Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Thursday, June 30, 2016

The Wonders Of A Beard

The other night I got my granddaughter out of her car seat and while I was carrying her into our home she began rubbing my chin.  She was grinning and just kept rubbing and rubbing it.

The little things mean so much.  I remember how fascinating it was for me as a kid to feel my dad's chin when he hadn't shaved.  The scratchy growth at first and then the tickle of the longer hair as his beard came in.  Her rubbing my beard and seeing the joy on her face took me back to my childhood and gave me a bright spot to get through another day.

I hope God gave you something to brighten your day too.  I'm hanging in there.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Observations From Our Trip To Memphis

- Texarkana occasionally smells like deviled eggs three hours after Thanksgiving Dinner.

- Always bring THE WIFE on a road trip. You never know when your debit card will be suddenly cancelled by your bank. Like when you don't have enough gas to get back to Dallas or forward to Memphis.

- My cousin Emily is still the most loving soul on the planet. She is a constant source of hope for me.

- My father and my cousin Randy hit it off right away. I knew they would when Randy showed up still carrying his Glock from his latest shooting competition and the subject changed to companies moving to Texas. My dad chimed in with, "Oh yeah, did you see the graphic in the NRA magazine...?"

Randy had. :)

- My beautiful granddaughter (aka: pookie, lumpy, or moonbeam) is a road warrior and a constant source of smiles and laughs.

- The Pink palace museum has a shrunken human head on exhibit. Sadie was fascinated by it and carefully read the recipe for making one.

- The boys Sadie date in the future will have a tough time deciding whether to be more afraid of me, or her. (I still will have access to a wood chipper, although now I may have to save the head for her in my process.)

- I am blessed more than anyone can ever know.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Am I Alive?

In short, yes I am.

If that's all you're looking for you need not read anymore.  If you are interested in what's happening in La Casa De Tots, well then.

The last month has been a spiritual struggle.  THE WIFE and I have struggled to meet our commitments to God through obstacles the enemy put in our way.  It's amazing how people don't realize the little things that are thrown our way to sidetrack us from the important things in life.  Car breaking down, illness, fights with loved ones.  All little things that keep us from the important fight.

I think I am being directed to put together a book on spiritual warfare.  I've had an interest in it so I have read several books on it and listened to an excellent Podcast series from Mars Hill church, so I may give it a go.  Lulu.com can always hold the book for me if there isn't any interest.

Everyone is doing well otherwise.  Ben is set to go back to school after his medication nightmare this last year, so pray for us for that one.

Oh, and THE WIFE is teaching Lucie to play drums.  Life is good.

Rock on my Purple Princess!


Sunday, November 06, 2011

My Little Girl Rocks The House!

This is my daughter Lucie's Cheer Team.  They placed 2nd in their division (7 and 8 year old). Lucie is on the right side of the frame and the rear of the diamond formation.




I am proud beyond words at how hard my little girl and her team worked!
Congratulations girls!

Monday, August 01, 2011

Hot Enough For Ya? / The Ben Cave

Here in Dallas we've been blessed with some mild summers for the last several years. This year is just brutal hot though. I have to admit, I am impressed because it was so hot over this weekend that as I sit and type this I feel the same way I do when I have a sunburn. That sickly, radiating heat feeling.

Amazing.

In other news, we have completed phase one of "The Ben Cave."

What is "The Ben Cave" you ask? Well, as my constant readers know, my middle kid Ben is an Aspie (on the Autistic Spectrum for us Nuero Typicals) and as he approaches his 13th birthday he is not only trying to struggle with dealing with issues most people take for granted, he also has a freight train of hormones running through his body. For example: last month our church put on a block party for a neighborhood as outreach. Everyone had a great time, but at the end of the night Ben was so overstimulated we had a full on meltdown complete with screaming, hair pulling and trying to jump out of the truck...

And that was just me. ;-)

OK, so this month we had a repeat and once again everyone had a great time. Ben had a bad moment with one of his friends at the end of the party, but when we headed out this time there was a little bit of yelling, a lot of tears, but no violent outburst. (Praise God).

A major part of this is due to the fantastic job of his team of doctors. His developmental pediatrician Doctor Mike Rios is not only a true Star Wars fan, but he has helped Ben with his meds and has given him someone he can relate to and look up to. His psychologist Doctor Denise Wooten is a women sent by God as she has helped him, and us, to learn coping mechanisms.

One thing that she recommended for Ben was to give him a small quiet place he could go to. Ben has been sharing a room with his sisters and they all wind up freaking out, getting angry and shedding tears. She and THE WIFE talked over things and THE WIFE came up with the idea to make Ben his own "Man Cave" (so to speak).

So now (like Harry Potter) Ben is living under the stairs. We had been talking about sheet rocking in under our landing to make a small play room for the kids. With the idea, we simply moved quicker and decided to at least do a temporary measure to see if this would help Ben before we went full bore. Obviously there will be some paint coming soon so it loses some of the trailer park look, but it's functional right now.

As I type this Ben is sleeping quietly on his mat in his cave. He was EXTREMELY excited by the fact I built a special room just for him. I also have to say, while I was enclosing it, I noticed you could lay with your head under the stairs portion and it was very quiet and peaceful. Also, because it's a million degrees outside (and inside tonight) we have a fan blowing into the upper portion to keep some air circulating. This is also giving him some white noise.

Everyone who is so inclined, I would sincerely appreciate a prayer for my little man. He's quickly becoming a big man and I want him to keep his heart of gold forever. If you aren't inclined to pray, just some good thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my rambling. I hope God blesses you.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

While I Work

I like to hit my little space at the back of the living room where I do my artwork, recording and blogging.

Sometimes I feel I am being watched though.

Other times I am working, Sato decides he is not pleased with what I am working on.

Nothing like 20 pounds of blubber on your drawing desk to slow down progress. I swear I think a Japanese whaler will be after him soon.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

New Pet

I hope God will help me. We have another pet.

Last night THE WIFE found a little "House Gekko" on her iPod. She used a peanut butter jar to catch him and was about to release him when she decided the girls might like to see him.

Of course Sadie LOVED him. She wound up going and buying a home for him and crickets for him to eat. She also named him. His name is...



Tinkerbell and the Fairy Treasure


That is not a misprint. HE is named "Tinkerbell and the Fairy Treasure." I expect him to make a tiny noose and do himself in with a name like that.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

New Artist In The House

I am no longer the top dog artist in the house, I now have some competition, Lucie has unleashed her new Super Hero...

Super Bunny!

Here is a comic Lucie did on her own starring Super Bunny!

The Adventures of Super Bunny!
I hope she takes care of me when I am old.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Puppy Update

Once again the steely eyed Tux pointed out I never "Officially" announced the name of the new puppy.

I would like everyone to send a warm hello to the newest member of the family, "Gadget."

I am going to eat your nose fat man!
He is a feisty little fluff ball and is all teeth and claws when it's wrestling time.  He and Gizmo have hit it off well and even sleep in the same crate together.

Of course THE WIFE and the kids love him completely and totally.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Adventures In Eating

My kids are fans of the Nick show iCarly so we often have PearPad jokes and stuff around but the other night THE WIFE asked me what I wanted for dinner.  Me being the incredible smartypants I am said "Spaghetti Tacos."

If you don't know what that means, you can go here to get background.

Go ahead... I'll wait.

OK, so you understand now right?  Good.

So I come home to find!
A multi-National Feast!
Happy Children!
Thumbs up for Spaghetti Tacos!

Well.. SOME of the Children were happy.

For everyone wondering what is was like, the kids dug it. THE WIFE and I thought it was OK (You don't expect crunchy to go with Spaghetti flavor) but overall, not bad.

Good job Spencer!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Help Us Name The New Puppy!

OK, so THE WIFE is getting a new puppy for her birthday.  She is in love with our baby Gizmo.  Gizmo is our Japanese Chin and she is getting a playmate.

Here is the little boy.

What? Can't I get some privacy here?

See this paw?  I'm gonna pop you in the mouth with it if you don't stop.

So we have a poll up on the right hand side of the blog.  You have 24 hours to vote.

HURRY!  HURRY!  Or else he'll get a crappy name.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Plague Of 2011

For the record, last weekend Ben had his tonsils out. Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers. He is recovering nicely and is back to obsessing over normal things.

 Next up, both of the girls have Strep Throat. Not unusual, after all they are pretty much joined at the hip.

 Chris freaked out and complained of his gut going to Sea Cadets drill. We chalked it up to nerves and an anxiety attack. He texted overnight and was grouch and typical teenager in the texts. The next day the Ensign called and said we needed to come get him.

 I picked the boy up and promptly took him to urgen care where they diagnosed him with a kidney stone.

Awesome... (I have a great one liner I busted on him in front of the doctor, but I am saving it for a comic.)

Now I am feeling like crap as is THE WIFE. Her "Lasso of Truth" isn't even making it all the way across the living room.

Thank God my aggravating job has good insurance.

Friday, January 07, 2011

Please Help This "Special Boy"

This is my son Chris.  This year, Chris decided he would like to expand his musical abilities beyond the upright and electric bass and move on to...

The Ukulele.

He was so inspired, he made this video about it:
For those of you wondering... Yes, yes I do have to live with that kind of stuff all the time.  Did I mention I drink a lot?

Anyway, this is what he wants: 
It costs $90 and I have decided to reach out to the community to raise the money.  Think of it as an experiment.  Leave requests in the comments for videos you would like to see or drawings you would like to see and we will fill the orders (within reason, I mean I am not eating poop or anything like that) and tip us.

Here is a paypal link especially for this.  Please donate as you feel pity for me.  I will keep everyone appraised of the insanity of what is going on.

Thanks,
Houston




Thursday, October 07, 2010

Criminal Genius

We have a graffiti artist in our house.  We suspected Lucie for some reason, (look at this picture and see if you can figure out why).

Looks almost like a name!
THE WIFE quickly cornered the suspect "Lucie" and asked her WHY IN THE WORLD SHE WROTE ON THE WASHING MACHINE WITH A SHARPIE!!!!

Lucie proclaimed her innocence.  Further examination of the aforementioned graffiti revealed the following:

AHA!
The culprit's name isn't "Lucie" as we first believed;  rather, "Lucie M," which gives our precious princess an AIRTIGHT alibi.  After all, ANYONE can sign their own name, but who would think to add an "M" to throw the authorities off the trail?  She MUST be innocent!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Twinkie Bliss

THE WIFE gave Sadie the first Twinkie of her life today.

I think she likes it.

Monday, August 30, 2010

God's Hand At Work

Since we have found our church and joined I was asked to lead a class of ladies through a small group study.  Why me, I don't know but for some reason Pastor George felt God wanted me there.

I've led it for a while know and after our last study series which we all hated, we moved to "Bad Girls of the Bible" which we have all been loving.

Long story short, through this group and our friendships I was talking with one of the ladies and she brought up Ben's old teacher.  This the teacher who was convinced we were just too soft on him and rather than acting the way he did because of Autism she felt he had behavior problems.

I made my displeasure obvious, and she stopped me and told me this was a good thing.  Turns out they know each other and I hadn't realized her daughter and Ben had been in second and third grade together.  Her daughter mentioned Ben to the old teacher and that they were together in Sunday School now.

Somehow some old note which Ben was accused of writing came up.  The note consisted of Ben writing all the different methods to kill this teacher.  The teacher asked my friend if she thought Ben had written it.

My friend said, "No."

She brought up the fact also, that her daughter had proclaimed Ben's innocence from the very beginning and had named the boy she felt wrote it.

The thing that meant the most to me was she also told me the teacher now had another autistic boy in her class and she was now actually following the standards set forth by our school district.  She is dealing with the Autism rather than just reacting to the behaviors associated with it.

She learned.  Thanks be to God; she learned.

One of the ladies made the statement that it was too bad she didn't learn with Ben, but I told her, if it hadn't been for that teacher we wouldn't have changed schools.  IF we hadn't changed schools we would never have met Ben's teacher Becky for fourth grade.  If we hadn't met Becky we would never have been invited to the church we were at now, and finally, if we hadn't visited our church, we would have never joined and we would have never been blessed with the friends we have now.

We don't always understand the path God sends us down, or why, but there is ALWAYS a reason to his plan.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Bang Bang!

Don't worry about me shooting you if you break in my house.  Be afraid if my kid meets up with you!


Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Heartbroken

Our son Chris was in Chicago for United States Sea Cadet Corps basic training.  THE WIFE, Ben, Sadie and Lucie all packed up and went with me to get him.  We were excited to get the boy and were staying until Tuesday when we were driving back to Dallas.

Sunday we lost air conditioning at the house.  TBITB gathered the pets up and had them with him and was trying to keep them cool.  When he went to bed he kenneled the dogs up, but Cujo our Japanese Chin puppy didn't make it.  The heat was just too much for her.

THE WIFE and I are heartbroken and the girls are beside themselves right now.  I never knew such a little puppy could take up such a huge place in your heart.

God rest your soul, Cujo.  You were the best little puppy I ever owned.  I miss you and always love you.
Cujo 2009-2010

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Proof My Son Is Alive

Chris, my 13 year old is obviously alive and somewhat well.  He is in the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and is currently in Great Lakes, IL for training.  Just like regular boot camp, he can't call us, BUT they do post pictures.
Nice haircut!
Chris is the one in the Birth Control Glasses.  Thank God he wore those instead of his contacts otherwise we could NEVER find him in the pictures.  We'll see how he holds up.