God Speed

Today I said goodbye to one of the dearest friends I've ever had. Well, it's not goodbye yet, because he hasn't officially left. But I know he's leaving next month. And as of this morning, he is no longer my bishop (pastor). There's no way for me to adequately bid him farewell. What he has meant to me is absolutely immeasurable. As I've said before, he is my Captain Moroni. I would go to the end of the world at the drop of a hat for him. He has been such a rock of support, especially during the trials of the past 12 months. He truly has the Light of Christ and is a man of God.

He and I have shared countless experiences together, many of which are too special to talk about in a casual setting. I will treasure every single one of those for the rest of my life. He's my brother and my friend, and I love him with all my heart. I've struggled mightily to deal with his pending departure (this blog post is another attempt to try to deal with it), but I'm excited for him and his family to go on this new adventure.

My prayer for him and his family comes from the Old Testament (Numbers 6:24-26)...

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

God speed, Josh! I will miss you dearly, my friend!

Yankee Doodle Dandy

I love July 4th. Aside from being a fun, relaxing holiday, I've always been very patriotic with tender feelings for this great country. I remember being a really young boy in Lake Jackson and getting quite upset that one of the banks in town was flying a U.S. flag that was tattered. So I wrote a letter to the editor of the Brazosport Facts to voice my frustration. The letter was published and within a day or two, the bank had changed out the flag for a new one.

Apart from satisfying my desire to see more respect for the flag, that taught me an important lesson about being involved in the community and voicing your opinion for good. I've never said this to anyone, but one of my great regrets is never having served in the armed forces. It's something I thought about doing many times, but I never did it. Those brave men and women are true heroes, and I wish so bad that I had the courage to do what they do day in and day out.

Another random patriotic memory that just came to mind. I was at a National Boy Scout Camp in Virginia/D.C. during a couple of weeks in the summer of 1989. One night, GHW Bush came and spoke to us and before he spoke, Lee Greenwood put on a mini live concert. Of course the highlight was him singing "God Bless the U.S.A." That song always gets me. But hearing it live just before getting a visit from the sitting president was phenomenal. Talk about getting goosebumps.

Alright, enough rambling from Grandpa Sausage. On to the pics.

"Uncle Sam" in all his glory. Sporting a hat and star-on-a-stick that he made at school for their parade and proudly wearing his firework jammies. Which is a little ironic given his feelings about fireworks (see below).

Stopping off at Buc-ee's on the way to the beach for some Independence Day rays. Pictured in between Nut and Beeju is my nephew Charlie. My brother, Stan, and his kids (including Charlie but minus Sarah) and two of James and Shelley's boys - Aaron and Daniel - filled out our party.

Nut building a sand castle with cousin Jack. That's Daniel looking on. He was nursing a foot after stepping on something in the Gulf.

Buried boy #1. It took three times as long as it should to do this because Mr. Chuckles kept dying laughing which kept breaking up the sand. Not that I minded...that laugh is so contagious and relaxing.

Buried boy #2. Sam started out enjoying the sand burying. For about 3 seconds. Then it was just a chore for him to endure. So we rushed through it as fast as possible, got him to stay there long enough to snap a pic and then he was outtie. Looks like he's sleeping here, but I think he was trying to keep the sand out of his eyes.

Beeju was TERRIFIED of the fireworks again this year. So he begged me to let him sleep in my bed. Here's the Little Man with his Monkey (partially buried), blanket and another frequent guest - someone he calls his "baby sister" (he really wants a baby sister, can you tell? Heart-breaking because I really want one for him too.). BTW, her name is "Natalie."

When big brother's excited or happy or sad, more than likely, little brother is excited or happy or sad too. So of course Nut grew terrified of the fireworks too. His entourage just included the usual suspects - Froggie and blanket.

In the time it took me to brush my teeth, Beeju was out like a light.

And when big brother is out like a light, little brother isn't far behind. I love fireworks. But I love me some cuddle time with my two boys way more. Happy 4th, boys! Happy 4th, America! God bless this great country!

Haircuts

Over the last month or so, I had gotten way behind on giving the boys a haircut. So we finally remedied that recently. With the absurd heat we've had this summer, this should help cool them off a "hair." And if nothing else, they were excited to get our standard post-haircut celebratory treat: a sucker. I love how kids at this age can get so thrilled with something that costs a dime. And I super love their adorable shaved heads.

No real reason for having two of these, except that one just isn't enough of that ridiculously cute smile. Oh how I love my Nut.

El Locito

Someone needs to freeze time. I don't want my Beeju growing up anymore. Papa's enjoying this age too much to have it go away yet.

The aftermath

En Fuego

Out of the blue, Beeju just said (with a lot of concern in his voice), "Dad, is our church burning down?" I learned a long time ago not to be too surprised by any questions from a 4 year old, but that one caught me off guard a little. So I said, "No, Champ, our church isn't burning down. Why do you say that?" He responds, "When you were talking to Mama on the phone earlier, you said there was a fire on the side of it." Ahhh, and then it all makes sense. We went to a "fireside" at the church this evening. Hence the deep question. I'm happy to report that no burning took place tonight.

That reminds me of another random Beeju question. We were in the car driving to the beach a couple of months ago when Beeju says, "Dad, who lives on Mars?" After a brief pause, I said, "I don't think anyone lives on Mars, Champ." To which he immediately responded with an incredulous, "Oh come onnnnnnn, Dad! SOMEONE lives on Mars." Can't really argue with that kind of logic. So I didn't even try.

Forced Humility

After an activity at church tonight, a young boy came up to me and we had the following exchange:

Him: "I take it Daniel didn't come tonight." (Daniel's one of my nephews.)

Me: (After figuring out what on earth he was talking about) "Oh, I think you're looking for Daniel's dad. He's right over there." (pointing to my brother, James)

Him: (looking back and forth between James and me...confused)

Me: "We're brothers."

Him: "Oh."

Me: (trying to be somewhat funny...although we all know it's sooo true) "I'm the better looking one."

Him: (with a very serious look and after closely evaluating the two options) "Not exactly."

Me: (I thought to myself a la the vintage Bruce Lee movies with the bad English dubbing..."We shall meet again, young friend. And next time, you won't be so lucky.")