Howse Press International
December 2006
“All the News That’s Fit to Print”
The Howse Chronicles
“ ‘Twas the weekend of Thanksgiving, and all through the house, every creature was stirring, even a possum! (more on that later!). The lights were all hung on the house with care, in hopes that people would come our display to share.” Our 19-year-old son Timothy, the taskmaster, was in the midst of his annual Christmas addiction, and he expects everyone in the house to “hop to!” and share in his obsession. Now I understand why he wants to major in Business Administration and own his own business – he’s like Donald Trump during one of his long interviews to see who will be the apprentice – who will survive?
This year, we added a computerized lighting system called Light-O-Rama, which allows us to synchronize Christmas lights to music. We actually transmit the music for the display over an FM radio station, so people driving by the house will be able to watch the lights dance to the music while visiting the display. For more information, check out http://www.LivoniaLights.com.
GRADUATION: The whole family got involved in Timothy’s graduation and its patriotic theme….complete with a 10 foot high flag, banners, and lights everywhere…synchronized to God Bless America, and other favorites programmed by he and his brothers. They created a Niagara Falls atmosphere with a large pool fountain. We are blessed to live on a park, great for parties and athletics, a mini Cape Canaveral base for rocket launches, R/C aircraft flights and other fun activity.
During Easter break, we held our traditional egg hunt (yes the kids still enjoy the tradition) in a huge Indiana barn hayloft converted to a B&B. Afterward, for character building, we “volunteered” our kids for a few days of pre-season good-old intensive WORK at a Christian Camp where they got dirty, chopping down trees for a “gusher” water slide, and even did some electrical wiring. During breaks, Timothy swam for training in the frigid lake with a wet suit.
Our big trip this year was to Colorado. We packed our large tent, prepared for an outdoor Western adventure. On the way out we enjoyed 105º weather in S.Dakota (I thought the Dakota’s were “cold states”) and toured a NORAD nuclear missile silo. We also learned never to believe the glamorous photos and website propaganda. Near Mount Rushmore in Rapid City, our expectations of a secluded, back-to-nature experience were dashed when we arrived late find a campsite on pebbles and 6 inches from our neighbor, separated only by a fence, in an urban like setting. We toughed it out one night, in pioneer spirit, but after waking up with marks on my back from the rocks, we cancelled our reservation and moved to upscale “Horse Thief Campground.” (Really!) They had a pool, and beautiful, spacious rustic campsites. The only problem was the available sites were on a hillside. When we awakened the next day, the tent hadn’t moved but we had, all the way to the door. On the way back we rendezvoused with our good Mich. friends, the Hartman’s, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, who gave us the brilliant idea to “camp” in motels on the way back!
Shawn and Timothy attended the Jim Ryun Running Camp in Ft. Collins, CO. (You may recall, Jim Ryun, the renowned Olympian runner, was the first high-school runner to break the 4- minute mile. Now, he is a Congressman from Kansas.) It was challenging, running at high altitude and in hot weather, with 2 times a day runs, beginning at 6 a.m. After that, much of the season seemed easy in comparison.
While they were at the camp, Ken worked at the Comcast location in Denver, while Scott, Franklin and I went sightseeing to places like the Denver Science Center. Ever true to my English heritage, I have a passion for tea and coerced them into a tour of the Celestial Seasoning tea factory in Boulder.
A big trip highlight was the Circus Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin with elephant rides; historical memorabilia and displays about the Barnum and Bailey Circus, live Chinese acrobats with the balance of a spider, and magic shows. We also visited the world’s largest railroad classification yard (Union Pacific) in Nebraska where huge freight cars are remotely linked like toy trains to form a mile long caravan which travels across the country. Lastly, us “city folk” toured the John Deere factory. We watched them assemble these enormous half-million dollar green machines as big as our garage called combines. What’s a “combine” …I had to ask? Translated answer: It can scoop up enough vegetables in 15 minutes to potentially feed our neighborhood for 5 years! I need to rent one for our family.
Our oldest son, Scott, Lord willing, will finally complete his high school diploma this year, after years of struggles with autism. For Christmas, he volunteered as a “bell ringer” for Salvation Army and collected a boatload of donations. He is also looking for after school employment. For next year, he is considering cashiering or retail support job options along with classes at the community college to learn career skills.
Timothy, our 19-year-old, agonized early spring over some great college offers. With a 3.9 GPA, he had lots of options, but decided against his father’s alma mater (Uof I) and both grandfathers’ alma mater (UofM) in favor of a small school environment. It finally became a choice between Spring Arbor University near Jackson, Mich (Mom’s alma matter), and Hillsdale College, also in Michigan. They offered comparable scholarship packages and are excellent schools. After months of analysis and comparison spreadsheets, one day we told Timothy he was banished to his room and not to come down until he had his decision. He decided on Hillsdale. He likes it, but it is lives up to its academically rigorous reputation and he has had a challenge adjusting to tough classes, working 8 hours a week, doing volunteer work and running cross-country on a nationally ranked team.
Our 16-year-old, Shawn, has been doing well with a strong work ethic in a challenging program at Stevenson High School. Athletically, he trained intensively in the pre-season for cross-country and improved dramatically. I guess those hills, heat and altitude in Colorado paid off. He went from Junior Varsity as a freshman to Varsity this year, and consistently placed between 4th and 6th on the team. He also is my technology “answer man.” Any time you have a problem, just go to Shawn, and he usually has some words of wisdom.
Franklin is now 12. We decided to allow him to go to the public middle school (Holmes) this fall, and he has adjusted very well. He earned honor roll, and enjoyed running cross-country with the team. He loves reading for his accelerated English class and experimenting with new recipes (which makes Mom happy). This summer he was the youngest participant on a work/mission trip through our church youth group to Gilman Springs Christian camp. Also, he was the sparkplug for our agreeing to raise a puppy through the “Paws With a Cause” program, where families raise the pet until it is ready to be placed with a handicapped person to help them with daily living. We are anxiously waiting to see if we are selected to be “dog parents”.
Our parents are both doing reasonably well. Connie’s mother appears to have recovered well from her auto accident last year and is as active as ever at the age of 85. However, she is now driving less frequently.
Ken’s dad continues to live in his new home in Westland, with daily assistance from caregivers. He is going to be the ripe old age of 93 this December! Aside from knee problems and extreme difficulty getting around, he is doing well. He is very fortunate to be alive after his stroke last year.
Ailments Department – Now for the big news. Yours truly tried to be an acrobat in the garage carrying a big load. I tripped on …you’d never guess…a newly constructed 15 foot long “Happy Birthday Jesus” illuminated wood sign. My knee cap hit the concrete floor and shattered like a broken egg. Soo…after 4 days in Beaumont Hospital, the surgeon patched me up with bailing wire and super glue (or whatever they use these days). So now I get to be pampered for 3-6 weeks in a leg immobilizer while I leave the chauffeuring to someone else. Then I play supervisor for laundry, shopping, cleaning, meals, dishwashing, etc. Speaking of shopping, Ken & team spent 2 hours making a revolving grocery spreadsheet for Kroger. They formed two teams and hit the store aisles with 4 kids racing to see which loaded grocery cart would get to the cashier first.
Meanwhile, Scott dislocated his finger in school gym class and is in physical therapy three times a week. I am navigating with a walker, barking out orders to anyone who will listen, while Ken is working at high speed on Christmas shopping, chauffeuring everyone to the doctor, while maintaining his business, etc, etc.
Real Estate: Our old house, which still hasn’t sold, even though we keep lowering the price …now is listed far below what the tax man says it’s worth. However, the home is well loved by animals in the neighborhood. (People seem to like it, too, but not well enough to buy it!). We had an early Christmas visit from some reddish critters (a cross between a chipmunk and a squirrel). For Thanksgiving dinner, they enjoyed the taste of wood and learned how to chew their way into the house (rather than politely using the Santa chimney approach) and set up housekeeping under the eaves. One acted as if he had a severe case of hyperactivity and could chew up half the house by himself. After repeated repairs, we trapped and relocated him to some faraway park near the North Pole, along with three possums.
Our hope for you this Christmas is that you will look past all the challenges of this present life and focus on that newborn baby in the manager who came for you and I, that we might have joy unspeakable, no matter what else is happening in our lives. The challenges and trials of this life are but a dot in time, compared to the joy that can be yours for eternity if you will allow that little baby who eventually died on the cross to become the Lord of your life!
The Howse’s – Ken, Connie, Scott, Timothy, Shawn and Franklin
