In Defence of Gradon

I received more than a little flack for the “creepy” picture of Graydon I posted a little while ago. Though I am slightly offended most people could not see the humor and sheer pleasure of his enjoying watermelon. For his sake I decided to post some of the more “adorable” pictures. I love this kid he is too funny. Yesterday Erika watched him purposely superman off the trampoline land flat on the ground and laugh his little butt off. A couple weeks ago his mother was working outside while the kids were supposedly napping. Graydon slipped out of his diaper and stood fists on his hips in front of the window stark naked for all the world to see. The chances of Erika and I having a kid like him is pretty high, which makes me a little nervous because he tends to make a lot of mess and get into all sorts of mischief but at least we will have some pretty good stories.
Anyway kids catch ya latter.

So Guess What!!!???

This is growing in Erika’s Womb!!! We were not planning on telling the world for a few weeks but today Erika accidentally let it slip to her niece who promptly told the rest of the office and then her brothers, so it won’t be long till every one knows. But yeah here it is I’m going to be a Dad!!!... Yeah I’m going to have to get some more heart-burn medication.
Were expecting arround the twenty first of January. so this makes it week six. Ah good times... Oh and PS it was not an "oops"
catch ya latter kids.

I don't like pants (think graydon has the right idea)

Pants are ok in the winter even a necessity some may say, but in the summer they are far too hot and restrictive. I love shorts, I feel like I am going to have an enjoyable day when I walk out of the house with shorts on. But I have a dilemma, I’m a pastor so I am supposed to be respectable and such. Though no one has said as much wearing shorts while visiting an older member of the congregation or taking part in meetings or official “church stuff” seems to be looked down upon. I have never been a fan of conforming. If it were simply a matter of personal opinion I would not much care. However I do not want my ministry to be taken less seriously because of perceptions. I don’t want to be a stumbling block to someone sort of deal. Maybe I’m just having an issue with growing up. If I were a youth worker there would be no issue. People expect youth workers to be immature or at least youthful. But I also don’t believe you need to be “old and boring” to be an effective pastor generally quite the opposite actually. Though God calls all sorts I guess. I still wear flip-flops, shoes are ridicules in summer except when absolutely necessary. I wear the monkey suit (shirt, tie - though not always -, slacks and shoes) on Sunday mornings. Even though we are moving towards more relaxed and “natural” worship I still think it is important to show respect in making Sunday something more than the everyday activity.
Anyway that’s my thought for the day. Well that and I need to find a cheap and easy way to run a program made for windows platforms on my Mac, not he easiest thing in the world to do you know. Anyway that’s for next time maybe.
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(Now have you ever seen a kid look so self satisfied after eating wattermellon? I am sure it is becasue he is wearing no pants at all)

Things

New things – My phone (pretty cool if I do say so myself, got it last Friday), My truck is fixed (had one fierce vibration in the front end), Our boarders (we rented out our basement, one of the guys is a mechanic, he fixed my truck) Candamear (New Game, my siblings bought us for the wedding , lots of fun but very nerdy, based on the whole Settlers of Catan deal)

Old Things – Me (because I am 26 now I have to have a physical in order to get higher life insurance, apparently if you are 25 your good), Ear infection (I’ve had the same ear infection for the past month and a half, this is getting real old, the doctor won’t give me any more medication) Erika being sick (I need to clarify that I am not complaining, Erika has Mono, I know she is frustrated with being sick and worn out, has only had it for three weeks, out of compassion for her I put it in the old bin because she would love to be rid of it.)

Weird things – Mannequins (this morning there was a mannequin on the roof of the theater that is just outside my window, he was draped over one of the roof units, after coming back from lunch he is now gone.) Facebook (just signed up, thought it was lame at first, then I was a little leery about it tracking my every move, read some stuff an the web about how apparently it is the evil love child of the CIA and the Office of Information, If they are really so board that they need to infiltrate the life of fledgling Church plant pastors in northern AB they can go hard, caught up with some old friends)

Good things – Rouladen (German food, made it Sunday, pork sausage wrapped in beef, I need not say more), The office (was against it at first, seemed very awkward and hard to watch, got into it, love it) Shorts (It’s rainy and gross in GP, shorts make me feel better, I’m wearing pants today)

Bad things – Floaties (I was thirsty and reached for my water bottle on my desk, After I took a huge gulp I realized there were floaties not just a few but lots and very slimy) see also Old things (though not all old things are bad)

Loved things – You guys (see ya latter)

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Squeaky Clean

Turns out I am in the market for a new phone. On Sunday afternoon we had ourselves a bit of an Easter Basket scavenger hunt. Elmer and Doris hid a wonderful conglomeration of Eggs over the whole yard with little clues inside. The fun part was that we got to use the quad to zip back and forth and all over the place. Bad news is the yard was covered in mud and so we were shortly covered in mud. Kendra and Nathan got to use the new Rino which is kinda like a supped up off road golf cart, something about her being nine months pregnant or some foolishness like that, also means they did not get covered in mud… big sissies. More bad news; they won, we still got our basket full of goodies and presents but they got theirs first. Anyway after this frolic about the mud soaked yard we changed our cloths and threw them in the wash. Good news; everything came out squeaky clean, even my phone. Bad news; apparently that is not the best way to clean up your phone, cause it does not work so well anymore… or at all. Anyway so now I feel naked without my phone I feel chained to my office or to my home during work hours, lest someone need to get in touch with me, I know it’s foolish but I am a foolish and paranoid young man. Maybe a few days without the phone will put things into perspective for me… maybe I’m going phone shopping this afternoon.
Anyway kids catch ya on the flip side.
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Mile Stone

Yesterday was April 1st. I have now officially known my wife for an entire year… Sometimes I catch myself taking a step back from life and saying “Is this real?”. From meeting someone, dating them, getting engaged, then getting married all in under a year. Must have been God, but it still spins my head a little.
Anyway enough married life mumbo jumbo. I love it, but you don’t need to hear about it all the time.
Tonight we are going for the second time to a small group we were invited to by Scott and Chris who just happen to be Dave and Jenn’s best friends from way back in the day. Because it is an Alliance thing Erika has some connection to the people there too as well.
I felt a little guilty going to this group as I felt I should be starting my own little deal but it is really nice to be able to go somewhere with people our own age and not have to lead anything. I consider this my charge up time so I guess that’s ok.
They are studying Purpose driven life, which I am trying to give a chance though it kinda drives me up the wall. I know I need to give it more of a chance and get deeper into the book before a make large and sweeping judgment calls, its just not my style I guess.
I hope the conversation that it spurs with be better than the book itself. Which does actually seem likely. The people seem to be very cool, though we only met them last week at Mr. Mikes.
Any church related function where people order alcohol is A+ in my books. And though it is officially an Alliance Church care group, there is a catholic couple that attends as well as one of the other guys grew up Lutheran, so we do not feel too out of place.
Anyway here’s to hopping, catch’ya kids.

It’s taking me a while to get back into the swing of real life. Last week was a bit of a shock. Not that my life is overly demanding but making the switch from carefree drifting through the days to meeting deadlines and keeping a schedule was not a lot of fun. To add to that Erika and I both got sick so I was trying to make the switch with a muddled brain, filled with nightquil and or dayquil. This week was much easier but last night I came down with an ear infection so now I feel like I have a watermelon slowly growing bigger and bigger in my left ear. But oh well work to be done. Presently I am simultaneously trying to remember where we left off in confirmation, figure out the service for palm Sunday, organize plans for the Seder supper next Thursday and remember just who it was I was supposed to meet for coffee this afternoon. I think It may be time to break out the old neglected day timer and prioritize my time a little before I go insane.
Also we got our pictures from the photographer, in her words “Erika looks smokin’ hot!” I of course heartily agree. This is one of my favorites. But for those of you who do not check Erika’s blog we also have a flicker account. Anyway kids, we’ll catch ya latter.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/etdolsky/

Out of Hibernation

So my uncle is a bit of an anti social recluse. He has always been kinda stand-offish. But recent years it has progressed to full blown hermitisim. He didn’t even com to our weddings (though he may have been there for Dave and jen’s ceremony, I forget). Anyway the reason I am writing this is because I remember my mom saying the longer you stay away the harder it is to come out. Like if he finally made an appearance everyone would make a big deal about it and that is defiantly not something he would look forward to. Or the longer you are away the better reason you need for coming out or something like that.
Anyway I can now see in a small way what she means, after being away so long from blog world I feel like I need some really fantastic post to come back in with but nothing is coming. I know I just got married which is just awesome but I’m still getting used to it so the proper words just aren’t there.
I still have these “Holy Crap!!!” moments like when I wake up beside Erika in the middle of the night and realize I’m going to be doing that for a really long time. Or when I introduce her to people and say “this is my wife Erika” it starts to hit home a little more. Don’t get me wrong I love it and it is great and I would not want it any other way, there are no second thoughts (too late now even if there were I guess). But How are you supposed to put all those moments and thoughts and feeling into words?
The honeymoon was great but not a lot to say. We went to Fairmont slept in a lot, chilled out a lot ate some really good food. If you ever have a chance to go to Kimberly I would highly recommend it is a pretty cool little German town, with cool restaurants like the Bavarian Schnitzel House.
I don’t even have pictures, they are all on Erika’s camera. Even then we only took a handful. The hot springs were nice but more of just a big outdoor pool than anything really romantic and quaint. Though it was very relaxing which was just what we needed.
Anyway we’re back now so hopefully there will be more and better post’s coming.
Peace kids
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Six days to go...

For some reason people keep asking me if I am nervous. Really!!?? If I had not thought through this by now I think I would be a little whooped. Excited, sure! But nervous? Like what is she going to say? “I don’t?”… Guess it’s happened before but still! I’m hoping we are little more balanced than that.
Speaking of nicely balanced. Saturday was going to be our day to get a whole bunch of loose ends tied up. We were on the road down to Michaels (the craft and décor place) and actually discussing rings and Erika looked down at her ring and then said a bad word (don’t judge it was a pretty intense moment) The diamond in her ring was gone.
Boy did those next few minutes suck. The sucker was gone! She clearly remembers having it on the couch. But when we left she ran between the truck and the house like five different times because we kept on forgetting things. We scoured the truck and the house but to no avail. So we are assuming it is outside in the snow some place.
So we did do some wedding stuff, but it was shopping for a new engagement ring. Something I was sure I would never have to do again. I hate jewelry stores every sales person has on the most gaudy and butt ugly rings you could possible imagine so when you say you are looking for something real simple and in said price range they are less than enthusiastic. I may not be a millionaire but this is still one of the biggest single expenses I’ll have for even a few years, AGAIN!!! give me a break if I don’t blow my entire years salary!! Most places we went to figured we should be going somewhere else to have the ring fixed. The problem was because the forks were bent it would have cost just about the same and we were pretty distrustful of the ring as it had already broke once. So finally we found a lady who would help us and was actually quite nice if not the most annoying person you have ever met in your life. (Maybe it was our stress level though, who’s to say?) Anyway and we got a ring that was comparable in quality and style and such (actually it may be a touch nicer but we got a real steal of a deal on it! Sorry girls, I’m a guy, still an important factor for me). God was pretty cool and provided some cash flow just the day before this all happened, I was planning on using it for a few nice surprises but such is life. Anyway catastrophe averted. I guess catastrophe is a pretty major word. If this is the worst thing that goes wrong I think we are doing all right.
Well Kids Love ya lots.
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For Sarah

Ok this is in response to Sarah’s comments on Dave’s Blog about my hermit Crabs. They are dead unfortunately. But for the record it was not for lack of trying. I loved those little rascals. The unfortunate thing was they had a bit of a love triangle going on. Gommer (aptly named as she was the only female amongst two males) would ride on the back of Bruce Almightily – Kung-fu-Master one day then jump all over Bilidad the next. This caused a few minor scuffles and as you could imagine Bruce almost always come out on top, he’s not the kung-fu-master for nothing.
Then one day Gommer went missing, I assumed she had buried herself to molt as hermit crabs do so I sequestered the other two so they wouldn’t go all Hannibal on her crusty butt. She came out all pink and shinny and she seemed to be doing fine which was a minor miracle because molting is supposedly the most dangerous time for these little cuties.
So once her skin was hardened I welcomed the other two back, unfortunately this caused a new territory war and renewed scuffles over Gommer. Both were taking their licks pretty bad. Then one day I came home and it would seem in a final battle they had played tug o’ war with Gommer and she came out the looser as in the looser of both her major claws, she did not last long after that.
Consumed by what I assume was guilt. Bilidad stopped eating and hid under his rock for days on end. I even enticed him with peanut butter on popped corn their favorite meal but to no avail he would not eat and one day I came home to see him upside-down on top of his rock and dead.
Good ol’ Brucy seemed to be doing well and became more active but it would seem he too became overcome by his deplorable behavior, filled his burrow (under the water dish) with water and allowed himself to drown in it. So ended the tragedy of the hermies.
I need to point out Bruce and Bill got along just fine when Gommer was not present and really only fought when she played them both in the same day. I think you see my point.
Those crabs were still the coolest birthday present I have had for a very long time though, and I look forward to getting some new ones once my own living situation is a little more stable.
Sorry Sarah should have kept updated. Anyway kids catch ya latter.
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Random 5

Apparently I’m a little slow on the uptake but I gotcha now. I’m “pinch typing” for Brother Dave on this whole “tag” deal. So am I supposed to write five random things about me? Or about him? Lets start with him.

1. Dave flares his nostrils when he lies something Jen had to point out to us, and it is very true. Looks like his professional poker tour is over sory.

2. Dave has a habit of following my footsteps before I get there so it actually looks like I’m following him, though this is not true. Example I wanted to go to CLBI since grade seven, Dave not so much. However after three years of university he up and decides to go to CLBI the year before me. Again me; knew I was going to be a pastor since grade nine, Dave aimed a dozen different vocational directions all the way until the last year of his university career (seven years to get a four year education degree) then decides to enter seminary the year before I get on the “pastor track” . Ok true he is going in for the Alliance thing and I suppose its more God’s fault for calling him at such a time than it is his but whatever I’m not bitter.

3. Dave also had a nasty habit of sucking the juice out of pickles then putting them with cheese and crackers and giving them to his dear and unsuspecting siblings.

4. Dave has a hole in the roof of his mouth that he sucks on when he is thinking or bored or just plain wants to annoy someone that makes a weird squeaking sound like a mouse.

5. Last random thing about Dave though its not so random and more so incredibly impressive. He has more patience than just about anyone I know. Hence how he put up with me for many many years and helped me out of many jams. Where I would normally loose it, or knock someone out he would just take it in stride and get his revenge in some quiet and unsuspecting manner, like peeing all over my bed. Ok bad example, but he is an incredibly level and steady type guy even if I did manage to ruffle some feathers from time to time. But as far as I was concerned he needed that excitement in his life. Now the new excitement in his life with be his darling daughter Ava I’m sure that patience will come in very handy and make him a grade A father.

Anyway that’s Dave I’ll do mine some other time and tag the next unsuspecting soul then. Love ya guys
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Uncle Tim

Something funny happened to me a few months ago. I became an uncle. I am uncle Tim to three hyper little rascals. This is loads of fun and I love them to bits how could I not they are supper cute, and a ton of fun. Especially when Graydon (the youngest one with the blond hair) screams “NAK-A-BO!!!” (naked boy) and transforms into his superhero alter-ego by the same name stripping off his clothing and running around with his hands over his head yelling “Nak-a-bo!” over and over again.
But as of yesterday I am a now officially an uncle to the newest addition to the Dolsky family Ava Kathleen Dolsky weighing in at six pounds and fourteen ounces. I’m pretty psyched and can’t wait to get to know her tinny little quirks. I know it’s kinda dastardly to post about her before her proud new mommy and daddy do but they will probably have better things to do for a while. She’s a peach aint she!!
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Whoa Icy!!!

Ok. So last night I got home and my driveway had been turned into a curling rink. I should have been expecting it as I pulled a 180 on the corner coming into my street even though I was only going like twenty. Anyway I stepped out of the truck and fell flat on my back I had to grasp onto my truck just to get up and walk and still slipped twice more finally I took of my shoes and my socks were not so slippery but what a ridicules circumstance to be in.
This morning I thoroughly coated the driveway in ice melt before venturing out and made it safely, with all my clothing still on, to my truck. But on my way to work I did witness a big ol’ welding truck slide sideways through a major intersection. The dummy was definitely going to fast because it was not quite that icy, but still. It’s a death trap out there. Its supposed to get up to plus five again today so I’m sure tonight will be no less perilous. I’m glad I left the hitch on the back of my truck. That should slow them down some. Take it easy kids.
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Packing on the pounds...

My fitness level has hit an all time low. I have absolutely no energy and just about every aspect of my life is suffering for it. I have heartburn like nobody’s business, my “big” cloths are not so big anymore, my regular cloths show off my belly like I work the late shift at seven eleven. I steps on the scale this morning and realized if I don’t do something soon I’m going to be one of those mille aged men who can’t do anything but sit around and be fat, maybe come up with a clever story or two. My motivation to quit smoking was friends who lost their fathers, and I wanted to be there for my children. Maybe that will work for this too.
My friend Pete was up on Saturday doing a practicum for EMT he reminded me of the times I would mock him for becoming domesticated. Mainly because I always thought Pete would be the last guy to get responsible stuff like a Volkswagen and a Mac. It wasn’t that long ago I would detest anything that restricted me from taking off to Calgary in the middle of the night if I so pleased. Now I really just can’t wait to wake up in my home on Saturday morning have a cappuccino with my wife, watch my kids watch cartoons then go to the lake and have a picnic or play ball or something else terribly cliché. Guess that means I had better get a ball glove, or maybe I should start with being able to go up and down the stairs without being completely drained. I hear kids require energy.

The professional me.

So I think it may be time for a haircut. I have been trying to update my wardrobe for a more professional image plus most of my cloths are at least two years old. But today I had to wear a toque because there is a blizzard wreaking havoc in Grande Prairie and I was helping dad shovel out the driveway. When I got home last night the snow was already past the bottom of my truck door. I also had to drive Erika to work this morning (see her blog about being a wuss) and did not fancy being stuck on the highway without proper head covering. Anyway so yeah all this adds up to Tim with hair-ala-togue. So much for my professional image.

Ahhh...

I went swimming and it was fantastic. I feel well exercised but not over strained. I did feel like a bit of a fool at first because I haven done lane swimming in like ten years so my first lap which was an attempt at the front crawl just about exploded my lungs, I never could get the whole exhale underwater thing. Anyway after that I opted for the back-stroke and flutter kick much more relaxing and less demeaning.
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Hmmm....

Ok yet again far too long without a blog! But here we go…
Ok never mind I just realized my parking meter is up. My usual free parking space was taken and I did not want to have to walk a block and a half in the blizzard, not because I’m a sissy but mainly just because I am lazy. Now I need to go move my truck and I am caught in a dilemma should I go to the leisure Center for a swim and exercise as I have been saying I will for the past two months or should I go and have fast food and a cigar. I know this sounds like a ridicules and gluttonous dilemma, but what can I say that’s who I am. I am feeling a slight pull towards the healthy one so I had better go before it subsides.
Love ya guys
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Lessons learned.

This weekend we went to Ponoka for the wedding of Caitlin and Mark two very cool people. All the way down there Erika and I were complaining because the service was on Friday night and the party was on Saturday night. Way too spread out in our manner of thinking plus that means you have to take off all of Friday just to make it in time for the service if you live out of town. Very inconvenient. Then of course if you live in Ponoka or around there (especially the bride and groom) there is the entire day of prolonged anticipation, how crazy is that!! Anyway so we finally got there and the wedding was awesome I love evening services they just seem so much cooler in the dark and with all the candles and such. We did learn a very valuable lesson, NO receiving line!!! There is one exit in that place and to get out it you had to go through the receiving line that means the people at the back of the church have to wait over and hour just to leave and say like half a sentence of gibberish to the bride and groom they will never remember anyway. However in the middle of that line up I had the chance to catch up with a few people I hadn’t seen forever so that was awesome, and though we were not able to stay the next day for the big party we did have coffee and juice downstairs and have even more cach up time by the time we left it was one of the swellest evenings ever and I learned another valuable lesson. Don’t complain about weddings. If you want to support the bride and groom do your best to be there (send fond regrets if you just can’t) relax and have fun, no matter how inconveniently you feel put out. They are just trying to celebrate the best way they know how and really want everyone to have a good time. They are not trying to make it difficult. They don’t always make the best decisions but hey they did their best. For all our complaining the wedding was awesome and if we had been able to stay it would have just been incredible. They are just such fun and relaxing people. Anyway here’s to Caitlin and Mark!! All the best!!
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Some day ... maybe.

“The problem with peace…” So that’s about the extent of my sermon for this week so far. So obviously with about half an hour of “appropriate” time to work on it I decide to blog. “Appropriate” is the time I have assigned to my official work days (Tuesday-Friday 9-5) I often work earlier and latter but that is unofficial, as well as Saturdays when I touch up my message/write it (this week though I will be in Ponoka or Edmonton). Sundays of course I work as well but that is kinda gong showish as I never know what to count as work and what to count as fun and what to count as just good ol’ worship.
Quote for the day, I ran into an old high school friend that thought it was hilarious that I was a pastor. Apparently I did not put out that vibe in high school. Anyway after laughing in my face he asked in all seriousness; “So when pastors get all wise and discerning and stuff?” . Good question, It’s going to be a long night better get to work. Love ya kids
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So What's My Damage!!???

Seriously what is my damage!!!??? The other night Erika and I were looking at where we want to go for our Honeymoon. Her parents are letting us use their time-share for a week so we were perusing the book of places we could go. We were debating going to some place exotic or at least warm or just going somewhere in Canada we could drive to like Vancouver or the mountains. We decided the most practical thing would be to shoot for Fairmont and save our money to pay off debt and save for a bigger trip to Mongolia or something possibly the next year. I was a little disappointed though and asked “But what are we going to do???” I could not wrap my mind around just sitting around for a week and doing nothing. This kinda perplexed Erika. Then suddenly on my way home it dawned on me how incredibly awesome it would be to have an entire week to do absolutely nothing!! Sit around hang out with Erika, read watch TV go for walks eat,a nd just be together I seriously can not remember the last time I had just nothing to do. No one to visit no bible study’s to prepare no sermons to write no kids to call no events to plan for. Even when I take vacation it’s always going here to visit this person then there to visit this persona and I try to cram as many things into one week as possible. Don’t get me wrong I am not a work-a-holic I do take days off and such, my life is not a crazy hectic mess. But an entire week to just chill out!!!?? How awesome is that!!! I’m pretty stoked. I cant believe I was actually resistant to this idea. Anyway kids Love you lots.
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