The Flying Welchendas

say it ain't so Tony Stewart

2009-09-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that President Obama will be "speaking" to our school children

Now (NASCAR) National Association for SOCIALIST CZAR Auto Racing, has jumped on the Obama band wagon to indoctrinate our kids.

Hey, Jeff Gordon, Leave Those Kids Alone.

MORE Garden Adventures: Farmers Market!!!

2009-08-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

So I took the plunge and set up a table at my first ever Farmers' Market!!! Here's pics of my table, the market, and my first customer. It was not a financial success....YET. If you're in the area, check out the market which runs through October.O'Fallon Farmers Market

Garden Adventures with Val

2009-08-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

So...I decided to divide some daylilies and expand flower beds on either side of our driveway. I still have to plant half the plants, and I'm done. Whew, it's been a lot of work...hopefully will pay off in the spring next year.
Also for your enjoyment, pics of the garden, including the basil that I'm going to sell at the farmer's market next week! Note the birdhouse gourd vines that are taking over the yard!

Coop in BRACES????

2009-08-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, believe it or not, here he is. The orthodontists are recommending braces younger these days, supposed to be actually faster and easier in the long run as it leaves more space for the adult teeth to grow in straight. He also got a free t-shirt...get it? "Grill Repair??""

Good thing he likes his dairy...these pics also show how much his brother likes to copy him!

1 Timothy 5:8

2009-04-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's old news that Mark Driscoll doesn't like stay at home dads.

But here is another take on what the Bible, including 1 Timothy 5:8, has to say about family roles.

"Some today understand Paul’s admonition that “if a man does not provide for his own, he is worse than an unbeliever” as a proof-text for the man-alone-as-breadwinner model (1 Timothy 5:8). The verse even has six male pronouns in many English translations. Yet Paul used the gender-neutral “someone” and “one’s own,” not “he/his.” And in the context he was speaking of widow-care. Ironically, the passage is more focused on women caring for mothers and mothers-in-law than on men providing (see 1 Tim 5:16). Imagine a culture with no nurses. Who bathes the patient? Paul’s talking about the family vs. the church caring for the elderly and infirm.

Questions about women’s economic contributions tell us something about our culture: We are rich. We may think we’re poor compared to Bill Gates, but more than two billion people live on less than two dollars a day. And I doubt if a single one of them wonders if it’s biblical for a woman to earn any income."

Theology

2009-04-08T05:42:00.001-07:00

Baseball is just around the corner

2009-02-09T06:09:00.001-08:00

Matthew 23:4-15,23-24 (The Message)

2009-02-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

"Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.'

"Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of 'Father'; you have only one Father, and he's in heaven. And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ.

"Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

"I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either.

"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned.

"You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God's Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that's wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

Amos 5:18-24 (The Message)

2009-02-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Woe to all of you who want God's Judgment Day!
Why would you want to see God, want him to come?
When God comes, it will be bad news before it's good news,
the worst of times, not the best of times.
Here's what it's like: A man runs from a lion
right into the jaws of a bear.
A woman goes home after a hard day's work
and is raped by a neighbor.
At God's coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—
a black cloud with no silver lining.

"I can't stand your religious meetings.
I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
That's what I want. That's all I want.

Quotable

2009-01-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

Mix a good dose of ego addiction with Jesus, and the consequences are frightening. It causes ministers to build huge churches as a monument to their own ego, it causes people to go on television with their “unique ministry”, which is another term for “my ministry”. It causes people to write books, speak all over the world, abandon their families, their friends, and their neighborhoods so they can respond to the “great need”… which is really the need to be needed.

Think of all the churches in America right now that are supporting the egos of their ministers. Think of all the supporters of para-church organizations that are supporting the ego of their “founder and president.” Think of all the churches and organizations that are supporting the egos of their “internationally known speakers.”

The result is that the evangelical church is known more for its “big” churches and famous people than it is known for its Jesus.

-Mike Yaconelli (The Door Magazine, #125, October 1992)

Parenting

2009-01-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

Parenting is God way of letting you know that you are not as important as you thought, and more important than you realize.

2009-01-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Please won't you be my neighbor

2008-12-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Where there is nothing like the holidays to try to get in good with the neighbors. So this year we made some goodie baskets for our immediate neighbors and some Old New Friends

Here is what was included:

Cranberry-Orange Bread with Grand Marnier Glaze

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups powdered sugar
7 to 8 tbsp. Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 330°. Butter two 6-cup-capacity loaf pans (or, if making the mini loaves, butter six 2-cup-capacity pans).

2. With an electric or standing mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add orange juice, sour cream, orange zest, and vanilla; mix until blended.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture and cranberries to wet ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are absorbed; do not overmix.

4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers of breads comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes for large loaves and 60 minutes for mini loaves.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and 7 tbsp. Grand Marnier. Glaze should have consistency of thick maple syrup or corn syrup. If it is too thick, thin with an additional tbsp. of liqueur.

6. Let loaves cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack set over a large baking sheet. With a thin skewer or long toothpick, poke deep holes in tops of loaves. Drizzle with Grand Marnier glaze so that it coats the top, runs down the sides, and seeps through the holes.

7. Let loaves cool completely, then slice and serve, or wrap and freeze.

Spicy Pecans

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 pound pecan halves

PREHEAT the oven to 325

MELT the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey, salt, and cayenne pepper, bring mixture to a boil, and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat, and add the pecans to the honey mixture. Stir to mix well. Spread the coated pecans on a sheet pan, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, possibly more often toward then end. Serve when cooled, first separating any pecans that stuck together.

Fudge

Ingredients
2 cups milk chocolate and 1 cup semisweet chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation
Place chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter or margarine in large microwaveable bowl. Zap in microwave on medium until chips are melted, about 3-5 minute, stirring once or twice during cooking. Stir in nuts, if desired.

Pour into well-greased 8x8-inch glass baking dish. Refrigerate until set.

I picked up the baskets at the dollar store (Shhhh) They cost a dollar.

Christmas Lights

2008-12-11T05:20:00.001-08:00

Girl of My Dreams - Jonas Brothers from Scott Reinhold on Vimeo.

This is a house near where we live. Just a street over.

Here is their web site: mywinterwonderland.com/

Cooper loves going over to watch the show.

like ta-mater, but without the ta

2008-12-08T04:46:00.001-08:00

At our last pack meeting they gave each den a box. Not a lot of instructions to go with it, except that we were going to have a cardboard box derby. It was the day I picked up Val from the airport and right before Thanksgiving.

Well, our pack meeting is this coming Thursday, so we had to come up with some kind of design for our car. It is not quite finished yet, it needs some wheels and maybe some lettering on the side, but here is what Cooper and I came up with from the box we were given and garbage around the house.

We did buy some spray paint and some duct tape. Everything else was stuff we had.

It may be Lincoln's halloween costume next year (if it last that long) because he loves it.

Minnesota Votes

2008-11-21T02:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the challenged ballots from the very tight Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

It really is a shame that the Lizard People didn't have the funds or organization to get their message out. Maybe we wouldn't have this mess.

It's going to be a crazy week

2008-11-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

Tonight Val will fly out to Houston.

Val's stepdad's mom passed away this weekend.

While Val is in Houston we will be having swimming, den meeting, more swimming, pack meeting and all now with the 2 year old in tow.

McCain and Me

2008-11-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

Ways I am like John McCain:

I am white

I have met George Bush

I will never be President

I didn't really know anything about Sarah Palin before September

Ways I am NOT like John McCain:

My wife and I only own one home.

That's right, today it is official. We closed on the house in Minnesota. No just waiting on the money to get wired to Missouri.

Thanks to everyone who has kept us and our housing situation in your thoughts and prayers. We look forward to visiting Monticello sometime and not having a place to stay.

For family far and near that ask about what to get the boys

2008-11-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year.

Only 3 weeks until Cooper's Birthday, 7 weeks until Christmas.

I have made wish list on Amazon for both of the boys, you can find them on the right hand side of the blog.

Here is a little information about what both of the boys are into right now.

Cooper:

He is into Legos right now. He especially likes the Lego Agents, but likes all kind of legos. He is also into Indian Jones. He dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween and is having a Lego Indiana Jones Birthday party. Right now from Mom and Dad he is getting the first Indiana Jones Movie and a membership to the Lego Brickmaster club for his birthday.

One thing he has been interested in for a while is getting a Venus Flytrap.

He's doing pretty good on clothes, although is always open to unusual socks and could maybe use a hooded sweatshirt.

Christmas this year is going to be all about the Wii. Grandma and Grandpa have already bought the Wii for our family (shhhh) So you will see many items on his wish list that relate to that.

Lincoln

He loves the movie cars and the characters from the movie.

He is into trains and trucks. He also likes legos. We have some arguments over legos in our house.

Oh, and for better or worse he loves Sponge Bob. He sings the theme song (we have Cooper to thank for that).

Halloween fun...and more!

2008-11-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here's some pics of the guys at Halloween. Lincoln was "SuperWhy"and Cooper was Indiana Jones. They went to Mahomet and trick-or-treated with their Illinois buddies. Mommy and Daddy got to have 24 hours or so without kids...thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Here's the "more"...it's looking like our house will be sold soon. Don't want to say more until the ink is dry.

Broiled Pork Chops with Pineapple Couscous

2008-11-06T06:13:00.000-08:00

This was more of a "what do we have around the house" than an actual recipe, but I thought it turned out pretty good.

I used boneless pork chops and for a sauce I used:

Hoisin Sauce (about 1/3 cup)
Lime Juice
Sesame Seed Oil
Minced Garlic
Minced Ginger
Soy Sauce

Salt and peppered the chops and covered in sauce. Broiled, turning and basting periodically.

If I was making this recipe again I would probably try adding some chopped scallions to the sauce.

For the couscous I had a can of pineapples (used some for calzones the other night), which gave me about a cup of pineapple juice. Used water to get to 2 cups. Boiled that mixture, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup couscous (ours was whole wheat)

Took about 20 minutes to absorb to which I then added the pineapple chunks.

election update

2008-11-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

Maybe I am the only one who finds this funny, but this is my mock up of an actual sign I saw at our polling place today.

"If you don't vote, you're a moron"

2008-11-04T02:42:00.000-08:00

(HT: Cindy)

Happy election day. Remember that if you vote you can also get free coffee, doughnut, and ice cream.

my new, favorite Christian music based podcast

2008-11-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

Recently I went back to Minnesota to take care of the house up there.

Had a talk with my pastor about church and such.

I told him we found a church that we are probably going to be attending. And I told him that the service we attend they sing hymns. My wife and I like hymns.

He asked, "Do you listen to hymns on the radio?"

To which I said, "Well I don't listen to contemporary Christian music on the radio."

Now, thanks to my wife I've found my new, favorite Christian music based podcast.

It's called The Bored-Again Christian. And so far we listen to one podcast on our drive back from Illinois and I am hooked.

It is entertaining and it has started to introduce me to an eclectic mix of Christian music. I didn't fall in love with every song, but I did fall in love with a couple. I've already bought one on iTunes.

So for those of us looking for something beyond Chris Tomlin and Jeremy Camp, I have found it.

Chicken and Vegetable Tostadas

2008-10-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
12 ounces chicken breast tenders
1 cup chopped red onion (about 1)
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) (I used canned corn)
1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup green salsa (I used hot salsa, gave it a kick
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Preparation
Preheat broiler.

Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

Happy Holidays

2008-10-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

Some reasons why it isn't even Halloween and I am looking forward to Christmas.

It has been a long year. With the move, the house still for sale in MN and all the real life things that have come along with that it will be nice for that holiday spirit to roll into town.

The move was tougher on Cooper than I had anticipated and I am excited for him to have something to really look forward to.

I got 50 sticks to earn Christmas money this year and I am looking forward to seeing that pay off on Christmas morning.

I already have Christmas presents stashed around the house.

Looking forward to care free time with the family.

Chad's pomegranate margarita

2008-10-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

1 shot simple syrup
1 shot tequila
1 shot triple sec
1 shot lime juice
2 shots pomegranate juice

combine ingredients in shaker with ice and shake. serve over ice.

a note from "Real" America

2008-10-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

So recently there has been talk about the "Real" America and the "Real" Virginia and so on.

So today I am going to step up and tell you something about what is real and not real. I don't care who it upsets. I don't care what your views are I am going to declare it loud and proud.

REAL CHILI DOES NOT HAVE BEANS.

There, I said. And I'm not going to do some back peddling announcement on CNN to try please those who put beans in their chili that I didn't really mean it. I said it and I mean it.

And for heavens sake, it sure as heck isn't served over spaghetti.

Here in "Real" America we call that spaghetti sauce.

Even with kids it's a tight election

2008-10-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

So Cooper saw the Nickelodeon Kid's Pick the President and wanted to vote. So his voice was heard in this Nickelodeon election.

It seems like even with the kids this is a tight race.

General Tsao's Chicken

2008-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

So this one is not from Cooking Light, but if you are like me and your favorite when you go to visit [insert favorite local chinese restaurant here] is General Tsao's Chicken, I think this is a pretty good recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup hot chicken broth

1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (MSG) I did not add this

3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 egg

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped green onions

16 chile peppers, sun-dried I used pepper mix, like crushed red peppers

I also put in some steamed broccoli

DIRECTIONS
To Make Sauce: In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Mix together. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white wine vinegar. Then add chicken broth and monosodium glutamate and stir all together until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.

To Prepare Chicken: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup cornstarch and stir until chicken is evenly coated. Add oil to help separate chicken pieces.don't need to add oil Divide chicken into small quantities and deep fry at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

To Make Mixture: Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add scallions and dried chile peppers and stir-fry briefly. Remove sauce from refrigerator and stir. Add sauce to wok. Then add fried chicken and cook until sauce thickens (add cornstarch or water as needed until sauce is as thick as you like it).

Round 2

2008-10-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that round 2 of the medical trial is here. In an hour I will check in for the last of the two part study.

36 hours later and 22 sticks later I will be released.

A week and 3 more sticks and I will have completed the study and will be picking up my pay check.

It would be great if on Sunday you prayed for good phlebotomists.

Thanks and see you on the other side.

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches on homemade Focaccia

2008-10-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

No-Fuss Focaccia

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for oiling the pan and drizzling the top of the dough
1½ cups (12 oz) warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast or 4 teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast

1¼ teaspoons salt

3¼ cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Italian seasoning or dried herbs of your choice, for topping

Oil well a 9- x 2-inch-deep round or a 9- x 13-inch rectangular pan.

Combine the water with the yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the oil, salt and flour and beat on high speed for 60 seconds. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan with a dry towel and let it rise at room temperature until it becomes puffy, 60 minutes for instant yeast or 90 minutes for active dry yeast.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drizzle dough lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake the bread until it is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes (depending on which size pan you put it in). Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 1/4 pounds chicken breast tenders

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, divided

2 cups red bell pepper strips (about 2 medium)

2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)

2 (8-ounce) loaves focaccia bread, cut in half horizontally (I homemade worked great)

4 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is done and vinegar is syrupy. Remove chicken mixture from the pan; cover and keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.

Return pan to medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add bell pepper and onion; sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 1 minute or until vinegar is syrupy.

Arrange chicken mixture evenly over bottom halves of bread; top with bell pepper mixture. Arrange cheese over pepper mixture, and sprinkle with black pepper. Top with top halves of bread. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; let stand 5 minutes. Cut each sandwich into 6 wedges.

blogging

2008-10-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: No offense against your blog, I mean I really like your blog

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

2008-10-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is another Cooking Light recipe.

I couldn't find boneless, skinless thighs, so I had to make them boneless, skinless myself. It wasn't too bad, but certainly adds a little prep.

The recipe has 321 calories per serving, so not too bad.

A serving consist of 2 thighs. Your milage may vary.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Cooking spray

6 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

politicing

2008-10-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Only saw part of the debate last night. This pretty much sums it up.

(HT: texas in africa

north and south

2008-09-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

Val has headed south to be with a friend, I am in Minnesota to take care of some stuff around the house. The plants need some major care. Otherwise some cleaning and light decorating.

Thinking and praying...

2008-09-24T18:36:00.001-07:00

Please be in prayer for my dear friend, Melissa. Her 8 month old baby just died of SIDS. I'm going to visit her in Texas this weekend.

The following poem was on my grandmother's fridge for many years. Hope it inspires someone out there, even when things get tough.

Delight In Simple Things

Learn to like what does not cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like people, even those who may be very different from you.
Learn to shelter your family with love, comfort and peace.
Learn to keep your wants simple.
Refuse to be owned and anchored by things and opinions of others.
Learn to like the sunrise and the sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, the gentle fall of snow in winter.
Learn to hold heaven near and dear.
Learn to love God for He surely loves you.

~ Anonymous

half way there

2008-09-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

So today I had my last blood draw for Phase 1.

I get to do the whole thing one more time and I am done.

We had told Cooper about me going to do the medical study and I told him I was doing it to have money for Christmas. Well Cooper really wants a Wii. We had looked at the price before when he was wondering how much they would cost so he had an idea what a Wii cost.

When I came home he asked how much I would be getting paid. I told him that when it's done it pays a thousand dollars to which he said, "You can keep some of it dad, a Wii doesn't cost that much."

on the final leg

2008-09-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

5 more blood draws left for the day. That means 20 down. Now they are spread out to every hour compared to every 20 minutes. I'll have a couple of draws Monday-Wednesday, but that will feel like a day at the spa compared to this. Then one more time in October.

4am

2008-09-21T02:27:00.000-07:00

Wake up call was 4am. Changed and brushed teeth. Now waiting for the 4:30 draws to start. I am #64, so my draw will be @ 5:34.

waiting for the fun to begin

2008-09-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

so I am here at my medical study. I am trying to blog on my iPod, so they will be short. So far just sitting around. Lost some weight so my BMI qualifies and I am officially not obese. Anyway, the real fin starts tomorrow. Taking drugs and 25 blood draws. They better like their Christmas presents.

Happy Holidays

2008-09-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

I know it is only September, but for several reasons I have Christmas on the Brain.

I have a major present from Grandma and Grandpa hiding in my closet

I am hopefully going to start a medical study tomorrow to earn money for Christmas

Cooper has had some rough points in his transition (as have I) and is really looking forward to Christmas

I'm already looking forward to the Christmas break with family

I know there are quite a few things to get through first; Halloween, we are going to elect someone president, Cooper's Birthday, Thanksgiving. But with all of that I still have Christmas on the Brain.

Fruit and Nut filled phyllo triangles

2008-09-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

With my sister-in-law in town, she helped me make these. I had copied the recipe out of a book I had checked out from the library, because it looked good. Cooper also helped butter some phyllo dough.

The hardest part is working with the delicate phyllo dough, but they are worth it. We will enjoy them tonight with some wine while we watch SNL.

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup dried fruit bits
3 tablespoons rum or apple juice (we used rum)
3 tablespoons honey
12 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2/3 cups butter, melted

For filling place walnuts and sugar in a food processor. Cover and process or blend until walnuts are finely ground, but dry. In a small bowl combine walnut mixture, lemon peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg

In a small saucepan combine fruit bits, rum or apple juice, and honey. Bring to boiling over medium heat; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 8 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add fruit mixture to walnut mixture; stir just until combined.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a cutting board. Lightly brush the sheet with some melted butter. Place another phyllo sheet on top, brush with butter. Repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets. Cut layered sheets crosswise into 8 equal strips (we cut into 4). Place about 2 teaspoons of filling 1 inch from end of each dough strip. Continue folding strip in a triangle shape. Repeat process with remaining phyllo sheets.

Place filled triangles on a lightly greased baking sheet; brush tops with remaining melted butter. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until triangles are golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

2008-09-12T04:42:00.001-07:00

So we have some special visitors (more on that later) so I broke out a new recipe for dinner. This one came from Cooking Light (trying to watch what I eat).

It wasn't the easiest recipe, but wasn't the hardest either.

I used pepper jack cheese (I had to buy a block and shred it myself. I used diced tomatoes with green chilies for the rice and brown rice.

Happy Cooking, and if you make it let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde (such as Herdez brand)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled queso fresco (or jack cheese)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
4 lime wedges
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Combine chicken and cream cheese in a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 20 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels. Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture.

Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with lime wedges. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Spanish rice
Cook 2 slices bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup rice; 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth; and 1 (14.5-ounce) can drained diced tomatoes. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in crumbled bacon and 1/3 cup sliced green onions just before serving.

Everybody's working for the weekend

2008-09-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

I know, some people can't remember how many houses they own. We own two, I wish it was one. With that in mind I have been thinking about some kind of temp or seasonal work I could do to help supplement Christmas this year.

Enter an ad for Medical Research. Really I think it plays into my talents and God given abilities to take drugs and sit on my butt for a weekend. (Just joking about the drug thing Mom and Dad) And there are some blood draws and diet restrictions, but hey no job is perfect.

Alright, it's not the same as getting paid to eat like some friends, or even the quick ten I made from letting people at the UofM tell Lincoln a car was a bear, but today I started the process of signing up.

If everything works out I will have a chance to live blog from the research center. The study I want to participate in has a weight restriction which I should be under, but is another incentive to try to drop some pounds.

Fun in the End of Summer

2008-09-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Went to a "Safety Festival" this morning with the boys. Lots of fun and free prizes! This family thought it would be a great place to bring their pit bull:

Nice doggy! (Actually, he was fine with people.)

We stood in line quite a while to get balloon animals for the kids. They were worth the wait! Cooper's was a crazy alien with a light saber that sits on your head. Lincoln got a penguin. Then, we all went and got free hot dogs and chips.

One of the inflatable jumping houses deflated for some reason...with kids still inside! Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the structure re-inflated easily. It also made for a good laugh and was picture-worthy, if you have a sense of humor like mine.

A very good time was had by all.

Oh, the political pundits: UPDATED

2008-09-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Viacom doesn't like Youtube, so they pulled the video. I added the one directly from The Daily Show website. There was one little bit edited out of the others that is in this, so the easily offended probably shouldn't watch.

I was on the treadmill last night watching Tivoed episodes of The Daily Show when I saw this clip. It is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

Because every once in a while on a blog you just have to put up a cute pictures of one of the kids

2008-09-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

2008-08-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

This recipe goes out to some special Minnesota friends. Not as good as Val's Dr Pepper marinade. Sometime we will post that.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons steak sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

To prepare sauce, combine ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Simmer for 6 minutes. Cool.

I used it on chicken. I spread olive oil and Emeril's on the chicken. Then that last couple of minutes of cooking I spread some of the BBQ sauce on to cook it in. Then serve extra on the side.

Tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun

2008-08-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Stuart Shepard of Focus on the Family Action, James Dobson's political arm, asked people to pray for rain on Obama's speech in Denver.

It was a beautiful night.

Now it appears that Tropical Storm Gustav could delay the GOP convention in Minnesota The storm is not going to hit Minnesota, but something about having George Bush speaking while a hurricane hits New Orleans.

I will leave you to assign any meaning to it.

And just for the record, lest you think I hate GWB, I voted for Bush. This is not a GOP hate thing, I just don't care for religious leaders who try to turn God into some kind of parlor trick for their political agenda. Please pray for those that will potentially be effected by another possible hurricane in an already devastated region.

Anniversary of a dream

2008-08-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

READ THE TRANSCRIPT

Just 'cause

2008-08-21T07:05:00.001-07:00

See more Jon Lajoie videos at Funny or Die

Reader's Digest

2008-08-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

It seems like life has been in full swing lately, so here is the Reader's Digest version of what has been happening.

Cooper
Cooper started school on Monday. So far he says it is "awesome."

It looks like Cooper will be training to be a Shark. We are very new to this and I called and they had try outs. Val actually took him, but from what I understand he did really well, listened to the coach and swam well, but needs to work on his stamina. So we will put him in swim lessons to work on that and hopefully next year he can be a Shark. They also have some different summer swim teams. I think this may be his thing. I don't want to push him into sports, but I want him to find some athletic activity that he enjoys and can encourage life long fitness. He has always enjoyed the water and swimming and if he gets into the habit it is an activity he can do for a long time. Even if he doesn't do it competitively.

Lincoln
Lincoln has moved out of his crib. Right now he is on an air mattress on the floor. We went shopping for beds, but may end up taking a trip to Chicago to get him a bed from IKEA. He has been going to bed really well, which is great considering he used to have to scream before going to sleep.

Lincoln has also started using the potty. So he is usually running around the house half dressed.

The House
Well, we still own a house in MN. We are down to the price we paid for it 4 years ago. I will be so thankful when this house is finally sold. Here are the stats.

# of times this property was included in search results 7719

# of requests for detail pages about this property 574

# of Virtual Tours run for this property 37

# of people who currently have this property saved 4

# of times shown to prospective buyers 31

Turtle Cake and old (new) friends

2008-08-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

When we first found out we were going to move and I started blogging about it, I got contacted by an old friend that they lived in the area. We grew up right behind each other. She was a year behind me in high school.

So we met up with her and her family on one of our first visits. They were very nice and also helped set us up with the realtor we used. Now that we have moved it ends up we live less than 5 miles away.

So they invited us over for swimming and dinner last night. We had a great time and everything was delicious. I said we would bring dessert. We made Turtle cake.

Ingredients
1 (2 layer) package German chocolate cake mix
40 caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup pecans
1 cup chocolate chips

Prepare cake mix according to directions. Spread half the batter in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Combine the caramels with the evaporated milk in a saucepan. Heat until melted, stirring to blend evenly. Pour the mixture over the cake and sprinkle with pecans and chocolate chips.

Spread the remaining cake batter evenly over the top. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until the top appears firm. Serve with ice cream.

I under baked it just a little and then we cooked it for 5-10 minutes at there house so it was warm.

Fresh Garden Salsa

2008-08-09T05:02:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors have a good size garden and in bumper crops the neighbors benefit.

First it was squash, now it's tomatoes.

So one of the things I decided to try was to make salsa. Val makes a very good chunky pico like salsa, this one is more blended. These are things we happened to have around the house.

Ingredients
2 Medium tomatoes
1-3 Jalapeno peppers (cored and seeded)
1 Tablespoon garlic
1/2 Onion
1/2 cup (or so) cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix garlic, onion, peppers and cilantro in food processor.

Roast tomatoes (either on the grill or in the broiler) until peels blister.

Peel tomatoes, core and remove seeds using a spoon and add to the food processor along with lime juice and olive oil.

Salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. Something to do with extra tomatoes.

This makes a very mild salsa, to turn up the heat add some of the jalapeno seeds. It is what I will do next time

You can also make your own chips by quartering corn tortillas and frying them until golden. Salt to taste.

Carmel Corn

2008-08-07T18:22:00.001-07:00

Ingredients
8 cups popper popcorn
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Put popcorn onto a baking pan.

Put brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt into a saucepan over medium heat.

Stir with wooden spoon until butter melts and everything is mixed. Continue cooking until mixture starts to boil. Cook for 5 more minutes without stirring.

Remove from burner and add baking soda and vanilla. Pour over the popcorn and gently mix covering the popcorn.

Put baking pan into 300 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pan and stir the popcorn mixture and cook another 5 to 10 minutes.

Place in a large bowl and let cool.

Potato Pancakes with home made applesauce

2008-08-06T18:44:00.001-07:00

I cannot remember how I first came across this recipe. You can see the original recipe at Bette's Diner
But this is a favorite around our house.

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
4 medium russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled and shredded using the largest holes of a hand grater
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup grated onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine the eggs, flour, onion, salt, and pepper, stirring to blend. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the egg mixture, mixing well.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat some of the oil over medium-high heat. Spoon the batter by quarter-cupfuls onto the hot skillet, flattening them with the back of the spoon. Fry until the bottom of the pancakes are nicely browned - between 3 and 5 minutes; flip the pancakes and cook for about 3 minutes longer. Repeat for the remaining pancakes, adding oil to the skillet as needed.

Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Chad's Tips: When I shred the potatoes I like to immediately put them in some cold water with ice and let them soak. The take them out in bunches squeezing as much water as you can out of it.

Applesauce
In a large pot, melt three to four tablespoons of butter and a quarter cup of sugar (to taste). When the butter and sugar turn a light golden color, add eight to ten apples that have been peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and cook the apples under medium heat until soft (20 to 30 minutes), and all of the liquid has reduced. This amount of apples will produce approximately 1.5 quarts of applesauce. The applesauce may be made in advance. Serve at room temperature.

Pepper crusted steak with horseradish sauce

2008-08-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

For us the meat was the 4.99 filet from Manninos Market, but I think you could use your favorite cut.

I brushed the steaks with olive oil and then topped with the pepper gently pushing the pepper into the steak.

I used Durkee Six Pepper Blend, but I think any corse pepper would work.

Sauce

For the sauce beat 3/4 cup Heavy Cream until thick. Add 3 Tbs Dijon Mustard and 3 Tbs horseradish and mix well.

Spoon over steaks and add minced parsley for garnish.

A Typical Morning

2008-07-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

So we were playing upstairs today and I decided to try to get some of it on video. (Don't tell Val I used her camera.)

This first video is Lincoln singing his ABCs.

The second video is Lincoln going through some of his names for people with a surprise at the end. Not the funniest video ever, but at least Cooper has something we can submit to AFV.

Lincoln's Dance

2008-07-24T15:36:00.001-07:00

So Lincoln has created his own dance.

Cooking - Squash Braid

2008-07-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a recipe I tried this morning. I let the bread machine do all the mixing, kneading, etc.

I also found out that I didn't use butternut squash. The neighbors have been bringing us squash and I have been looking for ways to use it.

The bread turned out good. The boys loved it (see below). It made 2 loaves and by the end of lunch we had a 1/4 of one loaf left. It will be gone by the time they go to bed.

I may start making homemade bread more often.

Enjoy.

(NOTE: It was very good with honey cinnamon butter. Just whip some butter - or butter equivalent - with honey and cinnamon.)

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/3 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg
1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, cover peeled and chopped squash with water. Bring water to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool and mash. Reserve 1 cup for use in this recipe and freeze remainder for later use.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with milk, butter, 1 cup mashed squash, 1 egg, brown sugar, salt and 2 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 equal pieces and roll each into a rope about 18 inches long. Take 3 ropes, pinch ends together and then braid ropes together. Pinch ends to seal. Do the same with the other 3 ropes of dough. Place braids on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoons water; brush loaves with egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and let cool on a wire rack.

zoo memories.....priceless

2008-07-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Zoo admission....free
Zoo parking (usually $10)....free
admission to dinosaur exhibit (usually $3 each)....free
ride on dinosaur simulator (for Cooper)....$4
admission to the Children's Zoo (usually $4 each)....free
paying for shoplifted penguin...$8

total....$12

Not that I'm not a bargain hunter anyway (it is in the genes), but a long summer with two house payments encourages looking for children's entertainment alternatives at low cost.

So yesterday I loaded up the kids and headed to the STL zoo. The admission to the zoo is free. They have some areas which require special admission, but in the first hour, between 8am and 9am they are free. So we loaded up the car and a little after 7am headed to the zoo.

The first 2 hours we spent going through the dino exhibit and children's zoo which usually cost money. Cooper's splurge was a ride on the simulator at the dino exhibit. We then went back to the car (great parking space another plus) and got our cooler and wagon. We had drinks, snacks and lunch that we brought.

While touring the zoo we visited the penguin house which deposits you in one of many gift shops. After weaving the wagon through the store to get to the exit we left. Outside I noticed Lincoln holding a stuffed penguin. As you can see below, he really loved it, so that was his splurge for the day.

We left around 1pm by which time the zoo was getting hot and crowded.

All in all I think a pretty successful low budget outing.

Cooking - Beef Tips (updated)

2008-07-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

If you are like me you are always on the lookout for recipes that are good, easy and nutritious.

Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

So here is my first recipe. It is easy and good. Nutritious, well serve some veggies with it. ( I recommend corn)

1-1/2 pds stew meat
one package onion soup mix
one can cream of (whatever you like) soup + one can of water

update- i forgot, i like to brown the meat in a little olive oil. i'm not sure it's necessary

combine everything in the crock pot and let it cook all day

serve over rice

this dish keeps well

Wish I Would Have Written That Wednesday

2008-07-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Alright, time for my very irregular series WIWHWTW.

Cindy has a post about Christian buzz words. It does seem odd that a movement (that seems to me) to be based on reaching out to people outside of religion creates its own language.

I found out that Brant has another blog I have to follow along with Letters From Kamp Krusty. He is talking about prayer. It reflects some of my struggles with prayer, what it is and isn't.

Grace has a post about String Theory. I remember seeing a show about that a year or so ago and being totally fascinated, even though I didn't totally understand it.

Chad reacts negatively to housing comments

2008-07-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of lookers, but no buyers yet.

While I wish we did, that doesn't upset me.

But some of the comments, well give me a break.

They are listed below with my comments in green.

"The main floor layout was to choppy foe them"

Sorry it is too 'choppy foe them', we call them rooms.

"Dumpster in front, poor curb appeal."

Crap, I told my wife we should have planted flowers rather than putting out a dumpster. Forget about the whole "hail storm" thing and the new roof and siding and garage doors.

"difficult to determine function on rooms"

Well, the rooms with the toilets and bathtubs, we used those for going to the bathroom and washing ourselves. We found that the room with the refrigerator and stove worked pretty well for cooking meals and such. The room with the washer and dryer we used for cleaning our clothes and stuff like that. The other rooms, really you can do whatever you want in those.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Wii

2008-07-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, Cooper really wants a Wiii now.

I just want to play a little Monkey Kick Off

Are you ready for some football?

2008-07-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

I don't usually write about sports, but for years people have been lamenting about Brett Favre's retirement. Always in vain.

This year looked to be different.

This year he made the announcement early.

He seemed confident in his decision.

The packers moved on.

But once again Mr. Favre seems to be reconsidering his retirement decision.

But this year IS different.

This year it looks like he will not be welcome back as the starter for Green Bay.

I think this could be the most entertaining possibility of Favre coming back to play for another team.

Go Cubs Go

2008-07-12T06:48:00.001-07:00

On Friday Cooper went to his first MLB game. He saw the Chicago Cubs beat the Giants in Wrigley Field on a Aramis Ramirez 3 run homer in the 8th

We were in the upper deck on the left base line where the home run went out of the park.

He went with his Grandpa and friends that live behind his grandparents, Anna and Matthew.

He now goes around singing, "Go Cubs Go"

The Neighbors

2008-07-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

I met our immediate neighbors the day we closed on the house. Val was off getting her drug test and physical while I hung around the house.

They are both retired for the school district Cooper will be attending. She was a third grade teacher at the school cooper will be attending and he was a superintendent. They have already given us some helpful advice and Val used their names when signing Cooper up for school.

Also, they have a big blackberry bush that they don't eat blackberries so when my parents were here we harvested a bunch of those. They also have apple, pear and pecan trees that they don't pick, so we may be the gleaners of their yard. They have given us some zucchini and squash from their garden as well as zucchini bread.

The day we moved in at least 4 families came over to say hello, including the people who live kind of behind us. They have 3 kids. Two boys on either side of Cooper and a girl I think is 5. Cooper and their boys have become quick friends. He spends a lot of time riding bikes and playing with them.

Berry, berry fun

2008-07-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying lots of delicious, home-grown berries this summer in Missouri. The first tasty treat is mulberries in lemon yogurt. I didn't even know you could eat mulberries, but you can, and they are yummy! The people who used to own our house, who will soon become our neighbors when they build on the lot behind us, brought their kids over one day to pick mulberries off a nearby tree.

The other treat is blackberries. Our next door neighbor, "the other Mr. Larry," has blackberry vines but doesn't eat them, and invited us to partake. For only a small amount of menial farm labor, we got gobs of big, juicy ripe blackberries. Cooper being picky, he refused to eat them fresh--but then he asked to have them in a smoothie! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Welch for picking the blackberries and to Granny P. for her "Anything Smoothie" recipe. He slurped it down and then wanted to show off his smoothie mustache. Lincoln had to get in on the act, too.

More Summer Fun With Val and the Boys

2008-07-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed the summer sunshine at the Early American Museum in Mahomet, Illinois.

Val's back and blogging!

2008-07-08T15:02:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. Just got finished with my first day of seeing patients in Missouri--it went great. I wanted to show off some pics of what me and the boys were up to this month during the moving process.

In early June, we went to the Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, IL. It has enormous hangars with historic old planes.

Here's Cooper: "Mom, you're embarrassing me!"

Here's Lincoln's sign for "airplane."

Cooper looking devilishly handsome:

Gotta go--the boys are yelling--all three of them...

First Day

2008-07-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

So today is Val's first day of work.

So it is my first day alone, all day with both kids.

I hope tonight after the kids go to bed to write about our move from getting our stuff to today.

updated

2008-06-30T08:15:00.005-07:00

update: It looks like Lincoln has been bloging again.

Moving In

2008-06-19T14:54:00.001-07:00

So here is what it looked like having our stuff delivered.

artist depiction

Before and After

2008-06-19T05:23:00.001-07:00

One of the things I needed to do was get some bedrooms painted before the furniture arrived.

Cooper's favorite color is brown. I didn't want the entire room to be brown, but here are the before and after of Cooper's bedroom.

Father's Day

2008-06-19T05:18:00.001-07:00

On Father's Day I woke up at 2am, by 2:30 I realized that I wasn't going to get back to sleep. It took me an hour to finish packing up and clean my way out of the house.

I went to bed at 7:30 that night.

The Quest for Clean - (update 3)

2008-06-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I am almost done for today. This house is pretty empty and about as clean as I can get it. I will finish cleaning up our bath, then in the morning when I pack the las stuff I will vacuum our room and then it is off to Missouri. Where I need to hurry and paint.

So here are some pictures of our (almost) empty house.

The Quest for Clean - (update 2)

2008-06-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Now complete - The boys bedrooms, the boys bathroom, family room (main level)

Room I'm least looking forward to cleaning - laundry/mud room.

Also getting some laundry done.

The Quest for Clean - (update 1)

2008-06-14T04:07:00.000-07:00

It is my last day in the house.

The movers are gone and now I am on my quest to clean the house.

I have just finished the basement and am now moving to the top floor. I hope tonight to have pictures of an empty clean house.

I know you are excited.

The Movers

2008-06-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

So today the movers came, and now I am sitting in a pretty empty house. Tomorrow I need to clean and do paint touch ups.

I had planned on taking pictures to document the moving experience, but I forgot to get out my camera, so enjoy this graphic representation of what happened today.

This is NOT an actual photo.

Shutting Down

2008-06-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day. The movers come so I am working on getting everything they are not taking out of the way.

That means that after this post I will be shutting down the computer and moving it into the closet to get out of the way.

See you all when the house is empty.

The View from Here

2008-06-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

So here is how our house looks right now.

The packers came today and packed the house from 8:30-3:30.

Greg Jensen came over today and helped me move some stuff around and get stuff together.

It has been a long couple of days. The movers come Friday, so I think I will go to bed early today. In the morning I will move everything that I am going to take with me to the furnace room and start patching holes. Saturday I should be able to do all my touch ups and last minute items and get the car loaded up to head to MO on Sunday.

Late to Bed, Early to Rise

2008-06-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

So the post for the next couple of days will be short. I am trying to get ready for the packers that come today. I was up last night doing laundry and getting our phone/internet/cable bundle set up for the new house. We have a phone number now. I will try to get that information out to everyone, otherwise feel free to email me chadmwelchATgmailDOTcom.

I may or may not get to it before I leave MN. Then it will at least be until after Tuesday.

Val is in Illinois with the kids. I hope she is having a wonderful time getting the chance to be alone with the kids for a while.

Home Alone

2008-06-10T13:02:00.001-07:00

So I am back in Minnesota. By myself. I will be here cleaning up and overseeing the movers. Then I will go back to Missouri and spend some time there alone painting and getting the house ready. Once the furniture arrives the rest of the family will join me and we will officially be living in MO.

I will write more later, but I have a lot to do and I am really hungry.

quick post

2008-06-06T05:37:00.001-07:00

Packing up. Heading out soon. Still doesn't seem real. Be back in a couple of days.

First and Last Collide

2008-06-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of last and first in our life right now.

One of the first is I ordered the first thing with our new address. I redeemed some Pamper's points. It takes 6-8 weeks, so I feel confident that we will be in our house before it comes.

Today was also a last for us. Our last small group with this group of people. We have been through several small groups, even tried leading a couple, but for the first time in that I really felt like we were connecting and growing through that. In a very short time we have truly grown to love this group of people and we will miss having them as a regular part of our lives.

So here are to the first yet to come and to the last that are quickly coming to an end. To both the joy and sadness that comes with any major change.

An open letter to the Quarry - on our last Sunday

2008-06-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that we have been part of the Quarry for 5 years. We have seen a lot of things happen to this church and upon our move I find myself reflecting on this time.

Cooper has spent some of his most formative years in the church growing from a toddler to a boy. Lincoln was born during this time. Days after his birth was my first KidStuf with Michael.

I remember when we first started attending the Quarry regularly and Michael asking us if we came from a similar church.

The truth is that the church we left in Illinois was quite the opposite of the Quarry. It was an older church with an older building and the congregational makeup was older. It had a choir and sang from hymnals. We loved that church and there was one similarity we found between that church and the Quarry and it is why we called the Quarry home. Both had a people searching for ways to serve God and be part of His kingdom plan.

No matter what kind of music the church plays, no matter where it meets this is the one thing I hope and pray the Quarry never looses. Being a people continually searching out ways to connect to God and be part of His plan.

The truth is the style of music we do at the Quarry is not the style of music I would choose for a Sunday morning. But we cannot shop for churches the way we shop for a car. Looking for all the elements and features we desire and make us comfortable. If the primary reason you are at the Quarry is because of the music, or the preaching, or KidStuf, it is my prediction that you will not be there for long. Maybe a year, maybe 2, but something will let you down, something better will come along and you will move on. None of these things (the music, preaching) is bad, but they cannot be the reason you are at church.

This is one of my biggest fears with our emphasis on the Sunday service. It has been said that you win people to what you win them with. It is my fear that at times we are creating church consumers.

Anytime I have had concerns or suggestions about the way we function as a church, something coming from our pulpit or other areas of our church I have always felt comfortable taking those to the leadership. Sometimes they have lead to changes, sometimes not. I always felt my job was not to change the church, but to share my thoughts, observations and concerns to those running the church. I hope (although I am sure it has not always been so) that I have done so with humility and grace, knowing that I may be the one in the wrong.

No matter how passionate my concerns or the disagreements, I have always felt our leaders are seeking God in the midst. And we have always remained brothers and sisters in Christ.

I think it is very important that no matter the passion or the calling we feel from God that we are to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and love and serve each other. If we who claim to follow the Prince of Peace who work out our salvation with fear and trembling cannot get along despite our differences, then how can anyone get along? If we claim to follow the one that taught us to love our enemies and we cannot even love each other we will chase people from God.

This is one of the reasons it is so important to be part of each others lives. Our slogan (for lack of a better word) at the Quarry has been “We Do Life Together.” I used to joke that it should be something like “We (hope to someday) Do Life Together.” There are glimpses of it in our church and ironically for me, now that we are leaving I am as close as I have ever been to actually living that out. But it is vitally important that we keep that goal in front of us, striving toward it.

It goes against our very individualistic western culture and it is messy, but in the end it is part of what we are called to be. The church has a role in trying to make achieving it accessible to everyone and providing a framework and opportunities for it to arise. Ultimately, however, it is going to take the conscious choice of individuals to live this way.

So there it is. My thoughts and observations, my hopes and fears and my prayers for the Quarry. Know that any mistakes I have made or any problems I have caused along the way come from my own arrogance and other failings, but never out of a desire to see the church be anything less than an active and fruitful expression of God’s kingdom. The Quarry has left it’s fingerprint of the Welches, hopefully the fingerprints we have left on the Quarry have not smudged up the windows.

Last Days

2008-05-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Valerie's last day of work. I am sure there will be some emotion throughout today for her.

In 1 week is Cooper's last day of school.

It is all so close, yet seems so far away.

Our Crazy Weekend

2008-05-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend marked Val's last call days. For that we are very excited.

On Sunday, the boys and I were out running errands when we walked into Target, all of a sudden the alarms started going off and then it started hailing. The hail was golf ball to baseball size. At first a lot of people were standing at the doors watching. They then ushered everyone to the dressing room areas where we stood around listening to the hail hit the roof.

Our house took some damage and has big holes in the siding. Val was at home when it happened.

Monday I woke up to a lovely breakfast that included bacon (enough said.)

Val went to do rounds and I was sitting on the couch with Lincoln when he smacked me in the eye. It hurt like the dickens.

A couple of hours later when Val got home I took my first trip to the Monti ER. I ended up with a corneal abrasion. There was a lot of pain Monday. Today the pain is relatively low, although my vision is still fuzzy.

2...1...0

2008-05-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

In 2 weeks Cooper has his last day of school. Immediately following that we head out of MN for the last time.

In 1 week Valerie has her last day of work. Never to take call again.

Happy Birthday

2008-05-19T04:23:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, caring, loving, intelligent, beautiful, amazing wife!

I cannot imagine my life without you in it. You still make me look forward to the future.

A Busy Weekend

2008-05-19T04:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy weekend at the Welch Family Circus.

- Friday was Grandparents Day at school. Cooper has been disappointed in the past that he wasn't able to have grandparents up for Grandparents Day, so this year we planned ahead so that he could have his grandparents there. This will be their last trip to MN to visit us.

- I spent Friday morning getting our deck finally ready to stain when I got a call from my pastor saying they needed some help with a video for Sunday. Several people came over and we reviewed what they had, and then asked if I could put something together for Sunday. I mentioned that I was just getting ready to stain my porch, so they chipped in and we had 6 people working on staining the front porch.

- Friday night the grands took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese while Val and I went to the city to a fancy restaurant. Lincoln now wants to go to CEC everyday.

- Saturday was the all city garage sale. The kids made out like bandits, Val got a lot of "new" clothes. I stayed up until 2 am working on the video for church. But I did get it done.

House Photos

2008-05-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

Don't have time to write a lot right now, but here are some pictures of the house. We will close on the house June 9th.

House Hunting

2008-05-11T07:09:00.001-07:00

Here we are in STL.

We left Thursday and got to STL Friday around noon. We went house hunting Friday and most of the day Saturday.

At 9:58 last night we had a contract on a house.

It doesn't have a pool, but it has 1.4 acres and an AWESOME kitchen.

Hopefully we will get some pictures up when we get back to MN.

It is rainy here, but its not snowing!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wish I Would Have Written That Wednesday

2008-05-07T17:42:00.001-07:00

I am starting one of those blog things that I most likely won't follow up on, but seemed like a good idea at the time.

So, from around the blogs I read here are some of the things I wish I had written.

CoolDad pays tribute in poetry to one of our favorite restaurants. I am excited to move to a place southern enough to have them.

At Kamp Krusty Brant has started a series If Jesus had a blog in which he takes stories from the Bible, translates them into English, and puts them up as a blog entry. Somehow they are just as controversial today.

This one is a little older, but Cindy was asked by one of the leaders of her church for input about the future of the church. What she wrote may be the definitive two paragraphs about how a lot of us are feeling about our churches.

100 Days

2008-05-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

So, our house has been on the market for 100 days* today.

We have had some interest in the house and we continue to have showings but an actual bid eludes us to this date. We are still hopeful that as spring finally seems to arrive here in Minnesota that our house will get sold.

The bad news is half the houses in our neighborhood are for sale, the good news is we are still on the low end so I'm not sure how many we are directly competing with.

For those playing along at home here are our stats so far:

# of times this property was included in search results	3814
# of requests for detail pages about this property	398
# of times Showing Time button has been clicked	6
# of Virtual Tours run for this property	27
# of people who currently have this property saved	2

*THE AVERAGE FOR THE TWIN CITIES METRO IS 165

Welcome to the Circus that is our lives

2008-05-07T10:34:00.001-07:00

Val and I came to the realization that neither of us blog enough to really have a blog, so we are combining forces.

No longer will you have to follow 2 seperate links or have 2 different feeds to see that we have nothing to say. Now you just need one bookmark.

So here we go!

The Flying Welchendas

say it ain't so Tony Stewart

MORE Garden Adventures: Farmers Market!!!

Garden Adventures with Val

Coop in BRACES????

1 Timothy 5:8

Theology

Baseball is just around the corner

Matthew 23:4-15,23-24 (The Message)

Amos 5:18-24 (The Message)

Quotable

Parenting

Merry Christmas

Please won't you be my neighbor

Cranberry-Orange Bread with Grand Marnier Glaze

Spicy Pecans

Fudge

Christmas Lights

like ta-mater, but without the ta

Minnesota Votes

It's going to be a crazy week

McCain and Me

For family far and near that ask about what to get the boys

Recommended reading

Halloween fun...and more!

Broiled Pork Chops with Pineapple Couscous

election update

"If you don't vote, you're a moron"

my new, favorite Christian music based podcast

Chicken and Vegetable Tostadas

Happy Holidays

Chad's pomegranate margarita

a note from "Real" America

Even with kids it's a tight election

General Tsao's Chicken

Round 2

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches on homemade Focaccia

blogging

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

politicing

north and south

Thinking and praying...

half way there

on the final leg

4am

waiting for the fun to begin

Happy Holidays

Fruit and Nut filled phyllo triangles

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Everybody's working for the weekend

Fun in the End of Summer

Oh, the political pundits: UPDATED

Because every once in a while on a blog you just have to put up a cute pictures of one of the kids

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

Tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun

Anniversary of a dream

Just 'cause

Reader's Digest

Turtle Cake and old (new) friends

Fresh Garden Salsa

Carmel Corn

Potato Pancakes with home made applesauce

Pepper crusted steak with horseradish sauce

A Typical Morning

Lincoln's Dance

Cooking - Squash Braid

zoo memories.....priceless

Cooking - Beef Tips (updated)

Wish I Would Have Written That Wednesday

Chad reacts negatively to housing comments

Wii

Are you ready for some football?

Go Cubs Go

The Neighbors

Berry, berry fun

More Summer Fun With Val and the Boys

Val's back and blogging!

First Day

updated

Moving In