27 February 2011 - Madeline's Birthday

On Monday, I was working quietly in my office at the college. A storm was brewing outside. By about 4 o'clock, large snowflakes were falling at a rapid pace. I gathered my things to head home before the roads got too bad. Right before I shut down my computer, I got an email from the Young Men's president in my ward. He works for Google (center in the picture below) and they were having a ski day the next day at Seven Springs, about 50 miles east of my house. He invited me (on right), and our Gospel Doctrine teacher (on left) to go with him. It wasn't Utah skiing, but it was excellent nonetheless.
Many of the slopes were ungroomed, so we found lots of powder to fall down in.
For several years we've had a very comfy Poang chair in our basement. It was always the first chair occupied when we went down to watch a movie or play Wii. The pad finally wore out, so we went to IKEA to get a new pad for it, and ended up with one new pad and three new chairs -- two little ones and another big one. Now I don't have to fight for a comfy chair anymore.
Lest we lose track of the most important event of this week, Madeline turned 7 on Thursday. She got more presents than she needed, but thank you to everyone anyway. This is a crystal set she got from Grandma.
She also got Toothless. A stuffed animal never fails when it's for Madeline. This was from the girls.
Mommy made Ho-Ho cake. Super yummy.
Here's Madeline opening her card and gift from Grammie. When she saw the money in the card she grinned mightily and and said: "Oh! Grammie is soooo loving!". It gave us a good laugh.
On Saturday, she got to have a friend party. Joanne had a really good idea for a craft. She had each of the kids decorate a place mat and then laminated them for the kids to take home. (Joanne's a laminating fool.) The party's theme was Disney, mostly Mickey Mouse. I guess our Christmas trip left an impression.
We played pin the tail on the Mickey donkey. I don't think Mickey would have appreciated being turned into a donkey -- kind of reminds me of Pinocchio.
I have no idea how many of these Mickey Mouse cakes Joanne has made in the past couple of months.

Madeline was very excited about all her presents. She passed some time on Saturday by working with her crystal set.

Happy Birthday to Madeline!

20 February 2011 - Skiing!

Monday and Tuesday of this week were spent skiing with several different nephews, one niece, and Karl and Jolene. On Monday we went to Brighton. Here are Kurt and Trevor, getting geared up for a day on the slopes.Trevor was without a doubt the cutest skier on the mountain on Monday.
Karl worked with Trevor on his french fries and pizza techniques for a little bit. He's only three though, so he didn't last too long.The weather was very warm, which was a mixed blessing. It was nice to be outside, but the snow melted and froze, so in some places it was a little icy. Karl and I visited many of our old haunts, but didn't try to tackle the Millicent Chutes which were popular with us in our younger days.

On Tuesday, Karl and I drove two and a half hours south to Beaver to meet up with Brandon and Jake who drove up from St. George. We decided to try out the new Eagle Point ski area, which is the old Elk Meadows. Elk Meadows went bankrupt in 2002 and despite numerous efforts to revive it, only this year did it finally get back up and running. It was probably even icier than Brighton had been the day before, but we found some good trails anyway. This is Jake on a snowboard.
Brandon and Jake on the Monarch chair lift. We skied this lift for most of the afternoon.
Brandon and Jake getting their Shawn White impression on. This photo was right above the freestyle terrain park. We all tried the half pipe, but it wasn't pretty.
On Wednesday, it was time to come home. I caught a flight to Memphis and then on to Pittsburgh. I had ordered flowers for Joanne because I was gone on Valentine's Day. In return, the girls made me a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and nuts.
After a couple of days getting back on track with my writing (I'm currently working on two books and two other chapters), we had our annual Blue and Gold Banquet and scout cake auction fund raiser on Saturday night. Since I had missed last Sunday, today was a little longer than most as I tried to catch up on a number of ward issues and responsibilities.

13 February 2011 - Going to Utah

This weekend I decided to go to Utah for a few days. I was supposed to arrive before midnight (Utah time) on Saturday night, but we ended up not getting to my mom and dad's place until after 1 AM Sunday morning.

On Sunday I went to church with my mom and dad and sang in the choir. Then I went home teaching with my dad. That evening Megan came home from Disneyland and stopped by to see me. She got a princess bear. Cameron got a Dino-foofy.
My dad's working on refinishing the cabinets in the kitchen. This is old, dark look.
Here is the sanded, lighter refinished look.
While I was there I got to see my Grandma North too. She's doing good, especially for having turned 93 this past December.

6 February 2011 - Last big swim meet

This week we were mostly getting back to our normal schedule after the break down of the University of Maryland job. I returned to my sabbatical activities at W&J, and then on Saturday, the girls had their last big swim meet of the winter season. Both improved at least two of their best times. One of the parents had an underwater camera and got this shot of Jessica, who made sure to flash a smile.

30 January 2011 - Back at W&J

On Monday morning at 5 AM, I left Pennsylvania for Maryland. I had determined over the weekend that we needed to remain in Pennsylvania, and when I arrived at the University around 9:30, I immediately went to see the Dean. She was very kind and we spoke for some time about whether or not the job was going to work out. Ultimately we determined that it was not in my best interest nor the University's for me to remain in the position. I met with my department chair and several colleagues that morning to share the news with them, then cleaned out my office (believe it or not, I had moved a good number of things in already).

I went to lunch with my department chair, and when I returned, I found an email informing me that Billy Shriver had died. Billy's dad Bill died just 16 months ago, and his mom, Opal, is a very dear friend in our ward. She has known much heartache in the past couple of years. Billy died of organ failure due to alcoholism, and Opal had tried for years to encourage Billy to get help. Though he was only 57, he never could overcome the demon of addiction.

I knew Opal would need support, so once my office was cleaned out, I turned in my faculty ID, parking pass and computer and headed for home. I arrived just after 11 PM Monday night. It was a long day, exhausting both physically and emotionally, but I knew choosing to stay in Pennsylvania was the right thing. The people at the university in Maryland were so kind and nice, I think under different circumstances I would have really enjoyed working with them, but things just weren't quite right at this time.

On Tuesday, I was at the funeral home when Opal arrived. She wrapped her arms around me and cried and said: "Oh Bishop, I prayed all night that you'd be here this morning." I was grateful I was there for her. We had a viewing on Thursday night and a very nice service on Friday morning. In between, I moved back into my office at W&J and began to feel like I was home again and getting back to normal.

In the meantime, the kids have been continuing in their craftiness. Madeline has been making Valentine purses for the girls in her class and wallets for the boys. Busy times for all of us.On Saturday, I rode the bus with the girls to New Castle, PA (about 1 1/2 hours north) for their swim meet. Jessica improved her best time in three of her four events and won two heats, while Emily improved one of her best times and won one heat. They both did very well at this meet.

We're now looking forward to a little more return to normal, though not for long. I leave for Utah on February 12th, and Joanne gets her turn in Utah on March 8th.

23 January 2011 - A Week in Maryland

This week I traveled to Maryland to attend benefits orientation and to begin learning some of the aspects of my new job. Even before the benefits orientation started, I began to have some serious concerns about the job. Several of the benefits were very different from what had been explained to me when I was interviewing and negotiating. As the day went on, I felt more and more uncomfortable. On Wednesday, I had hoped that things would get better, but they got worse. I began to learn additional unsettling things regarding the position, including information about conflicts within my department and even a related lawsuit. By Thursday evening, I was beginning to feel that I'd made a very bad mistake. That evening, I returned home to Washington, PA.

I felt that I had not been honest with myself regarding the job, and I began to investigate my options regarding whether or not I could withdraw my resignation from W&J, and learned that I could. I met with my Stake President before a scout training on Saturday morning and received counsel from him. By Sunday, I felt that I had been led to feel that I should take the Maryland job because I needed to learn some valuable lessons, that I had learned those lessons, and that we needed to stay in Pennsylvania.

While I was wrestling with my career decisions, the girls were getting crafty as they often do. The subject these days is cake decorating. Jessica's becoming quite adept at it.Every year in February we have a cake auction at church to raise money for girls camp and scout camp. This year the girls want to donate a Mickey Mouse cake for the auction, so they've been practicing.
Here are the three girls, proud of their completed (and tasty) Mickey cake.

16 January 2011 - Preparing for Maryland

It was a difficult week this week. I resigned from my teaching position at W&J College, a position I've held for seven years. I spent much time cleaning out my office. I thought I wasn't much of a pack rat or a clutter maker, and I still don't think I'm too bad, but I was amazed at how much I had accumulated in my office over seven years. I found many papers and tests with names of students who hold fond memories for me, and it was a bit melancholy thinking about leaving the college.

One bright spot was that I was asked to baptize a woman named Cindy Belcastro. She has been attending church in our ward for several months and I was honored to baptize and confirm her a member of the church.

9 January 2011 - New Year

Following a fun-filled trip to Florida for Christmas, it was time to get back to routine this week. The kids went back to school. On the weekend, Joanne took the girls to see 'Tangled' (the Rapunzel movie), and Madeline spent the next several days tying every scarf she could find in the house together and then trying the train to her hair, so she could be Rapunzel.Unfortunately for Weebie (her stuffed shark), her Rapunzel hair was good at tying him by the tail and sending him over the stair railing in our entry way.
This week was also pivotal professionally. I hadn't said much previously, but around Thanksgiving time, I had been asked to interview for a job as a graduate program director in the University System of Maryland (University College). Over the Christmas break I received an offer, and this week, we decided I would accept it. We attended the temple in Columbus and I spent much time studying and contemplating the decision, and ultimately, we decided to move to Maryland. The arrangement was that I would work 3-4 days in Maryland and 1-2 days from Washington, PA through the spring semester, and during that time, we'd find a place to move. I scheduled to attended benefits orientation on January 18th.