The Cabin

Back in the fall I did some work on the Cabin - our "fortress of solitude" that sits tucked away back on the farm. A handful of guys and gals in ministry or school have used it as a place of solitude and silence... to renew and refresh for a day, an overnight or even a few days.

The Cabin has a new roof, door and windows. It also has new siding all the way around and the porch has been redone to match.

I encourage you to consider spending some time at the Cabin this spring or summer. Just give me a call to set up your own personal retreat.

The Flood Master 3000

Have you ever had your day off turn out slightly different then you planned?

After a long and busy weekend at camp I woke up yesterday ready to relax, do some school work, hangout with my family and maybe even squeeze in a nap. My plans changed pretty much the moment I woke up. I rolled over and squinted at Kelly who was softly said, "Hey, there's water in the basement."

We've never really had water in the basement so I had to think about it for a moment. Apparently the six inches of snow that melted Sunday night along with about 20 hours of rain was not ideal. Later in the day we determined (with help from an old thinker and good digger) that the cause of our problem was a clogged footer drain pipe.

So, here's skinny on my day off. I did work on some school work, but not until 9 o'clock in the evening. I did hangout with my family; Kelly and I spent a lot of quality time together. I didn't get to that nap and I suppose it depends on how you define the word relax. After nine hours of flood relief work the carpets were sort of dry and the box fans were on duty. I think we ended up vacuuming the floors about eight times over. Thanks to the Flood Master 3000 we were able to keep up with the water when it was first coming in. Our state-of-the-art shop vac to bucket to submersible pump allowed us to ship approximately 1500 gallons up and out of the basement. Patent pending of course.

A toast: to those unexpected days off... if that's still what you can call them.

Ripley's?

Giant hand print... with tiny footprints?

Weird snow angel?

Kelly noticed this strange mark in the snow outside our house the other day as we were walking in the side door. The weird thing is that there are only one set of tracks that lead from the mark to our side walk. I'm pretty sure a turkey flew in and landed right there... making a perfect three point landing. What else could it be?

Missing Blog Posts

Here's a quick recap from the past few weeks... things I have been meaning to post about.

Christmas was a whirlwind tour from Virginia to Pennsylvania and back again. Our trip to Virginia included putting up a drop ceiling, 24+ inches of snow and great food. The big highlight was Natalie's midnight dessert raid that started in the kitchen and ended behind the couch in the living room... leaving a trail of nutty buddys, sherbet ice cream, dove ice cream bars and a few brownies.

I have yet to meet anyone who can out-do our crazy chronicles of Christmas festivities, family, fun, food and friends. We logged over 700 miles in the family SUV traveling five states. We braved the shopping malls, devoured Five Guys burgers and fries, saw the classic musical "Annie" at the theatre, took a few naps and never touched any eggnog. We survived sub-zero wind chills and trudged through over two feet of snow. We dropped a ceiling in just over 34 hours and found our keys when we weren't even looking. We celebrated Christmas four different times with no less than eight people and no more than 50 people in the same room! We even celebrated 63 years of marriage. Oh, and we opened a few presents. Some were small and predictable. Others were larger then life... like a party in a box. The best part of all though, was listening to Natalie tell the Christmas story (about Jesus) on Christmas morning (the practicing at Grandma's really did help).

If I was pressured into a decision... I would say that winter is my favorite season. Fall is a very close second though. I love the sunrises and sunsets up here this time of year. Contrary to popular belief there are two activities that easily beat out tubing and ice skating... plowing and shoveling snow. It never gets old.

It happens every once in a great while. You can count yourself privileged if it happens to someone you know. It's like a legendary myth that you just have to believe in. It's so epic that if it actually happened to you, you would think you were dreaming.

It's... the PERFECT Christmas present. This year I got a waffle cone maker for Christmas. That's right, the Waffle Cone Express 838. Crispy, sugary, delectable cones imprinted like waffles... made fresh and just waiting to be filled with ice cream, whipped cream and loads of toppings. Seriously though, if you want to make a lot of friends and always be the life of the party get yourself one of these babies.

After Christmas we trekked back up to camp to get ready for New Year's and the start of our winter retreat season. A bunch of our closest friends drove up for a few days for our annual New Year's Eve party. Pizza, wings, shrimp and one of Dave's gourmet meals were interruptions to sleeping in and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Hot on the heels of ringing in the new year was our first winter retreat. With temperatures in the single digits and wind chills below -10 conditions were perfect for building this year's ice rink. In a matter of hours, thanks to our "new to us" gently used 200 feet of fire hose, the ice rink was full and beginning to freeze. It certainly has been a pleasant change having snow for our guest groups.

In fact, it has snowed at least an inch every day for the past 17 days. The ice rink is starting to show good side walls and we have added an indoor gau-gau court to our repertoire. Over the next three months we have the privilege of serving nine different ministry including student ministries, college ministries and men's groups. Currently, all but one of those retreats is booked with a James Project Weekends group that will be partnering with us as we serve.

All in all the past few weeks have been full of family, friends and a lot of fun in the midst of celebrating the blessing of how Jesus was born a baby... God's Rescuer among us.

Now It's Christmas

You are not a traditionalist if you come up with new traditions. I just thought of that anecdotal quip... feel free to quote me if you want.

The family photo above contains what I think is going to be a great Myers family tradition. Here is some context. Since Kelly and I have been married we have had a Christmas tree once (I think). That is one time out of the past seven Christmases. Before you get all upset at me and feel sad for Kelly, let me explain. Since we have been married Kelly and I, and now Natalie, stay with family over Christmas. So, we are not even home for Christmas. At Thanksgiving we (us and Kelly's parents) go out to cut a live Christmas tree. Then we bring it home, I help Pop put it in the stand, we rearrange some furniture and decorate it. Backing up even further... I never had a real tree growing up because my mom is allergic to pine needles. On the other end of Christmas we travel back up here to camp and celebrate New Year's with a house full of friends. The house is always full enough that there is no conceivable way we could ever have a tree in the house.

All that to say that no we do not have a Christmas tree, but for all intents and purposes we do have tree, that we decorate, that is lit up on Christmas. Now that we have that settled you'll notice our family photo has a Christmas tree in it. The other night Kelly was heading out to a party, so Natalie and I had the evening to ourselves. On her way out the door Kelly suggested we do something creative with the cardboard tube from an empty role of wrapping paper. As soon as she was out the door I asked Natalie if she wanted to turn the tube into a Christmas tree to surprise Mom. She screamed and jumped around as we got our supplies together. Natalie did some nice work painting the tube and cutting out the star, while I made a base that would hold the weight of some real decorations. Then Natalie chose where the ornaments should hang and I safety pinned them to the tube.

I am not sure if it is marketable... but if it was, the selling points would be:
1) Easy to construct
2) Choose from your own ornaments
3) VERY inexpensive
4) A great way to spend quality time as a family, and
5) It does not shed needles, need water or take up a ton of space

There's our new tradition. Each year as a family we find a new creative way to make our own Christmas tree.

Rock 'N Roll

"But our bet is that you've never seen or heard a group quite like this, since Flame is the only touring band in the world made up entirely of disabled musicians."

- Bill Weir from Good Morning America

Check out this GREAT news story on the band Flame... our main stage guests at this year's Buddy Walk here in Binghamton. They were amazing and we already have them booked for the 2010 Buddy Walk!

Flame the band on Good Morning America

Scope & Sequence

Since I have started my grad degree, I have developed a new routine of getting up pretty early to spend time on my school work before the reset of the house is awake. The other morning Natalie woke up and came down to the computer room to see how I was doing. She walked in and asked me what I was up to. Deep in thought, I plainly responded, "I am working on a scope and sequence chart for one of the courses I am designing." As I stared intently at the screen Natalie thought for a moment and declared, "Well, I have to work on my chart too. You know, the one up stairs in my closet." She waited patiently and then said it again, "You know Dad, the one in my closet. I nee you to get it for me... so I can work on it." So, we ran up to her bedroom to check in the closet. The whole time I was trying to figure out what chart she was referring to but I could not place it. I dug around in her closet and there it was, her chore chart (which she pointed out for me). Then Natalie reacquainted herself with the chores she is suppose to be completing while I wrapped up some work on my scope and sequence chart.

Today Natalie, Kelly and I went outside to play soccer because that was one of the tasks on the chart, which Natalie pointed out was a requirement of the chart. It was a good excuse to get some exercise, so we did not mind. Today Natalie also tried to reason with Kelly that she needs two dogs and a cat to take care of... because the chart say so. We applauded her effort but explained that her chart was not a one-size-fits-all chart... especially when it comes to pets.