Twenty-Five and Counting. . .

Questions, Questions and More Questions

2010-11-06T22:44:00.002-05:00

Our daughter, Elizabeth, has her own blog (http://lizzier.blogspot.com) and yesterday she tagged us in her post. She wants us to answer some questions - personal questions!

I'm a little hesitant to bear my soul on the world wide web, but I'll try to be as honest as I can knowing Elizabeth will probably be the only person who reads this. :)

1. What is one of your fondest childhood memories?

I had a great childhood, so I have many wonderful childhood memories. The night I received Jesus as my Savior stands out as my sweetest and most life-changing memory. I thank God that my friend, Jan, cared enough about me to share her love for Jesus with me when I was 16. My life changed forever that night and I am so thankful God gave me the faith to believe!

2. What do you love most about your spouse/significant other?

I've known Tony since I was a young girl. The things I admired in him over 30 years ago, are character qualities I still love most about him. He is a very hard worker and a servant who puts other's needs before his own (including mine!). He's also very loving and affectionate. I can't think of a day I haven't heard "I love you" and been blessed with a warm hug and many kisses. I have to admit I'm a spoiled wife - but I'm also very thankful! :)

3. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Oh, my, I will be almost 60 in 10 years. That's strange to think about. I pray I will be a healthy, loving grandma, mother and wife. I hope to spend my days as I do now, busy with many household tasks and ministry opportunities.

4. What is your favorite book?

Honestly, the Bible is the book I love and cherish most. The more I read and study it, the more I am blessed by it. I don't enjoy reading fiction, so my favorite books are theology books that reveal Biblical truth or books that help me in my relationships like Love and Respect or Shepherding a Childs's Heart.

5. Who is someone you look up to, and why?

I admire my parents for their long, loving marriage. I also look up to our friend, Jeff Olson, who lost his wife 2 months ago. He has shown so much faith and trust in Jesus throughout the past year, and I am humbled by his desire to be obedient each day, even in these days of deep grief. I also look up to my daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, Joe. They have suffered such heartache the past 4 years as they have tried to have a baby and grieved the loss of their first child through miscarriage. I am so proud of them for trusting God to provide children and opening their hearts so quickly to receiving a child through adoption.

6. If you had unlimited funds and could plan a dream vacation, where would you go & what would you do?

I used to have so many places I wanted to visit, but lately, I like home best. If I truly felt permission to take a vacation, I think I would choose to travel down the east coast, from Maine to New York. I'd love to see lighthouses in Main and historical places in Boston and New York City.

7. What character traits do you have that are most like your mother? What ones are like your father?

My mother and I both enjoy making holidays special for our children. We love to buy gifts for them and create and continue family traditions. My Dad and I are both storytellers. I love to hear him tell stories of his childhood and the interesting people in his life.

8. What has been the biggest challenge you've faced this year?

Our youngest child left for college in August. He graduated from high school a year early and I am so proud of him! Very suddenly I was finished with one of my most-loved careers, being a homeschool teacher. The same week Sam left for college, one of my best friends died of cancer. I have never lost anyone so "every day" to me, someone I loved so much. I I quickly found myself thrust into a new career, as her children's part-time nanny. I feel so blessed to be able to serve them and help their family, but the grief is overwhelming at times. I'm so thankful for God's comfort during difficult times!

There you go, Elizabeth. Let's see if your dad responds now...

Josephine Rose

2010-02-12T12:22:00.002-06:00

Josie was born in April, 1978. She's married to Derek and due with their first child, a girl, any day now. I found these old pictures of her and thought seeing them would inspire us to pray for a safe delivery and get us excited about a new cousin/niece/granddaughter/etc.! (Above: that's Great Grandpa Wendell with little Josie)

Grandma Mary feeding Josie

Uncle John reading Josie a book

Grandpa Charles with Josie (It's so strange to see him with a cigarette now!)

Josie watching TV (Her head is sooooo round!)

Josie and Linda the morning following her birth.

Josie and Aunt Lisa (me!)

Josie and Great Grandma Norman

Courtin' Grandparents

2010-02-10T15:52:00.004-06:00

I've been looking through old papers and photos the past few days and I ran across some compositions I wrote in college. Most of them weren't interesting AT ALL but I thought my family members might find this one interesting.

It was an assignment for a freshman composition class at Mt. Mercy. Grandpa Wendell and Grandma Marie lived close to my dorm, so I interviewed them for the paper. I've copied it just as I wrote it, mistakes and poor-writing and all!

(By the way, the picture above shows Grandma and Grandpa meeting 6-week old Elizabeth for the first time. Can't you just hear their voices? Grandma sure loved babies.)

(Also, I don't know why, but Grandma's birth-year is wrong - it was actually 1904. I'm not sure why I said they were the same age when they met - that doesn't make sense. And there are 11 grandchildren now - I need help figuring out how many great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren!)

Forty Years and Still Makin’ It

My idea to write this paper on my Grandparent’s “courting year” had high expectations. I had the vision of funny memories and long forgotten information leaping from their mouths and me having to slow them down just so I could get it all written. Wrong. Those memories that could be recalled were choppy and incomplete because of loss through the years and many of the moments relayed didn’t seem interesting enough for a paper. Could it be that my grandparent’s lives were that boring? Or was I expecting too much excitement from two people who had lived a comfortable, and quite unexciting life together the past forty years?

Marie Driscoll, born Nov. 6, 1900, and Wendell Stuelke, born August 29, 1906, were married on June 28, 1940 in a tiny chapel in Kohaka, Missouri. Grandpa had been married before and received his divorce only a day before the wedding. The quick, simple ceremony was the kind seen on TV in which the two young runaways wake up the preacher and get married in the middle of the night. Grandpa remembered that the preacher’s wife stood up with them and grandma recalled the hot, humid weather. A three hour ride home and a little too much to drink creates a blurry ending to the blissful union.

My grandparents first met at a dance in Nashua, Iowa, when they were both about 19 years old. Grandpa recalls noticing her red hair right away and being introduced to his future wife by a mutual friend. They danced every dance and it was the beginning of a love that would last another fifty years. Grandma remembers that Wendell was wearing a dark blue suit and tie the first time she saw him and his “shoes were all shined up”. As she said during the interview, “They were just really ballroom style”. It was a “classy” evening and one never forgotten.

Grandpa asked Marie to marry him in a letter. They lived seven miles apart and because Wendell didn’t have a car, his dates with her were infrequent. I wondered why he didn’t propose in person and Grandpa’s comment was, “I was afraid she’d meet someone else.” That unusual courtship must have worked because Marie said, “yes” to Wendell’s proposal and they were married not long afterward.

In the newlywed’s first apartment, a strange incident happened one morning after Grandpa had gone fishing with a buddy. Grandma was asleep when he got home and the snails he captured as a surprise for her were deposited in a goldfish bowl in the living room. The next morning Marie woke to find crawling creatures leaving slime trails up the curtains, across the floor, and there were even a few in bed with her! By the end of the day there were no more snails and I’m sure, nearly the end of a husband!

Being together for the sake of love has been the reason for my grandparent’s happiness the past forty years. They bicker a lot and sometimes seem to drive each other crazy but the reason isn’t any kind of dislike for the other partner, but a feeling of such complete commitment there’s no worry about showing feelings. Three children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren are carrying on that love. It’s a nice feeling to be a part of that tradition.

Lisa Stuelke
March 5, 1981

Veggie-Man!

2009-08-03T07:16:00.002-05:00

I can't say much - other than I was bored, and my sister-in-law brought over some very nice vegetables that her husband grew. Struck with about as much creativity as I ever have, I was "inspired" to lay the vegetables on the counter in this particular order. Thus "Veggie-Man" was born.

-t

Family Togetherness in the Mosquito State

2009-07-16T17:17:00.019-05:00

Lisa's extended family met at a cabin in Minnesota to celebrate her parent's 80th birthdays and their 50th year of marriage. It was cold the entire time we were there so we enjoyed time together sans the lake.

...except for a die-hard niece and nephews who braved the cold water to swim the first morning.

One afternoon we watched the musical, Fiddler on the Roof.

See if can figure out who were the most enraptured with the movie - the older women...

or the younger generation?

The oldest generation enjoyed a little romantic time while they watched!

Maybe we can blame it on the chilly weather...

or

maybe this is just what our family is really like when we're together in a confined place...

but

there were strange things like this going on the whole time we were at the cabin!

We enjoyed yummy s'mores...

A rousing game of Texas Hold'em...
A hike in the woods...

Fireworks ala Sam...

Prime Rib dinner ala Larry ...
and lots of Stories ala Grandpa!!

We're looking forward to the movie ala Andrew!

Happy 21st Birthday!

2009-06-02T09:56:00.004-05:00

Only a little brother's card can make his sister smile this big!
(Sorry it's sideways - I couldn't figure out how to straighten the video out.)

Why the cross?

2009-03-30T17:13:00.003-05:00

So many people I know are suffering today. Their hearts have been broken by the loss of a loved one. Or they stand at the bedside of someone who is very sick. My prayers cry out for God to comfort them and hold them in the palm of His hand.

As Believers we are called to put our hope in God. In this human existence, it's difficult to take our eyes off our earthly circumstances and trials and fix them on Jesus, whom the Bible tells us is our hope.

At this time of year we remember Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Why did Jesus die on that cross anyway?

It wasn't so our lives here on earth would be void of pain and sorrow. In fact, He promised that here we will have trouble.

Our family has endured trouble lately. We are grieving the loss of my lovable, sweet uncle who suddenly passed away. We are grieving the loss of our first grand baby who we prayed for and longed for. Now things that brought joy a few weeks ago only bring searing pain.

In what do I put my hope?

When Jesus said we would have trouble here on earth, he ended by saying, "But take heart - I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33)

That's why He died on that cross. That's why He rose again. To overcome the world.

My hope is in Jesus because otherwise, I have NO hope at all.

My Uncle Doug is in Heaven today. He didn't have to convince God to let him in. His ticket was purchased by Jesus at the cross. Although Doug wasn't perfect, he put his faith in the One who was. He trusted Christ's righteousness to be his own. When God looked on Doug, He saw his own, sinless Son.

This hymn sums it all up...

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Fly Men

2009-03-12T18:35:00.010-05:00

The three guys shown below went "sky diving" today. Well, sort of...

My more-than-cautious-but-flight-loving husband who has always said, "Why would anyone jump out of a perfectly safe airplane?" was very pumped to jump into a wind tunnel instead. It's as close to real sky-diving he'll ever come but I think he had just as much fun!

I love Sam's smile in this one.

The groom-to-be took his turn...

The guys were instructed to remove ANYTHING that could possible come off - Tony was even persuaded to remove his wedding ring because things end up disappearing or looking like this...

Tony and I thought it would have been pretty comical to see Sam's face when one of his new Nikes fly off into oblivion but he decided to tie them tight (amazing, huh?!) so they stayed on.

Is this the face of a man about to get married or a man who just flew??!!

Sad News

2009-02-25T18:29:00.003-06:00

Elizabeth went in for an ultrasound last Wednesday and there was no fetal heartbeat. We hoped that maybe it was too early and another ultrasound today would be good news. I went to Wabasha to be with her for the test and unfortunately, again, there was no heartbeat.

We are all so sad. Please pray for our family (especially Joe and Liz) as we grieve the loss of this precious baby. Her parents believe she was a girl and have named her Faith Hope. She has been so very loved.

We agree with this statement written by a man of faith who grieved so many losses but held fast to his God: "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

Big News!

2009-02-04T10:45:00.010-06:00

25 years ago last month we became parents for the first time.

I've always said the real reason I wanted children was to eventually have grandchildren. I'm so thankful to God that this new phase of life has begun!

A pregnant Christmas ornament announced the news. We were so surprised!

Liz and Joe are gonna have a baby!

Silly Dance

2008-12-20T21:29:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Success!

2008-12-03T09:36:00.003-06:00

Ta Da!

Compromise!
The final decision.
A Beautiful Christmas Tree.

Tree Hunting...

2008-12-03T08:25:00.009-06:00

Which tree do you think we chose?

6 people. 6 opinions.
"Too tall"
"Too wide"
"Too skinny"
" Too many brown needles"
"Too short"
"Too crooked"

People were in a joyful, Christmas mood.

People disagreed.

People were a little irrational.

People could hardly contain their enthusiasm.

People began getting a little irritated...

Mock Meat

2008-11-27T18:16:00.003-06:00

Tofurkey Ingredients: water, wheat protein, organic tofu (water, organic soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), non genetically engineered canola oil, natural vegetarian flavors, shoyu soy sauce (water, non genetically engineered soy beans, wheat, salt, culture), non genetically engineered corn starch, white bean flour, garbonzo bean flour, lemon juice from concentrate, garlic, onion, calcium lactate from beets.

Mmmm, Mmmmm, Good?!?

Turkey Day Disaster!

2008-11-27T17:46:00.008-06:00

Tragically this morning, the coveted (by some...) Parker Cranberry Horseradish sauce met a gory demise on the driveway. Eye-witnesses are still assessing whether the "accident" was intentional or not.

Scenes below should only be viewed by those of a mature age.

Some people (who will go unnamed) seemed overly gleeful about the splattered remains.

We're thankful that Wendy willingly made a 2nd batch!

Another sub completed

2008-10-13T22:15:00.002-05:00

Not doing so well with the posts lately. Things have been busy.

I thought I'd provide a short follow-up to the August post about construction of another subwoofer, since it is completed and has been tested.

Here's a picture of the finished product.

I'm rather pleased with how it turned out, and even more pleased with how it sounds! It went to church with me on Sunday to try it out in place of the sonotube sub that we had been using there. This one is quite a bit clearer than the sonotube version. The bass drum kicks are nice and crisp and the low end really is much nicer with this one than with the other. It is also much nicer to move around, since it is slightly smaller (and it has handles!!).

If you're ever in the neighborhood on Sunday, come on over and check it out!

-t

What a 6 year old can teach you...

2008-09-20T14:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I went rollerskating (like I always do each third Friday afternoon of the month). Sam was off hanging with his friends (I call them 'the pack' - I'll let you connect the dots...), so I was left pretty much to myself.

As I'm skating, I notice a particular 6 year old that I happen to know. He has skated before, but was struggling a little to stay upright, so I was watching out for him, just in case he was having too much trouble. It turns out it was probably a good idea too, since he had the remnants of a black eye. When I asked him how he got it, he said, "I was rollerblading and I ran into our picnic table." Yep - that would do it, I thought.

Anyway, I helped him get back up a couple of times, and gave him wise advice, such as "You know how you get really good at rollerskating? Keep getting up when you fall!"

So we end up skating around together for most of the rest of the time. Funny thing about six year olds - they are much closer to the ground than I am. Consequently, they notice things on the ground that I never see. Like all the 'unique' paint spots on the floor.

To make a long story short, before the day is over, I'm down on the floor, making up names for the paint spots on the floor. Funny thing is, I don't think my friend thought it was at all odd for a guy who is "extreme middle aged" (that's a new phrase I like to use...) to be laying on the floor looking at paint spots and making up things about those paint spots...

I wonder if I could crawl around under the table during a meeting at work looking at carpet patterns and making up names for the different shapes i see? I wonder what my coworkers would think about that?

Oh yeah - none of them are six years old (even though several of them act like 2 year olds...)

-t

That's a box!

2008-08-24T07:19:00.007-05:00

For some time now I have wanted to work on a project to build a subwoofer. It's not even like I've never built one before - but I had this extra 15" speaker laying around, and it just doesn't seem right that it is collecting dust when it could be making loud, thumping noises (my son seconds "loud, thumping noises" - only he would add "Really loud" to my "thumping noises").

I've already made three "sonotube subwoofers." The one at the right is providing the low end for my son's PlayStation's setup (you should hear the auto engines on "Need for Speed"). And as you can see, it even has a nice plaid "skirt" to dress it up. Then there is the sub at church. Pretty much the same deal, only a much more sedate black skirt to make it a little less obtrusive. And finally, there is the sub beside my keyboard. It is currently not hooked up because I seem to have a shortage of amplifier channels at the moment. I'll have to solve that problem soon...

This time it seemed appropriate to build a more conventional sub (read: rectangular). And since I had the speaker already, all I had to do is make a box and throw some paint on it.

Well, ok - it wasn't quite that simple, but close. If this one sounds as good as the others, it may replace the sonotube sub at church, since that one is moderately difficult to get back and forth over the 3' wall that it gets stored behind. If I feel ambitions, maybe I'll even put wheels on the bottom of the new one so we can roll it around. I'll keep you posted.

For now - here it it ready for paint.

-t

"So, what have you been doing lately?"

2008-08-14T06:22:00.003-05:00

Every now and then someone asks me that question. Usually I have an answer that is not too exciting.

However this time is different, and i have pictures to prove it!

My son is (of course) skateboarding. I, however, am on (drum roll please) a ripstick. Don't know what a ripstick is? Check it out here. Don't worry too much - it wasn't mine. I borrowed it from my nephew. I have to get practiced up for our next snowboarding excursion to Colorado next winter...

However, be kind as you compare my form with that of my son - his is much better (he also looks a lot better than I would if I dressed the same way he does....

Life goes on...

2008-08-06T19:52:00.002-05:00

Since I missed posting anything in July, it seemed appropriate to post something.

Things have been a little hectic around here. One is at camp, another is taking drivers education (and telling us of all our "errors" in driving technique...). The rest of us are continuing our lives, running around on our hamster wheels...

Speaking of hamster wheels, I heard a new quote that I like :

"The wheel is moving, but the hamster is missing in action."

Or something like that. It seems to describe how I feel sometimes.

As for other news, our digital camera died. Seems it has some kind of design error that makes it into a very nice picture viewer, but a not-so-useful camera. It has been sent back to "Mama" for a new brain. We'll see how that goes...

Otherwise, life goes on...

-t

Changing oil and stuff

2008-06-30T21:37:00.007-05:00

I have finally provided my son the rite of passage that every young man needs to experience eventually. I taught him how to change oil.

As you can see, he is really getting into the job. Unfortunately, you cannot see the 'stylish' safety glasses he is wearing (circa 1960's). Yo also cannot see that when he removed the filter that oil ran down most of his left forearm. Ah - the joys of being enslaved to stuff...

On a slightly different (more ministry related) note - we spent Saturday afternoon helping with demolition of drywall at a local crisis pregnancy center. They had flood waters in the building - about 3 feet worth on the main level (the basement was a 'swimming pool' ) - so the drywall had to be removed up to the ceiling. We took Sam and his friend to help, as this kind of "hard work" is good for teenage boys.

As you can see, the stuff removed from the inside of the building lines the streets of the city. It is still difficult to believe so many places were under so much water.

On of my coworkers was helping someone on Saturday clean their house and while they were all taking a break, one of the basement walls collapsed and the house became like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. By God's grace, nobody was in the house at the time.

We are so blessed...

-t

Get in the Ark!

2008-06-14T10:56:00.008-05:00

Sam was at Bible camp last week and wasn't schedule to be picked up until this morning. We realized the floodwaters were quickly cutting us off from easy access to I-80 so another mom and I decided to get our boys a day early.

The camp counselors had shielded the teens from knowing the devastation of the local flooding, so the boys were stunned by the news that the CR Library, Science Station, Paramount Theater, Smulekoffs, Police Station, Fire Station, etc., etc., etc., were all filled with water.

The normal 45-minute drive home from Williamsburg turned into nearly 5 hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic. I was proud of the boy's composure after 4 days of hilarious fun at camp; now stuck in a hot car. Our worst moments were when a semi full of muddy cows (by the way, the boys didn't think they were covered in mud) inched along beside us. The smell was suffocating!!

Once we finally reached the city limits, the boys were in shock to see the water surrounding the city.

We are all so overwhelmed with grief at the loss of so many earthly things. I think of the psalm of David where he equates his despair to "deep floodwaters" but remembers the faithfulness of our God in the same breath:

But I pray to you, O LORD,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.

Our God is still in control. He will rescue us. He is worthy of our praise! God's salvation has been offered to us through Jesus in the same way the famous Ark was offered to Noah's friends and family during another, even MORE devastating flood. Have you climbed into His arms of safety to be rescued for eternity? There's so much more than our earthly possessions at stake.

-Lisa

Water, water everywhere (literally)

2008-06-13T23:06:00.004-05:00

Since I posted the last time, we have had some excitement in our own backyard - quite literally.

There is a 'wee, little creek' that runs behind our house. Normally, our son can wade in it without getting wet much above the knees. With all the flooding going on around us, combined with 4.5 inches of additional rain in the watershed for our 'wee, little creek' - it became quite the lake - as you can see below:

The first picture is the view from our back deck. The second is the view from the park down the street from our house. Fortunately for us and our neighbors, no water got into the houses along the creek, but there is now an ample supply of water for the mosquito breeding season, which will follow shortly...

Seriously, we are blessed, compared to our close neighbors. Check here for pictures taken by a guy we know who lives close by. It will be some time before the water goes away and the mess can begin to be cleaned up.

-t

More Rain!

2008-06-09T21:35:00.002-05:00

It seems that we have had a lot of rain lately.

The creek behind our house thinks the same thing. As you can see below, the bridge across our "little" creek isn't passable at the moment. It tends to put a damper on the evening walks that we take on this nature trail. Perhaps we should take up kayaking...

-t

She did it!!

2008-05-26T10:04:00.003-05:00

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Way to go, Joanna! We love you!

-t

Landmarks

2008-05-21T06:27:00.002-05:00

Today marks a landmark in our life - it is the last day I will ever have to take Joanna to school. Last day of school today; reception Saturday; graduation Sunday.

It's hard to believe that we have made it this far. God is sooo good!

-t

Encouragement

2008-05-17T14:04:00.002-05:00

The other evening I was having a particularly difficult time. In fact, I went to bed unhappy with the entire world...

When I got up the next morning, I did my normal stuff, but then (in a somewhat uncharacteristic move on my part) I did the 'open-your-Bible-to-wherever-it lands' routine, because I knew I needed to read something, but wasn't sure quite what.

My finger stopped on Psalm 119:11. It is a great verse. In fact 9-16 are also really great. It was just what I needed to re-adjust my attitude.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

-t

Random News of Speakers and Presentations

2008-05-01T16:27:00.006-05:00

Since there was a request for pictures of the new speaker I acquired, I felt obligated to comply. Besides, one can never have enough speakers. Just ask my son. He has a 15" subwoofer in his beadroom (and he only occasionally makes the whole house shake).

Mine isn't quite that big or special. It's a Peavey 112PM powered monitor. It looks like this:

and this (if you're interested in the control of the noise-making part:

Now I can use this to make my incredibly mediocre keyboard skills be heard by even more people. Aren't they fortunate?!...

Following on the "exciting news" topic from the last post, I got drafted this morning at 8:15 a.m to make a presentation to a customer at 1:00 p.m. today. It wasn't my presentation, but fortunately the guy who put it together had ask my opinion on it several times as he prepared it. It was a little nerve-racking, however, since I really only got to go through the presentation about 30 minutes prior to "showtime." Oh - did I mention how fun it is to give somebodies PowerPoint presentation at the last minute, over the phone, and while those on the other end are eating lunch? You should try it sometime. It's quite character building. I guess just another reason why I'm such a character.

-t

Exciting Stuff

2008-04-29T06:23:00.004-05:00

Not much news from here. We seem to be in a holding pattern these days. A few things happening:

Our middle daughter will graduate in just over 4 weeks. Yikes! we have stuff to do to get ready...
Our street is being resurfaced. It takes a little more planning than usual to get in and out these days (but it will be over soon)
Sam is training to run in a 5K run in a couple of weeks. Two weeks later he starts his summer with a trip to Georgia.
I bought another speaker. Surprise, surprise...
I'm looking at upgrading a computer. Another big surprise...

I must say - if these are the most exciting things going on in our lives, we are in serious trouble.

On a more serious note, Lisa and I have been enjoying brainstorming about how to teach a group of families about the kings of Israel and Judah during the divided kingdom. That combined with the minor prophets. It has been challenging but fun.

Perhaps next time there will be something really exciting to write about...

-t

Confused?? Please read this...

2008-04-16T06:19:00.003-05:00

It was pointed out to me by my dear wife that my blog posts of late are a bit confusing. Not that this should surprise any of you who know me. I can be equally confusing in person.

However, she pointed out that I am chronicling a story that occurred nearly six weeks ago, and I am telling it as if it happened yesterday.

My apologies - I will try to make that a little clearer with my next post, which should come very close to completing the tales of the trip west (that occurred in early March).

Until then, please do your part to help the world be less confused. I will try to do mine as well...

-t

Sunday (March 9)...

2008-04-13T21:28:00.010-05:00

(As previously mentioned, these events transpired several weeks ago. Please keep that in mind as you read.)

Any post about our trip out west would not be complete without mentioning the fact that I was awakened from a peaceful slumber by the alarm on my son's cell phone (at 6:30 AM). It wouldn't have been an issue, save for the fact that our bedtime the previous night (or should I say 'earlier that morning') was about 2:30 AM. Well - actually 3:30 AM, due to the Daylight Savings Time change...

As for the remainder of the events of the day - I enjoyed reading Aduma's version of what transpired. He graciously provided his perspective to me a while back, and since I haven't gotten the rest of the trip documented (and because I am as lazy as the next guy from time to time), I'm going to let his version cover the final day of our stay. I may add something later about our trip home.

From Aduma's perspective:

Church was excellent. The locals go to Deer Creek Church, a Presbyterian church on the south side of town. The pastor was (and still is) in a sermon series named "Faith and Doubt", which in my opinion is excellent, but I really like it when the logic portions of my brain are active on a Sunday morning.

Following church, we traveled to Chipotle, a wonderful burrito shop similar to Panchero's (across 1st ave from Best Buy), but in all ways superior (in my humble opinion, of course). We sat outside and soaked in the warm sun and downed our gigantic burritos. After lunch the trouble began.

Aduma speaks and blogs often about the "impressive backyard", essentially a sizable public park set up by the county, which happens to be within walking distance of the locals' abode. There's a few paths that snake through the valley between two hogbacks and provide a nice sliver of isolation from society in God's beautiful creation a mere half mile from the front door.

Despite the calm and relaxing pretenses of the five-mile walk on a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon, given the group dynamics things rapidly headed downhill. What started as a nice photo op for Tony turned into an hour-long snowball war, with everyone (except Tony, who wisely thought to bring a waterproof jacket) getting soaked head to toe with snow by the end. I'll let the pictures do the talking, both of the snow and the scenery [Tony: I sure am glad I had my coat and hat. The coat kept me dry, and the hat kept my bald bean from getting fried.].

After we managed to get everyone soaked, it was time to send abU back home to Kansas. In order to keep anyone from getting depressed, Tony graciously offered to give everyone a sugar high in the delicious form of ice cream [Tony: If you've never been to Coldstone Creamery, you should try it]. So we got abU packed up and he and Sam headed to the ice cream shop in the Bloviator [Tony: see previous post for definition of the Bloviator], followed by Tony and aduma. Remember the acceleration "issues" that abU's plush car had with the altitude? Surprisingly enough it hadn't magically resolved itself. As not to become the laughingstock of society, aduma waved abU on ahead, and then at various stop lights used the venerable Detroit brute power to physically push the much heavier Mercedes through intersections, and eventually down the on-ramp onto the interstate, where turbo-power took things over from there. It must have been an entertaining sight to see [Tony: it was difficult not to laugh, but I retained my composure so as not to encourage such (ahem) immature activities... :-)] .

We acquired our ice cream and sat down on the benches outside and recapped the various happenings of the weekend. (As you might have gathered, there was much to talk about.) Various laments were made about not summiting a mountain, and abU started to waver. "I guess I could call a coworker and not go in tomorrow" the voice of responsibility mused. Tony and Sam were leaving that evening, so they couldn't climb a mountain, but aduma (always up for an adventure) decided going to work before noon was optional and quick plans were made to climb a mountain in the morning. "We could be down the mountain by noon, and then you could be on your way home in daylight, instead of leaving now and driving most of the way in the dark" aduma stated. That's all the arm-twisting that was required, and the evening took on a decidedly more lively note. Tony, the planner, shook his head in wonder.

As mentioned, Tony and Sam were heading out that evening, so everyone headed back and got cleaned and packed up. With abU in tow, everyone piled into the 2-door compact and headed off towards downtown Denver, where the train station is located. We arrived the standard hour early, shook hands, took a few final pictures,

and then Tony and Sam headed inside. AbU and aduma drove off towards the west, when a phone call broke conversation. "The train is an hour and a half late. Can you swing by and grab us?" Sam questioned. "Sure, we'll be back in a few minutes." So we headed back.

Despite living in Denver for several months, aduma doesn't have a great concept as to what the cool things to do downtown were (being that downtown was a solid 30 minute drive away, and his disdain for touristy activities). So we parked the car and wandered up and down the 16th Street Mall, more or less the hub of things to do in downtown. We picked up some Taco Bell for the "starving" Sam, wandered in and out of buildings, and more or less goofed off for an hour or so. When the time came, we dropped Tony and Sam off at the train station again, this time for real, and abU and aduma went on their merry way.

That more or less wraps things up from my end. There's more to talk about the luscious dinner on the train ride back to Iowa, but I'll leave that to the expert in the field. The weekend overall I would consider a success. Snowboarding was a lot of fun, and the requirement of not killing Tony was fulfilled. We ate some good food, played games, watched movies, wandered around outside (in downtown, in the county park, and in the wilderness), and more or less had a good time being together. It was a lot of fun, and Tony has already committed to another trip next year!

Ok - so I'm not sure I've really agreed to a trip next year, but it was a lot of fun. I'm sure it would take very little arm twisting for Sam to go again. I've already been told by more than one person that next time we have to snowboard for two days instead of just one. I really think they are trying to kill me.

Maybe I'll write something about the train ride back, but it pales in comparison to the weekend activities. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with it.

-t

Evening Activities

2008-03-27T21:49:00.005-05:00

As if the antics of the day so far were not enough - we're not done.

We went to Becky's for a wonderful supper and great conversations. And I also took the opportunity to provide my nail puzzle (see previous post) as a gift to the hostess.

Although there were several enjoyable things about the evening (including the ibuprofen - thanks Becky!), I think there were two highlights that stuck out - no make that three...

The first was the naming of abU's car. I wish I could better remember how this transpired, because it really was funny. Suffice it to say that after talking about interesting words in the English language, like obfuscate, or obfuscation, and obloviate (which we discovered really isn't a word at all), we settled on a name of "The Bloviator," from the root, bloviate. It seemed perfect since, as a Mercedes, the car has a certain pompous aire about it. It also has the double mean of "blowing smoke" which the car does - quite literally when started. As my son says, "The Bloviator is a cool car!"

The second was a game (new to me) called Munchkin. It seems to be a take-off/spoof on role-playing games. If you have a whacked sense of humor like I do, you would probably enjoy this game. If I remember correctly, i triumphed against the "Shrieking Geek," although I didn't get any of the really cool weapons, like the "chainsaw of bloody dismemberment" - but then I also did not suffer from any of the really nasty curses, like the "chicken on your head" curse. But alas, I was unable to elevate myself to level 10 and win the game. Another failure in life...

The game reminded me a little of the game called Killer Bunnies, our family was introduced to by my son-in-law. That is another game that requires a bit of a twisted imagination, but is definitely a lot of fun.

We had a great time playing and laughing at the various monsters, curses and classes (we all start out as 'humans with no class' - how funny is that?!?) as we each battled our way to munchkindom. Our game concluded around midnight, and I was thinking, " well, pretty soon I can take my tired, sore body to bed and get some rest. But then I made a strategic error - I asked a question about a movie that was sitting on the bookcase...

"So, this is the movie I've heard so much about? What is it about anyway?" I had to ask. I realized I was now toast, as everybody (who had seen it before) started in.

That led to the third highlight. "You have GOT to see this," they said. And if that wasn't enough, my son started in on me. Those readers who posses abilities to see how things transpire will realize that it would be another 2 hours before my old, decrepit body would enjoy a (short) night's rest. And since it was the eve of the Daylight Savings Time transition, the evening was even shorter. So, we watched UHF. Oh yes, did I mention that the 6 of us watched the movie on a laptop? That was pretty comical. I wish I would have taken a picture...

(Disclaimer: this is the way I remember the evening, but I am getting old - my age is approaching that of the earth's crust. So even if you go along with the "young earth theory" that makes me at least 10,000 years old - give or take a few centuries - so I may have some of the facts wrong...)

So - in an attempt to adequately cover everything, I'll include Aduma's take on the evening. These are his words (with parenthetical comments by me):

After getting all the laddies cleaned up after the hikes of doom that morning, we headed over to Becky's for dinner. I don't remember what we had [Tony: It was spaghetti, salad (2 kinds!), bread and wonderful desserts. Remembering stuff like this is very important, so start practicing], but I'm sure it was good [Tony: Yes, it was]. We sat around and talked for a while about a variety of topics, then broke out the game Munchkin.

Munchkin is in the same genre as Killer Bunnies, so a group-oriented role-play card game, but it adds the (quite fun) element of helping/backstabbing other players. There are still plenty of ridiculous weapons and monsters, and a fairly level playing field allows people to pick up the game quickly and have fun. Much backstabbing and treachery led to an extended game, but it was a bitter race to the finish. (Unlike Killer Bunnies, it is not completely arbitrary who wins, which is kind of nice.) [Tony: very enjoyable game. We may have to pick up a copy ourselves...]

We finished the game around midnight, which seemed like a reasonable time to hit the sack. It had been a quite full day, we got up before 7am, ended up pushing the (very heavy) car up portions of the mountains, nearly gave Tony a heart attack (at least 3 times before lunch), hiked a bunch at altitude, and did dive rolls down the snowy slope. Of course, this is not what happened. Out came the laptop, and the movie UHF was popped in.

UHF is a unique movie. The writer and star of the film is "Weird Al" Yankovic, of incessant parody fame. This should give you great indication as to the content of the movie, but let it be known that little is to be taken seriously. I would highly recommend the film (Tony is a firm believer), and recognize that it is even funnier between midnight and 2am [Tony: most definitely].

After the movie, we really did hit the sack. Fortunately church starts late, and due to extraneous circumstances, we weren't going to Sunday school, so we slept in until after 9am. (Save for Sam's alarm on his phone....)

Ok - Now you have both versions. Sorry it took me so long.

-t

The Puzzling Puzzle

2008-03-26T20:00:00.006-05:00

Like I said previously, their was still much day left to be experienced even after our mountain expedition.

Some background: Sam and I had been tormented all weekend by this little wooden puzzle ( I wish I would have taken a picture of the thing). It was one of those 'arrange-all-the-pieces-so-they-hold-themselves-together' sorts of things. Sam mastered it pretty well, but I was still having trouble getting it together, even after I was given a major hint. So it seemed only right that I return the favor and leave a puzzle for the locals to solve.

In order to leave our little gift, we had to stop at Home Depot for supplies:

two small 2 x 4's ($0.51)
One box of nails (10D, I believe - $3.87 or something like that)

We only needed one 2 x 4, but since we had to buy a box of nails (we only needed 7 total), I figured we might as well make two puzzles.

Maybe a visual will help:

The goal is to get all 6 loose nails to balance on top of the nail that has been pounded into the 2 x 4 without any of them touching the 2 x 4 in any way.

However, when we got back to the apartment and assembled the puzzle, I realized that the nails were too long. Fortunately the incredible abU had a pair of trusty diagonal cutters (and pliers too!) in his car. Ten minutes later and the puzzle was ready to go (note: the picture above is only a rough facsimile of the original puzzle, which was much cooler, since the "dangerous" pointed ends of the nails had been thoughtfully removed).

After trimming the nail ends, we entertained ourselves by sticking them to little magnets hanging from a chain. In the end, the incredible abU amazed us again by balancing all 18 'nail points' on the magnet on the chain.

Isn't his look of concentration amazing?

This kept us entertained until supper.

Coming soon to another post - Supper, Munchkin, UHF and bedtime (finally!)

-t

The Trip Back to the Car (and down the Mountain)

2008-03-26T18:47:00.003-05:00

Since I needed extra time to walk, I started back to the car while the others followed. The walk back was not too bad - I could sort of tell where I was going to sink in up to my knees and where I wasn't.

Since I got back to the car ahead of the rest, I cannot provide any details on what went on. Once back at the car, however, I was surprised to discover that the makeshift parking lot was filling with vehicles and people who wanted to go for a nice mountain hike. There was one young-ish family that I wished I had taken a picture of, because they had their snow shoes on and their young son (4 maybe?) walking along with, while their younger child (no more than 2 yrs old) was on Mom's back in a backpack-like thingy, screaming his or her little lungs out. I'm still trying to figure out if the couple was trying to get the little one used to hiking in the mountains, or if they were punishing the child for something ('Now Johnny, we told you if you didn't eat your peas, we were going to make you hike with us in the mountains!') I'm sure it was more humorous for me than it was for them...

Once everyone made it back to the car, we had to reverse the process of going up the mountain. The first order of business was getting the turbo diesel started. In addition to not liking altitude, it turns out that this particular car is also a little cold blooded. After several attempts, she started - or should I say, started smoking. If you've never been behind a diesel when it is first started, you have missed out on one of life's greatest experiences in air pollution. Someone probably should have warned the guy behind us, who had backed his SUV into the lot so the hatch faced the back of our car. He was sitting in the edge of his open hatch, putting on his snow shoes, when he was treated to a good bit of dark diesel smoke. Since I was standing near the back of the vehicle, I apologized to the gentleman for our gift of smoke. "(cough, cough) That's OK (cough, cough)," he said, as he moved from the back of his vehicle, closing the hatch on the way...

After a bit, we got underway (it took a few minutes and a couple times of the car dying as we attempted to get going), headed down the mountain. We were following an SUV down the mountain road (have you noticed how SUVs keep popping up?). The road was not exactly wide, but two vehicles could pass, as long as each was paying attention. Being the sort that finds something to worry about, no matter what the occasion, I'm thinking at one point, 'I wonder if we should be following this close? I wonder what the chances are that we will meet another vehicle coming up the road?'

Less than a few minutes later, we watch the SUV in front of us spin 90 degrees into a snowbank on the side of the road, to avoid hitting another SUV on the way up the mountain. We, likewise found a nice soft snowbank to use to slow us down so we didn't become part of an accident. I'm happy to report that neither SUV collided, nor did they fall of the edge of the mountain. Likewise, we did not collide with anything either (other than the snowbank). We continued down the rest of the way without incident. I think I started breathing again sometime before we got to the bottom...

Once at the bottom, we enjoyed milkshakes and and cherry cokes at a local shop in Georgetown.

The rest of the trip back into town was pretty uneventful. Well, mostly uneventful. The only other thing of note was that while we were pulling away from a stop sign (on an incline), a bicyclist passed us. Like I said, the vehicle we were riding in, comfortable though it was, had a little altitude issue...

Sorry - no pics today. I think my brain was suffering from oxygen deprivation, so I didn't think to take any.

-t

The view from the Top - a Postscript

2008-03-25T06:21:00.005-05:00

Forgot a couple of things.

That lovely ridge in the background is the "little hill" we had planned on climbing. Should you choose to follow the link above to learn about this "little hill," please note the second paragraph, which states the optimum times to climb. Then remember it was early March. I'll let you connect the rest of the dots...

And one last picture. As we were walking one way or the other, I noticed this. It is one of those reflectors that sits along the side of the road to let folks know there is an edge there. These things usually sit a good bit off the ground. As you can see here, the ground has grown up to meet the little yellow reflector. That should provide a pretty good mental picture.

Until the next post,
-t

Three Men and a Baby - the view from the top

2008-03-24T21:42:00.017-05:00

The trip to the big snow bank was pretty exciting. But the escapades up the trail a ways were also quite humorous, as was the descent back down the hill and the return trip back into town (which I'll cover in a separate post).

Once at the end of the road, I notice that the other vehicles in the parking lot are mostly SUVs or trucks and (I think without exception) 4WD, as I mentioned previously. I also noticed the people getting out of their vehicles to go hiking looked different than we did.

For starters, the people we saw preparing to hike in a little further had these funny things on their feet. They looked sort of like this. I was beginning to wonder (again) if we were, perhaps, not as prepared as we should have been. However, not having fallen off the side of the mountain to my death yet (at least at this point), I tried not to think about that. Unfortunately, as we started walking, I was reminded of this thought by the fact that every so often when we took a step, we sunk into the snow up to our knees.

So how did we deal with that? Well, some of us chose to cope by walking on the guard rail along the side of the road. I chose not to walk on the rail for two reasons:
1. I am basically not very coordinated.
2. You can fall off the side of the mountain too easily. As shown here:

Of course, those in the picture (if they were narrating) would point out AbU did not fall off the rail. He jumped off the rail. And he lived to tell about it!! However, this little fact would not derail (no pun intended) my determination. I continued to walk along (5 feet above?) the road - sinking in up to my knees every so often.

But we continued our hike until we reached a scenic place (and got too tired, since we left the supplies in the car - we were only going to hike 'a little ways in...). The antics that transpired after the requisite "scenic pictures for mom" can best be shown with a sequence of pictures (key words: dive rolls and backflips). Children - do not try this at home. Soft snow is a must for such dangerous activity!

Once all the fun in the snow was done, the weary gymnasts had to climb back up the "hill" (there is a reason you don't see me in any of these pics. After snowboarding the previous day, I was doing well to be able to walk...). But those younger than me with more energy and sense of adventure enjoyed the romp in the snow (and the climb back up).

Tomorrow - the trip back down and into town...

-t

Three Men and a Baby - the story of a day gone very weird...

2008-03-23T20:42:00.011-05:00

My apologies for the wait - I've been busier than I thought.

Now for the story of Three Men and a Baby. Brace yourself - this is a very long post.

The day started innocently enough. Four of us were going to rise early (but a little later than originally planned - due to the late arrival of abU the night before). So by 7:30 am we were on our way to Georgetown, Colorado to take Guanella Pass to the trail head to Mt. Bierstadt - one of Colorado's "fourteeners"(elevation: 14,060 feet). But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The first decision of the day (after breakfast...) was whether to take aduma's vehicle or abU's vehicle. Let's see - shall we take the smallish two-door or the older, four-door Mercedes turbo diesel? It was early in the day, so we opted for comfort and took the Mercedes. We probably should have re-thought that decision before we left the apartment parking lot...

You see, the turbo diesel hails from the flat lands of the Midwest (approximate elevation: 1300 feet). Remember this point - it will become important later in the story. However, we had a hint of the issue before we left the parking lot. You see - we were going up a slight incline (I do mean slight), and with the gas pedal to the floor, the car was moving along at less than average walking speed. The conversation went something like this:

Aduma: Do you think we should take my car?

Abu: I think we'll be fine once we're on the interstate and the turbo kicks in.

We have traveled part way down the road that leads the direction of the interstate on-ramp, as the car abruptly shifts gears. We all laugh. The car continues to accelerate, and as we are getting on the interstate ramp, the turbo does, in fact, kick in. Seems like things will be fine...

We travel the hour or so to Georgetown, fighting weekend ski traffic (and facing "acceleration issues" each time we have to slow to a stop and then continue on the interstate). With a scenic drive through Georgetown, we are on our way up Guanella Pass to the trail head.

Now, being from the flat lands myself, I have had very limited experience with mountain driving (or riding, as I was doing). So, going up the pass, as we are increasing in elevation, we are driving on switchbacks to work our way up the pass. No problem at first, although I will admit this type of driving never really thrills me. I would not say that I am afraid of heights in the classic sense (I love flying, for example). It's just that I'm not to keen on the idea of being on things I can fall off of. This mountainside road struck me as something we could have easily fallen off of. And it isn't even the thought of the fall that bothers me - its the sudden stop at the bottom that gets to me most.

As we continue the climb, I notice the road conditions changing from basically dry to partially snow covered (funny how that works above 10,000 feet...). I also notice that in places, the grade appears to be steeper than it was for the earlier part of the climb. As the road has gotten more snow covered, it is more difficult to maintain traction and keep going up the side of the mountain. This is also where it is important to remember that we are in a turbo diesel from a much lower elevation. You see, our comfortable car has decided that it is not particularly fond of the altitude. So as we are attempting to climb this road with hairpin turns, and an increasing grade, the car informs us that it has no intentions of continuing the climb - by coming to a stop in the middle of the (very narrow) road.

Hmm. What to do? Well for starters, perhaps if we back down a ways to a clear patch in the road and make a run for it, maybe we can get the rest of the way up the road. I think this was the point at which I concluded that I was the baby of our group. Backing down a winding mountain road with hairpin turns did not seem like my cup of tea. Good thing nobody was monitoring my blood pressure at this point... So we back down and try it again. Made it a little farther, but we are definitely not going to get all the way up like this.

Second "hmm" moment. AbU and Aduma get out of the car. AbU starts looking off the edge of the road (I never did ask him what he was thinking). After some looking and thinking, it is suggested that perhaps Sam and I could get out and wait here while AbU and Aduma back down a little farther and try again. Perhaps less weight will help (I didn't think I was THAT fat...). Pushing also seemed like a reasonable idea. Being the one with the camera, it was left to me to document the occasion...

After they car got to where we were, I had time to put the camera away and (with Sam) help push to get us past this area where the grade was greater and there was less traction. We all re-boarded on a flat spot a bit up the road and continued.

Here's more of the conversation (rough paraphrase):
AbU: I think if we can keep the speed up so the turbo is running we can make it to the top.

Tony: (imagine a thought bubble over my head here) Doesn't that mean we have to go faster than we have been? Did I mention that I don't like things I can fall off of?

Aduma: (Some sort of encouragement to try it.)

I don't remember what was said at this point, as panic had begun to set in and my mind was beginning to prepare myself for my funeral.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), there was a relatively flat spot where we were able to get a 'running start.' So off we go.

Have you ever heard it said that 'timing is everything'? I learned the truth of this phrase as we were attempting to turbo our way to the top of the pass. Each time we got up enough speed for the turbo to kick in and help with the car's anemic altitude issues, we would have to make a hairpin turn to continue our ascent. Not wanting to slow down (and thus loose the benefit of the turbo that had just kicked in), we sort of fishtailed the rest of the way up the pass, while I tried not to hyperventilate in the back seat.

Speaking of timing - it was somewhere in the middle of the fishtailing sequence that we passed a road sign that said "ROAD CLOSED AHEAD. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK." or something similar. This was the point where I concluded firmly in my own mind that we were all going to die. I imagined the phone call my dear wife would receive telling her that her husband and son had fallen to their deaths on an impassable mountain road, but that they died in comfort, riding in a Mercedes...

Since this is getting long, I'll abbreviate the story and let you know that we got to the top. Well, no- that isn't quite right. We got as far as the road was plowed. You see, the road terminated at a small parking lot where it appears the plow could no longer push the large pile of snow any further. I'm sure you can notice that both of the vehicles in this photo are 4WD. And neither of them is a turbo diesel...

In the next post. I'll tell you of the escapades at the end of the road. For now - suffice it to say that I lived, but probably lost a few years of my life due to self induced stress.. Oh yes - lest you think the story has ended - the day was not nearly over yet. In fact, I'm pretty sure we hadn't passed the halfway mark yet. More on that later.

One final picture, for effect:
(the "Three men" are standing on the cross brace of the sign. Had the snow not been there, they would have been probably about five feet off the ground. The "Baby" is behind the camera...)

-t

Foreward and Acknowledegements: Three Men and A Baby

2008-03-20T21:43:00.004-05:00

It would appear from the voting that most people want either all versions of the story (!), or for aduma and I to co-author a post on the topic. Since aduma has a thriving social life and is much to busy to be bothered by such boring and mundane things as writing blog posts about random events, I shall have to recreate the story myself, with all my personal biases and frailties. However, I think we can rest assured knowing that if I get anything wrong, aduma will correct me when he has an opportunity to read what I have written...

Now, as any proper story should have - I would like to thank the following people:

Lisa - Thank you for allowing Sam and I the opportunity to venture off without "proper adult supervision" and enjoy a little father/son "male bonding time." We did have a lot of fun, neither one of us died, and we didn't kill each other either!! Small miracles for which to be thankful...

Sam - thank you for being an encouragement to me, even when I am not very good at things that you think I should try (and, if the truth were known - I am too old to actually do...). You're a good kid! No matter what your dad says about you!

Aduma - thank you for inviting us to come and share some memories with you. My mind is always expanded by your sense of adventure. Even if it does cause my heart to race and my blood pressure to rise (for fear of my life...). You do have an 'impressive back yard."

AbU - thanks for dropping in and adding a little extra spice to the adventures! And thanks for spending time with Sam. It's always great for him to have time with other quality folks. Oh - he really likes your car too...

Tune in later today (hopefully) for the adventure of "Three Men and A Baby..."

Until then,
-t

The Polls close this evening...

2008-03-19T06:34:00.002-05:00

Thank you for your inputs. Not wanting anyone to miss out on the fun, the voting has been extended until Midnight tonight (3/19 - CDT).

If you know of anyone else who would like to stand up and be counted, encourage them to vote today!

For those of you who have already voted, feel free to collect your "I Voted!" sticker below (self adhesive not included...).

-t

I'm debating on a title - I need your help...

2008-03-17T22:02:00.003-05:00

Before I post the events of the day after snowboarding, I need your help on the title of the post. The title (obviously) will help determine the direction taken with the narrative that goes with the pictures.

The candidates are:

1. The Wise and the Foolish (sort of a Biblical sounding theme...)
2. Three Men and a Baby (sort of a humorous sounding theme...)
3. Once Upon a Mountain (some sort of theme...)

Cast your votes! Remember it's an election year, so vote early! Vote often!

-t

Day 2: Snowboarding!

2008-03-16T15:13:00.014-05:00

In my son's mind, snowboarding was the primary purpose of the trip. Because of this - I will apologize in advance for the length of the post and the number of pictures. Those of you who are not easily bored (or have too much time on your hands), read on...

The day started with the brainteaser of how to get 3 people and 3 snowboards in a small-ish 2-door car. In fact, I learned from our host that no shortage of mental energy was expended on this jigsaw puzzle of fitting all of these pieces in his car (even prior to our arrival). I offered to stay behind and help solve the problem, but I was not to be let off the hook that easily. As you can see, once the equipment was in, we were able to squeeze in the back and the adventure was underway!

We were headed to Copper Mountain - and out before the weekend ski traffic (since we went on a Friday). We arrived early so us newbies could get comfortable doing face plants in the snow. I'll spare you any photos (or gory details) of our learning process. Suffice it to say that we did not disappoint our host, and managed to fall several times before we moved on to more challenging terrain. However, the weather was perfect; mid 20's and little to no wind with a slight overcast (which cleared into a crystal clear day by early afternoon).

Our host carried the camera and our lunches in a backpack. I found out later that it is even more challenging to keep your balance on a snowboard with a backpack on your back. Good thing I didn't have to do that very many times...

I spent a lot of my time on my backside, like in this picture. But I did get good enough to actually make it down the hill (albeit with questionable form). But hey - I didn't loose any body parts and I didn't hurt anyone else in the process, so I felt pretty good. Well, Ok, I'll be honest. I wished I had done better. But I was determined to get down the hill. There were a couple of points were I really wondered if it was a good idea for a dinosaur like me to be trying this. I mean, the most challenging sport I had ever tried in my life was tennis. And the last time I tried to do that with my son, my elbow hurt for a week. How was my body going to survive snowboarding? I learned something important: Ibuprofen can be your friend... That and a little sleep (which is about all we got - but I'm getting ahead of myself).

My son, who also likes to skateboard, picked up the sport much quicker than I did. Of course, he is also more daring than I am (and being 30+ years younger doesn't hurt anything either). As you can see, he did fine. He even tried one of the jumps, as did our host. You can check out those pictures here (among others). They looked really good in the air. A little less so on the landings...but I'm not saying any more than that or they'll make me try it next time (and I am NOT ready for that).

By the end of the day, I could get by, but I definitely could use more practice (and a little more courage). Side note for a future post - the conditions in Colorado were much superior to the local place we went here recently. When we went here, I managed to hurt myself enough that I got to spend the majority of the day taking it easy.

Since this is getting long, I'll close with a few more pics. We ended the day with pizza at a local pizza shop, and the drive home, where the plan to hit the sack early took a slight detour. You see, while we were on the mountain, our host's good friend called with a change of plans and appeared later that evening (much later). More about that tomorrow...

(Finally getting down the mountain)

(Father and son - in case you can't tell that is "two thumbs up")

(I was teasing our host about the 'angelic glow' behind his head. Had to include this one for that reason).

Closing thought - would I do it again? In a heartbeat (but I think I probably need at least a year to recuperate...)

-t

Day 1: Slow, but Gaining speed...

2008-03-15T15:46:00.011-05:00

Approaching our destination - Sam's first impressions are shown by the picture at the left (or maybe it was the travel by train - or maybe the loud people behind us who partied late into the night...).

We'll fast forward through our first full day in Colorado, since someone was too chicken to wander out into the big city because the battery of his GPS was on its last legs (wonder who that could be?). However - a few highlights:

We ended up eating at a Mall food court and playing Glowgolf (a form of black light miniature golf). It was a close match, but in 3 games, Sam ended up two strokes ahead of me. After that rousing activity, we took a nap. As you can see, even teenagers need their beauty rest.

We topped the day off with chili and chocolate milk for dinner and good conversations. Sam and I got to meet Becky, and Sam especially enjoyed talking with her about Rubik's cubes! It was quite the sight - the two of them talking this foreign language (even though it was mostly English) about working on edge, corner and center pieces while the rest of us looked on. I think my son has some makings of a geek in training...

Tomorrow - one of the primary purposes of the trip: SNOWBOARDING!

-t

Travel by train?

2008-03-13T20:01:00.005-05:00

I guess I'll make the trip-related posts semi-sequential. That means discussing the mode of transportation next.

The train station we departed from is actually a bit of a drive away from us. So the first leg of the trip required travel via our trusty red van (the one with 200,000+ miles on it) to the train station. Totally uneventful (which is nice if you are like me and can survive on a very limited level of excitement - more on that in a later post too...).

Have you heard of the expression "Time to spare? Go by air."? Well - I have a new version - "More time to spare? Go by train!" Our train to Colorado was 45 minutes late. Our train for the return trip was 2 hours late. Fortunately our time table was fairly flexible, so the schedule didn't cause problems.

As for train the train stations - they are definitely from another era. Here are two examples.

Colorado Trip - a summary

2008-03-12T20:35:00.003-05:00

My son and I recently spent some time in Colorado visiting a friend.

The big adventure was that we both went snowboarding for the first time. More about that in a future post... For now, however, I'll provide a summary of the top 10 things I learned on this trip:

Most importantly - my son is a good kid! I was reminded of this several times (and it was also pointed out to me, just in case I missed it). He was concerned that I was having a good time snowboarding, and he was encouraging me when I was afraid I was going to kill myself as I was (cautiously) headed down the side of a mountain - even when I wasn't looking as good as he made it sound like I was.
You actually can fit three people, three snowboards and all the associated paraphernalia into a small car. You just have to want to badly enough. Since our host was highly motivated in this regard, the mission was accomplished! Perhaps a picture of this in a future post...
The sun in Colorado is potent, even when it is 30 degrees outside. I am still recovering from a sunburn on the lower half of my face. Note to self - next time, take sunscreen!
You use muscles that you didn't know you have when you snowboard (especially when you are old like me...). Another note to self - take Ibuprofen when you return from the day on the slopes. Your body will thank you...
Sleep is a good thing - especially after a day of snowboarding. Our plans were changed in this regard, however, with the arrival of another guest from out-of-town.
It is not a good idea to drive up a snow covered mountain in a car that doesn't like altitude. A picture is definitely in order on this point...
Munchkin is a fun game.
You may not get the entire plot of a movie if you start watching it after midnight and you are already tired. Of course, it doesn't matter much if the movie has no real plot...
No matter what city you are in, it is possible to worship the Lord with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
Snowball fights in 50 degree weather can be fun - unless you are the target...

Much fodder for future posts. Perhaps in a day or three I'll add some additional thoughts. In any case, there were quality adventures had by all. My sunburn and sore muscles are quickly fading away, but the memories will last for a long time to come.

-t

Becoming

2008-02-26T06:53:00.003-06:00

I seem to be making up for lost time posting in the last 24 hours, but this quote is too good not to share. Since I haven't had anything of significant eternal value to share, I thought I'd share something someone else has written:

We are all in the process of becoming, We have already moved from what we were to what we are, and we are now moving toward what we shall be..

The perturbing thought is not that we are becoming, but what we are becoming; not that we are moving, but toward what we are moving. For it is not in human nature to move on a horizontal plane; we are either ascending or descending, mounting up or sinking down. When a moral being travels from one to another position, it must always be toward the worse or toward the better... - A. W. Tozer

-t

Neighbors, Two Birthdays and a Birthday Present

2008-02-25T20:26:00.005-06:00

We have some quality neighbors. In many ways, they are like family. They are very special people, and they are generous with their time and with the resources God has given them.

In an attempt to explain to you what kind of wonderful people these neighbors are, consider this story.

Recently I had a birthday. Likewise, my son had a birthday too - his is eight days after mine. Our neighbors determined at some point that a birthday present was in order. And because they know I am almost as much of a kid as my son, they gave me the remote controlled car-thing in the picture (and told me I had to share it with my son). I took the pictures in the dark, because it has cool, light-up wheels!

What a world this would be if all neighbors were as kind and generous as ours!

-t

199,998; 199,999; 200,000. . .

2008-02-25T20:16:00.004-06:00

Lately I seem to be a master at having absolutely nothing important to say. Even though there is nothing of any significant eternal value in these words, perhaps they can be entertaining to those of you who fight off the boredom as you read these ramblings.

As promised, the van has crossed the 200,000 mark. Because you can never have enough documentation of such a momentous event, you get to see the entire sequence of the passage of 200,000. You will notice that as the odometer is turning over from 199,999 to 200,000 I am actually driving back to work from lunch.

It is probably a good thing that there was minimal traffic and no local law enforcement around watching me. I can just imagine the conversation if I got pulled over due to inattention of my driving. "Um, well, officer, I was just taking a picture of my odometer turning over 200,000. Yes I know I should have pulled over, but I didn't want to miss the moment." I'm thinking that conversation might not have gone so well...

Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

-t

199,978

2008-02-22T22:41:00.002-06:00

This is another "you know you are a geek when..." test. Are you ready?

First some background -
We have owned our 1993 Plymouth Grand Voyager for ten years now. We bought it when it was 5 years old and had about 89,000 miles on it. Well, it has since been demoted to the 2nd car (3rd, actually). But before it goes off to that junkyard in the sky, I got this geeky idea . . . I wanted to drive it until it turned over 200,000 miles!

Well, we're within striking distance now. I took this picture at lunch today. Yes, it is a picture of the odometer at 199,978 miles. Of course since lunch, I think I'm up to 199,982 miles. That means that next Monday I will likely hit the 200,000 mile mark!

I'll keep you posted, and I'll provide documentation, so that you know it actually made it to 200,000!

-t

Weather (again...)

2008-02-06T22:21:00.000-06:00

Since I seem to be stuck on the topic of the weather, there is more to report!

In the last 24 hours, we received 13 inches of snow! Believe me, Sam and I know that! He shoveled most of it (although I did help). We now have very large piles of snow at the ends of the driveway.

We were in one of the areas of heavier snow, although there were a couple of places that got 14-15 inches.

-t

Temperature swings

2008-01-30T06:16:00.000-06:00

Winter can be fun, with the temperature swings.

Take the last two days, for example. On Monday, the temperature here reached a high of 48. With all the snow we've received this year, some heavy-duty melting occurred. But not to worry - from Tuesday morning at 4:30 until Tuesday afternoon at 4:30, the temperature dropped from a balmy 45 to a frigid 3 (with the requisite 30 mph winds), giving wind chills in the -30 zone. The rate of change of the temperature was impressive. Imagine an alpine ski slope and you have close approximation of the temperature as a function of time over the last 24 hours.

I sure am glad the globe is warming up so much. Perhaps the words of one of my friends at work (who is originally from North Dakota) are helpful on this one, "Not to worry - it's a dry cold..."

Stay warm...

-t

Second Opinion

2008-01-25T06:22:00.001-06:00

After writing the post yesterday with the picture of our thermometer, I went out to start the van. When it was running, I noticed the thermometer on the overhead console, so I went back inside and grabbed the camera to document a "second opinion" on the temperature.

I read today in the newspaper that the low at the airport was -20 and the low downtown was -23. I guess we must have been in one of the "tropical" air masses, with only a -14...

I know what you're thinking - "what kind of nerd would take a picture of the thermometer in his car when its that cold?" Well now you know; the kind of nerd that I am...

-t

Now that'st cold!

2008-01-24T06:58:00.000-06:00

The picture says it all. We were fortunate - the official temp was actually -19 (we're talking F, NOT C)!

-t

Hat Mania

2008-01-14T16:13:00.000-06:00

I think our family loves hats almost as much as I love puppets. Lark Toys had a fun collection of hats too and it wasn't long before they were being tried on...

This is VERY uncharacteristic for Tony, don't you think??

Who ever heard of Penguin hats?!

Doesn't Joanna look adorable with green braids?

They're so cute!

Puppet Love

2008-01-14T16:01:00.000-06:00

I've always loved puppets. One of the best gifts I received as a child was a Charlie McArthy puppet from my parents. As many of you know, I have a drawer full of puppets for visiting kids to play with downstairs. They're so fun!

We spent last weekend with Liz and Joe and visited Lark Toys near Wabasha. They had a collection of puppets for sale!

The pinocchio puppet was so cute...

The jack-rabbit puppet made me laugh!

I usually don't talk to inanimate objects but a cute pony puppet is irresistible!

A stare down with a black crow puppet?!

The swan puppet really won my heart. Soooo soft!

Christmas Program Memories

2008-01-08T11:24:00.001-06:00

I've been wanting to learn how to put pictures into a slide show instead of separately. I picked my favorites from our church Christmas program to experiment with. Let's see if it works!

Sisters are Sweet

2008-01-06T18:21:00.000-06:00

I really love having sisters. My older sister is 14 years older than me so she was practically out of the house before I knew much of anything. I remember wondering why she wasn't home very much and being so glad when she came home for the holidays. She's a counselor and has always been a really great listener. We had our 2nd children 2 weeks apart so we've enjoyed mothering kids the same age.

My younger sister is 2.5 years younger than me. We were polar opposites in almost every way. She was social, athletic and daring. I was shy, artsy and cautious. Once we were married, we had kids close together so we've shared the ups and downs of parenting. Being a school principal, she's been able to give me "professional" advice like, "I really think that's normal." That's always nice for a mother to hear!

Since we've all been adult-age, my relationship with my sisters has been sweet and supportive. I love talking to them and spending time with them. We're so thankful for our mom who loves being with all of us.

Linda's birthday was and we decided to celebrate with an overnight in her new home. Wendy had the idea to bring old photo albums to look through together. Even though she didn't get there until we had looked at most of them, I had fun looking through them a 2nd time with her!

Wendy and Linda love pedicures. Mom and I get creeped out at the thought of someone we don't know touching our feet! You can tell Linda loved the pampering (in her opinion!).

They also got manicures. Wow!

Happy Birthday, Linda! I love you!

2007-12-30T18:03:00.001-06:00

We had Christmas with Tony's side of the family on the Sunday before Christmas at our house. We shared crockpots full of soup and had fun opening gifts; especially watching little Lynsie open hers!

Grandpa, Grandma, Patti and Mike

Grandma thinks her twirly-gig is pretty!

Grandma and the grandkids

The special "other-halves"

Jess tries out Grandma's cheesy soup

Sisters

Joanna gave Grandpa an addition to his famous snow scene

Lynsie models her new dress-up clothes for us

What a fancy hat!

2007-12-30T17:56:00.001-06:00

Here are some pics from Christmas Day. It was so much fun having Liz and Joe home with us this year. God blessed our family time together in so many ways. It was a very, merry Christmas!

Doesn't Elizabeth look scared??

Joanna got a record number of hoodies!

I have no idea what he is doing!

Sam's new hat

Grandpa likes the "memory box" gift

Grandma was glad we made a yearly calendar again

Grandpa loves his family!

Christmas Eve Pictures

2007-12-30T17:10:00.001-06:00

This morning I told my Aunt Kathy about how much I love to look at her daughter's blog because she posts so many pictures. So I decided to try it myself. I guess I need to ask for Sheila's help because my pictures took forever to upload (I could only do it one at a time) and they ended up in backward order from what I intended. Oh well, at least I have some to share. These are from Christmas Eve...

The "boys" got pajama pants

Why did they put them on their heads!!???

The "girls" got matching pj's this year!

Aren't we adorable?

Elizabeth is telling Joanna what to do....

Ah, what a nice surprise!

The guys are sooooo cool!

I love Elizabeth's look in this one!

Why does our family like to pose like this??????

Then they always have to switch...

Here we go again

Uncle Tony and Sean - just normal, thanks

We were glad Sam could join us this year!

I caught Grandpa eating spiced nuts!!!

What a "sisters" look!

Oh, oh, it's gettin physical!

Loving sisters again

Goofy girls

What are they doing?!!!

Joanna, what a look!

Sisters will always be sisters.

Grandma and Grandpa

The pretty cousins

Aren't they cute??!

Joanna and Joe

25 years of Merry Christmas!

Our tradition continues...

Everyone has to document the momentous event...

J.J. thinks collecting Presidential dollars will be fun!

Grandpa and Brittany

I like this one of Megan - she looks so happy!

Look at Joanna Ruth's pretty ringlets!

Grandma gave Ian another Russian doll for his collection

Elizabeth and I wanted a mother-daughter shot but we got too close

Grandpa and Elizabeth

Grandma and Elizabeth

Brittany and Jonathan

Don't Liz and Joe make a cute couple?!

Christmas Eve at home...

2007-12-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

Because we have no church building and we meet in a theatre, we have to be creative from time to time for special events.

Take the typical Christmas Eve service. Most folks go to church then home to do their Christmas/family stuff. Not us. We set up home so others have a place to go for Christmas Eve.

Like this:

Afterward, we do the family stuff, but it is fun to have our church family to share in our celebration of Christ's birth.

-t

Winter can be interesting (the continuing saga...)

2007-12-23T22:12:00.000-06:00

If it wasn't enough to have two ice storms within a week (plus a little) of each other, we now have an additional 8" of snow just to keep things in perspective.

We received all this snow late yesterday (It was quite the sight to be shoveling and see lightning and hear thunder!). It was made more interesting by the coating of ice that fell just before the snow (thankfully not very much). It was also made more exciting by the 40 mph winds. Many places have drifts 3-5' deep.

Oh - and church this morning is another thing. We learned that we can actually set up what we need to meet (we meet in a theatre) in less than 45 minutes when we have to. You see, due to the snow, we got a later start than normal with setup. We also were missing a few key people for the Christmas Program, but God is good and all came off well.

Next stop - Christmas. You all have a Merry One. Remember what CHRISTmas is all about!

-t

You can never have enough ice...

2007-12-11T21:24:00.001-06:00

We seem to be in the ice storm mode - this is the second in a week. Since pictures of ice are fun, here are some more...

My biggest helper...

Ice on the trees...

More ice on the trees...

Ice by streetlight..

While I was outside taking this last one, I heard a cracking sound, and watched as another branch on the neighbor's tree crashed to the ground...

-t

Wading, anyone?

2007-12-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

There are very few things as entertaining as teenage boys. Particularly when they decide to do something that seems a little, um, well how do I say it nicely? - Beyond reason.

Take today, for example. Sam and his friend, Grant, decided that getting in the creek would be fun. And they could not just wade in the creek - they had to make sure they submerged themselves. Oh - did I mention that the temperature outside was about 19 degrees??

The sequence of pictures below tells the story...

Before the dip (looking very cool)...

The wading stage...

Getting out after submerging (which, unfortunately, did not get captured - I didn't think I should say, "Wait - I didn't get that. Can you do it again...")

The race home (barefoot...)

A different kind of "cool"

Standing in the bathtub, warming their feet.

-t

More pics...

2007-12-02T06:42:00.000-06:00

And if you are an "ice on the trees" picture lover, here are a couple more. . .

and

The temp rose overnight. Much of the ice has melted by this morning...

-t

Winter? Well not yet, exactly...

2007-12-01T13:49:00.000-06:00

The calendar says that Winter officially starts December 22 (for the more technically minded, it actually starts on December 22 at 06:08 UTC) . But here in the flatlands, Winter has a way of sneaking up on you.

Take today, for example. We are in the middle of a "winter storm." How can that be, you ask, since it isn't winter yet? Thus my point...

But in case you wonder - here's what it looks like. It doesn't look too bad until you realize there is quite a bit of ice under the snow...

I forgot to mention - this is how it looks on the inside:

-t

"I don't believe it should look like that..."

2007-11-16T16:08:00.000-06:00

My week at work was shorter than I had planned (and I had planned on taking Monday and Tuesday off anyway).

As I'm leaving my driveway to drive back to work, I looked toward our house and noticed that the capstrip (is that what it is called??) of our roof was partially off and hanging by a single nail. Of course, I didn't know it was hanging by a single nail until I got up on the roof.

So, I left early to climb around on my roof to screw down my capstrip. It was a great time. But at least now there is not a 2" hole in the roof that is uncovered...

-t

Days off are a wonderful thing!

2007-11-13T15:49:00.001-06:00

Since Lisa decided to head north for a "girls weekend" I had to (wanted to??) take a couple of days off to hold down the fort at home.

After working overtime for the last three weeks, I can say that time off is a wonderful thing! There are a few things that got done that otherwise wouldn't have, and the time has been fairly relaxing. Add to that some good conversations with my son, and the time has been really good.

I must say - I am looking forward to the next two weeks being only 3 working days each!

-t

At the Mall...

2007-11-07T21:35:00.000-06:00

Tonight we went to the mall. That is a common activity for Lisa and I on Wednesday evenings. What may be less common (for most people) is that we go there to engage in spiritual conversations with people we have (most often) never met.

If you want to read about it, you can check it out here...

I have been away from this activity for the past several weeks, due to my schedule at work. I have found that, even though I am not great at this form of sharing the gospel, and that the first conversation of the evening is always the toughest, I have missed my time at the mall.

If you would pray for these young men I talked to, I would appreciate it. Their eternity is at stake.

-t

We seem to have a knack at. . .

2007-11-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

I seem to be in a "have you ever" mode these days.

Tonight, for example, we are watching a movie. Unfortunately, it is movie #2 in a trilogy. The problem is, we haven't seen the first in the trilogy, because we didn't know it was a trilogy.

So, I guess we will watch #2, then #1, then #3.

But, just because we'd like to know we're not the only ones who do this kind of thing - have any of you ever done this before??

-t

Do you ever...

2007-10-28T21:58:00.000-05:00

Call me weird, but...

Every now and then I feel like I should write something here, but I don't have anything that seems important enough to say. Do you ever feel like that?

Now is one of those times. Maybe later this week...

-t

Speaking of Change...

2007-10-21T21:45:00.000-05:00

I never cease to be amazed at how God works.

There was a guest speaker today at church. The message title was "The Five Hardest Transitions to Make in the Christian Life." Since I've been thinking about change and how that is difficult for me anyway, I thought, 'OK, God, you have my attention." As he talked through his points, he came to point 3, which was 'Moving from Control to Dependence (on God).'

I'm thinking, 'Yep, that's me. I need to work on that one (in particular).' But then he quotes the same verse that I quoted on my previous post. I like it when God gets my attention that way...

For those of you who might be interested, here are the points with the Scripture references:

Moving from Ownership to Stewardship - 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Moving from Being Served to Serving - Mark 10:41-45
Moving from Indifference to Obedience - John 14:15, 23; Matthew 28:19-20
Moving from Control to Dependence - Matthew 6:25-34
Moving from a Focus on the World to a Focus on Eternity - Philippians 1:20-21

I could stand work on some of the others too. Our speaker pointed out that these transitions are not just 'check them off your list' type of things - they are ongoing.

It was good. I was blessed...

-t

Change

2007-10-16T05:50:00.000-05:00

I wonder why it is that change is more difficult for some than it is for others?

It is a challenge for me. Perhaps a story from my "childhood" will explain it better than I could any other way...

When I was growing up, I took a sack lunch to school. I generally didn't like the school lunches (that is another story itself...). So what did I take for lunch? I took a cheese sandwich, a bag of Cheetos, a Milky Way candy bar and two cartons of milk. Every day. We're talking like 6+ years.

I struggle with change. I'm facing some now. I'm sure you can connect the rest of the dots....

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

-t

Please pray

2007-10-10T12:28:00.001-05:00

We found out a few days ago that someone we know has a malignant brain tumor. Last week she was a healthy, 40-something year old woman living her life in a brand new house with her husband. Last Thursday she had an MRI to find out the possible cause of headaches and was told she had a tumor and needed surgery. They scheduled it for the next Tuesday (yesterday). By Sunday night she had so many severe symptoms the doctors took her into surgery that evening. She is now suffering from partial paralysis, a blood clot in her arm, pneumonia and is almost completely unresponsive. I'm told the prognosis is grim.

How life can change so much in just a few hours?

Will you join with me in praying for this dear woman, her husband and two young-adult daughters? I pray that they may have what the Bible says in Colossians: "A complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

Our God is a God of hope. If our treasures are in Heaven we will never be disappointed. Thanks for praying.

-Lisa

"I'm Not Normal!"

2007-10-05T07:03:00.000-05:00

Some things just make me laugh...

I was involved in a conversation recently that had this effect on me. It happened when Lisa and I were talking to one of our "twenty-something" friends. We were trying to figure out whether they were part of "Generation X" or "Generation Y." When we turned to our friend and asked which generation they belonged to, the response was priceless:
"You can't ask me - I'm not normal."

I thought the response was so good, I asked if they minded if I quote them. I think it is funny because it is exactly the kind of thing I would say. It is a comment that makes perfect sense, in context, but out of context is rather humorous.
And for my friend (who may be reading this), please realize that I am laughing with you! I love your honest transparency that would produce such a comment!

BTW - I'm not normal either!

-t

A Long Obedience in the Same direction

2007-10-03T06:56:00.000-05:00

Lisa and I went to a conference on endurance in Minneapolis this past weekend. The major theme of the conference was the goal of continuing in our faith to the end of our life and "finishing well" in the words of the apostle Paul.

There were two things that particularly struck me from the conference. One of those was the phrase that makes up the title of this post. One of the speakers used this phrase as a reminder of what the life of a believer is all about. It is about being faithful to Jesus Christ to the end - regardless the weather, or of circumstances, or anything else. Some are called to suffer much. And some are merely called to show up and serve.

That brings me to the second thing that struck me from the conference. One of the speakers talked about Jim Elliot. Many people know of Jim Elliot - he was one of the five missionaries to the Auca Indians that was killed as he attempted to tell them about Jesus. The death of Jim and his friends ultimately was instrumental in MANY of these native peoples coming to know Jesus Christ.

This same speaker also talked about Burt Elliot. Burt is Jim's brother. Most people have never heard of Burt Elliot. Burt and his wife have served as missionaries in Brazil for the past 50 years. They have assisted in the starting of over 100 churches in Brazil over that time. The speaker gave a quote from Burt that I think is priceless, and speaks to the issue of endurance. I probably don't have the quote quite right, but you get the idea:

"My brother Jim was like a meteor streaking across the sky. There was a brilliant blaze, then he was gone. I'm more like a star of the 5th magnitude that can barely be seen. I rise night after night after night in the same spot and slowly cross the sky and then disappear. Then I do the same the next night."

In other words, Burt is practicing "a long obedience in the same direction." I pray that when I am gone, others will be able to say the same about me.

-t

One little letter makes a big difference...

2007-09-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

Words are interesting things. I was reminded of this today as I was looking at the bulletin at a wedding (actually Lisa noticed first). Looking down the ceremony list, our eyes stopped on the following word: Mediation

Yes, that is what it said. For the lack of one little "t", "meditation" became "mediation." Now, in case you are unfamiliar with the definition of each of these words, consider the following:

Meditation: a discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation.

Mediation: intervention between conflicting parties to promote reconciliation, settlement, or compromise.

Perhaps you can see now why this missing letter made a big difference. Most couples don't need mediation at their wedding. They may need it later, but not usually during the ceremony. . .

-t

So much to say, so little time...

2007-09-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

After getting off to a good start on this whole blog thing, I have faltered lately. Lisa has provided backup with her recent post, but I have been on a "blog vacation" of late.

It isn't even that I have nothing to say. Anyone who knows me knows I ALWAYS have something to say - even when it might better be left unsaid (and I am working on that aspect of my humanity...). It's just that lately things have been busy.

Take today. I planned on getting some things done this afternoon after rollerskating with my kids, but our day got hijacked with a trip to our favorite used car dealer (Warehouse Auto) to look at a van. It wasn't quite what we were looking for, but it took 1.5 hours to drive there, drive the van, talk about the van and drive home.

And tomorrow is even better. I take child #3 to an all day test prep thing from 8:30 until 2:30 while Lisa takes child #2 to a class from 11-12. And that doesn't even include the wedding we have to attend tomorrow evening....

Maybe things will slow down next week. Or not...

-t

Why Do We Celebrate Birthdays?

2007-09-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday was our church's birthday - a big six years old. We had a picnic at our new church plant in Swisher with a huge cake and lots of reminiscing. I look forward to that Sunday every year because it gives me reason to remember our humble beginnings (i.e. how ignorant we were!) and marvel at how far God has brought us. We sang "our song" (Grace Alone) in worship and once again I teared up with every stanza.

Six years ago I had no idea how true those words would be but now they ring with authentic truth. How could we have known then how "Strength Unknown He Will Provide"? Kathleen and I met each other's eyes in a moment of agreement, "We had no idea. He gave us all we needed. Praise to our God!"

Friday night Sam experienced a rebirth. Even though he is my son, I wasn't with him at his first birth. In fact, I didn't even know he was being born (international adoption delay). His birthday always feels weird to me because of that. I wasn't with him for this birth either; but he left me a note by my bedroom door telling me all about it. Now Sam has a spiritual birthday we can celebrate every year. New Life given through the Spirit - sweet.

Today is my birthday. John and I are 46 years old now. I'm so thankful both our parents are still around so we can hear my dad tell the story of his shock when the doctor told him he had two babies instead of the expected one. Mom always does something special for our birthday, even 46 years later. It's another day I don't personally remember, but strangely I call it "mine". (Why don't we think that's wierd?) It's a day to reflect and thank God for His gift of life.

We celebrate birthdays to honor the One who created all things. Whether it be a new church, new life in Christ, or a physical birth; our Lord gets the credit. It gives us reason to praise Him!

"Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:26

Lightning

2007-08-29T06:29:00.000-05:00

There is something about watching lightning, especially when it is from a far-off weather system approaching your observation point.

Last night before bed, I found myself at loose ends, so I sat in the dark on the back deck and watched ligthning through the trees. It was coming from a monster cold front approaching from the northwest, so it was quite a show!

I'm not really sure what it is about that kind of lightning - the kind that you can see, but without the associated thunder because the storms are so far in the distance, that makes me think about God's character. Perhaps it is because you can see the coming storm, knowing that there is going to be "blowing and tossing" yet, at the moment, you are not affected by the turmoil. It is somehow comforting to know that my Lord often gives me signs of coming storms, so that I can be personally prepared for the chaos that will soon ensue.

I don't know about you, but that thought brings me tremendous comfort. I know the storm is coming - eventually - but I also know the "keeper of the storm." It is the same One that watches over my Soul.

-t

Cube Wars Epilogue: What could have been...

2007-08-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

A number of my coworkers have stopped by asking about the absence of my umbrella, so I have told the story multiple times recently.

There was one gentleman who I only know casually and have rarely worked with who stopped yesterday to hear the story. After I got done telling him the saga he looked at me (he was dead serious) and said, "That's really too bad about the umbrella. I was going to buy you a couple of tiki torches and mount them at the entrance to your cube."

After hearing that, now I am really wishing the umbrella was still up! How cool would that have been?!?!? I mean - really; how many cubicles have you been to that have a 6.5' diameter patio umbrella AND two tiki torches???

Oh well...

-t

Cube Wars Chapter 3: The Finale.

2007-08-20T18:50:00.001-05:00

It happened today. The lights above my cube have been officially unwired by Facilities and Maintenance. So the umbrella came down (cue "TAPS' playing by a lone bugle in the background...).

Now let me be clear - nobody actually asked me to take the umbrella down. However, I rather think that it was strongly indicated that once the lighting was 'more to my liking,' there was an expectation that the umbrella would be removed. So being the gentle, compliant employee that I am (!), I chose the boring, status quo route, rather than outright insubordination.

I will say this - the cube is certainly much more boring than it was. I guess now when people stop to see me, it will be because they actually need to talk to me about something, rather than because they thought a party was going on...

However, the mounting apparatus was left in place. I'm thinking that something is needed to take the place of the umbrella. Something less obvious but that still makes a statement. Of course, that one is wide open; what could be more obvious than a 6.5 ' diameter patio umbrella??

-t

Bicycles in the Creek

2007-08-19T21:25:00.000-05:00

Yes - I'm taking a break from the cubicle motif for a while to talk about another modern phenomenon - bicycles found in the creek.

Today was one of those summer days that was really nice (a little hot and humid, but otherwise nice), but with clouds off and on. This afternoon, it just so happens that they were "on" and we got a good, soaking rain.

Later, after it stopped, Lisa and I walked the nature trail behind our house. It meanders for about 2 miles on either side of a creek, with foot bridges at either end. When we got to the last foot bridge (right before turning to head home), we came upon a young mom with her 8 month old baby. She was talking on her cell and looking in the creek at a bicycle.

Yes, you read right - a bicycle. After finishing her conversation, she talked to us. We wondered together how the bike got in the creek. With a little effort, I pulled the bike out. It was a kids mountain bike in good shape. Then we looked on the other side of the bridge and noticed what appeared to be another bike in the creek.

We thought about the possibility of kids falling in (which Lisa and the young mom were concerned about), but I rather suspected something more mischievous. In any case, we decided to call in the local law enforcement folks. They sent out an officer and we helped her pull the other bike from the creek.

She informed us that they were probably stolen and in fact were a close match to a description of two bikes that were stolen earlier today. She said they get about 30 bike a month that are retrieved from various places (many near bodies of water). Those that are unclaimed are auctioned off later in the year.

In any case, I am hopeful that we did a good deed today. Hopefully, there are a couple of kids somewhere that have their bikes back...

-t

Cube wars Chapter 2: The Maintenance Request...

2007-08-17T22:41:00.000-05:00

Since some of you may be curious as to the fate of the umbrella, let me fill you in on what transpired today.

I was visited by the designated HR person, informing me that a request has been filed with Facilities and Maintenance to "'un-wire' the lights above my desk areas so the glare is minimized."

I think that means that my umbrella is not looked upon as a suitable solution to the brightness over my desk. I was also informed that there is asbestos around, but none that I should worry about (?!?).

For those of you interested in statistics, the umbrella was installed one week ago today. We'll see if it needs to be 'un-installed' on Monday. But I do have some ideas of what to replace it with...

Never a dull moment at work.

-t

Cube Wars Chapter 1: The Phone Call...

2007-08-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

Yeah. It finally happened. I had a telephone message about my cubicle umbrella when I returned from my group meeting today. From HR.

For the uninitiated, HR stands for Human Resources (just think of the Dilbert character "Catbert - the evil HR person"). I think instead of trying to relate the phone message I received, I will provide you the word-for-word transcribed version (the names have been removed to protect the guilty):

"Hey Tony, this is ------ in Human Resources. I, um actually am not too far from you in (gives her mail station here). And um, was noticing that you have the umbrella over your cube, and just wanted to talk and see if, um, if there is an environmental issue that is occurring, um, if there is something that we need to help um, you get fixed, um, if we can talk through that I would appreciate it. My extension is (gives her telephone number). "

There was a little more, but that was the meat of the message. So I call to have a little chat and explain that I like to keep my office dark, but I can't do that now, so the umbrella was my solution. Then I ask, "Have you received complaints? I told my supervisor if someone found it offensive, I would take it down." Nope - no complaints.

But I did take the opportunity to mention another environmental issue some of my coworkers have raised about the "Danger - Asbestos" signs posted in our area. "Oh yes," she says. "I'll call Facilities and the Safety Department and see what I can find out about that." But she also mentioned that perhaps they could find me another location where I could control the light better. We'll see what happens there...

But I'm guessing that ye olde patio umbrella's days are numbered. More to come. No doubt. If you want to know what I think the issue really is - contact me in person. Some things are better left unwritten...

-t

Cube-speak

2007-08-15T22:08:00.000-05:00

As mentioned previously, I am new to the whole cubicle scene, so I have a few things to learn.

No - I have nothing new to report about the umbrella (although I hear that it may now be used as a landmark in giving directions. You know: 'Turn right at the patio umbrella...').

I have learned a new verb, however. There is a specific term used for when someone is standing on their tippy toes to look over the wall of their cube to see if someone else is around. It is called "prairie-dogging." I'm sure you can figure out where the term came from...

-t

Here's a pic of the Cube!!!

2007-08-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I know you have all been dying to see this cubicle with the umbrella over the top (I gotta tell you, it is really over the top...), so I decided to get a picture of it 'legally' - I borrowed our department camera and took a couple of pics.

Oh yes, as promised, here are some more quotes from coworkers...

"I saw your umbrella this weekend. That is a really good idea. You've really got this place decked out nice!"

"What's this (the umbrella) all about?" (my explanation of the light over my computer) "Well, I saw it and wondered. We need more things like this around here. I'll have to come over later for a margarita..."

The fun continues...

-t

Embarrassing Word Mix Up

2007-08-13T12:54:00.001-05:00

Our daughter, Liz, and I were talking recently about our tendency to get the words prostrate and prostate mixed up. It can be very embarrassing!

Liz told me a trick to help me remember which is which. She suggested I think of the line in the Christmas hymn that says, "Angels prostrate fall". Of course, by the time I sing the tune in my head and then remind myself what prostrate must mean, I've paused long enough to draw attention to myself anyway.

This morning I read the newspaper sub-headline about how Merv Griffin died. The word "prostrate" didn't sound right to me, so I used Liz's trick. The headline was wrong!

It's nice to know there are other people (even people paid to write for a living) who get confused also!

-Lisa

Get In The Boat!!

2007-08-12T22:39:00.001-05:00

The man swimming in this picture swam way out into the middle of a large lake to retrieve an orange floaty. The donut was rapidly floating away from him with the current.

The DNR officers showed up and began yelling at the man through a bull horn, "Man Swimming in the Lake: You need to swim to shore!"

Another man in a boat sailed close to the man and picked up the inflatable. The DNR officers yelled to the man in the boat, "Can you pick him up?" But the swimming man refused to get into the boat and now started swimming back to shore.

Those of us sitting on shore watched this scenario unfold and commented on the man's decision to risk his life to retrieve a very inexpensive floaty. Then we commented on his refusal to get into the boat that went out of its way to rescue him.

He finally made it to shore and the DNR officer handed him a $160 citation.

How many people spend their lives running after things that don't last; refusing to accept the only thing that will... a relationship with the Living God. Jesus paid the price so He could "pick us up" and rescue us. Don't pass up the opportunity to get in the boat!!

-Lisa

The Salvation Game

2007-08-12T22:22:00.000-05:00

Today we attended the baptism of 5 people from our church. I LOVE baptisms and am especially thrilled when they are outside where people can observe what we're doing. I'm convinced the reason baptisms were done that way in the early church is partly so bystanders might get curious enough to ask questions.

Because it was so hot and humid today, there were lots of swimmers in the lake where we were. One little boy swimming behind our group caught my attention as he repeatedly yelled, "What are you guys doing?" and "What game are you playing?" He was curious why this group of 10 people were all lined up near the shore; thought maybe he was missing out on some fun!

After hearing him yell, "What game are you playing?" several more times, I answered his question by yelling back, "Salvation!"

Since he was pretty far away, I'm not sure he understood what I said since he yelled back, "Wait for me!"

-Lisa

The new view from the cube...

2007-08-10T14:54:00.001-05:00

OK - so I now have that lovely patio umbrella up in my cube (as of this morning). It has NOT gone unnoticed...

Here are the comments of some of my friends/coworkers (rough paraphrases):

Coworker #1: That ought to get the attention of Facilities and Maintenance.

Coworker #2: That's more obnoxious than the flags hanging over my cube.
(Note to readers: this particular chap has two full-size flags hanging from the ceiling above his cube)

Coworker #3: I'd like to see the guard's expression when you brought that into the building...

Coworker #4: (no words, just shakes head, chuckling to himself...)

Coworker # 5: (walking past. Stops. backtracks 5 steps for another look. A few minutes later, she is back with one of her friends, pointing and laughing...)

Coworker #6 (this happens to be my direct supervisor) It feels like there should be a deck chair and a cooler of pina coladas in here.

Since I was having trouble keeping a straight face as people walked past, I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off (well, OK - I did also have to go pick my daughter up from camp, but it was still a good excuse). It will be interesting to see if there are any additional comments on Monday.

All I can say is this - I think it was probably a good idea to get the 6.5 foot umbrella, instead of the 9 foot umbrella. No doubt more comments are on the way. I'll keep you posted...

-t

It is too bright in my new cubicle at work...

2007-08-08T22:18:00.001-05:00

I wrote previously about how I have moved from an office to a cubicle.

What I may not have mentioned is that I like my office to be a bit on the dark side (lighting-wise). In my old office, we kept the overhead lights turned off and a floor lamp turned on so the lighting was indirect and easier on the eyes.

The problem with my "cube" is that there are no separate lights for my office - all the lights overhead are hooked together and can not be turned off individually. I find this rather annoying, so, being an engineer, I decided to "modify" my office lighting arrangements.

I am now the proud owner of a 6.5' rather ugly patio umbrella. I plan on installing this over my computer table to lower the light level in my office. Since I can't take a picture of it in my office (at least, I haven't figured out how to yet...), this will have to do...

-t

Family Reunions...

2007-08-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

Family Reunions are great fun, although I know that everyone doesn't feel that way.

Take my former office mate of many years ago. He referred to these times when family members get together as a "family rebellions." Perhaps his family was not as genuinely loving and accepting as those to whom I am related.

One of the great things about family reunions is learning of some of the interesting skills that some of your relatives have. Take this young lady, for example. Not only can she make a face like a monkey; but she can also make a noise like an air horn. If I can figure out how to put it on youtube, I'll update this post and include a link (my technical assistant - I mean, my 14 year old son is not here at the moment).

Here's the link on youtube...

Speaking of talents, my son also has some - he can very effectively look like a sea turtle, as is demonstrated here...

-t

And now for something completely random.

2007-08-02T21:45:00.001-05:00

Working at a large corporation can certainly be interesting at times. In fact, downright entertaining...

My excitement for this week is that I get to move! I am joining the vast majority of the rest of my colleagues in that I am moving from a bona-fide office (with walls, a door and a ceiling) to a cube!

Of course, I can't complain - I get my own private cube. Some people have to share theirs.

Oh the reason I am moving, you ask? Well that is very simple; it is so they can put someone else in my old office. Someone who doesn't work at my company yet. Why, you ask, do they move people who are already there to a different location and move someone else into the 'moved person's' old space? Well - I guess because they can...

If I knew the answer to that question, I would share it. So - you just have to wonder with me. But it does make the week go faster - all that packing and unpacking...

-t

A Brave Traveler

2007-07-30T09:10:00.000-05:00

It's so hard to believe that Sam is in Poland! I'm so proud of him for going all by himself. Tony, Matt and Bruce saw him off from the airport early Friday morning. They prayed over him before he went through security. Just from what I know, Sam had groups of Christians from church pray over him Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of this week!

Since he left, I've been praying for him at all times of the day and night. I know he will return home more mature in the Lord and with an ever-bigger heart for God. Please join us in praying for open hearts among the Polish camp-attendees, bold ability to witness, and alert minds dispite major jet lag. Our God is a great God!

Wish I had the camera with me

2007-07-29T06:30:00.001-05:00

On our way home from a wedding last night (we seem to have to go to a lot of these things recently - must be a phase of life thing), there was a beautiful sunset!

The western sky was filled with reds and violets. There were a few clouds and they just seemed to amplify the colors. Unfortunately for you, our camera was sitting at home, faithfully keeping the computer from being lonely. So all you get with this is my words and your own imagination.

But trust me, it was amazingly beautiful.

-t

Why is this fun???

2007-07-26T21:46:00.000-05:00

Can someone explain to me why teenage boys like to inflict pain on each other?

There are currently two in our basement playing "welt-ball." For the uninitiated, that is a ping pong variant where the person who just scored a point also gets to hit the ball at his opponent's bare chest in an attempt to leave a red mark. The worse the red mark - the greater the kudos to each other. I could post pictures, but why bother?

Funny thing is - the one getting the welt is as excited as the one inflicting the punishment (torture??).

I'm afraid that is a phase of life that I must have missed. I don't remember liking pain in any form when I was younger. Either that or I am from another planet...

-t

Did you ever have a day when ...

2007-07-24T17:28:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had a day that just didn't quite go as planned?

Mine started that way today (literally - at midnight). Just as I was getting off to dreamland, I hear this annoying 'Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.' It turns out that it was the alarm on my wrist watch. It somehow got turned on and went off at the time the alarm was set for - midnight. But not to worry - I compensated by sleeping late this morning (I must have turned off my alarm clock when my watch started beeping...).

So, I proved that I really can get up, and exactly 45 minutes later be showered, dressed and at work (even after eating breakfast and turning on all the computers...). Maybe I'll have to try to shave that 45 minutes down to 30 next time, so I'm not 15 minutes 'late' to work...

-t

P.S. Yes - I have changed the alarm time on my watch (to an hour when it is light out) and turned the alarm off...

God's Country

2007-07-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Who ever thought Iowa isn't beautiful?!
-L

Am I really like that?

2007-07-14T14:27:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about a comment I heard recently. I suppose the reason it has been on my mind is because it was a comment about me.

The comment, as stated, was more an observation about a specific situation than it was about me in general, but it got me to thinking - Am I really like that?

The comment itself isn't as important as the mental processing that has been occurring:

Is it true on a more general basis?
What issues does that cause?
What am I going to do about it?

What makes this so disconcerting is that there is undoubtedly an element of truth in the statement that was made. As a fallen creature, it would be easy for me to become defensive or just ignore what was said. But that would be lying to myself. The man who is humble, who wants to become more like Christ must consider such situations wisely.

That's what I want to do. But it is really hard...

-t

In case you were wondering...

2007-07-12T21:02:00.000-05:00

This blog originated when Lisa and I went to Oregon to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It was a (relatively) simple way to keep family and a few close friends informed of our adventures.

Since our return, it seems that I (Tony) am now the primary contributor. However, some have been confused as to the source of the ramblings here. In attempt to protect my wife's good reputation, I hope to minimize the confusion in the future by identifying myself when I post.

But to clear up the past - if it sounds profound, it was probably Lisa. Everything else was probably me.

-t