Merry Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had. We went to my parent's house for Christmas Eve lunch and then opened presents. I think everybody got something that they really wanted. We had to hurry off from my parent's house to head to the Christmas Eve service at the church. It was so good. I think we had close to 210 in attendance. We went home after the service and all the family came over for soup. I had made potato soup with shrimp and Melanie had made taco soup. It was very good. The kids got ready for bed soon after but made sure Santa had his cookies and milk. Christmas morning was fun. The kids received a Wii from Santa and they were so excited!!! They played it all day long and the next three days it stayed on all day. We have had good visits with my brother, Stacey. It is so nice to have him home. I can't believe that it is Friday already. We have one more week of sleeping late and having no schedule. I have to go back to work next Friday. And the kids will have to go back to school on the 7th!

We are headed to Mamaw's!

Waiting for Santa!

Brice and Shelby playing baseball on the Wii!

Shelby and Eli playing boxing. Eli still remains the champ at this game!

Boxing again....

Christmas is in the air

Some of the things we have done to get ready for Chirstmas day are: Shelby's band concert, Eli's Christmas Party, shopping for gifts, wrapping presents, watching Christmas movies, cooking, wrapping more presents, visiting with family, etc, etc, etc.

We went to Philip's parent's house last weekend to do Christmas. We had lots of fun but the visit was just too short. We are planning on going back after the first of the year. We gave Phililp's mom a digital camera. She hasn't had a camera for a few years and I know she will enjoy it. I have to go back to teach her how to get the pictures printed. Shelby's concert was good. I'm not sure how many 6th graders are in the band but it was a lot. They played 3 songs and it was all over very fast. They will have another concert at the end of the year. I'm not sure if Shelby will continue with band. I don't think it is her passion and I'm not going to push her to do it. It has been good for her, though. Eli's Christmas party was fun. Brice was able to go with me because he was finished with his exams. They played a few games and ate lots of food.(mostly sugar, of course) My brother, Stacey, came into town on Friday and boy were we excited. Eli had him all to himself on Friday night. Brice and Shelby had a party with the youth group at church. Eli and Stacey played games and we ate at my parents house. On Saturday Stacey and my parents came over and we decorated Christmas cookies. It is always fun to do this. It makes a mess but it is worth it. We will be going to to my parents house today for Christmas. The kids are all excited about presents. We will have to wait to open gifts until after lunch. It will be hard to keep the kids happy until then. Tonight we have our Chrismas Eve service at the church. It is always a special time.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Born to be Wild

One of our church members and a member of our Biker LifeGroup let Philip borrow his Harley. Philip has had a blast on it. He took the kids for a short ride yesterday and I took some pictures. He tried to get me on the thing but I don't think so. I've said I'll ride when my sister rides Woody's. I guess he thinks if I ride I'll be more willing to let him get one. He keeps telling me how long the gas lasts. I'm not concerned about the price of gas, I'm concerned about his safety... Well, it's fun for him. (and the kids) It's so cool when your dad rides a Harley...

Celebration Sunday

The first week in November we celebrated at LifeBridge Church. We purchased 15 acres of land in Madison. This is no easy feat since land is so hard to come by and when you do find it, it is so expensive. God found our land and God provided money to purchase the land. We owe nothing on it!!! We had a Sunday to celebrate. We had three buses waiting before church started to take us to the land and have a worship service there and a prayer walk. My brother in law built a beautiful wall to represent where LifeBridge's building will eventually be. It was a wonderful and worshipful time. When we got back to the school/church the Biker LifeGroup had a wonderful lunch for us. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and we had inflatables for the kids. It was so much fun and we can't wait to see how God works in the next few years.

The buses waiting in front of the school.

The wall that Woody built.

Philip telling the LifeBridge story.

Some of the people who were there.

Some of the band playing and singing.

The great picnic!

Our 2007

Our Year in Review

I spent way too much time working on this, but it was fun. Enjoy!!

Deck the Halls

We got our decorations out on Saturday and Shelby and Eli helped me put up everything. We decorated the tree next. Shelby and Eli were all into helping but Brice could care less. He did come out of his room and put a couple ornaments on the tree. I guess it's that time when it's just not cool to decorate a Christmas tree. I don't think I was ever like that. Correct me if I'm wrong, Mom. I just remember every year wanting to help my mother. I guess that's the difference between boys and girls. At least Eli will want to help for a few more years. Anyway, the lights look good outside at night and the tree is pretty. I love to sit in the den at night and look at the tree. Soon I will wrap my gifts and put them under the tree. The kids are anxious for that too. They want to shake those boxes...

Eli is finding just the right place for his ornament.

Shelby is serious about her job.

Brice... A.K.A. Scrooge!!

Eli took a candy cane from the tree and "accidentally" dropped it on the floor. He had to eat it after that.

Lori "rearranging" the ornaments. For some reason they all get put on the middle section of the tree.

Thanksgiving Day is a Happy Day

I remember the song that Brice learned when he was in preschool... "Thanksgiving Day is a happy day when we say thank you, God". We had a very good day and ate way too much. We started out at my mom and dad's house with turkey and everything else. It was so good. We missed having my brother there. He will be home for Christmas. We are all so excited to see him. It has been since July that we have seen him. The kids are ready for a visit with him. (so are we) We stayed for awhile and then picked up and went to Philip's parents house. Gloria made Eli's favorite ("real" grits and bacon) Mine and Brice's favorite (rice pudding) and Shelby and Philip's favorite (shrimp curry) It was all so good!! We spent the night there and came back on Friday night. We had a lot of fun being out of school and off work. I enjoyed sleeping late (7:30) and playing with the kids. At our LifeGroup last night we did an exercise with the kids where we made a family poster of things that we were thankful for. On our poster we put: Freedom, pets, a bed to sleep in, our church, our home, Christmas, communication (Brice chose that), clean clothes, vacations, health, God, our car, friendships, food, family, education, and money. We have so much to be thankful for this year! It was fun to make this poster. I'm sure we will keep it for awhile just to remind us of all things we do have.

We are getting ready for Christmas and winding down school. I've told the kids that they better buckle down and get serious about their grades. They are so not wanting to be back in school. And I am so not wanting to get up early every day. Have a great week!!!

The family taking our yearly Thanksgiving Pictures

It's not every day they will sit this close together!

This is the true picture of the kids!

My Mom and her daughters

Melanie and WoodyZach and Hannah (growing up too fast!)

Getting that turkey ready for eating!

Those silly Thurman boys

Eli lost his first tooth today. Brice pulled it for him. He wanted to let Uncle Woody pull it on Thanksgiving Day but it wouldn't wait that long. It was just hanging this morning. He says it feels weird without his tooth. I think it is cute. Also today was Brice's first day back from his trip and Eli was so excited. He likes to do everything his big brother does. (as you can see from the picture) They played all day together, even dressing alike. (down to the hat turned backwards) Brice doesn't seem to mind this... YET!

Tuck Day

Today was Tuck Day at the middle school. The 6th grade students read the book "Tuck Everlasting" which was set in the 1800's. Today, at school, the students were to dress as one of the characters and learn more about that time period. They made butter to go with flapjacks. They made candles, learned to crochet, panned for gold, learned to square dance and many other things. She had a lot of fun! She was the character "Winnie". She had a pet toad and wore braids in her hair.

We are out next week for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to the break. Brice and Philip are in VA for a soccer trip. They will be back next week. Philip said it is cold!!!!

A new Green Bay fan

Eli has become a Green Bay fan since Uncle Stacey sent him a fun package. Eli's first grade class read the story of the Gingerbread Man at school. After reading the book, the class went outside in hopes of coming back inside to taste the Gingerbread Man. Well, when they returned to the classroom the Gingerbread Man was gone. Since he ran away he has been seen by lots of friends and family throughout the US. He was seen by my brother in Wisconsin and he gave Stacey several things to send back to Eli. Soon, hopefully, the Gingerbread Man will make his way back to Madison and the kids can taste him. Eli has enjoyed this each day. They are placing a mark on the map of the US for each place he is seen. Thank you Uncle Stacey!!!

Brice's final football game

Here is a short video to see Brice's last football game. We won and it was a good game. If you can stand to listen to the annoying cheerleaders in the background, this is what is on the video.... An onsides kick that we didn't get, a block by Brice, a pass that should have been a 1st down but they wouldn't give it to us, a fake by Brice to the endzone that resulted in a touchdown, and the job I think Brice always wanted, which is holding the line marker.

Trick or Treat...

Shelby as a 60's child and Eli as Yoda

Brice had to read 3 chapters of Frankenstein for homework. He also had 2 tests to study for. He stayed home and passed out candy.

All the kids from the cul de sac rode in a trailer pulled by one of our neighbors.

Shelby and Eli at one of the houses in the neighborhood.

We had lots of fun on Halloween night. The cul de sac came together for hot dogs and desserts. After eating, the kids went trick or treating and had a blast. They all got way more candy than they needed and got scared a few times. Most of the dads stayed at home and passed out candy. Poor Brice had to study but he joined in the fun every now and then. He ran the neighborhood until he found us one time trying to scare Shelby. It didn't work...

Shelby and Eli looked good in their costumes. Eli's slowly came off during the night. First, his mask and then his outer robe. He was hot and tired when we were finished. The candy is theirs for a few days but come Monday or Tuesday, it's in the trash. Not good for the waist line (mine) or for the teeth. (theirs)

Drug Awareness Week

Brice and Shelby have had Drug Awareness Week at their school this week. Everyday they have had to dress a certain way. The have had Too Bright for Drugs (wear bright colors and sunglasses), Team up Against Drugs (school colors), Red Day, Put a Cap on Drugs (hats), Turn Your Back on Drugs (wear clothes backwards). Each day the kids choose someone in their class that has dressed the best and then the teachers choose for each grade and for the whole school. Brice won for the whole school yesterday (red day). He was a super hero, he said! I just had to put this picture on here. I can't believe he actually went to school like this. It will come back to haunt him one day.

Carving Pumpkins

We decided it was time to carve the pumpkins tonight. Brice and Shelby worked on their own. (with a little help from mom) We had a lot of fun and they all look good outside the front door lit up with a candle. I took a picture but you can't really see because of the flash.

Shelby is working hard on her pumpkin!

Brice is giving it all he's got!

We are all working on cleaning out the inside of Eli's pumpkin! Shelby gags if she smells the inside of a pumpkin. She came up with this clever nose clip.

Eli is reaching in for a handful of "goo".

Eli wasn't too fond of the "goo" and he almost lost his cookies. He ran to the bathroom and came back crying. He wanted to carve his own pumpkin so bad but couldn't stand the smell or touch. Our cul de sac is getting together next Wednesday for a Halloween party. We are eating together and then the kids will go trick or treating together. We have so much fun doing this. I hope it will be good weather. I will take plenty of pictures and will post them next week.