Long-Overdue Update

Well, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged, so I thought I'd send some highlights of what's been going on in recent weeks:



Thanksgiving weekend...We enjoyed having both grandmas and Mom & Dad here to celebrate with us. We even got Grandma to shoot some pool!




We enjoyed watching football games in our new basement. Notice....the grandmas look pretty comfortable. If it weren't for the fact that we have no bathroom down there, I don't think they would have left those seats!



It was Anna's turn to put the angel on the tree this year.



...after the tree is all decorated...



Anna wanted to have some friends over to just "hang out" after we got the basement done. They danced to music downstairs, watched a movie, and decorated Christmas cookies. (above)



Jon's Christmas party at work: The girls thought the ice sculpture was cool, but were especially impressed by the chocolate fountain!



Anna graduated from the school's DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program last Monday night. A deputy from Franklin County comes to their class each week to educate them on drug awareness and resistance. At the end of that period they have a ceremony and receive diplomas. They are also required to write an essay on what they learned. They had to present those essays in class, then classmates voted on the ones they wanted read at the ceremony. Anna was privileged to be one of four to read her essay that night. She is pictured below with Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes, and her friend, Emily.






Last night we were treated to a concert by the jr. high and high school choirs, bell choirs, and band. Abby is in the choir. MaMa and PaPa joined us. Below: Abby & Lauren





We hope this finds you all doing well. Just in case you're wondering why you haven't received a Christmas card from us yet, well, I'm taking this year off. So... consider this our "Merry Christmas" to you, and we pray that 2008 will be a wonderful year of blessings for you!

Upland Fun

We all had a great time in Upland this weekend. As always, it was fun, but too short. The cousins enjoyed hanging out at Aunt Brittany's alumni volleyball game, the Taylor football game, and just playing at Mike & Traci's house. We enjoyed catching up with our good friends, the Wallaces, too. Many thanks to our three host families: the Falders, the Smiths, and the Wallaces. Let's do it again soon!

Memaw

Jon's grandmother, Memaw, passed away this morning at the age of 93 after suffering a broken wrist and hip a few weeks ago. These pictures were taken in June when we were privileged to spend some time with her on our way home from the beach. We will miss her sense of humor, her forthright way of saying what was on her mind, and the way she could always put a smile on our faces. You were a blessing to us, Memaw!

A Memorable 18 Hours

Picture this...

Abby was being diligent and doing her conditioning exercises for volleyball, Anna was playing her DS in the family room, I was outside picking bagworms off our pine trees, and Jon was at a meeting at church when I hear very loudly, "MOM, ABBY'S HURT!" Needless to say, I dropped my bag of bagworms and ran into the house. Abby had scraped her shin bone pretty badly on the edge of a chair and was visibly upset. It was one of those tough calls: stitches or no stitches? After consulting a couple of people, I followed my motherly gut instinct and headed to Children's Hospital, where we spent the next four hours. Sure enough, Abby had to get 5 stitches in her leg. (I guess we made the right call.) Finally, at 1:30 AM we pulled into the driveway. Here's a lovely picture of her cut:

THEN....as if that wasn't enough of an ordeal (the shots of anesthesia were quite painful!), she had her braces put on this afternoon. She's being a trooper through it all. I'm sure she'd appreciate your prayers!

Birthday Fun

It was a fun-filled day of Mexican food, birthday cake, and great fellowship!

The July Birthday Gang

Anna and PaPa enjoying a moment together

Lydia digging in

Cake time!

Miscellaneous

Hanging out with friends Devon & Lauren











Jon's 40th Birthday

Kid's Day at "Super Suppers", where Anna and her friends made a Ratatouille-shaped pizza.























Enjoying Columbus's fireworks show, "Red, White, & Boom" with our friends, Brian, Julie, & Brandon.

Catching Up

We're back! We're going to attempt to get caught up again, beginning with our annual beach trip to Ocean City, MD. Below are some fun pictures of our time with the Souzis/Negron families. Stay tuned for more posts as we get you caught up on our lives!

Spring Break Road Trip

We had a pretty packed Spring Break!

From Columbus....to Bluffton...

...to Chicago...We had lunch at the famous Chicago-style pizza place: Giordano's.
We walked along Michigan Avenue: a little shopping, a pose by the Chicago River, (we actually walked right by Jesse Jackson), and a stop at the Hershey's store!

We ended our trip downtown with a visit to the Field Museum.

(There were some pretty frightening bugs there!)

We also enjoyed some great cousin time.

We went to lunch at Portillo's for some more Chicago-style food, to Chuck E. Cheese, and enjoyed watching one of our favorite shows--"American Idol"--together.

And you've heard of "tennis elbow"? Uncle Scott and Uncle Jon played so many games of pool that I think they are being treated for "billiard elbow".

Now onto Indiana....

for some more great cousin fun!

Aunt Brittany gave Abby some personal volleyball lessons, Uncle "E" took us all to the gym to shoot some hoops and run on the track, and most of all we just enjoyed hanging out. We were also thrilled to have some time with our friends Jeff & Lisa and their family.

So...it was a packed trip, but a blast to spend time with family.

Thanks to everyone who hosted us! We love you!

A Domestic Day

It was so nice to have a day where we had NOTHING we had to do. So, what better way to spend it than doing a little sewing & cooking? Abby & Anna both did some sewing, and Abby made us a delicious dinner of chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, and cheesy biscuits. Yum!

Spring??

April 6th or January 6th? It's amazing, but we had periods of blizzard-like conditions today....our first day of Spring Break! Ha! Oh, well...we're just glad to not have any homework to do.

Making up for lost time

Okay, okay....I know I've been negligent in blogging, but we have been keeping quite a schedule. Here are a few highlights:

I helped Anna's class make candles the old-fashioned way!

One of Abby's birthday presents...from Aunt Brittany and Uncle E--how appropriate!

Abby celebrated her 13th for what seemed like forever! As you saw in a previous blog, she enjoyed a limo ride and ice skating with her friends. Great Aunt Linda surprised Abby and showed up at her last period class 3 days before her birthday and took her shopping and out to dinner. We had a cake for her while at the Champs swim meet at Ohio University, then on her actual birthday Mama and Papa came down and took her to lunch and a movie. And to top it off....her family and friends sent her wonderful letters of love and encouragement. What a memorable 13th birthday!

Abby on the court in her first club volleyball tournament. She started and played every game. Go Abby! She has her second tournament tomorrow.

The Great Lakes Zones Meet at Ohio State University

Anna qualified for the Zones meet in swimming, where she had to qualify with a time. She had the privilege of swimming in 2 relays, and was one second away from qualifying in breaststroke. It was a wonderful experience for her as she swam in the beautiful facility at OSU and swam against some very good swimmers from a 5-state region.

The first relay took place on Saturday the 17th. Anna was the lead-off swimmer for the Free Relay. Unfortunately, because she just "flinched" at the start, they disqualified her team. They still swam their best time together. The second relay was on Sunday. This was the Medley Relay, and she swam last as the freestyler. Their team placed 17th out of 3o. Not too bad for a group of 10-year-olds! We were so proud of her!