DEFINITIONS PART 4

I can remember
buying my first Spider-man comic. It was issue #50 and the graphic style of the cover grabbed my attention. I was immediately hooked and couldn't wait until the next issue. I didn't understand how the system worked, so I waited three months to buy the next issue (in the corner of the comics was a month and I thought it indicated when the next issue came out, opps).

Once I figured out how things worked, I was buying Spider-man, DareDevil, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, X-men, even the SubMariner (stopped buying that one after a few issues). When the Silver Surfer came out, I bought every issue (still have 'em).

Trouble began to brew in the comic realm and they became dark and almost pornographic. That was about 30 years ago. At that point I stopped buying comics and just reread the old ones. So now I see Spider-man tokens and such and will buy a few of them just to remember the old days.

So I was a big fan of Spider-man and still hold on to the fantasy that he will turn out alright, in spite of all the stuff that has happened to him (I don't know the whole story, but some of it was pretty wierd . . .)

Spider-man movies 1 & 2 were great (#3 . . . ?? what happened???)

Fantastic Four movies - looking good (please, oh please don't wreck #3 like they did with X-men 3 and Spider-man 3).

DEFINITIONS PART 3

Here are some early pictures of my mom. I have to say that my mom had a major influence on my life. I don't remember dad being around very often and when he was things seemed more difficult. In other words, there was much arguing and fighting.

I don't have a lot of pictures of dad during his childhood years. I do of mom because she kept up on the picture thing. Now it's fun to look back and see the old photos of her and her family.

I have to say that mom taught me to appreciate the little things in life. She loved to take drives up the canyon (we lived in the Bozeman, Montana area) and just watch the scenery. I remember we used to take drives to Eastern Montana and she would be unable to sleep along the way because she was too excited to see what was along the way. That always stuck with me.

CHRISTMAS DAY 2007 part 2

Then it's over to Grandma's house. Grandma reads something that has to do with the Christmas season and the importance of this time of year, then we watch her open her gifts and gather around the table for a Christmas dinner.


There were about 17 that made it to Grandma's this year. The gathering gets smaller each year with people spread out over the U.S. and going home to be with the Lord.

As I get older it seems I go to more funerals than I do weddings.

CHRISTMAS DAY 2007

Christmas 2007 was a little different. For the past several years we would have all our children home for Christmas. In the morning we would all get up at a decent time (usually around 9 a.m. because we spent most of Christmas Eve playing video games), eat a nice breakfast and then open gifts (one at at time - not rushing the joy of giving/opening gifts).

This year we didn't have Ben, Skye, Lizzie, Heidi, or our dog Fritz with us. Fritz died last year, but we still can hear him barking at the front door. After 13 years of greeting us at the door, it's hard not hearing his familiar bark. So we went from 9 gathered around the Christmas tree to 4 this year.

I would have to say that Steve had the biggest pile of gifts this year. He was still opening gifts while the rest of us were done a long time ago.

CANDLELIGHT SERVICE

Christmas Eve. This year is different from other years. We used to gather around the stockings with all the kids and Fritz, our Dachshund. Since Skye was pregnant this year we knew Ben, Skye, and Lizzie would not be here. We figured Heidi would have to work, so wouldn't be here this year. And Fritz died last year. So here we are, Brian, Steve, Jean and I. The stockings went from 9 to 4 in no time at all.

Brian and I attended a Candlelight Service at our church this year. Something we haven't done for a couple years (attending a Candlelight Service, we go to church just about every Sunday . . .)

What I thought was cool was watching the candles being lit and the soft glow illuminating from the faces of each individual. The candles created a warm, welcome glow. Made me think that is what I should be doing with the light of Jesus Christ. I should be creating a soft glow that dispels the darkness and invites others to see more of this Light of the World. I'm sure others have said the same, but it is what impressed me about the service.

Now it's time to open those presents stuffed in my stocking . . .

DEFINITIONS PART 2

Who OUR parents are or were has a huge impact on who WE are.

My dad was a tall (6'8" - they called him "slim") dutch man and came from a family of tall dutch people. His mom and dad came from the old country and moved to the Bozeman/Manhattan area of Montana. It was a hard life. My dad didn't talk about it (not that I can remember anyway).

My mom lived in Eastern Montana and grew up new Sidney. It was a hard life. Her mom and dad came from the old country, Poland and Germany. They spoke German and mom didn't know any English when she went to school. I know more about my mom's history because she was more willing to share about her past. We may have to post some of the photos she took.

Both parents worked hard when they were young and tried their best to raise a family of 4 children. But being the stubborn Dutch and German that they were, they made mistakes (hey, I know what it's like to be a parent and make mistakes, so this is just stating the facts, not blaming them for anything.) In fact this brings up a good point, parents have a huge influence on your life, but realistically, it is up to you what you do with it. It's time to grow up and get over it. You can determine to change, especially with the help of the Almighty (more on that later).

It could be that coming from a Dutch and German background, I received a little of that stubborn nature - could be - nah! (Or does being a Dutch/German mix define me as a person?)

DEFINITIONS PART 1

In order to understand the ramblings of any man (or woman) it is good to know a little about them. As with anything in life, there is a beginning point from which a person expresses their viewpoint. It is no different with me. How I view life depends largely on who I am. So I thought it would be good to share a little of who I am, so that when I share thoughts and feelings, you know a little about me and what is important to me. This helps put things in perspective.

So in following entries, I will share what I think (yes, it will be bias because it IS me that is writing this stuff) defines me as a person.

In trying to answer the question, "What defines me as a person?" I would have to say one of the first things that comes to mind is that I am a father (don't look at the photo too closely - it leans to the older side - but now that we have a blog site we will have to post more current photos - be patient, I'm new at this stuff).

I have 4 children. My oldest son is married to a wonderful wife, Skye (in the picture to the left). They now have 2 daughters, Lizzie and Abby. So not only am I a father, but now I am a grandfather, and that definitely adds to the whole perspective of who I am. My daughter lives in California with Ben & Skye, Lizzie and Abby. My two younger sons, Steve and Brian, live with Jean (my wife for those reading this and asking, "Ok, who's this Jean?") and myself in the Seattle area. We also have another guy living with us and renting one of our rooms. Craig's his name.

Yes, being a father defines me as a person. How good of a father am I? Good question. I guess that's a matter of opinion.

My opinion? I believe I managed my household well enough to create a normal disfunctional family . . . but less disfunctional than the one I grew up with. More on that later.

THE NEW GRANDDAUGHTER HAS ARRIVED

Yes, it is true, yes, it is grand, Ben & Skye had their new baby, Abigail Marie. And she is a cutie (as far as we can tell from the pictures). She was due to come at the end of the year, but she really wanted to join us in the real world, so the doctor said, "Let's bring her out on December 19th." So they scheduled Skye to have a "C" section on the 19th. Abby wasn't happy with that date, so she decided to come a little earlier. Skye went in for a checkup on Monday, Dec. 17th and the doctor said, "Let's meet Abigail today." So they hooked Skye up to all the tubes, got ahold of dad, Lizzie was dropped off at some friends and it was now, "Well, hellllooo baby!"

So with the birth of this baby comes the birth of this blog site. I'm (Ted) going to try this thing and see how it works. Should be fun. Stay tuned for more.

If you want to see more of Abby's birth and Skye's perspective on things, check out her blog http://thevandykens.blogspot.com/ - she does a terrific job of keeping it current. (She was my inspiration to get this up and running.)