Decor

We, the school sale committee, asked a young lady to decorate the premises. I thought she did a lovely job.

 

Quilt Rack

 

Quilt Rack

Randy Martin had a brilliant idea for a quilt rack. He took pvc pipe and screwed it together.

 

Auction Items

This is a shot of some of the items we auctioned off. The black clock in the center sold for $170. I paid $10 for it at the flea market.

 

It's Off To Bed I Go...

Due to a lengthy drizzel yesterday we had roughly 3 inches of water standing in our auction tent. We decided to get some sawdust and throw it in the tent. So at 3 this morning we met and put plastic down before covering it with a six inch layer of green sawdust. It rained until close to 7 this morning before we began to see the clouds departing. The sun came up and we had a glorious day. The auction went very smooth and we sold all of the grilled chicken and hotdogs. Some of us only got two hours of sleep last night and I am hoping that all of these folks will be able to sleep soundly for the next twelve hours or so. So, good night...

Happy Birthday

Today is the birthday of our first born. I am amazed at the rapid growth of our little girl. Yesterday she was 21 inches long and lying in my arms. Today she is 40 inches tall and helping her mother in the kitchen. Tommorow she will be married with children of her own. Our prayer is to show her the Father in these few short moments we have with her...

Musicians

Who is your favorite musician or group of musicians?

The Past

What do you do with past? The good the bad and the ugly. Is it necessary to look at the past? How much should one look at the past. Why look at the past? I have some opinions on the matter and I will try to briefly lay them out here. I am of the opinion one should use the past as a vehicle or mode of transportation to find healing. Try to find a few things, surely you can find one, that were good. Thank whoever for doing good. Sometimes we put so much emphasis on the bad we can't find the good. I have found the past to be very enlightning. It has helped me realize who I am and why I react the way I do. Knowing these facts has helped me work through the issue. What are your feelings?

Final Meeting

Tonight we had our last committee meeting so now it is all or nothing. You know how it is? You wonder if it the whole sale/auction will actually come off or happen. It has in the past and I assume it will this saturday. I have been chairmen of this planning committee for two years and I am amazed at how great these people are. Everyone has mutual respect for the other and everyone listens with sincerity. It has been a joy and a privilege to work these fine people. This is our last year on the committee and I will miss spending time with these hardworking people. I have been on some committees that I longed to be off of and was very relieved when my term was up. How often have you been glad your term was up?

Your Story Hour

How many of you listen to the radio program Your Story Hour? We have begun purchasing some cds over the past several years and I find them very interesting and informative. These stories touch on lots of topics. They tell historical stories and biblical stories. The historical stories are not only of great political leaders but also of people who made an incredible impact in the early church. I have learned a few things from these stories and am wondering how many other people have.

Returning

Well, after onlygetting about two hours of sleep on Thurs. evening we were all very wore out by Fri. evening. We feel really good about the trip and are hoping that the benefir auction will be a success. We got home last evening around six thirty. We would love to have you come spend all of your hard earned money...

Leaving

Rachel and I are headed to Lancaster PA for a couple of days to shop for our school sale. We will be shopping for hand crafted items to fill out our auction. The only down side is the hour in which we are leaving. 3 AM.... Till next time....

Amazement Square Part II

Amazement Square has this cow. As this picture shows children are able to milk this cow. When you squeeze the cows teats streams of clear liquid make singing sounds in the bucket. As a dairy farmer I see two problems with this picture. First, I have never seen a cow the color of an orange. I realize I am being nit picky and this is suppose to be a cow from the Jersey breed. Second, the milk is the wrong color. I have seen to many cows in the past come down with choloform (sp?) mastitus. When this happens the milk will turn a very nasty brownish watery color. I would say this cow is definitely in the last stage of her life. Their is no way she will survive such a mammary infection as this. Poor lass, may she rest in peace...

Amazement Square

Down on old Main Street, or their abouts, is a remodeled building that has been converted into a childs playground. It is about five floors of science projects. The center of the building is a huge playground that goes up through all five floors. THis picture was taken when we went to Amazement Square for Aleya's birthday.

 

Things In Common

My wife and I went on a date the other evening and our conversation revolved around things we have in common or do we have anything in common. We came to the conclusion that we do not have anything in common as far as hobbies are concerned. Do you and your spouse have anything in common? Of course their are children/church/ministry and things of that nature. Funny thing is, we both took an online personality test and we, apparently, have alot in common. Maybe that is why we don't think we have anything in common. We are both Phlegmatic Melancholy people.

Movin Out

Several weeks ago the girls and I were over at the house piddling. The girls were out side hollering and making a lot of noise and Jackson decided he wanted to be on our side of the road. He and the dog were movin out.

 

Question

I was wondering this morning if it is better to have family devotions or personal devotions. This may sound like a silly question because you should be doing both. However, the fact of the matter is most people don't do either, or do they? Which one is best for the family. Personal devotions would help me be a better parent/father/husband/person. It would increase my love for the Savior. I believe family devotions would do this as well only not in the same way. Yet family devotions would be best for the family as a unit. I think you should do both, I have been missing my personal devotions lately and I have lots of good excuses. We have been having family devotions but I can find myself using that as a basis for not needing to take the time for personal devotions. Oh the devil is always at work.

Mexican Train

Sierra wanted to play a game tonight and she wanted to play Dominoes. I don't know how to play Dominoes the old fashioned way but I do know how to play the Mexican Train. So I taught her how to play the Mexican Train. She picked it up very quickly and we had a grand time. She was getting tired of it, we only played two rounds, but she said it was fun. I feel really good about the evening. Seems like it has been months since I have been home and had any kind of family time. One really cool thing about Sierra is that she can't stand winning. Well, likes to win but she hates it when I lose. I don't know where that came from and I tell her I don't care if I win or not but she still wants me to win. In a perfect world we would both win.

Yankees Part II

It appears that Steinbrenner has decided not to be an idiot after all. Torre said in a press conference the other day that he will be back to manage the Yankees next year. He has been the manager of the Yankees for 11 years and has never missed the playoffs. Not bad. (For your information, I am NOT a Yankee man. I cannot stand the Yankees.) Now I would like to make few comments about another manager, Bobby Cox. Bobby Cox has been managing the Braves for as long as I can remember. This is the first year the Braves have not won their division since the early 90's. I believe they had won their division 13 years in a row. In todays world that is very good. The only negative thing I can say about Cox is his inability to win the World Series. I remember game 7 (I think it was) against the Twins many moons ago. A game they should have won but the Twins faked a double play which caused the baserunner to stop in confusion at second base. If he would not have been confused he would have scored and the Braves would have won. I don't understand how the Braves can win so consistently in the season and never win 0n the worlds biggest stage. Sadly, the Braves were awful this year. (I am a Braves man. I am also an Orioles man.) Anyway, enough about sports. Maybe my next post will be more worth your time...

Who Am I

Here is something I have pondered over the last several months. I wonder what kind of a person you think I am. I realize this could be a very risky question but I ask it anyway. Those of you who do not know me have developed an opinion concerning my personality, honesty, marriage, work, my whole life. So who do you think I am? Then are those of you who know me and have talked to me once or twice. You have formed an opinion of me also. Then their are those of you that know me very well. You are the people I work with, go to church with, live with, extended family, etc. I wonder what you think. Is the image this blog portrayes accurate? Or have I painted a false picture of who I am? I wonder....

On another more earthy note. We finished hauling chicken litter today and are hoping to start disking and planting in the morning. I managed to get the manure truck stuck twice in a row how distressed I was....
Anyway and so forth this is who I am, I think...

Da Yankees Loose

I must say it was some what of a struggle to decide what the title of this post should be. It could also be George Steinbrenner May Be An Idiot but that doesn't sound very christian and is definitely judgemental so we will stick with Da Yankees Loose, DAAAAAA Yankees Loose. Need I say more? Oh yes, in this case I do. George Steinbrenner has an immense amount of money and has spent billions of dollars over the past 5-10 years to establish a championship team. He went and got Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Gary Sheffield amd others so he could win the pennant. However, in the last 6 years the Yankees have not won the World Series, Baseballs biggest stage. I was to young to care but evidently at some point years ago Steinbrenner was thrown out of baseball. I am not sure why but while he was gone an incredible team was established. The basic team that was established won, I believe, four out of five championships in the 90's. When Steinbrenner was allowed back in as owner of the Yankees he was to big headed to accept the fact that he had nothing to do with the players on the team and he wanted to put together his team to make a run for the championship. Thus he began to dismantle and rearrange the team. Their baseball prowess has steadily gotten worse. Five years ago they were losing in the World Series in game seven in the tenth inning. Now they can't make it through the first round of the playoffs. Here is what I do not understand. A New York paper, I believe it was the Post, published an article stating the Yankees were going to fire the manager Joe Torre. Why would he fire Joe Torre? In his Eleven years as managing this franchise he has at least four championships and has made it to the playoffs the last six years. Why fire the manager? It seems to me the owner should be taking some of the blame for the old worn out players he has given the manager to manage. (If I am not mistaken Randy Johnson is getting very close to 45) He spends big money for big time players that have been pampered and babied every where they have played and now they are all in the same locker room trying to get along. Seems to me Steinbrenner should consider firing himself instead of Joe Torre.

National Church Attendance

We sang at Crystal Hill Southern Baptist Church this morning. They had a carry in after the service. In the past these meals never quite live up to the traditional Mennonite carry in. The food is cold 9 times out of 10 and today was no exception. However, it was much better than most and the desert table was heavily laden.

On the way home my mind was wandering and I asked my brother this question. I wonder what percentage of the people in our nation attend church Sunday morning?" Of course we don't know the answer. I also mentioned that a lot of people go to church. He responded with "Their are a lot of people who don't go to church." So, this conversation wasn't very helpful in answering one of life's persistent questions... (I stole this last line from Prarie Home Companion)

Snap, Crackle, Pop

No, I am not talking about Rice Krispies. I am talking about something a lot people do. This concerns the art of knuckle popping. Are you one of the humans who have turned this pastime into a fine art? I have found people either do this little activity gleefully or they are filled with horror and their skin crawls when they are in the presence of one who is performing a snap on his knuckles. I personally am one of these people and I am wondering if you are a snap, crackle, pop kind of person?

Jayden Learns To Walk

Jayden is begining to walk. He seems a little afraid of the idea but it is coming.

 

Chicken Litter

We have been trying to haul some chicken litter from a chicken farm about five miles from our place. We have been putting roughly ten tons on the truck. As you can see the truck wasn't up to the job. I was dumping a load and the box fell off of the truck. I thought it was kinda funny... The girls were with me when it happened. The truck rocked some but I didn't think it was very scarry. However, Sierra told me later that her legs were shaking. Evidently the rod had bent at the pivot point and the rail slid off of the rod. The rest of the welds had broken over the past 30 years and because the load was heavy to the drivers side the box leaned over. I was totally helpless, there was nothing I could do, it just fell off of the truck...

Twisted Mess

 

Oops

 

Jackson

I went in to check on the boys the other evening and this is what I saw. Looks miserable to me.

 

Plumbing

We have been trying to locate a plumber. This has been rather trying for my kind contracter Jerrill Schrock. The first option was a very good option but they had another job under contract so option one turned into a bad option. Option two arrived, glanced around and left. They then told Jerrill they would be glad to do the job for $25,900. WHAT!!! SAY IT ISN'T TRUE... Option three came out this afternoon and looked around for an hour or so. Very nice fellow who was recommended by option one. After some discussion he gave us two choices. The first choice was doing it by the hour and the second choice was him giving us a price. He told us how long he thought it would take and his hourly rate. So we did some quick math and discovered he would fall into the $6-7,000 range. (WHEW...much more better) This evening option four stopped in. After I led him around and showed him what he was up against he gave us a price, $16,000. However, he could start tommorow and cheap guy can't start for two weeks. After pondering this for roughly 10 seconds we decided two weeks wasn't worth 10 grand...

49 years

I find it hard to believe but it is true. Today was our annual hymn sing. (I am unsure if this would be the baptist version of a home coming or not.) Forty-nine years ago today this tradition was begun. The program revolved around or paid homage to familys that have been influential in the musical developement of our church. Next year will be year number fifty, it tends to follow forty-nine, and hopefully we can have something very special. Time will tell...