Living Hale

Eighty days. That is how long our summer break lasts. Our first grade son finished school today and returns to school in 81 days. Our daughter will start kindergarten at the same time. So, we have 80 days of summer fun ahead of us.             In some ways, I am really looking forward to the summer break. During the school year, we are very active with sports activities, Cub Scouts, dance, church, PTO, and school work. It is great to have some time to decompress with down time. In other ways, however, I am very worried about our summer. This year, I will be home with the kids for the majority of the time. I have a flexible work schedule, and I can work early mornings and late nights to do what I need to do. My wife does not have that kind of flexibility with her work, so she cannot take care of the kids during the normal work week. And while I love my kids dearly, I do dread spending so many hours with them each day. ...

Hello, and welcome to our new blog. It is a blog all about our family. It is a blog about our interests and observations. So, why are we doing this? Both Amy and I have blogged before. I enjoy blogging. But, I found that my previous blogs had limited what I was able to say and write. One of my blogs was used to give my reflections as a pastor. My other blog was used to address issues from a Christian man's perspective. However, there are times when I want to share my thoughts without putting a Christian spin on things. Not every life experience is a sermon illustration. I felt restricted to addressing "faith" topics in those blogs. What do I do if I want to share an amusing anecdote about a family drive to the lake? Or share a great money-saving device I found? Or any number of other things? How can I share fun family anecdotes without turning them into a sermon? I needed another venue. Amy felt similarly limited with her faith blog as well. So here we have what I hop...