Boomer's First Birthday

Today is Boomer's first birthday (as best as we can tell)! He weighs 73 pounds, which is more than twice what he weighed when we first got him. As the first dog that I've (Nathan) ever had the opportunity to have, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Go Boomer!

Ah, the Memories!

Nathan writing:

So I was cruising around on OBU's website, trying to find Dr. Estes's contact information, when I came across this picture on the faculty web page. Now, I'm not sure if I'm just going crazy, but if I didn't take this picture, then it was someone standing right next to me. Anyway, I just happened to notice the hot leader of the group, and I thought, "Hey, I know her!" Then I immediately thought, "Hey, I sleep with her!" Before this digresses any further, I just thought I'd mention how cool it was to randomly come across this pic on OBU's website. Erin is obviously in the foreground at the far right, and the rest of the group is all of her close friends while we were there.

Just for a little "behind the scenes:" It was incredibly windy that day, and it is just sheer coincidence that nobody's hair is in their face in this picture. Again, this reminds me of what a great accomplishment it was for Erin to graduate with the honors that she received. I'm proud to say that Erin is my best friend and the love of my life. You go girl!

Here's the address where I found this picture: http://www.okbu.edu/employees.html

No Dog Do-Do and No Kids!

Here's the open grassy area near our building...notice: NO KIDS

What could the reason for that be?

Our condo complex seems to have some issues...what do you think?
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As I thought about these signs, I thought about how selfish we can become. Why do people desire community so much? I have a feeling it's because of the atmosphere given at places like our condo. These signs were put up by our maintenance guy, probably by the request of our HOA Board of Directors. Why do we feel so compelled to place our things in a greater priority than the people with whom we share this world? Just some thoughts...what do you think?

Concurrent Blog

Nathan writing:

Due to the encouragement recently received by my cousin Ezra, I have decided that Erin and I don't have to be "Blogger Snobs." He didn't say that...I just made up that term. However, I realized that it doesn't hurt a soul to post concurrently to two blogs. So that is what we will do.

If you're interested in taking a peek at the other blog, it is: nathanerinfunk.busythumbs.com

Just to give a bit of a warning, I've had to request the blog's webmaster to control some of the ads on busythumb's site (suggestive ads, cluttery ads, etc.), so if you are offended by that stuff, please don't link to the busythumbs blog. However, I think that the webmaster is controlling our particular blog's ads so that we don't receive those. Some get through however, so just be cautious.

Other than that, we've loved busythumbs. They're based in London (or that's where the IP address originates), and they have an "Editor's Picks" section. It's always encouraging when one of our photos is selected for that section of the main page. It's worth a look, if you've never had the busythumbs experience.

Anyway...thanks for reading my rambling. I know it may not be quite blogworthy, but I figured that a little extra info never hurt anyone.

Have a wonderful day, and remember to always aim for the stars...they make great targets. (Before anyone gets carried away, it's just a metaphorical statement...no need to warn J.Lo or Ben Affleck or Tom Cruise or any of those stars...there's no threat intended in this statement!)

What a Tattoo!

Instead of forwarding this to everyone (like we've been doing), we figured we'd just post it here. We got this from our friend Elizabeth (see following pics)...

We thought you'd get a kick out of it!

Baseball Pics

We just got these pics from Phil and Elizabeth via email. Thanks for sending these our way!

Erin and Elizabeth Chillin'

Phil, Erin, and Elizabeth not watching the game

Nathan and Phil not watching either...

Although it was cold, it was a beautiful evening for a baseball game...take a look at the sunset!

Phil the Robber

Come on, you know that's not a real can of Coors Light!
(It took us about 10 tries to get this shot because Phil and Elizabeth's camera kept using up all the battery power before we could get the shot...it was worth it. What a work of art!)

We had a ton of fun with our friends and neighbors Phil and Elizabeth. After the game, we drove downtown and shouted at some of the people walking down the street. Elizabeth yelled, "Hey you...with the face and the hair!" We had a great time that night!

Baseball and Such

Nathan blogging:

So I was cleaning out my wallet tonight and I found this reminder of a fun evening we had with our friends a week ago. We rode downtown together and watched the Rockies barely pull out a win in the bottom of the 9th. What a great game! Sorry this is a week late, but you know how that declutter/cleaning stuff goes.

Anyway, if you want more info on the game, go to: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp

We had loads of fun, and we've got some photos that will follow.

Say YES

We got these bookmarks from the kids we tutor at Say YES. We tutor these kids every Tuesday every afternoon. By the way (before we get some really confused comments!), Ms. Becky runs Say YES, and Erin and Nathan's kids moved away. So Becky gave that bookmark to Erin...we're not really sure why, but hey, it works!

Latest from Kim

Here is the latest email that we received from Kim early this morning:
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Thanks to you all for your prayers and phone calls and concern. Now that things have settled down a bit I can give you some more information. The names of the soldiers have not been released to the media yet, and probably won't be until at least tomorrow. I was called into a briefing yesterday afternoon and told about the soldiers from John's unit that we lost. We lost 3 young guys ranking from specialist down who I had never met before. And we lost the Squadron commander. Things are going to be a bit rocky over there for the next week or so as they deal with this loss and the effects of any change of command. I have not talked to John yet. I know he's waiting in line patiently for the phone. He may also be working non-stop because he works directly under the number 2 in command. If and when I learn more I'll let you all know.
Love, Kim

John is OK

We just got a phone call from Kim Tierney letting us know that John was not on the helicopter that went down. He is alive and well and just waiting on his turn at the phone to call Kim. In her words, in the email that we just received: He's Fine!!!!

However, the sad news is that his commander was on the downed chopper. Please pray for them as they have to grieve the loss of a friend. Kim said that John's commander and his wife had just had a baby, so please pray for their family. The commander's wife will be having to face a lot of grief, so please pray for Kim as she ministers to her.

John is the guy on the right in the above photo. This is pic of him and some guys he and Kim go to church with back in New York while they're in Afghanistan.

Boomer's Best Trick

Here's our favorite trick that Boomer does. We say, "Boomer, get your tail!" and he immediately goes into a tornado-level spin attempting to get it. Just thought you might get a kick out of this!

Helicopter Crash

Here's the latest, as of 3:07 pm MST:

Hi everyone
By now I'm sure that you've heard the news reports out of Afghanistan. If not, here's your re-cap: A US Army helicopter went down today losing all 10 soldiers on board. These soldiers were from John's unit however I don't know if John was one of them. From what I know after talking with John on Wednesday he should not have been on any helicopter this week, but things change and I'm not certain of anything right now. They have shut down all communications lines from Afghanistan back here until all families are notified. Please just pray and pray and then pray some more. I'm scared, I'm worried, and I just don't quite know what to do with myself through this waiting. I will let you all know more info when I have it. Hopefully it'll be soon that I have some news for you.
Kim

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This is what we know at around 1 pm MST:

Please, please pray for our friend John Tierney. We just got a call from Kim saying that there was a helicopter crash in Afghanistan about 12 hours ago. There are no survivors. Those who died were in John's unit. He may have been on the helicopter, but we don't know. Please pray for him, please pray for his wife Kim, and please pray for their daughter Maddie. We don't know anything at this point.

Here's the article from BBC World:
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Ten die in Afghan chopper crash

The Chinook is regularly used as a troop carrier in Afghanistan

Ten US soldiers have been killed after their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan late on Friday night, officials from the US-led coalition said.

The CH-47 Chinook came down in Kunar province near a "mountaintop landing zone" 240km (150 miles) east of Kabul.

The soldiers were reportedly involved in operations against the Taleban, although military officials said the crash was not caused by enemy fire.

The crash happened near the provincial capital, Asadabad, close to Pakistan.

No survivors

AFGHAN AIR CRASHES 24 April 2006- Five die when US anti-drugs plane crashes in southern Afghanistan 11 November 2005 - Civilian cargo jet from Bagram crashes killing eight 25 September 2005 - Five US soldiers die in Chinook crash in Zabul province 16 August 2005 - 17 Spanish soldiers die when Cougar helicopter crashes near Herat 28 June 2005 - 16 US soldiers die in Chinook crash in Kunar province 6 April 2005 - 15 US soldiers and three civilian contractors die in helicopter crash in Ghazni province Fact file: Chinook

There is a large US military base near the town, in the mountainous border terrain.

"The remains of 10 soldiers were on board the aircraft that crashed last night.

"The remains of 10 servicemen were found in the aircraft. There were no survivors," Lt Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for the US-led military coalition, said.

In an earlier statement the US military had said that the CH-47 was conducting operations on a mountain top landing zone when the crash occurred.

"Additional aircraft and crews were also at the landing zone and confirmed that enemy forces did not cause the crash," the statement said.

A man claiming to speak for the Taleban told the BBC the militia had shot it down with a new weapon, but correspondents say claims like this have been unsubstantiated in the past.

QUICK GUIDE Afghanistan

A major operation against the Taleban, Operation Mountain Lion, was mounted in Kunar province last month.

However, the BBC's Alastair Leithead says the province is one of the most difficult regions of Afghanistan to operate in, with its narrow and deep forested valleys.

The US military has suffered more casualties there than in any other province, our correspondent says.

Worst incident

It was in Kunar that US forces suffered their worst single loss of life in Afghanistan since they first invaded in 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks.

One of their helicopters was shot down in late June 2005, killing all 16 special forces and crew on board.

The Chinook had been sent in to rescue a special forces unit on the ground whose mission had been compromised. Three members of that four-man team were also killed.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan on Friday, two Italian soldiers were killed after their vehicle was hit by a bomb as they were travelling about 20km (12 miles) south of the capital Kabul.

And four Afghans, including two policemen, were also been killed in the southern Helmand province where British troops have just taken over Nato operations.

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copied from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4979546.stm

Quoted: "The measure of my life: Is it "blogworthy?"

Nathan typing:

So I saw this quote today at the bottom of an email from Seth Glaze and it made me think about it. Is my life blogworthy? Well, I really don't know. If I were to say that it is, then does that make me a conceited, self-centered punk? However, I know that I have those tendencies to begin with. I don't know if the things that I busy myself with every day are worthy of any attention whatsoever. However, I do know that I sure hope that what I do makes an impact somewhere for the good.

When I look at Erin, and I think "yeah, she has a blogworthy life." She works in labor and delivery and welcomes people into the world every day. She comforts those who are in pain, and she gives a smile to those who need it. Her life is one of great impact, so yes, she has a blogworthy life.

But most importantly, I want to know that I am living a Christworthy life. When it all boils down to the bare essentials, that's all that really matters. When I stand before my Maker on that day of judgment, will I know that my life was worthy of the Christ Who saved me from my sins on the cross? Will I be able to look back on the years that He gave to me and say that is was Christworthy?

A country song that I really like has the line, "I hope that someday soon you get the chance to live like you were dyin.'" (I'm sure you noticed the missing "g" on the end of dyin' - it's a country song...what do you expect?!) But seriously...that's how I hope to live my life. I hope I never forget the fact that every day is a gift, and that I am not guaranteed a single day on this earth. So I must love my God with all that I am. I must selflessly give myself to my wife in the way of service to her that only those who know the love of Jesus can come close to understanding. I must live in a way that inspires others onward toward the ultimate joy...Jesus Christ Himself.

My challenge to you is this: Live every day like it could be your last. And if today is your last day in this life, do you know where you'll spend the rest of transcendent eternity? If it's joy and hope you seek, Jesus is the way to God. If it's separation, loneliness, and despair that you want, then seek anything else. But friend, please seek Jesus. I have this treasure and I desperately want you to also know Him and to have the treasure of His friendship and love as well.

Email us!

Mark and Alison Struska! This message is for you...and anyone else coming to the Denver area. Please email us at funkybluegrass@yahoo.com. This email address isn't our primary email address, but it's the one that we feel comfortable with sharing on a forum like this. Then we'll share our regular email with you once we hear from you in that inbox. We'd like to get together with you guys when you're here if we can.

This goes for all of our friends reading this blog...please email us if you're going to be in Denver! We want to see you and find out what's going on in your worlds. Thanks!

Fun News From Friends

We just got news today that our friends Tony and Ally Hawkins just welcomed AmyLee Scout into the world this morning at 8:02 am down in Mississippi. She is 20 inches long, weighs 6 lbs., 14 oz. She and Ally are really healthy, and they'll be able to go home sometime tomorrow evening. Just thought we'd share that with those of you who know them.

The BolderBoulder

Thank you Kim and Alison for your comments on the last posting. That really helps us in the decision process. This blog seems to be a lot cleaner and more visitor-friendly than the busythumbs blog. Thanks again!

Well, we've signed up to run the BolderBoulder here in a few weeks. Apparently this is one of the biggest 10k races in the country. We're really looking forward to it. Erin has run it before, but this is the first time for Nathan. We've both run a 10k before (the Tulsa Run in Oklahoma). In fact, we ran the Tulsa Run on the day that we got engaged to be married over 3 years ago.

Just so we're clear, neither of us is the one in the monkey suit, but it does bring back some pretty scary memories for Nathan from college! Anyway, if you're interested in running the BolderBoulder, or if you're just interested in why we're running, take a look at http://www.bolderboulder.com/

Well, we hope you all have a wonderful day, and we'll keep you posted a little better than we've been doing lately...Please let us know how you're doing! Leave us a comment, so that we can know how to more specifically pray for you, and just so that we can selfishly know how our friends are doing!