Happy New Year!

The girls decided to make homemade party decorations to hang up in the basement for their friends....

I love Mary Engelbreit and wanted to post this picture. This is how I felt most of 2008, so I'm hoping 2009 will be less hectic!

Happy New Year everyone! Eric, the girls and I are having some friends over to celebrate this evening. I found a quote on the internet that I thought was fitting to this time of year...."Every new year people make resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority of people revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. This year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourself." We hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Year!

Aunt Harriet

Harriet is shown in the bottom right corner and top left photo (center) next to my Grandma Thelma

Mom let us know that Aunt Harriet passed away yesterday morning. She was the only living member of the Mikelson family left. Although I did not see her very often, I remember her chuckle and the way she would refer to my dad as "Jimmy." We will miss her, but know that she has gone to be with her three sisters and brother in heaven. God Bless the memory of Aunt Harriet. Thanks to Lindsy's wonderful collection of photos, I was able to find a photo of her to post.

More Pictures

Courtney provided musical entertainment...
Welcom Home Jimmer!!

Ann, Sarah, Laurie, Sam, Courtney and Kelsey playing the Apples game

The Heath family on Christmas Eve

Fun times with Family....

Andrew, Grandpa, Alex and Matthew....
Paige and Ted

Megan, Paige and Danielle

The girls opening presents

Gifts from the bus driver....

We just returned home from our Christmas celebration in Shakopee, Jackson and at home. As you can see by the pictures, everyone had a great time.

Christmas in Jackson

Making Christmas Cookies
A Special Ornament made by Courtney for a Special Grandma

Christmas Presents from Grandma and Grandpa

We enjoyed celebrating Christmas in Jackson. The girls and I went ice skating at the old Albertus Field. It was a little windy, but not too bad. Tomorrow we will be driving to Shakopee for the Smith family Christmas. We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas:)

Merry Christmas!

We'd like to wish our friends and family a very Merry Christmas! I thought it might be fun to post some photos from past Christmas celebrations. We are making the journey to Jackson on Wednesday. I absolutely love the Christmas Eve service at the church and it is always nice to be 'home.'

Tiospa Zina had another water main break today, so the elementary will not have school tomorrow. My co-worker's room was destroyed as well as many of the K-2 rooms. He had many personal and professional items that were ruined. There was literally a pool of water down the hall. We're hoping that the pipes can be fixed before it happens in the other 2 wings of the school. We hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season.

Another Blizzard....

After school yesterday, Eric, the girls and I ventured to Fargo to finish our Christmas shopping. The weather cooperated until we left for home, then the snow began to fall. Thankfully, we made it home safely. Due to the weather, the girls did not have ice skating lessons today. The girls decided to entertain themselves by roller skating in the kitchen/dining area. Later in the afternoon, Eric picked up Kylee and Jalen so the girls would have somebody else to play with, besides each other:) Have a good weekend everyone....

Too Cold....

Yesterday, the girls did not have school and neither did we. However, Courtney and Kelsey had cabin fever. So, Courtney bundled up and decided to go sledding in the front yard. She made it down the hill one time before coming back in the house. Not to be outdone by her sister, Kelsey decided to shovel with Eric (recognize the coat-Shelly?). I actually had to tell her to come inside as I noticed her cheeks getting very red. Eric and I had today off as well, the sprinkler mechanism in the middle school burst and left water everywhere. We went to work anyway, just to catch up on some things. It really was an ugly mess. We hope all of you are keeping warm!!

A Day for Celebration...

The Graduates

Kelsey, Me, Courtney, Mom and Dad

The Happy Family

My advisor, Dr. Sweeney, the girls and me!

The Hooding Ceremony

Saturday was very memorable day for me. I participated in the hooding ceremony and received my diploma from USD. I am officially, Dr. Jen Heath. It was a very nice ceremony and I'm very happy mom and dad were able to attend. After the ceremony, we traveled to Sioux Falls for lunch with Tim, Deb, Tyler, Rachel, Mike, Mom, Dad, Jim, Shelly and Miranda. Tyler graduated from SDSU in Brookings yesterday, so we celebrated together. We had a wonderful catered meal. The weather reports did not sound very good, so we left a little earlier than originally planned. When we got back to Sisseton, we decided to celebrate with our friends, the Hagen's at the local restaurant. I had no idea, but Eric had planned a surprise party for me and although some of our friends could not make it due to the weather-we had a very nice time. It was truly a wonderful day. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive family and great friends. I could not have reached my goal without all of their words of encouragement and understanding.

We did not have church today due to the weather, so the Christmas program has been moved to next week. Our school has already called off for tomorrow, we'll have to wait and see if the girls have school or not. Take care everyone and stay warm!

School Events

I borrowed these photos from the public school's website. Courtney is holding a picture she drew of her Uncle Jimmer for a drawing contest. If you click on the photo, I think you can see her drawing better. The other photos are from the school's Christmas concert last week.

A Wonderful Honor....

Eric and I attended our staff Christmas party yesterday at the Dakota Sioux Casino near Watertown. We had a very nice lunch and played games. The superintendent asked me to come up in front and presented me with a satin star quilt for completing my doctoral degree. The drum group from Tiospa Zina which included some of my former students sang an honor song and all of the staff made a receiving line to congratulate me. It was a wonderful honor and the quilt is absolutely gorgeous. One of my co-workers, who is the elementary counselor made it.

On another topic, Kelsey will be going back to the hearing specialist in Watertown on Thursday to check her ears. Hopefully, she will not need tubes put in her ears. She has a really bad cough and runny nose, which we hope improves. Have a great week everyone!

Fun with Picnik

Hi Everyone! My sister-in-law posted a link to a fun site called picnik.com-so I thought I'd try it. Here's what I created....

Christmas Concert 2008

Pretty Little Ladies....Lexie, Kylie and Kelsey
Smile Kelsey Girl:)

Kyler, Courtney D., Hema and Darian

The girls had their school Christmas concert this evening. It was entitled "Grandma's Memory Trunk of Treasures." Courtney and Kelsey both did a wonderful job singing. Have a great week everyone!

For Your Listening Pleasure.....

Miss Courtney Heath on the keyboard playing a Christmas favorite....

Much to be Thankful For....

The tree is decorated-now the trick is to keep Skittles from climbing it....

Putting up the tree....

Ron, Toni and Deb

Jim and Tim

Ted and Dan

We had a great Thanksgiving in Sioux Falls with the Smith's (we missed you Warren, Ann, Andrew and Sarah). It was a special time to thank God for all of the many blessings he has provided us this past year. It was great to see Jimmer and the slideshow of photos from Iraq. We are so thankful that he is home and safe from harm's way.

Kelsey filled her behavior/incentive chart and chose to go to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. So, the girls had a fun time playing games for awhile. We left Sioux Falls around 1:30 and put up the Christmas tree when we got home. Tomorrow is ice skating lessons and time for me to finish edits on my dissertation. We hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving! Have a great weekend:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We would like to wish all of our friends and family a very Happy Thanksgiving! We will be traveling to Sioux Falls to celebrate and give thanks for all of God's blessings this year. It will be wonderful to see family and especially, Jimmer as we celebrate his return from Iraq. Ron and Toni are spending Thanksgiving with this year, which is great! You will notice in the photo that we are having a toast......I defended my dissertation today and pending some corrections to my dissertation.... I am officially Dr. Jen Heath. I will be participating in the graduation ceremony in Vermillion on December 13th and am thankful to my wonderful family, friends and co-workers who have supported me through this journey. I could not have done it without all of you:) Happy Thanksgiving everyone:)

Happy Anniversary Dan and Laurie!

We'd like to wish Dan and Laurie a very Happy Anniversary!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

We'd like to wish our nephew and cousin, Jamie a very Happy Birthday on Tuesday! Have a great birthday and we look forward to seeing you on Thanksgiving Day:)

Snow Queen Pageant 2008

Notice the tootsie roll in her mouth?!

Kelsey participated in the Snow Queen Pageant last evening. Although she did not win, she enjoyed being in the "spotlight." There were 18 Kindergarten girls in the pageant this year and they were all adorable. One of my students from Sunday School won the title of "Little Master," and we were very happy for him. Have a good week everyone!

A Little Help from My Cat....

I have been diligently working on my dissertation this week, with a little help from my cat, Skittles. He loves to snuggle up to me or sit on top of my chapter edits. I finished the entire document at 4:00 this morning and sent it off to my committee members. My defense is scheduled for Wednesday the 26th.

Have a good weekend everyone:)

Just Grandpa and Me.....

I took these two pictures in Jackson last weekend. Kelsey was sitting on grandpa's lap telling him all about Kindergarten......