Halloween Fun!

Every year our church has a great Halloween outreach called Family Fest.  Tons of candy, games, bounce houses and food-- they really do it well.  This year Both Drew and Tessa had a blast.  Drew was a firefighter (he'll tell you that's what he wants to be when he grows up) and Tessa was a fairy princess.  They were both thrilled with their costumes.  Braden had fun taking it all in!

Here they are ready to go to church:

  Couldn't get Tessa out of the ballpit!

 

Braden's all smiles!

  

 

 

 

 

Rob's camo makeup made for some very realistic soot

 

 

 

Tessa hammin' it up!

Project: Water of Life

Sunday afternoon Karen and I attended the World Vision Experience: AIDS (www.wvexperience.org/). In case you're not familiar with it, let me explain. World Vision sets up a tent (this time in our church gymnasium). Before you enter, you are given an ipod shuffle with headphones and you listen to one of 3 stories as you follow an audio tour thru the tent which describes the life of a child in Africa. Each is the story of violence, starvation, and/or AIDS. As you progress thru the tent, you're not only exposed to the individual story, but also the staggering statistics of the atrocities taking place in Africa. Needless to say, it was extremely touching.

It is easy to feel like there is nothing one can do from here, so far away. How can one person impact such overwhelming issues? For both Karen and I, the first response was to sponsor a child. Although we won't make a huge difference for Africa with just one child, we can make a huge difference for that one child! Child sponsorship is nothing new, certainly. And we were left feeling like perhaps there was more we could do. But what? As I thumbed thru the "Donor Catalog" that World Vision provides, my eyes were drawn to the "Traditional Well". For the cost of $5390, World Vision can establish a new well in a village that provides enough clean water for 150 people to bathe, clean, cook, drink, water livestock and irrigate their land. This is for people who would otherwise either have NO clean available water.

Hearing the stories of people who have to walk miles to draw water from infected, dirty waters (if any available at all), really puts things in perspective. To think of my own frustration when my daily shower (how many gallons do I use?) runs a little cold!

The struggle is, $5390 is still more than Karen and I can afford on our own. So, we've decided that what we can do, is draw attention to the need as well as the opportunity. We have established a website, www.firstgiving.com/water_of_life, to raise awareness and provide people an opportunity to donate. Our goal is to raise $5390 by the end of February 2009. If we fall short, the monies donated will still go toward "shares" of a well, but how great would it be to say that together as friends & family, we were able to provide a well for an entire village?! Please don't feel obligated to contribute, but give it a look, pray about it, and see if this issue touches you the way it has touched us.

Of course, please feel free to pass along the website to encourage others to get involved!

A business trip to remember

Last week I got to spend Sunday - Thursday on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. I was there to provide some training to crew members of the project I'm working on (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-based_X-band_Radar). Although it may sound glamorous, it was 10 hours of flying time + a 6 hour time-change, and I spent the better part of 3 days inside a trailer (complete with fake wood panelling). That said, I did get to go aboard the vessel and had 24 hours of free time that I spent touring the North Shore, the Windward Coast, and the Pearl Harbor monuments. We toured the USS Arizona, the infamous battleship that was sunk in 9 minutes, blazed for 2 days, and continues to leak 2 quarts of oil a day. We also toured the USS Missouri which was built in the middle of WWII, the treaty with Japan was signed on it's deck, and it was the first to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles in Operation Desert Storm. Despite being away from home for so long, I gotta say, it was a great business trip!

Phone is back on!

So I haven't gotten a new blackberry yet, but I've been told I'm "on the list"... I expect maybe in January when new budgets come out. Anyway... in the meantime, we got Karen a new phone for free and switched her phone to my number, so all in all, I now have a phone again. Same number.

Fall in New England with Grandmom & Poppop

A weekend of apple picking, hiking, and playing in the backyard! We had a blast! Mom & Dad left us with remains of apple crisp, apple pie, apple muffins, apple sauce, and another 1/2 bushel of apples. So, not only a fun weekend, but tasty too!

90.4!

The beginning of this year's band season was off to a rough start, but this weekend they did amazing. Saturday started off with practice from 8 to 10 in the morning, load the buses and travel for an hour to compete at 12:30, then practice for 3 hours, load the buses up again, travel for about another hour, stop for dinner then, our second competition at 9:15. I was a long day, but well worth it. We came in second with a score of 86.9. The band did a pretty good job and we were pretty happy. During practice we worked on some suggestions the judges had given us and made some other changes. One thing the judges have consistently told us this year is that the kids have the skill and working hard on the show, but they are not performing. They are just going through the motions and it was starting to affect our score. The staff is not quite sure what happened, but while we were practicing, the band started to show the performance attitude. The second competition was amazing. I actually believe it was a better performance than our championships last year. We received a standing ovation from all the other bands. The kids were so excited. Then when we heard our score of 90.4, we knew our hard work had paid off. That is a higher score than we ever received last year. We are currently in first place. They are going to have to continue to work hard to stay in first place. This is a video of the score announcement.

No Cell Phone!

When I travelled to DC last week, I left my cell phone in the hotel. An hour later I remembered and checked with the front desk. It was never turned in. I checked later, and it was never turned in. In the meantime, Verizon says someone is using it! The number has now been suspended, so don't try to call me on my cell. As luck would have it, I'm up for a new phone as of Wednesday... so I'll keep you posted when I get a new one! I'd love for my work to get me the new blackberry storm... but don't think that's happening just yet!

stop to shoot the flowers

I just got a new portrait lens today, but when I got home no one was up for a photo shoot... so I tested it out on this flower in the front yard. I liked how it turned out with no touch-ups, so I thought I'd share.

A few photos...

Our hard drive crashed recently (yes, I had a backup), and it took me awhile to get all the software loaded and all back into the groove of posting pics.

Ok, so here are some of my favorite recent photos.  But, the reality is, there are just so many more that I love!  Anyway, feel free to visit our website to see them all.

BTW, videos have also been put on hold because our video camera broke!

From Braden's First Smiles September 2008

Wow, can I just say, we needed him to start smiling?  He has been tough in the evenings (the last few days have been way better).  Aren't these smiles great?!

From Photo Shoot September 2008

This is me being artistic.  I don't know what I would ever do with this, but it was fun to put together regardless.

From Photo Shoot September 2008

He is getting stronger.

From Mom and Amy's Visit September 2008

I am sort of biased, but I can't get over how cute this girl is.

From Mom and Amy's Visit September 2008

Drew just started jumping off the spa into our arms!  He also now jumps off the side of the pool into the water all by himself.  This is an amazing step for our timid little boy.

From Mom and Amy's Visit September 2008

I love my kids!

Big Week!

Wow, what a week we've just completed! Last weekend was "Day Out With Thomas". It was Chase's third year there and Zach's first. Although we were dodging the remnants of a hurricane (thanks, Rob & Becky), it turned out to be a gorgeous day! The boys had such a good time... and so did we!

On Monday, Chase had his first day of pre-school. I stayed home from work in the morning to take part in the event... such a special memory! He goes to Star of Bethlehem Christian School just 2 miles down the road. Although it's a Christian school, the students are predominantly Indian and Hindu. Apparently the school does no advertising other than word of mouth and the Indian community is very tight and spreads the word that this is a good school to attend. Chase is a minority in the school, but we figure it's probably good for him... and for us! Chase goes 3 days a week from 9 to noon. And he loves it!

Thursday, Chase started swimming lessons. Although he's signed up for a class at the Boys & Girls club, there are so many time options, no one else signed up for this class... so he gets a private lesson! If you saw Chase swim this summer, you'll understand just how much he loves swimming. The being told how to swim, though, was new... and he's still getting used to the idea that being in the pool isn't just about having fun doing you're own thing!

Big Day

Today was a big day for our family! Late this afternoon, Karen and I went for our 2nd Dr's visit. Everthing looks good and the baby has grown tremendously. We had an ultrasound (now 12 weeks) and got to see the heartbeat again. Now before you look too closely at the picture (if you haven't already), don't freak out. It looks a bit skeletal, but that's normal. On the left side of the pic you can see its head with two eye sockets looking at you. The light area is its smile (ok, just a jaw at this point). Just to the right, you'll see a hand waving! What a friendly child already!

After the appointment, we headed home for dinner. Following dinner, Karen and I took Chase to an Open House for his pre-school. He'll start at Star of Bethlehem Christian School on Monday, attending Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from 9 - 12. This will be his first year.

So on the same day, we saw our new baby's face and took our oldest to his first night at school! It really makes us think about how fast the time goes by!

Big "Thank You"!

You know that feeling when someone has done something for you that you have no way to repay? Not just a note or some flowers, but something truly sacrificial!

Mom beat me to the punch with the blog post, but I just gotta add to it. They drove up to MA on Thursday evening after work... 8 hours! For mom it was the last weekend of the summer before students showed up. Dad had been out of work for several days in the last 2 weeks due to a really bad back. And still, they made the drive up. Why drive, why not fly? Because Dad was bringing up a carload of tools for helping me replace the kitchen & bathroom floors, replace the kitchen counters, fix some broken siding, and spackle some walls! Mom spent the days with Karen keeping the boys occupied while Dad and I got work done in the house.

The bad back notwithstanding, Dad probably saved us a couple thousand $ and I know he saved us months of weekends of me trying to do it! We still have lots to do... the kitchen walls still need some more spackle, then paint. The chair rail still needs to go up. And the tile behind the counter needs to be installed. But evenstill, at the end of the weekend when Dad was then packing up to make the long drive home just in time to start his week of work... I almost cried, thinking of how huge a gift this was! Not to mention how great it was to work side by side with one of my greatest heroes!

Thanks, Dad! I love you!

The old floor...

Dad hard at work...

The finished product: floor & countertop....

Labor Day Weekend--Name fits!

Dad and I went to Chip's this weekend. Promise to help with new floor and counter top. Men worked, the women kept kids busy.
Zoo and apple picking were on our agenda. The men were rewarded at nite with ice cream from Sully's. Well I have no pics of the finished job, so Chip will have to provide them. We took 8 hrs. going up but 5 3/4 coming home! Zach has a very sore left foot. Second set of xrays show nothing but he still limps. Pray for speedy healing! How did I get this underlining to stop?

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Yesterday, Becca turned 25! Also, on July 28th, we celebrated our one year anniversary. Here are a few pics of Becca, and various other characters, over the past year.

Brian

Tessa Turns 2!

It’s hard to believe that 2 years have passed since my baby girl was born!  It was a whirlwind morning, as I went into labor 3 & 1/2 weeks early and 10 days before my scheduled C-section.  I got to hospital and found out I was 9 cm dilated (out of 10!) and she was born within 45 minutes—naturally, with no time for pain meds or a C-section.  What a blessing that was!!

Here are 3 pics: from the day she was born, her 1st birthday party, and just a few weeks ago.

Tessa bring such joy to our life!  She is a spunky girl with a great big beautiful smile.  She’s very social and loves to be around people.  Lately, she has turned into quite the little mommy with the birth of her baby brother.  Happy Birthday Tessa!

 

~Becky

It's Official! #3!

Well, It's official! We went to the doctor Friday afternoon and we got to see the newest memeber of our family! As of Friday, Karen is 9 weeks pregnant and our due date is March 20th. We told the boys this weekend... it was pretty uneventful. We started by showing them pictures of themselves as babies... but they lost interest before we could get the words out. When we told them that there was a baby in mommy's belly, they were a little interested, but it didn't last long. Then on the way home from church, I decided to check to see if they remembered. When I asked what mommy had in her belly, Zach was first to yell out, "baby!" Chase has said some funny things already like... "Mommy, when your mouth gets big enough, the baby will come out."

So, the picture. The baby is in the middle left with a line thru the middle... to take a measurement. As the text at the bottom points out, it measured at an equivalent to 9 weeks, 1 day... which confirms our estimated due date!

We'll keep you posted!

"...fall from the tree"

So what do they say about the "fruit falling far from the tree?"

Go Digital!

This week I bought a slightly used Canon Rebel XTi. It's a newer model with some additional functionality with very few "clicks" for a great price (with a transferrable extended warranty, no less!). OK, who cares?

As a result, in a week, I'll be posting my "old" camera on craigslist to sell, asking $350. Before I do that, though, I wanted family a chance at it. This is the camera I've been using for the last 5 years shooting our boys, etc... so you've seen the pictures it takes. If you've thought about getting a digital SLR type camera (non-compact), here's a chance to get in on it reasonably cheaply (the cheapest Canon Digital SLR goes for about $600 new). This camera has all the automatic modes as well as all the manual modes, so it is a great camera to learn on. If you're not really interested in learning, but just want a camera that delivers great pics without the delay you get with compacts, this works for you also! This is essentially the digital version of any of the Canon EOS Rebel film models (II, X, Xs, G, Gs, Ti, 2000, etc.). Any of the Canon EF lenses will work (same as you would use for any Canon EOS camera... film or digital).

Here's the details...

For family, I'm asking $300

Canon Digital Rebel (300D)
6.3 Megapixels
fully functioning, with never any trouble with it.
cosmetic wear on the grip
Technical details available at: http://www0.epinions.com/pr-Canon_Digital_Rebel_EOS-300D_Digital_Camera/display_~full_specs
I'm including my 35-80 lens (which digitally is equivalent to a 56-128 in film). I've used the lens as my standard lens for the last 15 years and it's been great. It does have a crack on the outside shell that I fixed over a year ago with superglue and hasn't been a problem since. Includes a clear "sky" filter used to protect the lens... has been on it since the day I bought the lens.

I can also include a 256MB CF memory card, so you can be off and shooting immediately. Holds roughly 75 pictures at full resolution.

2 batteries and a charger

manual

If you're interested, let me know. Otherwise, I'll be posting it on craigslist next week.

40 Year Reunion--Not possible

I cannot believe it has been 40 years since I left High School. Last nite was our reunion. I though some of you may remember Nancy McGrath stories. She is in the middle. Somehow her version of some of the stories are a little different but I am sure she is suffering from senility. We had a good time and actually stayed out until 11:30. Of course, we had to nap this afternoon. LOL

Christopher's Birthday

Happy Birthday Christopher

This 11 year old went out to dinner at the tent at The Inn at Sugar Hill and took his whole family: Mom, Dad, Darlene, Grandmom Carty, Grandmom and PopPop Thompson. Christopher had ribs, many of the rest of us had Crab cakes. Anyway, then it was present time. I bet the pictures don't surprize you. There were even a few "action" figures in the box. Why does the expression "Apple doesn't fall too far from the tree" come to mind. Another great year for the boy: Camp, Soccer, Trumpet, church service and school. Keep up the good work Christopher.

Science or Science Fiction?

Karen found this on one of our cherry tomato plants today! The boys loved touching it and staring at it! None of us had ever seen anything this size before! Needless to say, it has since been "re-located" far from our tomatoes! Anyone seen this before or know what it is?

Weekend Camping Trip

We just got back from a great camping trip to Sunapee, NH. We had a great time! He went hiking, made S'mores, played in the river, went to the lake, and of course, slept in the tent! I don't have time to go through all the details, but I did want to make note of the highlight for all of us.

We had been told that we could ride a ski lift to the summit of Mount Sunapee (and back down) and hike a mile to a mountain-top pond... so we went for it! We got all excited about it and got the kids all excited, only to find out that Zach was too young to ride. Although very bummed, we decided to start out hiking up the trail to the top, figuring we'd make it part-way up and come down a slope. Well, the trail only crossed one slop all the way at the bottom. After a 2 mile, 1500' vertical hike, we made it to the top! The longest hike we've made together and Chase walked most of the way. Zach did great too, often reaching for the ground, saying, "Me do it." At points, Karen and I each had one of the boys on our shoulders and Zach even fell asleep on Karen's shoulders! The boys did so well, and we just had a blast together as a family!

To top it all off, when we reached the top and took all our pictures, the lift attendants (two retired men with great hearts!) offered to let us all ride the ski lift down. At that point, the boys were almost too excited to let us look out over the ski runs before heading for the lift (Chase calls it the Sky Lift). The ride down was a great end to a great hike! They boys loved the ride down and said tonight that was their favorite part of the trip!
Perhaps I'll fill in more later... with the rest of the pictures. All in all... we had a fantastic weekend!