Fireflies, Tornadoes, Humidity!

I just wanted to post about the fireflies I saw tonight. I had heard that Nebraska had them and hadn't ever seen one until now! I just walked downstairs to close my blinds for the night and off our deck I saw tons of little sparkling lights lighting up the cornfield and grass behind our house. At first I was trying to figure out what it was then I realized it has to be the fireflies! I would try to get a movie but I don't think night shot would pick it up. It is really neat to see! As I looked and pondered the creation of such an interesting bug I was amazed at how even the smallest creation of our Heavenly Father is such a miracle.

The other things that are new to us being in Nebraska are the tornadoes and the humidity. So far we have had one real tornado warning. It looks like we could have another one tonight. I was just outside trying to get footage of the fireflies when my neighbor came out on his back porch to look at the sky. He said that he used to live in Grand Island and was there when the big tornado spree hit that they based the film "Night of the Twisters" off of. He said that there is a tornado that has touched down just south of here. If we hear the sirens go off I will have to get Alexis out of bed and head downstairs to and wait by the stairwell till the warning passes. Too bad we don't have a basement! The humidity has definitely been felt so far too. Especially the last two days.

Disappointing movie! You can't see any of the fireflies on the movie after I took a half an hour to upload it. I thought I would keep it on here for those interested in hearing the bugs, trains, and birds. Sorry you can't see the fireflies!

Corn, Updates, Funnies!

It is kind of fun for us to see all the pretty farms out here in Nebraska. We have a field right behind our apartment and our deck looks out over it. The other day we got really excited to see that a big tractor was out planting. Now there is a beautiful field of corn that gets bigger everyday. It seems that although the small town lifestyle moves at a snails pace our lives are busier than ever. Shaun's new church calling keeps him pretty busy and mine as well. In addition there seems to always be service to do for both of us.

Alexis has been fun to play with lately. We have been playing legos alot. We also have been playing animals, dolls, and the Barbie fun cash register. For Family Home Evening we took Alexis to the movie "UP" . It was really cute. She thought some parts were scary with the bad guy. When I asked her if she wanted to go to the theatre she said "169". She rates things on number scales only her scale isn't just the standard 1-10 scale. Another funny thing she said this last week was when we were eating dinner. Shaun told Alexis she had to have 3 more bites of her sandwhich before she could have more applesauce (she would just opt to have only applesauce for dinner). She said "Dad, I'm just not loving that idea". Today I made an "Orange Julius" drink in the blender for her. Alexis said with a surprised voice "Mom I didn't know you knew how to make an orange juliest that's so cool!"

It is wierd to think that we are going to have another baby soon. We are really excited to see how this little girl will be differen't from Alexis. I thought Alexis moved alot while I was pregnant and this baby seems to move just as much and maybe more! That worries me a bit because Alexis was a super active baby. I am hoping for at least a semi-cuddler baby. I suppose a balance between one that likes to run around and one that likes to be held would be the best.

Other than preparing for a new baby and serving in the Branch we have been looking at houses. We have narrowed the search down to 3 houses and have made our decision on one of them. I will post more new as that begins to develop further.

Digital Scrapbook Pages

I thought I would put up some digital scrapbook pages that I've done. It has become one of my favorite hobbies since introduced to me from a couple of my friends.

Refreshed!

I just got back from a 3 week vacation. Alexis and I flew to Utah to visit family. It was really fun to see 3 new babies. After staying 2 weeks we flew to Rapid City South Dakota and met Shaun for a vacation! It was such a fun place to visit and Alexis was at a great age to be able to hike and enjoy the National Parks and Monuments with us. So Fun!!

The results are in.......

Well we had an ultra sound today and we found out to our surprise that we are having a........................................Girl! We are really excited and have a couple names that we like. We were both shocked because we felt strongly this baby was a boy, well we were wrong! I am excited to have two girls back to back so they can share a room, clothes, toys and stuff. It is so interesting to think how each child will be so uniquely different. It will be fun to see whether this baby looks anything like Alexis.

Other news going on:

• Shaun got called to be the Second Counselor in the Branch Presidency... we were pretty caught off guard. It will be busy but a blessing and great opportunity to serve.
• I am flying to Utah to visit 3 new babies that have been born!
• We are taking a trip to Mt. Rushmore!
• We are looking for a home and thinking of the possibility of building.
• Alexis is done with preschool for the summer.

I can't think of much else that is new with us. Things continue to be as busy as ever. Shaun is super busy with work and scouts and now his new calling. I am busy with mine. In a branch there are lots of service opportunities. We have enjoyed it. Now that the long cold winter is pretty much over it is nice to see the beautiful spring weather and get outside a bit. We still miss the mountains but are enjoying the pretty farms here.