Thursday, June 26, 2008

Baseball Again, & Again & Again...

We have been chasing Brian and his baseball since the first part of April when he played for the High School team, and we are still chasing him!! He is in the middle of summer ball, and games are going non-stop!! They are doing great, posting a record of 13-1.Brian is pitching very well. He has gotten 3 starts this season, and has a 3-0 record. He has yet to yield a run, and has allowed only 5 total hits. He is striking out an average of 11 batters per 7 innings. Most encouraging is his only allowing 2.5 walks per 7 innings. That is a tremendous improvement over his high school games.
When he's not pitching, he platoons at first and third base.
His hitting isn't quite as good as high school, but still has a respectable .320 batting average. His .469 on-base percentage (how many times he gets on base per times at bat) is pretty good. I'm not going to complain!!

This weekend, we're off to a tournament on Friday thru Sunday. Then it's more games the first week in July. In the middle of the month, the District and hopefully State tournaments are played. It's exciting to watch this talented bunch of boys play, but I'll admit I'm getting tired. Oh well, I'll enjoy it as long as I can. Some day, he'll be out of school and I'll give anything to sit on a hard bleacher again, freezing or boiling to death, depending on the weather, and watching him play.

Keep it up Brian and teammates, you're doing great!!

De Colores

Friday, June 20, 2008

Worm Hunting

OK, I'm pretty sure this will be something unique to the blogging world. With all the recent rains we've been having, the worm hunting has been fantastic!! After dark, the nightcrawler worms come up out of the ground to do whatever nightcrawler worms do after dark (you figure it out).
Catching them is actually pretty easy. It goes like this...
1st you find the worm on top of the ground. Look closely, they really blend in!!

Next you gently pull them out of the ground.


Hopefully they come out of the ground intact.

Then you fill up your container with them.

There you go, now you're an expert on nightcrawler hunting!!
De Colores



Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Hail Storm

We awoke this morning at about 3:15AM to a terrible hail storm. Along with the hail came winds in the 50 - 60mph range. It was very devastating. My poor garden was shredded!! Here's a picture of one of my tomato plants.


This is nothing compared to the damage to the farmer's crops around Marion. Here is a picture of a corn field just south of town. I'm sure it is totaled.

Even in the devastation of the hail, we are thankful that we were spared from any tornadoes or significant wind damage. God does not promise that every day will be sunny, but He does promise to be with us in the storms of our lives.

De Colores


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Perseverance

Several months ago, our little development finally got a real street put in. A company came in, established a new grade, put down a base, and then laid 6" of asphalt on it. After years of driving on a dusty or muddy road, depending on the weather, we can finally go some place and come back without having to wash the car every time!!

I was coming home from my run a couple of weeks ago, and imagine my surprise to find several bind weed plants coming up through the ashphalt street!! How in the world could this little plant push up through what I would think would be virtually an impenetrable barrier??? Somehow, this plant is capable of persistently pushing slowly thought the asphalt, until it reaches daylight. Amazing!!

The dictionary defines perseverance as "To persist in an idea, purpose or task, despite obstacles (Webster)". Let's look at this little object lesson from a Christian perpective. We all know that in this life we have struggles, obstacles and heartaches. Oswald Chambers wrote "You cannot help suffering; it is a true and needful training for the soul that dares to be true to God." (My Utmost For His Highest) So, we all suffer, we all struggle, and we all face life's difficulties; we cannot escape it!! The call to us as Christians is to persevere, because we know that God is always there, and we are in His arms. When we realize this fact, we can persevere through anything, because we know that our Creator, Lord and King is there to carry us.

Hebrews 12: 1-3 says it so very well..."Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endureth such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary or lose heart."

When adversity comes and life throws us a curve, try not to be overcome with frustration, but overcome it with the joy that we have in Christ Jesus. When things do not go our way, go His way!! Be like the "Little Engine That Could" and with God's help go "I think I can, I think I can..." When we persevere and overcome the struggle, thank God and say "I knew I could, I knew I could..."

De Colores

Monday, June 09, 2008

Chingawassa Days 2008

Once again, Central Park in Marion was filled with over 3,000 people for our 11th annual Chingawassa Days festival on Friday and Saturday. The hightlight of this year's festival was the classic rock band Grand Funk Railroad (remember "We're An American Band, "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Locomotion"????). The weather held, the crowd was one of the biggest ever, and the band was great. Each year, we continue to have big name acts come to our little town (3 Dog Night, Guess Who, 38 Special, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Trick Pony, Restless Heart, Little Texas, Kentucky Headhunters, Little River band to name a few), and they without exception comment on how great a time they had playing in our park.

Can't wait to see who they get for next year!! Mark it on your calendars, the first Saturday in June 2009, Central Park, Marion, Kansas. Don't miss it!!

De Colores

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Boys of Summer

Brian is playing baseball on a 16 -18 year old team from Hillsboro this summer. I know -- GASP, he's turning into a Kraut!! Marion didn't have a team this year, and they invited him to join them. He is having a great time, as he is playing with several kids from Hillsboro who have been on tournament teams with him in past years. Joining them are also some boys from Chase County and Goessel. They have gotten off to a tremendous start, going 6-0 so far. They have outscored their opponents 89-4!!

Brian got his first starting assignment as a pitcher last night and did very well. He pitched 4 innings, and didn't allow any runs. He struck out 6 and walked 3. He also contributed at the plate, getting 2 RBI's with a sacrifice fly to the warning track, and a single.

There are some tremendous baseball players on the team, and it is fun to watch them. Brian is soaking up the experience of getting to play with some older players from around the area. Keep it up boys, you're off to a great start!!
De Colores

Monday, June 02, 2008

Texoma Stripers

The annual Fruechting father/son/grandson fishing trip was rather bitter-sweet this year. My brother Mike's son got sick with either the flu or a bad case of food poisoning the first night we were there, and never felt good enough to go fishing. Consequently, Mike had to stay at the room with him and didn't get to go out on the lake either. The fishing was great, and we limited out each day. The above picture is the haul from the first day.

I wish Mike and Zach could have enjoyed the fishing with us, but being on a boat on a large body of water with flu type symptoms would not be good!!

De Colores