I'm sad.

Argentina played the better game today, but couldn't manage to get that second goal scored. I think the coach should have put Messi in to play. That would have made a difference. Ayala and Tevez sure played all they had!
I also think that if our goalie had stayed in the game, we would have had more chances during the penalty shots.

Argentina to pay more for Bolivian natural gas

President Nestor Kirchner met his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales with a bear hug Thursday and then agreed to a 47 percent price hike for the Bolivian natural gas Argentina needs to fuel South America's second-largest economy.

The Bolivians are happy. The Argentines are unhappy.

(By the way, is "Evo" the masculine form of "Eva"? That makes me laugh.)

Argentine justice at its best!

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -- Argentine tax officials hit a tax cheat where it hurts most on Wednesday, confiscating the man's plasma TV two days before Argentina plays Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals.
It was the latest move in a "shock" campaign by Santiago Montoya, the top tax man in Buenos Aires province, the country's biggest, to curb rampant tax evasion in Argentina.
Tax officials carted off the new big-screen television from a man who owes some 6,100 pesos ($2,000) in back taxes.
"We've taken the plasma as a guarantee against the debt he owes," said Juan Manuel Prada, a provincial tax official.
Officials say tax evasion in Buenos Aires province costs the government $1 billion in lost revenue each year.
Montoya's highly publicized attempts to crack down on tax delinquents have included mailing letters to the spouses of evaders and leaving messages on people's cell phones.
His latest campaign is sure to catch the eye of soccer-obsessed Argentines. A tournament favorite, Argentina, faces Germany on Friday.

Fun Was Had By All

Andrea wants everyone to know that she doesn't think the title of this post is expressed in proper grammar.

This will be an interesting week...

...since I have already made a deal with my boss that, no matter how the game turns out on Friday, we won't take it out on each other (tease or get mad at, is what he meant, I guess--it's kind of hard understanding his German-English sometimes.)
Of course, the young guy from Germany that works in our dept. wouldn't make that kind of deal with me, so I guess if Argentina wins that gives me the liberty to poke fun at him. :)
I think I should wear my Argentine jersey on Thursday too, just as a warm-up for Friday.
I'm probably staying home until the game finishes, and then come in to work--unless Argentina loses, then I might not come in at all. :)
The way I see it--either one could win. They're pretty evenly matched up and you never know what kind of calls the ref. will make, or if someone will get injured.
But, please make sure you fulfill any promises you've made to any saints so we don't lose! ;)

Cool

Celebrating six goals.

Unbelievable!

Indian football fans of Argentina perform worship in support of the team in Kolkata, 10 June 2006, the day after the FIFA World Cup 2006 kicked off in Germany. Television viewership in India for past World Cups has been known to surpass that of football powerhouses like England, Brazil and Argentina even though the country has never figured in the premier event. India will turn into a nation of couch potatoes and spend sleepless nights for a month cheering their favourite team.

Our well-dressed song leader

He looked quite dashing with his black suit and new shirt & tie.

The weekend's events

Our new (to us) piano is put to good use right away! I saw it listed at a garage sale, and asked the lady how much she wanted. She said $400, then quickly said "$300...or whatever you can afford." I called her back to offer $250, but she didn't really think she could take less than $300. I understood, so I agreed on $300. She called me back later that evening to say she'd been thinking about it all day and wondered if $275 would be better for us. :-) So God provided a piano the same day that we returned the keyboard we had been borrowing from someone who graciously offered to loan it to us.

Andrea had her ballet recital yesterday and really enjoyed the flower her daddy bought her afterwards.

From the Mouths of Girls

When I explained to Andrea a couple of days ago that I had a new system for people to know whether the dishes in the dishwasher were clean, she was quite impressed. I showed her the round green magnet with a "C" that I would put on the dishwasher when I ran it, so that people would know if dishes were clean without having to ask me multiple times. Most almost-9-year-olds would have said something like, "Cool" Not Andrea: "Mom, you are quite ingenious."

Elianna loves playing with her baby dolls. She has one big doll that's her favorite, but she has several smaller ones that she lugs around, as well. The other day I called her down to get in the car, and she came down the steps with three babies in her arms. I explained to her that we were going out shopping, and I only wanted her to bring one baby. Elianna looked down at the babies she was holding, and counted, "One. One. One," then looked up at me with a huge smile, delighted that she had met my requirements. How do you argue with that kind of math?

Swaim shots

I took pictures of Jody, Pearl and Jonathan today. This one is my favorite.

What a cool game!

Argentina played beautifully!! I taped the game, so I can mail it to anyone that would like to see it.

The fans were great! You could hear them chanting and singing their hearts out!

I wore an Argentine jersey to work! :)

Will Argentina win tomorrow?

I think I'm going to come into work late tomorrow so I can watch the game. There's no point in coming in on time because I'll just be watching the game on-line and not getting any work done.
I can't wait for the game tomorrow!! I've been getting really pumped-up about the World Cup--it's too much fun!
Chris is rooting for Ukraine, and he taped yesterday's game. We watched it last night but Ukraine didn't even bother showing up to play! It was a sad, sad affair.
It was so bad, that I couldn't tell if Spain was playing well, or just playing.

Oh, I have to mention that someone here at Draeger recognized my "mate" for what it was! I was shocked! Granted, he doesn't work for Draeger, but for the consulting company that's programming our new system. He said he had worked with Argentines when he worked for Coke. It made my day! :)

I'll be doing my part tomorrow, so hopefully, our team won't disappoint! :)

A Watched Pot...er, Muffin

It's important to have someone watch the muffins as they bake...
...to make sure that they turn out just right.
Ah! Success!

Thousands of Words

Thought I'd share a cute picture

Literal Mind, or, When Magic Doesn't Work

If you have ever seen Jason do his magic tricks, you have seen him do a trick in which he pounds a crayon through his hand, making it disappear as it comes out the other side. As he brings the crayon up and down, he has the children watch his other palm, counting to three. On the third count, he smacks the hand with the crayon against the other, and the crayon disappears "as it goes through his hand." He usually uses the illusion as a means to introduce the gospel.

Today we discovered that Micah believes that Jason really does pound the crayon through his hand every time.

After watching Jason make the crayon disappear as he pounded it through his hand, Micah picked up a crayon and said, "Mom, count with me" (just as Jason does). He started tapping the crayon against his palm until he got to three. Then he stared at his crayon in consternation and exclaimed, "It didn't work! The crayon didn't go through!"

Despite the fact that he attempted the magic trick several more times, the crayon never did go through his hand. Truly disappointing (and pretty funny). :-D

There are not many times I wish I had cable; this is one. :-)

For All You Romantics Out There

Jason was standing at the door, waiting for the dog to be done "doing his business," so I went over to give him a kiss. After I kissed him, Jason said, "Oh, yes, hugging and kissing you is far more enjoyable than watching the dog poop."

It's good to know I've beat out the competition.

If you're looking for a good line to use with your girl, take a hint: don't use Jason's line. :-)

Father Knows Best

Mom and Dad got it right.

Argentine fans across the world

I'm speechless!

Cool!

Here's something I thought Matt would be particularly interested in knowing about.

Short days...long drives

I got back in ok last night. It was such a long day! My cd player in my car doesn't work right, so I spent the whole trip scanning the radio. : b
In case you didn't hear, I decided to go to Charlotte for Carrie's dad's memorial service. I'm glad I did. Carrie was very happy to see me there, and I was glad I was able to show my support and love for her family.
It was a nine-hour drive one way...I'm very tired today. I drove down on Wed. afternoon, and drove back yesterday afternoon. Praise the Lord, I had no car trouble, nor did I get pulled over for speeding! : ) Chris must have been praying his usual "deliver us from the policemen" prayer for me. : )
Carrie's family is doing well except for Mrs. Kinard. I'm not exactly sure what the situation is, but she needs a lot of prayer right now.
Tomorrow I have a baby shower to go to, and a soccer game to watch at my supervisor's house. They're having us over for dinner, too! Gotta love free food!
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡VAMOS, VAMOS, ARGENTINA....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know you have a problem when...

...you walk into the library to pick up books you have on hold and the librarian greets you with, "Well, Mr. Clark."

In an effort to rush through the last lessons in Andrea's history book, I put dozens of books on hold at the library, until I maxed out all of our library cards. When Jason went in to pick up the first batch of books, one of the librarians recognized him as soon as he came in the door and started teasing him about all the extra work he (I!) made for them.

When I went to pick up the second batch (just so you have an idea, there's probably close to 100 books, total, that I requested from the library), I took the poor librarians a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies. We're hoping they don't change the library policies just because of us!

By the way, Matt, do you know where I can find a local chapter of Libary Patrons Anonymous, for counseling?

The Sumneytown Scene

There isn't much happening in Sumneytown, either, for that matter. (At least West Bend is big enough that if you blink as you drive through you won't miss it!) Life these days consists of going to work, eating, reading/watching a movie, sleeping, and an ocassional visit to the chiropractor and the gym.
Chris will be taking a summer school class in a couple weeks, so that will add some variety to the excitement!
Our church is putting together a website (which Matt is working on), and Chris put together some information about the teen ministry to be published on the site. I'm planning on taking pictures on Sunday--hopefully I'll get some decent ones.
I've been wanting to start a photography business, but can't really seem to get started. I'm hoping to get something put together this summer. I've been corresponding with TJ, Chris's brother (the one that just got married), and he's willing to put a web-site together for me. My idea is to be able to sell some stock photography and also upload pictures from assignments and allow people to order prints right from the site. Does anyone have any suggestions for my web-site?

West Bend Happenings

We've had lots of questions about what's new in West Bend, and the answer is, "Not much." We received a confirmation from Maranatha that they've added Jason's resume to their ministry placement service and sent it to almost 50 churches. That sounds like a lot; but they sent us 1-page profiles of all the churches, and only a few of them are a possibility. Nonetheless, perhaps God will open one of these doors. Jason sent his resume to Northland last week, also, but we haven't heard from them yet. Their placement service is a little more involved than Maranatha's; NBBC tries to sort through some of the resumes and churches beforehand, so that their recommendations are a little more precise. Maranatha basically just swaps information between all pastors and all churches.

Sunday was unusual. It was strange not to be in a familiar church. In fact, we attended a Lutheran service. Jason has been curious to visit one for a while, and this was as good a chance as ever. It was an interesting experience, and we were glad we went. (Jared wanted to know why the pastor was "wearing that dress.")

Jason's been working a lot of hours with the construction company. He started last Wed., and worked 10 hours W & Th. On Friday, he got home at almost 9. Because they were working on an emergency home repair, he was asked to come in on Saturday, also. He left at 7, and got home past 10--p.m.! Because the work is so physical, he is absolutely sore! By the end of the summer, he should be tan and buff! :) The church gave us a generous love offering the last night we were there, and God provided for Jason to start this new job the last day that he was on the church's payroll. God is faithfully providing, and we are thankful for the sure knowledge of His perfect control over all these details.

The kids are unenthusiastically working on schoolwork. I don't think we'll finish the books this year, but they've already been warned that if they're not done, they will have to do math during the summer.

Micah has learned to pedal his bicycle, with training wheels. He's pretty proud of his accomplishment!

We rented a storage unit to store the things that are already packed, as well as "excess" furniture. I'm glad we did; it's really cleared up a lot of space in the house. It's easier now to see what needs to be done, as well as to have room to work on things that still need to be fixed.

Sunday night, Jason set up the tent in the back yard. Actually, it was right outside the back door, which made for an interesting sight when we walked out onto the porch. The kids slept in the tent Sunday night, which they thought was a great adventure. Micah was all excited until his siblings started telling stories; then he decided that, as it was rather dark outside, he'd be better off sleeping in his "comfy bed." :)

I suppose that's all for now. I hope you will sign up soon and add your own updates.