Christmas "vacation"

I had a few days off after Christmas. Instead of taking it easy, Kate put me to work and we painted the girls' rooms. We also moved Maddie's crib into the baby's room as Maddie got a new crib/toddler bed for Christmas. Maddie's room is the purple one and the baby's is yellow. Who ever thought I would have a purple room in a house I owned??

Christmas 2007

Here are a few pictures of Maddie on Christmas morning:

Sermon #2

This past Sunday I gave my second message in "big church" at CBC. If you want to listen to it, click HERE to find it.

Survivor finale

Congratulations to Todd for winning Survivor China. He was the most deserving of the final three. However, Todd owes Amanda a very nice dinner because she lost the game and gave it to him. Todd was the only person that could beat Amanda with the jury. Amanda had 3 or 4 chances to vote him off but never did. Why she took him to the finals I'll never know.

What a day!

Last Saturday we got about an inch of snow along with some freezing rain and regular rain. At night, the rain froze, making for some icy conditions. Today, we got an additional 4 or 5 inches of snow, which I love. We live on a hill which isn't too bad because we have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Unfortunately, we found out today that the 4-wheel drive is not working!

It started when I came home for lunch. I was having trouble getting up one hill so I decided to try another street because the plows had just gone by. I managed to get up that hill (slowly) and got to our street and headed down the hill. When I got to our house, a friend's minivan was blocking our driveway as our friend was stuck (Kate watches her son a couple mornings a week). Because I couldn't get in the driveway, I went down a bit further and parked in the street. Not a big deal since I had 4-wheel drive (or so I thought). After eating lunch, I thought I'll go get the Blazer in the driveway. I went to turn around and the fun began. I got stuck in a neighbor's driveway, where some of the ice was built up. Another neighbor lady came out and helped us push the Blazer into the middle of the street. We began to push the car up the street as Kate steered and spun the wheels on the ice. It was then I noticed that the front wheels weren't spinning. That meant the rear wheels were giving all the power but all the weight is up front. We pushed a little more, mostly in vein. Then the neighbor lady said she had a 4-wheel drive truck. So I went and got that and pulled the Blazer up to our driveway, but we couldn't push it in. Then a guy with a Bobcat came and pushed the Blazer the rest of the way. It only took us about 2 hours to move the Blazer a hundred feet or so.

The one good thing out of the day was that we got to take Maddie out for a quick sled ride. She didn't enjoy it too much because she was cold.

If you were wondering what to get us for Christmas, you can just send money to our "Fix the Blazer" fund. All donations are tax-deductible (ok, not really).

Christmas tree

Last Friday we went to a Christmas tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree. We had fun even though it was pretty cold. By the time we were all done, Mom and Maddie were ready to get in the warm car. Here are a few pictures:

The most wonderful time of the year

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it is officially the Christmas season. Along with it comes cold weather, hopefully lots of snow, Christmas lights and trees, and all the other goodies. It also means it is time to break out the Christmas music. One of my favorite Christmas CDs is Hanson's Snowed In. If you don't own it, you should go buy it on iTunes or somewhere else; it's very good. And just so everyone is clear on the Christmas music rule, here it is: you may only listen to Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day. On December 26, sadly, all Christmas music must be put away until the following Black Friday. Make sure you listen to it as much as you can!

Halloween Princess

Here is Maddie dressed in her princess costume for Halloween. We went to the church's Fall Festival party and she had a great time!

Annual trip to Denver

We returned from our annual trip to Denver a couple days ago. Here is a recap of our trip:

Saturday: Arrived in Denver and met up with my dad and Diane. After checking into the hotel, we tried to find a place to watch the Rockies in the World Series. We couldn't get into Buffalo Wild Wings so we settled for Old Chicago. Unfortunately, the Rockies lost.

Sunday: Went downtown to the ESPN Zone but couldn't get a seat. We walked to Coors Field and found a place to watch the Sunday afternoon football games. As we left, downtown was filling up with people going to the World Series game. We left downtown and went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game. This time we got in, but unfortunately, the Rockies luck was the same.

Monday: Monday was the real reason we were there. In the morning, we went to the stadium and walked around the Broncos Team Store. In the afternoon, we went bowling where I won 2 out of the 3 games (my dad won the other). We went to the Broncos game and were stunned by the Packers on the first play in overtime. It was a close game, but the wrong team won.

At the game, there were a couple fights, one in the section right next to us. Loyal fans + too much beer = big problems. A couple guys got bloodied up pretty good and another was escorted away by the police.

Tuesday: In the morning, we dropped off Dad and Diane as they headed back to Phoenix. Then we drove down to Colorado Springs and drove to the top of Pikes Peak (that's what the picture is). It's a pretty interesting drive. It takes about an hour each way and the road is steep and narrow in certain places. The temperature at the bottom was around 70 but it was in the low 30s at the top. The higher we got, the more snow we saw. It is a beautiful drive though. That night, we had dinner with our friends, Dustin and Shannon Hanson. It was good to see them.

Wednesday: We got back on the plane and came home. My mom came to watch Maddie while we were gone. They had a lot of fun hanging out.

Are you kidding me?

I am not a "homer" (a fan who thinks his team never deserves a penalty, that if his team loses, it's the refs fault, and so on); I am a realist, a fan who can see his team as they are, good or bad. Right now, the Broncos stink!! They can't play offense, they can't play defense, they can't even get a kickoff return right. Now this doesn't mean that I am not a fan anymore. I am still the biggest fan and will watch every game. Hopefully I won't be watching a train wreck all year, especially when we go to Denver in a few weeks for the Monday night game against Green Bay. At least one team is winning in Colorado right now (the Rockies).

Preacher boy

This past Sunday I got to preach in "big church" for the first time at my new church. I preached 6 or 8 times at the church I worked at in Indiana, but hadn't done it since. If you would like to hear what I had to say (or you suffer from insomnia and don't want to get hooked on a sleeping pill), you can find it on our church's website and listen to my message here:

http://cbcsiouxcity.org/Information/sermons.htm

I haven't listened to it as I am scared to hear myself talk. I was given this article that has some similar ideas as my message (I didn't read it until after I preached.) The article is called "Abducted By an Alien Gospel" and you can find it here:

http://www.lifeaction.org/soro/revivingthegospel/content/aliengospel.html

A couple disappointing weeks

Well, it's been a couple disappointing games in a row for the Broncos. They just can't seem to put a good game together although they did play the Colts this week, who look pretty good. We had tickets to the Jacksonville game, but sold them because we also have tickets to the Monday night game against the Packers. Hopefully the Broncos can get it together by then and pound Favre and the Packers. At least Colorado was able to upset Oklahoma by scoring the last 20 points of the game. It was an exciting game to watch.

Good week of TV

The week started off with another Broncos victory. Again, Jason Elam won the game with a field goal. This time, however, it was in overtime and after the Raiders missed a field goal that could have won the game. On Thursday night, Survior China started. Too bad "Chicken" got voted off. It would have been good to see anyone nicknamed "Chicken" last a little longer and bring some flavor to the game (because just about everything tastes like chicken). Oh well! It will still be good.

Exciting start to the season

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the 2007 NFL season. The Broncos opened it up with an exciting game, winning it with no time on the clock. In the words of the announcer: "I don't think they can make it...the hold is down...the kick is up...it's good...holy toledo!!" Hopefully there will be many more victories this season. The defense looked good and so did the offense, but they will need to score touchdowns and quit kicking so many field goals. Here is a picture of Maddie and me as we prepared for the game.

It's a...

Hey Everyone! Eric and I just found out on Friday that we are expecting another girl!! I am so excited for Maddie to have a sister! Maddie loves playing with her dolls (especially her Cabbage Patch named Eva in the picture) and I know she will make a great big sister. I am due January 21 so they will be almost 2 years apart!

Congrats Sarah and Chris

Here is a picture of my sister, Sarah and her new husband, Chris. We had a great time at their wedding. As you can see Maddie loves her aunt and uncle very much!!

IT IS FINISHED!!!

My seminary work is complete!! It's been good, but I am glad it is over. Soon I will get my diploma, a really expensive piece of paper. At least it makes me sound smarter. What will I do with all that extra time this fall - no papers to write, no assigned books to read?

Long overdue update

Ok, as many of you have pointed out, we've been slacking on the blogging. So here's a synopsis of what we've been up to:

HOUSE: Yes, we are in our house and not living in a van down by the river. We really like it although we have some work to do. For example, we have a great, original 1970s bathroom that is pink, has blue sinks, and some sweet lamps. We'll be changing that soon.

MADDIE: Maddie is just as sweet as ever and learning new things every day. This summer she took swimming lessons with a couple other friends from church. Ok, it wasn't really swimming; it was more like getting used to the water. However, she really loves going down the big kids water slide with mom and dad. The picture of her floating was taken at our Student Ministries Lake Day. Lately, she's really been into dolls, putting them in a stroller and pushing them all around the house.

ROCHESTER: We were in Rochester a couple weeks ago. I (Eric) played in a church softball tournament. Unfortunately, we weren't able to win our 4th championship, but it was fun anyways. We got to see our friends Ryan and Megan's new baby boy!! We also got to see some other friends, but they weren't as small or as cute.

SEMINARY: Almost over! One more paper due on Sunday; such a good feeling.

That's all for now. We'll try to be better at blogging, but no promises :-).

update

Just wanted to give a quick update to everyone...Eric is in Gulf Port, Mississippi (actually on his way home right now) from the 2nd half of the high school mission trip. He will be back to Sioux City tomorrow night. Maddie and I arrived last night at about 10:30pm from a great time in Indiana. My sister's wedding was great...she looked beautiful!

The great news is that we are closing on our house on Monday...Finally! Thanks for all of your prayers and please keep them coming! We miss you all!

Gulfport mission trip

This morning at 7am, our high school team left on their mission trip to Gulfport, Mississippi. I am going to Indiana tomorrow to be at Kate's sister's wedding and then I will fly down and meet the team on Monday night. Please pray for the team: pray for safety as they travel today and tomorrow; pray for unity among the group; pray for them as they minister to the people down there. I am looking forward to joining them next week; I'm looking forward to the wedding this weekend as well.

Buffalo Wild Wings

One of the disappointing things (although not more important than: friends; families and students I worked with; softball, football, volleyball leagues; etc.) about leaving Rochester was that Sioux City had no Buffalo Wild Wings. However, driving around one day, I saw the signs for a new BWW. I was so excited I had to drive by to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. It opened last Monday, June 4. Since today was Tuesday (wing special day), I decided I had to go, even though I had no one to go to lunch with ;-(. So I went there, ordered my food, and then I saw a family from the church that I know - the Ackermans. I think it was a sign from God that I was supposed to be at BWW today (and every Tuesday from now on). I had my normal 10 medium wings and 5 honey BBQ - so delicious!! If you ever need me during lunch on Tuesday or when the Broncos game is not on local TV, you know where to call!

Vacation!!

Well we are still not in our house...now living in the basement of some people from the church. They are so nice to take us in, but we are eager to get into a house to make Sioux City feel more like home. We are hopeful to be able to get into our house the last week of June...PLEASE KEEP PRAYING! In the mean time Maddie and I are heading to Indiana in the morning for a 2 week vacation. My sister gets married next Saturday so we will help with last minute details and spend time with family. Eric will join us on Wednesday, but leaves right after the wedding to go to Mississippi for the 2nd half of the high school mission trip. Just thought I would update everyone. That's it for now. We love and miss you all lots...thanks for all of you that helped babysit, bring food, and move us this week! We really appreciate it.

House update

We were supposed to close on our house last Friday, but some other issues came up and we still have not been able to do that. Please keep praying that this will get worked out soon.

No communication with the outside world!!

I have now been on the job for a week and a half. Things are going well as I try to learn the ins and outs of the new church; meet students, parents, and others; and learn to survive without cable, internet, or phone. We are staying with a family that has an extra house on their farm land. Unfortunately, the house doesn't have cable or internet. We have cell phones, but we can't get any reception because we are so far out of town. When we drive into town for work or to go somewhere, our phones work and I have internet at work so I can check e-mail and turn in my school assignments. At least the house has hot, running water and we don't have to use an outhouse for the bathroom (for those who like to bash on Iowa, yes, we do have running water)!! Of course, things could be worse if we were missing things like food or other items many people in the world don't have. I guess I shouldn't complain. I also want to thank the Connellys for letting us stay at their house. They have been very kind and we appreciate them opening their home.

Survivor

I cannot believe that Dreamz backed out of his promise to Yau Man. Thanks to that decision, Earl won the million dollars. Earl was a good player, but Yau Man was by far the best in the game. I think that Yau Man is my favorite Survivor player ever!!

I can't wait for aunt Sarah's wedding! I love my dress!

Love,
Maddie

Maddie is a Walking Machine

In all of the selling of our house and buying of the other one we forgot to tell you all that Madeline Day learned how to walk this past weekend! She is very proud of herself and her new independence!

Iowa House

Hey Everyone just a quick update...
Eric talked to our realtor in Iowa and we are moving forward in the process! It looks like we could close by May 25th which would be great. Thanks for all of your prayers!

SOLD!!

Our house finally sold!!! Praise God!!!

Don't forget your name!

Don't forget to put your name on your post! If you don't, we won't know who you are.

CCC Farewell

Last Sunday, the Student Ministries put on a farewell party for Kate, Maddie, and me. It started off with a slideshow of the past 4 years and then there was a time of sharing. The first part of the sharing was funny stuff. I think my favorite story was Michelle describing how she thought I was a short, fat black man by my voice. (For those who weren't there, she got this impression from talking to me on the phone but not knowing what I look like). Apparently, I also have some anger management and time management issues :-) (the anger tended to be towards my 7th grade guys CORE Group...or so they thought).

The second part of the sharing was the "serious" stuff. It was really AWESOME to hear how Kate and I have made a difference in the lives of students, parents, and leaders. Often times, we don't take the time to tell others how much of a difference they make in our lives. I was reminded that I should do the same.

But it's not just about us! I want to thank all the students, parents, and leaders who have made working at CCC such a joy! As I shared on Sunday, as much as I have had the opportunity to teach others, they have taught me just as much. I am always excited to see students, parents, and leaders put their faith in action.

I also want to thank everyone who came to the farewell and especially those who helped make it happen. I know it takes a lot of time and energy to put on something like that. So we thank you very much!!

Thanks so much and we love you all. We hope you will keep in touch.

Final day of Intensives

It's hard to believe but tomorrow is my last day of Intensives at Bethel Seminary. This is the sixth time I have spent two weeks of my life in class over the past 3 years. While it has been a long process, it has been a good one. I have learned so much and grown so much as a leader and a follower of Christ. I don't think the whole 3-year experience has completely sunk in yet. I imagine that will happen in the weeks and years following seminary.

The next time I come on campus it will be to go through the graduation ceremony (even though I have one class to finish in the summer). But regardless, I can't wait!!

CORE group

Thank you!

Thank you CORE group girls for a fun goodbye party. I love you!
Kate

First post!

Here is the first post on our new blog. It's late at night so I am really tired and don't have much to say. As I gain more experience blogging, I'm sure I'll come up with better stuff. I just wanted to get something posted. Leave us a comment and come back later.