Winter Day To-Do List

Boys ended up staying at the out-laws, er, in-laws last night. Yeah!

This morning I filled up ("Squirrel!") the gas tank in my car, got Concannon's donuts, put a new windshield wiper on the van, ate donuts, read, took a brief nap, drove to Winchester and filled the vans gas tank up, went sledding, ate Pizza Hut pizza, drove home listening to the start of the Bengals football game, watched the Bengals stink it up ("Squirrel!"), watched some of the Eagles vs. Cowboys game, played "Old Maid" with Conner, talked to my parents on the phone, read to Conner, watched some more football, read a little, checked my email, and wrote this blog post. Not too bad of a day, although I did sit on my rear a lot! :(

BTW, it's really cold outside right now!!! (-1 F) Brrrrrrrrrrr!

He's Growing Up

After a relaxing "snow day" at home, we ventured into Muncie this evening to dine with Melissa's family at the Thai Smile (2) Restaurant. Having never tried Thai cuisine before I was unsure what to expect, but it was really good. We'll definitely be eating there again. Afterward, we took a jaunt over to the in laws for a visit. As we were preparing to leave, our boys came scurrying in to ask if they could spend the night. Now, Conner has spent the night there before, although it's been awhile. But Carter has never spent the night away from us before so this is a major step. I hope all goes well and they have a good nights sleep, but I won't be surprised if we get a phone call requesting us to come pick one or both of the boys up sometime during the night.

The snow has finally stopped. Well, we're still having some flurries, but that really doesn't count. Now the cold, I mean really COLD weather is supposed to descend upon us for the next couple of days. Everyone enjoy!!! :P

Updates, Down Dates, Diagonal Dates

Summer, or at least the stay at home and not have to go to school type of summer, is coming to a close. Melissa started back to work after nine years as a stay-at-home mom. Conner is in 3rd grade and Carter started kindergarten (with some anxiety.) I had my first cross-country meet of the season yesterday and, well, let's just say there's lots of room for improvement. I start back to school this Friday (teacher's first day) but don't have students until next Tues. (9/1). I think our family can officially be classified as "Hoosiers" because we now have a basketball goal in our drive. (Well, the base anyway until tomorrow.) Pastor Kris, Tammy, and Shelby stopped by while out for a walk this evening and PK took part in a swashbuckling sword fight with the boys. Shelby came to his rescue after he took a couple of viscious hits.

What did you do this summer? We had several adventures and jaunts: Indy Children's Museum, Drive-in, water park, Bear Creek Farms, Disney World & Downtown Disney, the beach (in Florida), flew to FL, went bowling (several times), went fishing, vacation Bible school, Cub Scout day camp, putt-putting (I didn't get to go), Parker Fair, "Great" Darke County Fair (OH), bike rides, swimming (a few times). No surprise to anyone, I'm sure, that I ran a lot this summer and did two triathlons (canoe, run, bike).

We, the Blessed

Haven't posted in almost a month because, well, not sure why. Today we celebrated Conner's 9th birthday! (Although his birthday isn't actually until Monday.) Wow, nine years old already and about to start the third grade!!! The cliche about time flying is certainly true. I'm leaving tomorrow after church for Ashland Univ. for a week of classes on the Civil War and Reconstruction. Should be pretty interesting, especially once I figure out what spin or angle the professors are trying to get us to buy. Had a heart-to-heart with Conner tonight about how blessed we are, both as people of God and as citizens of this rich, powerful (and hugely in debt) country. He was disappointed that he only got six presents for his birthday (plus $75). Melissa and I both talked with him about the importance of being thankful and tried to impress upon him that, while it's not unusual to get quite a bit for a birthday in America, it's extremely rare compared to the rest of the world. It's easy to see, looking around my cluttered part of the house, that we have a LOT of stuff. We went to the drive-in last night and watched "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." We're flying to Disney World in Orlando in just over a week. God has been very, very good to use!

The END!

Tomorrow (Fri., 6/5/09) is the first day of the State track meet in Ohio at the Jesse Owens Memorial Track & Field Stadium at the Ohio State University AND my last day as a track & field coach. This season has had a LOT of ups and downs and I've done a lot of reminiscing and a little tear shedding. It's been a wonderful, sometimes trying, but ultimately worthwhile endeavor to develop ability in and teach life lessons to the many athletes that I've coached. Someday,...well, someday I may get back into coaching T & F, but after tomorrow I'm on sabbatical. Our boys coach told me that he gives me three, four years tops before I'm back at it. Only God knows for sure. I'm confident that Ariel will do well in the high jump. She placed 8th at State last year and her focus and effort have been excellent these past few weeks.
~ On a little different note: cross-country practice begins in just over two months! :P And my first race of the summer is in just over two weeks!! :]

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:17
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18