MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all !! As we settle in for the night we are thankful for a loving God who came unto us to give us hope and peace and love and life ever lasting !!

God was good to us today as we were able to celebrate together as a family and share with each other what God has Blessed us with.

To all who read this a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year !!

III John 2

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ERRARE


HUMANUM


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TO ERR IS HUMAN

The Lord's Prayer

THE LORD'S PRAYER


I cannot say “OUR” if I live only for myself.

I cannot say “FATHER’” if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child.

I cannot say “WHO ART IN HEAVEN” if I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say “HALLOWED BE THY NAME” if I am not striving for holiness.

I cannot say “THY KINGDOM COME” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful event.

I cannot say “THY WILL BE DONE” if I am disobedient to His Word.

I cannot say “ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” if I’ll not serve him here and now.

I cannot say “GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD” if I am dishonest or am seeking things by seeking things by subterfuge.

I cannot say “FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say “DELIVER US FROM EVIL” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.

I cannot say “THINE IS THE KINGDOM” if I do not give the King the loyalty due Him from a faithful subject.

I cannot attribute to Him “THE POWER” if I fear what men may do.

I cannot ascribe to Him “THE GLORY” If I’m seeking honor only for myself, and

I cannot say “FOREVER” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by time.

Busy Week

Let's see.... Monday night was the school board having the cross country in to there meeting to offer congradulations for the teams season. Tuesday night I had a practice for our churchs upcoming Christmas program which will be this Sunday night. Tonight is church, tomorrow is the little girls Christmas concert, Friday night is date night for I and wife and Saturday we pick up fruit at the high school and distribute it. This was one of the many fund raisers we do for each activity the kids are in.

We have done a cookie sale, cheese cake sales, fruit sales, christmas wrpping/christmas card sales and are in the process of doing soda sales. And this only the half way point in the school year. YIKES !!

Excitment is running high with the holidays approaching. The gift lists have been whittled down from many to a few items. Maybe I can give them back a cheese cake.... or cookies or....

End of the Season

Our runner, Cat, had her last meet of the year this past Sat. She has improved each week with only a couple set backs due to blisters. The school had a great send off for the team. They had the student body line the hall to the front of the school and as the band played the fight song the students clapped and cheered them on as they boarded the bus to go to the State Championship race.


As a team they placed 5th out of 18 and Cat came in 108 out of 191. These were the best runners in the state. Cat's time was 22:44. This was 11 seconds faster than her last best. She ran this same course about three weeks before and her time then was 23:30. She passed three girls at the finish in a strong showing. She had a good season and gained valuable knowledge about running and competing, something she had never done before. We are proud of her and what she has done, she has worked hard


GO CAT GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

St. Nicholas Food Festival

We have a Russian Orthodox church in our area, the only one in Alabama, that has a food festival every year on the first full weekend of November. We have taken the girls there each year to enjoy the food and visit with the priest who is from Ukraine. The food is from recipes handed down from generation to generation and reminds the girls of Ukraine.

Our girls like to cook and bake and they will come home with at least one item that they will try to make. Two years ago it was Blini, a very flat pancake looking thing with a sweet center. It is very good though labor intensive.

They sell pastries and baked goods as well as a variety of meals. They also have a gift shop with items from Ukraine and Russia.

On one of the days they have a dance troop come in and perform Russian dances. The lady who heads it up is Natasha Russo who is from Russia. The name of the group is Natasha and the Russian Beauties. They dance in ethnic costumes that they have made themselves.

The church is located in Brookside Alabama and I recommend it to anyone who has adopted children from Ukraine or Russia. It is a small way to help them stay connected with there home country.

It is open Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday from 12 pm to 5 pm. The dancers will be there Saturday in the afternoon.

Gotchya Day

Four years ago today we were Blessed to have four lovely girls become a part of our family. Wow, four years have gone by fast. The girls have become young women and the younger two can speak very little Ukrainian. The older two can still speak and read and write it but have forgotten some.

Today we all went to have Mexican food for dinner. This has become their favorite food. The meal was great and the time spent sweet. We ate, laughed and enjoyed the day together.

After dinner we spent the rest of the day playing with the horse. We rode laughed and just enjoyed each other.

Our girls are 18,16,14 & 12. They like to be with us, even when their Friends are around. They would just as soon spend time with us as to be any where else. We are so Blessed to have these beautiful girls. We have many Friends who have children their age who would rather be any where than with the family. I am not sure who is Blessed more, them or us,but I know one thing, God has put us together.

Cat ran this week with a hurt hip and still managed to finish in the top 1/4 of the field she ran against. This week coming is the last event and then they start the sectional series. She has done better than anyone would have thought and we are very proud of what she has done.

I am truly a Blessed man. I have a wife who loves me and children who look up to me. I pray I can live up to the challenge God has placed before me.

I pray God leads me in all I do and shows me what I need to do next to be the man they all need to see. I love them dearly and would do anything to help them see the love of Christ.

Thank you Jesus !!