Winter Finally Came!

Yes, Winter finally came. She was two months late and I was beginning to think I got stood-up, but She came and I have to say, we had a good time together.

So Amanda, Sam and I drove up to my families' house in Twin Peaks on Saturday night. When we got there they had about 4 inches of new snow and when we woke up the next morning there was another 6 inches! The plan was to head up to Snow Summit for the day. But shoveling the driveway and car out, putting chains on the truck, eating some food, fixing up the snowboards, meeting up with Darrell, renting extra gear, driving behind the slowest tourists ever and getting detoured around Big Bear Lake put us there just after 2:00. We realized when we got there that it was half price after 3:00, so we figured we would just walk over to the bottom of the hill and show Sam some stuff, since it was her first time. So we just messed around at the bottom of the hill for a couple hours, Darrell was helping Sam, and I was helping Amanda. We had a great time and we never bought a ticket (the lift lines were crowded and it was foggy at the top anyway). On Monday it was sunny and beautiful, so we headed up to Snow Valley (which actually got more snow than Big Bear) and did some more serious skiing and boarding. Jolene, David little and David (my Dad) joined us as well, and we had another great day. It was a pretty sweet President's Day weekend, and Sam did really well her first time boarding!
-Chris

Sunday at Snow Summit
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Monday Morning I got up early and took these shoots. To see more click here.


Moday at Snow Valley

Shane leaves for Afghanistan

Well, today at about 12 o'clock our friend Shane Thomas Matlock departed for Afghanistan. He will serve our country under the Army Transportation division for about the next year or so. It will be sad that we won't be able to see him for so long, but we are definitely going to have a big party when he returns. So keep Shane in your prayers and we will keep you updated as we hear things. Here is his departing e-mail:

Well, this is my first of hopefully many e-mails that I will be sending out, updating you on my deployment experience. I will be leaving in the next couple of days, so please be praying for my unit and our safe travels to Afghanistan. It's weird to think that this time is already here. I've known that I would be leaving this month for about a year now, and I knew that I would deploy the moment I signed a contract with ROTC. But it's finally here, and it still seems surreal. I don't think it will fully hit me until I actually set foot off the plane, onto the beautiful surroundings of Afghanistan (by beautiful, I mean repulsive). I've been trained for this moment for 4 years, one and a half of them active duty, and I'm ready to go and get it done. It will be such a great adventure in my life, if anything else.

It has been hard to say goodbye to those so close to me (all of you) but know that I have chosen this, and aside from the joking and sometimes complaining, that I am very proud of what I am about to do, and that my first thought over there will be to bring all of my soldiers back to their families safely, above my own safety. It's a weird thought, and being in the Army as a leader is so different than any other job in life, because we are all required to put those that we lead ahead of ourselves (unfortunately, that doesn't always happen). The nature of this type of leadership has helped me mature a lot in my life, and even in my walk with God, because that's the type of leadership He requires of all of us.

God has truly blessed me with a few amazing Christian men from my church here in Watertown that will be deployed with me. It is such a blessing to know that we will be together to help each other grow in Him and hold each other accountable in all things. I know that the military can be a lonely place for a Christian, and the fact that most of my closest friends that I've met in New York will be deployed with me truly shows God's hand at work in my (and their) life. Please pray that God's light will shine through us to those soldiers who are lost in the dark. Your prayers and encouragement mean more than you will ever know. You all mean the world to me.

Here is my address while I'm over there, if you ever feel like sending anything:


Matlock, Shane T.
TF Knighthawk E/2-10 AVN
APO AE 09355

Jon Movin' Out

As some of you may know, our friend Jon May has moved down to Irvine. This Saturday I took the truck up there and helped him get all the big stuff down. We are really excited for him, there are so many more opportunities in Irvine and now he's closer so we can hang out more. Please keep Jon in your thoughts and prayers as he looks for a new job and new opportunities. Good luck Jon!
-Chris

-Quick Update:
Jon got job with a valet company and is now up in Mammoth working for the next month or so. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous.