For all the snot-ball sufferers... you have been lifted to the LORD in prayer.

Tonight Lincoln prayed for all of the people in the world who may have trouble breathing because they have snot-balls in their nose or because they have asthma.On Friday we drove past Lincoln's preschool and I pointed it out to him. He said, "I won't have to go to preschool for very long because I know most things." He must take after his mom on that one because I'm sure I never said anything like that when I was young.Henry has found his screaming voice, and over the past couple of weeks he was using it liberally when he wouldn't get his way, and the screaming would phase into an all-out tantrum. It's been hard because if/when Lincoln and Lydia behave(d) in a similar manner, we'd discipline them accordingly, but with Henry, a different standard applies. Yesterday I made it a point to pick him up and hug him at the first sign of a cry, no matter the cause, before it turned into a screaming, raging fit/tantrum. It made me cringe at first because my first thought was that it would re-enforce the behavior. It sure would with L or L. But it didn't do that at all with Henry. At each turn, he'd stop crying within 30 seconds, and then I'd set him back down and he'd go about his business. Jenn took a similar approach throught today (Monday), and things went well.Last evening we went to an event at CCC-Hudson that was an all-campus party. It was really, really cool: live jazz, ice cream, games for the kids, plenty of space to bring a picnic dinner for the family and sit with friends. Lydia is in her element in big crowds, Lincoln was a very good boy, and Henry enjoyed the small slides, walking around with Daddy, and a little bit of the ice cream... until his mouth got too cold.I've also learned this summer that container gardening is half-fun. The problem is that there is so little yield. I'm going to work on getting a garden in the ground next year.

Swings & Angry Birds

Our own version of Angry Birds!

Playset Installed!!!

Today was a full day. Henry and I did most of the grocery shopping for the Men's Retreat this weekend, then he, Lincoln and I went with Grandpa Doug down to Leesville Lake to turn on the A/C and take the load of groceries. And while we were gone, the playset got built! Yea!!!One of the workers found a nest of bunnies in the yard. Idiot bunny. Gretel found them in the early evening, so I moved them outside the fence line. The mom saw me, so hopefully she'll care for them... and protect them from the cats.We're continuing to have water heater problems. Because it's still under warrantee, I've been advised to try to work with GE to get it fixed because it'll either get fixed or they'll give me a new water heater. Hmmm. Maybe. I'm a little irritated that Blind & Sons didn't work to either find a solution or work with GE to find a solution. They came out to the house three times and neither a fix nor a suggestion, other than, "You really need a Rinnai with a family of five. Nevermind that three of my five can't take a shower on their own. I get that they want to sell me a new water heater, but even if they passed on the sale, at least they'd be reaping the labor costs. I'm pretty much done with them on this issue.

Jenn's out with her friends for Bible study, and I've got to review my notes for Friday evening. Adios.

Ledges, Summer, 2012

It's been a while since we've been on a hike. Who wants to walk outside when it's 90+ in temperature and near 90 in humidity? Yesterday wasn't as bad as it's been, weather-wise, so we packed up and went to the Ledges. Henry's not much for walking on unsure footing, and he was wearing new-to-him shoes, so he rode in the pack for most of the way. When he got out near the end, he overcame his anxiety and did pretty well. Lydia is turning into a good little hiker, mostly because she has no fear. Lincoln is a good hiker in another sense. He's not near-wreckless like Lydia, but rather he's becoming a confident boy on the trails, being careful on steps and over walks while also enjoying the things around us to see and hear.At home, the biggest issues have been obedience and crying. And it's funny how the lack of the former contributes to the latter. Lydia, especially, has been horrible at following simple commands, and when she's led to do the right thing, there is a show of what we call "fake crying." It's just as loud and annoying as the real thing, but it's for no good reason. The joys of toddler-hood. Heaven help us when she turns 3.

Jenn went to the Women of Faith conference over the weekend with some friends from church. While there were good parts of it that she appreciated, she said more of it was like a pep-rally, and Jenn's not into pep rallies, but instead into solid teaching from the Word. So the next time there's a solid, red meat teaching conference that comes around, look for Jenn there.

I've got the third annual Men's Retreat coming up this weekend, and because I've had help from some of my buddies in the planning process, I have this strange feeling that I'm missing something. Perhaps it's because we had it all planned out several weeks earlier than in the past. That's a nice feeling. Sadly, our ABF teacher can't be a part of it because of a death in the family. The show will go on, though, and we've got a good group of guys signed up. Once again, it's at the Leesville Lake cabin, and once again, we've got good food and teaching in the works, so it ought to be a good weekend.

But before the weekend comes, a new play set (purchased with the generous help of Grandma Laura & Grandpa Dave) will be installed in our backyard this Wednesday! Rest assured, photos will come...

Dad Time

With Jenn out of town for the Women of Faith conference on Friday and Saturday, I had an extended Daddy Day with the kids. We weren't sure what to expect following a week of concentrated attention from the Parkinsons. Jenn got outta Dodge for the initial decompression, and instead of 5 on 3, it was 1 on 3. Overall, though, they were pretty good and we had lots of fun.

Cedar Point

Today after work I had Lydia and Henry to myself. They napped a good bit, and after we went to pick up Jenn's watch, er, time piece, at Jared's, I thought I'd swing by Chik-Fil-A for dinner. I don't need a good reason to go to Chik-Fil-A as their food tastes awesome, but today was an unofficial "appreciation" day for all of the crap they've been taking from the people who have a problem with an owner of a private company expressing his personal views in response to a question from a television reporter. Well, it would have taken us at least an hour to even order. The drive-thru line at the Chapel Hill wound out into the road between the restaurants and the plaza shops while the line to get into the store was out the door and extended to the back of the parking lot. If these big city mayors and special interest kingpins with big megaphones want to stir the pot, they'd do well to know that there is a legion of folks out there who are just fine with either (a) Dan Cathy's position, or (b) a private citizen holding an opinion while also making darn good sandwiches in the process.

So I'll just have to register my anti-boycott wallet-vote on another day.

Dang. I nearly got on one of my soapboxes there! Back to family stuff.
I had L & H today because Jenn and Lincoln went to Cedar Point with the Parkinsons! I received a number of texts throughout the day from Jenn saying Lincoln was having a blast. He's not yet tall enough to ride the big coasters, but that didn't seem to be a problem in the least.The boy is tired.