Ahhh...Vacation

The Winegar Fam!
Al and Wendy in front of his job site at The Landing

Nate and I...I'm kinda camera happy right now and so snapping pics any and everywhere.

We have had such a great winter break! It got started early with 3 snow days prior to our actual break! The kids have had a great time and I am absolutely relaxed and rested...the snow days we've had this year were so fun, peaceful, and beautiful.

Aspen is getting out each day for basketball practice. We were bummed when the tournament that was scheduled this week was cancelled...they cancelled it too early in my opinion...the weather is fine now and we could have watched some really good bball. She is playing in a scrimmage tomorrow, so we are looking forward to that!

I feel like a very bad mom, as I have let my little video maniac, KJ have way too much screen time. He has taken a few breaks to shower, eat, and of course he had fun playing in the snow! He has gotten some exercise doing Wii!! He is so fun these days and has lots of reasons why it's okay to just veg in front of the tv! I guess I've spent just as much time in front of my laptop...I am way too addicted to facebook! It's been so fun to connect with friends from yesteryear and I love seeing what people are doing each day! People probably don't care what I'm doing each day, but I tell them anyway! :)

Nate and I went on a date last night and had a great time! We saw "Marley and Me". Golly Molly, I cried so much and I couldn't wait to get home and hug my dogs! Nate even loved it, too...He anticipated a stupid, poorly made, regergitated animal story, but he was quite pleasantly surprised and I'm pretty sure he shed a few tears...I was balling my head off and I sure wasn't the only one...there was some serious sobbing, too! We had a very nice time with our friends, Al and Wendy. After the movie, Al took us into a salon under construction that he is doing the cabinets in. Our area has a new shopping town center and the salon is a new spa that will be opening this week. Al is a talented and detailed worker and it was neat to see his work.

It's very fun to be able to go out spontaneously. Aspen, her friend Corinna, and KJ were home playing with Rock Band! We are really enjoying our new family gift from Grampa and Grama Winegar! :) We had a great Christmas celebration on Saturday with the Winegar side. Dad, Patti, and his brothers and sister, cousins, and spouses all got together here at our house for a fun time.



Today was a bit sad, as taking down Christmas is always a bummer...we are housing our annual New Year's Eve party and so it was important to pack it all up, clean, and get ready for our house to be turned into a big parking lot! Our theme this year is "Tailgate Party"...everyone is wearing their favorite sports team attire, and our friends Steve and Laverne will fashion up an incredible set for pics and ambiance! I definitely will post pics after, after!

Church was amazing yesterday. Our message was all about being a "Supporting Role". I truly want to make every effort to grow in my relationship with Christ by helping someone else see and meet Christ! You can't have Best Actors and Actresses without the Best Supporting Actors...anyway, some good stuff.

As a family, we are trying to read a Proverb a day...good grief, we are already slacking, but we will pick it up where we can by reading the chapter that corresponds with the date, as there are 31 chapters in Proverbs...one a day!

Snow Day Fun!

Cinnamon tolerating frivolous holiday accessories..

Beckham in the Christmas spirit!

Winegar kids, too poe foe some real sleds! Creative geniuses to make the best of it...they didn't work, but worth the effort!

Aspen and KJ enjoyed going out and building, not a snowman, (they are over that) but a snow fort. The snow was more like ice, so it is a work in progress and needs some powder snow. They went out and tried to sled using a garbage can lid and a lid to one of our Christmas storage bins. Needless to say, neither worked very well on our big hill in the neighborhood. Guess we'll have to see if we can purchase some sleds on sale for the next time we have a snow week!

Church was cancelled this morning, so you know that it is bad out there. We were worried that we would lose our power, but we didn't! Yahoo! After some snow fun, we watched the Seahawks game. Today was Mike Holmgren's last game of his career. Seahawks won!

Our day has been pretty low key. It was filled with snow, naps, football, pizza, home movies, facebook, and blogging. I'm also reading the third book in the Twilight series, but I keep falling asleep everytime I start to read...not because it's boring, but because I'm so warm, cozy, and comfortable, I just can't help but doze off!

My favorite part of the day was watching some home video of the kids when they were tiny kiddos! What great times and memories!

Tonight I need to wrap more Christmas presents! Yay for Christmas!

December Freeze

Aspen just before MORP-Backwards PROM-She went with a big group of friends!!

Our handsome little guy!

Our varsity freshman pulling up for a shot!

gina and gini-sister's weekend! We had a BLAST shopping together

Wow...it's been too long since I've posted and hmmm...not sure why. I've been keeping up with facebook in my spare time, and have thought many times I should go to my little blog world...In a nutshell here are some highlights of October, November, and December!

*NUTSHELL*Love teaching middle school, great staff at work-making great friends, Aspen played JV volleyball and was called up to play on varsity a few times, Aspen made varsity basketball, KJ played the clarinet for a couple months and now he's taken up the bari sax, KJ ran cross country, KJ hurt his knee, KJ's ACL was just bruised, phew, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, Nate is working and coaching, KJ is playing basketball, I'm assist coaching for 7/8th grade girls basketball at Maywood,Aspen's team is 2-0-League, Aspen went to homecoming and MORP, finished fall indoor season last place :( my mom started chemo, my sister came to visit for her birthday weekend, we got a week of snow, winter break started early:) our rec room flooded from a bursting cuplink above the garage, Christmas is coming and it's Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Busting at the Heart!

There is so much love and pride in my heart for Aspen! Yesterday, I got to spend the day with her. She was invited to play with Varsity Volleyball in a local tournament. She was very excited; the coach told her beforehand that she would see very little playing time and that she was there as a support player. This was no problem for her. The team played very well and Aspen did get to play a little in a couple of games! With her first steps onto the court, you could tell she was VERY nervous. The last game she played in went well. She had a great hit and some really good passes. Overall, she did a fabulous job! Being asked to play on varsity is a huge deal! Her natural skills have been developing since she's been playing.

Along with Volleyball, she's been playing with the varsity basketball team since spring and presently is playing fall ball. Nate is the stand in coach, as the Varsity coach isn't allowed to coach until the season starts....anyway, Aspen and I left the volleyball tournament early so that she could make it to her basketball game. Good golly, you should have seen my girl yesterday!!! We arrived at the game a little late. Aspen was pretty warmed up from playing volleyball, so she put on her shoes and went right in. She was phenomonal, and she was exploding to the ball, making 3's, pulling down rebounds, getting good position, and dominating on defense!!! She had an amazing game!

When we got home, we were hanging out and relaxing, waiting for the pizza to cook. I heard Aspen sing a little tune quietly under her breath, and I told her how pretty I thought her voice was. She grinned and I said that she should try out for singing the National Anthem during a Liberty game sometime this year! Suprisingly, she said, "Do you want to hear me sing it? I'll sing it for you." She added, "You just can't look at me while I sing." :)

As I sat with my head buried in my hands, my sweet daughter sang her own version of the National Anthem. I started to tear up and get chills. Of course, I'm her mom and I thnk she is outstanding at everything she does, but yesterday, my heart burst with pride and was saturated with gratefulness for such a beautiful blessing of a daughter. God has given her such wonderful skills, talent, and beauty...inside and out. As I observe the way she carries herself, her incredible sense of humor, and the kind things she says to others, I quietly thank the Lord for her and pray that she will continue to grow and blossom in every way! It's so fun being Aspen's mom!

**Note: I'm just as proud of Keaten and will share the busting in the heart I'm having of him, too. It's just that this post was in reflection of the great day I spent with my baby girl yesterday! :)

3-Day Recap!

Greetings Family and Friends!
It's Sunday night, a week after the amazing 60 Mile-3-Day! I wanted to share a reflection on what a tremendous, incredible experience the 3-Day was! Here is a quick look!
Day 1-We started out at BCC and walked out off the campus with 3,299 walkers! The day was warm and wonderful. We enjoyed a beautiful route in and around Bellevue and Redmond. We were overjoyed to see our friend Susan at the first Cheer Station bearing gifts of our favorite walking snack, Fritos and a magnificant sign!! I also recieved wonderful phone and text messages from my sweet friends, Colleen and Laura. After many pit stops, stop and go's, cheer stations, and a delicous lunch, we found ourselves at camp...beautiful Marymoor Park. We were ready for a spaghetti dinner, showers, mail from the post office, and bedtime! A huge thank you to all of my friends and family that wrote me encouraging letters! It was the ultimate, settling in after a very exhausting day and feeling the support of family and friends! Thank you!
Day 2- We headed out early from camp and headed north. We enjoyed another beautiful day in Redmond and all around Kirkland, including the waterfront and lots of huge hills! After lunch, I was so excited to see one of my heros of the walk, fellow educator, friend, and survivor, Christine Cottom! Her decorated car, family, and friends cheered us on and put smiles on our face!
Our team started to feel the heat and some fatigue, but we forged on, as we anticipated seeing our families at the last Cheer Station of the day! As came upon the Cheer Station, my whole team was overjoyed to see our family members bearing more Fritos, water, Propel, and hugs! My daughter, Aspen, couldn't be there, but sent a fabulous text that lifted my spirits to the sky! Our last leg of day 2 was tons easier after the lift our family visit gave us! As we headed into camp, I had to take a pitstop at a portapotty and I urged my team to go on ahead. As I came into camp for check in, Andree' and AJ had gone and found the JOY flag (There are tons of flags bearing inspirational words as themes for the walk-Walkers get to carry them along the route)...anyway, Andree's mom's name is Joy, and she is a breast cancer survivor, and of course, it's my signature, so I was almost blubbering as we got a photo op with the JOY flag! After dinner and showers, my awesome roomie/tentmate, Susan and I hit the blow up matress for a good night sleep, while Andree' and AJ enjoyed the karaoke and dance party! Susan and I enjoyed it, too, just from our little, pink tent!
Day 3- After a really good night sleep, we woke before the birds and packed up camp, in the dark! We had a filling breakfast and got in line of 3,299 walkers to hop on a bus to take us across 520! We were dropped off in the Montlake area and headed out! We walked through U of W and got to walk through Greek Row...what a party that was! We walked all around Green Lake and ended up at Gas Works Park for lunch! My team and I felt really great overall, but I definitely started feeling the miles we had put on our feet! Walking along the waterfront was beautiful and so much fun, but I was ready to see the finish line and coming into the Seattle Center was euphoric! You want to cry and laugh at the same time!
We enjoyed a beautiful closing ceremony as we filed into the stadium and we had a chance to honor the survivors among us and those we walk for who were not with us. We screamed our lungs out as we were told that Seattle raised 8.6 million dollars!
I'm so grateful for the support from all of you and for the opportunity to do something that will help make a difference in the lives of those that need this support the most!
I feel great, in every way! I walked away with no blisters, aches, or pains...just a little tired and weary! Yahoo, for Journey II...as I finished a two-fer...will there be a 3-Peat?? We will see, but until then, please accept my sincere thanks for the amazing thoughts, prayers, encouragement, messages, letters, text and emails, and donations! Together, we all made a difference!

Catchin' Up with the Winegar Fam!

Aspen's first day in high school!
KJ and Mom on our first day of Middle School!

These past weeks have been full of changes and adjustments, mixed with fun and busy schedules! Here is a quick synopsis!

Good Golly, summer came and went. We had a great, relaxing summer. We enjoyed our backyard with the heated pool, lots of bbq, and never enough of family and friends.

September 3, the first day of school, came quickly and brought amazing changes for our family. In short, I LOVE my new job as a middle school humanities teacher! I love my schedule and I have the best group of 6th graders!

It's a different world than elementary, but I'm enjoying the challenge! I'm teaching health and 2 blocks of humanities, which is language arts and social studies. I am enjoying my new team and the entire staff is fabulous...kind, helpful, and they have been very welcoming! It's great, too because I know so many of the kids from Newcastle Elementary and from the community. My commute is the ultimate! We live only 3 minutes away! The very best news is that I'm home at a reasonable hour. I've actually made dinner and we've eaten around the table more in the past 3 weeks than we did all last school year!! I'm ecstatic and enjoying my new job!

The fam is doing excellent! Aspen has adjusted to high school and seems to be liking it! We are very proud of her. She has been working hard on her homework and being very responsible! She is playing JV volleyball and they are undefeated in conference play! She is doing very well!

Keaten has made the move to middle school with ease! He is doing well in his classes and is really working hard playing soccer for Greater Renton and he is doing Cross Country at school!

Nate, as always, is working hard and such a team player when it comes to the things that need to be taken care of at home, school, work, etc. He is amazing!

I did the Susan G. Komen 3-Day-60 mile walk last weekend and it was a tremendous experience. I will post my recap after this post! I just got back from my first indoor soccer game for fall season and enjoyed getting out on the turf again...I took the summer off and so, of course, I was sucking wind and wanted to throw up my dinner, but I held it together. We lost, but I so enjoy getting out there and running around with the girls!

The Fam

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

A Pool of Patience!

Winthrop Camping Pictures of "Graham Cracker, Graham Cracker, Chocolate Bar...sittin' round the campfire under the stars!!

The weather has been so inconsistent this summer. Today graces us with gloomy clouds and forces me to put on a sweatshirt! The Winegar's have been waiting patiently for the "pool guys" to come finish installing our new pool liner. Thankfully, they ARE here making a sweet ruckus of drilling and sanding!

It's quite a blessing to have our own in-ground swimming pool, but when you are 11 and 14 years old, patience is hard to find on the few hot days that we have had! Thankfully, we have been averaging nice 70 degree, sunny days, with a few exceptions like today!

KJ has been salivating for chlorine and pretty much has it on his social calendar that a pool party is in the works. Barring no major drain/pipe issues, we should be swimming by the beginning of next week. I had hoped that it would all be done by the time my mom flies in on Saturday, but we just learned that it takes 3 days to fill the pool!!! Who knows?!

Patience, one of those other spiritual fruits...ah so good to be ripening in the sun and even in the rain!

Speaking of...I have to share that both my treasures got to go to summer camp with their church youth groups! KJ went to junior high camp last week and Aspen is gone this week to high school camp! My prayer is that they would meet Jesus there, really have an open heart to what He has for them to learn, and to enjoy worship! Of course I know that they will have a blast with their friends and develop one or five camp crushes!

One of my favorite dj's from our local Christian radio station once shared that he knows his kids need to have their own Jesus, they can't have his...Nate and I both pray that our kids find their "own Jesus"! They have to build and grow in their own relationship with Christ; I know it's the Spirit's job to work in their hearts, but I am guilty of trying to use my tools to keep their faith in fine tune! Sometimes, my tools are not teenager friendly and I cause even more squeaking and puttering which causes them to put on their brakes. It is my consistent prayer that my sweets soak up all that they learn at camp and come home closer to their own Jesus!

It has been neat to see and hear what KJ soaked up as he has shared many songs and parts of the speaker's messages. On the way to class on Sunday, he stated that he knew what he was going to say when it was time to do his baptism video (our church does an amazing testimonial videos for baptisms) and in a matter of fact tone, that he was going to be baptized when he was in 7th grade. :) (He's going into 6th) My heart bubbled and I softly said, "...that will give you time to really grow in your relationship with Jesus." He quietly said, "Yep", and off he went to class. It needs to be his decision, and I pray patiently while both my kiddos learn and grow ! :)