Cruisin' Day 2

Day 2

Slept very well, even with the Midnight Delights in my belly…a key lime tart (okay several of them), chocolate covered bananas, and a shrimp wrap in a green tortilla. Good snack after checking on our students and making sure they were in their staterooms (and taping the doors to make sure that they stay in).

Breakfast at Windjammers was delightful. A buffet with way too much good food.

Disembarked for a morning of sight-seeing/shopping in Key West with Peggy, Llibby, & Shannon after we docked. Weiner hat was funny. I sent that picture to Elliott from my cell phone. We shopped a lot, since Libby and Shannon had bought the $20 shopping coupon books on board the ship. We walked all over the shopping district. We probably should have rented a golf cart for the four of us. We walked all the way to the Southern most point in the U.S., then back towards the ship where we saw Ernest Hemmingway's house among the highlights.

Peggy napped in the cabin, I ate lunch at Windjammers, and watched the most amazing feat ever...the ship turned on a dime when leaving Key West's dock. Got a laugh from the "newbie" loosening ropes & climbing down the ladder the wrong way.

Formal Dinner - had a lobster bisque and roast duck. Yum! Our waiters are wonderful...remembered what we drink without asking.

SUNSET WAS FABULOUS! I have pictures. Just gorgeous. Check out the pictures on our flickr site.

The show was "From the Screen to the Stage." Great singers & dancers.

Everyone in their rooms on time! YAY!

Cruisin' Day 1 Journal

Day 1

“Enchantment of the Seas” - What a beautiful ship!
The stateroom is small, but adequate. Who wants to spend much waking time in the stateroom when you can explore 11 decks of opulence on board the ship?

Dinner was amazing, Crusted Atlantic Cod...the waiters were great, one is from India – Nilesh; the assistant waiter (Rodolpho) is from the Phillipines.

Windjammer Café buffet, baby! Food is excellent and in abundance. I know that I will gain weight on this trip, but as the Cruise Director Carley said, “you dieted last week, you can diet again next week, but this week you are on a cruise, baby!”

The all--day drink deal is the only way to go. For $6 per day for adults, $4 per day for students, you can enjoy all the soda and juice you desire. You even get a souvenir cup with lid. What a sweet deal. I know I drink at least $6 of soda a day, especially at the ship’s prices!

The ship is beautiful. Check out the pictures Ian took of the Centrum area of the ship. You can see from decks 2 through 10, it is complete with a white grand piano, lots of seating, and is the nerve center for guests. The guests relations office is on deck 6 along with the shops, and the Schooner Lounge, Spotlight Lounge, Conference Room and loads of staterooms. Deck five has the Boleros Lounge, the Casino (big whoop), and the balcony section of the My Fair Lady Dining Room as well as the Orphium Theatre (the balcony is on deck 6). Deck four houses the main section of the Dining Room and lots of staterooms including the one Emily is in with two other girls. Peggy and I are on Deck 3 as is Ian. Deck 9 will be the most popular deck with the students: the pools and hot tubs are there, as well as the Windjammer Café.

I cannot tell that we are moving unless I am on a deck and watching us move on the water. Standing on the outside deck at level five gives you a beautiful shot of the ocean. Standing on deck five during the muster drill was like being a sardine in a life jacket though. Talk about sweltering!

Commedian Phil Palisoul made me laugh so much my old knee injury flared up! He was truly funny, if not a little risqué at times.

Have I mentioned that the ship is beautiful?

Cruisin' With My Baby

Cruisin' With My Baby
Originally uploaded by blountman.

We are back and looking over pictures while re-living the past five fabulous days! I promise more detailed postings concerning the cruise in the days to come, and lots more pictures from the trip to be posted on flickr. Suffice it to say for now, that it was wonderful beyond words. The water at Cozumel is the most beautiful I have ever seen, and the trip to Belize was amazing. Climbing around in Mayan ruins with a bunch of enthusiatic teenagers...it just doesn't get any better than that. Unless of course, you start talking about the dinners from heaven on board each night. Everything from Roast Duck to Lobster Tail. Oh yeah, baby, can you say "gained weight"?

Anyway, more is on the way, I know you are waiting with baited breath.

Cruisin'

Well, we leave this morning for our cruise. We are going with the Vero Beach High School Chorus on a competition cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas heading for Cozummel and Belize. I promise to do a detailed blog or two about it when we return. Thanks in advance for the prayers and well wishes.

Nice Racks

Memorial Day grillin' of two racks of pork ribs!

Close up of the ribs. They were delicious!

I bought a new flag today for the front of the house, so I could appropriately remember the meaning of this day. I am so grateful for the men and women who have given their lives so I could live free and grill ribs after swimming in my pool. I am so blessed to live in this country. On this Memorial Day, I salute the members of our armed services, and I am humbled by those who shed their blood for my freedom.

More importantly, I am humbled by the knowledge that Jesus shed His blood to provide my ternal freedom from sin. Today, I am also in a state of mourning for a dear Christian Brother who has been asked to resign from his ministry at a church that is growing numerically and spiritually, but is being "led" by a small group of men who are more interested in their own personal power than seeing the Kingdom expand. Satan is alive and well. He stinks.

Blah, blah, blah

Okay, so it's been two weeks since I last blogged, and most of my recent posts have frankly been pretty boring. Yeah, we got hail in our yard a couple of weeks ago, and I got pictures of it. Wow. It's not that there hasn't been plenty going on in our lives, it is just that I have been less-than-inclined to want to write about it. Motivation has been hard to come by lately.

This weekend, I am in the full blown effects of a sore throat, sinus infection funk. I preach tomorrow. Should be fun. I slept in until nearly 10 this morning, and feel like someone is pounding my head with a sledge hammer. Enough of the whining party.

I have had to do some serious soul seraching over the past several weeks. I have felt betrayed and ambushed. I have felt alone and abandoned. I have brought much of that on myself. In the struggle known as life, I constantly need to be reminded of the love of Christ which should motivate me even when all other motivation seems to have vanished. As Peggy constantly rmeinds me, it is God Whom I serve, and the way I am supposed to serve Him is to serve people. I have a tendancy to isolate myself when I am feeling "down" and that only further complicates matters.

So, as I reassess my life, and as I try to get re-motivated, I will gladly take the prayers of those who love me much more than I deserve. I believe that God has placed me where I am, doing what I am doing, for His purpose. If I believe that, then I must break out of the blah, blah, blah, and get back to what God wants from me: my best every single day.

All Hail Broke Loose

hailflowerbed
Originally uploaded by blountman.

I went out to pick up Emily from work at the Outlet Mall, and missed out on all the fun at the house. We had a fierce thunderstorm blow through today, and in our neighborhood, we got pelted with hail. This photo was taken with my camera phone about 20 minutes after the hail storm had passed. Emily and I experienced heavy rains coming back in from the west, but no hail on us. I have several more pictures of the hail storm on our FLICKR site so check it out.

Ian and the Prom

Ian 016
Originally uploaded by blountman.

This picture, taken at Charles Park in Vero Beach just before the VBHS Prom on April 29th, is Peggy's favorite. Ian and Amber enjoyed their time at the "Red Carpet Romance" after a heartly meal at Bono's with the rest of us 30 Hour Famine folks. I am so proud of Ian for not backing out of the Famine because of the Prom. He continues to grow in Christ, and is always willing to put Jesus first in his life. Yeah, he has his shortfalls, like the rest of us, but he is doing so much better!

Ian & Amber Prom

Ian & Amber Prom
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Ian and Amber pose in our Kitchen because the lighting is better there and this picture was taken with my camera phone. Oh we had "real" pictures taken by a friend, but as of this writing (10:20 p.m. of the night of the prom), I don't have those pictures yet. Don't worry, when they get here, I'll post them on flickr.

After

After
Originally uploaded by blountman.

See? It worked out just right! Ian stopped by the church to let us ooh and ahh at his transformation as he prepared to go to the prom. One of the stipulations he gave to his date, Amber, was that if she wanted to go out to eat with him before the prom, she would have to go wherever the 30 Hour Famine group was going to break our fast. We went to Bonos BBQ, and it was delicious!

Before

Before
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Why should the girls be the only ones to get hair and makeup done before the prom? Ian started his makeover on Friday night during the 30 Hour Famine. He got off to a great start, didn't he?

He was one of about 19 participants in the Famine this year, and he was of course, the most beautiful one of the participants.

Looky!

Looky!
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Oh they didn't want me to take this photo, but I did anyway. Elliott and Abi pose with "the ring." They came down at 2:30 this morning, and then got up to see the sunrise at Humiston Beach. Peggy, Emily and I joined them at the beach after dropping Ian off at work. More photos can be seen on the flickr site. As I type this note, Elliott and Abi are on the way back to Kissimmee, and Elliott will then head for Taveres to work tonight. Me? I'm gonna do some yard work and some calking in the master bathroom. Exciting stuff, eh?

Pop Goes The Question

BlountUniversityCouple
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Not that this picture taken at Christmas was prophetic or anything, but it is official now. Elliott has asked Abigail Pardue to be his wife! After an adventure in getting the engagement ring, Elliott popped the question last night after they had watched the Disney Fireworks Show. Even that proved to be more of a challenge than Elliott had hoped. The Fireworks Show was delayed nearly an hour, and Abi had to be at work at 4:00 a.m. today, so she wanted to go home before the show began. Elliott talked her into staying, and then when the fireworks began a couple of kids came and sat at their feet, and someone else sat on the bench next to them. Elliott dutifully waited until the end of the fireworks and after everyone else left, and then took the knee signifying the beginning of the end of his Bachelorhood. One of the first things Abi said to me on the phone last night was, "are you sure you guys can put up with me for the rest of your lives?" To which I replied, "oh we can handle it, the question is can you put up with us?"

Peggy and I are very happy for Elliott and Abi, and feeling a little older today as well. So goes life, eh?

You Could've Been Here...But You Weren't

Ian and Emily were with us, however, as Peggy and I did something we haven't done in way too long...go to our favorite beach at Round Island! Yes, we actually went to the beach today. It is a shame to live nine miles from your favorite beach (not the closest beach to the house even), and yet never go! We have truly become Floridians! Well, we did enjoy our trip and Peggy and I already have a date for our next beach excursion (sorry, no advanced notice for you). I sent this picture to Elliott and Abi just to rub it in for them. I also took a picture of Peggy talking to her sister Terri and emailed that to Terri, but alas, that picture shall not make this blog. I do want to sleep in the same bed as Peggy tonight!

Chomp, Chomp!

Well, many folks in Florida are quite happy this morning in wake of the University of Florida's dismantling of UCLA in the NCAA basketball championship game last night. With former Marshall University Basketball Coach Billy Donovan at the helm, the Gators demolished the Bruins 73-57. I am not a huge Gator Fan, but I am an S-E-C guy all the way, and since Donovan has Marshall ties, I root for Florida when they aren't playing my beloved Kentucky Wildcats. So, I join with those in extending my congrats to the Gators. Job extremely well done! Weren't the six losses Florida suffered this year all at the hands of UK?

Spring Break Blast

What a great time we had at the Fabulous Blount Mansion on Thursday, March 30th! 15 students and 3 "adults" helped splash the water of of the pool, enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs (along with chips, drinks and brownies), played all kinds of games (can you say "Skip-bo"?), and just relished each others' company on the Thursday of Spring Break Week. "Lord Vader" had the gals beating him with Fun Noodles, the Marco Polo game got pretty wild, and Scott proved to be the "War" king. Ha!

On a more serious note, the C-I-Y Summer Conference costs will be $350, and all of the money must be in by Sunday, May 14th. Payments to your account are being accepted now. Summer Conference is one of my favorite trips each year, although I have to admit that it takes me longer to recuperate from those trips each year. This year should prove to be very interesting because the Blount family leaves from Milligan College to head to Louisville, KY, and the North American Christian Convention. Since Elliott will be part of the worship band for the adult sessions at this year's convention, how could we NOT make the trip? So, our recovery from C-I-Y will be at the NACC. Whew!

The 2006 Florida Christian Youth Convention promises to rawk your socks off. This convention takes place Dec. 1-3, and features Bart Stone as the speaker, the Atoned worship band, and my dear bud Phil Luckeydoo to emcee! Yeah, baby, come on down for this convention!

Oh yeah, and our youth group is once again this year participating in the 30 Hour Famine during which we raise money to feed hungry children through World Vision. If you would like to sponsor me, please send checks made out to "World Vision" to me at the church (796 20th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL, 32962). It takes only a dollar a day to feed a child, and I would love to feed at least one child for one year. Can you help? Thanks!

The Life

I have spent way too much time stressing over things that I cannot change lately. Today was one of them, as I spent an hour and a half in a meeting dealing with the various complexities (read "Catch 22") involved in our church building project. I am still stinging from from some other personal matters, and the fact that we are driving a rental car while Vatland tries to fix Elliott's car (I emphasize TRIES) just adds to my general sense of frustration. So, this afternoon after dropping Ian off at work and before going back out to pick him up while dropping Emily off at work, I decided to read a book by the pool. I got in my swim suit, pulled a chair out into the sunshine of a March afternoon in Vero Beach and did some reading about the shame of the cross. I also did my personal devo reading and journaling, all thanks to my iBook and the wireless Internet connection at the house. I love that combination. Sitting by the pool listening to the water churn and feeling the light breeze as the sun warmed my ever-increasingly large body was just way beyond relaxing. Even with the heavy subject matter of the book I am reading to help with sermon prep. Yes, I was working, but my office was my pool deck. Just gotta love that. I may have to spend most of the day tomorrow out by the pool, reading and enjoying the benefits of living in Vero Beach, Florida. Time to stop stressing and start relaxing in the love of God. After all, He could have me somewhere up north where it is still freezing cold, gloomy and generally yucky. Yes, this really is the life, isn't it?

March Out of Control-ness

Well my NCAA brackets bled out long ago, but I must say that I am totally impressed with LSU's performance over their past two games. The fact that Florida also made it to the Final Four just goes to show the pundants don't have a clue. The S-E-C is down this year eh? How many Big East Teams made the Final Four? Zero. How many ACC Teams meade the Final Four? Zero. How many Big Ten Teams? Zero. HGow many S-E-C teams? TWO. May Florida and LSU meet in the National Championship Game. Yee-haw (Juntion).

Seminole Trail

This is a picture of my childhood home at 519 Seminole Trail in Danville, KY. The huge Oak tree in the front yard was a sappling we planted when we first moved there in 1969. It is massive as you can see. It was good to be back in my hometown and see some friends. The occasion was stinky...burying my childhood best friend, Mike Wilson. It was the toughest thing I have ever done in my ministry, but it was also rewarding to know that I was able to fulfill Mike's request and that the family was more than pleased with my words at the funeral service.

Anyway, it was wild to see the Oak at 519 Seminole Trail. Childhood memories. Hmmmmm...

David Michael Wilson - Oct. 2, 1958-March 1, 2006

It's been a long day. I just got word this morning that my best friend from childhood passed away after a long battle with medical complications stemming from lymphoma. Mike Wilson was the best man at our wedding. He was the only guy from Danville, KY, that I kept in regular touch with over the years. Mike lived in San Diego, but ten summers ago, the two of us met in Danville for our 20th High School Reunion. That was the last time I saw Mike. We talked on the phone often, but not nearly often enough. Mike was fiercely loyal, a big family man (he loved being a grandpa...that's right he was a grandpa!), and he had a heart of gold. Even while battling his lymphoma over the past five years, he did pro bono legal work for other cancer patients to help them through the legal and insurance mazes they had to travel. Yeah, he was a good guy lawyer.

We often talked about growing up in the small southern town of Danville, and we both agreed that we lived a charmed childhood in that little town. It was always his desire to be buried there. Next Friday, that wish will come true. About four years ago, when Mike was having several medical problems all at one time, he asked me if I would preach his funeral. Of course I told him that I would, but I also told him that I didn't want to do it for at least another 20 years. Well, Mike did his best, but he fell short of that goal. Mike was one of the most courageous men I have ever known. He was the kind of guy everyone would want for a best friend. Although he took second spot on my best friend list after Peggy, he never complained.

A flood of memories has come my way today, most of which will remain mine, several of which will be shared with those who attend the funeral in Danville next week, and all of which give me great comfort in this time of loss. While Mike was not perfect, he did come back to Jesus over the past five years. Nothing else matters. Mike, you have fought the good fight, you have finished the race. Now take your crown of righteousness and save a seat for me, will you?

Covered Up

Okay, so we opened the doors to the Oslo Oasis yesterday. I spent the day covered up in last-minute details including a fruitless search for the air hockey paddles. My day was a dead sprint from the time my feet hit the floor until the time I finally laid down last night. Ian had the morning off from school (thanks F-CAT), and he helped me do the last minute moving of stuff around at the Oslo Oasis. I then took him to school, ran to Wal-Mart to get some stuff like trash cans, light bulbs, etc., ran back tot he Oslo Oasis, ran back to the office and then back to the Oslo Oasis again. I got there two minutes after we were supposed to open the doors.

I had plenty of workers, but no Oslo Middle School kids showed up for our first day. Not entirely unexpected, as we are still getting the word out. Meanwhile Emily called needing a ride to go in to work. She's not on the schedule for Mondays, but they needed some extra help, so I took her. Ian went along too, and helped in an unofficial capacity at the Bible Sale store in the outlet mall. I then stopped by Sears because another sporting goods store employee had told me over the phone that Sears carried air hockey equipment. Yeah, right! One package of pucks, and no paddles. Oh, they'll have some in at Christmas time.

Flying back to the Oslo Oasis, where my workers were diligently making copies of flyers, and doing some more cleaning at the place. They are such a good bunch of folks. I wrestled with one of the computers that suddenly decided it didn't want to talk to a monitor, and never did convince it to play nice. It now sits unplugged and may wind up in the landfill today!

At 5:30, I headed home just in time to see Peggy take Ian and Emily to the high school for chorus practice, and fix Peggy and me some salad for supper. My first meal of the day (unless you count the candy bar I bought at Wal Mart earlier in the day). I collapsed on the couch for about 20 minutes before needing to get ready to go to an Elders' meeting at the church.

While sitting in the Elders' meeting, my right arm started itching just below my armpit. I thought nothing of it, scratched without even looking and tried to pay attention to the discussion in the meeting. My neck itched some too, so I tried to sooth that itch. After I got home (just in the nick of time to watch "24"), I started paying attention to the fact that I was itching in several places. I started examining myself and found out that I had broken out in hives! I mean I was covered in red, blotchy patches, from my feet, up both legs, from my waist up to my neck front and back! My arms, my wrists. Lovely. Took a couple of benedryl and went to bed. This morning, my blotches are fewer in newer and small in size, but wearing shoes today will be a LOT OF FUN. Still have major blotches on my thighs, feet and wrists. Today is going to be a swell day.

Oslo Oasis

It's taken much longer than I had hoped, but the outreach center we will operate on Oslo Road is about to open next week. This outreach center is targeted specifically at students from Oslo Middle School who live in the general area where the center is located and where our new church building will be constructed. I have secured the services of several members of VCC to operate the facility on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and while I don't expect a stampede of students next week, I hope we can get things up and running and show the community that there is a safe place for their Middle School Students to come hang out after school. Thanks for your prayers for this outreach effort. I'll try to keep you posted on how things go.

Gran - Nov. 30, 1912-Feb. 7, 2006

blounts-gran
Originally uploaded by blountman.

On Tuesday, February 7, Gran went home to be with the Lord. We knew it was coming. Gran was ready. It still stinks. We are SO glad that we got to go to Ashland over Christmas Break and spend time with Gran! He was alert and knew us and enjoyed the visits almost as much as we did. We saw him every day while we were up there. That was the main purpose of the visit. It was one of the very rare times that the five of us have gotten to travel and vacation together since Elliott started his college career.
Peggy is up in Ashland for the funeral, while the rest of us make due in Florida. Emily is sick and hasn't been in school since Wednesday morning (when she had to come home early). I am so glad that we were able to get a flight for Peggy and that she will get to spend some family time. I am also so glad for the example Gran lived for all of us. If I could be half the man of God that Gran was, I would be twice the man of God that I am now. Thanks Gran, enjoy your rest in the Lord, you deserve it!

Basketball City, Baby!

With the serious rain storms over the past 24 hours in Vero, what better to do than to watch as much basketball as possible. With the ESPN Game Plan, we can watch our choice of college basketball from all around. We saw the Lousiville-Notre Dame Game along with most of the nation, but then watched Bama whup up on LSU, and Tennessee (boo) continue to roll. Then we headed to the Whitt Gym at VBHS to watch Florida Air Academy and Vero tangle. One of our youth group guys plays for Florida Air Academy (Jayvee team), and it was good to get some of the group together to support Zach. Zach's team won, but the varisty lost to Vero (go Indians) for their first loss of the season!

Of course I then made it back home tonight in time to watch the Gators chomp all over my beloved Kentucky Wildcats. I was afraid that would happen. Ah well, we need to regroup and whup the snot out of the Volunteers on Tuesday night. Since tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, and since I preach in the morning, guess I should shut this thing down and go to bed, eh?

Happy Birthday Ms. Blount

Happy Birthday Ms. Blount
Originally uploaded by blountman.

I laugh in your general direction! Our baby boy, Elliott (first name is Kevin for those of you who didn't alreay know)turns 21 on Monday, January 30th. In the fine traditon of politicians in touch with their constituency, State Senator Mike Haridopolos's office sends out birthday card greetings. We received this one this week and will proudly pass it along to Ms. Kevin Blount.

Driving Mr. Ian

IanDrive02
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Ian now is the proud owner of a driver's permit in the state of Florida. After sitting in the Driver's License Office for an hour and a half, Ian got his picture snapped, I signed off on things and signed a check, and we headed out. Ian drove in the church parking lot for a while getting the feel of the wheel, the gas and brake pedals, and working on pulling into parking places. Then he drove me home. Yep, he drove me home from the church building! Yay! It has been a very good day.

Sick As Sick Can Be, I Must Say

The 2005-06 University of Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Team is as sad as sad can be I must say, and it makes me as sick as sick can be, eh? Losing three straght games for the first time since 1999 and losing back-to-back home SEC games for the first time since 1989, it put me in the mind of Ed Grimley. I know that Tubby must feel like he has a team of Ed Grimleys right now, as they are just not a very good team at the moment. I will not say that Tubby is at fault, and I know that if any college coach in America could turn them around it is Tubby.

Meanwhile, Ian and Emily are feeling better, but it was my turn today. I have gone as far as the mailbox, and should get up on the roof and take the Christmas lights down since the wind is blowing big time today and has knocked some of the strings loose from the roof. Just don't feel all that swell today, so maybe I'll wait till tomorrow. We are getting some pretty serious winds this afternoon. The strongest since Wilma blew through here in October. Temps in the 60's today and expected to dip into the 30's overnight! YIKES. That makes me as sick as sick can be, I must say!

Sickness Reigns

Well, 'tis the season...for the yuckies! Elliott called yesterday with a sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, etc. Ian and Emily both woke up this morning with a stomach virus meaning they could not venture too far from the "potty" so I let them stay home. To top it off, Elliott's car (which is still showing the "check engine light") needs repairs not covered by his warranty and totalling over $300. Oh the folks at Vatland are in for a surprise. They WILL fix this problem, or I will be discussing the Lemon Law matter with someone. Actually, we are about to decide that the problems were caused when they (meaning Vatland) had to pry open the locked gas cap since they didn't have a key. I'll keep you posted on that little drama as it unfolds. So, with Elliott pumping himself full of antibiotics due to his sinus infection, he now can go to his apartment for the rest of the evening and seeth, uh rest.

Peggy and I have a "Supper 8" date tonight with some folks from the church, we're heading to Bonos. Ummmm, bar-b-que! Ian and Emily meanwhile will feast on chicken noodle soup and crackers. Ha!

OrangeBowlTicket

OrangeBowlTicket
Originally uploaded by blountman.

When you don't have a dog in that fight, and you get invited to a BCS Bowl Game for FREE, and it turns into a triple overtime thriller...well, it just doesn't get any better than that, folks!

Tim and Lou Ann Collins have some connections for the Orange Bowl, and they had two extra tickets, so they asked Peggy and me to go. Well, Peggy has already started back at school, so she couldn't go, but Elliott quickly and enthusiastically said "yes" when I asked him if he would like to go.

So the big day arrived yesterday, with me still trying to get a hot water tank delivered and installed (no hot water since New Year's Eve is getting old). the Collins' picked us up at our house at 3:00 PM, and we began the trek to Miami. We arrived at the Dosphins' Stadium around 6:30 and "quickly" found a parking spot along with 77,769 other people who attended the Orange Bowl with us. We were supposed to meet up with some friends of Tim's and do some tailgating (tranlaste that eating lots of free food), but none of our cell phones wanted to work in the sea of cell phone users around the stadium, so we wound up just going on in the stadium and purchasing extremely overpriced morsals of "nutrition" inside. Elliott and I got the wings, which were okay...no Beef O'Brady's to be sure, but they were okay.

As you can see from the ticket, we were in the bottom section of the stadium, 12 rows off the field along the 20 yeard line in the Florida State section. The Penn State touchdown pass with six seconds left in the 1st half came right at us. All the missed field goals in overtime were on our end of the field. I have to tell you that this game was the best football game I have ever seen in person. Sorry, but the best game I have ever seen would still have to the the Marsall/East Carolina matchup in the GMAC Bowl when Marshall came from a 30-point defecit to take the victory behind my man Byron Leftwich. But last night's game was truly a classic!

By the time the winning field goal was kicked by Penn State at 1:00 AM on January 4th, we were emotionally exhausted, and again, I didn't have a dog in that fight! I know the FSU faithful were disappointed by the outcome, but they couldn't have been disappointed by the thrills of the game. I do have to admit that I laughed out loud when the FSU place kicker boinked the right upight of the goal post in the third overtime. Fortrunately, there was enough crowd noise goaning to drown out my laughter. But it was funny.

Anyway, I cannot thank Tim and Lou Ann Collins enough. It was a great game and a great time with great friends.

Orange Bowl

Tim and Lou Ann Collins have taken Elliott and me to the Orange Bowl to watch Penn State and Florida State tangle! It is about an hour before kickoff, and I am sitting in my seat which is 12 rows off the field along the 20 yeard line in the Florida State section. I'll give you a further update with a picture of my Orange Bowl Ticket tomorrow, but for now just realize that I am at the Orange Bowl in person! SWEET!

Who's Grillin'? I'm so Grillin'!

Who's Grillin'? I'm so Grillin'!
Originally uploaded by blountman.

So, I turn on the grill Sunday to fix Salmon (one of mhy favorite meals to fix on the grill) when flames shoot up between the burner part of the grill and the control knobs. Not a good sign. The vents on the gas lines going to the burners had flames coming out from them. I grilled the salmon knowing it would be the last meal ever prepared on the grill Peggy's parents gave us five years ago as a house warming party.

Peggy and I had been talking about replacing the grill in February anyway, and had discussed getting a stainless steel grill. While shopping for a hot water tank at Lowe's Sunday afternoon, I found my new Grill-love. It is a commercial grade stainless steel grill with a 45 burger capacity. Five burners in the main section, a top shelf for warming, and a side burner complete with a teflon plate for pancakes, scrabled eggs, bacon, etc. Peggy's first thought was it would be great for those times when our electricty is out during hurricane season. My first thought was that Salmon will taste even better on this puppy! Anyway, this picutre shows the upgrade we have made in the grill department. Again, the old grill was great, but it is now heading to the great grillfest in the sky. Or the county landfill.

Everything Ashland

gatti01
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Our whirlwind trip to Ashland, KY, would not be complete without this overview, so as promised earlier on this site, here it goes...

We left Vero Beach at Midnight Christmas Day, arriving in Ashland at 2:20 PM Christmas Afternoon. Elliott had the most interesting part of the drive, as all the idiots in the Charlotte, NC, area managed to get out on I-77 in front of him. He also had the pleasure of driving into one of the worst fog banks I've seen in recent memory as we crossed the Virginia border and started the climb into the mountains. A caravan of three cars thought it would be a good idea to drive in the middle lane on I-77 at 10-15 mph. We cam swooping down upon them driving at 35 mph, causing me to need to change my pants, if you know what I mean.

Upon arrival in Ashland, Peggy's Parents wanted to take us to the Ponderosa Steak House for Christmas Dinner. Exhausted from the drive, and more than a little giddy, we went. While standing in the line of about 50 people, we observed the most perfect she-mullet! It was all we could do to keep from rolling around on the floor laughing! We also saw a lumberjack and his "Babe" (she was even wearing blue)! Oh man, it was a good time while eating the Christmas Buffet.

Of course there was plenty of gas-passing at Nanny & Papaw's house, so that wouldn't really be a highlight, but rather a way of life. We gave Terri & Alvin the great Christmas Classic CD Christmas In the Air which set the proper festive mood throughout the week. We played at least one song from the CD for everyone who came by the house that week...that includes Whitney, Chris & Cheryl, Jim & Debbie, and the Amerines & Sahib. Good times for sure.
I have already documented the playground trip, the Texas Roadhouse outing, our numerous visits with Gran, and the No Moes experience.

Ian, Emily and Elliott went to an Ashland Invitational Tournament basketball game on Tuesday night, because a couple of guys on the Ashland team played ball with Ian in elementary school. On Wednesday night, I took Ian and Emily back to the A-I-T for another game. We saw several folks from the community that we knew, so it was a cheap way to see lots of folks...no extra driving necessary1

Nanny got all five of the Grandkids in a portrait studio at the Wal-Mart in South Point, OH Wednesday morning, all sporting University of Kentucky T-shirts. While in the neihgborhood, we drove up to see Fred Kilver at the Mustard Seed Christian Bookstore. I have been trying to find some soundtracks from the CD of music inspiried by the Chronicles of Narnia to no avail. I knew that Fred could find them for me, and he did. They are on order, and I should have them within a couple of weeks. Fred still runs the BEST Christian Bookstore in America!

But, one of the major highlights of the trip had to be Thursday evening's jaunt to...Gatti-land! Hence the picture with this post. Oh Gatti-land is a pizza buffet and games galore paradise. It has been a tradition in our family since we started having kids, and Elliott was about to cry at the thought that it was our last day in town and we hadn't yet feasted on gatti-land pizza (and I'm pretty sure he wanted to play some games, too). As is the case for many of the events mentioned in this post, there are plenty of picutres chronicling our journey (alas no she-mullet pictures) on my FLICKR site.

We left Ashland at 11:00 PM Thursday, still full of pizza, and made it back to Vero Beach around 2:00 PM Friday afternoon. A most satisfying trip, but it is good to be back home!

With Gran

blounts-gran
Originally uploaded by blountman.

One of the main reasons we took our trip to Ashland during Christmas week was to visit with Gran. Peggy's 93-year-old Grandaddy has been living in a nursing home for about a year now. We visited him every day while in town, and he always had a smile on his face during our visits. He seemed fairly lucid, his color looked good, and we had several really good visits with him. Well, the day we left for Vero Beach, Gran was taken to the hospital with a temperature and elevated heart rate. On New Year's Day we learned that Gran's kidneys are failing, working at only about 20% capacity, and that he may have an anurism in his stomach. Thanks for your prayers for Gran and for the family as they tend to his care. Praise God for our time together with Gran last week!

Welcome To (No) Moe's

Welcome To Moe's
Originally uploaded by blountman.

One of the culinary highlights of our trip to Ashland was a visit to Moe's Southwest Grill. We don't have one in Vero. That's a whole 'nuther story for a different post. But the title does not refer to the fact that there are No Moe's in Vero. Oh no! The title refers to an adventure similar to a roller coaster that resulted from our visit to Moe's in Ashland, KY.
See, we had the five of us, Nanny, Papaw, Betty, Tom, Terri, Brad and Amber descend upon Moe's mid afternoon on Wednesday, December 28th. Coats and purses abounded, and all were gathered up except for Emily's purse. Now, Emily isn't used to carrying a purse, but with her driver's permit, family pictures, school ID, and about $48 in Christmas money inside that purse, it was pretty cool to be able to lug it around.

Like I say, Emily's purse never left Moe's. Emily didn't realize that fact until Thursday afternoon, when suddenly she couldn't find her purse. Having stayed at Terri & Alvin's house some, and at Nanny & Papaw's house some didn't help the search any. We looked everywhere. Emily insisted that she had her purse Wednesday evening at home. Not so much. Despite her protestations, we took her to Moe's Thursday afternoon to talk with the employees there. Lo and behold, they had indeed found her purse right after we left Wednesday, and put it on the desk in the back office. Only problem was, it wasn't there now. No worries, the night manager probably put it somewhere, and he would be in at 5:00 PM, so we could check back with them then. We did, but to no avail. Joe (Moe's night manager) had never seen the purse. Adam (one of Moe's managers) saw it on the desk as of 5:00 PM Wednesday, but now, the purse had magically disappeared. Alvin knows Randy, the general manager for Moe's in Ashland, and a conversation with him brought about a more intense search, but alas, as of our departure from Ashland at 11:00 PM Thursday, December 29th, no purse had been recovered. I understand that Adam even dug through the garbage in search of the wayward purse. Kinda bums me that they don't have a secure location for lost and found items, and I would hate to think that a Moe's employee decided they like the purse (or the contents) and took it for themselves. Anyway, Emily takes full responsibility for leaving her purse there to start with, and while not thrilled about having to get replacement ID's (nor at the thought of losing $48, all her makeup, family picutres, etc.), she is doing very well. Much more mature in her response than I would have been. I always keep my purse close to my side, though, and that is a story for another post as well.

There are plenty of pictures from our Ashland visit up on my FLICKR site.

More excitement and a final overview/wrap-up of our visit will come in my next post which probably won't happen until next year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sweet 16, part two

When Emily first met Ethan Amerine at Old Orchard Church of Christ, they were in the nursery. Ethan came up to her and said, "Hi my name is Ethan, do you want to slide?" So, what better activity for Emily's Sweet 16th Birthday than to go to Charles Russell Elementary School's playground and slide? The FLICKR site has many more pictures from the playground and from our visit with Gran on Emily's birthday.

As previously stated, we ate lunch at Texas Roadhouse with the Amerines, the Reeves, Sahib, the Parkers, the Dixons, and the Bellomys. Great lunch, including throwing the peanut shells on each other. The ice cream cake from Dairy Queen was enjoyed by all over at Nanny & Papaw's house afterwards, along with lots of laughs (and no gasses).

After the party broke up, we went to see Gran. It was a nice visit, and Gran was having a good day. He enjoyed being around us all, and we had a great time visiting with him. These daily visits are the highlight of our trip to Ashland.

Then, we were off to pick up Ethan and head for the playground. After many slides, monkey bars, and fun (some of which I am not allowed to show, but ask me about the picture of Peggy on the "monkey slide"), we headed back to Nanny's house for Apples To Apples.

Elliott, Ian, Emily and Bradley went to the Ashland Invitational Tournament to see the Tomcats' victory over Letcher County. The rest of us just hung out here at Nanny's. The evening was topped off by a visit from Cheryl, Whitney and Chris. I've been asked to perform Chris and Whitney's wedding ceremony sometime in October 2006 (the date hasn't been set yet). Of course I will do that!

Tomorrow's agenda includes a grandkid portrait, visit to The Mustard Seed Christian Bookstore, and to Ashland Sporting Goods. Yeehaw (Junction)!

Sweet 16

This picture captures the day quite well. I'll post more on the events of Emi's Sweet 16th birthday later. Suffice it to say that she spent some time with her husband, Ethan, and that's all you need to know for now.

Sweet 16 Eve

Day Two of the Ashland Trip, and we have rested up in order to feel almost human now. I slept like a rock, and Peggy talked about the dried drool on her face when she awoke. Elliott spent the night with the Parkers, while the rest of us stayed at Nanny & Papaw's.

A visit to the nursing home with Gran was a hoot. We had 11 of us around a table for four in the dining room. Gran grinned from ear-to-ear the whole time, and we spent lots of time laughing and enjoying each other's company. Most of the discussion around the table centered around bodily functions and gasses (imagine that)!

Papaw, Ian and I went back home while Peggy, Elliott, Emily, Terri, Amber and Brad went shopping for some University of Kentucky t-shirts to be used in a family photo of the grandkids scheduled for Wednesday.

Jim & Debbie Reeves came by for a visit, and we spent more time around a table telling funny stories, exchanging bodily function (gas) stories and just enjoying a good time together.

Of course Emily has been beside herself all day long, the last day of being 15. Yes, tomorrow, our baby turns Sweet 16. We are meeting the Amerines for lunch so Emily will be able to see her "husband" Ethan. Yeah, they got married when they were three and four years old. Oh how funny!

Tonight, we will watch some football, since it is the LAST Monday Night Football Game on ABC and since Emily's "man" (Tom Brady) is playing. Then it will be off to bed so we can be ready for the big birthday celebration tomorrow. Yeah, it keeps getting better each day we are here.

The Long And Winding Road

We have made it to Ashland, KY, safe and sound and now can call it a night. We left at midnight Christmas Eve/Christmas Day and arrived in Ashland at 2:20 Christmas Afternoon. We went out to eat at Ponderosa with Peggy's parents and then visited some family before coming back to the Dixon Palace on Chessie Dr. in Beautiful Westwood.

Peggy's sister Terri and her clan came over and we exchanged gifts topping off the wonderful day known as Christmas.

Our drive north was relatively uneventful, although Elliott got the short end of the stick on the driving shift deal. He drove from Charolette, NC, to Wythville, VA, getting to experience the dense fog of the Appalachian Mountains, and drivers who could get out and walk beside their car for all the speed with which they were driving. Oh boy, did we almost have to change our shorts after coming upon those cars, not being able to see them until the very last second.

Anyway, topped off the day with calls from Ed and to Dad to discuss the Blount University t-shirts we sent out to everyone in the family. More details coming soon, it's late and I am dead tired! Merry Christmas!

Oh yeah madness

Oh yeah...2 billion points for the correct reference to the title of the previous post. Obviously we are going beyond the reefs on our Caribbean Cruise in June, so ya gotta do better than that.

Peggy's oral surgery went very well yesterday. She is a little swollen this evening, and is taking pain meds accordingly, but is doing very well indeed. The doc seems pleased with the procedure which took less than an hour! I didn't finish all the work I brought with me to the waiting room while she was back there!

Ian's rib cage is getting re-aligned, and he has one more visit to the chiropractor this week (Thusrsday) before we head out for the Christmas Break. Elliott and Abi have returned to Kissimmee since she has to be at work in the morning, and he has to go on to Taveres tomorrow afternoon. Elliott will return to Vero Beach on Thursday. It has been an interesting visit, and one that I hope has been pleasing for Elliott and Abi. Let's just say that Peggy and I laid our cards on the table, eh? Oh well, Peggy's meds are kicking in, so it must be time to go snuggle with her in the bed. Sweet Dreams everyone!

Reef Er Madness

So, I'm sitting at the dinner table having just fixed a good ole sketti dinner for the six of us (yeah, Elliott and Abi were still here), and the phone rings. It is the President of the VBHS Choral Parents' Association calling to see if we would serve as chaperones for the chorus competition cruise to Cozumel and Beliz next June. Can you say 25th wedding anniversary cruise? Can you say one that we can afford? Can you say "YES!"? We did! Words do not adequately express our excitement!

Chirstmas Program/Open House Madness

Whew! Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity, and man is it good to have it behind me! We did our children's and youth Christmas program yesterday morning. Our children (ages 3-10) served as our "Angel Choir" leading the congregation (sometimes) in Christmas Carols. Having 20 children up on the platform in church is always an adventure and they did not disappoint. They sang beautifully, and some of the younger ones danced, rolled around on the floor and talked to Mommy from the platform. It was precious, and lots of fun even for the director (me). Three of our teens: Ian Blount, Alison Bartolucci, and Katie Huntsberger performed a four act drama and they were amazing! The church auditorium was packed, and a good time was had by all. Special thanks to my stage crew who took care of all the set changes in between acts and while the children were singing. Things went as smooth as silk.

Then, we Blounts raced home to eat some leftover Big Apple Pizza and to put the finishing touches on the house. I swept the pool deck, vacuumed the pool, dusted furniture, ran the sweeper in the house and whatever else Peggy told me to do, while she was working feverishly as well. Elliott and Abi arrived about 4:15, just after I had returned from picking up the party trays of chicken, subs, and smaller sandwiches. Then our brothers and sisters from VCC started arriving shortly after five o'clock. We counted at least 60 who came through the doors of the Fabulous Blount Mansion yesterday evening, and the fellowship was sweet indeed. Thanks to all who came by, and thank you for the kind comments about the house and the spread. It truly was our desire to say thanks and Merry Christmas to our church family in this way.

So, today, Peggy has her oral surgery for the third time this year. Yep, they're gonna take a piece off of the roof of her mouth and attach it around the gum by where her root canal was done to see if they can finally cover up those still exposed roots! We travel to Stuart, FL, to a periodontist this time, and I am confident that this will FINALLY take care of the situation. Oh yeah, and Ian goes to the chiroprtacor this morning as his rib cage has slid out of place again. Lovely times for sure!

This week sees the Christmas Eve Communion Service (most of which is planned out already), and me doing some sermon work for New Year's Day, before we head out to Ashland early Christmas Morning.

May God bless you and your family in this Holy Season of Christmas.

Kentucky Madness!

Kentucky 73, Louisville 61

I was conducting a funeral service this afternoon, and didn't even set a tape up to record the game. Bummer, man! But I have read the early write-up at Kentucky.com! Oh yeah, baby! Kentucky madness is reigning this week. Go Cats!

December Madness

Why wait till March, when you can start the madness now? Just the typically way over-busy season leading up to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. This year, the assault on Christmas seems to be more open, but the response to that assault seems to be more firm in resolve. I make it a point to say "Merry Christmas" to everyone, everywhere these days. There is no "holiday tree" up at my house, it is a Christmas Tree. Speaking of which, we finally broke down and retired our old tree after nearly 20 years of service. We loved that old tree, but it was truly time to move on. So, we got a pre-lit 7 1/2 foot artificial tree that makes life much easier on the decorating and tear down situation with the tree. Because we wrapped each branch of the old tree in lights, just putting on the lights alone took a couple of hours. Now, open up the tree, plug in the electric cords, and you are ready! I'll take a picture of the tree in a few days, and post it so you can see the beauty of our new tree.

We actually have our Christmas Cards and a few gifts that we needed to mail already out! I took them to the post office yesterday. They were already out of the "religious stamps" (as the postal worker called them), so I had to settle for holiday cookies stamps. That stinks! But, the bottom line is, we have already mailed out our Christmas Cards. This has to be the earliest we have ever gotten them out!

Emily is going out on her first official date on Friday. She is excited, and it is a very big deal around here. The guy who is taking her out is a good friend of hers (and she has had a crush on him much longer than she wants to admit). We know the family through the high school chorus, and they are very actively involved in their church. It should be a fun time and a big night for my baby girl. Oh boy. I am so NOT ready for all of this!

Ian just got his class ring a week ago. It is beautiful (and it should be for what it cost!), and he proudly wears it. He has been extra busy with show choir over the past couple of weeks, not to mention the holiday concert that Emily and he were in with the full chorus last week. The same show on two different nights. Oh yeah, and we worked the Exchange Club/High School Chorus Christmas Tree Lot on several other nights during the past two weeks. Did I mention that we were in the middle of December Madness?

Elliott and Abi will be here on Sunday. Abi is going to stay with us for a couple of days, and then Elliott will go to her parents' home a couple of days after New Year's. Elliott has officially finished with finals at school now, but has to stay to teach guitar lessons at the Community Music School through Friday. He then heads to Traveres for his weekend ministry at Mid-Lakes, but should be home Sunday mid-afternoon.

Speaking of Sunday...the children and youth Christmas program takes place Sunday morning at 10. The children are singing several songs, and leading the congregation in several other Christmas songs. Ian, Alison and Katie are doing a four act drama that is very powerful, and other teens will help with being stage hands, to serving Communion. It should be an interesting service. Then, Sunday afternoon/evening from 5:00 until 8:00, the Fabulous Blount Mansion will be the scene of our Christmas Open House. Peggy is stressing over details of getting the house ready (we are having our garage door replaced as I type this, but that is a whole 'nuther story). She has postponed her periodontal surgery from Friday to Monday to be better able to prepare for Sunday (and to help Emily get ready for her date on Friday). Did I mention that we are in the middle of December Madness?

The Florida Christian Youth Convention has come and gone, and I am busy in the midst of preparing for next year. I serve as the President of the Convention in 2006. Whew. December Madness 2006 has already started!

We Blounts plan to be on the road to Ashland, KY, no later than 6:00 AM Christmas Morning, having taken care of Christmas Eve Worship Services in two different churches before heading out. Yes, VCC is having a worship service Christmas morning, but I have a vacation day that day, and the five of us (Elliott included) will head north to spend a few days with family. We will return on Friday, December 30th since Elliott has to be at Mid-Lakes on December 31st. Whew! Did I mention that we are in the middle of December Madness?

Throughout it all, we are focused on the Christ. May this blessed season remind you of God's great love. Tell someone you see today, "Merry Christmas" and let the atheists know that we will not kowtow to their ridiculous, shrill whining!

Ride It Like A Pontiac

Elliott has now joined that not-so-exclusive club of those who are making monthly car payments. Having determined that Hope needed to be retired, Elliott and Peggy went shopping on the Friday following Thansksgiving, and came up with this sweet lookin' 2001 Pontiac Grand Am GT. Leather interior, sunroof, it is tricked out, for sure.

Now, all he has to do is make the payments for the next 60 months! Welcome to car payment land, Dude!

Thanksgiving

As we enter this Thansgiving Holiday Week and as I am not so great at keeping this blog updated even though there are plenty of things going on in the lives of DaBlounts, let me take a few minutes to express thanks.

First of all I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus for saving me from my sins, and for continuing to put up with me. Jesus, I am so unworthy of Your love...I guess that's what makes You God's Son because You love me in spite of myself!

Peggy, your love for me is surpassed only by the love of Jesus. I cannot believe that I am so blessed as to be married to you. Your beauty is far deeper than your skin, although that is quite beautiful as well. The past 24-plus-years of marriage have been the greatest time of my life. I am just so thrilled that you are still willing to be seen in public with me!

Elliott, Ian, and Emily: you three are more precious to me than words can ever express! God has blessed me immensely by giving me the privilege of being your earthly dad. I know that I have messed that up at every opportunity, but please know that I love each of you dearly, and NOTHING can ever change that. I love watching you grow in Christ. Each of you have so much to offer the Kingdom of God, please keep your focus on Jesus and do your best for Him every single day of your lives.

To my brothers and sisters in Christ who encourage me daily: you are too numerous to name, and I would forget someone (you know how my memory is). Scattered all over the planet (literally), I could not survive this thing called life without your words of encouragement, your prayers, and your love in Christ that is showered upon me on a regular basis.

To my earthly family (extended version): thank you for showing me how to be a man, a husband, a father. Thank you for putting up with my stubbronness, with my perfectionsit tendancies, and with my self-deprecation. Thank you for allowing me to be part of the family, since I have never had any "in-laws" only a second set of parents and another sister to go along with that wacky Blount clan from which I came. Thank you Dad for loving me and adopting me into the Blount clan. The greatest compliment I can get physically is when someone says that I look like you. To my Bros and my Sis: you guys rawk! We haven't always gotten along (as siblings are wont to do), but you have finally "seen the light" and come around...see, I you I was right. HA!

To the youth and children's sponsors at VCC: you are the greatest! Thank you for investing yoour lives in the lives of our children!

To the youth and children at VCC: thanks for keeping me young! I love hanging out with you. You guys are so much more fun than the "old fogies!"

To the parents of children and youth at VCC: thank you for letting me hang out with your children. I pray that our time together brings them closer to Christ and reinforces what you are teaching them daily, since it is primarily YOUR responsibility to teach them about Christ!

To those of you reading this blog who don't think you fit in any of the above categories: you are wrong! You belong in there somewhere, and I love you dearly. Thanks for reading this. Sorry you are so bored that you had nothing else to do today.

Birthday Cupcakes

Ian17bday00
Originally uploaded by blountman.

Ian's 17th birthday celebration started a little early, as we brought in the Darth Vadar Cupcakes during youth groups on Sunday night, Nov. 6th. Ian's actualy birthday is Nov. 7th, but an event like this is too big to be contained in one day. Elliott made the drive down from Kissimmee to spend the evening (and night) with us to join in on the celebration. There were 19 of us celebrating in the high school room at the church, and many of us then went to the party palace of Vero Beach...Taco Bell, for a lovely birthday dinner celebration! Ian rocks. It is so difficult for me to realize that he is 17 now! YIKES! More birthday pictures can be seen on my FLICKR site.

Wilma Aftermath

Well, I must say, Hurricane Wilma is certainly interesting to look at, eh? We held services yesterday at VCC complete with electricity in the building (as of 7PM Friday)! Attendance was the best it has been in a month, with 155 people gathered for worship. As of 3PM Saturday, the last of our members had electricity restored to their homes. Most of us suffered only minor damage, although we do have one church member who had part of his roof peeled back by the winds, so there is significant damage there.

I had several very nice comments following my sermon yesterday morning as we examined 1 Samuel 17, and the difference between viewing things as obstacles or opportunities. My sincere thanks to all who were so kind in their comments following the sermon. Youth and children's groups went off last night with decent attendance, and with kids back in school all up and down the Treasure Coast today, we are slowly getting back to "normal" around here. CIY DVD's are done, and will be distributed this week, so I have one more major project under my belt. Whew! Now, to head to the doc's today for a regular checkup, and to go pick up my pre-ordered copy of the latest Veggie Tales DVD, "Lord of the Beans"!!! I am so excited!

Play Misty For Me

Wilma05
Originally uploaded by blountman.

This is one of 11 Hurricane Wilma pictures posted on my flickr account. I also have uploaded Emily's new school picture, and will have Ian's new school picture as soon as I get it.

It's Friday and while we have power and phones at the house, we still have no electricity at the church building. We may well have a Sunday worship service in fellowship hall just like we did on the Sundays following Frances and Jeanne last year. Woo-hoo!

Post Wilma Post

Well, Wilma has come and gone, and as of this posting, we finally have electric power and phones back at the Fabulous Blount Mansion. Our power came back on yesterday evening, while the phones were out until around noon today. I have spoken with many of the VCC folks and most of them are now back up and running with power and phones, while there are still several who are without and are using generators. Steve Macaluso loaned us their generator Tuesday night after power was restored to their house. What a blessing! It is a big generator that we could run most of the house on (except the stove, A/C, etc.) including judicious use of the hot water tank. Hot showers! A luxury far too often that is taken for granted, let me tell you! We have helped pass that blessing on to the Dyes who are still without power. The church building is still without power, so we may well have worship services in fellowship hall Sunday morning! Ah, another acoustic worship set in fellowship hall. Good times for sure!

Well, I have tons more sermon work to finish up, just wanted to update you on the latest happenings. Praise God for cool weather here (daytime highs have been around 70, and overnight lows in the upper 40's). Much nicer weather to be without power than last year's post Frances and Jeanne sweltering days!

VCC work crew

We cleaned the church property! Spending about 2 1/2 hours picking up debris, raking and sweeping, we got most of the church property looking pretty good. The Work Crew from left to right is: Kyle Aldhizer, Glorida Wojtaszek, Ian Blount, Anne Martinelli, Jillian Martinelli, Lyndsey Wojtaszek, Jessica Martinelli, Peggy Blount, Turtle, and Emily Blount. Great job, gang!

Wilma 10

2 screen sections ripped from the winds. No other damage to the pool enclosure. Peggy "loved" the fact that I was out on the pool deck during the storm. She was afraid that this skinny little boy would blow away in the wind. HA! Wilma was no match for me!

Wilma 09

The palm that leaned during Frances last year & was straightened again didn't like Wilma! This is the closest thing to major damage we got from the Cat 1 winds of Wilma at the house...the church building took on other damage, which I will detail in a later post.

Hunkered Down

Well, it's Sunday night, and the house is boarded up. I am not putting up the plywood on the windows of the house inside the screened-in pool enclosure, but every other window of the house is boarded up in anticipation of the early morning arrival tomorrow of Hurricane Wilma. Since I have put the plywood up, we probably won't get much wind, but that's okay, too. Ian and I put them all up over a three day period. Yesterday, Braxston helped us with some of the windows, and today Turtle helped us with the dining room window, which I saved until the last minute so we wouldn't have the room so dark. It was around five o'clock this evening when we put the plywood up on that puppy. Now, we are just gonna watch some DVD's (including the CIY Summer Conference Trip DVD I have FINALLY finished producing), eat some junk food and "hunker down" while Wilma blows through. Catch ya on the other side of the storm!

Nerd Wanna Be

So, I took the test via Lil Bro's blog. Here are the reults:


I knew I would be a nerd wanna be. I know that I am a nerd wanna be. I have enough nerd in me to get by, but not enough to be a true nerd.

As we keep an eye on Hurricane Wilma (who at the time of this writing is a Cat 5 with 175 mph winds), I am starting some early prep. If Wilma follows the projected forecast path as of this morning, we should feel some pretty strong winds, and get a lot of rain this weekend. Fun times ahead. And we thought we were gonna get through this Hurricane Season virtually untouched. Oops!

Baby, What A Big Surprise

Peggy was wondering why I didn't blog yesterday in light of our surprise visit Sunday afternoon-Monday morning from our long-lest eldest child. Yes, Elliott made our weekend by dropping in to watch some football & baseball (sorry Ed, he was happy about the results of the longest game in MLB plyaoff history) and do some laundry. It is the first time this semester that Elliott has been able to come home. Between his extremely busy school schedule and his new ministry with Mid-Lakes Christian Church, we truly don't expect him to be back in Vero Beach until Thanksgiving. It was such a great surprise! Things are going very well for him with his new ministry, and we enjoy getting the church newsletter so much. This is a church on the move for Jesus, and has a leadership with a vision for moving ahead to the next level of excellence in the name of the Lord.

Elliott and I talked a good part of Monday morning about church-related stuff both Mid-Lakes and VCC, and it was so good to be able to do that with him. In fact, when Elliott pulled out of the driveway to head back to Kissimmee, he said, "I'll call you and we can talk some more." I had barely gotten back in the house when my cellphone rang...it was Elliott. We talked for another hour before I finally told him that I needed to get in the shower and actually go to work! How cool!

Reaching back into the memory banks going to Saturday, the memorial service for Tom Lockwood was a true celebration. Tom's passing is a great loss for our church family, and a great gain for heaven. The packed sanctuary, and overflow crowd into the welcome center was testiment to his impact on lives. I cannot thank Lou Ann and Sue enough for allowing me to play a small role in that service. Without a doubt, that is the best example of how we who do not mourn without hope could express our loss while celebrating Tom's gain. Getting to take Lauren out for some teen stuff afterwards (we were gonna play some football, but didn't have enough to play, so we went to watch some Rec League Football instead), was a privilege in ministry that I was so thankful to be able to do, too!

Continue to remember Danny Dye and his family at the passing of Danny's Mom, Dorothy. Her visitation was Saturday night and funeral on Sunday in Ripley, Ohio. I know this has been one of the most difficult season's of Danny's life, and I pray for the peace of our Lord Jesus to shower upon him, upon Pat and upon Dana. I love them so much, and hurt for them so dearly. Danny called me using the Google Talk feature on his laptop while in the Columbus, OH, airport yesterday to thank Peggy and me for the flowers we sent for his Mom's funeral. That truly touched me, that he would call from the airport to express his thanks...well, it shows the depth of his character.

Then skipping back ahead to last night: our first Elders/Deacons meeting with the new crew went very well. I look forward to Steve Huntsberger's leading of these sessions. The highlights inclulde the approval of audio/visual equipment needed for the move to temporary facilities (and beyond). YAY, Dan! Of course the night was topped off by the California Angels eliminating the Evil Empire from the American League Division Series, thus making it easier to sleep (as the Ambien fought off the prednisone and won).

This morning, we have a staff meeting with Steve Huntsberger to start putting together the moving plan for the office as well as other administrative issues to be worked out. I have a follow up doc's visit from my poison ivy bout (I am much better today thank you very much), and then it is serious study time today.

I am listening to the Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And the Wardrobe soundtrack, and I must say IT ROCKS! Hope you have a great day, and hope you will post a comment. Five music trivia points...no make that 5,000 music trivia points (the points are made up and don't matter anyway) to the first person to identify the lead singer of the title song for this post.

Two in one week?

Yeah, I know, don't faint. I am actually blogging again today.

The medicine-induced roller coaster has been interesting to say the least. This week, as I fight the ravages of my poison ivy, I take 20 mg. of prednisone twice a day (at breakfast and at supper). The prednisone makes me shaky (okay shakier than usual), as it hypes my body up. Dr. Fischman warned me that this would happen, that's why he also prescribved me Ambien to help me sleep at night. So, I am either shaking in the hyper state of being, or zombie-ized from the sleeping pill. Pretty interesting existence to say the least.

I have spent a good part of the week working on Christian Ed matters like class plans for our move to the Galaxy 12 Theatres, lesson materials (I edit daily student devos and weekly family devos that we give out to our families here at VCC), and general administrative stuff that way. I also have spent a lot of time working on the Memorial Service for Tom Lockwood which takes place tomorrow. Tom's quiet witness for Christ deserves the best kind of Memorial Service we can give him, and I am confident that his daughter Lou Ann has put together a wonderful service, even if I am involved in it. I put a Power Point cleebration of Tom's Life together, have the Scripture readings, obituary reading, and will sing "I Can Only Imagine" as well as closing out the service. Several folks have been asked to speak in celebration of Tom's life. It will be a very special service.

Yesterday, I got to see my "kid" Whitney Bowe. Whit, now a school teacher in the Fairview School District in Ashland, KY, is one of my former youth group kids who actually does stay in active contact with me over the years. Hint, hint to those who read this blog, yet never or rarely respond.
Whintey and Chris are coming over for dinner tonight. This will be at least the 2nd time they have done that over the past couple of years. hint, hint.

Please remember Danny Dye and his family in prayer after the passing of his Mom, Dorothy, this week. The visitation is Saturday and the funeral service Sunday in Ripley, Ohio.

Now that you are totally caught up on this exciting life of mine, leave me a comment, eh?

Long Time, No Blog

Okay, we are now well into October, the blended worship service deal is in full swing at VCC. There were lots of nice comments about the service and about my sermon on Oct. 2nd and that is all very well and good. The bottom line, however, is that we had the LOWEST attended worship service in four years on Sunday, Oct. 2nd. Just as some of us have tried to warn the powers at be for some time, anytime you reduce the number of services offered, you will reduce the number of people attending worship. I pray that this trend reverses itself this coming Sunday with Florida Christian College's Bill Behrman preaching.
Dan and the praise team did a great job in leading the song service. Much better than I was afraid they would having heard the practice on Wednesday. I am cautiously optimistic that things will slowly swing the way they need to go in doing a true blend of contemporary music with older music. So far the closest thing to a contemporary song in the first two Sunday is a song copyrighted 1989. A sixteen year-old-song is NOT contemporary. I understand the need to go slow, I just hope it doesn't go too slow in bringing in contemporary music to the worship service. Ah well, not my worry, eh?
Yard work Saturday included trimming tree branches from the wooded lot behind our house that were hanging over the fence. I also got my first good dose of poison ivy since moving to Florida. So, yesterday, I got the prednisone shot, and have the full gamut of meds to fight it off, since I am highly allergic to poison ivy!
Well, time to get ready for work, now the that sleeping pill has worn off (yeah, it's part of the poison ivy regimine).

Clearing the Air

Okay, so I have had a few people from VCC asking about recent posts on my blog. They didn't leave comments, but they have lovingly questioned me, out of concern. Let me clear the air:

I believe that God called me to ministry at VCC. That call is as clear today as it was in May of 2000. Nothing has changed in that regard. Have I been less than happy with the way some things have gone lately? Yes. Am I over it? Pretty much. I still have my bad days just like anyone else, but I still believe that God called me to ministry at VCC.

There are lots of changes taking place these days, and change always brings with it, discomfort. I am praying that God helps me as I move out of my comfort zone, and that He will clearly show me what He wants, so that I can line up my will with His. I am looking forward to getting back into a teaching situation with pre-schoolers in December. I am looking forward to working out the children's and youth Christmas program. I am looking forward to taking the teens to FCYC in December, to Impact Weekend at Florida Christian College in February, to Middle School Believe Conference in March, and to gearing up for summer camp at Lake Aurora and CIY Summer Conference. I look forward to rolling on the floor with the pre-school children on Sunday mornings, and banging my head with teens at Christian Concerts.

So, I hope this helps folks understand that while I have had my stormy times, I am at peace with where I am, and why I am here. God is good.

What a Weekend

What do you get when you combine a memorial service for a dear sister in Christ who has passed on, a state ministers' association luncheon at Florida Christian College, the Florida Christian Convention in Kissimmee, and having the college president preach at your church, with a chance to meet your oldest son's girlfriend's parents for the first time? Our weekend from Friday, Sept. 16 through Sunday Sept. 18th!

I led in some songs for the memorial service on Friday morning to honor Nancy Dodson, a dear sister in Christ who has gone to be with the Lord. I miss her a lot, but I am so glad she is at rest following a battle with Lukemia. Peggy and I had to leave the service a little bit early so we could get to Florida Christian College for the state minister's assocation meeting/luncheon. Ric Huxford, the minister of outreach at Swiss Cove Christian Church in Jacksonville, spoke and sang to the ministers and their wives. It was a great luncheon...very encouraging, and very needed. We saw Abi at the lunch, and she wanted to introduce us to her parents, but first we spent some time speaking with one of the newer professors at FCC, Dr. Les Hardin. Les was the youth minister at Gateway Church of Christ in St. Albans, WV, many moons ago, and we did a NYLC trip to Joplin together one year. It was so wild seeing him and realizing that Elliott's Greek Professor is a YM bud from years ago!

We then did have the opportunity to be formally introduced to Dave and Jan Pardue, and felt an immediate connection that goes beyond the fact that our children are dating one another. Dave is the preacher at the Christian Church In The Wildwood and we immeidately knew that we had great friends in Christ as we spoke with Dave and Jan. We had plans for lunch together on Saturday, but as we made dinner plans with Elliott (can you say "Welcome to Moe's?"), we wound up brining the Pardues into those plans. Abi could not go with us, because of duties she had with the Florida Christian Convention, but the meal was wonderful, and we won't even talk about the desert at Coldstone Creamery afterwards.

Finally, it was time for the convention to begin. The song service Friday night was the crowd favorite of the weekend, a stirring rendition of hymns, led by Eli Reyes and the Southside Christian Church praise team. FCC President Harold Armstrong gave a stirring message on the history of the Christian Church in the state of Florida. Friday night after the first session of the covnention, Peggy and I went over to Elliott's apartment, where we had a great visit with Elliott, Tyler and Andrew. Nice gift idea planted in my head, there, Andrew! We left the apartment close to midnight and headed to our motel room to crash for a couple of hours before the Saturday sessions of the convention got underway.

Saturday's morning schedule included a panel discussion on evangelism and outreach issues that was very good. We also got to see lots of folks from around the state we know and love, and then the morning worship session (my personal favorite) included contemporary songs and a message about where the church is today by Paul Williams. This was by far my favorite session of the convention (not that the others were bad). Then, it was the planned lunch with the Pardues and the Blounts...the six of us, heading to Sonny's for some bar-b-que. Another great visit, then the kids were off again quickly because of their commitments to the convention and to Mid-Lakes Christian Church (more on that in a minute). We headed back to the convention site, and hooked up with the Collins family from VCC, hanging out with them for the afternoon worship service. The song service was a little more post modern in flavor, not a crowd favorite, but I am glad it was done. Dave Ferguson's message on the emerging church was delivered via video as an emergency had come up precluding his ability to travel to Florida. As things ended shortly after 3 o'clock that afternoon, convention president Aaron Chambers had folks in the crowd place their hands on the ministers and spouses in the crowd and pray for them. Made me cry. Dirty dog!

Peggy and I had planned to go to Mid-Lakes Christian Church because Elliott is now leading the contemporary worship service there on Saturday nights. Since we were only 50 miles away, it made sense for us to head up to see Elliott in action. Abi wanted to go, and we offered to take her up with us, since we would come right back by the college on our way home. Abi's parents then decided they would go, as did Abi's brother, sister-in-law, neice and nephew, so we had a big crew of Elliott supporters heading to the church Saturday evening. Now, the Pardues have been family friends with the preacher at the Mid-Lakes Christian Church and his family for many years, so it was like a family homecoming. Good times for sure. Elliott's breaking of a guitar string during worship wouldn't have been all that funny except that the guitar wasn't Elliott's. He had to borrow one since he had left his guitar locked in a music practice room at the college. Oh how funny!

The most disappointing aspect of the weekend? Our attempted trip to Taco John's. I say the attempted trip because the placed was closed by 9 o'clock on a SATURDAY NIGHT! Major disappointment as I was looking forward to some famous green sauce on some burrito. Had to settle for a hamburger joint instead. Enjoyed the extra visit with Elliott and Abi, but the lack of Taco John's was a true bummer. Then, we dropped Elliott back off, headed for Kissimmee with Abi, dropped her at the college, and headed for Vero Beach, arriving home at 12:30am!

After what was not nearly enough sleep, it was time to get things ready for the two Sunday morning worship services, and the Bible Class I teach. Harold Armstrong preached, and it was wonderful. Both services went very well. Emily drove home from church, a first for her. Much more excitement is involved in that story, but it is a family story only. Sorry. After what was much too short of a nap, it was time to get ready for youth groups, which was very well attended, then Emily and I ended the weekend with the viewing of the 1931 movie, "Dracula" with Bela Lugosi. Props to Lil Bro Ed for the Netflix hookup making this movie viewing possible!
I had sweet dreams as I headed for la-la land that night.

Wow, this is a long post. Hope it thrills you to read it. It was a great weekend, and this sorry attempt to describe it doesn't come close to doing it justice.

Hold Me Jesus

My second favorite songwritier of all time, Rich Mullins, (Elliott Blount is my favorite, okay?) wrote:
"Hold me Jesus, cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory, won't You be my Prince of Peace?"

Even with the latest Switchfoot and Audio Adrenaline CD's having just come out, and all the time I have spent listening to them to do reviews for a newsletter to which I contribute, this old Rich Mullins tune is stuck in my head today. It is so comforting.

There has been a pretty big whirlwind blowing around in my life these days, thus the relative few updates on this blog. What it all boils down to (doesn't it always) is: submit to God's Will. God has planted me in this place at this time, for HIS purpose. I was in the whining mode, trying to get God to make things fall into place the way I thought they should. I am such a doofus. I should have realized that a lack of response to a written proposal means that the "powers at be" aren't interested. I should have realized that the taking away of one of my personal favorite ministry areas so I could "concentrate" on other ministry areas was a way of showing me where things were going for me here. I finally wised up when I realized that my back is not being covered by those in the position to do so if I am to deal with the "adults" in our congregation on a regular basis. Should've known.


"Hold me Jesus, cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory, won't You be my Prince of Peace?"

I Passed!

Well, I didn't hear from the doc yesterday, and got in much trouble with my Bride for not having checked in on my stress test. Guess I was too stressed to remember.

Anyway, I got a call this morning after I ran back by the house. I had been at the hospital for Ruby Shaffer's surgery (which went wonderfully well), and a visit with Elaine Waldschmidt at Atlantic Rehab. So, the call from Dr. Fischman's office confirmed that I do indeed have a heart. There has been some doubt lately. Not only that, but my heart is apparently normal. "No heart problems," was the word. If they only knew...

Stress Tested

Well, now I am just awaiting the results...did I pass, Doc, did I pass? I'll have to wait until Monday to know for sure. I took the resting part of my stress test yesterday, and took a nap while resting (Sleep being my favorite spiritual discipline). This morning, after getting sandpapered down - yess, the actually use some type of sandpaper on you before hooking the sensor patches to your chest, sides and stomach, can you say "tender"? -poked in the hand for the IV, then I got to hit the treadmill until my heart rate got to 150 beats per minute, then they injected me with the radioactive juice, and had me walk for at least one more minute to get the juice to my heart. I breathed like I was excercising, but it really was not a big deal. Then, I got to eat my snack (peanutbutter and crackers), drink some water, and wait until it was time for me to let the big ole heart imaging camera map my heart. I had that part yesterday, too, so they can compare the resting shots with the "stressed" shots. All in all, I was out in about two hours. It will hurt more to pull the tape off my hand - can you say "hairs"? - than even getting the needle put in or going through the treadmill excercise.

Emily has had a migraine trying to get to her this morning, so I will check on her, get ready for work, and go at it.

Did I pass, doc, did I pass?

Emily Drives

Lesson number five: parking spaces & backing up in the rain. Several A plus parking grades.

Driving Miss Emily

In the midst of many national, regional and personal crises, yesterday was a wonderful break from the ordinary. You see, my Chick-A-Boo got her drivers' permit yesterday, and we went for her first driving lesson. She was petrified at first, more than a little intimidated by driving that "big ole van." She warmed up to it quite nicely though, and our hour's worth of her first driving experience was truly wonderful. It was so cool to watch her glow with excitement as she got the hang of the twisting, turning course through the church parking lot. I am so proud of her!

As much as I know it thrilled her, it thrilled me even more. I look forward to many more driving lessons with Emily, starting with another one today, if I get my act together and get everything done early enough this afternoon for us to have the lesson. Guess that means this post has come to an end.

Oh wait, one more bit of FANTASTIC NEWS: Ian received a postcard of encouragement from his English teacher with grades of a 96 and 100 on two recent tests/essays! YAY Ian!!!! Thursday was the best day I've had in many weeks!