Friends and Fun!

Amidst the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas flurry came a most welcomed visit from my friend Sue Mahony and her family! They traveled from Decatur, Illinois with plans of seeing both the Ribbe's in Columbia and other friends in Greenville! Sue's four boys and my four kids made for quite a lively bunch! We enjoyed swimming in their hotel pool, going to the zoo, and just talking, talking, and more talking! I am so glad Sue was able to see our life here in SC! On Sunday evening our family went to the annual Christmas Ball for Church of the Apostles! It was quite an "out of the box experience" for the Ribbe clan! We had all taken dance lessons for two weeks prior to the event, and impressed ourselves at least with our ability to pull off a Waltz! Eli and Jacob hung close to the food table for most of the night, while Rob, Ben, Grace and I took our turns out on the dance floor. As evidenced by the picture above, I think we "clean up" rather well!!

Christmas Southern Style!

As I write this entry, I am sitting at Rob's sisters house in Memphis, TN. We are still on our Christmas vacation that began over a week ago as we left Columbia and drove south to Orlando! There we had a nice dinner with Great Grandma Moak, Aunt Doreen and Uncle Al. The next day we enjoyed a fabulous visit to Sea World, compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Moak's Christmas generosity! Ben was able to participate in the Beluga Whale Interaction which he will blog about in another entry! After a much fun filled day, we got back in the suburban and traveled the remaining three hours to Marco Island where we relaxed in the sun for five glorious days! We felt totally spoiled as we lounged by the heated pool, collected sea shells on the beach, slept with the warm breezes of the ocean blowing on us, and lived in a sixth floor luxurious condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico (thank you Evons!!). God smiled on us with temperatures in the low 80's and lots of sunshine! Celebrating Christmas without snow was a new experience for all of us! We opened presents around a potted plant which we decorated with a paper star on the top! The kids were overjoyed to receive a Nintendo Wii and struggled with playing that or going out into the Florida sunshine (boy is that bad parenting or what?). We reluctantly left Marco Island on Sunday, our bellies full of delicious coastal fish and other treats! Sixteen hours later we find ourselves here in Memphis, anticipating four fun days with Sandy, Pete, Hayley, Katie, Laney and Lydia Hansen!

Isaiah 30:15

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength". This verse from Isaiah best sums up how we are feeling here in South Carolina. We have been experiencing much rest and renewal, mostly through being more still and listening to the Lord...and he has been saying a lot! We are especially grateful for everyone who has had to sacrifice in some way to make this time away a reality! From all of us in the Ribbe family....Thank you! This picture is of the place in our home where much rest is found.

Ledbetters Visit

What a wonderful treat to have our dear friends from HoneyRock visit us Monday on their way to North Carolina! Dell, Heather, Haley, Jackson, Jordan & Jacob Ledbetter drove all night from Three Lakes and landed on our front porch at 10AM on Monday morning! Grace and Eli volunteered to stay home from school so they could enjoy their friends (what a sacrifice!). It took no time at all for all six kids to be fully engaged in playing and picking up where they left off five months ago. Rob and I loved catching up on Dell & Heather's lives as well as sharing about our experience here in Columbia. After a quick tour of our neighborhood and lunch, we had to wave goodbye to our friends as they headed on to their Grandmothers house. Of course they did not leave us empty handed, but showered us with gifts and well wishes from friends back home. Though our time was brief, it was enough to fill our hearts and encourage us on for the final five months!

Two Weeks 'Til Christmas

We are being kept very busy with the pre-Christmas events that fill the schedule of every parent of school aged children! Jacob performed a short solo on his trumpet in his "holiday" band concert this past Tuesday. It was a combination concert with the middle school orchestra, chorus, intermediate and advanced bands. I especially enjoyed a number called "Aurora Borealis" which incorporated the chorus, science team (via powerpoint presentation), art, dance and band. What a great idea to use multiple mediums for one song! We also went to Ben's beginning band mini-concert on Friday. This performance lasted 12 minutes and was followed by cookies and punch. We were quite impressed by how far the 6th graders have come in just two months of actual playing!

Today Eli and I went to visit his 4th grade teacher Mrs. Hamilton who is on maternity leave until January. We couldn't resist buying "Jennings" a Green Bay Packer t-shirt as a gift! His birth is extra special as it occured on October 10th, Eli's birthday!

I officially graduated from my Wilton I cake decorating class. Pictured above is the final project. My family is disappointed that I am finished, as I got to bake and decorate a new cake each week! I had a lot of fun and am hoping to continue on to course II in January.

Holiday Fun!

What a fun Thanksgiving week! The kids had five days off of school which we tried to fill with things to do lest they climb the walls (or drive Rob and I to:)).

Bob and June came to visit from Grand Rapids, MI. We really enjoyed showing them around Columbia and celebrating Ben's 12th birthday & Thanksgiving. Since Ben is a new fan of both the USC Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers, I decided to decorate a birthday cake for both teams! Ben enjoyed getting new Packer gear, a digital camera and a ticket for an upcoming "interact with Beluga Whales" event at Sea World in a few weeks! Grandma & Poppy's visit ended with a wonderful slide show of June's recent trip to Italy as well as opening some "Italian" Christmas presents!
On Friday the six of us took a spur of the moment trip to Charleston. What a blast! It was a beautiful 65 degree day and we enjoyed walking through the town marveling at all the historic homes and sites. We took a tour of the old Slave Mart where slaves used to be auctioned off. It was very humbling! We spent the night at a hotel and enjoyed a quick dip in the outdoor pool (brrrrrr!) and a long soak in the hot tub. I love snuggling in with everyone to watch a movie which we did in two groups...boys watching "Batman" and Grace and I watching "The Santa Clause". We slept in longer than we had planned due to the comfy beds and room darkening curtains! On Saturday we went to Patriots Point which is a awesome naval "museum" consisting of a WWII aircraft carrier complete with all the "fixings". The boys LOVED exploring all through the ship and fiddling with all the knobs and gadgets! We also explored a WWII submarine. How any sailor survived mentally in that thing I will never know? The whole place took us about five hours to explore, so our feet were very tired by the end of the day!

On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend a church pastored by a friend of ours. It was a very different but wonderful service! The pastor is from Guinea, West Africa. She and her husband came to the US fourteen years ago and felt called to serve the poor and down trodden in Columbia. A church was started and we were able to be at the service to celebrate their "new" building. The service lasted three hours and was full of dancing, clapping, singing, hugs, testimonies, scripture reading and prayers (many in french!)...all done with lively passion! We were the only white people there besides our friends, and felt totally loved and welcome into their fellowship! We were invited to stay for lunch after the service and enjoyed some delicious African food.

Mountaineers

Recently the three boys and their father ventured into the Smokeys. We drove 2 hours to North Carolina. When we first arrived (where our GPS took us) we drove around until we found our first campsite. It was at the base of the mountians. We set up the tent and jumped into our cozy sleeping bags. The next morning we packed everything up and started our journey up! We ventured from 1,000 to 6,000 feet. We found a new campsite, unpacked and drove to a trail. That day we hiked 4 miles through the beautiful mountains. When we arrived at our car we jumped in and started on the long journey back to our campsite. On the way down we stopped at a waterfall for a few minutes and then continued on down. We reached our campsite and sat around the campfire while dinner(hobo dinners) cooked. We ate our delicious dinners. We sat for a while and then started dessert. It consisted of chocolate chips, banana, and marshmallows. It was a banana boat. We ate than sat for 3 hours and then hit the sack. The next day(Sunday) we got up early and packed. We hiked three miles through beautiful terrain. We returned safely to our home and 3:30. It was a very memerable and fun trip. :) Written by Ben.

Now dad's perspective. It was a blast to be hiking in the mountains with the 3 boys. They did a fantastic job and the weather was perfect. Ben left out the small detail that it was 30 something each morning and was really hard to get out of the warm bag. Difference from WI is that within an hour or so it was warm. The Sunday hike was up to a huge outcroping that looks a bit like half dome in Yosemite...though not as far up. It was a breath taking view when we busted out of the trees looking over mountains, valleys, souring hawks, and millions of trees. Many laughs were had and memories were made. We talked about hiking the Appalacian Trail together someday. We figured it'd be best in eight years when Jake graduates from college, Ben is a sophomore and Eli is graduating from high school. Only problem with the plan is that I'll be 50 something. Better keep running.

Tim & Don visit!

I didn't realize how much I missed home until Tim Evon and Don Kern's came to visit this past week! What a blessing to have such dear friends here to encourage us and see our life here in the south. We had a great time, especially going to the Columbia zoo on Wednesday. We got a backstage tour of the gorilla and lemur exhibits from a friend of a friend who is a zoo keeper there! We had to wear the face masks pictured above so as not to infect any of the animals with "new germs". We were inches away from the gorillas (behind a barred door) and lemurs and tarpins were brushing against our legs! The most memorable moment however was when we were all watching a gorilla through the glass and he charged at us and body slammed himself against the window! We were all thankful for the excellent shatterproof technology saving us from sure doom! It definitely gave our hearts a bit of a jump, but also made for a great laughable memory.

I was thankful that Tim and Don were here when Rob sliced his hand taking his bike pedal off Thursday morning! They carted him off to the urgent care facility and brought him home sewn back together with ten stitches...no fainting though...PTL! We seem to have a propensity for medical kerfuffles here in Columbia! Needless to say no bike riding for awhile.

Meeting Jan Brett!

Grace and I were able to meet her favorite author, Jan Brett this past Wednesday at Barnes & Noble! I stood in line earlier in the day to get a numbered ticket, securing our place in line for the book signing....#16! Jan came and did a drawing demonstration and brief talk, followed by a loooooooooong line of people waiting to meet her! Boy were we glad to have that ticket!

My Seasonal Clock is Off!

This weekend marked the final soccer game for the boys season. Although they didn't pull off a win, Ben and Eli played great and the ref was fantastic (Rob stepped in:)). We enjoyed cheering them on in our shorts and t-shirts...and let me remind you it is November!!

My seasonal clock is a little mixed up as I am used to watching the calendar by seasons. In Wisconsin, November ushers in much cooler weather, bare trees, and not uncommonly snow. In South Carolina it is high 60's and 70's, leaves just changing, and no snow in the forecast... I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and heaven forbid, Christmas just weeks away!!! I hate to write about the "weather", but it is such a significant difference in our lives here that I cannot help myself.

We further enjoyed the beautiful weekend by exporing Peachtree Rock Preserve about 25 minutes from Columbia. I actually felt like I was back in Three Lakes with all the beautiful pine trees and the smells of the forest. Rob and the kids enjoyed figuring out ways to dam up a small waterfall. I did not enjoy watching all of them walk along the slippery edge at the top, but was able to have fun nontheless. We found some gigantic pinecones and some other interesting plants. What a joy to have time in the great outdoors.

Jacob had his first overnight at a friends house since arriving in SC. He stayed with his friend Danny Ruh who is also in the 8th grade at Hand. Jacob had a great time but came home quite bleary eyed after playing guitar hero and watching the first two Mission Impossible movies, landing in bed at 3AM.

Three Months!!

I can't believe we have been in Columbia for almost three months! The newness has definitely worn off, and we are now learning to live everyday life in the south. It seems like a lot has happened since the last post so I will do my best to do a brief overview.

Rob and Eli celebrated Eli's 10th year with a USC Gamecocks football game. They took $50 cash and went to find some ticket scalpers before the game. They were successful in procuring some pretty good seats and had a fabulous time at the game (although they ended up walking about 5 miles when it was all said and done!).

Report cards came out for the first quarter. Both Eli and Ben made straight A's. Jacob and Grace also had excellent grades! We celebrated by going out for pizza at the "Village Idiot". I really am thankful for all of their hard work and discipline in this area...it truly is amazing for 6-13 year olds!

My brother came to visit for the weekend following a conference in Charlotte, NC. He was definitely thrust back into the years of elementary age kids! We went to the Rosewood Elementary school carnival, U12 soccer game and had a full night of trick or treating on Saturday. What a different experience for our rurual northwoods kids to have miles and miles of homes to trick or treat at (without having to get in the car!!). Unfortunately for this dieting mom, there is now way too many mini chocolate candy bars in the house!!!

On Sunday Ben was baptized at Church of the Apostles by our friend and pastor Chip Edgar. It was a really special event, one that Ben has been considering for some time. He chose Uncle Bryan and Aunt Kristin, and Jonathan Heidengren to be his sponsors. They, along with Rob and I commit to encourage and support Ben in his spiritual walk throughout his life. Being baptized at an Anglican service was different for us, but full of depth and spiritual significance. We celebrated the event with lunch at Moe's! We then had to sadly bid goodbye to Uncle Bryan! What a special treat to have him here!

Mom's and Grace's Big Campout.

Mom and grace when't on a camping trip friday night to saturday morning with grace's sunday school. It was funnnnnnnnnnnnnn! My friend Liza sleeped in my tent.We stayed up till 10:30.we had hotdogs and smores. a lot of my friends were there.

Scinsearly

grace

"Cast Away" by Eli

On Tuesday I got my cast off. It felt so good. Now I have to wear a black splint when I play soccer. I have a game today. Ben and I are confident in winning. We have lost every game except for one...which was the one I couldn't play because of my new cast...maybe I'm the bad luck! On my last game I scored the only goal.

I miss Wisconsin and can't wait to come back. I have great friends there. Goodbye!

Fellowship of Believers

I love being able to connect with people I do not know. This is often on the basis of a shared faith in Jesus, regardless of denominational differences. It has been no exception here in Columbia! I have loved getting to know some of the dear people here through church, Bible study and just living life. To my delight, I was invited to a 50th birthday lunch for a "new" friend Loretta Goddard, along with four other women (pictured: Beth, Georgia, Marissa, Jan, Loretta, Me). It was such a special time hearing a bit about each person and just spending time talking, laughing and of course eating with other ladies. Their depth and love for Jesus and a desire to know him more has really touched me. I look forward to deepening some of these friendships more over the coming months.

Grace became a "published" poet today! One of her poems was selected to be included in a poetry book by second graders from the school district. It was even read aloud at the "Carnival of the Animals" festival. Grace was very excited to be included in this, and received her own copy of the Carnival of the Animals Poetry Anthology in which her poem is included. Here is her "winning" poem:

Fossils

Fossils, fossils, find them in the ground,

make a picture pretty and brown.

Leaves, fish, and dinosaur bones

die as skeletons on the stones.

We woke up to 43 degrees this morning, and I confess to having put on a thick pair of socks and fuzzy bathrobe to walk around the house! The cold here feels colder than Wisconsin, I have been told because of the moisture. The sun did manage to display its fullness this afternoon which led to a beautiful, second half of the day. Grace and I met Beth Edgar and her girls Mei Mei and Liza at the park to soak up some of the warmth. Although it is nearly November, the leaves have barely begun to change color! I think Christmas is going to sneak up on me if I keep sticking to my past ways of watching the calendar through the changing of the seasons!

Weekend of Four Ribbes

This weekend we were down 2 kids. Ben and Jake were on a men only camping trip with Church of the Apostles youth group. They drove to North Carolina and hiked and camped in woods near Panthertown. It was cold and beautiful. They hiked along mountain rocky rivers, stood behind waterfalls, ate dinner at 1am, hiked a mile up an almost vertical trail to an awesome summit view, and climbed really slippery rocks--according to Jacob "we almost died." There were some talks on what it means to be a Christian man. The themes we were able to extract from the boys included: "We were made in the image of God" and "we are supposed to protect women". I bet there was more to the story. The event ended with a car break down and a few extra hours of car time, a pancake breakfast, and a later than expected return to Columbia. All of that sounds great to this camping dad.

Back on the home front our smaller family went to Eli's soccer game on Saturday. They were 5 men down and had to play a man short. Eli scored his team's only goal with bubble wrapped cast. The team played fantastic defense, showed great ball control, and ran the entire game. It felt like a northwoods game because it was about 45 degrees, cloudy, with a misty rain. Perfect! We got to wear our sweatshirts! Later on Saturday we went to the South Carolina State Fair. Needless to say it was a bit more expansive than the Vilas County Fair in Eagle River. There were a variety of very big cows and pigs. Sorry Bill Long...there were no large vegetables. Did you know that the average age of a SC farmer is 59 years old? Grace, Eli, mom and dad enjoyed the cold rain, bumper cars, a hot fudge covered elephant ear, the hypnotist (Jackie didn't like this), and a ferris wheel ride.

The weekend concluded with an all church picnic after our worship service in the SC State Museum. We traveled about 30 minutes out of town to a cabin by a small lake. After fried chicken there was a s'more making extraveganza at the 4 portable fire pits scattered across the yard. Pictured above is the first blog appearance of Chip and Beth Edgar, our pastor, friends and Columbia hosts. A great weekend it was...maybe because it was 40 degrees and I spent it outside. By the way, we had to turn on the heat.

"All I Want For Christmas..."

Grace was bound and determined that her tooth was going to come out yesterday! I am continually amazed at her "toughness"! She wiggled it, I pulled on it, Rob yanked it and finally it came out with a "pop"! She looked so cute with a big hole in her mouth while proudly procuring her fifty cents from under her pillow this morning! Needless to say, the tooth fairy has invested a small fortune with four Ribbe kids!!!

Eli made his debut today as Captain William Kidd. His fourth grade gave pirate monologues for their classmates and parents today. Eli did a wonderful job and his gold earring sparkled during his performance! Arghhh!

Jacob and Ben are off to the mountains this afternoon with the church youth group. The guys are having a camping weekend complete with "man" food and activities. I don't even want to know what that all entails! The temps are supposed to get down into the 30's which will make our boys feel right at home.

Eli is "10"!

Today we celebrated Eli's entrance into the next decade! It sure was kind of the Richland One school district to honor him with a day off from school (okay maybe Columbus had something to do with it). It rained buckets all day, but the kids had some cozy fun playing Hide-n-Go Seek and Monopoly during the morning in their pajamas. We all went to the movie theater in the afternoon and watched the hilarious and clever "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". The day rounded out with Eli's dinner selection of stuffed shells and a chocolate cake with vanilla icing. Eli was thrilled to receive a bunch of candy from his siblings and some new clothes and legos from Rob and I and the grandparents. "Under armour" was well represented on this birthday. We are so proud of who Eli is and what he is becoming. I know God has great things in store for him!

A Great Time in the Windy City!

The only complaint I have about our recent trip to Chicago is that it went by too fast! We had such a great time traveling by plane, visiting friends, attending a wedding, shopping, eating out and sailing on Lake Michigan.

The kids stayed with Brandon and Jacqui Sharpe, friends from HoneyRock who live in Wheaton. They had such a great time and were able to see other HoneyRock students and staff from the summer! Rob treated me to a night in a hotel and then we stayed with our friend Steve Ivester. We went to Will Evon and Amy Fields wedding on Saturday evening. The night was so special from the ceremony through the reception. What a thrill to be able to see so many of our friends all in one place! We also couldn't be happier for the new Mr. & Mrs. Evon!

On Sunday, Steve Ivester took our family out on his sailboat on Lake Michigan. The weather was beautiful and we were able to enjoy a picturesque view of Chicago's lake front from the boat. The kids made for a good "crew" and had fun helping Steve with whatever he needed from his mates!

We finally landed in our own beds back in Columbia at 2AM this morning. We let the kids sleep in and took them all to school a few hours late! I think it will take us all a few days to catch up!

The best news of all....Rob is officially here for six months! His sabbatical has begun and the reigns have been handed over to John Vandervelde at HoneyRock. We are excited to see all that God will do both here in SC and back home!

It's a Wonderful Life (By Ben)

Hello, its Ben. I am going to tell you the events of my resent past. Last Thursday I received a (french) horn. I learned three notes so far. They are a, b flat, and c. I chose it because it's cool and because my great grandpa Lindren played it.
One more interesting fact; I GOT MY CAST OFF TODAY!!! I got a splint to wear when rough housing or playing sports. I now feel free! My brother, Jacob, and I are having a youth group service project tomorrow. SEE Y'AL

9-1-1

This morning the boys smelled smoke in the back of the house! I went into Grace and Eli's room where there was definitely a terrible "electrical" smell and some smoke. I checked around and couldn't find anything obviously burning, yet worried about the old construction in this house and the older wiring as well! After evacuating everyone, I went to the next door neighbors and Wayne came over and agreed that something was definitely not right. His wife Karen called 911 and then took the kids to her house. We caused quite a scene on our block with five large fire trucks coming with all the sirens and lights! Initially the firefighters could not locate the source...this being very disconcerting to me! But then they discovered that the ceiling fan was burning on the inside! An electrician came and disassembled the fan and the fire dept. declared the emergency over! I think they may have been a bit disappointed that the whole hulabaloo wasn't more exciting!

We are so thankful that we were home and discovered the problem before it became worse and burned the house. The kids are still a bit jittery but will probably feel better in a few days! Sorry Rob had to miss all the excitement. I know I would sure appreciate a little less drama in the days to come!

Our Deductible Has Been Met!

The "Ribbe's Big Southern Adventure" has certainly been nothing short of that! We chalked up broken bone # 7 for our family this past Saturday. Eli made an amazing save as goalie for his first Columbia Dynamos soccer game, unfortunately at the expense of his radius! The ER doctor commented in his notes that "brother was recently seen for fx arm"....good thing we have about 30 witnesses for Saturday's incident! It would be nice to not meet Child Protective Services during our stay in South Carolina!!

To Eli's delight, the Orthopedist on Monday said he can most likely resume soccer in a week. The league requires casts to be wrapped in bubble wrap for games (so as not to accidentally render any opposing player unconscious!), so we will need to dig through our packing boxes in the attic to find a quantity suitable for two boys!!

I have to take Rob to the airport at noon today...boo hoo! Thirteen days until he is back with us for six months! Onward with the adventure!

Urban Weekend

Once again we had a fun weekend in the "big" city! Friday night Jacob's 8th grade band was invited to play with the high school pep band during a football game. Jacob looked so "old" playing there with all the highschoolers! Our whole family enjoyed watching the game (and the pep band of course!). We were thrilled to be able to sit at an outdoor football game in late September in shorts, instead of being bundled up in hats, mittens, and scarves!

On Saturday we attended a local Greek festival (not to be confused with "Geek" festival...right Kyra?). One of Grace's friends from 2nd grade was part of one of the groups that did cultural dances (she is pictured with Grace above). We devoured a sample platter of Greek pastries and I enjoyed a yummy piece of spanakopita. We took a guided tour of the local Greek Orthodox Church and learned a lot about their religion. It was really interesting. The stained glass windows and icons throughout were truly beautiful.

We ended the afternoon with Ben and Eli's first SC soccer game. Tomorrow's entry will be about that, but I must finish now in order to take Eli to an orthopedic doctor appointment...hmmmmm!!!!???????

We're in full swing!

You can see from the time that has lapsed since our last entry that life has really been going full swing! Ben and Eli had their first soccer practice yesterday. They are both on the "Columbia Dynamos" with their first game being tomorrow. You can see in this photo why everyone asks us if they are twins!! Jacob's team is still looking for a coach, so he hasn't started yet.

Rob is back again until Tuesday. It was a much easier transition this time around! The kids are enjoying having him walk/bike with them to school each morning. I am enjoying having him here to help with Algebra! Yesterday was an open house at the boys middle school. We were able to meet their teachers and hear about their lesson plans for the year. It seems like a great group of teachers and for that we are pleased!

Tonight Jacob's middle school band is playing with the high school pep band at a football game. We are all going to go and cheer him on (and enjoy a little high school football). It looks like Ben is going to be playing the french horn this year. I was actually informed by the new musician that they no longer use the term "french" for this instrument and just call it a horn, since France apparently had nothing to do with it!! Well....excuse moi!

Tomorrow we are going to Greek Fest at a local orthodox church. I can't wait to sample some yummy treats and hear about Greece (my dream 20th wedding anniversary destination...2011! ). Grace's friend Anna from school is going to be part of a cultural dance which we are hoping to see. Her dad is actually the parish priest.

Lasty, after a $9.99 purchase of an antenna for our TV, we are now able to receive about 8 channels! It's practically cable for us two channel northwoods folk:) Rob and I have been enjoying the retro channel at night, especially re-runs of a childhood favorite, "Emergency"...no gloves, no seatbelts and always an IV with D5W!!

Fun in the Big City!

One of the many advantages of living in a city is having close access to so many fun things to do! Today the kids and I ventured to the Columbia Zoo. We had a great time! Among our favorite exhibits were the penguins, gorillas and chimpanzees. I could have done without looking at the anaconda, python or tarantulas! We decided to buy a year long family membership, so now we can go anytime and also bring some of you along!!!!!

This week I realized that one of the advantages of the kids not having a big social life yet, is that they are really focused on their school work! All the kids have been pulling excellent grades, and seem to be enjoying their teachers praise and good favor. We do seem to be consumed with lots of homework each evening, but it has been bonding in its own way. Most of the teachers have had a little or no Friday homework policy for which we have all been greatful.

I had to smile yesterday when the crossing guard at school (whom I see twice daily) asked me "what is it that you do?" I answered quite sheepishy, "nothing". We chatted about what that meant and I think she doesn't believe me to be a slug, but I did find it funny. I truely am enjoying not having to be scheduled by anything other than the kids. I exercise, read, do my bible study, explore and am slowly making some friends. I actually was brave enough to ask a nice mom whom I talk to daily while waiting for Grace and Eli to come out of school, for her phone number. She was delighted to give it to me and even called me yesterday to see if the kids and I wanted to join them at the park!

Rob returns to us on Wednesday night and soccer starts Friday. Hip, hip hooray!

Eli Eating El Fresco! (by Eli of course)

This is a picture of me and my friends. On the left is my friend Jackson. In the middle is my best friend Shayon[Shy on, is how you prenounce it]. My mom came and ate lunch with me. I got to pick 3 friends, but my other friend wanted to eat in the cafeteria. I hope you are all doing well.

Soccer should start soon. I am on the same team as broken arm Ben. There are 1,000 kids playing for the YMCA like me. I can't wait to start! Miss y'all.

Dining with friend's (By Grace)

Today my mom came and had lunch with me and I got to eat outside with two friends. Their names are Kate and Olivia. All the girls wanted me to pick them to come outside with me, but I could only pick two.

School is fun. My teacher is named Mrs. Shaw. She is very, very nice. My favorite subject is social studies. My social studies teacher is Mrs. Yandle. At lunch you grab a milk and go to the end of the line and get your tray which already has all the food on it. This is way different from Three Lakes.

My family is having fun in South Carolina. On Saturday we went to the beach until Monday morning. My dad left Monday morning. I like going to the library. There is a really big library downtown but it is scary. We go to the branch, it is much smaller.

Ben's Broken! (by Ben himself)

Unfortunately over Labor Day weekend, I was playing on a skim board at the ocean and it slipped out from under me and I fell back on my right wrist. I was feeling pain for the next few days so my caring mother took me to the doctor for an x-ray. I found out that while I had not broken anything, I injured my growth plate still requiring a cast. I picked green and yellow for you guessed it...PACKERS! I have to wear the cast for three weeks and then go back to the doctor for more x-rays and a splint. I think I might want to break my limbs more often because the ortho office is really nice with free video games to play in the lounge!

All my teachers except for band, let other people help me write or didn't make me write at all. I'm hoping I will figure out how to write with my cast on!

Hilton Head Fun!

We had an awesome Labor Day weekend thanks to the generosity of the Wall's who let us use their condo on Hilton Head Island! The weather was perfect and the ocean waves just right for wake boarding and body surfing. We spent many hours playing at the beach and soaking up some much needed vitamin D. We were able to connect with Rob's uncle Paul and aunt Elna Ribbe from VA who were on their last day of vacation at Hilton Head when we arrived. We also spent some fun time with an "old" (as in years since HR) HoneyRock and Wheaton Grad school friend Jean DeVaty who is an Episcopal pastor on the island.

Besides playing in the ocean, we clocked in a lot of time playing speed scrabble! It is amazing how often the word f-a-r-t can come up in a game when playing with three boys!! Bummer moments were getting stung by jelly fish (Jacob & Ben), and a hurt arm from skim boarding (Ben). Today we get to make a visit to the orthopedist!! The biggest bummer by far was having to drive Rob to the airport on our way home yesterday. He is back in Wisconsin until next Wednesday. This week he is wrapping up summer at HR with a full time staff retreat on Wed and Thurs. Things will be a bit different on this trip home as he will be "batchin" it with Rick Masters since we have rented our home to the Volkmann family until June! Thanks for putting out the welcome mat Rick!

Too Much Homework! (by Eli)

Fouth grade is tough! I get too much homework! I am studying lattice and area in math, pirates in english language, native americans in social studies, and astronomy in science. I have to read one chapter of a book every night and write a summary. When I'm not doing homework I like to scooter around the block. I cannot wait until Friday when we go to the beach. I hope I don't get stung by a jellyfish like my grandpa did!

My mom said I have to write about one thing I like about South Carolina....WEEKENDS! Especially Fun Sunday. Fun Sunday is where our family gets together for a family meeting to discuss the week, then we pray about the upcoming week and then do something fun. Last week we went out for pizza.

I do not like sharing a room with Grace because she is so messy, but we do have a clean room sometimes! Miss you all!

From the Hallowed Halls!

Yesterday I was reminded of the true purpose of this southern adventure....PHD! Rob and I went to the USC library where we met a girl from church who works there as a librarian. She was gracious to give us a tutorial in researching at the library as well as some "tricks" on navigating a very complex system. Rob and I then went to a computer "catalog" to begin looking for a few books he could use to get started. I was lovingly dubbed his "research assistant" and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding the books he needed among the stacks. This particular library has five levels underground, so I became quite familiar with the elevator and the fact that flip-flops are very hard to keep quiet! Rob seemed like a kid in a candy store, devouring such titles as "Identity, Culture and the Postmodern World", and "Models for Christian Higher Education"....hmmmm!

Today Rob is at the Institute for Freshman Transition, fulfilling his responsibilities there. Tonight we are off to Parent Orientation at the elementary school. It still seems so wierd to be a part of a new school. Things are much the same, but also much different. This week the lunch menu is Creole steak, Fish nuggets, Grits with Cheese, and Beef-a-Roni with collard greens. Needless to say our kids decided on cold lunch...where is their spirit of adventure???? Onward we go!

Broken in (by Jacob)

Hi ya'll! It's getting better every day. School is better now and were getting the jist of things.

This is our spider friend Charlotte. She is a yellow Banana Spider. Notice the "zipper" pattern in her web. This type of spider is very common here. Charlotte couldn't even fit on a half dollar!! So anyway school is good and im lernin lots uv nuw stuf. I'm in South Carolina history. It's interesting, but I don't know what I'm going to do with that information:). So, it's pretty much going good. We're going to the beach labor day weekend (yay) and are going to hang out there. We had a family meeting Sunday and listed all the things we are hoping to do this year (such as Washington D.C. and a backpacking trip on the Appalation Trail). We're looking forward to the rest of the year.

The Daily Grind

Life is carrying on in a fairly regular routine, which has been a relief to all of us. Wake up, eat, school, home, snack, eat, homework, play, bed...you get the idea. In the middle of all that, I am fitting in exercise, housework and exploring the city. Rob is doing his best to settle into a pattern of study. The weather continues to be beautiful if not somewhat humid, but I'll take that over the 50's of Wisconsin which I've been hearing about.

Yesterday Eli and Ben came up with their own version of a triathalon. They would run around the block, followed by scootering around the block, finishing with a bike around the block. It was hilarious. Grace was in charge of setting up and guarding the equipment and cheering as each contestant came to the transition area. The kids have had to be a bit more creative with their outdoor play, especially since they don't have the lake, woods, HoneyRock etc. We have a nice park just a block away which Eli and Grace enjoy playing at. I have been sitting in a lawn chair each evening on the front stoop trying to breathe in some fresh air. It has been fun watching all the people walk by with their dogs. Ben is thinking of starting a dog walking business in the neighborhood. He said he would do it for free just for a chance to be with some animals!

We are hoping to find something new and fun to do this weekend! Wish us luck!

Come to our table!

Hooray! We have found a dining room table and chairs. I located it on Craig's List and Rob and I drove about 30 minutes away to get it. It was quite a bargain and surprisingly, the chairs match our livingroom couch. You can imagine Rob was really excited about that:) We had our first meal around our new table last night, and what a joy it was. It is funny to think that something as simple as a table would mean so much in family unity, but I found myself feeling full of joy to see each of us sitting there together. Now we can start inviting people over to our home for dinner!

Eli is feeling much better today after getting on an antibiotic for step throat yesterday. He will hopefully be able to return to school tomorrow. I think Eli would prefer his current status of eating fudgsicles and juice pops at all hours and watching movies on the DVD player! Reality has a way of rearing her head though I am afraid!

Jacob came home from school yesterday saying "I had a great day". Those words are music to my ears. Tonight is the first Junior High Bible study which he and Ben will attend. They are really looking forward to it.

Rob had a good first day at his new "job". He was introduced to all the staff in his department and then given a tour of campus. He came home proudly bearing a USC facutly ID badge! It looks like he will be there two days a week for the time being with the other days devoted to research for the big, bad dissertation!

I am going to flit about today looking for a few more items to complete the decor of our home...a task I find fun and relaxing. Then I must gear up to receive the troops as they filter home from school.

Rob's here!

We are all breathing a little more easily having our whole family together again, even if it is only for two weeks. The kids and I drove the hour and a half to Charlotte, NC on Saturday to pick Rob up at the airport. We went early and found the Ikea, much to my joy and the boys dismay!!

Rob and Grace just left to walk to school. Eli is home sick, I think with streppe throat. I will need to find a clinic today to take him to...poor guy. Ben and Jacob are just rolling out of bed, lamenting on the beginning of another full week of school. Ben is hopeful that he might get to hold a snake in science class today....

As much as we miss worshipping with our church family in TL, we are really enjoying our church experience here. We are attending an Anglican church called "Church of the Apostles". It is pastored by our good friend Chip Edgar, whom Rob swam with on on the swim team during Wheaton undergrad days. As it is a newer church, they meet in a part of a really cool old factory which was converted into a museum. We are enjoying the liturgical components of the service as well as contemporary and traditional music. The youth program has been very impressive. Jacob and Ben are in a weekly sunday school class led by the youth pastor and a bi-monthly bible study. They will also participate in a community outreach activity each month (homeless shelter etc.). Rob went to a parents meeting yesterday and was really impressed with the youth director's mission, goals, organization and passion, as well as a dynamic youth staff.

I attended a women's ministry kick-off event yesterday. There are so many opportunities to get involved. I am looking forward to a weekly bible study beginning in Sept. and attending a ladies retreat in November. I am trying to restrain myself from volunteering for too many things, but there is just so much great stuff to do!!

Rob is going to his first meeting with the institute for freshman transitions in which he will be a "visiting researcher". Check it out at http://www.sc.edu/fye/.

Wanted...dining room table!

As you can see in this picture, we are still without a diningroom table and chairs! We left ours at home in order to save room in the moving truck, but have yet to find a reasonably priced one to buy. I have scoured the paper, thrift stores, garage sales and the like. For now, we eat off camp chairs and the floor...kinda like camping in the northwoods!

I am happy to say there is little news to report today! I believe we are getting our feet back on the ground. We are picking Rob up at the airport in Charlotte, NC tomorrow, so we will see how transitioning him into our "new" world goes. Everyone misses him terribly!!!!!! I am guessing it will be a few more days until I update this blog again...so check us out soon. We still miss all you northwoods friends a lot!