Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
An Open Letter of Apology to All My Teachers
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to all my teachers over the years who had to grade papers and decipher my handwriting. As I assisted my wife in grading some second grade work, I could only imagine the struggle my teachers had as they tried to interpret that scribble.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Oops, Apparently I Still Have A Blog
So much has happened since May and I have failed to document any of it. I guess my sabbatical is over now. Or my next one is just about to begin.
Stay tuned pictures may even show up interspersed to highlight the events of the last few months.
So there was June. I don't think anything real eventful happened there.
Followed by July. Now that month sticks out a little. I had July 4th off this year, so I got to participate in the whole holiday. From the morning parade watching, afternoon cookout to fireworks. What a blast! Then a few days later, I jumped off a diving board with a rather spectacular old man dive and dislocated my shoulder. Again. This lead to a month-ish of wearing the sling. Again. And a month-ish of physical therapy. Again. Gotta be more careful with my left wing. It wants to fly free a little too much.
Then down to New Braunfels to vacation at the House of Partain. Lovely accommodations and hosts. Had lots of one armed fun, hiking the Natural Bridge Caverns, trying to kinda tube and spending a whole day at Sea World.
August brought a birthday, #34, a job change for Stephanie and 2nd grade for Josh.
September Josh turned 8. We added a pup to the house. Sparky, our miniature schnauzer was imported from Oklahoma.
October was Steph's 36th birthday. Hayden got a stick stuck in his knee on the playground, which lead to a month-long infection and multiple visits with doc's, nurses and other medical personnel. He is one tough cookie, pulled the stick out, kept playing and toughed out what had to be a heaping dose of pain as he went through the multiple diagnoses' and treatments. Steph fell walking up the steps while walking the dog. Scrapes, bruises and abrasions abound. Our insurance compnay is not making money on us this year.
And yesterday at horse lessons, Josh fell off his horse for the first time while loping. Fell isn't quite the right word as he was flung into the fence panel by his loping horse. He is a little sore today, but he is becoming more tough as he goes along. Of course he had to get back on and ride for a little while to make sure he can face this hurdle. Of course horseback riding isn't safe. Neither is riding a bike, climbing trees, swimming or playing most sports, but we allow our kids to find out about themselves and what they are made of by pushing the limits. I continue to be amazed by him and what he is turning out to be made of.
I have taught him a quote I ran across and he is learning to live it.
Stay tuned pictures may even show up interspersed to highlight the events of the last few months.
So there was June. I don't think anything real eventful happened there.
Followed by July. Now that month sticks out a little. I had July 4th off this year, so I got to participate in the whole holiday. From the morning parade watching, afternoon cookout to fireworks. What a blast! Then a few days later, I jumped off a diving board with a rather spectacular old man dive and dislocated my shoulder. Again. This lead to a month-ish of wearing the sling. Again. And a month-ish of physical therapy. Again. Gotta be more careful with my left wing. It wants to fly free a little too much.
Then down to New Braunfels to vacation at the House of Partain. Lovely accommodations and hosts. Had lots of one armed fun, hiking the Natural Bridge Caverns, trying to kinda tube and spending a whole day at Sea World.
August brought a birthday, #34, a job change for Stephanie and 2nd grade for Josh.
September Josh turned 8. We added a pup to the house. Sparky, our miniature schnauzer was imported from Oklahoma.
October was Steph's 36th birthday. Hayden got a stick stuck in his knee on the playground, which lead to a month-long infection and multiple visits with doc's, nurses and other medical personnel. He is one tough cookie, pulled the stick out, kept playing and toughed out what had to be a heaping dose of pain as he went through the multiple diagnoses' and treatments. Steph fell walking up the steps while walking the dog. Scrapes, bruises and abrasions abound. Our insurance compnay is not making money on us this year.
And yesterday at horse lessons, Josh fell off his horse for the first time while loping. Fell isn't quite the right word as he was flung into the fence panel by his loping horse. He is a little sore today, but he is becoming more tough as he goes along. Of course he had to get back on and ride for a little while to make sure he can face this hurdle. Of course horseback riding isn't safe. Neither is riding a bike, climbing trees, swimming or playing most sports, but we allow our kids to find out about themselves and what they are made of by pushing the limits. I continue to be amazed by him and what he is turning out to be made of.
I have taught him a quote I ran across and he is learning to live it.
“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior
takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything either as
a blessing or a curse”
Carlos Casteneda
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Dad: Views From the Saddle
We had a couple of days worth of riding lessons this week and I'm still trying to decide what I'm enjoying more: the riding or watching my son grow right in front of me.
Nah, that's easy.
While the riding is fun, or a complete blast actually, the opportunity to see my 7 year old working hard at something is thrilling.
Last week he had the opportunity to upgrade horses, to move from the older, gentler, lesson horse to Sally. My own experience with Sally is that she was fun to ride, responsive to commands but willing to test the limits of the rider. She wants to know who is in charge: you or her.
The first time he got on, I thought "the kids gonna work today."
And he did.
By the end of the session as we were riding home during what always seems like discussion time, he said he sure wanted his former horse back, since he didn't trot as fast. As a dutiful dad, I let him know that if he wanted to ride horses that go faster and were tougher to ride, he needed to take the opportunity to do it when he had it.
Boy I sound like a dad.
There was more dad talk about how he was growing as a rider and that he didn't need the easiest horse and all that.
As we arrive for our next lesson, the older horse is tied to the bar waiting for us. I thought this was his perfect opportunity to just take what came his way.
Nope.
He spoke right up and wanted to know why he wasn't riding Sally this time and that he'd been looking forward to riding her all week.
That was news to me, by the way.
My inner dad puffed up as I saw my son choose the more difficult path.
He had lots to learn over the course of that lesson. He had to correct and demonstrate more than once that he was in charge. I kept waiting for the whining to begin that he was bored or this was too hard. He did great, and not just with me, but with the horse. He stayed calm and took her through the lesson just fine.
That night as I was putting a worn out kid to bed, he said he'd had fun riding her, but that he was too tired for the lesson scheduled for the next day.
Yeah right.
He went right back out and did it again. Sure we were sore and tired after back to back days riding more challenging horses, but we loved it.
When I began this there were a variety of thought going through my head about childhood dreams, opportunities to grow even further out of my box, fun with my son, but I never imagined that after a few months of this I'd see this much change in him. He is still better at this than I am. At this point, if I can trot and stay put in the saddle, I chalk that up as a victory. He is ready to go faster and do more.
He is living out his dream as a cowboy every Thursday or so, and I am living out my dream as a dad.
Nah, that's easy.
While the riding is fun, or a complete blast actually, the opportunity to see my 7 year old working hard at something is thrilling.
Last week he had the opportunity to upgrade horses, to move from the older, gentler, lesson horse to Sally. My own experience with Sally is that she was fun to ride, responsive to commands but willing to test the limits of the rider. She wants to know who is in charge: you or her.
The first time he got on, I thought "the kids gonna work today."
And he did.
By the end of the session as we were riding home during what always seems like discussion time, he said he sure wanted his former horse back, since he didn't trot as fast. As a dutiful dad, I let him know that if he wanted to ride horses that go faster and were tougher to ride, he needed to take the opportunity to do it when he had it.
Boy I sound like a dad.
There was more dad talk about how he was growing as a rider and that he didn't need the easiest horse and all that.
As we arrive for our next lesson, the older horse is tied to the bar waiting for us. I thought this was his perfect opportunity to just take what came his way.
Nope.
He spoke right up and wanted to know why he wasn't riding Sally this time and that he'd been looking forward to riding her all week.
That was news to me, by the way.
My inner dad puffed up as I saw my son choose the more difficult path.
He had lots to learn over the course of that lesson. He had to correct and demonstrate more than once that he was in charge. I kept waiting for the whining to begin that he was bored or this was too hard. He did great, and not just with me, but with the horse. He stayed calm and took her through the lesson just fine.
That night as I was putting a worn out kid to bed, he said he'd had fun riding her, but that he was too tired for the lesson scheduled for the next day.
Yeah right.
He went right back out and did it again. Sure we were sore and tired after back to back days riding more challenging horses, but we loved it.
When I began this there were a variety of thought going through my head about childhood dreams, opportunities to grow even further out of my box, fun with my son, but I never imagined that after a few months of this I'd see this much change in him. He is still better at this than I am. At this point, if I can trot and stay put in the saddle, I chalk that up as a victory. He is ready to go faster and do more.
He is living out his dream as a cowboy every Thursday or so, and I am living out my dream as a dad.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Missions Seminar
We attended a seminar designed to help candidates for international mission service understand some of the job duties and life changes. It was an awesome experience. After a long day at work, I headed over and sat down to hear how God may choose to use us. Wow!! There is so much going on around the world in the area of reaching lost people that we as busy Americans never stop to find out about.
In the past we may have tried to duplicate what we have here and what seems familiar to Americans involving programs and structures. Now the emphasis is on being strategic about reaching a particular people group in a way that allows that people group to own the task of reaching itself. The role of the missionary is to lead them to Christ and allow Christ to draw them to him and reach more.
Alright, I know this is too much detail and may not even make sense, but suffice it to say that we are even more excited about what God is doing and how we hope that He involves us in it.
It is an awesome thing that God is at work and wants us to have a part as His hands, feet and mouthpiece.
In the past we may have tried to duplicate what we have here and what seems familiar to Americans involving programs and structures. Now the emphasis is on being strategic about reaching a particular people group in a way that allows that people group to own the task of reaching itself. The role of the missionary is to lead them to Christ and allow Christ to draw them to him and reach more.
Alright, I know this is too much detail and may not even make sense, but suffice it to say that we are even more excited about what God is doing and how we hope that He involves us in it.
It is an awesome thing that God is at work and wants us to have a part as His hands, feet and mouthpiece.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Meet Sally
This is Sally. I have joined Josh in taking horse riding lessons. My inner 7 year old is overjoyed at this, but my outer 33 year old knows the pain required to learn this new hobby. Sally is a 6 year old who enjoys taking off when I'd rather her walk. She has a slight aversion to going where I intend. Let me say that I am loving it. From cleaning hooves to saddling up, this is as cool as I ever imagined it could be. The first lesson, I made some errors that Josh was quick to point out on the way home. Getting critiqued by my 7 year old was a new, fun experience. He is loving being better at something that his dad.
I long ago gave up the idea of horse riding as a child, but have found out that it isn't too late to try that childhood fantasy after all. I will be able to check this off the "Wish I'd Done List."
Check out http://www.ridingpals.com/ for more info on horse lessons.
I long ago gave up the idea of horse riding as a child, but have found out that it isn't too late to try that childhood fantasy after all. I will be able to check this off the "Wish I'd Done List."
Check out http://www.ridingpals.com/ for more info on horse lessons.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
A Day at the Stables
Josh cleaning out Captain's hoofs.
Josh riding Captain around the ring.
Hayden brushing Nibbles.Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!!
As 2008 dawns anew, I ponder all the possibilities this year holds. I have spent the last week thinking over 2007 and all that happened in our lives.
The biggest obviously started with our mission trip to Thailand and the path that has begun for us towards missions.
The next biggest has been our journey to get out of debt. We have been living on the Dave Ramsey plan for a little over a year. We are now down to just our car. We have learned more about each other through this than anything else we've been through.
This has been a year of blessings and opportunities and we expect 2008 to be more of the same. We are so thankful for all that God has done in us, with us and through us.
The biggest obviously started with our mission trip to Thailand and the path that has begun for us towards missions.
The next biggest has been our journey to get out of debt. We have been living on the Dave Ramsey plan for a little over a year. We are now down to just our car. We have learned more about each other through this than anything else we've been through.
This has been a year of blessings and opportunities and we expect 2008 to be more of the same. We are so thankful for all that God has done in us, with us and through us.
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