The game of LIFE

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Pure Class!

I'm not usually one who gushes over Christmas decorations. I mean, I love Christmas, I like decorating for Christmas, and I like looking at Christmas decorations. However, I'm not usually a person who would use a blog post to talk about Christmas decorations. This year I'm making an exception.

The photos below show the decorations at the White House. Our First Lady, Melania Trump put her classy touch on these decorations. Why do I post this? Because Mrs. Trump brought a Nativity Scene into the White House for the first time in 8 years, and because she got rid of the so-called "Mao Balls". These Mao Balls were tree ornaments with the face of Chinese Communist dictator Mao Tse Tung on them. Our previous President thought it was a good idea to put the face of a communist dictator on the most famous Christmas tree in the whole country. Thank goodness for President Trump and the First Lady bringing Christmas back to the most famous residence in the USA.

Check out the beauty and splendor of Christmas in DC. And how about this gingerbread White House? Cool!

Every mom's dream

This is SMART marketing. Mothers of young children will flock to this store. Every mom's dream...

Not so stainless steel

I don't know why, but this cracks me up! I have never known stainless steel to be stainless at all (let alone smudge proof). Heck, last spring we put in a new stainless steel kitchen sink, and within weeks there were small rust stains in the new sink. Stainless my foot!

Discombobulated

Have you ever felt discombobulated? Yeah? I have too.

Well, now there's hope. Any time you feel discombobulated, just head on down to the Recombobulation Area!

Thanksgiving #3

Thanksgiving Day 1- A glorious celebration at Jessi's in-laws

Thanksgiving Day 2- A Friendsgiving celebration with a bunch of friends from church. It's kind of cool. Everybody brings their leftovers and we have a big party. At least that is what is SUPPOSED to happen. Most folks make fresh stuff. I don't know who we think we're fooling :-)

Thanksgiving Day 3- We host the kids and their significant others at our house. One husband, one fiancé, and one serious boyfriend. And of course our three beautiful grandchildren. I am smoking a 21 pound turkey, and Tami is in charge of all the rest. It promises to be a fun, but exhausting day. All this relaxing and celebrating is wearing me out!

A day of thanks!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. We had all three kids together, and we're not sure if this will ever happen again. With Michael getting married in a few weeks, and Abby getting more serious with Thomas, who knows where everybody will be during future Thanksgiving holidays.

We love this photo. Three beautiful adult children. All doing well and on a good path in life. And one son-in-law who had too much turkey. Tami and I came up with the following caption:

A thorn between two roses (and one that appears to be dead :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, loyal blog readers!

Every year I post the obligatory TV classic WKRP in Cincinnati "Turkey Drop" episode or the always funny Mr. Obvious "Turkey in a bag" from the Bob and Tom radio show. This year I've decided to do something a little different. We've all had our share of kitchen disasters on holidays (especially Thanksgiving since the entire holiday is centered around a feast). Here are some Thanksgiving fails I found on the internet. Laugh and enjoy as you knowingly nod your head.

On a serious note--- Take time today to be truly thankful for living in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. The nation that God has blessed like no other. In the immortal words of William Bradford who came up with the idea for the first Thanksgiving celebration at Plymouth Colony in 1621. "I propose we have a feast. Not a feast of gluttons or of fools, but a feast of Thanksgiving. A feast where we thank God for His provision. For without Him, we surely would not be".

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful

I know Veterans Day has passed, but as I reflect on things I am thankful for, I can't help but express my gratitude for our Veterans. Without these brave men and women, we wouldn't be free to enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday.

I'm guilty

Guilty as charged. I confess this was me today!

Chicken!

There are too many jokes to count in this photo... It might even make for a good caption contest.

Makes sense!

Makes sense to me!

A smile

This one made me smile.

The sidewalk

It turns out Shel Silverstein was right...

Still Smokin'

I ventured into a new area with my smoker last weekend. To this point I have only smoked pork shoulder and beef brisket. Both turned out to be delicious. Last Saturday I smoked my first turkey. I was a bit skeptical, but a few quick Google searches made it seem pretty easy. The key is brining the turkey and applying a wet rub prior to smoking. I should have trusted Google because after 9 hours of smoking at low heat, my turkey was beautifully done. The flavor was good too! See the photo below to see the gorgeous results. This was my first smoked turkey, but it definitely won’t be my last.

Weinermobile

And you thought there was just ONE Weinermobile? Nah...

Gun Free Zone

It's common sense. Gun free zones only keep guns out of the hands of the good guys and make for soft targets. Bad guys with the intent of killing innocent people don't respect these so-called gun free zones. I'm not sure why anybody thinks gun free zones can be effective in any way.

Watch your step

I can't say for sure, but these carpeted stairs appear to be on a cruise ship. Cruise ships have lots of drunk people on board. Imagine drunk people trying to walk down these stairs. I would pay good money to plant myself at the bottom of these stairs and watch the show. Perhaps I could even record a video and post it to Youtube. This would most likely be a viral sensation!

Gunslinger!

Apparently there's a new sheriff in town. Abby is the family's newest gunslinger.

Last week Thomas (who is HIGHLY trained in firearms use) took Abby to the target range. Here she is firing a 9mm sub-compact Glock. In the future I look for Abby to be licensed with her conceal and carry permit. She may be small in stature, but she will be packing heat and we all know that is the great equalizer. Lawrenceburg will be just a little bit safer once Abby is fully locked and loaded. The bad guys better watch out!

Psychic

Funny!

Our Favorite Veteran

I think the time has come for all you loyal blog readers to meet Abby's new boyfriend and our favorite veteran. His name is Thomas Bell. Yes, it's Thomas, and not Tom.

Thomas is a United States Marine (not active). Tami and I learned very quickly there is no such thing as a former Marine, or ex-Marine. Apparently once a Marine, always a Marine. And we also learned to not call him a soldier. Marines are Marines, not soldiers :-) Thomas served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and gets nothing but complete respect from me for laying his life on the line for our country. Thank you for your service, Thomas! Semper Fi!

Thomas also has a Biblical Studies degree from Cedarville University, and has a possible future in the ministry. He hails originally from Arlington, Ohio. This is a small town about 7 miles south of Findlay. Arlington is not to be confused with Upper Arlington which is a larger, more well known place near Columbus.

Thomas currently works as a security specialist at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky.

Tami and I think the world of Thomas (and I think Abby kind of likes him too). So far he has shown us that he is nothing but, a God fearing believer in Christ, upstanding, well rounded, respectful, patriotic, kind, caring, loving young man. He is everything a father could ask for in someone dating his little girl. Is Thomas perfect? Nope! Far from it! He's a sinner just like the rest of us, but by all accounts he is a good match for our sweet little Abby.

We have really enjoyed getting to know this fine young man recently. We've been on a family bowling outing, been to a fun wedding and reception together, and had a family game night. We are hoping this is only the beginning, and we are so eager to get to know this man even better.

Below are some photos of the new couple. The first ones are their pumpkin carving adventure. The second was taken on one of their first dates at the Ark Encounter. The third is at the wedding reception last week.

Funerals

Funerals aren't funny, but sometimes the names of funeral homes are...