Trip to the Zoo

As my kids get older we starting having firsts and lasts.  Firsts are the obvious things such as my oldest son being first to finish elementary school and then first to go to middle school.  On the other end my youngest, Scotlynn, is having lasts.  She will be the last to finish elementary school and this year she is the last of my children to get to go the first grade Zoo trip.  I am not usually that cognizant of last moments.  So, it was my wife who had to point out this would be the last time I could go with one my children to the Zoo.  It sounded more like, “I am signing you up Zoo trip with Scotlynn, okay!”  I then asked why and she pointed out what was obvious to her that this was the last moment I would have to take any of my children to the Zoo with their class.  

I was happy to be signed up after being told the importance of the moment.  I got the day off and bought the prepacked lunches my daughter requested.  The only hiccup was that there would be no room for me on the bus.  I would have to drive myself and pay for myself.  I was fine with both as the idea of riding the bus full of first graders was an experience I would rather avoid.  So on the appointed day, I dropped the kids off at school and drove myself downtown to the Denver Zoo.  I left right away because my wife told me I would need to be there at the Zoo ready to help when the bus dropped off.  I was told the schedule was tight.  I arrived in good time, paid for my entrance, and headed toward the school entrance.  I was a bit shocked at the bustle of the school entrance.  It reminded me more of a busy downtown bus terminal more than a public zoo or maybe that was the other way round.  Buses from all over the local area and even from other parts of the state were arriving.  The Zoo staff being experienced in the mess had a line of buses disembarking students.  While other staff greeted new busses and prepared them to unload in their turn.  A staff member manned a white board with the names of the various schools listed.  As each bus would arrive he would mark down the time, bus number, and meeting location.  I noticed my daughters bus had not arrived as the schools name was present but no arrival time had been marked.  I walked over the flag where the school was supposed to meet after getting off the bus. 

I watched as bus after bus arrived and dropped off students from preschool to high school.  The arranged time for Scotlynn’s bus came and went.  I saw several buses from her school district come and go but none seemed to contain her class.  I walked over to the white board.  I noticed my daughters school had been marked down as arriving but how could that be I never saw anyone from Scotlynn’s school walk by me.  I made a frustrated call to my wife.  I was quite testy with her.  She was gracious enough to call my daughter’s teacher who informed my wife who then informed me the the bus had arrived they were waiting to get off.  My wife even supplied me a description what all the kids would be wearing as they were dressed similarly in order to be easier to keep track of.  I waited a little longer then finally the bus arrived and students matching my wife description got off and walked right past me into the Zoo.  No one acknowledged me and I didn’t see my daughter so I had no idea if that had been her class or not.  I then got a phone call from my wife stating they’d just walked by me.  I had to hurry to catch up with the group I’d been assigned.  Even despite the miserable start the day I had a lot of fun taking the kids around the Zoo.  I was amazed that we got from one end to the other seeing almost all the animals.  The six kids including my daughter listened really well and only at the end needed to be prodded into moving.  They walked and talked the whole time.  I have no idea what they learned but they saw a lot.  I took as many pictures as I could. 






It’s fun to get to do these things with Scotlynn.  I would love to hear any of you who have had a last that really meant something to you.  Please leave a comment, subscribe, and I look forward to posting more of my adventure for you.

Ranch Experience 2

Here is the video of the ranch weekend.

Ranch Experience

One of the greatest things about parenthood is letting your kids experience something that you know is a once and lifetime event. We got this recently when we visited a cattle ranch owned by my grandfather. We were visiting to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the foreman’s service running the ranch. They were branding the spring calves so my kids got to see a rare glimpse of the American West. I was surprised that all of them enjoyed the experience. My youngest daughter did say, “Those evil men kept hurting those cows,” but she still watched it with interest. I cannot say much more than that because I think the pictures from the weekend tell more of the story. So enjoy them, leave any comments, and subscribe.

It aint easy being a kid

The last few weeks since spring break have finished have been tough for my oldest son.  He is starting his transition into his home room more often than before.  This is preparation for middle school which is coming up next year.  He came home last night with a bad entry in his back and forth folder (daily teacher log).  Nothing of what the teacher wrote was bad.  I can understand why she was upset.  It's nearly the end of the year and she has a new student, essentially, who keeps blurting out random statements in order to get his classmates to start laughing.  Stuff that you would expect during the beginning of the year when you have time to let the student know what your expectations are. 

My wife and I spoke to my son about his behavior.  We tried to emphasize the idea that if he cannot make this transition into his home room he may not be ready for the middle school.  I hate telling him that but it's do or die time.  He will not have summer school this year cause the district cannot afford to send every special needs child.  I feel like such a shumk.  I don't feel like I am being a great dad to my son.  I feel like this overbearing boss man.  I don't want that way but my son really losses focus and needs to be brought back to task at hand.  I wish I could figure out a way to get through to him.  But that seems to be the real issue with being the parent of an autistic child.  Your always wishing your could get through the autism to your child who's just under the surface.  I am prayer that my wife and I can find ways to have fun with my oldest not just be his boss.

My wife is calling me to her side so that is all I have to say for now.  Please comment, subscribe, and let me know if you also struggle getting through to your kids.  What works for you?

Winding Roads

This is my one hundredth post.  It’s a small accomplishment but I want to savor it since it is a pretty great personal mile stone.  I had a one point thought myself a writer, but then lost track of that dream for a time.  I got back to writing again in this blog as a way to “air out some things that are brewing in my brain.”  Since the time that I wrote my first post life has been a series of winding roads.  I have seen my dreams realized and sometimes discarded.  God provided in amazing ways.  What surprised me over and over again was the way that God gave me the desires of my heart.  Things that I never even prayed for, but every time I got what I desired I wasn’t really satisfied by those things.  

The desires of my heart were never really for the really important things in my life such as my wife and kids.  I love them so much.  They drive me crazy sometimes.  Seasons of my life with them have been tough (like right now).  I have had to eat crow many times, and I will never get used to having to admit that I was wrong.  God knows all these things about me.

If there is one thing that I wish could be said about me from the first post of this blog till now it is, “He followed God’s plan for his life.”  I am often trying to run my life on my own terms.  Men tend to do that. We don’t even have to think about it.  I get so caught up in the day to day running of my life that I often miss the callings of God.  The little voice during times of trouble or times of ease telling me to let God take command.  I can think of a thousand times when I nearly drove myself into a panic trying to run my life.  I tried to solve my own problems and get out of my own troubles.  


Right now, God is got me in season of life to teach me to let him run my life.  I don’t know if I have a choice this time.  God seems very serious about closing off my life from me.  With car wrecks, mental health issues, and other challenges, God is going to get through to me.  I need to learn what HE’s teaching me.  

My wife is calling me to her side so that’s about all I have to say about that.  I hope to have another one hundred posts to celebrate sooner rather than later.  Please comment and then subscribe.

Speeding Ticket- Playing the Game of Life

Tonight was family game night at my castle on Caley.  We played the Game of Life.  A classic game that I always remember because I was more interested in the plastic landscape than the game.  As we played the game, I found the random distribution of careers and salaries very ironic.  My oldest son was the lowest paid at $20,000.00.  His career pick was Police Officer.  My youngest son got to be a teacher with a $90,000.00 salary.  I am not sure what school district he worked for but I am assured it was not any public school here in Colorado. 

I don't know why we get dealt the hand we get.  God knows why.  He seems to think that what he deals us will make us stronger or grow us in some way.  I really hope that he's right.  I am thinking about two particular cards that God dealt me, my son's.  I find the mixture of there personalities and physical attributes strange at times.  Take my youngest boy.  He has had a high pain tolerance since birth.  He burnt his hand when he was very young on a night light.  We didn't know he'd done it until the church infant worker pointed out he had a blister on his hand.  The kid had burnt his hand not felt the pain then crawled around on the blister without one tear.  My youngest boy is short, stocky and great at just about any sport he tries.  All these physical attributes add up to a real boys boy.  That's what I thought.  My biggest difficulty with my youngest son is he emotional sensitivity.  He breaks down crying and weeping at the smallest insult.  His sisters seem to get a kick out of reducing him to tears everyday it seems

I have to stop myself from hardening him though.  I could do it.  Too many fathers have been in my place before.  They saw softness in their son's and couldn't reconcile that with the physical prowess they also saw.  So, they hardened the boy through brutalities or insults or the withholding tenderness.  I am not blaming anyone.  I hate weakness in myself.  I'll admit that.  But I get to make that decision.  I get to suffer my choice.  If I impose that viewpoint on my young son will I not be crushing him like flower beneath my boot? 

My second card is oldest son. If you don't follow my blog he is autistic.  That is one of the greatest blows I have ever taken.  I will freely admit that I spent years denying the facts of his autism.  I was not the best dad at those times.  I could even say that I was an emotional abuser.  I couldn't understand why more punishment was not straightening out my son.  Let me try and explain how I felt.

I was talking to a father at my son's school one day a year ago.  We had daughters in the same kindergarten.  We were talking about this and that when the topic of the special ed class came up.  My oldest son had just been admitted into that class that year.  I didn't share that fact with the gentleman I was talking too.  It didn't seem important.  We were talking about volunteering in classrooms.  My companion was telling me how he'd been asked to help out in the special ed room.  He stated he didn't like it much and asked the school not to be assigned it again.  He told me, "I don't know why those kids get such special treatment.  I could have those kids all straightened out in a few minutes if they'd just let me alone with them for a few minutes."

I know that some of you are horrified by that statement, but it's the reality that so many of us have to overcome.  I had to overcome it.  My son is autistic and nothing will change that.  I accept that he will take more time, more energy, and more love than anyone else can give him.  I have all those things.  That's what God thinks.  Some days God is right, and some days I think that God was wrong.  But in the end it's not about the middle of the game that counts it's the end.  Family game night showed me why.

My oldest, the under paid cop, ended up winning the game with the most money.  Not because he made money at his career, but because he collected the most "Life tiles."  A tile is a way of marking personal achievements.  Another way of saying it is he won because the way he lived "Life" not because he worked the hardest.  I want to win the game of life by the way I live it not because I worked the hardest.

My wife is calling me to her side so that's about all I have to say for now.  Please subscribe and comment if you have something to tell me.

Spring Broke

When I see the budding of flowers amongst the dead leaves from last fall I know spring is here.  These between seasons are my favorite seasons.  I love the death of fall and the rebirth of spring.  My best memories come from these seasons.

This is the best I can do at this point with coming up with a blog for this week.  Spring break has broken me.  I am really tired from working nights the last few days.  My kids had spring break before the school district where I work had their spring break.  So the kids got to stay home with my wife and drive her crazy.

I feel like this last two weeks has put a haze on me.  I cannot really think clearly about anything.  I am hoping this will pass.  I am getting frustrated with my blog because I feel like I cannot write anything.  I really want to make each post read well but sometimes I just don't have it in me.  I am hoping this week I can find more motivation.  My wife is calling me to her side so that's all I have to say for now.  Please comment and subscribe.

Bold New Discovery

I am often amazed at how often my past reaches into my present.  When I was a child growing into a teenager.  I remember becoming obsessed with bow hunting one summer.  My dad didn't hunt at all.  Not even one time to the best of my knowledge.  I didn't know anyone who actually bow hunted.  I think that I saw a magazine in the grocery store one day and was hooked.  The obsession lasted about a year before I turned to other things.  I have not really thought about it since then.

So when my oldest son told me that for his "Daddy Date" he wanted to go to an archery range, I was not sure I was entirely comfortable with the idea.  I remember how to shoot a bow.   I learned to shoot at summer camp like so many others.  But the idea of standing into front of experienced archers with my ten year old son looking like a "weekend wannabe" didn't appeal to me.  I didn't have much choice though.  My oldest son doesn't express interest in much more than Legos and computer games. 

Based on the war stories of some other dads with autistic boys, I knew that letting him lose himself in the computer game world would not end nicely.  Imagine the worst junky you ever saw on television then multiple it by how ever old the kid is, not something I wanted to go through. 

My oldest son in the short one in the middle.

So around noon on Saturday, my son and I drove over to the only archery range/store in the neighborhood.  As we walked in I was thankful to see that there were only two other guys shooting at the range.  I could live with that much scrutiny.  I walked up the many counter.  An older woman with the bandaged finger told me immediately that my son would have to take a safety class (which began in an hour) before being allowed on the range. 

I was somewhat relieved to find out that my son would require a safety class.  I wasn't sure if he would like archery at all (he only just learned about it at his own summer camp) so if he made it through the class then he really wanted to be there.  I signed him up for the class.  We had a quick bag meal sitting in the parking lot while we waited.  At the appointed time, we walked back in and same woman with the bandaged finger took my son to fit him with an arm guard and finger tab.  She seemed to take to my son.  He was the youngest in the class.  I always worry that my son's autism will get in the way, but the woman with the bandaged finger patiently listened to him explain his summer camp experience and everything he knew about archery.

The final test- Pop two balloons.

Once the class got going, I started to worry that my son would not be able to pass.  They started out very close to the targets.  My son's arrows would bounce back at him ever so often.  Meaning he was not drawing back correctly.  But when the class moved back on the range everything worked out.  My son hit the target about eighty to ninety percent of the time.  After everything was over my son qualified for ten yards on the range.  He was ecstatic and has been showing off his graduation card to anyone who will listen to him. 

I hope that my son has found an activity that he can really excel at.  My hearts desire is to find particular thing for each one of my children.  That's about all I have to say about that, I hope each one of you have found your favorite activity.  Leave a comment about how your found that one thing that gets you through the day.

In a Bit of a Daze

After wrecking my vehicle(click on the title to learn more), I have been in a bit of a daze.  I got really sick the same week that I had my wreck.  It was not pretty.  I used up the little sick time that I had saved up since my wife's surgery.  I imagine that I was a victim of my own stress that week.  I don't normally get a fever.  It's scary right now not having a second car.  Technically, I have my grandfathers 1979 Ford Ranchero to drive to and from work. 

It is a very low mileage vehicle even lower than my own vehicle.  I have driven this classic beauty for the last three summers in a row.  It's great to haul around my mountain bike, but it only is a two seater.  I am not sure what I am going to do about buying a second vehicle.  I got just a little bit of money for the wreck, and I got a little bit more back from taxes.  Combine this will be the start of either a down payment or buy a car with that money.  It's really up to God at this point.  That's a really scary idea.  I have been in this place before.  God came through for me that time.  I don't know why it's so scary this time around.  I guess that is why God tests our faith once and awhile.  I know that I don't learn the lesson the first time every time.

That's about all I have to say about that, if you have any thoughts please share them with me in a comment.

A sad day for cars

I have sad news to report. Today, I hit a patch of black ice on my route to work. I spun out and hit the concrete divider and ended up in the ditch on the side of the road. I am alright but my neck is sore. My poor car doesn't seem to have fared as well. So, it looks like I will be driving the Ranchero till I get myself a new ride.
E.L. Wilson

Emotional Fuel Tank

I am sorry to report that this week has drained my emotional fuel tank.  I have been working really hard, and I really don't have anything left today.  I don't think this next week is going to be any easier.  If you haven't looked at my Ride of The Week section click on the blog title to check it out. 

Thank you for viewing my blog.  Please comment and subscribe, I hope to have something more substantial next week.

Weekly Action Report

I have been trying to com up with a topic for this week, but I couldn't really think of anything that was heart felt.  I am going to use this blog to give everybody an update to some of the things that have been happen to me. 

For the new year, I had committed to spending one evening a week with each one of my children.  It has been a rough start because I had no real plan in mind.  I just wanted to spend time with each one them to get to know them each.  This week I took my oldest daughter to the ice cream shop.  I brought a small notebook with me.  I spent the time eating ice cream asking her some basic questions about her.  I wanted to write them down so that I could hold on to it and compare it with later lists.  I found out interesting aspects about my daughter.  I didn't know that she liked roller skating.  We have been roller skating maybe twice.  She got a pair of really good skates handed down to her from a friend.  Today when we went for a walk she skated around the block with us (as documented in the picture above).  The notes are a really simple idea but they paid off already with the discovery of my oldest daughter love of roller skating.

Our cat decided to go on the walk with us.

 
On another note, My wife has been battling a cold this week so this weekend we spent most of our time relaxing.  My youngest seems to be getting the cold now.  My wife and I were able to get away for a few hours on Saturday night.  I got an invitation to a celebration for participants in a charity event this past Christmas.  The best part was it was basically a free date.  We got one beverage and all the free food we could eat.  I had some great Buffalo Wings and Mozzarella Sticks (real health food).  We then drove up to a city park over looking the south metro area.  I really enjoyed the simplicity of the date.  I wish I'd had  more energy to enjoy my wife more fully. 

Seriously, the cat followed around the block.

On a final note, I am starting to read some more manhood books and parenting books.  I have a goal of putting together a mentoring lesson for my sons for our camping trip this summer.  My hope is that if I can get something put together this year and work with it I will be able to start a multi-family father-son camping trip next year.  I have fond childhood memories of my father-son camping trips.  I wanted to build those memories for my own sons.  I know that there are other men out there who also want to share similar experiences with their sons. 

Looking at the hundreds of parenting and manhood books that are available in my local library, I feel the need to read them all.  I know that I don't have that much time.  If any of you out there who reading this have any suggestion please leave a comment.  I would love to get some input into what other men had read and liked.  That's probably the most important part of the idea.  I love to hear what not to read, but I really want to know what books others have loved or been touched by.  Please let me know either way.  Till next time, I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Broken Trees

I have always been a believer in God speaking through all kinds of events especially when your in need of it.  The problem is being open to God’s voice when he’s speaking to you.  This morning I wasn’t looking for God to speak his words of encouragement to me.  In my last post, I spoke to you about the rage that I have been dealing with.  Part of the has to do with being a parent to a child with a disability.  My oldest son is autistic specifically diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.  He can be a handful even at the best of times.  When you throw in three other children life becomes overwhelming very quickly.  I am not sure why God gave me this particular mix of kids.  Until this morning, I would have told you that it was my burden to bare.  

What I heard this morning was that I was given my kids so that I can see the greatness of God.  I get to experience it first hand.  And sometimes I am going to say, “I’m out. I’m done.”  Even in those times Gods still teaching me something through me kids especially my oldest son.  He has a love for the smallest and least of the world.  Why is it that those we call “broken” can give to those poorer themselves without a thought?  We who are “whole” have to be dragged kicking and screaming to spare a few cents for someone.  I cannot say that I know the answer.  What I know is that I’m not being “punished” or “burdened” by my son.  God gave him to me as his greatest blessing.  This is my talent.  I could bury it in the sand hoping to just get by without losing him.  Or I could invest in him.  I can see just how far he and I can go before the end.  I once thought that I was destined to be pastor.  I always thought that pastoring is how I would serve God’s kingdom.  I never thought that my service would be to my family.  I am finding that God gave me more than anyone could ever ask for in my family.  Mine is a flock bigger than any mega-church or temple.  I am truly ashamed to think of the ways that I have wasted my gift at times.  

I wasn’t sure how God was going to get me back on track after the rage of these past weeks.  I have fallen down before and crawled back before.  God knew what I needed this morning was to hear that he gave me great blessings and raising them will not be easy.  But in the end I will hopefully get to see them in their transformed bodies whole and glorious.  I know that’s what I heard.  I know that I am not alone either as evidenced by the hug my wife and I received from my relatives.  God was in on that hug, too.    

That’s all I have to say for this week.  Are you living with “broken” blessing?  How’s it going?  Are you ready to give up?  Leave me a comment with your thoughts.

Rage Issues

The last few weekends have been a nightmare.  I have not been this close to losing it with my kids for a few years.  I don't know what the root cause of the strife is, but I suspect that it has more of a spiritual attack than any physical factor.  (There's a topic for next week.) The kids have not been listening to me or my wife.  We have been trying to clean my daughter's room for three weeks, now.  I was not proud of the rage that I felt.  I showed my kids a side of myself that I don't like.

Rage is hard to deal with properly.  Especially when you cannot seem to calm yourself down.  I have been surprised at myself and my rage.  I always thought that men with anger problems at home were alcoholics or at least non-believers.  I never thought that I could possibly have problems dealing with my own anger.  That's where it started.  I was not realistic with myself.  I look back now and can recall angry moments as young man.  I never dealt with this anger.  I either repressed it or shunted it out of my life.  I never dealt with anger.  Anger isn't something that can be ignored for very long.

It is incorrect (I feel) to think of anger as only evil.  There is righteous anger that we can see demonstrated in Jesus' clearing of the temple courtyard.  Anger at injustice has spurred on many brave men and women throughout history.  So, anger has it's place inside us men and women.  But how do we deal with the uncontrollable rage that wells up inside when the kids are pushing our buttons.  Part of it starts with dealing with anger before you get angry.  Don't think anger will never come.  Anger is a part of you from early in your life.  I recently had to deal with several repressed issues in my life, and I found that they were at the root of a lot of my anger.  So, dealing with your inner turmoil is part of it.  I also like the strategies that "Love and Logic" taught me.  They teach not to take statements from your kids personally and kept your tone of voice calm and even.  The end result is like being a rock in a stormy sea.  The kids rage and yell at you trying to get a rise out of you.  But you stay calm through voice control and certain phrases.  Don't let them impart their anger onto you. 

What happens when I get angry anyways?  That's the hard part.  I don't know that I am yet an expert on calming down when I get worked up.  Somethings that have helped me over these weekends are stepping back and expressing my feelings.  Stepping back is important when you need to get your blood pressure back under control.  I have had some really good calming sessions while driving to my local coffee shop this last weekend.  When I get calm I then tried that other strategy.  I expressed my feelings to my kids and my wife.  I asked for forgiveness when I had done wrong, but I also let the kids know when they had hurt my emotions.  I found that they responded to my openness.  They expressed their hurts as well.  I felt more understood by them.  I don't know that they were able to work better but they tried harder.  I am trying to deal with my anger without letting it get out of control.  That's the best I can ask for right now.

That's about all I have to say for now.  What's some strategies that you us to deal with your anger?  Is the anger in your life caused by issues from your past?  Or do you need to express your emotions to your loved ones and ask for forgiveness?  Leave a comment about it.

Rituals of Home

Superbowl Sunday, a hollowed day in our house.  Well sort of, I liked to watch the game if not because my team is playing (we will not mention the embarrassment that they were this year) but because I like to watch the game.  Few things in our society are cathartic as watching football teams battle it out for ultimate glory.  I believe in giving this day some kind of meaning because it's like marking off the end of a year.  Whether football holds any meaning or not to your personal life it can be seen as a ritualized campaign that our society goes through each year.  I like sharing that with my family, especially the boys.  My youngest son likes to watch for about ten to fifteen minute intervals but runs around a lot.  My oldest son has never expressed any interest in football before, but he sat through most of the game.  I think part of the appeal for him was the commercials and the hope that it would end early.  But it was fun to try and explain the concept of football to him with my wife.

I am not an anthropologist but it seems to me that we need some ritual battles in our society. Our society lives through these events.  Sport and contest our a way to unite with our neighbors.  I like to invite friends over to share in the enjoyment of the game.  This game was worth it.  My wife and I commented that the last few minutes were nail biting.  As I try to become a better parent, I find that I want to share more of my own rituals with my kids. 

Well that's about all I have to say about that.  If you have any rituals for your own family please share them in the comments section.

Defining Manhood (To my Son's Generation)

My oldest at the race track.

Last week, we had the racing event of the month at the kids Awana's program.  It is that time of year for the wooden car grand prix.  All my kids got to participate this year.  My oldest son won second in speed last year.  So, I felt like I had some pressure this year to help him build the fastest car we could.  My oldest doesn't quite understand winning and losing.  He's autistic and that means he believes that if he has his car perfect it will always win.  Put that on top of the fact that very few competitions kids get into have actual losers. I was dreading the idea of him losing.  Not because I don't want him to lose but because he throws a fit when he does.  I want him to learn the lesson that you don't always win but it's also hard to see him go through the pain.

This age is hard for men like me and kids like mine.  We don't really know what it means to strive for anything.  I was not raised to think everybody wins at everything, but I have had my life disappointments due the fact that I expected to have what my parents had coming out of high school.  My kids will have it much worse.  I really try to teach them about losing and winning, but the school system and popular culture works against me.  My oldest son won third in "Most Realistic Design" which is great, but is that the whole point of racing.  Isn't it to win the race?  Should we have tried harder to make cars that win races?

Victory!!!

Competition is good.  Kids need to learn that they don't always win.  Over this weekend we watched a movie about the X Games.  My family loves the grandeur of watching men defy gravity and push human limits.  I loved what Shaun White said during one of his interviews.  He stated that he loved coming in 4th or even 5th in a competition.  Shaun White is an olympic medalist in snowboarding and a medalist in X Games for both snowboard and skateboard events.  He said that coming in anything other than first gives him that fire or drive to go back to practice track and prefect his technique.  I could not say it better myself.  My kids don't need to win all the time because they may need that motivation to try harder.  And losing doesn't always mean you lose to some stranger or enemy.

The last competition in the movie is Skateboard Big Air.  The competitors Bob Burnquist and Danny Way are friends outside of X Games but were competing against each other in this event.  Danny and Bob preformed some amazing tricks.  Danny got hurt not once but twice during his runs.  You can see the concern of Bob written all over his face while watching his friend get up and try again.  To me (this is only my opinion of the events) it gives my kids a great example of competition that draws a pair of friends closer.  Whoever wins or loses competition brings us closer not farther apart.

Parenting Blindly

My Oldest Prince Joins the Denver Mounted Patrol

Recently, we took the kids to the National Western Stock Show.  It was exciting for all of us.  Last year, we went on the afternoon of the last day of the show because the tickets were cheap.  The problem is the tickets are cheap for a reason.  When we got there most of the show animals had left that morning.  On the trade show floor most of the booths were winding down so they had little to no interesting exhibits.  This year though we paid to see a competition and get there when show animals would still be around.  It was really fun.  The kids were very well behaved.  They got to see and even touch some show animals. 

My queen and I had many teachable moments during our visit.  I have been trying to create more of these moments with my kids.  My new years blog (click the title to read it) talked about my commitment to spending more time with my kids individually.  I am looking for those teachable moments where I can impart to my kids values and character I feel are important.  At the Stock Show, there are some great moments because of the fact that my kids are according to my Queen, "poor city kids."  They don't know a lot about big farm animals.  I don't know much either but we get to learn it together.  We also get to see the hard work that goes into show animals.

My youngest princess ready to ride

The Stock Show was a great parenting experience. I am finding that just taking my kids out without a clear plan in mind the rest of the time is not working very well.  We enjoy going out to get ice cream, but then we just sit there eating our ice cream and talking about frivolous topics.  "How was school today?" or "What would you like to do this summer?"  are good things to talk about but they don't really give me any openings to teach or impart things to my kids.  Actually focusing on my kids and their development is a lot harder than just doing the bare minimum.  I had an idea recently on some gifts that I could give to my princes to mark the transition from boy to young man.  Problem is, I don't want to just give them the items without some instruction on what being a man means.  Some of you might not have thought about before, but if you were given building tools without the proper training or instruction how could you build anything.  "You'd have to learn how to use the tools as you go," is what you might hear.  But doesn't that result in some missing fingers or some badly constructed projects?  Eventually, a person can learn how to use the tools they've been given but not without some pain.  Pain that can be diminished if not avoided with the proper training.  So, where am I going to find the proper instruction?  Unfortunately, our society doesn't really have the proper instructions. That's why so many men aren't really men.  I am going to have to craft instructions myself from my faith, my experience, and my heart.  Stay tuned to find out how it goes.

Well that's about all I have to say for now, God inspire me to give my kids the proper instruction to life in this world.  Amen.