The Very Last Day of 2008

Good grief! I can not believe it is the end of 2008. Remember when the year 1999 was just a song lyric that sounded make-believe it was so far off? Now, it's almost 2009, the year my baby will graduate from high school. Didn't I just graduate from high school?

2008, with all it's ups and downs globally, was a good year in the Paterson house. In January, Braden turned 17, a whole year as a driver with no accidents or tickets. Great job, Beeper!! Hannah Philpot threw Braden a surprise birthday party. He'll never forget it...one, because he was so surprised, and overwhelmed at his friend's generosity, donating money towards his mission trip to Thailand, and two...because the party was held just before they all went to the "Beauty and the Geek" dance at school.
February started with a bang as Braden, Darryl and I went to the Wilson3 Foundation Celebrity bowling tournament and bowled with Cliff Lee, of the Cleveland Indians! Too cool!In March, our Blakester turned 15. March 3 might have been his birthday, but March 9th was the day Blake had waited for his whole life (almost)....the day Super Smash Bros Brawl finally was released. We even made a Tshirt to celebrate!Spring Break 2008 we saw our boys both head off for Mission Trips. Braden headed to Orlando, Florida to volunteer at the Pioneers Headquarters, and Blake took off for West Virginia.

Braden and I went to Houston for several days for the IPDA Nationals tournament. I had a blast, and decided they needed an IPDA "Moms" division. I love HarBer Debaters! I more love hanging with my son for days watching him debate!

April 10, 2008, the Patersons were at the history making very 1st ever game played by the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in the brand new Arvest Ballpark. April was the "Prom Extravaganza" at our house. The best decision I ever made was to purchase a tux for Braden rather than rent him one. He attended his own prom one weekend, and then attended Rogers prom the next. Of course, he looked incredible!!! May brought the end of the school year, and the Rhythm and Shoes dance recital.

This is where the year got really busy!!! We had the dance recital Memorial Day weekend, finished the last day of school on the following Friday, then flew Saturday morning to Washington, D.C. for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. Flew home on Wednesday, and washed a gazillion clothes and packed Braden to leave for Thailand 3 days later. The next 10 days went by very slowly as this mommy worried every single minute about her kid on the other side of the world, but he came home safely, I washed his clothes, and he left 3 days later for Timberline in Winter Park, CO...his senior year church retreat!! Here's some pictures from that whirlwind month.

I think I'd better save the last half of 2008 for another post. I've got some baking to do for our festivities this evening at the Greens!

I love Christmas decorations

I really love when my house is decorated. Maybe it's because when it's not decorated for some holiday, I feel like it's sort of plain. My grandma would, of course, disagree, saying that I have lots of pretty things in my home. But beginning October 1st with the Halloween decorations, straight through Thanksgiving and the Christmas decor, I love my house! Actually, I have almost as much Halloween as I do Christmas, probably more Christmas only because there are hundreds of ornaments on the tree, but with Halloween, each individual item is scattered throughout the house, so at Halloween, it seems even more decorated! Before it starts to sound like I'm a satan lover...my birthday is the day before Halloween (and my daddy's birthday is Halloween) so it's always been one of my favorite holidays...and one that I receive many decorations as presents for.

But today, the trees are gone. The stockings aren't hung by the chimney with care anymore, and I'm back to the boring same old stuff. Maybe I just need to move that same old stuff around a little bit, because I'm certainly not itching to spend money on anything. College, you know.

I'm off to buy groceries for our New Year's Eve celebration with the Greens.

Pictures of Christmas 2008

Braden with his new Christmas Eve book. He is getting ready to read it to Bren, and the rest of the family, our Christmas Eve tradition.

Blake's new xBox game from Santa, Prince of Persia.

Bren's Christmas Eve book, Santa Duck.

Bren and Abby at church before the Christmas Eve service.

Darryl and Braden with Grandpa Kenneth at the Phipps family Christmas on December 21st, 2008.

T.J.'s little girl, Avery J.

Blake and Jeremiah.

Matt and Braden.

Project 365

So, Creating Keepsakes has a kit that is supposed to be released on January 1st called Project 365. Apparently, you take 1 photo per day all year, and create a scrapbook with those photos which will chronicle the entire year in photos and journal entries. I think it sounds like a great idea...but perhaps overwhelming! I do take a ton of pictures though. (My dad thinks it's an illness.) I'd just need to remember to take one photo every day. Trish Youmans was attempting to do this through the holidays, and she did quite a good job, though it didn't happen everyday...but it inspires me to give it a shot. Because the scrapbook kit encourages Sunday to Saturday weeks, the suggestion has been made (Thanks Jessica!) to start today, December 28th, so that New Year's Eve and day can be included. Perhaps I'll add my daily photo to the blog that I'm attempting to keep up with too! We'll see!

Merry Christmas!!

We enjoyed a wonderful day yesterday! The kids got exactly what they wanted from Santa. Bren asked for a mountain bike. She had completely outgrown her bike, which was the first bike she ever got...she was probably 4! She also wanted the Bitty Twins with blond hair and blue eyes, who look a lot like the other blond twins we know, so she most appropriately named them Nicklaus and Natalie! Her third gift from Santa was a blue iPod. She received an iTunes gift card in her stocking, so she ran to the computer to download some of her favorites, which included Taylor Swift and a couple of Sponge Bob Square Pants episodes.

Braden asked for an iPod touch which he loves! He also spent his gift card from Santa quite quickly. He also got a new electric razor, and some Diesel cologne and XBox sleep pants.

Blake didn't want much this year, which makes it very hard for Santa. He asked to get a subscription/membership to Gamefly.com so he can rent games to try them out before he buys them. That can quickly become a very expensive present at $22.95 a month. He also wanted a Disney piano book, the Dark Knight DVD, and the Prince of Persia game for the xbox. He also got some cologne and sleep pants.

Mimi and Papa stayed for Christmas morning which we always love. We opened presents with them on Christmas Eve, and then opened our new Christmas Eve pajamas and books, which is our family tradition. We then headed to Fellowship for the Christmas Eve service, and then surprised the kids with dinner at IHop afterwards. They love IHop!!

Today, we've enjoyed a relaxing day, except for the fact that the big computer isn't working. Rather than take it to Best Buy, Darryl is trying to fix it himself. It's been 12 hours, and so far, that's not been a great decision. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him.

As soon as the computer is fixed, I'll post some pictures of our Christmas celebration!

Mammograms...ugh

So, in a little while, I'm heading with a very dear friend to get her boobs squished, again! Last week's mammogram didn't go so well, and they need a better look. I've prayed my little heart out for her, and so now, I'm going hold her hand and believe that God is in control.

Phipps Family Christmas

Yesterday, we drove to Tulsa to spend "Christmas" with my grandparents. Traditionally, we always spend Christmas Eve day with one set of grandparents, and then the evening with the other, since they both live in Sand Springs. After my Grandpa Clyde died, and Grandma sold her house, we stopped doing Christmas at her house, but she usually joins us at the Phipps house. I love spending Christmas Eve with all my cousins and their children, even if it doesn't fall on the actual day anymore. My grandparent's little house is FULL of family! It brings back such memories of those Christmas Eve's of years long ago, when we were the little kids! Usually, our family Christmas is the only time all year long that I see most of these relatives. Of course, I see my grandparents, but the aunts, uncles, and cousins...rarely, but on Christmas Eve. Tammy and Chantz, Tracie, Mike, and their kids, Bobbi and her boys, T.J., Blair and their little one, and my little family are always there! This year, Cyndi came with her boys, which made it more enjoyable for my kids too! They love seeing Matt and Miah anytime they can! I miss having Candae there! When we were younger, we'd park ourselves on the furnace, and sit and talk the whole time. It was "our spot" and all the younger cousins knew it belonged to us. Tonya has been to a few of our Christmases in the past couple of years, but this year, she was just not feeling well enough to join us. I hope she is better soon. It's really fun to look back at those times. T.J. is still the big baby of the family...the only grandson in a sea of granddaughters! We had a great time enjoying wonderful food and conversation about how 2008 had been for everyone. The Phipps men always play poker at our Christmas gathering. Braden is SO THRILLED to be old enough to play now! Cyndi was mad that girls don't play. We do our own thing and exchange an ornament with each other. Aunt Sue loves all the ornaments, and wants to steal them all! She's too funny!
I hope we can enjoy many more years of Phipps family Christmas with my grandma and grandpa!

Say it ain't so!!!

So, mom and dad made it from Texas yesterday morning. They brought my nephews, Matt and Jeremiah, with them. The whole trip was planned so that Matt could see Blake's Christmas band concert this evening. He was so looking forward to it....and wouldn't you know, it's 28 degrees outside, so Springdale schools cancels all evening activities! My mom thought Blake was kidding when he came in from school, but I could tell he was serious. He knew how much Matt was looking forward to the concert. So, I made some cookies, and tried to salvage the evening, but poor Mattie is just plain disappointed!

The weather men are predicting some ice for tonight, so of course, the kids are hoping to get out of school tomorrow. I'm hoping we don't. With only 4 more shopping days before Christmas break, I'd rather them go to school. Besides, when we use a snow day, I really hope we'll have some snow on the ground.

We had a blast at the Christmas Tree inspection with the Taylor's on Saturday night. We started the night at the Taylors, then inspected the Wittschen's tree first. We then headed to the Nichols, Wiegels, Hanbys, Combs, Edwards, and Beard homes. Great food, beverages, and very pretty trees, though most failed the inspection miserably. When will our neighbors finally get a clue and buy those german pickles!! I heard a few of our neighbors swam in the lake behind our house after we left the party! Sounds like we escaped just in time! I don't ever want to swim in that yucky water!! The only "people" who belong in our pond are my ducks (and even they question it's safety!)

Teacher Luncheon Success!

I just returned home from serving at the BYE teacher luncheon. Bridget Wilson was the hostess this year, and it was fabulous! She had the idea to serve soups in a muffin tin. She purchased very nice muffin tins, tied a ribbon through the little hole at the end, and we served a different kind of soup in each spot. It was a huge hit with the teachers. Not only were the soups delicious, but the presentation, in the muffin tins, was just too cute! On Monday, she plans to deliver the clean muffin tin to each teacher wrapped with a spatula and a recipe booklet containing each recipe used. I'm sure they will be wrapped beautifully as well. Very cute idea! Well done, Bridget! I wish I had taken my camera. The dessert table was incredible too! YUMMY stuff! BYE moms certainly know how to cook!

Since I've been at BYE for a loooooong time now, someone asked me who else had hosted the luncheons in their homes, and what the menus had been, and it got me thinking...I'll only serve at 3 more luncheons before Bren moves on to middle school. Wow! I can't believe it. We started at Young when it opened in the Fall of 2000. And in the Fall of 2010, I'll no longer have a child at Young. We built this house because we loved that it was just a block from the school...but sooner than I think, I won't even have a child at the school. Good grief! Where does the time go?

When I grow up, I want to be a blogger!

I really want to blog consistently. Not that anyone will ever read it, but I want the memories down on paper, so to speak. Years ago, I thought I'd try to keep a journal, and every single day, I'd write something cute that my children said or did, so that years later, I'd remember all those things. Well, it never happened. So, I'm going to continue to try!

Today, Bren's class went to see the ACO performance of "The Best Christmas Pagent Ever". She thought it was really cool! She was excited to learn that Hannah Philpot, one of her favorite people ever, was in the same play when she was younger. Imagine her excitement when I told her we actually took her to see Hannah in the play all those years ago. Of course, she didn't remember. (But, if I had written it down in that magical journal...oh well!)

Braden has received acceptance letters from OBU and TU, neither of which are colleges he really ever planned to attend. He's received a letter from JBU telling him what things he needs to complete his application. That's the letter of acceptance he's dying to receive! I am so thankful that he has chosen a college that is 20 minutes away! The utter joy that it brings to this mommy is indescribable.

Blake is learning to play something new on the piano. I wish he wanted to take lessons, but I guess there is something to be said for his learning to play "by ear".

Christmas Tree inspection is Saturday night. We've made it to the official Inspection Team! Winning the Grand Prize last year must have really bumped us up on the list!

Here's a picture of Bren and Mimi making Christmas ornaments together over Thanksgiving break.

I love Christmas time!

My 1st job in 11 years!

I was a substitute teacher today! I haven't worked since I taught a 3 year old preschool class when Blake was 4, and going to the same preschool. I only subbed a half-day today, and it was in music, so they watched a video. I had so much fun! The kindergarten class was the best! They are so tiny!

So, I sat in that class, watching "Spin", narrated by Dudley Moore, talk about deep sea creatures, and thought...shouldn't Braden be in this class? If not him, Blake...or at least Bren, my baby? Where has the time gone? I found myself so jealous of their moms. Do their moms know how precious this time is? Are they enjoying every single minute with their tiny little Kindergarten boys and girls? I hope so.

Love,

Mom

We found the shoes!!!

I know, it's sad, but I was lying awake last night trying to figure out at who's house those silly shoes might be hiding! Today, after school I told Bren she needed to find them. She went to all the homes of her friends on the street and couldn't find them. When she came back home, she went up to her room and found them there!! Mission accomplished!
I went to the school today to make copies for Mrs. Swalley. I really like her, and Bren loves her, so I'm elated!
The boys are both off to Fall Retreats this weekend. Not sure what the weather is supposed to be like, so we don't have any big plans. Mom and dad are in Hawaii, so no camping this Labor Day. I know you're surprised, but I'm actually sad about that. I like camping with my mom and dad!
I think Bren wants to watch America's Got Talent, so I'm signing off for now.

Love,
Mom

Shoes...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

My daughter is..well, she's definitely my daughter! Not that I had any doubts...I was there when she was born! But, she and I have a similar problem. We can't keep up with our shoes! There are people who can't even comprehend how you can lose your shoes. I'm willing to bet that those people also enjoy wearing shoes. Bren and I would rather be barefoot. So, the minute we get somewhere where taking off our shoes is an option, we take those babies off! And then, we leave them behind. Our feet are just more comfortable being free!! The only difference is, I'm not taking my shoes off at my friend's house. She goes out to play and always returns home without her shoes. It's an expensive problem. Is there therapy for such a problem...it might be cheaper!

Yesterday, I didn't blog because I spent a couple hours showing Debbie our Disney pictures! Thanks for looking Debbie! Can I just say how much fun we had on that trip? We always love traveling with my mom and dad though. How many women my age can say that! (I hope my kids feel that way someday too!) Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.

Jeremiah, Blake, Bren, Stitch, Braden, and Matt

Miah getting a kiss from Cinderella

Braden, Blake and Bren with Donald

The whole "Goofy" family

Jeremiah and Matt, our nephews, were thrilled to see all the characters. Don't let the big kid's age fool ya though....Braden, Blake and Bren were pretty happy to see them too!

Love,

Mom

Cheetah Girls - One World

Tonight's the big movie premier, so guess what we're doing this evening! We'll grab pizza to celebrate the 1st week of school. Bren and I are going to make some brownies. Abby is coming over to spend the night. Braden's heading to the "Red/White" game, and Blake is working at the pool. Fun-filled evening for all!
Braden played 5 holes of golf yesterday in the pouring rain! He was soaked, but had a blast.
Blake's drum line played at the open house, but before it actually started, so I missed it!!!! I was so bummed! Sorry Blakester!
Happy Weekend to all!
Love,
Mom

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It's raining. Bren is outside in her poncho trying to brave the downpour to reach her friend. I've told her to stay on the porch. She doesn't think it's fair for the rain to come just as it's time for school to be out. "Why could it not have rained all day while I sat in school," she asked. I have to agree.
Braden is supposed to play in his 1st golf match of the season. I haven't heard from him, but if it's cancelled, he'll really be bummed.
Blake is playing drums for the open house at school tonight. He's really excited about marching band now. He was describing to me in detail the beats of "Go Warriors" or something like that last night.
Oh, and Blake is phoneless again. Someone borrowed his phone and then dropped it and it broke in half. Blake is completely frustrated with cell phones, cell phone contracts, and upgrade charges.
Sorry, buddy...I am too!

Love,
Mom

How time flies when you're scrubbing toilets!

Today is the 3rd day of school, and the 1st day that I haven't committed myself to some type of volunteer work at any of the three schools my children attend. No, as much as I wish it weren't so...today needed to be a cleaning day!

I've spent the entire day cleaning, and just in case you're jealous that I'm sitting in a completely clean house...think not! Days like today, I find myself wishing for a 200 sq. ft. cabin! Just kidding - I am blessed, and I am thankful, but I do wish the cleaning fairy chose to visit every once in a while to help me out!

I've quit cleaning to write this blog, and to upload some Disney pictures to Walmart. I also added Disney photos to the digital frame. Looking at the pictures is so much fun. We had a great time! What incredible memories with Mimi and Papa for their 40th Anniversary!



Blake has a dentist appointment today. Darryl has a meeting, so the kids and I will probably grab a pizza for dinner. The boys have Cell groups tonight...but Blake's is outside and it looks like it will pour rain any minute.

Just so you know...by 2:00 p.m., I'm ready for all my little ducks to be back in the nest! Can't wait for you all to get home!

Love,
Mom

The summer Olympics...and school

The summer olympics really needed to be over by the time school started. These late night bedtimes are killing us! Bren is getting to bed on time, but she's really upset that she's missing Shawn Johnson and the gymnastics competitions!

The 1st day of school went well for everyone. Braden's only complaint about his last 1st day of school was that "No One" has lunch with him. After prodding, he named off plenty of people who share his lunch period, including good friend Hannah....so "No one" was indeed an exaggeration! Phew! He came home with school supply lists including books for his college English class. So, we called Darryl and asked him to stop by NWACC to purchase the required books. $80 later...we've purchased our 1st of many college books for our 1st born. Yeah us! Oh, and I didn't even cry! Score one for mom! He was very excited about AP Psychology, and they get to play with Play doh. Braden and friends wore matching shirts to school today with the phrase "I'm not who I was" on the front, and "Ask me Why" on the back. I think 42 students purchased the shirts to wear on the 1st day of school, and most showed up with them on. Braden said that the shirts caught quite a bit of attention, some very positive, and some not quite so. Religious persecution alive and well.

Blake made it home on the bus. Relief blanketed me as I heard him walk through the door. (Not that his riding the bus makes me nervous...but we weren't sure what bus number he needed to locate, and I didn't call before school like I have in the past.) His first day went well too. He's not quite sure about Spanish II. He's still not released to run Cross Country, but hopefully next week. The thing he most wanted to talk about....Mr. Watson grew a beard over the summer.

Bren's 1st day was fantastic. She loves Mrs. Swalley! She ate lunch with Jane Ellen and Kennadie and a new girl, Sarah (I think) who she says is very nice too. I spent a lot of the day at her school, making copies and filling folders to go home. The day flew by! She was thrilled to see Abby after school and talk about their day. Abby's teacher made homemade Chocolate Chip cookies...Mrs. Swalley might have some baking to do!

Love,

Mom

1st day of school

I'm not sure blogging is my thing. I enjoy reading other people's blogs, and I'm quite positive others have more things to say, and better ways to say it, but I'm going to give it a try anyway.

I'm blogging to put in writing this time of my life...of their lives, so we can save the memories...in hard copy! So here goes!

Today is the 1st day of school. We've done it before. In fact, we've done it 12 times before today. I'm not superstitious, but why does the 13th time we do the 1st day of school also happen to be Braden's 1st day of his last year of high school? Doesn't seem possible! I'm remember the 1st day of kindergarten like it was yesterday. Mrs. Gibbs - what a blessing! And then time flew...1st Day of School #13!

Of course, thankfully, even if I'm not sneaking to college to take a 1st day of school picture of Braden, Bren and Blake will still be celebrating more 1st days of school for a while. Bren was thrilled to find that she'll be in Mrs. Swalley's 4th grade class this year. She was bummed that Abby won't be in her class this year, though I think Debbie and I shed more tears than the girls did. Bren is thankful that Lily, Kennadie, and Jane Ellen are in her class though. I think she's going to have a great year!

Blake went off to 9th grade today, excited to be participating in Marching band this year. We can't wait to see him march at football games. He's also stated that he's going to try really hard this year, completing his homework before playing any video games after school. I'm putting that in writing to show him tomorrow when he has already given up on that promise!!

Happy 1st day of school kiddos!! We're going to have a terrific year!

Love,
Mom