Things A Great Dane Will Eat

Once again my friends I want to introduce a new segment here at the TNJGUS Chronicles.
From time to time I will update you as to the things Zoe our Great Dane has eaten.

I Start with one of her recent situations. Before Janelle went to Minneapolis for school she wanted to put together some meals that we could simply heat and eat. One of those meals required 1lb of ground beef. Shortly after the ground beef finished cooking the kids were ready for hugs and kisses goodnight. Zoe, knowing that the kids always try to make this time last as long as possible, seized the opportunity to have a little bed time snack. Janelle returned to the kitchen to find the entire pound of beef GONE!
Fortunately we had another pound in freezer and the baked spaghetti was awesome.

Just this last Friday night, we had gotten some cookies for the worship team practice we had here at the house. My favorite cookies on the counter were little soft chocolate chip cookies with icing in the middle. Turns out that those were Zoe’s favorites too. The next morning I teased Janelle about eating the rest of those little cookies and that’s when she blamed the dog.

• Other items finding their way through the small pony:

• Pizza
• Waffles
• Fresh baked cookies
• Cereal
• Baby Doll

Summer Fun

Last weekend we escaped for a couple days to Santa Claus, Indiana. This was our first adventure to Holiday World and it was everything we had heard it was. It is by far the best family centered theme park I have ever been to. We had perfect weather on Friday for going on the rides and sunny on Saturday while we played at the water park.
Here are a few pics.

THis was kayleigh’s favorite ride.

Collyn actually rode all three of the wooden roller-coasters, one of which is the top wooden roller-coaster in the world. Kayleigh went on the first rollercoaster we rode and she determined that was the end of that. It was the Raven and it was pretty intense.

We rode The Voyage last and it was probably best for both Janelle and Collyn. She felt funny and he had the look of lingering terror on his face.  It really was an awesome ride. My sides hurt for 2 days because there was not much support for my upper body as it was being tossed from side to side. The other issue I have is the fear that someone may not have measured the distance between the coaster and the beams it travels under at high speeds.I am completely opposed to the idea of losing my hands or even my head because i didn’t duck as we zoomed into a black hole while I thought it would be great to raise my hands and scream like everyone else. So yes, I get nervous about those types of things.  I actually did raise my hands on one of the coasters and it was not good for my back or sides, or circulation.  Would I ride them again, ABSOLUTELY.

We finished the getaway off by meeting mom and dad at a German restaurant called the Schnitzelbank. I know that sounds funny but clicking on that link is even more funny. We had some great food and German Chocolate Pie.  AH YEAH!!!  We then piled the kids and their luggage into mom and dad’s car and waved goodbye to the chillins. They have now been hangin out with their cousins and aunts and uncle for a few days. They even went to the St. Louis Zoo.  Must be tough huh?

Thats all for now. until next time,

There are several other pics posted on our flicker account.

Things Overheard pt1

I’ve decided to start a special segment called “Things Overheard”
So let it begin with this:

“Hey!! Is cash money up there? Cash Money! Tell huh to come out here so I can talk to huh!”
Yelled from the ground to the 8th level of our hotel during Black Bike Week in Myrtle Beach.

“That was boring, huh daddy?”
Said by my son as we walked away from the boat he just piloted on the ocean while looking for dolphins.
I guess the fact that we saw a rare Leatherback turtle that was HUGE was not as exciting

There will be plenty more things overheard to come, I have a 6 and 7 year old.

Nice Kitty

While we were at Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach we came across this tiger exhibit so we thought we would have a seat and play with the kitties.

Janelle’s favorite animal at the zoo are the tigers so it was hard to pass up the opportunity to hold a little one.
The one she is holding is 5 weeks and the one that the rest of us is holding is 5 months.

No Towels

After we had our picture taken on the beach Collyn decided he would run through the water.
He was specifically told not to get his shorts wet because we had no towels, so you can guess what happens next.

Myrtle Beach Part 1

Well here we are in Myrtle Beach South Carolina and things are looking good. The week leading up to our vacation has been interesting and threatening to our journey. On Wednesday, Kayleigh thought it would be a great idea to smash her front teeth on the Monkey Bars at school, thus causing Janelle to run her to the pediatric dentist. She was declared OK but she has a mark on her lip to show for it. On Friday, Collyn, who is not on the juice like some of those other big name players, had a baseball game. Of course I was not there because I was packing the truck for the trip, but he had one of his best games ever. He got on base twice, stopped a ball with his nose, then ended the night with a triple. Blood and tears everywhere, and that was just Janelle’s shirt after consoling her son. However, it was after that hit to the nose that he hit a triple and batted in a run.

 

As we came in to Myrtle Beach we saw quite a few Sport Bikes (motorcycles). Then we saw a few more, and started seeing them in larger groups and wearing fewer clothes. Apparently it is the East Coast Custom Bike Show and Bike Week at Myrtle Beach this weekend. The other interesting variable is that the Bikers are primarily African American. Needless to say, we fit in like a deaf and blind guy in the Home Theater section at Best Buy. From what I have read this party only lasts through Sunday and we are going to be with our cousins ’til Monday afternoon. YAY!

Collyn and Kayliegh finally saw the ocean for the first time in real life and they we very excited. We already have collection of shells and will probably need a small trailer to bring the final collection home. Be sure to check out the rest of our pics on Flickr.

We had dinner in the restaurant at the resort. We had pizza that reminded me of the pizza you would find at most Chinese buffets. Some of you are now assuming that the Pizza was not very good, but I LOVE the pizza you find at most of those buffets. Immediately after eating we went to the room, changed into our swim suits and headed to the indoor pools. This is where Collyn continued the theme of the week by trying to swim under water in the 1ft deep kiddie pool. When he came up with busted lip kayleigh felt it was her sisterly duty to share with the complete strangers who had just joined us in the pool room that he chipped his tooth (which he did not do). Just a busted lip. Back to the room.

So here I sit, typing this for you while the kids are each sleeping on their own queen size bed in the first bedroom and Janelle is crashed out with them. I on the other hand will be fully extending my legs on the King size bed that has its own balcony with a view of the Ocean. One week, no dogs to minimize the available surface area on the bed, and the sound of Sport Bikes revving their engines and burning their tires as I drift off to sleep.

Like Loave and Fishes

We all know the story about the loaves of bread and few fish with which Jesus fed over 5 thousand people who had gathered to hear Him speak.

Well, I have had an experience that confirms my faith in unexplained multiplication.

Here is your warning that you will probably regret reading any further into this blog.

So, Janelle did some shopping a month or so ago and picked up an item that is necessary in every household. An item that can go unnoticed if its right or can impact your day from the very start if it is not right. I’m talking about Toilet Paper

I think we can all agree that the quality of your toilet paper does matter. Apparently Janelle had it on her list the day she was shopping and saw that they were selling it by the pallet. Typically, the brand of TP found in our house meets all standards set by the Understood Family Standards for Living, but, the new stock fell considerably below these standards. This particular collection of TP reminded me of the white paper that is found on top of the table at the doctors office. YEAH! Not Good.

I wish I could have seen the original packaging that this Toilet Paper came in because I don’t know how she got it in the house by herself or where it was put so that she could keep pulling out more. Perhaps the dark recesses below the sink hold a greater storage capacity than the law of physics would dictate. Whatever the case, just when I think we had used the last roll of the doctors discount paper another one would appear. We would even replace an empty roll of the bad with the good stuff i had grown to love for so many years, and then there it was, another roll. This little mind game between the tp and me went on for weeks until a week ago. I thought we had used the very very last roll of the unholy paper and things were good again. Then, to my surprise, THERE IT WAS. mocking me and reminding me that there is a dark side in the universe. I could almost hear it laughing at me. I don’t blame my wife, she was doing her best to take care of the fam by making sure we had all our needs met. I blame the paper itself for not going away when we used it up. It is not even worthy of the mission for which it was made! I am convinced that it is continually re-spawning under the sink in the dark of night, moving itself to the front of the cabinet one at a time.

I have thought of ways to capitalize on this never-ending supply by collectng the twelve baskets worth of leftovers and selling it to other unsuspecting potty users.
So there it is. I’m sorry I had to bring the topic up but i have found it to be therapeutic to share this with you. For the time being things are good and all things delicate are treated with the respect it deserves

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Easter Weekend

I hope you had a great Easter Weekend.

On Saturday we hosted the annual church Easter Egg hunt and it went very well. A little bit chilly but it was great. We then had Zoe’s first lesson with a new remote training collar.

Brandon Littrell, Brandy’s brother, is starting his own business here training dogs with the Sit Means Sit program. In just a few minutes, literally, Zoe was responding very well to some commands that she had thought were optional in the past. We can’t wait to get a collar for Lucy.
We had a great service Sunday morning with a few new folks and some we haven’t seen in a while. As is tradition on Easter we had a great meal after church, only this year it was at Dos Margaritas. A nice little Mexican restaurant in Gallatin. We weren’t the only family from church with the same idea so it was confirmation from the Lord to be sure. Our Celebration continued at home with the opening of some easter blessings and the Easter Nap.

I’ve posted some pics from the weekend on Flickr so that you can see the kids in their Easter best and Zoe playing with Brandon and Dana’s beautiful dogsE. Easter Pics

For more info on Brandon check out http://www.sitmeanssit.com/dog-training-locations/dog-training-nashville-tennessee/

Dog Food Dog Fight

Tonight Lucy was going nuts trying to get to Zoe’s food. She is just a bit too short.

If you notice every time Zoe leaves the room the camera shakes. That is because she kept smacking me with her deadly tail or body checking me into the cabinets.

Good times……good times.

The faith of a child

Today I find myself amazed at the growing faith of my daughter. This week she was worried about another student at school and Janelle suggested that they pray them. Then, Kayleigh wanted me to pray with her because she was concerned about someone being upset. She later asked them how they were feeling to which they answered “Better.” This was all Kayleigh had to hear. the next time she saw me she said that she believed it came true. When I asked her what she meant she said that Jesus must have helped to make this person feel better. I was amazed at how quickly she put it together that when you pray, God does hear us and that he does intervene. I encouraged her that this is what happens when we believe what we pray, Jesus responds.

Kayleigh has always volunteered to pray for our meals and it is rarely just blessing the food. She will mention issues or people that she has heard of or knows because they need a touch from God. I want her to grow up knowing that anytime she feels that tug on her heart for another person that she can pray for them and God will hear it.

Thank you Lord for teaching me another lesson in Faith. She’s a great teachers assistant.

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