Wicked Good Challenge

 

The 18th and 19th had Jacob at his first Club volleyball tournament.  

Jacob’s team played pretty well on Saturday and won 2 of 3 matches.  I went nice and early with him…leaving the house at 6am to get to his first game…and spent till about 2 following him around to his games with Katherine and Katherine’s mom, Melissa, joining me in the sideline watching.

Sunday…while Jacob had Mom, Jaden and Jude to cheer him on, the team did not fare well.

They lost the first match in 2 sets…to the eventual champion and then played a consolation match and won that one 2-0 to close out the tournament.

Nipmuc soccer wins division title

 Jacob and the varsity team won the division title game tonight.  Exciting game and awesome result for them.

Love the joy on Jacob’s face!

Yes, no electronics

Wow, the kids could actually have fun without electronics.  I know know that this might be hard to believe...especially of late as my children have had their noses buried in PSP's and Mobi-Go's...but, it did happen and I took a picture to prove it:

Busy Week

So, another busy week and weekend.  I am worn out.  We got to ring out (I hope) winter with a 2nd and final sled run at our friend's house...check out it below:  The lighting wasn't great due to lights going out...but it at least gives a glimpse :)

I probably should have cut this down, but oh well...there is another one I will post to FaceBook or to YouTube that gives a little better idea of how long the track was.

Of course, we also had basketball this week and I am posting some of that video on YouTube as well...so, you all can check out Jaden and Jacob there.

On to next week, Kristen's test at school, work, more Men's Ministry stuff at the church and all the other things a week brings.

Jacob's Basketball

So after our vacation break, Jacob got back to basketball this morning. Just a couple of photos to share. He is doing well. None of the kids get the whole double dribble concept...heck, some of them forget about dribbling entirely, but it was fun to watch and they all have made progress already this season. Jacob scored twice today and had great passing, defense, rebounding and dribbling. I was very impressed!

Dribbling drill...and his head is up, not down.  Nice!

Driving around the excited? defense!

Surveying the defense.

Devotionals with the boys

I was watching YouTube clips...which I think is just kind of interesting all by itself...but, one of the things that a pastor talked about was that his daughter was 10 months old and he said "she wins....I get home for dinner....that is a year that if I wasn't there...I don't get it back, she wins....I can find another church, I can't find another wife or daughter." This was quoted paraphrase, but anyway, do my kids "WIN"? I hope so. I know that I have, at times, been a workaholic...driven to success...and I say I want it, for my kids...I certainly want to provide, but, is that just an excuse? I have to be honest and say that it is not always...for my kids...they want me to play...Kristen wants me to go on walks...I am not always thinking about them. Now, I have to do the work, keep my job and give to Caesar what is Caesar's...but, what about the rest? I don't want to look back on Jaden, Jacob and Jude's childhood and say...I can't get that back. I wish I would have....
I don't want to look back on my marriage and say, "I wish I would have...."
And to that end, it has been really neat to spend time with the boys in devotionals over the last week. Kristen and I bought the boys their own devotionals that we are doing with them at night on our date night. The boys have done incredibly well! They are attentive and insightful and it really is enjoyable to spend those precious minutes with them in study and in prayer.
I know that I will hold on to these times and hopefully, I will remember that I don't get these times back and therefore allot my time and energy appropriately.

A Cold Easter Egg Hunt

The boys and I went to an Easter Egg hunt put on by a friend's church today. IT WAS COLD OUTSIDE...but, we had a good time anyway. It was really nice to see our boys exhibiting some great behaviors today as well.
The result of the egg hunt was that a bunch of older children that started out very quickly had way too many eggs and my boys and their friends were left scavenging...and with not too much luck. Jaden had maybe 8, Jacob got 3, and their friends were around 3 I think as well. Jaden decided to split his up with everyone else so that they each had a couple more and then all of them gave up some of their total take to another person who said that they got no eggs. It was really neat to watch them be selfless and share like that :)
I love my boys and it makes me especially proud in those moments where I see their wonderful character shine through.

Kristen Birthday - 2

Just wanted to add a few little notes about the rest of the day.
- I took the day off and spent it with my wife...that was great
- She got to take a nap :)
- We went to dinner to the Olive Garden, which she loves
- We ate WAY TOO MUCH
- They sang to her :)
- The boys sang several times
- The desserts were awesome

- This is a good looking group of people:

Superbowl Excitement

A quick picture of the boys on SuperBowl Sunday. They were so excited to get to stay up late and watch the SuperBowl and especially the SuperBowl commercials that were going to be 3D. As you can see...they were more than ready.

Jacob's Birthday Party

We had a great time for Jacob's birthday party at PINZ in Milford this last weekend. It completely wore Kristen and I out, but, Jacob had a blast! Here are a few pictures:

"Which way was the bowling ball supposed to go?"

Yes...this incredible cake was made by Kristen and I...together. We are taking orders, but...if you have to ask how much, then you probably can't afford us :)

Our boys...Enjoying a day at the lanes :)

My Birthday

Yes, happy birthday to me.
My family called and gave me cards and brownies, my wife and kids gave me gifts (I will post pictures soon), and I enjoyed a couple hours with my boys reading, playing and hanging out. It was a good day :)

Odds and ends

A few updates:

Jaden's school is having a couple half days as we have hit parent teacher conference time...we are excited to talk with the teacher and hear her comments on how Jaden is doing. For his part, he is excited to be home earlier and hopes this will let him watch a little more TV

Jacob is still doing his school as well. He seems to do pretty well socially, we think...but he also has some time before he will be moving on to kindergarten anyway. He is quite the complex character as we are learning to deal with a child that likes to go from one extreme emotion to the other in a blink of an eye. He is keeping us on our toes.

Jude is crawling and getting close to walking. I know I need to post more pictures and do some new videos, so hopefully I will do that soon. He is getting very big and is very close to being turned around in the car. I know that he is very excited about that, since Kristen gave him a test ride this week.

Kristen has an A going in her class through the mid-point and is very excited. It is well deserved as she has worked hard thus far...time to bring it on home, babe :)

More to follow....

Good looking couple

This is a good looking couple:

These picture was taken this weekend while we were at the local fire department for their annual open house. The kids get to ride on the firetruck, have some treats and climb into and around the other trucks. Always fun to see them get so excited.

Jacob's 1st Day of Pre-School

This definately shows off Jacob's personality and enthusiasm...

busy, busy, busy

Been so busy lately that I have not blogged at all. Not good for me, as my memory only lasts a day or tweo anymore...
So, anything I should update everyone on...? Jacob was diagnosed with chickenpox, again yesterday at the doctors...now we have to wait it out to see if they are right or not.
Jaden is in class today for his last day of Kindergarten!
Dad, Linda, Jasmine and Elizabeth went to New York and wandered around like tourists for two days. They had a great time and came back to our house with sore feet.
I have started a New Testament reading challenge with my Friday morning men's group...we will be reading the New Testament over the next 90 days. And yes, I am already behind.

Bowling with the boys

The boys and I got to go to the bowling alley together for a fun outing. Just thought I would share some pictures and stuff from the day:

Jacob practicing his name

We were pretty proud of Jacob. He printed his name on and colored this picture by himself yesterday while at the club. While he has been working on his letters, we were pretty blown away by how legible and accurate this is. Usually we can make it out, but it is backwards, or all over the page, etc.

Security

Jacob was taking a nap the other day while everyone else was up and about. He woke and was distraught to find no one around him when he came to the door of his room.
Now, compare this with his usual routine of being bleary eyed at the door and saying "I'm awake!" and being almost immediately picked up and cuddled...you can see why things were different.
After wandering for a moment, he started to cry and Mom immediately came and found him. You see, we weren't where he expected us to be and he got scared. His security was threatened. It didn't matter that he was safe and that Mom was only steps away. She wasn't where he wanted her to be. How often is that the way we are too?
We think we see things clearly, but most likely we are bleary eyed, if not blind.
We expect God to be "here" to answer our prayers, but we don't see him.
We get scared the moment things aren't the way we expect them to be.
Jacob told Mom that he was looking for her, so at least he decided to take action.
Are you seeking God if you are not finding Him where you expected Him to be?

Bad Bahavior

We went out with the boys this morning to get Jude's pictures taken. We have been less than prompt in getting him in for his 3 month pictures, so now that he is 4 months we figured we had better get moving on it. We went into the store and were ushered right back. Jude was doing pretty well, but Jaden and Jacob were not. They were LOUD and completely out of control. They were being good to each other, the problem was that their behavior was so LOUD, so disruptive that even though they were having a great time, no one else was. The people working the photo area were kind and tried to help, but that really only made it worse as the boys figured they were getting that much more attention for it. After trying and failing at multiple disciplinary options, the photo shoot was stopped and Kristen reviewed the pictures that we had been able to capture. The boys and I headed out to the car. As we walked out with their hands in mine, you would think they would realize that they should cool it...I mean the threats against lost toys, playtime, privaleges and everything else should have already let them know they were in a bad spot....but no. Instead, they kept it up to the car and even once in the car. It was only by the grace of God that I had any patience at all.
I know that I probably embarrased my parents on numerous occassions while in public...especially as Joel and I loved to fight, so this is probably the old saying of "May you be blessed with a child just like you." coming to fruition.

Fun with Jacob

I love that when you are young that anything can be used as a mike...not only that, but he isn't afraid to belt it out. I wish the sound came across, but regardless, you can see how much he was enjoying himself. The lyrics say something along the lines of "Cause I got you." Jacob's interpretation..."ZA ZA ZOO!"