Sunday, June 24, 2012
Time with The Palm Family
Our good friends and neighbors have property in a remote location in Inverness about 90 minutes away. We have spent a couple of weekends with them in Inverness and it was the epitome of "all natural" fun! The boys loved it! They canoed, kayaked, played with air soft guns, sat around the fire, played on the rope swing, rode the ATV, and at night they played board games and talked....sometimes very loudly:) There was NO media at their property and no electronics....it was the best. I wish life could and was so simple and pure every day. But since our choices have not made life that simple we will value and look forward to our weekends we spend in Inverness with our dear friends The Palm's.
Devin takes on debate ....and wins!
Since the children were toddlers I have known that I wanted them to compete in speech and debate tournaments. The benefits are numerous and it is like the gift that keeps on giving throughout life. I can not express how much respect I have for the teenagers that compete in this "sport". They have the ability to analyze information, research, argue effectively, and speak so convincingly...what more do I need to say?? But beyond that...we belong to a Christian organization in which all competitors are expected to not only honor each other but their Lord in how the conduct themselves and their attitude with others.....trust me....it is still all out war and competition but the overall atmosphere commands respect and is amazing. Back to Devin....he only actually went to one open tournament this year....so we figured we would "dip our toes in" and try it out. Well, in his first 6 rounds ever he won five of them....this gave him an automatic ticket to regionals to be held a month later....so much for just trying it out. He also competed in a speech event termed apologetics ( which is defending your faith with only about 4 minutes of prep time...very hard) he was middle of the pack in apologetics but looking to improve here for next year. Needless to say, we are very proud of his accomplishments and looking forward to what next year holds for us in Speech and debate. For those interested....the topic for debate this year was.....In the pursuit of justice, due process out to be valued over the discovery of fact! Fun huh :))
Nicholas is so blessed to have not only grandparents but great grandparents who celebrate his birthday and every holiday with him. These memories are the roots that define "family" for him. These traditions will hopefully be near and dear to him throughout his life. What a lucky 6 year old to have so many family members to love him and impart wisdom to him!
Happy Father's Day dad
Dear Dad,
I wanted to thank you on this Father's Day for so many things. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, supporting my activities and decisions as a child, young adult and parent. Thank you for cheering me on and believing in me always. Thank you for instilling values in me that remain the voice in my head as I make decisions on a daily basis. Thank you for being an example of integrity and honesty even when things in life are not easy. Thank you for teaching me to always fight for family and tradition as it is so very important in the foundation of who we are and what we value. Thank you for teaching me to really love myself so that I am able to unconditionally love others. Thank you for being consistent in the good times but also in the bad. Thank you for teaching me to always look for solutions to the problem instead of wallowing in self pity. Probably most important...thank you for being a Godly man and father. I am so very blessed to have you! Happy Father's Day Dad!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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