Colorado Melons

Today Jack, David and I worked a car wash at Farmer’s State Bank for the High Plains Little League. Yes, it was 33F, snowing, and raining but we were there with about 20 other families and a continuous line of cars just waiting to be attacked by all those cold, wet Little Leaguers with sponges.

During one break in the line, I took my car through to help keep everyone active and moving in the cold. The pictures are from my cell phone.

The reason for the madness? Proceeds from this event are going to Garrett Ross, an 8 year old boy on Jack’s LL Rangers team who received his first heart transplant at 7 months, and his second in 2008. He’s been fighting with some complications and the whole community is pulling for him. His family’s story is here.

Cowboy Up for Garrett!

With the 19mph winds turning today’s soggy 37F into a bone-chilling 27, the weather here would’ve been more conducive to Football than Baseball, but the High Plains Little League Minor Rangers & Twins toughed it out in Falcon for their first game of the season.

Slugging their way through what could have arguably been called the “All Time Best Game in Little League History”,  the Rangers’ catch of the Twins’ last inning pop-fly would ensure this one went into the books as a tie.

These are some tough little dudes for sure, but we’ve also got to appreciate the coaches, ump, scorekeeper and a myriad of other volunteers who could’ve been warm and comfy at home on a day like today, but chose otherwise and decided to give their valuable time to making sure these kids have an opportunity to:
“Play Ball!”

There’s always someone who has it worse off than we do and Colorado Springs Rescue Mission has been serving the area’s poor and needy for over 13 years. Demonstrating the love of Christ while serving about 100 meals per sitting (2,500 each week), they are much more than a soup kitchen. They are working on long-term solutions to poverty with ”life skills” education, a residential recovery “New Life” program and an Emergency Resource Center for the working poor, families with children and homeless individuals.

This morning we started making a batch of Leigh’s apple pies to take. At about 8:30 the boys were getting all the dry ingredients together to make the upper and lower crusts while I was cutting up the butter (1/2 lb per pie) and Leigh was orchestrating .

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As some of you are aware, at the end of each quarter, we match whatever our boys have managed to save from their allowances. Not only does this simple practice encourage them to save and promote their understanding of how money & credit work (something that should be a regular course of study in American elementary and high schools; but sadly, most college graduates and adults don’t even have a grasp on), it has also allowed the opportunity to engage them in the practical application of some life lessons.

The most recent case in point would be this morning when my 8 yr old banker reminded me that it is the end of the last quarter. Who would’ve expected? :) So off they went to get their banks and figure out how much they have earned. Continue Reading »