everything is meaningless.............

Yes, it is.  Well, that is really a conditional statement.  I have recently began to read Ecclesiastes and this is one of the messages Solomon is trying to get across to readers.  He says that everything that is not connected with God is futile.  It is basically like trying to chase the wind.  Think ya can?  Nope!  I guess its just important to remember that anything that is not in, through, or of God is not worth pursuing.  This is something that I have bee struggling with that is thinking that some things are worth going after.  It is not.  If you want more on this, check out Ecclesiastes.

Christmas day..............

Hey everyone!!! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!! 

         I hope y'all had a great Christmas........so far!!!  :)  Today I woke up kind of early, I think it was 8:00ish.  I hung out for a while before breakfast with some of the family, then had the Garment(Laura's family) tradition, sausage-mushroom casserole, and my dad's cheese and bacon grits for breakfast.  It was a pretty filling breakfast:).  After, we opened presents and got to see what everyone got each other.  This year we, the Icardis', not including Mike and Laura, decided since we took this trip, not to do big or regular presents.  We did not have as many gifts, which really ended up being fine:) despite some protests.  We compromised with each person buying every other one gift.  Mike and Laura joined us with this, but they gave each other regular gifts.  Our one-per-person gifts were more "supposed" to be stocking-like gifts. Well, they kind of were, but not really:).  So, all that to say, that's how the presents went.  

          Next, we hung out some and some people worked on the Christmas meal, chiefly Laura (who did a good job;)).  Once the meal was completed, we sat down to quite a feast.  I had some wine with dinner (only a little), you know special occasion :), well you may be glad to hear I did not like it.  No reason to worry that I will be an alcoholic.  After, we cleaned up and the guys played RISK.  Oooohhh it was not such a hot game:).   I was the first one out and was not too happy about it, but I got over it:), and then Stephen went, then Tim, and then my dad.  Yes, Mike won. :)  He usually does, but that's life.  Hahahha...got to love it.  Then all of us, besides Mike, played Scategories (again, proper spelling?) and Laura won.  Yes, do you sense the losing streak?  Sorry, I'm putting too much attention on myself here.  Back to the story!!  After that, we talked about tomorrow's plans and now a few of us are watching Batman Begins (one of Timothy's gifts).

          Now, I just want to jump back to yesterday.  Chiefly, to last night.  We went to Mike and Laura's new church, Covenant Life (I think I have already mentioned it).  They had a Christmas Eve service.  I do not think I have ever been to one.  I will tell you what.........this was GOOD!!!  There was a small orchestra, a choir, and an interesting dramatization.  All the music was done by the choir.......all I have to say is amazing.  The choir was made up of children, teens, and adults.  They were good, maybe not amazing, but definitely good.  Finally, the dramatization.  It was taken from the Gospel of John.  If you are familiar with the story of the birth of Christ then you may be wondering the same thing I was wondering, "How are they going to take the nativity from the Book of John?"  It was interesting; it was good.  Fairly good acting, voices, and a minimum yet sufficient backdrop made up the service.  Covenant Life is a big church.  I am not, or have not, been a fan of big churches, but this is one of the times when a big church is so great.  While small churches are great, they just cannot put on Christmas services like Covenant.  So, it was quite a good service.  After, we went into D.C. for a little while and walked around.  We saw this huge dog.  It was like a bear.

         I hope you all have had a great Christmas and have remembered Jesus.  I know it may be hard amidst the gifts, vacation, family, friends, and such.  But I hope, unlike myself in many respects, have been able to take it in and just remember why December 25th is such an important day for all of us.

         You should go read Luke 2:1-7 (I think it is) and just take time to think, remember, and appreciate what Jesus has done for us.  He is Immanuel and He is with us!

W&L reveiw, cold, Subway, and Giant..........

(Ok, the blog was being stupid and I have never published pictures, but here you go)

        Yesterday I went, along with my mom, dad, and Natalie, to Washington and Lee University to check it out.  Picture a beautiful southern state with cool weather, pretty buildings, and a place so full of history you are practically living it.  It is set in Lexington, Virginia.  

         The school has been around since George Washington, who gave a large contribution to the school.  The school's name has quite a history.  First, it was Augusta Academy.  I think after that it was Liberty Hall Academy.  Then it was Washington College.  Finally, it was named Washington and Lee University.  Lee was added to the name because Robert E. Lee was the president of the school and made some big changes there like founding the school of law and the first journalism program in the US.  

         It was a very nice university.  I was not quite happy with some of the features, but over all it was a pretty great place.  We got to see the crypt where Robert E. Lee and his family are buried.  We also saw Lee's office at the school, which was pretty much left the exact way he had it before he died.  Right near Lee Chapel which was right near the school, where Lee's office was, is the final resting place of Lee's horse, Traveller.  Yes, it's kind of funny his horse is buried right near him.  I guess dog's are not man's best friend.  

         After meeting with a counselor, (he's been there since '67), we walked around the school for a bit.  The school is still on my list; we'll see if I get the full scholarship.  At $48,000 a year, that is probably the only way I would be able to go.  I am not set on the school yet, but it is still a possibility.

         After our visit, we headed back to Mike and Lauras'.  But before that, we went on part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was quite beautiful.  It was also cool because there was ice frozen on some of the rocks and some huge icicles that we broke off and threw.  It was pretty cool......literally.  

       After that, we went home.  On the way back we stopped at Subway and I tried their new flatbread.  It was not that great, honestly.  It was full of good stuff, but the "bread" itself was very impressive.  We arrived home and settled down.  We played Scategories, which can be quite a fun game.  

Today has been quite a relaxed day.  We woke up and did some different stuff.  After breakfast and some TV, I did some work on my brother's treadmill.  Then we went to Giant's food.  It is the equivalent of Publix.  I use this loosely, as some will be quick to acknowledge that Giant's cannot at all be equated to Publix.  It's a supermarket, but not at all like Publix:).  Well, anyway, turns out my bro and I took quite a long time to shop.  We were buying Mike and Laura food that they wanted.  My dad and bro, Tim, were also there, but they were buying other things.  Anyway, it took awhile as some things were hard to find.  Finally we made it out:).  

Then we did some other things after we got home.  Tonight my dad and bro cooked dinner and we are going to watch Fred Claus.  Alright, take care all!

Verse for now: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Phil. 4:8

Old, VA, W&L, siblings, and Christmas........

Hey y'all,

I'm sorry I have so neglected my blog.  I apologize if you are a faithful reader, or if you just casually read it, that I have not written on this for a while.  Ok, so much has happened since I last wrote.  As you will see I previously wrote about soccer and I'll touch on that, but there is a bunch more to talk about besides that. 

Currently, I am at my brother (Mike) and sister-in-love:)s' (Laura) house in Virginia.  This morning there was ice on our windows!  It's crazy!  Hopefully it will snow on Christmas!  If you guys think about it, it would be great if you prayed for a white Christmas.  That would be cool.  Literally.  We got in last night close to 9pm or so.  We spent a lot of time in our rental van (from 5:30ish to 9pm that night).  It was crazy. Well we got there, said our hellos and such, and unpacked our stuffed van.  We talked, played some darts and just hung out.  This morning we went with Mike and Laura's church, Covenant Life Church.  It is a church that is under Sovereign Grace Ministries.  And, guess what?  The senior pastor is Josh Harris, yes, the author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye.  Isn't that crazy!?!?!?  But yes.  Tonight we're going to have Mike's birthday dinner.  Tomorrow I am going with, probably, just my dad to check out a college, Washington and Lee University.  It's a couple hours away and it looks like a nice college.  It is about $48000 a year so I would need full scholarship if I would even think of going:)  

For the rest of the week  we're going into DC, celebrate Christmas, and do some other things.  It should be a fun rest of the week!  

Well, here's a short update on soccer.  We do not have any more games this calendar year.  Our record ended with something like 3-1-3 (wins-losses-ties), although I know that is not accurate, we have at least two losses, but anyway:).  It has been a pretty good season overall.  

Ok, well, I think I stop here for now.  Don't worry, I'll write soon!  I hope you all have a great few days before Christmas and a very Merry Christmas!

Verse for now: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" Isaiah 9:6