the brain activity category.  The synaptic gaps are enlarging.  I can't remember my passwords.  Well, some of them I can.  But then there are the new ones that have to have an extra number or one more character or a capital letter in them.  Geesh, I am struggling to just use my debit card at Costco.  To make matters worse, I've gotta know all my husband's passwords too because I manage his blog, twitter, personal facebook page and THE NEW PHENOMENON fb page.  Oh, let's add one more person...Emma has a password on her ipod, phone, email and facebook page.  I can now understand the need for a chip being implanted into the arm, maybe I could get 3 chips.

I have a place on my phone to store passwords.  As you would guess it is necessary to have a password to access that area of the phone.  But then consider the phone getting hacked.  Don't you know Apple assures me that their encryption process takes place every 25-30 seconds, changing continually so it is impossible to hack.

RIGHT!!!! (insert some sarcasm)

I know there are people out there with nothing better to do than to create something bad to get people's information off of their devices.  See I don't even have the words for what I am trying to say because I am so behind in the tech world...but "it" still exists!

If you have good advice for this never at home, stay-at-home mom please feel free to share.

Before clicking on the "publish" button I had a quick thought...

I have read time and time again that God does not want us to worry.  Maybe you can't hear my frantic voice in my writing but I wrote this in about 35 seconds. I was feeling frantic. Take whatever you are holding on to, open your fingers and turn your hands upside down.  Let the troubles of this world fall from your control into His (God).  God is good and has our best interests at heart.  I'm pretty sure God knows all about encryption and passwords.  He doesn't need my help.

PEACE!

Hurdles...Really?

She might have been tricked!

Simply because a friend talked her into going to the track meeting one day after school and then lied to her saying "if you do hurdles, you don't have to run much" Emma is now a trackster.  I'm so proud of you E, for trying something new and so far out of your comfort zone!

The whole idea of Emma running at all is so foreign!  I believe my mouth dropped open and just hung that way for a good five minutes when E came home from school with the news that she was on the track team.  Don't let her long slender build or long legs fool you into thinking she's a runner.  Her strong dislike of running, sweating and physical exertion has prevented her (to this point) from running unless it's to be first in line at dinner time.

 Emma's first track meet

I believe she came in 3rd or 4th in hurdles.

Aw, a girl after my own heart...running the 100m dash.

Third place is a great job, Emma.

She also ran in the 200m dash and did well in that race too.

In middle school I ran the 75m and 100m dashes as well as doing the long jump.

Not to toot my own horn but I was pretty successful until I hit my sophomore or junior year of high school.  So sad when you are all dried up at the ripe age of 16 or 17. 

Five more meets in Emma's 7th grade running career.  I hope she can continue to improve her personal best and maybe even develop a love for this new activity in her life.



Stephen Fite Concert

The week before spring break I was able to attend both the kindergarten field trip downtown to see Stephen Fite and the 4th grade field trip to Lincoln to see the state capitol, Nebraska History Museum and Memorial Stadium (Husker Heaven).  :)  Here are a few snapshots of my time with the kindergartners.

Stephen Fite sings silly songs about learning

Sweet Jeans

The kiddos getting into the dance moves...tongue sticking out & all.

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I want to give an update on little Miss Molly.  Again, you can look for her on caringbridge.com  Message me if you need help. Molly is now in a fantastic rehab facility.  Her progress is slow but sure. She is doing well with the trach, as you can imagin there is a great concern for infection.  Each day she shows improvement with tracking, recognition and muscle control in her neck.  Today Molly will get new casts on her feet to keep training those muscles to flex.  Dad's parents have been here but are leaving tomorrow to go back home.  Mom's parents arrived last night and will take over care of the other siblings. This will be a long journey.

-Please pray for her breathing and the reduction of secreations. 

-Right now Molly does have a little bug, pray for a quick and total recovery.

-Please continue to lift up Mom (Stacy), Dad (Mike), Beth, Jake, and Gab.

-One more request, Molly's Grandma broke her arm and has surgery tomorrow.

Hippity Hoppity

Easter is all around us. 

We've heard lots about Cadbury eggs, Easter egg hunts and chocolate bunnies.

Tis the season for green grass, flowers and beautiful weather.

Look who we found at the YMCA this week.

Oma and Opa with the Easter Bunny!

DOING THE EGGS

My sweet girls!

Since I have neglected my scrapbooking lately, today I got the creative juices

flowing as I helped the girls decorate eggs.  Loved it!

You can't fully appreciate the events of Sunday without remembering

what happened on Thursday and Friday.  Christ's death & resurrection is

horrible and beautiful all at the same time.

I pray that if you are not familiar with the original Easter story

you will be open to hearing it for the first time.  I would love to share

it with you or send you a fantastic book filled with facts to support

the life of Christ according to the Bible.
Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen!!

Fire Away!

When Chris told me last December that he purchased bows and arrows for the girls for Christmas, I thought it was a stupid gift.  Shows what I know.  Shh, don't tell Chris that I am admitting to being wrong.  I can tell you this here because he doesn't read my blog.  :) Below I have some snapshots of my "go getter" with her friend doing some target practice in the backyard. Please ignore the dead spot where the garden belongs.

Not bad, at least you hit the target.

 Chris had to show the girls how it is done...the result below.

 Let me first say that we love this girl.  She is one of R's best friends.

B killed our shed!!!

The girls had a great time hanging outside with Chris.

I love watching a daddy invest in his children (and friends)



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This has nothing to do with archery but for some reason I decided to take a photo of the family's favorite meal.

Eihusen chicken

mashed potatoes

steamed broccoli

spinach salad with lots of veggies