Did you get pinched today?

Happy Saint Patrick's day!!  Above is a picture of  Saint Patrick.  Saint Patrick is generally recognized as the patron Saint of Ireland.  It was widely believed that he drove snakes out of Ireland, but that has since been proven untrue.

The leprechaun usually makes an appearance on this day.  The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes.

The Blarney stone has become a fixture of Irish lore.  According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence of skill at flattery).  The stone itself was set into a tower of the Blarney castle in 1446.  The term Blarney has come to mean clever, flattering or coaxing talk.

Although it may seem simple enough to kiss a stone, but kissing the Blarney stone is not as simple as you might imagine.  Instead of trying to describe it in written word, I thought I would post a youtube video to better capture the act.

The three leafed shamrock is a staple on St. Patty's day as well.  It's significance is rooted in Christianity.The leaves represent the Holy Trinity.

Last but certainly not least, the most important thing about Saint Patrick's Day is that it is my Dad's birthday.   Happy Birthday, Dad!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Pinching was started by school children who thought it would be fun to do as a joke.  The joke caught on and has found its place in today's celebration.  

If you are not wearing green consider yourself pinched!!

Big O'Daddy

You are late. Late for a very important date!

Sorry.  I couldn't resist this header after my rant about oversleeping due to Daylight Savings Time.

The men (Joseph and James), Frannie, and myself, went to see Alice in Wonderland on Saturday.  We all went in with not the highest of expectations and came out being glad we went.  Our thought was that James would enjoy it, but were afraid that Joseph might not.  Our fears were rooted in a 13 year old young man, possibly being a little too old for this movie.  I will say that he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Frannie explained to us that although it was about Alice in Wonderland, more of the story in this movie

came from Lewis Carroll's, Through the Looking Glass.  That was cool to learn, but it didn't matter to us.  We just enjoyed the movie.  The consensus amongst us was that Johnny Depp was great, but the Cheshire Cat owned us.

We all gave it two thumbs up.  We each agree that we would enjoy seeing it again.  I can tell you that the next time we see it will be when it comes out on DVD.

After yesterday's rant, I thought I would use this little guy's image to warn the reader that I am about to jump up on my soapbox.  Sorry.  Hang in there.  

One of my favorite things in the world to do is go to the movies.  I have enjoyed it since I was a youngster.  That being said, I should known better through a lifetime of experience, but I still cannot stand the cost of the refreshments in the movie house.

Although I shouldn't buy popcorn and cokes at the movie house, I do it anyway.  We set the precedent years ago and just haven't ever stopped.  We do draw the line at the candy, nachos and hot dogs.  Guess what.  The movie house tricked me.  They saw that I would buy popcorn, so they now have special popcorns.  Saturday , they had "Limited time only" Alice in Wonderland popcorn.  A popcorn dunked in a blue cotton candy flavored coating.  A must have for any seven year old kid.  Yes, James it is popcorn, but it is also candy.  But Dad, it is only for a limited time.  Yes, James, that is right, but don't you realize that it will be the same popcorn just a different name when the next movie comes out?  Sometimes, you have to let a seven year old be a seven year old.  I relented.  James got the popcorn and we got our regular two cokes and large popcorn to share amongst ourselves.  $22.50 later, we were entering the movie house to sate our hunger for popcorn and a good movie.

I almost forgot the movie was in 3D.  I think that the 3D movie has come an incredibly long way from when I was a kid.  The movie is highly enjoyable in 3D.  I even like the fact that you get effects that are not just in place to scare you.  The last few that I have seen have caught me off guard once or twice when I wasn't expecting it.  Each time, I have moved to one side or the other to avoid something coming at me.  The biggest thing for me and 3D is that after the novelty, I can take it or leave it.  Unfortunately, I don't get a choice anymore.   Just about every movie geared toward the younger audience has a 3D format these days.  The biggest problem for me is that each person in my party is subject to a $2.50 surcharge for the cost of the special projector.  That was a total of $10.00 extra for my little group.

With tickets being matinee priced at $7.00 plus the surcharge, the total after all fees was $38.00.

No wonder these movies are setting all time record sales.  With surcharges and the like, the movies continue to find ways to make more money off its patrons.  

When I was younger, the movies I liked, I might go see more than once.  With today's prices, I guess the movie house is trying to get as much as they can, because they figure that might be their only chance to get someone's money.

At the end of the day, we had spent $60.50.  The cost may have been steep and might give me pause the next time I think about going.  I realize the time spent together with my Mom and my boys was priceless.

Until the next time the lights go down,

Big Daddy Ebert

BEWARE!!!!

Do you know what I am talking about?  Think about it.  Look at the calendar.  Still don't know what I am talking about?  Just ask this guy in the next picture.  

Do you know who this is?  That's right, it's Julius Caesar.  Now do you know why we are supposed to beware?

That's right!  Today is the Ides of March.  What is the Ides of March?

The gentleman above, William Shakespeare, made the term famous with his play about Julius Caesar, when he warned "beware the ides of March."

The Ides of March is referred to as March 15th on the Roman calendar.  The Ides refers to the 15th of the months of March, May, July, and October.

According to Plutarch, Caesar was warned by a seer to be on his guard against a great peril on the Ides of March.  On his way to the Theater of Pompey (where he would be assassinated) Caesar saw the seer and joked, "Well, the Ides of March have come," to which the seer replied, "Ay, they have come, but they are not gone."  Therefore, the Ides of March has come to be known as the day Caesar was killed.

Many strange things happened on this day, including my favorite, the appearance of St. Elmo's fire.  That will be saved for another post.  I hope this day ends for you a little better than it did for Caesar.

Et tu, Brute?

Big Daddy of the Bard

Daylight Savings Time (Hooray!!)

Did you know that Daylight Savings Time has its roots back to the railroad days?  Back in the day,  each locality  set their own times.  This played havoc on the railroad system who tried to set up their schedules and keep up with the different times.  Finally, enough was enough and time zones were set up that were uniform throughout the country.

Daylight Savings Time was initially put into place to save energy.  The rationale, with it being lighter outside an hour later, less energy would be needed.  Lights wouldn't be turned on until later and thus energy would be reduced.  Initially, that may have worked, but now we have come to realize that it may use more energy.  With it being lighter later, people are taking care of the things they may not have when it was dark outside.  Running to the store to shop,  catching up on errands , or cutting the grass after work have become the norm during this time.

Whatever the reason we do it, I sure do like it being lighter later.  I feel like Spring has sprung and life is a little happier this time of year!

One thing I don't understand.  How does anyone wake up late on Daylight Savings Time?  With all of the constant reminders on television, radio, and newspapers, there is no excuse why anybody should sleep late and use Daylight Savings Time as their reason.

Happy with the changes and never late,

Big Daddy Father Time

Emily Margaret where are you????

I am ready to get you home, little lady.  I knew that there was a lot of work involved with adopting, I just didn't realize how much!!

I have been all over the country side today.  Between giving blood and urine (Poor  Dr. Freeman) and everything else in one office, I was juggling the patients in my office.  After that I was chasing down lab work in other offices.  I am glad I had my lovely wife working with me and pushing me in the right direction.  Otherwise, nothing would have been done and she would be all over me like nobody's business.

I am not the best in the world at being assertive, even when I have every reason and right to be.  Side note- even if you hate your job treat the customer with the utmost respect.  Not only does the customer deserve it, but he should command it.  Also, if you aren't the one signing the paycheck, that person may not appreciate your customer care and find somebody that does a better job of it.  (Hint: That was your advice today!)


Anyway, I can't wait to put all the tedious work behind me, and just chase you all over the house.  That's the kind of work I want to be doing!!!

If you are following along in my blog and thinking about adopting internationally, my beautiful wife Sarah is the contact you need.  If she hasn't dealt with it or organized it, then the adoption agency hasn't figured how to implement it into the adoption process.  Follow her in this journey over at Her Name Will Be Emily Margaret.

Paperwork poor and lab worked out,

Big Daddy in Waiting

Post Script -  Happy Birthday, Dr. Phil.  Thanks for all you do for our family.  You are a blessing to us, as well as the community.  I feel like a better person just for having known you.  By the way, I think James is needing a quarter!   Side note--Not everybody can stand as far away from the counter as you.

Somewhere over the rainbow......

Today was jam packed at the home of Life Advice.  We got up early, followed Aunt Rachel's Princess run, went to church and taught Sunday School.  All before 10:00 am.

We went home, walked the dogs, powdered our noses and were then off to eat lunch.

We ate lunch at our new favorite place to eat in Decatur, AL.  We went to Fulin's Asian restaurant.  It is good food and really hits the spot for us.  With it being an Asian flavor we often talk and wonder about our little Emily Margaret and what she will be like when we finally get her home.  After eating a nice relaxed lunch we still had a couple of minutes to kill and apparently  my budget as well.  Nestled within walking distance is none other than.......(drum roll, please!!!!

There is absolutely no way we could pass up this opportunity.  So we didn't.  Sixty dollars and a little bit of happiness later, and a couple of bags not anywhere near capacity we began the final leg of our journey.  We made our way to the Hunstville, AL civic center for the Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz.  I am always amazed at how talented these actors and actresses are. 

My advice today is to remember the Arts and support them when you can.  More importantly, spend a day with your family that they will never forget.  Along the way, don't forget to take mental snapshots of the joy and laughter shared.  There will be days when you will call on them and remember vividly how blessed you are to have such a wonderful family.

Looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and very happy when I found my family there!!

Big Daddy and his little dog Toto, too 

Public service reminder....Where in the world is Aunt Rachel??

While some of us carry on with our daily routines tomorrow, just wanted to remind you that Princess Aunt Rachel is running her half marathon at WDW.  The race starts at 5 am central time, so don't forget to drop in and track her progress.

Following along like finding Waldo would be tortuous,  therefore, I am posting a link that will do all the work for you.  Just sign up and follow along.  I am sure she will enjoy your company.

http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=50

Good luck, Princess Rach!!  We are cheering for you!!

PS Say hey to Uncle "Big P".  Addison, Nana, Boompa,  and Gigi for me.

Run, Rachel,Run.

Big Daddy Gump

Friday evening, what a feeling...

Every week we seem to pick up more and more things to do.  The momentum crashes into Friday like a runaway freight train.  We are often exhausted when the evening comes.  Here At Home With the Hinsons (Ms. Sarah's blog), we look forward to chillaxin' with the family!  Tonight's particular agenda is no different than most Friday's, therefore I will give you a little peek into our world!

The most important thing is dinner.  This can make or break a Friday evening, especially with Joseph and James being an integral part of Family Friday Night!!

Tonight's particular fare was a couple of cheese pizzas, garlic bread, and some sweet tea.  We actually tried a couple of the new sandwiches as well.  We feel the Habanero and Buffalo chicken sandwiches were particularly tasty.  The only downside was that the sandwiches seemed to be a little chicken poor.  At five bucks a sandwich one would expect to walk away with a little more chicken to go with all that bread.

Most Friday's we try to watch a movie or some television together and this evening is no exception.  With baseball practices, church, and LOST, it is hard to keep up with much more during the week.  Because of the aforementioned, tonight while "decompensating" (Sarah's newest word) we enjoyed catching up on American Idol.  For all its faults and sometimes quirkiness, American Idol still entertains and is enjoyable for the whole clan.

I know you are wondering where the Life Advice comes in to this post and I promise there is some coming from an unusual suspect.  Hold on.  I will tell you that this post is already dotted with advice starting with family night at home enjoying each others company and just being together without a deadline or homework.

Who is this unusual suspect I was talking about???

It is none other than................................................

I know, you didn't expect Mr. Cowell as being someone that I would use for Life Advice.  While watching Idol with you guys he gave a wonderful quote that I felt was one of the best quotes I have heard in a while.  It rang so true that I felt it should be shared with you again in this post.

"The only time you should be nervous is if you are useless."

                                                                                                   -Simon Cowell

Read it again, with an English accent.  Great Advice.

Friday's and Family....It doesn't get any better than that!!

Big Daddy of Chillaxin

Princess talk has led me to think about my Queen!!

No, I am not talking about Queen Elizabeth.  However, her Lady in waiting has corresponded with us in the past.  We'll talk about that in another post.

No, I am not talking about Freddie Mercury and his band.  I will say that they were pretty awesome.  Great songs such as, Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust, and A Crazy Little Thing Called Love, just to name a few.

Without a doubt, Queen had the greatest Side A and Side B "45," of all time.  We are the Champions, back to back with We Will Rock You, will forever be played out as an anthem of my youth for the rest of my life.

One of my Top 10 songs of all time was sung by Queen and David Bowie- Under Pressure.  Funny how a young man by the name of Vanilla Ice would later take some of the music from this song tweak it just a little and forever by remembered for Ice, Ice, Baby, which owes a lot of its success to Under  Pressure.

All of that is great, but none of this can hold a candle to my Sarah!

Although it is a great song, no I am not talking about Hall and Oats classic song Sara Smile.  They spelled it wrong.  Don't get me wrong,  I do love Sarah's smile.

Eventually if you live long enough and the good Lord blesses you well, your Queen will come along and sweep you off of your feet.  Well let me tell you, I was BLESSED!!  Looking at my sweet love's picture you know it was all a God thing.  In the country, I would be told that I out kicked my coverage.  You know what, I did!

The great thing about my Sarah is that I got the total package.  Grace, beauty, and smarts!  And to top it all she still loves me in spite of myself.  God has richly blessed me with a woman I don't deserve, but I'm tickled I got her anyway.

A Christian woman with a "Heart of Gold".  The wonderful thing about Sarah is that she is my Ms. America as far as her looks are concerned.   The icing on the cake is that she is Ms. Universe as far as her heart is concerned.  Beauty on the outside and even prettier on the inside, I've got to say I stumbled across my once in a million chance and won!!  

                                                            

I am the luckiest man in the world I tell you.  Thank you Ms. Sarah for saying "Yes," when everything inside was surely screaming, "No!!!!"

The reason for posting this today is to put my little woman up on a pedestal, but more importantly, we heard from our adoption agency today.  We are going to be placed with Ms. Emily Margaret much sooner than we expected.  Maybe within the next week.  This means She will be home in time for Christmas!!!  Sarah, the love of my life, our little girl is coming home!! I can't wait!!

God is GOOD ALL THE TIME!!

Blessed beyond my wildest dreams,

Luckiest and Most Thankful Big Daddy

Princess Rachel and Mickey Mouse-What a wonderful combination!!

They are having A Princess marathon this weekend at Walt Disney World!!  As always, Mickey will be there!  The other usual suspects will be Cinderella, Jasmine, and Mulan (China girl connection), but this year there will be a special treat!!  Our favorite and cutest Princess, Aunt Rachel will be attending.  Look at her picture, there is no way the Princesses could even think about running without her.

I fully expect her next running picture will have all the Disney characters chasing after her wanting to get pictures with her and her autograph.

We are very proud of Aunt Rachel and her running endeavors.  YOU GO GIRL!!!  Sorry we can't be there with you, but I promise we will be following along and praying for you throughout your adventure. 

Be careful and Godspeed!!!  

I have included a link below so you can follow along on Princess Rachel's journey!!  Drop in and say hey and wish her well.  Tell her Big Daddy sent you.  

http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=50

The proudest brother-in-law in the WHOLE Kingdom,

Big Daddy of Princess Pride 

Chess and Jesus. GLORY!!

Chess and Jesus and what they have in common.  Tonight we went to our Lenton service and heard a message from Dr. Fisher as part of our lead up to the Easter celebration.

The message he delivered was great.  One of his stories that he related dealt with the game of chess.  No, he did not discuss what you may think about when discussing chess.  Most folks, myself included, thought that maybe he would relate that the contrast of the black and white pieces resemble good versus evil.  Or maybe even the two different Kings facing each other like God and Lucifer.

Dr. Fisher related to us that he was a pretty good player and that he enjoyed the competition.  He joined a University chess club and quickly became a member in a group of a few hundred students of the game.  As he became more comfortable with his strategies and play, he entered a tournament put on by the club.

The big day arrived and it was then that he learned he was one of only twelve people to have signed up.  The tournament was set up as a round robin and each contestant would play each other.  Dr. Fisher beamed with pride as he explained that he had a perfect record,  The fleeting glint quickly faded when he explained that he had lost every match up to his last match.  His last opponent he described as meek and giving the air that he was an adversary he might be able to overcome.

The match started and Dr. Fisher lost in eleven moves.  The fastest loss he experienced in the tournament.  He went on to explain this particular tournament allowed for the players to discuss the match after the game was completed.  His opponent, he later came to learn was the University chess champion of England.  While discussing his game the Champion explained that his first and second moves were good moves, but that his third move is where he lost the game.  Scratching his head, Dr. Fisher reminded him that it took eleven moves to complete the game.  The Champion smiled and agreed, but taught him how his third move was the move that sealed his fate and caused the match to be complete in eleven moves.  Dr. Fisher excitedly explained it was then that the light came on for him!

When Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected, it was the third move by God!! GLORY!!  In the battle of God versus Lucifer, this is when God won the battle and in turn we have one the battle.  By His blood we are healed!!  Satan continues to unleash evil on our world and we continue to see it all around us in society, but we have already won!!  The reason Satan continues his fight is because he has yet to realize that check mate was when Christ was resurrected and all he is doing is going through the motions.  Jesus and chess, what better way to celebrate the King of Kings!!

Glad He is my King,  

Big Daddy Humble and Undeserving Servant

Girlfriends!!!!

With the subject of girlfriends I feel it important that I share a picture of my first girlfriend with you.  Ms. Macpherson and I were on again and off again for a long time.  If it hadn't been for your mother rescuing me from her, who knows where we would be.  

A big thing to take from this, is to never settle.  If you want to reach for the stars, DO IT!  The worst thing that could happen is that she will say no and miss out on the best thing that could have ever happened to her.

Having a girlfriend is not near as important as having girls who are friends!  If you didn't read that REAL CLOSELY, I want you to read it again.

The great thing about girls is that they are easy on the eyes, softer in all the right places, and they smell good.  Sorry, but you won't get that from any of the guys you hang out with.

Girls are not always easy to understand.  Heck, we aren't so easy to understand either!  Talking is the best way to fix that problem.  If you really want to get to know girls, make friends with them, talk to them, and most importantly, listen to them.  Always let the ladies lead the conversations.  I promise you will be way ahead of your knucklehead friends in your relationships if you just take the time and hear what the ladies are telling you.

Everything I have written in today's post is very important and very serious.  The next few sentences may be some of the most important advice I will ever give you, so read carefully and incorporate this into your life.

Society makes a big deal out of having a partner in your life.  Many of the Hollywood movies and a lot of the advertising agencies, push the importance of having a girlfriend to be complete.  What they don't tell you is that if you feel that way, you'll always be looking for the next one, a "better" one.  That is not a way to live.

One day find a young lady you want to get to know better.   Talk, listen, and learn.  Through this process, I promise you will find and make many friends.  After you've learned how to have girl friends, then you will be ready to have girlfriends!!

Elle Macpherson's loss,

Big Daddy of Love

Above All, Be Honest

Be honest to everyone,  your friends, enemies, teammates, and coworkers.  Did I leave anyone out?  Yes, I did.  Probably the most important person in this equation.  That person is you. Regardless of anyone around you,  if you are not true to yourself,  you have already lost.

If you have the faintest hesitation at all regarding your words or actions, think again before acting.  Much like the rule of the carpenter to measure twice and cut once, make sure you get it right the first time.

At the end of the day, you will have to answer to yourself.  When that time of reflection comes, you want to be proud of yourself and the choices you have made.  Here comes that word accountability again.

A true man takes the consequences of his actions and doesn't try to deny them or act like they didn't happen, but makes his best attempt at making things right even at the cost to himself.  You will make mistakes, that is one of the few things I can guarantee.  Take the high road.  Admit your mistake and make it right.  Many times, that will be easier said than done.  I promise, if you take this advice,  you will be a better man for it.  At the end of the day, you should be able to look in the mirror and know that even though you are not perfect, you did your best to do the right thing.

The best advice is to do it right the first time.  If you can't,  be accountable and make it right.


I love you,

Big Daddy Lincoln