Catching Up - Spring 2010

Blog updates have slowed down a lot, but after attending a wedding this past weekend and being prompted to post some updates, I figured I would go ahead and invest a few minutes. Hmmm, what has been going on....

Well back in January Abbey and I took a trip to Florida to pick up a newly purchased vehicle for a friend and drive it back to Missouri. Here is Abbey with her feet in the Atlantic Ocean in early January while back home Michael and Abbey were off school due to a snow storm.

I'm happy to report that things at work have stabilized after a very rocky 2009. Thankfully I never lost my job although pay cuts were across the board and fully reinstated back in April. Whew. A nice reminder about the importance of saving money and not blowing it all.

In the spring the strawberries started producing like crazy and Michael invited some friends over to have a campout in the backyard for his birthday. This picture was taken the night before his campout after we got the tent set up and while the girls were picking strawberries.

Back in March I bought a new gun, which is about the only thing I actually enjoy shopping for. After charting out all the different options and laboring over each feature, I finally bought a Glock .40 (G26). It is purdy. A man I go to church with is a police officer and after he discovered our mutual interest in firearms he invited me and Michael out to shoot at the police department's shooting range since he is the range officer and weapons instructor. We went out one night after work and shot with a couple of my handguns, the officer's personal assault rifle, and the officer's service pistol. It was a lot of fun, and I learned Michael is an excellent handgun shooter. Here I am shooting my first assault rifle!

And in this shot Michael is using my 17 year old Ruger P89 (9mm), which he loves by the way. You can see the spent casing mid-air.

And this photo opportunity was irresistible. I had to ask if we could pose Michael with the AR and the officer's police car. What I wouldn't have given to have a picture like this when I was 14!!!!

As for other news, Annette's part-time job at Six Flags is going well and we are headed to Branson this summer for vacation. The kids are still on the swim team and loving it. I am about to re-start my partially completed project of drywalling part of the basement, among other things. That's about all of a smattering of things I can think of now. More later. Maybe.

Our Dog, Maggie

In 1999 I began to hunt ducks and geese for the first time, introduced to it by a co-worker. I was quickly hooked and realized that a well trained retrieving dog was just as valuable as a gun. When another co-worker told me her son had a Labrador Retriever who was about to have puppies, I was hooked. Actually the pups were 75% Lab and 25% German Shorthair Pointer, still an awesome hunting mix. One Saturday in February 2002 I drove to the son's home in Tennessee to pick out a pup, and I brought home Maggie.

Maggie was seven weeks old on her first day at home, and Michael was 5, Abbey 4, and Mae was 1, just short of her second birthday. Here is a picture of Maggie's first day at home with Michael and Abbey.

Early on I dedicated myself to training her to retrieve and she took to it very well. We were constantly going to lakes and fields to practice. I checked out a retriever training video at the local library and followed their instructions. In a short time I had Maggie retrieving real birds in addition to "dummies" and also working from hand signals.

In September 2002 she retrieved her first dead goose on our first hunt together. This was the same hunt where my Uncle Jim killed his first goose ever. Though this is a bad picture, it's me and Maggie with her first goose after she went and fetched it out of the water. She was only 9 months old and I've got the goose in my right hand.

Later that same year I captured a very nice picture of Maggie on a late season goose hunt in northeast Missouri. Because Maggie was wearing a Cabela's camo hunting vest, I sent the photo in to Cabela's and they published it in a seasonal flyer they send out. I have copies of that flyer somewhere. This is the picture they published.

As the years went by the kids got older and my affection for waterfowl hunting tapered off, so Maggie became less of a hunting dog and more of a pet. Last December 23 Maggie had her 8th birthday, but it might be her last.

Over the last 14-16 months Maggie's coat has changed considerably. She has gone from a deep chocolate to a rusty/orangey color and her hair is brittle. Now she pants a lot, drinks tons of water, and recently developed infected sores on her body and ear infections. She was due for vaccinations last week so I took her in. Instead of vaccinations we did bloodwork, and the results are in. She has Cushing's disease. I had never heard of it before but it's caused by a tumor which forces the overproduction of a chemical in her body, creating every symptom she has. I didn't realize it, but she has lost 13 pounds since her last visit to the vet. Muscle mass wastes away and now her ribs and spine are visible. Treatment options are outrageously expensive and don't prolong her life, so here we are. Tonight we told the kids that our time with Maggie is limited and that she won't make it to old age, like 12. I assume it will be much less. She has been a good dog, a really good dog, and I know that even though a dog can get on your nerves, we will miss her.

Here is a picture I took today and you can see we have Maggie's elbow bandaged due to infected skin sores. She is losing her coat now - the disease causes that. The hair around her neck is gone and her belly is almost bald. Eventually she'll have hair on nothing but her head and legs, if she makes it that long. Eight years isn't that long for a dog to live, so we are very sad, but it's still eight years with a great dog that we are glad to have. These pictures were taken about two hours before Annette and I told the kids Maggie is terminally ill.

The Snow Falleth

I've often heard people say, "We just don't get as much snow around here as we used to. Remember when we were kids? There was a ton of snow." Well, I was a kid in the 1970s and I just learned a few weeks ago through a weather trivia type link on a St. Louis news webpage that the 1970s included three record setting years for snowfall, making the 1970s a very snowy decade, so yes, the 80s, 90s, and 00s have seen less snow than "when we were kids."

But if you live in the St. Louis metro and you trust Dave Murray, then we were told this could be a snowy year. So far I wouldn't yet call it "snowy," but we've gotten a couple decent dumps. This past Friday I took off work while the snow fell but the kids headed to school, only to be released early due to an all-day snowfall. While the snow fell, I stepped onto our deck and took this photo of our backyard:

The snow was very wet which made it heavy to shovel, but also excellent for snowballs and snowmen. Today (Saturday, 2/6), I was outside with the kids just doing a couple jobs when, not surprisingly, someone started a snowball fight and I was all too happy to participate. Here are a couple shots of the fight:

Here is one I really like - Michael letting go of a snowball aimed directly at my butt while I was bent over trying to reload and hit Abbey. (Notice the snowball in flight - thankfully it missed the mark!)

We also went to work on a snowman and we built the biggest snowman we ever have.

Oh, and we're supposed to get 6 - 8 more inches in the next couple days!

Annette Got a Job!

Annette has looked for part time work that fits her schedule and that is hard to come by because she likes to be available to substitute teach and be close to the kids on school days, but she recently landed a summer job at Six Flags, where she worked as a teenager. The pay isn't great but the hours are just right (or so it would seem) and we get all kinds of amusement park perks.

Oh, and here are a couple pictures of the kids taken on a January thaw day. All the pent up frustration came up and while their bodies may have enjoyed the exercise, at least one ended up unhappy!

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.