Fear is the path of the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering...Yoda, Star Wars Episode I
Fear Not Tough Mudder. After completing our second half marathon together in March and besting our previous time, we set our sites on a new adventure. Tough Mudder is a seven plus mile adventure course at 8000 ft elevation which includes 20 physical challenges along the way. We hired a personal trainer, enlisted two other couples, and completed the course with a shot of Tabasco and a run through flames. What is our next challenge? We'll keep you posted. Other activities we have enjoyed together include playing softball on a competitive team (which, yes is still playing in December) and leading a small group Bible study that went through topics like the Truth Project and the Relationship Principles of Jesus.
Fear Not Nocturnist. Brett continues his work as a hospitalist at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. Oddly he is one of th longest tenured members of the group, yet still gets questioned whether he is old enough to be a doctor. He is still working primarily night shifts, with a stretch of days mixed in once a month to keep him up on the newest developments in the hospital. This has allowed Brett to be more involved with the family and the homeschooling process as well as attend church most Sundays, at least when the kids' noses are not running.
Fear Not Homeschooling. We experimented with the concept last year with preschool and liked it. So this August, Joy changed her work schedule to one full day, which allowed Brett to assume the role of teacher and bring his own flair to the job. We continued with Classical Conversations Foundations program and are using a local charter which provides us with innumerable resources. Garrett's favorite part is getting to present his work to his education specialist. We have enjoyed watching Garrett develop a love for learning, and we enjoy learning right along with him. Brett likes to remind Joy, "he's not graduating high school this year." "Yes, but only begun his training has, " Joy answers back. We are having fun in our role as homeschool parents and embracing the extra time with our kids.
Fear Not Travel with Three Kids. Okay, maybe we haven't made it to Africa yet, but we did manage three plane flights and a long car ride. The first landed us in Idaho to see Joy's family and go tubing in the mountains. Our second allowed us to witness the first pitch of Spring Training for what would become the SF Giants World Championship season. The boys also collected Will Clark's autograph: Brett's boyhood dream. Our third landed us in Wisconsin and Michigan for more fun with Joy's other side of the family. And who can forget the 90 mph, without a seatbelt, dune ride down the MI dunes--yes the boys were along for that ride too! We also drove, yes drove, to San Diego for a relaxing week with Brett's family on the beach, as long as you navigated the bike path deathtrap between our condo and the beach. Finally we spent three days as a family at Spirit West Coast enjoying Christian music in the great outdoors.
Fear Not Helmet Free Existence. At the first sign of a pending wrestling match, Griffin is right in the middle of it, diving on top of people and wrapping them up. He is our tough little guy, who really doesn't want to nap or sleep because he doesn't want to miss anything his brothers are doing--sound familiar? Griffin is often found practicing his baseball swing, or warming up his pitching arm, so stay alert or one might be coming your way. He is also very sweet and his smile often captivates those he meets. Joy has been working on him saying "I love you" while his brothers are ensuring his Star Wars education is on schedule by teaching him to say words like "Millenium Falcon."
Fear Not Bleeding Head. After doing a face plant into a storm drain at a local park, Bryce looked up to realize he couldn't see very well, as he had split open his forehead and had a river of blood flowing down his face. Joy whisked him to the ER to be properly sutured up. Despite three adults holding him down, he left proclaiming "Mommy I was so brave!" This wasn't the only facial laceration this year. When later he split open his chin, Dr. Mom decide to save us $1000 with her skills, and then went shopping. Bryce has also enjoyed moving into Garrett's room and sharing a bunk bed. A few of his own activities include swim lessons, Awana, Lego building, and recreating Star Wars battles (his favorite being the snow base on Hoth).
Fear Not Broken Arm. In February, during a cartwheel at gymnastics, Garrett misplaced his right arm and suddenly something snapped. One ER visit, immediate reduction, casting, and $4000 later, we had met our medical deductible for the year. While the cast did prevent him from swimming and tee-ball tryouts, a month later, he was swinging a baseball bat (with the cast on), throwing, jumping and diving off the couches. He's all healed up now and if you ask him which arm he broke, he looks at both of them to try and figure it out and then shrugs his shoulders. Garrett's other activities this year included his first year of tee-ball, soccer, tap, Awana, swim lessons, and playing as much Star Wars, Legos, and Transformers that he could find time for (once again do you hear the influence of his father?)
Fear Not Death. This is the reason Jesus came into the world and was born as God incarnate in the manger. May we celebrate his birth this year and remember that Jesus overcame the power of sin and death on the cross when he was crucified and then raised from the dead. This opened up the opportunity to spend eternity with God in heaven if you accept Him as your savior who paid the price for your sins. Ask Jesus to give you that free gift and then live free of the fear of death forever.
Fear the Beard. Did I forget to mention that the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the first time in SF this year? We enjoyed watching/listening to the playoffs together as a family. We truly enjoyed the embodiment of the Giants as a TEAM, where it was not dominated by any one guy and everyone seemed to have a hand in the championship. Contrary to Jedi teaching, "fear the beard" seemed to end a lot of fans' suffering and the slogan "Giant's baseball: torture" brought so much relief. We pray that your 2011 will be blessed and that you may experience some positive turnarounds yourself.
Love,
Brett and Joy, Garrett (5 1/2 years), Bryce (3 1/2 years), Griffin (20 months)
