Where to Begin? Part III

Tomorrow is the first day of spring (yay!!!) so I would like to finish all the winter "blog worthy" happenings and be (finally) caught up! If nothing else, at least the blog will be caught up. : )

Alexandra turned 12 on December 8th and to celebrate she chose to have a bowling party with

school friends.

As a family we celebrated by going out to dinner at the restaurant of her choice. Alexandra chose to dine at P.F. Chang's and we were happy that grandma and grandpa (mom/dad) could join us.

She was very happy with her new digital camera.

December is so busy! What were we thinking 20 years ago and 13 years ago??? Absolutely nothing, except for the fact that December weddings & anniversaries are gorgeous and festive. As for 13 years ago, well . . . Alexandra just happened and are we so greatly thankful! : )

My wonderful husband of 20 years and I celebrated our anniversary as we do each year with breakfast out and Christmas shopping. This year, although, at breakfast we did something a little different. We each wrote down our top 10 highlights of our marriage. As I was writing mine down, I looked across the table and noticed my sweet man wiping tears from his eyes, which in turn got me started. We looked at each other crying and then burst out laughing. We were both an emotional mess, but it felt so good! The tears were of joy - joy that comes from the Lord and his blessing on our lives over the years. Three of those blessings were in the form of little people who he has entrusted us with. Our prayer for these children would be that they would grow to know and love their Savior with a deep rooted faith that nothing can shake.

Our goal is to get in a cruise sometime this year. Hey, why not celebrate all year long?!

A little look back . . .

Christmas 2009

Leighton got the DS he had been wanting. Alexandra went crazy for her cell phone that she had wanted so badly but wasn't quite sure she would get it. Olivia was in total shock with a new cell phone that she had absolutely no idea she would get so didn't even ask for it - which is the best gift of all.

My favorite gift this year was this picture that Olivia came up with and sketched from a real picture of the three of them. She let the other two have a part in creating it also. Love, love it!

Christmas with the Fam

We started a tradition two years ago of tobogganing at a state park in northern Indiana on the day after Christmas. We do this trip with several families we've known for years and are dear friends of ours. I hope this tradition continues because it sure is fun for all. This year due to a back that was feeling "funny" I chose not to go down, but all the other things we do (eat dinner at the Inn, play games late into the night, laugh a ton, etc.) is well worth it.

Happy 14th Birthday, Olivia!!

Olivia's Birthday this year was pretty low key. We went to church, ate lunch at her choice restaurant - Cheesecake Factory - and then vegged out the rest of the day until our small group that night. Olivia ended up going to a youth group get together and had a nice evening until she got home and her dad got sick (threw up) for the first time since he was a very young child. Not the sort of thing you want to happen anytime, but especially not on your birthday. Fortunately, no one else got the stomach stuff until a few weeks later - poor Olivia.

Two of Olivia's girlfriends surprised her and came over after school with this cake. How sweet!

The following Friday, we were asked to take Olivia to McAlister's Deli at 6:00 for a surprise party that her friends had planned for her.

It ended up being 15 guys and girls surprising her with dinner and a party. What an excellent surprise!!

We were given two tickets

to the AFC Championship game between our Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets!! What an awesone game!

So there you have it - winter was looooong, but we made it through and have the memories to share and keep forever. Many other things took place during the last three and a half months but life does go on and things need to be done, so I'll opt out and just say - life is busy, crazy, fun, hectic, and sometimes, just plain boring, but the journey is worth every minute.

Where to Begin? Part II

After spending 1- 1/2 days in NYC, we drove the short distance to Philadelphia to catch the sights of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It amazed me to stand in the location, see actual documents, furniture, etc. that was written, signed, and sat upon. I'm thankful that these great men, our founding fathers, placed such high importance on God in establishing this country's constitution and the rights we still enjoy today.

We quickly drove seven hours home on Saturday so we could be home in time for the kids to trick-or-treat and then attend our friends' annual Halloween party. I was able to work on Leighton's shirt and hat for his costume as we drove home. They were finished somewhere in Ohio!

Where to Begin? Part I

"Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday Alexandra, Happy Anniversary to Us, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday Olivia." These are just a few celebrations we've shared since the last time I blogged back in - SEPTEMBER!!

So this is where the "Where to Begin" comes into play. I get overwhelmed at the thought of trying to retrace the past five months of our lives. Maybe if I just hit the highlights it won't be so bad . . . and then . . . keep up with taking pictures, loading them onto the computer and actually writing my thoughts . . . novel thought . . . might not be so bad.

Olivia finished her first fall season on the Fishers travel soccer team in late October. It was a good experience for her; developing soccer skills, but more importantly, life skills for handling people, including teammates.

Leighton finished his first season of football in October as well - winning 2nd place in their division. While he loves watching and playing the game of football, (esp. during recess), the fact that he was several inches and several pounds heavier than most boys on his team put him at a disadvantage for 3rd grade football. In third grade football there is an 80 lb. weight limit to pass, receive, or carry the ball. Unfortunately, Leighton surpassed this limit and therefore could not touch the ball which is a very hard concept when you're nine years old. So after three practices a week for about 12 weeks, football burnout set in and we were told he would not play football again next year. We'll see if his mind changes when the July call out comes around. By the way, in 7th grade the weight limit thing is dropped. That will be the time to shine for Leighton. Let me just say, he sure did look very handsome all padded up in his football uniform.

Alexandra played her last season of

rec soccer last fall. She is now playing in the U12 Fishers travel league and having a blast. More on that later.

Fall Break was a welcomed change from all the homework, practices, and games. We took the family to:

We drove to NYC, stopping in Pennsylvania to visit the Hershey Chocolate factory on the way.

A highlight for us all was to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was truly fabulous in a most delightful way!

We did a lot in the day and a half we had there, but would love to go back again and spend more time.

Riding subway for the first time and watching the

Series in Time Square

Fire Dept. across from Ground Zero - first to heed the call on 9-11-01

Olivia ran into her math teacher just outside of Battery Park. Neither knew the other would be spending Fall Break in NYC. What are the chances of that happening??