Family

- Today is my (Tim) Dad’s 70’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad! Maybe the Broncos will win a game in honor of your birthday. I love you.

- Thanksgiving was family time. Amy came up with Christi and Tim (or TJ as he is known to the family, but no one else) and we all hung out with Sally, Kent, Chase, and Carver. Tim’s fiancé, Amanda, also joined us. We had a great time. The last night we all just hung out and ate pizza and talked and it was really nice. Chase drew and colored pictures for everyone that Sally put in frames. Pretty amazing that he came up with the idea and put it together by himself. Carver amused us by just being one of the cutest kids I have ever seen in my life. (He gets it from the Chase side of the family.) Heidi and I got to spend a little time with Amanda and we both agreed that Tim should thank God every day of his life that he gets to marry her. Christi gave us some thoughtful t-shirts that Heidi and I have already worn. We also saw Kent’s family on Thanksgiving Day. It is always nice to see them.

- On Sunday we ate lots of food at Heidi’s parent’s house. Time always flies when we hang out with them. I am blessed to have such great in-laws. I enjoyed watching football with Don and getting to all pray together. As usual, the food was fantastic.

Where is my hope?

On Sunday night, when the Broncos were leading the Chargers 24-7 in the middle of the third quarter in Denver, I (Tim) looked over at Robbie and Jer and said, “I am allowing myself to believe that we are going to win the game.” From that point on, the Broncos scored 3 points to the Chargers 28. The final score was 35-27 in favor of the Chargers. My hopes were dashed.

Many of life’s disappointments are caused by unmet expectations. I expected the best defense in the NFL to keep a 17 point lead at home; therefore, when they folded like a cheap suit, my expectations were unmet. To hope in something is to risk that it will not happen. The more hope you have, the more risk there is, and therefore, the most disappointment when things do not work out. On the other hand, when you risk big and things to do work out, it feels awesome.

In football, my hopes are often dashed. Most often it comes in the form of a Plummer interception. In life, my hope is in something better. I do not always see my expectations met, but my hope in God does not depend on that. There are struggles, but I know that God is good. I am reminded of the words of the great hymn:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

An ugly win is still a win

- The Broncos sure did have an ugly win on Sunday. My friends who are Vikings fans reminded me that they would be ecstatic to have any ugly win sometime soon. Perspective is everything.
- Bethel University, my alma mater, did pretty well in Cross Country this year. The men finished 10th at the Regional meet, with their top guy making nationals. That is way better than when I was on the team. Bethel’s football team beat St. John’s in Collegeville for the first time ever. They won the MIAC and earned a trip to the NCAA DIII tournament. Couldn’t happen to a nicer coach.
- As far as we can tell, the support raising process is going well. This keeps us busy, but it is fun to see people.
- Thanksgiving is coming and that means food, family, and football. Life is good.
- Heidi looked extra cute when I left for work this morning. She always does, though, so it was no surprise.

And now, for The Big Tamale

Our costumes!! I hope you can forgive the distastefulness of my costume and enjoy the humor factor of it........we won prizes! Tim is a nerd (white and nerdy - weird Al) and I am a prego prom queen :) Happy Halloween everybody!

Catching up on posting pictures...

We took a cog train up Pike's Peak one of our days in Colorado Springs and here is a view from the train on the way back down.

This is on a little hiking adventure on some of the grounds at the Navs castle, Glen Eyrie.

Sorry, these are out of order, this is a the top of Pike's Peak. Aren't we cute?

More pictures

I never finished posting pictures from our trip to Colorado....up there is the little "living room community" I created out of Play-Do during one of our training times. It's hard to see, but there is even a vase of flowers on the coffee table! And that thing on the "floor" is a bear-skin rug that our coach contributed! Thanks T-Rex!

This is our awesome training group! We had a fabulous time getting to know these guys and they are both headed to do campus ministry with the Navs, one on each coast. So much fun to hang out with them, they were a treat to get to get to know!


Here is a picture of us doing a little song and dance about fundraising that Mike and Joanna wrote. I actually volunteered Tim and I to help them out....me? What? I know. I don't know what I was thinking. But we sure got a lot of laughs!

Worst football weekend ever (and other thoughts)

- Last weekend was the worst possible football weekend for me. The Broncos lost at home to the Colts on a last second field goal, the Vikings got destroyed at home by the Patriots, and the Raiders, Chargers, Chiefs, and Packers all won. To add injury to insult, I lost in all four of my fantasy football leagues. I am now dead last in three out of four leagues.

- On Monday, when I went running after work, it was 65 degrees. I ran in shorts and a tank top. On Tuesday, when I went running after work, it was 30 degrees and windy. I ran in long pants, a sweatshirt, hat, and gloves. Such is life in Minnesota.

- Heidi and I watched the Benchwarmers a couple weeks ago. I meant to review it but never got around to it. The movie had a great setup, a couple funny scenes, and some funny actors, but never quite put it together. Kudos for the anti-bully message, but overall it was nothing special.

-The costume party for the young adults group (Lost & Found) from church was fun. Heidi was a pregnant prom queen (perhaps inappropriate, but funny!) and I was a nerd. (Insert your own joke about how it must not have been too hard for me to pull it off.) There were some creative and funny costumes and a good time was had by all.

-I sure do love my sweet baboo. She’s pretty.