Thanksgiving 2005

Thanksgiving was spent in Maine at Kim's cousin's home(Wendy the cousin, husband Josh and kids Isaac, Anna and 18 month old Noah). We were there for less than 24 hours but made good use of our time. We stayed up till almost 1 am talking with Josh and Wendy, which for us is extremely late. Thanksgiving was spent watching the parade and then having our own parade of sorts out in the front lawn. Pulling the kids on sleds with a lawn tractor is just not as effective as a snowmobile. The speed and traction suffered, but they had a good time. We gave each of the kids a Turkey hat thinking it would add to the festivities, which it did. Josh grilled the Turkey, Wendy baked a ton of sides and Kim made HOMEMADE BREAD from my Grandma's recipe. She made it the night before and having a hot slice of bread right out of the oven is so good. So Good. Many more years of Tuesday Toast Night shall continue! Anyway, all was going so well until I watched the Detroit Lions play their only nationally televised game and get thoroughly trounced. After that I got some sorta sinus cold and was down for the rest of the day (but feeling better after 12 hrs of sleep Thurs night). The dinner was delicious, and I couldn't help put have two huge plates full of everything. And then crash on the couch and take a nap (helped on by the sinus cold). The kids loved having us there, and I felt like a jungle gym because the kids kept crawling all over me wanting rides. Kim helped me out for a while by reading to the kids though. This is our second time up there and we can't wait to get back there and see them again.

Ketchup

I know, it's been 12 days since we've posted. It's not that we have been too busy, we've just hadn't have much too say. We enjoyed having Kim's grandparents here two weekends ago. I went and helped out at a prison worship night. It was a very minimum security facility. I don't think it would have been too hard at all for them just to walk out. But because most of them are in there for relatively brief periods, there was a much higher cost to escaping and getting caught again than just simply doing their time. The prisoners that were there had freedom to move around the complex and be with each other, so those who chose to attend chapel were there because they wanted to be at chapel and not just out of a jail cell. It was great to talk and worship with them. Gave me a good view of realities around me that I did not think much about. The great thing about this ministry is its focus on rehabilitation and getting them connected with a supporting church once their out. We heard some great success stories, but not all the stories ended rosey. Last week was another reading week. I have been working on research for a paper that can only be 3 pages single-spaced but must be thoroughly researched with an extensive bibliography and biblical foundation. So needless to say, every word counts. We've had great weather, even a late Indian-summer of sorts. Kim is still busy at work but is looking forward to her weekend off. we are getting together with another couple in our building who are Pistons fans to watch the game tomorrow night and then we are getting together to watch the big Michigan-Ohio St game on Sat (unfortunately they are buckeye alums). Thanks for all the comments. Keep em comin'!

At the Buzzer!!!

What a game, what a game!!! Richard Hamilton nailed a baseline shot with 0.8 seconds left in the game to give the Detroit Piston's a 1 point victory over the Boston Celtics and to make my year complete! This was the only time Detroit was playing in Boston, so I bought my tickets way in advance. Kim' s grandparents are in town, so her grandpa and I went. We had great seats about 15 rows from the floor in the corner behind the Piston's bench. We got to the game nice and early, actually an hour before the gates even opened, having some extra time we hit a local sports bar and had a sandwich. I saw a bunch of Detroit fans at the game, but none of them were sitting near me. Surprisingly, I received no heckling. Even after the game, most of the Celtics fans were either happy that got to see such a great finish or they were just surprised and happy that they hung with us. As we were exiting the arena, I saw a little boy sobbing because his beloved Celtics just lost the game with less than a second to go. I felt a little sympathy for him, but wanted to advise him not to use up all his tears tonight because the Celtics still have 80 more games and that he needs to pace his tears for the rest of the season. I will probably never see a better finish in person as I did tonight. Pure ecstasy.

A Pirate's Life for Kim

My wife has become a Pirate!!! This is the secret I have told no one about and the true reason we moved to the East Coast; so that she could sail the ocean instead of the Great Lakes in Michigan. While on land, this she-pirate enjoys working with the elderly and dressing up for them on holidays in October.

The other picture is of our friends, Sarah and Dave. Dave is Martin Luther (Oct 31st is also Reformation day, the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenburg, Germany). And Sarah is the Wittenburg door. We had a few kids from our apartment building stop by for candy, but we still have a huge tub of candy left. We tried to give it away but folks were coming to our door passing out candy (reverse trick-or-treating if you will). I guess I'll have to eat it all.