That's hello in Malay, one of the official languages of Singapore. You may be wondering why I bring this up, and I have a reason which I will get to. But first let's pick up where we left off last time.
I was sick and Robyn and I were heading to Iowa City to get physicals and get registered for Iowa Care insurance. By Wednesday I was feeling quite a bit better but still had the sniffles and a cough. I went into work at 5 in the morning because we had some jobs to get done and I would be taking off at 10. All the fiber optic lines had been run and all the caps were built, so we needed to get it poured. Here are some pics of the project..
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| ready to pour |
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| poured, capped and setting up |
With that done I loaded up the ramp I built for Vacation Bible School and aimed in the direction of the church. On the way I was slowed by this accident.
I wasn't sure if I should share this video on the blog but it made me think about how things can change in an instant. I'm sure neither of those drivers knew what would transpire that day. I started thinking of my life and my relationship with Christ. How sometimes I am all excited about Him and His word, and at other times I find myself far away. I took a couple of photos to help illustrate what I am saying. When I first started building my spiritual relationship I was awe struck by the clear vision of that which I had not seen before..
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| The inspiration |
It made me want to learn more, to build on what I had discovered..
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| a foundation of rock |
As I learned more, it only made me want to learn even more. I grew and grew in this relationship. But there were things I didn't like about this new found friendship, things that didn't agree with the way I wanted to go. So I would put it on the back burner, so to speak, and try life my own way. Then, at somepoint I would look back and see what was happening..
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| crumbling and overgrown, but the foundation is still there |
And I remembered the excitement, the wonder, the pure thrill of that relationship and I would rebuild and keep adding more. There are constantly storms in my life and my house gets battered, but the rock on which I stand can withstand all. So, like the little robin, whose home is knocked down in a storm..
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| It's not the end of the world |
I rebuild and move forward. So if my life is changed in an instant, or even ended, I know I have that relationship to lean on, the promise I have learned that is unfailing. The promise that God is with me, through thick and thin. He won't fail me even when I fail him (and I fail Him alot). It's His promise to everyone who will listen,... everyone.
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| The promise |
Anyway, I delivered the ramp to church and went home to get ready for our trip to Iowa City. Robyn and I got in the car at noon. Our appointments were at 2 and 2:30. As we started on the way my phone rang. It was the nurse from Iowa City. She informed me that our doctor went home sick (I thought that was ironic) and wanted to know if we could come down Friday instead. I let her know, while keeping my composure, that we had already taken time off from work and were in no position to take off whenever we wanted. I asked that she please find another doctor. She said she would call back shortly, so Robyn and I pulled over into a parking lot to await that call.
Half an hour later she called and told us they had found a doctor, and the appointments were only moved back by 25 minutes. We got to the hospital just in time. It just so happens that the hospital is right across the street from Kinnick Stadium, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes. So I took a picture.
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| Go Hawks!! |
Robyn asked why I was taking a picture since we wern't going there. I told her I like to keep the blog random.
Once we got to see our doctors, the physical was the most basic one I have ever gotten. He listened to my heart and felt my neck and.. that was it. I thanked him for seeing us on such short notice and explained that we had made this appointment 3 months ago. He told me that under this goverenment program there was only enough funding for 6 doctors to see 30,000 people and that was why it took so long to get in. Those numbers may not be exact but it was pretty ridiculous none the less. The nurse drew some blood and we were sent packing. On the way home we stopped in Newton to get a bite to eat and I took a picture of the Iowa Speedway..
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| The big boys race here |
As Robyn called it, "another place we didn't go on this little vacation". When we got back to Des Moines we went to the McDonalds drive through to see Canyon, and get a beverage.
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| hard at work |
Thursday it was back to the grind. At Speck we had a couple installs to do. The first is the bench and planter tops we did. Here they are installed..
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| perfect fit |
The client will have rock added to the outside walls. It will be beautiful.
The second one we didn't actually install. It was shipped to The Lake of the Ozarks and put on a clients dock. It's one of our firepits and it will be a sensation on the lake.
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| Maybe it will sell more |
After work I went home and had my head shaved. Robyn made me do it.
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| Should save us a ton on shampoo |
Then we spent a day getting ready for the holiday weekend.
Saturday we went to the graduation of our nephew Colton. Here is a video of the ceremony..
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| Very proud family |
We took some pics and went to get a bite to eat. Robyn and I were trying to eat light because we had a cook out to go to afterwards. Just to let you know, splitting a burger and having a cup of chili at Legends fills you up like a buffet. We were stuffed. We said our congrats and good byes and headed to my niece Shonna's house for the big cook out. There was quite a big crowd there, including my mom and dad who had come down as a surprise. Here are a few pics.
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| I am NOT taking a pic of the blonde girl |
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| My brother Steve and I with our purple nurple defense |
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| Ma and pa chowing down |
We had much to eat, much to drink and much to play. Here is a video of my mom tryin to get a ringer. I told her to move closer.
I told my brother (he is the tech wizard of the family) that I wanted to put a counter on my blog so I could see if anyone was reading it. He informed me that there was a counter already on it, and a lot more neat information also. We had to go home because we were scheduled to work at Church in the morning so with hugs and kisses all around we drove away and left the real partiers to play into the night. We got home and went straight to bed, still full from Legends.
Sunday morning we got to church around 8 and we were taught how to do a new job. Robyn and I were asked to be greeters. It wasn't difficult but we didn't feel like we were greeter material.
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| Would you want to be greeted by this... |
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| or this? ...OK, this would be fine. |
So I'm not greeter material. I feel more at home helping in the kitchen.
After church we were invited over to the home of our small group leader for a grill out. He grilled up some bratwurst pattys that were awesome. I'm not a bratwurst fan but these we delicious.
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| good eats and good friends |
Then we played bochi ball. I don't know if that's spelled right but the game is played by tossing croquet sized balls at a target. The closest gets the point and you play to 15. Me and my partner lost the first game and won the second and in the rubber match we were leading 13 to 5. Then we experienced the biggest melt down since Three Mile Island. I knew we were in trouble when our opponents put on their bochi gloves and cleats. We took the loss like gentlemen and retired to the deck for some sangria. Robyn and I decided to call it a day because we were exhausted from the weekend.
When I got home I decided to check on that counter for my blog. I was blown away by what I found. This blog is read around the world.
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| Prestige Worldwide |
People as far away as Singapore. I changed my comment section so anyone can comment. Well I think I did, but like I said.. I'm not the tech wiz. Now you know why I started this post with 'halo'. And I want to thank anyone who happens across this blog and finds it entertaining, funny or truthful. I will continue to try to keep it riviting.
Well, I will end this post but stay tuned for more exciting adventures with the Griswalds.
Until next time...same bat time...same bat channel
Peace
Dan
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