Beauty and the Beast

Last Friday, Grandma Bose enlightened us all with some culture. She took my sister and I and the bigger kiddos to Minden, Nebraska. We ate at a scrumptious Mexican restaurant, walked the beautiful square, and attended the Beauty and the Beast performance at the Minden Opera House. I was amazed with everything in the charming little town. They obviously have many people very much engaged with a common goal of bringing great enjoyment to its residents and visitors. The talent and production of the Minden Community Players was incredible. What a treat! Thanks, Grandma.

  

Our Sweet Little Mason

We were so proud of Mason last Sunday. At children's time, he confidently ran to the front of the church and sat quietly with his sister and the other children.

But then....When the lesson was over he ran back down the isle, past the row in which Nathan and I were sitting, stopped abruptly, spun around and ran straight back to the front of the church. Nathan made an attempt to retrieve him, but Pastor Mary waved him back. She wanted to see what Mason would do and asked the entire congregation to stand up so they could get a better look at how cute he was. Sure cute to everyone else but terrifying for his parents. I was not so much embarrassed as I was frightened of what he might say or do. Much to my relief, he just sat there and listened to the hymn and watched the pianist in awe.

After church, a friend of mine sent me this picture with the caption, "Our sweet little Mason. I couldn't resist."

And then later in the week, I received an e-mail from the church secretary, " Mason was so cute Sunday and so comfortable up in front by himself. I wish more of us could be that relaxed."

I guess we can all appreciate and maybe even learn from those with childlike faith.

Pretty Darn Great

Friday, I attempted a schedule that I knew was impossible from the start. At 8:00 am, I loaded the car with both kids and headed east to Lincoln. My goal was have professional pictures taken, use gift cards at Barnes and Noble, stop at US Bank and spend a reasonable amount of time at the children's museum. Oh and feed them somewhere in the mix. Considering Mason usually takes a 3 hour nap after lunch, I knew my goal was none too realistic. However, I decided to attempt the impractical, say a prayer and promise to not feel defeated when it all came to fall.

Much to my amazement the day went as smooth as silk. In retrospect, I should have known it would be great because my kids are pretty darn great.

On the way out of town I decided to reward their fabulous behavior with ice cream. As I was attempting the perfect selfie to capture the sweet moment with my precious chillins, a curious little boy was, well...ensuring that my good luck wouldn't last forever.

Funny Indeed

Jentry is continuously scolding her little brother for messing with her things. Most days you will hear, "Mason Dee McKenzie!" at least once if not multiple times. Because of this, Mason has been trying to say his whole name. It is the most adorable thing ever. And, as if it couldn't get any cuter, he then adds "funny" on the end with a cackling laugh. Jentry is completely annoyed but Nathan and I are rolling.

Thirty-three Cha Cha Cha

Welp, another year has rolled around.

My good friend Lindsay has a birthday in January, so I can forever tease her about being older and this year was no different. I took her out for lunch in Hastings and she seemed awfully depressed. I told her "All jokes aside, we really are NOT that old. You shouldn't be so down on yourself." She explained, "It's not that I feel old, it's that fact that it seems like we just did this!"  I had to agree, It did seem like yesterday that I was picking her up and giving her a gift when in fact it had been a whole year ago. And to add to that, I don't think it will be getting slower anytime soon.

My birthday celebration started last Thursday with some afternoon shopping in Lincoln with Nathan, dinner at Flatwater with my sister, brother-in-law, good friend Abby and her boyfriend Chris and Blake Shelton live in concert. It was a beautiful evening out with lots of laughs.

The next morning, we had the best breakfast in Lincoln at the Bread and Cup and then headed back west. 

Saturday, I spent the day at the Sutton Area Showcase. This was my first year chairing the event. We had approximately 50 vendors and a great crowd. I think it was a sucess. Whew!

Saturday evening, we attended the annual Pheasants Forever Banquet, which always draws a big crowd.  The meal was wonderful and Mason could not get enough pork off the chop. No vegan here folks.

Sunday was the actual day and it perfectly completed the celebration. I taught Sunday School and at the end I shared some cookies with the kiddos and told them it was my birthday. They were so excited. I asked them, "How old do you think I am?" I got responses all over the board, which was quite entertaining. Then Ellie asked, "Can we sing happy birthday to you?" "Well that would be just wonderful, Ellie, thank you!" They immediately began singing the most adorable version of happy birthday complete with the cha cha chas. I could not have received a more precious gift.

When I got home, I had a gift and a very special card waiting for me. Nathan cooked up a scrumptious lunch of chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with gravy and even treated me with a chocolate malt for dessert. 

Papa and Ownie (Mason's new name for Grandma Mack) came over in the afternoon to exchange gifts. Mason had a blast opening the presents. 

On my way home from picking up Jentry, we stopped and grabbed some take-out from Hunan's. It was a perfect Sunday Birthday with some of my favorite people. Life may be getting continually faster but it can't stop me from cha cha chaing!

Oh Love

This past week Nathan had to travel to Iowa for a work conference which left me home to wrangle the two kiddos and our crazy work/school/life scheduled by my lonesome. I had everything planned, organized and ready to flow and then....

1. Daycare was unexpectedly closed Thursday AND Friday
2. I got sick.

Needless to say, I am super thankful that we got around to making Jentry's Valentines early in the week.

However, I was in charge of her class party treats and had planned to make them Friday morning. Now any right minded person would have drove 7 blocks to the local grocery store and purchased 25 of the best looking PRE-MADE treats available and gone about their day resting away their illness. But for some reason, that is not me. Apparently, I like to challenge myself and make everything more complicated than it needs to be. 

With my big-boy helper, it took all morning to make enough heart tarts for the entire class.  By the time I took the last batch out of the oven it was lunch time, my kitchen was an absolute disaster zone, I was still in my pajamas and I needed to load everything in the car and get them to the school asap.

 

The finished product was worth every minute of the madness.  At least that is what I am going to tell myself. After all, love is not always easy or as planned or without effort. But oh is it rewarding!

My mother-in-law gave me this beautiful scripture plaque for Valentine's Day. I hung it directly above my kitchen sink so that it is a daily reminder of what love really is. 

You're Not Doing Your Job, Mom

This parenting thing can certainly test a person.

Needless to say we have had a few 5, 6 and 7 p.m. bedtimes lately.  Ugh.