Our Little Bach to Be!

Okay, so maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit...but Grady began piano lessons last Wednesday!  When I found out that Ms. Jayme could take him and when he would be starting...he could barely wait the week and half to begin.  Since his lesson last Wednesday, he has been practicing daily...with only a little frustration with his fingers!!  Sometimes they don't do quite what he thinks they should!  I hope he keeps with this...he is doing fantastically so far...of course, I could be a little biased!

Honors Band!

Gabe has been selected for the second year in a row for South Central Honors Band!  He will perform on Saturday, February 9 in Andover!  He also recently made 1st Chair in Trumpets in his 6th Grade Band!!  We are so proud of him!  He works very hard practicing his trumpet...usually without too much prompting from us!  Way to Go Gabe!! 

Weekends of Wrestling!

Two weekends ago, Grady headed to Goddard for wrestling.  It was a middle of the road tough tournament in which he placed 4th!  He lost his last match in overtime....it was a heartbreaker to watch!  We are so proud of his wrestling this year.  He is the youngest in a pretty tough weight group, so even though he has been coming up short on the winning side...he has been improving so much from week to week!  This weekend was the Augusta tournament.  Unfortunately, Grady doubled out, but he lost to the 2nd and 3rd placers...so not too bad if you ask me!  Again, he did some really great things....he and Shawn had worked on a couple of things from the weekend before and he was able to use some of his new moves this weekend.  He has yet to be pinned or lose by a major decision...so I think he is doing just fine!  He has such a strong personality...I guess that is the best way to put it.  He doesn't enjoy losing, but it also doesn't get him down.  He just refocuses on what he did right and wrong and builds on that...with a little prompting of course!  He is one of those that I think in the future he will be a lot of fun to watch...if he chooses to continue!  What am I saying...I mean he is already a lot of fun to watch...just more fun...how about that!  Good grief!

Been Thinking.....

We at the Fox house are back to the grind....and the grind has got me thinking....yep, you should be scared!

1.  I could totally be a hermit.  After 2 weeks off with my 3 guys...I have found that I could indeed move to a home on a 1000 acres and plop myself smack dab in the middle of the property...only leaving once a week for church and groceries. 

2.  After said hermit declaration....I want to clarify...I would be a hermit with my 3 guys.

3.  I clearly was not ready for Christmas break to be over. 

4.  I wish college football was on year round....I truly enjoy watching football....college that is.

5.  My husband is truly talented.  He finished a gun cabinet for his Dad...it is amazing.  He is now building me a bookshelf...and it too will be amazing!

6.  I love being a Mom.  After spending 2 weeks with the boys....I actually had a lumpy throat last week when I was dropping the boys off...I miss those little turkeys!  Uh-oh lumpy throat is back while thinking about those little turkeys!

7.  Grady has a way to make me laugh that noone else does.  Him and I are complete opposites...so, I don't usually get him...maybe that's why he can make me laugh.

8.  Gabe and I are twins....23 years apart.  I look at that boy and shake my head...he is me....only in boy form.

9.  Shawn and I were clearly made for each other.   I love the fact when I pick up the phone to give him a random ring in the middle of the day...the phone begins to ring and it is him.  I usually hate when people interrupt my talking...but I love when he completes my thoughts and sentences...he is probably the only one that gets to interrupt me!  I love that although we are complete opposites...he gets me and all 5 million crazy quirks that make me, me.

10.  It is a complete fact that as you age, you begin to look like your partner....I have been documenting such findings in church...clearly a fact.

11.   That said....I wonder if I will look like Shawn or him like me...interesting.  I hope he looks more like me...I really don't want to go sporting a full beard....lots of German in me though...lots of German.

12.  On the family history note, while helping Grady do some family tree homework last night...I found some family tree papers my friend Linda completed about 10 years ago.  My great-great-great-great Grandparents immigrated here from England (on my Mom's side).  I am thankful I got good teeth....sad, I don't have that accent though. Also, found some royalty back in the 1200's...Shawn called it years ago when he called me a Princess.

12.  We have a cat that wondered up starving a few months ago and has since adopted us....I refused to name him...thinking it would doom him to the highway death that most of our animals find.  I have named him...and he is still alive.  His name is Willie.  He is sweet and loves us.  He may be just the cat that will change my tune about cats.

13.  I have found a new favorite t.v. cook and cook books....Pioneer Woman.  She has been around a while...I am just now jumping on that band wagon.  We have had something from P.W. daily since Christmas...we are getting fat.

14.  I love, love, love to cook.  I hate, hate, hate to clean up after cooking.

15.  God is amazing!  He created me and my quirky thoughts.....and placed me and my quirky thoughts with 3 amazing people....and dozens and dozens of family and friends that love me for me.

There you go.  A few thoughts that were running through my head in about the last 10 minutes...it's a fun place to be...inside my head....thanks for stopping by.

...because I totally wanted to cancel that appointment anyway!

Grady came home from wrestling last Thursday with this little beauty!  This picture was actually taken on Friday morning...the day before family pictures...which were cancelled right after this picture was taken!  Since Friday, the eye has taken on about 40 shades of purple....Grady said he did it for K-State!  Wow, now that is a dedicated fan!

 

Who really needs family pictures anyway??!!

The Great Fox Family Christmas Tree Hunt!

Oh, a-hunting we shall go....and a Christmas tree we shall find!

 

We went out again on Thanksgiving Eve in search of this year's Christmas tree....we found this little beauty in record time!  We tagged him that day, and Shawn and the boys brought him home last weekend...showered him up and he is now beautifully glowing in our living room!!  Let the holidays begin!!!

Turkey In Disguise!

For Thanksgiving, Grady's 2nd grade class disguised turkeys....Meet Collin Kleinturkey!  I'm sure Collin would be super impressed!

Fourteen Years and Going Strong!!

Fourteen years ago, I married my best friend....it's hard to believe that fourteen years have passed!!  Has married life always been easy....ummm, no...but would I have wanted to share it with anyone else.....ummm, heck no!  We have grown so much together...when we met 16 years ago, we only knew about ourselves and the lives we had envisioned for ourselves.  Along with a marriage comes a merging of visions for your future...some of mine, some of his and some we have formed along the way.  As we have grown, we have changed in so many ways....and with the changes....we are closer today, than we were yesterday...and I know full well, tomorrow we will be closer than today!  Not a day goes by that I don't learn something new about the man I married 14 years ago..and I think that is one of secrets...to never become too comfortable that you aren't open to learning something new!  So, today, I thank God for placing Shawn in my life...and I thank Shawn for listening to God...and asking that giggling 18 year old girl out on a date!    

K....S....U...Wildcats!

 Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend the KSU vs. OSU football game!!!  It was an evening game, which the boys and I had never been to an evening game...so, this was pretty exciting...the driving back at midnight...not so exciting, but everything else...totally rocked!  We had a fantastic time cheering the Wildcats to their 9th victory of the season!!  Thanks Mom and Dad Fox for the tickets!!  We had a blast!

Happy Halloween!

 As many of you know....our family has been soooo busy this year!  I really don't think it will slow down for the next oh, say 10 years or so!  With that being said, we still managed to eek out a jack-o-lantern before Halloween!  Meet Cyclops-O-Lantern!

Grady "Rocky" Fox

 

And with the addition of a middle schooler in our household came the subtraction of a trick-or-treater in our household!  So, here he is our only trick-or-treater!