Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

more...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!

Now I am not one to give away a ladies age but this is a big one and lets just say it rhymes with "dirty".

She is an amazing wife and a great mother and I am very blessed to have her in my life.  She wouldn't believe it but I am always impressed with how she is able to handle 3 kids 5 and under all day by herself.

Everyone be sure to flood her Inbox with Birthday wishes. 

Relevant

I have been listening to the Relevant Podcast for about 6 months now. It "features the editors of RELEVANT magazine discussing the news, issues and entertainment that matters to your life—with in-studio music performances and interviews thrown in for kicks."

The show is usually about an hour long with no commercials, just fun. It consists of 3 guys and a girl sitting around and chatting just like any of us might do with 3 of our friends. The only difference is their discussions are recorded and include having a band showing up and playing a few songs. Sometimes they will also interview a Christian author, like Don Miller.

The podcast is released late Friday nights, but it leaves me with something to look forward to listening to at work on Monday. I highly recommend at least giving it a try for a few weeks. The magazine, which I just subscribed to, is also great and the website has a plethora of interesting articles as well.

Stan Revealed

By the way here is a picture of Stan for those of you who were wondering.

The Ascent of Stan

Colorado Springs

Thanks everyone for your ideas. Last night we ate at The Blue Star Which was excellent. The Halibut special was amazing. Then we went and saw a late movie of Live Free or Die Hard, which I was glad to catch before it left the theatre. Wichita is truly privileged to have the Warren Theatres. The movie theatre we went to last night, Tinsel Town USA, was nice and well kept but the screen was small and the sound was terrible. I suppose it was probably on par with most movie theatres around the country but when you are used to watching things at the Warren it sets a standard that no one else can meet.

This morning we slept in and then ate lunch at a nearby Denny's, blah. Do not eat at the Denny's at I-25 and Lake View. Now we are sitting and relaxing in Agia Sophia in Old Colorado City. It was recommended by Josh at Eighth Day Books, and is a cool little coffee chop and Christian book library.

9 years

Today is our 9 year wedding anniversary.  We are in GC this morning dropping the 2 elder boys off with family and we are about to leave for Colorado Springs.  Does anybody know anything fun to do there?  We have Internet at our hotel so I will check back later.

Vote Yes!

Vote Yes to:

1. Increase bankruptcy in our community
2. Increase crime in our neighborhoods
3. Break up homes and families
4. Send an open invitation to the mob to move into Wichita
5. Increase "taxes" on the poor and middle class (The upper class are less likely to gamble)
6. Make a portion of our local budget dependent upon addicts
7. Prey upon the weak willed
   
8. Hear things like...
         "Mommy mommy I am hungry.  What are we going to have for dinner today?"
         "Quiet, mommy blew all the grocery money this week at the slot machines. Now eat your stale bread"
   

These are just some of the reasons that I think it is important to Vote Yes, Yes today!

http://www.ksn.com/news/local/8962217.html

Thank you for your sacrifice

I received a call from my dad yesterday telling my that my cousin Ambers husband had been killed in Iraq yesterday morning by an IED.  If you live in GC you have probably already heard about it.  Travis Bachman was only 30 years old and left behind 2 children with Amber.  I just wanted to say something on here in order to honor his service to our country and the ultimate sacrifice that he and his family made.  I ask that anyone reading this will take a moment to pray for those he left behind.

Here is the news story including some video and an interview with Amber.
http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/8858862.html#

---------

In other news I am thankful to say that my aunt and uncle safely drove over the I-35 W bridge, like they do every day, just 2 hours before it collapsed yesterday.

The Ascent of Stan

I first met Stan in our Kitchen.  He was different than the others... quiet and calm.  I decided right away that I liked him.  His uniqueness drew me to him and I decided to let him stay.

The next day I found Stan in the hallway.  The kids thought he was cool too.  That evening he had moved to the stairs coming from the entryway.  I rarely saw him move, he would just appear in different places.  The next day he had relocated to the dinning room.

Then I didn't see Stan

Until later in the shower.  I was singing a Ben Folds song in my mind.  That is when I saw him staring down at me again.  After the surprise I laughed out loud.  That is when I decided to name him Stan, after the Ben Folds song I was singing.

He seems to like it in the bathroom off of our bedroom because he has stayed in there for several days now.  He will never find his purpose in our house though and so soon i will set him free.

Real Life or Scooby Doo?

I did very poorly on this test.

Scooby Doo: Ripped from the Headlines?



Score: 50% (5 out of 10)

The Blue Angels

My family came to see the Blue Angels on Sunday. Quite a show I must say, but man it was hot! Unfortunately I accidentally had my camera set to 1600 for the ISO(film speed) so the pictures are really grainy and not much good for anything except sharing on the Internet. I have to remember to always check the stinking ISO setting. I have done this more than once, but never that high.

Yes that is Rodrick on the left.

See if you can figure this one out?

Independence Day

We spent Independence Day and the rest of the week in GC. I would like to say 'thank you' to whoever at the city or county that decided to outlaw firecrackers in the 3i parking lot. I was just telling Jenny before hand how that place used to be like a war zone. Then when we were pulling into the lot past some policemen, I overheard one of them use the exact same wording about how before firecrackers were banned from the 3i parking lot it was like a war zone.

One year in Hike School a family friend had bought 10,000 of those long glow stick necklaces to sell on the 4th. He told Travis and I that we could split the profits with him of whatever we sold. So we spent the evening dodging firecrackers from what would ordinary be sane people driven mad with the lust of loud bangs and bright lights. We went home that night shell shocked with an extra $100 bucks in the pockets of our ruined shorts and ruined shirts full of burn holes.

Here are some pictures I took of the fireworks...

Blue Angels

We got to watch the Blue Angels practice some for their show this weekend from our driveway. If anyone from out of town is interested in coming to see them the show is free both this Saturday and Sunday.

McConnell Air force Base Open House

777