Top Ten Madhoue Memories of 2010

Happy New Year's Eve! Since I'm much better at reflecting than I am at keeping resolutions, I thought I would celebrate the upcoming turn of the year with a reflection on the amazing things of 2010. Of course, there are a lot more - God has been so good to us this year in so many areas! But these are some of my favorites...

Honorable Mention: Meeting Jessi
I couldn't resist! She suggested this as one of the Top Ten on Facebook; who am I to disagree?:)



10. December snowman We had early snow in Kentucky this year, so we took advantage of it by making a snowman in the front yard - complete with M&M smile & Iowa State scarf (Garrett was obviously at work)!!



9. The Madhouse Derby Party We decided to become official Kentuckians this year by throwing a Kentucky Derby Party. I'd never paid much attention to horse racing, so it took quite a bit of research. In the end, we decorated hats, played derby games, and sang 'My Old Kentucky Home."



8. Garrett's 30th Birthday Party (especially the cake) I threw Garrett a gaming party for his 30th! We had a lot of fun playing a variety of games. I have to say, though - I was especially proud of the Settlers of Catan themed cake I made for him!



7. Taking Tiffany to the Clayton County Fair In August, while Garrett and Hunter were in Washington, D.C. for Boy Scouts, I packed up the rest of the kids and took them and my friend, Tiffany, to Iowa. Tiffany, very much a city girl, had never been to Iowa. We went to the Lamont Day's parade, saw Big Bud (the world's largest tractor), and went to the Clayton County Fair. Never seeing cows up close, she wanted to know if she could "pet" one - I advised against it! ;)


At the parade

6. Completing my first 5K I decided this spring that I was going to run a 5K this year. I've never been a runner, but figured it wouldn't be so bad. After fighting through foot pain and my 30 years of laziness, I completed the RJ Corman 5K in October!! I came in 3rd in my age division!!!

5. Garrett's Graduation Garrett officially completed his Bachelor's degree last December, but in July he participated in his graduation ceremony in Louisville. We were super proud of him!!



4. Grandma Betty drinking moonshine at Thanksgiving I couldn't resist! This memory was too good not to make the Top Ten! At the Sheffert Christmas celebration we had a drink exchange. Garrett & I thought we'd be true Kentuckians and take moonshine (he works with some sketchy fellows - that's all I'll say about that). When my brother-in-law won the battle and ended up with it, he opened it up to investigate. My grandma took a spoonful and drank it!! Priceless!!!

3. The Madhouse takes over the Louisville Zoo For the past several years we have been celebrating Mantor Day in June. This year we took a family outing! Earlier this year, I had an argument with Andrea about if giraffe's had tails or not. I determined that my kids desperately needed a trip to the zoo!! We had an amazing time (despite Leigha's face in the picture below). There is a full album of pictures on my Facebook page!


2. Seeing Toy Story 3 in the theater TWICE (and getting the DVD) I know, it sounds like a dumb second place, but it's true. I LOVED Toy Story 3! I laughed, I cried, I watched it again and again. The most fun has been quoting lines from the movie with the kids. Leigha does an amazing Bonnie impersonation and Hunter is working on his Spanish Buzz. I decided I'm going to find Garrett's 'Spanish Mode!!'

1. Participating in 'Being Christmas' Far and away the best Madhouse memory for 2010 was participating in 'Being Christmas' at church. In early December, our church launched a series about not just talking about Christmas, but showing our neighbors what Christmas looked like! We collectively did that in 3 ways - donating toys to the Catholic Action Center's Toy Drive, Donating Food to the Salvation Army's Food Pantry, and a year end offering that would continue and expand our ministries at church. In the process, we as a church were learning what generosity looked like! Our family decided to dive in! We condensed our grocery budget every week and bought extra food. We saved every penny we could for toys (the kids even chose to put in some of their money). We partnered with our Life Groups and stretched every penny. Garrett was blessed with a lot of overtime in December, so we divided the extra between the three. In the end, what was most amazing for me was how generosity really was released in us! The kid's were less about themselves and always talking about what toys they would buy for other kids. Leigha (3 yrs old) even walked through Toys R Us putting her favorite toys in the cart - never once asking for one for herself!!! AMAZING!!!


The Toys & Food we bought

And finally, I do have to mention one more....
Too Amazing to Compete: Hunter giving his life to Christ It wasn't fair to compare this one to the others. For most of this year Hunter has been processing where he sat with Jesus. He's said a prayer several times in his life, but his life still wasn't marked with joy or peace or love. He realized that the other times he prayed it was because everyone else was doing it or out of anger. This fall he finally realized during a message at church that he had sin in his heart and that it was a problem. For the first time ever he chose to talk to someone about it instead of pretending it didn't exist! After a few more months of sorting it all out, on November 7 he gave his life to Christ on his own will!! Instantly we saw his heart soften - and it continues to as he learns what it means to walk with Jesus! On December 15th, he was baptized which included sharing his story. He had such clarity! The last several months have really unleashed Hunter's heart for great things!

If only 2011 is this amazing!!!

Happy New Year!!

FAIL!

As 2010 quickly comes to an end, I recall my New Year's Resolution was to post more regularly. As you can tell, that lasted through May! Our life has not become dull, I promise! I have tons of great things to say (well, in my opinion)! It's just a fail!! :(

A Kentucky Wedding Invitation....

This is a real, bonafide invitation we received. I have taken out names and dates to protect the guilty....

Hey Everyone-

Wanted to give you some updated information on the Cookout. You are welcome to come out at anytime on date...We will eat around 5:30 and get married around 6:30. Please bring a dish to share. We will have hamburgers and hotdogs, with the fixings ie..buns, lettuce, tomato, onions and condiments. We will have drinks unless you are wanting something special. It should be a great time, we are going to have cornhole, fishing, four wheeling and canoeing. Everyone is welcome to camp out with us that night as well. See you then!

Bride and Groom

Remembering Grandma McGinty

Garrett's Grandma, Reta, has been sick for quite some time. After her 4th or 5th hospital stay this year, the doctor's determined there was nothing else they could do for her and sent her home on Tuesday with Hospice care. Garrett received a call this morning from his Grandpa letting us know she passed away early this morning.

Although, we knew it was coming, it's still hard to loose someone you love. Even though you know she saw Jesus face-to-face for the first time this morning, you still wish she was here.

Although she was Garrett's Grandma, I loved her like my own - she was just that kind of lady. So, in memory of her, her are a few of the things I loved about Grandma McGinty.

1. She was the perfect example of a servant - she never let us come over to her house without feeding us. Garrett's favorite meal was Crazy Roast! When we needed help moving or watching kids, she volunteered. She watched her neighbor boy after school right up until this year.
   
2. She was an excellent wife - Grandpa was know for crazy adventures (like buying an S-10 Extreme in his late 60s). Grandma always "rolled" with it. If it ever perturbed her, she didn't show it. In fact, she NEVER complained about Grandpa & was always the first to help him out. Even when her health was failing she planned a trip to visit us in Illinois so Grandpa could visit the Air Force Base he was stationed at. When he walked around for hours looking at planes and reminiscing, she patiently sat and waited for him.
   
3. When she prayed, Heaven answered - she was never one of those "I'll be praying for you" people that would get distracted and forget. She prayed and she prayed hard! Her prayers saw Garrett and Hunter through some really rough times. Her prayers softened the heart of Garrett's dad 5 years ago when he accepted Christ. I always knew Grandma was praying for me!
4. She taught me to be tough. When things were tough surrounding Hunter, Grandma was the first one I would run to. She never made me feel bad for being angry or irrational. She would just remind me to trust in the Lord and to keep my composure. "Never let them see you break," she'd say about my "enemies."

I really could go on and on. I'm sure I'll have more to write when we get back from her funeral in Iowa this weekend. I'd appreciate your prayers - especially for her family members who don't have the same relationship with Jesus that she did. We are planning to leave early tomorrow morning for the visitation this afternoon and coming home Sunday.

Snow, snow & more snow

We thought when we left Ill., we'd leave behind snow, too. We were told that Ky. mostly gets ice. Well, we haven't seen any ice and we are working on our 3rd consecutive day of snow! I think the kids have missed 5 days of school this year (WAY more than they ever missed in Ill. and even a little high for a typical Ia. winter). Now, part of this is due to canceling school for snow crazy reasons, but still!

Last week the kids went out and build a snowman out of snow chunks the snowplow left behind. It was lots of fun watching them pick up giant chunks and carry them to Hunter, the designated stacker. They have all had lots of fun with the weather!

Garrett heard yesterday that every state except Hawaii has snow! What craziness - so much for an early spring! I am lucky to be used to snow. There are southerners here that are truly lost! On our babysitters road I watched a mini-van get pushed up the hill yesterday. They either had bald tires (thank you Garrett and George for my new tires) or they had no idea how to drive in slick conditions. Then today at the bottom of that same hill a car had slipped through the intersection and into someones yard (inches from the telephone pole). And, I have to add, it was a guy - not a girl! :)

Maybe next year we can experience the "average" Ky. winter (that would be highs in the 40s). Until then, we'll just pretend we're in Ia. again!