What a goober….Ben looks like he has been beaten! His nose is all cut up and he has a big goose egg on the center of his forehead. Oddly enough it was a graham cracker (and sidewalk) injury. Injured by his favorite snack food….how ironic!

But Ben really doesn’t care. He still is full steam ahead, and he scares me….even more than Steph did. Steph was one of those kids whose legs were always bruised from running into things. It wasn’t that she was a klutz, she just had no fear (or common sense). Ben however makes her look like a pansy! He has speed, no fear, no common sense, and a male brain. Good Lord please save him from himself! I am just glad he is alright.

This is a big lacrosse weekend for us. Scott has three games up north, and we have a JV game tomorrow and the second round of sectionals on Saturday night. Amanda and Scott will be at a Comfort Inn on Friday night, Scott in a room with players and Amanda in a room by herself. I on the other hand will no doubt have no luck convincing Steph to sleep with Ben. I will surely spend yet another night with his stinky little feet on my head.

But truly I will enjoy it. This is the end of our most hectic time of the year and we are all excited about these games. All of us that is but Ben. He seems so innocent, but is no doubt plotting some other daredevil stunt to scare us to death.

Kids……you gotta love em!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Mercy…..if I didn’t have enough problems. Ben is addicted to the outdoors and if you are going out the door for even a minute he has to go with you or you will pay!! (Yep, a tantrum!) He is such a sweet kid, and he loves to just hang with you, so when I was unloading groceries from Amanda’s car tonight he had to go with me.

He was SOOOO EXCITED when I handed him the box of crackers in the driveway and told him to “take it to mommy.” I know he felt like such a big boy, and was just excitedly dancing up the walk to the door.

When he tripped, and tripped in an unbelievably awful way, it was like slow motion. I dropped the bags of groceries and tried my best to catch him before his head hit the walk, but I was too old and too slow. The sound was like a bat to a ball and though I was there in a fraction of a second, he was screaming. Please don’t be offended, but I was glad for that. Had I fallen like that I would have been unconscious. His screaming was a great sign.

He however was no longer the “big boy” he was pre-fall, he was a baby in need. I scooped him up and brought him to his mom who had a brand new white blouse that she of course let him bleed on. Had my arm been severed she would have told me to not bleed on her blouse, but this was Ben and he can bleed on anything she wants! I am glad she loves him so.

Ben seems fine. Perhaps just another opportunity to horse himself into our bed, but I am happy he will be there. All the kids can scare me more than I can ever express, but at the end of the day I am thankful for each one of them.

I am just glad it was not Scott. He is 2 inches taller than me and a lot bigger. Who’d want to sleep with a monster like that???

I am heading to a crowded, but thankful bed.

Goodnight my friends, and God Bless.

Tom+

Tonight we ended our regular season with a Varsity win and a JV tie at Brebeuf Jesuit High School. We had never beaten Brebeuf before, so it was a nice win. And our undefeated JV team was a bit disappointed to not put it away. They have one more game Friday night at home. BUT we ended the Varsity season in style, and it has been an amazing run.

We now head to Sectionals which is Varsity only. We are the second seed in our region (Zionsville, the number one team in the state is 1st) and we play Covenant Christian Thursday night at home (Hare Chevrolet Field). If we win that, which we expect to, we play against either Westfield or Heritage Christian at home again. If Carmel would happen to beat Zionsville in the other bracket, we would play the final at home next week. Otherwise we are in Zionsville for the final. The winner of that game goes to the final four!

Keep us in your prayers! It feels funny, but I am just sure God wants us to beat all these Christian high schools!! (yes, that’s a joke!) We are just enjoying it and having a ball! Check them out at http://www.eteamz.com/noblesvilleladymillerslax /

Okay it is off to bed for me! Goodnight my friends and God Bless….and go go go Lady Millers!

Tom+

With less than two full weeks left in lacrosse season, things are coming down to the wire. Our last regular season game is tomorrow. Even without it, we have already posted our best season ever, but one more win will just be the icing on the cake! Our JV team played tonight and remains undefeated. And sectional play begins Thursday.

Lacrosse season is always intense, but it goes by quickly. Last year’s was a blur because I was smack dab in the middle of my recovery…..everything was a blur. But this year is a lot of fun. We have great players on our team, great opponents, and lots of celebrations! June will be a real lonely month for activity in comparison!

But with that, it is off to bed for me. I work all day tomorrow and then two games tomorrow night. And Wednesday is our only practice day before Sectionals!

Keep us in your prayers. We are going into the final stretch!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless. Thanks for checking in!

Tom+

Ben and I are out on the porch tonight, and it is pretty early (6:45pm) and we are sans the cat because Ginger the dog is out here with us. Ginger is just three (formal name “Angelcreek’s I’m Not Mary Ann”) and is possibly going to be placed in a home. She was a show dog like the others, but developed a super-slight under bite (yes, I know that rhymes) and that doesn’t diminish one bit what a great dog she is, but it eliminates her from being shown. Some friends of Amanda’s are coming tonight to see her.

God bless my wife too. She thought she would get a head start and give Ginger a bath. She did, but used “Pantene” shampoo on her and she dried with VERY PUFFY hair! She (the dog) looks a lot like a very good looking Golden Retriever who stuck her paw in a light socket. And she keeps walking around the porch wagging her tail saying, “I’m looking for the guy who shocked my pa!” (I know, a bad one, and on so many levels too!)

Anyway, I hope this will be an early evening all around. It has been a long day, even if it is early. Long, but beautiful….the Lord has blessed us with one for the record books! Let’s hope tomorrow is just as wonderful a day!

An early goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Dear Lord, after all that searching, Amanda and I finally traded in the Cabrio on a 2003 VW Paasat this morning. The salesman’s name is Richard at Penske Honda in Indianapolis, and he was phenomenal. There was no pressure, he listened to me, and he was one of those good guys I talked about yesterday! We need more Richards in this world I tell yo…particularly in the auto sales business!

Anyway, I will be driving ti Nashville and Greenfield tomorrow. Sadly I will miss the pitch-in in Westfield and the good people of the north!

But I will be driving the “new” used car, and it is far more comfortable than the old one! Pray that I will have a successful day!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

I have spent a little time looking around at used cars to replace the Volkswagen, and I have to say that I have met some of the nicest people in the process, but I have also met some real thieves. It has become a profession with a terrible reputation, but there are good people out there. (ask me their names and I will give them to you)

But the whole process has made me really not want to take part. I would rather give my car to a dealer because if there is anything wrong with it they can fix it. Whereas if you just sell something outright and something goes wrong you feel guilty. Not that this has ever happened to me, but it is always a worry. I had the temperature gauge fixed on Wednesday and my mechanic checked it out and said it was fine. I trust my mechanic (ask me for his name too), but I’d just prefer not to worry about it.

PLUS, I don’t want to sell a car….because first and foremost, I am not a car salesman! I am a priest….okay another damaged profession, but I am one of the good guys! (ask me, and I will give you MY name!) I just don’t have the time or the energy to answer all the calls, or do all the bartering that comes with it. Plus, I just don’t have the ability to anymore either!

But I am enjoying meeting new people. God made them all, and for the most part they are pretty good! I just want to find a car and get on with it! For now however, I will just call it a night!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

Today has been unusual in that I have been around most of the day. our lacrosse game was rained out, and I was able to enjoy a night at home with everyone…..a rarity in my world. I made dinner for them all and in addition cleaned it all up too. Yep, I am a pretty great dad and husband…..make sure you let them all know the next time you see them!!!

We have decided to put our Volkswagen up for sale. It is a relatively new part of our “fleet,” a convertible, that is in great shape that we bought to have me drive. I really am not fond of having a convertible, but we thought it would get like 35+ mpg. It is really only 25-30 though and if I am going to do all that driving, for that mileage, it might as well be in a more comfortable car. The Cabrio has only 60,000 miles on it (59,990 today!) and we figured we might as well sell it and get something more suitable. As soon as we sell it I will begin to drive Scotty’s car until we find something else. With just under 3 months until he gets his license, I figure I have some time!

Anyway, the porch is quite nice tonight, although sans the cat since Ben has his toy mower out here every two minutes. I suppose the wine and the fresh baked cookies that Amanda has made help. But with that, I will call it a day. I hope yours has been as blessed and restful as mine….and if it hasn’t included a porch or a glass of wine, I do sincerely pray that a cookie has come your way!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Today my grandma turned 93. I had a great conversation with her on the telephone tonight, and I am so thankful she is in my life. She and my grandpa (God rest his soul) were such big parts of my life…..and my grandma still is.

At 93 she no longer drives, but does just about everything else. She enjoys life and is proud of her family. I cannot imagine a better influence on my life, and I am thankful for her, not just on this day, but everyday! I am who I am today because of her. (So I suppose this means Amanda can blame her)

I remember last year asking her what the hardest part of being 92 was….she said it was telling people she had a 46 year old grandson. Well today she is 93, and soon she will have a 48 year old grandson, and both of us couldn’t be happier.

I have a lifetime of wonderful memories and blessings from her, and plan to have many more years to come.

Happy Birthday Grandma. Thanks for all you do for me! I love you!

Tom+

WOW…..what a day. Steph and Scott were both sick but Ben never got it. The great part was that tonight we were all together and everyone was feeling fine…Praise God!! It doesn’t matter what age your kids are, when they are sick your heart breaks for them. Of course Ben will show it at the most inconvenient time, I know. But at least I can fantasize that we have weathered the storm!

The puppy is doing well, and the other dogs are following suit. It appears that things have leveled off, and I welcome the change. My stress level has been pretty high, and things settling down is just what the doctor ordered!

Hopefully the night will be will take me further into peace!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+