Aaron - Magic Show

Maddox 1st Bday

Aliah

Aliah

Aliah 1st Steps

Aliah 1st Steps

Maddox 1st Bday

Alicia Down the Great Wall of China

Brooke and Kalli

Conversation Between Me and My Wife

Preamble:
I've been watching what I eat, trying to eat healthy food.
I get home after church on Sunday and see wrappers for Culver's. (I go to the reservation with my son Noah, 15-year-old, and teach Native American children. My wife goes to our church here in Yankton and takes our younger children.)

Me: "How do you rate going to Culver's?"
Kim: "Kalli wanted to use her allowance to get lunch."
Me: "And you didn't ask me if I wanted something?"
Kim: "I figured you didn't want to eat that type of food."
Me: "You could have asked if Noah wanted to get something."
Kim: "He's saving up for Youth Convention."
Me: "You could have still asked."
Kim: "So you could tell me no?"
Me: "Yes."
She laughed.

Dinner with One Topic

We planned a meal last night--fried chicken. Invited were my mom, and my older kids and their children.

After supper and dessert, we had one discussion.  (I planned it that way, and I let everyone know what the topic was going to be.)

I need to give a little background before going into the topic. My dad died when I was 11 years old. I had two brothers and one sister.

The topic was Arthur Tramp, my dad. I asked my mom if she was comfortable talking about him, and she was excited to do it. For nearly an hour, we discussed his life, asking her questions. I found things about him I didn't know. It was a fun time.

Her description of him reminded me of June Carter Cash's view of Johnny Cash, which was of high honor.

Wonderful Weekend

Kim and I had a wonderful weekend. It was one of those times that coming home was difficult. It was nice to be alone with each other.

We saw a couple of movies: Mission Impossible and War Room. Both were really good, the later excellent.

The picture is one of the falls park. Sioux Falls, SD was hit with 7 inches of rain in a very short period of time. The falls were flowing in a roar.

We went to Brazilian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean and Italian restaurants, so we were culturally rounded.

Want to see videos of the Falls? See my Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/randy.tramp

Adoption

The book I'm reading now, Reunion by Karen Kingsbury has a section that has parents adopting a child and the pain of when the adoption falls through.

It reminded me of our experience. A couple decades ago we entered foster care with the intention of adopting a brother, 6 months and sister, 1-year-old.

The process started, and we were almost ready to finalize when another relative became available. We were devastated and went into a time of deep pain. Well, long story short, the relative didn't work out, and we adopted the two kids. But that time of pain became a birthing process and we bonded deeply with the kids.

Sponge Bob in Prison

Yesterday, when my five-year-old, Dennis the Menace type, little boy was supposed to be sleeping he went into his sister's room and messed it up. The worse part about it was he destroyed her legos. Kalli had spend hours with a friend constructing the small pieced models. I'm not sure it can be reconstructed because the instructions are gone. I'm going to go online to see if I can find something.
But I have to discipline. My solution: Aaron will give one of his favorite things to Kalli. Kalli in return will keep the sponge bob pillow until she feels Aaron has learned his lesson. I know I can hear, "OH NO NOT SPONGE BOB." Yes, the creature under the sea will go into prison until parole is granted.

Kid's Apps hat Educate (and Entertain.)

The Bible app helps children learn the good book while interacting with the program.
Rowland is a space-based racing game: Miles rides his trusty robo-ostrich through obstacles and away from danger.
Miss Hollywood - Fashioned Pets. In this app your child adopts a rescued dog and care for it each day, washing, dressing and feeding it. This helps them learn to care.
Frozen Free Fall - The match-three game has crystals that your child matches in order to unlock all of his or her favorite, "Frozen" characters. This game helps them with their memory.

Mother's Day Gift

The bench above is a gift to my wife for Mother's Day. We were concerned that Hyvee would sell out of them so we purchased it a week ago. I think it looks great on the front porch. My wife is thinking about putting flowers on it. Every spring she purchases many flowers for the front of our house and it looks great. I enjoy getting the water hose out and watering the plants. It's getting close for her to get the plants. She waits until after Mother's Day because up until that point it could still freeze.

Mr. Noah

Noah is going to be in High School next year. He loves going out for sports - football and basketball. He's really a good basketball player. I enjoy watching his games. Of course the season is over now.
He read a book for school and wanted me to read it. I'll do that today and I'll discuss it with him. It's something I like doing with my kids. In fact they can have extra time on their I-pads when they read.
Noah spends a lot of his time at his older sister's places. I had to laugh at my oldest daughter. "I get dibs on Noah for this Friday." He's a great babysitter.

Mr. Gage

Once in awhile we have our grandson Gage. He is here for a few days. The boy is a content little guy. He likes to sit with me and can do that for a good amount of time. 

When he is here it makes 5 kids under the age of three. Aliah, our daughter will turn two in June; Raina and Maddox, our grandchildren are three years old. And Damari is around six months old. 

I always wonder what the little ones personality will develop into. I think Gage is going to be more on the serious side. He's not a snuggler right now.

Time

A thought hit me this morning. I've been investing a lot into my writing career but what am I investing into my family? The word that came to me last week was: balance. I think of a plate twirling guy. Some people can twirl 2 plates very well and get tripped up on 3 plates.  When 1 too many plates is added all the plates fall.  The name of one of my plates is family.  I think that plate may not be spinning as fast as I would like it. I think a movie with one of the kids this week may just be the ticket.

Crossing the Bridge

            My story starts in the early 90's and my obstacle was self-made. The wall stood tall because of my rebellion. I was right but I was wrong. Like a wrench hitting a rusty bolt, I was determined to fix a situation. I went too far and heard God speak to my heart, "I will cut you off, but I will allow a twig to grow." During that time I directed a summer camp to the disabled. When the door closed to that ministry I knew God had cut me off because of my defiance.
        For several years I silently lived in the dream that I would enter full time ministry. On one particular Friday on my way home from work at the Federal Prison, I killed my dream and buried it. I had become discouraged with unanswered prayer. I surrendered.
            The following Sunday I arrived at church early. "Would you like to become a full time Children's Pastor?" my Pastor asked.
        "Yes," I quickly said.
        As I look back on that Sunday morning, I realize now that God caused the twig to sprout from the cut off branch. I gave my two week notice at the prison. My security blanket was removed causing fear to wake me up in the middle of the night. How was I going to make the transition? I enjoyed the job at the prison, but I knew God was calling me to something better.
        During that two weeks I continually heard from God: "Burn the bridge and I will take care of you." The call sounded loud and clear. I moved across the bridge. I set it on fire when I walked out of the prison for the final time. I was excited for my new adventure.
        The first months were difficult as I attempted to adjust to my new position. God blessed us during that time. On one occasion during our, "date night," my wife and I was at a restaurant. Kim and I took the last bite of our fajitas and looked for the bill. I then went to the counter to inquire about it. "It's been paid for." We looked around and didn't recognize anyone.
        The night terrors passed slowly and the memories are distant now. I didn't look back then. Well maybe I looked back but the burned-out bridge reminded me to look ahead. My path materialized on the other side. God helped me take my next step after I surrendered. I experienced fear. But I listened to His words and He calmed my fears. I moved in His direction. Today the twig has blossomed into a full sized branch and the dream is alive, because in His timing, God whispered and I obeyed.