Senior Photo Sesh

this was me taking a picture while the professional was taking a picture of the other way.

pretty artsy if I do say so myself.  ha

yep, this is one of her favs

showchoir dance shoes

I think these cords are music honor society, academic honors and drama

I have a whole series of dance moves

 

Months SEVEN & EIGHT

J U L Y   2 6

A u g u s t   1 6 

I just can't believe I am going to be a Mimi, aka grandma.

I can't wait!!

Emma has dealt with so much illness through out this pregnancy. Being a mama is hard, she's already rocking it! She makes me proud!

 

Her Last First Day

My Baby is a Senior!!!

I don't really know what else to say.

I want to drink in every moment

Liv, you are an incredible young woman. Have a great senior year.

Love you forever, Mom

This girl has the best class schedule.

Monday/Wednesday start at 10:30, choir and theater

Tuesday/Thursday start at 9:15, AP stats, AP German, AP something else

Yeah, judge me. She's the 3rd child and I can't remember what classes she is taking. 

Friday start 9:15, 8 periods with only 5 classes.

It wasn't like that when I was in high school We didn't have open campus or open blocks during the day. Three days a week she can come home for lunch, I love when I am home with her for lunch. These are some of the moments I am soaking in. They will be over before I know it. 

 

Senior Husker Soccer Media Day

She looks like she's about to take you down

These girls have been besties since freshman year

Gwen Lane

Marissa Poppola

Audra Clark

Reagan

Riss, Reagan & Jordan Zade

I just love the unbridled joy on their faces

Buzzy is Reagan's ACL buddy

I guess this is the bicycle.

Not sure about this but they are having a blast!

2 seniors, a sophomore and a freshman

Ella Guyett, Abby Vacek, Reagan and Riss

Oh how I wish this girl was going to be taking her place on the pitch this fall but I have complete faith in the work God is doing in her life. We are shaped in the trials of life.

Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Here's another one I love...

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

 Romans 5:3-5

 

Oh Shoot!

I love describing our son-in-law as a tattooed, card carrying, bible preaching dude.

We are so thankful for the man God brought into Emma's life!

One afternoon Joe called us to see if we wanted to meet at the shooting range, it's time for his mother-in-law to learn to shoot her gun. It's been 35ish years since I shot a gun. Back in the day my mom use to take us to the indoor shooting in Smith Center. Just like so many other businesses in that small town, the range doesn't exist anymore. Anyway, we had a fun day. I was surprised how loud the gun was and Chris was surprised how long it took me to shoot 10 rounds. Hey I take my time. The only thing I will ever have time to hit is a non-moving paper target. I'm slow but a pretty good shot.

It's time to go back. Hopefully we can go to an outdoor place next.

 

Headed for the Mission Field

We just got home from an 11pm drop off…our girl and 45 others headed to KC and then across the ocean. This is Liv’s first mission trip. Prayers are appreciated for safety, health, rest, cooler temps, peace and for the Holy Spirit to move this week. 

More info to come…

Family Fun in Florida 2023

I'm a couple months behind in posting this. Hopefully I can back date the post to June

Our family hasn't taken many vacations over the last 25 year. And of the few we have taken, all of them have consisted of staying with family or friends and always dictated by a soccer trip either before or after the vacation. This time...we took a real vacation, planned months before and dates carefully picked so everyone could take time off work and Reagan had NO conflicts with Husker soccer or school. Chris and I worked extra hours and sold stuff from the basement to pay cash for this trip to Florida with our family of 6.

Bad luck hit when Reagan tore her ACL during a spring game in Colorado in late April. She made the decision to travel with her team to Iceland (duh...trip of a lifetime) in May and then have surgery June 1st (3 days before our flights). I may have cried several times. Thankfully I was able to be with Reagan on surgery day and spend the night the next several nights before jumping on the plane on June 4th. But I really missed her in Florida.

We stayed in a wonderful VRBO owned by someone in Nebraska. The master plan community was perfect until we realized there were no coffee shops within a 30 min drive. WHAT? How is that possible? We had a great pool, golf cart and enough space for everyone in the family.

ME & MY GUY!

I could have spent many more hours/days at the beach

This trip taught me that I am more of an ocean-beach girl than the rest of the Raabe clan

The family at the ocean

Joe's first time at the ocean

Fort Meyers Airport is small enough that this is how we deplaned

Gotta take a selfie

We had the chance to catch up with a couple Nebraska friends who now live in the Fort Myers, FL area. Emma and Sierra graduated HS together. Sierra has a super cute apartment with a great view. She's living her best life.

Chris, Joe and I took a hike and got caught in an absolute downpour about half a mile from the car. After looking for wildlife the entire hike, as we jogged back to the car Joe nearly stepped on a HUGE yellow snake. He tried to warn us but it was raining so hard we couldn't hear him yelling at us.

Who doesn't love this?

Take me back to the beach

One of our favorite parts of the trip was this "SwampTour" down the Peace River on an incredibly LOUD airboat. We saw a gator nest and some gators along the way and then suddenly we turned around to get a closer view of this bad boy...about eight and half feet long.

Our last day we spent some time with Jim and Lindsey Heck and the 3 girls.

Nebraska transplants...oh how I miss them!!

The Heck household has a cute puppy, a snake, and several reptiles.

Liv loves snakes

The eye of Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers, FL in September 2022, nine months later there were still many signs of the devastation Ian dished out. This picture is a boat graveyard outside of a restaurant. 

Not sure when we will take another vacation but I have started a travel envelope. 

Lots of big things coming up in the Raabe family...

Baby Willow - October

College Graduation - December

High School Graduation - May

When will we find time to travel???