A Great Post (Not This One, A Link to One)

I don't want to give any of the story away, but if you haven't read Rocki's post about her trip to the jail, don't miss it.

McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich

We went to McDonald's yesterday to support the McTeacher night for Nappanee Elementary. I wasn't real hungry, so I ordered their new "Southern Style Chicken Sandwich" and hoped for the best.

Wow! What a great surprise. This sandwich is fantastic!

It tastes very similar to Chic-Fil-A's chicken sandwich. I actually like it a little better than Chic-Fil-A.

Restaurant Review: La Fogata - Nappanee, Indiana

Overview:
La Fogata is the new(est) Mexican restaurant in Nappanee. It opened in the building that Ron's Bakery occupied for decades. The restaurant serves authentic Mexican food.

(March 2009 revision - I wrote some extended comments about La Fogata in the comments of this post - in which La Fogata is ranked as my second favorite restaurant.)

First Visit:
The first time I was there I ordered a vegetarian combo meal that consisted of a bean burrito and a cheese enchilada. It was OK, but I have definitely had better elsewhere. Mostly it was the sauces on the entrees that were not my favorite. But stick with me, it gets better. Kylee and Makenna ordered cheese quesadillas from the kids menu. They were made with a whitish cheese that was not the girls favorite. Everyone seemed to like the rice pretty well. Kristi ordered a chicken "burrito loco." I ate some of hers. We both agreed the burrito loco was fantastic!

Chips and Salsa:
The chips are not my favorite, but good. The chips are pretty thick and crispy. The salsa is too mild for my taste. (July 2008 revision: You can ask for hot salsa, which they happily provide. I mix some hot in with the standard mild salsa and the result is excellent salsa!)

Second Visit:
Kristi and I shared the chicken burrito loco. It was awesome again. One of the better burritos I've had anywhere. Kylee ordered a chicken hard shell taco kids meal. She liked it. I tried it and thought it was really good too. Makenna ordered a beef soft taco. She didn't like it. I tried it and didn't like it either. It was kind of greasy and a little soggy, with not much flavor to the beef. This time we were with a group of 17 people, so I checked out some of the stuff other people got. Almost everyone seemed to like their food, with some raving over it. The steak burrito loco was very well liked. Also, my uncle ordered a five-meat fajita. It looked awesome! He said it was fantastic.

Price:
We spent about $27 (including tax and tip) the first time we went, and about $20 the second time when Kristi and I shared the burrito. The price reflects all of us ordering water to drink. The kids meals do not include a drink.

Atmosphere:
The restaurant is very clean and festively painted, with a large campfire on the back wall. I noticed they had Pulse FM playing on a stereo. There is no Latino music playing through a speaker system. I appreciate the Christian music, but think that whole restaurant Latino music would add to the atmosphere. (July 2008 revision - They have had Latino music playing the last few times we have been there.)

Service:
The service is exceptional. The staff is very friendly. They also handled our party of 17 with ease. They brought the food about 15 minutes after our large party ordered. Very fast! They also didn't seem to mind at all that Kristi and I were sharing a meal. They brought an extra plate without us asking.

Other Stuff:
On future visits we will probably stick with the burrito loco or fajitas. The girls will likely get something with chicken. (March 2009 revision - The girls usually get the grilled chicken nachos or the grilled chicken kids meal. They love both of these meals.)

They are open from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM. 16 hours a day! (July 2008 revision - They are now only open for lunch and dinner. I think they open at 11 AM now.)

The breakfast selections looked to be American. I didn't notice any American food on the menu for lunch or dinner, with the exception of some items on the kids menu.

The whole restaurant is non-smoking.

Conclusion:
I'm tickled to have a restaurant of this style, casualness and quality in Nappanee. I'm looking forward to going back and highly recommend La Fogata. (July 2008 revision - I just wanted to note that all of the ingrediants of all of the dishes we have ordered have been very high quality.)

La Fogata
108 W Market St
Nappanee, Indiana

Phone: 574-773-0216

"There's the Blogger"

Let me preface this story with a few stats.

My first Blog post: March 20, 2008
Rocki's first Blog post: April 10, 2008

My Blog: 60 posts
Rocki's Blog: 10 posts

Today at my mom's church, Rocki and I were sitting beside each other in the front pew. It was greet your neighbor time, so we stood to greet. We greeted a little, then Pastor Tom starts heading straight toward us. Rocki and I both turn, anticipating his greeting. With a few final steps, he gets to us and says, "THERE'S THE BLOGGER." And turns toward . . . Rocki.

I was so taken aback I don't remember if Tom actually said anything to me after that or not. I mean if I would have been standing beside Derry, I would have expected it. But no, this was a person who had done 1/6 of the posts I had done.

You know what else. That little thing that happened in the pew was my favorite thing that happened today. I laughed at myself. Literally, almost laughed out loud three times during the sermon. I'm not sure why it tickled me so much. Maybe it was because after I recovered from the initial shock of the comment, I was SO unsurprised by it. If you know Rocki, you're probably not that surprised either.

Thanks God, for teaching me to be a little more humble in such a funny way. I'm still laughing.

Weekend Update

My mom, Aunt Janet, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve

We celebrated Janet's 70th birthday Saturday. Steve is in town from Montana, Kathy from Arizona. It's a picture not taken often enough.

Rocki planned a game of "Amnesia" for Aunt Janet's birthday party.

Other weekend happenings:

• I helped my brother-in-law, Ben with his kitchen remodel project.
• The girls had an end-of-year Quiz party at Coach Matt's house.
• We finished watching the movie Matilda.
• We got together with Kristi's mom and sister for their birthdays.
• We went to my mom's church and our church.
• We ate supper at La Fogata with the Culp clan.

Speed Test

My Internet speed test result:

Indiana's Primary

Did you know that any registered Indiana voter can request either a Republican or a Democratic ballot for the May 6 primary?

I will be requesting a Democratic ballot. Right now, the money says there is a 60% chance that the Democratic nominee will win the presidential election. Indiana's late primary usually renders it meaningless in regards to the presidential nominee, but tardiness this time has made Indiana's primary critical on the Democratic side. Additionally, the Democratic race in Indiana appears to be close; so why not help decide which Democrat will be the nominee, regardless of usual political affiliation?

Family Camp

I just got an e-mail from Life Action Ministries. Here's an excerpt.

Kicking Off a Summer of Ministry

Greetings from Michigan! We want to take a moment to give you an inside scoop of some exciting things happening at the Life Action Camp.

Family Camps
Nearly a thousand people will soon be here for family camps. Lots of planning is taking place, from meals to activities to enriching times of spiritual refreshing. Pray for us as we minister and refresh these families this summer.

A New Ministry
A great new ministry began when we hosted our first Couples' Getaway in February. We invited a few family camp alumni to be our guinea pigs and give us feedback about its effectiveness. The retreat was so fruitful that we have scheduled four of them to be sprinkled throughout the 2009 calendar year.

Last summer was the first year our family attended the camp. We're going again this summer. I thought their e-mail summed up a week at family camp pretty well, "meals, activities and enriching times of spiritual refreshing." It's a great place to take time out from life as usual and concentrate on building your family and your relationship with God. I can't wait to discover what God has in store for us this year.

Some of our pictures from last year's family camp adventure.

Weird Fish

We've been riding around Nappanee's bike path in the evenings this week. Everyday when we go by the golf course pond (the one close to the boy scout cabin) we see this strange fish swimming partly out of the water.

Math Work Sheets

I'm at work on my lunch break, so I'll post something educational. Here's a great site from which math work sheets can be printed.

http://www.themathworksheetsite.com/

The site produces top quality pdf files that look like they could have come from a school workbook. The pages are also highly customizable.

For so many kids a little math review over the summer goes a long way in the fall.

22 Years Ago Today

From my 80s journal:

Tue. April 22
Happy Birthday Heather. I played badmitten at noon. I had A states & capitals test today. I got A 98. After school I played basketball with Anthony, T. J. & Toby. I pulled Toby on a Pixie bike with my 3-wheeler, he pulled me a little to. I went to see my aunt Blanche tonight. She has cancer. I watched "Who's The Boss?" tonight. Then me & Mom & Sel Copeland went to look for Halleye's Commet. We didn't see it.

• I was definitely smitten with Heather Smith. She was my on-again, off-again girlfriend for a few years.
• My Aunt was my grandmother's sister. She did not live too much longer.
• A states and capitals test would have been right up my alley.
• Trying to see Halley's Comet would have been right up my alley too.

My New Ride

I got my new bike today. Rides like a dream! Even came with a bell!

Just Click the Big Red Bar

Anyone else think the "Big Red Bar" they always talk about on Newscenter 16 is a little hokie? I do. I am a little curious about what's behind that bar, but I refuse to click it.

The Tandem

We have a forty year old Schwinn Twinn tandem that my mom and dad bought in the late 60s. I used to ride in a baby-seat on the back when I was a toddler.

When I was in middle school it was the coolest ride around. My friends and I used to fit as many as seven people on it. Mike, Toby and I did some pretty amazing "tandem tricks" along the golf course rode in Nappanee during these years. Well, I'm not sure how amazing they were, but I know I would not attempt them today as they involved completely rearranging the seating positions of the three riders without stopping the bike.

The past few years we've used it as an extra bike. My dad and I rode it last summer when he was here. Kristi's parents use it sometimes to go on family bike rides with us. Pastor Paul and Laresa rode it out to McDonald's with us last summer. Recently, Kylee and Makenna have grown tall enough to ride on the back seat. I know it won't be long until Kylee and Makenna can ride it together by themselves. Who knows, maybe some day their kids will be riding the tandem.

Today at Church

At church Pastor Paul is doing a series entitled PEAK:

• Prayer
• Evangelism
• Abiding in the Word
• Koinonia (Fellowship)

This week's Bible reading was 1 John, chapter 4. Concerning verses 1-3,

1 My dear friends, don't believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. 2-3 Here's how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought! (The Message)

Pastor Paul gave some examples of where the spirit of the antichrist is apparent. One of the examples concerns Oprah's new book club selection (and its corresponding events,) A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. During the church service we watched part of a YouTube video about the book and Oprah's club. Here is the video:

A Top 5

I set this Blog up to display the "last 50 posts." This is post 50, so with my next post, the entries will start dropping off the bottom, rarely to be read again.

I love blogging. It is not a chore, but something I can do for fun and relaxation. I do put some work into my posts though, so I hate to see them disappear into the archives. I suppose that is why I set the blog up to display so many posts on the main page (sorry to people with a slow Internet connection.)

In honor of Post 50, I present to you my top five favorite posts so far.

• #5 It's Sort of Like My Economic Stimulus Check Just Got Lost in the Mail
  The repair on the van was a bummer, but I had fun writing this post. I especially like the vehicles photo retrospective, a lot of them remind me of great family times.
  
  
• #4 Book Review: His Little Princess
  I enjoy passing on a good thing to others. I don't think book reviews are the easiest thing to write and I hadn't done one since I-don't-know-when. But I thought it turned out OK.
  
  
• #3 A World Record
  This one was fun. It's also my most commented on post.
  
  
• #2 22 Years Ago Today
  Another fun one. I think I should do more of these. I enjoy reminiscing.
  
  
• #1 Play Cars
  Landen at his cutest!

Anyone else have a favorite or a top 5? I'd love to have the feedback.

Rocki's Testimony

Rocki Stillson is my cousin and life-long buddy. She has an amazing testimony of being restored and rebuilt by God.

She's also quite an interesting public speaker. With her permission, here is a two-video series of the testimony she gave at the Nappanee Presbyterian Church in 2005, not too long after being released from prison. To help set the stage; I think everyone she mentions is in the audience, including her kids.

Part 1

Part 2

I'm on a Diet

It's called the "Don't Drink So Stinkin' Much Mt. Dew Diet." I made it up myself. Here are the basics.

• Don't drink very much pop
• If hungry between meals, eat some fruit or Cheerios
• Try not to eat too much, especially junky stuff
• Get some exercise

I've lost about six pounds in the last six weeks. Today I dropped below 140 for the first time in a few years. I don't think I have weighed under 130 since 2000. That's my goal.

His Mighty Warrior

When I was doing a little research for my book review on His Little Princess, I discovered that Sheri Rose Shepherd has also written a comparable book for boys entitled His Mighty Warrior. We ordered it from Amazon and it arrived today (along with our craisins.) I read a couple of the letters and prayers and they were just as well done as the Princess book. Here's a review on another blog.

The Barbarian Way - Post 3

Here's a quote and comment from my recent reading of The Barbarian Way.

Somehow Christianity has become a nonmystical religion. It's about a reasonable faith. If we believe the right things, then we are orthodox. Frankly whether we ever actually connect to God or experience His undeniable presence has become incidental, if not irrelevant. We have become believers rather than experiencers. To know God in the Scriptures always went beyond information to intimacy. We may find ourselves uncomfortable with this reality, but the faith of the Scriptures is a mystical faith. It leads us beyond the material world into an invisible reality. We become connected to the God of eternity. Who you are at the core is spirit. God is Spirit. To walk with God is to journey in the spiritual realm. Page 61

"We have become believers rather than experiencers." Could this be me? I hate to admit it, but I think so.

I want more. I want more of experiencing His undeniable presence.

Five Things

Five quick things:

1. Sending me into a bike shop is dangerous to our finances.
2. They started tearing down the bowling alley.
3. There are really big snapping turtles in the ditch by our house.
4. The playground was really busy today.
5. I don't actually understand what sushi is. I should look it up, and try it.

Bike Switch

I sold my mountain bike! The new owner is an 11 year old boy from Saxtons River, Vermont. I was hoping to avoid having to ship it. Although, I am glad it sold because I already bought my new bike, a "bike path bike" this time. Definitely a step down on the coolness factor, but a step up in riding comfort. The new bike is on order and is supposed to arrive early next week!

Population Clock

I've seen population clocks on the Internet before. But this one is different. It goes beyond total world population by listing all sorts of factors effecting the human population. . . traffic accident injuries, new HIV contractions, war injuries, etc. The clock can be reset to reflect numbers so far this year, month, week, day or since the 'now' button has been pressed.

The numbers are interesting and amazing. Some are heartbreaking.

Since I started this blog post there have been. . .

• 15 suicides
• 123 new cancer cases
• 2,100 births
• 1,200 deaths
• 720 abortions

In the Newspaper

There was an article in the South Bend Tribune last week about my class web site. The article can be read here.

Mountain Biking

I took up a new hobby a year ago, mountain biking. I bought a decent quality bike for this endeavor. Only problem is I only actually mountain biked one time and that was with my then six-year-old daughters - on the beginner trail. (Full Disclosure - I did ride it to the top of Nappanee's sledding hill a few times as well. Does that count as a mountain in Indiana?)

My bike is now for sale.

Nunemaker's House

14,500 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms
$490,000

I just happened to see that Nunemaker's house is for sale again. This time on eBay. For comparison sake, here is a current listing from Garden Grove, California.

965 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
$465,000

Shout to the Lord

They sang Shout to the Lord on Idol Gives Back and the Results Show. You can see both of them on YouTube. (They'll open in a new window.)

Idol Gives Back version
Results Show version

There is one main difference between the versions. On the Results Show they sang "My Jesus," on Idol Gives Back they sang "My Shepherd." (The original song says "My Jesus.") By the way, the Itunes version says "My Jesus."

I'm not going to nit pick their edit in Idol Gives Back. I'm glad they sang it both times. In my opinion they certainly did move in the right direction including the name of Jesus the second time around. However, if they would have only sung it the first time with "Shepherd," it is still clearly a song sung to Christ. There are lots of songs that Christians sing in church that don't contain the name Jesus. Millions of people heard the most important truth of all "nothing compares to the promise we have in Him."

Listening to Shout to the Lord on the Results Show stirred a memory from just over seven years ago. We used lyrics from Shout to the Lord in our 2000 Christmas letter, my favorite Christmas letter we have ever written. I read it this morning and nearly started sobbing when I read the line "We had always hoped for twins." Guess I'll share it.

Wishing you a doubly Merry Christmas

When we were children, the year 2000 seemed like such a distant time. It certainly did arrive quickly. While last year it became much easier to determine “How old I will be in the year 2000,” it would not have been easy to predict just how eventful this year would be.

Last winter we decided we would like to move back home. We started looking for jobs and a house. As it happened, we found a house first. We felt so blessed when both of us quickly received job offers. Steve accepted a second grade teaching position at Bremen Elementary School. It was hard for him to leave Eastlawn, but he has quickly grown attached to Bremen. It’s a great place to teach. Kristi opted for a speech-language pathology position with Plymouth Schools. She is enjoying her new position as well. We particularly enjoy our daily car-pool time between Nappanee and Bremen.

Our house is great. Since moving in on June 30th, we have made quite a few improvements. It has been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. We especially like living close to so many friends and family members. Our house is pretty big and close to the park. As it turns out, these features are going to come in quite handy.

We found out we were expecting a baby on July 1st – our fifth anniversary. On September 26th we found out we were expecting twins. Our babies are due on February 25th. We are getting pretty anxious. We had always hoped for twins, but were quite surprised when we heard this wonderful news – a true “double blessing.”

It is humbling to look back on the year and see how God has worked in our lives.There is a song we really enjoy singing in church by Darlene Zschech. The chorus goes:

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing. Power and majesty, praise to the King. Mountains bow down and the seas will roar At the sound of your name

I sing for joy at the work of your hands Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand Nothing compares to the promise I have in you.

There is so much truth in that last line. In this year of a terrific “double blessing,” we are most grateful for the ultimate blessing – the promise of eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus.

“…All who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing…”
Galatians 3:9

Play Cars

About a month ago Landen and I got my old Matchbox cars out of the attic. He REALLY likes to play with them. He likes it even better when daddy will "play cars" with him.

5 Things I Want My Kid to Know

I feel honored to have been tagged by one of my blogging heroes, Rob Henschen. Rob is a great writer and an honest and interesting blogger. Check him out if you haven't, I bet you'll learn a thing or two.

I'm still pretty new to blogging, and didn't understand the whole tag thing at first. I think I have it figured out now. If you get tagged, you're supposed to answer the tag question.

So, here goes.

"What are five things I want my kids to know before they grow up?"

1. Jesus' love for them.
2. How to have a personal relationship with Christ, and to desperately desire a relationship with Him.
3. That I love them immensely and try to be a great dad, but that I fall so short of their Heavenly Father.
4. How to pick a great spouse.
5. How to spend less money than they make.

If I have this figured out correctly, I now tag five others.

Meagan - my sister in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kristie - someone whom I'm pretty sure I don't know, unless I know her through my aforementioned Kentucky connection, because I picked up the link from Meagan. Kristie has a great blog. Just read the "About Me" on her user profile and you'll be hooked.

Shelly - the author of one of my favorite blogs.

Tilly - nothing like hearing from a kid, on what is important for kids to know.

John - since Rob tagged me, I'll tag Rob's best friend John to see if it will inspire him to do a second post. Plus John's a great guy and I'd love to hear his insite on this question.

A Nagging Question - Answered

Soon I want to do a post about the procedure I have for my daily Time Alone with God. Having a consistant, meaningful time I set aside for God has always been a struggle for me, but God has blessed me the past month with a fresh approach.

Today during the Listening portion of this time, God laid something on my heart and answered a nagging question.

Did you read yesterday's post about The Barbarian Way? If not, you may want to read that first.

I have had this doubtful thought sneaking up on me occasionally the past four or five months. The thought goes something like this:

"Why does God seemingly miraculously cure some dieing, pleading cancer patients, but not physically pluck cars full of drowning, pleading passengers out of ponds?"

I know that probably sounds like a ridiculous thing to waste my time pondering, but lets face it, God could pluck a car out of a pond just as easily as He could cure a cancer patient. Why does he seem to only do the less obvious of the two?

Remember yesterday's "Cool thing to remember?" God reminded me of it during my time with Him this morning.

"Do not fall away from Christ because of the great things He has done for some, but knows would be better left undone for others."

Those are the words I wrote regarding Matthew 11:6.

Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me. Matthew 11:6

I was thinking in the exact way that Jesus told John not to think in this verse.

I'm thankful I was listening when God spoke to me this morning. God does know what would be better left undone.

It's Sort of Like My Economic Stimulus Check Just Got Lost in the Mail

Our family has a goal to pay off our house as quickly as possible. We're in it together. Last month, Makenna asked me, "Do you think once we get the house paid off we could get a Karaoke machine?" I love that.

A good scenario would conclude the mortgage in September 2009. Today that scenario took a significant hit.

The air conditioning isn't working in our van, a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan. Our friend and mechanic, Josh McCoy took it into the shop today. He found some other stuff too. Here's a run down:

• $800 for air conditioner compressor
• $250 for front brakes, rotors, etc.
• $250 for back brakes, rotors, etc.
• $150 for something else concerning the brakes
• $200 for some linking thing that keeps the front of the van from swaying too much
• $100 for leaking transmission oil

$1750 Total

The van is probably worth a little less than $3000. And we would like a new van before too long. The thing is we would like a vehicle to replace my truck too, because it is way too small to fit three kids in the back comfortably (or peacefully.)

So our plan was to eventually trade in my truck for a new (to us) van. I would then drive the old 2000 Grand Caravan.

But with the prospect of the huge repair bill staring us in the face, we had to consider our options. Here are the main ones we considered:

1. Get the necessary things fixed on the van (not the air conditioning,) trade in the truck now for a new (to us) van. Then I would drive the old van without air. We don't drive my vehicle much in the summer anyway.
2. Don't get anything fixed and trade in the van for a new (to us) van now and keep the truck longer.
3. Get everything wrong with the van fixed and still eventually trade in my truck for a new (to us) van.

Option 1:
I don't like the idea of still paying about $1000 to get the old van running, and not even having air. I think not having air, would keep me wanting something else sooner.

Option 2:
It is really not fun to pick three kids up and pile them in the back of my smallish truck with coats, backpacks and a diaper bag. I need to drive something with more room eventually.

Option 3:
Who wants to put that kind of money into an old vehicle? Not me. But it is really not the vehicle we want to get rid of. I just said in option 2 that I need to drive something with more room, well what better option than our old van? It wouldn't be my first choice for something fun to drive, but I'm really not all that concerned about looking cool.

The Decision:
We chose Option 3. I dread spending that much money getting the van fixed. But you know what would be a bigger bummer? Replacing it with a used van and having some big repair bill on that shortly thereafter. While it is a definite set back on getting the house paid off. It is the option that sets the goal back the least. And that is our goal. We're sticking to it.

Plus, as I hinted at, the old van will be a practical replacement to my truck someday. And OK, I'll admit it, I want that old van!

Our Vehicles: A Retrospective

Just Like Troy and Gabriella

Guess it's embarrassing video day around here. If the DDR video weren't bad enough, there's also a clip of Kristi and I singing "Start of Something New" together on Tilly's Blog. I mean at least I'm half way decent at DDR. I thought I was pretty good at Karaoke too, guess not!

Cool Search

I was just looking at the web site stats for this blog. I noticed that someone who visited the site had searched for "brent gall nappanee in." Brent is my dad. He lives in Henderson, Nevada now, but is from Nappanee.

The Barbarian Way - Post 2

On Sunday I posted a short quote from The Barbarian Way. John was in prison, his death knell at hand when he sent his disciplies to ask Jesus the question. How did Jesus answer the question?

"Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

The author (Erwin McManus) offers an insiteful take on this.

Jesus was saying to him, "John, I'm not coming through for you. I'm not getting you out of prison. I'm not sparing your life. Yes, I have done all this and more for others, but the path I choose for you is different from theirs. You'll be blessed, John, if this does not cause you to fall away."

"Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Cool thing to remember: Do not fall away from Christ because of the great things He has done for some, but knows would be better left undone for others.

A Video I Really Hope Doesn't Go Viral

Kristi and I were playing DDR this afternoon, so I mentioned taking a video to put on my blog. Kristi's a good sport, so she said "Sure." Her stipulation though was that I could only get her feet and the TV in the video. Well, I did the best I could.

The video is so ridiculous looking, it is probably comical. We had a lot of laughs making it anyway. Here is take 9 of Steve and Kristi playing DDR, a video I really hope doesn't go viral.

Buzzer Beaters

It was great to see an exciting NCAA championship game. (Although I dozed off a little around halftime because I was so tired from the sump pump project.) Mario Chalmers hit a great shot to send the game into overtime.

Here's a video from a Minnesota high school championship game. This shot sends the game into a second overtime, in which the team eventually wins the game. The shooter is Blake Hoffarber, who also made an amazing buzzer beater for Minnesota to beat Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament this year.

Summer Safety

With summer just around the corner, it's time to think outdoor safety. Today's tip: If your two year old wants to roller skate on the cement and you don't have a helmet that fits him, stick a stocking cap on his head. Safety first!

I Hate Philosophy

I really do. With that in mind, trudge with me through this post.

I do not struggle with believing. I believe that the Bible is God's Holy Word. I believe that God created the universe. I believe that God is working in my life, changing me, molding me. I believe that Jesus is my risen savior.

I do struggle with doubt. My struggle with doubt is that it really bugs me. Sometimes I'll get this flash across my mind that says, "What if you're wrong in what you believe?" or "What if all of this did just accidentally happen?"

So,

Am I wrong in what I believe? I REALLY doubt that.

Did all of this just accidentally happen? I REALLY doubt that too.

My faith is strong. I am certain that God's grace has rescued my soul through my faith is Jesus Christ. My response to God's grace? Strive to live my life in a way that is pleasing to Him.

I have a thoughtful faith, not without questioning. I am sure that what I believe about God is correct.

While I know a lot about God, with way more to learn. My knowledge is based on stuff I believe, because. . .

I am a believer.

Mall Night

As part of our simple spring break week, we took the kids to Mishawaka tonight. We spent about an hour and a half at University Park Mall. We just went to goof around and spend time together as a family. The kids had such nice attitudes tonight. That made it really fun. When we got within view of the Disney Store, Landen actually raised both of his arms and said, "Yeah, yeah!" We didn't even spend a dime in the entire mall, just had fun.

Speaking of not spending a dime, they have this tiny merry-go-round ride in the middle of the food court. It is for three kids to ride on and it costs $1. I don't think I have EVER paid for my kids to ride on one of those things. (Except for maybe at Meijer, where "it's only a penny," but I don't usually have any change anyway.) So our kids are used to getting on these rides and just sitting there without moving. (I will sometimes give the ride a little shake for them though.) While the girls were sitting there tonight, another kid got on and his dad was getting money out to pay for the ride, so I told the girls to get off. But the guy said they could stay on. So, they got to ride for free. The girls got a free ride on that thing when we were at the mall about a year ago too.

Hopefully, I'm not too cheapskatish. I don't mind spending money, I just don't like to waste it. I try to set a good example for the kids about being cautious with our finances.

Mr. Sump Pump

We moved into this house almost eight years ago. Since then I don't think a year has gone by in which I haven't worked on some sort of a sump pump project. Here are some of them that I can remember:

• Change where pump discharge line goes into sewer
• Change pump discharge line to go into the lawn (this was necessary because when the line went right into the sewer, the result wasn't always that pleasant in regards to the bathtub drain.)
• Run discharge line in a trench all the way across the lawn into the ditch
• Have Kristi bail water into the bathtub while I run to get a generator from my father-in-law
• Install battery back up pump system
• Install new main pump
• Install new battery in battery back up system
• Install new switch on main pump
• Run main pump back into the old sewer hook-up-connection because of main line running across the lawn into the ditch freezing
• Install new backup system that operates on the city's water pressure - this one goes into the original sewer connection, but is not powerful enough to produce ill effects in the bathtub (It also will work if the main line freezes.)

Oh and last year I pumped out my cousin, Rocki's flooded basement and installed a new sump pump for her. I guess I'm just Mr. Sump Pump.

The new water powered backup system has been my spring break project. It's done and working. There is one leak - but hey it's leaking into the sump pit! So I'm going to fix it later. Then I'll have another sump pump project to add to my list.

SportsNation

I enjoy voting in ESPN's SportsNation polls. The best part is checking out the map of how the vote is going in each state. Today's poll is "Which team will the NCAA basketball championship?"

• 59% of all respondents picked Memphis
• 82% of respondents in Tennessee picked Memphis
• 17% of respondents in Kansas picked Memphis

People are such homers. The polls are on the right side of ESPN's homepage.

Zoo Day

We went to Potawatomi Zoo today. Landen had fun naming the animals. He was really cute. We bought a family zoo pass. The family pass is $55. It not only gets us in for free at Potawatomi, it also includes free admission to over 150 reciprocal zoos across the country. It's a good deal and will encourage family outings this summer.

The Barbarian Way

I started reading The Barbarian Way tonight. Here's a quote:

John sent his disciples to ask Jesus a question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:3) It was a fair question, wouldn't you think? In fact, it's a question that all of us should ask. If Jesus is not the One, we should not follow Him. But if He is the One, we should follow Him at all costs.

A World Record?

I have this VHS tape labeled "Super Mario Brothers World Record." It is a recording of my best time saving the princess, about 5 minutes 54 seconds. The recording was made about 10 years ago. It's not a record. The record is 5 minutes 8 seconds.

I must have been a real nerd, recording a video game and all. Last night I hooked the VCR up to the computer and uploaded the Super Mario Brothers "World Record" to YouTube. I'm still a nerd.

Final Four

I'm ready. Four number one seeds in the final four that have run roughshod through the tournament so far. Something has to give. I'm hoping what gives is a final four filled with three great games. Can't wait.

Kate DiCamillo

Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors. I've read three of her four novels. Here's how they rank.

1. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - This is one of my favorite books period. Mrs. Kelley (the girls teacher this year) mentioned how much she enjoyed reading it to her T1 class last year. So, I read it to my class last fall. They loved it like little else I have ever read to a class. My class even wanted me to read it to them again, so I did in March. I've had have to swallow the lump in my throat both times to get through the coda, and still barely make it. I hope Mrs. Kelley doesn't read it this year, because I really want to read it to the girls.
   
   
2. Because of Winn Dixie - I read this to the girls three years ago, right before the movie came out. They were pretty little, but they liked it. I've also read it to a number of my classes. You know how India Opal's mom isn't around, well the other two books on this list have missing mothers as well. Made me wonder if DiCamillo's mom was missing. I found the answer here. I enjoy this book every time I read it.
   
   
3. The Tale of Desperaux - I have read this twice now; just finished reading it to the girls tonight. I also read it to my class a few years ago. It was better the second time. I may read it to a class (or Landen) again sometime, but I wouldn't consider it a must.

Dance Dance Revolution

Kristi and I have still been playing DDR on a regular basis the past few weeks. I thought it might be interesting to see a video of me playing DDR 32 years ago. Seriously, the kid in this video is amazing. The sequence from the 40 to 47 second mark is especially difficult. Watch for some future videos to show how "amazing" my family is at DDR in comparison.

Spring Concert

Kylee and Makenna's spring concert was tonight. The girls both had parts in the show. Little did we know that Makenna had one of the five lead roles. The real treat was seeing both girls step up to the microphone quite confidently for their parts.