String of W's

Well the good news is that the Illini are off to a great start in the Big Ten season.  So, in celebration, I posted the current conference standings below.  In reality, the standings will probably not be like this after Illinois' next game.  Illinois is off to a 4-0 start but looking a the standings their first four opponents occupy the last four positions in the standings. 

Illinois barely got by the Nittany Lions last night winning 54-53 and trailed a good portion of the game.  Penn State got off 4 shots in the last minute of the game and missed all four.  Illinois, meanwhiled didn't take any shots that last minute other than a missed free throw. 

It only gets tougher as the next two opponents are ranked in the top 10.  Illinois travels to Mich. State on Saturday and hosts Purdue next Tuesday. 

But at least we can bask in the glory of first place for the moment, even if it will be just this moment.

Big Ten Conference Standings
TEAM	CONF W-L	TOTAL W-L
Illinois	4-0	12-5
#8 Michigan State	3-0	13-3
#16 Wisconsin	3-1	13-3
Minnesota	3-1	12-4
#6 Purdue	2-2	14-2
Michigan	2-2	8-7
Ohio State	2-3	12-5
Northwestern	1-2	12-3
Indiana	1-2	7-8
Penn State	0-4	8-8
Iowa	0-4	6-11

Happy New Year

I know I haven't posted anything for a while so here's your belated "happy new year" post. 

It's been cold.  As I type, I'm forced to sit on my hands for approximately 30 seconds between each word so they are warm enough to type.  Well, maybe it's not quite that bad in the house. 

It's been a fairly uneventful first 10 days of 2010.  There just isn't a whole lot to share. 

The Illini are 3-0 and atop the big ten standings!  Even the might Boilers got beat!  I'm sure it won't last long though because the Illini really aren't all that stellar this season.  They haven't played too stiff of competition yet in the conference. 

I took the boys to see "Planet 51" yesterday.  It was out of this world!  Ha!  Actually, it was ok.  The girls were gone shopping so it was something fun to do to get out of the house.

We tried a new pizza place last night.  There's a new restaurant in Rensselaer called "Slice of Pie."  They have pizza and other Italian dishes.  We had a mushroom and sausage pizza and a ham and pineapple pizza.  Other than being a tad on the greasy side, it was excellent.  Ham and pineapple is probably my favorite. 

UP

We got Nolan the movie UP for Christmas this year.  I watched it with the kids on Christmas afternoon.  Parts of it were really sad but it had a really good message.  I had one of those "Aha" moments when I saw this one. 

This is not something that generally occurs with me when watching an animated film but it was an important lesson I needed to understand.  I'm not going to go into it and, if you watch the film, the lesson may not have as much of an impact on you because it's one you probably understood a long time ago! 

This is Carl Fredrickson.  He is the main character in UP. 

Christmas 2009

We sure enjoyed our Christmas.  We spent the day at home opening gifts when the kids woke up.  It's one of the most fun moments of the year with the kids.  We all enjoyed our gifts and then enjoyed a good breakfast together.  It's rare for us to share breakfast together as a family so that's a treat. 

We spent the rest of the day setting up Legos, playing games, reading and watching movies.  Heather's parents came over in the evening for dinner.  We are so thankful for God sending His Son!

Fourth Advent Sunday

We didn't get to our Advent night until Monday of this week due to our being out of town.  But it was worth the wait.  The text from the Bible was out of Luke 2:8-20.  It was the the Shepherds' story of their being told about the birth of Jesus.

The theme for the night was 'hope.'

Our final project was a jingle bell bracelet!

Mom, Nolan and Emma modeling the bracelets!

Eleven

Alex turns 11 years old today.  Time just keeps tickin'.  It's so amazing to look back over the years at how he's grown.  This year in particular seemed to be a big jump for him.  He seems to have grown a lot more from 10 to 11 than he did from 9 to 10.  Not as much physically but in his maturity.  I think that has to do with experiences he's had over the past year. 

He's a great kid and I'm glad he's ours.  I'm excited to see what the Lord does with his life as he continues to grow spiritually. 

We love you Alex!

We celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Steffen on Sunday night.  He got a scooter, a Rubik's cube and a new NIV Bible.  He also got a Wilderness Survival book (not shown).

Juggling

I had an all day retreat at work yesterday.  We had a consultant in to work with us on some things.  Part of our day was spent learning how to juggle.  I thought it was a blast so I brought it home to show the kids.  Alex has spent some time practicing and is catching on pretty well!