weekend with granparents

this weekend we hit the road for pella, iowa. home to the tulip capitol of the universe and to great grandpa and grandma. tessa's dad was in town also. they bought a fixer upper and are flipping it. we helped out with some tile and tessa sanded the cupboards. it was a fun weekend to spend with family. we went out to eat on saturday night to the pizza ranch (three stars) and started in on a puzzle this afternoon before heading back home to omaha.

this has also capped off ellen's 13th week of existence. just this weekend she rolled onto her side for the first time. she has been perfecting the art ever since. she has even rolled from her back, to her side, and then onto her stomach and is rewarded with a treat. we haven't gotten her to roll back to her side from her stomach though. she seems to end up a beached whale on her stomach. we'll work on that for week 14.

this week tessa works a half day on monday and saturday and a full day on sunday. this weekend we also have a wedding to attend. one of my college buddies is getting married. this wedding is friday night and i will miss our first basketball game because of it. i'll be back in action on saturday morning though against william penn. we'll let you know how those games go.

a thank you to those of you who prayed for ellen. she has been breathing normally and there doesn't seem to be any problems.

it's 62 and mostly clear
over and out

week 12 laughter

we are already at week 12. hard to imagine. she is turning into a little girl more every day. this morning we had some music on and were moving her arms around like she was dancing. then tessa put her on my shoulders and started playing the drums on my head. all of a sudden we heard this little giggle. she laughed not just once, but then again a little later. usually we just get some smiles and cooing but today we got a full fledged giggle. i thought tessa was going to drop her because she was so excited.

she is 11 lbs. 13 oz. this morning and we can tell that she is moving around much more. her thighs are more like pork chops and she likes to use them.

you can pray for her because we are a little concerned. every now and then she seems to have trouble breathing. she will take a few quick gasps, coughs, and then there is an eternal pause as she doesn't seem to be able to take another breath. that scares her and us and she cries until she wears herself out and falls asleep. we are calling children's physicians today to see what they think. we have a small inkling that she chokes on her milk because it is always after she eats and we lay her down to change her. just be praying that she would be ok and that we would know what to do, if anything.

other than that, we are just enjoying a beautiful sunday afternoon. we'll probably take a walk this afternoon in the cool fall air and kick some leaves.

snow flurries

it has been a little chilly here the last couple days, but today we got our first dose of real snow flurries. about a week ago we had some sleet, but nothing that resembled snow flakes in the air. we got back from walmart just as it was starting to slow down and you can kind of see them on the backdrop of the car. either way we thought it would be nice to get a picture of our blooming flowers too. we planted those mums in the spring and they were about 1/8 of the size then. they grew the whole summer and then bloomed about a month or so ago and have been going strong ever since. christy, we thought you would be proud.

our battery died today in the walmart parking lot, but not as you would usually understand that statement. our battery left for the afterworld; battey heaven. anyway, i had to run back in and buy a new battery and a socket wrench set really quick. fun little detour.

happy saturday everyone!!!

last couple days

looks like ellen got to help with some laundry

the last couple days have been good. been getting some rain, which makes work a little muddy but not bad overall.

tessa went back to work on monday. she was a little nervous about being back at work because the hospital got a new software program and the day she went in for a trial run it wouldn't let her log on. when she actually got there they hadn't made the change yet so it was fine anyway. she said she did enjoy being back around the nurses. she has made family there. i have been really impressed with the way the nurses bond. we got to see most of them when we were at the hospital with ellen and the days after.

elen still loves her swing and the bouncy chair from grandma. she sits or flies back and forth and smiles at everything. she is also developing a new screech when she wants something. hopefully that doesn't stick around too long.

week 11

we got the idea from tessa's sister to take pictures of ellen evey week so we can see her change and grow. so this is week 11. she is making noise all the time now. she loves her swing. loves to stare at our bookshelf and is really starting to interact more these days. we can get her to smile at us now...that is about the best thing in the world. it's amazing how much joy it brings to look at your little daughter and have her smile back at you.

lets see...she also loves to go for walks and ride in the baby bjourn. we think she like country music too.

hoop

well basketball season is in full swing now. we completed five weeks of pre-season and now are into official practice. we have 3 down and 17 to go before our first game.




tessa and i knew going into it that it would mean a little bit of a sacrifice in time, but we both think that it will be well worth it. it has been awesome to be back in the swing of the season; i really love it. there are also a few guys on the team that are new in their relationship with the lord and it will be fun to see and hopefully help them grow in their faith and love for the lord.

i think i can speak for tessa and say that she enjoy the games obviously, but she has been to a few practices already and enjoys showing off ellen (the guys love her) and being around the team. i just asked her and she concurs. =)

don't be fooled by the pictures. it looks like there is a lot of standing around going on. we really are working hard and we will keep you updated on the season as it unfolds.

thanks for taking the time to stay up on our lives.

My special husband

Scott thinks I can't figure out how to blog on my own- I figured I'd surprise him while he is gone to basketball practice.


This is my dear special husband taking a shower this evening. (yah, aren't you glad the picture came first- I think I'd have scared off a few people with that statement) I couldn't figure out why these goggles showed up in our bathroom recently...I just figured out why.

(these are some random goggles he picked up on the beach on our honeymoon..some poor goggle-less kid out there would never have imagined what good use my husband would put them to)

ellen's big day

today was a big day for our little weed; or should we say...one painful day. this morning while daddy was off to work on a rainy day she and mommy went to get her first shots. she had 4; two in each leg. tessa said that she cried. it was her angry cry, and it almost made mommy cry too.

after they got back from the clinic, daddy was home from work because of the rain. then the three of us went to the mall and got ellen some earrings. she was sleeping as the first one went in and she squirmed a little bit. there might have been a little whine also. then when the second hit she gave a little sad cry and seemed to say, "guys, i've been through so much today with the shots, just let me sleep."

neither episode seemed to bother her for more than a few seconds. and she is still the cutest little button in the world.

wabash bike trail

we discovered a new bike trail in council bluffs this weekend. for those of you who know of the elroy, sparta bike trail in wisconsin...this is a lot like that. it is crushed limestone and is actually very beautiful. it has some rolling hills and there is a single track alongside the trail that i would veer off on every now and then. some of the single track was pretty challenging. in fact, i bent my handlebars on one of the jumps.

anyway, tessa and i biked from council bluffs, through the city of mineola, to silver city, and back to council bluffs. that is a grand total of 27.8 miles. we love biking.

for those of you that are worried about the health and safety of ellen. be not afraid nor be dismayed for the baby bjourn keeps her safe. she is firmly attached to either tessa or i and really doesn't stand a chance of squirting out. you can see from the pictures what she rides in. she loves it. she is always pushing off of our legs and trying to see over the top. she also licks at the air just like a dog hanging its head out the window. we can't help but laugh at her...she is so cute all the time.

camp at indian cave state park

a couple weekends ago we went camping at indian cave state park. it was good to get out of the city a little bit and get some fresh air. tessa and i were talking and we both realized how our souls seemed to be refreshed from being out in the woods and breathing that campfire smoke. =)

we camped for one night, biked around a little bit, did a 6 mile bike loop, and built a huge fire to enjoy. tessa made some apple crisp for desert and i indulged a little too much. it gave me stomach cramps most of the night and then i threw it up about 3 in the morning. ahh, the joys of enjoying too much of a good thing. =)

god's creation is awesome and we love to be out in it.