Home.

Home. O how I love HOME! Not so much the place, the food, or the travel time...but the people. Pretty much everyone that I love was home this weekend. (No, not everyone, I missed the other family members!) But, my sister, her kiddos, and my brother all traveled to B-town this weekend. It couldn't have been any better! I also got to see my amazing family in law and my awesome friends. I was busy 99% of the 3 days that I was there, and it was perfect...Read on to hear what I did!
Friday: I will give you $5 if you can guess where my family and I ate out...FUDDS! I probably remember eating out about 1 time every 6 weeks or so growing up, and every time, it was Fuddruckers. I love it...I am always trying to get Cody to go to Fudds with me in Omaha, but he just doesn't have the deep rooted love for it like I do! It was so yummy to chow there with the fam.
Then...dun dun dun! I got to go and see my parents new, finished house! YippEE! It was so awesome to go through it for the first time. If I say so myself, my dad makes a dang good general contractor and my mom makes an outstanding interior decorator. Maybe I will enlist them in a couple of years...
Friday night Nate, Amanda and I stayed up late and chatted. It was so much fun. I miss my sibling so much, it was great to catch up. My fave was probably Nate laughing his head of at some pictures we were taking on Nate's ipad. So funny.

Okay, I am rambling. Let's see...other highlights...
Baby shower for my bestest cousin, bestest friend, gonna-be-an-amazing momma woman, Katie! I also got to take a few maternity shots of her and Millie. I can't wait to meet this little princess.

Branding baby! It wouldn't be a trip to the ranch without some branding! The boys were tough stuff, and Katie and I were pretty awesome walking around the manure-filled field in our fancy shoes and girly clothes! Ha! Good thing I was just on picture duty...

After branding I visited my awesome friend, Carrie Jo. Her and her hubby just built a brand new house, and it was such a blast to chat with them and see their awesome new pad! The only bad part is that I couldn't stay longer!
Saturday afternoon was the best part of my trip. I know, sorry everyone, but this little guy won me over. When I pulled up to the cemetery, I was just hoping and praying that Warner's stone would be in, and it was! I literally jumped from the car and ran to see it. It couldn't be any more perfect. It was amazing to sit and chat with him. My dad and I went back on Monday and he dropped Warner off a golf ball...It looked awesome with his stone!

Saturday night we hung out as a fam. We had a great dinner, then did a photoshoot of my cute niece and nephews. They have so much personality, it was such a blast trying to get some good shots of them. We actually ended up with way too many! They are some stinking cute kiddos.  I will put up more pics on my photo blog soon. After pictures, we had a bon fire with Joel and Robbin's family, it was such a perfect night.

Sunday was pretty relaxing, and I got to visit Cody's family. O man, I couldn't have married into a better fam. They are so much fun. It was great to see Will, Wendy, and their kids. I couldn't believe how big they all were! Man I miss the whole Winterholler clan so much, can't wait to get back and see them more often.

Monday we hit up the splash pool, visited with grandma and grandpa, then dad and I chilled for a few hours. It was so fun to spend time just with him. I am a daddy's girl, that if for sure. Between the Blizzard nazi and the fake flower decorater lady, we had our fair share of laughs.

Overall, my weekend at home was completely and totally worthwhile. I missed Cody so much, and I think he missed me too:) He kept himself pretty entertained, and our friends definitely helped out with that as well. We have a fun, busy weekend ahead, so I am sure there will be some additional posts to come! Don't forget to check out the photo blog, there are going to be alot of updates soon!

Bitter Sweet

I am not sure where to begin. Today is bitter sweet...Bitter for Cody and I, sweet for the Sadler's. Aaron got an awesome job in Casper, Wyoming and they left Omaha for good this morning. I am so sad. It has been kind of an emotional roller coaster for me. I am so, so happy for Aaron and Erika. They have been in Omaha for a long time and I know that they will miss it, but I also know that they are going to love Casper. I just can't imagine living here without those four. It is amazing how attached you can get to people without really realizing it. I think that we took if for granted them living right across the street. I know we didn't see them every day, but the fact is, we knew they were there if we needed each other. We also knew they were there because of:
-the constant knocking on our back door and Brevin sneaking in without Erika knowing.
-the "Chang! Ching! Chang!" noises coming from the boys FOAM swords clinging together.
-Erika sitting outside in the shade of her ONE tree reading and trying to keep from sweating horribly while the boys play outside for hours on end.
-We couldn't have made it through our trials and blessings of Warner without their constant care, blessings, and love. Not to mention the amazing pictures Erika got of us loving our sweet baby boy.
-Erika and I stalking one another, always asking "where were you from 4:23 to 5:14 last night?!"
-Late night cookie drop offs, Cody is really going to miss those
-Aaron was great at popping in just to check on us, make sure that we were surviving our crazy lives
-I will never forget Erika asking me to come over and see something and her showing me baby Holt's ultrasound picture. We were both crying. I can't wait to meet him, and I feel a little jipped that they left just 1 month before he makes his appearance.
-The "Naked Jedi's" running around in their star wars undies, they kept the neighborhood on their toes
-Brevin screaming across the street telling me about his day at school
-Erika was my constant replenishment when I ran out of eggs, anything from costco, etc.
-BBQ's when we could squeeze them in...my faves were Aaron's spicy wings
-I loved picking Brevin up from school, he did great in his class and it was so fun to watch
-The hugs, O the hugs. I just got tears in my eyes just thinking about the hugs. Those boys are willing to give love whenever you ask for it. I will never forget the hug I got from Jace right before we left for the hospital to deliver Warner. It was perfect.
So many more reasons to miss them, I can't even write them all. I am so beyond glad that they were here for at least a little while during our lives here in Omaha. I have grown so close to Erika, and I know that is something that we will never lose, and that we never would have had if we hadn't lived so close. I feel like I have lost my best friend, but good thing I will never really lose her because we are family!

We love you guys so much, if you decide you can't take being away from us you are welcome to move back anytime!

I mean, really, how could you not love these boys...?

Prairie Club

Spring Break. Ahhh. Spring Break. May 1-3 we went to the Prairie Club in Valentine, NE. It was much, much needed this year! Cody had his hardest round of finals yet, and they are OVER! Hallelujah!  We really, really needed to get out of Omaha and really have a break.We love Omaha but it is nice to go on a vacation every once in a while. Cody and Scott went to this golf club last year, and they haven't stopped talking about since. They loved the golf, the sheets(haha seriously they raved about the "spa sheets", they were pretty stinking soft, I might have to purchase some:)), and the food. We had all of the same experiences as they did! We were treated so well, and it was so nice to relax and just golf it up with my hubby. I really am beginning to enjoy golf a whole lot more, and Cman is so happy about that!
This picture is the "point of solitude"...

Beautiful course...smack dab in the middle of Nebraska if you can't tell! The drive there was actually so beautiful. I am really learning to love, love, love the beauty of rolling hills.

Gotta love self portraits. Good job camera!

This was my favorite tree. Isn't it awesome!? I was seriously obsessed with it. It looks so awesome just sitting up there all alone. Not to mention the lone fence on the right side...I should really edit this pic into something amazing. I will work on that asap. (Okay, not asap, I am in the midst of editing my latest photo shoot of Jane. It is a killer awesome one...get ready for some smiles!)

Okay...look close at the picture below. There are 2 balls on this green. One is at about 15 feet, one is at 2 feet. Which one is mine? Which one is Cman's? Mine is the closer one! YAHOO!! Not only is it the closer one, but I hit this with a 5 iron from 160 yards out! I was so happy! I even grabbed the camera and took a picture of my happy face...but I will spare you.

The O-So-Happy couple. We had a blast. I love my hubbs, I love spending time with him, I love golfing with him! It was a great weekend.

P.S....I had to throw this picture in. We didn't exactly have perfect weather for our first day of 36 holes. Cody was jumping in and out of the cart into a downpour of rain/sleet for abour 18 holes. I stayed in the cart cuddled up in a quilt I took from the hotel! Pretty creepy clouds, huh!? We still had the time of our lives, though!

Best Buds

These are our best buds, the Elder's and the Theurer's. We are pretty much attached at the hip with these guys and their kiddos. We are so lucky to have such good friends here! These are just some pics from the first of our MANY BBQ's ahead of us this summer!

Me, Teddy, Ali

Anders, Pete, Ali

Teddy, Scott

White Coat Ceremony Class of 2013

Cody had his White Coat Ceremony on May 7, 2011. This is basically a right of passage, after the White Coat Ceremony, the students become Dr.'s and are able to begin treating patients. Yep, that is right, he is going to start first thing tomorrow morning numbing, filling, poking, and prodding innocent people! He will be quite the Dr., I can't wait for him to work on me...hopefully just for a cleaning:) I took quite a few photos, I know I am the annoying person with the camera but in the end every is always asking me for the pictures so it is worth being annoying!

Dr.'s McNally and Dean Barkmier

Hubbs and I:

The pops came for the ceremony, and we have enjoyed every minute!

The whole clan: Jace, Chelsea, Cody, Brevin, Bert, and Erika

Cody's good friend Jeremy:

....and a super cute picture of Erika and I!

Happy Birthday to Warner

Can you believe it? It has been one year today since our sweet Warner joined our family. For all of you, I am sure you would say that this year has just "Flown by"...not so much for us. I am not going to lie, this has definitely been the hardest year of our lives. Through losing Warner, then struggling to get pregnant, and losing two other pregnancies, I would say it has been a tough year for us.
Part of me wants to say that I am tucked in my bed crying my eyes out today, but that is just not the reality. I have been dreading today for weeks. So, in turn, for weeks, my eyes have been laced with tears here and there. However, when I woke up this morning, tears did not come to my eyes. I smiled.
Similarly, the weeks leading up to Warner's birth my eyes were laced with tears. I was scared of the unknown, of meeting our little man and not knowing how long we had with him. The morning of his birth, May 7, 2010, however, tears did not come to my eyes. I smiled.
It is amazing the comfort that surrounds us. There is really no sadness in not being able to celebrate Warner's 1 year birthday today. There is so much peace. A friend told me that "Warner is a mighty missionary and angel on the other side". I think that is a perfect description. It might sound crazy, but it just wouldn't feel right if he was here. We miss him, but we know that Warner is exactly where he needs to be. Our Heavenly Father needed him by His side to help and love those on the other side. We know that he is doing such amazing work that he never would have accomplished here on earth. We know that we have a perfect child waiting for us to come to him in heaven. We have so much to do to be worthy to raise him after this life! We can't wait. We can't wait to hold him and chat with him, and play a round or two of golf:) We can't wait for our family to all be together again...Warner, our future kiddos, and us, after this life, for all of eternity.
So through the tears, there are so many smiles. We have only happy memories of our time with Warner, and feel so blessed to be his parents. We are so excited to someday get to add to our little family and know that our Savior will be by our side through it all. We are so thankful for the love of our wonderful friends and family, they have helped us get through our day to day struggles this past year and have supported all of our decisions and trials. We love you all, and love our Sweet Baby Boy! So...no tears, just smile!

Forced Productivity

So...I have been bored lately (My Grandma doesn't approve of that word...sorry Grandma!) Cody has been a study maniac. I mean, getting up at 4 am, going to school all day, then studying until who knows when at night. He has been a little better at going to bed earlier lately, which makes me happy because you need sleep just as much as you need to study! I don't think he would agree, but that is my philosophy.
I stay pretty busy doing my job, photography, and hair. Actually, I wouldn't want to do too much more because I kind of get sick of working how much I do! The amount that I do now is just perfect for me. I usually have ample time to spend with Cody, make our meals, and ah-hem, clean our house. Since Cody has been on this study kick, however, I have been a little lonely. I have been trying to force myself to be productive, (amidst the american idol, office, and biggest loser watching), these are a few things I have been attempting to keep me busy:
~First I begged for a dog, Cody entertained the idea for about a week, but has since shot me down daily. ~Then, I overhauled my food blog and our family blog, (I should do that to my photo blog as well...that's an idea!)
~Food storage. I have been trying to add to it weekly, little by little it is coming along!
~Organizing. My storage room, and I don't know if I should admit what else I organized, it is a little compulsive. But I guess if you are still reading this I have probably already confessed it to you in person. My spice cabinet. Seriously, I have a million spices for all of my recipes. It drives me nuts that I have to search through them all to find one little spice! So I alphabetized them. Yep. Loser.
~Started a personal journal blog, (which has proved to be an awesome outlet. I do 5 positive things every night before I go to bed. It lifts my spirits even when my day sucked!)
~done some in-depth studies of Christ and tried to learn more about Him and His life
~dived into a Jodi Picoult book, "Handle with Care", about a child with OI, the same disease Warner had. It is a great insight into what life would have been like had Warner survived and lived daily with OI. I cry, I laugh, I feel every ounce of the mother's pain. I truly am loving this book, as well as all of her other books.
~workout kick...well hopefully. My leg still bugs me quite a bit but Zumba, yoga, walking at night, and water aerobics seem not to bother it too much. Let's hope they keep loving me, because I love them!
~shopping, unfortunately. Food shopping, clothes shopping. Spend money shopping. shoot.
~My most recent project has been to update our 72 hour kit. You see, my adorable momma found out that Cody and I didn't have a 72 hour kit before we moved to Omaha. Her motherly concerned jumped right in and she gave us theirs!(I sure hope they have since acquired a new one...hmm.) I hope she doesn't read this, which she will, but I never opened it until this week. I know, what a shame. She had us very well prepared, but of course, no personal undergarments, extra clothes, etc. I updated all of the food so it won't expire for 2 years, and pretty much did an overhaul of it. I know I could add so much more, but this is what we now have: (I think I remembered it all!)
~~~bowls/utinsels
~~~matches
~~~playing cards
~~~pens/paper
~~~food for 3 days
~~~4 water bottles
~~~shampoo, lotion, body wash, dish soap
~~~washcloths
~~~undergarments
~~~pants, shirts, and socks for each of us
~~~tin foil
~~~duct tape
~~~knife
~~~feminine hygiene products
~~~flashlight, extra batteries
~~~ponchos
~~~heat blankets
~~~whistle
~~~candles
~~~first aid kit
~~~ace bandage
~~~sewing kit
Whew! If there is anything you can think of that I am missing, fill me in! I am sure I forgot something, or at least forgot to write it down here.

Wow. That was a pretty pointless blog. Better get to doing one of those things I guess...go be productive Chelsea!