Movie Crazies

Some people are crazy over this movie, others are not. I'm kind of in the middle. As I posted on FB today. I hope area businesses are benefiting from them being here, because that is one of the major benefits to having them here. Another benefit is our town and some of its people will be in the movie, albeit very small parts, but it is a major motion picture, so that is good. On the down side you have to deal with no parking at the school for a few days, messes that they leave behind, like the school gym this morning. I think I could have filled a large garbage can this morning from all the trash that was left on the bleachers after the crew ate there yesterday. In the end though, my opinion is it should be a positive experience for Lenox overall. People now are just upset over the inconvenience they are creating. Which I wouldn't want all the time, but for now it is ok to deal with.

It has been a couple weeks since I posted. Church has gone very well. Ron's messages continue to challenge me when I walk out the door. And I hope they do others in our church as well. He knows how to bring it to our level and make us really think. Even if we aren't struggling with what he is specifically talking about, he makes you consider all things and look at those areas of your life and challenges you to make them better.

We had a good Easter weekend. I took Thursday, and Monday off. Friday was a holiday for me at work. The kids and Julie were off Friday and Monday so it was nice to all be there together. On Thursday I hauled 32 ton of gravel to Julie's grandpa's farm, got it all spread and looking good. Jeff and Amy, Julie's sister, and their kids came up for Easter weekend. They got their late Friday night or early Saturday morning, depending on how you look at it. And left Monday afternoon. It was good to see them and spend time with them before they head to Alaska. We will miss being only six hours away. It was so nice when they were in Kansas City, we could head down or they up and it didn't take that long at all. We have such good conversations when we are with them.

Well that about sums it up for now...I'm in week 5 of my workouts and have only missed one day! How about you Matt?

Faster are the days

This week flew by. I can't believe there are less than 9 weeks of school left. We had P/T conferences this last week. Good news for both kids. I can't believe how fast the days pass by. When you were young, you always heard, the older you get the faster the days go. I'm now believing that. Seems like a month ago school was starting and now we are almost to Easter. And that will be gone before we blink.

We went to the Carnival this weekend. It was fun. There were quite a few people their. The kids seemed to have a good time, and we came home with a cake from the cake walk again...Lauren was the lucky winner this year. Seems like every year we go someone wins, and I think it was her the last time! So in spite of trying to watch what we eat, we now have cupcakes out on the counter...If it isn't one thing, it's another.

My exercising has been going well. Made it through last week. Actually I skipped on Friday, I needed sleep more. But paid for it on Saturday with a double workout. I did Friday and Saturday's lifts. Plus on Friday I had to spread some gravel in our driveway so that gave me plenty of exercise for the day. Started back in today, found that walking in the gym works well for rainy days. Hopefully the success continues and I'll be dropping some pounds before I blink to Easter break! That is the goal anyway!

FireProof

So we had our Fireproof night at church. It went very well. We had over 50 people there and some new faces so that was exciting. I was personally a little disappointed with some that didn't show up, was hoping for more younger couples I guess, but oh well, it was a good night anyway. Ron Christian said a few words after it was over. What is it about him that just grabs your attention...He speaks very well and gets right to the point without even coming across offensive at all. It is so easy to listen to him speak. He only talked for maybe 5 minutes, but his message in that five minutes was amazing. He has a way of bringing it all together and tying it to your life. His message on Sunday was good as well...I'm a little upset at my kids, I didn't get to hear some of it because of them, but that happens being a parent. I truly hope he stays around for a while!!

So much for time off. We started soccer this week. Brenden and Lauren are both excited for it. Brenden's practice was last night and it went really well. Lauren's is tonight, and it will be the first practice for most of these kids ever for soccer. We'll see if that goes as well, but I'm guessing probably not.

We had a long school board meeting last night. Even though I try not to make things complicated, it seems that is what I'm always finding myself doing. There are a few issues that I take stands on, others I just ask questions. Sometimes I wonder why I'm the only one questioning, and if it is a good thing or bad. Anyway, we got through it and will have another lengthy one next month probably. This year has really flown by. I was testing the waters so to speak with the school board position. The term was for just one year. So far, I've really liked it and will more than likely run for re-election next year. That term will now be 4 years, so there will be no more "testing"... It is something that I thought I would like and I really do. I've also learned a lot, by asking questions and listening, and would like to continue.

On a personal note, I started working out this week. So far, so good. Two days in a row! Hopefully I can continue. I found a routine that works well for me. Thirty minutes of walking (with the dogs), and then thirty minutes of lifting. I would really like to discuss the lifting schedule with someone who actually knows how this will affect me, to make sure I'm doing the right thing to get the results I want. I think I know someone, but just need to get in touch with them.

This week

We missed Ron's message at church. That is a good feeling, when you miss church and are upset because you missed the message. We went to Fred and Barb's this weekend. Fred had tickets to the Pheasant's Forever banquet in Carroll County. He gave me the second ticket! I was excited to go, but felt bad, because while we were at the banquet, Julie, Barb, and the kids weren't. I would have liked Brenden to go, but by they time in occurred to us, it was too late. He probably would have gotten board after a while, but would have been interesting to hear his comments about all the stuff that was there. They had a gun cabinet that was hand crafted by a company in Carroll to be auctioned off. It was the most beautiful cabinet I have ever seen. WOW! If only I had the money! There were several neat prints that I could have bid on also. The two that I liked were by the same artist. I'll have to get that name and remember it. They sold for $325 and $350. A little too high for me, especially when I don't have a place to hang them!!! Some day I guess. Or I hope!

This week, a group of us from church are going to meet and discuss our "Fireproof" night. This is an exciting event for our church. Hopefully we will have more things like this to reach out to those in the community. We all need to be praying for this night, March 14th.

Hopefully this week will be a little slower than last. No more wrestling for Bren, so that frees up 2 nights until soccer starts up...Now we have 2 teams to cheer for, and attend practices for...So the break will be nice, but short. On a good note though, both Bren and Lauren are excited to start. Haven't gotten a date yet, so hoping for a 2 week break. We'll see. I am going to be helping coach both of their teams. Don't know why I have to do it, but I always seem to say I can help if I get asked...I guess I should since I am willing and am one of the few who are actually certified to coach. I am also starting to see the possibility that this time won't last forever (that is obvious) but also that I might not be able to help coach them in a year or two, so I better enjoy it while I can...Just hope I can remember that when we are at a game in the rain and it is freezing cold:-)

FireProofing!

Yesterday at church we decided we were going to show the movie "Fireproof" for a date night for couples. This is going to be March 14th, but we needed to plan and get the copyrights all settled. We now have the rights to show the movie, and some things to hand out. They also are sending us a couple posters to put up in town. Hopefully this will be something that really benefits the couples who attend. I'm really excited about some of the things we've been doing at church. Hopefully we will keep doing things to build our relationships with one another and doing more outreach to the community at the same time. I have also really enjoyed Ron Christian's messages. This guy really speaks from his heart and can be really convicting. I get so into his messages because he seems to make it personal, but I've heard that comment from others, so he seems to really reaching a lot of us.

We went out to eat with Craig and Janie Saturday night. We had to wait a long time to get in but the food at the Texas Roadhouse was soooo good. Their steaks melt in you mouth. We never have a dull moment!

Another busy week for us this week. Hopefully things will start to slow down, but I have a feeling they won't. Soccer starts soon, just in time for wrestling to finish! This week we have 3 nights of wrestling, tonight we wrestle at Shenandoah, Thursday night is practice, and then Lenox has their tournament on Friday night. I have a Board meeting Thursday, AWANA on Wednesday, and Lauren is getting the long awaited perm on Tuesday. She is so excited. She has been working on being good and has had this date on her calendar all month. Each day getting a sticker to build toward it. Her reward is almost here. Only one more day!! I'm anxious to see how she looks, but I'm sure it will be beautiful just like her. She is so full of spunk!

Anyway, hopefully this will get me rolling in the blogging world...And by me some time with my sister-in-law from telling me to get some posting done;-)

New Idea

I thought I would try this blog site. Leslie Fisher is trying to show a group of us how to use this. So we are quickly trying to put in a blog. So I'm started...We'll see if this catches on and continues.