So.
For some reason, my computer thought it was Tuesday, July 30th, 2165. 
While this isn’t difficult to fix, it murdered my browsing history in Firefox. It’s supposed to keep a history of one year, but since 2165 is more than a year from 2006… they’re gone. 
Now how am I supposed to remember how to get to the FamTeam Message Boards or something? :’(
First things first — today (Saturday), Mark turned 23 years old. Happy birthday, Mark!
Second things second — Paul and I had another gig to videotape a wedding and reception this afternoon. It was a 2:00 wedding at Shiloh’s Faith Family Church, which is a beautiful new non-denominational church. I had never been there before, but it’s really pretty! We even got to tour their high-tech video production area, where they do all sorts of neat things. Pretty impressive stuff. 
Anyway, after the wedding, we had some time to kill so Paul and I stopped by a small ice cream shop in Belleville. After devouring our respective desserts, we drove out to Scott Air Force Base, where they were holding the reception. The reception went really well, and we finally left the celebration around 9:30 or so and headed back home. Another wedding in the books.
Well, tonight’s softball game was very, very special for me. I had a chance to play shortstop for the game. Dad plays SS for our team, but as he and Mom are out of town, I was able to land the position. For those unfamiliar with softball or baseball, left-handed people rarely play shortstop to begin with, just because it can be a little bit awkward to make certain plays. I normally play outfield, and every now and then I’ll play first base, which was my old position before I moved to the outfield.
Anyway, I made my first-ever start there — which, by the way, was the only position that I have never played in my seven or eight years of playing softball — and I didn’t do a bad job! Granted, I only got one ball hit my way, but I made a sliding stop to my right, spun, and threw it to Paul, who was covering second base.
We ended up winning the game 23-1 in three innings. I batted 3-3 and had two triples in the bottom of our 19-run second inning. Seth, the team’s rookie, was 3-3 with three singles in the second inning! That’s an extremely rare accomplishment, to have three at-bats in an inning, and it’s much rarer to actually have three hits in the same inning! Way to go, Seifo! 
The Eighth Annual Softball Classic is only one month away, so here’s everybody’s formal invitation to join us for the fun at Laderman Park in Belleville, Illinois, which is about a half-hour from St. Louis. For those unfamiliar with the event, check out www.softballclassic.com for all of the background information, frequently asked questions, et cetera.
For those familiar with the Classic, we have a very exciting event coming up on August 26th! This year, we have St. Louis Cardinals players Jeff Suppan, John Rodriguez, and Adam Wainwright coming to the Classic. Adam is planning on sharing his Christian testimony with the crowd, and John might join my family’s team out on the softball diamond.
So… the invitation is open to anybody who wants to make an end-of-the-summer trip to be out at Laderman on Saturday, August 26th. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me or anyone in my family. We would love to see you out there!
Today, Peter, a/k/a Turkey, turned six years old. He was very excited about his birthday, and every day for the past three or four months, he has gone around saying, “It’s 120 days until my birthday,” or “It’s 57 days until my birthday.” It’s helped his counting skills, that’s for sure!
Today being July 26th means we’re only one month away from the Softball Classic! So we have a lot to do here in the home stretch, as we get into the final weeks leading up to the Classic. In fact, Mom and Dad left this afternoon for a brief trip to the northeast that will kind of give them some time to make some decisions in regards to the Classic. Also, they have been working so hard and taking care of so many little details, so I’m very happy that they are able to sneak away for a little break.
Yesterday, by the way, we played a very tight softball game that went into extra innings. We ended up winning in the ninth inning, and this was our third straight win. I batted 3-5 with a homer and two singles.
This evening, we played a softball game against TNT. We had some very good defense and also some timely hitting, and we won the game 11-1 in five innings. I scored from second base on Mark’s one-out hit up the middle. I ended up batting 3-4 with three singles, and that puts my average somewhere around .567… not that I’m keeping track or anything. 
In other news, I’m in the midst of installing the beta of Windows Vista on this computer. The idea is to dual boot Windows XP along with this newest version of Windows. It’s… 72% of the way installed. I better finish this entry just in case it wants to reboot or something.
Yesterday was pretty unique! My 22-year-old cousin Hannah Dalechek got married to David Browning, and Paul and I also had a separate wedding to videotape. So at 3:00, Paul and I covered the wedding at the First Assembly of God church in Granite City. After that, we hurried over to O’Fallon to catch the end of Hannah and Dave’s 4:00 wedding.
The family travelled south to Smithton for Hannah and Dave’s wedding reception. It was a lot of fun! It was fun to hang out with friends and family at the reception. And although Mark and I did some videotaping at their reception, it was nice to be mostly off-duty for the evening. I’m trying to think of the last wedding where I was completely a guest. It’s been quite some time, I tell ya.
I’ve been reading through Acts recently, and this line in Acts 5:38-39 is so comforting:
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.
God’s will will be done either way. If something is not His will, it will sputter out and die. If it is His will, there will be no stopping it. No use in straining or worrying one way or the other.
From roughly 7:30 on Wednesday evening until 3:30-ish yesterday afternoon, we were without power. The violent storms that came through the area on Wednesday evening had left us, along with nearly 500,000 houses within the St. Louis metro area, in the dark. Thursday’s temperatures reached 97 degrees in our area, so it was a challenge to make it through the day without air-conditioning.
Thankfully, we have a generator here, so select circuits were powered, and we were able to have lights and a few fans going. We also managed to power some of the computers so we would be able to keep up with work. But it was hot! The basement was actually pretty cool, but with each flight of stairs you would ascend, it seemed like there would be a five- or 10-degree increase in temperature! By the time I would get to my attic room, the heat would be pretty oppressive!
Anyway, needless to say we are so thankful for something as simple as electricity. It’s amazing how we can so easily take these different conveniences for granted. But once you’re without them for a little bit, it sure gives you a newfound appreciation! Now the trick is to not lose that gratitude, because there’s no reason I can’t be thankful every day for power or air-conditioning.
It seems like power is slowly being restored to different cities around the area, but it sounds like some people might still be in the dark for another couple of days! Wow… thankfully, the weather has cooled down quite a bit, so it doesn’t look like heat will be as much of a factor. Still, it’s just hard to do without electricity. I hope they’re all able to get the lights back on soon!
I’m seated in the front row of the press box at the moment, and it has been quite a wild evening so far! Things were pretty normal this afternoon, as Mom, Dad, and I spent some time down on the field and in the Cardinals’ dugout prior to the 7:10 scheduled start.
Things started to get really interesting as game time approached and the three of us made our ways up to the press box. About five or 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, the sky grew dark and some extreme winds started to blow. A few minutes later, the grounds crew unrolled the giant tarp and covered the infield with it. A little bit later, the winds got even stronger, and we learned that there was a tornado warning for this area!
The wind started to blow everything around in the press box, and papers were pretty much flying everywhere. After about a half-hour or so of watching the dark sky and the strong winds, everybody in the press box was told to evacuate to either a stairwell or a restroom. After 15 or 20 minutes, the heavy winds started to die down, and we were able to go back to our spots in the press box and survey the damage.
We got back to see papers scattered all throughout the press box. Chairs were soaked, phones had gotten wet, and I know at least one laptop was victimized by the storm. As we were setting things back up at our post in the press box, one of the other media members came up to me and asked if I would take a look at his laptop. Evidently, it had gotten a bit wet and wasn’t turning on. I went over to his spot and fiddled around with it for a little while but to no avail. I think the water hurt it.
The rain poured for another half-hour or so, and then it finally began to lighten up. The grounds crew was able to remove the tarp and then start to work on the infield to make it playable.
Finally, at 9:22 PM, we saw the first pitch of the game. It’s the bottom of the fifth inning as I type, and the Braves are down 5-1, thanks to a three-run homer by Jim Edmonds in the bottom of the third inning. Juan Encarnacion is currently batting with the bases loaded and nobody out, so it looks like the Cardinals might tack on at least a couple more here. Ah… a sweep doesn’t look so likely anymore! Oh well. I like the Cardinals and want them to win, just not at the expense of my beloved Braves.
Encarnacion just hit a sacrifice fly to left field, so it’s 6-1 now with one out. Yadier Molina is batting, and I’m going to get back to the game… and my cookies and cream ice cream.
This afternoon, Mom, Dad, and I went to Busch Stadium prior to the Braves/Cardinals game. Dad recorded an episode of “Safe At Home,” and Mom and Dad were able to sit down and interview John Smoltz in the Braves’ dugout. They had a good conversation with him about his faith, and he shared the different things that he had been going through since the last time we caught up with him, back in the summer of 2004.
I stayed for the game, and Mom and Dad stayed for the first few innings before having to take off for our family’s softball game. I opted to skip the softball game because I had the rare opportunity to see the Braves play in person. So I stayed back in the press box, and I watched as the Braves ended up torching Jason Marquis. They put up 12 runs in five innings against the Cardinals’ starting pitcher. Andruw Jones hit two homers for the Braves, and Chipper Jones, Adam LaRoche, and Brian McCann each had home runs before the night was over. When it was all said and done, the Braves won 14-5. It’s their seventh straight win.
Tomorrow, Atlanta goes for the sweep. I really like the Cardinals, but I like the Braves a bit more. So I’m hoping the Braves can take the game, and then after that the Cardinals are allowed to get back to their winning ways. Mom, Dad, and I plan to go to tomorrow night’s game as well, so that should be interesting.