Okay, Let's Try This Again...Have You Wondered...Who IS Wade Buckman?

Apparently the tinyurl stuff doesn't work at school...blocked...so click here and you'll see what Buckman-Mania is all about.

Have You Wondered...Who IS Wade Buckman?

Click here...and enjoy "Buckman Mania!"

I Can't Not Blog...

This is pretty much what I'd like to do when I get home. Just lay on the couch...take a nap maybe. I can't though...not until next week anyway. For some reason...life has been really busy. I really don't know what my schedule is filled with...but it seems like once Sarala goes to bed...I get busy working on something. Tonight...curriculum. I'm looking to work on curriculum every night until Monday because...well...it's DUE MONDAY!! I know...I'm trying not to overwhelm myself so I take breaks every now and then...like now...a break to blog.

Tonight was great because "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was on tv. Sarala and I watched it together...in it's entirety, which is pretty awesome. The little girl likes Snoopy...I imagine because he's a puppy. She loves puppies in general, which explains why she is a puppy for Halloween.

I love it...Charlie Brown ends up getting rocks at every house when they go trick-or-treating. Plus...aren't the other kids terrible to him...all the time? Well...enjoy...back to work for me.

Driving and Listening...

I had to cruise out to Wal-Mart...well...I guess I didn't "have to", but in order to affect positive change correctly within my classroom management system...I needed tickets. I checked out ALCO...but alas...didn't have them. I waited until Sarala went to bed which had me arriving at Wal-Mart around 8pm.

If I drive anywhere alone...the time is spent listening to music, thinking, and talking to God about whatever. As my iPod shuffled through my music collection, a song came on by MercyMe called "Finally Home." Now, I'm not normally a MercyMe listener, but the song caught me because of its content...which explains why it is part of my collection. The song is about the ability to see someone you love dearly again once you "finally make it home"...in this case...your dad.

Some of you are aware of this but if you're not...my dad passed away when I was only six years old. It rocked my world. He had cancer...so I guess people had an idea that he could pass...but that's not how things work for a child. I remember not feeling any emotion at the viewing the night before the funeral. Everyone was crying...I felt horrible because I wasn't crying...because I thought I was supposed to. I was sad...but the brevity of the situation hadn't struck me...again...I was only six. This event changed my life. We had to move...my mom had to go to work...new neighborhood in a rougher part of town...life with a single parent...a little brother to help take care of...too much for a little kid.

I often think about how life would be different if he didn't die. I think about all of the "man" stuff I had to learn on my own or teach myself. I think about my insecurities and how his living could have affected them...made them non-existent in some cases. I also think of the day that I'll get to see him again...along with many others that I've lost along the way...my older bro...my grandpa.... How amazing will that be?


There is this book I read by Donald Miller "To Own a Dragon: Reflections On Growing Up Without A Father" that has helped me remember that I'm not the only one out there who grew up without a dad. I think about how little Sarala is my best friend...that I want to and would do anything in my power to be around for her. I see the positives of this already within our relationship and it makes me happy.

And as I think about that day...like the song says...

I'm gonna wrap my arms around my daddy's neck and tell him that I've missed him

And tell him all about the man that I became and hope that it pleased him

Worship Set 10-26

Beautiful One - Jeremy Camp
Happy Day - Tim Hughes
Our God Saves - Paul Baloche
Your Name - Phillips, Craig, & Dean
Your Grace is Enough - Chris Tomlin

A Night Out With My Girls...

I got home and had to put this up on the blog before I got too busy to mess with it. Life has been quite busy lately for the Buckman's...primarily Wade. Report cards, P/T Conferences, doing something new with his teaching have taken up all of my extra time in the past week and a half. Today we had a half-day of meetings so we went up to STL...Fenton to be specific, and did some shopping, dinner, grocery shopping, then home. We ended up getting home by nine which wasn't too bad. O'Charley's is fantastic because they've got Diet Mt. Dew...the rolls are amazing when hot and fresh like they were...and kids eat free. Therefore...we splurged a little and Sarala and I ordered a chocolate smoothie to share and she loved it, which I loved. What a great way to spend a Friday night...with my two favorite-ist girls.

Very Small Rocks...

There is this line in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where villagers and a knight are trying to figure out if a girl is a witch.
"Very Small Rocks..." I love it.

Carving a "Punkin"

You know...there's not much to say about this other than it was a lot of fun...Sarala calls it a "punkin"...and I can't believe it turned out like it did. The pumpkin was pretty thick...an inch and a half to two inches...incredible.

How is it going?

There it is...that question. A question that can seem so empty and if answered...can throw us off guard. Most of us...I know I do...ask this question of people. Now...am I truly wondering how it is going...or am I just being polite? I try to be intentional about the words that come out of my mouth. That's the key though...I try, which means it's not always the case. So...I type this and ask myself...how is it going?

Well...I've am pretty busy. Report cards, curriculum, parent/teacher conferences, giving guitar lessons...all of these things are consuming my time. I've been selfish with my time lately. There...I said it. Now...I always try to make time to make sure Sarala gets my time...but I've made some decisions lately that have caused me to refrain from talking to people. I'm trying to meet deadline after deadline...staying caught up on all the paperwork and such that comes my way. I try and not overwhelm myself...but it happens here and there...the feeling of being overwhelmed. There it is...talking to people gets me off track.

That's where I need to fix things. People are important. The time I give them is precious...which is why I don't coach anymore or involve myself in too much right now...but there is an intentionality to the relationships I have and the ones I'm developing. I've ignored some urgings that God has dropped on me because of selfishness. Now I'm feeling like I've missed some opportunities. So...to end this post...it's time to continue talking to God about things, value the happenings in the lives of those around me, and work smarter so that my time is taken up by organizational things from school. Alright...there you go.

And yes...I need to get back to blogging regularly because I've got a lot going on in my thoughts and experiences...no reason why I can't take a couple minutes and put them into words in a post.

Almost Died Laughing...

I don't know why I think this is so funny...but it is!
muddy waters