Well to most people the Warrens Cranberry Festival does not seem like it is any big deal, but to our family it is a major event each and every year. I just ordered almost $700. in 6' balloons for the parking system that Will and I designed. Each major parking lot has a huge balloon or two flying above it so that people can remember where they parked. You would be suprised how many people drive through the middle of a cemetery and cannot remember that they did. It is quite funny when you think about it sometimes, they drive right down the lanes inches from the tombstones and don't remember them at all. I tease them about it quite often as we look for their car....they all say they were in such a hurry to get to the fest that they didn't even notice.
Last year we created a new system for our 150 plus tour bus parking (the big greyhound type).....made a few changes this year so we are looking to see if they worked.
Will and the kids are one of the feature singing groups on Saturday so they are practising for that. The kids both have solos in the Crantastic Singers this year, so they have two practises a week. I and my co-chair (my cousin Marcie) are revamping two areas of the festival so work has begun on that. In a week or two we will start marking out where each of the almost 1500 booths will be in town. We have a pvc pipe square for the art and craft booths. We use spray paint to trace each and every 10' X 10' square on almost each and every lawn in town. Then we have those engineering measurement wheels for measuring distance for the flea and antique market (all are 18' deep with different lengths up to 120'). It's a big job and by the time we are done my shoes are completely bright orange.
Will and the kids collect cardboard and shop during the festival. I help to run the church booth in front of our church selling coffee, pies, cranapple cider and other goodies. My radio is always on for Cranfest business though and many times I will have to run and fix something that needs a board members attention. Lots of work with me getting to bed at 12:00 midnight and being back to the church the next morning at 4:30am, but it is worth it! So many people have such a good time and our church is able to send money to support our missionaries. It truly is a blessing for all. How else would our church of less than 50 active members be able to support our missionaries with thousands of dollars, plus being able to be a blessing to all those that come into contact with us. I look at it as we might be the "only Jesus" alot of these people have ever seen. What a great opportunity to make an impression.
We have a great Southern style gospel sing on Saturday night which is a huge success!
Well, now that I have bored you to death with details, maybe you will forgive us if we don't update this as much as usual in the next month. I didn't mention many of the other jobs that we need to do for Cranfest and here at home getting ready for cold weather between now and then. Will told me yesterday that it is time for him to get his construction hat back on. We bought a wood stove for our new room and are looking at getting one for the living room. We are trying to economize with gas prices going up, but wood is still $35 a cord for us. Look at it this way, $1800 for gas OR $300 or less for wood and only one tank of LP (about $600) for the winter. Wood could actually cost even less if we get a chance to cut it ourselves. Our friend Amanda will be coming over and she and I (and the kids) are going to cut up some dead fall at Mom and Dad's farm. She runs the chain saw, not me. Remember that I'm the one that almost cut the top half of my thumb off with a hatchet(we won't go into that right now). I will however say that my thumb is completely healed with no nerve damage and you cannot see the scar unless you hold it right up to your face. The nail is perfect(as perfect as any part of me is HA! HA!) God did marvelous work with something so bad that the surgeon just rolled it back together as best he could, roughly stitched it closed and told me I would have to just see what would come of it. He told me that it would be ugly and he didn't seem to know how it would heal. Well, God did! For the most part it never even hurt. What a blessing.
Well, time for work again. It is a never ending cycle. I wish that I was more organized and neat. I'm glad that Jessa likes doing dishes and setting the table etc. Hopefully, she can take over all of that when she's older and I can be released from that misery. I LOVE TO COOK, but hate to do dishes. Maybe I'll just switch to paper plates and plastic forks.
Have a blessed day.
Jacob is enjoying golf. The daily practises are no fun for Will and I though. They are from 9-11 and it makes no sense to come home between so we fill in the time running errands. I would rather be working at home. Oh well, school starts the 1rst. They were going to start it the day after Labor Day, but we had so many snow days last year it ran late. They are trying to be a little better prepared this year. I will be glad the kids are going. For the most part they are getting along VERY well, but even though they won't admit it they miss school. They are ready to see their friends. I pray that it is a wonderful year. They both have grown almost 2 inches in the last 5 months and have changed shoes sizes two and 1/2 sizes. I had to replace everything for school this year. That is very painful when you fill out the check.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Some Pics from Greenlake
I finally had a moment to process these pics from Greenlake. These were taken by Carrie Todhunter. These pics are mostly from around the campsite. The American Baptist Greenlake Conference Center is HUGE. There are some more great pics taken by Amy Jensen of the group and the area. You really need to check these out at the site she set up: http://pics.livejournal.com/amyj1/gallery/00006ctb There are some great ones of the kids and the lake etc. Thankyou Amy and Carrie for the Pics! (oh by the way I posted these pics a little backwards. The individual captions are for the pictures they are with but technically you're supposed to look at the pictures from the bottom up. Sorry!
#'s 6:24
Will
#'s 6:24
Will
Friday, August 19, 2005
Modern Day Prophet
I had reason to reminisce last night. I came home from my usual 12 1/2 hours of work - no pity please I only work like, every other day- I was in a bit of a hurry because I had to meet someone in a few minutes to go over some very important business dealings. My wife informed me I had a message so I made a call. After I finished my phone call I finished getting cleaned up and changed and left for my meeting. I was a few minutes late but arrived all of thirty seconds before the other guy. The Lord was with me as He helped me keep a clear head with an over-tired mind. The Meeting went well and I came home. ( I know this is dragging out but bear with me...) I had another phone call to make, watched a little tv, then went to bed.
As I lay in bed I spent some time thinking. I wasn't thinking about my day at work or the big meeting I had or even what I watched on tv. I was remembering this little house on the south side of Tallahassee. Definitely not the "good" side of town. It was a great house for the people that were living there - at that time. What a Find! It had a fence that went all the way around the house. Most of the yard was really driveway. There was this big garage in the back perfect for working on cars. Danny Hayes, Joel Hayes and myself lived there. There were others who lived there for a time and some who you couldn't say for sure if they lived there or not. At the age of the "Men" that lived there, it was in fact, the perfect house. Not so nice that you had to be so careful that you were uncomfortable. It was in a neighborhood that was just bad enough to feel like you were living dangerously but could still sleep at night...if there wasn't a large and loud party going on at the time that is. It was definitely a "guys house" There was nothing girlie about it at all. (This would be where you would insert a Tim Allen "Grunt!" Arrgh Arrgh Arrgh.)
One of the most colorful people to grace that "Pad" with his presence was this modern day Prophet by the name of Joe Foss. I am the one that calls him that I don't know if anyone else has or not, but rest assured its a complement. Joe just had this look about him that made me think that. When we used to hang out together, He had this look that said He was passionate about whatever he was saying or Doing. He was passionate about His God. He was Passionate about his cars and He was passionate about his guns. I don't think I ever saw anything that scared him...much.
Joe didn't mince his words or waste time wondering if he might hurt your feelings. He expected you to be grown up enough to understand that he was speaking the truth. When he did, there was nothing hidden behind it. There was no subterfuge and no hidden agenda. He was Joe Foss. He spoke the truth as he saw it, now get over it.
We used to have a great time together. We used to go to this little unofficial dump back in the woods for "target practice". You just haven't lived till you squeeze the trigger on a 45 revolver and had the satisfaction of watching a jar half full of putrid mayonnaise splatter ten feet in all directions. You don't ever forget anything like that and you tell that story over and over to all the same people for as long as they'll let you. Joe Foss was also into "black powder" weaponry. I won't ever forget the sensation of squeezing the trigger on a black powder pistol and being able to feel the ever so slight pause before it actually fired or more vivid still the stark raving terror I felt, as I held that pistol aloft for what felt like hours but was only a full minute or two as I waited to make sure that the "misfire" didn't just go off a little bit late. It's all part of the sport and it was (if you will please pardon the pun) a "blast".
I don't get to do a lot of hunting, I just don't have the time or energy. But I don't squeeze the trigger on any type of rifle or pistol without thinking about Joe. He taught me most of what I know and more importantly he spent the time and effort to allow me to practice. Perhaps even more important he allowed me to use his guns. I ask you, as a guy, how so very cool is that?
Of course it wasn't all about guns, like I said Joe had this amazing fire in his eyes that was so intense that he actually enjoyed getting people to think he'd gone "mad". What he was though, was simply passionate. He could be just as passionate about his anger as he could about his humor. Ultimately as things go in this world Joe developed a new passion. That passion became his wife. With Joe's new priorities we eventually saw less and less of him. The wife and children putting his life into a whole new perspective.
Joe is one of those people that you say to yourself "the next time I get near, I Have Got To Look Him Up!" and then you never really do. It's like people who live in N.Y. who have never been to the Statue of Liberty. Or people who live in Florida who have never been to Disney. You think it will always be there so you can get to it later. Then you never do.
You know this is coming. The message I received as I came home from work, the first phone call I made was to let me know that Joe had gone on vacation with his wife to celebrate their anniversary. On the morning of their anniversary Joe Foss had a massive heart attack and died. He was 48 I believe, and I can't stand it that I don't know for sure; not because I can't find out, but simply because- I. Should. Know.
I haven't even talked to him in years and I can't stand that either.
My Love and prayers for His wife and family. I ask that you pray too. Thank You.
Deanna was born on her parents 4th anniversary. Today is Friday, her 41st birthday is tomorrow (I asked her permission to tell you that). She has to work tomorrow so I plan on spending as much time today with her, doing what she wants, as I can. I took a small time out to write this for Joe, his family, and You.
I realize that Dea and I have entered a time where we are going to get more and more of those phone calls. I try to be pragmatic. I accept it, but I also don't mind letting the whole world know that quite frankly, I don't like it one single bit. Tonight when I go to bed, I think I'm going to spend some more time reminiscing and updating my mental list of all of the other people that "I have got to look up!" and see about really doing just that.
Numbers 6:24
Will
As I lay in bed I spent some time thinking. I wasn't thinking about my day at work or the big meeting I had or even what I watched on tv. I was remembering this little house on the south side of Tallahassee. Definitely not the "good" side of town. It was a great house for the people that were living there - at that time. What a Find! It had a fence that went all the way around the house. Most of the yard was really driveway. There was this big garage in the back perfect for working on cars. Danny Hayes, Joel Hayes and myself lived there. There were others who lived there for a time and some who you couldn't say for sure if they lived there or not. At the age of the "Men" that lived there, it was in fact, the perfect house. Not so nice that you had to be so careful that you were uncomfortable. It was in a neighborhood that was just bad enough to feel like you were living dangerously but could still sleep at night...if there wasn't a large and loud party going on at the time that is. It was definitely a "guys house" There was nothing girlie about it at all. (This would be where you would insert a Tim Allen "Grunt!" Arrgh Arrgh Arrgh.)
One of the most colorful people to grace that "Pad" with his presence was this modern day Prophet by the name of Joe Foss. I am the one that calls him that I don't know if anyone else has or not, but rest assured its a complement. Joe just had this look about him that made me think that. When we used to hang out together, He had this look that said He was passionate about whatever he was saying or Doing. He was passionate about His God. He was Passionate about his cars and He was passionate about his guns. I don't think I ever saw anything that scared him...much.
Joe didn't mince his words or waste time wondering if he might hurt your feelings. He expected you to be grown up enough to understand that he was speaking the truth. When he did, there was nothing hidden behind it. There was no subterfuge and no hidden agenda. He was Joe Foss. He spoke the truth as he saw it, now get over it.
We used to have a great time together. We used to go to this little unofficial dump back in the woods for "target practice". You just haven't lived till you squeeze the trigger on a 45 revolver and had the satisfaction of watching a jar half full of putrid mayonnaise splatter ten feet in all directions. You don't ever forget anything like that and you tell that story over and over to all the same people for as long as they'll let you. Joe Foss was also into "black powder" weaponry. I won't ever forget the sensation of squeezing the trigger on a black powder pistol and being able to feel the ever so slight pause before it actually fired or more vivid still the stark raving terror I felt, as I held that pistol aloft for what felt like hours but was only a full minute or two as I waited to make sure that the "misfire" didn't just go off a little bit late. It's all part of the sport and it was (if you will please pardon the pun) a "blast".
I don't get to do a lot of hunting, I just don't have the time or energy. But I don't squeeze the trigger on any type of rifle or pistol without thinking about Joe. He taught me most of what I know and more importantly he spent the time and effort to allow me to practice. Perhaps even more important he allowed me to use his guns. I ask you, as a guy, how so very cool is that?
Of course it wasn't all about guns, like I said Joe had this amazing fire in his eyes that was so intense that he actually enjoyed getting people to think he'd gone "mad". What he was though, was simply passionate. He could be just as passionate about his anger as he could about his humor. Ultimately as things go in this world Joe developed a new passion. That passion became his wife. With Joe's new priorities we eventually saw less and less of him. The wife and children putting his life into a whole new perspective.
Joe is one of those people that you say to yourself "the next time I get near, I Have Got To Look Him Up!" and then you never really do. It's like people who live in N.Y. who have never been to the Statue of Liberty. Or people who live in Florida who have never been to Disney. You think it will always be there so you can get to it later. Then you never do.
You know this is coming. The message I received as I came home from work, the first phone call I made was to let me know that Joe had gone on vacation with his wife to celebrate their anniversary. On the morning of their anniversary Joe Foss had a massive heart attack and died. He was 48 I believe, and I can't stand it that I don't know for sure; not because I can't find out, but simply because- I. Should. Know.
I haven't even talked to him in years and I can't stand that either.
My Love and prayers for His wife and family. I ask that you pray too. Thank You.
Deanna was born on her parents 4th anniversary. Today is Friday, her 41st birthday is tomorrow (I asked her permission to tell you that). She has to work tomorrow so I plan on spending as much time today with her, doing what she wants, as I can. I took a small time out to write this for Joe, his family, and You.
I realize that Dea and I have entered a time where we are going to get more and more of those phone calls. I try to be pragmatic. I accept it, but I also don't mind letting the whole world know that quite frankly, I don't like it one single bit. Tonight when I go to bed, I think I'm going to spend some more time reminiscing and updating my mental list of all of the other people that "I have got to look up!" and see about really doing just that.
Numbers 6:24
Will
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Ever heard of Green Lake?
While Will was working on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the kids and I went to Green Lake WI camping. Well, we were in a cabin, but it was primitive compared to a house.....I guess. We had everything that we needed including bathroom (with shower), kitchen with oven, toaster, sink and frig and beds. The ceiling fan was nice too. The campground supplied linens, towels and dishes. All we had to do was show up with our clothes and food. I did bring my pillow though. I don't know about you, but I have to have my own pillow.
We had a wonderful and blessed time. I will have Will post pictures to the blog when he gets a chance. The kids swam for over 3 hours everyday. They rode bikes almost all day. We had smores and a campfire each night and went to bed exhausted each night too! What a joy!
We really, really had a good time this year. My three Aunts (Dad's sisters) and some of the daughters and daughters in-law were there. There were I think 26 of us. My Mom and my Aunt Carrie each came for one night each. We all enjoyed it.
The campground is called the Green Lake Conference Center. It is run by the American Baptists but anyone can camp there. Green Lake I understand is the deepest lake in Wisconsin. Seen from a distance it has that same green color as the ocean does over by St. George Island and Carrabelle. I and the kids have gone for 8 or 9 years now and the others have gone for 25 or more each. We sit around and read, play cards and board games, talk and eat. What a life!
Poor Will had to work. He wanted to come too and sit around fishing. He loves it. I hope to be able to go over for a longer period of time next year so that he can come too (at least part of the time).
Went to the Dr's office with Jacob today. He is fine, but had to have one of those physicals to prove that he is well enough to play golf. I told the Dr. that Jake had been hitting things with sticks since he was little it never has seemed to bother him before. Never knew he needed a physical to do it. Oh well, he's fine. New prescription for his allergies. Hopefully will work better. He has a deviated (sp?) septum (crooked inside of his nose). Causes him lots of problems, but they did not want to work on it until he got older. They were afraid that as he grew it would shift again and cause more problems. He is supposed to check on it when he is 13. We are planning on this spring. It depends on how school is doing whether he gets it fixed during school or waits until summer.
We (the kids and I) went and bought some golf clubs and supplies today. What a laugh. I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to that. I just look stupid until someone takes pity on me. I am leaving the rest to Will this weekend.
Well, need to finish cleaning up unpacking mess etc. I went to work right away Monday, dentist yesterday with Jacob and then errands. Now I need to get it together before work tomorrow. Will is gone tonight for his monthly program at the VA and the kids have Bible study. I will be glad to have a moment to myself to clean and breath quiet air for a while.
Cranfest in 36 days and things are getting to crunch time. I CANNOT WAIT! Will thinks I'm crazy, but he loves me so he puts up with it.
Have a blessed day!!
We had a wonderful and blessed time. I will have Will post pictures to the blog when he gets a chance. The kids swam for over 3 hours everyday. They rode bikes almost all day. We had smores and a campfire each night and went to bed exhausted each night too! What a joy!
We really, really had a good time this year. My three Aunts (Dad's sisters) and some of the daughters and daughters in-law were there. There were I think 26 of us. My Mom and my Aunt Carrie each came for one night each. We all enjoyed it.
The campground is called the Green Lake Conference Center. It is run by the American Baptists but anyone can camp there. Green Lake I understand is the deepest lake in Wisconsin. Seen from a distance it has that same green color as the ocean does over by St. George Island and Carrabelle. I and the kids have gone for 8 or 9 years now and the others have gone for 25 or more each. We sit around and read, play cards and board games, talk and eat. What a life!
Poor Will had to work. He wanted to come too and sit around fishing. He loves it. I hope to be able to go over for a longer period of time next year so that he can come too (at least part of the time).
Went to the Dr's office with Jacob today. He is fine, but had to have one of those physicals to prove that he is well enough to play golf. I told the Dr. that Jake had been hitting things with sticks since he was little it never has seemed to bother him before. Never knew he needed a physical to do it. Oh well, he's fine. New prescription for his allergies. Hopefully will work better. He has a deviated (sp?) septum (crooked inside of his nose). Causes him lots of problems, but they did not want to work on it until he got older. They were afraid that as he grew it would shift again and cause more problems. He is supposed to check on it when he is 13. We are planning on this spring. It depends on how school is doing whether he gets it fixed during school or waits until summer.
We (the kids and I) went and bought some golf clubs and supplies today. What a laugh. I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to that. I just look stupid until someone takes pity on me. I am leaving the rest to Will this weekend.
Well, need to finish cleaning up unpacking mess etc. I went to work right away Monday, dentist yesterday with Jacob and then errands. Now I need to get it together before work tomorrow. Will is gone tonight for his monthly program at the VA and the kids have Bible study. I will be glad to have a moment to myself to clean and breath quiet air for a while.
Cranfest in 36 days and things are getting to crunch time. I CANNOT WAIT! Will thinks I'm crazy, but he loves me so he puts up with it.
Have a blessed day!!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
It's Wednesday!
Well its Wednesday, I have the day off today so naturally they called Deanna in to work. Sigh. It’s hot again and the bigger of our two window air conditioners died. We truly mourn its passing. I still have it in the window with its fan on high. That much still works, so I might as well use it. I used to have four box fans, the last one of those died a little over a week ago. We’re down to one small air conditioner, a pedestal fan and three or four small personal fans. Can anyone say “Hello Wal-Mart!”? We have a water sprinkler on the roof and that does make a big difference in the indoor temp in the house. One of the nice treats from getting your water from a well, the water’s cold and if you use it to water your lawn (or house) it all runs right back into the ground and eventually back into your well and the only cost is the electricity. Nice huh? (For those who might be worried about contamination: it’s a little better than 26 ft down before you hit water here; reportedly, you only need 25ft of earth to filter water clean. When you add in lateral distances we are way over what is needed and we do periodically test it). We have been getting some rain and we are grateful for that! We have been so spoiled the last couple of years; the weather has been so nice I haven’t used the air conditioners for over two years, and we only used them sparingly before that! Of course, the thing to remember is: while its not as nice as it has been, there is no doubt it could be a lot worse!
The kids will spend the majority of their day getting their rooms cleaned and getting packed. The big annual camping trip is this weekend. The women from Deanna’s family grab the kids and leave the husbands behind. I don’t mind too much, I have to work this weekend anyway. Though I will have to make my own lunch – the horror! And sleeping in this big ol’ house alone at night is seriously uncomfortable too. Yes, I do know just how spoiled I am, and if I didn’t, these weekends would sure remind me. If I’m codependent and Deanna is my enabler, then why would you ever want to be cured of it?? This stuff is great! We’ve been married fifteen years now and bragging about what a fantastic wife I have is still one of my favorite pastimes. The Lord sure knew what he was doing when He gave her to me. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is what horrible thing she must have done to deserve me…(it’s a JOKE people!)
I was up late last night working on this computer. Its past its 2-year expiration date and it wants to be put out to pasture. I’ve picked up so many strange programs that they have all started to argue; kind of like my kids do after a really, really, long day. You know, when there doesn’t seem to be any reason for the fighting but they do it anyway? Deanna spent a good portion of her day dealing with it and then I came home from work and took over. Again, it kind of sounds like our kids sometimes; I can just see Deanna standing over the computer screen saying: “You Just Wait Till Your Father Gets Home!!” Can’t you?
Actually though, she did a pretty good job cleaning up the mess. I think she might have even impressed herself a little.
My anti-Virus program has been getting cranky. It would appear that it doesn’t like my Roxio cd creator program and it is throwing a tantrum. Of course this then makes my email program behave snotty. Well then my web browser has to put its two cents in causing my anti-Spam program to get defensive resulting in a general melee. Dea and I basically went in and started hacking everything off at the knees. You could call it a good general cleaning. I ran some of my basic clean up programs, reloaded some, and updated others. We’ll see how it works. If you don’t hear from us for a couple of weeks it just means that either the computer died or I at least had to wipe the hard drive clean and start over from scratch. So many of my programs I have to download from the inter-net that it takes days to get it all. Sigh.
Well I have such a large list of things to do today I better get busy making up excuses for not doing them!
Numbers 6:24
WillFriday, August 05, 2005
swim lessons are over hooray!!!!
Yesterday was the final swimming lesson and both kids passed with flying colors! I am soooooo happy. It was better this year because they had them every day for two weeks instead of one or two days a week for two months. Much better, but it seems to be such a hassle to run out to Jellystone every day for a half an hour. Somehow it seems to end up taking 2 hours by the time we are done.
We went to Jacob's first golf meeting last night too. Jake has decided that he would like to try the golf team for the middle school. He is excited and we are hoping that he does well. There are 18 kids on the team and the school supplies everything even the clubs if you want them to. We are trying to pick up the five main clubs that he will need so that he can have his own set. He practises every day each week Mon-Thurs. On the days before school starts it will be in the mornings and then after school once it starts. There's a late bus each day that will bring him home to Warrens and then we pick him up. The practises will be a lot, but then end of the golf season is October 10th so we figure we can last that long. He really wants to play and we hope he is great at it. Who knows maybe he can be a pro and support us in style in our old age.
Crantastic singers start tomorrow. That is when all the kids that want to in the area, sometimes as many as 60 from the surrounding community get together and sing about Jesus and how God loves us all. It is a great ministry. The kids practise twice a week until Cranfest and then they sing at different locations at Cranfest on Saturday. We figure that many thousands of people hear them at their outdoor concerts. What a way to teach them to tell others about what they are learning. The people at Cranfest wait for them to appear and love it. We have people that sit and wait and wait and wait in order to get good seats.
Will and the kids have been asked to be a feature act at the Old Towne Hall Variety Show that goes on all day on Saturday during Cranfest. They really do a good job singing together. I know that I will one day have to join them. I plan on it. But I have not done so thus far for three reasons.....the first is that I enjoy listening to them sing together. The second is that it is such a special time for the three of them, I hate to change it. Third, I am such a perfectionist in some ways about singing that I think I might push too hard and be too critical. It will be a fine line to walk and I do not want to take the fun out of it for them. We will see what will happen.
The new sub that they hired at work to replace me on one route so that we would have a sub for each route did not work out. In fact, I'm not sure that anything that he did do could be called work. He could not handle it at all. Mail carrying is a different type of situation that many people just cannot handle. There is an incredible amount of stress in this job that most people would never imagine existed. I cannot say that it is terrible for me that he did not work out because he was going to cost Will and I about $800 a month by working. I am sure that it will be much easier financially with him gone. Not that he lasted long.....one day. I worked today after his working yesterday and spent most of the day redelivering mail and dealing with upset customers. Not a day that I would want to repeat. You hate to see people quit, but sometimes it is just something they are not cut out to do.
We had a cook out tonight and were going to eat on the patio, but the flies were too bad. I'm sorry about that because it is great to just sit out there and watch the world. I sure enjoy that patio, but I am thinking that I am going to have to have a screened porch somewhere. I love outside, but hate the bugs. Especially our Wisconsin state bird the "mosquito".
Well time to get busy on more Cranfest stuff. Our monthly meeting is Monday night and I have another meeting with a bunch of sub committees at 5:30. Work all day on Monday for both Will and I. A good friend of ours is taking the kids to the water park at Jellystone for the day. They will be wiped out by evening.
God bless and keep in touch.
We went to Jacob's first golf meeting last night too. Jake has decided that he would like to try the golf team for the middle school. He is excited and we are hoping that he does well. There are 18 kids on the team and the school supplies everything even the clubs if you want them to. We are trying to pick up the five main clubs that he will need so that he can have his own set. He practises every day each week Mon-Thurs. On the days before school starts it will be in the mornings and then after school once it starts. There's a late bus each day that will bring him home to Warrens and then we pick him up. The practises will be a lot, but then end of the golf season is October 10th so we figure we can last that long. He really wants to play and we hope he is great at it. Who knows maybe he can be a pro and support us in style in our old age.
Crantastic singers start tomorrow. That is when all the kids that want to in the area, sometimes as many as 60 from the surrounding community get together and sing about Jesus and how God loves us all. It is a great ministry. The kids practise twice a week until Cranfest and then they sing at different locations at Cranfest on Saturday. We figure that many thousands of people hear them at their outdoor concerts. What a way to teach them to tell others about what they are learning. The people at Cranfest wait for them to appear and love it. We have people that sit and wait and wait and wait in order to get good seats.
Will and the kids have been asked to be a feature act at the Old Towne Hall Variety Show that goes on all day on Saturday during Cranfest. They really do a good job singing together. I know that I will one day have to join them. I plan on it. But I have not done so thus far for three reasons.....the first is that I enjoy listening to them sing together. The second is that it is such a special time for the three of them, I hate to change it. Third, I am such a perfectionist in some ways about singing that I think I might push too hard and be too critical. It will be a fine line to walk and I do not want to take the fun out of it for them. We will see what will happen.
The new sub that they hired at work to replace me on one route so that we would have a sub for each route did not work out. In fact, I'm not sure that anything that he did do could be called work. He could not handle it at all. Mail carrying is a different type of situation that many people just cannot handle. There is an incredible amount of stress in this job that most people would never imagine existed. I cannot say that it is terrible for me that he did not work out because he was going to cost Will and I about $800 a month by working. I am sure that it will be much easier financially with him gone. Not that he lasted long.....one day. I worked today after his working yesterday and spent most of the day redelivering mail and dealing with upset customers. Not a day that I would want to repeat. You hate to see people quit, but sometimes it is just something they are not cut out to do.
We had a cook out tonight and were going to eat on the patio, but the flies were too bad. I'm sorry about that because it is great to just sit out there and watch the world. I sure enjoy that patio, but I am thinking that I am going to have to have a screened porch somewhere. I love outside, but hate the bugs. Especially our Wisconsin state bird the "mosquito".
Well time to get busy on more Cranfest stuff. Our monthly meeting is Monday night and I have another meeting with a bunch of sub committees at 5:30. Work all day on Monday for both Will and I. A good friend of ours is taking the kids to the water park at Jellystone for the day. They will be wiped out by evening.
God bless and keep in touch.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
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