Well, it's 11:00 and everyone's asleep but me, so I thought I'd update our blog a little. Football season is over and Andy and Pete had a great year. Andy was the leading tackler for JV at 46 tackles. He also had an interception and a 2 pt. conversion. Pete had two touchdown catches and an interception also. I have added a couple football photos.

Andy kind of surprised us and went out for basketball at the last second. He hasn't played in a couple years. He is enjoying being part of the team. The new coach is our neighbor across the street.

Lilli went to a missionary conference in Illinois this weekend with a group from church . She has been working hard to raise money for her upcoming mission trip to Cambodia. We have even cleaned the UNI dome a few times. That is a pretty dirty job.

Laura is wrapping up another semester at Hawkeye and is enjoying her job a lot. She really is a great teacher and cares for her students. Well, there are a few... :)

Have you ever seen the chalkboards at Starbucks? We wondered what they used and they told us Chalkink. I bought a couple sets of the chalk markers and have been drawing on our chalkboard in our kitchen, changing with the seasons. I enjoy tapping my creative side sometimes. Laura has a chalkboard in her office that I decorate also. I have attached a couple photos of my most current projects.

We're looking forward to our trip to Ohio next week to spend Thanksgiving with Steve and Rebecca and the boys. That will be a fun time.

I know I am kind of rambling, but I am writing what is on my mind. So, I will conclude tonight with a truth that God has been working in my life. Over the past several years I was becoming more and more discouraged with the direction our country was heading. I found myself riding the highs and lows of day to day politics and it was really getting depressing.

Through prayer, reading God's word and growing in my faith, it became perfectly clear to me that God was telling me that the earth is not our home. There is no reason to believe that this world will move toward God and his plan for our lives. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that things on earth will only get worse until Jesus returns to bring justice. Focusing on political solutions with the hope that it would move this country toward God only set myself up for disappointment.

I have been more intentional in focusing on God and doing His will in my life to the best of my abilities. I have listened less to talk radio, read fewer Drudge Reports, and have replaced that with reading God's word more and listening to things that will put the focus on Him. I found that I as I have grown closer to God, I realized how far I was putting my hope in people and politics on not on Him.

I still relapse and listen to Rush or Glenn every now and then, and have been reading Drudge more with all that is happening, but each time it brings back that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and I have to remember again to focus on God, not man. God is in control. He never said that things on earth would be easy or that Christians would be loved here. Just the opposite.

It's 11:45 now, so I 'd better get some sleep. Good night.

Joel

oops...

just realized a typo! the name of my blog is actually: www.lillianmeyers.blogspot.com :)

Wow...

...we never update our blog. :) TONS has happened since we last wrote anything, so I'll try to do a quick update. But...I am starting my own blog as well, that I intend to keep updated (hopefully!) and then I'll keep that going as I go to college and stuff. So, I'll try to just say what everyone's been up to since summer!

Andy- football, football, football! He started workouts with the team before school ended last year, did lots in the weight room to get ready, and now has 3 games a week! He's loving it though, and having a great season. He and I also detassled together this summer and he worked as a lifeguard. Andy's liking his sophomore year, and he's started coming to Big House (the Sr. High Wed. night program at church) and really likes it. Andy's been looking more into the Air Force Academy and is getting excited about possibly going into that.

Pete- Also, lots of football! He too, had a great season, and enjoyed having Dad as one of his football coaches. They both had a lot of fun with that. He's also coming to Big House and loves it! (esp. the crazy dodgeball time at the end of the night!) It's crazy that he's going to be in high school already next year! Pete's also doing soccer this year for a rec team.

Lilli- I've been really busy this year, but I'm lovin' my senior year! I work at a daycare and I really, really love my job. I'm involved in a lot of stuff at church and am doing an internship under my youth minister this year. I've also just been trying to get ready for college and taking lots of classes! I'm also just in a lot of clubs and groups at school.

Mom- Mom's been really busy this year going to all of the boys' games, teaching a bunch of classes at Hawkeye, and helping me get ready for college stuff. She's having a good, but crazy fall! My brothers and I are so blessed to have such a great mom! She's also been helping with a project at work to support the troops and she and Dad are joining a new Sunday School class at chuch.

Dad- Dad, Papa Meyers, and the boys all had a fun time going to Minnesota for a fishing trip over Labor Day. They caught some great fish and all had a good time together. Dad also got to help coach Pete's football team this year which he really enjoyed. He's also been busy with work and football games, like Mom. They are both such great parents, and so supportive! GOD truly blessed our whole family.

Sorry this is short and not into much detail, but we're going to try to take turns updating more often, and check out my new blog-www.lillimeyers.blogspot.com !
Jesus Loves YOU!

Catching Up...Again

Every time one of us blogs...it seems like we're "catching up" on about 2 months of stuff :) So, I'm going to try to catch up and then get better about blogging more often! We've been really busy since school got out at the beginning of June. Andy's soccer team went to the State Soccer Tournament in Des Moines. That was really exciting, they ended up getting 4th in the state. Pete has been playing baseball and just got done yesterday. Andy has also been lifeguarding, taking Driver's Ed., and hanging out with friends a lot. Now that baseball is done, Pete plans on watching a lot of T.V. and swimming :) I've been working at the Day Care in town, taking a class at Hawkeye, and looking at some different colleges. I was a counselor at a church camp last week, that was a lot of fun. Andy and I are gearing up for detassling, too! Mom has been taking a class, too, and staying busy with Pete's baseball and stuff. Dad has been really busy at work, lots of storms lately. He had to spend the first few weeks of summer in Wichita, Kansas. Well, that kind of catches up what we've been doing! Hopefully we'll get better at this blogging thing. haha Have a good day! -lilli

Summer!!!

This is Andy with our plans for this summer. Its almost summer break at G-R High School. School officially gets out Wednesday, June 3rd. Here are our summer plans.
Lilli- Lilli is working at the daycare in town. In July she will be detassling with me. I'll kind of be her boss. :-)
Pete- Pete is playing baseball this summer with the school team. He'll be golfing as well with his summer pass to the golf courses in Waterloo.
Andy- This summer I will be very busy. I am working at the pool as a lifegaurd. I also have drivers ed. In July I will be detassling again. I will also be golfing with Pete a lot.
Mom- Mom will be going to a lot of baseball games this summer. She'll also be reading and gardening. And she will be getting ready for her classes in the summer.
Dad- Dad will be working this summer. He will also be doing some projects around the house. He'll also golf with me and Pete.
We will be going up to Lake Vermillion this summer. The dates for that are the 25 till the 2nd of August or somethin like that.

Updates

Hi everyone! Sorry I'm kind of a slacker when it comes to blogging...I'm addicted to Facebook so I don't get on here often. :) Well, I just thought I'd give you all updates on what's been going on in our lives.
Mom and Dad- They're still working, helping with lots of our school activities, and Mom's getting ready for the summer break. Dad helped make a lot of prom decorations.
Andy- He is playing soccer for the high school team right now and really liking it. He was really excited to be dressing Varsity. He's also getting ready for driver's ed. this summer (scary!). Andy plans on detasseling this summer and maybe working at the pool.
Pete- He's also playing soccer and is his team's goalie. He had a great game Saturday and made tons of saves! Pete is getting excited to go on his school trip to Washington, D.C. right after school gets out. He's also going to be playing baseball this summer.
Lilli- I just had prom last weekend and it was so fun! We had a really good time. :) On a different note, I've had a change of plans regarding this summer. I will not be going to the Dominican Republic. I had been feeling like GOD was telling me "you're not supposed to go this time, Lil" because my plans pretty much fell apart and I wasn't able to get plane tickets. Also, I talked to the missionaries there and they are going through a lot of changes in their children's/youth ministry right now and felt like it would not be a good learning experience for me. So, I am going to stay home this summer and help at a camp, do some local mission work, and start my internship under my youth minister early! I was disappointed but I know that obviously GOD did not want me there right now and it will still be a good summer! :) Thank you for your prayers and support. They were appreciated.
Have a great week! Jesus Loves YOU!

The Bahamas!

We just got back from a great trip to Paradise Island, Bahamas last week! It was awesome. We spent lots of time by the pool and at the beach and relaxing in the sun. We also went to the Nassau side and saw the straw market. That's where local people sell things they've made like straw baskets, jewelry, purses, etc. It was a truly beautiful place and we had a good time all spending time together! I asked everybody their highlights from the trip and here they are:
Andy- swimming at the water park part of the resort and the Straw Market
Pete- movies in the resort theater and snorkeling
Mom-lazy river and no snow (!) :)
Dad- lazy river and all the beautiful tropical plants
Me- Straw Market and tanning by the pool!
It was a wonderful trip and we all enjoyed slowing down and being together. It was so beautiful-we really saw the beauty of HIS creation! We hope you are all having a great start to your spring! -lilli

New Phone Number

Just a little heads up. We got rid of our landline so now we are going by Mom's cell phone. Her number is 239-0687.

Andy's Turn

Hey everybody. Its my turn to run the blog so I'll do my best to make it awesome. I'll try and give it a hip new twist but we'll see what happens. So this is the Meyers' Family Blog Remix.

This Summer

I think we are all really looking forward to this summer. Lilli is going to the Dominican Republic again this summer as an intern. Mom doesn't have a class for the summer yet. Dad is going to continue working at American Family. Pete is going to be golfing a lot this summer. I am planning on working (don't know for sure where yet) and detassling again. Betsy and Meg don't currently have plans.

Panther Basketball

The UNI Panthers won Saturday night against the Evansville Purple Aces. They not only won the game but they won the whole conference, getting them a #1 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. We are all pretty excited. Go Panthers!

Church Events

We have all been participating in many church events. Lilli and I help lead our Monday night high school church group called FCR. Pete attends CHAOS (Christ Has All Our Solutions) on Wednesdays along with me. Lilli goes to Big House on Wednesdays. Its like CHAOS but for older people. On Sunday nights we go to youth group at Cedar Falls Church of Christ.

Mom and Dad Facebook

Everyone with a facebook, we need your help. Me, Lilli, and Pete have been trying to get my parents to get a facebook page. So if you want them to join please say it in a comment on this post. We need your help.

Catching up

Well, it's been quite a while since we last posted. In the last couple of months things have been busy as usual. Some highlights were Lilli's acceptance into the National Honor Society. I have posted a picture of the ceremony. We're really proud of her. Andy has been making some great gains in the weight room and in academics as well. He was in his first Speech competition today and did well. And Pete is getting ready to play Billy Bob in the upcoming "Fussin' and a-Feudein'" school performance. We had the kids' school conferneces this week and,(I know I am bragging, but I am really proud :) )there was nothing but A's all around.

We're getting packed up this weekend for our upcoming trip to the Bahama's to celebrate our 20th anniversary this year. We are staying near Atlantis in Nassau. We can't wait!!

We are contemplating ending this blog since everyone is using Facebook now. Laura and I have resisted having a Facebook page so far, since it can become a time usage issue. I avoided the word "waste", because I think it is great for the kids to be able to communicate regulary with family and friends. So, for now, Laura and I will keep up-to-date with everyone through Lilli, Andy or Pete.

As Tigger would say TTFN