Christmas 2019

It was a quiet Christmas Day at home for 2019. Well, as quiet as our family gets anyway.

Rachel received her dream of a Barbie house from Santa. Teresa got a camera, Nathan got a Lions duffel bag, and Landen received a Packers sweatshirt.

This was Nathan's gift from his godparents Tim & Kelly.

Obviously, I did not take many photos on Christmas day. Maybe Teresa can take over for me next year! :)

Christmas in Eureka

This was the Christmas of four hams--one that was ruined by broken glass, two that were bought at the store to replace it, and one (from Violet) that was under the tree!

Christmas at the Cathedral

Our All Saints Youth Group, Confirmation, and a couple of drivers' daughters attended Christmas at the Cathedral for the first time this year.

It was a beautiful and blessed afternoon for all of us.

Meeting Bishop Swain

Rachel turns 8!

Rachel turned 8 on December 14!

She was SO excited to turn 8, because 8 meant she could have her first sleepover with her best friend.

Oh, so many Barbies, including a long-awaited wedding, and so much fun!

Even though she is all about unicorns, she chose to make a JoJo Siwa (her favorite singer) cake.

Christmas Concerts

We always love the Christmas concerts that come with December!

Rachel's class

Middle School Band (Nathan on trombone, Teresa on trumpet)

Middle School Chorus

High School Band - Landen surprised us by playing a solo as part of an ensemble in one of the Christmas songs. 

Vikings vs. Lions

While Landen was in Denver at National Robotics, we took Nathan and Teresa to our first Vikings game. (Or Lions game, depending on who you ask.) It was supposed to be a trip for the boys, but Teresa had fun experiencing the city, too.

The middles hardly ever get mom and dad to themselves, and we enjoyed that, too.

Papa Butter and Grandma Shirley came to stay with Rachel for the weekend.

This was the expression on all Lions fans faces. :)

End of November

The end of November brought a Girls' Road Trip to Rapid City for the State Volleyball Tournament. 

We had a fun time swimming, catching up with our friend Lori, and watching lots of volleyball. We wanted to go ice skating, but it was 60 degrees in Rapid City that weekend!

Northwestern defeated Faulkton to win the State Championship and complete Northwestern volleyball's first perfect season--41-0. The team only lost one set all season.

Soon after that, we celebrated Thanksgiving. Teresa, Lily, and Rachel presented their annual play.

We also celebrated Melius Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend. A new snowfall gave the kids plenty to play in!

Bismarck Blessings

Last week Wednesday, God lined up everything in my busy fall life so that I could attend the University of Mary Prayer Day in Bismarck, ND, with my mom and our friend Mary Beth.

Fr. Mike Schmitz was the keynote speaker this year, and people came from all over North and South Dakota--Rapid City, Fargo, and Cresbard :) --to hear his address on Christian Adulting. (His first word of advice? Stop using adulting as a verb.) Got it. :)

It was an honor to hear his message on how to take personal responsibility for our faith lives and especially to celebrate mass after the address.

Before the conference began, I saw that our dear family friends had sat down in the row ahead of us. Even though we only live 30 miles from each other, we hadn't really visited in person in a long time--a year or two maybe? So that was a fabulous way to start the day. After mass, Mary Beth got to visiting with the couple sitting beside her. As it turns out, she was raised not far from where I now live and still has family in the area. We visited with them for quite awhile, and as is typical, were the last ones to leave the arena. 

Just as we were getting into our car, I spotted Fr. Mike and his college student drivers leaving the venue. Mary Beth and I ran up to him like two teenagers and asked for a photo with him. He was so kind to agree, and I did make sure to use my few seconds to thank him and tell him how much we have appreciated his work in our small South Dakota parish. I'm not sure I have ever had the courage to go "fan girl" on anyone, so I guess a Catholic priest was a safe place to start. :)

It was such an amazing day of blessings. It is often so easy for me to get overwhelmed by the world and my own personal anxieties. Taking a road trip with my mom and long-time friend, being in the presence of so many Catholics of all ages (including old and new friends) who are taking an active interest in their faith (evident by the standing room only crowd), and taking in both a keynote address and mass with Fr. Mike Schmitz--wow--God is so good. 

Our family has been and is being blessed by so many good and faithful priests in our parishes.

Please keep all of them in your prayers.

41

I turned 41 a couple of days ago. 

Birthdays always make me reflective, and since I've become a stay-at-home mom with kids in school (a promotion I highly recommend), I find myself with more time to reflect. That is sometimes a benefit, and sometimes not.

About a week ago, I had a bad day. You know those days when you feel like you have failed so many times at being a mom and it was cloudy and cold and, to make matters worse, you are pretty sure everyone has met Garth Brooks but you? (Well, maybe that last part is just me.) :)

In reality, circumstances were not as terrible as I was making them out to be; things were just in a place in which they needed to be improved, as things periodically do, and, instead of feeling challenged and inspired, I was feeling pretty defeated. 

So, what did I do? Well, first I felt sorry for myself for awhile because, well, that's what I do. 

Then, I revisited my self-appointed virtual spiritual advisor Fr. Mike's #FAIL homily series from last May. (Soundcloud App--Bulldog Catholic or BulldogCatholic.org. Check it out. Need not be Catholic to appreciate.)

And then I remembered.

That failure is not fatal and failure is not final.

In Jesus, we are free to fail--in big and small ways.

But we can't stand and stay in it.

Because someone is counting on you.  

When I stop the feeling sorry for myself and reach out to God for help, He always leads me to places to remind me of His love for me. When I relinquish the (illusion of) control and (finally) throw my hands in the air and say, "I don't know how you are going to fix this, but I need you to," it doesn't take long--sometimes just hours or less--to see a glimpse of Him working to do just that. The next day, two different friends stopped for impromptu coffee visits to share their prayers and wisdom with me. I was reminded of my dear friend's gift of hope and how she inspires me to hold onto it with both hands. A quick trip to my hometown a couple of days later was such a gift to my soul.

It is well. :)

So, I turned 41 in a much better place and was blessed with a beautiful day as well. Getting older reminds me that life is moving quickly. I want to do the best I can with the gifts I have been given, and I really do try to do that every day. I'll fail again and I'll succeed again and I need to remember that it is all a blessing. 

Because God has placed a call on my--and your--life that no one else can answer.

And someone is counting on me--and you.

As I do every year, I thank you for sharing the ride with me.

Nathan is 14!

Nathan is now 14! I swear he just turned 5, but he is now 14 and a licensed (Driver's Permit) driver!

His birthday was pretty quiet with harvest going on, but Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Uncle Rick and the rest of the family were able to stop in for a quick cake and ice cream break.

Halloween Birthday

We celebrated Teresa's birthday in whirlwind fashion October 31. At the end of the day, we came home with lots of candy, cake and smiles. Teresa's friend Bella joined us for trick-or-treating and fun.

Happy 12th Birthday, Teresa!

State Cross Country Meet

Northwestern took seven runners to the State Cross Country Meet on Saturday in Huron--the boys team and two girls who qualified at the Region Meet.

Nathan's goal was to finish in the 80's and in under 20 minutes. He finished 89th out of 120 runners and in 19:57:95.

It was a beautiful day to run and the team took advantage of it, finishing in 8th place in SD Class B.

We had 2 runners receiving medals, Justin and Jessica, who finished 20th and 18th respectively.

Back--Ethan, Jace, Justin, Coach Boekelheide

Front--Nathan & Lincoln

Old mom learns a new trick--Sea Salt Spray

I found myself in Walmart yesterday with a little extra time. I came upon something new to me in the beauty aisle. Knowing how I loved how my hair looked the last time I was in the ocean (several years ago, now!), I decided to try it. With the help of some YouTube videos, I learned how to use it correctly, and I was pleasantly surprised even using it the first time.

You know that I have posted maybe three selfies (outside of Garth concerts) in the history of this blog. (And that is because David's long arms do a much better job taking photos!) I just never seem to get it right. . . either I have two chins or my nose looks humongous. So, I cheated today and took a selfie with the help of a mirror instead to show you my new discovery. I know both of these things probably make me sound SO old, and I suppose I am . . . sneaking up on 41 pretty quickly!

And now, beauty time is over . . . back to work!

Roncalli Marching Band Festival

The October snow interfered with a couple of big northeast South Dakota traditions--Gypsy Day and the Groton Marching Band Festival. For just a little while, it looked like all of the Northwestern Marching Band's work was for nothing. Thankfully, some creative band directors brought a new contest together the next Friday, with eight area bands participating. 

Northwestern placed 3rd, just three points behind the first place band.

They looked and sounded sharp!

This year's song was, "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"--a tough song! You can see them perform on my Facebook page, too. :)

Middle School Band Festival

Nathan and Teresa represented Northwestern in the Middle School Band Festival October 15.

Nathan played trombone in the band and Teresa sang in the choir.

Middle school students from all over northeast South Dakota attended, ending with a joint performance of "God Bless America."

October Snow

We received our first winter weather on October 10. 

Rachel was the most excited when they were dismissed at noon and she announced that, "School was a little canceled!" The kids got the next day off for a snow day and the next Monday off for a holiday, making for an extra long, unexpected weekend at home!

Parents Night 2019

Photo credit goes to Joclyn Haven for this Parents Night photo.

The Wildcats ended up with 1 win on their season, with mom and dad cheering from the sidelines. We were certainly blessed with nice Friday nights overall!

Nathan was not present for his Cross Country Parents Night, as he was at home running the combine ahead of the forecasted snow. Teresa stepped in for him so I wasn't a parent without an athlete. :)

Snappy September

Whew! What a month September has been with lots of football, cross country and volleyball to watch. It's all good stuff, (just so you know I am not complaining!), and I appreciate this stay at home mom gig more and more each year as my kids are in more activities during the school day. We also take in extra activities when time allows, like our high school volleyball team, that is ranked #1 in South Dakota State B right now. When you have that caliber of high school volleyball right down the road (27 miles is just a little stroll anymore), it's tough to miss it.

I don't have many new photos on my phone this week. (I've been a little lazy on that, allowing my friends with camera share their talents with me.) This photo of Rachel from 7 years ago came across my Facebook feed this past week, though. It's one of my favorites. Nathan had a turtle in the tub named Snappy and Rachel loved to wheel up in her walker and watch him. Doesn't she just look so cute and squishy? Oh, babies were so much fun. But, this stage is pretty sweet, too, watching them grow and determine what their likes and dislikes are and hearing their dreams for their futures.

As you peer into the week ahead, I hope you see all good things, whether that be turtles, touchdowns, personal best running times, or serving aces. :)

We love a (Homecoming) Parade

The Wildcats went on a Roadtrip Sept. 3-6 as they celebrated Homecoming week.

2nd grade 

We had an entry for All Saints RE, and handed out seed packets as "Seeds of Faith".

6th grade

8th grade

Sophomores