Tailgate Time

We had a good day tailgating on Saturday before the rain came and dampened our game day spirits. Well, the rain and the final numbers on the scoreboard. We did move to higher and drier ground to watch the last quarter of the game on TV. Even die hard fans can only take so much.

It's always great to see Adam on game days at Purdue. Here, he's sporting a new haircut. This time, it was his friend Aaron who did the buzzing. Can you tell Adam is a newly declared Industrial Engineering major?

Granny and Matthew are ready for the game. Rumor around Ross-Ade was that Drew Brees would be in attendance since the Saints were on their bye week. I was wearing my jersey in honor of the possibility of a sighting.

Our friends Matt and Shelly and their girls were able to join us for the game. Shelly is part of the team in Haiti this week with Jennifer and Jonathan. This is their daughter Abbi ready for a burger.

Makenna relaxes while the food cooks.

Jim masters the grill.

Mmmm.... burgers....

juicy....

burgers!

Andrew taste tests.

Shelly and Matt before the game. Matt will be "Mr. Mom" this week while Shelly is in Haiti. Actually, I think it would be better to just call him "Dad." I'm sure they will get along fine.

Matthew and Makenna.

Abbi!

Matthew and Abbi.

Silly Matthew. Jennifer took most of these pictures, so I can't take the blame for only photographing the children. They just make willing subjects... most of the time.

Makenna Jo and Matthew James. MJ and MJ.

So the giant Drew Brees bobblehead was the only glimpse we had of the Big Ten Icon. If #9 was there, he made himself scarce. Matthew posed in front of Bobblehead Drew.

There he is, Granny!

Matthew, Abbi, and Makenna pose with Super Bowl MVP Boilermaker Drew Brees. Well, almost.

Makenna wanted to bobble his head one more time before we headed into the stadium.

Haiti Bound

Please join me in prayer this week for a team traveling to Haiti. Jamalyn is leading a group which includes Pastor Jimmy, Jennifer, Jonathan, our friend Shelly, Dick and Marjory, Denise and Danny, who were with her during the earthquake, and Eric, a St. Luke's member making his first trip. I decided to stay behind this time, and support them in prayer.

I was able to help a bit in the preparations. Besides packing all of Jonathan's things :), I also helped by transporting the duffel bags and a few team members to the airport this morning.

On Friday, I went to pick up the bags, which had to be packed and weighed. They took 500 school bags packed with school supplies, snacks, and hygiene items. Here is the room with the bags ready for packing.

Jennifer counts and sorts for packing.

Packed and ready to be loaded in the van.

We even had a sweet helper.

Jamalyn weighs a bag.

Almost done!

Great job, girls!

Loaded and ready.

This morning, Susan's Airport Shuttle delivered Dick, Marjory, Jimmy and Jonathan to the airport for their flight to Miami via Chicago. They will spend the night in Miami and leave early in the morning for Port au Prince. They will arrive in Fondwa tomorrow afternoon.

Jon watches over the bags outside the airport.

There were eight team members flying from Indy, and I was able to get a quick photo of the last group to head through security before they left. Shelly, Jimmy, Jonathan, and Jennifer are ready for a week working, sharing, giving and receiving with the people of Fondwa. Please pray for their safety, and for their work there this week. May they be blessed.

Land of the Free Because of the Brave

"We make war that we may live in peace." -Aristotle

Today I would like to thank all the veterans who have served and are currently serving our country.

My dad, James B. Sturges, served in the Marine Corps.
(Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of him in his uniform.)
Thank you, Dad!


My grandpa, Karl W. Hawley, served in the Navy.
Thank you Pampaw!

Jim's dad, John A. Stewart, served in the Coast Guard.
Thank you, Dad!

Jim's uncle, Gilman C. Stewart, served in the Air Force.
Thank you, Uncle Gilman!

Our niece, Natalie, just posted this on her Facebook page:

Dear United States Veteran,
Thank you for all you have sacrificed for my country.
Know that I will never take that for granted.

Well said, Natalie!

"...one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Bagpipes, Boilers, and Birthdays

Saturday was the first chilly game day of the season, but the sun was shining as we headed to Purdue for the match up with the Wisconsin Badgers. We enjoyed hot chocolate with a kick of peppermint to warm us up on a cold morning.

While we were eating our pancakes, bacon, and sausage, a roving bagpiper walked by carrying his pipes. When I asked him if he could play it, he stopped and entertained our section of the parking lot with a traditional number ending with "Hail Purdue." Very impressive.

I took a quick photo roll call at the tailgate. Andrew and Darci. (It was a bit too chilly for Haleigh.)

Adam and Jim.

Andrew and Adam.

Bryan and Jennifer.

Purdue scored first, and the crowd was enthusiastic. Unfortunately, this was one of the highlights of the game, and the second half was a struggle.

Boilers in the huddle. The freshman quarterback - our third starter of the season - did a decent job of leading the team, even though there were moments when he played like, well, a freshman.

A shot of the student section. Bonus if you can find Bert, Ernie, and Bert.

Wisconsin even brought their band. They were pretty good...

even though their drummers had a way of marching that looked, well, a bit painful.

Our drummers had their own fun with the World's Largest.

Jennifer called this guy in front of us "a typical Wisconsin fan."

And I'm pretty sure this is not legal in Ross-Ade Stadium.

The NCAA Champion Women's Golf Team waved the flag for the traditional "Shout!"

The Boilers lost, but we had reason to celebrate anyway after the game at Bruno's. It took two phone calls during the week, but I was able to convince "Bruno" to take our reservation. Hilarious. Jennifer and Adam enjoyed sharing a cake for their birthday celebration.

We even shared some cake with Robert Marve and Keith Smith who were sitting at the table next to us. Too bad the cake didn't have the ACLephant mascot on it instead of Purdue Pete. :)

It was a fun day of tailgating, football, and family. It's clearly not the score of the game, but the time shared together that we keep as a memory and count as a blessing.

My Little Girl

My little girl is 25 today. Wow. Seems like just yesterday we were welcoming our little Jennifer Ann into the family. Here she is at one year old.

And another one year old picture.

I thought I would post some birthday pictures to celebrate the day. Here she is at Nana's preschool having her party with the class. She's three.

And her 3rd birthday cake? Wizard of Oz! Our own little Dorothy.

Six years old. I think she got two parties and two cakes. This one was with the family.

And this was the fancy party with all her friends from kindergarten. I believe one of the little boys she invited brought her her first Barbie.

Here she is at seven, showing off her Beauty and the Beast cake.

She always loved having good friends around to help with the celebration.



And last year, with her favorite guys around her.
Did they pick on her? Sometimes.
Was she a tomboy? Well, I'd say she could hold her own with the boys.
Was she spoiled? That would probably depend on who you asked.

We do know who she is... our beautiful, talented, outgoing, happy, friendly, sweet princess Jennifer!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!
I love you!

Friday Night Lights

I have been a fan of Kyle Chandler since his days in Early Edition. David even used the show as a reference in one of his Optimist Club speeches. I think the topic was something like "My Vision for the Future." If you ask David, he can probably still deliver at least part of the speech from memory.

So when the series Friday Night Lights began, it was natural that I would be a fan. Football, Texas, kids, AND Kyle Chandler.

It's a great show, currently airing on DirecTV on Wednesday nights. I keep an alert on my phone so I won't miss it. When I read this blog post by Laura Leonard of Christianity Today, I just wanted to share it. If you haven't seen the show, you should watch it. It's about so much more than football. Like the author of the article, I think many women want to be Tami Taylor. We admire her for her strength and her struggles. And ok, being married to cute football coach vulnerable strong sweet humble Kyle Chandler wouldn't be bad either. Well, he would obviously be my second choice.

Click the link to read all about it.
Her.meneutics: Friday Night Lights' Shining Female Lead