Pictures from Cabella's

A few weeks ago, while the kids were off school, we drove over to Cabella's. We looked around, grabbed a snack, and looked around some more. Here are some pictures from that day.

The Holidays Are Over!

Though the days went fast, we had a good break. We shared some good times with family and friends, and even took some time to have some time just to ourselves. As usual, the kids started to get a little board near the end.

<<<--- Buddy's a ham!

Now that the holidays are over, it's back to the grind. The kids are slowly getting used to the reality of getting back to work at school. Michael started right off today with a 6:30 a.m. basketball practice. With all the trips back and forth to school, I'm wishing I could win one of those "free gas give-aways" I hear about every now and then. It's worth all the sacrifice to be able to allow the kids to get a Christian education. As the commercial says... "That's priceless!"

4 By Grace in 2008

Thanksgiving Concert at School

Last week was Katie's Thanksgiving Concert at school. The whole theme was based on using the word "THANKSGIVING" as an acronym referencing it to creation. The singing and music was GREAT!
Katie sings in the elementary choir (along with everyone else in elementary). She also sings in the chorus and plays the flute in the band.
It was really nice seeing all the kids from FRMBC (6 in all) that participated in the concert.

Michael's 14th Birthday

Last Saturday we held a birthday party for Michael. He invited the guys from church and some guys from school over for an air-soft birthday party. What is an air-soft birthday party? It's kind of like paint-ball only with 6mm plastic BBs. The guys wear full protection with masks, gloves and, thanks to a little cool weather, a few layers of clothing. It's just a little "target practice" ;-)
The pictures pretty much tell the story.

We had a big cookie made instead of a cake. The image in the center is an "exact" replica of a Smith and Wesson Air-Soft pistol. Notice the red tip, signifying that it is not a real firearm. (I know... I'll keep my day job!) Our kids seem to lean toward these cookies. They take after their dad with passing on the cake thing. Anyway, Michael and the guys had a great time! Sandra's mom as well as my parents from Grand Blanc, were there as well to celebrate the occasion.

Katie's 11th Birthday

This past Saturday we celebrated Katie's 11th birthday with grandparents and a few of Katie's friends.



(Katie's basketball chocolate cookie)

Michael's 9th grade picture

Katie's 6th grade picture

Back to the Fall Grind

It's been such a great couple of weeks since the kids have been in school. I'm not saying that it's better without the kids around. I mean there has been a lot of great things going on in our family's lives. Michael and Katie are doing great in school. Michael is taking the Fall off, sports wise. He did join the high school chorale. He'll have a lot of fun with that. Katie is playing girls (duh) basketball at school. So far they're record is 3-0.

Ministry life has been busy, but oh, so enjoyable! We've made some improvements in some of the areas of ministry lately (See the Church News Blog). The Lord is blessing FRMBC and we are excited about all that He's doing. From "ProTeens", to the new College & Career Bible Study Fellowship, and more, the Lord just keeps blessing and blessing.

The Willing Servants Quartet is going to be singing at a Bible Conference in Richmond, KY this weekend. We're learning a new song to take with us and we'll probably sing it this Sunday back here at FRMBC. The guys are really fine tuning their voices as they continue to improve they're harmony. They really do sound good. There's a future for this group if they really want it! (See Willing Servants Quartet)

Well, I gotta go get ready for the trip.

Until next time...

BACK TO SCHOOL!

This past Monday was the first day of school for Michael (9th grade) and Katie (6th grade). Michael is taking a break the first part of the year from sports, while Katie has decided that she wants to play girls basketball. Today is her first practice. Sandra and I had little bit of trouble coping with the fact that we now have a child in high school. Oh, where does the time go?!!