FALL

Saturday morning Robyn and I dropped my truck off for an oil change.  I asked if they would check and see why my heat wasn't working on all settings and why my headlights were turning off and on when they shouldn't have been.  Then we headed home to get some chores done.  I glanced out the back door and the patio was trashed, as you can see...

Did some wild gorillas tear thru here?

After some raking and mowing it was back to normal.

I heard some noise down in Canyon's room and went to investigate and I found the culprits..

Guilty!

The garage called me to tell me that I had $1800 worth of problems with my truck.  I went down and payed for the oil change and told them I wasn't going to have any other work done at that time.  I don't have $1800 laying around.  But I got a list of the problems and went home to cry.

Sunday we took Canyon and Hai out to their final game of the season.  They ended up undefeated.  Way to go, boys!

jumping for joy

That evening I took the boys to Point of Grace because student ministries meets Sunday night.  I went back and got a picture of the student area.  It looks pretty cool.

Monday we poured some concrete legs and bar top.  Here are the legs curing.

only a small part of a giant kitchen

We also poured the countertops, a fireplace hearth and a powder room.

ready for concrete

Here is a series of pics showing the powder room pour..

ready..

set..

go!

I also called my brother David to find out if he could do the needed work on my truck.  He did some research and found the parts I needed and said he would do it that week end.  After work I went to help My sister Debbie pick up a giant file cabinet that she found on craigslist.  I don't know how much it weighed but I suggest that the manufacturer put wheels on the next ones.

She loves big file cabinets

Then Robyn called to remind me that we were moving Hai back home that night.  It was sad to send him home but his mom wanted him to go and we didn't want to be arrested for kid napping, plus we couldn't afford to feed him.  I don't know where he puts it but I'm pretty sure he ate more that the rest of us combined.  We told him we loved him and he's welcome anytime (except lunch time)

All the personal possesions of a teen ager

Tuesday after work, I took the night off from Stormy's so Robyn and I could go on a date

all gussied up

I had won a radio contest earlier in the month where the 9th caller recieved a poker hand on the air.  The best hand of the day won an autographed guitar.  They were giving them away all month and this was the day the station was awarding them.  My poker hand was .. 3,4,5,10, jack ,..all different suits.  I don't know if you play poker or not but that is NOT a good hand.  I didn't win the guitar but I did get a free buffet at the casino where the awarding was taking place.  Also I was eligable for a second chance drawing so that was the big date we were going on.  Robyn said she was feeling lucky so off we went.

This guy won Ace Freely's autograph.  From Kiss

Here's a bunch of other guitars I didn't win

We didn't get drawn for a chance at the guitars so we went to the buffet to eat our free dinner.  They charged me an extra $8 because the coupon was for breakfast.  I reluctantly paid because Robyn didn't want to wait around till dawn for breakfast.

Wednesday night we had small group.  The eight week series is called Pursuit.  The goal is to see God as He is so we can see ourselfs as He sees us so we can see others as He sees them.  Or becoming more Christ like.  In the midst of the study we took a detour and discussed accepting Christ as our savior.  We talked about those that aren't saved and those that are.  Pastor Tom said something that really sank in and made sense.  He said that Satan wouldn't tell people not to accept the Lord because then they would know that he was the devil, but he would tell people to wait, do it later because we have plenty of time.  And that is the sneaky way he is.  The sad truth is that nobody knows when their last minute on earth is and when were dead it's too late.  There really is no good reason not to ask Christ into your life.   You may question if Jesus is really who he says He is, and if you do then you should find out.  Don't wait.

I can tell you that NOTHING is more important.

Thursday we finally did that big install.  It took the better part of the day but everything fit great and looks even better.  Check it out...

the back splash will match the tile inlays

the gravel gives a river effect

Friday I left work early to get to Sioux City before the sun went down because by now my headlights weren't working at all.  Canyon asked if he could go with me.  He loves to go see his family.  I took my tools along so I could possibly do some work on David's house in trade for him working on my truck.  It was just getting dark when we pulled into David's driveway.  Here's a pic of us celebrating the fact that we made it..

happy to be alive

David went right to work.  I thank God that he knows how to do this because to me it is like watching a surgeon working.  I wouldn't know where to begin.  He worked for an hour and decided to work on the rest in the morning.  So we headed over to my mom and dad's house.

where's his surgical mask?

Once we arrived at mom and dad's I cracked open a beer and sat down to rest... for about two minutes.  Dad asked me to come to the bathroom and help him fix something.  It turns out that the shower faucet was not working.  It was extremely hard to pull on and it wouldn't turn to change temperature.  Usually when someone asks me what I know about plumbing I tell them I know you should call a plumber, but I thought I would give this a shot since they were kind enough to let me sleep there.  The problem was calcium build up.  I asked if they had any CLR (calcium lime rust cleaner) or Lime Away.  Mom said she only had The Works.  I told her that was toilet bowl cleaner, then I read the label.  In big letters it said for calcium, lime and scale.  I poured some on and let it soak.  Then rinsed it off and the faucet worked again.

almost as confusing as working on a motor

Saturday morning I headed over to Davids to see what I could do for him while he worked on my truck.  We decided that I would put in a new laminate floor in his kitchen.  But first I primed and painted the trim around the outside on his back entry door and windows.  I helped him replace those last year when we put new cabinets in his kitchen.  With the new floor his kitchen would be done.  We spent several hours shopping around for the best deal on the nicest laminate wood flooring we could find.  I spent the rest of the day crawling on my knees putting in flooring and cusing myself for forgetting my knee pads.  The same thing happened at my sister's a few months ago.  I am going to keep a pair in my truck from now on.  When it got to dark outside for me to cut anymore pieces we called it quits and went to mom and dad's for dinner.  Afterwards we played some Texas hold em.  It's kind of a tradition there when anyone comes to town.

Know when to hold em and know when to fold em

Sunday I skipped church and went over to finish the floor.  Canyon went with his cousin Brandon to play video games so I didn't see him again until it was time to go home.  You can tell by this photo that David really needed a new floor..

The green vinyl might come back in style...  NOT!

We added white base and shoe to trim it out and it turned out pretty sweet.

Now he needs to learn to cook

Then it was time to go back to Des Moines.  David got all the parts and did all the labor on my truck for less than $500.  I got his floor done for just over $300 in material.  My heat works, my lights work, I got a new water pump and fan clutch, and a new serpentine belt.  It was worth the trip.  We stopped over to mom's to pick up Canyon and the rest of our things.  Then we said good by and headed home

Brandon's gal Sam, Brandon, mom, and my sister Diane

Late that night my brother David left a message on my phone.  I didn't get it until today.  My dad was hospitalized for gall stones.  He has some tests in the morning to see if he is strong enough to have gall bladder surgery.  Pray for him, and pray for mom.

Don't wait

Peace

Dan