Tropizm Family Website

Its been a while since I updated this, so this post may be longer than usual. 

First, Faith and I went to watch the Diamondbacks in the NLCS Game 2 against the Colorado Rockies.  It was a great game, meaning that every inning had the potential of swinging the game one way or the other.  The DBacks were down 2-1 until the 9th inning until they tied it up at 2-2.  The game finished with the Rockies winning 3-2 in the 11th inning.  Simply put, the DBacks blew it.  Valverde had control issues and loaded the bases.  Then walked in the winning run.

As you may know, the Rockies won the series 4 games to 0 and went on to lose to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series 4 games to 0.  The irony of it all is that the DBacks played the Rockies the last series of the regular season.  AZ needed to win 1 game to clinch the NL West.  The Rockies needed to win 2 and other teams needed to win/lose for the Rockies to make it to the playoffs.  AZ won a game, then basically let the Rockies win the other 2.  The other teams won/lost to where San Diego and CO had to play eachother and the winner goes into the playoffs.  Of course, the Rockies won, and then came back and beat the tar out of AZ.  Goes to show, every game matters.

We took Erin and Trisen to the AZ State Fair.  Dad and Pat also went, so we would meet up with them, then seperate, then meet up.  We all had a great time and both Erin and Tristen won a prize playing a game.  Tristen got a little bored with the kiddie rides and so he went on an adult ride by himself, and a couple of the bigger kids rides.  Erin went with Tristen on the bigger kids rides.  She looked nervous on the ride but as soon as she got off, she wanted to go again.  She wanted to go on the giant ferris wheel, but we didn’t.  I want to wait another year or two to take her on that. 

Â
House update.  The last couple weeks alot of work has been done.  The trenches for the stem wall were dug, forms made, and the stem wall was poured.  The stem wall is what supports the outter walls, and keeps the foundation stable.  The plumber is currently getting the under-foundation pipe work done.  We are hoping to have the foundation poured next week and after that walls will start to go up.

That is about it for now.  I will try and post more stuff more often.  In case you didn’t know, clicking the pictures will take you to the Flickr page and you could see more pictures.  Also, you could comment on a post or picture if you want to.  Just a reminder, since there isn’t too many comments, I wanted to make sure you know that.

God bless to all.

Tropizm

Yesterday, 10/02/07, the ground for the house started to get worked on, getting ready for the foundation.  This marks the first real visible evidence that the house work is started. 

Before, you could see steaks in the ground marking the outside edges, so the grader knows the area to work in.  We also had a water line ran to the property and a water meter installed.  But that is not nearly as exciting as pulling up on the property, seeing a grader sitting there, and an area of semi-level ground where the house is gonna be at.  After a few more days, the foundation work will start.

I hope to get more pictures up once more visible work gets done. But this is what it looked like yesterday.

Saturday night Faith and I took our friends daughter to see Casting Crowns in concert.  For those of you who don’t know, they are our favorite Christian band.

It will be Kandice’s 16th birthday in a few weeks, so we thought it would make for a great birthday present.  And since she has dedicated her life to worshiping The Lord through music, it was also a fitting present. 

It was the second time Faith and I have seen them in concert.  The last time was a couple years ago and they were at our old church.  Though the church as 6500 seats, the place was packed solid, and the show was great, this time they was even better.  It was at the Glendale Arena aka Jobing.com Arena (boo on the name).  With a true concert sound system and light show, it made the show even better.

But for me, what made both shows so great was the atmosphere of praise and worship.  It wasn’t a concert, it was church.  The band would explain the song they were about to sing and how it came about.  It was usually how God helped them in a particular situation, or how to talk to a friend in need.  Several times during the show, they would pray for a situation.  There was even the chance to accept Christ as your Savior.  It truly was a worship service, not just a concert.

At the end, the music stopped, and each band member took the microphone and prayed for the audience.  One for the moms, one for strength to make it through the day, and so on.  That, in our opinion, was the highlight of the evening.

And of course, the music rocked.

Tropizm

I have set up my Flickr account.  I uploaded some pictures of our recent trip to California, and some pictures of the property. 

  Click on Erin’s picture and you can view them all.

 There are some differences I don’t like with Flickr, but I can deal with it.  Being able to add pictures to my posts is pretty cool.  Not to mention the ghetto way of getting to the Yahoo! Album. 

I will leave the Yahoo! link up until they pull the plug on it.  Once the link is removed, then you will not be able to view them again.

Let me know what you think.  Any requests for particular pictures?

Tropizm

I have been notified by Yahoo that the Yahoo! photo album service will no longer be available.  At the end of the month the link on this site will no longer work. 

They have given me the option of several different services to host my pictures.  I have chosen one called Flickr.

I am not going to transfer any of the existing pictures from Yahoo! to Flickr.  If I was to do this it would take too much time and effort.  This means that all of the pictures on there now will not be available for viewing.  If there are any that you want to keep, download them directly from the photo album. 

This is a blessing in disguise.  One of the things I didn’t like about Yahoo! was the inability to write comments about what the picture was.  So I was forced to name the picture something absurd like “me, him, and that guy”.  But with Flickr I can write small descriptions about what the picture is.  That is the biggest reason I made Dario’s pages built into the site and the other pictures elsewhere.

The Yahoo! page will go away at the end of this month.  I have already set up my new account at Flickr, but I haven’t posted any pictures yet.  I am having issues getting the site and Flickr to play nice together.

As soon as everything is set up and working properly, I will let you know and make a new link.

Tropizm

For those of you who have not traversed 163rd Avenue for a long time may be in for a little shock.

Some of us have remember when it used to be a dirt road, and the railroad crossing was just some dirt piled up with a layer of asphalt covering it.

Once it was paved we thought it was the best thing ever.  And that was as much “improvement” we wanted. 

This morning, while I was driving to work.  The street lights were on.  That’s right, 163rd Ave now has street lights, sidewalks, and gutters.  They do look a little odd, sidewalks next to the desert.  But I guess they are going to be adding a ton of stores and shops.  I am mixed if I think this is good or not.  It will be nice not having to drive 15 minutes to go to the store.  But I don’t think I will like all the extra traffic, noise, and lights.  Who moves out in the middle of the desert to have a Costco move in next door? 

I just hope they make it at least somewhat pleasant to the eyes.  The bridge they are building looks nice.  Yes, I said bridge.  There is some wharf like thing they are building too.  Oh, and a brick wall about 2 miles long down Grand Ave.  They have a sidewalk there too. 

It took me a little getting used to the new homes, but street lights are a little much.

Oh well, I guess its progress.  To someone.  They probably don’t live out there either.

Tropizm

Here is the link to more pictures of Dario playing football.  There is a great shot of him running in a touchdown (proud Daddy moment).  It’s great to see his team do good again this year.  They came in third overall.  This was also Dario’s last game as a “Flaggie”.  Now he is starting to play in the Junior Tackle Team. 

Of course, I pray him and his friends will be safe.  But at the same time, I am glad to know he enjoys the same sport I love and is continuing his career. 

Tropizm (proud Daddy of #32)

This past weekend we had Erin’s 3rd birthday party.  It was a swim party at one of the local public pools.  We had a grassy area reserved with shade and picnic tables.  The pool had a large area that was shallow for the smaller kids, and another which was deeper.  There was a splash area and even a water slide. 

Everyone seemed to have a great time.  The weather was really nice, around 106 (great for July in AZ) with light clouds and a steady breeze.  It was almost perfect.  Pretty much all our AZ family was there.  Erin had a great time opening presents and eating cake.  But she would have rather been swimming.

All in all, it was a great time of swimming, eating, and visiting.  Thanks to everyone who was able to make it.  Thank you for all the gifts, and the great conversation. 

God Bless

Tropizm

This past week I submitted for building permits for the new house.  We don’t know how long it will take for the plans to be approved, so for now it is a waiting game.  We can realistically expect to get either permits, or red lines (which means we need to fix something on the drawings) in four weeks or so.

Once we get the permits, we will be able to begin actual construction.  For the last six months of actively working on getting everything lined up to be able to submit our plans, this will be a great milestone.  We would actually be able to see some physical evidence of our hard work and prayers. 

Then begins the construction process, which I am sure will be another trying time for us.  We will need to pray up and get ready for it.  I know God will give us the strength and wisdom to be able to get through all of it.

Tropizm

This July 4th I want to encourage everyone to remember that this nation was built by a group of men who believed, loved, and followed Christ.

 I also want to give all veterans, past, present, or future my prayers and great thanks for their hard work to ensure we can have the freedoms that we all take advantage of.

 Read The Constitution too, you may be surprised what is in there.  What powers do the courts really have?  What about Congress, or the President.  Most important, what powers you we, as Americans have.  Check it out here  http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html .  Its a shame that nationalized citizens know more about US history, and government than Americans that have lived here their whole life.

Thank you, and God Bless America

Tropizm