Was the Kitchen Fairy Here????

This is the scene that greeted me as I walked thru the door tonight after work! I can hardly believe it, but it seems the room that has stood empty for 2 months now resembles a KITCHEN!!!!

Yes, we have almost all of our cupboards in place, and tomorrow, we should have a functioning sink, a functioning stove, and an installed microwave!!!! This has been a long time in coming, and I almost wept tears of joy to see that we could be nearing the end of this project!

I have been teasing "Bob the Builder" (one of our contractors) that one day I will wake up and the "Kitchen Fairy" will have had been here and the kitchen will be done. Well, now I am calling big, burly Bob my "Kitchen Fairy"--boy, is he thrilled with his new title. Anyway, we can't wait to get our filthy house back in some semblance of order...

I will post more pics as we progress...

A Close Contest with Cameron

Austin had a non-conference C-Team game Monday night against Cameron. The Barron boys did really well the first half of the game--they had the lead most of the first half. Unfortunately, Cameron came back in the second half and the score went back and forth from a tie game to one or the other team up by one or two baskets. We were tied at 40 points with only a few seconds left, when Cameron got the rebound off of our missed shot, dribbled down, and scored--literally-- on a last-second shot to beat us 40-42. What a BUMMER! It was a hard loss to take, as we thought we may get our first win of the season. :-(

Austin, as usual, played well (I thought). Here he is taking full advantage of Hunter's screen and going around the defender...

Another shot of Austin bringing the ball up the court...

Austin also had a game last Friday night that Grandma Pat was able to attend to watch him play. I missed the game, as I was called in. :-(

Next game is Thursday night against Ladysmith--
Go Bears!

Christmas Band Concert

Andrew had his 7th and 8th Grade Christmas Concert last Thursday night, December 13th. Grandma Pat was able to come and listen to some LOVELY middle school music--seriously, they did sound really good! Andrew played "O Come All Ye Faithfull" in the Brass Choir, and then the whole band came together for several Christmas melodies.

Here is Andrew concentrating hard at the music...

You may think Andrew was looking at his mom, dad, and Grandma in this picture, but you would be wrong! There was a large group of girls just to the right of me that caught Andrew's eye...


One of the most fun songs of the evening was "The Chipmunk Song", where the kids all played a lovely piece on their kazoos! Poor Andrew had a hard time playing along on his, as he couldn't quite quit giggling enough to get the tune out!

Squirrel Sightings!

Abby had her last basketball tournament for the season this past weekend in Cameron. Grandma Pat was here to watch her play, and Dad also went in late for work so he could see her work her magic on the court. She played great, as usual, and she also displayed her Christmas spirit by wearing these lovely red santa socks... Abby had the opportunity to take a turn doing the jump ball at the beginning of one of the games--she was thrilled!



Abby's piano teacher, Mrs. Lois Petersen, arranged for her students, the "Peterson's Pine Street Players" to perform at one of the local assisted living/nuring homes in Barron on Friday night--kind of a mini recital for Christmas. Grandma Pat and I were able to go watch Abby play 2 songs--"Silent Night" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Abby did an AWESOME job with her 2 songs!



Last year in second grade, Abby won first runner-up in a County Conservation Poster Contest. Her poster had been displayed in the Conservation Office all summer, and she just got it back, along with a t-shirt as a reward for her winning poster entry. Here is a picture of the "Squirrel" showing off her beautiful poster....



A close-up of the poster entitled, "Wasting Electricity is Awful!"

Abby modeling her new Conservation T-shirt

WE HAVE A FLOOR!!!!--(kind of...)

Well, it was a BIG day here at our house--we finally had some tile laid in the kitchen!!! (This has been a very LONG process to get to this point!) We are so proud to finally have a floor, that I took a picture for our blog! Of course, we can't walk on it, as it is still setting, and there is no grout yet(it will be mocha-colored), but it is still a FLOOR! (half-way, anyway!)

The next order of business (after the floor is complete), is to hang the crown moulding and then our cabinets are supposed to be in on Monday of next week (this date, too, keeps changing--*sigh*). Our doors and trim are getting stained and painted tomorrow, so they will be ready to hang as needed, and the windows are supposed to be installed with the cabinets. Perhaps there IS a light at the end of this tunnel called "remodeling"???

It is hard to tell the wall colors in my pictures, but they are "Autumn Gray", which is like an Army green color, I think, and "Cobblestone", which is kind of tan/butterscotch in color. I also have painted "Wine Barrel" down the stairwell, which is kind of a rusty burgandy color--guess I shouldn't have picked my colors out in the fall season!!! :-)
Hopefully, I will soon have some more pictures to share and the room will actually look like a KITCHEN!!!!

Tuesday Night Ballin' with the Rails

Tuesday night this week took us to Spooner for basketball against the Spooner Rails. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good night for any of the Bear's teams--all three squads lost, but the games were good ones and were all fairly close. Austin's team probably played the best game they have had yet this year--Austin nailed four 3-pointers, three free throws, and a lay-up for a total of 17 points! I was proud of him, as he has really been working on his shot, and it shows! He had an awesome game (as usual), and his defense and ball-handling was great!

Here is Austin bringing the ball up the court...

Making a long pass from half-court...

Andrew and HIS basketball buddies (they are the forwards, he is the point-guard!) discussing the finer points of the Spooner/Barron game.
Neil, Zack, and Andrew
Austin has another game on Friday night at home against Northwestern--can't wait to see him play again!

Little Jacob Gabriel Dorwin

My little nephew, Jacob Gabriel Dorwin was born on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 4:22 pm to Chad and Nicole Dorwin and brothers Carter and Bradley. Jacob was only 24 weeks gestation and had been fighting against the odds his whole life in his mother's womb. He was a "little fighter" in his mom's own words, but in the end, the nasty placenta won the fight, and little Jacob went to be with Jesus in Heaven. Jacob's Heavenly body had already been reunited with Jesus when his Earthly body was born. Jacob's birth weight was 10 ounces, his length was 10 inches. His little body was perfectly formed, just too small to live outside his mom just yet. Please remember to pray for peace and healing for Jacob's mom and dad and brothers, as well as his grandmas and grandpas as they are grieving over the loss of little Angel Jacob.

A photo of little Jacob's hands holding his mom's wedding ring..

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me,... for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.' " Matthew 19:14

I am getting Bleacher Butt...

We have a crazy week of basketball here in the Klimek household! Just a quick update of the games so far... Andrew had a game on Monday night against Rice Lake St. Joseph's School. Barron won that game. :-) Andrew's team also played Tuesday night at home against Spooner, and they also won that game. Their team is doing quite well this year, and we are looking forward to seeing their traveling team play in January. Their school ball team plays again tomorrow night (Thursday) against Cumberland.

Austin started his High School Basketball Career last night (Tuesday night) in a home game against Baldwin-Woodville. It was a non-conference game to start the season off. Austin starts on the C-team and plays the point guard position. Unfortunately, their team didn't respond well to the press, and fell behind right away. They did warm up a bit in the second half, but it was too late to catch up, and they ended up losing this game. Austin plays again on Friday night at Chetek.

Abby also has a tournament on Saturday this week in Barron. She has practice tomorrow night to get ready for her games. We are planning on heading to Rice Lake for the Varsity Girls Game, too, as our girls need all the support they can get--Rice Lake is a tough team (not in our regular conference), and we had bad sportsmanship from their crowd last year. Also, Abby's two coaches from the Rice Lake League play on the Varsity team, so she will enjoy seeing them play.

Here are some pics from some of the games so far for your enjoyment...

Austin driving to the basket.

Austin burning his defender.

Andrew taking control at the point guard position.

Andrew daring the offender to try to drive.

Have a great week!

Happy 25th Anniversary, Sheri and Paul!

Happy 25th Anniversary to Sheri and Paul on the 27th! Congrats on 25 Big Years, and here's to 40 more!!!! I didn't have a recent picture of the two of you together, so here is one from the BIG DAY 25 years ago--so sweet! :-) I also came across this picture (must have been from JS your senior year??), and I just couldn't resist posting this one, too!
Congratulations, Sister and Brother (-in-law)!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving in Durand at Bill and LaNita's house with about 35 other members of our family. We had an AWESOME meal (thanks, Dorwins!), and it was a lot of fun seeing everyone again. Of course, there were those unable to attend this year that we missed... I tried to get pictures of almost everyone that was there today for those of you that were unable to join us here in Wisconsin to let you know we were thinking of you. I, for one, am so thankful for my family--my husband, my kids, my parents and parents-in-law, sisters, brothers, and the sisters and brothers-in-laws, nieces and nephews, grandmas and grandpas, all of my aunts and uncles, cousins, and extended family. I was reminded today how lucky we are to be able to get together as a family, and how we should not take these get-togethers for granted. I am thankful for last year's Thanksgiving celebration at Dorwin's house, as it was the last time I was able to talk to Sharon here on Earth. Remember to cherish the time together with family and friends!

Here are some LOVELY pictures for you to enjoy (in no particular order) of our day of feasting and family. Abby and Andrew colored the signs for me especially for people to pose with for my blog...

Enjoy!

Austin, Grandma Lila, Andrew

Bradley

Jordyn

Little Abby

Cruz and Todd

Damara and Jamin

Jamin and Steve

Abby and Moriah

Autumn and Paige

Cruz and Sam

Grandma Deb, Bradley, and Jamie

Chad and Jordyn

Chad, Jordyn, and Nicole

Jenni and Alex

LaNita, Paula, Perry, and Bill

Jack, Todd, Amy, and Missy

Tara, Paul, Ross, Little Abby, and Stephanie

A trip down memory lane...

Paula, LouAnn, LaNita, Perry, Pat, Sondra, Sharon

Grandma Lila and Grandpa Lyman

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Andrew's Big Buck!

Jamie took Austin and Andrew hunting this past weekend, as it was opening weekend for gun hunting here in Wisconsin. The guys hunted on Saturday in Nelson, but only saw one deer between the three of them that day. Jason was kind to offer the invitation to join them hunting in Indee on Sunday, so the guys headed to Treampleau County to look for some deer. I guess the deer were roaming the hills in that neck of the woods--Austin saw over 20 deer on Sunday and Monday! (he is a bit picky, and the 6-pointer he saw just wasn't quite big enough to shoot!)

Andrew was hunting with Jamie, as this is Andrew's first year of hunting. He must have been sitting in the right spot, because he was fortunate to have a nice buck come by his stand! Andrew is a great shot--he got the buck right in the heart! The buck probably was a 10-pointer, but you can see where some "tines" broke off of the right side of the rack, so the buck officially has 8-points--5 on one side, and 3 on the other. It weighed 160 pounds after it was field dressed.

Here are some pics of Andrew and his first buck...

Logan and Andrew

Happy Birthday to my Husband!!!!

Happy 36th Birthday, Jamie!!!!

Jamie and the boys are headed to Nelson for the opening weekend of deer hunting. He has had a busy (not very fun) birthday, but we still were able to visit him at work today to wish him a happy birthday and deliver some balloons and some goodies for him to share with his co-workers.

Of course, I have pictures to share... :-)

As I have some pictures with no writing on the back, I am not sure how old Jamie was in some of these pics, but I am guessing this was around his fourth birthday... Maybe Deb can fill me in with the dates! :-)

The Klimek Family--I would guess Jamie to be about 3 and Nicole to be around 1 in this picture. I won't try to guess Ken and Deb's ages!

Jamie--4 years????

What a NICE outfit!!!

I think Jamie was in about 4th grade when this school picture was taken...

Isn't he cute???

Sixth Grade

Sophmore year

Junior School Picture

Senior Pic--no wonder I thought he was such a hottie back then!!! :-) I wonder if the mullet will ever make a come-back in fashion??? (let's hope not!)

Jamie--Summer 2007--Still lookin' pretty hot! :-)

Happy Birthday to my hard-working, great dad, dog-training, lawn-mowing, car-selling, poop-scooping, laundry-helping, kitchen-planning, mighty-hunting, TV-watching, fun-loving, good-looking, getting kids to school on time husband! We all love you!!!

Love, Shana

Austin, Andrew, Abby

Jack and Sophie