I hate basketball

I hate basketball. The last time I watched a basketball game with interest, ther Indiana Pacers were in the finals of the championship. That was back when professional athletes could expect to only bring home a couple of million dollars a year. Ah, the good old days.

However, I find myself interested in the NCAA championship game! I fell out of my bracket in the sweet 16, but How about them Bulldogs? Let's go Indiana!!! As I type, I am keeping tabs on the score. And the Bulldogs are behind...but barely. Am I a fairweather fan? Sort of. I mean, I don't follow Bulldog basketball, or any basketball for that reason. But, the only team we have that has had any success is the Colts. And let's face it, I love the Colts, but this year's Superbowl was a heartbreaker!
With that being said, I hope the Bulldogs win. And for the love of God, can we have at least a .750 season for Irish Football?!

A New Direction

You know, here is the thing about blogging. It makes you narcissistic. I mean, you send this stuff out into the ether expecting someone to read it. After all, why else blog? Your opinion MUST matter to someone, right?

I have gone astray on my blog. As I read some of my older posts, I realize I got a little too preachy. Now, don't get me wrong. I am a DIE HARD Christian, a Christ disciple if you will. However, to quote a friend of mine, I occasionally drop an F bomb, and I don't mean "fart". ( I can do that well, too)

But, I have decided that I no longer wish to preach. If someone asks me about Jesus, I will be there to answer what I can and direct them to where they need to be. But, insomuch as this blog is concerned, I promise not to write it from my soapbox anymore...

That being said, you should check out my wife's blog. It is http://holstein9.blogspot.com

We have two autistic sons and 5 daughters...(most of the time, it is the daughters that give us the grief, but don't tell them that...I am out numbered :P )

So, from here on in, It is going to be me, au naturel...well, sort of. I promise to keep my clothes on.

The write up

I pride myself in doing the best job possible at everything I do. Am I the best? No, but I am my best. So imagine my dismay when I, through absolute stupidity on my part, CRASHED the head of my mill. @ $8000 damage later, I was officially wrote up.

Have you ever done something wrong, and at the time, you knew it was wrong or not the right thing to do, but you did it anyway? How many choices do we make in life, and how many are the right ones. I know of 8 choices I have made that are great. Watching the AFC championship game was one of them. Just kidding, although, it was a great game for Colts fans. Is there a better QB than Peyton?

Ok, back to subject...I am batting a .080 for great choices in my life, but i am working to make it a .500 Wish me luck!!!

birthdays birthdays birthdays

This is a picture of me and Olivia Grace. She had a birthday on January 8 when she turned 7 years old. Olivia is an extremely bright girl. She loves princesses and playing with her sisters.


It is amazing how the time flies. I still remember bringing her home...the weather was bitterly cold that day. The hospital was so inactive that, even though she was born on January 8, she was the new year's baby for Starke county.
The little dude on the right, as you may know from a previous post, is Tobey. 12 days and two years after Gracie was born, Tobey was born.
You know, thinking back, I just am amazed at my family. We are not perfect, nor do we try to be. But, we love each other...completely. If there is one thing I try to instill in my kids, it is love each other!
Happy Birthday, Kids!!!! Daddy Loves you!

Let's do the time warp...again!

Wow! As I look at the history of this thing, I realize, I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving! With the holiday season, especially with my family, things get so busy that, before you know it, it's valentine's day! And don't get me started on valentines and hallmark!!! IT'S A CONSPIRACY, I TELL YOU!!!! Eh, Mr Costanza had it right...Time for the airing of the grievances!!!! *just kidding*

At any rate, we have had a fantastic two months! First and foremost, we have been an especially blessed family this year. Our church, Living Stones, had an all-in-er who decided he wanted to bless two families in the church who were all-in and did work with the church. Bless Pastor Sam, we were the first family he thought of...long story short, we got 4 new tires mounted on the suburban as well as a machine that helps assist Tobey in talking! It doesn't matter what our church has done for us...we LOVE our church!

Now, it is January 3, 2010, and I am glad the holidays are over. We were especially ready for them this year, and I think we had just enough Christmas! So, here are some resolutions for 2010:

1. Update my blog more often. I don't really know how many people read this, but for those of you that do, I want to make sure you are getting your money's worth!


2. Think of intersting anecdotes and stories to put on my blog;


3. Appreciate the Aglet more...I mean, really, without it, where would you be? shoeless...or in comfortable sandals;


4. Love more!!!

Now, Number 4 is interesting. We are all examples in life...some are examples of how TO live your life, others are examples of what NOT to do. I have decided that I want to be the former. I am not saying that people look to my example for their lives, nor am I saying I want them to! However, in life, you are either one or the other, so you have to choose. And, I want my kids to look to me in their adult lives and say,"I am doing that THIS way, it's how Dad would have done it."

I think all too often, we see too many examples of people taking the wrong path in life. No one wants to be Tiger Woods right now, or Brittany Murphy. In fact, I think we see a lot of people who would rather not be in their own shoes! It takes work and courage to find the positives in life.

Well, that's about all for now...later this month and year, I will tell about the paths my family have taken and how we suffered AND benefited from them. And you will be surprised at which is which!

Until then, God's Blessing on all of you!

They must think I'm their dad

Turkey turkey turkey. That's the theme of the day! Well, that and being thankful, but I am almost certain people are thankful for the turkey. So, it all comes out in the end.

Speaking of being thankful, here is a list of things I am thankful for.

• God and the power of redemption through his son, Jesus Christ.


• My wife, who is my rock and has stuck by me when most others would leave


• My job for making this Thanksgiving possible


• My kids for making the job necessary...plus they are cool little people


• and finally, the turkey...Henry

That's right...we name the turkey. Every year, without fail. Maybe we are masochist who enjoy knowing our prey before we feast upon it's flesh...or we have kids who insist on naming the turkey.

Which is weird...They have never offered up a name for the burgers we ate on Sunday, or the pork loin on tuesday (which, by the way, was excellent). Surely these poor animals would have appreciated the gesture of being christened with a name before we cooked them to perfection.

Which brings up another point...if you are Catholic, and you want to name your turkey, does their have to be a ceremony? Would you have to sprinkle water on it's head? Would I have to take communion before naming the turkey? And wouldn't that spoil my appetite for the dinner later? Would I have to buy a christening gown?

No offense to the Catholic faith, but now I am glad to be non denominational. We can eat our birds without all the pomp and circumstance.

Incidentally, does anyone know what I originally set out to write about here? Me neither. Must be the triptofan. Thank you to Henry, the sweetest of all the fowl.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This is Tobey Jude. He is 4 years old, soon to be 5, and he is autistic. He is more on the severe side of the spectrum as opposed to my other son, Edwin.

There are a couple of things you should know about Tobey. First, he defies most autistic conventions by being one of the most loving little dudes you have ever met. Also, he likes to stim.

In the world of autism, stimming is an activity that calms down the autist's brain, almost like chanting a mantra. Tobey's preferred activity to stim is spinning things.

The boy spins everything. Straws, pencils, unused maxi pads, leaves, kittens (we caught him in the nick of time), cars, shoes, paper...etc. I mean, really, he will spin ANYTHING.

Why post this picture? Why tell you about "The Jude"? Because he is awesome! He is one of those kids that you can watch and actually see his brain working. Example:

Last week, the kids had sample packs of crayons. They were little packs of three crayons each. Tobey picked up a pack of crayons and shook it. It rattled. He handed the box to Melissa. Now, it is important to note that at this point, he did not know what was in the box. He just assumed it was candy. When Melissa opened the box, he dumped out the crayons and realized that this was not candy. He slowly put the crayons on the counter and walked away.

I guess that is the frustrating part about autism. My son, my gorgeous, awesome son, is trapped inside of his head. I just know that if he can break through that wall, he is going to change the world!!