Last night Tyler was asked to skip freshman ball practice today and suit up for the JV game vs. Sioux City East. He got quite a bit of playing time as point guard. He did a great job handling the ball, getting the ball up the court, and passing it to his teammates.
Tyler was 1 for 2 at the line. He scored 1 point in his junior varsity debut. Over Christmas break he will continue to practice with the Freshman team and then stay for the JV practice. He will then continue to play 3 to 4 games a week. He's so excited to play JV and I'm so excited to watch him play:)

Our weekend went a little something like this. We had a great weekend in Ankeny getting to spend time with Chloe. After we get home and I'm hunting up a white elephant gift for him to bring to youth group night at church I receive this text from Tyler:

A father passing by his son's bedroom, was astonished to see the bed was nicely made, and everything was picked up. Then, he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, "Dad." With the worst premonition, he opened the letter with trembling hands.
"Dear Dad, It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Stacy, and she is so nice, but I knew you would not approve of her, because of all her piercings, tattoos, her tight motorcycle clothes, and because she is much older than I am. But its not only the passion, Dad, she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing if for ourselves, and trading it with the other people in the community, for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it!! Don't worry, Dad I'm 15, and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit, so you can get to know your grandchildren.
Love, your son.

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house.I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a bad report card that's in my center desk drawer. I love you! Call when it's safe for me to come home.

Tyler has found his Christmas gifts and they are out of the box and on him! That is how we celebrated Christmas, on December 19th, at our house. Hope you all make wonderful memories for the holidays like we have.

The Storm Lake High School Concert Choir is made up of 154 students. Every 4 years this group goes to Orlando and competes nationally. They are ranked number one in the nation. When Tyler is a Senior he will go. Until then he will be doing fundraisers to pay for his trip. Thank you to everyone that has bought from him or will buy from him in the future. My pocketbook appreciates it;)
The last song of the evening, the director, Mr. Tollefson, invited the crowd to come join the choir and sing "Hallelujah." My favorite song was "Fum Fum Fum." It was about the birth of baby Jesus. It's so refreshing to hear songs of our Lord sung in school.
3 generations. We are so thankful to have Grandma close to us. She also brought us homemade goodies. Today we got a loaf of banana bread which is already half gone. Thank you also mom for helping me transport the ladies. I really appreciate your help.
Donna is our next door neighbor. She is so good to Tyler and I. Tyler loves her homemade goodies. We are so lucky to have her. This afternoon I borrowed her iron to press Tyler's shirt.
Joyce is our neighbor 2 doors down that Tyler has been working for for the last 2 years. She absolutely adores him. This morning at breakfast he said that we should invite her because she would love to see me sing. He was right. She loved seeing him perform:)
Father and Son. Steve got to the concert an hour early so we could enjoy the concert from the front row! Thank you

The best basketball game I've seen these boys play!!! They are really starting to come together as a team. I'm so proud of them for sticking together and working hard. Tyler had another great game. He had 9 points and great vision down the floor to get the assists and help the team to a victory. To end the first half he took a shot and got fouled. He made 2 of 3 to tie the game up. Coming out of the locker room the team was all smiles. Tyler would eventually foul out of the game with less than a minute of play left. That would be only his second break from play.
Tyler sporting his new warm up.

Tyler was 1 for 2 from the line. He had 14 points tonight. He was 3 for 4 from downtown. He got into a bit of foul trouble again having to sit out most of the third quarter.

They won!!! The game wasn't a pretty one but they won it anyway. Tyler had 2 points, 1 rebound and 4 steals. He also had 4 early fouls so he got to ride the pine quite a bit during the game. After wards, the coach told us he has quick hands and sometimes the refs don't like that.
Grandma and Grandpa made it up to watch the game. They also treated us for supper. Thanks for both:)
Charlie, Mitchell, Grant, Caleb, Ross, Yach, Chase and Tyler after winning their game.