Sweets is 16

The girl has wanted to have her driver's license since she was 2 and the day finally arrived. Our Jentry Jaree is officially 16 and legal to drive!

Then:

Now:

For her birthday she chose to celebrate by attending church, eating a slice of cake, then heading to Lincoln for lunch at Texas Road House, followed by an afternoon of shopping.

She made her own cake this year! 

Shortcake with whipped cream and berries.

Her younger brothers could hardly stand the attention she was getting while opening birthday presents.

I could not be more proud of this young lady. She is probably more mature than I was at 16 and definitely more empathic of others. She feels deeply and works hard towards her goals. It is so exciting to hear her talk about her future and the possibilities that lie ahead. 

I hope to cherish these dwindling days with her under our roof and pray that we have prepared her well for adulthood.

Building Our Home For All Generations

Dugout Days 2024 might have been the best Festival year yet. 

1. The weather was gorgeously 75 and sunny. 

2. The kids are finally old enough to withstand the huge days of fun without naps nor major meltdowns.

3. Jentry, Mason and I successfully completed the Run 4 a Resident 5K race. Jentry got 1st place, Mason 2nd and myself 4th, in our respective age groups.  

4. The theme, Building Our Home For All Generations, was honoring to the Sutton Community Home which is near and dear to our hearts.

VBS x2

The Great Jungle Journey at the Stockham Church:

Seekers in Sneakers at the Sutton Federated Church.

Tucker is the kid with the decorated bucket hat covering half of his face and Mason is not pictured as he was at CRC camp that day.

So many volunteers sharing the Love of Christ with these amazing kiddos! God is good.

Heat and Teal Scrubs

On June 24th, Clay County was hot...like 100 degrees + hot.  Nathan spent a good portion of the day outside checking fields.  Then, as brainwashed sports parents do, we sat in the heat of the day watching Mason's last coach pitch game. There was a bit of breeze but the sun was blazing down on the metal bleachers and concrete landscape. When the game ended Nathan stood up and immediately felt unstable. He passed out and had a seizure. 

Thankfully there were many people there to quickly jump into action in helping us.  Someone called for the unit, someone helped get him on his side, someone brought ice packs and cooling towels, someone asked me great questions and helped me make quick decisions and someone took care of the boys.  

Our friend, Megan, immediately swooped in to distract Tucker from the scene.  Later Tucker asked me, "Who was that lady that took me and bought me a popsicle? She kept kissing me on the cheek and I didn't like that." I assured him she was my friend and she is a mom too so she was just concerned about him. To that Tucker replied, "Well she's not my mom and I don't want her kissing me!" 

Nathan came to before the ambulance arrived but was still rather confused. When he arrived at the Henderson Hospital ER, they immediately gave him an IV of fluids.  Dr. Ohrt was on call and determined that he was very dehydrated which lowered his threshold for a seizure. Nathan had one previous seizure in May of 2023, so that also made him more susceptible to having another. The CAT scan result looked normal, however Nathan will follow up with a neurologist later in July. 

After a second bag of more fluids we were back home a little after 9 PM.  Millie greeted him but did NOT like Nathan's teal scrubs and was totally confused by them.  I think Nathan looks handsome in Spring colors but apparently Millie disagrees. 

The event was very scary for all involved, however we are so grateful that Nathan is feeling much better and did not have any significant injuries or illnesses. We pray that with the right meds and smart diet/drink choices he will not have another seizure.

Hey Batter Batter

Baseball Season 2024. 

Mason decided to play on both the Coach Pitch and Pee Wee teams. Wowza were we running but it was worth it....I think. In June, I officially declared our home a baseball season disaster zone. Hopefully, July will bring back some resemblance of structure and meals that are not solely from the concession stand.

Coach Pitch 

Pee Wees - Finished in 3rd place

Our favorite batter, #2

Colorado

To celebrate her 70 fabulous years, my mom requested a girls trip to Colorado. We had so much fun road tripping and determined that the miles go soooo much faster when you are with adults who love to chat about like minded topics. 

We stayed in a charming VRBO in Windsor, CO.  This was near the home of our long-time girlfriend, Shelley Polansky.  It was fun to see her girls, Riley and Morgan too. We ate, we shopped, we relaxed and of course soaked in the stunning mountain views.

We enjoyed a stroll through Loveland's bronze sculpture park. Mom is standing next to one of Mark Lundeen's sculptures.  Mark is a Holdrege, NE native.

The snake sculpture pic was for our snake loving boy, Tucker.

Thanks to all the dad's (Nathan, Chad, Matt, Lee), us mom's had a much need getaway from reality.