Halloween....

Marc is spending Halloween at Judgement House (see previous blog entry). So, Luke and I are merely hanging out at home. We don't get too many Trick-or-Treaters in our neighborhood, but we did have a few.

Luke was a "taekwondo kid" (in a Black Belt already). Marc actually bought this outfit for him before he was born. So, we've been waiting for a long time to put him in this outfit. He actually didn't mind being in it!

Fortunately, Andrea and Ava came over so Ava could get some candy. We worked on getting a photo of Ava and Luke. This is the best we got. It was rather difficult to get them both to pose perfectly (those of you with more than one child know this already).

Don't eat all of the candy at once!

Judgement House

Many of you reading this blog know all about Judgement House as many of you are a part of it.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

I just typed in the "Great Commission" -- as opposed to just the "ordinary commission."

We are commanded as Christians to spread the good news of Christ Jesus. Our church is working on just that -- with Judgement House -- for the second year in a row now.

Judgement House is an eight-scene walk-through drama which effectively presents the gospel through a relevant and gripping story about people whose lives have been cut short by tragedy (this would be straight off of the Grace Community Church website). Individuals are confronted with a life decision about where they will be spending eternity.

Judgement House is a MAJOR undertaking for our church body. I'm not sure how many people it takes to "pull it off," but it takes many people.

Marc and I decided we should be a part of it this year. Marc is one of the "security" guys. They make sure parking is taken care of, make sure groups are walking through the various scenes without problems, etc. etc....Since Luke is young, my job this year with Judgement House is to stay home and be with him so that Marc can be at Judgement House without worry about home.

It truly is a major commitment on the entire church body. Every job counts in Judgement House, from registration, to acting in various scenes, to providing of food for the cast, to security, to nursery workers for those kids staying in the nursery each night, etc.

I'm not sure yet how many people have accepted Christ (or made life-changing decisions), but that's what the whole object of Judgement House is -- changed lives for Christ.

End of an Era....

Beware! There will be no exciting photos with this blog post -- only words to read (and it could get lengthy).

Today was an exciting yet hard day. You see, it was my last day with International Dairy Queen -- a company I've worked with for 10 years. Yep, I first got the job about two months after graduating from college. Now, 10 years later, I've been married over four years, and we've finally had our first child (now three months).

It's funny because over the last 10 years, I've definitely had some frustrating moments in this job. There are aspects of it that I know for a fact I will not miss. Then, there are aspects of it that I know I will definitely miss -- most of all, the people I work with.

Here are some things I remember, good and bad, from the last 10 years -- in no particular order.

1) I haven't counted exactly, but I have probably spent nearly 700 nights in hotel rooms over the last 10 years. I can tell you exactly what I like about various hotel chains (and what I don't like). I can tell you which hotels in my normal travel area have the best internet connection :) I know what types of rooms I like (for instance, Hampton Inns tend to have the best beds). I have stayed in old dumps (in Ulysses, KS, for instance). I have stayed in fabulous suites (at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, for instance). I have joined many different hotel chains' frequent stay programs. Marc and I have taken many vacations, and frequently, we don't pay for hotel rooms because of my accumulated "free" nights.

2) This job has taken me on trips for three weeks at a time. I had the wonderful opportunity to spend three weeks, all-expense paid (albeit working) in Seattle -- a great city! I also had the "opportunity" to spend three weeks, all-expense paid in Chattanooga, TN (beautiful in the fall, but definitely a cultural experience for me). In Chattanooga, unfortunately, I learned about some of the racism that still occurs in this country. In January, 2006, I "got to" go to Hawaii for work. Marc joined me, and we had a wonderful vacation as part of my job. One of the prettiest sites I've seen on the east coast was crossing over the Chesapeake Bay at sunrise (absolutely beautiful).

3) This job has allowed me to witness the excitement of teenagers (in their first job) when they finally mastered the famous DQ curl on a cone. What an accomplishment for them (it's really not an easy task).

4) Very importantly, I have met many friends for life. The DQ system is filled with some fabulous people.

5) One of the most memorable times for me was when I was having a conversation with a particular store owner. Her family had just been involved in a tragedy (involving a car accident). She was merely talking to me about life events and why she believes they happen. She finally said to me, "Sarah, I'm telling you this not in a professional sense but because I believe you're a Christian." The cool thing about this was that she and I had never had a conversation about Christianity. She realized I was a Christian because of my actions and words. Isn't that what we all should be doing?

The list could go on and on and on....

Now, I'm a mother to Luke (after being a child of God and wife to Marc first). Luke needs me at home. I'm fairly certain that he would not want me being gone 70 nights a year, and I certainly don't want to be gone from him for 70 nights a year. My job as a mother is and will continue to be far more important than my job at IDQ.

But, I must not forget my last 10 years. In a lot of ways, these 10 years have shaped who I am today.

Thanks for reading!

The Chain Saws Were A'Roaring....

If you've ever been in our backyard, you know we have quite a few large trees in the yard. Almost four years ago, one of them fell over during the "ice storm." Now, another one has died --from some sort of "tree disease." To avoid the disease spreading to other trees, Marc decided that it should come down. One day awhile back, I was talking with my good friend Abby. I mentioned this tree dilemma, and she promptly volunteered her husband, Clint. Clint apparently really likes to take down trees. He's had to take down quite a few trees with his job.

So, this past Saturday, Clint and Abby showed up to take down this tree. Since I was going to be inside most of the day with Luke (and tree-cutting is not my calling in life), Abby was very good to stay inside and "chat" most of the day. Thanks Abby! I hope you weren't too bored.

Here's the "before photo" of the dead tree.

Here's a photo of Marc, Clint, and Abby -- I think Marc and Clint were trying to figure out what to do next. At this point, Abby had been "roped into" helping out a bit.

After the tree was down, Marc and Clint used their chain saws to cut up the branches. Yes, they both wore their safety goggles.

Here's another photo of Clint using his chain saw.

Nobody was hurt! The tree is gone (the guys hauled off the branches to the dump). When the tree fell, it did cause a small "indention" in our neighbor's yard. This neighbor spends a great deal of time on his yard, and he does have one awesome yard. Fortunately, he wasn't too upset.

Thanks Clint and Abby for your help! We'll be asking again in the spring because we do have one more tree we'd like down -- the big one beside our driveway.

Too Cute....

Some of you who have been around us with Luke know that Luke will not take a pacifier. We've tried about five different types, but none of them work. Older mothers tell me, "That's not such a bad thing, Sarah." Yep, there are advantages -- 1) We'll never have to get him off of it. 2) If he loses it in the middle of the night and can't get it, there's not screaming -- we don't have to get up to give it back to him. Yep, there are disadvantages -- 1) Sometimes, he really needs to be soothed. We've had to rely on him sucking on our pinky fingers for that. It's annoying, but it generally works. 2) In church, because he won't suck on a pacifier, he's not really quiet (even if he's not upset, he chatters).

Fortunately, Luke has definitely found his fist, and he sucks on his fist to go to sleep (we see him on the camera monitor). So, if he wakes up, he can get back to sleep himself.

Though he actually found his thumb several weeks ago, last night, he sucked on his thumb for quite awhile. I had put him on his tummy for "tummy time." He's still not a real fan, though the crying is starting to stop during that time. When I did this last night, he was tired. So, he just sucked him thumb for awhile. Too cute....

Quarter of a Year Old...

Today (the 21st), Luke is three months old -- or a quarter of a year old. It's been a very fast three months! Here's the comparative photo...

I'm not sure if it's his outfit he's wearing or the angle of the photo, but he almost looks smaller in his three month photo than the two month photo right below it. Trust us -- he's not any smaller. In fact, he's about 2 1/2 pounds bigger.

Last week, he weighed in at a whopping 14 lb. 3 oz.

At two months...

And, at one month...

Yet Another Race....

Yesterday (Sunday, the 19th), Marc ran in the Wichita Marathon (26.2 miles). The interesting this is that he actually participated in two separate events. A runner can run the entire distance himself or herself. Or, two people can run it as a relay (13.1 miles per person).

Well, Marc and our friend Matt ran it as a relay (Marc running the 1st 1/2 and Matt running the 2nd 1/2). At the trade-off, Marc kept running to finish the whole thing. So, he ran in the relay as well as the entire marathon.

Marc and Matt should be very proud. They actually finished FIRST in the men's relay. Their total time for the 26.2 miles was two hours and 59 minutes.

Marc finished the entire marathon in three hours and eight minutes -- second in his age group!

This race starts in Derby and finishes in Wichita's Old Town area.

Here's a photo of Matt, almost to the finish line!

Here's a photo of Marc, less than a minute from the finish line. I think he looks great for just running 26.2 miles!

Here's one photo of the finish line. As a runner comes in, he or she is facing the Warren Old Town Theater.

Luke and I got to the race in plenty of time to see Marc and Matt finish. As you might recall from a previous blog entry, Luke did not enjoy being out at a race in the Flint Hills. This weekend, he didn't necessarily smile much, but he didn't cry at all. Perhaps this weekend, being out at a race wasn't so bad.

Here's a photo of what we like to call "Luke's very serious look." Thanks for letting him borrow your hat, Ollie! It's worked great several times!

A couple of things about this race....

1) There was a very strong south wind. That "south" part is very fortunate since the runners, during this race, run north for a good part of the race. Imagine running against a strong north wind for a little over 26 miles? Marc said the wind just pushed him along.

2) If you attend very many long distance races as a spectator (or as a runner), it's very common to see puking at the end. Yuck! So, I like to not hang out right at the finish line. Yesterday must have been "International Day of Puking at the End of a Marathon." I witnessed it more times than I care to, and I wasn't even standing right at the finish line.

Isn't that a great way to end this blog post?