You can choose your sin, but you cannot chose your consequences.
I heard that countless times at a youth camp countless years ago, and I have seen it demonstrated countless times since. I see it demonstrated each day at work. So many of the kids with whom I work make "mistakes" and want to decide what happens because of those "mistakes." They do what they want to do, and then they get angry when they do not obtained what they wanted to obtain. We humans so desperately want to be able to choose both our sin and our consequences. We want to decide on the results of our mistakes, the repercussions of our errors. Fortunately, we do not have that power. What kind of world would this be if we could decide on what happened when we make a mistake? I can tell you we would be in a world of trouble. We should be glad that the disposing of our propositions is in Another's hands. We must never forget that the only aspect of this universe we can control is our will, and nothing can control our will but ourselves.
It seems as though the Soccer and Volleyball teams are doing well. I look forward to soon hearing the results of the state tournaments. I also see that all of you are doing well with your grades. Keep up the good work. In a few short months you could be having more snow days than you can handle. What do I say? You folks can handle an endless supply of snow days. I hope you all are not too cold in the classrooms. Please be sure to tell your teacher every half-hour that it is cold. They tend to forget. The guys at my work are happy to remind me. On Saturday, we ran 3 miles in raining 40 degree whether. In the afternoon, we sat outside at a football game for two hours where the wind-blown temperature was about 50 something. Every guy was kind enough to remind me that it was cold every 15 minutes. When you get older, your brain cells freeze and your skin cells heat up. They need you to inform them when it is cold.
Keep your heads up.
That is all.
The semi-whenever newsletter for one of the many Doan Families.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
All had fun
Last Friday, Jenni and the kids, and Grandpa and Grandma, and Aunt April, and Uncle Bill and Aunt Jamie, and Cousin William all went to see the full-sized Thomas the Tank Engine (I could not go as I was at work.). Though the day was cold, the sky was overcast, and the wind was blistery, all had fun. Aidan still loves trains as much as anything else. I imagine this is a day he will remember for weeks to come (I am not sure how long he remembers events, though he still tells me that we were in an accident because daddy didn't stop at a red light.). I really wish I could have gone, but, alas, there was bacon to be brought home. This is somewhat what the day looked like.
Everyone here is doing well, though many of us are starting to get sick. Sonya is rolling around like a snake on hot coals. She likes to roll from her back to her stomach back to her back and then back to her stomach at which point she bumps into something and starts crying, or she spits up and then rolls in that for a while. We are working with her coordination and accident-avoidance skills, but, frankly, she is progressing very slowly. Addie is a bundle of energy. She has become accustomed to me playing rough with her, tickling her and throwing her up in the air and what not. Now, she will run up to me and jump on me whether I am ready or not. This can get exciting at times. Aidan is very inquisitive. When we drive around town, he likes to point out all the cars that look like Grandpa's or Grandma's or ours. He is very good at it. He will also remind us that we are supposed to stop when the light is red. We are very thankful for this.
Jenni is working very hard. She has organized her schedule so that she can stay busy 16 hours a day, be it cleaning the house, cleaning the kids, entertaining the kids, preparing lunch, preparing dinner, completing her transciption work for the day, or watching "Judging Amy" three times a day. I really appreciate all the work she does.
Nothing else to report, except for one thing:
"Hey, there's Oscar's roommate. I wonder if he knows?"
That is all.
Everyone here is doing well, though many of us are starting to get sick. Sonya is rolling around like a snake on hot coals. She likes to roll from her back to her stomach back to her back and then back to her stomach at which point she bumps into something and starts crying, or she spits up and then rolls in that for a while. We are working with her coordination and accident-avoidance skills, but, frankly, she is progressing very slowly. Addie is a bundle of energy. She has become accustomed to me playing rough with her, tickling her and throwing her up in the air and what not. Now, she will run up to me and jump on me whether I am ready or not. This can get exciting at times. Aidan is very inquisitive. When we drive around town, he likes to point out all the cars that look like Grandpa's or Grandma's or ours. He is very good at it. He will also remind us that we are supposed to stop when the light is red. We are very thankful for this.Jenni is working very hard. She has organized her schedule so that she can stay busy 16 hours a day, be it cleaning the house, cleaning the kids, entertaining the kids, preparing lunch, preparing dinner, completing her transciption work for the day, or watching "Judging Amy" three times a day. I really appreciate all the work she does.
Nothing else to report, except for one thing:
"Hey, there's Oscar's roommate. I wonder if he knows?"
That is all.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Dear Twin Students, Vol. 3:
I see that both teams are at 500 (at least, as of the games that were posted today). Congratulations! I am very excited for you guys. I hope all you guys continuing doing well. I enjoyed the highlights from the soccer game with Grace. Great work you guys.
I was able to hack onto your server and see all the grades. It seems as though you all are doing well, though some of you can be doing better. You know who you are. Focus up!
I don't have any advice for you guys this week. I would say do what you need to do, but you already know that. I could tell you look at the bigger picture, but I have yet to meet anyone who does that. I thought about telling you take a deep breath and relax, but that will just make you light-headed (and some of your heads are light enough--other have not that problem). I guess the only piece of advice I could give you this week is to remember what is important. Most of the things we think are important actually aren't. They remain important to us for the afternoon, but the next morning we have a new list of priorities. There is only one thing that is important, and that is to "remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
Keep your head up.
That is all.
I was able to hack onto your server and see all the grades. It seems as though you all are doing well, though some of you can be doing better. You know who you are. Focus up!
I don't have any advice for you guys this week. I would say do what you need to do, but you already know that. I could tell you look at the bigger picture, but I have yet to meet anyone who does that. I thought about telling you take a deep breath and relax, but that will just make you light-headed (and some of your heads are light enough--other have not that problem). I guess the only piece of advice I could give you this week is to remember what is important. Most of the things we think are important actually aren't. They remain important to us for the afternoon, but the next morning we have a new list of priorities. There is only one thing that is important, and that is to "remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
Keep your head up.
That is all.
New stuff
Hello everyone . . . anyone.
We have recently purchased a new camera. As you may recall, I posted several posts ago that our long time friend, the FujiFilm Finepix, had moved on to that great finishing lab in the sky. Thus, we had been without the means to capture life's memories for some time. It was sad. Now, we have a camera, and are able to speak a thousand words. I had planned on posting some pictures so you can see the kids, but Blogger is not being very cooperative. Stupid Blogger. I will post them as soon as I am able.
We are going to be making another purchase this weekend. We are buying a 1993 Volvo S60. It is in fairly good condition for having 225k miles on it. We are paying only $750 for it. I think that is a pretty good deal. It will be my work car. Hopefully, it will carry to and from work for a good while. We are still trying to get our van fixed. The mechanics wanted to charge us a pretty penny for the labor. Unfortunately, all our pennies are old and dirty, so we are going to attempt to fix the car ourselves with parts we find along the roadside. I will let you know how that goes.
This Friday, Jenni and the kids are going to see Thomas the Tank Engine. He is making a special appearance in town. I don't know if they understand the enormity of this event. They should have a great time, however. We are going to take a bunch of pictures, and will post them when we can and when Stupid Blogger will allow us.
Guess what "The Office" fans--a little more than 24 hours until the season premier. Of course, I have to work tomorrow night, so I will have to TiVo it and watch it on Sunday. I don't know if I can stand it.
Sunday is going to be a big day for football. The Denver Broncos travel to New England to play the Patriots. Denver had a rough game this past Sunday, and barely got passed KC at home. NE almost blew a 24 point lead against the Jets of all people. I will not make any predictions as to what will happen. I just hope I am smiling on Sunday night and you Patriot fans are not.
I have nothing to report from work. Other than none of the guys in my group do anything wrong, ever. There are times when it seems as though they are doing something wrong, but they can explain everything. Even if they did do something wrong, it is okay, because they have done so many things right we should overlook the tiny wrong thing they did. They are actually quite talented in the excuse department. They could be smashing a desk with a sledge hammer, and they would try to tell you that they have permission, or that some other staff let some other student do the same thing. It amazes sometimes how they can get away with something for weeks, and as soon as you call them on it, they get upset. I am so glad that I am nothing like any of the guys with whom I work.
That is all.
We have recently purchased a new camera. As you may recall, I posted several posts ago that our long time friend, the FujiFilm Finepix, had moved on to that great finishing lab in the sky. Thus, we had been without the means to capture life's memories for some time. It was sad. Now, we have a camera, and are able to speak a thousand words. I had planned on posting some pictures so you can see the kids, but Blogger is not being very cooperative. Stupid Blogger. I will post them as soon as I am able.
We are going to be making another purchase this weekend. We are buying a 1993 Volvo S60. It is in fairly good condition for having 225k miles on it. We are paying only $750 for it. I think that is a pretty good deal. It will be my work car. Hopefully, it will carry to and from work for a good while. We are still trying to get our van fixed. The mechanics wanted to charge us a pretty penny for the labor. Unfortunately, all our pennies are old and dirty, so we are going to attempt to fix the car ourselves with parts we find along the roadside. I will let you know how that goes.
This Friday, Jenni and the kids are going to see Thomas the Tank Engine. He is making a special appearance in town. I don't know if they understand the enormity of this event. They should have a great time, however. We are going to take a bunch of pictures, and will post them when we can and when Stupid Blogger will allow us.
Guess what "The Office" fans--a little more than 24 hours until the season premier. Of course, I have to work tomorrow night, so I will have to TiVo it and watch it on Sunday. I don't know if I can stand it.
Sunday is going to be a big day for football. The Denver Broncos travel to New England to play the Patriots. Denver had a rough game this past Sunday, and barely got passed KC at home. NE almost blew a 24 point lead against the Jets of all people. I will not make any predictions as to what will happen. I just hope I am smiling on Sunday night and you Patriot fans are not.
I have nothing to report from work. Other than none of the guys in my group do anything wrong, ever. There are times when it seems as though they are doing something wrong, but they can explain everything. Even if they did do something wrong, it is okay, because they have done so many things right we should overlook the tiny wrong thing they did. They are actually quite talented in the excuse department. They could be smashing a desk with a sledge hammer, and they would try to tell you that they have permission, or that some other staff let some other student do the same thing. It amazes sometimes how they can get away with something for weeks, and as soon as you call them on it, they get upset. I am so glad that I am nothing like any of the guys with whom I work.
That is all.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
My dearest Twin City Students:
Guess what. You folks are nearly one month into the school year. You have merely 9 to go. I am almost certain you can make it.
I really like what Mr. Gomez is doing with the website. You need to make sure you thank him often for all his work. I check it as often as I can to find out what is going on. I really enjoy seeing the soccer highlights. I hope you can get some more up there soon. I see that both the soccer and volleyball teams have struggled with a couple of games. Keep focused and keep working hard.
I have some quick advice for you guys: Sweat the small stuff. By that I mean focus on doing all the "little" things--i.e. doing your homework, keeping the schedule, maintaining the dress code, following directions in class, etc.--and you won't have to worry about the "bigger" things. Even though you may think they are not important (How hard is it for us to obey rules we think are silly!) life is so much easier when we do the things we are supposed to do. I am not telling you this because I always do what I am expected to do. I tell you this because I don't always do what is expected of me.
Finally, keep you heads up. Don't sleep in class.
That is all.
I really like what Mr. Gomez is doing with the website. You need to make sure you thank him often for all his work. I check it as often as I can to find out what is going on. I really enjoy seeing the soccer highlights. I hope you can get some more up there soon. I see that both the soccer and volleyball teams have struggled with a couple of games. Keep focused and keep working hard.
I have some quick advice for you guys: Sweat the small stuff. By that I mean focus on doing all the "little" things--i.e. doing your homework, keeping the schedule, maintaining the dress code, following directions in class, etc.--and you won't have to worry about the "bigger" things. Even though you may think they are not important (How hard is it for us to obey rules we think are silly!) life is so much easier when we do the things we are supposed to do. I am not telling you this because I always do what I am expected to do. I tell you this because I don't always do what is expected of me.
Finally, keep you heads up. Don't sleep in class.
That is all.
Peanut butter and yogurt
Yesterday I was eating lunch with my kids. Aidan had already eaten and was running around somewhere. Addie was sitting at the table until she fell off her chair (This happens way more than it should. I think my dreams of her being an Olympic gymnast or ice skater may fall prey to the clutches of poor balance.) As I picked her up, I saw on her face an intriguing mixture of tears, yogurt, and peanut butter. It was a very cute image. She wasn't hurt, in case you were wondering, though she thought she was. Some hugs and kisses by daddy fixed everything. Jenni bought her a shirt yesterday that says, "Daddy says I can." I honestly don't know what Jenni is thinking.
My nephew had a birthday party on Sunday. It was his first birthday. It was a fun time. I taught Aidan how to run with a football. He has really good technique. He says he wants to play football when he is 7. I think he could be the next Reggie Bush. He does have a tendency to fall down on his own as he is running. That is something we will have to work on when we start two-a-days next year. As we were sitting around at the party Aidan comes up to me and says, "Hey." So I say, "Hey." He then says, "What's going on?" Apparently he had just spoke with his Uncle Matt and this is what Matt had said to him. He is a very smart kid.
Sonya has yet to say a word, as this worries me. She is nearly 5 months old (She will be on Thursday.) I think she is going to be the quite, introspective, artistic type. That is okay with me. She can now turn from her back to her stomach, and from her stomach to her back. I cannot tell you how exciting this is for us.
Jenni is doing well. She stays pretty busy with her work and with house work. Our kids can get out every single toy they own is less than fifteen seconds. They are really talented. We could clean the house and it would be messy before our tush hits the couch. She does a great job with the kids, however.
My brother Kip and his wife Nikki had their first baby, Kole. He was born last week, which was 9 weeks early. Everything went well, though, and mom and baby are doing great. Kole was 4 pounds and some ounces. He is very tiny and very cute. Kip is doing well. My mom is down in Florida with my sister Emily who is due in a couple of weeks. Emily has a high risk pregnancy, so the doctors are keeping a close watch on her. We are looking forward to hearing good news from her.
That is all.
My nephew had a birthday party on Sunday. It was his first birthday. It was a fun time. I taught Aidan how to run with a football. He has really good technique. He says he wants to play football when he is 7. I think he could be the next Reggie Bush. He does have a tendency to fall down on his own as he is running. That is something we will have to work on when we start two-a-days next year. As we were sitting around at the party Aidan comes up to me and says, "Hey." So I say, "Hey." He then says, "What's going on?" Apparently he had just spoke with his Uncle Matt and this is what Matt had said to him. He is a very smart kid.
Sonya has yet to say a word, as this worries me. She is nearly 5 months old (She will be on Thursday.) I think she is going to be the quite, introspective, artistic type. That is okay with me. She can now turn from her back to her stomach, and from her stomach to her back. I cannot tell you how exciting this is for us.
Jenni is doing well. She stays pretty busy with her work and with house work. Our kids can get out every single toy they own is less than fifteen seconds. They are really talented. We could clean the house and it would be messy before our tush hits the couch. She does a great job with the kids, however.
My brother Kip and his wife Nikki had their first baby, Kole. He was born last week, which was 9 weeks early. Everything went well, though, and mom and baby are doing great. Kole was 4 pounds and some ounces. He is very tiny and very cute. Kip is doing well. My mom is down in Florida with my sister Emily who is due in a couple of weeks. Emily has a high risk pregnancy, so the doctors are keeping a close watch on her. We are looking forward to hearing good news from her.
That is all.
Yet Edmund was beloved
We humans have a problem. We do not like to face to reality. Reality stinks. It is harsh, painful, and, as far as we are concerned, unfair. So most of choose to live in the realm of perception. We live in a fantasy world based on the way we want things to be. It doesn't matter that the life we think we live is not the life we really live. A postmodern maxim is, "Life is all a matter of perspective." That is simply a way of saying, "All that matters in life is perspective." Reality isn't anything other than what we see, and each person sees something different. I see this every day at work, and I am beginning to see it in my own life. The kids that I work with will settle for the illusion of control rather than to actually take control of their own lives. They would rather get into trouble for doing what they want to do, even though they know they are wrong and that it gets them nowhere, than to face reality and do what they need to do. For them, if a staff member is telling them to do something, and they would rather not listen to that particular staff member at that particular time, it is a victory for them if they "stick by their guns." It may make their time more miserable, and it may develop habits that will get them nowhere in life, but that doesn't matter. They have won. I recently saw a film called "The Purple Rose of Cairo." It is a movie by Woody Allen. If you think you don't like Woody Allen films, or you never seen a Woody Allen picture, you ought to check this one out. It is quite funny and very good. It is about a housewife during the depression. They only joy she gets from life is going to the movies. One day she sees a movie called "The Purple Rose of Cairo." She likes it so much that she sits in the theater all day watching it over and over. Eventually, the characters on the screen see her and begin talking to her. One of the characters, who is sick of being in the movie, walks off the screen and into the real world. As I said, it is a pretty funny film, but it is also very thought provoking. The main character is given a choice between the real world and the world of illusion. The choice she makes has consequences you wouldn't expect. The main point of the film is that life is hard, and we need movies, or some type of illusion to carry us through it. Woody Allen doesn't believe in God, so he believes in film. The only way we can get through this cruel world is by accepting the only reality there is. That is that there is a God, He has a Son, and His Son died on the cross for us.
By the way, can someone tell me where the quote in the title comes from?
That is all.
By the way, can someone tell me where the quote in the title comes from?
That is all.
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