Soccer Season is over--until Spring

Brian and Lily polished off their second soccer season this morning. They played a tough team--bigger, older, more experienced but they are a hardworking, scrappy bunch of girls and they did great! Lily barely limped off the field with 2 knee injuries and getting the wind knocked out of her all in 1 game. She plays like she lives and it scares her mother. The girls learned alot from Brian about strategy on the field and we look forward to having most of them back on the team in the spring. Here's our end of season team photo.

Northern Pygmy Owl

We have recently discovered that a Northern Pygmy Owl has taken up residence in one of our porch supports. Sir Speckles as he is called comes at about 7:00 pm and leaves at seven in the morning. He is diurnal and sleeps the entire time he is here.

The State Fair

I guess it's become a tradition now to go to the State Fair. I think we should win the award for "cheapskates". We go on $3 Dr. Pepper day with our empty can on pop. We almost always park blocks away and walk through "the hood" to get in. (Although this year, I broke down and paid.) We bring a sack lunch in our wagon and we only enjoy the free stuff--no chincy carnival rides for us! This year we went to the dog agility show, the african acrobats, the wild bird show and the marionettes performance. We also took in the butter sculpture and the arts and crafts building. The bird show won our "Favorites" poll this year. Scott went with us and we met a family who are friends of ours from choir. It was a good day.

Fall at the Arboretum with Cousin Scott

Brian's cousin Scott came from NJ to visit so we took in some sights this past week including the botanical gardens. The girls had fun with cousin Scott. He likes to cook and they made turkish delight to take to their theater class: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He also made fried chicken strips for our dinner one night so that was nice too.

Lily's New Hairdo

Lily just got a haircut. Isn't it cute?

Starla's 5th Birthday

Birthdays are always a time of reflection for me. I recall vividly the details of delivering the particular child who's life is being celebrated. Starla entered the world on opening day of the Texas State Fair. You gotta live here to understand that's close to a holiday. She left the hospital nameless and only 3 days later became our own yellow "Rose" of TX. Our long distance baby shower arrived in the 2 suitcases of Linda Halmi and Lori DeVries, sisters in Christ, who flew here to help me with several days of cooking and household help. The memories are tender and sweet. Her life has been an unanticipated blessing.

So, one week shy of 5 years later, "the baby" is ready to give up sucking her thumb. On go the band-aids as an accountability tool. She dons her hand-me-down ballet suit and heads to class. She's growing up like the rest of them....I pray she will grow in the wisdom, stature and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tea Party Express

The Tea Party Express buses were passing through Dallas last Friday on a cross country tour from CA to DC. The girls and I went down to the rally for civics class. We want the girls to understand our privilege and responsibility in this country to peacefully express our will to those we elect. I also wanted to be counted as opposing nationalized public healthcare. It was also a good opportunity to pass out literature for parentalrights.org The kids had mixed reviews. Lily was disappointed they didn't serve snacks and Starla cried because she thought it was going to be "a tea party".

Soccer Season Again

Lily's playing soccer again. She's got a great coach too--her Dad. Brian's coaching a team of 10-11 year old girls. They are a scrappy bunch. This hard working team won their first game on Saturday even though players were missing for the holiday weekend. Lily played so hard in the heat, she didn't even care much that she won because she was so hot and tired. A dip in the pool was a good antedote to that problem.

Susan and Lucy

Last week, Robyn and I (Lily) auditioned for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and were picked to be Lucy and Susan! We will be performing on December 4th. We are very excited!

Total Impact

Brian and Angela are gone with the church youth group on a weeklong missions trip to the fruit pickers and their families up north. They cooperate with an established ministry to the Hispanic people in the area. Each night, they do bring kids in from the work camps to dinner and a VBS. The other girls and I like to go up a couple nights and help serve dinner.