Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Originally uploaded by Dave Spriggs

It's been another wonderful Thanksgiving. We enjoyed eating at Matt and Katherine's house again this year. 2009 has gone by very fast.

Family Camping Trip

We had a great time on our family camping trip. This was our second trip. Our first was only a couple of months ago on Memorial Day and we had a great time.

As nice as our first trip was, this trip was even better.

We went with 63 friends from our church. The trip was at the John Kerr Reservoir in Virginia. We spent July 3 through July 5. We learned about camping from more experienced campers. We also enjoyed deepening our friendships with our church family.

We enjoyed swimming, fishing, biking, and a beautiful, peaceful setting. On Independence Day, we had a patriotic service with singing and a brief sermon from our pastor. It was a wonderful trip.

I'll post pictures later today.

-- Posted From My iPhone

Rural Health Care Conference

I just checked into the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. I am attending a conferene on rural healthcare. As one friend commented, it is ironic to have that conference here.

I miss my girls already. At least I will get some good pizza tonight. The hotel is fancy.



This was my room.



This is the hotel lobby.



The Fresco on the ceiling of the lobby is beautiful.



One of my favorite Chicago attractions, the Art Institute.  I wish I could have viewed the art this time.





The food was very good (and very expensive).



Believe it or not, I did attend all the lectures and learned a lot about rural healthcare.

Posted From My iPhone

Amanda Spriggs' 5th Grade Graduation

Last Friday (6-12-2009), Amanda graduated from 5th grade. She is growing fast and Julie and I are very proud of her. I think she may have set a record for the number of awards she won.



















This last picture was from March, 2009 and shows Amanda's art on display at the North Carolina State Capitol.  Her piece is the lighthouse just above her head.  She has had a wonderful schoolyear.

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Steve Jobs may not be the easiest guy to get along with, but he sure is good at delivering commencement speeches.

Detroiters carry on amid all the hardships | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Detroiters carry on amid all the hardships | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

A college friend showed me this article.  It is a very well written, and as a native of Michigan, I especially enjoyed it.  Here is an excerpt:

Do you think if your main industry sails away to foreign countries, if the tax base of your city dries up, you won't have crumbling houses and men sleeping on church floors, too? Do you think if we become a country that makes nothing, that builds nothing, that only services and outsources, that we will hold our place on the economic totem pole? Detroit may be suffering the worst from this semi-Depression, but we sure didn't invent it. And we can't stop it from spreading. We can only do what we do. Survive.

And yet, we're better at that than most places.

Hopefully, 2009 will be a good year for Michigan.

Science Fair

On 1-13-09, Amanda and Emily both participated in their school science fair.  Emily is in 1st grade and Amanda is in 5th grade.  They both attend Colefax Elementary School.



Amanda's project evaluated the impact of move watching on pulse rate.



Emily grew a "Crystal Garden".  She had fun time.



Both girls did a great job on their projects.

New Years Eve 2008 and New Years Day 2009

Julie and I have enjoyed the past two days very much.  Our girls went with my mom and dad to Michigan.  They have been having a good time with their cousins.  Julie and I both had today off from work and we enjoyed sleeping in and catching a movie at the dollar movie theater.

Yesterday, we had a great time playing games and celebrating New Years Eve at Uncle Don's house.  Friends from church came over and we played games and rung in the New Year together.







Everyone had a good time.  We are looking forward to all that 2009 has in store for us.

Happy New Year!

A Video summary of our Family Christmas Party on 12-26-08

I uploaded a few short video clips from our family Christmas Party on 12-26-08.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoG65Tt6cxU[/youtube]

Julie and Delsie comment on Gender Equality at Christmas 2008.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZRDOvJ9xwE[/youtube]

Tamara adds her comments on Gender equality.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vHFQHXJQVg[/youtube]

Women are workers men are players

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKcn12LaWY[/youtube]

Paul talks about Griffin's proficiency with a BB gun

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9afY01_9q0[/youtube]

Don shares a funny story from Christmas past.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnH_VKEDLU[/youtube]

A Family Christmas Carol

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZHnw2SLNME[/youtube]

Paul reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas