The Warriors

As our beloved Lakers are still in a down season :( we root for the Warriors. Unfortunately, they keep letting us down too! I took Matt to see the Warriors play the Sacramento Kings at their new arena - the Golden 1 Center.

We started off the night with dinner at Squeeze Inn. My cholesterol level went up about 20 points. Matt's eating like a man now. Good to see. Bad to pay for.

We tried to get there early and see all of Steph's famous warm-up drills. We got there just in time to see the end of his dribbling routine. He's on the baseline going at it. Shawn Livingston is at the free throw line.

Then Steph started shooting. It was pretty cool to watch.

Iggy came out to warm-up in his usual hoodie.

It was an exciting game that went to OT. Unfortunately, the Warriors lost. But we had a blast!

LA Trip

At Christmas break, we went down to LA to visit a lot of family and friends. As usual, the weather was real nice and we even got to hit the beach one day. Though I didn't take that many pictures, we managed to capture a few moments.

 This was our first Christmas with cousin Dorothy! I don't she caught the significance of the moment.

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Ronny was one of our favorite Presidents so it was a fun and educational trip. Sandy had a soft spot for Nancy too.

Future President Andrew has strong words for the country. Aaron is backing him up.

Air Force 1 was a pretty cool sight to see.

And as usual, the cousins had a rowdy party with all of their crazy hats.

Drum line

It seems like such a cop out, but every week I keep thinking we are so busy I can't even blog about what we're doing. Maybe some day, I will be bored and have lots of time. But I can't imagine that's even possible. Life has been super busy and this time, I have photos to prove it.

Matt started drum line. He's on the cymbals. As I have never been in band or drum line and never really had friends who did drum line, I had no idea what to expect. So we went to Matt's first competition and boy was it cool.

Here's how they started. If you can't tell, it was a space theme. Sci fi baby.

There's Matt!

And they're off! I didn't know Matt could be so artistic!

And then they all grab their instruments. Matt is probably the best cymbal player ever, ever.

Can you see him? It's a swirling vortex of percussion.

Ta-da! And they won 1st place! I guess our band program is really good here in Benicia. The funny thing was that Matt had sprained his wrist a couple days before the competition. He was icing and take Advil and in pain, during the performance. Who knew that percussion players have to suck it up and fight through the pain, just like NBA players, right?! Way to gut it out Matt! Nice work!

1 Corinthians 2:1-2

At times I wonder what the boys and girl will think of their childhood. What memories will they have? What will they think of my parenting of them? What do they see as my highest priorities? I know that there is plenty of hypocrisy in my life. That's why I need Christ. Hopefully, they will see that I did not rely upon my age or experience in parenting them but that I wanted most of all for them to know Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

1 Timothy 4:12

I hope that the boys and girl are judged by others for their actions and their speech, especially their love for others, and not their age.

1 Timothy 4:12
¹² Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

John 3:36

It's interesting how much the Bible connects belief with obedience. If you believe in Christ, you will obey Him. But no one can obey Him perfectly. Thus, our sins should cause our belief in Christ's imputed righteousness to grow all the more as we cast ourselves on Him for our forgiveness. This should only inspire us to obey all the more. Instead of a vicious cycle, God gives us a gracious one.

John 3:36
³⁶ He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Romans 14:7-9

Happy New Year! May 2017 be a year where the boys and girl live for the Lord all the more!

Romans 14:7-9
⁷ For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.