Lots to Catch Up On

Wow, it has been forever since we have written anything. Let me first start by answering Alisha’s question, “Are you ready for school to start?”

Well, to be quite honest, I’m not really looking forward to the start of school this year. I have been given a rather difficult teaching assignment, which promises to add some challenges to my life. Of course, I have always been apt at turning lemons into lemonade, and I don’t see a reason why this should be any different. But other than that, I do look forward to the routine. Thanks for asking the question Alisha, and thanks for reading the blog. For anyone else who reads on a regular basis, I’m sorry that I have not been updating. There has just been so much going on.

Which brings me to what all has been going on. Well, to begin with, I’m sure everyone out there is still recovering from the biggest storm most of us have ever seen. Wow, was that weird or what? Fortunately, we did not have much damage. The picture above is of Cassidy standing in front of a tree in our yard that was hit. Quite honestly, while the entire event was taking place, I really thought I was in a tornado. Amy and the children were on their way home from town, and I was pretty sure they had made it home, but I was stuck. Thankfully, I had the jeep and was thus able to navigate the treacherous terrain of downed trees and power lines on the highway. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only one who made around those 4 or 5 big trees blocking the several mile strip from town. All you jeep lovers will appreciate that!

Then we had to deal with the power being out for quite a while. That really makes one appreciate modern technology!

What else? Well, this summer has brought several possibilities for us. Unfortunately, some of them have not really worked out. First off, I had a real shot at an administrative position at another school. In the end, I decided that working more and making less was a poor choice. Then, Amy and I had the chance to move away and work in a ministry for abused/neglected children. That position held a lot of promise, but it just didn’t seem right. Perhaps in the future. Finally, we have put our house up for sale. I will write more about this later.

So, back to school in a few weeks! Wow, “It Was a Short Summer Charlie Brown!”

Finally Fixed the Storm Shelter

Well, we finally got our storm shelter fixed, or should I say done away with. The person who had built the house had the idea to put a storm shelter under the porch, with an access from inside the house. Not a total bad idea, but it leaked. Long, long story short, we had the shelter filled in with gravel. Now, all that is left is to take up the carpet in that area and put down something better. The place that we bought our kitchen floor still had some hard wood left, so I think we will just go with that.

Above is a picture of all of us and one of Callie. We took the first picture by setting the camera to take one by itself, and then all jumping on the couch. Not too bad for that.

There has not been a lot we have been able to write about here lately. I guess you could call this the dog days of Summer. We did show our house to the realtors the other day, and they were all very impressed. Unfortunately, we have not had much interest as of yet. We are going to give it a little longer, and then lower the price a bit. I realize ranch style houses are not what a lot of people want. After living in several houses, ranch style is by far the best for us at this point in our lives.

Turn Signals

Not long ago I wrote a post concerning a possible change in my job. At the moment, it looks as if I will be back at MVTHS. After several weeks of uncertainty, I went for another interview at the same place. In the end, I simply did not feel a peace about the job. When it comes down to it, I have a major problem with taking a job in which I will work more and make less. I know experience is worth a lot, but at this point it would be too much of a sacrifice.

What else is going on? I spent the bulk of today fixing the car. On Sunday I noticed the turn signals and hazard lights did not work. After looking on the net, I found where someone had posted a similar problem and the solution. It involved taking out the “multi-function switch.” Now, let me tell you, that is no easy task! But after solving the cube, I figured I could do anything! I had hoped I could save some money by taking the thing apart and cleaning it. But of course, all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put the multi-function switch back together again. I did save the jillion pieces if any of my fellow cube solvers want to try it. Anyway, I finally found a salvage yard in Selmaville that had one, and so for $35.00 I fixed what the dealership would have charged over $200.00 for. Not too bad.

4th of July

Another Independence Day has come and gone. This year, I had an interesting conversation concerning patriotism. Someone asked me if I thought that a Christian should be patriotic. Although one might think this question would yield a simple “yes” or “no” response, my answer is a little complicated.

First off, to my knowledge the Bible does not directly speak to having national pride. Jesus once stated, “Render to Cesar what is Cesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” But I not sure a connection could be made here either way. In the old testament, there seemed to be a lot of national pride for the children of Israel, and in the new testament, Paul is able to claim he is a Roman citizen. This was a big deal as we can see from the soldiers response. The Bible also teaches that we are to respect those who are in charge. With this in mind, it is certainly not against scripture to be patriotic (in my opinion).

But in order to understand this better, I went back to the dictionary. The word “patriotism” means devotion, or love for one’s country. It comes from “patriot,” which is one who “loves his country and is devoted to liberty.” The origin is Greek for “fatherland.” The same root word is used for the “Patriarchs” or “fathers” of the Bible, church, etc. So, what then does “liberty” mean?

“Freedom from oppression, tyranny,…state of being free…free from slavery.

Most Christians would make the Biblical connections here (I.e., Jesus came to set us free from the oppression and tyranny and slavery of sin). So is liberty a Godly precept? In my opinion, most definitely! What about love for country? Countries are made up of people, and if we are truly Christians, we will love people. I think this is where we get confused sometimes. I love my country. I would die for my country. However, I don’t necessarily agree with everything my government does. Notice the difference between “government” and “country.” The “country” is the people. The government (in most countries) is the system. What has made the U.S. more successful, is the stronger connection between this system and the people.

Perhaps you are starting to see the difficulty here. C.S. Lewis warned us to look out for “Christianity and _________.” There is a ton of wisdom in that statement. Must one be patriotic to be a Christian? Of course not. But the question is “should” one? Ultimately that is up to the individual to decide. I would argue that it would be much easier to be patriotic in some countries than in others. However, when trying to decide, consider that the United States was born as a Christian nation. Most of our founding fathers were great men of God. Consider the price that was paid for each of us to enjoy the freedom we have today. Consider the evil of Adolf Hitler, and his concentration camps. Where would we be today if it had not have been for the United States. And when we do mess up, make stupid laws, do stupid things, just remember, here it is “We The People.” We have a voice in what goes on. We decide what happens.

In the end, God has given us a handful of years to play our part. I happened to be put on Team USA. It’s a GREAT team to be on. I’m going to root for my team, clap for my team, and swing my hardest when I get to bat. Is it the best team? In my opinion it is, but I understand that there are others out there who think their team is the best. Maybe they should. But then again, there seem to be a lot of people wanting to play for this team. May God (continue to) Bless the U.S.A.!

The Yucky Park

Tonight we all went to the park in town. It was just not that pleasant of an experience. We mainly went there to walk. We used to walk in the evening here, but our road has gotten so bad that it is impossible to push a stroller down it. We did not feel as safe as we should have in the park for some reason. The people were not very friendly either. At one point, two motor cycle riders came by as we were walking, looked at us, and loudly revved their engines. This scared our little girl. I felt like they did that on purpose. What in the world is wrong with people? One man had his dog on a leash, that barked and growled viciously at everyone that walked by. I could tell he was glad to have a dog that acted this way. The same man’s little girl was trying to cut in line at the snow cone stand, and he never said anything to her. I don’t think we will be going back to the park unless it is in the morning from now on.

Not much else is going on. Amy and I have come to two decisions here recently. First, I am going to pursue a possible change in jobs. I don’t know if I will get an official interview, but at the moment things look hopeful. Second, whether we move or not, we are going to attempt to sell the house. This means we are putting forth more effort in an attempt to finish the remaining items. Those items are as follows:

Paint all the inside doors
Place vents in roof
Put faucet in upstairs shower
Clean Porch
A few miscellaneous items

Once these items are in place, we are calling the realtor, and a sign will go up in the yard. A lot of people in our place might be sad to say goodbye to the place they have lived for the past two years, but to us it is exciting. Life is an adventure, and it is fun to go new places, even if it is just across the street (as in our last move). Anyway, that is what is going on with us.

I Solved the Rubik's Cube!

Alright, I'll be the first to admit that this is a little geekish. But come on, how many people do you really know who have solved the Rubik's cube? Can you tell by the picture that it took me five hours? Soving this 80's puzzle has been one of my personal life's goals. I know, that is wierd, but it has.

If anyone is interrested in the adventure, I found a website that offers some helpful hints. To be fair, I could never have done it without the hints. The website can be found here. And if by reading the site, you think, "oh, that looks easy!" Then get a cube and try it...you might be a lot faster than me. But then again, I am color blind to a small degree, so don't brag if you beat my time.

You might be wondering what some of my other wierd, personal life goals are (or not). Okay, here are a few in random order:

---Catch a ball at a professional baseball game. I have come very close twice. On one occassion, my friend who was sitting two seats from me caught it. The other time, the ball was about 6 inches from going in my glove when a hand reached up and grabbed it!

---Find the following: meteorite, fulgurite, and a dinosaur bone

---Live for a while in Hawaii (or at least by the beach)

---Obtain a doctorate degree (I'm between a Master's and Doctorate now, but I have NO DESIRE to go back to school anytime soon)

---Obtain a Black Belt in martial arts (I'm at Yellow, which is a long way away)

These are just a few that come to mind. I've thought about making an actual list of "things to do before I die," but it would be a little wierd to start crossing them off. How would I feel when I got to the last one? Perhaps I should add one each time I cross one off. Okay, Rubik's cube down, now what... hmmm.. let me think about it for a while.

Amy and Nena Color Their Hair

Yesterday was an exciting day. I played Mr. Mom with the kids while Amy and her friend Nena had some girl time. So, what constitutes "girl time" you might ask? Well, in this case it was the coloring of the hair. This ritual no doubt dates back to Roman and Saxon days, and quite possibly has to do with early pagan rituals. I'm sure hair coloring also has Native American roots. Haha, get the pun? First, lets take a look at the before pictures:






























Now some serious history on hair coloring. A quick search on the internet revealed the following:

"Archaeologists believe that cave men used minerals, insects and plants to paint their bodies and hair." Hmmm, I wonder if they use insects in today's dyes? Anyway, "in 27 BC the Gauls dyed their hair red to indicate class rank. But in the Dark Ages, red was associated with witchcraft. Probably because the first documented natural redhead, an actual genetic error, appeared in Scotland about this time." "Blonde, it seems, has always been considered the most alluring to men. Roman law decreed that yellow or blonde was to be worn by 'women of the night,' ...Renaissance women favored golden hues, by then considered angelic, and enhanced them by mixing black sulfur, alum and honey, applying it to their hair and spreading their tresses over a brimless hat until the sun helped them achieve the shade they desired. In the 1800s, men began using silver nitrate to darken their mustaches and in 1825, the first real haircolor formulation was developed. In 1859, a German student, working with coal tar, diluted it with alcohol and the result was a purple dye. This lead to the first synthetic dye to be used on fabrics and hair." (info from http://www.hairboutique.com)

Unfortunately, I could not convice either Nena or Amy to use a purple dye. I almost conviced Amy to go blonde again, but after reading 'women of the night' phrase, I think I'm happy with the redish tint, despite the genetic error. Sorry Nena, the closest reference I could find to black was the coal tar.































The rinsing phase is perhaps the most important!




























Now for the blow drying phase. This is where the moment of truth comes!





























And finally, the end result. As you can see, the pictures reveal that there was not a change. All that work for nothing. Just kidding. The pictures at this resolution just don't do it justice. Both Nena and Amy were very pleased, and their hair turned out really nice.






























So what did I do while all this was going on? Well, if you have never seen the "Boohbahs" you are probably better off. This is what we watched. VERY exciting!

Father's Day

Today is Father’s Day. At church all the fathers went and stood in front, and a prayer was said. It still seems a little strange to be recognized at church as a “Father.” Time goes by so quickly, one might think I would be getting used to that by now.

Since it is Father’s Day, I thought I would post a few pictures on here of some fun times growing up with my dad. I wish we would have taken more pictures. There were so many good times.

The first picture is one of me standing in a play house Dad had built for me. The most valuable resource we have is our time. Dad sure spent a lot of time on my sister and me. Some of the other pictures are just random ones I found. There is a picture of me and my grandpa Ted. I really wish I would have gotten the chance to know him better. He was a neat guy. I remember he seemed pretty quiet, and he smoked a really good smelling pipe.

The pictures of the snow and the three-wheeler was a day when Dad pulled me and the neighbor kids around in the snow. If you will look carefully, we weren't the only ones getting pulled around. I'm not sure who had more fun that day, us, or Dad! Looking back, there are so many memories. Memories of fishing, playing hours and hours of baseball, raising chickens and rabbits, swimming, vacations, and many more. I hope to instill good memories with my children as well. I also hope to pass on the values of hard work, honesty, and determination that my Dad has given to me. I will never forget the phrases like, "A job worth doing is worth doing right," and "Can't never did anything."

Well, if you are reading this Dad, I love you, and, "Happy Father's Day!"

Why is Everything Breaking?

This is for those of you who wonder what I do with myself all Summer. Yesterday, about 5:30am, I heard a pop from underneath the house. I've done enough plumbing to know that it did not sound good, and sure enough the pop was followed by the sound of rushing water. I quickly threw my coveralls on, and crawled underneath the house (and through the spider webbs) to shut the water off. That was trip number 1. I then crawled through the water, which was now several inches deep even though I shut the water off within 5 minutes of the initial pop sound, to assess the damage. Luckily, it was just a fitting that had come off. I then crawled out, and went to Lowes. Once back home, I crawled under the house (trip number 2) to fix the problem. Of course, I didn't have the tools I needed, and had to crawl back out. I went back to fix the problem (trip number 3), and then came back out. After lunch, I went back under the house (trip number 4) to turn the water back on. Knock on wood, but so far so good. Problem seems to be fixed.

This morning I woke up rather sore from the four trips I made under the house (and through the spider webbs). Then, Amy informed me that the washing machine had stopped working. So, I had to go down to my dad's to borrow a trailer, load up the washing machine, and take it to town. I dropped it off, and later the guy called and said it could not be fixed. Thankfully, he had a used one that we could buy. I then drove to get it, loaded it, came home, unloaded it and brought it into the house and hooked it up, and took the trailer back to dad's.

This is what I do during the Summer. What fun! (hear the sarcasm?)

More Pictures

Here are some recent pictures. There is also a really cool picture on the 5/13 post that I didn't know if everyone would want to see. It is of me holding a snake. If you want to see it, go there. I will post more info later.