Haley Goes To The Tournament!

What a nice highlight for 2005. Haley, Mom and Dad, went to Eugene for the St. Paul Invitational Basketball tournament. There was one game Friday, February 18th. One game Saturday, February 19th. And one game Sunday, February 20th. Haley is a sixth grader but got to "play up" onto the 7th-8th grade team. It was a great experience for her and we really enjoyed seeing her play.

Going to the Big Dance!

Haley's real reason for wanting to go to the Eugene, Oregon basketball tournament... The Saturday night dance! Mom Annie looks almost as excited as Haley.

Box Headed for Philippines!

Several times a year, Annie fills boxes with goodies to send to her family in the Philippines. This is both a labor of love and a labor of, well, labor! Lots of basic needs are sent like school supplies, toiletries, soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. And of course, Annie always finds nice toys and clothes for the children there. She is always on the lookout for bargains and even from the earliest years of our marriage she has been the, "Queen of Coupons"!

Everything has to be labeled and Annie double-checks to make sure no one is forgotten. She can put as much weight in each box as she can so she likes to send a lot of canned goods too. American magazines are very expensive there so Annie likes to top off the boxes with those we have. The boxes are stuffed so full they end up looking more like huge balls than regular boxes.

Four weeks from now when Annie calls the Philippines she will once again be greeted with excited relatives and neighbors who enjoy the "miniature Christmas" they get to experience each time a box arrives!


and these are two boxes ready to go out the door!