Halloween 2009

Yes, we do Halloween here at the Leeds house, but don't fret - we spend most of our time at the church's fall festival.  Halloween can be a controversial issue among Christians, after all, wasn't it first a pagan celebration prior to All Saint's Day?  While we certainly don't want to teach our kids the pagan way of life, I can't say that Halloween the day has that message anymore.  When kids think Halloween, they think "CANDY!" and maybe some of them think "costumes!" (at least my Jacob does)  So, we do Halloween on the conservative side:  no witches, no ghosts, no monsters, no scary stuff...  This year, we went to the fall festival at our church:  which involved "trunk or treating," games, and food.  Afterward, I promised them we could go door-to-door in our neighborhood.  Our neighborhood is primarily eldery folks who have been here since the beginning and I just so enjoy watching my kids interact with them.  The neighbors "ooh" and "ahh" over their costumes (which they enjoy)  and the kids "ooh" and "ahh" over the candy (which the neighbors enjoy).  We ended up with quite a loot.  I sent most of the candy off to Mark's office because we simply could not eat it all!

Jason as Darth Vader (Star Wars); Amber as Daphne Blake (Scooby-Doo); Jacob as Snake Eyes (GI Joe)

On the Farm

Fall 2009

Grandpa always lets the kids help out on the farm.  The kids love it!  Here, they are feeding the cows hay.

Grandpa needed some help filling in some holes in the driveway...Leeds kids to the rescue! They loved getting to shovel and throw gravel to patch the driveway.

And doing what grandmas do...taking care of everyone and keeping everyone hydrated! :)

The best farm hands....hands down (pun intended)!

UPWARDS SOCCER

Fall 2009

Last year, the boys did the "sports skills" class at the Little Gym and loved it.  They were getting a little too old for that class again, so we were able to find a great church based program that taught the kids soccer.  Practices were only once a week with games on Saturday mornings, so great for young kids.  Best of all, Jason and Jacob would get to be on the same team.  Here are some highlights of the season....

The focus of the Upwards program is Jesus.  Students learn bible verses each week, and the coaches encourage the players to exhibit the character of Christ when they play (selflessness, cooperation, self-control, kindness, etc.)  Here, the kids huddle up and pray before the game.

Jason scored at least 1 goal each game.  His record was 3 goals in one game.

Jacob learned the ropes quickly.  We never had a "no you're going the wrong way" moment!

Warm-ups before the game...notice most of the kids are running...mine...walking.

He looks like a soccer player, huh?

I caught this shot after Jacob missed the ball.  Poor guy, at least he was going for it!

Chillin' during his break

 (Upwards does a great job of rotating players so that everyone gets equal playing time).

I think he got that one!

Go! Go! Go!

Tiring out...

and gone!

(Yes, the game is still going on around him)