drop-kicks are not cool

As per every Monday, we get the kiddos after school, but pick up E and J-Boy early for the whole day. I look forward to Mondays like you wouldn't believe. Those two little rascals are something else. Anyhoo...

We had lunch with A's grandma and the kiddos at Spaghetti Warehouse - um, the kids eat a three course meal for $1.99. That's right. A buck and 99 pennies. And the adult portions are more like family-size globs of food...so leftovers? Yep.

Oh, they have this little mechanical crane candy machine there...sweet! For fifty cents, they give you three tries to amass as much random candy and - Chinese finger cuffs. Really? - as you can. E walked away with a beanie full of stuff. Yes, he kept his stuff under his beanie. On his head.

J-Boy got some candy and a leap frog, but he really liked this other game where you have to disprove the laws of gravity and inertia to win anything other than a gumball, so...yea, that game didn't work so well.

And....then we went home and we played Legos for a hundred hours until it was time for A to get the rest of the gang from school. She left. I did some work. The two tiny ones took a two hour nap. Ah, silence...

I woke them up around the time everyone got back home and we had Thanksgiving Dinner, Part 4: Leftovers from the Picked-Overs. The kids liked that they technically still got to celebrate the holiday with us through reheated food, so it was a score. And, after dinner, the kids spread throughout the house as usual.

   M and Lil' B got tractor-beamed in front of the TV.

                        J-Boy and G assumed the Xbox playing position.
   
          E was on a special Lego mission.

and...

I helped Lil' A and J-Girl continue their project: the boy's Christmas present. I'd tell you what it is, but that'd so spoil the surprise. Duh.

I did that for a bit as the boys called my name throughout the house in search of me until I felt my presence was needed elsewhere...and that was playing keep-away with the boys using a beanie baby bear of G's. All was kosher until....the incident occurred.  Dun. DUN. DUNNNNNN!

Things were getting a little heated - literally, the temp upstairs was like 100 plus twenty! - when G, who gets a little aggressive at times, a lot of the time, pulled the old drop-kick move to J-Boy's stomach. I called an immediate "time out!" And then set out to rectify the situation, but G - who can be stubborn - isn't one to want to apologize to anyone, nor admit to any wrong-doings he may be a part of. So...

When we then encouraged him to do so in a "parently manner," he got hurt. Upset. Offended. Bottom line: his pride had to take a back seat and he, nor his tear ducts, liked that idea. He then blamed us - namely, me - for his being upset, rather than focusing on the instigating issue that brought whole upset-ness about in the first: In this instance: his foot to J-Boy's gut.

What got me even more tiffed, was G's elated reaction when he saw that he inflicted pain. On purpose.

                    I get that some behavior is learned.....
                                                                                
                                                 ......some is instinctive....
                        
  ...but, have no fear, dear readers...I'm gonna be quick to snuff out that smoke before it starts fire. G is such a great kiddo, but his attitude will get him in trouble if he's not careful. And therein lies my job as a role model. To help prevent things like that from ever happening.

Will I succeed 100% of the time? Not a chance. Will I continue to try and correct his behavior when and if he stumbles again...and again? Put your lunch money on it!

I want these kiddos to rock the WWJD lifestyle. What is "WWJD" you may be asking? It's "What would Jesus Do?" Great question and even greater philosophy to try and live by. Not always easy, but it's always right.

Thanksgiving Mem'ries 2010

Thanksgiving 2010, in the books. It was our first time hosting the festivities, and our second time celebrating thankfulness and gorging together. I like hosting at our home, because when it's over...we're already home. No driving while heavy eyelids yell at you for overeating that controversial tryptophan-stuffed Turkey.

We had a nice, small gathering of 7 at our house: my Dad, half-sister and her husband, as well as A's brother and his wife. And although we only had 7 there to eat, A cooked for ninety. My dad joked that she forgot she wasn't cooking for our seven kiddos this year because there was food on top of food on top of food, underneath food. And I think he was right. However, next year? Gonna be a food-a-thon over here because we have the lil' ones also. Let the feasting and food messes begin!

And speaking of food, A really outdid herself. There were helpings and sides for days. And desserts and appetizers. Teas, wines...beer? Hey, we're in Texas! Goes with the territory. Anyhoo...

The whole day was great. We started it off with a couple bucks & a Bible's "Operation: ThanksBibling" downtown handing out the Word, then made our way back here to cook - um, well A cooked...I watched. And took pictures.

We hope to have even more people with us next year to help celebrate the giving of thanks. Hope everyone's went splendidly!

I Believe...#14

Jesus is our Savior!

(Wait...so is it "Savior" or "Saviour?" What's with that "u?" Looks weird...)

                                                                             Anyhoo...

Happy Thanksgiving (a day early)! Give thanks where they are most deserved.

I Believe...#13

Window cleaner, paper towels and trash bags. Three things you should spend the extra $.50 on. Every single time.

There is no good reason it takes ten sprays to clean one window. There is no good reason a paper towel should break apart like a comet entering the earth's atmosphere at the slightest touch of moisture. And there is no good reason a trash bag should suffer a catastrophic blow-out when only being half full.

In life, the phrase "you get what you pay for" is not always true. Sometimes I get Diet Coke at $1 per bottle, sometimes I get it for $1.59. However, when it comes to most cleaning supplies, the phrase has never been more true.

quick take on Solomon

After reading about Solomon, I got this: When it comes down to it, towards the end, it seems that Solomon thought that he was wiser than his own wisdom. His God-given wisdom. That's...um, kinda dumb. How can you be smarter than your smarts? "I'm gonna outwit...myself?"

Sure, at the onset, he was supersmart and on the right path. The man had it going on. He was God's dude. Building Israel into the greatest nation on earth. You know, it's "Golden Age" - quite literally if you read about Solomon's Temple to God, and his palace. Wait, why was God's temple named after Solomon though? Oh yeah..."absolute power corrupts absolutely." Now that's not one of Solomon's Proverbs either...that quote's from John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton. (Um, how many names does one guy need?) Anyhoo...

Turning from God when it was God who hooked you up with the superbrain in the first place, to then go and worship random idols like Elmer Glue's Elsie...come on. Professor here should've taken a cue from all his ancestors and not turned away from God just because the good times were rollin', because the tides ebb and flow, my friends. Ask any surfer or beached whale. You need to continue to glorify Him even when you're getting free cable. Nobody likes an unappreciative giftee. Nobody.

However, I am not anti-Solomon. How could anybody be? Check out his works. I'm just saying it's a bummer the way things turned out. But, they had to. God breathed, and so it was done before it even started. Try to wrap your brain around that sometime. Just sayin'...pack a lunch.

Granted, I'm reading a full-length comic book version - literally! - of the Bible, but I'm learning a lot. The stories are more like "Cliff's notes" versions, but the Words and stories are there. So, it's not like I'm reading a Star Wars comic book. (I did that yesterday. Duh.)

I know too much about nothing.

In church yesterday, I was thinking about the whole "trying to figure out why God does things the way He does" stuff that people sometimes do. I mean, probably should've been listening to the pastor, but anyhoo...

As I was pondering and trying to rationalize and play devil's advocate and piece things together with the stuff I have in my head from years of learning whatever randomness the world has taught me - I kept getting in my head "I know too much about nothing."

It's funny, because it's kinda true. And while knowing too much about nothing is great for, say, a game of Jeopardy...it's not so much a plus when trying to break God's "code" or decipher what He was saying in the Bible. Worldy knowledge is just that, worldy. Of the earth. Not beyond it.

I talked with A and then came to the conclusion that trying to understand how God works, trying to dismantle the teachings and rebuild them, is like trying to do a complex math equation with a grocery cart and a piece of celery. (We were at Target, saw a cart, there ya go...) Can't be done. And why should it? You wear a watch, but you don't care how it works. It just does. You're (usually) never late. You and the watch are on good terms. If you don't question the watch and how it does it's thing, it's probably best to not question Jesus and...let Him do His thing.

This reminds me of the easiest - and most trite? - thing to say to non-believers and anti-religious types about if there's a watch, there must be a watchmaker...but you've heard that a thousand times, so I won't mention it here.

One more thing. I know my blog journey started out simply about the kiddos and that was awesome. However, this blog was always intended to be just that, my blog journey. The kids are a HUGE part of my life now, but so, too, has become Jesus.

                                                                   Our non-profit efforts.

                                     A couple bucks & a Bible.

                                                            Still doing films and writing screenplays.

And you will see other endeavors on here in the future...because I believe being a role model doesn't stop when the kids aren't around. It's something I work hard to get better at each and every day, even on our off weekends.

vacuum cleaners really robots from Mars?

I love how E likes to vacuum. He begs us to do it. Score, right? I mean, it's not like a 3-year old is gonna do the superbest job ever, but he takes the edge off. I just love that he loves to clean, because I love clean things.

Speaking of vacuuming, I wonder why Kami, our pup, and all her other pup relatives and descendants hate the vacuum cleaner. Like it's some robot from Mars bent on world domination, and only the dogs know it, so they bark their heads off trying to warn us. Sure, the vacuums play innocent, what with the cleaning up of our rugs and carpet all the time, but they're just waiting. Waiting for the time to strike.

Anyhoo...we got the kiddos last night, for just the night. Today they shall begin their Thanksgiving time back at their other home. We won't get them for like two weeks plus some other days, so that's a bummer-

***Ha! Pardon the interruption, but E just came in with the vacuum to clean the rug in my office - it's so funny that he drags that thing around and it's taller than him! Right now he's trying to tell Kami to "come on" and leave the office so he can start cleaning. "Her's not going." Classic! Okay, back to the other stuff... ***

And tonight we are going to the Margarita Ball in downtown Dallas since A scored some VIP tickets from a client, so we are going all out. The town is gonna be painted red. Well, maybe a reddish shade of some sort. We're not twenty-something hoodlums. Anymore.
So...A has a stunning black dress, she re-did her hair back to blonde and hooked up a spray tan. She's pushing an 11 on a scale of 1-10.  I got a suit for the ball. I didn't own a suit before this, so that's a good thing to have around for any and all suit-type happenings and goings-on in the future as well.

Ok...so I'm gonna go back to hanging out with the kiddos. Nerf gun Lego wars, couch potato'ing, sword fights and other cool "role model-ey" stuff.

lions..."Oh, my!"

My mom, A and I took E and J-Boy to the Dallas Zoo yesterday. It was so cool. E was telling us the whole ride there about the "biggest elephant he's ever seen" - in 3 short years, how many elephants could this precious bundle of energy have seen? Apparently enough to have now categorized them by size.

So when we get there, elephants are on the agenda. But first, petting zoo. Yippee. Well, maybe more of a "yip." In the bird feeding area, one of the big "chickens" - as E refers to them - pecked his face as he leaned down to feed it a worm. The "chicken" was in reality this random exotic bird, and E's war wound was more shock than anything else, but that chicken deserves a biscuit coffin for his behavior. Well, he IS a wild bird in captivity, trapped and surrounded by people it now fears. Here's a thought: no bite-happy soldier birds in the petting zoo. Brilliant! We filled out an incident report and moved on.

Soon, we found ourselves near the monkeys. One was being tormented by a scoundrel of a squirrel, who would run the length of this tree branch just on the other side of the net from this monkey. He'd try to chase it, but it'd reach the end of that branch and leap onto another part of the tree, all the while taunting the poor monkey. Bullies...

The highlight o' the day was when we got to this other monkey area. Okay, they probably weren't monkeys. They were like orangutans or something. They had yellow on their faces and pink "bottoms." No lie. J-Boy was quick to point that out. Joy. Anyhoo...

The father monkey was standing right at the glass as we came up. As we neared it, so did a younger monkey. E and J-Boy were so enthralled at the younger monkey being this close to them, that they were startled when he suddenly...smacked the glass right by them. They jumped and laughed, and it kinda seemed like the monkey was smiling, too.

Then he did it again...and the boys smacked the glass back. This went on for a moment. I nudged A and pointed to the father monkey, watching his kid at play. It was an awkwardly touching moment. Two different species, worlds apart...both enjoying their children playing together. Magical.

So then we went on to see the gorillas. It was kinda cool, because they were so far off in the back of their little encampment at first, that the pictures I took reminded me of those Big Foot photos you see. Some large, hairy man. Blurry and too far in the distance to come to any kind of solid conclusion. However...

A quick jaunt back around to the front gave us a great view. Up close. My mom started taking pictures of a gorilla sitting against the rock when the flash must've caught his/her - didn't look under the tail to determine male or female, sorry! - eye and they came over. Right in front of the glass. Like "paparazzi time!"

We got some great photos. One I took reminded me of this book I read back in college called Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of "thinking" and whatnot.

Even though we saw all these cool wild animals...the boys were super happy when we finally saw the...ELEPHANTS! There they were. Hanging out with the zebras and giraffes. Like the wilds of the Serengeti in Africa. Only without all the life-threatening stuff that comes along with that.

And the giraffes, man, there was a couple there....newlyweds. Had to be. All lovey-dovey. Don't tell me love isn't a universal feeling, able to be felt by any and all of God's creatures. Cuz I got pictures that'll prove you so wrong!

Oh yea, we fed the giraffes what looked like graham crackers. This one guy ate so much, that J-Boy kept laughing and saying, "He's hungry! He's sooo hungry!" Of course, then E repeated that. So, we heard that a whole bunch.

I almost forgot...as we ventured across the zoo from one side to the other in search of "the biggest elephant" E's ever seen, there was a picture of a lion on a poster in the tunnel. It was either my mom or A who said, "Ooh, look, lions." But it was definitely J-Boy who immediately responded, "Oh, my!"
The day was so awesome. The boys' faces - and even E's "chicken"-pecked face - were priceless. I wish joy came that easy to us adults.

on the path

John 8

¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
   ² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
   ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
   ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.
   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

***

We are all sinners. By nature. By birth. Well...by Adam and Eve, but whaddya gonna do, right?

We all have pasts. Some good. Some, not so good. You can't outrun them, but you can overcome them.

That's what I am attempting to do. Walk the path. Practice some What would Jesus do?

It's not easy. It's hard. Real hard. Fighting your natural instincts to become better than what you are now.

I am on the path. Slowly learning again what it means to be a true Christian. Not one who pays lip service to the church and to Jesus on random Sundays and holidays. Did I mention it wasn't easy?

I love Jesus Christ. I love becoming a reborn Christian. The feeling is...overwhelming. In a good way. But, it's hard. Hard seeing others you care about not walking the path with you, and knowing what may happen in the end. It's hard seeing your friends stuck in their same destructive circles over and over and over again, and feeling there is no way to get them out. It's hard looking your 7 God-given children in the face and knowing I'm not yet really their stepdad, and that A and I are, according to the Old Testament, living in sin. (Can I get an Amen for the New Testament!)

I was reminded of that sin yesterday. Someone posted that on our a couple bucks & a Bible blog. On our homeless outreach, it's-not-about-us-it's-about-spreading-the-Word-on-the-street blog! It stung. It stung us. And of course, they left their message of attempted derailment "anonymous." I couldn't help but feel Satan had a hand in that. Maybe he didn't...but doubt was clouding my mind all yesterday anyway, and that was the cherry on top of the gross melted sundae.

I am renewed today. I look at the happy faces on that blog of those people who we met. Who Jesus was reunited with....and something good was done that day. No, something great. And we will continue to spread that "great" in the coming days.

I'm on the path. Looking back at my old life only to wave on my family and friends to walk with me.

I think this blog will be better for it as well.

Word on the Street!

Real quick. We went on our very first ever mission into the inner-city to hand out a couple bucks and a Bible gear to the homeless and Word-weary. It was such a blast, extremely fulfilling, nothing less than soul-warming. We were there for only two hours and handed out 50 Bibles like they were cake. I hope people are eating them up...with their brains and hearts and minds, not their teeth and mouths.

Next time, we're taking 100 Bibles out. This journey we are on, it is taking us to places we have never thought imaginable...the money hooks 'em, the Good Book reels 'em in!

Test. Test. Test.

Okay, so yesterday I came to the realization - hallucination? - that everything is a test from God, measuring our patience, temperance and faith. Everything. Anything from dropped cell phone calls to being fired at work. It's all a test designed to see how we react, and if we are capable of handling certain situations like grown-up adults should. If we look to the Light Side of the Force, or edge towards the Dark Side. If we seek help through Jesus, or throw a temper tantrum right there in the store. Test. Test. Test.

Of course, there's a super big chance not everything is a test. Some things just are. They happen because they happen. Of course by design, but not life-shattering enough to toss under a microscope and seek underlying meanings and third layer understandings. It's just life, happening. However...

It is so much easier to say "it's a test." God is testing us, and like most tests I take, I am not one to sit back and accept a "B" or "C." And most certainly not an "F." Nope, I like passing tests. So if my faith is being tested in "why is there traffic at 2 o'clock on a Tuesday, do these people not have jobs?" scenarios, I'm gonna take a deep breath, count to ten and smile at the notion that I've just been tested, and I passed.

Run out of gas? Test. Bank closed early? Test. Random midday traffic? Test. Of our patience and our faith that we know God is working out the quirks and  kinks in all of us, helping to make us the perfectly oiled machines we were supposed to be.

"Faith of a Mustard Seed" Handmade Unisex Necklace

Keep faith alive with this handmade unisex necklace. The cork-capped glass bulb holds a single mustard seed. The necklace is high-grade rubber with a surgical tubing clasp, ensuring that you will maintain your mustard seed of faith at all times.

****$10.00****

(All proceeds minus tax and shipping go to a couple bucks and a Bible. You get a cool necklace, the cause gets funds. That's win-win, believers!)

Matthew 17:20 "You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

idle hands are puff hands

Now that I have oodles of free time on my hands, just waiting to be used up on all my to-do's...I find myself leaning towards lazy instead. Why is it when we're short on time, we tend to get a lot of things done within those allotted hours, but when we have all the time in the world, we waste much of it in the "planning" or "I'm about to" stages, rather than the "active" ones?

I guess idle hands aren't just the devil's workshop, they may also just be plain lazy. And if that's right, then the devil's workshop has to be a pig sty. Full of fat, motionless puff hands doing nothing all day. That's no kind of shop I want to be working in.

Meet Zip Blank

Whilst playing Legos - who? me? - with the kiddos, I came across the idea to infuse a Lego character in my upcoming Star Wars tellings of Bible happenings. His name is Zip Blank, a Rebel Pilot who was knocked off course on his way to attack the Death Star with his fleet during the time of Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

Although  a contemporary of Luke Skywalker's, Zip did not know him, nor does he possess any Jedi skills to his knowledge, or to anyone else's, for that matter. By all accounts, Zip is, and shall continue to be, a normal person like the rest of us. Interacting, engaging and otherwise exploring the countryside of the unknown planet he has been stranded on.

He will come into contact with various figures from the Bible, witnessing the events that occurred so long ago. There will also be cameos from your favorite Star Wars characters sprinkled throughout.

While the stories will be written for my kids to help them understand the stories of the Bible in a more familiar setting, I want anyone to read them who thinks that they want to. 

I will add a link to the storyblog as soon as it starts up.

something E said

"I can see morning outside!!!"

Said this during his fourth or fifth time of bounding into our room trying to get us to wake up. He saw what light did through yonder window break. You see, light outside means morning, and morning means you don't get to sleep anymore.

I Believe...#12

I'm not quite sure about "act your age, not your shoe size." Ten year-olds seem to have an awful lot of fun.

"My feet hurt. I'm through with Halloween."

A few days removed from All Hallow's Eve, I now reflect back on it with such amazement. Sure, I got a little antsy when some of the kiddos - Lil' A and her cute (dark) Angel costume in particular - would run off a house down from us, messing up my "stick together" initiative, but that's just a role model being nervous about bodysnatchers. Other than that...amazement.

The kids looked so awesome in their costumes, even though I see the boys in their's pretty much every day I see them. The girls...they looked sweet. I wish I could show you guys a picture, but for some reason I am not ready to go passed the first letter of their name stage, even though we have plastered FB with their pics. It's a weird quirk. I'll seek help for it.

So we live in a pretty small, but oddly lotsa-street-having neighborhood. I had no idea to be completey honest. I thought we had three, maybe four, streets...but there's some in this hood that branch off of other streets and sprout into all different directions. And...that equates into lots of pavement pounding. Which leads me to E's declaration to me about 3/4 through the night of, "My feet hurt. I'm through with Halloween."

I couldn't help but laugh to hear my little 3-yr old say that while holding up his arms to me to pick him up in his awesome Iron Man costume. Iron Man does fly after all, so after all this walking...I guess he would be tired. And in that heavy armor. I get it.

Rounding the last corner into the home stretch, J-Boy, oops, Spider-Man, was the next to give up on candy-seeking. And with Spider-Man usually swinging from webs instead of hoofing it, I totally get that, too.

So, one by one, the kiddos began to fall off the Halloween bandwagon. The only real two hangesr-on were J-Girl and Lil' A, who were upset we were gonna pack it in and head home. Oh, and M was wearing A's costume from the night before - with a little modesty-enhancing improvements - complete with something like 5-inch heel boots. Her feet were screaming. Not barking, screaming.

So fast forward down the street, we are home. The candy is poured out and kids are sorting through it. Tasting it for the first time because I am still scarred by the idea my mom or someone must've put in my head about parents ALWAYS checking the candy first before anyone gets to it eat. I loathed it then, as did the kids now. I 100% understand it now. There are crazies out there. Best to check your candy situation first.

Which leads me to Peanut Butter M&Ms, which Lil' B got, but opted out of sharing with me. When I asked him for this little snack pack of PBM&Ms and mentioned I loved them, he too, surprisingly became quite fond of them, even remarking, "But they're my favorite." Hm. This is quite odd, Watson. I've never known him to even mention this particular candy before, nor ask me to buy it the many times we've been at the store.

Who didn't I mention...who didn't I mention...? Ah yes, G! Usually the most rambunctious of the lot, he was very well-behaved all night. Even remembered to say his "thank you's" each time about halfway through the journey. Maybe it was his Batman suit keeping him in line and the idea that he needed to be a beacon of "good" on a night designed for "bad." Yea. We'll stick with that.

Enjoy your candies!