4th Degree Byrnes

The world according to Jim

2011-09-14T22:25:00.010-05:00

August 7 was a great day. Surrounded by family and friends Dawson and Delanie took on Christ as their Lord and Savior. A great day indeed.

They had both been talking about this for several months and we settled on August 7. We were just home from Legacy's kids camp and a weeklong mission trip to Cross and Crown in Oklahoma City. Plus we were waiting on Nanny (grandmother) to get home from a trip to England. Finally, it was the Stanglin's last Sunday at Legacy. The kids wanted Allan to be a part of this.

In one of his final acts as a minister at Legacy, Allan spent almost an hour with the kids in his office before worship began. He looked them in the eye and told them he loved them, that he was proud of them and that God loved them and was proud of them too. He told them to never look back and wonder if they had been ready or if they had been too young. He assured them that God was doing all the work - his plan and the blood of his son was saving them that day. All they had to do was come to this decision. God was handling the rest.

It was glorious and the souls of two Byrnes kids were saved - along with two other Legacy kids.

Fast forward 6 days.

We'd said our last goodbye to the Stanglins. Another emotional, tearful goodbye. I didn't want them to go. I didn't like any of it. It was one of those situations where you're asking God why this was happening and quickly realizing the answers are not there. Not yet. His timing, his plan - not mine. It stinks.

To put it lightly I was in a funk. It was Saturday night and Shanna and the kids were leaving the next morning to spend a few days with her parents. The thought of church did not appeal at all. I just wasn't in the mood. I wanted to be alone. Honestly, I wanted to get up Sunday morning and go on a nice, quiet, head-clearing bike ride.

But Shanna was supposed to help teach. She was heading out of town so I got the nod.

I showed up Sunday morning and hit the kids hall to take Shanna's role as a 'Journeyman' which I completely messed up. However no children were harmed and I've been told I'm welcome to give it another shot.

I wandered, alone, toward worship service. At least I felt alone. The fog I was in prevents me from recalling any conversations I may have had - except one.

Jim Littlejohn is one of those guys who you catch a glimpse of every now and then. He's quiet and low profile but seems to always be serving. He's behind the scenes and is probably the type of servant God really appreciates. Because much of the time God is the only one who sees what he's doing.

This has been a tough year for Jim. He's spending a lot of time caring for his wife but every once in a while you still get that glimpse of him. And he's usually on his way to do something that needs to be done.

That morning he caught me at the entrance to the sanctuary. "Aren't kids and grandkids such a blessing? Isn't it great to be able to watch them grow up? I wanted to let you know how blessed I was to be a part of your kids baptisms last week."

Huh?

Jim, unintentionally, had delivered me a spiritual smackdown. A well deserved one at that.

He was blessed? This man who had been through so much uncertainty was blessed? Well, yes. Of course he was. I was too. Everyone who was there had been. Even the angels in heaven rejoiced. Had I forgot?

I won't again. As it turns out, Jim came to me to tell me he had been blessed. Little did he know that what he actually did was bless me.

What a day.

2011-08-22T21:45:00.005-05:00

8/22 : Not your usual day.

Today I served as a pallbearer which is by no means an ordinary occurrence for me. Actually I think today was the third time but I'll admit it's not one of those things you tend to keep an accurate record of. What today's experience did was put me in an interesting situation - at least it was to me.

Now I don't want this to stir any debate or discussion because I think it could - no, I'm sure it could. I've given it some pretty heavy thought and come to the conclusion that there's not a right or wrong. Actually there's likely just rights.

For several years now I have not taken part in the 'procession' that makes it's way by the open casket at a funeral. I don't go into 'the room' during funeral visitations. The term 'viewing' seems odd to me.

But I'm obviously in the minority - at least from what I've seen at quite a few funerals now. As the pew spills out into the aisle and heads toward the front I head for the back. So far I have not had a nice funeral man grab me and point me in the 'right' direction. I also have not had anyone jump out of line with me.

And that's fine. I get it. The whole 'one last look' or 'closure' thing is understandable but it's just not for me. I have a very vivid memory of the last 'viewing' I attended and that memory is forever burned in my mind. Despite the fact I have plenty of other memories of that life that was cut very short I'm constantly taken back to the vision of a lifeless body laying in a lifeless box. And I don't like it - not at all.

That was my interesting situation for today. As a pallbearer I was led to the front row of the church prior to the entrance of the family. Avoiding that one was pretty easy.

The hard part was during the 'procession.' I couldn't bow out and head upstream like I normally would. I was a pallbearer - I had to maintain formation. But I also wanted to maintain my principle. It's important to me. I'll be perfectly honest and say that avoiding the logistics of the unpleasant view was much easier than fighting the urge to take that glimpse.

I don't know what it is. There was something pulling at me to take that look. Some sort of morbid curiosity. Fortunately I was able to resist and the pleasant memory of that wonderful man remains intact - exactly as I think it should.

I'm glad it's intact. That wasn't my friend in there. It was a tired, used shell. He was gone - he had been made new. He actually looks much better than he does in my memory. Praise be to God.

8/22 : First day of school. Facebook led me to believe it was the first day of school pretty much everywhere in the civilized world. For us it meant 4 kids on three different campuses. Seems like we were dropping off kids for and hour and a half. Wait, we were.

8/22 : Dad died 11 years ago today and he is still missed greatly. But like my friend today he's been made new. Praise be to God.

8/22 : This is the day I became 'great' uncle David. Little Hadleigh turned three today. She's the daughter of my niece Corlie and nephew in law, if there is such a thing, Heath. I don't see her nearly as much as I'd like but I still take a certain amount of pride in that title.

Like I said, what a day.

5 Stones

2011-08-19T11:12:00.005-05:00

I guess you could call it an addiction but I think that would be a little harsh. Whatever the label I will admit that long road trips prompt me to pick up a book or two on CD. It seems to help pass the time. Give it a try next time you're heading to west Texas or the panhandle and tell me I'm wrong.

I had a one day trip last week - Houston and back. Per my criteria this trip qualifies as 'book-worthy.' Normally Cracker Barrel is my source but this time I opted for the library as I was making a stop there anyway.

The book was good and it served it's purpose. But when I went to return it I thought I'd see what else was available as these Houston runs are going to be pretty regular. There on the shelf I saw Max Lucado's "Facing Your Giants" and picked it up. I started it this morning on the way to the office which is a break from the usual routine and could indeed indicate the beginning of an addiction.

The story of David and Goliath, duh. I guess I could have made that connection. I'm only three chapters in - much of which is a recap of that famous battle. Early on it actually begins with David kneeling at the stream and picking up five stones.

Wait, five?

Of course I knew it was five. But why five? I think I was always so excited about the eventual downfall of the giant that I never gave any thought to the number of stones the recently annointed king picked up. He went out and faced Goliath "in the name of the LORD almighty" and one did the trick just fine.

So why five? I've read it's because he wanted to make sure he hit him which I will quickly dismiss. God killed Goliath, not David, so let's assume that after creating the universe in 6 days it would only take him one try to hit a nine foot tall man with a head the size of a watermelon.

Goliath had four brothers? Maybe. There may be retaliation from other Philistines? Perhaps. David was an avid rock collector? Doubtful.

I don't know. And I think this is one of many instances that is left to our speculation. Realistically in the terms of David vs. Goliath it doesn't matter, it's not the main point.

But should I take something from this seemingly small detail? Lucado has not given me his opinion of this, at least not yet. He seems more focused on us facing our giants, our Goliaths, just as David did. Charge at them confidently with your faith in God, not the sling or the stone.

Maybe the point is preparation. I'm David. Yes, literally I am David. But in a spiritual sense I'm David - a young shepherd facing a giant. Or more correctly in my case - giants. A whole army of God-mocking giants being sent my way to discourage me, derail me, destroy me.

Why five? I need five. Honestly I probably need five a day. Certainly there's been days I've needed five before lunch. Because for every giant that falls there's more coming. And they'll continue to come until Jesus returns and makes things right.

In confidence I will continually kneel at the stream to gather more stones. As I kneel I know that God stands there behind me staring down the giants. With that knowledge I will confidently face them and allow God to strike them down.

He is after all, a much better shot than me.

Is it really greener?

2011-04-02T21:49:00.003-05:00

Delanie's third grade teacher, who was previously Dillon and Dawson's third grade teacher, and who will likely be Dakota's third grade teacher lives about 60 miles from the metroplex. It's my understanding that he and his family live somewhat of a farm/ranch life. He's got some of the typical farm-type animals.

Like cows.

One day he looked out in the pasture and saw a cow sticking its head through the fence to eat the grass on the other side. You know exactly what I mean. You've used the phrase before or at very least you've heard it. If you've ever driven anywhere where there are cows you've probably seen it.

Certainly he'd seen if before but today he tried a little experiment.

The man took the cow and led it outside the pasture and to the other side of the fence. Actually led it to the exact place where it had been eating. He put the cow - head, legs, feet and all in the very spot that it was convinced was better than where it had been. The cow, realizing the good fortune, firmly planted its feet and began eating from what had to be the most delicious patch of grass in all of Texas.

Well, not exactly.

Instead, the cow firmly planted its feet at the base of the fence, stuck its head through, and began eating from the patch of grass inside the pasture. Eating from the very spot where it stood previously.

I guess the grass truly is greener on the other side - even if you haven't experienced the grass where you are.

How many times have I wondered what our church would be like if we were only more like 'that congregation' or 'the church I once visited?' It would have to be better because obviously they have a better grasp of worship or teaching or communion or fellowship or blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

Let me know if you attend a church where they've got it all figured out. Everything runs smoothly. Everyone gets along. Everyone always agrees. No feathers are ever ruffled. Rose petals spontaneously fall from the rafters because of all the love being passed between the brothers and sisters there.

I think we're all trying to do the best we can. The best we know how. At least I think that's what I'm called to do. And I can do it at church A just as easily and effectively as I can at church B. There's no need for me to peek through the blinds and wonder what it would be like to go to church over there where everything is done perfectly.

Because I can't honestly believe that place exists.

In Bible study a couple of months ago I remember we were talking about the differences between churches and denominations and about how much time and effort is spent debating (and sometimes arguing) and attempting to convince each other who is right.

(I do find it ironic how so often we will think other congregations have something figured out and that we should strive to be more like them. We go so far as to complain about the leadership or the staff or the programs of our church and yet we will defend to the bitter end that very same 'faulty' church if it's criticized by someone else.)

After that study I commented how funny it would be for all the different 'flavors' of Christianity to be standing before God fully confident they were the one group who actually got it all right. Only to have God wave his arm across the whole group and say "Congratulations, you were all approximately 60% correct."

To that Allan Stanglin proposed an alternate scenario. God waves his arm across the whole group and says "You were all approximately 10% correct. Fortunately grace and the blood of Christ will pick up the remaining 90%."

I'm convinced his prediction is more accurate. Maybe we can all go forward realizing none of us has it figured out. The grass is not greener at that church across the street or across town or across the country. We're all dealing with the same garbage that this world can throw at us.

But there is a place where the grass is greener. A place we all should long for - no matter where you attend. One day we'll all be led from this pasture to that place.

And we won't be sticking our heads back through the fence.

Catch me I'm falling - ok, not really.

2011-02-07T21:59:00.016-06:00

"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."

We covered this a few weeks ago in Bible study and it came up again today....

on Facebook.

Someone who is loved dearly by our family posted the verse. Usually when I come across scriptural posts I just hit 'Like' in response and hope that encourages the 'poster' to continue the practice. Considering the general hodge-podge of posts it's refreshing to come across a piece of encouragement now and then.

For some reason on this one I couldn't stop at Like. Something, likely some self serving motive or desire to vent drove me to actually post something.

I think there may be some unintentional misrepresentation going on here.

The first half of this passage says don't judge. That's it. It's clear, it's concise, it's straight to the point. It's simple, but certainly not always easy. (Note to self - possible future topic)

It's the second half that, in my humble and regularly erroneous opinion, that can pose a problem:

"Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."

Personally, I've never been accused of violating this - at least not to my face.

Now what I'm going to say may seem surprising but I have heard of situations where the point of this passage gets misrepresented. You could say it's used, or misused, in a way that could be considered self serving. Certainly I've never been guilty of this either.

Stumbling block. Grumbling block. Two very different things. Yet I think the latter sometimes gets confused with the former.

Hypothetically.....

You do something that causes me to doubt my faith, to veer off the path, to fall. That's a stumbling block.

You do something based on scripture that is designed to promote spiritual growth. It's new, it's different, it's not our tradition. I don't like it. But rather than give it a chance, rather than dive into the Word, I go for the game ending trump and throw out Romans 14:13 in an effort to keep things the way I want them. That's a grumbling block.

I'm not stumbling - I'm grumbling.

Instead, I should focus on what comes just a few verses later in Romans 14:19:

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

So I need to quit grumbling. I need to put the interests of others ahead of my own. I need to think about the well being of the body rather than myself.

Thankfully it was just hypothetical.

Right?

Ummm....

2011-01-22T23:27:00.004-06:00

I'm at a loss.

For the past three weeks I've been at a loss. I'm supposed to be following a curriculum for the 9th grade class and I just can't do it. They're not ready. Honestly, I question my own readiness. More importantly I question my ability to cover the subject. No I don't question, I doubt it entirely.

The Holy Spirit.

Note I said 'supposed to be following' because I didn't. I threw it out and went to the basics. See, the lesson should have covered how we act and respond to the Holy Spirit. There are two problems this. First, they're ninth graders. They tend to respond in one word answers - if they respond at all. I teased them a few months ago and said that when I throw out something for discussion don't think that the silence bothers me. I could sit there the entire time without a word being said. I've got four kids, silence doesn't bother me. I cherish it.

That was a lie. I've outlasted many classes when no one made an attempt to participate. Eventually someone will crack and blurt something out. But this time I knew as soon as the first question went out. They were perfectly content to sit there the entire hour and not say a word. I could see it on their faces.

And that leads us to the second problem. They just flat out don't know how the Holy Spirit impacts their life. I'm not sure they could have given a basic explanation of the Holy Spirit. And here I am, the person who is supposed to correct that and I couldn't feel more inadequate.

Do I know? Maybe I have an idea but I certainly would not be considered any sort of expert on the subject. I dare say anyone could be considered an expert but to be perfectly honest I cannot recall studying it at all when I was their age (or older for that matter).

So back to the basics we went. The Trinity, where we find it and what the purpose is. Over two weeks we probably spent the entire class going over a few scriptures and some examples. And I told them it's possible, even likely that brief overview put them ahead of half the church in knowledge about the Holy Spirit.

I don't know why it's this way but it seems like we've been focusing on two out of three. Are they easier to grasp? It's almost like we can't wrap our mind fully around God but we get the concept of father, creator.

We can't understand the sacrifice of Christ but we appreciate it. We understand the significance and the necessity.

Then we look over there at the Holy Spirit and it's as if we think we'll never get it so why bother.

Maybe I'm way off base here but I feel like I'm a product of that line of thinking. Hopefully I'm the last generation that learned so much about what we should (or actually should not) be doing and not so much about what we could be doing if we just tap into the resources provided. So I'll throw myself back in to a room of 9th graders and explain to them yet again that as far as this is concerned - the teacher is also the student.

But I guess we're all students for as long as we're here.

So this is what Jerry Lee meant...

2011-01-16T14:50:00.016-06:00

He still thinks that he's the man
That he once used to be
Boy, you're just thirty-nine
And you're dreamin'
Acting twenty-three
("39 and Holding" - Jerry Lee Lewis)

Most likely it's true. I do think I'm the man I was at 23. The leading indicator that I am significantly older than 23 is typically my body. If for some reason sore muscles and joints don't do the trick Shanna is usually a reliable backup to remind me of this.

This week I turned 39 so to many I guess this is my last year 'under the hill.'

I however, vehemently disagree. True - I don't always act my age. Some would argue that I rarely act my age. Irrelevant.

My issue is with this whole concept of 'the hill.' Who came up with this so called 'hill?' I can't help but think this is yet another ploy by Hallmark to help generate sales. It falls right in there with St. Patrick's and April Fool's Day greeting cards.

I don't really have any friends who are coasting downhill. Quite the contrary. They continue to work, they continue to serve. They continue to live out 1 Corinthians 15:58:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know your labor for the Lord is not in vain. (NIV)

They're not coasting to retirement. They're not sliding toward the end of life. They're like John Bailey of Body and Soul Ministries who just came back from a trip to Cambodia where 92 were baptized. He's a little over 40 - like 30 plus years over 40.

My great Uncle Odell is another great example. Works and serves tirelessly at what will soon be 82.

The list goes on and on, literally. I could go on for days.

There's is no magical turning point - at least not in this life. There is no time where it all 'starts falling apart' or starts 'going downhill.' It's life at age 13 or 39 or 89. What you decide to do with it is what matters. Perhaps that's what really determines whether or not you feel 'over the hill.' Here's to staying on the hill. I've heard from those in the know that it will actually get steeper sometimes -even after 40. If you really think about it that sounds a lot like life now.

So I guess 40 really is just another number. We'll find out in about a year.

It's a new year...

2011-01-11T11:33:00.003-06:00

and it feels like we've started it with a massive punch in the gut. Two funerals last week for what you would call pillars of the Legacy Church family. Richard Dutton and Bob Roberston transitioned from this world on 12/31 and 1/1 respectively and they will be missed. In my opinion they set the dad standard. They set the man standard. As I sat in each of their services and listened to their children speak of them I couldn't help but cry. How did they do all that? They served, they taught, they called, they visited, they played - often times when in pain. They did immeasurably more than I can imagine.

And it made me want to do better. It made me think of all the times that I had the chance to make a difference to someone and didn't.

It made me think of how just a week before I'd been on the phone with Richard's son. He said a visit would be ok but it needed to be brief. I rationalized it and said I'd stop by the next week after he'd had a chance to rest. That day never came - the next morning Richard was gone.

It made me think of how I could have stopped by and see Bob, but didn't.

It made me think of the times that I had something to do before I played that game or read that book. Then by the time that 'something' was done it was bedtime.

It made me realize that no, I can't drop everything everytime. But I can certainly make sure that what's important gets done first. Somehow everything I need to do seems to get done - even when life gets in the way.

I think it would be good for me to let life get in the way a little more often. More importantly, let someone else's life get in the way a little more often.

All six of Bob's kids went on and on about what a great father and servant and friend he was. Six kids. I just need to convince four.

That started last night with a game of farkle in the middle of the living room floor.

Overdue?

2010-04-25T00:43:00.002-05:00

Yes, a post is overdue. Waaaay overdue. But before you criticize me too harshly I would like to remind you....

4 kids.

That's right - FOUR. So before I get any criticism about the amount of time between posts I'd just like to ask...

"How many kids between the ages of 5 and 14 are currently living under your roof?"

With the exception of one or two families from Legacy, I can think of no one who comes close. Yes there are those of you with three. Multiple your current level of commitment and lack of sleep by at least 25% and give me a call. I'd love nothing more than to be able to find the time to post more.

So, I'll try to post more if you'll read.

I.E. - It's 1am on Sunday morning - need I say more?

There has been a whole host of subjects that I could have written about here. I have to admit that facebook has become a predominant forum. But I know not everyone is a facebook junkie. Namely, at least two people who may occasionally check this blog for an update. So this is for you - as well as anyone else who happens across this blog while searching for David Byrne from the Talking Heads.

I just read a Yahoo headline - "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Irrelevant 2010!"

It talked about Tim Toone from Weber State - the 255th (and final) pick of this year's NFL draft. He's 5'10" and 185 pounds. His chances of making it in the NFL are probably not much greater than mine or Allan Stanglin's.

Ok - there's probably much greater chance than me or Staglin but basically no one considers him a legitimate NFL contender, other than his mom who is undoubtedly convinced that his contributions will help take a team to the Superbowl.

Odds are - he won't. My apologies to his mom. From the standpoint of the NFL he's irrelevant.

Really? Irrelevant? I think not.

I don't have what it takes to make it in the NFL. Stanglin doesn't either. Actually, no one that I know first hand will make it in the NFL. But does that make any of us irrelevant? Perhaps to ESPN or the world of professional sports but let's put at least a light tap on the brake.

There is at least one person who does not see me as irrelevant. Fortunately, for you, me, and everyone else it's the same person who created the universe.

That's right - the entire universe. Everything that we claim to have knowledge of and a whole host of things that we'll likely never know

E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G

You can't go any higher. You can't talk to any supervisor with higher rank. The all powerful, all knowing, all loving God of the universe sees us as his child.

Please, if necessary, tap the brakes again. Did you catch that?

"AS HIS CHILD."

Irrelevant is not a word that God would use to describe me. Irrelevant as not a word that God would use to describe you. He wouldn't use it to describe Tim Toone if he was the first pick in the NFL draft or the 255th. We are ALL his children and irrelevant is not part of his vocabulary.

We're all relevant to Him and we all have a very relevant eternity in his kingdom. Fortunately for us irrelevant will never be a word that the God of the universe uses to describe us.l

Jesus and the Elves

2009-12-13T13:54:00.002-06:00

And Joseph went up from Galilee to Bethlehem with Mary, his espoused wife, who was great with child. And she brought forth a son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. And the angel of the Lord spoke to the shepherds and said, "I bring you tidings of great joy. Unto you is born a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

"There's a problem with the angel," said a Pharisee who happened to be strolling by. As he explained to Joseph, angels are widely regarded as religious symbols, and the stable was on public property where such symbols were not allowed to land or even hover.

"And I have to tell you, this whole thing looks to me very much like a Nativity scene," he said sadly. "That's a no-no, too." Joseph had a bright idea. "What if I put a couple of reindeer over there near the ox and ass?" he said, eager to avoid sectarian strife.

"That would definitely help," said the Pharisee, who knew as well as anyone that whenever a saviour appeared, judges usually liked to be on the safe side and surround it with deer or woodland creatures of some sort. "Just to clinch it, throw in a candy cane and a couple of elves and snowmen, too," he said. "No court can resist that."

Mary asked, "What does my son's birth have to do with snowmen?"

"Snowpersons," cried a young woman, changing the subject before it veered dangerously toward religion. Off to the side of the crowd, a Philistine was painting the Nativity scene. Mary complained that she and Joseph looked too tattered and worn in the picture. "Artistic license," he said. "I've got to show the plight of the haggard homeless in a greedy, uncaring society in winter," he quipped.

"We're not haggard or homeless. The inn was just full," said Mary.

"Whatever," said the painter.

Two women began to argue fiercely. One said she objected to Jesus' birth "because it privileged motherhood." The other scoffed at virgin births, but said that if they encouraged more attention to diversity in family forms and the rights of single mothers, well, then, she was all for them.

"I'm not a single mother," Mary started to say, but she was cut off by a third woman who insisted that swaddling clothes are a form of child abuse, since they restrict the natural movement of babies.

With the arrival of 10 child advocates, all trained to spot infant abuse and manger rash, Mary and Joseph were pushed to the edge of the crowd, where arguments were breaking out over how many reindeer (or what mix of reindeer and seasonal sprites) had to be installed to compensate for the infant's unfortunate religious character.

An older man bustled up, bowling over two merchants, who had been busy debating whether an elf is the same as a fairy and whether the elf/fairy should be shaking hands with Jesus in the crib or merely standing to the side, jumping around like a sports mascot.

"I'd hold off on the reindeer," the man said, explaining that the use of asses and oxen as picturesque backdrops for Nativity scenes carries the subliminal message of human dominance. He passed out two leaflets, one denouncing manger births as invasions of animal space, the other arguing that stables are "penned environments" where animals are incarcerated against their will. He had no opinion about elves or candy canes.

Signs declaring "Free the Bethlehem 2" began to appear, referring to the obviously exploited ass and ox. Someone said the halo on Jesus' head was elitist. Mary was exasperated. "And what about you, old mother?" she said sharply to an elderly woman. "Are you here to attack the shepherds as prison guards for excluded species, maybe to complain that singing in Latin identifies us with our Roman oppressors, or just to say that I should have skipped patriarchal religiosity and joined some dumb new-age goddess religion?"

"None of the above," said the woman, "I just wanted to tell you that the Magi are here." Sure enough, the three wise men rode up. The crowd gasped, " They're all male!" And "Not very multi cultural!" "Balthasar here is black," said one of the Magi. "Yes, but how many of you are gay or disabled?" someone shouted. A committee was quickly formed to find an impoverished lesbian wise-person among the halt and lame of Bethlehem.

A calm voice said, "Be of good cheer, Mary, you have done well and your son will change the world." At last, a sane person, Mary thought. She turned to see a radiant and confident female face. The woman spoke again: "There is one thing, though. Religious holidays are important, but can't we learn to celebrate them in ways that unite, not divide? For instance, instead of all this business about 'Gloria in excelsis Deo,' why not just 'Season's Greetings'?"

Mary said, "You mean my son has entered human history to deliver the message, 'Hello, it's winter'?" "That's harsh, Mary," said the woman. "Remember, your son could make it big in midwinter festivals, if he doesn't push the religion thing too far. Centuries from now, in nations yet unborn, people will give each other pricey gifts and have big office parties on his birthday. That's not chopped liver."

"Let me get back to you," Mary said.

The Byrnes Days of Christmas

2009-12-12T22:29:00.004-06:00

Dennis Tom was asked to be in charge of 'entertainment' at the Legacy ladies Christmas party. Apparently there is an assumption that since Shanna sings with a group from church and sings in a band that there is automatically a longing to perform running throughout our family. That must be what Dennis thought since he sent me an email asking if our family would like to be on the line up.

There isn't. At least not with me. I put off Dennis for a while and justified it by telling myself that I had been busy and hadn't had the opportunity to ask Shanna. Truth is I knew she'd be all over it and I was less than thrilled. Perhaps if I waited long enough he'd tell me that he already had it covered. I waited (naturally Shanna thought it would be neat) and Dennis still had room on the roster. So much for my plan.

But when it was all over I had to admit it was fun and I think it turned out pretty well. It is posted on Facebook but here's another showing just in case you weren't able to catch it there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1g2j1TcQcM

Seems like it was a hit. We've gotten some requests for additional performances.

Not Lazy

2009-09-17T22:44:00.004-05:00

Ok, May 25th was the last post. I realize that's ridiculous. Here's a quick summary of what's happened since:
Trip to Horseshoe Bay with the Crawfords
Mission trip with Dillon to San Antonio
4th of July in Arkansas with Art, Nanny and the Garrisons
Camp with Dillon AND Dawson (his first year!)
15th Anniversary (why has she stayed with me for 15 years?)

There's a lot more - I mean it was summer. We used to long for summer to start because we were under some spell that made us think summer was easier than the school year. This summer definitely let us know that is not the case. Shan and I were longing for school to start so we could get our lives back to some degree of normal. (This is where you say 'You've got 4 kids - how do you know what normal is?) But really, it seemed like there was hardly a moment to take a breath during the summer. Now perhaps we all understand why the last post was made during the last week of school.

But to be completely honest, I think Shanna was looking forward to school starting. (After the summer we had I know I was). But that meant she was that much closer to her cruise. It also meant she was that much closer to a pretty significant birthday but in the end I think she was more excited about the cruise than she was depressed about the birthday.

That's right - for this 'milestone' birthday she went on a cruise. It was her first cruise and she was fortunate enough to be able to share that experience with three of her dear friends - Cindy, Kristi and Su.

I've seen the pictures and heard the stories. There's no doubt in my mind they had a great time and it was well deserved.

In the meantime I was perfecting my 'ponytail' technique. It's the only hairstyle I know how to do for Delanie and it got a workout while Shanna was gone. Looking back, we had three days to get ready for school without mom and I think we did pretty good. As far as I know all the homework was done, everyone was in acceptable clothing, and no meals were missed. Get this - I even ran a full load of laundry and dishes every night. Not too bad for a clueless dad.

Like I said, this is only a glimpse of what has happened in the past, almost four, months. But I did want to get something on here. To the best of my knowledge, the one and only Aunt Pat may check this from time to time and she certainly deserves some new material. But there is a chance that we may have a new reader. The 'great' uncle Odell is now surfing the web - email and all. That's the same Odell who is mentioned at length in one of the first posts on this blog. Scroll back and check it out if you get a chance. To say he's one of a kind would be an understatement. Odell, I hope you find this post and the one about you riding out the hurricane. It's somewhat amusing now because you've promised us you'll never do it again.

Like I said, Facebook has become more of our venue for connecting. Check it out if you get a chance: http://www.facebook.com/. You'll have to register and request friends and all that garbage but it is pretty neat.

But I do have a tremendous sense of guilt for neglecting this for so long. I'll try to do better but make no promises.

Love to all from Texas and welcome Odell to the world wide web.

Dakota the fish

2009-05-25T12:46:00.008-05:00

This is pretty cool. Dakota took what was basically 4 days of swim lessons last week (Friday was 'performance' day). So in 4 days he went from a 'water wing' swimmer to what you'll see here:

And here:

Update

2009-04-17T12:43:00.002-05:00

Tax season is over.

A very good CPA friend of mine asked if I'd be interested in helping them out during their crunch time. I agreed. You ask why and I don't have a very good answer other than that he's a friend, 4 kids keep cash in short supply and I have some sort of sickness that actually makes me enjoy doing tax returns.

See I was going to be a CPA. I actually worked for this friend and his father for a few years. The thing I couldn't stand was tax season. 80 hour weeks for two and a half months just wasn't my thing. This experience was a good reminder that made me thankful for my current occupation. Although the markets of 2008 did make me long for an endless supply of 1040s. Thankfully that appears to be over.

Dillon is doing fine. Some of you know of the spill he took while skiing over spring break. (Break being the key word). The doctor says his growth plate may be fractured but it shouldn't be a concern. The hard cast was off within two weeks and now he just wears a brace on his wrist. Funny, he never missed a lick on Xbox - even with the hard cast. Fortunately no scientists have tried to make any connection between this and evolution.

We had a great Easter. Family get together in Waxahachie complete with Easter egg hunt. Followed on Sunday by a great morning at church and indoor egg hunt at Vic and Kathryn's. A little rain wasn't going to keep our kids from yet another supply of sugar.

Everyone else is doing great. Our little Oreo has managed to grow to six pounds. I have to admit that even though he's only the size of a stuffed animal he's pretty cool.

Now I'm back to one job and dinners at home and American Idol live instead of off the DVR. Ok, ok, I'm a fan.

Economic Stimulus Package

2009-03-09T11:13:00.003-05:00

I'm now referring at least one portion of Obama's massive plan as the Economic Stimulus Paradox. I'm sure as more details emerge I'll be able to place additional items under this heading.

Obviously no one thinks that economic salvation will come without a cost. The government is not sitting on almost a trillion dollars just wondering what to do with it. Someone has to pay for this. The terms 'children' and 'grandchildren' come up often as the likely ones to pick up the tab.

The stimulus package calls for those who are involuntarily laid off to receive help to pay for their health insurance premiums. Ok, sounds good. Let's make sure that the millions who have been laid off during this mess don't lose their health coverage and further compound their financial problems.

If you worked for a large employer and lost your job due to downsizing, restructuring, etc. then you are able to continue your health coverage through a provision known as COBRA. The coverage remains the same and you now pay the premium yourself without any subsidy from your company. It allows you to remain insured while you look for another job. Once a new position is found you drop the COBRA coverage and enroll with your new company's plan.

For smaller companies, at least in Texas, you're not subject to the COBRA rules but you do have to offer a similar option according to state continuation rules.

Without getting too bogged down in the details here's it all in a nutshell - lose your job but keep your insurance. Again, I'm all for it.

Until the stimulus package came along. It calls for the terminated employee to only be liable for 35% of the premium. In soundbite form this sounds great and I'm sure contributed to someone's job approval ratings. But you discover the paradox in the details.

Case in point. We have a client who owns a small business (less than 25 employees). They offer a health plan and pay 50% of the employee's premium. As with many small businesses they have seen things slow significantly. As a cost cutting measure they let some employees go. One of them was enrolled in the health plan and desires to continue coverage according to the state continuation rules.

Two months ago this was easy. Employee leaves, employee signs paperwork indicating the desire to continue coverage, employee sends the full premium payment to the employer each month.

Now thanks to the government's plan to save the economy it gets complicated and confusing. Employee leaves, employee signs paperwork indicating the desire to continue coverage, employee only has to send in 35% of the monthly premium.

That leaves 65% to be paid. So who pays it?

Well this is where it gets complicated and confusing. The employer has to pay the additional 65% initially. Remember that these companies are usually in cost-cutting mode. We've just offset the amount saved in salary by the amount being paid in premiums. But for argument's sake let's assume this amount is not material.

They actually will get this money back - it will just take a couple of months. Whatever they pay out in health insurance 'subsidies' can be counted as a credit against their payroll tax filings.

That's the paradox.

We've just paid for health insurance premiums using social security and medicare taxes.

So apparantly the solution is to use programs that are already grossly underfunded to help pay for the stimulus. Yes, kids and grandkids need to watch out.

And remember in this case, while working the employee was paying 50% of their premiums. Now they only pay 35%.

It would actually be funny if it wasn't SO absurd.

Economic stimulus? Hopefully somewhere but not in this case. In this instance the phrase "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" comes to mind.

Back in the saddle

2009-03-09T10:57:00.002-05:00

I've used the catastrophes from January as an excuse for far too long now. So thanks to a nudge from Allan yesterday during lunch I'm going to get back in the habit of posting something here on more of a regular basis.

First, things are back to normal at the Byrnes house (insert your own comment about our version of normal here). Everyone is back in their designated sleeping area. New carpet and floor has been installed. And thanks to our very good friend Gary Roberts we also managed to get a very nice makeover of our master bathroom. Thanks Gary - we couldn't have done it without you.

We've also added a new addition. Shanna brought home a Bichon/Poodle mix the day before Valentine's as a gift for the kids. He's mostly white with black ears and some black markings on his head. Dakota immediately commented that he looked like an Oreo and it stuck. Oreo.

Ironically he weighs about the same as a package of Oreos. Typically about twice a day we have to go looking under beds and the back of closets to find him. Quite an adjustment for someone who grew up never having a dog that you had to bend over to pet.

Due to all of the unfortunate events of January we have officially decided to cut the entire month from the 2009 calendar. We have deemed February 1 as New Year's Day. So I guess I'm still 36. Now that's a silver lining.

Day 2 continued

2009-01-12T12:35:00.002-06:00

We got home from the vet and everyone was in a zombie-like state. I can't remember what dinner was but it was nutrionally lacking I'm sure. Cereal or something.

Delanie didn't want anything. Her stomach was hurting. I chalked it up to the emotional trauma she had just experienced. We just sat on the couch mindlessly watching SpongeBob. At least there was something normal going on.

Dawson was very upset. He was on our bed face down as Shanna made a few calls to share the news. He definitely took it the hardest. He finally sacked out on his temporary bed (the futon) clinging to Casey's collar.

Delanie managed to pick at some cereal and then we made her bed on the couch. Soon after she was throwing up. I wish it had been nerves but it wasn't. She had the stomach bug. We got her back on the couch with the trashcan beside her. Once she was settled I got into bed and knew nothing else. Fortunately Shanna was there because Delanie ended being up most of the night. Not much sleep for the girls.

With Delanie's first episode Shanna and I looked at each other and no words were necessary. It was perfect non verbal communication.

"What else....?"

Day 2 - 2009 continues its downward spiral

2009-01-12T11:25:00.003-06:00

Monday morning we wake to the hum of fans and dehumidifiers running in the back of the house. Delanie is sleeping on the couch, Dillon and Dawson are on the futon in the gameroom and as usual, Dakota is in the middle of Shanna and me. He started the night on the other couch. It doesn't matter where he starts. He'll wake up sometime during the night and make his way to our room. Hey, at least he makes it there on his own.

I was unable to coax our dog Casey into the house Sunday night with grilled chicken. That was unusual. But there a lot of commotion in the house and she really isn't all there anymore. Almost 15 in dog years can take it toll. Can't see much, can't hear much, can't really do much. I assumed the serene setting of the backyard was preferable to the chaos that had been inside. So I picked her up - all 85 pounds, and hauled her in.

For the most part, Monday went as expected. I stayed around the house for a couple hours and continued rearranging toys, furniture and the like. I made it out to the office around 11 and had a pretty normal afternoon.

At a few minutes after 5 the phone rang. It was Shanna and there was something wrong with Casey. She had fallen a couple of times. I could tell from Shanna's voice that this was different than the falls she would take while trying to navigate the wood floors. Something was very wrong.

The vet is near my office - almost 45 minutes from the house. Our dear friend from church, Cynthia, works there and has always been a tremendous help with Casey so I've never minded the distance. Shanna called and they said they would wait for us to get there.

I met Shanna and the three older kids at the vet's office. Fortunately mom had Dakota. He wouldn't have understood what was going on and why everyone was crying. We took Casey in and spoke at length with Cynthia and the vet. As always, they were wonderful. They were willing to do whatever we wanted. After lots of discussion and lots of tears it was finally decided that her quality of life was not going to improve and we should put her down. Shanna and the kids said their goodbyes and left. I stayed behind for a few minutes to handle the details.

It's hard to believe she lived as long as she did. Keep in mind she made it through four kids. They all pulled her tail and ears and tried to ride her like a horse. They all came running through the house laughing and screaming and interrupted her nap. She took it all in stride. Not one time did she ever snap or growl or show the slightest discontent.

She was a great dog and a great companion to us all and she will be missed.

How many days until 2010?

2009-01-09T21:52:00.004-06:00

I've been off the blog for a while - I know. It seems like I've been chasing my tail for the past few months. The time off during the holidays was greatly anticipated and appreciated. It was good to spend time with family and unwind for a few days.

I even took the day AFTER New Year's which was hard. Three and a half days off Christmas week and the office was calling. But I fought off the urge to just 'drop in for a couple of hours' and stayed home January 2 as well. It was a true Four Day Weekend and quite honestly there was very little accomplished which was also refreshing.

Then Sunday night came. Dakota was sick Sunday so Shanna and I swapped going to church. She stayed home Sunday morning and I stayed home Sunday night. He and I were catching some quality 'Sponge Bob' time on the couch. I figured I'd throw some laundry in so I could say I did something during my four days off. Later on I headed back to throw the clothes in the dryer and hmm, that's strange, the washer is still running. It shouldn't be running. And there shouldn't be water standing in the hallway....and Dillon's room...and Dawson & Dakota's closet.

That's right, something deep inside the machine gave way and water was pouring out from the bottom. Panic set in, call mom, call Shanna, tell them to get here ASAP.

Our good friend, Tony Burnett, was over in minutes with his shop vac and we moved furniture, sucked up water and threw stuff out the window. Then the pros finally arrived about 10:30 to put on the finishing touches and set out their fans and dryers. By that time I had been at the laundromat for over an hour re-washing the clean clothes that had been in Dillon's floor as well as everything else that could no longer be washed in the broken machine. 7 commercial loads of clothes, towels and the comforters that were inconveniently stored under Dillon's bed. 3 and a half hours in the laundromat and $30 bucks worth of quarters.

That was Day 1 of the countdown to 2010.

Perspective

2008-10-08T09:56:00.004-05:00

I ran across this in the Wall Street Journal today and thought you'd enjoy it. It gives a good perspective not only on what we're going through but what we still have despite the chaos in the markets.

As Dire as the Times May Seem, History Isn't About to Repeat Itself

A long streak of speculative lending got out of hand as banks and even staid industrial companies made a stream of risky loans. Consumer spending on cars and clothes was slipping, but no one was paying attention. The stock market grew shaky in September, and then in October, the bottom fell out.

(Depositors crowd outside a failed New York bank in 1931.)

Suddenly, everyone seemed to want to sell. But there were few buyers, and over six bleak trading days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost a third of its value. It was a panic, said a senior New York Stock Exchange official, "where all at once, the inconceivable terrors of the unknown and the unfamiliar are thrust upon the public mind; confidence is paralyzed, and until it is restored, chaos reigns."

The year, of course, was 1929, though it sounds just enough like today to make us wonder if we should stock up the pantry, take the cash out of the bank and hunker down for a 21st-century Great Depression. No doubt, the parallels are stark and frightening. But the differences between now and then are even greater.

Let's start with lending. In the late 1920s, as the stock market took off, banks expanded their loans for those most unpredictable of assets: stocks. Investors could easily borrow up to 75% of the value of a stock purchase. By 1929, almost $4 of every $10 in bank loans went to buy shares. In addition, Chrysler, General Motors and Standard Oil of New Jersey all made tens of millions of dollars available for stock loans. In one of the most egregious examples, an energy company called Cities Service sold stock and then used the cash to make loans for people to buy more shares.

When the market started to fall, however, brokers had to call clients for more cash to secure their loans -- a so-called margin call. Because they had seen short downturns before, customers weren't eager to bail out. The entertainer Groucho Marx borrowed from the bank, against his life-insurance policy and against his house to come up with cash to meet his margin calls. But it wasn't enough. During that dark week in October, his broker sold all his stocks, wiping out his life savings of $240,000 and leaving him deeply in debt.

"I would have lost more," he said later, "but that was all the money I had."

When those stock assets evaporated, an already weak banking system was crushed. In the first half of 1929, well before the crash, more than 300 banks had closed. More than 1,000 banks closed in 1930. Without a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., depositors lost everything.
Initially, the Federal Reserve did nothing. To try to keep speculative borrowing on stocks from continuing, it declined to reduce interest rates, choking off credit. Unemployment climbed toward 25% at a time when there was no unemployment compensation. In the Prohibition era, those without jobs couldn't even legally drown their sorrows in beer.

Most striking was the long reluctance to acknowledge a serious problem. During the crash, President Herbert Hoover insisted that "the fundamental business of the country ... is on a sound and prosperous basis." With far fewer players in the stock market than today and with greater volatility, few saw the crash's potential long-term impact. In fact, the New York Times declared Cmdr. Richard Byrd's first flight over the South Pole as the biggest news story of 1929.
The years after the crash told a different story. By the middle of 1932, the Dow had dropped 90% from its peak in September 1929. By the end of 1933, an estimated 44% of all first mortgages were in default. Only in the depths of that crisis did the government truly step up to address the many underlying problems.

Today, our mortgage mess looks like a disaster, too, but at least banks made loans against houses, assets that should continue to have at least some value. In the second quarter of this year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 6.4% of mortgages were at least one payment behind and 2.75% were in foreclosure -- modern-day records, to be sure, but not depression levels. The long-term impact remains to be seen, but the acknowledgment and quick action by the Federal Reserve and Congress truly set this crisis apart from 1929.

Admittedly, that doesn't erase the ache of watching our life savings shrink or ease the fear of what might be ahead. Clearly there are repercussions yet to come. But here are a few suggestions for coping.

Remember that we've been through tough times before. The Internet bust was almost as extraordinary as the 1929 crash: Between early 2000 and late 2002, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell almost 80%. You may recall the speculative real-estate lending that resulted in almost 2,000 bank failures between 1987 and 1991, and the Dow plunging 22.6% in one day in 1987. While none of those were pleasant, you're still here.

Stay the course. You know this, but it's a time to return to the basics. Live within your means. Reduce your debt. Keep saving -- and investing. When the cycle turns, and it will, you'll be glad you did.

Put your losses in perspective. This isn't easy. I know: I'm feeling genuine pain after losing my entire investment in Washington Mutual and watching a mutual fund I bought in March for one of my retirement accounts drop by 36% -- and that's before this week. I absolutely cannot bear to tally up all my losses.

This is my reality check: For more than a decade, I have gone to my local elementary school to tutor. There I spend time reading with children who own no books of their own, whose families can't afford school supplies and who have never been to a dentist. For the price of 45 minutes a week, I return to my desk feeling as wealthy as any one person needs to be.

Write to Karen Blumenthal at karen.blumenthal@dowjones.com

"Greed is good."

2008-09-18T11:41:00.003-05:00

That was one of the infamous quotes given by corporate raider Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas) to his protege Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) in Oliver Stone's film "Wall Street."

Bud is enthralled by the success and wealth of Gecko. He's willing to do anything to achieve something that resembles the life of Gecko. By the end of the movie he's lost it all and almost destroyed the company his father has worked a lifetime for. He ends up taking Gecko down with him and we find out that greed is really not so good after all.

From a Christian perspective we already knew this. There is more to this life than the pursuit of the dollar. Unfortunately the is not the perspective of everyone and it's been all too obvious the past year and especially the last few months.

The markets are in turmoil and we're learning that (surprise!) there can be too much of a good thing. In a nutshell we're seeing that greed driven companies have not only put themselves in jeopardy, but their employees, their customers and stockholders and the markets in general.

Think of the names that have been so prevalent in the news lately:

Shearson Lehman - bankrupt

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac - under government control

Merrill Lynch - sold last minute to Bank of America to avoid bankruptcy

Bear Stearns - bankrupt

AIG - narrowly avoided bankruptcy with government intervention

It's much too complicated to go into detail as to how all of this took place. But sadly it does go back to a time of easy loans. Lots and lots of easy loans to people who eventually would not have the means to pay back. Pair that with insurance contracts being sold to cover those easy loans. Lots and lots of insurance contracts (CDS's or credit default swaps if you've heard the term recently). The loans went bad - lots and lots of loans went bad leaving mortgage institutions swinging in the wind. When the loans went bad the insurance contracts kicked in (or were supposed to kick in) leaving lots and lots of insurance institutions like AIG swinging in the wind. This is a very simplistic summary but it all boils down to the euphoria of fast, easy money and the notion that the good times will never end.

Companies were bleeding cash as the result of these bad deals. In addition the collateral against the loans was losing value at breakneck speed as more and more properties, residential and commercial, hit the market in fire sales and foreclosures. Think supply and demand. As more properties hit the market there was ample supply but banks and lending institutions were in such turmoil that lending rules became extremely tight - ample supply and very low demand. The result was (is) rapidly decreasing property values. As asset values fell and had to be 'written down' on balance sheets credit rating agencies become wary of the fact that these companies may not be able to meet their debt obligations. They downgrade the company's credit rating thus making them responsible for additional collateral payments to creditors. More and more cash ran out the door until there was none left. Crisis - to put it mildly.

It's a mess. However, this too shall pass. If we're not at the bottom yet I believe we're close. Steps are being taken to ensure liquidity in the markets. Honestly, I have been very impressed with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and his team's response to all this. His plan to keep AIG afloat was not actually a 'bailout.' In the end the taxpayers could come out of that deal with a nice profit.

Read more about the plan here: Will AIG plan cost taxpayers money, or just sleep?

All in all, let's disregard Gordon Gecko's advice about greed and stick with a more reliable source:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. - Collossians 3:1-3

By the way, the '4th Degree Byrnes' fantasy football team is currently 2-0. I'm carrying Payton and Eli Manning on the roster. Any suggestions for QB this week?

It's Here!

2008-08-29T13:34:00.003-05:00

Our fantasy football draft is tonight. Finally there is some real NFL news coming through regularly. Don't get me wrong, the Brett Favre "I'm retired, no wait, I'm not retired" saga was fascinating...

Ok, to me it really wasn't. But at least it gave us a small taste of pigskin action during the baseball only time of the year.

But that's over now - Brett's a Jet and no, I don't plan on drafting him.

This is only my third year to participate in fantasy football. The past two years I've co-managed a team with my friend Tate Tefertiller. It was a good run. We won it outright in year 1 and split the pot with most points last year. So far, in two years I've invested $20 and won $300. We needed an extra team to fill the league this year so Tate and I parted ways. I figure why not, I'm playing with house, or actually my friend's money, for the next 10 years at least.

I'm definitely a Cowboy fan but I really enjoy the game itself. The nice thing about a fantasy team is that you've got guys in lots of games on any given Sunday. Now the enjoyment of watching other games is increased since you've actually got a vested interest in many of them as well.

So we'll see how it goes. I'm also turning a college football Top 20 poll each week to be posted on Allan's site. Go to www.allanstanglin.com and hit the link for KK&C Top 20. If anyone (other than those participating) has input about the weekly top 20 for consideration just post a comment here. I'm definitely not a huge follower of college ball so any tips would be appreciated.

School is in full swing and the kids are doing great. Except for the fact that Dillon picked up a stomach bug and has been home the past two days. What a schedule - all summer off, go to school for three days, stay home sick for two and then get a three day weekend.

I'm hunting with the boys Monday. Pictures to follow next week.

Everyone have a great Labor Day:

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".
Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

So if the original intent was to create "a day off for the working citizens" why don't we call it Non-Labor Day?

Just curious. Enjoy it anyway.

Welcome Hadleigh!

2008-08-22T15:38:00.004-05:00

Today, at the ripe old age of 36, I became a great-uncle. Now to clarify. I already considered myself to be quite an uncle. You could certainly say great. But today I became a great-uncle in the technical, genealogical, family tree kind of way. At about 8am this morning Hadleigh Ann Agnew came into this world. all 7 pounds 8 ounces of her, the daughter of my oldest niece.

We rolled into Oklahoma City (to our traditional OKC accomodations - Ron and Su's) about 12:30am. Got everyone settled in their designated sleeping areas and got the Suburban unloaded. Corlie was going in for her c-section at 7. Laid down on the newly purchased Coleman air-bed around 1:15 and set the alarm for 5:30. Keep in mind that it is the thought that counts.

The next thing I can clearly remember is Shanna waking me in a panic and saying it was 7. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind it seems I may possibly recall an alarm going off. The memory is faint and I cannot say for sure the event even occurred. At least that's what I told her since the job of waking us up was clearly on my shoulders. Fortunately she was much too focused on getting ready in the least amount of time to actually come down on me the way she probably should have.

And as is always the case, God was looking out for me. The procedure was delayed by an hour. We arrived at the hospital, had time for hugs and greetings with the rest of the family and then heard the announcement from the nurse that Corlie and Hadleigh would be out in about 5 minutes.

And they were. And we were there to greet them with everybody else.

August 22, 2008 - Hadleigh Ann Agnew is born and my new title makes me feel old.

But as many of you know August 22 was significant to our family for another reason. August 22, 2000 was the day that dad left this earth and claimed his much deserved place in heaven. Every year since, on this day, I've talked to mom. I've spoken with dad's sister, Aunt Pat. Every year since, on this day, Bill Podsednik, one of dad's best friends, calls mom. It's just tradition. Some sort of unwritten rule that we're going to check in on each other on this day.

We will always remember August 22 in this way. Today it's nice to have something else to remember. Naturally with all these thoughts I couldn't help but think of the following:

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Hawaiian Falls

2008-08-19T13:19:00.004-05:00

The band had the opportunity to play at Hawaiian Falls water park several times this summer. Naturally the band gets in for free but the sweetest part of the deal was that me and the kids got in free for every show as well. I must admit it's much easier keeping them happy for two hours at this venue than at a restaurant. Here's some shots of the band performing. It was a very nice setup. Instead of pulling up a chair or stool for the performance you could just grab a tube and have a leisurely float. I estimated a crowd of about 400 one day. We're looking forward to next summer.

I'm not sure who Shanna kept tipping her hat to. I'm pretty sure it was not her husband who was working tirelessly making sure no one was drowning.

Had to get at least one picture of Kevin - the oft forgotten drummer.

More Wedding Pics

2008-08-19T13:04:00.006-05:00

No commentary with this post. Just getting some more pictures on from Halie's wedding.

Matthew 3:17

2008-08-18T21:47:00.006-05:00

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

This is what Shanna and I were saying Sunday morning. Of course we say that often when speaking of our children (we do put 'daughter' in there when appropriate). But Sunday was different. Sunday was the culmination of the prayers of a mother and father, the discussions with their oldest child, and a three day class at Legacy titled 'Faith Builders.' (Again, a very special thank you goes out to Allan, Lance and Kipi).

Sunday was big news. A new assembly with the Legacy family meeting together in one service. A new worship center. And in that new worship center a new baptistry. And boy did it get a workout Sunday. There were seven baptisms Sunday - seven. Allan's summary still gives me goose bumps:

"God was saving souls and robbing hell." Indeed He was.

For us, the news was especially big as Dillon decided he was ready to devote his life to the Lord and put on Christ in baptism. I was given the honor of baptizing him. I've told God that I'm not sure how many times he will allow me to personally participate in such a joyous occasion. I've told him that I really don't care what that actual number is - as long as it's at least four. Today that number is down to three. More would certainly be welcomed but three is now the target. We will continue to pray for those three as we did for this one:

I had rehearsed for three days:

1. Talk about wanting to do this four times.

2. Talk about our discussions with Dillon and the Faith Builders Class and how he came to this decision.

3. Make the comparison to the Brandon Heath song "I am not who I was."

4. Take his confession and get it done.

But as we entered the water - I froze. And so did Dillon.

Literally.

You may have read in the previous post that members of Legacy were reading through the entire bible in the days that led up to our first assembly in the new building. Apparently the hot water pump was making too much noise and it was being picked up on the audio recording. Sometime Friday or Saturday the heater was turned off and in all the activity turning it back on got overlooked.

I had decided to skip the waders and just put on some shorts and get wet along with Dillon. As our feet hit the water the 'cold reality' set in. I looked out at the audience - many of whom were crowded around us within reach (a nice new capability):

I made it through the part about how we had discussed this with Dillon and how the impact of the Faith Builders class had helped bring him to this point. Then I looked down at Dillon and there were literally ripples running away from him as the shivered in the water. I'm not sure if he was trying to smile or keep his teeth from shattering - or both. I went into overdrive for fear that hypothermia may be setting in. I quickly spoke about the song "I'm not who I was" and said that when he came up out of that watery grave he would be a new person - different from who he was. I covered his mouth and basically said "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" as I laid him back under the water.

He confessed to us at home for those of you keeping score.

He came up a new child of God and had the entire Legacy family read Colossians 3:1-4 to him:

Did it go as I planned? No. But as always it went exactly as God intended. It didn't matter where we were or what was said. It didn't matter that the water could have been used to chill the Dr. Peppers for the waiting chicken dinner. The only thing that mattered was that one, actually seven, more souls were added to the kingdom of heaven Sunday.

I told you it was big news.

Crazy Summer 2 (plus BIG NEWS)

2008-08-15T07:22:00.004-05:00

The last six weeks have basically been the first paragraph from the last post all over again. Crazy summer - or at least what's left of it now. This will be a current post with updates of everything from the summer as I can get to them. I'm shooting to have summer 08 complete before summer 09. I know I made promises - sue me.

Legacy's new worship center is complete. The finishing touch was added yesterday and it was a big one.:

A 40 foot cross was put in place yesterday on the front wall of the building. It faces Mid-Cities Boulevard for literally thousands of people to see everyday. I hope it will serve not as an object of worship to them but as an object of why we worship. The cross represents the most important sacrifice that anyone could, or ever will make for us.

Many from the church met at the building yesterday morning at 6:45 for a brief devotional as we watched the cross being lifted into place. Seeing it hoisted up by a crane I asked Allan if he thought this was an historical recreation of the scene at Golgotha. Then a very uneasy feeling came over me. As I watched it being lifted up I couldn't help but feel as if I were there on that hill. The building was gone. The crane was gone. The huge cables and ropes fixed to the cross were gone. There was only the cross. For a moment I was not part of the crowd in a parking lot but I was part of a crowd watching helplessly as the son of God was lifted into place along with that cross.

I know there are some who object to the display of crosses in fear that they become the focus of our attention. I respect that and admit we must always guard ourselves against putting any idol or symbol between us and God. But yesterday, I wish everyone could have experienced what I did. It was a powerful reaffirmation that the cross is real, the man is real and the sacrifice is real.

Immediately after the service Legacy started reading the bible. Ok let me clarify - it's not like we've never read it before. But yesterday at 7am we started reading the bible - straight through, 24 hours a day. I had the 4:30am shift this morning. For fifteen minutes I read about Solomon in 1 Kings 2-4. Once my shift was up the next reader slid into place and picked up where I left off. No pauses, no introductions. Sunday morning as we meet together the entire congregation will finish the reading. The last few verses of Revelation, as a body, together in unison.

It will be a big day. One service, a new building and Babe's fried chicken for lunch. But that's not the BIG NEWS. It WILL be here Monday. I promise.

Stay tuned.....

Crazy Summer

2008-07-03T12:01:00.004-05:00

I'm long overdue for lots of additions to the blog - I know, I know. So much has been happening over the past month that everything seems like a blur.

We're going through some major changes here at the office. We're making a move to a new broker/dealer and it's a tremendous task. New paperwork has to be obtained from every single client. So for the first two weeks of June I was chained to my desk, combing through every client's file creating databases, spreadsheets and letters to be sent out. On Wednesday, June 18th I got to the office at 6am. Worked until 6pm. Straight to church to lead the youth group devotional and then had a summer camp meeting afterward. Left the meeting and got back to the office at 10:30pm. Worked until 4:30am. Got in bed at 5:30am and was back at the office at 9. That was not a typical day but it wasn't far from it.

Shanna and the band played at Hawaiian Falls waterpark June 8th and 15th. Dillon, a new member of the Legacy youth group went on 3 backyard mission trips. We went to Angel Fire, New Mexico with Shanna's family the last week of the month. See what I mean? Lots going on.

Oh yeah, and we had VBS - Moses:Bound for Holy Ground. I managed to make it to four practices during June which added to the frustration of the director, Kipi Ward. I had some small cameo appearances in the musical and even a one line solo to the tune of Barry Manilow's Copa Cabana. Not bad considering we came back into town the night it started.

Find out more about all four night of VBS at Allan's website : www.allanstanglin.com

Shanna and the kids leave for Oklahoma City Saturday. Dillon's going to camp at Oklahoma Christian. She's going to drop him there and then stay a few days with our good friends Ron and Su Crawford. I'll be playing the bachelor for a few days. We've got new internet at the house and a tuned up computer. I promise to catch up on pictures from:

Halie's wedding

Shanna and the band at Hawaiian Falls

Our trip to New Mexico

And whatever else has accumulated on the camera.

Stay tuned.....

And the winner is....

2008-06-18T12:18:00.005-05:00

I received the following picture today and would like to go ahead and submit it as the official photograph of the 2008 parents of the year.

The photo came in an email with the subject 'The moment before the pain begins.' I think this certainly qualifies. At first glance you can't help but notice the guy getting smacked in the face by the bat (at a Rangers game no less - no comments about Rangers batting - at least they're .500 so far).

But look a little closer. I especially like the lady in the tanktop who continues shoving in nachos as if she knew the guy's face would take the hit. Everyone else is taking cover like they're in the middle of a hail storm. Except for the little girl in the middle. Yeah, that's her - the one who is basically being shoved toward the bat like a miniature human shield. I'm assuming that's dad and guessing mom's already under the seats. Congratulations to our winners.

I'd like to think that I would have reacted differently. You know, throw myself in harm's way to protect my children. But therein lies the problem. There's four of them. Do I grab the closest? The smallest? The girl? There is no good solution. No doubt any of these scenarios would only make way for future counseling sessions over the way 'dad liked you better' or 'always made things easier for you.'

So it's every man for himself. Kudos to this guy for figuring this out in advance and letting everyone take their chances.

We leave for New Mexico tomorrow and I'm ready. I leave here a pile of work and take with me lines and songs to memorize for the VBS musical and two bible lessons to write for summer camp. That's a vacation.

Seriously it will be great to get away for a little while. Even though I've been tied to the office and not seen the gym in three weeks I'm still planning a trip up Wheeler Peak. My partners from last year - Tate, Aaron and Kevin will have just returned from a Vegas getaway. Slackers. I'll text them from the top.

Be back on at the end of the month - unless our mountain accomodations have wi-fi. Don't count on it.

Dillon's a Mess

2008-06-16T10:59:00.006-05:00

Like most parents, we like to joke about our children and refer to them as being a 'mess.' Well last Thursday the joke became reality for Dillon. In one of his first events as an official member of the Legacy youth group he had the pleasure of being turned into a sort of human mixing bowl.

See, Thursday was the annual messy game day. I actually had never heard of the event but it was refererred to as 'annual.' In any case, you can see it was messy and as you can also see - that was fine with Dillon.

Thanks to Allan for the pics. You can click on these for a larger view.

He was turned into a human sundae.

Then had some mustard, ketchup and I really don't know what else added.

Which costs more?

2008-06-12T11:46:00.002-05:00

Next week we leave for Red River, New Mexico. Shanna's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last November and instead of a party they opted for us all to take a trip together. I'm really looking forward to it and I know Shanna and the kids are as well. What I'm not looking forward to is a loaded down Suburban pulling a trailer being filled with $4 a gallon gas. Shanna and the kids do not yet know that we will be foraging the forest for food.

Note: This run up in oil prices really chaps me. Quit feeding me this garbage about it being a 'supply and demand' issue. Should some of this ridiculous price increase be attributed to increased demand and/or decreased supply? Sure. But think about this - the price of a barrel of crude in June 2007 was about $65. Today it's over $133. So logically if it's supply and demand one of two things has happened in the past 12 months. Either we're now using twice as much or there's half as much.

Ok, I realize that conclusion may not be sound from an economic theory standpoint but consider this article posted on CNBC Tuesday:

Bubble, Bubble, Oil Is Trouble …
Posted By:Daryl Guppy
Topics:Commodities Energy Asia
Sectors:Oil and Gas
Is the world running out of oil? Or gold, or rice, or wheat, or almost any other commodity you care to name? Despite some usual shortages that have been offset by a surplus in other areas, there has been no significant change in the fundamentals of supply of most commodities.

Nor has there been a dramatic unexpected increase in demand from China, or India, or elsewhere for products in the commodity markets. The most likely culprit for the persistent and strong growth trend in commodities – speculators.

“Since the price hit $105, everything above $105 is speculation. Something like 50 – 100 billion dollars has poured into the market the last 2 months”, says Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki, CEO of FACTS Global Energy Group.

The disconnect between oil prices and fundamentals is a disturbing bubble...

Alright, enough of my rant. Check out this link for an interesting perspective on the price of oil:

CNBC - Which Costs More?

I found it very amusing until I got to Tabasco. That really hurt - I love Tabasco.

I guess I'm it

2008-06-10T11:25:00.007-05:00

I've been tagged - or at least Allan's blog says I've been tagged. I don't know how this tagging stuff works and I'm not sure Allan does either. I wouldn't have known about the 'tag' if I hadn't read his entry for today. We may need to check with Mrs. Brownstone or Jennifer Green to find out the official tagging rules. Anyway, here it goes...

My life from A to Z:

A. Single or Attached? Attached. Very Attached.

B. Best friend? Shanna Leigh Corley Byrnes

C. Cake or Pie? Ouch. This is a hard one. I guess I'd have to lean toward cake since it pairs so well with ice cream.

D. Day of Choice? Now it's Saturday. Soccer's over so it actually feels like a day off.

E. Essential Item? My Crackberry

F. Flavor of ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears

H. Hometown? Home is North Richland Hills, TX. Born in New Orleans and lived there a year. Always planned on going back to see my first home. Mom says don't bother now.

I. Indulgences? Chips and hot sauce. It really should be it's own food group.

J. January or July? July

K. Kids? Dillon 12, Dawson 8, Delanie 6, Dakota 3

L. Last Movie I Saw in a Theater? Honestly I don't remember. I had to check the movie listings. I think it was Nim's Island with Shanna and the kids.

M. Middle Name? Barnett

N. Number of Siblings? Zero

O. Oranges or Apples? Oranges

P. Phobia or Fear? Allan singing 'One Day More' in the VBS musical

Q. Quote? "I don't want to shoot you and you don't want to be dead." Danny Glover in Silverado. Couldn't help it -it was on last night.

R. Reason to Smile? Too many to list. This sums it up...

S. Season? Summer

T. Tag Four More: Let's just say if you're reading this consider yourself tagged.

U. Unknown Fact About Me? My freshman roommate at OC was featured on Letterman's Stupid Human Tricks.

When we were roomies I don't think his face would have held more than three cans.

V. Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? If by 'oppressor' you mean someone who likes to eat meat then that's me. However, I do enjoy a side of vegetables with my steak.

W. Worst Habit? Time management

X. X-Rays or Ultra-sounds? Ultra-sounds. I never bought any of those glasses - I didn't really think they worked. I know from experience that ultra-sounds work.

Y. Your favorite Food? Mexican. Any. Three meals a day.

Z. Zodiac? Capricorn.

Almost historical

2008-06-09T13:09:00.003-05:00

I have to digress for a moment. I know I still owe the blog more pictures from the wedding. I'm still going through all of them. For now I have to express some sports frustration.

I enjoy sports. I watch it when I can and when I'm interested. Like many I become much more interested during the playoffs, championship series and even during certain streaks.

This year has seen it's share of streaks. I think it's fascinating to watch as a team tries to accomplish something that hasn't been done in thirty years or more. I just knew that this year I would be witness to history. I would be the person thirty years from now saying "I remember that season" or "I remember when that happened."

So let's review...

The Patriots. Tom Brady was quarterback for the fantasy team that Tate Tefertiller and I co-manage. Certainly Tom was a big reason that we were in the money for the second year in a row. But there are plenty of other teams I'd like to see in the Super Bowl - namely the Cowboys. However, by the end of the regular season I was pulling for the Pats to win it all. But I'm not a fan of the Patriots. I'm a fan of the game. I'm sure that the 72 Dolphins were great but they've had some miserable spokesmen and honestly I'd like someone to shut them up. So this was the year. The Pats were going all the way. The Super Bowl was merely a formality. Oops, they lost. And with that loss came more talk from certain Dolphin fans and ex-players about them being the greatest team ever. Don't even get me started on strength of schedule for the 72 Fins or the fact that Eli Manning should have been a Charger. Just leave me alone about the perfect season that almost was.

The Tigers. I don't follow the Tigers as close as I should considering my strong Memphis ties, but I do try to keep up as much as possible. This year they make a push to be the first undefeated team in NCAA hoops since 1976. Somehow they manage to lose to Tennessee at home. Payton Manning was at the game.

Note the obvious Manning connection.

By this point I'm getting a little desperate in my quest to experience sports history. Let's talk Stars hockey for a minute. The Stars had a good season and were definitely the underdogs in their playoff series against the Red Wings (who went on to win the Stanley Cup). They get off to a horrible start - down three games to none. Only two times in history has a team come from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. The first time? 1942. The second? 1975. The current year? 2008. How many years between 1942 and 1975? 33. Between 1975 and 2008? Thats right, 33. You can't make this stuff up. You could say it was in the stars for the Stars to win. They win the next two games. Then they lose in game 6.

I didn't see the Kentucky Derby. I did watch the Preakness and saw Big Brown glide to victory by over 5 lengths. Doing so he became the fourth horse to win both races and still be undefeated. Much like the Super Bowl, the Triple Crown seemed just a formality. 30 years since the last Triple Crown winner. Big Brown ended up going out of the gate at the Belmont at 3 to 10 odds AND...

It wasn't even close. It was so bad that Brown's jockey basically pulled him from the race and had him trot the final straight.

Best I can tell, there's not much on the horizon. The NBA playoffs seem pretty normal. Still too early to tell for baseball. Oh wait...baseball.

I will be able to tell my kids and grandkids that I remember when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record. I can then go on to tell them the heartwarming story of BALCO, performance enhancing drugs, scandal, grand juries and congressional hearings.

I'll be straining my memory for something else unless the Rangers find a way to win their first ever playoff series. That would be more than historical - it would be miraculous. And it would require them to actually make the playoffs.

Halie's Wedding

2008-06-01T17:30:00.012-05:00

We traveled to Quartz Mountain Resort this weekend for the wedding of our niece, Halie Swan (now Halie Thompson). Naturally the entire event was beautiful with pretty much everyone in the family, the whole family, having some part. Dawson led Dakota down the aisle on a miniature horse. Yes, you read that correctly - a horse.

Once the horse riding ring bearer (Dakota) and the horse leader (Dawson) are set, Dillon leads the horse off stage left. Now everyone is in place. In the video you will see Delanie - the flower girl on the left. You'll also see Dakota - the short one in front, and Dawson.

Dillon had a little lower profile role as far as the actual ceremony went. Now he was a tremendous usher. Of course the whole wedding thing is really an auto-pilot performance for him now. This was his ninth wedding to be in. With the exception of singing, performing the ceremony and actually being the one geting married, I don't think there's much he hasn't done.

After getting everyone seated he becomes the horse whisperer. He does an excellent job of keeping 'Scooter' happy and occupied during the ceremony. Then he leads him to the front so Dawson and Dakota can exit the same way they came in.

What happened after I really can't explain. I actually caught as much as I could on video just so I would believe it actually happened. Dillon, who had played a pretty low-key role during the wedding, decides it's time to take center stage during the reception. So that's exactly what he does.

More pictures to come as I'm able to go through them. I just promised Dillon I'd get him on the web ASAP in case Dancing with the Stars is looking.

By the way, Toby Keith was there too. Ok, he was actually there on vacation but Shanna fought past her normally shy nature and got him to pose for a few shots.

Focus.

2008-05-22T12:31:00.008-05:00

Last night I had the pleasure of filling in for our preacher, Allan Stanglin, while he was away at a conference. With the exception of a couple of small classes, the adults all meet together in the 'gymnatorium' for a time of worship. (By the way, in a few months when our new worship center is completed, the gymnatorium will be converted to an actual gym). So I'm not sure you can technically call it 'preaching' but as a friend told me, "you were in the pulpit, man that's preaching."

I spent about twenty minutes talking about our focus. The lesson revolved around the story of a young man named Chris McCandless who struck out on a journey to Alaska to find peace, solitude, and happiness. He spent two years wandering/hitchhiking/adventuring around the western US before finally making it to his destination. He went alone and he went with very little in the way of supplies. The goal was to 'live off the land' and get by with as little as possible. He had grown weary of all the materialism he saw around him so he tried to put himself as far away from it as possible thinking it would bring the life he desired.

The story of Chris' life was made into a movie in 2007 - directed by Sean Penn.

http://www.intothewild.com/

I enjoyed the movie although it may not be for everyone. Now that's it's on DVD I'd say it's definitely worth a few bucks for anyone to rent. (Note: it is rated 'R').

I'm not going to give away the ending just in case you want to check it out. But I will tell you that Chris made it to Alaska and lived what he thought was the ideal life for a while. By the end of his time there it is apparent that the joyful life he was looking for had more to do with his focus, his attitude, than his surroundings. It also became obvious to him that a happy life had to include others.

The point was for us to not lose our focus. It's obvious that we can be distracted by work/school, etc. But we also need to realize we can lose focus even when working for God. I've certainly seen instances where someone's mission, ministry, program or outreach became more about their efforts and accomplishments than a way to impact others the way Christ wants us to. I don't think it ever starts this way - it's simply a lack of (or loss of) focus.

By remaining focused on our relationship with Christ we grow closer to him. The closer we grow to him the more we want to please him, the more we want him to be proud of us. It's exactly like the bond between a parent and child. In a relationship like that, one that's based on love and selfless thinking, we don't strive to serve the other person out of some sense of obligation. Our love for them makes us want to please them. It makes us want to serve them.

When we have this type of relationship with Jesus we automatically become servants. We can't help but to want to go out and feed the hungry, provide clothing to the needy, find shelter for the homeless...you get the point. We can't help but to want and go out and treat people the way Christ would have. It all boils down to our focus.

Christ offers happiness. He offers joy. He offers fulfillment. We're not going to find it running around trying to keep ourselves busy. We're not going to find it out alone in the wilderness. The only thing we have to do is fix our eyes on him. Everything else will come naturally.

I received some very kind feedback after the lesson last night from several people. Paul Brownlow went so far as to say I should be preaching more. I told him that if I get the chance to fill in now and then I probably would. As for the pulpit at Legacy, I assure you that position is set securely within the capable hands of Allan. I even checked in with him for some pointers to tie all this together. I'll leave you with the first thing out of his mouth:

Matthew 6:33 - seek ye first the kingdom of God

Stay focused.

I told you Nanny rocks!

2008-05-07T09:23:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago the boys were at Wal-Mart trying to figure out a way to spend some Christmas and birthday money that was apparently burning holes in their pockets. It was the same old, same old. Dillon heads for the Xbox games and Dawson wants to check out bicycles and remote controlled cars. But they were instructed to stay together and as they strolled the aisles they found it:

Rockband. It's not just a game, it's like having a band. You can have a singer, a drummer and two guitars all playing at the same time. It's the greatest thing since, well...Guitar Hero.

Separately they can't come close to paying for it. But together? Yeah, together there's just enough. So that night we're tearing open the huge box and setting up stage. Bedtime was extended - I mean, have you ever heard of a rockstar with a bedtime? So they got an extra 45 minutes and were able to get a few songs in.

They were back at it early the next morning before school. But it wasn't long before they added a new band member:

Yes, that's Nanny tearing it up on lead guitar.

Yetis rejoice?

2008-04-21T13:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Allan finished up his series on Habakuk. Despite significant trials in his future, Habakuk declares his faith in the Lord:

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

Shanna and I were on our way back to Fort Worth Sunday morning. We had traveled to Vernon for our niece's wedding shower Saturday night. So we missed the sermon, which I know was great. I wasn't able to get the full details but Allan had requested everyone to bring their cell phones to service yesterday. I know, strange, but you have to know Allan. Anyway, he had those with phones send the scripture to someone. Shanna received it twice. Once from Mrs. Brownstone and once from Jennifer Green. The one from Mrs. Brownstone came through as it was written in Habakuk. However, the message from Jennifer had a strange twist. See, she lived in Alaska for a time while her husband was working the oilfields there. I'm assuming, based on her message, that she was able to see the abominable snowman while there. I had always assumed they were just legend but according to her they exist and they share our faith. Here was the message from her:

"Yeti will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

It makes me wonder if these creatures are real and if she attended church with one/some of them in Alaska.

Ten Things Wednesday

2008-04-16T12:45:00.002-05:00

Ok, it's supposed to be Ten Things Tuesday but I forgot to do this yesterday. Mrs. Brownstone guilted me into doing this as apparantly the only other man participating is Skelty. However, I signed up to do this last Wednesday and I just couldn't make myself do 'Ten Things Tuesday' on a Wednesday. While mowing the yard yesterday I remember it was Tuesday and I needed to get this done. But after finishing the yard, planting a new flowerbed, watching American Idol and getting everyone settled in bed I forgot. So here I am, posting Ten Things Tuesday on Wednesday anyway.

Ten Things I'm Thankful For:

1. Shanna. She is a wonderful wife, mother, friend and servant. Convincing her to marry me was without a doubt the best thing I ever did. To say I married out of my league would be a tremendous understatement.

2. Salvation. Like Shanna, God always forgives me when I screw up and he'd be the first to tell you that is more than a few times a day. Shanna could vouch for this but usually she won't.

3. Family. I've been blessed with 4 wonderful kids, great parents, a fabulous extended family and great in-laws.

4. The ability to do yard work. Let me clarify. I don't particularly like mowing the grass. If the city would let me I'd consider having the entire yard paved. But they won't so I'll get out and push the mower every week (or so) until November and be thankful that I'm physically able to do it.

5. Friends. We've got the kind of friends that people dream about. You know, those friends who will come over in the middle of the night if you need them to.

6. Dawson's feeling better. Until this morning, he was running a fever that would hit 104. Last week our dentist Dr. Jay (ok Dr. Corley but he's Shanna's cousin and I can get away with calling him Dr. Jay) discovered that Dawson has a tooth with an abcess. It needs to be pulled to make way for the new ones but he wanted to clear up the infection first. We couldn't get his fever to break and were concerned that the tooth was the cause. The pediatrician really felt like it was just a virus that needed to run its course. Turns out it was. He's feeling better today.

7. Ron and Su's new grandbaby. Our friends from Oklahoma City recently took guardianship of a young girl they met through their inner city mission. It's not their biological grandbaby (they're in their 30s) but I know it will be loved and spoiled as if it were.

8. Church. These are very times exciting at Legacy and I feel blessed to be a part of everything that's going on there.

9. Spring. I like the warmer weather. It may be a sign that I'm getting older but I'm going to deny that for now. Winter is ok in Texas but after living in Colorado winters here can be a little boring. I'm ready for pool/beach/lake weather. I'm ready for everything to green up and start blooming - even if it means yardwork.

10. Shanna. Definitely worth mentioning again.

I'll try to remember this again next Tuesday. Let's all remember to count our blessings everyday.

Officially "pre-teen"

2008-04-13T00:55:00.006-05:00

Dillon's 12th birthday was March 23. According to many other parents with slightly older kids, it sounds like we've got one more year of him being somewhat normal. I tell them Dillon is very smart and advanced for his age because he quit being normal quite sometime ago.

Really, he's a great kid and we enjoy giving each other a hard time.

Since his birthday fell at the end of spring break, Shanna thought it would be good to give him his gift a week early, as spring break began, so he'd have the week to enjoy it.

What do you think it was?

1. GI Joes
2. Clothes
3. A set of encyclopedias
4. A cell phone

If you said cell phone you're a winner! 12 years old and 'wireless'. We had pretty much decided to wait until at least 13 before we set him up with a phone. He was doing his best to convince us that all of his friends who were sporting phones basically viewed him as underprivilidged and pre-historic. This really kicked in at the beginning of this year when he began middle school. So, I like to think he knows that we didn't cave right off the bat just because we wanted him to 'keep up with the Joneses.'

Our primary rationale was that as summer begins he will be entering the youth group at church. There will be activities going on all the time that will require drop offs and pick ups at various locations. It will be nice to have a quick phone call from him rather than parking at the church for undetermined amounts of time waiting for the youth group to arrive from an event. Plus we knew this would be more of a necessity next year as he enters more early morning and after school activities.

I heard someone say that you know you're living in the 21st century when you've got three phone numbers for each of your family and friends. Six people in our family..........

During the week, Dillon paired up with his friend Andrew for an 'airsoft' birthday. Andrew's birthday was earlier in March and they had planned on this for several weeks. So one very windy and slightly cool afternoon, we met at the park for hot dogs, cake and airsoft wars. What more could a 12 year old boy want?

FYI, airsoft guns shoot these small plastic pellet/bb like things. The boys are safe - always in protective goggles. These things can't break the skin but they do sting enough to keep me and Dawson on the sideline.

Happy 12th Dillon - we (a whole lot of us) love you!

April Showers from a power washer

2008-04-11T09:12:00.006-05:00

Wednesday night I was at the office late getting ready for a client review meeting Thursday. Shanna had spent the day working out, cleaning house, shuttling kids - pretty much the normal stuff. She emailed me about 5:30 to see where I was and how I felt about staying in, i.e. skipping church.

She knew we shouldn't but I was not going to make it not matter what. I still had an hour or so to finish the report and then was off to OfficeMax to have it prepared for presentation. She was wiped out and the thought of getting four kids bathed and fed in an hour was just too daunting.

So we skipped.

I got to the house about 9 and happily ate the salad she had prepared for our dinner. We were in bed by 10:30 - a little early for us and an obvious sign of how tired we were.

Casey, our almost 14 year old foxhound, was up at 3:15am. This was a little early for her bathroom break. She has a built in alarm system to notify us of her need to go outside. No barking or whining is necessary. She simply gets up and starts cautiously walking around the den. A few seconds of her paws hitting the wood floors is all it takes to wake us. Imagine Lord of the Dance performed by smurfs with all the dancers performing to a different song and you have an idea of what the sound is like.

So I get up to let her out and as I enter the den from the bedroom a wind hits the house like I've never heard before. I'll admit, I panicked a little. It had to have been 60-70 mph (the weatherman later confirmed this).

Our office sits up on a hill and our computer guys constantly stresses how important it is to get our server shut down when a strong storm is approaching. I hear our computer speakers belching out static everytime the lighting strikes so I run over and shut down the computer.

Oops. How can I check the radar now? I just shut down out internet. I'm sure Dish Network is not working in this mess. So I head for the Blackberry (yes I can call it my Crackberry as I am addicted). I pull up the radar and there are so many colors over our county that it looks like a bad abstract painting.

Lighter. I need to find the lighter in case the power goes out for good. Hey, maybe we've got a flashlight that works - meaning the kids didn't leave it on after the last time they played with it.

In walks Dawson and Delanie - go get in bed with mom I calmly say. Delanie heads that way whimpering - she doesn't do well in the morning or when her sleep is interrupted. I think Dawson just headed back to bed. He tends to take these things in stride. Dillon never got out of bed although he admits the storm did wake him which is a true testimony to the strength of it. Dakota's always in our room by 2am anyway.

Lighter - check. Flashlight - check. Let's give the Dish a shot. Hey it works. The radar is on and the weatherman is giving a perfect explanation of all the splashes of red, yellow, green and purple on the screen. Storm's moving fast - very fast. Strong wind, multiple rotations along the front line of the storm. I sit in the chair and watch until everything blows over - about 4am.

Everything's back to normal - except Casey. She's got heart failure so anxious moments like this tend to get her worked up. Plus she's still got to go out but there's no way she's going out in this. Finally the urge overtakes her fears and she quickly heads into the backyard and right back in. Total time out had to be less than 8 seconds.

Finally get some sleep off and on starting about 4:30. On the couch with one hand on Casey on the floor next to me.

Luckily, we sustained no damage. Our fence on the northside had a couple of panels fall over but they've been falling over for at least a year. So far, I'm taking a hardline stance on this one. I bought all of the fence on both sides last time (Shanna says last two times - she may be right) and I'm not going to do it again. My dog's pushing 14. She doesn't venture very far and if she does it's not very fast. Our neighbors on that side are trying to sell the house. I don't know them as they haven't lived there very long. I do know I had to escort the North Richland Hills police into my backyard a few months ago to see if there were any drunk teenagers back there. According to the officer several climbed the fence, knocking it down again, as they fled the underage party next door. None present in our bushes.

So I'm assuming that either the owners, or the new buyers will want to strike a deal to get the fence replaced. We'll see. Until then I'll keep wrapping it up with bungee cords.

So like I said, we had no damage. Many neighbors were not so lucky. Two houses down had a huge tree fall hitting the house and damaging their truck. As I drove Dakota to school it was a pretty eerie site and I realized just how lucky we were.

Here's some pictures from Allan Stanglin's blog on April 10. They live about a mile from us. Their neighborhood, from a damage standpoint, looked pretty much like ours. If you want to see larger images use the link to his blog above.

Hopefully everyone made it through the night safely.

The Jesus Card

2008-04-09T17:39:00.002-05:00

Following up on the previous post, as promised, about complaining to God. In the first chapter of Habakuk we find him whining to God in a tantrum like manner. I have extensive experience in identifying tantrums and whining. 4 kids - enough said.

Anyway, the question came up in our small group about complaining to God. Should we, shouldn't we, why don't we...?

I'll admit at first I didn't think it appropriate - especially the way we see it in Habakuk. Who am I to go griping to God about what's happening to me? Like most of us, I could go on and on about the things that I think are wrong in the world, more specifically, my world. I could rant and rave about this and that while God just sits there in his infinite wisdom and listens.

When I'm finished with my tyrade and gasping for breath he plays the Jesus card.

He flashes an image of Jesus hanging on the cross and our 'conversation' is over. I've been trumped and rightfully so. It doesn't take an explanation like we see in Habakuk. It just takes a simple image of the sacrifice of his son and in an instant I realize what I see as issues, as trials, as hardships are ultimately the result of me being wrapped up in me.

I respectfully remove myself from the discussion with a "thanks for clearing that up."

So, I shouldn't complain to God, right?

Not so fast. What about the relationship between a father and his son? He knows we struggle and he knows we succeed. We don't have to tell him - he knows. But he would still like to hear about it. Our speaking (praying) to him is an integral part of that relationship. Isn't communication vital to any relationship?

So this is where I am for now and am still contemplating. I will share with God my triumps, my joys, my happy moments. But I will also go to him with what troubles me, with things that just aren't right. I will take my complaints to him and ask for his guidance, ask for clarification, ask for wisdom. And I'll do it in a way that never (note correct use of never) places the blame on him.

I'll start by praying that I can foster this same kind of relationship with my kids.

Tap the brakes Habakuk

2008-04-09T13:47:00.004-05:00

Allan Stanglin has started a three week sermon series over the three Old Testament chapters of Habakuk. Each morning's sermon will tie into our small group church discussion that evening.

Sidenote: Legacy adopted a weekly small group church program in January of this year. We meet in small groups (oh, that's why they call it that) in each other's homes.

This week we concentrated on the first chapter. Our group focused specifically on how we react when things aren't fair. Also, the concept of complaining to God. More on that later...

From Habakuk 1:

2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

The entire passage screams "WOE IS ME" but for a moment we talked about the statement from verse 4 - "and justice NEVER prevails."

I doubt Habakuk lived in a time when justice never prevailed. Perhaps it was seldom seen by him but never is one of those words that usually isn't accurate from a frustrated person's point of view (note the use of the word usually). We just have those instances, those times of life when things just aren't going our way. Words like never and always and nothing seem to enter our vocabulary but they aren't truly accurate when you step back and take a look.

So this week we've adopted Habakuk-isms (awkward, I know) at our house in an attempt to curb our use of such exagerations.

Case in point. With spring and it's rains, we've been noticing some small ants coming in around the back doors. They're not swarming or taking over the house, they're just going about their business. Shanna does a tremendous job of keeping the house clean but I'm sure word has gotten out in the ant community that we have four kids. To an ant kids=crumbs so they've made their pilgrimage. The lack of 'easy pickings' on the floor has led a few of them onto the kitchen cabinets. The traps are obviously attractive as the dog has eaten a few. The ones that weren't eaten by the dog seem to be doing the trick.

But one day Delanie walks in from school, notices a few of the invaders and declares "There's ants EVERYWHERE!" To which Dillon calmly replies in almost a whisper "Habakuk."

Hopefully this drill will become permanent and keep us all a little more in touch with reality. If it does I'm sure it will have tremendous effect on how we view our life and how we interact with others. Just think how confrontations with others would go if we didn't use phrases like:

You always/you never
I always/I never

Try and keep it real. If you don't, keep it away from Dillon. He will call you out on it with a subtle "Habakuk."

URGENT MESSAGE!

2008-04-09T12:31:00.003-05:00

This blog has been compromised!

I've actually been able to keep up with this blog thing for a few weeks now. The original intent was to keep my precious mother and sweet Aunt Pat in Memphis up to date with Byrnes family things/photos. Not that it was just for them but I knew they'd be checking regularly for updates.

Shanna has let the address slip to a few other family members but apparantly word has gotten out. I was checking comments today and looking forward to another post from Pat. But the recent comment wasn't from Pat.

It was from Jennifer Green.

She is of the impression that I was attempting to keep this site from her and her xbox wife cronies.

She is probably right, at least a little.

So the strictly Byrnes family atmosphere of this blog may be subject to change depending on Mrs. Green's efforts to publicize it. Family members viewing this site in the future may be sucked into occasional vortices of ribbing, ridiculing, sports, current events, various opinions etc. Please stay tuned - the original mission will still be carried out!

To Pat: Jennifer bleeds Volunteer orange like you and Harold.

Let's see what happens....

March 21 - Nanny's birthday

2008-04-09T12:02:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrated Nanny's birthday. She is....hmm, how do I put this? It was a monumental birthday. Yeah, that's good. She is an established member of the AARP. Ok, now we're getting somewhere. She could star in a documentary titled 'WWII Baby Boomers - The Early Years'. She gets her first social security check this month. Still a little vague.

She could easily pass for 50 but she's not. She's a little older than that but not yet 70. It's actually half way between those two.

There.

Hopefully I've been able to give an accurate description without getting myself into trouble by letting everyone know she just turned 60.

Oops.

Happy Birthday to the original Super Nanny!

March 7th - Sherman Snow

2008-04-02T12:19:00.007-05:00

On Thursday March 6 I was planning on heading up to Texoma Youth Camp. For the past 4 years or so I've been involved with the camp by helping in whatever way I can. In November I became the treasurer but I really have more fun going up to the camp and getting my hands dirty with whatever project I can find. I had planned to go up to get some fallen branches cleaned up. Unfortunately the snowstorm, and ultimately Shanna, prevented my leaving Thursday.

So Friday we woke up to sunny skies and clear roads. The warm temperatures from earlier in the week had prevented anything from sticking to the roads overnight. I headed out for the camp but today I had a passenger - Dakota. Shanna's parents live about 30 minutes from the camp so Ann (aka Gran) asked if Dakota could come up for the day to play with her in the snow.

And play they did. Sherman, located northeast of Dallas near the Red River, received about nine inches. They stayed out side for amost an hour making snow angels and having snowball fights. Finally, Dakota fell back in the thick white blanket and said "Gran, I'm tired."

His nap that afternoon was almost three and a half hours.

Snow Wonder

2008-03-28T06:30:00.000-05:00

March 6

Monday night it snowed. Ok it wasn't some huge snow but frozen white stuff fell from the sky and it wasn't the kind that puts dents in your car. It was enough to lightly dust the yards and roofs in our neighborhood.

Tuesday and Wednesday it was sunny and in the 60's.

Then this is what it looked like Thursday afternoon:

It don't think it ever actually got below freezing. It just snowed so hard for so long that it stuck. I think we ended up with 3 or 4 inches. It was a heavy wet snow that was great for:

Eating

Snowballs (Look at that Nolan Ryan-like follow through)

Tackling your brother

Eating

Snowmen

And of course....

EATING!

March 3

2008-03-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

Delanie lost her first tooth. As I type that I realize just how inaccurate that term is yet we always use it. She didn't lose it - we still have it. I think we have all the kids teeth somewhere. Ok, those may actually be lost.

Shanna has a gift for pulling teeth. No strings tied to doorknobs. Just a paper towel and a mother's touch. She inspects the loose tooth and before you can say ouch - it's out.

The tooth fairy currently pays $5 for the first tooth. I'm not sure of the going rate for subsequent teeth but I know it's at least a buck. I'm thinking of pulling a few of my own.

Spring Sing: Feb 29-March 2

2008-03-26T15:24:00.001-05:00

We traveled to Oklahoma City for the annual Oklahoma Christian Spring Sing. Each year the clubs (aka fraternities/sororities) put together song and dance routines and perform them over the course of 3 shows Friday and Saturday. Our niece, Halie, was selected to be a 'hostess.' She sang with the other hosts between the club shows and performed a solo. It is quite an honor to be selected to do this but she deserved it - she's very talented.

Tickets are often hard to come by so we ended up at different shows. No worries though. We managed to spend plenty of time together eating - which is usually the case. Saturday morning we met at IHOP. Most people would not try and get a party of 27 into IHOP on Saturday morning. The Corleys are not most people. We all showed up and in what was most likely an act of God, we ended up all together.

The two booths on the right are empty here but they were filled soonafter the picture was taken. You will see Shanna on the left of the photo. Immediately behind her was a table for two. There was a couple sitting there who were not part of our invasion. They quickly finished their meal and left - without any glaring looks or rude remarks. Obviously very nice people.

The show was great. Some of the clubs go to great lengths to have an impressive performance. My former club, Sigma Chi Sigma, did not although this was not a surprise. We never were into singing and dancing. We were much better at sports and getting into trouble. We were able to see several kids from church and I got photos of most all of them. But I'm only going to share with you one other picture from the show:

Another niece, Whitnie (Halie's sister) is in this picture somewhere.

Actually she's not. I was certain that I was getting some great shots of her until I showed them to Shanna. She informed me that none of these girls was the right one.

Hey, you try taking a picture of a blonde wearing a pig nose when she's surronded by sixty other blondes wearing pig noses. Anyway, she looked a lot like the one in the middle of the front row - and the middle of the back row. So I thought.

Saturday night, that's right - we ate. Abuelo's for dinner. Thanks to Dillon for being willing to eat Mexican food. He tells us over and over that he just doesn't like it. He will eat fajitas, nachos, tacos, bean burritos, quesadillas, tortillas and chips/hot sauce. Just don't tell him it's Mexican food.

Here's the invasion of Abuelo's:

Our nephew, Connor, came with his family from Spearman, TX. There's not enough room to tell about all the challenges, surgeries and tests this not so little guy's gone through. He used to be fed through a button in his stomach. Now he tears up a plate of enchilidas with the best of them.

We stayed with our very good friends, Ron and Su Crawford. They are truly special people who left a comfortable life to go and minister to inner city kids in Oklahoma City. They walked away from a normal paycheck and stepped out on faith to do what God called them to do. Now they help run a successful mission that touches kids lives. It's very eye opening to see where they work and hear their stories. Homeless, drug addicted, alcohol addicted, gangs, prostitutes - you name it, they've seen it. And they embrace it. Not the sin, but the person. Sounds exactly like what we're all supposed to do. They're a great example. I want to be more like them.

Anyway, they've got three kids of their own. Put their three with our four and it's a house of fun. And the fun usually revolved around some sort of computer or technology. It's a far cry from the GI Joes I used to play with.

It was a full house but it was great. Next time it will be...fuller? Ron and Su are taking custody of one of the girls from their downtown mission. She's a very sweet girl. She's 16 and like too many her age from that environment, she's pregnant. Her mother is a drug addict and CPS told her that they would take her baby from her if she choose to live with her. So, Ron and Su were able to get custody. She was moving in right after we left. So in a matter of weeks they went from parents of three to parents of four. Soon they'll be grandparents. Can't wait to meet their new additions!

All in all it was another fun, action packed weekend in Oklahoma. They always are.

February 25 - Ode to Odell

2008-03-26T15:06:00.001-05:00

Today is uncle, great uncle, great-great uncle Odell's 78th birthday. They threw him a party at Fort Myers Beach First United Methodist Church. We had the pleasure of attending church with him there several years ago - 4 generations all there together.

It was quite a milestone as the day also signified his 40th year there. There was a very nice article written in the local paper. It was submitted anynomously but I think it could probably be credited to the very sweet Pastor Jeannie.

He also got a poem from one of his friends/fellow members. I can't remember it all now but one verse stands out:

When 'Wilma' paid a visit
Bill did not stay home
He opened the church anyway
And with God he sat alone.

Some explanation:
Odell is only Odell to us. To the rest of the world he is Bill (William Odell Smith). He has lived in Fort Myers Beach (which is actually an island) for over 40 years. To my knowledge he has never left the island before an approaching hurricane. Wilma hit the west coast of Florida on October 23, 2005, a Sunday. He was there to open the church - alone.

Once we were able to speak with him after the storm he let us know he would be leaving the island for future hurricanes. Hopefully he will keep his word to us on that one.

Happy Birthday Odell!

Way behind...

2008-03-26T15:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have fallen behind on posts. You will see why as you scroll through the next few entries. I'm going to title them with the appropriate date.

Enjoy!

February - the month of ......

2008-02-27T16:13:00.000-06:00

How would you finish that phrase?

Love? Cold? Snow? Candy?

Honestly I don't know anymore. That's because that thanks to the month we've had, February is now knows as the month of illness.

That's right - illness. No one has escaped what has been almost 4 solid weeks of someone being sick. Not someone we know, not someone in our family...

someone in our house.

And I know it hasn't been just us. We have small groups on Sunday night and on February 10th we had one family who wasn't fighting something. So I called the whole thing off and designated it 'quarantine Sunday.'

For us, it all started February 1 when Dillon went down. That was a Friday. He proceeded to remain sick until Tuesday of the following week. Shanna joined him on Saturday and we had a mini infirmary for the next 48 hours.

The rest is basically a haze by now. I think Delanie was next, maybe Dawson. Really, I forget now. All I know is that I think we've logged about 12 days of missed school just this month.

I saw the doctor on February 5th and was diagnosed with a raging sinus infection. I was back in his office on the 8th for more meds and what I've come to know as 'happy shots.' I don't know what's in that stuff but it's what he gives me to deliver a final knock-out punch to whatever ails me. I wish we could just start out with it and save the extra visit.

Fortunately, throughout all this, Shanna and I always managed to fall victim at separate times. It's a good thing too because as bad as we felt we would have just told the kids that it was every man for himself.

Then just when it seemed like we were out of the woods I wake up Monday and know something's not right. I make it to the office, tie up the loose ends, and immediately head for the house where I logged about 24 hours of couch time. This morning, I'm feeling pretty good but decide to work from the house for a couple of hours before making a commitment to the office. At about 10 I email my partner that I'm heading that way. His response - "I'm fighting off a cold, don't come in unless you need to."

I didn't - so I didn't.

My only prayer is that we can start March healthy and stay that way at least through spring break - March 17-21.

Today, we're all good with the exception of Shanna. Fortunately, it's a leap year so we've all got 2 more days to get over all our junk and start March the way I'd like to.

Hope everyone else is healthy.

You must be Kidd-ing.

2008-02-19T12:45:00.000-06:00

Jason Kidd is once again a Dallas Maverick. After two weeks of more twists and turns than a daytime soap opera, the Mavericks and Nets announced today that a deal was done.

Originally the mega-trade included sending Mav Jerry Stackhouse to New Jersey. However, Stackhouse shot off his mouth last week. He said in an interview that he looked forward to 30 days rest and then being right back in Dallas.

What?

That's right. The original deal included Stack going to the Nets. The Nets in turn would buy out his contract. The NBA would allow him to re-sign with the Mavs 30 days later.

BUT - since he took it upon himself to reveal this formerly secret detail, NBA officials considered this 'tampering' and said that he could no longer be part of any trade. If he was included, he would be prohibited from rejoining Dallas this season.

That was not going to work for the Mavs. Thanks Stack for making things even more difficult.

Fortunately, Keith VanHorn decided to rejoin the Mavs so he could be included as part of the package.

Questions:

1. What took VanHorn so long to decide that this was a good deal for him?

He's basically retired. He hasn't played in two years. But technically, he's not retired. He hasn't filed papers with the league. His contract calls for him to receive $4.3 million just for the rest of this season. He doesn't have to play. He just has to sign with the Mavericks and be traded to the Nets and give the assurance that he will 'try' to make a comeback. $4.3 million for 4 months 'work.' Who couldn't go for that even if it meant moving to New Jersey for a little while? He should have been on the first plane to Dallas even if he thought it was only a rumor.

2. Why does Dallas (originally) have to send Stackhouse to New Jersey just so he can have his contact bought out? There was never an intention for Stackhouse to play for the Nets which became obvious in his interview last week causing the original deal to implode.

3. Why does Dallas (now) have to pull a 32 year old guy from semi-retirement, trade him to the Nets just so he can ride their payroll for the rest of the season?

Honestly I had no idea. Fortunately my friend (and Legacy Church of Christ preacher) Allan Stanglin is a former sports director for DFW radio station KRLD. He was able to sum it up quite easily for me:

Money.

Apparantly the deal has to be equal on both sides of the ledger. So whatever value the Nets were giving up had to be matched by the Mavs.

What?

I'm still confused. The Nets didn't want Stackhouse. They certainly don't want VanHorn. I just don't get it.

Right now I have two lawnmowers. I'd like to have a new leaf blower. If you had two leaf blowers and needed a lawn mower I think we could make a trade. I don't want you to thown in a Carpenters Greatest Hits CD to make the deal equal from a dollar standpoint. I don't need it. Shanna's already got a copy. Is this too simple for the NBA?

So I'm reserved to classify myself as a basketball deal idiot who obviously doesn't understand the elaborate interworkings of multimillion dollar player trades. I guess it makes sense to someone.

One thing I do know. I'm taking NBA league officials off my list of potential candidates to investigate the baseball steroids scandal. They seem to operate in the same illogical world as congress so just let congress finish what they've started.

Now, if the Mavs can work as hard on the court as they have off the court getting this deal done we may finally win the NBA championship. If that happens they'll probably feel like they got from Kidd exactly what they wanted. Then they'll want to trade him and we get to do this all over again.

We'll see. Go Mavs.

See what I mean?

2008-02-16T17:26:00.000-06:00

Shanna is a big fan of holidays. Valentine's Day is certainly no exception. She went all out this year. This kids woke up to cinnamon rolls with pink icing, served on red plates, with pink milk in plastic champagne glasses to be slurped up through crazy straws with hearts on them.

And that was only the beginning.

The kids came home to heart shaped cookies. It wasn't enough for her to get those cheap little hearts with the cute messages on them. She had to bake red, heart shaped cookies with cute messages on them. Then that night we enjoyed steak and grilled shrimp (my only contribution) along with baked potatoes. But the special part was Shanna's decoration of the dining room - that's right, the dining room. You know, that room that many of us have with tables and chairs and china cabinets that often gets looked at but seldom used. Well we used it. Complete with white table cloth with red silk rose petals scattered on it. We ate on red plates. We had sparkling grape juice to go with our dessert of chocolate covered strawberries. Massive chocolate covered strawberries the size of tennis balls. Ok, not tennis balls but they were bigger than golf balls.

Unlike when I was younger, the kids actually got gifts. Not just candy, like in the old days but gifts. The most notable was Delanie. She got the Hannah Montana wig that she has been begging for. Nanny got a huge card custom designed by her four biggest fans.

During my rant about the Clemens hearings I managed to fit in a couple of lines about Valentine's Day. I said that you should do something special every day for your valentine and use February 14th for something extra special. Shanna exhibited that perfectly and it was totally unprompted because I know she hasn't been to the site yet. She does something special everyday and she made Valentine's Day extra special for all of us.

Check it out and you'll see what I mean:

Wheeler Peak

2008-02-16T13:41:00.001-06:00

Ok, this isn't exactly being posted in a timely manner but I was thinking about all the activities we're going to try and squeeze into summer 2008. Dillon's got at least 2 weeks of camp, I'll probably join him on one of those, Shanna's got her 20 year reunion (sorry to date you - you still look great), various trips to Six Flags using the passes we got with Christmas money, and a family trip to New Mexico with all of Shanna's family. I was hoping to make another trip up Wheeler Peak while we were there. Some of you know that I made the summit of Wheeler (tallest in NM) with several buddies from church last summer. So, here's some shots of our adventure. Thanks to Tate, Kevin and Aaron for being dumb enough to let me talk you into this. Hope we've got more adventures in our future.

Left to right: Kevin Welch, Tate Tefertiller, Aaron Green.

Our trip was June 2007 but we still got to play in the snow every now and then. It's always a treat for us flat landers to see snow.

Everyone did pretty good on the uphill part. It was easy to keep your mind off the altitude by taking in the spectacular views. We even got to see some of the locals.

Getting closer.... If you look behind me in the picture on the left you will see two peaks. Wheeler is actually the peak on the right (I know, it looks lower because of the angle). But it was a little disheartening to have to go up Mt. Walter (the peak on the left - 13,141 feet) and then down in order to go up to the summit of Wheeler (13,161 feet).

But we finally made it to the top and had a little break. Aaron had actually brough leftover pizza from the night before. My lunch was a powerbar and trailmix. Tate had cell service so some of us made calls home.

I think the overall opinion was the downhill was harder on the legs than the uphill. We had opted to take the longer way up to the summit through the Bull of the Woods pasture. Due to the time and condition of our legs we voted to take the Williams Lake route down. Straight down. That's right, straight down the side of Wheeler Peak to Williams Lake. Aaron did mange to find an express lane. That's him sliding down the snow patch on his backpack. Vol fans everywhere should be proud. Williams Lake is on the right.

Going down the Williams Lake route actually puts you at the Phoenix Grill on the back side of the Taos Ski Area. I had to get a picture of the espresso stand since Tate, Kevin and I had sat out on that patio with our wives during our ski trip back in February '07. It was a little strange to be walking the same path we'd skied just a few months earlier.

Taking the Williams Lake route down did get us off the mountain faster but it didn't take us back to our car. We actually ended up seeing a lot more of the Taos ski area and real estate on our extended hike back to the parking lot. I guess I underestimated the distance. Eventually we made it back to the car and then the cabin for a little rest and a shower. That night we headed into Red River for a celebratory dinner. All in all, great day and great trip. Thanks again guys.

Hard at Work

2008-02-14T15:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday and today the all the news sources were buzzing over Roger Clemens testimony before congress. CNBC even had a link on their website to view the live coverage. I'm not sure how that affects the financial markets but I know we love our sports. We admire, respect and unfortunately sometimes idolize these athletes. We want to know if the games they win, the records they break, the trophies and rings they collect, are somehow tarnished by their willingness to break the rules. Someone should get to the bottom of situations like this.

But congress?

There were 90 players named in the Mitchell report. What about them? What about players like Jack Cust?

Who, you might ask?

Exactly.

Google 'players named in the Mitchell report' and pick a site. You will find the entire list. Scroll through and unless you're a die hard fan of 'America's game' you're going to find a long list of names you've never, or rarely heard of. Some of them are only accused of using while they were in the minor leagues.

So what if it had been Jack Cust, instead of Clemens, who jumps up and says "I never did that! This report is false! I'm innocent!"

Would you care?

No, you wouldn't. Moreover, congress wouldn't and the media wouldn't. We wouldn't have gotten a live feed of Jack Cust testifying before congress because it wouldn't have existed.

So why is there a Mitchell report in the first place? I don't know but no doubt some of our elected officials left the hearings yesterday congratulating each other on a good day at the office. I mean they did help shed light on a serious subject, didn't they? Plus, they got some good TV time. That could come in handy at the next election.

I'm sure today they moved on to the somewhat less important issues like the looming recession, the war in Iraq, homeland security, record home foreclosures, etc.

On a happier note it is Valentine's Day. Everyday you should do something nice for your valentine. Use today as an opportunity to do something extra nice.

Happy Valentine's Day Shanna. I love you more than you know.

And Happy Valentine's Day Anniversary to Pat and Harold. 22 years and going strong.