Oh how wonderful to see you! Grandma and Grandpa.Now we can go play with out the kids.YEA!!!
Chris think of it 24---- hours of freedom--- What can we do? Dha we will think of something Jules.

This is the time of year when many of you send out Christmas cards with beautiful pictures and wonderful messages of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!... but, I'm not one of you, sorry to say. However, I do give and get a few cards from family and close friends, which I enjoy. The attached pictures are of one that I received last night from a good friend, Lois. She and I used to drive school buses together; she still does, while I only have one job now - Yippee!

Anyway, she always gets me the funniest cards for all occations; they make me laugh right out loud and this one was no exception. As I'm walking across a crowded shopping mall parking lot, I take it out of my purse and open it up. Just envision me laughing right out loud - uproariously!! It was wonderful, and I'm sure many people were looking at me wondering but all I know is that it's so great to laugh like that every once in a while and to laugh at ourselves is often the best medicine for anything that might ail us. And sometimes it's tough to keep the humor in many of the situations we experience during the Holiday Season; from the crowded malls to the crowded freeways!!

It is my hope that all of you are able to enjoy the holidays and are able to keep a smile on your face, and warm thoughts and feelings in your hearts and humor in your souls. I know that if we remember the true meaning of this time of year, and think about whose birth we are celebrating, it will be easy.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love you all,

Cassy

SO sorry to the mother of the cutest little blond kids EVER, that this is a day late. BUT I did remember.....

happy 29th birthday!!!!!!!

Hope you had a great day and that your silly husband did SOMETHING nice for you!

keep smiling
cindi

The house up on the corner were the Noble's used to live has a fantastic Christmas/Santa lights in the front yard and on the roof. When Milena was here we stopped and she couldn't figure out what to look at first. Santa his sleigh and reindeer on the roof, the music synchronized lights on three trees or all the other things. Last Thursday they had the fire truck come and bring Santa. To get a picture with Santa you just had to bring a toy. Marie and I did - so here is our picture with Santa 2007. You were also invited inside the house, WOW their whole living room the size of ours was 100% full of a miniature village set on plywood that sloped down from about 6 ft at the far wall to 4 ft about where our tile entry way lets you go back to the rest of the house. It was completely landscaped. In the rest of the hose there were several lighted trees and moving Santa's. A totally amazing display of Christmas Spirit.

Sorry Jeff, but I realized I'm lost and totally out of the loop!! I went back to read previous posts to see who the nonmember girl was you were dating and I think her name was Jessie. So can you give a quick run down of how you met Whitni - I'll assume SOCCER!!! And tell us more about her!

We're hanging in there in the pre-Christmas rush. I dread December every year and the stress of what Christmas is 'supposed' to be like, full of annual traditions that I can never keep up with and have given up trying to, brings me to a halt. I don't come out of my blue funk until January! We finally got a Christmas tree today and will decorate it tomorrow. The kids decorated the house the other day, hanging up Christmas decorations or setting them out wherever they could - we don't have much along the lines of decorations. Today we painted pinecones green and then sprinkled glitter on them to make them look like little Christmas trees. There was so much glitter that Patrice thought they looked rather gaudy, but the kids thought they were pretty.
I'll have you know that I got the glitter out of my Gramma Ginn stash from the hobby shop - so you could say we used antique glitter of 50+ years. I always LOVE using stuff I have from the hobby shop - I have several shoe boxes full of stuff. There are things I come across that I don't know how to use, or don't know how they were meant to be used, and wish I could ask Gramma about it. I like seeing her handwriting on the little boxes - and the old price tags!

On the church front, Patrice was released as Elders Quorum Pres a few weeks ago so we've enjoyed having him home the last few Sunday evenings - he used to have meetings. He's now the new Institute teacher so although our Sundays are calmer our Friday nights are more hectic. We have our seminary class (I'm not teacher) Friday nights at 6pm and then our YM/YW activities at 7pm. It seems to be the only time we can get the youth together. It's not so bad because they don't have school in the morning. But now Patrice teaches Institute Friday at 7pm while I'm with the YW so we go as a family. We bring a video and the kids lay down in the next room and watch a video while we are in our respective activities. So far so good. The kids get their weekly dose of a movie. They've been pretty calm. The only problem is they don't eat enough before leaving at 6:30 and then they're hungry when we get home at 9. I'll have to work on the organization there - make a snack for them or something. We're still ironing out the wrinkles as we've only done it twice so far.

Patrice conceded to letting me go to a multi-stake youth conference Dec 26-29. The only hitch is that I have to find a ride to the stake center (over an hour away) because the bus leaves at 7:30 AM! That was Patrice's one condition - we only have one car and he didn't want to do that drive with the kids, etc. I totally understand, I wouldn't want to do it either! I went to a youth camp in the summer and it was interesting to see how the French run things (or don't!). I hate to admit, but I wanted to go to the youth conference to see what it would be like. It's 4 stakes, Nancy, Lyon,(French) Geneva, Lausanne (Swiss) and is to be held on 'Black Lake' in Switzerland. The timing is poor as lots of people vacation during the holidays or have other commitments with family. But it's so hard to find time during the school year that the youth are available, and come summer everything shuts down because everyone is gone on vacation. Big problem here, drives me crazy. Anyway, we have 25 youth going and about 9 leaders. One of the leaders going is a sister I met this summer at the youth camp. She's a riot and we had a lot of laughs so it'll be fun to see her again. I realized at the youth camp that I am rarely around people that don't speak at least a little English and that although I live in a French speaking area, most people aren't French (or anything near it!). It's a total melting pot - French is just how we communicate. So it was fun to spend a few days of real, total French immersion. I'm assuming the youth conference will be the same so I'm looking forward to it.

I think that's about it for the moment. Let's see if I don't have a few pictures I can add.

Guillaume took some pictures out of our front window last week for an art project. The front of our house is almost one big window with a little balcony in front of it (just enough room to walk out and clean the windows). This was Alienor as she left to go back to school after lunch. Yes, she comes home on the bus everyday for lunch and has to go back for afternoon classes on MWF. Notice the nice weather. This is why I love our house - because it has LOTS of windows.

This is looking left out the window, up the hill. The wall is actually the wall in front of our neighbors house.
The driveway on the left of the wall is the neighbor's and on the right is ours. This street, although it might look like a small road, is actually the main road through town. We see EVERYTHING pass in front of our house, from tractors with cows to semis, gas tanker trucks, moving vans, etc.
Our driveway is two cars wide and then here are these trees. Patrice likes the yellow one but there are definitely a few, including the HORRIBLE 8 foot wide hedge on the right, that I dream about taking a chainsaw to!
Here's the walkway that leads from the sidewalk up to the house. It's deceiving because the door is not at the end of the path but around under the car port/garage area. The path was done in pentagon pavers but we pulled them up because roots were growing in them. Of course other projects have come up and we haven't decided what to do with this. From the front, we have a total white trash house as we like to call it. It needs major landscaping work. That little dark green tree is kind of cute and is right next to the mailbox.

Oh, about the guy that lives in this house opposite us. It's a little old man that reminds me of Grampa with a European twist. He has white hair combed forward and wears a dark beret with pants like Grampa used to wear. He keeps his yard looking much better than ours and putters around fixing stuff. I have to admit we don't do more that wave at each other so sometime I'll have to hide and take a picture of him!

Well, I hope you have a happy weekend.

Jocelyn

Well since you have all sked...I will tell...

I have taken Whitni on two dates. Her bed time is generally between 9:30 and 10:30. She powered through both nights until 1am. Because of her chronic fatigue, she has to go to sleep at a decent hour so this was a stretch for her. The two dates could not have gone any better.

Date 1) I took her to a favorite restraunt of mine, Buffalo Wild Wings. We are both pretty competitive so I decided to go there because they have games on the t.v. screen, quizz games, texas hold'em, etc. SO we ate and sat there and talked and laughed and talked trash for about two hours. It was fun. We went to a movie theatre and the movie we both wanted to se was not playing for another 90 minutes. So we went to the nearest grocey store, purchased some cards and played speed for an hour. I kissed her at some point during the card games...now let me explain, Whitni is always on the top of her game at everything, she is always confident and does not get rattled...so it was fun to see her flustered and speachless...see mom, the 200 girls i kissed prior to Whitni is paying off ;) So we laughed about it because i was her 7th and she was really scared to kiss me because she thought she would suck...and she did...but the last two days she has improved ;) O.K. so we saw the movie AUGUST RUSH, we were one of two couples in the place, we had the seats with no arm rests and we just snuggled the entire movie. We liked the movie a lot by the way. And no we did not sit there and make out the entire time, it was a real good movie to take her to for the first date. We were pretty comfortable with one another. I took her back to her car (cant take her to the dorms so we drove and met somewhere) and i kissed her goodnight and my kiss led in to her not letting me go for a long time. ANYWAY, she called me when she woke up the next day and said, "did last night really happen?"

Date 2) We met and I took her to a real nice restraunt, another of my favorite, the place makes their own root beer and like moms spaghetti sauce it has tons of sugar in it, so it is really, really good. Anyway, she looked amazing, we played dress up because we were going to a play. SO we were dressed up, looking mature and sophisticated (i know it is hard to believe) and we just had a great time enjoying one anothers company and being, as Virginia would say, "dolled up." So we went to the omaha playhouse and watched "A CHRISTMAS CAROL." It was avery well done and extemly detailed. Did I mention that Whitni just looked gorgeous!?! When we came out of the theatre there was about 1-2 inches of fresh snow on the ground. It had not snowed for a few days so it was pretty...until we hit the roads...FYI, I love 4wheel drive :) So we were driving home and as we exited down the ramp a car spun out in front of us, i pulled over and before I knew it i was ankle deep in mud, my dress clothes were muddy...I stopped and helped get the guy out of the hole he was in. It was a chore but it was a great story and whitni took the time to clean me up, as i had dirt on my face and hair from when the wheels were spinning. We finally got to her car and sat in the truck (wink wink) while it was warming up.

Im trying to be REAL level headed, but i feel like the feelings I have had for her over the last 11 months were confirmed and that she is starting to be less afraid of having a real relationship that has a purpose and a future.

I will hang out with her for a few hours this evening, then tomorrow at church and after church. Then i wont see her until December 26th where she will be in Utah (her grandma lives in Sandy) to spend time with me while I am at Bobbys. I will keep you all updated on the "single guys" life. All being said and done, the last two days have been worth the wait and I am happy that she is seeing that I can make her happy.

I love you all!

YES!
WE ALL WANT TO KNOW!!!

How was "THE DATE"?

LOVE IT JEFF!!!!

Non-Crappy Starring You! eCards on JibJab

JOKE FROM KEN VIRGIN.

2 LADIES STANDING AT ST PETS GATE WAITING TO GET IN----
ONE IS KATHY THE OTHER IS ANN
KATHY SAYS TO ANN HOW DID YOU DIE?
ANN REPLIES I FROZE
KATHY OOOH THAT MUST HAVE BEEN AWFUL
ANN NOT REALLY I SHIVERED, GOT COLD AND THEN I WAS WARM AND WENT TO SLEEP.
HOW DID YOU DIE KATHY? I HAD A MASSIVE HEART ATTACK.
I THOUGHT MY HUSBAND WAS CHEATING ON ME. SO I CAME HOME EARLY TO CATCH HIM. WHEN I GOT HOME HE WAS SITTING ON THE COUCH READING A PAPER. I WASN'T CONVINCED. SO I RAN UPSTAIRS AND SEARCHED, THEN IN TO THE ATTIC, THEN RAN DOWN TO THE BASEMENT LOOKING EVERYWHERE.. ON THE WAY UP THE STAIRS I HAD THE HEAT ATTACK!

ANN too bad you didn't check the freezer!!!!! It would have save us both a lot of trouble!!!!!!!!

The next day, Wednesday Marie and I took MILENA to the park across the street. It was the regular routine at the park swinging, sliding and crawling but at 18 months she loved it and so did we. That afternoon Bobby and she left for Utah, I went to work and Marie was home from work. It was a fun time to spend with Milena and Bobby. Oh, you wonder why I capitalized Milenas' name. It was so I could learn and remember how to spell it and maybe to help you too.

Bobby had a meeting in San Diego on Tuesday the 4th of Dec 07 and he brought a little surprise with him MILENA I was so excited to see her. We really bonded when I was recovering from my broken hip.
The first picture is what I saw when I got home from work. Marie on the floor playing with MILENA.
The second picture is me feeding MILENA or watching 0 she is a very good eater. The third picture is me holding MILENA after breakfast. We spent the morning playing because I was all alone with her. Only had one diaper change and it was not bad so escaped that opportunity!

Really appreciate the posting. Thank you all! (where is Marion's?)
Any way doing a little catching up. None of our family was here for
Thanksgiving so Shan was kind enough to invite us over to share the afternoon and the meal with her folks - Sandy and Margaret- We all ate too much but it was so good!

Hi All!

This is the whole gang at Disney Paris during my recent visit with Jocelyn and the family over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Also, since Jocelyn was good enough to post some pics, I thought I could add some narrative about each one, so here goes:

1. This is a photo-op location at the entrance to Main Street Disneyland. Jocelyn thought maybe this would be a good one for Christmas!

2. This is me, Grandma Cass getting special love and hugs from Guillaume in the hotel room the morning I was leaving. He's my real 'lovey-dovey-huggy' grandson and it shows! Love you Guillaumeee-nomee!

3. This is me and the kids squeezed into the back of the car at the hotel the morning I left for home. It was a real tight squeeze too - trying to get all of my bags and everyone else's stuff in the car for the ride to the airport and home to Luxembourg for the rest of the family was quite a feat and had everyone laughing!!

4. Giving and getting goodbye hugs and kisses at the airport. It's always so hard for me to leave everyone. To know it will such a long time before I see them again, but I guess that's part of life when everyone lives so far away. I'm so thankful for computers, the internet and all the wonderful technology we have now to keep in touch!

5. Margot and Grandma Cass on the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland. We have our laser guns aimed and are firing away at any and all targets we can. We went on this ride 2 times, the kids really like it and it gave us all another time to 'best' our personal scores!!

6. Here is Jocelyn, the kids and me waiting to drive the little cars - always a favorite of the kids! It was always a favorite of mine when I was little too! Oh, gosh, when I look at this picture, look how much I have shrunk!! Even with my spiked hair, I really look short next to Jocelyn - I guess it's just part of getting old!!

7. Oh, no - it's Margot behind the wheel - giving it all she's got!! Grandma Cass has the 'pedal to the metal.' It's so much fun for grandparents to watch their grandchildren experience all those 'new' things - and driving for Margot, sure is a 'new thing.'

8. Perceval enjoying the carousel in Fantasyland. I was running off trying to find the bathroom - yikes!!!

9. This was another photo op - That's 'Lumiere' from Beauty and the Beast with all the little Duffort 'beauties and beasts' gathered round!

10. Family photo at Guillaume Andre Duffort's baptism day - November 18th, 2007. Guillaume's in his 'grown up - just like Dad' suit. Now, he really likes to go to Church, all dressed up like the big guys!! I think he's going to enjoy really nice clothes, just like his Dad!!

11. Photo of the entire family: Bottom row, the Duffort children, left to right, Margot, Perceval, Guillaume and Alienor. Next row up, Bernadette, Patrice's mom, Me, Jocelyn, Patrice and Remi, Patrice's dad.

12. Guillaume at home with his 'Pineapple Upside Down' birthday cake and candles. Cake and ice cream was eaten, presents were opened and a good time was had by all!!

13. Last but not least, (even though it sideways) was Thanksgiving Dinner at the Duffort's. Jocelyn was really good to me, cooking a turkey, mashed potatoes, real candied yams and green bean casserole. What a wonder feast for me and the whole family!! What more could I ask for?? Homemade pumpkin tart for dessert - YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!

That's all folks!!

Take care and love,

Cassy / Grandma Cass

Happy Saint Nicolas! Dec 6 is the day that Saint Nicolas passes by and leaves gifts for the kids. Here in Luxembourg, it's the day that people exchange gifts, not Christmas. Normally we don't celebrate it, too bad, so sad, but this year I gave them a little bag full of little games that Gramma had left behind for stocking stuffers at Christmas. They were totally excited and didn't even really realize why they were getting gifts.

Random recent pictures - sorry, don't have time to write about them!

HAPPY 38TH BIRTHDAY

PATRICE!!

HOPE YOU ENJOY A GREAT DAY!

GET LOTS OF HUGS AND KISSES

FROM ALL THOSE KIDS AND JOCELYN TOO!

THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL TIME

DURING MY LATEST VISIT!!

EURO DISNEY WAS A BLAST!!

LOVE YOU LOTS, CASS

THANK YOU BOBBY!
MOM LOVES THE VIDEOS.
THEY ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.

Dad scared this out of me with his last BLOG!!

BOO!
JUST TRYING TO SCARE UP
SOMETHING.

I did forget one very important family member my brother James Ginn.
Sorry Jimmy!

Marie wanted me to let everyone know who is family!
Nathan, Brandi, Alexa, Brinley, Natalie
Bobby, Gina, Stacia, Landon, Melena, Lauren,
Jeffery
Cindi, David

Cassy, Jocelyn, Patrice, Alienoir, Guillaume, Margot, Perceval
Andy, Nina, Shanna, Drew
Marion, Bryan, Abby, Spencer, John, Grace
Chris, Julie, Emma, Abby, Grace, Liz

Lou, John, David, Christy
Ray, Kathy, Brett, Tristen, Amanda, Adam, Terriann, Joey

and any kids of kids not listed.

Any and all spelling is to be corrected. I did this off the top of my head and spelling is not my strong point. Would love input.

Love Dad

Our dear family we wish you all a

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Wish you were all home here in California!
We miss having you close.
We are thankful to have such wonderful children
We are proud of your faith, works and service to
the church and your families.
We are excited to see our grandchildren growing
and wish we were closer so we could hold them,
watch them and play with them.
Have a great day and don't get sick eating too much food.
Love Mom and Dad

Move back to Utah Jeff---Because I told you to.

For my B day, Gina got me a little video camera that only records 30 minutes of video and has the software to do this stuff real easy(Flip Video)...Real cool and easy like a digital camera but video. You delete the video off the camera when you have downloaded it to your computer. Everyone should have one because it is so small and easy to carry around all the time. When do you ever record more than 30 minutes anyway. Most of my vids are 1 minute long just to capture and remember the moments.

Come to America Cindi---It's more fun here because Mili and Stacia are here!

aw shucks,,,, maybe next year coach Ginn,,,,,

We love you and to some degree feel your pain.
It is never easy to lose.

Dust yourself off, pick yourself up and do better next year,,,,,,

Love Mom and Dad

Well i was going to update tomorrow...But since mom and dad are being so demanding...

WOW!!!!!!!! they came out intense and focused! We played everyone of our players, we stayed fresh. we hit a shot from about 20 yards out...upper v...it was awesome!!! then we collected a ball at the top of the 18 and placed it to the far post...lastly we put in a defender in the striker position...she dominated...did three wall passes down the middle of the park and then passed it past the keeper.

We hit the crossbar once on an outside shot and we had a shot off of a volley that was amazing, but the keeper got to it. The opposition scored on us, we had a breakdown on one side ant they put one by us. It was pretty frustrating...we had 20 minutes left...a 3-1 advantage and we were playing panicked. Our defense is sturdy and it is a blast...the division 1 and division 2 schools are all over our players...so we are rather excited for them.

We play Sunday against CCBC-Cattonsville. They are from Maryland and are the #1 seed. They have two very strong players...besides that we think they are average. Kick off Sunday 2:30 pm eastern. The girls are much more composed, mature and focused than last year. We are capable of winning it all, but we are going to have to be very composed, confident and determined to put this team away.
It is exciting...tomorrow we sleep in until noon, run a training session to loosen them up and we spend the rest of the day at either a miniature golf course of a bowling alley.

When we won tonight...it was not as exciting to win the match...we have been here before. Now we need to venture to a land that we have never been to. It will be fun, but stressful! Thank you for all the support and love!!!!!!!!!!

Whoopee!!!!!!!!! They won again!!!!!!!!
Coach Ginn is wonderful

So tell us Coach Ginn "How did they do it? And when and who do they play next? And is the next game for the Championship?" Tell us, Tell us, Tell us please, We need to know!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom And Dad

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BROTHER BOBBY!!

Sure do miss you and your family. Hope you have a special day.

hugs and kisses,

lil sis

Knocking off number 2 in the nation was not as easy as the scoreboard says. However, we did miss a p.k. and we also had a goal called back. We have the best TEAM here at the tournament. But other teams have some pretty impressive weapons that could give us trouble. We lost our leading goal scorer and probably the best overall player in the tournament to an ACL and MCL rupture. Kim, was attacking the goal keeper 1 on 1, pushed the ball around the keeper and the keeper took her out rupturing two major ligaments. Kim has committed to a full ride scholarship at the University of Iowa and we are praying that Iowa will hold the commitment as Kim goes through rehab for the next 8 months...last night was tough...some emotions I have never felt as a coach. Mixed emotions to a win and a HUGE loss...not just for us...but Kim...she is special, great lds girl, head on straight, fun, happy and driven. I just hope she can be aninspiration to her teammates like she was a leader on the pitch.

The girls compete again tonight at 7pm eastern time. They play Laramie County out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. We have played them four times (once last year inn the tournament where we won 3-0) and have only lost to them once. We are confident, but not arrogant..the girls have shown composure and maturity so far. And everyone is in good spirits. Thanks for all of your support. Love you!

Coach Jeff
Congratulation's on your first win 2 to nil.

We hope your girls keep winning with the help of your motivational messages!!!
Keep up the good work!
Mom was following your progress period by period and got me to the computer as soon as I came in the door so I could see how good the girls were doing.

Love ya Mom and Dad

Iowa Women Kick off at 7pm Eastern time.

Here is the link to follow the score...it is updated every 15 minutes.

http://njcaasoccer.darton.edu/news.php

Bobby's picts answer:
Stacia in pink
Landon with blue blanket
Lauren on Floor in pink w/green frogs
Milena in car seat swaddled


Jeff, I can not tell you how awesome those animations of mom and dad are.....too bad dad can't print video into his family journal

Nathan family update...Work, Eat, sleep. Girls are doing well in school. Halloween was fun and warm for once. Still eating candy... Brandi has been working on editing pictures from her fundraiser in St. Louis. Thanks to mom and dad it was a fun visit, while Brandi was gone. Nate was re-elected to a second term on the Board at the kids charter school and also elected president. We are very busy looking for land to build a permanent facility for the school.

I am also getting involved in Mitt Romney's campaign here in Colorado. http://www.mittromney.com/homepage There may never be a chance like this again. Be aware that you will not get anywhere near the truth from the media. If you think he hasn't got a chance, you had better think again....enough politics for now.


Happy Birthday to Cindi (8th) and Bob (16th). Hope that you had/have wonderful days.

Love Nathan

Welcome back from San Fran Dad. Hope you had lots of fun!!! Did you get the Ghiradelli (don´t know how to spell it!) Square to buy a yummy brownie sunday?!? Or were you just in meetings the whole time??

keep smiling everyone!

Since I seem to be doing the 'birthday' thing, another BELATED BIRTHDAY WISH goes out to JIMMY GINN, whose birthday was on October 27th, I think?? (if that's not the right date, Jim, you'll have to correct me and you notice, I didn't give out your age either - heehee)!!
I hope you had a wonderful day, great weather, spending it swimming in those beeeeauuutifullll Hawaiian waters and rummaging through the local thrift shops. Ahhhhhh, the life!!
Love you brother,
Your sis, Cassy

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY GUILLAUME DUFFORT!!

You were the BIG 8 years old yesterday.

Getting ready for your big day on

Sunday, November 18th

when you get BAPTIZED!!

And I'm so excited because I get to be there too!

To be able to enjoy that special day with you

and all your family!!

I am so proud of you and love you so much!

Love, Grandma Cass

(See you Friday! XOXOXOXXO)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW NORMAND the 4th!!!

How does it feel to be 3?? Wheeeeee!!

It was fun singing Happy Birthday to you!

I'm glad you had a good day and enjoyed all your presents!

I miss you so much!

Love, Hugs and Kisses

Grandma TaTa

I say its
Milena
Landon
Lauren
Stacia
sorry for any misspellings
hope everyone is doing well
Jocelyn

Too funny!!!! Thanks for the great laugh Jeff!

Cindi....WRONG DAD......Wrong------one hint(blue is for?) Anyone else want to try to guess who is who????


What a hoot watching Ed and Marie on DANCING WITH THE STARS!!!

The Ed and Marie we never new existed. We found them on video :)
Click each era for your entertainment.

How Mom Caught Dad's Eye
Dating in the 60's
Newlywed in the 70's

I say:
Stacia
Landon
Lauren
Milena

But I don´t care...I LOVE THEM ALL!!!!
aunt cindi

My guess from top down
Stacia
Melana
Lauren
Landon
Thanks for the pictures
Grand pa Ginn

Milena in pink

Landon in Blue

Lauren in pink with green frogs and Stacia in Yellow

Can you guess Who is who? All are Bobby's kids....one hint-----3 girls and 1 boy

Lauren coming home, Lauren with Aunt Lu and Lauren with her cousin Cammree Zoll(6mths old) Lauren is 5.1 lbs now (3 weeks old) wish you could all come visit her.

Lauren Elizabeth Ginn home with her bro and sisters.

Thanks to you all.

I´ve had a nice birthday. David made me a WONDERFUL lunch (he´s off work this week and he spent all morning preparing lunch for me). Then in the afternoon I´ve been sick so I didn´t go to work!! Yipee for me!

Not to be a snob or anything but I just thought I´d clear some things up:

The last last last name is Gómez not Gonzales.
I was born in the year 1978.
And I have only lived in Spain for 4 years and 2 months.

Oh, and Jeff....I LOVE your idea for Davids gift to me!!

I love and miss you all.
keep smiling
me

Feliz Cumpleanuos Hermana!

Tu es hermosa!

Love you A.C.

Tell David that for your birthday he needs to GET YOU PREGNANT...dad needs some boys!

HAPPY B DAY LIL SIS


MISS YOU



LOVE BOBBY AND OUR FAM

LAUREN IS HOME DOING WELL---PICS SOON

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
CYNTHIA MARIE GINN RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ
29 YEARS OLD
BORN 11-8-78
HAS BECOME A REAL SPAINARD
AFTER FOUR YEARS TWO MONTHS IN SPAIN.

Well Mr. Studely
You really look cool in those classes.
Thanks for sharing. Heard that Lauren came home on Tuesday.
How is she doing? A few at home pictures will be neat to see.
Soon we hope.
Love Mom nd Dad

Just wanted to post a few pics of me from my recent business trip to Hawaii.

Some fun but mostly meetings!

I commonly check the local newspaper and particularly do a search for the word soccer to keep up with any developments in the community. I found this article and I posted it on my soccer club blog site. You will see the one word "soccer" in the article, but i read the article and thought it was a great for any parent to read and ponder.
Love you all!

A recent article in THE DAILY NONPAREIL

Black: Make learning a lifelong process
Dennis Friend, Staff Writer



The classroom is not the only place a child learns. Parents can be instrumental in instilling a love of knowledge in their children that will last throughout their lives.

"The parent is the child's first teacher," said Dave Black, school improvement specialist for the Lewis Central Community School District. "The family attitude about learning is very important. We can make a difference in their attitudes."

Black said a good learning environment starts with parental attitudes, good communication between parents and children and a belief that learning is not something that starts and ends in a classroom.

"We're modeling appropriate behavior for our kids, you see," Black said. For instance, at the Black home, "We sit and read as a family every night. We all do crossword puzzles before supper. We engage our minds."

The idea is to demonstrate that learning is a crucial part of an active life. He suggested reading books and magazines, talking to children about things that interest them or you and engaging them in everyday experiences that drive home a message about education.

"We're remodeling at our house right now," Black said. "We're putting in light fixtures, and you have to use math and do measurements. How do you decide where to cut a hole or where to install a light? Involve the kids in the conversation. These conversations can make math real."

He cites landscaping a yard or starting a garden as additional examples that can be used to draw students into real-life learning experiences. If a child is involved in discussions about how tall a plant may grow or when a flower blooms, "you are engaging with kids in positive talk about solving real problems. They will get interested."

Black draws another example from his own life. He has a son who is a Marine in Iraq and another son at home. The resulting conversations teach everything from geography and politics to social studies and government.

The key word is "conversation," said Black, meaning there will be two-way communication, as opposed to one-way lectures or monologues. Parents can talk about learning something interesting, then ask about what the child learned in school. A parent might also ask what a child is interested in or ask how they feel about something.

"The learning process doesn't stop when they graduate from high school," Black said. "It's a lifelong journey. And kids learn a great deal from us when we articulate our feelings."

Other tips to turn learning into a lifelong process include keeping books in the house, turning off the TV once in a while and having children keep a journal or diary. He recommended word games and logic problems. He also suggested letting them help with grocery lists and having them write thank you notes because "it helps their writing and spelling and builds confidence and social skills."

Black warns about pushing too far or too hard, because "it's possible to de-motivate a child by going to extremes. That's true in school or soccer."

Internal motivation is the most powerful, he said, and the ideal is to teach a child over time to take responsibility for his or her own learning. Asking questions and providing learning opportunities and resources will helps, because "you want to help them find the relevance. It's about more than just pleasing a teacher. Otherwise, when school ends, they no longer worry about pleasing the teacher, and learning stops."

It's also important to remember that everyone makes mistakes, mispronounces a word or messes up once in a while, Black said, and expecting perfection does not help. There's also the prospect of scaring a child away from appropriate risk-taking behavior simply because they are afraid to fail.

"Kids need to learn to go for it," Black said. "They should not be afraid of taking a risk, or they won't ever swing the bat for fear of striking out. Fear of failure can diminish the chance of success later in life. It we don't have anyone taking a risk, we won't have new knowledge later on."

"The world wants you to be literate, to solve problems, to make good decisions. When you graduate, you don't have to get an 'A' anymore, but you have to be accountable," Black said.

"And you have to be willing to do the right thing when no one is looking."

©SW Iowa News 2007

CONGRATULATIONS JEFF
We all need pep talks at the right time
and
it looks like you picked the right time!!!

You have it in you become a great coach and teacher!
Win or Lose you are a teacher of youth.

Coach Wooden
was asked after one of his teams won the
National Basketball Championship
if this was his greatest team
and he said "Oh! I won't know that for several years!"

Love Ya
Mom and Dad

Lady Reivers return to the national tournament!!!!!!!

The women won their semi-final match with little resistance yesterday. They beat Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa 3-0 yesterday. Today the girls warmed up a little poorly and they played that way for a while. The opposition, Illinois Central CC, came out wanting it more than our girls. I was frustrated as possible as we were not playing well at all. We brought them in at half time...we made some adjustments and then let them get some touches on the ball. two minutes left in half time I pulled them all back in and pepped them up...I don't do that very often, but something was not right with these girls. Long story short, they played hard and battled for the next 45 minutes and dominated play. However, the girls could not find the back of the net for the life of them. FINALLY with 46.1 seconds on the clock we redirected a corner kick placed on the far past towards the near post side netting and got the result we needed to head back to Georgia. Click the link to go to the national tournament web site http://njcaasoccer.darton.edu/index.php