No Room In The Inn...

Although we love visitors and friends to come and stay, there's no room in our place for a winged feathery creature. Apparently our fair weather friend decided to come out of hiding in our chimney and check out the indoors. He smacked into a few windows and the mirror on the wall. Matthew screamed like a girl and ran into another room. He was no help. Sean was able to catch him in our sun room and set him free, back into the wild.

As you can see...this slight interruption came in the middle of a very important wii game. Hence the commercial interruption ended and Sean and Matthew went back to where they started as though nothing ever happened.

Christmas Smiles Across the Miles

We had a fun Christmas this year with Andrew, Gina and kids. Aunt Sue also came up from D.C. and we had a lot of fun visiting with her. There was a lot of excitement around all the video games and toys they received. All the boys but Drew seemed to avoid the boxes that looked like they might have clothes in them. Our big family gift was a wii. Sean and I saved the present for last and had Matthew open it. It instantly became a part of our family. He hugged it affectionately with the same love that he gives his green blanket. The wii has now been officially adopted and Matthew has welcomed it into our family playing with it everyday.

You are never too old to love Christmas. There is something magical about waiting to open a package dressed in bright colors and bows. Matthew definately held back no emotion over a new pair of shoes. I'm not so sure why he was so excited. He tried them on at target one night when we were buying boots and agreed that they fit and he liked them. Then he said, "Mom, why don't you just put them under the tree. I can wait till Christmas." I guess he wanted to make sure that his present count was up there!

Reach for the Sky! Santa rocked with this gift. Nerf darts were flying everwhere. Whenever I stop by mom and dads, they usually have a couple of darts sitting on the table to return to Matthew. The eyeglasses really make the outfit.

This is our annual Christmas photo. Lucky for us, dad gets a picture of us sitting on the stairs every Christmas morning looking our best. Who needs a professional studio?

2008 Highlights

Sean's arm finally healed enough by April so that he was able to start work again. He has just a few marks that remind him of his intimate experience of riding a horse and flying through the air. The doctor that did his second surgery was amazed with the amount of mobility that he got back... lots of physical therapy and hard work on Sean's part. Maybe next year he'll decide to take the plates and screws out of his arm. He'll see how uncomfortable it still feels.


We had a great trip to Boise for Marc and Kelsey's Wedding. Matthew had a great time reuniting with his aunts, uncles and cousins. Blake and Matthew definately have a knack for looking for trouble and actually finding it. Hanging out in suits was not their idea of a good time, but they found ways to run around when the adults weren't looking.

This summer we took another trip to Utah, Idaho and Montana. We were there for Sam and Racheal's wedding and spent several days in West Yellowstone. My parents and Sara and Chad and their kids came up to the cabin on Hebgen Lake for a few days. Although the water was cold, it didn't keep Katie and Mason away from getting soaked. We love fun memories from the cabin!

Did I mention that Sean went fishing this year? He was able to catch a little fish during the salmon run. I didn't give it a name. He doesn't like it when I name the things he catches and eats. I think it looks like a Fred.

I'm still working on my cast, but I found that dangling over a bridge works very well for hooking a fish. She was a good catch, just like me! Sean and I enjoyed our date at Letchworth Park. It was a beautiful fall drive and of course we found the fishing pond.

The Falls at Letchworth State Park

Photoless memories...

• Kirsten taught her first full year as a second grade teacher and was then hired on permanently as a 4th grade teacher!
• Sean hunted for the first time in New York and killed a deer. He likes the jerky. Kirsten didn't like it hanging in the garage. Sean wouldn't let me name the deer.
• Matthew started taking piano lessons and is playing the saxophone in school.
• Sean and Matthew planted our first vegetable garden and grew lots of squash and cucumbers.
• Kirsten did her fair share of canning and tried her hand at a flower garden. My how marigolds mulitply.
• Sean remodeled my parent's kitchen.
• Our bathroom is almost finished...maybe it will be done by the end of the year, which happens to be today. Will I ever get to check this off my to do list?

In The Driver's Seat

This summer on our way out to Utah, Matthew decided that he wanted to meet each pilot on all the plane's that we flew on. One pilot invited him to come and sit in the cockpit and even touch some of the buttons. He was like a kid on Christmas morning, excited by the whole experience. He has been talking about being a pilot since he was knee high. I have his collection of paper airplanes to prove his love for planes. This Christmas he asked Santa for Flight Simulator and has enjoyed traveling the world through virtual airplanes.

Thank heavens for snow days!

Well, we finally had our big snowfall for the year. Friday, December 19th we were warned that the snow would fall in large, fluffy amounts. I watched it accumulate from my classroom window throughout the day and thought, "It's so pretty." Not realizing that it would be miserable to drive in when school was out. By 4:00, our cars were buried and we had to wait for a plow to come and clear the parking lot. The wind looked like mini tornados whipping the snow into funnels. I eventually got home and there I stayed in our warm house by the fireplace. Incidentally, we LOVE our fireplace. The bad weather continued through the weekend, but as it is well known in Greece, our school district never cancels school.

A very chilly Monday morning came and I awoke as usual. I was greeted by the good news on the morning TV station that sure enough Greece was closed and I was in for my first snow day of the school year. What a blessing 3 days before Christmas. Sorry to my friends that were planning on getting things done that day while their children were in school. This was my early Christmas present to get things done and finished at my house. I'm not so sure that Sean and Matthew appreciated the cleaner house that day, but I know that I was thanking heaven for a snow day!

A New Beginning

Who would have thought I would have entered the world of blogging! Have I fallen victim to "everyone else is doing it?" Guilty...I guess. I was eavesdropping on a side conversation where my friends were talking about it and I thought, "That sounds like it takes time that I don't have and no clue on how to start." So with the help of my friend Janet, I have jumped on the bandwagon ready to promote my life history. I'm not sure how good of a blogger I will be, yet I'm hoping this gives me extra credit in the doing my family history blessing category. So here I go...welcome to The Busy Bybeez blog, blog, blog, blog, blah....