news.

we are so very excited about some very...exciting...news! ryan(vance's brother) and heather are engaged!! what a special time in their lives, publicly declaring to the world "we're in LOVE and getting MARRIED!" we ALL couldn't be happier for them.

...the best thing about this picture is when they called us shortly after he asked the big question, you could hear their smiles over the phone. don't they just look giddy? thanks for letting me steal the picture heather!:)

feeling blessed.

i was thinking about my "job" (from the previous post)
and couldn't help but say THANK YOU to my husband. you see...without him, i (literally) wouldn't have this job. everyday he leaves the house when the sun isn't even up, works hard all day, and comes back home when it's dark...with open arms(and a kiss too). having lane as my employer pays very little, nothing in fact, but the benefits are AWESOME. vance sees those benefits too. because of that, vance supports us in so many ways. and for that, i am thankful, and love him to no end.

best job ever.

lane is my employer. it has to be the best job ever. i can wear whatever i want, he never speaks up that the sweat pants i'm wearing still have breakfast from the day before on them. i work from 8am-8am, 164hours a week, monday-monday.
i don't have to set an alarm because he'll let me know when i need to get up. no days off, even holidays. and oddly enough, holidays are a day i really wouldn't want off. we can eat breakfast and lunch when we're good and ready. we can go play with friends or stay home and read the same book over and over.
i have job security. he can't fire me. i have never LOVED my employer more. nor have i ever had such a hard job. my employer speaks very little english and is constantly changing demands. i've never felt more failure in a job(when he cries more during the day than when he smiles), never felt more pride in a job(doing things right that we've taught him), and for sure never felt so loved by a job(when he runs to give you a hug and kiss).
i've never wanted to succed at something SO MUCH!
come february, i'll have two employers. never have i worked two jobs. it's going to be a change, a big change, but i'm up for the challenge. two means more diapers, more giggles, more cries, more love, more everything.
i love these jobs.

nebraska.

last week vance was out of town so lane and i skipped town and went to nebraska. we didn't do too much, which was awesome, so i didn't take too many pictures. once again, it felt SO good to be HOME! church, friends, cousins, just felt good. vance and i even went to walmart and he said, "feels good to be at our home walmart." ha:)...it really did though.

mom and i did our fair share of cooking. donuts, meatballs, turnovers, beans, potatoes, red velvet cake, paninis, cinnamon rolls, calzones. we used...4 pounds...of powdered sugar in one weekend. i'm happy to be pregnant so i don't feel (quite as) guilty.

running between the couches. over and over.

giving aunt dana kisses via skype:)


to make the week even better, vance came to omaha friday and stayed through sunday and so ryan came up too. SO fun to all be together.
working outside...


lane could sum up the week by two words...BIG WHEEL. it was pretty much all he did:)
yes...this is a smile. a mischievous smile.

better...

alright...

ah, never mind with the smile after all.

yep, forget it.

lane and sammie(little white dog) had an "incident" with each other. so aunt renee taught him how to put his fingers into claws and hiss at her. the rest of the weekend he'd see ginger and say "dog" with a smile and then hiss at sammie. they are no longer friends.

pioneer woman.

i'm such a dork.

i went to a pioneer woman book signing.

and was totally excited about it!

i knew she was coming to denver, i really wanted to go but so many things were against going. 1.lines would be long. 2.downtown denver (for those of you not in colorado, its like driving from downtown omaha to downtown lincoln) 3.vance was out of town 4.i'd have to take lane.

but i was afraid if i didn't go i'd regret it so lane and i went! we got there around 6 (we left our house at 4:30) and waited....

playing/trying to go to sleep waiting in line...

thankfully we were probably about 50th in line, had a chair, and sat next to someone that lives not too far from meade, ks and didn't mind lane crawling ALL over her. there were about 600 people there, i can't imagine how long they had to wait!

and waited...


and then around 7:30 she had a little question and answer time and then started signing books. we got to her around 9pm. lane was FANTASTIC! SO GOOD! i was so proud to call him my little boy. good until we got right to her and then he started crying b/c he wanted to pick his nose(and i didn't want him to). she was just as nice as she seems on her website. asked all about lane, the new baby, ask to touch my tummy, talked about my name, my mom's name. and so then lane and i drove home, he slept the whole way back and i felt like i had actually done something...daring?! when or who had i really gone to "see" and then i realized i was a nerd for being so excited about it. but hey, i have an awesome cookbook now!

flying high.

daddy's type of fun.






..................................................................................
mommy made me a new shirt:)

snow from last week.

24 weeks.