Fly on the wall!!

Well it has been a while! Not that I haven't had any thing to post about, just life sometimes gets busy. So I have been away from home for a little. Doing some schooling! Some days it is really exciting other days I am wishing that I was at home with my family. This experience of being away has brought us a different way of communicating. Via internet video chatting!! It has not been the same as being on the phone or sending letters through emails. We have used snail mail for communication as well. What I enjoy about this form of contact is that there have been many times that my wife has called me and left the line open while she carries on with her tasks of running our home. She has been wonderful at keeping our children safe while juggling all of her responsibilities. I think she likes to leave the line open so that I can feel like I am part of the family during my down time, yet there are many times that I feel like I am a fly on the wall just watching not really able to interact. When I do attempt to help her with the children I feel like I am that buzzing pest that is trying to fly up your nose. I hate feeling helpless with my family. I am so grateful that I have been able to keep my relationship strong with my wife and been able to talk and pray with her. I am glad that she will always be there for me even if I am what feels like a light year away. I hope that I can be the same for her by being that support that she needs. Lord please help me be an Ebeneezer to my family!!

I'm sorry that you wanted to spank me!

Disclaimer: this is not about disciplining children or whether spanking is an effective method.

So we are preparing to move. Amy is at home still in recovery from Samuel's birth. She would like to organise the house while I am still at work, yet some of the older children feel that it is their duty to play with their friends that they shall never see again as often as possible.

So when I returned from work the plan was I do some cleaning while Amy prepares dinner. I went to the basement and started to clean. Time was not a worry and I was well into a task when I was called up for dinner.

I can get cranky over certain things, (which is why I have these things happen frequently, to teach me control) like being prematurely taken away from tasks that I am super focused on, or children not wanting to eat meals, yet will devour any form of junk that is within a mile of the table three seconds after saying I am full I don't need supper.

I come upstairs and the meal is cooked and Amy may have been dealing with a wee one. So I decide to dish out the food. Get me eight bowls and serve out the stew. Luella takes a look at her bowl and proceeds towards the garbage with it. I interceed to stop the tragic loss of this well prepared dish. This now becomes a power struggle between 40 year old parent and 4 year old child, I move the bowl to the center of the table and go to gather spoons to civilly eat with. Luella plays the Daddy is out of the room I will climb on the table and dump my food gambit. I return to the dinning room to find that one of the bowls are empty. I play the your bowl is empty and you disobeyed Daddy card and send her to her room. Mommy intervenes and Daddies ability to disipline is thwarted liked the vader he is.

I banish myself to the basement to finish the job I started. Luella comes down, "Daddy we have to talk"

"What do you want to say?"

"I am sorry"

"Why are you sorry?"

"Daddy, I am sorry for making you want to spank me."

Now in no way I felt that I wanted to spank her for wasting her food. I felt that going to bed without dinner or having her eat out of the garbage were more fitting punishments. Sometimes justice is left unsatisfied.

Today I don't feel like doing any blogging.

We have the European cup and the Olympics. They will bring happiness to some and sorrow to the losers and their fans. A temporary happiness or sorrow that will be a fleeting moment. Erased by the news, like that which we recieved not too long ago of a young girl who faces surgery, a lump inside her head near the brain stem. The joviality becomes less as the night passes and the anticipated news creeps out to the world as slowly as this night seems to pass. Good news that they will wait til morning that means that it won't kill her immediately yet her family waits for the word as to when? What will this mean for this budding Soccer player? This dancing queen? The mind races with uncertainty and doubt. Then a phone call from a friend, a leader from church, who willingly comes to sit in a chair and listen and then envoking a blessing on the home and family. The comfort of the spirit flooding my soul as a worthy servant bestows great blessings of peace.
Now I hope our niece will get rest and prepare for this battle she must fight and know that there is many that stand by her to support her. So today I blog for Jo Jo.
I think I will shave my head in support of my niece.

Dynamo Short Wave Radio

Alec found my emergency radio. He asked me how it works. I told him it needed batteries. He wanted to know what type. I told him AA. He wanted to know what double a batteries were. I told him the type that are used in the Wii remotes. He got the spare batteries right away. Always put things in ways others can relate to.
We started to play around with the switches and knobs til we found a channel that we could hear something. I don't know what language it was but he was excited to hear it work. He started to move the knob and found a baseball game. My wife told him that was how people would find out about the game by listening to the radio. Alec decided to share his new knowledge with his brother Kaleb. "This is how they watched baseball movies!" We relate the unknown with what we know.

Daddy that is one of my boyfriends!

I fear driving around with Luella. It seems that whenever the two of us are driving she starts a conversation that scares me. I never know what will come out of her mouth. She started to tell me about how she will have lots of boyfriends when we go to Ontario. She talked about going to school and having 6 boyfriends. Then proceeded to spew out gibberish names 8 names that I counted. She will be starting JK this year. She seems excited to go to Ontario. Now that she is talking about boys and is so young maybe this is the wrong choice to send her to school.
Now don't get me wrong I love the fact that she will talk to me about anything. Earlier she wanted to know where rain comes from. I tried to take her through logic. Showed her the clouds and told her they were made of water vapour. I then asked her where rain came from. She responded "Bakugans." Some times I think she is looking for the shock factor. And when Luella talks about her boyfriends bam she knows how to shock daddy.

Master calm my troubled seas!!

Last night at about 1 o'clock in the morning I came across an suv flipped over. A large cumpled ball of metal. I pulled over. When I approached the vehicle I saw a hand coming out of the sunroof. A young girl of about 20 years old. I checked for a pulse and noticed she was breathing. I initiated a call to 911. Within about 5 minutes emergency vehicles were all over the place. Hour and a half later I was on my way. I arrived at my hotel room at 3:30 in the morning. Wrestling with sleep. Tossing and turning all night. This afternoon I tried to nap with the thoughts coming back to me. Tonight is not much different. I seek solace I know that I can find it with my Lord. After seeking council, the thought ocurred to me to write this experience down. I know where my harbour is, it is with my family.
I feel that I should share about my love for the hymn Master the Tempest is Raging. I was nearing the end of my 2 year mission for my church. In my last area I worked with a woman who could not attend our church meetings because she wanted to be obedient to her husband. He told her she was not allowed to attend church. So as to avoid conflict she would have us over for lemon water and pound cake. Before we would leave she would ask us to sing Master the Tempest is Raging. Every week! I asked one week if we could sing a different hymn. She explained that while she struggled with her issues of not attending worship with her fellow saints she recieved enough solace from the words that she sings prayerfully each week waiting for her safe harbour. I learned to love that prayerful song more that day. I love it everytime I am away from the safe harbour of my family.
So if you see a redheaded guy walking down the street singing to himself. It might be me seeking to calm my troubled soul. Just as sharing these words have helped me still my troubled mind.
Obrigado Dona, for such a valuable lesson!!

Away from Home

The family is moving. I have been given an opportunity to travel ahead and scope out the area we will be moving to. This is a great time to see what the community has to offer, and I want to assure that we will have all that we require to live there since I will be traveling from home often. I know that my and my wife's extended family will be closer with this move. So family support is, hopefuly, going to happen more frequently.
This trip is going to give us a sense of comfort by allowing us to know what is there in the community. Where are the doctors? Are they taking patients? My daughters are into competing in vocal competitions. Can we find a suitable teacher? What are the schools like? Will we do brick and mortar or will we continue to teach from home? What is the local church like there? I know that my family is very adaptive. I love that even though we may have conflict at times they do forgive and love each other. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife who may inflict undue pressure upon herself, yet she is a great example of love. Some days I feel like I am more of a nuisance. I hope she knows that being away from her is difficult. I enjoy what I do and the places I have been, Dorthay had it right "there is no place like home."