the basketball season

(Grace) we are sorry we haven't writen in a wile are computer has not been working.

the basket ball season has been going great so far.my coach's names are coach Ridgeway and coach moore. my games are on Saturday at 11:00 and some at 10:00 they are really fun to do.

my taem mates are Abby,Emma,Ali,Ann murphy,Alexandria,Grace,Lily,McCall,sidney and I forgot some one

we have won all are games so far. Today I scored a basket.I love it.

The Southern Southern Adventure Continues

As noted in the last few posts our southern adventure covered the south over Christmas break. After 6 days in Florida we headed "north"...the only direction you can go from Marco Island..towards Memphis, TN. We discovered that FL is a very long state. It took us until 7pm to reach Alabama where we stayed for the night. We paid homage to the University of Florida Gators as we passed by their home. After a short night's rest we loaded in the car again to cross Alabama (home of the soon to be national champion Crimson Tide), cut through Mississippi, and arrived in Memphis in time for dinner. Over 1,000 miles in 2 days...ugh. Make sure you thank a truck driver next time you see one. Thankfully we were able to park the car at Aunt Sandy and Uncle Pete's house for 4 days. The 4 Ribbe and 4 Hansen cousins energetically filled the Hansen home with noise and fun from mid-morning til night. We celebrated a second (or third) Christmas, ate very well, and had many great conversations. On New Years Eve we blasted off a slew of fireworks over the backyard pond in 20 degree temperatures. It was freezing!

On New Year's day we loaded the car again and headed east across the long state of Tennessee to the Knoxville area to visit HoneyRockers and former Ribbe babysitters Kit and Ryan McCaffrey. Ryan is ranch manager at Wears Valley Ranch, a year round boarding school/ministry for teens that also runs a summer camp. We had great fun catching up, playing Wii, feeding the horses, reading stories to Louise and holding baby Hope. Our snowless winter was smashed on Saturday morning when we woke up to falling snow...what a bummer! Though it only snowed an inch, it was enough to close the Great Smokies National Park and force a 2 hour detour around the perimeter of the park. On the up side, it gave us an interesting tour of the backcountry hills of TN. I only saw 2 rusting stills on the tour.

To pass the time on our 2,600 mile journey we participated in 2 surveys that are worthy of note. First, we could only eat once at a fast food company restaurant and then voted on which was the best when we arrived home. Sonic--the southern drive in burger restaurant--received 3 first place votes, Chick-fil-A received 2 first place votes, and Subway received 1 first place vote. The Jack-in-the-Box burger chain was voted last by all 6 of us. The second survey involved checking off the state license plates we saw on the journey. We saw 42 states. It took about 5 days to see WI (we couldn't count our own). The far west states of UT, AZ, NV, ID, ND, SD, MT, and HI were the only ones we didn't see. All in all, it was a great trip with many fantastic memories, connections with great friends/family, a few crazy moments, and lots of fun. We're grateful our rusty Suburban made it all the way without issues. Ironically, when we arrived home the hot water heater was busted so cold showers and 18 degrees greeted us on our first morning 'home'. Wasn't it supposed to be warm in SC? The boys have received their back to school haircuts and tomorrow morning we get back on schedule with early morning wake-ups and school.

Ben's Beluga Whale Interaction

On December 22, I was able to participate in a beluga whale interaction at Sea World. This was a gift from my parents for my 12th birthday.

First of all I would like to thank my parents for the opportunity to interact with these amazing arctic creatures. And I would also like to thank my grandma and grandpa Moak for giving my family and I the chance to go to Sea World.

First I entered a back door that led to lockers for changing. There I changed into a wet suit preparing for the 54 degree water we were going to be kneeling in. After that I was taken to the back of the arctic exhibit where the belugas and other arctic animals were located. Passing through the back of this exhibit I got to get close and personal with arctic seals! After looking at them for a while I met up with my trainer and entered the whale exhibit. When interacting with the whales I sat on a ledge that was under about 2 to 3 feet of water. The whales I got to interact with were 7 and 6 years old and were named Klondike and Oracle. My favorite trick that they did was when I splashed them in the face, they spit water right back at me! There were many other tricks and I enjoyed this a whole lot!

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!