Lucky

To be a Cardinals fan!!! To be a fan of a team that plays in the playoffs and World Series so consistently! 2013!!!

 

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Random pics

Baby girl wanted to wear her hat in the house.

Love these little hole in the wall places I find on bike rides! Great deals on firewood at this one. $10 for a heaping wheelbarrow full or $70/cord.

Natalie's parents and youngest brother. All dressed for work. At separate jobs...

I got to ride mountain bikes at a state park near Natalie's house. It was great!

First time all 8 grand kids have been together at the same time. Trying to get a pic. Drama queens on the ends...

Cayle says they are looking for Grandma...

 

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Milk Jug Ghosts

Cayle and I have been making these whenever we have an empty milk jug. He loves it!

 

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Pics from my ride

Colors finally beginning to change. (As it snows in CO...)

Dirt road coming off the bike trail

No wonder why we get packages in 2 days that are supposed to take a week. 85 fedex truck bays on each side of this shipping center!

 

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Big Local Bike Ride

Sunday I had organized a 100 mile bike ride. I just wanted the training miles to get ready for a race dad and I have in 2 weeks. I wanted people to ride with, so I put out an invite on FaceBook and advertised pasta and beer afterward. We had 12 people that started out and we finished with 9! That is one of the biggest group rides I've ever been on in Effingham County, and the caliber of the riders was by far the best of any group ride I've ever been on here. It was a super strong group and everyone did their share of the work. We did a large loop over a few central IL counties. Effingham, Cumberland, Coles, Shelby. It was a great ride! We had 3 stops.... All at Casey's... Thinking they should sponsor us or something for supporting them... Most of us struggled a bit at times, but all came through great in the end. It's so much fun riding with a strong group. Finished with 107 miles (no flat tires was super nice!) East and North were headwind miles, then south for 30 miles back to Effingham with a nice tailwind! Needless to say, there were some tired bodies after.

 

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Serve Now Serve Together

http://www.servenowservetogether.com

This past Saturday Cayle and I headed to a local elementary school to participate in a community service day. It's called Serve Now Serve together and is a community wide service event to make the community a better place. We wanted to get the kids involved, as well as volunteer some of our time. Unfortunately Lindy Leighn wasn't feeling the best, so Natalie had to stay home with her. So off Cayle and I went with our shovels to do some ground work/school yard maintenance.

The job of the day was putting in new landscaping on the side of the building. New bushes and flowers. Cayle and I spent a couple hours digging holes and planting plants. He loved it! I loved watching him work and get so into it. Everyone loved seeing him and his mini shovel.

 

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TMIY

 That Man is You I've been going to this group for a few weeks now at St. Anthony Parish at 545 in the morning. Sometimes on Thursday nights, I briefly have a feeling of dread, like I don't really want to get up at 515am. But it usually passes quickly and I look forward to my Friday mornings. When I leave at just after 7 after watching a short film and good conversation, I always feel much better about my day and life in general. It's such a good chance to just sit and reflect and discuss the issues with society today with like minded individuals. Not that we are all alike, but we all share the same struggles, which are living a Christian family oriented lifestyle in today's society.

Today's lesson focused on Marriage and went through the scripture teachings in the Bible about how man and woman are created to be together in marriage. The take away from my small group discussion was that: Society leads us to believe that we should focus on ourselves and do whatever it is we need to do to take care of ourselves and to make ourselves happy. Our challenge as Christian married couples is to challenge that view and be good examples for Christ in society. To show society that we are willing to work on our marriages to keep them healthy and that we are willing to make family and others the most important thing in our lives in order to fulfill the way the Bible says we should live.

It's always a great start to the weekend and just gives me a chance to refocus and reflect.

Visit to Grandma Great's

To see her and her new puppy.

And after puppy time was done, the kids found some toys in the garage. After we were done playing we stopped by Uncle Doug's farm to see the combine and pick up a bale of straw for the doghouse.

 

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Visit from friends

Rob and Yvonne (our Colorado neighbors) came through today. They are moving back to Ohio. Their daughter Zoe is one of Cayle's best friends. He was super excited to see and play with her, if only for a bit. He didn't want her to leave.

 

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Soccer. Done. Basketball. Beginning.

Yesterday I officiated 2 games in Mattoon, IL for a tournament. The 2nd game got cancelled after the 1st half due to lightning. That puts a wrap on my 1st full season as a soccer official. I really enjoyed it, and it was a great experience. Next year I will be ready to get out on the field more as the center judge. The important decision making one... :-) I did some of that this year when we had 2 man crews, but was never on the field by myself.

As far as soccer in the area? It has not changed much since I left. The schools that have athletes, still have athletes. They are the best teams, because of the athletes, not necessarily because they play the best soccer. The level of soccer knowledge is still fairly week. The issue seems to be having coaches that are not soccer players. The result is you get kids that don't really understand the game. Soccer is such a beautiful game when played by people that understand it, but when played by kids that don't understand, it just looks like chaos. A bunch of kids running around chasing a ball, and kicking it as hard as they can whenever they get the chance. It's still good that kids are out playing and being active, but does not make for very inspiring soccer. To get that soccer at the high school level, you still have to head toward St. Louis metro area, or Quincy. May just never be a game that country folk understand very well?

Soccer is a game of control. Without the ball, you have no control. Not good. A team must keep control of the ball to have a chance to score goals. The most disappointing thing I saw this season is the amount of kids who want to kick the ball out of the air. Taking the ball off of the chest first, then to the feet to gain control seems to be a foreign idea. Seeing kids not understanding how simple the game can be, makes me want to get out and coach.

I know I'll feel the same way when I officiate basketball (which has already begun). It's the teacher in me. I want to teach the basics. I want kids to understand that through discipline, hard work, and basic skills, TEAMS can be successful! It seems so simple, yet so many don't seem to get it.

A different kind of beauty

On the train today, riding up to Chicago to spend the day/night with Jess. So excited. But as dawn breaks (I left our house at 440 am...), I am reflecting on the beauty of the land I'm traveling. 

This is not at all like the beauty of the mountains. But this land is beautiful in a different way. When I see the fields that are being harvested, I'm thankful for the fruit we are all blessed with. When I see harvested fields, I consider the hard work the farmers put in to their land, all year long. But especially the long hours spent harvesting the crops at just the right time. And I think this dedication is beautiful. 

Princess Lindy

I am reminded on a daily basis how blessed we are to have our little girl. Before Lindy was born, I really didn't think we needed a little girl. I was wrong. 

Yesterday I was getting the kids changed before breakfast and Lindy was looking at her Curious George book. I said "Lindy, are you curious like George?" And Cayle piped up and said "No, she's a princess!"

Although she is somewhat dramatic (definitely got this trait from her dad) and shows great potential for diva-hood (dad again??) this little girl will always be my beautiful princess.