Brr - cold - snow!

So it is ridiculously cold here in Nebraska.  I remember now exactly why I moved!  If it were not so windy (with windchills being -35 at times!) and the sun was out a bit more, it could be tolerable.  Yesterday, those conditions existed so we took the boys out to play in the snow.  My Mom bought them ski bibs, snow boots, ski masks (which they wouldn't wear) and insulated mittens.  They had SO much fun!   

Then last night, somehow Aidan conned my Dad into laying down with him while he watched a movie.   My Dad fell fast asleep, and it was the most adorable sight!  

Lights, Santa, Fun!

I asked Francisco to go with me to Electric Critters last night

as Dail was home sick, and I needed to get out of the house to

do something! We had fun - perfect weather for a nighttime

trail walk of Christmas lights! And, the boys sat on Santa's

lap - whom Luke determined was IN FACT the REAL

Santa! :)

Also - below is a picture of my new favorite Christmas decor....

you take all of your Christmas cards from the previous year,

place them on a colorful tablecloth, and then cover the

whole thing with plastic tableclothing you can get at

Hobby Lobby. It is fun to look at, and quite festive!

So, all of you sending us Christmas cards this year - you

will be added to my table next year!

Steph and Greg's beautiful wedding

Kelly and I went to Wimberley, TX over the weekend

for my good friend Stephanie's wedding.

It was the most beautiful wedding location I have

EVER seen.......

The spot where they wed

All the trees were decorated in white lights - and see the moon?


White peacocks wander the grounds!

Getting beautiful!

Greg and his best man

Gorgeous bride to be!

Adorable flower girls!

Steph and her Dad

the cute couple

Kelly shot the wedding, so she was running around

like a crazy woman all that day. But we still

managed to squeeze in fun girl time - something

we both needed!

We also were away from the luxuries of technology...

I affectionally coined one spot near the top of the

hill "cell hill" as it was the only place we could

get cell reception, and that was if you held your arm

just right. :) Still - who needs cell phones when

you are surrounded by nature in all of its

beauty?

Steph and Greg - I'm SO happy for the two of you!

Girlfriend time

Gabby and IKelly & Sarah

Staci and Kristen

Susan and Rebecca

Who is this Santa?

I had my annual Christmas card/cookie exchange girlfriend night on Friday of last week! A few years ago I started inviting my friends to come together and do our Christmas card addressing together - as I found it to be a chore that is not too fun. But, when you add some friends, some food, and some drinks, it becomes great fun!!! We even had Santa join us this time - TOO funny! My friend Staci decided to make a "grand entrance" - and boy did she! We hardly knew who she was! Thank you friends for joining me and for a fun evening!

My family came in for Thanksgiving - which was the greatest blessing of all. David drove from Florida and surprised my parents. It was so funny, because he got here about 4 hours before they did, and we hid his car in our garage and his luggage in the closet. When they came in, he was sitting in our kitchen at the computer. My Mom actually went into the kitchen, threw something in the trash, glanced over towards the computer, and about walked off. She didn't even see him!!! Dail and I had funny looks on our faces, and she said "What? Did I miss something?" She then realized David was sitting there, and screamed and cried.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Dail's sister Crickett and her family (my nieces are pictured above). As probably many of you - we had TOO much food, but it was all good! Dail and Dale did a lot of the cooking...who doesn't like a man in the kitchen? I'll clean up any day if someone else cooks!

Uncle Dave spent a good deal of time being harrassed by my boys. I kept telling him it was good for him! :) He only asked me for Advil once! All in all, it was such fun and I'm sad they have all gone home today. My parents met with two builders while they were here, and are getting closer and closer to their plans of moving here! Yay!

Luke's PTA program

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The PTA program this week was hosted by 2nd grade. It was a cute program - they sang nursery rhymes to different beats - like rap, jazz, etc. So fun!! Luke, though he liked it inside, is so void of emotion - which was in direct contrast to his friend Kameron who is on Luke's left. LOL!

Cooking with Polly

Our friend Marcus is an avid cook. He is always trying to figure out new things to make and spends forever getting lost in cookbooks at Hastings. Polly made a pecan pie for his family a week or two ago, and he was determined to learn how to make it just like hers. So, she baked two more last night and he came to watch and learn. She cracks me up because she kept saying "Now child...." to him before she told him something. It was adorable!! They had quite the time. Dail and I eventually left the house to go grocery shopping, and they stayed up way past 10 PM baking and chatting!

St Paul rocks!

I just have to gush about something our church is doing this week....we are having a Mission for 3 nights put on by Father John Robert Skeldon (one of my favorite priests!!!) about St. Paul (OK - my favorite saint right now!). I am ridiculously thrilled about the whole thing. You'd have to understand me (which is scary for those of you who really do) to know how much I first of all adore Father John Robert and his quirky way of sharing his passion for scripture. I could honestly listen to him for hours and hours! And...because for Catholics this is the Year of St. Paul, I had previously led my students on a Paulist retreat last month. So, in preparation for that, I read 2 books on Saint Paul, and got completely excited about his life story! There could not be a better combination than me listening to Father John Robert talk about St. Paul. We've had two nights so far, and I can't wait for tonight! Father John Robert is taking some of the scripture I shared with my students and "unpacking it" as he calls it. I wish I could have brought him with us to our retreat!!! Just a little scriptural trivia....did you know that 13 of the 27 chapters of the New Testament are written or attributed to St. Paul??? And did you know that Luke doesn't just talk about Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus one time, not two times, but THREE times in the book of Acts??? Yes, I'm a freak about St Paul right now!!! :)

International Day two

Here's another video from Aidan's International Day on Friday. Caesarina is singing a song to the kids in Creole - so cool!


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International day at Aidan's school

Aidan had International Day at his preschool today, so I asked two of my sweet Caribbean students to come share their culture and music with his class! Thank you SO much Kizie and Caesarina!!! You two were so amazing!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Halloween

Aidan and Jonathan

A fun house in our neighborhood

Cute clone!
Saying "I got LOTS of candy!!"

I don't have many pictures to post for Halloween....mostly because I was chasing after my crazy son and could hardly get him to stand still for a shot! Luke decided he wasn't going trick or treating, OR dressing up. He said he doesn't like to go to strangers' houses, and he conned his brother into saying he'd share half the candy he got. So - he stayed home with Dail while his O B Wan (or however you spell that!) costume hung in his closet. So sad. But, Aidan decked out as a Clone Trooper - and made a decent intake in the candy department! He tagged along with our neighbor Jonathan.

Exhaustion

I think it has caught up with me finally - EXHAUSTION! I have been going going going for weeks I think, and this weekend I took 18 students on retreat to Tahlequah, OK. It was a wonderful time (save for a few minor incidents that I'll share in a minute) but now I am home, and I think I'm getting sick. No, I KNOW I'm getting sick. Stuffy nose, constant need to sneeze, yeck. I should go to bed, but I love posting pictures, and I got some great ones on our retreat...

This was taken BEFORE our canoe float:And in the middle while things were going smoothly
And now we've had at least two canoes capsize (mine included!!) We ended up with 6 of our canoes in the same spot, 4 groups trying to help the two of us who had turned over. The two remaining groups were WAY ahead and oblivious to our troubles. The worst part was that I had Zeno in my canoe, who the previous night had taken a dive during volleyball and ended up fracturing his arm!!! He was told NOT to get his arm wet! We amazingly did not get it wet even after flipping our canoe!
This is several of my students wondering what Marcus is doing.....
And this is why they were watching him - after getting his canoe (which also capsized) out, he just laid down on it. :)
Zeno in his "cast"
AFTER the canoe episode - we all survived!

What happens to the time????

I think that the fall is hands down the busiest season for my family! We have school, MSU stuff (always more in the fall!), soccer, CCD (which this year is first communion prep for Luke!), retreats, football games, oh my goodness! I sometimes feel I can hardly catch my breath. And, I lose sight of who I am or what is most important because I'm literally saying "get in the car boys, we need to be [somewhere] now!" It is insane sometimes.

Anyway - in the midst of all the hecticness lately, here are a couple of moments from my boys:

1) Aidan's class made a "cookbook" for the Moms - with all of the kids favorite foods their Moms make. Ms. Susan interviewed each child and wrote down what they said about their favorite food, and how their Mom cooked it. Here's what Aidan said:

My favorite food is meatballs with no spaghetti. She [mom] may just get
a box of them from the store and then she gets the spaghetti and packs it up and
puts it in the trash.

(translate - my boys both don't like the spaghetti part, so I cook it, serve it with their sauce and meatballs, and they don't eat anything but the meatballs, and I end up throwing the spaghetti in the trash!! LOL)

2) My boys were climbing trees at the CCC on Saturday, and Luke is quite good, where Aidan is not. Luke was professing "Mom, God made me special because I am a good tree climber, a good artist, and a good soccer player." [hey, confidence is alright sometimes!] So Aidan is sulking, and says "I don't know why God made me. I can't do anything." Then he quickly turns on a dime and says "God made ME special too, because I can climb all the trees with no wood or bark!" [um, what trees are those???] Ah they make me laugh!

At the Ranch - in the middle of nowhere!

Matt on the barge
Maddie & Aidan being goofy!

A teeny tiny frog Aidan w/ Marcus - while obstructing his vision!
Damian
Matt, Aidan, and Maddie
Building the campfire

One of my students, Marcus, works on a "Ranch" as he calls it and invited us to come relax there for the day. I started with 13 students signed up, but in true CCC fashion, only 5 of us went in the end. We drove literally to the middle of nowhere about an hour away. We had a really great time though, hiking around a gorgeous lake, cooking, riding on a barge, eating amazing food, and just enjoying nature and one another's company. I took Aidan, as Luke and Dail had a soccer game, and he had a good time of course. He just thinks he's one of my students!!