Spoon's Kitchen

As a family we have been watching Chef Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen". Tonight while preparing for dinner I told the children I needed some cooks to help me just like on the TV show. We made a fabulous dinner that actually resembeled breakfast; Eggs, Potatoes, Waffles, and Sausage. I was shouting orders around the kitchen... "Open this package of Sausage" "Put these waffles in the Oven" and the children were responding "YES CHEF!" It was really fun till I callled one of them a donkey and they started shouting "BEEP! BEEP! %$#@^&? BEEP!" Ok that last part is not true. I understand the launguage on this show is not really kid approriate, but tonight was a lot of fun. Excellent service team.

Arizona Safety Tip : Stay Hydrated

Isaac and I had a father / son day Saturday. We hiked around and to the top of Monument Hill. Monument Hill is located in the Base & Meridian Wildlife Area which will host the Tres Rios Festival this weekend. The area is unique in that it is where the Agua Fria, Salt, and Gilla, rivers all meet. Monument Hill is the initial point for the state of Arizona so those brass plaques up there are about 150 years old. The street Baseline, lines up with this point. It was not too difficult of a hike and the view was fairly spectacular; PIR on one side, wilderness to another, city scape in the distance, all while planes and native birds fly overhead. Pretty interesting local attraction.

Unforgettable Thanksgiving

My thanksgiving started early. I got up at 2:00AM, handled my morning business, got dressed, wished my wife a happy birthday, kissed her cheek and headed to the airport. The streets were wet and I wondered how the combination of a light work load and a rainy forecast might effect my chances of staying dry. Theres not alot of cover at the airport and sure enough it worked out just perfect that I would get soaked while unloading my aircraft. I mean really soaked. It was 7:30AM when I some how weaseled my way outta there even though the last flight still had not left Ontario.

I stopped on the way home and picked up nine cans of green beans, two family size cans of cream of mushroom soup, and one bag of french fried onions. Once home, I took a long shower and crawled into bed for a short nap. After I woke up, I imagine my day was alot like everyone elses. Drove about an hour, purchased some last minute necessities (little girl tights), ate finger foods, visited with family members I don't see enough, ate some more food, watched football and fishing on TV, and then sat down for a huge feast including turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, corn, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and something that had cranberries in it.

After dinner different ones started washing dishes, putting away folding chairs, entertaining the kids, settling in to watch the Cardinals game, and there was a bit of expectancy in the air. All the cousins kept asking each other... "Are we gonna have pie?" , "When are we going to eat pie?" A little disappointed that no one was suggesting we play Tripoli or Yahtzee, or even Nintendo Wii, I went into the room that did not have the game on and just listened to the ladies.

Somewhere between finishing pie and Arizona losing a game it should have won, my youngest daughter was attacked by the family dog. As soon as I heard it I knew exactly what was happening but did not believe it. How could this be happening? Responsible parents. Responsible dog owners. Why? Why? Why? I carried my baby girl to the van, wiping blood off her face, having no idea where the nearest hospital was. Someone else drove me to the nearest ER and I found myself seated between other worried parents and one guy who had somehow lodged pumpkin pie in his lungs.

The last two days have been spent with medical personnel who also had to work on Thanksgiving weekend, who did everything they could to move my daughter towards health. Abi is doing good. She has nine cuts on her face, about twenty stitches to be removed next week. We now own regular band-aids, Dora Band Aids, and also Hello Kitty Band aids. I'm suggesting everyone buy stock in Neosporin and Maderma. We got good reports from the eye specialist and I have called all the craziest charismatics I know and asked them to pray for her total recovering and no scaring. We are taking it day by day but Abi keeps telling me, "I'll be otay dad!".

On a day when I prayed our family would not take things for granted, just a few days after preaching about JOY and PEACE, I am very much reminded of what is important in this life. I am thankful for my kids. I am thankful for my wife. I am thankful for the friends and family who won't stop calling us to see how things are, for the ones who have a different sense and are just giving us space, and for those I haven't told yet, but are going to love us through this to the other side. I am thankful for my church, for my calling, and a gracious God that keeps reminding me he's not forgotten us. I am hopeful for what's ahead and thankful for where I've come from. I am learning to be content where I am. I am thankful for His peace.

Golden Corral

When California raised its minimum wage, Golden Corral shut their doors and left. They are however still alive and well in the AZ (where it is still legal to have service employees work for as little as $3.90 an hour)

This is what I had for lunch today... minus the rice. Never eat the rice at a buffet, or the potatoes, or that yummy mac and cheese. They are trying to fill you up with the carbs. Focus on the meat. The value is in the meat. (I realize the last two sentences are probably terribly offensive to my vegetarian friends and want to make an aside that there is probably exceptional value in the plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables.)Today was payday so it seemed reasonable to further my kids eat free research. If you were to call the Golden Corral in my neighborhood you would not be able to talk to a real person, no matter what number you pressed. You would however get recorded information in spanish or english. You would not be able to get the answer to important buffet questions like "Is your drink included?" (btw: it's not) and the information you did get would not be reliable.

In my case, the phone message said kids costs 5o cents for each year of their age. Should have been $4.50 for a five yr old and a four yr old. Under four is free, with an adult buffet purchase. I show up in the store and kids ages 4-8 cost $3.69. Not bad, but not what was advertised.

Oh well. The kids liked it... and the Bourbon Chicken was great. Besides, hanging out with the midweek lunch time buffet crowd made me feel very good about my "not as full as most of theirs" figure. Hooray for soft serve and yeast rolls.

So What...I'm Cheap.

New Season. New Schedule.

With Leah going back to school I am once again readjusting my sleep schedule. I'm now trying to go to bed early enough to wake up for work and then be able to stay home with the girls with out a nap. Should be easier after the rest of the world has time change but Arizona doesn't.
(I never thought about it before, but working at the airport in a time sensitive bussiness where planes come and go to and from places that have now "fallen back" an hour, means I will be getting an extra hour of sleep!).

Leah going back to school means I have been playing taxi driver and Mr. Mom. I've been trying to find fun stuff to do with the girls while Isaac is at school. Today, we had lunch at Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon. This place has great lunch specials and on Tuesdays kids eat for free. Our lunch was $7.99 + tax and tip for all three of us to have a nice sit down lunch together ( I honestly don't think we could have done Mickey D's for that, although there is no "play place" at Lone Star ). The girls both ordered hot dogs although they could have had steak medallions...toddlers. I had a "bubba" chicken sandwich which was awesome. I may have found my Tuesday spot.

Caption Needed

Abi is second from the left. What do you think she is saying?
Photo by Liz.

Marriage, My Mom, My Mentors, & Music

In John Eldridge's WILD AT HEART he suggests that every male is longing to answer the same question... Do I have what it takes?

As we settle into our recent monumental changes, I ask this question often. Being a husband, dad, pastor. Do I have what it takes?

Diligence. Faithfulness. Consistency.

Those are the three words for this new season. Three concepts I'm longing to understand better. Three attributes I want my kids to see in me. Three causes I wish the Church would wear better.

My wife is the best. I can't imagine living this adventure with anyone else. She has sacrificed so much in answering this call. When my time is in such high demand, I know our time is often what I neglect. Saying "I'm sorry" seems like an understatement and insufficient expression of my heart. I am hopeful for her to somehow know peace and quiet in a house with three small children.

My mom is a special lady. How do you forget to call your mom on her 55th birthday? Is that a symptom of overwhelming changes or a well meaning compliment? As we celebrated Mom's day at church Sunday, I was reminded of how my mom continues to go out of her way to make my life better, easier, and more meaningful. I can only hope she sees the grace and redemption in the legacy that is our family.

I was so encouraged to meet with a group of pastors this week; my peers, mentors, and friends. No one pointed out my failures. No one said "You shoulda...". They prayed for me. They acted like this little church plant in West Phoenix was the most exciting thing happening anywhere. And many of them drove a great distance to do so.

I struggle with creativity. Part of me longs to be an artist, a poet, a musician. Often people in those vocations frustrate me, yet I am envious inside. You may not know this, but from 6th grade - high school graduation I played Trombone. Marching Band, Jazz Band, Offertory Orchestra at church... that was me. I never really over achieved in any of these ( I got awards like "most improved" and ""most inspirational"), but I always enjoyed the social outlet of hanging out with musicians. There's always been something inside me that has great respect for those who can create expressions of beauty. Most recently I am impressed once again by Cobalt Season. Their new Song Time Will Tell resonates with some of what I'm feeling. You could listen on their myspace and check out the lyrics if you are interested. (By the way, I am biased towards the trombone accompaniment)

Diligence. Faithfulness. Consistency.
I am thankful for those listed above who have demonstrated these to me.

Fourty-Eight

Isaac (my five year old) comes into the office and asks, "Dad, how do I make fourty-eight?" holding up his fingers. "You don't have enough fingers." I said. "Do you?" He asks.

Books and Toddlers

My oldest, the boy, is brillant. Recently he pulled the game cube out of a mess of video game accesories. He then went on to find the correct power cord, the correct AV cables, and also the correct controllers. Amazing, knowing that a psone, xbox, vsmile, and who knows what else were all sharing the same box. He then plugs everything in correctly and starts playing Namco Classics. Not bad for a five year old. I'm actually a very proud ex-gaming dad, just a little bit concerned that the game he most often chooses is "Primal Rage" For those of you who missed the 90's fighting game craze this one pits evolutionary dinosaurs and other creatures against each other with really cool neon "blood" flying everywhere. I know, I'm pretty much ruining my son, right? Well I try to balance this with a healthy love for books too. So myself and the oldest two were reading "Gigi, the Princess" when the boy says, "Hold on Dad, Pause it" and goes to check on something. That's right...pause the book. Priceless.

National Adoption Month

This month is National Adoption Month. I want to throw my voice into the mix as saying Christians should be all about adoption. Legal adoption, Spiritual adoption, adopting churches, adopting a piece of the freeway, I want to be about all of it. My wife and I have this pattern of new life set up in our story. Married in 2000. Kid #1 in 2002. Kid #2 in 2004. Kid #3 in 2006. A different kind of birth in 2008 (wink, wink). So adoption may be a way's off for us, and it'll probably be on an even year. Right now we try to be Father and Mother to a few select young people God has brought into our life. Fathers and Mothers, that's what our world needs more of. That's what the church needs more of. Interesting random thoughts. Here's a few voices that have inspired me in this area:
Rev
Los
Ruiz