Sports Nutz

That is our family. In a previous post I told you about our possible schedule. Well, it happened. Jackson made the football team at Grace Christian School and we now have at least 1 sport to practice or plat on all 7 days of the week. That goes along with regular school work, church, scouts and some leisure time.

So far so good. It has been about 2 1/2 weeks and things are actually going very well. Jackson has a great attitude with everything...including his homework. Benjamin, I think, is feeling a little left out. But we are trying really hard to spend extra time with him. I will play chess with him while Jackson is finishing up his homework instead of letting him watch TV or something. Just to spend that extra time with him is good for him.

I will keep you posted with all the happenings.

Fortune Look-alike Meter - Take 2

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Fortune Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Lindsay Lohan

Ok - I am just beside myself reading about LL and the way she has come after Sarah Palin. First, when did LL become the moral compass for our society. Should that happen, I am moving somewhere else...maybe Canada, but I will not be a part of a society that listens to a closet lesbian who can not stay out of trouble with the law. If LL really knew anything about Sarah Palin and what she believes (in fact what all Christians I know believe) she wouldn't go running her mouth off. What I (and most other Christians I know) believe is that yes, homosexuality is a sin and it says so in the bible. But do I hate homosexuals. No, in fact just the opposite. A motto I have lived by since accepting Jesus is, "Love them 'til they ask why." That seems appropriate. I do love them the way Jesus loves them. But instead of trying to understand a different position, LL goes and bashes Palin. If Palin was a Muslim, there would be so much outcry and backlash against LL that she wouldn't work for years. But since it is a Christian, it's no big deal.

Guess what....IT IS A BIG DEAL!!! Why do we as a society of Christians let people continue to get away with bashing us. We need to stand up for ourselves and say enough is enough. When did it become politically correct to bash Christians? When was that morally ok? Can someone tell me please. I missed that part of the meeting.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

Patriot Day

Today, our scouts at Pack 611 from Cypress, CA held a flag raising ceremony for Grace Christian School, where a majority of the boys go to school. We did this for 2 reasons: (1) We wanted to do a good community service project for our school and (2) we wanted to remember what happened 7 years ago when cowardly men killed thousands of innocent people.Before I spoke today, I did some research on what Patriot Day was and how it came about. Here is what I learned. On December 18th, 2001, the Congress of the United States of America designated that September 11 of each year as Patriot Day. Patriot Day is different than Patriots Day in New England. In the Presidents proclamation on September 8th, 2008, he wrote,

Since 9/11, we have recognized the threat posed by terrorists to the safety of the American people and worked to protect our homeland by fighting terrorists abroad. We are confronting terrorism by advancing freedom, liberty, and prosperity as an alternative to the ideologies of hatred and repression. Our Nation pays tribute to our courageous men and women in uniform serving around the world and the devoted members of our law enforcement, public safety, and intelligence communities at home who work night and day to protect us from harm and preserve the freedom of this great Nation.
Seven years ago, ordinary citizens rose to the challenge, united in prayer, and responded with extraordinary acts of courage, with some giving their lives for the country they loved. On Patriot Day, we remember all those who were taken from us in an instant and seek their lasting memorial in a safer and more hopeful world. We must not allow our resolve to be weakened by the passage of time. We will meet the test that history has given us and continue to fight to rid the world of terrorism and promote liberty around the globe.

I encourage you today, to take a moment from your day to say a prayer for all those who serve and protect us, from around the corner to the far away places. Be thankful that we live in a country where we can worship God in whatever way we choose without fear of punishment or retribution. That our loving and gracious God is always with us, even when we are afraid and alone.
As I spoke and watched the flag go up to the top of the pole and back down to half-staff, I looked out at the 500 or so people that were there and could see that several where in or nearly in tears. It hit me then, that this is my generations defining day. Each generation has one. For my parents it was the JFK assassination, for my grandparents it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I can, to this day, I remember the whole morning very clearly. In the shower, I could not catch my breath...my heart was racing. I knew something wasn't right. I got out of the shower and laid down on my bed and turn on the TV for a few moments to catch my breath. That's when I found out. Total shock. I was very late for work that day and then next several were very difficult trying to get our payroll all over the country without the use of the airplanes.

Do you have memories of 9/11? I would love to hear them.

Ben and the art of carving food

So last year for a school science arts and crafts festival, my youngest, Benjamin, wanted to do somehting with me that was really fun. I suggested making food of some kind. He really likes to cook. So we went on a journey to find some kind of food that we could do for the festival.

No bake cookies...maybe. We wouldn't be able to really use a stove or oven or anything of that nature at the festival...but something to display. I remembered taking a cruise where they put all kinds of fruits and veggies out that were cut into different things.

That was it...food carving. I scoured the internet in the hopes of finding something we could carve that looked like what it was supposed to be...low and behold, I found a lot of things.

Below are 2 of the items we carved. There were more, but I don't have those pictures here right now. Enjoy.

Legoland - Pictures

Watching the 3D Lego Racers Movie

Lego Boats - these are not on tracks...you really drive the boat.
Heroes wanted...Firefighters competition


Rapture Splash..one of the funnest things at Legoland. Waterballoon fight.

Goofy boy.

Tomorrow is Legoland. This is our second year that we have ended our summer at Legoland. How fun this is? If you don't know what Legoland is...for shame. It is an amusement park in San Diego, CA that is most made from and based on legos. My kids are 10 and 8 and their creative juices thrive when they play with legos. This is great fun and I will post pictures from Legoland next week.

Have a great weekend!!!

LOST

Not the TV show (although I am addicted to it...not obsessed, just addicted). Life in general. Now I don't think I am lost in a way that reflects that I have NO direction. Just lost in a way that I don't know which direction to go first. Gina and I were working on our schedule for the upcoming school year. UGH!!!!

Monday - if Jackson make the football team at school, he has games on Monday afternoon.
Tuesday - Benjamin has soccer practive from 5 - 6:30 (dad is coach) and Jackson has batting cages (optional) from 6 - 7pm.
Wednesday - Jackson has Advanced Band for his Trumpet at 7:45am before school - Small group at church at 7pm.
Thursday - Benjamin soccer practice 5 - 6:30 (dad is coach) and both boys have Scouts at 7pm (dad is Cubmaster)
Friday - Jackson has Jazz Band practice for his Trumpet at 7:45am before school - Jackson has baseball practice at 5 - 7pm (dad is coach).
Saturday - Benjamin has soccer games (dad is coach).
Sunday - 2 services at church (1 to attend and 1 to work in Children's Ministry) - Jackson has baseball games (dad is coach).

Not to mention if Jackson does make the football team - he has practice after school.

This kind of snowballed on us. We always let the boys do a sport if they want. It is important for boys to get the energy out at much as possible and frankly they love it and are good at their chosen sports.

Jackson wanted to try his hand at music last year (it was the first time at school he could try an instrument). He chose the trumpet and is something of a prodigy. Gina and I are not musically inclined at all and he has picked it up quickly and is doing wonderfully well. The music director wants him to keep going and he wants to as well (his goal now is to go to USC and march in the band - can you say scholarship!!!).

They have both been doing scouts for several year and I just took over as Cubmaster this past spring.

Our lives have always been busy...but this is going to drive us crazy I think.

I will keep you updated at to the craziness.

Being a parent is hard work

I know to those that are parents this is no news flash. I have been a parent for more than 10 years...it doesn't get easier. My boys are 10 1/2 and 8 (9 in Dec). And just when I thought that they were getting out of the be mean to your brother phase, it rears its ugly head again.

Benjamin is the younger of the 2 boys and he knows exactly how to puch the buttons of his more sensative older brother. Now pushing these button used to cause Jackson (the older) to attack Benjamin physically. Obviously not ok at any time to attack someone...so Jackson would get in trouble for attacking and Benjmain would be hurt but not in trouble. As a parent, you have to deal with the most inappropriate behavior first (and the one that causes phiscal harm qualifies as that). Anyway, as we became more savvy parents, we caught on to the game that was played by Benjamin. It helps that Jackson has calmed down quite a bit and very, very rarely attacks his brother anymore. So noe, Benjamin gets in much more trouble than his older brother....come to think of it, it was this age that Jackson was getting into so much trouble. Maybe there is hope for all of us!!!!

Anyway, Benjamin is also a drama king. He is very strong and very tough for his age. Excpet when his brother does naything al all to him...like touch him. Last night we were out buying new soccer cleats for Benjamin. He was testing them out in the store and ran from the carpet to the hardwood sales area. As you might have guess....SLIP.... right on to his bottom. Now this wasn't a simple slip and fall. He was running full speed and when I turned around to tell him to stop before he got onto the hardwood...too late. When I turned he was mid-air about level with my stomach. I am 6' tall so you do the math. WHAM...right on his bottom. Gina and I held out breath for a minute and when he smiled, we let out a sigh and started to laugh with him. This coupled with the fact that as a soccer player and an attacker at that, he gets knocked down and tackled all the time. He pops back up and keeps going. However, if Jackson shoves him or grabs him, the shrill he lets out you would think that Jackson has actually pulled his arm out of the socket or he was shoved into a glass window.

Luckily, we don't let him get away with this much. It is hard as a parent to discern what is real and what is not. We tell him the story of the boy who cried wolf and such in hopes that he gets it, but only time will tell.

Bucket List

Gina and I watched The Bucket List on Sunday night. WOW. I cna not believe a movie can get me thinking so much about my own life. (Spoiler ALERT!!!) To me the most impactful part of the movie was after Carter died and Edward was giving the eulogy. He said they had only know each other for 3 months. 3 months!!!! But they knew each other so much better than people who have been friends for years or even decades. Edward was very insightful (albeit after the fact) about Carters motives. Carter knew he was helping a stranger and he did it well.

This movie coupled with the recent passing of Randy Pausch (I am reading his book right now) have me really thinking about life and death. If I were to die today (not that I am desiring that in any way), but if I did....who would give me eulogy and what would they say. Gina and I have always had a hard time in our adult lives of getting to know people...becoming friends. Do I have an Edward in my life? Can I say that I am leaving a legacy (ie Randy Pausch) to my children? Not sure...but I am going to be looking at that in all that I do.

See the movie...read the book.

All-Star Game

I sat and watched the Home-Run Derby last night and thought...WOW!!! This guy is amazing. He is hitting everything out of the park. Josh Hamilton really put on an amazing show of power and consistency. But that wasn't always the case for him. He was a drug addict and at some pint wished he would never wake up. "There are bigger plans for you," is what his wife would tell him. A modern day prophetess??? Who knows. But armed with Jesus, he knows that all things are possible. Josh Hamilton's story is bigger than baseball and he knows it. It is bigger than him. In fact it is bigger than anything...except Jesus.

I give credit to Josh Hamilton. He isn't shying away from this opportunity. He is soaking it in for all it is worht. And through it all...he is giving glory to God and Jesus for turning his life around. He couldn't do it on his own. The story of Josh Hamilton shows that no matter how low you are, all hope is never gone.

Life - Continued

It was a sad state in our house this last weekend....we had nothing to do, nowhere to go. You may ask why that is so sad. You see with nothing to do, we didn't know what to do. Do you want to go to the movies, to the drive-in, out to dinner, rent a movie, play games?!?!? So many choices. We actually came close to an argument over having nothing to do. A definite learning experience for our family.

I hope we get more learning experiences...or at least chances to learn.

New line of work - from 1/16/08

New line of work
Well maybe it is new, but additional income. I signed up to be a mystery shopper and went on my first assignment today at lunch. It was easy but kind of stresful. I had to remember all the right questions and I felt bad for the customer service rep. She had no idea that I was pulling her chain. The instructions are to make them think you are buying XYZ product until you suddenly pull out at the last minute. Took me about 20 minutes and I'll get $10 for it. I would have gone to that area of town anyway and they have a good lunch outside the store for really cheap.
I have to fill out paperwork now and call it in, so all in al, I think I will spend about 30 - 35 minutes for pretty easy work. We'll see if I get any other assignments.

Life - from 1/14/08

Life
Seems as though no matter how simple you want to live your life....life just gets in the way!! Gina and I always say how we are going to slow down after Christmas...then after the first of the year....then once we settle into baseball season...then it will be when summer hits...then when the boys are back in school. You know it is just a vicious cycle. Gina just asked me what I was doing and I read her the last part...she started to whimper and said, "It's so sad."
Anyway, even though life is busy, I don't know what else we would do. We would be bored out of our minds if we didn't have all the activities. WOW, that would be cool to try...maybe.

From Sept 1 2005

Entry for September 01, 2005
What is it that drives people to lawlessness in times of tragedy. Is it the helplessness, the stress, the fear of having no control. Probably a little of all, or maybe a lot of all. People seem to lose all sense of reality or right vs wrong or commonsense. These people need help. They need reassurance from people in a position of affect change or take action. why is it taking so long to get relief to this part of our own country. It seems that it didn't take this long to get supplies to other parts of the world. Not that we (the USA) should have neglected our global responsibility to the tsunami, but my word, this is our own country. The richest in the world. Where are the giant corporations. The water companies. Why don't they send in truckloads of water?? I heard that some of the biggies (walmart, automakers) are doing something. Good. Money is only the first step. They will need help getting lives back together.

Switching from Yahoo 360

It may take a day or 2, but I am switch my blog from yahoo 360. Not that anyone reads my blog right now. But who knows. I am just an average guy putting my thoughts to paper...or screen as it were.