helpful documents

This little gem is a good read .... and I particularly like the use of CAPITAL LETTERS FOR EMPHASIS!

Good thing neither of my folks has glaucoma or things could have gotten dicey for their treatment plan!

the countdown has started ....

We've been waiting for it and it has finally arrived ..... Mom's Visa!!!!!

No set departure date as of right now, but we anticipate mid-April. 

Stay tuned for plans for a WILD Going-Away Party!!!

Political Science Lesson

The news regarding conflict in the Middle East is confusing so I thought I would help my friends with a brief lesson on Muslim politics.  There are two main constituencies; the Sunnis and the Shiites.  Reading aloud in 9th grade poly-sci there was one kid who inadvertently called them, "the $h*tty Muslims."  Needless to say the teacher darn-near had an aneurysm!  But back to the task at hand ....

Sunni and Shia Muslims share fundamental Islamic beliefs. The difference between them is essentially political and has to do with acceptance of governing authority. Sunni Muslims account for 85% of Muslims in the world. But heavy populations of Shia, or Shiite Muslims, can be found in Iran and Iraq.

“The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. Sunni Muslims state that there is no basis in Islam for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders, and certainly no basis for the veneration or intercession of saints. Sunni Muslims contend that leadership of the community is not a birthright, but a trust that is earned and which may be given or taken away by the people themselves.”

“Shitte, or Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad's death, leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali. Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself.  Shia Muslims believe that the Imam is sinless by nature, and that his authority is infallible as it comes directly from God. Therefore, Shia Muslims often venerate the Imams as saints."

Does that help to clarify?  In short, when Sunnis have the majority of power and elect leaders, the Shia population is not always supporting or following those leaders.  So an oversimplified explanation is that then you might see protests or rebels or insurgents fighting within their own countries.

Extra credit if you can name the mosque in the picture ..... class dismissed!

Let the games begin!

It has arrived!!!!

"ummmmm, what is it?"

Well it's marble!

"ummmmm, marble what?"

It's the new marble back-splash!

"ummmmm, what does it go with?"

Well it goes with the new vanity and the new sink of course!

"ummmmm, where is the vanity and the sink?"

Yeah, right, well -  I dunno exactly.  Apparently shipping all of it together would be too easy ..... but once the pieces start arriving that means Mr. Goetz goes into demolition-mode.  So I don't know how much longer my bathroom has left, but it's fairly safe to say that it won't be part of this world for much longer!  Time to get out the sledge hammer and let the games begin!

Hold your breath ... now just keep holding it .....

Longtime friends had us over last weekend so that we could eat way too much and watch grown men roll around on the floor .... anyone else watch UFC #127 on Saturday?

Anyhoo - the blog came up and the question was dropped; will Mark ever make any posts?!?!?!?

To my surprise his answer was, "I should!" 

I have asked Brodi and Bailey to stage a hunger-protest until Mark actually does post something.  They seem committed to this project and have promised to participate ... right after their 4th nap of the day.  What else should I do?  Start a petition?  Take his TV remote hostage?  Should I threaten to hold my breath?  I suppose I can just wait for the dogs ....

Although, this isn't looking good for me - they're totally not moving...

Working hard for the money!

We all know the saying, "working hard, or hardly working" ... I definitely lean towards the latter, but my Dad is a hard worker.  Per several comments and one request, here is photographic evidence of Dave working hard in Jubail, Saudi Arabia (circa 1983)

David offers words of advice ... to David!

I've been in my current job for almost 5 years.  It's a great job and I am blessed to have it.  However, there are days when I would like to run screaming from the building.  And remember - I have a really great job!  So I can only imagine that for my father starting a new job, with new supervisors and new employees, in a foreign country ..... well, it must feel like a daunting situation.  I'm not wise enough to offer appropriate words of encouragement in this area.  So I have turned to my friend David - yeah, I'm totally on a first-name basis with King David!  The man was a devoted servant of God, a warrior, a husband and a poet.  And David didn't always have it easy and he didn't always do the right thing.  But he always had a way with words:

“Then David continued, ‘Be strong and courageous and do the work.  Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you.  He will see to it that all the work (related to the temple of the Lord) is finished correctly.’ “

-        1 Chronicles 28:20

For me this means that every day we have to do the work, no matter how hard the task before us might seem.  God will help you with your work.  God will help you complete the task.  Any task.  So I'll keep working and y'all out there keep working too and together, with help from the Lord, all of our work will be finished correctly!  Or at least yours will.  Mine is usually a hot-mess of spreadsheets, white-out and notebooks with cookie crumbs smashed in between the pages...