Welcome to My World

Allow me to introduce you to my family...you may want to grab a cup of coffee before reading any further.

I am blessed with a LARGE family, and outside of last week, a healthy family. I thank the Lord for this each day. Now if I could find the time to let them know how proud I am and how thankful I am, I'd be the richest man on Earth. That is my spiritual quest in life.

I have a wonderful wife who is extremely creative with what she can do with a piece of fabric, turning it from woven textiles rolled off a bolt in a fabric store to a menagerie of Halloween costumes, formal attire, or keepsake quilts. She is by no stretch of the imagination Mother Nature, or at least Mother Nurturer. She really has a grasp and connection to each of the children and knows how to coerce...I mean persuade them into doing their chores without the veins in her forehead popping out. I have the corner on that market. She is also THE Top Chef. The Thanksgiving before we got married, I took my grandparents to dinner at Chanon's house. At the end of dinner, my grandfather pushed his chair back, patted his stomach, and said to me in his best Foghorn Leghorn voice, "Boy, she's a good cook. Now don't screw up and loose her."

The day we got married, I was happy to walk down the aisle with Chanon on one hand and Quinn on the other. It's one thing to decide to spend your life with another person and share your hopes, dreams, joys and sorrows. It's another thing to accept into your life a child at the same time. I knew that day was coming, so I had my wedding band specially made (by my mom) to signify the joining of three souls. The ring is made of three pieces of gold; two yellow gold to symbolize Chanon and Quinn, and one white to symbolize myself, all three joined in the never-ending circle. No preparing myself slowly about it; just jumping right in with both feet and praying that I don't step in a big ol' pile of...you get the picture. That is a lot of work, and at times it is well worth the effort. Then she became A TEENAGER!!!!

Between Chanon and I there are four more children: Zane who is 6 now, Willow is 5 and Ayla and Harlee, the twins, just turned two. TWINS?!?!?!? You find yourself asking the question, "Now we have three kids, what's one more??? I have three siblings and mom and dad turned out OK." (Enter nervous chuckle here...) Then you go in for an ultrasound to find out boy or girl, and the tech finds two little heads looking back in the monitor and you realize God has a sense of humor and replies in His made-for-the-big-screen booming voice (I actually heard this in a booming voice, no lie), "HERE, TAKE TWO...THEY'RE SMALL!!!!!"

Life in this house is NEVER a dull moment. Willow was daddy's little girl and hates to share her daddy with two new sisters. Quinn jumped in on that band wagon too, and even now at 13 she tries to cuddle with daddy...who happens to be siting in the recliner with the twins and Willow. I can tell what the barometer reading is when I hear "Daddy!!!" or a stereo pounding from the other side of the locked door. Then you come across last week...the 24 hour bug ripped through this house like a Texas Twister through a trailer park, taking out everything under the age of 38, leaving in its wake a path of destruction including dirty dishes and laundry. Which kid can still go to school, which one needs the antibiotics, and which one needs the Motrin...I just realized Chanon has never fashioned a nurse's uniform for her Halloween wardrobe. Hmmm...I'll leave that description to my personal memoirs!!!! RRROWWWW!!!!

So the kids are mostly back up and vertical now, although Willow succumbed to the bug over the weekend, so she's flying at about half-mast, but she's hanging in there like a little trooper and hasn't missed school. The others are trying to get their appetite back, and tonight's quickie dinner of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Beef & Vegetable Soup went half-hearted. So I let Zane off with a half-bowl, and a fruit snack for dessert. Quinn quickly brought it to my attention that life is not fair.

"What?!?!?!? I can't believe this!!! You guys go soooo easy on him. When I was his age you would have made me sit there until I finished the soup!!!"

"Sweetie, I need to tell you that you were never his age. You were born a teenager and knew everything coming out of the womb, just like your mother and I were born old people and were never children and therefore know nothing about what it is like to be a teenager."

For once, she couldn't argue with my logic and started to take care of the dishes. I guess I was possessed by a moment of intellect and thought "What would Chanon do???" and it just flowed.

Damn, I'm good!!! Thanks, honey.