Way To Go Matthew!

Just got the word. Matthew was selected to Pop Warner's Scholastic All-American 2nd team! He worked very hard for this. Great job son! This year's banquet is in Chicago. And no, we will not be attending. That's a little far to travel. And expensive. Plus, it's on Memorial Day weekend. I mean we love him and all. But we have camping to do, baseball to play, and pulled pork to eat that weekend! Priorities people! Don't forget to mark your calenders. Anyway, enough of that. Congrats Matthew! We're proud of you!

Some Much Needed Inspiration!

Hey all. I wanted to share something with you I thought you might like. At church today, the founder of our church, Pastor Bill Sammons, shared with us a prayer that Rick Warren originally wrote. It was given a few years ago at the 25th anniversary of Saddleback Church. Now, you may or may not like Rick Warren, but this prayer he wrote is so spot on and so inspiring, well I'm posting it here on the blog, so that should tell you something. I've been wanting to write something for a few weeks now, but haven't had the inspiration. Writer's block, I guess. (not that I'm any kind of writer!) Well, I found my inspiration today. I'd love to take credit for it. It's really good. Anyway, read on if you wish. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!


Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling, and I'm finished with wavering. I've made my choice; the verdict is in; and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word.

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, "we" over "me," character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven, and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for every day, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Any way. Whatever it takes Lord; whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!"

Gone to the Dark Side

Look at that face. Angelic. The face that could do no wrong. Who could ever stay mad at a face like that? Well, I've got news. The owner of this face, our precious, innocent, little man.... has gone rogue. Yup, it's happened. He's told his first lie. Well, technically not his first, but his first doosey. This lie was of such proportion, required such imagination, and literally several minutes of planning (which, for a four year old, is the longest continuous thought he's ever had)that it warranted a post on the blog so that it can be immortalized forever. This post will probably resurface years from now and cost him a scholarship or that big job promotion, but it makes for good reading now, so he'll have to get over it.

The other day, Aaron asked me to get him down a toy from a high shelf. In hindsight, the fact that the toy he wanted was on a high shelf should have given me a clue, but you know, duh, whatever. You gotta hand it to him. Linda was home, but he didn't ask her to get it down. He knew. "Ask the big dumb one" he probably thought. Anyway, after getting him down the toy he asked for, I went back downstairs. Aaron stayed upstairs to play. Several minutes later, he came downstairs and reported that the carpet by his room was wet, and that Lucy did it.(Lucy is one of our cats) Linda's first thought was that the cat peed on the carpet. Logical first thought considering the problems we've had in that department in the past. So upstairs to investigate. When she got upstairs, she did find wet carpet outside of Aaron's bedroom, but when she leaned over to smell it, no odor. Hmmm... Strange. It was about that time that she noticed the large wet spots on Aaron's shirt and pants. Then she saw the toy that he was playing with. Come to find out, the toy he asked me for was a Hotwheels Car Wash. Yeah, the kind that requires water. So, of course, Linda's first question was, "Who got this down for you?" "Daddy", he replied. Nark. Anyway, now the picture was becoming clearer, so she went to Aaron's bathroom. And what do you know, water everywhere. "Aaron, what did you do?" she asked. "Nothing!" he cried. "Well, where did all the water come from?" She asked. His answer? Wait for it..... "Lucy did it!" Yeah that's what he said. But wait, it gets better. He then proceeded to further implicate Lucy. He told Linda that Lucy was playing in the water, and not only made the mess on the bathroom floor, but then she got water in her mouth, went out into the hallway, and spit it out on the carpet. And he had witnessed it all. Now, either Lucy is possessed by evil cat spirits who like to throw little boys under the bus, or we have a little boy with a wild imagination. I vote the latter. Although an evil cat who goes around getting little boys in trouble would make for even better reading. Anyway, after a long discussion about the pitfalls of lying, he "spilled" his guts. And after some time in the corner, everything went back to normal in Aaron's world. The scary part of this story is that's he's only four. I can't wait to hear the stories he'll tell when he's a teenager. He better hope he's still got that angelic face. It may be his only hope.

TOGA! TOGA!

Wow! Where has January gone? It's gonna be spring before I know it. Well, football is officially over, for this year. We went to the boys' awards banquet last night. Once again, a great night. Collin and Matthew both received trophies for playing and both received the Carl Walls award. That's the scholastic award for maintaining a 93% GPA during the season. On top of that, Matthew was named a Pop Warner Scholastic All-American. That's for a 96% GPA. Much like last year with Collin, we'll find out in April if he's selected first team, second team, or honorable mention. We'll keep you updated.
This year's banquet was a little different. They set up a long table for each team, so all the boys can sit together one last time. This plan had it's pros and cons. Pros: One last hurrah. Talk about the season. And most importantly, don't have to sit with your parents! Cons: Remember the movie Animal House? Yeah. It was just like that. And of course, out of the five football teams and three cheer teams, who's table was the rowdiest? Take a guess. Oh, and a quick math equation for you. Baked potatoes + 10-12 year old boys = projectiles. I don't need to elaborate. And this is before they realized they could help themselves to the coffee. Anyway, great night, great fun, and we didn't have to wear our togas.
One last football note. I'm now the VP of Scholastics for Cape Vikings Pop Warner. It's now my job to determine who qualifies for the scholastic awards that are given. I'll have to review each players report card to see who qualifies. There's only 175 kids. How hard can it be? Yikes!
Nothing else interesting going on. Cut some firewood today. The upstairs heat pump broke last week, so we had to pay to get that fixed. I hate having to do that! Man, I'll be so glad when spring gets here. I'm so done with the cold. Had enough. It was fun while it lasted. Kind of nice around Christmas. But now it's worn out it's welcome. Be gone old man! And besides. Baseball season starts in 45 days!
Woo Hoo!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011! Here's wishing everyone a safe, prosperous, healthy new year. Here's the 2010 edition of our Christmas video. Hope you enjoy!

Christmas Eve Visitors

Once again, our noisy neighbors are makin' a ruckus. Of course, the boys didn't help the matter any. This is what we do for entertainment over here in lower, slower, Delaware! It's how we roll, dog! Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Story

'Twas the week before Christmas, when the family came to visit.
For laughter, joy, and cheer. And cornbread most exquisite.
I sat in the recliner, with Ma on my lap.
To spend time with family, and all that good crap.
Great stories were a plenty, the laughs all grew louder.
We all gorged ourselves on habanero corn chowder.
When we all finished eating all the grub we could bear
That's when we realized, the Pleffner's weren't there.
But where could they be? What could cause such a fuss?
But then we all thought "Hey, more cheesecake for us!"
But alas they arrived, and our gifts we exchanged.
Then Tom proposed something that sounded quite strange.
A Yankee gift exchange, what fun!
When it's O.K. to be selfish.
You don't like your present? Just take someone else's!
Candles for Pop Pop? Pringles for Zack?
Andy stole my beef jerky. But I soon stole it back.
Spongebob on golf balls. "Chalk, chalk, chalk" someone chants.
And what happens in the pants, stays in the pants.
But with our bellies all full, and our gifts all in hand.
It was time to draw a close to this party so grand.
What a great time we had. So sad to see it end.
But next Christmas we'll do it all over again.
And I heard Karen say, as we drove off in our truck.
"Thank God they're all gone! Now who the hell's cleaning up?"



Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Did Somebody Call For a Doctor?

We Won!

Just got word that the video Coach Fred submitted in the Atari contest WON!! I'm not sure of everything that happens now, but I do know that the Cape organization gets their uniforms and equipment paid for next season! Thank you to everyone who voted. I've included a link so you can watch the video.


http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dm_tKaCnkztQ&h=ce1b7

Football Pictures

Just thought I would share the boys' football pictures. We just got them today. I know it appears that they're both constipated, but they're not. Football players don't smile for pictures! These pictures were taken right before the Dover game. No smiling allowed. Focus, focus, focus. One errant smile, and who knows what could happen! Merry Christmas!