Mr. Robinson Stars in a Video Clip

View the clip HERE


simple go down to Day 1 of 90

Beautiful Sunday

It was a really nice day today. Another unseasonably warm day for January. This sure has been a weird Winter so far. I might guess that we will pay for it, either with a strong cold spell in February or March, or a very hot Summer. But then again, it was just Summer before last that we were not able to swim in our little Wall Mart pool because it was so cold. Down below we have some pictures that we took outside today.

We had a good church service today, with Layton Howerton. He is really talented. You can view his website at http://www.thestorytellersjournal.com/home.htm. After that, we had a really long meeting for people who are interested in hosting Care Groups. It seems like it was months ago when we expressed interest in this. After the meeting we are trying to decide if this is what we really want to do. I have just about been talked out of it. Amy and I have hosted small group meetings in our home on and off for the past several years. Yes it is challenging, but generally rewarding. We both left the meeting a little disapointed.

What has been going on this week. Not much really. I (Ryan) helped Bobby make a video for the youth group at church. It went rather smoothly. I also taught Sunday School again today, and that went well. Amy and I both have been feeling the blues to some extent. For me, it is mostly seasonal, and I know that with Spring it will get a lot better. We talk a lot about moving someplace that stays sunnier in the Winter, and warmer year round. It would be really difficult to make that jump right now.

That reminds me of a website I have been reading recently. It can be found at http://www.stevepavlina.com/. It talks a lot about making changes in your life. Amy and I both have this feeling that there is something much better out there for us. Getting there is the tough part. The website talks about making the decision to change the path you are on. I want that so bad for our life. In all honesty, I want to raise our daughters someplace that has better schools. We don’t have bad schools here, just mediocre ones. I want the best for my children. The progress of this area is at a snail’s pace. Oh well, enough on the negative side.

What else, hmmmmm. Well, that is enough rattling for now. Perhaps the next post will be a little more coherent, and a little more positve. Thanks for reading!

Pregnancy Update

Due Date: March 9th
Current Week of 40 Total: Week 34 Day 4
Next Doctor’s Appointment: February 8th

Progress: According to the last doctor’s report, everything is normal. Amy continues to have pain from the baby pushing in weird positions. We do not remember this happening last time. I (Ryan) also notice that Amy seems more ready for the baby to get here at this time in the pregnancy than she did last time. I still don’t feel prepared, but then again, I’m not sure you can ever be fully prepared for this. We still have no name picked out.

The Dog Days of Winter

So, what has been going on this week? Well, I (Ryan) went one night over to St. Louis with my friend Bobby to pick up a bed. I swear it was like I had been there before. Anyway, we ate at a place called Emperor’s Palace. It was a Chinese place, and man was it wonderful! When I was a kid I hated Chinese food, but now I find that I like it. Yummy!

What else? We saw our friends Rachel and Tim from the Cross-Eyed days at Wendy’s. Rachel, if you’re reading this you know I really miss those days! At least the good days.. which far outweighed the bad.

Not much else going on. We will try to post again this weekend with an update on the pregnancy.

Still Wonderful People in the World

A co-worker of mine gave this Gibson guitar to me! This goes to show there are still wonderful people in this world. This guitar sounds GREAT! I have been told that guitars sound better and better the older they get. I'm guessing that this one is from the 1960's or 1970's. It is really a jewel, and something I will take good care of.

Cloudy Days of Winter

This past week was an okay week. It was long for a four day week, but okay none the less. These winter weeks are tough sometimes, however. There is not a lot of sunshine on some of these days, and I (Ryan) struggle with seasonal depression. I don’t take medication for it, simply because I never want to have to take a pill to be happy. If I would admit there have been times in the past when I should have sought medical attention for it. But I am much more able to cope with it these days. It seems to subside much quicker as I get older, and I have learned ways to ignore it.

Enough about that! Hmmm, what else is going on? Amy and Cassidy went to the library today. Cassidy loves going to the library. We both want to encourage her to have a love for books. We believe this will develop into a love for learning.

Sad news on two fronts this week. First, Amy’s brother and sister-in-law got divorced. It seems like that is happening more and more these days. Love and marriage are both commitments. The feeling comes and goes. People think that just because they don't “love” each other anymore means that it must be all over. How sad. Second, a young man from the area got killed in Iraq. His girlfriend (fiancee) was a student at Mt. Vernon High School. Many of my students knew this young man, and they were all pretty upset about it. This was hard, but as a Christian I have quite the different outlook on death. God has our number, regardless of where we are at. What matters is rather or not we are ready, not where we are at when it happens. I hope this soul was ready to depart. This young man served his country. What a great honor! I can only hope that when my number is called I too am found doing something so worthy.

Happy thoughts? Hmmmm, the school board voted this week to build a new school. Big big step. Much more must go into this for it all to happen, but it looks very promising! Just a few years ago people were saying it could never be done. With God, all things are possible! Let's keep praying for this community!

Pregnancy Update

Due date: March 9th
Current Week of 40 total: Week 33, day 3
Next Doctor’s Appointment: January 23

Progress: Not much to report. Amy is still having a good amount of discomfort. She has been having some pains in her side. She thinks this is normal. We are really trying to decide on a name. Amy still wants “Ruthie.” We both retain veto power, and I’m afraid I will veto this. Mainly because I know someone named “Ruth” who is (in my opinion) an evil woman. We are still tossing around "Tayla." We both like it, but unfortunately it is a Native American name that means “Wolf.” I’m not sure I want my daughter to have a name that means “wolf.” That leaves us with “Callie.” We both like that name. We had thought about naming Cassidy that, but our dental assistants name is Callie. I think we can both deal with that now. Hmmm, this is really hard.

Good Weekend

This has been a good weekend. Yesterday we visited our friend Janice who is in the hospital. Amy had really been wanting to go see her. They got to spend a good amount of time together, and Cassidy played with their little girl.

Today I (Ryan) taught the teen Sunday School class. It went well. We are going to do a basic study on appologetics (defending your faith).

Pregnancy Update

Due date: March 9th
Current Week of 40 total: Week 32, day 4
Next Doctor’s Appointment: January 22

Progress: Not much to report. The doctor's appointment went fine. The baby has turned with her head pointed down. This is good. Amy is having a good amount of discomfort. She says the baby keeps feeling like she is really pushing against her rib cage. The baby is moving quite a bit. We still have no name picked out. Tossing around "Tayla" right now.

Winter Has Returned!!

Winter has definately returned! This was the scene outside when I got home from work. Wow! On the way to work this morning it was over 50 degrees! However, it is supposed to be back in the fifties this weekend. How strange is that? We thought we would put up a few pictures. We will post later this weekend to give an update on the pregnancy.

Good Week

This past week was good, and today was a good day. If you are reading this you probably notice that we are only getting around to posting about once a week right now. I (Ryan) began the second semester with my students this week. Things went pretty good. My classes are mostly the same, and they are all pretty much good classes. I had to get onto a student pretty hard the first day, but I think we are going to get along…sent one girl into the hall for her attitude, but other than that nothing very eventful. There was meeting that I wish I had gone to concerning getting a new high school. We really need a new school, but apparently there are those that are very much against it.

We got most of the baby stuff down from the attic today, and set up the crib and changing table. Hmmm, not sure I remember how to make a bottle. Is it one scoop of formula, or two? Amy will have to train me on that again. Are we ready to do this again? It has got to be better this time. The first go around was rather difficult--big learning curve.

Today was warm enough again to go outside for a while. Cassidy wanted to pick up acorns and hickory nuts and put them in a bucket. I’m not sure why, but she did, so that is what we did for a while. I (Ryan) played with her and the ball for a quite sometime outside. I also cooked some incredible pork-chops on the grill. I know everyone thinks I’m crazy, but what I do is go around a pick up big sticks that have fallen from the trees, star a fire with them, and then add a couple of big oak logs onto it. Once it has burned for a long time, I cook the meat over the coals. This gives them a great taste. Much better than gas or even charcoal. It takes forever, but they are worth the wait. Of course, you smell like smoke when you are done, but oh well.

We still have not decided on a baby name.

Pregnancy Update

Due date: March 9th
Current Week of 40 total: Week 31, day 3
Next Doctor’s Appointment: January 11th

Progress: Again, nothing major to report. Amy has not mentioned anymore Braxton Hicks contractions. She is getting really tired these days, and really starting to feel the pregnancy. The baby moves around quite a bit, and Cassidy keeps wanting to feel her move.

Last Day of Break

Can you believe it is this warm on January 2?
















Today was the last day of the Christmas break (a.k.a. the “Non-Specific Holiday Break” for all the Liberal Atheists). It was a truly marvelous day! We woke up early, and then Amy noticed how unseasonable warm it was outside.

We went for a walk, and then I (Ryan) decided to call my cousin Chris to see if he had lunch plans. It turned out that he was also off today, so we all decided to go together to Fazoli’s. We had a good lunch, and great conversation. His children are really getting big. Wow, time goes fast.

Speaking of which, its back to school tomorrow. Not sure I’m ready for the new semester, but it is coming, ready or not!

We are deciding to put a section called Pregnancy Update on the blog. Now, anyone who is interested can have first hand knowledge of where we are at, so here goes:

Pregnancy Update

Due date: March 9th
Current Week of 40 total: Week 30, day 5
Next Doctor’s Appointment: January 11th

Progress: Nothing major to report. Amy has had a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions, but this is expected. It was scary the first go around, but not this time. Everything else is going good.

Finally, here are some more pictures of the day. Below is the approaching storm, followed by some pictures of Ryan, Amy, and Cassidy. Thanks for reading!

A Happy New Year

Originally we had invited a few people over for New Year’s Eve. We were planning on inviting a few more, but when two of the couples were not able to come, we decided that instead we would spend the New Year together as a family. This is the first time I can remember that we have not had a party, or been playing music on this day. It would have been easy to let that get us down, but instead, we chose to have a good attitude about it, and it worked.

Today, I (Ryan) sang at church. I was really a bit nervous because it was the first time I had sung in front of that many people by myself in a long time (probably the college youth ministry days at Bethalto). I chose an old song called “I Can’t Complain.” The words go like this:

I’ve had my bad days, but I’ve had his light
I’ve had my sad days, through a weary mind
But when I look about, and I think these things out
All of my good days, outweigh my bad days, I can’t complain

Sometimes those clouds hang low…I’d like to sit and know
So I’ve asked the question, “Lord, why so much pain?”
But he knows what’s best for me, although I may not see
That God is so good to me, I can’t complain.

There is more, but you get the picture. I'm sure we would all like to complain a little less. We both feel very blessed to be attending this church. I feel that it is quite an honor to get to do anything, let alone sing on a Sunday morning! What else is going on? Well, tonight my Dad and Jeanie came over and got Cassidy for a while. They played with her, and then took her to get ice cream. She had a wonderful time!

Finally, things are going much better with our friend Janice who is in the hospital. If anyone would like to read Bobby’s blog, it details their struggles. Click HERE.

To anyone who is reading this, thanks for reading!