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!