Family

I wanted to post a blog about a subject I don't blog about too frequently, perhaps not often enough...my family.

I am exceedingly proud of my family.

My wife Robyn is absolutely stunning, too beautiful for words, and her compassion, merciful spirit and nurturing ways defy description. After having four children (she can't keep her hands off me), she worked hard (and continues to do so) to get into shape, and...oh, my. Incredibly, her physical charms pale in comparison to her emotional and spiritual strengths. She is the finest wife and mother anyone could ever hope for, and many times I've been asked, "How on earth did you land her?" (That started back in 1989, when Dayton asked that question when Robyn and I started dating.)

Our four children are a blessing (in every sense of the word...), and have brought great joy and exhaustion to our lives. Christian is now 16 (I can't believe that) and will soon be driving, and is very active in the high school band (trumpet) and in the drama department. He's looking forward to driving...God help us...and the school musical this spring, assuming his grades are acceptable. Kate is 12 going on 25, and loves New York City, Broadway, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and several movie stars. She sings and plays both violin and flute, excelling in music in every way she's tried. She's also very interested in politics and history, and follows the election cycles with great interest. Claire is 9 and is still in love with being a little girl. She's sweet, but has a temper that would scare the devil himself, and can be unbelievebaly loud for such a little thing! She loves playing piano and also loves her guinea pig, Cookie. Elliot, 5, is our little madman, who can also be sweet but often has no time for that. He has a devilish twinkle in his eye and is a really cute little boy. He loves cars (he loved the Pixar movie), dinosaurs, and animals of every kind. Thankfully, all of our children look like Robyn, which makes them good looking kids. Their obnoxious sides come from me.

We have three pets...the guinea pig Cookie, the rabbit Snowball, and, the main man, our dog (a minature poodle) Twister. Twister is now 10. We got him while serving near Punxsutawney, PA, from a breeder in...ironically...Jefferson Hills. While driving through the area, I said to Robyn, "Wouldn't this be a nice place to serve?" The Spirit moves in surprisingly humorous ways. At any rate, Twister is a great dog and a true, valued member of the family. There are two kinds of people in the world...cat people, and people who believe in God. Dogs rule!

We've been attending holiday concerts at our children's schools, and while it has been tiring at times, it's been very nice. I'm very, very thankful to have my family, and, despite the typical growing pains which most families experience, to be generally free of major problems (other than the horrible taste in music my children seem to have). I thank God this Christmas for the blessing of my family, and pray his protection upon us all, and the persevering grace of the Holy Spirit, that my children would grow into people who know, love, serve, and walk with Jesus, all the days of their lives and into eternity.