B-E-A-U-TI-FUL!!!

No, this post is not about my extremelly hot wife, but it is about the hot day that we had today! It is really no secret that I love it hot! I would rather be sweating and enjoying the heat then to be freezing my butt off! Today it got pretty hot in my dad's shop, which is where I work. The thermometer inside by my fans registered about 95°. So I took it outside and laid it in my jeep, which had it's top down and it was 112°. I took the picture to the left of it when I got it close to the shade and it cooled down some, but you can see how high it had gotten. I put it inside my brother's black Avalance and it went all the way to the top of the thermometer, about 130°. As I sat in the shop all I could think about was that glorious ride home I was going to have in my jeep! Usually I drive home as fast as I can, but today I took my time and enjoyed this great weather that we are having. I LOVE RIDING TOPLESS!!! Now you can go ahead and tell me how sick I am, but I am going to laugh and celebrate! Oh yeah, and we gave our sweet little puppy, Zoey, her first summer haircut!

Blog, Blogging, Blogged......

The word blog comes from two words being smashed together: web and log. The thing about most blogs though is that they are not private. You can make them private, but most people don't. I have chosen not to make mine private. I figure if people want to read it and they don't like what they read, then they don't have to read it. Or they can comment back or email me and discuss my thoughts and views. But for the most part I write things with the thought in mind that other people are reading it and they may not like what I have to say or it might hurt someone's feelings. So I temper my opinions somewhat. But the reality is that it is not a private diary and so I need to be somewhat careful with what I say. Having said all that feel free to leave comments about what I say or even email me and tell me what you think, if you don't want to leave a comment for everyone else to read. The free flow and exchange of ideas is what will help us all grow. And realize that the opinions expressed here are my own and you need to just agree with them.

She is 9!!!!!!!

I can not believe that Hannah is now 9 years old! Time flies so fast. It seemed like just yesterday we were heading off to the hospital for the birth of our first child. And now we are taking her to Cold Stone Creamery for her free ice cream. Where did all the time go?

8 Years in a Row!!!

After 2,272.4 miles, 21 days of riding (with only 3 rest days), and 89 hours 39 minutes 30 seconds of actual bike riding time (averaging 25 miles per hour) Floyd Landis has continued the American dominance in le Tour de France! After 7 years of dominance by Lance Armstrong everyone was wondering who was going to become the newest king of the road. I was pulling for George Hincapie, but he just couldn't do it. So Floyd stepped up and did his best impersonation of Lance. The Phonak cycling team and Floyd are going to be a force to reckon with in the coming years. Congratulations to Floyd and Team Phonak! And congrats to all of le Tour winners..... Italy's Damiano Cunego (best young rider) in the white and light blue jersey, US's Floyd Landis (overall leader) in the maillot jaune (yellow jersey), Denmark's Michael Rasmussen (best climber) in the polka dot jersey and of Australia's Robbie Mc Ewen (best sprinter) in the green jersey.

They Are Growing Up So Fast!!!

As you can see in the pic above, Caleb has no front teeth on the top of his mouth. On Tuesday, when Kimmy and I where just starting our pre-marital counseling with a couple that I am performing the wedding ceremony of in September. Caleb came running into the room and said that his second tooth on top was "REALLY wiggily"! He pulled the other one out at 4:30a on Saturday. So I grabbed him and said that it was coming out now. So I grabbed a washcloth and got it nice and wet. Then I sat on my bed and pulled him across my lap and he held his mouth closed. I told him that I get two pulls and then I won't bother him anymore and told him to open his mouth. He opened up and I started wiggling the tooth and so he began to cry that it hurt, which I know it didn't. But I gave one quick yank and told him to suck on the washcloth. Then I showed him that I had his tooth. He was so happy! Later that evening I went into his room and told him to say, "Suzy sells seasheslls by the seashore." He did and then laughed when he realized how funny he sounded. But then I started thinking about how fast my little kids are growing up. Next week Hannah will be turning 9 years old! Her last year in the single digits. I thought about the fact that in 7 years my little girl will be driving! And then I realized that I will also be 40! I am WAY too young to be turning 40 in 7 years. Where has the time gone?

I Am Supposed to be Her Protector

Last week Monday, Kimmy fell out of our attic as she was getting on the ladder. The ladder rocked and went one way and she went the other. She came crashing back to earth on the hard concrete of our garage. after she fell she got up walked in the house and got some ice from the freezer to ice down her arm. She was just going to sit there icing it, even though she suspected she broke it, until I came home almost an hour later. The kids were both gone down the street playing with their friends. So she was there by herself. After 10 minutes she decided that she should call me and tell me. So she called my mobile phone, which she knows I can't hear in the shop. I was planning on leaving about a half hour early, because we had a lot of things to do. So as I was getting ready to leave, I saw I had a voicemail. I listened to it and she calmly asked me to give her a call when I got a chance. So I called her right back since I was leaving. She answers the phone and I can hear the panic in her voice, that was completely absent in the voice mail, and she tells me that she fell out of the attic and that she thinks she broke her arm. I freaked out and told her that I would be home right away and that I was gonna leave then anyway. So I rushed home and only bent a few laws on the way. I got home and we waited until my mom arrived so we could head off to the hospital. We got to the hospital and were helped and out of there in pretty good time, with the news that she had in fact broke her elbow. They put it in a splint and wrapped it from wrist to shoulder. I felt so bad for her. We were told that she would need to be in a cast for 6 weeks, which meant that she would be in a cast for our trip to California in August for Derek and KT's wedding. After that I took her out to eat and then we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest since the kids were staying overnight with my parents. We both loved the movie and think the critics are nuts for panning it. Kimmy went to see the orthopedic doctor and he said that she would only need to be in the cast for 2 weeks. So she won't be in the cast when we go to Cali. BTW, it is a blue cast as you can see! I must say that I had a hard time with this because I am supposed to be there to protect her.

It Was Only a Name Change, But.....

It really stirred up a lot of feelings in me. I found out the other day that my old student ministry changed their name. At first, I thought about how stupid that is. It bothers me when a church gets a new pastor to students and one of the first thing they do is change the name. I don't get this mind set. When you change senior pastor's they don't usually change the name of the church. But yet they somehow think that it is the thing to do with student ministries. Why do pastor to student's do this? Here is my theory. Mainly because they are so insecure and want to erase any memory of the former guy. They act like a dog peeing in a yard to mark off it's territory after another dog did the same thing. Now I want to add that I changed the name of the student ministry there when I came on board, but that was because the old name hadn't even been used for over a year. I did not do it to erase the other guy's name, in fact, I did my best to honor his name. I would not entertain people telling me stories about how bad he was or anything like that. And several times at Good Friday or Christmas Eve services, he would come back to visit and I would always try to be one of the first one's to go and greet him. But enough about that..... I think more pastor to students need to move past their big egos and get over themselves. It isn't about them anyway. It is about the students. And the name even though it really isn't much, has quite likely become a part of their identity. So to change the name doesn't make much sense to me, unless the name is really lame. But the more I thought about it, the happier I was. Why, you ask? Because now I have no ties or link to the student ministry there. It was like the final thing that needed to break for me to feel fully released from there. Now I am no longer worried that what I had built there was not being properly maintained, because I have no connection there anymore. While I don't like them changing the name, something inside of me is rejoicing about it.

Zoey's First K-9 Cup

We took Zoey to the Custard Spot for her first taste of ice cream. And there they have what they call the K-9 cup. Basically, it is a bowl of soft serve ice cream with a dog biscuit on the side. When I put the cup down in front of her she saw the biscuit and immediately went for it, but this white pointy thing poked her and she looked over at it with an annoyed look. So she sniffed it and realized that it smelled good and took a little taste. Then all of her muscles tensed up as she intently began to dig into the ice cream. She stayed completely focused on it until another dog showed up and then she became more interested in barking at the other dog.

Congratulazione Italia!!!

Italy won the 2006 World Cup! They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let these do the job..... It was asked for! The Zidane meltdown taht led to his red card!

Our Family Vacation

Every year since I was a kid my family would take a camping trip up to the great city of Manistee, MI for the Fourth of July. You can where Manistee is on the map above. This little city puts on a really cool celebration for the Fourth of July called the Manistee National Forest Festival. Interesting little fact is that this is near the same place that I go deer hunting every year. In fact, we hunt in the Manistee National Forest. In Manistee, MI there is a theatre called the Ramsdell Theater, which was built in 1903 by Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell. It was the very theater that James Earl Jones got his start. And he also happened to be a graduate of the University of Michigan, but I digress.... If you don't recognize the name James Earl Jones, perhaps you will recognize the name Darth Vader from Star Wars, he was the voice for the famous villain. The picture you see to the left is of my son, Caleb, acting up on that very stage! We went to Magoon Creek Nature Center with the kids and had a good time. They have a trail that you can walk down and learn about the different kinds of plants and trees that you find in the northern parts of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They also had an old fashioned hand water pump that I showed the kids how they used to have to get water from in the old days. They thought it was pretty neat. The park is located along the shores of Lake Michigan and the picture you see is of Hannah sitting on the railing along the cliff by the shore. It was very beautiful there! One day we spent on the beach with my cousin Jennifer, Jason, Travis and my great Aunt Cora and great uncle Jack, along with my cousin Jennifer's dog, Logan. Logan is in the picture looking at Caleb on the beach. We had a fun time. We threw a toy out into the water that Logan would go and retrieve for us. Some of us brave souls braved the frigid waters of Lake Michigan and swam out to the sand bar. We also collected some rocks from the lake for Jennifer's rock garden. (Yes, we know they don't really grow) And when we went to gather up the rocks and walk back up the steps to our car, we got about half way up the steps when I realized that I did not have my wedding ring on anymore. When I put my watch on I had forgotten that I attached my wedding ring to it and must have dropped it in the sand. And when I went to go back to look for it, I could not find it. So now I am on the search for a new one. Kimmy and I had always talked about swapping ours out for white gold, but I had always hoped I would have my original one. But, oh well, what can you do? Some of the traditional things that we do every year is the..... Parade on the Fourth of July.... Here the kids are getting anxious for the floats, candy, and the main attraction..... This is a lot of the group from my family that make the trip every year. And this is the main attraction every year. The World Famous Scottville Clown Band. These guys are not only absolutely hysterical to watch because of their crazy outfits, but they are VERY good! Carmel Corn!!! No trip to Manistee is complete without the delicious carmel corn. This little trailer that sells this delicious stuff has been doing so since the 1930's and the granddaughter of the guy who started it still runs it with her mom! It is the best carmel corn you will ever put in your mouth! And of course the fireworks! OOOOOOH!!! AAAAAAH!!! The grand finale! Another great year in Manistee and another great vacation! This little town puts on quite a show as you can see! And in case you are wondering about my family history in this town, check out this pick of my grandma from her high school yearbook that I found in the museum there. If you want to see more pics of our trip you can see them on our family's website.