Pack 1727 Fall Campout 2009

This past weekend Evan, Elliot, Drew, Pop and I braved the rainy/cold forecast to attend the Pack 1727 Fall Campout and boy, was it great!

We arrived Friday evening around 5:30pm.  It had rained on us pretty much the entire time, but by the time we got there, it was reduced to a slight drizzle.  It was pretty chilly, however, which was a pleasant change from the unseasonably warm October we've had thus far.

Pop and I put the tent up while the boys kept warm and dry in the car.  Once the tent was up, we let the boys run around inside the tent before we started piling things in.  A concrete picnic table get up would become our kitchen and around this we erected dad's canopy to keep the kitchen as dry and inviting as possible.  As with kitchens in many homes, this was going to be the heart of our campsite and provide a place for great times and great conversations.  As with the Spring Campout Pop was our chef extrordinaire cooking fried fish, shrimp and of course his famous french fries on Friday night.  There weren't nearly the amount if kids around this time due to the weather, but all who ate were satisfied!  Pop cooked all of our meals including eggs, bacon and sausage for breakfast both mornings, hot dogs for lunch on Saturday and Aunt Bessie's Chicken Jambalaya for dinner on Saturday night.  It was fantastic!  Gone are the days of Chef Boy-Yar-D Ravioli out of the can!

--Pop's Kitchen

One great thing about having Pop there is that he lives up to the Eagle Scout billing.  Ever true to the motto of "Be Prepared," Pop had a backup plan for anything that could have (and did) go wrong!  The inverter that he brought to give light to the campsite smoked, snapped, crackled and popped as soon as it was hooked up to the battery.  Not to worry, Pop brought his $1 garage sale Coleman Lantern just to test it out.  It turns out that it was a dollar well spent, as it was our only means of light on the outside!  The lack of an inverter also meant no electricity to blow up our air mattresses (hey, I never said we were roughing it!) but Pop had brought a hand pump.  Luckily it never came to that because our tent neighbors graciously let us borrow thiers.  Also, we were supposed to have a Pack dinner on Saturday night, but Pop decided to bring the stuff to make Jambalaya anyways and again that proved to be a brilliant move because our Pack Dinner cooks backed out due to the weather.  So we were covered everytime something didn't turn out exactly as planned thanks to Pop!  Thank You Pop!  This makes me even more sure that keeping the boys engaged in Scouting is the right thing to do.

Saturday began with den time and pumpkin carving and after lunch the boys learned about alligators and even got to pet a baby alligator.  Evan hiked back to the camp, but after last year's hike Elliot and Drew were more than happy to take Pop's truck back to the camp.

--Evan entertains a Big Daddy Long Legs spider

--Elliot and his Tiger Den

--I love this picture...so joyful!

--The Webelos lead a flag quiz

--Talk about bed head!

--Elliot and Kai.

--Elliot and the Tiger Den wait for the Alligator Lady

--Everyone waits patiently

--Elliot had a great time meeting new friends

--It takes all of Evan's energy to not make a silly face!

Evan's Pumpkin: Paul Stanley of KISS

--Drew's pumpkin: Scary face with a scar on his eye

--Elliot's pumpkin:  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!

--Camp neighbors enjoy the fire

As darkness fell, we moved to the bonfire where each pack performed a skit and told jokes and stories.  After this, they gave some awards out.  Elliot recieved his Bobcat badge and Evan received his Light of Christ medal and badge that he worked so hard to get.  I was so proud!  Elliot was so excited to get his badge, you should have seen the joy beaming from his face.  My little boy is so grown up now.  Also, I was very impressed with Evan on this trip.  He really came out of his shell getting up and telling two jokes around the campfire and really getting into his skit.  It was really neat seeing him and all of the Webelos leading the younger boys in some of the activities.  Again, I'm reminded more and more of how Scouting is such a good character builder.

--Evan receives his Light of Christ medal and badge

--Evan telling jokes

--And another joke!

We were wiped out after such a long day and slept very well Saturday night.  Sunday morning after breakfast we began breaking camp and saying our goodbyes to our tent neighbors.  (Drew has a new best friend in Matthew Farace.)

--Drew and his new best friend, Matthew Farace

On the way home we drove by the giant statue of Sam Houston which was just minutes from the park.  We really enjoyed that.  After seeing this huge statue I asked Evan who Sam Houston was and he said he didn't know.  I mentioned that for someone to have such a big statue, wouldn't that mean he was pretty important?!  Hmmm, I think I have an idea for their next "Mission Impossible Homeschool Task!"

--Elliot kept calling Sam Houston Abraham Lincolon

--After taking these pics I thought one looked like a Beatles album cover...

--The gang stops to pose with Sam (and in Elliot's case...to pick his nose...)

See all of the pictures from the weekend here.

Multi-Tasking

I've always yearned to have the true gift of Multi-Tasking:  to do several things both simultaneously and WELL!  I have the several things simultaneously down pat...it's the "well" part that I don't have.  I'm working on it.  For the most part, I just try to get as many things done as possible, and if there's any way to combine tasks and complete them at the same time, its all the better.  Which brings me to today's post.

One of the things I was thinking about yesterday was the phrase "doing the LORD's work," and I envisioned God as my boss sitting behind His desk and me sitting there with Him receiving instruction.  God has a job for all of us to do and we need to think long and hard if we are doing our jobs as well as we possibly can.  Following the "God-as-our-boss" analogy, we are paid a salary by God, and it is a truly equal salary that we are paid.  We are paid in TIME.  God gives everyone the same 24 hours in a day.  How well am I spending the time I've been given?  How much of the time that I've been given have I used to His Glory vs. chasing after my own selfish wants and desires?

Then came my lunch run and in the true spirit of wanting to multi-task and make good use of the one hour of time that I have been given for lunch I decide to run and to pray the rosary.  I've been talking a lot lately about God and Running and Spiritual vs. Physical fitness, so it only seems logical to finally and officially marry the two so they truly become one!  So here I am running and praying the rosary and then the thought occurs to me that I should be using this time to evangelize.  But how?  Hmmm, I wonder how many people see me huffing and puffing as I make 3 rounds around the block?  I wonder if I wore a shirt that had a Godly message on it?  What would that message be?

So, that's it.  I'm now on a quest to create some simple, Godly-Themed Shirts to use as I run.  My first Idea is below.  I created this on Zazzle.com.

Front of Shirt:  All You Need is GOD

Back of Shirt:  GOD is All You Need

It needs to be simple and to the point.  And honestly, I'm wanting these messages to bring Faith, Hope and Love to anyone seeking it, even if it means they stop me and want to talk about it.  So I'm just trying to think of a few good ideas that will make people stop and think of God if they see the message.

Please post here with some simple messages that you think would be good to put on a shirt that would spread the love of God!

The Physical and Spiritual Fitness Connection, Part 2

Continuing on a previous post regarding the connection I feel between physical fitness and spiritual fitness, this post comes courtesy of yesterday's lunch run.  Let me set the scene for you:

It was a gorgeous day outside: mid to low 80's, low humidity, cobalt blue skies.  It was a calm day inside, ie: not many fires to put out around the lab.  I had brought my running clothes out of habit more than actually thinking I was going to run at lunch, but somewhere around 10:00 am, I started getting a tinge of a headache and it just kept growing.  Around 11:30 am, I start soliciting takers for going out to eat, but nobody took me up on it.  I knew I should go running...that I needed to go running*...but I had a headache.

I made a half hearted motion out the door as though I'd go to lunch by myself, but I didn't make it.  I forced myself to grab my bag and head out.  I figured the fresh air would do me good.  That there was a reason why no one would go to lunch with me and that reason is that I was supposed to go running that day.  That I would somehow benefit from it.

And that leads me to the latest connection between physical and spiritual fitness:

You should do it even if you don't want to.

With exercise there are many excuses that I can use to not run:  "It's too hot/cold/humid/rainy/sunny outside to run."  "My foot/knee/hips/toe/head hurts."  "I don't have the time to run."  "Free Lunch!!"  I have many excuses when it comes to neglecting prayer as well:  "I don't have time to pray."  "I'm not 'feeling' it today."  "I don't know what to pray for."  "I can't concentrate enough to pray."

"The spirit it willing but the flesh is weak."
--Matthew 26:41

My spirit wants to pray.  My spirit wants me to exercise because my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and here lately, the temple has got some weeds that need pulling, some places that need some touching up and some rotten wood that needs replaced.

So, I forced myself to go running.  Again, I thought that the fresh air would do me good.  I would start out slow and just see how it goes.  I forgot my mp3 player and so I knew I'd have a lot of time to just be with my thoughts and to pray.  By the time I got out there, my tinge of a headache had turned into a full blown headache, and after the first quarter mile it was throbbing.  To take my mind off of it, I began to sing to myself the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and little by little, step by step, my headache started to go away.  By the end of the run, it was completely gone!  I was amazed!  As I took note of what had happened, I realized that I had to post on here about the importance of exercising and praying even though sometimes I don't want to.  You never know the benefit/blessings you will receive until you do it!  In my case on Friday, my headache went away.  In the case of prayer, I've heard it said (C.S. Lewis?) that the prayers that are the most efficacious are those that we pray even when we don't want to pray.  I believe that we will never truly know how much our prayers meant to others until the Particular Judgement.  At that time, we'll see just what impact we had on other people's lives.

So what is it that causes the "don't wants"?  For me I think it basically boils down to pride, the original and most deadly of the seven deadlies.  The sin that goes before all other sins.  I find it hard to run if I "don't have anything to run for," meaning that I'm not training for a race.  I need to remind myself that I am still "running for a reason," and that reason is my health and, ulitmately, my family.

Spiritually, I realize now and admit that pride has kept me from growing in the way the LORD has wanted.  I have always "taken pride" in the fact that I'm a "good Catholic."  Go to Mass, read the bible, pray, etc., etc., etc.  However, I should have realized that if I was "taking pride" in these things, I was missing the point!  To put it one way, I had an inflated "Faith Ego."  This inflated faith ego prevented me from going to the ACTS Retreat for three years.  I thought I didn't need it.  It would do me no good.  I wouldn't get anything out of it.  Well, God allowed me to eat some Humble Pie for a while and finally, my Spirit cried out loud enough to trump my Flesh and I signed up for the retreat.  There were many obstacles put in my way, none bigger than when my car needed $600.00 of repairs two weeks before the retreat.  I couldn't afford to go.  Even though they say money will not prevent anyone from attending, my pride was the first to cry out that I, "wasn't going to accept charity."  Instead of calling it off right away I slept on it, and I noticed that my first reaction to anything is that of the flesh, and this case was no exception.

"The spirit it willing but the flesh is weak."
--Matthew 26:41

So I decided to ignore my flesh and make the call to the Retreat directors to see if we could work something out.  I'm so glad I did, because from the moment I got there until the moment I left, I could hear God talking to me, reaffirming that I was not only meant, but called to be there.  After three years of telling God "no," I finally said, "yes" and He has blessed me ever since.

So, to quote a famous ad, when it comes to exercise or praying:

JUST DO IT!

And in hindsight, it is comical that I write this.  Just last night I was telling Kim that I was trying to gain motivation from my good friend and Iron Man Triathlete David McCullough.  I asked him what kept him motivated during those tough days when he didn't want to get out there.  His answer was to "Just Do It!"  I told Kim, "that doesn't help me at all!"  Yet here I am agreeing!

*When we were in Florida I bought one of those Life is Good T-shirts that says, "Gotta Run." Here lately when I wear that I feel a little bit guilty, and joke that it should say, "Need to Run." Hence the pictures on this post.

Viking Quest

Going back to Homeschooling, I really want to be more involved in homeschooling this year, and we are really trying hard to make it fun for the boys (especially Evan), so I looked at their books and found out what they were going to be studying to see if I could make a fun lesson for them. To my delight, Evan's history lesson a few weeks ago was on Vikings, so I decided to create a treasure hunt for him to find Viking Facts hidden throughout the house. The Clues were given as videos, and once he found the fact, there was a question on the back of it. The answer to the question was the password for the next video clue. At the end, I created a video clip of Viking Pictures mixed in with video of Evan playing guitar, with the whole thing being set to Led Zeppelin's The Immigrant Song (which is about Vikings!) I had a blast making the thing and at the very end, even put a blooper reel together. I'm going to attempt to post the video clues below. Hopefully they work. Unfortunately I cannot post the final "prize video" due to copyright laws. But here are my video clues and the blooper reel. Enjoy!

Intro and Clue #1

The clue was in the closet, and it was a picture of a runic carving. The password to the next clue was "runic."

Clue #2

The clue was a picture of a Viking Long Ship in the black chest that is visible behind me as I videoed myself. Kim's dad gave us the chest years ago and it is filled with their family tree information and oodles of old pictures. "Long" was the password for the next clue.

Clue #3

The clue was hidden behind the door of the gas valve for the fire place. It was a picture of "Valhalla" which was also the password for the last clue.

Clue #4

The clue was hidden in my guitar case.

Again, I couldn't upload the final video, so use your imagination. After the video came the blooper reel.

The Blooper Reel:

Wake Me Up When September Ends

"Summer has come and passed,
The innocence can never last.
Wake me up when September ends."
--Green Day, "Wake Me Up When September Ends"

I can't believe how quickly time has flown this summer. As September draws to a close, I thought I'd post a quick note on what we did this past month.


First of all, we began the 2009 - 2010 school year! Evan is now in 4th grade and Elliot is in the 1st grade. We needed a better space for our homeschool room, so we decided to make the breakfast area the Homeschool room. This has worked out well. There is more space for all the boys to be in the area at once(Drew is pre-K 4, and he has his own desk and workbook and Dylan is constantly wanting to be near his brothers...the room at the top of the stairs just wasn't fit for that many students), and now Kim has her very own Sewing Room! She has made several nifty little items such as a purse and a coffee thingy that replaces the cardboard one that goes on your Starbucks cup. She's so crafty. Here's a picture of the Homeschool Area for 2009 - 2010. I'll let Kim post a picture of her Sewing Room.

With the start of the school year, so too begins the Cub Scouts. Evan is a Webelos I this year and they've been meeting all summer long. Elliot, however, had his first official Cub Scout meeting and he is just so excited. I've actually volunteered to be an assistant den leader since their den has 15 boys (yikes!) We are gearing up to go camping for the Fall Family Campout in two weeks. Pop will be joining us once again and we look to pick up where we left off. The boys are all so excited and so am I! Here's a picture of Evan and Elliot before Elliot's first Tiger den meeting!

September was a difficult month on the fitness front. I had to accept that I had not adequately trained for the Olympic Triathlon in Dallas, and had to drop out. The blow also hit my ego which responded with hearty case of the "don't wants" for all things fitness related. I did, however, manage to run Monday (small victory). It is all good, though, because now that I am not going to do the Tri, I will be able to go camping as mentioned previously.

And I can't fail to mention the ACTS Retreat. I've been running from it for 3 years but it seems like 10! Thanks to all those who kept nudging me to go because it was wonderful. The Holy Spirit was definitely moving and working in there that weekend. There certainly are no coincidences, and I was certainly meant to be on that exact one. Amazing.

Friends

"Met a man on the roadside crying

Without a friend, there's no denying

you're incomplete, there'll be no finding

looking for what you knew

So anytime somebody needs you

don't let them down, although it grieves you

Someday you'll need someone like they do

looking for what you knew

I'm telling you, now
the greatest thing you ever can do, now

is trade a smile with someone who's blue, now

It's very easy..."

--Led Zeppelin, Friends

Over the past two weeks, I've really noticed just how many great friends we've been blessed with.  And if there is one thing that I'd tell all of our friends, it is this: "Thanks for the inspiration."

The Physical and Spiritual Fitness Connection: Part 1

While training for various events, my mind often turns to the thought of the connection between physical fitness and spiritual fitness, and how preparing for a race is very similar to living our lives on earth as preparation for Heaven.  The more I train, the more I'm convinced that St. Paul was an athlete.

"Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.  Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.  Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.  No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."  {1 Cor. 9:24-27)

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd start a list of the ways my spiritual fitness is connected to my physical fitness in no particular order.  Maybe you can relate.

1.  It never gets easier.  This is the most obvious one.  Every day I get out there it takes a while before I can find my groove.  Whether it's on the bike or running, I'm amazed how difficult it is for me to get going.  My immediate reaction is to ask, "will this ever get easier?!"  The answer, in short, is "NO!"  When you do it right, exercise should always challenge your limits so you can go farther, faster or longer (more on that with #2 below.)

Likewise, the "race of life" will never get easier as St. Paul has warned us.  Every day we face the temptations of this world and they will never stop.  So, we must push ourselves to be spiritually fit enough to endure these challenges.

2.  To see improvement you have to get out of your comfort zone.  I can't count how many times I've "hit a plateau" in my exercising where no matter what I do, I won't lose any more weight.  This happens in dieting also.  Your body gets used to the routine that you've given it day in and day out and it has adapted and no longer responds as quickly with the weight loss.  The only way to break out of the plateau is to change up your routine and do something your body isn't used to.  For me this means that while running 3 miles at lunch 3 times a week is better than going to eat Thai food, my body is saying, "ho hum."  Note:  this doesn't mean that it's easy!! (See point #1).  I need to spice it up with interval training, speed workouts and the like.  I need to get on the bike more and longer.  I need to get in the water.  I need to change up my diet.  Only then will my body begin to respond again.

I've spoken about being in a spiritual rut before, and maybe you've experienced that as well.  It's the same thing.  When you stay in your comfort zone, it's easy to be lulled into your existence as a Christian.  I'm not trying to discount daily prayers and Sunday Mass, but if all I'm doing is my daily prayers and Sunday Mass, my soul gets bored, and that is the start of a rut.  To get out of my comfort zone, I need to do more:  Pray with my wife, daily Mass a few times a month, Eucharistic Adoration, frequent confession, witnessing, ministering.  These things exercise our spirits and give our souls that boost.

3.  You have to get out there.  Again, this is tied to #2.  I subscribe to Runner's World, and as a member of USAT I receive a quarterly Triathlon magazine.  I also have lots of friends who run and do triathlons and I speak to them often.  But if all I did was read about running and triatlons, or talk to my friends about running and triathlons, it will never get me prepared to actually participate in the event.  Of course it is good to read about it so I can gain motivation, pick up helpful tips, or even spot that newest gadget that I have to have ;), but I still have to actually get out there and run, bike and swim.

It is very similar with my spiritual fitness.  Again, I do not want to discount the importance of reading the Bible or stories of the Saints or inspirational stories and devotionals, or discussing the Faith with our friends.  This is very important.  But once we've read and once we've interacted and have been inspired, we must ACT on that, as St. James has written of:

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.  He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.  But the one who peers into the perfect law 12 of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does."  James 1:23-25

That's all the time I have today.  I'll post more of these as they come to me.  In the mean time, if you can think of some, comment here and let us all in on it.

God Bless and have a wonderful Labor Day Holiday!

ONE

On August 19, 2009, we celebrated Dylan's 1st Birthday. I can hardly believe how quickly this year has gone by! The day of his birthday, we stayed in and baked a cookie cake for (us) him. That weekend, we went to Gran and Pop's to celebrate with the whole family. We had a "brunch" party and it worked out really well. It was a "Monkey" theme (for our little monkey) and the table was decorated for a jungle vibe, complete with a grass skirt and pineapple. Kim baked a delicious quiche, and we had fresh fruit (including bananas, of course) and OJ before digging into monkey-decorated cupcakes.

Afterwards we all went swimming and for the rest of the weekend we just hung out at the farm. Dylan really loves the animals and when we fed the cows and donkeys he really lit up. He is especially fond of Gran and Pop's donkeys, Jack and Jill.

We also visited my Grandmother and Uncle Jerry since they were not able to attend the party. I love Grandma's house, especially her "hall of fame." She has a long hallway going to the bedrooms and both sides of it are covered in family pictures. I have always longed for a house with a hallway so I could have my own "hall of fame." Nowadays, they do not make houses with hallways anymore. I'd settle for a "wall of fame", but our current house doesn't really have a suitable wall for that either...

Back at Gran and Pop's, the boys made Rock and Roll crafts and generally had a blast. It's always so much fun when we go there.

In the weeks since returning home, Dylan has started walking all over the place. We had friends over last night and one of them commented that when Dylan walks he does the "Cabbage Patch". Dylan has also mastered going up and down the stairs properly, so we have gotten rid of the gate guarding the stairs.

Well, that wraps up the month of August for the Williams family. Homeschool starts on Tuesday and we look forward to a great year!