Yep, we celebrated Valentines’ Day 24 hours early since Amanda is leaving for Philadelphia tomorrow night and I work tomorrow. Stephanie missed it. She is somewhere in Pennsylvania skiing or snowboarding or whatever young people do these days. We will see her Monday.

So Scott and I concocted a plan to get Amanda to dinner with all of us. She is still not feeling well, and not in the best of moods, so I talked her into going with me to look at a property for one of our churches to rent. I made it sound pretty important and talked about really valuing her opinion too! (Of course I take it with a grain of salt….she is still a Colts fan and thinks that household dust is the number one threat to health worldwide) But she bit the hook and we left. Two minutes later, Scotty and Ben, now dressed in identical white shirts and jeans, left to beat us to the restaurant with the cards and gifts. Scotty sat them facing the door in the back of the restaurant too so when we came in (under the guise of being paged there because one of our parishioners fell on the ice there) Ben started screaming “Mommy Mommy.” It was too funny. We had not only tricked her completely, but then she had to endure the three of us in the restaurant till the very end.

Ironically, I was the best behaved. Ben put on a show with his crackers, napkins, and ice cream. His brother did nothing but egg him on too. And I just laughed. She will probably be glad to get out of town until the stories stop circulating through the area.

So tomorrow will be just a partial day together with the family we have left, then just us boys. It is going to be a whale of a time! Fortunately for us we know when she will be returning…..and we will have a full 72 hours to figure out how we can pin anything that goes wrong on Steph!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

It has been a bizarre day. The kids called from their cars at school just as school was suppose to start saying that there was a BOMB THREAT there and they were sent immediately back to their cars. Sure enough it was true. Police and news crews were soon everywhere and it took about an hour before school was canceled and they were all sent home. As the police arrived they had all been evacuated even from the lot to another school. Thank God for the electronic age. I was always in contact with them both and was able to always know they were fine. In turn, I was able to communicate that to Amanda too. As scary as something like this is, being able to know the kids were fine made it tolerable.

There is good news and bad news in it all. The good news is that there was no bomb and that no one got hurt at all. The bad news is the reality that there are idiots out there……..even in Indiana, which bothers me a great deal. My kids and the people I knew had been evacuated from the building. I was able to deal with that. But what about the family and friends of those brave souls who were going IN……or the brave souls themselves. I am sure it was a difficult day for them all.

In the end I thank God that it was just a hoax, and I pray for the person who did it for he or she is truly a troubled human being. I am just thankful it is resolved and that the kids can get back to having to study and learn just like we did in the old days.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Yep, these are his hands (after they had been washed) and his pants….you should have seen the couch! Ben got himself a permanent blue marker and colored all he could reach. We really do not know how long he was able to color other than to say it was just “too long.” It was his first big art project in the little more than two and one half years he has been alive. I am pretty sure it will not be his last either.

What made it all worse is that Amanda is home sick, and is never a good patient, but potentially even worse when someone colors her couch. I did my best to not laugh, because she was quite upset and he was quite proud, but Ben and I both kept it together and lived to see another day. The hands wash, the pants were just jeans, and the couch actually cleaned up. The Good Lord was watching over us. My wife is a microbiologist who watches a lot of CSI and NCIS…..who wants to honk off someone who could easily cover the evidence?

The good part is that the event is hours into the past and the cuteness factor has helped us immensely…..Ben has helped too. (Yes, that is a joke…..I am not that delusional….cuteness ends when you get married! It is abundant in the toddler. ) After a visit to the doc and the medicines all flowing in her, soon the day’s events will be but a forgotten memory…..and we will be safe, at least until she wakes in the morning!

So for now I will rejoice in the Great Art Recovery of 2010 as I prepare for our next crisis……from whom it shall come I am all but certain!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

After over 20 years in the “clergy-business,” I am still surprised at how many people see faith as something they do, rather than something that defines who they are. They “attend” or “miss” church as if it were just an event…..something to schedule in a calendar among all the rest of life, rather than experiencing it as a vital part of life instead. It doesn’t just frustrate me, it saddens me, for I know a faith-first existence puts everything else in this life into place. And looking around, I believe it is just what people need.

In truth, the Lord doesn’t want us to just pencil Him in, or a piece of us…..He wants ALL of us….He wants YOU! Understanding this is really a first-order issue in life and leads to the building of a solid foundation…..and it is a gift I would love to give to you!

I am like most people, busy beyond belief, and perhaps more so than most. I have three kids that I am an active parent to. I have a demanding wife, I mean a demanding life-style, and a LOVELY wife. I coach high school lacrosse. I currently serve a parish with 6 worship sites and
beyond that have job responsibilities to an area encompassing both Indiana and Illinois. What does all of it mean without faith???? Nothing! It is just a rat race to run. But what does it mean with faith? Everything, for faith gives all of it, all of life, meaning.

My life is lived now with purpose and meaning, and for it I am thankful. It wasn’t always that way….but it is now. God call us all to something deeper, and I am glad I have answered that call……but my question is, how about you?

If your life is not all you want it to be, or missing something, or maybe even you have the desire for something more, God offers it to you even now. Talk to a pastor or Christian friend, get into church (not as an appointment, but as a commitment) and make the choice to live life differently. It will change you I promise and give your life the purpose and meaning you were created to experience!

Off to bed for me! Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

If it were not for the 50th birthday party I attended and the Colts game, my weight this morning would have been lower! Yes, there was cake, and yes, I rationalized! (Incidentally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEWEL!) But in the end, Jewel (Deacon PT’s wife who is our Treasurer) was not thrilled about being 50, and I am definitely not thrilled about being 230!

What makes it worse for me is what it has done for me all day. It has really got me down and when I get down….I EAT! Who knows what i will be in the morning, but I clearly overshot my goal of 225 this morning! I pray that I get back on track!!

But, in retrospect, Sunday and today were fun days. I think when problems arise we can get so caught up in them that we lose sight of the goal! Battles will be won and lost….what I am interested in is the war. I will finish it on top……keep me in your prayers.

Cake, particularly birthday cake, will always be a weakness! If the world were just asparagus, I would be fine. But tomorrow is another day…..I am expecting a pretty awful weigh-in, but I will hold my head high and move ahead. It is no one’s fault but my own….I appreciate your prayers too.

I am still hanging in there with plenty of time to go!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

It really shouldn’t have happened, but the Saints were just too good. So despite all the hype, the Indianapolis Colts will return home the bridesmaid this time rather than the bride…..31-17.

It’s a shame too. Ben, still fighting of his ear infection, stayed up most of the game eating some chocolate “Dibs” while sitting in the chair. His interest was really more the ice cream than the game, which ultimately made me proud since I have plans for him to be a Bears fan like me, rather than a Colts fan like the rest. I do confess that his disinterest probably had more to do with his being a toddler rather than any team loyalty, but for now I will live with my hopeful delusions. I already having him call most bears (other than the cartoon ones) “Chicago Bears” and am slowly indoctrinating him as the Lord would want (since I am certain He is a Bears fan too).

But I do feel very badly for all the people here in Indiana. Going to the Superbowl really does something to a community and that part was great. People really came together, they wore blue everywhere, and their mood was awesome.

I hope and pray they can hold onto it. They had an awesome season and nothing to be ashamed of. They played all the way to the end. And my Bears? Okay, this year our season was just about 3 weeks long……but there is next year!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

We do call the boys “the twins,” though they are 14 years apart, and it would not be too hard to tell that they are brothers….even if you were blind. They act alike, they like many of the same things, and they are always into something together…..and yep, they even look a like too. The other night at Scott’s lacrosse game Ben even brought his stick. And where Scott hit a bunch of people out on the field with his, Ben made sure he clocked all the spectators he could in the walkways. Two peas in a pod I tell you.

When Scott is not here, Ben often talks to him on an imaginary phone. It is clearly not as disturbing as the converse would be, but I would not be surprised if Scott did it. They do like to talk on the phone with each other, and one of Ben’s favorite games is shouting, “Scotty, where are you?” This often occurs while Ben is sitting is his lap.

It seems genetically improbable to have two such amazing and mischievous comedians in one house, but I don’t think about it as much as I enjoy it. Like my dad, I call them by each other’s name…..something I could never understand, but another thing I have just decided to accept. This life is just too short to waste time contemplating on such things. I suppose we all become our parents at one time or another.

But for now I will chase the tornado that is here, Ben, who despite being sick is still able to make an impressive mess. Scott makes them too but is less likely to, seeing as he has a car that can be taken away. If only two year-olds could be persuaded by that kind of pressure!

Up, as I thought, by 1.4 pounds! I have done well however today. I am looking forward to heading down again tomorrow!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I took the time to cheat a little today, as I was out shoveling snow all evening with my assistant Viper (in the second picture). Not that it is that much snow, (I would guess 6 or so inches) but in reality I am not 15 any more. This would have been a normal “work day” for me as a kid. We made a lot of money shoveling snow before the days of snow-blowers. And we would go from house to house doing many. But it is now a necessity…..and I try to do it by myself (with the dog) because I enjoy it. It is somewhat nostalgic for me.

So needless to say, I was appalled when I got home from Amanda and I taking Ben to the doctor (he has a fever and an ear infection) to find that she had shoveled the first time. She met me at the doctor, and she then took Ben home while I went to get his prescription. Certainly I should not complain. I have done it twice since then, and I may do it one more time before bed. But I really consider it my job, and don’t want people to think it isn’t! (Plus…..she is from Kansas, not the north. I should handle the snow and she can do the tornadoes)

I am anticipating a slight upswing in my weight tomorrow and will not worry about it at all. I weigh myself in the mornings right after I get up. As long as the scale does not break I will not fret. I do however, hope to break under 225 by Monday morning. But at my age, and with all the shoveling, maybe I should shoot for something a little more bold….like 185!

A guy can dream, can’t he? And I will….right after going out to shovel one more time.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I suppose I should be more worried, but I am not at the grocery stocking up. A winter storm “warning” has been issued for our area with the prediction of 4-8 inches of snow. Of course growing up in the “lake effect” snow of the northern part of the state, even 8 inches just seems like winter to me. We used to joke that our Superintendent of Schools used to wake up, measure the snow, and say “only a foot, the kids can make it to school.” And we did. Now living down here in “the deep south” of central Indiana, we panic at very little…..plus people freak out on the roads. It is almost always an adventure.

I am just amazed at how often I see my grass from November to March here. I miss the sledding, the building of snowmen, and of course the classic snowball fights. Of course as a young man we would also pelt cars with snowballs and do donuts in our own cars, but I have to confess I have reformed……I only consider those things now and realize that they could result in some sort of news story, such as “Priest Pelts Peugeot,” or “Clergy Doughnuts Attract Police.” Neither of course would please the bishop, or worse yet, my wife.

So tomorrow I will just shovel the drive as I have my entire life and resist the urge to gravitate towards mischief. It will be good for my exercise portion of the day, but mental exercise in restraint. Keep me in your prayers and keep your phone lines clear…….I love snow, and I just might need bail money!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+