tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80530582011-10-11T08:40:09.851-05:00All for one......and two for tea................................................................and four for a dollarBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.comBlogger461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1104331567218119112004-12-29T07:55:00.000-06:002004-12-29T08:46:07.216-06:00

Why is there seemingly 1 piece missing from every puzzle in our house? Is it wrong to put some sort of device on your children that will keep them from being able to reach the wall? I am tired of seeing scratches and scrapes on all of my walls. Is there some written rule in the 3 year-old manual that says any toy that is carried in your hand must remain in contact with the wall as you carry it

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1104171543888039772004-12-27T13:05:00.000-06:002004-12-27T12:19:03.886-06:00

The days following Christmas always require a little more caution as you walk around the house. especially as you make your way to and from the bathroom in the middle of the night. Why is it that when there is a small toy on the floor, it always finds a way to have the part with the most point facing skyward and then is alwasys strategically placed to lodge itself smack in the middle of the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1103826225514759762004-12-23T13:11:00.000-06:002004-12-23T12:23:45.513-06:00

We will be spending Christmas Eve at my Dad's new house. It will be just him and his new wife, and the four of us. I look forward to all these Holiday's mainly because I LOVE TURKEY. I could eat some form of turkey everyday. I was slightly disappointed when he told me that we would be having a grilled pork loin for dinner. It sounded great, but it is no turkey. However, after talking the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1103637822479163322004-12-21T07:56:00.000-06:002004-12-21T08:03:42.480-06:00

Ahhh.....I can now rest easy. I woke up this morning to a wonderful layer of snow laying accross my lawn. This was maybe 1/2" - 1", but it is all I need. Just something to whiten up the place and make it more festive. I do not, however, enjoy the accompanying below zero temps that have moved in as well. I guess we can't have everything we ask for.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1103296948595480602004-12-17T08:37:00.000-06:002004-12-17T09:22:28.596-06:00

What a wonderful treat I received yesterday. My wife and the boys came by my work to pick me up and take me out to lunch. Unfortunately, they did not realize that I had a video conference call coming so I was short on time. Nonetheless, we ventured out to enjoy a nice meal at McDonald's. It was a around 2:00 so the lunch rush had come and gone. There were very few people remaining. We

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1103122673941060752004-12-15T08:44:00.000-06:002004-12-15T08:57:53.940-06:00

I know I am acting a little selfish....but it is Christmas and we live in Minnesota. Christmas without snow is just........wrong!!! I can only remember one other year where we did not have snow on the ground come this time of year. It was many years ago, I think I may have been 8 or 9 years old. We used to spend Christmas at my great aunt and uncle's, but there were never any other kids

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1102684997816544402004-12-10T07:03:00.000-06:002004-12-10T07:24:04.576-06:00

Tonight we are taking the boys to the Children's Theatre Company for their presentation of A Year With Frog and Toad. We have spent the last couple of weeks reading the books to help them understand a little more about what to expect. A year ago we took them to see Dora - Live on Stage! and they had an incredible time. They talked about that show for weeks. I do have to admit that I was drawn

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1102469871696627762004-12-07T19:21:00.000-06:002004-12-08T09:56:35.526-06:00

After a long day at work, I am excited to have to opportunity to watch a nice movie on TV tonight. I had seen the preview for it earlier this week, but did not pay attention as to what channel, date or time. My wife reminded me of the movie as we were finishing up dinner (have I ever mentioned how much I love this woman?) I had been told of a short book about a year ago and thought it sounded

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1102363558669667712004-12-06T13:31:00.000-06:002004-12-06T14:05:58.670-06:00

Whew....what a busy weekend. I should have taken the day off of work just to rest from the work I did on Sat and Sun. My Dad has always been there for me whenever I have needed a helping hand, so naturally when he called asking for some assistance, the thought of turning him down never entered my mind. So I spent most of the day Saturday cleaning carpets and waxing floors in a medical building

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1102099458787536002004-12-03T13:39:00.000-06:002004-12-03T12:44:18.786-06:00

I was able to wake up this morning and get registered for my classes. It worked out rather nice as I was able to take them all in the evening so I won't need to make any large adjustments with my work schedule. I have our computer back up and running and have began getting the necessary items back in place. Once that has been done, we will be making an image to help speed future recovery

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1102010950606171912004-12-02T11:13:00.000-06:002004-12-02T12:09:10.606-06:00

Well, it happened again. I am not quite sure how it happened this time, but it did. Let me explain what I did, in the hopes that explaining it out loud will reveal the error of my ways. 1. My mother needed help with her PC. She was unable to get it to boot up and it was making a strange screetching noise. I brought the PC over to my house to look at it from the safety of my desk. As I

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1101649642378194162004-11-28T07:31:00.000-06:002004-11-28T07:48:27.616-06:00

We woke up yesterday to our first snow of the season. It was nothing substantial, maybe 2 inches, but it has now dashed my hope that winter would be forgotten this year. I enjoy parts of winter, like shoveling the driveway and playing in the snow. It's the parts I don't like that seem to outweigh the things I enjoy, such as below zero temperatures and....well, what can really be worse that that.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1101481355465053272004-11-26T08:44:00.000-06:002004-11-26T09:02:35.466-06:00

Ughhh....You ever wake up in the morning and wonder how you were ever able to stuff that much food in your body the previous day? We had a small Thanksgiving get-together. The 4 of us, plus my mother. We were not going to go overboard with an abundance of food since the group was going to be small. Well, the theory was good, but the application of it was not. Looks like we will be eating

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1100617659579621692004-11-16T08:45:00.000-06:002004-11-16T09:07:39.580-06:00

I went in yesterday morning to take my placement tests. We decided that it was time I went back to school to get some additional schooling to help move me along in my career. It was a little uncomfortable as I was pretty sure that I was the only one old enough to have voted in a Presidential Election more than once. Once the testing started, I noticed that people were finishing up rather

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1100291046147031202004-11-12T14:07:00.000-06:002004-11-12T14:24:06.146-06:00

Ahh yes...It is that time of the year again. Actually, it was that time of the year a week ago - but some of us are slow on getting things moving. We head out tonight for a nice weekend of deer hunting. This will be my 2nd year going out with this same group of friends. I really enjoy spending time with them. I was talking with one of the guys last night about whether I was interested in

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1100190394646196212004-11-11T09:38:00.000-06:002004-11-11T10:26:34.646-06:00

I guess that each of us will have a different perspective on things that happen in our lives in regards to whether we feel that we have been blessed. Some will look at the balance in their bank accounts as an indication of the level of their blessings, while others will look at the "stuff" they have accumulated as their benchmark. Last evening, while lying in bed with my wife, I realized where

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1100103651557130522004-11-10T10:17:00.000-06:002004-11-10T10:20:51.556-06:00

I have heard from a couple of friends who have actually received their I-Pods as promised - For FREE!!! I thought that I would give it a shot to see if I could obtain one myself. Simply click on the link below and then sign up for one of the offers. If you are looking for an offer to sign up for that does not cost you any money - there is one for Infone that you will only be charged if you

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1099676833152185662004-11-05T11:41:00.000-06:002004-11-05T11:47:13.153-06:00

That's right, I got home from work last night and mowed my grass. I now have the nicest looking yard on the block. All of the leaves were cleared (I have no trees, so they weren't even mine) and all of the clippings were bagged. I think that was the coldest it has ever been when I mowed. I have never before mowed with gloves and a winter hat on. It was so cold, that the wheel tracks from the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1099410983963455312004-11-02T09:44:00.000-06:002004-11-02T09:56:23.963-06:00

Well...we decied that we wanted to vote together this morning, as a family. We all woke up early, got showered and dressed so that we could all go together before I had to go to work. It was a little chilly, and a little drizzle, but well worth the adventure. I am sure that you will hear reports on the news about the how we were intimidating and pressuring other voters. As we stood in line,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1098740501930984142004-10-25T16:27:00.000-05:002004-10-25T16:41:41.936-05:00

I found my blog. I knew it had to be somewhere, but for the life of me I could not remember where I was the last time I had it. I retraced lots of steps, but to no avail. And don't ya know, about the time you give up and just stop looking for something - TA DA!!!!! It must be magic. Here we are, another Monday. We had a nice weekend. We raked the leaves in the yard on Friday, Saturday and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1097514430968350062004-10-11T11:42:00.000-05:002004-10-11T12:07:10.970-05:00

Not too bad. 10 days since my last post. I have made some changes. I will no longer be posting my thoughts on the 40 Days of Purpose. I have elected to share those thoughts with my wife as we daily discuss the readings that we are doing. Between that and the painting of the exterior of our house, I have had little energy to actually put together any complete sentences for my thoughts. We are

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1096638798765149982004-10-01T08:45:00.000-05:002004-10-01T08:53:18.766-05:00

I was crusing out on eBay yesterday afternoon and I remember someone had told me that there were some Gmail addresses that had a pretty high asking price. I went an checked it out, but decided I was not interested in paying $1,000.00 for magicjohnson@gmail.com I noticed that people were selling Invites as well. They seemed to be going for around $.25. I have about 6 of them, so I thought I

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1096394667781421922004-09-28T13:44:00.000-05:002004-09-28T13:04:27.780-05:00

Best chapter so far!! What really drives me?? I do not have a need for material items. I have no problem being the one to go without. I do not need to live the lifestyle of luxury. I am comfortable with enough $$ to pay my bills and feed my family. I am not driven by need for recognition. I have no problems playing second-fiddle to people or stepping aside to let others shine. I would

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1096381662360184322004-09-28T08:18:00.000-05:002004-09-28T09:27:42.360-05:00

Ahh yes - the infamous discussion over evolution vs. creation. I honestly say, that for many years I was on the evolution bandwagon. Why not? That was what they taught us in school. The information they gave seemed full of facts, a few holes in the idea, but pretty solid. When you are only given one side of an argument, it always looks like it can hold water. It took much reading and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1096323550321721432004-09-27T17:06:00.000-05:002004-09-27T17:55:55.800-05:00

Yesterday was the start of this 6 week program. Day 1 - It is not about you. This title reminded me of a time when we were in church. The music starts and people begin singing and dancing: "It's all about you. It's all about you. etc..." My Sister-in-Law was in town and had joined us. Over the rest of the congregation, I hear this little twist on the words coming from both my wife and her

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1096301013196023582004-09-27T10:20:00.000-05:002004-09-27T11:03:33.196-05:00

Came home a little early yesterday from the duck opener. The original plan was to get home about 7Pm, but we rolled into the driveway about 12:15. I wish I could say that the early arrival was due to fact that we had reached our limits in ducks, but unfortuantely I think the limit was higher than 2. I suppose it would be okay if I was able to say that we only had 2 ducks because we were such

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095952927359599812004-09-23T10:01:00.000-05:002004-09-23T10:22:07.360-05:00

I survived Monday and Tuesday as the stay-at-home Dad. Barely. My wife loves it when I get to do things that help me appreciate the job that she does every day with the little ankle-biters. I am currently fighting off a little cold. I am hoping that this thing will leave or at least begin the leaving process before this weekends Duck Opener. I am looking forward to getting out there again

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095782322415614462004-09-21T10:49:00.000-05:002004-09-21T10:58:42.416-05:00

Here we are...Day 2 of me at home with the boys. Tanya is going to be starting a new job and needed to attend 2 days of training before she could start. Since this job will be one that she will be able to do from home, it was going to be tough to do OJT ;). Yesterday went well. We decided to make chili for dinner. We needed a couple of things so we went to the grocery store and decided that

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095569142760567492004-09-18T23:24:00.000-05:002004-09-18T23:45:42.760-05:00

Tonight was our night. We had gotten all of our work done earlier in the day because we had plans for the evening. The sitters arrived at 5:30 (that's right, it takes 2 of em to watch my boys). I'm not sure if the sitter's feet actually touched the interior of the house before we were out the door and in the car. It had obviously been too long since our last date. We headed off for a quick

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095280538903169642004-09-15T15:18:00.000-05:002004-09-16T10:09:33.476-05:00

I love.... 1. That she places her hand on my leg as we drive 2. That she has encouraged me to not be satisified with where I am 3. That she is patient with me as I try and understand what her true Love Language is. 4. The fact that all the things that she does that annoy me are what I also find most attractive. 5. That she laughs at my attempt at dancing 6. That she enjoys having "Date Nights"

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095277486103303082004-09-15T14:38:00.000-05:002004-09-15T14:45:03.606-05:00

I got to catch the finals last night of the WSOP. I know, I know...the event actually ended months ago and this is only ESPN's broadcasting of it. Who cares!!! I love watching poker and cannot get enough of it. More than watching poker, I thoroughly enjoy playing it. Online, of course - and not with real money. I spend most nights playing for a few hours before I head off to bed. I enjoy sharing

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095172496166000062004-09-14T08:42:00.000-05:002004-09-14T09:34:56.166-05:00

I was reading a story last night that reminded me of something. As my family and I trudge along in our life, looking for signs of God and wanting to hear more from Him, thoughts from past experiences and past readings came creeping back in. I recalled reading a story that talked about prayers; more specifically, the answers to prayers. Here is the abridged version of the story, hopefully I don't

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1095109796240478582004-09-13T15:54:00.000-05:002004-12-06T16:42:08.646-06:00

I spent this weekend working on seal-coating my driveway. Saturday was the fill the crack portion of the adventure, while Sunday would be the main event. It went well, other than the fact that I ran out of sealant with about a 4x4 section still unpaved. No big deal, as it only took 2 1/2 5 gal pails to complete this driveway. The last one I did, which was about 1/2 the length of my current one,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1094916495330120012004-09-11T09:33:00.000-05:002004-09-11T18:47:33.373-05:00

I remember driving into work. It was somewhere between 7:30 - 8:00 cst. I was listening to some CD that I had put together and was performing my morning concert in my truck to entertain the other drivers. I walked into the office and logged onto my PC. Someone walked by and mentioned that they had heard that some idiots plane hit some building in New York. I thought that was a rather odd thing,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1094857998650424432004-09-10T17:23:00.000-05:002004-09-10T18:14:11.230-05:00

Almost a week has passed since our excursion to the State Fair, and I haven't even posted anything about it. Well, first we can talk about how much a freak I am. For a little surpirse when we got to the fair, I gave everyone little checklists that I had made for each of us (I even laminated them :) ). It listed all of our favorite foods from the fair along with the places that we had mentioned

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1094563426377645002004-09-07T08:08:00.000-05:002004-09-07T08:23:46.376-05:00

Good thing I have a PC at work and that I enjoy getting up early to start my day. I made a wonderful attempt on Friday of instlling XP Service Pack 2 on the home PC. I connected from work and had begun the installation as I was leaving work Friday night so that I could spend some time that evening getting it completed. It was a beautiful site to walk into the house and see the wonderful

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1094144034805814062004-09-02T11:48:00.000-05:002004-09-02T11:53:54.806-05:00

After the previous evenings emotional rollercoaster, I was a little leary about what last night was going to have in store for us. My wife was a little tired, which was to be expected, so she went to bed following bath time (the boys, not hers :) ). I spent most of my evening concerned over her emotional state though this and was only slightly eased by the her attitude earlier in the evening

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1094074894766878682004-09-01T16:18:00.000-05:002004-09-01T16:41:34.766-05:00

After a wonderful evening spent with my wife as she had an emotional breakdown, I am now feeling the burden of a little more guilt than I was carrying yesterday. She broke down last night and explained that she didn't think she could handle the new job she had started. Not a big deal, as it was not the "job of a lifetime" for her nor I. The purpose for the job was to do something that brought

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093969875771345572004-08-31T11:02:00.000-05:002004-08-31T11:31:15.773-05:00

On our drive home from Iowa on Sunday evening, my wife and I took a survey regarding personality types. We once again found that we are at extreme opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to surveys. Needless to say, neither of us were suprised at the outcome. This surveyed confirmed, once again, that my wife is a Promoter. She is always looking to be the center of attention and seeks out

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093898884019663812004-08-30T15:19:00.000-05:002004-08-30T15:48:04.020-05:00

I figure that as parents, you have a couple of options. You can both work similar hours and allow a daycare/sitter to have a major influence on you children or you can find another combination that will allow at least one of you to be home at all times and raise your children. We chose the latter of the 2. We even went to the further extreme and decided that my wife would not work at all. We

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093610400334699142004-08-27T07:03:00.000-05:002004-08-27T07:40:00.336-05:00

.....Iowa???? Yep, that 's right. We are taking the family on a well-deserved, and well-needed little vacation. It's Iowa, can we really call it a vacation? We are actually driving down to talk with the Pastor that married us when we were younger and in better shape. My wife grew up with him and his wife, so they are all too weird when they get together. Reminiscing over different things while

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093528654246465722004-08-26T08:37:00.000-05:002004-08-26T08:57:34.246-05:00

One of the blessings in my life has always been my wife and my boys. That may sound like a standard answer that you would hear from most people, but I truly believe that they are a blessing to me. It seems that no matter how bad or how long my day at work is, there is always someone waiting for me when I walk through the door of the house. Literally! As I pull in the driveway, I click the button

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093446979182596032004-08-25T10:06:00.000-05:002004-08-25T10:16:19.183-05:00

I just got a message from my wife that she is getting together with some other mothers and their children today at Chuck E. Cheese. I know that this does not seem like that big of a deal, although it is the Mecca of eating establishmets for children, in our area. My boys, 3 and 4, have asked a couple of times before if we could go there to eat. Most often they ask after we have seen the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093385753706857022004-08-24T17:05:00.000-05:002004-08-24T17:15:53.706-05:00

Rather than bore you with details of our financial hole that we are in, I will just say that we were in a tight spot - and have been there for the last 12+ months. We have had times where we thought we were making smart choices to help recover, only to find that the hole became wider and more difficult to dig out of. We were given the opportunity this morning to pick up a Store-Front paper

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093361553978467362004-08-24T09:42:00.000-05:002004-08-24T11:57:33.726-05:00

As I arrived home last evening, I knew that something needed to change. I have talked about trusting God with my life for quite some time. Although I had turned over many things to his care, I am not sure that I truly surrendered my life to Him. I was always holding onto areas that were uncomfortable to give up. The last few months have been very confusing - at times I feel that my life and my

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8053058.post-1093298425616032952004-08-23T16:54:00.000-05:002004-08-24T13:36:45.206-05:00

Well - here it is. I have spent many hours reading blogs put together by others and often thought about doing my own. I finally worked up the courage- or a new level of boredom was reached - to begin this adventure. Check back and see what fun stuff we can share. ~In Christ

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14313828228185893170noreply@blogger.com0