Game Night Results!

First a little pizza for some fuel!

Next up, time to practice!

JJ and Jayla ran around the floor just like they were at any old gym. Neither of them have any idea that most 3 year olds and 1 1/2 year olds don't ever get to step foot on this floor!


Later on, it was a FULL house!

JJ & Jayla were more interested in keeping their eyes on Cy and Herkey (the mascots) than the game. :)

Then came time for Daddy's debut! I caught the first shooting time on video....and during this one he made 9 out of 10 shots! If you turn it up loud enough you might get to hear the guy in the stands yelling obscenities at Jake. Oh yes, when you're good at something there are always haters. Just fuels the determination as Jake always says (in fact, when this happened to him in college it even spurred an idea for a tatoo that he got!). :)



After this one, he got to shoot 2 more times. The second time he made 3 out of 5 shots, and the 3rd time he made 4 out of 5 shots! They ended up changing the rules, and he only got to shoot 20 shots, but they were all from the top of the key so that was good! They also decreased the money amounts that each shot was worth. All in all he made 16 out of 20 shots and earned $1075! Good job, Daddy! They wrote a check to the guy in the stands that was picked, and he was this cute 70-year-old guy that Jake said kept thanking him and thanking him. :) This amount will also be donated to a charity of Jake's choice, and will also be matched and put into the ISU scholarship foundation.

A few more pictures...
Daddy chats with the refs (doesn't this look familiar?!)

Leaving through the old tunnel....this is the way we always left after the games, only then we didn't have two little munchkins with us! :)

What a FUN night! Did I mention that the CYCLONES WON?!?!?!

:)

No Pressure

Do you remember this?

Or this?

Well, if you don’t, tonight if you are headed to the ISU vs Iowa basketball game you will get to catch a glimpse of Jake’s sharp shooting skills (or what is left of them!) Jake was asked last week to do a charity $ for shots deal at Hilton Colisseum tonight. He will be shooting throughout the game during time-outs and half-time. Hy-Vee is sponsoring it, and here is what Jake has to do:

He will shoot 25 three pointers….5 balls at 5 different spots.

The first 4 balls at each spot will get Jake $100 for each shot made. The 5th ball at each spot is considered the money ball, and he would get $250 each time he makes the 5th shot.

Now, get this….The total amount of money Jake ‘earns’ with his shooting will go to the charity of Jake’s choice plus they are picking out a random person from the stands who will win the amount Jake earns with his shooting, plus Hy-Vee is matching the amount Jake earns and will donate that amount to the ISU scholarship foundation. Got it?

NO PRESSURE, right?

:)

Maybe You Don't Know....

the meaning behind the candy cane........

It had to be special to be a gift for the King of Kings, thought the humble candy maker from Indiana. Not just any piece of candy would do. It had to be hard candy because the church is built on solid rock and God's promises are a firm foundation. It would be formed in the shape of the Good Shepherd's staff. A "J" that would also stand for the precious name of Jesus. But it had to say more. White stripes would symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Christ. Three small red stripes would represent the scourging Jesus suffered on His way to the cross. One large red stripe would remind those with eyes to see and ears to hear of the blood of Jesus shed as payment for our sins. It would be a gift of love that would tell His story - the greatest story ever told.

Now you know!

Adoption Update: Pictures Posted! Trip Info!

From Kofi earlier week:

Dear Carla (our case worker),

I just returned from a trip to visit Samuel’s family. I was able to meet with Samuel but the mother was out to the farm. Samuel has not been attending school due to financial difficulties from the mother. I took Samuel back to school today and paid the little outstanding. He is doing very well as you can find the attached photo.

Court proceedings may start this week on Samuel’s adoption. The attorney is ready to file the adoption.

All the kids including Samuel and family are expecting a New Year celebration of some coco- cola drinks and biscuits when the Sullivan's arrive at the village, and of course some used shoes and used clothes. They are really waiting to celebrate the New Year in a grand style with cokes, drinks and sweets. We can buy all these if it will be a burden to bring all those, hopefully not cost more than $20 US for the party.

I will keep you updated.

Regards,
Kofi

And here is the recent picture of Samuel in his school clothes (his teachers are seated to the right):
He looks SO tall! And, so much older than 6! Maybe he is? Who knows?

Here is one of the first pictures we had of Samuel…he is pictured here with Kofi:

Not sure if you can see his orange hair in these pictures since they loaded small, but when you see the originals you can really see the orangey-ness. :) And I Love It!

So, as you read above, we are planning on meeting Samuel in his village on our trip. We just worked it all out this week and it sounds like our meeting day will be January 3rd. I am SO EXCITED, and absolutely thrilled that we will get to see his village and his way of life. I need help brainstorming some things to bring along for the children of the village. For Samuel we are bringing a remote control car, a new outfit, new shoes, and his welcome book. But, I also wanted to have some things for the other kids from the village that will be at the party. We are bringing them Kingdom Hoops t-shirts, and I was thinking about also bringing some suckers, and then maybe toy cars and/or bouncy balls. But, I need something for the girls that they could play with. Or, a better idea of what I should bring for the boys. It needs to be small enough to fit in our suitcase, and something that I can purchase a lot of. I think we are taking one suitcase that will hold extra things like this. Please share your ideas!

This was such an uplifting update! YAY!

By the way- have I mentioned that the name Samuel means “God Heard”? Praising God for all this excitement this week!

Annual Baking Day

Each year during December my mom, Grandma, and I get together for our annual day of baking cookies and candy! We look forward to it each year, and we have done this since I have been a little girl. It's been exciting for me to introduce JJ and Jayla into our tradition. We are stirring up goodies and baking cookies, all the while creating fun memories each year that we carry on the tradition.

Annual Baking Day 2006
Mommy & JJ (5 months old)

Annual Baking Day 2008
Mommy and JJ (2 1/2 years old)

and Jayla (7 months old in 2008)

Annual Baking Day 2009
JJ (3 1/2)

He can do it all by himself now!

But this year he had some competition for the sprinkles.

Mommy, JJ, Jayla, and my Grandma making peanut butter star cookies.

JJ was an awesome helper this year with everything that we made. He dipped the peanut butter balls in sugar, put the m & m's on the almond bark dipped pretzels, pressed the dough into the pecan tassie muffin tin, and put lots of sprinkles on lots of cookies!

And, he discovered the best part of baking day.......

:)