Husker Hoops Players

Okay everyone...I have the (semi) "OFFICIAL" list of Husker Players coming back to play Sunday!! It sounds like we will have a great bunch of players! I think one or two players had to decline coming because of the draft, but we will still rock :-)

NAME POSITION
Andre Jones (CB)
Tyler Kestner (CB)
Terrance Nunn (WR)
Jordan Picu (OL)
Tom Rice (DE)
Matt Senske (FB)
Brandon Johnson (DL)
and...possibly one more!

Just a reminder, the game will be starting at 1:00, so come early to see it all!! Bring something for the players to sign, and don't forget your cameras for pictures after the game!!

If anyone has ANY questions, please give me a call!!!!

HUSKER HOOPS

Sunday ~ May 4th, 2008
1:00pm
Humphrey High Gym
$7 ADULTS
$3 KIDS
K-below FREE!!

2007 Husker Football Seniors vs. Humphrey community members!!!!!!

This game should be full of excitement and entertainment for all ages! The Huskers will stick around after the game to sign autographs and take pictures! There will be opportunities to purchase luminaries for those you would like to honor, as well as take your chance at SPLIT THE POT!!!!! The National Honor Society will also be providing concession stands to satisfy your sweet tooth!! If we have any left over CHARLI'S ANGELS shirts, we will have them there too!! Keep an eye out :-)

Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, and help raise awareness to childhood cancer. It is a GREAT cause that will give you LOADS of entertainment...so come on over to the game this weekend!!

Charli will be there sporting her Charli's Angels shirt and piggy-tails I am sure, so if nothing else just come to see her cute little face!!! :-)

Thanks to everyone who is still checking in on us, we appreciate it SO much!!! We are excited to see this event be a success! This is our first charity event we have planned, and we hope it goes well so we can do more!!

Look for ads in the Humphrey and Newman Grove papers this week...and the Telegram Thursday! It is also running on the radio, I had three people tell me they heard it today - so I hope that drives spectators by the hundreds!!!!! :-) If you can't make it, just tell your friends to come in your place!!

Have a GREAT week!!! Tomorrow is MID-week...yay!

PLUS four legs MINUS two gills

I have such sad news...Mrs. May has left our home. She passed away this morning. I knew going to bed last night that she wouldn't make it to morning :-( Her coloring was bad, and she wasn't swimming around like she normally did. At that point, I didn't know what I could do :-( I was so sad, and feel so bad for Mr. Earl. Does anyone know...is he happier to have the bowl to himself...or does he want a buddy??? I don't know what to do?

On a separate note, we have expanded our home by about four feet! Charli got a hamster, CoCo today!! He is so cute and furry....he is tan and white with a little stub for a tail! He was one of 10 brought into the store, raised by an employee there! She was SO sad to see him leave! So, we left the store with one hamster, one cage, one package of bedding, one package of feed, and YES...one package of alfalfa!! Coco also likes apples and lettuce we were told...we will have to get some!! He is so cute to watch! He piled about 100 sunflower seeds in his wheel, on top of his cage - and he is sleeping now!

Charli is working on some teeth I think - I hope at least! She has been kind of crabby and moody this weekend! We took her out to eat dinner today, and she did SO great!! I looked at Chad, and we agreed that we couldn't remember the last time we all went out to eat...just the three of us! We were there for an hour - and I was so proud of her! I could have just cried thinking about how grown up she is! It was a GREAT feeling!!!
Enjoy the pictures...

This is Chalri with her 102.5 fever...!

cheese mommy...I don't feel good....but cheese!!!!!

she was shopping for her bowling set!

the look of amazement when she discovered the neighbors sprinklers!

this is coco's home!

a very-near close-up of coco...he says HI!!

this is how Charli has to eat her snack...hiding behind a chair so Kasper doesn't STEAL her food!

check out her pony...its on the BACK of her head!!

Welcome to our World!!

Okay...so I am tired and feeling a little sorry for myself while writing this post!!!!

Charli is not feeling so hot today, but is peacefully sleeping in her crib now - she is such a trooper! Last night my mom picked her up from daycare, they got home and she climbed up on grandma's lap and fell asleep!! She didn't even get up when I came home, she was feeling pretty tough. We took her temp and it was about 103, 104.5 on the ear she was sleeping on!! I waited around a bit before giving her any meds to see what the temp would do, but it hoovered around 102.5...so I gave her some motrin and she went off to bed. She slept pretty good, but could tell she didn't feel good. Her temp was back in the middle of the night, and stuck around till morning. About an hour after Motrin it went down.

So...off to the doctor we went! I thought for sure it was her ears...which it is not, and I am glad for. But, Charli does have some sores on the back on her throat. Dr. Rohwer said that he has seen this a few times - with the fever. So, until she is fever free for 24 hours...we will be at home! She feel asleep in the doctors office, and was feeling pretty low by the time we got home. I tried to feed her, but she wasn't interested at all! Poor thing, she just sat there and had tears coming down her little face :(. I knew it hurt to take her meds because she is always a great medicine taker, but I could only get 1/2 in her easily, the rest was a fight...and hurt my feelings a bit!!!!! After that I asked her if she wanted to take a nap, and she laid down on my shoulder and pointed to her room! She is so smart!!

So, let's hope she feelings 110% when nap time is over!!

Wynston has also been sick!! Last week he spent a night at the vets getting blood work and x-rays done!! he has a UTI basically, but is on medicine and a special diet for it. He isn't sleeping, eating, or drinking well either!!! And Kasper....well, Kasper is Kasper!!

Chad has been working long days now that the weather is nice! Many mornings his alarm is going off at 2am, what is up with that?!! Most nights he is getting home around 8pm...seeing Charli just as she goes to bed, which isn't enough for him!! Hopefully he will be able to work more "normal" hours soon. So, if you see him working at your place...send him home!!!! Luckily our family has really been picking up our slack!! Grandma Preister, Grandma Borg, and Aunt Amanda have been big helpers in getting Charli home form daycare! THANK YOU!!!!!! We would be in a major rut without your help!!

I will post some pictures of Charli playing later today...she was feeling pretty good around mid-morning and gave me some cute pictures!!

For now I am going to sit and read a magazine. I should clean up my house, but I am not :-)!!!!!!!

the new Mr. & Mrs!

What a busy weekend!!!! My oldest sister, Vicki, got married this weekend and we all got to enjoy the festivities!! Friday night was rehearsal and the wedding was Saturday...with beautiful weather outside!! Vicki and Aaron got married at our country church, Looking Glass. My other sister and I stood up for Vic, and Randy (our favorite brother) and Kurt (Aaron's favorite brother) stood up for Aaron! I sang at the wedding ("Could Not Ask for More") and also for their first dance ("There You Are"). Charli danced all night and had such a fun time!! Vic had balloons all over for the kids to play with! Of course, our child was the ONLY one who picked up the trash when they popped and threw it away!!! She is odd :-) It was so great to see her interact with everyone! And, it was such a delight to see other people light up when they saw her...so many people truly care about Charli...it is wonderful to see! Like Chad said "This little girl has a special place in so many hearts..."

We want to wish nothing but the best to Vicki and Aaron!! They were both so happy this weekend, and I was so excited to be part of their day!!!!!

REMINDER - HUSKERS HOOPS IS IN TWO WEEKS!!!

REMINDER - ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT OF JODY'S LUMINARY SPECIAL!!!!!

mac & cheese for supper?!

cheesy smile!

funny face!

Charli in the "dolly" chair...she looks like a dolly!

kisses for the bride!

kisses for the groom!! (notice his BIG smile!!)

hard to get a good picture with so many grandkids!!

our family!

the happy couple!

cutie Ryen!!

the three amigos!

the oldest boy...and the oldest girl!

what a prodigy!!

REMINDER

Just a reminder that my mother-in-laws Relay for Life "special" ends at the end of the month...so if you want to get in on the great deal and a great "art" memory contact her NOW! You can leave her a comment on her blog at http://www.author-jodypreister.blogspot.com/, she also has contact information listed there!!!

and then there were two...more!!

And then were SEVEN?!! Charli got two new pets today...Earl and May - little goldie fishes!!! I went to Norfolk today with Amanda and while we were shopping in Earl May, I decided to get the fish I have been asking Chad for, for weeks!! I knew Chad would never get them for me!! So, please be sure to pay special attention to Mr. Earl and Mrs. May when you come visit next!! Charli loves them, she watches them swim around and giggles at them!! For some reason I have anorexic fish, who spit their food back up...and Charli tells them NO!!!

Charli is saying many new words this weekend and being just as cute as ever!! She is still loving her hair to be pretty and likes to show off her shoes!!

Come for a visit and I am sure she will give you big bear hugs, lots of kisses...and show you her shoe drawer!!!

Mr. Earl & Mrs. May!

Charli getting her hair *did*!!

pretty!!

MOHAWK!!!!!!!

Charlie and Charli taking a nap...shh!!!

Charli reading to Charlie!

cute picture...you can see Mr. Earl in this picture!!

my shoes

I found this poem on the site of another "mom"...I felt I needed to share it here.

I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.

Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.

Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.

Yet, I continue to wear them.

I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.

They never talk about my shoes.

To learn how awful my shoes are
might make them uncomfortable.

To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.

But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.

I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some women ache daily as they try and walk in them.

Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.

No woman deserves to wear these shoes.

Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.

These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.

I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has a child with cancer.


Author unknown

fun hair!!

Okay, so I am not sure how long I will be able to keep Charli's hair cute since I am not so great with my own hair, but in the meantime I am loving to see her little piggies...or paintbrushes as Grandpa Borg calls them! They just seem to bring out her personality...she is getting to be pretty spunky!

Chad taught her to give BEAR hugs, and I have taught her to give "kisses with her lips" and so she can give lots of good love when she wants to!

Wynston has been hiding under the bed the last few mornings and she thinks that it is hilarious to see him under there...it cracks her up something fierce!! She's a dolly :-D

Charli found three new friends in our front yard this week!!

Breakfast takes awhile now that she feeds herself...but it is fun for her!!

ahhh, she is BEAUTIFUL!

WOW!!

feeding my baby!!

shirts

We have already gotten our Relay for Life shirts!! I can't believe it - they were ready so fast!!! These are the shirts we hope all of our team members and those walking for Charli will be wearing the night of the event! My friend Natalie drew the picture on the back, and we co-designed the front!! She did a great job, and I am so excited about them! She even looked back at older pictures of Charli and tried to make them look like Charli did about this time last year! She is so talented!!! We would also love to see people wearing these at the Husker Basketball game in Humphrey on the 4th as well as the CureSearch walk in Omaha...and all over town other times too!!! We just want them to be worn always :-)

The cost is $10 each if anyone is interested please let me know. I only have 100 of the adult sizes (S-XXL), so shirts will be limited. If you are interested please let me know what size and I will put you down...we can arrange to get them to you at some point!!

Also, thank you to all the sponsors who helped with the shirts and the funding for our team - we truly appreciate it!!!

Groteluschen Construction * Husker Vinyl * CNC Repair * MARC * Laser Pro * Crackers to Caviar * Husker Trading * Preister Excavating * Borg Dairy Heifers * B & B Repair & Towing * Xpress Salon & Tanning * Columbus Screen Printing * Broken Bow Public Schools * Krings Welding

FRONT & CENTER

BACK VIEW with sponsors listed!

Charli sporting it proud...FIGHTING CHILDHOOD CANCER!!!!

BEING A MOTHER

*I got this in an email today, and it really touched me! I think that family is so important and appreciating your family is such a high priority in my life!! As Charli gets older it becomes even more important to me, to have people love Charli and get to know the *Charli* we know and love!!! I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did!!*

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.'

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years. The demands of my work and my two children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.

'What's wrong, are you well?' she asked.

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.

'I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,' I responded. 'Just t he two of us.'

She thought about it for a moment, and then said, 'I would like that very much.'

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date.

She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's. 'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into the car. 'They can't wait to hear about our meeting.'

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.

After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. 'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' she said.

'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,' I responded.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation, nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.

As we arrived at her house later, she said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed.

'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home.
'Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,' I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.'

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: 'I LOVE YOU' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till 'some other time'.

oh happy day!

What another great weekend at our house!!

I had a friend from college come to visit on Friday with her 4 year old son and the two kids played so great together!!! On Friday night they came to the house and they were all over the place!! Saturday we went to the hotel and the kids got to swim and then we went out for pizza! Both kids were SO well behaved it was a joy :-)

Today we had company, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Brad came to visit before we went to help Charli's second cousin Shania celebrate her First Communion. We got to play with Charli's hair and she went out into the world today with her FIRST set of TWO piggy-tails!! She was a doll!!! We also played dress-up, but daddy didn't like the first outfit, he said it was too "punk-rocker", I will let you decide which one I am talking about!!

She is such a joy to be around, she makes everyone glow when they are around her!! She is a blessing to all who love her!!

nap time for everyone!

the girls before having a "Borg" girl night on the town :-)

let be silly!!

love my hair?!!!

i DIDN'T do it!!

the Preister girls!

this is what happens when the piggies come out?! who's scared?!!

"nice" picture of Charli and Aiden!

OH WOW!!

Who do you think is more proud in this picture?!!

to punk-rock for daddy!!?!!

Charity Events

May 4th (SUNDAY)
Humphrey High Gymnasium
1:00
HUSKER HOOPS
2007 Husker Football players will be coming to Humphrey to play various members of the community in an entertaining event to raise awareness to Childhood Cancer and raise funds for "Charli's Angels" Relay for Life team! Other Childhood Cancer charities will benefit from this event such as CureSerach, an organization that raises money solely for childhood cancer, and Angels Among Us, an organization who gives financial assistance to families with children going through treatment in Nebraska.



June 7th (Saturday)
Omaha, NE
8:00am
CureSearch Walk
This walk is for childhood cancer specifically. There are only two walks like this in the United States!!



June 8th (Sunday)
Columbus, NE ~ Crackers to Caviar
"An Afternoon for You"
1:00 - 4:00
Open House
An afternoon to pamper yourself, your home, your family, and your spirit! Come purchase items from vendors who can help you do this!! A portion of all proceeds will be donated to the "Charli's Angels" Relay for Life Team and help raise awareness to Childhood Cancer!! You will have access to great coffee, Pampered Chef, Home Interiors, Mary Kay, and more!!!! Life your spirit while helping others...what is better than that!!


Please watch for other events to be posted as they are finalized. I hope to have an event planned for June 1st, so keep that day open too!!! Again, the Relay is the LAST Friday of June. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!!

Relay for Life Donations

American Cancer Society
Relay For Life of Platte County
June 27-28, 2008


UNITED WE STAND……… IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER


In an effort to help support the fight against cancer, we are participating in the
Relay For Life held in Columbus NE, June 27-28, 2008.

This year Charli has been named the honorary co-chair of this year’s event! This means that we have a big task in front of us of not only representing Charli with many luminaries but also raising awareness to Childhood Cancer!

Your donation to the Relay For Life will help bring hope to people currently battling cancer and to everyone who may face it in the future. You can also remember someone who has been affected by cancer by honoring them with a luminary.

Funds raised through the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life are used for Research, Education, Treatment, and Patient and Community Services. As we all know, these cannot, and will not happen without awareness - so we really need your help!

The Relay For Life opens as cancer survivors walk the first lap in celebration of their victory, this lap will be lead by Charli! This is an emotional time and sets the stage for the importance of each participant’s contribution. The luminaria ceremony is held just after dark; the Relay gets quiet…as hundreds of glowing luminaria line the track. The volunteers and donors give of their time, talent and treasure throughout the Relay and greet the dawn as a sign of hope.

We are hoping to have a donation from every state
representing the determination we all have to fight cancer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RELAY FOR LIFE
Donation Form

From: ______________________________Address: _____________________________________________


Amount Enclosed $______________ Circle one: Cash Check

(Make checks payable to the American Cancer Society)


Please return this form to me by June 1, 2008

*Luminaries can be purchased for $10 in Charli's name or in any name you choose. We can decorate these bags, or we can get them to you to decorate. PLEASE, if you have any questions...just ask!!

Childhood Cancer Walk

Each year CureSearch has two walks that are especially for childhood cancer. One of these walks will take place in Omaha on June 7, 2008. This is a very important walk for many reasons, mainly because this walk raises money and awareness solely for childhood cancer. We will be having a team to celebrate and honor Charli, again called the Charli's Angels!

If anyone would like to participate in the walk with us we would love to see you in Omaha that morning from 8am - 10am...it is a short and sweet walk!! If there is anyone who would like to support our team but can not attend the walk, you can be a virtual walker by registering at the site and pledging for our team.

Because of all that is going on with our fundraising efforts with the Relay for Life this year, we have set a very reasonable goal of $300, I pray we can reach it!!!!! If anyone would like to register to be on our team to walk with us that day, would like to be a "virtual" walker, or pledge money for our team please visit the CureSerach - MileStones Walk site here!

If you have any questions - please let me know!!

PS. Luminaries for the Relay for Life (in Columbus) are $10...I don't think I mentioned that before..sorry!!!