Up, Up and Away!

Jude's 4th Birthday is coming up and I am trying to figure out if this is a good birthday present that I want to get him.

I want to get him a model rocket kit!

I spent a ton of time as a child building these rockets and sending them to the sky and being amazed that I launched a rocket.  Jude is really into science and I think that this could be a fun thing to do with him and we have a huge park next to our house, a perfect launching spot.

I have looked into these and they say that they are meant for children ages 10 and up but I think that with me doing it with him it could be a fun learning experience for him.  What do you think?  Do you think that this is an appropriate gift for a 4 year old? 

I Can Never Participate in the Greatest Joke Ever Again!!!

This has to be one of the worst realizations I have had since I became an Ostomate in January 2013.  Due to having a stoma that produces gas and does it whenever it wants.  You know like while you are sitting in a a group of professionals and it is dead silent and Gustav the stoma lets one rip.  I have no control over this any more which means I can never be the father or grandfather that does the "Pull My Finger" joke.  Please allow me a moment of silence while I morn over this.  Thank you!

Mom, Mother, Moeder, Mutter, Madre, and Maman!

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."

Mark Twain

No matter how you say it she is my mom and I am thankful for her.  She has been my best friend and a rock for my whole life and now I get the pleasure of seeing her as a grandmother and being able to share her love with my children. I always get a little smile on my face every time Jude asks if we can go to see his Arizona Grrmama.  I am glad that my children love her as much as I do!

My mother had a lot to put up with as I was growing up, I know this comes as a surprise but I was a little bit of a headache growing up and we went through many, many, many growing pains together.  The best part of it is that no matter how much I may have tried to push them away or no matter how bad I screwed up my mom was always right there standing by my side loving me and supporting me.  

My mother has been there for me when I would wake up in the middle of then night crying because my legs hurt so bad from growing pains and she also was the one walking around with me outside in the middle of the night because I had croup so bad that we had to try to get out in to the cold air.  My mother dealt with me coming home in jeans that were so big you could have smuggled a family in them and also my multiple, multiple hair colors, piercings and tattoos.  Still no matter what my mother always came to me and told me "I Love You!"

We have had yelling matches in high school about how mean she was and how I was never going to live up to her expectations but here I sit today thankful that she never gave up and had such high expectations for me because I am the man I am today because of my mom.  She is one of the first people I call when things are going tough and she is always there with an open ear and allows me to vent and also will try to make me laugh. I remember when I had my Ostomy surgery in January my mom sat next to my bed and rubbed my arm while I was running a fever and was in pain so I could go to sleep, see even at 31 I needed my mom.   I would not be half the man I am today without my mother.  You can call me a mamma's boy all you want I will always be thankful and attached to my mom.  

Its funny I was listening to a song by Slim Cessna's Auto Club the other day "Children of the Lord" it takes a part from the Sunday School Song.  It has a part in it that goes "Rise and shine and give God the Glory, Glory" and I had to laugh some while singing this because I couldn't do anything but think of my mom singing this to me while I yelled at her to go away while I was trying to sleep!  Thank you mom! I love you more than I could ever tell you!  

National Teacher's Day!

Today is National Teacher's Day so I would like to send a huge THANK YOU to all the amazing teacher's out there.  I have never been a great student.  I did not enjoy doing school work and I struggled in school.  People find it amazing that I had a better GPA in college, especially after I got married, but I had someone (Censie) pushing me to do the best that I was capable of.  

I was thinking today on who one of my favorite teachers was and it was an easy decision for me.  David Nykirk at Rangeview High School was probably the most influential teacher in my life.  Sadly I saw that he just passed away after a long battle with cancer this year.

Mr. Nykirk made me laugh and made learning fun.  I had him as a teacher for several classes and his sense of humor was amazing.  He always made a rule at the beginning of his class that if he had a heart attack to pick him up and carry him out of the building before trying to resuscitate him because he said that he didn't want to die in the school.  He also was my teacher for Greek Mythology and he would not let us say sex because we were in school so we had to say that the gods were holding hands.

Not only was his humor amazing but also his ability to push me to succeed.  I remember I turned in a paper to him and he read it and then gave it back to me laughing.  He told me that I had no reason to turn in a piece of shit like that because I was capable of much more.  For some reason that struck me because he didn't sugar coat it he just had higher expectations for me and wanted me to meet those.  

So again today to all my friends and family who have been teachers I say thank you and please continue to push our kids to do the best that they can.  I cannot wait to see how teachers are going to handle our kiddos!  Be prepared!!!