Our 3 Sons

Each year we get photos of the boys by their stockings and in front of the Christmas tree. I find myself wondering how/when did they get so big!? We have had a special Christmas time with them. BOYS make a home so much fun! We love you guys--Tim, Tad, and Tom!

Christmas Lights

I love Christmas trees and the lights of Christmas! (My boys think that I carry this to an extreme.) I enjoy them the most late at night or in the early a.m. This a.m. I tried to take some photos of some of the lights on our deck at the sun was starting to come up. When I start to see the sunrise I think of the hymns "Some Golden Daybreak" and "Sunrise Tomorrow". I took a few of a couple of the trees in our house and am experimenting with some of the "affect options"on our computer.

Friendly Family Competition!

Family get-togethers are so much fun! My mom was never happier than when our family came to their farmhouse for the holiday. This Christmas we had the delight of having my side of the family for our Christmas celebration. There is an element of friendly competitiveness seen in a view of these photos. Tim showing Chris the challenges of the game Othello; Levi and Monte in a foos ball challenge (with Gabe assessing their moves); and Shawnee and Marilee in a basketball shoot-out!

Football in the SNOW!

No, I'm not talking about the Packers, the Bears, the Bills, or the Patriots! Rather, I'm talking about the beloved traditional holiday football game (McBoyle--Felbush/Neis/Wiesner) that is organized by Jason and Levi (Felbush). This holiday I thought perhaps they would forego this tradition due to the snow. How incorrect my thinking! Though fewer in number, the die-hard players returned to the snow covered field! Uncle Gregg (Neis) though not playing, was doing his part by throwing snowballs at the players. Of course, we must credit the aunts and niece Shawnee who trudged through the snow to get photos of this momentous event! Thanks players for the memories!

Wichita's Blizzard

Early yesterday morning (Saturday Dec. 22) Tim and I decided to do some Christmas shopping. When we started out all was fine, but within just a little over an hour the weather had really, really changed! We had blinding snow, and I was so thankful to get home. Tim put a fire in the fireplace and we enjoyed being at home. Of course, our boys wanted to be "out and about"! One of these photos show the blizzard in "real time" and the other shows the calm of a beautiful Sunday a.m.

My Wonderful Sisters

One of the great joys of my life has been having Donneta and Laurel Diane as sisters! Together we have shared some of life's happiest and saddest times. The photo in this blog was taken in Estes Park, Colorado last summer. We were out there at the same times with our families. It brought back such special and treasured memories of the many times our parents had taken us there for family trips. Recently Donneta had a heart catheterization which thankfully was normal and this was followed by total knee replacement the following day. She's now undergoing the painful rehab. She's such a trooper! My youngest sister, Laurel, just had a birthday on December 18. One of the happiest days of my life was when Daddy came home and told us we had a new baby sister! Laurel and my mom came home on Christmas Eve. She was truly the best Christmas present that we could have dreamed of. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAUREL!

Thanksgiving Memories

A few days before Thanksgiving I began listening to a tape by Nancy Leigh DeMoss entitled "An Attitude of Gratitude". She stated that there are 3 G's--Guilt for our sin, Grace which is so abundant, and the Gratitude that this produces. This made sense to me and I enjoy things that rhyme so I have thought quite a bit about having an attitude of gratitude. I read that the Pilgrim's made many more graves than huts yet they set aside a day of Thanksgiving. I had intended to do a Thanksgiving blog last week but now you know why the boys call me "slo-mo" which stands for slow mother!

We had a special Thanksgiving time. Early in the day Tim (my great chef husband) got the turkey ready and in the oven. We then went to my mom's assisted living home to celebrate with her and some of the other residents there. This was the first year that she couldn't be with us in our own homes but we had such a special time where she now lives. We then went home and had our second celbration with our family and Tim's mother. On Saturday we went to Donneta and Monte's for the McBoyle Thanksgiving. We had such a special time and the kids enjoyed the usual Thanksgiving football game. Each team thought that they had won.

I have so much to be thankful for and I hope I can daily be remined of God's Grace which should produce in me such an attidude of gratitude.