Controlled Power

One of my favorite activities is wrestling with my boys.  In fact, I often write it on my calender to make sure I don't leave it out during the week.

Our wrestling takes one of three forms.  First there is the horse / bull ride where the boys hop on my back and hold on for dear life.  This always gets the most laughs but trust me, the laughs are not coming from my knees.  Second, there is the one-on-one match where I let each boy in turn push me around and then I fling them around.  This give and take goes on for some time until I allow them to pin me to the floor.  When I sit up after a match, I have to be ready because the next boy is ready to pounce.  After wrestling each of the four boys twice, this old man is ready for bed.  Third, there is the everyone-against-dad match.  I usually prompt this match with a promise of dessert or candy if they can get me down.  It's all fun and games and I keep the upper hand, that is, until they decide to work together.  It is then that the real struggle begins.

Last week the boys asked if they could wrestle each other.  They are too young to pull dirty tricks so the only rule that I made was that they had to start from their knees.  I came up with this rule because I know how they can start swinging each other around and I could easily see someone being thrown through a French Door.

The two oldest wrestled first and the younger pinned the older after about 5 minutes of wrestling on the floor. Next the younger two wrestled and the younger one again pinned the older.  They all wanted to wrestle one more time and I agreed.  This second match with the older two went on for an eternity until finally the younger one once again pinned his older brother.  This was more than the older one could take and he exploded all over me with shouts of injustice.  "I wasn't down.  You weren't watching when I had him down two minutes ago.  I'm never doing this again," and on and on.  I sent him into the mud room to cool down.  After a few minutes I had a good talk with him about controlling himself.  That is, after all, why we are wrestling in the first place.

I wrestle with my boys to show them that they have incredible strength and that they must learn to control that strength.  I help them to realize that I could easily pummel each and every one of them but I don't.  I am in control, at all times, even when they get a shot in that fattens my lip, knocks my glasses off, or draws blood.  I control my strength, my body, my temper, my mind, my heart.  I have the control.  I hope that through wrestling and other activities they will realize that they too have great power, explosive power, but it must be controlled.  I hope to teach them that there are times to unleash that power and there are times to suppress that power but each and every time it must be controlled by them.  God has given them this gift and it is my job to teach them the proper use of the gift.

Deer Hunting

This year was the first year I have deer hunted seriously in a long time. I used to go deer hunting often when I was younger. However, the title of "dad" has stolen some of that dedicated time. As the boys get older though, I am able to take them, and I am able to slip out to hunt by myself as well.

I saw 6 does early in the morning on Monday but didn't get a shot at any of them. That afternoon, my brother, father and I decided to go my grandparents property on the other side of the county.

It's been a couple years since my grandparents died and I had not been to "the farm" since before my grandfather died. However, the familiarity came rushing back. As my brother and I moved toward our hunting spots we walked and talked about hunting there when we were younger. It was a homecoming of sorts. The old farm house and barns looked different, new paint and a little care, but welcoming. I was glad to be there.

I left my brother at the corner of the woods and moved on to my spot. It was a warm Monday afternoon and the smell of the woods and the crinkling of leaves underneath me brought back great memories. I sat just inside the woods where my father and I had often hunted squirrels. I laughed as I remembered the time that he told me that if I put cow manure on the back of my neck and behind my ears, it would keep the mosquitoes away.

The memory of hunting with my grandfather also came to mind. He was the first man that I hunted with other than my dad. I remember being so nervous when he put me in a spot to wait for deer. Luckily I never saw one or I probably would have been too scared to shoot. It felt good though, to be out with my grandfather, and be part of the hunting party that met each morning before the sun rose and enjoyed a breakfast that my grandmother would fix. It's a wonder anyone shot a deer in those days with us walking through the woods smelling of bacon, eggs, and coffee.

After an hour I signaled to my brother and we moved deeper into the woods for the remainder of the afternoon. I set up in a spot not too far from where my dad and I had one of the funniest deer hunting episodes I can remember. It was a cold, rainy day and dad had brought a couple of large trash bags for us to sit on and wrap over our feet against the moisture. We sat in the cold and damp for about an hour when two large bucks came down a trail toward us. Dad prompted me to take the first shot but I couldn't get a shot because of a small tree in the way. Within a few moments, the deer had spooked and began to run. Dad, forgetting about the trash bag wrapped around his feet, jumped up to shoot at the bucks only to find himself rolling over the bank toward the creek.

I did get a deer this year, a 4 point buck, but the memories of hunts long past was a bigger trophy and an inspiration to take the boys hunting more often. Hopefully, they too will feel the joy of the hunt, the companionship of men, experience the beauty and wildness of nature, and bag a life full of great memories in the woods.

Fishing

Here are some pictures from various fishing trips over the past couple weeks. Some were taken at my parents pond while others at Rose Lake (Old Man's Cave).

Burpees with Christopher and me.

Here is video of Christopher and me doing some burpees for the guys at Wilderness Outreach. Check out the Wilderness Outreach website and join us on Facebook.

Giant Snow Balls

The two oldest boys and I decided to climb to the top of the hill behind our house, start making some giant snow balls and let them roll down the hill destroying everything in their path. We're looking for a contractor to help rebuild the east side of our home....just kidding. We did make some big snow balls but in the end they either split in two or got so big I couldn't keep them moving. Well try again, maybe on the otherside of the hill where it's more steep. Here are some pictures Nicole took from the living room of us working.

At the very top planning our strategy.

My first attempt split in two. You can see it here below my feet. It doesn't look big because of the distance but you can see the size of these things in the next picture and the video at the end.

This was attempt number two. It just stopped going. Click on the picture to get a better idea of the size.

The boys next to the first one that split. We ended up rolling another in between the two pieces and made a slide out of the whole thing.

This video shows me rolling the first snow ball down the hill. You can barely see my head as I work to keep it rolling. It started to take off and then just split in two. That is why you see me throwing my hands up.

Cherry Bench I Built for Shoes, Boots etc

Here is the finished product of some hard work over the past few months (when I had the time of course). The is a 5 foot long bench / chest made of wild cherry. My grandfather took this massive cherry tree off of our property and had the Amish cut it up. Some of the boards were nearly 2 foot wide. I took much of it to the local staircase builder and had it plained down to use for kitchen cabinets. My father-in-law made the cabinets in 2005. This room was a disaster with 4 boys and numerous shoes, sandles, boots, hats, gloves, etc. This bench was the answer. It's over 62 inches long, 19 inches high and 20 inches tall with the inside of the bench being about 12 inches deep. The lid is one solid piece of cherry 16 inches wide. Drawers are below for gloves and hats.

The oldest testing the drawers

This is solitary confinement when the boys mis-behave. Unfortunately, at this time they are excited to be punished so that they can sit on the new bench.

The parts and pieces after I stained them.

Before stain

Preparing to sand

Glue, clamps, biscuts and coffee...not the biscuts you eat...