37th birthday boy!

Ahhh, birthdays! I never was that enamored with Birthdays growing up or as an adult, but my wife has always held that they are a time to be indulged and pampered. Generous of her to do that for someone that is indifferent to it (my own, and sometimes hers as well-ouch!); but I admit the idea is growing on me. Unfortunately, that is probably a testament to my getting older and slowing down, as is my accumulating birthdays, 37 of them as of yesterday. It was a particularly sweet birthday on a Saturday, when the kids are all around to worry about me, if I am getting enough attention, to make sure this is the best birthday ever. 
Wifey fried up a mess of fried chicken, one of my birthday favorites. I had a memory brought on by a Facebook family member wishing me well of sharing my birthday meal with my Great Grandmother, on whose 80th birthday I was born. Fried Chicken, of course.
       I can see how being a Provider-Dad makes gift giving for children complex. Especially if I don't have a great deal of needs or hobbies that I can't afford. Or at all.  If I need something; I go get it. Period. Because I needed it. So it makes it difficult for children to find things that daddy wanted or needed for presents, especially in the $4.00 to $5.00 range. They did pull off some pretty good stuff this year, though. What is most fun for me though, is the stuff that I don't "need", which is the stuff that only really matters: The cards, the hugs, the kisses, the furtive looks of sneakiness while running through the room to find more tape to wrap some extra, last minute present. All the affection directed straight at ME! The adoring looks with puppy dog eyes BEGGING me to let them make cookies for me. (Thank you, Lord. I am so blessed.)
       Soon on this birthday, I determined that I was going to connect with each of my children in a real way. (and Wifey, as well, hopefully) I had great fun being the nice dad that lets Grace make peanut butter cookies for me. I told her that I would help her; well, she certainly didn't need MY help. She just needed my stamp of approval, and I so enjoyed seeing her bustle around the kitchen with much like her mama's efficiency, while talking to her.
     Emma helped me clean out my pick-up, something that only happens to one of my vehicals when I sell it or take Wifey on a long weekend, which I am getting ready to do both. I got it really sparkling clean; first time in 2 1/2 years. She so enjoys helping; but where we really connected was when we were done cooking supper and snacks, she was responsible for cleaning up because she got really carried away with the flour (covered, actually, and everything around her-"Because it was FUN, daddy".) and I helped her clean up the huge mess. Emma will always be that friend to others, she is often the cohesive factor between others who don't get along so well.
       Stu wanted to build a house out of blocks. So we dragged all the blocks out of his bedroom and into the living room, and I started building the "WORLD'S TALLEST TOWER" as I always say in my big loud voice whenever I am about to do something really epic, like make a whole-pan sized pancake. You know, "THE WORLD'S LARGEST PANCAKE!!!!" I don't know, it works for the kids; they like me. Well Stu didn't want to build it on top of the trunk, he wanted to build it on the floor. So I put the blocks on the floor, and while I started doing it, I made a big show of how sad it made me. Pretty soon his lower lip sticks out and he looks like he's about to cry. When I asked him what the matter was, he replied: "It makes me really sad that you can't build it on the trunk!" I asked him if he was sad enough to let me build it on the trunk, and he broke out into a sob and said: "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" At that point he stopped crying, because I burst out in laughter...
     Isaiah is easy to connect with. He is sooo sincere; he expects everyone else to be as well. All you have to do is sit down with him and look him in the eyes and tell him several things about him that you appreciate and you can see him soaking it up. He acts cool, though, which I appreciate as well. He says, "I don't know why your always telling me all that stuff. I don't see how I am all that special" And then I tell him he is my favorite kid. And he believes me, because it is true. But the main thing is this. I want each of them to know in their hearts that he/she is my favorite. That's right- Each one is my favorite. I tell them all, too. I don't know if it is right or wrong, but when one of them ask me which one I like the best, I only have one answer: "You are, but don't tell the others!" None of this "I love you all the same" stuff, or "I love you all so much I can't tell". Just "You are, don't tell the others". They may all grow up all messed up in the head, but that is how I feel. 

      As I contemplate the wealth of God's blessings that He has lavished upon me; some in the form of those He has put in my care, it becomes very obvious to me that I am God's favorite, as well. Each one of us.

Christ Returneth!

This morning about 20 minutes ago (4:30 am), the Lord gave me a little something in the way of a foretaste of his triumphant return. Both Brynn and I were laying in bed asleep, when we were both awakened by a mighty trumpet blast that filled the room and yet wasn't from the room. I lay still for a moment as this sound continued; in wonder, then my heart leapt! What else could this be? Christ Returneth! Hallelujah! As I continue to lay there, though, it became obvious as I became more awake that it was (oddly enough) only a train. I've lived here for six years, and slept with the windows open plenty, and can still recollect about 2 times that I could ever even HEARD the train at all, much less have it wake us both up (with windows down, no less). It is depressing to sit in front of my computer, in my freshly 37-year-old un-perfected form, with my joints and back aching, fresh from lying still for 6 hours in my bed. God's creation, THIS creation, this cracked vessel, me, cries out for Christ's return. But I think of those I know, who don't know him, I realize that my desires are selfish; that tarrying is an act of mercy. Lord, come quickly; thank you for your mercy of not coming quickly.

actually, they are muscles...

Stu says, as I am lifting something on behalf of the girls that looks incredibly heavy to a 4 year old: "Those big fat arms he's got? They are ACTUALLY muscles!

So it isn't that uncommon in this part of Kansas to have to wonder if the frost will get your lilac buds before the holiday.  More commonly, though, it is Easter your wondering if you will have lilacs for; not Halloween!  Never seen this one before; lilacs trying to bloom in mid-October?  What a year- I guess the lack of water has everything really confused.

Yeah, well so I haven't blogged in about 5 months; I've been busy.  We have ALL been very busy actually, our summer was consumed by having the usual additional bunch of in-laws staying at the Foster Farm-let for several months; a fun but exhausting time, even if they weren't staying in our actual house with us.  Its pretty tough to be that uptight guy all the time in the middle of a bunch of really laid back people; most of whom are retired, currently unemployed, or on some sort of furlough.  Anyway, they all have more leisure time than I do, and if there is one thing besides my family that I am willing bare my teeth and rip out throats for, it is my personal space and privacy. But we made it through it, and due to the advent of an oversees marriage of one of them, it will make for a very small Christmas this year here in the States.  I am planning on sending Wifey over to see it, but am struggling to decide whether I am going or not, mostly because it hasn't exactly been a stellar year financially, due largely to the fact that nobody realizes they need gutters if it doesn't ever rain!
 
 But anyway, lest I sound bitter, I'll move on.  Again we have been VERY busy lately, and didn't ever take any time off work for family vacation time, so in an effort to rectify that we decided to take a series of mini-vacations and do some fun stuff without so much hullabaloo.  Yesterday we went to Kanopolis lake with my sister and her not unsubstantial family.  Very good to catch up and see their kids growing up and interact with them as adults or near to it.

   Wifey and I did find a little time here and there to work in a project or two.  Here is one that I am quite pleased with, although I sure had serious doubts about it all the way through it until it was truly competed:  My first ever chair remodel.  Wifey had been talking about it for a while, and so after coaxing (she should write a book on "How To Get Your Husband To Do Things He Doesn't Want To Without Making Him Feel Nagged" - I still don't know exactly how she pulled it off) I undertook the project as if it were my own.









Here are "before" pictures; you can't really see how  threadbare it is.
She kept telling me: "I reeeeeaaally want this to be good and I just need you to do it so that it looks good."  Stroke, Stroke; Niiiiiice husband!  NICE husband...

And "After" pictures

But it was fun to see her get excited and say "oh wow, this is going to be soooo cool!"  I kept telling her to calm down, because it was probably going to turn out awful, don't get your hopes up, we haven't even got to the hard part yet, etc. But overall, I'm pleased with the end result.
    Other than that, it doesn't feel like I got a lot of stuff done this summer; I did take advantage of the dryness to dig out our pond some; I took the CTL and shaved off the banks in order to make it a little more "beachy" and less "banky" so that the kids could get in without jumping in.
   Ahh, Fall! The Advent of Cooler Weather!!! So glad to see it in so many ways. Monday, Stu-Jack and I took our little pigs to the market.

Since he isn't officially in school, he got to do the ride along, and instantly decided that we had certainly better stop for doughnuts, as that was good and right.  I shouldn't worry about him eating too much doughnut, though, I found half of it in crumbs under his car seat the next day.

   Anyway, that's about the synopsis of our summer, and I'm looking forward to cutting some wood this fall and clearing some more pasture.

Mother's Day, Easter

Stu-Jack has been feeling very inferior lately. For example, Saturday before Easter, I was cooking breakfast for the kiddos, and here he comes, all dejected, head down and shoulders slumped. I asked him what was wrong. He replied: "I not very smart at Easter, I didn't even know we get baskets and hide eggs. I just not very smart at Easter." Poor little guy...

So for Mother's Day, Brynn asked for me to build another level onto the tree fort. Awesome of her, huh? Now that's a gift I can get into; she even helped me on Sunday. It took me longer than I thought, probably because everything is getting higher up now. Here is a picture of the improved fort:

I built the solid fence around it with a ladder on the inside with a trap door in the floor, because it has been increasingly obvious that Stu is a little psycho that has no fear at all. He could hardly be contained from getting on the top deck when I had just 3 boards screwed on. Finally I consented to allow him coming up, as long as he was on his bottom. He promptly scooted (on his bottom) over to the edge and dangled his legs over. Then, when I had the floor completed, and one 2x4 around the edge, he came up and hung his little body over the edge, just hanging on to the board I had just screwed on. I grabbed him and dragged him back inside the railing and asked him if that was scary, he just looked puzzled and told me not really. Should have named him Sean, I guess...
Then as a side note, Stu wanted to make Wifey a Mother's Day card. I wrote while he dictated: "Dear Momma, I love you very much; thank you for all that you do, like make food. I love you. And chicken, yeah, I love chicken, too! Yum" Which sums him up pretty well; Momma and food, not necessarily in that order.

Then, unrelated to Mother's day, we had some good friends over for supper on Saturday that were gracious enough to be our guinea pigs and let us try out Beef Wellington on them. It went OK, but I overcooked the tenderloin, so it wasn't nearly as pink as it should have been...

Wifey also got a necklace from our girls with lots of pretty beads with some that spelled "Momo" in the middle, "because they didn't have any A's." Heh, I love having kids!

one more reason to hate possums

Here is the last picture taken of the Valdois car. Arianna rolled it last Thursday night around 10:30 on her way home from work when she swerved to miss a possum driving on 96 highway at 70 plus MPH. I know, I know! To quote the Highway Patrolman, he said: "You swerved to MISS a possum? Don't you know you are supposed to run those buggers over?!" Luckily, she was unhurt, (wearing her seat belt), but the car was of course in pretty bad shape; the other side was a lot worse. The worst thing is, however, now there is a possum running around out there with an inflated sense of its own toughness. I can hear the stupid thing now, bragging to all its friends. "Did you see that? One look at me and that car just rolled over and played dead!"

Arianna: 0

Possums: 1