In-Law Bash @ Teresa's

 ____Teresa's lovely tree.  (Shouldn't have taken the picture in the dark.  I didn't realize I missed the top of the angel.)

 _____Some of the next generation waiting patiently._____

 _____Calvin supervising his little cousin playing on the floor with vehicles, just like Calvin did at that age._____

___And dinner is served for a mixture of friends and relatives.  We had helped serve at the Elks, so really weren't very hunger. Pork loin from the grill (David's cooking) with all the trimmings, from Teresa and the family, plus what others brought.

Christmas Present to Us

___  We purchased a new 2012 Honda CR-V this afternoon in Marshalltown.  We had looked and priced in Ames on Wednesday to no avail.  Nice people to deal with in Marshalltown and ready to deal.
I'll get a better picture when the day is bright and it's not under trees.  It shows up blue here, but it is actually Charcoal.  (polished metal metallic according to the color chart)  First NEW car we have had.

Heritage Books Arrive

 ___Seventy five boxes of 10 books each were delivered to Jefferson Library shortly after noon today.____

 __Jeff and Ben were the youngsters, and best helpers ever!!  Here Grandpa and Grandson work together. The boys got tired of waiting for the elevator, that would only hold 10 boxes at a time, and they started carrying 2 boxes of books down the stairs.  A couple others, not as old as some of us, carried 1 box down at a time.  They weighted 51# each.

 ___The basement was soon filling up.  The Genealogy Society members will be helping during Library hours the next 3 days, for people to come in to pick up their orders.  Also there are some consignment books that can be purchased.  I'm very pleased with the finished product.  There were times when we wondered if we would get it accomplished.   The "Heritage of Greene County" has been in process for over a year.

Family Christmas

_____Last evening we held our Deluhery Christmas celebration.  Soup, sandwiches and things others brought were enjoyed by all 18 present.  Jenni, Tristin, Mara and Becca were unable to attend at the last minute, when Mara woke up from her nap with a fever.  (Much to everyone disappointment.)  The main gifts were opened first.  (This was the second year we had given money early and each recipient purchased their own gift and brought it wrapped to the party.)                               __Sadie picked shorts for over her dance tights.

 _____Jeff chose a nice warm hat only to discover it contained ear phones too.  

Hil picked head wear too.  A necessity for college kids.   

 Then the annual $5 grab-bag was held. Pictured is David's turn and he is looking over what everyone has so far, to see what he would like to steal.   (Much more strategic teams are developing every year.) 

 ____Teresa has just scratched off a lottery ticket she had with her grab bag gift to discover she had won $20,000.  (And the guilty brother that had found it online, enjoying his trickery.) 

_____  A good time was had by all and the evening wound down with everyone sitting around after dessert and having a good visit.

Basketball vs Kuemper

 ____Logan K's arm is healed (from football) so he could join the team.  Kuemper wasn't as good as predicted.  They had been beaten by Carroll, instead of beating them by 40 points, as first reported.  Our boys lost, but did pretty well.

 ___Once again, the other team had the height advantage.

___Finish of the A game, ready for the B game, which our boys won.  Thanks to the final free throws by Logan L.  We were behind by 1 with time running out at the other end of the floor and Logan heaved the basketball toward the basket at the opposite end and was fouled.  He made 2 free throws to win the game.
(I bet the poor Kuemper boy that made the foul feels terrible) 

Loss @ Prairie Valley

 _____Height was a factor in the loss again tonight.  This photo isn't a sharp as I like, but with available light this is what I got, but it shows the height difference.    

 
 _____This combination, that played the 2nd and 4th quarters of the B game would have been winners if they had only kept score those quarters. As it was we lost by 1 point.  The boys can only play 6 quarters a day.  So when they play in 4 quarters of the A game, they can only play in 2 more quarters in the next game.  This B game helped them regain some of the confidence they lost the first game.
_____Next week we play Kuemper.  Kuemper beat Carroll (the team that beat us badly, 68-15) by 40 points.....

7th Rams @ Carroll

____  Two lopsided games tonight in Carroll.  Our A team was beaten soundly.  And the B team won easily. Calvin played the A game and two quarters in the B game.  He had a couple points in each. I wonder why we even play Carroll.  They are a different size school, so our high school doesn't compete against them.  It is a closer drive then some of the schools we play.

Nativities to the Library

_____The library called a couple weeks ago to see if I would be willing to display some nativities during December this year.  Of course I would.  (Even though this is the third time some have been there.)  I didn't remember which I had taken up before and decided I would take some of the homemade ones, as well as a Lizzy High craft collection I had.  Plus a few others to fill in.   

Rams win---Rams 31- Perry 28

___Finally a win!  These boys hadn't won all football season and lost the first basketball game by a bunch.  Tonight we had an evener match in height.  Plus their tallest boy fouled out just before the end of the game.  This helped.  Calvin didn't have any points, but had some great assists and rebounds.  

New Outdoor Nativity

____First Christmas present of the year delivered from New Jersey!  Thank you, Liz and family.  It got set up today, except for the angel.  We're still studying on that.  Jerry cut grooves in 2x4 for the ground, plus a rod behind to keep them in place.  Next the angel, probably on a post and a spotlight!  This completes my collection.  I was needing one for outside!

Thanksgiving Weekend

 ____We had a quiet day Thanksgiving.  Just taking life easy and preparing for the weekend.  Friday Nancy and Mara stopped to play, eat and get tired so Mara would nap on their way to Des Moines for Disney on Ice.  Their plan worked and Mara napped and later enjoyed the program.  (I'm wondering if Grandma Nancy might be starting a new tradition!)

 _____Saturday we journeyed to Williamsburg.  Dan and Nancy hosted Thanksgiving for the Shermans, plus us.  Joan and girls were able to come down from CR too. Good time, great food and company.  Here Sadie and I are starting a beginner reader!  Becca was all eyes for this book.  You can never start too early!  At 4 months, she was ready to read.

____Sunday Matt, Liz, and family joined us and Teresa's family for lunch and a good visit.  They had returned to Iowa to visit and to be with Liz's family for the first holiday without her Mother.  They sorted through pictures and etc. Liz said they had stuff from grandparents, and aunts an uncles too. Things that need to find a family historian.  Today they are heading for home.

7th Grade Basketball

1. ___Tonight was the first game of the season.  We played Nevada in Nevada. Calvin was captain and played most of the time and didn't play the B game.  They lost 9 - 49.  The other team had a size advantage, but we knew that after playing them for football.   It shows up even more on the basketball court.  Our boys played hard the whole game and had some good plays.  It wasn't a good gym for pictures.  Not enough light, or I need to sit down front or something. 

(Update:  The B team lost 2 - 52.  The tall kid in the captain picture play in both games.)

Becca's Baptism

____This is Dan's family. Minus Amos,  he had a work project that was claiming his attention.  Teresa, Nancy's sister (Godmother)  took his place.  Baptism went very well. Becca didn't cry at all.  Did give the Priest a funny look a couple times.  Dan corralled Mara here long enough to get a picture. She does being two, very well!  More pictures on facebook...

Home Again

     We visited CR yesterday and today.  We enjoyed our visit.  School was out early.  Jill went to the Kennedy volleyball game and Sadie had dance after supper.  Kind of a usual night in their household.  We shopped some before returning home. (I should have used flash on the girls picture.  The camera would have had more light for better focus.  I'm learning!)


____Pictured is how Cedar Rapids takes care of their leaves.  People rake them to the curb and they have trucks that vacuum them up.  No fires, no sacking them up, no hauling them away.

More Leaves!

_____The yellow maples turned loose with their leaves today.  Really a pretty fall day today.  Frost this morning and sunshine later, no wind.  Pop is done with jury duty.  Now he doesn't have to call in to serve anymore of the 3 months he was scheduled.  He's happy with that, but feels like he missed some nice days.  Three out of the four days were nice that he was spending time with the jury.  It was a new experience for him and he got to know some new people, as well as getting to know better some he already knew and get to see how the system works. 

Youthful Exuberance

___Every year the high school student have taken an afternoon to do community service of leaf raking for those unable to rake their yards themselves. We have many elderly in town that really appreciate this service.   This year they have about 130 yards listed.  Our neighbor's was the 13th yard for this crew. The front yard group were quietly busy.  However the back yard crew were having a great time and enjoying themselves,  but never too busy to pose for pictures!

Didn't Have Enough!

____Trick and treat night tonight 5:30 - 7:30.  We had 6 bags of candy bars and ran out in 1/2 hour.  Our neighbor shared and thought she had more than enough and we ran out at 140 treats.  They lasted another 1/2 hour.  (Had to take a picture of this gal.  She and a young man both in costume were out collecting candy, no kids noted with them.  Must not have wanted to wait until next year!)  Lots of adults and lots of little ones not dressed warm enough.  It was getting too dark before 7 anyway.  

Trick and Treat Around the Square

_____Last evening 5-6 we went uptown to watch trick and treaters. What a crowd. One store had 600 treats and ran out. That is a close a count as available. We were in front of Ben Franklin and people were coming from both directions. This is toward the end and it was thinning out some. (I have more pictures on facebook.) Some people we knew, but many we had never seen before. The Rec Center and Library both had treats also. Lots of adults dressed up too. Deb G. had 3 sacks of 350 treats. She said she gave 2 pieces and wouldn't give to those taller than she was.... though she admits to being vertically challenged, she's not THAT short. Her treat bag was running out too.

7th Football @ Perry

_____Perry won 18-6. That makes a 0-6 record for this year. Last season they had some wins against bigger town in the AAU program. But they also had less kids and boys that had played since 3rd grade. This year they had many that hadn't played football before along with the boys that had played. Now it will soon be time for basketball!

Freedom Park Memorial Ceremony

__This afternoon they had a ceremony to dedicate the Park, newly completed, in Churdan. It is to honor the Service men from the area that lost their lives in WWI and WWII. Jerry's uncle topped the list.

7th football @ Prairie Valley

_______Another loss. This time 36 - 0. Calvin played all game except for the kickoff receiving team, and with the score, there were more than usual! Pictured is of Calvin on his way to assist with a tackle. (The white shoes and black socks) One more game next Monday.

BVU @ Central

____Saturday Abbey cheered for BV at Central in Pella. We went down and joined other family members to take part. BV had a great first half to lose in the second half. We all went out to eat after the game before heading our separate ways. (Calvin had his radio ear bud listing to the Iowa game and couldn't concentrate on both games at the same time, so had his head buried part of the time. Jeff had the other ear bud in his ear listening and reporting to the guy behind us when the score changed.) Iowa lost too. Dave was busy farming and missed the fun. (Abbey is in the back in the tower formation. That is her usual spot, so no decent photos showing her then.)