Facebook ad

So I know you are on Facebook and you've seen the ads to the right of the page. This one caught my eye.


It's a little blurry, but the top of the ad says "Scholarships for Dads." That is fine and dandy, but who are the chicks in the photos? If those are transvestites, they are amazing. Otherwise, who are they trying to appeal to? It just confuses me.

So true....

Summer's almost here ...we can now see the deer moving around in the back yard.


Yep, won't be long.

That's a good looking dude!

I've shown some of you this, but to those of you who haven't seen it, take a look at this hunk of man my brother sent me a photo of. Yep, you guessed it, NOT ME! If this guy isn't my long lost twin, I don't know who is.

Seriously?

OK,I have a history of ordering pizza when it is my night to "cook." The boys love Pizza Hut, so that is where we order from. You can set up an account and it will remember your address and phone number and even what you normally order, making it much easier to order the next time. I tried to set up an account several months back, but didn't finish and I couldn't remember why. Tonight, in honor of the boys having good report cards, I said we could order pizza and I decided to finally get the account set up. I put in the info and it said my account name was all ready taken, I assume by me when I half set up the account the first time. Fine, picked a new name and then set off to assign a password. I like to make my passwords, for simple things like this, something I can remember, making them maybe not so tricky to "crack." I figure, who would want to break into my Pizza Hut account and order me a pizza. They don't have any credit card numbers, bank accounts or my social security number. My first attempt to assign a password was denied because my password was the same as my account number. Dang, there goes my easy to remember theory. I changed it to something else, but now it says I need a number in it, which it doesn't say when it originally asked me to assign a password. Fine, I tried it again and I didn't have enough letters. Next attempt, the account name and the password were too similar. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? This is a log in to Pizza Hut, not Fort Knox. After a few more attempts, I realized why I had given up the first time. As soon as it finally allowed my choices, I quickly wrote them down. I had tried so many combinations, I knew I'd never remember my account. Next time I'm going to Domino's.

I'm alive.

I know I've spoken to most of you who I know read this, so you are quite aware of my personal situation, so the lack of posts is understandable. That being said, I've missed writing things down and sorry that this probably isn't the place to write everything. As I have fumbled through the last few weeks of my single parenthood, my kids have both entertained and exhausted me. Running from doctor's appointments, school functions and finding care for Max since he only goes to school for 1/2 a day, has worn me out. It is quite often that I fall asleep before 10pm, which is unheard of in my life. I even get to sleep in a bit, seeing as how I don't get to go to work when I would like. In fact, I rarely make it into the office anymore, which I miss. I may be one of the few people that actually likes to go into work. I love the people I work with/for and I've missed our conversations and the ability to work side by side with them. They have been very supportive of the time I have been away, I can't thank them enough. Friends have stepped up to help me with the kids, meals and even cleared my driveway after the last snow, another 5 inches. We are currently up to 62 inches of snow for the season, with 2 to 4 more expected tonight. The snow is one thing, but I read in the paper that our temp has only gotten to 40 degrees or higher 2 times since Dec. 5th. It's just been a bad winter, but it's Iowa, we are known for that. I tell people all of the time, I like 20's and no wind, that is sweatshirt weather, but we usually have wind and that blows right through the khakis.

I've been listening to my music more, for an emotional boost more than anything. As you know, I'm big into Christian music, but not hymns, more rock sounding stuff. In fact, I'll say that if you heard some of the stuff I listen to and didn't hear the lyrics, you would think it was main stream pop/rock/rap. One of the songs that I really like right now is "Get back up" by Toby Mac. I have no idea how to get music on my site or I would have this song playing in a loop right now. This one has hit me now, mainly for the stuff I'm going through with Marcy. I'll post the lyrics, but if you have the ability to hear the song playing in the back ground, I suggest you try that. It's a great song, and the lyrics hit home with me and I bet they will with some of you as well.

You turned away when I looked you in the eye,
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright,
Seems like you're fighting for you life,
But why? oh why?
Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare,
You saw it comin' but it hit you outta no where,
And theres always scars
When you fall back far

We lose our way,
We get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you will shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,
Lose our way,
We get back up again,
So get up, get up,
You gonna shine again,
Never too late to get back up again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever
[May be knocked down but not out forever]

You're rolled out at the dawning of the day
Heart racin' as you made you little get away,
It feels like you've been runnin' all your life
But, why? Oh why?

So you've pulled away from the love that wou'd've been there,
You start believin' that your situation's unfair

But there's always scars,
When you fall back far

We lose our way,
We get back up again
Never too late to get back up again,
One day, you gonna shine again,
You may be knocked down but not out forever,
Lose our way, we get back up again,
So get up, get up
You gonna shine again
It's never too late, to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever,
May be knocked down, but not out forever!

This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken,
This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken
This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin',
I am so broken
This is love callin' love callin

Lose our way, [way way way ay ay ay]
We get back up, [get back up again]
It's never too late [late late late ate ate ate]
You may be knocked down but not out forever!

Lose our way,
We get back up again,
So get up get up
You gonna shine again
Never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,

This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [get back up again]
To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin'
[may be knocked down but not out forever]
This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [we get back up again]
To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin'
[may be knocked down but not out forever]

This is love callin' love callin'
Out to the broken,
This is love callin'....

That is good stuff. I'm looking forward to Sonshine Festival again this year. I missed it last year with being in Africa, but I'm in this year and really looking forward to it. I hope to start posting more, so keep your eyes out. I have a whole bunch of arrest photos that made me laugh that I want to post, just haven't gotten to it yet. Later!

Winter in Iowa

I've been in Iowa for 28 years, man that makes you feel old considering I lived in 3 other states for a minimum of 4 years each, which makes me, crap, old. Getting past that, I've learned a few things about Iowa that might be helpful if you ever decided to move here, if you don't all ready live here. If you live here, this isn't news to you. First, it can be cold. For this week, that is an under statement. We haven't been in double digits for over a week. In fact, the only day this week that is going to be in double digits, has what number two is all about, snow. Second, holy crap it can snow. Now we aren't a great lake city that gets dumped on regularly due to lake effect snow, so we never know if we are going to get buried or not. For the past several years, we have had minimal snow, for Iowa standards, but this winter, damn. I don't know what the actual total is, but I know near the end of December, we were at 27 inches, and it snowed again. Now here we are in the first week in January and there is a prediction anywhere from 4 to 9 inches. Every time I see the news, it's different, so I have no idea what to expect. Third, Chicago has nothing on Iowa when it comes to wind. Main reason I don't buy a toupee? It would never stay on in the Iowa wind. (OK, that has nothing to do with me buying a toupee, but still) I heard once that Iowa beats Chicago on the wind scale by a huge margin, but they get the Windy City name from the wind whipping between the buildings. Hey, we have buildings, wind blows between them, I think it's time to strip Chicago of the title they don't rightfully have. Fourth, ice. We have so much ice it looks like we decided to flood the whole state, let it ice over and just skate everywhere. There are parking lots that didn't get cleared properly and the snow has been compacted and polished into a lawsuit inspiring shine. Some lots that have a definite traffic pattern have ruts for tires that is down to the pavement, but an ice mound in the middle that is almost scraping the bottom of my car. Good luck trying NOT to drive on that path. If you try to go anywhere else, the ice throws you back into the rut. Fifth, dumbass drivers. These people, combined with the above mentioned natural hazards, makes driving in Iowa during the winter a "take your life into your own hands" kind of season. People drive too fast, tailgate, conduct business on the cell phone and consume an entire buffet, all at the same time. Put that trick on ice, and it ain't no Disney on Ice show, it's a piss your pants scary show in your rear view mirror. I noticed something the other day while sitting at a stop light. The number of cars that run this particular light is astounding. If my city gets some of the stop light cameras like they have in other towns nearby, we will be able to get our city out of debt and build it up like Dubai. If you don't know anything about Dubai, Google it and read about what this city has built, amazing. They are on the verge of financial collapse, so maybe they should get some of those traffic light cameras as well. Back to my light, I decided to start counting cars that run the light, and I don't mean run a yellow and are still in the intersection when it turns red. I mean run an obviously red light. First day, 6 cars ran the red, not shitting you. This is a double lane light, so that means 3 cars in each lane ran the light. I thought that was excessive, until the next day, 5 more ran it. The next couple of days were a bit more reasonable, going anywhere from 1 to 3 cars each time. I only hit this light on work days around 4:30 or 5:00, so I'm not sure what the rest of the day brings, but I'm tempted to spend a summer day sitting at the intersection with a counter and a Coke, for science. I will say that I hadn't seen a zero until yesterday, so maybe things are getting better:)

Happy New Year!

It's kind of a tradition on this blog for me to write about what I'm thankful for. The end of the year seems like a good time to look back and remember the good times, and the bad times, but be thankful for where God has left me. Lets move from the beginning of the year on. I don't think there was a better way for my year to start off than in Hawaii. To witness the beauty God created and spend a week with my wife taking in that beauty, was amazing. We were fortunate to meet our neighbors who clued us into a few local things and we enjoyed their company. I can't wait to go back.
Next, I was able to travel to El Paso, TX to once again serve my brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling far more than I could ever imagine. Every time I go, I receive an education that is more valuable than anything I ever learned in school. The people I serve with are amazing servants of God and I draw inspiration from them, each and every year.
The bad came after that and I personally received the scare of my life. I've lost a lot of people in my life, including a 10 year span where I lost a huge percentage of the people I love, but nearly loosing Marcy was scarier than all of that. To think I almost lost the one person I count on anymore. Loosing my parents hurt, but I didn't rely on them for my day to day support, my daily laughter and spiritual growth. The thought of trying to raise our three boys without her was terrifying. The thought of not seeing her everyday broke my heart. I guess you don't know what you have until you loose it, or almost in my case.
I guess the next event was my year topper, and maybe my life topper, when it comes to travel. I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel to a bunch of different places. My trip to Jamaica was incredible. I always loved going to Mexico. I even enjoyed my trip to Canada where my brother and I were nearly eaten alive by biting black gnats. Of all those places, none compare to Africa. I recently looked back at the photos from the trip and the excitement I felt all came back. Just put yourself there. Think of how you would feel to wake up one morning, walk out your door and see a giraffe. Think about what it would be like to do a safari game drive EVERYDAY. Chad and I got up early everyday we were in Africa, determined not to waste this opportunity we had been given. For me, I think we got about as much out of it we could. To be there and serve God and help the orphans that will be living in the village, was a blessing in my life. I can't thank those of you that helped me get there enough. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to change the lives of those kids. I was proud to represent you and share the love of Jesus with those kids, so far away. I could talk about my trip for hours, which I just about did with my friend Nate who I had lunch with recently and I hogged the conversation. Throw in a trip to LA and Chicago, and my travels for the year are all listed.

Other than travel, to see my kids grow, learn and laugh, is a gift all on it's own. I may not be their best resource for their school work, but I know they want to be around me, and I'll take that for now. I know when they become teenagers, that may change, so I'm enjoying it as long as I can. We play the wii and I let them win. OK, maybe "let" is the wrong word, because they win regardless of what I do. Mario kart with Mason is basically to see what place I can come in behind him, and try to stay out of last place so I don't have to watch Mason do his "First place" dance, which I have seen a lot. I'm thinking about coming up with a 12th place dance, but I'm not sure how to incorporate crying into a dance. My kids make me laugh all of the time and I have posted a bunch of the reasons on this blog throughout the year. To see all of the things they can do now that they couldn't do last year is awesome. Max wouldn't sled with us last year, but this year plopped down on the sled and shot down the hill before the rest of us could even get to the top of the hill. Makiah has the same taste in music as I do and he loves for me to open itunes and blast some Black Eyed Peas, some John Reuben or go old school Smash Mouth. Mason amazes me with his computer knowledge and his story telling. He has a fantastic imagination, I think we'll see a book written by him on the shelves a few years down the road, once he figures out how to bring all of his ideas together in a story everyone else can follow. This year Marcy and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. I guess our short courtship didn't have a negative affect on our ability to stay married. With the schedule we keep and all of the kids, it's hard to spend any quality time together, in Iowa. I guess that is why I always look forward to us being able to travel together, we get to spend a lot more one on one time.

Work wise, I couldn't be happier with the company I work for. They were able to weather the recession, without any layoffs, and appear poised to make a monster come back in 2010. I have been fortunate to work, previously at CE Software and now Channel Prime Alliance(CPA), for companies that have allowed me to do my mission work and supported me when family issues have arisen. CPA has been very understanding with time off I needed when Marcy was in the hospital and has allowed me to work from home to help care for the kids, and avoid dangerous driving conditions in Iowa's lovely winter fun. I feel very fortunate to have a job, for starters, but to work for a company that in my eyes, gets "it" is awesome. It's nice to put the "Career" section of the paper, right in the recycle bin each week, never even having to open it.

I'm thankful for all of my family that doesn't live under my roof. I never get to see them as much as I would like, but I know they are a phone call away if I need them.
I'm also very thankful for all of my friends and my small group, who have supported me and my family through all of our tough times. They made trips to the hospital, called, texted and just poured out love like I've never seen before. They supported me in my Africa adventure, and one of my best friends decided to join me, and I don't think he has regretted it for a second. I don't have many close friends, Marcy thinks that is a problem, but I don't see it that way. The few I have I know would do anything for me, and I hope they know I would do the same. I don't have the time for tons of friends, it's too exhausting. I don't want drama between me and another person, my personality can't take it, so I limit my friends to a few select suckers, I mean, people, and I'm good with it.

I'm thankful I haven't been in an accident, and neither has Marcy and the boys. I'm thankful that I haven't been arrested, even though I was probably pretty close after the woman's bathroom incident. I'm thankful I wasn't eaten by a lion, or more realistically, gored by a Cape Buffalo. I'm thankful I get to live in the great state of Iowa, even in the winter. I can't wait to see what 2010 brings. I hope I have a few things to share with you, so stay tuned.

I love you all! Happy New Year and may at least one of your dreams come true this year.