Halloween

The kids had a good time today enjoying Halloween activities.  We went to a birthday party with a Halloween theme this afternoon.  There was a face painter there and each of the kids got there's done...

I took Katelyn & Nicholas around the neighborhood for trick or treating.  They got the quite the load.  Nicholas was pretty tuckered by the end...kept saying his feet were sleepy!

Week in South Dakota

I spent this past week in Rapid City, South Dakota at Ellsworth AFB.  Nice area, but the weather was something else the 1st few day.  Temps in the 40s during the day with wind up to 50mph!  Wednesday morning it was around 34 degrees with little snow flakes whipping thru the air at 40mph!  It was quite the change coming from Hampton Roads, VA.

My travel adventures continued as well.  Missed a connection on the way there, so had a longer stay over in the Denver airport.  Plus later in the evening at the hotel the fire alarm went off, then we got locked out of rooms for about 45 minutes until they could find keys to open the hallway doors (elevators were shut down until fire department cleared everything).

I did find a Cabela's to roam around in...found lots of things I wanted.  They had a pretty good display too...Nicholas would have loved it

Weekend Over?

Where did it go?  It was fun-filled with lots of friends on Fri & Sat, and then lots of errands and church tonight.  Plus we had some awesome riblets for dinner.  It's already 9pm and I haven't started packing one thing for my trip this week.  I have to be at the airport at 6 A.M.!  Guess I better get packing huh?

Great reminder today about relationships/friendships:
       1) I will set healthy boundaries
       2) I will not treat every friend equal (may love equally, but have to treat differently)
       3) I will be a friend like the friend I want to have

No Comments/No Love

I'm not feeling the love...hardly any comments on the blog.  Thanks to Gramps for his! 

Fun Friday

Angie & I went out with some friends last night (thanks Matthew, Kimberley, and Sondra!).  We met up at Cinebistro for some bowling extraordinaire.  Lots of fun....good food, drinks, and all the bowling you could do in 2 hours!  Our last game was quite the speed bowling event.  From there we went to Schooner's where there was a cover charge to get in (live band)!  Wow...I'm not sure I remember the last time I had to pay a cover charge...must be getting old?  The band was pretty good and they had a trio of devoted fans  These three, I'll just call them "oldish", ladies in their finest were dancing the night away! 

Crash Test Dummies

Really good video comparing a 59 Bel Air to an 09 Malibu. For those that wish they made cars like they used to, think again. Based on the results, they claim the person in the Bel Air would have died on impact and the person in the Malibu would have bumped their knees.


http://www.iihs.org/video.aspx/info/50thcrash

Peer Pressure

Hmm...I might have to keep up with the Jones's.  Both neighbors have re-seeded their front yards and now have nice green grass.  Now another neighbor must have done his cus straw is all over the front yard...AND...the neighbor across the street has some patches he's redone. 

I got the pool winterizer stuff today so I can finally close it up this weekend.  Need to get it covered before the leaves really start falling.  They really haven't started changing color yet, but dead ones keep falling.

Nicholas Quotes

 "when I get married I'm gonna have 115 kids, a big house, lots of cars, work at the airport driving airplanes, do what you (daddy) do"  then... "or maybe live in a small house next to you and mommy"

"God lives in your heart and at night time He comes out to give you a hug and kiss, then when the sun comes back up He goes back in your heart"

while pretending to take pictures on his play phone "I need to load this to facebook"

Pumpkin Patch

We had the pumpkin patch field trip on Tuesday...and of course it was about 88 degrees that day! There was a decent breeze though, so in the shade it wasn't bad.  Nicholas wasn't too enthused with the farm tour at first, but liked the pigs, ducks, and then his favorite - the hay rack ride to the pumpkin field to get his pumpkin! 

 

 

#11 - A Champion!

The Living Word Academy Lions are the league volleyball champion!  Emma's pretty psyched about it.  They won the title with a 3-0 sweep. 

Bills

Oh to go back to the glory days of the Buffalo Bills!  0-5 record for the fifth time in franchise history, and first since 1985. They've allowed 30 points in four straight games for the first time in team history. It's a stretch in which they've been outscored 146-77.  Geez!

#30 of 32 in total offense
#28 of 32 in total defense
#30 of 32 in offensive passing
#32 of 32 in defensive rushing YPG

You think Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas would come back?  I'll take losing the Super Bowl every year to this.

T-R-U-S-T

Sometimes we just have to trust.  I've seen this acronym a few times with differing meanings...but here's one I like.  "R" is most difficult for me.

T = "trust" - even if it seems like it is not true, you take Him at His word

R = "rest" -  Don't worry...worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but you don't get anywhere.
"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life" (Matthew 6:27) 

U = "understanding" - Sometimes things just don't make sense and we won't understand.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5)

S = "speech" - Our speech is an expression of our faith.

T = "thanksgiving" - Offer thanks in advance.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6)

Warm Weather

Some warm weather made it's way back to us this weekend, but at least it cools down at night. Emma had a friend stay over Fri night, and Katelyn spent the night at one of her friends.  I had a pretty productive day yesterday as I managed to clean both the truck and the explorer, wash the algae off the side of the house, and get a load of firewood stacked in the backyard.  We ended the day with a small fire in the outside fire pit.  We roasted some weenies and just sat around for a bit.  We didn't have any marshmallows though...bummer!

We went to church this morning and saw our brand new logo!  It's more "modern" than the old one. Our pastor even dyed his hair black for the new reveal.  I actually kind of like it better!  After church we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then came home and got a few snacks together.  We had some friends over to watch some football while the kids played outside.

Hand Sanitizer

1st Loss

Emma's volleyball team suffered their 1st loss tonight.  She's bummed.  She also said the coach told them to expect to run tomorrow!  She is getting to have a sleepover tomorrow night though...so I'm betting she gets over it. 

Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Not So Deep Thoughts

Chocolate:

Comes from a bean, so it must be a vegetable
Vegetables are good for you, so we should eat it every meal
It contains milk, and milk is good for you
If eaten 1st you'll probably eat less of the other stuff on your plate, so it must be a good diet food
It's an antioxidant; again must be really good for you
It contains caffeine, but less than a cup of coffee, and some studies show that limited caffeine is good for you

I may or may not have a sweet tooth moment happening...

Sick Children

Fall colds have come a calling already.  Emma stayed home from school on Friday and then by Saturday night Nicholas started losing his voice.  Sunday they both were still fighting it...nothing too bad, just coughing/sneezing/congestion for Emma and mainly voice and tiredness for Nicholas.  They both went to school today, but they came around 2. 

Emma needs to be well enough for her volleyball game tomorrow.  If she can't play the team has to forfeit (intramural rules).  I think she'll go regardless of how she feels...she likes volleyball and the team is undefeated so far!

Thought of the Day

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”  (Muhammad Ali)

Jammin

not very good quality, but you get the jist