January 2010

MYBLOG January 4, 2010

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful long weekend.  The Hills spent a quiet evening at home on New Years Eve.  Evan went to bed at his usual time, about 8, and Carrie, Mason and I stayed up a few hours after that playing Wii games and Connect 4, on the floor.  None of us stayed up to see the new year arrive.  Mason got the Wii for Christmas, but it’s being used by the whole family.  Even Evan gets in the act.  Oh sure, he’s using the television remote, but he still is on the floor swinging at the tennis balls on the screen or rolling the bowling ball trying for a strike.  He won’t use just anything for his remote either.  I’ve tried to give him a paper towel tube to use, but he knows it has to have buttons to work.  I’m a little afraid to let him use the real Wii remote for fear that he too will be able to beat me at every game he plays, like his big brother.  Mason and I were bowling and he rolled a 187 to my 112.  Carrie and I have been moving with the Wii Active and feeling every exercise.  I have to admit I wasn’t thrilled about getting it initially.  I tend to get motion sickness when I play video games, but so far, I’ve been able to play the sports games.  Now Mason has a racing game where he’s driving a car and I can’t even watch him do that, let alone play it.  I guess it has everything to do with the stuff on the side of the screen moving and how fast it’s going.  Evan is starting out the New Year with the potential for either Strep, double ear infection or both.  He hasn’t been acting his usual happy little self for a few days so Carrie took him to see the doctor last night.  The doctor said that he has a viral infection in his throat and both ears have fluid on them.  Because it’s viral there is nothing that can be done except Tylenol and Motrin to ease his pain.  The doctor said he’d see us later this week when it turns into the bacterial infections mentioned earlier.  If he keeps getting ear infections we may have to have tubes put in his little ears.  Anyone with a home remedy to help ears drain, please shoot me an e-mail.  Prayers would also be appreciated.  Psalm 66:20

MYBLOG January 4, 2010

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful long weekend.  The Hills spent a quiet evening at home on New Years Eve.  Evan went to bed at his usual time, about 8, and Carrie, Mason and I stayed up a few hours after that playing Wii games and Connect 4, on the floor.  None of us stayed up to see the new year arrive.  Mason got the Wii for Christmas, but it’s being used by the whole family.  Even Evan gets in the act.  Oh sure, he’s using the television remote, but he still is on the floor swinging at the tennis balls on the screen or rolling the bowling ball trying for a strike.  He won’t use just anything for his remote either.  I’ve tried to give him a paper towel tube to use, but he knows it has to have buttons to work.  I’m a little afraid to let him use the real Wii remote for fear that he too will be able to beat me at every game he plays, like his big brother.  Mason and I were bowling and he rolled a 187 to my 112.  Carrie and I have been moving with the Wii Active and feeling every exercise.  I have to admit I wasn’t thrilled about getting it initially.  I tend to get motion sickness when I play video games, but so far, I’ve been able to play the sports games.  Now Mason has a racing game where he’s driving a car and I can’t even watch him do that, let alone play it.  I guess it has everything to do with the stuff on the side of the screen moving and how fast it’s going.  Evan is starting out the New Year with the potential for either Strep, double ear infection or both.  He hasn’t been acting his usual happy little self for a few days so Carrie took him to see the doctor last night.  The doctor said that he has a viral infection in his throat and both ears have fluid on them.  Because it’s viral there is nothing that can be done except Tylenol and Motrin to ease his pain.  The doctor said he’d see us later this week when it turns into the bacterial infections mentioned earlier.  If he keeps getting ear infections we may have to have tubes put in his little ears.  Anyone with a home remedy to help ears drain, please shoot me an e-mail.  Prayers would also be appreciated.  Psalm 66:20

MYBLOG January 18, 2010

Don’t like the weather in Virginia, just wait a week.  One week we’re in the teens with wind chills, the a week we’re in the 50’s, then back to the upper 20’s with snow flurries and now we’re in the 50’s again.  No wonder there are so many people sick.  What’s the old saying; everyone complains about the weather by nobody does anything about it.  Everyone in the Hill house is sniffling, but we’re ok otherwise, unless you count Carrie’s tendonitis in her ankle and my achy knees and ankles from the Wii.  I never would have believed that a computer “game” could cause anything but carpal tunnel.  We’re both doing the 30 day challenge on Wii Active.  We’re on the “easy” setting and that little box is kicking our butts.  I can’t wait for the “moderate” setting, let alone the step above that, “bet you can’t keep up.”  I don’t know, I haven’t even looked yet.  I haven’t lost any weight but I have noticed that my clothes seem to fit looser.  I guess I’m building muscle.  If I work out in the morning I seem to have more energy during the day.  I mean eventually.  It takes me a while to get to the “more energy” portion of my day, but it comes.  There is another old saying I’m sure you’ve heard; no pain, no gain.  The boys continue to amaze me.  Mason with his reading, spelling and deductive reasoning.  Evan with his ever increasing vocabulary, daredevil style and intelligence.  The later he apparently got from his mother.  Remember the Wii remote I made for Evan out of an old paper towel roll?  He’s not interested any more.  I had to go get the old satellite TV remote for him to use.  It actually has buttons on it.  I’m sure it won’t take long for him to figure out that remote doesn’t do anything on the Wii either.  I don’t know what I’ll do then.  I guess just give him the real one and let him play.  I’m sure he’ll be able to beat me at most of the games too.  One serious thought this week; Haiti.  There are lots of people hurting and devastated by the earthquake.  There are also several relief efforts underway.  Be careful not to be fooled into giving to one that is not on the up and up.  Unfortunately this type of tragedy brings out the low life’s in the world who’ll use this or any catastrophe for their own gain, while little, if any, of the donations actually make it to those who need it.  If you can donate funds, food or medical supplies, great, do it, but do some research on the place where you’re donating.  If you can’t make a material donation there is one thing you can do; pray.  Pray for those who are hurting and for those who are there helping and on their way to help.  Pray for the individuals as well as the nation of Haiti.  Prayer only costs a little of your time, but I will make a huge impact.  Mark 11:24

MYBLOG January 25, 2010

What a week it was.  Vehicle problems, a sick child and let’s not forget the ice and snow.  The water pump on my truck gave out on Tuesday night.  I noticed it because I didn’t have any heat on the way home.  I checked the coolant level when I got home and it was low, so I used my wife’s car to go back into town and get some.  I put some in but it ran right back out.  The front barring of the water pump was gone.  The truck never over heated despite not having a lot of coolant, so I filled it back up the next morning, left the cap loose and drove into town and got all the stuff I’d need to fix it.  In the meantime I had called my father in law to see if I could use his car port to work on it, since it won’t fit in my garage.  Since he was off from work he offered to come into town, pick it up and start working on it until I could get there after I got off the air.  Did I mention I love my in-laws?  As it turned out the auto parts store had “rented” me the wrong fan clutch wrench and I ended up borrowing the right one from a neighbor.  Here’s a tip; if you ever have to remove a clutch fan from a 7.3 liter diesel, have the right wrenches, a long piece of pipe and a big bowl of Wheaties.  It went pretty smoothly after we got the fan off and now it all back together and running fine.  That same night Evan developed a fever, just out of the blue.  He hadn’t been acting just right, but we figured he was just tired.  Once the fever showed up we knew something was going on.  Carrie took him to the doctor on Thursday and found out he had a double ear infection, strep throat and the beginnings of bronchitis.  No wonder he wasn’t acting right.  The doctor said that it had been going on for a few days, but with no fever there was no way for us to know how bad it had gotten.  We got him some antibiotics and he’s on the mend.  The icy weather on Friday sort of worked in our favor.  Mason didn’t have school, Evan was sick and fortunately Carrie was able to stay home with them.  The rest of the weekend, for the most part, we stayed at home and rested.  Mason read a couple of books, Evan played and napped and mommy and daddy just enjoyed being at home with the boys.  Mason and I did manage to squeeze in a game of bowling on the Wii.  He beat me, again.  On a positive note, we all did our Wii age with the sports games.  Mason ended up at 65, Carrie was 60 and I clocked in at 33!  You’re as young as you feel, right?  Isaiah 40:30.

February 2010

MYBLOG February 22, 2010

Let the melting continue!  I am pleased to tell you that the Wizard lives.  If you recall my vintage snow thrower, a Western Auto Wizard, broke down last weekend, just when I needed it most.  Fortunately my neighbor Paul came to the rescue, again.  With the help of Pomeroy’s Small Engine Repair in Front Royal, a new pulley for the Wizard was found, ordered and delivered. Because the machine is “a classic” it’s not easy to find parts.  Pete Pomeroy was the only person in town willing to take the time to search for a pulley that would work.  That’s customer service.  I got the part, put it on and I was able to fire up the Wizard and use it one night last week to widen the driveway, parking place and make a path to the propane tank in preparation for a needed fill up.  Despite all the work the gas truck couldn’t make it up the driveway because of the ice.  On Saturday I ventured in to town and got a load of gravel to put on the driveway in hopes of giving the needed grip and to hasten the melting process.  Alas, the gas truck still couldn’t make it up again that afternoon.  I put down some more gravel and I’m letting Mother Nature take care of remaining ice.  If we don’t get any sort of freezing precipitation we should be able to get our delivery later this week.  We still have over a foot of snow in the front yard, with deeper sections where it drifted.  In town it’s melted enough that you can see grass poking out here and there.  It may be the end of May before we see grass at our house, which would be fine for at least one of my boys.  Evan has what we call “snow issues.”  He’ll walk in the driveway until he gets snow on his boots, then he’s done.  Mason, on the other hand, would stay outside 24/7 playing if we’d let him.  Living on a hill does have its advantages when you consider sledding.  Maybe next year Evan will graduate to snow lover and he and Mason can play together.  After watching the Olympics Mason has decided he wants a snowboard.  Too bad his birthday isn’t until April.  Then again, we may still have snow at our house.  Evan likes the Olympics too.  He cracks us up when we’re watching skiing or bobsledding.  When the people start down the course he says “weeeee.” I don’t think he knows that the white substance they are sliding on is the same stuff he freaks out about having on his boots.  At some point I’m sure he’ll put it all together and he’ll want a snowboard too.  I see casts in their futures.  Do you get a multi person discount at the emergency room?  I myself have never had a broke appendage, but I’m not sure my boys will be able to say the same thing.  They like to roughhouse.  As parents we do our best to keep our kids safe, but there is only so much you can do.  The rest we give to the one who gives ultimate protection.  Psalm 16:1          

MYBLOG February 1, 2010

January is gone, but winter remains.  I started off the last week of January driving my wife and boys into town during a downpour because her car wouldn’t start.  My oldest son, Mason, suggested that it might be because of the rain.  I said “it just might be” not knowing exactly what was wrong.  Turns out it was flooded, but not by the rain.  As the week progressed we all kept an ear and eye on the weather.  What started out as the potential for a major weekend storm on Tuesday fizzled out to a dusting to a couple of inches by Friday.   On Saturday we started watching the white stuff pile up and when we woke up on Sunday morning we found about 5 inches on the ground and church cancelled.  I spent about an hour outside late Saturday afternoon running the snow thrower because I didn’t know when the snow was going to stop and neither did the weather people.  Have I ever mentioned my snow thrower?  It’s not a snow blower, it’s a thrower.  It’s a single stage unit, meaning it only has one spinning auger that spins fast enough to toss the snow out the shoot.  A snow blower, on the other hand, is two stage meaning it has an auger to shovel the snow into a second blade which throws it out the shoot.  I got my thrower for free from my neighbor.  It’s a 3 and a half horse power Western Auto Wizard.  It’s old, but it starts easy and works really well.  I’ve used it twice this year and it beats shoveling by a whole bunch.  The tires are made of a very hard rubber, are hollow and are starting to get holes in them.  I’m gonna have fun trying to find replacement for them.  I know; maybe I’ll get my brother Nelson to help me retrofit a new set.  He’s pretty handy and likes to tinker on things like this.  Speaking of my brother, his birthday is coming up later this week.  Nelson, if you’re reading this, I love you and your card is in the mail.  I opened this with the fact that winter is still here.  Tomorrow, in a small Pennsylvania town, the town folks, dressed in there finest, will drag a groggy, over fed groundhog named Phil out in to the February cold to see if spring will arrive sooner than expected.  I’m guessing that even if Phil doesn’t see his shadow that spring will be about six weeks away.  I don’t own a groundhog, but I do have a calendar and know how to use it.  Sorry if I burst your bubble, every party has a pooper, that’s why they invited me.  I do believe in a prognostication tool. It’s the Holy Bible.  It’s been right so far.  Here’s one example.  Acts 1:16

MYBLOG February 8, 2010

Does anyone know a good recipe for ground hog?  He said we’d have 6 more weeks of winter, but he never mentioned two plus feet of snow and more on the way.  Actually, it’s not worth the effort of trying to find the little rodent under all the snow.  In addition to the 28 plus inches on the ground, I’ve got three to four foot snow drifts across my driveway.  My little snow thrower earned it’s keep over the weekend.  I went through 6 tanks of gas yesterday.  Each tank runs the machine for about an hour and 15  to 20 minutes, so you do the math.  The tire issue with the snow thrower took care of itself.  The holes filled with snow, which then froze solid; presto new tire.  We also had to do some shoveling; near the vehicles and at the end of the driveway where the snow had frozen hard after the plow had piled it up.  Carrie and I both made it out this morning, but who knows if we’ll make it back this evening.  I’ve got my chains and she has fairly new tires and pretty good four wheel drive, so we’ll see.  One good thing; the snow on the sides of the driveway is deep enough to keep you from slipping into the ditch.  The boys are next door with our neighbors today because Carrie’s mom and dad don’t have power and neither does Ms. Paula, our other baby sitter. The one surprising thing about this storm is that we never lost power.  Usually we’re the first to lose it and the last to get it back, but not this time, thank goodness.  We were set though.  Had the generator on the porch, the gas grill in the garage, bottled water to drink, a good supply of food and the bathtub filled up with water so we could flush the toilet, but we didn’t need it.  There are a couple of things that I would have liked to have during this latest storm.  Driving home Friday night it would have been nice to have fog lights on my truck.  It would have also been nice to have better tires, mine are about worn out.  At home a garage to put the vehicles in.  Even though the driveway is mostly clear, I now have to go back and remove the snow that we took off the cars.  I also need to widen out the turn around spot.  My truck is longer than I remembered.  I think I’d better get on that, given that they are calling for another five to ten inches on Tuesday night.  Five weeks till spring, right?  I’ve been given some very nice gifts in my life.  The best gift I’ve ever received is salvation through Jesus Christ.  The next best would have to be my wife and two boys. And the third best gift has to be that little Western Auto snow thrower.  Romans 11:29.

MYBLOG February 15, 2010

The big dig issue.  Can I just say I’m over it!  I’m over the cold, I’m over the snow, I’m over shoveling and running the snow thrower, I’m over putting chains on my truck just to get home.  I’m just over it!  I spent all weekend in my driveway.  It actually started on Friday night.  That’s when it happened; my little snow thrower broke down.  Yep, the tensioning pulley for the auger disintegrated.  Oh sure, I can still drive it up and down the driveway, but without the auger spinning it’s just a snow plow, and not a very good one at that.  That was strike one.  So I picked up the shovel and started moving snow.  I worked some on Friday night and all day Saturday and made it about two thirds of the way.  My neighbor, Paul, has a snow blower which was also broke down, but he had borrowed one of his brothers and told me I could use that one.  I went and got it, fired it up and just got started when the drive belt came off.  Strike two, back to shoveling.  Later Saturday night Paul sent me a text saying that he had fixed his and I could use it, so I went and got it, fired it up and used it about a half hour and…wait for it, the drive belt came off.  Strike three, back to shoveling.  I got up Sunday morning, made some coffee and started shoveling again.  After about an hour I came in had some coffee, warmed up and got ready for church.  After church I was headed home when my wife called me and ask that I go by the grocery store, which I did.  While I was in the store she called me again, this time to tell me that Paul had borrowed his brothers’ second, bigger snow blower and was working on clearing the driveway.  Sure enough when I got home, there he was and the snow was flying.  I quickly changed my clothes and went out to help.  I broke the tops of the snow drifts with a shovel then Paul ran monster machine through the loosened fluff.  After a couple of hours the last third of the driveway was clear.  We went back up towards the house to work on yet another snow drift and that’s when it happened.  The auger on the monster stopped spinning.  Had we thrown another belt?  No, not this time, but we had broken two shear pins and we didn’t have any replacements.  What’s this, strike four?  No such thing, but it was back to shoveling.  It took most of the rest of the afternoon to get Carrie’s car out and to make a spot big enough for us to turn around.  Paul went to town and got more pins and I helped him put them in, but by that time we were both too tired to do anything else.  The last step was to get my truck out of Paul’s driveway and back into mine.  Yes, he let me park at his house all week.  As I turned into my new clean driveway the truck spun out and I started to slide, backwards, into the road.  I drove through the subdivision found clear spot to pull off and put the chains on.  This time made it up the driveway.  In the midst of all this, Evan had gotten sick, so Carrie and her mom and dad took him to the doctors Saturday night, while Mason and I stayed home and worked on the driveway.  As it turns out Evan has strep throat and an upper respiratory infection.  So, I’m over it.  Does that mean I’m throwing in the towel?  No way.  I just needed to vent, thank you for letting me.  The part for my snow thrower should be here tomorrow and I’ll be ready for the next storm.  Weathering the storm is part of life. I can handle a little snow.  When I think I have it rough, I remember Job.  If you get a chance read the whole book, but for now here’s a verse.  Job 42:10                     

March 2010

MYBLOG March 1, 2010

In like a Lion, out like a lamb and vise versa.  What if March were to come in like, say a perturbed penguin?  How would it go out; a melancholy musk ox?  Well, we finally got our delivery of propane, so now if the power goes off at least we can huddle in the living room and a stay warm.  I’m really hoping that winter, or at least winter weather is over with and we won’t have to worry about the power going off.  This past weekend was sort of a blur.  Mason and I spent Saturday together.  While Carrie and Evan stayed home Mason and I went out on the town.  We had some errands to run so we made a day of it.  We did guy things like fill the truck up with diesel, went to Lowes then to Target and the grocery store.  Ok, those last two stops were for stuff that Carrie needed.  We even went out for lunch at Crackle Barrel.  The hostess sat us at a table with a checker board build in.  Mason thought that was way cool.  We played one game while we were waiting for our food and another after we had finished eating.  It was nice to spend some time, even just a few hours, with my oldest boy.  It seems like we don’t get enough of that.  For the first five years of his life he was it, full attention 24/7.  Then Evan came along and the time got divided.  Carrie and I try hard to spend one on one time with both the boys but it’s hard sometimes.  The one thing that Mason wanted to do we didn’t get to because we were running so late.  He wanted to do a little sledding in the front yard.  Maybe we can do that next weekend, if the snow is still there.  We went to church on Sunday, as usual.  I helped Carrie with her Sunday school class of two, three and four year olds.  Oh sure there was some crying and fussing, but she eventually calmed me down.  We had what seemed like an extra big group this week.  Usually there are four or five kids, this week there must have been twenty or thirty!  Ok, we had 8; it just seemed like more.  We usually read them two stories and give them stickers to put on a paper that deals with the one of the stories and they get a sheet to color.  If there is time, they get to play with the toys and puzzles that are in the room to finish out the class.  It all works out pretty well, unless one of the kids begins to cry or needs to use the rest room.  Then the flood gates open.  If no one goes, no one has to go.  If one has to go, the rest suddenly have to go too.  If one cries, then a couple more cry, seemingly for no reason other that to see if they can cry louder than the first one.  While Carrie was calming one of the criers down and doing rest room duty with a couple of others, I read the second story and helped the kids color.  Then we put some puzzles together until the end of class.  The twitching in my left eye has almost stopped.  Tomorrow, Tuesday March 2nd, is Read Across America.  I was asked by one of the preschool teachers at Mason’s school to read to her class.  Due to scheduling issues I won’t be able to be there live but I will be reading The Cat In The Hat via a podcast on the internet.  Technology, ain’t it great?  Oh yes, hope you had a happy Purim!  Curious?  Read this.  Esther 9:31.

MYBLOG March 8, 2010

Now this is more like it; warmer weather, plenty of sunshine, longer days and less snow.  I still have about 6 or 8 inches of snow in my yard and piles and drifts’ that are just over three feet tall but I think it won’t be too much longer until the grass is visible again.  The snow is melting at a good pace too, allowing it to soak into the ground to help bring the water table back up a little.  I had the pleasure on Saturday to watch area Rotarians and Interact club members package meals that will be sent to needy people around the world.  They teamed up with the Stop Hunger Now organization that brought the four parts to the meals.  The volunteers took those ingredients and put them into bags which were then weighed, sealed and boxed up for shipment.  The ingredients were soy protein, dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated chicken stock and rice.  Each bag contained a balance of protein, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates and made enough to feed six people.  All totaled the group made up 6,000 bags, or 36,000 meals.  That’s quite an accomplishment for 70 people working about 3 hours.  While I was working on Saturday the boys hung out with Carrie and their aunt Crissie.  They had some pictures taken of the boys and my how they’ve grown.  They both seem to be going through growth spurts.  It seems like every time they put on a pair of pants the legs are too short.  Carrie and I both had very tall grandfathers, so maybe that’s where the boys get it from, they certainly don’t get it from me.  Mason is getting much better at reading.  He’s reading pretty much anything that gets in front of him.  This morning at breakfast he was reading a box that was on the table and he’s reading road signs.  Evan is talking more and more too.  He’s adding a new word or two it seems like every day.  His latest is “stuck” and “mine.”  He also has starting saying “go, go, go” and he’s clapping and singing when he hears music or while we’re in the car going somewhere.  Lately when he and I are in the truck I’m exposing him to some of the finest Texas blues by Stevie Ray Vaughn.  He seems to be enjoying it and I know I get a kick out of watching him clapping and singing along.  He’s got pretty good rhythm.  Maybe he’ll be a musician when he’s older.  There are worse things.  Psalm 98:5

MYBLOG March 22, 2010

Spring is here, finally and for real, at least according to the calendar.  It can’t snow anymore because I put my snow thrower away, in the back of the shed, not to be retrieved until next winter.  It was an interesting week.  Mason had his science project percolating until Sunday afternoon.  This year he did an experiment on the effects of different liquids on teeth.  Since we didn’t have any real teeth, we used chicken bones as our tooth analog.  He tested the “teeth” in nine liquids including coffee, tea, Kool Aid, grape juice, two kinds of soda, water, milk and vinegar.  He wrote up his predictions, what he used, how he did the experiment and what the results were.  He posted everything, including some pictures, on a display board.  The science fair is tomorrow and Wednesday so we’ll see how he does this year.  If you recall, he won first place last year.  Evan and I spent most of Saturday outside playing, I mean, “working” around the house.  That evening we noticed that he had developed a rash on his stomach and onto his neck and legs.  We gave him a bath to see if maybe he had a reaction to a new laundry detergent or fabric softener but he still had the rash on Sunday morning.  Turns out he did have a reaction, but to exactly what we don’t know.  The doctor said maybe pollen or grass.  The doctor also said not to do anything and let his little body build up the antibodies so hopefully he won’t have the reaction again.  I guess we’ll see.  While I was out and about on Saturday, just on a whim, I got out my gas powered leaf blower.  I haven’t been able to get it started for two years, so I thought I’d get it down and give it a couple of pulls, just to see.  This leaf blower is “vintage.”  As a matter of fact, unless otherwise noted any tools or equipment that I talk about in this BLOG is a classic, vintage or both.  The blower is a Craftsman, if that means anything.  I checked the gas and it had just a little in the tank.  I gave it a couple of pulls and to my great surprise it sputtered like it wanted to start.  So, I fiddled with the choke and throttle and gave it another pull.  After a few spits and sputters and a whole lot of smoke it came to life.  I was amazed.  Maybe it just needed a few years off to build up its strength.  For what ever reason it ran and I used it for a little while.   Remember, it’s a classic so it’s loud and weighs about 75 pounds, but it runs, or at least it did on Saturday.  We’ll see if it starts the next time I want to use it.  If it doesn’t start I’ll hang it back up in the shed for another couple of years and not worry about it.  Philippians 4:6-8      

MYBLOG March 29, 2010

Mason won first place in the first grade for his science project.  I think he was a little embarrassed because he said he wished that he hadn’t won at all.  Maybe he didn’t like the attention.  I stopped by the school one day last week to see his project along with what the rest of the school had done.  Some of the projects were very elaborated, some more basic, but all of them were interesting.  The one thing missing this year was the old stand by volcano.  Perhaps that experiment is a little passé these days.  Evan has been running a slight fever and waking up in the middle of the night acting like he’s either in pain or scared.  So we’re thinking that he’s having baby mares or cutting teeth.  Maybe he’s having baby mares about cutting teeth.  I think he’s got a couple more molars due to come in anytime, so my money is on the teeth.  Today would have been my dad’s 94^th birthday.  He went to heaven a little over six years ago.  Dad had a chance to meet Mason, but I don’t think Mason will remember much if anything because he was so young.  I’ve got a couple of pictures of dad holding Mason, maybe that will spark his memory.  Evan, like me, never got to meet his grandfather on his fathers’ side.  I’ve seen pictures and heard stories about my grandfather and that’s what I’ll do for Evan as he get older and can understand.  I’m very happy that both of the boys get to spend time with Carrie’s mom and dad.  There is something about having a grandfather, or papa (pronounce paw-paw) as the boys call him, get down on the floor and play or take the time to let them “help” with projects around the house.  Carrie and I do that, but it’s just not the same as being with papa.  I didn’t get to experience too much of that either because my grandparents on my moms side lived quite a distance from us.  I do remember my grandpa Smith though.  He was a farmer, a very big man and sort of scary to me at times.  I remember sliding down the stair railing at his house and having him “yell” that he was going to “box my ears.”  To this day, I don’t know exactly what that means, but it sure did make me stop what I was doing and seek the safety of moms lap.  Another memory that I have of him was watching him roll his own cigarettes.  I was way too young to understand exactly what he was doing, but I remember staring at him as he held the paper in one hand, pour on the tobacco, gently roll it up and then run the edge across his tongue and seal it up.  I don’t remember him smoking, but he must have otherwise what was the point of all that work.  Both he and my grandma are buried in a cemetery facing the Pennsylvania mountain top farm that they called home.  The very same farm where I spent many of my teenage summers making hay, milking cows and mending fences.  One last thought; this week our Jewish friends celebrate Passover and Christians celebrate Easter.  Both are celebrations of God’s mercy.  One in sparing lives the other in giving eternal life through a resurrected Messiah.  Either way, take a moment sometime this week to give thanks. Mark 14:1

April 2010

MYBLOG April 5, 2010

What a wonderful weekend!  The weather was awesome.  Mason and I spent pretty much all day outside on Saturday.  I was on the roof for a couple of hours in the morning trying to patch a leaky skylight.  I’m not going to know if I was successful until the next time it rains, so we’ll see.  Mason helped me do some odd and end things around the house.  We fixed the swing set, put some gravel on the driveway and smoothed it out, cleaned off the front porch and a few other spring cleaning type things.  We’re having Mason’s birthday party at our house next weekend, so in addition to just cleaning up we were getting ready for that.  Carrie and Evan had to run a few errands in the morning and they helped outside too after lunch.  When Evan went down for his afternoon nap Mason and I got on our bikes and rode to the lake at the bottom of our subdivision.  We parked the bikes and took a little walk on the path around the lake.  Mason kept asking if it was the Appalachian Trail.  I said that trail wasn’t too far from where we were so we followed that path until we found it.  It probably isn’t more than a hundred yards or so from the lake, but to Mason it was a big adventure.  I asked him if he could find his way back and he said “I think” so I let him lead.  Since I’m writing this, you know how he did.  Getting down to the lake was easy; getting back home was a little more difficult.  Note it’s “down” to the lake, so the return trip must naturally be “up” which it is.  I was very impressed by Mason; he actually rode his bike more than I did on the way back home.  I was anticipating walking and pushing the bikes, but every chance he got he was on his pedaling.  I kept thinking that he’d stop and start walking again, but he didn’t.  He kept getting farther away from me, so I had to ride to, to catch up.  Our driveway became the great equalizer because we both had to walk the bikes up that.  Sunday we went to church.  There was a sunrise service, but we opted for the regular time.  After that we went to Carrie’s mom and dads for lunch and to spend the afternoon with family and friends.  The kids had a couple of Easter egg hunts and then the kids hid the eggs for the adults.  Evan used a small wheelbarrow instead of a basket to collect his.  These weren’t your normal multicolored plastic eggs either.  The ones Evan needed to find looked like little cars.  Another child had to find the ones that looked like cupcakes and the hardest ones to find were shaped like eggs but were colored like rocks, tree bark and grass.  It was very nice, relaxing day.  Everyone was tired and both boys fell asleep on the way home.  Mason is on Easter break from school this week and since Carrie currently isn’t working she’s getting to spend some quality time with the boys.  Easter egg hunts and candy are fun, but lets not loose site of the reason we celebrate.  1 Corinthians 15:12-17       

MYBLOG April 12, 2010

Cake and ice cream and lost and found.  That pretty much sums up last week.  Yesterday we had Mason’s birthday party, or at least the one for his friends.  We had it at our house and several of his classmates showed up.  We just let them play, no real organized games, just whatever they wanted to do for a couple of hours.  It was sort of chaotic but everyone seemed to have a good time, even Evan as there were a couple of kids his age there too.  After the kids party some other family and friends stopped by for a cook out.  I’ll tell you this, our kids slept pretty well Sunday night and so did their parents.  If you and I have ever met you may have noticed that I carry a Leatherman multipurpose tool on my belt.  I never thought I’d be one of those guys, but here I am.  My wife gave me the tool many years ago and it’s been on my belt almost every day since.  I use it nearly every day too; whether to peel a piece of fruit, open boxes, file a broken finger nail, strip wires or make fine tuning adjustments on a transmitter.  If I don’t use it chances are I’ll loan it to someone else to use, but it’s never too far from my hand.  Well, last Friday Joe and I were working on the AM transmitter and I was using the phillips screwdriver to put in some grounding screws and such.  Well, apparently when I was finished I put the tool back in its leather pouch on my belt but neglected to snap the flap which holds it in place.  As I was changing my clothes Carrie noticed that the pouch was empty and asked “where’s your Leatherman?”  I said, “oh, I was using it at work and probably laid it on the work bench by the transmitter.  I’ll swing by there over the weekend and get it.”  Well, I never did make it back in until Monday, but I made it a point to go to the work bench and get my Leatherman.  When I looked, it wasn’t there, so I ask Joe if he had seen it and he said “no.”  My heart sank.  Where could it be?  I retraced my steps, starting from the last place I remembered using it to looking in the shed, garage and driveway at home and even going next door to my neighbors to see if I had dropped it while I was visiting Friday night.  Nothing, it wasn’t anywhere I thought to look.  Back at work, for most of the week, I looked and searched to no avail.  I even walked through the field to the AM tower site several times looking.  I called our lawn care people to see if maybe they had found it while they were mowing at the station, but no, they hadn’t seen it.  I wore the empty pouch until Thursday when I decided that it was pointless to carry an empty pouch around.  Besides being very handy to have the tool would be fairly expensive to replace and I didn’t know when or if I’d have the money to do so. I had made up my mind that if God wanted me to find it, I’d find it.  Oh yeah, I prayed that His will would be done and left it at that.  Late Thursday afternoon the phone at the station rang.  It was Carrie who called to ask me to guess what had fallen out of the recliner.  Of course I said hopefully “my Leatherman?”  To my great surprise she said “yep.”  The first thing I said was “praise God.”  So I had forgotten to snap the flap, but it hadn’t fallen out of the pouch until I had sat down in the reclined, grabbed the boys and leaned back.  It slipped silently into the dark recesses of the chair.  It may not have been that silent, but with the boys giggling none of us heard it.  It wasn’t until my wife took a break and kicked back in the recliner that it fell to the floor with a clunk loud enough for her and Mason to hear.  God does answer prayers although not always as quickly or in the way that WE want; but we’re not in charge, He is, thankfully.  Matthew 21:22          

MYBLOG April 19, 2010

What a busy week and weekend.  Thursday Mason turned 7, officially.  Although we had a party for him the previous Sunday, we also had a little gathering, just for family, on Thursday at Carrie’s mom and dads.  Sort of a non traditional celebration in that Mason requested pie instead of cake, which was fine with Evan because he calls every desert pie anyway.  Saturday was Larry’s birthday and we all went to Waynesboro for the Burcham family reunion.  I guess there were about 30 people there.  Sunday we went to church and Sunday school and then came home, had some lunch and we all stayed in and rested.  Mason, like lots of folks, has been battling allergies.  He’s been coughing and sneezing up a storm.  His nose runs like a faucet.  Poor little guy.  Carrie and I have had a touch of it too and I noticed that Evan was coughing a little this morning.  Hopefully it won’t be long until the worst has passed and we can all enjoy the great outdoors again.  Sunday evening we went to meet with several other couples from our church.  We’ve been getting together about once a month for about nine months or so, having some food and doing some sort of bible related study.  One time we meet with the children and the next without.  It sort of reminds me of when I was growing up and we’d go visiting on a Sunday afternoon or someone would visit us.  It’s just a good time of fellowship and sharing.  As with most gatherings of this sort, after the study the genders divide.  The men sit around the living room and the ladies tend to gather in the kitchen.  Us guys talk about vehicles, outdoor stuff and politics and who knows what the ladies are talking about, but it must be enjoyable because every once in a while you’ll hear them laughing.  The kids usually play video games or, in Evans case, play with the trucks and cars we take along.  He tries to hang with the older crowd, but there is a communication gap.  Evan is the youngest, there is one boy who is Mason’s age and the rest are preteen or teenagers.  We only plan to meet for about 2 hours, but it usually goes way beyond that.  It’s hard to break away from good company.  Acts 2:42

MYBLOG April 26, 2010

It was sort of a quiet week and weekend, for a change.  Quiet for me, at least, my wife on the other hand was sort of busy.  She recently became unemployed which truly was a blessing.  The stress of her job had become nearly overwhelming.  Since she’s been home she has been able to spend more time with the boys and volunteer at Mason’s school, something she’s really enjoyed.  She’s managed, with Gods help, to land a part time job.  She only works a few hours each week which still gives her time with the boys.  Friday night Mason spent the night with Meema and Papa.  On Saturday morning Carrie went into town to run errands and get groceries so that left Evan and I at home for a few hours.  We played a little and then he took a little nap.  while he was sleeping I managed to fix a couple of things around the house; the faucet in the kitchen and the vertical blinds in Mason’s room.  After church on Sunday we had some lunch and then went outside to try to get a few things done before the rains came.  We managed to get our little garden plot tilled up, but it was too wet to plant.  I have an old, I’m sorry “vintage” tiller that I got for free from a family friend when I helped them haul some stuff to the dump.  It’s a pretty heavy tiller that was retro fitted with a Honda engine from and old power washer or paint sprayer, I can’t remember.  It ain’t pretty but it runs good.  I checked the oil, put in some gas, moved the switch to “on” and pulled the started cord.  I wasn’t surprised at all that it started on the first pull, it’s always has in the past.  I let it sit and idle for a long time to get warmed up and chase out the critters that had made nests in it.  I only use it once a year, usually, so it just sits in the shed waiting for me to pull the cord.  We also built a raised bed to plant some more veggies and such.  The plan is to build a couple more to increase our garden space.  Carrie planted radishes and baby carrots in the new bed and there is still a little room for a veggie to be named later.  We also use most of our flower beds to grow stuff to eat; cucumbers, squash and peppers.  Our strawberries are full of bloom with a few berries starting to show, we just have to get to them before the birds.  Both Mason and Evan helped with the outdoor work, of course there was also some play intermixed.  Galatians 6:7.           

January 2009

MYBLOG January 5, 2009

The New Year is here, finally. I know most everyone was beyond ready to get rid of 2008. Bad economy, high prices, layoffs and more. For me, 2008 was a great year. I didn’t enjoy the high gas prices or the rest of the bad news, however, my life changed, again, in May of last year. That’s when God blessed my wife and me with our second child, Evan. I say “changed again” because we went through this once before with our son Mason, but you tend to forget some things in five years. Mind you, it didn’t take me long to remember most of what I forgot. I still get reminded everyday of the wonders and joy of a little human being. Every day their little personality comes out a little more. They begin to experience the all new big world around them. Certain milestones are reached like the first grin, the all out smile and heartfelt laugh. The first time they actually reach out for you when you reach out to them. The first time they respond to you saying their name, usually followed by “no.” Their first teeth, the first time they roll over, crawl and, in our case, pull up and stand holding on to something. Babies grow up too quickly. It seems that just when you start to get used to them doing one thing, they’ve moved on to the next milestone. Thank goodness for cameras and scrapbooks. My wife is big into scrapbooking and when she first started I must admit it was a little bewildering to me. Now I’m thankful for her passion. If it wasn’t for her spending time, not only taking the pictures but then organizing those photos in the scrapbooks a lot of those precious memories would be lost. These scrapbooks aren’t just photo albums. They are works of art that tell a story and help us to relive the time, albeit short, we have with our kids while they are little. Eventually, when our boys are grown, the books will go with them to their homes and families and the memories will live on. Hopefully they’ll continue the tradition that their beautiful mother started. Matthew 7:11


MYBLOG January 12, 2009

This weekend I was a plumber, diesel mechanic, painter, drywall mud slinger and HVAC installer. Not to shabby for a two day weekend. I had to replace the tank on one of our toilets. It was leaking from what started as a small crack. The old tank is now in three pieces in the back of my truck waiting for a ride to the land fill. I replaced a part on my truck to help it start better in cold weather. The 20 minute job took an hour and 20 minutes because I didn’t have a 10mm deep well, ¼ inch drive socket. After getting the new part in, I still have the same problem. Next step, install two new batteries, something I’ve been trying to avoid. Those puppies aren’t cheap. I painted the ceiling in my wife’s scrap booking room. It had some water stains from a spill we had when we were building Evan’s room, which is directly above it. Part of that job also included doing some minor drywall patching before painting. I also ran a new heating and air conditioning duct to an enclosed sun porch. Mason uses this area as his play room and it didn’t have any heat, ipso fact, he could't play out there. Less than $50 in parts and pieces, some cutting with the new sawsall that my neighbors gave me for Christmas, some duct tape and a little more drywall work and viola, the room now has heat. I think this marks the very first time that I used duct tape for its intended purpose. Duct tape, the handyman’s secret! If you can’t fix it with duct tape, it’s really broke. Even with all of the stuff I accomplished, I still managed to play with the boys. We got on the floor and played with Evan’s toys. Mason and I really like Evan’s toys. Evan, on the other hand, would rather play with things he’s not supposed to; cds, computers, cameras, wires and his big brothers Leapfrog books. He’s also learned to pull himself up and he’s getting braver, only holding on with one hand now. The first steps can’t be too far away. The first falls have already occurred. All in all a very blessed weekend that was summed up with a verse I read just this morning in Proverbs. Why don’t you take a look and see if this doesn’t apply to something you’ve done lately. Proverbs 16:3

MYBLOG January 19, 2009

What a cold weekend! Jack Frost came a nippin’ and Mother Nature showed us once again that she is in control. Saturday morning we lost power at our house. As a matter of fact, lots of people lost power. It blinked on and off several times, then one time it didn’t come blink back on. We elected to abandon ship, even though we have a gas fireplace for heat, it was just too cold. So we all packed up and went to Doris’s Diner for breakfast, and as it turned out, lunch. Doris is my mother in law and their house has a woodstove and power. The Chip Beef gravy made for a great breakfast and the homemade veggie soup and hotdogs was just the ticket for lunch. So, after spending most of the day there we packed up and returned home. I didn’t get much done on my “to do” list, but I did get to spend a bunch of time with my family, not a bad trade off. After church Sunday we went back to Doris’s diner. Since Mason didn’t have school today, he wanted to stay the night with Memaw and Papa, and what made it even better for him was that Papa took vacation this week, so the two of them could spend the whole day together. I delivered Evan back down there this morning so both grandsons got some Memaw and Papa time. Evan is growing up so fast. He’s pulling himself up more and more and he’s really fascinated with his big brother. He even mocked him one morning. Mason coughed and Evan did a little fake cough right after. Evan will follow Mason around, crawling as fast as he can to get to where big brother is. It won’t be long until Evan is walking, then running after his big brother. The mocking incident made a pretty big impression on Mason. He’s asking to play with his brother now. They get on the floor and either play with Evan’s toys or “wrestle” each other. Too cute. One other note. Tomorrow a new president and vice president will be sworn in. It’s an historic event. Although I didn’t vote for these two, lots of you did. How you voted is not important now. What is important is that we, as a nation, pray for the new administration, our nation and our world. Pray that our nation put our focus back where it should be. 2 Chronicles 30:8

Mason was sick most of last week. He’s got bronchitis. He’s on two different antibiotics, which despite the pharmacist adding grape flavor to, tastes terrible. He’s not just making that up to avoid taking it, it really does taste awful, trust me I tried it. As he’s taking it and grimacing, I revert to “father” mode and offer these words of wisdom. “You know, the worse it tastes, the better it works.” Where’d that come from? If that were true then eggplant would be a cure all and octopus eyes would get rid of everything including the heebeegeebees. Although he’s still coughing and isn’t at 100% yet, he is on the up swing. The problem now is that the rest of the family is coming down with something. Carrie and I are all stuffy and sneezy and little Evan has a little cough with some rumbling in his chest. It just needs to get cold, snow and stay that way for a few months. Maybe that would kill off all those nasty germs. A few blogs ago I believe I told you about trying to refinance our house to take advantage of lower interest rates and improve our cash flow.   Well tonight it will finally happen. We’re supposed to sign the papers. We really wanted to get this all wrapped up before the end of last year, but that didn’t happen. Just goes to show, the things we plan take a backseat to how God wants things to happen. The only thing we can do is ask Him to give us patience while His plans unfold, in His time. Proverbs 16:9

February 2009

Today is Groundhog Day. Can anyone explain to me how the lowly groundhog got its own special day? I would suggest to you that it came about by some very slick marketers in a small Pennsylvania town about 40 miles north of Pittsburg. Although I’m from PA, I’ve never been to Punxsutawney and I don’t know Phil. The world’s eyes focus on this small town every year. Hollywood turned its cameras there in a movie, Ground Hog Day. Everyone waiting in the cold early morning hours for a groggy Phil to be dragged out of his cozy heated home and proclaim either Spring is right around the corner or that we all have to wait another six weeks for Spring to arrive. Has anyone looked at the calendar? Spring is 6 weeks from today…hmmm. I wonder how much it is for a 30 second ad in the coverage of Phil’s prognostication. Not $3 million you can bet. My son Mason and I were in PA this past weekend. It was a quick trip to help my brother celebrate his 60^th birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise party, but he knew all along. About the only thing he didn’t know was that Mason and I would be there. So we got to spend a little time with friends and family. A total of 8 hours and 500 miles of driving for a less than a 24 hour visit. Was it worth it? Absolutely! The time with Mason was worth it. He’s growing up so fast. I think this is the first time since Evan was born that Mason and I had some extended one on one time. Even after we got home, he still was stuck to me. He helped me work on the driveway. We chipped some ice and spread gravel. Yes, we still have ice and snow at my house. I think Evan missed us too. He was all excited when we got home and he even wanted to help in the driveway. He and Carrie watched from the front door and Carrie said he kept banging on the window trying to get our attention, almost saying “hey, what about me?” In due time little guy, in due time. Matthew 13:21

MYBLOG February 9, 2009

What a wonderful week and weekend.  I spent part of my day Saturday at the new and improved Warren County Veterinary clinic, helping them promote their open house.  It was a wonderful event and I got to meet a lot of very nice people and see a fantastic demonstration by the K-9 units from the Warren County Sheriffs office.  Mason and I went to church on Sunday while Evan and Carrie went to see the pediatrician.  Evan developed a case of Thrush after taking antibiotics for a double ear infection last week.  We caught it very early and he’s responded quickly to the treatment.  He’s also got two more teeth about to pop through on his bottom gum.  Even with all that he’s just as happy as can be.  Sunday afternoon it was just me and the boys while Carrie attended a baby shower for one of her coworkers.  The boys and I practiced for the Olympics; a new sport we hope will be added soon, synchronized napping.  We’re pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.  Well, Evan and I are good at it, Mason is “too old” to take naps anymore, after all he is almost 6!  Next Sunday is a big day; it’s the Daytona 500!  We got a little taste of the new NASCAR season on Saturday night with the Bud Shootout.  I didn’t watch too much of the Super Bowl so I’m looking forward to Daytona so I can see all the commercials.  They usually run the same ones that ran in the Super Bowl.  One final thought.  If you’ve been keeping up with these blogs, you know that Carrie and I just refinance our house and we were able to pay off all of our debts.  Some of those debts were credit cards, evil, vile credit cards.  Ok, the cards are a useful tool when used responsibly, but it only takes one mistake on your part for the landslide of fees and interest to start.  Most of the card companies I deal with were willing to waive a few dollars in finance charges not covered by the payoff checks.  Most saw the benefit of waiving the fees to keep a customer.  Not CHASE. They wouldn’t budge an inch.  “We’re sorry Mr. Hill, but the charges are correct and we can’t and won’t waive anything.”  I politely told the lady that I would not use their card in the future and would not recommend their company to anyone in the future.  I’m keeping my promise.  I suggest that if you get anything in the mail from CHASE, Morgan-Stanley Chase or any combination thereof, rip it up and throw it away.  Since they were in the first round of bail outs, keep your eyes and ears on the news to make sure that none of their executives or corporate officers gets a big bonus check.  If they do, you can bet that I’ll be on the telephone with every government representative I can reach voicing my displeasure.  Who knows they may have already gotten there golden parachutes and that’s why they can’t or won’t waive any of their excessive fees and interest.  All credit card companies have the potential to be evil, but CHASE is by far the most evil and vile of them all, in my humble opinion.  I guess I’ve ruined my chances of getting a Christmas card from them.  Oh well, I’ll still pray for them.  Matthew 6:12

MYBLOG February 16, 2009

Well, last week was an interesting one, wouldn’t your agree? It went from 70 degrees on Wednesday to a wind storm that dropped the temperature 35 degrees and knocked out power for lots of people, including the Hills.  Our electricity went off about 8:45 Wednesday night and didn’t come back on until late Friday afternoon.  We braved Wednesday night then spent Thursday night at Casa De Crissie.  In the meantime I was at the house a couple of times a day running the generator to keep our freezer and refrigerator cold and save our food supply.  Isn’t it funny how our entire “modern” life hangs by a relatively small strand of wire?  Every time the power goes out I think about countries who either don’t have electricity or the supply they have is only on at certain times or is so intermittent that it’s not worth having.  We are very blessed with the system we have.  I’m also blessed to have a generator of my very own.  It’s not big enough to run the whole house, but it will run the fridge, freezer, TV, a coffee pot, toaster and a microwave.  Not all at once mind you, at least I didn’t try them all at once.  I didn’t want to press my luck.  Since it took over an hour for the fridge to catch up and cool down I was able to have a hot cup of coffee or two, fix a little something to eat and watch TV.  And with the gas fireplace keeping the chill off the living room, it wasn’t all that bad, for me.  It would not have been fun for Evan and Mason.  Notice I didn’t mention well in the list of things that the generator will run.  It is not big enough to run the well pump, so we didn’t have any water, except what we have stashed in jugs around the house for just such occasions.  It was also Valentines Day weekend.  My wife gave me a very nice card and two pictures of her and the boys in a beautiful frame and the whole family went out to dinner.  Sunday was race day.  We went to Larry and Doris’ house for lunch and to watch the Daytona 500.  It was a very nice, relaxing family day.  The race didn’t end the way we all wanted, but the season is under way and there’s lots of racing to do.  Yes, Jr. probably could have avoided causing that wreck.  He was off all day.  Let’s hope that race is not an indication of what kind of year he’s going to have.  This verse just happens to be what we studied in church on Sunday, but I thought it fit nicely for this week’s blog.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

MYBLOG February 23, 2009

Sort of an uneventful week last week, unless you count Mason getting in trouble in school and being grounded. He really had an off week. It’s not easy to “ground” a five year old, after all it’s not like he had a date this weekend…oh wait, he did actually have a date with his aunt Crissie to go and see a movie. Maybe this coming weekend. Of course when you ground a five year old you are, in effect, grounding yourself too. We couldn’t watch TV so that meant we had to work on our letters, color or read some books. Mason even cleaned his room to earn a little TV time. I worked on my truck brakes Saturday morning and then, while Carrie was on a top secret “Easter” mission, the boys and I hung out. Evan and I worked on our synchronized napping again this weekend. It was actually a qualifying event, but we were disqualified due to snoring. That little fella can really saw some logs! Ok, it wasn’t him, it was me. He is a pretty sound sleeper. I woke myself up, but he never blinked. Mason was sitting beside us and he even elbowed me so I would stop snoring because I was interrupting his coloring. The brake work spilled over into Sunday, after church. I enlisted Larry’s help to break loose a sticky part. With a lot of persuasion and some PB Blaster we managed to get it working again and my front brakes work better than ever before. Now, on to the rear and the emergency brake. Maybe when it’s a little warmer. I did some work around the house too, you know all those things you let pile up through the week. While I was doing the household stuff the boys were always with me playing on the floor. Evan really looks up to his big brother. He chases him across the room and sits with him while they both play with trucks. He even copies the motor sounds Mason is making. Too cute! One of the books Mason and I read was about being a big brother. After we finished I noticed Mason paying more attention to Evan and watching how he did things so Evan could learn from his big brother. It’s good to be grounded. Psalms 89:2

March 2009

MYBLOG March 2, 2009 

Last week flew by, don’t you think? As a matter of fact, February didn’t seem to hang around long either. Maybe it’s true about time going faster as you get older. Thursday of last week Mason came down with a case of Strep throat and a sinus infection. After a quick run to the doctors office and five doses of antibiotics he’s pretty much back to normal. He’s still not eating a lot, but aside from that he’s well. Thank you for all your prayers, I know they helped. Evan had a little incident as well last week. He found a mouse trap, with his little hand. He’s fine, no marks or anything. I think it scared him worse than it hurt him. I, on the other hand, was affected dramatically by his find. You see, I was in the process of trying to trim my own hair when he “found” the trap. Needless to say, my attention was diverted. Evan calmed down very quickly, but he wouldn’t let me out of his sight, so I didn’t get a chance to finish my hair trimming before it was time to leave. Poor planning, I don’t think so. Who plans to have their 9 and a half month old “find” a mouse trap? Once I applied some gel to my new do, it didn’t look too bad. By the time I got home the gel had dried out and my wife asked if I had “trimmed” my hair and I said “yes, could you help me fix it?” She said “no” but offered to call our neighbor, Wanda, to do it. We have great neighbors. I sort of knew I was in trouble when, as my wife was explaining the situation, I could hear Wanda laughing on the other end of the phone. A few minutes went by, enough time for my wife to snap a few pictures with her cell phone and send them to her sister, along with a text message that I can only imagine. I know there was some giggling on my wife’s part so I’m sure there was some on the receiving end as well. Wanda show’s up and she’s armed with not one, but two different trimmers, both of which are set to “new recruit” if you know what I mean. So, as I sat on the chair with a towel wrapped around my shoulders, the clipping began. “Oh, Lonnie, this is a lot shorter than you were cutting it” Wanda says with an ever so slight air of levity in her voice. She then followed that up with, “oh well, too late now.” As Wanda is clipping my wife, the photographer, is snapping away. I’m pretty sure that the only reason that those pictures aren’t on her Facebook page, yet, is because the batteries were dead in the digital camera, so she had to use her old 35mm film camera. I know there will be a scrapbook page, or two, dedicated to my first, and probably last attempt at trimming my own hair. Mason, as we were driving on Friday, said “I like your hair daddy, I’m getting used to it.” I guess that’s a compliment. Hey, it’s only hair and it will grow back….right? It grows back thicker, right? Unlike Samson, this hair cut made me stronger, and colder. Judges 16:17

MYBLOG March 16, 2009

It was Sort of an uneventful week last week. Mason continues to improve his reading skills. He only has 3 more kindergarten books to pass before he moves into first grade books. He may be able to have a few first grade books out of the way before school ends. Mason went fishing with his aunt Crissie on Saturday morning. They went to a trout farm near Zepp. He caught the biggest fish of the day. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m told it was “this big.” It was big enough to break his rod and reel. Evan continues to amaze me with his vocal skills, his creeping along, barely holding on to anything and, this may not be a good thing, his little temper. I wish I could read his mind, just so I understand what he’s thinking and “saying.” You can see a spark in his eyes and you know that the wheels are turning. Carrie took her Praxis 2 test on Saturday as she continues her quest to become a teacher. She was a little nervous going in, but had a positive feeling after the test. We should get the results by the end of the week. I helped my neighbor, Wanda, put brakes on her car on Saturday afternoon and Sunday we went to church and then to Carrie’s mom and dad’s for lunch. We even managed to squeeze in a rented movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Cute movie; I’d give it two paws. I’d like to ask each of you to support Team River in the Front Royal March For Babies on April 4th. To donate online follow the link below, and thank you! 2 Corinthians 8:7 www.marchforbabies.org/theriver953

MYBLOG March 23, 2009

Spring has finally arrived and so have the allergies.  Carrie, Mason and even Evan to a certain extent have been enjoying the pleasures of the emerging pollen.  I, on the other hand, haven’t been affected, yet.  Carrie and Mason have runny noses and sinus pressure.  Evan has a runny nose, but it’s hard to tell if it’s allergies or the two teeth he has coming in.  Mason went with our neighbor to a birthday party on Saturday.  The party was at Stoney Creek in Woodstock.  Wanda was nice enough to invite him so he could check out this indoor activity center with roller skating, bumper cars, games, and food.  I spent a couple of hours changing the rear brakes and adjusting the parking brake on my truck.  It needs to be inspected next month, so I’m trying to get it ready.  Sunday we went to church, as usual and then Carrie and the boys spent the afternoon, after a little nap, not outside, but inside working on Mason’s science project.  Yes, his kindergarten class has to do science projects.  As a matter of fact, every student in his school has to do a project.  We, I mean he did his on chromotology, which has to do how colors combine and more importantly separate.  It’s a pretty cool experiment.  The worst part, at least for Mason, was writing how he did it and the results of his experiment.  He liked the actual experiment because he got to color on coffee filters, dip them in water and watch the ink separate.  He used his little Fisher Price digital camera to take pictures and a brand new set of 50 water soluble markers.  I missed part of the fun as I was back at church late in the afternoon for a class, but got home in time to help finish him finish up.  Evan is only days, perhaps hours, away from walking.  He’s standing without holding on and can keep his balance for quite a while before he sits down and starts to crawl.  He can move pretty fast crawling, can’t imagine how quick he’ll be when he starts walking.  I may need to invest in a pair of running shoes.  Ok, finally a plug for a concert that will be at my church on April 18^th.  The group is called AppologetiX.  They are a Christian parody band.  They take top 40 songs you know and put Christian lyrics to them.  Songs like More Than A Feeling, Love Me Do, Don’t Fear The Reaper, Smooth Criminal, etc.  The show starts at 7 and tickets are cheap!  It’s only $10 per person in advance and $15 at the door.  Ephesians 2:8-9

MYBLOG March 30, 2009

It was quite an eventful week last week.  First my son, Mason, won first place in his kindergarten class for his science project.  He won because of the enthusiasm he showed when the judges asked him to demonstrate and explain his experiment on color separation.  I talked to one of the judges later in the week and she said she wished she would have had a video camera to capture how excited he was.  I had a contact lens rip while I was removing it, and half of the lens was stuck in my eye overnight.  I eventually managed to get it all out, but went to see the eye doctor just incase.  Good thing I did because my vision has gotten slightly worse and I needed new contacts anyway.  So I’m getting used to being able to see distance again, but now I need reading glasses to be able to read the fine print on anything.  No, I’m not getting bifocals or multi focus contacts, yet.  I now have aspheric contact lenses to correct my astigmatism.  They are pretty cool; they’re weighted on one side so they stay in the correct position on my eye.  It took me a little while, couple of days, to get used to that little extra thickness on the bottom of my eye, but now I don’t even know they are in there.  The other thing that happened was Evan pushed another tooth through on the top and he’s working on another one on the bottom.  He also took 3 or 4 steps, so the actual walking is closer now than ever.  He and I had some one on one time on Saturday.  Mason was getting a refill on memaw and papa and Carrie and her sister, Crissie, spent the day together.  Evan and I played and shared our food and played some more.  While he napped, I managed to get a few little things done around the house.  The one thing he’s starting doing that I can’t get enough of is this; when I lay on the floor, he gets to me as fast as his little arms and legs will carry him, giggling all the way, and lays his head on me, sort of giving me a hug.  When I move, he’ll do it again and sometimes throw in a slobbery kiss with a wide open mouth.  Does it get any better than that?  I think not.  Kids are truly a blessing from God.  I’m glad He sent His son for me, and you too.  2 Corinthians 5:21

April 2009

MYBLOG April 6, 2009

Thank you so much for your support for the Front Royal March For Babies.  The walk on Saturday was a success, a breezy day, but still a successful walk.  I’m very proud of my son Mason who, for the first time, walked the entire way this year.  I’m also proud of my little sister, Crissie, who raised nearly $700 all by herself.  You can still donate, just visit www.theriver953online.com and enter the keyword MARCH.  After the walk on Saturday Larry and I took on the task of building a cupboard/pantry at Crissie’s house.  You can never go wrong adding storage to a house.  Because her house was built in 1948 it’s settled over time meaning that there isn’t a plumb, square or level spot in the entire house.  Not a big deal, having done some remodeling in my house (read past BLOGS)  A job that would have taken real carpenters a few hours to complete spilled over into Sunday afternoon and on into this week and maybe this weekend.  It’s ok; it’s a labor of love.  Evan is on the mend.  The antibiotics he’s taking makes things run right through him, if you know what I mean, so he didn’t venture too far from home.  He did join us on the walk, bundled and covered up, of course.  He even spent a few minutes playing in the grass at our house during the warmest part of Sunday afternoon.  He can’t walk, or even stand, in the grass yet, but he sure can crawl.  One time he toppled over and rolled onto his back into a small hole in the front yard.  He looked like a turtle with his arms and legs wiggling around trying to right him self.  We couldn’t help but laugh, and he did too, after we rescued him.  This past Sunday was Palm Sunday; a day that we celebrate Jesus returning to Jerusalem for what would be the last week of his human life and the beginning of our eternal life.   John 12:12

MYBLOG April 13, 2009

Easter weekend is history and so is most of the chocolate.  Notice, I said “most.”  I have a stash of dark chocolate and some Jelly Belly jelly beans.  Did you ever notice there are no recipes for “left over chocolate?”  We had Mason’s birthday party on Saturday.  His birthday isn’t until the 15^th, but due to a family reunion and another birthday party next weekend, we opted for this past Saturday.  His party was at Wilson’s Wild Animal Park just outside of Winchester.  A very cool place, and even though they haven’t opened for the season yet, we were granted access to the park.  It helps to have a cousin who’s one of the owners.  There were about 5 or 6 kids from his school there and we were treated to a very special visit by a 3 month old Himalayan bear cub.  They now have 4 of these endangered bears at the park.  A new baby goat was born about thirty minutes before we got there, so that was another treat.  It was a cold and windy day, but the kids seemed to have a good time running in the mud and feeding the goats, camel, llamas and chickens.  Evan is a bit young to feed the animals; he tries to eat the food instead of feeding it to them.  He seemed to enjoy watching me feed them.  I think he liked to watch their tongues come out and grab the food from my hand.  He reached out to touch the animals a couple of times but when he was almost touching them; he’d giggle and pull his hand back.  Easter Sunday was spent seeing what the Easter Bunny brought, going to church to celebrate and remember the real reason for Easter and then dinner at Carrie’s mom and dad’s.  After we ate our ham, we had an Easter egg hunt and walked to the garden to have a look at the dirt.  Not much planted yet, it’s been too wet.  Mason and pawpa played soccer, then Mason and I played catch with the football and afterward Mason blew bubbles while Evan tried to catch them.  All in all, we had a very nice weekend.  Matthew 28:1-10.

MYBLOG April 20, 2009

This past week seemed to fly by, at least for me.  Hot on the heels of Easter, we celebrated Mason’s sixth birthday on Wednesday, Larry’s birthday on Friday and then the Burcham family reunion on Saturday in Waynesboro. Not to mention a concert at church by the band Appologix on Saturday night, church and Sunday school on Sunday morning and a birthday party for one of Mason’s classmates that afternoon.  I finished up a class I was taking at church on Sunday night and before I knew it, the alarm was going off to start the work week.  Somehow both boys ended up in our bed Sunday night.  Mason had a bad dream and Evan had a bad dream, was cold or just knew that big brother was in the other room and had to be where he was.  When the alarm went off it wasn’t too hard for me to get up, since I didn’t have any covers or bed.  I could either fall to the floor or get up and start the day.  I chose to get up.  After packing Mason’s lunch and getting Evan’s bottle ready, I went up to get them up.  Carrie was already wrestling with Evan while Mason tried to grab a few more minutes.  Evan ended up crawling all over Mason, hugging him, patting him on the legs and belly and “talking” to him trying to get him to wake up.  While Carrie was getting ready for work the boy’s and I spent some table time, Mason eating a bagel, Evan eating some baby bagels, aka cheerios, and me enjoying a hot cup of coffee.  Sort of a typical morning, if there is such a thing with two growing boys.  Evan is a morning person, like me while Mason is not a morning person, like his mom.  So While Evan is wide awake and ready to go, Mason takes a little longer to wake up completely.  There is no better way to start the day than to listen to your kids talking and laughing.  Tomorrow morning I’m making waffles!  (maybe)  If my kids bring me such joy with their laughter, how much joy do God’s children bring Him with theirs? Psalm 100:2 

MYBLOG April 26, 2009

AKA, the vacation BLOG.  Forgive me for posting this a day late, but I’m on vacation.  I had several days that I had to use before mid May or I’d loose them.  It’s not a normal vacation in that Carrie is not on vacation with me and I’m not going anywhere special.  I’m just hanging around the house taking care of some little projects that needed done.  In order for me to get anything done Evan is going to the sitters as usual, although slightly later than normal.  Most of what I’ve been doing is outside work.  I did manage to finish up the cupboard project at Crissie’s and helped plant some garden at Carrie’s mom and dad’s.  I sort of had a rough idea of what I wanted to do while I was off, then some other projects got added to the list and the schedule, if you can call it that, has been slightly altered.  Will I get everything done?  Probably not, but that’s ok, I’m not going to stress over it.  I work a little, tinker a little, work a little more, sit on the porch swing a little, read a little more than usual and repeat.  No TV or radio, just me and the good Lord enjoying each other’s company.  What I’m discovering, or maybe rediscovering, is that you have to tune out in order to tune in, if that makes any sense.  Get rid of the static that is our daily life, slow down and listen.  He’s there and He wants to talk to you.  Are you listening?  Deuteronomy 5:27     

May 2009

MYBLOG May 4, 2009

AKA, the back from vacation BLOG.  All rested and relaxed from my time off, I returned to work with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. (how THAT got there, I do not know!)  Big thanks to Joe and Kathy for covering while I was off.  The biggest project on my first day back was to catch up on all my e-mails.  I barely picked up a computer or cell phone the whole time I was off.  For that matter I didn’t have a TV or radio on much either.  If my week off is any indication of how my retirement days will be, bring them on!  If you read last weeks BLOG you know I had a bunch of stuff to do, but, alas, I didn’t get them all done, but I knew I wouldn’t.  I could take a month off and still not be done will all the projects around my house.  And if I did get them all finished, I’m sure I, or my wife, could come up with more things to do.  Coming up this weekend we’ll be celebrating Evan’s first birthday.  That’s hard to believe.  He’s walking more than crawling now, unless he wants to get somewhere fast.  He’s also drooling like a St. Bernard after a mountain rescue because of more teeth coming in; molars we think.  We’re trying to arrange to have my mom come for a visit so she can be here for the party, Mothers day and Grandparents day at Mason’s school.  We’re still working out the logistics to make that happen.  Lord willing it will.  I love my family and my job, but it sure was nice to have some alone time, but as I said last week, I was by myself, but I wasn’t alone on my vacation.  One other thing to mention this week; This Thursday, May 7^th, is the National Day of Prayer.  I’ve been asked to attend a prayer breakfast at the Holiday Inn just north of Front Royal.  The breakfast is from 7:30 until 9:00 and the cost is $12 per person.  All proceeds benefit The Warren Coalition.  If you would like to attend, please call 636-6385.  If you can’t attend, please take a few minutes to pray for our Nation.  Thank you!  Ephesians 6:18

MYBLOG May 11, 2009

I had a very busy weekend and would have had a very busy week, had it not rained every day.  This past Saturday we had a public birthday party for Evan, which meant that there was lots of prep work to be done, mostly outside.  The rain sort of put a wrinkle in that, but I have wonderful neighbors, so between showers on Friday, Paul mowed our lawn for us.  Saturday morning Mason, my mom and I worked at picking up, washing down the front porch and just getting things ready for the party.  We set up a tent, just in case of a shower, but it never came.  Friends, neighbors and family all gathered and watch as Evan enjoyed his cake.  By “enjoyed” I mean smear it all over his face.  He got about as much in him as he did on him.  We’ve got some pictures I’ll post later on.  The party had a John Deere theme, including a beautiful cake that his aunt Crissie made, decorated and cried over.  She blamed me because “my kids had made her a sissy.”   Truth be told, she made my eyes well up when she told me that.  Love does that to you.  The family birthday party will be on the 12^th, his actual 1^st birthday.  Sunday was a fun filled day too.  We went to church and Sunday school.  Carrie resumed teaching a Sunday school class for pre-kindergarten aged kids.  After church we took the mom’s out to eat then spent the rest of the afternoon at Blandy Farm.  It’s nice to have my mom here for a short visit.  She’s getting reacquainted with Mason and Evan.  Probably the next time she gets to see them will be at the Hill Picnic in August on the banks of the mighty Tioga River.  I have one other thing on my mind that I wanted to share with you.  I finally did it.  I finally broke down and bought a pair of reading glasses.  If you’ve been following my blogs you know that I wear contacts so I can see to drive, however, with them in it’s hard for me to read some things, like the bible or other important instructions.  It took me a while to decide, but I went with the contemporary, “sure I need reading glasses, but these are cool,” no frame style from the dollar store, rather than the big round, “sure I need reading glasses and I’m cheap,” black framed ones from the dollar store.  They only make me a little dizzy, but hey, I can read the tiny instructions for my I-POD!  2 Corinthians 4:18. 

MYBLOG May 18, 2009

My mom spent, what turned out to be, a very hectic week with us.  Between me working extra weekend hours, my wife working late one night, a doctors appointment for Evan and our baby sitter being out of town it just seemed like we were on the go, more than usual, every day.  I told mom that it was an unusually busy week, but she didn’t’ seem to mind.  She got to spend some time with her grandsons and us too. I also got to see my brother who made a daytrip on Saturday to pick mom up and take her back to PA.  It wasn’t as much time as much as I would have liked, but a little is better than none at all.   The next time we’ll be together will be at the Hill family picnic on the banks of the mighty Tioga River in August.  This coming weekend we’re going on a campout with our church, New Hope Bible Church.  It will be the first time we’ve gone camping since Evan arrived and, of course, Evan’s first camping trip.  I dug out the camping stuff in preparation for the big trip.  We’ll be staying at Highland Retreat in beautiful downtown Bergton, VA.  I don’t know exactly where that is, but I’m told it’s not too far away and it’s a wonderful family campground.  Our church has had a church wide family campout there for many years, so it must be nice.  We’re looking forward to getting away for a couple of days and having some out of church fellowship with the other church members.  We’re planning on staying Friday and Saturday night and coming home after the service on Sunday.  Monday we’ll have the traditional cookout at Carrie’s mom and dad’s then Tuesday, back to work.  I’ll try to post my BLOG next Monday, but it may not be up until Tuesday.  In the meantime, have a great week and weekend.  Please remember, don’t drink and drive this weekend or ever.  Ephesians 5:18

MYBLOG May 25, 2009 (ok, it’s the 26^th)

A day late, but here it is.  I hope you had a wonderful Memorial weekend.  The Hills certainly did.  We went camping with our church, New Hope Bible, to Highland Retreat near Berton, VA.  The campground is beautiful with lots of hiking trails, swimming pool, ropes course, a mountain swing and lots of other activities.  The weather could not have been better.  The church has been doing this family camping weekend for nearly 10 years and every year more and more people join in the fun.  This year there were 98 people camping.  It was the first time Evan had ever been camping and the first time in over a year that the Hill’s have been camping.  As a matter of fact, the last time we went camping was the weekend that we found out that Evan was on the way, of course we didn’t know it was Evan at the time.  He really enjoyed himself.  We walked around and he picked up nearly every stick, leaf and bug that would sit still long enough for him to get his little hands on.  Then he would describe what he had found.  Only he knew what he was saying, but still he told us all about it.  The whole group was set up around a pavilion and playground area so the older kids could just go and have fun without the pesky parents hovering.  The setup sort of reminded me of the old western movies where they’d circle up the wagons, only in this case we circled up the tents and campers.  Mason met up with a couple of kids that he goes to Sunday school with and we pretty much only saw him when it was time to eat.  Of course he was never out of our sight or the watchful eyes of other parents or teens.  Crissie, Mason and I went on a learning nature hike with several other church members and the pastor of the church, Terry Keaton.  He does wilderness survival training so we got a lesson on some of the things you could eat and, more importantly, the things you couldn’t.  We even sampled things along the trail, or as Pastor Terry called them “trail nibbles.”  I drew the line at ants, just wasn’t that hungry.  The hike destination was to Tiger Rock, about 2 and a half hours away and several thousand feet above the campground.  It was uphill the whole way to the rock, but all downhill coming back.  It was well worth it, the views were wonderful.  We had our Sunday service at a natural amphitheater overlooking the lower part of the campground and the mountains beyond.  The message was fitting for the setting, how we should be like Evan and the other small kids who point at and pick up everything is amazement.  That’s how we, as believers, should be with everything the Lord presents to us in our daily life.  After all, He made it all.  Think if it this way; if you were the last person on earth would the flowers be any less fregrant?  Would the Grand Canyon be any less grand?  Would the Northern Lights be any less wondrous?  Nope, because He made everything for you.  Genesis 1.

June 2009

MYBLOG June 1, 2009

It’s hard to believe that it’s the first of June already, but here it is.  Last week our neighbors were on vacation so, as usual, we helped out with dog sitting.  Actually, my wife and Mason helped out.  My part of helping was keeping Evan occupied while they went next door to let the dogs out and such.  While the neighbors were gone I mowed our lawn and theirs.  Sure, I used their tractor, but that is beside the point. (they said I could)  This past weekend we celebrated Carrie’s birthday with cake and homemade ice cream.  Her birthday isn’t until the 3^rd.  She turns…a year older.  How crazy do you think I am?  I’d like to be around for her next birthday.  Mason, Evan and I spent part of Saturday afternoon birthday shopping, sort of a boy’s day out.  It gave Carrie a few precious hours alone, which is something we all need from time to time and she gets very little of.  I guess you could say that was part of her birthday present, although it sounds odd to leave a person alone as a present.  We got her real present, some clothes, and brought back dinner for everyone.  The only thing we didn’t get was cards, but that will be done before her birthday.  Mason is reading, or trying to read, everything he sees.  While we were shopping he was reading me the names of the stores and some of the tags in the stores.  He’s read me a couple of stories and it won’t be long until he’s reading me his bible.  He only has a few more days left to go to school.  He’s looking forward to sleeping in.  He’s like his mom in that respect.  Evan is fully mobile now almost able to run instead of just walk.  He continues to amaze us with the things he does.  He’s starting to say a few more words now and sometimes I swear he’ll spit out a sentence that you think shouldn’t be coming out of someone that small, but there it was.  I know that he gets frustrated when we adults don’t get what he’s trying to say.  You can see in his little blue eyes that he knows exactly what he wants and can’t understand why the “big people” can’t seem to grasp what he’s saying.  He and his older brother are getting along more and more, at least most of the time.  Since Evan is more mobile now he can chase Mason and the two can play hide and seek.  The Lord blessed me with a wonderful family and I thank him everyday for his graces.  I also ask Him to help me to be the husband and father that He wants me to be.   Colossians 3:18-21

MYBLOG June 8, 2009

Well, it’s official; my son Mason inherited his mother’s smarts.  I went to an awards ceremony this morning at his school and he was one of several students in the school who made straight A’s for the year.  Can you say proud papa?  The honor came complete with a certificate suitable for framing.  I’m sure it will end up in the scrapbook that his mom has been keeping for him since he was born.   Evan and I were in the audience and Mason got to sit with us.  His was the first name called and I had to prompt him, just a little, to get him to go up on stage and get his award.  His little cheeks got rosy as he made his way, check that ran back to Evan and me.  I think my cheeks were a little rosy too and my eyes were a little watery.  Must have been all that pollen in the air in the auditorium.    We’ll be back at school tonight for the graduation ceremony.  Better pack a few extra Kleenex.  Last week seemed a little more hectic than usual.  We had a couple of engineers at the station doing some work, so Joe and I were doing some running here and there for pieces and parts that they needed to complete the job.  You know how it is, no matter how well you plan there’s always those couple little things that got overlooked.  Saturday Carrie and Mason spent most of the day together, as Mason had yet another social engagement; a birthday party for one of his classmates.  Evan and I hung out while they were gone.  I didn’t get much, ok anything completely finished.  We did work on cleaning out my truck.  Evan was having fun “driving” while I was shoveling out the stuff that had accumulated on the back floorboard.  I couldn’t help but stop and join in as he was making motor sounds.  He’d make a sound, then I’d make one and then we’d both laugh.  Some of his sounds included slobber exiting his mouth, which made it even funnier for both of us.  I think it’s important for a person to learn the proper technique when doing a Bronx cheer, don’t you?  In addition to motor sounds, Evan has discovered that he can scream.  Not just a little, short scream.  He lets out a full volume, ear piercing scream.  The only thing that stops him once he gets on a roll is that he has to take a breath.  They are screams of delight and music to my ears. Saturday night we went out to the Relay For Life in Front Royal for a couple of hours and hung out with some old friends and Sunday was Church, Sunday school and then a family picnic in Clearbrook.  By the time we got home Sunday night, the whole family was worn out from another busy weekend.  As my head hit the pillow Sunday night, I had just enough time to thank God for all my blessings before I drifted off to sleep.  1 Corinthians 10:31.      

MYBLOG June 15, 2009

Where do I begin?  Evan was a little under the weather for most of last week.  He was running a fever, sleepy and generally grumpy.  Turns out he had a viral infection, so no meds, just let it run it course.  His fever broke late in the week, but he was still grumpy most of the weekend.  Meanwhile, Mason had a field day at his school on Wednesday.  Carrie and her mom went up to the school for a while and I spent about an hour there watching the kids having a blast playing games and such.  They even had a waterslide, which is where Mason spent 99% of his time.  I spent the middle part of Saturday mowing and trimming at the church.  It was lovely weather to do yard work, but the equipment I was using had other ideas.  First the big walk behind mower wasn’t running correctly and kept stalling out on me.  So I decided I’d just use the riding mower.  It wasn’t long before I had it stuck in the mud and had to use my truck to pull it out.  I didn’t let it deter me though.  I kept on mowing and trimming until I got the job done.  On Sunday, after church, the Hill family went next door to our neighbors, Paul and Wanda’s, for a cookout.  They were breaking in their new deck and were nice enough to invite us over.  After the cookout I managed to get the oil changed in my truck and a couple of other little jobs around the house.  All in all, it was a pretty productive weekend.  One very sad note; a member of my church family passed away suddenly on Saturday afternoon.  Stu Kissinger was a very active church and community member and he will be greatly missed.  Please pray for his wife, Judy, and his entire family.  Matthew 5:4

MYBLOG June 22, 1009

The sickness in the Hill house has subsided, at least for now.  Evan and Mason are both feeling much better.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  A hectic week ended with a relaxing weekend, at least for me.  Carrie took the boys shopping with her on Saturday which left me alone at the house for a few hours.  If you recall, it was very rainy most of the day, so the outside work didn’t get done, but I did manage to do a few little things around the inside of the house, in between naps that is.  Sunday, Fathers Day, we went to church and then all met at Crissie’s house then went for a picnic on the Skyline Drive.  None of us have been on the Drive for a long time, so it was a very nice get away.  It was sort of chilly with the sun ducking in and out of the clouds and the wind blowing, but we had a picnic anyway, albeit a very quick one.  We cleaned up our tables and then went for a walk that turned into a hike.  We picnicked at Dickey Ridge and hiked from there back to the Snead Farm.  I’d guess it was maybe a 3 mile hike in total.  We saw quite a few tracks, but not much wild life, unless you count Mason, Evan and a couple of other hikers.  We did see one snake, which almost shortened the hike, but it was off the trail and slithered off the rocks down into the under brush.  We think it was a very large garter snake, at least that’s what we determined after we got back to Crissie’s and looked it up online.  I’m used to seeing garter snakes that are a foot or less long and skinny.  This guy was at least 2 feet long and fairly plump.  After the hike and a little rest we got in the vehicles and drove a few more miles south on the Drive, stopping at all the overlooks.  We live in a beautiful part of the world; I think sometimes we forget that.  It was nice to get above our surroundings and see Gods wonders from a little closer to His perspective.  Yesterday we honored our earthly fathers, but we need to give honor and glory to our heavenly Father everyday.  Revelation 4:11

July 2009

MYBLOG July 6, 2009

It’s hard for me to believe but another July 4^th is in the books.  While most of the country had Friday off, I have today off.  It worked out pretty good, I think.  Carrie was off on Friday and was able to spend the whole day with the boys and since I’m off today, I get my turn with them all to myself.  Right now they are napping and I must admit that I feel like I could be too, but instead here I am at the laptop pecking away.  We went to the new library to return some books Mason had checked out and to get a few more.  Mason is part of the summer reading program at the library.  After we explored the new library, which by the way is very nice, we headed over to the playground nearby.  We played for about an hour then came home.  As far as the holiday, we stayed home and had a cook out with family and friends.  We had a few sparklers and other fireworks for the kids but some of our neighbors had some, ah how do I say this; “imported” fireworks that gave most of the mountain a pretty good show.  The adults played several games of horseshoes, some under the lights.  Larry and I teamed up and were unbeatable, especially after I put my glasses on.  Sunday we went to church and Sunday school.  Our church joined with other churches around the country to pray for our nation.  (see last weeks BLOG)  It stayed sort of rainy at the Hill house Sunday afternoon so we just stayed inside and rested and watched a movie.  Mason finished up vacation bible school last week and Carrie was able to register him for swimming lessons starting next week and later in the month our church is having a High Power Soccer Camp that he’s looking forward to attending.  I remember going to vacation bible school as a kid, but swimming lessons?  That consisted of my brother Nelson taking me to the Pine Creek, near the railroad crossing, where the water was way over my head and “teaching” me to swim.  If you have an older sibling, you know what I’m talking about.  We didn’t play soccer either; we played kickball and football with rules that would change day to day.  Times have changed and I’m glad my boys have the opportunity to do different things, but they’re missing the freedom I had as a kid.  You can’t just let your kids run around the neighborhood anymore, like when I was little.  Some changes are not for the better.  2 Corinthians 3:17.   

MYBLOG July 13, 2009

Another weekend and yet another birthday party, make that two.  Mason spent Friday night with Memaw and Papa, and then met his aunt Crissie Saturday afternoon to attend another birthday party.  Evan got to go to this one too and it was a pool party.  Some kids have all the luck.  Mason told me he got to swim a little while before the rains came down and we have photo evidence of Evan in the kiddy pool.  As with most parties Mason brought home a goodie bag full of stuff, including a glow in the dark thingamajig.  This makes about a dozen glow-in-the dark thingamajigs he now has in his room, making it as bright as midday at bedtime.  They can’t glow forever, right?  While the boys were away Carrie enjoyed some alone time working on her scrapbook and I worked outside on a birthday present for Crissie.  We celebrated her birthday on Sunday even though her actual birthday isn’t until the 15^th.  I built a wishing well for her front yard.  It has the same basic design as the one I build for Doris last year, but it’s much smaller.  It’s made completely from left over stuff from other projects that we did around our house, so I guess it’s sort of a green well.  Reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Since it was much smaller it only took me a little over 4 hours to build, which I thought was pretty good, maybe not so good for a professional carpenter, but for me pretty good.  Sunday we went to church and Sunday school, as usual.  Carrie teaches a class of 2 and 3 year olds and this week I got to help.  I’ll admit, there were a few tears, but I eventually got used to the kids and stopped crying and the twitching in my left eye is nearly gone now.  I’m just kidding, the kids are great.  We had 5 kids.  We read two lessons, let the kids put stickers on their papers, made puppets from lunch bags and did some coloring.  The last 15 minutes of class was spent playing with toys and reading some other stories.  One father picked up his son and as they were walking down the hall he asked “so what did you learn about today?’”  The boy answered “God.”  The father just chuckled.  Apparently the little guy was listening during class after all.  Matthew 19:14

MYBLOG July 20, 2009

Doctors’ appointments, swimming lessons, a couple of cookouts and another birthday party pretty much sums up last week for the Hills.  Monday was a double day.  Both Evan and Mason had appointments with the doctor.  Fortunately they both go to the same doctor and Carrie was able to get an appointment for them at the same time.  Mason was just a check up and Evan had a check up and a couple more shots.  Mason measures 45 inches tall and weighs 47 pounds.  Evan is 34 inches tall and weighs in at almost 21 pounds.  Both boys are growing like crazy.  Mason started swimming lessons at the local pool on Monday, but because of the appointment with the doctor, he missed his first class.  He made up for it the rest of the week.  He’s never spent too much time in the water, other than wadding pools, so seeing him in the deep end of the public pool is a little unnerving. The instructors put a life vest on the students and away they go to jump off the diving board or slide down the big slide.  Either way they end up in water over their heads.  He’s got one more week of level 1 lessons, then on to level 2.  I don’t know if that will be this year or not.  Evan is speaking alien.  He just jabbers about most anything and has different inflection and tone depending on what he’s talking about.  The doctor said he knows what he wants to say, but just can’t get it to come out in words we understand yet.  Only Evan knows what he’s saying.  He is using some basic sign language which eases his frustrations with us big people who don’t know what he’s trying saying.  Mason didn’t talk until he was almost 2.  Evan is 14 months and is far more vocal then his big brother ever was.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.  Our neighbors Paul and Wanda invited us over for a cookout Saturday night and we celebrated Carrie’s mom’s birthday on Sunday, after church.  She’s…..ah….a year older than she was last year.  My mama didn’t raise no fools!  Crissie grilled some steaks and we had baked potatoes and steamed zucchini. We took a little walk then came back and had pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream on top.  Yummy!  Not an exciting week or weekend, but a very pleasant and restful one none the less.  Proverbs 6:10.   

July 27, 2009

The summer is flying by, don’t you think?  Here we are at the end of July already.  Last week is sort of a blur to me since I had to fill in for Randy on the morning show.  That alarm going off at 3:45 in the morning is not a happy sound.  I tried my best to get up before the alarm so as not to wake up the entire house.  I managed to do that all but one day.  Mason finished up his swimming lessons last week.  He passed so he’ll start level 2 lessons next week.  This week he’s in a High Power Soccer camp at our church.  Several of his school friends are at the camp too.  This past weekend flew by too.  Saturday we all went out to the fairgrounds to take in the Bikers For Bunky event that was going on.  There were lots of nice bikes, cars and music.  We had lunch, wandered around the grounds and listened to some music.  Sunday, after church and Sunday school, we came home, had a light lunch and got ready for a cookout at a friends house.  Their daughter is one of Mason’s classmates so it was kind of a play date/cookout.  There were a couple other classmates and their parents there too, so it was very nice.  We had to leave that a little early so we could drop the boys off at Aunt Crissie’s and then Carrie and I went to meet with several other couples from our church in a small group setting.  Everyone brought a dish and we ate, again.  This was only the second meeting of the group so we worked out some details, ordered some study material and basically just talked the night away.  It reminded me of when I was younger and either my family would go visiting or other families would visit us.  There was just a nice warm feeling of fellowship and laughter.  One of my fondest memories of my dad from when I was little was sitting on his lap while he and several other men sat in our living room talking.  I recall laying my head on his chest and listening to his voice.  I’ll never forget that.  You can’t get those types of memories from MySpace or FaceBook.  I may be wrong but I think today’s kids need memories like the ones I have of my parents.  I hope I can give my kids those same kinds of memories.   Matthew 18:20

August 2009

MYBLOG August 4, 2009

I know I’m a day late, but we got back into town later than expected on Monday and both the boys were suffering from jetlag from the long car ride.  As a matter of fact, both of them are out of sorts and running a slight fever.  The long weekend was nice, but it seemed to be very rushed.  First of all, Allegheny Power shut off the electricity to our house on Thursday afternoon.  That’s a nice way to start off a vacation, wouldn’t you agree?  Turns out we were not alone in the disconnection.  Allegheny had some sort of computer glitch that sent shut off notices to possibly hundreds of people before they caught the mistake.  So we spent Thursday night with Carrie’s mom and dad and ran the generator at our house to keep the fridge and freezer running.  We got a little later start on Friday and because of the rain we weren’t able to have the picnic we’d planned, but we did get the hotel earlier than expected so we had time to enjoy the pool and relax a little while.  We got up Saturday morning had some breakfast and hit the road for the rest of the journey to my mom’s house in JerseyShore.  We arrived a little after 1 so the boys had a chance to burn off some of the energy they had stored up from the car ride.  On Sunday we head north to CountyBridgeState Park for the Hill picnic.  The weather was sort of overcast with breaks of sun here and there.  The TiogaRiver was unusually full this year.  It was nearly 20 feet across instead of the 10 feet that we normally see in August.  Yeah, it’s only a river by name.  It does get somewhat larger the further north it flows, but since the Park is near the headwaters, it’s not much of a “river.”  Since the river is spring fed the water is very cold at the park.  That didn’t deter the kids from venturing in however.  With blue lips and quivering chins they all proclaimed that “we’re not cold!”  Just a couple of notes about the car ride; we have a portable DVD player that Mason watched most of the trip, but it didn’t interest Evan.  He had several cars and talking toys to play with but the thing he got the most enjoyment out of was the napkin we got from McDonalds.  Go figure.   All in all it was a nice trip, too rushed, but nice none the less.  Now we all need a few days off to recover from our daze off.  Matthew 11:28

MYBLOG August 10, 2009

It turns out that both Mason and Evan got an infection either during or right after our PA trip.  They both went to see the doctor last Tuesday and both got a round of antibiotics.  They are much better now.  Mason had a throat infection and Evan had an ear and sinus infection.  The doctor said most likely the infection was caused by the same bacteria, but just settled in different places on the boys.  Carrie took advantage of the tax free shopping day on Saturday and managed to find some back to school bargains for Mason.  I got a bargain out of the deal too because I was able to spend the whole day with my boys.  I did a little extra duty at the Warren County Fair on Friday and Saturday nights.  Saw lots of old friends, friendly folks and got to meet several listeners who I’ve talked to on the phone, but never met in person.  That’s always nice.  Mason spent Saturday night with Memaw and Papaw and they stopped by the Fair to see me while I was there.  Carrie didn’t feel well Saturday night and into Sunday so Evan and I went to church and I got to teach Carrie’s Sunday school class.  She teaches 2, 3 and 4 year olds.  The twitching in my left eye has nearly stopped.  I’m just kidding, the kids are great.  We prayed, read a story, colored, read another story and then we all played for the last 15 minutes of the class.  The lesson was about the Golden Rule, so during play time were able to apply what we had learned.  I’m sure it wasn’t done the exact way that Carrie, the teacher, would have done it but everyone survived and I believe learned something.  I didn’t feel great when I woke up this morning.  I think Carrie may have given me whatever it was that she had.  Matthew 7:12

MYBLOG August 17, 2009

T-minus 3 weeks until school starts, but who’s counting?  Every parent in every corner of these Unites States of America!  For some of you it’s even less than three weeks, as you start before Labor Day.  Mason’s school starts on September 8^th.  He’s said a few times this summer that he couldn’t wait to go back to school.  Trust me; I’ve made a metal note of that to remind him when he’s grumbling about being back in school.  It’s only a mental note as of right now, but I do have the technology to digitally record it for playback later, and often.  That’s a handy little piece to have in one’s arsenal.  We’re trying to get Mason back to his bedtime schedule and next week we’ll start to wake him up a little earlier so it’s not such a shock on the first day.  I’m sort of wondering how Evan will react.  He’s getting used to having breakfast with his big brother followed by some play time.  They’ll still get the breakfast part, but Mason will leave with mommy so he can get to school on time, leaving Evan and I to fend for ourselves.  I think we’ll do fine.  I’m sure mommy will be a mess the first day, she always is.  That’s in the future, what did we do this past weekend?  Well we spent time with the boys, Carrie did some housework and I did some yard work, both at home and at the church.  I’ve got the blisters to prove it.  Sunday we went to church and didn’t get a sermon, at least not from the pastor.  Instead we were treated to some testimonials from some of the church teens who had attended a camp the previous week.  It was a non-electronics camp; no i-pods, cell phone, computers, tv’s, radio’s, PDA’s or giga pets allowed.  One boy said “I almost cried when I found out i-pods were not allowed.”  Our youth pastor was very emotional when he was introducing the kids.  He said he was amazed and thankful for the way God had worked through him, the other adults and within the group during camp.  The teens said it was a very emotional time for them as well, especially during the nightly campfires.  The teens, not being comfortable speaking in front of a large group, had the congregation laughing out loud and crying at the same time.  They did a great job and you could tell that they truly had been touched by the Holy Spirit.  They unplugged and got plugged into the greatest power there is.  You can’t ask for more than that.  Acts 1:8    

MYBLOG August 31, 2009

Another week and weekend flew by.  I spent most evenings last week helping my neighbor finish up his new storage building.  He’s still doing little things, but the major construction is done. On Saturday morning I went out into our attached garage to get something and when I looked up and out a window there was a bear cautiously walking from the woods across the yard to our trash cans.  He didn’t find anything and continued towards the neighbor’s house.  As I was going back in the house to tell Carrie and the boys about the bear I heard Mason yell “BEAR!”  Nuff said.  Paul and Wanda, our neighbors, hosted a cookout on Saturday night as a way to say “thanks” to everyone who helped with the building.  As their daughter and her boyfriend we coming up 522 north, just south of Chester Gap, they hit, wait for it, a bear.  A little damage to the car and the bear, both limped away from the scene.  I don’t know if it was the same bear we saw earlier in the day or not, but we haven’t seen him since.  Our neighbors also volunteered to paint the new front door that Carrie and I bought for our house.  They painted it on Sunday morning and Larry, Paul and I installed it on Sunday afternoon.  I almost dread doing any remodeling in our house.  Plumb, square and level were all foreign concepts to who ever build this house.  I’d expect things to be a little askew if the house were, say 100 years old, but it’s not.  It just seems that in order to fix or upgrade anything you have to deconstruct what someone else did incorrectly and start over.  I’ve said that I’d love to be able to buy a travel trailer, set it up in the yard and live in it while we totally gutted the house and started over.  Carrie’s not too keen on that idea.  Something about being huddled in less than a sixth of the space we currently have with 100 percent of the boys and me, and our stuff, for an undetermined amount of time.  A few days; it’s an adventure.  A few months; it’s a straight jacket.  Then there’s the whole money issue.  Our money tree hasn’t been very productive lately.  Oh well, we’ll make due and continue to tackle the projects one at a time.  That way I get to use my level, square, saws-all and BFH.  That’s Big Framing Hammer.  Isaiah 26:7

MYBLOG August 24, 2009

In this weeks blog; buildings, bulbs, bears and baseball.  Last week my neighbors had a brand new storage building delivered.  The delivery truck couldn’t get it to their property, so they used our driveway and dumped it in our yard, close to the neighbor’s yard.  The second part of this story is that, although it is a prefab building, it was not assembled, nor did it come with any printed instructions.  I spent most every evening last week helping to get the various parts together so they look like a building.  So far, so good.   Lately, we’ve had several bears visit our neighborhood.  There is at least one, rather large, adult and two smaller, probably yearlings.  Once and a while we’ll see two together, but mostly it’s just one wandering through the yard or munching from the bird feeders or trash cans.  One morning, as Carrie was leaving, she came rushing back in the front door and the only thing she said was “bear!”  I knew she didn’t mean Yogi.  We all watched as it meandered through our front yard, across the driveway and into the woods.  Carrie was a little late for work that morning.  I spent all day this past Saturday doing some work at our church, New Hope Bible (www.newhopebible.org) I was fortunate to be assigned to work with a fellow member, Mike, replacing light bulbs in the sanctuary.  You may be thinking “all day to change bulbs?”  Yeah, the ceiling in the sanctuary is between 20 and 30 feet tall and there are over 80 light fixtures.  We replaced every bulb to more energy efficient bulbs.  The project involved moving 300 plus chairs, a man lift and several cases of bulbs, so yeah it took all day.  Finally: baseball.  The Little League World Series started this past Friday in Williamsport, PA, which is very close to my home town.  This is about the only sporting event that I watch.  The kids that play are amazing.  They make plays that the big leaguers envy and have a passion for the game that most major league players have forgotten.  I also praise God for the coaches who gather the players before the game and after, win or lose, for a team prayer.  One thing I noticed this year was a few of the players having eye black on and in the eye black having something written in white.  The one I saw and was able to read was a bible verse.  Praise God!  Here’s the verse this little brother had picked to display.  Philippians 4:13.  Look it up!

September 2009

MYBLOG September 21, 2009

It’s official; summer is over.  No, really today is the last full day of summer.  The autumnal, or fall equinox will occur tomorrow the 22^nd.  Basically we’ll have the same amount of day and night tomorrow.  If you’re like me you’re scratching your head wondering where summer went.  You’re also wondering how in the world you’ll get all those summer projects that you put off, done before the snow begins to fall.  I was going to procrastinate but I decided to wait.  So what didn’t I do?  Well, I didn’t get the retraining wall build around the maple tree in the front yard.  I didn’t get the fascia and soffit on the front porch.  I didn’t get the front porch stained.  I didn’t the get the front walk and flower bed redone.  I didn’t get the garage cleaned out.  I didn’t get my workbench built.  I didn’t get my truck washed and waxed.  I didn’t get our pantry reorganized. I didn’t finish the list of things I didn’t get done.  It’s sort of a downer when you start to think about what you didn’t do.  How about if we switch perspective just a little.  What did I get done?  Well I helped neighbors with their projects.  I helped my in-laws with some things around their house.  I helped my church with some maintenance and helped keep the grass mowed.  We installed a new front door on our house. (storm door installation pending.)  I managed to hold down a full time job, thankfully.  The best thing I did was to spend time with my boys and my wife, not nearly enough though.  As for all those things that didn’t get done just let me add one more word; yet.  Call me an optimist, but I still have some time to get some projects done and some of them can be done while the snow is falling.  I will tell you this; if I have to choose between cleaning out the garage and going for a bike ride with Mason, I’m going riding.  If I have to choose between building a sidewalk and playing with Evan in the yard, I’m playing.  If I have to choose between building a workbench and taking a nap with my boys snuggled up beside me guess where I’ll be.  In the big scheme of things would the world be better if I had a clean truck or garage?  Would a nice sidewalk and flower bed or retaining wall have an effect on future generations?  Not in the least.  But that bike ride or that play time or that nap will build something much more important; memories.  Memories that my boys can pass on to their children and so on.  There will always be things to do and things that don’t get done, but I pray that I will able to not worry about those things and focus on the important things.  Matthew 6:25-34

MYBLOG September 28, 2009

Well I had a long weekend, but it still seemed short.  I took Friday off because I was honored to be asked to help MC the ABBA Care Fall event.  Since there was a sound check at 5 and the show started at 7, there was no way I could be on the air and help with the event too.  If you’re not familiar with the work that ABBA Care does, here’s a link:  www.abbacares.org.  On Friday morning I took Evan to the sitters as usual then went home to get a few things done around the house before I had to leave for the event.  My “few” things turned into one thing, installing a new storm door.  As with most projects around our house it always takes longer than average to do things.  I did manage to eventually get the door installed and working properly.  Saturday Mason and I spent a few hours in the garage cleaning up and tossing out.  It also gave us a little father son time, something that we haven’t been getting enough of lately.  Evan was home with us, but he was taking an extended nap, so it worked out pretty well.  We didn’t get as much done in the garage as we would have liked, but it’s better than it was.  We’ll tackle it again maybe next weekend, if the weather cooperates that is.  That was another issue on Saturday; the rain.  I’m not complaining because we need the rain, but in order to really clean and organize I’d like to be able to take everything out to the driveway, sort it, clean it and then put it back.  It might be easier to just take it to the end of the driveway and have a yard sale.  Mason is getting into the school groove again.  Most mornings he’s ready to get up and go to school, most mornings.  Along about Thursday it’s harder to get him motivated in the morning.  Evan gets up when everyone does, or shortly after, and he, Mason and I have our breakfast together while Carrie gets ready for work.  While we’re eating I usually quiz Mason on his spelling words for the week.  He’s doing fairly well with his school work.  He’s writing in cursive again this year, something I didn’t learn until I was in at least third grade and he’s only in first.  Evan continues to amaze.  The other day while he was eating I had turned my back on him to get something and he said “daddy, done.”  I turned around in disbelief at what I had just heard.  If you listen closely to his gibberish you’ll hear a word or two thrown in from time to time.  There are rumors that he says “I love you” but I haven’t heard that yet.  In due time.  1 Peter 2:2.

MYBLOG September 8, 2009

Sorry this is a day late, but I spent Monday squeezing out the last bit of summer vacation with Mason.  He started school today.  He’s in first grade, hard to believe.  I did have plans to write and post this yesterday, but between the gutter cleaning, bike riding, cooking out and baseball, time simply slipped away.  Mason was sick all last week.  He’d seem to get better then start throwing up again.  We called the doctor and he gave us a regiment of foods to give him, and again, it seemed to work.  Finally after he up chucked early Sunday morning, my wife decided enough was enough and took him to the doctor.  Turns out he had an intestinal infection.  He got a dose of antibiotics in him about noon on Sunday and he perked right up.  Wanted to eat everything, but the dr. said to take it slow, so we did.  By Monday at lunch time he was much better and was able to help me do some stuff outside.  We finished up a few chores and then went for a bike ride in our neighborhood.  It was the first time Mason had ever rode on streets.  He did pretty well but gave me a scare or two.  He even managed to ride back up the hill to our house; me, not so much.  But he couldn’t push his little bike up the driveway but I could push my huge mountain bike up the driveway, so we’re even.  I could have made it up the hill too, but I was trying to balance about a dozen cans we had picked up to recycle.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  This morning Carrie and Mason were leaving while Evan and I shared my breakfast.  Evan smiled and waved as they left, but when he and I got in the truck later, he was looking around like “where’s my big brother?” With Mason out of the house, Evan will lay down for his morning nap, something he didn’t like to do when Mason was there to play with.  So we’re all getting used to a new routine.  By the way, thanks to all of you who said a prayer for Mason.  James 1:17

MYBLOG September 14, 2009

Wing walkers and skydivers; Stearman and Pitts; Cessna and Piper; singles, twins and war birds, oh and I can’t forget the Blackhawk!  Guess what I did this weekend.  I spent all day Saturday at the Front Royal/Warren County airport for an air show!  I was honored to be asked to MC the event and also did a live remote on The River, so I was just a little busy.  I used to spend quite a bit of time at that airport when I was learning to fly and eventually, after getting my pilots license, renting a Piper Cherokee, tail number 7242F, to fly over the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.  That Cherokee is still out there and it got a workout on Saturday giving air show attendees plane rides.  The Flying Circus was there too, giving everyone a taste of what these talented pilots do every Sunday at their Aerodrome in Bealton, VA. (www.flyingcircusairshow.com)  Most of the planes they fly are over 60 years old and look great.  A real glimpse into aviation history.  In true barnstorming fashion they made several passes over the airport with their powerful engines roaring causing folks on the ground to look up and see just what was going on.  Back in the day they would have flown over a town to get some attention, then landed in a farmer’s field and set up shop for an impromptu show.  In addition to the vintage aircraft there were several other planes on display and one Extra 300, which is an aerobatic plane, and let me tell you the pilot put that plane through its paces as well doing loops, hammerhead stalls and various other stomach turning, but awe inspiring stunts.  I talked to the pilot before he took off and he said “it’s got two seats and some people say they’d like to go up with me, until they see what I do in the air.”  Probably the highlight was when the Blackhawk helicopter arrived.  It was from the Virginia Army Nation Guard stationed in Richmond.  They made the trip as a way to honor the vets that were assembled at the show, including Bunky Woods.  As they taxied to the tarmac this massive war machine made a stop in front of the reviewing stand where the vets were seated. A crewman jumped out and slowly saluted them.  I just got a lump in my throat and my eyes misted up typing this, the same way I did when I witnessed it in person.  In addition to all the flying stuff I got a chance to meet and work with a bunch of very talented and nice folks who were running the PA and sound for the show.  I’ve worked with lots of sound engineers in the past who were, how do I put this, high-strung.  Not these guys, they were all down to earth, brothers in Christ who knew what needed to be done and did it and adapted quickly to changing circumstances with no complaints.  It was a pleasure to work with them.  I can’t wait until next year.  Mark it on your calendar, the closest Saturday to September 11^th, Patriots Day.  James 4:10

MYBLOG October 5, 2009

It was the weekend that never was.  Well, I guess that’s not true, it was a weekend but it was full of activities and as usual it flew by.  There is always a lot to do around the house and this weekend was no different, but not much got done as we all were out enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  I had to work a little while on Saturday as I did a live broadcast from the Autumn Conservation Festival at the Conservation and Research Center.  It’s always a fun time at the CRC.  I got to meet lots of very nice people and see some amazing displays explaining what it is they do at the center.  I was there until noon when the rest of my family joined me.  Mason and I left the festival so he could attend a birthday party of one of his friends.  They did the typical kid party things; crafts, eat cake and ice cream and play some games.  After the party he and I went home and relaxed on the couch for an hour or so until Carrie and Evan got home from the Festival.  By the time I fixed supper and everyone had a bath it was bed time.  Every year our church, New Hope Bible (www.newhopebible.org) has worship in the park.  This past Sunday was the day.  We all met at Bing Crosby and held our service outside complete with our praise and worship team and a time of fellowship afterwards.  Everyone brought a dish to share and as usual there was way too much food.  Mason and I didn’t stay for the meal but instead went to the open house at the Front Royal fire department.  Sunday was the kick off of fire prevention week and they had all sorts of displays, information and demonstrations.  What really shocked both Mason and I was when they burned a mock up of a room.  They lit a posted in the room with a single match and within three minutes the entire room was engulfed in flames.  It really drove home how quickly fire can spread once it gets started.  It made an impact on Mason too because he said “daddy, I think we need to have a fire drill at our house.”  We’ve talked about we need to do if there is a fire and where to meet, but we’ve never done a drill.  Now is the time, not only for us but for you too.  We didn’t have time to do the drill on Sunday because we stayed so long at the open house and by the time we got home it was time to turn around and head back to church.  Mason had AWANA while I participated in a series called The Truth Project.  (www.thetruthproject.org)  Very interesting look at the world and the many different types of world views how those views are formulated.  Mason and I spent pretty much the entire weekend together; we both needed that.  Carrie got to spend pretty much the whole weekend with Evan and there was still family time too.  Sort of a nice balance.  Psalm 68:20     

MYBLOG October 12, 2009

Mid October and the weather is changeable at best.  One day it’s in the mid 80’s the next day in the mid 60’s with rain and then back to the 70’s the next day!  No wonder there are so many folks sick.  I only got to enjoy Friday’s nice weather from the studio window, the inside unfortunately.  I got up early on Saturday and headed into town to help out Mason’s school, Bethel Christian, (www.bethelchristianschool.net) set up their festival of Leaves display on Chester street.  When I first got there is was warm and comfortable, but it wasn’t long before the clouds rolled in, the winds picked up and the rain started to fall.  I had to put my jacket on as I walked from Chester Street to Luray Avenue so I could march with the parade.  Thankfully it only sprinkled for about an hour or so and the parade marched in relatively nice weather.  The school had two floats in the parade, one for the elementary school that Mason rode on and one for the high school.  The high school float was rocking with the band Unite.  Several teenage guys playing Christian rock music; they drew quite a bit of attention, especially from the young ladies along the parade route.  After the parade we wandered around the festival and saw several friends that we hadn’t seen in a while.  On Sunday it was church as usual and then we went to Carrie’s parents house for dinner and a birthday celebration; mine.  I don’t try to keep my birthday secret, but I also don’t make a big deal of it either.  My actual birthday is the 13^th and I’ll be working late giving a group of Tiger Cubs a tour of the radio station.  I’ll try to call my mom before she has a chance to call me and thank her for having me and putting up with me all these years.  I don’t get all freaked out and nutso about my age, it’s just another number, a bigger number, but still a number.  I try to remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6 about worry, he said….nope, look it up.  Matthew 6:25-34

MYBLOG October 19, 2009

Well we got a taste of winter over the weekend, at least at the Hill house.  A little snow fell Saturday night and was still on the leaves when we got up Sunday morning.  Both the boys were very excited about the first flurries.  Mason had a little bump at school on Friday.  He fell and bit through his bottom lip, loosing one of his teeth.  You’d think he would have been upset, but he wasn’t at all; as a matter of fact, just the opposite.  He’s the only one in his class who hasn’t lost a tooth yet, so he was actually excited about the whole thing.  We told him that the loose tooth may tighten back up again, but he insisted that it wouldn’t.  So far it’s still in his mouth.  Evan wasn’t himself late Saturday night or Sunday.  He was grouchy, moody and clingy.  Last time he got like this he had a double ear and throat infection.  He had a low grade fever so we erred on the side of caution and took him to see the doctor.  We jumped the gun a little; he only has a cold, right now.  The doctor said it could develop into any number of things in the next week, so we’re keeping a close eye on him.  Memaw and Pawpa watched the boys at our house on Saturday night while Carrie and I had a rare date night.  We went to the new Alamo Draft House Cinema in Kernstown.  Carrie works for the family who built the theater and the end of last week and this past weekend were training sessions for the staff.  It’s a very nice theater with eight screens.  The difference from other movie houses in the area is that they serve food and beverages right to your stadium seat in the movie.  It’s a neat concept but I would recommend that you get to the theater early enough to order and eat your meal before the movie starts so you don’t have to eat in the dark.  If you would like more info visit their website www.drafthouse.com/winchester.  I had to get up very early this morning to do the morning show while Randy enjoyed a day off.  As I was making my way to my truck to leave the house I looked up and gazed at the early morning sky.  Wow, how amazing.  It reminded me of something that our pastor mentioned on Sunday morning in church.  He said if you took a dime and drilled out the “O” in the word God, held the dime at arms length and looked through the hole into the night sky you would get an approximation of what is seen by the Hubble telescope.  Now, what’s really amazing, within that small field of vision you would be looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 galaxies.  That’s 10,000 GALAXIES, not stars.  Boggles the mind doesn’t it.  The Psalmist was right!  Psalm 19.

MYBLOG October 26, 2009

Our kids were quarantined to the house this past weekend, not necessarily because they were sick, but because everyone else seems to be ill.  Mason is getting over strep throat and a sinus infection and Evan has a runny nose and sneezing.  We figured with their immune systems possibly weakened we’d just keep them at home and away from any other possible infections.  Carrie ventured out on Saturday to do some errands and I stayed home with the boys.  On Sunday I went to church while Carrie stayed home with them.  We both washed up as soon as we got home.  About a third of the church congregation was missing Sunday morning, some ill, some with the same thought process as Carrie and I.  I can’t tell you how many times a day I’ve been washing my hands.  I told one family at church that I was going home and install a sanitizing shower that you had to go through before you entered our house.  Although several people at church, at Mason’s school and at Carrie’s office have or are getting over the Swine Flu, we’ve managed to not catch it, yet.  And no, we’re not getting the shot either.  We’re more concerned about the flu shot than the actual flu.  I managed to get a few things done around the house over the weekend.  One thing I did late Saturday afternoon, in between rain showers, was build a quilt hanger for Evan’s room.  When we remodeled his room we removed a lot of solid oak boards.  They are rough and painted but with a couple of passes through a planer the beauty of the woods reappears.  I’ve got several board feet of these diamonds in the rough left so I’m thinking of other projects that I may be able to use them on.  I’m currently planning a book shelf for the boy’s books.  It takes several steps to get the boards in a condition to use, but it’s worth it.  I think it’s sort of neat to reclaim wood that came from the house to make new things to put back into the house.  It’s a lot cheaper and it lets me hone my carpentry skills.  I’m no Norm Abrams, but I do alright.  Hey, I still have all my fingers.  Deuteronomy 33:11 

MYBLOG November 2, 2009

Well, I had an interesting week.  About mid week I saw some fellows carrying stuff from the house behind the radio station.  I had been keeping an eye on the place since no one lives in the house.  The owner left quite a bit of stuff, for lack of a better word, in the house.  I thought it odd that these gentlemen we removing items via a pick up, so I made a few calls and eventually talked to the owner of the house and sure enough those “gentlemen” were not authorized to be on the property, let alone removing things from the house.  So I called the local law enforcement unit and they started their investigation.  Because I had waited to call the police, the unsubs (that’s cop talk, I think) were long gone.  But it doesn’t end there.  The “gentlemen” returned the very next day, in broad daylight, just after 2 in the afternoon and put some more stuff on their truck.  I could not believe it!  Joe grabbed the camera and I snapped a picture with my cell phone and called the police.  The first time I only got a partial plate from the truck, this time both Joe and I got it all and were able to give it to the police.  It turns out that the neighbor on the other side of the vacant house had video taped the truck driving off loaded with the ill gotten gain as well, so it was pretty much a slam dunk.  About an hour later we found out that the perps (more police lingo) had been caught.  From what I understand there were five arrests made.  So that was my week, the weekend was a blur as usual.  I had a very nice time at the grand opening live broadcast at the new 7-11 in Front Royal.  I got to talk to some very nice folks and see some old and friends.  Saturday night the boys dressed up for trick or treat.  Mason was a mummy and Evan was a doctor wearing scrubs.  Carrie made Mason’s costume, as usual, and her mom made Evan’s.  We spent most of the evening at the home of one of Mason’s classmates.  They live in a subdivision with lots of houses so there were lots of other kids and parents roaming the street.  There were some very creative costumes out Saturday night.  The one that I really liked was a teenage girl who was wearing an outhouse made of cardboard followed closely by a teenage boy in a brown trash bag with various items stuck to it.  We asked what he was supposed to be and he said, in a very sheepish way, “I’m with the outhouse.”  Then it clicked and everyone had a good laugh.  I told some of the other parents that were hanging out with us it must be young love.  Matthew 6:19-20.  

MYBLOG November 9, 2009

I had a wonderful, long, weekend.  My wife and I both took Friday off for our 10^th anniversary.  After she dropped Mason off at school and I took Evan to the sitters we did something that we haven’t done in a long time; we out for lunch and spent a few precious hours together.  If you have kids you know that one on one time with your spouse is somewhat rare.  For that matter, a full night’s sleep is rare too.  On Saturday morning we took the boys to Marker Miller Orchard and out to lunch.  About mid afternoon we dropped them off to Aunt Crissie while Carrie and I took in a matinee at the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas.  On Sunday we went to church as normal and I helped Carrie in her Sunday school class of two and three year olds.  One of my duties is to take the boys to the bathroom, if need be.  Trust me, there always seems to be a “need be.”  Last week I had one little guy who waited too long to ask to go and didn’t make it in time.  Back to mom for him!  This week one little fellow had to, how I put this, make number 2.  I helped him get “set up” and I waited outside the stall.  I kept asking if he was ok and he’d say “yes.”  “Are you finished yet?” “No.”  Finally, after what seemed like an hour, he yelled out “done!”  What took him so long?  He can’t read yet.  I opened the stall door to find him on the toilet wearing nothing but his socks and shoes.  I didn’t even ask why. I already knew why, because he’s three.  I got him redressed and hands washed just in time for his dad to pick him up.  Makes me wonder what kind of fun the people who are teaching Mason and Evan are having.  After church I went home and helped my neighbor replace one of his shed doors.  He stores, or should I say stored, corn in that building to feed the squirrels.  Bears like corn too and that half inch plywood and piano hinge was no match for a hungry bear.  It took a couple of hours but we got the new door built, reinforced and installed.  He moved the corn, what was left of it, to his basement.  Hope that door is sturdy.  Galatians 6:10.

MYBLOG November 23, 2009

Wow, what a week.  Camping For Hunger 2009 was a huge success thanks in no small way to you.  We delivered nearly 8 tons of food and over $2000 to The Salvation Army.  All of those donations will go right back into our community to help ease hunger in our hometown.  I must also tell you how proud I am of my boys.  Mason stood up in his class and explained what his daddy was doing and how important it was for his classmates to make a donation.  Donate they did, along with several of the teachers from his school.  He also helped out on the bus, taking in donations, helping to box up the donations and unloading all the food on Saturday.  He and I even spent a cold night on the bus on Friday.  I did say “boys” because little Evan even helped unload the bus.  There are pictures on the website of him carrying bags from the bus to The Salvation Army pantry.  Thanks also to my family.  Carrie, her sister, and mine, Crissie and their mom and dad, Doris and Larry, who came by every night and boxed up the donations which helped tremendously in keeping things organized and made it easier to unload on Saturday, or as easy as unloading nearly 8 tons can be.  As a matter of fact, they were there to help unload too.  I said this several times on the air but it’s worth repeating; this event made me very proud to live in this community.  The response was overwhelming and very heartwarming.  There were a number of times during the week that I got misty eyed.  The generosity of the donors, some of them coming out a time when they had to use a food bank, but wanted to give back.  Some donors who were out of work and using a food bank but still came by and gave.  And those who couldn’t give anything but stopped in to offer kind words of encouragement and asking if there was anything they could do to help.  There is good in the world and it’s nice to be reminded of that once in a while.  Matthew 25:35-40

MYBLOG November 30, 2009

The Hill family had a wonderful 4 day weekend, despite both Carrie and I having head colds and Evan being very cranky.  We spent Thanksgiving Day with Larry, Doris and a few friends.  We ate and then played Pictionary Man.  Pretty fun game, we all laughed which was more fun than the game itself.  Friday we did some house cleaning with periods of rest spread out over the day.  Saturday was much the same as Friday, although there was more resting because Evan had gotten even more cranky, not his usual little happy self.  By Sunday morning, after another night of not much sleep for Carrie, Evan and I (Mason slept like a rock all weekend.) Carrie and I decided enough was enough and off to the Doctors she went with Evan in tow.  It turns out that he has both a sinus and throat infection.  No wonder he was cranky.  He’s on antibiotics and felt much better by Sunday at lunch time.  He even helped Mason and I drag out the Christmas decorations and played outside, per the doctor’s orders, Sunday afternoon while Carrie and I put up some lights and bows.  I don’t know if you can classify this as a miracle or not, but all the lights, with the exception of a couple of bulbs, worked!  Oh sure, they were still all tangled up, but they worked.  I think this is about the first year that I haven’t had tinker with them to make them light up.  Wonders will never cease.  Something else I noticed this weekend.  Mason has taught Evan to bark like a dog, so now the two of them crawl around the house barking and chasing the cats.   Have you ever seen a confused cat?  It’s worth the price of admission.  I’m not going to worry about the barking and chasing, but if I catch one of them drinking out of the toilet, then I’ll worry.  Evan catches on the things very quickly.  When we sit down for a meal, Mason always says grace.  Lately Evan has been folding his little hands and is trying to mimic the words that Mason is saying.  Still working on the bedtime prayer, but eventually he’ll get that too, I’m sure.  I don’t know where Evan got all his smarts from, must be his mother.  Speaking of mothers, mine is celebrating her birthday Wednesday December 2.   Happy birthday Mom, I love you.  Psalm 69:30      

MYBLOG December 7, 2009

Pancakes, postponed parade and pretty pines.  I had the privilege of doing a live broadcast from Kiwanis Pancake Day in Front Royal on Saturday.  This marked the 53^rd year for this event and, as always, it’s a great community gathering.  I got to see lots of nice people and talk with a couple of students on the air that are involved with extensions of the Kiwanis club in their schools.  Both young ladies, Morgan who is 4^th grade and Abbey who is in middle school, were very well spoken and were able to articulate exactly what their clubs do for the community.  The big question of the day, however, was if the Front Royal Christmas parade would be cancelled or postponed because of the snowy weather.  Turns out it was postponed until next Sunday afternoon at 3.  Since I didn’t have to MC the parade it gave Carrie and I a chance to get the boys outside Saturday afternoon to play in the snow.  Before the boys got completely covered in snow Carrie snapped a few pictures to use on our Christmas cards, then it was on.  The snowballs started flying and the sledding down the driveway began.  Mason was having a blast but Evan wasn’t exactly sure what to think.  We played until after dark then went inside and had some hot chocolate.  Sunday after church we went to get our Christmas tree.  We went to Browntown to a tree farm where we’ve gotten our tree for several years.  It was a beautiful day with sun sparkling through the snow on the trees.  Once again Mason had a good time in the snow, but Evan was concerned about the white stuff that kept getting on his boots.  He’d hold his foot up, point and make a questioning sound like “mom, what’s this stuff and why is it on my boots?”  Of course he was bundled up like the kid from The Christmas Story movie; all you could see was his chubby rosy red cheeks and blue eyes.  The tree Carrie picked out didn’t look nearly as big out there in that field as it does sitting on our front porch.  I may have to cut a hole in the ceiling to put the tree topper on it.  By the way, it’s on the front porch so, hopefully, the ice and snow will melt off before we take it inside.  All totaled we got about 8 and a half inches of snow at our house, some places got more, some less but it was beautiful.  One last thought on this day of infamy.  2,402 people were killed and another 1,282 were injured in the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Let’s not forget them and all the men and women who have served or are serving our country.  Numbers 10:9

MYBLOG December 14, 2009

The Hills Christmas tree is up and decorated.  You may recall in my last BLOG that there was some concern as to whether the tree would fit in the house or not.  Well, it fit but the tree topper is touching the ceiling and the tree fills up a good portion of the entrance foyer.  Carrie, the boys and I brought it in and decorated it over the weekend. Memaw and Papa already had their tree up earlier in the week so both boys had a chance to see theirs.  Evan was pretty excited about helping us decorate ours, perhaps too excited.  Carrie would hand him an ornament and he’d run it in to me and either drop it or throw it at me, then return to get another one.  We kept telling him to be gentle and be careful and eventually he got the idea.  He didn’t have much luck hanging them on the tree.  The needles poked his little hands a couple of times and he decided to just hand them to me and point to where he wanted it put.  I tried to get Mason to put the topper on the tree, but he couldn’t reach far enough across the tree to get it in place.  I even had some trouble, but eventually got it positioned just right.  Mason lost another tooth over the weekend.  That makes two now, and yes they are his two front teeth, on the bottom.  The first one was removed by a dentist because it looked like it was wrapped around one of his permanent teeth.  The second one Mason pulled out himself, after several attempts and a few tears.  He’s got one on the top that’s loose, but it’s hanging in there for now.  While Mason is losing teeth, Evan is pushing more in.  Two of his eye teeth finally broke through and the other two are almost ready to pop through.  Evan’s got the gift of dance now too.  Whenever he hears music he starts moving, mostly in circles, but he’s also holding on to one hand with the other and making a wave motion in front of him.  Too funny!  We’re getting geared up for the PA trip at the end of the week.  We’ll have a dinner with the family and spend a few days with grandma.  She hasn’t seen the boys since August so I’m sure she’ll be amazed at how much they’ve grown and changed.  I’m looking forward to hearing her laugh.  Psalm 126:2

MYBLOG December 22, 2009

A day late, but here we go.  As most of you know my family and I went north for the weekend.  We left just after lunch on Friday, ahead of the snow, and drove straight through so we wouldn’t get stranded along the highway.  We got to my mom’s house about 7 Friday evening.  She was very excited to see us and happy that we didn’t stop and spend the night anywhere; it gave her more time with her grandsons.  The snow started there late Friday night and into Saturday morning and piled up a whopping inch and a half.  Carrie went and did some Christmas shopping on Saturday while the boys and I hung out with mom.  We even got to meet mom’s “friend” Ivan.  He’s a card, to say the least and my mom and he really seem to enjoy each other’s company.  It’s good for both of them.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my mom this happy.  Reports from Ivan’s family echo the same thing about him.  Of course there was a pile of goodies; cookies, sticky buns and candy.  Mom didn’t realize how tall Evan had gotten and how far he could reach.  She had a bowl of Sea Foam Candy on the table.  As Carrie was walking by she saw Evan with his arms in the air, a piece of candy in each hand and a piece in his mouth.  Oh yeah, he had a huge smile on his face too.  The rest of that day was fun; he was like the energizer bunny.  One of my nieces and her family and one of my nephews and his family, my brother, my sister and Ivan all gathered for dinner on Sunday evening.  After we ate we opened presents.  It was a very nice evening.  We packed up and headed home on Monday and the farther south we came the deeper the snow got.  We had been talking to Carries mom and dad and our neighbors so we knew that we would not be able to get into our driveway.  We ended up dropping the boys off at Memaws and Carrie, her dad and I went to our house to start to dig out.  We were able to park at our neighbors and walk across the yard.  Larry used the neighbors show blower, I dug my small vintage snow thrower out and Carrie dug with a shovel. We worked for several hours last night and I worked on it some this morning before I came to work and as of this writing the driveway still isn’t open.  As I was leaving this morning my neighbor, who had borrowed an even bigger snow blower from his brother, was heading down the driveway to pick up where I left off.  We may be able to get in by Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas, make sure you share the Christmas story with your family.  Not the one with the BB gun or the Grinch or Scrooge or stockings hung by the chimney with care.  The one you’ll find in Luke, Chapter 2.  Merry Christmas.

MYBLOG December 28, 2009

What I did on my Christmas vacation.  Well, as you read last week, I spent part of it in PA with my mom and family.  I also spent part of it as most of you did, digging out from the big snow storm.  We were able to get back home on Tuesday night, thanks to my neighbor Paul and the extra big snow blower he borrowed.  We were fearful of the weather for Friday so we spent Christmas Eve with my in-laws and woke Christmas morning to find that Santa had read and understood Mason’s note, which he left at our house, and made his deliveries to Mamaw’s and Papa’s.  The jolly old elf was kind to us, as usual.  The boys received some much needed clothing and shoes and of course some new playthings.  The big gift this year was a Wii.  With the rain on Saturday, we just stayed indoors and played with our new toys and put some things away.  Sunday, after church and lunch, Mason and I went outside and rode the sled through the front yard and built an igloo.  I’m not an Eskimo, but I have been to Alaska, and I think the igloo turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.  It even has a window made from a slab of ice that Mason found in the bottom of one of the buckets we were using to make snow blocks.  I made the door too small for me to get inside the thing, poor design on my part, but Mason was able to get in and “decorate” it with snow and leaves.  Where was Evan during all this you ask?  He was taking a nap.  He’s really not the outdoor, play in the snow, sort of kid, at least not yet.  Every time he’s been outside he’s been very concerned about snow getting on his boots and gloves.  Heaven forbid that his bare hand actually touches the snow.  I think he’ll grow out of it.  Here we are at the end of another year.  A time when many of us look back on the year past and sort of rate how we did. Then look toward the New Year vowing to do more of the good things and less of the bad.  Lot of us resolve to start doing this or stop doing that.  The sermon at church on Sunday was about that very thing.  We talked about making a rational decision for the New Year.  Most New Year resolutions will fail, not because they aren’t worthwhile trying to do or even that difficult to do in most cases, but because we rely on ourselves to accomplish them.  It’s pretty simple when you think about it; take “me” and “I” out of the equation and let someone who has the power guide you through, not only the New Year, but the rest of your years.  I’ve got a couple of verses for you this week, and there are a lot more that will help you do anything you resolve to do.  Philippians 4:13 and Joshua 24:15.

February 2008.

MYBLOG Feb. 11, 2008

OK, I’ve never “blogged” before, so forgive me if I don’t follow the official BLOG rules, if there are any. I’ve lived in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia since 1984. That’s when I moved here from the Nippenose Valley of Pennsylvania. I grew up around farms and friends. My grandmother owned a farm near Canton, PA where I worked several summers baling hay and milking cows, some by hand. I got pretty good at milking cows. As a matter of fact I won a milking contest held in the center court of the Lycoming Mall in PA. That’s another story. My grandmother owned the farm, but my Uncle George ran it. He was a great guy and I learned a lot from him; perseverance mostly. Farming is a hard life and the fact that he had arthritis made it even harder for my uncle. I can still see him trying to grip a hammer and drive a staple into a fence post. He’d hit the staple a couple of times until the hammer started to slip out of his hand, then readjust his grip and swing again. You didn’t dare ask him if he needed help because no matter how painful it was his answer was always “no.” I miss him. The only real plan I had for my blog was to share a verse from the Bible in each one. Since my Uncle George taught me perseverance, I think this is a good one for this time: Hebrews 10:36. What, did you think I was going to write it out for you? No way, look it up!

MYBLOG Feb. 18, 2008

Last week, during the big ice storm we had here in the Shenandoah Valley, I hurt my back. I could make something up and say I was trying to rescue a half frozen cat from a tree outside our house, or I was attempting to catch my pregnant wife as were trying to make it to her doctors appointment, but the truth is a lot less heroic. The truth is I hurt my back bending over to tie my boot lace. My doctor said my fifth lumbar slipped out of place. I knew something slipped by the ripping pain about belt high across my back. If you’ve never had this happen to you thank God and pray it doesn’t. It hurts. Fortunately, since it’s happened to me before, I knew to ice it down right away. Between the ice, prayer and a great chiropractor I’m back to normal now, or at least as normal as I get. The bottom line is this; I go to this chiropractor because I have faith that he will help me. Faith enters our life everyday. We have faith that the alarm will go off. We have faith that the car will start. We have faith the chair we sit in will hold us up. I pray because I have faith. Where is your faith today? Acts 3:16.

MYBLOG Feb. 25, 2008

My son and I worked on the nursery over the weekend. I think I’ve cured him of ever wanting to be an electrician. I don’t mean that in a bad way, being an electrician is an honorable profession. My brother is an electrician. Let me explain. I had to move some wires to get ready to put down the new sub-floor. Despite double checking the circuit with my multi meter to make sure the wires were not LIVE, it turned out one was. The first wire I cut was, of course, the LIVE one! Let’s just say there was some fireworks followed by darkness and my wife yelling from the kitchen “are you alright?” It made a real impact on my son. For the next hour he talked non-stop, which indicates one of two things; he’s tired or he’s scared. I think the later was the case. The rest of the day he walked around the house checking every room and then yelling to my wife “Daddy didn’t kill the lights in here mommy.” It doesn’t matter to me what my son(s) become or do for a living, as long as they are as happy in their profession as I am in mine. It’s up to my wife and I to encourage, support and expose them, as best we can, to all the possibilities they have. Who knows, maybe my oldest son will become an electrician, so he can show the old man how a professional does things. Proverbs 22-6 
 

March 2008

MYBLOG Mar. 3, 2008

We had our monthly staff meeting today. Our meetings are typical of most businesses, I guess. Every department has a chance to tell the staff what’s going on and we all get to share information. One of the subjects of today’s meeting was health insurance. It’s cost, like everything else, is going up. The powers that be made a decision to stay with the same provider, but change coverage. A good move in my opinion. Sure it will cost me more, but we all need insurance. Really what we all need is assurance that we won’t get sick or hurt and need our insurance. If I had that assurance, I’d drop my insurance. Faith is a lot like insurance. I would rather believe and find out I was right, than not believe and find out I was wrong. That’s my insurance. Here’s the good part, I not only have insurance, but I have assurance, so I have the best possible situation. I’m covered either way. Where is this assurance you ask? John 14, 1-6.

MYBLOG MAR. 10, 2008

There was more work on the nursery this past weekend. As with everything in our house, this project is taking longer than it should. When my wife and I bought our house almost six years ago we knew it had issues. Flaws that we didn’t think were out of the scope of our ability to correct. I may have been wrong. The nursery is just off the master bedroom on the top floor of a pentagon shaped log tower. Supposedly these logs came from a brewery in Falls Church. I’m pretty sure the people who erected this tower didn’t own a plumb bob, a tape measure or a level and IF they did, they left them in the truck. I’m not so sure that they hadn’t been sampling the product from brewery prior to building this structure. In addition to the odd angles in five corners, there isn’t a plumb, straight or square wall to be found. In an attempt to correct at least some of the quirks in this room and hide the somewhat ugly logs, I’ve been studding out the walls so I can put sheet rock up and paint it. A simple task you say; yes, if the walls were square and plumb. What should take ten minutes to build takes 4 hours. Would I sell the house? Probably not. Despite its flaws, It’s our home. The house is a lot like people. We all have issues and flaws, but there is someone who wouldn’t sell us for the world. God. He want’s to make his home in us, even if we are a little creaky. Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 3:16 

MYBLOG MAR. 17, 2008

Another weekend, another band-aid or two. That first line should clue you in as to what I did this weekend, or at least part of it. The same thing I’ve been doing every weekend for the last couple months; work on the nursery. I’m happy to report that there is sheetrock on most of the walls and ceiling now, thanks to my in-laws. My father in-law Larry has been a tremendous help in this project, as with most of the projects around our house. We work well together. The reason I only worked part of the weekend is because my mom, my niece Jenna, Jenna’s son Matt and Jenna’s mom Carol came down from PA for a brief visit. They arrived around noon on Saturday and left right after church on Sunday. It was a short visit, but a good one. My wife cooked a turkey for dinner on Saturday night, the first time she’s ever attempted to cook a whole turkey. According to the package it was suppose to cook at a certain temperature for so many hours for so many pounds. After careful calculations she put the bird in the oven at noon, anticipating that it would be done by about 5:30 or 6:00. Did you know turkey is great for breakfast too? Just kidding, I think we finally ate at 7:30, after she bumped the temperature up a couple of times. It was worth waiting for. It was Tender and moist. As good as the meal was, the best part of the weekend was being with family. Turkey sandwich anyone? Galatians 6: 9 & 10.

MYBLOG MAR. 24, 2008

How much mud could a mud slinger sling, if a mud slinger could sling mud? That’s code for what I did for part of my weekend. No, it’s not political in any way. The mud I was slinging was joint compound. I started to cover up the joints and screw heads on the walls in the nursery. The room is starting to take shape now. I can almost visualize it finished, almost. There is still some more mud to be slung, a boat load of sanding to be done and, oh yeah, matching the stucco on the ceiling before the primer and paint can go on the walls, but it is closer now than it was last weekend. Will it be done before Evan is born? We’ll see. Mason was born at 36 weeks. Evan is at 33 weeks this week. The nursery was my Saturday project. Sunday was, of course Easter and a day of rest and family. I celebrated two ways. The resurrection way by going to the outside sunrise service at my church to recognize and remember the greatest day in human history and the non religious, Easter bunny way with candy, gifts and a ham dinner with my family. I remember as a kid a certain Easter when that elusive bunny, that wascally wabbit, brought me an official little league baseball cap filled with jelly beans. I never played baseball, but I love jelly beans! 1 Peter 1:3 

MYBLOG MAR. 31, 2008

Let the sanding begin! I’m ready to start sanding in the nursery. Can primer and paint be far behind? Actually, it can, depending on what I find once the sanding is done. There may be some last ditch patches (or maybe last patches to fill in the ditches) that I may have missed in the first go-round of mudding. What always amazes me about putting up sheetrock is that you use 5 gallons of mud and sand off 2 and a half gallons in dust. Maybe that’s just me. Another little project that got taken care of this weekend was the removal of the parts of the maple tree that were brought down in the front yard by a couple of different ice storms. I took it sort of easy this weekend. I even watched most of the race, with the exception of the parts where I was napping. It was a nice, non hectic, restful weekend. A little down time. Something that everyone needs from time to time. Matthew 11:28

April 2008

MYBLOG APR. 7, 2008

The walls have color on them, I’m so excited! Of course, my son Mason has color on him too. I figure by the 4th of July the paint will have all grown out of his hair. He was a big help over the weekend. We spent Saturday morning sanding, (he looked so cute in his little dust mask!) then he helped me do some work outside and then back in Evan’s room to put primer on the walls and ceiling. I’d paint the top half of the wall and he’d paint the bottom half. We just painted and talked. We were actually pretending we were on Dirty Jobs, one of our favorite TV shows. He kept saying “Daddy, this is really a dirty job.” On Sunday, after church, we got geared up and started putting the color on the walls. My father in law Larry, aka, Pawpa, helped too. I cut in around the ceiling and in the corners, Larry rolled the top half of the walls and Mason did his part on the bottom half. We put white on the ceiling, a nice shade of green on one wall and a light brown on the rest of the walls, all of which match the quilt and sheets we have for the crib. Many hands make quick work; I guess it took us less than three hours to put one coat of each color on, including cleaning the one roller pan we had. (Poor planning on my part.) The goal is to put the final coats on throughout the rest of this week and maybe by the weekend we’ll be able to put down the floor and trim. I’ll keep you posted. I’d like to take all the credit for the way Mason is willing to help, but I’m pretty sure that he has learned most of his helping ways by hanging around with his Pawpa, one of the most giving, patient and helpful people I’ve ever met. I’m proud to be part of his family. I hope he feels the same. John 5:19 

MYBLOG APR. 14, 2008

I had a great weekend! In case you didn’t notice, I took Thursday and Friday off from work. Thursday I went on a field trip with my son and his pre-school class. We went to Blandy Farm, which is part of the University of Virginia. It was very interesting. Then we came back home and he helped me put the third and final coat of green paint on one wall of his new brothers room. Friday we ran some errands in the morning then came home and worked and played outside. He helped me do some yard work and I helped him build a super highway in the sand box. Saturday Mason went fishing for the first time with his Aunt Crissie. He caught his limit of Rainbow Trout in about an hour, one of which was over a foot long! I’m not much of a sportsman; I don’t hunt or fish, but his Aunt Crissie does! Yes, she hunts fishes, rides 4 wheelers and camps. Plus she’s cute and single guys. Saturday night we had Mason’s birthday party, even though his birthday is on the 15th. Ever seen or heard of Geo Trax? Look in my living room. I have to admit, there is something about trains that appeals to me too. Way cool toys these days! Sunday the work crew, Larry, Mason and I, put down the laminate floor in the nursery. All in all it was a fun and productive weekend. I could use more of those. Matthew 11:29 

MYBLOG Apr. 21, 2008

This past week I helped two very special people celebrate their birthdays. Tuesday was my son Mason’s 5th birthday and Thursday was my father in law Larry’s…ah….well, let’s just say he had another candle on the cake. In the midst of the laughter, cake and ice cream my thoughts turned to the Cook family. In case you don’t know a fire destroyed their home and lives early Thursday morning. The blaze claimed the lives of two little girls, 8 year old Madison and 4 year old Stevie. Their mother and father were also injured in the inferno and the father, Steve, died of his injuries on Saturday. This type of event often has us asking God why. How could this happen? Why were three lives cut short in a most horrific way? Why was a mothers’ babies taken so soon? How can she now go on with her life? So many questions; but few, if any, answers. I can’t even imagine her pain, not only physically, but emotionally. The very first thing I did when I found out about the tragedy was go to my office, bow my head, shed some tears and pray. I prayed for those who parished, the injured and for a sense of peace over the many friends and family members living through, what has to be for them, a nightmare. At times like these many people turn away from God. But it’s a time when, in fact, they should turn to Him. We’re not going to get the answers we want until we are face to face with God and can ask Him directly. The best we can do right now is pray for understanding, strength, healing, peace for the family and a reassuring touch from God to let them know their loved ones are safe with Him and are in no pain. Tell the ones you love how you feel. Hug your kids just a little longer and pray.
1 Peter 5;7
1 Thessalonians 5:17,18
1 John 5:14,15
James 5:16 

MY BLOG APR. 28, 2007

I had a great weekend. It started early Saturday when Mason and I went out for breakfast with my in-laws. My wife had to be at Lord Fairfax very early to take some tests as part of her continued education. After breakfast we headed to the March of Dimes Walk. Well, it was a walk for me and a ride in the wagon for Mason. It was a beautiful day, so after the walk we hung around the park and Mason played on the playground. I just mostly watched and enjoyed the sunshine. There were lots of kids there and I didn’t want to cramp his style. We got home about lunch time, took naps and relaxed. Mason went to a birthday party and Larry and I worked on the nursery some more. It’s ready for Evan, whenever he decides to make an appearance. Mind you, it’s still not completely finished, but the crib, changing table/dresser and wardrobe are all in there and ready. As a matter of fact, that’s what Larry and I did most of Saturday afternoon was put the furniture together. Some assembly required. Sunday we went to church, came home and had some lunch and Larry and I finished up with the furniture and some odds and ends in the nursery. I even got to watch the last few laps of the race while Mason played and Carrie typed away on the laptop trying to finish her last term paper. All in all it was a very productive, yet relaxing weekend. About the only thing we didn’t get done was plant the potatoes in my in-laws garden. The heat on Saturday, then rain late in the day washed that out. Deuteronomy 32:2 

May 2008

MY BLOG MAY 5, 2008

We had a rehearsal for baby Evan last Tuesday. My wife was having contractions, so off to the hospital she went with her sister, Crissie, in tow. Crissie missed Mason being born, so she’s vowed not to miss Evan’s arrival into the world. Maybe I’ll let her sleep on the “dad” couch at the hospital. Both Carrie and Crissie work in Winchester which is where we’ll have the baby, eventually. At least that’s our plan. God may have made other arrangements. On Tuesday, when this happened, my wife called me and told me I was on “stand by.” So I stood by, waiting for the call. I went home and got my wife’s bag, which she had already packed and packed my bag and waited. Lots of calls came in, but they were just updates, not THE call. The doctors say that her pregnancy is “text book” whatever that means. Apparently there are a few more chapters yet to cover. So, I’m still “on stand by” as we all are. She’s not due until the 15th, but Mason was a couple of weeks early, so we thought Evan would follow suit. He still might. Everyone in the house hasn’t been getting a lot of rest, a prelude of things to come. I may have to switch back to fully caffeinated coffee instead of the half-caff stuff before this is all over, and by “over” I mean that both boys are out of college. Matthew 18: 4-5 

MY BLOG MAY 12, 2008

I am pleased to announce the arrival of Evan Lee Hill. Evan arrived at 8:08 a.m. on Monday May 12, 2008. He tipped the scales at 8 pounds even and is twenty and three quarter’s inches long. Aunt Crissie was there the whole time and I let her cut the cord. Big brother Mason, mom Carrie, baby Evan and dad are all fine, tired but fine. He came into the world relatively quickly. We arrived at the hospital at 6:15 a.m. and he was born less than two hours later, natural my wife would want me to add and with a power outage at our house. I don’t care how much of a mucho man you are, or claim to be, you become a blubbering emotional mess when your child is born. I did, both times. And if it happens 10 more times my reaction would be the same I’m sure. Guys, if you don’t get this way you may need a check up from the neck up in my opinion. I’m misty just thinking about it now. Before I go too much farther I’ve got to commend all the doctors, nurses and all the employees of The Winchester Medical Center. They are great! I’ll be off the air the rest of this week, but I’ll be back the afternoon of Monday May 19th. Today God blessed me with the second greatest gift He can give a person; a new baby. The greatest gift He ever gave was his only son Jesus Christ. None of His blessings, big or small, are deserved by me, yet he continues to pour them out. What an amazing God! Romans 3:23 John 3:16

PS: Thanks Joe for posting the pic! 

MYBLOG May 19, 2008

First of all, thanks to everyone for your calls and e-mails asking about the Hill family. I feel your love. Baby Evan turned a week old today. Mommy, big brother Mason, daddy and Evan are all fine. Mason is slowly adapting to his new role as a “big brother.” He’s doing great, explaining his world to his little brother. He covers everything from toys, his stuffed animals and the outside world. They sit beside each other and face to face in the vehicle, with Mason facing forward and Evan facing backwards. On our way to church yesterday we would asked Mason how Evan was doing, he always said “fine.” Then we asked Mason to talk to Evan about anything and everything because Evan didn’t know anything yet. The knowledge of a five year old spilled out all over that new born. I think I even learned a thing or two. I know there will be arguments in the future, but right now our boys are bonding, as we all are, with our new addition. Shifting gears just a little, I’ve got to say a huge thanks to the members of our church, New Hope Bible Church. Since we got home last Wednesday someone from the congregation has delivered our evening meal. What a blessing! Carrie and I have been members a little over a year and had no idea that they did this. They keep it sort of on the QT and it’s not just for new babies, but for any member or regular attendee who may be going through an emotional time; new life, loss of life, divorce or illness. If this sounds like the kind of church you would like to attend, I invite you to visit us some Sunday. The morning service begins at 11:00. If you want to know more about New Hope Bible Church visit our website, www.nhbc.cc. Mark 12: 28-31

MYBLOG May 26, 2008

Prayers and parades. Bikes and barbeques. Speeches and silence. Just a few of the many ways that America remembered the men and women who paid the ultimate price to protect our freedom. Memorial Day is also to honor those who served and survived and are currently serving in our military. How did you celebrate? On Monday morning I went out to breakfast with some guys from church, a couple of them vets. We had an interesting account of boot camp, Marine style. Monday afternoon the we went to a family cookout. A nice, quiet, relaxing time out of a somewhat busy weekend and the homemade ice cream was an extra nice touch. I used part of the weekend to catch up on some outside work and play. Sunday Larry and I installed a new water heater. We needed an upgrade since baby Evan arrived. Given my past experiences you would think with a mixture of water AND electricity there might be some fireworks, but I’m happy to report that there wasn’t. We moved from a 110v, single element water heater to a 240v, 2 element heater. We have yet to run out of hot water. Mason rode his 4 wheeler and helped me organized the yard tools in the shed. Evan even spent some time in the great outdoors. How could you not, the weather was great! I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating; I am truly blessed and a rich man. Rich not due to a big bank account, but rich with the Holy Spirit and a wonderful family. Romans 10: 12-13. 

June 2008

MYBLOG June 2, 2008

What did you do this weekend? Instead of me telling you what I did, here’s what I didn’t do. I didn’t mow the yard. I didn’t run the weed eater. I didn’t paint the door for Evans room. I didn’t put the new strings on my guitar. I didn’t take the trash to the dumpster and I didn’t go anywhere, except church on Sunday. So what did I do? I helped my son Mason practice riding his new bike. My boss Mike O’Dell gave me a 20 inch bike and a matching helmet. It belonged to his grandson, who has outgrown it, but it’s just right for Mason. He has a bike at his Memaws, but he didn’t have one at our house. Now he does. We did a little work on it Saturday morning while it was raining. You know oiled up the chain, pumped up the tires, adjusted the seat and handlebars and checked all the nuts and bolts. Then Mason took a little ride when the rain let up. The fact that he has a bike at our house doesn’t change the fact that we don’t have a real good place to ride a bike at the Hills in the hills. He is learning better control and the importance of brakes, however. We really only have one flat spot to practice and it requires a pretty tight turn on either end to make the circuit. I was very impressed with Mason's stick-to-it-ness. He kept falling, but he also kept getting up, over and over again. Eventually he was crashing less and riding more, cheered on by a very proud dad. The first time he made all the turns he was so excited…he crashed, only to run over to me and give me a big hug and high five, then right back to the bike and off again. He even learned to start all by himself, with a little help from gravity. So why didn’t I do the chores? Because I applied the paradox principle to my weekend; Die to live. You have to die a little to yourself to live a lot. I know that the hours I spent with Mason over the weekend will be paid back to me ten fold. Exactly when and how I don’t know. Luke 11:11-13 

MYBLOG June 9, 2008

Baby Evan is one month old today. My how time flies. The entire Hill family is doing just fine. Evan is becoming more alert and now when he looks at you he’s really looking AT you and not through you. His little dark blue eyes focus on you and drink in all the information they can. This morning while I was holding him and Mason on the “boy” chair, that being the recliner, he looked over at Mason, cooed and got the biggest grin on his face. Let the bonding begin. Try as we might, he wouldn’t do it again. He was hungry and wanted his bottle. So while I fed him Mason sat with us reading a little math book that my mom sent to him. He’s getting pretty good at addition and subtraction. Speaking of subtraction, I got my hair cut today. I can’t remember when the last time was I got my hair cut, but it’s been a while. The hot weather pushed me over the edge and I wanted a new doo that was cool and cooler, if you know what I mean. I know it’s cooler, but the jury is still out on the “cool” part. My good friend April has cut my hair practically since I moved to Virginia and given what little she had to work with, I think she did a great job. I’m happy with the way it looks. The ladies in the front office seem to like it. What about you? Take a look at the pic on the website and send me an e-mail and let me know. Romans 1:16-17 

MYBLOG June 16, 2008

I had a wonderful fathers day weekend. Friday Mason spent a few hours here at the station with me. He wasn’t feeling good at home, but as soon as we got to the station he was all better. Hmmm, I think he needed some “dad” time. Saturday morning I got up early with Evan and we enjoyed the sunrise together. Well I enjoyed the sunrise; he mostly just snoozed on my chest. Mason and I did some yard work on Saturday, until we got rained on. We were on the tractor getting soaked and laughing all the way to the house. Later in the afternoon Carrie and the boys took me out to eat and we didn’t have to wait to be seated or served! Sunday we went to church, as usual and Sunday afternoon we took Carrie’s dad Larry out to dinner, then back to Crissie’s house for a delicious cake that my wife made. Yeah, there were some presents and cards too, but the best part was just being together. The fact the JR won the race on Sunday was a nice extra bonus too! I must admit that I got a little emotional when I wished Larry a happy fathers day. My mind flashed back to a phone call he and I had when my dad was in the hospital. During that call he called me “son” and I’ll never forget it. Do I deserve or have I earned the privilege to be known as Larry’s son? I don’t think so, but he does and that means the world to me. I also don’t deserve to be called God’s child either, but I know I am. You may ask how I know. To quote a song “The Bible Tells Me So.” Oh, but the way, it tells you the same thing. John 1:12-13. Romans 8:16. Galatians 3:26. 1 John 3:1 

MYBLOG June 23, 2008

Another Monday, another blog. In case you didn’t notice, I took a couple of days off last week. Thursday I made my first ever trip to The Smithsonian. At least I think it’s my first ever trip there. I seem to recall a drive through DC with my parents when I was very young. Remembering how my dad was with traveling, it was just that; a drive through. If there was too much traffic and no easy parking place we didn’t stop. I keep flashing to the scene from European Vacation when they are all in the car driving past Big Ben, over and over again. “Look kids, the Washington Monument.” But I digress. We went to a couple of the Smithsonian Museums; The Air and Space and the Natural History. Evan spent the day with Mamaw and Mason went with us. He was thrilled, for a while anyway. It was a lot of walking for a five year old. (a 47 year old too!) I could have spent all day in the Air and Space, and someday I will. The rest of the weekend was spent around the house enjoying the nice weather and doing some outside work. We didn’t work too hard, just steady. Mason was a big help, again. We did go to Lowes and got material for the top secret project that Mason and I are working on for Mamaw’s birthday next month. We’re going to….sorry, I can’t tell you yet. Stay tuned. Time off is nice and we all need it to recharge and refocus. Life seems to fly by. I can’t believe that Evan is 6 weeks old already. Slow down, enjoy and smell the flowers. Genesis 2:2. 

MYBLOG June 30, 2008

It’s hard to believe it Monday already. Another weekend just flew by. On Saturday Mason got some “mom” time. He’s been earning stickers for various tasks around the house. Simple things really, like mowing the yard, fixing the roof, balancing the checkbook, changing the oil in the vehicles…I’m kidding of course, he’s five! He gets stickers for helping with laundry, putting groceries away, watering the flowers. For every 10 stickers he gets a special treat. Play time at the park, a date with mom, a date with dad etc. So he and mom spent most of Saturday together, which meant that I got enough stickers to spend time with Evan. I have to admit, he was a little fussy. I kept hearing the voice of baby Sinclair from the TV show Dinosaurs saying “NOT THE MAMA!” After a while he settled down and we had some in depth conversations, with a nice sprinkling of coos, grins and laughs. On Sunday I got some very rare alone time. Just me, myself and I for a couple of hours. I love my family, but everyone needs some time alone. So what did I do you ask? Did I restring my guitar? Ride my mountain bike? Did I mow the yard? Did I lounge on the couch and watch the race? No, I worked on a project for my mother in law, which I can’t tell you about yet. It was really relaxing. Just me, the sound of power tools and the good Lord watching over me making sure I didn’t cut my fingers off. I can still count to 10! God is good! Psalms 127:3-5 and Psalms 5:11. 

July 2008

MYBLOG July 7, 2008

Another long holiday weekend is in the books; did you get anything done? I did get a few things accomplished and still managed to rest, a little. Thursday night, after work, I went to my church to cut the grass. It’s a volunteer system. You sign up for the weeks you can do it. I had signed up for a couple of weeks earlier this summer, but no one had inked the line for this past weekend, I guess due to the holiday, so I jumped in and took care of it. On Friday I cut my grass and worked some more on my secret project, which I can’t tell you about. Saturday morning the stiffness settled in, reminding me that I may have overdone slightly. Saturday night we went to a friend’s house for dinner and to watch the race. Can anyone beat Kyle Busch? Please? Sunday we went to church as usual and after lunch and a little “rest” for the family, Mason and I put the finishing touches on “the project.” By the way, “the project” is done. I’ll be able to tell you about it in a couple of weeks, stay tuned. We lit some sparklers or “sprinklers” as Mason calls them, and watched some rockets red glare, thanks to our neighbors. Mason has earned enough stickers for a date with dad, so we’ll be doing that soon. Evan cooed and smiled his way through the weekend. He’s been doing a lot more of that lately. All in all, two thumbs up! In life there are several questions, at least in my life. The one I’ve been pondering lately is this; why are there anti slip treads on footsies for an infant? Just wondering. 1 Kings 10:3 

MYBLOG July 14, 2008

Robots, clean up and snakes alive! That pretty much sums the end of last week and this past weekend. I believe I’ve told you about Mason and how he earns stickers. This past week he had earned enough stickers for a date with dad. On Thursday night he and I went to the movies to see “Wall-E.” It’s a cute movie, but I’m not sure Mason understood all of it, but he enjoyed it none the less and so did I. On Saturday Mason went to yet another birthday party. Evan and Mom did some stuff in the house while I cleaned off the front porch and washed down the siding. Sunday Evan, who's cooing and smiling more everyday, had some one on one time with Aunt Crissie while the rest of us worked around the outside of the house. Mason used his four wheeler to haul leaves and limbs to the brush pile. He really got a kick out of that. We’re trying to get cleaned up a little before this weekends big birthday party for my sister in-law Crissie, who’s celebrating her 21st birthday…..again. Actually the party isn’t for her at all, but I can’t tell you who’s it’s for until next week. It’s all tied together with my “secret project.” Don’t worry, all will be revealed next week. I think that about covers the past week except the “snakes alive” part. That happened on Sunday while we were cleaning up outside. My wife spotted a 3 foot black snake heading for the house. Actually, it was just resting at the edge of the driveway. We all gathered around and watched it for a while, until I persuaded it to slither back into the woods, much to the dismay of my wife, who would have preferred that I cut its head off. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any problem killing animals, if there is a reason, but this snake wasn’t doing us any harm and I figure he may eat a few mice and keep them out of the house. Now if the snake makes it into the house, then it’s on like donkey kong baby! Genesis 3:14-15

MYBLOG July 21, 2008

Wow, what a weekend! We, and by “we” I mean my wife and her sister, pulled off a huge surprise party for their mom Doris. Sunday was her….ah….let’s just say birthday and leave it at that. They planned a picnic at our house under the guise of Crissie’s birthday, which was the 15th. In actuality the whole thing was for Doris. They invited her brothers and sisters, all their kids and their kids kids and a few neighbors and friends. All in all there were about 35 people waiting for Doris to arrive for “Crissie’s party.” Doris was very surprised, boarding on shocked I think. She received cards, some “over the hill” gifts from her sisters and three or 4 hanging baskets of flowers. One of the baskets was from Evan and Mason and it was hanging in the wishing well that Mason and I built for her. That was my secret project for the last month or so. We had it “hid” in our neighbor’s yard, just at the edge of ours, so it looked like it belonged to them. The well is a little over 2 feet across and a little over 4 feet tall. (see picture below) There was lots of food, fun and good conversation and even a few games of horseshoes, after it cooled down a little. What brought the night to a close were the bugs. Even with citronella candles burning we all got ate up and finally driven inside. I don’t really believe in wishing wells. They are fun to build, nice to look at and make great yard ornaments but they don’t have any real power. The only well with power is the one with the living water. John 4: 6-13 

MYBLOG July 28, 2008

All is well in the Hill house. Little Evan, and I use that term loosely, is 11 weeks old, and slightly over 13 pounds, today. He and his big brother, Mason, went and had their pictures taken on Saturday, Evan drove…just kidding. It was a mom day with the boys. While they were gone I caught up on some house work and some computer work. My godson is getting married in a couple of weeks and I was asked to DJ at the reception. Now I haven’t DJ’ed any sort of party for over a decade, but I’m bringing out the equipment and blowing the dust off of it for this event. I’ve been adding and editing music on the computer to use. It’s a lot different DJing today than it was when I first did it a hundred years ago. No more lugging records (yes vinyl, which I still have) or CD’s. (which I also still have) Just a laptop, a mixer, mic, amp and speakers. If this works out, I may revive the business and add my wife as a photographer. Kind of a combo package, pictures and music for one low, bargain basement price. We’ll see. Sunday was a go to church and rest day. While Carrie finished up a term paper for one of her classes, I got to be with the boys. Mason was busy building all sorts of things with his Lincoln Logs and Evan and I were engaged in some serious conversation interrupted by the occasional nap. I could sure use more days like that. The message in church on Sunday was about worship. I got to thinking about all the things people “worship.” Money, possessions, other people, actors, singers, you name it. If you’re not careful you can get wrapped up in worshiping “things” instead of what should be worshipped. What do you worship? Hebrews 12:25-29

August 2008

MYBLOG August 4, 2008

This past weekend was the annual Hill family picnic. It’s a relatively new event that my dad started about a year before he passed away. He and my mom liked to go camping at County Bridge State Park in Tioga County, PA. The park is about two miles from my dad’s birth place, the same farm that he and my mother took over and farmed after he returned from his time in the service. The mountaintop farm where my brothers, sister and I grew up. For me it was a short stay, only about 2 years. County Bridge State Park is not very big, probably ten or 15 camp sites, a few picnic tables, horseshoe pits and two large pavilions. Of course there is the mighty Tioga River. Ok, “mighty” may be slightly overstating it. It’s only a river by name and more like a stream, creek or possibly brook, in appearance. The park is located less than a mile north of where the “river” begins at a large spring. Yes, the Tioga flows north. One of only a few rivers in the United States to do that. Another one? The Shenandoah. Anyway, if you only remember one thing about spring water, remember that it’s very cold, somewhere close to 50 degrees, even on a hot August day. The water at the park isn’t very deep, maybe 3 feet at the deepest and that’s only because of a makeshift dam. Depth doesn’t really matter when the water is that cold. Mason played in the river until his lips were blue, about 10 minutes. Evan dangled his toes for about 10 seconds, long enough for a picture. Another part of the park that makes it special is a tree that my dad had planted in memory of his Grandfather, Wilson Hill, who was the first to farm that rugged mountaintop. The picnic was typical, I guess, but the location makes it ours. I wonder if all the Hills were in the hills that day. 1 Corinthians 5:4 

MYBLOG August 11, 2008

A long weekend and a long drive. I took Friday off and attended a wedding at Blue Bend campground which is just north of White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. It’s not quite the end of the world, but if you stand on a chair I think you can see the end from there. It’s a beautiful area, but definitely rural. After the wedding we went even further into the mountains for the reception at, of all places, a county club. Again, a nice setting but maybe not as “country clubish” as one would expect. All in all it was a wonderful time and we got to see some old friends that we hadn’t seen in several years. On Saturday we, and by we I mean me, decided to take the scenic route home. We headed for Lewisburg, WV to have a look at one of two caves located near there. We were met with lots of other folks heading to Lewisburg, but not for the caves. It seems that the State Fair of West Virginia started that day at the fairgrounds located; you guessed it, in Lewisburg. We abandoned the idea of seeing the cave when we encountered all the traffic that wanted to go the same way we did. We turned right onto route 219 north, to head home when we saw a sign for the very same cave we wanted to visit. After a little backtracking, we arrived and had a nice walk through Lost World Caverns. Then, back to 219 and northbound again. Can you say “winding road?” I don’t think there is a tenth of a mile of that highway that isn’t curved, ascending, descending or banked, sometimes all of the above at the same time. The signs kept warning of the curves and the recommend speed kept getting slower and slower. I was waiting for the next sign to say “unless you’re double jointed and riding a unicycle, do not attempt the next curve.” Thanks to my wife’s excellent orienteering skills the trip only lasted about 10 hours, as opposed to the 12 or 13 it would have taken if we had followed my original route. It was one of those road trips that we’ll talk and laugh about for many years. We did find several things along the route that we want to go back and see, but not any time soon. John 2:1-11

MYBLOG August 18, 2008

A little rest, a little work and little league. After logging over 1000 miles in the car the last two weekends, it was very nice to just stay home. We really didn’t do much this past weekend, just catch up on some stuff that we didn’t do the past two weekends. The one major project that I did was to paint the bed of my truck with a protective liner. There was a lot of prep work involved before the actual painting, but it was worth it. The end result looks very nice, at least in my opinion. Will it hold up under use? If I did the prep work properly, it will. But that is yet to be seen, I’ll let you know. The Little League World Series got underway this past weekend. I don’t watch too many sports on television, but when the series is on I’m watching. Besides the fact that it’s live from my home town, I like to watch because these kids are playing, not for big money or endorsement deals, but for the pure joy of playing the game, and boy are they good. None of the teams got to Williamsport by luck; it was a lot of prep work and practice that got them there. Winning is great, but just getting there is a huge accomplishment. Let’s not forget golden boy Michael Phelps with his eight gold medals. He’d prepped his whole life for these games and his hard work paid off, in more ways than one. His name will be forever associated with the Beijing games and the Olympics in general. Whether you’re an athlete getting ready for the big game, the head of a huge corporation getting ready for a big meeting or a stay at home mom planning out your day, prep work is the key to success. Some people don’t do any prep work, some prep a day at a time and others have things lined up weeks, months or even years in advance. We all should be prepping for what comes next, not in life, but after life. One guy set the path and did his part of the prep work. Are you doing your part? Are you prepared? John 3:1-18 

MYBLOG August 25, 2008

I had such grand plans for this weekend, but alas, most of what I wanted to accomplish didn’t happen. The weekend was sort of stressful as my wife contemplated a career change. She is studying to be a teacher and an offer was made for her to teach. It would have meant a very large pay cut, loss of benefits and vacation. On the plus side, she would have been doing what she wants to do, been closer to home and been able to spend more time with the boys. All great goals, but in the end she decided to be patient and finish her schooling and the associated testing that goes along with becoming a teacher. Mason and I tried to get some brush cleaned up on Saturday, but that didn’t last long. I guess there is a nest of yellow jackets in the old brush pile and when we were adding to the pile, they got a little upset. Thank God, Mason didn’t get stung, but I did, several times. I’ve had an allergic reaction to yellow jacket stings in the past, so I aired on the side of caution and took some antihistamine right away and relaxed inside the rest of the afternoon. That sort of worked out nicely as the boys and I cuddled up on the couch and watched a couple of playoff games in the Little League World Series. Evan watched about a minute longer than Mason, who watched maybe an inning. Ok, truth be told, we all fell asleep during the international final and woke up half way through the US final. Antihistamine does it to me every time. Sunday, after church, I had every intention of cleaning out the garage before the Little League championship game, but with the preview to the pregame, webgems, the pregame and then the game, the afternoon was pretty much shot. I did manage to get into the garage after the game and made a good run at a clean up. It wasn’t the full on take everything out, blow it out with the leaf blower and rearranging that I had envisioned, but there is a wider path now. The mess in the garage and brush outside will still be there next weekend, but the time I spent snoozing on the couch with my boys, on that particular Saturday, at that particular time is a once in a lifetime blessing. I’ll gladly do that again next weekend or anytime. Matthew 11:28

September 2008

MYBLOG September 1, 2008

It’s Labor Day already. Where did the summer go? So how did you spend your Labor Day? Did you have a picnic, go camping, go for one last dip in the pool or all of the above? I labored, at least on Labor Day. The rest of the weekend was just family time. Sunday afternoon we went to Carrie’s mom and dads for an “off to kindergarten” cookout for Mason. My little boy is going to kindergarten, I can’t believe it. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that he was Evan’s size, cooing and laughing at my silly faces, like Evan does now. Mason is excited and nervous. Mom is a wreck. She read him a story titled “The Night Before Kindergarten.” She almost made it through without crying, almost. Truth be told, I got a little choked up too. As I was typing this Mason crawled up on my lap and asked what I was doing, I when I told him he asked me to read it to him….I couldn’t. I blame it on all the sun I got today...that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Carrie will drop him off tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, he’ll see his friends, some of which he hasn’t seen all summer, and off he’ll go to start yet another chapter in his life and ours. I spent my Labor Day at his school and our church mowing the grass and getting it all spruced up for the kids arrival. Then I came home with every intention of doing the same at our house, but I didn’t quite make it. After all, there was some napping to be done with my boys, then the little walk Mason and I took and the Tonka truck racing in the tall grass of the front yard. I was just a spectator of that event because there isn't a Tonka truck made that's big enough for me to ride on like Mason does. Time just keeps ticking along marking milestones, some major, some minor, as it goes. It doesn’t wait for any of us. Don’t blink, you may miss something. Hebrews 10:37

MYBLOG September 8, 2008

Well, my biggest little guy, Mason, made it through his first 4 days of kindergarten with flying colors. My wife drops him off in the mornings and she said he runs in the school. He’s even been getting up before his alarm goes off; remember those days? Was there ever any of those days? I think not for me. He and I have some quiet time every night as he’s laying down for bed and he tells me all about his day, what he learned and what they will be doing the next day. Is it too much to hope and pray that his excitement about school right now will continue until, oh I don’t know, he graduates from college? If he’s like me, that excitement will fade, but he’ll enjoy and excel at math and science. If he’s like his mom he’ll love school and do well in reading and history. Maybe he’ll get the best of both of us and do it all. Meanwhile, my littlest little guy, Evan, and I get to spend two or three hours of quality time every morning before I take him to the sitters and I go off to work. Mason and I had the thing when he was little. Sure I have to work until at least 7 every night, but would I trade it for a nine to five? No way. I still get to see them both in the morning when they get up and at night before they go to bed. It’s sort of the best of both worlds. Carrie started her last course for her degree. You’ll never guess what the course is; History. I was able to get a few things done around the house over the weekend. While Hanna was swirling around outside Saturday I helped my wife clean the house. Then while she and Evan were napping (Mason was with Meemaw) I put some new Elixir strings on my guitar. Apparently “elixir” is just their name and there is no magic “fix my playing” included. Maybe if I give those listening to me play an elixir with enough vodka in it I’d sound better. Don't get me wrong, the strings sound great; my playing, not so much. I’m way out of practice, not that I was ever any good in the first place. I mowed the grass on Sunday after church then the whole family had dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening. All in all a, very nice weekend. 1 John 5:13-15

MYBLOG September 15, 2008

Air show no go. I was really looking forward to the Balloon and Airstravaganza that was planned this past weekend at our local airport. I had been invited to MC the events on Saturday, but alas Mother Nature conspired and because of the low ceiling and off and on showers the event was cancelled. Having flown in and out of that airport a lot I can understand why they cancelled. When you depart on runway 27 you’re on the mountains in no time. In aviation it’s always better to err on the side of caution. Although it was foggy and rainy in the valley it was partly sunny at my house in the mountains. That allowed me to get some stuff done outside. I didn’t get the grass cut, it was too wet, but I did get some brush cut down and put on the pile, this time without being stung by any yellow jackets. I was home alone for most of Saturday. Mason was with meemaw and Carrie and Evan were running errands. I must admit, I was tempted to grab my guitar, with the brand new Elixir stings, and play till my fingers bled, but I didn’t. Instead I went outside, looked at all the stuff that needs to be done and pondered, for quite sometime, exactly what I wanted to do. Imagine having one foot nailed to the floor; that was me pondering. I settled on the brush. It looks much better now. After church on Sunday we came home, had some lunch and watched the race…poor Kyle Busch…NOT! :) We took naps and after it cooled down we went outside and enjoyed the cooler evening air. Mason and I rode our bikes. He’s getting really good! He can start all by himself now. He told me that his mountain bike wasn’t made for grass; it was made for pavement, like at his school. That was the last place he rode. Come to think of it, I believe my mountain bike is made for pavement too…it’s much easier to ride and you can go lots faster, but the scenery isn’t as nice as a ride in the mountains. You can ride on the pavement of the world and go along very easily on a pretty smooth path only to find a dead end. Or you can take the mountainous Christian route with all the rocks, ruts and slippery slopes. The difference is the end isn’t dead; the trail becomes level and is paved in gold. Not to shabby! Matthew 11:28-30 

MYBLOG September 22, 2008

What a wonderful weekend! I love the cooler weather, especially in the morning. It seems to make your coffee taste better somehow. The weekend started out on Friday when we celebrated WFTR-AM’s 60th anniversary with a big open house and yard party. It was great to see and meet listeners, advertisers and some of the old voices that once graced the airways. There were and are some great stories and memories from these guys. Saturday I ran some errands in town, then back home to take care of some much needed yard work. I did take some time to ride bikes and play catch with my son Mason. He’s getting better at both. He’s not quite ready to ride on roads of our subdivision yet, but we’re working towards that. On Sunday, after church, we came home had some lunch and relaxed. Evan and I camped out in the recliner while Mason and Carrie took the couch and we “watched” the race. I’ll admit there was some napping intermixed with the watching. About the race, poor Kyle Busch; engine problems took him out of the Dover race and out of the chase. It’s not his turn to be a champion yet, he’s still got some learning to do. A little humility, accountability and a lot less attitude. I’m sorry if you’re a fan, but he strikes me as cocky and arrogant. I think he needs to take a cue from his older brother. I’ve never met Kyle and probably never will. He may be the kindest most caring person in the world, but he doesn’t come across that way from what I’ve seen. In the poem “Desiderata”, which is Latin for desired things, there is a line that suggests you avoid loud and aggressive persons, for they are a vexation to the spirit. I think that is true; it zaps all your energy when you have to deal with people like that. Energy and efforts that would be better spent elsewhere. This week, go placidly among the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. Nurture strength of spirit to shelter you in sudden misfortune. Let the spirit live in you and all else will fall into place as it should. John 4:23-24


MYBLOG September 29, 2008

Yeah, so it rained all weekend; it’s still the weekend! Friday night Mason stayed with meemaw and pawpa. His weekly fix since he doesn’t get to seem them as much since he’s in school. Saturday my wife had a hair appointment then she ran some errands. That left Evan and I home alone. He’s been a little fussy lately because he’s cutting teeth. Hard to believe he’s old enough to be getting teeth, but he is. Between the fusses that little chubby face would still light up with a huge grin. The same sort of grin he greets you with in the mornings when he wakes up. It doesn’t matter how bad you feel or how tired you are, when you see that grin, nothing else matters. Later in the afternoon Mason and Carrie came home and Carrie went to work cooking a meal for a family from our church who lost a baby last week. While she delivered that meal, I fixed our supper. On Sunday, after church, we went to Carrie’s mom and dads for lunch. I helped Larry with a small project he had going and played with Mason in the yard and then we watched the end of the race. I didn’t get a lot accomplished, but what I did, I enjoyed. We observed communion at our church on Sunday. I remember doing that when I was a kid in church and it didn’t have much meaning except that the service was going to be longer. Since I accepted Jesus as my savior, communion has a much deeper meaning. A humbling, emotional, thought provoking experience. That He should die for me and my sins. That He was thinking of me while he was suffering a horrible death. That because of his death I now have the promise of eternal life. Remember the old hymn; He could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set him free. He could have called ten thousand angels, but he died alone for you and me. How can you repay that? Luke 22:20

October 2008

MYBLOG October 6, 2008

What to write about this week. A friend of mine, you may know him, Jim Lawrence, asked me how I came up with so much to write about every week. I didn’t have an answer for him. It’s sort of an odd process. I think about next week’s blog almost as soon as I post a new one. As I go through the week I make mental notes, very small notes because my notepad isn’t very big, and then try to assemble them is some sort of logical order that makes sense, at least to me. My boys are great inspiration for material. From the smile and laugh of a blue eyed baby that makes me melt everytime to the phonics lessons I helped Mason with. Those lessons lead him to read a sentence from his book, all by himself. Talk about being blown away. The next day he and I were sitting on the couch. He had his bible on his lap and said he was going to read it to me. I told him I couldn’t wait until he could do just that. I try to read a little of the bible everyday and he remembered from one of our conversations that I was reading a book that started with the letter “N.” So he was looking for books that started with “N.” I told him I’d finished that book and was reading one that started with “J” so he looked and found Job and put his bookmark at the chapter where I left off. Things like that make you forget about all the other stuff; the bad behavior, not listening, fussing about brushing his teeth, going to bed or picking up his toys. God only lends us our kids. He trusts my wife and I to raise them according to His word and His desire for them. He never said it would be easy and, if you’re a parent, you know it’s not. I think the goal of a parent should be to plant seeds that mature into a useful crop, taking time along the way to pull the weeds that always seem to pop up. You’ve heard of someone having the patience of Job? Being a parent requires just that and more. I must admit that I don’t always have all I need in that area and I pray that I’m not planting weeds that I, or someone else, will have to deal with in the future. Colossians 1:11


MYBLOG October 13, 2008

Another week and weekend just flew by! It seems like the clock speeds up from the time I leave the station on Friday night until I’m walking back in on Monday to start all over again. Then it slows back down again. That sort of sounds like I don’t enjoy coming to work, and that’s not true. I do love my job, but I love spending time with my family more. I had to work on Saturday, so that was even less time I got with the boys and my wife. The flip side of that is that Carrie got to spend some quality time with them and I got to meet some very nice people at the live appearance I did at the Burke Center in Winchester. Something else that added a little curve to the weekend was that our church, New Hope Bible Church, (www.nhbc.cc) changed the schedule for morning worship service from 11:00 to 9:30, with Sunday school moving to the 11:00 slot. The nice thing about that is the coffee and donuts between the worship service and Sunday school. We do love our coffee and donuts at our church. I wasn’t able to partake this week because I was in the church office. No, I wasn’t bad in worship service and got sent to the Pastor’s office. I was recording the new message on the church telephone system so everyone who calls knows our new schedule. One of the highlights of the weekend came on Saturday night. The family was having a “picnic” in our living room and my son Mason had a bottle of water. A couple of blogs ago I mentioned that he was learning to sound out words and read simple sentences. He picked up his bottle of water and looked at the label and proudly announced that one of the words on the label was “deer.” It was too, Deer Park water. I think even Evan was amazed. Speaking of deer, I saw two very nice bucks standing by my truck Sunday morning. One was a huge 10 point and the other was a six or eight point. We all just stood there for a while looking at each other, then I had to leave for church. They were still standing in the woods as I went down the driveway. I’m sure they’ll end up in somebody’s freezer. So, how do I sum up this blog and make it relate to a bible verse? I don’t know, but let’s try. Time flies, things change, kids grow up, people get older and God’s blessings are everywhere if we choose to look for them. 1 Corinthians 9:23 . 

MYBLOG October 20, 2008,

Now, it feels like fall! I don’t know about you but I really enjoy cooler weather. As I said in church Sunday morning, with the temperature hovering around 32 degrees, some of you may call this cold, I call it refreshing! The week and weekend seemed to fly by. I was able to accomplish most of what I needed to do during the week, despite Joe being on vacation. The Hills really didn’t do too much this weekend. We did some house cleaning on Saturday, intermixed with a healthy dose of playing with Evan. His smile, “talking” and laughs never get old. He won’t stay on his back anymore. He rolls over on his belly and pushes up with his hands, trying to get his knees under him too. There’s a lot of kicking and swimming motion, so it won’t be long until his mobile. Then watch out. Mason had a day off from mom and dad, spending his Saturday with Meemaw and Papa. They took him to his favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel, for dinner. My boys are growing up. For every little thing they can do for themselves, it’s one less thing they need me for. One more little piece that I need to let go of so they can grow. It’s not easy letting go, but it’s something we all have to do. Not only with our kids, but in life too. Lots of us hold on to “things.” Stuff that means the world to us but to someone else means virtually nothing. We tend to hang on to non-tangible things too. Resentment, anger, bitterness, hatred; anchors that keep us from moving on to better things. Take the trees for example. Right now they are letting go of their leaves. They fall away to the ground and add nutrients to the soil around the tree. We need to be like the tree. Let things go. It’s scary, I know, but put your faith in the one who promised a brighter tomorrow and trust that what you let go of will be nourishment to your soul and spirit. What do you need to let go of? There is a story of a young king who was given the chance to travel with Jesus, but wouldn’t give up his great riches. Read about it in these verses. Matthew 19:21-24 

MYBLOG October 27, 2008

Is it really October 27th? Is it just me or did October fly by? It doesn’t help that a lot of the ads you see and hear are Christmas oriented. Buy now, layaway, pay later. Can we at least get past Halloween before the mad rush for Christmas starts? But I digress. My weekend was spent adding color. Mason got into a little trouble earlier in the week so he was grounded. How do you ground a 5 year old? Well he was not allowed to watch his TV shows, go outside or play with any toys. He was allowed to practice writing his letters and numbers and coloring. Here’s where I added color. He and I colored a couple of pictures together. His style and mine are slightly different. He grabs one crayon and colors until he’s tired of that color and moves to the next. I, on the other hand, look at the picture and treat it like a color by numbers; using a different color for various parts of the picture. Before it was over I noticed that he was watching what I did and when he worked on a picture alone he had started coloring the way I did. The other way I added color was by painting my sister in law’s spare bedroom. My wife and I managed to knock the job out in about 8 hours spread out over the two days while aunt Crissie had some nephew time. I’m glad the room wasn’t any larger; we wouldn’t have had enough paint. Evan was just Evan. Mostly smiles and in a good mood. His first tooth hasn’t popped through yet, but by the way his gum feels it won’t be long. On a more personal note I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately and my family started to notice. I don’t think I’m alone in being concerned about the economy and in particular personal finances. It’s enough to get anyone down. My wife, and an episode of Veggie Tales (Daniel in the lions den), reminded me of a very important thing; it doesn’t matter. God is bigger than the boogie man, the tax man, the credit card man or any of the other bill collectors. Our faith is tested every day and apparently I had let my armor down. The devil is always trying to divide us from our family, our friends and mostly our faith. Constantly planting those seeds of doubt. You always have to have on the full armor of Christ to do battle and it’s not always easy. God never said it would be. He did promise better things for those who are faithful though. Ephesians 6:10-17

November 2008

MYBLOG November 3, 2008

I didn’t do much at all this weekend, as far as working. I did spend a bunch of time with my family. Friday night Carrie took the boys trick or treating. They, and by “they” I mean Carrie, the boys and Aunt Crissie, were dressed as the Chipmunks. Carrie was Dave, Aunt Crissie was Theodore, Evan was Simon and Mason was Alvin, complete with the big “A” on his shirt and his hat turned around sideways. They tried to put makeup on Evan, but it made his skin red, so they used brown cake icing instead. As you can imagine everyone wanted to give him a kiss or two. Mason got the usual assortment to goodies and Evan got formula, baby food and biter biscuits in his basket. Saturday Carrie did some grocery shopping in the morning and the boys and I stayed home and played. If Mason is on the floor, that’s where Evan wants to be, just like his big brother. Evan is rolling and working on crawling. He hasn’t quite got the concept of getting his arms under him when his back end is pushing and vise versa. I used to be able to put him down and he’d be in the same place when I got back, not any more. Saturday afternoon we all went for a walk down to the lake in our subdivision. Carrie snapped a couple of pictures of the boys with the lake in the background and the fall colors reflecting in the water. They should be some very nice pictures once we get them developed. Yes, I said developed. We haven’t made the switch to digital yet. We have a small digital camera, but my wife still prefers her 35mm film, a throw back to her days developing film and the feel and smell of the negatives. There is a certain charm to that, having developed and printed film myself, but I like the immediacy of the digital. You know right away if you got the shot or not. Sunday we went to church and Sunday school then home for lunch and an afternoon of relaxing, playing and naps. All in all two thumbs up. Tomorrow we’ll go to the polls for a very important and historic election on a number of levels. I urge you to choose wisely and don’t be deceived. I must admit that none of the candidates excite me, but one scares me and he should scare you too. I’ve been reading Psalms lately and I thought this was an appropriate verse for this week. Psalms 12

MYBLOG November 10, 2008

It was an historic week! First, my son Evan pushed in two bottom teeth. My wife Carrie and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. My son Mason passed Little Book 8 and is working on number 9. Evan spent the night away from mom and dad for the first time since he was born. My father in law and I did a minor repair on my truck. There was something else this past week….oh yeah, a new president was elected. Last things first; the new president. I hope you will join me in prayer for our country and for wisdom for our new president and other elected officials. They’ll need it. And I would say that no matter who won the election. Ok, the work on the truck. I had a small fuel leak which with prices like they are can’t be ignored. The culprit was two small o-rings on the back of the fuel filter housing. The new o-rings cost less than a dollar and it took Larry and I about an hour, maybe a little more, to make the repairs. So far, so good. Mason passed Little Book 8, which means he’s learning to sound out and recognize more words and he’s able to read more and more. I’m so proud of him. It seems the more he learns, the more he wants to learn. I pray that attitude continues. Evan is still getting used to the teeth in his mouth; he pushes his tongue over them and feels them with his fingers. And yes, he knows how to bite. Finally the reason Evan spent his first night away from mom and dad was because Carrie and I went on a date for the first time in a long time. He spent the night with Aunt Crissie, who apparently didn’t sleep very much, even though Evan did. Mason was with Meemaw and Papa for the weekend, which he thoroughly enjoyed, especially since Papa took Saturday off to spend the whole day with him. Carrie and I went to a movie, had a very nice dinner and spent the night in an historic hotel in the area. The time together was very nice, but we missed our boys, so much so that we left church right after the morning service, skipped Sunday school, so we could get to them a little faster. I told Carrie as we were driving to see them, “I love spending time with you, but I miss my boys.” She agreed and I may have exceeded the speed limit slightly to get to them. One other thing; Pastor Jerry Young, from Rivermont Baptist Church and a staple on the Sunday mornings airwaves here for over 40 years retired this past weekend. I stopped in the station on Sunday morning on the way to church to thank him for his years of dedicated service and to wish him well in his retirement. He recalled that he’d only missed two broadcasts, both of which were his fault and had to do with time changes, springing ahead or falling back. It’s hard to tell how many seeds Pastor Young planted, but I know he’s not done sowing just yet. He is a true servant of the Lord. John 12:26 

MYBLOG November 17, 2008

Remember the slang you used as a young person…yes you do. You know, if you said it was “bad” it was really good. It was hot to be cool, etc. I’m going to borrow today’s slang to describe my week. It was sick! No, really sick, as in ill, not well and under the weather. It started with Mason with sniffles and a cough. Then Evan with a fever, sneezes and slight cough. Then Carrie and I with runny noses, sinus headaches, body aches and, in my case, a cough. As you might imagine our weekend was spent resting. The boys are pretty much back to normal and Carrie and I are working in that direction. I’ve spent the last couple of nights in my recliner so my coughing wouldn’t disturb Carrie and the boys. I woke up this morning with the worst headache I’ve had in probably ten years. After several doses of ibuprofen it’s now down to a dull, nagging ache rather that that pounding, throbbing, nauseating pain I had earlier. I’ll be glad when the weather finally gets cold and stays that way. I’m sure I feel much better. Late last week we found out that a former employee and friend passed away. Anita James worked here at the station as a receptionist and inspiration. She suffered with rheumatoid arthritis for years and that’s what finally forced her to leave the station. The pain wasn’t worth the paycheck. She was a sweet lady who loved her family and they loved her too. A few of us from the station went to her funeral today. When I saw what the arthritis had done to her hands all the sudden my headache seemed insignificant. I’m sure my headache will go away, but her pain was constant and affected her whole body, everyday until Friday when she went home. I’m sure she’s in heaven right now dancing and jumping like a little girl, free from pain and suffering. Yeah, I’ll miss her, but I know I’ll see her again. John 14:1-4 

MYBLOG November 24, 2008

I can not believe that it’s Thanksgiving already. Where does the time go? This past weekend my wife and I had some one on one time with Evan, as his older brother Mason spent Friday night with Memaw and Papa. We sort of traded off throughout the day on Saturday. I’d entertain Evan while she did some cleaning, then we’d switch. Evan is all but crawling, so a lot of my time was spent on the floor with him. There were lots of grunts and groans, but eventually I got used to being down there. Evan is just so curious. He wants to grab everything, examine it, taste it, and touch it. You can almost see the wheels turning in his mind, processing the new information. He’s making more and more noises, but no words yet, at least not words I can understand. His laugh is intoxicating and his smile lights up my world. Memaw brought Mason home Saturday evening and stayed with Evan while Carrie, Mason and I joined Crissie for a quick and a little entertainment by a local band. Sunday Mason and I went to church while Carrie stayed home and prepared an anniversary dinner for her mom and dad. It was delicious by the way! Mason likes it when just he and I go to church because we sit in the front row. I don’t know why he likes to sit up there, but I’m not going to argue. After church Larry and I did a quick repair on my garage roof. I call it a garage only because it has a garage door on it. There is no way you’d ever be able to get a car in there, it’s too small and built at an odd angle to the house. But the repair went smoothly, or as smoothly as repairs go at our house. All though the week started off on a less than positive note, it ended in a wonderful weekend and the promise of a better week ahead. Like most people we’re having to readjust and rework our budget and we’re taking steps to improve our cash flow, but in the big picture it doesn’t really matter. As I said in church on Sunday, my gas tank is empty and my bank account is getting that way, but I’m filled with the Holy Spirit. As long as I have that I’m a rich man. Psalm 54:4 

December 2008

MYBLOG December 1, 2008

Pass the bread and mayo, I want another turkey sandwich! The Hills had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we hope you and your family did as well. Despite that first line, I have not had a turkey sandwich. We went to Carrie’s mom and dads for Thanksgiving and only came home with the leftover cranberry salad my wife made. No turkey sandwiches, no turkey stew, no turkey chow Mein, not even any left over pumpkin pie. Our neighbors brought over some of their leftover cranberry desert, which was delicious, but not a single piece of turkey can be found in our fridge. If I want any sort of turkey I’ll have to eat Evans Turkey and Gravy baby food. He won’t mind, he didn’t like it. Friday night and most of Saturday morning my wife was sick and, as it usually goes, the rest of the family got it too. Mason on Saturday morning, me on Saturday night. None of us were feeling great on Sunday morning, but we managed to make it to church. Mason and I got outside a little on Saturday afternoon. He played and rode his 4-wheeler and I raked some leaves. Paul, my neighbor, said if I raked them up he’d use his industrial strength leaf vacuum to suck them up. I couldn’t pass up that deal. Saturday evening Mason helped me put a new alternator on my truck. He really did help, keeping track of the various nuts and bolts and keeping his old dad company. I have very fond memories of helping my dad do things like that, just he and I. I hope Mason and Evan are able to fill their memory banks as full as mine are of those times with my dad; even fuller. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens. Those boys are just two of the many things I’m thankful for. I’ve even thankful that the alternator went out on my truck. It left me stuck about a half mile from my house. Before I could even get out and put the hood up, a very nice man in a jeep, Christopher, stopped to see if he could help. I got the jumper cables and within in just a short time my truck was started and the alternator kicked in just long enough to get me the rest of the way home. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I know who put Christopher behind me in that Jeep and believe me; I thanked him, and still thank him everyday for his mercy and grace. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. 

MYBLOG December 8, 2008

Pancakes, parades and pines. Well, that about sums up my weekend. I got to spend Saturday morning with a bunch of wonderful folks at Kiwanis’s pancake day, a real community tradition in Front Royal. It was the 52nd annual event that helps to raise money for the club so they can do various community service projects. Saturday afternoon my oldest son, Mason, and I participated in the annual Christmas parade. Mason wasn’t feeling his best, but we donned our Santa hats and did our best parade wave for all the folks who braved the very cold night to watch the parade. I don’t know what the exact temperature was at parade time, but I know it was well below freezing. Even with the heat on full blast in the River van, Mason and I were still cold. I can’t even imagine how cold the spectators were. I appreciate them being there, despite the weather. After church on Sunday the whole family made our yearly trek to get our Christmas trees. We went to Rudacille’s store in beautiful downtown Browntown. Sunday was another cold day, with a wind chill, so it didn’t take us very long to find, cut and load our trees. I recall years past spending what seemed like hours wandering around a tree farm, trying to find the perfect tree, only to get it home and find that there’s a huge blank spot on one side, a double top or a crooked trunk. Although we haven’t put our tree up yet, I have a feeling it will be just perfect, and it only took, literally 5 minutes to locate, cut and load. We spent more time in O. C’s little country store trying to decide on what snack we wanted than we did looking for a tree. All in all it was a great weekend, too short, but great none the less. Time is ticking away, are you ready for Christmas? I’m not even started with the “worldly” Christmas preparations, but I’m fully prepared for the biblical Christmas. That’s the one where the greatest gift was given, and continues to be given to anyone who wants to receive it. John 3:16 


MYBLOG December 15, 2008

The tree is up, not decorated, but up. The shopping, not done, as a matter of fact, barely even started. The holiday Pennsylvania trip is looming large at the end of this week and the car needs inspected. My truck is still having intermittent electrical issues. Trying to refinance our home and stay sane. And Christmas is how many days away? No, we’re not stressed, not at all! Not everything at the Hill house is an eleven on the one to ten stress-o-meter. Mason got a very good report card this time. There are a few things he needs to improve on, but overall he’s right where he should be for a first grader, but he’s only in kindergarten! He goes to a very good school. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it, hence part of the reason for the home refinance. My wife and I are reevaluating our budget and making some changes that should help us to improve our cash flow and weather the current economic storm. The one thing that we are not willing to change is our sons’ education. We tried to refinance through one company, but their appraiser devalued our house to the point that the company wasn’t willing to make the deal, which as it turns out, is going to be to our benefit. We moved to a local company with a local appraiser who knows the market and home values and all of the sudden our house appraised closer to its actual value. Plus, with the Fed set to lower interest rates this week, it seems to be working out in our favor. Sometimes you’re good, sometimes you’re lucky and ALL the time, God is looking out for you. I’ve been on my knees numerous times over the last several weeks asking for His guidance and to help my wife and I be good stewards of his blessings, and true to His word, he heard me. Had we done our due diligence before going with the national mortgage company we would have seen that what happened to us is not uncommon. As a matter of fact, there are several law suits pending against not only the mortgage company, but also the appraisal company, which just happens to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the mortgage company. So, you may ask, why didn’t God either lead us to check out the company first or “guide” us away from the national company? He never promised that things would be easier as a believer. That as a Christian your life would be without trials and tribulations. Quite the contrary; He said you will have trials and tribulations, but that He would be faithful and never forget or forsake his children. I’m glad I’m one. Hebrews 13:5 

MYBLOG December 22, 2008

Twas just days before Christmas and all through the house all the presents were wrapped and the kids were quiet as a mouse. NOT! Not even close, at least not for me and my house. This past weekend the Virginia Hills made our annual Christmas trip to see my family in Pennsylvania. We were going to leave home on Friday, but most of Pennsylvania was under a winter storm warning. We opted to hold off our departure until Saturday. We arrived Saturday afternoon in the Keystone state to about 6” of snow and a frosting of a quarter inch of ice and the promise of more of the same for Saturday night. That second storm fizzled out, but it was very cold and windy. The temperature dropped to about 9 degrees with the wind whipping between 20 and 40 miles per hour. I told my wife that when I was young we used to bundle up and go sledding or riding snowmobile in weather like that for what seemed like hours on end. This weekend I spent about 10 minutes outside and felt like Jack Frost had nipped at every part of my body, several times. The visit was very nice. Most of my nieces and nephews and their kids made it for dinner. I guess there were about 30 in all. My mom made some little slippers to adorn each present and devised a little game we all had to play before we opened our packages, which just added to the fun. It was the first time in several years that she did that. Her life changed drastically over the last few years with the death of my dad and oldest brother, her selling her house and moving to a smaller one and just adjusting to all those changes. She didn’t have much ambition, but that’s seemed to change this year and it was nice to see it again. We had an uneventful trip both to PA and back to VA, even with the snow on the ground, the roads were fine. As we all get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of this holiday, I urge you to slow down, take a breath and remember the true reason for this holiday. Find a house of worship, if you don’t have one of your own. Attend a service and listen to the story of the greatest gift the world has ever received. If you can’t make it to church, read the story for yourself and to your family. You’ll find it in the New Testament. Luke 2:1-20 Merry Christmas! 


MYBLOG December 29, 2008

Some assembly required, batteries not included. That about sums up my holiday. Although, most of the noisy toys that Evan and Mason got did come with batteries; yippee! Why is it, do you suppose, that those with no small children tend to buy noisy toys for those of us who have small children? Is it some sort of cruel pay it forward scheme? I don’t know, but I can’t wait until my boys have kids of their own and Grandpa Lonnie can buy whatever the noisiest toy is on the market. That’ll show them, until they decide that that particular toy is best left at Grandpa’s house! Foiled again! “No, sorry kids, Grandpa doesn’t have any batteries for your toys, I used them for my…ah…hearing aids, yeah that’s it, hearing aids.” Of course, if I take the batteries out of my hearing aids I wouldn’t hear the noisy toys now would I. Hmmm decisions, decisions. I also wouldn’t hear their laughs and giggles while they are playing with those noisy toys. Hmmm, decisions, decisions. “Ok, everyone in the car, we’re going to the battery store.” I was truly blessed this Christmas. I go to spend a lot of time with my wife and boys. On Christmas Eve Mason and I sprinkled “reindeer” food on the front lawn. I read the Christmas story to them, the biblical one, that is. While visions of sugar plums danced in the kid’s heads, Carrie and I stayed up late wrapping presents and got up early Christmas morning waiting for the boys to get up. Mason, as you would expect, went straight for the toys. Evan just wanted to play with the wrapping paper. He’d rip off a piece, hold it up and do a thorough examination of it. I received some very nice gifts as well, despite the tough economic times we’re in. The best gift I got is the same one you can receive, if you haven’t already. It’s a gift that you can get anytime you choose and once you get it, it just keeps on giving. You can’t touch it or see it or smell it. You can feel it and even though you can’t put it on like a new shirt, you can wear it and when you have it on everyone you meet will wonder where you got it and how they can get it too. This gift isn’t new, as a matter of fact it’s over 2000 years old, but it makes you a new person. It’s a precious gift that we were given, even though we didn’t and don’t deserve it. John 3:16