My little sister Lisa and her family live in Decatur, Illinois, and go to a really great church, Glad Tidings Assembly of God. Last night Mandisa was in concert at the church, and they were there, front and center. Lisa said she was fantastic, which I have no doubt- we have her current CD and think it's great.
This is my nephew Max with Mandisa. Lisa said Max also got his picture on the front page of the Decatur paper- When I get it, I will post it (of course)...
We're travelling to Yuma for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and my kids are so excited to see all their relatives (my brother Eddie and his family; my sister Mona and her family; and my sister Jeanette and her family).

I had these taken on Chloe's second birthday. She's a little fairy!

We returned Friday from a five day fall vacation to Prescott, Arizona. Annette and I, and the kids, and Annette's mom Anita, stayed in a cabin in the woods, and had a great time.

We went to the historic County Courthouse Square, on Whisky Row, and I tired out my wife and her mother with my limited knowlege of movies that were made there. ("Did you know that the movie 'Billy Jack' was filmed here, and this was the exact spot where Billy kicked some butt defending the hippies?")

Annette and I took Connor trick-or-treating on Mount Vernon Avenue on a tree-lined, idealic neighborhood in Prescott, and I guess the word got out that we were coming, because they blocked off the roads, and over 2000 kids marched up and down the street demanding candy. It was pretty impressive. It's my hope to have a little video of our time in Prescott on this blog soon...

It's Chloe's birthday today! Yesterday we had a little party at Silversprings Park, near our home. Chloe played on the Jungle Gym all morning, and that's why she's perspiring! Guests were Dave and Jewell Wilms, Lee and Sharion Morris, Dick and Judy Steenhoek, and Nanna, as well as Chloe's family. She's my little princess...

Last August I got a call from Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, a band that had played at our church twice previous, and who are friends of ours. They were in Vegas, and needed a place to practice, and a ride to the church, so I went and picked them up, and they rehearsed. Denver couldn't tell me why they were in town, but now we know- they had a big-time audition for a TV show. They have been selected as one of the bands for FOX's new show, "The Next Great American Band." (Fridays @ 8PM PST) We watched last night, and they were terrific. If you watch, vote DMHO, and pass the word.
PS- Connor loved meeting Denver, and talked his ear off. So what else is new...!

Back in 2002, when Connor was a couple months old, I stayed home one work day because I was sick. I couldn't have been that sick, because I had an idea for a picture, the one above. I took a photo of Connor laying on a piece of Chroma green fabric I had, then I went in the back yard and took a photo of the trampoline beside the pool. Put it together, hahaha, funny photo, right?...
A few years later I was surfing the net, and found a website, Museum of Hoaxes (www.museumofhoaxes.com). On a whim, I sent the photo of Connor to the webmaster, and in a few minutes he posted it on his site. People wrote in, claiming it real, claiming it fraud, accusing me of child abuse- it was pretty cool. Alex Boese, the webmaster, liked it so much, he included it in a book he wrote last year, Hippo vs. Dwarf (you can look it up). I thought you'd enjoy seeing Connor in all his athletic glory...
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/2694

Since my little sister Lisa married and moved to Illinois from Arizona years ago, she gets to do all kinds of stuff that we couldn't do growing up in Yuma. Like taking the kids to the pumpkin patch! Here's my nephews, Gage and Max, with superdog Hickory, picking out the pumpkins.
On the flip side, she also has to deal with occasional ice storms, tornadoes, and bugs, so it kinda evens out a little.
I will try to get to posting the video of Hickory when he was on the Planet's Funniest Animals a few years back...

I've been trying to make sure I get lots of good video of Caleb- you know, the third child doesn't get near as much video as the first- which is true- except that no child should have as much as Connor. Chloe and Caleb are getting their share. Anyway, as I was taping in the back yard tonight, I got some classic vidoe of Chloe. You've got to see it!

My dad's sister, Reba Reeves, passed away this weekend. She was a beautiful, classy lady, and lived a long life and has wonderful children and grandchildren. She was a nurse, and it wasn't until the last few years that I found out that my dad was helping put her through nursing school with his money as a GI in WWII.
It's hard to see your relatives pass on, but she loved the Lord, and is in a better place...

I found this the other night on YouTube...
This is a video of our friends Tim and Melody Davis, singing "The Prayer" at the Crystal Cathedral. This is taken from the Heritage Singers 30th Anniversary Concert. Annette sang with Tim and Melody, and many of the others still in the group, for five years. (Tim was my roommate in college at NAU). I love Tim and Melody's rendition of "The Prayer" better than any I've ever heard- hope you enjoy...