I really cannot express how very tired I am.  I seem to be awake, and able to get things done that I need to do, but I am clearly beyond where I need to be.  I hope I feel different in the morning.

Well it APPEARS I will be surviving this one, as will my wife.  Everyone is now in the land of the living, and just in time to head to the airport early tomorrow morning for the return flight to Utah.  Amanda will also be heading out tomorrow, but not to Utah…..to Texas for a meeting till late Thursday.  It is work for Amanda, but Rhonda’s vacation was marred by the flu!  I am recommending she fire her travel agent.

As for me, I met the flooring guy and the plumbers, who will be here tomorrow to finish everything up.  The flooring guy will come back next Monday, and that gives me a little time.  I spent a lot of today framing up part of the new bathroom, and quite a few other things as well.  We also were finally able to celebrate my niece’s birthday, though almost all of them just ate chicken soup.  I was glad we were able to  though.  She will be eight in a little over a week, and it was important.  I have missed her a lot, as we were very close, and I was saddened that she was in bed a lot of the time sick.  But it was great to see her smiling and opening a few presents.  Uncle Tom snuck over to the DQ too and got her an ice cream cake, because she deserved one.  I will miss her, her mom, and her brother when they leave.  As for my wife……I will enjoy three days of not being wrong!!!!!

So for now I will end this season of family and flu…….. I am glad Amanda and I did not get it, and I will look forward to the next visit with all of them that I will make up for all this lost time.  I love them all, and although it has not turned out like any of us had hoped, it was great to be a big family again.  I am thankful for that for sure!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

This has been the vacation from hell for my sister-in-law Rhonda.  Her 1 year old Logan, and Ben got the flu on Friday and bad…….her daughter Kayla got it right after attending the ordination yesterday and bad……Rhonda then got it herself, yep bad, last night, and Scotty finished playing for St. Patrick’s service today and then got it as well……bad.

I am now home.  Amanda has taken care of them all and I have helped when I have been around.  She talked to her dad today and guess what?  Yep, he has the flu, and bad…..Amanda is worried as she is beginning to feel a bit queasy.  In time, we may be down to just one………  (Sadly, on a side note, I just talked to Steph who was getting ready to board a plane in Colorado to return to Missouri after two big wins…..she is not feeling well….but that is unconnected to the plague going around here…..just ironic)

I however have made it past where I needed to be…..so I will be fine either way.   I am just glad to be home and available to help as needed.  I just want to see them all on the mend.  Right now however, it is truly a war zone. (Tonight’s picture is an old one too!  No one let’s you take their picture when they feel like hell…..that only happens in reality TV, which this ain’t!!)

So keep them all in your prayers. This was not what Amanda and Rhonda envisioned when they planned this time together.  I only hope tomorrow is a better day for them all.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well it was a great day, in that Brother Robert Jennings was ordained a priest today, and for that I am so very thankful.  Robert is not only a fine young man, but a great friend and brother in faith.  He is a fine man, and will be an exceptional priest.  It was a great service and a a wonderful celebration!

Of course you may be able to tell that I was able to make it!  And although my niece is now sick, all the adults, so far, seem okay.  Thanks to her sister Rhonda, Amanda was able to make the service, and that was a real blessing.  They both have had a lot more exposure to this kids though since I have been working, so please keep them in your prayers….actually keep all of us there, particularly the kids.

But today was a big goal I was worried about not being able to be a part of, but I am thankful for the opportunity.  I have one more day to go, tomorrow, that I need to be fine for until at least 6pm.  After that, it really does not matter, although my preference is to be feeling great all the time for at least the next 50 years.

Time will tell, but I am just thankful that today was a glorious day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Oh it is not as if we have anything going on here, like a family visit, the Bishop coming in tomorrow for an ordination in the afternoon that I have a role in, and him attending another service on Sunday.  Or even the little get together we had planned for him tomorrow night in our home.  Or the fact that on Sunday I just need to be in Nashville in the morning and Louisville in the afternoon…..plus, at some point I need to rough in a wall before Monday morning……so two kids puking multiple times (Ben and his cousin Logan) doesn’t worry me at all.  I am really used to contingency plans.

The good part is that for now all the grossness appears to have taken a break.  No one has been sick for about an hour, and in all honesty I will not be disappointed at all if that mess was all we see.

I will say that timing is everything, and we were very fortunate to be able to watch Steph’s game in its entirety via our computer and broadcast from the college they played this afternoon in Michigan.  They won, and Steph played great, and it was pretty cool to get to watch her on TV.  We had a little chat later (via text) and after I had completed my hospital work here at the house.  She and the team will board a plane in the morning for games in Colorado beginning Sunday.

For now however, I will just take some time to catch my breath.  I have A LOT to do before tomorrow and things need to fall into place just right now for them all to happen like I want.  We have moved the get together away from the house, as it would be pretty irresponsible to say, “Hey, come on over and risk being sick!”  So the beginning of a contingency plan is in place.  So far, just one part is being used.

Pray that it is the only part we need.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I really can’t believe how tired I am…..and what is funny is that I began the day talking about that very topic with father Dan Conley this morning.  A million things later, I am still “dead-dog” tired as they say (although I do not think dogs that have died are tired, but more likely “not-alive”) and though I accomplish a ton, I am not quite sure I could tell you what.

On the upside, I do believe that the retreat we will be leading tomorrow for Brother Robert Jennings, who will be ordained a priest on Saturday, should be a good one.  We “seem” to be all set for it, but of course there are “technical” things that have to go well tomorrow too, so your prayers will be appreciated.  What I can say is that it reminds me of my coaching career.  You prepare all you can, but at some point you have to walk onto the field and just see what you have got.  We are praying for it to be a great day for us all.

And here at home, my wife and her sister have been fun to watch.  The picture is of my time with them yesterday for lunch at Pizza Hut.  But Rhonda and Amanda are having a blast and the kids are too.  It was all made even better this afternoon by the arrival of my father-in-law from Kansas (I do not have father-in-laws from any other states, he is the only one, I was just using the state to reference how far he came).  The kids of course went wild.  This is who Ben identifies as “Cowboy Grandpa,” and he has been all about the kids.  They are in heaven.

So of course I will not be missed too much sneaking out to do a retreat.  After all, I am the dad and uncle, and that is far less cool to hang with than a grandpa.  I know, because I miss mine.  And given a choice, he would be my first.  I am just very blessed to see the kids enjoy it like they do!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, ARRRRGH…..MOST of the plumbing in my basement is done, but now with company and all that is going on, it will be Tuesday until the job is completed.  It is not the plumber that is the problem, they are some of the finest ones I have ever met……it was the contractor for the concrete.  Honestly, they are not among the best I have met.

There good part is that I have a bit of a reprieve in terms of building a wall for the bathroom we are adding downstairs.  It would have had to have been already done, but now as long as it will be done by Tuesday, it should be okay…..I however will build that wall tomorrow because then I am DONE with that part.

The big part is that we are making progress…..the second big part is that it allowed me to use a Captain Feathersword picture for my blog (I am a big fan!)  But more than that, we are within sight of the end of this project which pleases me to no end.   I just hope that by the end of March it is something for which I no longer have to worry.   ARRRRRGH….

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, that is the magnificent Ben Tirman next to the cement truck for which he would not leave home until it arrived.  This whole big project thing is right in hos wheelhouse, and of all the people here today, he clearly had the most fun.  The good news is that the concrete was poured….the bad news is that is was a terrible job.  Our plumbers were not happy with the contractor, so tomorrow we will see what the options are.

Of course that is not the BIGGEST thing.  The biggest thing is that my sister-in-law Rhonda, and her two children Kayla and Logan arrive tonight for a WEEK!  That is BIG!  I have never met our nephew, and Kayla and I always have a great time.  But the best part is to see Rhonda, because as a sister to my wife, we have dealt with a “common enemy.”  And we spend most of our time together sharing those important survival strategies.

Of course you might be saying, “wow that is a gutsy confession, as your wife reads your blog,” but NOT when her family comes.  She is currently possessed with cleaning stuff with a toothbrush, and no, it is not anyone’s teeth.  My OCD comes from a stroke….Amanda’s comes naturally, and all I am sure Rhonda will share is that what a bummer it probably was to be me as she was heading here!  Rhonda has had many more years dealing with this “serial cleaner.”

The nice part is that it will seem like old times.  We have spent a lot of time together, but since Rhonda has moved, it has been hard.  Lots of husbands have bad in-law relationships…..I do not.  As a matter of fact, I would be hard pressed to find better in my humble opinion.  So for a week we will have a blast, and I can hardly wait.  It s going to be a great BIG TIME!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today has been a busy busy day.  I got Viper to the vet.  He is pretty bruised up, but now on pain meds and antibiotics…….plus he’s got that whole hero-thing going on.  He’s going to be fine.  Amanda is doing fine as well, although she did not go to the vet.

The plumbers and excavators are still here and they will be pouring the floor of the basement tomorrow…..just in time for my sister-in-law and her kids to arrive tomorrow night.  The plumbing will not be completed yet, and they will be out to finish it later in the week….but as long as the bathrooms and showers work, then who really cares?  It however, has been a brutal job for them, but these are truly the finest contractors I have ever known.  Call me if you ever need a plumber!  Angie’s List doesn’t have a category for how high I would rate them.

But tonight my thoughts are really on my good friend Father Art Going.  Art is a priest who almost came up here to plant a church, but who ended up in Louisville instead.  I got to see him in Texas last week, but the day we left, he had a heart attack….which is surprising as he is in excellent shape.

But Art had bypass surgery today in Texas and did great!!!  We are all so thankful for that!  I just got off the phone with his seminarian in Kentucky, as I will be heading down there this Sunday afternoon to cover for Art.  I can tell you however, I am convinced the parish is in good hands!  It was a great comfort to me, as I am sure it is to Art as well.

BUT……please still keep my brother Art and his wife Nancy in your prayers.  Art will be in the ICU for a few more days and then will be on the road to full recovery for a few more weeks.  But the good part is that he will be doing it with that rebuilt ticker.  I am thankful for that.  He is a great priest and a great friend.  Today may have been busy for me, but in my mind, there are very few ways it could have turned out better.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, they both are…..real life heroes.  This morning I was doing the service at St. Anne’s in Anderson, and Amanda was home, outside in the driveway.  Ben was with her as well as our dog Viper.  There were tons of little kids next door in our neighbor’s back drive as well.

On the street behind our house (you can enter our house from the back and the front) a lady was out walking her small dog when a great pyrenees that lives across the street came and attacked them.   The lady was bit, and it could have been far worse had Viper not gone out to intervene…..but he did.  Viper is 70 pounds and 8 years old.  The other dog dwarfed him….but he went out and got in the way.  The dog attacked him, the lady and her dog got away and Amanda ran out to help him.

Viper got away and he and Amanda came back toward the house.  Ben was by the door crying, when the dog came toward them all for more.  Amanda threw Ben into the house and Viper went back to protecting his family.  Amanda said it was a vicious fight, and one she again intervened on.  She took a garden rake and was hitting the Great Pyrenees trying to get him from killing Viper.  Its owner finally came over and got him to leave, but did say he was supposed to be on an electric fence, which is hard to believe as he is always in everyone else’s yard.  But Amanda got bit as well and Viper had quite a bit of blood on him, but as I discovered when I got home, now cuts……he apparently did the damage.

A few minutes after I got home the police arrived, already having taken a report for the woman who was initially attacked and who had called them.  The owners of the Great Pyrenees had left apparently, as they did not answer their door.  The police could see it in their garage (one officer said that it was horse-sized). He said they generally take the dog away and quarantine it for 10 days.   But they left without him.  Fr. Dan, who is a retired police officer for over 30 years said they probably went to get a warrant to do that.  But the big thing is that everyone seems to be okay.

Viper looked horrible and was throwing up as I checked him out, no doubt form the stress.  But he has had a bath and will head to his vet in the morning.  Amanda was shaken up tremendously, but I was glad she made the right choices.  It could have been far worse had she and Viper not intervened.  That dog could have attacked one of the kids….and one of them would not have had a chance at all.

Thanks Amanda and Viper!  This picture was taken “post-attack.”  You are both my heroes.  Thanks for being so brave!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+