General-interest stuff about our family
The ancient Assyrians were one of the first civilizations to use the battering ram, although it’s more commonly known as a medieval weapon. Battering rams were made to knock down walls and gates; some even had real sheep heads on them. Others had spikes on them to pull down wooden gates. They are still being used today in smaller sizes to knock down doors.
This weekend we packed up the family for a short trip to the coast to test out the recently acquired pop-up trailer. Not a lot to say other than whoever thought tin-foil dinners were a good idea in the sweltering heat of a South-Texas summer needs to have their head checked. It’s bad enough cooking over a fire when it’s cool outside, but doing it at 95+ degrees in the coastal humidity sucks! The worst part of the whole deal is that I don’t really have anyone to blame but myself. I was the one that put together that part … Read the rest
Last summer, Liz and I traveled back to the home country to spend time with our extended families. Among the things we did there was take a weekend trip camping in an offshoot of the Rocky Mountains with my brothers and their popup/tent trailers. Liz and I thought it might be fun and affordable enough for us to get one, and started looking around for a used one in our price-range. As luck would have it, not long after we returned home from vacation a friend told us they had one we could take for free.
Free is my favorite … Read the rest
For Father’s day this year, Liz interviewed Michael and provided me a run-down of the answers he provided. You never know what you’re going to get when you ask a four-year-old questions, and in this case, the result can be quite funny. The questions and his answers are provided below for your reading pleasure:
Sydney is off to youth conference for the weekend. Of course, that means she had to get all dolled up for the fireside and dance that kicks the weekend off. I’m so proud I have to share a picture of her dressed to kill. Look out teenage boys, she’s dangerous but still under-age. Check back in just over a year and you can get in line to compete for a first date.
Several years ago when we lived in Florida we would go to sea world pretty regularly. I never really enjoyed the experience. Between the three dollar bottles of water, the whiny kids who wouldn’t or couldn’t go on any of the fun rides, the expensive crappy food, and the outrageous parking I usually walked away feeling financially violated and irritated.
The last time we did anything of that sort was almost five years ago when we were in Florida. We’ve been in San Antonio for almost three years now, have had the option to go back to Sea World on … Read the rest
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about the family… It seems I’ve been on a poetry bender for the last several months, and have left the more weighty matters to moulder. I can’t for the life of me understand why it is that I feel inclined to make up silly rhymes to go with stupid pictures, but I guess I find it somewhat therapeutic to pull myself away from the world of analytical and sterile language that dominates my days at work. Unfortunately, that probably means that the three or so family members who have ever read this … Read the rest
Where do you turn when hope seems lost?
Several years ago, a friend of mine shared his thoughts on this topic. Jim was probably one of the happiest and kindest men I had ever met. His whole life had been dedicated to the cheerful service of others, and he was beloved by a great many as a result. Unfortunately, tragedy doesn’t seem to respect these kinds of distinctions, and struck Jim and his family rather abruptly and harshly. Several months before the exchange around which this article is based, Jim and his wife Helen had traveled to Europe for the … Read the rest
For years I’ve been trying to convince Liz to let me “sleep in” until eight or nine on Christmas morning. Liz, however, is firmly in the camp of the early Christmas risers. I don’t think she ever once has allowed me to stay in bed past six thirty, even before we had kids. Since we’ve had the kids, she’s even developed a habit of waking them up because they have the audacity to sleep in. What kind of holiday is it when you have to stay up late the night before shrouding trinkets in ridiculously patterned paper only to wake … Read the rest
Updated 21 Dec 2014…
This one requires explanation. Liz found Michael asleep on the piano bench. He stirred, got up, and announced that he was going to go lay down in his bed. However, when Liz came back a few minutes later this is what she found:
Apparently he had gone to his bed, pulled a blanket off, and gone back to the piano bench to sleep. He stayed there for almost an hour.
Sydney, 2002
Sydney 2002
Isaac 2004
Isaac 2004
Isaac 2004
Isaac 2005
Sydney 2005
Isaac 2005
Isaac 2005
Isaac 2006
Isaac 2006
Michael 2012
Michael 20013