U is for U of I Parent

A to Z Challenge 2025

The ABC's of Me

U 

U of I  Parent

Today's post will be all pictures and captions.

The U of I Campus July 2023

One of several campus Visits

Lucy and I at U of I's accepted student day
Realizing we  we both brought the same book to read

Goodbye High School
Hello U of I

Obligatory Move-In Pictures

First U of I game

100th Anniversary of Alumni Field

Illinois Proud

Dad's Weekend

Lucy in EveryMan
during Mom's Weekend

L is for Library Lover

 My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day. 

It's time for some  A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 3 posts behind.  The next letter is  L so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was  for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I was for Iguchi Appreciator

J was for Jester

K was  for Kindergarten Clear

L is for Library Lover

My family loves libraries.  I grew up literally across the street from one.  Over the years I have written lots and lots about libraries.  To give you an idea of what me and my family do at libraries, I too a post from Jabuary of 2024 that was languishing in draft status finished it up and am inserting it below.  I'm putting it in italics so you'll know when I'm back.  

Double Library Day

Today was my last school day off of school for winter break.  I decided to spend some of it on ad adventure.

First I went to breakfast with my wife at Allen's Corner Diner in Hampshire, Il.

Allen's Corner is an excellent spot to eat, but they accept cash only.  They do have an ATM on the premises, but I am not fond pf paying the  additional fees. Last year, we were on our way to being regulars there, (Amy and I dream of being regulars at a local place with atmosphere, And Allen's Corner diner has atmosphere in spades.) when we were both working at the same school in Hampshire.  Unfortunately, I am no longer working at the same school, so when we came in today, there was no shouting of Norm, or any other "regular" greeting.  We split a skillet and had a good time.

While we were at the restraunt, I looked up cities that were 60 miles or less than Hampshire.  I found a place called Rockton, Illinois and found out they had a library called the Talcott Free Library.  I headed over to Rockton after Amy went to her school to catch up on work before the students and teachers came back in force on Monday.  

I got to Rockton before the library was open so I decided to go the extra few miles to the Wisconsin state border and make it a double library day by going to the library in Beloit.  The library in Beloit was also not open upon my arrival.  So I checked out some of the beautiful areas near the library.

The Library is located to  some sort of medical building that used to  be a department store.

I got to the library and decided to check out the children's section.  They had a section of A to Z books which I believe are called alphabets.  

They also had what is called a library of things where you can borrow all kinds of things.  I was struck by the fact that you could borrow snow shoes. Amy and I went snowshoeing a few years in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and really enjoyed ourselves.  Maybe some day we'll make the trek tp Beloit and borrow us up some fun. 

I really enjoyed the Beloit Library but it was time to get back to Rockton and the Talcott Free Library. Libraries were traditionally private and not just anyone could use them.  This article gives a good history of the first free libraries. 

Rockton, Illinois is kind of a blink or you'll miss it border town.  I know because I've driven to Beloit many times, and blinked and missed Rockton.  I did like my time in downtown Rockton not only at the library but visiting some of the local haunts.  They had a very nice bookstore there and I had a good meal at a sit down restaurant before my double library day came to an end.  

One of my favorite books with a cool cover at a Rockton Bookstore 

Meanwhile back at the challenge ...

Our Local Public Library 

Celebrating 150 Year Anniversary

January 2024

Our family used to do something twice a year during our homeschool days called library week.  Once each semester usually over Christmas and Spring Break instead of our regular school days we would visit libraries.  

We would still do school but in a different format.  It is one of the things we liked best about  homeschooling and also some of our best memories as a family.  

Making friends at the library.

That boy with Lucy  is now pre-med at Loyola

(You prove he isn't)

Charlie playing Chess

Chillin' at the library

So this is why we bibliotech ourselves before we wreck ourselves.

Click on the various words to get to the various places.

A to Z Challenge Home Page

A to Z Challenge Page for the letter L

A to Z Challenge Master List

Coming Up: Muppets show up

H is for Husband

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is H so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H is for Husband of One Amazing Wife

My wife is  amazing and I am married to her. That makes me the husband of one amazing wife.  

We were married 27 years ago this week. Our wedding reception was at a roller rink,  It was the wedding of Dave & Amy Roller, so it seemed like the best venue.

Our wedding was the first wedding we attended as a married couple.  The most recent wedding we went to was Our niece's wedding a few days after Christmas last year.  After the wedding Amy and I hung out at a mall and we did a little goofing around. There was a photo booth kiosk where you could get a comic book style cover with your picture on it.

Not much more to say after that picture.  To get back to the A to Z Challenge page click here.  To see the A to Z Master List click here.

Next up: I don't know.  

F is for Father of 3 Adult Children

 

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is F so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F is for Father of 3 Adult Children

When I started this blog 16 years ago, I was 44 years old and my children were 19.  Well they were nine, seven and three so their total age was 19.  I was approximately 2 and 1/3 times their total age.  Now I am 60 and the youngest is 19 all by her lonesome! Together they are 67 so they are approximately 1.1 times older than me.  

My tendency for posts like this is to talk about them.  But since this is the ABC's of me.  I want to talk about me as a father. Focusing on the challenges I face as I navigate being a father to adult children.

Have you heard of helicopter parents? My Dad was not a helicopter parent. My dad was more of an air traffic control parent. Actually that may be too generous. My Dad was more like the air traffic control guy in the movies when you have some guy or girl who has to land the plane because all the flight crew are too sick or dead to operate the aircraft. The tower takes over has you go on autopilot and walks you down I step by step details. 

The problem with this approach is that in the metaphor I was not some inexperienced warm body filling the Captains chair.  I was a capable pilot able to fly and land my own plane. 

My Dad was forever turning lights out in our house trying to save electricity.  However, I think he never was able to find an off switch when it came to parenting. 

I decided before I was even married that if I had children I’d want to prepare them for flying solo as independent adults. Then I had children and practice is much more complicated than theory. I  understand now how hard that off switch is to find.

Perhaps it's not an off switch at all but a switch like that in a rail yard when you change the tracks.  The first 18 years and sometimes more your children are on the track to adulthood.  They are the passenger and we are the conductor.    Then they all hop into different tracks, my son jumped on the work train upon graduation.  My youngest daughter took the University express.  My oldest daughter's journey has had more detours, track changes and layovers than any of us expected but her train has been moving steadily in the correct direction for a couple years now.  

My wife and I laid a lot of track for our kids in their first 2 decades.  We worked hard to keep them from going off the rails.  Now is the time that we are doing our best to help them make their own connections and ride off on their own steam. 

For more of the A to Z challenge click here.  To get back to the master list click here.

Next Stop: Giraffe Junction.  

D is for David Davidovich

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is D so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D is for David Davidovich

If you memorized my A to Z challenge theme reveal from March, (and really why wouldn't you?) you would have noticed that David Davidovich is not what I wrote for D.  My original D was Daring Do Gooder and  as I said in the aforememorized theme reveal I did reserve the right to to change some of my selections.  So the story of my deed of daring do-gooding will have to wait, while we explore my patronymic path. 

In  December of 1992 I went to Russia to teach English and to assist the Russian Baptist Churches in youth ministry.  I went to a section of Russia called the Russian Far.  The city is much closer to cities in China (1 hour by hydrofoil) and South Korea , and Japan (both less than 3 hours by plane) than it is to Moscow.  If you took a train it would be a 6 day 3 hour trip.  A car trip would be 108 hours (4.5 days) of driving time and an 8 1/2 hour flight.  On one of my vacations I took a 72 hour train trip west and was still  in the the continent of Asia only about 1/2 way to Moscow.  

I have written quite a bit of my two years in Russia.  One thing I discovered in Russia is that middle names are different there. Note: For best results read the next lines in your best Mater voice 

 In America, where I hail from, what we do is we get a first name, and a last name, and in the middle they give us a middle name.  I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think they call it a middle name because it's in the middle. 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled interior voice

In Russia they don't have middle names that are new different names they have patronymic naming.  This means that the second name describes who your father is.  If your a boy named Michael and your Dad's names is Michael then your name will be Michael Mikhailovich. Your brother Vadim will be Vadim Mikhailovich and your sister Nadia would be Nadia Mikhailovna.  

The dads name ends in ovich for boys and ovna for girls.  Here are 2  little known facts I  just made up.  Maury Povich's son Oliver lived in f Russia for a few years where his name was Ollie Mauryovich Povich. Ollie Mauryovich Povich, coincidentally is also how they translate  Olly Olly Oxenfree into Russian.  

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I look a lot like my Dad.  We also have the same first name.  We have different middle names.  So I am David Davidovich but my Dad is not.  My Dad was the first born in his family and his Dad and Mom, My Grandparents, chose to give him the name of David.  I am the first born son in my family and when I was born my Dad chose his name for me.  To me that has always been a great honor he bestowed on me.  It was like another line of connection we held together.  I had 4 brothers and sisters and when there are that many kids in your family, I think you look for ways that you connect to your parents differently than your siblings.  Sharing the same first name was a way we connected. 

As I grew up I always found it remarkable when my Dad called me by the wrong name.  Now I understood it when he called Keith Chris, or Bonnie Kathy.  But how could he mix up my name when we shared the same one?  

My wife who is a school psychologist and knows a lot about how the brain works told me years ago  that calling a child the wrong name is like getting information from a folder inside your brain but retrieving the wrong file from it.  This is exactly what this article in Good Housekeeping says.  

Now that I am a parent  I  sometimes get my kids names mixed up as well.  I sometimes call Lucy, Emma and vice versa.  Since I only have one Son, I sometimes call him by one of my brothers names. Also I sometimes call Lucy, who is the baby of our family my baby sister's name.  

I thought for a long time that I would give a son the name David.   I have friends whose first and middle name goes back 3-5 generations and they have in turn passed on that name to their son.  My Dad and I do not have the same middle name, so I am not the second or  jr. In that way I felt less pressure than what I imagined my friends Lawrence Joseph the third and Albert Frederick the 5th felt.  I still wanted to pass that name on to my son.  

As I have mentioned many times in this space, my wife and I were friends for 7 years before things developed in a Sitting in the Tree kind of way.  We both grew up about 20 minutes from each other.  So during breaks from college we spent lots of time together in our parents houses.  During that time Amy was learning through observation what life is like when there are 2 people living in the house with the same first name.

The phone would ring, someone would answer it.  Dave you have a phone call, they would shout down the stairs.  Two David's would go for the phone, and then more shouting.  Not you, your Dad. No not you Dave, David! So Amy decided that if she ever did get married that her husband would not be recycling names with their son.  That was for me, she thought but not her husband. Years later when the part of her  husband was cast and I landed the role, one of our desires had to be modified.

It was really no problem.  Probably because I wasn't David Fred the 5th, or even David Fred Jr.  I was  just  plain David  Charles.  I realized that not giving my first name to a theoretical son was in no way, shape or form, a deal breaker. When Amy was pregnant for the first time we had names picked out for a boy and for a girl.  Emma Kayrene for a girl and Anderson David for a boy.  Kayrene was Amy's mothers name a conglomeration of Kathryn and Irene.  Anderson is my wife's maiden name.  We would have called him Andy.  I thought that there was not much difference in honoring my Dad through middle name or through first name.  

Our first child was a girl, so we did call her Emma Kayrene.  Two years later we were expecting again.   We had a name picked out for both a boy and a girl.  Off hand I don't remember what the girls name was we had picked out.  The baby inside of Amy didn't feel like an Anderson David, so we had a different boys name ready, Charles.  Charles is my middle name so naming a boy Charles David had a good ring to it.  However that's not what we went with.  Two years before Emma was born my Sister named her third child, Calvin David and 9 months before my son was born, my brother named his son Robert David.  I thought that's a lot of blank Davids.  So, when our son was born we named him Charles Friedrichs.  My middle names nd my grandfather's last name.  Also Friedrichs was similar to my Dad's middle name of Fred.  

Now, I have no Russian ancestors.  However, I still feel I have a bit of a Russian heritage as I lived there for 2 years of my life.  I was immersed in the Russian culture and I partnered with many Russian believers in spreading the gospel in their country.

I didn't have much culture shock when I was in Russia and I rarely missed home.  But there was one day in particular when I did feel lonely  and isolated.  It was Easter Sunday in the U.S. but generally Russia celebrates Easter on a different Sunday.  My friend Vladimir told me in Church that Sunday there were two Americans in town who were in Russia for a few weeks and that we would visit them after Church. I was looking forward to speaking English with some of my country men and getting news from America and perhaps sending some letters to my family and friends  off with them.   It was  a bit of  a misadventure .  We travelled on several tram and trolley bus lines to a couple of places and did not find them.  We  ended u going even further out and going to Vladimir's house.  His dad was a kindly man who spoke no English and while my Russian was okay 4 months in, we really couldn't communicate unless Vladimir translated.  

We were sharing a meal together with Vladimir's family when his Dad said in Russian, something along the lines that because of Christ I was like another son to him, a member of his family.  It was an observation,  spoken aboyt me not directly to me but it had more impact than his Dad probably every realized.  From that moment I felt Russian.  I felt as if I belonged in the country.  I felt much that way from the beginning of my time in Russia.  But after Vladimir Vladimirovich's father said that I never had one moment of culture shock or loneliness.  I belonged.  

I think for this reason, not only do I consider myself David Davidovich,  I  consider my son Charlie Davidovich. and my daughters Emma and Lucy Davidovna.  My grandparents choice of the name David was passed on to me and I feel that it's been passed on to my children as well.  

So that's it for D post today.

To get back to the A to Z blog click here.  If you want to get back to A to Z master list click here.  If you want to get back to ways of Christopher Robin and  Pooh click here.  

Coming  Up on Team Saturdazzle: The One Without The Koolaid

C is for Christian

 My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is C so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C is for Christian

Note: Since these posts are about aspects of me it stands to reason that I have written about these aspects before.  I will be using some of those writings directly and indirectly in the challenge.  Last week I came across a paper I wrote in college back in the early 90's.  I have decided to use it in it's entirety including a note to my professor and my  professor's comments as today's submission.  

Tama - I wrote this for another class in the Fall.  I will submit fresh Thursday work as well.  I include this because I am interested to see if you can respond to this.  If you can I hope to expand on it as my third form.

Growing out of Old Clothes

          Once when I was growing up I came up with the notion that I was adopted.  I didn't know why I felt this way because I look exactly like my Dad.  I was driving everyone crazy until my Dad came up with irrefutable evidence that I was his. He said, "David, when you adopt you get a choice in who you get."

     It is true that you can not choose your children.  Children have no more choice in who they will get as parents. Parents influence their children heavily in their early years.  Children are not even aware of their influence.  They accept what their parents say and do as right without questioning it.

One such area that this occurred in my family was religion.  I was born and raised in a Catholic family. We went oft church every Sunday and I went to Parochial school for nine years. I regularly received the sacraments of Communion and Confession and was confirmed in the seventh grade.

I never minded being Catholic growing up.  We got holidays off that the public kids didn't.  In my early years we learned a lot about the Bible.  I enjoyed that. At home we never really looked at it, only at school. Still and all, I thought Catholicism was cool and even thought about the priesthood.

As I grew older I became less satisfied with Catholicism.  In the eight grade our priest came in to clear up the Bible for us.  He told us that many of the stories we had been learning to be true were just allegory.  This really bothered me.  Was belief something just for children? If it was, I was not ready to outgrow it.

Disillusion grew as I entered high school.  While religion was a staple in our family, it had no everyday significance. At dinner Dad would lead us in the same memorized prayer we'd been saying for years.  It was sometimes difficult for Dad to get control of 5 rowdy children and one talkative wife so he could lead us,  On one of these hectic occasions I remember him bellowing, "God Damn it! We are going to pray!" It is a funny and sad memory for me because it indicates the dichotomy of religion and practice in our home.  

In junior high and high school I was always growing. I was constantly growing out of old clothes and in need of new ones.  My Mom and I would go to the store and she would ask me what I wanted and proceed to buy what she wanted.  I knew that someday I would be able to choose my own clothes.

As I grew up my family's Catholicism seemed not to fit.  I needed a God who was stable. One that was not going to change. One that was the same on Sunday as He was at the supper table.  I spent my high school years looking for something that would fit.  

I made a discovery two days after Christmas my Senior year.  I found something that fit.  I discovered a Jesus that wasn't distant. A Jesus that was the same yesterday, today, and forever.  A Jesus who was interested in all areas of my life.  I never met that Jesus in the church I grew up in, and I gradually stopped attending there.  I discovered Him in the Bible and in the lives of those who followed Him.  I decided that day I would follow Him.

Often when I tell friends I once was Catholic, they ask what I am now,  Some days I just respond by whatever denominational dog tag I happen to be answering by. On my good days, I answer by saying what I became that day in late December 1982: A follower of Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus is not something I was born into.  It was clothing that I chose to put on, and I have never outgrown it.

Professor's comment: Yes - This is much more accessible.  I find this by far & away the least alienating.  In fact, it's engaging. All people, no matter what their faith, are fascinated by the spiritual quest of others. It's such a private matter such a crucial matter, we care.  And when you simply share, you've an audience.

 Well that's all of me to C today.  For more of the A to Z challenge click here.  

Coming Up: Son of a David.

 

The Newfangled Four - A Spoonful of Sugar (parody) [from Mary Poppins]

I  found this the other day on YouTube while looking up prune videos.  Not sure why it would come up there, but I am glad it did.  

This video resonated in me for multiple reasons: 1. I have had multiple family members over the years who have participated in singing groups.  My first trip on an airplane was because my Mom's Sweet Adeline's group was going to sing in Washington D.C. and families were allowed to come with.  Both my sisters have been in Sweet Adeline's as well. I also have several family members who have been in Barber Shop Quartets.  2) I love parodies, write them myself, and love to see them performed.  3) Since the time my youngest daughter was in 4th grade started performing in speech contests, my wife and I have been volunteer judges in them. This performance is a send-up of judging rubrics, especially for judging barber shop quartets, but I found it matched up to speech judging in a most delightful way.

 

Extra Bonus Video: Judges by The Fabulous Bentley Brothers from Jelly Telly which was Phil Vischer's follow up to Veggie Tales.  And, yes the Bentley Brothers are Rhett & Link.  

Team Saturdazzle: The One That Got Post Dated

I had big plans for the Team Saturdazzle segment in 2025.

First, I was going to post content for the segment to be published each Saturday of the new year.

Then, I would attempt to generate a little readership for it by linking it through the blogosphere via other established blogs , memes, and various Social networking sites.

After a while, I would gauge interest in making it one of those segments that others could link their content to.

All these plans were contingent on stringing a number of Weekly Saturdazzle posts together.

the Jan 5th edition went fine, in the sense that there was a Jan 5th edition. I had a few ideas for this edition. 

One idea came to me when I took my waiting with my Mom on one of her recent doctor appointments. She kept on talking about going to get cookies. My Mom often brings cookies up to her room which she gets from the dining room at the place where she and my Dad stay. Instead of eating her desserts in the dining room she brings them up to her room and puts them in her refrigerator aka the place where desserts go to die.

This was made on Christmas by my youngest daughter and my Mom. Left to 
 my mom’s devices it would have stayed in her fridge until the 15th anniversary of Covid.

As my Mom kept on talking about cookies, I thought that it might be cool to bring my daughters over there on Saturday and do some baking.  My parents have been living in  a senior living facility for the past few years where there meals are served to them.  While they have an oven and stove int heir apartment neither one of them is really able to use it anymore.  I thought it would be nice to have the sweet smell of baked goods wafting through their kitchen.

Due to being triple and quadruple booked for most of the weekend, we did not get over there on Saturday.  This was actually a good thing as it gave me a moment in the madness of a weekend with little sleep to rest a while.  We rescheduled the baking for Sunday when a number of us visit my folks anyway, which seemed like a good solution.  

The only problem was that the baking expedition was going to be the main point of my Saturdazzle feauture and now I would need to write about something else.  Then I remembered technology.  Blogger allows me to predate my posts and it also allows me for some reason to post date them.  So here's what I did, I went baking on Sunday am blogging about it now and back dating the post so it looks like it appeared on Saturday.  This was if and when I build a following with Saturdazzle, and the Saturdazzled (tm) pending are looking for back issues there will be continuity that it gets posted each Saturday.

Here are the pics from our multi generational cookie day

Gather the ingredients at home

Assembling The Troops



Giving the aged sharp objects

Giving the aged with sharp objects supervision

Obligatory Baking Picture (OBP) #1

   

OBP #2

OBP #3

Finished Product: Happy Parents

Overall the event was highly successful.  My Dad kept on saying he didn't remember the last time someone came over to bake for him.  We left a good amount of cookies in a tupperware on the table and took the rest home so none would be subjected to the refrigerator where desserts go to die. 

The first comment of the year

To many.  comments are the currency of the blogging world.  To some, it's page views, but having someone stop by and write about your content is a gratifying thing.  I blog for me.  I would like to have a large readership, but it doesn't matter that I don't have much of one.  

I post on other people's blogs and participate in their blogging events in part so either people will see and comment on my blog.  But even when they don't I still like to post content here and comment on their content there.  

SO it wasn't surprising on January 8th that I still did not have one single comment on any of my posts since last year.  I was glad that I got 3 comments in somewhat rapid succession the next day.  I work both my jobs in Wednesday and and in between them I stopped at McDonalsd for a snack knowing I wouldn't be eating dinner until 9:30.  I got one of my favorite snacks, a deconstructed root beer float.  That's my name for an ice cream cone and a glass of root beer,

While eating it, I remembered there is a way to post my content by sending an e-mail and did that.  I posted it on here, and linked it to the Wordless Wednesday page of Comedy Plus. On Thursday Morning I received this nice comment from Sandee the proprietor of Comedy Plus.  I received two more a few minutes later from another one of my posts.

Well that's it for this weeks installment of Team Saturdazzle.  Next time I hope to actually release it on Satuday and not fix it in post.  

Weekly Writer's Workshop: For God So Hugged The World

Here are the prompts for this week’s Writer’s Workshop:

1.  Write a post based on the word hugging. 
2. Write a post in exactly 13 sentences. 
3. How do you cope with days where you’re stuck in the house due to bad weather? 
4. What are your favorite food items to order online? 
5. If evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe were discovered, would it alter your core beliefs or sense of self? 
6. List your five most recent favorite things.

I am combining 2 prompts today, #1 and #5.  It's not exactly one from column A and one from column B, but it gets the job done.

For God So Hugged The World

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

My older sister asked me once what  John 3:16 meant.  So, I told her what the verse said, and her reaction was, "That has nothing to do with football"

I saw my sister right after Christmas as I was at the wedding of my oldest niece, her daughter.  There was an hour or so between the end of the wedding and the reception.  So my family being who we are, took a side trip to a local library between gigs.  While we were there my daughter Lucy emerged triumphantly from the lobby to say that she had found a 1984 Thesaurus in the free stuff bin,  She spent the next few days of the trip regaling us with synonyms from the book.  I have asked her to read me the synonyms for hug. Here goes: embrace, hold, clasp, press to the bosom, hold close, clutch, squeeze, cuddle, snuggle, nestle, and (wait for it) cling together.

As I contemplated the meaning of John 3:16, especially what it meant for God to so love the world, I thought of hugs.  I thought of a child who seemingly gave up on physical expressions of love to their parents initiating a hug with me for no particular reason.  I thought of how hugs show one's love for another but also leave room for a reply. 

 I thought of Jesus in that sense as a hug from God.  To put it back in the context of John 3:16,  our sins had separated us from God.  We were on a path to perishing without a chance to have that relationship mended. God reached out to us, extending his Son as a way to eternal life.  We must reach back to God completing that hug by accepting Jesus as the only way to God.  

This brings me rather clumsily to prompt 5: If evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe were discovered, would it alter your core beliefs or sense of self? 

My short answer is no.  My core beliefs and my sense of self,  emanate from my understanding of biblical Christianity.  Larry Norman a pioneer of Jesus Music broached the subject in the bridge of his song U.F.O.

And if there's life on other planets 

Then I'm sure that He must know 

And He's been there once already 

And has died to save their souls.

Those lyrics have always resonated with me. I have never meant much of a subscriber to the notion of life on other planets.  I like the science-fiction element of extraterrestrial life but that's where it ends. However farfetched I might find it, if confronted with proof that there is life on other planets, I would lean in on Norman's thought process.  To extend my previous thoughts on John 3:16, I can imagine the Lord of the Universe loving other intelligent life so much that he would reach out and hug them through the person of his Son as well.  

Just like I don't jettison my faith when difficult times come my way, I plan to always trust in God no matter what other things may come to challenge my world view.  

A Snapshot of the pioneering christian rock musician Larry Norman taken following concert in Defiance, Ohio on October 20, 2001.

By Ekiledal - http://upload.wikimedia.org/, Public Domain, Link

Thanks to John Holton of The Sound of One Hand Typing for this week's prompts.  To participate more in this Week workshop click here.

16th Blogoversary Post

 16 years ago, George W. Bush was in the final days of his Presidency, Illinois Senator Barack Obama was about to become the 44th President of the U.S., the Chicago Cubs were nine months away from going 100 years without winning a World Series and a little blog called Home School Dad published it's first post, Why We Homeschool.

That little blog still exists, in fact, you are reading it.  Its name has changed since then and may change again, as I mentioned in my last post.

In the inaugural post, I answered the title question with 2 pictures and 7 words.  The words were: Three precious reasons: Lucy, Emma, and Charlie, and the pictures were of the aforementioned children. The post did not go into further detail but one of the main reasons why we home-educated our children was part of a concerted effort to build into our children a Godly character.  

Those reasons are all now adults and the youngest is 5 years removed from her last homeschooling, unless you count her Freshman year of high school where she was having school at home because of COVID. At the moment, all 3 of our children are at home until the youngest goes back to Champaign later this month.  

In the past few months, I have had sufficient opportunity to evaluate the character development of all our kids.  Each of my children has talked with me or my wife or both of us recently about individual issues they are going through.  I'd detail them here, but it wouldn't make it through the vetting process.  They are handling these issues in a mature and Godly fashion.  After we talked to one of them yesterday my wife reminded me that their response was a specific answer to prayer she had sent to our church just a few months ago.  I can also see the beginning of adult friendships taking place between them.  We just came back from a trip out East to a family wedding and most of the family squabbling was relegated to me and one of my siblings who accompanied us on the trip.  

I don't look back at our home school adventure as a qualified success.  However, on the 16th anniversary of this blog, I am glad to look back and see that God has at least used it to help meet some of  our purposes for it.  

Team Saturdazzle: The One With a New Title?

Team Saturdazzle 

Welcome to the 1st 2024 Iteration of Team Sturdazzle, a hopefully weekly postpourri of random thoughts and regular segments.  

Occasionally I will try to curate ideas from my FB pages and share some of the comments here. Today was supposed to be one of those occasions.  On Thursday night I posted the following on both my personal FB page and the FB page for my blog:

Am approaching the 16th anniversary of my blog. On Jan 6th 2009 I published the first post there http://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-we-home-school.html A few years ago I changed the name from Home School Dad to Leap of Dave. I’m considering changing the name once again. Here are some ideas I have for a new name:

1. Sustainable Bedlam

2. Toaster Pastries w/o A Toaster

3. Blogging, People Still Do That?

4. A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl

Let me know which one you like, or If I should stick with Leap of Dave, or perhaps make a title suggestion of your own. I'll post results and suggestions in my next Team Saturdazzle post.

As of 11:30 Friday night I had no comments on either page.  I did ask 3 members of my family the same question over a rousing game of Catopoly, which I am winning.  The results were mixed: my wife Amy prefers Sustainable Bedlam,  my daughter Emma is a fan of Toaster Pastries w/o a Toaster, my daughter Lucy likes Blogging, people still do that?, and I am fond of A Hat, A Brooch, A Pterodactyl.  Certainly, there is no consensus on the nonsensical.  

I will put this post on both my FB pages again and see if I can get more votes.  If you happen to be reading this, please leave a comment with which one you prefer or a suggestion of your own.  

The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers

On January 3rd, 2022, I published a post called The Mountain Dew Code Red of Trailers about a movie trailer for The Unbreakable Boy, which was due in theatres in March 2022. The movie, based on a book based on a true story, starred Chuck actor Zachary Levi as the father of a middle school boy who had brittle bone disease and autism.  

Days before the March 22 release date The Unbreakable Boy was pulled from its release schedule with little to no explanation.  Fast forward to yesterday, January 3, 2025 when I was working at my movie theatre 3 years from the date of my original post.  I was patrolling the theatre and ensuring all the movies started successfully when I saw this new trailer for The Unbreakable Boy:

Apparently, Lionsgate has a February 21st 2025 release date.  I'll believe it when I see it.  

Team Saturdazzle At The Movies

Powered by Box Office Mojo

Top 25 Films 2024

25. The Fall Guy 92.9 M 24. Red One 96.81 M  23. Bob Marley, One Love 96.89 M 

22. Alien Romulus 105.31 M 21. IF 111.15 M  20. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 113.38 M 

19. Mufasa: The Lion King 128.14 M 18. A Quiet Place: Day One 138.93 M 

17. Venom: The Last Dance 137.73M 16. The Wild Robot 143.19 M 15. It Ends With Us 148.51 M

14. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 151.56M 13. Gladiator II 164.55 M 

12. Kingdom of the Planet pf the Apes 171.13 M 11. Bad Boys: Ride or Die 193.57 M 

10. Kung Fu Panda 4 193.59 M 9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 196.35 M 8. Twisters 267.76 M

7. Dune:  Part Two 282.14 M 6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice  294.1 M 5. Despicable Me 4 361 M 

4. Moana 2 404.02 M 3. Wicked 432.94 M 2. Deadpool & Wolverine 636.75 M 

1. Inside Out 2 652.98 M (Movies I watched are in bold)

10 highest-grossing movies I watched this year by rank on Box Office Mojo

90. Here  70. Cabrini 68. Unsung Hero 53. The Forge 52. Reagan 51. The Boys in the Boat  27. Wonka and the aforementioned The Wild Robot (16), Twisters (8), and Wicked (3). 

Top 10 Films December 2024

10. Interstellar 2024 Re-release 

9. Kraven The Hunter

8. Red One - Down 3 from November

7. A Complete Unknown 

6. Nosefartu

5. Gladiator II - Down 2 from November

4. Mufasa: The Lion King

3. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

2. Wicked  Down 1 from November

1. Moana 2 - Up 1 from November

Top 5 Films for 2025

5. Wicked

4. Nosferatu

3. Moana 2

2. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1. Mufasa The Lion King

That's all I have today, for your weekly dose of Saturdazzle.  Please comment especially about changing the blog's name or anything else that struck your fancy today.