Cassidy the Fire Fighter

Cassidy had a wonderful time at her party. Her costume was well received, with everyone making positive comments. After her party at school, all the kids went around to different rooms trick-or-treating. I happened to be having my planning period when the kids were downstairs in G-Building, so I was able to watch her for a while. It was neat to see the high school kids working so well with the little ones. I played the proud father part mentioning to everyone that walked by, “There’s my daughter.”

After school, we geared up for the evening to receive the neighborhood children. We had really debated as to weather or not we would hand out candy. I’m glad we did. Although I was rather hesitant to expose Cassidy to the scary costumes, she did really well. There was only one that bothered her, but we made sure to explain as best we could what was going on. The good outweighed the bad I suppose. As an added bonus, we got to visit with some of our friends who stopped by, and got to know our neighbors a little better. Amy and I took turns wearing a crazy hat, and I dressed in all black with an orange collar. Perhaps next year we will do something a little more crazy. If we pace it just right, we will really be acting like fools about the time our children begin to develop a natural embarrassment of their parents. Now that will be a great Halloween!

Special thanks to Dad for bringing by the extra candy. We used it all!

Halloween.....Part 2

Go back and read Halloween Part 1 before you continue.

For the past couple of years we have held our ground pretty good. It seems like it was last year that I began to think a little more about what impact celebrating this holiday might have. Someone made a post on a friend’s blog site of mine basically saying how surprised they were that a Christian would celebrate Halloween. I remember that the comment seemed very untimely and a little judgemental. The responses to the comment caused me to think quite a bit more about this subject. I learned of several people who I consider to be good Christians who find nothing at all wrong with the Holiday. Since that time, I have pondered the issue once again in my mind.

This year, I had a discussion with one of the best Christians I know. She thinks it sends a bad message to our children to celebrate the holiday. She told me of the suffering she has endured by family members for trying to hold to her values. And for that, I respect her greatly. I have also run into a good Christian family who refuses to participate in the events. So Amy and I had a long discussion on the issue. I could tell that she was beginning to lean towards letting our children celebrate the holiday. At one time we argued about it a little mostly when I suggested to her that many parents dress their kids up more for the parents interest in the holiday than for the kids. I was holding strong on the issue, and truly believed that giving in would amount to selling part of my soul to the secular progressive culture. But something came about last week that caused me to compromise by belief. Here is the situation:

Cassidy came home from pre-school very excited about the Halloween party they were going to have. She had a letter with her explaining that the kids were going to dress up and go around from class to class trick-or-treating (she attends pre-school at Mt. Vernon High School). She had already decided she was going to dress up as a Fire Fighter. Towards the end of the letter it stated that if we didn’t want our kids to participate, then they would find “something else” for her to do.

In a rather frank tone, Amy said something close to this: “I don’t care if you don’t want her to participate, but you are going to be the one to tell her.” Although my anger kindled a little at this point, it didn’t take me a moment to realize how cruel it would be to try to explain to a little girl who just turned 4 that we were not going to let her do this. She knows nothing of Celtic tradition, nothing about the preacher who made my family think twice about our convictions, and my best explanations to her would never make her understand. Oh, I could tell her that we are Christians, and God probably doesn’t want her to partake in the celebration of a holiday having its roots in Pagan worship, but in the end she would say, “Okay Daddy,” look down at the floor with tear filled eyes, and would never understand why all the other kids get to have fun while she sits on the sidelines with “something else.”

I’m simply not going to do that. I’m mad, but I’m not going to take this away from her. There will come a day when Cassidy will have to decide for herself if celebrating the holiday bothers her convictions. But until that day, I guess I don’t see anything wrong with pumpkins, hay bales, hayrides, bonfires, or even dressing up. I don’t think it is a sin to go trick-or-treating. But I still feel uneasy about the abundance of witches, demons, etc. The church has since named the day following Samhain as All Saints Day, and the evening before came to be known as “All Hallows Eve” and eventually Halloween. To some, the day still represents evil, and is celebrated as such. But to many, the day is simply a festive day for children to have fun. In the end, I still don’t like Halloween. But I suppose I would like robbing my child of the festivity even less. Making decisions like this are difficult. But this is what is means to be a parent, and something tells me that this is the first of many difficult decisions that Amy and I will have to make.

Oh, for what it is worth, I didn't tell Cassidy anything about the pumpkin lanterns that the Celts used, or even Sleepy Hallow. Instead, I compared cleaning out the stinky junk from inside the pumpkin to the way that God cleans us out on the inside. And of course, he replaces it with his light. Check the blog soon to see how Cassidy was transformed for Halloween.

Halloween.....Part 1

What I am going to discuss today is a subject that brings a fair amount of controversy within the church. The topic, is of course, Halloween. Now, before I even begin, I would like to go on the record as stating that I have been rather reluctant in the past to get involved in this discussion. As a child, I remember going “trick-or-treating” once or twice. My family once took a ride on the haunted hayride in Radom, and at least once I carved a “Jack-o-Lantern.” Generally speaking, I celebrated the holiday much the same way as most Americans children.

That changed a little when someone gave our family a sermon tape on the subject. On the tape, the preacher exposed the history of the Halloween. I was very surprised to find that this holiday was once known as Samhain, and marked the Celtic New Year’s eve (The Celts were a nature worshiping group of people who lived in Ireland and present day United Kingdom about 2000 years ago). These pagan people believed this to be a time when evil spirits ruled the night, and lit “bonfires” (originally called “bone fires” from sacrifices), and went from house to house wearing masks (likely made from animal heads) carrying hollowed out gourds with candles inside and demanding food. A “trick” was played out if the requests were not met. According to the preacher, they would likely burn your house down, or something worse.

After hearing this sermon, my family thought it appropriate to do our best to at least lighten up on the celebration. It just didn’t seem like a good Christian family should have anything to do with this type of tradition. Besides that, we had always felt a little weird about the abundance of witches, demons, gosts, etc. that seemed to inundate the television, candy isles, and stores during this time. Nothing about the holiday seemed good, and for us it was just something that we chose not to celebrate for several years. I didn’t think much about it from that point on, and simply did my best to ignore the holiday and try not to pass judgment on those who simply didn’t know.

Flash forward about 18 years to Circa 2003.

After having our first child, my wife and I began to find it progressively more difficult to simply ignore the holiday known as Halloween. Once Cassidy was born, we knew we were going to have to make a decision as to whether or not we were going to let her dress up and partake in the childhood events that enshrine this holiday. Even before she was walking very well we had people encouraging us to dress her up to celebrate the event. We tried our best to get by with simple phrases like, “Well, we are not big into Halloween.” These comments often incited a dirty look from friends and even some family members. Postponing the event seemed like the best idea for us. But for how long???

Cards Win... Cards Win... Go Crazy Folks!!

There was a time in my life when I lived and died Cardinal baseball. In fact one of my fondest memories as a child was watching the Cardinals win the 1982 World Series. I remember that evening like it was yesterday. Bruce Sutter was pitching to Darrel Porter in the final inning. The last pitch came and I went wild! It sealed inside me a love for the game that would never go away.

But a lot would happen after that. Baseball would go through enough to make anyone question whether or not it was worth watching. The Pete Rose scandal, the steroids, the strikes, the outrageous ticket prices, and the even more outrageous salaries the ball players were making caused me to loose interest in major league baseball. I always loved the game, but it was as if the all American past time was being dragged down by the progress secular culture.

Tonight, however, in at least a small way, I relived a part of my childhood. Although I didn’t follow the Cardinals this year like I once did, I still felt the thrill of the Fall Classic. I remembered back to the greats like Tommy Herr, Willie McGee, and of course, Ozzie Smith. I remembered songs like Celebration, The Heat is On, and the announcing icons Jack Buck and Mike Shannon. Maybe those great days of Cardinal baseball are gone, but then again, those who can remember the 1960's Cardinals might have thought the same thing. Perhaps tonight will give birth to a new generation of Cardinal fans, and maybe, just maybe, renew some of the old ones.

Just Before Taking a Walk

I thought I would post a couple of pictures real quick. These were taken yesterday just before we went on our walk.

Time Going By and Sites for Dad

Time is quickly going by. Last night we had open house at the High School. I got to meet several of my student's parents, as was able to catch up a little with some old friends (Hi Craig and Monte Jo). This semester is flying by! I can't believe it is already time for the Mt. Vernon Conference again.

I thought I would put a few links on here for my dad. He had surgery and is dealing with a slow recovery. Please say a prayer for him.

http://www.steadyhealth.com/Post_cervical_spine_surgery_pain_t84198.html

http://www.neckreference.com/treatment-surgical-fusion.html

http://www.spinalneurosurgery.com/anterior%20cervical%20fusion.htm

I will try to post again sooner next time. I am working on a good one.

Thinking About Life On a Rainy Day

Today is a rainy day! Sometimes the rain makes me think about life. Most recently I have had more time than usual to ponder my thoughts. The reason? This semester I have enjoyed having a student teacher for my classes. Paige is an awesome teacher, and I will hate to see her leave. She has about two weeks left teaching all of my classes, and then it is back to work for Mr. Robinson.

So in this time, I have been thinking a great deal about life and the future. I’ve been asking myself what’s most important in life. I keep coming back to family. At the end of life for so many people, they rarely say they wish they had worked more. If they have any regrets, it is generally the wish that they had spent more time with their family. I am so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful wife and children. Amy and I make sacrifices to spend time with our children. They are only little once, and even at that the time just seems to go by so quickly. Cassidy has turned from a toddler into a little girl overnight. It is amazing how quickly she has changed, even in just the last few weeks. And Callie is right behind her. Callie is starting to say a few words now, wave bye to people, and is crawling all over the place. Wow! Where is the baby going? Amy made the comment at the rummage sale that it is a little sad to get rid of the toys. The desire to hang on to that time is so strong. It’s been said before, but it really is like trying to hold onto sand as it slips through your fingers. One day they will grow up and leave the nest. I don’t want to have any regrets. I want to honestly be able to say, “I was there.” Every moment is so precious and priceless. These truly are the best days of my life.

Getting Settled In

We are starting to get settled in at our new house. The original plan was to “flip” the house in 6 months. However, we are already realizing how difficult this will be. Even at this early stage, I think I can safely say that in order for a “flip” to occur, it will have to be at least a year.

We’ve only lived in the neighborhood for about a week now, but we have to say that this seems to be an incredible place to live. It far outweighs our expectations. The street we live on has almost zero traffic. There are kids playing outside, and the neighbors are awesome. We have met so many people, and have even been invited over. There are even friendly dogs like Loui and Sassy that seem to welcome us home. Several times this week people have stopped to welcome us to the neighborhood. Everyone we talk to loves living here. One lady said she is moving from Las Vegas to be part of this neighborhood, and another lady said it is almost like the “Bever Clever” neighborhood. She said she didn’t think they would ever want to move!

The picture I posted was of Cassidy’s birthday party. We are now the proud parents of a four year old! Wow, time goes by fast!

Saying Goodbye

We said “Goodbye” to our house yesterday. Amy took all the keys and garage door openers out to the people who bought the house. She said they seemed very happy to be moving in.

Leaving the house gives a somewhat somber feeling. A lot of memories were made in that house. It will forever have a special place in our hearts. When you build something it means more to you than when someone else builds it. Before I left I took one last long look at the structure. I remembered running all the wires in the house, hanging the drywall, putting up insulation, drilling the holes for pipes, etc. We lived in an apartment for while during the building phase. It was Christmas time, and I listed to a lot of Christmas songs on the radio when I would go out and work on the house. I worked a lot on the yard too. Planted grass seed, trees, etc. Many hours were spent on the tractor tilling up the dirt.

Of course, there are things that I won’t miss about being at that house. The grass on each side of us was allowed to grow ten feet high, and the neighbors hated me (mostly for calling the police on them). The road was terrible to try to push a stroller down, and getting out on the highway in the morning was a lengthy affair. But the good always outweighed the bad.

So goodbye. Sorry I don’t have a picture to put with this post, but most of you know what the place looked like, and probably had some good memories there too. Look for some pictures in the future.

Without the Computer

Well everything has went well with moving. This morning I left from one house, and will be returning to another. We will be without our computer for a few days, so posts may be a little slower. Hopefully I can post during lunch at school. It will be wierd sleeping in a different house tonight. I wonder if the town noises (sirens, etc.) will keep me awake?

Cassidy had her birthday party last night. Things went really good. I will try to post some pictures of it soon. She had several of her friends attend, and all the kids seemed to really enjoy it.

On a side note, thanks to all those who said they hoped we would all get to feeling better. Cassidy is a lot better, Callie still has a bad cough. I'm doing a little better, but still not back to myself. Sickness makes one appreciate good health.