Happy Easter Birthday, CJ!

Happy birthday, Connie!  How long has it been since you had your birthday on Easter?  Hope you enjoy this gorgeous day and the beginning of your 67th year of life!!  I do have to get more photos of you!  You are a role model for all of us, missy!!  Love you!

Updates!!!!

Well, I guess it would only really be "update" since there is only one of me. But that is besides the point. I know it has been a while since I have posted on the blog, so I just thought that I would stop in to say hi :) I hope this finds everyone doing well. I know that we have various family members scattered throughout the US and the world, and so just know that I am keeping all of you in my prayers as we face our separate challenges! I am also really excited for August when I will hopefully get to see most of you!!! I have been fortunate enough to be on Guam for over 2 years now (wow, time sure does fly!) and I am getting ready to move on to another challenge. At the end of June I will be moving to Mayport, FL to take up defense work for about 3 years. I am excited about the change, but it will definitely be bittersweet. I have had such an amazing time on this island, and I would not talk down about it at all!! This is definitely the Navy's best kept secret in terms of duty stations! I only wish I could stay longer. I have seen and done some amazing things, from diving to hiking to sporting events.  Crazy that I should mention sporting events......one of those activities that I am currently involved in is tackle football. Yes, tackle football. Guam has a women's tackle football league (fully equipped with commissioner and everything) and we have started up the season. I play for the Island Stunnerz. I am having a blast!!! I never knew that hitting someone would feel so good :)  Anyway, I have included a photograph from our first game (which we lost) and a video from You Tube. The video is kind of long, so I don't really blame you if you fast forward and what not, but it was still a blast and I am just glad that I have something to share with you guys. I am #34 and I play safety on defense and fullback on offense.  This definitely is one of those things that I never would have thought about doing, but of course while I am here I just tend to seize the day!

Here's the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNhiZkIpeqI&feature=youtu.be

I hope everyone enjoys the Easter Weekend and hopefully Spring is starting to turn its head wherever you may be. Since the weather never really changes here, I am looking forward to more sunshine and warmth :) I am heading to Rota (not Spain, but part of the Federated States of Micronesia) for a weekend trip. I will do a couple of dives and just check out what this small island has to offer. I will post some pictures of that adventure as well.

Love to all and a very Blessed Easter holiday!

Love always
Jen

Bittersweet Weekend...

Hello amazing family!  I hope this finds you all enjoying Spring wherever you are~  it is a beautiful day in the Falls for sure.
The Wingerters had an amazing weekend!  We were all, minus Nick, in San Antonio seeing Sam graduate from AIT.  The army has over 300 brand new combat medics as of last Friday.  Wingy was one of the last to be called, but he did it!!

 

On a more bummerish note, Nick and his company left Helena Saturday on their way to Ft. Hood Texas for pre deployment exercises.  Since we were in Texas, Marc, John and Ryan went to see him off.  He will be in Texas for a month or two and then they are off to Kuwait until next February.  It was really hard to say good bye knowing I wasn't going to have one of Nick's awesome bear hugs for a year.  But they are prepared and ready to go, so now I just pray for their safety and success of their mission.

Please keep these two soldiers in your prayers as they move on to their next adventures!

Love you all~

Mary

 



Update

Hey family!! I am so excited to hopefully see almost all of you this summer at Joey & Erin's wedding/family picnic!! It's going to be so much fun! I just wanted to post a couple pictures from our St. Paddy's Day weekend in Chicago and update you all on our happenings. We hung out with our really good friends Paige and Mark. We all had to pick a spirit animal when we posed for a picture. Shane is a dragon, I'm a T-Rex (notice we're both powerful figures) and Paige is a rabbit and Mark is a mole. Don't ask. And then of course we had to get a picture with the green river. It was a chilly, but fun day! Things here are moving along. I am definitely ready for some spring weather and we've been having some exciting things happen for us. First off, Shane got accepted into grad school!!! YAY!!! He will be attending Dominican University here in Chicago to get his Masters in Library and Information Science and hopes to one day be an archivist on a college campus. So it's really exciting that he is starting that journey. He will begin summer classes in May. I'm really proud of him. As for me, I'm still working at the planetarium but I did just get a job offer to start as an assistant teaching artist with a children's theatre here. I'm really stoked about that!! It's just a few hours each week but it's a great way to get my feet wet and really see if children's theatre is my calling. Hopefully by the fall I'll be teaching my own classes! So that's the exciting news on our end. I also wanted to add that I just finished Bri's 7-week "Get It" course and it was SO AWESOME!! Honestly, I am so impressed by her and so proud of her. It really was a great class and she offered it to me at a time when I really needed it. I just can't say enough how much I love this family!!! I hope you all are doing well and I hope you have a great Easter! I love you all and hope to see you soon!! All my love, Molly

So Carter had his big day of turning 11 yesterday! He had to wait until 8:00 at night when everyone was home from sports and and work and play practice to open his present - it was pretty painfully suspenseful for the poor guy. Carter is a great kid who lives for sports. He just started up baseball again and is on two teams this spring. He is a fun and funny kid too. This year at school he had another Carter in his class and instead of being called "Carter P.", he told his teacher that she could just call him Reggie. No real reason behind the name except for that in his football plays, his position was "Reggie". So yes, at school, he is now known as Reggie. His teacher told me later that Carter had been so casual about it, she really thought it was his nickname at home. I hope it doesn't stick past fifth grade! Love that kid and feel lucky to call him ours! Dancin' Machine! Snow cave fun!

Happy 3rd Birthday to the Princess

This is a little early, but we want to wish our little sweetie a Happy Birthday on Friday, March 15th.  She celebrated with a princess party last Saturday with family since her dad has guard this weekend.  She was quite the princess!  The last picture is Charlie and her Noni with the cake that she made for Charlie!  She is amazing!  We had great fun in the new house with all of the room and celebrated this special occasion!  We love you, Charlie girl!!  Grampa and Gramma

Self Injury Awareness

My dear, dear family: Tomorrow is Self Injury Awareness Day. Some of you may know that, some of you may not. It's a day that is important to me and a day that I am an advocate for. I am very lucky to have the family that I have. I have a huge and loving support group and I am very thankful for that. But not everyone has that. The great thing about you all is that you are not quick to judge, so I know that if you knew someone was suffering in this way, you wouldn't judge them. But not everyone thinks that way. So if you know someone who is hurting or someone who doesn't have anyone else to turn to, help them. Try and help them. It's not something that is easy to understand unless you've been through it, but it's always nice to have a shoulder to lean on. I wouldn't be where I am today without you all, and I just want to thank you and say that I love you all. I can't wait to see you this summer!! Love and Blessings, Molly

New Adventure

Hey family - just an update from Billings. Two weeks ago I accepted a management position in New York Life's Stockton General Office.  Located in the foreclosure and high crime California city of Stockton, the office is about twice the size of Montana and should be a fun challenge to take over.  While Stockton may not be the best place, the surrounding NorCal area has a ton of things to do and I'm looking forward to exploring some new territory.  (I'm looking at living in Lodi, CA - home to 8 wineries including the Sutter Home winery and much safer.)

While I'm sad to be leaving MT, family, friends, and an awesome cousin/roommate I'm looking forward to a new adventure and warm weather year round.  It should be an experience.

Hope all is well with everyone else and love you all.

Nate

Google Maps link to Stockton

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today marks the birth of an amazing grandfather, husband, brother, and last but definitely not least, dad. Thanks for all you do dad. Your support of all of your children and grandchildren definitely does not go unnoticed. Wish I could be there to help celebrate, but just know that I am thinking of you today! LOVE YOU!

This is a picture of mom and dad during their trip to Ireland this past summer/fall.

Love always,
Jen

Mary and the school project

I hope you'll all check out this video clip

of Mary on KRTV news. Very cool what the Holy Spirit kids chose as a community service project. Great going!

Katie turns SIX

So I have been negligent in blog checking lately and I realized Kaitlyn's birthday came and went without me giving her a little bloggin' love! Perhaps it was because she had a crazy birthday with 18 little girls running around and I didn't have time to think straight. :) It was an arts and craft party and I have to post this killer cake my friend made for her - a work of art, it was difficult to cut! All she wanted for her birthday was a trip to Build-A-Bear and it was so much fun picking out this rainbow colored Anabelle with her. Katie bear is a fun little tyke, still full of crazy questions on a daily basis. Some favorites would be, "Mom, if Dad was a fairy, what color would his wings be?" or "What is the difference between a reservation and an appointment?" She keeps us on our toes and we are blessed on a daily basis to call her ours. Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

A Super Bowl Sunday birthday for a Super Dad.  Today is Tom's birthday and the first one he's ever shared with the Super Bowl.  Here's to hoping you have a great day with great food and much celebration.  It's probably even warm enough to golf today.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Love ya, pops.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MARY!

I hadn't checked the blog in awhile (and it's not because of Facebook) so I wanted to check out Mary's Bday post and was shocked to discover there wasn't one.  I hope you had a great day sis and celebrated in style!
This is one of my favorite photos.

Wedding Arrangements

Hello family!!
I just wanted to get the word out that Joey and Erin have blocked thirty rooms at the Hampton Inn on Ember Lane in Billings for the wedding weekend.  The number to this Hampton is (406) 656-7511.  There is a pool (as far as I know) and it would be WAY fun to have everyone there.
Also, Tom and Jeanine have graciously and generously agreed to let us host the rehearsal dinner in their yard on Thursday evening.  Everyone is invited to said dinner, so please mark that on your calendar.  They have a beautiful backyard and it should be a GOOD time!  I realize August is a long way off but it will be here before we know it!  Any questions, please let me know!!
Love you all!!!  Jan  :)

Ann's brother Bill

Hello, all. I thought you might want to read the obituary for Bill Waickman. It's brief but poignant. I'm still in Ohio, returning to Helena tomorrow. Ann will return on Wednesday. Her family is doing fine. Bill was so ill, there was no alternative but to peg out, so it's better that he went sooner rather than later. Just remember to live life while you can.

New Blog!!

I hate to post over Jeanine's bday post (hope it was great!!), but I'm just so excited!! I know a lot of you all barely have time to check out this blog, but once a week head over to http://buildingblockswithmolly.wordpress.com/ and see what fun and creative videos I post!! It's open to all ages, but mainly focused on the younger generation. Thanks to everyone who helped me create this. Love you all!!

Happy Birthday Jeanine

Today is Jeanine's birthday, and I wanted to wish a Happy Birthday to one of the most beautiful Mothers of the Bride I've ever known. Nothing much would happen around the Billings Moore household without Jeanine's work, initiative, and prodding. She's a wonderful wife and mother. Hope you have a great day Jeanine.

Lots of Love

Hey Gang! Just wanted to give a bit of an update on our lives in Chicago. The first picture is with 2 really great friends we've made here. They're a couple who moved from the Bay area. She works at the planetarium with me. We were pretty much destined to be friends. The second picture is Shane and me before Christmas Eve Mass. We hated being away from family on Christmas, but it was pretty special to be able to share it together. We've already decided that it will be our last one alone together, though. No more not being with family. Things here are going...ok. Chicago has been a bit rough for us, but we're hanging in there. Shane's job isn't working out as well as he had hoped so for the past few months he's been applying to all types of jobs. He hasn't heard anything yet, which is really frustrating, but we're trying to stay positive. I am also looking for a different job. I love being at the planetarium, but I need more of a full-time job. Not much on the acting front for me. I do have an audition for a play coming up later in the month. I'm pretty excited about some new projects I've started on, however. My biggest one is probably the unveiling of my new blog. Which has yet to be created. As part of my 2-year plan that Des so graciously helped me create, each week I am going to make a video for my nieces and nephews and post it. The first one I posted to facebook, but Kelly came up with a great idea to create a blog. I love this for so many reasons, but one of them is that those of you that don't have facebook will still be able to check out the videos. And those of you with youngsters are encouraged to share it with them. I just want to be able to make something that the younger generation can enjoy. Another big project I'm working on is writing children's stories. Right now it's 26 stories, one for each letter of the alphabet. We'll see how it goes. Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Shane and I LOVE being in the same city as Abe, Des, and John. One of our favorite things to do is go up to their place and hang out. We especially love it when they cook for us! I also wanted to just say thank you for all of your love and support. Family is so very important to me, and people have stepped up in a big way. Bri is helping me through her new class, Des has helped me with so many various things, Abe is just awesome, and the rest of you are so amazing. I am truly blessed to be part of such a loving family. THANK YOU!! I hope all is well with everyone and hopefully I will get to see most of you at the big bash in August. Erin already feels like a sister. Love, Molly (and Shane)

Congratulations to This Stud!

A shout out to our little brother!  Delta has chosen his Boise station as Best Delta Station!  Of course, that is due to the work of this sweet, kind younger bro of ours!!  Anyone who will work Christmas day and have cookies at the gate for customers deserves to win this award!  We are VERY proud of you, Jimmy!!!

Wedding Date/Family Picnic

Marc and I wanted to let everyone know the date of the upcoming Buyske/McGillvray wedding.  Joey and Erin will be married on Friday, August 9th at 10:30 am.  A family reception will be held that night at her parents.  The family picnic will be on Saturday, August 10th at a location TBA in Billings.  Marc and I are in charge of the picnic so we will just include all of this in one big plan.  The last one we did was Meg's wedding.  My kids know how to plan these don't they!! We hope that everyone can make the festivities!!

Happy New Year from the Schultes

What a year!  We love you all and wanted to share the Christmas/New Year letter with you all to save some trees this year.  We are so excited for 2013 and all it will bring!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your’s at the end of this blessed year.  2012 was the year of princesses and superheroes in the Schulte household.  It was also the year of travels, football, and keeping up with two growing children. 

Charlotte “Charlie” is almost three (going on 13) and keeps us on our toes with her sass, wit, and charm.  She holds her own against the kids at daycare and her older brother.  She is currently enthralled by anything princess but knows how to get dirty too. 

Tyson is four and has quite the head on his shoulders.  He started preschool at Children’s World Montessori and absolutely loves it, as do we.  He is proving to be quite intuitive and carries a sense of humor all his own.  He has also discovered the art of storytelling, which constantly entertains us, and is often found engrossed in his own imagined game of superheroes. 

I am still working as an office manager at Deer Creek and loving it.  I’ve also discovered the “joy” of shuttling two kids to two different places before 8:30 am plus that wonderful treat of after-school snack!  I was able to take a break when I visited sister Molly in Chicago and was shown the big city, which I loved!  We are hoping to take a family trip there soon. 

Ryan is keeping up with coaching, commanding, and teaching all while being the excellent father and husband he is.  Football was bittersweet this year with the Bengals losing in the playoffs but Notre Dame making the National Championship game.  National Guard keeps him busy as commander of Delta Company based in Butte where he continues to grow as a leader.  He added AP European History to his schedule, which he is enjoying quite a lot – considering he knew very little about it to start off the year!

In addition to our daily lives, we have found time to travel a bit.  Ryan headed down south to Ft. Benning for guard training in February.  In the spring, I went to Spokane with my parents and Molly to watch In the Heights.  Together in June, we went to Rhode Island for the ordination of a dear friend whom we worked with at Legendary Lodge.  It was absolutely breath-taking.  We also got to visit our other “Rhode Island” friends and meet their very newborn baby girl and be entertained by their almost-two-year-old girl.  

Upon our return, we undertook shorter travels to the cabin on Holter Lake and to Tyson’s tee-ball games, which Ryan helped coach.  We have also taken a leap of faith and put our house up for sale (anyone interested??).  

It’s all made for quite an interesting year.  We are constantly reminded of our blessings and humbled by them all.  We hope you find this coming year full of joy and laughter and your own multitude of blessings. 

Love - Ryan, Meghan, Tyson, and Charlie plus Ellie

PS - The pic is from playing dress up at Noni and Papo's house - princesses and superheroes. 

Happy New Year from Billings!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY!!

Happy Birthday to the woman who makes life so easy for the special men in her life.  Whether it is whipping together magnificent feasts for dinner or putting together Chevy Silverado birthday cakes for her son, she does it all with love in her heart and a smile on her face.  We love you and thank you!  May today be an easy day for you.  God bless you!

Love, 

Your Five Special Men (and the baby on the way)

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

It's Hannah's birthday today. She and her daughter Mikayla have birthdays so close to Christmas that they sometimes don't get the celebration they deserve. Well, we celebrate Hannah's photographic flair, her community involvement, her wonderful family, and her sparkling smile. We hope you have a great birthday, Hannah Banana! Love you a bunch.

Wingerter Christmas!

Christmas 2012 was a fun filled event at the Wingy house!  Everyone was home including Dee, Jake's girlfriend.  We really enjoyed meeting her and having her spend Christmas with us.

The last photo of all the kids in their letter jackets is so cool.  Maddie was excited to get her jacket and I really like the Central colors amidst all that Bison blue!  And the years...98, 00, 03, 05, 12, and 16.  So many memories in all that time, with many more to come!

Here's wishing you all blessings and peace in 2013~

Best Christmas Ever!

Hey all!  Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday with family and/or friends.  We are enjoying ourselves here in Plano with the Texas Buyskes.  The four boys are a riot (literally) and I can't imagine adding a 5th to the mix.  The big news for me is I asked my girlfriend Erin on Christmas Eve to marry me, and she said yes.  So we are going to be having another Moore wedding in the future.  When we decide on a date and place, we will let everyone know as soon as possible.  I am looking forward to everyone getting a chance to meet her and see how awesome she is.  Take care and have a joy-filled new year!

This is from her sister's wedding in San Antonio in October.

Happy Birthday, Mikayla (yesterday)

Well, we're a day late but certainly no sentiment short. Mikayla became a teenager yesterday, and I'm sure it involved a lot of celebration. I also hope our package got to her on time. Happy (belated) birthday, Mikayla! We look forward to more great accomplishments from you. Much love -- Opa J and Gramma Ann

Spontaneous Gathering!

Wednesday found all six of us in Great Falls due in large part to Tommy's urging for Johnny and I to come to Great Falls.  We all went to lunch with Gramma, Ben, Bill and Jim W.  It was a blast!  Anytime that we all get together it is a good time.  A big thank you out to Tommy and Jimmy for putting together four sets of shelves and cleaning out Gramma's garage.  The rest of us got off scot free with just paying Tommy for the shelving.  It looks GREAT!!  Now to just get Gramma to go through all of the boxes that are marked and throw stuff away.  Good luck with that!  Merry Christmas to all!!

Wingerter update...

I think we have forwarded lists to all concerned parties so I thought we would just update our statuses...if that is a word.  We have been busy; work is busy, reffing stuff is busy, following Maddie is busy...life just seems busy.  Throughout all that busyness we are feeling truly blessed.  Maddie is loving high school life at Central.  the small school seems to fit her right now.  She is playing basketball on the JV team and doing really well.  They have had 3 games and are 2-1.  At Central, families are required to give 30 hours of voluteer work.  Of course for Jim and I that isn't too difficult.  We had our hours done by the end of October.  We are people who really like to be involved (I bet you didn't know that!!) so we are continuing to do what we can.  I just don't think we will be running the scoreboard or keeping book like we did for volleyball!
We attended our first meeting for the booster club in November.  They asked if I had any ideas for fundraisers and, funny, I did!  The president is stepping down after 4 or so years in the position and the next thing I knew they voted for me to replace him.  So crazy!  But it should be fun.
Jim is also in charge of his referee pool this year and imputing all the games (all 1300 of them) into their scheduling program.  So I am definitely not the only crazy person in this house!
Ben is back in the Falls for a while.  He wanted to be here for Christmas so he left Maui a bit early.  No worries I think he already has some possibilities for work lined up for after the first of the year.
Jake will also be home for Christmas.  We are so looking forward to meeting his girlfriend Deanne.  They will be here on Friday.
Nick gets home on Friday also, will be here for Christmas and then he will spend most of January in California gearing up for their deployment in March. 
And we are super excited that Sammy gets to come home too!  He will fly into Billings on Friday and will be able to be here until Jan. 2 when he has to report back to Fort Sam Houston.  He is enjoying the challenge of the Medic course work.  Right now they are working on the paramedic portion and after Christmas he will take the licensing exam to be a nationally certified paramedic.  After that they begin the actual army medic stuff.  Scary thought that this 19 year old could be saving lives in just a few months!
We would love to see any and all who venture to the Falls during the holidays.  Grandma would love to see you all!!  We are having an open house next Sunday, the 23rd, so if you want to come crash our party we would LOVE it!!

Christmas blessings to you all and may God grant PEACE to us all.

Love to you
Mary

ChicagHo Ho Ho

Merry Christmas, everyone, and thanks for posting your lists!

 Diz and I already received the best gift imaginable this year, so our list is short and simple.  Our favorite thing is always a visit from you.  Next favorite is something that you made.  We also like things from Montana, but we live in a very tiny place with no room for any new stuff.  So we like treats - wines and cheeses and teas and coffees and any other treats from you.  Donations to Helena Food Share are also quite appreciated.

We will be headed to San Diego for Christmas, so we won't be able to see any of you unless you would like to join us down there, which you are certainly welcome to do.   Because we won't make it to Montana, we would sure like to see pictures on here of your homes all decorated for Christmas - that means you, Gramma!

We haven't really decorated for Christmas, but here are a few pictures of little John!

Meunier list and updates

Hello all and Merry Christmas and Happy Tidings and All That.  Hope you are all having a wonderful season so far.  I am almost done with everything so bring on the eggnog!  And a little somethin-somethin to wash it down with.  Ha! 

For our list this year, I don't have much to ask for.  We all love doing puzzles or playing games together, so anything along those lines.  I would also love a donation to Billings Catholic Schools or the Alzheimer's Association. 

Life in Billings has settled down quite a bit.  We've finally moved into our new house after the Billings Moores were so gracious to let us stay with them even after our closing date had been pushed back.  Twice.  We had such fun with them, but it was time for us to get going.  I love our new place.  It's so us and very comfy feeling.  Please come visit!

Nate and Emma both started school this year.  Nate is at a program at Rocky Mountain College for computer science and Emma started Kindergarten.  She is LOVING school which is way cool.  Isaac also started a 3-year-old program there and seems to like it.  He's quite the character.  I am still loving my job and am involved in a possible grant program to start a comprehensive medical program for people with dementia and also promote early detection of memory problems.  It's pretty exciting and would be totally awesome if we get the grant.  I also am working on a research study and was invited to present findings at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) annual convention in July, so that will be pretty cool.  I am also going to try and run for the state representative position for the AANP.  So, like always, I am keeping myself busy. 

You all should be receiving our Christmas card soon.  I am posting this at work (!) so I don't have any pictures to post, but I wanted to provide a link from our recent photo shoot with Jana Graham, my favorite photographer.  If you're ever in Billings and want some great pics taken, she's your gal.  Mom and Dad and Maddie happened to be in town the day we shot, so they got in on the action too!  Here's the link.  Click on Meunier and the password is family.  Enjoy! 

http://www.janagrahamphotography.com/client-login/

J & A lists

I should post, since I started this effort. Remember to put up your lists! Ann: donation to Helena Food Share; iTunes or Amazon gift card; Montana Book & Toy Co. gift card, Montana river system map (big); interchangeable screwdriver; Birds and Beasley's gift card; Walt Whitman poetry. John: donation to Lost & Foundation; ceramic knife (like the one Abe and Dez gave me two years ago and Marc gave me last year; I keep breaking them. Damn.); iTunes gift card; funky green ties; groat cakes (just came to mind); a nice bottle of Cabernet; racquet balls; a fiddle; duct tape (black). We hope you all have a great St. Nicholas Day tomorrow!

Christmas lists

Guess I'd better get my 2 cents worth in before it's to late. I don't know how John got so lucky to get me again but here goes.
Donation to the Peace Hospice building fund
Gift card to Penney's, Herbergers, or LL Bean
World peace and family harmony--don't think our family has to worry to much on that score!

Hey, John Rubin!

Ann and I had a great (quick) trip to Chicago. As always, Abe & Dez were great hosts, and the star of the show was their wonderful son, John Rubin. We've discussed what to call him -- "John John,"(JFK?) "JR." (Larry Hagman?) "Peanut," (too late now?), "J. Rubin" (a bit too corporate?), "Ruby" (tough in grade school?) "Jack Ruby" (JFK?) "Little John," (it seems to fit) "John Rubin" (maybe the best fit). I like John John, but I'm just a voice in the wind. This will take some sorting out. I will report, though, he is an even-tempered infant -- alert, thriving, absorbing the world around him, and still quite non-verbal. We found that he's quite capable of soiling Abe's office with one simple explosion. Here's just one photo of many, depicting three generations of Moores -- eyes closed, oblivious to the world around them.

Here's another shot. (Sorry for excluding the mom and grandma from this post; it's just too much fun for the guys.)

TX Buyske Christmas List

Our list is pretty simple this year.  We would love a donation made to the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, South Dakota.  Their mailing address and phone number is

Benedictine Sisters

Sacred Heart Monastery

1005 W. 8th Street

Yankton, SD 57078

605-668-6000

We hope everyone has an awesome holiday season.  We are pumped to be having a contingent of the Buyske Clan coming our way for Christmas.

Marc and Jan's list

Well, since no one seems to be following our fearless leader's wish of putting Christmas lists up - except Joey - so I thought I would put another push out there and say COME ON PEOPLE!!!  Our couple is going to get Griz gear if they don't get something up here pronto!!

My list consists of:  fun potholders with coffee/latte stuff on them.  No fruit or old lady stuff like that, please.  A contribution to the Angel Fund in Helena.  That is it for me.

Marc:  Gift card to Cabelas or Land's End; contribution to Helena Food Share; good paying acting job for Molly

I hope the rest of you will really try to get things up here.  If we aren't going to use the blog and let others know what we would like to do or get lists out somehow then maybe we ought to quit trading names.  It just stresses some people out to not know what to get others.  I don't mean to sound rude during this beautiful season because this is my favorite time of year.  It is so much fun to prepare hearts and minds for the special day of Christmas.  And it is alas fun to buy for others!  There is my post-surgery preaching!  :):):)