Boxing Day with the Knox Family

Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. But, this is not about THAT Boxing Day. Instead, on Christmas Day, while we were visiting family in Alabama, our family had a boxing day. Margaret's brother, Ben, brought his Wii, and we all enjoyed playing various games while we were in Alabama. At one point, Jeremy and Miranda both challenged me to a game of boxing. Since I was champion of all the various games on the Wii, they thought they could get the best of me by fighting me back to back.

Thanks to our new videocamera (a Christmas gift from my parents), Miranda and Margaret captured much of the action. (Of course, this means you'll probably see many, many more videos on this blog.) I put the video clips together for my first attempt at making a movie. Miranda helped me - she's already a pro at making movies. So, here is Boxing Day with the Knox Family. Enjoy!

Jeremy's Birthday

Yesterday, December 22, was Jeremy's 14th birthday. For some reason, it seems more strange to us to have a 14 year old than to have a 13 year old. But, there's nothing we can do about it! Plus, we are very proud of Jeremy. He was given some video games for his Playstation 3 for his birthday, so this is how he spent much of his birthday.

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Family Christmas Picture

Here is a family picture that we took yesterday:

Caroling with the Disseaus

Last Sunday, December 16, we went caroling with other friends in the neighborhood of our good friends Maël and Cindy. It was very cold, but we all had a great time. And, the taco soup that they had prepared for us helped to warm us up after caroling. Maël and Cindy were able to deliver gifts to most of their neighbors as we sang Christmas carols. They were also able to meet several new neighbors.

Please pray for Maël and Cindy. We heard that Cindy's grandmother passed away early this morning.

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Busy, fun week

So, this has been a very busy week for us. Yes, I know, this is a busy time for everyone. I thought I would give you a rundown on some of the things we've done this week.

Sunday, after our church's normal weekly meeting, we provided lunch for some children in a nearby neighborhood. A family that's part of the church works with a group called 40 West Ministry, which goes out to the neighborhood a couple of times a week to play with the kids, provide lunch on Saturday, and have a Bible study. We invited the kids and their parents, but none of the parents came to the lunch. We were glad that the children came, though.

Tuesday night, I attended a homeowner's association meeting for the first time ever in my life. Even though we've lived in neighborhoods with homeowner's associations before, I've never attended a meeting. Margaret told me that I had to promise not to volunteer for anything - and I did not volunteer for anything at all. She was proud of me. I learned alot about our neighbors and their concerns about the neighborhood.

Wednesday night, we hosted some friends at our home. A few years ago, Ron and Isabelle, some friends that we knew in Georgia and North Carolina, moved to Canada to start a church. They were back in North Carolina this week, and they came to our house that night. Several people who knew them also came by. It was great to hear from them and what God had been doing in their town in Canada.

This afternoon (Friday), Margaret and the kids and some friends went to see another friend in a Christmas play. Our little friend, Caleb, will be 3 Monday, and this was his first play. They say he did a wonderful job, smiled alot, and sang the songs. I wish I could have gotten off of work to watch him.

These are the highlights from the last week. There's more fun coming up this weekend.

Caroling WITH our neighbors

So, last Wednesday night, some of our friends came over to our house, and we all went caroling TO our neighbors. But, tonight, we went caroling WITH our neighbors. Our neighbor across the street planned everything. We simply walked across the street and joined a group of neighbors who walked around the whole neighborhood, occasionally stopping to sing a few songs.

To be honest, we were not sure how this would work out. We've never heard of a neighborhood caroling to itself. We thought that all of the neighbors who cared about caroling would join in. So, the only people we would be caroling to would be those people who do not care about caroling. But, it worked out well. Sure, many people were not home. But, many people were home and we were able to share a little joy with them through music.

Plus, we were able to meet a few neighbors that we have not met before. It was a great mix of people - young and old, men and women. In particular, since Jeremy went with us, several neighbors talked to us about their teenage boys - who did not come caroling, but who were looking for friends in the neighborhood.

After caroling we returned to our neighbors' house to eat a few treats and to talk. All in all, this was a great idea, and I recommend it to other people looking for neighborhood-wide activities. (We did not take our camera, so we do not have pictures.)

Caroling in our neighborhood

Wednesday night, we invited some friends to come to our house in order to sing Christmas carols to our neighbors. Margaret made chili and vegetable soup along with lots of candy and cookies and goodies. Our friends brought more soup and fixings and drinks and cookies and brownies and stuff.

We spent an hour or so eating and talking and catching up with everyone. Then we went around our neighborhood singing Christmas songs and greeting our neighbors. Margaret had filled Christmas tins with more goodies, and we gave those to our neighbors as gifts. After caroling, we came back to our house to finish off the goodies and spend more time talking.

This Saturday, one of our neighbors has planned another round of caroling, and our family is hoping to take part in that as well. Then, next weekend, our friends Maël and Cindy have invited us and others to their house to sing carols to their neighbors. So, we'll be singing for the next week!

We have a few pictures below. Unfortunately, the camera batteries died before we reached the first house.

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Meeting another new friend

Monday, we had the privilege of meeting another new blogging friend: David Rogers from the blog "Love Each Stone". David was in town for a couple of days, and we were able to spend lunch and dinner with him Monday. Also, after dinner, he came to our house to spend a couple of hours with some of our friends. We had a great time getting to know David, and we hope to see him again. Perhaps next time we will be able to meet his family as well.

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The Weak Week after Thanksgiving

So, after our wonderful Thanksgiving, Margaret and I both developed bronchitis. She was coughing and not feeling well Monday morning. I followed a couple of days behind her. We went to the doctor Thursday and were diagnosed with bronchitis. I guess that's good news, because its not strep or the flu. The good thing is that Margaret and I are starting to feel better. The bad thing is that Miranda woke up this morning (Sunday) coughing. So far Jeremy hasn't started coughing. But, we have to watch him closely because he develops pneumonia so easily. Anyway, I'm (Alan) staying home with Miranda this morning since I'm still a couple of days behind Margaret in recovering, while Margaret and Jeremy meet with our church this morning.

More good news: Miranda and her friend Lindsay participated in another Craft Sale this weekend. The craft sale was Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon. Again they made and sold pot holders and greeting cards. They sold 24 (all but one) of their pot holders and 82 greeting cards. They were very excited about selling so many of their crafts. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures this time.

Even more good news: We finally started decorating our house for Christmas last night. If you know Margaret, you know that this is probably the latest in the year that we have ever gone without decorating for Christmas. Even last year, when she was recuperating from ankle surgery, we decorated earlier than this - of course, my father was here to help decorate last year. But, since we have both been sick, we have not been able to decorate. So, like I said, we started last night. Believe it or not, I gave in and bought icicle lights this year. I'm not sure what came over me. But, I'm sure they'll look great. We'll post pictures once we've finished decorating.

This coming week is going to be a busy week for us. Actually, the next few weeks will be busy. We have friends coming over. We're going carolling a few times. We're going to Christmas parties. So, just like everyone else, this will be a busy time. We'll try to at least post pictures of the carolling - which is always alot of fun.

After Thanksgiving Fun

As I've mentioned, we spent Thanksgiving with Margaret's sister Robin and her husband Mike in Sevierville, TN. They were excellent hosts and we had a wonderful time. Mike had lined up some entertainment for us for Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. For Friday, he had gotten us tickets to Wonder Works, and for Saturday, he had gotten tickets for Dollywood.

The day after Thanksgiving - Black Friday - Margaret, Robin, their mother, and Miranda went shopping. They had a good time fighting the crowds and managed to find a few bargains. When they got back, Miranda passed out on the couch. After a short nap, we had to wake her up to go to Wonder Works. Wonder Works is a hands-on type of museum. There were plenty of things to do and see and touch and play with. We also attended a dinner theatre which is attached to Wonder Works.

The next day, Saturday, we went to Dollywood. We had fun riding the rides and watching the shows. Unfortunately, after standing in line for the new ride Mystery Mine, we found out that they shut down that ride because it was too cold. Jeremy enjoyed the big roller coasters: Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado. Miranda's favorite ride was the Blazing Fury. We also watched Dollywood's production of Babes in Toyland.

The next day, we drove home. We left early Sunday morning to head back to Youngsville. In spite of a short stop in Hickory to meet some friends, it did not take us long to get back home. I heard horror stories of the traffic in NC later in the day, but we did not run into any traffic.

Enjoy these after-Thanksgiving pictures!

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Meeting more friends

On our way home from Margaret's sister's house in Tennessee (more pictures coming up), we had lunch with some more friends: the Sensenigs (Steve has several blogs, including "Theological Musings", and Christy blogs at "Until My Last Breath"): Steve, Christy, and Dillon. They drove down from Boone, NC to meet us at an Olive Garden in Hickory. After making a few wrong turns, we finally found the restaurant and had a wonderful time catching up with the Sensenigs. We look forward to seeing them again soon.

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Thanksgiving Day

Margaret's sister, Robin, and her husband, Mike, (Robin and Mike's blog) hosted our family and Margaret and Robin's parents for Thanksgiving Dinner. We are having a great time with them. On Thanksgiving morning, the ladies started cooking... ok, they actually started the night before. Meanwhile, the men had to chop the wood, mend the fences, milk the cows, and watch TV.

Miranda helped prepare dinner, but she was also responsible for setting the table. We had turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, lima beans, rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and two types of sweet potato casserole. Yes, you read correctly, we had two types of sweet potato casserole: one had marshmallows on top, while the other was prepared correctly with chopped pecans and brown sugar on top. I was responsible for carving the turkey, which had to have been the largest turkey I have ever seen. I think I did a pretty good job cutting it up; at least, no one complained.

After dinner, Miranda showed off some of her Tae Kwon Do self-defense moves by flipping me off of her. Yes, she really flipped me; I didn't let her do it. Then, Aunt Robin and Miranda made a Gingerbread house. I hope you enjoy all of the pictures!

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Thanksgiving Carols - Volume II

Again, on our trip over the river and through the woods, our family wrote more Thanksgiving Carols. Everyone contributed to some extent. We hope you enjoy these, and consider these our Thanksgiving gifts to you, our friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Good Christian Men Eat Up
(to the tune of Good Christian Men Rejoice)

Good Christian men eat up
With fork and knife and cup
Give ye heed to what we say (gobble, gobble)
This is surely Thanksgiving Day
Macy's floats and Pilgrim hats
You know Black Friday's coming fast
Turkeys were made for this
Turkeys were made for this

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The First Thanksgiving
(to the tune of The First Noel)

The first Thanksgiving the pilgrims did eat
And invited the indians to their feast
They all had turkey and venison
But they did not watch football; there was no ESPN
Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving
Let's all sing some carols for Thanksgiving.

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Tommy the Turquoise Turkey
(to the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)

[optional intro]
You know cranberries and football and dressing piled high
Pilgrims and indians and pumpkin pie
But do you recall the best part of Thanksgiving of all

Tommy the Turquoise Turkey (turkey)
Had a very shiny tail (like a blue whale)
And if you ever saw it (saw it)
You would think it was so swell (that's swell!)

All of the other turkeys (turkeys)
Use to peck and strut about (like a turkey)
When they stood next to Tommy (Tommy)
They made sure that he stood out (pick Tommy!)

Then one cold Thanksgiving eve
Farmer came to say (Yo Yo Yo)
"Tommy with your tail so bright
I need you this very night."

Then all the family loved him (loved him)
As they gobbled Tommy down (gobble gobble)
Tommy the Turquoise Turkey (turkey)
You're the yummiest bird around (yum yum)
You're the yummiest bird around (yum yum)

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Grandma Got Sacked By A Turkey
(to the tune of Grandma God Run Over by a Reindeer)

Grandma got sacked by a turkey
Playing with the kids Thanksgiving Day
We all wanted to play touch football
But she said it was tackle all the way

We went outside before dinner
Grandma started talking smack
When we split up into two teams
She insisted that she play quarterback

She dropped back into the pocket
And scanned the field like a pro
She was blind-sided by the turkey
And they fell to ground beak to toe

Oh! Grandma got sacked by a turkey
Playing with the kids Thanksgiving Day
We all wanted to play touch football
But she said it was tackle all the way

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I'm Dreaming of Thanksgiving Dinner
(to the tune of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas)

I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving dinner
Just like the ones we used to know
Where the turkey's tasty; the pies are flaky;
And giblet gravy's in the boat.

I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving dinner
With every mile that I drive
May your turkey be juicy not dry
And my grandma bake your favorite pie.

Meeting new friends...

On our way over the river and through the woods to grandma's... I mean, Margaret's sister's... house, we stopped in Greensboro to have lunch with some new friends: Dusty, Erin, and Elissa Segers. I met Dusty online through my blog, and we have emailed back and forth a few times. Dusty suggested that we meet at Chipotles. (Stan: Yes, Chipotles was very good. We enjoyed it. But, we like Moes better. Sorry.) We had a great time getting to know the Segers family, and, as you can tell from the pictures, Elissa and Miranda stole the show. We look forward to getting together with them again.

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Thanksgiving Carols

A couple of years ago, I complained to my family and our friend Patti that stores and radio stations were playing Christmas songs in October. Now, don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. But, I don't like the fact that "Christmas Season" seems to start earlier and earlier each year. I think most Christmas sales start in March next year.

Anyway, as I was saying, I complained about Christmas music being played in October and November. I suggested that we should be listening to Thanksgiving music instead. Patti said there were not many Thanksgiving songs, so I decided to write some. For the past few years, we have been singing these "Thanksgiving Carols". They are all set to Christmas songs. I hope you enjoy them:

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Here Comes Thanksgiving
(to the tune of Here Comes Santa Claus)

Here comes Thanksgiving
Here comes Thanksgiving
Long before Christmas Day
No jingle bells, no Christmas trees
No songs about a sleigh
We will eat and we will sleep
We’ll watch some football games
Cause it is almost Thanksgiving
And it’s long before Christmas Day

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Giblet Gravy
(to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Giblet gravy, giblet gravy
What is it anyway?
Pour some on my dressing, please,
Don’t let it run away.
Giblet gravy, giblet gravy
What is it anyway?
Oh, I don’t care, I’ll eat it up
Cause it’s Thanksgiving Day!

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Silent Turkey
(to the tune of Silent Night)

Silent turkey
Golden baked turkey
Give me some breast
Give me a thigh
Add some ‘taters
Pile ‘em high
And a slice
Of pumpkin pie
I will loosen my belt
I will loosen my belt

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Something Smells
(to the tune of Silver Bells)

Something Smells
Something Smells
Have you just burned all our dinner
Should I spray
The stink away
And have a take-out Thanksgiving Day

Cooking turkey, cooking dressing
Cooking dish after dish
In the air there’s the smell of Thanksgiving
Baking brownies, and a few pies
We’ll have all that you wish
But eventually everyone hears

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The Thanksgiving Song
(to the tune of The Christmas Song -
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)

Turkey baking on the kitchen fire
Football canceling the shows
Thanksgiving carols being sung by a choir
People dressed in pilgrim clothes

Everybody knows a turkey and a pumpkin pie
Help to make the waistline grow
Eat so much that you feel you’re gonna die
But it’s just so hard to say, “No.”

We know that napping’s on its way
There’ll be lots of leftovers for twenty days
And every mother’s child will be so weak
Having turkey soup and turkey loaf all next week.

And so I’m offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
And though it’s been said many times, many ways,
Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Here there be pirates

Last May, Jeremy and some friends dressed as pirates to go see the opening of Pirates of the Carribean III. After they donned their costumes, they all went to Moe's to eat. Then they went to the theatre where there were other people dressed as pirates. So, if you ever wanted to see what Jeremy would look like in eye makeup, here's your chance.

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UGA-ly Vandalism

Last Saturday morning, the day that the University of Georgia football team known as the puppy dogs barely managed to squeak by the Auburn Tigers, someone (or ones) destroyed the value of our home and property with various posters and drawings of blasphemous, sacrilegious, and downright heinous pictures and words. We called in the local police, the state police, the FBI, CTU, CSI, FEMA, and the AARP to investigate. Jack Bauer has some leads and is calling in Johnny English for help in uncovering the culprits. I think the pictures speak for themselves. We warn you though - these pictures are grotesque.

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Parents Night Out

A couple of weeks ago, Miranda said that she would like to serve some of our friends by keeping their children while the parents had a date night. Around the same time, a new friend named Katie said that she would like to help with a Parents Night Out. Margaret volunteered our home and got everything ready to host the Parents Night Out. Our friend Patti also volunteered to help. (By the way, a few of us guys were there to do whatever the ladies told us to do: myself, Katie's fiancee Geth, and Jeremy.)

We kept 14 children from six different families. Patti came up with some crafts. She helped the children make scarecrows and apple turkeys (see the pictures). She also brought a "pin the beak on the turkey" game. We had a great time with all the children, and enjoyed hanging out with Patti, Katie, and Geth, as well as visiting with the parents when they picked up the children. Some neighbors - Kevin and Misty - even dropped by in case we had some extra children left over. Enjoy the pictures!

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Cornfield Maze

Saturday, we went to a cornfield maze with some friends. The maze was about an hour south of Raleigh. On the way down, we stopped at our favorite hamburger restaurant: Five Guys Burgers and Fries!

At the maze, the corn was very short because of the drought, but we still had alot of fun. I can't believe how much time we spent playing (and watching others play) horseshoes. There were two small mazes made out of hay bales. One was a right turn only maze. You had to make your way out of the maze by only turning right. The other maze was a no stopping maze. Once you started down a lane, you had to go all the way to the end before you changed directions.

I think the best thing was the time that we spent with our friends.

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New Family Pic - October 2007

Here is a new family picture from our trip to the cornfield maze.

Young Entrepreneurs Craft Sale - October 2007

Last Saturday, Miranda and her friend, Lindsay, took part in a Young Entrepreneurs Craft Sale at a local bookstore. They made pot holders and greeting cards to sell. The girls did almost all of the work themselves, with only a little help from their mothers. Also, the girls had to run their craft table at the sale by themselves. They had a great time and raised some money for some friends who are going to Thailand in January.

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Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood

Miranda and her friend, Lindsay, decided to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood tonight for Halloween. Miranda dressed as "Hannah Montana" and Lindsay dressed as her best friend "Lola". One of our neighbors decorated her yard and wore a costume for the evening, and another neighbor created a "Haunted Trail" in their backyard. While Miranda, Lindsay, and I were out in the neighborhood, Margaret, our friend Patti, and her dog Chloe handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came by our house. In the photos, you'll see Miranda and Lindsay as "Hannah Montana" and "Lola", some of our neighbors, some of the trick-or-treaters, some of the Jack O'Lanterns around the neighborhood, the "Haunted Trail", and Chloe. Enjoy!

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Jack O'Lantern

Our friend Kate described their fun carving pumpkins this weekend with some friends. Not to be outdone, we went to the "pumpkin patch" this afternoon to pick out our own pumpkin. Miranda decided that she wanted to design the face, clean out the pumpkin, and carve it herself. She did most of the work, though I helped a little with the design and the carving. I think the Jack O'Lantern turned out great, and we're proud of Miranda for working so hard on it. Enjoy the pictures!

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Saturday Ups and Downs

Good news! It has been raining here for the last few days! We need rain very badly, so we are very grateful to God for this rain. I think this area is currently in a rain deficit of almost 20 inches. As the weatherman - I mean, meteorologist - said, the rain from the last few days didn't erase the deficit - as if we wanted 20 inches of rain in 3 days - but, the rain we got was definitely needed!

Bad news! Because of the rain, Jeremy's last football game was cancelled. He had a great time playing football. Jeremy has wanted to play football for as long as we can remember. He listened to the coaches and learned alot. He played both offense and defense, started every game he played, and is looking forward to playing again next year. We have a team party next week.

Good news! Miranda and her friend Lindsay took part in a young entrepreneurs craft sale this morning. They made some pot holders and greeting cards and sold them at the craft sale. They are using all of their proceeds to help some friends go on a mission trip to Thailand. I hope to post some pictures from the craft sale later.

Black Belt!

After 3 1/2 years of studying Tae Kwon Do, Jeremy has earned his black belt! He tested last week, and was awarded his black belt, along with two other students, in a ceremony today. He was also given a new uniform. Enjoy the pictures!

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Lord's Supper on 9/23/2007

We usually celebrate the Lord's Supper every month. Last Sunday, 9/23, we shared the Lord's Supper at the home of Maël and Cindy. We thought you might enjoy seeing how we spent time with some of our friends.

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Miranda and Locks of Love

We're very proud of Miranda. A few months ago, Bobby, a good friend of ours, found out that he had cancer. Because of the treatment, Bobby lost his hair. Bobby's sister Caroline decided to have her hair cut for Locks of Love. When Miranda heard that Locks of Love helps boys and girls who lose their hair due to medical treatment, she decided that she wanted to donate her hair. There was only one problem: Miranda's hair wasn't long enough yet. So, for the last five months, Miranda has been growing her hair until it was long enough to donate to Locks of Love.

Well, it was long enough this week! Our neighbor, Christina, works at a nearby hair salon. She said that she would give Miranda a free haircut since she was donating her hair to Locks of Love. Here are some pictures of before, during, and after Miranda's haircut. We all think she looks beautiful with her new haircut. In fact, her haircut is almost as beautiful as her giving heart.

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First Win!

Jeremy's football team won their first game yesterday. We travelled to Wilmington, NC - about 2 1/2 hours away - early Saturday morning. The game was scheduled to start around 1:00 pm, but for some reason they decided to start 30 minutes early. Margaret and some friends arrived just after the game started. During the game the temperature was in the 90's with very high humidity. The boys went through several coolers of water during the game. But, we were very proud of our boys. They played hard and won the game in the fourth quarter - a very difficult time of a hot and humid football game.

Jeremy started the game playing fullback and defensive tackle. During the game, the coach asked him to play offensive tackle to block one of their defensive players who was breaking through our offensive line. Also, he played linebacker part of the game to help with some defensive problems.

Just after half-time, Jeremy got sick for a while. It was probably due to the heat, his not being hydrated enough (our fault), eating lunch late, and starting the game early. After resting a few minutes (he normally plays the whole game), and drinking some water, he played the remainder of the game.

By the way, the team had an exceptional waterboy for this game. (His name was Alan... you all would have been proud of him.)

Unfortunately, we do not have pictures of the football game... or the waterboy in action.

Miranda and Lucy playing dress-up

Miranda decided that Lucy may have been jealous of Aggie playing dress-up. So, she decided to dress up Lucy as well. Here are her pictures.

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Meet in the Street 2007

Back in May 2007, Jeremy and Miranda performed a demo with their Tae Kwon Do class at Meet in the Street. Meet in the Street is a crafts show in downtown Wake Forest, NC. The pictures below were taken by our friend Maël. He gave us the pics back in May, but Lucy decided the CD was a chew toy. By the way, in case you were wondering, chewed CD's do not play very well.

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Miranda and Aggie playing dress-up

We have a new appreciation for Aggie. Apparently, while Miranda was supposed to be going to bed a few nights ago, she decided to dress-up Aggie and take pictures. She showed us these pictures the next day. So, I hope you enjoy these as much as we did. We're also very proud of Aggie for not biting Miranda.

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Pictures of Jeremy's first football game

Our friend Maël (his blog is called "The Adventures of Maël & Cindy") took some pictures at Jeremy's first football game. Unfortunately, there were no bleachers on the visitor's side of the field, so all of the pictures are from field level. It was difficult to follow the play, but Maël was able to get a few good pictures of Jeremy.

By the way, Jeremy's game jersey is #44. You may have to look carefully for him in some of the pictures.

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Jeremy's first football game

Jeremy's team (the Wake Forest Titans) played their first football game of the season Saturday evening. Unfortunately, the Titans lost, but they played a very good game. They were very disciplined and played the fundamentals very well. They lost primarily because of turn-overs and problems with kick-off returns.

On offense, Jeremy played fullback. At times, in their offense, the fullback lines up in the wing position. Jeremy did not get to run the ball this game, but he blocked well.

On defense, Jeremy played defensive tackle. He made several tackles during the game, including tackling the quarterback in the backfield a few times. He also chased down someone who had intercepted the ball and kept him from scoring.

Jeremy also played on all special teams. Besides a few plays where the coach substituted someone else at defensive tackle, Jeremy played the whole game. He was very tired after the game, but managed to eat a couple of Krispy Kreme donuts. On Sunday, Jeremy was still very tired and his arms are black and blue.

You will all be very proud of Margaret. She managed to stay off the field, even when Jeremy came off the field at one point holding his arm. (His arm was okay. He only missed a couple of plays.)

Miranda also enjoyed the football game - although, I'm not sure she watched the game itself. She was very excited because the Titan cheerleaders came to our game. She and a friend stood in front of the cheerleaders the whole game. Miranda is hoping to cheer next year.

We were also very excited that many of our friends drove down to Raleigh (about 30-40 minute drive) to watch Jeremy play. Counting our family, Jeremy had more supporters than there were players on his team. We thank God for giving us such great friends.

Tae Kwon Do Belt Ceremony and Demo 9/6/2007

This afternoon, Miranda and Jeremy participated in a Tae Kwon Do belt ceremony and demo. Miranda recieved her purple belt. Jeremy will test for his black belt in October.

The video shows Miranda and everyone her same rank performing their green belt form during the demo.



The photos below show Miranda getting the results of her green belt testing and being awarded her purple belt.

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(p.s. To Mrs. Leah and Samuel: WE MISSED YOU!)

Trip to Niagara and Canada - 2007

After our family trip to Pennsylvania with Margaret's parents in their RV, Margaret and I returned home to North Carolina. However, Jeremy and Miranda and their grandparents continued travelling north. They spent a few days at Niagara Fall - both the NY side and the Canada side. Then, they drove to Toronto and farther north to Cochrane, Canada. On the trip back home, they came through Michigan, across several states to West Virginia to visit some family. They then drove to Tenessee to spend time with their Aunt Robin and Uncle Mike. Finally, after 3 weeks of travelling without their parents, they returned home.

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Jeremy's Football Practice

Here are some pictures from Jeremy's football practice last Thursday night. Notice how clean his mom has his uniform at the start of practice, and how dirty he is at the end of practice. He is playing running back on offense and defensive end on defense. His practice jersey is number 19. So far he has not broken any bones, but his forearms are black and blue.

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Miranda's Self-Defense Demo

This is Miranda (in the background) practicing a self-defense demonstration for their open house in a few days. Yes, my little girl is beating up two people bigger than she is. But, I can still take her... I think.

Bokken Demo Practice

This afternoon, Jeremy (in the white uniform) practiced a choreographed Tae Kwon Do routine with two of his friends. They are each using a bokken in this demo. A bokken is a wooden sword. For some reason, their instructor will not allow them to use their real katanas for their demos. They will present this routine as part of a longer demonstration for the grand opening of a new martial arts studio in Wake Forest in about 10 days.

Gettysburg 2007

Last June, our family travelled to Pennsylvania with Margaret's parents in their RV. First, we spent a few days in Gettysburg. Jeremy and I love history, so I think that the two of us enjoyed this part of our trip more than Margaret and Miranda. Next, we drove to Lancaster County, PA. We spent one day at Hershey Park and another day in one of the local towns. This was a very relaxing vacation and we all enjoyed it. After a week, Margaret and I returned home while Jeremy, Miranda, and their grandparents continued travelling north to Niagara Falls and then into Canada. I'll post pictures of their trip later. Meanwhile, here are two pictures from Gettysburg.

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Lucy and Aggie

Lucy and Aggie are our dogs. About a year ago we moved out of seminary housing at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

One of the first things we did was rescue Lucy from the Franklin County Humane Society. She is part Border Collie, part something else. She is a great pet, though she is very active and mischievous. A few nights ago she stole an ink pen and started chewing it. Before we could stop her, the floor and her paws were blue. (See the picture of her paws below.)

A few months after we adopted Lucy, we found out about Aggie. We love Scottish Terriers. Aggie is our second. (Our first was named Kelsie.) Miranda wanted a lap dog, but unfortunately Aggie loves to play outside, and doesn't like to be held that much. As you can see from the photos, Miranda holds her anyway. Aggie's ears normally point up, but she doesn't like cameras. So, when the camera comes out, her ears go down.

Enjoy the photos!

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Jeremy and Miranda in Tae Kwon Do - Summer 2007

This is a photo album of Jeremy and Miranda and their Tae Kwon Do class during the summer of 2007.

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The Knox Clan Blog

After several months of complaints by certain family and friends (you know who you are) because I never put family pictures on my other blog - "The Assembling of the Church" - we have finally started our family blog. I'm sure that there will not be enough pictures and stories to satisfy everyone, but hey, at least as more than when we didn't have a family blog.

As to the photo above - it is awful. We had just spent about 10 hours at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA (more info about this trip to come). In fact, we look like we just spent 10 hours at an amusement part, so please take that into consideration. Unfortunately, this is the only family photo from the last several months, so it will have to do for now. I'll post an updated family photo as soon as possible.