Saturday, September 24, 2011

Happy Birthday Josh!

Today was the second of one of the "back to back" birthdays (Christie and Becca's being the November pair)... Josh! The wee lit'l lad turned 1 this morn, and we've had a good day of celebration and soccer. My game was another disappointing 2-3 loss in overtime, but we had fun watching Becca, Anna, and Ben's game, where Becca scored an amazing left side upper 90 goal. Our birthday picnic at the game was delicious, and the Lindsey family joined us for the fun. I'm planning on putting up the week's pictures tomorrow afternoon...

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Happy Birthday Will!

Today is Will's fourth birthday, and we started it off with the customary donut breakfast (yum!) Katie and I had our half day at school; afterwards, she had a softball game, winning 12-2. Mom and most of the kids are at AWANA tonight, Dad is taking Will and Matt for dinner at Chick-fil-a, and Katie, Christie, Josh, and I are chillin' at home, so it should be a quiet evening...

Sunday, September 18, 2011

The Latest Addition to Our Spiritual Warfare Armory...

Tonight at the dinner table, Dad read from a missionary biography that we've been going through; the main theme was spiritual warfare. He posed the question, "What weapons has God given us to use in Spiritual warfare?" The first two responses were "Prayer" and "the Bible". Mark then piped up, "Chainsaws?"

Sunday Afternoon Outing

This morning, we again visited Pulpit Rock Church, and visited the adult Sunday School class, too. After a quick clothes change at home, we drove three minutes away to Rampart Park. Beautiful weather, a delicious picnic lunch, and a competitive soccer game filled the afternoon. Before we left, Luke tried out the BMX park with no injury, (his first run was a close call!); Christie wasn't fortunate enough. Past the initial hill, she took a spill on the jump, ending up with some scrapes and scratched up elbows, nothing serious. I have put up some pictures of Becca, Anna, and Ben's game, our picnic, and the BMX track. Only 8 days until Grandpa and Grandma Paige move out on the 27th! (The same day that Switchfoot's album comes out, for all you fans!)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Soccer (and Sun!)

    After a few days of very foggy/rainy weather, it's nice to have the sun back! Thursday was the worst of the weather; visibility was severely reduced. I'll post a picture of it today, as well as one of the creek at the end of our court. When I took it, the water had greatly subsided, but at its fullest level, it was over all the rocks you can see.
    Tuesday's soccer match against Woodland Park was our first win, putting us at 1-1-1. The 6-2 victory was the reward for all the practice we've been putting in, and it was well earned! Thursday, despite the weather, we still got our game in, with only a 45 minute delay due to lightening. Sand Creek is a very fast team with good ball skills, and we went down early 0-2, with one of the goals being an excellent shot; the other was a tramp goal we could have prevented. After the first ten minutes, though, we buckled down and shut down their offense, getting many opportunities of our own. Fifteen minutes to go in the second half, we scored, bringing it to 1-2. By now our opponents were getting mad, and they showed it. With 2 yellow cards and numerous other fouls, (I drew one of the yellows and three others!) they vented their frustration. One minute thirty seconds to go, one of our captains had an incredible shot to tie it up! We went into over time and had a great chance to score, but didn't convert. Sand Creek had a beautiful shot from in between midfield and the 18 to win it 2-3. But as a team, we really persevered, much improved over last year's 2-8 loss. I've included a link to the Gazette article on the game, (as well as a couple pictures from the game) so be sure to check it out!
     Today, Becca, Anna, and Ben have their first official soccer game (they all got to be on the same team), and Katie is down in Pueblo with her softball team for the day.
     Lastly, I'll put up two pictures from the hike at Stanley Canyon that Dad, Mom, and I took last week. Well, that's all for now, as I must work on AP Language & Composition homework (blah!).


Gazette article:
http://www.gazettepreps.com/articles/tired-4628-through-canyon.html

Sunday, September 11, 2011

We have not forgotten...

Today, on the ten year remembrance of the tragedy on 9/11, we remember all those who displayed the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives, so that others might live. For the first responders who laid down their lives to save those trapped in the destruction, the airline passengers who rallied to force their plane down to avert even more death, and the soldiers who now put aside their own safety that we might have freedom and peace in this country, we have not forgotten. May God continue to be praised, for He gives and takes away. May we never take for granted the liberty that we have been granted, for freedom is not free. Psalm 46 states,"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Never forget.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday Night!

     Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm glad it's the weekend! After a long week of school and soccer, a break is very much appreciated. Thursday night, Dad left for the airport to pick up Mr. Abell and Mr. Beaverson, two of his good friends. Right now, they're camping out in Rocky Mountain National Park, and have been able to do some hiking. 
      Ben, Anna, and Becca have their first soccer practice tomorrow afternoon, and due to the fact that their head coach will be absent, I'm leading their team for part of the day. 
      Later this month, Grandpa and Grandma Paige will finally be moving out to join us in the Springs! We're so excited to have them here and involved in life's daily interactions. 
      Tonight, we had roasted hot dogs and s'mores with our neighbors, the Stravettes (who have five children, homeschool most of them, are also believers!). 
       Sorry that there haven't been any pictures recently, but I'll eventually get some soccer ones to put up. I may post some more as the weekend progresses, so, stay tuned!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day Update

     Happy Labor Day! I know I'm grateful for the three day weekend- 90% of Saturday, I was doing homework. Peter, Becki, and the girls left on that morning, and the majority of the kids went to drop them off, as the destination after the airport was the Denver Lego store. Katie had a softball tournament on Friday and Saturday; I'm putting up some pictures from one of her games.
      It was still dark when we got up this morning to participate in on of America's top 100 events: the ballon launching at Memorial Park. Thirty hot air balloons take off every thirty minutes, and there were some very creative designs. Fear not, I got plenty of pictures of that as well! We just had a delicious pancake breakfast, and Mom did something that is very unlike herself: we were allowed to use chocolate syrup!
      I have another soccer game on Thursday, to which we'll be taking the bus. Once I get my new jersey, I'll put up some pictures; the rest of the family will try to remember to take some pictures at one of my games. (Right, guys?) ;)
     The funny quotes of the week would be from Matthew (of course!). As we were walking closer to the park where the balloons were being launched, he told Dad that he wanted to hold one. Some people were handing out Gospel tracts, and we were talking about them while watching balloons. As the first ones began to rise into the air, Matt piped up, "What is Jesus doing with the balloons?!"
      (Haha, as I was uploading the pictures, I'm noticed a picture that has a man who appears to have two balloons stacked on his head!)