The first Trimester of school is officially over which means... Progress reports are due! ;) Heehee (jokes for special education teachers)... But really, it's hard to believe it's already November and the school year is a third over!
We wrapped up September with a weekend trip to Boston with our good friends Brandon and Ashley. It was Brian's birthday, which was an added bonus! We did all the touristy things: Walked the Freedom Trail, went on a Duck Boat tour, walked around Cambridge and saw a Red Sox game! It was such a fun weekend with friends.
In October, I went on a women's retreat with two co-workers/friends, Aliana wrapped up a cheerleading clinic, Carson and Brian finished up with a super fun flag football season (Brian helped coach again this year).... and Carson turned 10!! Not sure where that time went! We also had a fun Halloween!
The last bit of this update has to do with a change that happened late in the summer. We felt God's direction to attend a different church - one where we had a greater community both for us and for the kids. It's amazing what God has done in just a short time with our move to Cornerstone Church in Boulder! Cornerstone started an initiative last year, where they challenged God's people to grow closer together and live a "bigger story". As a family, we've been fortunate enough to participate in two events in the few short months we've been there.
The first was a Kids Day Out for children in the Foster care system. The church hosted a day event with a camping theme for the kids to come and have a day of fun with camping themed events. Carson and Brian led the recreation activities and Aliana volunteered with the preschool-kindergarten group. We all had an amazing day serving God's precious children!
The second was a race event where the kids ran laps and had sponsors to raise money for children in Uganda. Our church has a partnership with a school and newly opened church near Kamuli, Uganda. The church has been working with a Pastor named David to build wells in the community and surrounding areas and has helped to fund a primary school for children (many of whom are orphaned) in the community. East Africa has a special place in our hearts after the year we spent in Kenya, so we were so proud of all the kids that ran today and raised money! Let it be known that our own kids aren't really "runners" :). They both enjoy sports and activities, but running is not an area of interest! We couldn't believe when Carson ran FIVE miles today and Aliana ran THREE! God is good and it's pretty special that our family is a small piece of HIS Bigger Story!!!
Breckenridge - Women's retreat with two sweet co-workers
Alian's Cheerleading and Carson's flag football - we hosted the end-of-season flag football party and the weather was nice enough for a movie on the porch!
Carson's birthday party, Halloween, and the pumpkin patch!
Foster Care party - Let's go camping!
Kids run for Uganda!
