50 Years

Thanksgiving day marked 50 years of marriage for Mom & Dad Owens. The only thing on their wish list was that all four of their children would be present. Saturday we had a nice reception for them at the church that was well-attended by friends and family. A photographer came and got this great picture of Mom & Dad with their four kids and the grandkids.

The future Mr. & Mrs. Sams

We came to North Carolina to celebrate a golden anniversary, but we also got to witness the beginning of a new couple. Brandon proposed to our niece, Melissa, and she eagerly accepted. They are planning a summer wedding.

Of course, we've always known Melissa was awesome, but it was great to meet Brandon and see that she'd chosen so well. He fit right in as part of the family and we're excited about what the future holds for these two.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The meal is over, the dishes are done, and now the house is full of the sounds of TV football games, conversations, and kids playing Nerts. It's been a fun day, full of family, fun, and love. Not only is it Thanksgiving, but it's also Mom & Dad Owens' 50th anniversary. All four of their children (and their families) are here to celebrate, so we have a houseful!

Beth plans to take the girls to the after Thanksgiving sales bright and early tomorrow morning, and Julianne is trying to talk me into joining them, but I think instead I'll leave early for Denise's.

We're having a great time here. It's been a really fun time following several incredibly busy weeks at home (thus the lack of material here on the blog!).

Brunswick Stew

A wonderful southern tradition is the making of Brunswick Stew. Since all the kids and grandkids were together, Dad Owens started a fire and added a little of everything (I'm pretty sure that's how the recipe goes).

The kids took turns stirring as they waited for the stew to get ready. The nice thing about Brunswick Stew is it's as fun to make as it is to eat!

Caleb's baptism

Caleb said he felt like God wanted him to be baptized, so he, Brad and I met with Pastor John and talked about the meaning and purpose of baptism. Caleb was happy and excited--and a little nervous--as the day arrived.









First, Brad did a short interview with him, asking him why he wanted to be baptized and talking about what it means.




Pastor John likes fathers to baptize their children if they want to, so Brad had the honor of helping Caleb through this very special step of his spiritual life.

Chess Tournament

Today was the first chess tournament of the year and the kids cleaned up! Coquille hosted the tournament which included kids from Coos Bay, Reedsport, Myrtle Point, and Roseburg. Caleb and Elisa played in the lower division for K-5. Julianne's division was 6-12.

There's so much to tell, I hardly know where to begin, so I'll just take it kid by kid.

Elisa has an excellent understanding of how all the pieces move, but she doesn't have a concept of strategy yet. Many times, she makes her move, then looks out the window or plays with the chess pieces she's captured, not really paying attention to where her opponent is moving. This is considered a learning tournament, so illegal moves are not called by a judge and are permitted unless one of the players raises their hand to report/correct it.

In the first game, Elisa played a boy who had only played chess twice before, but he insisted on entering the tournament because his older sibling did. Elisa had to set him straight on how the pieces move, and the first time she told him "Check", his reply was, "My name's not Check!" Even after she'd captured ALL of his pieces (except the king), she didn't go for checkmate. Instead she worked on getting her pawns across the board and collecting queens. She ended up with three queens before she decided to bring the game to an end.

She wrapped up the tournament with 2 wins, 2 losses, and a draw, to take 1st place in the K/1 division and bring home a very pretty trophy.

Caleb rocked throughout the tournament! He was the only kid to remain undefeated, so he not only won first place in his age division, but took 1st in the entire elementary tournament as well.



Julianne was up against some pretty tough competition this year as she moved into the middle/high school division. In addition to playing kids her own age, her early wins put her up against high school kids too. Regardless, she did very well, winding up with 3 wins/2 losses, to take 2nd place in her age division.





So each of the kids brought a trophy home, and in addition to their individual wins, the Coquille Middle School chess team won 1st place in the tournament. The kids are happy and we are so proud of them!

A God thing

Shortly after Marie arrived, my friend Miette came over to our house. We talked a little about hosting exchange students, and her attitude was "it's nice, but not for me". I hadn't seen her since summer, but last Friday I took the kids on a field trip to the cranberry bogs (how did I forget to blog that?) and Miette was there. We got to talking, catching each other up on the happenings in our life.

Miette's husband, Bart, is a pastor in Coos Bay. A family from their church has been living with them for the past three months while their house was being built. The family's exchange student from Germany was also living with Bart & Miette. Miette commented to me that she was really going to miss Anna because they'd had so much fun with her and really liked having a teenager in the house.

I said, "You know, I just happen to be looking for a host family for a German girl, and she's a Christian." Miette was interested immediately and wanted all the details. Once I'd finished telling her about Sophia, Miette pulled out her cell phone and called Bart to tell him about her. She hung up and turned to me.

"You won't believe what Bart said. He had been visiting with Anna just this morning, and after they got done talking, Bart went to get ready for his day. He was praying while he was in the shower, and he said, 'Lord, would you give us a student like this?'" Wow!

Once a host family says yes, there are still more obstacles to conquer. The student has to be available (many people are trying to place the same students) and the school has to agree to accept another exchange student. Of course, these details mean nothing when God is orchestrating the situation, so now all the details are in place and the placement is finalized. And in January, Bart & Miette will greet their new German daughter!

To the playoffs!

Two of my students play soccer for Pacific High School, and they just won the game that sends them to the state playoffs. Marie, Julianne, Elisa, and I went to the game and it was awesome. Pacific High brought a rooter bus, and I've never seen more school spirit anywhere. The kids cheered, chanted, and sang throughout the entire game. It was really quite inspiring. Both of my student, Nemanja from Serbia and Michael from Korea, played well. Nemanja especially was having a very "on" game. The World Newspaper had a good article about the game, and both of the pictures that accompanied the article were of Nemanja. You can see the online version by clicking here. The picture featured in the online article shows Nemanja passing the ball to his host brother, John.

Halloween

The kids had fun getting ready for the festivities of the night. Caleb was thrilled to dress up as a Brazilian soccer player, wearing the authentic jersey that Pedro brought him from Brazil. Julianne had fun playing housewife, Marie wore her traditional Korean hanbok, and Elisa was our sweet little clown.





First stop was the church, where we enjoyed a Fall BBQ, followed by some games. Then the real fun began during "Trunk or Treat", where the kids went from one car to another in the parking lot collecting their stash of candy. It was a big hit!

Next, we went to the home of Pedro's host family, the Blowers'. They went all out putting on a huge party in their commercial greenhouse. There was a dance floor, a cake walk, "Fear Factor" treats, a shooting game, just to name a few of the things happening there. Julianne participated in a game in which the object was to rescue several gummy treats from a plate of doctored spaghetti noodles--without using your hands.

We finally headed home with a huge stash of candy, some sugared-up kids, and hearts full of love and thankfulness for another fun evening of family memories.