Gergen News: Where has the time gone?

I just looked back to see when my last post was...Over 2 months ago!!! Oops:)
So, now that I am finally updating where do I start? This will be totally random-try to follow along!
Football season has come and gone. That was a long season! Both boys played and loved every minute of it. Phil was able to coach Austin's team-which both of them totally enjoyed. They had practice 2-3 nights a week after dinner time. It got to be a lot for Phil especially on the days he worked in Sleepy Eye. He would fly in the house, change, and grab a sandwich to eat on the way and then not get home till 8:30. We spent EVERY Saturday at a football game. Thankfully Carson's were all in town, but Austin's team traveled around. Both of them did very well. I will have to look and see if I can find some pictures to post!
And now basketball season has started. Austin is the only one playing this year. And it doesn't seem like it is going to be as busy with practices and tournaments as football was! Their team is quite a bit smaller this year, so they should all get a fair amount of playing time-hopefully they will win a little more this year:)
Phil wasn't able to play Wednesday night basketball this year as are helping out with the senior high youth group at church. He is slightly bummed, but also realizes that he is not as young as he once was. He does have plans with another guy from church to go to open gym over Christmas break.
Speaking of Phil...His birthday was this past Sunday. We had a pretty mellow relaxing day. The weather was beautiful...45 degrees the end of November-LOVE IT! We went to church, then had lunch and a nap! When we got up-he went out to work on the hot tub, and then we had dinner, cake and presents. It was nice to not have to run for a day!
Thanksgiving was last week. We spent Thursday with Mom and Dad. Mom made a GIANT lunch and then we hung out and looked at ads for Friday, played some Wii and relaxed. Then reheated lunch and ate it again! We were so full by the end of the day!
Friday as usual, Phil and I went shopping in Rochester. We spent a ton, but also got almost all of our shopping done. It helps that there are less gifts to buy this year! We FILLED the back of the van with all of the stuff we bought! It sure was cold standing out in the cold waiting for the store doors to open! Thankfully we only had to wait twice! Personally I think all the stores should operate like Wal-mart...Open the doors early, just leave the pallets wrapped up until sale time. We wrapped up shopping early and came home for a nap! It was wonderful:)
Then on Saturday we headed to Wisconsin to my aunts house for the big family Thanksgiving. It was nice to visit, and also a ton of great food! The 6 1/2 hours in the car wasn't quite as pleasant though. Nessa started asking "How much longer?" every 5 minutes starting 10 minutes after we got on the road. Thankfully she did sleep for about an hour on the way home.
The kids are loving school. Austin is enjoying the independence that comes along with being in middle school. He is involved in about everything he could be...He is in math league, an Afghanistan project, and basketball. When he is home he tends to hang out down in his cave playing video games.
Belle has had kind of a rough year. The friend drama could drive me nuts. The poor girl has cried herself to sleep several nights. The school counselor has started a group that works on problem solving, being a good friend, and other stuff these girls struggle with. Seems like the last couple of weeks things have settled, but we will have to wait and see.
Carson and Nessa both really enjoy the social aspects of school. Carson has a little girl that has a HUGE crush on him. I think he is more flattered than embarrassed:) She sends him home with notes and pictures almost daily! It is kind of cute.
I have stayed busy taking pictures for myself and the paper. The extra money is great! (Who knew?) I landed a large commercial job recently and that has been super fun to work on. I also got a HUGE family shoot that I have just finished up. They ordered a 20x30 inch print! It looks great! I have been so busy that my house keeping has begun to slip...I really need to catch up! There is no way that I could work full time.
Our last piece of news...We may get to move! We will find out more in the next couple of weeks. Phil has a meeting with the "higher ups" in Tampa the week of the 13th. Please be praying for that meeting to go well and that the Lord would make it clear to us what His will is for our family. And if it should happen He would clear any of the road blocks, so it could be a smooth transition for everyone. I will keep you posted!