tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77031592115855951872024-02-06T23:01:05.510-05:00Random Thoughts with RobRandom Thoughts from a Random GuyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-13027035873326276402011-04-05T18:09:00.003-04:002011-04-05T18:11:40.833-04:00PLEASE VOTE FOR JORDAN<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.instructables.com/image/F6W27C0GM0COJAY/Making-an-xbox-360-laptop-part-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://www.instructables.com/image/F6W27C0GM0COJAY/Making-an-xbox-360-laptop-part-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Dear Friends,<br /><br />Please take the time to vote for my son in this contest. You will have to log<br />in to vote, but it is worth it. Jordan has worked very hard at this<br />project to resurrect a dead XBOX and a dead monitor to make his very own<br />XBOX Laptop! If all my friends vote, I would appreciate it very much<br />as would Jordan.<br /><br />Voting ends Wednesday.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-an-xbox-360-laptop-part-1/">Making an XBOX 360 Laptop.</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Thank you,<br /><br />RobAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-7042907790165224892010-12-22T21:20:00.000-05:002010-12-22T21:21:32.492-05:00Our 2010 LHCF Childrens Christmas Play<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1jNsIyYcJfM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1jNsIyYcJfM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-30820848101607937742010-05-05T08:08:00.004-04:002010-05-05T08:26:06.141-04:00Whirlwind Tour<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/4577406516_897619bbc9.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/4577406516_897619bbc9.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />My family and I just got back from a whirlwind tour.<br /><p><br />We were going down to North Carolina. But on the way, we stopped at Hillbilly Hotdogs for a great meal and a great time. If you are ever in West Virginia, make the time to stop in Lesage.<span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4576461225_c5773c7fe6.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4576461225_c5773c7fe6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span></p><p>We got back on the road and made it to our destination. The place we stayed in was wonderful and it gave our family a much needed break from things.<br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;" ><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3405/4576544237_48f8f83b27.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3405/4576544237_48f8f83b27.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span></span><br />From there, we worked at Gospel Fest. That was the reason we came down. It was an awesome time! Andrea and I led the children area and had a blast. Our kids helped us and were the best help we have had!<span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4576568797_038537667b.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4576568797_038537667b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span></p><p><br />Somewhere along the trip Andrea and I thought, "Since we are down here, we should go to the Atlantic." So it was off to Virginia Beach for us. We had a nice trip there, threw on some swim suits, and headed to the ocean! One thing to note... If you ever take an impromptu trip to Virginia Beach, TAKE SANDALS!!! That sand is HOT!!! I am not sure how it didn't turn into glass!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4576657029_960d89efc4.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4576657029_960d89efc4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p><br />After the beach, we looked at each other and said, "Let's go to Washington DC!" That is a really neat, but confusing place. We didn't get to see much because we didn't plan the trip, but we still had a great time looking at the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4577430076_19f7824f5d.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4577430076_19f7824f5d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/4576789735/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/4576789735_9ea129ed78.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /></div><p>From there, we took some rest in Maryland. When we got up, it was raining, but fortunately it stopped before we got too far in the mountains of Pennsylvania. From there it was a trip home through Ohio, but we were too anxious to get home, so we didn't stop at Tony Paco's.<br /><br />That was a great time with our family and I am glad we did it!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-33789036298920856742010-04-26T09:17:00.002-04:002010-04-26T09:17:52.744-04:00I love my girls!<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/4540691972/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4540691972_ed6988ea57.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/4540691972/">DSC_0082</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/rcelliott/">rcelliott</a>.</span></div><p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-25175707171051063732010-03-17T07:14:00.002-04:002010-03-17T07:15:28.261-04:00Photo Share Family Birthdays<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/4437386501/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2681/4437386501_d921840e68.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/4437386501/">Family Birthdays Frankenmuth 022</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/rcelliott/">rcelliott</a>.</span></div><p>This is my dad. I caught him when we were all up in Frankenmuth this past weekend sharing our family birthdays. March sees three of us in the Elliott clan having birthdays. My sister is on the 18th, mine the 20th, and my dad's the 22nd.<br /><br />I would like to take a minute to say Happy Birthday to Lisa (my sister), and to my dad! I love you both!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-42831033514276188982010-03-02T07:25:00.002-05:002010-03-02T07:38:28.779-05:00Rough Couple of MonthsSo, I haven't blogged much of anything. It has been a really rough couple of months. After my shoulder surgery I spent 4 hours a day in a chair that moved my arm. From there I went to therapy. As you can tell, my time was pretty full with recovery.<br /><br />In mid-January I went back to work. After two months off, I was way behind. My company sends more email in a day than most of the internet does in a year, so I have been working after hours and every spare minute I can to attempt to catch up. While this was going on, so was therapy, ministry, family, and home exercises.<br /><br />Well, that took it's toll on me. on February 11, I fell off my stairs. I didn't fall down them, so you didn't read a typo. I literally fell off them. I was walking up the stairs and, BOOM!!! On my head into my laundry room I landed. Needless to say that hurt pretty bad.<br /><br />As if that wasn't enough, I decided that I wanted to get sick on that day, too. I spent that weekend under about 1,000 pounds of blankets with a fever. I think I slept through the entire weekend.<br /><br />That started the cycle of pneumonia. Though I tried to go back to work, I ended up sick the next weekend as well. I was coughing so hard that I hurt my ribs, stomach, hips, and back.<br /><br />So, for the last nine days I have officially been battling pneumonia. Though I don't have the sickness side of things thanks to the anti-biotics, I have still been working toward healing. Everything is a chore right now and I just do what I can do. I am trying to take everything easy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-16538832999818018012010-01-22T07:46:00.001-05:002010-01-22T07:46:46.770-05:00The Butterfly Circus<iframe width="540px" height="300px" id="dpWidget" src="http://www.thedoorpost.com/embed/?film=4dd298f102c77b625cf37a9e7744ac68"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-62389278872916934332010-01-18T10:51:00.003-05:002010-01-18T12:03:21.063-05:00Recovery Part 1Well, it has been nearly 8 weeks since my rotator cuff surgery. I thought I would take a minute to share some of what recovery has been like.<br /><br />On November 27 I had my surgery. For all I know, it went well. I was asleep when it happened, so I really can't comment on how the surgery went. That being said, I can say everything seemed well. The hospital staff was great and took really good care of me. They were very good at telling me everything that was about to happen, except the nerve block part. My nurse told me the anesthesiologist was coming to tell me about it and then administer it. Unfortunately, how it went down was that this guy came in with some kind of space aged weapon that was about 2' long and had a laser sight on it. He then told me to turn my head as he shot me between the neck and the shoulder. It hurt like crazy, then... I can't feel my shoulder. I can't feel my elbow. I can't feel my arm. I can't feel my hand. I can't feel my fingers. WOW that thing works well!!!<br /><br />After that most everything becomes a blur. I remembered two very funny guys picking me up and wheeling me to... Then I remember waking up.<br /><br />I know Andrea drove me home, but I can't remember much of the rest of that day, or the several days that followed. I remember her talking to her friends on the phone. Apparently, they were encouraging her to get me on pain meds as soon as I awoke. This was a good thing in a way, as I remember that it was pretty painful. I wonder, though, that they were more encouraging her to give me pain meds in order to have a break from me by keeping me drugged.<br /><br />If the latter was the case, it didn't work very well. I found by Sunday morning that I was having an "itchy" reaction to the Perkicet that I was prescribed. It was so bad that I was completely unable to rest. Imagine for a moment that you can't keep your eyes open. You are sitting in a chair. You are in pain. You might be in twilight, but, all of the sudden, your skin is on fire, and though you can't keep your eyes open, you are using a back scratcher (affectionately named "Scratchy") to scratch everywhere on your body! That is what I was feeling.<br /><br />So, Sunday marked the end of pain meds. That led to the coming down. As I mentioned before the only place to sleep after such a surgery is my chair. Well, on said chair is a foot rest. The only problem with said foot rest is that the handle is on the right side. The problem with that is, according to my paranoid, coming down off big pain meds mind, is that, "if the house catches fire, I will be unable to get out of the chair!" So began several weeks of sleeping with the combination of Lazy-Boy and piano stool.<br /><br />There is another chair in my life. This chair slowly moves my arm up and down. It has been a helpful therapy tool. For four hours a day I sit in this chair and slowly "row my arm to recovery."<br /><br />Two weeks after surgery I attempted to go back to work. This was DUMB! No matter how bad the economy is, I was not ready, or able to work that soon after surgery. Call me a wimp, but I just couldn't do it. I had no stamina. It was near impossible to get in and out of my car that many times in a day. The seat was not wide enough to support my shoulders. Yup... Too painful.<br /><br />This was where a great thing happened in my life. My boss noticed that I had a large bank of sick days. I was able to take the entire Christmas week off, the entire New Year week off, and an additional week off. I have to say that this made a huge difference in my recovery.<br /><br />Over these weeks off I started therapy. This has been the hardest part for me. Though I have been in my recovery chair, my shoulder has frozen in several directions. That being said, most of my therapy sessions involve a lot of either E-Stimm, or Ultra Sound treatment and a lot of stretching. I have done a lot of hard work, but the results have been minimal. I have about 90 degrees rotation in several directions, but that comes with a lot of pain, and there is no further pushing that can happen at this time. I also have less than no outward rotation. Since this is the most visible of the three directions I have been measured on, it is the most fun at parties (LOL). Seriously though it is weird to see. For your own visual, imagine the following. Place your arm down at your side. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees. Now have someone place one of their hands on your elbow, holding it in place, while taking their other hand and grabbing your hand, pull your wrist outward. Mine literally does not move.<br /><br />Though this has been challenging, I have been working as hard as I can. I am not allowed to move the arm on its own, so I am doing all of the assisted stretches I have been prescribed. Everywhere I look I find an opportunity to stretch. Sitting at the table??? put my arm out in front of me and slowly lean forward. Lean forward and let the arm hang out. Swing it from side to side. You get the idea.<br /><br />I have noticed that everything takes longer with this shoulder brace on. A shower takes about 20 minutes. Getting dressed takes about 10 minutes. Getting my seat belt on has taken about one minute, but has improved with the help from my family. Driving has become slower due to the fact that I only have one arm to steer with and I have become more cautious than ever. Eating is an obvious challenge where two utensils are needed. Hugging is challenging as are a number of other things.<br /><br />That being said, I see the doctor today. I should get the okay to go back to work. I am also hoping that I can get the okay to get out of the shoulder brace. I will be able to live if I can't get out of the brace. I am just hoping that I can.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-44722349235008150702009-11-23T07:31:00.003-05:002010-01-05T21:06:44.880-05:00A Long RoadI know I haven't posted text in a while. It isn't for lack of ideas, it may have to do with too many ideas. I can tell you that I want to write about a million and one things lately, but haven't been able to. Just to prove it to you, I will tell you some of the things I am not going to write about today.<br /><br />I was added to the pastoral team at Lord of the Harvest on November 1. Though I am very excited about this I am not going to write about it now.<br /><br />MTB-Life/Soul Cycles won another Michigan Endurance series. I was a part of it. I actually rode well for a fat guy, but, I am not going to write about that today either.<br /><br />My boys also won the points series for two man endurance team. They did an awesome job. They really tried and pushed themselves pretty hard. I am very proud of them.<br /><br />I coached a perfect season of soccer this year. We didn't win a single game. That being said, my girls, and the other girls on the team all played well. They worked hard and learned a lot about the game. But, this post isn't about that either.<br /><br />I want to write a number of faith topics as well. I want to write about the error or placing Conservatism over Christ. I want to talk about this badly... Some other time.<br /><br />I want to look at the church. I want to dive into the concept of the Bride of Christ. I will do this as I am studying it, but not today.<br /><br />I want to talk about the log and the speck. It needs to be addressed. Just not in this post.<br /><br />Okay, Rob... What in the world DO you want to write about today? Well, I will tell you. On August 1, I went to race. I entered as a solo racer for the Stony Creek Endurance race. I had no intention of winning. I am still very out of shape for that. I entered to push myself and see what I can do against other riders who are in shape.<br /><br />Less than 10 miles into the race I was in trouble. I was having a lot of pain in my left knee. It hurt to pedal. By mile 30, I gave up and called it a day. It was very disheartening for me. I know I won't be as thin or as fast as I used to, but I hate the feeling of taking steps backward in my health when I am trying to get some things stabilized. <br /><br />August then became a month of finding what happened to my knee. Several visits to a specialist and an MRI ended up not with results, but insults. I further learned that I am fat. I don't need a guy with a PHD to tell me the obvious. I need him to diagnose my knee and get me back in the game. He finally told me to go ride and see how the knee holds up.<br /><br />September 1 I got back on the trail. Nathan and I went out to Stony Creek to spin some miles together. About 3 miles into it I had to shake my hands out from riding on the gravelly two track. I did this as I entered a fun section of single track known as the Pines. I was just coming out of a left turn and into a little rolling down hill when I went to put my right hand back on the bars. Unfortunately I didn't do it in time. It ended up being a long endo. So long, in fact, that I nearly wrote a book by the time the crash ended. I was thinking to myself, "Hmm, knee isn't bad... When I get back to the car, I am going to post ""Back in the Saddle Again"" on my facebook... Oh no! This is gonna hurt... Why??? I can't believe I missed the bars... Try not to land on my head and break my neck again...OOOOOOFFFFFF... Was I really going that fast... OUCH... I hope Nathan doesn't have a camera... OOOOOOHHH... How many times can one guy hit the ground anyway??? OW!!! Why can't I breath??? Did my handlebars just go through my ribs??? Not on that shoulder again... Andrea is going to kill me..." Until finally I ended up in a heap on the bottom of the trail.<br /><br />Nathan came upon me and helped me get myself back together. We limped out of the trail as I broke my shifter, possibly losing it somewhere in my body. I was also hurt pretty bad. So, one month to the day later and I knew I was facing another setback. What I didn't know was how long I would be set back.<br /><br />After about three weeks the ribs started to feel a little better. They felt well enough for me to try to spin on my trainer. As I tried I noticed it was hard to put weight on my right arm. I had noticed that it was hard to move, but didn't think much of it. I thought that I had hurt it, but it was still a little bruised and it would go away eventually.<br /><br />October came and the middle of the month held the last of the Michigan Endurance races. The boys needed to race one more time for points (BTW, they got robbed this year as the promoter put them in a wrong class for one race forcing us to have to make a decision about which class to race as he refused to fix his error. Did I mention that it ultimately caused the boys to win the series but NOT get the title and jackets they earned even though it was his error. Way to go in not encouraging the future of the sport and your future bill payers..) We hooked up with the team and got the last race going. The team had had a little rough of a year so I did my best to cheer them up. I was sending out emails telling them that I was at 80% and should be ready to kill it by race day. <br /><br />On my first lap I knew by the first bump that something was more than sore in my shoulder. I only rode the minimum of the day because that was all that my arm was capable of. I was in a lot of pain by the end of the night. I knew I had to go to the doctor.<br /><br />I will not bore you with the visits or the MRI details. I will just say that this time I was not picked on for being fat. This time I was told I have some sever tearing in my rotator cuff, and that I needed surgery to get back to normal. Since I can't pick my arm up without help this is the boat I am in. The surgery is scheduled for this Friday. I don't want yet another set back to losing weight and getting healthy, but since I can't function properly right now this is mandatory. I am hoping I recover quickly and can get back to normal as it has been a very long few months. I have been averaging about 3 hours of sleep a night and am feeling a little out of it more and more each day.<br /><br />But, this Friday offers me hope. If all goes well, I will be recovering and sleeping like normal very soon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-81978084856683239202009-10-05T07:22:00.002-04:002009-10-05T07:47:13.784-04:00On this Day in History18 years ago, on this day in history, one of the most wonderful things happened to me. I was standing there in a white suit watching the most beautiful woman in the world walk toward me and commit to share the rest of her life with me. I remember the feeling of awe and amazement I had as my pastor and I both remarked on how beautiful she looked. She could have had any guy in the room, or the world for that matter, but she chose to spend her life with me.<br /><br />She decided to spend her life with me. We have had some big extremes in our marriage. Both of us have seen each other near death. I am not exaggerating that either. I have seen her on life support and she has seen me with a broken neck. Fortunately we both fought through that to spend more time together. <br /><br />She decided to care for me. She has supported me through thick and thin. She has covered my weaknesses and faults. She has been patient when I had no clue. She has been firm when I was out of line. She has encouraged me to reach my potential.<br /><br />She decided to love me. She puts up with my love for things that pedal. She leans on me during church. She makes hot tea on cold nights. She holds my hand. She talks to me about everything. She has been my best friend and has let me be hers. <br /><br />She wanted to raise a family with me. We have four of the best children that a family could ever have. Each unique. Each stamped with a little of mom and dad. She cares for them and teaches them to be all that God created them to be. I look at them and love them each individually for who they are. I also look at them and thank Father for the woman who willingly shared her life with me and desired to raise them.<br /><br />She is awesome and special in so many ways. She could have been anything she ever wanted to be. She is beautiful enough to catch the eye of anyone, but chose me. She is smart enough that she could have done anything, but chose to give her life to me. She is pure enough that any man would know she is "a keeper", but she chose to "keep" me.<br /><br />Today I celebrate my wife. I thank God for her. She is truly a gift of His great love. She has modeled His love to me in so many ways. Her love has been greater than anything I could ever imagine.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing your life with me! I love you with all my heart!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-2348649164596416352009-09-11T23:17:00.002-04:002009-09-11T23:21:58.372-04:00Photo Share 9-11-09<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3887675153_1cc9798540.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3887675153_1cc9798540.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3887886737_b7cfe864de.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3887886737_b7cfe864de.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3888081081_769bf4388d.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3888081081_769bf4388d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/3887856023/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3518/3887856023_33a35c4023.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.8em;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/3887856023/">Detroit Zoo 099</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/rcelliott/">rcelliott</a>.</span></div><p>I had a chance to sneak away with the wife and kids for a few minutes at the Detroit Zoo. It was a great time and I got some good shots of the animals.</p><p>These were a few of my favorites.</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157622243873662/"><br /></a></p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157622243873662/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157622243873662/</a></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-11047149013756755232009-09-01T07:13:00.002-04:002009-09-01T07:36:46.529-04:00A Mixed Bowl of ThoughtWell, I have had a lot going on lately. There are so many things I don't know where to start, but I figure I better write something. <br /><br />It has been one month exactly since I have been on my bike last. I can't afford injuries that have no explanation and lay me up so long. My visits to the doctor were nothing more than insulting moments in my life. I shouldn't have to go to a knee specialist to tell me I am fat. I also don't like the idea of taking drugs, then riding. Furthermore, I don't like the idea of going there and not getting any real information, other than being told I am fat.<br /><br />So, I haven't been on the bike for a month to learn I am fat. I now have the ok to attempt to ride, though. I hope to give it a shot this week and see how it goes. If I run into the same feelings, then I am going to seek a second opinion. I don't want anything to be wrong with the knee, I just don't want to ride and have it hurting as bad as it does.<br /><br />We had our Vacation Bible School several weeks ago. Ah, another time for me to be myself! I can be as obnoxious as I want to be, and people love me for it. Our theme this year was based on the sea. We wrote the plan for this VBS as we couldn't find one that went well. Andrea and I came up with the theme, the main stories, and the music, then everyone else worked like crazy to put the rest together. Everyone who was involved, I thank you.<br /><br />Overall the VBS went well. Several things worked against us as far as turnout, but in the end it was possibly the best VBS in a long time. The kids got into it and were blessed.<br /><br />Along with VBS we put together a tutoring program. This has been a blessing to our kids and to us. This would never have happened if we had not backed out of going to Colombia. It was a challenge for us to do that because our hearts are in missions, and we had planned to take the entire family, but it was God. I don't think it was a week after we made the decision to stay home that the door opened for us to do this. I will say all I really do is eat animal crackers with my pastors grandkids while the smart people actually do the tutoring, but hey, someone has to do it.<br /><br />This past Saturday we took part in Summerfest. It went really well. Normally our church has its own event, but this time we partnered with about 11 other ministries. We held our event at a park across the street from the church. We did hair, nails, family photos, bike repair, food, clothing, and a ton of other fun stuff throughout the day. In the end we ministered to 3,000 people and saw over 200 saved. It was a good time.<br /><br />Other than that, I have been gearing up for Kitty's soccer season. I will be coaching again. This year she moved up to U12. It should be fun.<br /><br />Beyond that I have been thinking about a number of things. Planting a church has come back up on my heart as things are starting to level out with our friends. This has been on my heart for years. Due t the craziness of the past year I put the whole thing on hold. I have to say that it is a heaviness now to me. I need to start moving again.<br /><br />We have been several months without XBOX. I am not sure I like it. Ours hit us with the red ring of death, and hasn't recovered. We tried to fix it. That was a mistake because after we tried we found out it was still under warranty. Needless to say the fix didn't work anyway.<br /><br />I guess that is about it. There have been some other things going on, but I can't type them now as I have to get ready for work.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-53601530883811452992009-07-15T08:12:00.002-04:002009-07-15T08:51:38.269-04:00Things I saw on my vacationWell, the family took its first official vacation. Andrea and I loaded up the kids and went up north to my parents house just south of the Mackinaw Bridge. We enjoyed some great time with my parents, tried our hand at fishing, shot bb guns, walked, cooked, took in the sites of Mackinaw Island, and took lots and lots of pictures!<br /><br />Some of the more interesting things I shot were:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3718430228_5d905d87ff.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3718430228_5d905d87ff.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3718430228_5d905d87ff.jpg?v=0"><br />http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3718430228_5d905d87ff.jpg?v=0</a><br />Abraham Lincoln<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/3717605021_8ae0d4c6cc.jpg?v=0"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/3717605021_8ae0d4c6cc.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/3717605021_8ae0d4c6cc.jpg?v=0">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2421/3717605021_8ae0d4c6cc.jpg?v=0</a><br />The Oqueoc Falls<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3717578345_9c5fb0b4d5.jpg?v=0"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3717578345_9c5fb0b4d5.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3717578345_9c5fb0b4d5.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3717578345_9c5fb0b4d5.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3717583147_634063dbd7.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3717583147_634063dbd7.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3717583147_634063dbd7.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3717583147_634063dbd7.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Complete Falls Gallery is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157621403754178/">HERE</a><br /><br />We also saw some amazing architecture at the Earl Young houses<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3486/3715814711_1a0f1e9877.jpg?v=0"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3486/3715814711_1a0f1e9877.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3486/3715814711_1a0f1e9877.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3486/3715814711_1a0f1e9877.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/3716479144_35d135c5fd.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/3716479144_35d135c5fd.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/3716479144_35d135c5fd.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/3716479144_35d135c5fd.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br />and we took in a concert<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3716151581_3ae411bbdd.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3716151581_3ae411bbdd.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3716151581_3ae411bbdd.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3716151581_3ae411bbdd.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br />That Gallery can be found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157621251445873/">HERE</a><br /><br />Our family also got to see Mackinaw Island<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/3714756189_43448e0cab.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/3714756189_43448e0cab.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/3714756189_43448e0cab.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/3714756189_43448e0cab.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3714912937_6316245b27.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3714912937_6316245b27.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3714912937_6316245b27.jpg?v=0">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3714912937_6316245b27.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3715034941_0681d70089.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3715034941_0681d70089.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3715034941_0681d70089.jpg?v=0">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3715034941_0681d70089.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3715820800_d9edcc3d70.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3715820800_d9edcc3d70.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3715820800_d9edcc3d70.jpg?v=0">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3715820800_d9edcc3d70.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/3716039250_5feea1efb7.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/3716039250_5feea1efb7.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/3716039250_5feea1efb7.jpg?v=0">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/3716039250_5feea1efb7.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3715331579_d82e0d9406.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3715331579_d82e0d9406.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3715331579_d82e0d9406.jpg?v=0">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3715331579_d82e0d9406.jpg?v=0</a><br /><br />The whole Mackinaw Island gallery can be seen <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157621374002546/">HERE</a><br /><br />All in all, it was a great time and the family really enjoyed it. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us stay the week with you.<br /><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3715820800_d9edcc3d70.jpg?v=0"><br /></a><br /></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-5895331465370859322009-07-02T08:04:00.003-04:002009-07-02T08:10:17.734-04:00Karl MaldenI always liked Karl Malden. I liked all the movies he was in that I saw as a kid. When I heard he had passed I was bummed. I wanted to take a minute to share one of my favorite Karl Malden minutes on film. It is from the movie Polyanna. I know it is a hokey old movie, but I like it.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7l-V9LZkvBE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7l-V9LZkvBE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-14729181497472257912009-06-19T18:45:00.002-04:002009-06-19T18:46:23.801-04:00Daddy Daughter Ride<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/3640505747/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3640505747_b056310cfb.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/3640505747/">Tiger Stadium and Girls Ride 152</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/rcelliott/">rcelliott</a>.</span></div><p>Yesterday at around 4:30 I got this text from Andrea. <br /><br />"R U Biking?" was what it said. <br /><br />In my car, I read this message while nursing some really bad pain in my shoulder from three consecutive crashes. "Biking? All I want is an ice bag and a pillow." Was the thought in my little head. I thought of an out.<br /><br />"Do the boys want to go?" I knew they didn't. They were still recovering from the race last weekend.<br /><br />"No." Was the reply. I thought to myself how I could relax and let my shoulder heal...<br /><br />Then the phone rang. It was Allyson. "Dad, the boys don't want to go riding, but can we go? We haven't ridden any trails with you all year."<br /><br />"Are you sure you want to go?" was my reply. Ally isn't the first kid in the family I think of when it comes to biking.<br /><br />"Yes. Should we get the bikes out now?"<br /><br />In my body, all I could think of was pain, but in my heart, all I could think of was my girls and how I haven't gotten to spend time with them lately. This was the easiest "YES" any kid has gotten out of me to date. Time with my girls??? Absolutely.<br /><br />I got home and we loaded up the bikes. I chose to take them to the skills park at Stony Creek because I felt it would be safer if I didn't have it in me to ride. This way, they could ride and I could enjoy.<br /><br />It ended up that we all rode. We all rode and had fun. We had a great time! We got to ride, then we rode around the park and took some pictures. We even got to see a male turkey showing off for some females! We capped it off with chocolate shakes and came home. My shoulder didn't matter one bit. Take a look at the rest of the gallery <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcelliott/sets/72157619873119401/">HERE</a>.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-88314029837046282362009-06-18T06:17:00.005-04:002009-06-18T07:36:24.193-04:00Thanks to my Wife<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ky0aTNqlICjtg1Eq6nDD3J53TY7WnL3Q3tHlBuQPVY8Rjth14FhyxuHIeYZ7yZiEPm_lg_kDnyG-mt4AoWSulRv-ckytWd5nDQIeiI5gS7z0biJ1NZLBpGByS9AV3zBh3qc5MI4oUIDG/s400/Tijuana%201%20611.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ky0aTNqlICjtg1Eq6nDD3J53TY7WnL3Q3tHlBuQPVY8Rjth14FhyxuHIeYZ7yZiEPm_lg_kDnyG-mt4AoWSulRv-ckytWd5nDQIeiI5gS7z0biJ1NZLBpGByS9AV3zBh3qc5MI4oUIDG/s400/Tijuana%201%20611.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Andrea and I like a lot of the same things. We like to figure stuff out, we like to try new things, we like a lot of computer related stuff, etc. One of the things we both like is blogs. We read different blogs and like the look and feel of the different blogs we go to. (You can see Andrea's blogs <a href="http://www.redeemedvessel.com/">HERE</a> and <a href="http://www.elliottacademy.com/">HERE</a>)<br /><br />About a month ago we were talking about blogs and layout. We both agreed that we liked some of the other layouts that we have seen over the "standard" blog look. We decided that at some point we would like to update our blogs.<br /><br />Two days ago Andrea decided to work on a blog a little. At first, I thought this was going to be a little adventure to do in her spare time. I forgot... We are talking about my wife. No, this led to two full days of her life locked at the kitchen table. This led to a quest. A quest to accomplish a completely new layout. A quest for a clean look. A quest for organization. A quest for boldly going where no man had gone before.<br /><br />For two solid days she neither ate, nor slept. She never moved from her computer. She never faltered from her goal. She had a plan and NOTHING was going to stand in her way! She had to change MY blog! It was gnawing at her... Gnawing... Gnawing like a relentless rat. My blog must be cool. It must be cool and Andrea was on that quest until it was, indeed, cool.<br /><br />I really appreciate this. I think she did a great job. She gets a thought in her head and she sticks to it, and this is no exception. Everything is laid out and categorized. Everything is clean. I think it is pretty doggone cool! Thanks Andrea, for taking the time to work on my blog! I love you!<br /><br />Without further ado, I give you the new <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.rctales.blogspot.com">www.rctales.blogspot.com</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-53784847792435142512009-05-10T21:22:00.001-04:002009-05-10T21:22:57.659-04:00Marriage Song for Husbands<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T-lv8745InI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T-lv8745InI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-40902063009681637482008-11-19T07:39:00.003-05:002008-11-26T07:25:20.556-05:00Well, We Tried HuntingJordan, my younger son, is notorious for wanting to do things at the last minute. For example, one year, the day after the 4th of July, he wanted to go and buy fireworks. He is also notorious for not investigating things well. I say these things not to draw you to bad conclusions, but to help you enjoy the mind of a thirteen year old boy. <br /><br />For several years we were into Scouting. He was the one who was really into the outdoors. Nathan, my oldest, liked the outdoors, but not as much as Jordan. This could be because we found Jordan as a baby swinging from tree to tree when we decided to take him home. Anyway, Jordan loves the outdoors.<br /><br />Scouting took on the progression to shooting things. Jordan has built an arsenal of K'Nex guns, including semi automatics, shot guns, pistols, rifles, and even a potato gun and hand grenades (the potato gun is pvc, and the hand grenades are K'Nex). When he is up north he can be found searching for the perfect branch with which to make a bow and arrow set.<br /><br />Well, it came... The time when all men who crave meat go out into the woods in search of big game... That time when mankind pretends to be a tree, sits totally still, thinks animal thoughts, wears clothes that make him look like the jolly green giant, sprays himself with deer urine spray to smell like the wild, doesn't shave, doesn't wear deodorant, doesn't change his clothes for days, moves through the woods like a silent ninja, carries lethal weapons, lives on beef jerkey,... I think you get the idea. Hunting season came. Yes hunting season came and Jordan wanted to go. Well, he doesn't have a license, has very little time shooting, doesn't have the appropriate clothes, pretty much is totally unprepared, except he has an unrelenting desire to join the ranks of the nature loving big game hunters.<br /><br />What does that mean? That means dad has to do research, go to hunting stores, buy tons of stuff, get apprentice licenses, make more trips to the store to buy hunting gear, blow his shopping budget, blow his Ray's MTB budget, blow his Christmas budget, and every other budget, remember how to hunt, find out where we can hunt, drive up north, and a host of other things to be ready for bow season. Wait, BOW season??? Jordan wanted to start the year off with bow hunting 3/4 of the way through the season, AND he wanted to do rifle season, and muzzle loader season. Good thing he waited until late October to tell me...<br /><br />Ok, all of the research is finally done. Jordan is totally excited. He can't wait to do this. He is sitting on the XBOX 360 playing Alaskan Adventure. I watch his hunting technique... Run through the woods, chase an animal. Shoot relentlessly until you expire all of your ammo... Oh no, this is going to be a long adventure for us. I sit him down to explain how to hunt, or at least how we will be hunting. We will be sitting quietly in the woods in a deer blind. Enter Nathan... Why does the talkative kid enter here? I don't know, but this is where he entered. "Dad, I have always wanted to hunt, but you always said no. I just abandoned ever going hunting because you didn't want to. Now that you are going, can I come, too?"<br /><br />Oh boy. Here we go. This is going to be a true adventure. "Ok, boys, call grandpa and see if we can hunt on his property."<br /><br />How do I deal with this? I know, Youtube! They have videos of everything! I will show them some clips of hunting and the mess of shooting a deer. I will show them field dressing video clips. They might not want to go after that... See, the reality here is I used to be a hunter, but I can't bring myself to actually shooting something, though I am a good shot.<br /><br />"Boys, come over here and watch this clip."<br /><br />"Aww cool!!!! Thanks dad, now we can't wait to go hunting!!!"<br /><br />Something tells me that idea backfired...<br /><br />Let's fastforward to the big day. We are on the road enjoying every memory I had of hunting with my dad when I was a kid. Our jaws are sore from the famous Narski's beef jerkey. I use this as my dad used it. I used this as an intentional way to tire my kids talkative jaws so they wouldn't talk the deer to death the next day. <br /><br />4:00am opening day. The boys are already up and dressed in their hunting gear. I pack them and the gear up and take them to our hunting blind. It is very dark. We get into our blind and set up. Then we wait. And we wait. We wait some more. The sun finally rises. The woods are teeming with wildlife. "Dad, look over there in the trees. It's a white moose!" "I think I see something!"<br /><br />I politely remind them to be quiet. This works for the rest of the morning. We headed back to my parents for a quick lunch, then back to the blind. We saw some tracks so we must have just missed the deer...<br /><br />Back into the blind and the conclusion of the story. One boy sleeps the entire hunt from this point out, and the other talks the entire hunt from this point out..... One dad has to drive us home. What a good time with the boys. Exactly what I thought it would be, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-31594972953282026772008-10-08T07:44:00.001-04:002008-11-26T07:25:41.933-05:00A Post for my Daughters<a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-008538881091022643 visible" href="http://godtube.com/flvplayer.swf"></a><embed src="http://godtube.com/flvplayer.swf" flashvars="viewkey=fda753ab6940eb9644b6" wmode="transparent" quality="high" name="godtube" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" height="270" width="330"></embed>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916229680074514072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-70771171945425150542008-08-20T16:10:00.001-04:002010-05-29T11:23:43.849-04:00I Finally Graduated!<p>I posted this at <a href="http://www.mtbmichigan.com/">MTBMichigan.com</a>, but I thought I would post it here, too.<br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p>I finally have a little time to tell about graduation. I have been enrolled in the New Breed School of Ministry for a long time. It has been a challenging time for me. I have been youth pastoring for about four years, and I just felt I needed to get a better education and preparation for larger amounts of ministry. </p><br /><p>After over a year of education in homiletics, hermeneutics, exegetics, theology, doctrine, sacraments, Old Testament, New Testament, Bible Prophesy, Personal Ministry, Leadership, and a whole slew of other topics I can say that this is one of the best things I have ever done. I am now an ordained pastor, which is exciting to say, but more than that, I have been immersed in education that has forced me to take a good look internally and figure out who I am in Christ, and who I am called to be as a leader in the church.</p><br /><p> </p><br /><p>Another exciting thing about this is that I graduated with honors. In high school I think I might have been in the top 90% of my class, but I graduated School of Ministry #1. This is made more exciting because I did it in the midst of all my life duties of family, job, ministry, outreaches, and trying to get my health in order. </p><br /><p>Pictures can be found <a href="http://poorboy20.smugmug.com/gallery/5737132_LY4mr#P-1-24" mce_href="http://poorboy20.smugmug.com/gallery/5737132_LY4mr#P-1-24" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><br /><p> <img mce_src="http://poorboy20.smugmug.com/photos/354398533_wnMT6-M.jpg" src="http://poorboy20.smugmug.com/photos/354398533_wnMT6-M.jpg" alt="" height="402" width="600" /></p>Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661583602799129279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-84884065478866233552008-07-08T02:30:00.001-04:002010-05-29T11:24:03.305-04:00The value of a wife Part 1 of millions<p class="MsoNormal">I posted this at <a href="http://www.mtbmichigan.com/main/">MTBMichigan.com</a>, but I thought I would post it here as well.<br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Many men realize often too little, or too late, the value of the woman God has given them to be their bride. I might be one of them who does, but I still do not see how valuable she really is often enough.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Andrea is an amazing woman. It isn’t the fact that she cooks or indulges me that is amazing. It isn’t how she keeps up the house, bills, or kids that amazes me. It isn’t how beautiful she is. It isn’t anything you would expect…<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Andrea is hard on me. As a wife she is my helper. Sometimes she does things I like to help me, but other times she holds me to the fire of purification and forces me to grow to be the best I can be. She never lets up and is very good at taking a step back from herself, and forcing me to take a step back from myself. She makes me look at things form a bigger picture than my own self centered thoughts. She doesn’t let me off the hook. <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">You might think this is awful, and that my wife is a jerk. Sometimes I do. Unfortunately, I look back at these times and see how she has such awesome insight and how she pointed me in a better direction than I might have gone. She helps me to see where I need to grow and then encourages me to do it. I can’t help changing my thoughts on my wife from thinking about these moments in this way.<span style=""> </span>I go from frustration to gratitude.<span style=""> </span>She has my best interest in heart and wants me to reach my full potential.<span style=""> </span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I am sure I have written about my wife before, but I am not sure I have ever written about her in this way.<span style=""> </span>I write about it because I am grateful that she cares so much.<span style=""> </span>Thanks, honey.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661583602799129279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-56800436451009957662008-05-21T16:15:00.001-04:002010-05-29T11:24:46.251-04:00A Counter Thought on SocializationMy <a href="http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/andijeane">wife </a>has been pointing out how our children are socialized in her recent blogs, but after hearing my monkey say this, "I would check my email more... But I have K'nex to build," I am not so sure<img src="http://homeschoolblogger.com/include/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/wink_smile.gif" alt="" /><img src="http://homeschoolblogger.com/include/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/teeth_smile.gif" alt="" />Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661583602799129279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-43421790645547330402008-03-21T03:46:00.001-04:002010-05-29T11:29:58.397-04:00Just when you thought they were goneThe top of the fridge has been bare for several months now. I was under the impression that they had packed up and moved. Who you might ask has backed up and moved? Well, my dear friends, the chicken mummies.<br /><br />Over this winter I built a mountain bike and did some smaller tasks around the house. I noticed on each occasion that my tool have been missing. I also noticed that for several months my garage, which I like to be kept NEAT, has been pretty messy. I thought it was Jordan. He likes to tinker.<br /><br />Some other things I have noticed around the house are as follows:<br /><ul><br /> <li>My kids scooters and roller blades have been all over the garage</li><br /> <li>My computer died</li><br /> <li>Mysterious bumping on the garage door</li><br /> <li>My dogs have woken up in the middle of the night on several occasions</li><br /> <li>I have had a hard time finding my grill thermometer</li><br /> <li>The middle of the night the temperature drops to like 50 degrees</li><br /> <li>No matter what time it is in the morning I do not have hot water when I take a shower</li><br /></ul><br />Today I went to the basement to go ride my trainer. I ended up not riding it because I noticed the door to the garage was opened. I inspected the garage to find four boxes opened and four shivering, bandage wrapped chickens huddled together inside. As I went to talk to them, they all turned their backs to me. After a few seconds I noticed a piece of paper slid in my direction. I picked it up and read it. It said:<br /><br />"We have frozen out here all winter. We are unhappy with our current <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span class="741455712-21032008">accommodations</span></span> and would like to return to our rightful place on the top of the fridge. Please take this matter up for us as soon as possible.<br /><br />The Chicken Mummies"Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661583602799129279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-73411929120021837962008-01-12T12:07:00.001-05:002010-05-29T11:40:31.636-04:00PodcastingFor Christmas I got a Microsoft Zune. It is a really neat thing. I can take it everywhere and even listen to it in my car. Like everyone who gets a new gadget, you want to know all of the ins and outs of what it can do. <br /><br />Enter Podcasting. I have found some really good podcasts that I am enjoying. Some are sermon audio, and some are teaching. Some are news and some are entertainment. <br /><br />If you are a total geek like me you really want to go to the next level. Since I am the webmaster at our church I thought I would use it as a pilot for podcasting. So, without further ado, here is the Lord of the Harvest <a href="http://www.lhcf.net/main/index2.php?option=com_podcast&feed=RSS2.0&no_html=1">Podcast</a><br /><div style="position: absolute; width: 28px; height: 28px; z-index: 1000; display: none;"> </div><br /><img src="chrome://piclens/content/launch.png" style="position: absolute; width: 35px; height: 29px; z-index: 1000; display: none;" alt="" />Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661583602799129279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703159211585595187.post-79983729464667243122008-01-09T16:37:00.000-05:002010-05-29T11:37:46.267-04:00Reason to Love my KidsAs we sit here in our room in the middle of the night we are finding more reasons to love our kids. We are going through an art book with "nakey" pictures painted by Micheaelangelo and laughing with our kids because Kitty covered every nakey painting. The funny thing is many of them aren't really nakey. I am glad she has such high morals.<br/><br/>Ally mentioned that she didn't like the rendition of David. She is disturbed becasue he is 14' tall and nakey.<br/>Out of this came Nato biting his toenails and deciding that he is going to make a statue of Godzilla, "butt naked"!<br/><br/>Too funny not to share!<br/><div style="position: absolute; width: 28px; height: 28px; z-index: 1000; display: none;"> </div><br/><img src="chrome://piclens/content/launch.png" style="position: absolute; width: 35px; height: 29px; z-index: 1000; display: none;" alt="" />Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661583602799129279noreply@blogger.com0