Still Kickin'

I am sitting here struggling of what to blog about and my wife says I cannot blog unless I have a theme. I partly agree, it is just that I haven't posted in such a long time, and so much has taken place since the last time I posted. I could discuss the budget that barely got passed, with me being in the military, would have affected me greatly. Or I could cover the mess that is known as the NFL lockout that is driving my son absolutely nuts that there may not be football in 2011. Or how about just talking about being a dad. You know there is no better title than may bestowed or entrusted to a man than that of being a father. It is a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly. Sometime ago I started on the topic of parents not really wanting the responsibility that comes with being a parent. It almost seems that a lot of parents today either want their child to be their friend or spend no time with them at all. Is it any wonder that today we are seemed set on a course of self destruction. Just take a look at the daily news and you can easily see the moral predicament we have put ourselves in. Did you know that in a certain city in our lovely country, they are offering contraceptive devices to children as young eleven? Do we see the problem with this? Or how about a clothing company who paints the nails of a young boy and explains pink is his favorite color. I could go on but the more I think about it the more frustrated I become. The funny thing is that there is a solution to the woes we face as a country but quite a few do not like the answer....Jesus! It is amazing how askew our country has become since it was founded. If you would take an honest look at history, you would find that our country was founded on biblical truths. Truths that have been tarnished and twisted over the years to make a nation that is 180 degrees from it's foundings. For instance, today we claim no prayer in school, because it is unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of church and state. However you read the constitution and there are no such words. No it was a statement taken from a letter from Thomas Jefferson that the government should not interfere in the affairs of the church. However, it has been taken out of context and twisted to push certain agendas. An agenda, I believe is driven by the evil one himself. An agenda to separate as many as he can from the love and redemption of God through his son Jesus. As we approach Easter many find themselves looking for the answers spiritual questions. So as I wrap this up, I pray you will verify this post and look with an open mind. And may you find the peace that can only be obtained with a relationship with God. It's not about religion....it's about a relationship. Until next time, may you find the peace and comfort that only comes from the King of Kings.

Are you surprised

I am sure for those that check my blog periodically may have thought that I was gone forever (even my mother-in-law deleted my blog address). Fear not, I am still here, just seem to be caught up in that crazy thing called life. Actually life is good (and every day is a gift from above), I have been pretty busy though. Being in the military almost everything we do operates in a fiscal year vice calendar year. And unlike regular school we have a heavy influx of students during the summer months. So take the heavy class schedule of teaching, scheduling next years classes (begin in October), balancing the schedule between the instructors needs/requirements and the class schedule and a plethora of other things; I am sure you can see how busy it has been. And to be honest after being on a computer all day to accomplish all the previous (yes even the teaching) I really do not want to be on a computer when I get home from work. For the last couple of months I have been only getting on my computer long enough (one night a week) to set up my players for fantasy football. Yes, at my son's request I set up a fantasy league that includes him, my wife and my father in law. On the down side my ability to pick good players is not as good as the rest of my family's. As a matter of fact, I am 0-5, which it seems like you really have to try to do that bad. To be honest, I just don't get it. My points projection is usually higher than my opponent but come game day....I get whooped...I mean really bad, for I don't lose by a little. Oh no, I lose with style and have a staggering point difference. OK, I am starting to get depressed just thinking about it...let's move on...I have been trying my hand at the ability to make crafts from wood..well okay only one actually...but it took me several tries. My wife saw a votive candle holder made from a branch on the internet. She asked if I would like to try to make one for her. Well I could not turn my bride down...so out came the saw and other tools. The first attempt was infested with a lot of ants, so scratch that one. The second one, as I bored the holes observed there was a white slug/worm thing inside the branch...yep you guessed it...scratch number two. I had all but given up by my faithful companion found a freshly fallen branch in the woods. However a simple saw was not going to do..I had to break out the old chainsaw. Well after several days...I achieved success! I will post a picture of sometime and let me know what you think.
Also we have had some very active wild life lately...well we always have the birds and squirrels, but lately we have had quite a few deer hanging out in our back yard. My wife is loving it and my fellow men and work have been begging to let them help rid me of the deer(hunt). However, I can't give in to that, so I had to say no. Below is a picture of them.Well that is enough for tonight...until next time...may all be well with you and your family.

A Part II is a Reality

Glad to see that you came back for Part II (if this is your first time here please refer to the previous post to bring yourself up to speed). So where were we...oh yes..we covered the owl and my son's birthday, let us pick up from there.
Back to Work
As mentioned previously, I was given a good bit of time off work to recuperate from the surgery on my foot. To be totally honest I was getting a little stir crazy towards the end. Don't get me wrong, I love being home with the family whenever possible, but I believe men are to provide for their families and for some psychological reason I feel that if I am at home I am not doing that. I know it sounds weird, it was time I was given by the Marine Corps (via the doctor) to recover so I shouldn't feel bad about it, but on the other hand I feel like I am not doing what I am getting paid to do. So to continue, I went back to work about two weeks ago and it has been pretty busy. Not to mention I think a lot of it was compounded by my absence. Unfortunately summer seems to be when our class schedule is it's heaviest. As always there are a good portion of those students that have personal problems to be resolved, add that to planning next years classes convene/graduation dates, trying to replace instructors who have moved on or getting ready to, meetings, training requirements, and a plethora of other things it can be quite draining. So by the end of the day I am talking to myself and sometimes answering. Which is why I am always thankful for weekends especially when they bring special days like.....
Father's Day
I sincerely hope that all my fellow dad's out there had a awesome Father's Day. As for me, I couldn't have hoped for a better one...My eldest son (who was born on Father's Day in 1996) took his dear old dad out to breakfast. He even picked up the tab. I tell you it doesn't get much better than that. We were able to have a great conversation while enjoying a great breakfast. I shouldn't have to say it but I will...it's not the gifts or the special treatment that we as dad's sometimes get, no sir, it is the ability to spend time with those that are the reason there is a Father's Day ( or Mother's Day) in the first place. Which leads me to another topic that I will save for my next post...in essence I would like to review in detail the importance parents play in the life of their child. Maybe I am way off but it seems that many parents today don't always love their children for who they are. I am sickened by the number of cases that a baby is aborted because prenatal tests showed that the child may be disabled in some way. Like I said though, that is a post for another time since this one is pretty long already.
I will also just briefly mention summer...which here in the Carolinas is not too enjoyable. All week we have been having heat indexes of 105 -110 degrees. Regular temperature is about mid to high 90's. In a nutshell it is really hard to find anything to do when it is so unbearably hot. I am not complaining, Afghanistan was a lot hotter, but my family wasn't there with me and there wasn't a whole lot to do there either. Oh well until next time....before I go though I would like to share the reasons why I get the best title in the world.....DAD!

A Part II is Possible

You know, when life is busy and you do not post regularly, the danger of typing a post that is too long is a definite possibility. If it appears that I may do that, fear not, I will bring this post to a close and finish the rest in another post. I know, you are probably thinking, "Gee, what a nice guy", but really it is no trouble at all. Also so I do not get all mixed up ( really easy for me to do), I will break it down by topic. So if you are ready, let us continue....
Our Very Own Owl
Alright, we do not really have our own owl but he has been visiting our backyard every night for the last couple of weeks. My wife spotted him on our dog's fence about 10 feet behind our house. Since that night we watch for him and like clockwork he lands on the power lines that butt up against the woods behind our house (about 40-50 feet back). He is really an amazing creature and is rather regal in appearance. At first, I thought he was a Horned Owl, but after getting a really good look at him it appears he is a Barred Owl (boy was I off). After so many frequent visits we thought we should give him a name. I ( in all my originality) thought of Owliver but my son wanted to name him Shakespeare after a different type of Bard. He is really cool to watch, especially when he is on the hunt. Below is a picture of him.Now, let's move on to the next topic, shall we?

A Birthday Boy(correction young man)
My eldest son has recently turned 14 years of age and is becoming quite the fine young man. I do not want to sound like I am bragging but I am so proud of him. As I mentioned in an earlier post, he faced quite a few challenges just coming into the world. To see him today and all I can say is wow. Aside from all the physical challenges he over came, just to see the fine young Man of God he is becoming is just awesome. Even as bad I mess up in the whole dad department at times it is good to see it had no lasting affect. The only really hard thing is to see him (and his brother) grow up so fast. Just think, in a couple of years, he will be in that driving able age. I get gray hairs just thinking about it. I am proud to be his father yet humbled that God would trust me that much to bless me with him. In a nutshell it is just Awesome and boggles my mind! Well that is enough for this post. If you wish you may get caught up on all the rest in the next post. I hope to have you there. Before I go, I would like to share a couple of photos of my son. You know how bad proud parents can be...always whipping out those pictures! Well until next time.....

Post Operative Boredom

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I would be having surgery on my foot to remove a nerve that was causing me no end of grief (read pain). Tomorrow, will be the two week mark since I had the surgery, and all seems to be going well. The first few days it looked as though someone took a mallet to my foot. Most of the bruising is gone, still some swelling, but I am making progress. The first two weeks it had to be bandaged and I had to wear a big ugly walking boot. Yesterday the stitches were removed and I am able to finally wear a shoe on that foot (albeit laces very loose). Which leads to me where I am now, extremely bored! I was doing better when the foot was wrapped in a bandage and I had to strap on the walking boot. It seemed almost justifiable not being able to do anything. Now though I am can put on a shoe and be more mobile yet not able to really do anything. I can tolerate about an hour of moving around then I need to rest the foot. Meanwhile my wife and children are doing school and I basically just sit in the bedroom trying to occupy myself. It is very frustrating...I can not really do all that much to help out around the house because of my limitations. I am thankful I am given the time to heal, I just wish there was more I could do. My wife though has been a tremendous blessing. She has seen to my needs and done so much to help me out all the while continuing on with everything else. I do enjoy the extra time I have been getting with my family and I am so very thankful. I just struggle with patience when I can not do what I should do. Oh well, all in due time I guess. Well that is all for now...I need to go and....that's right I really have nothing to do. Until next time, may all be well with you and your household.

Mom's Special Day

Well today is the official day that we let Mom's know how much we appreciate tall hey do for our children and all they did for us as we were growing up. Actually, even as adults, mothers are still there for their children. As for Mother's Day in our household, it has been a pretty good day ( at least I think it has, I cannot speak for my wife). For Mothers Day, my wife received two different types of bird feeders (it is what she wanted) that claim to be squirrel proof. So far from what we have observed they are holding true to their claim. We have watched the squirrels repeatedly make attempts to get the seed but to no avail. Both have mechanisms that close doors to the seed if too much weight is applied to the perch. Also the way they are designed the squirrels cannot pry them open or hang on them very well. It is actually very amusing to watch their best attempts to get at the feeders. This morning my eldest son took his mom to I-Hop and treated her to breakfast. They had a great time and I am happy they were able to get some good time together. Well not to take away from Mom's special day, I just wanted to wish all mom's out there a great day. Words can never explain all you do. Thanks.

A Little Worn Out

Did you ever have those times when you just feel worn out? I am having one of those moments today. I will need to rewind to Wednesday night to where it all started. Just after I finished my last post, we were doing the night time routine thing. Getting the kids in the bath, getting stuff ready for work, etc. My youngest son, who likes to get a little rowdy in the tub (splash water, get in and out, etc), was doing just that when he slipped and caught his ear on the bathroom counter. So we took him to the emergency room to get him stitched up. However with his strong sensory defensiveness, there is no way he was going to let anyone touch his ear, much less put stitches in it. The doctor decided the best course of action (realistically the only) would be to bring him back in the morning, put him under and then stitch the ear up. So we were released about midnight, got home and put the kids to bed. Woke again at 5am and got everybody up and ready to return to the hospital by 6:30 a.m. The procedure went well and my son was discharged about 4 pm. However with him being a sleep most of the day he didn't really sleep that night. My wife took the Thursday night shift so I could go up for work the next morning at 5 am. I took the late night shift last night and got to bed about three this morning. With the stress of the events from Wednesday to Thursday and the lack of sleep, I think today is recuperation day. I am extremely thankful that all is well with my son though. It took him only about a day to get back to his usual feistiness. Well that is enough for now I guess, since my thoughts are not transferring as well as I would like them to. Until next time, may all be well with you and your household.