Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to all who have served our country & those that continue to do so. Thank you to their families who sacrifice so much! Today I am remembering my grandpa who served in the Navy during WWII & Michael Scholl KIA Nov 14, 2006. My friend Michael, as well as many others, paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Praying for his family this week, especially his 3 year old daughter who never got to meet her daddy, but one day will. America, Home of the FREE, because of the BRAVE!

Finally!!

The living room is finally painted! That makes me soo happy & i'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. I still need to find a big wall clock & and add a window treatment.

I need your help, I'd like to put vinyl lettering on one of the walls between the dark brown stripes. I want a family or religious quote but I haven't been able to come up with the PERFECT one. Any ideas???

Next rooms on the agenda: Carmen's pink n brown cowgirl room & Carter's Angel Hallway. I'm also open to suggestions for either of those!

Testing mobile blogger!

Guest Speaker!!

We got a call Wednesday night, that Cordell was expected to be at Abbott for a guest speaker Thursday. Well when they got there they learned it was none other than Mr. Bo Pelini. He gave a great speech to the boys about always doing your best in everything. He said, "C's aren't good enough & if I can't trust my players off the field, then I can't trust them on the field. Cordell was pretty fired up when he came home & was begging for me to buy him Husker tickets. Yeah right kid, I just went to my very first game last year at the age of 27. You think I'm gonna buy you tickets when you are 7???

This is a partial group pic of the football players, coaches & Bo Pelini. Cordell is in the red shirt right in front of Pelini & Jake was standing just to his left, but got cut out of the pic!

Then the text message came this morning, offering a FREE ticket to either myself or my son, for tomorrow nights game. I asked him if he wanted to go & his jaw dropped & his eyes got wide. I sure hope he can concentrate at school today!

New Furniture!!

We went to Omaha last weekend for Cordell's last football game & then ran over to Nebraska Furniture Mart to pick out furniture. I had done my research online & they had some that I liked, I just wanted to try it out & make sure it was comfy. It took me a minute to locate it, I sat down & Jake says "That is ugly." I was bummed, but knew if I wanted it, I would get it. We sit there for a minute & he says "it's actually pretty comfy." Well long story short, they had it in stock & we bought it. The saleswoman was pushing their no interest financing on us, but Jake kept saying, I'm paying cash. I asked to get a discount for cash, so they knocked $20 off, better than nothing.

So I have been painting & preparing all week for it to be delivered tomorrow. It's the first furniture we have EVER purchased, everything else has always been hand-me-downs. Now to only keep the kids & dog off of it to keep it nice, HA!

Have you ever....

Had a really stressful week? You don't sleep well & then wake up with a headache? With a sick little girl, I've had 2 nights like that this week, poor thing coughs so hard & wakes everyone up. Then with the move & not finding out until yesterday that we were still on for close today. I've been a crabby little bee until this morning, one man changed all of that.

I stopped at the gas station on my way into work to grab a soda, as I was walking out to my car I passed a gentleman & what from my wondering ears did I hear?? "Good Morning" I couldn't believe it, he wasn't some creepy old guy hitting on me, he was a 30-something polite guy that made my day. Sometimes it's the little things we do, going out of our way to be polite to strangers!

Last Sat I stopped at a gas station & I had a teenage boy walk back to the door just to hold it open for me. You know the kind, by appearnces you may judge them as a troublemaker, but his momma must have taught him some manners. And to think my hands weren't even full.

My biggest pet peeve is rude people. You know the kind, like at Wal-Mart, pushing & shoving, standing in your way like they own the aisle. The ones that bump into you & keep walking. Well I just want to challenge you to go out of your way today & be extra courteous to a complete stranger. Afterall, it might just make their day brighter!

Stressed!!!

We are supposed to be moving into our new house this weekend & I don't even feel like I have half of our house packed. I go into a room, start looking around & get lost . It doesn't help that Jake has football practice most nights & let me tell ya it's kind of difficult to do much with Carmen around. So here I sit on blogger after only packing 2 boxes tonight. I guess it will get done even if we throw stuff in boxes at the last minute (that usually happens anyway) Ha!

Closing is scheduled for noon on Friday, but we are still awaiting a confirmation on that. Because of the $8,000 tax credit, everyone is backed up & we haven't been approved yet by rural development. Everyone is hopeful we can get it done, worse case scenario we won't be closing until next week. :(

Carmen has been running a low grade fever since Friday. She has a cough, but has been generally ok. I hope she kicks it soon as I have already taken lots of time off work lately. Not that I don't have the vaca time to use, my boss isn't the most understanding (he stresses when he has to cover my job) & I have loads to do at work.

Cordell played awesome in his game last week! He was in for every single play, offense, defense, kick off & kick off return! We were very proud of his tackles he had & the 6-0 win. He does a great job firing up his team. He did suffer his first visible injury after he smacked his chin into another boys shoulder pads during a tackle.

I guess those boxes aren't packing themselves.........

Happy 2nd Birthday Carter J!

Let's see 2 years ago today I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with the hubby at Taco Inn, had my favorite Deluxe Nachos on flour chips with a huge helping of jalapenos! It was a Thurs so I went back & finished my shift at work, but what I didn't know was that it actually turned out to be my Friday! That evening I went home & did the whole evening routine, dinner, check, baths, check, kids in bed, check, computer time, check. Jake was just getting into bed at 9:30 when I told him I thought we better go to the hosp, my contractions were timeable & I didn't want to deliver en route.

We dropped the kids off & headed in to St. E's, which was super busy in L&D that night & we had to wait an hour before checking in. They checked us in about 11:15 and I was 5cm. They called my doc about 3am when I was 8cm, she came in and broke my water & I was ready to push but still only 8cm. After making it through a couple more contractions Carter Jefferson was born at 4:01am Oct. 19, 2007 in 5 mins of pushing with 3 pushes. He was born 11 days before his due date weighing 7lbs. 12oz & was 19 3/4in long. Once again I was able to have a totally drug free birthing experience, but only because I have short labors. I feel sorry for these poor women in labor for 12 or even 24 hours.

The first thing I said was "He actually has hair!" The other kids barely had any & it was so light, Carter's was so dark & was even curly when wet! He was quite his own little character, completely opposite of my other two. He liked his binky, he was not the chubs that the others were, he was just starting to roll over & laugh out loud. I sure do miss my monkey man! I am greatful that we were able to spend 3 wonderful months with him & see him smile!

I ordered the image above from Carly at To write their names in the sand she is a wonderful blessing to many bereaved parents! Go check out her blog!

Where do I even start????

This past 6 weeks sure have been busy! Football is in full swing for Jake & Cordell. Carmen has started volleyball as well! Thank goodness it's only one night a week, but watching a 3 year old try to keep up with the BIG girls is ridiculously cute!


The last weekend in July the kids & I found ourselves tubing down the Niobrara. This has turned into an annual event with my family & we thoroughly enjoy it! The weather was perfect, not too hot & not too cold!


The second weekend in August found us hanging out at the Lancaster County Fair! The cattle show ran for 7 hours on Sat on what was possibly was the hottest day of the year! Cordell did show & tell with a poster he made on recycling & Ricky once again showed his rabbit Midnight. Cordell received two blue ribbons, one for his poster & the other for his adorable pig cupcakes that he made.
On August 11th, I was online daydreaming & looking for houses for sale, when I spotted the PERFECT house in Malcolm. Jake tried to meet with the banker on Thursday morning but he was out of the office. We went & looked at the house on Sat am & were sold on it. The following Tues we met with the banker & were approved, called our realtor & set up a time to look at it again. We were ready to make an offer, until our realtor called back & informed us that the house went under contract earlier that day. BUMMER!! 6 days on the market & it was sold.


So we have spent many hours searching for something else that will fit our needs. There is a house that is being listed tomorrow & we are going to look at it. Hopefully it meets our needs!


Cordell started 2nd grade on August 13th, he is enjoying being back in school & playing with his friends. Corby has moved back to Lincoln & started school in Bennet on August 17th. He says he likes it there & has been attending everyday! It's disappointing that he had to switch schools again & that he is further away from us now.


Shaunice & Savannah went home to live with their mom on August 14th. We were all saddened by this, but thankful that we got to spend 13 wonderful months with these two special girls! We met up with them & their mom for a play date on August 28th! Their mom would like to keep in contact with us & would like the girls to continue relationships with all of us!

August 16th we traveled to Utica to celebrate Jake's grandpa's 80th birthday! Ray & Donna are very special people & we are very blessed to have such loving, compassionate people in our lives! We love you Crappa & Grandma Donna! The weather was perfect for a picnic in the park. I just can't believe how unseasonably cool August.
We were also able to spend time with my great grandmother when she was in town for the day! We don't get to see her often & it's pretty special that my children are able to know their great great grandparents!

During the first 3 weeks in August we travelled around town & had church at various places. Our first stop was the State Capital. We had a sun filled morning worshipping God on the north steps! Afterwards we were able to tour the capital! August 9th we attended church at Morrill Hall, it was raining hard that day & I am so glad that we were inside! We were blessed by the presence of my friend Cassie & her 3 beautiful kids! We once again were able to enjoy a tour of the facility! On the third Sunday of being a church on the move we met at The Lincoln Children's Zoo! While there Pastor Mike blessed the kid's backpacks before the start of the year! After singing praises & feeling God's presence we walked around & visited with the animals.


I am so grateful for our church & church family! Our pastor is so wonderful & creative, he keeps everyone entertained & interested. I have learned & grown so much as a Christian since the inception of St. Mark's NW.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to attend Crossfest at Crossbridge Christian Church. This is my best friend's church & it is a community wide event. Ron Brown was a guest speaker, their worship team performed most of the night, free food & games! This is an annual event & I hope the word gets out & more people attend next year! Kala talked me into coming to church with them the following morning. They had a presentation of Cardboard Testimonies, let me just say this was very moving. If you are curious about what I'm talking about google cardboard testimonies & watch a video about it. I had no idea who the people sharing these were but it was AWESOME to see how God works in people's lives! I'm going to suggest we do these at NW & it got me thinking, what would be on MY Cardboard?? I know if I thought long enough I could come up with lots but the one that speaks clearly to me is...




Front: Filled with guilt & shame after Carter's death

Back: God has forgiven me & given me the strength to forgive myself

Forgiveness is a powerful thing!
Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord!

Fun week without daddy!

Eventhough we missed Jake this week, we had a fun time without him! We had plans almost everynight so I think that helped to make it go faster. Monday night the kids & I went out to eat at DQ Grill & Chill. Our life insurance company sponsor a monthly get together & pay for part of our meals! $12 for all of us to eat supper & have Blizzards, you just can't beat that! Cordell highly reccomends the flavor of the month Tag-a-longs! Anything with Girl Scout cookies in it has to be awesome! Tuesday mom cooked dinner for us, Wednesday the kids helped wash & walk the cows. They are busy getting them ready for fair.

Thursday my mom babysat & I got a much needed break out with my girls Lisa, Cassie & Tori! We spent 4 hours at Granite City drinkin' fruity drinks & having girl talk. You 3 will never know how much therapy that was for me, Thank You! I am truly thankful for your friendships & believe that God sent you into my life for a reason!

Friday we saw another awesome production out at Pinewood Bowl! This year was Footloose & for the life of me I couldn't get that song out of my head all night. We took a picnic out there and ate before it started.

Saturday we were up early to go to Sidewalk Sunday School, Cassie & her kids were able to join us for the morning! After nap & a game of Apples to Apples, I finally got Jake's birthday cake finished!

Sunday after church we met up with my grandpa to go to the Children's Museum. This was Carmen's first experience there & she had a meltdown as we were leaving. She did not want to leave, she threw herself on the floor & was screaming! I really should learn that a 3 year old still needs a nap!

So daddy will be coming home tomorrow night & I'm sure we will all be up late with extra hugs & birthday cake! Thanks Jake for working so hard for our family! You truly are my soulmate & I am so blessed to have you in my life!

Free Manicures!!

I just thought that I'd let you all know if you are in need of a free mani come on out & Carmen will practice on you! I said free not professional! Ha! Last night she wanted me to paint her fingernails but I was consumed with other things, so I got out the old newspaper & let her go to town. After about a 1/2 bottle of remover & a bunch of paint she got em done!

Just to make u smile!

Old dog learning new tricks!

You have all heard the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." well an old dog can teach himself new tricks! Ok, our dog is only 2 1/2 but he doesn't like doing ANY tricks. He sits & kennels on command most of the time but that's it. He has figured out how to open the cupboard door & help himself to his treats. Monday night I bought him a package of 10 rawhide bones on clearance for a buck! I was excited that I got such a good deal. I put them in the cupboard where his treats go & what do you know there is only one left tonight. Smart dog, stupid human. You would think I would have thought to move them before they were gone in two days, kind of defeated my purpose of picking them up on sale!

MIA

So lately i've kind of slacked on the bloggin'. I have been super busy with projects around the house, not to mention that Jake has been out of town all week for work. I've kind of gotten a feel for what it would be like to be a single parent and let me tell ya, I'm NOT digging it. Not that I can't handle the kids, but it is nice to have someone around to help out (even if it's only cuz I'm nagging). I am getting a break tomorrow night so that I can go out with the girls! I'm really excited about this as I get to spend time with new friends & a friend from my childhood whom I don't see often!

Dresser Before

10 days ago I took on a project of redoing the boys' dresser. Jake's grandpa made it for him when he was little & it has since been repainted & there were stickers all over it. To say the least it has been an eyesore since Corby's mom gave it back to us. I sanded it all down, painted numerous coats & covered some drawers in Husker fabric. I think it is turning out quite nicely & I'm pretty proud of the fact that I have stuck with it. I tend to start projects & never finish them, it probably helps that the boy's clothes are laying on the couch in their room.

Dresser After


Side View


Sorry about the sideways pic I couldn't get kodak to work and at 11:30 at night I didn't care to mess with it anymore!

I did all this for just about $25! I hope the boys can enjoy this for many more years to come.

$4 for material + $18 for paint supplies + $2 for sanding paper

preserving a handmade item from Jake's grandpa = priceless

Fantastic Party & Relaxin' Sunday

My kids have been sick alot lately, they each vomit once & are fine. They have no other symptoms & I for one am sick of cleaning them & the beds up in the middle of the night. I took them both to the doctor on Friday to see what she thought. She ran blood tests, urine tests & throat cultures on both of them. She was worried that Cordell might have diabetes & that Carmen could possibly have a thyroid problem. Praise the Lord that both of those came back negative! Cordell seems to be healthy all around, just now to get to the bottom of his bedwetting. I'm not overly concerned about it, because I know some boys are slow at this but we have been refered to the specialty clinic to make sure that there isn't anything else going on with him. He did test positive for Strep & that may be the source of his vomiting so a 10 day round of antibiotics might just take care of it!

Carmen had blood in her urine, they cultured it & it was ok. She also had a slightly elevated liver enzyme level, which they will recheck in one month. They didn't seem too concerned, so I'll try not to dwell on it. Both kids did have lower than normal red blood counts, hct & creatinine levels but the nurse never mentioned those to me on the phone. I'm guessing that they are close enough to normal to not warrant any further testing. So for the most part we have healthy, happy & sometimes naughty kids!

We all had a good time Sat at the party even though I was ready to pass out by 9pm. Our last guests didn't leave until after 1am, so needless to say we didn't make it to church in the morning. Heck it was almost 10am before we all rolled out of bed! Let me tell you that is very rare with my kids, we are lucky to sleep in until 8am. Thanks to everyone who brought wonderful food to share & especially my parents who cooked the pork for sandwiches and also provided some of the fireworks! We enjoyed everyone's company & were glad so many of you were able to make it!

Sunday we decided to take leftovers & head to Pioneers Park for a picnic. You can't go out there without feeding the ducks, so of course we took along bread. I wanted to get some good posed pictures of the kids but the sun wasn't cooperating & neither were the kids! Oh well we still had a nice time just hanging around the park.

Lazy Dayz of Summer!

First off baseball is over!! 3 days a week are freed up thanks to the season being over, well at least until football starts and takes up 5 days! Yes you read that right, football is 5 days a week! The boys will practice 4 nights a week & play on Sundays. It's tackle football through Abbott Sports Complex & coached by ex-NFL & Husker players. It sure seems like a huge time commitment for such young kids but mom doesn't have much say in this one! I think it will be good for Cordell to build on solid foundation for football & I think Jake is going to volunteer to help out!

We are having our Annual summer party this Saturday! I'm really excited to have a good time with good friends but there is sooo much work yet to be done! Can we say momma's a lil stressed out??!! Everyone is invited for food, beverages & fireworks!

Cordell is taking Level 2 swimming lessons this week & next. I think he is enjoying it & I'm sure daycare appreciates the break from the school age kids! He also goes on weekly field trips & library visits. I'm glad that he has these opportunities to stay busy this summer.

Last but not least I have a prayer request. I have a friend from high school who's mom has Lymphoma, she has already been through so much with this disease & has a long road ahead of her. She is currently going through chemotherapy & will have to have a bone marrow transplant as well. I can tell just from the short conversations that this has really taken it's toll on their whole family. This should be an exciting time for her as she just welcomed a new grandbaby. I just ask that you pray for her strength to get through the rough days ahead & that she can enjoy the moments with family, including her grandchildren. Prayers as well for her family as they care for her & as they deal with seeing their loved one endure so much.

What did you do on your Friday night???

Well we went to my parents house to hang out. They are in the process of building their new home & have dirt for a yard. Well if you live around us you know that it has pretty much rained everyday for the past week. Dirt + Rain = Huge Mess Well my sweet Carmen decided to go outside without shoes on and her feet were caked in mud. I knew I was going to have to take her in and wash her up so I decided to let her & Shaunice remove their clothes & play in the mud! This made a huge mess and one that I'm not usually too fond of. The girls had a blast & were pretty muddy. Have a wonderful weekend!

Quick Getaway!

So last weekend we had a quick little getaway to Adventureland! This was our kids first amusement park experience & they both enjoyed themselves! Carmen was disappointed that she was a hair too small to ride the roller coaster with us & Cordell complained that I

was a weinie because I wouldn't go on the ride that shoots you up 5 bazillion feet in the air at like 200mph. Um...no thanks I'd rather keep my lunch in my stomache!

But my 7 year old did talk me into going on a roller coaster with him. He had been begging to go on one all day & had finally decided that if I wasn't going to go with him, he was going to go alone. What, I don't think so, my baby wasn't going to go on that thing all by himself, so I worked up the courage to go with him. We both rode our first roller coaster together, not once but twice!

Carmen's favorite ride was the log ride, at one point there wasn't a line so we went down 3 times in a row. We had to purchase this pic of our first time down, Cordell's eyes were closed, Carmen doesn't know what to think and I'm sure if I didn't have my sunglasses on you would see that my eyes were probably closed as well!





















Jake started feeling sick after the balloon ride, but my super-trooper husband kept on treking with us until we closed the park down. So unfortunately we came straight home Sunday and didn't make our planned stop at Living History Farms, maybe next time. We did have a chance to play in the swimming pool at the hotel both Sat night & Sun morning. The kids are already talking about going to Worlds of fun next year. I vote we take my dad and brothers with so Bubba has someone to ride the Wild rides with!

My hillariously funny 3 year old!

• Mommy : Carmen you better hurry up & get your swimsuit on if you wanna go swimming.
• Carmen : I AM getting ready, I just had to toot!

Carmen: Achoo!

Mommy: Bless you

Carmen: Achoo!

Mommy: Bless you again

5 mintues go by

Carmen: Achoo, mommy I just blessed me again!

• Mommy: Good morning, Carmen it's time to get up
• Carmen: Where we going?
• Mommy: You're going to daycare & mommy is going to work.
• Carmen: I wanna go to work!

Then she proceeded to throw a fit because she wanted to go to church and couldn't figure out why I wasn't taking her there!

Carmen was not listening for anything last night when it was time to leave my mom's house. "Get up here right now young lady, 1.....2....." & then she came running. As we were leaving she said " i better run fast or you'll schange me! I don't know what schange is but if she meant exchange that's funny. Even though that girl can be very naughty at times I would absolutely never, ever Exchange her. I love her just the way she is & I know that she will turn into an awesome young lady someday!

#1 reason NOT to wear a dress while riding a bike

I appologize for the dark video but this was too funny to not share. Carmen just got a new bike and it's kind of big for her to handle. She was too small for the 12" so we went ahead & got her the 16". She hasn't figured out how the brakes work so when she gets scared she just jumps off!

Busy lil bees!

We've been pretty busy these last 2 weeks in the Vrbka house.

I was busy making cakes for our mother's day picnic, this one happens to be gluten free

This cake had my first attempt of roses!

Celebrating mother's day with my favorite people!

Baseball is 3 days a week, this is my youngest brother Ricky being catcher!

I've been trying to make more hairbows.

We did a totally free car wash for our missions team at church, we all helped was the cars.

Some of us even found time to play in the mud!

We've been riding 4-wheelers

motorcycles &

brand new bikes!

All this activity makes some of us so tired that we fall asleep hanging upside in the chair!