Killer B's to Aunt B

I think the WWE experience carried me through all last week.  I was still buzzing about it on Friday.  Oh well...got to move on I guess.  The weather was nuts--lots of sunshine and basketball, plenty of rain to keep KC green, enough wind to annoy everyone and a snow storm that kept most of us inside all day Saturday.  I think Spring is here but not sure?  

Other exciting news: The Killer B's are performing a live concert at Shelterwood on April 30th.  The Killer B's are a local indie rock band of teens that I recently organized. The show is scheduled during the weekly chapel time at Shelterwood.  One of these days I might grow up but until then I'll just keep watching wrestling with my 12-year old, playing in a band with a group of local high schoolers and working with teens and families at Shelterwood.    

Jena and I, along with Justin, Corey and Kaiden drove to Topeka, KS on Sunday to visit and share with my aunt Bonnie and her church.  It was a real blessing to connect with family.  The weather warmed up from Saturday's snow and the people at River of Life Family Church were amazing.  I had a chance to share about life relationships, connecting with others and the simple commandment from Jesus to "Love God, and love others."  

WWE - Live at Sprint Center

Last night Wordwide Wrestling Entertainment (aka WWE) came to the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City and we were there.  Me, Corey, Jason, Luis and Jeremy.  What a night.  Of all the "professional" sporting events I have attended over the years this one definitely "takes the cake."   The WWE community is nuts.  We waited over an hour just to get inside the Sprint Center and I did not see a single empty seat.  The building holds over 18,000 folks, not sure what the WWE venue holds but it was full and raucous.  WWE runs a top notch show complete with pyrotechnics, rock music, and multi-media introductions and presentations.  Of course, all the favorite wrestlers showed up too.  Ray Mysterio, Triple H, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Kane, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, The Great Kali, Edge....just to name a few and believe me, the capacity crowd knew every one by name, record, and most popular move.  

Honestly, the most enjoyable part was watching men become boys, again.  No

, not the wrestlers, but me, Jeremy, Luis and Jason.  Kids in a candy store.  We laughed, screamed, chanted, hi-fived, raised fist and clapped.  Good times with good friends.  Like I've said many times before, life is meant to be shared.  Surround yourself with good friends and enjoy your version of WWE every once in a while.

Let the Madness begin...

What a way to end Spring Break at Shelterwood?  March Madness.   Yes, Missouri won the Big 12 tournament.  By the way Jayhawks, how does crow taste?    It was a good week at the Wood.  Played some basketball with the guys, got some much needed filing done, worked in the House a little, and enjoyed  a slower pace for a few days.   No shortage of drama at the ol' Wood.  Plenty of break stories will surface, no doubt, in the days to come.  What else do you expect when families get together and work on relationships?  Good stuff.  This morning in church, the band played Collide by Howie Day.  A great song and a great message.  A good reminder that we need each other and "even the best fall down sometimes." Our family is certainly not immune to hardship.  Our kids could use your prayers as we continue to settle into KC.  We've had rough patches but God is faithful and He has given us good friends who listen and support well.  

Warm weather is coming too.  70's tomorrow and mid 80's on Tuesday.  Blessings!

Then and Now....

Where have the years gone?  The two pictures are from Christmas 2003 vs 2008.  Seems like everyone has grown up and all has changed?  But not so fast....If you look real close, you can still see the plastic snowman in the background of the 08 photo.  Yes, some things we just couldn't part with  during the big move from Colorado to Missouri.  I also noticed that Justin is wearing my sweater in both pics.  Seems to fit him better at age 18 in 2008.  The kids grumbled and complained then...and now about the photo op.  

It's a quiet week around Shelterwood with most kids, staff, and big brothers/sisters on break or vacation.  Plenty of time to get the small tasks done that I have put off and obviously plenty of time for random blogs.  

A week at the Wood

Another fulfilling week came and went at Shelterwood.  As I sit here at the computer on a Saturday morning, the sun is out but I can hear the wind blowing the backyard wind chimes.  More cool weather is coming.  Last Saturday was a "dump" of snow followed by progressive warm weather until almost 70 on Thursday.  It was great.  I even wore shorts to work.  Had a chance to play some basketball with the Shelterwood boys and I didn't even have to wear a long sleeve T.  Amazing.   Spring Break started yesterday afternoon.  Over the weekend most of the kids will make their way home to spend time with parents.  Some will stay back and experience local visits with folks and others will just stay back.  All part of the SW experience.  We had an amazing time at chapel on Thursday.   We had a special guest speaker, Joey, who shared an incredible personal testimony.  Joey is a local believer who spent time working on the Doulos construction project.  I am always amazed at how diverse the Kingdom is.  So may people, so many stories, so many angles, but one God.  Pretty cool. During chapel a few of the girls shared a special song inspired by the recent mission trip to Mexican-Americans in El Paso.  We watched some cool video from last week's community service and El Paso and shared stories.