Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas...one shared with family and friends...and remembering the reason for this season...the Holy Christ Child.

Gingerbread House 2008!

Hi Everyone,
I apologize for the delay in posting...one of us has been sick every week since the beginning of December. Hoping we are on the uphill slide now! Here are a few pics of our gingerbread house that we built last week.

Thanksgiving 2008

We were so fortunate this year to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with family on two separate days! This past Sunday we went out to Rob's parents and stuffed ourselves to the gills on ham and all the fixins'! Then, today, we spent the day at my parents with most of our family present. It was so gorgeous outside...the kids played football & kickball most of the afternoon. And, OMG...the food was so, so good! It was such a great day...the adults played Apples to Apples & Password...good times. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and/or friends.

Just to remind me...

I never did post how Matthew's last soccer tournament in Cape ended up. On Sunday morning, we played the Farmington Fireballs and won 1-0 (we think...I KNEW there was a reason I was going to blog about it the very same day...my memory is not so good!) We then played Sikeston Red in the Semi-Finals and won 2-0 (I think!). I do know our team won...because we moved on to the FINALS!!!! Playing Fredericktown...they won the tournament in Sikeston and in Perryville! It was such an exciting game...we lost, however, 1-0. Such a bummer but our boys did great! We were all so proud of them for making it to the finals and winning 2nd! It's been a fun all-star season!

Jacob's Pre-K Thanksgiving Feast!

Spiced Tea...Mmmmm, Mmmmm Good!

This morning was our last Bible study session before Christmas. We watched a video and then had a time of fellowship and EATING. WOW...lots of fantastic food! Here's one recipe that I'd like to share:

Spiced Tea

18 oz. jar of Tang or 3 tubs of sugar-free Tang
1 1/2 cups sugar or 1 c. granulated Splenda
1 c. instant tea
1/2 c. cinnamon red hots
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Mix 2-3 tsp. per cup of hot water.

You can store this mixture in an air-tight container and just scoop it out when you want a hot cup of tea. It was so good.

Just gotta love a hot drink on a cold, crisp day. :)

Gotta Love Tuesdays...

As some of you know, Tuesday is one of my favorite days of the week. It is on this day that Jacob & I can do WHATEVER we want. We have absolutely no obligations, no expectations, NOTHING. I really treasure these days because I know they are short-lived. Take for instance, this morning. After taking Matthew to school, we came home,fixed breakfast, watched Curious George and snuggled on the couch for a little bit. We played a little bit of MarioKart on the Wii...so FUN. We then headed out to the Dents Make Cents grocery store. Going here has almost become a "usual" for a Tuesday. Jacob loves the fact that he gets a free piece of chocolate at the checkout line! Today was a good day. Here's what we found:

canned corn $.45
canned new potatoes $.45
canned sweet peas $.45
individual applesauces $.15/each
chili beans $.40
Chef Boyardee Lasagna $.65
Chef Boyardee Beefaroni $.65
canned saurkraut $.45
Juicy Juice Cans (the kind you mix with water) $.80
individual juice pouches $.10/each
individual Kool-Aids $.15/each
Wonder 16-pack hot dog buns $1.25
Hostess Ding Dongs (12-pack) $1.50

Quite some deals...I'd rather spend less on groceries...that just means more to put in savings or to spend on other FUN stuff! If you havn't gone hear, you should try it sometime...you never know what kind of bargains you'll find!

Oh, yesterday I tried a super easy crock-pot recipe that I got off of another blog that I read.

6 pieces chicken breast (skinless, boneless, frozen or not)
2 cans cream of chicken soup or 2 cans cream of celery soup
salt/pepper to taste

Place in crock pot on low for 12 hours. Serve with rice and veggies. So simple and it was really good. Great for a MONDAY.

Matthew Shoots 1st Deer!

Jacob and I were at Nathan's birthday party today when we got a call from Matthew around 4:30 pm..."Mommy, I shot my first deer!" He was so excited...not sure who was more excited, his Daddy or Matthew himself! It was a 4-point buck and Rob said he just did great...all by himself. Awesome memories!

More Soccer Games and Misc.

It's been quite a busy week and I'm ready for hopefully a calmer week next week!

~ This past week our nation elected a new President. I'm thankful that the election is over (although I've felt rather important lately considering I'd gotten phone calls from some VERY important people regarding the election!) and I'm now in the mindset to pray for our leaders and our nation.

~ We've been to two soccer practices this week at the JAYF field...since they have lights (I thought Matthew would be off the hook this week because of the time change...no such luck!)

~ Cub Scout meeting.

~ Rob is extremely busy planting wheat...just about all of our acreage & his Dad's is planted now.

~ We celebrated our nephew, Zachary's, birthday with Dairy Queen ice cream!

~ Our nephew, Ira, won 4th place in a Spelling bee...he competed against other Kindergarten-3rd Grade kids...he's in 1st grade! Way to go, Ira!!!

~ Bible Study Thursday morning and a bit of Christmas shopping that afternoon.

~ I had the priviledge of being a Parent Helper in Jacob's Pre-kindergarten class this past Friday morning. Those kids and teacher are just awesome...we are so thankful that Jacob is in such a caring environment...and, he's learning a bunch!

~ Soccer Tournament in Cape today. Matthew's team beat out Bonne Terre this morning at 8:00 am...1-0...way to go!!! Then, at 12:30ish, they played and beat Dexter, 1-0...way to go!!! Matthew has had such a blast playing with this team...it will be kind of sad to see the tournaments end! One more game in the morning at 9:00, then possibly one at 12:00 and 2:00.

~ Everybody's asleep and I'm headed to the couch for a while...have a great Sunday!

Be Sure And...

scroll down and check out all of my posts this weekend...there are several of them!

Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween night! The boys went to all of our usual stops, and added a new stop this year...the Jackson Manor Nursing Home. It was fun. After trick-or-treating, we headed home and carved pumpkins. Another great year!

Pumpkin Carving!

We carved our pumpkins on Halloween night this year! Matthew did his all by himself...with Rob standing very anxious and nervous behind him! Jacob drew his face on his pumpkin all by himself and was VERY proud of that...he needed help with the actual cutting part though...he sure did love digging all of the seeds out!

Sikeston Soccer Tournament - Days 1 & 2

WOW...another exciting soccer weekend for us! We headed to Sikeston bright & early Saturday morning for the start of the tournament...we had a game at 8:00 am against Cape. Rob's parents met us at our house and rode down with us. We beat them by a score of 5-1...we were off to a good start.

Our next game didn't start until 10:30, so we took a break and headed to the Sikeston Outlet Mall so that my mother-in-law could pick up a couple of things. We soon headed back to face Farmington. We beat them 3-0...our team was really working well together! Matthew is continuing to play in the fullback position...he and the other fullback, Michael, play this position really well together.

We were off to a great start! Sunday morning we had another bright and early came at 8:00..against Fredericktown. They were the team that beat us last weekend and ended up in 1st place at the Perryville tournament. It was 0-0 for the longest time, then Fredericktown scored. Several minutes later our boys got it together and scored! Tied, 1-1. There was about 1 minute left to play and Fredericktown scored! They won 2-1...it was just unbelievable...we thought we would be headed for a tie. The Fredericktown coach told our coach that we were the team (this weekend and last) that gave them the most competition...that made our boys feel good.

So, after the game this morning...we didn't know yet if we were still IN or not. There were 3 divisions...4 teams in each division...we placed 2nd in our division...Fredericktown was first. 4 teams advance to the semifinals and since there were only 3 divisions, there was a wildcard spot. We were beat out of that wildcard spot by Dexter, I think. Bummer! Our coach really praised our boys for doing a great job this weekend...they are really working great together as a team.

One more tournament next weekend and then we're done for the season...it's been a lot of fun!

Cousin Levi's 1st Turkey!

Just wanted to share photo's of Matthew & Jacob's cousin, Levi, with his 1st turkey!!! This past Monday his daddy called one in for him and he made the perfect shot! Congratulations, Levi!!!

Perryville Soccer Tournament - Day 2!

OMG...what a day! Matthew's team had their first game at 10:30 against Fredericktown...they were unbeaten. The coach switched up the players and Matthew played a fullback position (after about 4 years of soccer I'm STILL learning positions!). The game was so exciting...it ended in a tie...0-0. After the game, we had to wait until the Sikeston vs. Perryville game was over to see if we got to advance. I think I mentioned yesterday that eligibility to advance to the playoffs is based on points. We ended regular play with 11 points (we got 3 this morning for the tie). Coach finally came back from checking and we were IN...playing for 3rd against Raiders United (I'm not sure where they were from)!!!

The boys were excited. We left for a quick, light lunch (Matthew told us this evening that his coach told them that if you want to eat a lot...go play golf!) and came back for the game at 1:00. Rob's parents joined us for lunch and then for the game.

The game started and it was just as exciting as ever. The game, once again, ended in a tie, 0-0! They then played 2 - 5 min. periods...after that the game was still tied. Then they had what I think was called a kickoff...5 players from each team got to kick against the goalie from the opposing team (I felt so sorry for the goalies!) Matthew was first and he kicked it right into the arms of the goalie! No score...back & forth...the opposing team got 2 in...they won. What a bummer! Our boys were disappointed...but they shouldn't have been...they played awesome this whole tournament...and the teams were so evenly matched as far as skill level. So, we got 4th! Not bad out of 8 teams!!! We were so proud of Matthew! It's been a great weekend...looking forward to Sikeston next weekend!

Perryville Soccer Tournament-Day 1!

What an amazing day! We headed up to Perryville today for Matthew's 1st soccer tournament. Their first game was at 9:15. Matthew was a starter in the center postion...his coach told him he had the best kick and he wanted him in that position. (Please forgive...I'm just a very proud soccer mom today!!!) Within about 5 minutes, with the help of several teammates, Matthew scored the first goal against the Perrville team!!! It took a while for the boys to "gel" together...and they still need some work...but all in all they did great. They ended up winning game 1 with a score of 2-1 (total points=8...you get 6 points for winning and 1 point for each goal scored up to 3).

It was then time for a break...we didn't have to be back at the soccer park until 12:45. We headed to Rhodes for a break and then went to the tractor store (Rob's big idea!), and then went to the park for a while so the boys could play.

We got back in plenty of time. Game 2 was against Sikeston. Matthew played the center position again. Before the half (they play 2 - 25 minute halves) Sikeston had scored 1 goal. After the half, the ball was down in scoring position almost the entire time for our team, but they couldn't seem to score. Sikeston ended up winning 1-0. So, we ended the day with total points of 8.

Tomorrow, Matthew plays at 10:30 and then at 1:00, for either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. It was such a beautiful day...hope tomorrow is the same. Matthew had a great day...he was so excited about his new jersey!

Check back in tomorrow night...I'll have an update on how the day goes!

What's Been Going on Around HERE?

Well, lots of stuff! I haven't blogged in almost 2 weeks, and I, once again, had to go grab my calendar. In short, this is what we've been up too:

~ Soccer, soccer & MORE Soccer! Matthew has 2 practices during the week and one on Sunday. He plays in his first tournament this weekend in Perryville. He's excited!

~ Birthday celebrations! Our good friends, the Franklin's, had a party for their son, Carson, who turned 7! And, our nephew, Joshua, turned 12!

~ A trip to the Dentist! Jacob & Matthew both had dentist appointments that just went perfectly! Next spring, we'll be talking to an orthodontist about a palette expander for Matthew. Not looking forward to that for him, but, it's the perfect time to start.

~ Scrapbook Night w/Friends! Always fun for me to get to do this!

~ Scrapbook SHOPPING trip! This past Sunday was a little getaway for me...all day...just the girls...great times.

~ Mudpuppies at the Conservation Center! This week Jacob and I went to a program called "Missouri's Magical Trees". We learned all about the changing leaves and we went on a nature hike and looked at all the different types of leaves. It was a gorgeous morning for that.

~ Parent/Teacher Conferences! We attended those this week for both Matthew & Jacob. All GREAT reports from their teachers...that is such a blessing to have 2 boys that (right now!) LOVE school! We couldn't ask for any better teachers...they are amazing.

~ 4-Wheeler Helmets! Took this boys this past weekend and bought them official helmets for their 4-wheelers. They always wore helmets (don't freak out anyone!) but they probably weren't the safest on their little heads. We're all set now...check out the photos!

~ Rob! Still working a BUNCH...but the Lord is so great to provide work for him even in the midst of economically hard times.

That's about it in a nutshell! Wanted to say a huge "Happy Birthday" to my sister, Elizabeth, whose birthday is TODAY!

Prayer Request: Please keep my friend, Christy, in your prayers this evening and in the next few weeks. She delivered her 4th baby today by C-Section and he died within a couple of hours. It was completely expected, but it doesn't hurt any less. Please pray that God would comfort her and her family (they have 3 girls) and that she may recover quickly from her C-Section.