So Many Pretty Lights...

Okay... so tonight was Mommy-Daughters night. And the only thing the girls wanted to do was go to see the illuminated botanical garden. (Keep in mind that it is getting pretty cold around here, especially at night). I tried to talk them out of it. No movie or manicure option was good enough. They were stuck on seeing more Christmas lights. So, I caved in!

While on our girly outing, I was reminded of some of the things I have always loved about Christmas...

SnOw... or in this case a snowman!

The beauty of the lights.

The decorations.

The sincerity of the season.

And watching the excitement in a child's face.

Despite the cooler temperatures outside, Emmalie, Bethanie and I managed to create another wonderful memory of the 2011 holiday season. I feel so very blessed... :-)

Shelia

Drawing...?!

John Gardner once said that life is the art of drawing... without an eraser. Well, we have been doing a lot of drawing the past couple of weeks :-)

So far, we've drawn our path of life through Thanksgiving in the beautiful suburbs of Dallas...

Lisa and Dad... all smiles!

Dalton and Devin computer surfing

Emmalie and Bennette taking a rest from playing

Bethanie gets to be tall
thanks to her Uncle Johnny

...through a quiet and fun-filled 15th Birthday celebration for Dalton...

Yummy... CAKE!
(Thanks Lisa & Johnny)

Bishop taking a break to answer a text

Dad & Johnny enjoying the moment

...through the dreaded "Black Friday" and all of the craziness that accompanies it...

Devin shares his thoughts on
Black Friday shopping!

...and through Christmas decorating with the kids.

Pretty girls posing by the Christmas tree

What a WONDERFUL life of art and memories we have been drawing! And it is just the beginning of the holiday season. What more could we ask for more...? Paint, maybe! (Everything's prettier in full color, right?!)

The Final Hoorah

WhAT a wEeK!!! It has been busy, crazy and all around a good lead into Thanksgiving week!

Dalton's first high school football banquet was Tuesday. What a great time we all had! Dalton's coach embarassed him by telling everyone in attendance about how he showed the team some video clips of Dick Butkus playing football "back in the day"... and Dalton took it to heart, making a total of six steals (not including forced fumbles) and three touchdowns off of those steals. That was a great culmination to a great season for the Freshman team. And to Dalton just learning that Varsity coaches from a few neighboring towns had watched him play this year and commented that they were "glad they didn't have to play against him" and that he is "years ahead in his intelligence of the game".

All in all, the Freshman team stats look something like this...

Overall Record: 6-2

League Record: 5-1 (tied for 1st place)

Points Scored: > 200

Points Allowed: < 100

Academic Athletes (GPA > 3.5): 30 out of 32

Principal's Honor Athletets (GPA of 4.0): 8

Dad and I waiting in the meal line
(He's having much more fun than I am, OBVIOUSLY!)

Coach Walker telling his tale of Dalton's defense this season

Dalton... all smiles with the guys!

It is such a wonderful feeling to know that the coaches are preparing not only athletes, but also gentleman with a focus on success in ALL they do! The Varsity team had a very similar percentage of academic athletes. We couldn't be prouder of the school system we have chosen for our children... for reasons like this! To top it all off, Dalton came home Friday with two state awards for testing in the top percentage for his grade in both reading and math... :-)

So... for Day #1 of Thanksgiving week, we are thankful to a healthy and successful football season for Dalton to start high school with. And even more thankful that he is one of the eight Freshman that ended Term 1 with a 4.0 GPA. WAY TO GO DALTON!!!!

WHAT A Game!!!!

What a F-U-N weekend we have had. Family dinner and games night to start it off on Friday. Then the K-State football game in the "Little Apple" on Saturday. And ending with a day of enjoyment of the great outdoors in the bea-u-ti-ful weather we've had today. It has been a great way to spend the beginning of November! Now, if only Tony hadn't had to work this weekend... it would have been that much better.

We'll get straight to the KSU football game. That has definitely been the highlight of our weekend. Of course (as you'll see below) Dalton and Devin had to be one of the first ones in the gate! As a KU alum, it's hard to get too excited about the "other" major college in the state. However, since cheering for my old high school during more than one state high school championship football game in Manhattan... I have been fond of the moral coaching that Bill Snyder does at KSU. I've had friends who's sons have played for Bill and reiterate what a stand-up a guy he is. So how can you not like him and his team of hardworkers?! And Saturday's game definitely put this into perspective. Not one... but FOUR OVERTIMES! The crowd was electrified. It was so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think. And from the middle of the fourth quarter on, it had you almost biting your nails off at the back and forth scoring. Now that was a football game :-)

Today, there was no rest for the weary. Needless to say, the outside of the house is "winterized" and we shouldn't have to touch it until Spring! (Thanks to the boys in the house!). We spent the rest of the day taking a walk, playing at the playground, feeding the ducks, playing with the camera and everything else that you can do on a 70-degree November day.

We just had to throw in the last picture of Em and Bethie making funny faces to make people smile! Wishing everyone a wonderful start to their week... or as Vince Lombardi said, "Run for Daylight!"

Hallow... EEN!

Halloween... such an interestingly fun time of the year. There are a number of stories about the origin and evolution of the holiday. Most agree that Halloween (All Hallows' Eve to the religious sector) began hundreds of years ago by the Celtics in the wake of the end of harvest. November 1st was their New Year, and they believed that on October 31st a "bridge" opened for a short time allowing the spirts of the dead to mingle with that of the living. The Celtics actually had the first Halloween costumes as many would dress up and walk around the cities moaning as a way to ward of the spirits. Whatever the history of Halloween truly is... I hope this year we have less teenagers in street clothes showing up with their pillowcases! It's often scarier than the kids in costumes... :)

So, in the spirit of Halloween, I gave in to the girls' request to go to their first "Night of the Living Zoo". It was a busy place, but the girls had a ball playing games and looking at all of the cool decorations. We ran into some great friends and just spent some time playing! By the time we made our way to the "Candy Land" pathway... no costume around could manage to scare our princesses!

It has been a wonderful weekend around these parts. And this was a wonderful end! However, we cannot forget how the weekend began... with Dalton suited up for his FIRST Varsity football game. The best part for us was seeing the huge grin on Dalton's face when he came running out of the tunnel to meet mid-field. I'm sure he was saying to himself "I can get used to this!". It was Senior night for the annual "rivalry" game and that made everything even more rewarding for all of the team. What a great preview it was to the years ahead. As an added surprise, Grandpa Larry and Aunt Kamie & her family made the long trip out just for the night to join us in watching the game. Dalton said afterwards that the only thing that could have made it better was if he would have made it out of the post-game talk and locker room in time to watch the last inning of the World Series!

That is all I have time to post tonight... lots to do before bed. We hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween! Until next time...

A, A+, 4, 4, A-

WOW!! What a great school year we are having with the kids this year! It is off to such a good and exciting start...! The first nine weeks have officially ended, with both Emmalie and Dalton at the head of their respective classes. Dalton has managed to sustain a 4.0 GPA to start his high school years... this through football practice and games each week. Oh, and NO Dalton isn't taking all foods and gym classes either :-) Miss Emmalie has managed 98% high marks (which for a first grader is "4's") and she is in the most advanced reading group. Tonight she finished reading enough books to earn her first Book It pizza, which has made her day!

NEWS FLASH!!!!!

The latest news around our house is that of Dalton. He has worked hard enough to suit up for play at the final Varsity football game of the season this Friday night. And it's a "home" game...! Up until now, he has practiced with the Varsity and traveled with them all season but without being fully suited up. Dalton knows he probably will get little to no playing time. But you should have seen the look on Dalton's face when the Defense Coach of the Varsity team called him on his cell phone to personally let Dalton know he would be suited up for play. I sooooo wish I had a camera for that!!! Dalton says he's just happy that his hard work has been noticed... and he's really excited about what is to come for him next year.

The only thing left to pass along is our "sneak peak" of the girls in their Halloween costumes. Their parties start on Friday and run almost every day through Monday, so they will get a LOT of use out of these princess dresses.

Until next time...

Pick a Peck of Pumpkins

It is finally starting to feel like fall. Leaves have started to fall from our trees and the fall flowers are in full bloom. So what a better way to spend our day than doing all things October-esque :-)

We started off the morning sleeping in... which is something we NEVER get to do these days. It was such a welcome way to spend a cool Saturday morning! But it didn't last long, because the girls and I had to keep to a schedule of fun activities. Beginning with a trip to Cheri's (our favorite baking friends) to take part in their kids' cookie decorating event. Then it was off to the farm for some pumpkin patch fun...

Let me explain the picture of Bethanie in distress above... That is what happens when one of our little girls sees a bee! (It wasn't even near her, but she saw it and still went balistic). Aside from that small "buzzzzz" to our day... it has been wonderful! Well, I'm sure you all can guess how the rest of it has been spent! Of course, it has involved food and football to complete our afternoon (and our evening, too!). We can't think of a better way to spend our Saturday.

In other wonderful news around our home... we found out yesterday that Dalton's football season will NOT be ending with the final Freshman game this Monday. The Varsity head coach has asked him (and five other Freshman players) to continue practicing as part of the Varsity team for the rest of their season... two more weeks. He's already been traveling with the Varsity team since their second game. Dalton is being his usual, humble self about this. But the few underclass boys who were hand-selected for this last year have been key players for the Varsity this year. Needless to say, Tony and I are extremely proud of Dalton!

The remainder of our weekend will be much slower... Tony had to miss our activities today because he has been home sick with pneumonia. And tomorrow is supposed to be a colder day in the area. So it will be a stay-home, cleaning, yard work kind of Sunday after church!

We'll leave you with a George Cooper poem that my mother introduced me to.

October gave a party
The leaves by hundreds came.
The chestnuts, oaks and maples
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand
Miss Weather led the dancing...
Professor Wind the band.

Happy Weekend all... !