Friday morning mom slipped on the ice and broke her ankle. She ended up getting a plate, 7 screws and spent 2 nights in the hospital. She will be very limited in movement until next Tuesday when she can get a full cast. Right now she has a soft splint because of the swelling and the slightst movement can cause great pain. It will be 3 weeks in the hard cast, before she gets a weight bearing walking cast, which she will need to wear for a full month, so it will be a total of 8 weeks in a cast. We are lucky for all of our friends who have brought us over food (Julie is the greatest), clothes that will fit over the cast and a used walker(thanks Kathy). Along with the many flowers and calls. Mom has moved into the photo room on the main level until she gets her hard cast becuase it is not worth the risk of going up and down the stair on crutches. She has a bed, recliner, TV and her array of chargers for the laptop and cell phone, so drop her an e-mail or give her a call. Christmas and the start to wrestling season is going to be a challenge but I think we will be able to help her make it work, cause that's what Elliott's do, roll up your sleves and make the best of what you have.

Elliott Named ALL CONFERNCE

Well here is our other surprise Tabor was named All Conference! He had an outstanding season on both sides of the ball, with a blocking percentage of 85.18%. The 0.18% is needed because teammate Taylor Rudenik finished the year at 85.05%, so Tabor led the team in blocking for the 2nd year in a row. He was nominated for lineman of the year for conference awards, but came in 2nd in voing. Defensively this is the 1st year since 9th grade Tabor got to play sugnificant minutes and he showed he was up to the task, being 2nd on team in sacks with 8 and frustrated opposing guards. For a very exposive offensive team it is an honor to get this award as the only offensive linemen from Nicollet and one of two defensive linemen to receive this honor.

Tabor is narrowing down his choose for college next fall and is looking at Junior colleges that will allow him to extend his footall career a few more years.

Coach Elliott Receives award

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x20126108/Volunteer-coach-receives-lofty-reward

Logan's newest skill

He's drawing. :) Before it was a scribble that he figured out what it was afterwards. Yesterday, it magically morphed into a lucid thought of what he is going to draw before hand. He came up to me with 'guys' and 'monsters' and 'monsters coming out of water' and each one was a beautiful stick drawing that had too many arms, but always the basic elements of a 'guy'. Eye, legs, arms, body, feet and hands (and most of the time this little tuft of hair like from a Dr Suess book). It was a really beautiful moment.

It is a mind shift that I noticed pretty much the day it happened with all of my children. Alex's first drawing of "guys" as he called it, was so beautiful it made me cry. He was about 4 1/2, and he had sat down at the table to draw while I was cooking dinner. He came up to me, and there were four distinct different drawings on his paper, and with this huge light in his eyes he told me "Look mama! I made guys!" Then I saw it... the circles he had made had legs, arms, and a face! One even had a hat. I stopped and turned off the stove and we sat there and 'made guys' together for the next half hour. I honestly don't remember what happened to dinner. But that first picture where he depicted something real it safely tucked away in his baby book so he can look at it and remember those moments with his own kids.

With Cyan it was a harder thing to tell. She always had more purpose in her drawings and she always wanted them to be a certain way. I do remember when she was able to make the pen do what she wanted, but it was more of weeks and months of her getting frustrated and then all of a sudden it came, like a flash, and she was making people. People with 12 fingers, and everyone had pointy feet, but people just the same... oh, she drew a horse that day, too. This moment is also tucked away in her memory box.

Sometimes, homeschooling isn't so much about 'education' as it is about being there for every second of a child's development. Knowing when these shifts happen and being able to see the subtle things that you would miss if you had to be away from them 10 hours each day. That is the main reason I started homeschooling. I couldn't stand the thought that some of these seemingly insignificant moments would be missed or glossed over, or perhaps, if I was lucky to find a good caregiver, told to me afterwards. There is real struggle with having your children with you all the time, but the beauty you find in being able to talk about the day that he learned to draw and knowing how incredible that was is something you can not replace later in life. I could never get over the idea of someone else having those moments with my children and not understanding how amazing and fantastic they truly are. So they are home with me... where they belong.

More Facebook Funnies (ie: My daughter, Snow White)

Oct 28th, 2010

I just found cyan in the bathroom with one sock off and one sock on, shining a flashlight and whispering into the drain. "It's ok. You can come out".... Ummmmm... So I ask her what the heck she is doing just as a tiny moth comes flying out of the drain and into her hair.

True story.

After it left her hair it settled on the wall next to the big light. And she said "oh good!" and scuttled off to bed. When I went to tuck her in she said it flew down there when she was brushing her teeth and she didn't want alex to brush his teeth and accidentally kill it. So she shined the light in there to get him to come out.

Nothin' to say to that.

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Nov 12th, 2010

"It would be good if that was a toy... A toy that blows fire!" -Logan

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Nov 20th, 2010

"I've been looking for you!" says my daughter to the spider I asked her to remove from the dining room. lol....

Deep Breath

Wow what a week! This morning it has been nice just taking a deep breath in and relaxing! Yes, we lost but the boyz had a fabulous season! This is the last time Tabor will be a Raider Football Captain. But knowing that all three boyz got to play together for so many games will give them something to talk about for years to come.

Darin & the Boyz along with many other football players went to the DOME yesterday to take in some football. The team and coaches all get in free because we made it to STATE! They have been staying at a hotel next to the MOA. I decided not to go because my girls ( yes, I have 14 girls) started basketball practice this week and I have a boat load of work to get done!

Even though we are not playing the excitement is still happening! We will have a couple of great announcements shortly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best part of my job is when colleges contact me about our NPS kids! We have so many talented young people with really bright future's. Then the icing on the cake is they want your own son.

BUT... Monday we start wrestling. And then in two weeks we are up in the cities wrestling in a tournament. No rest for the Elliott's

last play

Nicollet did not fair well in the opening round of the state playoffs, losing 28 - 0. This is a video that we put together for the pep-rally before the big game.

Facebook funnies

School has been boring. Book work, after handwriting lesson, after spelling lesson, and then a bit more book work. Poetry class was AWESOME! But I don't have those pictures downloaded yet (bad me). So instead, I will share with you some of my recent Facebook Funnies, brought to you by my kids:

Logan: "Hey mama... when my little brother comes out of your belly, can I play my gameboy?"

A little bit of teen mama humor: "Teenage attitude adjustment took 64 push ups and 30 sit ups tonight. Equally amazed and totally annoyed."

And Logan again: ‎"Mama, dees muffins taste like... um like.... solid ROCK! ..........Or fish."

The new corn muffin recipe was a go with everyone else. :P

This one stars Logan again: It is a good day when your 3 year old asks: "Mama, I all done with my squash, can I have more of those vegetables?" (meaning roasted root veggies including everything from rutabaga to fingerling potatoes.) It just proves that some of these children actually are mine. :)

Cyan's posts have all been about her recent dental drama that includes an abscess and a root canal. Not much for the funnies. But I did get to update that the tooth next to the root canal is NOT dead and that is wonderful news!

mormon profile

I've been wanting to do this for awhile and finally got around to it today. If you go out to http://mormon.org/ you can see my new profile. Happy reading:)

*actually it may be awhile because my responses have to be reviewed..give it a day or so

Snow Bowl??

Okay the boyz are so ready to play! Now we have this weather to deal with. Everybody needs to say a prayer! KNUJ.net to hear the Raiders play at 12 noon! GO BIG BLUE

Friday Night's win

58-20 over the Clippers. All three boyz played again, We are headed back to state on Saturday in St.Cloud@12noon

Heading to STATE

Section 2a 9man Champs!

Raider Football

http://knuj.net/page/listen_live

Kick off is at 7pm on KNUJ 860 am. Click the listen live button to following the Elliott Boyz. Could we be headed back to state???????????????????? I want to go to the DOME for Thanksgiving.

Raider Up Dates

So last Saturday night we won semi's and Friday we play for our chance to go to STATE! The boyz have had a good week and Tabor has been cleared to play. We face the Cleveland Clippers

...we are only thinking about the next play.......

My kids are DYNAMITE!

This really happened today!
ring, ring..
Dad: Hello
Dear daughter: Dad, can you bring me my chapstick
Dad: what's going on?
DD: my lips are hurting really bad

No joke! She's never even watched the movie! I laughed out loud in the car, by myself, when I got the low down on this conversation. Gotta love kids!!