Volleyball

Don't worry I'm still going to post the wedding pics. I just need to make time and sort through them. But in the mean time... I played on a team against our girls volleyball team last night and our team won! But both teams played well. It was a lot of fun.

Have a great Sun.!

Hockey

Probably our favorite thing we did while up there was going ice skating and playing hockey! They have FREE ice skating rinks up there! Not fair! And they are ALL REALLY good at hockey! Even the little kids! The K. family said that hockey is a god up there and so people start their kids out young skating. Everyone is soooooo fast that it's hard to get good pics. that aren't blurry.

It was REALLY fun but very tiring.

It's a little intimidating at first but they are so good at just letting you play no matter how bad you are. :)

More MN

One morning Ben and James went ice fishing with some of the other guys. This was their second time. They had a good time!

(this is Mr. Mc. & Mr. K.)

So they are out on a HUGE lake called Lake of the Woods where the ice is about 3 ft. thick! No worries about them falling in! They even drive the cars out there! Pretty cool huh?!

They drill a hole in the ice with a drill that looks like a post hole digger.

Then bait the hook, drop in the line, and wait for a bite!

In all they were out for about 6 hours and caught 10 fish.

Ice fishing is a big thing up there so all around are fishing houses with people fishing! It's kinda cool to see little huts dotting the horizon!

Ben wanted to get some scenic pics. while out there and I think he did a good job!

He said you could see through the ice clearly in some places the day they went out and said it was really pretty! He said you couldn't see all the way down but you could see a little down.

These are cracks in the ice, but don't worry, they aren't very deep.

Cool!

This was taken from inside the tent where they fished.

Here's a quick video clip to show you how large the lake is!

the to be continued...

... So we finally made it to Amos and Rebekah's! (At around 5 as I have been corrected by our travelling companions.) ;>

For those of you who don't know Rebekah is a good friend of mine who married Amos I think about 2 years ago and moved up to MN. She is the Mc. oldest child. and she now has been blessed with two cute little boys, Daniel 1 and David 3 months.

We stayed at their house for the first 3 days then moved over to the main K. family on Sun.

So we had a good time bumming around, talking, eating, and holding little ones!

This is Daniel, he's holding the extra chess pieces for Daddy and Uncle Nathan.

And here's David! He is such a snuggler! I LOVED getting to hold him for hours the whole week!

This is Daniel's new look.

(The wedding happened next but we took those pics. on another camera and still have to download them and sort through so we will post those pics. last for the grand finalli (?). It was a WONDERFUL wedding!)

One of the many fun things we did while up there was go sledding on the BIGGEST sledding hill I'm sure in the whole country! (remember we're from IL where it's flat so anything looks huge!) But this really was a big one! The drive there was BEAUTIFUL! Right through a state forest!

We didn't get too many good pics. while there but we got a few movies and we thought this would be the best way to show how far down it was. It was LOADS of fun!

(This is Silas K. going down.)

(stay tuned!...)

Our Trip to MN.....

And we're back. Thank you all who kept us in your prayers while we where gone! As you will see we really needed them!

We had a WONDERFUL time, we always do, even though our start was a bit rough...

We left our house at around 5 Wed. night. Everything was going fine, we had a few hours of snow but the Lord protected us and it soon let off. But then around 5 a.m we started hearing something that sounded like bumps on the road. THEN something happened on the back end and we started swerving like we had a flat tire. <:O But it wasn't a flat, it was worse than that... (no rhyme intended.) The bolts to the tire broke off!!! But praise the Lord He allowed us to stop before the wheel completely came off! He is so good! We were travelling with the Mc. family so they were there to haul us all to a nearby gas station where we stayed til noon that day.

So, start your imaginations going and picture both our families stuck in a gas station from 5 in the morning til noon that day. Yeah. Not a pretty sight.

We started off the morning with a game on Mennonite Madness.

But that interested us only for a while and since I had not slept all night I quickly fell asleep... for 2 hours... on a table.

And soon Ben joined me.

But not everybody else!!!! Oh no! They were stronger than that! ;)

Ok, the mom's had been up ALL night driving so when I woke up at 8 they were acting, shall we say, a little giggly? (It was kinda scary!!)

So the Lord took pity on us and impressed upon the owners of the gas station, which were also the owners of the hotel next door, to give us a room for free! So the mom's got to take a nap so they were refreshed to drive the 3 hours left to go.

Needless to say we arrived at around 3 that afternoon safe and sound.

(to be continued...)

Keep Us in Your Prayers!

Hello all! Sorry we haven't written in a while but we had lost our battery charger to the camera. And now we are headed up to MN to see our dear friends the K. family. Naomi is getting married this Fri. and we are excited to be able to be there. So there will not be anymore posts until we get back. But if you are wanting to see what we are up to there will probably be some pics. on the Krahn's blog. Please keep us in yours prayers though as you think of us today. We are leaving with the Mc. family tonight at 6 and there is snow in the forecast so please be praying for our safety and for alertness during the 15 hour drive. Thanks! Praying each of you has a very blessed and warm week! ;)

Happy New Year!

HAPPY

NEW YEAR!

Praying that The Lord blesses each one of you in amzing ways this new year! May you continue to grow in the Lord and find your joy in Him.

Love each one of you!

The Peck Family

Merry Christmas!

Merry

Christmas!

Praying each one of you has a VERY Merry Christmas!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

"And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

Luke 1:33

Tomb of the Unknown Solider

Hi all! Someone sent me this in an e-mail and I thought this was REALLY cool! Sorry I couldn't get the pics. to go with but it is still worth reading! This would be something to read to your kids!

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps: It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.



2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1



3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.


4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the timeand, if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.


5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.



6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10' and 6' 2' tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30. They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin. The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.
There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform.. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.
The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery . A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe Lewis {the boxer} Medal of Honor winner Audie L. Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII and of Hollywood fame.
Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.


ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb ofthe Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guardingthe Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can beafforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.



IN GOD WE TRUST

The discipline these men have to honor a grave of someone who is dead! No alcahol, no filthy language, obeying the rules for the rest of there lives, no dishonoring the tomb. Memorize the notables, always dressed in a manner of respect. What commitment, what patriotism! And we as christians can't even be that disciplined to our Savior who died for us and is alive today! Wow! This just REALLY convicted me in my day to day christian life! How am I honoring my risen Lord?!

Sunday

The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psalm 24:1

Caleb's Coming!

This is a movie of Caleb's train passing our house! Since we live right next to the railroad tracks it was REALLY fun to have a train go by that you actually new someone on it!

(Did you see him? ;)

He had a VERY exciting trip! He had a lay over right at the start and left at about 7 in the morning as opposed to midnight the night before. So he played cribbage all night with a nice older lady in her 70's, which he travelled with as far as Chicago. Then when he arrived there he had another layover all night! But not to worry about our poor traveler. Amtrack put him up in the Hyatt Regency hotel on the 22nd floor with an awesome view of Michigan Ave. and 2 queen beds! They also gave him money for his meals so he had Chinese for breakfast! (But that's not all!) That day he had some time to spend so he went to The Field Museum and guess what! It was a free day! Well, to top it all off on his way from Chicago to Bloomington he led a college student to the Lord!!!! It's so neat how our Father works. If Caleb hadn't had all those "delays" he would have missed witnessing this young man. Please pray that Gregory grows in the Lord.

Thank you for all your prayers and your comments! He REALLY enjoyed them!

Weekend Fun

Well, Caleb arrived home just in time to go to Silver Dollar City with us and te Comstock family over the weekend. We had a great time even though it was rainy. They have over four million Christmas lights and a HUGE tree in the middle of the park. We are soooooo sorry we didn't get ANY pics. of SDC because our camera was out of battery! So if you want to see some pics. of it you'll have to go to the Comstocks blog, cool-com-collected. But we did get a few pics. of Bass Pro.

Four Wheelers!!!!! YES!!!!!

Caleb's Coming Home!

Caleb's Coming Home!!!!!

Caleb is coming in on the 8:00 train this evening from MN!!!!! We are sooooo excited and looking forward to having him here for about a month. Stay warm!

Cold Stone Creamery!

Our First Snow