Schmidt Family Christmas and Ping Pong Tournament

Our plans were to spend the evening of the second day of 2013 at Jim's dad's home in Watertown for the Schmidt family Christmas, but for a short time it didn't look as though we were going to make it. It had been a frustrating day for some of us right from the start. Tiffany had issues from work that she needed to clear up with her supervisor and prevented her from getting to sleep on time and Natalie overslept and woke up twenty minutes after she was supposed to be at work. She took the suburban which was supposed to have been loaded with a toddler bed and mattress for a co-worker, but wasn't, and to her dismay she also found it was also almost out of gas. When she left again for work after her break she took the red car (which Nick had by then loaded with the bed and mattress) but called me only two minutes after she had left saying the red car was not driving correctly. Nick and I went to her rescue in the suburban. I took her to work and Nick drove the red car home. That car has been having some issues for a while so Jim decided we'd take it and drop it off at Brian's on the way back from the Christmas party. It seemed like a good plan, but we never made it out of the driveway. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture?

For the second time this winter we discovered we had a vehicle with a broken lower ball joint. (Go to the October 12 post to see the fun we had with that on the suburban...) All we could do was leave it where it sat and in the end we were only twenty minutes late for the party. When I thought about how Richard had just taken that car to Sheboygan Falls or that it could have broken on the highway on the way to the party, once again I could only give thanks to God that it let go in the driveway. This is the fourth time I can think of off the top of my head that we've had a major vehicle malfunction in the safety of the driveway or within easy distance of home. God is very good to us! We are now down to two cars for six people. The juggling is going to be interesting for a little while but it will certainly make us appreciate running vehicles when we have them.

When we finally got (safely!) to the party everyone had a good time catching up...

 

Then we enjoyed a fabulous feast...

 

...which included the last two Kranzkuchens made by Jim's mom, Judy.

 

But not to worry, Jim's sister, Kris, had made plenty more and there was lots of this family favorite treat to go around. After we ate, Jim's dad, Paul, handed out his gift of the bank accounts that Judy had started and maintained for each of the grandkids from the time they were little.

 

Then Jim and I gave out the flags (flown in Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan) to Paul and Steve and Kris's families in thanks for their prayers and support while the boys were deployed...

 

...and the ornaments I had made with petals from the roses from Judy's funeral. She is sadly missed but it is a real pleasure to imagine her in total peace in heaven, especially at Christmas time.

 

 

 After gifts and reminiscing about Christmases and family events from the past it was time for the (I believe third) Annual Christmas Ping Pong Tournament! Contenders compete for the coveted Ping Pong Bowl (created by Zeb with some help from Kaylin with the printing.)

The competition is fierce and includes some creative score keeping, frequent time-outs to search for a wayward ping pong ball and environmental hazards (watch for one in Tanya's game with Doc). Even though they were rookies, our family put in a good showing. Posted below for your viewing pleasure are some highlights from the games...

Richard took on Zach. Although Richard employed an impressive trick shot which banked off the wall and a mirror to ultimately hit the table and score a point (unfortunately not caught on camera) Zach won the match.

Liz played Harmony and after some intense vollies between the two skilled players Harmony was declared the victor and she moved on to the semi finals.

The photo below captures the techique and form which eventually led Harmony to her victory over Liz. (It should be noted that Liz is not truly a rookie at Ping Pong. Her family plays Ultimate Ping Pong which requires the players to continue running to the opposite end of the table each time the ball is hit.)

Nick put in a good showing against Jaden but finally had to concede defeat that veteran player.

Tanya was the first from our family to score a victory. She came back from a slow start with a late game rebound to defeat Dominic and receive a bye into the top four face offs...

...where she faced Kameron and his wicked back spin serve.

 

After a valiant effort (spurred on by her cheering section led by Nick) and several promising rallies Tanya also had to concede defeat.

 

Note: The cheering section gets the premium spectator seats...

The game for the championship featured a fast paced battle between Zach and Kameron...

...from which Zach emerged the victor! Post game ceremonies include the signing of the winning game ball...

 

...and Zach's placement of it into the bowl of fame where it joined the game brackets and balls of the previous champions (Steve and Dylan). Congruatulations to Zach and all the other competitors on an exciting and successful Christmas 2012 Ping Pong Tournmament!

 

Upon completion of the Ping Pong tournament a game of Yahtzee broke out for some...

 

 ...while the others gathered around the TV or the kitchen table and made use of their various electronic devices. We truly are a family of the technolgy age.

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

"Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize? "

1 Cor. 9:24