Our Christmas Tree

We decided to go old school this year and cut down our own tree. Thankfully we have an amiable Gran who let us remove a tree from her land. We set out to get it one late afternoon thinking it would be a somewhat simple endeavor; go up the hill into the woods, find a tree, cut down said tree, drag it down the hill, and strap it to the Trailblazer.

The majority of the smaller pine trees to be found are some kind of cedar. None of them were very filled out. My wife and daughter found a tree on the very edge of her property. It was around 30 feet tall, but the bottom part was mostly bare so we figured we could fell the tree and pare it down.

All that we had at hand was a run-of-the-mill bow saw. I started cutting into the tree that had a diameter of 5 - 6 inches. We took turns at first and even tried two manning the bow saw which was less than effective. At this point our daughter was getting bored and wanted to get back to Gran's house and play there. So my wife escorted her down to the house.

Meanwhile I'm still trying my best to get through this tree with a bow saw in the failing light. I had only managed to get in about the width of the blade (an inch) around most of the tree. Then I hear this ATV coming towards me from the adjoining property. For some reason (my personality) my reaction is flight instead of fight. I'm thinking it's dark, I'm alone, they might think I'm on their property (being so close to the edge), or it could be a poacher with a shotgun who is trespassing and he has a shotgun. So I hear the ATV come close and then sit for a while; I never see it. I hide behind a tree and act like a deer instead of announcing myself. Brilliant. (Hey! I'm a person! Any deer you didn't scare off driving that ATV over here, I already scared off by being here hacking at this tree! That would have been an appropriate response.) But he probably has a shotgun and it's dusk and he has a shotgun. So I take off down the hill. Luckily he never fired, but I hear the ATV patrolling around the top of the hill.

I traipse into the house grateful not to have any holes in me and my wife gives me a questioning look, What are you doing here without my Christmas tree!? I relay my story and she tells me I'm an idiot (rightfully so. It's stupid to act like the animal in season - being all quiet, hiding, and bolting). But mostly I'm glad to not have been shotgunned. My wife insists that we have to go back up and get the tree because that is what we set out to do and to not have done what we set out to do is not part of the plan. Somehow between me and Gran we talked her out of it and we left the tree for another day.

On the appointed day, I set out in the morning to tackle the tree. Still only wielding a bow saw, I march up the hill to bring down the tree. I don't know how long it took (an hour or two), but I managed to fell the tree. Then I cut off the bare scraggly bottom. Now comes the arduous task of dragging the tree down the trail. I sling my trusty, rusty bow saw over my shoulder like a commando wearing extra ammo and transport my spoils off the hill.

I thought I would be able to get the tree on the SUV by myself, but I couldn't. Luckily my brother-in-law came over to help Gran and he helped me get it up. He also helped get it back on after I foolishly thought it would stay with twine. We used paracord the next time. Then we got my house and realized the tree was still too big and chopped off another three feet so that it would fit through the door. It now stands 14 feet tall filling half of our vaulted ceiling front room.

Canine Reflection

When we first got Mollie (our lab mix puppy) I checked out How to be your dog's best friend from my local library. It is written by the Monks of New Skete in upstate New York. They have spent decades working with and learning from dogs. I've been reminded of some of what I have read as I have been looking back on my interactions with Mollie over the past year.

This repose has been brought on mainly by desire to have a great dog that I can take places with me and my family and not have to worry about how she'll behave. My wife has done a terrific job training Mollie. She will sit, lay down and mind most of the time. For a puppy under a year old she is a really good dog.

So I've been thinking about how your dog reflects a truer sense of who you are. Dogs see through any facade you might have for the world and show you what's behind your mask. For me it was simultaneously surprising and familiar. And then I understood why a group of monks who dedicate their lives to God would choose to work with dogs. And it's not only that dogs help you see yourself better, working with them also help you understand your relationship with God better.

Dogs mainly need two things: stability and safety. It is the owner's responsibility to provide those and often in that process of obtaining that end (i.e. training) the dog learns what is expected, what is allowed and what is not. The dog will be happier with boundaries, rules and structure. That is the same for us and God. He provides laws and boundaries for us so that we may know what is right and what is to be expected of us and of Him.

Now I know that dogs aren't people (that might be part of another dog post), but I also believe that a lot (if not all. I'm just not able to see it yet) that we experience here in this life points us heavenward. So I believe that for us dog owners, there is a lot we can learn about ourselves and God from our beloved companions.

Red River Gorge - Fall 2011

Last year, my wife railroaded my trip idea to Glacier National Park because she was afraid the BP spill would ruin a life long dream visit to Sanibel Island, FL. It was a valid concern so we both agreed to take an impromptu vacation where my wife brought back suitcases full of shells. It was a great trip, but I was a little disappointed that we didn't go to picturesque Glacier NP.

This last weekend helped make up for that. We got Emily her first real backpack and a fancy goose down sleeping bag that weighs next to nothing and stuffs down to a basketball. We packed up and headed for Kentucky. We got in a little late and found a place to bunker down for the night.

It was a beautiful weekend and the crowd wasn't so bad. It was only well trafficked around Gray's Arch. The coolest wildlife we saw was wild turkeys. We were in black bear country, but unfortunately I didn't see any.

We ended the trip by going down to Muir Valley which is a free nature reserve set up for rock climbers. I did my very first sport climb (instead of tying the rope at the top, you clip into bolts on your way up the rock face) which was exciting and scary. I only made it a little more than half way. I got to a good ledge and couldn't go any further. It was a combination of my legs being exhausted by over 10 miles of hiking and being a little bit scared.

All in all it was a great trip with the wife and it was beauty all around. Here's some pictures:

What is Love?

Sorry, this isn't a post about a night at the Roxbury. I wanted to share some of my feelings about marriage. I've been mulling things over in my mind for a few weeks now for a couple of reasons. One, my wife found a religious blog post where the author basically debases marriage by making the wife a "moral prostitute." (Those are my words, not his). And two, some good friends of mine are in serious talks of divorce. I hate to see this happen (not that I place blame, it's just awful and heart-wrenching for all involved) and I wish I could talk with them without it being awkward. This has set me trying to figure out what marriage means to me as an institution and to me personally with my wife.

I believe that marriage is a God given institution in the purpose of helping us imperfect mortals to experience a myriad of emotions and situations in the hopes of bringing us closer to Him. Through marriage we learn love, sacrifice, forgiveness, humility, and service to name a few. Those are ones that stand out to me. We learn to put someone else above our self (not in all things or all the time, for the Apostle Paul said, "Be ye not unequally yoked." 2 Corinthians 6:14).

The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote a one page statement on the importance of family. In there it defines roles for husband and wife, but not as containers to place them in, but as stewards with the necessary authority and responsibility to ensure those roles are filled. There are many times in my life where I have done things that are stereotypically a woman's job and I continue to do things that are "Mom's work." I change diapers, wash dishes, watch kids so my wife can get out of the house, etc. I do it because it needs done and because I love my wife. And my wife does things that a man would typically do. The point is we share the work and don't quibble about who should be doing what. If we see something needs done we do it or we politely ask for help. We make mistakes, drop the ball, frustrate each other and forgive in the process, too.

I like how my wife explained marriage. She said that marriage is the closest thing we can come to the love Jesus has for everyone. His love is true and complete for every individual. He was able to show devoted (undivided, attentive, and fully present) love for those he was with. My thoughts turn to Jesus weeping with Mary and Martha over the loss of their beloved Lazarus. But for us, our love is not perfect. Marriage allows us to love as Jesus loves, but to a much smaller audience, namely your spouse.

I think the challenge with marriage is managing expectations. People change, situations change and we all come from different family situations (where we learn about marriage, or one version of marriage) and this all adds to the complication. Because of this it is easy to become disillusioned and upset that marriage doesn't match up to your mind's eye. We need to learn to communicate truthfully without fear of judgement. Then we begin to understand one another and love in the way your spouse needs.

This requires patience and a willingness to make mistakes, be disappointed, and get upset. As we learn to work together, we appreciate one another and the effort you are making together. This is what I think makes a marriage beautiful and worthwhile.

Independence Weekend Camping

It had been a long time since I've gone camping. In order to remedy that Em and I packed up our family to go to the Hundred Acre Wood (Em's Gran's property of about 40 acres). She has a pretty nice campsite up the hill in a stand of tall pines. I went a few times as a boy scout and remembered it was decent site with soft needles to lay on and plenty of room to set up camp. That was years ago.

I've wanted to go back for a while, but hesitated, not knowing in what state to find it. My wonderful wife and I dared to re-blaze the trail. We were pleasantly surprised to find the trail well intact. That gave us hope for the campsite. But we found our way impeded by the accursed three leafed villain. The main entrance to the camp was a blanket of the oil secreting weed. We had to loop around to the back side and found a little haven of solitude that had escaped the clutches of you-know-what. The fire ring was overgrown so I relocated the rocks while Em dug a new pit.

I was worried that the kids would wander into patches of green and the contract patches of red. But we all managed to escape that fate. We all stayed around the fire. Bee was a fantastic firewood gatherer and tosser-inner. J did his best to be just like his big sis. He was good at listening which was a relief from how he is at home. Not that he's a terror, but he enjoys getting reactions.

Mollie did great, too. We let her off her leash for the first bit just to see how she'd do. She stayed around and came back when we called her. But we decided to play it safe and take little steps (since we're still working on the recall command). She enjoyed the smells, tried to get the fireflies, and slept soundly under the stars.

It was good to get out in nature and enjoy it with my wife, kids, and dog.

Bedtime

Since we've moved into our new home, James has been struggling with staying in bed and going to sleep. His whole life, he has shared rooms and slept with someone else in there with him. Now he has his own room and a new bed. He gets out at least 5 times after putting him to bed. Poor thing doesn't get to sleep until well after 9pm.

This reminded me of Bill Cosby's sketch "Chicken Heart" about his parents telling him not to get out of bed because of invisible snakes. Here's a link. Go to about 3:05

Last night James fell asleep in his doorway showing his independence and exhaustion.

Night Shift = Manliness

Last week I got to add another gold star to my Man Card. (Man Card is a trademark of MattZ Ink.) I covered for someone on the night shift which goes 10pm to 8am. I'm not sure what makes me more manly, but I feel it. I think it because I can now somehow relate a little more to the hard working factory workers or coal miners that work all hours of the day. The experience was kinda fun. (What fun loving boy doesn't like to stay up after bedtime?) I think I handled 2 or 3 incoming calls the whole week. I usually get about 10 or more a day.

Mostly I checked scheduled backups and stood guard for any outages. There were a couple that happened. Luckily, most of them fixed themselves before anyone woke up. And when nothing was happening I caught up on some man movies. You know the ones that your wife puts on the end of your Netflix queue or says she'll watch it with you, but really doesn't want to. I finally watched Iron Man 2 and I also watched Red. Red was a fun movie with classic impossible feats with a comic spin on it.

Oh and I also passed my next exam (Microsoft Networking 70-291) for MCSA. I was a fool and took this the day after my first day on the night shift. So I had been up for over 24 hours. I didn't feel tired; my head just felt fuzzy. My next step is the exam for Microsoft's firewall, ISA server 2006. I have to get this done and passed before the end of March. The exam will expire then. I could still get MCSA, but not the following my first choice of paths. Then I have to take an exam on Windows 7. That should be pretty easy compared to the rest of these tests that I've taken. I think after my MCSA, I'll update it to the 2008 server series. That only requires two additional tests.

Good things come to those who wait

It's true, but it's not much fun waiting. We finally have a closing date for our new house that we submitted all our paperwork for weeks upon weeks ago. This Friday I get to practice signing my name and get keys to my new house all in the same day! All in time for my birthday, too!

And in other news, our family helped rescue the cutest, sweetest puppy around. A friend of my sister-in-law found this lil' gal in a ditch next to a busy road. They already had two dogs of their own, so they couldn't keep it. So after talking it over with the Mrs. we adopted Mollie. She's a lab mix with predominately lab features. She seems a little small and her tail curls up a bit. Here she is.