So this time, I thought I'd first write out what pictures will be coming. As some are only on the mobile phone, there is some additional file transfer that needs to happen first. However, since the computer is at my fingertips now, this can at least be a start....
DECEMBER...already! Brrrrr....it's been a cold one already/so far. Although when it's become routine to spend two days a week at the hockey rink, it's not that drastic of a change. Jesse got to try out being the goalie earlier this month. Talk about a challenge in what that entails...both in how to put on gear that probably equals his weight as well as how to skate with all that on, get back up after falling down, hold a different stick in a different way and oh yea...don't let the other team score! It was challenging, but he was up for the challenge and did well.
Meanwhile, just a few blocks down the road, Eric and Jon took another Taekwondo test, this time earning their green belts. They get to break boards at this level too! We didn't get to watch them this time but know they did great and hopefully next time, we'll have some pictures to share in their next round.
It was a little early for us, but we decided to go get our tree while we had the time to do so (and the weather didn't ruin the plan). We suprisingly ran into several school friend families at the tree farm and what was even more amazing was the fact that we all agreed upon a tree in record time. For some reason, it doesn't look quite as great in our house, but once we get it all dazzled up, hopefully that opinion will change. For now, we're trying to keep it alive and have the lights on it. We're hoping to decorate it sometime this week and that maybe someone other than us will come visit and get to see it! We don't know if that will happen, but here's hoping!
This past weekend was a BIG DEAL for all of my boys. As we start with Friday: Eric graduated from the D.A.R.E. program. He got a notable mention with a third place essay (this was out of about a hundred kids) and he won a little Darren Lion (the program's mascot). We were very excited and proud of him for not only completing the program, but in doing so well in that his essay was written from his heart.
Saturday was a very busy day with us going in separate directions for hockey, basketball, bowling, rehearsal and then...the main event! Jon delivered the message at our contemporary Saturday service. He did a wonderful job singing acapella, speaking from the heart and had even written and performed a new song he wrote for the occasion. The theme was "Great Expectations" and he sang "Jesus Christ is Coming to Town." The audio should hopefully be posted on our church website within a couple of days and is well worth a listen. The best part is seeing how both boys look up to him. They beam in how proud they are of what their Dad can do. It doesn't get better than that!
And then there was Sunday...the Christmas Pageant during our regular church service. Eric did a great job with the Call to Worship, even being a little under the weather with a bad case of the sniffles. Jesse looked great in the new role of Joseph (I think he had been a wise man 2 0r 3 times prior). After this event, we had another one in that it was Jesse's winter piano recital. He did a great job with the "12 Days of Christmas" (admittedly, I'll be glad not to hear him practice/play that one again for awhile!).
So, in a nutshell...this past weekend, I/we heard alot of "I was really impressed with ____." You can fill in the blank with any one of my guys there. How awesome is that! The corresponding picture illustrations will hopefully be coming soon.
