TKO

On Saturday afternoon, I was playing with Ben in the backyard. He asked me to throw him up in the air. I did so twice without incident. On the third time, one of his hands caught one of my hands, causing him to twist in the air a bit. This made catching him a bit tricky. End result, the back of his head hit my check bone. I now have the best black eye that I've ever had in my life.

This picture does not do it justice.

Edaville

On Friday I took off from work and the family went to Edaville USA. It is a small family amusement park that has a train. Friday (and Saturday and Sunday) they had a special guest - Thomas the Tank Engine. The boys like Thomas, so Stephanie and I decided it would be good family outing. And indeed it was. Stephanie has two blog entries for this already (Day out with Thomas, All Aboard!), so I'll try not to cover the same information.

We had reservations to ride Thomas (or more accurately the passenger carriages pull by Thomas) at 1:30 p.m., so we did not have to hurry to get there. We arrived around 11:30 a.m. after an hour's drive. After a bathroom break, we sought out lunch. I ate a high-priced, small cheeseburger, while the rest of the family had over-priced pizza.

I took each boy, in turn, on the flying elephants ride that was located opposite of where we were seated for lunch. We then wandered over to a old steam locomotive, where the boys and I climbed up into the cab. We looked at another old engine and then visited several kiddie rides.

Then it was a quick pit stop before boarding for our trip behind Thomas. One of the benefits of going on a Friday during the school year is that the crowds were small. So we had plenty of room in the passenger car. It was a nice gentle ride of about 15 to 20 minutes. After the trip was done we stood in line to have the boys' pictures taken with Thomas.

Playing in a caboose, visiting the playground and riding another ride followed. We then viewed a turtle and some frogs in a pond while waiting for the next photo opportunity with Sir Topham Hatt. When Will saw the person dressed as Sir Topham Hatt coming, he said "Sir Topham Hatt's real!". Ben was scared by the costume character and refused to go near him. Will posed for a picture and gave Sir Topham Hatt a five. This caused the realization in Will that Sir Topham Hatt was not real, based on the feel of the costume hand, which prompted questions to mommy later.

Will and I rode the ferris wheel and then we, the family, had an ice cream treat. Mom, dad and Will all got temporary tattoos with different characters from Thomas and Friends. Will chose for each of us. I got Henry, Stephanie got James and Will got Percy. Ben and Will took a final ride, as co-pilots in a bi-plane, and then we left for home.

It was a good day. We had a great time and made some good memories. Below are a couple of photo montages from the day.

Some of the rides we enjoyed.

Seeing Thomas and climbing on and riding trains were fun.

Splish Splash

This is a take-off of the song "Splish Splash" by Bobby Darin. See my wife's blog for the story behind this. Try to sing it to the tune of the original song (it mostly works, I think).

Splish splash, she was play'n in the toilet
Long about a Thursday afternoon
A rub dub, just relaxing in the bowl
Thinking everything was alright

Well, she dipped out the bowl, put her hands in the water
She wrapped fingers around the Tupperware
And splashed the floor, and then
Splish, splash! She dumped some back in the bowl
Well how was mommy to know there was a party going on?

She was a-splishing and a-splashing, reelin' with the feelin'
Moving and a-grooving, rocking and a-rolling, yeah!

Bing bang, mommy saw the whole mess
Running on her bathroom room rug, yeah!
Flip flop, Ellie was pulled from the room
All the kids had the water bug
There was Ben with-a hose
Good golly, Mr. Will was-a even there, too
A-well-a, splish splash, they all got a kind of bath
Mommy went and put clean clothes on them, yeah!

She was a rolling and a-strolling, reeling with the feeling
Moving and a-groovin', splishing and a-splashing, yeah!

Do-Re-Mi

I admit it. I like musicals, or at least many of them. I grew up watching great ones such as The Sound of Music, Sing'n in the Rain, Oklahoma and the Music Man. I found the video clip below on YouTube. It's a different version of the Do-Re-Mi song from The Sound of Music. It's sung by Andy Williams, Bobby Darin and Eddie Fisher - and it made me smile and laugh. So I thought I would share it with you. I hope you enjoy it too.

Cool Lights

Projected 3D images have been, until recently, the sole domain of science fiction books and movies. Now it is a reality, in a rudimentary form. Check out the following links to read about this really cool advancement and to see some nifty pictures.

AIST February 2007 Press Release
Pink Tentacle article 1
Pink Tentacle article 2

A Beautiful Day

I took my usual walk today at lunch. It was a beautiful day - low 80's, blue skies, a few wispy white clouds, plenty of sunshine, and a gentle cool breeze. It made me want to get out of the city and into the mountains for a hike. And I definitely did not want to go back to work. I told God that I would not be opposed to everyday being like this.

Carbon (Carbon-14) Dating

I'm not a scientist but I am interested in scientific facts. Science classes, especially physics, were my favorite in high school. Because of the impact on one's belief in our origins, the science of origins is an area of interest to me. In the debate between Creation and evolution, one of the issues revolves around the age of the universe and specifically, the age of the earth and the things on\in it. One dating method that I've heard come up in these debates is ¹⁴C (carbon-14) dating.

Based on what I've read in the Bible, and what I've read about the scientific evidence supporting the Bible, I place myself in the young-earth Creationist camp.

Anyway, here's a not too technical article on carbon dating, provided by Answers in Genesis. Also, here is a good article from their latest issue of Answers magazine on defining science with the people you are communicating with so that everyone is on the same page.

Labor Day

How did you spend your Labor Day?

Mine was spent in a manner that matches the holiday's name - laboring around the house. And by "around the house", I mean around the outside of the house. I spent the day power washing the siding on the front and sides of the house and garage. The back of the house will have to wait. Will and Ben "assisted" me a couple of times. The trigger on the power washer was too hard for the boys to depress themselves, so I had to help them. Once I had pulled the trigger for Will, he was able to keep it depressed and spray the house himself. I say spray instead of wash because he was more interested in wetting the house than focusing on an area to clean it. That's all right, it's a first step. I'll get him hooked in through the fun of it, then I'll work on the productivity when he's older. It's all part of the plan.

The house needed the wash and it definitely looks better. It was good to accomplish this item on my "Honey Do" list.

Naaman

In my quiet time today, I read the Old Testament story of Naaman the Aramean. He had leprosy and went to Israel to be healed by Elisha. Second Kings 5:10-14 are the core verses around the healing.

10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." 11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. 13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Here's the points that came to my mind from these verses:

• God's will, instructions and His answers to prayer often come in forms that I'm not expecting. Naaman was not expecting the instructions he received. Am I sensitive enough to the Spirit's leading to recognize them, or do I miss them? When I do recognize them, do I react like Naaman did at first, get angry and dismiss them, or do I obey, as he ended up doing?
• Do I try to complicate what God has made simple? God's instructions through Elisha was simply that Naaman go to the river Jordan and wash seven times. Very simple and straight forward. But Naaman wanted something more dramatic and, as his servants pointed out, he probably would have been pleased if the instructions had been for him to perform some heroic task. I know I do that with my relationship with God sometimes; make it more complicated than God intended it to be by adding my own stuff to the relationship requirements.
• It is good to have people around you who are wise. Naaman had some wise servants who were able to change his mind about complying with the instructions. Without them, he would have gone home and lived the rest of his life as a leper.
• Following God's instructions always brings about the best results. Not only was Naaman healed, but the Bible says his skin was "like that of a young boy". Wow! God's work is always the best. Naaman's skin wasn't just free of leprosy, it was brand new - it did not have any signs of the aging that a veteran warrior should have had.

A Full Day

Today, after sleeping in as long as I could, I got up and fixed breakfast. I didn't do our traditional pancake breakfast since we were out of syrup. I made scrambled eggs, bacon and toasted bagels. Then came mowing the backyard and lunch. I laid down for a few minutes after putting the boys down for their naps, then got up and went to help one of our church members move. Returned home, spent a few minutes with the family and then mowed the front yard. Supper of biscuits, gravy and sausage patties followed. Then it was shower time for the kids, followed by my shower. Brushed the kids' teeth and put the boys to bed.

It has not been a hectic, crazy day but it has been full. Now I'm kick'n back for a few minutes before heading to bed.