Thanksgiving Part II

We went over to Mark and Karena's on Friday afternoon for a chili feed - with plenty of snacky things first, of course. Yum! Roger and Elaine graced the couch while we played various games. Buzzword was a new game that was a big hit at the Catlin side on Thursday - the girls won that night, but the guys ran away with the game on Friday. Drew introduced us to a fun card game called Pond Scum, and I spent most of the game in the worst seat - that of Pond Scum or Vice Pond Scum.Tessa and Anna were the only girl cousins that made it this year. Callen was at the Football State Tournament cheering on her Eden Prairie team, and the rest of the big girls are far, far away. We missed them!
Brenner can always get Drew going - watch out! Down in the "man cave" there were lots of options - football on the tube, ping pong, darts, exercise equipment ...
Get him, Anna!
Oh, did I mention golf? Mark always has a good deal on a new club.
Again, our family is a blessing that God has given us and we don't always show or share how much we appreciate each and every one. You are all loved by us!

Thanksgiving Part 1

We had a great time at Ted and Pat's on Thanksgiving Day this year. There were 22 of us - WOW - our family is growing! We have so much to be thankful for, but the best gift is our family... and, of course, the kids made the day very special. Jenna and Andy brought their Wii (?) and Katie and Griffin brought Dance Dance Revolution. The older ones had just as much fun as the youngers! Griffin and Summer playing something on the Wii - I'm not sure what, but it was a big hit.
Katie and Matthew were helping Ted and Teddy carve the turkey.
Maddox could find something to play with in the weirdest places!
Maddox and Matthew finally got a chance to get acquainted - they are almost twins - just 3 weeks apart and now one year old.
The babies were incredibly cute and both could scoot quickly out of sight if you weren't watching them constantly - even up the stairs. Bye bye! (If you want to see any pictures of the rest of the family - check out the Bracken Bunch. The rest of my pictures are just like Jane's.) We ate plenty on Thursday, and then had to get up and do it all over on Friday at the Casey's. Check it out on Part II.

Matthew's First Birthday

We got to help Matthew celebrate his first birthday on November 11. I decided I'd better get these on the blog quickly because I'll have much more to put on after this weekend's Thanksgiving festivities at the Catlin's and the Casey's. Matthew loved looking and feeling all his cards. It's a good thing Ted was there to read it for him. I'm sure next year he'll be able to read it to himself!
Opening all those presents was a chore that also needed assistance. A little rip here and there, and voila! --- another toy - oops - can't play with it now, here's another gift!
I wonder who plays with these toys the most - Matthew or mam and dad?
Oh boy - it's a hard decision.
He wasn't too sure if it was OK to make a mess. He had a little help from his friends!

Pajama Party

Last weekend I had a great time with some of the girls from church at the Revolve Tour at the Target Center. It is a Friday night all day Saturday conference for teenage girls sponsored by Women of Faith.
We met at the church at 5:30 and the girls put all their junk for the night in Paul's van and we loaded my van and headed downtown. We heard mini concerts by Natalie Grant, KJ52 and Hawk Nelson (the crowd screamed like it was the Beatles!) There were speakers on topics that really affect the girls - like BOYS, relationships, eating disorders, and how God fits into the picture for teens today. There were probably 10,000 girls and youth leaders - to hear them all singing praises to God was a fantastic experience for the girls from our little church!
We went back to our house for the night and pigged out, hit the hot tub and watched movies.

Then back to the Target Center for more of the conference. There was a drama troupe that had some very thought provoking sketches and brought you from tears to laughter.
Jenna Lucado (Max Lucado's daughter - author of 60 Christian books) was one of the speakers. All the artists shared their own struggles with following God and living in the world. There was only one speaker who was a guy. He gave the girls lots of tips on "The Truth About Boys!" and talked about the choice girls have between being a "target" or a "treasure" in the eyes of the guys at their schools.
We had a great time. If you want to learn more about the Revolve Tour, check out thier website. The tour is coming back again next fall, and groups come from all over the 5 state area. Maybe we'll have double the kids next year and have a lockin at church!

Happy "Harvest Festival"

Can you believe one year has passed and my new great nephews aren't so new any more? Can you believe Matthew (Ted and Angie's son) and Maddox (Corey and Heidi's son) both chose to be cows for Halloween????
Aren't they cute? Maddox turned one on Oct. 24 and Matthew will be one on Nov. 10. We'll have lots of fun at the holidays this year!

Paul's Fall Golf Outing

Back in September, Paul and some of his old high school/church/college buddies got together and went golfing in Wisconsin for 3 days. They have done this several times, and really look forward to getting out in the woods and chasing the ball around! This year they went to one of the guys cabin on Lake Tomahawk. What a beautiful day! Teeing off on a gorgeous fall day in September - what could be better?
Oops - did you go in the drink, Paul?
What a fun cabin - there are more pictures of inside with lots of stuffed things on the walls - but I couldn't put EVERY picture on the blog, you know.
They had a great time on the lake, having a campfire, eating out, and talking about the good old days, as well as sharing about now - joys, sorrows, good times and bad. It's great to have friends "through it all."
Last year they played up north in Minnesota, this year in Wisconsin, next year ... where in the world? Maybe we'll see them on the Senior Tour!