Sick and Tired....and....34-16

What a week! Randy was in Corpus Christi all week for work, while I was here with the four kiddos. Everything was going great until Thursday afternoon when Avery got the stomach flu. I am telling you, if there is a bug in Moundridge, one of us has had it. I probably shouldn't share this on here, but I don't want to forget it. Friday morning, Avery was in the bathroom and called my name. I went in and she was looking in the toilet and said, "Mommy, I just pottied throw up." I would say that is a pretty good description of diarrhea, wouldn't you? She recovered fairly quickly and we were able to go to Ethan's basketball game on Saturday. Which leads me to the second part of the title.
They won again...34-16. Ethan had a great game. HE MADE A BASKET! I was so proud of him. He had several jump balls, rebounds, etc. He has made great progress since last year and is really gaining confidence. Then about 3:00 this morning, I could hear Bethany in the bathroom. Which takes me back to the first part of the title. Yup, Avery decided to share. Looks like I will be home with her this morning, while Randy takes the others to church. Bethany will be missing the Christmas program. Maybe she'll forget. I had plans to take a Christmas picture today, but looks like that fell through. So, don't watch your mailbox for a Christmas card from us...

26-19

Ethan had his first Rec League basketball game of the season this morning. He had several rebounds, a steal, some assists and was great on defense. (He took a couple of shots, but they were misses.) His highlight was getting his first foul. There are only 6 boys on their team, so they get A LOT of playing time.
Final score: Moundridge 26, Burrton 19. Go Wildcats!!

Christmas Concerts

If we weren't in the Christmas spirit before, this week should have helped.

Tuesday was Ethan's Christmas Concert. They do a musical each year that includes the 2nd-4th graders. Since it is the 4th graders last program at the Elementary School, they always get the parts, while the 2nd and 3rd graders since in the choir. Ethan sang a duet with his friend, Parker. They did a great job!

Of course, those boys can only be serious for so long. So, here is a pic of him and some of his buddies afterwards.
Tonight was the 5th and 6th grade band and vocal concert. They did a great job as well. I am amazed at what a difference a year makes when you are first learning how to play an instrument. None of our pictures during the program turned out, but I loved this shot of Alli and her close friends after the program.

This might be the first time some of you have seen Alli without her glasses. She finally convinced us a few weeks ago that she was ready for contacts. She looks so different, but we are finally getting used to it.

You're Hired!!

Two weeks ago (after a lot of discussion, I might add) we hired a housekeeper. I know, I know, some of you are having negative thoughts right now. Perhaps, it's because you think we are foolish with our money or perhaps it's because you wish you had one. I don't know. But, let me tell you this has been a great gift to our family. I started working full-time this year, for the first time in 9 1/2 years. It has been a huge transition for all of us. The first 2 months of school, we spent every weekend trying to dig out from under the piles. The piles of laundry...mail...school papers...laundry...library books...you get the point! Once we could finally see the floor and furniture, there was no energy left to clean. So, now every other Wednesday we come home to a sparkling clean house. Ethan insists that his room has never been cleaner and Alli is certain that she has never been the FIRST one to make "footprints" on her carpet floor. Yes, our housekeeper even vacuums her way out the door so there are no footprints, just beautiful vacuum lines. For those of you who know me well, this greatly appeals to my neat freak side! I love it! But the best part is all the time we have gained. Yes, we still have piles of laundry. But this past weekend, we spent Friday night in Wichita. Bethany, Avery & I enjoyed a performance of "Cinderella" at The Wichita Children's Theater for my niece, Cameron's birthday. We got home close to midnight after spending the rest of the evening in front of Brian and Lisa's wood burning stove. We greatly enjoyed our time with them. Then on Saturday, Randy helped Karen, James and Daniel build a wheelchair ramp for his dad at his mom's new place. I helped by bringing lunch and moving a few tubs out there with Rhonda. And the best part of all....not one time did I worry about when I was going to clean my house.

I can't wait to come home from work tomorrow! Vacuum lines here we come!

Band Wagon

We are jumping on the band wagon....
It seems like so many people are keeping updated through blogs, so we decided to give one a shot.