Timothy

I decided that I would write a piece about my oldest son, Tim. I titled this post Timothy, just to get him going. I have a funny story about his name. When he was in the third grade, he and his classmates went to Bible School in a church across the street from school. Yep, they use to do that type of thing in the olden days. On with the story....when it came time to graduate from the Bible School, the teacher made out the little diplomas. I received a call from his teacher one afternoon wanting to know "Allen's" middle name. He decided to change his name when he went there. I always laughed about that, of course I told her, his name was Timothy Allen. I guess he just didn't like the name Timothy. It means Honored of God, and his Dad and I liked the name and it went well with Allen. Allen was his Dad's middle name and was a family name. One of the only person's who could call him "Timmy" was his Grandma, to everyone else it was off limits, or so I thought. A couple of weeks ago I went to one of Shelbie's games and the announcer was calling out the names of the players, and the coaches and over the loud speaker came the words Timmy. SHOCKED to say the least, was I!!

Tim, is a kind, caring, intelligent man. He also is a good father, good husband and wonderful son. I have been truly blessed.

Tim just received his Master's Degree in Specialized Ministries. Tim pastors a Methodist Church in Buhler Ks. His first post was in Walton Ks in a small Methodist Church there. He worked hard to bring about an increase in membership and to bring that church alive. He did a good job, and now has moved on to a new challenge. He serves as a pastor part time, and has a full time job with a company he has been with for several years. He holds a key position in that company and has worked very hard to get there.

Tim is married to the beautiful Danelle. They have two children; Shelbie and Landon. I am thrilled and proud of my "kids", they bring unbelievable joy to my heart. I give thanks to the Lord for all he has given to Tim and to us all.

Mark

It seems that I have written something about everyone on this blog, except my youngest son, Mark. Mark is intelligent, opinionated, loving, a good father, a good husband, a wonderful son. Oh, did I mention he was smart, oh yeah, I did....I said he was intelligent.

Mark made a life changing decision late last year. He made the decision to apply for membership in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, #271. Of course he was accepted. He had been working as an electrician for about 3 years, maybe a bit more. He came home to Kansas after traveling for most of that 3 years, took the Master's test and with out a doubt in my mind, passed it. FIRST TIME! I was so excited for him. He continued to work outside the union and once again was on the road. He was home most evenings, but the work took him away some of the time. When he began pondering this change, he had a lot of things to consider. One of them was to go full blown into the union, or consider going to the apprenticeship school to fine tune his skills. I am happy to say that he chose the school and he will start in the month of August. It will be a long four years of school, but the rewards will be great for him and his family. One I can think of right off the top of my head is "working in a safe environment". When your working in that business, you need to know exactly what you are doing, and so do those around you. I rest easier knowing this. For those who don't know, his dad was an electrician as well. He went through the program, and finished top in his class and was outstanding apprentice for the city of Wichita, and the state of Kansas. That was a long time ago, but there is a plaque hanging in the school that represents those facts. There has never been a father/son apprentice of the year. But I have this feeling that in four years there will be a plaque also hanging at the school with Mark's name on it. Mark's dad was always at the top of his game when it came to his job, those are big shoes and I know of only one person who can fill them, and surpass the accomplishments he had in his chosen field.

Mark is his own man with goals and dreams. He has the drive it takes to fulfill every goal and dream. I am proud of what he is doing and will do. He has my full support of this decision, and I can hardly wait for that one special day four years from now. Good luck Mark, I know you will do yourself proud. You bring joy to my heart.

One thing I failed to mention was his lovely wife Michelle, his daughters Valleri and Emily. We are going to be one loud crazy family in four years. We will be celebrating Mark's graduation and Valleri's as well. What a year that will be for everyone. Praise the Lord for all of the blessings he has given to Mark and to us all.