The Lone Sheperd

Jack Ranger was the lonely and cutest shepherd at the Advent Festival! He did a great job keeping those sheep in line and he nailed his line, "Let's go find baby Jesus!"

Thanksgiving

Fall 2016 School Pictures

Decorating the tree

Editor note: Christy Rome sent this email to Grant and I on Nov. 16. Christy is so incredibly thoughtful and I am forever grateful for her friendship, support and prayers. Thank you Christy! We love you!

*****

I don't know if I've ever told you this before or not, but I purchased a Christmas ornament from the hotel gift shop on the day of your wedding over 16 years ago. Each year, when I decorate my tree, I hang that ornament in a place of honor and say a prayer for the two of you and your marriage. I also say a prayer of thanks for your precious friendship.

It may not look like much in the photo, but it is very special to me. As are each of you.

JR soccer & football

Jack Ranger played soccer AND football. He did great, but two sports at one time was a bit too much. Toward the end of the season, he didn't feel like going to games. He did power through and he was a great team player. He even scored a touchdown!

Cadie soccer

Cadie didn't love soccer, but I think by the end she didn't hate it either. She played goalie quite a lot and her coach, Cameron Allison, was so nice. She was already friends with a few girls on her team, including Claire and Libby. She practiced on Sundays and her games were typically on Thursday. I loved the kids playing soccer because almost every field had a playground nearby and it was so fun and easy to watch the game and let the other kids play.

Happy Halloween!

The kids celebrated Halloween three times this year! They dressed up as different things each time. The funniest was that on Halloween night it was hot and Colton insisted on wearing his lion costume. I knew that he would be so hot and sweaty so I was trying to convince him to be another character, but he said he had to be an animal. The only animal I could come up with was a bunny rabbit! Cadie had some ears and I colored a bunny tummy on a white shirt and I made Colton a white tail out of an old sheet that I pinned to his back. He was super happy and cute.

We dressed up the Friday before Halloween for a fall party at Goar park that included bounce houses, popcorn, In-and-out burger and a viewing of The Princess Bride. We didn't make it to the end of the movie because we were all getting a bit chilly, but it was a really fun evening.

The kids also went trick-or-treating with DD at the Pi Phi house which is an annual tradition. We played at the park after the Pi Phi house and the kids enjoyed raiding the Pi Phi kitchen which is stocked with tons of snacks.

And finally, on Halloween we went to the fall party at church, trick-or-treating along University and then back to our house to hand out candy. Cadie did a bit more trick-or-treating with Zoe, a friend that lives on our street, and then when she got back we headed over to Austin and Candace's because they had really gone all out for Halloween with costumes and decorations. We missed Grant this year because he was on his way to Austin for his annual firm retreat. It is so nice now that the kids are getting a bit bigger and easier to keep track of by myself. The kids especially loved the maze at the church fall festival which they hadn't done in the past.