phew

4 quizzes, 2 tests, 3 projects, 100 pages of reading...and I'm spent. Four weeks of school shoved into one little week. Phew. Now...I'm ready for Thanksgiving. My sis, my dave, with a little Jesse "i done now" on the side. I can not wait.

Tennis Time

Craig is on a Tennis league here, and he is just loving it. He plays once or twice a week. He is pretty dang good (if I say so myself) and I believe he has the best score in the league thus far? I'll have to confirm that with him. I went along last week to watch (I've never seen him play). My point and shoot was no good for action shots so I got some video instead. Sorry about the shaky camera ...(Craig is the one serving...)

Port Townsend

This last weekend, we woke up on Saturday to some super blue skies so we decided to take a ferry trip to a little town called Port Townsend. The town is on the Olympic Peninsula, and is rich with history. Back in the early 1900s, it was called "The City of Dreams." It was projected to be the biggest port on the west coast. Well, as the depression would have it, the railroad going from Seattle to Port Townsend was never built, so the dreams of the successful port came to a halt. It is pretty much a retirement community now. The town is really neat however because it is rich with Victorian houses, that are just stunning. It has a neat little downtown with cute soda shops, restaurants, etc. We ate some lunch, drove around, went for some ice cream at a soda shop, and then headed home. Here are some pics from our trip.

The ferry left for Port Townsend at 1:30. This is the time on our clock when we pulled onto the ferry. Yes indeed...we barely made it...and we got the last available spot! phew.

BEAUTIFUL Day!

Almost there!


Port Townsend from the Ferry (I wish I had my DSLR camera with me...)

While driving around we came across this light house. Isn't it picture perfect! (once again wishing I had more than just a point and shoot!!)

Here is a little bookstore we found in town. Aisles of old books. Craig is in Heaven!

We had a blast....I love little old towns.

The story of Job

This year was the first time I have really sat down and read/studied the story of Job in the bible. I have fallen in love with this story. Seriously what a story!

This book helps us understand the age old question: "Why do bad things happen to good people...why me?"
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A quick summary about the story of Job: Job is stated in the bible by God to be "a man that is blameless and upright." The devil enters the story questioning God about Job's faithfulness arguing that Job is only so faithful because he has everything. He challenges God to take everything away from Job. The devil was convinced that if Job had nothing, his faith would be lost.

Job 1:12: "The Lord said to Satan, "very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

From here, Job's life seems to fall apart before our very eyes. Job's farm animals were all taken, his servants were all killed, his house fell down in a storm, Job's body was plagued with leprosy...etc. The streak of "bad luck" continues through the story. The story consists of back and forth conversation between Job, God, Satan, and some of Job's friends. Job's wife and friends all tried to convince Job that what was happening to him was "unfair." Job on the other hand...he remained firm and did not lose the hope in the mercy of God. At the end of the story:

Job 42: 10 - "After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before."
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This story has so many elements that are simply... AMAZING!

1) Where does suffering come from? Suffering comes from evil. Evil comes from the consequence of independence.

2) Then why does God give us independence? God has loved us enough to give us independence. With Independence we are given choices and these choices have consequences. The biggest choice of all...to have a relationship with Him. If God did not give us this choice....it would not be a relationship, because a relationship that is forced...is no relationship at all.

3) So...is God the cause of suffering...no....is he in charge of it...yes! Even though God does not cause our suffering, He uses it diligently to fit into his purpose. This means that God has a purpose for our suffering...great purpose.

4) God may use our suffering so that we can help others later, or maybe to glorify the righteousness of God, or maybe to bring us or others closer to Him. We may never know the purpose of the sufferings in our lives...but He does.

5) There is a great beauty in knowing this truth. When you love and trust God, we learn to trust in God's control over everything in our lives...including our suffering. What a relief!

Royalty in the family

My uncle (mom's side) is big into geneology. He has traced our family back to 1194! That is a loooooong time ago. It doesn't get cooler than that. It is really quite incredible and very interesting. He has completed a 350 pdf document with all of the "family tree" information in it... complete with pictures and a lot of stories/history etc.. It even includes our family's coat of arms (pictured to the left).

My uncle is constantly adding on and updating it, and today he came out with a pretty sweet connection/update! Here is part of the e-mail he sent out to the fam:

" Last week I was reading a magazine article about the geneology of the royal families of Europe. To my surprise, Princess Di (deceased) claimed to be a "Sanborn." I was reluctant to accept this interloper into our fold without further investigation. It is one thing to have a family where renegade members have gone off and joined the Republican Party but this is a situation where a descendant from an early Sanborn is an heir to the throne of England. The attached geneology shows that indeed Princes Di's claim was valid and she trees into our tribe. About 12 generations ago we shared a common grandfather."

Giddy up! Princess Di and I are related! I always felt there was a little royalty in my blood ;).

Halloween Activity III

Time to PARTY! First...we had to get our costumes all ready! It was a big decision this year..but the verdict was...."Jon and Kate's last Date." Thank you Mr. Lyman for the Jon and Kate Gosselin idea! We wanted to spice it up a little...and make it their last date. With a couple of black eyes, some nice blood (that fake stuff looks way too real), a nice blond wig, and some knives, we were ready to go. Putting on all the makeup was a blast, but I have to say, as I put on the "blood" it really grossed me out. ICK!

After we were all ready to go, and most of the trick or treater had come and gone, we were on our way to a Halloween Party at a friend's house! Lots of creepy food, lots of crazy dancing, and some hilarious costumes. Heck...I even ran into Kate Gosselin before the divorce. Even Octo-mom made an appearance. Awesome!

That looks way to real for me! Ouch!

Here we are...Jon and Kate's last date! Beautiful. Aren't we a lovely couple.


Hey...Here is Kate Gosselin before the divorce! Nice.



Mark (Franko) and Craig. Seriously...classic.

Dood...Mike (the Jedi) and I.

Molly (Bride of Franko) and I. Bloody.

It is Octo-Mom! My personal favorite!

And...when it was time to go home for the night...we had a gift on our car. It looks like Octo-mom wanted to unload. :)

Halloween Activity Part II

Time for Trick or Treaters! The night was perfect for trick or treaters. No rain, and even warm enough to wear a costume without a coat!

To polish off the scary "scene" outside, we added a couple of last minute items. We replaced our normal porch lights with flicker lights (they look like flames) and we stuck a fog machine (borrowed from the church) in the casket with the arm hanging out. With a little music, and with the sun down...it was quite creepy. The younger kids...they weren't so sure. They walked slowly...and cautiously up to the front door as they heard the spooky music! MWWW HA HA HA! Mission accomplished!

Notice the spooky music in the background!