Thanksgiving was great...

Slept in this morning on accident...so, short blog. All is well. Here are a few shots from a great weekend.

Lincoln and Noah play catch at Cranes Roost

Grandma Becky lined the kids up for a holiday message :)

We capped it off with an Ice Skating adventure.

This family is fun to hang around. We just missed Uncle Joel, Aunt Lizzy, and cousin Luke...but they will be here soon enough.

Things I never knew.

I was driving home from playing golf with Noah yesterday (which was really fun, by the way). He asked, "Dad, what do water towers do?" I thought to myself, "Well, they hold water." I thought I knew that, but really wasn't sure. So, I did what all dads do when they don't know something...I talked about how complicated it was to explain and told him I would try to look up an easier way to describe it on the internet. Then he said, "You don't really know, do you, Dad?" I said, "No, I have no idea." So now that we have established that I didn't understand water towers, I thought maybe other people might not either. So, I will tell you what I found.

Water towers do actually hold water (see I was right). They hold enough water to service a small city's water demand for a day (on average). They exist because people cannot go without water, so an interruption in the pumps that serve the main water supply are not a big deal if the water tower is the backup. Why is it so high? Pressure. With that much water that high in the air, it creates enough pressure to push the water through the pipes to all of the surrounding houses and businesses. Sometimes you will even see small water towers on buildings...they put them on the roof because the pressure from the main city tower may not be enough to drive the water that high to serve the upper floors of the tallest building.

How crazy was that? Now, I will tell Noah what water towers do when he gets up this morning and all will be right with the world because I didn't sustain a knowledge failure for more than 24 hours. It's one of my personal rules...if I don't know an answer to a question, I must find it within 24 hours or ...well I don't know what...but it has to be bad.

That's all I got for today. Boring, yeah...but it saved me from knowledge failure.

Hoping to get to the green light soon...

I got the draft of the lease from RDV for Hunter Vision last night. It took me two hours to read it. No joke. 2 hours. It is amazing to me that anyone does anything with anyone else these days. There is a clause for everything and you are specifically named at fault for everything that could be bad on planet earth.

I would like to show one example of the language that is so completely ridiculous that it caused me to have to read for two hours. Now this is "boilerplate" language, that is not just specific to this lease...it is normal...which is why I can put it on here without getting sued for something...good grief.

Ok, here it is:

"Whenever the context permits, or requires the use of the singular in this Lease shall include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular. Any reference herein to one gender shall likewise apply to the other gender and to the neuter; and any reference herein to the neuter shall refer likewise to one or both genders."

Yep, seriously. Now you see why attorneys are paid so much. I mean who can even think to write that that way without having some serious brain power?

Well, we will be working on it for the next little while, but it is good to have the draft so we can begin to figure out if this option will work for us. It is certainly our first choice, but we have to make sure we are doing what we need to for it to work for Hunter Vision.

The journey is long, but we will get there. I'll keep ya posted on the lease progress as it unfolds...

The week ahead

Noah crushes it.

I look very forward to this week. After last week's monumental accomplishment, I am more than happy to celebrate a week of Thanksgiving. However, there is much to be done in the 3 days ahead before Thanksgiving day.

On the docket for this week:

1. Complete Summit 2010 budget. We have spent weeks on it, but we are still a little over where we need to be, so there is more work to be done. The operations team meets at 7am this morning to pound out more detail and help get to the right number.

2. Play golf with Noah. This reward for straight A's will be my highlight of the week. Just me and my boy headed to the links. I think that will happen on Tuesday afternoon...The only time I could figure out to do it.

3. Get 1st draft of the lease for Hunter Vision space from RDV. I am promised to have it today, so that will be awesome if it holds true. If we can get that wrapped up by December 1, I will be a happy camper. That will mean we have our money and our space and we can get it fixed up and open so we are ready to roll in August.

4. Eat turkey and spend time with friends and family.

It's going to be a great week. I am grateful God has given us much. I also know that it requires more of me.

...I believe it was Uncle Ben who told Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility." Uncle Ben was wise...

It's Done

Me signing my life away.

Me with the attorney the bank dudes.

All I can say is Praise the Lord. The closing is done and Hunter Vision is on the way to reality. We have the money we need to get the doors open. That is all we could have ever asked for. It is truly amazing. Here are a couple pics of me taking care of the final details. Moments I will never forget... Thank you for all the prayers.

It's here

Ava agrees today is awesome.

We close on the loan at 10 this morning. I might do back flips out of the bank lobby when I actually sign these documents today. The reality is (if everything goes as planned this morning), Hunter Vision will exist. That is really exciting for me. I never had a question in my mind that Joel could do well operating on eyeballs. My only question was how in the world we would get this money in this economic climate to give him the chance. I knew our business plan was strong and our pro formas were great for a bank to see...but, according to everyone I talked to before I went to banks... "no one is loaning money".

Well, at least one bank is. That bank is stepping out on a limb with us (albeit a very sturdy one) and they will be glad they did. Several offices from now and multiple future loans, they will have come to understand what a good decision they made. I am giddy with excitement this morning. I can't believe this part is here. Months of work with nothing to show for it all wraps up into one great moment this morning. Hallelujah.

I didn't want to write about this much before today for fear something may go awry. When I talked to the bank last night at 5:00, the last thing they said was "We're all done, just show up in the morning to sign and you'll be funded." I almost did backflips then...I can't imagine what I'll do when it really happens.

Oh man, maybe I should learn how to do a backflip before 10... I'll update this again after...

Praying...

Noah and Lincoln praying

Tomorrow is the closing day for the Hunter Vision bank loan. This whole adventure of finding start-up capital for Hunter Vision has been quite an experience. It has caused more hours of prayer than I ever imagined. Since this funding has been completely out of my control and we had to find money in one of the worst economic environments since the mid-70's, I have been a bit anxious. However, there is nothing to keep you motivated like knowing you have no job in six months...so it wasn't to hard to put forth the effort.

I spent many of the last 6 months worth of mornings praying, then blogging, then praying some more. I don't understand how prayer works or how much it affects God's decisions and would have a hard time explaining it to most people. But, this I do know. Prayer to God changes me from the inside out.

So, I am glad to work through this process and to pray more. I think my kids even benefit from the challenges I go through as the spiritual head of this home. I have to spend some time in prayer before the crazy day begins... I'll be praying for tomorrow.

Old.

This picture was taken on my Uncle's farm. I could tell you that it was taken by my great grandfather in 1930 or I could tell you I took it last week. The more likely scenario seems like 1930 except the picture quality is too good. It's not grainy and old looking. That's because I did take it last week.

My Uncle Jan has a fascination with "old". It isn't that he is trying to save money by buying things that are used. He will actually buy new things and then pay someone to may them look old. I never understood this...until a couple years ago. This year's trip further cemented for me why he does this...and why I will too.

We took a visit to his new office midway through the hunting week. We walked into brand new construction of a brand new "old" office space. There was old stuff lining the walls in his office. But, not just old stuff for old stuff sake. This was old stuff that connected him to his heritage. He had actual items from past relatives in shadow boxes on the wall. Each one contained a story that was engraved in the box with the item. Each item had historical family significance.

The tracing of family lineage helps us know why we are who we are. I get that more every time I visit. Uncle Jan values history and has taught us to. It is strangely comforting to drive a truck from 1928 on a one lane road through the woods and know your grandparents and great grandparents could have done exactly the same thing when they were young. My brothers and I get to do that when we are there.

So...I will make a goal... My goal is to have traced my family history well enough to show my kids, neices, and nephews, and grandkids where they came from.

I need to get started on my "old" collection.

The Beard is gone...

... and the Browns are terrible

-photo by Ava Hunter

It's a sad day for me when the beard goes. It means we are done with the Ohio hunt. I grow it every year only for the hunting pictures...no other reason. But, each year when I begin to grow it, I am reminded every time I look in the mirror that it is hunting season. That brings me great joy. To ease the pain of admitting the deer season is over for me, I shave it off in stages. This was the last stage this year. (Well, I had a handlebar mustache for about 4 hours. But, that left quickly.)

It's a happy day for me when the beard goes. It means Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the way and our family is going to be together. I love that. The beard is a simple reminder to me each morning that this is a season to be intentionally grateful.

So, it's not just another facial hair experiment. The fall beard actually means something to me. Is it goofy? Yes. Does it make it less awesome? No.

I hope to keep this up until I am too old to hunt. Even Lisa was sad to see it go this year...

Weekend Warrior

"Orangewood Black"

This was a fun weekend. Noah played his first ever, flag football game. Our team got spanked, but it was really fun watching him play. He is beginning to learn a game that I love and spent many years playing. Unlucky for him, he also got my size right along with that love for football. It's fun to watch the kids try new things... I just realized we have 7 years left until he is in college...holy dang.

"Noah just about to pull a flag"

Sports are great for teaching kids lots of things. Things like hard work pays off... you will always have people on your team you don't like, but their on your team so it matters not if you like them...there are always people more naturally gifted...your team will follow if you learn how to lead...pain is part of life, keep going anyway...

All these coaching points bring me back to my sports days. Sometimes I miss the sports, but I would not go back in time for anything. It's Noah's turn now and I couldn't be happier about it.

**Clinic Update**

It is very likely this could be our biggest week of the year. The lease draft is due to us and we are supposed to close on our funding this week. Pray all goes smoothly. So far it has been amazing. God is good and leading us. There is certainly no lack of things to do from here on out :)

My apologies for the completely random nature of this blog...but my brain won't hold a single thought for very long this morning.

How?

POP

I am tired this morning. So tired, that I originally typed, "I am tied this mrng." I guess I am that too. I didn't go to bed much later than normal and I just got off of a week of rest. My body is tired, but it feels like it's tired because my mind is tired.

I am not complaining this morning, rather the opposite. I am admiring and wondering. I want to know how my Pops got up earlier than this everyday for the last 30+ years and kept the weight of his role from beating him down in those moments of sleepiness. He had to have them. He never talked about them. Come to think of it, He would have never started a blog (or written a blog) with "I am tired this morning." But, He had to be at some point. I wonder about the generation before us who never complained about things, they just did what they were supposed to. I wonder about how much they got it right. Then I think about the whiney, entitled babies that is my generation.

See, we talk about how tired we are. I am not sure it benefits anyone but us. It's an excuse to not do things well, to have some one feel sorry for us, to let people know how "important" we must be because we have so much to do it has exhausted us. I'm tired rarely means I'm tired. It usually means, "I want you to think I'm pretty important to the world. They need me to do so much for them that it has caused me to miss sleep." Pop knew this. He wouldn't articulate it in a blog, but He knew it. It's likely why he never talks about being tired. He knows His role is to serve God. That's it. Importance is of no relevance...therefore, neither is talking of it by way of tired proclamation.

So, maybe I'm not tired. Maybe I just wanted to process this all in a blog (man journal). Which is another thing Pop would never do...

1 thing at a time...

Pumpkin Carvin'

Ava and Noah prep for the carving (Halloween '09)

Before I left on my trip to the woods, the kids took one morning to help carve their pumpkins from the patch a few days before. It's always a good time but it gets more fun every year. To watch them grow and learn every year in these "mile marker" events is really cool. To notice day to day change is nearly impossible, but I can remember what they said at these type of events from the years before. I wonder if that is part of the reason families started traditions years ago. Think it was just to mark memory building blocks? I don't know, I am just glad we carve pumpkins.

Back on it

Isaac's 2009, 11pt

What a great week. Ohio was very good to my brothers and I last week. We went on our annual brothers hunt to Uncle Jan's cabin and could not have had a more restorative time. I am now ready to attack this next season of life full steam ahead. I have much left to do at Summit and the Hunter Vision opening process is only picking up steam. It's nice to have a boost like last week to hit this home stretch. I didn't get a deer this year and don't even care. Sitting in the woods and having encounters with nature everyday is all I need.

If you can take one week per year and do the thing that makes you better for everyone else the rest of the year... you should.