daddy4ms

Tonight, after we finished supper, the girls were in a hurry to leave the table.  I decided it would be fun to have some more conversation.  The girls looked at me like I was crazy.  By the way, Mitchell was at a birthday party at Pizza Hut.  So, I started by asking Would You Rather be a princess or President of the United States?  Or how about this one, would you rather be a hairy gorilla or slimy snake?  Or would you rather be an armpit or slimy mud (Molly's word for toe jam)?  The girls finally got into the conversation and came up with some good ones as well.  We all had some good laughs and  it was a fun way to spend a little extra time together as a family.  Try it tonight and see what your kids come up with.

Here are my highs from the past week: Last Daddy Day with the kids on Monday before school starts First day of school excitement from the older kids (Molly starts preschool tomorrow) Meetings with individuals on Thursday Finishing The Legacy Path and writing a book review on it Finished editing family devotions for Hide N Seek Celebration Saturday Starting new "Life in CHRIST" Sunday School class today Worship with my church family this morning

Here are my highs from the previous week: Graduation Parties-Congrats class of 2010 Leading Children's Church Panda Kitchen with Bethany for lunch on Monday Visit with Hershberger's at the Perk Lunch with Hank at Hog Wild BBQ Elementary Video and Clap Up for Mitchell on Thursday Thursday afternoon at home with kids Walk to Arboretum on Friday and Family Movie Opening day at Hesston Pool Cookout in Wichita at my in-laws Driving to YC and spending a day with my family

It's time again to post some of the highlights of my last week. Here they are in no specific order: Worship on Aug. 30 th focusing on reaching the world. Sunday School Teacher's Meeting. We have great teachers and I enjoyed meeting and training with them. Blood Drive-Last time was a nightmare, but not so bad this time. Noon Basketball-I love this exercise. And it's basketball so what more needs to be said. D6 Dads-I am already blessed by this group of dads. I met with three different groups on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., and Thursday at 9:00 p.m.. Soccer practice has begun. Staff Meetings-I know I am strange, but I enjoy and look forward to our church staff meetings on Tuesday and Wednesdays. When you go without staff meetings for four years, you appreciate them when you have them. First official Hide N Seek and 5 th /6 th ministry. Great ministry and turnout at both! Great visits with people in homes and at the Perk. Reading some great books at th...

Well, I am in Yates Center at my parent's house. We left Branson today around 2:30 p.m. The kids did well again on the car ride. Molly slept for almost an hour and a half. My pick for lunch was one of my favorites: Chick-Fil-A. We left last Sunday to drive to Tennessee. We drove for 9 hours and the kids were great. We stopped in Poplar Bluff, MO for the night and finished the trip to TN on Monday morning. We had a great time seeing Judy, Steve, Katie (as the girls called her), Brandon, Bryan, Grandaddy Red, & Meemaw. They were great hosts. The kids swam in the pool, enjoyed breakfast at McDonald's (Grandaddy's idea and treat), riding 4 wheelers, and just playing together. We left TN on Wednesday morning and drove to Branson. We arrived in Branson in time to eat and get a movie for the night. On Thursday, we headed to Silver Dollar City. All of the kids had a great time. We saw two shows: JEERK & Veggie Tales (Molly kept telling me to clap). I rode all ...

Here are a few of the highlights from last week: Visiting the Browns in Hutch and ice cream at Bogey's Parent/Child Dedication at Church for Molly (and being a part of it for other families) Supper at Applebee's with my mom Leading Children's Church Church Family Zoo Trip on Tuesday Ball games for the kids VBS for 5th/6th graders on Friday Daddy date at the Perk with Mackenzie and Megan on Friday night (they had a Hello Kitty Blender) Spray Park twice this week and pool with Mackenzie and Megan on Saturday Hearing about Mitchell's trip with Grandaddy to Tennessee Baptism Service at church yesterday

Yesterday was our church family trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo. It was very hot. I think our van said 100 when we pulled into the zoo parking lot. Our kids were so excited because they had not seen the new tiger exhibit. I thought to myself, "If I had not planned this trip, would I be here?" Once we got into the zoo, it was a great trip. The best part was there were no crowds. I could walk up to any window and not worry about getting crowded out like my last two trips to the zoo. I could push Molly up to the penguins, reptiles, gorillas, and tigers and she could see clearly. I even made it through the jungle without bumping into anyone. Despite the heat, our kids had a great time. Everyone was so excited to see the tigers. It is a new exhibit that opened about a month ago. It was a great exhibit and part of it was air conditioned. The tigers were laying around, but we commented that most of the other animals were very active. The penguins did a show for us, bird...

Mondays are my days off and I always enjoy them. It's not that I don't love ministry-I just enjoy being with the family. Today, Bethany had to run to Newton to drop off some things at the Salvation Army so I took the 4 kids to the Arboretum. The oldest three rode their bikes and I pushed Molly in the stroller. It is so funny because as we walk Molly sings songs. I occasionally will catch a word, but it is so fun to listen to her. Mitchell can be a good big brother and he gets his sisters to stop at streets and lets them know when it is safe to cross. He also will yell if they get to close to the street when a car is coming. Today, we took some old bagels to feed the turtles at the Arboretum. We walk (or ride) around the Arboretum. Molly and I usually smell the flowers. I love watching the flowers and plants change from week to week. After making the circle walk, we go and feed the animals. The first time we went it was ducks. The next time it was fish. Lately, it ...

Here is my latest installment of "highs" for the week: First ball games for the kids Apples to Apples with the family twice this week McPherson Water Park with church families Small Group Cookout on Saturday night Worship at Hesston MB Church today Reading some great books at Lincoln Perk Singing at bed time with Molly Noon basketball Ministry visits with couples and individuals Eating a Brownie batter blizzard with my wife

Well, last week was the kids' first week out of school. It included ball practices and trips to the pool and lots of outside time. As I think about summer, I usually associate it with more time. The kids are home more often during the day. However, this summer I am realizing that activities can quickly fill our schedules. Our evenings are packed-between now and July 9 th , we have 3 open evenings. This is not me complaining; it's just the facts. It reminds me of the importance of balance. Even though we are so busy, it does not mean that I should spend less time with the kids. I just have to become more creative. As a dad, I need to remember the following important times: meal times (include more than eating such as "highs of the day", prayer, worship, Scripture memory) bed times (pray for your kids, read Bible stories together, sing together) driving (talk about the day, ask questions as you drive) church (activities should not replace Sunday worship-not leg...

OK-so I have admitted before that I enjoy reality TV such as Survivor and Amazing Race. Last year, our family discovered a show called Wipeout (which is more of a competition show than reality tv). It is on ABC on Wednesdays. The reason the kids really got hooked on the show was when Mitchell decided it would be really funny if his mom went on the show. Everyone laughed! But then they wanted to watch it whenver it was on. We watched again tonight and had some good laughs. For those who have not seen the show, it is basically an obstacle course with some twists. Tonight, they added some new elements such as a human catapult which was cool. The kids don't ever want to miss it. Molly even laughed when some of the people fell of different obstacles.

Today, has been quite a day. I started the day with a fun walk with Bethany and Molly through town running errands. Molly loves being outside and was able to end the walk by playing with her buddy, Jacob at the park. After lunch, I had the joy of going to the dentist. I don't mind the dentist, but lately our family has spent a lot of money on teeth. So, I was hoping for a good report. However, I was not expecting much since one of my fillings had a piece fall out last week. So, all of that to say that I get to go back to the dentist again next week for a crown. I did get to work out following my dentist trip before my time with Mitchell which I always enjoy. Mitchell and I both had appointments for hair cuts today and so after we finished with that we went to the park to have "the talk." He had been asking a lot of questions lately and Bethany and I decided it was time to hear it from us rather than TV or friends. We read through a book called, "Before I Was...