Getting Plenty of Therapy

With all the rain I've been getting plenty of therapy. Better known as cutting the grass. It's very therapeutic. I get most of my serious thinking done riding the mower, weed eating, edging, and then blowing the yard. I just wish I was better at figuring out what the yard needs. I tried everything at our other house and the yard was okay. I though hey new yard new chance to make it right. I hate to admit it, but I even bought a Scotts Turf book. But it's still just okay. I've put out the fertilizer and treated the yard for weeds, but it still is just okay. I may eventually break down and pay turfbuilder or someone to come in and do it for me. But I'm cheap and I want to get it right myself. I want to be the "Hank Hill" of Moody (King of the Hill). And of course my neighbor spent a ton of money to have zoysia put in his front yard so I'm envious.

The back yard though is in serious need of help. They only sodded a small portion and the rest is rock and dirt. Well, they put out hay and said they seeded it, but I only see hay and mud. I'd love to have about 3 tandem loads of topsoil dumped and sod it, but that would cost way too much. So they boys can help me rake it by hand for the time being.

Just realized my finger was in the way...

How To Spot A Gay Terrorist

Strength

I get caught up in showing strength a lot. Being a man and raising the boys to be men, and not little sissies. One of my Dad's hero's was John Wayne, and he wanted my brothers and I to act like men. Treat women with respect and stand up for what we believe in. But I'm more and more impressed with how much strength Heather has. We've had a fairly rough year. Between job changes, my Dad's health, and making less money than I was; things have been hard. Heather hasn't faltered a bit. She can see me getting stressed out and she somehow knows the right thing to say and do. She pulls strength form her faith, knowing God will provide. I wish I could be as strong as she is.
We started dating when she was 19, and I felt like I had to take care of her. For a long time I did, but somewhere along the line she started taking care of me. How'd that happen? I still feel the need though. Guess I always will. It's my job.
I don't usually show my feelings, but she knows what I'm thinking anyway. I'm thankful for that. Even if I don't always tell her.
I have a lot of people I consider friends, but I consider Rance and Josh 2 of my best. I can rely on them anytime. I've known them for a long time. I know Heather has a lot of friends, but I feel bad because she can't spend hardly any time with them. Most are doing homeschooling and spend most of their time together during the day and she has to work. I'm impressed with how much strength that takes. I know women need each other more than men do and it must be hard. I try to be there for here but I know it's not the same. I just hope I can give her the same strength she has given me.
I just thank God that the girl I started dating has turned into such a strong Godly woman (and mother).

Facing Reality

I wrote this last week, but haven't been able to post it until now. My family got bad news last Friday, but I haven't really said anything to anyone. I really haven't even talked to my Mom & Dad. Then I'd have to face it. My Dad's not responding to treatment, and his cancer has grown 35% since his last visit (3 weeks ago). It's in both lungs and a gland somewhere in his chest.
The Doctor told him to find a hospice provider and get things in order. It may be 2 wks it may be 2 months. You never know with these things, but it won't be long.
He just now told my Mom. She really didn't know how bad things were getting. He didn't want her to know. When things started to look really bad several months ago I was getting on him about getting things in order, and enjoying his time left. The only thing he wanted to do was work. I told him "you can't even drive right now. How are you going to operate a loader?" He looked at me and said, "I've been taking care of your mother for 41 years and I'll take care of her till I take my last breath". I said yes sir and took him to work. When you see a man as tough as that you think. Maybe with his strong faith in God and his toughness he can beat this. So it gives you a false sense of security.
I'm worried about my parents. My Dad is self employed. He's hardly worked over the last 2 years. This has pretty much bankrupted him. He came from a life without 401k's, and pension funds. It's whatever you can hold onto. My Mom has hardly ever worked, except raising 4 boys. My Dad has always taken care of her. We (my brothers and I) are probably going to have to pool our resources and bury him. My Mom won't be able to pay for her house and land. The reality of that scares me.
My parents are both Believers. My Dad has been convinced that God is going to give him 7 more years. My Mom has been living off of that. Believing that God wouldn't take him. I pray that they can put their faith in God to give them peace now. The reality is that we don't know what God has in store for us. We can't predict if we'll get more time or not.
My parents have never been the "grandparent" type. The grandparents that come over to take the kids for the weekend or take them some where fun. Some where deep down I kept hoping that one day my Dad would wake up and do that for the boys, but the reality is it's not in him. I know he loves them. I just pray he can show them before it's too late.
Please pray for my family. For peace, strength, and wisdom. That my brothers don't blame God. That my Mother gets the strength she needs. Pray that financially we can do what needs to be done. Pray for me. I've been blocking it as much as I can, but when I have to face reality pray that God gives me strength.

"Hokey Pokey" Songwriter Dead @ 93

With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at themoment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person,which almost went unnoticed last week.Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey," died peacefully at age93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into thecoffin. They put his left leg in.
And then the trouble started.

Ever Wonder Why Men Like Women Who Wear Leather?

When a woman wears a leather dress

A man's heart beats quicker,

He goes weak in the knees,

And he begins to think irrationally.

Ever wonder why?






Because she smells like a new truck.

Do We Trust in God with Our Children?

Many of you know about last weeks terrible accident on I-459. If not here's the link. It was a terrible accident. Unfortunately I drove by on 459 N in the far left lane shortly after they had taken the bodies, and it was something I wish I hadn't seen.
I've read many posts on al.com and heard several people say that we should change the driving age on interstates (although the boy driving was 18). Also, there were several comments made about younger children in the car, and how to change or stop it from happening.
The simple answer is you can't. You can control some situations, but you aren't always going to be there. It got me thinking about how as parents we always try to control ever aspect of our children's lives. Heather and I try and steer Jake and Adam towards certain opportunities and away from others the best we can. We mainly hope and pray that they have learned enough from us and that God will guide them. But we still jump in!
We all try and control our children. From who their friends are to where they go to what they wear. It's human nature, and I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that. But where is the TRUST IN GOD? We can try to control our children's friends, but they'll resent it and eventually do what they want and hopefully learn from it. I did. There will always be someone in their life that they shouldn't be hanging around and they'll know they need to distance themselves from that person. If we raise them with good moral values according to the law and TRUST IN GOD.
We can try and control who our children date, but has that EVER worked? No...I remember my parents telling my older brother he couldn't go out with this girl in high school because they thought she was a bad influence (not sure who the bad influence was there-him or her). Well, he snuck(sp?) out of the house after everyone had fallen asleep. Then Dad got a call from the police that he had wrecked his car, oh around 1:30 in the morning. How well did that work? Dad wound up nailing his window shut after the 3rd time. Now, I know I'll try and do the same thing, but at some point I've got to TRUST IN GOD.
We an try and control how our children approach things or feel about church, but that doesn't always work. I know my parents did, and at first I liked going to church. Until I got older. Then that was the last place I wanted to be. Jake doesn't want to be at church now. Do I feel like he's somehow disappointed me? No, he's 8 and is bored out of his mind (no offense Burt). He can't comprehend the message Burt is giving. I wish he had a children's class to go to but he doesn't. So what do I do? TRUST IN GOD. I pray that Jake eventually understands in time, and Heather and I keep plugging away.
It seems as though we all try to control things with our children, but we can't. As soon as we do we've already lost the battle. God should be sufficient in our everyday lives. From who our children date to who they play with to whatever they do in life. Our job is to guide them and be a moral compass. Help them learn the law and to TRUST IN GOD. If we don't are we saying God isn't sufficient?