Happy Halloween

Halloween night was fun in our neighborhood again this year. Hannah and Rachel came home with unbelievable amounts of candy as usual. They have a tradition of trick or treating every house in the neighborhood, so we did. Chloe went out with us for a while, but really had more fun at the house with Lance giving out candy.

Happy Birthday to You

Lance's 40th birthday was Monday, October 29. He was home all day, so that made the surprise gathering I had planned for that night a little bit difficult. He was able to get some much needed rest all morning (after a couple of busy work weeks, including an ALG retreat and The Hunt). That afternoon the girls and I gave him our presents and later we went out to dinner.

By the time we got back to our house, he had an idea that something might be going on. But, he says he wasn't sure. Anyway, there was no way to tell that our house was filled with about 25 friends until the door was opened. We ended the day with some great people, Lance's favorite party foods (these include: poppy seed cake, Little Smokies, salsa, queso, Tostitos, and Fritos) and an incredible birthday cake.

The Hunt 3: Dr. Z's Final Move

Agents of the UGR gathered at headquarters Sunday afternoon for information on a new plan to stop Dr. Z and his G.O.F.E.R. (Global Offensive for Evil's Renaissance) forces once and for all. The Duke arrived via helicopter just in time to rally the agents. Next, Earl von Strausenberg laid out the plan, Operation Check Mate.

During von Strausenberg's presentation Dr. Z broke in with a video feed showing his latest destruction. His goons had been busy kidnapping the wives of the staff and elders of LifePoint Church. The footage of these abductions only fueled the fire in each agent present and made them all more determined to put an end to Dr. Z. Agent Lurch regained control of the room, reminding the agents that his wife was there with them and had not been taken. At that very moment, two G.O.F.E.R. goons burst into the room. Surprising all those present, they grabbed Lurch's wife and dragged her away.

The agents quickly received their final orders and sprang into action to locate the wives and bring down Dr. Z.

Thanks to the hard work of many UGR agents and undercover field agents, the wives were rescued and Dr. Z was once again captured. Agent XYZ, The White Knight, escorted Dr. Z back to UGR headquarters. While waiting to be transported back to Blackheart Island, Dr. Z made a daring escape in the helicopter and flew away into the night.

We soon heard from Dr. Z again through video and watched as he celebrated yet another escape. Little did Z know that The Duke was there waiting, poised and ready to pull the trigger. His celebration turned into maniacal laughter and we watched as Z choked to death on a hot dog. The Duke confirmed his death and agents of the UGR returned home to their families, no longer worried with the looming chaos of Dr. Z and G.O.F.E.R.

Fall Fun

We are enjoying the fall and all the activities that come with it.

We spent Sunday afternoon at Baugher's. We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, enjoyed some Baugher's apple cider, and spent some time with the farm animals in the petting zoo. Next we went to Hoffman's for a treat. I tried their pumpkin ice cream and it was great.

We also went to the fall fest at Rachel's elementary school last week.

Dolphins, and Turtles, and Sharks . . . Oh My!

I spent a day with Hannah last week on a field trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

We enjoyed the dolphin show and the new Australia exhibit.

But, I think that Hannah's favorite thing about the day was the slime she bought in the gift store.

4 Year Old Wisdom

Chloe told Lance yesterday that "diarrhea is when your poop is melted."

Out of Control

Our power was out for a couple of hours yesterday morning. I had to keep telling Chloe that we couldn't do certain things because there was no electricity. It was fun explaining that to her and answering her questions.

Our microwave has been acting strange for a few days. Today it won't work at all. Chloe heard me say that it wasn't working and asked me if "our house had gone out of control again". She was referring to the two hours without power.

I feel that to some degree our house is always out of control. Especially without a working microwave. I just made lunch using the stove top and oven to heat up ravioli, chicken noodle soup, and left over pizza. Weird. I bet we make an appliance purchase today.

Here It Goes Again . . . and Again

This is the first video I have posted on my blog. And, what better to start with than this one? Lance, Jason, Jeff, and Ben did an incredible job on the treadmills. You may have seen it on Lance's blog, but this is a better quality version. Enjoy!

Year of the Dog

I had Chinese food today for lunch and brought a fortune cookie home for Rachel. She loves them. I left the cookie in my purse, and sat my purse on the floor when I got home. We came in from playing outside tonight and saw the empty cookie wrapper lying near my purse. Annie (our dog) had found a little snack. The slip of paper with the "fortune" on it was on the floor beside the wrapper. Rachel asked, "So, what's Annie's fortune?"

I picked up the paper and read this:

"Today it's okay to make a few choices by going with your instincts."

Retreat

I spent the weekend at LifePoint's annual women's retreat. It was fun to get away and spend time with friends. The location was the same as last year, so that meant great accomodations and lots of good food. Not a lot of sleep. I am tired.

Great Stuff

It was such a privilege to have Ross King here with us for a few days this week. I have enjoyed his music for years and have been inspired and challenged by his words. So, it was an honor to be able to sit and listen to him speak and sing for a group of our friends and us right here in my living room. He also played one night in the Underground at LifePoint. He is currently traveling and playing house shows and concerts, just him with a percussionist. If you don't yet have a copy of his new CD, you should make a purchase. The lyrics are challenging and thought provoking. The sound is terrific. This is really great stuff!

The 2nd Century

My husband is amazing! Yesterday he finished his second century. 105 miles on his road bike over hills and mountains in about 8 hours. The Civil War Century is not an easy ride. High temperatures made it tougher this year. But, he did it again!

Soccer

Rachel had her first game today. They won 2 - 1. Go Revolution!

Back to School

The first week of school has been a crazy one this year. All three of my girls have had a virus that causes fever, soar throat, and headaches. At least it only lasts for a couple of days. Rachel missed the first day of school and Hannah came home sick Tuesday and missed school yesterday. Today they're all well.

This is the first year we have had kids at 2 different schools with 2 different schedules. We are getting used to this.

The first week of middle school is going well for Hannah. She is meeting new friends and is excited about her classes. Rachel loves school and is doing terrific, too.

We've been to the back to school/meet the teacher nights, and the school year is now in full swing.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!

Well, this is it. I am pumped! A new ministry year kicks off this weekend at LifePoint.

For Children's Ministry (infants - 6th grade) that means promotion. Chloe will now be in KidPoint Green (the older pre-k class), Rachel will be in BreakAway (4th-5th grade), and Hannah will be in 6th Street (just for 6th graders). Hannah is also serving on the presentation team for KidPoint. Last week she met with her team and brought home a cool puppet and some scripts.

I am so excited about the nursery team this year. Most of them are returning from last year, but we have some great new additions as well. There are 56 members on the nursery team that will be staffing the 4 rooms for the 3 services.

Yes, I said 3 services! This weekend we will begin having a Saturday evening service at 5:30 in addition to the 2 Sunday morning services. During the Saturday service, classes will be offered for infants - 3rd graders. Our family will be worshipping together on Saturdays. And on Sundays, Lance and I will be working while our kids go to their classes and serve.

It has been an amazing summer and I can't imagine what is in store for us this fall. I love this place!

Vacation

We had a great time in Virginia last week. We stayed at Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah National Park. Big Meadows is in the mountains just off of Skyline Drive. The views there are incredible. The lodge was built in the 1930s and has been kept up and restored to preserve it's original look and feel.

We went on two hikes while we were there. The first was a hike/climb called Bearfence Rock Scramble. It was a 1.2 mile loop trail that took you up to and over a summit where you could enjoy 360 degree views. This loop also follows the Appalachian Trail for the last half mile. I've been on the AT before, but this was the longest I've hiked on it. So now I can say I've hiked the AT, if only for half a mile of its 2,175 miles.

Another day we hiked about 5 miles total. We started on the nature trail from the lodge and then continued on to Dark Hollow Falls. The hike down to the falls was steep and after playing in the water and taking a lot of pictures we had to hike back up. The girls all did great on the hikes.

We also saw some wildlife up close. A skunk, a wild turkey, 2 black bears, and as Hannah said, "tons of deer." We decided to keep count of all the deer we saw on one day, but quit by the afternoon when we had already seen over 30. One thing the girls loved was walking out in the meadow (that the lodge was named for) in the evening with deer all around us. It was amazing how close you could get to them. And, it was fun to see the little fawns running around and playing.

A couple of times we left the park to eat at some of our favorite restaurants and to tour Luray Caverns.

After a really busy summer, this was a great week to get away, relax, and make some memories.

Wow

I came across this while on vacation in Virginia last week. I wish I could have gotten a photo of the Native American man that I saw in Wal-Mart just before I exited and saw the car. It had to be his, he was dressed to match the vehicle, all black and yellow, with beads, leather, and stuff from head to toe.

HSM 2

All summer my girls have been counting down the days until High School Musical 2 airs on the Disney Channel. Only 5 more days!

Ouch

Can you believe this? Finally some relief after a lifetime of pain.