Christmas!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I was horrible about taking pictures. I guess I was too caught up in the moment to remember to take any. My bad! I do have some pictures of the light displays in Deming Park. We always drive through and look at them on Christmas Eve.



We decided to have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve Day, instead of Christmas Day, which looking back was a sad mistake, because my mother-in law made us a gorgeous table runner that would have matched perfectly.


All in all, we had a great day and are enjoying our gifts.


We have had a blessed 2009, and are looking forward to an even better 2010. Praying the same for you!

ISU Basketball

I took the boys to an ISU basketball game this afternoon. They had a deal where you could buy one ticket, get one free, if you brought in a blue Pepsi can. It was nice to get out and do something a little different over Christmas break.



Everyone at our house is getting excited for Christmas Day! As you enjoy your special time together, take a moment to give glory to the One who made it possible. He gave us all the gift of forgiveness, maybe now is the time for you to give Him the gift of your heart.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Homemade Ornaments

Rion brought a book home from school with Christmas craft ideas. We decided to try making ornaments. I can't remember the exact mix of ingredients, but we used salt, flour and water to make the dough. We rolled the dough and cut out shapes. Next, we cooked the ornaments until they were basically rock hard. Monday, the boys and I spent most of the day painting them. They turned out beautifully!

Rion's Birthday

Rion turned 12 last Saturday! We brought a cake for him to the youth Christmas party on Friday and then he opened presents the next day. It's truly hard to believe our "baby" is 12. Time sure flies!

Youth Group Christmas Party

Fearless 365 had a Christmas party on Friday night at the Youth Pastor's house.

They exchanged gifts, ate, watched movies and played games.

I have to say, they are a great group of people!

My, How You've Grown

I took this picture of Brenden last week. He had an AP English banquet at school that day. He was on the planning committee for the formal event. He looked so handsome and grown-up!

Band Concert

Rion performed in his first band concert yesterday! He looked so cute playing his baritone. I could see his little cheeks puffing away as he played. Of all our boys, he is the least "musical", but he did really well. I was impressed!

The End Of Basketball?

The Otters lost in the tournament, so Rion is done with basketball...sorta. He is going to be playing, at the Boys and Girls club, starting next month. It's a league for kids who played on their school's teams, so they can keep practicing their skills. Sorry, the pictures are a little fuzzy! Darec took them, while I took video.

Orchestra Concert

Darec performed in the orchestra's Christmas concert yesterday. They sounded great! This is Darec's third year playing the viola and it's amazing how much better he gets each year. It put me in the Christmas mood for sure!

Jerrod Wrestling

Brenden and Jerrod both had JV meets this weekend, at separate locations. Brenden went undefeated at his tournament against four other schools. He was the only one on his team who did. This was Jerrod's first real meet, he lost two matches and pinned his guy in the other.

First Snow!

We got our first snow of the season last night. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas Tree

Wrestling Tournament

We spent the weekend in Evansville, about two hours from Terre Haute, at a high school wrestling tourney. Brenden wrestled seven times in two days. He pinned one guy and lost the other six matches. A couple of them were very close though. He looks a lot better than last year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I'm late, but I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. We sure did! We had a quiet, non-busy, day together. It was a nice change of pace. The next day, however, was not so laid back. Russell and I decided to get up early and join the CROWD of people doing their "Black Friday" shopping. This is something we have never ventured to do before. Not sure if we will ever do it again, although we did get some really good deals! After a full day of crowds and long lines, we went over to Indianapolis. The boys had earned free tickets to see a Pacers game with their excellent I-STEP test scores.






They played the Dallas Mavericks at 8:00pm. We didn't get home until about midnight.

Anyway, we sure were thanking God for all of you this holiday. We are blessed to have you in our lives!

Math Counts Champ!

Darec is on the Math Counts team at Otter Creek. They participated in a math competition called "Sum Fun" yesterday. About a hundred kids were there. He was one of the 7th grade winners! We love our little math-lete!

Boys and Girls Club Basketball

Here are some pictures of Darec playing basketball at the Boys and Girls Club. He is #7 on the light blue team. They are undefeated!

Youth Group Bowling

The boys went bowling with their church youth group last night. They had a good time!

Jerrod's Birthday

Jerrod turned 15 yesterday! Happy Birthday!

First Basketball Game

Otter Creek had their first basketball game last night. They lost, but had a good time. Rion is #12. He did well. It was fun to watch!

Three "Teens" In The House

Darec turned 13 yesterday! Happy Birthday!