Facebook users put out a challenge to post what you were thankful for each day until Thankgiving. I decided to take the challenge and it was a lot easier than I thought. Here are my daily posts for the challenge in reverse order.

I am thankful that God has provided for my business this year as my Sun Microsystem job went away.

I thankful for the 3 new babies in my friends lives born this weekend! Life is precious.

I am thankful for today, a day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!

I am thanful to go on a 20 mile bike ride in Minneapolis today, not bad for November!

I am thankful for the great performance given by the Meadow Creek Christian drama team! Go see Get Smart today, last chance.

I am thankful for my daughter Jenny as she earned all-conference as a Junior in soccer. She also loves her friends and time she spends with them.

I am thankful for my daughter Amy as she goes through her senior year and looks for a college to become an RN.

I am thankful for my daughter Angela and her desire to help others both on the mission field and as an RN.

I am thankful for my son Jason, his wife Tara and Evan and Nevaeh, my 2 Grandchildren 8^)

I am thankful for my wonderful wife of 21 years.

I am thankful for my friend who posted the challenge.

Happy Thanksgiving and I would love to read yours too!

Conference Champs 9-0

Final record 28-7

7th Place in Apple Valley tourney

1st Place in Mora Tourney

Winners of 15 of their final 16 games, only loosing to the eventual State Champs and winning 3 of last 4 in 5 set matches.

Subsection 4A North Champions

Section 4A Champions

3rd in State, 1 of 9 teams in the state to finish their season with a win.

Best finish in school history

8 seniors who have played together since 5th grade!

Round 1 in the State Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St Paul, MN, home of the Wild! After the banquet at Crowne Plaza Wednesday night introducing all the girls playing in the tournament from all 24 teams, we are ready to get the championship settled. Our friends from Andover had already lost a tough match to Stillwater 3-1. Time to introduce our Saints.

Game 1 started out with point Saints but, quickly Nevis built a 4 point edge. We tied them twice in the match though we never led after 1-0. Nevis takes round one 25-22 and set the tone for the match. Lets pick it up Saints!

Game 2 looks very much like game 1 with Nevis holding the edge. Our girls look like they need to pull it together and start playing like they can. In the end Nevis pulls out another win, more decisevly 25-15. Can the Saints pull it together? We can only hope so but now we have to win the final 3 games of the match.

Game 3 our Saints had a fire lit under them by the coach. They looked like they have in the sections and end up totally dominating the game and winning 25-9. Now the fans are feeling a whole lot better and know this can be done.

Game 4 was another close match with several ties along the way. Several points lasted 10 or more times across the net. Great volleys and hard work by both teams said they both wanted to advance. Saints end up winning 25-22 so bring on game 5.

Gane 5, winner moves on, looser goes to the consolation bracket. Who wants this more? Nevis takes an ealry 6-2 lead and the Saints appear to be in trouble. They quickly get back in the match and tie it at 9. Then the point go back and forth. Game tied at 13, the Saints win the point but quickly give the point back. 14-14 game 5, does it get any better than this? I guess our Saints wanted this more as they scored the next points and advance to play top ranked Bethlehem Academy tomorrow at 1 pm.

Don't miss it! Way to go Saints, we are very proud of your accomplishments this year.

The place: Minnehaha Academy

The time: 1pm 11-7-2009

The teams: Meadow Creek vs Mayer Lutheran

The stakes: Who goes to State?

Minnehaha was rocking with the pep bands from Meadow Creek and Mayer Lutheran switching back and forth. Meadow Creek played after games 1 and 3 and Mayer played game 2 and 4 if necessary.

Game one our Saints started off a little slow but quickly gained an edge in the match. The score was close throughout but our Ladies took game 1 25-22. Great start girls!

Game 2 had Mayer Lutheran scoring the first 6 points. Our girls slowly fought back to even the score at 12. Then Mayer jumped out again. We fought back but Mayer ended up winning game 2 25-19.

Game 3 was another closely fought battle with Mayer looking to take an edge in the match. Both teams were fighting hard for every point. The score was 20-18 when Meadow Creek checked in a player who had been on the bench for 3 weeks with an ankle sprain. She finished out the game serving 5 consecutive points and Meadow Creek had the edge once again!

Game 4 and Mayer Lutheran looked like they weren't going out without a fight. They had some great kills and had the edge. Mayer won the game to force a decisive game 5 winning 25-19. State rides on the final game! The crowd from both teams were ready for a great finish!

Game 5 was close throughout. Each point was critical. The fans were louder than ever. With the saints leading 13-12, Mayer had a kill go out, but wait, the up ref says Meadow Creek touched the ball. 13-13 game 5, what else could you ask for?

Meadow Creek went on to win the last two points even though Mayer had several great spikes, Meadow Creek simply refused to let the ball hit the floor. Once again they fed off the opponents energy to catapult them to victory and to the Minnesota State High School tournament! Unbelievable! They have the hearts of champions and are ready to take on the top teams in the state!

See you at the Xcel Energy Center Thursday! Don't miss it.

Our 8 seniors below!

The first game of the night pitted #1 seed Southwest Christian against #2 seed Mayer Lutheran. Mayer Lutheran won the match 3-0. So now we know who we will face on Saturday if we get by Heritage Christian.

Heritage came out strong and took an early lead in the first 2 games. Our Lady Saints just kept playing at a strong pace and limiting their own errors. The first game was won 25-15 by the Saints who were pounding the ball. In the 2nd game after trailing 6-2, we pulled even at 7 and then the match stayed even to 18 with every point being fought hard for. One last run by Meadow Creek proved too much for Heritage and the Saints won 25-20. 20 points was the most Heritage had managed in 5 games so far this year against our girls.

The final game of the match was amazing. The Saints seemed to feed off the power of Heritage. As Heritage pounded harder, our Saints fought even harder. At one point Heritage had several spikes in a row and should have easily had the point, but we never let the ball hit the ground and made a few statement kills of our own. If they can manage to feed off of the oponents energy like this every game, they will be tough to beat again this year.

The Saints ended up winning 25-18 to maove on to Saturday Section Finals at Minnehaha Academy 1pm. You'll want to be there to see them first hand. One of the Heritage parents said they were the best team they have played all year long. A nice compliment from a team who had only lost 5 games all season.

Well the first 2 games of sections went by without a hitch. The girls quickly took care of Minneapolis Edison in 3 games. Last night West Lutheran came out and looked better than Edison, but we dropped them in 3 as well. Therese was able to use all of her bench in both sets and still maintain an edge over the competition.

Thursday night the sub-section Championship will be held at West Lutheran in Plymouth. Southwest Christian will face Mayer Lutheran at 6 and Our Lady Saints will take on Heritage Christian at 8 pm. SHould be some great volleyball so be sure to come out and cheer on our Saints!

The so called redneck bottleneck will be no more after today! The construction on Highway 10 in Coon Rapids should finish up this week. The project extended the 3rd lane from Foley to Hanson Blvd. with the west bound lane becoming the Hanson exit only lane. On the eastbound side the third lane starts as Hanson traffic enters the freeway. The redneck bottleneck was formed when Highway was completed through Blaine. This allowed 3 lanes from 10, 2 lanes from Highway 47 and one lane from the 610 bridge to combine into 2 lanes in about one mile.

The bridge replacement over the single line railroad track to Duluth extended the construction from March to November. Now that the bridge is done all lanes of the new construction opened east bound today and west bound should follow soon. The usual after work still needs to be completed including striping, landscaping and the cable median.

Here are some picturs of the work zone.

This is the 4th year of the "Battle for the Paddle", this year at Crown College. The winner of this epic battle wins the MCAA conference title in Volleyball, at least that is the way it has worked out. It is actually just the final regular season game and Meadow Creek and Southwest Christian have shown up each year with no losses. Southwest won the first and last battle with Meadow Creek winning the 2nd. Meadow Creek went to state the first year and Southwest went to state last year. Let the battle begin!

The first game SW takes an early lead, something they accomplish in each game of the set. Meadow Creek had brought a bus load of fans down to the game along with their former coach and players of years past. SW being home, had a huge number of students show up for the game. The place was loud! Meadow Creek slowly creepd back into the game and took the lead by 8. Meadow Creek kept pounding the ball and SW kept answering but eventually wore down with Meadow Creek taking the first game 25-18.

In the second game again Meadow Creek had to overcome SW's early lead. This time, this game however set the tone for the match as Meadow Creek blew past them and won decisevly 25-14. The paddle seemed as if it would find its way back to Andover.

The third game was back and forth the whole way. Tied at 19, Meadow Creek called a time out and took the next 2 points. SW used a time out and clawed back to being down one at 23-22. Meadow Creek had two amazing kills to end the game completing the sweep. SW had brought a canoe and the Meadow Creek fans padled it out onto the court. Then they rushed the team and swarmed them on the bench. The paddle is back at the Creek! Way to go Lady Saints!

Both teams joined hands at the net after the game giving thanks to the Lord!

Which team is heading to state? Bring on sections and stay tuned.

Joel Friday

Make sure you stop by and see this great new listing in St. Louis Park next Saturday the 24th of October. This home has been well maintained by the current owners and sits on a rare triple lot high off the street in the first Alphabet. Close to the Lakes, Minnehaha Creek, great shopping, Uptown and is 2 blocks from a non stop bus ride to downtown Minneapolis.

Hardwood floors throughout the home, pride in ownership in every detail. 2 fireplaces to keep you cozy on cool nights. Towering pines, huge oaks and fabulous perennials surround this cottage. Coved ceilings and entryways. This will be the place you will call home!

Deck off dining area extends entertaining to back yard. Large room in lower level with bar for entertaining guests. Custom stone patio installed in backyard 2 garages, 1 attached to home and 1 detached in alley.

What are you waiting for, call me now for a private showing or come to the open house on the 24th.

Joel Friday Homes

612-868-6287

Virtual Tour

Wow! 1st place in the Mora invitational. The girls did a great job in winning this tournament. They quickly dispatched St Cloud Apollo, then Pillager. North Branch in the semi finals was not able to keep up with our team. Finally it was Maple Lake in the finals. The first game was won by 2 points and the battle continued into the 2nd game. That one was also 25-23 giving the Lady Saints their first tourney win of the season ad priming them for a long run to state.

Orono came to our court on Tuesday the 13th. This was senior night and the last regular season home game for our 8 seniors. The girls played them tough and took all 3 games of the set, even while mixing in the younger girls on the team.

Next uo, the "Battle for the paddle!" Let's bring the paddle home again ladies!