If only I could work one day a week all the time ...

The last couple of days have been really nice ... with a combination of holiday days, vacation days and personal time, I was able to make it so I only have to work Wednesday this week and Wednesday next week.  It sure is nice, I could get used to this :-)  The house is clean, the laundry is under control, I've done some baking, Christmas preparations are basically done, I've had time to read, Chris and I have run a couple of times and I'm even finding time to craft.  Today I started a new quilting project.  I think I'm going to really like this quilt when it's finished.  It's called "Cubbyholes" and is made up of bunches of blocks like these.  All of the blocks won't be made up of the same fabrics, but will be made up of various combinations of blues and creams.  I was able to get 10 squares cut and sewed today and I'm looking forward to getting several more done over the course of the next week and a half!

~Kati

Ahhhh ... Christmas Break Has Arrived!!!!

We've had a busy couple of weeks here ... since I last wrote, we've attended or participated in 4 more basketball games.

• David played at Sacred Heart Academy on the 10th ... they lost that game, but only by 6 or 7 -- which considering who they were playing I didn't think was bad.  Neither Chris nor I were able to attend that game, but since SHA is right across the street from the library, I was able to go over after work and get David so he could ride home with me and he talked non-stop about how bad the officiating was.  Sometimes you have to take these rants with a grain of salt, but I did ask another parent at the next game if the officiating had indeed been bad, and he said that there were some questionable calls ... so who knows.  Still a decent score in my book.
• Jonathan was supposed to play at Ashley on Monday the 14th, but we all got there and Ashley lost power.  They ended up rescheduling that game for Friday the 19th ... they won!!  
• David played two games this past week ... one at Central Montcalm (Stanton) which they won and one at home against Chippewa Hills (Remus) which they lost, although it looked like they might win it up until the last part of the last quarter.

Both boys also had band concerts ... I wasn't able to see Jonathan's, but was able to attend David's.  I think my favorite song was the jazzy version of "We Three Kings" they did.  I didn't start recording right from the beginning and this is from my phone, but here's part of the song!

Many thanks to both sets of grandparents who were able to come up and see David's band concert (and attempted to see Jonathan's game ...)  I was able to snag a picture of Chris and Bruce -- you all know this is not an easy thing to do!

So, the biggest news around here right now is that David passed his driving test this morning!!!!  He of course thinks this means mom should get a new car for Christmas (not happening) .... or at least by his birthday (we'll see, but probably not) .... I'm glad he passed it on his first try though (I think I was more nervous than he was) and has it out of the way so come March he can just go get his license!

I know it's not a popular sentiment, but I sure would like some snow ... it's hard to get in the Christmas spirit with all this rain, but it's looking like we're going to have a greenish/brown Christmas.   :-(  I am pleased with myself though ... I have everything purchased, and everything that is in my possession is wrapped!  I'm truly hoping I can sit back and relax for most of the next two weeks ... I hope you all can do the same!

Well, I'll sign off for now ... we wish you all a very Merry Christmas if we don't "talk" to you before then!!

~Kati

Catching Up

So it's been almost a month since I last posted ... oh how time flies.

Inhabitants of the Red House have been busy, busy, busy .... a LOT of basketball (and still a lot more to come), plus general activities to get ready for the holidays.

Jonathan's basketball season has been a pretty good one. I think they've only lost 3 games so far. Two were lost to our arch rivals, the Irish from Sacred Heart Academy. History has shown they are pretty hard to beat, but they really whomped on us both times. Other than those games, the boys are playing pretty well and Jonathan has even made the announcements a few times for his scoring (see next paragraph). Jonathan plays again tonight (Wednesday) and then has his last game next Monday.

The 7th grade basketball team evened their record at 2 and 2 yesterday with a 32 to 12 win over Coleman. Scoring for the Mustangs were Jonathan Gormley, Kyle Russell, Camron Renne, Eder Lopez, George Shaw, and Parker Burggren.The 8th grade team lost a close game to Coleman 55 to 38. Scoring for the 8th grade team were Tyler Powell, Chance Wagoner, and Austin Pawlowski. Both teams will take on Ashley next Monday. 

Thanksgiving was nice ... always good to spend time with family and eat good food. I made a couple of these cute turkey snack platters (with some help from my SIL Christie)!

David's basketball season is off to a good start. They played their first game on Monday against Evart and won by ONE point (43-42) ... I told him if they play like that every game I'm going to have high blood pressure by the end of the season ... it was touch and go at the end. Pretty proud of David though ... he scored 25 points in that game (yes more than 1/2 of the entire points!!) It is really fun to watch him play.

Well, I'd best be off ... more later, hopefully with pictures of David playing ball.
Wishing we'd get at least a little bit of snow to cover the yucky brown outside ... but I know some prefer this nicer weather ... either way, hope you're enjoying it!
~Kati

Ending a Season/Beginning a Season, Crafting and Christmas!!

Well, we've ended Cross Country season -- both boys did well and now we've moved on to Basketball season.  Jonathan had his first game yesterday (Monday) against Sacred Heart.  Jonathan scored a few points (including the first point of the game), but Sacred Heart is a hard team to beat ....

I spent some time Monday working on some cards -- it felt good.  I haven't done any paper crafting in a while, and I've missed it.  Here some of my creations!

 Lastly ... Christmas.  I spent some time updating our Amazon wish lists this evening.  Here are the links that should allow you to get to them.  They are all set to "Don't Spoil My Surprise" so if you buy something you can mark it as purchased ... I believe that will alert others that the item has already been purchased, but we won't be able to see that on our end.  (Sorry, Chris' is kind of sparse.  I'll try to think of some more things to put on there ...)

Kati:  http://smile.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/15YJGXVLIA513
Chris:  http://smile.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/I2YAIWNG6092
David: http://smile.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/37UXM9DA12GLP
Jonathan:  http://smile.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/14SKH4AEOTT51

Enjoy these last few nice minutes of fall ... sounds like yucky weather is headed our way later in the day Wednesday.

~Kati

Winter Sports Schedule

Here's the winter sports schedule -- David will be on the JV team.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B95XL12tV6ukT0JCWW9jWXQxRTA

~Kati

Charleston, SC -- Jonathan's Basketball Schedule

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Charleston, SC.  It was a fun trip -- first time I'd been on an airplane in 25 years or so, so I was a little nervous about all that, but now that I've navigated an airport with someone who travels often I think I could to do it on my own.

Charleston is truly a beautiful city, and thankfully, we had a little time while there to do some exploring.  To see pictures of my trip, click here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111671352983167570025/CharlestonSouthCarolina?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJK1h6zz2bPWZw&feat=directlink

After getting back from Charleston, we then went camping for the last time this season.  It was nice to get away.  Unfortunately it rained almost all day Saturday.  I think we had missed the great color by about a week, but I still think Hartwick Pines is one of the most beautiful places on Earth!

The boys finished off their Cross Country season -- both had a great season.  David ran at Regionals this past Friday (10/30).  He came in 24th with a time of 18:20.  He didn't make it to states, but still had a fantastic season.  They were hoping to make it as a team, but missed that opportunity by 2 points!  Unfortunately, no pictures to share of either of their last two meets .... I forgot the camera battery the first time, and the SD card the second.  I really need to get it together, LOL.

Well, I started this blog post over a week ago, but just couldn't seem to find the time to finish it, so here it is.  We have a couple of weeks "off" from sporting events.  Jonathan has started basketball practice.  His games start week after next.  Here's his schedule!  Games are mostly at 4:30, but a couple are at different times.

Hope everyone has a great week. 

~Kati

Trying to Craft and Other News

Finding time to craft seems harder and harder all the time ... I want to work on things, but it seems I spend a lot of time cleaning and picking up, etc ... typical mom stuff.  AND, my craft area seems to attract a lot of junk that isn't mine, so by the time I clear it off, I sometimes no longer have the motivation to actually do any crafting.  But I did manage to make myself avoid housework a bit this week and get a few things done.  Mainly I finished piecing the quilt top on my "camper quilt".  (Huge thanks to my mom who is patiently teaching me and helping me through the process).  The hope is that this quilt will be used as a "throw blanket" in our camper.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned it out. I know it's not perfect, but it was my first go at doing a quilt, so I feel like for a beginner ... it's not half bad!!  Next step, deciding if I want to pay someone to quilt it, or attempt to quilt it myself.

I was also able to get a couple of squares for another quilt I'm picking away at put together.  I really like the top one ... I just think it's a cool design (the fact that it only has one corner to match up is very nice as well, LOL).

 Another great week on the Cross Country course.  David PR'd again, shaving another 3 seconds off his time.  He's really working hard to break the 18 minute mark.  If he can shave a few more seconds off, he has a good chance of qualifying for the state meet at Regionals on October 30.  Jonathan also ran at the meet yesterday and did well.  He ran his 1.5 mile race in 13:29, this was a PR for him as well.

David had chairing in band this week and got 1st chair (YAY!!).  Both boys are doing pretty well in school, all A's and B's with one C+ each, which they will be working to improve this coming week!! Chris has been busy doing homework for his two college classes and aside from doing some crafting I've been trying to make sure everything is in order before my big trip.  I will be leaving for Charleston, SC Sunday for a conference.  I'm excited, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm a little nervous about flying.  It's been a LONG time (25+ years?) since I've been on an airplane.

Coming in for a strong finish!

Have a great week everyone ... maybe I'll be able to share some pictures of historic Charleston in a couple of days!

~Kati

David PR's -- TWICE

What a great week this kid had ... he pr'd at the meet on Wednesday with a time of 18:29 and then he did it again today at the Portage meet with a time of 18:13.  The Portage Invitational is a HUGE race with kids from all over the state.  I'd venture a guess it's almost as big as the state meet.  Very well run event and plenty of opportunities to see the runners throughout the course!

Near the beginning of the race.
Kinda surprised I was able to pick him out!

Teammate John nipping at David's heels!

The finish line is in sight!!

This week was also homecoming!

The band did the usual parade and even got to do a halftime show this year.  I did videotape the halftime show and will try to get it edited and posted online soon, but quite frankly I'm whipped.  It's been a long day, so this girl is headed in to veg in front of the tv and call it a night!

~Kati

Runner of the Week!!

Coach Kauffman chooses a team member (sometimes 2) to be recognized as "Runner of the Week".  David was co-runner-of-the-week this week, along with teammate Kimmy Buskirk (bottom left).  Coach as also been doing a "by the numbers" thing this year, and David was featured as one of the "by the numbers" posts this week (right).

New Content, New Name

You'll notice some changes to the blog .... 

I actually have had two blogs for a couple of years.  I had the DCG News/JAG's Journal which of course was the spin-off of the boys' newsletter I did when they were younger, but I also had another blog called Kati's Book Blog ... I know, not very original.  I kept track of reading challenges there as well as posted some of my crafting creations.  I decided to make things easier for myself and merge the two blogs.

Merging the two blogs made me feel like it wasn't just about the boys anymore and so I decided it was time for a new name.  I'm not the most creative person in the world, but I was trying to come up with something catchy, yet relevant to our family, so I've come up with "Red House Ramblings".  I hope everyone will enjoy reading about what's going on with us here in the red house!

Some tips ... if you enjoy reading the blog, but don't care about certain things I post, you can always filter the posts by using the "Labels" links on the right hand side.  I will try to use the following labels on each post to make it easier for those who only want to read certain posts:  Crafting Creations, Reading Challenges, Boys/Family, Reviews (book reviews).

Still working on making sure the email subscription thing works, so if you're out there reading and you've subscribed but it doesn't seem to be sending you the email, please let me know (katrinagormley ATgmail.com)

~Kati

2015 Historical Fiction Christmas Reading Challenge (from CreativeMadness Mama) #ChristianHistorical

How the Christmas Reading Challenge Works:

• This is a design it yourself challenge. I want you to choose your own reading goals. This is a low pressure challenge meant to be fun.
• The books should be Christmas or winter holiday themed. They must be historical, the historical/contemporary mix books will count.
• When you have reviewed a book, you are encouraged to come back to the group and add the link to your review in the comments.
• This challenge begins November 1, 2015 and ends January 7, 2016 so you can keep on reading through the holidays.
• You may sign up anytime during the challenge.
• You may include books of any format including traditional books, ebooks, or audiobooks.
• Books may be YA, adult, nonfiction, mystery, romance, etc.
• You may reread books.
• Books may count towards other reading challenges.
• Use the hashtag #ChristianHistorical

My books:

• Christmas Bells (Chiaverini) -- November 12
• Christmas Roses (Cabot) -- November 14
• A Wreath of Snow (Higgs) --

Test

Test post

WIP Wednesday - 9/30/15

I've been working on this cross stitch for a while now.  Slow but steady progress.  It's a Thomas Kinkade scene.  It's probably one of the biggest cross stitch patterns I've ever tackled.  I would love to think I'd be able to finish it by Christmas, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen, especially since I ordered some things today to try to make for teacher gifts.

August and September ... Another school year has begun!!

First Day of School

I'd really like to get back at this ... I know there are a lot of things I post on Facebook, but I don't post everything there, and there are some people who aren't on Facebook.  I was looking back through the old posts a week or so ago and I remembered how fun it was to share different things the boys were doing with everyone ... I need to MAKE time!  So, here's September ... well, end of August and September.  The boys started school on August 31 -- 7th grade and 10th grade.  All three (David, Jonathan and Dad) are now in the same building!  

Both boys are running Cross Country this fall.  This is David's second year as a varsity cross country runner.  So far his season is going very well.  He PR'd (personal record) at the race on 9/23 with an 18:25.  He did very well again at the race on 9/25, with an 18:52.  

Fowler Invitational held at Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. Johns
David is along the right in about the middle.

 The 7th and 8th grade students are only a "club" so they only run about 4 races.  Jonathan ran his first race last Wednesday (9/23) and did very well.  He was the third person in for our team.  He ran his 2 mile race in 15:04 -- that's roughly an 8 minute mile.  Not bad for a 7th grader ... not bad at all!!  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of Jonathan running yet.  I can't make the Wednesday night meets because of work.

David at the Fowler Invitational

If you're interested in "following" how the boys are doing in each race, you can visit www.athletic.net.  You can type their name in the search box at the top and it will show you all their race results, even from past years! (You can find results from any runners in the state ...)

Other than getting back into the swing of the school year schedule and going to cross country meets and football games (to watch the band of course) we haven't been doing a whole lot.  Closed the pool 2 weekends ago :-(  Went camping last weekend :-) and of course the normal work/school, etc.

We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather that has finally arrived.  I'm not really ready for cold and snow, but I do like that the humidity has backed off.

Signing off for now ... more in the near future!

~Kati

It's Time to get back in the swing of things!!

I think I need to get back at this!
In 2015 I'm only doing two reading challenges.
1.  The Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge.  My goal for that one is to read 60 books.  I'm pretty pleased with my progress on this one.  As of today's date, I've read 50 books.
2.  I'm doing my own 2015 Christian Fiction Reading Challenge.  I really miss Margaret doing her's over on www.creativemadnessmama.com / www.christianhistoricalfiction.com.
So far to date, I've read the following books that count towards this challenge:

1.  With Every Letter (Sundin)
2.  A Gift of Grace (Clipston)
3.  Love in Disguise (Cox)
4.  On Distant Shores (Sundin)
5.  In Perfect Time (Sundin)
6.  A Thread So Thin (Bostwick)
7.  Caught in the Middle (Jennings)
8.  Goodbye to Yesterday (Brunstetter)
9.  The Silence of Winter (Brunstetter)
10.  The Hope of Spring (Brunstetter)
11.  The Pieces of Summer (Brunstetter)
12.  A Revelation in Autumn (Brunstetter)
13.  An Amish Christmas Quilt (Hubbard)
14.  Huckleberry Christmas (Beckstrand)
15.  Josiah for President (Bolton)
16.  A Vow for Always (Brunstetter)
17.  Captured by Love (Hedulund)
18.  Christy (Marshall)
19.  Threading the Needle (Bostwick)
20. Five Days in Skye (Laureano)
21. Ties the Bind (Bostwick)
22. Between Heaven and Texas (Bostwick)
23. Leaving (Kingsbury)
24. Learning (Kingsbury)
25. Longing (Kingsbury)
26. Loving (Kingsbury) 

I've been doing more reading lately ... trying desperately to get through the pile of books my mom has loaned me so I can give a good chunk of them back, plus I just know I'm spending too much time staring at my computer screen not really doing anything productive!