Santa comes to Shelby and Taylor

Guitar Hero Aerosmith.....Shelby says Steve really sucks playing this

Looks like they were probably good little girls this year

Wonderful friends and family on Christmas

Shelly and John

Boot's (Shelly's Mom)

The Mama

Shelly, John, Julie, and Carla

The Whole Crew

Good Friends

Jett's first Christmas at Gram and Gramp Birt's

"Look, Ma! No hands! Oh wait....Gramps got me"

Jude's Christmas Eve 2008

Having fun

Eating chocolate dipped strawberries

This is what happens when Gramps tells you he's going to steal your dinosaurs!

Mmmmm...I love chocolate covered strawberries!

Christmas Eve in Birtville

I suppose one of the things I'm thankful for is that while I've managed to eat my way through all my clothes, I still have my hair, and some of my other body parts.

Uncle Justin showing Jude his new dinosaur book

Jett taking it all in

This is the first time "Grampie" Art has had a chance to actually see Jett

Look Mom! A triceratops!

Last evening we had the pure pleasure of spending Christmas Eve with some very close friends and family. It was definitely a time to celebrate not only a wonderful year full of many blessings and yes, a few heartaches, but also and morst importantly to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Here are some of the memories.

Kids say the darndest things!

I got this email from Julie shortly afternoon today:

"So I just started making pasta for lunch. Jude starts freaking out for Annie's Mac and Cheese. I told him no, Mommy isn't making three lunches today (we also have beef stew). He continues getting more and more upset but he clearly doesn't feel well. So once he stops crying, I told him I would make it for him since he doesn't feel well and wants comfort food. He runs to Alex and tells him that Mommy is making "macaroni and cheeses" to which Alex replies "I guess I'm not the only pushover in the house". Then, Jude says, "yeah, I know, I'm a genius!".

Kids...you gotta love 'em!

Life in Birtville

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Merry Christmas from Birtville

The newest of Santa's "elves"

Jude as Santa's little "elf"

Jett doing tummy time

Hmmm...I wonder if I can make this thing go faster?

This is what happens when Dad is an electrical engineer....

Shelby Playing Basketball

Shelby is playing basketball this year as part of the Middle School Basketball team. This is her at one of her games.

Shelby's First Middle School Formal Dance

Shelby Lynn, Grade 6

Shelby and her current beau, Nick

Leah and Shelby getting their hair done

Last night was Shelby's first Christmas Dance as a middle-schooler. She looked beautiful! According to Dad (Steve) she looked way too grown up! Here are some pics of her and her friend Leah at Auntie Dianne's getting their hair done and then of Shelby in her dress, and Shelby and her date.

One Big Holiday

The boys band recorded this song this afternoon.

Thanksgiving at Katahdin Nursing Home

Uncle Red and Dad

Shelby, Uncle Red, and Taylor

Uncle Red, Aunt Marianne, Steve, and Dad

Shelby, Dad, and Taylor

Steve, Theresa, Taylor, and Shelby spent part of Thanksgiving Day visiting Steve's Dad (my Uncle Red), and my Dad (Alton) at Katahdin Nursing Home in Millinocket. Here are some pics that he took.

Giving Thanks

This week we all had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving. While it was a very, very quiet holiday for us this year, it was still a wonderful day. A lot has happened to our family this year, both immediate and extended, and while not all of it has been what you would call "good", we still have many things to be thankful for. So we hope that as we enter the season of Advent and we prepare for Christmas that you all keep in mind those things which you have to be thankful for.

New Pics

Jett the Ewok and Jude the Storm Trooper

"ZAP!"

Goin' fishin'

Jett at 8 weeks

Brothers are special

Taylor and Shelby's Halloween

Taylor looks pretty good for a "dead" body

Shelby and her friends

Out of Touch

Sorry I've been soooooooo out of touch but life has been a bit busy. School and students mostly but life has been busy for all of us. Good news for Adam--he's been accepted into a graduate program at USM for a MFA in Creative Writing. Starts in January for the next 24 months. That will keep him busy for a bit anyway. I've been sick with a respiratory bug for the past week--bleah! But, I feel I'm getting better and hopefully this thing is going away. It's been a long week and I hope everyone got out and exercised their right to vote on Tuesday. Doesn't matter who you voted for as long as you did. I will say though that I am so glad it's over! 2 years is way too long for a campaign to go on.

Dinner with the Morrison's

This evening we had the chance to enjoy a wonderful Guiness Beef Stew dinner with Julie, Alex, and the boys. While we were eating, the dinner conversation drifted around to Jude's obsession with the Star Wars movies. The conversation kind of poked along like this:

Julie: "Jude, can you tell us who you really like in Star Wars?"

Jude: "DARTH VADER!"

Julie: "Who else?"

Jude: "Storm Troopers! I'm going to be a Storm Trooper for Halloween!"

Julie: "Do you like Obi Wan?"

Jude: "Yep, I like Obi Dobie Wan."

Carla: "What about Chewbacca?"

Jude: "Yep, I like Chewbacca the Boogie, too!"

From the mouths of babes.......

Enjoying the sunny afternoon at the Pumpkin Festival

Kat and Anna

Kat enjoying the sunshine
Chris, Anna, and Carla

2008 Pumpkin Festival

These are some of the pumpkins in our little garden. They are just the right size for cooking....
On Saturday, the Pumpkin Festival was held at the County Fairground up the hill....
These are only a few of the pumpkins that were carved and lit during the day and evening

Pumpkin, pumpkins, everywhere!