September

Wow!  This year is flying by so quickly!  It's already the beginning of October and that means the holidays are right around the corner and we all now how quickly the time passes then.

We had a busy September with football, hunting, working and such.  Corey and Nathan managed to get in a couple of dove hunting trips.  This is the first year Nathan has gone and actually taken his own gun to shoot.  He is loving it so far!  :) 

High school is going well for Nathan and keeping him very busy.  Between homework, DI practice, guitar lessons, and church activities, he's only home one or two nights a week.

Em is loving college and doing quite well also.  She is constantly reading to keep up with her psychology class and is half way through the first semester. 

Corey and I continue working and working out.  I'm running about 15-20 miles a week and training for a half marathon in November.  It's a new one for me and should be lots of fun!  Corey's thinking about doing a 5K in a couple of weeks.  If he does, I'll probably do the 10K at the same time. 

One of the highlights of our month was going to the A & M-Commerce game against MSU at Cowboys Stadium.  None of us had been there before and it was a great (cheap!) way to visit the $1.5 billion facility.  We made a whole day out of it by shopping and going to Chuy's for dinner.  Chuy's was our favorite restaurant in Austin and we visit the one in Dallas every time we get the chance!

Here are some pictures of our play day:

August Update

Things have been busy in the Butcher household this summer! After an extremely busy June, we settled in to somewhat of a routine.  I worked out, cooked and cleaned, Corey went to work, Emily worked as a lifeguard at a country club and Nathan played video games!  Hmmm, what's wrong with that picture?!  Absolutely nothing, if you're a 14 year old boy! 

The first week in August, Em went to Destin, FL with our youth group for "Senior Trip".  It was their last time to be together as they all go their separate ways on the path to adulthood.  She had an incredible time and will always remember it.

My baby, Nathan, started high school this year.  This might have been harder for me than the thought of Emily starting college!  I have to admit, I got a little teary eyed when  I dropped him off the first day!  *sniff*  He hates getting his picture taken and rarely smiles for me. (Sounds very much like his Papa!)  I did make him pose for the the first day of school.

He's now as tall as me and will quickly pass me by, I'm sure!

Emily started college on the 29th, but not without some drama first!  She wasn't feeling well on Thursday before classes started, but went on to work and stayed until 7 pm.  When she got home, Corey and I decided to take her to the ER.  The doctor thought it was her appendix even though the tests were inconclusive and finally admitted her about 1 am.  The surgeon came in about 8 on Friday morning and the decision was made to remove her appendix so about 1:00 Friday afternoon, they took her in to surgery.  She spent the night in the hospital Friday and come home Saturday afternoon determined to go to class on Monday.  Here she is awaiting surgery. 

She did great and made it to class on Monday for the first day of college!  It proved to be a bit much as it was a very long day, so she stayed home on Tuesday.  By Wednesday, she was almost back to normal and has survived her first week as a college freshman.  We couldn't be more proud of her! 

Although we have great hopes things will slow down in the fall, they never do.  Corey and I are mentors for the youth group on Sunday nights: I start Bible Study next week; Nathan is on the DI team (they practice 2 hours every Tuesday), takes guitar lessons on Wednesday, and plays in the Praise band on Sunday evenings; Em is taking 15 hours and spends lots of time in the library.  The next thing you know, it will be Halloween and the beginning of the holiday season!  In the meantime, I will keep my sanity by running as much as possible and keeping the family fed! 

Until next month....

June

June was a busy month in the Butcher house!  We started off by celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary followed by Emily's High School Graduation the next day. 



This is Em as she received her diploma!



Here she is hugging her Aunt Kim who is on the school board.

It's not often that Nathan hugs someone or smiles in pictures, so this is one of my absolute favorites!  I think he might be a proud little brother!



After graduation, we had a small party/Open House for family and friends before Em headed off to Project Graduation for the rest of the night.

After we made it through all of those festivities, the kids left for a 10 day mission trip to Vilonia, Arkansas with our church youth group.  Vilonia was hit by a tornado late Easter night.  Nathan's group roofed a house starting at 5:45 each morning.  They took off the old roof and put on a new one.  Nathan says he has a fall-back career now if all else fails.  (Somehow I think he'll be successfull at somthing else!)  Em's group was a demolition team and completely demolished a trailor that had been lifted and pinned down again by a tree while the man was in it!  The group saved him $7000 by doing the demolition and earned him about $350 by selling the scrap metal and copper wiring.  I understand Em is getting quite proficient with a chain saw!

After returning home, Nathan and Corey left for a 3 day backpacking trip in Arkansas.  It was Nathan's first time and he and Corey both enjoyed it and the time they spent together.  Here are some highlights:

June had wound down and we are on to July and more Butcher family adventures!  Check out my new blog related to running and food:  kimrunstoeat.blogspot.com 

Senior Emily

It's hard to believe our baby girl is a senior! Em and Corey have started taking her senior pictures so I'm sure more will follow these. :) Emily has been accepted into Texas A&M-Commerce, UT-Tyler, and Tyler Jr. College. It looks like she will go to Commerce next year and possibly transfer to UT-Tyler after that.

8th Grade Basketball

Nathan played basketball again this year and enjoyed it! He is almost 14 and in 8th grade! Nathan is not a fan of having his picture taken (reminds me a little of his Papa!) so most pictures have to be action shots. :)

Looking Back at 2010

We'll just say 2010 was not our favorite year! I will try to do a better job of updating in 2011.