When Luke enrolled in 'Tech' (Not sure what that stands for...I think it's what we used to call 'Shop') at school, there was one thing I was really looking forward to. I knew that at some point during the year, he would bring home a completed project that he'd slaved over.

Now there's a funny thing about being a mom. I never imagined that when my kidlet was taller than me and (occasionally) shaving, that I would still melt over anything he did/made/presented me with. I had always thought that was something that faded away as the child grew. But guess what? It doesn't!

I knew that Luke was working diligently on an awesome night light in class, but didn't know when he would (FINALLY) bring it home. What a great day it was when the completed night light was carefully escorted home to its permanent location.

It's a beautiful piece of woodworking. Best of all is how proud this wonderful young man feels, knowing that he made it with his own two hands. I am so happy to have this project and will treasure it forever!

2010 Pioneer League Basketball Champions

Nick's 8th grade basketball team was named CHAMPIONS this last Saturday in the 2010 Pioneer League Basketball Tournament. It was a looong day spent far from home, but they prevailed.

Here is the happy Champ!

And here is the awesome medal he was awarded. GO EAGLES!!

A standard Christmas gift around our house is the basketball. Simple, year-round fun, and good exercise all wrapped up in a colorful sphere. Chip is quite the basketball prodigy. He dribbles all over the house...all...the...time. Believe me, that noise can get to be pretty darned annoying. But I allow it because Lord knows how we're going to pay for college; maybe he can get a scholarship and pay his own way.

This is a video I made of him handling his basketball. Only this time, I asked him to do a fancy stunt. Pretty funny!

Luke's Big Boo Boo

The other day I got a phone call no mom wants to get. Yup, it was a coach telling me Luke had had an 'accident.' The rest of the call was sketchy as I began to grab my shoes and my extra phone battery so I could go pick him up. About all I heard was 'blood...lip...teeth...not sure...maybe a couple knocked out.' The last thing I wanted to hear was that some of his expensive, recently straightened teeth were no longer in his mouth! And blood?? Do you know what I paid for his basketball shoes?? Surely he'd had the sense to lean way over to avoid splashing his shoes. ;o)

Well, several hours later, he was patched up good as new. A couple teeth were loose, but they were all there at least. He got some stitches and a couple of shots to stave off any infection that had been lingering on the forehead he collided with. And, best of all, he got some serious bragging rights!

Here he is about to get stitched up. He was NOT amused at his mom whipping out a camera, of all things, to document this event. I'm teasing in this post, but I sure am glad he's okay! I love you, Luke!

Yesterday we were treated to a fun visit from some aliens. Well, actually, that's kind of a misleading term. They live in Missouri, so if you want to get technical about it, they are probably officially aliens to Kansas. And how often do you get to call your relatives 'aliens' anyway? You have to seize these opportunities whenever they come, because they are rare.

At any rate, Paula and Christy came to town! It was great to see them! We finally got to exchange Christmas gifts too! Sandy and Leslie came over too. We had yummy snacks and visited all afternoon.

Here is a nice new picture of me, Sandy and Paula. I think we all look fabulous! You can hardly tell they are SO MUCH OLDER than me, can you? (Good thing I just got my Christmas presents because after that crack...there probably won't be any more presents for a good long time.) Just kidding! I love you all!

C...O...N...S...O...N...A...N...T

Tyler was chosen to participate in this year's spelling bee at the school. We were just thrilled. He loves to spell and is pretty good at it. He really doesn't get too nervous about things like this, so it looked like a positive situation.

Well, no one told me that I, the mother, the spectator, was going to have serious heart palpitations and trouble breathing while waiting for him to step up to the microphone! I swear, that was MUCH harder than spelling the word myself!

When it was all said and done, he made it through three rounds, but was eliminated when he misspelled the word 'consonant.' We are all very proud of him for participating at all!

And I went home and had a very large glass of Coke Zero...on the rocks.