Citizens On Patrol
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Procrastination
I can’t believe it has been over a month since I have posted anything and only a couple of posts in just two months, but alas here is where we are and is the example of what happens when you decide to quit procrastinating tomorrow. So while we have been very busy over the past couple of months I don’t want you to think I have forgotten about all of you and your constant desire to have our life thrust into your email box and facebook page, it’s just that at night when I used to do most of my posts I find myself doing this.
Now that I have washed my hands and my nose is clean it is time to make tomorrow today and stop the procrastination. So here stands your warning that I am soon to flood this site with plenty of outdated news about baseball dominance, lost teeth, trips to see the family, and all other things interesting to mainly me and the grandparents.
Prayer Requests and Proof They Work
First off, I would like to ask for prayers for an anonymous family friend and his two month old child. I don’t know all of the details, but I know their baby girl is under going tests for an immune system issue and are awaiting results in the next two weeks. Naturally I am praying for all to turn out alright, but I am also praying for him and his family to find strength in their faith during this difficult time. When the family is more comfortable sharing details, I will be quick to share, but in the mean time please send out your prayers.
Now to the proof that your prayers over the past years have worked, my dear friend Jared that had a cancerous tumor on his heart and endured surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy just met with his doctors in Houston and he is now 12 months cancer free!
Not Just Man’s Best Friend
Early this morning we lost my best friend for the past 14 years, Tau. I got her as a puppy while living in South Africa and her unconditional love and support got me through some pretty tough and lonely times until I met Melanie. She has been an amazing dog along the way, patient with the nieces and nephews while they tried to ride on her and dress her in tutus, supportive and protective of Melanie while I was traveling for work, keeping a keen eye on both of our boys at all times, an incredible play mate for anyone that wanted to take a few minutes to throw the ball or engage in a game of tug of war, and always available to provide a loving kiss and hug upon request and at times without. I was fortunate that she awoke me at 4 am so that I could lay next to her on the floor and give her a good 20 minute belly scratch as she took her last breath. She has been in pain for a while now and I am comfortable knowing that she is no longer in pain and was able to live a long and happy life not just as my best friend but also that to anyone that took the time to give her some affection.
Coaching Can Be Dangerous To Your Health
As a coach of Mason’s baseball team I have been hit in the hand by a bat, caught some foul balls in the chest and arms, but last night I had my first near death experience (read melodrama). Fortunately, for your entertainment purposes, I am able to laugh at myself and Jackson’s mom was filming him when it happened.
Don’t Try This At Home
What do you do when it is snowing outside and you have fry a turkey? This is the problem I was presented on Christmas afternoon. For those of you not familiar with the age old tradition of dropping a 14 lb turkey into a boiling caldron of hot peanut oil…oil and water DO NOT mix well. So doing this in the snow was definitely a problem. My overly anal neighbor would point out that I could have set up a tarp to cover the area I wanted to use as he has done just to keep himself dry, but I decided I was smarter than this and decided to go against all of the State Farm commercials and decided to set up inside the garage…right next to the fuse box (as my mother pointed out). As you have probably gathered with the fact that I am typing this several days later, it was a success, but then again I am a professional that overheated the oil and at one point had to put it in the snow in order to cool it down before dropping the turkey. What is surprising is that my extremely risk averse father went along with the idea and helped me in the process.
They Grow So Fast
This past weekend my dad and I were having one of those conversations I thought I was too young to have when we were discussing how advanced Mason and Cutler’s generation is given technology compared to when I was growing up and then to when my dad was growing up. It is amazing watching the boys, especially Cutler, at the age of 3 and his ability to grab the iPad and navigate through the games he wants to play.
Apparently the speed of growth is impacting their hormones as well, given that they are now shaving. Grandma got them their own shaving kits and they couldn’t wait to get in the bath/shower to put them to use as their five o’clock shadow was getting way too thick.
Mason appears to have watched me too much and has it down, meanwhile Cutler gets distracted easily and only decides he needs to finish half of his face. Apparently that’s the new fad. 🙂
*This post was written error free…according to the spell/grammar check provided by wordpress. I’m always shocked when that happens.
Happy Halloween 2012
It was another succesful Halloween night in Murphy as Batman and Hawkeye helped patrol the neighborhood. Below are a couple of pictures of the boys and some of their friends.
Cutler’s Cross For A Cure
As I just mentioned in my previous post, my very crafty and talented mother has been working tirelessly with her great friend “grandma” Pam in building Cutler’s Cross For A Cure. She is donating all profits to the LLS as part of our ongoing fundraising efforts. I believe before she came down there were still around 10 left, but they were being shown at a craft fair in O’Fallon by a friend of ours and hopefully will be sold out. However, if you are interested in ordering one, please contact Carol at cjkjf@sbcglobal.net or via phone at 618 531 5876. I’m sure, if sold out already, she would be happy to take orders and start slaving away again once she returns home. 🙂 They are like snowflakes, no two are the same, so get your order in for an original one of a kind.
Light The Night Eve 2012
On the eve of Light The Night, with my house full of my sister’s and their kids and my mom, aunt, and “grandma” Pam snoring away in a close by hotel, I am sitting here in amazement at how much money we have been able to raise thanks to all of our incredibly generous family and friends. Thanks to everyone, we currently sit at over $8500 with still more donations on the way. Thanks to some company matches that are still outstanding, we should easily surpass our goal of $10,000 and this could not be possibly without the help of my family back home. My mother organized a dinner at McCallisters’ where 10% of the proceeds were donated and they managed to raise $450. Not to one up that, but Becky worked with her church and my mom and Angie to put together a bake sale this past Sunday, manned by my incredible nieces and nephews, and then held a lemonade stand that raised almost $850. My crafty mother also has worked tirelessly with “grandma” Pam to make some Cutler’s Cross For A Cure where all profits are being donated. I will have another post shortly with pictures and ordering instructions if you are interested. So far these have raised over $100.
I am giddy with anticipation of what we can do next year with some more organization and planning in place. It’s efforts like this that will someday help put a stop to blood cancers so that others will not have to go through the same experience as our precious Cutler.
We will be representing in full force and bright orange tomorrow night with our Team Cutler shirts of over 20 strong. I will remember my camera and will take plenty of pictures to share.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us in donations and thoughts and prayers.
It’s not too late to spread the word as donations are accepted through the end of the year, here is our team fundraising page.
Team Fricke 