Happy New Year, Again.

I’ve been meaning to write a little recap of post-Christmas happenings, and I just haven’t had a second to do it. So here are just a few highlights.

The boys and me. That Three Stooges poster behind us was a complete coincidence.

My boys and I got together the weekend after Christmas. The Christmas holiday was spent with their mom, so we got together for lunch.

They are now both living together in an apartment and sharing the responsibilities. I hadn’t seen their new place yet, so I met them there. It’s really a nice place. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as plenty of room to entertain guests. After the tour of their place and some time in conversation, we decided to go to lunch.

There is a place right down the road from them. Nice place with a nice atmosphere and good food. They both grabbed boneless wings and an order of garlic parmesan French fries (delicious), while I grabbed a good burger. It was fun to just sit and laugh with them. They aren’t little boys anymore and it was surreal to be having adult conversation with them. We’re hoping to make it a point to get together more.

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New Year’s Eve was pretty quiet. Ella stayed at Sam’s mom’s house, so it was Sam, Andrew and me at home. How did we celebrate the new year? Andrew decided to have a date night with us and chose to get some Mexican food.

Then we made a trip to Meijer! Yeah, we really hooped it up! We stopped to pick up a prescription and then walked up and down the toy aisle with Andrew. Now, instead of having us take pictures of toys to add to his Christmas list, we add them to his birthday list!

We were in bed and asleep long before the new year arrived.

My dad made the drive up to give the kids their Christmas gifts this past Saturday. I had taken the kids to Home Depot that morning to do the kids workshop. They built a tow truck. My dad was already in the driveway when we got back home.

Due to schedules and such, we don’t get to see him as often as we’d like. The kids really were happy to see him. They both got remote control cars and watches that have games on them. Both of the kids had to show him what Santa brought and they talked his ear off. At one point, Ella just crawled up on the couch and started snuggling with him. It was so cute.

Ella and Papa discussing the Glinda doll he brought her.

I was so glad to get time with him.

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On Sunday, Ella had a play date with a friend. So Andrew and I spent the day together while Sam slept before work. We went to the Barnes and Noble because he wanted to look at books. We spent a good chunk of time there and had a about an hour to kill before going to pick up Ella. Knowing how much he loves tools, we made a stop at Harbor Freight.

I don’t think there was one thing that didn’t fascinate him. He thought vices were cool. He marveled at the many types of drills on display. His eyes were wide when he saw the amount of flashlights on the wall. Cement mixers, generators, hammers, crowbars, and even a bicycle pump all had his attention.

At one point, his love for the Three Stooges came out as he showed me what “Moe hit Larry with”…

That’s a big wrench! I was waiting for him to say, “Spread out!”

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Sunday night was a challenge. They had to be back in bed at their normal time because they had to be back to school. They were not too happy (or awake) when I woke them up. Honestly, I wasn’t happy or awake either!

And with that, 2026 is rolling right along …..

A Right Jolly Old Elf

As I mentioned in a past blog, the family didn’t get family holiday photos this year. Our schedules and budget did not allow for that. So when my coworker said her husband was playing Santa and that her friend was a photographer, I had to take advantage of this.

As the kids and I parked outside the photo studio, they both asked where the sleigh and reindeer were! I think I said they were on a coffee break. Lol

We were greeted by a large elf. He showed around and then we got photos done. Ella had drawn a picture for him. He was thrilled to get it. My coworker said he brought it home

I loved watching this. Andrew seemed a little unsure at first, but wound up having quite a conversation with him.

Ella never has a problem chatting with people. She talked about her Barbies, the new puppy, and whatever else came into head.

They both really had fun. The photographer got a couple solo shots, too

Santa was a giant compared to those two.

It wasn’t so noticable when he was sitting.

Of course, my kids told Santa that dad probably needed to be on the Naughty List .

Because they told on me, I had to plead my case.

I guess I will find out if my begging worked on Christmas Day!

Work Hijinx From Twinkles

When my wife decided that we were going to do the Elf on the Shelf thing, I wondered just how difficult it would be. When you see those funny videos of a mom or dad shooting up in bed at 5am saying “The Elf!” and then running to move it, that is not a joke.

There have been plenty of times this year where our Elf, Twinkles, is in the same spot as the day before. The puppy is a good excuse, “She must have been afraid to move because she thought the puppy would get her.” That only works a couple times. I knew I had to do something that would make up for those days of no movement.

So, last week, I told the kids I couldn’t find my phone. I had them looking around for it too. I finally “found” it by my work bag. Before I left for work, I texted the following to my wife’s phone:

“Hey guys. It’s Twinkles. I have your dad’s phone. I didn’t want you to worry about where I was, so I wanted to let you know. It’s our little secret.”

That text came with this:

When they called me before bed, I told them that something weird was happening. My phone kept moving all over the office. Throughout the night I planned on sending pictures one by one. However, it was a busy night, so I sent them all at one time in the morning.

Twinkles sure did have some fun …

Hanging out on the IV pole with my equipment

Napping in one of the empty patient rooms

Making one of the front desk staff’s stocking her own

Probably my favorite of the night. Copying her butt on the copier!

These pictures were popping up in text messages as my wife and I were talking on the phone. Ella was in the car waiting to go into school. With each picture she would crack up . She was loving every minute of it. When my wife picked up Andrew from school, she showed him. He came in to wake me up for work and said, “Dad! Did you know Twinkles was at your work!?’

What was really funny was that two of my co-workers said, “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have brought mine in from home too! They could have had a real party. Maybe next year…

My Family Hit the Streets

The entire family was home Friday night. We took advantage of a mild Halloween night and went trick or treating.

Andrew was a SWAT team member, while Ella was a unicorn fairy. She wore a hat, so the unicorn horn stayed home.

We walked the entire neighborhood (a little over a mile) and had a nice night. It’s always great running into other neighbors and their kids out and about.

One thing I noticed was that neighbors were giving kids a choice this year. “You can take two pieces from each bowl,” or “We have potato chips, popsicles, or candy. Pick one.” Well, wait just one cotton picking minute….

We never got a choice as a kid! We took what they handed to us. Then we’d go home and create a “keep” pile, a “garbage” pile and a “mom or dad” pile. None of my kids like Almond Joy. I always had a ton of them after Halloween. This year, they picked their favorites, so zero for me this year.

By the end of the night, they were pooped. But both were in awe of our neighbor’s huge pumpkin, so they had to get a picture in front of it.

Yesterday was a lazy day. We stayed home and I took down the Halloween stuff. I probably should have taken advantage of the mild weather and put up the outdoor Christmas stuff, but I didn’t.

Instead, I began to rake the leaves. I wound up with a big pile, but no leaf bags. I apparently used them earlier in the year. The kids didn’t mind at all.

Well, I know what I’ll be doing later today.

Life’s Little Moments

We had Parent-Teacher conferences last week. We are thrilled that both kids are doing well. We found out things that Andrew was doing in school that we didn’t know he could do. We both felt kind of bad when we were done. “Gee, how dumb did we look when she said he could spell his name?” (Up to this point all we’ve seen him write is an “A.”

We’ve got some pretty color on the trees this year. Slowly but surely, the leaves are tumbling to the ground. It is still too early to start raking, however, I knew the kids would enjoy jumping in the big pile.

Ella’s hair in that one picture cracks me up. She had a blast!

She got to go on a playdate with a friend this weekend. It was about 25 minutes from us in Holly. They do a Dickens Festival every year where everyone dresses up in period costumes and they sing Christmas carols. I’ve never been to it, but really hope to go this year.

Since Andrew was with me, we decided to find something to do while Ella played. First we found an old railway station. It still stands, but most of the windows are boarded up. He thought it was cool. He walked around it and looked in to see the inside when he could. Then we walked the railroad tracks for a bit hoping to find a railroad spike or two (no luck).

After we got back in the car, I found that there was a cider mill not too far away. So we drove over there to get cider and donuts.

He loved checking out the old trucks that were there and running in the hay maze. There was a wooden train that he played on, too. There was a guy under a tent playing gospel songs on his guitar and we sat and ate donuts while we listened.

We thought about getting pumpkins, but decided it was best to wait and go when all of us could be there. We certainly enjoyed our “guy time” together. We got a little bit more yesterday when Ella went to the doctor. Andrew and I sat in my bedroom and I watched him play my Forza Horizon game. He loves busting up fences and, as seen in the next photo, loves chasing animals.

We’re closing in on Halloween and I know the kids are excited. How about you?

Moments to Remember

This past Friday I was up early and off to the state capitol. One of the bigger sleep conferences was being held at the Kellogg Center on the campus of Michigan State University. I had no idea how bad traffic was going to be so I was on the road by 5:30am. I arrived about 6:45am and had plenty of time to check in.

The conference was one of the best I have been to. There were some great sessions that talked about dreams and their connection with trauma, another one about “sleepwalking’ crimes, and a discussion about later school start times. The speakers were good, so it was easy to stay engaged.

The highlight for me was running into one of the gals who was in the sleep program with me. She has moved up in the world and is now working for one of the companies that does home sleep studies. She noticed me first and called my name. When I turned to see who it was, there were hugs all around.

We had to do presentations in class on a certain sleep disorder. She totally went out and bought one of the “old man” hats I always wore, got some felt and made herself a mustache and goatee and presented as me. It was hilarious! There was so much to catch up on. We’re hoping to get the families together to catch up more soon.

On Saturday, the kids had a birthday party that they were invited to. It was held at a bowling alley. Ella has only been bowling once and this was Andrew’s first time. They started out using the ramps to roll the ball…

It didn’t take long for them to just start throwing them without the ramp. Andrew somehow managed to throw the ball and get it stuck between the gutter and the bumpers. Ella was just happy to get the ball to knock down pins. Andrew decided to relax as the ball rolled down the alley.

My brother came up from Ohio this weekend. He had asked me if we were going to be around and that was before I knew about the birthday party. So after the birthday party we went to Frankenmuth where the Scarecrow Festival was going on.

They had pumpkin bowling, bounce houses, pumpkin launching and more. Many of the little shops had their own pumpkin scarecrows outside. Guests could vote for the best one on their phones. The kids liked seeing many of them.

The weather was mild, so it was nice enough to walk around without jackets. We walked around the Riverplace shops and also went to the Castle Shops and visited the bakery. Cookies all around!

Whether we were just too busy catching up or chasing the kids, my brother and I only got to grab one picture while we were there.

Around 6 all the fun stuff outdoors shut down. We were all hungry, so we decided to go to this little Italian place just outside of town. Neither of us had ever been there. It was delicious. I had lasagna which reminded me of a place my folks use to eat at all the time. Ella opted for spaghetti (which is noodles with butter and no sauce for her.) I usually cut it up for her, but she decided to eat it right from the bowl. I love this picture of her …

Andrew, who loves spaghetti, threw me for a loop when he asked for a grilled cheese and French fries. How do you make that Italian? If you look closely at his plate, you will see that he has put parmesan cheese all over his food.

When we left to go home, it poured rain. It was monsoon rain. There was thunder and lightening, which Andrew thought was really cool to see at night.

My brother and Stacey stopped over Sunday and hung out most of the day. They brought the kids Happy Meals and some gifts. Ella got a Barbie and Ken doll – both were decked out for soccer. Andrew got some monster trucks and this cool thing that you toss up in the air and it floats around. You control it with your hands. It was pretty cool.

Our visit was cut short because I had to give the kids baths and get them in bed for school the next day. They are always glad to see them. One day I hope to be able to make the drive down to Ohio with the kids to see them.

I’ll wrap up with something I just thought was cool. I love high school football. One thing I’ve noticed as years have gone by is the increase of the presence of law enforcement at games. At one high school the policemen really got into things. They were cheering for the home team and telling folks they had better, too.

Check out these two law officers being held up by the cheerleaders. I love the sign: Cheer or go to jail!

I love seeing stuff like this! Kudos to these officers – and the cheer team!

Happy 4th Birthday, Bubby!

Happy 4th birthday, Andrew! I will never forget holding you for the first time.

Since day one, you have kept us VERY busy!! Through all of the various health concerns, your smile was always there!

I don’t think you’ve ever slowed down. From the minute you started walking, you have never stopped running and adventuring. You are always looking to discover something new.

You have an abundance of love and kindness to share with others. That love extends to God’s little creatures, too. Whether it is a dog, a caterpillar, a bird, or a kitty, your love shines through.

You have no fear. Maybe that is because of all the various medical stuff you’ve been through in the past four years. Maybe it’s because of your relationship with your sister. Whatever the reason, stay strong and keep exploring.

Fun follows you wherever you go. You seem to be the center of it. Whether you are at the park, at school, or jumping in a big pile of leaves – always find the fun in life!

Not that you need extra energy, but drinking your “own coffee” when you crave it certainly adds to it. I want you to know how cool it is for me to have coffee (well, a lot of cream with a shot of coffee) with you.

Your fine motor skills have come a long way and it will not be long before you’ll be beating me at the games you and I love to share. Take it easy on your old man in the coming years, ok?

Thanks to “Pa,” I know that as days go by, I will be able to count on you to help with the projects around the house. I could be wrong, but you probably know how to use the power tools better than me! I also know better than to look for my tools in my tool box. I know they are in YOUR tool box.

What a joy it was for me to be out on the soccer field with you. I cannot wait to cheer you on in whatever sport you choose to play. I may have to get you some clubs so we can hit the links this summer!

The day you started pre-school was emotional for me. My baby is no longer a baby. You look forward to going every day and are prepared to learn. You are making friends and gaining knowledge. To hear from your teachers how empathetic you are to others makes me proud of you.

In the years ahead you’ll go from practicing your letters to writing your name. From there, well, the world is yours!

You’ve come a long way in four years, Bubby Drew. You are a source of happiness, laughter, and curiosity. You are truly an amazing boy!

Happy birthday, Bubs. I love you to Pluto and beyond!!

Love,

“Big Fella”

Dad

Week in Review – We Need Two

After an almost 5 hour rain delay, my Tigers dropped game 3 of the ALDS. The Mariners beat them 8-4 yesterday. If they lose this afternoon, they are done. If they win, they still have to take game 5. I am still hopeful for them to advance to the ALCS. I doesn’t look good, though.

The stats are in Seattle’s favor. In all best-of-five postseason series tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner has advanced 47 out of 66 times (71.2%). Moreover, in Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams playing Game 4 on the road with a 2-1 lead have advanced 23 out of 34 times (67.7%), closing the series in Game 4 on 19 of those occasions.

On Saturday, my daughter was out on the soccer field again. I had a talk with her beforehand. I told her that if the coach wanted her out on the field, she couldn’t say “I need a break” and not play. That being said, she played a lot this week.

She was so proud of herself. She scored two goals this week. Of course, she was very generous in that one of those goals was for the other team.

I felt so bad for her. They had her in goalie during one period. When they scored on her, she dropped to her knees and cried. She felt so bad that she let the ball get by her. The coach had to kneel down next to her and tell her it was ok. After holding up the game for about 5 minutes, she was up again and playing.

I love that Andrew’s school posts pictures on their app. I will often ask what he did at school and he’ll say, “I don’t remember.” Having the occasional picture helps to see what they are working on.

They are working on the letter A this week. He came home and had to practice on the white board.

The A on the top right is what we drew as a guide. He’s getting it.

Last week was my first week back on midnights. I did better than I thought. I didn’t feel tired until the last couple hours of my last night. This is week 2 and I hope it goes as well as last week.

That’s all to report.

Go Tigers!

What’s Been Going On

This past weekend was a busy one. Once again Ella had soccer. Watching these gals play is so fun. I’m not sure why they all want to be the goalie.

At one point over half the team was in front of the goal. Ella had her back to the other team because she was chatting up the goalie on the field behind them.

Later that evening, my niece was cheerleading for one of the youth football teams. The kids were like 5-7 years old and they were playing tackle football. That was really cool to watch.

The game was at the high school in our district, but my niece was cheering for the visiting team (who won). After watching her cousin, Ella wants to cheer, too.

On Sunday, we finally got out and “Falled up” the yard. Sam had me run up to get hay bales. I took her car and hay was everywhere. Needless to say, I went to the car wash to vacuum it out.

Sam put out the mums that she ordered, had me drag out the pumpkin inflatable, and moved her goose to the front porch. At some point we need to get some corn stalks, but it looks nice.

Our older cat, Maizey, has been scratching a lot. She’s also been licking herself. It’s been so bad that she’s missing hair on her back and the upper part of her tail. She’s also got scabs from where she was scratching.

Monday I took her to the vet. They were running behind because of a new computer system. She waited patiently for the doc.

They think it’s an allergy. They gave her steroids, an antibiotic and her rabies shot. Hopefully, it will get better in a day or two.

Andrew’s teachers are very good about posting pictures on their classroom page. Every now and then one will crack me up. Like this one…

I’m really not sure what he’s doing!

Yesterday, I was on my way to work and bumped into my old morning show partner, Steph. We chatted for about 45 minutes catching up and laughing. That was so nice. I hope it isn’t roo long before we see each other next. It’s always good to laugh!

Catching Up

I realize that it’s been a bit since I gave a life “update.” I feel like I haven’t had two minutes to even think about the past week or so. Here are some highlights…

The weather warmed up a bit last week and the kids were anxious to get outside. My wife bought them something to play with in the bathtub, but they wanted to play with it one morning outside. They were “mad scientists.”

It came with a beaker, droppers, tubes, a funnel, and a bunch of color tablets. Instead of the bathtub we grabbed a bunch of Tupperware bowls and filled them with water. They dissolved the color tablets in the water and then were able to mix colors to make new ones. I’m glad they chose to do it outside – it was quite messy.

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I had to take Friday off to get something done and wound up having a couple of hours with my wife – alone. This never happens! It was nice. We had a nice dinner together at our favorite steak house, we snuggled and watched TV together like we did when we were dating, and we went on a Goose Hunt.

My wife has been wanting one of those “porch gooses” for a while. She doesn’t want to pay for one of those stone ones because they are so expensive. She saw some ceramic ones on the internet that were available at Hobby Lobby. The closest one of those that had one in stock was 30 minutes north of us. So we took a road trip.

After that she said we needed to go to Walmart so she could by a “fall” outfit for the Goose. I was stumped until she told me that we could get a pet costume for the Goose. So now, this is on our porch…

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Soccer for Ella started this weekend. It is very different than the soccer Andrew played in. His was just a bunch of silliness and “Red Light, Green Light” to learn skills. Ella is actually playing a game.

It is a long day for her though. They have an hour practice before the game. Then the game is about an hour. So she is running a lot. Her team is all kindergartners. When the game began, 4 out of the 6 girls were in front of the goal doing jumping jacks. I’m not sure what the rules are about having 4 goalies.

It was a hoot to watch her really going after the ball. Technically, they lost, but no one was really keeping score. At the end of the day, she loved every minute of it.

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You may remember I recently did a stress test. I passed with flying colors. However, I would venture a guess that if I had been hooked up for an EKG on Sunday they would have found some crazy arrhythmias! My second oldest and I were out driving and parallel parking.

Parallel parking still gives me a headache. I had set up spots in a parking lot that represented the front of one car and the back of another. His job was to park in between those spots. I’m glad that it was only cones he ran over, because if there had been real cars there, I’d be filing an insurance claim!

To be fair, he really got the hang of it after I made him do it over and over again. I remember my dad letting me drive his car around the neighborhood when I was 15 or 16. I was so grateful for that. I’m hoping to go out with him again this coming weekend.

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One more class and one more exam and I will have finished Year #2 in my Bible courses. I’m excited to get started on the third year which will feature classes on Ambassadorship and a deep dive into the book of Ephesians. There is so much to learn and I’m loving every minute of it.

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Those are the exciting highlights of the past week or so. Thanks for reading!