Another answer

           What a week.  The Fourth was great.  Had a good time with family and fireworks.  I managed to end the day with the same number of appendages as I started with, which is a good thing.  Even better, my boys had a good day and got to light fireworks as well.  So much fun.  My mother-in-law and niece had a good time as well and leave tomorrow.  They will be missed but it will also be nice to be able to take a single vehicle to go somewhere as a family again.  Overall, it has been a good couple of weeks with them. 
            Not much to say today.  Didn't have any news story catch my eye.  No discussions worth rehashing.  In all, a quiet weekend.  Guess that means I get to post another answer.
            This one is pretty quick.

As a boy, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Like all boys, I went through several stages of what I wanted to be.  Early on I wanted to be a pilot.  This was re-enforced when I found out my father was in the Air Force, as it sparked my interest in airplanes.  I had a large collection of aircraft cards.  They were about 5” x 7” in size and had pictures on one side (some were photos and others were drawings) and the airplane’s specifications and weaponry, as well as a brief description of when the plane saw service.  I spent hours going over those pictures, dreaming of being a pilot.  I loved the idea of flying.  I really didn’t care what, I just wanted to fly. 

As I entered my middle school, I discovered that, in order to fly in the armed forces, you had to have near perfect eye sight.  Since I was already in glasses at this point, I realized flying an airplane for the Air Force was out of the question.  At this time I was already taking piano lessons (I started when I was in 4^th grade), and so I adjusted my dreams.  I decided I wanted to write music.  I loved playing around on the piano (practicing was not really that fun after all) and making up music.  I guess I still have that dream to a certain extent; I just don’t have the discipline or training to follow through.  Looking back, I realize just how important that practice was.  Had I put more of an effort into actually playing my lessons, I might have actually been able to write a full song. 

I had other fleeting dreams as well.  I dreamed of being a fireman, a police officer, and an astronaut.  I played at being a soldier, a ventriloquist, and a movie star.  I dreamed of being rich and famous (though in all honesty I was a bit vague on how I got there.)  The point is, have a dream.  Find out what it takes to follow that dream, then go for it.  There is nothing you can’t do if you just pick up your feet and move towards it.  Sure, you may find that it takes a lot of work, but it can be so satisfying.  Just remember, no matter how tough that dream may be to achieve, you have my support. 

There is an old joke that goes: “how do you eat an elephant?”  The answer:  “One bite at a time.”  The same is true of your dreams.  Take them one bite at a time and keep chewing.  Eventually, you’ll look back with a full life and say, “Whew, what a mouthful, but man was it satisfying!”

       Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

The art of being right.

           Let me begin by apologizing for not posting last week.  I got shifted to swing shift on short notice Monday and was not up to posting.  This means I need to catch you up on what happened last week.  It began with the Septic guys showing up to finish the job.  Some time the preceding Friday, the inspector showed up and okayed it.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent removing the rocks, trash, and clumps of old grass from the dirt in preparation for seeding.  Thursday, we actually seeded the lawn.  Now we just have to wait for it to grow.  Luckily we have spare seed if we need it.
           The fun didn't really start until Friday night.  First I need to give you the lead up.  About a week or so ago, my mother in law (great woman, not a battle axe, but a wonderful woman) called and asked if it would be OK to come out in July.  She also wanted to bring out our neice with her.  We said sure, we really don't have much planned for July.  So Friday night we get a call and she says, would Monday be OK.  The wife says sure.  If you note, it is Monday, most definitely not July, and, yes, she is arriving this morning, 15 year old Niece in tow.  I should point out here that she is welcome and we are glad to have her.  I have no problem with her visiting on short notice.  The problem I had was with my wife.  We have discussed it and we have since come to a reasonable solution (I am wrong, she is right and that is that, at least that was how it ended). 
               You see, about 4 weeks ago, I volunteered to help out at my church's fireworks stand.  We discussed what times would be best and settled on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon as that was what worked around our schedules.  She also had a dinner with friends scheduled for Saturday evening.  The problem came when I reminded her of our prior commitments for this weekend as she started trying to plan things to do with her mom that the conflict arose.  Apparantly, she was against the times I scheduled from the beginning and I chose those times on my own.  Thus, it is my fault that she can't plan a great weekend with her mom.  Apparantly, I should have known that she was against me working those days even when she agreed to them and scheduled my time volunteering for during the week.  Thankfully we got it worked out that I was wrong so we can move on.
           Quick note, men, if you end an argument with your wife and you were right, you may want to check back and make sure you actually have a bed to sleep in.  I'm not saying women are vindictive and always right because that would get me in trouble.  I am just warning you that if your wife ever tells you you are right, you had better make sure that you are in fact right and that whatever it is you are right about is not something that will come back to haunt you.  Just saying.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Weekend up date and other things

          Tuesday and all is well.  OK, sort of.  The usual stuff is going on.  Soccer practice, rehearsal, and meals.  Maybe that is why I am going insane.  I just keep going on with things that I have to do and places I have to be.  So close and yet so far.  Am I rambling, I think I am rambling.  Guess it's time to perform the weekend up date.
          Here goes nothing.  This weekend my brother in came in for a few days.  I think I mentioned that Friday.  Anyway, it was a good weekend.  The weather was nice so we were able to enjoy our sons' soccer games.  They both did well.  We were busy Saturday because of it though.  Sunday went well and we were able to enjoy ourselves further.  That is until I had to go to work at 9:30 pm.  I had to work graves Sunday night.  There was only 1 job, but I did OK.  At least I got to spend Monday at home.  I did sleep half the day though.  That is why there was no Monday post.  That and it was my anniversary.  That's right, 13 years of marriage to the most wonderful woman in the world.  Here's to, oh, let's say, a few millenia more.  The topper came when the Cowboys won on MNF.  Good day all around.
          This isn't to say that nothing bad happened this weekend, just more good than bad.  The down side of this weekend?  My phone has decided that it doesn't want to charge properly.  I have a work around so I don't need to get a new phone, it is just darn annoying.  Most people would say to just get a new phone, so let me explain why I don't want a new one.  Yes, dear, I just said I don't want a new one.  First off, I don't want to sign a new 2 year contract to get a new phone.  I retire and leave the area (probably) in about 16 months.  This means that if I go to an area that Verizon doesn't cover, then I will still have 8 months left on a contract for a phone I can't use.  Thus no new contract allowed.  Secondly, we aren't rich and thus can't afford to shell out the $200 that a new phone costs without a new contract.  Thirdly, I am limited in what phones I can have right now as I am not allowed to take a phone with a camera on it into work (my current phone doesn't have one so I am OK).  The next time I get a new phone, I want to get a nice one and that means it will probably have a camera.  If I wait until after I retire, I should be able to get the nice phone I want.  This all adds up to no new phone for me.  Sure I may have to trade batteries with my wife's phone every morning, but that isn't to much of a hassle.  I will deal with it.
          So that was the bad side of the weekend.  It probably wouldn't have been that bad, except that I went off a bit when I first found the problem and now my wife is convinced that I want to drop $400 on a new phone.  Now, every time I note that the battery on my phone is dead, I get to hear a worried lecture on how we are broke and can my new phone wait.  I think I've said, I am fine with my phone and that I'll work around it at least a dozen times now.  Hopefully this will change that.  If not, I will live with it.  That's what I get for freaking out that I didn't have a phone.  For those of you who don't know us all that well, I love my wife deeply and do not mean any of this in a negative sense.  I refer you to the opening announcement of my 13 years of wedded....OK, maybe not bliss, but definitely mostly happy times.  Hey, it's marriage and life, and thus it isn't always happy.  My marriage is about 90% happy (the remaining 10% is 5% my fault, 1% hers, and 4% confusing) and that is pretty darn good.  Especially, with 4 boys in the house.  That being said, I will probably hear about this post when I get home and my wife and I will talk about this and hug afterwards. 
          Keep your chins up, and don't let the world get you down.  Have a great day and I will post tomorrow.  Thank you

Weekend update: The camping was fine.

           Great weekend.  It was 4 days of enjoying the sun and communing with fellow Christians.  The park was awesome and the weather perfect.  The boys had a great time and we never once heard them say they were bored (at least not until the ride home).  Now we just need to prep the camper for winter storage and clean up.  We started yesterday, but it will probably take a few days to get it fully unpacked and cleaned.  We did manage to give the boys hair cuts as well as baths.  All in all, we are all feeling great after a wonderful weekend.
           I have to say that the biggest thing I got out of this trip was the testimonies and the evidences of God's work.  I had many discussions with my fellow campers and they were always productive.  One of the topics we touched on was how God makes it easy to believe what we want.  After all, he did say, "Seek and ye shall find."  Although many Christians take this to mean seek God and you will find him, we came to the consensus (I am pretty sure it is accurate as well) that this meant that what ever you seek you will find.  I had some help in this from reading Lee Strobel's "A Case for Faith."  God has given us every evidence we need to prove his existence, if we seek that proof.  He has also given us enough evidence to disprove himself to a certain degree if we choose that direction.  What I find even more interesting though, is that if you keep digging into proof that God doesn't exist, you eventually reach the point where you have disproved your proof and have to start again.  Most people that I have ran into stop when they have enough proof to satisfy themselves and stop looking.  As a Christian, I keep finding more and more proof of God's existence and have yet to find that point where my proof is disproved. 
            We also found that those that decide to prove that God doesn't exist have their reasons for doing so.  These range from not wanting to admit they are sinners to the understanding that if they admit God exists that they have to give up the life and beliefs they currently hold.  To quote Pastor Barry, "A faith that requires little to nothing is a little to nothing faith."  I was among the sinners who didn't want to give up what he had.  The problem was I believed in God, I just chose to ignore what I needed to do to have that closer walk with him.  Once I gave that up, I found that I had less stress, I had a closer relationship to my wife and kids, and I was happier overall.  I am not saying it is easy.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Turns out, the sin nature is quite the strong and determined little beast.  I have to be ever diligent to keep from cussing or getting involved in looking at things I shouldn't.  I have to fight the fight daily to keep from doing the things I used to do.  I don't always win, but it is easier now to admit them to God and be brought back.  It is just the way it is. 
          Thank you for letting me ramble today and giving me some of your time.  Have a wonderful day and keep your chin up.  Every bad day ends and a good day is sure to come (we can hope anyway.)

Week in review and other stuff

         It's time for the week in review.  Thumb hurt, short posts, fair, Family, and work.  There, done with that.  The thumb is doing much better.  I will be shifting to smaller bandages over the weekend and should be back to full posts on Monday.  I also am going to start another blog that will actually be a serial story.  I will write what I can when I can on it as it will be something else I use to fill the time and thus, not a priority.  This will be my primary blog and I will update it Monday through Friday.  The other blog is just a side project I have been kicking around for a while.  Thanks for your support as always.  Have a great weekend.