A Four Day Break

Today was the last day of school for the week at Bethany.  The teachers had a Mennonite conference that they needed to attend which made for a nice winter break for the students.  Cam had invited his friend, Avery, over for the evening and they were ready to head to our house as soon as I arrived.  They spent the evening playing games on the PS4, talking to their friends and shooting each other with Nerf guns in the basement.

Meg and Jackie had a fun evening as well.  She came home with Meg after they first stopped at Culver's.  They hung out here until 6:15 or so and then decided to go back to Bethany to watch tonight's games.  They had fun hanging out with some other Bethany students.  The games had predictable outcomes, but were still fun to watch.  She stopped at Grandma's on the way home to visit them and to check on the pigs.  It was nice start for a four day weekend.

A Sad Ending to a Wonderful Season

Tonight was the first round of sectionals for the Bethany girls basketball team.  They were feeling very optimistic as the tournament was being played on their home court.  Plus they had drawn a team they had already beaten twice this year.  Doug, my parents and I were happy to have the sectional at Bethany, but were extremely nervous about the second part.  We were all aware that beating the same team three times in one season was rare.  Lakeland Christian Academy had played them tough in both games and we knew it would be a challenge.

The game started off in Bethany's favor as they held LCA scoreless for the first quarter.  They still had a lead going into the locker room, but it was a lot closer than anyone in the Bruins crowd wanted it to be.  The third quarter was a rough one as LCA played aggressively without many calls from the referees.  As the last quarter began we were hopeful, but worried.  It had been a great season for the girls and we really wanted it to continue.

The fourth quarter was a repeat of the third and with two minutes to go the girls found themselves down by 8.  Something must have kicked in at that moment, because the girls went on a run that almost won them the game.  A layup that rolled in and out was the difference between a Bethany victory and a tied game at the end of regulation.  Either way everyone was excited as the two teams ran out on the court for a tip off to start the four minute overtime and a chance to live another day.  Unfortunately, for Bethany it was not meant to be and their wonderful season came to an abrupt end.

As I drove Meg home after the game she had time to reflect on the season.  Over these past few months she had gained experience not only in basketball, but in life.  It will take some time for the sting of the loss to go away, but when it does the girls will have memories to look back on that will last a lifetime.

Start to the Week

Mondays are tough no matter the circumstance, but after enjoying a wonderful weekend with our family it was even harder to get started on the work week.  School went fine for everyone.  We were all just tired.  Meg was still fighting a head cold, but seemed to be better than Saturday.  Cam had tennis after school which went very well.  The group was larger and more skilled which made for better competition.  Meg had practice after school which she also felt went well.  Doug worked late as he it was quarter end.  Overall, the day was fine once we all got over the shock of the end of an enjoyable two days.

A Beautiful Day in Bloomington

It was the perfect morning to sleep in and/or take it easy which was what most of the Heinisch family did.  Doug was the exception as always as he was up early to jog 4 miles and then off to Kroger to buy food for lunch.  It was a gorgeous day especially after all of the rain yesterday and we made the most of it.  We decided to run to Barnes & Noble first as we didn't stop there last night.  I found the book "The Importance of Being Earnest."  I was excited about that as I loved the movie and it will make for a great summer read.  Doug also found a book that he wanted regarding the dust bowl during the Great Depression.  We talked Cam into purchasing Frankenstein.  Brett and I had read it years before and thought he would like it since he was a fan of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.   He also found a chess strategy book to help prepare him for team regionals in February.

We drove two separate cars to the winery so that we could head home after lunch.  It was exceptionally warm for January and we enjoyed a picnic in the sunshine.  We also celebrated Brett's birthday while we were there.  He absolutely loved the gifts we bought him especially the Snorlax shirt that Meg found on Amazon.  He hadn't asked for it, so it was a complete surprise.  Cal was happy to see that one of the gifts was the 2017 version of IT.  We plan to watch it together when we return at the end of February.  It was a lovely afternoon and we were sad to see it end, but we needed to get back home, Brett had homework and Cal had tickets to the IU vs. Purdue game.  We are already looking forward to our next trip down.

Cracking the Top Ten

Today was the individual Indiana state chess tournament.  Cam and Doug were up early on their way before the rest of us woke up.  Cam was seeded 12th in the 8th grade and under varsity championship division.  To begin the day his rating was near 1050.  His first draw of the day was rated over 1600.  He knew it would be a tough match, but he was confident in his playing.  Cam did end up losing, but made it over an hour before he did so.  The next match was the same length, but had a different outcome with Cam coming out victorious.  There was quite a bit of time between matches today.  Thankfully, both Kayden and Evan were also a part of the tournament so Cameron had someone to hang out with most of the day.  Doug took his work computer and a book, so he was occupied as well.  The most disappointing match of the day for Cam was his third one.  He felt that he had a lead and should have won, but in the end lost.  His fourth match was the longest of the day for him at one hour and forty minutes.  Cam needed a victory to finish in the top ten and to reach his goal of two wins.  He worked hard in the match and stayed focused.  It paid off as he earned the 9th place trophy and congratulations from all of us.

While Cam and Doug were at the chess tournament, the rest of us spent the day in Bloomington.  Cal, Brett and I went to The Siam House for lunch.  Cal had been there before and loved it.  It was delicious.  Meg spent time resting today and doing homework.  She had a horrible head cold and was emotionally drained from the funeral yesterday.  She did join us for a shopping trip to Kohl's, the College Mall, Kroger and TIS.  It was a lot of fun.  Brett got groceries.  Meg found new Prince tennis shoes.  Cal bought a sports coat and I made my normal stop at Yankee Candle.

Originally, I thought Doug and Cam would be back close to 7:30.  Instead they returned at 9.  We used the extra time after shopping to hang out at Brett's.  While Meg was resting, Cal suggested that we watch "IT."  He hadn't seen the original version and had just finished the book.  Brett, Cal and I had a lot of fun with the movie.  Once Doug and Cam got back we headed to Opie Taylor's for dinner.  Parce had just gotten to Bloomington from work, so he decided to walk up and join us.  We all had a great time catching up with him.  It was the perfect way to celebrate Cam's success and unwind from a busy couple of days.

Hard to Imagine

Today was the funeral for Kathy Yeager.  Cam, Meg, Doug and I were all able to adjust our schedules to be in DeKalb for it.  We were so glad that we did.  It had been a tough month for Dan's family and we all wanted to show our support.  The funeral was nice with a lot of wonderful words spoken about Kim's mom.  All Meg and I kept saying was "Can't imagine having to go through this again."  Watching Jeanette lose her three year battle with cancer was extremely hard.  Having to turn around and do it again with another Grandma would have been just awful.

We went to the graveside service after the funeral.  Kathy will be laid to rest near Jeanette and Drew.  I was glad to see that.  I told Kim earlier in the day that all I could think about at the church was Jeanette waiting at the gates of Heaven, holding Drew's hand, welcoming Kathy home.  I know everyone's vision of Heaven is different, but that image fit well with mine.  After the graveside service we walked to Jeanette's headstone.  The Heinisch children have missed her more and more as the years have past.  It was nice to think of her today as well.

We met the Yeager family at Fanatico's for lunch.  Several of the Faivre cousins were there.  It was nice to catch up with them.  Dan said that many of his cousins were able to attend the viewing last night as well as Uncle Ray.  We were so glad to hear that he had support as we couldn't get there before the end of the viewing.  We spent quite a bit of time talking with Dan.  It has been a long month for them with Kathy's cancer fight and Kim's brother, John, becoming extremely ill.  We stayed for over an hour, catching up and making plans for a return trip.

It was a sad day, but an important one for us to be a part of.  I hadn't cried that much in quite awhile.  As we drove on to Bloomington later that evening I had a lot of time to reflect.  We had spent a great deal of time with the Yeager family over the years.  Kathy and Jeanette had loved their grandchildren immensely.  It was sad to think that Morgan, Cole and Addie would not have that relationship going forward.

End of a Season

Tonight was the last JV basketball game for Meg.  She got to start and be the captain for the night.  I was impressed with how well she played considering how terrible she felt.  When I drove her to school this morning she sounded awful although she said that she felt better than she sounded.  Tonight was a tough one for the team in general.  Whitko had a talented junior varsity team and they came out on fire from the field.  The girls hung in there, however, losing in a respectful manner.

It was also senior night this evening.  Unfortunately, we were not able to stay for the varsity portion of the night.  In order to make it to DeKalb for the funeral tomorrow we had to leave immediately after Meg's game.  She did get to share the senior pregame meal with her teammates and made a poster for the girls.  It has been a wonderful experience for Meg to be part of the basketball team at Bethany.  They have been supportive of her and have worked to improve her skills as well as her confidence.  Those were two reasons that she left the program at Wawasee before her Freshmen year.  We are proud of her for taking on this challenge.  It has been fun to watch her play.

Another Day, Another Dead Battery

Doug took my mom's van to work today so that we could get the oil changed in our van.  The light had come on and we didn't want to drive it to DeKalb until we took care of it.  As Doug had my Mom's van to drive I then took the CR-V to school.  It was slick out this morning, but it drove well and I wasn't worried about it's reliability at all.

After school I picked up Cameron for his weekly tennis lesson.  It had continued to snow/sleet most of the day, but the roads weren't too bad and we made it without incident.  While Cam had his lesson I ran to Walmart to pick up some food for our trip to DeKalb tomorrow.  I got back in plenty of time to watch him play.  He has really improved and it has been fun to watch.  We left ready to get home to dinner and packing for the weekend.  We got in the CR-V, turned the key and all we heard was "click, click, click."  I couldn't believe it.  I had just driven it and it was fine.  I thought that maybe I had done something wrong, but it didn't matter what I tried the car would not turn over.

My next course of action was to call Doug in tears.  I was tired and it was late.  I knew we still had an evening full of packing and a long day tomorrow.  Doug had just gotten out of the shower and still needed to pick up the van at Monteith, but said he'd be there as soon as possible.  As we waited I noticed a man in the van beside us.  I finally got the courage to get out and tell him our dilemma.  He was the perfect person to reach out to.  He was happy to help and had all the supplies we needed.  He showed Cam how to jump start a car and within ten minutes we were up and running.  I was so happy and appreciative that he took the time to help us.  I called Doug as we left the parking lot to let him know that we were on our way.  He was only halfway to the racquet club, so he didn't have far to go to get back home.

While we were jumping the CR-V I noticed that the cable was completely corroded.  Therefore, when  I got home Doug grabbed the coke bottle and toothbrush, popped the hood and started to work.  It looked a lot better in the end, but we decided to borrow Mom's van again for tomorrow.  We had a tight schedule and knew that getting stranded in Bristol would really put us in a bind.  It seems that we have had more trouble with batteries this winter than any other.  Everyone of the vehicles has died except the van.  I hope this was the last of it.

Control Freaks

Today I was in the path of another person who decided to make my day miserable just because they needed to be in control of something that did not affect them in anyway.  I was extremely frustrated as I take a lot of pride in my work ethic and this person dismissed me.  It took me quite awhile to get over the "slap in the face."  I don't have to be in control of everything, but I prefer to have a say in something that affects me personally.  I also don't understand the need to control others.  It amazes me that anyone would want to take time to control anyone else.  Sounds exhausting to me.  Thankfully, we had plenty to do tonight.  After awhile I could calm down, breathe and move on.  I still don't have a plan on how to address the situation, but at least I was able to put it in perspective.

My Back is Done

Not sure what happened, but Friday I woke up at 5 a.m. barely able to move my back.  Not only was it hurting, but the muscles in my rib cage were in such deep spasms that I could barely breathe.  My back had been bothering me ever since I sold tickets at Meg's game last Tuesday, but Friday it went to another level. I spent quite a bit of time stretching it out over the weekend.  That did help.  Tylenol and Ibuprofen did not.  I thought yesterday I had turned a corner, but I woke up this morning in a lot of pain again.  Since I was up well before my alarm I decided to try the heating pad.  It did make a little difference, at least enough for me to make it to school.

Sitting at school did not help it, but I made it though the day.  Stretches made it well enough for me to go to Meg's game at Fairfield.  I was glad I went as she played extremely well.  She was the leading scorer and also a leader on the court.  It has been so much fun to watch her grow as a player this season and to make quite a few friends along the way.  Both JV and varsity played well but were outmatched against a tough Fairfield team.

Happy 13th Birthday Cameron

The youngest member of the Heinisch family became a teenager today.  I asked him last night if it was a big deal turning 13.  He said no because he already felt that old.  That didn't surprise me as he definitely has gone through some major changes this year just as did his siblings before him.  In saying that I have never thought of Cameron as the "baby of the family."  His siblings have never treated him as such.  Their expectations for Cam may be even higher than Doug or mine are for him.  I have noticed that he excepts their challenges and tries his best in everything he does.  Although he reminds me more of Doug than the other three, there is a goofy side to Cam that brings so much fun to our family.  He completes our family in so many ways and today was a lot of fun celebrating his life.

Cam had told us several weeks ago that he did not want a party with friends this year for his birthday.  He thought he'd just have his classmates over in the summer for a bonfire.  Instead he wanted the four of us to spend the day together which we were all happy about.  We started our day in Fort Wayne with lunch at Biaggi's.  It was delicious as always.  From there we walked to the Jefferson Point Mall so that he could use some of his birthday money to buy headphones for the Play Station 4.  He and his friends had spend a good part of the weekend playing Fortnight against each other and this would help him communicate with them.   We checked into DeBrand's on the way out for dessert.

After a quick stop at Target we headed to Ultra Zone for some family laser tag.  It was a lot of fun.  There were other families there with the same idea and for the first time ever I was able to actually contribute to our team.  Meg and I got a kick out one family that had little children.  They were easy targets and extremely animated when we "shot" them.  We had time to play three games before leaving for home.  Doug wanted to catch the Patriots game and Cam had some friends waiting to play Fortnight with him.

Cam picked out dinner for all of us - meatballs and queso dip.  My parents came up after dinner so that he could open gifts, play games and cut his cake.  Cam was surprised by his gifts as he hadn't asked for much.  Thus, a Kylo-Ren Lego, the Captain Underpants movie and the Seafarers Expansion for Catan were more than he expected.  He was even more surprised when my parents brought out an extremely long gift.  He wasn't sure at first what it was, but as he opened it he realized that he was a proud owner of a new driver with a bright pink grip.  A great big smile crossed his face.  The rest of the evening was spent playing cards and eating cake.  It was a wonderful celebration of the life of the youngest Heinisch.  It has been an awesome thirteen years.

Puzzle Time

After the boys left for Bloomington I got out my Birds of the Backyard puzzle that I bought this summer in Michigan.  It was the perfect puzzle for me as I enjoy watching the birds in our yard perching on the trees or eating from our feeders.  Meg and Cam have nicknamed me the "crazy bird" lady which I wear with pride.  Doug and I have spent quite a bit of time on it these past few weeks and tonight we were able to finally finish it.  It wasn't as hard as Renoir's "Two Girls at a Piano" or Cam's Darth Vader one, but it definitely had it's moments.

We did not work on it all day.  Cam and Doug were at the chess tournament until 3.  Cam played exceptionally well.  He finished second out of twenty-seven registered in the under 1200 rating group.    He said he destroyed the first four opponents quickly with his new blitz moves.  Unfortunately that did not work for him against the last opponent, but he was still very excited about his success today.  He has increased his rating this chess season by several hundred points and felt confident about next week's state tournament.

After the tournament Doug and I went to Meg's basketball game.  It was varsity only against Hamilton.  They were the weakest team that the girls have played all year.  All of the Bethany players scored and Meg had several rebounds, multiple jump balls and four points.  It was fun to watch.  She stayed for the boys' game.  They won also, but the game was a lot closer.

Game Night

Meg decided that she would go see The Greatest Showman after practice tonight.  One of her friends had not been to see it yet and she definitely was up for another viewing.  Afterward they went to Hacienda for dinner.  Thus, she didn't get home until after nine.

Since Meg had plans tonight, that left Doug, Cam and I with a decision to make.  Should we go out or should we stay in?  After a lot of debate and suggestions we thought the best plan was to have  game night at the Heinisch home complete with nachos and guacamole.  While Doug was getting the food ready, Cam played Fortnight on the PS4.  He and his friends were able to connect through the game and play as a team.  He had a lot of fun and we enjoyed listening to him banter back and forth with the other players.  After dinner we finally finished our game of Phase 10.  Cam destroyed us only losing one hand.  Our next game of the night was Mario Kart.  We hadn't played in quite some time and I finally broke the top ten.

Meg came home shortly after we finished our second round.  She enjoyed the movie as much as she did the first time.  Cam and I would like to see it again as well.  As much fun as we had playing games we decided to call it an early night.  I was wiped out from a long week as was Meg.  Cam and Doug had to be up early for a chess tournament tomorrow.  Happy that we decided to stay at home tonight.  It was the perfect start to the weekend.

Student Led Conferences

Tonight was student led conferences at Milford School.  It made for an extremely long day as we had to be there until 7:00.  Thus, my normal eight hour day turned into a twelve hour one.  I just don't have the stamina for it like I used to.  We only had 24% of our students attend this evening which made it feel even longer as there weren't very many parents to talk to.

There were two bright spots in the night, however.  First Meg stopped by at 6:30.  She wanted to catch Mr. Larson and Mr. Troyer before they left.  She had  a lot of fun catching up to do with them on her life as a junior.  Secondly, Doug took me out to dinner as soon as I got home.  That was a nice surprise.  It was great to talk with him as our nights this week have led us in different direction.  I was definitely ready for bed when we got home.

PBS Junkies

Earlier this fall Doug and I became PBS members which gave us access to all of their online programming.  When I think about it, I can't believe that we hadn't become done this before then.  PBS was our go to station whenever we wanted something to watch.  Our favorites centered around American Experience and Antiques Roadshow.  I had also completed the entire series of Downton Abbey and have plans to start another one of their historical fiction programs soon.  

Usually, we thoroughly enjoy their programming.  Last week we even stayed up late to watch a special on Teddy Roosevelt's travels through the Amazon.  It was absolutely fascinating.  Tonight's American Experience, however, just didn't live up to the hype.  It was about the scientist who discovered radar.  Although I realized that it was important to the end of World War II, it just wasn't that interesting to me.  To top it off the scientist that was instrumental in the discovery came across as a complete jerk.  He even had his wife institutionalized so that he could marry another woman.  In saying that, even though tonight's episode was lackluster, I will not give up on PBS or their programming.  It has brought hours of entertainment to our family over the years.  

Ticket Taker

Tonight was my night to take tickets for the girls' basketball game at Bethany.  Doug was originally signed up, but he had been given four seats to the Notre Dame vs. Louisville game this evening.  As we knew that we both couldn't go, he asked Cam if he wanted to take a couple of friends and go with him.  Cam invited JJ and Conner.  They were both excited to attend the event as neither had been to a Notre Dame game before.

I got to Bethany at 5:20 ready for my duty this evening.  The job wasn't too difficult, and those buying tickets were friendly.  Those type of situations have always been challenging for me as I am not extremely outgoing.  I did my best, however, and kept control of the cash box through all of the junior varsity game and half of the varsity one.  The girls played Concord and did well in both games.  Meg played three quarters of the JV game and did a fantastic job.  They ran an unique substitution pattern in the fourth quarter that brought Meg off the bench every offensive possession.  It wasn't quite enough to win, but they did close the gap.

Varsity lost as well in a long, close game.  It was well after 9:30 by the time Meg and I got home.  We stopped and picked up a pizza as neither of us had eaten much.  The Notre Dame game went into two overtimes.  Doug usually tries to leave early to beat the traffic, but it was too exciting for that tonight.  They were able to make it home close just before eleven, happy that they went.  Cam headed straight to bed and Doug was thankful for the left over pizza.  I was too tired to stay up with him.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Our school did not have Martin Luther King Jr., Day off today.  It was one of the few as the majority in our area were not in session including Bethany.  If it was up to me I would have given the students the day off.  I realize that most would not use the time to honor Dr. King, but all would realize that he was an extremely important part history to have a day named in his memory.

Since Meg and Cam were off and I wasn't, I had first thought of taking the day off to be home with them.  As Meg had practice and Cam wanted to play games with my parents, I decided that I would teach and do my best to bring Dr. King into our classroom.  We had done some background research on the Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. last week in preparation for today.  On this day we focused on his quotes and what he stood for and against during Success time.  We talked about pacifism and our dreams for the world today.  My math classes had to do Martin Luther King, Jr. math research.  They had to find the answer to such questions as:  Dr. King married Coretta Scott.  What is the sum of the year they got married to the number of children they had, divided by the number of brothers and sisters Dr. King had?  In all they answered ten math questions that also gave them knowledge about the civil rights minister.  While they working on their assignment I played the entirety of his speech from the March on Washington.  I don't know how much they will take out of our lesson today.  I do hope it was enough for them to remember that "It is always the right time to do what is right."

A Guest Priest

Father Andrew has been in India since the New Year and won't return until February.  So far we have really been impressed with the guest priest.  He brings humor to his homilies.  They are long enough to get his message across, yet short enough to hold our attention span.  We appreciate him stepping in while Father has been gone and look forward to hearing him for the next few weeks.

After mass we spent the rest of the day at home.  For the first time in a long time I did not have to spend the entire day doing laundry.  I had finished it all Friday and was thankful for a break.  Doug had to work for most of the afternoon, but didn't mind as there was football to watch.  Cam played PS4 and caught up on Impractical Jokers.  Meg had a friend over that she went to dinner with as she decided not to enjoy Doug's corn beef and cabbage.  I believe the purple potatoes scared her off.  Cam and I thought it was very good, however.  

Papa Vino's

Today was a celebration for Cam and Meg.  They had both had a successful day.  Cam qualified for the individual state championship for the third year in a row.  There weren't as many players in his division as in the past, so he was done earlier than normal.  That gave him plenty of time to relax this afternoon.  We found out later that Kayden and Evan qualified in their division as well which meant that he would have  others to hang out with on January 27th.  The first year that he went to state he was the only one that qualified.

Meg had a great day as well.  Her basketball team played Trinity Christian.  It was a varsity only game and Meg played a little less than a quarter.  She made the most of it scoring four points and had a three pointer that went in and out of the basket.  As we were already in South Bend, we thought that the best course of action would be to enjoy a nice family dinner at Papa Vino's.  We hadn't been there in quite some time.  It was just as delicious as we remembered and the conversation around the tale was lively as always.

Elearning Day Part 2

Every school in our area was closed today due to ice and snow.  Wawasee called it well before 6 a.m. Bethany started with a delay, but ended up cancelling by 7 as well.  Cam and Meg did not have a virtual learning day.  They were told yesterday that they wouldn't have one and would make it up on a future snow make up day.  Thus, Cam and Meg had a day to relax.  The noise of the ice hitting Meg's window woke her up early.  She tried sleeping in my room for awhile, but ended up back in her bed around 8:30 a.m.  Cam woke up at 8.  One of his friends texted him about the snow day.  Yesterday Cam had said that there was no way there would be a snow day today.  His friend wanted him to know that he was wrong.

I was up at my normal time.  As I didn't have to have my plans on the elearning website until 9 a.m. I had plenty of time to use the elliptical.  I made it a mile today which I was happy about.  I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon answering emails for elearning.  While I was doing that I also had time to do all of the laundry in the house and even played a game or two with Cam and Meg.  Meg was extremely happy for the day off.  We got home really late last night and she didn't have time to finish studying for her history exam.  Today she got that done, plus reading for English and an assignment for Physics.  She even had time to do so free reading.  Earlier in the week she had finished "To Kill a Mockingbird."  Today she read more of her new book "Antisocial."

Doug went into work this morning after basketball.  He said that it was slow going.  The roads weren't much better at lunch.  His drive home was easier until he got to Kosciusko county.  The roads were once again slick.  He had picked up Little Caesar's for Cam and Meg for dinner.  I usually go out to get lunch on snow days, but today was too icy for me.  Meg said she was ok with it as she had her Taki's and pizza.  Doug and I went to Huntington's for dinner.  It was packed.  Thankfully, the owner realized we needed a table and made sure we were seated.  We all played games when we got back.  It was a fun way to spend the rest of the evening.  

A JV Win

Today was a really long day, but one that produced a win for the girls' junior varsity team.  The game was played at Blackhawk Christian in Fort Wayne.  I had never been there.  It was quite the drive during rush hour.  My Dad and I left plenty early, but made it just before the game started.  We were glad that we got to see the first game.  Meg played very well scoring four points to give Bethany the lead that they worked hard to hold on to winning by one point in an intense game.  

The varsity team won a close one as well.  Both games took longer than normal with a lot of fouls called and time outs taken in the fourth quarter.  It was well after nine before we left the school.  We ran through the drive-thru on the way home.  Thankfully, traffic was a lot lighter, so the trip was easier.  Meg talked the entire time.  She gave us her thoughts on basketball first and then talked a lot about the classes that were presented today at chapel concerning interim in March.  Meg's first pick was a Civil Rights trip to Memphis and Raleigh with Mr. Kauffman.  We thought that one sounded awesome and were glad that she felt that way as well.

Doug and Cam were in bed when we got home.  Doug had county council tonight so he was unable to go with us to Meg's game.  Cam had a fun night at Grandma's.  They played IUopoly. It was after eleven by the time I crawled in to bed.  It was definitely a long day, but a fruitful one.  

One Foggy Night!

Cam returned to tennis tonight at the Warsaw Racquet Club.  He said that he felt rusty at first, but after ten minutes or so he was back in the swing of things.  The only other issue that he had was with his knees.  He had told me that they had been bothering him after PE on Tuesday and they definitely hurt tonight.  We know from what Dr. Allen told us after Cam's diagnosis of Ogden Slaughter's disease in the fall that tennis will give him the most pain.  Cameron said that it was tolerable, so he will continue on for now.

While Cam was at tennis I ran to get groceries.  It had been really foggy today and was fairly thick when we drove to tennis.  It seemed to be getting better when I left Walmart.  Our drive home from Warsaw was pretty uneventful until we got to Milford.  It was like we hit a wall of fog when we got to Mishler's funeral home and stayed that way through the rest of our drive home.  I slowed down to less than 20 miles per hour, watched the yellow lines in the middle of the road and Cam kept his eyes on the white line on the side.  I definitely held the steering wheel tight.  I don't know if my knuckles turned white, but it sure was tense for several miles.  Thankfully, traffic was light and although it took twice as long as usual we did make it home without incident.  Fortunately, Meg got out at 5:45 from practice.  There was just enough light to make her trip a little easier although she said she never got above 30 miles per hour.  Doug was home the earliest and had no problems at all.  I was definitely feeling blessed to have all of us home safe and sound tonight.

Back to School

We had a normal day today at school as the weather was perfectly fine this morning for driving.  The weatherman had predicted ice and fog, but we had neither and Meg made it safely to school as well.  My day went fine, but by the end of it I was completely exhausted.  I did have enough energy to put in ten minutes on the elliptical.  I really like exercising on it.  It is a tougher workout than walking, but it doesn't hurt my knees or ankles.  My goal is to build up to a mile.

Cam had chess tonight after school.  They got out early and were throwing snowballs at each other when I got to Bethany.  He said it went well.  He has regionals on Saturday.  Meg had late practice tonight which ended after 7.  She was exhausted as well when she got home.  Doug had to work late also, but was still home by 6.  After dinner we got out the bird puzzle that I bought this summer in Michigan and watched the American Experience episode on Teddy Roosevelt and the River of Doubt.  It was fascinating and a wonderful way to end a long day.

eLearning Day

All week the weather had predicted a wintry mix for tonight into tomorrow morning.  We had several warnings yesterday from our weather apps.  Thus, we had plenty of time to prepare for any weather delays that might arise.  Doug had an early morning inventory that took him out the door at 3 a.m. so we knew that he wouldn't be able to help get everyone to Bethany.  He was able to text us and let us know that the roads were not drivable for Meg, so we went into plan B mode.  If they had a delay and we didn't my Dad was available to take them.  Thankfully, we didn't have to get him out of bed early as both schools called a delay before 6 a.m.  That was a relief as I would have plenty of time to take them and get to Milford on time.  By the time I jumped in the shower at 8 a.m. Wawasee decided to cancel and have their first eLearning day.  That made our day even easier especially since I had put my lessons on last night just in case we had a snow day.

As I was ready early I had time to run out to get everyone something to drink from McDonald's.  The roads were pretty clear from what I drove on, so I wasn't worried about getting Cam and Meg to Bethany.  They were ready early, so we had plenty of time to get there.  I chose to drive down US 6 and State Road 15 as I knew those would be cleared.  Thankfully, we were able to avoid the mess that Doug drove in this morning.  

As soon as I found out that we had an eLearning day my first thought was - "Awesome.  Now I can work and clean the upstairs at the same time!"  We had tried to get as much done as possible over the weekend, but with all of the painting, moving furniture and cleaning in our bedroom I hadn't had much time to help clean Meg and Cam's rooms.  Therefore, once I got home from taking Cam and Meg I grabbed my MacBook and headed upstairs to clean and answer the emails that I got from my students.  I spent the next five hours working and cleaning and by the time I left to get Cam almost 25% of my students had completed their school work and I had two bedrooms dusted, laundry put away and almost all of the bedding washed.

Cam and I stopped at The Electric Brew after school.  He had his gift card to spend from winning the free throw contest in November and wanted a hot chocolate.  He said that his first day back wasn't too bad.  His schedule changed a little bit, but he said that he would get used to it.  He had a great lunch table which made for a good start to the new semester.  He and I then stopped at Menard's to buy an extra large bag of "pig chips" as we used all of the bedding last week when we changed the guinea pigs' cage.  

Once we got home I finished my cleaning and Cam spent some time relaxing.  Doug picked up Meg from practice.  She was tired but had a good first day back as well.  I ordered pizza for everyone and we enjoyed a quiet evening at home.  Around 9:00 Doug fell asleep on the couch and Cam and Meg started getting ready for bed.  I decided that I might as well follow suit and put on my pajamas as well.  It was easy to jump into bed knowing that we had all had a great day.  

Last Day of an Awesome Christmas Break

We started our last day of Christmas Break by celebrating the epiphany at mass.  We had a guest priest and he gave a nice homily for the day.  After mass we spent the majority of our afternoon cleaning.  There was quite a bit of laundry to get done, bathrooms to clean, kitchen counters to wipe down, outside Christmas to take down and rooms to pick up.  Meg also had to read the rest of her book for English.  Doug gave her the caveat that if she finished it and picked up her room we would be able to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.  Thankfully, she did it all without problem and by 5:30 we were off to dinner.

The rest of the evening was a quiet one.  Doug went to bed early so that he could get up at 3 a.m.  He had an inventory to start at 5 and wanted to give himself plenty of time to get there as there had been several winter storm warning advisories come out today for late Sunday night into Monday morning.  It was a fantastic break filled with a lot of family time.  I was sad to see it go, but thankful for our time together.  

And Off They Go . . .

Today was a sad day for me as Brett and Cal headed back to Bloomington this afternoon.  They had had a great three week break and we spent a lot of time together as a family.  I know it was time for them to go, but I still missed them when I turned out the lights at night.  I swear I could hear Brett running up the steps from the basement before I went to bed.  I even had to remind myself to lock the front door as Cal wouldn't be coming in later.  Thankfully, the weather and traffic was fine for their trip back and they made it without any problems.  That was saying a lot with all of the car trouble that we had had this week.

We did keep ourselves busy today with packing and such.  Meg had a friend over for the afternoon.  Brett went to a political rally for Todd Rikita in Warsaw and Hannah-Marie stopped by to see Cal.  My parents also stopped by to see them off and then took Cam back to their house for the evening.  Doug and I left shortly after they did to watch Meg's basketball game in Bremen.  It was a varsity only one, so we didn't have too long to sit tonight.  The girls lost by double digits, but Meg did get to play six minutes or so and scored on a nice shot from the outside.  She stayed with the team afterward for the boys game and Doug and I stopped at Hunter's Hide-Away in Nappanee for dinner on the way home.  Cam had a lot of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's.  They played Phase 10 and watched IU upset Minnesota.  We were all wiped out when we got home and sad that our Christmas break was coming to an end.

A Change of Plans

Meg didn't want to drive the truck to Bethany today, so I ran her to Mom's at 9:30 to borrow the van to go to practice.  She made it without any problems and was back by lunchtime.  We hadn't eaten at fast foods restaurant much at all this break, so I decided to get McDonald's for lunch.  Cal didn't join us as he stayed at Cameron's last night and didn't get up until 1 p.m.

After lunch Brett and I spent quite a bit of time getting ready for our trip to Bloomington.  He wanted to have a day to himself in Bloomington before school started.  Since Cal didn't want to go back until Sunday the only way for us to make that happen was to leave this afternoon.  Doug and I had no problem doing that and planned to leave at 4:30 today once he got home and the tire on the van got fixed.  Cal had a change of heart, however, and decided at 2:15 that he would rather go back tomorrow.  Brett said he was ok with another day at home and the unpacking began.  I was disappointed that we wouldn't get to go to Bloomington, but happy that we would have a relaxing weekend instead of a jam packed one.

With the change of plans Doug, Brett and I decided to go to Huntington Street for dinner.  Cam and Meg headed to Pizza King and Cal and HM hung out here.  When we got back I started on Cal's laundry for his early departure and we all played games together.  There were multiple hilarious moments especially when we played 5 Second Rule.  Overall, it was a fantastic way to end the boys' last night at home.

Basketball and More Car Trouble

Meg spent the night at Jackie's last night and had a lot of fun playing Just Dance and watching Netflix.  Today they went to lunch with Liam and Evan at South Side Soda Shoppe.  While they were there Brett, Cam and I went to the Indian restaurant on Main Street.  They had a fantastic buffet full of pork curry and butter chicken.  We all enjoyed it very much.  After lunch we went to Target and Game Stop.  While we were there Meg texted me to pick them up.  I was surprised as I thought they'd be busy until 3 or so.  It worked out fine, however, as they then had an hour to rest at our house before their game tonight.

Brett, Cam and I drove my parents to the JV girls game against Fairfield tonight.  Meg played very well.  We were all impressed.  She has definitely become a leader on the junior varsity.  It has been fun to watch.  Afterward my parents drove Doug's car home and we all went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.  We hadn't been there at all this break and enjoyed our time together.  On the way home we realized that the back tire wasn't sounding quite right.  Doug had hit a piece of ice on the way to dinner.  We weren't sure if it was that or the cold.  By the time we got to my Mom's we knew that the van was no longer drivable.  Therefore, we picked up the CR-V at Mom's and dropped the van off at Monteith's.  It has been a terrible week for cars in the Heinisch family - the Civic died and needed a battery, the Silverado had to be jump started, the Alero wouldn't even turn over and now the van lost a tire.  Thankfully, Monteith has been great about getting us in.  Maybe we'll even get customer of the month.  

The Greatest Showman

Tonight Cam, Brett and I dropped Meg off at practice and then went to see the movie "The Greatest Showman."  We had been talking about seeing it for the past month, ever since we saw the preview at "Murder on the Orient Express."  There was a lot of hype surrounding the musical starring Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum.  The movie was as just as good as we hopped it would be.  Hugh Jackman was awesome as was Zac Efron.  We talked about it nonstop on the way home and all three of us agreed that we would definitely see it again.  It definitely wasn't historically accurate, but that didn't detract from the movie for us.  It had been a long time since I had seen a movie that I had liked as much as "The Greatest Showman."

Driving home from the movie was a little hazardous for me.  The snow started at 5 or so and the roads were covered.  It was also very dark which made it challenging for me to see.  We arrived safely, however.  Cal left shortly before we got home.  He had bought tickets for he and Grandpa Cutes to go to the Notre Dame - NC State game.  The game was a late one, but they had no problem getting there and back.  The only bummer of the night was that the Irish won easily making Mike Bray the most winningest coach in Notre Dame history.

It's Purple and It's Perfect

The carpet men arrived right on time this morning and by 1:30 p.m. we had a beautiful new bedroom complete with purple carpet.  After we painted the walls I was worried that it wouldn't match as well as we originally thought.  Boy, was I wrong!  It was perfect and I was thrilled with the look of it.  The carpet layers were also some of the best that we have ever had.  They jumped Meg's truck when it wouldn't start and they fixed the wood strip in between the family room and the dining room that everyone kept tripping over.  In order to thank them I bought them lunch at Subway when they left.

I spent the majority of the afternoon getting the bedroom back in order.  I couldn't move the big furniture, but I got all of the little items in the room and the new comforter set ready for the night.  Doug was equally impressed with the carpet when he got home and was able to move the bedroom set and entertainment center back into place.  We did take a couple of pieces out of the room, so we have more space.  All there was left to do was to put away the knickknacks, hang the pictures and wait for the new shades to arrive.  They should be time to get those done this week.

Tonight Cal hung out with HM.  They went to Goshen for lunch first.  Meg and Brett went to Maria's for  lunch.  They had to borrow Mom's van as we weren't sure how the truck would do in the cold.  Meg then used it to go to practice at 4.  Afterward she and Nate Haines went to dinner at Bob Evans.  Meg enjoyed listening to him talk about his adventures at Purdue and reminiscing about their time on the tennis team at Wawasee.  My parents picked up Brett and Cam at 5.  Brett stopped and got the Civic at Monteith.  The battery had completely died yesterday and they were able to replace it today.  Afterward they all went to Chubbie's for bowling and tenderloins and back to Grandpa's to play games.  Since no one was home Doug and I decided to go out to dinner after we set up the bedroom.  It was a rare night out for us this Christmas vacation.

New Year's Day

The year 2018 started with a lot of cleaning - at least for Doug and I.  We had to have everything out of the bedroom for the carpet to arrive tomorrow.  It took a lot more time and a lot more work than we had planned, but we got it all done and ready by mid-afternoon.  With everything out of the room the white carpet looked even worse than I had thought.  It will be wonderful to replace it.  I definitely wouldn't chose white carpet again, but it did look nice when it was new.

Doug and Meg took Jackie back to Goshen and picked up Cam around 10:45.  Cam had a lot of fun as did Meg.  Paula picked up Meg at noon to go skiing at Bittersweet.  I was worried about the cold temperatures, but overall it went very well.  The one nice part of being close to the lake is that the temperatures were warmer.  Cal spent the day at HM's.  He texted us in the late afternoon to see if we could make buffalo chicken dip.  Doug hadn't made it before, but thought he'd give it a try.  It was delicious.  We agreed that we would have it again some time.  Doug also made nachos and meatballs.  It was the perfect dinner to have while watching football games and the Twilight Zone.  We also made time to play a couple of games.  Even with all of the work in our bedroom, it was a wonderful start to the new year for the Heinisch family.