The Levels

As I am freezing, I think of the levels of Hell:

Gluttony
Greed
Lust
Anger
Violence
Fraud
Treachery
Heresy
and finally...
WINTER!

Think Spring!

These freezing temperatures and all this ice and snow has me dreaming of spring. Spring brings warmth and warmth brings baseball. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in two and a half weeks. Here's a depressing photo of Great American Ballpark taken yesterday.

Brrrrrr

The temperature is below zero. The windchill is about -20. We got an inch of snow overnight. Cincinnati is lovely this time of year!

All this winter wonderfulness reminds me of the four seasons in Cincinnati...

Almost Winter
Winter
OMG! Still Winter
Road Construction, Humidity, and Mosquitos

Oh how I love my hometown!

Getting Closer

At last report the Mortons entered their new home state.

Note the green trees, blue sky, and sunshine. ***SIGH***

Polar Vortex!

Extremely cold air is coming to the Midwest in the next few days. It is being described as: Brutal Cold, Life Threatening, Frostbite in Minutes, Frigid Air Mass, Arctic Blast, and Polar Vortex. We are being warned that vehicles may not start and pipes may freeze. Schools in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and the Dakotas are already closed. I wouldn’t be surprised if schools in the lower Midwest followed suit. There is talk of records being set and if not, it is at least being called the coldest air we’ve seen in decades.

Remind me again what is so great about winter? For those of you who say you like the “change of seasons”… well, you got it. I hope you’re happy! It looks like the Mortons moved south just in time!

Welcome to Cincy!

Welcome to Cincinnati! Where the windchill is 30 degrees below zero on Wednesday and nearly 60 degrees on Monday. At this rate I could be shoveling my driveway midweek and mowing the lawn by early next week. Crazy! Just plain crazy!

Swimming in Arkansas

What do you do after spending all day driving halfway to Texas? You go swimming in the hotel pool of course! Here are my sweet Grandbabies swimming in Forrest City, Arkansas. Next stop... Katy, Texas or bust!

Break Time!

When traveling with young kids, frequent breaks are a must. A meal at Chick-fil-A and a romp in the play area is just what everybody needed.

A tough goodbye

Today is the day Tami and I have been dreading. The day we knew was coming, but somehow didn’t want to really acknowledge. Today Jessi, Barry, and our three grandbabies left Greensburg, Indiana in a U-Haul and headed for Katy, Texas. We’ve known for a few months they were moving. We knew it was going to be hard not having them a mere hour away. But until now it all just seemed like a bad dream. It wasn’t quite real. Today things got real. They really and truly have headed southwest to the Lone Star State. There is no doubt going to be a period of mourning and adjustment for Grandma and Goppa. We’ve never had any member of our family more than a short drive away. This all changes today. No more impromptu visits. No more last minute calls for babysitting. This is going to be difficult to be sure. But we also know this is in God’s sovereign plan. This is a good move for the Morton family. The benefits are more numerous than I have time to list. It’s a good move for them, but painful for us. But we’ve been saying in the weeks leading up to this move, “Who are we to argue with God?” He obviously has a reason for sending them to Texas. A reason we may never fully understand. But God is always good (even when it doesn’t feel good to us). God is in charge, and I am not. We should all take comfort in that knowledge. Today we say goodbye to the Mortons, and it’s sad knowing we likely won’t see them until summer. But we trust in the Lord and we know he will never leave us nor forsake us. I miss them already.

As I type this, they are on the road to Katy. Michael’s wife, Lauren is on the trip as well. With the Morton kids, an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands is always a good idea.

Watching the news

Watching the news nowadays is tough... it seems nothing good ever happens.

Trump

Trump ended the government shutdown yesterday. These photos don't relate to that. They make fun of those people who criticized the President for serving fast food at the White House to the championship college football team.

Seal

This cop car broke down. Looks like he blew a seal...

U-G-L-Y

The Shutdown

The government shutdown presses on into its second month. Recently some prominent democrats decided to take a "business trip" to Puerto Rico to lounge on the beach. They should have been in Washington negotiating. Instead they decided to stonewall from a warmer climate. Meanwhile furloughed government workers are working without getting paid and struggling to stay afloat.

Tom Brady

In two weeks Tom Brady will play in his 9th Super Bowl. Nine? Are you kidding me?
Check out the list below. The world has changed since Tom Brady played in his first Super Bowl, but the freaking Patriots just keep on winning. It's infuriating!

Things that didn’t exist when Tom Brady played in his first Super Bowl:

iPhone
Android
Facebook
YouTube
MySpace
Instagram
Tesla
Spotify
Skype
Twitter
LinkedIn
Gmail
Uber
Airbnb
Google Maps
iTunes Store
SoundCloud
Nintendo Wii
Dropbox
Hashtags
SpaceX
Reddit
Fitbit
GoPro

I would add to this list: My three grandchildren!

The Blood Moon

Last night my amazing wife and I watched the super blood moon and lunar eclipse from our hot tub. The temperature was literally zero degrees as we slipped into the comfort of water heated to a wonderful 103°. As we soaked in luxury we beheld God's handiwork in the heavens. Tami and I agreed this was the clearest night we could remember in our 13+ years in Indiana. The heavens do indeed declare the glory of God. What an amazing experience!

No Fly Zone

A few days ago President Trump cancelled Nancy Pelosi's trip overseas. He thought it was wrong to spend money to send a high level congresswoman on a trip when she should have been in Washington DC negotiating an end to the government shutdown. She got word of the cancellation as she was on the bus on her way to the airport. The President told her if she wanted to travel, she should fly commercial. Lo and behold Pelosi was later spotted at Reagan International Airport.

SNOW

4"-8" of snow is in the forecast. Tami and I took a quick trip to the grocery store for some essentials...

Here we go again

Here we go again! Another snowstorm is in the forecast for the upcoming weekend. Looks like I'll have to shovel for the second time in as many weeks. UGH!

Guilty as charged! Complain I will!

The worm has turned

The worm has turned! I went to get my driver's license renewed yesterday. I confess I was already concerned about the eye test. As it turns out, I passed the eye exam, but not with flying colors. During the renewal process the clerk went over my personal information.

Clerk: Height?
Me: 5'7
Clerk: Weight?
Me: 150 (haha... you didn't think I was going to tell you my real weight, did you?)
Clerk: Eyes brown?
Me: Yes
Clerk: Hair brown?
Me: This is where I hesitated, pointed to my head and asked, "Should I say gray?"
Clerk: (Smiles) It's up to you.
Me: (Sighs in resignation) Put gray :-(

For 35 years my driver's license has shown my hair color as brown. No more! I'm now officially old. I'm gray and balding and I have the driver's license to prove it.

Just a smile

Just a little smile for today :-)

Speakeasy

Michael and his wife Lauren at a Speakeasy party on New Year's Eve.

Our Asher

I'm only posting this photo because it's one of my favorites of Asher. It was taken last summer as everyone was preparing for the wedding. There's so much to love here. The mussed hair, the disheveled shirt and bowtie, the bare feet, the less-than-thrilled look on his face. So stinkin' cute!

Slow!

Well... that's a bit harsh, don't ya think?

Note the two children on the same side of the see-saw.

UGHHHHH!!!!!

I woke up early to find more than 5" of snow had fallen overnight. Thankfully church was cancelled and we didn't have to venture out into the nastiness of the white death. I can't wait to retire so I don't have to deal with this anymore. I am currently talking a breather from shoveling the driveway. It wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit if I never have to shovel another driveway as long as I live! UGH! Winter stinks!

Here's my back deck. it's a far cry from our summer paradise of Lago Vista Resort.

Build the Wall

There is a crisis at our southern border. The Democrats claim it is a manufactured crisis. Illegal aliens are pouring across the border by the thousands. Many of them are violent criminals and gang members. 90% of the heroin in this country comes across the southern border. This is NOT a manufactured crisis. It's real and a wall or some other physical barrier would slow all this down. At this moment we are in the midst of a partial government shutdown. Our President will open the government again as soon as the Democrats will agree to a deal that would fund the wall. At the moment, this impasse shows no signs of getting solved. Five years ago the democrats were in full favor of building the wall. Today they are against it simply because Trump wants it. This is a matter of national security and the democrats are using it as a political ploy. During his campaign Trump promised to build a wall. He is working diligently to keep that promise.

Impending Doom!

Brace for impact! The impending doom of a snowstorm is coming! Be prepared! Stock up on milk, bread and eggs! Awww... who am I kidding? Stock up on snacks, beer, and wine! By tomorrow morning the dreaded stuff starts falling and will continue into Sunday. The first shoveler of the season is upon us.

I LOVE WINTER! (Spoken with extreme sarcasm)