Song of the Week
March 9th, 2009
This weeks song is one of my favorite Christian songs.
Third Day - “King of Glory”
Categories: Entertainment | Tags: song of the week | No Comments
Lake Fever
March 9th, 2009
Spring is starting to get going well finally, and I am itching for a weekend at the old lake house. I have to get at least one in this month. April is shaping up to be to dang busy to get out there, so it is now or never.
There are bass to be caught, sandies to be caught and eaten, and maybe even some old channel cats looking to take a trip in the fryer!
Soon, hopefully soon. I want to be floating along the shore, casting and winding, and waiting for that tug on my line.
Categories: Entertainment, Life | Tags: fishing | 1 Comment
Song of the Week
February 25th, 2009
This time we have an awesome acoustic rendition of one of my very favorite songs.
“Little Wing” - Performed by the very talented Monte Montgomery
Keep in mind this is his tribute to Stevie Ray’s tribute to Jimmy.
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We Used to Get It
February 24th, 2009
Everyone needs to watch this cartoon.
Categories: Freedom, Politics | Tags: socialist stupidity | 1 Comment
What a Depraved, Disgusting Commentary
February 18th, 2009
On the sickness that is Planned Parenthood. Remember we get to pay for this crap.
Edit: There is so much wrong with this disgusting cartoon, that I can’t address it all right now. I will at some point soon though.
It starts out with comparing abortion to choosing to eat organic vegetables.
Categories: Life | Tags: abortion | No Comments
Baby With a ‘Tude!
February 17th, 2009
Well, little Miss Brookie is starting to develop a bit of an attitude at times. Heh. She really, really, does not like having something taken away from her, when she is interested in it, and apparently she is not liking being spoon fed all that much now.
If she will allow being spoon fed, there sure as heck better be another spoon for her to hold on to, and possibly one for each hand. God forbid, you try to take her spoons away either. The wrath of the God’s will soon be unleashed, within about two seconds. She is training us well. /sigh
I think this stems from her desire to feed herself, which is a good sign of her, early motivation for some degree of independence. The fact that she slings any food on a spoon you hand to her across the kitchen, is not a negative in her view of course.
She is also mastering the stiff board, sling yourself backwards, fit-throwing move. It is amazing how painful getting smacked in the face by an angry baby’s head is. It is kind of like getting punched in the face.
Last night, she decided, it would be fun to sit on Daddy’s neck while I was laying down, and practice her slamming technique on my belly. So for about five minutes she sat there laughing in my face, and then propelling herself backwards at mach 1.2. Every groan from the wind being knocked out of me, elicited a gleeful response. She loves wrestling with Daddy already, and I eat it up. It is interesting that she knows she can be rougher with me than Mommy. There are boundaries that have to be learned though, so I have to think about that, when she starts smacking me in the face as a fun game.
So far, she is not getting that a stern “No”, or “No Ma’am” is a serious thing. Every time we have done so, she laughs intensely. She is only ten months old after all.
Her pediatrician actually asked about some of this behavior yesterday, to see if it was starting, as is typical. She gave us some tips on how to deal with it. Right now her little fits are cute, but she also has teeth and packs a pretty mean slap when she wants to. There is of course no malice currently in her “violence” as it were, but teaching her that hitting and biting in any situation is not acceptable, is something that is important.
I was a biter as a child, and know how much of a problem that was for my poor mother, when she would get a call from school, because I had latched on to some poor soul, when they evoked my anger. I was bad enough to break the skin a few times. Avoiding that type of thing, is a goal for us, with our little angel.
She plays very well with her friends at day care right now, and we want her to continue that. With no siblings, it serves as a good place for socialization, and a place to learn about sharing and all the wonderful things that civilized people have to do, to be an accepted member of their society.
I have written about the responsibility of being a parent before, and was guilty of saying things like, “Wow, what horrible parents that child must have” in the past. It is easy to judge people, when you have not walked in their shoes. Some children are problem kids. I know I was. 
Brookie shows no sign of being a problem child thus far. Honestly, she is the happiest, laid back baby I have ever encountered. As long as her basic needs are met to her liking, she is generally happy, and ready to play. We are lucky here. Her upset spells are few and far between, and we, so far, know what triggers them.
So now, we are officially beyond the infant stage. Our baby girl is actually starting to test boundaries, and she is counting on us to clearly lay them out for her. She has no knowledge of what they are, or should be, so we have to teach her.
As hard as it may be, to set her down in her crib, for doing something wrong repeatedly, it is something we will have to do. I find it difficult to not comfort her the moment any tears come, and the idea of being the cause of her tears, kills me. Discipline really is tougher on the parents than the child. Who wants to see their little one upset, because you won’t let them bang a toy into the TV screen incessantly?
This is where the hard work of parenting begins I think. As hard as staying up all night when she was a little baby was, it is nothing, compared to setting aside one’s own greedy need to please her, and disciplining a child, when you don’t really want to. If it were a perfect world, my little booger, would get whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Reality tells me that this is a recipe for disaster, and what is wrong with a lot of young people today.
We want to raise a well adjusted, intelligent, honest, well charactered, patient, caring, human here. If we do our job, she will be a benefit to society, and not a dreg. Our own self-discipline will be the most crucial aspect of whether or not this happens. Teaching our child how to cope with disappointment, and self control, is a worthy goal, and the job of every parent.
There are of course no guarantees. People are people. You can take them and put them in the best or worst situations, and they sometimes will triumph or fail miserably, even given the best or worst starting position. All we can do is teach her how one should run one’s life, and hope and pray, that she makes good decisions.
Well, once again I find myself wandering down the road of our family’s lives together. It really does fly by. This age is such a fun age. She is learning new things every day. She is waving “bye bye” now, and nearly saying it. She also is working on clapping, and should be walking any day now.
As my friends with kids, like Ted, always tell me. Before you know it, she will be in high school, and going off to college. Guess I better get busy preparing her to do so.
Categories: Life | Tags: brooke | 2 Comments
Brookie Update
February 16th, 2009
For anyone who is interested, Brooke Lynn went to the doctor today for her checkup. At ten months old she is 30.5″ tall, and weighs 25.5 lbs. This puts her in the 95% class, heh. The doc said she is perfectly height / weight proportionate, so that is good. She is wearing clothes made for eighteen month old kiddoes. If she ever gets to walking, the other kids at day care better watch out!
Categories: Life | Tags: brooke | 2 Comments
Song of the Week
February 16th, 2009
Here is another of my favorite country songs. It is real country, not like all that new fangled crap.
“Old Habits” - Hank Williams Jr.
This is really, one of my very favorite songs. It does what country music should do, move you emotionally. The thought of losing my wife, in any way, is horrifying to me, and Hank has captured that emotion in this song.
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Real Hope
February 11th, 2009
After seeing that many, many people who were foolish enough to buy into the Hope, that Obama was selling, are now becoming disgruntled, I decided to write about real hope. This is not some false hope, that a politician may promise and never deliver, but real hope for the future.
There are two big sources of hope that I rely on, on a daily basis. They both comfort me greatly, when looking around this world that is turning upside down. My hope comes from my God and my beautiful little daughter.
Let’s look at the hope a child gives her parents first. It is limited to this world, and a relatively short period known as a human lifetime.
We have been raising Brooke for nine months now. The emotions you feel for a child are a paradox to me. You love them with all your heart and are excited when they master a new task and you see them grow. At the same time your heart aches to see them change before your very eyes. The knowledge that they will grow up eventually and carry on with their own lives is both satisfying and depressing.
Even now, at only ten months old, this little human has changed so much, that she is not even recognizable as the little infant that looked up into my eyes the day she was born. I held her in the crook of one arm, and she fit like she was made to be there. Now she is already becoming less dependent on us, and is becoming an individual. She can feed herself, when she wants to, and eats a new food almost daily it seems.
The conflict between being amazed when she wobbles around the coffee table standing up, and the mournful realization that she is not the little, completely helpless, bundle that can’t turn over without your help, is strangely fulfilling. There is nothing I have ever experienced, besides the ups and downs of longing for my wife before we were able to be together all the time, that has ever made me feel the way this child does.
Certainly, there are times when I think about the end of my life and who will go first, my wife or myself. That sadness over the inevitable end of our relationship together, is overwhelming when my thoughts go there. There is comfort in the thought that, hopefully, we will both have lived long enjoyable lives with each other by the time the end comes, that overwhelms the sadness of that horrible coming day.
Maybe this is a male trait. The urges of ultimate responsibility for a wife and child, force any decent man, to think of their wellbeing on a very regular basis. One’s selfishness, must be defeated, and is quite easily abated, when the proposition of such awesome responsibility is viewed from an overarching perspective. The goal of your life is to make sure that your family is provided for, has an enjoyable life in the process, and that a legacy is left on the planet once you are gone.
My point to all this rambling is a simple one. Wives and children, when put in their proper priority in one’s life, bring out all that is wonderful in life. The bittersweet nostalgia for the past, supplements the desire to consciously decide to enjoy every day we are given with our family. This is how God intended things to be. The family reveals his awesome brilliance, if you allow yourself to enjoy it’s rewards.
So, back to the hope of a child. A baby represents so, so much hope. Every one of them, is a masterpiece of potential and innocence. Their future potential is unlimited in the minds of their parents. Even in a world that does not seem to be going in the direction that we want it to, there is hope for a better future for a child.
The hope, joy, and love that I have found in my little Brookie, have changed me as a person. As a man, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for little children, and mothers. There is nothing more foul in my mind than someone that would hurt either of them, and it has been so for as long as my memory can fathom. The fact that my father was a worthless individual, galvanized my knowledge of what a real man is and is not.
After the brief time we have had with Brooke, she has reinforced these instincts at least one hundred fold. I now weep, when there is a story of a child’s death. The contemplation of being in the shoes of those who loved that child, is nearly more than I can bear. That is why there have been posts about abortion, tragic accidents involving young children, and stories of pure evil involving the taking of the lives of the innocent. These thing crush me now, in a way they never did before.
This leads me to my greatest hope of all. In a world that is filled with evil, seemingly coming at my family from every side. My ultimate hope comes from my God. He, who gave up his Son, so that we might be saved from our sin, has provided eternal hope for all who believe.
I realize that not everyone who reads this, believes the way I do, and that is your right. This isn’t a sermon by any means, simply an illustration of why we Christians have hope for the future, regardless of what happens in this world.
Our hope for eternal life, free of pain and evil, helps us get through this life. Certainly many find this foolish, but that is their loss. I am a reasonably intelligent person, and my brain has not fallen out of my head. This post is not the place for justification of my faith, although, that is an interesting topic, that may come up in the future. There is nothing wrong with hope or faith. The Bible states it perfectly at the beginning of Hebrews 11:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
While pondering the horrifying reality of the brutality of this world recently, my wonderful wife sent me this picture.
It tied it all together for me. This is my comfort and hope. When someone harms one of these innocents, Jesus is there to take care of them. He will be there for all of us that believe in Him, when our time here is over.
In the time that God has given me on this earth with my lovely wife, and bouncing baby girl, hopefully my duty to them will be fulfilled as He intended. The Bible instructs us to love our wives as Jesus loves the church. He sacrificed Himself for the church. Therefore I am called to do the same for my wife and child. Their wellbeing must come before mine. In doing so, I learn more every day, about God’s love for us, his children. My appreciation for His sacrifice, is enlarged, by the love I have for my family. I can never hope to understand it fully, but we can see its closest replication here on earth, in our family.
Fun Reading
February 11th, 2009
My current book of choice is The Stand by Stephen King. I usually have a few books in the rotation, and do so now, but the other two are going to be on the shelf until this one is completed. It is awesome so far, and I can hardly put it down. It is on my reading list as well.
King is not one of my favorite writers. While trying to read some of his other books, I have found him to be a bit to wordy. His writing is wonderful, but I don’t really need a ten page description about a cup of coffee some drunk in a bar was sipping on.
The Stand is a big volume at over 1,100 pages, but having got about a quarter of the way through it, I have not found it boring in the least. The other book that I have completed of his was The Shining, which was excellent as well.
So for now Atlas Shrugged and the book I am reading on WW2 code breaking are just going to have to wait.
Categories: Books | Tags: fiction, reading list | 2 Comments
