Benson Park was, up until  this summer,  an eyesore.  Now it is the hot spot for families across the city! An expansive playground adjoins a large "sprayground," which is essentially a large playground equipped with a variety of water shooting, dumping,  sprinkling, and spraying fixtures. The best part (for moms) is that-unlike the other spraygrounds in Omaha-there is NO SAND in the traditional playground next to it! We've  made it down to the playground several times,  but today was the first visit warm enough to get wet!

I do have to brag on one little girl: she was about 10 years old and was playing with a water squirter.  As I stood nearby,  she accidentally spot me in the gave with the cold water. Though I didn't think anything of it-after all,  I WAS standing in the middle of a major water battle-but the sweet girl found me after I dried off and apologize for being me wet! I was so impressed that someone so young had the graciousness to find me and apologize!

As the kids were playing on the dry playground and dying off,  Kayla excitedly showed me that she completed the number slide puzzle! in this puzzle,  only one piece can be moved at a time,  and it is pretty difficult to arrange the numbers correctly.  Great job,  baby girl! 

We are thankful once again for the arrival of summer and look forward to many pool days ahead! Kayla received a tie dye kit for Christmas,  and we are finally able to work on that project over the post few days.  After some overnight soakings,  waiting hours for the tablets to dissolve, dying and dyeing the shirts,  we finally have a finished product!

This morning,  we saw the movie Annie at te Summer Movie Express for just $1 admission,  and I'm reminded to hold up in prayer orphans,  foster children, and foster families all over the world! We then used the last of the kids' Pizza Hut BookIt! Reading program coupons for lunch.

See our matching shirts!

We enjoyed a beautiful day yesterday picking strawberries at Bellevue Berry Farm. I had a hard time stopping the kids, obviously, as we can't home with 6+ pounds of berries with no immediate plans for their consumption! 

So, Kayla and I ventured out to Walmart tonight in search of canning supplies. Strawberry jelly can't be that hard to make, right? Well, we shall see about that!

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INGRAHAM YEAR IN REVIEW 2012 EDITION

JANUARY - FEBRUARY - MARCH

• Returned from Scottsbluff, NE (8 hr. drive) after spending Christmas there with Jeff's parents..
• We traveled to South Padre Island, TX for a family vacation. (20+ hr. drive)
• Jake turned THREE! (February 9) We celebrated with a train birthday, and he is already requesting another train birthday for his next one!
• Kayla continued attending preschool at Omaha Christian Academy.
• Kayla underwent a successful heart surgery (cardiac ablation). 
• We praise God that this procedure permanently resolved her heart problem and she no longer has to take medication three times a day!

APRIL - MAY - JUNE

• More Travel - this time reward trips for Jeff's 2011 insurance sales.
• For his 2011 production level, Jeff was #33 out of all the independent producers in the US who sell Mutual of Omaha Medicare Supplement, and he also was the #1 producer for another brokerage we work with!!
• Jeff and his friend Colby took a trip to Southern California for Mutual's Top Producer Trip.
• Jeff and Christina were privileged to spend a week in Curacao for a different Reward trip.
• Kayla turned FIVE! (May 20) We celebrated with a rainbow party.
• The kids took swimming lessons and participated in a summer program at our church
• Christina and the kids made many trips to the zoo, children's museum, and city pool all summer long - Omaha is a great place to raise kids!
• We hired a new assistant, Kathy. She is an incredibly diligent worker and we have been blessed by all her help!

JULY - AUGUST - SEPTEMBER

• We went back to Scottsbluff, NE for Fourth of July week.
• Madison and Blake Stratman (Christina's brother's kids) visited Omaha, and we had a week full of fun (including a broken down van on the way to Adventureland in Des Moines - then an unplanned overnight stay in Des Moines when our van broke down a second time!) I did have a change of clothes for Jake and Kayla, and they fully enjoyed when I let them swim in the pool fully clothed!
• Cousins Madison, Blake, Drew, Kayla, Jake, Anna, and Dominick (and us poor adults) survived a 106 degree day at the Omaha zoo
• Christina took a quick trip to the Arizona to visit Tobin's family just in time to catch a 116 degree day.
• Kayla started Kindergarten at Omaha Christian Academy. She has a wonderful teacher who also taught Christina and (uncle) Tobin!
• Jake also started preschool at OCA.
• How did it end up that Christina is room mother for both Kayla and Jake's classes???
• We started the process of producing and mailing over 250,000 pieces of mail advertising our business for the fall Medicare Supplement season

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER - DECEMBER

• Throughout the fall, Christina worked in the office one or two days a week to help Jeff with our busy season.
• The kids dressed up as the Princess and the Frog
• Jeff was selected and approved as the Missions Treasurer at our church
• We continued the in our routine of school, church activities, dance and more.
• Kayla danced to Silent Night and Hot Hot Christmas at her recital
• The kids entertained us as they celebrated Jesus' birth in their school Christmas programs
• We traveled to North Platte for the wedding of Christina's cousin, Maggie Rockwell, to Aaron Hurt
• We traveled to Scottsbluff one last time to celebrate Christmas.
• We are counting our blessings for our wonderful family and friends and look forward to 2013!

89 ain't just another number

Eighty-nine. My grandma celebrates her 89th birthday tomorrow. What was life like 89 years ago in 1923? As I imagine it, life was simpler yet more labor intensive. Horses were more commonly a form of transportation than automobiles. Telephones and radios offered a limited forms of social/technological distraction. People read books made of paper, wrote letters with a pen, had morals and respect. They worked hard without an entitlement mentality; hard work was its own reward.

Grandma was employed well into her eighties. She kept her home immaculately clean. No one had reason to call her lazy. At age 70, she stood on the roof of the two-story home our family was building and rolled tar felt in preparation for attaching the shingles. 

My Grandma lived through the depression, two world wars, and through the trials of a difficult marriage while raising three children.

Her strong and enduring faith has deep roots; her reliance on God is surely not a Feel Good Religion. All of her children lead healthy, productive lives.Two of the three also have a strong relationship with God. I have a strong faith as well, due in part to the faithfulness of my grandmother passed down through the generations.

To my three and five-year-old, "Grandma Great" is a woman who watches with a smile, walks with difficulty and is not too much taller than they themselves! I hope to teach them the concept of what a legacy is. My grandma has left them with the blessing of a legacy: a strong spirit, a hard worker, an enduring faith, a reliance upon God.

Blessings to you, Grandma, as we have been blessed through you!

"My Green, My Green!"

Most kids have one. Some carry with them drama to a greater or lesser degree, but a favorite doll, stuffed animal or blanket can carry a child through much in life. My son calls his favorite item "green," and it is a silky-on-one-side-soft-on-the-other baby blanket. And, oh yeah, it's green. 


He clings to this swatch of fiber as if it had life-saving powers. It is his comfort, his joy and is always on his mind. He loves to share it in playtime with his sister: for a picnic, an island, a sled, or whatever else comes to his mind. If he has his green, he is satisfied.


Do I cling to the Lord of my life with the same passion? Is His presence the first thing I look for in the morning, the last thing I seek at night? In the Lord alone do I find my comfort and joy? Do I allow His presence to fill me with peace and silence my fears? Do I share the Lord with others?


The LORD is my light and my salvation, the stronghold of my life. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Ps 27:1

Kayla's 4th Bday!

Our Baby Girl is growing up! When asked what she wanted on her b-day cake [i.e. what picture or theme], Kayla simply said "Ice Cream!" So, an ice cream party it was! From decorations and dress, to ice-cream cone cupcakes, to grandpa's homemade ice cream, it was a chillingly-sweet party!

She is also learning more and more about Jesus. She very much enjoyed participating in Cubbies during this past school year. Cubbies is a Wednesday night Bible club for 3- and 4-year olds. As a part of Cubbies children learn Bible verses, stories, songs and games. She is learning more about heaven and is convinced that there are "sugar-balls" in heaven and "Jesus will share his candy with me!"

Kayla has grown up so much in the past year - she and Jake have become good friends and playmates, she has started doing a few chores around the house, she is recognizing the letters that match up with the beginning sounds of words, she no longer takes a nap most days, and has gained many new skills and abilities. Her behavior is markedly better than it was six, twelve or eighteen months ago. She is a sweet girl and often replies to my request with, "Okay mommy, I will." (That's music to a mom's ears!)

Love you so much, Baby Girl!!