Aaron's iBlog

Another Amazing Drummer

2011-04-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

The King Of Drummers

2010-08-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Kentucky Trip Update- Day 5

2010-06-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

We are having a fantastic time here in Kentucky! So far we have been to the Creation Museum, the Louisville Zoo, the Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held, and of course many other places in Louisville including relative's homes. It's a strange feeling to be in places where my dad grew up and to hear him talk about memories from his younger years.

We've also been doing tons of swimming. It's pretty hot and humid here. The swimming place that dad would go to every day during summer is still here in Louisville, and that's where we've been going. It's just down the street from his childhood home.

Right now, Alexa and Dad are still in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for Alexa's Right To Life oratory contest. Caleb and I are here at Grandma Dixie's house.

We haven't been able to upload videos or photos for y'all due to internet issues. But now we've got internet so I can at least blog.

We miss all of you already.... ( well, I do... I'm not sure about the others. :P ). I'm having a blast but I still miss home.

Until next time, God bless!

-Aaron

Prologue: Kentucky Trip

2010-06-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Good evening, ladies and gents!

The Sleadd family is journeying to Kentucky beginning VERY early tomorrow mornin'. We're going to see Dad's family who all live in Louisville, Kentucky. The vacation will last until July 8 so we'll be gone for 2 and 1/2 weeks.

It's going to be very exciting to see relatives that I haven't seen since I was 6 as well as others that have been out here more recently.

Louisville is my father's home town so it will be great to see where he grew up. Pray that we'll be a Godly witness to our relatives while we're with them.

Also packed into our trip is a visit to the renowned Creation Museum, the Mammoth Caves, and the monuments and attractions at Washington D.C. Alexa and Dad are also going to be flying out to Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania from Kentucky so Alexa can give her speech at the National Right To Life Speech Competition.

We are very EXCITED and we'll try to keep ya'll updated on a daily basis; we've got our video cameras to take daily video updates.

Things to pray for:

Safe Travels
That we'll be able to spread the gospel where ever we are
And that Alexa's speech will do well and that she'll be instrumental in the cause for the unborn

God bless!
-Aaron

The Greatest Burden...

2010-06-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

"The greatest burden we have to carry in life is self; the most difficult thing we have to manage is self. Our own daily living, our frames and feelings, our especial weaknesses and temptations, our peculiar temperaments, our inward affairs of every kind, --these are the things that perplex and worry us more than anything else, and that bring us most frequently into bondage and darkness.

In laying off your burdens, therefore, the first one you must get rid of is yourself.

You must hand yourself, with your temptations, your temperament, your frames and feelings, and all your inward and outward experiences, over into the care and keeping of your God, and leave it all there...
...And here you must rest, trusting yourself thus to Him, continually and absolutely."

-Hannah Whitall Smith

The Myth of Multi-tasking

2010-05-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

I just finished a great book called, "Pragmatic Thinking and Learning". It's written mainly for programmers but for most part it, anyone can read it and get a lot out of it. It's loaded with insightful observations about how the human brain works and so forth.

One of the things that the book encourages is note taking and writing down thoughts. So, you may see more of my random thoughts on this here blog.
One of the most impacting things I learned from this book was on the topic of 'Multi-tasking'.

The author points out that multi-tasking is a myth. Our brains are simply not capable of multi-tasking (more specifically, multi-thinking). Yes, we can walk and talk at the same time, or listen to music while doing math, but when it comes to focusing on multiple things at once, our brains simply can't do it. I can't listen to the lyrics of a great song and simultaneously solve a math problem. The best I can do is switch back and forth from each task at a fast rate.

And that's essentially what multi-tasking is; switching focus from task to task at a quick rate. So, is multi-tasking good? Well, if we could switch from task to task seamlessly without losing memory, then multi-tasking might be productive and good. But unfortunately our brains don't work that way.

Imagine you're working at a desk and you're recording all your financial records for the past month. So, you've got all your receipts out, a calculator, a pencil and paper for notes, your check book is out along with your credit card bills etc, and you're recording it all on your computer. And then, you decide to take a 'quick' break to play solitaire(with real cards). Your desk is small so you have to put away most of your financial stuff to make room for the cards. But then after a few minutes you decide to go back to doing finances.... so you put the cards away and get your financial stuff back out. And then you do a little of the finances and decide you want to play solitaire again. You put away the finances and start another game. And so on.... you get the idea.

Well, that's what multi-tasking is like for our brains.

Yes, the analogy breaks down. You ask, 'Why don't I just use another desk to play solitaire?' or 'Why can't I just move some things aside to play solitaire?' In reality you could. But our brains do not have multiple 'desks' or endless amounts of desktop space.

The point is that it takes extra time (and mental energy) to switch between tasks. That explains why, if I'm trying to read a book and check my email and listen to music and watch a YouTube video at the same time, after several hours of doing so, my brain feels fried.

Our brains are limited and we can't be doing everything at once. The reason why teens are good at multi-tasking is because they generally have really sharp short-term memory, so switching tasks doesn't take as much mental energy. Nevertheless, studies have proven that multi-tasking actually decreases your mental productivity by 20%-40% and even increases your chances for error by 50%.

Ouch.

So, if multi-tasking is so horrible, why do we do it? Well, sometimes we have to. A dad has to stop studying or reading to hold his crying baby. Some interruptions simply can't be ignored. But how 'bout when it isn't necessary?

I'll bet that 90% of our multi-tasking is unnecessary. Is that email really that important to respond to? Is that movie trailer really worth watching right now? Do I really need to be listening to music?

Usually, when I'm 'multi-tasking', it's because I'd like to do something fun or urgent when I'm supposed to be focusing on something more important. So I pretend like I can do both at the same time.

So, what's the antidote to unhealthy multi-tasking? Well, first, you gotta set your priorities straight. "Hmm... perhaps, doing my homework is more important than watching 'Chainsaw Massacre.'" :P

And secondly, as Dad says (almost every morning. :) ), "Make the plan, work the plan." Decide to finish that homework and stick to it till it's done. Plan on finishing your chores before checking Facebook. Schedule out your day and even make time for those fun things. There's nothing wrong with music, email, movies, Facebook, etc. as long as they're not interrupting us from the more important things. See if you can schedule just one - two hours in a day for 'entertainment'. Then leave it alone for the rest of the day.

If we have no plan to begin with then a whole day can go by filled with 'multi-tasking' because every distraction was embraced. Our brains try to keep up with our crazy lives, flitting from task to task, yet they can't. Which is why we fall into bed mentally exhausted, having been so 'busy', yet, in reality, having accomplished so little.

Perhaps the increased trends of 'multi-tasking' haven't been caused by an increase in electronic distractions like Facebook, Youtube, email, ...you name it. Perhaps, the issue really lies in a culture that has lost any purpose and self-control.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says- "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

We are called to be good stewards of the time that God has gifted us with. May we not be foolish and squander our time and our mental energy on frivolous things that do not build the Kingdom of God.

Thanks for reading! :)

-Aaron

An amazing drawing... worth a thousand words.

2010-05-22T22:27:00.000-07:00

Study this drawing for a couple of minutes-

What is so captivating about this drawing?

I found this photo online a few weeks ago and decided to save it. I spent at least 10 minutes just looking at it... captivated by the drawing and trying to figure out why it was so captivating.

These are some of the thoughts I had while studying it.

Again, why is this drawing so captivating?

Perhaps it’s the ferocity of this mythical creature. It’s built like a powerful man, yet with the features of a lizard or dragon and with a mouth like one of those deep underwater fish creatures. The paws of this creature look powerful enough to kill a bull with one swing. How much more a man? Can you imagine this creature’s movements as it stalks and captures its prey? If the lion is the King of the Jungle, then this creature would certainly be King of the Forest. Nothing about it is weak or pathetic. Every feature declares its awesome power and might. Covered in scales so thick hardly a weapon can pierce it. Yet somehow, its right leg has been severed. (It’s difficult to see but its right foot is missing leaving a bloody stub) Here it is standing victorious over its first opponent, yet wounded terribly from the battle. What does this creature have to lose? It is visibly enraged by the loss of its foot and has turned its attention (or its wrath) to the other soldier. Though captivating, the creature doesn’t seem to be the focal point that held my attention in this drawing.

Perhaps it’s the fallen soldier on the ground. We’re left wondering if he is dead or just wounded. Was it he who cut off the creature’s foot? How did he manage to do that? How old is this man? From what you can see of his face he looks middle-aged, perhaps a bit younger. Does he have a family that depends on him? Is his wife waiting for him to come home? Many of these questions don’t have answers. And though the story behind this main was thought-provoking, this man isn’t the main focal point that held my attention.

Perhaps it’s the surroundings of this scene. It looks like it is mid-morning with the fog still waiting for the afternoon sun to drive it away. The characters are in a mountainess forest with evergreens shooting up around them; Out in the middle of the wilderness. Why are these soldiers out here? Were they searching for this creature to destroy it? If so, what has he done? Has he been killing off cattle, livestock, or been a menace to nearby villagers and travelers? Has he captured the princess of the kingdom and held her ransom? If these soldiers weren’t out to get him, were they attacked unaware of his presence? Does he rule this forest? Again, we don’t know; and again, there is something more to this drawing that captures my attention.

I thought about it longer and longer, and I came to this conclusion. What was so captivating about this drawing was the remaining soldier. Particularly his face. Yes, his uniform is exquisite. Yes, his weapons make him look well-prepared for battle. But, what caught and kept my attention about this soldier was his face.

Here he is, looking into the eyes of this ferocious creature which has just killed or wounded his comrade and has now turned all of its evil passion and rage towards him. This man’s strength pales in comparison to this creature’s might. How on earth is he going to survive an attack from such a creature? Suppose he was able to kill it; if he was wounded he would likely die from loss of blood on the trek back home. All these things are probably going through his mind.

He might return home as a hero but the odds are against him. He’ll be lucky to return home at all. Will his parents and siblings miss him? Perhaps he has sweetheart at home waiting for his return. How will she deal with his death?

Again, his face. There’s hardly a trace of fear yet you know that it is coursing through his veins. He stands ready, looking apprehensively yet unblinkingly in the face of death. Is he ready to die?

All I’ve got is this spear and my sword. Will either one even cut through his skin? Watch out for those claws and go for his neck.

He looks younger than the other man. Was that his mentor, an older brother, best friend?

O God, is Frederick dead? Or wounded? It doesn’t matter now. This battle is for him and if I live I promise to carry him home, dead or alive.

He does look young. Probably late teens or early twenties.

I’ve never killed even a bear before. Much less a creature like this. O God, please help me. Give me the courage to fight. Guide my spear and be my shield.

Something about his face draws you to him. You want to encourage him. You want him to win. You want him to survive. But you can only look and hope. What will happen next? You can only speculate.

You also long for the courage this young man has. Would I really stand there and face such an evil foe? Or would I buckle and run? I trust that God will give me the courage to stay steadfast when I am faced with so much fear and evil.

That's all for now! Leave a comment if you have any further thoughts on the drawing.

God bless!

-Aaron

P.S. Thanks to Dillon for telling me to post this. I tried describing the picture to him and he said I should post it. :) Thanks Dillon. :D

The Kingdom of God

2010-04-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

I preached my second sermon at church last week (April 18). It was so much fun! There were so many things I learned that God directed me to study in my preparation. God is so gracious and His Kingdom is the most exciting thing I could ever to be apart of!

The morning preceding my sermon was such a relaxing time to wait for the time to speak. For some reason I wasn't shaking with nervousness like I normally am... and I can't take any credit for that. The Lord was responsible for that.

The sermon was from John 18:28-38 where Jesus is standing before Pilate and he says, "My Kingdom is not of this world." So, naturally, I studied the Kingdom of God and preached on it. It was such an amazing experience!! When you are looking to the God's kingdom it puts everything on this earth into perspective.

Anyhow, for those of you who were interested in hearing my sermon, we did get it recorded and posted at hofgp.org.

You can listen to it here-
http://hofgp.org/ContentFile/Sermons/Aaron_Sleadd_4-18-2010.wma

Fret Not Yourself

2010-02-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

Fret not yourself because of evil-doers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

-Psalm 37:1-9

Sermon From December

2010-01-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

I finally uploaded the last batch of sermons from 'Household of Faith', so if you're interested, you can listen to my sermon here.

Have a Fantastic week and God bless!
-Aaron

Thoughts and Questions

2010-01-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Lord,

Lately I've been fearful. And I don't know exactly why. You know better than I do. You understand the little quirks in my personality and why I fall into these little pits of seeming hopelessness and fear.

Lord, why am I feeling fearful or hopeless? Perhaps it's the constant feeling that maybe I'm not living right. That I'm missing something incredibly important and I don't even know it. Is that 'fear of the unknown'? What if everything I've been doing or living for isn't good enough?

You know my many goals and ambitions, Lord. You know I want to live righteously but is that just a selfish desire to look good to all of those around me? I try hard to look important to others. I want to please you, Lord, but is that just a selfish way to get more things from you, Lord? I want to be genuine but I hardly know when I'm not putting on a show. I want to be friendly to others but is that just a selfish desire to make other people like me?

So many questions. So many things to worry about. So many things to fix.

I was recently reading a book called "Amusing Ourselves To Death". It explained how so much of our culture is now television based and nearly everything in our culture; politics, sports, media, business, is all centered on entertainment. Only the most entertaining movies sell. Only the most entertaining politicians make it to office. Nearly everything we do is for amusement or so it seems. We work hard, to get more money, to buy a better iPod, or car, or snowboard, or vacation lodge; for amusement. We don't pray very much because we're too busy amusing ourselves with music, movies, blogs, Facebook, toys, cars, etc. It's as though we're all searching for satisfaction and we keep looking in all the wrong places; even as Christians. But perhaps I'm overreacting in response to this book, as I tend to do, Lord.

What's wrong with enjoying good things? What's wrong with being amused by good food or good entertainment? Perhaps it's the amount of entertainment that really matters. Or maybe it's the way which we are seeking to be entertained? Are we seeking to be satisfied in material things? Or are we satisfied in You, Lord, and simply enjoying the material things that You have given us here on earth?

Please give me wisdom in this area.

There are other things that trouble me. As I learn about the industrialization of American Food, Medicine, Education, Business, Church Ministry and how that has effected our culture in very negative ways, I start to feel hopeless, and helpless to do anything about it. Our culture just seems to be so wrapped up in entertainment, selfishness, greed, money, debt and the list goes on. And I'm not able to fix it. I can't. I'm a sinner just like everyone else. Only You, O Lord, can save the world.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,"says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Lord, why am I fearful? You are sovereign, perfect, and holy. These questions, worries, and fears are all in Your hand. I surrender them to you and I trust that you will do what's best. Thank you for the grace you have already showered on me by saving me and bringing me into a relationship with You. Help me to trust you better.

Amen.

Upcoming Sermon!

2009-12-11T23:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

For those of you who don't already know, I'm going to be preaching at Household of Faith Community Church this Sunday.

I'll be preaching from John 12:27-36. The title of the sermon is 'The Son of Man to be Lifted Up'.

You're more than welcome to come and watch me present my first sermon. :)

Please pray for me as I prepare to present it on Sunday.

FYI- Our church address is 4335 Williams Highway. If you need directions, just leave a comment.

Thank you for your prayers!
-Aaron

Courageous!

2009-11-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

Check out the Announcement of the latest Sherwood Pictures movie production! (Sherwood Pictures is a church film production company that produced Facing the Giants, Flywheel, and Fireproof)

www.courageousthemovie.com

Our family watched the announcement and we're all looking forward to seeing it! But more than that we're very excited to see the impact it will have the viewers. The message is one that our family has been jazzed about for a very long time... Challenging men to be servant leaders in their home.

The Plot
Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, they face danger every day. Yet when tragedy strikes close to home, these fathers are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, and their faith. From this struggle will come a decision that changes all of their lives.

With action, drama, and humor, the fourth film from Sherwood Pictures embraces God’s promise to "turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers." Souls will be stirred, and hearts will be challenged to be ... courageous!

A Look At Their Budget
Facing the Giants- $100,000

Fireproof- $500,000

Courageous- $2,500,000 (projected budget)

Pray for Sherwood Pictures and the production of their latest movie- Courageous!

God bless!
-Aaron

HOFGP.ORG- Updated Look!

2009-11-12T20:55:00.001-08:00

We have yet another version of the Household of Faith Website! It's still under construction but the main theme and look of the site is up and running!

WWW.HOFGP.ORG

Check it out! And let me know what you think!

-Aaron

P. S. I was considering titling my post as- "Fresh New Look! Same Great Church!".... but I thought maybe that'd be a little bit overboard. I dunno... sounds like something you'd see on a Ranch Dressing bottle... not on a church website. ...whatever.... :D

Manly Indeed :)

2009-10-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos I took 2 Sundays ago. We went shooting at the Phillips with Nathanael. It was super fun!

Thoughts on Proverbs 3:5-6

2009-09-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

For some reason this verse has been in my head for the past few weeks or so. I've heard it many times before and it has always been one of those 'nice' verses that I just listen to without thinking about what it says. But I wanted to really consider what it means. Here are some thoughts I had on the verse.

It says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." .....with ALL your heart....

I was recently reading in "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life" that when scripture refers to 'heart' it rarely means your emotions or feelings. It's referring to your will, to your decisions.

With that in mind, trusting in the Lord with all your heart is a conscious decision to trust God. "I will trust you God." It means to trust Him in EVERY decision and choice you make.

Someone who truly trusts in the Lord with ALL their heart is a very confident person.

Why? Because they know that God is sovereign over the decisions they make and if they make a bad decision they trust that God's infinite grace and mercy will cover for their mistake. Am I a confident person? .....Are you a confident person?

Trusting in the Lord with all your heart is NOT an overwhelming feeling or emotion like butterflies in your stomach.

The reason I say this is because all too often we wait for the 'feeling' or 'emotion' to come before we decide to trust in God. And then when it's gone we wonder if we really trusted.

Trusting in God is a DECISION. The emotions are only the frosting on the cake. They may or may not be there when you trust God. But it shouldn't matter what you're feeling, God commands you to trust in Him.

It's similar to the love of a Godly man for his wife. The man may not always be overwhelmed with those butterflies and feelings toward his wife but he still loves her. As in he's decided to love her; to be her man; to be faithful to his vows to her; to love her for life.

And he shouldn't be dependent on his emotions to love her. That means he loves her even when he doesn't feel giddy about her; even when they've had an argument; and even when they're both droopy-eyed and grumpy in the morning.

The culture doesn't understand this. So many marriages are broken because couples think that love is a feeling or emotion. It's not! It's a decision of the heart! Yes, there are butterflies and feelings but they aren't the cake. They're just the frosting.

Similarly, so many Christians DON'T trust in God because they think it's a feeling. It's not! It's a decision of the heart!

Does that make sense? I hope the marriage analogy hasn't confused you.

Trusting in the Lord is a decision that you make regardless of your emotions.

If you're like me, you know that your emotions are all over the place. Some days you feel really happy, other days you feel really depressed. I think it's something that's part of our fallen nature... we can't control our own emotions.

But what we can do is make the right decisions for God and be patient for our emotions to fall into place. And they will.

Trusting in God may be hard at first but if you keep making the right decision to not worry about anything, the peace and happiness will come. It will.

Well, I'm going to have to cut this post in half and finish it another time.

I encourage everyone to read the whole chapter of Proverbs 3. You can read it here.

If you have any comments don't hesitate to post them.

God bless!
-Aaron

The Treasure Of Jesus

2009-08-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

What can I do
How can I live
To show my world
The treasure of Jesus

What will it take
What could I give
So they can know
The treasure He is

If I can sing
Let my songs be full of His Glory
If I can speak
Let my words be full of His Grace
If I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies
The Treasure of Jesus

And if I can sing
Let my songs be full of His Glory
If I can speak
Let all my words be full of His Grace
And if I should live or die
Let me be found pursuing this prize
The One that alone satisfies
The Treasure of Jesus

-Steven Curtis Chapman (from his song- "Treasure of Jesus")

The Joy of a Christian

2009-08-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

No thoughtful person can question the fact that, for the most part, the Christian life, as it is generally lived is not entirely a happy life. A keen observer once said to me,

"You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. You are like a man with a headache. He does not want to get rid of his head, but it hurts him to keep it. You cannot expect outsiders to seek very earnestly for anything so uncomfortable."

Then for the first time I saw, as in a flash, that the religion of Christ ought to be and was meant to be, to its possessors, not something to make them miserable but something to make them happy; and I began then there to ask the Lord to show me the secret of a happy Christian life.

- Hannah Whitall Smith
(1832-1911), author of 'The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life'

An Excellent Quote

2009-08-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant.

Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God.

If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.
‐Alexander MacLaren (1826‐1910), Scottish preacher

Hmm.... :D

2009-06-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm one of those kinds of people who can be in the darkest depths of depression one minute and then be as hyper as Tigger flying off the walls the next. And right now I'm feeling like Tigger. :)

And that explains why I'm posting for no reason whatsoever. :D

Life is good, music is good, rain is good, siblings are good, work is good, Saturdays are good, and above all, God is good!

See ya all later!

-Aaronski -or- Ronnie (You decide :D )

Left-handed and Loving Life!

2009-05-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

I am a cripple. My fickle shoulder decided it wanted to pop out of it's socket during an awesome ultimate frisbee game on Saturday. I was not happy. It apologized but it's still feeling sad and sorry. I have to cradle it and treat it gently all the time. It has very sensitive feelings. But it is getting better. :D

My left hand has proudly stepped up to the responsibility of primary duty doer, though it is having trouble in several areas. It has a difficult time tying shoes and holding silverware for eating. However, it is improving handsomely. My left and right arms have served me well. I try to take good care of both of them. :D

As you can see I have to take especially good care of my arm. :)

This picture was taken today as I waited to take the physics exam. We took it at Grants Pass High School. It was pretty intense. I'm glad it's over. :D

Beautiful Shoes!
(at Baskin Robbins. The Emmons are jealous, I know. :D )

Good-lookin' Jeb.

My dream come true; to set up and play my drums out on a field. Very cool. :D

My very own rock band. "The Benevolent Irish Band of St. Patrick's Classy Clan."

Having trouble with our touring van.

Rocking out some more.

Me with my faithful body guard. :D
You know how it is when you're a celebrity and everyone likes you; you have to hire a body guard to fight off all the screaming fans! ....haha! Juuuust kidding.... :D

Photo Credit Goes to Alexa, Destiny, and Mrs. Kruse!

Teenpact Update

2009-04-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!

Well, I had another great day today! The student government elections took place and Isaac was elected as one of the representatives. Yeah for Isaac! And Quinton Cools got elected for governor! Hurrah for Quinton!

I got to meet with Jason Atkinson personally! He's a very busy guy but he was still kind enough to meet me and answer some of my questions. And there's something huge in our state coming up that he told me about but I can't tell anyone else. :D Check out his site at- http://jasonatkinson.us/

I had better get to bed to be awake for the ride home tomorrow!

Enjoy the pictures!

I've been nominated for Governor!

2009-04-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today was awesome! I learned a ton and had a blast! It is very fun getting to know new people. It's probably even a good thing that no one I know really well is here because if they were, then I would only hang out with them and not meet as many new people.... It's kind of like what Tait was saying about Regionals. But at the same time I wish you all were here so you could learn all the amazing things I've been learning.

We have what are called 'field experiences' about twice or 3 times a day. A field experience is where you leave 'home base' (the room where we met regularly), and go somewhere in the capitol to see the government in action.

Today we watched the house of representatives for a short period . This was after we had learned all the procedures and rules of conduct that they follow. We watched it from the balcony and I was able to look down and see all the representatives, the speaker of the house, etc. Dennis Richardson, the representative from our district, was down there. It was very organized and official.

Another highlight of the day was during one of the breakout sessions. We were split into 4 different made-up political parties. I was in the Dehydrated Rain party. So in that session we had to vote on different issues our party would support and then we nominated and elected a governor and 3 representatives. This was the primarys of the election.

So that was when they elected me as governor nominee. That was kind of exciting. :)

Tomorrow we'll do the general election. So I'll be campaigning and running against the governors from the 3 other parties. And 2 of them I already know- Taylor Wells and Quinton Cools. I really look forward to it!!!! :D

I've been having a great time so far. The conversations have all been excellent! Mr. Harris and those leading the camp have a lot of insight and wisdom on issues such government, its role, and how it compares with the church, the family, and the individual person.

I'll try and keep you all updated!
-Aaron

In Salem for Teenpact

2009-04-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Good morning, everyone! I'm sitting here at the Harrises eating breakfast and getting ready for the second day of Teenpact! How is everyone doing down there?

Yesterday we got to read all the bills that we had written and they assigned them to different committees to review each bill. We were split up into several different committees and I think we'll be reviewing and passing the bills today!

God bless you all! I gotta run! Enjoy the banquet tonight! :)

-Aaron

A Prayer Request

2009-04-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

The Moores are asking for prayer for their family. Their son, Jacob, is home now after living at a Boys ranch in Texas for 5 months. He was expelled for bad behavior. Please pray for reconciliation between Jacob and his family. Pray that God would give the Moores wisdom about how to deal with this new situation. Pray that He would soften Jacob's heart to mend the relationships that are broken.

I talked to Zane tonight and he said they're holding up pretty good but it was quite a sudden change to have Jacob home again. Please pray for Jacob. He is young and already struggling spiritually in many ways. He needs prayer more than anything else right now.

James 5:13- "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

God bless you all!
-Aaron

The Grueling 10 mile Run!

2009-04-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

The Rugged Runners- (from left to right) Me, Dylan, Kolton(ran the 5k), Jachin, Kaila, Victoria, Christina, Dad Stephanie, Natalie(ran the 5k), and Steve.

Alexa forgot to picture Jachin, myself, and Steve in the last stretch, so in case you were wondering, yes, we did run. :D

You can see all our running times and results on the pear blossom website.

It was very fun, at least when we were finished. :D There was also a great atmosphere of encouragement and wholesomeness among everyone. 1260 people ran the 10 mile. It was a wonderful group of people! I look forward to running next year and with even more friends! ....hint hint. :D

God bless you all!
-Aaron

Spring Break!

2009-03-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today marks the end of this years' spring break. It was very fun and productive. Here are a few things I did this week.

Working on my Car... sorta :D

The carpet in my car was growing mildew so I figured I would take out the seats to make vacuuming easier. And while I was at it, I figured I might as well transform my Tercel into a luxury car, ya know. So I put a rocking chair in it. But sadly it didn't work.

Actually, after taking out the fronts seats, I ended up taking out the dash board, the side panels, the entire rug, the back seats, purty much everything. It was worth it though. I was able to vacuum up a bunch of junk (like cigarette butts, lots of dirt, you name it) and I also found some holes that were letting water in which caused the mildew.

So I'm almost finished cleaning it.

Later, we went to see nephews...

And then we went to a party!

And then we went to get our graduation photos taken...

(there were a ton of pictures taken, which means lots of smiling... and if you ask Tait, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to expound generously on that very topic.... :D )

I have to admit... it is fun being fuzzed over and bossed around and all that celebrity stuff. :D

Once again, life is good. God is good, friends are good, and..... and so is food. :D

God bless!
-Aaron

Pear Blossom Update #2

2009-03-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

I ran 8.1 miles in 1hr 17min today. It was hard but worth it by the end. It's funny how when you're running you don't think that its 'super fun' but when you're finished and you look at your time, that's when its good and satisfying! Awwghl..... yup. That's right. :D

Yes, life is good. Very good.

God bless!
-Aaron

My Nephew James

2009-03-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love babies! They are so... so.. (I don't want to say cute cuz everyone says that)...so ...lovable. Plus a whole lot more. :D

My Nephew- James Christian Phillips

Pear Blossom Update

2009-03-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well, if you read Alexa's latest post, you will find that our 2 posts are rather similar. :D

Since my previous post, I've been on 2 runs. I ran about 3.4 miles on Sunday after church around our neighborhood. It was really pretty. There's a cow farm about 2 miles from our home that levels out into an small valley of green open fields spotted with cows and horses. It's like a little paradise tucked away behind the mountains.

It was most definitely worth all of the huffing and puffing. Even with all the cows staring blankly at me as I ran past. And I could totally tell that they were thinking, "Those humans are pretty stupid. They just run in circles; back and forth; wasting all that good energy. And for what purpose? Beats me. I think I'll eat more grass."

I timed the run and it took about 32 minutes. I'm hoping to eventually be able to run 10 miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes or less.

And then, today, I ran 2 miles on a treadmill at the YMCA. I didn't really like it. There wasn't any scenery to enjoy... just other sweaty people running in place around me. There wasn't any fresh air blowing against my face, either; just humid stinky air being blown by fans. It also felt kinda weird to just run in one place for 15 minutes. It certainly ain't natural! But it was good for me. Next time, however, I'll run outside. :D

So, similar to Alexa, I'm pretty sore. But it's a good kind of sore. :D

Alrighty, see ya'll later!
-Aaron

The Pear Blossom Run

2009-03-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was finishing up my dinner chores and I started thinking about an event coming up called the Pear Blossom Run. I knew some good friends were gonna be in it and it sounded like fun. I like running and I like friends.... so I signed up!

It's gonna be a 10 mile run in Medford on April 11. So far the Emmons, Jachin Scott, Dylan Deems, and myself are going. Jachin has been actively recruiting speech members to go and I guess I'm their latest recruit. And we're all getting ready! :D

I told dad that I had registered and he decided to sign up too. It was kind of funny. We ran together today and it wasn't that easy keeping up with him. Just tells you that I spend too much time sitting....especially during the winter. :D

So, in conclusion, if you like running, sign up! You can sign up here.

God bless you all!
-Aaron

My Proud Papa

2009-03-02T19:01:00.001-08:00

This is my papa back when he was about my age as a senior in high school. Doesn't he look tough!? I've been thinking about growing out my hair just like his. :D

I think this one is from his junior year... a year earlier.

Today's Accomplishments

2009-02-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

Today, I solved a Rubiks Cube for the first time in my life!

Yup. :)

Here I am contemplating the situation and plotting out the next course of action.

Actually, I did complete something today that was sort of exciting... I wrote my first program in C# (a computer language). It's an interactive survey that asks questions and gives responses depending on your answers. It doesn't have an interface yet though, meaning you have to use the command prompt. My 'mentor', Mr. Hewitt is going to show me how to interface a program next week.

How is everyone else doing? Good?

Time sure flies by... especially when your busy. And sometimes busy is good. :) It just means you frequently lose track of time.

Well, it's gettin' late. I'm tired and I should go to bed. Maybe I'll see some of you at the Constitution event tomorrow.

God bless!

-Aaron

Performance Pictures!

2009-02-12T22:40:00.001-08:00

Rehearsal and set up before the Show-

The Performance and waiting in the hallway...

You're Invited!

2009-02-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

You're invited to a "Sentimental Journey" performance by a group of young musicians of Grants Pass! After hours of practicing and weekly band rehearsals we're pumped and ready to entertain!

Where: Grants Pass Community Center- on L Street, between 4th and 5th street

When: Friday, Feb 13th at 7:00 pm

Admission: Adults - $2, Kids- $1

What: Swing and Jazz music from the 1930s to songs from the 1960s. A few songs being- "Boogie Woogie Bugle-Boy", "Sentimental Journey", "Rockin' Robin", "Sixteen Tons", etc.
If you like lively swing music accompanied by dancing, then you'll enjoy this performance!

Who: Young people and families from Grants Pass. You may know some of them- Stroms, Emmons, Moores, Tommy Belcher, Anne & Amy Turner, Derek Rau, Betsy Sommerfeld, myself, and a few others (I don't remember their last names).

RSVP: Limited seating- Leave your name and number of seats needed at 659-6016 to get your name on the list.

We hope to see you all there!
-Aaron

Clarion Tournament Results Are Up!

2009-01-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

In case you'd like to see the results for the Medford Clarion Qualifier Tournament you can find them at clarionforensics.com.

The results page is here.

God is Our Great Comforter

2009-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

What an amazing weekend. I am reminded by the events of the last few days that God is still intimately involved in the lives of His children.

I was struck by the grace and goodness of God during the Speech tournament this weekend. After hearing the news of the death of an unborn baby, and then hearing how the mother continued to praise God through it all, I was broken by the fact that it's so easy for me to go through life, day by day, accepting God's immense blessings, and yet, not being truly grateful, but rather harboring discontentment in my heart.

In contrast, here was a godly woman who was worshiping God even after losing her baby. I compared that with myself; discontent, selfish, blind to God's goodness, when I should be worshiping him for the family He has blessed me with and the way He has preserved my life and theirs.

I had the privilege to see a few of the apologetics rounds shortly after the sad news. They were on the character of God. His holiness and His sovereignty. God had a plan that goes beyond the death of that baby. And one day He will open our eyes to see His marvelous plan.

I know already that God touched many more lives than just mine at this tournament. The Lord gives and He takes away. Blessed be Your name, God.

As I was thinking about the whole thing, a verse in Revelation came to my mind that gives us hope and assurance during hard times.

Revelation 21:3-5
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

May God bless you today and open your eyes to see his goodness.

-Aaron

Kung Fu Panda

2009-01-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

Yes, we finally saw 'Kung Fu Panda'. After months of having friends tell us we had to see it, we finally did.

Every scene has something to guffaw at. The climactic fight had us all laughing hysterically. Wow. My stomach hurts. Even mom watched it with us and liked it. Now all us kids want to take Kung fu. Haha! Um.... at least Alexa does.... I'm sorry Alexa. I couldn't help it. :D

So, in conclusion, watch the movie, enjoy it and don't be surprised if you end up laughing till you cry. But ignore all the goony new age stuff.

-Aaron

Spread the Word!

2009-01-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Clarion Web site is up and running with nearly everything finished! If you like it, tell your friends, your family, and everyone who is in Clarion club!

If you have any comments you can send them to me at Aaronsleadd[at]gmail.com.

www.ClarionForensics.com

A Sentence about Snow

2008-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

See if you can figure the families that are mentioned in this sentence. It should be pretty obvious. :D

Due to the snow, Emmonating from the sky, we Deemed it wise to go Krusing down the snowy slopes on our Sleadds.

You might have to read it out loud to understand what the sentence is actually saying. :)

Merry Christmas!

Rockin' Out!

2008-12-10T20:30:00.001-08:00

Our Audience

We got pretty loud and wild. Seriously. :D

As you may have heard, these pictures were taken at the new facility our church is meeting in now. It's awesome!

So, on Friday night, we went to test out the sound system and everything. The neighbors were probably wondering what all the noise was from. :D

It was very fun!
Enjoy the pictures!

SuperStars!

2008-12-04T21:34:00.001-08:00

These pictures were taken at the 'Silver Chair' Premiere in which I starred as Prince Rilian; Nathan starred as Aslan; Caleb starred as a giant(somehow that strikes me as hilarious. :D) and an earthman; and Alexa starred as a giant(s), an earthman, a crazy school marm, and the rear-end of a centaur.

So we got to get all dressed up like superstars and stuff.

Here's the family picture

...the goofy picture
.,..and the weirdo who played Rilian.
See ya later!

They're Gonna hava Baby!

2008-11-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. Nathan and Colleen Sleadd are already expecting their first child! They surprised us all at church yesterday with the thrilling news.

So during announcements at church, Mr. Nathan stands up, with this goofy, yet subtle grin that seemed to say, "I know something you don't!"

Alexa and I both had a hunch that there was something out of the ordinary when he stood up with that hidden smile. So he starts thanking everyone who helped make the wedding happen and for all the support he and Colleen received.

And then he goes,
"...and now that the wedding is over we're looking forward to getting lots of free dinners in 9 months."

There was a brief silence and I was thinking, "Huh? Why would they be getting free dinners? And why in 9 months? Wait... 9 months? Isn't that how long....? NO WAY!!"

It took everyone a few milliseconds to process what Nathan had said... but when we figured it out we got all excited and congratulated them both.

Alexa was sitting next to me and she burst out in tears at the exciting news. And then several people got up and gave Nathan and Colleen nice big hugs.

Wow. In a matter of weeks my brother has gone from living at home with his parents, to living alone as a bachelor, to getting married, to becoming a dad. Wow. No fair. :)

God is Faithful!

2008-11-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 2:11-13

It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him(Christ), we will also live with Him; If we endure we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 Corinthians 1:9

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

The Attack of the Mighty Bachelors!!!

2008-10-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

My Beautiful Bucket of Bolts

2008-10-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

I Got Me a Car

2008-10-19T17:01:00.001-07:00

It's a 1994 Toyota Tercel. It gets 25-30 miles per gallon, a nice improvement to the Mark VII's 18 miles per gallon. The engine is in good condition and it runs well. The body's a little dinged up in places but nothing significant. It was a great deal that I was lucky to get. Now I just can't wait to drive it!

Seeing that I've never driven a 'stick-shift' before, I'm gonna hafta learn to before I can drive it anywhere. The plates also need to be renewed, so I just have to be patient until it's all fixed up for me to drive.

Note: These pictures are from the owner. I'll post some better photos later.

The Best Movie in the World!

2008-10-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

We have finally seen Fireproof! What an excellent, excellent movie! It displays what genuine, sacrificial love really looks like; not only in a marriage setting but also in our relationship with Christ.

Romans 5:8- "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Praise God for Sherwood productions! May they continue to make good movies that will impact the church and the culture for God's kingdom and glory!

A Brand Spankin' New Website!

2008-09-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

After months of hard work, days of strenuous labor, and hours of staring blankly at a glowing screen, the new Coram Deo Church website is finally up and finished!!! (well..... almost finished)

Hooray!!!!

Check it out here- http://www.coramdeogp.org

Please let me know what you think!

Take luck!
-the Geek (a.k.a. Ronnie)

Why Would A Loving God Create Hell? Pt. 2

2008-09-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

Continued....

Now if you were talking to someone about this they would naturally continue with more questions. Questions such as- What about someone who has a lived a pretty good life but simply didn’t believe in Christ? Isn’t it unfair for God to send someone like that to hell? Or why can’t God just cause someone like that to cease existing rather than sending them to hell?

Once again we must go to scripture. In Genesis we learn that God made man in His image. That means we have an eternal soul. When we die there are only 2 options for us. Either we will be rewarded by God or punished. So what about a basically good person?

Romans 3 tells us “None is righteous, no, not one;” Notice how Paul says ‘no, not one’. It’s like he knows that you’re going to question his claim. “None is righteous” Now what a minute.... what about... “no, not one.” Paul continues- “no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

If you want conformation about the truth of this passage, all you have to do is look at yourself, look at those around you. Who hasn’t lied? Who hasn’t disrespected their parents? Who hasn’t worshipped idols? Who hasn’t been selfish and prideful?

Anyone? I can’t do good. My pride is always there wanting to get credit for my ‘supposed’ good deeds. And you know how scripture describes my good deeds? As filthy rags! That may sound harsh but in the eyes of God, my measly attempts at righteousness are nothing without Him. If you see anything good in me, it isn’t me. It’s Christ working through me.

So, is it fair for God to send to hell filthy wicked sinners like me who have blatantly rejected Him? You bet its fair! But, just as good stories have happy endings, God has offered a happy ending to all who will receive it.

Romans 3:23- “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

If we do not have faith in Christ, how can we expect to receive the reward that God offers in Heaven? But praise be to God that he has allowed us a way to Him through faith in Christ.

To wrap things up I’d like to return to the 2 conclusions that I had mentioned earlier. Either God is not loving because he created hell, or God is loving and creating hell was not an unloving thing to do. Which is the right conclusion? Thank God! He is loving and for that reason he has offered us salvation. It is than our duty to take hold of it!

Why Would A Loving God Create Hell? Pt. 1

2008-09-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is a paper Dad had me write and present for Church. It was very fun. Every time I do something like that, I'm just amazed at God's goodness and greatness. Anywhoodle, here it is.

Today I would like to respond to one of the most frequently asked theological questions. Why would a loving God create Hell? Before I dive in to answer the question, I’d like to analyze the question, define hell, and look at the background of someone who might be asking this question.

Analyze

Why would a loving God create hell? Someone who asks this probably has an idea or picture as to what is loving and fair. They might be thinking that God is unfair for sending ‘basically good’ people to be punished in hell because they didn’t believe in Jesus. The question seems to imply that there is a contradiction between God’s love and hell; as in- a loving God would not create hell. So there only 2 conclusions to this seeming contradiction. 1. That God isn’t loving after all because he created hell. Or 2. That God is loving and creating hell was not an unloving thing to do. Which is the right conclusion?

Many would like it to be number 1 because if God isn’t loving than what the bible says about Him can’t be true. And that would give them an excuse to deny the existence of God and go on living as if God wouldn’t judge them for their actions. Which conclusion are you hoping for?

Finally, what is hell? Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines hell as- “The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death.”

The doctrine of hell really only comes from scripture. Hell is described as a lake of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The term gnashing of teeth reminds me of something that I had learned from history about surgery before anesthesia.

Many times, especially during the civil war, soldiers would receive surgery for their bullet wounds. The surgeon would give the man a musket ball to bite on during the surgery. Many times the ball would have the man’s teeth marks embedded in it by the time the surgery was finished. That’s how painful it was. So when the bible says gnashing of teeth it’s referring to what men do when they are in agony. Hell will not be a pleasant place.

Answer
So, why would a loving God create hell? Why? Here’s the Short answer. Because if God did not use hell to punish wickedness, than it would be contradictory His Just and holy nature.

I believe that one of the most important things we need to do in order to understand and answer this question properly, is to look at God’s character.

According to scripture God is righteous. Jesus is described as the spotless and unblemished Lamb of God. God is perfect. He is just. He is holy. This is something that I think we will never fully understand while we are here on earth; That God is absolutely, fully, utterly, and completely holy. And that’s why, when we get to heaven and see God face to face we’ll be so overwhelmed by his infinite holiness that we’ll join the seraphim in saying, on our knees, over and over- Holy, Holy, Holy.

How does God’s holiness apply to our question? Because God is so holy, He cannot allow sin and ungodliness into his presence. He cannot reward those who have rejected Him. His love for righteousness is so perfect that He can’t let unrighteousness go unpunished.

Consider this example. I love children. I was just over at my sisters’ and I got to hang out with my little nephew Boone. He is such a cute kid. I love him. And if someone was seeking to take my little nephew’s life, I would take great measures to protect Boone. And it is because I love Boone so much that I would hate anyone who sought to kill him. You see love and hate go hand-in-hand. I love human life. Therefore I hate murder. I love marriage. Therefore I hate divorce. I love ice cream. Therefore I hate warm temperatures. Hmm......I take that back. I don’t hate warm temperatures. When you love something dearly, you hate the thing that destroys what you love.

God has created everything perfect and sin has destroyed what He has made good. Because God perfectly loves what is good, He hates perfectly what is evil.

Martin Luther summarizes the reason for hell so perfectly in these 3 points.
1. God is infinitely holy
2. Any transgressions against God are transgressions against His infinite holiness
3. Any such transgressions against infinite holiness require infinite punishments.”

....to be continued.

David's Birthday Pictures

2008-08-30T21:47:00.001-07:00

Colonial Play Pictures

2008-08-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

My Sister

2008-08-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Tata!

We're a-goin' campin'

2008-07-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

We'll be leaving tomorrow to head out to Howard Prairie Lake. The camping trip will last until Sunday and perhaps we'll come home with some pictures to post!

Alrighty! God bless!
-Aaron

Fireproof- from the makers of Facing the Giants

2008-07-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Birfday, 'lexa!

2008-07-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Alexa is officially 15 years old! She's turning into an awesome cook and a wonderful woman!

Happy Birthday Alexa!

I'm taking Alexa out on a date today. We're gonna have lunch somewhere, go see 'The Dark Knight' and then take a walk at some park. :-) It'll be fun!

Alrighty, take luck y'all!

-Ronnie

Double Wowza!!!!

2008-07-13T22:05:00.001-07:00

Nathan and Colleen are engaged as of Friday night!

They were pretty much up in the clouds.... :D

It's hard to believe that my brother.... my brother is engaged! The brother who I used to play war with when we were little; the brother who had always challenged me to try new things and be more adventurous; the brother who was always the big brother; the brother who always seemed one step (2 steps?) ahead of me. And soon he'll be gone. Man! I mean, I knew this would happen sometime.... but... so soon?

Wowza. :D

And by the year of 2009, Lord willing, the Sleadd family will be down to only 5 members at home. 5! Is that crazy or what! And I'll have to step up to the plate of 'big Sleadd sibling'. It's all so very strange.... yet very exciting!

Ok, so that was the news. Nathan and Colleen are engaged to be married.
But there's more! :D

Naomi Phillips, my sister, is expecting another baby! She is due in March. Can you believe it?? This is amazing! Everything seems to be happening at once!

All I can say is 'wowza'. God is good and He gets all the credit.
:D

Pictures of Late.

2008-07-12T11:27:00.001-07:00

Our church work project.

Jim Miller and dad.

Me... with my donuts and root beer. Talk about healthy! :D

Back to work.

My no-longer-quite-so-cute chicks. :D

Fireworks at the Quaids

And then Alexa put this Rambo thing on my head while I was busy on my computer. What a goofy sister. :D

I'm a licensed driver!

2008-07-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

We (dad and I) left at about 8:05 this morning to go take my drivers test. I was a little nervous that I might fail the driving a second time.

I had flunked the first test; For reasons like- lack of observation, failing to give right-of-way, halting stops, and a pathetic parking job to wrap it all up at the end. It was painful. I had scored a 45 with the required score being 75. I totally didn't want to fail again. :D

So, I took the test again and scored a 95. Phew. Now I can drive on my own! Yippee!

Alrighty, have a good day!

-Aaron

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!

Well, as I said in my previous post, Nathan is 19 years old. Pretty amazing. We had a fun birthday with him. We had cake, went swimming, saw Wall-e, and relaxed. Oh, and Nathan opened presents. :) He got a ton of junk food, sweets, a homemade Hawaiian shirt from Colleen and other stuff.
He said it was the best birthday ever! Probly cuz Colleen was there. Ha!

For those of you who have not yet seen Wall-e, you need too. :D It's a good movie. It's kind of hard to describe it. It has a beautiful soundtrack, the kind of music that makes you imagine yourself sailing through the universe; breath-taking graphics, and a plot that portrays a genuine friendship between 2 robots: Wall-e and Eve. By the end of the movie, you can't help but love Wall-e because he is so much like a little toddler who is always happy to explore and serve. It's a very cute and entertaining movie; a lot like Finding Nemo. Ya'll should see it.

So, back to the topic of 4th of July; we're going to a BBQ/picnic at the Quaids! I'll probably see some of you there!

See you later!

Nathan's B-day!

2008-07-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Nathan is turning a big ol' whoppin' 19 today! And can ya guess whose comin' over for his b-day????? .....Yup. You guessed right. Colleen.

We're going to have cake, presents and all that stuff and then we're goin' to Wall-e.

See ya later!

We're back!

2008-06-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

Aww... it sure feels good to be back home!

We had a great trip!

I can't wait to see you all!

Take luck! :)

Good News.... and some bad news

2008-06-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Good News

News on Grandpa

Mom has been up in Roseburg for the last week with Grandpa. Grandpa is 83 and is in the hospital because of several blood clots and bad gang-green in his leg. The hospital was thinking they might have to amputate his leg but his leg is now recovering. He was in the Intensive Care Unit, almost always unconscious from pain medications, and his old body was barely holding up.

But in the last week Grandpa has been healing quickly; not just physically but spiritually too! He had no idea how close to death he was until they were able to reduce his pain meds. His doctor was a Christian and shared how Grandpa had been spared and that Grandpa's wife (grandma) had practically saved his life by constantly caring and watching out for him.

Grandpa really took this heart. He had never surrendered his life to Christ before that, but had always been stubborn and unwilling to submit to God's Word. Then, all of a sudden, he asked to be baptized one morning. Mom asked him a lot of questions to confirm that he had truly accepted Christ and was ready to live for Him. And according to mom, Grandpa, by the power of the Holy Spirit, had truly accepted Christ! She and Grandma are really excited!

Now, Grandpa wants to go to Church, meet the Pastor, and do all these things that he had been too stubborn to do before! God has apparently answered ours prayers for Grandpa. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work through Grandpa and that these signs of salvation will be prove to be genuine.

News From Today

News about Next Week

Bad News

I don't know if this is really 'bad news' but it is disappointing news. In one of my earlier posts I had talked about being offered a full-time job. Well, they reconsidered the offer because they want someone who would able to work for them as a living. As in work for them for a long, long time. I would only being working for them for maybe a few years. So, they have someone doing the summer job and they're going to interview some other people who might be willing to work longer term. So, that's a little disappointing. But I know that when God closes a door it usually means he has opened a better door somewhere else. (And I have hunch that that other door might be- pursuing web design as a career. Ya never know! :D Hmm.... that's something else I should post about.)

I've been checking who broke to semis and octas at Nationals. No one from Clarion Club broke. *sniff* How sad.... I'm sure they all feel really disappointed. :(

Alrighty, I'll see ya'll later!

God bless!

Some Good Movies We've Seen in the Past Month

2008-05-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Bella (PG-13)
This is a great pro-life movie. Excellent acting throughout! There are some disturbing scenes, however.

The Ultimate Gift (PG)
This one is about a young man who grows from a spoiled brat into a selfless man through a series of 'gifts' that his deceased grandfather gives him. Good movie!

WaterHorse (PG)

Good, funny, kids' movie. Great cinematography!

Me: The List-aholic :D

2008-05-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Wowza!

2008-05-19T21:57:00.001-07:00

Well, I just got offered a full time job! It would pay well above minimum wage too. WOWZA! FULL-time! .....I dunno if I could do it! :D

Another bonus is I would be able to carpool to work with Nathan and save on gas!

Wowza #2: I'm most likely going to be Nate's Cable Reel Assembler and Supplier guy.... for Sleaddventures. I actually just spent a ton of my savings ordering the equipment required to assemble cable reels. It should be shipped here in the next few days.

Wowza #3: I've got a neighbor who has a bunch of yard work for me to do.... and he's paying me. :D I actually worked through the afternoon for him today... stacking wood, weed-whacking, mowing, etc.

Wowza #4: God is soo good. That's the long and short of it.... God is so good.
There is soo much stuff that has been happening that I wish I could post..... there just isn't enough time. Nevertheless, I'll try to cover the basics of how God has been blessing me.

Well, it seems the topic of money has been coming up a lot lately... other guys I know are looking for ways to make money; in our church discipleship program, we've been discussing how to handle finances and be debt free; Nathan is working away like an ant earning money so he can buy a house; and so on, etc. So it got me thinking about how much money I need to make in order to do all these things such as- buy a car, pay for insurance, build up savings, stay out of debt, pay for a house, raise a family, etc. So I did a little math and found that I'm gonna have to be makin' ALOT of money if I want to be able to buy a house by the time I'm twenty. And then, all of a sudden I've been offered a full-time job and all these money-making opportunities. Wowza! :D
So, in conclusion, God has been good to me. He is good. And He is always going to be good.

Have a blessed day!

Baby Chicks- Day One

2008-05-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Baby Chickens!

2008-05-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we ordered 20 chicks from the Grange Coop a while ago and we got a call today that they've arrived at the store and are ready to pick up! So soon enough we'll be back to the egg laying business with 20 chirping little fuzz-balls!

Can't wait to pick 'em up. We'll have to have all of you over to come and seen them! (and of course hold 'em. :)

More pictures to follow! (I think :)

Take Luck! :D

The Blessings of Children on MSN

2008-05-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Check out this news video! It's about a christian family that home-schools and the mother is pregnant with her 18th child!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24537885/

Isaiah 40

2008-05-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get tired? heh heh. :) I bet you do.

Well... lately I've been kinda tired. And I was trying to figure out why I was feeling tired and unmotivated. Was it cuz speech club is over? Was it because I had a slight cold? Was it because school is tiring? Though these things probly contributed to my 'general' tiredness, they weren't the main reasons.

When I thought about it, I realized the main reason was my lack of trust in God.

I'd been worrying about the future... like how I was going to be able to earn enough money to support a family; or pay for a house; or what job or business would bring in the most income; or if I wanted to become a professional web designer how would I do it. And when you start worrying about the future like that, things start to seem overwhelming.

I was worrying about things that I can't really control and started to feel kinda hopeless. So, Isaiah 40 came to mind about how God is mighty and Sovereign and worthy of our faith and trust.

Isaiah 40-
"28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Are you putting your faith and trust in the everlasting God? Or are you feeling tired, worried, and unmotivated like I was? If you are, remember that God is sovereign, He controls your future, and He is the One you should put your hope in.

I urge you to read the whole chapter of Isaiah 40. It is soo good! You can read the whole thing at BibleGateway.com.

God bless... and take luck!
:)

Back in the Day... (#2)

2008-05-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

This is back in the day when I was a street musician... on a coffee table.

Pictured here is one of the gigs I did back in '82. I got a whopping $7.36 for that concert!

You shoulda seen it.... everyone was going wild!

The guys were yellin', the girls were screaming, and I cranked out those power chords like flames off of a match-stick! (hm... maybe 'sparks off a welding machine' would be better).

Well, anyway, those days are gone now.... sniff* :(

I realized I couldn't exactly make a living as a street musician. That's why, later on, I applied for the FBI.

Have a good day! :)

Back in the Day...

2008-05-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

This is back in the day when I worked for the FBI.

Don't tell them I posted this though.... they might have to assassinate me or something awful like that.

P.S. The only reason I don't work for them anymore is because they didn't like my blue tie......too bad.

:)

Family Creation Night

2008-04-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

What: Coram Deo Church- Family Creation Night
Where: Lincoln Elementary School
When: This Friday, April 10, 6:00pm- 8:30pm

There will be lots of fun activities and games surrounding the topic of Creation- organized by Steve Holst.
Bring snacks or ice cream toppings.

Call us for more info... or see the original flyer

Hope to see you there!

1 Peter 2:21-25

2008-04-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lately, for apologetics I've been studying the person of Christ. There is soo much to know and learn and be thankful for in Christ. It has been really good to study.

So, for devotions this morning I read 1 Peter 2. It's a great chapter with the main theme being how we should be like Christ. Anyway, here's the passage-

"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;

and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls."

May the Word of God be in you and bless you today!

365 Days Ago

2008-03-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the first year anniversary of this blog!

My first post was on March 30, 2007 a year from yesterday. See it by clicking here.

Here are links to some my favorite posts-

God bless and have a great day!

Another Movie- Title To Be Determined*

2008-03-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm directing a multi-million dollar movie production! Can you believe it!?!?

......I didn't think so. :)

Ok, so maybe it isn't a 'multi-million dollar' production, but it's still a multi-dollar production. Right? ........And yes, I am directing/co-directing it with a good friend- Zane Moore.

So, anyway, that's what we spent our day doing- Working on our war film. It's in World War 2 time period with soldiers and punch-outs and gun fights and all that jazz. :)

The main plot is about a soldier and his comrade who are on a mission to deliver confidential papers across No-man's Land. One is captured by Germans and the other is mortally wounded. The confidential papers fall into enemy hands and it's up to the wounded soldier(with the help of an American squad) to rescue his comrade and recover the papers from an armed German outpost. The commander of this outpost is a vicious interrogator who threatens to destroy the captured soldier's life. Will his comrade arrive in time to save his life????

dun...Dun...DUUUNN! Haha! (hmm...I wonder if that made any sense:)

No romance stuff, though.....Sorry. Haha!!

It's a very fun, educational, and creative project. But I don't want to give too much away because it'll be more of a surprise when you see it.

Here are some pictures of what we did today. Enjoy!

Yup. That's me. :)

Zane. In costume. He's the main character and this is when he comes home after the war. Yup.

And the road he comes home on.

* We were thinking 'No Greater Love' might be a good title because it refers to the verse about greater love has no man that he should lay down his life for a friend.....and we have that verse in the movie....but we're not sure. What do you think? Have any title suggestions?

A Movie- Transformers

2008-03-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

We just finished watching Transformers. It was stupid. Sorry for those of you who liked it....but the more I think about the plot and the script and the characters...the more I realize what a ridiculous movie it really was. They had some cool special-effects, good acting, and good camera work.....but that's about it. The plot was lame, the characters were lame, the script was lame, the pathos was lame, and it was completely Christless with even the 'good guys' being immoral. The storyline had a lot of potential, but they botched it all with unnecessary scenes that had no purpose except to show off cars and special effects or excite ditsy teenagers. The main character's girlfriend contributed absolutely nothing to the main plot, the robots were all cheesy and.........well.......I could go on, but I'll just say this- There's a lot they could've done and didn't, and a lot they didn't need to do and did.

Anyway, I just felt like getting that off my chest. Sorry for complaining about wasting 2 hrs of my life. Haha!

In conclusion, don't bother wasting your time on this movie. :)

P.S. I'll try to make my next post a little more positive. :)

Web Design: Update #2

2008-03-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

At last! The web site is up and running smoothly. Take a look- http://coramdeogp.org/

It's not completely finished......I still have some pages to update....but all the links and stuff are working and going as planned.......I hope! Haha!

If you have any comments, criticisms, assessments, denigrations, evaluations, disparagements, encouragements, or suggestions for the website, please leave me a comment. :)

See ya'll later!

Web design: Update

2008-03-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

GAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Web Design!

2008-03-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been busy learning and experimenting with Macromedia Dreamweaver; a web design program. It's basically the standard web design program that all the pros use. I've been looking into web design as a future home business; that way I'd be able to make a living from home with my family.

So far, I've just been teaching myself and following an online tutorial. It is lots of fun!

My latest project has been a main page for our church website. I might end up doing the whole site if dad agrees to pay me..... :) (evil cackle)

If you want to see the existing church website, (It still has the old formating that dad threw together) go here-http://coramdeogp.org
It has a lot of glitches so that's why dad wants it redone. I'll let you know when I've finished and uploaded the new page.

And, of course, I'll keep you updated on any other progress I make!

On another note- Speech. I actually haven't worked on speech hardly at all this last week. I guess you could say I'm fasting from speech for the week.... :) I feel pretty speeched out; Having competed at 4 different tournaments in 7 different events. Haha!!!

....but I 'll probly get back to it tomorrow. :)

See you all later!

New Shoes!

2008-03-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, I got new shoes!

And they're better than Davids! Mwahaha!!........just.....kidding.

If you think they're cool, go ahead and say so......and if you think they're hideous.....go ahead and say so. Haha!

K, later.

Frisbee was a blast!

2008-02-18T12:04:00.000-08:00

All I can say is-
I'm stiff and sore .......but it was more than worth it!

Yup!

Frisbee!

2008-02-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ultimate Frisbee season has come!

Tomorrow, Sunday, there's going to be a frisbee game(s) at 4pm at Riverside Park! And possibly some football! Can't wait!

See ya there!

Another Beautiful Day!

2008-02-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

It's feeling more and more like spring time!! And ya'know what springtime means? It means Ultimate Frisbee and Football!! Whoohoo!!
I can't remember the last time I had some good hard exercise and I'm pretty badly out of shape. It usually happens that way....I get lazy and fat over the winter and then I recover when summer comes around. Can't wait!

Yesterday, I was sitting in front of my computer, (like I am now, heh heh) and I looked out the window and a warm breeze was rushing through our trees and there was hardly a cloud to be seen. So I jumped up, grabbed the camera, went outside, and took some pictures. It was great!

I got to see little Boone today. He can stand with almost no help now! Pretty soon he'll be walkin'!

Last night, we went to the Discipleship Program that dad organized as part of Coram Deo Church. It's a 14 week program about being and making disciples. It has been great! Nearly everyone from church has been comin'; Wednesday nights. Last night Ron Strom taught about doing good works for God's glory. He compared worldly works and Godly works and said that it really comes down to our motives. For example, if I gave money to the poor and my motive was to glorify myself rather than god, then that would be worldly.

He talked about how everything we do or have should be used for God's glory. And that we should be good stewards of what God has given us.

We should be good stewards of our-
Resources
Abilities
Time
Energy

And use them for God's glory.

If you want to read more about our meetings and what we're discussing go to to dad's blog- http://www.pastorjohnsleadd.blogspot.com/

Alright, have a good evening, enjoy the weather and stay tuned for more from the illustrious Sledvinsky!

YEAH!!!!!!

2008-02-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but I am just ultra excited right now!!! I couldn't help but post about it, so if this post sounds really wild you'll have to excuse me. :)
I'm not sure exactly why I feel so pumped; it must be because just about everything in life is going great! YEEEEAAAAH!!!

But for the sake of understandability I'll try and categorize them. Ok?.....ok. Sound good?.......good :)

Well, let's see, what comes first.....hmmmm.

Well, 1, speech club has been soooo so so much fun this year. For one debate been incredibly awesome. I have learned so much. I had absolutely no idea I would love debate like I do now!! It has been so incredibly, extraordinarily, fantastical!!! Yeah!! ......and 2 I'm not such a nervous wreck like I was last year.

I remember being terrified to death last year over doing impromptu, and apologetics, even though I'd already been in competition the year before and I already had some experience. I also didn't do very well in competition; I didn't place in anything I competed in.......though I'd do it again if I had to, because I learned so much about God through apologetics.....and learning to seek God for satisfaction......and not tournament results.

What used to be my least favorite speech category (Impromptu) is now one of my favorite. I don't know,.. I feel like I've gotten addicted to standing and speaking in front of people....entertaining them, or persuading them, or making them vote affirmative......HAHA!!
In addition to that, I've already broken to regionals in 5 categories (Debate, impromptu, apologetics, Persuasive, and Duo....YEAH!) and I still have 2 more tournaments I'm competing at......which means if I break in one more thing than I'll qualify as a Regionals IronMan. That would be awesome!! So I'm working on an OI and an expos that I might be able to break in.

Ok, moving on.....what else am I jazzed about?.....

Oh yeah! I just finished both my Affirmative and Negative cases and I'm pretty happy with them. Can't wait to debate with 'em! And now I can move to my OI and expos(on submarines) and spend all my waking hours them!!! Yes, I know what you're thinking, "This guy is completely whacked out! He's addicted to speaking in front of people...Ha!....what a weirdo!" And, yes, you would be right in thinking that. :)

AWWWwwwwwwwww..............Yes.....life is good. *grin*

Let's see, what else is there?........Aw. I've still got an awesome family and it's soon to get bigger! Before I know it Natey Boy will be married and I will have 2 more brother-in-laws........well, sort of.......I guess Conner and Calvin would be "brother-in-laws-once-removed".,....if that makes sense......heh heh!
And in addition to that I've got a huge group of awesome friends!!! And I mustn't forget awesome food! YUP. In fact, we're having pie and ice cream tonight! Yippee! So I've got an awesome family, awesome friends, and awesome food!!

There's more too!...believe it or not! Probly my favorite christian music artist is Steven Curtis Chapman. And I just found out that on his site he has his own radio station so you can listen to almost all his music for free! So I've been listening to his music while doing speech and stuff!
One of my favorite songs is called "Moment Made for Worshiping". The lyrics are awesome. You should listen to it. Go to this link- http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/radio/frame.htm, click the "play music" button, go down to his "All About Love" CD, click it and then you can skip to the song with the player. It's track 15. The player is a little messed so you'll have to go to the song that's after the one labeled- "Moment Made for Worshiping". Leave a comment if you like it!

And there's one more thing.....the weather is changing! Have you noticed we're getting more day light?? It's been getting warmer too. Spring is on it's way. I love spring time!!!

Well, there ya have it. Those are just few things are making me feel hyper!
Thanks for reading this endless and wild post. Have a good day!!!!

By the way, if you're wondering, I took these pictures last summer......it's my shadow on the lawn. And the first picture I'm holding up the camera with my chin....so both hands can be free. The camera was on a tripod...

Howdy!

2008-01-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Long time, no post!...eh? :D

Well, as many of you already know we had an awesome speech tournament in Medford this last weekend. It was a blast.....to put it frankly.

At the Tournament I broke in everything I competed in.....and that means I'm going to Regionals. And in 5 Categories so far! Wow......who woulda thunk it!?

I'm going to Regionals in Impromptu, Apologetics, Persuasive, Duo Interp, and Debate. Mrs. Haugen was talking to mom and said that if I made it to Regionals in one more IE speech then I would qualify as an Iron Man.......which is sort of like Sweepstakes. So mom thinks I should try to qualify in one more event. So lately I've been workin' on what I might be able to break to Regionals in.

I've been thinkin' it'd be cool to do an Expos on submarines, or an OI on Little Britches, or.....(this one is scary)....possibly Extemp *Gasp*,...or even all of 'em! That'd be fun!!!

So that's what I've been busy with lately. Yup!! .....oh and debate......and piano, math, and history.

Alexa and I just started going through Advanced Mathematics; a Saxon math book. We're on lesson 5.
Also for history, we finished the "America's Providential History" book and are now watching a Jamestown Quadricentennial DVD once a day.....those are really good!

Here are some pictures of the duo Alexa and I got first place with. Our wonderful Grandma took all these pictures.

Some more pictures from the tournament-

Can't wait till the next tournament!

Yippee!

2007-12-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

We're off to the snow!

See ya later!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T15:04:00.002-08:00

Merry Christmas, to y'all!
(This picture is actually from Thanksgiving.)

Well, how was everyone's Christmas Eve?

Ours was great. Grandma, grandpa, Nathanael, Naomi, and Boone came over for the afternoon and evening. It was very very fun. Nathanael was having cracking jokes and laughing the whole time...he's a funny brother-in-law,....I like 'im. :)

While the turkey and everything was getting cooked, Caleb played checkers with Nathanael. Nathanael let Caleb win. Afterward Nathanael played chess with me......and guess who won? I'll let you guess. :)

Then we had a delicious dinner with broccoli salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey, yams, and wine. Yup.....but I didn't have any......schucks. :) Everything tasted really good!

After dinner we all sat down in the living room and dad read the Christmas story and gave a little mini sermon. Then we went around the room sharing the things we were thankful for, one at a time. The whole time Boone was talking or flapping his arms or kicking his legs or looking around curiously or just being plain ol' cute.

Then we opened presents since everyone was there. I got the newest Josh Groban cd, Noel, a batch of jigsaw puzzles, World War II videos from grandpa, some audio CDs on christian film-making from Vision Forum, and more.

I got Nathan a cool calendar of sporty cars to have at his work. I got Alexa an eggnog carton all to herself, and Caleb a wooden model pick-up truck. I also got little Boone those foam alphabetical things that you fit together in order. Before I know he'll be able to say the alphabet. :)

We had a wonderful time. We all got food of some sort from dad. In the picture below Nathan is eating lemony spice cheetos.....they were pretty good! Dad and Alexa made a Jungle village for Nathanael and Naomi.....as seen below.

This morning we went on a scavenger hunt that dad had written clues for. Normally, we would hunt for our stockings, but we didn't have stockings this year......I don't know why.....I guess we couldn't find them in the attic. So this year, we hunted and found envelops with money in them. We each got money from dad. Thanks Dad!!!

Well, that's how our Christmas went...hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!!

Poll

2007-12-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Vote on the Poll,

Cookie or dough.

Pajamas

2007-12-05T22:01:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days where I got to wear my pajamas all day long! It's been so much fun! Haha!

Yup.

That's another reason why homeschooling is so great! You can wear pajamas to school! And no one cares!

So, now, since I'm already in my pajamas, I can go straight to bed.

Goodnight!

Junior Tournament Videos

2007-11-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

Howdy everyone!
I finished uploading all the speech videos and they are available to view here-

http://www.viddler.com/Sleadd2007/videos/

Thanksgiving and Memories.

2007-11-26T22:25:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful thanksgiving on Thursday. The Emmons came over and they had painted their faces with indian war paint. That was funny!

So we ate a lot, but I didn't gorge myself half to death as I have in the past. After the meal we went for a walk down to a new road near us while the sun was setting. It was a splendid walk.

Then the Emmons had to go to another party so they left about 6pm. We had dessert and watched home videos.

It's always odd seeing yourself from years ago. I certainly was a geek!....always jumping in front of the camera and stuff....I guess things haven't changed too much.

Caleb was sure cute back in those days.

So I found an old video of myself from a Covered Bridge Family Arts night. I think I'm either 11 or 12. I had never given a speech before so I was pretty nervous. My voice sounded pretty high back then, too. :)

Enjoy!

Amazing Grace

2007-11-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

We watched "Amazing Grace" tonight.

It was incredibly done.

You must see it.

My Sister's Blog

2007-11-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Naomi and her baby. (Don't you love his fat little hands and cheeks??)

Hello y'all.

If you want to read some funny stories from my older sister Naomi, go to her blog.
It's great!
http://www.mommyblurbs.blogspot.com

The Round Robin

2007-11-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the Deems, us 3 older Sleadd kids, Dillon Holst, Jachin Scott, Ellie and Kolton Anderson, and Alex Goldman all went up to Portland for an Lincoln-Douglas debate Round Robin.
From Clarion speech club there were 6 debaters, 4 timers, and 2 judges. We got up at 3:30 in the morning and met the Deems and Holsts at Wal-mart at 5:00.

Then we headed out.

2 red vehicles: Clifford and our Astro van. I slept for about the first hour and a half. At the end of my nap I was half awake and dreaming at the same time and I dreamed we were about to run some long haired guy over. That kind of woke me up. Haha!

The ride was very interesting after that. Dillon and Dylan got into some heated debate about Iraq and Isolationism in general. We all pitched in our 2 cents and argued with them.....more like 222 cents. Haha!
It was one of those informal debates where everyone's just trying to scrounge up random evident to support their case....and speaking loudly at the same time. Haha! 'Course with everyone doing that, the van was pretty noisy.......so Nathan flipped on the radio. And a talk show happened to be on, discussing Iraq and whether or not we should keep our troops there. Which has a lot to do with Isolationism; the LD debate resolution. Ironic.

So we made it to the church facility at about 10. Tait, Dylan, Alex, and I lead worship and then we began the debate rounds. There were 4 other debaters from Seattle.

I'm so glad I went because I was a little unsure if I wanted to compete in debate. In short, I was a little nervous about the whole ordeal. But now I know it's tons of fun and it's not nearly as scary or hard as I thought it'd be.

I'm also really excited because I got 2nd place! And Dylan Deems got 1st! Yippee!
I feel like I was just lucky or something. I couldn't believe I actually placed higher than all the better, more experienced debaters.

Here are some random pictures of the trip.

Creighton rockin' out on the church drums.

The ride home was pretty wild, as you can see.

We stopped for pizza on the way home. It was really good! We also went for a walk there in Jefferson city.

My polite brother. Rather discreet I might add. :)

Dylan the Dude!

The Nerd of the Debaters

Tait. I love his hat!!! I am going to get a fancy hat like his to wear everywhere. Yup!

Tessa the terrific timer.

Taking a break, on the way up.

Jammin'.

Debater Jachin.

More Pictures From China

2007-10-30T22:16:00.001-07:00

Me at the Juizhiagou park. The lakes there were really colorful, as you can see in the background.

Kelly with the viper. It was a heavy viper that stunk. It also had its mouth taped shut. :)

The Great Wall which Kelly and I climbed. It was hard. There were tons of steep, worn down, stone steps. It was good on our thighs and knees.

And finally, some guy out of nowhere who wanted us to take his picture.

Haha!

You hafta...!

2007-10-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

You all hafta see 'Mr. Bean's Holiday'! It's hilarious! Also, no crude humor.

I saw it on the plane on the way back from China and I had trouble keeping myself contained. I was afraid everyone would stare at me if I burst out laughing. So I chuckled.....quietly. :)

Home

2007-10-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Hong Kong we went to the Ocean Park. We saw sharks, fish, and a dolphin and seal show. It was very fun and the last thing Kelly and I did was ride 'The Dragon'. It was my first roller coaster ride and I was a little nervous that I might get sick or freak out and make a fool of myself.
For Kelly, roller coasters are just a breeze. She took the very front seat. I did the same.
From there it was all hoots and yells. I'd do it again if I could. If you want to see how the ride went, click here- http://www.oceanpark.com.hk
Click on Park Explorer, then click the Headland Rides link. Click on The Dragon video.

That evening we took a ferry across the bay to a swing dancing place. At first I was really nervous because everyone there was a lot better than me. Kelly is REALLY good! As the evening went on I was about to watch how the pros did it and learn from them. By the end of the dancing I had loosened up and was having lots of fun.

Some tips (from Kelly) on swing dancing (mainly for leads)-

Dance on the balls of your feet. Not your heels.
Keep right hand firm, supporting your partner.
Relax left hand.

Alright! Byebye!

Some Pictures

2007-10-22T05:47:00.001-07:00

A Chinese Bird in Jiuzhaigou

Cousin Kelly, Me, and Grandma Voyla

Kelly at the Great Wall

Susan and I watching pandas

Jiuzhaigou Park

Yellow Dragon Park