Tuesday Blahs

Hello all,

It has been a long time since I have had a day like today. I spent most of the day on conference calls regarding an upcoming project. They last hours. I am attending because my group will be supporting the product once it goes live. I sit at my desk and watch the presenter scroll through pages of code. When it was finally over, I wanted to leave the office. It was too late in the day to get started on anything and too early to really leave. I was stuck.

Finally at 4:15 I decided it was time to go home. I had hoped that Ali's soccer practice would have been cancelled, but it was not. I picked Ali and Zac up from Vanna's and headed to the soccer fields with Zac in tow. An hour and 10 minutes later we were on our way home. It was almost 7 o'clock when my garage door closed. I had been away from my house for over 12 hours. Yikes, I had not done that since I left Embarq.

Dinner was easy since I had a roast in the crock pot. Clean-up was not as easy.

It was soon 9 o'clock and time for bed checks for the kids.

Finally time for me.

-Andy

Rain

Hello all,

It was a nice night to be inside. I believe the Spring rains are starting to fall in KC. It rained today and is suppose to rain again tomorrow. My yard is going to need to be cut before too much longer! I need it to dry out for a couple of days before I can get my mower through it.

-Andy

SNOW

Hello all,

Well the snow did come and has gone already. We received over five inches of snow yesterday. Most of it has already melted by 4:00 today. My grass looks great now. I can't wait to get out there and start mowing this Summer. I'm looking forward to playing with the kids in the back yard.

-Andy

KU Loses

Hello all,

It was bound to happen. KU lost in the NCAA tournament. They only had two shooters and it came up to bight them last night. I'm hoping that MU can win tomorrow and make it to the Final Four.

-Andy

Winter Weather Moving In

Hello all,

It looks like OLD MAN WINTER is going to give Kansas City one more dose of snow before he calls it quits for the year. Yep, the forecast is for 6-8 inches of snow before Sunday. Yippee!!! I'm heading home at 4:30 and making dinner. After dinner, I'll go to HY-VEE and get some groceries for the weekend.

-Andy

MU Wins

Hello all,

Well the MU Tigers managed to pull a close victory out last night over Memphis. They were up by over 24 points in the second half and managed to walk out of the gym with a 10 point win. Talk about choking when the game was on the line. I hope that KU has a better game tonight against Michigan State.

-Andy

Sad News

Hello all,

Today Jennifer and I learned that a close friend of ours has stage 4 cancer. She found out a month ago that she had breast cancer. Her doctors didn't know much until they did a biopsy. Today she learned that the cancer has spread to her spine. I will not share her name, but please say a prayer. She will start treatment to put it in recession very soon.

-Andy

COLD and WET

Hello all,

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... Today is a cold and wet day in Kansas City! Where did all of the warm weather go from this weekend? I thought Spring had arrived? I guess that Winter has one more round of cold weather to get out of its system before we can get outside and enjoy the fresh air again. I hope this passes soon.

-Andy

Zac's Practice

Hello all,

The wind just about blew Zac off of the soccer field tonight! Wow!! the wind was really whipping around. I was standing with the other parents and we were having trouble standing at times. I could tell a sever thunderstorm was heading our way. I felt sorry for the kids as they kicked the ball into the wind and many times the wind would roll it back to them. When they kicked with the wind, the ball would roll the length of the field. I was happy when the coach called for an early dismissal for the kids. Zac and I hurried home to eat pancakes! That warmed us both up.

-Andy

More Games

Hello all,

Kansas and Missouri both won their games today! The good feelings in town will continue for at least another three days.

The kids played outside for most of the day today. The weather was great. I could not have asked for a better day to be outside and work in the yard. It was almost 70 degrees outside and a light breeze was blowing out of the Southwest. Dad would have loved to be outside on a day like today. Jeff King's dogwood tree is starting to bloom. My flowers are starting to push through again. The grass is starting to change from dormant to green. Spring is trying to push through and show everyone it is time to wake up.

-Andy

Early Morning

Hello all,

This morning's alarm went off entirely too soon. Last night Jennifer and I watched the movie Twilight. Well, I went to Walmart and bought the movie at midnight and then came home and watched it with her. Then we went to bed, but it was already past 2:30 when the movie finished. Ahh, I'm not as young as I use to be. I was wiped out all day. I took a nap in the afternoon, but that didn't really help. I can't wait to get to my bed tonight.

-Andy

FRIDAY

Hello all,

The NCAA tournament is in full swing today. The office is in a good mood and everyone's teams have won their games. It is fun to be in the office today. I ate lunch at the Peanut (so I could watch the KU game) and get some fresh air for a change. The afternoon is dragging along. I am hoping it picks up soon so that I can get out of here. I can't wait for the weekend to start!

-Andy

NCAA Games

Hello all,

I just love this time of year! The Men's NCAA Tournament started today. Excitement was in the air. Can an lower seat pull off the upset! I watched the online scores post for most of the day and then headed home to watch the exciting conclusion of the remaining afternoon games. We watched the evening games at Diane's. It was nice to just be with family tonight.

-Andy

Church

Hello all,

Tonight's small group topic was about how God works through tragedy. One of the examples given was a man who lost his 18 month old child due to an accident at home. The child was crushed by his vehicle while he was moving it in the driveway. The question was: "How does this make any sense?" What is God's plan? Why did they take his daughter at such a young age? It was a tough message to hear.

That was the seed for the discussion group. It was shared how God takes everyone sooner or later. It is a tragedy when the person is young, but a blessing when they are older and frail.

Jennifer shared our story of how Ali was born not breathing and how much she struggled in her first years of life. She battled chronic respiratory issues that put a tremendous burden on our family and marriage. Was Ali's struggles there to test us? To say "If you want this, you are going to have to fight for it?" Is that right? Why would God want to test us over and over again? Why would God want to condition us to listen for Ali's coughs and pray she keeps coughing so we know she is breathing? On nights that she slept well, we didn't. We were too afraid to sleep deeply. Either Jennifer or I would get up just to peak our head into her room to listen to her sleep. It was stressful. I'm sure that period of time was the foundation for my graying hair today.

Now you see Ali and she is a bright, inquisitive young lady who on most days is very nice to her brother. Was THAT the lesson we were suppose to get out of her illnesses? That good things can come from struggles? In my mind I often go back to that December morning in 2000 when Ali was born not breathing. I heard the doctor say "Baby's out, get her resuscitated!" That was the longest few minutes of my life standing on the brown square outside of the ER room. Many of you know this, but I still have the blue shirt that I was wearing that day. I wore it the day Zac was born, too. I also wore it when we visited Nicole and Kirk when Dade was born. I don't know if it my lucky shirt, but it will always be hanging in my closet. If you still have the pictures one of the pictures from Ali in the hospital, you will see a blue backdrop in the background. That is the shirt.

Back to my point: If Ali's health issues were the strain that gave us room to grow spiritually, was my father's illness and passing another "opportunity" for God to make me trust him more? What was the point of taking him so early? I was only 30. Dad should still be here and watching his grandkids grow up. He should have been able to see Ali's first basketball game. Ali is getting to the age where she is asking questions like: "I miss Grandpa. I wish he didn't die and go to Heaven. Why did God take him anyway?"

I don't have a good answer to that question. I'll keep reading and trying to understand. These are just some of the ideas that make me ask more questions.

Good night,

-Andy

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hello all,

I hope you all wore green today in honor or St. Patrick's Day. I almost walked out of the house today without wearing anything green. What a mistake that would have been. I'm sure I would have been black-and-blue from all of the pinches I would have received.

Tonight was Ali's first soccer practice. Jennifer and Diane took Ali to her practice while Zac and I stayed home. I started to make dinner while Zac played outside with Charles. It is nice to have another boy that Zac can run around with and have fun. I watched them from the deck. They were pretending that they were in space and chasing aliens in their super fast spaceship. I love that kid!

After dinner we watched American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. Not a lot to cheer about there.... It is time for bed.

-Andy

Zac's First Soccer Practice

Hello all,

Tonight I could not stop smiling while watching Zac participate in his first soccer practice. He was having fun. He looked so cute in his little shoes and shin guards. The team practiced dribbling the ball from cone to cone and not letting the ball get too far in front of them. Then the did a drill called red light / green light where the player must stop and control the ball with their feet when the coach says "red light". Zac listened and followed instructions well. The best part of the night was having him talk about how much fun he had a soccer practice. I think he is really going to enjoy playing an organized sport this year!

-Andy

Aunt Jane is in Town

Hello all,

This afternoon after my confirmation class met, the family and I went over to Diane's house to visit with her sister Jane who is visiting from Amor, Minnesota. We enjoyed our visit and talked Diane and Jane into going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was Jane's first experience at Texas Roadhouse. We were going to play a trick on her and tell them it was her birthday and make her get on the saw horse and saddle, but smarter heads prevailed.

-Andy

Final Basketball Game

Hello all,

It was a long run, but Alexandria and I successfully finished our first season of basketball together! Our game was at 1:00 at PVB. Cyndi, Vanna, Kellen, Larry and Pattie-Anne were all there to support Ali on with her final game. Ali did very good in the three periods she played. She really got after the ball and rebounded great. She even had a few fast breaks! Ali didn't score any baskets, but she did have a lot of fun. After the game, we went to Chicago Uno to celebrate a great season of Upward Bound basketball. She is already looking forward to next year!

-Andy

Friday the 13th

Hello all,

This is the second Friday the 13th we have had this year! A month ago I won a trip. I wonder what I'll win today?

-Andy

Getting Warmer

Hello all,

It feels like Spring outside! It looks like Spring outside! However, it is not Spring yet. The weather can not make up its mind if it is going to be warm or cool. Each day I check the weather while getting dressed to hear that some front came into our area and brought warm/cool air with it. It is like there is a turf war being waged by the atmosphere and we are caught in the middle of it. I'm hoping that we get some rain soon so my grass starts to green up! Lawn mowing season will be upon us soon!

YIPPEEE!!!

-Andy

Aunte Jane is in town

Hello all,

Tonight Jen's Aunt Jane flew into town from Fargo, ND. It was nice to see you again Jane. I would not have pegged you for a sloppy-joe fan! I enjoyed our conversation tonight and hope you go and see Jennifer tomorrow at Unimed. I think you will have fun riding the scooters!

-Andy

Zac's Music Performance

Hello all,

Great job tonight Zac! You did a great job at your Kindergarten performance tonight. Diane, Larry, Pattie-Ann, Jennifer, Ali and I enjoyed watching you have some fun and sing for us all.

Good JOB!!!

-Andy

Monday

Hello all,

I worked on taxes yesterday and again tonight. I'm very tired of doing them. I am looking forward to getting them filed and out of my hair!

-Andy

Sunday....

Hello all,

Daylight Savings time kicked in today and our family did not want to get up. Seriously, no one wanted to get up and get going this morning.

-Andy

Thinking of Dad

Hello all,

I am thinking of you today Dad. I miss you and know you are in a better place. Thank you for the nice weather. In my mind's eye I can see you sitting on your front porch enjoying the warm Spring breeze and enjoying a Pepsi.

Thank you for being the best Dad!

-Andy

TGIF

Hello all,

What a great night! The weather is PERFECT. It is over 70° F and the kids are outside playing. It was great to hear the kids laugh and play outside tonight. I'm so happy to be grilling out tonight and listening to the kids run and play outside.

-Andy

Uhh Laundry

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer and I tried to get through for laundry that has been waiting be washed for a few days now. They are only towels, but at some point they will need to be folded and put away. Maybe they will magically make it upstairs tonight.

-Andy

Good Shepherd

Hello all,

Tonight Jen and I had a small group meeting at Good Shepherd covering the book A Case for Faith. It is a going to be a great book to read and a good small group to discuss the content of the book.

-Andy

Basketball Practice

Hello all,

We have two more basketball practices left before the season is done. I have enjoyed my time as a coach, but I am looking forward to not being in charge of ten very enthusiastic girls for a change. One hyper girl and boy is enough to keep me on my toes.

-Andy

Uhh Monday

Hello all,

Well, here I am in bed writing this blog message. What happened today? Well, Ali faked being sick so she didn't have to go to school. That was a fun one. Jen picked her up at school early this morning and she was suddenly "fine" by lunch. She admitted that she just didn't want to go to school today. We explained that if she lies about being sick we will not know if she is telling the truth later on and we will send her to school when she really is not feeling well. I think Jen and I got the message across to her.

-Andy

Sunday Night

Hello all,

So... I've been doing laundry tonight. It seems like it never ends. How can such small kids get so many sets of clothes dirty in seven days? It was nice to have Ali help me with laundry tonight, but it would be better if they put their laundry away, too.

-Andy