An Evening at the Park

Our local Rotary Club has built a 1/4 of million dollar playground at our local park.





Anna Loved It!!!









But of course she loved the 20 year old part as well





Little Sis, Not So Much!!

Ella's Blog

Ella's friends have blogs and this one has a lot about Anna so I started one for just Ella and about her story of her birthdate and her friends.

5 Wonderful Years

I guess I would be a bad husband to let the day go by and not mention today is my 5 year anniversary of being married to the best wife in the world. I love you Amber!!

Back from Delaware

We were suppose to be back by Tuesday. But just as we went to leave we realized the van's brakes were bad enough that we had better get them checked out. Which they were bad enough they needed work thus we were not able to go until Wednesday. But a big thanks to Mr. Bailey for taking care of my repair bill.

Mr. Bailey is an 80+ year old retired minister who went into the real estate business as well a long time ago. He is the kindest most generous man you would ever meet. He took my parents in when they first moved to Delaware over 30 years ago and helped take care of them as a young married couple. Today over 30 years later he is taking care of me and Amber.

He is starting to have health problems that are a little more serious than in the past. His wonderful, dear, English wife Dorothy and I were talking about his longevity. She is convinced it is because he doesn't have a hateful bone in his body. She says that when we hold grudges and anger in it eats at us just like stress. He doesn't hold grudges and doesn't stress over things. He has gained and lost two businesses and continues to go as if nothing had ever happened in the past. He has been burned by people in business and in the church. The only slightly disparaging remark Dorothy said she has ever heard him say is he understands that for the business people, it is business, they have an excuse.

I owe a lot to Mr. Bailey. Not just because of bags of free food and money every time I go home. But for life lessons, for getting my parents so involved in the church in their first month in church and never looking back, and more that I probably don't even know about.

Well this started out as a brief entry about being back. But I am happy with the turn it took. I hope you all have a Mr. Bailey somewhere in your life.

Going to Delaware

Going the next 4 days to Delaware!! It's not California or NYC, NYC!! But it is going to be fun to see friends and family again. Have a great weekend everybody.

A Night of Catching Fireflies

You can have a lot of fun with dollar store bug catcher.

My Neighborhood

Pictures from a walk around my neighborhood...

My Cube

Here is what my cube looks like. What I look at for 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Anna's picture is not usually up on the screen, but for obvious reasons I couldn't leave my work page up there for the picture. So now you see what I see.

Promised Parade Pictures

It was a great time. The parade lasted over 2 hours!!

Old Hymns

Being at camp meeting we have been singing more of the good old hymns that remind you of church as a kid. We didn't sing this one, but it is my favorite. Leave a comment of the title of your favorite hymn.

I heard an old, old story, how the Saviour came from glory,
How He gave His life at Calvary, to save a wretch like me,
I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins and won the victory.

Chorus:

Oh victory in Jesus, my Saviour forever!
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.
He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood.

THEN ON THE LAST VERSE, BROTHER CHARLIE WOULD GET UP & START WALKING THE AISLES..

I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory,
And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea.
About the angels singing and the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory.

Camp Meeting

We have had camp meeting this week. So I have not had time to get the pictures of the parade yet to upload. However, I have a message from our camp meeting speaker for you. It is simple but profound.

You are as close to God as you choose to be.

The Weekend is here

Our town is celebrating its bicentennial this weekend. A parade and the biggest fireworks display ever in our city are planned. I haven't sent the camera in yet, I don't think I will need the flash for this weekend so I will wait until Monday to mail it and get some good pictures. It the midst of the festivities I need to find time to get the regular house work we always catch up on over the weekend too. It is fun to do those other things, but not fun to come home to a house that is behind in housework. Hopefully the fun will out way the non-fun this weekend. May your fun out weigh the non-fun this weekend!!

Pictures?

Ok, so there will not be quite as many pictures coming as I had hoped. The flash on my brand new digital camera is not working. It was the last one the store had so I am sending it in to get fixed. Will take up to 2 weeks to get back. But in the mean time I do have one more I would like to post..

What not to say to your wife!!

How many are you doing?

I need to do this. Just nail them up in my house so that I don't just pick and choose the ones that are easy for me. Funny how it takes discipline to keep up with the disciplines.

Many faces of Ella

WARNING: New digital camera...lot of pics to follow

Happy 4th

Anna and Ella's Mommy's Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!

TO THE GREATEST WIFE!!

Ella Enchanted ??

Since naming my daughter Ella, we decided we should read the book and watch the movie Ella Enchanted to see what she was going to possibly be attached to. The book is pretty good. The movie while cute is like most movies and no where near true to the book. Completely added major characters to the movie that did not exist in the book. Took parts of important story lines and didn't complete them at the end? Why do movies always do that? Well both are good, but obviously the book is better. It is pretty much just a variation of a Cinderella story, but with a twist on the idea of obedience.

Anna hanging out

Anna and daddy

100 posts and some meditation

I just realized that the first picture of Ella was my 100th post. Well here is the monthly meditation from the Taize community.



June

Luke 14:12-14

Using the example of the people we invite to the parties we organize, Jesus reminds us that the overflowing life of God’s Kingdom goes far beyond anything we can imagine and accomplish, even were we to manage our life, our resources and our relationships in the most prudent and judicious way possible.

God gives, with no strategy or keeping of accounts. He aspires to awaken in human beings someone like himself who enters into fellowship with him. The primary motivation in God’s Kingdom is the joy of unconditional giving. We are invited to take the same risk.

Those who want to take part in God’s Reign can leave behind the habitual tendency to calculate what will be most profitable to them or to create a network of people obligated to them. Loved by God, they are not the only judge of the worth of their life, nor the only one responsible for their happiness.

The poor, the lowly, those who “cannot pay you back,” become the privileged road chosen by God to open his Kingdom to us. By putting them in the place of honor, we will discover and confirm the freedom and the joy of giving.

To suppose, in God’s name, that other people, even those from whom I can expect nothing in return, are my joy, will extricate me from timidity, fear and contempt, and allow me to discover my inalienable joy. Such an outlook attests my specific human dignity and brings me to life beyond all expectations.

We are not invited to wait passively, as spectators, for the Kingdom to arrive. Living in the Spirit of Christ, we are called to take part in its coming by making ourselves servants and neighbors even of those who do not love us.

In my life, who are those who “cannot pay me back”?

In what circumstances have I discovered the joy and the freedom of giving unconditionally?

Father's Day

Had a great Father's day. My girls are giving me a shirt with their pictures on it and it says "We love our daddy". I will post pictures of it once it is ready. Had a chance to go golfing and broke a 100, which is always good.

I was also given the chance to preach Sunday morning and to pray for Kevin, Mandy and Lucy with the rest of the church gathered around. It was such a close time for our church. To update those who may be wondering, Lucy did test positive for Downs. She is doing great and so are her parents. They have nothing to worry about because besides having God at their side they have more family, friends, and friends of friends praying for them and helping to take care of them then they can count. They are a very blessed family and they know it and thank God for everyday.

Hope all the dads out there had a great day.

Lucy

Hey everyone. Meet Ella's new best friend and neighbor. Isn't she a cutie?

Ella

More pics of Ella

Happy Flag Day

Update on Lucy

Here is the updated email from Lucy's dad:

Well the doctor came in this morning and said he couldn’t confirm a diagnosis of downs syndrome. She has some of the symptoms, but not nearly all of them. What they said seemed like a sure thing last night now isn’t. He still thinks she might have some kind of syndrome, possibly even a mild form of down syndrome, but only genetic testing will be able to tell for sure what kind it is.The real good news is that both she and mom are healthy.

They are very excited now and are no longer concerned with the long term but our living in the present of the wonderful gift God has given them. For the first 8-10 hours she was in an incubator and could not be held so they had nothing but their worries and fears to think about. But since getting to hold her all day yesterday they are very excited to have a wonderful little girl. Thanks to all those who prayed, they felt the prayers of all those lifted them up before God.

Lucy Kay

One of my best friends had a baby girl last night. Lucy Kay at 11:04. This morning I received an email from him telling me that they are 99% sure that she has down syndrome. Please be praying for the family. They will love and adore her all the same, but at this time is still a bit of a shock and bit much to take in on your first child. Just please, please be praying for this family at this time. God Bless you Kevin.

My wife is beautiful

I am finally sleeping in the same room with my wife once again now that she no longer needs to sleep on the couch to be comfortable. I am so happy to have her back and to reconnect. We seem to have loss some connection without our midnight talks as we drift off to sleep. I have a great wife and am be reminded again daily of that so wanted to make everyone else aware of it too.

Graduated

Well not from college. Wasn't sure what to title this entry. As an associate pastor in the Church of the Nazarene there are so many steps you have to go through to become an "ordained" minister with in the church. One is to finish taking all the right classes and meeting with the credentials board to make sure you are on the right track. When you get a district license you meet with these men of the church once a year. I now have all the classes I need to be ordained and do not have to meet with them again until I am ready to get ordained.

The only requirement left is to get in my years of experience. To many this will not seem like much. To me it is a big step in following the plan God has for me and was happy to be reaffirmed that I am heading where He wants.

Rita's story

Rita left a comment on my entry about Ella being born on 05/05/05 and wanted to give something to Ella. This is her story:

I was also born on May 5th, but in 1955. I was so reluctant to celebrate this 50th birthday with a party, no woman enjoys getting older, I guess!

So I had been thinking about how to do it in an special way, my birth-date has always been making me feel kind of special.

About a year ago I had this idea, to find a little girl who would also be born on May 5th, this year and make her a symbolic present.

It seems silly, but you don't know how much I have been thinking of that new baby, it was very nice waiting for her.

I am a quilter and I have been working on this project for a few months now. Ella will receive a baby quilt.

But she won't be the only one.

I am originally from Belgium but we have traveled a lot in the past 20 years, and I made friends all over the world.

We spent 10 years in TX, where 3 of my kids were born.
Now, we live in Russia, where my husband works for an international company.

I couldn't choose in which country to look for that baby girl, so I finally decided to search in different countries.

Emma is the 2nd one: I found a baby called Lola, in France, and am trying to find a little Japanese girl, and also a Russian one .

This will give them a chance to connect when they grow up and possibly build friendship.
This would be cool, wouldn't it? The funny thing up to now is that they both have a 4-letters name, like me...

And Ella in 2nd of the family, as I was!

When my quilts will be ready, I will tell you and send one to Ella.

I wish you all a lot of happiness with your nice family!

Rita

Are you a loser?

Apparantly I am...

Another list

Feel free to copy and paste for your own blog. This is one of the better lists for getting to know you that I have seen so I thought I would give it a post.

( ) Smoked a joint
(x) Crashed a car
( ) Stolen a car
(x) Been in love
( ) Had a threesome
(x) Been dumped
( ) Shoplifted
(x) Been fired
(x) Been in a fist fight
(x) Snuck out of the house (and in)
(x) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
( ) Made out with a stranger
( ) Gone on a blind date
(x) Lied to a friend
( ) Had a crush on a teacher
( ) Been to Europe
(x) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
( ) Thrown up in a bar
( ) Purposely set a part of yourself on fire
( ) Eaten Sushi
(x) Been snowboarding
( ) Met someone from the internet in person
( ) Been moshing at a concert
( ) Been in an abusive relationship
(x) Taken painkillers
(x) Love someone or miss someone right now
(x) Laid and watched cloud shapes go by
(x) Made a snow angel
( ) Had a tea party
(x) Flown a kite
(x) Built a sand castle
(x) Gone puddle jumping
( ) Played dress up
(x) Jumped into a pile of leaves
(x) Gone sledding
(x) Cheated while playing a game
(x) Been lonely
(x) Fallen asleep at work/school
( ) Used a fake ID
(x) Watched the sun set
( ) Felt an earthquake
(x) Touched a snake
(x) Slept beneath the stars
(x) Been tickled
( ) Been robbed
(x) Been misunderstood
(x) Pet a reindeer/goat
(x) Won a contest
(x) Run a red light
( ) Been suspended from school
(x) Been in a car accident
( ) Had braces
(x) Felt like an outcast (oh yeaa)
( ) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(x) Had deja vu
(x) Danced in the moonlight
(x) Hated the way you look
(x) Witnessed a crime
( ) Pole danced
(x) Been obsessed with post-it notes
(x) Walked barefoot through the mud
(x) Been lost
( ) Been to the opposite side of the world
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Felt like dying.
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers
( ) Sung karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins (a whole pizza before)
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't (haven't we all)
(x) Made prank phone calls when you were younger (don't try now kids, caller id will get you.)
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced naked in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Had a bonfire on the beach
(x) Crashed a party
(x) Gone rollerbladdin'
(x) Had a wish come true
( ) Worn pearls (and a dress)
( ) Jumped off a bridge
( ) Screamed the word penis in public (who does that?? geez)
( ) Ate dog/cat food
( ) Told a complete stranger you loved them
( ) Kissed a mirror
(x) Sang in the shower
( ) Owned a little black dress (the guy I copied this from, had this one marked?)
( ) Had a dream that you married someone
(x) Glued your hand to something
(x) Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole (It was a tv atenna actually)
( ) Kissed a fish
(x) Worn the opposite sex's clothes (for a scavanger hunt)
( ) Been a cheerleader
(x) Sat on a roof top
(x) Screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) Done a one-handed cartwheel
(x) Talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
(x) Stayed up all night
( ) Didn't take a shower for a week
(x) Picked and ate an apple right off the tree
(x) Climbed a tree
( ) Had a tree house
( ) Are (NOT) scared to watch scary movies
( ) Believe in ghosts
( ) Have more than 30 pairs of shoes
( ) Worn a really ugly outfit to school just to see what others say
( ) Gone streaking
( ) Played ding-dong-ditch (what the heck is that?)
( ) Played chicken
(x) Been pushed into a pool/lake with all your clothes on
(x) Been told you're beautiful by a complete stranger(was whistled at by girls in a passing car?)
(x) Broken a bone
(x) Been easily amused ( I was born to be easily amused)
( ) Caught a fish then ate it
(x) Caught a butterfly
(x) Laughed so hard you cried
(x) Cried so hard you laughed
(x) Mooned/flashed someone
(x) Had someone moon/flash you
(x) Cheated on a test
(x) Forgotten someone's name.
(x) Slept naked
( ) French braided someone's hair
(x)Grown a beard (attmepted to)
( ) Belong to the KKK
( ) Rule at life

Bad Daddy

This morning I went over to the bus stop to help our crew from church to give breakfast to all the Jr. Hi and Sr. Hi kids like they do every Friday. When I first woke up Anna was awake so I went to check on her. She asked me for a cuppy. I told okay, but to get into bed and I would bring it to her. Well I was still quite tired from being up late with Ella and went in to spend a few moments with Amber and Ella in bed before heading down to make Anna's cuppy and out the door to the bus stop.

Well I was a bad daddy and forgot about Anna's cuppy. She was quiet the 5-8 minutes from when I left her room until when I left. When I get back Amber is coming out of Anna's room from bringing her a cuppy. Amber told me that Anna told her that Daddy was suppose to get her a cuppy. Not in so many words, Amber said it was more like, "Daddy cuppy, Where Daddy?" Oh I felt so bad.

Sorry Anna, Daddy does love you!!! I guess I'll have to let her have a pony?

DEPRESSION

Not mine, my aunt's. My mom's sister is being treated for depression. They say depression is a chemical imbalance? So is happiness a chemical balance? To me it seems like depression is a life out of balance and happiness is a balanced life.

I am worried about my aunt, please be praying for her. I am also concerned for my mom who is very concerned for her sister and wishes there was more she could do. So I am going to help my mom and call about my fellow bloggers to be praying for my aunt. I appreciate it.

05/05/05

Well we had hoped Anna would come early and be born on 03/03/03 but came late instead. So when we had a chance again at 05/05/05 we never thought we would actually get that date. Well I went home for lunch on 05/04 and Amber was getting home from her doctor's appointment and she said the doctor told her she didn't think she would make it through the day before having it.

We thought, Yeah right, heard that story before. But then Amber's started contractions while I was home and they were 5 minutes apart for an hour. So I called work and said I don't think I will be back in today. Sure enough we went to the hospital. (Half packed, we had two more weeks why be packed?) They admitted us and we were on our way. Around 5pm or so Amber was ready for the epidural and was about 4 centimeters. Well unfortunately everything seemed to stop around 11pm. No more big contraction and no more dilation. And of course they are not going to call a doctor in after midnight just to get things going. So we had a long slow night of waiting for the doctor's morning rounds.

Finally the doctor came around at around 9:30 am and broke her water and prescribed Pertosin. At 11:03 we had our new baby on 05/05/05.

However, she did not receive her name until 05/07 2 hours before check out. But as you have probably already seen in the previous post we did name her Ella Kathryn. Kathryn is my mother's name. Ella was 6.2 and 21 inches and is a spitting image of her sister when she was first born.

Plus 1 = 4

Anna is a proud big sister

Her name is Ella Kathryn

She is here!!!

Thoughts from Eldridge

John Eldridge wrote a book for men called "Wild at Heart". It is a great book and here are some thoughts I have found on his website:

Life is a Story. This is true for every soul.

It is a love story, we assure you. But it is set in the midst of a life and death battle. That is why it seems so hard.

The story of your life is the story of the journey of your heart through a dangerous and beautiful world. It is the story of the long and sustained assault on your heart by the Enemy who knows who you could be and fears you. But it is also the story of the long and mysterious pursuit of your heart by the God who knows you truly and loves you deeply.

As we live through the pages of this story many questions arise. Who am I…really? Where will I find life…really? And, What is it God wants from me? We know those questions well, for we have lived them ourselves.

Another thought from the page:

You might remember that the first Christians were called followers of The Way (Acts 9:2, 18:25-26). They had found the Way of Life, and had given themselves over to it. They lived together, ate together, fought together, celebrated together. They were intimate allies, a fellowship of the heart. How wonderful it would be if we could find the same. How dangerous it will be if we do not. This life we are living is not meant to be lived alone. This journey we are taking cannot be taken alone. We must have allies of the heart.


A great thanks to those who are my allies in this journey as we seek together to find the answers of our lives as we are seeking our Creator.

Picture of Anna and Daddy

Palmer

Mark Palmer is a friend of a friend of a friend. But most importantly he is a brother in Christ who is in need. The following is Palmer's story that you will find by clicking on the button:

Palmer's Story:
In August 2003, Mark lost his young wife Jennifer to a swiftly-moving case of stomach cancer. Mark and Jennifer, in their fortitude in the midst of this tragic illness, were bold witnesses of the hope of Christ Jesus to many people far and wide. On November 6, 2004, Palmer was married to Amy Smith. However, two months later, in January 2005, Palmer himself was diagnosed with rectal cancer and was set upon a course of treatment. The most recent turn in this story is that in April 2005, Palmer found that his cancer treatment would not be covered by his insurance and that he would have to bear the cost of this treatment.

If God so leads you to give so be it. If not, please at least be praying for a brother of Christ. The greatest part of Palmer's story is the way the people around him have risen to take care of him much like I believe the church of Acts would have done.

Interview from Faith in Florida

A fellow blogger has started a series of interviews for her readers. The following is mine:

1. If you could change any one decision that you made in your life, what would it be?

I use to wish I had done well in college my first time around instead of having to go back a second time. But if I had done that, I would not have married my wife and met some of the amazing people in my life now. So it seems trite but the one thing I would change is the day I was working out with a friend and I did a squat down to far and pulled my back. It bothers me now every time I bend over too much. Too scared of effecting too many other good things in my life to change anything major that happened.


2. God says to you, "I will reveal any one thing to you." What would you want Him to reveal?

Why my 2 year old screams so much! Just kidding! No, I would like to know why I have a hard time doing the things that I want to do for Him.

3. You can change one historical event. Which event, and how do you change it?

Wow that is tough. Once again, afraid of changing the present too greatly. I think I would change the Berlin wall coming down only in the fact that I would be there to watch it happen. That would have been cool.

4. Is there one defining moment in your life that is significant, that you think changed you?
Tell me about it.

Well there was the day at my sister's house when I was spending the summer with her in Iowa that I gave my life to Christ. But that is an easy answer and it was a natural step in the life I was already living. (Grew up in the church) But I would say the most significant event I have already told you about. (See Tim Stories)

It is funny b/c I was telling my friend about it and he asked me how I think it changed me not just then but still today. I think it has helped me to see the important things in life. Spending time with friends and family. Work is such a low priority in my life. If I can get away and spend a day out of the ordinary with a friend, that makes me really happy.

5. Where will you be in 20 years?

Where will I be next year!? In 20 years, I would like to be running my own retreat center for teen groups or leadership teams.

No Compromise

Make my life a prayer to you
I wanna do what you want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers no compromise

Keith Green was one of the most prophetic voices of our era. If you have not heard of him or listened to his music before I would highly recommend it. I just received my copy of his biography by his wife Melody Green called "No Compromise". I am looking forward to reading it and getting even more insight to the man who wrote some of the most inspiring and challenging music I have ever heard.

Seriously, if you haven't heard of him you really need to listen to at least 1 song & you will be hooked.

Opening Day

Well yesterday was the Indians home opener. My first home opener I have ever been to. Ron, Kevin, Charlie and I headed up and watched the Indians lose 2-1. It was a great day none the less. It was windy and chilly in Cleveland. We were lucky enough to be in a section that was blocked from the wind and had some sunshine hitting to keep us rather warm. It was a difference of about 20 degrees from our seats to the windy, shadowed walk ways below. Okay maybe not 20 but very noticeable.

On the down side today, Anna was up all last night sick. Amber stayed home with her today. Be praying for both of them as Amber has been very uncomfortable since the baby has dropped.
Also Amber was called back for a second interview and was one of only two chosen for a second interview and was not chosen. Most likely b/c they think she does too good a job in her current special needs class which she needs a break from. So be praying she finds just the right job for her. Thanks!!

Pope John Paul II

Although I am not Catholic, I have great respect for the man that was Pope John Paul II. He was a great moral leader for this world who stood strong on his convictions. Please be in prayer for the Church as they chose a new papal. Some highlights about the life of PJP II :

When he was elected to the papacy in 1978, Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years. He came from Poland -- a country, at the time, with a Marxist and atheist government.

John Paul II was the most widely traveled pontiff ever, having visited 118 countries in all the continents except Antarctica. By the time he made his historic visit to Cuba in early 1998, he had logged more than 600,000 miles of travel.

In 1986, Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit a Jewish synagogue. There he spoke of how he deplored the "hatred and persecution" of the Jews throughout the centuries. In 1993, the pope presided over the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel.

Eight months after he was elected Pope, the pontiff went to Poland, where the Communists were still in control. His visit encouraged the rise of the labor movement known as Solidarity and chipped away at the wall of communism in that predominantly Catholic country.

While standing firm on religious doctrine as old as the Bible, the Pope was the first Pontiff to also embrace 20th Century technology as a way to evangelize. In addition to weekly radio broadcasts, regularly televised services, a recording of his most popular masses and a 900 number, he was the first pontiff to have a website.

Pope John Paul II is the first pope to become an international best-selling author. His 1994 release of "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" was received with mixed critical reviews, but it garnered a six million dollar publishing deal, with the money going to the church.

The pope's ability to reach people was aided in large part by his ability to speak several languages. Born into a Polish-speaking home, the pope began learning German at age ten; Latin at age 13; and Greek at age 14. By the time he became pontiff, the pope had mastered eight languages.

PANIC !!!

That is what Amber about felt this morning. She went to get Anna out of bed this morning and she was no where to be seen. Her room is on the second floor so we put a gate in front of her door so she won't roam the house. She falls out of bed on occasion. (It is a toddler bed that is less than a foot off the ground. It is suppose to have rail but the crib mattress we used is as thick as the rails, makes no sense.) So Amber looked all over the floor and under one of the extra blankets on the ground and still no Anna. Finally, under the bed all the way back against the wall and sound asleep she finds her. Whew. And of course 7 months pregnant she had to come get me to get her. And was nice enough to warn me where she was and what was going on. That crazy child of mine.

Car troubles

Well last week Amber's van had the ABS light came on. Well it was due for an oil change anyway so we took to our local guy for an oil change and to check why the light is on. It turns out it was a cracked axle, 300 + dollars. Well it turns out my car is making weird noises as I make turns. It too was due for an oil change so back to the shop again today; Cracked power steering rack, 600 + dollars. Okay now I just need the third part of the Mastercard story that says "Priceless!"

Black and White photos

Ok so not that we take a long time to go through our B & W film but the first picture on the film was Amber pregnant with Julianna and the last one was a school house I took a picture of on the way to my niece's wedding this summer. But my one favorite photo out of them is this one.

More of the same

Well I know it is not a nice way to put it. (More of the same) But if I titled it "It's a girl." It would be too much of a giveaway for you to read on anymore. They are VERY sure it is a girl. Amber was sure because of all the differences in how she is carrying it and how she has felt that it was a boy. Oh well. Now we are kind of scared to try for a third and end up with three girls. We will have to wait and see how this one goes. Still no names picked out yet. Will probably do the same as we did with Julianna and have a couple of names and name her when we look at her and see which one feels like the best fit.

Anna is 2 ! ! !

In some ways I cannot believe she is 2 already. In other ways it is hard to believe she is only 2. I see these 5 and 6 year old girls around town thinking, Anna will be like that someday. I now realize that someday is just around the corner.

She is so beautiful and wonderful and such a blessing. (Most of the time) She drives me nuts sometimes with her screaming and fits. But most of it comes from wanting to be independent and knowing what she wants. I guess that is better than having a child who wants to depend on you for every little thing. I love you Anna, Happy Birthday!!

Be careful what you wish for.

On my way back to work from lunch I was once again noticing the funny noise my car was making. I thought to myself the best thing to happen would be for someone to total my car and get the insurance money so I can get a new car. Well not 30 seconds later I almost had my wish. Traffic was stopped in front of me as someone was turning. A white thunderbird came around the corner and the driver was looking out his side window in lala land. Luckily the speed limit there is only 40 so that when he finally saw me stopped about a 100 yards away and slammed on his brakes with squealing tires....he was able to stop in time.

So I decided it is better to just keep my car.....Thank you Lord for keeping me safe.

Not management material

A situation as happened at work because something I said. Some people are getting in trouble because of me and I think I am going to get an ulcer from the tension of it. I would make horrible management material I think. I hate confrontation. Well at least when it is because of me. One or two may deserve what is being said but they are all being lumped together. I feel bad.

Hectic Day

I have been added to another que at work and has increased my call volume and my frustration volume. I am not very good at tech supporting and I am not extremely patient when I cannot figure it out right away. Granted much of it is that customers are telling me the wrong thing. But most of the guys have enough experience to know what the right thing is when they here the wrong thing and can interpret it or ask the right questions to figure it out. UGGGHHH!!!!!

But had a good weekend. Was finally able to get my office cleaned out and took the copier out of there. (Thanks Kevin!) Still looking forward to Thursday!!!

Nice Weather

The sun is shining and it is suppose to get up to 56 today. So looking forward to softball season and getting outdoors again. I could see the little sprouts of my daffodil's starting to come up around the dogwood in my front yard. In another month or so the dogwood's blooms will appear and my 3 lilacs will get their blooms as well. I love those 3 to 4 weeks when they are all in full bloom. My yard looks so nice.

New life is coming. Easter is coming....

Some Irish Blessing for You this St. Paddy's Day

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May your feet never sweat,
your neighbor give you ne're a treat.
When flowers bloom, I hope you'll not sneeze,
and may you always
have someone to squeeze!

My Life In A Couple Of Months

March 15

Beware!!

The Weekend

Well the weekend was really productive. Manage to get a good portion of the house really clean. We are talking emptying cupboards and cleaning them out, reorganizing, dusting, dishes, vacuuming, and even Julianna's play room is fairly straightened up. Well until she got home and played for about 5 minutes. Oh well, can't be perfect. But it felt really good to get so much done.

Then on Sunday after church we had the college students from church over for pizza. It too was a good time. We were trying to see where their hearts were and what they were looking for from our church. I was really happy with what I heard come from them.

And in church Joe preached a stirring sermon that goes well with the idea Kevin has been talking about, how the gates of hell will not overcome us. (They are on a defensive and we are on the attack and we will not be overcome!) I am getting a new excitement stirring.

5:00

Wow this day is dragging.

Can't wait for 5:00!

An evening alone with Amber tonight, Julianna is staying at the babysitters tonight.

We have a romantic night of cleaning and painting planned.

Have a great weekend!!

Names

Why are names so hard to come up with? For starters, Amber's familiy if quite large and they see each other all the time. So you don't want to use any names of close family. Then like our top 2 or 3 names have been names of babies that were lost very young in her family, so defintely can't use them. Then Amber is a teacher so all those names of those (how to put this nicely) "problem" kids she has had she can't use.

Her dad has been doing family trees since before it became popular and easy with the internet. Dragging Amber along to old filing rooms looking through hours of papers. So we are both from Welsh backgrounds and thought a good Welsh name would be good. Well there are not a lot of those and the good ones wouldn't you know are all considered popular now. Everybody and their brother is suddenly jumping on the old English/Irish/Welsh name kick.

Well luckily we still have another 2 months to figure it out.

Talk over Pizza

Well we had another good lunch at Pizza. Our discussions revolved around one of our favorite subjects sports. More specifically baseball and the upcoming season. Who is going to be starting on opening day and the such.

And we had a discussion that Kevin had in his class:

Matthew 16:18
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

His prof pointed out that gates are defensive units. Gates are not used to attack. So does that mean that when the church attacks, Hades will not be able to defend itself. Or is that the gates are used to mark your territory and Hades will not bring its territory over the Church? I like the first idea a little better. What do you think?

Birthdays and Pizza

I can't believe I forgot to mention yesterday was my mom's birthday. I sent her a card and I did call her. But she does read my blog as well so I wanted to mention and say "Hope you had a Happy Birthday Mom!" Hope dad bought you a milkshake.

Going out for pizza with the guys today. I so look forward to these days. We always have fun and good talks.

They cheated

Well I said I would not mention the bowling again if we lost, but we did, but they cheated. Okay so they didn't technically cheat. They just failed to mention that two of the girls use to league bowl. The one who scored the highest even had her own ball with her. She scored a 224 and the other one scored a 198. I did manage to score the highest score on my team the first game with a 140. Then on the second game I had the highest overall from both teams with a 182. We only lost by a total of 15 points on the second game. My boss was there and we were down by 17 on his last frame. So since we lost by 15 you can probably guess that he knocked all of two pins down.

But we had a lot of fun. There was a couple of people there who it was only their second time bowling. It was fun to see them get strikes and do pretty well. (for their second time bowling.) Just our two teams from work raised almost $500 for BBBS. By far the most raised there by any group, so we were glad we decided to do it.

Bowling

Tonight I get to go bowling. 5 guys against 5 girls from work are competing tonight in bowling for Big Brother and Big Sisters. The nice thing to say is that the real winners are the little brother and sisters. But we also know the winners are going to be the guys tonight! If you don't hear anymore about this next week the girls won, but I have a feeling I will have another posting about this on Monday.

P.S. I have had no practice, haven't been bowling in....months? Can't remember the last time?

Cavs and Spurs

Went to my first NBA game last night. My friend, Ron, got us a couple of free tickets to go last night. They were good seats, but would never have paid the $60 face value for them. So it was cool I got to experience something I would not have otherwise.

We left right after work and drove (well Ron drove, I rode) for 2 hours through the snow to see the game. The first 3 quarters were a little slow, but it was a close game most of the time. The Cavs came back to tie it up with 12 seconds left only to leave Tim Duncan (in Ron's words) "wide wide wide open", to make a game winner at the buzzer.

LeBron had a mediocre game for him. But it was pretty exciting and glad I got to go. I spent most of the time taking pictures and will try to post a few in the day or so. Thanks Ron!!