I have to confess, I really DO WANT to complain, but I won’t.  My life feels very invaded right now, and after committing to daily posts again after a rough patch in my life, it really bothers me to not get my daily posts made.

So here is a picture of the final parts of MONDAY…..a day I was supposed to be taking off.  The first part was taking my wife and son and mother-in-law to Shipshewana for the day in Amish County.  I had actually never been there, as growing up in the north there the Amish were just always around, particularly in Goshen where I spent TONS of time at my grandparents.  But I will say, it was really kind of fun.  We saw plenty of buggies, we were surrounded by lots of good food, and it was good to at least “attempt” to get away.

It was also kind of funny as we have nowhere to go up there any longer now that both my grandma and mom have passed away.  It seems odd to be a tourist in an area you consider home, but I suppose it is just a change I need to live with.  Amanda however seemed very worried about not getting to the cemetery.  I reminded her that we had plenty of time, in that both my grandparents and their stone would be there regardless of the time we arrived (incidentally, I was right).  And we finally did make it.

It was the most important part of my day too.  I have been there 1000 times, and many times with my grandfather when I was younger who would always tell me, “Someday you will be here without me, and it will be okay.”  I can still hear him saying it to me.  He wanted to make sure I came out there and he told me to make sure it was a happy place and to have my kids play there.  So Ben jumped off the stone onto his grave a few times laughing.  I am sure my grandpa was laughing in heaven.  They never met, but it was pretty cool.  Ben went to the other side and then wanted to jump on grandma’s grave too.  And I am sure she laughed at that too.  He remembers her very well.

I know they are not there, but being there is a place to remember…my grandpa made sure it was for me.  He was so very wise.  And in my life right now it was something I desperately needed.  Everything really is okay, and I know it…….I will not complain.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have traveled over 300 miles today to two churches but I can say it was really wonderful to get home. Amanda is still sick, yet she and her mom said that Ben had been a little angel all day.  And tonight’s picture is of he and his Nanny making Halloween cookies together…pretty cool huh?

So of course, as he was so very proud of them, I tried one (they are not on my diet) and was able to then honestly tell him that it was the greatest cookie I had ever had.  It made him smile.  He wanted me to try one of his “ghost cookies” too, but he seemed well pleased when I declined as I told him I was “just too scared of them.”

But the good part is that I am HOME……did I mention that?  I am sorry for the short post too, but I am really very full from my one cookie, tired, and my back hurts.  It has been a long day….but there is no place like home.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well the picture is of Friday it is at the Skyzone Indoor Trampoline Park.  And it is of Ben, Amanda, and one of his friends.  I took a bunch of pictures too.  This one however was the one that had the MOST STILLNESS in it.  It will have to do.

And of course it is from yesterday as I did not post yesterday.  But it has been a real challenge her to get anything done.  That picture was the last one I have of my wife upright.  She has been in bed pretty much ever since.  She felt bad earlier this week and then looked as if she was making some progress, but then WHAM….she was down for the count.

This normally does not have a real big impact on our family, other than to her.  I tend to just pick up things and cover both our shares.  Unfortunately I was already underwater with my work!  Thank God my mother in law is here because she is ALWAYS a big help.  Fortunately things are caught up and Amanda is in bed and getting the rest she needs.

I however will be out of town the entire day tomorrow.  I would ask your prayers for a couple of things….one, for my wife to get better.  She is miserable and it is Ben’s Fall Break….she is missing it.  Two, for the Church Father Dan and I will be at tomorrow that is in conflict and making some decisions tomorrow.  It is not one of our churches, but we originally planted it.  Pray for God’s Will to be done there.  Three, please pray for Tree of Life Anglican Fellowship in South Bend, where I will be tomorrow afternoon.  It is a new church and their pastor Heather Ghormley is doing a great job!  It is just a visit for me, but one I know that will give me life.  And lastly, pray for travel mercies for me as I will be traveling alone.  It is going to be a long day, but it hopefully will be a productive one.

You see I just jump around the state, they use trampolines.  Not me…..I am 51 years old and a lot smarter than I look.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

My apologies for missing yesterday, there are some days that you would not want to be me, and yesterday was one of those….in fact yesterday I didn’t even want to be me.  And not that Thursday is all that much better, but it is moving in the right direction, so I thank you for your patience and understanding.

Oh but don’t misunderstand me……I did write a blog post for yesterday, and it is now filed among just three of over 1500 that I do not have up on the site….two of which I never posted, and one of which I posted and pulled down.  I would like to think that I am sharp and wonderful every day, you know like what my wife believes about me.  But the truth is, like anyone, I sometimes just have tough days and am in no real good place to say anything.  It does help to hop back in the saddle, which I am doing, but it often feels like I am forgetting something……like the horse.  So plugging ahead is all I do, but that’s really a good thing as it is also all I know.

I met with Father Moorehead this afternoon to catch up and he shared how he jokes with one of his friends that they could really do it all if they could just figure out how to clone themselves.  I really have to confess that it made me wish I were a better student.  Not that the world would need more of me, but at least I could get most of what I want to do done.  And yes, all this is in jest as I really do not support cloning anyway.

So I suppose I will call this maybe a day.  It is getting better and tomorrow hopefully will continue it on.  So sorry for the miss, but I want to assure you that I am on it….. Friday I am certain, will be awesome!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, this relaxing time at Kohls was right before Ben’s doctor appointment where he not only failed his hearing test (I actually do that all the time) but where we also received the news that his tonsils and his adenoids will be removed, but not to be just takers, they will install some tubes in his ear drums to make us feel better.

Of course this is not unexpected news…..although I was really pretty sure it would just all stop at tubes.  But what can you do?  It ALL really needs to be done, and therefore we will fore go Thanksgiving and have it done on the day before.  He will miss less school then, and Steph will be home as well.  And since we were not having our REAL family Thanksgiving until Scotty is home in December, we felt it will work out just fine.

And Amanda seemed to handle it well.  Of course we are no where near the surgery, but I am guaranteeing everyone that Ben will not be acting like he speaks Japanese after his tonsil surgery like Scotty did after having his wisdom teeth out.  I was not a witness to that, but Amanda said it was pretty dang funny.  My guess is that Amanda will need just as much care as Ben will.  He is kind of a mamma’s boy, and she is his princess (much to my chagrin).  But I am guessing the best way to handle this completely is to medicate BOTH of them!

But that is the story of our day.  I am sure it will all be fine.  But for now I will just look ahead, and I am doing so with a backache.  That’s right, there were only TWO CHAIRS, and I had the camera.  Poor me…….well, pour me something.  The day is done and I need just a little bit of medication!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yeah, I am home and hanging out with just one of them, my wife, but I do miss the opportunities I have to hang out with both of them because when I do my world is pretty dang wonderful.

This picture may end up being one of my all time favorites.  They on the other hand will both think I am insane, as it was taken in line for a hay ride just inside a big fortress (yes I said fortress) made of bales of straw.  But they are truly so very happy together, and when they do things there is always a lot of smiling and laughing……and that is contagious too.

Amanda even has a special “Stephanie” Pinterest section in which she saves stuff just to share with Steph.  They are pretty cool together, they both love me and Ben and Scott, and they really reflect the best of our family to others (that is also a reference to the fact that they live with me and Ben and Scott)

But tonight I miss Steph and cannot wait to see her again.  She DID, in the middle of Pumpkinland, as I mentioned she would, make reference to the Justin Bieber joke I made about her a few weeks ago.  We laughed it off.  (She really does not like JB.)  But I did give her $20 for that Bananarama Reunion album she and Amanda wanted for Christmas.  They are both such big fans…..and that is why we love them.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, we are home from our visit to Steph, and the last part of our journey was to a pumpkin farm for a pumpkin festival.  There were approximately 6 million people there, but since two of the kids were with us (and a host of Ben’s girlfriends, both old and new) it was a blast.  There were hay rides, corn mazes, straw pyramids (just like the ones in Egypt…..if they were made in Kansas), zip lines for kids, goats, lots of lost children, and a BUNCH of moms yelling at their kids.  It was like Jerry Springer, but with pumpkins!

And pumpkins were what we were there for!!  Now when I WAS IN COLLEGE, when I was around college girls, all I wanted to do was to buy them a DRINK.  But now that I am the dad of one of them, all I wanted to do was to buy them PUMPKINS…..and that we did! Plus, the very fact that I knew they needed them for a college carving contest (knives are implied here) made me quite happy that there were no college boys around anyway.  Alcohol and pumpkin carving seem to be things that would not mix well, and although there is no reality show with such a concept, perhaps there will be soon.  But the bottom line is that we fixed them all up with pumpkins on our tab.

But it is never all fun and games, as seeing Steph and her brother say good bye is ALWAYS painful.  They are both always a mess, and I have to say I would be honored if anyone would be a 100th as upset if I were leaving them.  Yet they have lots of reasons to cry.  They have to wait a little less than a month before Steph is home for “Fake Thanksgiving.”  And why is it “fake?”  Well it is fake because we are going to celebrate OUR real Thanksgiving here at home just after Christmas with Scott before he leaves to return for the Marines.  He will be eating any turkey he gets on Thanksgiving out of a pouch packed in 1963 from wherever they tell him to be.  But sometime between Christmas and his return he will eat the real thing AND with ALL OF US!

But for now we are home, and we are thankful for it.  It was great to see Steph.  Lord knows we miss her.  And her friends are always like family to us.  We are just 300 miles away, but it feels much further.  We are just blessed to be able to see her.  She is one spectacular daughter…..and we could not ask for any better.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

We have had a great day here in Missouri.  The annual LU Alumni game was this morning, and it is always great to get to see Steph play.  PLUS, now that she is a junior, we knew lots of the other players on both teams.  It was a great time, and we still have tomorrow too.

And Ben and Steph are so very tight.  Tonight’s picture is of Ben sitting in Steph’s section in their new locker room.  It is pretty sweet and very state of the art.  And Ben was more than ready to pose for the picture sitting in front of her jersey.

But the two of them have been at it most of the day, laughing and joking, and joking and laughing.  They ALWAYS sit by each other everywhere and are both full of smiles at every moment.  It is always so great to see, and my only regret is that I have been so hell bent on being important in my work, that I haven’t availed myself of every opportunity I have had to be here with all of them.  Amanda and Ben are well known here, yet I think many people may just think I am their driver.  I really am happy to chose the good portion and work to straighten out my image!

But since Ben has been a bit under the weather and on an antibiotic, Steph has spent tonight and last night at her house and Ben has been here.  He had originally negotiated a weekend “sleepover” but he needed a bit more rest than that.  Tomorrow we will start again and have a great last day….a last day that is until what we are calling “Fake Thanksgiving.”  Yes Steph will be home for that, and I think Kara will even be with her.  But Scotty will still be at boot camp and we will eat turkey without him.  That is why it will be fake.  We will all be together from December 20th and will have Christmas when we should and our real Thanksgiving a few days after….

Our kids are great and we love them.  It has been a blessed day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, you would think from this picture that he was not all that excited, but for DAYS it is all he has talked about.  We are now in Missouri for our annual visit to Lindenwood Homecoming.  Of course there is no official lacrosse going on, just the Alumni game, BUT it is always a gratuitous visit to eat drink and be merry with Steph and her comrades.  And that we have begun to do.

The second picture is Ben and Steph and Kara at a restaurant in the greater St. Louis area.  The ate a ton and then got perhaps the largest turtle sundae in the history of the world.  And as I am writing this from the hotel, they are all back at Steph’s house where Ben is no doubt holding court with all his college girlfriends……of which there are MANY!

And yes, he is clearly AWAKE.  He was going to stay with Steph tonight, but since she has to be up so early tomorrow, she is bringing him back to the hotel tonight.  Ben’s desire was for her to just stay here and sleep with him on the sleeper sofa.  Her’s was to have him stay the night at her house.  But since she has to be up so very early, he will be dropped back by here tonight to sleep with…..hopefully his Nanny in her room, but most probably us in ours!!

But the great part is that we are all out here together.  We will be together again at Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas break when we will head to California to see our Marine graduate.  For now however, we are just enjoying this part.  Ben and Steph are just so very tight and LOVE being together.   It is so cool to see.

I am just happy to be here as I could not make it last year.  It will be a fun weekend, and already is.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, it is a staged picture.  Viper needs a cage like I need an ice cream cake.  He has no interest whatsoever in running away, and he sleeps so much in the yard that even the squirrels make fun of him.  But he did hustle into his old kennel where he and our four other former Goldens used to hang out.  He was doing it out of habit and nostalgia.  I was doing it because I needed a picture of the kennel to put on Craigslist.