We survived 2 days and 2 HOT nights at Camp McCall. We had 3 Dads and 7 boys with our group. Although we didn't get to everything at camp due to rain delays and thunderstorms, I think all of the boys in our group had the time of their lives. Dylan enjoyed all the birthday attention on Tuesday too. I am checking my emails and doing a little work but taking it easy as we are heading to Carowinds for a fun day with the boys tomorrow. Friday is my only "full" day at work, I am enjoying the break. Well, more later when my energy meter shows "charged". See ya!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Dylan's 7th Birthday Party, Change of Plans
We had a blast yesterday for Dylan's 7th birthday party. It was a Ben 10 themed party and the boys made aliens with cut-outs of alien body parts to start the party. Then, they played some Game Cube (of course). After cake and ice cream, they played a mean game of pin the Omnitrix on Ben 10. Don't mention it to Dylan but a girl (his friend, Nick's sister Jessica) actually got the best spot on the poster. But, they didn't care. It was fun. Dylan was more than overjoyed with his presents of Bionicles, Indiana Jones lego set (he told me this was his favorite this morning, and the reason we heard him at 0630am going downstairs to play), a hologram Omnitrix and some Godzilla toys and a couple of cool laser guns and water soakers. Needless to say, he got plenty of new toys.
We will actually be at Camp McCall on his birthday, which is Tuesday. Looking forward to that and I will be on vacation Monday-Thursday with a big day at Carowinds on Thursday.
Given all of that planned fun, we decided to skip Bele Chere this year and just hang out today. The good news is that we get to go to the Freedom Fellowship baptism tonight, which will be at Lake Cunningham. Plus, the BBQ afterwards won't be bad either!
See ya!
We will actually be at Camp McCall on his birthday, which is Tuesday. Looking forward to that and I will be on vacation Monday-Thursday with a big day at Carowinds on Thursday.
Given all of that planned fun, we decided to skip Bele Chere this year and just hang out today. The good news is that we get to go to the Freedom Fellowship baptism tonight, which will be at Lake Cunningham. Plus, the BBQ afterwards won't be bad either!
See ya!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Freedom Update, Garage Shelves, Camp
God is working some very cool stuff. You may remember back in May, I wrote about a guy who came into Freedom way beyond drunk... About Last Weekend.
Well, that guy is now in rehab and is working through that misery and looking up as he works on the healing that needs to take place.
Check out this letter from someone who is working with him as a sponsor during his rehab.
Please consider lifting Tony in your prayers as he struggles with finishing his course of rehab and continues his walk with Jesus. Even better, send him a card encouraging him in his course.
Miles comes home from camp today. We are all ready to see him. This is the longest Tricia and I have ever gone without speaking to him. I know he has enjoyed himself. It's amazing that he is already at this stage of life. Dylan is ready for his turn next week too. Dylan's birthday party is tomorrow. It's a Ben 10 theme and we will have about 10 6-10 year olds here for a few hours. Shouldn't be boring!!!
Check out my cool storage shelves I put up with Charles Lamb last night.
They are super strong and I can walk on them without problems. The garage is looking great and I can park the van and walk around the back and front of the van (with the door closed). Sorry, but Keller still has to stay in the yard. Well, gotta get back to work. See ya!
Well, that guy is now in rehab and is working through that misery and looking up as he works on the healing that needs to take place.
Check out this letter from someone who is working with him as a sponsor during his rehab.
Hey yall,
I wanted to follow-up with everyone at Freedom that I had an email address for regarding Tony White. On behalf of Tony's accountability group (Scott, Jimmy, Rocky, Ray and myself) we wanted to give you an update on how Tony is doing.
The five us had the opportunity Sunday afternoon to sit down and visit Tony during their visitor's hours. Tony is doing as well as expected. The days are long and monotonous, the environment is stale and pretty negative, and the presence of God is hard to find amidst everything. As Tony put it, "people are here for 2 reasons: either the judge made them come or they are here in order to get their kids back after DSS came and took them away." Scott and Rocky had a chance to participate in a meeting last Wednesday and they will be the first to tell you that it is a sad place to visit. There is no positive energy, no warmth, and honestly no hope as the program expects that people will be back soon after they relapse. What a tragedy! Even Scott brought up the name of Jesus in a meeting and people started attacking him immediately about Christianity, etc.
I say all this to give you a small glimpse of what Tony has to endure for 26 days. He said their days are comprised of basically 4 things (eat, sleep, meetings and smoke breaks, repeated over and over) It is against the rules to talk to a female, let alone even look at one without getting written up, so all Tony has for fellowship are the other guys who are there, of which none share the victory that Tony has in Jesus Christ. So a friend is not to be found and as a new follower of Christ, Tony is basically alone.
We, the body of Christ, have the unique opportunity to have a tremendous impact on our brother in Christ these new two weeks. Some of you have written letters or sent cards to Tony and what a difference that has made. Not even 5 minutes into our conversation with Tony, he pulled a folded-over pile of cards out of his pocket that some of you have sent. Some people he knew, some he didn't....but honestly it did not matter one bit. Each card spoke one consistent message loud and clear: Tony, we love you, we are praying for you, and we are here for you....and he kept those words literally on him all day long.
Some of you may not know Tony at all and that is okay because in some ways, your words of encouragement to Tony mean more than the rest of us that do know him. You see, to this day Tony is still blown away by the fact that he literally stumbled into
If you have not yet sent a note or card to Tony, please consider doing so. If you have already sent one, send another. Your words of encouragement and prayers cannot be measured in their level of importance to Tony. They are truly the food that he hungers for spiritually and will sustain him through this test of faith, patience and endurance.
I'll leave you with this, when we drove into the parking lot of Holmesview Sunday afternoon, Tony was standing at the window waiting. Scott told him Wednesday that all 5 of us would be there Sunday and Tony told the people who worked there that he had 5 sponsors (not just 1) and all 5 of his sponsors would be there Sunday afternoon. God has used the body of Christ at Freedom Fellowship to make an eternal difference in the life of Tony White. Your prayers are priceless, your love is unconditional, and your words of encouragement to Tony are keeping him alive throughout these 26 days.
Thank you in advance for sending cards, notes and letters in the coming days. Tony's last day is August 8th, so from now till then let's send him reminders of how much we love him, care about him and are praying for him. Here is the address one more time:
Holmesview
Attn: Tony White
BTW: Feel free to send this email to anyone in the church I may have missed that would be willing to pray for Tony and send a card. God bless, -Dan, Scott, Jimmy, Rocky & Ray
Please consider lifting Tony in your prayers as he struggles with finishing his course of rehab and continues his walk with Jesus. Even better, send him a card encouraging him in his course.
Miles comes home from camp today. We are all ready to see him. This is the longest Tricia and I have ever gone without speaking to him. I know he has enjoyed himself. It's amazing that he is already at this stage of life. Dylan is ready for his turn next week too. Dylan's birthday party is tomorrow. It's a Ben 10 theme and we will have about 10 6-10 year olds here for a few hours. Shouldn't be boring!!!
Check out my cool storage shelves I put up with Charles Lamb last night.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Father's Day 2008 Picture
Our friend, Jeanne Brown from Freedom, took pictures on Father's Day. I really like this picture. Thanks Jeanne!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Rush in Review
What a fantastic night of music on Sunday. The band was engaged and somehow more "on" than usual. Geddy's voice is still hanging in there despite this being the end of the tour. Note for note they were tight and the energy from the crowd and the stage was electric. Miles had the time of his life, he was dancing and singing to the tunes. He was so proud of his "Hold Your Fire" tour shirt and he got a lot of compliments on it as well. We also got a new tour 2008 shirt too for him along with a cool poster and tour book. The poster is now laminated and up in the hang out room. It looks great.
Some of the highlights in the 1st set were "Digital Man", "Ghost of a Chance" and "Between The Wheels". I think I could listen to those every night and never get tired. 2nd set started with "Far Cry" with the dragon fire pyrotechnical display. They changed the set break video from the last tour which really made the 2 different tours stand alone. The set list was close to the last tour but some gems like "The Trees" and "2112: The Overture" back in the mix. Although the tour is heavy on the new stuff, you can't discount the band for maintaining a fresh outlook and not just giving you the standard greatest hits package. I mean, come on, after 34 years on the road, they could play just the hits and long run over time. But, they pick and choose as they see fit. "Natural Science" and "Witch Hunt" were also standouts in the 2nd set. The new tune "Spindrift" got my attention this tour and I may have overlooked that tune from the latest album. See, their strategy does work :-)
So, I was all set to talk to Miles about "Passage To Bangkok" and the reefer madness bit and they go and show just the band playing during that tune. The pot references were stuck in the middle of the tune and I don't even think Miles was looking at the screen for those quick 15 seconds of footage (and it was fast moving too). So, when I asked him about it on the way home, he said he didn't catch that because he was dancin' with his eyes closed during Alex's solo. Oh well, save that for later. But, we did have the first real "sex" talk on the way to the show on Sunday. I figured since we had a good 1 1/2 hours alone, we might as well start talking about it this year. It was more me talking and him looking at me like I was crazy but I feel like it really opened a dialogue for us and I assured him that I wanted him to know that I was there as a source of info and wanted him to be open with me and that that would save him a great deal of trouble and possibly some regret later. I stressed monogamy and marriage and we talked about STDs and that type of thing. But, the anatomy stuff really kinda caught him off guard. It won't be the last discussion on the matter, I'm sure. So, one conversation postponed, another started.
Overall, it was a great concert to enjoy with Miles. He said it was the best ever for him. I know how he feels.
Miles is now up at Camp McCall and will be back home on Friday. He has some friends from Alice Drive in Sumter in his cabin too. He also has buddies from Freedom up there this week too. So, I know he is having a blast and will be very tired on Friday. Dylan is enjoying the 1:1 time, except at night when he is looking for someone to sleep next to and Shadow doesn't count, according to Dylan. On a good note, our neighbor, Calvin has decided to be friends with Miles and Dylan again. Tricia and Dylan took some homemade treats over to their house on Sunday and Dylan asked if they could be friends again. So, now Dylan is enjoying playing again with Calvin. Of course, Nick (lives behind us) has been over just about everyday or Dylan over there everyday. As Dylan's parents, we really appreciate having close buddies near the same age as Dylan. Actually, both of the boys are older than Dylan but he keeps up with them and they seem age appropriate for the most part. I think having Miles as an older brother helps Dylan more than these other boys who don't have an older brother or sister.
Speaking of older brothers or sisters, I don't think I posted that Tricia is now an aunt again. Her brother's wife had another son last week. Little Dominic Edwards came into the world last week in Sandusky, Ohio. Everyone is doing great and now that makes 7 grandchildren on that side: 6 boys and 1 girl. Poor grandma better keep working to pay for all those Christmas presents!!!
Tomorrow I am working in the garage with my buddy from church, Charles Lamb. We are going to put in some seriously strong shelves suspended from the garage ceiling with chain. It will make a ton more room in there and clear the clutter. I am waiting on the temperature to cool right now so I can start moving things out of the way. I made the big trip to Lowe's last night and got the necessary supplies and lumber. He has the same system in his garage and I was impressed at the strength of the system. Makes good use of wasted space too.
I am out the door to walk on the trail in the shade of the trees with Tricia and Keller while the temps cool some (it's still close to 100F). Stay cool!!!
See ya!
Some of the highlights in the 1st set were "Digital Man", "Ghost of a Chance" and "Between The Wheels". I think I could listen to those every night and never get tired. 2nd set started with "Far Cry" with the dragon fire pyrotechnical display. They changed the set break video from the last tour which really made the 2 different tours stand alone. The set list was close to the last tour but some gems like "The Trees" and "2112: The Overture" back in the mix. Although the tour is heavy on the new stuff, you can't discount the band for maintaining a fresh outlook and not just giving you the standard greatest hits package. I mean, come on, after 34 years on the road, they could play just the hits and long run over time. But, they pick and choose as they see fit. "Natural Science" and "Witch Hunt" were also standouts in the 2nd set. The new tune "Spindrift" got my attention this tour and I may have overlooked that tune from the latest album. See, their strategy does work :-)
So, I was all set to talk to Miles about "Passage To Bangkok" and the reefer madness bit and they go and show just the band playing during that tune. The pot references were stuck in the middle of the tune and I don't even think Miles was looking at the screen for those quick 15 seconds of footage (and it was fast moving too). So, when I asked him about it on the way home, he said he didn't catch that because he was dancin' with his eyes closed during Alex's solo. Oh well, save that for later. But, we did have the first real "sex" talk on the way to the show on Sunday. I figured since we had a good 1 1/2 hours alone, we might as well start talking about it this year. It was more me talking and him looking at me like I was crazy but I feel like it really opened a dialogue for us and I assured him that I wanted him to know that I was there as a source of info and wanted him to be open with me and that that would save him a great deal of trouble and possibly some regret later. I stressed monogamy and marriage and we talked about STDs and that type of thing. But, the anatomy stuff really kinda caught him off guard. It won't be the last discussion on the matter, I'm sure. So, one conversation postponed, another started.
Overall, it was a great concert to enjoy with Miles. He said it was the best ever for him. I know how he feels.
Miles is now up at Camp McCall and will be back home on Friday. He has some friends from Alice Drive in Sumter in his cabin too. He also has buddies from Freedom up there this week too. So, I know he is having a blast and will be very tired on Friday. Dylan is enjoying the 1:1 time, except at night when he is looking for someone to sleep next to and Shadow doesn't count, according to Dylan. On a good note, our neighbor, Calvin has decided to be friends with Miles and Dylan again. Tricia and Dylan took some homemade treats over to their house on Sunday and Dylan asked if they could be friends again. So, now Dylan is enjoying playing again with Calvin. Of course, Nick (lives behind us) has been over just about everyday or Dylan over there everyday. As Dylan's parents, we really appreciate having close buddies near the same age as Dylan. Actually, both of the boys are older than Dylan but he keeps up with them and they seem age appropriate for the most part. I think having Miles as an older brother helps Dylan more than these other boys who don't have an older brother or sister.
Speaking of older brothers or sisters, I don't think I posted that Tricia is now an aunt again. Her brother's wife had another son last week. Little Dominic Edwards came into the world last week in Sandusky, Ohio. Everyone is doing great and now that makes 7 grandchildren on that side: 6 boys and 1 girl. Poor grandma better keep working to pay for all those Christmas presents!!!
Tomorrow I am working in the garage with my buddy from church, Charles Lamb. We are going to put in some seriously strong shelves suspended from the garage ceiling with chain. It will make a ton more room in there and clear the clutter. I am waiting on the temperature to cool right now so I can start moving things out of the way. I made the big trip to Lowe's last night and got the necessary supplies and lumber. He has the same system in his garage and I was impressed at the strength of the system. Makes good use of wasted space too.
I am out the door to walk on the trail in the shade of the trees with Tricia and Keller while the temps cool some (it's still close to 100F). Stay cool!!!
See ya!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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