We Had A Merry Christmas!

Russell is home for Christmas and we have been enjoying our time together! We did our usual Christmas Eve drive through Deming park to see the light displays. We had a great Christmas morning and spent the day playing with our gifts. Hope you had an equally wonderful Christmas!

My Baby? Nope!

Rion is officially a teenager. He celebrated his 13th birthday on Sunday! He is a great young man who has a bright future ahead of him. We are excited to see the plans God has for him unfold!

Christmas Celebrations

Darec had his orchestra concert on Wednesday and Rion had his band concert on Thursday. They play the viola and baritone. It was wonderful to hear some Christmas music and get into the holiday spirit! They both did a fabulous job.



Thursday afternoon, Brenden's AP English 12 class hosted a Christmas party for their parents. It was rather dark in the library, to set the mood of course, so the picture isn't great.


We ate and watched the class entertain us with Christmas-themed performances. I don't know why I forgot to take pictures during the entertainment. Ugh! Brenden was Charlie Brown in a skit and he sang Spanish Christmas Carols along with three classmates. It was a lovely time!

Senior Banner

The senior athletes get banners made for them. Brenden's wrestling banner is finished and was hanging at the first home meet yesterday. They also made "singlet" posters for each wrestler. It is another one of those strange moments when I realize my son is almost done with high school. Crazy!

Tree Time

First Match...Pin!

Brenden wrestled his first match, at Evansville Reitz, over the weekend. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Terre Haute. Russell is back in Aiken, after a lovely Thanksgiving spent together, so I drove the kids down to the meet. It was worth the drive to see Brenden get his first pin of the season!




The meet lasted quite a while, from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Jerrod ran the team's video camera for them the entire day. Between matches, Darec and Rion spent their time reading!

D-D-D-Defense

Brenden's Got A "Situation"

Wrestling season started and Brenden has had to drop some weight. He is down to 5% body fat. They haven't had any meets yet, but I will post pictures when they do.

Best Buds

There are some moments I just really treasure! One of my favorite things is to watch all the boys playing together, without any fighting. It's like a small sliver of time opens up and they are just my baby boys again. They were playing ball in the backyard yesterday and I took a few pictures. They were smiling, laughing and enjoying each others company. So great!

Last XC Letter

Brenden was honored for being a senior at the Fall Sports Awards. He got another varsity letter for cross country and was also given a pen with his name engraved on it. I got to stand and be recognized as a "senior parent"...weird! I am sure this year will continue to feel strange, as we experience Brenden getting closer and closer to graduating. It's all good...he is such a blessing to us!

Longfellow #13

Rion is still playing basketball. His team has only lost once!

Time Of Transition

Well, for those of you who haven't heard, Russell's job in Terre Haute has ended. We have always known this day would come and God has been preparing us for some time now. We prayed and waited on Him for direction about our next step. God opened an amazing door and met above and beyond every need! The difficult part is that Russell's new job is in Aiken, South Carolina. We will all be moving there when the school year is over, so Brenden can graduate from North. For now, Russell will be working away from home and coming back once a month. I watched my husband walk away this afternoon, headed toward an airplane that would take him to the next big adventure for all of us. It was heart-breaking to let him go, but we both have complete peace that we are in God's will. He will be back for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas. Until then, we will take it one day at a time. We love you Russell and miss you terribly!

Sweet 16

Jerrod is officially 16 today! I can't believe how fast the years go by. Each one seems faster than the last. Jerrod is just a fantastic human being and we are proud to be able to call him our son!

Brenden's A Voter!

Happy 14th!

Darec turned 14 yesterday. Wow, time flies! He has grown so much this last year and has become quite an amazing young man. We are so proud of him!




By the way, middle school football season is over. Darec's team made it to the championship game...and lost. :(

Alice In Wonderland!

The show starts tonight! It has been a very busy past few months, but opening night is finally here. All the kids are so excited. They have worked really hard and I just know it will be a fun show for all. Anyone interested in coming, the show is at 7:00pm Thursday and Friday, and 4:00pm on Saturday. Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for students. Children under 5 are free. Tickets can be purchased at the door, starting one hour before show time. Park at the back of the school and enter through the gym. Come experience Wonderland!!

First Game

The Otters had their first basketball game last night. We won by a good 30 points. Looks like we are off to a great season!