Happy Birthday, Dad!

Yesterday was Dad's funeral, also his birthday. So...we had a party. Before the pastor prayed, we sang and my sister showed her video that she made celebrating the man that God gave us. It was definitely a first for many people - eating a birthday cake at a funeral, but Dad had the best birthday of all!

Christmas minus 1

Cael before his program Christmas Eve. He did a great job with his two songs. It was weird not having Dad around to open presents. We laughed, we cried, then we went sledding! Dad would have loved to have been out there with us and watched the grandchildren speeding down the hill. This is on the farm where LeAndra and I grew up. LeAndra challenged me to a race. I won.

Some of my favorite pictures

These are some of my favorite pictures of my dad.When I asked Cael who this was in the picture, he said, "That's me!" What a stud. This was at my sister's wedding in 1992. Dad was in the Army from 1959-61. He was stationed stateside and in Korea. My dad is with his big brother, Kenney in front of their work team.

A Life Well Lived

Today my earthly father was called to Glory by our Heavenly Father. His was truly a life well lived. It was not without struggles, but we always had everything we wanted. Duane Albert Breinig Dec. 27, 1939 - Dec. 22, 2008

Welcome Home, MJ!

We didn't have school on Friday, but the roads were clear in the late afternoon, so we went into town to get Mary Jane. I think she's a Daddy's girl! She was very skittish when we brought her home. New place, and all. She's not too into snow, but we'll keep trying. Cael likes to play tug of war with her.

O, Christmas Tree

We finally had a spare minute to put up the Christmas tree tonight. Cael found his ornament from his first Christmas. Allen and Cael put the angel on top. Cael is proud of his tree! We put together the new kennel for Mary Jane. Cael is anxiously awaiting her arrival. Believe me, he was in there on his own will. It was hard to get him out! He said he had to be Mary Jane to see if her new house was ok.

Fullerton

The Fullerton wrestling meet went well, even though we only took two boys. Jacob won first! He was up against a kid in the finals that beat him by one point last year. His dad overheard this kid say in the hallway to his friends that "that Lutheran kid will be easy. He's a wuss." When Jacob heard that, he was pretty fired up and was not going to let the kid beat him. Jacob took him to the third period. Allen kicks the boys' butts pretty hard in practice, so they're conditioned quite well. While the other kid was sucking wind, Jacob was just fine. He got a pin for first place. It was awesome! Brad pinned his kid in the second match, but got beat out. He's doing well for giving up almost 10 pounds to the other kids (it's a long story as to why, but Brad is wrestling 140 and weighing about 134). We took Cael with us, too. He had a lot of fun watching and playing. He would yell whatever the rest of us yelled. Then he fell asleep. Hard. I'll have a picture of that this next week if Jacob remembers to bring them. Also, on Friday I had my annual "apple cider corner" in my classroom. Traditionally, I bring apple cider (complete with red hots) in my room for students and teachers on the Friday before finals week. The kids were asking about it at Thanksgiving, so I knew I had better keep it going. It's a little perk I offer as they get ready to study hard and do well on big tests!

Winter season

Wow. Haven't updated on our family lately, huh? We had a good Thanksgiving with our family, hopefully everyone else's was good as well. Looking forward to Christmas, we see our calendar is scheduled full! We had our first wrestling meet on Friday at Ravenna. It was pretty good, as Jacob got 4th and Kyle got 3rd. Brad got beat out (he won his first match, lost second two), but wrestled pretty hard. Brad's weighing around 132, but has to go up to 140 (long story), so he's doing well considering. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them. I remembered everything else except my camera. Just too excited, I guess. My kids are getting ready for speech season as well. I'm busy cutting and timing. I think we should do pretty well this season.

Cases of Mistaken Identity

Here are the pictures from our play! Yes, Jacob is in a dress. Just one of the "mistaken identities." My cast and set. It's the biggest set and the biggest cast that I've ever directed. We built the set from scratch on top of the platforms. Meghann, Bridget, and Kara worry about a crazed lunatic on the train. The big fight scene. Cael and Evan hung out in the Commons area with our babysitter's daughter during the play.

The puppies

The puppies are getting bigger! About three more weeks, and we'll have a new addition at our house. This is Itty-bit. As the runt, Allen's mom had to dropper feed him for the first week of his life. He's doing well now! This is Bruiser. Allen's holding Mary Jane (our puppy). Cael named her after Spiderman's girlfriend. Cael's holding Griffin. He's going to go live with Kerrey's family.

Countdown

So it's Thursday, and tomorrow the elementary kids come to see our play of "Cases of Mistaken Identity." We've been working like crazy the last couple of weeks. I was at school until 10 Monday night, and 12 Tuesday night. Saturday we have two performances, so we have to be doubly good. A little more stress is thrown in the mix because Allen has a sinus and ear infection, and my dad is not doing well. Nothing we can do about it, though. We just keep praying and moving forward. I'll put on some pics of the kids when I get some. It will be a good one, I'm sure. They always pull it off. I'd like to say that this is my first play with a guy wearing a dress, but... Somehow we tend to get mixed up in that schtick.

Freezer meat

No trophy and no pictures, but we'll have meat for the freezer soon. Allen got a doe Saturday evening. Jerky, cheddar deer dogs, and some deer steaks will be ours soon. He's going back out tomorrow to see if he can fill his tag. Maybe he can get one more for some deer burger!

Counting is hard

Yesterday morning Cael and I were going out to the car to head into town. He was counting the leaves between the steps and the car. I reached for the door and he stepped in front of me. "Stop! Mommy, I counted the leaves!" "Really? How many are there?" "Eleventy-four!" "Good to know, son." We're out in Arapahoe again, and it's deer season! Last week Allen and my brother-in-law, Todd, went out to find some pheasants. We forgot them in mom and dad's freezer. We have to remember those before we leave. This week, a good friend that I teach with (Brian) brought his two boys out with us so they could all go with Allen in the morning. Hopefully we'll have pictures of a trophy soon(or at least meat for the freezer). The night before hunting season opens, the Arapahoe FFA always have a Fry Feed (I'm talking Rocky Mountain Oysters, here). It's been a while since we've been able to make it in time for it, but tonight we were lucky. We all had a big plate full of them along with a baked potato. Cael loved his "chicken nuggets." I got to see my best friend from high school, Julie, who was with her parents, husband, and four kids. Looking around the gym, there weren't too many faces I didn't know, I just didn't recognize a lot of people. We're all looking a little older, I guess.

A little busy

Sorry I haven't been keeping up lately, but I've either been at school, play practice, or in bed. We have a late start this morning for school, so I thought I'd let you know that we're still here. The play is Nov.21st for our feeder schools, and 22nd for the public. 11 days. This is the biggest one we've done, so it's a lot to organize. Luckily, I have some great student parents who have volunteered to pitch in and take over the dessert part of the Dessert Theatre. That leaves Allen free to help me with technical stuff. I seriously couldn't get everything done without a great support system. With 24 kids in cast, it's hard trying to keep everyone focused and on task. I haven't gotten really cranky yet, but the upperclassmen have been warning the freshmen to stay away from Mrs. Blake next week and to not ask any stupid questions. :) From the zits I found this morning in the mirror, my stress level must be rising...

HLHS Wrestling Team

Is this freaking cool, or what? Allen ranks this in the top 5 coolest things he's ever done. Our airport is home to the Army's post of the Chinook choppers in our area. As PR, they let people come out for photo shoots. SWEET!! We're getting posters made. I love the Chinooks because my dad was a chopper mechanic in Korea and worked on them. "The girls" of the team. Me, Taylor, and Brooke. Kyle, Kajo, Allen, Brad, and Jacob.

Carving Pumpkins

Along with English and Speech/Drama, I also teach FCS (Home Ec)(go ahead Alison, laugh it up). Anyway, this week we carved pumpkins. I have some talented carvers! This is Derek and the headless horseman. It's kind of hard to see. Kara and her traditional smiling pumpkin. Adam made a spider.

Nothin' better than a box

Why do we buy toys? I mean, really. Just give this kid a box, and he can entertain himself for hours. But then again, I did the same thing, right, Mom?

Long weekend

We had a short week at school this week because we had the Nebraska District Lutheran Teachers' Conference in Fremont. Robin picked me up Thursday morning so we could head out, and Allen and Cael came up just in time for supper. It was good to see them after my long day of meetings. Friday morning was more meetings, but after lunch we headed to Lincoln. We stayed with Allen's dad (when I say "we" I mean Kerrey's family and us). We went up to the zoo in Omaha today. It was a long day, but lots of fun. It was actually sunny and got up to 67 degrees. Quite different from the rest of the week! Here are some highlights from the Henry Doorly Zoo. We first went into the Desert Dome. This fox was chillin' out. "Is it real, Mommy?" No, it was just a statue, but very life-like! This is the outside of the Desert Dome. It's pretty cool. Also inside is the Nightime exhibit. Alligators, bats, and all sorts of creepy crawlies! This is the bridge over the Koi pond. There were fish bigger than Cael! And lots of them! No visit to the Zoo is complete without a train ride! Gorilla Valley is really neat. There were three large gorillas that were "playing" with each other and with us. They would run by the windows and smack the glass, then chase each other. This sweet gorilla was in another part of the Valley. You can't see it very well, but Cael has his hand up to the gorilla's hand on the glass. Cael thought he was pretty special. By far Cael and Allen's favorite exhibit - The Aquarium! I get a little claustrophobic (I also have a thing about water), but I stayed with the boys. I usually just walk right on through. Sharks!