Whats up Chuck?

Bicycle

2011-09-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well I got a new bicycle. And so far I have logged about 97 miles. It is a Trek 820 and I love it. I hope to get some pictures of it and me on it. But until then just look to the right to see my progress.

Photo Effects

2011-07-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

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2011-07-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

New

2011-07-04T15:31:00.001-07:00

I am going to try to start blogging again. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up. And I don't care if nobody ever reads this thing either. It doesn't matter.

So here I am, just sitting at my computer plugging away at the keyboard. It is July 4th 2011. Tomorrow is my baby Lucy's 1st birthday. Wow how time flies. We will probably have some kind of party for her. We tend to do things last minute and spurr of the moment, so I will have to give you the details later.

Website

2010-07-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

This is a good place if you are interested in your own website: http://lost-trails.com/design.html

Check it out.

Running Away

2010-07-22T11:55:00.001-07:00

These are the times of despair in which we live. From abortion to skulls, vampires to demons, war and famine, death is all around us. So it is no wonder that so many people are falling away from the Church. In Fatima, Our Lady showed the children Hell and told them that poor souls are falling into hell like snow flakes.
I don't know where you live but I have seen lots of snow.

It seems like people are running away from God. Due to pride, people refuse to submit to the will of God and go their own way or do their own thing. And all I can see when this happens is the scene at the death of Our Lord when His mother is holding him and with tears running down her face, stares at us with a broken heart. Jesus took all of what was given to Him for us, and we just choose to run from Him.

We let Him down when we choose our way instead of His. We also let down our loved ones who may have raised us. We refuse to admit that we might just be wrong.

Why run from truth as Judas did. Embrace truth and it's suffering as well. The rewards may not be many here on earth. But like Our Lady promised Bernadette, "I can not promise you happiness in this life, but in Heaven".

So make a home run and run back home to God.

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Lucy's Baptism

2010-07-17T17:33:00.001-07:00

A special thank you to Kaleb Coonrod for taking some great pictures for us.

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Lost-Trails

2010-07-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

www.lost-trails.com

New website!!!

www.lost-trails.com

Hope's Day

2010-07-08T16:34:00.001-07:00

Today is Hope's day.

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Lucy Marie

2010-07-05T07:10:00.001-07:00

At 12:28 am on July 5th 2010 Jennifer gave birth to Lucy Marie Holcomb.
She weighed 8lbs. 5oz. and was 22 inches long.

Jennifer was in labor for only 3 hours, and delivery was perfect. Lucy, however, had her hand up around her mouth (we knew this, as she was accustomed to do this through out the whole pregnancy) causing some discomfort for Jennifer during late labor. This also caused some minor scratches and light bruising on Lucy's face.

Overall she is completely healthy and doing great. Thanks for all the prayers.

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Dear Hope

2010-06-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

My dearest Hope, I just wanted to tell you that I miss you and that I am thinking about you.

What is it like in heaven? Do you play with baby Jesus? Do you think of me? Do you wonder what it is like to play with me? Do you miss me too? Do you know my grandpa?

I can't wait to see you.

Love, Dad

Untitled

2010-06-20T18:58:00.001-07:00

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Three of My Favorite Things

2010-06-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Simplicity, Silence, and Solitude

These three things are very important to me.

First, simplicity. For a long time now I have longed for simplicity. I was taking an hour in a perpetual adoration chapel in Montgomery, AL when I first felt simplicity. It is something I am always chasing after, a passion of the heart. To me simplicity can be achieved by anyone and no one at the same time. It is something you could work at all your life and only glimpse the tip of it. It is not just a feeling but a state of being. Its not just having nothing, but having everything.

Silence. Well for me it can be rather hard to achieve this, but I try. As with simplicity, silence is something you may never fully achieve. There is always noise. Whether it is actual noise, or just your brain, noise is just as constant as silence. But if you look, or rather hear, past the noise it can become so quiet that nothing can disturb you.

Finally, solitude. With 6 kids running around all the time, it is hard to have all three of these things, yet if I choose to go for a walk or sit reading the bible or another spiritual book, I am experiencing solitude. I am not saying I would rather be alone, away from my family. I am saying that I would rather be away from the world and closer to my family. And in being withdrawn from worldly things, I can have solitude.

I may never fully have my favorite things, but only taste them from time to time. And I am happy with that too.

Red Neck Girl

2010-06-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

I have a red neck girl.
Mary is so red neck. She just loves going for 4 wheeler rides. I think she loves me for my 4 wheeler.
Today, as well as most other days, as soon as I got home she wanted to go for a ride. And she did what she normally did, she screamed, laughed, and fell asleep while on the ride.

Also she is barefoot almost all the time.

Yep, red neck girls even live in the UP.

My Home

2010-06-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

If you have ever wondered why I moved to the woods of the UP, here are some photos to help you understand.

Also, the baby says hi...

And then a couple of other pics I took...

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HDR Photography

2010-05-31T12:35:00.001-07:00

These are my first attempts at HDR Photography.

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Cuteness

2010-05-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Joseph's First Communion

2010-05-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

Today we celebrated Joseph's first Communion and the Ascension of our Lord.

Here are some photos:

There was a photographer there, so I hope to get some additional photos of this day and of Robert and Raechel's Confirmation.

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Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T16:43:00.001-07:00

Today is mother's day, and here are some more pics of the kids for all the moms in my life.

Cute little Mary

Hard workin Robert

Good shot Raechel

Cool lookin Daniel

Sneaky huntin Thomas

And great smilin Joseph

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

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More Pics

2010-05-08T10:00:00.001-07:00

Here are some more photos of the kids.......

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Confirmation

2010-05-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

Here is Robert and Raechel's Confirmation photos.

And Mary of course...

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Earth Day

2010-04-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

While I am not a hippie liberal democrat, I do think it is good to take care of our home.
I mean who likes to live with trash? And who says you have to be a environmentalist to be environmentally concern?

So today, I decided to pick up trash around my place of employment. I bagged over two bags of trash. Boy people, including myself, are trashy. We just toss something down and forget about it.
We complain about other people littering, but do we do anything to help out?

There is an old saying, " Cleanliness is next to holiness".

BTW, I did not even know it was Earth Day. LOL

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

THE LORD HAS RISEN ALLELUIA

2010-01-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Advent - Christmas

2009-12-27T16:25:00.001-08:00

This year we completed our Advent calendar like we do every year, except this year I was in charge of it.

As you can see here, we colored the empty stable. Notice all the numbers, those are for the dates.

We added a colored cut out each day through all of Advent. Each of the cut outs have a prayer on the back side.

Here it is completed. The stars were for a novena. The round stickers were for the "O Antiphons"

Now we are starting the 12th night calendar.

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We had a good Christmas too. Here are some photos for you.

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Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T20:00:00.001-08:00

As I am sure is the custom in many households at dinner time on Thanksgiving day we one by one go around the table telling what we are thankful for.

This year we started with Thomas: for the food.
Joseph: for the food and turkey.
Daniel: he just laughed and said something about the food.
Robert: he didn't know what to say.
And that kinda disrupted the whole ceremony for a minute and when we got back to it I started it and then Jennifer and by this time no one was interested anymore. Poor Raechel:(

So here is what I am thankful for: for my wonderfully awesome, adorable, pretty wife; for this beautiful place we live in; for the courage to leave GE and to come home; for my wonderful family;for the newest addition to our family; for the BSP and the Liturgy of the Hours; and of course for the food; oh and for Popple.

Jennifer said: for my husband and my children and the wonderful dinner.

I guess I was the long winded one in the family. LOL

So with all the thanksgiving around here, that leaves me wondering what you are thankful for?
Please feel free to share by leaving a comment if you want to.

Peace

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Official Anouncement

2009-11-03T17:42:00.001-08:00

We are expecting another gift from God.

Jennifer has the Egyptian flu. Sick for 9 months then turns into a mummy.

The bunny died.

Do I know what causes that?

We sure got our hands full.

How do we find the time?

Don't we have enough?

WOW!!!

But alls I can say is that I just love babies.

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Photos

2009-10-23T18:54:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of the UP...

Hope you enjoy.

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The Latest

2009-08-12T18:10:00.001-07:00

What is going on here? Well I got a job at a local used car dealership. I mostly change oil, install break pads, detail cars, and try to sell cars. It's a job, a BIG change in pay, but I am home every night and I am happy.

Tonight after work we went to the lake and went swimming. This week it is suppose to be HOT, in the 90's, so I guess we will go swimming tomorrow evening too.

While at the lake tonight I noticed many mushrooms. I am amazed at how many I am finding now that I am looking for them. Tonight I found more of the amanita mushrooms that are poisonous if not DEADLY, in fact I did find the one called "Death Angel" or "Destroying Angel" tonight. It is guaranteed to kill. But it is good to be able to identify the dangerous ones, however I do not like the taste of mushrooms so I will not be eating the ones I find in the wild.

Well I must get these kids to bed tonight and spend some time with my wonderful bride.

God night.

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Mushrooms

2009-07-29T12:54:00.001-07:00

I have developed a new interest. Mushrooms.
The study of fungi is called mycology. I do not like mushrooms to eat but they are definitely a cool organism.

My intrest started when I began searching for edible plants with a field guide I have. I noticed many mushrooms around the area too. My neighbor even picked a bunch and said they are edible. I accepted them to be nice, but I DON'T like the taste of them unless battered and fried and covered with ranch dressing. But in taking them I wanted to find out info on them and in doing so, I sparked my interest.

Here are some photos of some that I have found in my yard.

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So Whats Goin On?

2009-07-14T06:33:00.001-07:00

The last week has been busy for us.

First of all, our chickens have been on strike. They all stopped laying. No eggs. This has been going on for 3 weeks now but we negotiated with the union mob boss and have tried to come to a reasonable conclusion. So they are beginning to come around now and start laying again.
Yesterday we got 11 eggs.WOW!!!

We also have a new dog. Her name is Sophie. She is a St. Bernard.

We also celebrated a birthday last week.
Last Wednesday was our dear Hope's birthday. She would have been 3.

This week is our anniversary, so another busy week.

TTFN

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Week 3

2009-07-05T18:35:00.001-07:00

Well we completed week 3. Week 4 is called the recovery week. However week 4 is not completely a week of relaxation. It just doesn't involve strength training. Mostly yoga, cardio, and kenpo. But the good news is we are still going on, we haven't given up yet:-)

Keep praying for us...

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My Life

2009-06-26T15:38:00.001-07:00

Well with all the working out these days some may be wondering what else I do?

Well the other day I made a cool outside stove. It is called a rocket stove and was made using a metal 5 gallon bucket and some 3" stove pipe.

It works by pulling air in real fast creating a jet or "rocket" like flame at the top. The bucket is insulated with ashes so all the heat comes out of the top. I boiled about 2 cups of water in 2 minutes.

And best of all is that it is portable.

Notice the super hot flames.

It is fed with small sticks.

I cooked some fried potatoes in the largest Lodge cast iron skillet they sell. They were done quicker than cooking on our electric stove and without power.

Also here is a sweet picture of Jennifer and Mary.

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Week 2

2009-06-23T19:08:00.001-07:00

Today I started week two. It is the same as week one so I will not post every detail here until Sunday when I can tell you that I finished another week.

So stay tuned...

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Day 6

2009-06-20T18:45:00.001-07:00

Today was the Kenpo workout.
Less than half way through I felt like my arms were going to fall off. But they didn't and I completed the week. Tomorrow, rest day!!!!

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Day 5

2009-06-19T13:54:00.001-07:00

Today we did Legs & Back which is a 59 min dvd that includes many pull ups and squat type exercises.
I have to use a chair to assist with the pull ups, but I make sure that my arms do all the work. Right now they feel like spaghetti.

After the 1 hour video we did an additional dvd workout called Ab Ripper X. I about threw up and cried through the whole thing. My tummy hurts AND I am walking bow legged.

I did a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes worth exercise today. Tomorrow we do Kenpo X which is a karate type of a workout.

85 days left.

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Day 3 and 4

2009-06-18T07:04:00.001-07:00

Day 3 went real good. It was mostly upper body strength training, but today...

OUCH!!!

Today we did the Yoga and I am in so much pain. My arms feel like they are 500lbs each. My legs are heavy too.
I could not do all the moves and the ones I could do, I couldn't hold the position for the entire time.
But I did do the most and best I could do.

I did figure out what the P in P90X means: PUKE!!!

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Day Two

2009-06-16T09:31:00.001-07:00

This morning, I hit the snooze button, but the good news is that the alarm was set for 6:20 and not 6:30, so I got up at the scheduled time. (with the help of Jennifer of course)

After the 45 minute work out, I felt worn out but great.

88 days left.

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First Day

2009-06-15T05:43:00.001-07:00

WOW!!! I completed the first workout, and all I can say is WOW!

It is intense. Jennifer and I both did it and feel great. (Hurting but great)

Tony is crazy.

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P90X

2009-06-14T16:24:00.001-07:00

I finally received the P90X work out program. I have been reading all the material and completed the fitness test and all the required measurements. I took some before pictures and did the first workout as a test. I will officially start the 90 day program on Monday. I am not going to guarantee the massive results as described in the infomercial, but after 90 days I will start it again. We will see how it goes. PRAY for me!!!

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Fishing, Hiking, and Just Having Fun

2009-06-11T07:45:00.001-07:00

With all the work we do around here can you imagine that we have time for fun?

Well we all like to go fishing.

Here we are at Lake Courtney.

We also tried our luck at Lake Superior.

Do not go here. Too many blood sucking creatures.

We even tried the marina in Ontonagon.

But all we ever managed to catch was..

and...

And so we tried our luck at hiking.

And then we went to the park...

When we got tired we went back home...

and did some reading. And who should appear?

Now thats way too much time on our hands. I think we sould get back to work.

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What have we been upto?

2009-06-07T15:25:00.001-07:00

Well since I have decided to keep up with blogging, I guess I should tell you all what we have been up to since I left my job.

Well we played in the snow...

We waited with all the comunity for the plant to re-open...

We tapped some maple trees...

Learned some archery...

Did some farming chores...

Got some more chickens...

Built a stanchen for milking goats...

And got two goats.

With all that work we still managed to have some fun...

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Trying Again

2009-06-07T14:52:00.001-07:00

I am going to try this again. It has been so long since my last blog post. As many know, I had a website dedicated to my pictures, but it was time to renew the subscription and $150.00 is not as easy to come by these days.

Most people make resolutions at the beginning of the year, but I have decided to make some now. Like keeping up with this blog.

I listen to this great podcast called The Catholic's Next Door. They have a show on Serious satellite radio but they started on the web doing audio blog posts called podcasts. Their names are Greg and Jennifer Willits. When I first heard them I thought their last name was my wife's maiden name Willis.

Anyway, Greg has started that new work out called P90X and has talked about it just about every day. So I decided to try it. I found it pretty cheap on ebay and ordered it yesterday. I can't wait to start it. Jennifer is going to start it with me and all the kids want to do it as well. What I have read about it is that it is extremely hard. But I do need to do something. So I will have to keep you updated on my progress and will also put up pictures of before and after. But not until I complete the program.

Also, I will be posting my photos on here from now on so if you still want to look at them they will be here.

Until next time.

Chuck

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Up To Date

2008-10-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated my blog in a long time. I doubt anybody really ever visits any more but I am updating it anyway.

The past 2 months have been busy. I've been to New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oklahoma, and now back to Pennsylvania.

In New York I worked on a wind farm, Penn at a steam / coal burning power plant, Georgia in a shop, Oklahoma the job was pushed back, but got to visit with some of my family, SORRY I didn't get a chance to visit with Jennifer's family, back to Penn in a shop. In a day or two I may end up going to Chicago for a day job and then back to Oklahoma for the original job.

Are you confused yet?

I did go home after New York and then after the first stint in Pennsylvania. I have only been out this time for 11 days. They usually like to keep their guys out for 3 or 4 weeks at a time. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.

I miss everyone at home.

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FotoChuck

2008-07-14T08:42:00.001-07:00

I am thinking of going pro. I wonder if anyone would even be interested. What I am doing now is just asking for your opinion on this. Please leave a comment on this blog and let me know what you think about me setting up a website where I will sell my photographs. My plan is to sell them in any size unframed but on professional paper and quality. I've been told I should at least try doing this, but before I invest a bunch of time and money I thought I would see if it would be worth it.

Click HERE to view some of my pictures.

Thank you.

Chuck

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Photo Techniques

2008-06-30T14:35:00.001-07:00

I have been learning some tricks and techniques. I bought a circular polarizer lens for my camera and here are some examples.

I have taken 2 photos of the same view one with the polarizer "off" and the other "on". You can see the difference it makes.

#1 OFF

#1 ON

In the fist example there isn't a real big difference, just slight.

#2 OFF

#2 ON

But in the second example there is an obvious change.

Now I need to learn why the subtle and obvious changes and when to and when not to use the lens. All comes with experience I suppose.

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New Photo Website

2008-06-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, I just wanted to thank all of you for visiting my blog. It seems like I only use this blog for sharing my pictures, and uploading pictures on here is a pain and I am not pleased with the quality of the pics on here. So I decided to find a better way to share my photos with you. Please visit http://Fotochuck.smugmug.com Here I have put some of my favorite pictures. I hope you enjoy them.

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A Day at the Park

2008-05-29T16:53:00.001-07:00

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2008-05-25T19:44:00.001-07:00

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Update

2008-05-24T18:12:00.001-07:00

Jennifer has requested that I update my blog....

Well I am home now and here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

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Still Here in Sweetwater

2008-05-06T11:33:00.001-07:00

Yep I'm still here in Sweetwater, TX. I am waiting on the wind. While I've been waiting I did a lot of driving around and here are some photos I took while out today.

Enjoy...

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More Confusion

2008-05-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

I knew it would happen. Now it looks like I will be working tomorrow and not traveling to Maine on Sunday but staying to do that other inspection at the other site on Monday. Shesh!!!!

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Total Confusion

2008-05-01T07:28:00.001-07:00

I hate my job sometimes. Who doesn't. You see, I was sent out here to west Texas on Monday and haven't done a single thing yet. Yeah, I'm getting paid, but it sure gets boring. There is nothing to do but wait on the wind. But to top it all off, I was also going to cover another job here (there are like 30 wind sites in the area) at another site, but since I "may" work tomorrow, that other job was canceled. And to top it all off, I am scheduled to fly to Maine on Sunday. I just wonder if they know I have to drive to Dallas to return my rental, or have they forgotten about that???

That is if I am ever able to finish this job I was originally sent here to do????

I'm confused.

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Around the house

2008-04-23T19:07:00.001-07:00

Well I am fully enjoying my time home. I have been keeping busy doing a lot of spring time and much needed jobs. When the snow melted it revealed all kinds of toys, trash, and rubbish that we had forgotten all about.

So on Monday I fixed my brakes on my truck. I had to replace the rear break line. It was so much easier than I had expected. I would say, excluding the time it took me to go buy the needed parts, it only took about an hour or two. Well I forgot another 10 minutes or so realizing I needed to bleed the line and figuring that out, but again a piece of cake.

Tuesday, I cleaned up the garage and burned some rubbish ( limbs, Christmas tree, ect) and organized the yard tools.

Today, I, and the kids of course, started cleaning out the sheep pin. There is like 2 feet of packed hay that they obviously didn't eat out there. I have decided to convert my "office" into a chicken coop. The "office" was in poor shape anyway. The floor is rotted out and the roof leaks. Can't keep computer equipment, work books, and calligraphy tools out in those conditions, so instead of spending a bunch of money to fix it up, I'll just use it for an awesome coop. It will be right off the garage with an access door from within the garage. Easy for the winter. I also went into Ontonagon to pick up a desk from some friends who just moved UP here. Then I went to visit some other friends and they showed me their new baby horse, lamb, and cow. They also showed me their garden which I am impressed with. I then drove to another friend's house where I bought some fresh eggs and discussed buying some chicks from them. They grow a special breed called Platinums. They are a home made breed that are great layers and meat birds. Then when I got home I fixed up the desk and also fixed the sauna. I put up a grate shelve that is sitting just above the sauna rocks to heat the water. The tank which had been used was getting to hard to rrepair after the hard freeze and cracked the lines and the heat exchanger which was used to heat the water. Now we'll heat the water the old fashioned way.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow so who knows how much stuff I will get done. I want to get some photography in sometime this week too. And get to the cemetery to decorate Hope's grave.

Looks like I will be going back to work on Monday....unless something comes up. Hope not...

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Daniel's First Communion

2008-04-21T19:21:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos that Robert took for us, plus one bonus pic of Mary...

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On The Road Again

2008-04-05T14:47:00.001-07:00

After a few WONDERFUL weeks at home, it looks like I will be leaving for Mobile, Alabama on Monday. This weekend was awesome. The weather has been great. The highs have been in the upper 50's.
On Friday, I changed the oil on the van (which was WAY over due). I had been putting it off for some time because the garage was always so cold.

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April Fool's

2008-04-01T18:45:00.001-07:00

I wish I would have gotten a few photos last week, but I didn't. You see last week, well yesterday in fact, you could see the driveway gravel. The snow was melting and it was looking like spring may just be here..... But this morning when I woke up, I found snow piled up against the garage door. Yep, I was a fool to think spring was here. Last year they had their biggest snow storm of the season the second week of April. Jennifer got a few pics this morning and put them on her Blog

Wonder when the real spring will be here?

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Divine Mercy Weekend

2008-03-31T18:01:00.001-07:00

Jennifer posted a good run down of our weekend. All I have to add is that I got to go to our Bishop for confession. And I also have some pictures to add. Enjoy...

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Home

2008-03-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

Well I got home last Saturday at about 1am. We all had a good Easter and are having a good Octave of Easter. Next Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday and we are going to go to Marquette to the cathedral. They will have some 1st class relics of St. Faustina for veneration as well as a Holy hour and confessions and Mass. Divine Mercy Sunday has been a special day for our family the past few years, please keep us in your prayers.

I will get some pictures on here soon.

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Caught It

2008-03-17T18:00:00.001-07:00

Well it looks like I caught the flu. Yep I've been sick since last Saturday.

I am also still stuck here in California. I was suppose to be home by now, but an unplanned emergancy in Texas caused a chain reaction, and I am still here. It seems that we are only waiting on the weather as of now, so please pray for good weather and NO winds in west Texas so I can at least make it home by Easter Sunday.

So I am sick and here all alone.

Poor me:(

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Work

2008-02-07T19:07:00.001-08:00

Well here I am in Palm Springs, California. And I have actually only worked one day. I left home on Sunday January 27th and oh boy was that a long day. First off my first plane was canceled and so I did get to sleep in a few extra hours and eat breakfast with my family. When my first flight did go we were a little late but that was no big deal since I had a good layover in Minneapolis. But here is where the airline messed me over, you see my original flight was suppose to be only 2 planes and I had first class seating on the second one. Well turns out they re-booked me for 3 planes and first I lost my first class seat and second they switched my airline. So after arriving to Minneapolis I flew to Phoenix and that plane was late getting there. I had to go out of the secure area and re-check into US Airways (my first 2 planes were with Northwest), go back through security, and missed my plane. Then they told me I could catch a later one so I waited till it too was canceled. So I stayed in the Crown Plaza in Phoenix. The next day my flight would have been after 5pm so I rented a car and drove 4 hours to Palm Springs. Boy what an ordeal. At least my bags were not lost...

Now we have either been winded out or the site has been powered down so we have only worked for one day. We might get to work tomorrow, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that.

Fortunately, I get paid every day, so it could be worse.

We, me and my coworker, drove to Mexico last week, but there's not much to tell you about that. We drove around there for about 30 minutes and then waited in bumper to bumper traffic for 1 hour to get back over the border. The traffic in Mexico is SO crazy, no lanes and everyone is honking at everyone.

I don't even want to venture into LA.

More later.

Chuck

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Back to work

2008-01-25T15:22:00.001-08:00

After a long break, it looks like I am now going back to work. I had a wonderful time at home. I have been off since December 21st. It looks like I am going to Palm Springs, California. I have never been to California. I will be working on more wind turbines. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures while I am there to post on here.

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33

2008-01-19T18:13:00.001-08:00

Well today I turned 33. I did not do much really. It was way too cold to go out side, so we just kinda hung out. Today's high was 1 deg. but the wind chill was -20!!! So like I said, we stayed inside.

This birthday was so much better than last years. Last year I was stuck in Sweetwater, TX. Literally! There was a big ice storm in west Texas all the way to Arkansas and all my co-workers decided to either fly or drive back to their homes in Houston and in Mobile. I on the other hand could not get a flight to home so was forced to stay there by myself. Well I got iced in in a small town with no where to go for 5 days. What a drag.

We are snowed in here this year but I am not alone.

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Party Indeed

2008-01-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

These were taken before Jennifer left

These were taken after Jennifer left

Party Time

2008-01-08T12:17:00.001-08:00

Jennifer is going on a trip. Her friend from Alabama is turning 80 years old and throwing a big party. And get this it is only costing us $10.00. Yep one of the only benefits of my job, frequent flyer miles. She will be gone 5 days and I will be here with all the kids, except the baby. We will have fun. I have some plans for us, and will hopefully be able to do some of the exciting things I want to do. There is this big sledding hill that I just found out about and would like to take them all there. We can test out my new sled that I built.

I'll be sure to keep updates posted as well as some photos.

Blogged with Flock

Getting back to my Blog

2008-01-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a long time since my last post. I also know there are people out there still checking it from time to time. Please accept my apologies.

Well today is the first day of 2008. Wow how 2007 flew by. It seems only last week that I was in Sweetwater, TX, but that was this time last year. And the kids all seem so much bigger.

This Christmas was good. I enjoyed such a good vacation, and still am. I will be home for a couple more weeks. Not sure exactly when I'll be going back to work.

Here is a picture of me in Alabama, signing off on some reports. They saved a few for me. I am standing next to the files stacked up.

The next few are of the kids. First Mary Mae, then Thomas, Robert, Mary, Mary and Mom, and Raechel. The other boys were never around when I had the camera out.

These next two are of the snow that was falling the last couple of days. I was trying to capture the actual amount of snow falling. It was more thick in real life.

At Home

2007-11-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well I am at home again. It is so nice being here. I'll get to be home for 10 days. I got home on Friday and will be heading out again the Monday after Thanks Giving.

Mary sure has changed since I was home last. She now is more alert and smiles all the time. She is bigger too. She now weighs 11lbs 12 oz.

The others are all so happy to have her as a baby sister. They are always giving her kisses and want to hold her all the time.

I hope all of you have a happy Thanks Giving. I'll try to take some photos during my vacation to put on here for you.

Yellowstone National Park

2007-11-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures I took at Yellowstone. One is a video clip of a bubbling mud pool.

HOT SPRINGS

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE

FROZEN POND

YURT

OLD FAITHFUL

BUFFALO

GYSER SOMETHING???

BOILING MUD

HOT SPRING POOL

MORE BUFFALO

ANOTHER HOT POOL

THE RIVER RUNS THOUGH IT

Has it been over a month???

2007-10-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, I was checking my blog and just realized it has been a long time since I added anything. Well here goes.

All is good at home. Mary Mae is doing what all new Born's do. Eat, sleep, poop, cry, and eat again.
She has started cooing and smiling too. I am sorry to say I do not have any new photos to add at this time. Robert, Raechel, Daniel, Joseph, and Thomas are all in love with the baby. They all beg to hold her and the older two actually change her diaper.

I have been back on the road for a few weeks now. I was in lower Michigan at a nuclear power plant for two weeks, and now in Idaho Falls at a wind farm. I will be here for several weeks.

I promise to add more pics soon.

Cute Baby and Fish

2007-09-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well the last few days have been so much fun. We have all had a good time awwing and oooing over baby. I took some pictures of her today (only 3 though). I also took some of the other kids and me on our big fishing trip...

As you can see, we all caught something. We had to throw back all but the one Robert caught. He wanted me to cook it for him, which I did. Figuring out how to clean the fish was a different story. HAHA.

As Promised

2007-09-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

WELCOME

2007-09-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

I would like to announce the arrival of our new daughter, Mary Mae Holcomb.
She was born today at 4:23am and weighed 8lbs 4oz. She has dark hair and is just so beautiful. I will be posting some photographs as soon as I get the chance. Thank you all for all the prayers.

Chuck

It's been awhile.

2007-09-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I haven't updated my blog in a while. Well I went to west Texas for a week and have been home since last Saturday. Today is Friday, so as you can see I haven't been here in a long time. Well we are just waiting for the baby to come. The stork could arrive anytime now. I wonder what he will bring us. We have a couple of names picked out now. But you all will have to wait too.

Well as always here are some pictures for you.

The next time I post a blog, hopefully I will have photos of the new baby.....

Home

2007-08-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

I am home now. I actually got home last Thursday. On our way back home we stoped at a park in Houghton, and while Jennifer, Robert, and Raechel went shopping, me and the others played.

I just love being home.

This is our creek bed where the kids love to go.

I have so much fun here even when I am working. The last couple of days I have been getting the sauna fixed and ready to go. Well tonight will be the first sauna we will be taking since last winter when the water froze up inside of the furnace and cracked the boiler part which makes the hot water. It will be nice to sit in there and sweat out all the days troubles.

Also we are getting a new roof on our house. They are puting a metal roof on. It is forest green and looks great. I just hope they are done by the time the baby is born.

I will probley be going out on one more job before the baby is born too. I hope to be able to take 4 weeks off from work, but to do that I will have to work between now and one week before the due date.

Oklahoma City Bombing National Monument

2007-08-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Frustrated

2007-08-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

This job can be very frustrating at times. Things change on a daily basis.

When I arrived last Sunday, I was told that I would be here in Oklahoma for 3 to 5 weeks. Then on Monday, some engineer came in and changed everything. So from Monday till Thursday, we hadn't worked. Then on Friday we worked close to 18 hours. Today, we worked for 30 min. Then we will be off today and maybe tomorrow. And then Monday we may be either working or going home????? Or maybe another job. Hawaii perhaps????

It is too bad that I was not able to see any of my family. Who knows when I will be working so close again?

Man I am so glad I don't live in Oklahoma any more. The HEAT is so bad. It is worse than Alabama. 100% humidity and 95deg. Hot!!! Jennifer has told me that it has been hot UP there too. She said it has been in the 90's. But no humidity makes a difference for sure.

I have no photo's to post this time. Nothing to shoot. I am tired of taking shots of wind turbines all the time, and there is not much to look at around here. But here are some of the kids when I was home last weekend at the county fair.

Here are all the kids when we first got there

This is Thomas and Smoky the Bear

Here is Thomas and Joseph on a swing ride

Thomas on a jumping thing

Joseph, Raechel, and Daniel playing putt putt

Now this one is funny, Thomas is on a big inflatable slide. But I blew up his reaction to it.

Funny thing is he went down about 2 more times after that.

The last is of happy Daniel

Robert this whole time was running all over the place. We never knew where he was at for more than 20 seconds. (no worries this "fair" only took us 30 minutes to go through even though the kids rode all the rides, we visited all the exibits, looked at all the 4H animals, looked at the tractors, and watched the horse show.)

Weatherford, OK

2007-07-31T11:56:00.001-07:00

Well I left home on Sunday and flew to Weatherford, OK. I am about 3 hours from Tulsa.

I am here at another GE Wind site. Here we are doing a completely new inspection on the blades. We are doing them from the ground too.

It is amazing at how huge these things are.

While I am here I hope to maybe be able to convince some of you to come visit me. I will take you out to the wind farm and show you exactly what I do.

Going Home

2007-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! I am going home. I have been gone now for 5 weeks.

Last week we had 5 days of good weather, so we were finally able to get down (or up) to business. We finished yesterday on Sunday.

It sure has been a long assignment here in Oregon. It looks like I will be in Weatherford, OK (3 hours from Tulsa) in the next week or so. On days we wind out there or have bad weather, I hope to be able to drive to Tulsa. If not, maybe I could convince someone to come to Weatherford for a couple of days.

Well I am at the airport now in Portland, OR and waiting for my flight. I better go for now.

Days Off

2007-07-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

If it's not the wind it's a power outage. Imagine that, a power plant has no power.

Well it looks like we will be off for 2 days due to an outage. What to do? Well going home is not an option unfortunaly. I would only be home for one night and have to fly out tomorrow. That is not fair for me, Jennifer or the kids. So maybe we will go site seeing some more.

So far I have been to Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, rock climbing, hiking, sleding, cave exploring (self guided in an ice cave), to an old Catholic church, driving the senic highway, and even went on a dam tour (the Bonneville Dam). So now we are out of places to go. I looked up going to Canada, but that is 6 hours away. Seattle is just over 3 hours away, so who knows maybe I'll go there. I doubt it.

Luckily I still get paid to be on stand by.

My First Blog Post

2007-07-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

Well I decided to start a blog to keep you all updated as to what I am doing and where I am at.

Well now I am in Oregon working on wind turbines. We are inspecting the blades. We ride in a basket hung by a cable suspended from about 300 feet up.

I am not sure as to what to write about now, but I am sure things will come to mind as I start to write and share things on here. I hope you all enjoy.