The Hunt 2

The Hunt was a big success this year. The event kicked off at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon at UGR Headquarters (the Underground) and ended there at around 10:00 that night. 27 teams registered and participated. Dr. Z not only pulled off a daring prison break, but later eluded UGR agents and escaped with the help of Agent XYZ, the traitor. UGR agents will regroup under the leadership of The Duke and come back next year prepared to take down Dr. Z and his G.O.F.E.R. forces.

Daddy Daughter Date

Lance and Rachel attended the City of Westminster's Fall Father Daughter Date last Wednesday night. They double dated with Rachel's best friend from school and her dad. They had a nice meal, had photos taken, and danced to every song!

Medieval Fest

For the first part of the school year, Hannah's 5th grade class has been reading and studying about the Medieval Period. On October 19, they had an all day Medieval Festival at school. There were games, crafts, and a feast. I helped out with games and manned the tricycle jousting area. It was a fun day.

Fall

I always enjoy my morning walks a little more in the fall. This time of year is so beautiful. I took my camera with me today and stopped a few times along the way. The photos are all views from my neighborhood of the surrounding farm land and hills.

Road Trip

Lance got a call the other day from Billy Foote letting him know that he, Cindy, and Libby (their newly adopted baby from China) would be here in Maryland this weekend to lead worship at a retreat. Of course, we didn't want to miss a chance to see them and meet Libby, so we drove over to North East, Maryland with Jason and Rachel yesterday. It was a beautiful fall day and a beautiful drive to a beautiful place. Our destination was North Bay, a conference/retreat center right on the north shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is an incredible facility in an amazing setting. Libby is now almost 11 months old and has been with Billy and Cindy for about 2 months. She is beautiful. It was good to spend a little time with the Footes and to worship with them again. And, as always it was a blast to make the trip with our most friends.

Church

In just a little over 3 weeks we will be completely moved into and meeting in our new church facility. That's right, November 12 is the first Sunday on the LifePoint campus. I can hardly wait. I just keep thinking, if I've only been here 3 years, and I'm this excited about the move in, how must those who have been a part of this for years and years feel about it all? It is overwhelming. Our church has met in rented facilities for its 19 years of existence. And, for those 19 years we have experienced consistent growth. I can't wait to see what happens once we are in this building. I think things are exciting now, but just wait.

Pumpkin Patch

We headed to Baugher's yesterday for some fall fun. After having fresh apples and apple cider from the orchard, the girls jumped in the giant pumpkin moon bounce, and we took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. We hiked all over the hills so the girls could look for the perfect pumpkins and gourds. They knew that they would have to carry their own finds all the way back across the patch, because I had to help Chloe carry hers. Rachel ended up with a pretty large pumpkin, but she was determined to bring it home so she lugged it all the way back by herself!

Praise

Chloe and I were grocery shopping today. While she rode in the buggy through the store she was singing (loudly and repeatedly), "Though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this store." Her version of Casting Crowns' Praise You In this Storm. Then once we got in the car she said, "Mom, I don't want my heart to be torn."

Not This Car

The other day Lance's car battery died. He was at the bike shop not too far from home and he called me to come help him. I had meat cooking on the grill and food in the oven so it was going to be a little while before I could get to him. A guy in the parking lot was getting into his car so Lance asked him for help. The guy immediately said "I don't have cables." Lance said "I do." Then the guy said "Not this car," and left. He was driving a Lincoln, which I guess he thought was too good a car to help out our Mitsubishi. When I heard this, I just thought how different it was than my usual interactions with people. It is rare that we ever run into someone so selfish and unwilling to help. It was really encouraging to be surprised by this guys response.