Tuesday, April 30, 2013

James is all smiles
April is gone and May is arriving with a cold front.  It has been odd weather this spring. 
James is growing up so fast.  Justin and Sarah have already started him on cereal.  He is such as sweet boy.  Naomi, his sister, is a sweetie as well.  Janie and I went over to see them and to help out with some plumbing work in their kitchen remodeling effort.  As I lay down on the floor working on the pipes under the new sink Naomi leaned over on me and just jabbered away as if telling me just exactly how to do it.  Later Janie told me to take a look at Naomi as she was standing with Janie's cell phone up to her ear and again just jabbering away.  We took a tour of the farm while we were there and sat for a while in their back yard enjoying James and Naomi.  Naomi seems to like her backyard play house.
Naomi about to give us a tour of her play house

Spanish lessons are going very well.  Art, our teacher, is a really good teacher.  When we got to class this Monday I asked him in Spanish "Would you preach for me this Sunday night?"  He corrected both my pronunciation and my syntax but seemed pleased that I was making sentences of my own.  I then asked him in English and he was shocked that I was asking him to fill in for me on Sunday night while I was on vacation.  He said yes and I wish I could be there to hear him teach God's word.  I know he will do an outstanding job.  Spanish is not a hard language to learn.  I have even dreamed that I was making up sentences in Spanish and they actually made sense.  I am going to really apply myself to this task.
My piano lessons are coming along slowly.  I have made good progress in the book our oldest daughter gave me to learn by.  After I finish this blog I am going to practice the piano.
I learned today an interesting fact about about legal marriage in Texas.  It seems that according to the Law it does not matter where the wedding ceremony is held.  You can get your marriage license in the county of your residence and have the ceremony out of state so as long as you turn in the certificate of marriage to the same county clerk's office your marriage is legal in the state of Texas.  In about 2 weeks I will be officiating at a wedding in Shreveport but the license will be from Shelby County Texas. 
Hooking up a sink, dishwasher, and ice maker
Plumbing was a trade I practiced for only 2 years of my 60 years on earth.  You would not think a skill that took up such a small portion of my life would keep coming back to haunt me.  I must admit though the knowledge and skill sure has saved me and my family and friends a lot of money over the years.


Monday, April 8, 2013

Lost Blog, Lost Weight

Me and our newest grandson, James
Since the last time that I blogged I have lost about 20 pounds.  That weight can be regained but there is no way I can make up for lost blogs.  So much has happened in the last 2 and half months.  The doctor who I had not seen in a long time said it was good that I had lost weight.  The weight loss was expedited by an illness that I had been fighting for over two months.  I am all better now and now that life has slowed down a bit I plan to not lose any more blogs but I do plan to lose another 8 pounds.
School has consumed most of my life.  I seem to be addicted to it.  I am presently taking piano lessons and Spanish lessons both of which I am enjoying "grandemente." Janie is teaching me to play the piano.  I try to practice every day both the piano and my Spanish.  The only way I am going to learn them is to put in the time.  Can a 60 year old learn such things?  I plan to prove to myself that it can be done.  So if you hear me playing the piano and singing "La Bamba" you'll know I have arrived.
My piano teacher with a much younger student, Naomi
The congregation at WSBC heard the first of about 100 sermons from the book of Job Yesterday.  It is a book that has many phrases which are difficult to understand.  The journey should be a big learning experience.  By the time that series of sermons is over Spanish and piano should be well on their way to being firmly implanted in my mind.
The new carpet and flooring in the parsonage here in Hillsboro is really nice.  The new shower is way better than the old one.  The wall cracks still need to be repaired and the walls painted in the bedrooms.  The place is going to look really nice when we are through.
Taxes are due this week. I have them all filled out except for the check I have to send with it.  We have not been to Henderson in the past 2 weeks.  This has saved us at least $170 so far in gas and will make paying the IRS a little less painful in the pocketbook.
New Carpet
The grandkids are all doing well.  I have a math problem for our grandson, Joshua.  I plan to email that over to him this week.  I need to know how many gallons of water it will take to fill 200 feet of 3/4 inch diameter pipe.  Its for a little project I am working on for the cottage.   Lets see, he will need to know the formula for figuring the volume of a cylinder and how many cubic inches there are in a gallon.  We'll see what he comes up with.
I have 40 picture frames I need to make, I need to repair our riding lawnmower, and clean out the garage.  I need to see if I can get this all done before our vacation in May.