ben fagerlie

Ben and Amanda came over last night when Amy was at a baby shower for Holly King. They brought me a sundae from DQ and we talked about movies some while Amanda used my iPhone. What they really wanted to do was to play DDR on our Wii. Dance Dance Revolution is fun, and we did play for about 30-40 minutes. That is a picture of Ben taken by Amanda when she was using my phone.

summer

Yesterday was my last day of summer school.  I am now official experiencing my summer break.  It's amazing, but there are always things to fill a day.  As for summer school, I had only eight students, all passed, and we had a pretty good time of it.  I won't say that I will remember this time as fondly as I do my first summer school teaching experience, but it was still quite a bit better than the normal semester was.  I love that I had every quiz and test graded just minutes after the class was done and it was handed back to them immediately with immediate feedback, as well.  I love that I knew exactly where each student was on the worksheets.  I love that I didn't have to take anything home, and I didn't have to make them do homework, either.  I love that they had no other subjects to worry about other than this one.  I love that we only worked for four hours at most per school day.  I love that a full semester's worth of material was completed in less than four weeks time.  I love that I've been able to be home with my family more.  I really love that summer has now started and I can be here to help Amy with tons more (like potty training Aidan: next week!).  I'm sure I'll have much more to post over the next few weeks.

home sweet home

Kate if finally home! (And so am I!) We got released form the hospital this evening at around 7. It is so nice to be home for more than just a shower. It was nice to see Aidan tonight too, I missed him. It has been such a long week, but all of the days kind of melded together. We were only really gaging time by 'Maybe she can go home after 2 days' and other things like that. As of this morning we weren't sure if we were going to make it home tonight or tomorrow morning. The dr. and nurse seemed to think that it wouldn't be until tomorrow because of all the things that had to be done before we were able to leave but the very good nurse pushed things through as fast as she could so we could get home tonight. It was very nice of her. This morning when they weighed Kate she had gained 3 oz. and the dr. cleared her to go home because she proved that with the right amount of calories she could gain the weight she needed to. This was after one night with the tube feedings. We were trained today on how to put the feeding tube in and change it, were were given a home pump and I learned how to use that and hook Kate up to it at night. Alot of stuff happened today, and I got to watch the last NASCAR race of the season since I was still in the hospital. JoAnn provided me with a very good lunch (I am sick of the cafeteria food...blahhh) and we had some visitors this afternoon to. John Lasley, The Brothwells, and my parents. It was nice to see everyone. Sorry if I seem to be rambling a bit, I am very tired and can't seem to keep my thoughts straight. Anyway, so I am happy to be home, have Kate in her own bed, have me in my own bed, not to have people coming in at all hours of the night checking on things (loudly) and not to have any strange people with strange sicknesses in the same room with me. I will write some more later just wanted to give an update on everything now. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, love and concern.

refi

Yesterday, Amy and I signed the papers on refinancing our house.  We signed the papers faster as a team than most others, I guess, because the ladies were talking about our speed and we only spend about 30 minutes there when they told us it would take 45.  We're excited about future investment opportunities, and are looking forward to what the LORD will do with us and our stewardship of His resources.  If He is not in the investments, they will fail.  It's as simple as that, and we are great with it.  How can He be most glorified in how we do things financially?  That is what we are seeking to answer in the investments we explore.  To Him alone be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

dvhs threat

Rumor has it that there was a threat spouted off by a DVHS student that April 20th (aka four twenty, the anniversary of Hitler's birthday and the Columbine shooting) would be a "great day," and not because of pot (since 4/20 is "pot smokers day"). He said this during his history class, where they were watching a documentary on what happened at Columbine. Students told me that "he was showing everywhere the Columbine shooters made mistakes" and "said that he could fix them." This threat was proactively responded to by the DVHS administration who immediately got Glendale PD involved to investigate the rumors. They found the rumors to be "unsubstantiated." The following is what Barbara Dobbs (DVHS Principal) sent to the DVHS staff:

On Wednesday morning information was forwarded to administration regarding a student who had made some inappropriate but general statements about this Friday. Some students in the class felt uncomfortable and reported the comments to both staff and parents. We immediately followed our protocal and had Glendale PD involved. As it turns out, there was no basis for concern but we wanted to be proactive rather than reactive.

Please don't initiate conversations regarding this BUT if your students talk about "a student here threatening the school on Friday", please let them know that what they heard is unfounded. That the administration and police have thoroughly investigated and found nothing.

Thanks for helpiing us (all of us!) get through this week! Keep the information coming and we will keep you posted if other issues surface.

So I have not brought it up, but students have, and I have responded in suite. This is weird to think about. I still plan on coming to school tomorrow, but I know plenty of students aren't going to risk it, and I believe their parents have the full right to keep their children home. We'll see how many come. Another strange thing is that Boulder Creek (my school last year) had a threat about yesterday, also involving a school shooting (which made the news last night). Time for Christ to return? I'm ready.

amy tickles aidan

Now, there are times where having a child gets in the way of what I would like to be able to do. That's the deal: you have to give things up to be a parent, at least a good one. Even with that being said, giving things up doesn't come close to the blessings a child can bring. Amy had Aidan up for his 5pm dinner, and she spent some time with him on the couch as I was working on www.lifesphoto.com. She had him laughing, rolling on the cushion, and enthrawled with her. She was tickling him and playing with him. What a blessing a wife can be! I had to stop working, turn around, and watch this unfold. It was a beautiful thing that stirred my heart. My wife loving and raising our son; my son responding to his mother with enjoyment and laughter.

yearning

I am back at work today. This past weekend was incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed my family. Having to be back here at school today makes my heart sink. My parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew are all leaving today, and I can't be there to take them to the airport, give them one last hug before they leave. I didn't get to print out some pictures for my parents. I didn't get to take a picture of my sister's family. I didn't get to burn some CDs for them of all the pictures we took this weekend. There were so many things to wrap up last night, but we didn't get the chance. My brother-in-law, Joseph, had never seen the Grand Canyon, so we made a day trip with the six adults (one sick and pregnant, Amy, my beautiful bride) and two infants (the cousins, Aidan & JD). It was a wonderful morning. It was only a 3 1/2 hour drive to get there. The sky was cloudy, but there was no bad weather. We got to the Rim, took some pictures in the freezing wind, went to a gift shop or two, and just enjoyed taking our time. My mom, Amy, and the babies went back to the rental van because of how cold it was, but we got some more good pics of Beth and Joe.We got to a stop that was near to Flagstaff and we took a few pictures there, as well. Amy and the babies didn't get out of the van, but the rest of us did. We went back into Flagstaff, ate a great late lunch (maybe a linner? dunch?) at Red Lobster, and headed down the hill at 4pm. We got gas first. There were blizzard conditions just south of Flag on the 17. There were something like 7 different accidents. It took us 4 hours to move 8 miles. The babies didn't enjoy it, but the incredible Van Liew women got them settled and asleep soon enough. Joe and I got out of the car and met a few other guys who were stuck, as well. Doug is an Icee repair man, moving to Colorado Springs soon. Jesse lives in Colorado Springs and was simply headed South. We didn't have a ton of time to talk with them, because we moved a mile down the road and got split up. We threw snow and enjoyed the weather as we could. Munds Park is not bad, I guess, but I normally don't get the opportunity to walk half a mile down the 17 to the Exxon and back again without the vehicle moving down the road even an inch. Okay: 8 miles, 4 hours. I believe that's 2 miles per hour. After we got down the hill further, we finished the remaining 108 miles in an hour and a half. We didn't reach my front door until midnight thirty (for those who don't know Adam-speak, that's 12:30am the next morning). So, all that being said, I was unable to finish the projects that I had for my family. I miss them already. Not only this, but Amy is still sick, needs rest, and she has Aidan to take care of. Just coming to work today makes me feel as if I'm shirking responsibilities all over. I love my family.

goat-rope 07

The Bonsack family (my mom's side) is coming over to our house tomorrow (Thursday) night to have our official Goat-Rope 07 conference of family get-together. So, we didn't get to host Christmas 06 - which didn't even take place, if I remember correctly - but we get Goat-Rope 07...I think we're cool with that. Nank and Cyn-Cyn came over tonight to get the car seat for JD, since they were going to pick up my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and neph from Skyharbor. It was good to have them over, even for the brief 10 minutes or so, and we'll get to be together again tomorrow night at our place. So, arise Bonsack Kingdom, and join us at the of the Lion Manor for food, fun, and family. The best part...they're supplying the food for us! w00t. Here's a pic of the girls:

first poker game

Last night (New Year's Day), at my house, I had Chris Blackford (a great friend), Charles Van Liew (son of Chuck Van Liew, my dad's middle brother), and Caleb Van Liew (son of Larry Van Liew, my oldest uncle on my dad's side) come over to play poker with me. We played Texas Hold 'Em, ordered pizza and it was a lot of fun. We spent three and a half hours playing, actually. It was a good evening together with friends and family. I love those guys. Chris had to get home, but Charles and Caleb stayed for about another hour and chatted with Amy and me. It was a very enjoyable evening, and I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

fourth anniversary

Amy and I have now been married for a glorious four years. How lucky am I? Go ahead, tell me. Amy's gorgeous, she's able to stay home and take care of Aidan, Aidan's now 9 months old and loves to clap, Kate is maturing in the womb and will make her debut in another 5 1/2 months: life is good. Some fun to talk about regarding the day Amy and I spent together. We've made it a tradition to head up to Flagstaff for our anniversary, ever since our second anniversary. (We honeymooned there, just so you know.) We hit Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks, then headed out of town up the 17. There was a winter storm warning in effect until noon, according to the 511 service that I called. As we found out on our way up the hill, it was snowing very heavily within 30 miles of Flagstaff even at 2:00 pm. It was snowing so hard that the visibility was down to under half a mile at best. We got ourselves behind an SUV from Oregon and followed them all the way up the hill. They obviously knew how to drive in those conditions, and not many others did, as we passed many Arizona plates on the way up. As we would change lanes, the ice that was building up where no tires had been traveling made it to where we seemed to slide a little. The Lord kept us safe the whole way up, and it was a fun drive, praise Him. I truly enjoyed myself on that drive. Before the snow and the bad weather, just as we were coming down the large mountain that leads to Camp Verde, I was caught by DPS driving 76 in a 65 mph area. The road sign changed to 75 just tens of yards away from where the officer was camping out to catch speeders. I did get pulled over. We pulled off the road in Camp Verde (which we were going to anyway because it was time for lunch). The officer was the nicest man in a uniform that I've ever met. He told me how fast I was going, asked me where we were headed (I told him "Flagstaff, for our anniversary"), and he told me that he wouldn't ruin our anniversary by giving me a ticket. I wasn't afraid at all, and I didn't even have anxiety, and he just let us off. I couldn't believe it. We then went to the A&W/KFC, ate lunch, then headed back up the hill to follow the Oregon SUV. We made it up to the Barnes & Noble (as we do each time that we go) in order to get our regular journal purchase. We got a lot of board books (which were on major sale) for Aidan, and even got a stuffed animal dragon, too. We got some other books, too, like Eragon and a guide to poker (since I'm starting up a regular game, hopefully). I also got to buy a couple journals for me to take sermon notes in. My parents gave us money for our anniversary, so we used that for the purchase. We then went around NAU's campus and took some pictures of the winter weather on the trees and overall campus. It was gorgeous up there. We had a nice time up there in Flagstaff, even though we didn't go up past Flagstaff to take pictures in the aspens which we normally take (because of the weather and safety). We headed back down the hill earlier than any other year, but it was a good idea. The roads didn't get any better with the weather continuing to snow and rain, depending on the elevation. Again, the conditions made it hard to see, and the Arizona plates really didn't know what to do with the snowy conditions, but we were still able to enjoy the road home. It was solid rain or snow the whole way down the mountain: almost 150 miles worth of solid clouds without a break. We got back into town, we to Cucina Tagliani, ordered to go, went to Walmart, went back to pick up the food, headed home, and enjoyed our dinner while watching the Suns battle the Mavericks for a little while. We had left Aidan with the Ogles (my parents-in-law) for the day, very generous of them, and so we went to pick him up when we finished with dinner. The Ogles told us that Aidan was good and slept all of his normal naps. That was great to hear. We told him about what I've told you, and then we headed home. That was our fourth anniversary.

hair

I guess I've decided to say...I cut my own hair. And, man, has it saved us some money. I was forkin' over $12 every month, just for a buzz cut! What a rip-off. I would also buy some really good gel there for $6.50, so I cut that out, too. Ha, ha: I'm so punny. Cheap-o gel at Walmart, and self-cuts at home with my beard trimmer. Surprisingly, it works pretty well. Amy cleans up my rogue neck hairs, but I do the rest, and the trimmer never loses power. ...It's a 5. I just knew you'd want to know what clipper setting that I use. Nosey people. Don't you have anything better to do than find out how my lucious head of hair is managed so easily? Me, either.

nutcracker

Amy and I went to see the Nutcracker, a nice Christmas treat, put on by the Jajabra kids (a local dance troop, and I think that's the right spelling), of which Amanda Conovaloff (from NCC) is apart. She was the Sugarplum Fairy and was great. Some of those dance positions would hurt me to no end. Cassi Roberts went with us (which has been a tradition for Amy and Cassi for a few years). We had a good time, enjoying each other's company and the performance. The troop was really good, including the really little girls who must have been only three or so. They were very cute. There were only three boys in the troop, and so they played a lot of parts. They were also very good. At the end, we walked out the back, hoping to see Amanda, and there we found the du Mées, where we were able to ask them over tonight. Quite a nice day.

the du Mées

We had a couple of our friends over tonight. Matthew and Christy du Mée, from NCC, came over to our house and had some dinner, played some games, and watched the first half of the Suns' game. It is always a nice treat to have them over. They are surely becoming some of our closest friends. They've also been a part of our Saturday night group that gets together on a regular basis, but we didn't have that meeting tonight, freeing us to do this. It was quite fun, and they even got Amy to play a video game! Go Mario Strikers! I must say, it is one of the most fun games I've ever played on a game system. We were blessed to have them over, and they even bought us dinner. du Mées, thanks for dinner and coming over to hang.

decor

Christmas decorations: not my favorite thing to put up or take down, but I like looking at them. Amy is a whiz at decorations. We've got a large collection of nutcrackers, so those are a theme throughout the house. We've got our fake Christmas tree up with lights (I did that one). Amy's put stockings over the fireplace and some lights with some other small decorations, as well. You should see our entryway. She's so clever. She had some vines and lights that she put up on the ceiling, and then for this season we put up more lights and some blue snowflakes hanging down. It looks pretty cool. Amy even got up on a really tall extention ladder to hang icicle lights from the steepest part of the roof over the garage (I hate heights; I know, it's pretty sad). "Oh what fun it is to see all the de-cor-ray-ay-tions. Hey!"

half day

Oh, the dreaded half day. Well, not for the student, but for the teacher, that is. Half days are a waste of time for student learning as well as a waste of time for teacher learning (at least at DVHS, since we haven't had any of the in-services that the principals said we would the week before school started). It seems that each half day becomes a day missed to actually do something worthwhile with our students. The students don't want to do anything because they "don't have to do anything in any other classes." So, instead of math, they are doing the writing prompts that the admin is telling us the district is making them make us do. What a tangled mess this bureaucracy seems to create. GO SKYHAWKS! I guess there is a high note to the day: I get to walk home for lunch and eat lunch with my wife! Love you, Amy.

yo mama

Katherine Ann Van Liew (Bonsack) is my mother. She has been going through a lot of difficulties physically for years. First, she's had to have two back surgeries; both were very invasive and serious. The second surgery, the doctors (in AZ) went in and actually fused together two of her vertebrae, in order to stop the back problems she was having. She was in wrenching pain beforehand, and she was in wrenching pain afterward as she recovered for a long time. Amy (my wonderful wife of four years) and I were able to have my mom live with us for a month or so after the second surgery. It was hard for all of us, but the Lord pulled my mom through and has healed her back now. Second, my mom has had stomach issues for a long time. A couple weeks ago, the doctors (now in AL) decided it was time for my mom's gall bladder to be taken out. So it was. She then had a very hard week, or so, afterward in recovery; but the pain wasn't from recovery: something else was wrong. They found that her bile (liver produced) was somehow leaking where it shouldn't, so they had to go in again to place a stint where the issue was. They went in orthoscopicly (from which she's incurred no problems) and place the stint by her liver. The operation was a success. Starting a week ago, she's felt better than she's felt in a long, long time. She told me that she even got a leaf blower/vac and was enjoying going outside and using it to clean up the yard. She was excited about it even. What joy it brought me to hear my mom talk like that (meaning that she was feeling well enough to enjoy working outside). This past Friday, the doctors went again down her throat to remove the stint, and that was also successful. She was so out of it, though, from her anesthesia, that she called me, had a thirty minute conversation on numerous topics, but didn't even remember calling me the next day. How strange the human mind is (a thought from her). We talked the next day, resaid everything that had been said the day before (but I finished her sentences this time), and I enjoyed every minute of it. What a blessing it is to know that the Lord provides! To God be all the glory for the great things He has done which show off His character for us to see and respond to. That He would even give me a chance to respond! Love you, mom.

ccc

DVCCC had a meeting at my house again today, Wednesday. There were only three students that came, and Amy joined us. It was nice to have Amy here with us. She's always brutally honest about me, to me and to others. We watched some SB Emails (Strong Bad Emails, www.homestarrunner.com), talked about what they were studying, how it was changing their lives, where they were seeing answers to prayer, and who they were sharing with. This was our first time doing the "core questions," so they were unsure about answering, but we got some good responses. We had a good time just getting to know each other a little, and talk of the Lord and His glory.

desktop

I spent hours today cleaning up my desktop and organizing our files on our computer. It feels good to be more organized. I still have plenty to do, though. I'm still wondering if I really might be OCD. Heh heh. If nothing else, I really like order. Maybe it's just because I love math and all things analytical. Logic and order. Just some thoughts.