A Few Announcements

#1I should be back living at home with my wife and offspring in the next day or two. This has been a difficult period of time, but a valuable experience. I enjoyed drinking coffee and eating oatmeal with my mother in the mornings, working on the new/old boat, and Georgia stories are funnier when I'm not there.
#2Leslie has done such a good job with her recent posts that I've offered her a permanent spot on the roster here at Time of the Preacher. Rumor has it that she slept her way to the top, but I don't hold it against her.
#3No one responded to the posting of the planks of the Commie Manifesto. I invite you to scroll down and take another look. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that, in some form, all of those planks have been implemented here in the USA. Not just since O'Bama's election, this has been brewing for a while now, but is manifesting itself more each day with this new administration. I'd also add that socialism looks good on paper, but it never ever works. If you are interested, read or see Dr. Zhivago or Animal Farm or read some of the writings of the founders of this nation.
I've heard it said recently that Jesus and the earliest Christians were a socialists. I disagree. They believed in giving freely of what you have, not having it taken from you. "But what about Ananias and Sapphire in Acts 5?", you might ask. Their sin was not in withholding some of the proceeds of the sale, but in attempting to deceive the apostles by saying they had given all.
#4Word on the street is that yesterday my great-uncle notarized and mailed the documents that I need to register the boat. I found a motor for sale in Granger that I'm going to look at in a couple of days. I got a trailer a few days ago and am ready to take the boat home with me. Amen.
#5Dad and I went bank fishing yesterday evening. Caught 3 crappie. I did the Biblical thing and ate them for breakfast today(John 21:12). It's that time of year. I'm ready to get home and fill the freezer. In honor this fish I've changed the colors of the background here at TotP to match their markings.

Toilets

On Thursday, the girls had a baby sitter for the evening. I had a fantastic evening out to dinner with a bunch(15 ) of girlfriends. This is the first time I have had a paid sitter for all three. Here is how the evening went:

-Annie was crying as I left, so they went to the backyard to swing.

-They had pizza, bell peppers and apples for supper.

-Jones had to tell her where the plates and cups were located.

-The baby sitter decided to have a DP with her supper and shared with Jones and Georgia.

-Georgia spilled hers on accident and they cleaned up the mess.

-Georgia was given a refill of DP and then spilled it on purpose and began licking it off the table and pretending she was a dog.

-Sitter cleaned the table again and then gave Georgia a cup with water in it and to that Georgia replied "that's ok, I don't want anything to drink, I 'm not thirsty, may I be excused".

-Georgia had her cup taken away.

-Jones ate two pieces and several bell peppers and apple slices. No accidents.

-Annie had to be carried the whole time or she cried.

Pajama time! The following accounts are all being done at the same time.....
-Jones goes to our bedroom, takes off her clothes and puts them in the basket and is running through the house yelling " Hip Hip Hooray, God made all of us!" (She does this every night)

-Annie is on the floor crying.

-Georgia has now been on the bathroom for awhile.....putting half a roll of paper in the toilet...and yes, it overflowed.

-I get a phone call asking what should she do. This girl's mom is sitting across the table from me and the whole room got quiet to hear my side of this phone conversation and then everyone is laughing as they figure out what is going on. The mom is just saying over and over "I 'm so sorry". My reply, just put towels down and I'll take care of it later.

The rest of the evening went great, story time and to bed was with no problems. She said she would come back! Too bad she leaves for ACU in the fall :( She did a great job, although she wasn't sure she would make it out of that 10 minutes.

Georgia was still awake when she left, but the other two were asleep as told. When I went in to clean up after she left and I got Georgia back in bed, I found half of the new roll missing and the rest of the roll wet and in the trash can.

THEN, last night we went to a small group. These people have a two story house and the top floor is where the kids rooms are and that where the kids spent the evening. Jones came and got me twice saying that Georgia has been in the bathroom too long. Both times I held my breath going up the stairs afraid of what I was going to find. But, both times were uneventful, just playing and filling up a canteen. Then, at the end the kids were coming down to leave and Georgia's hair and shirt are all wet. She said she was "doing" her hair. Someone asked her how did she get it wet, her reply "I just leaned over into the water in the potty" UGH I thought maybe she was just joking, but when we got home and I asked her again she replied again that she was at Esther's small potty. She took a bath immediately!

What I've been doing

Thank you to my woman for blogging in my stead.
I've been staying at my parents house for the last couple of weeks, still working out of Sweetwater. I should be back working out of Temple and my own house next week.
For the last couple of weeks I've had a project to keep me occupied while I've been away from my girls. In the late 1980's my dad got an old 14 ft LoneStar V-bottom aluminum boat from his grandparents. We patched it up with silicon and latex caulk and painted it. Dad used it for a couple of years and then he got into high-brow fishing. His boats got bigger and faster and Big Granddaddy's boat has sat unused in the barn for almost 20 years.
I'd been told that I could have the boat if I wanted it. Well, I do want it and the last couple of weeks have given me the opportunity to work on it. I replaced the rotten 55+ year old transom, stripped off the old paint and silicon, patched a couple of holes, and resealed the seams. I repainted the outside to match my pickup. (It's hard to tell from the picture, but the sides are green and the bottom and back are black.) It's ready to go, I just need a trailer and motor. And..................
When my dad got the boat he never had it registered under his name. According to the state of Texas the boat still belongs to WJ Huckaby, my great-grandfather, who passed away in 1988. His will proves that the boat would then belong to my great-grandmother, but she passed away in 2001. My grandmother can't give it to me on her own without the official approval of her brother who lives in California, whom I have not seen in 20 years or so. So I've had to fill out paperwork, have it signed and notorized by my grandmother, then sent to Cal. to have it signed and notarized by her brother saying that they agree to give me the boat. I'm still waiting for him to return the paperwork to me so I can complete the process with the state. Huck Finn's daddy was right on with that speech about the government.
This has been a lot of time, work, and money spent on a boat that really is not worth very much, but I think it will be a pretty special thing to take my kids fishing in a boat that belonged to their great-great grandfather.

On the street where you live

Daddy,
Will you be our valentine?



To My Guy,
O, how sweet it is to be loved by you. And as time goes by, I love you more and more. I will always love you. I am so glad that you are in my life. You are such a loving,devoted,passionate and terrific husband and father. I want you to know that you are always on my mind. Thank you for being a good listener when I need to get my word count in for the day. :-) And know that I'll be there for you when you need to lean on me. So as we celebrate this crazy little thing called love, Justin, I want you to be reminded that I'm crazy for you and that I can't stop loving you.
Your Wife

PS. I love you
PPS. How many "Love" songs can you find?

College Days

While swinging outside this afternoon, Jones commented that she was so excited to go to school, for her birthday and for Christmas!
Then later while I was cooking supper, Jones and Georgia were doing their lesson at the kitchen table, when all of a sudden Jones bursts into tears. Real tears are flowing. She is finally able to tell me that she doesn't want to move far, far away to go to college, but that she wants to live with me and daddy. She runs to her room and shuts the door. Sweet sister Georgia takes off after her saying "It's ok Jonesy", and is then upset because she can't open the door. I go to find that Jones is leaning up against their bedroom door. I finally get her to move and we are able to talk. I finally convince her that college is a long, long time away and she is not even five yet. She wiped her face said ok and then went to play Little People with Georgia and Annie. The End.

Annie is walking at 11 months.

Jones, Georgia and Annie in San Angelo.

Jones, Georgia and Annie in Amarillo.