This is why

As a few of you know, I help corral a bunch of middle school boys on Wednesday nights during the school year. We take a summer break from "small groups," so I haven't seen my them since the end of May. Shane (youth pastor) called me today and let me in on some excellent news. One of these young men, Nick, gave his life to the Lord a few days ago. Shane told me he was at camp when he answered the call.
Pray with me that he takes seriously his committment and that he is prepared for the battles that lie ahead. Say a prayer of thanks, too. We have another friend for eternity!

Another work story

Most of you know what I do for a living, but you may not know what I do. I spend most days driving from store to store swapping out of date product, hanging signs, and napping...uh, reading email, etc.

Today, I was on Prince St here in Conway working in a store's parking lot, when BAM!!! Immediate thoughts: traffic accident, transformer blow, asteroid impact, you know, the normal stuff. I looked around and didn't see anything. Other people heard it, though, because they were pulling over and looking around, too. I looked across the street and saw smoke pouring out from behind some trees. Not a whisp of smoke, but copious amounts. I started to walk up the street to see what was going on, when I noticed the sign: "SWAT Team Training" How cool is that?

I didn't see any real action (bummer), but at least I know that I wasn't in the middle of a potentially bad situation.

On a totally unrelated note, April took our cat, Tia, to the vet today for some grooming. She is a Turkish Angora long-hair and summers are a tough time for her. Well, the groomer went above and beyond this time. I can't help but laugh everytime I see her. Does that make me a bad person?

The Lord will provide

I came to the realization today that my attitude should reflect the fact that I will live in perfect eternity with Jehovah-Jireh. I should seek the positives in all situations and know that God will never place on me anything I can't handle.
As I attempt to survive this rather torrid time of year, I realize that there are blessings to behold. I have been struck with the desire to wax poetic, in the form of Haiku...

crunchy, brown grass lies
my lawn has its own beauty
no need to mow it

Let's play a game.

It's a hot, humid, hazy Sunday afternoon. There's not much to do, so let's play a game. This one almost anybody can get in on. Try to watch this video and not laugh or smile. Can you do it? Take a deep breath, focus, and click this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfk7G1Osogo

How did you do? Post a comment and tell us your time. I'll be honest...I didn't make it past a minute.

If you make it through the whole thing, I'll be impressed.

Cabin Fever....summer style

I used to think that cabin fever was relegated to only winter months. The heat, my gosh, the HEAT has kept us inside much more than I remember in years past. This is the first summer that Savvy has been able to tell us what she wants and throw monster tantrums when she doesn't get it. Savvy wants to "go outside" all the time, and since we don't have a fenced yard, April or I have to be out there with her. I wonder if temperature has a different effect on little ones than adults?

If you have wisdom to impart to me, let me have it. We really enjoy the new Jump Zone, but their hours are so limited. They aren't even open to the general public on Saturdays! Play World is all right, but can get pricey and crowded. All the parks and trails in Arkansas are great, but the forecast for Monday is 103 degrees and not much less for the rest of the week. Help!

Dog days of summer

I travel quite a bit with my work. I often see very interesting and unique things as I go down the road. Traffic accidents (cars in wrecks, on fire, shiny side down...you get the idea), hillbilly yard art (toilet planters, saw blade paintings, barn murals, etc.), I've even seen a 1500 lb bull walking lazily along the side of the road.
Today, while traveling with my boss, we noticed something in a parking lot right in the middle of town. We saw it, drove by, and then looked at each other saying, "Is that really what we just saw?"

It's a self-serve dog-washing kiosk.

complete with a nice lady making use of the facilities (does that sound bad?)

Oh, yeah. This thing has it all. Table with drain, water hose with ergonomic sprayer, soap dispenser, blow dryer, fur vacuum...air conditioning...air freshener dispenser. This is the Cadillac of dog washing facilities! Only a shlub washes his dog in the yard! I have seen the future, and it is in Harrison, AR.

Getting ready for church

Just like every good parent, while I got ready for church, I plopped my little girl down in front of Sesame Street. I noticed something about her while she was sitting on the couch watching TV. See if you can spot it.

It's obvious! What else can ruin...uh, I mean, hold her attention so well? I thought an experiment was in order:



Now...my question is...who says that TV is not a good babysitter?!?

Post #2! (yippeeee....)

Wow! I feel the love. Eight comments on my very first post. Nice.

Some have asked (including Jennifer F in a comment --- props!) about Savvy's need for continued medical care. Well, the good thing is that she is done with Dr. visits unless a problem erupts. Not to get too graphic, but the doc did some doctoring and she has a little less skin now. They had to remove the blistered skin so that it would not be in the way of the healing process. I thought about posting a pic, but there must be limits to what one blogs. Believe me, you really don't want to see it.

Did you know that there is such a thing as First Aid Athletic Wrap? I didn't! This is the coolest stuff. It is basically a rubber material that is stretchy and sticks to itself. It is surprisingly secure and it keeps Little Girl's sterile gauze in place. It comes in about 50 colors so that your medical treatment doesn't have to clash with your style. April came home and said that Target only had purple (not the pink we were looking for). America is the best country on earth!

In the words of S: "Don't touch the stove!" Later.

The first of many (or very, very few) blogs....

I may blog every day for the rest of my life. I may post this one entry and be done for all time. I suspect something in the middle to be the actual result.

I am not creative/poetic/exceedingly literate. I just want to join the club and be accepted. :) (Do people still use emoticons? Post a response; let me know.)

This first blog must be mostly negative due to the events that happened this weekend. Savvy decided to see if the stove really does get hot. Result? A trip to Conway Regional ER and two bandaged hands. After having to deal with the very bad pain for almost three hours, she got treatment and the pain subsided. She hasn't shed a tear in over 24 hours. She is a remarkable little girl.

The diagnosis was second-degree burns and a need for topical anticeptic and Tylenol laced with codeine. I think the codeine worked a little too well. After all the trauma, she sat in the backseat returning from the hospital and boxed mommy with her new "gloves."

The big challenge has been her not being able to use her fingers because of the bandages. She has had to resort to holding things by placing them between both hands. Eating requires assistance every time. This reminds me of about a year or so ago when we had to feed her all her meals because she was still learning to eat.

On a more pleasant note, we spent yesterday morning at a birthday party at the new Jump Zone by Wal-Mart. That was a blast. Their giant inflatables where awesome! Savvy and I rode all of them. She even rode the huge pirate ship slide (about 15 feet long) by herself...twice!