Christmas Celebrations 2008

We started Christmas Eve at my mom's house with my mom's entire side of the family. Got to see everyone, eat LOTS of food, play some cards and just catch up with everyone, after all, it's tradition :) We made it back to our house to read The Night Before Christmas, leave Santa some cookies and milk and let Ben and Tyler watch the ND game while awaiting Santa. Trenton went to Christmas Eve Mass with his girlfriend, Elizabeth. Everyone was snuggled in their beds by around 1 am for Santa to make his appearance. I can tell you that I was very shocked that Gabi wasn't bright eyed and bushy tailed early Christmas morning, but in fact, woke up to our clock reading almost 8 am. This was the absolute latest we have ever woke up on Christmas morning. I knew we were to be at Chad/Amber's house by 10am and I had a casserole to put together so I got up and showered, hoping that my stirring would awaken everyone. I was successful and we all headed downstairs to our stockings first and then to our gifts. Santa left the boys both Mastercard gift cards and Gabi her gifts she had asked for...Flippin Frogs game and Conair Nail Set. She was very excited. Some items Trenton got was the last book to the Twilight series, and some very cool sweaters from Old Navy he had asked for. Among the things Tyler got was a sweater also, some Colts loungepants and World at War Socom. Gabi got her IM Me (to use with her bf Emma) and some very cool Project Runway Fashion Design sets. Ben got some Mishawaka wear, a sweater like the boys and some hunting DVDs he has been wanting. I got a North Face fleece (Bad daddy!), a necklace I had been wanting, some pretty scarves and some sweaters. We quickly put together the casserole, got cleaned up and went to Chad and Amber's house for our annual Christmas day brunch. Egg casserole, french toast bake, hash brown casserole, sausage links, fruit and donuts were just some of the breakfast foods we ate. Chad also made us his famous lattes that I LOVE. We got to watch the kids open and we also exchanged on my side. Got lots of cool items. Gabi got her Havoc Heli Helicopter that ended up being the "cool item" that everyone had to play with. My dad said he just should have bought us each one! We were having so much fun trying to get that thing going. The boys got some clothes and The Dark Knight. Gabi got some very cute clothes also, some body lotion and some Justice perfume. Ben got a nice thermos, some long underwear, thermal socks and a gift card to Dicks. I got my book, Marley and Me, I had been wanting, candles, some Bath and Body lotions and sprays and some pajamas. After relaxing with the lattes and playing with Havoc Heli, we headed to Dad Rs house to visit with him, Dave, Jeff, Pam and Bren. Exchanged some great gifts there as well. The boys got some cool zip up hoodies, gift cards, and other clothes, Gabi got some very pretty clothes as well, a gift card to Target, and her CD, Breakout, by Miley Cyrus she had been wanting. Ben got some nice clothes as well and I got a very pretty sweater from Dad R along with some cute socks and some chocolates! Pam made Gabi and I some matching bracelets that were adorable and I also got some warm pajamas as well. Throw in a few gift cards from Dad R and my parents - to one of our favorite places to eat...Logans and we had a very good Christmas indeed! Made it back home in time to go through my closet and put everyones new items in their rooms and we were off, yet again, to Chad and Amber's house for a new tradition...a birthday party for Jesus. Amber made cake and it was all about desserts and games that evening. Played some tennis on wii and had a GREAT time playing Catch Phrase with Amber's parents, her sister, Hilary, my parents, and Chad & Amber. LOTS OF LAUGHTER!!!! All in all, a very eventful and fun day. A day to relax and unwind. A day to let my mind rest. A good day. Merry Christmas from our house to yours! Pictures here.

Special Gifts

Tonight, on a whim, at the last minute, we decided to exchange special gifts...one of our traditions we have created as a family. This year we decided to not read our letters aloud. I felt like this way, each person could say what they wanted to say without being embarressed by someone else. I think it worked out well. Ben's special person was Tyler and Ben gave him a dri-fit Colts shirt that he absolutely LOVED! My special person was Ben and I got him a pair of the Mishawaka Wrestling sweats...warm, warm, warm and very cool cuz they have a drawstring around the ankle you can use or not use. Very cool. Trenton had Gabi and he got her a cool little book with information on lots of Disney stars (Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, etc etc etc) and a microscope. Tyler had Trenton and he gave Trenton another CD he wanted. Last but not least, Gabi had me and what a doll baby. Her letter was beautiful. Just an absolute appreciation for me that I felt was real and came straight from her heart. She got me a Yankee Candle in Clean Cotton and she also picked out a bracelet from her Secret Santa workshop at school. She had been wanting to give me that gift for weeks. She was sooo proud of her decision for me.

What a day...a special day.

Gabi has been a trooper about her four little braces on the bottom. I had to give her Motrin once because she said they were hurting her. Other than that...she has just been great...trying to follow directions exactly the way the orthodontist showed her. Brushing, wax, and flossing. She does NOT want the calcificiation like the picture in the brochure ;)

Purple and Blue Bands

Girlfriends

We decided to have the boys' girlfriends over last night for some food, television, games and so they could exchange gifts with each other. The boys have been busy getting gifts together for them so I thought it would be fun to watch them open. We ordered Wings from here and pizza from here, had a shrimp ring, potato chips with dip, banana bread and all kinds of Christmas cookies I had baked recently. We started the movie Polar Express, but stopped to teach the girls how to play Euchre. Ben and I couldn't believe they didn't know how to play but agree maybe it is a card game of the past...maybe we are getting "old?" YIKES. Anyways, had some fun playing that, in fact, Tyler and Abby decided to take on us "old hands" and they ended up beating us! Ben and I think we had some stinky hands that pretty much won the game for them...but oh well. It was fun. While we were playing cards, Trenton took Elizabeth through Winding Brook to see the lights. Apparently, he had promised to do this the other day, but ended up working a little too late with his uncle to do so. Elizabeth was excited, nonetheless. The kids (I feel funny calling them "kids") exchanged gifts. Trenton got Elizabeth "Multiple Blessings" by Kate Goselin and a big gorgeous photo frame with a cute picture of them both inside. She was thrilled. Elizabeth got Trenton a chair, exactly like one she has that he loves to use at her house, and a CD. Tyler to Abby a birthstone ring and a coat from Forever 21 while Abby got Tyler some Vans shoes and a cool shirt. They were all very happy with their gifts. To end the evening we played some Scene It (thanks Chad/Amber!) by the fire and the boys whooped up on the girls. Oh well, maybe next time. Had a great time and I enjoyed spending some time will all the kids...young adults and of course, Gabi loved having the girls over.

Annual Tradition

It was nice that the Lowell, Michigan wrestling meet was cancelled yesterday. We were able to get more shopping done and got to relax a little bit. Ben ended up sick (vomiting) most of the afternoon into the night, but was able to go to work this morning. Didn't do a whole lot today but definitely looked forward to this evening. Remembering years past and our traditions with best friends...we had our annual Christmas gift exchange with Emma. They both got very similar items this year including High School Musical 3 CD and a Best Friends necklace (their previous ones kind of got old). Gabi also got a beautiful silver sequin scarf from Justice. I think the very best thing that they got was the opportunity Lina gave them...to have a sleepover at Emma's house tonight. It was kind of sad, though, in a way, at McDonalds. The girls went up in the tubes, sat for a little bit talking, and headed back down only to say those three words..."we are bored." Wow, are we coming close to the "too old for McDonalds age...?" I mentioned to Lina that we may have to do a spa day with the girls next year...something "more mature???" Wow...did I just say that?

Penn

Tyler got the job done yesterday by majoring Justin Holland from Penn. Tyler stepped aside to allow Aaron Mersich - a senior - to wrestle varsity 135 last night against a big rivalry. I think he did this partly to the opportunity of not having to cut as much weight also. Tyler went JV 145 and beat his kid 12-4. Great job Tyler! Today we are taking a charter bus with the other parents and fans to this school system (a 2 1/2 hour drive). This team has supposedly placed several times at state and are big competitors. Looking forward to watching but hating that we have so many wrestlers hurting. We'll see how it shakes out. Go Cavemen!

What Does Christmas Look Like...

At our house????

Triacoff

This was the first time I have been to the Calumet Triacoff invitational. Ben went last year with Trenton and I went with Tyler to his JV tournament. This year, Tyler wrestled varsity 135 at the Triacoff. He only wrestled once against a LakeStation kid and pinned him in 1:59. It ended up being a close call for us against Cathedral but we pulled out a win 29-23. The reason...we put some substitutes in and wrestled some kids who had injuries. It was a tough one. Then came Crown Point and boy, they are stacked from about 112 to 160 or so and each one looks like they work out 24/7 or are on steroids! Tough, tough match up. We ended up pulling it out 39-28. Many of our wrestlers had to dig deep today and tough out the injury and they did it. I was so proud of each and every one of them!

Let The Christmas Baking Begin!

Notice the little hands helping!!! ;)

Gingerbread Boy

Gabi was so proud of her gingerbread boy she made at school. She was even more excited about keeping the recipe so we can do them next year! Now she wants to make real gingerbread men - to eat!

Nike Inflict

The boys picked out these shoes this year...

Football Banquet

Along with the new coach, we had a new banquet for football this year. Coach Curtis not only started a Touchdown Club for parents, chapel the Friday mornings before home meets, Iron man awards, etc., he brought a new light to football as well. Included in the renovations was a really nice banquet. We had the regular Fall Banquet last month at the school where they recognized the football players, but this banquet was held at the Masonic Lodge in South Bend, complete with lovely Christmas decorations, a Polish buffet and lots of yummy desserts! I really liked the fact that the coaches took the time to talk about each player. It was certainly more personable. Each player got their own hand crafted ornament with their name and number and Tyler got his letter for his varsity time this year!! We couldn't have been more proud!!! In fact, I am running it to Paiges today to go on his new letter jacket - a Christmas gift from maw maw and paw paw this year! Definitely looking forward to next year!

Plymouth Invitational

Tyler went 4-1 at the Plymouth Invitational yesterday. I was reminded again at this tournament that people do watch and listen while kids wrestle and that the wrestler on the mat could very well be the son of the person sitting next to you while you are yelling and screaming. I, indeed, was on the receiving end. I knew coming into this tournament that Plymouth LOVES winning over Mishawaka. Last year a Plymouth kid beat Trenton by a point and the crowd went absolutely nuts. This year, Tyler wrestled them and unfortunately got beat as well. Lewandowski was his name and he wrestled against Mishawaka well last year and is a senior, so I knew he would be good competition. Well, just a few people down from where I was watching a man was yelling intently, "yeah, yeah, get him on his back...yeah, yeah" and he was jumping around so much that his glasses fell off his face. He was definitely making a spectacle of himself. I was very disturbed at the way this guy was being and it made it even worse that my kid was on the receiving end. I sucked it up and let it go, though. He was Tyler's one loss. Tyler beat Bremen (Bonsinger), Harrison (Son), Riley (Hoffman Nuttig) and Northridge (Lewellan). He did well. Came away with a sore finger and busted up eye, but he was proud. Pictures here.

Adams

9-5 was the score of Tyler's match last night against Kamron Rayl of Adams. Tyler went 135 lbs. and did a great job. He held his own through the first and second period and gave up some points in the third. I think he got tired and wasn't feeling the greatest after eating a sub before his match, but he did just fine. Ending team score: 66-6. To top it off...Trenton was voted one of the captains of the team this year. Great start to the season.

Good Samaritan Hunters

The boys decided to go hunting again on Saturday evening and Trenton took his good friend, Steven, who has never been hunting before. He wanted to know what it was like so he sat with Trenton in his stand. Unfortunately, I believe Steven saw only one deer and it was clearly too far away to shoot. I don't think he thoroughly enjoyed the length of time sitting, but Steven got the jist of what it is like to hunt. The boys came home empty handed but ended up seeing what Tyler described as "the worst thing I have ever seen" - they saw a beagle get hit by a car and literally dragged a few feet in front of them. Ben stopped immediately and went to the dog lying in the middle of the street. A couple of the boys stopped traffic while the others made sure the dog was still alive and got the information off the dog's tags and called the owner. Apparently, the owner of the dog lived just a short jog from where the dog was hit and he came running quickly. The boys said he was about Ben's age, maybe a bit younger, and was visibly upset about the dog. Ben explained to me that at this point and after checking the dog out, he thought maybe it's back was broken but it was still breathing and probably in shock. The owner and Ben loaded up the dog in the back of Ben's truck and they drove them back to the owner's house. Trenton and Tyler both said it was heartbreakng because the owners have small children. Ben and the owner took the dog into the house and Ben left for home as the owner was calling the emergency vet. It was definitely something Trenton, Tyler, Ben and Steven will remember forever...especially being dog lovers. It was a sad sight. Tyler said he had a "queesy feeling in his stomach" just dealing with the situation. He hated seeing the whole incident.

Trenton, Tyler, and Ben had plans to "push" the woods on Sunday afternoon in a last attempt on the last day of shotgun season so they planned to stop at the dog owner's house to check on the dog. This time the boys took Maizy - and what a big baby she was! This dog LOVES the woods and goes after rabbits, deer, you name it. She loves it. She loves to run the woods with Ben and only stays feet from him at all times. They met up with Ben's dad and brother and again, the boys came home empty handed - no deer, but they were able to stop to check on the dog that got hit. The dog was still living! No broken bones that the owner knew of. I guess the dog started getting up about 11:30 pm the night it happened and was slow going, but she got up. The owner said she seemed a little sore but that was it! She was eating and was alert. A miracle indeed! This news definitely made all the boys' hearts smile with relief. Ben didn't even get their names or the name of the dog amidst all the confusion...he thinks the dog's name was Molly. So, if it is, Molly, we are glad you made it!

Black Friday

I did not get up as early as last year (yes, I was one of the shoppers out at 4am) because I really didn't see anything I that stood out for me and the family this year. Instead I took the opportunity to decorate the house for Christmas. Ben and the boys took advantage of the warmer weather and melted snow to get the lights up on the house also. They did a great job. I was afraid we wouldn't get a break from the snow to get the lights up but luckily we did. I did run out to Bed, Bath and Beyond and Old Navy to pick up a few gifts that were on sale all day. Later in the evening we made a run also to WalMart to pick up some extra decorations needed for the house. We picked up a pizza and watched this movie to complete our day. We laugh everytime we see our favorite part of the movie. Definitely in the Christmas spirit now!

Thanksgiving Day Events

We had a great Thanksgiving! We had dinner at our house complete with turkey, homemade dressing, noodles, sweet potatoe casserole, ice box cake, biscuits, green bean casserole with mashed potatoes and gravy (courtesy of Chad/Amber), broccoli/rice/cheese casserole and pumpkin pie (courtesy of mom/dad). Needless to say...we all ate ALOT. It was nice to sit by the fire, let the kids play, nap a little here and there, look at the black friday ads and watch some television throughout the day. Tyler and Ben decided to do some hunting before lunch at noon and lo and behold...Tyler brought home the third deer...a doe...about 120 lbs. dressed out. Now all three boys have gotten one this year. Ben and the boys got that hung up after the activities during the day while I cleaned up a bit. We ended up going over to Chad/Amber's house for some wii games later that evening. A perfect ending to a perfect day of celebrating family. We missed dad R., Pam/Jeff/Bren (they are in NC visiting with family and Jenny/Travis/Mackenzy) but we know they had a great day also. Pictures from our day here.

Tyler's deer below.

Thankful

It's been a tough year for me personally, but it wasn't hard for me to come up with some things I am thankful for...
I am thankful for Trenton's goofy laugh. It always puts a smile on my face. I am thankful for Tyler's lovingness...is that even a word? I absolutely loved it when he told someone just recently that he isn't afraid to say he loves his mom and he is a "momma's boy." I am thankful for Gabi's loyalty. Even though there are fights amongst the kids, she is always there to support them in whatever they do. She sticks up for them. She loves them. No matter what. I am thankful for such a patient husband. One who thinks before he speaks, one who works hard to pay our bills, one who I can count on when I need someone to lean on, one who loves me and our children. Lastly, I am thankful for my family...our parents, our siblings, our nieces and nephews. We have the ABSOLUTE BEST family ever! Their support and love mean the world to us. We couldn't do alot of the things we do without them.
Family.
That's what I am thankful for most this year.
Happy Thanksgiving!

A Wet, Warm and Cozy Weekend

We stayed nice and warm inside this weekend but we were somewhat productive. Friday night Gabi got asked to go here with her best friend, Emma, overnight. She had a BLAST! Got lots of stories of the waterslides and the bunkbeds and playing "spies." Gabi thought it was so cool to be able to go to a waterpark with snow on the ground. While she was away, Ben and I enjoyed a "date" evening. We went here for dinner and did some Christmas shopping afterwards. A productive evening indeed. Saturday Ben worked while the boys coached at the"elementary school wrestling meet." I got lots of cleaning and laundry finished and did a little more shopping later in the day. Gabi got back around 6ish and Trenton asked her to go sledding. Poor girl...she was tuckered but she mustered all her energy to go with him, Elizabeth, Steven and his gf Rachel. They had a great time! Needless to say, Gabi was back home, enjoyed some hot chocolate by the fire, had a warm bath and was in bed by 9 pm. She was out within minutes. Sunday, of course, was church. Enjoyed a "praise and worship" service for Thanksgiving and the boys were off to go hunting. My mom wanted to get some clothes for Gabi and wanted her to pick them out so we opted to go together. Got some GREAT deals here! They had a sale going on (which is basically what they will run over Thanksgiving as well) buy one get one free! And my mom had a 25% off coupon! Gabi got a velour outfit (zip up shirt and pants), two pairs of socks, two camis, two sweaters and four long sleeved shirts for under $100! And yes, Gabi knows they are all for Christmas, but that's okay...she got to pick them out and she had a great time doing it. We picked up a few items here and were back home by 4pm. No luck for the boys as they came home empty handed. Looking forward to this week of Thanksgiving. I want to take time daily to remember all I have to be thankful for. And ps...if you haven't had a sneak peek at the black friday ads...here they are!

A Good Laugh

A friend of mine made me laugh today with this! I definitely needed a good laugh! Thanks Kathy!

Weighing In

Ben and Trenton took Trenton's buck in to get processed at DC Meats on Monday and learned that it dressed out at 153 lbs! Since work has been slow lately, Ben decided to head out this evening to hunt with his brother and kicked up a doe as he was going out to get into his stand! He quickly reacted and lo and behold, brought home another deer to be processed! Last year Ben was the only one who didn't get a deer. He was set on not letting that happen again. This doe is at least 2 years old. We are anxious to see how much she dresses out at, Ben's thinking in the 120's. Good job, Honey!

Let It Snow

We were welcomed with snow starting Sunday night....and so the fun winter activities begin....snowmen, snow angels and snowball fights!

Opening Weekend

For gun season that is...and for deer. The boys went out all day on Saturday, from 5 am till after dark! Trenton and Tyler had a little bit of a break as they came out of the woods at 10 am for wrestling practice and got back in their stands by about 1:30 pm. Sadly, they came home empty handed. The girls (Gabi and I) stayed warm inside the house...mainly getting caught up on laundry and dishes and worked on Christmas list, little did we know that would come in handy later...Gabi got a late invite to come over to a classmates house to help out with her little sister's birthday party so I took her over till about 4 pm. I had gotten a bit of "cabin fever" by this point so we decided to head out to "Build A Bear" with my brother, Amber and their girls. They wanted to get Reese a bear (moose) for Christmas and Gabi needed to get some "boy" clothes for her latest build a bear (dog). Met up with my parents as well, and decided to make it a dinner date at the food court. It had been quite a while since I had been to the mall and I was pleasantly surprised. I was lovin' the Christmas decorations and lights. On our way out, we saw Santa had already landed at the mall for the season. I was somewhat hesitant to visit so soon, but figured I could beat the crowds and wouldn't be rushed as I always seem to be. We went ahead with the photos and visit. Chad's girls also saw Santa (Addy was slightly uneasy). They all actually got nice long visits with Santa. It was nice listening in on Gabi's wish list this year, which includes Flippin Frogs, Nintendo DS games and I almost shed a tear when I heard her say, "and....just to have a nice Christmas, Santa." How sweet!Sunday morning was church and we listened intently to the sermon, "How God Uses Suffering In Our Lives." Good sermon, very good sermon. After lunch the boys had trouble containing their "itch" to get back out in the woods and I think they were just waiting for the "go ahead" from mom. I gave it to them. And Trenton shot one. An 8 point buck. He couldn't have been more excited. Congrats, son! Pics below:

Grandpa Honeycutt

A write up on grandpa Honeycutt's experience in Canada this past summer!

Official Start

I have officially began Christmas shopping! Started here yesterday with a 30% coupon!!! Can't beat that...especially with the economy as unstable as it is. Picked up gifts for 4 people, so that is a good start. I just love to shop for family and friends!!!! I am loving all the Christmas commercials on television and the Christmas music and decorations at some of the stores. It has begun!

Happy Veteran's Day

Thank you to all the Veteran's who have served or are serving now...and to my hubby, who served 4 long years in the Navy! Gabi wanted him to come to her program so bad today to be honored so I went to videotape. Sorry it is kind of blurry, but here is her tribute to her daddy!

North Central College

We were blessed to able to visit North Central College this weekend. We left early on Saturday morning and went as a full family this time. Trenton was asked to stay overnight so we stayed in a hotel while he stayed with some of the wrestlers like he did at Loras. It's a good way to see if he truly connects with the other wrestlers and experience college life as well. I loved the fact it was only 2 hours door to door. Not bad traffic at all. Pretty much a straight shot there. We started our day by meeting with the Admissions department. We were so politely greeted with passes to the cafe for some breakfast foods on them. I LOVED the fact they had Starbucks in their cafe - I was in heaven!! LOL So after drinking my fav...caramel macchiato, we met with our Admissions counselor to discuss the college, its costs and the jists of the college itself. Some interesting facts we learned...the college is broken into trimesters (three periods) rather than the traditional two semesters, thus adding a few weeks onto the school year. This in turn, allows for the students to take a max of 4 classes per trimester. I think I like that, considering Trenton will be wrestling and he really isn't a "great" multitasker. We also liked the fact that the college is blocks from the train station and could be a great transportation tool for Trenton to come home. They also have a "rental car" place on campus for $7 an hour, you can rent a car and not worry about gas. Not bad if he had to get somewhere. Liked also that the college is in the middle of regular family homes. Gave it a homey atmsophere and is only blocks from downtown Naperville. The city is busy and gives plenty to do. We kind of joked about their "red bike" program. I guess they have about 50 red bikes that belong to campus for anyone anytime. Basically if you see one, you can take it wherever and leave it for anyone to use next time. So, if you ride a bike to the stadium to watch a game, you take your chances at finding nothing there when you come out. Pretty funny but I guess it works. We got to walk around campus and see some classrooms, a dorm room, the stadium and then we were off to meet with the wrestling coach. The dorm rooms that freshman have to stay in are pretty much a normal dorm room. Space for two to a room, two beds, a desk and a closet. Pretty standard. The dorms being split up - boys in one building, girls in another. Everyone sharing a bathroom as well. As he progressed to sophomore, etc he would get other options as housing. The college is in the process of building another field house, which we like, but wrestling would stay in the same wrestling room because they are big on tradition. Interesting. It is smaller than I would have liked with not alot of seating but I guess that's where tradition holds it ground. The coaches are young - maybe younger than Ben and me which is something Trenton likes. Their coaching style much like what he has now...work hard, be in shape to go the full 7 minutes. Trenton liked that. He wouldn't have too much transition that way. We were able to see the football field, which Tyler enjoyed. A nice turf field and the college had a big game...against Augustana (another school interested in Trenton) who was undefeated also (NC also undefeated). North Central ended up winning. The wrestling meet was the same time as the football game so we opted to go to the meet obviously. Very intense and interesting, considering it was against Trine (where we had visited earlier). It was kind of odd for Trenton to see the Trine coaches while on the North Central side, but we still have not committed to anything at this point. North Central very handedly beat Trine and it was nice to see them have that victory. Trenton headed out with the wrestlers while Ben, Tyler, Gabi and I left to eat dinner at TGIF. Gabi was very excited to get a hotel with a pool and hot tub so we enjoyed those amenities. Nice to warm up after a cold visit outside! This morning we headed out to get Trenton and got on the road at 10am. He had a good visit and told us he really liked the guys. Fit in well and did compare it to Loras. He said the main difference...North Central is in the city, Loras...not much to do outside the college. The wrestlers welcomed him well at both schools. He has alot of information to look over and experiences to digest...three college visits down. Probably a few more to go. We are hoping to get a visit in to a DII school. Perhaps Findlay or University of Indianapolis. We could get some money for sports that way. Cost for North Central is comparable of course, to Loras because it is a private school. Around $32,000 per year for everything (without any scholarships). Expensive and hard to swallow but we know there are scholarships and opportunities out there to get it much lower. Had a good weekend...now it is back to the old grinding stone for now. Cold and wet outside and I am not liking it!