Happy Birthday Trent!

I am a little late in writing this but I do want to wish "my boy" a happy birthday. Trent has turned the big 21 and now is an adult. I cant believe that I have a kid that old. I still remember when he was just a baby. How time flies. LOL. I am glad that Trent is part of our family and that he strives real hard to make everyone happy. He has set as a goal to take 14 hours in college this semester and I think he can do this. He is a smart man and has alot of goals.

We have had fun teasing him and he just takes it and gives it right back. His greatest love right now is his ex-box. I do hope that girls will come into the picture but I wont rush that right now. Anyway, Trent Happy Birthday we I love you bunches!!

Special Blessings

This whole summer has been quite the challenge. Trent lost his unemployment benefits in May and Laurie is off from school for the summer which made making ends meet alot more difficult. Then you throw in a few car problems and a trip to Utah and now it feels like I can never pull out of it. It feels like a nose dive straight to the ground. Well I almost crashed and burned this week. I have tried so hard to keep it together all summer and then it caught up with me. This last week I looked at my bank account and we were already broke and out of money. Payday was still five days away. I do have some money put away in a IRA account but I need to keep that in case of a true emergency. Anyway I thought I was done for. An idea was that I could get a pay advance from my boss to help carry me through. My boss is a good man and I have come to appreciate him very much. He has given me a chance for work when he didn't have to. He has been one of those special blessings.

The other blessing came this way. As I said I was going to ask him for an advance. I went to his home and gave him my paperwork and was just getting ready to ask when he said, "guess what my a/c went out in my house." I thought that was bad because I know how expensive it is to repair them. Then my boss said that both of his a/c units froze up. Oh my gosh! How can this be happening! When things go down hill, they go down hill!! After hearing that I felt so bad for him that I thought I cant ask him for an advance, he needs the money to pay for the a/c repairs.

Driving home I was almost in tears. I felt absolutely whipped! I was thinking what am I going to do now. I thought for a minute and said a little prayer and ask the Lord for a little help. We only needed like $250.00 dollars to make to Thursday. I got home and went to the mailbox and found my second special blessing. Inside was a check from Trent's unemployment benefits for $256.00! WOW! What a relief! With that check I can make to Thursday and then payday. Soon Laurie will be going back to work and along with Trent's work money I think we can get back on our feet. I know that this is a start but it brings hope. I need that hope so much right now so that I can make to the next day and the next. I know that there is some big struggles ahead of me and with the Lords help I can work through them. I do know that the Lord is there helping me and supporting me the best that He can. Otherwise I would have lost it long ago.

For those of you reading, don't give up hope. It does come along when you least expect it. Until next time, keep smiling!

Happy Fathers Day!

I want to wish all Fathers out there a great and Happy Fathers Day!

As I sit and ponder about this Fathers Day, it makes me wonder how well of a father I have been. As my kids get older I wonder if I have done enough to teach them for when they become adults. It is so much harder these days for kids growing up. The competition for better grades, getting into college, finding jobs, is so much harder, did I do enough. Did I show them through example that if something was to go wrong, would they have enough faith to call upon the Lord for help and guidance, or would they just give up because it was the easier thing to do. As I have become older, my own father was not there to help and teach me on ways to do better. I have had to learn this on my own. I have had some great people in my life that have given me guidance and have shown me the way to becoming a good father. These people I have appreciated very much. It is so hard to go through this life by yourself. That is why I have such a huge doubt that I wonder if I have done enough.

As time goes on and the kids begin to live there own lives, this will tell whether or not I have done my job as a father was complete. I hope I have done enough. I am glad to be a Father and a dad. It has brought me much happiness. The love that I feel from being a dad is like the biggest, warmest feeling ever! It just makes me sad to see that as they get older, I will not be able to feel such feelings as often. I hope that all dads can experience that warm feeling of being a dad. Bye for now!

Why?

I really thought that someone cared for me. But as it turns out, they broke my heart. Now where do I go from here? Running out of options.

When it rains , it pours.

The amount of rain that has fallen today is incredible. I love the rain and how everything smells so fresh. All of it will start a new day of adventure. As we continue to unpack boxes from moving,( and unpacking and unpacking), things are starting to look up at the new house. We have been able to find places for most of everything and the stuff that we cant hide or put away, goes to a pile for D.I. The new house has been a blessing. It has been saving us money so far and at this point with the economy, we have been blessed.

The other things that seem to break the moments are automobiles. I have one that cant pass emisions. The first mechanic told me we need a new engine. The second mechanic (which is a reputable dealer) told me that they cant fix it because they dont have the tools to do it. Imagine that! A dealership not having the right tools. That is wrong! Anyway, mechanic number three told us that I have bad injectors and that it is going to cost at least $1000 dollars. Holy crap! As it turns out, I get to do the work myself and I am hoping that I can fix the car. My other car is doing ok but I hope it can continue to run and not give me any troubles.

I have been working now for a couple of weeks now for a great boss. He owns Standage Courier Service and has taken me under his wing. He has trained me for the current positition and I am hoping to do well for him. I appreciate what he has done for me by hiring me. The position is one that delivers medical supplies to hospitals and patients that are shut in. In a way I feel like it is a job in service. I am bringing supplies to those who depend on them and who need them to survive. I have found some satisfaction with this job knowing that I am helping people.

I do want to say Happy Anniversary to Laurie. It has been 23 years now and I still havent been kicked out yet. J/K. I hope she has had a Happy Day!

Well gotta go, hope everyone has a great day and hope that you all remember to take a second to smile and make someones day!

Wow!

I know that I have not written anything for a awhile but alot of things have happened. The economy continues to put a strangle hold on the construction industry and so I am still trying to get that permanent position. The job at the warehouse is not as permanent as I thought and so I am lucky to get called in maybe twice a week. I do appreciate the work but it makes life so uncertain. Christmas was good to us this year and we as a family did enjoy it together. My birthday rolled around and it was a ok. Many well wishers but the person that didn't wish me a happy birthday was my wife. Don't know how to take that but I am not worrying about it too much. My BEST friends however did throw me a surprise party and it was a blast. I really appreciated it!! With the new year here now, we have to start looking for a new place to live and this is proving to be a big challenge. Finding a place that is in our new budget is hard. Nothing seems to fit within Lauries expectations or is too small. The ones that she likes is out of our price range. I am sure we will find something if it doesn't cramp everyones style.

I am hoping for a great new year and am hoping that sooner than later things can fall back into place. With the way things are now, life is not much fun. But I haven't given up hope. Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!