A New Year to look forward to!!!!

Why is it, at this time of year, we think of years past and the past year? I guess we look at it, in hopes the New Year will be better. I look at the past year and think, it just couldn't have been worse. But I count my blessings, First and foremost, I am thankful for my family, both my family and my extended family, who have been there for me through all of my trials. Which brings me to be thankful for my trials. Once again I have learned more this time around, then I did when I was younger. Maybe because I am older, maybe because through it all, I believe, my testimony has grown 10 fold. From paying my tithes and offerings, to the still small voice that told me to Fear Not. I have seen, since I have been comforted by the Spirit, that my family has also been comforted. I may not be perfect, but at least I know My Father in Heaven is watching over my family and myself.

Never a Dull Moment

With 5 children and a wife, who, when she is not overly busy, has time to let her mind wander. Two nights ago, both of us were having a hard time sleeping, when out of the blue, she started asking questions about a bidet. We were having a pretty good laugh, thinking of the the differernt ways we thought of how to use them. Then last night, I was looking at her blog, her friend had put a link to How to Use a Bidet. That in itself was making us laugh, but I found a site for CleanButt.com. This is a site that sells a bidet system you attach to your toilet. I found a promotional video for this product. We laughed hard at this, we found that this bidet had setting on it, to give the person on the toilet, an enema by a single stream of water, aimed at just the right place for the user. It had a massaging stream to comfort you while you sat. It has a seat warmer as well. Who in their right mind would want to get off of it?? This is just one thing, my darling wife has thought about lately.

What has been your favorite Christmas memory?

Mine was of my father. My mother, as my wife can tell you she still does, went overboard with gifts for the kids. But my dad would go out and get something the whole family could enjoy. One year, on Christmas Eve, he showed up with snowmobile for all of us. Another time, I believe while we were eating Christmas Eve supper, he left the table and went outside. He was gone for a short time, before he returned to finish supper. He had left to go and bring a Pool Table into the basement, mind you not the best of pool tables, but we still had fun with it. He loved to surprise us this way, which always gave me the best memories.

Smelly People

We have this guy at work, I have told you about him before, Thanksgiving glutton, who seems to care very little about his B.O., or breath. He got into work today, went directly to our supervisor and started talking to him. I witnessed a nice, normal colored skinned face, turn this ugly green color. This is not the first time this has happened, nor is it the first time he has been told about it. How can a person be told, time and again, they stink and they need to bathe more and brush teeth more, but still not do it?

The day after Black Friday!!!!

Becca and I went out last evening for our date night. We went out to eat, then we went shopping for a bit. Not even Christmas shopping, but shopping for business pants for her. We marveled at how some, maybe I should say most, Mexican women will bring small toddlers with them, that they cannot even pick up. In the check out line, in front of us there were two women and a small child, riding in a small child shopping cart. While we were checking out, these two women stepped to the end of the check out lane, trying to get their shopping bags in order. When we were finished, trying to make our way around them, we noticed the one trying to lift this child out of the shopping cart. Needless to say, I think we had made it to our van before they could get him out of the cart. Not that he was stuck, but they just could not lift them. Becca said she sees this all the time. You would think with all the experience of carrying their husbands, they would be able to lift a small child.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

Today, at work, we were treated to a lunch of Turkey and all the trimmings. Will, some of us were. A friend of mine and myself were all ready to go up and get some food. Our co-worker, Jeff, must have been watching, cause he came through the office quickly and told us he was going up. Someone has to be in the office at all times, so I stayed behind. About a half hour later, "Jeff" came back with a box top, from a box of printer paper. Inside he had 4 plates, filled to overflowing with food. I went to get something to eat, there were only scraps left. Lots of desserts, but only scraps of everything else. I ate my small lunch, then went back to our office. I had been gone for almost 45 min. When I got back, Jeff was still eating, he still had one plate left to go. He asked me if I got enough to eat, so I told him the truth, no, someone took it all. Here is the kicker, he didn't catch on from me saying that, or when our boss took him aside and explained to him this was not an all you could eat buffet. There were some people who didn't get any lunch, just desserts. At least their supervisor baught their lunch for them, although it was not what they had had their hearts set on. There was 70 lbs worth of Turkey fried, which you would think would be enough to feed all of us. Guess not.

Some People just don't realize

We have this lady who does contract work for us, in out Central Office. She asked me this morning if I was coming down with a cold. I told I have had this scratchy throat for the last couple of weeks. She agreed and blamed it on one of the other guys, in out office. I am somewhat tired of having this lady around here, she has no clue about life in General. So I just told her, it wasn't the other guy, it was her. She is the one that invades everyones personal space. If she talks to you, she has to be almost rubbing shoulders with you. I give this total Redneck woman a hard time, about her swearing. She said one time, she swears to keep up with the guys she is around. So I explained to her, I don't swear and she has never heard me swear. The other guys I work with verified that with her, that I do not swear. These same guys try not to swear around me as well. She seems to be offended when I tell her she is swearing alot. Shouldn't I be the one offended when she swears and/or takes the Lords Name in Vain? She is a 39 yr old woman, who I am thinking belongs in the Navy, because she swears like a sailor.

Ambien, helps sleep, but....

I am starting to notice, the longer I have taken this Ambien medication to help me sleep, the more I am starting to forget. My short term memory is starting to suffer. Yesterday, I forgot about Ivy's meeting with the Bishop. I have forgotten some other things as well, but that seems to be the most important that I have forgotten. Long term memory has not failed me, as of yet. I guess I will have to not take these every night. I have a neice and a sister, both nurses and both had warned me about the short term memory. Why can they not find something with no side effects? This medication has helped me sleep better, but it seems I have to give up something in return.
On a good note, I had the so-called temporary dialysis access removed from my chest last Thursday. It is amazing how that removal has seemed to lift a huge amount from my already overburdened senses.

It is over, finally.....

Even if you did not vote for the man, we as a country still need to support him. I do not agree with alot of Obama's beliefs. But at the same time, we must support him. If we do not support our President, where we have a divided country, where would that put us the next few years down the road? We have had Presidents who have embarrassed us before, but we still supported them. I think the worst thing we could do is divide ourselves, as a country. If that happened, it would open the door to greater turmoil within. Let's put our differences aside and once again unite. It amazes me how we became United 7 years ago, but we cannot Unite even after the majority of the people have spoken. Who is to say this next Presidency is a wash? I cannot. I also cannot tell you if McCain would have won, he would do any better. So count your blessings that you still live in a free country, where it will take your say so to make a difference.

Another Rant

I hear people lately complain of Obama's old ties to the Muslim faith. It is sickening. What have we become, as a nation? Example, the extremist Muslims hate the United States and freedoms we enjoy, not to mention pretty much everything our Country stands for. Now we have our own extremists doing the same thing. They say it is different. Somewhat it is, Muslims who are not part of the extremists, have no problem with us. Which in turn is a large percentage of them. But our large percent no longer can trust a Muslim.
I read a story not long ago, sorry I cannot remember where I read it, but it was about a Young man, whose parents legally immigrated to the USA. He grew up and eventually gave his life for his country, while fighting in Iraq. He was quoted in this story as saying, "This country has given us such a better life, it is time for me to give back". He was killed serving his country, while looking house to house, for the extremists. He also was Muslim. Was he not trusted by his fellow personel? Yes he was, as a matter of fact 6% of our Armed Forces are Muslim.
I am not saying I believe in the Muslim Religion. I am saying we are not the one soul who should be judging people to begin with. There was and is only one who has that sort of power. It is not the President of the United States, it is Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Happy Halloween

Tis the season, once again, for the children to try and figure out what they want to dress as, for Halloween. This year, Theron started out wanting to be a "Green Bone Guy". I guess he had seen a skelaton on a green guy. Anyhow, in the last two weeks he has changed his mind, no less than 25 times. Last night he was telling me he wanted Mommy to be R2-D2 and myself to be Chewy. I then asked him if he was going to be Darth Vader, he told me no, Spiderman. I get this feeling he is going to be "Green Bone Guy", since his mother bought him a green outfit, then glow in the dark white paint. He got to see the front of his half finished costume last evening and told Becca, "Now that's what I am talking about".

CONGRATS TO MY WIFE!!!!!

Congratulations Becca and your new job. I know for the next couple of weeks it will be a headache with both jobs and school. But I know you can do it. You have always been and inspiration to me, especially now with how you have managed all you have on your plate. But soon you will be back to the one job, which will be in the field of your choice.

CONGRATS TO BIFFY AND ADAM

Congratulations to Biffy and Adam on the birth of Joshua, on Tuesday. A strapping young lad at 8 lbs 11 oz. Mother and child are doing fine.

So I have a problem sleeping....

For about the last 6 months I have had problems getting to sleep. Actually, I could fall asleep the first time, just fine. I usually wake up 15 to 30 minutes later and would be awake for hours. I was getting used to my 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night, until last night. Last night I just could not fall asleep. I tried everything from hot cocoa, to some pills I have, that have melatonin in them. Melatonin is the chemical found in Turkey that makes you sleepy. Nothing worked!!! I finally fell asleep, although it was 45 minutes before I had to wake up for work. Needless to say, I called in to my supervisor to let him know I was not coming in today. Queen Mom gave me some of her sleeping pills on Saturday, they worked great. Needless to say, if you need medications, talk to Queen Mom or myself. Between the two of us, we should be able to come up with something to help you.
I am thinking my lack of sleep has to do with the picture Sumo dug up of Matt mooning the camera.

Heres mine now!!!!

I watched the Presidential debate the other night, with my wife and Ivy. Needless to say, I heard things and saw things from both canidates that I did not like. One was McCain continued to change the subject, by beating Obama's plan for higher taxes, into the ground. I was so tired of hearing it, that I just wanted him to shut up.

Two, McCain did make some good points, as well as Obama. But there were times when McCain brought something out about Obama, you could see it in Obama's eyes that McCain was telling the truth. Obama then would try and make us believe he didn't do these things.

Between these two things, this has put me up in the air more then I was before. I think I will just write in my Dentists name on the ballot. He is funny, smart, a good Christian and one fine Dentist. Or, Gabe wrote a comparison awhile back between he and Palin. I told Gabe I would vote for him also. So my ballot will look like this. My Dentist, Justin, I will write in for President. I will then write in Gabe's name as his running partner. Now I really don't care which of the two would be President, because I trust them both. Of which I really don't trust either of the two canidates that are running.

What I do for fun...

So I finally gave in to the guys at work and took over a Fantasy Football team. I have to admit, it is fun. I never thought it would be, but it ends up being more like a game of chess, played over 16 weeks. My team is not doing so well, but since I took over, my record is now 1-2. I should have won the last game, but we at home, usually do not get on the Internet on Sundays. I found out on Monday, one of my players got sick Saturday night and went to the Emergency room, with a stomach virus. Anyhow, all of the bye's for teams are coming up now. I have been able to improve my team, cause I do not have any byes for awhile, so I picked up some good players while the other team owners were scrambling to fill a vacant spot.

This is not all I do for fun. As most of you know, Becca is in school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she has class and we miss each other by 15 minutes or so, but wave at each other as we pass. I am just getting home from Dialysis. So for the fun part, Theron of course misses his mommy when she gets to go to class and he has to stay home. What is fun is being able to bring those things, he likes to do, and do them with him. After awhile he will sit with me and hold my hand. The other night, Ivy was taking a trash bin from the street to behind our fence. Theron asked me to go outside the front of the house with him. He then proceeded to want to go for a short walk. He grabbed my hand and we just walked down the street, with him telling me about the moon and stars. Later that evening I was having a little trouble getting him to get ready for bed, until I told him we had to hurry so we could hide before Mommy got home. I was able to get him all dressed in pj's and ready to go to bed, when we heard the garage door open. Theron then ran and jumped in our bed, scrambled under the covers, telling me I also had to climb under the covers to hide from Mommy. It may not sound like much, but being able to be with him through these years, especially, has been a wonderful blessing. To think back to when I was in a different department and working looonnnngggg hours, there were times I thought he didn't even know who I was.

So, most of my fun comes from my children. I know I have only listed Theron at this time, but thinking of how all of them were at this age, it is difficult not to list only him. He comes up with new and funny things everyday. Last night, he told me he was a Transformer, and showed me how he transforms into a car. He made some pretty funky movements then knelt down, then finally got himself curled up into a ball on his elbows and knees. That was his car, I had to laugh, He actually looked like and old VW BUG that way.

Finally, a beautiful day in Texas

I love this time of year, the only time of year I love, here in Texas. The high for the day is suppose to be 79 degrees. When I left for work this morning it was nice and cool. Finally, a little relief from the Texas summer we had. We also had some rain last night, which helped this nice morning.
My last post, I stated everything is finally coming together, medically for me. Poor Rebecca though was up late last night doing homework. I woke up around 12:30 and she was angry, because the assignment she was working on, was causing her to redo what she was doing, over and over again. Mind you, she had been working on this for hours prior, and she was terribly frustrated. I don't blame her for being so, but I will sure be happy when she transfers to a REAL school with REAL teachers. I think she will like that much better. Although the classes will probably be tougher, I think part of the reason she does get frustrated, is the intructors do not seem to be to bright. This year, like last, she has to show the instructors why they are wrong. I think it is funny, but I also think it is taking a toll on her. With everything she has had to do this year, with the kids and me, and now school, she really does deserve a break.

Things are looking up

Yesterday I had outpatient surgery to place a permanent dialysis access in my left arm. This was suppose to happen on Wed, but did not because of a high potassium level. High potassium level to begin with is not so bad, but when trauma from the cutting for surgery occurs, potassium levels go up. Problem with that is, it can cause heart attacks. So better safe than sorry. Anyhow, the surgery went well, I now have the new access in my arm. In about 2-3 weeks, I will be able to have the temporary access removed from my chest. Once all this is finished, Sumo and I will start training for home hemo-dialysis. The nurse told me last week, when I inquired if they could do some of the training while I was on dialysis at the center, that they could not. But she will work with us, by coming in at 6:00 am on the mornings I would be training. This would allow us to complete training each morning by 10:00 am, so the two of us could then get to our respective jobs. My supervisor is very accomodating for me. I will be able to go to work at 10-10:30, and work late, so as not to have to take any sick time or vacation time for the training.

So all in all things are looking up. I would no longer have to leave work and drive downtown 3 times a week. Instead I will work my usual schedule, then go home put myself on a machine for a couple of hours. This will enable me to spend more time doing the things I like to do, SPEND time with my family.

Father and Son campout

This past Friday, Chance, Connor, Theron, Adam and I went on a Father-and-Son campout. We camped at a Scout camp about 25-30 miles away. There is no lake at this campsite, but alot of trees and hills to hike through. Friday night, the Bishopric supplied hotdogs and buns for all of us to eat. Then around 8:30 we had a great fireside lesson by the First Counselor of the Bishopric. It was a great fireside, his use of the lanterns and the glow sticks to show the younger kids how their light can shine, was a great lesson. Afterwards, he gave out glow sticks to the younger children, 5 and under. Theron wanted his flashlight more than he wanted a glow stick. The older boys played capture the flag until 11:00pm, when they finally decided to call it a night. The next morning the Boy Scouts provided breakfast for everyone, Egg and sausage burritos. One of our High Priests made pull aparts, over the fire, in Dutch ovens. MMMMMM, they were good. We then all participated in a race to find all of these notes left around the campsite. Apprx. 2.1 square miles with 25 words to find. Adam, Connor, Theron and I came in second. It was much more fun than the last few, where we all just hung out, with nothing planned for the group. Theron did real well on his first campout, without Mommy. He had a lot of fun, got really dirty. All in all, everyone had a great time.

Really makes me wonder.....

As many of you know, I grew up sick most of my life. I was talking with my niece earlier, through email. She has one son, but the subject went to "She couldn't imagine what my parents had gone through, those many years." As most of us never think of this, until it is too late. It reminded me of the time I was in Intesive Care, in a coma, and there was a CODE called for a room next to me. My parents had just left to go get something to eat, when they heard this. They rushed back to my room, not remembering the room number I was in. When they got there, they found it was an elderly woman next door to me. They were relieved, but the toll it took on them was tremendous. I had never seen my father cry, but my mother later told me when they left the room that day, he walked a ways, then leaned up against the wall, sunk down in tears.
Maybe it is because we are parents now, that this hits closer to home, than it did back then. It has made think how great a parents love is for their children, how great the sacrifices are of a parent to their children. I wish I could tell my father the love I have for him. I know he knows, and come this next January I will show him, by doing his work in the Temple. I know this does not compare if he was alive and I could tell him face to face, but he will then know how much I really do care for him.

Kidney Walk

The Kidney Walk has come and gone now. Thank you all for you thoughts and donations. I know alot of you weren't able to donate, but your thoughts were with us. We started out prior to the race with at least 10 members on our team. Friday night we lost two of them, Connor and Chance had a Merit Badge College on Saturday. Much to Connor's dismay, he was really looking forward to running against his mother in the race. We picked up two members, one Friday when our dentist joined the team, only in donations, and a friend of mine walked with Sara and me. Rebecca went on to win the All Around Womens run and a $50 dollar gift certificate to Luke's Locker. She posted a great time of 23 min. 45 sec. run. I think the best was Theron walked the most of the 3.1 miles with Ivy. He got tired of riding with cousin Abby, so he got out and would run a bit then walk. Adam and Elizabeth were both there as well. Cudo's to Elizabeth for taking on such a walk so close to her due date. All in all we raised close to $600 for this walk. I am not sure how much sure how much my friend Ash donated, but knowing him it was probably a good amount. Thank all of you who donated, for those of you who participated, and for all of you who had us in your thoughts and prayers. Next year I hope more of you can join us. I think we all had a good time, and it went to a cause that has helped our family out quite a bit over the past year and will again help over the coming years.

Remnants of Hurricane Ike

This week, on Wed. to be exact, we welcomed friends into our home, from the Houston area. Christy Burdin and her two sons, Joe and Oliver, came to stay with us after Hurricane Ike knocked out all power in their home area. They have been told it could be weeks before power is restored. They were lucky enough to have had water and gas for cooking and cleaning, but Christy told us the water was becoming iffy. Water was being pumped by an electric motor, which in turn was being powered by a generator. People were warned that the generator was on its last legs. Anyhow, it is nice to know we are able to help those in need.
I think along with food storage and 72 hr kits, we also need to have a plan of where we could go and stay, in a Natual Disaster. I am happy that Christy and sons made it through the Hurricane safely and that, even though our house is not the largest, we are still able to open it up to them.

HyperMilers

Now I do not mind people trying to save gas, especially with the way prices fluctuate. My issue with all of this, I drive a standard transmission vehicle. Not that this is bad in itself, but when a person is trying to save on their gas, they usually trap someone like myself between gears. What this does is puts me in a position where I do not have enough power to go up a hill in one gear and over revs my engine if I have to run in another gear. Not only are they doing this, but I am finding alot of these people's driving habits have gotten worse trying to save a little gas money for themselves. These people do not want to sit at their stop sign, so what they will do is pull out in front of someone, then crawl to the speed limit, while I am already at the speed limit, have to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting them, while their is no one behind me for over half a mile. This morning on my way to work, this happened to me. I was at the speed limit of 45 mph, works good for me in 4th gear. This idiot TEXAS driver pulls out in front of me, no more than 50 yards, and procedes to HyperMile up to the speed limit. I left blackmarks trying to slow down and not hit them or the on coming traffic. The worst of it today, I know the person in the car heard my tires screeching, so they gave me the bird for pulling out in front of me. This person then drove at a speed limit that put me between gears again, to low for my higher gear, to high for my lower gear.

I was reading a story in Readers Digest

About this man who had cancer on the back of his tongue. The story followed through what he went through with all the different treatments. It told what drove him to beat this cancer, even though the pain of his throat and the sickness that came with the Chemotherapy. I have never given it this much thought, as to how I was going to beat an illness. My question to whoever reads this, is, What would it take from you to beat an illness?

What a weekend this has been!!!!

Like all weekends I worked till 1:00 pm on Saturday. Then I go to Dialysis till around 5-5:30. Pretty regular stuff. While I was on Dialysis, Sumo called and said there was a leak, where water was dripping through our ceiling. I ask if she could tell where the water was coming in at and she thought she found it. Needless to say it was wrong, not her fault, we do need to replace some shingles. Instead what we later found was the idiot who put in our A/C up in the attic, put an emergency overflow on a pipe that goes to the sewage system, not the catch pan underneathe the A/C unit. This happened to overflow, with nothing below it except for a wood walk way and the ceiling over our hallway. Everytime the A/C would run, this overflow would, will, overflow. So Sumo and I worked on it to try and correct it on Saturday night, after our date night. Needless to say that didn't work either. Then Sumo called an old friend in Colorado who owns his own Heating and A/C company. She told him what was going on and he gave her some ideas to try and fix. So this morning I went to HomeDepot to get the parts and started some repairs to the drain as she was running. When she got home, we ran a fish tape through the line as far as we could. Then sealed everything back up. So far so good, no leaks as of yet. Now all we need to do is fix the ceiling in the hallway, where the paint has come off.

I really missed alot over the last year.........

I was thinking about summers past, when I was able to go swimming with the family. Or last year when Grandpa got his new boat and I could go and jump into the middle of the lake. I think I intentionally stayed away from that this summer, knowing I would not be able to just dive in. But now after this last battle in the Hospital, Sumo and I have decided a different route to travel. I will be getting a graft put in my arm, where there will no longer be any tubes protruding from my body. I am hopeful with this, that as the year goes by, I will be able to do more with the kids and Sumo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNOR

happy birthday to you, you were born in a zoo, and the MONKEYS wish they could be just like you!!!! Happy Birthday Connor.

What bothers me!!!

I am back on HemoDialysis now, where I have to go to a clinic 3 times a week. What bothers me is there's a man who is deaf and almost completely blind on dialysis now. For the most part he is an ideal patient. He sleeps through most of his treatment, but when he needs something he gives out a loud grunt. What bothers me, are the dialysis techs and some other patients make fun of him, because they cannot understand him and his sign language. I think being a professional and dealing with people and their handicaps, these people would be a little more understanding. Especially the nurse who is on Dialysis, who works for Ft. Worths Public Health
Dept. would be more understanding. Makes me appreciate the parents of mine who taught me to look past physical appearance and see what a person is made of.

Happy Birthday Sara!!!!

I cannot believe it has been 9 years ago you were born. You have grown so much, and you are becoming a very helpful young lady. I hope you had fun at your combined surprise Birthday Party.

The Best Pets

Are someone else's where the kids are welcome to go over and help with. A lady down the street had the kids come over and help find some kittens, that were making noise, but she could not find them. Five kittens in all, 2 of them given away already to the New Home Sales Lady. This lady is in the running for Surrogate Grandmother. I am wondering if you can legally adopt an older person as a Grandparent. For helping with the kittens, this wonderful lady took the 4 older kids to Ross Department Store. She gave each of them a $30 spending limit. Then she bought Theron a shirt and pajamas. That is the type of neighbor I have always wanted to live by. She loves the kids, she gives them crafts and presents at Christmas. I wish more people were like her.

Here I go again.....

Sumo wrote that I was in the Hospital again. It started on Friday with the beginnings of Peritonitus. An infection of the cavity that holds all major organs. Saturay I was feeling well enough to go to work, then all of a sudden, terrible pain. All the fluid in the peritonium, leaked into the tissue of the abdomen. Needless to say, that pushed the infection to a whole new level. Caused me to go septic, where the infection entered into the blood stream. So now I am waiting to have a Hemo Dialysis port put in, Tuesday morning. This is only until they can figure out what happened with the peritonial cathater. I am doing much better. Grandpa Haynie and Adam stopped up yesterday and gave me a blessing. I hope they figure this out soon, although this stay has been much better than the last time I was here.

Must be the water!!!

I was sitting at work today, thinking about all of the happenings in my family and my extended family. I have 3 sister-in-laws, expecting babies in the near future, or has just given birth. Congratulations Sariah and William. My brothers wife had to go to Mayo Clinic, last week, for something her local health care could not diagnose. She is fine, come to find out it is a type of Migrane Headache. With all of this I find I do not even think of my own illness. I have found, I worry more about those around me, than I do for myself. I am not sure if that is a good thing, but it helps me go on, not thinking about it.