Briana is a real cheerleader

Saturday, Briana started cheering for Upward, a Christian-based basketball league. You could really tell that she had a great time (she loves being in front of crowds). Here are a couple of her cheers.

The Holiday Season

We enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. It has gone by so quickly. I've always felt like the "holidays" start with Thanksgiving (or really Halloween for shopping purposes). We kicked off our Thanksgiving with a quick but special visit to Wisconsin to see Grandma and Grandpa Auten and the rest of the family. It was really nice to go home and hang out. Football was on TV and Grandma had lots of cookies and other snacks. We never go hungry while we are there. We got to spend a lovely Thanksgiving day in Green Bay at my Aunt Kathy's home. She lives in a beautiful historic Victorian home. There have probably been at least a hundred Thanksgivings celebrated in those walls. The one that Kathy and Tom hosted was fantastic. There was football, food, and family-everything Thanksgiving should be. The meal was divine. Briana and Alex got to see their Great Grandpa-something Briana looks forward to every visit.

As soon as we got home, it was time to pull out the Christmas decorations. With Thanksgiving and Christmas being so close together this year, we were anxious to get everything out so we could enjoy it. Brian's brothers, Ricky's wife, Caleb-David's friend, and Brian's Aunt were all coming for Christmas so we wanted the house to be ready. We had a Christmas tree in almost every room. We decorated the outside with lights and put out our Nativity set. We were ready for the season!

The visit with our Texas family was great. Punky, Brian's aunt, had never been able to travel to see us, so having her was particularly special. She hadn't met Alex yet, since we didn't go down last summer. He really warmed up to her. Briana loved having everyone. She has a special love for family that is very sweet and childlike. I hope that never changes. Naturally, she loves her Uncle David's antics (see previous video post). She is also very excited about adding a cousin to the clan. Ricky and Cari are expecting in May and Briana is super excited about having another family member to visit.

The New Year has been peaceful and relaxing. Brian took Briana to a movie on New Year's eve but they were still home by 7:45. We then played Guitar Hero (our latest craze) and Wii Bowling (I won!). Briana tried as hard as she could to stay up until midnight, but she threw in the towel at 11:30-so close! Maybe next year.