Thanksgiving 2014

Such a wonderful time being together as a family for Thanksgiving this year!  We usually go to Indiana for Thanksgiving, but this year, because Jill (Hoffbeast's sister) was home in the USA for the first time in over 20 years, of course we had to stay in Wisconsin!

 We all gathered at Katie and Robert's house, and thanks to AtoZ, we had a beautifully decorated table!

 Our good eater, Mr. Bart, loved the meal and charmed everyone around!

Another bonus was that even though Jill wasn't able to be in town for Rex's opening night, she did get to drive home with me for a couple of his rehearsals...we had lots of good time to visit, and she got to see the boy actor in his element, too!

K5 Thanksgiving Feast

Tom was very proud to choose to be an "Indian"! I continue to love watching their relationship grow...so thankful for my sweet Pilgrim and my precious Indian!

Berta & Bart

We first met Roberta when she staffed our summer project, when she was a student on SITC, a long time ago.  I'm not really sure when it was anymore.  I do know that she came and spent a weekend at our house when our friend, T, came and visited us...it was great, and Roberta seemed to fit right into life here at 2319.  

When I was pregnant with Bart, Roberta was a student on project, and she was such an encouragement to me as I watched her minister with her team in the city.  Later, after Bart was born, she was one of the first to visit us in the hospital, and when he was a few weeks old, she visited and cemented their relationship.  :)

All these years after first meeting, Roberta remains a special person to us as a family and to our ministry here.  I might be hoping that she will end up interning here and maybe even living with us.  Yep, I just might be.  ;)

Love you, Berta!  Thanks for coming this weekend...look forward to seeing you next time, whenever that may be!

Better late than never

In this case, it would have been never.  But thanks to the fact that our boarder is a teacher and often gets her hands on random extra stuff, our kids were trick or treated to some delicious sugar cookies with fabulous decorating fun included.  (Okay, the cookies aren't that good because they are a wee bit old at this point, but the kids don't care, and they had such fun decorating!)

Thanks so much, Shanice!

Paper Bag Christmas: The Rehearsals

This Christmas, Rex has the amazing privilege of sharing the lead role in Morning Star Production's The Paper Bag Christmas, a show about a group of kids who put on a Christmas pageant at a local  Children's Hospital.  This play is being used as both an outreach and a fundraiser for our amazing Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.  

All of our boys have been patients at Children's at one point or another; Neil, Tom, and Bart have all had surgery there, and Rex has visited the ER a time or two!  We love the fact that some of the proceeds from this wonderful holiday show are going toward such a fabulous place which cares so well for so many families each year.

Here are just a few glimpses from play practices so far this fall...

"Katrina, are you in there?" Rex plays Molar, a boy who is asked to befriend Katrina, one of the patients in the oncology unit. He learns that isn't as easy as it sounds.

Molar (Rex) and the angel choir...

Rex's Molar counterpart, P, rehearsing with Alan, a seasoned performer playing one of the doctors at the hospital.  Together, Rex and P are going to help make this show a smashing success!

Mrs. Davison, the show director, is surrounded by part of her Paper Bag Christmas cast.  (I wonder what was on the computer that was so interesting to Rex and his friend, I?)

We're so proud of you and all the hard work you are putting in to this show, Rex...keep it up!  Just a few more weeks, and you won't have any more rehearsals to go...for now.  ;)

Veteran's Day Tribute

I am grateful today for the military service of so many, but tonight I want to give a special shout-out of gratitude to my father-in-law, Rex Hoffman, who served during WWII, my dad, Hunter Goin, who served during the Korean War, and my brother, Tim Goin, who was in the Navy during the Gulf War. I love all of you and am grateful for the example that you set and the sacrifice that you made! Happy Veteran's Day!

My Football Guy

Neil's first flag football game...it was SO fun to watch! Two TDs and two interceptions for him, and the final score was 31-0...nice!  

Neil had been waiting for years to play his favorite sport, and as his mama, I loved seeing the joy on his face in the above picture--and all throughout the season!  He was quite a football rock star....love you, Bud!

One more year of flag football, and then we probably move on to tackle....yikes! I'm holding out just as long as possible!

Oh, my uber-compliant one!

Conversation between me and Beth this morning as we are getting ready to leave for school:

(I'm getting dressed, and she knocks on my door.)

Me:  "Who is it?"

Beth:  "It's Beth."

Me:  "What do you need, Sweetheart?"

Beth:  "Do I have time to go to the bathroom?"

Me:  "Honey, in the time you came upstairs to ask me that, you could have gone to the bathroom."

Beth (sounding a bit dejected):  "Oh."

Me (so as not to crush her spirit):  "Sweetie, from now on, if you need to go to the bathroom, just go, okay?  You always have time to go if you need to go."

Beth:  "Okay."

Beth:  "Mama?"

Me:  "What?"

Beth:  "So, does that mean 'Yes'?"

Scott Walker vs. Mary Burke, the cartoon version

Hey, friends...check out the debut of Seth's political cartoons....there are more where this came from, and they are GOOD!  The cartoon was introduced on Monday, Nov. 3, and then today, after the election result was known, he delivered the mystery panel fill-in.

If it's not obvious, the top was drawn by hand, and the bottom was drawn on the computer.  The expressions aren't quite as crisp when drawn on the computer, but it's still pretty good.  We really might have a polital cartoonist in the making....I think these are awesome! And he had others, too--witty, creative, funny, and well-drawn.  Anybody know where I can get his work marketed?!  I think he's ready!  ;)