Our first church day

Little Kman is 6 weeks old. Man, time flies! Inga gets 2 more weeks until going back to work, then she gets to experience how much is sucks to leave the little man while slaving for the man for 8 hours. He is getting bigger (about 9 1/2 pounds now), his cheeks are getting chubby, and he is eating us to the poor house! I cannot fathom how much this kid is going to eat when he is 14! It seems everytime we blink, he is like a baby bird - mouth open, chirping, and looking for something to latch onto.

Uncle Craig, Aunt Kim, and Cousin J were down again this weekend to see the little fellow. It has come to my attention that they may be just a tad bit on the smitten side with this little guy that looks just like his dad - adorable, handsome, irresistable....or so I'm told. :-) Uncle Craig closed down Ham's Orchards Saturday in his usual way - emptied the shelves and the ice cream machines. I hope they don't set up next year's budget based on this unusually high income summer - if he doesn't frequent here like this summer, they may fall upon a great disappointment with sales. Saturday we all went to Chuy's in Dallas for dinner - sure hope Keltan grows up liking Mexican food (and peanut butter) (but not together). Hmm, although peanut butter tacos..........

We intended to take Keltan to church last Sunday, but hit a small snag. As I came in the house about 8 PM from working in the yard, I was met with the news that the water heater had sprung a leak. That set me on a journey to find one. Thing is, it was a 30 gallon heater, which is rare. Home Depot in Terrell had 40 and 5o gallon heaters, but no 30's. So, I turned to Lowe's in Forney. Too late to go get it Saturday night, so it was showers in the RV, and Sunday morning found me checking out at Lowe's with the last 30 gallon water heater. Whew! Sunday afternoon found me finishing up with the water heater. As has been the case with everything in this house, it was not a quicky fix.

So, we missed church last Sunday.

Well, we took him today - to bible class at least. It was awesome to get back to church, and to show him off - I always love that opportunity! He did very well. The class leader (David) put him to sleep rather quickly. I think it was right at "Hello" when he decided to check out. He awoke in time to tell us it was time to head out of the classroom. Who needs bells in the church to let us know the time? My boy has a great internal clock! We did not attend worship, but hope to next week. We kind of figured we would test the waters slowly to see what to expect. I'm not into having a screaming baby in church - looks like he may need to chug-a-lug before service, as he was in a full fury by the time we got home (about 45 seconds from the church). Next week, maybe Nana and Grampy will want to attend with us to see just how well he does at church.

Some of you are aware that Inga and I are Ramseyites; I usually listen to his radio show pretty much everyday while at work. On his show, there are a lot of calls about "life" - those calls have more to them than just money situations. One particular call this week really got my attention, and got me to thinking. A lady called in to see what should be done about a situation involving a sister and an elderly mother. The mother was apparently legally incapable of handling her own affairs, and the sister in question had power of attorney. The other siblings were asking her to open the books and show where the mother's money was going. She was reluctant, and it appeared that legal action was going to have to be taken.

I hear these stories often on the show and run into these situations from time to time. It makes me think of how blessed I am to be in a family where we realize the family ties and relationship is so much more important than a selfish need to be in power or that the family is too important to ruin the relationships with selfish corruptness. Uncle LC Curt was talking to me about how Mom's family was after Grandmother died, and how things were handled without hard feelings. I look at how Craig, Karen, and myself are able to deal with the estate that Dad left behind, and how we are able to work together to fulfill Dad's wishes. I am so thankful that Keltan has this kind of legacy to inherit. As I told Craig this weekend, we are truly blessed. We still miss Dad and Mom like crazy, but the knowledge that we are so blessed helps to heal the hole in our hearts.
Another thought came to my mind on the last 2 visits of Craig and family - we sure miss our 4th player! Dad, Craig, Jessica, and I always loved to play games when together - Uno, SkipBo, Hearts, Spades, Dominoes, Rummy. Now, we play just the 3 of us, and it doesn't seem right. Hopefully Keltan will grow up to take the place....