High School Gymnastics

Tonight was Brittney's first High School Gymnastics meet. She made the JV team as a 7th grader. Pictures/video tomorrow.

Quick results for:

4th Beam
3rd Floor
2nd Vault
1st Place JV All Around

Happy Thanksgiving a Day Late

Happy Thanksgiving!

Even though our Thanksgiving didn't turn out like we planned, we still had a good time. We were all packed and ready to drive to Rapid City to spend the long weekend with my older brother and some other relatives but icy roads and a bit of snow put a damper on our plans. That's South Dakota for you. We decided that maybe we'd try again in the summer, maybe for the 4th of July.
.
Instead, we stayed home and watched football, had lots of snacks all day (the kids kept asking if it was the SuperBowl) and played on the Wii. It was actually really fun to have everyone at home and not have to go anywhere.
.
Today, two of our little friends are over playing with the kids. One doesn't speak much English but the language of play seems to be universal! Their mom is working and their dad is currently overseas bringing back their new sister. Can't wait until we can have all 3 siblings over to play :)
.

If chocolate comes from cocoa beans, and beans are vegetables,

does that make chocolate a vegetable?

Oh I think so!!!:)

.

Beth Moore Conference

Great bunch of women from BWC!

 .

Walking back from the restaurant in Rapid City

.

3600 women (and a few brave men)

.

Waiting for the conference to start

.

Steve, Riley, & Me

Steve had his doctor's appointment this afternoon. He wasn't particularly excited about it but I was. The nurses were teasing him that he didn't have to drag me in to sign off on the paperwork. He was having surgery - the "Big V". We might have more kids but we won't be HAVING any more kids, if you know what I mean! He's resting comfortably with pain meds, an ice pack and the TV tuned to sports.
.

Riley is having some serious stealing issues again. The sad thing is, after he is 'caught', he is truly sorry. Real tears and everything. He takes things that don't belong to him but he can't seem to stop himself. He's done that in the past but it hadn't really been an issue lately. I check his pockets and backpack everytime he leaves the house and for the last 4 days, he's always had some contra band. I think I've found a counselor that I respect and trust so I think were going to take him there in addition to working with him at home. I think there's just a lot of chaos in his life right now and he's not sure how to handle it. I hope we can help him and not make it worse. On a positive note, one of the things that we gave him for his birthday was a lego set and he's downstairs right now building away. Maybe if we keep his mind busy with other things, he'll forget to take stuff tonight or tomorrow!
.
I'm leaving in the morning for a Beth Moore Conference in Rapid City. I get to room with some of my favorite people - Jen, Jody, and Lynda - and we are expecting to gain lots of insight, have lots of fun, laugh a lot and experience a serious lack of sleep! Except for the not sleeping much part, I really need the other three. We return Saturday night. I'd better go pack 'cause we leave at 8am!  :)
.

Anthony Says

At church one Sunday, the pastor announced that he would be leading a baptism class for anyone interested in being baptized. Zeke thought he wanted to participate and Anthony chimed in that he "wanted to be

bath-tized too!"

Wanted or Not, The Blog is Back

First of all, thank you for all of the supportive comments. I wasn't fishing for them but I must admit that they made me feel much better about blogging. I received comments, phone calls, emails and texts explaining to me why I need to continue. So, at the risk of sounding like a politician, thank you for your support!
.
Secondly, I've decided to continue blogging for a number of reasons. It's an important connection between our lives and our boys' biological family. I can easily provide them with stories, pictures and events of our family and they can more easily feel a part of our lives, which we want to encourage.
It's also become an important connection between myself and my family and friends. I know my friends, parents and lots of my aunts and uncles read just to see what's going on in our busy lives and are some of our strongest prayer warriers.
.
Third, I've learned that there are people out there who do actually gain insight from reading the blogs. I love the fact that some of the tough things we go through as a family can help someone else in their life, even if it's just letting them know that they're not alone or giving them a good laugh.
.
Fourth, I went back and re-read my past blogs and, although there are some unpleasant things, I can honestly say that I never posted anything with the intent to hurt anyone else. In fact, when I looked things over, I realized that the issue probably arose when I chose not to be honest enough on the blog about certain situations. I deliberately chose not to publish some information about others that was extremely negative, and because of that, I looked selfish when I would vent a little about how I was feeling about certain situations. And by not providing ALL the information, I caused someone with a good heart and a very protective nature to respond. So I shall be more careful about what I post in the future. Unfortunately, that means that some of what's on my heart will go unpublished, but on the flip side, it means feelings will be protected. And I can live with that.
.