Problem Solved!

Frustration is often the launching pad for new inventions. I have been frustrated for months. What is so frustrating? Tooth brush organization. Can you believe it. One of my biggest pet peeves this year has to do with our medicine cabinets and tooth brush storage. In our family, we each use an electric tooth brush. These things are thin on top, bulky at the bottom and it seems that they are designed to stand upright. The problem is they are long and light, so one little bump and over it falls, hitting another toothbrush and then the toothpaste. Ultimately, two brushes and the toothpaste end up falling out of the cabinet and onto the counter. This occurs at least three times a week. As a result, I got fed up and decided to try my hand at being crafty. A trip to Michael's, a few magnets, a few strips of stretchy material, twenty minutes of work, and voila...problem solved!

Parent's 35th Anniversary

THANK YOU, DAD!

Thank you dad! A phrase that’s seldom heard,

Only begins to say what I really feel inside.

Your love for me has led me to be who I am today.

And having you as a father fills my heart with pride.

You have done so many things for me.

I can’t begin to remember them all.

But here are a few of my favorite memories

Out of the many that I can recall.

Thank you dad, for taking me to church

In Romeo, where I first got saved.

And thanks for helping me build stock cars

And taking me camping with Boys Brigade.

When I was small, you’d bounce me on your knee

Thanks Dad, for always being there for me.

Thanks for helping me take my first ride

And when the bike crashed, you were there by my side.

Thanks for taking me to Little League.

And thanks for all the Dairy Queen.

Thanks for teaching me to bait my hook

And to clean a fish so it can be cooked.

And thanks for your patience, for goodness sake

I threw two poles in Houghton Lake.

But at the bottom of that lake

Are memories I’ll never forsake.

For you taught me something that will always last.

I was more important to you than the poles I cast.

And thanks for protecting me when I was young

When I didn’t know the difference between danger and fun.

But, I’ll never forget, Dad, the motor-bike

That you got for me when the time was right.

And thanks for all your help along the way

With school and cars and bills you paid.

There’s so much that I have to be grateful for

So let me tell you about just one more.

Thank you, Dad, for loving Mom all these years

Through all the laughter and through all the tears.

Dad, It isn’t always easy to see,

But by loving her, you were loving me.

So, Dad, I hope that you can see

How much you really mean to me.

Thanks for all the time you’ve shared

And all the ways you’ve shown you’ve cared

And so right now, it makes me glad

To say it again,

 “Thank you, Dad!”

Nobody Knows The Hour or The Day

     Anyone sitting on your roof, waiting for the sky to part? I am not trying to be cynical, but it seems like every so often someone comes along who claims to know when the end of the world is going to happen. It makes the headlines. Some people plan rapture parties, while others sit and scoff at the believers. Some sell all their possessions to get the word out, while others cash in on their hopes and fears. It is a scenario that has repeated itself many times over in the past few millennium.

     The latest comes from a guy named, Harold Camping, who claims that judgment day is tomorrow, May 21, 2011. Using numerology in the Bible he arrived at this date, only after coming up with the wrong date the last time. I guess his previous prediction of September, 1994 must have just been a miscalculation. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Jesus is not coming back. He is! I am not even saying that I know he isn't coming back tomorrow. He could! What I am saying though, is that Mr. Camping should have camped out a little longer in Matthew 24. He seems to have missed a key part of the message Jesus was sharing with his disciples.
     After the disciples asked Jesus what the sign of his coming would be and when it would happen, Jesus launched into a long discourse about all the things that would take place beforehand; wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, and the like. He encouraged them to pay attention to the signs. Then, he says something absolutely astounding. He says, "But, about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." He then exhorts them to "keep watch", for they do not know when their Lord will come.
     Do you want to know why I am not sitting on my roof waiting, or hanging with my friends at a rapture party? Because I believe the words of Jesus and because I take them seriously. Because nobody knows the hour or the day. Because he will come like a thief in the night. Because he will come at an hour when I do not expect him. But, though I am not on the roof, I am watching. I am waiting. I am living like a servant who is in charge of his masters household, awaiting his return, wanting to be found ready for his arrival.

Kids! How can anyone not love them?

I got all ready to leave the house for work this morning, said goodbye to Jewelly, and gave Kaiden a kiss on the forehead while he slept soundly on our bed. Then I went out to the car to bring in a few things left from the night before. As I was about to head back out for real, I whispered "I love you" to my wife. It was a faint whisper, but loud enough for Kaiden to hear. He proceeded to cry, crawl out of bed and try to follow me out of the house. On days like this it is hard to leave. I just want to pretend it is "take your son to work day". Maybe I can petition to make that a weekly Holiday :)

Another case of the overreaching government

Is anyone else a little repulsed by the idea of a local government creating a law stating that schools cannot punish students by keeping them out of student activities. I read a recent news article regarding the high school senior who posted a sign on the front of the school. The sign, made of large cardboard letters, seemed to be a harmless invitation to prom, addressed to a girl at the school. The student and two friends who helped put up the letters were suspended and consequently told that they could not attend the senior prom. This created a surge of responses from people who believe "the punishment does not fit the crime." Everyone from an NFL quarterback to the mayor and even the Governor of Connecticut have weighed in on the issue.

Now, state representatives are hoping to amend a bill that would force schools to offer an alternate punishment rather than banning them from events. Talk about a case of overreaching government. Since when is prom a birthright? Don't get me wrong. I do not think what this student did was some heinous crime. I teach at a school that allows students to ask each other to events in very unique ways. Some students send notes, gifts, or balloons to others during class. Some students decorate cars, they announce their invitation over the PA, they make videos, they organize flash mobs and they even ask from the middle of the gym in between volleyball games. Every year I look forward to seeing the creativity of our students. What this one student did at Shelton High School was certainly creative. It was cute, and many would even say it was Romantic. So what is the problem? The problem is that policies at Shelton High School were broken. Whether the policies have to do with the actual hanging of the letters, the use of a ladder, being on school premises after dark, or all of the above, the fact remains that the school has certain policies that the students are well aware of and expected to abide by. If the school policies were broken in this situation, it seems to me that the school is justified in following through on the discipline.

You may not like it. You may think it is harsh. You may even think that the punishment does not fit the crime. But a policy was broken and a long established discipline procedure was put into effect. If an exception is made for this student just because what he did was cute, then an exception should be made for everyone. Then, we may as well tell the students that they can do whatever they want because there really aren't any consequences. I can only imagine how productive schools will be then.

For the government to step in and cuts the legs out from under the leadership of the school is utterly absurd.

Sincerely,
A concerned citizen

Two Points For Kaiden!

We finally loaded a number of videos that we have taken over the past year and decided to test one out on the blog. The following is from Christmas 2010. Kaiden is going to show us how to make a basket on his new hoop. He is a little hesitant to relinquish the ball, but ultimately he is successful and scores two points for the team.