Christmas Treasures

Santa was able to find the girls at grandma and grandpa's house. They had a wonderful time and received many nice gifts. We are looking forward to seeing more family in Shakopee on Saturday!

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! We are going to Jackson for Christmas this year. Enjoy the pictures from the past...

Skating Expo/Christmas Program

On Saturday, Courtney participated in the Ice Skating Expo in Watertown. She did a great job showing off her ice skating skills, Kelsey was also supposed to skate-but chose not to. Grandma and Grandpa drove up to watch the ice skating performance and to watch the girls in the Sunday School program. Warren, Ann, Andrew, Sarah, Dan and Laurie came to Beardsley on Sunday for the program as well. Courtney had a speaking part and both of the girls sang with the group. We had brunch at our house following the program. It was an eventful weekend:) Have a great week everyone!

Group Photo

Here is a photo of Kelsey's friends! Aren't they adorable?!

The Littlest Christmas Tree

I apologize for not being a very good blogger lately...I've been trying to get my dissertation ready for proposal in January. Kelsey's pre-school class performed "The Littlest Christamas Tree" today for their Christmas program. Kelsey was a bunny and McKenzie (Mindy's daughter) was a bird. Kelsey's friend Levi, was the dad. The kids did a great job! Saturday Courtney and Kelsey will be ice skating in a Winter Expo at the Watertown Ice Skating Arena. Courtney passed Basic Level 1, so she will advance to Basic Level 2 in January. Kelsey is in the Snow Plow group. On Sunday, the girls will participate in a Sunday School program in Beardsley. Have a great weekend everyone!

Oklahoma City National Memorial

I was fortunate enough to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. It is comprised of an Outdoor Symbolic Memorial, museum and Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. The gates of time frame the moment of destruction-9:02 and serve as an entrance to the Memorial. The East gate represents 9:01-right before the bombing occurred. The West Gate represents 9:03, the moment the city was changed forever. The field of 168 chairs is a tragic reminder of the lives lost on April 19, 1995. The chairs are placed in rows, representing the 9 floors of the building. Smaller chairs were used to represent the 19 innocent children killed in the explosion. A 90 year-old American Elm tree stands as The Survivor Tree, a symbol of human resilience. The message surrounding the tree reads: "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us." For more information on the memorial you can visit: www.oklahomacitynationalmuseum.org

Greetings from Oklahoma!

Hi Everyone! I just wanted all of my friends and family in Minnesota and South Dakota to know that it was 70 degrees today in Oklahoma City! I was able to take a short walk during lunch and enjoy the beautiful sunshine! The conference is going well, alot of useful information and the days are going by fairly quickly. I definitely miss the girls and Eric but will be home Thursday night. The picture above is blurry, sorry, but it shows the Oklahoma City National Memorial which I will be visiting tomorrow.

Take care!

Beautiful Bouquets

Here is a picture of the beautiful flowers I recieved on my birthday. Eric and I trekked to Watertown for our staff Christmas party today. The interstate was clear, so the drive was fine until we got to Sisseton and Highway 10-then the road was snow packed. The girls enjoyed sledding and playing outside with their babysitter, Katlynn. I leave for Oklahoma City tomorrow and will be gone until Friday. I'm hoping the weather will be nice there and I can take some good pictures to post next weekend. Courtney has her first school Christmas concert on Tuesday evening, so Eric will be videotaping it for me.

What a Wonderful Day!

I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday so special. I received many nice gifts and flowers, especially the arrangement from Rowe-thank you so much. I will post a picture of the flowers this weekend-they are gorgeous. I decided to leave them in my office at school, instead of letting Skittles enjoy or destroy them:) Have a great weekend everyone!

Thanksgiving, Christmas Tree+Skittles??

We hope all of you had a nice holiday weekend. I only have one Thanksgiving photo to share, as my battery on my camera decided to die:( Anyway, we decided to put up our Christmas tree on Saturday and as you can see, Skittles enjoys perching in it. We left it up undecorated until today when we decided to decorate it with only unbreakable ornaments. My Precious Moments collection will have to wait until Skittles can stay away from the tree. We keep the spray bottle filled with water nearby to squirt him when he tries to climb it, so far that tactic has been working. So, if any of you cat lovers have any helpful suggestions, I'd appreciate it! Have a great week everyone!

Happy Anniversary/Happy Birthday!

We'd like to wish Dan and Laurie a very Happy 20th wedding Anniversary and Kylee a very Happy Birthday. We hope you all have a wonderful day:)

Fun with Friends

The girls had Kyler, Hema and Hema's sister, Sahali over to play this afternoon. They made a restaurant in the basement complete with tables and chairs. Sahali is the same age as Kelsey and attends Busy Bees preschool with her as well. Earlier in the day we went to church and met our new pastor. We also attended the potluck dinner after church and Eric helped out in the kitchen doing dishes. It was a fun filled day:)

The Weather

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in Sisseton. The girls enjoyed playing outside after school. Kelsey has a bad cough, so she didn't want to stay outside for very long. Today we woke up to nearly a half inch of snow and they wanted to build a snowman! Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Happy Birthday on Sunday to our energetic nephew and cousin, Jamie. We hope you have a wonderful birthday and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

More pictures...

Here are a few more pictures from this past weekend...

Little Miss 2007

We had a very nice weekend. Courtney relinquished her crown and her farewell speech was wonderful. We are very proud of her. Mom and dad came to the ceremony and stayed overnight. Warren, Ann, Andrew and Sarah came for brunch on Sunday. It was a great time with family and we look forward to Thanksgiving in Sioux Falls. Have a great week everyone!

Happy Veterans Day!

Today we remember and honor all veterans past and present that have sacrificed for our freedom. We especially remember our brother and uncle Jimmer who spoke the following words on Memorial Day 2006,"For you, for your children, and for generations to come, those veterans at eternal peace today gave up their hopes, their dreams, and their tomorrows. Never forget it, never take it for granted, and never forget the terrible price that soldier, and their families paid for you." Thank you to all those that have served and continue to serve this great nation.

Happy Birthday Danielle!

We'd like to wish our niece and cousin, Danielle a very Happy Birthday on Saturday. We hope you have a great day! We will be busy getting ready for the Snow Queen contest, which is Saturday evening. I will post more pictures this weekend, so stay tuned:)

Happy Birthday Ashley and Austin!

Tuesday is Ashley and Austin's 11th Birthday! They are both great helpers and always willing to keep Kelsey entertained. We hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

We would like to wish our nephew and cousin, Matthew a very Happy 18th Birthday on Monday! We hope you have a great day!

Kelsey

Here is a picture of Kelsey holding six week old Sawyer, son of our friends Sara and Ben. The second photo shows Kelsey on a recent field trip with her pre-school class. Have a great weekend everyone!