Saturday, May 28, 2005

Spring in the Midwest

I just love spring in the Midwest. The past week we've had sunny skies, highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's. Perfect weather to my way of thinking (thank you, Mary Poppins). It was so nice this morning that Lovely Wife and I decided to have breakfast on the veranda. That last sentence should be read with a Thurston Howell III voice. Ham and cheese omelets and hash browns and this view. It really was quite enjoyable. Everything is growing so nicely with a rich and vibrant shade of green. I decided that I should also take a picture of the front of the house. Then, I realized that you can't really see the house so well from the street. It reminds me of my haircut in High School. Down in my face and over my eyes. Nobody could see me. I think I wanted it that way. I wonder if my house has issues. I think it does.

Sunday, May 22, 2005

4th Annual Video Scavenger Hunt

It's really quite a fun thing. Our Youth Pastor, Big Tommy P., twists his mind to come up with a list of "to do's" that must be caught on videotape. Each item is worth a set number of points. Each team has two hours to get the most points. The team that captures the most points in two hours is the winner. Sounds easy, until you see the list. Here are a few pics of this years event.

Friday, May 20, 2005

The Lovely Daughter and I have been playing quite a bit of Gin Rummy lately. The gal is quite the card sharp, so I've often had to utilize my "knock fast" strategy. One particular day last week, she had beaten me...badly...again. I demanded a rematch. We played a second game and I skunked her. She had zero points. Not one single point. Zippo. Anyway, we decided to play a third game for all the marbles. We had been playing to 164 points--don't ask me why. It was my bright idea to play for "Gloating Privileges". The winner would have unlimited gloating privileges. In hindsight, this turned out to be a mistake. It was a hard fought game, but she got the better of me. I think she caught on to my "knock fast" strategy--she was able to undercut me a few times. At any rate, she won. And boy did she let me know it. She cackled and howled, she did a little dance, she filled the scorepad with gloats. Then she put the scorepad on the fridge. That girl is a darn good gloater. The next day, I had to sign something for school and she put a sticky note on it with--you guessed it--gloats. Man, that chick can gloat.

She carried on with this for about a week, whereupon I challenged her to a rematch--with gloating privileges. She was silly enough to accept. She had already won unlimited G.P. and was willing to play for them again. As you might guess (since I'm writing about it) I won. She lost the G.P. No longer can she cast herself as the Gin master. Nooo, oh noooo, I AM THE GIN MASTER!!! We also quickly discovered that my gloating skills leave much to be desired. But I'm willing to learn. I have a lifetime to improve, cause I won't be playing her for G.P. any time soon.

Thursday, May 12, 2005

A friend recently sent me some pictures of a Haboob in Iraq. Amazing. I wish I was there--well, almost
It's a slide show. Just click on the "right" arrow to see the next picture.

Monday, May 9, 2005

BoyHead's First Check

As avid readers of the Family Page may know, BoyHead recently got his first job. He's working at a nearby Country Club (no, they wouldn't have us as members) mowing lawns, edging, working on the greens and whateverelsetheyask. Just part-time for now, but once the summer break starts, it will be a full-time gig. He was ecstatic to receive his first check today. That car won't be far off now.

Sunday, May 8, 2005

Happy Mother's Day

Lovely Wife has outdone herself once again on her Mother's Day gift giving. She created another masterpiece for her mother. She gold-leafed the frame and painted a hummingbird with watercolors. I think she even added flecks of bird colored stuff in the paint to give it that hummingbird shimmer. I suppose that I did my part this Mother's Day. I got my mother a very nice study Bible. I wrote my lovely wife some classic poetry. Here is but a small sample:

There once was a woman named Kristie
When I think of her my eyes get misty
She is filled with such love
From Heaven above
Without her I’d just be a gypsy

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Ordination

On this day, I was ordained as a Deacon in the First Baptist Church. I had served for one year in the ministry and had been given an opportunity to "get my feet wet". After the first year, Deacons then have an opportunity to give their testimony to the Church and be ordained. The highlight of my testimony was when I was at a Promise Keepers meeting. Thousands of men gathered together on a Sunday morning singing and praising God. Suddenly, I felt the certain and overwhelming presence of God. Words could not explain my emotions at the time. Completely overwhelmed is all I can come up with. It lasted for quite a while--several songs. Nor was I the only one to experience it. But after a moment such as that, there is no longer any room for doubts. Anyway, after I gave my testimony, L.W. and I were prayed over by the congregation. It was a very moving experience and one that I'll never forget.

Sunday, May 1, 2005

The Annual August Plein Aire Event

I believe it's the Third Annual--although L.W. has only been involved for the past two years. Last year there were over 100 artists creating masterpieces in the MO wine country that surrounds Augusta. Lovely wife created a lovely piece that was much underrated amongst the "art snobs". It was a lovely, bucolic landscape, complete with a pond and some duckies. She also created a bright and lively piece that I like to call "Iri" (hey, that's plural for Iris). For this effort, L.W. received an Honorable Mention. Bravo and Congrats to Lovely Wife, the Artiste.