Stride 4 Stroke

Stride 4 Stroke

5K Benefit Run/Walk

Today the whole family including Gus (our dog) enjoyed a family picnic and participated in a benefit 5K run. The Methodist Hospital hosted it's annual Stride 4 Stroke 5K benefit run and this year they included kids and dogs as participants. The 3.2 mile route took us through the Rice Campus and ended at the south endzone tunnel of Rice Stadium. As rain showers started to come down again as it had all morning it was hard to dampen the excitement of a family picnic held on the football field with live music. They also had many fun activities for the kids including a rock climbing wall, moon walks and a variety of vendor booths that included a live bullfrog exhibit hosted by the Museum of Natural Science. It was a great way to spend the morning with friends as several of Melissa's co-workers participated in the event and brought their families and pets.

Alumni Recital for StringsMark Twain Elementary

Alumni Recital for Strings
Mark Twain Elementary

Tonight Spencer performed at the Alumni Recital for Strings at Mark Twain Elementary. Spencer was 1 of only 4 picked from the schools violin program with over 100 students. What's truly amazing is that he has only been playing since last September. The talents that God has blessed Spencer has amazed us time and time again. The program showcased past, present and future performers. Accompanying each student on the piano was world renown Susan Archibald, Rice University whose husband is Sergiu Luca a Artist-in-Residence and is a Starling Professor of Violin at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music located in Houston.
Spencer played without sheet music and performed a beautiful piece called May Song. We recorded his performance and have added a video below for all to see. Enjoy!

Name That Book

Name That Book

K-2 Competition

Mark Twain finishes 2nd!

Today Melissa and John attended Spencer's Name That Book competition. We have worked with him for two years to get to this point. The first year he did not make the team. This year he made the team and was thrilled the day he found out, (as were the parents). Spencer has overcome alot of challenges to even get to this point and we give God the total glory for walking us through each obstacle with him.

You might be asking what is Name That Book?

History:

The Name That Book Program comes from a rich tradition, (The Name That Book Program originated) at River Oaks Elementary School over 20 years ago. The program became too big for one school to organize, so the Department of Library Services stepped in and took over the organizational role. Initially the Name That Book Program was for elementary schools only. Then the program expanded to middle schools due to requests from former participants and their parents. Five years ago, an early grade program and a high school program was added making the program K-12 in scope.

How the Name That Book Program Works:

The Name That Book Program is organized and sponsored by the Department of Library Services. In the spring, teachers, librarians, and parents put together a Name That Book Reading List for the following year. A majority of the titles selected are new and are chosen from the state reading lists created by the Texas Library Association.:

School sponsors of the Name That Book Program may be librarians, teachers, or parents. Students in participating schools are invited to participate and teams are formed. The teams prepare for several months by reading and quizzing each other on the books. The culminating event is a contest between school teams that is held in the spring at the offices of Library Services. Student teams work together to answer questions based on direct quotations from the books on their reading list to see if they can “Name That Book”

2007 Contest Dates:

K-2 March 19-23, 2007

Rodeo Houston 2007

Rodeo Houston 2007

Alan Jackson

We took the kids to the rodeo tonight. We enjoyed our share of midway fun and fill of many favorite carnival fare. We satisified our appetites for turkey legs, sausage-on-a-stick, funnel cakes, cotton candy, caramel and candied apples, ice cream, and nachos. The kids had a blast and Spencer announced that he was going to ride all new rides this year. He made real believers out of us all when he walked past the "kiddie" rides and stood in line for CLIFF Hangar with his sister. Marizza and Mom squared off for an exciting game of horse-racing in which both were winners! Marizza and John hammed it up on stage as the opening act. It was a great night of family fun and Alan Jackson's songs warmed our hearts and our minds.

Rodeo Houston 2007

Rodeo Houston 2007

Tonight Melissa and I enjoyed an evening at the Rodeo. Gretchen Wilson was the featured singer and we had a very good time. We love watching the rodeo clowns who put themselves in harms way to protect the bull and bronco riders. As we watched over and over again these clowns stood in the gap as protection to these riders who were thrown or bucked into potential peril. Much like Jesus does for us each and everytime we are "bucked" into lifes twists and turns, we can have faith that Jesus (our rodeo clown) is there to shield us and protect us. So during this rodeo season take some time to thank God for sending us our very own "rodeo clown" because we will have many challenges and "hard rides" in life.
We also heard a new song by Gretchen, Heaven Help Me that has Christian lyric overtones. The main chorus says “Heaven help me/ cuz’ I can’t help myself.”

Purim Celebration

Purim Celebration

Sunday evening we celebrated Purim with our Sunday school class. The story of Purim is a great tale. There is a beautiful, courageous heroine, an all powerful king, a loyal cousin, and a villain who gets foiled by his own evil plans. Purim commemorates the story of Esther when King Ahasuerus denounced Haman's plot to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Persia. Purim is a joyful celebration of thanksgiving for Esther's courageous acts and God's faithfulness.