October - Homecoming and Life

 Fall has been BEAUTIFUL this year! The colors, the coming and going (Josh was gone the majority of this month on retreats and a mission trip to Argentina), the fun happenings at school like HOMECOMING...it was a great, FULL month. 

Alethia has really thrived at public high school. She's even gotten Cai to come out of his shell a little bit with football games and other fun activities. I started logging some hours behind the wheel with Cai, the Northern lights came through our region and Halloween is still a thing around here. And finally, Jude and I began a couch to 5k program for PE this year which has been really fun to do together.

A New Song In The Queue

 Josh, Krysteah and the team created yet another song that I CANNOT wait for you to hear. We took another trip to the music magician's studio, AKA Diamond Studios with our buddy Travis and laid down the vocals and violin tracks, then came back and gathered the troops for gang vocals. I'll let you know when it drops.

September - Vacation and The Long-Awaited Routine

Via Vacation was a bit different this year. Instead of our Lake Anna house we have gone to for about a decade we made our way to the beach. Lake Anna had an outbreak of bacteria in the water, sending many people to the hospital, resulting in the lake being shut down. Even though it opened up shortly before vacation we played it safe and found another place to go. It was great to be together, of course, and the beach is also so relaxing to walk, sit, play or just watch as the waves roll in.

 The rest of the month was spent getting into a welcomed rhythm of routine and life.

The student worship team began this semester

Jude worked hard and got all the necessary gear to begin ice skating lessons and open stick and puck.

Jude and Josh also began a small group called First Tribe with a group of preteens/young teens and dads as they walk through this next stage of life together. I love the bond they are creating during their monthly meetings. 

Sports, Sports, Sports

 We spent our late summer on through to the fall watching Cai excel on the field, both for soccer and cross country. 

He had a new soccer coach this year which we sure didn't mind. Over 80 boys tried out so we were super excited that he made the JV team. He started most games and played in every game. He even scored 2 goals! We are so proud of his perseverance and hard work.

The cross country coach approached Cai and asked if he'd come run for their team as well. He had already cleared it with the soccer coach, and as long as it didn't interfere with the soccer season he was free to join practices and meets with he cross country team. He found a community he loved and another sport he is really good at! He began the season PRing nearly every early meet. By the end of the season his time made hime eligible for regionals and he came in second on his team! His PR for the 5K is 20.0006 min.

When Poppee came in a few weeks ago he started showing Cai some wrestling moves and is trying to talk him into trying out for that team...we shall see, ha!

The Little Visitors

 Josh's sister and husband reached out to us to see if we could host their 4 littles for a week and of course we said yes! It was such a full week of activity! The boys literally didn't stop the entire week. I'm just gonna photo dump the week because I feel that adequately describes the vibe from the whole week.

The boys (Cai) created some elaborate game that occupied their time. Don't ask me how to play, just enjoy the pictures of them having a blast!