Back to work today to recover from my day off yesterdaty... (not that I'm regretting it.) My day yesterday began at 4:30am, so I could get down to Ford Field at 6:00am to get free Minnesota Vikings tickets vs the football Giants of New York. Then i shoveled (hacked at frozen slush) and realized my van battery was dean when I on a whim decided to warm my engine before leaving.(my fault, I left lights on) Then I asked my kind neighbors Bruce & Kevin to help me jump start my van, they did me one better and brought out their trickle charger/starter booster. Praise the Lord the van started after about an hour charging and a little boost at starting. We got down to the game 30 minutes before kickoff and stayed for 3 quarters of it, because we had boys who need to sleep (plus the Vikings were losing badly anyway). Needless to say my head didn't hit my pillow till 12:00am! Whew! What a unique blessing though to see my Minnesota Vikings! It was only my 2nd NFL game ever! Praise Jesus!

Family Visits

In the past three weeks it has been a huge blessing to have both of our sets of parents visit us here in the big D! It's been great to have help with our new born from Beckys mother and it was fun to do some manly stuff (Pistol shooting, Cabela's trip etc...) with my Father-in-law and my Dad! Thanks for taking time off of work and traveling great distances to see us. We miss you all more than you know. We are glad to be exactly where the Lord wants us to be, but that doesn't mean that it's the easiest option. As Jesus said "I tell you the truth... no one has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come, eternal life." Luke 18:29&30 We knew this verse and believed it to be true before our transition into full time ministry, but we didn't realize how difficult it would be to minister hundreds of miles away from family. The Lord blesses as Jesus said in Luke, however that doesn't mean we don't need your prayers, phone calls, texts, emails and letters of encouragement and catching up, because we need them and at times despartely so.

Jeff

Father & Son time!

Twice in the past few weeks my son Duncan and I have been able to watch the Minnesota Vikings play on TV. Our new ritual is to wear our Vikings jerseys while we watch the game, this is cute enough but then you add that my son after we put our jerseys on proceeds to say "Vikings shirt" and points to his shirt for the next 15 minutes and then he wants to where his Vikings jersey the next morning. It is so cute when Duncan does this! I'm a proud Father!

Our family Grows again!

Our son Josiah was born August 18 and mom & baby are healthy! He tipped the scale a half of a ounce shy of 9 pounds, and measured 21.5 inches. Josiah was jaundiced for a week or so but is past that and doing well!

Blessings come in all types and categories

Our van recently broke down and so we brought it to the mechanic. During our waiting time for our repairs to be completed we walked across the street to kill time and to shop a little. We found an amazing sale on "Thomas the train & Friends" trains so we bought 2 trains getting one free. We walked back to our mechanic and when I was paying the customer service guy at the counter noticed my son's Thomas train and asked if he was into the "Thomas & Friends" stuff. We replied that he was and the gentleman said his 11 year old son was into them allot but no longer and he offered to give us all of his old trains. We said we'd like that in astonishment and I gave the guy my phone number. The next week he called me and two days later we picked up the trains almost 100 of them. The above picture is only about a third of them. We have since given a third of the trains to a friends boy, but we were just amazed at how much money we will save never having to buy a "Thomas & Friends" train again. They're $7.99-$9.99 each at least and sometimes more so the cost adds up quickly. God is so good even when it comes to things like toys for your child!!!

More Nature Center Fun

D's favorite part of the Nature Center was sitting in a hand crafted wooden rocking chair that was just his size. He would look at the fish, frogs, turtles and other animals, and then seek out his chair and take a respite before returning to his discovering new things. It is a very small nature center but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
J.

Trip to the local Nature Center

Recently we spent a good portion of a Saturday at a nature center nearby walking in the woods and looking at toads, turtles, snakes and bees they had on exhibition. It was more fun that I had imagined it would be. So D had an amazing time. He loved all of it... walking, looking at animals.

Crucial Decision

Yes that's right I've been lingering for awhile as to what decision to make regarding my Soul Patch. I had high hopes for my Soul Patch. I had hoped to grow it long very long... maybe 8 inches or more, but my stiff and coarse hair wouldn't cooperate. After trimming my Soul Patch twice I have given up on it for now and have transtioned back to my old standby... the Goat that got me through college. ;)