Goodbye 2009!

Looking back makes me very melancholy. I have a fantastic life even if it throws me a few bumps. With the events of the past several days I am reminded how terribly blessed I am. I have 3 fantastic, amazing, and funny boys. With them come their terrific friends and their parents who have become our friends. I have an amazing family who will come to our rescue (even in a snow storm or evenings when they would rather be nice and warm), or just be there for all the events of our lives. I am dearly blessed with amazing women in my life who I don't know what I would do without. Don't think I forgot the wonderfully tolerant, humorous, loving, amazing man I married. You never stop surprising me. Thank you for 20 wonderful years. I love you all! Now it's time to look forward which will be sad and exciting. With Cole graduating and beginning to head out into the world a little at a time. I'd post pictures of my year but it would take years to download. May you all have blessed and wonderful new year!!!

By the way our vacation was wonderful. We had a beautiful cabin (www.vonsedas.com Island lake resort for pictures) and wonderful weather. The major glitch in our vacation came in the event of the transmission going out of the van. We had 1000 offers for rescue. Mom and Dad are lending us their car until we get the van fixed and even delivered it in the mist of a nice snowfall. Bill drove home to get the car trailer and drove back all in one day so the kids would be able to go skiing the next day. The kids skied until their legs fell off. (I'll post pictures tomorrow). We played games, laughed and ate. It was wonderful and lots of memories were made.

Cole and Kyle both had parties to go tonight. Bill's fast asleep already and will have to go get Kyle @ 1. It must have been a good trip if the kids and their friends want to celebrate the new year together.

The day after!

We're getting ready to head to the great white north. Unfortunately one of the kids won't be joining us today because of the flu. Hopefully he'll come up in the next day or so. It seems like everyone is ready for a break and a get away. Should be fun especially with all the new snow they got. Can't wait. Will try and post pictures when we get back.

Merry Christmas to Everyone

The twelfth day of Christmas brings us to the pipers piping. This is an easy one for me. There isn't just 12 but 19 pipers who like to pipe. These would be the members of my family. The only thing that I would like to say today is that I love you all. (unfortunately I don't have a recent Herkert picture). Merry Christmas!

Twelve Days of Christmas- Day 11

Today my true love gives me 11 drummers drumming. With this thought brings noise and with noise and Christmas Eve I am reminded of what Christmas Eve growing up was like. I remember being so excited to go to Babcock and see all the cousins. It was fun trying to figure out who had your name and what they might have gotten you. As we got older it was exciting to see what Grandma made 100 of that year. There was always a ton of noise and some fun disagreements but no one went away angry or upset. Many times we left with our sides hurting from laughing. After Babcock it was off to Pittsville to church. The older I got the more I didn't mind this because it meant we got to Uncle Stan's and see everyone there. (OK maybe Bill going to this church also had something to do with it.)This was one night when there was no bedtime. Again a lot of noise and competition. On the way home I remember trying to watch out the car window to see if I could catch a glimpse of Santa's sleigh and Rudolph's nose. As I look back it's this feeling I try and create with my own kids. The sense of family, excitement and magic. Thank you Mom and Dad for all the wonderful Christmas memories you have made for us.

Twelve Days of Christmas Day 10

Ten Lords a Leapin'! This is really a good time to mention my "other sons". These boys make me laugh and worry about them as much as my own. I've know 2 of them for almost as long as I've had Kyle. Aaron and Caleb have been a fixture in our lives. They are two wonderful and intelligent kids. They give Kyle the stability and reality checks he needs. Then there's Nathan and Dylon. These are two of Cole's buds who are a big part of our lives as well. It's amazing what these two come up with and it's been so much fun to watch them grow up into the wonderful young men that they are and I wish them the best. These kids will be joining us up north and I can't wait to be able to spend more than a few minutes with them.

Twelve Days of Christmas Day 9

I actually had to look this up. It's nine ladies dancing. Unfortunately I only have two ladies who dance and or skate. This would be my pink fixes. Afton and Beth (listed alphabetically). These are my two favorite nieces. I won't remind them that they are my only nieces. They give my the opportunity to play with dolls, watch recitals, buy girlie things. As much as I love the dirty boys I enjoy getting to see and do the "pink" things with these two. They are so much fun to watch and unfortunately they to also are surrounded by the boys. Thanks girls for letting me be a part of the fun things with you. I love you both!

Twelve Days of Christmas Day 8

Day 8 is 8 maids a milking. This has to be my BFF's. I may not have 8 but I have several very good friends who tend to make my life much easier. Any tops the list whenever I hit a low she knows how to bring up. We have shared a ton especially with the boys being in the same class. Then there is Mary. Never a sweeter or nicer person. Her only fault is she doesn't know how to say no. When there is an issue or something to be done she always puts a unique spin and gives us all a different perspective. She spoils my children and husband. Then there's Sue. I see her everyday at work. She knows more about me than most. It's wonderful to work with a great friend. The one person I don't get to see nearly enough is Becky. It's crazy that we have to make appointments to see her. Both of our lives are crazy. I don't tell these women enough how much they mean to me. I hope they know I wouldn't trade them in for anything. Thank you for being part of my life.

Twelve Days of Christmas Day 7

Anyone who has ever been to our house knows that the Lords are Leaping. We are always having kids (boys) coming and going and calling our place. Our 3 little lords make sure Bill and I leap whenever they need us. I guess part of me enjoys this because I know so many kids who don't have both parents to be there for them. I also know of several families who are dealing with illness this season and I remember how lucky I am to be able to be here for the boys. My prayers go out to those families and friends.

Twelve Days of Christmas- Day 6

Today marks 6 days until Christmas. In this house everyone is getting very excited and wish list are coming in like crazy. Cole got part of his gift last night and who knew you could get so excited about a snowmobile windshield. I'm just trying to get things ready and planned for the day after Christmas. I'm really looking forward to time up north. With 8 teenagers we'll see if I'm still excited about it afterwards.

Twelve Days of Christmas- Day 4 &5

On the fourth day of Christmas My true love gave to me 4 calling birds. This fits my 4 boys who love to call me. I could just get home and slump into my favorite spot and they will call. I can be 4 rooms away and they will call. I Love you guys.

5 Golden rings would have to be the marriages in my family. From my Great Grandparents being together for 75 years, my parents almost 44 (Jan. 2010) to our 2o years and Deb and Tim and Jen and Troy. Happy marriages run well in our family.

Happy Birthday Kyle and Troy!!

It's nice to be able to share a birthday with two other people especially when both of them are so sweet. Hope you both have a great day!!!

By the way this also goes for the third day of Christmas. We aren't maids a milking but because there are 3 of us born on this day we do tend to milk the bank.

Twelve Days of Christmas-Day 2

On the second day of Christmas I got my true love. (2 turtle doves) Pretty sappy I know. He's the love of my life. He's my biggest fan. I know I can be difficult some times but some how he has been given the gift of patience (or deafness) to deal with it all. Sometimes I don't think I say it enough. I love you Bill!!!! Thanks for 20 years of a fun roller coaster of a ride.

Twelve Days of Christmas- Day 1

I know that traditionally the 12 days of Christmas are after Christmas but I wanted to do my own version. On the First day of Christmas I got a cardinal in a pine tree. The cardinal has always been one of my favorite birds but for the last 7 years it has meant a lot more. It has given us friends, taught my sons and helped us become better people.

Today's Funny

I got the mail today and in it was a copy of an entry from this blog. It was dated May of 2008. I was discussing a baseball game (which by the way Kyle was in 7th grade so this was 2 seasons ago) in which I didn't think the coaches did a good job. I never named names or said anything else about the coaches. The one statement I made was highlighted and "Thanks for the support" was written on it. No name was signed to it. I guess this goes to show that whatever you write may be read by anyone at anytime. It's amazing how far back some people will go. As a former former coach and a wife of a coach I know how difficult it can be to hear the criticism from parents.

Never so Happy to see snow

Bill and I were wondering if we were going to have to move our vacation to a different week or loose some money on the cabin we rented because up to this point we haven't had any snow. Thank goodness for the snow gods! We got about a foot or more dumped on us last night. Hopefully we will get several more snowfalls before Christmas. Boys had off of school today and were really glad to sleep in. Cole and Kyle were a little ornery last night because of the little sleep they got the night before because of the Packer game. Cole's off sledding with his buds. The most disturbing thing I heard when he left was "Hey Nathan you have your stunt camera?" I'm waiting for the call to meet him in the emergency room. Clay's out sledding down the hill. Kyle's working on his snowmobile (snowmachine if in Alaska). Bring on a good movie, comfort food and a warm blanket and I'm set for the night.

Packers Rule!

The boys left for the game at about 4 yesterday afternoon. Cole convinced Bill to let him drive using his new GPS. They got there with no problems and time to tailgate. Bill sent Kyle and his friend Isaac out to see if they could find a match or lighter stick from someone. They asked the guys closest to them if they had a match the guy replied "yes my ass to your face oh that's backwards isn't it." That was the start of the night. I got 2 calls and one photo. They got home about 1:10 am. I called them in to school late but Isaac didn't end up spending the night. Cole went to go start his car this morning and walked out to find it missing. Bill took it to work thinking the boys wouldn't be ready to go until close to ten. His truck ran out of gas. Go figure! Everyone is tired and ornery tonight.

Clay had a friend over last night and had a wonderful time without his brothers. I think he was so tired from this weekend he went right to bed at 9 without a fight. We got a call from his teacher to let us know he had an awesome day today.

Christmas #1

We had Christmas with the Pelot side last night. I've almost forgotten what it was like to be able to be young and play with all your cousins. I don't think anyone wanted to leave or go to sleep last night. The kids had a great time playing Star Wars, kick the can, Apples to Apples but the real winner of the night was the game SNORTA! We all had a great time. Deb and Tim made a really nice meal, everyone got wonderful gifts, and we had a lot of fun together. OK we won't mention the millions of football games watched including the one that got turned on when we got home. Clay was up late putting together his legos and today we haven't seen much of him with the erector set. Hopefully this will keep him busy for a while. What a wonderful way to start the holidays.

Oh the irony

Last night I heard Cole telling Kyle that he had to be ready to go into school in the morning because they were taking the senior class picture. This morning we were all getting ready to get going our separate directions. This is an unusual occurrence because I'm usually gone about an hour before they all get up. Any way, this morning Cole tells me they are taking the senior pictures. When I mention he already had his taken he rolled his eyes and explained that they are taking the "Most" pictures. this is where the senior class voted for the "Most athletic, to succeed," you get the idea. I being the noisy mom asked him if he got voted anything. He said yes two things. 2 was the limit/person. He readily volunteered that he was voted "Most school spirit" (there's one male and one female for each category) He was pretty excited and proud of this. When I asked him about the second one the initial reply "That ass Nathan it's all his fault. He did this because I got people to vote on something for him." The second "Most" that Cole received was "Most likely to never leave the area". I think his friends know him better than he does.