Dave Rhoades - In Transit

In the, “Yet another society phobia” department…

I have seen a progressing over the past few months and probably truth be known, it has been sneaking up on me over the last few years.

Touch-less EVERYTHING!

Where did it all begin?

We wave our credit cards instead of swiping them.

No longer do we turn on the water in public places.

No longer do we have to grab a paper towel, we wave and it magically appears.

And as of today, (at least in our building in the DTC) we have a tissue to open the door handle as we exit the bathroom.

Yes folks, in a society that we are “GOING GREEN”, when one of the largest planks that built our recent candidates platforms was: “Oh, my gosh, how are we going to save the____(fill in your own blank here) air, ozone, fossil fuel, baby whales, dolphins, grass, oceans, polar bear, and red breasted speckled white owl; I’m surprised that the environmentalists aren’t up in arms about these tissues for germy door handles!

Now I’m all for saving the rain forest, water, ozone and all the other saves that we need to do to keep the ole blue ball spinning in space, but now we’re plowing another swath through the Pacific Northwest in order to use 50 year old trees to make sure we don’t get germs off public restroom handles?

And there is even a special little trashcan beside the dispenser that you can deposit your “germ hankies” into. Unfortunately, after washing my hands and drying them on the touch-less paper towel, I grab the hankie, open the door and then try to discard it and because my hands are still wet, it sticks and won’t let go! So I end up touching the hankie that has now picked up all those nasty germs in order to get it in that little germ trash slot that I’m not supposed to be touching!

Now I realize, being an All American Male and spending my share of time in the public restrooms of Corporate America, that there are certain “Madmen” that I shouldn’t shake hands with (due to their lack of restroom hygiene), but still…

Why can’t we just use our shirtsleeves to open the doors like we always used to?

Save the trees?????

Here’s a few pics of the grandkids this year…

First, locked in mortal combat.

Then, friends.

Our little Ewok

Farmer Man

Little strawberry.

And the whole crew.

As those who know me…

It’s comin’ on Christmas, they’re cutting down the tree…

I’ll be putting our’s up soon, this month, yes, this month!

I was up somewhere around 2 something AM this morning and am hitting my stride around now, 5:22am and guess what I read in my email?

Yes, you guessed it, I’m on the WalMart email alert!

And like Gotham flashing in the clouds for the Dark Knight to rescue it, WalMart has put out the call… Sales!

Sales, this Saturday only!

So as Jeanie is sleeping in the other part of our room, I must answer the call, hop in the shower, dry myself, dawn my cape and tights, hop in the coolest Batmobile that they have thus far produced and race away for some pancakes before seeing if I can indeed find a higher Megapixel camera than anyone deserves! Will I make it before all the other snipe hunters arrive! Dare I say…

Yes!

Our Jovanie turned, well, whatever age(even when they are young, women don’t like to tell their age, let’s just say, older than Averi, her daughter and younger than me) on Halloween, Oct 31 (just in case you didn’t know what day Halloween fell on).

Jovan has been acquainted with our family since around the age of 14-15? And she married our son, Rocky in 2006 and along came Averi in Feb of 2008.

When ever I talk to Jovan on the phone and ask her how she’s doing, the answer is always: “Goood.”

And she is “Goood” for Rocky. When he walks into the room, she lights up and everyone knows that she has eyes for no one else. We told Rocky before they were married, she is a girl that you don’t have to worry, loves you and will always be faithful to you; we have known it from the first.

Jovan always has a smile and you can also tell that she is a great mommy to Averi. And above all else, she is totally committed to the Lord and to His work and she was the girl that Jeanie and I prayed for all of Rocky’s life and we got her!

Jovan holds a very high distinction in our family, she is the only daughter-in-law that we will ever have. I like to call all the kids that have married into our family, sons and daughters or in Jovan’s case, daughter. At one point I was calling them “sons and daughters by marriage”  but then that doesn’t quite hit the distinction either.

So I will refer to Tristan and Dave and Jovan as sons and daughter then. There, it’s settled, don’t you feel better by gum!

Rocky and Jovan did so well during the birthing process and are such a striking couple that they along with Averi are immortalized on the walls of Platte Valley Medical Center here in Brighton, CO. If you visit the Baby Wing, you will see large poster sized images of them. They also appear frequently on the brochures that Platte Valley sends out. I guess they are sort of celebrities…

We love you, Jovanie…

for more on Jovan, visit www.jeanierhoades.com

This is either a Missouri hunting stand or a high chair for the world’s tallest baby.

Jeanie and I have started a collection of pics of us outside of WalMarts all over the country.

This one is from Springfield, Missouri…

To my little sister also, born the same day as Hunter except a few years earlier!

Happy Birthday, Debbie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

My little Hunter turns 4 today! Can you believe it!

Hunter is a bundle of joy, just like his mother at that age. He can converse with you on a variety of subjects and you can see the little wheels turning in that little blonde head when you are telling him something.

Recently some friends from another state came to visit and they went with Hunter to the swimming pool (he is by the way a little fish in the water and doesn’t have a lot of fear of getting wet). During the course of play, the little boy pushed Hunter off the side. Immediately the other little boy’s dad jumped in and pulled Hunter out of the water. After some sputtering and toweling off, Hunter approached the other boy, pointed his finger and said: “Don’t push me in the pool again”.

(Hunter with cousin Averi)

He is extremely verbal for a four year old. Tara (our oldest daughter and Hunter’s mommy) told us that they got a mini trampoline for him for his birthday. They couldn’t wait to give it to him so his dad, Dave put it together and they led Hunter, eyes closed to the prize. When it was unveiled, Hunter smiled and thought it was pretty neat, but when asked if he liked it said: “Yes, but I was really expecting a motorcycle.”

Hunter is a warrior and a clown and a diplomat and joy.

I can’t believe how fast they grow.

(Hunter with his corn that he and Nana planted this year)

I love you my little guy, Happy Birthday!

PaPa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

What can I tell you about Jeanie? A girl I’ve known for over 30 years now?

When you know a person intimately, they become one with your soul. You know their customs, their temperament, their walk, their moods, and their feelings. You catch their glance, you pick up on the tone of their voice.

I can tell by the way she answers my call what she is going through and what sort of day she is having. I register from her smile when she is in total enjoyment of something and I draw from her joy with her explosive laughter.

My Jeanie completes me. She is a steady voice in a rocky situation. She is a beacon of light in the tempest driven seas of life. She is my true north when all around me is magnetic chaos.

She has been my companion, friend, savior and lover for 27 years of her life and since she is only turning 29 today, that must mean we were betrothed when we were but toddlers.

Together we have raised 5 outstanding children who have married outstanding people and the three marrieds have produced 5 outstanding grandkids!

Her birth was a miracle and I know God’s destiny brought us together, in of all places, North Dakota!

I love you, my honey, I am so glad that you were born just for me…

More on Jeanie: http://www.jeanierhoades.com/

(Rocky and Jovan’s engagement picture) 

Happy Birthday to Rocky!!!

Rocky is our only biological son. (I have two sons-in-law that I consider sons also) And he is a jewel as a son. Sometimes they call sons, “chips off the ole block”, but I think that Rocky as a son makes me a better father rather than the other way around.

I could tell you a lot of things about my son…

Jeanie always says that dogs and small children run to Rocky in rejoicing that he has entered the room. His nieces and nephews always know that when Rocky is around, there will be fun!

With some of his humor and facial expressions he can be a cross between Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller. He also does a hilarious velociraptor, ask him sometime.

But who Rocky is goes far beyond his quirky sense of humor, love for video games and music; for he is a lover of humanity. He is a great husband and father and a genuinly caring individual that always gives people a fair break. He is an awesome musician and gifted singer.  And was there any doubt that with this compassion and gifting that he would enter ministry?

Rocky spends his days honing his skills to lead a congregation of 3000 into the presence of God through music and worship. On any given day, you can find him studying the Word of God, playing his guitars, song writing, working with sound systems, composing on the computer, or hanging out with his wife and loving his daughter Averi (7 months old). May I just say, that my son is an outstanding human being?

(One of my favorite pictures of Rocky leading worship. It is a picture of a picture so sorry for the quality)

Yes, Rocky has a mischeivious side, as his mom, ALL of his sisters and wife, Jovan will testify; but he is one of the most compasionate and honest people I know. And I respect him more than I can express.

I love you my son.

(The happy little Rhoades family)

Happy Birthday, I’m so glad you were born!

(even if you did shoot me in the back with the air soft pistol you got for your birthday

In his defence: I actually told him to do it, I wanted to see if it would sting as much as a bb. Rocky didn’t want to, but he obeyed his father anyway I know, crazy, but you only go round once in life…

for more on Rocky, visit: http://www.jeanierhoades.com/stuff-i-actually-think/rocker-bos-birthday

A few images from our visit with mom and dad…

Doing a little reconstruction for dad.

Mom and Dad invited us to come to their house and then put out a No Trespassing sign? (this isn’t really their house)

Isn’t this supposed to be NON-denominational?

One of our friends outside our bedroom door.

more soon…