Merry Christmas to All

As this year draws to a close, we would like to express our gratitude. We feel blessed to have family close and are thankful for all the tender moments we have together. Many special memories have been made this year and we are grateful that we were able to participate. We are thankful for our forefathers, who came to this country to escape religious persecution, and who may have fought for the freedoms we take for granted today.

Our year has been full of many events. Rebecca, Ashton and Talan were with us until recently when my brother came home from overseas. It has been an adjustment without them here everyday, kind of welcome, but a little sad.

In April we had a special celebration for our oldest, Lyndsey. She is very proud of her Hispanic heritage and requested a Quincenera. This is a celebration, the likes of a small wedding, that is like a sweet 16 in America or a coming out ball of the south. We had much food, music and dancing. It was a fun, tiring time. We were excited that Grandma Vermelle, Aunt Vancie and Erica could join us for the celebration. Lyndsey's other notables are: she got her first car, she qualified for the Renaissance program at school (high grades), she is learning to play the organ, and she is doing very well "throwing" the flag for color guard. She also scored a basement bedroom this fall and is loving her very own bathroom!

Justin continues to amaze us each day. For those who have not seen or talked to him this year, he is definitely growing into a very handsome, very tall, young man. He towers over all in the house and has a goal to be 6 feet. He has also discovered that the female population notices him. I'm not sure, but he might do just as much primping as Lyndsey. He is diligently working on his earning his Eagle Scout badge, and hopes to complete it before he turns 14. He plays the tenor saxophone, enjoys wrestling, basketball and long jump. He also continues to be an avid reader and achieves high grades with little effort.

Clint and I have been working together at his family's collection agency. It is a tough time to have a small business, but we are working hard to keep our family in Kansas. Clint continues his calling of Scoutmaster, going on six years, as well as 2nd counselor in the Young Men's presidency. He loves all that has to do with scouting and really enjoys working with the youth. It is exciting that several of them will earn their Eagle Scout rank this year. He enjoys golfing and cycling, wishes he had more free time to do them. He has been such a good support for all our family, so generous with his time. Even though we tease him about his now, 18 month ongoing project of putting a new deck on our house, we love him!

I have had more free time to help at school, taxi everyone around, clean house, learn new crafts and just relax. I love my calling at church in our Relief Society. I couldn't work alongside a greater woman than Sue Macfee. Some of you may have received our Christmas card, directing you to this blog. That is my favorite new hobby - making homemade cards. In case you were not one of the lucky, here are the examples of my first homemade Christmas Cards.

If you are a regular reader of the blog, you may already know of our last big news. This year we have been caring for my niece and nephew, 6 year old twins, Zoe & Zach. It has been a special privilege to care for them and teach them so many things. They are growing well, gaining much knowledge and really turning into smart, sometimes sweet children. We are grateful that Heavenly Father allowed us to touch their lives in this special way. We know skills learned in our home will equip them for challenges they may face in the future.

As the year comes to a close, we hope you are all happy, healthy and feel grateful for your life as well. Our hope is that no one is left searching, and everyone feels the comfort of being loved.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Bibler Family, Clint, Tanya, Lyndsey (15), Justin (13), Zoe (6), Zach (6) and our two furry kids, Lady and Jenna.

Ready for the Holidays

We have had a very busy fall.

Lyndsey finished the marching band season and her school received all 1 ratings at each competition. This is a very nice accomplishment for any high school band. They are pressing forward, preparing for a trip to New York in the spring (which is almost paid for, yeah!!!). She did very well learning how to throw her flag this year and is participating in Winter Guard.

Justin just finished the wrestling season. He plans to participate in the wrestling club through the rest of the winter. He will probably not like that I am posting about this, but he does have a female friend that he talks to on the phone constantly!! Who knew he would be the child to spend so much time on the phone :)

The twins continue to progress both academically and socially. I have gotten acquainted with the term "play date" as this was not a term used when my children were young. Zachary's speech is greatly improved although we miss him leaving the S off of words, never again will the "nake ride the cool bus". He did have a milestone this week - his two front teeth are gone (unfortunately pulled out) so the tooth fairy came. He was very excited and swears that he woke up when she came and saw her - and she is old! Zoe loves to imitate anything Lyndsey does. She is so cute spending time picking out clothes, fixing hair and applying makeup (just a little and only when we are not going out). The twins are to start playing basketball after winter break.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Springfield, MO closing down the office there. Took the whole family and while there enjoyed a few local tourist sites we hadn't seen before. One of these was Fantastic Caverns. I have to admit I was not excited to go, thinking it would be silly. Just your typical ride through the cave, highly overpriced. What a pleasant surprise - it was really awsome. These caves were discovered during the Civil War and explored first by women! Many historic events took place in this cave. Additionally the stalagmites are beautiful, it is amazing how nature creates such things.