Has it ever been a year to remember....or forget....I guess it depends on if your a glass all the way full or glass overfull and spilling over type of guy....The main theme to sum up this year 2012 is that I am simply tired cause my glass was always spilling over...
From Jan 1 2012 to Dec 29 2012 I put in 2,352 hrs at work, spent 1358 hrs working on my house and other similar family projects, I slept for 2190 hrs, I spent 49 hrs watching TV, 104 hrs blogging, 207 hrs on facebook and the pond boss forum, 263 hrs fishing, 42 hrs hunting and the remaining 2000 hrs in the year I spent playing with my kids at the lake, or on vacation!! We worked hard, but we also played hard..... every minute of 2012 was productive.....
So for those who dont know, I work at Herman Brothers Lake and Land Management. That there is perhaps one of the most exciting companies on the planet. 2013 is shaping up to be incredible already, we got alot of unbelievable opportunities that lie ahead for the upcoming year that pretty much leave me shaking my head in Awe of how God is using a small disfunctional fish company!
Oh yeah, and it wasnt just me who put in the extra time....Jared, Allen, Justin, and Andi all put in the hours (somewhat behind the scenes) to make it all happen....they are the glue that holds it all together and gets it all done....also Phil and Tate this summer were absolutely invaluable!
So now Ice Fishing season is upon us and I am pretty much giddy with excitement....I will spend all night on New Years Eve dusting off the cobwebs from all my ice fishing gear and organizing everything......Every reel will get new line (22 of them)....all the vexilars will be gettin tuned up and charged up (12 of them).....the rusty jigs will be discarded, the augers tuned up, the sleds cleaned out, the heaters propaned up, the ice scoopers will get a pep talk, and the wax worms will all get wound up and ready to wiggle.....
So anyhow this is probably the longest post of 2012 that doesnt have a picture in it....I got just a couple I would like to share to finish off the year....
This is Drake...He is a little man after my own heart...when he got this gift on Christmas morning he was in heaven for the first 2 hours of the morning....there was nothing else going on in the world once he got his little toolbelt taped on....
He has the best work ethic out of any kid I have ever seen... period. While building our house this year the other kids were off playin, but he was right by my side every night building our house....I can say this literally for hours day in and day out he would just follow me around and copy as much as he possibly could.....he was always in the way, but not only did I tolerate it, I encouraged it and nurtured it.....his eyes would light up when he could put his hand on the real drill, or help pull the trigger on the real nail gun, or climb up the real ladder....and Brook got to fill in lots of extra holes and scratches when he would pound on the real wall or floors with the real hammer or screw driver......
So not only is Drake gonna be the best lil worker on the planet, his passion for fish and deer is way stronger than my other 2 kids as well......he will carry live (semi live) fish around for hours and he talks about and pretends to be deer or deer hunting every single day.....every night at the dinner table we always say the best and worst of our day....Drakes does alot of rambling and mumbling, but his last word is always DEER!!!!
Also one more thing about Drake that stands out is he is just downright TOUGH...he gets hurt alot more than the others, but he cries from pain waaaay less....he will fight back tears at all costs and say repeatedly "I TUFF, I TUFF".....I am often amazed at how tough that little boy is. He takes pride in not crying when he has every right too!!
Oh yeah I have two other kids....just kidding all you moms still reading....While Drake is clearly my favorite, I love the other two kids more than words on a fishing blog can describe.....what were their names again?......
Lets start with Noah....He has grown up leaps and bounds this his 5th year of life....
Noah also strongly displays many of his fathers attributes...just differently than Drake. Noah's emotions and thoughts are right out on the forefront for the whole word to see...However he is VERY confident and his ego is as large as any 5 year old you will ever meet....He is the fastest, strongest, smartest, and best at everything he does.....(in his own mind at least).....
My whole childhood I would always here my parents telling other adults how I am a "Legend in my own Mind"....I probably heard that 1000 times and never ever knew what they were talking about or what that meant until I started raising Noah and heard that blast from the past just recently...It all makes sense.....The boy is a legend in his own mind just like his Dad.....
He has a passion for fishing like me, but his attention span or determination isnt borderline obsessive like Drake's and mine....basically he is more normal.....Noahs work ethic is absolutely pathetic....where did I go wrong? He just is as lazy as can be and simply not capable of picking up after himself or doing chores.....
Just yesterday he had to get socks on, put on his shoes, and get a coat...all in a timely manner as we were leaving...he counted that was 3 things he had to do...ughhh....then when his Grandma asked him to shut the door going out to the garage as she headed out he said in a loud whiny voice....."No, that means I would have 4 things to do and that is waay to much"....... I was mad, but did laugh on the inside.....
So I only say these things to remember em...Noah really is a kindhearted, amazing 5 year old...He is smart, too smart for his own good, or let me rephrase too smart for what his 5 year old emotions can handle...He knows too much, but yet that makes it harder for him to comprehend certain things....he doesnt just say the darndest things, he flat out says things that will truly amaze you and leave you in awe of his little mind....He is a ladies man through and through and will always complement Brook out of the blue how nice she looks etc etc....
While Noah is into hunting and fishing, I can see his true outdoor passion is leaning more towards dirt bikes and 4 wheelers.....He lives to ride....Im ok with letting him follow his dreams as long as they dont involve skate boards, soccer, video games, musical instruments other than the guitar, or computer stuff....everything else like hunting, fishing, camping, basketball, football, 4 wheelers, etc and he has my blessing to pursue and live his dream.....
So now its time to talk about Mae.....she is 7....she is in charge and in control since the moment she was born....She will be the perfect wife for a man out there who wants to hand over the reins....She is in control at all times and she looks just like her mother (drop dead gorgeous). However unlike her mother, she is scarily similar to her father's strong will, stubborness, and manipulativeness....
Most of you dont know, but I was a terrible child...I got literally more spankings than all my brothers, sisters, neighbors, and cousins all combined.....I was stubborn, mischevious, and my rear end was numb....the hardest spankins just didnt phase me or change the course I had in my mind...As a child I was determined to do what I wanted, when I wanted and a spankin was just a little speed bump in my road....My parents did eventually beat the tar out of me and broke me into submission, I was 15 years old when I finally got my last whoopin and started changin my ways.....
......now dont get me wrong, Mae is completely Daddy's little girl, but she is fighting a battle within on a daily basis.....a battle I am all too familiar with.....Mae and I get along great! We are wired almost identically! She is actually leaning over my shoulder right now trying to read and getting oh so close to being able to read as fast as I can type......she just hit me in the back cause she saw her name and I wouldnt tell her about what Im writing....
She was born to be a mother! She loves babies and already dreams of the day when she will be a real live mother with her own child....
She is smart. A different kind of smart than Noah, the kind of smart that does alot better in school than Noah will....She will go to great lengths to please her teachers and pretty much everyone else in the world....
Ok so exactly 10 years ago Brook and I got married at the age of 19....The best catch of my entire life....our marriage is kind of like a cane pole bluegill fisherman realing in the world record largemouth bass....People to this day are still amazed at how I married so good and how she settled being so young....
Behind every great man is an even greater woman, well in my case only half of the old saying is true: there is simply just an amazing, patient, great woman stuck with raising 4 children on her own.
So 2012 is just about over and I am really excited for 2013! We are now all moved into our house and are absolutely lovin it! We actually had guests over last night, 2012 was definitely not the year for entertaining or social activities......it was the year of nonstop working, but that nonstop working is already paying off!!!! Here are just a couple fun pics of my favorite child....hehe....to finish off the year...
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