Blends With Savanna Grasses

Of all the things a Christian father wishes and strives to achieve for his children, a strong spiritual foundation is first and foremost. From that foundation, it seems like most every other good thing can flow.

Anna appears in this video about 1/2 way through.

Picnic, Baptism & Hail Storm of June 2011 from Friendship Community Church on Vimeo.

Labels: Anna, Kids, Parenting, Religion

She's already a beautiful singer at 2.5 years old. She just can't remember the words. LOL

Labels: Anna, Birthday, Kids, Parenting

Professionally, summer is one of the busiest times of year for me since there are multitudes of customers to visit and conferences to speak at.

Personally, summer is also very busy for me because it's a parade of birthdays and other significant dates. It's hard to keep up with all of it!

Dylan Turns 19

It's always a bit of a shock for me when I compare where Dylan is at his age to where I was at the same age.

At 19, I held two part time jobs (one was selling shoes on commission at the wonderful but now defunct Castner Knotts department store and the other was running my own computer pc-clone sales and services company, plus mowing lawns on weekends) and was constantly trying to put a buck in my pocket. Being dirt poor will do that to you.

Dylan, while he has a great job at a very good restaurant, is much more laissez-faire about money. Easy come, easy go. Money was such a big issue to me that I willingly stayed with my parents so I could save on rent and food. Here's a picture (at left) of us packing up his stuff to move into his new apartment - something I practically had to wrestle him to the ground to do.

Like Dylan, I also entered into a relationship at almost the exact same age that changed the entire course of my life. Dylan's girlfriend, Rachel, is a wonderful young woman who I simply can't speak highly enough of. She is good in so many ways. And she's also very good for Dylan. Her talents and characteristics compliment his in all the right ways. They both seem to have a good grip on what long-term commitment really means and understand, in many ways better than I did, what a positive and supportive relationship is all about.


Seventeen is the golden age of high school. I was a little older than Emily for the same grade levels, because I had one of those late birthdays that was right on the line where your parents could send you in early (and you'd be the youngest kid in all of your classes) or late (and you'd be the oldest kid in all of your classes).

My mom chose the latter. So, I turned 18 just a month into my senior year. Emily with her birthday in mid July, otoh, gets her entire senior year as a 17-year old.

Seventeen was an awesome year. The only worries were hangin' out with friends, keeping your grades up, and making decent scores on the big tests like the ACT and SAT. Of course, there was some time in there for part-time jobs. But that was on jobs where I got to hang out with friends to earn money to spend while hanging out with friends. And, in my case, there was some time in there for activities like theater, which was also all about hanging out with friends. It's all good. =^)

I hope, sometime during this year, that someone will invent a Nerf Car, so that you frequent fender-benders won't make a bit of difference to the body of the vehicle. Please - no more wrecks or tickets!





In my mind, Katie is still a tiny little tot. Whenever I pause to think about it, I'm always surprised how tall, articulate, and smart she is. She'll be taller than her mom by next year, I'd bet. She's going in to the 4th grade next week and she's doing great.

We've had to put a couple new rules in place to keep up with Katie. First, now critter caught in the yard or creek can spend the night in the house. We've had to many salamanders, frogs, toads, lizards, and turtles turn their toes up to the daisies while spending the night in a Glad-lock tub. She enjoys catching and studying these little critters so much that I wouldn't be surprised if she grew up to be a biologist.

Second, we've had to pull back on the frenetic activities inside the house. Your nerves fray pretty fast when someone is constantly bouncing on an indoor trampoline, pogo stick, couch, or basset hound. But, hey, if I had that kind of energy, I probably would too.

Katie also seems to be outgrowing a bit of her shyness. I've seen her talk to strangers without coaxing and play with kids she'd just met. She was so mature and responsible with the child of a visiting friend recently that I wondered if she was trying to impress someone. She assured me it was "just cause she wanted to". Wow! My little girl is growing up so fast!

Labels: Experiences, Kids, Parenting

The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a four-term U.S. Senator, had this to say about the importance of fatherhood:

"From the wild Irish slums of the 19th-century Eastern seaboard to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one unmistakable lesson in American history: a community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families - dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational expectations about the future - that community asks for and gets chaos."

Labels: Parenting

Emily was a tad nervous getting her learner's permit. But she'd had plenty of time to prepare and even one false alarm for the test. The previous week she, Dylan, and I went to renew Dylan's license and have her take the test. But it turned out that the DMV didn't do learner's permit tests at that location.

Labels: Kids, Parenting

I'm sorry that I've fallen off the bandwagon. There's so much to do, but never enough time to do it.

A couple things I'm thinking about right now are:

1. Getting estimates from contractors on finishing one, if not two, unfinished rooms in the house. This is great because the unfinished rooms have always made the house feel, well, unfinished. I'll feel a certain emotional emancipation by having those rooms finished. It's like having a puzzle with a couple pieces not yet in place. Yes, it's a beautiful image, but it ain't finished yet.
2. Maybe possibly potentially getting a new(ish) car for me. I really, really, really want to have a mid-life crisis car - fast, sleek, gleaming, and new. But the practical part of me knows that I have a lot of people who depend on me and would be better served by using that money for their benefit. I should probably get something economical, easy on the gas, and which I can pass down to Emily when she turns 16. But a Mustang GT sure sounds AWESOME right now.
3. Less travel in my future, due to getting a damn pacemaker. I truly do not want to need a pacemaker. But if I'm going to have one, let's make the best of it. I'll most likely get the pacemaker put in during June. I hope I can turn things around to perhaps travel less. Traveling 50% is just too taxing and emotionally exhausting.
4. Springtime. I love gardens and gardening. Gardening is really soothing to me. But I just haven't been able to do it for a few years now. I think things will be different this year. I can't wait to put in a new flower garden and probably some vegetables and berries.

Well, on to other things.

-Kev

Labels: Experiences, Kids, Parenting

Rachel bought me a most wonderful book as a Christmas present. If you have enjoyed books like Harry Potter or other family reading, then have I got a recommendation for you. Note, though, that this story is basically a period mystery set in late 19th century Paris. It doesn't have any supernatural elements to it, except for a sense of wonder and a charming story line.



I've never encountered another book like this one. It's part story, part graphic novel - yet this book manages to use its multitude of beautiful black & white pictures to dramatically and tenderly advance the story.

I've been reading it to the girls before bed time and we've lingered long over each of the pictures that, in their own unique way, advance and elevate the story telling.

I encourage you to pick up a copy and enjoy it.

-Kev

Labels: Experiences, Kids, Parenting

Sometimes I struggle with the question of do I really matter or make a difference in the world...

While self-doubt is nothing new under the sun, here are some statistics that I didn't know until recently:

• 90% of runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 71% of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes
• 85% of youth in prison are from fatherless homes
• 90% of inmates on death row are from fatherless homes

It seems like most societal ills, from crime to drug use to teen pregnancy, have a correlation with fatherlessness. So the next time I feel like I don’t matter, I'm encouraged to take a look around the dining room table. Sometimes just being there is everything.

-Kev

Labels: Parenting