Thanksgiving break is over. I had a marvelous time. I don't have all the pictures uploaded yet, so you'll have to wait patiently. I might show you one or two, though. :)

It's hard to believe November is almost over. Usually November is, to me, one of the longer months of the year. This time it's just flown by! In just over a month it will be 2007!

In the meantime I've started back up on school. After a week of very few assignments, it felt good to get back in the swing of things. Moby Dick is proving quite a challenge; I never knew there was that much to be said about Sperm Whales! Physics is fun. :)

I've decided that I have a new favorite author: Karen Kingsbury. I've just finished reading and Fame and Forgiven. They are the first two books in the Firstborn series, which follows the Redemption series. The Redemption series is about the Baxter family and how they have to struggle through death, near-death experiences, and (as the name of the series indicates) redemption. The Firstborn series is a follow up and and tells the story of Dane Matthews, who is the son of John and Elizabeth Baxter. They had given him up for adoption when he was born, and now he's making his way back to his family and to God.

Here is a picture from the psalm sing Sunday evening. All of those girls you see in the picture squeezed into one pew. I think all of us were very hot by the time it was over. :)

Thanksgiving break was good. I enjoyed having numerous guests in our home. We had lots of fun and laughter. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera to most of the events that we attended, so not many pictures can be found on my photobucket site.

Wednesday we didn't do a whole lot. In fact, I did quite a bit of school. Thursday, we went to Topeka. There I ate lots of food, lost the first game of the foosball tournament, played a couple of chords on a guitar, saw my cousins, and played football on a real football field. That's quite a ways to run! In the end we tied, 18-18. After we got home, Eric, Lydia, and I went over to Grandpa's and watched the Chiefs beat the Broncos.

Friday...I got up at 3:45 and bought a camera. It takes nice pictures. However, it didn't come with a memory card, so Dad ordered one for me, and hopefully it will come in the mail next week. When we got home, almost everybody went outside to help Dad put up the curtain to the finishing building. I stayed inside and did some school; then Jessica and I fixed lunch. Yesterday evening we went to Window Opening, which is an annual event in Sabetha. Most of the stores stay open late, and hordes of people walk Main Street being treated to goodies. There are usually some good sales, too. Afterward, the Rippes brought leftover pie from Thanksgiving and we sat around and talked.

Today Jessica left. Tomorrow Jacque, Erin leave with their dog Rex. That dog had a blast chasing cats. :) In the evening we'll be going to the Thanksgiving psalm sing. I am so excited about that right now. I love psalm sings! And I'll get to talk to all these cool people that I haven't seen in forever. :D

This Thanksgiving I'm very grateful for all the family and friends that God has given me.

Another Day

Today was essentially an unusual day. We did school in the morning and had music class in the afternoon. I tried to sing loudly; I think it worked because the person sitting next to me could hear me. Unfortunately, she also said I missed some of my notes. When the older group had the activity time, we played I Never. It went pretty well, although some people were in the middle more often than others. Maybe it's because they were faster; maybe it's because they haven't done all that stuff, although I personally believe it was the former.

Then Eric and I sped (not really!) down to Rippes' so Eric and Austin could practice for tomorrow. Then we went to band; it was so cold in the building and I had neglected to take a coat. I borrowed Austin's for a little while and kept my hands inside my sleeves. That helped a little. Back at the Rippes' we had supper. Brandy and I played Slapjack while more practicing occurred. We even tried to bake a batch of cookies, but we forgot about them. By the time we took them out, they were "well done."

I forgot the exciting part. When we got back from band, there was an oppossum! I didn't see it until after they finally trapped it in the huge ugly bush after getting Doggen, a flashlight, and a stick. When it was located (way up in the branches), Ben came out and shot it several times. I don't know if he ever got the head. A running commentary was kept by the boys on where he did shoot it, though:
"Nope, that was the neck."
"Hey, you got it in the stomach."
"Oops, I guess we can't have possum belly for lunch tomorrow." :P
"No, you didn't get it in the head. You shot it in the posterior!"

Finally, it was declared dead, and we all trooped inside out of the 30 degree weather.

Now I'm home, safe and sound. :)

It's a Party!

Today was Lexi's birthday, so after Kreyole class tonight we went down and had birthday cake. She turned six today. She, Taylor, Lydia, and I played Cops and Robbers for about an hour before we left. Most of the time Lexi was the cop, Lydia and I were the bad guys in jail, and Taylor...he couldn't decided which side he was on. He hung out with us in jail and followed us around when we "escaped," but he helped drag us back to jail and screamed out where we were whenever we were hiding. He was so funny.

Thanksgiving is drawing ever closer. I've made a goal to complete by that time: be completely caught up on school. It will be very difficult to fulfill, but I'm going to try. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, and I don't want the threat of school looming over my shoulder the whole weekend. School really is fun, but not compared to having the whole family home (plus more!)

Some of the people that will be at the Scoby house over Thanksgiving:

Chuck

Erin

Jessica

And of course...

...plus Mom and Dad and the cats. :)