Far Out!

Well, it' happened. In our house, the blind are definitely leading the blind. Aaron just got his first pair of glasses. But unlike Collin and I who are both nearsighted, he is nearsighted, farsighted, and has an astigmatism in both eyes. He didn't know what he was missing until Saturday when we picked up his glasses. And while I'm on the subject, I'm not sure of the correct use of the term. I know some people that say "He's got a stigmatism" Like stigmatism is the proper name. Now I know it's proper name is astigmatism, but am I using it correctly? You wouldn't say "He's got a cancer" You'd say "He's got cancer", or whatever. So is it a noun? Or a verb, or something else? Perhaps it's like the F word. Now there's a versatile word. So many uses. It's a noun. "You stupid F" It's a adjective. " Where's the F ing remote?! (used that one before. Sorry Mom) It's a verb. I'm not going there. Anyway. Some help with my grammar problem would be appreciated. Please leave your suggestions in the comments section.

The Memorial Day party went well. or as we like to call it, "Mattiapaloozastock". 16 tents, 63 people, 17 pounds of pork, 40 pounds of chicken, every sidedish known to man, and two campfires. The only things missing were the drugs, the mud, the free love, and Janis Joplin. It was a good time. But I'm glad it's over. I've never put out so much garbage to the curb as I did that following trash day. WOW! We definitley owe the trash man a six pack at Christmas!

Anyway, that's all for now. Time to go play baseball! Now where are my F ing keys? Love that word. By all!

Back To Nature

Hey. What do you know. I actually have something to write about! The boys and I just got back from a camping trip. We had alot of fun. We went to Trap Pond State Park in Laurel(Delaware,that is) We went Friday afternoon and came back today. Nothing says bonding like two nights in the woods. The park is really cool. It is loaded with LONG bike trails. And not to mention Trap pond. So we spent Friday afternoon and all day Saturday biking, fishing, rowboating, and kayaking. Oh, and let's not leave out wearing and consuming large quantities of dirt. We also kept a fire going the whole time, which you can see in the pictures. But since I can't stand the thought of paying for firewood, we scavengered through the woods to find any old logs we could. If it didn't have a pulse, we burned it. We also made all of our meals at camp. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The only thing we didn't do is shower. But wait, it gets better. We didn't even change our clothes. Nope, not a piece. Not that we didn't take clean clothes. We just never felt the urge to wear them. Did I mention Linda wasn't there? Without the Queen Mum present dictating proper camping etiquette, we were left to our own devices. It was on. Lord of The Flies, if you will. One example. The camp site we were on was actually on an island that you had to cross a small wooden bridge to get to. The water that the bridge crossed, the boys dubbed "Lugey Lake". (is that how you spell lugey?) Anyway, the logic behind the name? You guessed it. You had to spit one in the water every time you crossed. Oh, and we also took turns spitting into the fire, but that's another story. I'm convinced if we were to stay another day or so, the boys would have broke out the face paint. It was great. But by this morning, we were ready to go home. Two nights of sleeping outside when the temperature gets down to the mid forties makes you appreciate home even more. Anyway, that's the camping trip. Next time we camp is Memorial Day Weekend. Hope everyone's coming. I'll tell the boys no face paint, but I'm not making any promises.

Writer's Block

Well, I've been having the urge to write again, but nothing really inspiring happening right now. I love writing about things that go on in my world, especially as they relate to my family. But it seems like the interesting things that are going on right now, are the same things that happened last year at this time. And I already wrote about them. Baseball season started. Yawn. I opened the pool last weekend. Boring. I developed a strange rash. Really? O.K. I didn't already write about that, nor did I actually develop a rash. But now that I'm thinking about it, I'm kinda wishing I did. The stories I could write about that! Anyway, after explaining my dilemma to my sister (the one who also doesn't write as much as she likes) she said "Well, write about that". "Write about what"? I asked. "The fact that everything is the same and you have nothing new to write about". Brilliant, I thought. And she was right. I just held your attention for a minute or so while you read about nothing. I feel like George Costanza or Jerry Seinfeld. I now have the blog about nothing. I cut the grass. There's a blog post. I brushed my teeth. There's a blog post. I found ointment for my rash. There's several blog posts. I've discovered a whole new avenue of inspiration. Any innocuous thing that happens in my life, I shall write about. (excluding bodily functions, you'll thank me for that later) Now, I realize my posts were borderline nap material before. But using this new tool will drive my blog to a whole new level of mediocrity. You've been warned. A pillow placed strategically on your desk to catch your head as you fall asleep is recommended. In addition, I may also just start making stuff up. If you read that I won the Nobel Peace Prize or was voted Time magazine's "Man Of The Year" well then you know I actually cleaned the flower beds or some other thing that I already wrote about but can't bring myself to write about again. Consider it artistic license. Consider it anything you want. But you have to admit, it could make for some interesting posts. Strange new rash. Now's that's good reading.

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!