Forever and a day!

It's been forever and a day since my last entry. A lot has happened since I wrote last. One of my older kids is no longer living with us. One of our older kids from our first bunch of kids has come back to us and I am a granddad. We survived Florida and had a good time. School is back in full swing and we're busier than ever.
Through it all, I am reminded that God is good. It's been tough lately. Robin is hurting with kidney stones. She has kidney stones and lithotripsy will happen Monday. I am praying for the procedure to go smoothly and for a quick recovery. I hate to see her in pain.
Another tough thing we've been facing has been waiting. Robin and I are waiting for a baby. We're on a waiting list and it's been over a year. Waiting is so hard. We feel like it's never going to happen, but it will. We have to trust and wait.
If anyone reads this...please pray for us!

2 in the morning and not much to say

It's 2 A.M. It's been a weird 3 weeks. Robin and I had a week alone on vacation on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It was such a needed break. We didn't do a whole lot. We only went to the beach two days...the beach was steps away from our gulf front rental. After our alone time, we joined the kids on the East coast of Florida. Another post will shed light on the wonderful happenings of that trip! At one time there were 19 people at the house!!
I have this funny feeling that God is at work. I know He always is at work, but I think He's stirring things up...I hear Him calling me...drawing me in....welcome home, son. Home is with Him...here on earth or there in Heaven. "Here or There"...I feel a poem in the works.

Is anyone else of going green?

If I hear any more of the "go green" movement, I think I'm going to puke. Is anyone else sick and tired of all of the dirt worshiping tree huggers shoving the go green message down our throats?
I understand we have to take care of our planet--it's the only one we've got. But come on, people...give it a break! I try to save electricity by turning off the lights. My sister-in-law accuses me of being a vampire, afraid of turning on any lights. I am simply tired of hearing and seeing the go green messages everywhere in the media. I know the environment is important...I get the point.
And another rambling thought....this whole global warming thing....it's a cycle. It will cycle back. Just like the economy...it will bounce back. It will take time. I think I might have to hurt someone if I see anything else about going green. GIVE IT A BREAK!!

One of the coolest things about summer vacation

One of the coolest things about summer vacation for me has to be coffee cups. Every morning throughout the year I make my coffee. I used to get Gevalia coffee sent to me. It's great coffee, but I found a coffee I really like better...Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I order it online and it is shipped to my home.
What's so cool about coffee cups? Summertime is a slower time for our family. This summer has been crazy busy, but we are now in "camp mode" and most of the kids are at camp. Our schedule has slowed some and we are getting ready for Florida. The cool thing about coffee cups? Oh yeah, I forgot....the cool thing is I can pour my morning coffee in a coffee cup from home. And it's not in a to go cup!
Most of the time I have to pour my coffee in a to go cup and then I roll out the door. Not today. I am sitting at the desk in the office and I have a REAL cup of coffee. A Spider Man coffee cup to be exact. It's really cool with Spider Man even on the inside of the cup! So, here's to a slower summer...a time for real coffee cups..."Coffee...Splenda and half n half...for here, please."

My wife is a very stubborn patient!

Robin does not like to be waited on. She wants to do everything for herself. I am convinced that if she was in the middle of a 42 car pile up, in the hospital for a month and then at home for home health care, she would be up and about...even in a wheelchair...doing laundry, organizing the kids' stuff, fixing her own I.V. drip, while online researching things the kids need.
She's in a lot of pain and it hurts her to move. She fusses at me for doing stuff for me...or at least protests. "You don't have to do that," she says. I want to serve her...I really don't mind helping her. ARRRGGGHHH!! Maybe one day she will let me serve her. I have already learned not to hover and bug her. I keep my distance and simply ask her if she needs something. I am a "doter". I like to dote on people. She despises doting. I have learned a balance. Yet, she still gets a little upset when I do things for her.
Thanks for letting me vent.

I don't know exactly what to say...

I am in a mood. I'm more like in a funk. I am not sure, but it's probably because my routine is off...geeze....I am just like my kids!! Robin is home from her outpatient procedure yesterday. She is really hurting because of the stint at her left kidney. At least she has no kidney stones on the left side! Of course, the 10 on the right make up for the fact that the left kidney is clear. I prayed the night before the surgery...I prayed for no kidney stones.
The fact there is no kidney stones put me in a quandary. Did Robin pass the stones in the week before the procedure, or did God take them away? Why am I so skeptical? Sometimes it's hard to believe that God works like this. I know He is ALL powerful. I know that He is ALL knowing. I guess I'm just doubting a little. I believe, but sometimes I believe He won't. Does that make sense at all?
Anyways...if anyone is reading this post, please continue to pray for my bride.

An ever-present help in trouble

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1

Wow. I needed to hear those words today! God has been whispering them in my ear today. Have you ever had "one of those days"? Robin and I have had "one of those WEEKS"! The last three days have felt like three months! Here is the rundown of the week so far...please bear with me!
Vacation Bible School Monday through Wednesday 9 AM to 12 PM
Family emergency that Robin had to help with.
Kids off of routine and acting like their world has been ripped apart (We went to VBS, for crying out loud!!)
14 kidney stones....Robin is officially "Rocky"!
One of our kids had a friend spend the night...not stressful...a great friend...but the routine changed!
One of our kids had to go to the emergency room to get an I.V. for dehydration...6 hours waiting in the waiting room.
One of our kids decided on the last day of VBS to go around the church (it's huge) with her friend to look for her friend's sister. It took 30 minutes to find her...we ALWAYS meet at the fish tank!
Our little van decided to break down...transmission...fun fun. My wife called me and said, "There is a new light on that I have never seen...a spoke looking light with an exclamation point in it." Now our four year old is freaking out because the little van isn't at home!

Craziness. Yet through it all...it's all O.K. God has been our refuge...our ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46 is really awesome...read the whole thing. It has really helped me today. Verses 2-3 say, "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Selah
Selah...Hebrew for pause. Pause and think about this. God is in control. Don't fear.

Verses 10 and 11: "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress." Selah

Pause...
God was exalted today. The best thing about today? My 12 year old accepted Christ today. How amazing! God is on His throne! In the trouble of today, God is in control. How awesome is that!!