I really need to update...

...but don't have a lot of time these days to update.
Working all the extra shifts has left me with little time to get online for any length of time. I've just been grabbing a couple of minutes here and there.
Anyway, no time today either.
I'll be taking my wife out to dinner tonight for her birthday (which is today). We are going to Texas Roadhouse. I'll try to update tomorrow.

Mortality Check

I went to a funeral today. I've known this family for almost 30 years. They supported me as a teen with odd jobs and lawn cutting and as an adult with electrical work on their home. I have many fond memories of the fun I had with their kids and the rest of the kids in the neighborhood as we were growing up. This husband of one wife for 51 years, father of three grown adults and grandfather to 7 grandchildren will be greatly missed. He was 75 and had been on a gradual decline over the last 15 years with the last 4 being very difficult. He died, mercifully, in his sleep.
Each of his children participated in the ceremony, but only the son spoke from his heart (the daughters read scripture). He related a couple of stories growing up and confirmed to the congregants that his dad was a Believer. Praise the Lord for that blessing.
My own father spoke at the funeral. They were good friends who counted on one another over the years. I'd say that was the tear jerker portion of the ceremony. My dad just celebrated his 76th birthday. This brings me to my point.

I'm not ready to speak at my father's funeral. I cannot imagine him not being around. But I know it will happen sometime in the next 10-15 years (I'm being optimistic here). I feel like I barely know my dad and yet I know him so well because I am a lot like him. I guess this is my reminder to prepare for life without him. I'm glad I have some time left, but I must make sure I don't take it for granted.

I want to take some time with dad and confirm that he has accepted Christ. I want to let him know how much I love and appreciate him. Same goes for my mom. I want them to know that they have a huge legacy. Pray that I will take the steps necessary to communicate my love and concern for their eternity with grace. I have always struggled with stepping too heavily when around family. The Lord moves in spite of me most times. I'm thankful that he doesn't need me to accomplish His work, but grateful that He redeems my efforts for His glory.

I've had a few friends who've lost their father in the last year or so. Two in the last month. I hope I can be a help to them as they procede through the grieving process. Definately gives me something to pray about.

I also need to make sure my affairs are in order so that my kids don't have a lot of hassle relating to my death. Wills, medical directives, etc. All the hard stuff to do that's so easy to put off. I want to encourage my readers to take this step as well. No matter what your age, it is important to let your wishes be known. You can always update your documents if you change things in your life later on.

That's all I have time for right now. Enough to chew on I think...

Let the craziness begin...

Tonight is the start of my additional work coverage for the final stages of our building upgrade. I will be putting in 48 additional 12 hour shifts over the next 8 months. This will give me close to the same amount of overtime as I had last year.

The work will not be difficult, but most of the shifts will be at night. This will necessitate more sleep during the day. So I will probably miss more activities that the kids are doing and my wife will need to keep the younger ones quiet more days than she does now. All in all, more work for everyone.

But the positive side is that I will be able to cover tuition for the three that will stay in private school easier. And I should be able to keep one of my cars. I only really wanted one in the first place, so that's not a big deal. I guess I could still sell them both and let all the kids go to private school, but I think homeschooling them will help them to see more improvement quicker than the way things are going now.

I will be doing a lot of the organizing so that my wife is freer to teach. She probably won't like the way I do it, but the piles of papers will have to go. I want the school room to be conducive to accomplishing a lot of work without the clutter. The only way I see this happening is if everything has it's place and gets put back there immediately after it's use.

Should be an interesting summer in preparation for this coming school year.
Pray for us.

Pictures from the weekend.

This is Chateau Elan. It is a winery and resort located north of Atlanta. We had breakfast the morning after the wedding at the restaurant located in the hotel on this property.














This is a picture of the new family that was created at the wedding. My friend Tom is 2nd from left, his bride to the right. They are flanked by her kids from her first marriage.















This is the top of the cake. I never did get a piece of it... There was both chocolate cake with chocolate icing and lemon (I think) with a creme icing.

















Me, Tom (the groom) and my sister.

Some pictures from Deal's Gap

This is the start of the "Tail of the Dragon".













This is called the tree of shame. It is where they hang all the parts and pieces of motorcycles that wreck on the Dragon.



















This is one of the spectacular views on the drive. You really can't do much sight seeing while driving, though or you'll end up off the road and on the tree of shame.















There is a little room to pull off the road to take pictures in a couple of places.















Helton Creek Falls. About 40 minutes away from the Dragon and off the beaten path. Definately worth the side trip, though. This picture only shows half of the falls. They start about 250' higher than the top of this section.

Update soon...

I plan on updating soon and telling a bit about my trip to Georgia with my wife. I just haven't had the time(or inclination) to sit down and write anything yet. We had a great time and there is much to tell (and pictures to post), so please be patient.