The Grand Stand!

I have been saving up my Cabela's points and when I thought about what I wanted to purchase it was an easy decision. With archery season upon us here in the Great North Woods and gun season just around the corner, I decided it was time to upgrade some of my equipment. The entire time I was considering what to purchase the faces of my two wonderful children kept flashing before my eyes, It was then and there that I knew what I needed to get.

Anyone who knows me is aware that some of my best memories were made while hunting and fishing with my Dad. I have been blessed with 2 kids who started showing interest in hunting at an early age (Ariel's first deer hunt was at the age of 3!) and we have already started making some memories of our own.

Now when I went hunting as a kid my tree stand was just that... a tree! I can remember fall afternoons spent wandering the woods looking for the perfect pine tree to limb out and the cold winter mornings spent sitting on a branch in said tree wishing I had a commercial built tree stand with a nice comfy seat.

I decided my kids deserve better than that, so I went out and bought a tree stand that would make their hunting experience a good one, (this is my excuse for spending so much $$ and I'm sticking to it)!

I spent last night putting my new purchase together all the while my children squealing with excitement behind me. They were quite surprised at how high the stand was but both declared they were up to the challenge. Tonight with the help of my hunting season widow, (aka. My Wife - Rebecca) I put the stand up in the back yard, minus the add on camo blind and before we could blink - the kids were up, up, and away into the "GRAND STAND" as Alex called it!

I look forward to many mornings spent watching the sun rise while sitting side-by-side with my kids and the satisfaction of watching the sun set after spending an entire day together. There is also the anticipation of the conversations we will have and the life long memories of spending time together in awe of God's awesome Creation and possibly filling our freezer with healthy low fat venison.

So. until my back is well enough to move the stand into the woods of our favorite deer hunting grounds it will be in the back yard; where if you look closely as you pass by - you just might see one of our next generation of deer hunters sitting quietly looking for their next dinner!

Life is good...

I want to start by thanking everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers the past week and a half. The first several days after my injury I was bed ridden but after a week of making the trek to the chiropractors twice a day and a follow up visit to my family doctor I am feeling much better.

Even though my job can be quite demanding at times and I am always looking forward to time off to spend with my family I was actually looking forward to my doctor letting me return to the daily grind.
Due to the extent of my groin injuries I am on a 30lb lifting restriction for the next 2 weeks. Despite my restrictions I have managed to book my work schedule full for the next 2 weeks and will meet all of my monthly requirements despite missing over a week of work - Something my boss will be happy to see/hear, as will my wife when she gets my paycheck!

During my down time I was able to spend some time assisting with my children's education as we are joining the growing number of homeschooling families. I have really enjoyed watching the wheels turn inside my children's growing minds and the satisfaction they exude when they succeed at learning something new. Ariel has always enjoyed reading (and unlike me there doesn't have to be pictures) and devours any reading material you place in front of her, Alex on the other hand has a gift for anything mathematical. Alex is still attending Pioneer Valley Christian School twice a week for a 1-on-1 tutoring class. We decided to let both the kids enjoy the summer off and were pleasantly surprised when they asked if they could start school early. While we(Rebecca and I)were enjoying the carefree summer we were more than glad to get back into a daily routine. The first week was a big adjustment for the kids, Alex has enjoyed getting his work done and enjoying the extra amount of "free time" as he likes to call it. As I said before Ariel really likes to read which has been an easy way to get side tracked, she is taking a literature/creative writing course and tends to lose track of time while she reads ahead rather than working on her other subjects - resulting in long days of school work. We are now 3 weeks into the school year and both the kids are moving along with their curriculum.

I have also enjoyed catching up with several of my old school mates via "Facebook" who are now spread out across the country and beyond. It has been nice rekindling old friendships and spending time reflecting upon the past, present, and future. (well everyone knows that the future doesn't exist but you know what I mean). I have also enjoyed expanding the blogs I frequent as several of my facebook friends are also regular bloggers.

As I stated before the first several days were spent in bed and as I began to desire to escape from my bedroom the rain started falling. The ran fell and the grass grew - then during one of my daily trips to the chiropractors my amazing wife completed my weekly task of mowing the lawn! Not only did she mow the lawn she actually mowed it at a right angle(I am rather anal about mowing the lawn a different direction each week)! Unfortunately I was unable to capture this with my camera - something that Rebecca is not disappointed about.

Once I was up and about I enjoyed watching the kids ride their bikes in the race tracks they designed with chalk attached to the back of Alex's John Deere tractor. I even had enough energy to pitch baseballs to the kids - a task cut short when I almost got drilled in the groin by a line drive!

I was content the rest of the time sitting in the backyard. Time well spent watching my kids be just that, kids. No worries about work, politics, war, bills, etc... It's amazing how content one can be sitting on a lush green lawn with a cool breeze blowing though one's hair (yes I know what your thinking but facial hair is still Hair!) while chickens free roam around you looking for their next juicy bug with the sound of children playing in the background.

I have truly been blessed with an amazing family. All of my needs have been provided for - we have a beautiful house in God's amazing country! Despite the occasional set back (ie.. back/groin injuries) life is not only good - it's great. The silver lining in this cloud has been the time spent with family and the quiet time reflecting on and nurturing one's personal relationship with God. As a matter of fact the only thing that could be better is doing it while sitting in a tree stand - a task I hope to tackle soon considering Archery season opens next week in the North Woods!

Pain in the Butt - I wish!

So this Post will be more of a "feel sorry for me" more than anything else but I have nothing else of interest to write about at this time.

Sunday I decided to work on my yard chores - mowing the lawn, cleaning the chicken coop, spread the left over pile of top soil around... you get the picture. Well I got most of it done when I notices the logs I have been using as seats around my fire pit. I was originally planning on burning them at my annual cookout but due to the lack of night owls we let the fire burn out before midnight and I left them for another day.

In my unorganized madness to clean up the yard I decided to move all the logs into a pile so I could mow the back yard and have ease in splitting them the next day. Well as my luck would have it while moving the last log I lost my balance and while trying not to crush my self with a log I strained myself and felt a pain like I have never felt before - I can only imagine what you

women go through during childbirth!

With the help of Ariel and Rebecca I managed to get back into the house and remained in bed for the next 2 days. After 2 days and no relief in site I made myself a doctors appointment. My first appointment was with the chiropractor who after taking x-rays was quite surprised with my happy demeanor. My pelvis was shifted forward and several of my lumbar vertebrae were twisted causing my spine to look more like a stair case than a curving seductive spine!

I received my first adjustment and decided to see how I felt. Later that morning the pain in my stomach/groin area was still quite noticeable so I made an appointment to see my general physician. After a morning of poking, pulling and pushing I found out that I did not have a hernia. It turns out the muscles in my groin were torn but had not intertwined with each other.
I was given strict orders to lay low which means I'm out of work for the next week and to ensure I remain in a useless stupor they prescribed me some muscle relaxers!

Hopefully I will be with it enough to post something interesting during the next week (maybe some pictures of my hot wife mowing the back yard in her Daisy Duke's outfit!) if not you will surly be able to find me entertaining my self on FaceBook!