This is what I get for asking these three to pose!

Alex making a free throw.


Rachel and her friends at her game last Tuesday.

Alex and his buddies during the game. They always have a good time together.

This was the weirdest thing. Alex went in for a lay up and the ball landed on top, spun several times and then just stopped. I bet he couldn't do that again if he tried!

Alex's team at the end of the day. Good kids. I am so thankful for my children's friends. We have been so blessed with friends and parents who have become our friends!

Basketball took a hit last week with the weather so next week will be a real killer when make ups are scheduled. Alex did get to play this weekend and his team got second place! It was a nice relaxing one day tournament with eight teams and lots of friends. The boys hadn't played in a while so it was nice to visit with all of the parents. Somehow I didn't take very many pictures of Alex so I was quite disappointed when I unloaded them from my camera. I'll do better next time!
The snow has been very pretty and it didn't keep us from doing anything except finishing the school day on Friday. We did get in enough of the day that we don't have to make it up! Hope you all have a great week. We will be super busy, but as long as we don't have any snow days in the next two weeks we should get another long weekend the weekend of Valentine's Day. My house and to do list will have to wait until then!

Basketball Update

Alex admiring one of Jeff's Christmas gifts from
Grandma Charlie. (Finally exchanged gifts!)

Alex trying out his new game from Charlie.

Rachel on defense last Friday night.

Rachel and her friends shopping

for her new dress. No, she did
not buy this! Yes, they were

just as ugly in real life!

This is Drew shooting at half-time of a varsity
game. He made three shots and barely missed
the half-court shot. He won $50! Fun!

Rachel with her teammates/cousins. They

have a great time together.

We've been quite busy for the past two or three weeks, but we are still around. We've been having fun going to a lot (and I do mean a lot) of basketball games. Rachel and Jeff are at a tournament right now. Rachel won't be playing tonight, but the JV went to support the Varsity. With an impending snow storm, empty cupboards and a tired boy, I decided to stay home after a lengthy trip to the grocery store. The crazy thing was I actually kind of wanted to go! I'll save my energy, though, because Alex has a tournament this weekend.

This basketball season has been quite different since Alex is playing a lot less games than ever before and Rachel is playing many more than ever. We have had a lot of fun watching her and she and her teammates have really improved. This group is a very athletic group that has never played a tremendous amount of ball. I think they only play so they can be together! They are a really fun group of girls who get along and are good friends. They are 500 for the season and are on a three game winning streak. Last Saturday Rachel had a great game and scored fourteen points! She is known for her defense and doesn't really shoot a lot, but she was a machine that day! Alex is always telling her to shoot more, so he was disappointed he wasn't there to see it.

Also big in Wheeler news is that Rachel is the freshman Courtwarming candidate. She was quite excited to get a new, sparkly dress and new shoes! Her brother advised her on whom to choose as an escort and with an alteration, she should be set for February 12. We are looking forward to posting pictures of her from the big night.

Alex's life has been a little less hectic. He has never had such a quiet basketball season as a player. His last two tournaments have been canceled, but is scheduled to play over the weekend. However, the not- so-nice-weatherman is predicting a ridiculous amount of snow Friday so we are hoping he is wrong! He has also been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks, had a bout with new laundry detergent and enjoyed watching the high school girls and boys. We've been to something like 13 games in the last two weeks, but it has been fun. With the nasty cold he's had it's probably a good thing for him to have had some time off. Then there is the fiery, red rash he developed when I decided to try a new laundry detergent. Won't be using anything with Oxi-clean again!

Our house has suffered so much that Jeff even suggested that we hire someone to come clean it. Does that tell you anything? Normally I might have jumped at the chance, but I can't afford it after eating out and paying to get into games for the past two weeks! I actually still have two Christmas trees up and some of the decorations around the house.

Needless to say, Jeff and I have only had time to say "Hello", "Goodbye", "Pick up Rachel/Alex"

and "You need to ________." It really isn't as bad as all that. We get to see each other, but being at a ball game with everyone doesn't lead to very personal conversation. I miss him, but we really have been enjoying the kids, too. Maybe I will plan a special date for him in the next few weeks. I could probably just invite him to our house for dinner and he would be thrilled! Maybe if I leave the two Christmas trees that are still up we can pretend we are having picnic in the forest. Now wouldn't that be romantic?

Basketball is Here

Usually by this time of the year we have been knee deep in basketball games. So far this winter, we have only been knee deep in snow! Because Alex and his friends all played football this year, they have had a late start on basketball. Because Rachel is in high school now she is no longer playing her season before Christmas. She has had several games, but they have a much longer season now so we don't have games every night between her and Alex both playing in the fall. This has been a good thing since I have not been up to par. It has been great to experience such a slow paced basketball schedule. That will soon end.

Both were scheduled to play in tournaments this weekend, so Jeff and I were going to have to split up. However, Rachel's was postponed and we were all able to go to Lamar today. Jacob and Drew were also playing there so we had double the fun! Alex played really well today. His team wasn't quite ready for basketball their last tournament, but they looked much improved today. Alex played really well in both games and they actually had a rematch with the team that beat them pretty handily in the first tournament. Today was really fun to watch because our team made some adjustments and was able to defeat a good little team. We also were able to watch Jacob and Drew play and see Jake hit a three pointer at the half time buzzer!

Although I was looking forward to seeing Rachel play, I'll get my chance. She has three games this week and will possibly start her postponed tournament next Saturday. I'm already sick of hot dogs and exhausted just thinking about it, but doesn't it sound like fun?

Big 41

Rachel baked this cake for Jeff all by herself last night!

What a bad wife, I tried to make him a year older than he really is and to top it off I only had one candle in our entire house to put on the cake!

_________________________________________________________________ Love you, Big 42. I was quite proud of myself for coming up with something that rhymed to put on Jeff's birthday cake that Rachel made last night. While he was finishing up his nap, we finished up his cake and birthday dinner. We were debating what to decorate with, when he shot up out of a deep sleep and said, "41!" We didn't know if he was sleep talking, listening to a ball game or what. But then he explained. "I'm not 42, I'm 41."
"Oh, yeah," I said kind of sort of apologetically. Then I realized I was the one who was 42, making him 41. What's really funny is that David was as confused as I was. He thought that Jeff was 40, making himself only 37. He actually turned 38 back in July! Oh well, who is really counting? Needless to say, we had to edit the birthday cake.
If you haven't heard, it is a little chilly outside today in Missouri. We did not go to school Monday or Tuesday due to weather, which gave me a little extra time to heal before going back. Tuesday was exactly 6 weeks to the day of my surgery. When the doctor told me he recommended eight weeks off from work I thought he was absolutely insane. I didn't have eight weeks to give up. I actually considered going back to school after two weeks for just half-days. Thankfully, common sense slapped me upside the head and I took off the last week before Christmas also. I was sure that one day shy of six weeks would be plenty of recovery time for me. But, Tuesday night at Rachel's ball game, when all the teachers were debating whether we would go back on Wednesday, I might have been the only one to say it would be okay if we didn't. I had to admit I was nervous about how I would feel, plus I have to go between buildings every thirty minutes of the day to pick up students. I wasn't really looking forward to traipsing through the subarctic temps. We did wind up going on Wednesday, which is usually an early out day for students. I stay with the ones whose parents cannot pick them up that early, but yesterday the school sent them all home early and allowed teachers to go home due to the impending storm. Even though I had only seen one class, I was okay with that. By noon, I was moving very slowly and was developing some strange twinges of pain. I took it pretty easy for the night while Rachel baked the birthday cake. It didn't appear we were getting the 6 inches of predicted snow so I was mentally preparing for going to school for a full day with a high temperature of 9 degrees. I can't say I sounded very appealing. Actually taking eight entire weeks to recover from surgery because the doctor said so was sounding more sensible. Later that night, though, we got the cancellation call. Today, Rachel's ball game is cancelled and her coach even called off practice. This is no minor feat considering they practiced on Christmas Eve. Even her tournament scheduled for Saturday has already been postponed.
I haven't even stepped outside, but I know it is too cold to be out there. We are supposed to watch the big college football championship game tonight at Larry's and Kay's, but I am already dreading getting out for that. No word on school for Friday, but I know many schools have already cancelled. Looks like I might just be getting close to the doctor's recommendation. If we miss tomorrow, I'll have only worked 1/2 day in seven weeks!

The Boys are Back in Town

Here is a picture of my shopping companion and one of my very best friends ever!
Here we are after our little pampering session, Saturday. It always feels good to have your hair done by someone else, doesn't it? I really wanted to bring our stylist home with us!

This is our first time to play around with the Bump Its Rachel got for Christmas. We had a good time playing this weekend, but we are so glad Jeff and Alex are home with us!

The Great White Hunters are finally home! I'm so thankful they are safely back and had a good time. Alex has been filling us in on everything from the weather, to what they ate, to the actual hunt. Considering the single digit temps, it sounds like it wasn't a total bust. They killed some pheasant, quail and even some ducks. Alex actually shot a quail, but unfortunately a hawk swooped down and carried it away before they were able to retrieve it. Our "hunting" dog didn't do much, though. Bud is a big Lab who just wants to be a little lap dog. I think his biggest contribution was that he befriended and kept company with David's new Irish Setter puppy who hadn't ever been separated from at least one of his family. Jeff seems happy to be home in a warm, cozy room with some Dr. Pepper. He enjoys the hunting and spending time with the guys, but this kind of cold is not for him. Alex has definitely inherited this trait.

Meanwhile, in Missouri it has been a few degrees warmer than where the guys were in North Central Kansas, but we received 3-4 inches of snow last night and today. It is a beautiful snow. The flakes were big and fluffy, but it is very cold. The high today was about 17 and by Friday the high is only supposed to be around 7. We have our first official snow day tomorrow because the roads are not cleared. I feel for the MoDot workers tonight. Those poor guys worked all day and they probably don't feel like they have accomplished a thing. It snowed all day, plus the snow is so powdery it just blows every where and to top it off it is super cold so nothing will melt. It doesn't sound like things will get better any time soon, so Rachel and I stopped at the grocery store after church today to stock up.

Rachel and I have kept ourselves busy while the boys were gone, which helped the time go much faster. She had a couple of basketball practices Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday after practice we shopped Target and Kohl's, then celebrated New Year's Eve with my Super Awesome Mother and had a great time. We ate pizza, watched a couple movies and then rang in the New Year with some sparkling grape juice, funny hats and some goofy pictures. The celebration continued the next day as the three of us bargain shopped again at Target and the mall. Rachel chose the restaurant, Ruby Tuesday, for our New Year luncheon. It was chosen on the basis of the mashed potatoes, but a great choice nonetheless! You would have thought that I had never eaten a salad:) That evening Rachel went to a friend's and I unloaded the van, laid out my dinner and set up for a movie. I thought I would take a little power nap and then eat and watch, but when I fell asleep at 8:00 I actually slept through until 8:00 the next morning. (This was quite a feat considering I have only slept more than 5 consecutive hours a few times since my surgery.) Saturday I had planned to clean house and begin preparing to resume our normal lifestyle since I would begin work on Monday. However, I was quite distressed about the appearance of my hair and we made yet another trip to Springfield!

Rachel and I treated ourselves to a little pampering with new hairstyles and color (for me) and (surprise) shopped a little more. Kay went with us this time which was nice for us. We were able to get some things for Jeff's birthday and Rachel and Kay found me a new coat. Of course, we had to eat and when we joked about going to Ruby Tuesday, Kay thought it a fine idea so we went again. The really funny thing is I was just excited about the salad the second day as I was the first! As we were leaving, Mom called and just about died when she found out we had gone back to Springfield for the third day in a row! Today we went to church, which was a pretty small group, but still a good worship service. When we came home and were trying to rustle up some lunch, Rachel was wishing Stockton had a Ruby Tuesday! I honestly think she would have even ordered the exact same thing she had the past two days. Wait until she has to go back to packing a lunch or eating school food!

Not much has been accomplished today except napping and blogging and greeting the boys. I am praising the Lord that they are home and we don't have to get out in the cold tomorrow!