Time Goes Fast!

Its been so busy lately. I almost forgot to update the post. There has been so much going on lately that I will try to go back in time and update summarize it all.

I have been traveling still (going to South Dakota a lot and even got back to North Dakota for a week).

Cole has been super busy with the traveling basketball. Practice, practice, practice with tourneys on the weekends. His schedule keeps him hopping for sure and fills all of our extra time. But it is fun to see him with a new group of friends and playing at a new level. He also has been taking electric guitar lessons since the start of the school year. He loves it! He is also getting good.

Kennedy has been continuing with her dance lessons and simply loves every minute of it. She loves getting dressed up and practicing for the Christmas pageant and the big Spring Concert. She is also very much in the Christmas spirit. She loves wrapping presents and making Christmas cards for everyone and anyone. She can't wait for her school days and excels there. Her reading is getting even better everyday. Her world is wide open now that she can decipher the new words all around her. She is so bright (I know I am biased).

Jake is our sweet little boy. He is still our little thoughtful helper. If anyone sneezes in the house he is right there to make sure to tell them "bless you". Also if he sneezes and there is not an immediate "bless you" he is sure to let you know. He is so very helpful. He is arguably one of the best laundry folders in the house. He folds the towels perfectly and helps to sort the laundry. It is amazing how accurate he is. He is always willing and eager to help with any chore. His cheery disposition and sweet, gentle heart is the most wonderful part of Jake. Other than "forcing" him to do the hard work at home, he loves to color, draw and practice his letters (can you tell he hangs around Kennedy the teacher). He also loves sports. All sports. He shoots basketball on his hoop in the playroom and has gotten to be quite the shooter. Some times he will take off his shirt and play hoops. On Sundays I will ask him what day is it and he replies "Game day!" He will sit with me and watch the Titans play (usually for a quarter or so before he needs to go get a football, or go shoot hoops). It is fun to see him turn into his own little man. On the days that I am fortunate to be home (Kennedy and Cole are at school) Jake and I just hang out and spend time together. It is so nice for him to have that time with me alone and for him to show his own personality.

De has been SUPER busy. With all the busy hustle and bustle of our family schedule and me not being home every week she often carries the load. Fortunately she is the most organized person I know. I do feel fortunate for the times I am able to be home to help out and give her a break. I am looking forward to Christmas week (I was able to take off work).

I will try to update this blog and tell you more about Coles last tourney and post some pictures. I will also update about Kennedy's Christmas pageant with pictures. So check back or follow this blog by clicking on the subscribe/follow button.

Power of Prayer

Two weeks before Thanksgiving I was making some soup stock for homemade wonton soup. It was just me and Jake at home. Kennedy and Cole was at school and De at work. We were enjoying the day and just decided a nice pot of hot soup would be great. While I was simmering the stock I had run to the grocery store for the wonton wrappers and ground pork. So this little grocery run put me behind a bit and I was starting to get a tight on time. After making other trips to pick up the kids from school, I continued with the soup.

I pulled the meat out of the stock pot and strained the broth (twice). I then pulled the pork off the bone and set aside for supper. De was going to mix with some barbeque sauce and make some barbeque pork sandwiches. While she was preparing the BBQ pork I started to mix up the ground pork for the wontons. So I slipped off my rings and placed them on the counter. It was pretty chaotic as I tried to finish the soup and De was feeding the kids. We finally finished supper and everyone started to clean up the kitchen. We loaded the dishwasher, washed the counters and I grabbed the heaping garbage bag and took it out to the garage. Finally everything was clean again.

As I reached to grab my rings to put them back on I only found my wedding ring. The other ring (a ring that De had bought me when we were dating when I was 19) was not next to my wedding ring. I asked De if she saw it laying around. She hadn't. I then asked the kids if they knew where Daddy's ring was and they also had no idea. So the hunt was on!

I started looking on all over the floor while De looked all over the countertops. The kids helped looking around. We looked in the sinks, on the rug, under the rug, in the dishwasher, everywhere! Nothing. I then thought maybe it accidentally got knocked into the garbage. The heaping full bag of trash that I just took out to the street. I brought it back into the house and started to take every single item out of the slimey trash bag and put it into a new trash bag. I sifted through coffee grinds, pork bones, wrappers, vegetable scraps and all the other usual trash can occupants. Nothing. We were bewildered. We continued to look for another hour with no success.

I started to get nervous and my heart sank. I was resigned to the fact that it was gone. I had no idea how it went missing or where it went. It wasnt an expensive ring but De had given me that ring nearly 20 years ago. I just felt a sadness.

It was now time for the kids to go to bed and I took Jake upstairs to read his bedtime story and De came up and reminded me to pray to St Anthony. As I was growing up, my Mom would tell us kids to pray to St Anthony whenever we had lost something. She explained that St Anthony was the Patron saint of lost or stolen articles. She firmly believed that this would always work and it always did. It sometimes took a while but we would always find our lost object. De was introduced to our family's "Top Secret" tool for locating lost items when we were dating and soon became a believer. So I lay beside my little buddy and after I read him his book he and I said a little prayer to St Anthony to help us find my lost ring.

A week passed and my brother Darrin was visiting during a business trip. I usually try to make a special supper for him when he visits. I made baby back ribs, baked pototoes and tossed salad. We ate supper really fast and had to run because I had to help with Cole's basketball practice. I apologized to De about just eating and leaving the mess to clean up. Darrin decided to tag along to the practice to watch Cole's practice.

After a long practice we got home and decided to watch a little TV. I went up to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and when I was reaching to grab a glass I noticed my ring sitting on the back legde of the the backsplash. I exclaimed "De I found my ring!" She laughed and said "Are you kidding?" I reassured her that I wasnt kidding. She asked me again if I was kidding and looked at me suspiciously. I again told her no and showed her the ring. She thought that I had already found the ring and was playing a joke on her. I told her that this was the first time that I have seen the ring since I the day I lost it. She then told me that when we left for basketball practice she was putting everything away and when she grabbed the BBQ sauce and was trying to snap the cover back on it did not close. Upon closer inspection she saw my ring sitting on top of the lid covered in BBQ sauce! How the heck did the ring ever get there? How lucky is it that De actually saw it on the cover after over a week? Once again St Anthony came through and our prayer had been answered.