It's Officially Christmas Season - Tradition One

OK, usually I announce that it's officially holiday season after the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz, my favorite all time movie ever. But we were out of town when that movie was shown on TNT (I think that was the station). My oldest and I both missed one of our favorite films...sigh.

Anyway, tonight on ABC another one of my all time favorite shows was on. And this one means that Christmas is REALLY on the way....when I was little I had this show on an LP...and had about all the words memorized...

I had my boys watch it with me and they seemed to enjoy it.

A Charlie Brown Christmas...now there's a classic....and that poor tree...how cool was that?!

Their Aunt Sissy will be so proud.

Thank you, Charles Schulz for a family classic!!

Our Very Own Stadium

Yesterday, Jim got this very cool stadium bunt pan. We got a butter yellow cake mix and away we went. The "field" is gingerbread and the stadium is all cake.

Today my oldest helped to guide where the "people" went and how the field should be decorated. It was a fun and unique way to celebrate this annual battle of Michigan and Ohio State.

The back drop is this very awesome watercolor that Jim got today...how cool is that?!

Even though the Wolverines didn't win, at least we got to eat some pretty good cake.

You Have to Admit It Was a Good Game

Well, it's over...three lousy points and it's over. You never know exactly what's going to happen when the Buckeyes and Wolverines step onto the turf. It was a great game...just as I'd hope it would be. There were a few of coulda woulda shoulda calls that Michigan made but at least they held OSU to only 3 points.

I'm exhausted now...going to cheer for Cal and Rutgers and see how that goes....it's not gone well....

I Have No Nails Left!!

OK...this is a great game, but I have no nails left...3 point game, less than 2 minutes to go.

GO BLUE!!

AARRRGGGHHH

Well, it's half time at the Horseshoe and Michigan is behind by 2 touchdowns. It's getting hard to watch...U of M gets a break then they go backwards. Come on guys, let's get back in this. Let's go!!!

Go Blue!

It's Go Time

Let's Go Blue!!

Goodbye Bo

Today we heard some sad news in the life of Michigan football...in football general. Bo Schembechler, U of M icon, passed away today at the age of 77 after taping a show about tomorrow's big game where the Wolverines travel to the Horseshoe to take on the Buckeyes. Bo was the greatest coach in Big Blue football. How sad it was to think of this great loss especially on this weekend where the national championship would very well be the reward.

Bo bled the maize and blue...and was filled with the Wolverine spirit. He will be greatly missed. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.

So the focus is on the top two teams playing tomorrow at the Horseshoe. I am excited and nervous about the game. Will the Big Blue show up in force and squash those Buckeyes? Or will their hearts be somewhere else? Hopefully the battle will be hard fought and the Wolverines will come out on top.

Come on, guys, let's win this one for Bo!!

Good Bye Audio A

Last week the group Audio Adrenaline played one of its last concerts in Charleston. After 15 years, the group is going their separate ways. And to end their time together are doing a type of farewell tour. Charleston was one of their last stops to say goodbye.

This news was a little saddening to me as Audio Adrenaline was the first concert that Jim and I went to when we were dating. They played in my hometown of Celina, Ohio which is something unusual in and of itself, but Will McGinniss' (guitar player) twin sister had set it up.The Lutheran church in town was having a youth rally and Audio A was just getting its big start after their hit Big House. It was an outdoor concert and it was really, really fun.

A few years later, when I was in seminary, I saw them again in Columbus and got to talk to them. I thanked them for coming to Celina...they not only remembered the concert but said it was one of the most fun concerts they had ever played.

If you've never heard them I encourage you to listen to a couple of my favorites...Big House, Hands and Feet, If You're Happy and You Know It (watch yourself on the head banging part), Don't Censor Me, and Never Going to Be As Big as Jesus. Their other songs are good too, but those are my favorites.

Farewell to a great band who carried the Gospel message to so many people.

Fun in the Leaves

1. Getting Ready








2. The Big Leap

3. A Soft Landing

My Favorite Season

Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love football, cooler weather, the fall food and the fall smells. A couple of evenings ago I opened the back door and the crisp cool air hit my face. There was a faint smell of burning wood in the air too. These are the smells that I just love!!

I love everything about this season except raking the leaves in our yard. Our yard is great in the winter...it's huge and shady thanks to our pin oak in the back. It's the same tree that I hate this time of year as the leaves continue to fall.....and fall....and fall.....and fall.

To raise funds, our youth group volunteered of their time to help rake yards this year. So, Jim and our oldest had some help with the yard this year. J had his little rake and was helping to gather some of the leaves together so they could be mulched or bagged.

I think he had a lot of fun in the leaves once they got raked. He ran and jumped in them. He even posed with his little
brother.

The days are getting shorter, but the chill is in the air, the colors have changed into bright oranges, reds and yellows. The smells of the fall are in the air...the crunch of leave are under our feet.

Happy Fall!!

We Are Marshall Movie Poster Released

Today the new movie poster for the We are Marshall movie was released. It is so cool looking...Matthew McConaughey looking over Huntington. Now to just figure out how to sometime get a copy of the poster for the boys' room. They have the We are Marshall game poster that's been around town.

The time for the movie is swiftly approaching. It's getting more and more exciting. I can't wait to watch it to see if you can pick us out in the crowd.

The clock is ticking...and the excitement is growing.

Below is an alternate movie poster that the Herald Dispatch blog had...the picture is from the Green and White game...maybe we're in that...we'll have to look.

May the Force Be With You This Halloween!!

Halloween is a special time at our house. Every year our oldest picks out what he wants to be and it becomes the theme for us. Each year at church, we have an event called Trunk or Treat. The kids from our children's choir dress up along with some of the children from the neighborhood. Sometimes the youth join in by dressing up and having a party for the kids too.

The past couple of years I haven't been able to dress up because I've taught Bible studies and had worship team rehearsal. One year when our oldest was about two, he went as Mickey Mouse, I went as Minnie and Jim went as Goofy.

This year, since I'm still on maternity leave, I was able again to dress up with my guys. Our theme this year was Star Wars. Our oldest went as Anakin Skywalker; our youngest was Yoda; Mitchie, our dog was Darth Vader; Jim was Obi Juan Kenobi, and I was Leia.

Later tonight is Trick or Treat...and barring rain we'll be out in force (or out in "The Force") again.

Happy Halloween!!

PS And when you're Trick or Treating, our oldest says you need to say,

"Trick or Treat,

Smell my feet,

Give me something good to eat.

If you don't,

I don't care,

I'll pull down my underwear."

He continued, "Mom, those girls got it wrong...they said:

'Trick or Treat,
Smell my feet,
Give me something good to eat.
If you don't,
I don't care,
I'll pull down your underwear.'

That's just wrong...it's MY underwear, not YOUR underwear...they don't have it right at all."

Here's wishing you lots of treats and no tricks.

Say Hello to Scarecrow Jake

When we were on our way home from our Ohio trip a couple of weeks ago, we saw that this one farm had a build your own scarecrow part. By the time we got there, however, the things had all been put away. I was sad cuz we couldn't make that cool memory together.

But when we were on the way home, the guys decided that we could make a scarecrow at home instead. So, Thursday night they put together this little guy. Complete with his smiling face, jeans, shirt and Braves hat.

We hung it on the sign on our front porch. Jake's so proud of his new little friend. I hope he hangs around for a long time.

What Has Happened to the Bears?!

The season started pretty good...they were nationally ranked 9th. We knew that the big game would be against Mt. Union who once again was nationally ranked 1st. But we had beaten them last year and stopped their record breaking winning streak. I was excited, even ESPN mentioned the game on their pre-game show. I thought another upset might be at hand, but they beat us 49 - 7. Our rating fell to like 12th.

It was with that loss that the Polar Bears seemed to lose their steam big time. The next week was homecoming. The Bears hosted number 4 Capital. It was a good game, but the Bears came up short losing 10 - 17...thus dropping to 20th place nationally.

This week ONU traveled to Marietta. It seems that the losses from the past 2 weeks still have their hold. Marietta won 16 - 6. We've dropped to 3 - 3 for the Ohio Atheletic Conference...this game was for 4th place in our conference.

The numbers are there for the possessions and the yardage, but it seems as though no matter how far we get, we just can't score.

Next week we play Baldwin Wallace there. Come on guys, lets get back in the game and finish the season with some passion and wins.

Shots Stink!!

Yesterday our youngest had another well baby appointment. This is one of the doctor visits that I just hate. He had to receive 3 shots and an immunization by mouth. I hate when the boys receive shots. When our oldest was a baby I wasn't prepared for the shock of listening him scream and cry when the shots were given. My husband held him down while I started to tear up.

Then there was the time he fell and cracked open his chin at Universal Studios on our vacation to Florida. He had to get a shot in his chin before it could be sown up. I know all of these shots are for their own good, but it makes me sad to hear them in pain and scared. I can't even watch them get the shots because it upsets me.

I hated shots when I was their age, but think it's harder when it's your children that are on the receiving end of the needle. It's hard to take when your child is in pain.

I wonder if that's the way God feels when we are hurting or scared. I wonder if it makes him upset to see us cry. I imagine that he wants so much to comfort us and hold us close. All of this out of God's great love for us. After all, God is our ultimate parent and isn't that what parents do?

More ONU Pics

The Pass, Punt and Kick contest

Enjoying the Pony Rides.

Not a Great Game, But a Good Day

This past weekend we made our first road trip with the little one. We went back to my old stompin' grounds for Ohio Northern's homecoming. This year's theme was Gone Country. It was a nice day...a little chilly, but if you know anything about Ada, Ohio and the tundra of ONU, you understand completely how chilly it can get. It was sunny and no snow in sight.

There were rides for the kids, big and small. Our oldest rode rides upon rides. He started out on the pony rides then moved on to the canoe rides. He was excited that all the food in the carnival area was free...including caramel apples and cotton candy. There was a lot of cool free stuff...banners and a cowbell.

After a lunch of hotdogs and hamburgers at the tailgate party, we headed over to Dial Roberson Stadium for the game. We even got to see Klondike and get a picture with him. I wish I could say it was a great game...it was good, exciting at times, but unfortunately we lost. That was disappointing.

Anyway after the game, our oldest went down to the field to participate in the pass, punt and kick contest. He won first place for the 5 year old division. We were so proud.

Even though the bears lost, we had a great time. And I think everyone had fun.

Sigh, I Guess I Won't Be Going

Today the prices were released for the world premiere of the We Are Marshall movie. I had known the tickets would not be cheap and I was right. The cheapest seats are $250 which are probably in the balcony. Then there are the $500 tickets where you can be closer to the stars...probably on the floor. There are the $1000 tickets where you can be in the front with the stars and attend a gala reception with the stars too...and there are premiere sponsor tickets for $10,000 - $500,000. Now the proceeds from these tickets go to good causes...Marshall University and the Keith Albee restoration fund, but come on. I guess you have to be rich to associate with the rich and famous.

We're talking about going to the red carpet with camera in hand to see the stars and be a little a part of the big event. On the news tonight they said that there might be another showing of the movie with tickets going for $25 a piece. That's a little more of what I might pay to see it during the big hoopla.

Oh well...maybe there will be some kind of contest...watch the movie and sit with the stars stuff. That'd be cool...yeah, I'll hope for that.

What Do You Mean No Pie?!

Over the weekend we went to the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival. We haven't been there for a few years...I think our oldest was a baby the last time we were there. It has really grown since then. The ground was muddy from the week's rains but the atmosphere was great. There was the exhibit of large pumpkins including one that was over 900 pounds, there were arts and crafts, and there were some pretty cool concessions.

You could get about anything you wanted pumpkin. Pumpkin clothes for yourself, your children, your pet, your lawn animals; pumpkin candles; pumpkin cutouts; pumpkin coffee; pumpkin chips; pumpkin butter, pumpkin bread and pumpkin doughnuts.

Now with all of these selections you would think they'd have plenty of my favorite fall treats...pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie especially if it's warm with a lot of whipped cream. While the boys and I stood in line to get hot dogs, Jim went to get food and dessert. But when he got to the pie stand they were out. OK it was the evening...so I thought they just were really busy...but they had run out at like 10 AM that day...they said they'd have more the next day, but you had to get there by 9 or 10. Are you kidding me?!

The Pumpkin Festival with no pumpkin pie...unless you want it for breakfast. Just disappointing. On the way home, we stopped at the grocery and the guys got me a pumpkin pie. And boy is it good!!

Amazing Grace

Over the past several days I have been shocked and saddened as well as amazed and awed by what has been happening in the news. The most troubling to me was the shootings in the Amish country in Pennsylvania. It made me so sad to hear of what had happened. Any time children are harmed by people, my heart aches. I think of how I would feel if someone hurt my boys or if someone had hurt "my kids" when I was teaching.

The Amish are a unique people. They pride themselves as being in the world but not of the world. They seek to live their lives in peace with those around them. They are known for not fighting...but rather for turning the other cheek when it comes to conflict.

This senseless act of violence was especially sad because there were mostly young children and young adults in the schoolhouse.

But through this terrible tragedy there has come a wonderful example of grace. Those who had been effected by this horrible event the most have begun the process of healing and forgiveness. They have forgiven the man who took loved ones from them. And through this have become an example to us all.

I don't know if I could be that grace filled this early in the grieving process. I would hope to show God's presence, God's grace and God's love, but if someone hurt my boys I think that grace would not be the first thing in my mind. Through this awful incident we have the opportunity to see God's presence and God's grace.