What is up for today?

Well, another week is drawing to a close. Last night I had a bit of fun. I had the opportunity to find out how fast I could take the seat out of "Fred" (see previous posts). It seems the power seat switch has a bit of a quirk in it that engages and tries to take the seat all of the way back. By all the way back I mean that if the track would allow it the seat would go out the rear hatch! The switch keeps the motor engaged even though it can't go anywhere which kills the battery. So, I have now removed teh switch and the Blazer is set up so I am the only one that can drive it! (You cannot hear the evil laughter on this blog. That requires a phone call!)

Well, the week has been fast. It is almost like the last few days haven't really existed. Work has been good, with only a few minor hiccups. The best part hass been all of the time I have been able to be at home this week. The really cool thing is that I will be home Saturday all day!

Well, gonna run! Talk to you later!

What is up with the weather?

Well, it is the 28th of November and today we reached a high of 50 degrees! That is also the expected high for tomorrow. Now, I do not want to sound ungrateful because I am not, but this is weird! It was colder than this a month ago, and we had almost a foot of snow on the ground. If I had known this was how things would turn out I think I would have put off the entire yard work thing! At least it made putting up the Christmas lights a little easier.

So far there have been no takers on coming up for a name for the new ride. I got the last of my stuff moved over from the other care tonight and now I am all moved in! Everything I need is there with the exception of a CD player. I might try hitting some of the junk yards and see what I can find.

I guess that is about all I have to really say today. There are a lot of things going on, but I do not really feel like getting into some of them in the blog - things people write in blogs tend to come back to bite you in your hindparts if you are not careful! Well, take care if you are even there!

The New Wheels!

Here is a pic of my new baby. We are thinking of names for her since we called the old rust bucket "Black Beauty". At this point the best I have come up with is Fred. Any ideas?

Maybe we will have a contest and I will pick a winner from the entries I receive. If nothing else that might get some people to post a comment or two to let me know I get a hit from time to time. I know that some of it is because I do not post often, but I am trying to get better about that. I have a friend who hasn't posted anything for quite some long time! Anyway, Let's say that the winner will be picked on Christmas Eve. Come one, come all! Or maybe just both of you!

If nothing else it would be nice to hear from some people I don't get to see. Fret not, I will still post because this is therapy!

Later!

He had a plan the whole time!

I just want to take a minute and tell you a story. God has just given me a major answer to prayer.

For the last year or so I have been praying for a new truck. My old S-10 was getting ready to take a dirt nap, and I am woefully short in the realm of folding money. I knew that it was going to take divine intervention to make something happen since we are in the middle of trying to get out of debt as it is. We simply did not have the wiggle room to make a payment.

Well, as time went on things were not happening and I thought maybe I was trying to put a limit on what I would accept from Him because I wanted a Chevy! Hey, can you blame me? Anyway I realized that I was letting my own personal desires get in the way of what God might have in store for me and I finally broke down and said that if He wanted me to have something other than a Chevy then who am I to complain about a gift from God?

Time continued to go by and I had an opportunity to bid on some retired work trucks at the gas plant where my Dad works. I bid on three of them and felt quite sure that I was going to win one of them because they were all Ford trucks and God was going to answer my prayer for a truck because I was willing to praise Him for whatever He gave me. Bids went in and were tallied and I did not win.

I was a bit confused, but I just took a minute and prayed and told God that it was OK. I figured that He wanted me to continue to trust Him that my old truck would just keep running until I could get something else or He would provide another way. I started to get ready to put old Black Beauty back on the road.

This past Tuesday my Dad called and asked if I would like to go look at a 1997 Chevy Blazer. I went and after the test drive he asked me what I thought of it. I figured he was going to give me a loan for it and I would pay him back. It was a bit scary because it was more than I thought I would be able to pay off in a short period of time. I told him it would take me a while to pay him back, and then he told me that he was going to buy it for me. You could have knocked me over with a feather! I now have a really nice Blazer that should last me several years, and it didn't cost me anything!

I see now that God had a plan the entire time. I fight with pride quite a bit, and I like to have things the way I want them. There were a lot of times that I wanted to just chuck the whole thing and go buy something and worry about the rest of it later, but God had a plan. He wanted me to learn to rely on Him and be willing to be happy for what I am given. I can honestly say that this gift from my Dad means more to me than anything I have been given by him before. The reason is that I know it was a gift from God and that He used my Dad to do it. I think the best part of it is that at the end of it all I was able to have a Chevy!

So, I will try to post a picture of it later. Things are a little busy right now. Signing off for today!

At the Lodge!

Greetings to both of you! Maybe I am being a bit optimistic! Oh well, I write to make myself happy! Speaking of happy, I am! I am on vacation this week, and it is great! I know that next week is going to feel like 5 days of kicks to the groin, but at least right now I am sitting in a room at the Great Wolf Lodge in TC and the best part is I got it for less than half price! Well, I should say that having relatives that can get you a military discount is a very cool thing!

So, since last I wrote there has not been a whole lot going on. I am once again looking at getting a truck to replace black beauty, and it is probably going to be a four-letter f-word. I know, what is this world coming to. Well, it comes down to price and availability. I have little to no money, and that is what these trucks cost, and one might be available. So, I guess I will just look at it as God is teaching me something. Even Naman had to go down into the filthy river in order to receive God's blessing!

The kids are doing well in school, and it has really been a blessing to watch Zach and how he is not afraid to share his faith. He got into a 2nd grade level theological debate with a little Jehovah's witness girl the other day, and he really held his own. I know it made an impression on the little girl because she came to school the next day and told him that her mom said he better not talk about her religion anymore or he would be in trouble.

Couple of things. First of all he did not talk about her religion, he just defended his own and quite well if I do say so. Second, why is it that people do not understand what tolerance really means? I am teaching my kids what the Bible says and part of that is to respect another persons right to believe what they want. We are not to force people into our beliefs, but neither are we to back down if someone disagrees with us. Tolerance is saying I do not agree with you, but you are free to make your own choice. Too many people today think that tolerance means rolling over and compromising what you believe in order not to offend somebody. HOGWASH!

Anyway, it has been cool to be able to see my kids stand up for Jesus now that they are out "in the world". There have been a lot of people who disagreed with our decision to move them to public school, but I feel more and more confident that this was the right thing to do. I am not walking around with my head in the sand. I do realize that there are things that they will come in contact with that I truly wish they would not, but at least when these issues come up they are coming home and talking with us about them. We have had some wonderful discussions at supper about some of these things, and I look forward to more!

Well, gonna sign off now. I hope it will not be another month before I write again! Take care and have a good one!

Farewell, my friend

Well, the dreaded moment came today. Clyde has died. I am just taking a moment to let all (if any) of my readers know about it. I was at a church work day today and when I got home I let him out of his kennel. He was not himself, stumbling more than ever and just not acting right. The stumbling has been expected since he has been losing sensation in his back half. Today it was a lot worse and he was actuallly falling over a few times. I saw the writing on the wall that I was going to have to finally take him to the vet for the big sleep. I figured I would do it on Monday or Tuesday.

Well I had to run back to town to get gas for the lawn tractor, and when I got back he was gone. It happened behind the shed. So, I did what I promised him I would do and I buried my dog. I promised him that I would be the one to take care of him whent he time came, and after twelve years there was no way I could let him down. He was the best dog I have ever owned. He was content to just be with me when i was working in the yard or the garage, and he was ALWAYS happy to see me. I know people say all dogs are happy to see their owners, but we have had 4 other dogs beside Clyde and they never looked as happy to see me as Clyde did.

Tammi and the kids took it well all things considered. We knew it was coming just not when. Zach asked me tonight if dogs would go to heaven. I explained to him that dogs did not have souls and therefore could not just go to heaven on their own since they can't make a decision to trust Christ. Then, and I know this is not something that can be backed up by scripture, I told him that it is my opinion that when a person gets to heaven they can have their dog back if they want it. God made dogs and made them so loyal that I just have a hard time believing that you can't have a dog when you get there.

I know, I know I am a wack job! That may very well be, and I might not believe that as much as I made my son think I do, but I will seriously consider kicking the hindparts of anyone who tries to tell my son he will never see our big yellow doofus again.

Well, I was just using the opportunity to grieve a bit and to let people know that Clyde has moved on. I will try to post a pic of the big fella next time - then you can see why he just has to go to heaven!

Anybody there?

Well, it has been a bit since we last checked in on life here in Hide Manor. There has been a lot of stuff going on that would bear mentioning if I had more time, and even more stuff that I could mention if I felt that it was warranted. So, I will settle for the high points.

Kitchen Report
We have done something that I personally have been trying to fight for about 5 years now and repainted the kitchen. Tammi had painted it with a watermelon theme some years back, and while it looked nice enough I was never fond of it. This was a big shock to her when I finally said it out loud about three weeks ago! Anyway, the only thing that kept me from giving in earlier is knowing how much work it was going to be to not have one of two rooms in our house that simply cannot be closed for repairs. (the other being the Water Closet)

There were some repairs that needed to be made to the walls and we painted the cabinets too. The walls are now "Silverberry" which is a fancy way of saying light purple like you would find on a lilac, and the cabinets are a cream color. I still have some painting to do on the ceiling, and I will probably get that done in the week or so to come.

Extreme Home Makeover Report
Well, in the spirit of Ty Pennington we have taken our redecorating on the road and spent a couple of weeks doing work at my in-laws house. The walls over there had not been painted since the end of the Reagan Administration. Tammi and her Mom did the bulk of the painting and I did some electrical work and some drywall patching. I was able to avoid the big job of putting in the new patio door. That got left to my brother-in-law and father-in-law with my blessings! The place looks much better and they are expected to have new flooring in the dining room soon which will really help things even more.

School Report
This is a biggie! Our kids will not be going to the Christian school again this year. The biggest reasons are time and money with a close third being getting them out with the rest of the world while we still are able to work with them and teach them how to make the right decisions when things come up that could possibly lead them astray. I know a lot of people are really down on public schools, and I do not think they are perfect, nor would I say that homeschooling is the only alternative. I think the best thing I can do as a parent is to have my kids in a place that allows me to watch what they are doing academically and then push the school to make changes. One thing I am sure of is that I am the one who is responsible for teaching them morals. I am prayerfully hopeful that this is going to bring our family (by that I mean those living in the Manor itself) closer together and take communication to a whole new level.

Financial Report
Well, I will not go into great details here since only the level of panic has truly changed. We are still not where we need to be, but progress has been made. We are currently tracking our purchases in order to see where we are overspending so we can start getting a budget firmly in place. Enough things have changed that we are not in a constant state of fear though. God is blessing and we have not charged anything in about four months. If you only knew how big of a deal that really was!

Church Report
Things at church are going... Well, some things are getting good other things are ... The best thing is that we have been seeing a lot of new faces lately. I have a couple of new faces in my Sunday School class that I have been pushing to come for a long time, and that really makes me happy. Our Pastor is going to be taking some time off to do a benefit bike ride that will take him from Sault Ste. Marie, MI to someplace in Florida that I cannot remember. It is on the panhandle somewhere. We are very excited that he has the opportunity to do this, because for some reason he likes riding a bike that much. Give me something with an engine anyday!!!!!

While he is gone the board is getting a taste of exactly what he does in the church. The man is not paid enough. Pure and simple. It literally is taking 6 deacons and three missionaries to pull of what he does every week. I thank God we have him in our church and that one day he will be rewarded for all that he does here.

A Challenge?
I was listening to a preacher today and he gave a very good illustration that I would like to leave with you. A man was walking down a dock where a bunch of crab fishermen were unloading their catch. He noticed a bunch of buckets sitting there full of crabs with no lids covering them. He asked a fisherman why he would not cover the lid and risk losing some of the catch. The fisherman replied, "One thing about crabs, if one tries to get out the others will always pull him back in."

That is very true in our lives as well. If we let ourselves get tossed into a group with a bunch of crabs we will find it very hard to change our attitudes. Every time we start to realize that we need to change we will be pulled back down by another crab and there we are again. So, do your best to avoid those people who would pull you down then you will be able to be free.

A Joke
A man has an hour before his flight to Los Angeles. He decides to kill some time at an airport bar. He walks in and sits down next to a clearly nervous guy, who has three empty whisky glasses in front of him. The man introduces himself to the nervous guy and buys him a drink.

The man asks, "Nervous about flying?"

The nervous guy replies, "N-n-nervous? I'm t-terrified. I j-just know the p-plane is g-going t-to crash and we're g-going to d-die."

"Is this your first time flying?"

"N-no, I fly c-cross-c-country all the t-time. It's m-my job."

"Why don't you just ask your boss if you can drive cross-country?"

"H-he would never l-let me do that."

"Why not?" asks the man.

The nervous guy replies, "B-because I'm the p-pilot."

With that I will say Goodbye!

Have You Been to TigerTown?

I just wanted to take a minute and tell you that if you have not been to Comerica Park in Detroit then you are missing something. I do not have extensive experience in visiting ballparks, but I have got to say that this place is just gorgeous! I want to take a moment and thank my employers for taking me to the game. It truly was a unique experience, and it made it a whole lot better that the Tigers beat the White Sox! Anyway, that is about all I have for today. Five days to go until vacation! I can hardly wait!

Well, It has been awhile

Hello to all of my adoring readers. I know it has been some time since my last post, and I can promise you that there are so many reasons for the delay that it would bore the average reader to tears if I were to list the entire collection of mishaps, screw-ups, maladies, and travesties. Suffice it to say that God is good, and even though the last four weeks or so have been very trying, He is still on the throne and watching over us.

I guess the biggest thing that is going on this weekend is that my wife took the kids and left me. Not only did she pack her bags and leave the house, she left the country. (pregnant pause inserted here) Actually that is all true, just a bit out of context. She went with my parents to the cabin in Canada. Talk about jealous! The cabin is my favorite place on earth if I can't be in my own home. They left Friday and will be coming home on Monday. I had to stay home and work - the elfin magic does not work to get extra days off!

Work has been a bit challenging lately. Two weeks ago I took my van in for brakes, and I got the breaks! When they put things back together they forgot to do a little procedure called OILING THE BEARINGS! Funny thing, metal in contact with other metal turning at high revolutions needs some type of lubricant to reduce friction. Evidently when this lubricant is forgotten the build up of heat can be so extreme as to weld the bearings right to the hub! So, I have been driving a loaner for work and it makes the job very difficult. I am praying that I get some really good news on Monday.

Anyway, for my time alone this weekend I have really been having a blast! Yesterday I helped my Pastor move a bunch of boulders. We literally moved at least 2 tons of rock form two different locations to the church where we are building a rock pile ala the Hebrews. Then I went home and cleaned out the fish pond in our back yard. That was a fun and slimy mess! This morning after going into the church to meet someone for music practice who did not show up I rented a Rug Doctor and came home and cleaned all of our rugs. Finally I finished it all up by trimming our amazing wall of hedge. That was about it. I was instructed to go golfing this weekend to have some fun time, but who has the time?

I must say though that I am not complaining about life in general. Of course there are things that get under my skin, but I can honestly say that God carries me through when I get low. I know there are a lot of people dealing with problems a whole lot bigger than anything I have been facing, but the neat thing is that God is still bigger than those problems too. All we have to do is keep trusting Him to carry us. Not to sound sacrilegious, but I think it is kinda neat to say to God sometimes, "OKAY, I AM DOING ALL I CAN. SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO!" I guess the best advice I have to give is to just trust God and ask Him for the grace that you need to get through your problems. He sometimes will even send someone to listen to you at the right time to help you through.

Okay, off the soapbox. (Well it is my blog and I have the right! I mean nobody is being forced at gunpoint to stay here!) I guess I will sign off now as I need to get ready to split the sheets and get some beauty sleep - no laughing just move along. I hope all two or three of my readers have enjoyed my dissertation and have walked away with some little nugget that will act as a bright spot in their day. If not, I offer this:

A cowboy walked into a bar and ordered a whisky. When the bartender delivered the drink, the cowboy asked, "Where is everybody?"

The bartender replied, "They've gone to the hanging."

"Hanging? Who are they hanging?"

"Brown Paper Pete," the bartender replied.

"What kind of a name is that?" the cowboy asked.

"Well," said the bartender, "he wears a brown paper hat, brown paper shirt, brown paper trousers, and brown paper shoes."

"How bizarre," said the cowboy. "What are they hanging him for?"

"Rustling," said the bartender.

And with that I wish you all a good night!

Yep, Still Knockin' Around

Yep, we are still alive in Hide Manor. Life is still hectic, but things are looking up. We have finished the Spring Tea at the church, and the school Spring Program is over. Now I need to get the school yearbook done and then I can get caught up on things that I want to do. I have a few tree stumps in my yard that are calling my name!

Biggest thing going right now is that we are going to be getting rid of the family dog. Polly is a cute, nice dog, but she has never been a good dog. She is too independent and destructive to be a family dog. It is depressing, but this weekend she actually tried to eat my bed, and I can't take it anymore. So, she is on her way to the animal shelter tomorrow and we will be looking for a new pet. We are going to look for a Cocker Spaniel since we really had a good one with Bonnie.

So, like I said thigns are hectic around here. I have only been able to post on average of about once every two weeks lately, but that is about all I can find time for. I'll try to get better in the future. I guess I haven't been missed though! Signing off from Hide Manor.

Still Here

Well, we are still alive here at Hide Manor. Life is really busy right now. We have all of our normal spring things going on around the house that we do love to get into like yardwork, flowerbeds, tree pruning, stuff like that. We also have just finished up doing the annual Ladies Spring Tea at church. It was yesterday and went off without a hitch. Things looked really nice and we were able to get out of there with everything cleaned up by around 4:30. Better than I thought it would be!

Next Tuesday we have the school program for the kids. Tammi is up to her armpits in costumes once again, and that means I am working on them too! It doesn't look like it is going to be as bad as the Christmas program. There are only about 10 characters in this one. That makes things a whole lot better.

I am trying to get the school yearbook done this week too. I admit I could have been working on it earlier, but things just kept getting in the way. It was easier to do last year since I was out of work after my shoulder surgery. Now I am healthy and the last thing I want to do is put that thing together. On the bright side it is going together pretty well. We have been very proud of our kids the last few weeks as we have been so busy and they have been very patient all things considered. God has truly blessed us with these kids!

Work has been a bit slow, but things are starting to look up at Wal-Mart. I got a display Friday, and I have promises for two more this week. Keep praying that it will improve! Tammi is looking forward to getting out of school and having more time at home with the kids when her time of teaching is over.

Well, I am going to sign off now. Here is a picture of some tulips in our flowerbed. Things are starting to look like summer around here!

Hello!

Aren't they a cute couple of kids? They got their good looks from their father, of course. Some of you may take offense at that, but I say it in truth. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they got them from their father as their mother still has all of hers. (Rimshot)

Hello and Happy Easter! It has been a busy weekend here. We had our community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday and it was a hoot. We think we had at least 300 kids this year. The church auditorium was standing room only. I would estimate that there were at least 500 here in total. We did not get an accurate count with all those bodies moving around.

Today was a beautiful Easter day. Sunrise service went very well, and all the other services went without any major hitches either. Spent the afternoon at the in-laws watching The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Then we went back home to let the dog out before running back into church. Like I said, busy. At least the weather was nice. Well, gotta run. I'll try to drop inlater this week.

Zach's Room

I don't have time to talk right now, but here are a few pics of the new room!

Played Hooky

Well, we had a good weekend. We were supposed to go down to the Palace to see the Gaither concert, but things changed. We decided that with the price of gas and the meals we would have to buy we would end up spending about $90 to make this trip to a "free" concert. So, we decided to skip it and go to TC instead. I had a couple of free movie tickets, so we could go see a flick fur nuthin'! It was also too good to pass up since I had the kids taken care of for the night with my parents and Pastor was teaching Sunday School for me. Sooooo, we went to TC letting everyone think we were out of town and played hooky Sunday morning for Sunday school. I know I need to repent and ask forgiveness. Had a good time though!

Other than that it was not a very productive weekend. Changed the oil in the van Saturday morning and that was about the only thing I accomplished. Church Sunday morning was good, and then my parents took us out for lunch at the Home of the Whopper. After that we went home and did nuthin' until it was time to go over to the in-laws for my nephew's birthday party. Then back to church and home again. I know, I need to slow down!

Work today was fair. I need to see the big W get things in gear as sales are OK everywhere else, but without some displays at the W I am not getting very much action. Spartan is limping along and they are still a decent business, but we all must bow to the selling power of Wallyworld!

The kids are doing well. Zach went to a lamb farm today. I decided to ask him about the trip and the conversation went a little like this:

"How was the lamb farm?"

"It was alright."

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. I petted one lamb and another one kept sniffing my leg."

"Anything else neat happen?"

"Oh Yeah! We saw a great big daddy sheep going to the bathroom! It came out like a bunch of little round balls! That was really cool, but kinda gross too."

I pay tuition for him to see something as educational as that! Of course as a kid I would have probably thought the same thing. This kid scares me sometimes beaus he is already thinking at a more advanced level of mischief than I did at his age. Makes a father proud!

Anyway, I guess I will sign off for now. I pulled this little picture off the net and photoshopped in the vanity plate. Someday the dream will be mine! Take care everyone!

Here we are again

Well, life here at Hide Manor is still puttering along. We are recovering from some major redecorating in Zach's room. One word for the color scheme - VIVID. It is white, a fairly bright blue, and Wal-mart sticker green. Yeah, that's right it is that bright neon green. It looks really nice though. Hats off to Zach for picking his own colors. They really look good together.

Anyway, lots going on otherwise. Somebody broke into the church and wreaked all kinds of holy havoc (get the pun) on the media computer upstairs. It is packed full of virus programs, adware, spyware, worms, and parasites. Hang on I need an inoculation! I got a lot of it fixed before church this past Sunday, but there is a hard drive wipe in my future. I am not looking forward to doing that again.

Work has been slow the last couple of weeks with Spring break going on. Things are looking up a bit this week, but Wal-mart is really giving me fits. I've somehow got to figure out a way to get the people there to look at reality. They have a hard time with that. Once I get Wally World running smooth again I should be on easy street.

We are still working on getting our finances going in the right direction. Kinda decided to go back and start from scratch on the budgeting (Spending Plan). Hoping that a "reboot" will clean up the gunk and get us rolling better. God will bless, I have no doubt of that. It's hard when you realize that if you had just done it right in the first place you wouldn't have to struggle so much to learn the lesson later. Things would be a lot easier if you got smacked immediately for screwing up with money and then received instant relief when turning it around. Not complaining, just thinking out loud.

I was kinda cheesed today when I realized that once again Broke Butt Mountain was going to steal the thunder from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It happened at the Oscars, and now they are released on DVD on the same day. How can people way that Hollywood is not pushing a homo agenda when the biggest publicity during the Oscars went to Broke Butt instead of TLTW&TW? Broke Butt didn't even begin to compete with TLTW&TW at the box office, but the media regurgitates whatever Hollywood tells them to. Anyway, that just cheesed me off.

Well, I am going to run our and put the dogs in for the night. Say a prayer for old Clyde. He is having some problems with his back legs. He has a neurological disorder that is causing all the feeling to slip away in his back legs. Eventually he won't be able to walk. He has been such a good dog, and I am going to really miss him when he's gone. Best dog I have ever owned. Okay I'm gonna go have a cry now.

Take care you all and drop me a line! It has been nice to hear from all of you lately!
In HIS Grip
Tom

One Big Step

Well, I am about to leave the house to do something I have not done in a long time. I am going to the bank to make the final payment on our van. Tomorrow when I wake up it will be the first day in almost twelve years I have not had a car loan. I cannot even begin to say how happy this makes me.

I have also had to make a decision about the truck I am going to be bidding on. Old "Black Beauty" has been running okay, and I have decided to "throw out a fleece". I am still going to bid on the truck, but I am going to bid much lower than I had originally intended. I want to know that if I win the truck it is because God wanted me to have it. My original intent had been to bid aggressively for it since it is a good deal, but now I am thinking maybe God has a better idea. What if He wants me to use the money I would put toward the truck to pay my debt down some more?

It is hard to know exactly what is the right thing to do, but I am going to make a very conservative attempt at the truck. I figure I will win if it is of God, and if I don't then I will trust Him to keep old "Black Beauty" running until I am in a little bit better shape to look into another truck. Sometimes you just would like to see a billboard that tells you exactly what you should do.

Anyway, big steps are being taken here. To anybody who might be reading this, I think readership has slipped a tad, keep us in prayer as we plod on. When we think about how long it will take to fix this it can be depressing, but it took almost twelve years for it to get this bad, we can't expect it to clear up overnight.

God Bless!

A Pretty Good Week

Well, I can't remember the last time I could say that I had a pretty good week! We tried to stay a little bit more low profile and it gave us a chance to be a family again. Felt really good! We were also able to get together with Pastor and Kim Thursday night and that was a nice time just relaxing and having a nice talk.

The work week was very busy, as the Lord just keeps blessing things there. I have been praying for extra business in order to help our finances, and He is definitely blessing! I am now asking for the strength and discipline to be able to do my job the right way as the busier things get the easier it is to cut corners. I do not want to mess things up now that they are going this well!

Friday morning I was driving up to Gaylord while listening to Northen Christian Radio and I received another blessing. I had signed up for their weekly e-mail newsletter, and I guess they have a drawing of the names of those who sign up and give them a prize. Well, they called my name and I won a set of tickets to the Gaither Homecoming at the Palace on April 8th. I was completely shocked! Tammi is pretty excited about it too. So, now we are going to get everything in line so we can go down and have a great time listening to some fantastic music and just enjoy being a part of a large group of people who want to praise God!

Tomorrow is sunday, and it is the last week of the study we are doing on geting to know your pastor. I have really enjoyed the book, and it has been interesting to see some of the pressures and concerns that a pastor has. I know it is not a job I want. It is more than just the long hours and the hard work, it is the responsibility that he has to God for the church body. At least God is watching and He knows the hearts of the congregation and will also hold them accountable for their actions toward the pastor as well.

Anyway, the next study we are going to do will be "Eight Essentials to Becoming More Like Christ". I am looking forward to this one because it is something I want to learn more about. That is the best part of teaching a class. You end up getting to learn more than the class does! The time studying is a real blessing.

Well, I need to go and get a PowerPoint show ready for Tammi for church tomorrow. Talk to all three of you later!

Making a change

Well, things are definitely a changing here in Hide Manor (Tanner House). We have finally taken the big step we needed to take. We cut up all of our credit cards and are for the first time serious about gettting out of debt. The road is not going to be short, but we are confident that God is going to meet our needs.

One thing I have decided is to chuck the Dave Ramsey method and switch to a more biblical approach as presented by Crown Financial. I will admit that a lot of the methods used are similar, but with Crown the focus is on us being the stewards we are supposed to be with the money that God gives us. I am really excited about this and I feel like we are finally going to make it this time. I have a lot of things that I want to do someday, and this is our first step.

Cool, that is the first time I have inserted a link! Man, life is going so sweet!

Anyway, business has been very good considering the time of year. I have been praying for extra business, and it just keeps coming. I even have to admit that I am almost busier than I can handle! God is so good!

The kids are doing well, Zach just lost his second tooth, and Jessica has recently had a total of 8 teeth pulled! After that she was sick with strep throat, but now we are all finally on the mend. We are looking forward to the spring so we can all get out of the house and enjoy being healthy.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I will just leave you with a little funny.

Trying to get a leg up

Well, it is true, when you think nobody wants to talk to you just miss a payment or two! We have been taking some new strides to getting ourselves out of debt, and it is hard to make some changes. We hope to see some real progress by the end of the year, and be debt free except for the house in three years. It will take some major work and probably a few boxes of tissues - mainly for me!

Otherwise things are going well. Work has been a bit of a challenge as usual, but at least I have been having some good numbers! I have been destroying my sales from last year, and I am set to pretty much coast for the last two weeks of the first quarter and still hit my budget number and get my bonus. The tricky part is hitting the monthly bonus. They will pick one of the three months and inflate the number so it is hard to hit. That is how they keep from giving you all three monthly bonuses as well as the quarter bonus. I just need to have a good week this week and I think I have all three and the Qtr. all wrapped up.

Kids are doing well now that the latest round of winter crud has finally left the building. I have been just plowing through it all and managing somehow not to get it. I am afraid that when I do get it I will pay dearly.

I just heard from my Dad that the truck I was hoping to bid on is officially up for auction. I am really praying that God will work this out. I have been trying to get myself ready for the possibility that I will be driving a Ford, but I have to remember that God promises to meet my needs not necessarily me desires. A wine colored 3/4 ton Chevy extended cab would fill the desires pretty well!

Well, I am gonna run for now. To everyone out there going through a rough time I pray for you and would be willing to pray better if you tell me how. To everyone out there with no problems, just be ready!

Later

Recent happenings!

We had a party for Jessica's 9th Birthday. Yes I feel old now. It was quite an experience having 4 little girls running around the house screaming and just being Oh-So-Girly. Zach didn't know what to do, the dog was terrified, and I was just thinking, "This is only going to get worse as she gets older!"

Overall it was a good time. We took them to the Kaliseum for swimming and they ahd a great time. It really was a pretty good idea to take them there and let them play their brains out. When we put them to bed they were out in about twenty minutes. That knocked about 1.5 hours off our previous best. I guess if you have a thing about not drugging children this is your best bet!

This weekend Zach and I went to the woods and spent the night. He was so excited about a boy's night out. We took the computer and watched a movie and ate popcorn, Cheetos, and brownies! Hey! I made him brush his teeth! When we were getting set up out there he just came over and hugged me and said I was the best Dad in the world because I would take him out there. That makes sleeping on a couch that is too short and waking up with a very stiff back very worth it.

Work has been busy. Lots of new items I have to get in the stores. Wal-Mart is giving me a lot of trouble. I am doing everything I can, but I keep butting into a wall named Mary. I just pray that it will get better.

Church has been good but time consuming. We have a lot of projects I am involved in combined with something new that has come up. Can't go into details because that would be wrong. suffice it to say that people get too hung up in the "How" when they should be focused on the "Why" and the "What". Anyway, I am not getting into it here. I have seen things get ugly on blogs before!

Well, I am gonna run. Hope all is well with anyone who reads this. I have recently seen evidence that someone has checked in! Take care and God bless!

In HIS Grip
TT

I'm sure I didn't order life with extra stress!

Wow, has life been a whirlwind lately! It seems like I am going nonstop most days and only getting a few minutes at night before I collapse into a coma to relax. Work has been a big part of it, as I have had a couple of days off the last couple of weeks. That should be a good ting, but it really stinks that in order to have an extra day off you must practically kill yourself the other days of the week to make up for it. Oh well, at least it has been decent out there. God has been blessing me with some good sales. I am already way ahead of budget for the first quarter, and that is much needed. We are coming into the worst time of the financial year for us.

Sometimes it seems like we are getting ahead, and then it seems like in nothing flat we see the sharks circling. Well, that's where we are now. I don't know why I am writing this, but I guess it is just my need to let it out. So, I guess if anyone out there in cyberspace wants to donate money to the keep my heat on foundation feel free to drop me a line!;-)

Church has been a little stressful, but it is only because of some extra stuff I have picked up. We are getting our computer fixed in the media room, and that has meant a lot of extra work getting things reloaded and put in order. One thing I was secretly dreading was giving up my Sunday School class. Pastor said he was going to take it back, but I talked him into letting me keep it. It is one more thing I need to do every week, but I have really been enjoying that time that I get to spend studying the Bible every week. Having two hours set aside for that is really a nice thing. I am also doing the read-the-Bible-in-a-year thing and that has been great so far too. This is my second time doing it and I think I am liking it better than the first. I have found myself going ahead a few times. Pretty cool when you have to force yourself to put down the Bible!

Well, I gotta run. I did not have the time to do this, but I really wanted to write something and have a chance to unload. Somehow this is more of a stress relief than talking to a wall. LATER!

Kids in the snow

Gonna be a Long Week

Well, I think this week is going to be a killer. Not that the business is going to be that fantastic or anything, but it is going to be hectic. Today was a normal busy Monday, I got home and went back in to pick up the kids, did some chores around the house, ate supper, and now I am here at the church with the kids at AWANA. I will finally be home to relax in about another 45 minutes.

I get to sleep in a little bit tomorrow before I start a very long day. My boss' father passed away this weekend, and a few of us in the district are going down to Monroe to the funeral. None of us knew him, but our boss is really a good guy and we wanted to show our support. What better way to show it than to take a day off with no pay and an 8 hour car ride?

The rest of the week will be full of a lot of catching up from the entire day I am giving up. I am not trying to make it sound like I don't want to. I know he will appreciate it, and that is what counts. The hard part is when you have to give up a day's income. Money don't exactly grow on trees, and this is already the slow time of year for me. It always is that way. I'm hoping for a nice return this year!

Well, i think I will call this one done for now. I am going to try to blog a little more this year. It is fun to do, and I think I may have gained another reader! Not sure, but sometime I will put something very controversial in here and see how many opinions I draw! Now, what can rock a boat?