Sam and I just LOVE playing cards. This has been a favorite pastime since the early days of our relationship.

We play at family gatherings, friend's houses, at our campsites, and here at our own house. We'll play by ourselves (if we HAVE to) but we prefer the company of others.
There is something so relaxing about sitting around the table with friends and chatting about our lives.
We've been blessed with wonderful friends and family who are up for cards many times a week. Because everyone's lives are busy, we don't have a specific night set aside for cards (although we were able to do that over the summer!) so we just call a few people when we have time to play and they show up in a few hours!
I don't often take pictures of card nights, but as I was going through some pictures today I found these...and I thought it's about time I posted them. This is an important part of our lives. Lots of things get discussed over cards. It isn't just for the fun of the game, it's for ministering to one another, sharing burdens and laughter, and getting to the heart of what is really on our minds. I always feel happy after a card night. :)Every now and again things get serious. ;)

I'm so thankful for our friends and family. If you have ever been over to our house for a card night, please know that I thank God for you and hope you were blessed as well! And any of you who haven't made it over for cards yet? You're invited too. :)

Fall Soccer 2010

Henry had another great season of soccer! I love that he plays two seasons every year, so it is easy to see his progress. And this year there was quite a bit! Henry learned how to 'head' a ball, improved his dribbling and worked on taking shots farther away from the goal. He learned that he really prefers to be a forward and has the speed, energy and talent to be succesful in that position. As a team they worked on passing the ball and how to better position themselves on the field. Our coaches worked hard and the Jayhawks were a pretty competitive team this year.

Ever faithful fans this year included Henry's grandparents, the lovely Dave and MaryBeth:
Henry's best friend (and our next-door neighbor) Blake:Our other neighbors, Miss AnneMarie and her granddaughter, Claire:
(who happened to be at the park and heard me yelling...what can I say, I get excited about soccer?)
and two of our beautiful friends, Ingrid and Crystal:
There were others too, but I either didn't get pictures or couldn't find them. :)

Here's Henry preparing to head the ball...
(I love the concentration/anticipation on his face!) Go, Henry, go! When Henry gets the ball, the other team usually can't keep up with him. :)
The Jayhawks, 2010
Back row, from left: Coach David, Kiana, Ty, Kaylee, Coach Lyle
Front Row, from left: Dawson, Henry, Dillon, Anastasia
(Not pictured: Brett, Brock, Cody, Ethan)

Bridget's 'Shirdle'

Bridget's favorite activity, by far, is jumping on the trampoline. Usually she asks to go out there before breakfast (which I say 'no' to every time) and it's the first thing she thinks of when heading outside.

She spends time each day out there, jumping, playing, doing 'tricks' (which usually consist of dropping onto her knees and standing back up), and playing ring-around-the-rosy with anyone she can get up there with her.
We've had this trampoline since before Henry was two. We decided early on that we would not put up a netting enclosure, but we would focus on teaching our children how to be safe and stay away from the edges. We've spent much time in prayer over the trampoline, asking God to protect any children who ever step foot on it.

We had a trampoline accident last Sunday. Bridget was out there with Jonah and one of our neighbor boys jumping and playing. The boys decided to come in and Bridget planned to stay out and jump some more. The boys got about half way to the house when they heard Bridget crying loudly. She had decided to come in after all; and in her hurry to catch up with the boys, she chose to get down off the side of the trampoline instead of using the steps.

Coming over the side of the trampoline, Bridget slipped and fell directly on her shoulder. I heard her crying and met her in the yard. She was really upset (which is unusual for Bridget...she's a tough girl and not much makes her cry) so I brought her in to look her over.

We didn't think much of the injury and went on about our day. On Monday she was still complaining of a sore shirdle (Bridget's word for 'shoulder') and wouldn't lift her right arm up above her shoulder, so we decided she should probably see a doctor.

On Tuesday morning she had swelling and bruising on top of her right shoulder. We took her in to the local clinic, and the doctor immediately recognized signs of a broken clavicle. She sent her back for an x-ray to confirm, and it showed a crack right through her collar bone. Poor baby!

There isn't much to be done except to let the bone heal. It was so enjoyable to hear the doctor describe the way God designed our bodies to heal themselves, how she so clearly puts her faith in our true Healer! The doctor gave us a sling and asked us to keep it on as much as possible for the next 6-8 weeks. After not quite a week already, Bridget is a little tired of wearing the sling, but she is being a good sport about it. She has a little trouble getting dressed/undressed, but is otherwise not bothered by it. Her primary concern is finding out when we will let her back on the trampoline again. I'm thinking maybe when she's five! :)

Sam's wood pile

A few weeks ago our neighbor mentioned that the people digging her pond were going to be knocking down a big tree on her property. She said they were planning on burning it, but if we wanted it we could come and get it.

So Sam took the trailer over there, cut the tree into large sections and brought it home. It was a LOT of wood!
He spent the day splitting it (we have a splitter, which speeds up that job tremendously) and tossing it all into a big heap. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture of the pile!

The kids and I pitched in then to help stack all the wood. We stacked it three wide and fairly high...it was really a lot of wood, but made for a fun family project.
In History we have been studying George Washington, and Henry was dressed as him here. The other kids just wore their tricorn hats.
Not sure if I mentioned that it was a lot of work to get it all stacked up so nicely? Well, two days later I went outside to find the whole stack knocked over! We had left space in between each of the three stacks and not carefully stacked the pieces tightly together...and the result was that the whole thing came crashing down. I am so thankful that the kids were nowhere nearby when that happened!

It took one more evening of stacking wood (and doing it properly this time!), but now we're all stocked up for the winter. :)

Fall Fun

We just love the fall in East Texas. The weather is perfect, the trees are beautiful and we spend a LOT of time outside enjoying God's creation.

In the last few weeks, we have carved/and painted pumpkins:
trunk-or-treated with friends from church:visited the zoo (which we avoid all summer because when it's too hot the animals are inactive):
practiced hunting in the backyard:
and Henry went hunting for real with his Dad and Grandpop:
We've also spent time at a local nature preserve, played at the science museum, visited a pumpkin patch, played at various parks around the area, explored the rose garden, and much, much more! :)

Jonah the Brave

Jonah is our resident daredevil. While his brother is brave, Jonah truly fears nothing. He is always the first to jump in and try something and usually the one to take things too far. ;) He was the first of our kids to require stitches, and we've always assumed (until this week) that he would also be the first to break a bone.
So it was no surprise to me when we were at the park this week and Jonah came running over to where I was playing with Bridget saying, "Mom, you've gotta come see my new trick!!!"

We all walked over to the paved area where Jonah was riding his bike. He told us he would ride around the circle and do the trick when he was back in front of us.

Not bad, huh? I asked who taught him to do that trick and he said nobody had. "I just learned that I could lift up the front wheel and it's not even hard!" I really don't think he's seen anyone do it, it just seemed like a good idea.

It remained a 'good' idea until later, when he tried to repeat the trick for my friend who had showed up at the park. This time, Jonah rode around the circle, came toward us and popped a HUGE wheelie...so huge that he fell right off the back of his bike. The bike flipped completely upside-down, and Jonah landed on his rear end. He wasn't so happy about that, but it didn't stop him from hopping right back on his bike! :)

Fun Friday!

It's Fun Friday...we're off to enjoy it!!! :)

(This picture is from a recent 'fun friday' excursion to the Rose Garden.)

Have a wonderful weekend!