Random Acts of Shifeness

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and support regarding my Aunt Alice. I appreciate each and every one, and I extremely grateful that you take the time to stop by and say what you have to say. 

After returning from St. Louis, it has been a busy week at the Shifley household. The one and only awesome 3-year-old in our house pooped in the toilet. When he showed me his accomplishment I think I scared him because I was so excited about what he did. So it looks like we are getting close to getting this potty training thing knocked off the to-do list.

Kyle also traded in his toddler bed for his bunk bed. He is pretty excited to be in a "big boy" bed and I am pretty excited that it is finally put together. Sweet Lincoln's mullet that was a project. I knew being a parent had some tough times but being the chief engineer on some of these builds can be frustrating on both my mental facilities and my liver. 

Also this week, Little Miss Hayden turned 6-months-old. She is doing well and hitting all the right numbers on the charts. She is growing up so fast and is already starting to accessorize.

• Finding this quote by Bob Marley - "Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." - especially relevant this week. I was hurt recently by a person I have known for a long time, and this person has hurt me numerous times in the past. From my vantage point, I have done a lot for this person but I will no longer be helping out as they are not worth the anguish. It hurts me to do it but it needs to be done.
• Here is a little amusement to balance out some of the humorless points: Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a gun shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says "OK, now what?"
• Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. As we gather with family and friends on Memorial Day, we need to remember to celebrate the blessings of our hard-won freedom and those who made it possible. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

Goodbye Aunt Alice

I am in St. Louis today to pay my final respects to a great lady. My wonderful Aunt Alice passed away this week just shy of her 96th birthday. We knew it was coming but it still does not soften the blow. On the one hand, I am comforted that she is no longer prevented from doing things as the last few years have not been kind as her once-sharp mind and able body fell to the ravages of time and disease. The Shifleys numbers have certainly dwindled over the years, and Aunt Alice was my last connection to that part of my life so watching her deteriorate was certainly upsetting. I was robbed of the opportunity to talk with her as she was too weak to hold a phone much less engage in small talk with me. I still corresponded with her through letters and cards but I greatly missed being able to hold a conversation with her especially about the Cardinals or the Blues.  After my Mom, she is the other woman that had a deep and substantial influence on my life, and without her guidance and support I don’t think I would be where I am at today. Unable to have children of her own, I leaned on her for advice to decide if having kids was something that I really wanted in my life as I had resisted that endeavor for many years. She told me without hesitation that I definitely needed to try and start a family.  She also bailed me out in college when a momentary lapse of sound decision making left me embarrassed and without enough money to finish the semester. I asked for help from others but no one else could lend a helping hand, and Aunt Alice did not make it easy on me. She thought long and hard about it before saying “OK” to really let me know that I had done something irresponsible and it was one of those pivotal moments in my life where I could have been sent adrift but she was there to help keep me on course to complete my studies so I would eventually graduate, and eventually meet the love of my life, the lovely Mrs. Shife. Without Aunt Alice in my life, I have no idea where I would be today, but thankfully her guidance, generosity, and love, I have ended up right where she knew I should be, blessed with the love of wonderful family and friends just like the ones that were here today to say good bye to her. Thank you Aunt Alice for being a role model, an inspiration, and a guiding light in my life and for so many countless others. You will be missed.

Some people come into our lives

and leave footprints on our hearts

and we are never ever the same.  -- Flavia Weedn

P.S. I will visit your blogs soon I promise but it is hard right now as I am out of town and spending time with family. Take care.

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream.

Do You Take This Man?

Gay marriage was kind of a big deal in the news this week. I don't know how you feel on the matter but I support same-sex marriage. I just think it is crazy that in the year 2012 people are being denied their civil rights. As best as I can tell, we only get one ride on the roller coaster of life so if you find that one special person who makes you happy then go for it. Life on Earth can be hard and I think everyone should go be able to go through it with a person they love. You may disagree with my opinion - and that is totally cool - but I just hope your reasons are not because it is in the Bible. As you will read below, it may not be a great idea to do everything the Bible tells us to do. 

On her radio show sometime prior to 2004, Dr. Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant 

Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, 

and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an 

open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the 

Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law.

I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge
with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual
lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly
states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of
God's Law and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They
claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus
21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I
tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A
friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not
Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2.
The passage clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I
don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a
defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my
vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27.
How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me
unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different
crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two
different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse
and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of
getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we
just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people
who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable
expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan,

Anonymous

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

Is May Going to Be The Best Month Ever?

Well at least the best month so far in 2012. Today is Star Wars Day so May the Fourth be with you. Cinco de Mayo, a full moon, and the Kentucky Derby tomorrow. Mother's Day is coming up and warmer weather. Then there is Memorial Day at the end of the month. Not too shabby, huh? I am sure there are a few more awesome days that I am forgetting but May looks promising. So take it from the dumb, white guy that May has all of the possibilities to be legend ... wait for it ... dary. It will be really, really smooth,  everything will fall into place, and you will feel in complete control.

So be positive, enjoy the month, or I am afraid you might end up as a chaperone at a Justin Bieber concert, and nobody wants that.=)

And a special thanks to BuzzFeed for the cool GIFs and inspiration.


P.S. Thank you for the birthday wishes, and during my trip around the blogosphere I ran across some cool music, "Kiss Me" by Ed Sheeran (Thanks RG) and "Storm" by the Yoshida Brothers (Thanks Jay).



I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream.

Take A Chance On Me

For those of you familiar with the ABBA song referenced in the title, I apologize as I know you might have trouble getting that song out of your head.
So it has happened again, I have turned another year older. It certainly beats the alternative and it is nice breaking my days alive streak again.
As I approached this milestone, I found myself thinking quite a bit about being this old. Is there where I thought I would be at this point in my life? Honestly no. I never thought  I wanted to be married, I really never thought I wanted kids, and I really, really never thought I would be at home all day taking care of babies. Fortunately, fate, chance, destiny, or whatever you want to call it thought otherwise, and here I am.
I also realized how often I have lived my life by taking a chance. Hoping that my instincts were right and that I had embarked on the right path.
After I got out of the Navy when I just turned 21, I was still unsure about a lot of stuff including what to do with my life. I literally and figuratively had no clue as to what I wanted to do. I almost joined Army, I almost moved to Las Vegas, I almost went to a small college to play soccer, but then I watched "Animal House."
I knew what I wanted to do.
I wanted to party, and I wanted to be in the Greek system. That is all it took to convince me to go to the University of Idaho. I then joined a fraternity, and if it was not for me trusting my instincts and taking a chance, I have no freakin' idea where I would be right now.
Without the fraternity, I would not have met some of my closest and dearest friends and I would not have met my lovely wife. Taking a chance on love, I decided to forego film school to see if she was the one, and it turns out she was most definitely the one. And without the lovely Mrs. Shife, I would not have two babies that I love with all my heart and that have changed me in such profound ways.
Trust me, I have also taken chances that have not been so fruitful and led to some painful lessons learned. But in the end, all of the chances that I did take were leading me down a grander plan that I could not even comprehend.  As Garth Brooks once sang, "Yes my life is better left to chance. I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance."

Kyle and Hayden discussing the therapeutic effects of Ted E. Bear. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream.

Random Acts of Shifeness

• Well we are feeling less than fabulous at the Shifley household. I don't know where we picked it up but we all got it and it is definitely no bueno. Actually I need to take that because Tank Tank is not sick and he could care less that I am under the weather as he fully insists that we still need to go for our daily 30 minute walks. 
• Besides walking the Tankster every day, I have also started running every day. My goal is to run for 30 straight days and see how I feel. Honestly, some days feel better than others which is no surprise. I have always ran but it was usually just 2-3 times a week but for some reason I thought it was a good idea to run for one month solid. 
• Never saw too much value in a lot of the self-help books because I felt like I would fulfilling a Stephen Wright joke. "I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose." However someone mentioned that I might like the book "Unlimited" by Jillian Michaels, and they were right. So far it has been a great read and really motivating me to achieve some of my goals like working on my book and doing more video production work. 
• I am the winner this year between me and Mrs. Shife of being the one to first turn on the AC. We are having a heat wave this weekend and seeing Little Miss Hayden roasting in her swaddle blanket made me break down. 
• President Obama is gearing up for his presidential campaign. He’s creating a new series of ads. The first ad boasts “Just last week my Secret Service created jobs for 11 Colombian women." –Conan O’Brien
• In honor of 4/20 day, here is a joke about pot: How do you get a one-armed stoner out of a tree?  Wave.
• Well that is all folks. Hope you have a nice weekend and all is well. Thank you for stopping by and talk to you soon.

Kyle Bunga flashing the smile that gets him almost anything he wants. 

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 

April Mayhem

I feel like I need to bust out a Lionel Richie song.

Hello!
Is it me you're looking for?
I can see it in your eyes.
I can see it in your smile.

I was enjoying my little blog break but we also have been pretty busy this month after we just got done with March Madness.

• First we had the post-Kyle's birthday hangover. We all had to detox from the sugar high.
• Then we had his first day of swim lessons. He barely made the cut off for 3-year-olds so we were little concerned that this might be too much for him because he is in the pool all by himself with the instructor and 2 other kids, but so far he is doing OK. The only real problem for him is staying warm because he has no body fat at all.
• Next up was a trip to the doctor for Kyle and Hayden's wellness visits. They are both doing fine and heading in the right direction.
• After that I got a little surprise that one of my stories was published in an anthology to help out a writer friend who had surgery to remove a brain tumor. All the details are here and I appreciate everyone who helped me pick the story.
• We then wrapped up the week by taking Kyle to the dentist, and this had me really worried because I was afraid of bottle mouth. We are bad sometimes and let him take a sippy cup full of juice to bed which is not really good for his teeth. Fortunately everything was OK and he just needs to say bye to his binky, which is another thing he only gets when he takes a nap or goes night night.
• Finally we added "Yo Gabba Gabba" to Kyle's cartoon rotation and I have some really awesome - and I by awesome I mean "This is so awful. My ears are going to sue me." - songs stuck in my head.
  There's a party in my tummy,
  So yummy, so yummy!
  There's a party in my tummy,
  So yummy, so yummy!
• I feel extremely confident in saying that this is the first time I began a blog post with Lionel Richie lyrics and ended it with a Yo Gabba Gabba song. Yay me!!!!
• So how has your April been so far?

Stick 'em up monster ... It is clobberin' time!!!!

I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream.