Scotty is absolutely amazing. He is learning to cook, and tonight he made a multi-course meal for Stephanie and her friends Katie, Alyssa, and Molly (three of the larger group that we consider extended family here). He set it up like a restaurant (even with assigned seating) and called himself “Luigi” since the cuisine was Italian.

I am currently in my room upstairs typing this while the dining room is ablaze with laughter and joy. It is a great night to be home and a great gift to be able to see and hear this event. I am sure they will all talk of it the rest of their lives, and for me as a father, it is one I will remember too…..a special gift from brother to sister (and a gift to me indirectly…I sure am proud).

Of course part of why we are up in “the apartment over the restaurant” together is that my young assistant Ben decided that spitting his milk was funny (probably when his brother laughed at him) so he did it again! (and again and again) He was then banished by the restaurant owner (yes, she is still here) and part of his banishment included me….as if I were an accomplice.

So he is in the tub with me typing while watching. Neither of us are eating, but we hope to later. It is just great to be home amidst the chaos and confusion that is my normal life. I would say it couldn’t get any better than this, but it could…..we both could be eating something from Luigi’s.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

I am writing this from a hotel in COLUMBUS, OHIO where I am staying just about 200 miles from home because I am just too tired to go another foot. As I was in meetings all through the morning in North Carolina, word came in that SNOW was heading into the area and about 8 inches at that! And though for a guy like me (a Northerner) 8 inches is a tolerable amount, I have to admit that tolerable is defined by having these little things called PLOWS in the community…..I am not sure North Carolina has even 1 in the state.

As an affirmation of my decision to try and beat the storm (they were all admitting that if we stayed no one would be going anywhere till Monday) I watched in absolute awe as maintenance guys were throwing “ice melt” down in anticipation of the snow all over the main drags of the parking lot. Don’t get me wrong, ice melt does work….but it really is a waste with 8 inches of snow. So I left and according to the radar, remained just slightly ahead of the storm all the way into mid-Ohio. I went pretty far north and cut across. The more direct route was through Kentucky. Many of my friends live there and had to go home that way. It looked quite treacherous. Please keep all who travel this day in your prayers.

My learning for today however is this: even though I am an experienced northern driver, in reality I need to count on a lot of other people to do their parts as well. Thank God today they have…I am just 3-4 hours from home.

It is great to be back home in the Midwest! Just one short day till I ride in the Activity Bus!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, I cannot believe it. I offered to drive to the restaurant for a gathering of clergy and my car was positively, absolutely DEAD, and dead in Greensboro, North Carolina. And being fairly mechanical, I was soon able to assess the problem. Some idiot left the lights on, and that is despite not driving it at night AND despite a warning alarm on the car. Being here on this trip by myself it also come to me (after not a lot of thought) that the idiot was me.

Fortunately there was another vehicle and even more fortunately, after the dinner, that same vehicle had jumper cables. And for that I was very thankful. AND, let’s all thank God I am not a surgeon! When the nurse would say, “what’s that beeping and doesn’t it mean something,” I’d apparently say, “what beeping?” I have failed hearing tests and been told I would benefit by getting a couple of hearing aids, but I really do think I do fine. My wife would disagree, as apparently does my car, but in my mind, jumper cables are like 20 bucks…….that is sure a lot more affordable than the hearing aids. Plus the cables would be a lot harder to lose…..even for me.

Anyway, my night has included a roughly 20 mile drive to charge up my battery, and though it now works, my personal battery is low…..so it is off to bed I go. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a better day. I have already prayed that I will be idiot-free.

Goodnight my friends ad God Bless.
Tommy+

When you are a dad, despite where you are, your mind often is drawn back to your children. Though I have not been gone long, I miss hanging out with them. Of course Stephanie and Scott, being 18 and 16, don’t hang with me as much as they used. They have jobs, school, lacrosse, and lives. But as the father of a 2.5 year old as well, I can say that Ben loves to hang with me, on me, and all around me. Two year-old children have no concept at all of personal space.

Hotels however do. All my stuff is still in its place and it is eerily quiet…..all the time. There are no toys to step on, the TV can be on something other than Disney, and not one person here starts any sentence, let alone every sentence with the word “daddy.” I miss it.

But the nice things about trips, no matter how fruitful or wonderful they sometimes are (this one is both), is that you can always go home. And as they say in Kansas, home of the Wizard of Oz, “there really is no place like home.” It is actually the first sentence of the preamble of their Constitution…… I will be home soon!

Goodnight and God Bless!

Tommy+

I drove and drove, supposedly out of the snow though it seemed to follow me almost all the way to Greensboro, North Carolina. Though exhausted, I checked into my room and was surprised to discover that I am almost all the way to heaven….the 26th floor. (the picture is of out my window) I do not think I have ever been up so high. And my nervousness about being up this high has confirmed just what a hayseed I am!

But I am glad to finally arrive. It has been a long trip and I appreciate your prayers. I am now in bed, and have meetings beginning tomorrow at 9:30 all the way through Saturday at noon. But it is a real blessing to be here. I got to spend some time with the Bishop tonight and meet his new assistant (his daughter) and his wife Ellen even shared some of the Good and Plenty with me…..these are GOOD PEOPLE.

But it is late, I am sleep deprived, and I need to get to bed. Look for a much more informative post tomorrow. But for now I call it a day!

I have driven a million miles today, but I hope and pray your day was much more fun!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Viper, Viper, Viper…the easy-going, well-mannered dog, did not have a spectacular day today. In retrospect, it was really kind of funny at times. It was not the kind of funny however that you would laugh out loud at, quite frankly because all of what he did really affected Amanda more than anyone.

The picture is actually from a couple nights ago. He really does sleep on his back, or on his side with his paws against the wall….and yes, he snores. He rarely does anything bad, but tonight as we were scrambling around getting ready to leave for Holy Spirit, Amanda came downstairs as mad as a snake AND LIMPING. No, she was not hurt, she was just wearing one shoe while looking for the other. Viper doesn’t chew things, but he does like moving shoes….generally just one of them, and tonight he moved one of hers real well. We never did find it, though we will. What we did instead was hear what a moron he was for moving her shoe. And as a note to other husbands out there, my line about how it wouldn’t have been lost had the shoes been put away, really did not go well. (Though I have been told that myself on a variety of occasions!)

Anyway, we got out the door in second-string shoes and made our way towards Brownsburg. Deacon Tony called and said that many of the people attending tonight were not going to be making it (as if there was something like a Colts’ playoff game going on) and since it would be primarily his family, he offered to do the service himself. It was a needed break, so despite her Junior Varsity footwear, we headed to the grocery to pick up a few things before heading home.

Right before we had left the house however, Amanda put something she made for the pitch-in in Kokomo back in the fridge, and to make room for it, she took out a turkey and rice dish that I had made earlier in the week and set it on the counter. And yes, you guessed it, Viper decided to do the dishes for us while we were gone, but not in the conventional human way, but in the good old-fashioned dog way. There was a lot of it, which no one ate earlier in the week, but if there is a blessing in any of this it is to say that at least the dog liked my cooking….all but the part he left all over the kitchen floor.

So Viper and I are laying low, and hopefully the Colts win can be a distraction for her. We still haven’t found the shoe, but I will not mention it to her tonight at all. I will just smile and he will wag his tail, and we will pray to the Lord that neither of us do anything else stupid for the rest of the day!

Keep us in your prayers!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Of course Amanda says posting this picture will make Ben hate us as parents when he is older, but after the day he has given us it really doesn’t matter. We started to work very hard on the potty training today, and though he and I BOTH wore our “big boy pants” all day, he peed in his approximately every five minutes, whereas mine were dry all day. I believe it was really just a ploy to see how many pairs of cartoon undies he could wear in a day, but regardless, it was not what any of us would consider successful.

The picture is of one of the times he led us into the bathroom in order to “go,” but it seemed just another way to get to do the stuff he likes…..to flush, to say “bye bye pee pee,” and to wash his hands in the bubbles….oh yes, and to con us out of an M&M. He seems to know exactly what he is doing, and not only got his way, but also got his mom to go out and buy him approximately 600 new dry pairs of cartoon underpants. Anymore undies here and the free world will declare a shortage.

But potty training is not just a part of life, it is important too. After all, he goes to college in 16 years and we want him to go “sans” diapers. After today we are both convinced that it may be close.

Anyway, pray for us. It is a hoot, but it is a challenge as well. He is a bright boy, and we are counting on that….he just needs to be a little brighter tomorrow!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, we are back and though we are exhausted, we are very thankful to be home. It ALSO rained the entire trip home, which pleased me to no end…..NOT!! I was looking forward to a long and relaxing drive, but what I got was a real headache trying to concentrate through the downpour and fog. Tonight sleep will not evade me.

But it was good to be a part of a trip I have worried about her whole entire life…..and especially to see that it did not kill me. I am not sure why my kids leaving for college has always been on my radar and why I have worried about it so. But I guess that is just a part of life. I suppose we should all rejoice in the fact that it hurts to see them go and grow rather than praising God that you can make their rooms into….maybe a second craft room. I am glad it is a bit hard for me, but I am also quite proud. She is ready to venture into the world away from home. She is a great kid and I know she will do well.

Anyway, it is great to be home. I hope you stayed dry! I know we didn’t!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+