More Pictures from Florida

Here are some final pictures from Florida.  On our last day, we visited the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.  This is a pretty cool place.  I wasn't aware of this, but Thomas Edison and Henry Ford lived next to each other in Fort Myers in the winters.  Their houses and work areas (including Edison's lab) remain intact and are now open for tours.  You get to see many of Edison's inventions, along with some amazing rubber trees that were brought over from India and were used to produce a source of rubber.

Angie and I spent about three hours there, and we easily could have stayed longer.  It was a fascinating look at the genius and inegenuity of those two men.  Of course, we couldn't resist the urge to get pictures with the two men for which it's named:

In these pictures, Angie is telling Thomas how much she values her inventions and how she can't believe that it's in the 50s and cloudy in Florida, and I'm telling Henry that I can't believe I'm still driving his Escort.  (Yeah, they told us that the statues are drawn above scale.)  Notice the size of the tree in the background of Angie's picture.  It appears to be a group of trees, but it's actually a single tree.

One other place we visited on our trip was the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium.  We went on a walk through the nature area, and saw some unique animals.  The cool weather caused many of the animals to be put inside, but it was still a nice tour.

Once again, we'd like to thank Bill and Linda for hosting us.  We had a fun time, and will definitely be back someday.

The Shell Factory

On the second day of our Florida vacation (New Year's Day), we paid a visit to The Shell Factory.  It's a kooky little place in North Fort Myers.  They sell shells, of course, but there is also a fun park and nature park.  We just walked around the shell displays and the fun little exhibits (a good portion of this is free to walk around in), and took some fun pictures.

One of the most important rules in the Hynds family is this: If you are near the skeleton of a large shark's mouth, you must take a silly picture with it.  Angie obliged.

Then, we all joined in on the fun.  Honestly, how many chances do you get in life to pose for a picture inside a shark's mouth?

Then, we roped Bill and Linda in.  Okay, enough with the shark.  Let's move on to more important things...

...like a triceratops.  Once again, you can't pass up an opportunity like this.  If you see a triceratops, take a picture with it.  No exceptions.

We will soon post all of the other pictures on our Facebook pages.  It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.  On a side note, it rained profusely when we got there, and we all got soaked!  Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the cool spell that hit Florida and stayed for more than a week.

One more note about New Year's in Florida - it was the first time in my life that I was in the Eastern Time Zone when the ball dropped at Times Square.  I got to ring in the New Year at that moment, instead of having to wait another hour.  It's the little things, really, that get me excited.

How Our Cats Spent Their Tuesday Afternoon

Last Tuesday, Angie was substitute teaching, I was home, and Noah took a nap in the afternoon.  During his nap, I went downstairs to get some work done.  When I came back up, I found Striker on the La-Z-Boy...

...and Daphne on the couch (her head is near the bottom, in case you couldn't find it in her giant ball of hair).

I guess they were exhausted after a long day of sitting around and eating.  It's nice to know that I work full-time so that the cats can just lie down on the furniture all day long.

Why My Wife is Awesome

Let me tell you why. On Tuesday, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed. Something that you may not know about me is that I can handle minor surgeries well, but anesthesia, and particularly painkillers, mess me up pretty badly.

We got home about around 12:30 on Tuesday, and I was still a little woozy. Angie got me my pills, a drink of water, and a vanilla milkshake from McDonald's, and brought out a blanket so that I could sit on the recliner. She also brought up some of my favorite DVDs for me to watch. I tried to watch "The Simpsons Movie," but I only remember seeing about 30 minutes of the entire movie, as I was dozing off for most of the afternoon.

I started to feel okay, but still had some mouth pain, so I took a painkiller. Big mistake! I fell back asleep, started to have stomach problems, and before you know it, I'm pale and really sick. This cycle continued throughout the night, where I eventually decided that I'd rather have a sore mouth than be sick.


Why does this make my wife awesome? Well, she did all of the grocery shopping, called home to check up on me, took care of some holiday shopping, took care of Noah, took care of me, cooked dinner, and did all of the housework, without doing a bit of complaining. Below is a picture taken from that evening, illustrating just how useless I was that night.




I joked with Angie that now she knows what it's like to have two kids. I promised her that the next time a simple, minor surgical procedure leaves her unable to do a single thing, I'll help her out too.

I'm happy to report that even though there is still some soreness, I have my appetite back and I'm able to pull my share of the work, hence why I will soon be ending this post and getting back to housework, as Angie is working a substitute teaching job right now and I need to return the favor.

Even if all of this didn't happen, Angie is still an awesome wife, and I thank God for her every day. In the midst of a busy life, sometimes it takes things like this to sit back and realize how good I have it.

Operation Christmas Child

You can make a difference for a child in need this Christmas. Operation Christmas Child brings gifts and hope to children in need throughout the world every Christmas season. All you have to do is fill a shoebox with gifts, and make a small donation of $7, and you can bring joy and hope to a child who needs it this Christmas.

Angie and I have participated in this for the last couple of years. It is not a big financial burden (a trip to Dollar Tree or Big Lots should take care of it), and it makes you feel good to help out. As Noah gets older, we want to include him in the process, so he can see the value of giving. If you have children, this is a good thing to do with them, as they can learn to have compassion for others.

Our country has been in a recession for a while, and yet we are still doing much better than most other nations. Even in our struggles, we can help out.

The gifts will be collected this coming week (November 16-23) all over the country. To find out more, you can visit their website by clicking here. There, you will find information of what you can buy, where to drop it off, and how you can give online and see where your package ends up this Christmas. Merry Christmas, and God Bless.

Noah's First Halloween and More

Noah just had his first Halloween, where he was dressed as a frog. We began the evening with Angie's family, followed by some trick-or-treating in the lovely Village of Warrensburg. Sherry made some amazing chili, and Noah got to spend time with his cousins, one of whom was dressed as a blind referee for Halloween.

We then made it over to my parents' house, where there was more Halloween fun. He got some nice goodies from both families. One of the underrated perks of having an eight-month-old is that he can't have candy yet, so his Halloween candy becomes your Halloween candy. We only get one year to do that, so I'm taking full advantage!

Thanks to both families for making this a fun holiday for all of us.

In other Noah news, he is now eight months old. Along with the Halloween fun, we made a trip to Arthur to check out the Central Illinois Bragging Rights BBQ Competition. That was followed by a stop at Beachy's Bulk Foods, where we purchased copious amounts of good foods (cookies, dip mix, cheese, syrup, cinnamon rolls, and other good foods that I may have forgotten). It was a bit chilly outside, but we all enjoyed a nice fall country day in Amish country.

Later on in the month, Angie and Noah went to Okaw Valley Orchard in Sullivan, along with a few other women and kids from the church. It was a beautiful fall day, and Noah especially enjoyed playing in the leaves and hay.

Near the end of the month, we had a family reunion, where Noah got to see several people for the first time, including Bea, David, Barry, Jim, and Chris.

On the child development front, Noah is developing much more of a personality. He is moving around more. He is not crawling yet, but we're not sure if he will crawl; he is much more interested in standing and walking. In fact, there are times when he is sitting down when he reaches out his arms and wants to pick himself off the ground and start going. When he is on his back, he wants to roll in every direction, as often as possible. When you pick up Noah, he starts to kick his feet in the air.

There are many more foods that he is trying. Most of Noah's meals now consist of "real" foods, and he enjoyed eating generous amounts of food. Honestly, there are times when he just can't stop. He also is becoming more independent at meals, even to the point of sometimes getting upset when he is being spoon-fed.

Noah's noises are funny. His favorites right now are "da-da-da-da-da-da..." and "muh-muh-muh-muh..." and often his noises go up an octave after a few sounds.

Yes, there is much going on, and we look forward to his nine-month birthday and his first Thanksgiving.

Noah's Seventh Month

Lucky Number 7 just passed us by a week ago. Noah's seventh month was full of growth and adventure. He is now sitting up much more than before. He wants to crawl, but doesn't quite know how to do it. He will scoot backwards and pull his knees up. We know that our days of having an immobile child will soon end, and we are about to get the house ready for it.

Noah's eating has really picked up. There are too many new foods this month to even list. We are now doing more jarred foods, and this was the month when he started eating meats. There are some interesting combinations of foods out there. He also is doing finger foods, including puffs, biter biscuits, and pieces of bananas.

Noah's selection of noises has picked up. He likes to say things like "Aye-nigh-nigh-nigh-nigh," and sometimes he will go into an awesome falsetto while he's talking. It's very Brian Jodice-like. When you put him on the changing table, he'll begin to talk and kick his feet. While in the tub, he now can sit up, and likes to splash. Bathtime has become more fun for him. Basically, he is a lot more active than before, always exploring and looking for things to grab and play with.

Most of our activities this month included parks. We went to Whitmore Park, South Shores Park (to see his cousins' soccer games), and we went to Arts in Central Park, a nice art exhibition downtown.

Noah and I have had fun watching Bears games together. The first game of the year was a night game, so Noah was asleep. I'm very thankful that the Bears' Week 1 stinkfest against Green Bay was not the first game Noah saw. Since then, we've watched a few afternoon games, and I'm sure to celebrate with him every time they score. I have to start him early!

Angie started some occasional substitute teaching in September, so Noah has had some days with me (on Wednesdays) and also with his grandmothers. He has handled it well, and we're glad that we don't both have to work every day.

Stay tuned later this month for the eight-month report. Even since turning seven months old, Noah has discovered some new things, and it's going to be a good month.