Adventures of....LIFE

Bugs

2011-10-11T21:49:00.004-04:00

While at a friend's parents house on Sunday, I decided to take a walk with a few of the family members. This house is located on a mini-farm. It has about 16 acres and I wanted to do some exploring of the property. At one point I sat on a hay wagon that gave me a view of the natural spring on the property. I wanted to take a moment and take the beautiful view of the property in. To get to the wagon I had to cross a 3 foot section of tall weeds/grass. As I crossed this section to reach the wagon there didn't seem to be any bugs around me. As you know, often times our perception and reality does not always match up. After sitting on the wagon taking in the scenery and the view that overlooked a natural spring, the bugs started emerging on the grass below me. It was a sight to see, they were going about their business moving to and fro on the leaves and stems on the ground beneath me. It was something I enjoyed watching. I sat on the wagon for about 5 minutes just watching these bugs and something occurred to me, this is kind of like how God is, actually how we are with God.

There are times we are so busy with our lives and what is going around us to see God working in everything we are going through. This causes our perception to not align with reality. Sometimes we just need to sit on wagon for a while and take everything in.

I know you are probably wondering what bugs I was observing. It is called the Multicolored Asian Ladybug, better know as the Orange Ladybug. The interesting thing about the Orange Ladybug is that many people consider it a pest and many consider it a friend. What category do you fall into?

Brothers, Sisters, and Friendship

2011-10-02T22:03:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that it is already October. I mean, really? Where did this year go? As crappy as it has been at times it has flown by. Life is moving right along for me. I am looking forward to having the kids in 2 weeks for a full week. They have a fall break at their school. Jude has already mentioned who he wants to see while he is back in Ohio. Not sure we will be able to see everyone but I will certainly try. I have some plans for them while they are up here. I would like to have a nice picture taken of us. I don't really have a family portrait so that is on my list of things to do and also we will be heading to my mom's house the 2nd weekend they are here. I doubt I will see them much since they will be off in the woods with their cousins.

I was talking to someone about friends and friendship the other day. I couldn't remember the verse I wanted to share about friends but after some searching I finally found what I was looking for.

"Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family." Proverbs 18:24 The Message.

We were talking about her and her one friend that has become like a sister to her. I said she was lucky to have a friend like that since in life it doesn't happen very often. I have had friends come and go in my life. And for whatever reason I have lost touch with them over the years. Of course it doesn't help to move to Texas for a couple of years and then back to Ohio. I think the distance didn't help with keeping in touch with friends in Ohio or the new one's I made while in Texas. I have never been one to have a bunch a friends at one time. In high school I tended to hang out with a few people at a time. This scenario has followed me into adulthood. I have been pretty content to go about life my own way. There have, however, been times that I have felt pretty lonely. Looking back those are the times I probably wasn't very close to God

Dawn

2011-09-20T22:05:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that it has been 2 weeks since the kids made the transition to TN. I think they have adjusted well to their school and new routine. Jude, Elise and Avery all seem to like there school and going to the Boys and Girls Club afterwards. I have adjusted to my new routine of not going to there mom's house and taking them to school or bringing them back to my house in the morning if they didn't have school that day. I can confidently say that the sun is starting to rise on a new day for me.

I have been diving in a little deeper with my devotions and prayer life while trying to rely on God to get me through this transition. It is working. No matter how I hated and how I think this transition is hard, He has gotten me through it. God does provide in His own time. Thankfully is not in our time that we think it should be done. Like I said, I have been starting to dive in a little deeper with quiet time and all. I probably should begin to journal my thoughts so that I am able to go back and reflect on them in the future.

Hard Ball

2011-09-05T19:57:00.003-04:00

While in high school I loved playing sports, it didn't really matter what sport it was, I loved it. While at Central I played baseball and then during the summer breaks and after I graduated I loved to play softball. During my senior year, the last season I played baseball, I recall the first game of the season. I was the lead off batter, it was the bottom of the 1st inning (we were playing at home), I hit a triple, it probably would have been a home-run if we had a fence up. I was very aggressive with my first at bat, the remainder of the season I was not nearly as aggressive. I drew a lot of walks, I was looking for the perfect pitch to hit. The perfect pitch never came.

I was married a little over 9 years, during the 9 years of marriage I did some great things, I hit the ball out of the park, but there were times I completely whiffed, actually whiffed multiple times in a row. I am a very emotional guy and there were times I allowed my emotions to control my actions and reactions. I said very terrible things and did very terrible things. I broke stuff and threw stuff. Like I said I did and said terrible things. Things I wish I could take back, wish I could go back in the past and react differently. I had an emotional affair. The "relationship" started out honestly as a friendship, I was trying to be a friend and be supportive. But none-the-less it took my attention away from the important relationship of my wife. Delilah, I am so very sorry for wronging you during our marriage and wish there was a way for me to change everything for the future, but I guess our divorce stopped that process.

I am a Christian, I am a guy. But does this mean that I am a good Christian guy? Not necessarily. I am not a believer of good Christian's or bad Christian's. I believe that you are a Christian regardless. There are times that I fall and fail in my actions. I am not perfect and never said that I was. I do my best.

Tomorrow starts a new life for me. The kids will be in TN and it will be the first weekday morning that I don't go over to there house and help get them ready for school and then take them to school. It will be a huge adjustment for me.

Like I said in an earlier post, I am excited about the opportunity Delilah has with her new position, not so excited about the kids living away from me.

So, tomorrow in deed starts a new life for me whether I want it or not.

The River

2011-08-30T21:32:00.003-04:00

Have you ever sat and watched a river? I mean, just sat and watched the river, the intricacies of it, the ebb and flow of the river. I love watching the water flow past me as I sit on the river bank. I become mesmerized with the water. I often find that it is interesting to look beyond the water surface; to look at the rocks beneath the surface, the trees dipping their branches into the water, logs upstream from the spot you are perched at. Each item causes the river to have a swirl here, bubbles to form their, a ripple over there, or a rapid near by. No matter the object that is placed in the water there is a cause and an effect to it. No matter the effect though, the water must continue to flow. If it were to stop flowing it would no longer be a river.

My life is a river. It continues to flow regardless of the objects that are placed in it. If my life were to quit flowing, well, that wouldn't be good, now would it? Life is a river, it must continue flowing. Sometimes it can be turbulent like the white water rapids of the Arkansas River in Colorado or times and can be easy flowing like the might Mississippi River or any where in between. Regardless of the phase your life river is in, go with it and learn from it and take it with you into the future.

Predawn

2011-08-28T20:57:00.004-04:00

I have had a wonderful weekend with my 3 children this weekend. Saturday I spent most of the time over at their mom's house because she is packing and sorting through things and she need some assistance going through things and moving boxes. It was kind of weird because she had her 2 closer friends and her sister there. At one point I mentioned to Heather, "Why am I here helping my ex-wife? I either must be crazy or still in love with her." She replied, "Or, a little of both." I think it was pretty accurate.

Back to the kids. I always try to do a little something with each one individually. Yesterday I focused on Elise. We went on a bike ride through town. It probably ended up being about 3 miles when it was said and done. We weaved our way down to the Riverfront, over to Portage Trail, and then back to the High Glens Park on the river. While riding beside her, I couldn't be more proud of her. She is growing up so fast and has become a great little girl.

Today I took the kids to an Akron Aero's game. We were in the 2nd row one section from the dugout and behind the screen. Jude has been wanting to go for a while so we finally made it. I found out today they the Aero's has a kid's club and kids under 12 get free tickets to every Sunday game. I wish I would have known that at the beginning of the season. Not that it overly expensive to go to a game, but saving money is saving money. The Aero's won and it was a beautiful day for an afternoon game. We even experienced a few sprinkles.

The kids will be at my house every night this week while Delilah finishes packing up the house. She mentioned something about it is just easier with out the kids making more of a mess. I'm not sure meant by that. lol The kids are really excited about moving. I am sad about them moving. I wish it didn't have to be this way.

For the short-term I will be living in the Akron area, I am hoping that I can continue working my job from home in WV. I haven't received the official ok for it yet, but I am told that once the work from home pilot is deemed a success it will be one of the first things to be discussed.

Changes

2011-08-22T22:55:00.004-04:00

It is hard to believe that summer is winding down, and school starts for the the kids this week. Jude is entering the 3rd grade, he is growing up so fast. Elise is entering the 1st grade and Avery is still in pre-school. Next year they will be in the same school. I'm sure that will be interesting.

I didn't really want to talk about my kids in this post. Don't get me wrong, now. I love my kids and I love talking about my kids. I just didn't want to start a post with a BAM!!!

Delilah has accepted a position in Tennessee doing what she loves, social work. It is a great opportunity for her. It will give her the opportunity to move up in her field and also she will be able to start her Master's in Social Work, and according to the information I have it will be paid for by her employer. It really is a great opportunity for her.......

I have been forced to make a gut wrenching decision, one that I didn't want to have to make. At first, as recently as 2 weeks ago, I was adamantly apposed to having my children move 8 hours away from me. Early last week I opened myself to the idea of it and on Friday Delilah and I had our expectations written out. But, something changed over the weekend for me. I started to have 2nd thoughts about it. After all they are my children and I love them. Yesterday and today was a very tough day for both of us. I spoke with my attorney today and gained some insight on the process and I talked to my mom a lot about my choices. I prayed, thought, prayed and finally made a decision.

I was looking at two options I could make. The first option, would have gone through the court in determining what was in the best interest of the kids. This would have forced Delilah to move to TN without the kids and the kids would have lived with me until a court decision was made. This would have been a great option for me personally. The second option was to take myself out of the equation and focus only on the kids and their future in relation to Delilah. I choose the second option. The kids will be moving with her over Labor Day weekend to Tennessee.

So, BAM!!! There you have it. Like I said earlier this is not a choice I wanted to make. In all I do I try to put the kids first. Just thinking about being 8 hours away from my kids brings tears to my eyes.

Thinking it's time to change my blog name...

2010-08-27T22:07:00.004-04:00

I started this post on August 28, 2010. This is what was written... "The last 9 months let alone the last month and a half has been nothing but a haze. It is time that I change the name of my blog. I am no longer a stay at home dad. I started working at Allstate last November in an inbound call center environment speaking with mostly agents. For those of you that know me, you know that I'm not much for words and are probably thinking why in the world am I working in a call center environment. Well, that is a valid question to ask, one that I really don't have an answer to give. I do enjoy my job for the most part, I do have days where I have to ask my self what in the world was I thinking to take this job. I don't think that thought it uncommon to most people in whatever position they have. In June I started handling payment and billing calls from customers during particular days in the week. It has been a transition. I think I actually enjoy taking calls from customers more so than from the agents. It seems like I am making more of a difference directly with the customer. I really think it should be mandatory for everyone to take a basic insurance class. It could be called Insurance 101. "

Now I need to restart this post with.....

The last 12 months have been such a haze. I loss my dad and am now divorced. They say that going through a divorce it like losing a loved one. It is so true. So if you are keeping track, I have experienced 2 deaths in the last 12 months.

I miss my dad terribly and I really don't think there has been day that has passed that I have not thought about him. I am often reminded about his favorite Bible verse, James 1:2-4 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

In honor of my dad.....

2010-07-30T08:07:00.002-04:00

I have decided to re-post some of my dad's blog post when he was blogging for a short while back in 2006. Hope you enjoy........

Monday, February 27, 2006

A New Life

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!

2 Cor 5

Place Your Life Before God

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.

Romans 12

Content Whatever the Circumstances

I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

Philippians 4

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed.

I stumbled across this scripture this morning. It was something I used in a lesson or sermon previously. Just thought I’d share it. God’s word is full of such good stuff!

I was actually looking for an article that I’d written previously about taking risks that I wanted to share with Jake after our discussion yesterday, but sometime in a time of “giving up” on youth ministry, I deleted almost all the lesson’s, sermons, newsletter articles, etc that I had previously done. Does that mean I’m not to get involved in youth ministry again or perhaps, if I do, I can’t use my old stuff again.
posted by Papaw | 6:58 AM | 3 comments links to this post

Friday, February 17, 2006

I STOLE

This evening, while eating dinner with four of the grandkids, they started talking about wanting to go out to eat (and the Miller weakness continues). They decided they wanted to go to The Texas Roadhouse and eat steak. Little Lydia, wanting to be one of the big kids, echoed saying, “I want to go eat at Texas Roadhouse.” When I asked her if she had money to pay for it (trying to teach her to be financially responsible, thus breaking the cycle of irresponsible spending), she replied saying she had lots of money. When I asked her how much she had, she repeated “lot’s of it; I stole it from mommy.” Oops! She continued to inform me that mommy knows. She also informed me that her piggy bank had lots of pennies and is real heavy.

She is a true Miller; wants to spend all her money “eating out”.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

WHY?

Today as I was working outside of Steph’s house I heard “Kellen Timothy”. That translates into “this is really serious” or “you are in big trouble”. A little later I heard “Lydia Renea”. I started wondering why parents address their children by their first and middle name when they want to get their attention. Linda and I did the same with our children. Jason Paul! Stephanie Lynn! I guess we were lucky that Eric is deaf; I find saying Eric Bartholomew to be sort of awkward.

I really got confused a little later when I heard “Nolan Miller”. I couldn’t figure out why they would refer to him by his first and last name. Oh this must be really serious, I thought. Then I remembered that “Miller” is his middle name. Later I talked to Steph about this and she asked me how our parents addressed us when they got serious since none of us 9 kids have middle names. Traditionally Amish do not give their children middle names; instead they are given the first letter of the fathers name as their middle initial. Thus, all of us have “M” for our middle initial. It helps keep track of who you belong to. Steph wondered if they referred to me as “Paul M” when I got into trouble.
Since I never got into trouble, I do not know. Hypothetically speaking, if I would have gotten into trouble they probably would not have referred to me as “Paul M”; instead they would have used the rod (aka leather strap) to get my attention.

Since Linda’s parents always called her “Linda Sue”, I was wondering what they did when she got in trouble. Did they add her last name? Nancy, do you remember? Oh course she will tell you she never got into trouble. Was that because she was the spoiled one and could no harm?

So, why is it that people address their children with their first and middle name when they are in trouble? Do most people do this or is this unique to people we know? I’d love to hear your theories.
posted by Papaw | 8:55 PM | 6 comments links to this post

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

NOLAN ATTACK

Last evening Tim stopped in to let me know that the water tank was empty. While he was here he called Steph to ask her not to use any more water. If the lines get emptied out I have to purge them-a job I don't cherish. Kellen answered the phone and informed his dad that mom couldn't come to the phone because she was cleaning up a Nolan attack. What a kid! He has to be in your sight constantly or he will be into something he shouldn't be. I hope Steph and Tim share some of the stories.

Got me to thinkin'. Nolan sounds a lot like someone else I know; his mother. It must be genetic. Looking back I wish we would have kept a journal of what happened at our house as the kids were growing up. What great material that would be to have now as they are raising kids. This morning I'd like to share a few things I remember about Steph aka Poohder. She was a great kid! Well, as new born she had colic real bad and cried constantly, but that was solved by giving her a drop of whisky in some water (doctors orders-we had exhuasted all other methods). It sounded like a volcanic eruption taking place as the stomach rumbled and then the explosions as the gas exited her body. Oh what peace!

Steph was always full of life; always happy; very excitable; always checking everything out. Sound a lot like Nolan? There was one notable difference between the two. Nolan is great about going to bed-he will even let you know he wants to go to bed. Not Steph. Bed time was anything but pleasurable (we think that she was afraid she would miss out on something). When we put Steph to bed, she would scream, throw her bottle, shake her bed. I still feel guilty about the the time I gave her a swat while she was throwing a fit (she probably didn't even feel it through the diaper). As I recall, bed time was much easier after that. Steph was daddy's little girl. I used to take her with me in the pick up truck, she sitting on my lap helping me drive. How irresponsible! People go to jail for that now, but back then it was not abnormal.

Steph had a playmate, about her age, while we lived in Goshen. What Steph didn't think of doing, her friend Shawn did. One day, I found them sitting in the ditch in front of our house making mud pies with the lawn mower gas. Another time, they got into a can of paint and had painted the side of the camper and the end of the house. I'll swear it couldn't have taken them more than 5 minutes to do this. What a mess, covered in paint head to toe. Strip off their clothes, as I fill the bath tub with water. Threaten there lives if they move out of the bath tub while I run back out and wash the paint off before it dries. Good kids, they were still in the tub when I came back in. Steph listened well until she got to be a teenager-by then she thought she knew more than her parents (maybe did).

Another time, Shawn and Steph were digging for treasure in the neighbors burn barrel; yuck. On another occasion wheh I was watching them, they got into the flour and made it "snow" inside the house. Everything was covered with flour. It was actually pretty funny, but I didn't see the humor at the time. They were so cute; they had covered each other with flour. Again, I threw them in the bathtub and ordered them to stay while I attempted to clean up most of the mess before Linda got home.

Those two were the busiest kids! In fact they were so busy, they didn't have time to come inside to go to the bathroom. When they needed to go they simply dropped their drawers wherever they were, went to the the bathroom and kept on playing (without putting their clothes back on). Heredity? Steph's kids love to go to the bathroom outside too. They keep their clothes on!

Monday, February 13, 2006

That doesn't make sense!

I wish I would have started recording all the neat things I've heard from the mouth's of kids. Lydia (4 years old) decided a long time ago that she wasn't a "little" girl anymore. Yesterday, when I referred to her as "big, little" girl, she promptly informed me; "Papaw that doesn't make sense, I'm a big girl. I can't be a little girl."

Lydia is quick to stand her ground. Good thing, otherwise big brother would have run all over her. Do find it sorta interesting that little brother can terrorize her, although she is learning to deal with him too. Last night, when Kellen and Lydia spent the night, she wanted to watch a movie (they like to watch tv a lot here), Kellen told her she couldn't. Immediatedly, (before I got a chance to remind Kellen that it wasn't his call) Lydia, gets into his face, pointing and shaking her finger about 3 inches from his nose and tells him: "Kellen, you are bossing me and you are not allowed!"

Where do your kids learn all this Steph?

The other day we got into a discussion about yelling with Kellen. He informed me that it is appropriate for parents to yell at kids but it is not ok for kids to yell at anyone. When I asked him why, he said that parents need to yell at their kids to make them listen. Smart kid!!!!!!!! He never yells at anyone, does he?

Linda and I were talking about taking care of kids. We took care of other people's kids for nearly 20 years. She says she doesn't miss it at all and would never want to do it again. I'll have to admit that I do miss working with teens. but enjoy having less stress. I'll take having the grand kids here any day verses having someone elses kids.

Should I go to work? It has been nice working around here and there is still (and always will be) enough work to keep me busy. Unfortunately, we are more broke than we have been in years, so I might need to get a job. I have an interview for a family support specialist in Lincoln county tommorrow. We'll see what happens.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

A NEW LANGUAGE

The other day Linda's supervisor complemented her on her beautiful accent. We never realized we had and accent but we have realized that people talk a lot differently here. At first Stephanie about had a coronary when the kids started using the local language. She thinks it makes them sound ignorant (another misconception about the moutain people). We have been learnin' the local language. Linda works in Hurricane which is pronounced "hurikin". Chris and Amy got a kick out of her when she kept talking about the Florida hurikins. John (our neighbor) told me he was going to Arnten (Ironton). Charleston is in Kanawha county (pronounced kanaw). Kellen and Lydia love pahy (pie). Kellen loves to take Pac (his dog) for a walk down the hollar (hollow).

If you head south of here it gets even more interesting. We are told that each hollar can have their own dialect. Linda has a tough time understanding some of the customers that call in, esp. from eastern Ky which is next to us just across the river a piece.

Maybe Linda will share some technical terminolgy with you she has had to learn. I can share a few. When I told her I had to reboot she thought I had to put my boots back on to go to outhouse. A mouse is what Steph found in Lydia's closet.

Ya'all keep in touch now ya'hear!

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Power from within

Delilah's post on men and women being friends got me thinking. I'd like to share some thoughts and experiences. Allow me to share a little background.

I was raised Amish. In the Amish culture, and particularily in my family, wives were expected to be "submitted" to the husband. Interestingly, we didn't hear about the husband's responsibility in marriage. Generally in the Amish culture, activities are segregated by sex. In church women sit on one side and men on the other. This holds true to vitually every social gathering. In general, Amish women are regarded as subjects of the husbands. (Maybe this is a better system; divorce is virtually unheard of among the Amish.) I believe that growing up this way gave me an unhealthy view of women.

Being involved in youth ministry for the last 20 years has exposed me to a wide variety of opinions regarding relationships between male and females. One of the more interesting experiences involved being given material to use for a sex education class for teenagers. I was told that this biblically based course "was a must". When I recieved the material, I was so amazed I couldn't put it down. Some of the information contained in this biblically based material:

1. Sex between consenting adults (married or unmarried) was ok as long the spouses were not hurt in the process.

2. Teenagers should be sure they are ready before they have sex.

3. Teens should consider planning in advance for birth control, but in the event they got pregnant they should consider abortion for the good of the child and society. (we already have to many economically deprived people in our culture)

4. Abortion for adults is ok for economic reasons.

5. Same gender sex is ok and normal. It is the way God made us!

This material was curriculum offered by a mainline church and touted as biblically based!

I have worked with or known people involved in youth ministries with some of the following ideas:

1. Males and females should stay separated in all or part of the activities.

2. Males should lead males; females should lead females.

3. Male leaders should never have any physcial contact (touch) with females.

4. You should have physical contact with member of the opposite sex.

We grew up in the middle of the social revolution (60's and 70's); we rebelled against everything and believed that if it feels good (and it doesn't hurt anyone else) do it!!!!!!!!! We regretted we couldn't attend Woodstock but when the movie came out we watched it 2 times in a row. How cool! Free unhibited sex! drugs! People being and doing what they "felt" like. People died? But they died having so much fun!

The culture in which we live also gives a very twisted view of male/female relationships. Watch the commercials. How many have sexual overtones? Wonder why we view members of the opposite sex as sex objects? How about movies and music? Love is equated with sex. Our culture has no clue what Godly love is.

Did Jesus teach us to stay separate from members of the opposite sex? Did he avoid contact with women? Doesn't the bible say something abut us being equal in the Kingdom?

Given all the influences of our culture, upbringing, hormones, etc. How can we have healthy relationships?

Let me share the lesson God taught me. Over the years I tended to view women as sexual objects. When I met or saw a women my mind would wander to the sexual aspect.
As I strove to "be Christ-like", I became frustrated. No matter how hard I tried, how much I prayed, I would still go there. Maybe not as much but I still did at times. Finally, I came to the realization that I couldn't stop this thought pattern. I can't, but thank God, the holy spirit can! It is all about dying to our human nature and allowing Christ to take over that we get transformed.

Put another way, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength". When this happens then we can love our neighbors in a Godly manner, too. Without the relationship with the Father, we will surely fail. In the Kingdom, we are brothers and sisters and as such we need to love one another. I do not beleive that loving one another means that we keep avoiding each other.

Do I continue to struggle with lust? I find that my struggle with lust is directly related to my walk with the Lord. When I'm really close to Him, it never occurs, when I want to live on my own strength (which we Millers do a lot, it comes back. Read Paul's discussion on sin in Romans 7 and 8.

How do you grow in your love for God? I'd love to hear your coments.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

My favorite place to live

While sitting in the dentist chair, waiting for my gums to numb in order to do the root canal last week, the dentist, his assistant and I were talking. They became aware that we were transplants to West Virginia. It turned out that they weren't mountain people either and they have experienced the same response from people that we have about moving here. Local people are amazed that people actually move here. We've often heard that people don't move here but many move away from here. Statistics show that Huntington has experienced about a 50% decrease in population in the past 25 years. As Delilah has commented in previous blogs, we Millers are a little different so it sohould be no surprise that we moved here.

Speaking of moving, we have moved a lot. I believe we moved about 11 times by the time Stephanie was in 10th grade. If I remember correctly, we have moved 17 times (nearly every 2 years since we have been married). I think we lived in one place 12 years (Fredericksburg). I wonder why our friends no longer help us move? We have 2 more moves to make. The next move (if we get the house built) will be down the lane to the "skinny ridge", which is about 1000 feet. The last move will be to our graves. There is a possibility that there could be another move when we no longer can take care of ourselves and we move in with the kids. Which one of you lucky guys will get the blessing? If you don't wish to take us in then our request is to just let us be until we die. NO NURSING HOMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you have no intention of taking us in, let us know in advance and perhaps I can take a solo journey up one of these hollars (old native american tradition).

The dentists assistant asked me of all the places we have lived which has been my favorite. I hadn't really thought about that before but it didn't take much thinking before I could inform her that it is where we are now. I love it here! Why?

The very first reason has to be the people! First of all living back in the boonies with your family is one of the greatest blessings in the world. Having those neat, mischievious grandkids across the lane is wonderful. Having them "help" you is generally a lot of fun. I only regret I didn't take more time to do more projects with our own kids. There is something real special about these mountain people we live among that I have admired for years. They take time to talk! Over the years that I've brought youth to West Virginia, I've had experieces where they have gone out of their way to help us out. On one occasion when we had a vehicle break down they transported us to our destination: another time we were invited to come spend the night and they offered us breakfeast (to 13 dirty, smelly backpackers) These were complete strangers coming forward showing us Christ's love. We couldn't have better neighbors-they are always offering help. I find this very typical of most people here.

These mountain people don't have much money (we fit right in). West Virginia is the second poorest state in the nation, the second most obese state, has the highest coronary disease rate and yet,has the some of the best people in the world.

Another reason I like West Virginia is its beauty! The slogan "almost heaven" is a good description. Living back a long lane, in the woods, overlooking some fantastics hollars-how could you beat it?

At some later time I'll try to add more. I'm really learning to appreciate the culture of the mountain people. I'll even share a few things I don't like about West Virginia (there aren't many).

Friday, February 03, 2006

FOOD FOR THOUGHT; wheaties for lunch

Yesterday Linda came to let me know the alfredo was almost done for lunch. My immediate reactions was "yuck, I can't eat it". I was thinking I could use the excuse that I wouldn't be able to eat it since I just had a root canal done in the morning, but (reading my mind) she promptly informed me that I could. I gave in (as I always do) and ate it. Wow, it was delicious! I think I ate 3 servings. Why my reaction? I thought of that awfull, instant, dried-out alfredo we ate while backpacking. Well this got me to thinking about eating habits and expectations or preconceptions. If you know me there is hardly any food that I don't like. I'm sure this is mostly due to being required to eat some of everything that was cooked when I was a child.

Not only were we required to eat some of everything but we always had to eat everything that was on our plate. I think I really believed that if I didn't eat the food some poor child in India was going to die of starvation. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was best to eat it even if I hurt afterwards. One morning I couldn't eat me wheaties, so my mom put them in a quart jar and put the spring house and I had to eat them for lunch! Yuck! I probably developed some poor eating habits as a result of this rule and I believe it is better to not force kids to continue eating if they are full. I can't remember if we forced you kids to eat everything or not. if we did please accept my sincerest apology! It is true that we usually raise our kids a lot the way we were raised. When I watch our children parent their kids, I realize that they have picked up a lot of our parenting styles (they do a much better job than we did).

Speaking of Food (I know you kids get tired of hearing this):

I can still remember my first ice cream cone;

I never knew what pizza was until I was 16; my sister (Sarah) and I decided to check it out. We went to a pizza shop and each ordered a pizza. The waitress asked us if it "was to go?" We said no. We were surprised when they served them to us. Not wanting to admit that we were ignorant, we sat there and ate them both. I have to thank my parents for training me to finish my food.

This training paid off again when I was challenged to eating a gallon of ice cream. (I have learned to be more specific when I accept challanges now.) The gallon of home made ice cream was presented to me after I had eaten a large dinner of steak and mashed potatoes. I've never been one for accepting defeat, so i ate it! It took a while and I hurt so bad that night that I couldn't sleep.

So, if you are requiring your kids to eat everything, there are benefits!

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Consider it pure joy?

One of the most intriguing verses in the bible comes from James chapter one verse 2 "consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds.......". While I understand the concept and know that it is through these trials that I've grown the most, I seldom consider it "joy" while I'm enduring them. While there are times that I experience peace beyond understanding in tough times, mostly I'm miserable. Why are we not experiencing joy during tough times? Is it a lack of faith? Are we separated from God?

Last weeks visit to Florida got me pondering these questions again. Our reason to go to Florida was to see Dr. Chris and Miss Amy (proper terminology for the south). I mentioned in yesterdays post that we saw Aunt Polly also (I believe divinely appointed.) Dr. Chris and Miss Amy are some of the most wonderful people we've ever met. We worked with them at SC where we each had a home of troubled teenagers (poor term; should refer to them as off spring of screwed up parents). We didn't have a lot of contact with them during those 3 years we worked together but we always knew they were "special". We moved to Florida to work in a group home and they soon followed. We left 5 months after they came. During those 5 months we lived next door to each other and interacted with each other constantly. Christ lives in these people. We both endured extreme emotional abuse from our "christian" administrators.
I will not go into details because I don't think it would serve any purpose. We talked about the abuse Jesus endured and how he took it willing and realized that what we were going through was nothing compared to what he endured and we would get peace for a season but then we would get our feelings hurt again. We just couldn't let go and allow God to control.

We left the group home in Florida; Dr. Chris and Miss Amy stayed. They believed so strongly in the mission of the home (as we still do). They've worked so hard, doing much of the administrators work; reaching out and trying to minister to them. They've sacrificed financially; worked without any pay for long periods of time. They've had the great privilidge of seeing children and families totally changed by the Lord in spite of the the chaos with management. That was another highlight of our trip. We visited the home of twin boys we had in our home. Praise God for a changed home!

The stress of the situation is taking its toll. Both are having health problems. They are tired. I am angry! Why do "christian" bosses do this to their employees? We went to work for a Jew-one of the most "christ-like" people I've ever worked for. Barna points out that there is virtually no difference in the actions of "born again" christians in the US and their counterparts. This should not be! If we are "born again" should there not be a new life? It all starts with you and me. Do we love the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves? Otherwise, I'm afraid we are "pretenders". I'm talking to me!

Dr. Chris and Miss Amy are not experiencing much joy now. Is it a lack of faith? Is God telling them to move on? They have been offered other employment but feel committed to the children in their home and trapped with the whole health insurance situation with changing employment. What would you do?

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Why Blog?

Saturday, while I was flying high above the clouds, it was as though God and I were sitting next to each other and I was bursting with thoughts. I've felt for a long time that I need to start putting some of my ideas in writing. This is a bit dangerous; I might reveal a side of me people don't know. At first the idea of blogging was not appealing at all. Why would anyone put their thoughts on the world wide web for everyone to see? It took me months before I even read any blogs. I thought Delilah was plumb off her rocker for being so open with her thoughts. Since I have started reading Jake, Delilah, and Tim's blogs, I have seen what a great opportunity blogging is to express thoughts and get to know each other better. For weeks I've felt compelled to start blogging.

In my "God time" I had on the plane I was overwhelmed by all the ways we have been blessed. Linda and I were on our way back from a few days visiting some very special people in Florida. We reconnected with Linda's aunt who we hadn't seen in in 20 years. Thanks to aunt Nancy (Linda's sister) we discovered Aunt Polly was living in Florida near where we were traveling. It turns out that while we lived in Florida, we were practically neighbors and didn't know. We were not aware how ill aunt Polly was until we got there. She is in an advanced stage of cancer and probably will soon go to be with the Lord. The time we spent with her was real special; it was obvious that our being there really touched her. As I reflected on this I realized the blessing was ours. What a great time we had sharing the past with her, Malinda (her sister), and her children. Her kids did not know who we were nor would we have recognized them. (The last time we saw them they were in third grade.)

This is truly fitting to the title (rambling); don't you think? Well, work is calling me. Can't ramble much longer. This is a little of the background to why I feel compelled to ramble. We have had the good fortune to have a life filled with very special people and have been very negligent in keeping in touch. I feel compelled to share my thoughts for whomever wants to read my ramblings and hope to be a blessing to our kids, grand kids, extended family, friends, and whomever might stumble upon these ramblings. The nice thing about blogging is that no one has to read this, so I will not bore those who do not wish to be bored. If anyone who reads this has anything in particular that you would like me to share, let me know!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

I have a Job!

I’m a working man! Since I posted last, I’ve been hired, quit, and then hired by someone else. Going to work is a real frustration with me. I’ve enjoyed the past 6 months having Linda working and me staying home and wished it could have continued. It is not that I have not been working; in fact I feel that I have worked very hard around here. But, for the most part, I’ve loved it. Being able to help the kids and grand kids is a real pleasure. I love having the grand kids with me when I work. Yesterday Kellen was a great helper while I was working on the water lines. (We are finally connected to public water but we have leaks,) Lydia was also my side kicks while we were working. Nolan tried to help and walked through a blast of cold water gushing from the water pipe and showed his Miller/Hershberger temper. I could not have done the accomplished the work yesterday without Kellen. He seemed to be real proud of being the man.

More about my working life! About a year ago I registered with the state for civil service jobs. Actually, I was ranked number one the list for a position I tested for but was never called for an interview. About a month ago, while working underneath the double wide, I got called from Lincoln county Department of Human Services about a position as a family support specialist . I had looked into this position once before and felt it would be a position that I would greatly enjoy. It is basically a case management position trying to move families from dependency to independence (or partial). After being interviewed I was quite certain that I would be offered the job. It does the ego some good knowing that someone still wants you.

I started thinking of all the reasons why I should not take this job. It would be a 45 minute drive from the house (of course it takes 20 minutes to get off the ridge, so there is no job closer than 30 minutes). This job is a Monday through Friday 8-5 job (never worked one in my life). I would not have the flexibility to help Eric with his many needs for help. Steph can’t go pick up Eric’s kids; she doesn’t have enough room in her car and dealing with 6 kids ranging from newborn to 10 would be a bit challenging. The pay scale for this job would start at minimum (over $16,000 below the maximum) in spite of my experience in the field. Since I’ve not been working my cholesterol level has dropped to the lowest point since we started checking it (maybe we can stop the build up in the arteries). Being at home, when the pressure mounts I can back off. I had it all figured out, when they call me to offer the job I would just say no.

After playing phone tag for a while ( I wasn’t trying to be very available), Human Services finally reached me. What a glutton for ego massaging I am. I really enjoyed the nice things she told me; how impressed they were at the interview; how I could try it and if I decided it wasn’t for me they would understand; how I could “move up the ladder”; how I could bid for a position closer to home if one opens up. How could I say “no”? What a sucker I am; I said yes! How stupid! There is no way I can do this job and help the kids and grand kids the way I want to. I’ve spent too many years putting work before family (and always justified it). After agonizing for about a week, I finally called and told them I would be unable to take the job. That was hard! I hated it! It would have been so much easier to say no in the first place! Will I ever learn?

I do have another job now! I’ll cover that in my next post! How long will that be? God knows!

Monday, September 25, 2006

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been a long time! In my last post I said God knows when I'll post again; He knew it would be 6 months but I had no clue. He knows all about us past present and future, so why do we fret about tomorrow? Silly, isn't it?

I see some of the family is slacking on the blogging activity so I guess I'll have to try and pick up some of the slack! I actually was going to blog at midnight the other night while I was in a motel in North Ridgeville, but the hard drive on my laptop crashed GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!, another thing to fix!

Do you know how intimidating it is to have an 8 year old looking over your shoulder while trying to do this. He surely will point out my errors. (I'm baby sitting the grand kids while Steph is taking Viv to the doctors). I hear Nolan "the bruiser" fussing so I may not get this done and it might be another 6 months before I'm on here.

Oh yea, I said I'd tell you about my new job! I am driving truck for an expedited freight delivery service. It doesn't pay much but I really enjoy it. I can gt called anytime day or night and often have to leave right away because someone needs something yesterday. (The name of the company is Yesterday Delivery Services.) I'm not real fond of the 11 p.m. calls after I've put a long day in around here and have to drive 12 hours, but it is interesting how the Lord has given me the strength to stay alert. Put me in the family car and I'm falling asleep before I get to the end of the driveway.

The best part of my job is the flexibility! I can take any days off I need, which allows me to get things done around here or to help with grand kids. It is also a trap because it is easy to find reasons to take time off. I took off one day to build a chicken coop. Figuring the cost of material and lost wages that chicken coop cost us about $300.00. We cherish our eggs since they cost us about $12.00 per dozen if you figure the cost invested. Are we trying to be frugal? Oh well, we never have been good with money. Rather ironic. considering I have a degree in financial planning.

I love the time I have to think while driving truck. I love meeting new people and seeing new places. (I seldom have been at the same place twice.)

Time to run! The troops are all up and going crazy!

God knows when I'll post again!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Life in the woods

Good Morning Everyone! Just thought maybe I should start jotting down some thoughts. I love living here but it is a lot more hectic than I hoped it would be. What was I thinking? Just because you move to West Virginia things will slow down? Life has a lot more to do with how we manage than our circumstances. Didn't that wise apostle say something about being content no matter what our circumstances?

I feel the pressure of needing to get things done. I started to create a "to do" list and became rather discouraged. We will need to devote a lot more time to the "to do" list if we are going to make any serious impact on it. Or maybe we should just chuck it and just tackle whatever we feel like doing at the time (if we feel like doing anything?)

Of course if I had more energy maybe things would go faster. It seems as though I used to be able to get 10 times as much done in a day as I do now. Of course, then I neglected some of the most important things in life (thought I didn't have time for them). Hmmm I think hanging out with the grand kids is more important than having a new house. What do you think? If I would have spent 1/2 the time with our own kids as I do with the grand kids....well I really can't complain, they turned out great in spite of circumstances. Not perfect but way better than their old man. Of course that is due to the influence of the best woman in the world (their mother). By the way Linda is excelling at work! Last month she was number one in performance among about 160 employees!!!!!

Oh yea, there is the solution! When she moves up the laddder and starts making the big bucks I won't have to work anymore. Having 30-60 more hours per week to work on the "to do " list would make a great difference.

It is starting to get light out. Time to go:
1. put a new exhaust system on the van (should be the last one it has 204000 miles on it)
2. go look at a double wide to move in for Eric
3. take care of the animals
4. pour some foundation at the barn
5. fix Eric's headlight
6. finish putting the swing set together
7. help butcher the deer that Tim and Terry are harvesting this morning
8. Rewire the heat pump on the double wide

Better get going I'm burning day light, I'll add to the list as I go!

See Ya!

My little girl

2009-09-01T16:17:00.002-04:00

I park in the YMCA parking lot when I pick up Jude from school. After allowing the kids and Willow to play at the playground after school, I decided it was time to head home. We crossed the street to get to the parking lot. Avery is lagging a little behind because she has decided to walk in the flower bed (there are no flowers, but there are shrubs and tall metal light poles) I turn to see Avery lifting the metal base of the light pole. I ask her if she is geocaching, she replied "Yes." She's a funny one. Now she knows to look under the metal base's of lights to look for geocaches.

Summer Recap, already?

2009-08-17T11:25:00.003-04:00

This summer has went by so fast. I cannot believe that Jude will start first grade and Elise is entering pre-school and I start up classes again in one week. Where did the summer go?

This summer we spent a lot of time outside. We went to Lake Erie to the beach, the zoo, a little geocaching, a lot of garden work, the wading pool, WV, & TN.

We were attempting to go the summer with out turning the a/c on. We caved in yesterday when the temp inside the house reached 86. It is now a cool 78 in the house. I'm hoping that we can turn it back off on Wednesday when the temp is suppose to cool down a little bit. Not to bad making it till August 16 with the air not being on.

Well that's it in a nutshell. I will try to post some pics of summer fun when I get a chance.

Pointing Fingers

2009-07-31T19:08:00.004-04:00

Earlier today, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, pointed the finger of blame at the press for setting an arbitrary deadline on the health care compromise talks, one that is very likely to go unmet.

Sen. Reid must be thinking that the health care plan will not be passed because he is already blaming the media for setting a deadline for health care negotiations before Congress adjourns for their August break. Hmm.

I found the following quotes on the internet regarding setting a deadline for the health care talks.

The Administration

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “This Window Between Now And The August Recess, I Think, Is Going To Be The Make-Or-Break Period.” “This issue, health care reform, is not a luxury. … So we can't afford to put this off. And the dedicated public servants who are gathered here today understand that and they are ready to get going. And this window between now and the August recess, I think, is going to be the make-or-break period. This is the time where we've got to get this done.” (President Obama, Press Conference, 6/2/09)

· OBAMA: “I Really Want To Get It Done By The August Recess.” Q: “Is it a pretty much a do or die by the August recess?” OBAMA: “I never believe anything is a do or die. But I really want to get it done by the August recess.” (CNN’s “State Of The Union,” 7/12/019)

· OBAMA: “I’ve Told Harry Reid And Nancy Pelosi, You Know, That It Is Critical That We See Serious Forward Motion Before People Leave.” JOHN AMATO, Crooks And Liars Blogger: “… will you then [Congress] make them give us a bill before the August recess?” PRESIDENT OBAMA:“We are working as hard as we can and I've told Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, you know, that it is critical that we see serious forward motion before people leave. Alright?” (“President Obama’s Conference Call With Liberal Bloggers,” Crooks and Liars, 7/20/09)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “We Must And We Will Enact Reform By The End Of August, And We Can't Wait. I know that the leaders that are up here know that. The president knows that. My colleagues who I just spoke to know that, and the entire Congress knows it.” (VP Biden, Remarks, 7/8/09)

Democrats In The Senate

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “Before We Leave Here … We're Going To Complete The Legislation We Have Dealing With Health Care.” “The question is, do I think the session will be extended in the August recess? We're going to complete -- before we leave here, we're going to do our very best to have a good strong run on DOD. We're going to complete the legislation we have dealing with health care, and we're going to confirm Sonia Sotomayor.” (Sen. Reid, Press Conference, 7/14/09)

· REID: “We must keep our eye on the prize. The prize is health care reform. My desire is to get it done this work period, and I'm going to continue pushing to see everything -- to do everything I can to get it done this work period.” (Sen. Reid, Press Conference, 7/21/09)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “We Expect The House And Senate To Have Passed Bills [By August], Yes.” SCHUMER: “Well, we don't expect it to be signed into law by the August recess.” Q: “Understood, but an actual...” SCHUMER: “But we expect the House and Senate to have passed bills, yes.” Q: “You think it's going to happen.” SCHUMER: “I do.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 7/12/09)

Democrats In The House Of Representatives

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “We’re Still On Schedule … We Have Plans To Vote For This Legislation Before We Leave For The August Recess.” (“Obama Health Reform: ‘Don’t Bet Against Us,’” The Hill, 7/13/09)

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): “We're Going To Pass Significant Reform … Before The August Recess In The House Of Representatives.” Q: “Health care reform -- Congressman Hoyer, will the House pass a bill before the August recess? And what are you going to do about the two biggest problems, which are -- one, increasing coverage, increasing coverage to all of the uninsured without spending another trillion dollars?” HOYER: “Well, first of all, the American people understand that the health care system in this country is in real trouble. They like what they have, about 75 percent of them, but about 87 percent of them think we need significant reform. And the answer to your question is yes, we're going to pass significant reform.” Q: “Before the August recess?” HOYER: “Before the August recess in the House of Representatives, because we need to bring costs down.” (Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday,” 7/5/09)

Now Nancy Pelosi is pointing fingers at the insurance industry because she feels that they have more power than Democrats in Congress. Hello, Pelosi, the Democrats have control of the House and Senate. I view this as an excuse on her end if the Health care bill is not passed.

Health Care: Oppose greater government role. Support free market solutions

The politicians tell us free market health care doesn't work, but we haven't had a free market in decades.

The government already pays for nearly half of all health care. This means we're half-socialized already.
Starting with depression era wage and price controls, and continuing with government tax policies, the politicians have made Americans dependent on their jobs to get health insurance.
State government policies have made insurance too expensive by piling on special interest mandates dictating specific types of coverage.
Medicare and Medicaid have fixed the prices we pay for health care, causing the extraordinary paradox of both price inflation and shortages in areas like primary care.

The list of ways the politicians have screwed up our health care system could go on and on, but now the politicians want to exploit the crisis they created by taking over even more control of our medical care. This will only make things worse, and once we let them do it we may never be able to change it.

Happy Birthday Avery girl

2009-07-27T07:12:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that my Avery girl turns 2 today. She has grown up so fast. I often describe her with one word, "rotten". She is a rotten little girl. She gets this look in her eyes and you know right away that she is up to no good, or has planning to do something that she knows that she shouldn't do. She is her own girl. She is not afraid to join in the mix when Jude and I are wrestling around. Avery is a shoe and purse girl. And she loves her baby dolls. You will find her putting on Delilah's shoes just about every day. Even though she loves her shoes and purses she also loves sports. When Jude and Elise were playing soccer, she wanted to go and kick the ball with her. We bought her a little soccer ball to kick around so she would leave Jude's and Elise's alone. Just recently, Jude went to and Upward's basketball camp, he got a basketball for going, Avery has confiscated the basketball since then. Like I said, she is rotten. Happy Birthday Avery girl.

Sunday Adventures

2009-07-24T14:30:00.001-04:00

Our family has unofficially declared Sunday's as our Geocaching day. If you haven't heard about Geocaching you will have to check out this website, www.geocaching.com Today we had Brian over for lunch and Heather and Ivan joined us a couple of hours later. We decided to go caching down on the Riverfront and then over to a cemetary to find a few more caches. Geocaching has become an easy way for the family to do an activity outside. It gives us a reason to be outside and to relax a little, if it's possible to relax when you can't find a cache. We have been caching for about 4 years but took 2 years off and didn't Geocache at all. Geocaching is a great way to visit places you wouldn't normally visit. I hope you check it out.

***Note***

I started writing this on Sunday, July 19; it is now Friday, July 24. I was planning to write more but have since forgotten what all I was going to write about. Bummer.

Has he read it? Probably not.

2009-07-23T12:03:00.004-04:00

Ohio Voters Spoke...........

2009-07-14T16:14:00.002-04:00

......... but the elected state officials have turned a deaf ear to the issue. Governor Strickland has issued an executive order to place up to 2,500 slots at each of Ohio's 7 horse racing tracks. In fact, the people have turned down expanded gambling and/or casinos in Ohio 4 times since 1990, most recently in November of 2008.

I don't think slot machines will be placed into these horse race tracks with out a fight. There will be some type of lawsuit on behalf of the voter of Ohio arguing the fact that the voters have turned down increased gambling in the state. There will be some sort of lawsuit arguing that it will form a monopoly by allowing only 7 horse racetracks to have slot machines with out allowing outsiders to come in to provide slot machines at other locations.

I'm sorry Strickland, but I believe you face an uphill battle to place slot machines in the existing horse race tracks as a way to balance the state's budget.

Another New Layout

2009-07-08T21:44:00.003-04:00

I have decided to once more change my blog layout. I think this layout is much more my style. Avery slept most of the day today. She was up a lot last night. Delilah ended up taking her to Children's Hospital in Hudson, after she talked to the pediatrician. After returning from the hospital Avery was feeling better. She was even walking around outside for a short while. I think all the activity wore her out because she was ready for bed at 7:45. While I getting her pj's and drink she went and laid her head on the couch to go to sleep. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow. My poor Avery girl.

In God We Trust

2009-07-04T14:03:00.005-04:00

Pink

2009-06-30T15:15:00.002-04:00

Delilah and I decided that it was time to do some room switching. The plan was to have Jude and Elise spend the week at Mamaw's and Papaw's and we would do all the painting and re-arranging of rooms at that time. Well, Elise decided that she did not want to stay in WV. We had Elise and Jude sharing a bedroom, the larger of the 2 kids rooms. Avery was in her own room. It was painted 2 shades of pink as you can tell from the pictures below. We decided that Elise and Avery would share Jude and Elise's old room and Jude would move into Avery's old room. We managed to get most everything done before Jude returned from his week away. There was a lot, a lot of painting involved. Jude's new room required 2 coats of primer on the walls a coat of the final color. I did not paint his ceiling because it didn't seem like it needed to be painted. After painting Jude's walls I realized that there was a pink tint in the ceiling paint. I just thought the ceiling was reflecting the bright pink off of the walls. When I paint the hallway and living room ceilings I will also paint Jude's ceiling. Well, below you can see the below pictures of Jude's new room. I will post an after picture tomorrow (maybe).

She wanted the strawberries

2009-06-02T16:41:00.001-04:00

Yes.... that is All-Bran Strawberry Melody.

The Easy Way

2009-05-23T15:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I was finishing up the last bit of laundary, I set the clothes basket on the kitchen floor so I could refill my cup of java. I asked Avery if she wanted to go down stairs with me.....

... I guess she wanted to.

Delilah Made the Falls Press

2009-05-17T14:28:00.002-04:00

Awake at 2:30........ AM

2009-05-07T08:34:00.002-04:00

I learned several new things today. At 2:30 am. The first thing that I learned was that the Akron Beacon Journal is delivered at 2:45 am. Nothing like get the news first thing in the morning. The second that I learned is that we need to clean our windows from little kids hand print smudges if we expect to get a good shot at our racoon. Oh, and the third thing I learned is that we have a raccoon which seems to be enjoying our birdseed. And I thought the squirrells were bad. Now we have to call animal control to get a live trap. I told Delilah if we lived in the country I would just shoot it if I had a gun. Below is a picture of our fury friend through our smudged window.

I'm sure you are asking yourself, "Why were you awake at 2:30 am?" Well, Avery was awake and it took her a little while to get back to sleep. I can not remember for the life of me the last time Avery woke up in the middle of the night.

Happy Birthday Mamaw!

2009-05-05T10:21:00.003-04:00

In a nutshell

2009-05-01T13:55:00.002-04:00

Has really almost been a month since I last posted? To be honest I really haven't felt the desire to write anything. But I knew I would need to get on here eventually to write something.

Delilah and I have been spending time outside working on the yard and garden. Our landlord had a garden spot several years ago, so we decided that we were going to plant a garden in the same spot. We had a box garden when we lived in Goodyear Heights and we miss the ability to walk outside and pick fresh veggies off the vine. We are going to plant corn, peppers, tomatoes, beans, peas, carrots, radishes, onions and cabbage. I'm sure I have forgotten a veggie that we are going to plant but you get the idea. Delilah is using the square foot method of planting the garden. She has it all planned out on paper and how it is going to be planted. She even setup guide lines in the garden. Now our garden spot looks like a huge graph paper. If all works out we will have bountiful garden this year. Cuyahoga Falls has a community garden spot for $8 for a 20' by 20' plot. Unfortunately we missed out on it because I called a week after we could sign up for it and all the spots were already taken.

Can it be true? Jude has just over a month of school left? This school year seemed to have gone by so fast. I can not believe that my little boy is almost finished with kindergarten. We bought Jude and Elise a Brain Quest workbook to work on over the summer. We want to keep his brain growing so it will be easier for him in the fall when he begins 1st grade.

Jude and Elise are both enjoying soccer. Jude is timid on the field and will not attack the ball when he is on defense. On offense he does pretty good. He is in the correct position waiting for the ball, unfortunately in U6 there isn't much passing that takes place. Elise is doing fairly well..... when she decides to play and not hang off my leg during the game when I am trying to "coach" the players. Last Saturday I actually picked up and swung her so she would kick the ball. The parents got a kick out of it.

I am taking classes at the U of Akron this summer. I will be working towards my bachelors in accounting. I will be taking 2 classes which are 5 weeks long each. My first class begins May 18th. I will be taking Principles of Accounting and then Microeconomics. I am excited about the accounting class, does that make me a geek? It will take me a while to finish up my degree but I will have to keep plugging away at it.

I think that is it in a nutshell.

Spring?

2009-04-08T08:28:00.003-04:00

Spring, the excitement is in the air..........

2009-03-19T10:14:00.004-04:00

I am so excited that the warm weather has finally come to Ohio, not that it will stay around very long until May. Anways............ The kids have loved playing outside. And it is much more fun when you are at home and can get outside. I have even walked to pick Jude from school twice this week, which reminded me out of shape I really am. My legs were hurting after completing the 1.8 mile round trip. Next week is Jude's spring break and we have decided to take a road trip. The kids and I have decided to head to Mamaws and Papaws for a couple of days and the down to Tennessee to Nana's and Poppy's to finish the week out. Delilah will be at home, trying to build up extra hours at work and to get some spring cleaning finished. I'm sure it will be a whirl wind kind of trip and the kids will be worn out by the time we get home. Jude and Elise are so excited to go. They have already packed their toy bags and are waiting anxiously for tomorrow to leave. Jude even asked me if I would pack his clothes for him. I told him he would have to wait for mommy for that, I'm sure I would leave something out.
Friday will be a busy day. I have an interview with Prudential at 9 in Mayfield Heights and Jude has a half day of school so I will be running back and forth to get the final things together for the trip. On Tuesday I cleaned the van out and man did it ever need it. I didn't think it was to bad until I looked under the seats. I removed the rear seats and vacuumed, and cleaned the sides of the van down. It looks much better and even smells a lot better. While I was at it I replaced the fuel filter which was way beyond due. I was told it was an easy job, I just didn't realize how easy it was. I took about five minutes all together to replace it. I wish I would have taken care of it last year when it needed to be replaced instead of waiting so long.
I don't think that I mentioned this before, I have decided to work with the youth at church. I have done it for two Sunday's now. It is going well, I think. It is a small group but I think it is important to have something for the youth to be involved with. I am also coaching Elise's soccer team this year. The director called me up and said that he noticed I had marked down that I would be an assistant coach and went on to tell me that he had something better for me. of course I knew what that meant right away. Now I am coaching Elise's soccer team and our first practice is March 28th.
I think this post has caught you up on everything. See ya later.

A productive day and it's only.....

2009-03-06T10:02:00.004-05:00

I must say that I am having a productive day and it's only 10 am. What gives? Actually I have had a fairly productive week. I think this happens when I am able to keep myself busy. How have I been doing this you ask. Well, let me tell you. I have been looking into going back to school, starting a business, leading the youth on Sunday mornings, leading a small group and co-leading a men's group with my good friend.

First things first, school. As you all probably know, I recieved my Associates in Arts: Liberal Arts from Upper Iowa University in December. I am looking at 3 options to continue my education. Upper Iowa, Malone, and U of Akron. I am weighing the options of all 3. I desire to finish up my bachelors in Public Administration or in Finance, both of which I enjoy.

I am looking into starting my own home based business cleaning out foreclosed homes. I need to develop some contacts with banks and realtors who hande the foreclosed homes and would need purchase a truck and trailer so I am able to haul stuff to the landfill. I would try to save anything I could to resell or donate. I would also need to have a partner working with me because I'm sure I would need help moving larger items.

I have taken on an active role at church. It started with co-leading a men's group which meets at our house. I am currently leading a small group which also meets at our house and am in the process of planning the next series of study. Starting this Sunday I will be leading youth during the Sunday morning service. I am a little rusting at leading youth but I am confident it won't take long to get back into the flow of things.

So I/we have been busy with multiple items. When I resume working outside of the house I may have to curtain a few items but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. As far as being productive today............
So far:

the kids have had their bath (usually done at night)
balanced out accounts
filed our receipts
fed the kids breakfast (Elise ate a ton... 2 eggs, cereal, and a bunch of cheese)
wrote a post on the blog

Well, now that I actually look what I have accomplished so far it really doesn't seem like that much. I do have alot more on my agenda to finish today. Such as......final prep for men's groups tommorrow and sunday morning, complete 2 apps for jobs, call several banks and realtors.

And here I goooooooooooooo

Speechless

2009-02-20T12:58:00.004-05:00

I have been pretty much speechless the last two days. On Thursday I lost my voice and I am still very hoarse today. It has been an interesting week for me. Between having my emotional up and downs regarding employment and fighting off this sickness that is trying to get at me it has me well, pretty much speechless. What else can I say.......

Often times I get frustrated at situations around me and feel that I am letting my family down. I so much desire to be able to provide for my family financially. We have been able to keep our heads above the water the last 11 months but it wouldn't take much to change. I guess I am tired of just barely making it. I realize that things could be much worse for us. Am I growing inpatient waiting on God? I think I might be. I realize that God has a plan and he has brought us through this far. I am often reminded of this from Delilah. Specially during my times of frustration.

We have been blessed with a great church. They have been supportive of us during this time. I have also been able to be more involved with our church. I have been involved with a men's group that is called MENtality that meets at our house twice a month and I have also been leading a small group that is studying "Experiencing God". I have recently decided (with a little nudge) to do some work with the youth on Sunday mornings.

I was speaking with a guy from church the other week about Great Danes. They have one and are looking at getting a second. I have never paid much attention to Great Danes. I've always been partial to Chocolate Labs. Well, I started researching Great Danes, they are very good dogs. The kids and I were watching You Tube videos of Great Danes the other night. They are HUGE. I think I have convinced Delilah that we should eventually buy a Great Dane (we are in no hurry to buy another pet). Now only if I can convince Jude, he wants a Chihuahua or a Poodle. What is wrong with that kid?

I guess I really wasn't very speechless after all.

Attack of the Avery Girl

2009-02-12T13:22:00.001-05:00

Avery has a thing for getting into the cereal cabinet. She loves to grab a box a cereal and grab a handful out of it and then walk around the house eating it. In an attempt to break this little habit of grabbing a handful of cereal I decided to pour some of it into a bowl for her. It worked well for about 45 seconds until Jude ran into the kitchen to tell me that Avery was making a mess with her cereal. This is what I found........

Avery also has a thing for getting into the onions and peeling the skin off. As soon as I put one back she is back into the onions. Don't turn your back when she has a onion because this may happen..........

Such fun advertures with Avery. Everyone things that she is such a good little girl. She has you all fooled. She is the most determined of the 3. She is set in her ways and will let you know how she feels about it. Last night after her bath I was putting her pj's on her and she was just screaming away at me. She is my Avery Girl.

Attack of the Avery Girl

2009-02-12T12:42:00.005-05:00

UPDATE: I originally wrote this way back when. I'm not sure why I didn't post it.

Jobs and Education.

2009-02-06T09:08:00.003-05:00

I noticed it had been a while since I last posted anything on my blog. The job hunt is still moving forward. I have been submitting my resume to an open position about once a day. Sometimes it is difficult to send it out for a job when you don't know what they salary is. There is a certian amount I need to take home to break even, other wise there are probably a lot of jobs that don't much that I would be content with working.

I am in the process of appying for a degree completetion program through Malone University. It is possible to complete your degree in as a little as 14 months. I would have a bachelor's of art in management. You meet once a week for about 4 hours over the course of 14 months to complete the program. According to my calculation I will be about 9 credits short of the graduation credits required to complete the degree which means I would need to take 3 classes somehow to complete the degree. One good thing that has come out from being unemployed is that the expected financial contribution for education decreased by about $10,000 from the previous year. The degree completion program will cost about $15,000.

Another option I am looking at is returning the University of Akron to complete my course work their. If I went the Akron diet pills route it would probably be a little more difficult to schedule that classes at the time I could take them and it seems according to my calculations I would need to take take 4 semester of 15 credits to graduate in 2 years. As of this point I am leaning towards to Malone but I have to wait to see what develops.

Poor Elise

2009-01-27T16:54:00.003-05:00

Elise is not feeling very well today. She didn't eat much for breakfast and didn't eat lunch. She fell asleep on her bed before lunch. I had to wake her up to take Jude to school. I felt really bad about having to wake her up. Needless to say she did not want to get out of her bed. I asked her if she wanted to lay back down when we got back from dropping Jude, she said she did. She laid down for a little while and got up and wanted to have Rice Krispies with a bananna in it. We think she has pink eye in her left eye. Now she is complaining of an ear ache in her left ear. I gave her a sock filled with rice (uncooked rice in a sock, then warmed up in the microwave) to put on her ear to help with the pain, it must have worked she is asleep on the couch now (Avery left her alone long enough for her to fall asleep). She is actually snoring. I do hope she starts to feel better, she is not very much fun to be around when she is not feeling good. I would hate to have to pack her luggage and ship off to Nana's or Mamaw's house till she gets better.

A quick trip

2009-01-26T14:03:00.004-05:00

I spent this past weekend in WV. I took Jude and Elise with me. It was a very quick trip. I left Friday after Jude was out of school and we headed back late Sunday morning. Jude was all excited to go on Thurday night but Friday morning he changed his mind. I He told me he didn't want to go with me. Well, just as I was telling Delilah bye to head out the door with Elise, Jude decided to change his mind and go with me. It was a mad rush to get him packed. I think both kids had a fun time. They got to spend time with Miles and Ashley and Mamaw most of Saturday. I'm thinking about heading back down this weekend and Elise is ready to go. She wants to go today.
It was a bit on the chilly side, low 30's. Saturday morning we put up three large bales of hay in the vacation rentals barn loft they weighed probably 1,000 pounds each, we had to use the front end loader to get this task completed. We finally started working on the pig barn around 11 am. We moved some stone around to get the floor leveled out and completed one end of the barn. The barn is coming along pretty good. It now has a metal roof, one side, and the back walls finished. If I head back I might steal the camera from Delilah.

Working hard to find work

2009-01-22T20:15:00.003-05:00

I have been a little off this week. If you were to ask Delilah she would say I was feeling sorry for myself, which might be slightly true. I've been scrounging the net for job openings and have pretty much come up empty. I have had a couple of interviews but nothing substantial to date. I thought by getting my Associates degree it would open a few more doors to me, it hasn't, yet. I decided to sign up for a Facebook account to try and do some networking with old friends. By the way, it is amazing how many old friends/acquintances you can find on Facebook. I've found people that I have completely forgotten about. Anyways............ I started doing a little networking with some old contacts, I may have a job lead we will see where it goes and I will let you know what develops from it. So I have been working hard to find work. Maybe I should think about car insurance.

Where's the time going

2009-01-12T16:16:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that January is almost half way over. I'm still trying to figure out where 2008 went, now I how to figure out where January is going. Life is moving to fast for me. I have a job interview at Edgepark Medical for an inside sales rep position. They are located in Twinsburg so it will be a little bit of a hike for me to work. They did not list the salary for the position in the job opening. I wish all businesses would list what the pay is other than saying "competitive pay." It would probably save the companies and job searchers a lot of money and time. Does it really have to be that difficult? So anyways, I do have a job interview and am excited about, we'll see how it goes.

I made it through the holidays with out overeating to much up until the very end and then I just ate to much food. I think next year I may need to look for the best appetite suppressant.

I'm confused

2009-01-09T14:13:00.001-05:00

The following was copied from an article from the Washington Post, the link is provided at the bottom.........

"With coupons unavailable, support and education insufficient, and the most vulnerable Americans exposed, I urge you to consider a change to the legislatively-mandated analog cutoff date," John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, wrote in the letter to leaders of the Senate and House commerce committees.

Preparations for the switch to digital television have been rocky. Lawmakers and consumer advocates worry that television watchers -- particularly low-income, rural and elderly Americans who rely most heavily on over-the-air signals -- will lose access to their main source of news, emergency notifications and entertainment.

Obama Urges Delay In Digital TV Switch - washingtonpost.com

I guess we have fogotton about radio as a source for news, emergency notifications and entertainment. I'm confused, is the government saying that consumers have a right to television?

On a lighter note..............

It's a New Year....... go figure

2009-01-06T17:17:00.002-05:00

Well, 2008 rolled in with high expectations from the Miller family. We had many things we wanted to do, mainly, buy our first house. Then came along March 11 and everything seemed to turn upside down. I am still not sure why I was discharged from my employment. It is almost comical looking back on it. Never the less we made it through the rest of 2008 and I've gotta say that it has been good for us to go through this tough experience. We have high expectations for 2009 as well. The main expectation is to get a job "if I get a job." I really don't like looking for a job. I wish they would put a salary range on all jobs. It's nice to know what what the pay might be before going to all the work to submit a resume/application.

On another note, did you know that a paternity test is becoming a norm while setting up child support.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T10:07:00.001-05:00

Popcorn

2008-12-18T16:15:00.002-05:00

Today I made a trip to the doctor's office with all three kids. They each had an appointment for checkups. Even though it wasn't to bad, I do not want to go to another appointment with all three kids again. Jude and Elise were ok, but Avery kept on getting into the cabinet, trash, and drawers. She actually hit her head on one drawer and now has a scratch under her left eye. Avery received one shot, the other kids did not. During Elise's checkup, at the point the doctor checks up her nose, he says that it looks like there some kind of object in her nose. I took a look and yep, there was an object up her nose. The doctor said it looked like it might be a bean. He wanted her to blow her nose to try and eject the object, but Elise wouldn't do it. So, the doctor said I would need to take her to the hospital to have it sucked out since they didn't have the right equipment in the office for such a procedure. I'm thinking "Oh, great. Another trip to the hospital, just what we need right now." Well, we get home and I had Elise blow her nose about four times to get this object out of her nose. It finally came out and it was a popcorn kernel. We had popcorn last week. The kernel was split and looked like it had germinated. How crazy is that, Elise was trying to grow corn in her nose. Earlier at the doctor's office I asked if she put a bean in her nose, she said "no." So this time I asked if she put popcorn in her nose, she said "yes." She didn't have an explanation for it. What gives?

I did it, and an update

2008-12-13T21:00:00.003-05:00

First things first....

Most you probably know, but Delilah had her gallbladder taken out yesterday. If you know her it is hard to keep that woman down. I managed to keep her off the phone yesterday after she was released from the hospital. After she had her appendix removed she made some phone calls while drugged up and did not want a repeat. Today is a different story however, she woke up early this morning, like 3 am, from all the sleep she got yesterday. She went back to sleep at 7. During that time she managed to get our Christmas cards finished and type a letter to send out in the cards. She woke up again at 9 and was on the go. She started doing laundry and then later on baking cookies. Needless to say she over did it a little bit, but the doctor did say to do what ever she wanted to do if she felt up to it. The only restriction was that she could lift anything over 10 pounds.

Now..........

I completed my two classes to finish off my Associates Degree, it will be about 3 weeks until I receive the final grades, I am confident that passed both classes. Hopefully this will help in the job search. I know it can't hurt.

Peace out to the discount furniture.

Movie Time?

2008-11-26T09:21:00.001-05:00

The J-O-B hunt continues

2008-11-24T19:38:00.004-05:00

I am still job hunting. The job I thought I had lined up seems to be in limbo. Which is frustrating in itself, I guess that is the nature of this beast which we call a bad economy. So I am back in the hunt. I had an interview today for a position that teaches clients (kids that are aging out of children services) independent living skills. I am really exited about the possibility of this position. This a new program for the organization and the possibilities are endless for what the program could grow into. I probably won't hear back until later next week. There were still several interviews to go.
I have signed on to drive a snow plow truck this winter season. I will be working for a family that attends our church and am excited about making a little extra cash. It will be early morning hours, but I think it will work out most of the time, so long that I don't become to much of a grump to those around me, like Delilah.
I am five assignments from having my associates degree. One of the assignments is to write a five to six page paper on the differences/similarities in the doctrines of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It has proven to interesting thus far in the process. I just started doing some research and am about a page into the paper.
So, things are slowly moving along for us in the family.

More to come later after I look up Ju Ju Be.

Post Election Observations

2008-11-06T17:02:00.003-05:00

I have noticed a few things about this election that was held this year. I think the Democratic party and the Obama faithful did a great job of organizing and pursing a grassroots based push towards the election. In our neighborhood, Obama faithful went door to door on one occasion and possibly two occasions. I never saw the McCain faithful go door to door. Obama trounced on the Midwest, it was a very impressive showing for him considering the Midwest is considered the heartbeat of the United States and often considered to be the backbone of the Republican party. The overall feeling I have about the election of Obama is that people view has the person that will save the country. I think that view should be taken cautiously. I believe Obama will do a good job as President, but I also realize that President only has so much power. The President is only one part of the federal government the other being the judicial and legislative branches. The Democratic elected officials sure better work together to accomplish issues because there will be no one else to blame but themselves considering they have a Democrat as the President and control of both the House and Senate.

There have been some mix result with this year's election. For example: Californians approved an amendment that defined marriage as the union of one man an one woman; Florida and Arizona approved gay marriage bans; Arkansas approved a measure that restricts unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents; Colorado defeated a measure stating that life began at conception; South Dakota defeated a measure that would have banned abortions except in the case of rape, incest, and serious health threat to the mother; Washington approved physician-assisted suicide; Nebraska approved a ban on race - and - gender - based affirmative action; and San Francisco said you can arrest prostitutes.

I think the conservative ideal lives on in America as is apparent by the various outcomes of different measures across the nation. We may not all agree on the different ways to solve the issues that confront the United States but we must all respect the position of the President of the United States and work together to solve the issues.

I guess I'll keep looking for Ferrari parts in the mean time.

Stockyard

2008-10-28T13:34:00.005-04:00

enter the building
walk through the gate
through the metal detector
into the lobby
feels like a stockyard
the line continues
towards the first person to speak with
like a creek flowing into a dam
no water flowing out
keeps flowing
finally
a trickle here, a trickle there
one by one
names are called
meet with the second person
set your appointment
meet with a third person

the stockyard
full of broken people
tears to my eyes
children not a clue
shouldn't have to experience this
single moms, babes in tow
broken hearted i sit
waiting
waiting for the second person
watching
watching around me
some should focus on retirement
others their career
why
how
here

socioeconomic background matters not
demographics matter not
young
old
black
white
brown
yellow

it happened to me
you?
i wish not
hope not
dignity lost
nothing to do but count the light fixtures

Go Bucks, I tried...

2008-10-27T10:58:00.004-04:00

I have made the decision to start rooting for Ohio State. It's not that I'm upset with the way Michigan is playing. I expected it to be a tough year for Michigan because it is such a large transition in programs. The reason I have started to make a switch to Ohio State is because Coach Tressel has grown on me. He is a great coach and seems to ge a great individual. I have enjoyed watching how he carries himself on and off the field. At the beginning of the of the Penn State I was rooting for Ohio State but after a while I found myself rooting against Ohio State. Needless to say, I did I try to root for Ohio State. You've heard it here first, I am an Ohio State fan. Go Bucks. Maybe I need to put my Michingan stuff on sal e.

Almost...

2008-10-27T10:42:00.002-04:00

Can you believe that it is almost November? Where has this year gone? It seems just like yesterday that I was discharged from my previous job all the while it seems like it is going to take forever until December 1st to roll around. December 1st it my first day back to work, and I cannot wait until then. Not because I want to get out of the house but because I will be able to bring more money to the family to get us back to being somewhat financially stable. It's been tough on us since mid-September when the state employment ran out. I filed for the federal extension but have not heard about the determination of benefits. It has been slim pickings for us. Yesterday at church we heard a sermon about Breaking Out of the Trap Debt it was a good sermon and was almost perfect timing for us to hear. Delilah and I have been discussing our finances and how we are going to get out of debt. Finances can be such a burden on individuals and families. We were beginning to take steps of getting out of debt before I was let go. Soon, very soon we will be able to resume the process of getting out of debt. Sometimes it can feel like golf balls bouncing all around on concrete when it comes to finances.

A day off

2008-10-17T15:24:00.002-04:00

Today Jude didn't have school. I told him earlier in the week that on Friday he wouldn't have school. I asked him if we would want to go the Akron Zoo if it was nice out. He said he wanted to go. I told him I would check the weather to see and that we would have to wait until Friday to make the final decision about it. He seemed fine with waiting until Friday to decide. Well, as it turned out, th weather wasn't perfect but at least it wasn't raining. I contemplated whether to go in the morning or in the afternoon. I knew it would be a little warmer in the afternoon but decided to go in the morning. We went to the zoo and it was nice to go when we did. There were only 4 or 5 other families at the zoo with us when we arrived. It was a bit on the cool side but the kids didn't seem to mind at all. We were able to take our time walking, err running through the zoo. The kids had fun because they were able to run off in front of me with out being swallowed by a crowd of people. The animals were very active. The jauguar was doing laps around his pen and walking right past the window. We actually heard one of the lions rumble out some sounds, they weren't full fledged roars but I think it might of scared Jude and Elise a little. One of the nice things was that we were able to take our time through the jelly fish. We went last time it was so crowded. Actually I can't think of an animal that wasn't inactive. We made it through the zoo in a hour and a half. Perfect amount of time for youngsters. When I put Avery into the van after the zoo her poor little hands were cold. The Akron Zoo might be the closest thing we can come to Disney vacations.

She did it again

2008-10-16T10:18:00.004-04:00

Aw that sweet Avery. She did it again. She pooped in the bath tub 2 baths in a row with the other kids in there with her. I am surprised that Jude did not hurl, he has a week stomach when it comes to things like that. Actually there was one time about 3-4 years ago that he started gagging when there was mud on his shows. I have been giving the kids a bath every other day (unless they are really dirty) I gave them a bath on Tuesday morning and again this morning. This morning I put Avery on the toilet in hopes that she may poop in it. But she didn't. She decided to go in the bathtub instead. What fun. So I scooped out all the poop I could while I drained the tub. I cleaned the tub out and refilled it to continue with their bath time. Elise has a routing of wanting to get in the bath tub with Delilah in the mornings. Yesterday Elise told Delilah she wanted to take a bath with her "with out poop." Such a funny girl.
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before. My official start date is December 1st. It seems like so far off. Delilah and I briefly discussed our child care options and both agreed that we need to start interviewing people for the position. I guess it would be a good time to use some employment screening.

Gloom & Doom

2008-10-16T10:10:00.002-04:00

I can't catch a break in the sporting world. My beloved Cubbies went down in flames. How is that even possible. They had the 2nd best record in the majors and they went down in a blaze of non glory. It really is true. The post season is a brand new season and it does not matter what you did in the regular season.
What about my poor Wolverines? They can't even beat Toledo. I realize this is a rebuilding year for Michigan but what is with all the turnovers? There is no excuse. They need to play more consistent. I wish they would have gotten Les Miles from LSU, I think he embodies Michigan football more fully.
I guess there is one bright spot in my sports. Mobile Router. How bout them Browns? Did they put a spanking on the Giants or what? If only they could play like that every game, they would be serious threat.

Hello, My Name is Jake..........

2008-10-10T13:11:00.003-04:00

In case you forgot, I know it's been a long time since I put a post up on the blog. A while back I decided to go through each post and put a label on each one of them. It took a little time do it but I am glad I did. It's good to read what I have posted in the past. Things are moving along on the job front. My unemployment benefits ran out so I had to apply for the Federal extension of the benefits. As far as I know I am approved for the extension and will be able to receive them next week after about a 3 week lapse of the state benefits. I do have a job. I know how much I will be making but not when I start. It will be sometime between Oct 13 and Dec 1. I am really hoping for sooner than later. I will be working the same industry as before. The office is going to be based out of Cuyahoga Falls, in the river front area. I am very excited about this opportunity and believe I will be very successful at it.

After dropping Jude off at school today, I ran to the post office and then to the bank to have some cash for a date night tonight. When I got to the ATM, the guy in front of me left his bank card in the ATM and the transaction was not complete. If I wanted to I could have withdrawn cash from his account, which I didn't. I ended the transaction and got the cash out of my account that I needed and grabbed the bank card and went through the drive thru window and handed the card to the teller. I wonder how many people would have withdrawn cash with that card? I probably could have bought a nice set of bar stools for the basement.

I suppose that is all I have for now, that I wish to share.

Fixing the van

2008-09-22T20:52:00.003-04:00

Our right headlight had been out for about 6 months before I fixed it. I had replaced the lamp and it didn't take care of the problem. One time while in WV, my dad and I thought we traced the problem back to the front end module (front computer). I bought a salvaged replacement for about $40 with shipping. I finally got around to switching the module out and it still didn't take care of the problem. After doing more research and understanding the wire diagram a little bit better and getting additional help from my dad I was able to track the problem down to a wire coming out of the lamp harness. There are 3 wires that come out from the harness, 1 wire is always hot. Well my wire was hot but it was reading about .03 compare to 12.4 to the left headlight. I was able to test the wire and found out that there was a break in the wire somewhere within 1 foot of the wiring harness. I bypassed the break in the wire with running a parellel wire from a known good spot in the same wire. Long story short, I was able to fix the right headlight. It was a gratifying moment for me.

The rear brakes had been making a grinding noise so I decided to take a look at them. My initial thought that there was some kind of debris causing the grinding. I was right. I cleaned the brake pad and the brake drum and took the van for a test drive........ no grinding was present.

It feels good to fix something yourself.

Ladybug Steam Cleaners

How bout them Cubbies

2008-09-19T10:37:00.006-04:00

I've been a Cubs fan for longest time since the early 90's from the days of Ryan Sandberg, Mark Grace, and even Sammy Sosa. I've never been to Wrigley Field but I hope one day I will be able to watch the Cubs play a game there. I have been to one Cubs game in my life, I watched them play the Cardinals in St. Louis (the Cubs lost). The Cubs have been a sub par, below average team since I can remember. Amazingly during the last 2 seasons they have managed to turn things around. As of today their magic number is 2, they must win 2 games to clinch the NL East or if the Brewers lose today and the Cubs win today they will clinch it.

As of today the Cubs are 92-59 with a winning percentage of .609, they have the best record in the NL. They are 1/2 game behind the MLB best record of the LA Angels who are 93-59 with a winning percentage of .612. The Cubs have outscored their opponents by a margin of 185 runs, the best on the Majors. The next closest is the Boston Red Sox who have outscrored their opponents with a margin of 158 runs. I think the Cubs are in pretty good company.

The Cubs can try to play spoilers to both the Mets and the Brewers, the 2 teams in the hunt for the wild card spot right now. The Cubs play the Mets 4 more times and the Brewers 2 more times. The Astros are on the outside looking in (5 games behind the Mets) for the wild card but it could change. The Astro's have been given a 0.5% of making the postseason.

If I could think of any Cubs team to go the distance, I think this is the team that can do it. It's been a long, long time (1945) since they made it to the World Series.

I wish we could take some more cruises.

Procrastination and Waiting

2008-09-16T13:52:00.003-04:00

I am taking a literature course that I absolutely hate. I can't stand it. So instead of doing my course work I am procrastinating by doing other stuff. I know, I know, I should be working on my course.

I have a job lined up (as far as I understand). Now I am playing a waiting game. I can't stand waiting. I'm about ready to jump out of my skin.

I guess I should try and something productive and get off the computer for now.
Why would you want talking watches?

Things are moving

2008-09-15T20:52:00.004-04:00

Last week felt like summer and it was the middle of September. Today it feels like fall. I woke up to a wet drive way and clouds. Just before Jude had to head off to school it started to rain a little and by the time I picked Jude up from school it had turned into a beautiful day. It was a little bit chilly but it was nice out. Tomorrow may turn out to be my favorite type of day if the forecast holds out. It's suppose to be around 70 and sunny and on Wednesday it's suppose to be around 75 another great day. I can't wait.

I hate high credit card limit

Porthole Observations

2008-09-11T16:35:00.002-04:00

Say what? Porthole Observations? Check it out. It's a new blog from Delilah and me.

http://portholeobservations.blogspot.com/

I'm still around

2008-09-11T13:07:00.003-04:00

I've really fallen off track with keeping posting on this blog. Since Jude started school and I am doing my own course work, I've really cut back my time on the internet. I've fallen in a routine of taking advantage of the quietness when the 2 younger ones are taking their naps. I'm able to get about 2 hours of course work done each day. Except for this week of course. This week has been a little bit crazy. Our kitchen drain backed up pretty bad Monday night. So Tuesday we had our friend Steve come out and take a look at it, he owns his own home repair business. He replaced the drain coming down from the sink going into the stack. Well, it didn't take care of the problem. There ended up being a blockage in the main drain under the concrete floor. He called to call his guy out that takes care of the major plumbing issues with his equipment to snake out the drain. There had been years and years and years of grease buildup in the drain. He finally got it unclogged after about 2 1/2 hours. There has been no problems since then. The drain which was replaced from the kitchen sink needed to be replaced anyways because it was galvanized steel and was starting to rust through one of the joints. In the midst of all of the drain issues I have been preparing for an Experiencing God bible study at our house that we had last night. Almost enough activity for me to start acne treatments. There never seems to be a dull moment in the Miller household.

A mid-week update

2008-08-27T09:00:00.004-04:00

Well Jude is in kindergarten now and the rest of us are settling into our new routine. We have been walking to school it is .9 miles one way. You have to live 1 mile from the school to get bused. Jude was kind of bummed out about not riding the bus to school. So, since Monday I have been walking 2.7 miles just taking Jude back and forth to school. Avery has been in the stroller or in the backpack on my back. Elise has been either on her little bike or in the stroller. I let Jude ride his bike to school and back from school to the house. According to the district rules, kids are not suppose to ride bikes to school because of the risk of getting hit by a car. I figured since I am with him I would let him ride his bike. But here's the catch, I have to bring the bike back home with me and take it back to the school for him to ride it. They don't have bike racks at the school. I was able to put it on the the handle bars of the stroller, I'll have to get a picture of it for you to see what it looks like.

I weighed in at 214 this morning and ran almost a mile also this morning. My left foot/ankle has been hurting like crazy. I think I twisted or sprained it on Sunday. The left side of my foot below my ankle is red and tender. It also it is a little puffy. I told Delilah that I have to work out through the pain. I've started and I don't want to quit, it will be that much harder to start back up again.

I guess I could get a hold of a Chicago personal injury lawyers and say that the city sidewalk caused my injury.

Workout Day 1

2008-08-25T06:44:00.003-04:00

The potential to work with the APD has turned into a motivator to get back into shape. Last week I told Delilah that today August 25th was going to be the start of my workout program. I have decided to begin my work out program with 30 minutes of running/walking and then sit ups and push ups five days a week. Eventually I will work towards running three miles, when that takes place I will run three miles, three days a week and do some weight training the other two days at the Y. My goal is to drop from 217 pounds to 190 pounds for a total loss of 27 pounds almost 12.4% of my current weight.
Let's recap day one of my new workout plan.

Man I am more out of shape than I realized
Ran for 2 minutes
Walked for 28 minutes

After the run/walk I did 20 sit ups and 13 push ups. It's much tougher to do those when your body is already a little tired.

Acne Cream

First Step

2008-08-21T07:31:00.003-04:00

I have decided to apply for the written test to become an Akron Police Officer. Delilah and I discussed it at length and decided it would be a good idea to take the initial first step in the process. Akron seems to have a good program. Once you are in the academy you receive full pay. The down side about this is I pass everything we would have to move to Akron within 12 months. But there are some nice neighborhoods in Akron. I need to start getting my body in shape for the testing. If anything this will be a good motivator to get in shape. Maybe I should look into some promotional products.

The Story Behind the Pictures

2008-08-14T07:57:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning I looked outside the front window to see all these fire trucks. I was curious to see what was going on. I observed the guys in action. Or lack of action. My first clue that there was nothing serious going on was the lack of the fire trucks lights being on and the guys leisurely walking about. The firemen were doing a training exercise in the local metro park. Come to think of it. I've seen fire trucks lined up down the street before, but never thought more about it until now.

As anyone had a colon cleanser before?

See you on the flip side.

WW Views from the Front Porch

2008-08-13T12:20:00.001-04:00

WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

2008-08-12T07:03:00.006-04:00

Delilah and I watched a movie over the course of a couple days. (Because we were so tired we had to turn it off and go to bed). WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price is a thought provoking movie. I suggest that everyone watch this movie. Take a look at the following:

Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed

The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]
One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:
- $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
- $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.
- $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.
- $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
- $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)
- $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.
[The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]

Health care subsidies compared to executive compensation

Excluding his salary of $1.2 million, in 2004 Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made around $22 million in bonuses, stock awards, and stock options in 2004.
This $22 million could reimburse taxpayers in 3 states where Wal-Mart topped the list of users of state-sponsored health care programs, covering more than 15,000 Wal-Mart employees and dependents. [Wal-Mart Proxy Statement and News Articles GA, CT, AL].

Your tax dollars subsidize Wal-Mart's growth

The first ever national report on Wal-Mart subsidies documented at least $1 billion in subsidies from state and local governments.
A Wal-Mart official stated that "it is common" for the company to request subsidies "in about one-third of all [retail] projects." This would suggest that over a thousand Wal-Mart stores have been subsidized. ["Shopping For Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth," Good Job First, May 2004]

The above was taken from http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/#taxpayers

Please watch the following clips.

I don't think I'll be buying indoor lighting from Wal-Mart.

More Busy-ness

2008-08-11T07:25:00.004-04:00

We've had another busy weekend/end of last week. My mom and dad came up late Wednesday and stayed through until Sunday afternoon. It was a good visit. Thursday we were able to get the mulching done around the house. Well, at least the large front flower bed and the 2 flower beds in the side yard. It looks soooo much better. It was full of weeds. Friday we had a semi-relaxing day. We went for a 1.8 mile hike in the Gorge Metro Park. It really is a beautiful park, it's just a shame that in certain spots that it really smells like sewer. Something needs to be done about it. Friday evening we headed to Ron's house for a cook out and a boat ride. The kids loved being on the boat. Avery even enjoyed it for the first little while, then I think she was tired of wearing her life jacket. On Saturday we headed to Amish World, as Jude called it. We visited some extended family and had a good meal in Mt Hope. Delilah and I with the kids headed back early because we had a ton of stuff to do for Sunday. We had Avery's birthday party on Sunday. It was fun. It's amazing how comfortable it was here at the house with all the people here. At the pink house it would have been cramped and you would probably needed to have tactical gear to get around all the people and kids running wildly. I think everyone had a good time. At least I hope they did.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-06T11:50:00.001-04:00

Monday Madness

2008-08-04T11:51:00.003-04:00

It always seems that Monday is turns into madness. Maybe I should check out the wine of the month to make things seem better for me on Monday's. Things seem to get done at a little bit of a slower pace. This is how would like my typical day to flow.

Get a shower and dressed before the kids get up
Eat a bowl of cereal before the kids get up
Read through the paper while sipping on my coffee before the kids get
Get the kids breakfast and dressed
Put Avery done for her morning Siesta usually around 8:30 or 9:00
Do a little school lesson with Jude while Avery is asleep
When Avery wakes up, get her dressed
Feed the kids lunch
Do an outside activity with the kids, usually go to the wading pool
Back for naps
While the kids are napping do some of my own school work from Upper Iowa University
Get the house picked up
Wait for momma to get home

I guess that is how my typical day would flow, except on Monday's of course. Because things always seem to get done a slower pace because of the weekend. Well, it's about that time. Time for lunch. PB&J sounds great today.

See you on the flip side.

July - recap

2008-07-31T09:09:00.004-04:00

July has seemed like a blur to me. Why does it seem like everything happens during the same time. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad it all seems to happen during the same general time. Let me recall the month.

We moved
Delilah had surgery
Jude and Elise went to TN
We celebrated Mandy's life

Looking back I guess there wasn't more events than any other month except for the fact that this month it was an emotional roller coaster for all of us. It took it's toll on us.

Moving in itself is not a lot of fun. It wasn't like we moved across the state. We only moved six house away, just around the corner from the "pink" house. With moving there always seems like of lot stuff to do. There is a lot of work to make the house your home. You want everything to look nice, even if you are just renting (again). We are slowly settling in to our new surroundings. I can honestly say this house feels more like home does than the "pink" house ever did. Isn't that weird? Maybe not. I guess we are much more comfortable in our new house.

Delilah had to have surgery this month. A semi-emergency surgery. She had her appendix removed. She is a trooper. The doctors said they were amazed she wasn't doubled over in pain and sweating bullets when she came into the ER. Her surgeon said that if she would have waited another 12 hours she would of had poop all inside of her. (I always knew she was full of sh*t) ha ha ha. She recovered pretty quickly from her surgery. It is always hard to keep her down.

Jude and Elise went to TN the week following Delilah's surgery. They always love leaving the house for a week. They had a blast. They got to go fishing, see wildlife and spend time Nanna and Poppy. But it's always a transition when they get back home. I think they are ready to head back to TN.

On the 28th and 29th we had the opportunity to share in celebrating Mandy's life. She was courageous in her fight against cancer. At this point that is all I am going to write about Mandy. I am not able to get the words to type correcting so they accurately describe what I am feeling and what I wish to share. She was a special person and will be missed by all.

Yesterday we finally registered Jude for Kindergarten. We have to wait until next week or the week after next to find out if he is in AM or PM. That to me is so annoying. Why can't they tell you when you register your child whether they are AM or PM. And what's with having to buy all these Kleenex's, Purel, zip lock bags, etc. I thought that is why schools have levies? What happens when you can't afford to buy these extra "essentials" to be shared with the rest of the classroom? Do they label the child and the family as non-compliant? No Child Left Behind.

I guess that is all for today. Check you later.

Office Supplies

Happy Birthday Dad/Father-in-Law/Papaw

2008-07-30T07:52:00.001-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday Avery (July 27)

2008-07-26T20:49:00.001-04:00

Aww, Monday.........

2008-07-21T09:48:00.003-04:00

Well is is Monday and things here at he Miller household are slowly coming back together. Delilah is feeling much better other than some side affects to the antibiotic she is on. She made a phone call to the doctor and they are suppose to call back at some point. Jude and Elise are in TN and I think that Avery might miss them a little bit, she has been a little grumpy over the last couple of days. They will probably return home Friday or Saturday. I have a job interview with Primerica Thursday evening. I'm a little nervous about it. I did a quick search on Google about the company and there seemed to a lot of complaints and some people felt that it is a scam. They are a part of Citigroup so I guess we will have to see what develops on Thursday. Everything I read from the Primerica website looks good and falls in line with what I tend to believe. And with this job I won't have to travel. Which is nice because if you were have to fly somewhere it seems like all the airlines are charging to check luggage.
I will take advantage of this week with only having Avery. I need to go and renew my license and registers the cars and also get Jude's paper work for school so he can goto kindergarten in about a month. Crazy. I can not believe that Jude is starting school already.

Peace, see you on the flip side.

Delilah is home now.

2008-07-18T14:58:00.003-04:00

Update

2008-07-17T20:59:00.003-04:00

It looks as though Delilah will be at the hospital until Saturday. She still has a lot of pain from the appendicitis/surgery. She was able to get a little rest today with a couple of naps.
I took the kids into see her twice today. Tonight they were all interested in the different gadgets in her room. Jude is ready for mommy to come home. Elise is also ready for momma to come home.

Delilah

2008-07-17T07:42:00.003-04:00

It turns out that Delilah actually had appendicitis. Not the flu. Not bad cramps. She had surgery this morning at about 1. She went through it with flying colors. I will keep you updated when ever I find out more.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-16T08:42:00.004-04:00

Flood Safe Water Supply Lines

2008-07-14T14:19:00.004-04:00

If you read Delilah's blog you will remember that she mentioned something about the hot water not working on the kitchen faucet after I switched them around. Well, I went to Home Depot to pick up some new water supply lines because the old ones in the sink were leaking at the hose coupling after I replaced the faucet there might have been a medigap between the hose and coupling. I might have over tightened them, I'm not sure. Anyways, I bought 2 flood safe water supply lines. I figured it would be better to pay an extra $2 dollars just in case. Well, the cold water supply line is working great. The hot water supply line kept on tripping itself. If the water flow over certain gallons per minute then it will shut off. I'm not really sure why the cold water didn't shut off but the hot water did. So this morning I ran over to Home Depot at 6:15 in the morning to get the new water supply line before Delilah headed off to work. I am pleased to say that both hot and cold are now working on the sink.

Goldfish Catch

2008-07-11T07:49:00.007-04:00

Last night was the annual goldfish catch for the Falls. The city takes one afternoon/evening to place goldfish in all of its wading pools. Kids 12 and under get the opportunity to try and catch some goldfish. The kids had a great time trying to catch the goldfish. I think that Delilah also had a great time helping them. We caught about 15 goldfish, our "friends" gave us 3 or 4 of their goldfish. Are they really friends when they are pawning off fish to us? I guess we still have them as friends. It takes more than giving us more fish to get rid of us as friends. Anyways... enough of going down a rabbit trail. On the way home Jude mentioned that he a was going to play hid-and-seek with one of his fish (the white fish). So we asked him how we was going to play, he said that he was going to count while the fish hid.
I think Jude needs to play with kids is age more often. I think this move has really messed our schedule up. We need to get back in the grove of things and head to the park and wading pools. Oh, and to the library. We signed the kids up for a reading program at the library. We have only been to it a few times, maybe only twice, now that I think about it.

(Elise scouting for fish)

(Elise caught one)

(Successful trip?)

(Jude being happy)

(Waiting for their turn again)

Las Vegas vacations

Changes

2008-07-10T09:03:00.003-04:00

So many changes. Last night Delilah told me that Tony Stewart was leaving JGR to become majority owner of HAAS Racing. I knew that it was a possibilty for him to leave at the end of the season because he hadn't signed a contract extension with JGR. But what I didn't know was that Ryan Newman may also follow Tony, leaving Penske Racing for HAAS. Ryan and Tony are my 2 favorite drivers in NASCAR. I am excited about the possibility of them teaming up.

I was looking at kitchen faucets at Home Depot because our new one does not have enough clearance. I can't believe how much they cost. The cheapest one with the high clearance was $80.00. I think I'll wait till later for that project.

I have decided to change my blog layout. I like the look of this one which I found dropping entrecards yesterday. I hope you also like it. I will be spending some time tweaking it so it looks better. Hope you all enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday - Jude and His Animals

2008-07-08T12:46:00.005-04:00

Jude loves to set his animals up.

(View from the front)

(View from the back)

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-03T17:14:00.001-04:00

First Post From the New House

2008-07-02T07:39:00.003-04:00

We are slowly getting settled into the new house. The kitchen is pretty much put together, which makes it much more enjoyable to eat in the dining room. Yesterday, while working on some things at the house, a car stopped in front and an older couple got out of their car. The wanted to welcome us to the neighborhood (they live about 4 blocks away on the same street) I told them thanks and explained that we had actually moved only six houses from around the corner. I also told them that we always walk past their house and Delilah says that she wants to buy it. It has an acre and a detached workshop on the property. They laughed and said that a month after they bought it a couple stopped in and offered to buy from them. They have been in the house for 3 years now.

Things are moving along for us. There is a lot of work to do yet. We need to head back to the old house and get the rest of miscellaneous stuff out and move the garage stuff over. Then we need to clean the old house. So much fun.

Metal Roofing

Moving along

2008-06-22T08:07:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a long day. I headed over to the new house at 5:30..... in the morning to trim some of the living room before heading to my men's group. I returned home from the group to get some things ready to take to the new house while waiting for Heather to arrive to eat lunch and go to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Let me tell you, the Restore is great. We bought a table for the kids, it's one of those table you might see in a kindergarten room, it's round and short. We bought it for $7.50, what a deal. We also bought several nice paint brushes, a new dining room light and new lights for the hallway. We spent a total of $40.00, what a deal. If you have one in your area you need to check it out. The have a variety of things there. Anything from Pella windows, nice cabinets, paint, desks, tables, roofing, front doors, basically a variety of things. Anyways....... With Heather's help, Delilah and were able to paint the living room, kitchen, and clean the rest of the basement. Things are looking good. I think the plans today are to mop and steam vac the upstairs and maybe move a few things into the basement.
We have 2 great babysitters yesterday, they both put in long days for us. Grace babysat from noon till 9:30 pm and Sara (her sister) came at 3:00 to help out, since Heather's kids were here also.

Memory cards

Really? It's Friday.

2008-06-20T14:53:00.003-04:00

Where has this week gone? I can not believe that it is Friday. This week has gone by in a blur. Jude had Safety Town this week. He had his little graduation ceremony today. We had our babysitter here through out the week. This gave me an opportunity to work on the new house. So far this week we have cleaned out Delilah's new craft room, the storage room, and the basement bathroom. The hallway/entry is now freshly painted. The living room and kitchen are taped ready to painted tomorrow and the yard had been mowed. It has been a crazy week. I am tired. My legs are tired. It will be a busy weekend as we try to get everything ready to be moved into the new house.

HDMI

Moving

2008-06-17T08:59:00.004-04:00

We are moving. We found a house to rent that is literally just around the corner from us. It is a much nicer house for the same rent. We have been looking for houses for the last 2 months. They all seemed to be smaller than our current one for much more money. This will be a blessing to our family. Right now we are doing some painting. We really want to make the house our home. This will be the house we are in that we can really do that. We are excited. The new landlord it great. He is doing everything that he can to make sure we are happy when we move in.
The house we are moving into is a brick ranch built in the 50's. I never thought I would like a ranch. This house I like. It has 3 bedrooms, large living room, finished basement, which half of it is a rec room and the other half will consist of craft room, office, and kids play area. And maybe the best part is....... the house has landscaping. We miss out landscaping. The flower beds are over grown but they can be whipped into shape. The kids are excited as well. The new landlord actually gave the kids 2 new scooters. Well they look fairly new.
My goal was to get everything painted (kitchen, hallway, and living room) by the end of the week. I don't think it is going to happen though. Jude has safety town this week and tot time, so time is very precious to get anything done. Well, it's about time for tot time gotta run.

Sale

Staying active

2008-06-11T14:32:00.003-04:00

This is my 200th post. I can't believe it. I never imagined I would keep with this blogging thing, I guess I surprised myself a little. Anyways..... I have been trying to stay active with the kids. I was going to say stay busy with the kids. I don't think the word busy is the right word to describe my intentions. Today we have had a little break in the weather. The a/c is turned off for the first time in a week. It is nice to have outside air blowing across your face when your in the house. Yesterday the kids enjoyed Tot Time. It is a time for tots to come together and do a craft. It runs through the whole summer and occurs twice a week. Tuesday they made name cards. At the end of the craft they took turns saying their names and something about themselves. Of course Jude and Elise didn't say anything, they would stand up or say their names.

Today, after Avery woke up from her morning nap we went for a hike through the Gorge Metro Park. It is nice because it is within walking distance from our house. No need to fire up the ole gas guzzler minivan. It is nice that the metro park is so close to the house. It is a nice metro park other then the fact it smells like sewer. The metro park needs to do something about the smell. There's nothing like breathing in stink while trying to enjoy the woods. After the hike I loaded the kids up in the van and we headed off to Delilah's work. We made a stop at Subway to pick up some lunch then to her work to pick her up and then off to a park in Kent. It was a nice time together. The kids enjoyed being with mom a little during the afternoon. Now they are all taking naps/quiet time.

Well gotta run and take advantage of this time and get a few things done.

Computer memory.

Hiking

2008-06-06T08:32:00.004-04:00

It heated up as the day marched onward. The house with its windows and doors flung open was not able to stay cool as the day marched on. Something had to be done. What was the answer? The decision was made. It was time to dive deep into the van. The air condition was turned on while the errands were being run. The first scheduled stop was at the local library to return rented movies. The second scheduled stop was at Giant Eagle to pick up a prescription for little Avery. In an attempt to conserve the precious material we call gold, err gasoline, the windows were opened and engine was shut down while waiting at the drive up window. But to no avail, the prescription was not ready. It seemed they need the new health insurance card. The pharmacist said, "It will be ready in 20 minutes." Onward we travel to the third stop. To get the much needed water for the water cooler. At 25 cents a gallon, you can't beat the price for filtered, clean tasting water to drink on a hot day. Now it is time to head back to stop number two to pick up the prescription. Once again we pull up to the window. The van shuts down and the window's open. Success this time. Mission accomplished. On to stop number four. To the woods we go. As we travel down the road I try to remember which drive to use to enter the metro park. I use the wrong drive (again). Jude says that I am silly and need to get a map. I agree with him. After a little turn-around, we finally make it to the correct parking lot of the Summit County Metro Park's Oxbow Area. I told the kids we would go on a hike today. Silly daddy I thought as we got out of the van. I decided on the Oxbow Trail a 1.2 mile hike through the woods that followed the Cuyahoga River (Cuyahoga Falls River, according to Jude) for part of the way. I place Avery in the backpack for the first time. She didn't mind sitting in it at all. Very good sign. Jude, Elise, Avery and I started on the hike. As we were hiking a couple of thoughts ran through my brain. In no particular order.

I have been feeling pity for myself because of staying at home with the kids.
Oh crap, I forgot the diaper bag at home
I sure hope Avery doesn't need a diaper before we get home.
Who in their right mind says to kids, "Hey let's go hiking" when it is 3:00 pm, the hottest part of the day?
Oh no, I didn't bring a bottle for Avery, I sure hope she doesn't want her 4:00 bottle before we get home.
Seriously, who in the right mind wants to go on a 1.2 mile hike during the hot part of the day.

The children really enjoyed the hike. We skipped a few stones across the river at one point. Jude wanted to go into the river and get a pop can. Avery didn't need a diaper or bottle before getting home, whew. Jude and Elise both peeped in the woods. They seemed excited about that. Elise did a great job hiking. I was a little concerned because there is one area that has a bunch of steps to climb up, she did a great job. As I sit writing this Jude asks, "Dad, can we hiking again today?" I smartly reply we will have to see, it's suppose to be hot today. Whew.

Maybe next time I'll sit in the hammock chair instead of hiking.

Err the Weather

2008-06-03T20:29:00.003-04:00

Today has been a rough day. It has rained most of the day at times it was coming down pretty good. Which means the kids get to stay indoors. So much fun. Actually, they did get outside for about 30 minutes this afternoon to play then we went for about a 30 minutes walk/bike ride after they played. Accuweather is calling for rain Wednesday and Thursday. I think I will be heading to the Y to use the treadmills, hopefully one will be open. They usually are. This way the kids can get out of the house and I can have a little free time zoning out while listening to the ipod. I guess we will have to see what kind of morning we have.

Peace.

Back to school

2008-06-02T08:30:00.003-04:00

Jude and Elise spent most of last week in WV. There is always a transition period after the kids spend time away from the house. Jude had a rough time the first couple of nights getting back into the swing of things. Now it is back to school for him. back to learning how to read.
It's not just back to school for Jude but for me as well. I am 2 course away from having my associates degree. I am taking the course now through an external degree program at Upper Iowa University. It is a regionally accredited school. My ultimate goal is a degree in Public Administration through the university which I started about 3 years ago. The price for the schooling is very reasonable. Hopefully in about 4 months I will have my classes completed. The 2 courses which I am taking are Religion and Literature. The religion one will be interesting. I have started reading the text, right now I am reading about Hinduism. It is an interesting religion. I am excited about learning about Islam and being able to make my own conclusion on it. I had to buy The Holy Qur'an. Needless to say it does feel a little wierd to have the Qur'an in my house as a Christian. None-the-less, I look forward to studying on the religion.

How about those walk in tubs?

Off a Little

2008-05-20T16:35:00.003-04:00

I've been off my routine this week. I just can't seem to get into my groove. We had a busy weekend. Elise turned 3 on Sunday and so we had a Hello Kitty birthday party for her. It is hard to believe that she is 3. Time goes by so quickly. Back to the weekend. It was busy. We went out to dinner with some friends on Friday, it was a last minute adventure. Saturday I went to a men's group in the morning and then we went to a birthday party in the evening, it was next door which made it nice because we were able to lay Avery down to sleep for the night and have the monitor turned on while we still enjoyed the birthday party. And on Sunday we had Elise's party but had to do a little running around for some last minute things. So it was a busy weekend.

Things are slowly coming together this week. Delilah did a bunch of laundry so maybe that threw me off a little. Who knows?

What the world is generic Phentermine?

Stay Organized

2008-05-16T15:53:00.004-04:00

If you were to ask Delilah, she would tell you that I am an organized person. I think sometimes I drive her crazy. My organization had not stopped since becoming a stay at home dad. I've started using Google Calendar. It is great tool. I am able to access from any internet connection. A great feature that it has is that it can text you appointment reminders. It is great . I type all my events into Google Calendar no matter how small or large the event is. This allows me to stay on task when events come my way. Now that you have read this, I'm sure that you think I am a stay at home geek. It's ok if you do.

On another note, did you know that we are going on 2 years living in this house and not all the windows have blinds?

Have a Good Drink

2008-05-15T10:04:00.003-04:00

We have a friend that is a stay at home mom. She jokingly says that she is on a coffee/caffeine diet. Three weeks into the stay at home business, I now know why. The first thing I learned about staying with the kids is to have good coffee readily available. It seems to make the day, especially the morning go much smoother. I think I average 1/2 - 3/4 of a pot of coffee each day. But, I must say, I am a coffee snob. No creamer, no coffee for me. What can I say?

Maybe I should check into getting a good auto insurance quote, just in case I get the jitters from being overly caffeinated.

Name Change

2008-05-14T10:00:00.003-04:00

Last night I was talking to Delilah after she arrived home from her woman's Bible study. I was sitting on the basement steps while she was at the desk catching up on some blogs. I told her that she needs to read my latest post and tell me what she thought of it. While sitting there, I jokingly told her I should change my blog name from the Launch to Adventures of a Stay at Home Dad. If you are a stay at home parent I think you know what I'm talking about. It seems like each day has a little adventure in it. After saying the blog name it kind of stuck with me.

It seems like there is an adventure with every day. Especially when I am staying home with the kids. My goal with the new direction of this blog is to share a little bit of my adventure with you. I guess this will be an online journal of what works and doesn't work for me. I'm sure what I have to offer will not be any new insight for the seasoned stay at home parent. But, I hope you will join me on this new adventure.

Welcome to The Adventures Of A Stay At Home Dad.

Is it Really Only Tuesday....?

2008-05-13T21:58:00.002-04:00

Ugh, I can not believe it is only Tuesday. It has already been a long week for me. Monday was a horrible day with the kids. It was absolutely crazy. I'm not sure if it was because we had a busy weekend or it was rainy and the kids were stuck inside. It was probably a combination of both. Today I had an appointment at the Job Center. It is a one stop facility for job seekers, government assistance etc. Each county in Ohio has a one stop place, they may have different names for it though. I had to do an orientation program. Next week I have an one on one meeting with one of the workers. I guess they will help me search for jobs better and resume stuff, etc. If you are looking to switch careers or want more information on the job market you should really check it out.

On a lighter note..... I have been going on some bike rides, and I took Avery and Elise on an hour long bike ride while Jude took Delilah to mom prom (which I hope she blogs about soon) (hint, hint). The girls really enjoyed it. Jude is doing great riding his bike. I have been letting him ride on the road with me. He rides between the curb and me on the streets that are not very busy, the rest of the time he rides on the sidewalks.

One day last week I took all the kids on a bike ride in the afternoon. I usually have Elise ride in the trailer with Avery but this time I let Elise ride on the back of my bike in the carrier seat. I buckled Avery in the center of the trailer since she was the only one riding in it. So I was riding in front of Jude on the sidewalk and the left wheel of the trailer ran over a rock or something sticking out onto the sidewalk, the trailer flipped onto its side and I dragged it about 5 feet before stopping. Jude was yelling behind me to stop. When I dismounted my bike Avery was suspended in the trailer since she was buckled. She was crying because I had scared her. She calmed down once we got moving again. If anyone saw what had happened they probably were thinking that I needed to go to drug rehab.

Happy Birthday

2008-05-05T12:37:00.003-04:00

Today is the big day for my mom, it is her birthday. (Sorry, we didn't send a card yet) Maybe dad can celebrate your big day by going out and buying some hot lingerie for you. Or should he do that when it is his birthday? At any rate Happy Birthday.

Jude is a funny one

2008-05-05T12:27:00.003-04:00

During the week I am trying to keep the kids on a schedule. I am attempting to keep Avery on a schedule for her nap times, Elise on her schedule for her nap time, and Jude on his schedule for quiet time. Since Jude and Elise are sharing a bedroom, it does not work out for them to be in the same room during quiet/nap time. We started letting Jude have quiet time in the living room on the bean bags. He loves doing that, actually he fell asleep on the bean bags one time during quiet time. I have noticed something though. He has asked to have quiet time in our bed a few times and today he asked if he could have quiet time in our bed again. I said sure no problem. I turned both bed side lights on and turned the sleep timer on the radio. I always tell him when the radio turns off he can be finished with quiet time. Well, today he fell asleep in out bed during quiet time. He must have been tired. The last couple of quiet times he took in our bed he fell asleep. I guess he knows when he is tired enough to take a nap during quiet time. So he is a funny one.

Ademco?

Crack(ed)

2008-05-01T13:02:00.003-04:00

I filed a claim earlier in the week on our van for the windshield. A while a go we were on a trip to TN and driving through a construction zone and all of a sudden BOOM. One of the construction trucks driving a long side of the road kicked up a rock and it the very most top center of the windshield. It sounded like a shotgun had just went off. The initial crack was a spider crack and it was not going to be able to repaired unless the windshield was replaced. So I decided to wait out the crack and see how bad it got. Never the less over time it spread down to the bottom of the windshield. Delilah finally told me that it was time to get the windshield replaced. So I called to make claim and the insurance company set up the appointment for Wednesday between 8 and noon. So I waited and waited and waited...... the kids had lunch and it was noon by the time the kids had finished lunch and no new windshield. So I took the kids out for a drive to look at some potential houses for us to rent. They all fell asleep on the drive. I didn't find any houses for us to rent. When we got back to the house I decided to call to see what had happened to the new windshield. Well they said there was a glitch in the program that send the information to the windshield replacement people.

Finally the windshield was replaced this morning. It was pretty slick how easily they can replace the windshields. After the windshield guy left, Jude and Elise decided to stay outside and play. Jude has been trying to ride his 2 wheeler bike for several weeks and never had quite gotten it. But what do you know....... he decided to ride his 2 wheeler and got it down pretty good. He was riding around the driveway and doing circles. It amazes me that he went out on his own to do it. He always wanted me to be outside watching him or pushing him on the bike. He is growing up so fast.

Maybe when we move we can look at some swing sets.

Why Oh Why Ohio

2008-04-22T13:10:00.003-04:00

The original title for this post was just going to be Why Oh Why, but I thought adding Ohio would have add a nice little ring to the title even though it really has nothing to do with this post.

It is not much much riding in a van with 3 children looking for a house to rent. Why can't each city have its own web site to list rental properties. Maybe I should try to set up a website that allows for this to take place. It would make it a lot easier if I could type CuyahogaFallsRentals.com to search for houses. This website would require you to list the address, price, square feet, bedrooms, bathrooms, basement, garages, and several pictures of the property. Nothing more is annoying than having to make phone calls to find where the property is located, the price, and various details about the property. I think this website could be big hit and could be expanded to other cities. I think this would save time for everyone involved.

How funny, I typed in cuyahogafallsrentals.com and it forwarded me to another website for Bluejay-rents..com Well there goes my money making idea.

Anywho, why does it seem like everything happens in all at once for you? Not that the things that have happened are life threatening. It is just the annoyance factor part of it. It stinks.

Need some CAT6?

The first half day of a new schedule

2008-04-21T13:14:00.003-04:00

Things are going well. But, I am dead tired and it's only 1:15 pm. I have to get to bed much earlier than midnight. I need my 8 hours of sleep. So this means that I have to get to bed at 10 pm because the kids always wake up around 6:30 am. Ugh. All things considered today is going well for us, except that Delilah has yet to call me from her new job. She always gave me a hard time when I didn't call home to check in to see how things were going. Believe me, I will give her a hard time. ;-) I know how things can get busy, been there done that. Anyways, gotta go because Jude says Avery is crying now. Later.

I love electronics.

Oh the sickness

2008-04-18T13:09:00.003-04:00

Well you've heard it here first. Delilah is sick. Every one has been sick other than Avery during the last month. It's so much fun. On a lighter note.................

The kids and I walked to the library today. I used the double stroller that was given to us some time ago. I'm not sure how to use that thing, it is so huge. It takes both hands to steer it. I liken it to riding in a dump truck. It's a rough ride for the kids when you go over the bumps. It seems to ride like a dream on the smooth sidewalks though. I put Elise in the front and Avery behind her. Jude walked with me. It is a 30 minute walk to the library. Jude really well. He was getting tired on the way back. So we walked for a total of 1 hour to spend about 25 minutes at the library. It felt great to get back outside and enjoy this weather. You never know when it might turn on you on Northeast Ohio.

I've been working with Jude on his phonics. We finished lesson 12 today. (It's taken us a long time to get to lesson 12) Each lesson is about 15 minutes long. He has learned a, e, t, m, r, and s. Tomorrow he will learn d. The lesson are pretty good. He is learning to sound out words and can actually read rat, mat, am, and sat, to name a few of the words. He also is learning to write the letters. He's doing pretty good at it.

Later

What is hoodia?

Breaking in slowly

2008-04-14T13:21:00.003-04:00

Today marks the first day of stay at home dad life. Delilah is working a temp job this week that is for 4 hours in the morning. I only have to watch Avery since Jude and Elise at in TN with nanna and poppy. They will return on Wednesday. There is not better way to transition to stay at home dad than to take care one child. Avery woke this morning at her usual time and was ready for her morning nap at about 7:45, she slept until 10:45. This gave me ample time to get some things done that needed to get done. I was able to take my shower, wash some clothes and our sheets, and finish some paper work. I balanced the checking account, which by the way, is sooooooo not fun to do when you don't have a job. Anyways, I balanced the checking account and sent our city taxes ready to drop off and our state taxes ready to mail. I also put the finishing touches on my application, resume. cover letter, and references for a position I am applying. When Avery woke up from her long nap, I changed her poopy diaper and dressed her and gave a some snacks then we headed out the door to run a few errands. I had to stop by the city center to drop our taxes off and mail our state taxes and then stop by the Y to drop off some paper work. After our few stops we returned home and about a half hour later Delilah returned home. Let me tell you, when Delilah got I home, it was like I wasn't even here. Avery was all about being with Delilah. Nothing like being second rate.

I know some of you might want to check out these cell phone amplifiers.

30 Days?

2008-04-11T11:01:00.003-04:00

Has it really been thirty days since I last went to work? I don't like the feeling when I wake up and having a place to go to work. Funny isn't it? How is it all through life we dread waking up and going to work on Monday mornings, but now that I don't have a job to go on Monday's I dread the fact that I don't have a job to go to on Monday morning.

As Delilah mentioned in a recent post I am applying for a position with a township in Summit County. It is kind of ironic because last week Delilah was asking me questions about the choice of my degree that I want to complete, Public Administration. Well this position prefers a degree in Public Administration, it was nice to see that there are local positions that prefer a degree in Public Administration to show to her. Actually she was the one that found the job posting for me. Thanks Delilah for the opportunity.

Anyways I can see this position as a great entry to public administration.

Some I feel like I am towing around travel trailers.