Merry Christmas

Another Christmas has come and gone and a year from now very few if any of the presents we just received will be remembered and hopefully most of them will still be functional. Another reminder to make sure we keep our focus on what Christmas is really all about!

On Christmas Eve we made the usual trek to participate in a Christmas gathering with Annette's mother's side of the family, the Tidwell side. We went to Mickie and Brendon's home in Chesterfield as has become the recent tradition. It was pouring rain and creeks and rivers were overflowing. All the while we were getting the rain, regions to our west were getting pounded with snow and family from Oklahoma City couldn't visit because of their "blizzard-like conditions" on Christmas Eve.

Once we got home on Christmas Eve we prepared everyone for bed and read our traditional Christmas story out of Luke chapter two, then read The Night Before Christmas. Then off to bed the kids went. Santa was generous because Christmas morning the kids found a Wii game system along with lots of games and accessories for it. They had been desperately asking for it and I continued to play up my "video games are bad for your brain" act to discourage their hopes in getting one so they'd be more excited. I think it worked.

A cold front moved through in the night and a dusting of snow had fallen overnight on top of very wet roads from the rain. That made for, you guessed it, bad driving conditions on Christmas day. We departed our house around 11 a.m. headed for my mom's and I found I-44 drivers going exceptionally slow for the limited amount of snow. But in the next 20 miles I probably saw at least a dozen cars in the ditch. And then there was the near miss. At Pacific I was driving in the left lane with a little red car in front of me. As we rounded a curve I saw two cars blocking the left lane that had previously collided. I immediately began to apply the brakes hard and yelled to the kids, "Hold on!" I thought we would hit them. I pumped the brakes and the anti-lock brakes were kicking on but we weren't stopping fast enough. The car in front of me tried to stop but slid sideways, then crashed into the already stalled cars. I held the left lane for several seconds, pumping the brakes. And at the last minute I drifted right into an opening other drivers had provided for me by shifting right themselves. I snaked my way right through that little trap and immediately uttered, "Thank you Lord."

We got to mom's no problem and exchanged gifts with my grandfather, mom, uncle, sisters, and their families. And while there the kids scored Guitar Hero or Band Hero (not sure which) for their new Wii system. We had a P.M. Christmas party scheduled with Annette's parents and brother that day but it was postponed due to the unusually slick nature of the roads. We got home that night and the kids did nothing but play with the Wii.

Yesterday was 12/26 and we had our previously postponed Christmas party with Annette's mother and brother and family. It was all about the Wii. I mostly cleaned my office and prepared to transfer my ever-growing library onto new bookshelves Annette got me for Christmas.

And so that's that. I'm off work all this week and I go back on 1/4. I'm looking forward to the time off and spending time with the family. I hope you had a Merry Christmas this year.

If you have been in the habit of receiving Christmas cards from us in the past you have probably noticed they're missing this year, as well as last year. We seem to be getting away from sending them. It's not to slight anyone! It's just one more thing to do in an already busy month that also includes a lot of birthdays. We're considering putting out a little letter in January to bring people up to date on some different things and just touch base through the regular mail. If you don't get one by 1/31 and want one, either I left you off by accident or maybe I have an old address. Feel free to drop me your current mailing address if you've moved recently and you haven't received any mail from the Furey's at your new address.

Have a safe New Year!

Springfield Bible Conference

This is just a quick plug for a conference I've found that is wonderful. Faith Bible Church is a church in Springfield, Illinois that hosts a Bible conference each year. A group of men take the church bus over to Springfield for a day's worth of preaching by various speakers. Last year Paul Washer was the headliner and this year was Steve Lawson (who works with John MacArthur) and Jeff Pollard. In addition to a wonderful day of preaching and teaching from the Bible, they sell various Christian books at substantial discounts. Below is a photo of three I picked up this year. The three combined cost me about $20, and the first book, Foundations of Grace by Steve Lawson, is over 500 pages. If you are anywhere nearby and want deep, rich teaching that goes from around 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., stop by. Everything is free (except the books, of course).

Pictured books are (from left to right): Foundations of Grace by Steve Lawson, 558 pages. This demonstrates how grace has always been God's plan from the beginning of time. Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe, 373 pages. This book details some of the millions who have died for their faith in Jesus Christ. Finally, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steve Lawson, 166 pages. This deals with the way God used a Puritan pastor in Colonial America to proclaim and defend the gospel of grace.

Deer Season 2009

It's a little early for me to write a report on the success of the 2009 deer season since it is still in progress, and continues for me and for Michael on Friday and Saturday of this week, but opening weekend is now behind us so here is an update.

As some of you know from a prior post, Michael and Abbey took and passed hunter education in October. This allows Michael the ability to hunt from his own stand (separate from me). He did just that on opening weekend and saw several deer but didn't get any shots. Though it was a cloudy weekend with some rain, Willie, Michael, and I all hunted and I was the only one to kill a deer that weekend. Though it was a small deer, I felt lucky to get it after the weather we had. My uncle Randy, however, had much better luck, killing two deer on opening day, a buck and a doe.

Here are some photos from our first weekend.

On Friday, November 13, shortly after Michael arrived at camp after school, we made this campfire.

Even though this wasn't the biggest deer I've ever killed, I was glad to get one with weather so foul and on Michael's first day hunting in his own stand during "big deer season." It was a button buck.

An overview of our campsite. Willie drives the Ford Explorer and I have the GMC pickup

Here is Michael getting ready to head back to the stand for the afternoon hunt. This picture was taken on Saturday.

A moment of relaxation in the camper. Pay no attention to the mess or all the Mountain Dew bottles.

Halloween 2009

Yes, I'm posting something on the day it actually happened, within hours. Tonight is Halloween and Abbey dressed up as Wonder Woman and Mae as Cat Woman. Yes, a couple of women. Michael did not dress up because he was supposed to be on the youth deer hunt today (cancelled for Michael's failure to keep his end of the bargain) and also because he's 13 - a little too old in my mind to go door-to-door asking for candy. It was beautiful weather here and the kids had a good time.



Here are the kids as we were on our way out....

And here with their loot........

Certified Hunters!

Back around 1988 the Missouri Department of Conservation decided it would be a good idea to institute Hunter Education for everyone born after January 1, 1967. Even though I had already hunted three deer seasons, I suddenly found myself faced with taking a Hunter Education class or else giving up my hunting. I took the class at age 16 along with my cousin Bud - that was back in April 1988. I passed the class, received a temporary certificate so I could purchase tags, and I received a Hunter Education patch that I still wear on my orange hunting vest to this day.

Since Michael got his first deer last year and is now 13 I decided he was ready to take the class and get certified. (Without certification you can only hunt on a youth tag in the immediate presence of an adult - with certification you can hunt in your own deer stand). I also twisted Abbey's arm and convinced her this would be a good thing to do also, even though she is not currently interested in hunting.

The class is twelve hours long so this past Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings we attended the training from 6-10 p.m. each day. It is taught by a Conservation Agent along with several guest speakers. They cover a variety of topics, including primitive weapons, survival skills, tree stand safety, and proper handling of a firearm. It is excellent training for everyone, whether a hunter or not. An 80% or better is required on the exam and Michael and Abbey both scored in the mid 90s. In the photo they stand with their patches and certificates around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night. I am so proud of them and looking forward to opening day of firearms deer season (not the youth hunt, but regular firearms deer season) with Michael. Maybe if we're lucky we'll both bag a deer on the same day!

October - My Favorite Month

October is my favorite month for a lot of reasons. The weather cools, the grass stops growing. Bow season is in full swing. The first hard frost comes. The leaves change colors. Anticipation of deer season grows more each day. October memories are also something special for me. High school football games, Homecoming, all the magical Cardinal moments of the 1980s, time spent afield with Randy, Larry, Papa, and Willie, my trip out west with Annette back in 1993, on and on I could go.

This afternoon our family did something special. Each fall I need to go to a rifle range and prepare my rifle for deer season. You know, shoot it, check it out, make sure everything still functions correctly and it's still sighted in properly. This year I bought a new scope and we adjusted Michael's scope so both rifles had to be sighted in again. Instead of just the two of us going to the gun club to shoot, the whole family went, and each person shot. Michael shot his single shot .243, I shot my Winchester 30-06, all the kids shot a .22 Marlin, and Annette, Michael, and I all shot my 9mm Ruger. We've never before had a day where we all shot together.

We drove to Owensville Gun Club to shoot because I am a member there and they have a 500 yard rifle range. We left there at the end of the day and on the drive home the setting sun behind us cast an orange glow onto the treetops in front of us, onto trees whose leaves were already beginning to fade from green into yellows and oranges. It was a beautiful moment on a quintessential October day. It reminds me yet again about the importance of families finding time to do things together.

Now, Michael's rifle and my rifle are both hitting bullseyes at distant targets so the burden is now on us to deliver deer to our freezer this year. If we don't, we won't be able to say, "stupid gun." Also, tomorrow night begins hunter education which I will be taking with Michael and Abbey. Passage allows them to buy deer tags and hunt in their own deer stand. Abbey isn't ready to hunt but Michael is. So tomorrow the class begins. I was hunter education certified in 1988. I suspect a lot has changed in the class in the last 21 years!

1977 Camper

Since I took up hunting in 1985 I have camped in various places over the years. In Papa's popup camper, in a motor home, large upright campers, motels, tents (brrrrrr!), and even a homemade shelter made of flat panels of plywood bolted together to form a very roomy camp. Around 2002 I finally decided it was time for me to get a camper of my own. What I came up with was a 1977 upright camper, approximately 17 feet long. It was nothing to get excited about then or now, but it provided beds, a sink, a toilet, cabinet space, closet space, and mostly just a warm place to spend the night that I could move from place to place. Since our initial investment in it I've basically just used it without much improvement until now when I've finally undertaken some long overdue projects, such as getting new tires, fixing a soft spot in the floor (right by the door), painting the bumper, and so forth. I had been piddling with it for months until a few weeks ago when I realized just how close I am to hunting season, then I put it in high gear. I've been working on it every spare minute I have. Here are a couple photos.

This is me installing one of the two new tires. There is more rubber on these tires than on any of my vehicles tires!

This is the floor where I've been working on it. Looks messy but it's actually almost done.

Also, unrelated to anything I just wrote, here is a picture of Michael playing catch with his third or fourth cousin from Arkansas over this past weekend, Skip. He is the son of my cousin Margaret (second or third, whatever). She lives in Russellville, Arkansas.

Men at Work

The first job that ever required me to wear a tie came at age 17. I worked at Anchor Floor, a primarily industrial flooring company. I did general office work as part of a cooperative program through my high school. Those days of wearing a shirt and tie continued on through my years at Hermann Marketing and later Maritz. But a few years ago Maritz decided to go business casual, so we tossed our ties aside and went with polos and tie-less shirts for the most part.

Looking for something to spice up work last week, some of us who are a little older than the youngest generation of twenty-something young men in our department (who have barely ever had to wear a tie) decided to have a "throwback day." Yes, that meant ties and for some, even suits. This may all sound very boring to you right about now, but think about how Dilbert cartoons can make people smile in the office, then consider the reaction we got when seven of us actually put ties on, including some of the young whipper-snappers. The Division V.P. of the entire department who is wholly in favor of ties thought the idea was great, but then forgot it was tie day and wore a polo. As the men began to gather the ladies gawked, and a digital camera was found. We posed in our Sunday best (well, maybe not our very best, but close), and our V.P. tossed on a hoodie and jumped in the photo just for fun. And no, not every man wore a tie. We had a few others not pictured who just opted for normal "business casual" attire.

Yes, this is me at work, busy with very important business. Posing for photos.

Abbey is Twelve!

It hardly seems like twelve years ago that Annette and I watched Abbey come into the world. Annette had a scheduled C-section to deliver Abbey so on the scheduled morning we drove Michael (who at the time was not even one and a half) over to Papa's house and left him there, then we headed to Christian Northwest hospital in St. Louis County. We were in the operating/delivery rom and I was sitting there beside Annette as the doctors tugged on her, getting ready for the birth. Just like with Michael, someone finally said, "stand up dad," so I abruptly stood up, looking over the curtain that prevented Annette from seeing what they were doing to her mid-section. Among all the unpleasantness of surgery was my little Abbey's head in the hands of a doctor. When I stood up, they pulled her out and she was born.

It only took a few seconds for me to sense something was wrong. They cleaned her up but I noticed the look in one of the nurse's eyes. She nervously looked back to one of the doctors and they quickly whisked Abbey away to another area. Annette knew nothing of all this so I departed from her side to follow Abbey. They laid her down on a table and placed an oxygen mask on her face and said things like, "come on, come on" while they whacked her little rear end. She was turning blue. I was anxiously watching this unfold hoping that any second things would turn better. I asked, "What's wrong?" The doctor did what so many do, that is, they try not to alarm the family even though they might be concerned. The answer I got back was, "She's just having a little trouble breathing." Her blue face and body began to show it. The words of the medical staff were calming but their actions weren't.

Then, about as quickly as the situation developed, the blueness dissipated and a pink color took over very quickly. "There we go" the docs said, much to my relief. After confirming that all was now fine, I returned to Annette's side as they put her back together. She knew nothing of it and I didn't tell her for some time.

The whole thing went down in just a couple minutes but it made me as nervous as I have ever been as a parent. And now she is 12. We sure love our Abbey Hope.

A Finger in the Eye

Since Michael was only a few years old he has been wearing glasses. His early glasses were a bit oversized so his eyes looked small behind those big frames. I had forgotten about that until I looked at some pictures lately and then realized it. You never see it at the time, only in retrospect. Over the last few months he was making an argument for contacts and we finally bit the bullet and got them for him, an office visit and a year's supply for about $400. Fortunately in today's mail we got a rebate offer to take about $30 off that price so WOO-HOO!

What else is going on - oh! Last Saturday I bought a brand new 3x9x40 Leupold Rifleman scope for my .30-06 and replaced my old Bushnell that Annette bought for me over ten years ago. I got quite the deal at Cabela's during a four hour sale.

Today I helped my sister Michelle move and as I type this Annette is at the hospital with Willie and Lisa (her siblings) since her dad was hospitalized today. His blood sugar went too low so they are stablilizing and testing him right now.

Long Time, No Post

Summer is almost over and I'm all too glad. The kids would beg to differ but summer kills me. Far from being a break, everything goes into overdrive for me. Work is still work, and even a little more busy than usual. There seems no end to camps and activities the kids are involved in and they keep me wondering every day when I wake up where I'm supposed to be after work. And then there is the yardwork. I thought having a two acre backyard might be fun but it's actually a pain. Mowing the whole yard takes about 4 hours and weedwhacking it takes some work too. Then the garden needs maintenance and our woods need thinning, and on and on it goes. And with that comes maintenance on all those engines that keep the yard clean, like the riding mower, the weedwhacker, a chainsaw, the tiller, and the next thing you know all I do is use the tools and fix them when they break down!

I'm anxiously counting down the days until the first frost. "Let the grass die" I say. Plus it signals the near arrival of hunting season. The kids will be back at school on Thursday, August 20. Michael is going into 8th grade, making this his last year before high school. He's also getting contacts so his look is about to change. Abbey is headed into 6th grade, and Mae is going into 3rd grade.

Let it snow.

In Remembrance of Larry, 1954-2009

When I was in my early to mid-teens, back around the mid 1980s, I met a man named Larry Muenks (pronounced min-icks). Larry was a co-worker at McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and friend of my uncle Randy. Randy and Larry developed a friendship inside and outside of work and because I often tagged along with Randy I was able to get to know Larry in the process.

Larry owned a farm in Montgomery County, Missouri and was in the process of building a house and improving his property. He lived on the farm and drove to St. Louis every day for work. I loved going to Larry’s because he exposed me to a side of life I rarely ever saw – farm life. From about 1987 through 1995 I was very close with Larry and once I had my driver’s license I went out to his farm all the time at his invitation. Often time I would arrive at his place on Friday night after work and not leave for home until Sunday night.

Larry was a father-figure to me during those years. He really took me under his wing and taught me a lot. I killed my first four deer on his farm and I picked up numerous hunting tips from him. We baled and hauled hay together during the summer. He taught me how to drive both his large and small tractors. He owned nearly every tool imaginable and even had a hydraulic vehicle lift in his barn so you could pull a vehicle right into his barn over the lift, extend the arms underneath and raise it up, as if in a mechanic’s garage. He did so much work on my ’65 Chevy Bel-Air and especially my ’79 Chevy pickup I can’t even begin to calculate the total worth of all his services. We did U-joints, brakes, ball joints, valve cover replacements, transmission swaps, repacked wheel bearings, and on and on it went. When I tried to pay him for tangible things he provided, he refused to cash the check. I looked up to Larry in many ways. He suggested I build my own Craftsman tool set (which I did) and co-signed a loan with me back in 1992 for the sole purpose of establishing credit. I can’t think of a single non-family member who would have done that for me.

A photo I took of Larry and his wife Pam on October 26, 1991, just hours before their son Bryan was born. I was at Larry's for the weekend when this unexpected delivery occured. I went to the hospital with them and watched the 1991 World Series in the waiting room while Larry was with Pam giving birth, then he and I went out and had a steak dinner.

Around the time I got married Larry and I began to drift and our friendship never was the same after that. But the impact he made on my life is no less significant to me despite our drift. Around that same time Larry developed diabetes and experienced a significant weight loss – he no longer looked the same. In time, his health continuously worsened. Eventually he developed cancer which spread throughout his body. One of his kidneys was removed last summer, leaving him with only one. A few weeks ago, the doctors told the family there was nothing more they could do because the cancer was so widespread. They ceased dialysis and chemotherapy and the realization came that Larry’s life was nearly over. Fortunately I had the opportunity to see Larry twice more before he passed away. Then, about a week after I learned that chemo and dialysis had stopped, he breathed his last breath at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 while I was at work.

Reflecting on Larry and thinking about his impact on my life has reminded me more than ever that we need to be aware of the impact we can have on young people. In this life Larry had no idea how much his influence and mentorship meant to me, especially during the ages of 17-21. We often go through life thinking much of what we’re doing isn’t all that significant, but time tells a truer story.

Larry was not a Christian during his life but his diseases and the knowledge he had about the end of his life coming so quickly humbled Larry, a normally proud man. I think it showed him that no matter how strong we think we are, we are but dust. He recognized his weakness and began to feel remorseful for wrongs in his life. He knew he needed Jesus and wanted him in his life. I had the opportunity to speak briefly with him about that, as did others. I believe there is more evidence than not to suggest he is with the Lord right now. The deathbed conversion, while not ideal, is still valid, biblically demonstrated when Jesus saved the thief on the cross next to him. Without baptism and without good works to his credit, the thief acknowledged his sinfulness (Luke 23:41) and appealed to Jesus (Luke 23:42). Jesus’ answer was clear: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. What more could a person want than to be with Jesus Christ for eternity! That is the very definition of heaven, and the thief attained it. I think there are always those who claim to be Christians that almost feel slighted at such a thought, that their “lifetime of service” should grant them a better fate than the deathbed convert. To deal with that issue, I recommend repentance from the sin of pride and to study the parable of the workers paid equally found in Matthew 20:1-16.

A photo of me with Larry on July 3, just five days prior to Larry's death.

Only God knows for sure now if Larry is with him. I can’t judge the precise mental capacity Larry had in his final days, but I do know this: someone who had a substantial impact on my life is now gone, and I will miss him.

The Fourth of July

It's already July, before the kids realize it they will be getting school supplies and preparing to head back to the classroom. The Fourth of July holiday was good - we went and saw Union's fireworks on the third. We ended up sitting in a friend's front yard right by Union Middle School which put us in good view to see everything being launched from the ballfields beyond it. On the fourth we watched a private residence put on a fireworks display that rivaled and possibly surpassed the city display. (That's not to slight the city display but to commend the private display).

Today was the last swim meet for Michael, Abbey, and Mae. All the kids made good progress this year but Michael made the most; largely because this was his first year. After he got out of the pool after his first race at his first swim meet, I thought he might pass out. Tonight he swam strongly and I could see a tremendous improvement in him over the last month.

And earlier today, about 1 p.m., Annette dropped Abbey off at camp for the week. The Franklin County Baptist Association has a facility they use at Spring Bluff. They have cabins for the kids to sleep in, an outdoor swimming pool, a chapel, a large eating area, fields for games and activities, and a large lake for canoeing or other water activities. They also have an outdoor chapel area where the kids go in the mornings for quiet time activities. It's a wonderful camp and the kids look forward to it every year.

Speaking of that, Vacation Bible School is coming up in three weeks and I'm teaching third and fourth graders so tonight I started unpacking all my materials to get familiar with this year's content. My niece, Natalie, came to our house last year and spent the week, going to VBS with the kids. She may come back this year and do the same.

Memorial Bench for Gran

Back on June 4 Annette and I celebrated our anniversary together and on that day we stopped by Mastodon State Park, where we were married. We spent some time talking to the woman in charge about the possibility of having a memorial bench installed for Gran, similar to Pappy's. She was very fond of the idea and looked up pricing with us. We also walked the grounds looking for a suitable location.

I heard from her with an exact price and the grand total will come to around $800. If you are able to make a contribution in any amount we should reach the $800 without problem. Gran has enough family members that eight donors of $100 each would get us there. If more people wanted to contribute the amount could be less.

Please let Annette know. She and I have had the discussions with the Park administrator up to this point but would like to get the whole family involved now for fundraising and determining what to put on here plaque.

Photos from Jamestown

Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent settlement of the English in what is now the United States. On May 13, 1607, 104 men and boys landed on the banks of the James River in three ships and though most of them would die within a short period of time, the colony wouldn't. Here are a few pictures from our day at Jamestown.

This photo is of a monument placed by the federal government in 1907, the 300th anniversary of the settlement.

The National Park Service has a Junior Ranger program where kids can complete a series of tasks in a workbook and earn a certificate and a Junior Ranger patch. Here the kids search for answers to their booklet questions.

Here the kids hold up the patches they earned at Jamestown. They also earned them at Yorktown later that afternoon. (They also got them from Yellowstone five years ago, and you can also earn one at the Arch and Grant's Farm!)

Statue of Pocahontas at Jamestown. She married John Rolfe, moved to England and adopted English customs, dressing as a British woman. She is buried in England.

Annette and I standing on the banks of the James River, exactly where archaeologists have uncovered their original fort. Notice Annette's hair which is blowing sideways. It was extremely windy. The river is very wide at this location because it is so close to the Chesapeake Bay. One of the reasons the colonists chose this spot is because the river was deep enough for them to anchor their ships.

Return from Williamsburg

Posts have been sparse lately due to all the activity June brings. We just spent a week in Eastern Virginia visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Washington DC. Pictures are on the way.

Whether you are a fan of American history or not, let me just give a ringing endorsement to Colonial Williamsburg. For a modest admission price you can literally step back in time over 200 years and walk the streets of Williamsburg in the 1770s. As we walked around, we spotted Redcoats from time to time. One morning several rode in on horses, including the traitor himself, Benedict Arnold. He addressed all of us on horseback and defended King George, then presented the British flag to be flown over the capitol building. Of course one of the colonial women standing right next to us saw that hideous flag and called it a "horse blanket." Later General Washington rode in and on our last afternoon Michael and I were able to March with the Continental Army as we prepared to head to Yorktown for battle.

You can stop at the shops in town which are 1770s era where they still produce things the way they did back then. For example, we went to a brickyard where they actually make bricks like they did over 200 years ago. And a shoemaker. And a seamstress. And we saw a printing press and book binding.

Jamestown and Yorktown were great, but our DC visit was awesome as we toured the monuments at night. We have never been there at night and it was beautiful. Fortunately for us the weather was cool all week so we were able to walk a lot in relative comfort.

Pictures are still being organized and bags are still being unpacked, but more to follow later.

Abbey, Take Your Mark!

All the kids are on the Union Swim Team this year and their first swim meet was last Saturday, June 6. Here is a short video I took of Abbey in one of her races.

Magnolias

On December 31, 1980 my family and I loaded a U-Haul and drove it from Hermann, Missouri to Tupelo, Mississippi, our new home. We arrived shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, 1981. My dad’s job relocated him and although that relocation turned out to be temporary, we thought we were headed to Mississippi to stay. I recall not needing a coat down there but only a jacket, even though we were in the dead of winter. One day while in the third grade our school dismissed us early because of snow flurries, the first time Tupelo had seen flurries in over ten years. Even though I was only eight years old I knew the Mississippians had over reacted. They also had a school-wide celebration of Elvis Presley’s birthday on January 8. Tupelo of course was Elvis’ birthplace and 1981 was only four years after he died.

When spring rolled around our neighborhood came alive with fragrance as the blooming Magnolia trees woke from their winter nap. Their white cream puff blooms opened up all around us and filled the neighborhood with such a wonderful aroma. Our next door neighbors had a monstrous Magnolia tree in their backyard which permanently implanted the smell of Magnolia in my memory. It was absolutely amazing.

For years after we came back to Missouri I wanted to have a Magnolia tree of my own to remind me of that brief time in my youth. When we moved into our current home I finally bought one and planted it in our front yard. Usually around the first of June it begins to bloom and it has just started to open up in the last week. As the white blooms form and then open I usually walk over to it, put my nose down to the petals, and just breathe in deeply. If I close my eyes I can time travel back 28 years and return to Tupelo.

Here are some lilies we planted a couple years ago and which are in full bloom right now.

What a Difference

1994 in Review

As Annette and I approach our 15th wedding anniversary on June 4, it prompts us to reflect back on the changes in our lives since that time and to think about what the world was like back in 1994. Here is a glimpse of what was happening in the year we were married:

Major League baseball players strike and the World Series was cancelled as a result

NHL locked out players in a dispute over salaries

Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the back of the knee in January by Tonya Harding’s boyfriend.

Whitewater scandal begins to be investigated

On June 13, 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered outside Nicole's house in Brentwood, CA. On June 17th, OJ and his friend Al Cowlings took flight from the police in his white Ford Bronco, in a low speed chase which ended up at his mansion where he surrendered.

Republican majority in both houses of Congress is won in the fall elections of 1994

Susan Smith drowned her two sons in South Carolina, and then lied on national television claiming someone kidnapped them.

President Richard Nixon died of a stroke on April 22. He was 81.

Michael Jackson marries Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie

Hit TV Show Friends Was Released

In 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by Mexico, America, and Canada. (Note: NAFTA was signed in 1992. It came into effect Jan 1, 1994)

"Darn" Birds

When we decided to move to our current home outside the city limits of Union we expected to love it completely, but now after more than three years living here Annette and I both recognize the limitations of living outside of town. Going practically anywhere is at least a seven mile journey one way, so it forces us into consolidating trips. Previously we lived inside the city limits, less than a mile from Wal-Mart. That makes for some spontaneous trips at any time of the day or night. No more of that. Now we have dust from a gravel road, no access to cable TV, and I have a summer filled with what seems an unending list of yardwork. But there are many aspects of living here we love very much. I like seeing the occasional deer or turkey, the peace and solitude is wonderful, having a large yard is great, and the house is just exactly the way we designed it, so all in all we come out ahead.

In the spring one of the things I most enjoy is the comfortable temperatures and sleeping with the windows open. I can lie in bed at night and look out my open window and see distant lights of Union and, before the foliage obstructs my view, even lighting from an industrial center in St. Charles County. I really love it. I also love waking up in the morning to the sight of the sun casting warm rays of light on our greening backyard and trees, and I especially enjoy being awakened not necessarily by the alarm clock, but by the beautiful melodies of the songbirds in our yard. Of course, they start very early, like in the five o'clock hour, but what a brilliant time of day. First light on our yard and beautiful music from nature to wake me gently. I can just rest there in bed enjoying the beautiful melodies with my eyes closed, that is, until I hear footsteps pounding over to the window. When I open my still tired eyes I see Annette grabbing onto the window and slinging it shut, then pushing closed the blinds and drapes. "Darn" birds she says with disgust as she marches back to her side of the bed and tries, with no success, to go back to sleep.

When I opened the May 2009 issue of the Missouri Conservationist (which by the way is free to any Missouri resident or $7 annually to non Missouri residents) and found this short article on Missouri Songbirds I had to laugh, and I mean laugh hard, and show it to Annette. I promised her I'd get her the CD and maybe when it gets hot outside and we have to close our windows we can pop in the CD around five a.m. so she doesn't miss her morning wake up call. Of course she laughs about it when I make fun in the evening, but to her it is no joking matter at dawn.

If you're looking for a gift idea for Annette, definitely do NOT get her this CD. Ear plugs might work better.

Author Author

I recently received my alumni magazine from Webster University, which I hardly ever read, but in this issue was a two page layout devoted to alumni authors. I took a double-take when I saw a book which I own and which was written by someone I go to church with. I looked more closely and sure enough, it really was the same book. Micky, who goes to church with me and who has been through a lot in life wrote a book titled Journey to Joy. I haven't read my copy yet but this will probably inspire me to get around to it sooner than later. I guess I'm really lucky that I not only count Micky as a Christian sister but two others from my church are also authors, Kristi Neace and Steve Murrie. I don't have either of their books; Kristi's is for women and Steve's is for kids (Michael has a copy of Steve's and loves it).

As for other things going on with us, we're just in the process of getting ready for the kids to be out of school soon and preparing for vacation in mid-June. Just this week we bought our first item from Craig's List. We're taking our van to Williamsburg, Virginia on vacation so I wanted a car-top luggage carrier to make more space for us. We got it this week and it's pretty spacious and in good shape. (As I picture the luggage carrier on top of our van I can't help but hear the song Holiday Road in my mind from National Lampoon's Vacation).

The kids will be starting swim team soon so you'll be seeing a few pictures of swimming action in the near future. Michael had his last band concert last night. He plays the trumpet but has been rather uninspired in his playing so he won't be continuing on in the 8th grade. On to trying the next thing I suppose!

Girl Scouts In the Paper

Both Abbey and Mae are in the Girl Scouts and in the days leading up to Easter our house was filled with paper sacks decorated like the face of a bunny. Abbey spent a lot of time decorating these bags which were filled with goodies and taken to the local food pantry to be distributed to any family with children who received food from them around Easter. We were surprised to find a photo of this in our local newspaper, The Missourian. You can of course see Abbey on the far left.

Annette is the leader for Mae's Girl Scout troop, carrying on a tradition for the women of her family who have also served in that role. Not only is Annette serving as a Girl Scout leader, but her mother Ruth Ann also served in the same capacity way back in her day (as well as Ruth Ann's sister Sharon), and their mother, who we all know as Gran. It's probably just a matter of time before Abbey or Mae, or both, grow up to serve in the same role. In the meantime we keep on buying our share of Girl Scout cookies, or as I like to call them, "Cholesterol in a box."

Well, we are under threat of tornado right now so I'm going to get this image uploaded and get out of here! Thunder is rumbling in the background.

Best Buds

As we march through the warming days of May and toward June it brings back memories of so many special things that have happened at this time of year, such as the births of two of my children in May, and in early June my marriage to Annette and high school graduation.

Thinking of graduation reminds me this will be 19 years since I graduated (class of 1990) and it naturally made me think of a good friend. I met Bob in my very first class as a freshman in high school. We had Mrs. Groppel’s first hour English class together, and we forged a friendship that has lasted now almost 23 years. Over the years I’ve had a lot of good friends and shared a lot of good times and personal memories with them, but I don’t think any friend stands out more than Bob. From age 14 to 37 and counting, we’ve been friends. He moved to south Florida several years ago but I’ve had the good fortune to visit him three consecutive years, 2006 through 2008, once on a family vacation to Disney and twice because I bought a vehicle from him (he is in the auto auction business). Here we are pictured together with a pickup he bought for me. I was in Seattle in January 2008 for work and he called me from the other corner of the country to let me know he just bought a GMC pickup that reminded him of the pickup I had as a young adult, a big boxy full size GM pickup. I flew down to Florida and brought it home. Trucks are great, but good friends are better. Speaking of that, I need to give him a call.

Logan Valley

This past weekend Michael, along with a lot of other youth from church (and several adult leaders), went to a place called Logan Valley. It's near Ellington, Missouri and is a camp/retreat area where kids can spend the weekend, participate in some fun activities, and hear some good messages from the Bible. The theme this year was on peer pressure and how to resist it. On top of all the good teaching they got to do fun activities such as run high ropes and low ropes obstacle courses (which included a zip line) and go swimming, as well as stopping at a few attractions on the way home. Here Michael is wearing a shirt he got from the youth group and a hat he got on his weekend to Logan Valley.

Well tomorrow I'm off to my hunting camp to spend a Saturday chasing turkeys with my brother-in-law Willie. While I'm sitting in the woods with my shotgun waiting for a gobbler, Mae will be back home having several friends over for her ninth birthday party. Next Friday will be Michael's 13th birthday so it's a very busy month.

And then we have Mother's Day, and in early June Annette and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary, then in late June we're taking a family vacation to Williamsburg, Virgina. It just goes on and on!

A Pianist in the Making

Abbey has been taking piano lessons for some time now from my church pianist. She usually takes lessons on Wednesday nights before Awana and gets a 30 minute lesson, then comes home and practices throughout the week.

Because Abbey's instructor is also my church pianist, she has let Abbey on occasion play a song during church. This past Sunday she had another such opportunity. In this situation Abbey played solo with her instructor sitting right there beside her. She played Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak. She did a wonderful job. Abbey really seems to enjoy piano and she is very good at it. Now we may have to look at getting her something more advanced to play on at home!

Eight Is Enough!

If your first thought is of a TV show, then you're showing a little bit of your age!

Over the last couple weeks Annette has been called to substitute teach in the Union School District on eight consecutive days. Some are full days, some half days. Some as the teacher, some as an aide. After hauling herself into school for eight consecutive days I think she was finally ready for a break. Of course, those work days immediately make me think of the extra money we'll have as a result, but it also reminds me of just how much she does around our home. When she works, our house is crazy. Chaos reigns and it just reminds me how fortunate we are that she doesn't work outside our home on a regular basis. Sometimes when she tells people that she doesn't work people will ask, "So what do you do all day?" I suppose it might be easy to take offense, but what's the point? Here are a few things she does for our family I thought of over the last few days while she went on her eight day marathon:

1) Prepares breakfast, lunch, and dinner
2) Washes clothes for five, dries them, folds them, irons and puts them away
3) Keeps our house clean
4) Runs a Girl Scout Troop
5) Consistently looks for old items to sell and turns aging household clutter into cash
6) Calls to bark about errors in insurance premiums, bank fees, medical claims, and so on
7) Serves as the homework taskmaster, making sure it's all completed
8) Shops for all the family needs, and does so economically to save us money
9) Hauls kids to or from school, swim practice, band events, Junior Achievement, etc.
10) Puts up with me griping about where my lunch is, where my white shirt is, and why the kids rooms are so messy!

I am not easy to live with. Just to survive me is task enough!

As always, the Bible is perfectly correct as it states "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord." Proverbs 18:22. I definitely have found a good wife and favor from the Lord!

What is a Carnoll?

On October 20, 1982 I watched Bruce Sutter strike out Gorman Thomas of the Milwaukee Brewers in game seven of the '82 World Series and the Cardinals were World Champs - that is - back when we still called them World Champs and not "World Series Champs" as is the case today. From that moment on I was passionate about the Birds on the Bat, a passion that has waned during adult life, but that was rich with enthusiasm during the Whitey-ball era. Everyone in my family has always known it, and back around 1985 my youngest sister Angela, who at the time was seven years old, made a Fredbird button for me at school as the Cardinals pursued another World Championship. She included a note that read, "To the best borther in the whole world. The Carlands are great. Go Carlands!" I've always thought that was funny and sometimes I still make reference to it.

Add a new chapter to ways in which we can butcher the team name in love. Mae, who is only a couple weeks away from her ninth birthday, made something for me. She has also been under a misperception about the proper name of the St. Louis Cardinals. Take a look at what she made. I darkened this and increased the contrast so you can barely see bleeding through the paper what she wrote on the back (To: Dad Love: Mae). What is a Carnoll? Now I know.

Abbey's Gardening Update

Each spring we have huge aspirations with our vegetable garden, but by August we often find the 90 plus degree days and excessive midwestern humidity tame our zeal. Even so, April is a time of excitement around our house. I've been working in a garden since I lived in Overland and was about 14 years old. Aside from a few "odd" years at Alert where I didn't put in a real garden but rather grew corn in the front yard flower beds, I've pretty much always had a garden. Now that we live in Union with a nearly two-acre yard, I'm excited all the more when warmer weather comes around.

Abbey has always been a very good helper when it comes to the garden. She likes to eat almost everything that comes out of it, especially cantaloupe and strawberries. This spring I went to Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri and bought two pickup loads of compost for $17 per pickup load. It's about 10-20% manure and the rest is wood chips, animal bedding, etc. I tilled it in to help our soil this year. If interested, you can get a load year-round by calling ahead of time at 636-742-0103, extension 6122. I also built some raised beds for Annette (and Abbey!) to grow their strawberries in this year, and here you see Abbey filling up one of the beds with compost.

She moved on to planting the tomato plants I bought a few days ago. I got 12 Jet Star and 12 Better Boy plants. Besides tomatoes, we planted green beans, lima beans, okra, corn, green peppers, watermelon, lettuce, cantaloupe, and probably a few other treats Annette snuck in there while I was marking rows for the kids to fill up with seeds. Now it's a matter of waiting until late June or early July and watching the harvest come in. There is nothing quite like that first homegrown tomato around the Fourth of July. As far as this year goes, I doubt any strawberries actually make it from the garden to the kitchen if Abbey is the one picking them.

Mae Goes Crazy - Happy Dance

Here is the video I was hoping to upload. Our family had just played several hands of Uno and Mae was the winner. This video is of her victory dance. She repeatedly says, "Happy Dance" and "Mae's on the roost" which is a term she borrowed from her dear old dad when he won a game.

Is There A Difference Between Hands and Feet?

As many of you know, Mae, our youngest, is our jokester. She has pulled some pretty nutty stunts over her nearly nine years of life. As you can see in this photo, she is very confused about the difference between hands and feet which is why we gave her a book titled Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb to read to help her understand the difference. Still not perceiving the differences yet, she decided to hold the book with her toes instead of her fingers. Notice how she has her arms folded.

Of course I just made most of that up. She certainly understands the difference but I guess she's just experimenting with alternative ways of reading a book. I just read a story in the Wall Street Journal about the growing popularity of the Kindle, which is Amazon.com Inc.'s e-book reader. I wonder if in Mae's lifetime reading paper books that you hold in your hands, or your feet, will be a thing of the past.

Michael's First Deer

Last deer season Michael, who at the time was 12, got his first deer on the youth hunt. We hunt together in northeast Missouri and after only about 15 minutes in our deer stand two bucks came into our area. One slipped away, but one walked right in front of our stand, and Michael took him down. After all the planning and anticipation we had wrapped up the hunt with less than 30 minutes in the stand. Because I was so proud of him that morning I decided to make a photo of his deer the first one I posted on our family blog.

Welcome to the Furey Blog!

This is the first time we've attempted to post anything to this newly created blog. I guess we thought it wouldn't be a bad way to let friends and family keep in touch. Be patient as the quality of this blog should hopefully improve over time!