Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

We have been doing quite a bit of cross country skiing this winter and we are lovin' the amount of snow that we've gotten. Three snow days and several delayed starts for David (ah remember the good ol' days of waking up to find out school is canceled! Don't you wish they still did that for regular work!) So we have taken advantage of all the snow and free time to go exploring on our skis. We only live a few blocks from the arboretum so that is where we ski the most. But we also went to Governor Dodge State Park with some of our friends (and their husky) recently to enjoy the winter weather. It was a beautiful day, with fresh snow, and even a hint of sun! One of the best parts was having Suka (the husky) pull you along on your skis as he runs out in front of you on a harness. He can really get you moving! It was a great time and hopefully we'll get out a few more times before the spring thaw sets in (which in Wisconsin is usually early June).

So much for keeping my posts up to date!

So it is now the middle of February and according to this blog we just finished Christmas! So HAPPY NEW YEARS! We started out 2008 with a fantastic Murder Mystery Party with our Life Group, where everyone was a character in the plot and information was slowly revealed about who dunnit! Everyone played their part wonderfully, complete with costumes and accents! A great time was had by all. Jocelyn finally finished up her student teaching at Abundant Life Christian School, and has been completing her final requirements and paper work to make graduation official. ALCS was a great experience and Jocelyn really does miss the students and staff. They threw her a little going away party that was very sweet and made her feel very special. Another happy note is the addition of a new baby to our Life Group, Jackson "Action" David (Marcy) Meyers (ask me about the Marcy part sometime if you're interested!). He is a cutie and we had the opportunity to babysit him to give Dave and Angie a date night together. We enjoyed being with little Jackson, but we feel we are not quite ready for that next stage yet. Luckily we can have all the fun of being Auntie Jocelyn and Uncle David for awhile! We got to take a little weekend vacation with all the Pinkerts and spend some time at an indoor water park in Wisconsin Dells. It was great to feel warm and summery, and of course it was fun to hang out with the whole Pinkert gang. We then took a little weekend vacation up to Oshkosh to visit the Loe side of the family, because Jocelyn's Grandma and Aunt were there to visit. It was wonderful to have everyone together, even though Jocelyn's Aunt beat everybody at every new game we taught her! :) With Stuart's wedding approaching this summer, we are excited that everyone will be together again soon. Well that's all the big stuff that happened in January, you'll have to wait a little longer to find out about February!

Life Update for December

So much to update about! This might be a rather long post, but it should be interesting. We’ll start from the date of the last post (end of November) and head toward the present. Of course the Christmas season is upon us and so there has been lots of cutting down of trees, wrapping of presents, and celebrating with parties throughout the month of December. We got an early Christmas present with a joint “SNOW DAY” where we got to sleep in, go cross country skiing, and snuggle up together with a cup of hot cocoa. Snow days are one of the big pluses of both being teachers! We had a sad turn of events when our pet hamster, Chestnut, passed on to the great hamster-ball in the sky. He was a fun little guy but we are glad that he is not in pain any more. On a much, much happier note Jocelyn’s younger brother Stuart just got engaged to his long term girlfriend Carrie! They are a wonderful couple and we are sure that they will have a beautiful future together. For more details and pictures from the engagement you can go to Stuart’s blog (see the link S. Loe under Friends and Family on the left side of our blog) and read all about it. Most recently David competed in the Madison West High School Alumni Swim Meet. He did a great job and it was super fun to watch him swim again! We are now celebrating Christmas with family and having a very relaxing vacation. We hope all is well with you and that the blessings of the season are yours in abundance.

Compassion International

We just started sponsoring a child through Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm) and wanted to share his story with you so he could be in your prayers as well. His name is Nshimiyimana, he is almost 8 years old, and he lives in Rwanda. Nshim lives with his mother, father, and 3 siblings, and he enjoys singing and playing ball games. His mom and dad are sometimes employed as farmers and Nshim is responsible for carrying water and gathering firewood. Nshim lives in an area that is being devistated by HIV/AIDS, as well as still bearing the deep scars of a terrible civil war. We are excited to get to know Nshim and be a part of his life even though we are thousands of miles away. We have been so blessed in so many ways and we want to pass these blessings on to others who are in need. We hope you will join us in praying for Nshim and his family, as well as taking a moment to be truly thankful for all that you've been given.

Happy Thanksgiving

We just got back from celebrating a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of David's extended family up north in Minocqua. Lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins to chat with and as always, way too much food! To accommodate all the fun we had the Thanksgiving meal at a local hotel, with the additional bonus of being able to spend time in the pool and hot tub. We even got some snow to start off the Christmas holidays. It is fun to be part of such a large, loving family and the best part of any holiday is that it brings us all together. We just want you (yes you reader) to know that you have touched our lives in some wonderful way and we truly thank God for you.

Music Extravaganza

We have had the opportunity to see three fantastic concerts in the last few weeks. The first was a concert performed by the Oshkosh Chamber Singers. Jocelyn's Dad is a member of this choir and sang beautifully in their concert! This concert was called "Reflections on Peace" and was a very touching collection of music and prose that encouraged the listener to understand the value of peace in our world. The second concert was a very high energy performance by Nickel Creek, a bluegrass rock group that has enough talent to knock your socks off. We really enjoyed getting to see this concert with friends and we were all so impressed with the depth of musical talent shown by the performers. It's the kind of music where when you listen to it, you just can't sit still. The third concert was Celtic Woman, and it was phenomenal. We got to attend this concert with, and thanks to, David's parents. The musical selections are a fun mix of Celtic and modern music and the 5 lead women are stunningly talented. We first heard them on PBS and have loved them every since. We so enjoy attending concerts and hearing live music! There is so much talent out there, you've just got to listen to the right stuff.

Fanfares & Flourishes

Last night was date night for the Pinkerts! We started with dinner at Buraka, a great Ethiopian restaurant on State Street, then we headed to the Overture Center for Fanfares & Flourishes: Music for Organ, Brass, and Percussion. It was fantastic! The best part was getting to see the 32-foot pipe organ in all its glory. All the musicians are members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, so their musical resumes were pretty impressive. David's favorite part was the low, feel the rumbling in your chest, organ notes and Jocelyn really enjoyed the song "Praise the Lord with Drums and Cymbals". With a title like that how could it not be great?! We were really impressed with how well the brass and the organ complimented each other, which isn't a typical instrument pairing. We decided we need to own more instrumental music (which pretty much always happens after a great concert)!