My Wife

My wife was raised in a very quiet house with two sisters. Moving into a life with a loud, busy husband and three crazy, wild, intense boys would be a shock for most people. But my wife has adapted and grown into the perfect mom for our boys and a loving, supportive, merciful wife to me. As we celebrate our 8th year of marriage being over and come close to our 10th anniversary of knowing each other, I want everyone to know that I think my wife is great! The latest example is today. I was stressed at work today trying to get a ton of things done in advance of a mid-week visit with some family and an end of week vacation. I wasn't able to make it home until about 9, but at 5:35 she sent me this message:

just came in from the swing set and looked at the time so I am saving the meal for another night and running to wendy's...sorry. stay at work as long as you need to- even work till midnight if you want. I am good- kids are good- we have been busy outside and they will go to bed early.
love ya- k

Any guy knows that those words are exactly what a guy needs to hear.

Thanks babe- for being my beautiful, loving, fun, spunky wife. Thanks for not putting up with my s***, and for helping me be all that I can be. I'm looking forward to the next 8 years! Happy Anniversary!

More thoughts... I'm chatty today

I remember the first year Danny was around. I did not enjoy it. He was cute and whatever, but I would never go back to that first year. Here is how I chart kids development from the little that I know so far:

0-1: Nothing but sleep, eat, and cost me diapers

2-3: The awakening. A blob becomes a person. Makes the first two years seem really long and boring and pointless.

4-5: Learning to do cool things.

6+: Learning to do real things.


Also, here is another thought. We expected Danny to do so much so fast. He walked at 10 months, rode a bike at 4, etc. It was wrong of us- we should have been more laid back and let him be more of a baby, toddler, and kid.

Finally, a big thanks to some of our closest friends, the Slim Savvy's. Not only did they get our kids a slip n' slide and t-ball set, but our kids think of them as the aunt and uncle they never had. We appreciate the heck out of you for being our friends.

Follow Up Thank-Yous

Thank you Mom and Dad for the awesome car you bought Danny and Andrew (and eventually "The Jake.")

Thank you to Kristin for doing such a great job making the boys feel special on their birthday with the "eggie" sandwiches, the balloons, the decorations, the lunch at Wendy's, etc.

Thanks to the Boisvert's for the cards and presents and visits for each one of our kids and making them feel special on their birthday. They think of you like an extension of our family.

Thanks to everyone who sent e-cards or called to talk to the boys!!!

We're lucky to have so many people that love our boys!

Some Thoughts, 6 Years Done

Danny turned 6 today. In the last month, he has started to do things that are real person like. For example, we went to play racquet ball twice this week. He got a "gear" bike today for his birthday that has 6 gears. I actually had to do real pedaling to keep up with him on our morning 5 mile ride. When we were riding, at one point he got out of the saddle to get up a hill and it was amazing- he looked just like one of the pros I see during the Tour de France.

Here is the perfect day for danny:

1. Up at 6 AM ready to go.
2. Presents at 6:02
3. Breakfast of Grilled Cheese with extra syrup at 6:30
4. Bike warmup at 6:45 AM.
5. 5 Mile ride on the path from 8 - 9:45.
6. Boisvert's come over at 10 to play and drive in the go-cart
7. Lunch with mom at Wendy's at 11.
8. School at 12 complete with pudding for everyone, singing happy birthday to him, getting a book from the teacher, etc.
9. Riding and driving for hours after school at 3.
10. Roast beef and "Favorite Macaroni & Cheese" for dinner at 5:30.
11. Gym to play racquet ball and swimming at 7.
12. Dunkin Donuts for a sprinkles donut at 9.
13. So tired that he falls asleep in the car at 9:45 pm.
14. Daddy carries him to bed and lays with him until he is all the way asleep at 10.
15. Last waking words "Dad, do you still want to take a bike ride tomorrow morning???"

I love you Danny- exactly the way you are. I see you turning the corner with some challenges you have and I see a bright, fun, intense, loving, and cool future for you. You are the coolest, strongest, most intense kid I know, and I wish I was more like you.

Dad

Devotion

Now this is devotion in my book.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Finally, David Witthoft shunned his Brett Favre jersey for the first time in 1,581 days.

The Ridgefield, Conn., boy, 12, wore the No. 4 jersey every day since receiving it as a gift for Christmas in 2003. David's father, Chuck, said Monday that his son's last day wearing the jersey was April 23 -- his 12th birthday.

Witthoft conceded his son was starting to become more concerned about his appearance after the jersey barely came down to his belt line.

Witthoft first gained national attention three years ago and attended his first Packers game in December. He's also planning to attend the Sept. 8 game when the Packers retire Favre's No. 4.

His mother, Carolyn, had washed the jersey every other day and mended it when needed.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Pitching

Last March or so, I called WEEI to suggest the Red Sox might consider starting the season with a six man rotation.

At the time, Jonathan Papelbon had been moved into a potential starting pitcher role. The Red Sox had the following pitchers in place as potential starters:

1. Curt Schilling
2. Daisuke Matsuzaka
3. Josh Beckett
4. Tim Wakefield
5. Jonathan Papelbon
6. Clay Buchholz
7. Kason Gabbard
8. Kyle Snyder

The year before, the Red Sox again had in their mind one too many starting pitchers and traded Arroyo to the Reds for Wily Mo Pena. (Do not forget about Clement...)

I did not even make it on the air with WEEI as the producer told me "Dennis and Callahan will laugh you off of the air."

Then, before the start of the 2008 season, I heard Dennis and Callahan talk about how the Red Sox have an excess in starting pitching and might consider starting the season with a six man rotation including:

1. Josh Beckett
2. Daisuke Matsuzaka
3. Tim Wakefield
4. Curt Schilling
5. Clay Buchholz, and
6. Jon Lester.

I find it interesting that for three years in a row, the Red Sox have entered a spring training with seemingly an abundance of starting pitching, only to be in May in all three seasons with a shortage. In 2006, they traded away Arroyo for a bat that did not work out. They lost Clement for much of that season. In 2007, the Red Sox opted to keep the pitchers they had and move Papelbon to the bullpen in a highly successful move.

Now, in 2008, it is May. Curt Schilling can barely play toss with his kids. Buchholz broke a nail. Beckett has already had a stint on the disabled list. Despite Daisuke giving up more walks (30) than hits (28) in 47 and 2/3 innings, he is still a shaky 6-0, if it is possible to be shaky at 6-0.

The point is, pitchers are fragile. There is probably close to a 75% chance that each pitcher will not make all of their starts in a season. Bring on Colon!

Or does it matter? It is widely seen that pitching only matters in the playoffs. Take Fausto and C.C. as exhibits "A" and "B." In the playoffs, it is hard to find someone who would not take half of Schilling, all of Beckett, and a shaky Daisuke over any other rotation in the American league regardless of their regular season statistics.

So as fans, we will live with Daisuke's walks. We will accept Wakefield's near perfect nights followed by 2+ inning, 8 hit, 6 run outings. We will wait until July for Schilling to weigh in. We will watch as Beckett ramps up to his best fall stuff. Our only goal is to make the playoffs with whatever mis-match pitching rotation we have as long as the top three pitchers in the playoffs are Beckett, Schilling, and Dice-K. Maybe next time I call WEEI, I will not get screened...

Danny in 2003

Video from Late 2001 - 2002

Check out some video from the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002 including:

- Party at the Kershners with the unmarried Wells'
- New Year's Eve Party
- Jim and Andrew Wrestling
- Toby's Birth
- Some quick Video of Danny

Nice Video of the Kids

Here's a small glimpse into our life:

Danny's First Day of T-Ball

I missed Danny's first ever T-Ball game, but I got to hear some important things about it.

First-when I called Kristin at 7:05 AM this morning to talk to her for the first time in a week, she told me Danny's game was at 11:30 AM, and that he was already wearing his cup! He was so excited!

He called me on the way and said "Dad, I'm nervous about going to my first game without my dad." I told him to listen to the other coaches, to concentrate, and to do his best and it would work out!

Kristin told me that the first time he got up to hit, he hit the ball, started running to first, and then ran to the bench to grab his glove because he was going "into the field!" So cute.

I told the story to the guys on my mission trip, and AJ shared a story about his son. When he was playing soccer, he son always wanted to play goalie. Finally, after many games, the coach gave him a chance to play goalie.

The other team got a breakaway towards AJ's son. There were no defenders left- just the other team with the ball and AJ's son in the net. The crowd looked up, and AJ's son was turned around backwards with his head stuck in the net! The other team scored easily... HA

Making Sense

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Miami waiting to wake up tomorrow so I can fly home to my family. I'm trying to make sense of my trip. I think it will be more effective for me to debrief in a few weeks. Right now, everything is too fresh. It was yesterday that I woke up, rode a trufi into town and back, worked in the after-school center, had dinner with the Timmer's, and flew overnight to Miami. It's too close to what I experienced to make sense of it. Here are my observations so far:

1. The work Mike Timmer is doing is a hugely successful one. He is creating ministries that are effective, self-sustaining, and make a difference in the lives of many.

2. The orphans are a success story, not a sad story. How they get to the orphanage is always a painful experience, but they are there- they've been saved. You can tell on the looks of the kids faces the ones that have been saved and the ones who are lost.




3. The power of the Internet makes Bolivia close to the US. I was able to blog, email, and fix problems at work all while being in a third world developing country. However, the Internet also makes it possible to feel closer to home when far away- the value of which cannot be understated.

More later, but I'm tired...

Bolivia Day 1

I left for Bolivia today. We traveled from Boston to Baltimore to Miami. We're staying at a hotel tonight on our way to Cochabamba tomorrow.

Interesting group- very diverse personalities, and we seem to be in pairs- Me and Savage, the Dore's, Marie and Sue, and AJ and Jim. Everyone seems to be respectful of everyone else so far. I enjoyed my first day. I'm trying to think of what I can share about the day that is interesting....

Google Reader

For those of you who use the Internet, I suggest Google Reader. It is a free service that keeps track of other websites and lets you know when a website has been updated. So instead of checking 14 blogs to look for changes, Google Reader tells me when someone updates their blog. It even displays the blog for me to read along with other new items. It works very well....

The Knife

After having knee problems suddenly appear in January of 2007, today, I finally got a prognosis. I need surgery on both of my knees to fix a movement defect. Basically, both of my knee caps are tilted towards the outside of my knee, causing the problems I have running, walking, standing, etc. To fix the issue, the Doctor is going to cut the tissue that attaches my knee caps to my femur so that my knee cap will be free to move the right way. It is an arthroscopic procedure with a fairly quick (2-4 month) recovery. I can only do one knee at a time, so I'll do my left this summer sometime and then my right sometime after the first surgery.

Believe it or not, I'm excited. It has been such a pain (literally) dealing with my knees for the past 16 months. Having a straight-forward, relatively simple solution to the problem is such a relief.

First Day of T-Ball

I want to share some of my experiences and quotes from T-Ball today. I am the coach, and Danny is on my team. There are 10 players of varying skill levels. We had our first practice today.

First, I had to buy Danny a "cup" as is required by Little League. Once he got it on, he hit is three times and goes "Anybody home?" Then he said "The butt's hanging out!"

We got to practice where I met the other 7 players and their family. For eight players, there were about 20-22 people at practice. Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, etc. Unreal. Camcorders, digital cameras- I didn't see any members of the press though.

-- Name this song reference "She took me by the hand. She made me a man." --

We did all sorts of drills and running and fun stuff. I had them moving quickly doing lots of different things. It was interesting- going from high school girls softball to 5 year old boys T-ball.

Afterwards, Danny said to me the following things:

"Dad, I actually had fun at T-Ball."

"Dad, I liked the things you had us do at T-Ball. It was interesting what we did."

"Dad, T-Ball practice like changed my life. It like actually changed my life I liked it so much."

"Dad, thanks for T-Ball, it was the best day of my life, even though it was just practice."

When we first got there, he went to go throw a ball with another little boy. Watching the two of them walk away together was a priceless memory.

He's another sappy story. Yesterday, I left my new ATM card in the ATM. Idiot. So I called to get it replaced. It will be my third card in three weeks. Anyway, I called Bank of America. After 15 minutes of verifying me, getting a new card ordered, etc., the lady on the phone said "I'm sorry this happened to you, but we'll take care of it for you." Guess what- I started to cry! I was like "Kristin! WHat the heck, I"m crying!" She busted out laughing. It was ridiculous. I don't know if it was being sick or the medicine or what, but I totally lost my mind. It was very embarrassing. Something the lady said just struck me. What a sally I am. Kristin said that's what happens to girls with PMS- they cry for no reason.

I wish I remembered more about the T-ball time, I already forget some of it...

Spiritual Warfare? Or me being dumb?

Here is my past two weeks:

Last week = Flu. In bed for 2 days. I don't function well when I'm sick. My mind feels like mush and I cannot focus on anything.

Friday = T-Ball Meeting, Small Group, watching Cascade play. I got a ticket for going through a red light in Bedford. I was not happy. I had a split second to make a judgment call about if I could stop in time, and I made the wrong decision. Oh well.

Saturday = Birthday.

Sunday = Strep Throat. First time since I was a kid. In fact, it was the first time in at least 7 years (that I have records for) that I went to the doctor for being sick. Monday was the worst I have ever felt being sick. It was unreal.

Tuesday = Work although still sick. But I did it.

Wednesday = On my way to work, at Exit 3 off of 93, traffic gets backed up right before the exit almost every day because of sun glare. And probably 3 times a week I exit (along with every other person who exits there) in the breakdown lane. Today, a State Trooper was not impressed. He pulled me over- twice in 5 days! No ticket today though.

So, is it spiritual warfare for my trip with me being sick and breaking the law, or just me breaking the law???

NYC Photos

 
 
 
 

Trip to NYC

For my Bolivia trip, I decided to go to the Bolivian Consulate in NYC in person rather than mail our passports and applications to them. Also, we could get visas in the airport, but we have a short connection which is probably not enough time to get through the visa line. Long story short, me and my team have our visas which are good for five years.

I decided to take Danny with me. I woke him up at 5:05 AM and he said "No dad!" I said "It's time to go to NYC" and immediately, he was awake and ready for our adventure.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, both of us are fairly sick. On the way back tonight, we stopped one time for 10 minutes and drove the last 3+ hours straight with no stops. Pretty impressive for a 5.5 year old.

We drove to NYC and parked in the upper west side which is just outside of the "congestion zone" for parking. Basically, I researched and found a parking lot that was cheap and near the subway.

We took the 1 train into mid-town Manhattan to 42nd street. West 42nd street. We had to trek to 211 EAST 43rd Street to the Bolivian Consulate. The cool part is that 43rd street is chopped in half by Grand Central Station. We got to walk through and see the huge train station. Keep in mind, Danny is sick. My hyper boy could barely keep up walking with me and eventually had to be carried. He weighs 50+ pounds. Yeah. And I wore my girly clog shoes. Idiot...

We found the address for the consulate and went to suite 702 which was nothing more than a 3 room office that employed 3 people- all Bolivian (obviously).

They asked what I wanted. I said "visas" and they took my folders and left. It was a little disconcerting. The passports of myself and seven others were taken from me into another room that I could not see. Then, we had to leave to take our $800 cash payment for the visas up the street to the Chase bank to be deposited. When we got back, we sat for about an hour waiting for our visas.

There were a lot of people in and out, but interestingly, two sets of Bolivian nationals who live in the US full time who were trying to get the Bolivian Consulate to help them out. One set wanted visas because they have US passports, and the other wanted a new Bolivian passport since she lost hers. This lady came in last, but had her needs taken care of first. One of my first real experiences being the minority and not first in line...

Danny and I left with the 8 passports and went looking for pizza. It was 12:30 PM and we hadn't eaten since we had Dunkin Donuts at 5:30 AM. Sick, hungry, and tired described Danny, but he did well. We found a great pizza place that sold $.99 pieces of pizza. It was great. We ate it out on the sidewalk with people walking by, some of whom made comments about Danny's Red Sox hat and our bravery for coming to NY with a Boston hat!

Here's where I could have planned better. I knew Danny couldn't make it back to the subway station (about a half-mile to a mile walk), and he wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. What we ended up doing was taking a $20 cab ride uptown to our car on 96th street, and then driving downtown to the Financial District to see the Statue. Then we had to drive north again to get off the island of Manhattan... I should have just parked Downtown and moved around better on the subway on the lower east side instead of starting on the upper west side... Anyway, and I learned about Manhattan. Manhattan is a tall, skinny island surrounded by the Hudson River to the West and the East River to the... East. Upper means North, Lower means South. Uptown is North, Downtown is South, and the line separating East from West is Central Park Uptown and 5th Avenue Downtown. Also, streets start at the southern tip of Manhattan as 1st street and run parallel up to like 150th street. The "avenues" run North and south and connect the numbered streets. Make sense? It really does because if all of the streets had unique proper names, it would be impossible to figure out how to get around.

I was impressed with the efficiency of space in NYC. There is no space- at all, for anything. A parking garage is not a place where someone drives in and parks in a spot- no. I drove in, stopped, and then watched them take my car and park it surrounded on all four sides by other cars. They asked me what time I was coming back so they could store my car in a place where they can easily get it out.

Also, the monthly cost of a parking space in the "cheap" parking garage where I was is only $508 a month! I cannot imagine paying over $500 to park my car and be required to give an hour's notice before I can even get my car.

Buses were parked on the side of the road literally touching each other. There is no space between buildings. There is no space anywhere but up in the air. It's no wonder the rental price in Manhattan is higher than in any other part of the world.

Oh yeah, one weird thing- there is no parking anywhere. Especially none that is free. I paid $12 to park in a cheap garage for 2-3 hours. We drove down to see the Statue which is all the way Downtown in the prime real estate zone. I pulled into something at the southern tip of the island and found a place to park, in an open lot, for free. Other people were parking there, there we no signs, so I left it there. It was weird. It didn't feel right- but no ticket, no problem!

Danny and I are shot- 12 hours, 34 minutes and 500+ miles in one day. Being sick didn't help, but it still was a fun adventure as evidenced by Danny saying to me at one point "I think this is a day I will remember for the rest of my life."

The Good Samaritan Doesn't Go to Taco Bell

At church, Pastor Lee had a good message about the Good Samaritan. In fact, he planted a dude on the side of the road on the way to church who was supposed to attract people to see if they would stop to help him or not. Of course most people did not. It was a good message.

After church, Danny, Andrew, Mogan, and I talked about the story of the Good Samaritan. I'm such a studly dad that we broke it down, discussed the story in modern day life, etc. The kids really got it, as I soon found out.

After we went to the gym to go swimming, we went to Taco Bell for lunch. Good, wholesome, organic foods at reasonable prices.

As we were going through the car line, I heard this jeep trying to start. Over and over again it kept trying to start. In my elite-est self, I thought "Man, this is why I don't go to Taco Bell, doesn't surprise me some skell can't get their car started." Then, Danny said to me, "Hey Dad, shouldn't we help that person like the Good Samaraitan did?"

Ouch.

WDOML

It was a bad day. I'm a fairly confident person, sometimes prideful even. I believe I have what it takes or at the very least, I feel like if I'm motivated to do almost anything, I could accomplish it. I do not feel that way about parenting anymore. Today, I seriously question whether I have what it takes. By "question" what I mean is, I do not have what it takes. I do not know what to do. I know all the advice I would give to someone in my position- pray about it, read books, seek counsel of others, look for things to change, put myself in a place where God can change me. What if I honestly believe that for change to happen, someone besides myself has to make the changes? What do I do?

It takes two to argue. It takes two to fight. It is my choice to be frustrated. It is my choice to let my anger control me.

God, change me and change my son. Fix something which I believe is up to you to fix now. I am "turning it over" to You. I give up.

Snow

Yeah! It's spring! 5-8 inches of snow! Karen and I were outside playing yesterday (well, the boys and Emma might have been out there too) and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees while we were out there. And I awoke to no grass again and school canceled. The boys were disappointed about not being able to go to "Elijah, Mogan, and Cam's" house... Fun day at home!

Kristin left me...

...for the weekend to go to Cincinnati. She brought "the Jake" so I get to hang out with my two oldest boys. I've actually been looking forward to this weekend with them. Time for the three of us to hang out, make noises, drink beer, and eat pizza. Well, maybe not all of those things. They don't really like pizza...

God, I pray I will be a Godly father to these boys this weekend.

Over the Rhine...

...is a place in Cincinnati near the Downtown area. It is also a band that I used to follow that is from Cincinnati. They drive me nuts with their touchy feely-ness sometimes, but in general, I enjoy their music. I went to two or three of their Christmas concerts that were memorable concerts for me. They used to have a guitar player that is top notch who left the band- Ric Hordinski. Here is a link to some of his stuff which is phenomenal:

http://www.myspace.com/richordinskimusic

On Sunday, I wore a pink shirt to church, and a close friend (MB) told me "You couldn't pay me to wear that shirt." Well here is the next girliest thing I'll say- Over the Rhine has some of the prettiest songs I know. Check out this video...


Also, for a great cover of Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah, check this out:


And here is a video for the prettiest song I have ever heard:

"Stand By Me"

Jesus, who does?

For me, my friends came into my life when I was 14, not 12. We did not find a dead body along some train tracks or even have home lives that were the catalyst to make us lean on each other, but in the ups and downs of life I experience, knowing who I can count on when I need them is more valuable than anything I own. I know with one phone call, three people would start traveling in my direction.

God is that kind of friend to me in different ways. I use God too much like an ATM, taking out a portion when I want or need it, using what I've taken for all its worth, and then walking around with an empty wallet for a week until the next payday.

How is it that God made us with such a need for Him while at the same time giving us a choice. The choice for me is "will I let God change me today or not?" My job is to put myself in a spot where God can rip out the things inside of me that are wicked.

Stand By Me- who was the last person who saw you exactly as you were?

Songs I Love Lately

This list is a little scattered:

Why Go - Pearl Jam - Live at Lollapolooza July, 2007
The Idea of You - Dave Matthews Band - Live Tracks from Fenway Park
Love in this Club - Usher and Young Jeezy - Love in This Club

Ha- a rock song, a folk song, and a rap/R&B song...