My fist stab at online videos...take 2

Lets try this.

Here I am trying to entertain the family behind the puppet booth.

Let me know what you think!....

"All I want for Christhmasth...."

Just a quick note...

Naw...just a quick picture...

Uncle of the Year Award

I am honored to have been given this title.  I'd like to thank all the little people that made this possible.  Jessalyn, and, well, I guess that's it.  Next time we have breakfast togther, I am expecting great results... 

For the full story (no pun intended) click here.

Do you know what tomorrow is?

We've found that preparing the kids for change before the change actually happens is best.  That way they can look forward to it rather than be surprised by it.  This week, Tim only has 2 days of school.  Monday and Tuesday.  The rest of the week is either HS Science Lab renovations and/or Teacher in-service days. 

On the way to school this morning (Monday). 

"Hey Tim.  Do you know what tomorrow is?"

(without missing a beat)
"Yeah.  Election Day"

I have to admit, I was quite surprised!  Good for him to know.  After a bit more probing, apparently the elementary school is having a contest, and they have to vote tomorrow for a winner.  I'm not exactly sure what the race is for...he couldnt remember.

But, he did say that he was going to vote for whoever gave him gum.  (there is a lot of similarities with his rational and that of the general American public..."What can I get out of it" ...but that is a post for another time...if ever...)

Its Vibernating

Just a cute comment by Tim!

So we recently got cell phones about 2 months ago...and since then the phones have been a fascination to both the kids and I (and Jenn...she got a cool ringtone).  When I call Jenn, it rings and vibrates.  When it is in her purse, her purse vibrates.  On time Tim exclaimed,

"Your purse!  Its Vibernating!"  

It made us smile, hope it did the same for you...

My day with Mark

I had a great day today...  It started like any other with the alarm going off seemingly too early.  After taking Tim to school, instead of going to LBC, I drove to visit Mark.  He had a few projects that he wanted help on, and it was time for me to make a trip anyway...so I went to help.  I'm glad I did.  It was good for us to see each other, and to catch up on life since our last visit.  I am already looking forward to the next trip I make. (today was convenient since his girls were all in school, my son was in school, and my girls had other obligations.  Was just a guy day)

After a brief tour of the changes he has made around the house since my last visit (including adding a new shed for the motorcycle, moving the existing shed a few feet to make a lean-to for his wood pile, his new woodstove (and thus why he needed to add space for a wood pile), a trailer which has proven his very useful in getting wood.  Oh!  and his new dinky chain saw.  Very nice!), we got started with putting in the outlet in the closet.  Now that the closet is the entertainment center (since the wood stove is where the tv used to be) I figure he should have a proper outlet instead of an extension cord.  Check!

We also wanted to replce the 4 foot section of wiring in his attic that had the insulation cleanly chewed off by some rodent.  It was discovered by the chimney install guys.  Yep, the outer layer and the colored layer around each wire.  Yep, bare wires ... 4 feet ... not even a fried rodent or a tripped breaker.  Not sure how it could have happened, but it did!  So, before lunch we peeked up there just to know what we were up against.  We then discovered that there was a 3 foot by 8 inch gap in their house located behind their primary chimney!  Not noticable from the outside, but in the attic, it was very noticable.  Just not sure why the (new) chimney guys didnt point it out??  Guess that would explain how the mouse got in to chew the wiring...  While out for lunch, we got the 3x expanding foam to seal the gap.  Upon returning from lunch we got the new wiring in place, and as a bonus, I added a light to the attic.  Check!

So at lunch I met the Shalom Christian Academy development director.  He had birds painted on his head?  Yes, birds painted on his bald head.  The deal was that if the students brought in enough names for their race for education, they could shave his head (yes, normally he is very well groomed...as in NOT normally bald), and then, if they raised enough money, they could also paint birds on his head.  Since the school has 3 sections, this was day 2 of 3 for bird painting!  The best part...Mark and I were eating at a pizza shop...and he was there, in public!  Good for him for being so proud of the students and not ashamed to bring attention to the Race-for-education cause. Props to the bird man.

After lunch we headed to Shalom Christian Academy and I got a chance to see J & M & L.  That was fun.  Wasnt worth the trip without the girls.

The #3 thing on the list was to replace the basement light with something a bit more low profile.  Too many head knocks on the existing light and poor lighting.  So this was the least important, but also easiest.  Mark was preping the area as I was finishing adding the wiring from the new outlet in the entertainment closet into the existing circuit in the basement.  I was running out of time, and I was hoping to get the basement light finished...so I was having his help with mounting the new light in place.  I would just terminate the wiring. ( :)  I'm already chuckling about what happened next.... :)  )  Mark: "Is this the right spot to hang the light?"  Micah: "Yes, just make sure that I can add the wire through this opening here...that way I dont have to add new wiring."  (a few moments pass)  Micah: "Oh, Mark, before you screw it up. . .?"  Mark: "I already did!" but he was still holding the light in his hands!  I laughed so hard.  If you didnt get it, read it again.  That was near the highlight of my day!  Needless to say, it got done.  Check!

We didn't have time to get a load of wood, or replace the other outlets, or fix the light switches, or tighten the other thing, or plan the future improvement of ....  Oh well.  All in all...a successful day.  Any day spent with Mark is bound to be successful even if nothing gets done.

Both quarters

So it happened in the Spring of 2007.  My car was broken into.  Well...I guess you can't call it 'broken into' since it wasn't locked.  Kinda hard to lock the doors that you don't have keys to.  The locks had been changed multiple times with each replacement of broken door handles.  Never spent the time to re-key the locks.  I digress.

Monday morning, I got in my car to go to work, and noticed that my glove box was open, and its contents strewn about the floor.  Hmm...thats odd.  I'm not very concerned since this particular glove box needed a good SLAM to get it to shut, so I figured that maybe it just opened again...but yet the contents would have still been in the box.  Alas, I figured out what happened when I noticed that all my money had been stolen too.  Yes, they took both my quarters.  I was devastated!  That was water money for refilling our empty gallons since our tap water is gross.  I digress.

After a call to the police (just to let them know...not 'cause I really cared) they wanted to fill out an accident report and the works.  The officer showed up a few hours later and told me that there was a break-in spree on my street over the weekend...and most of the reports were completed on Saturday.  "How is it that you didn't call us till today?"  Well.  Since the car had over 260,000 miles, only 2 doors, no air conditioning, smelled, broken glove box, and doors that don't lock (among many other things)...it was obviously not our choice of vehicle whenever the family needed to go somewhere.  Oh...and the seat belts didn't really work...not safe for the kids.  When asked what was stolen, I told the officer that both quarters were.  She snickered, and continued with the report.  I digress.

Time passes...I forgot about what happened until I received a subpoena to appear in court to testify against some kid they had caught.  The exact court date escapes my mind...I just know it was early September 2007, and to appear in court would have been a hardship at LBC since the semester had just begun and training was not complete.  The day before the court date, we got a call that the case had been settled out of court, and I did not need to appear.  Great!  Didn't really want to go anyway.  

End of story right?  Oh, wait there's more...

Time passes...I recently received a letter dated Sept 17th, 2008.  It was too good not to share with you... "Dear Mr Story:  This criminal case is now completed."  What?  A full year?  I guess those 1 hour shows on TV where they catch the murderer in less than 1 day really isn't correct since they cant even close the case on a guy that stole fifty cents in less than 1 year!!  "On July 21, 2008, the defendant plead guilty to the charges of 1) Theft by Unlawful Taking," What?  What other kind of theft is there?  Is there a lawful kind? "2) Criminal Conspiracy, 3) Theft From a Motor Vehicle"  Didn't we already cover that in the first charge?  Interestingly, he gets to serve jail time and is required to submit a blood sample to be included in the DNA registry (and pay costs)  Lets hope it costs less than fifty cents!

With the letter also came a survey titled Victim/Witness Services Satisfaction Survey.  While, yes, I am a victim, not so sure I really care about the outcome or my satisfaction.  The funniest part of the survey...question #1.  "What type of crime was committed against you?"  Pick one: (have left some off the list...) C-Burglary, E-Criminal Mischief/Vandalism/Property Damage, G-DUI and Vehicular Crimes, H-Financial Crimes, K-Robbery, N-Theft."  What?  Pick one?  Out of 14 choices, 6 of them somewhat relate to my case...some more than others...but without a description of how they breakdown, how do I know which is the right one.  What-a-minute.  YOU tell me what type of crime was committed against me.  You were the ones that prosecuted the guy in this case...how do I know how you classified it? Whats the difference between Burglary, Robbery, & Theft anyway?  

Ugh...

Puns that I can't take credit for...but if I could I'd be rich...

(If the title didnt make you smile...read it again.  Yep, that one is mine.  The following...not so much)

1. If a man runs in front of car, he gets tired.  If he runs behind, he gets exhausted.
2. The roundest knight at king Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
3. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
4. She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still.
5. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
6. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
7. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
8. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
9. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
10. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
11. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
12. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
13. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
14. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'
15. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
16. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
17. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital.  When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
18. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
21. A backward poet writes inverse.
22. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
24. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects!
25. Gandhi walked barefoot everywhere which caused the skin on the bottom of his feet became quite thick and hard. He also was quite a spiritual person. Even when he was not on a hunger strike, he did not eat much and became quite thin and frail. Due to this diet, he wound up with very bad breath. Therefore, he came to be known as a - Super calloused fragile mystic plagued with halitosis!
26. Some friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise he funds.  Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, the rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town, to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close shop. Terrified, the friars did so, thereby proving that . . . Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

Got any of yours you want to add?  Leave a comment...

Things you never thought you'd say to your kids.

So, sometimes the comedy of the situation warrents just such an answer. And I dont even need to paint the picture of what was happening before I said it. Use your imagination...you're probably correct!

Feel free to add your own comments with your own statements that surprised you that you had to say them.

• "Get your fingers out of my nose"
• "Dont lick my toes"
• "Dont color on the piano...especially with a pen" (yes, it made gouges too...)
• "Let go of my face"

There are others...but I am at a loss right now.  I'll update it if I think of more...  Be sure to post your own...  Mom...got any good ones?  Kristin?

You can't get theah from heah

So...how long does it take...

• Home to WalMart: First you've got to choose which one to go to. We've got 3 within a 10 minute radius. Kinda nice....
• Lancaster, PA to Meredith, NH: (for brother Joel's Wedding). Get in the car, drive for a few hours, stop for food. Get in the car, drive for a few more hours, get stuck in traffic, stop for more food. Get in the car, drive for a few more hours, arrive in Meredith. Total time 9-10 hours.
• Meredith, NH to Lancaster, PA: Repeat the step above, 'cept in reverse.
• Lancaster to Joplin, Missouri (for brother Jason's Wedding). Total trip about 15 hours
  -Get in the car, drive to PHL Airport, park in economy parking lot (1.5 hours).
  -Take the bus (with all our luggage & booster seats) to the actual airport since it's not really that close to parking (10 min) then wait for flight (45 min)
  -Take a plane to Atlana on which Joanna and I got soaked in Coke since the plane hit turbulence, and my cup splashed all over us, her blankie & baby kangaroo, the seats, etc (1.5 hours), then wait to get off the plane since we were in the back.
  -Take the subway from concourse D to Concourse C (Yes, Atlanta airport has its own subway - 10 min) then wait for flight (45 min)
  -Take the plane to Kansas City, MO (2 hours)
  -Take the bus to the car rental place (10 min)
  -Get a rental car (We got a Jeep Compass...pretty nice...) and then follow the directions from the GPS exactly as she said...too bad she had us drive through residential Kansas City instead of taking the interstate around the city...oof! Arrive at hotel in Joplin. (3.5 hours)
  All in all...not a horrible trip. The wedding was wonderful. The kids did really well. Too bad the return flight wasn't so smooth.... Read on...
• Joplin, MO to Lancaster, PA: Total trip 32 hours!
  -Leave Hotel and head to Kansas City airport. Follow the GPS exactly as instructed, swing through Kansas, and arrive at the car rental place. Leave car rental place to go get gas (cause I forgot first) then return to car rental place. (3.5 hours) so far so good...
  -Wait in airport and color with the kids (2 hours)
  -Airplane trip to Atlanta. This is the kicker... Should have only been a 2 hour trip. Apparently, there were storms in Atlanta which caused some delays, so our plane was put in a holding pattern. But, we nearly ran out of gas, so we had to make a detour to Chattanooga to refuel. The lady across the aisle had a connecting flight from Atlanta to Tampa that she missed while we were circling in the air. I wasn't too worried about our connecting flight since we had a 3+ hour layover. So we sat in the airplane in Chattanooga for 2 hours while they decided what to do next...apparently it wasnt 'just' a refueling stop. Then they ushered us off the plane via police escort across the tarmac, into the stairwell with the alarm blaring (cause the airport is now closed), then into a waiting area. 1 more hour later, we boarded the plane, and headed to Atlanta. Apparently the air door that is used to allow air to the engines to get them started was stuck closed, and thus the engines could not be started. Then we had a 27 min flight to Atlanta. After we arrived, we had to wait in the waiting area so that they could give all the passengers hotel & food vouchers as well as the new boarding passes for the flights leaving the next day. We arrived 45 minutes after our flight to Philadelphia had left...rats. (7 hours)
  -Long subway ride to leave the airport, then the shuttle bus that took us to the Sheraton (dont really know how long it was...since it was already tomorrow..and all 4 of us are tired)
  -Sleep in, pay too much for breakfast, spend some time in the hotel jacuzzi, nap, & buy webkins for kids from hotel gift shop (they do seem to work well as bribes for kids who need to be in weddings)
  -Ride the shuttle back to the airport, ride the long subway to our concourse, get lunch (2:30 pm) with our vouchers, then wait at the gate for our flight (1.5 hours)
  -Realize that they had changed the departure gate in the few hours between when our boarding pass was printed and now, ride the subway again, then walk to the extreme end of the correct concourse, and wait only 10 min for our flight...phew!
  -Take our flight to PHL (1.5 hours)
  -Take the bus to the parking lot (15 min)
  -Drive home ignoring the GPS lady (1.5 hours)
  Did I mention that Tim missed his first day of school 'cause of this adventure? I also missed registration day at LBC! What a trip!

Handbell practice room?

So...the Good Shepherd Chapel at LBC just underwent some major interior renovations. Very nice and very needed. Upon walking around with a coworker, we noticed several small rooms that were added where a wide hallway once was. In fact, they are only as deep as the former hallway...perhaps 4 or 5 feet? They are no more than 8-10 feet wide as well. It could very easily be a small storage closet, or perhaps solitary confinement for the wayward student since the room itself is not that much larger than a twin mattress.

I digress.

Since the point of the renovations in the chapel is to better enhance the music ministry program, I quickly commented that I thought they were practice rooms. I could see the potential of having small rooms for the students to practice their voice lessons, or a violin, or even a keyboard (a full 88 key keyboard would fit!!). It was quickly evident that my coworker did not see the same potential when he indicated..."Well they sure are small...I guess they could be practice rooms for handbells..." Then he turned and walked away.

It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud nevermind smirking in the least. I've included a picture of some handbells...Do you think they would fit in the tiny closet?

Dalmationish?

So the kids like yogurt...alot! Sometimes I splurge and get the good kind...y'know the kind that have the crushed candies to mix in with the yogurt. M & M's, Oreo, etc...with the ultimate goal to be something like a DQ Blizzard

AAAANNNNYYYYway, Sunday night (2 days ago) Tim was enjoying his Oreo cookies mixed into his vanilla yogurt, and without hesitation, he wiped some on his lips/chin and exclaimed, "Daddy....do I look Dalmationish

I burst out laughing since he really knew what he was asking, and to achieve the right question, he made up his own adjective. I was unable to get a picture since gravity was the enemy, and thus his quick toungue did not want to waste any oreos...cant say I blame him :)

So I helped with laundry...

I was trying to help Jenn get caught up with laundry after our trip to NH (Brother Joel's wonderful wedding to Michelle). Add to it some hand-me-down from the Tophams (Thanks!!) that need to be kept separate since they are too large at the moment...
I just can't figure it out. I am tired and confused. Are they pants or shorts? Who do these belong to? Can anyone really fold fitted sheets properly?

Sorry honney...I tried...and hopefully you can sort out what I (likely) did incorrectly.

My First Post

So I've been convinced to start my own blog. While I may not even post every day, it may prove to be a fun venture for me. Not sure if I'm addicted yet, but I've had fun getting set up...

So here it is...
For some time (since my kids were babies) I've been wishing to have some way of archiving comical anecdotes of my children, job, and church. I'll be adding current stories while trying to remember older ones...so that I dont permanently forget them...

Read on...have fun