Christmas, 2014 - At The Griffiths

As Christmas day progressed,  we made our way over the hills and thru the woods to my sister and brother-in-laws place.  They made an awesome ham and a chicken (amongst various side dishes) that were both so good that I had no choice but to eat three times my desired amount.

A motley looking crew if ever there were one!   The kiddos along with Aunt Deaner, Aunt Reese, and G'ma Elaine (my mother).  The kids opened the ornaments that G'ma gets them every year.

Speaking of...  Robby opening his ornament.  It's a tiny guitar that's like a cross between a Gretsch and a Reverend.  It has batteries that we need to put in, but will likely wait until next year to do just that.

Uncle Derek across the way with Caleb showing Momma his ornament, which was a stormtrooper from Star Wars fame.

Zoe hamming up it up for her Uncle Ted!

A wicked game of the board game Clue broke out where I teamed up with Calebber for assistance.  Aunt Reese is playing too but I couldn't get her in the shot.

And so the day ended with dear ol' dad feeling fat and sassy!

Christmas Day, 2014!!

It's CHRISTMAS!!!

Morning finally broke and I had two boys in our room asking if they could at least empty their stockings before Mom got home from work (3rd shift).

The answer was, of course, "no" and they even had to wait until we were finished with breakfast.  Groans, wailing, gnashing of teeth...

But they muscled thru and we eventually got to "the good stuff".

Caleb working his way thru his stocking.  In his hand is a book, on the floor is a Star Wars puzzle and a candy cane filled with Hershey's Kisses, and he had a few packs of football cards that excited him to no end!

Larger American boy, Robby plowing thru his goods...  He got the candy cane of Reese Peanut Butter cups, 4 books including the first Harry Potter and 3 of the "who was" series of books that he likes.  And to finish up, 2 packs of football cards that excited Caleb to no end.  

They have to be their own delivery system. :-)

This is Momma, under the watchful eye of Calebber McCheese, reading the card that Robby made for her in Sunday School.  It was sweet.

Caleb got dear ol' dad a desk calendar for work, which excited Caleb to no end.  Boston Terriers!!

Finally, the boy got his flannel sheets like Mom & Dads bed!  These excited the lad to no end...

The games for the recently opened PS4.  The first of which was Madden 15 and Caleb is opening what will be discovered as Minecraft, which excit...  you get the picture.

And both boys with their haul.  Well, truly, the PS4 was an entire family gift but so it went.

So another Christmas morning has come and gone.  I have to say, it was a bittersweet Christmas day due to losses in the last year and folks close to us who are currently suffering from their own afflictions.

Overall, we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and that celebration is not to be forgotten in our current situations.  

In Ecclesiastes 7:
13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy;  but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.

May God Bless everyone who finds this page.  May the coming year be the year that we all grow in God's plans for our lives.  

Merry Christmas!

Anticipation!

Not so big on Christmas and the gifts that go along with it anymore.  That's a young man's game...

Give me some time off from work and a some time with family and that pretty much covers it.

However, it is awful fun watching the boys "prepare" for Christmas, or as Caleb says, "Critmist", and all of the plotting and planning that goes along with it.

Caleb seems to be disassembling a little more than Robby during "the wait". Robby just puts something football on the tv and runs thru the living room with the ball in his hands.

The lads at Jolly Holiday lights.

Robby when he discovered the presents under the tree.  He's "acting" of course, and hasn't touched them since the initial discovery.

They got to open the one that they received from our friends in D.C.,  the Gonsalves.

As you can see in Calebs hand is a boomerang.

Robby got a different variety and so we went outside, sans coats, to test them out.  This is Caleb on the retrieval.

This is dad on his turn retrieving, acting like a grown up.

And so it goes...  Hopefully all will have the best Christmas Eve possible in your current situations and don't forget why we celebrate!

The Wound That Keeps On Giving

We seem to have a bit of a problem with digits in our house these days...  and not the "math" type digits...

First, I injured my right hand pinkie while camping at Apple Creek campground in Wisconsin this summer.  I was just minding my own business, playing with the boys on the tire swing when I wound the rope too tight and it jumped, catching my ring and pinkie fingers in the rope.  Turns out that I tore the tendon off of the top of the finger at the last knuckle. That causes what is commonly known in medical circles as a "boutonniere deformity".  If you are thinking of tearing a tendon soon, I would discourage it.  

It hurts...

So then, long about mid-November, Master McCheese (aka, Caleb) gets what appears to be a mild infection in his finger.  We do peroxide and epsom salt soaks, as well as band-aids/wraps with Watkins salve or neosporin.  It appeared to be getting better and he NEVER COMPLAINED about it!

Never.  Not once...

So we go on with life until Nurse mama notices the finger one evening and it looks terrible!  Back to the soaks n' wraps and we decide after I squeezed it one night to receive oozing nastiness out of it, we took him to the doc for a round of antibiotics.

Looked like it was getting better...

Fast forward to a basement football game yesterday with his brother and two other lads, when he finger nail, split somewhat down the middle, got caught on somebody or something and tore.

So the finger was cleaned and wrapped and he seemed fine, again not complaining about anything.

About 11pm, I awake to loud sobbing, which eventually turned in to crying.  Now hear me out, over pain, Caleb don't cry!

He has bonked his head on things in a manner that would have killed ordinary men and not even cried.  Got quiet and a somewhat concerned look on his face, but didn't cry.

So I get out of bed and get him a tiny bit of medicine and an ice pack.  He's happy and goes back to bed after we discuss it a bit.

About 1am or a little after, I awake to heavier sobbing than the first time, very quiet pleas to his brother Robby for help (quiet cause he really doesn't want to wake him up) and then he boils over into a full blown cry again. 

After a short prayer for guidance, I was back in his room and leading him to our bedroom for light.  The guidance provided was that the bandage wrap was probably a little too tight and it was fine while he was awake and doing stuff, but now that he's in bed, it's hurting like crap!

So we cut the wrap off, very carefully I might add, and I put a band-aid on loosely to help hold the other bandage that still mostly on his finger.  He liked that and said it felt better.

So back to bed we go and off to the doctor he went with nurse mama this morning when she got home.  So they pulled the finger nail off, and according to Calebber, "it hurt and a lot of blood, and I got a toy".

"Did you cry?", I asked.

The response, "No, I tough.".

Calebbers "finger" after the second visit for the same wound...  More antibiotics and "dressing changes".  Last year for Christmas, he was on a liquid diet, this year, the wounded digit.

SEP Christmas Concert

2014 is winding down, whether you want to admit or not.

I'm sort of in the former group...  I'd rather it not be winding down for personal reasons but then when I expand my view out a little and look at what's happened "family wide" this year, I'd just as soon it be over and we move forward.   Although I'm not sure that will make anything better...

So on we march.  It's time for the Christmas program for the 4th graders at SEP 4 Mile Elementary. They did awesome this year convincing me and mama chaos that it's around 4th grade where the kids begin to get a true handling on singing and putting it all together.

Why do I say that?  Because the kids sounded awesome, that's why!!

They really did carry the tunes better.  Handle the key changes better and were really tight on the starts and stops within the songs.  Nice work all around!!

Grandma Schmitz, Daddy and master C prior to the big rock n' roll show kicking off!

A wide shot of all of the kids involved..

Robby, who had the opening line of the program, at the mic and handling it like a champ!!

Up singing with the others and sandwiched in between his favorite duo for trouble making.

LCC Kids Worship!

Somebody at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Altoona Iowa had a fantastic idea. The kids lead worship this week.

That means that some of the kids will be greeters, some will be readers, some will help distribute Communion, some will take up the collection and all will sing.

As for our little varmints, they were both singers, obviously, and Robby read the prayer after the lighting of the advent candle and Caleb was a basket holder for the communion cups.

Overall, a little chaotic but a very good job was done by all.

That's Robby in the red shoes tearing it up on vocals!

That's the lad reading the prayer.

Calebber McCheese holding the communion basket... note that he is NOT paying attention to the proceedings bur rather taking note of the 12-string Taylor guitar that Noah is playing.

That's a full shot of how many kids were up there singing and leading us all.  Robby and Caleb are towards the left of the photo.  If you follow the G from Go tell it on the mountain straight down, you can find Robby.  Caleb forehead is one level down and immediately to Robby's left.

Does the video work?  Dunno, but I'm going to give it a shot...   if it works, it's Robby leading the congregation in prayer.

Great job by our youth!!!

Holiday Lights, X-Box, Exile Brewing and Brian Hoyer

Jolly Holiday Lights has become a Christmas tradition for us.  Last night we added another year to that tradition along with Aunt Molly.  Oh we went out for supper first at Exile Brewing to make a night of it so I was crazy fat and sassy driving thru the park...

It is put on every year by local Des Moines area companies and the money raised from the admission and trip thru the line to see Santa are used to support the Make A Wish Foundation.  Throughout the lighted displays as you're driving thru Des Moines Water Works park, there are banners of kids whose wishes have been granted by the Make A Wish folks.

I learned what Make A Wish was all about back when I was 16 years old and donated two of the most fun weeks of work EVER when me and my buddies worked a Haunted House in Evansdale, IA.  We went all out on our own brand of "terror" for the final young couple of season, and wouldn't you know it?  We caused the lady of the couple to soil herself.  Kind of felt a little tiny, weeny bit bad, but being 16 at the time, not too much.  :-)

Anyway...

If you have kids, are in Des Moines in the month of December, it's not a bad way to spend $20 and see the lights.

The varmints on Santa's lap.  Robby asked for a Brian Hoyer (of the Cleveland Browns) stitched jersey, and Caleb asked for an X-Box.

Happy Birthday To Mama! A little late...

November 30th came and went and I failed to post anything.  However, I did actually manage to get her a gift this year and on top of that, made her a banana bread cake with homemade frosting that was sweeter than her!  Caleb frosted it.

Got'cha Day, 3 Years In

Today is a special day in the life of the Schmitz family.  It was on this day in 2011 when we met and welcomed a fantastic little boy into our former family of three.

Caleb RongBo Schmitz has been such a blessing to us that it is almost impossible to remember what life was like before he entered our lives.  It's no different with Robert James either.  It's hard to remember what we did with our time before we became parents.

This day is always special and Caleb seemed really excited about it this year.  Today, by coincidence, we had our penultimate meeting with a social worker to send info back to China on Caleb's progress.  We are also having a sleepover with family friends' boys, Jack and Max, so it's a L.O.U.D.  night at the Schmitz house!

Little Caleb on Dec. 5th, 2011 in a courtroom in Changchun, China "signing" his name on the adoption papers.  That red circle is an ink pad and he had to put thumb prints on the docs as his signature.  He was likely terrified by what kind of nut jobs were taking him away from his life and making him do stuff like this!!

Dec. 5th, 2012 -  our domestic adoption was finalized here in downtown Des Moines!  The judges name?  Robert James, of course!

I'm certain this wasn't on Dec. 5th last year, but we didn't do much to celebrate since Caleb had recently had mouth surgery and was on a liquid/blended diet.

Three years on and I'm thankful every day that we didn't let any fears and doubts we may have had to deter us from following through with our decision to adopt!  I'm sure there will be many, many challenges coming up as he grows up but I'll take those times as some day, the house will be back down to two and I'll be wishing for the crazy days of their youth again.

Strings n' Things...

As with most projects, what starts off as a small project blossoms into a bigger-than-expected-costing-more-money-than-planned project.  This was no different, but not as bad as it sounds either.  

Can't see but one guitar in this photo, but you get an idea of how many hundreds of cd's were on the wall behind "Hollywood RongBo".  Peeling them off the wall and picking the remaining glue off took the longest because the discs would get behind your fingernails until they bled, meaning you may have to put a week or two in between peeling sessions to let the digits heal.

But alas...

Woooo - Hooooooooooo!!!!  It's been a long process of peeling cds, picking the glue, fixing the holes and missing paint, painting, repainting since the white I chose went on EXACTLY the same color as the old white, but dried with a tiny hint of blue in it, so it looked like crap, and so on it went.  But with the help of the boys, and getting to show them some "Ted Math" on how to figure out spacing and leveling, we got'er done!

R & C's Big Weekend

Grandma & Grandpa Bushman came down this weekend and we had an early Thanksgiving Day dinner which also included my Mom, Grandma Elaine.

On top of that, we got some snow on Saturday so Sunday morning after worship, the boys were out on the back hill taking advantage of their new found flakedness. 

I took pictures thru the screen because every time that I tried to take one out of doors, the lens would fog up and aggravate me.

See all them tracks from the sled?  That's because Caleb insists on starting a new trail every single time.

I tried to get the boys to go down on the sled together since the snow wasn't very deep.  But they don't understand the concept of leverage and as a result, Caleb is too far up in the sled, causing the front end to have resistance in the snow.  They never listen...

Grandma and Grandpa were down an extra day due to the weather and the fact that we had some nutjob shooting up some surrounding neighborhoods on the same morning that there were social media threats for violence at the high school by our house.  Robby also had a swim meet on that Monday night so Caleb stayed home with G & G while Mom and Dad took Robby to his swim meet.  When we got home, Robby was chilled, more from the fact that G & G were snuggling with Calebber watching a football game, so he had to get some of that action.

And thus concluded another fine weekend in which I started playing pool hot and ended up losing to Grandpa Jim.  Some things never change...

Why We Call Him Monkey

Yes, that's a banana in his mouth...

Vacation Post 13 - Mt. Rushmore

So here we are at Mt. Rushmore. It's been a good 22 years since my bride and I were in these parts as I mentioned in the Crazy Horse post. 

That being said, I was stunned at how many changes had been made to this national monument in those years! 

The whole parking lot structure has changed now including a multilevel ramp. And as far as the viewing platform/gift shop area in the past, there wasn't much to see, as I recall.  I remember a building that you sort of walked around the left side of, and you could go into the building from there or keep going directly to the viewing platform, that was simply a big flat cemented area with some pay binoculars.

Not so much anymore...

When you first come out of the parking ramp, this is what you see.  The big concrete areas in front are where they have the bathrooms, on one side and the gift shop/welcome center on the other side.  Once past that, you pass thru the hall of flags which contains the flag for all 50 states and a small carved stone saying when they were admitted into the Union.  Once thru there, then you got to the viewing platforms.

The inimitable Aunt Molly.

The Mobile Chaos Unit preparing to enter the hall of flags.

Two cute varmints... not sure what the one in the purple is up too...

And the view looking the opposite direction from the stone faces...  We would be hiking over "there" in about 1 hour.

...And If That Wasn't Cute Enough...

Update:  Sadly, we were informed this morning (11/8/14) that while sleeping with her momma, the momma rolled on her and she died. Who is to say what our doggy situation will be, but it will not be with this little beauty.  ~~


We can't have her for over a month still as her birthday was October 24th, but we are aching for her and have the occaisional lively debate on what her name will be. The last two were Daisy Mae and Rosey Lynne. There are those pulling for the continuation of the flower theme with Lilly. I am liking Hambone, because I like to eat and I'm fat. I also really like:

That may keep you guessing for a bit...

Anyway, here's a couple of more shots of my 2015 and beyond, football snuggle partner!

Coming Soon To A Hammock Near You!!