3 months

DAVID WHO?
I'm surprised at how long it's been since I last posted any words. In December 05' I showed you some pics, but my writing didn't contain much information or thought. Writing here has been an incredibly low priority over the last few months...don't look for a reason...it's just been near the bottom of many.

Late winter is always a unique season for me. My thought time is almost always directed towards what I would call "evaluation questions"...questions about what I'm doing...what I'm a part of. Questions like:

• "Why am I doing what I'm doing?" (vocationally speaking)
• "Is 'fulfilling' the word my heart would use in describing what I am doing?"
• "Do my wife and son feel love from me?"
• "Am I doing everything I possibly can do in order to be as effective as I can be?"
• "Does 'life' get my best effort?"

Do you ask yourself those questions? Am I too contemplative or analytical? I do want to enjoy life and allow it to "unroll" naturally as God would design it, but I want to be confident that I am engaging all that I need to engage. Am I speaking up when I need to speak up? Am I reading as much as I could/should be? Am I equipping everyone I have an opportunity to equip?

I know Katy's answers to a lot of those questions. She has always been the supportive voice whispering in my ear that makes my palms warm up and heart settle to a healthy beat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a worrier. In fact, usually I'm over-confident which sometimes minimalizes the emotional rush I get when God works in my life or the lives of others. My dad always has a card-stock table tent on his desk which says, "Expect a Miracle"...that's a good expectation to have.

So, as I ask my "evaluation questions," sometimes I get overwhelmed and communicating them seems impossible...thus, my absence from the blogging world. With that said, I certainly don't lose sleep when my questions have answers I don't like or no answers at all.

ACTUAL HAPPENINGS


At home, we're loving our time together. It satisfies me to be at home and do nothing while Katy sits next to me and Hayden plays with his toys. We are with each other a lot and I'm taking a lot of mental pictures.


At church (job #1), we've just begun a 10 week message series: "The Life of Christ". If I can figure out how, I'll share the video teaser and trailers made to advertise the series. I'm preaching next week on "Jesus: The Teacher". The series is more about who Christ was/is rather than hightlighted teachings of His. It's a an exciting topic (obviously) to dissect and communicate.


At Big Brothers Big Sisters (job #2), we just finished up the most stressful week of the year...our annual audit. In this line of work, we gather an incredible amount of paperwork on the volunteers, children and their parents. Once we connect a volunteer with a child, we supervise them on a monthly basis...documenting everything. The files we create are audited five times a year and this last audit was by the "Mother Ship" which elevated the importance of having things in place. We got in trouble for the size of my caseload (caseload = amount of matches I supervise). Our max caseload is 65...I have 185 cases...yeah, that's a "1" in front of the 85. I'll leave it at that even though my mind is trying to possess my fingers to add a commentary.

We're also in the "fund-raising" season at BBBS...our events are the first and second weekends of March. My lack of posting seems seems to have provided an explanation which wasn't offered at the top of this post.


In guy world, we have our annual basketball tournament coming up which takes place in the middle of nowhere in a gym reminiscent of one found in the movie Hoosiers. It's a great time w/ the guys...two days of basketball...two days of making "noises" w/out a care...two days of mental relaxation...AND...this tournament always marks the beginning of softball season prep: getting a sign-up sheet...one team or two? I enjoy it so much!

And of course, in Jayhawk world...what a turnaround! Enough said.

BOTTOM LINE: LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE...LIFE IS GOOD...LIFE IS SATISFYING

Asking questions,
DK

Our Little Baker-man

It's been such an exciting and constantly changing few weeks ... Hayden is as eager as he's ever been to be a "big boy" and help out. This included his persistance about helping to make Valentine's Day cookies! I had the dough (store bought - I'm awful!) and the icing, and the sprinkles for several days ... and Hayden has been ready and waiting to bake them. On Monday evening we decided that it was time! Here are just a few pictures our baking adventure ...

1. The Cookie Cutting
Positioning the cookie cutter just so ... (as you can see from those on the baking sheet, some cookies were harmed in the making of this baker's dozen).


2. Bring on the Sugar!
One of Hayden's favorite things was putting the sprinkles on!


3. The Clean-up
But he liked "cleaning" the frosting off of the spreader even more!



4. Reflection
Here is the finished product ... missing those that were either eaten by our little cook, or were fed to the dog.


5. Sharing the Wealth
Hayden's most excited time of the baking experience was letting Daddy sample his cooking! He was ecstatic about sharing his treat with Mommy and Daddy!


6. Telling Grandma's All About It!
Later that evening he got to talk to two of the most important women in his life, Grandma's Kinnan and Kerby! This picture is when Hayden was having the longest conversation in the history of his phone-career, and was chuckling like "Ma-ma" Kerby was telling him the funniest joke ever! I'm not sure what they were talking about, but whatever it was, it was hilarious! He has been very chatty on the phone, too, and we're loving it ... I don't think the grandma's mind too much either! :)

We pray that this Valentine's Day, and every day you are filled to the fullest with the love of the Lord and love for the Lord!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ^ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ^Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ^It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ^For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ^but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ^When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Balloons!

Tuesday evening we were preparing our Valentine's dinner ... David was grilling steaks out back, and Hayden and I were making a salad and side dish when there was a knock at the door ... and a delivery for HAYDEN! Great Grandma and Grandpa Wolf surprised him with a Balloon Bouquet for Valentine's Day! After hours of playing with them Tuesday night (pulling them, chasing them, hitting them, and just staring at them), they have provided nearly a week's worth of entertainment for our little guy, and they're still floating and helping him with his vertical jump ... he's finding all types of creative ways to have fun with balloons!

Thank you so much, Papa and Gigi!

All Better!

After a week of absolutely, positively, without a doubt, the worst flu our family has ever seen, our little guy was up and around ... and even ready for some painting! We made some Valentine's Day works of art for some very special people! After writing out his Veggie Tales notes, we put everything in envelopes ... Hayden helped me stamp the packages and we'll mail them tomorrow.

He has really insisted on doing "big boy" things lately ... washing off his plate after dinner, throwing trash (and even stuff that's not trash) away to help clean up, watering Abby (not only in her little dish, but also at times, dousing her with some H2O), and has even helped make dinner and pack his lunches. His favorite is putting shredded cheese on everything, because he likes to snack as we go ... a true cook! :) He's also wowed us with his ingenuity ... at nap time and bed time we put the Bible on cd on for him to listen to ... but he enjoys it so much that he has begun to bring his little desk chair over to his dresser so that he can reach the "Power" and then "Play" button on the cd player!

We'll Miss You!

One of my two favorite brothers is leaving this afternoon for Scotland. Kurt will be trading in his Jayhawk gear to study at Stirling University this semester. Although we're incredibly excited for him, it's bittersweet ... we'll really miss him!


Check out his school: University of Sterling


Kurt came down to visit last weekend and this past Sunday, and Hayden had a blast with him! Please keep him in your prayers; that he would have safe travel and a fruitful time there! Also, that the Lord will use him in sharing his faith with those he encounters on this four-month journey!

We Love You, Kurt!

Six More Weeks of Winter

Since the weather forecast for Manhattan is 55 today, it's hard to believe that the world's most famous weather "man" was roused from his little home this morning and saw his shadow, a sign that there'll be six more weeks of winter.

A Full Monday!

Kansas State University welcomed our Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush to Manhattan last Monday as a speaker for the Landon Lecture series. Tickets were only offered to KSU students and staff, so we were a no go for the speech. There were hundreds of Ft. Riley soldiers there, many of whom had just returned from Iraq, and it was moving to see so many there (as we watched the reruns on the college news channel). He spoke for about an hour and answered questions on numerous topics, from the war on terror to recent movies. Don't ask!

David stood by the road and took this picture:

President Bush is in the SUV w/ flags on the front...or so they would have us believe.

Migi's husband Chris returned from Iraq on Monday afternoon, too, so a full day of excitement! We are so blessed for their presence in our lives and thanking the Lord for His protection over Chris, Migi, and Lilu while they were a part. God is SO GOOD!

Splish Splash

Some kids have a "blankie," others have a teddy bear. Toddlers are known to enjoy having things of comfort around them ... our little guy is no different ... but has no favorite blanket or bear. He has TIGER! The furry little feline was our only purchase on Hayden's very first trip to the zoo right after his 1st birthday. He wanted nothing to do with it for the first few months he owned it, and it really just sat on a shelf in his room. One day he decided to play with it, and has literally clung to him ever since.

Last week during dinner, Hayden decided that his beloved Tiger was thirsty, and poured his chocolate milk all over his little friend. It was a mess, and so Tiger went in the hamper, much to the dismay of our little guy! Instead of just throwing it in the wash, I thought it might be a nice opportunity for a "teachable moment," for Hayden to get to wash Tiger ... perhaps it'd make him decide that the mess was not worth giving Tiger any more chocolate milk, and he could help clean his best buddy.

SCRUB, SCRUB, SCRUB ...


The "rinse" cycle ...


So ... the whole "this cleaning the Tiger is so horrible I will never pour chocolate milk on him again" didn't really work, because Hayden LOVED giving the bath ... so after the second one, we convinced him it was time to dry Tiger off and wait a few more days ... or weeks, before venturing to the sink again. It was an incredible opportunity for us to get to see Hayden's gentler side ... instead of putting Tiger in his trucks and ramming them into a wall, he was incredibly nurturing and gentle. PRECIOUS! NExt time we'll just give Tiger a bath BEFORE there is any chocolate milk involved! What a great little boy we have! :)

The Blessing of Family

During the month of January, we have had the blessing of hosting numerous family members ...

Dad and Mom Kinnan, along with Jeff, Heather, and Ailee came up for the first Sunday of this month to hear David preach! Afterwards we got some quality time in with them during dinner at Famous Dave's, and they even spent the night! It was a great time to just relax and enjoy each other, and we love to play "hosts."

Aunt Donna and Kendra were in Topeka the week after for a National Cheer competition. We went over to see, but just missed the competition. We did, however, get to go out to eat with them and Hayden loved hanging out with Kendra! He carries her picture around with him every where now, and we can't wait to see them again! Maybe when we head up to South Dakota for Andrew's graduation!

Uncle Pete came to visit the next week, and we helped him fill out his application to K-State! We're crossing our fingers that he becomes a Wildcat so we can have him even closer to us!

Dad and Mom Kerby and Uncle Kurt came down yesterday. Kurt is preparing to leave for Scotland, where he'll be studying at Sterling for the semester. He is a Jayhawk from KU, so this is going to be quite a change for him. We ate at the Chinese Buffet (Dad and David's favorite - after Famous Dave's, of course!) and enjoyed a day of hanging out ... and shopping!

We're horrible ... so much fun we didn't take many pictures! :(

Thank you all for visiting! We Love You!

Traveling Light

The Lord has truly blessed our Women's Ministry at Real Life Church! It has grown and, with the enormous efforts of Migi, who is the co-director with me (though she is the real visionary), we are growing by leaps and bounds! Our monthly brunches have been an amazing time of fellowship, and after the 40 Days of Purpose studies, it was again time to launch another season of studies. Due to the incredible growth, we decided that two studies would be best ... one at the church office (Migi and Becky would lead), and one at a coffee shop in a nearby town (I'd lead). So ... Wednesday, January 4th marked the beginning of a 10-week journey through Max Lucado's book "Traveling Light." The book explores Psalm 23 and helps readers become equipped to lay down their loads at Christ’s feet ... to stop trying to bear our burdens, and those of others. Through scriptural insights, the book is an amazing read and perfect for a Bible study.

After three weeks of meeting with the women (we've had an average of 12 at the Lincoln Perk each Wednesday evening!), I am amazed at the incredible fellowship that has taken place, as well as the awesome insights that the Lord has filled each woman with as we discuss what we've read, and study the scriptures together to gain insights into how to apply the word of God in order to break free from whatever burdens we carry. It has been amazing! This is not the first, or even second time I've read the book, but each time I do it gets better and better, with new insights and opportunities to grow. Thank you, Lord!