VIKINGS ARE NFC NORTH CHAMPIONS!

I still can't believe it. We are going to the Post-season!
We were on our way home today, so you can bet that the radio was on in the car for the entire game! And man, welcome to Drama-central! The Vikings draw first blood, then the Giants come back to within one point at halftime, then go ahead in the third quarter. In the end, it all boiled down to a 51-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Longwell. After a tremendous catch by Berrian, this scenerio ensues. . .

With nine seconds on the clock, Giants call a timeout. And the Vikings set up the field goal unit--WAIT A MINUTE! At the last second, Childress sends T-Jack out for one last play. Are you crazy?! Giants players are scrambling to assemble themselves. Jackson steps up to pass--incomplete!

Vikings scramble around, trying set up the FG unit. Come on, Longwell, you can do this. With Klewe to hold. . . Timeout Giants. Five seconds.

Field goal unit sets up again. Fists clenched, neck muscles tensed, and adrenaline pumping. Please Ryan, please. . . "The kick is up and it iiiiiiisss. . .GOOD! IT'S GOOD! THE VIKINGS HAVE CLAIMED THE NFC NORTH CHAMPIONSHIP! LONGWELL MADE A 51-YARD FIELD GOAL AS TIME EXPIRED!"

"YAAAAHHOOO!!" Our dog jumped a mile as the car exploded with screams and clapping. The entire county probably heard our cheering! But who cares?! The Vikings haven't had a NFC North champ title since 2000! GO VIKINGS!!

And to a certain reader who is a major Packer fan, at least they didn't lose to the Lions, right? :-)

Alive and well

Just thought I'd drop a note to say we're all fine and dandy--I know those of you who haven't heard from us in a while are probably wondering if we fell off the face of the earth. :-) Our Christmas was supposed to be as follows: Saturday (the 20th)--pack car and leave for Twin Cities. Stop at Maranatha that night, then drive to Steele farm after church. Sunday through Thursday morning, spend with Steele family. Christmas morning--pack car and leave for cousin's house in St. Paul. Spend most of Christmas Day at cousin's house, then drive to Grandma Spiess's house that evening. Spend Christmas night through next Sunday morning with Spiess side of family. Come home Sunday afternoon.
Well, that was what should have happened. We didn't actually get out until Sunday afternoon, and it was fairly late that night when we finally got to the farm.
Right now I'm using my grandma's computer, so I'll save the stories for when we get back home and I can post pictures. All in all, it has been really fun to spend time with family--especially since we don't see some of them very often. And now, I think I hear a snowball fight calling me, so this is where I'll sign off. :-)

Welcome to our world

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger

Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us

Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

Have you ever really taken the time to think about what it meant to have Jesus come to our world in fleshly form? The One True God, the King of the universe, chose to send His only Son in order to reconcile us to Himself. He didn't have to do that; He chose to, simply because that's how much He loves you. And yet we go through the Christmas season thinking about all the presents we have to buy and where we're going to spend our time; and never pause and think about the real reason for the season; Jesus Christ becoming flesh. If we truly understood what it meant for God to become flesh, and how much Jesus went through because of His love for us, we would weep with gratitude and humility. May this Christmas season be filled with love and gratitude for the One who gave His life for you.

Crutches

Yesterday I slipped when climbing down from my loft, and apparently pulled my Achille's tendon fairly badly. So I'm using crutches to get around today. Anyone who knows me well knows that it has to be really bad before I'll resort to crutches. I've been icing and resting it as much as possible, so I'm hopeful that it will heal before we go on vacation--the last thing I want is to be known as "gimpy" and not be able to do stuff with my cousins! :-) Unfortunately, I know from experience that tendons sometimes take quite a while to heal. Oh, well; guess that's just part of life.

TechExpo

Last Thursday we went to a Tech Expo at the Fargodome with some friends. There were lots of different booths for lots of jobs. Most were blue-collar jobs, such as welding, carpentry, construction, etc; but there were some jobs like surgeons and nurses, too. We had lots of fun trying all the different machinery; I think my favorite was the welding. And of course, the emergency medical teams were a big hit.

So what do we do when we're stuck inside?

Well, we play foosball. . .

And chess. . .

And of course, we watch the Vikings stomp all over the Cardinals! Seriously, football is a huge hit in our family. I spent a lot of the weekend studying and writing, too. We also held a family Bible study, and spent time talking to friends and family over the phone.

Oh, the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL!

This last picture is actually snow stuck to the screens on our windows! Guess you can tell the wind was blowing!

Batten down the hatches!

The entire state of North Dakota is in a blizzard warning from 6pm tonight to 6am Monday morning, along with watches or warnings for parts of Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota. We haven't had a blizzard in Fargo for a few years, so I guess we're due for a big one. They're expecting winds of up to 45mph, with white-out conditions for much of Sunday; and 8-12 inches of snow falling in the next 24-36 hours. Oh, and on top of that, behind the storm comes freezing cold weather. The high for Monday is -5. And the rest of the week doesn't look much better. Yeah, snow removal is going to be so much fun. :-( This is the kind of weather we expect in late January--NOT December!
Actually, to be perfectly honest, I'm glad it's coming now. Next weekend we're leaving for a 9-day Christmas vacation. We've been looking forward to that for weeks, and I don't want to be stuck at home. So as long as it comes and goes within the next day or two, we're OK.
Well, that's all for now. I'll try to post some pictures of our blizzard--if I have time to take any.

Socialism no more

As of yesterday, I am done with my Sociology--ahem, Socialism--class. Well, actually I have one last discussion I have to finish up, but as far as all of the bookwork goes, I AM DONE!! Yippee!!! It has been a good experience, though. I get tired of the whole "spread the wealth" and feminist propaganda that they preach (among other things), but it has given me a good idea of what college courses are like. It has also been good, and interesting, to see where the other kids in the class are coming from, and what sort of views the schools are pounding into their heads. I must say, after this class, it is more evident than ever to me that the public schools are messed up. They are so socialist, so against God, so politically correct it makes me sick. Still, at least now I know what to expect.

On a lighter note, ever since I finished my term paper and submitted it, I have been going around singing the song:

I am free, I am free, I am free to be a servant of the Lord
(repeat)
He taught me how to praise Him
H taught me how to sing this song
He taught me how to love
And I am free to be a servant of the Lord.

Mom and Dad both laughed when I told them this (for those of you who are scratching your heads, this is the song we sing after a baptism at church).

Oak Grove Chess Tournament

We made it to our first scholastic chess tournament of the year today. It was held at Oak Grove-the school we play chess for-and we had a huge turnout of kids from OG. The team did well, placing in the top two places for Jr. High, and all three of the top places for Sr. High. Robbie won three games in the Jr. High, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to place. Carl and I both played in the Sr. High division, and did pretty well. Carl went 4-1, which was enough to get 2nd overall, with a first place in his grade. I went 5-0; this is the first time I've ever gone totally undefeated (OK, I've gotten 4.5, but still)! I even beat the kid that Carl lost to, so that was an accomplishment! And let me tell you, that game was a battle to the very end! I was up a piece almost from the start, but he fought back and almost beat me before I was able to attack him to the point where he resigned. Here are a couple of pictures--I wanted to get some of us playing, but didn't have a chance to do so (guess that's the price you pay when you are always the last game done).