A Hard Day

Life has been hard for the Christensen family over the last few days.

To begin with, we piled into the van and had to drive halfway across the country.  We ended up just north of San Diego in Camp Pendleton, where our good friends the Cooks have kept us up late and run us ragged by dragging us to the beach and forcing us to play in the cool waters of the Pacific until our bodies ache from running repeatedly into the waves and our skin stung from sunburn.

Yesterday, we spent the day in downtown San Diego Maritime museum. through old world sailing ships including the ship used in the Movie Master and Commander, a Russian submarine with two foot circular hatchways.

A Sad Day for Daddy

As a father, I enjoy a certain aura of invincibility in the eyes of my children. A few years back Ruthie was terribly offended when Sarah suggested that God was even bigger than daddy! I got a kick out of it and knowing that such misconceptions would come abruptly to an end as they grew up, I made no great effort to correct them.

Lately however, the board game portion of Friday Family Fun Night has been quickly eroding my image at an alarming rate. So far we have had five FFFN's and I have summarily been trounced each and every night regardless of the game. My tigers performed something terrible during Parchesse (SP?). In the Game of LIFE, I was an accountant who earned a few cents less than pocket lint and had a knack for landing on the "pay through the nose" spaces. Three times we have played Spinner and three times I have been honored with the high score. (Spinner scores a lot like Golf).

Here is the result of our last nights round of Spinner: Nathan 63, Kerri 68, Roo 82, Me 128 and Sarah 133.

The moral of the story is that it is not whether you win or lose but that you can still send everyone to bed without desert if you lose.

On that note, I will sign off and enjoy a large bowl of ice cream... alone... in the sweet silence of defeat.

Goodnight

Friday Family Fun NIght

Tonight was Ruthie's turn to choose the game, menu and movie for family fun night. She chose corn dogs, chips and lemonade (big surprise). The game was LIFE and the movie was the remake of HERBIE with Lindsey Lohan.

At the end of the movie, Herbie and a cute yellow VW bug are getting a lecture from the dad before they head out on a date. After the lecture the Bugs back out without drivers and head out on the date. At which point, Ruthie turns to Kerri and asks if those are really cars or are they just pretend?

After nearly laughing myself silly, I was able to reflect on the amazing trust that God gave little kids. Funny days.

Random Photos of the kids

Just down the street and through the alley is a little city park that has recently been upgraded with a wonderful playground. A few days ago, the girls and I walked down and played. Here are the photos. 

The last photo is of Nathan's Saturday Basketball game. This is his fourth year playing Upward Basketball through First Baptist Church. He has a great coach and shows real talent out there.

Family Fun Night

Sometimes I think the biggest threat to marriages today is our schedule. With all of the modern conveniences, we don't really have time to be a family. Well, our schedule this semester is a bear and, if we are not careful, we could go an entire week without sitting down and being a family.

Tonight though, as we did two weeks ago (we were out of town last week on a mini vacation) we are going to celebrate "Family Fun Night"! Each week one member of the fam will choose a board game, the dinner menu and if they would like, a movie that the whole family will enjoy. That is a tall order when tastes range from Jane Austin to Tom and Jerry all the way over to We Were Soldiers.

Tonight is Nathan's night and so I have just kicked the last student out and said goodbye to all of my computers and am on my way home to be a part of the "Greatest family on God's green (brown in Carlsbad) earth". (stolen quote from Michael Medved). 

Isn't God great?

The Funniest Thing Since Real Kids

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Glorieta, NM and God's beautiful creation

This weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Glorieta, NM to observe the Kick-off for the New Mexico Super Computer Challenge, high school program. While the event was informative the real thrill was returning to the spot where God first revealed to me the true extent of the beauty of His creation. Living in New Mexico, I have been inspired by my fair share of spectacular sunsets and have sat in wonder as the sun rose over many majestic mountains. In the Fall of 1993 however, God introduced me to the pinnacle of HIs creative beauty... my future bride. On that day and on ever day since, the beautiful rainbows, placid high mountain lakes and roaring waterfalls have paled in comparison to the lady that God had prepared in advance for me.

Back here in Carlsbad, under the weight of looming deadlines and urgent committee meetings, we sometimes forget to take the time to admire a sunset or pause to skip a stone across a glassy lake. I am thankful that God set such a perfect example of His creative work in front of me daily.

Only God can take a place as beautiful as Glorieta, beautiful in it's own right with it's towering yellow aspens and unending misty mountain ranges, and make it seem inconsequential compared to the beauty that He placed in the little lady who kisses me goodbye each morning.

He truly is a wonderful God, and He has given me a wonderful wife.