Sam - 5th grade basketball

Monday night, a couple weeks ago marked Sam's first official basketball game

for Loogootee Middle School!

They played away at Cedar Crest and DH was there to watch,

they texted to tell me that Sam has scored a bucket and a free throw

and

I was in attendance the first night possible when they played at good ol' JFK!

We played a Jasper school and played very well.  Sam played a lot

and scored 6 points and have a few free throw attempts.

He made this bucket!

Our first game with cheerleaders, they really do a great job.

Blocking out!

And a few updates from our Varsity Basketball coach's website.

We have a strong basketball feeder program and I love this group of boys,

hope they all continue to play - at least for the next few years!

And during the Varsity's open practice (community comes to eat taco bar and support the team)

with soap and towels and moola of course!

Sam's team sat as a group, some had left at this time.

He and Drew were still soaking it all in.

A Stoll Stew

A Stoll Stew

(funny that we call it that, only a select few carry the last name Stoll - but it is where it all began)

The Stoll family gathered for a fall stew while some family was in from Kansas.

We met at the Odon Park and the boys had fun with their cousins.

Joe, Andre, Tyson, Sam and AJ (AJ twin Grace was in the mix, too) and Shaylee too.

This was a small portion of the Stoll clan, conversation is never hard to come by!

The campfire stew and grilled sausage/hot dogs

Grandma Jean had to sacrifice for a sample!

The photo below is just after Sam decided he might like to know these cousins from Kansas, (Joe had been playing for some time already) we didn't see him the rest of the evening and then they asked when we could go to Kansas to see their house.  Then, the evening didn't seem long enough.

Treasured times when your own kids play with your cousins kids.

I remember the first time I met Dan's cousin Trina (their mama), they are only weeks apart in age.

We felt like instant friends and we were able to meet their sweet Selah this trip, too.

So thankful for this close knit family!

Teaching Gratitude

We collected Operation Christmas Child boxes again this year at church.  

We gathered 260+ boxes, love that this many children will hear the gospel and receive a small package all the way from Cannelburg IN.  The children always carry them up for the church foyer for a prayer over the boxes.  Sam and Joe are on the right side of the picture.  

I adore teaching Sunday School.

I also enjoy Sam's grade.

This age.

This group is fun and interactive and all of them still participate.

I try to keep the lessons (we have material to go from and sometimes I add a twist).

This past Sunday we did an object lesson on gratitude.

It was simple but effective and Sam's balloon is still floating around his room.

I found this table cloth at Michael's and I am SO glad I bought it.

The kids run to the room to color each week until we get started and even my 2 quiet guys were interacting the other day when I arrived!  

Our youth group had a fundraiser with Homemade Apple Pies

and DH bought some extra apples...if we spoiled their lunch this day, it was with apples

not candy!  

This turkey was pretending to be just that!  He is a jokster.

Our lesson was on gratitue and how we have to exercise it just like a muscle,

 the more we fill our day with gratitude, the less time there is for complaints.

We worked in partners each creating our own gratitude balloon.

And we might have had a little balloon war.

Gratitude, apples and coloring on the table.

It was a great Sunday!