Ben and I are out on the porch tonight, and it is pretty early (6:45pm) and we are sans the cat because Ginger the dog is out here with us. Ginger is just three (formal name “Angelcreek’s I’m Not Mary Ann”) and is possibly going to be placed in a home. She was a show dog like the others, but developed a super-slight under bite (yes, I know that rhymes) and that doesn’t diminish one bit what a great dog she is, but it eliminates her from being shown. Some friends of Amanda’s are coming tonight to see her.

God bless my wife too. She thought she would get a head start and give Ginger a bath. She did, but used “Pantene” shampoo on her and she dried with VERY PUFFY hair! She (the dog) looks a lot like a very good looking Golden Retriever who stuck her paw in a light socket. And she keeps walking around the porch wagging her tail saying, “I’m looking for the guy who shocked my pa!” (I know, a bad one, and on so many levels too!)

Anyway, I hope this will be an early evening all around. It has been a long day, even if it is early. Long, but beautiful….the Lord has blessed us with one for the record books! Let’s hope tomorrow is just as wonderful a day!

An early goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Dear Lord, after all that searching, Amanda and I finally traded in the Cabrio on a 2003 VW Paasat this morning. The salesman’s name is Richard at Penske Honda in Indianapolis, and he was phenomenal. There was no pressure, he listened to me, and he was one of those good guys I talked about yesterday! We need more Richards in this world I tell yo…particularly in the auto sales business!

Anyway, I will be driving ti Nashville and Greenfield tomorrow. Sadly I will miss the pitch-in in Westfield and the good people of the north!

But I will be driving the “new” used car, and it is far more comfortable than the old one! Pray that I will have a successful day!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

I have spent a little time looking around at used cars to replace the Volkswagen, and I have to say that I have met some of the nicest people in the process, but I have also met some real thieves. It has become a profession with a terrible reputation, but there are good people out there. (ask me their names and I will give them to you)

But the whole process has made me really not want to take part. I would rather give my car to a dealer because if there is anything wrong with it they can fix it. Whereas if you just sell something outright and something goes wrong you feel guilty. Not that this has ever happened to me, but it is always a worry. I had the temperature gauge fixed on Wednesday and my mechanic checked it out and said it was fine. I trust my mechanic (ask me for his name too), but I’d just prefer not to worry about it.

PLUS, I don’t want to sell a car….because first and foremost, I am not a car salesman! I am a priest….okay another damaged profession, but I am one of the good guys! (ask me, and I will give you MY name!) I just don’t have the time or the energy to answer all the calls, or do all the bartering that comes with it. Plus, I just don’t have the ability to anymore either!

But I am enjoying meeting new people. God made them all, and for the most part they are pretty good! I just want to find a car and get on with it! For now however, I will just call it a night!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

Today has been unusual in that I have been around most of the day. our lacrosse game was rained out, and I was able to enjoy a night at home with everyone…..a rarity in my world. I made dinner for them all and in addition cleaned it all up too. Yep, I am a pretty great dad and husband…..make sure you let them all know the next time you see them!!!

We have decided to put our Volkswagen up for sale. It is a relatively new part of our “fleet,” a convertible, that is in great shape that we bought to have me drive. I really am not fond of having a convertible, but we thought it would get like 35+ mpg. It is really only 25-30 though and if I am going to do all that driving, for that mileage, it might as well be in a more comfortable car. The Cabrio has only 60,000 miles on it (59,990 today!) and we figured we might as well sell it and get something more suitable. As soon as we sell it I will begin to drive Scotty’s car until we find something else. With just under 3 months until he gets his license, I figure I have some time!

Anyway, the porch is quite nice tonight, although sans the cat since Ben has his toy mower out here every two minutes. I suppose the wine and the fresh baked cookies that Amanda has made help. But with that, I will call it a day. I hope yours has been as blessed and restful as mine….and if it hasn’t included a porch or a glass of wine, I do sincerely pray that a cookie has come your way!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Today my grandma turned 93. I had a great conversation with her on the telephone tonight, and I am so thankful she is in my life. She and my grandpa (God rest his soul) were such big parts of my life…..and my grandma still is.

At 93 she no longer drives, but does just about everything else. She enjoys life and is proud of her family. I cannot imagine a better influence on my life, and I am thankful for her, not just on this day, but everyday! I am who I am today because of her. (So I suppose this means Amanda can blame her)

I remember last year asking her what the hardest part of being 92 was….she said it was telling people she had a 46 year old grandson. Well today she is 93, and soon she will have a 48 year old grandson, and both of us couldn’t be happier.

I have a lifetime of wonderful memories and blessings from her, and plan to have many more years to come.

Happy Birthday Grandma. Thanks for all you do for me! I love you!

Tom+

WOW…..what a day. Steph and Scott were both sick but Ben never got it. The great part was that tonight we were all together and everyone was feeling fine…Praise God!! It doesn’t matter what age your kids are, when they are sick your heart breaks for them. Of course Ben will show it at the most inconvenient time, I know. But at least I can fantasize that we have weathered the storm!

The puppy is doing well, and the other dogs are following suit. It appears that things have leveled off, and I welcome the change. My stress level has been pretty high, and things settling down is just what the doctor ordered!

Hopefully the night will be will take me further into peace!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

It is once again late, and I just got home. Scott and Ben are fast asleep in Scott’s bed, and Steph is in her bed not feeling well at all. And, as I begin this blog, Amanda is on the couch with the puppy watching TV. All alone again!! That also means I have dog duty tonight (not dog dootie). No worries though…..at least they will act as if they are happy to see me!

Hopefully this scenario does not worsen overnight, but we all know that it often does. I have had girls on the lacrosse team fighting something lately, and one girl was even sick at practice today. Another was riding the edge. With a game tomorrow, it makes me a bit worrisome.

Ben will be sleeping with us tonight. He took a wiffleball bat to the head at the babysitter’s by walking into the swing of a 5 year old. It was a hard swing and he apparently went down after being hit, only to stand up, dust himself off to the extent that a 22 month old kid does, and went back to playing. How he could stand it with that lump on his head was beyond me, but like his athletic siblings, his focus was apparently on the game. In our family he will be required to play ice hockey and lacrosse (Steph and Scott will insist upon it), but with his level of toughness already at this age, God save those he will play against. He’s going to be a monster!

With that, I will head back to the infirmary. I am the doctor on call. I know I already will have one patient for tomorrow. Pray for us that there may not be more!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

Yikes….I was waiting for Steph to come home and then we sat out on the porch talking till 11:20. I hate it that she is up so late, but I rarely get the opportunity to talk with her anymore. Kids grow and they have their own lives. I am just thankful to have her here for the time I do!

But with that, I must call it a day. I have had two services today, a lacrosse referee certification, some Ben and Scott time, I made dinner AND cleaned up, plusssssssss about 100 other things too, so I am beat!

My apologies for this short post.

Goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

Today has been a “scare-free” day, and I have enjoyed it. We played out of town in Culver today and went 1-1, beating Homestead and then losing to Culver. We were blessed in that we played pretty poorly today….not our finest hour, but half our team (most of our starters) were dragging from the late night of Prom.

The good news is that the little fatty we have living in the whelping box with his mom (with every feeding port open for him) had a great day apparently and more importantly, NO PUPPY DRAMA. He may be just a few days old, but I am very proud of him!

With that, it is 10 and I need to run over to St. Patrick’s to make sure we are ready to go there. And THEN, I am going to bed, because I am very tired and I do not want to give time for something to happen!

So goodnight my friends and God Bless…..I hope you, like me, have had a wonderful day.

Tom+

The last pup made it to the vet, had its dew claws removed, and got an initial check-up. He was doing great, but we did have a close call. Scotty decided to sit with him while he watched “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” but when he went down to the whelping box the pup was tangled in his mom’s hair around the throat. Jenny was noticeably upset, as was the pup who was now wailing. Scotty pinned her down and called for me. I took over while he went up for some scissors, and we cut the fur loose. The pup and Scott are now enjoying the movie. If I only believed in curses I would say that this litter was cursed, but I just think has just been a bad week. It is so very nice to see him snuggling with Scott and enjoying some peace.

But the scary part was to see my daughter heading to Prom. Don’t get me wrong, Stephanie is a wonderful daughter and I couldn’t ask for better, but she looked 25. She went with her boyfriend and 9 other couples, 5 of the girls are on the lacrosse team. But it was just another marker in my life of how soon she will be leaving. She was genuinely excited and it was so great to see. I used to laugh when she would go to school with an empty Barney backpack bigger than she was. Now she is a beautiful young woman who is riding the edge of adulthood. I am proud of her, but it will be the death of me yet!!

Anyway, I will now wait till she gets home! Worry worry worry. But I am pleased to say I have made it now till 10:30! I am doing pretty well, all things considered…..as long as Amanda talks me down!!

I am gonna wait up, but you should go to bed!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+