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...

Not needed

My family and my brother's family are having a yard sale today. I took the children up about 9 and discovered they didn't need my help. This was fine with me. I drove back home and did some major clean up over at the house. I still need to sweep all the floors and make a trip to the dump. I had the joy of starting a lovely fire and proceeded burn many things. (I love playing with fire!) I will feed this afternoon before going up to help them pack up. Then I will be dropping tables off at various locations and doing other odd jobs. I told Rachel last night that it seems like I have not been able to do my share of wining and complaining this time around...

Finally

Well, I am proud to announce that we have finally finished the fall harvest. As of seven this evening we will be finished with the corn header and chopper for the season. Ah, what luxury... Now we move on to the next project. Hauling manure, working the land and planting small grain. Hopefully this will only take a couple of weeks. There are not near as many moving parts on a disk as on the chopper so their should be less break downs...
Tommorow we will be having another yard sale to help offset adoption costs. If you are traveling Wisecarver rd. stop in and see us. We may even cut you a good deal but I doubt it....

Aleya

Due to technical difficulties I was unable to post yesterday. Yesterday was Aleya's birthday. She is now three years old and proud of it. She was thrilled with her few little gifts. I think the thing that thrilled her the most was the phone calls she received from all three of her grandmothers. How cool is that?

Odd Man Out

I have been a member of VOP now for almost ten years. Over the past ten years members of the group have slowly attained modern forms of communication. First it was cell phones but more recently it has been the portable version of the PC, otherwise known as the laptop. This past weekend I discovered that I am now the only bloke that does not have one of these helpful devices. Maybe someday soon I will be able to find a really good reason for spending money on one.

Nascar

I will just say it right up front, I am a Nascar fan. Whew, got that out of the way. We were listening to the race while we were driving yesterday and we got to talking about things that would really irritate us if we were driving in a race. One fellow thought it would be better to wreck in the first ten laps then to wreck in the last ten laps. I disagreed, I think it would be so disappointing to wreck in the first ten laps. Here you are planning on driving four hundred miles and you end up only driving twenty and have last place money to show for it. Would you kindly help us settle this argument? By the way, Matt Kenseth ran out of gas with three laps to go. That would be very annoying. He was in second place at the time...

David

Last night at Snow Hill we met a fellow who had down-syndrom and his name was David. He was an interesting fellow who was very bright in certain areas. He seemed to have a very good sense of humour. He was continually informing us that we had dirt on our shirts and in our hair. The amazing thing was his ability to tell you a road name or number and tell you what states it goes through. He knew where I95, PA Turnpike, and 297 went. I don't know whether he is a veteran of travel or if he is a long lost relative of Mr. McNally.

Goat Island

Yes, their is a Goat Island. Their is also a Goat Island Rd. This road, however, is no where near the island. Apparently a fellow raised goats on this island years ago. I have no recollection of this but these are the facts that have been relayed to me. This island was farm land at one point in history. After the goats were removed from the island it slowly became a forrest. This summer the owner of the island cleared it and asked the neighbor, Dwayne, to farm it. He agreed and planted close to 18 acres of corn. It is some very fine corn, the best I have seen in a long time. Now, this all sounds well and good but you still need to get to island. Yesterday, Sonny and I made this trek in my 4X4 F250 pick up. I was a tad nervous about attempting such a thing but I steeled my nervous system and forward we went. To get to this Island you have to cross the Staunton River. I would say the river is at least 50 yards wide. The place where we crossed was solid rock and the water was sloshing around the floor boards. The rock was very rough also. In retrospect, it may have been the dumbest thing I have ever done, but I doubt it. I felt somewhat like an explorer but I don't think I will be fording this river on a regular basis...

Tour

VOP has a tour scheduled for this weekend. We will be in Snow Hill MD on Fri. eve. Harmony Sat. eve. Central Mennonite in Dover area on Sunday AM and in Catlett Sun. PM. We look forward to seeing you at one of these churchs.

Sweat

Sweating is something we all do. However some of us tend to sweat much more than others. When I sweat it will appear that I have been standing in the rain. I will literally be soaking wet. My face will have rivers of salty water tracking down my forehead before gleefully slinking into my eyes. When Sierra was two she was able to witness this amazing feat. She looked at my face and said; "Daddy what is wrong with you? Your head is leaking...

Stress

How do you combat stress? Do you go for walks, read, mow the lawn, ride bike, or play football? Maybe you read blogs to help you realize you are not the only person who is stressed out!

Employers

I am wondering who was, or is, the best employer you have ever had and why?

Silence

What is silence? Have you ever expierenced it? Is silence the total absence of sound? Or is silence the absence of noise? Is their a difference? When you are longing for peace and quite does that mean their is no sound?
I was lying on the couch this afternoon for slight siesta. The house was quiet except for the ticking of the clock. This reminded me of my grandaddy's house. The house is located in the middle of some huge oak trees. When the lights are off in the living room it tends to be rather dim. A nice quiet room, except for the ticking of the clock. If that clock wasn't ticking it would be a rather uncomfortable room. It would be to silent. Grandaddy's house would not be the same if that clock would be removed from the premises. So, when I am longing for peace and quiet I long for a room that makes me comfortable. A room with a ticking clock...

Dylan

Dylan climbed this ladder by himslef. Notice Papa's watchful gaze...

 

Uncle Rod

Uncle Rod frying up some Jimmy Deans...

 

The Tale Of The Serpent

Two days ago I noticed a nice long skin lying on top of the block wall of the other house. This made me a little uneasy but my soul was comforted when I remembered I had killed one earlier that was similar in length. However, deep in my trembling heart, I knew the length of the two was not a good match. Their must be another slippery critter in our midst. That same afternoon the young man who was framing in some basement windows glanced up at the floor joists. Wooptydodaday what did he see!? A serpent that was at least six foot long. This causes much distress and I was awake half the night, trying to figure out away to eliminate the snake from my future dwelling. Apparently I was not the only person who was thinking. The fellow working in the basement, Karlin, had a brilliant idea and we acted upon it. We took some old paper seed bags, tore them up and stuffed them into the block wall. Then we took cans of expandable foam insulation and filled the top of the blocks. This should seal the top of the walls and not allow them to sneak into our humble abode. The purpose of the paper was to hold the foam up until it hardened. I think we will have a very tight house by the time we are finished...

One Year Old

L-R Jayden, Dylan, Jackson