Fathers Day

Fathers day has past, but the memories will be good! We had the boys this weekend and took the boat for its maiden voyage on Saturday. I got a great sunburn! The boys both loved it. We went over to Moms on Sunday evening, and everyone was there except for L. I believe she was working.

I always feel like I have so much to live up to. My father definitely continues to show his compassion and is definitely someone I strive to live up to. He's a dedicate individual that puts his dedication in anything he sets out to do. Raising a family was and is still to this day a priority he keeps close. I'm sure he has his moments and feels that some times he didn't do good enough. I suppose we all fee that way sometimes, where that seems to be the norm, not the exception for me. I take it as it comes, and thank God for my family and for all that we don't have to strive for. There are many less fortunate ones out there, and my prayers are with them often. Often I pray thanks for all that I don't have.

If it's one thing I've tried hard to do in the past 6 years, is to put others before me. To force myself toward my declared dedication, I recently volunteered my time to the CA/N initiative. The Child Abuse and Neglect prevention program in Cass county is spearheaded by a nurse with the County Health department and the local Cass County prosecutor. I'll be on the planning committee whose purpose will be to design a response to the issue of CA/N. I look forward to providing my time, and hope that the initiative will be a positive influence for others that are less fortunate, as well as a positive influence on me and my family. This is a brand new initiative for the county, and so far it seems the response to this initiative is very positive. The first planning committee is the second week of July. It's a chance for everyone to meet, and to find more information on how child abuse and neglect is effecting our community.

Now for the best part... tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! I'll have the boys again, and I hope the weather is good. Fishing seems like it would be a fun thing to do this weekend.

Till next time!

Three years ago today...

...was one of the greatest days of my life. Dana and I were married at Calvary Lutheran Church in Kansas City Missouri. Time has gone fast and it's hard to believe it's been 3 years already.

We celebrated by Dana staying home from work (actually she had to take Joe to get one of his teeth pulled), and us taking Joe to a baseball game this evening. But it's all good! We exchanged our cards and gifts when I got home from work. I received a cool little glass Fox figurine, as well as a glass Pug (very striking resemblance to Delmar!). Dana has been wanting to frame our wedding pictures, so I came up with an ingenious idea. I framed all 402 of our wedding and honeymoon pictures..... By using a 7" LCD picture frame, that is! It's pretty cool. She can keep it on her desk at work, and reminisce all she likes!

Life couldn't be better these days and I thank God for all he has given me! We have both been truly blessed. Praise to Him!

Delmar's Idol...

Death Metal...

Toll road washed away...

It's not the first time, and won't be the last. Lake Annette has flooded again. Lake Annette has been doing a good job at keeping in the nightly Kansas City news. Herschel Young claimed that the legality of creating a toll road was always a question; but was done more so to create a stir in order for the county to pay up sooner and help fix their roads.

I'm amazed how often Lake Annette has made headlines. These are just a few, but a quick search on any of the Kansas City News sites will show several pages.

May 29, 2003 - Town Mayor Refuses To Step Down After Losing Election

May 13, 2003 - Lake Annette Mayor-Elect Faces Felony Charge

August 1, 2003 - City Holds Garage Sale to Help Pay Its Bills

and my favorite from the New York Times:

Tiny Missouri Town in Big City Political Brawl

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Saturday the 7th was Grandpas 81st birthday bash. It's so awesome that he is still able to enjoy all the days that go by. He had a pretty good turnout, as A&B, L&T, Mom, dad, T&B&S, B from Arkansas, and all of our kids were able to make it.

Great Value Corn Surprise

I love it when I find a little beetle in my corn. Now I'm no scientist and don't even pretend to be. But something tells me that this little bugger was growing in my can of corn for some time. I looked on the can for the toll free number to call if you are dissatisfied and whoa-is-me... none to be found. Just says 100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Needless to say we didn't have corn last night.

Other life elsewhere?

This is the question that's on everyone's mind. Right at this moment, the Phoenix Lander is scooping up ice from the Mars polar region. It's from that ice, scientists will determine if Mars was once life sustaining, and if so, could it harness life itself?

The image above is one of my favorite images taken by the Space Telescope Hubble. Just the vastness of space is unimaginable. This image was taken back in 1995 and 1998 (it's a composite of two separate images). The Hubble's shutter was held open for 1 million seconds; long enough time to let even the faintest of light hit its lens. It's estimated to hold around 10,000 galaxies in this small slice of space alone. If you attempted to view the same spot from earth, even with a powerful scope, this portion of space would be mainly black. Because Hubble doesn't have the atmospheric disturbances that we have here on earth, it can surprise us with images such as this. And more so, from earth, this portion of space would only encompass an area roughly 1/10th the size of the moon! This is like a grain of sand from all the sand on the earth.

Personally, I totally believe that the possibility exists for life elsewhere in space. It's gotta be like winning the lottery? There has to be a 1 in 100 billion chance. I find the Phoenix mission very exciting, and hope that we learn a good deal from this endeavor. Who knows... maybe we will be making some new friends as well!