Soccer begins and school continues!

Upwards soccer started this week and Josh & Cate LOVE LOVE LOVE soccer.  Plus they are good at it!  Upwards is a Christian based sports program that is hosted at The Chapel where we attend worship.  Each week you have scripture verses you memorize for stars plus stars are earned for Christlike behavior, Effort, Defense, Offense, and Sportsmanship.
The verse we are currently working on is

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  
1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Also a virtue is stressed each week to match the verse.  This week is "Gratitude".  What a great sports' program.  We love it.  Here's what Josh & Cate looked like at their first game.

 

 

 

On Saturday we all went on a 9 mile bike ride.  It was the first time we used my birthday present of a new bike rack for the car.  It worked great but took awhile to figure out the best way to get 4 bikes on it.  Jeff was great at figuring it all out and he had some great helpers too.  We stopped in the middle of our ride for lunch at McD's.  The kids did great at keeping up and in fact leading us.  We really enjoyed our time together as a family.  These kids have amazing strength and endurance.  It challenges us to keep up with them.

Thanks for reading the blog and following us on this journey.  We are learning to give thanks in all circumstances!  It's an easy choice for us when we see the smiles on the faces of Josh & Cate.

Choosing joy,
Chris & crew