HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY!!!

To a wonderful mom of soon to be THREE!  Happy birthday!!  WE LOVE YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!

A Very Merry Christmas

Just thought we could take a little trip down Christmas memory lane. Actually Janine's turkey eating and Jim's nose pickin' are both from Thanksgiving but the great shots of the kiddo cousins are perty dang fun. And going back just a little bit further with the Moore siblings - so wish I could have spent Christmas with the three of them and all of you. Hope it was a good one. Love, Hannah

Baby it's cold outside

It has been darn cold here in Portland...ok. ok. I know that it is colder in Montana (and pretty much all places that you all live) - but it is unusual for Portland. So unusual, in fact, that the whole city has been SHUT DOWN for over a week. Seriously - it's crazy.
Anyhow, we are trying to weather the weather and it's dramatic affects on our businesses :(
Luckily, however, we will be leaving for Montana tomorrow! We can't wait to see family and celebrate Christmas.
I hope that you are all very much enjoying your Christmas eve., being warm, and with family and friends.
We love you all so much.
Briana, Peter, and Sabina
ps. check out Sabina's blog for snow pictures and some cute pictures of our girl

An Ode for the Irish

While the Grizzlies didn't get it done tonight, I am hoping for a better performance from the Saints tomorrow. But there is still that game on December 24th that will keep me glued to the TV. And in light of the Grizzlies poem that my mom put up, I have created a similar ode to the faithful Irish fans in our family. So, enjoy!

The Plight Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas
And all ‘cross the land
The ND faithful were rapt
With their Irish gear in hand

A disappointing season
Had left them at 6 and 6
But an invitation to a bowl
Had given them a chance to fix

Many years of heartbreak
And gray hairs galore
This last game of 2008
Hopefully could make up for that, and more

Riding the arm of Clausen
And Charlie’s weak knees
Floyd should be back
To burn defenders with ease

Allen had a respectable year
And Tate is a rising star
If the defense can step it up
A victory should not be far

The warm weather of Hawaii
Can hopefully inspire
A victory from the Irish
To save a season which was quite dire

Weis nearly lost his job
Those alums had noose in hand
If you can’t win a championship
From coaching you should be banned

And while the Hawaii Bowl isn’t the BCS
It could still hold hope
By ending a ho-hum season
Without a reason to mope

So be tuned to your TVs
Come Christmas Eve
And prove to those ND-haters
That we are not naïve

Sympathy?!

Hey, even you die hard Cat fans have to have a little sympathy for the Griz tonight. Come on Nate, find it in your hard little heart!!! So let's cheer those Carroll Saints on tomorrow - they can get the job done!! Go Saints!!

some christmas cheer

As much as I hate to post on top of that lovely ode to the Griz, as a offspring of MSU grads, I had to. Just wanted to let you all know of some news our family received. Some of you may have seen this already on facebook, but the least technically savvy (read: old) family members, I thought you should be filled in too. Nate was diagnosed with Myotonia Dystrophy which apparently is a (very in comparison) mild form of muscular dystrophy. So it's a very slowly progressive disease that affects your muscles. He went in because his grip strength was bothering him. He wasn't able to play golf because he couldn't grip the clubs hard enough. The neurologist said he won't regain this strength and likely will lose other muscle strength throughout his body, including legs, eyes, and heart. But again, this is likely YEARS down the line. He's feeling fine and taking this surprising well. I'm personally still a little leary of the diagnosis because it's a strictly hereditary disease that one of his parents would have to have and neither of them have symptoms. I have no doubt that he is somehow diseased, though! If this is his diagnosis, it is a little worrisome because it's a dominant trait and so our kids have a 50% chance of having it. But I'm not really sure exactly what the prognosis is. We will be going to see a specialist after the first of the year.

On another note, Emma had her first Christmas program tonight with her daycare class. Only 3 other kids showed up, but it was pretty cute. She's the one second from the left. Emma's friend Ava is the last on the right and she was so hilarious and really got into it! Sorry about the jerky picture. What an amateur! You also can't hear the song very well, but it's the Chipmunks singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Just To Get You Cat Fans in the Christmas Spirit

Go Griz!!!



Twas the week before playoffs

And all through the state,

Griz Nation was ready

We knew it’d be great!



First up Texas State and

Griz fans would not worry.

31 to 13

Skinned dem Cats in a hurry.



With a smug attitude

The Wildcats came flaunting

Our seismic North End Zone

Their players were taunting.



But once was enough

And redemption at hand

Weber got spanked

Now ain’t vengeance grand



Of the Dukes they all said

“They’re the best in the land,”

Redemption round two

Just as we planned.



Special Teams were excited

Showing grit and some gristle

Our defense ignited

And launched the Butte missile.



A pick and a swat

From a corner named Swink

On 4th down and 20

Duke’s hopes he did sink.



Bring on the Spiders ,

The Grizzlies don’t care

We’ve got Chase Reynolds

Who runs like a wild-hare

Mariani , Ferriter

Pfaler and Beaudin

Our feared air attack

Will soon be explodin’!


Now on-Quinn, now on-Horn,

And don’t forget Dow

On Hillesland, on Dyk,

Bring it O-line Kapow!

When all are covered

with a juke and twist

He carries the rock

Our mighty Cole Bergquist.

Too many great players

To name in a poem

But at Finley Stadium

All Grizzlies will roam.

Under Friday night lights

Our fans have a wish

The Grizzlies will find

Some Spiders to squish

We’re ready and willing

And can’t hardly wait

The players, the coaches

This game could be fate.



You’ve practiced, you’ve sweated,

You’ve worked the whole season

The Championship Game

Is the one single reason.



So Santa is here

To offer a toast

To the Montana Grizzlies

The team we love most.

To all of our coaches

in this season of light

Merry Grizmas to all

And to all a good Brody McKnight

UDS Crew 2008

MATT IS HOME!!!  And are we ever thankful and happy!  HOORAY!!!  Included a link to a Seattle news channel segment on the homecoming.  Look for Kelly's red vest.  Here's a few pictures, too.  Love to you all! 

http://www.king5.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=312202&shu=1

LT Buyske is coming home tomorrow!!!  HOORAY!!! Here is the family picture taken on the day Matt left for deployment back in May (sweet reflection off the Camry).  Tomorrow, I will have a NEW family picture to post: HOMECOMING!!!  Can you tell I'm excited? HOLY CHEESECAKES, I'M PUMPED!!!  

p.s. Lists, people.  Lists.    

Christmas lists ...

It's that time of year again! Remember that this blog is called "mooreschristmas" for a reason. Let's get your wish lists on this site. Hooray! Y'all know what to do. To lead the way, here are (admittedly short) lists for Ann and me.

Ann: Write a story; donation to Food Share; Smart Wool socks (black); iTunes gift card; Title 9 gift card; Audio Darhma gift card

John: iTunes gift card; tan socks; 8" or 10" fry pan (not teflon); write a story; donations to good causes (Helena Food Share, Helena Friendship Center, Habitat for Humanity, Oxfam, IRC, or others you deem worthy)

Another birthday ...

It occurred to me a few times today that this is the 84th anniversary of Dad's birth. Here's to the old man! Long may he live in our hearts.

FINALLY!

Hello wonderful family!

Well, it's official. I graduated from my transcription course on 11-10 and now am gainfully employed!! WOOHOO! It's with a small online transcription company that works with clinics (which means no weekends or holidays). I get one doctor to struggle through his/her tapes. :) Best of all - I'm still at home with Tyson! It's awesome!

Speaking of - the big guy has two teeth with a third on the way! Holy hannah! This kid is growing by leaps and bounds!

Oh - and sorry to post ontop of the Christmas list post - GET THOSE LISTS UP!

(Abe and Desiree - we have you and vice versa - we'll email you!)

LOVE YOU ALL! Megs

Christmas lists, please!

OK...so the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving is past. The turkey is gone, the fridge is almost bare again! Now we move into the Christmas season. Yeah!!

I would like lists posted on the blog for your Christmas wishes so we can begin our shopping expeditions. So let's go family!!

Have a great first week of Advent!

Love you all!

Mary

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I just figured since I was the first to experience the holiday I might as well be the first to pass on the holiday greeting!

I hope this blog finds everyone healthy and happy and enjoying time with the family. Kelly and I are hoping that we will be able to catch most of you over Christmas while we are in Montana.

Still waiting to see Nate sporting his new colors! :)

God bless,
Matt

Griz colors are ALWAYS in style!!!!!

35-3 - oh say it isn't so, Nate!!! I'll have to hand it to you, those Cats put up a heck of a fight!! I just want to tell you, Nate, that maroon and silver suit you well!
We heard the cheering all the way in South Dakota from Washington stadium.
Too bad Notre Dame stunk up the place! Doug Perry was NOT a happy camper.
Anyway, all is fair in love and war and in-family! There is always next year Cat fans!
Love from Sioux Falls, SD!!

GRIZ

I just have to say.....Nate started it. There are plenty of young, adorable griz fans as well, not to mention an actualy griz football player as part of the family. So yeah....guess we will find out the better team once the griz win on saturday.

calendar?

Sorry to post on top of the lovely picture of Nate, but I was wondering if anyone is working on a 2009 Moore family calendar. Not that I'm volunteering, I would just like to buy one.

'nuff said ...

Ladies and Gentleman...

... and Griz fans: As you may or may not know the annual Cat-Griz game is coming up this Saturday in Missoula, Montana. I know some may get sick of the annual back and forth between cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews but the blog just wouldn't be the same without the yearly banter. Here are some interesting scenarios:

This cute and obviously smart youngin' Truman is bucking the trends within his family. While his mom and dad are Griz fans, Truman thought for himself and welcomed the Cats into his heart. I can only imagine the tension around the house come Saturday.

Another very cute kid also didn't care for Griz loyalties. While her aunts and uncles may be Griz fans, she could not help but seize the opportunity to wear Cats garb and cheer on the true Montana team.

In a more current situation, the newest addition to our family, Desiree Moore, owns a Bobcat shirt provided by an anonymous donor while her husband is a die hard Griz fan. That's a tough way to begin a marriage but I know they can pull through it.

So obviously, Go Cats! I can't wait to brag about an MSU victory on UM's home turf!

update

Hello all! Hope you are all well. We are settling in to Billings quite nicely. I love my new job, although feel a little adequate most days and try to find new places to hide, fearing someone is going to find me out and realize I'm not really supposed to be here. So far that hasn't happened so I guess I've found good hiding spots. I know some of you have wanted to see pictures of our house and wanted to let you all know I've updated Emma's blog with a tour of the new place. So check it out and remember our door's always open! Love ya all! (So does Emma!)

Happy Anniversary, Hannah & Jerry!

Wednesday marks the ninth anniversary of the Philpots' wedding, and what a grand nine years they have been! It was great to see the whole family in San Diego. We hope you guys have a wonderful day together!

Here are a couple shots ... one of the happy couple, and the other of a big dinner in Solana Beach.

THE BIG 3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!! You are the big 3 today little man! I hope you have a great time in the car with your gramma, your mom and your little bro!!! I cannot wait to see you in a few weeks! Love ya!

Love,

Aunt Jen

Can't help it

Okay...more wedding photos. I can't help it! It was such a great time - the whole week that we were there. I am bad at remembering to take photos, so all of mine are from about a 45 minute span of time - but it was a great 45 minutes. They are pre-wedding, getting ready with the girls pictures. Desirees bridal party was a bunch of great girls - including her fabulous sisters. My favorites are the ones of Desiree - what a beautiful bride!!

Some Fun Wedding/San Diego Pictures

On the bus on the way to the wedding.... trapped. Abe sweet talking the policeman after the after after party which included a pool. (Yes, those afters are correct.) This marks the second time this year (counting Crystal Lake up by Helena before the family picnic) that Abe has sweet talked law enforcement and persuaded them to leave and levy no fines.

Mike is gung-ho about the rehearsal dinner.

Carter and I shaking hands for good luck while going under the Coronado Bridge. Apparantly it's good luck to shake hands, hug or kiss the person next to you for good luck while traveling under the bridge. We chose the hand shake.




The wedding was amazing and these pictures are just some fun ones I found on the camera. The wedding was great and these pictures pale in comparison to the beautiful pictures of the bride and groom.

A few of my favorite wedding pics....

Moore Wedding PIctures

Alright, here are about a million wedding pictures from our official photographer. Just type in your email address, then when it asks for the password, type "moore".

Enjoy!

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone for all your gifts and notes and encouragement, and especially to everyone who made it down to San Diego for the wedding. Hope you all had fun. We're really excited to see any pictures anyone might have, so post them!

So far married life is pretty great. We're in the process of packing and moving, which is typically no fun, but is exciting because we're moving in together!

Mr & Ms Furmoore

Well, it was a week ago that we gathered for the exchange of vows. It was beautiful.
Here are the newlyweds a couple days after, just before embarking on a hot-air balloon trip over north San Diego County. I hope we'll see some photos from various parts of the wedding weekend. Hannah probably reigns as the camera champ. Congratulations to Abe and Desiree. Your happiness has enhanced ours.

Happy Birthday "Dr" Mike

Happy "Golden" Birthday, Michael. We hope you have a special day to a special kid. Good luck on your proficiency exam. Love, Mom and Dad

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!!

Happy Birthday Ben! I know you will be having a great day celebrating with Abe and Desiree. Sure wish we could be there to celebrate too! Oh well. Have fun and behave.

Also, congrats to Ben on passing his board exams!! YEAH! Say hello to the newest Physical Therapist Assistant in Montana!!
Woohoo!!
Love ya dude!!
MOM and DAD

Congrats!

I would like to be the first to say congrats and good luck to the happy couple! I really wish we could make the trip to San Diego, but we will definitely be there in spirit. I'm sure Desiree will be a gorgeous bride and Abe a dapper groom. I expect to see lots of pictures! Speaking of pictures, I promise I will post some of the house for all those that have asked. We are planning to make some finishing touches this weekend and I will take pictures after that. Hope you are all well!

what a life!

just thought i'd drop an update, life is busy as ever.
trying to get obama to wear my underwear... well, you know the deal.
updated my site a little, not in love with it yet.
check it out and let me know what you think anytime: readunderwear.com
newest endeavor: the PLATYPUS flosser for braces!
it is awesome, a flosser for braces that doesn't require threading!
check out my site if you have the urge: platypusco.com

other than that, getting excited for the wedding!!!
fall is gorgeous here,
kids are doing fabulous, adjusting well to our caregiver that is here with the kids during the day (phew!)
dogs are good. goat is good.
life is just good.

feeling grateful today for such a great life.
we have a total kick ass family, and i love you all so much.
m

Updates

Hi- So I took this seemingly slow time on the blog to update everyone about the happenings in my life here in Missoula Montana. So I started with my new post as Youth Ministry Intern here at Christ the King Parish at the end of August. I have been put in charge of hanging out with a group of 15 or so 7th and 8th graders. It has been so much fun, though stressful at times, and I really really love it. I also started my fourth year of college which has been a challenging semester thus far. But, as you my have learned from previous posts, I have taken up the art of fly fishing as a means of blowing off some steam --though the sport has caused some frustrations of its own-- after school and before hanging out with the crazy middle schoolers. I have also taken up playing racket ball once or twice a week, since sometimes you can't just go fishing. Not to brag but I am feeling pretty confident in my racket ball abilities, much opposed to those of fly fishing... So work is good, school is alright, I have some new hobbies and no complaints, especially with Notre Dame above .500 again. I love you all very much and cannot wait for the Holidays to come rolling around so I can see most of you and if not some great pictures anyway. God bless and take care!
Nick

Big Guy Ty

Hello all...





Well, as you can see by previous posts, the little 'uns are growing like crazy! As I type this, Ty is sitting on my lap proceeding to give my arm anothe Ty-hickey!! This boy is going to have strong teeth! Here are a couple pics to show his growth. He is "sitting up" for a few seconds. Pretty cute! We have a doctor's appointment on the 28th so we'll let you know how much he weighs then. I think he's keeping the tradition of being a heft!
Us parents are doing well, too. Ryan is hitting high gear with school and football. There's the big game against West on Friday - exciting!
I have about 2 more days on my transcription class and then it's the final...which will be next weekend, then I'm done! All that's left is finding a job! Still no word on the OPI position. Hm....




We'll miss you all at the wedding! Safe travels!!! Blessings to Abe and D-ray!

Uh... what happened to fall?

For the past three days it has been snowing non-stop here in Billings, MT. We awoke yesterday to no power and that lasted until about 3:30 in the afternoon. Today we awoke to about ten MORE inches of new snow and no power until about 7:30 this morning. It is still snowing as we speak and more and more branches keep coming off the trees in our neighborhood so it's time to go start cleaning up. Just lettin' you all know what kind of fun we are having on this great Sunday. I'll be staying in Billings another night because the roads to Great Falls are severe driving conditions... sweet, huh?

Here are a coupld of pictures to prove that I'm not just staying in Billings so I don't have to work tomorrow. Hope you guys are all warm and I really, really can't wait to get to the warm weather down in San Diego in a couple weeks. Brrr...

Hello from the littlest Buyske Boys and their mama! Looking forward to see many of you in Montana next month. Matt should be returning in about 64 days. HOORAY!!! Can't wait. Email from family helps make the time fly by, so if the mood strikes you: mbuyske1@gimail.af.mil. Love to you all!

Still kickin' ...

Thanks to my children, siblings, and other family members for all the kind thoughts, heartfelt prayers, cards, flowers, and visits. For those who may not know, I went under the knife a week ago for a bad appy, as the nurses say. A ruptured appendix.

I received fine care at St. Peter's Hospital and fine kindness from family and friends. Today's follow-up visit with the surgeon showed all systems A-OK, although I'm still on injured reserve. I plan to play a bit of music this weekend and possibly ease back into work next Tuesday (Monday being a holiday and all). We'll see.

When I came home Saturday, one of the first things I saw near my computer was a letter I had left there a couple weeks ago. It's from a woman who has cancer. She just had a baby (her fourth child), and she's battling cancer of the lungs, spine, lymph system, and brain. She's undergoing weekly chemo treatment that really wipes her out. Through all that, she remains positive and spirited. It's certainly a jolt of perspective for me.

This woman and her family will be the beneficiary of the upcoming Lost & Foundation Benefit on Sunday, October 19. It'll take place in downtown Helena at the Park Plaza Hotel. If you expect to be in the neighborhood that day, plan to stop by for good music, a great auction, and plain old fun. If you want to help out, let us know.

Meanwhile, thanks again. I'll see many of you soon at Abe & Dee's wedding. John

Peek - a - boo

I am new to the video scene - so sorry no fancy music or anything ...yet! I don't even know how to edit it so it's not so long...again, sorry - but the beginning is the cutest part anyhow.
Life in Portland is kickin' along - busy and fun. We took a weekend jaunt to Astoria, on the Oregon coast, it was perfect weather and exactly what we needed. Our most exciting news is that Peter is getting published in the Journal of Oriental Medicine in the next month! The spa is doing well and the cafe is doing....better. I can't wait to see some of you later this month at the wedding!
love
Briana

Happy Birthday Grandmother

Today is Beryl's birthday. Unfortunately she has been stuck in a meeting all day, but there will be a dinner fit for a queen when she gets home.
This is a great photo of Beryl and Melina Marie.

Happy Birthday Farm Girl.