TeachingDad

Kingdom by the Sea

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:51:00 +0000

The following was written by my son - the assignment was to write a Fairy Tale. You may know that only a few short months ago we lost our family cat - read Galloping Cat.

There once was a kingdom by the sea, in the kingdom there was a city, in the city there was a palace; and in the palace was a prince. This story is about that prince and his very special friend. This friend was a little white cat. The prince loved the cat, they laughed and played together, they were friends. One day the cat and the prince were on the beach, as they sat, a big gray shark swam up and ate the cat. The prince did everything he could but the shark got away.

The prince’s father, the King, sent fleets of ships after the shark, but the ships could not find it. But the prince would not give up; he took a schooner out and found the shark. There was a great battle, but the prince freed his friend. Then he smote the shark upon his sword and cast the body into the deepest, darkest pit in the sea.

But after all that the little cat fell forever asleep in the prince’s arms. The whole kingdom wept and mourned for the little cat. Hundreds came to console the royal family and the prince. Then they laid down the little white cat in the royal garden and covered the little sealed box with soil, as the attendees where about to leave the prince saw a bud growing on top of the grave. The next morning a little white rose was there. Then the prince knew that the little white cat was that rose and it will always watch over him.

That white rose is still there in that garden in that kingdom by the sea. They say that if you watch the flower as the last sliver of the sun disappears the flower will blink and for a fleeting moment it will be the little white cat’s eye watches her long gone friend’s kingdom, that kingdom by the sea. And now I say goodbye to my little white cat friend Snowstorm who this story is dedicated to; may her little feet fly far and fleet in my heart.

With love to all who have a little cat friend.

Maybe I'm just a proud dad - but I thought it was a good short story.

Name that Voice

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Junior and I have a talent, not a marketable or even remarkable talent, but it is a fun one.

We have the ability to imitate and create voices, not very well of course, but we try just the same. From our Igor routine, where we have written a radio ad for our Igor business, appropriately called Cemetery Salvage – You Need It, We Dig It Up. I would also have to mention our Shaggy and Scooby imitations, which lead to a number of improvisational conversations, the times we make up rhymes with the same letter starting each phrase, also various other silly moments.

I think some of the funniest moments with my son have been when I’m not concerned, I’m just having fun. I think that it is important to teach our children to love us the same way we love them. Sure we embarrass them from time to time; they do the same to us. I don’t want to be a dad on the side line. I want to be a dad who is involved, who listens and has fun, not just when my child is young and easy to care for. I want to be there when he is older and struggling with the teen years and changes that will make him a man and one day a father and husband. The most valuable investment is one of time with our offspring.

Give it a shot – you never know what vocal talents you may possess!

I recently took a trip

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:41:00 +0000

I recently took a trip to see my father and mother. They divorced many years ago, while I was an early adult. So as a result they live in different state, and I get to go to two places instead of just one!

While on this trip I came to realization that I just don’t like getting older. I know that sounds silly, but think about it. I am just 40, I like it. I’m not as fit as I would like to be, but working on it. I am much more mature than I was a 20 and now realize how naive I really was at 20. I don’t question things, like where am I going and such, I love my wife and son dearly. I may not know my next career, but at the moment I’m called to take care of our home and teach our son.

What I’m talking about is the aging of my parents. My mother was struck with MS many, many years ago, it changed my childhood home forever. Primarily because the Lord was not in our home, I firmly believe that we would have had a much more stable home with Him leading us. When I visited my mother in the nursing home that she now lives in I struggled with becoming depressed over it all. The environment is fine; the attendees are all very nice and patient with everyone. But the fact that my mother now struggles to hold a conversation, to complete a sentence, well, it brings this 240 pound man to tears. The blessing is all this is that I know that regardless of where her mind is, she knows the Lord. I rely on this truth and know that He can take care of her needs. In fact she did thank me again for the large print Bible that I gave her some time back.

My father, well, he is dealing with the fact that he can’t do all that he used to do. Having just had triple bypass surgery and a knee replaced at 74 really slowed him down for a while, but he has recovered well and pushing to do more every day. He is remarried and still very independent.

When I was much younger I figured I would live forever, now I know as a Christian I will live forever, but I struggle with attempts to hang on here, to hang on to the body I have to keep it fit and at the same time to enjoy the food around me. I watch my wife; my son and my parents grow older. I watch my hair leave my head and show up on my shoulders. My beard is turning grey and white, I’m looking out the same eyes that I’ve had all my life and if I don’t look in a mirror I sometimes forget how old I am. Then, I visit my parents and realize that I am much older and that the time I spend with them, the time that I honor them is growing short. I’m just thankful that I still am able to visit them from time to time.

Bad Language, Books & Movies

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:13:00 +0000

Do you really need to cuss? I mean really, I’m not perfect, far from it and I am not proud to say that when it comes to loosing my temper or holding my tongue after injuring myself, I tend to slip out with a cuss word from time to time. It’s not the way I want to be and it is something that I do get better at and then slip up. So for the record I could do better.

When it comes to movies, I don’t want to hear it. I can think of only a few movies where I could point out the proper use of a cuss word. Second Hand Lions is a movie where any cuss word really just blends in with the character that is in the movie, beside that, the guys are really old and remind me of an Uncle of mine. But most movies are not that way and I would say that 99% of them could be made without the cuss words. They would be better. We saw The Prince of Persia movie the other day, great movie. Don’t remember one cuss word. I was glad. When I hear a cuss word now it stands out, I notice it; I notice it more because of my child. I don’t want him to say it and hope that he never does.

Even our Vice President can’t keep from cussing on TV; it is sad that a man who is elected to one of the highest offices in the land can’t keep his language G rated. Can you imagine what John Adam or George Washington would think about such a person who is unable to articulate properly, with all the words for expression in the English language and most folks just resort to using a cuss word as a noun or an adjective, it really is a sad testament to our culture.

As far as books, some writers start out in the very opening paragraphs with the character cussing. One example is the Jesse Stone character from the writer, Robert Parker. I saw the USA TV movie with Tom Seleck and thought the book might be a good read. Nope, so much cussing was in the first chapter of the book that I just felt bad reading it. Same goes with other books. My only solution to this problem is to now keep a record of the books I read so that if junior want to read it I can know what is in it and to avoid authors that have a track record of foul language.

So, as for me, I do my best to restrain my own tongue and I choose not to see movies that contain cussing, or read books that do either, it is an insult to ones intelligence. Just like some of the ridiculous commercials I have seen lately – but that is another blog.

Election time

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:13:00 +0000

I must admit somehow I’ve dropped the ball. Our primary is next week and for the most part I did not have a clue who was running for what offices in the primary.

A couple of reasons make this so. Mostly because we do not have any cable or satellite on our home and only get our news from Fox online and the radio. So for the most part you don’t hear about local new, add in the fact that I’ve not had time to tune into our local talk radio to hear the topics and you have two (wife included) uninformed voters – not a good thing.

Not going to happen, last night I jumped on the snail speed dial up and started looking into it. Thankfully the internet is a wealth of information about who is running for what office. I also found a sample ballot for my district on our counties web site.

Thankfully most of the candidates running for the big offices, like Governor and Lt. Governor we recognized. We did attend one debate that we heard of and that helped with our decision on Lt. Governor. It was the office of State Superintendent of Education and Attorney General we had no clue on. So after spending some sleep time looking into it we seem to have found the information we needed. Being a home schooling family, when it comes to education we want a to elect someone to the head of Education that if friendly toward home schooling, they may not have a total understanding of home education but at least respect it and respect the reasons that families sacrifice to be able to home school. We also want someone who has the aspiration to improve what we believe is wrong with public education. I emailed a candidate and to my surprise, received a detailed response to my questions.

Mick Zais seems to understand that parents make the best choices for their child’s education, and he seems to understand that every child learns in a different environment, not one size fits all kind of thing. Based our email discussion I have to say that he will have our vote.

As far as Attorney General we made a decision there too. But I’ll leave you to wonder.

What ever you do with regard to voting, just vote. I would prefer you vote conservative and for family values, but if not, just take part in the process. In my opinion the problems we currently have is that those currently elected does not listen to the people. I’ll have to say that I am really speaking on the federal level. Our current state representative is a great guy. So this year we will vote and will be informed, even if we have to stay up half the night to figure out who is running for office. America is a great country, but it can only be that way with each person exercising their freedoms. So go exercise!

The Galloping Cat

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:54:00 +0000

It all started about two plus years ago with my son hard in prayer of a kitten, even a cat of his own. We had a dog and over the years a few cats had come and gone, falling victim to the elements of living in the country.

One day my son discover a kitten in the woods, this is a very unusual event since we are surrounded by woods and live 1/10 of a mile from the road. What arrives, was a kitten, maybe just a few months old, pure white. Junior was the only one to coax it out of the wood, eventually, over a number of days he was able to handle and pet the kitten.
Talk about an answer to prayer! Fast forward a while and we have a pregnant mother cat, we had every intention of getting her fixed, but, you know the routine. She gives birth late one night and junior and it look all over the yard, finally she leads us to the babies, we mover her and the babies into a special pen and keep them there for a number of weeks. Well out of this litter we have a runt, pure white. We weight the kittens each day to make sure that they got the nourishment they needed. Junior really takes to liking the runt. All the kittens were adopted out except for the runt, who was known as “Snow Storm” because she was pure white. We decided we better get her fixed as soon as possible and then we would get mama cat fixed. We went through that process and junior paid half of the cost.

Now let me tell you a little about this cat. Every morning she would arrive at the front or back door and meow to be let in, she would eat, drink and then trot down the hall to my son’s room; she would then jump on his bed and announce that she had arrived. She expected him to pet her, then and only then would she lay down and sleep. Most of the time she would sleep, either in junior’s room, in her box. She would go to the door and ask to be let out, never went potty in our house or used a litter box. She never scratched up the furniture either. She would play with my son galloping down the hall after a rubber ball and attack a feather on a rope. When junior would be away she would look for him, meow and meow. She was very loving, and really only to our son.

Sadly, Thursday morning I discovered her under our barn in the yard, injured. We hurried her to the vet, but she died on the way. A very sad time for junior who was holding her. Her injuries to much to overcome. The best we can figure is that she was attacked by a coyote. It has been a sad few days, with lots of talk of how great a cat she was. For now we will not have any pets, all that remains here is one chicken, who will find a new home in the coming months. Our hearts sing with the memories of our four legged friend but at the same time they ache with that same memory. I thank God for the blessing of laughter an joy through our four legged friends.

Chip or Dale

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:28:00 +0000

The other day our cat brought us her catch of the day, well actually I found her with it. It turned out to be a very frightened, but alive, chipmunk. I’m ok with her killing mice, voles and other vermin, but not to crazy about the killing of chipmunks, so I set out to free it before she batted it to death.

I enlisted the help of my son by first asking him to find some glove while I kept my eye on the critter. Neither one of us could remember where they were; I wasn’t going to grab the little thing without gloves, so I thought of the small kennel. Told junior to run and get it, two things happened, first off the cat backed off, thinking that it was time to go to the vet and secondly the chipmunk didn’t want to go in.

By this time all of us, mom too, were outside and attempting to herd the little chipmunk into the kennel. Suddenly it took off toward junior who stood fast; it turned ran up a tree a little ways then back down. Then it took off toward my lovely wife, ran over her right foot and up her right leg almost to her knee. My wife, being the perfect example of womanhood, screamed like a girl, hands up and waving. It was a beautiful site, she was in no real danger, in North America the fatalities caused by a chipmunk encounters are not even recorded, however the chipmunk ran right back down her leg and into the woods, figuring that she was not a tree. It has been a source of laughter for a few days.

The chipmunk had been saved, if it was Chip or Dale I don’t know, I’m just glad my wife enjoyed helping so much!

Was there a Game?

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:11:00 +0000

The other evening I took junior and a friend of his to a baseball game. It was a minor league baseball game about 30 minutes from our home. The game was very entertaining, but not as entertaining as what went on around us. From the mascots and their performances to the throwing of t-shirts and Frisbees, a sack race, a birthday song and even a baseball type clown. Mascots spent time heckling the other team’s players, and even giving the umpire a hard time. We spend a lot of time laughing.

Some of the images, such as the man who took it upon himself to volunteer to be called “the dance machine” then dance, if you can call it that, on the dugout in our section, some people will do most anything to get in the spotlight. This was source of much laughter on the trip home.

Boy, you never know what you will see when you go to the “big city”! The home team won the first game, and we left to get pizza before the second game ended, all in all we had a great guy’s night out.

The Greatest Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:10:00 +0000

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I like the outdoors. I’m like most folks though; I don’t like the oppressive heat and humidity. But for the most part I love the South.

The other day our home school association had a field trip, put together by one of the moms who by her own admission had not ever had a chance for her boys to “take a hike”. They were enjoying it, even stepping out on a huge rock in the middle of creek to explore the wonders of creek water. Touching the water, I don’t know why, they just had to. I took that opportunity to explain the reasons that it is not a good idea to drink the water in the creek or even put you hands in your mouth, all the parasites and such that could make you sick.

I thankful God has made the largest and greatest classroom in His creation. All four seasons have beauty, but most of all it is the lessons that can be taught out doors, from self reliance to consideration for others. It is not our only class room, of course, but as home school parents we should use all that is available to us to teach and train our children. We should also teach them to be good steward of Gods great land, not to go nuts with environmentalism, just to be sensible about taking care of what we have for the future. For us that means to recycle what we can and to not pollute. Enjoy nature, but not let it overtake us, a healthy balance is in order. That is true with all things in life.

I’m not sure how my love for the outdoors first arrived, I imagine it started when I was a kid, I do remember have multiple forts. I have many fond memories of my bride and I hiking, I have many fond memories of my “little man” on his first hike. The first time he saw the ocean, he literally ran into it, thankfully we had a change of cloths for him, he was soaked.

So if you are ever struggling with anything, take a walk in the wilds, and listen, I would expect that you will hear God’s creation.

Book Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:58:00 +0000

We all have it in our house; it’s the addiction to books. Well, reading material in general. I counted my books that are in “stand-by” mode, you know the ones that I have to choose from in my “to be read” pile. I have 40 books – how did this happen? I mean really, 40 books. Now this includes books that I have had for some time, in some cases years. I just keep passing the book over for a better one.

I will remind you that none of the books I have did I pay full price for, nope, all have come from some discount thrift store, trading book store or even a flea market. Bargain books are what we have in our house. I find it a challenge to find a book we are looking for at a better price that retail. The other day I purchased a book that lists for $12, with shipping I paid $4.50. You have to love the internet for finding a deal!

I find that one of hardest things, regarding books, is picking the next book. I may finish a book in a short time, but then I agonize over what to read next. In my pile of books there are the self-help, Christian growth, and the plain old pleasure reading. Until just a few years ago I had given up reading for fun, was just reading for growth. Thankfully my bride saw fit to buy me my first Clive Cussler book and well I was off and running on adventure stories again. Finished just about all the books he has published, notice a trend as I went back through his books, you know reading the older ones, I notice that his earlier work was a bit raunchy. As he progressed in age, so did his books move away from the love affair and entangling romance, and just focused on adventure and getting the bad guy.

I recently found another author that has been writing for some time, Jack Higgens. For the most part I really like his books, mostly adventure style writing, without the romance and such. Rescuing the girl is fine, but the character doesn’t have to get the girl in the end for it to be a good book for me, he just has to eliminate the “bad guy”. Since here in the real world politics seems to play a part when it comes to who the bad guy is.

Well I’m off to read the book I finally decided on last night, I’m set for at least 300 plus pages, then its back to the trouble of choosing the next book. Thankfully – it really is a small problem!

Footwear and Backpacking

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:16:00 +0000

What a weekend! This was a double camping weekend, by this I mean that we used our camper (my brides base camp) and my son and I, as well as a friend of his backpacked. The weather was great, a little cold on the overnight but otherwise the days ended up being very nice. We arrived on Thursday and set up our campsite, all went well and the storm we expected came and cleared off. By Friday morning the boys and I were ready to hit the trail, the fact that it was 12 miles was daunting but we wanted to get started.

Our trek started off fairly well, we climb just about 900 feet in the first few hours on the trail. It was in this time that I realized that my boots needed to be replaced. By the end of the first day we had hiked 8 miles and managed to loose the trial. I still don’t know where I lost the trail, thankfully I had my trusted GPS and we stayed on a fire road with the idea that we would run into the trail or a road. Thankfully we crossed the trail again and resumed our trek. We camped just off the trail, leaving no trace, the night was especially cold. I had brought my 30 degree sleeping bag and woke up shivering, put on a layer of clothing and waited for the sun to come up. By morning I realized that I really had some trouble with my feet. The blister on my left heel was raw and the right heel was not far behind. In the morning I bandaged up and even used some duct tape to hold the band aid on. A few miles up the trail it all gave out and I had to stop and work on my left heel again. Thankfully, we all made it out; the boys did great, no issues at all. I was the problem, with my blistered heels it was really slow going up hill, it seemed to aggravate my heels. So it’s time to let those boots go.

Footwear is really important no matter what the activity, I’m big on the right gear for the situation, but I let myself down on this one, I’m just glad I made it out. Looks like I’ll be on the mend for a few days. What a work out the trail was, looking forward to the next trail, with new boots!

Laundry and the Lawn

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:15:00 +0000

Ok – as the domestic engineer I have all the usual chores to do. I do now have a teenager who helps with the chores. But I’ve notice that no matter how efficient I am that I still just can’t get it all done. Very rare are the days that I say to myself “I can’t think of anything that needs to be done”. Really, most days I have a list on paper, I quit putting my list in my Palm phone because it just took to much time, I even go so far as to put something down on my list if I do it and it wasn’t originally on my list. Talk about Type A personality!

So spring has sprung and the weather has gone from 60 to 80, which I’m not sure what happened to the 70 degree days, but anyway, the blessings of shorts and short sleeved shirts has arrived, which translates to less time spent on laundry. At our house the general rule is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. So we have an older washer, noise too! We also have a regular dryer. (Gave up the cloths line years ago might need to think about it again with our electric bill so high.) The good news is that spring and summer laundry chores take about half the time they do in the winter around our house. This is where the lawn comes in; it takes over the time that I spent on the laundry. I know that this is a silly topic, just a chore right? Not really, last year I taught Junior how to mow the lawn and this past Saturday, he did just that! So maybe with his help I can find some free time, or just fill that time with another chore. Either way the only thing about having Junior do the lawn is an increase in his earnings her at home.
Oh well – the cost of teaching a child life’s responsibilities.

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:15:00 +0000

Yesterday our family dog past away. Our German Shepard, Max. He was born in Feb of 1998, his family line went back to Germany before the wall fell. He was a proud, majestic dog. It was later in 1998 when he became part of our family. He had hiked many a trail, even had been to Walt Disney World. Never a more gentle and loving dog, never a fiercer protector. All he lived for was to serve us, for our affection, our love. Never fading in his devotion to our family. Loved to be sprayed with the hose, but hated a bath. Loved to chase a tennis ball, but was reluctant to give it back. Never met a kitten or baby chick he didn't want to protect. Always brave and strong. His character was amazing, when he was young he used to play with our collie, he even went so far as to figure out how to let her out of her pen. He was amazing, the “Best Dog Ever”, our family will miss him greatly, it will take us time to mourn this loss. I thank God for the blessings that he gave us through Max.

Work Day

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 02:01:00 +0000

Being the at home-dad, I run the regular routine of household chores, and homeschool. Which sometimes means that my to-do list on the Dad/Husband side tends to get stacked up with small projects. Today I had a large list that I wanted to get done, since we have a big camping trip coming in the weeks ahead. I enlisted the help of both the wonderful wife and Junior. The following is a list of the extras that need to be done, but that I can’t usually find the time for during my regular week.

Checked the chainsaw, made sure it was in working order, done.
We have a wrought iron standing toilet paper dispenser that needed to be repainted, done.
Junior to clean the front bathroom, done.
Quick clean of our bathroom, done.
Get push mower running and mow the high spots in the yard, done.
Kill weeds with weed killer, done.
Have Junior clean up hen house and replace bedding for eggs, done.
Replace water filter and put up well house heater light, done.
Get Juniors tractor running, this took a lot longer than expected, done.
Have mom pull up weeds and remove some plants in front of the house to make room for new, done.
Help wife pull up weeds in front of house in bedding area, done.
Pick up sticks and rake up old leaves and sweet gum balls, team effort, done.
Burn sticks and dried out Christmas tree, done.
Take old trampoline that the large limb fell on to dump, done.
4pm Take wonderful wife to local Nursery for Garden party, we won a $50 shopping spree! WOW!
Pick up a few things in town, head home for burgers on the grill.

I’m tired – thankfully Sunday is rest day!
Monday it’s back to schooling and regular chores and a much shorter to-do list.

Final thought – do your kids ever say something that just really makes you laugh. Today Junior was riding on this tractor, pulling a trailer full of sticks and old leaves, swinging his hat in the air, hollering, “living the dream baby, living the dream”, what a character!

A Painful hand

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:19:00 +0000

Today I found myself visiting the Dr.’s office, not for myself but for Junior. Yesterday, in an expression of young testosterone my son decided that it would be fun to punch dad’s hand. Not really thinking that he would give it all he had, I let him take a shot at my hand.

First off, he was trying on some old work-out gloves of my wife’s, you know the ones that have no fingers and are all leather. Anyway, he was trying them on and challenged me to tag his hand first. So, as any father would do, I quickly and accurately tagged his palm, not hard. Then it was his turn, as he put it, so I let him have a go – well it didn’t go so well. After the impact, he hurt. Knowing that for the most part he can exaggerate pain from time to time, but this was not an exaggeration, he really hurt. He calmed down and tried to tough it out. By late evening it still hurt, we administered some Advil and got him to bed, thinking that maybe by morning all would be well.

By morning it was only some better, but still hurt, so we decided to call the Doctor and have his hand looked at, after an X-Ray it was found that it was not broke, just good and sore. He now has an Ace bandage on his hand, and we both learned that we should take it a little easier on the rough housing. At least until we forget about this day. I’m just glad it wasn’t broke.

Living in Lego Land

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:09:00 +0000

When I was a boy, I loved Legos, I didn’t have many, not even enough roof pieced to make a respectable roof. But I really had fun with them. When my son was old enough we bought him the Duplo blocks, the large version of Legos. Then when he grew more, we bought him the real thing for Christmas. Now my son has just become a teenager and for the last few years has been purchasing his own Legos with the money that he earns through his chores or odd jobs. He always has his sites set on the next big Lego purchase, of course in no small part due to the Lego catalogs that show up in the mailbox.

I feel as though I live in Lego land, because every part of his room contains a story connected to a Lego scene he has created. He currently has some testing going on with two minifigures, one of which is doing the recording of the tests while the other dangles over the edge of his door chest on about three feet of Lego chains. Jr. says this is a 4 day experiment. I would hate to be that guy!

Sometimes it is hard to have the same enthusiasm that Jr. does for his creations, but other times it’s not hard at all. Take yesterday for example, was able to find him some Stop-Action Animation software. For the past few weeks and maybe even months, he has been using his digital camera to take pictures of his Lego Minifigures moving and basically making a movie. However, the only way he could see that movie was to manually hold down the forward picture viewing button on his camera. Anyway, I installed this new software and by nighttime he had it figured out and was making movies. I'll post one, when I figure out how and have some time.
They really are something. The time he puts into it is amazing.

Has anyone ever said?

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:09:00 +0000

Have you ever had anyone say to you and your wife “Y’all have done such a good job with your son!”? Or child, children, just plug it in.

I’m not boasting, to be honest it is probably the scariest thing anyone can say to me as a parent. The reason it is the scariest thing is because I’m not done with my job, he is not out the door, graduated from college, making his way in the world, making a living, not living at home, the list goes on!

To be honest, I figure I’ll mess it up. But the thankful part of me really can’t take credit for the “work in progress” because; the good Lord is the only one who really knows what He is doing. My wife and I just try to follow His direction.

Don’t let it get around, but as a parent there are time I really don’t know what is going on. Every parent has had those days, the good ones, when we feel like we are the best parent that God has created. Only to be followed by a day or two that seems to be the worst. Times when you really don’t know what to do about what is going on in your home or with your child. That is really when I find myself in prayer, I mean really in prayer. Because in all my years at home, I eventually am stumped about what to do, that is when my only answer is found in prayer.

So the next time someone says that your child is turning out fine, just remember to pray that the Lord continues to do His work through you.

TeachingDad

Far Too Long

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:37:00 +0000

Well it has been far too long since I've posted here. But my only good excuse is that I have been busy. Also I just don't seem to be able to be consistent at posting, especially when it takes a while to do it - Dial-up you know.
Anyway, the last few months have been good. Have started back at the YMCA and that is going well, working at getting fitter. Which is also why I have been posting to Sparkpeople.com, showing improvement in all the areas I'm working on, have good days and bad days at the Y. Today my bride and I start our fast, a Daniel Fast for 7 days to start. Today being day one, I am challenged to give up all the sweet things that I usually enjoy. However, I've not had sweet tea since Christmas and haven't had cookies and such at night for about two weeks. Hoping that cutting back will reduce the cravings during this week. I'll just have to see how it goes, pray and fasting. Sadly I've never done it before, but am looking forward to the week.

Fitness

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:45:00 +0000

Well I've been away from my blog for a while only to be a part of another site. Sparkpeople.com It is a site for people like me and my bride, trying to get back some of our youth. Well more like the size of our youth. You can keep track of your weight and exercise program. It offers a way to be connected with other and encourage and be encourages.

Lot going on this month. Have to move my mother out of her home and help to get things settled while she is in a nursing home. Long trip back home - won't be an easy trip, that is for sure.

A Great Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Wow! What a great vacation - right now we are resting on Tybee Island in GA. Here a few photo's from our adventure in Mickey's world.

Rhino encounter in Animal Kingdom

Tiger in on our Trek

The Baseball Man on Main Street in Magic Kingdom

I got to ride a Segway.

Atlantic Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Our stop at the Ocean - Junior never tires of playing in the sand. We will stop on the way back too - we packed the sand toys for the trip back.

My beautiful wife.

Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:34:00 +0000

Yes! The start of Vacation - we just spent 6 hours on the road. I was doing my best to not be "driven" on a schedule - I think I have done really well so far. I figured we would be up and on the road by 9am. Then I was reminded by my bride that I need to not have a schedule, we have all day. So I said we would get on the road between 9am and Noon. I figured that would leave a three hour window to get on the road.

We spent all of yesterday gathering our clothes and all the odds and ends. We spent last night having a Disney marathon, Walle, Ratatouille then off to bed.

Junior was up at 6:30 this morning and we were on the road by 7:30 am - Looks to me like junior is ready to see Mickey!

We have now settled into our hotel in lower GA and are enjoying the comforts of our suite!

Good and Bad

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:59:00 +0000

The good is that we head out for vacation very soon. The bad is that after my mother has been in a rehab hospital for a the past few weeks they have now determined that she needs to be moved in to a nursing facility. So I'm going to enjoy our family's vacation, and when we get back I will address helping her move out of her home. Of course she is 700 miles away, but it will work out.

I don't think I'll be blogging during vacation - I'm starting to get discouraged about this blog thing - I'm not looking for validation, just a few followers who may find my experience intersting. Found some at home mom with two followers and she only has blogged nine times - man!

How to have a Successful Personal Fitness Program.

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:41:00 +0000

This is prompted by the fact that I am obviously not going to be in shape to run a road race for my 40th Birthday. With all that has been going on, Cub Scout Summer Camp, Boy Scout Summer Camp, Emergency trip to see my dad. My training schedule has been demolished. So here is my idea on how to get in shape.

1. Don’t even set a goal. But if you decide to set one, make it obtainable. Like moving from your favorite chair to the refrigerator, and back to your chair, we could call this a complete circuit.

2. Don’t let things like your spouses schedule or your child’s needs stand in your way. Of course proceeding in this selfish manner for any length of time will result in not having a wife or child(ern) to care for, but don’t let that slow you down.

3. Don’t invest in expense work out equipment. First off check with a neighbor, chances are they have some lying around that they don’t use, just barrow it. In addition you can count the lifting of dog food bags, grocery bags and book bags as part of your muscle training.

4. Don’t get hung up on organic health foods, veggies and fruits. Just eat what ever you feel like, don’t be concerned with cholesterol and fat content. If you don’t read the label it doesn’t exist.

5. Finally make sure to invest in the proper attire, this is essential. Spend as much time and money as you need to looking the part. Then once you have the proper wicking shirt, shorts and color coordinated MP3 player, not forgetting your base layer as well as making sure that you also have the proper footwear. You’re ready for the next step, heading to the grocery store and buy all that junk food. At least you’ll look good doing it.

Really, I want to stick to a fitness program, but just like a job does, life tends to take priority. But to be honest I don’t think I will take my own advice on this one. When we get back from Vacation I’m going to have to re-join the YMCA, junior needs to get back into shape too. Then I will try again to get into shape to run a road race, it will just have to be before I’m 41!

The joys of Ebay

noreply@blogger.com (TeachingDad) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:39:00 +0000

Over the years I have bought many things on Ebay, but I also have enjoyed selling too. For the most part I just sell the things that we don’t use anymore; I usually set my price really low, just in hopes of getting ride of it and making sure that I cover my shipping costs. It works out fine, once and a while I mess up on the shipping cost, but if the item sells for a good price, I’m still okay.

Whenever I’m looking for something to buy, like an old movie for Christmas, Ebay is the first place I look. I can waste a lot of time running from store to store in town, and never find what I want. I’ve never been one to settle for things, in fact I just hate the phrase “it’s just not possible”, that makes me more determined to do or find what ever it is I’m after. I don’t know if that is my American heritage or that I’m just stubborn.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been a serious Ebayer, selling anything around here that has lost its usefulness. What is really great is the fact that when I do sell something I usually get more for it than I could have imagined. In the past I have sold items and managed to pay for our homeschool curriculum for the whole year. I sold a few odds and end this year and bought some of our homeschool materials as well.

In my book, Ebay is one of those sites that can be very useful. After vacation I’ll start my Christmas shopping, last year I had a great find for my bride, something I never would have bought in the store, I found her a TinkerBell purse, she loves bags and purses. So I’ll have to see what is out there for this Christmas.