The Daugherty Family

Its been a while

2009-08-11T09:45:00.002-06:00

Its been several months since we posted. Sorry! Life has been hectic, but fun. We have been very busy with work, soccer, friends, and family. We have been very fortunate in that several of our weekends have brought us visits from a broad spectrum of friends and family from around the nation. This coming weekend is the first weekend that we will have that has nothing going on (since as long as I can remember).

Melia is now potty trained. No more diapers in the Daugherty household! That gets both a big Amen and Woohoo!

After a few weeks off, soccer practice for Jake and Caleigh is back in full swing.

Christie is back to teaching and seems very happy about it. We will post more details later.

The kids all went back to school today. First days are always traumatic!

That is the 37,000 foot view of what is going on today. Exciting...huh?

On the Way Home

2009-03-27T08:35:00.003-06:00

We left Las Vegas yesterday at 9:00 am. We had a great time with the Hirsch family. We did not want to leave, although I am sure that they were ready to get us out of there! An invasion of seven people is no small task, especially for five nights! Hey, we are just one "wild and crazy" family. Jake is very bummed and did not want to leave. He and Sam really reconnected well. Jake would leave the Springs and move to LV today if he could. All of the adults and kids got along just like old times. It was so much fun!

Yesterday we hit a wonderful snowstorm in New Mexico. Let me rephrase that...we hit a blizzard that made national news. This goes along with seeing a bright, vivid rainbow in Vegas, a brief hail shower in LV, and rain in the desert on the way home. The snow storm stretches all the way up past Denver. We hunkered down last night in a Holiday Inn halfway between Gallup and Albuquerque. It is supposed to snow sporadically throughout the day. We have about seven hours drive under normal conditions. We will see how long it actually takes. Maybe we will now see a meteor shower and a hurricane.

Baptism

2009-03-22T16:54:00.007-06:00

We went with Jason and family to the church he pastors. Today was water baptism day at Epic Church. The whole service was very cool and I am so happy we chose this week to visit the Hirsch family. They used an inflatable pool to baptize 3 people in the first service and 5 in the second. Besides the 8 scheduled people, they also had 3 other individuals come up during an open invitation for baptism. It was fun and refreshing to watch an open, organic, free church in motion. The presence of the Holy Spirit was definitely in da House!

One of those that was baptized today was Sam. We got to watch Jason immerse his own son today. There is nothing like watching a father baptize his own child! It chokes me up. Here are some pics.

The baptism tank:

The water was cold:

The testimony:

The "old man":

The "new, cleansed man":

Off for some family/friend time.

2009-03-20T08:43:00.005-06:00

I got home after supper last night and immediately went to join my family and friends to say goodbye to a buddy that is being restationed to Korea. He currently is a copter pilot, was a tank operator, and now is going fixed wing. He definitely has some stories! We got home late last night, I finally slept in my bed and I must admit...it felt so good. After a home office day today we pull out for Vegas. Everybody is so excited! The older kids really can't wait to see the Hirsch family!

Christie, Maci, and Melia went to the zoo here earlier in the week. The zoo is on the mountain side and they loved it. Here are a couple of pics from the zoo:

Update

2009-03-16T21:15:00.002-06:00

Sorry to everyone! It has been several weeks since we last posted. Life has been crazy for me and work has demanded a lot of my time, as well as a lot of travel. We are all doing well and have adjusted quite well to Colorado Springs.

Christie is doing fine and talks quite often with the ladies in the cul-de-sac. She has also been making cakes. She just made a sweet 16 cake for our neighbor, and has been making smaller cakes for one of our other neighbors to take into her clients. She is enjoying the "cake time". I keep telling her she should pursue it as a job...but we will see.

The kids are doing very well. We got the teacher reviews (for 3rd quarter conferences) back on Caleigh and Josh. Caleigh's teacher would not stop raving about her. It was sort of obnoxious :). Josh's teacher called him "mature" and already set for 1st grade (ahead of where he should be). Our Josh...mature???? Jake earned straight A's for the 3rd quarter and is playing on an elite soccer team. He has finally come around to living in CS, but still misses his friends back in K-Town.

Next week is spring break for the kids. I have a dealer in Las Vegas, so we are going to join my business trip with family time and run down and see the Hirsch family in Las Vegas. The kids can't stop talking about it!

I will post some recent photos when I get back home.

Comments

2009-02-04T11:55:00.001-07:00

Christie has received a good amount of email regarding the posts. She and I would much rather see the "replies" come in the comment portion as then everyone can see what the responses are. Even the kids can check it and see. Do not be afraid of leaving the comment. It can generate some good conversation.

Updates from Colorado

2009-02-04T11:33:00.006-07:00

Christie has decided to take the springtime to start a babysitting business in our house. She will eventually go back to teaching, but for the time being she would rather be at home with Maci and Melia. She posted an ad on craigslist yesterday about noon and had a response back in a few hours. It appears that she will be watching a 2 year old and an 8 week old baby. The mom and kids came over last night to check everything out. She will be bringing in about $175 a week (for Monday through Thursday) and still get to stay home with Maci and Melia. She will get the best of both worlds, food money and staying at home. Life is good!

Jake has adapted well to his new soccer team. He has Tuesday and Thursday night outdoor practices at UCCS and and then plays indoor games on Friday and Saturday this week. The coach is outstanding and very demanding. Even a missed pass forces the boys to do pushups or crunches. Last night the team had to do 65 pushups, 35 crunches, and a lot of running during the 90 minute practice. The workouts were not for goofing off, but for blatant mistakes made on the field. Jake didn't mind as the team works well together. The team has already accepted Jake, and joke and talk to him all the time. Jake is pretty happy right now.

I am trying to figure out where to go to school. At Carthage I was a junior in standing with dual degrees in English and Religion. To continue the Religion degree I have to go to a Christian College out here and that puts a hold on the English degree. I am thinking about going to the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs to finish my undergrad work. The decision is what to do about the Religion degree. I don't really want to be a pastor, so the degree is not required for a future career, but it would help for a paraministry career. On the other hand UCCS has a lot of night courses offered from their History department and I really love History. I already have a few History courses from Carthage that would transfer so that may be the route I take.

My job has changed a little out here. Instead of calling on a mix of AG and CE dealers, with the dominant portion being AG, I will be calling on only construction dealers. That is great in this tough economy. Yes, I am being sarcastic! To make matters more interesting, I will have a new boss. He is gay. I have spent the last few years trying to change my ways and learn tolerance. I have done pretty well at it. Unfortunately, the jerk tried to kiss me and told me I was "absolutely gorgeous" when the whole team was in Phoenix a few weeks back. I was so repulsed. I don't roll like that! Nobody saw it so it is my word against his. I now understand how ladies feel when their boss exhibits inappropriate behavior. I wanted to kill him, but I have a wife and five kids to support so I just walked away. Tolerance just went out the window! The next year should be real interesting...

Nap Time for the dolls

2009-02-04T11:29:00.002-07:00

Maci and Melia decided that some of their dolls were tired. Many, many more dolls stayed awake in the bedroom. Thank God for small victories. Anyway, they put a few dolls down for a nap while they watched Dora. Yes, they were reading to their dolls....

The hawk is back!

2009-02-01T13:13:00.004-07:00

Yes....the mohawk is back. Josh has been driving me crazy to hawk him up again. He had to grow his hair "normal" for CLS kindergarten. Now that he is in public school...the hawk is allowed. And yes, that is taken outside today. Yesterday was t-shirt weather once again. The weather in January is fantastic here! We are not missing the weather in Kenosha at all!

Desi's New Friend

2009-02-01T09:09:00.001-07:00

Here is our new dog. She and Desi are already getting along pretty well. Her name is Calypso. She is a 2 year old mutt that came from the local Humane Society shelter. She is very sweet and mild mannered. She walks very well on a leash and readily obeys simple commands like 'sit'.

She is very skinny and it seems as if a male figure may have abused her. She has taken well to me, but is still quick to cower and shy away if I approach her too fast. She gets along great with Christie and the kids. She has yet to growl or bark and has not had one mean tempered moment with anyone. She has been nothing but a wonderful dog so far!

She loves treats!!!

Desi is very jealous of us showing Calypso attention, but over all she is doing well with her new friend. The dogs do play together in the back yard like old school chums....

Can you find the birthday cake?

2009-01-25T11:28:00.001-07:00

Our neighbor's birthday was January 22nd and mine is January 28th. We decided to have a joint birthday party and invite the cul-de-sac as well as some people from outside. We had a good time, enjoyed great food, lots of beer, and a birthday shot from ole' Jack. What did we have for food? We went back to our roots and did it up Wisconsin style. We had beer soaked bratwurst, cheddarwurst, hotdogs, baked beans, tater salad, chips and some other dishes that the neighbors brought over. Beer? We went with good ole fashioned PBR. That's right, you can actually get Pabst Blue Ribbon here in Colorado. All were well behaved with the exception of Nate and I. What else is new? Christie says we are like little kids and idiots when we are together.

Christie made a camo cake for Nate and I. It was so cool. Everyone loved it. Here are a couple of pics from the cake. The first one is so you can see the camo, the second one is the finished product, and the third one is Nate holding the cake.

Too Young for Makeup!!!

2009-01-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Melia decided that she was old enough for makeup and decided to paint her face. She found some strawberry lip balm and did herself up. Mommy and Daddy were so proud. Notice how she got her eyes, cheeks, and lips. She knew what to do...just went a little overboard.

Josh is Ready for the Races

2009-01-23T18:11:00.001-07:00

Josh wants to be a race car driver. He was able to sit in our neighbor's (lil' Bob's) race car. Bob put the helmet on Josh and started it up. Josh was in heaven. Then Bob took him for a ride around the neighborhood! Josh now has a new best friend! We had to pull him away from the car.

"Search for a Church" - Update

2009-01-11T17:36:00.006-07:00

Today we tried out Woodmen Valley Church. Amazingly, the Daugherty family made it to the church 12 minutes before the 2nd service started. If you know what it takes to get 5 kids motivated and moving in the morning, you know that we accomplished a major feat for our family this morning. Sadly, we were still too late to get all the kids in their classes and get to service on time. Woodmen has three services (one on Saturday night and two on Sunday morning). They also satellite the services out to a second large campus as well as an overflow sanctuary on the main campus. Because we hit the main sanctuary a little too late we ended up in the overflow sanctuary (which was the church's original sanctuary if I understood people correctly today). In the overflow, there was still a live worship team and the service in the main sanctuary was displayed on a huge screen. Middle school and up stay with their parents in the service as they have their own services on Sunday nights. Jake was both thrilled and wigged out to watch church on a very large screen while sitting in a sanctuary. For a boy that loves our large flat panel at home, he seemed really "confused" at times this morning. It was interesting for me to watch him. The worship was very nice with a lot of new songs. While we did not get to hear the senior pastor this morning, we did get to hear Jimmy Dodd. He was a great communicator and spoke on 9 ways to connect to/be used by the Holy Spirit in 2009. It was a good sermon. The kids programs seem to be great. The church is very large (6000+ if I understood correctly). I really enjoy that and I think Christie is okay with that. The church is also part of the WCA. After church we ended up talking to a nice couple with 3 kids. They are also recent transplants to the Colorado Springs and the wife is a psychologist that works for Focus on the Family. Christie and Julie exchanged contact info. Hopefully the ladies/families can connect in the near future. Christie could us a couple of real close friends out here.

We will be going back for a second try next week and look forward to hearing the senior pastor speak.

Poll Results

2009-01-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well Christmas has it. Christmas was favored by 2/3 of the respondents in the favorite holiday poll. I will still keep with my favorite...Easter.

All Boy

2009-01-08T20:40:00.001-07:00

Caleigh stayed home sick yesterday, so Christie took Josh to school and told him that she would pick him up. Well Josh did not like that idea. After school he somehow conveniently missed Christie and walked home himself! It is only a few blocks, but he just turned 6 and we have only been in CS for a month and a half. Josh's teacher did advise Christie that he is really mature for his age, but still!

Needless to say, Josh made it home safely, but Christie tanned his hide when they got home. He is all boy, has little fear, and wants to keep up with his older siblings which makes for a dangerous little boy!

Saturday of rest and fun

2009-01-03T22:03:00.005-07:00

Sadly my holiday vacation is almost over. Today, we spent the day reading, relaxing and enjoying time with each other. We even played family baseball in the snow. Okay...so it wasn't quite in the snow. But we did get some flurries while we were playing. As of January first, we have also started a family "contest". It is for Christie, Jake, Caleigh, and I. Every person that reads 52 books this year gets a $25 gift card to the book store of their choice come the first of next year. There is also a prize for the individual that reads the most books, and another prize for the individual that reads the most pages throughout the year. The books have to be at the reading level of each individual. I am sure that the kids will win these prizes, but that is perfectly fine with me. I must admit that Christie and I will try to give them a run for their money. I am trying to get the kids to read some of my books (they could handle it), but they claim they are "boring". The Bible also counts for everyone, but mainly for the count of pages read. We will see how it goes, but in just a few days I can tell you that the tv and the video games have taken a back seat to books. I am SO HAPPY!!! Yes, it is still early, but we will see how it goes and I will keep you updated.

Also today Caleigh and I saw a Black-billed Magpie on our back deck. It was about 5 feet from the back door. It was about 2 feet long and an amazing bird. As I was just going out to check the weather, I did not have my camera in hand, but here is an internet picture of what they look like:

And their specs:

Size: 45-60 cm (18-24 in)
Wingspan: 56-61 cm (22-24 in)
Weight: 145-210 g (5.12-7.41 ounces)

Large black-and-white songbird.
Long black tail.
Black head and chest.
White belly and shoulder.
White patches in wings.

Glossy iridescence on wings and tail.
Tail feathers longest in center, tapering outward.
Legs black.
Bill stout and black.
Eyes black.

Garden of the Gods

2009-01-02T19:08:00.003-07:00

We spent New Years Eve by taking a family trip to the Garden of the Gods. It is a beautiful and majestic park comprised of sandstone formations. It is out our back door. Okay...so it is 15 minutes north of our front door. It was a load of fun, although the youngest kids had a hard time obeying park regulations and staying on the path. We only saw about a third of the park in a couple of hours. It was a blast and we will soon go back to see more. Here are a few pics.

This is what you see when you walk in the main entrance:

Here is the family (minus the photographer):

The kids in the rocks:

Maci is so excited (really she just loves the camera):

The kids again:

The most wonderful and beautiful wife that this world has to offer:

Another pic of the sandstone ( I have over 100 of these):

And to give you an idea of the scale of the formations here is a rock climber. Yes he is shirtless on Dec 31. It was pretty warm and sunny. There were quite a few rock climbers out.

It really is a beautiful place and it is free. That is the amazing part. People are not trying to make money off of God's natural majestic environment. We might have to make this a tradition for New Year's Eve. Of course, that will depend on the weather each year. I will post more pics on my Flickr account.

Resolutions for the New Year

2008-12-29T09:28:00.002-07:00

Yes it is that time of year again to think about making changes in our lives. Yes, I am talking about the dreaded resolutions. So I am curious. Do you make resolutions? How many? Do you limit yourself to one or two resolutions, or maybe you make a long list knowing that if you succeed in one or two you are better off.

Maybe you refuse to go along with the crowd and don't make any resolutions. Or maybe you are already perfect...just kidding. Maybe you make them in secret and then tell the little white lie to everyone that you didn't make any resolutions. I have done that one in the past. That way when I fail I have no one that knows. I know, I know. No comments about Keith and his preaching to men on accountability...

So here is your chance. Make some comments on your resolutions, or lack of resolutions. Tell us what you do or don't do. No pressure...

2008-12-28T19:55:00.003-07:00

What a b-e-a-utiful day!

It pushed 60 degrees here today with bright, warm sunshine. There is barely any snow showing on Cheyenne Mountain. The kids played outside all day long. The played football, basketball, and all sorts of odds and ends with the neighbors. They ran around in short sleeves, with one young neighbor girl going so far as to run around in shorts.

Christie and I spent the afternoon working in our backyard. I can't believe I just typed that! It is almost January and I am working in the back yard in a t-shirt! I admit I was whistling a happy tune as I worked. Yes, it is a little above the seasonal average, but even January averages 45 here in the Springs, so it is not like we were unbelievably warm. We are supposed to have more of the same tomorrow. I will be fertilizing my lawn, just like two of my neighbors did today.

I must admit, that I do not miss the weather in Kenosha at all, and my kids are happy to be playing outside without having to wear one of these:

Private Club

2008-12-27T11:26:00.004-07:00

Caleigh's room has become an elite club that is for members only. Keep in mind that she has shared a room with her sisters for the last three years so she is not used to having her own room as a young lady. Now, she is testing her freedom. She started by locking the door to keep everyone else out. She just turned nine a week and a half ago so I had to put a stop to that. I explained to her that she could shut her door, but I did not want it locked. I may as well have told her that the moon was made of cheese because that is about the equivalent of her belief in my statement. It wasn't but a day later that the door was once again locked. Yeah, the old man went off the deep end. So, my clever, conniving, sweet daughter figured out a new trick. She started restricting access to one or more of her siblings. She will allow one or two in, and "block" the other ones. It is never the same ones allowed in, but those that are special enough to be granted membership status at that particular minute seem to be allowed just because of Caleigh's passing whim at that particular moment. Yes, I put a stop to that this morning and explained to her about equality and hurt feelings. I do not know which excited me more...the "evil glare" or the "dad is a retard" look. She is testing her new freedom, as an independent jerk myself I can understand her actions. As a dad, I must play John Wayne and lay down the law. Next time I may break out the "listen here, ya little buckaroo" line. That should get a great roll of the eyes from Caleigh!

Here is Maci "crying" outside of Caleigh's door. Yes, she is acting for the shot, but those tears were real earlier.

Poor Pipes

2008-12-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Christie now has the stomach flu. Keep in mind that this comes after Maci and I viciously attacked the toilets a few days ago. Our poor pipes have to be screaming "uncle" by now. I guess it is good that we test all facets of the house when we move in so that we know every nook and cranny. Hopefully Christie will be better soon. It's no fun to see her sick. That's about all. We took the day and did a few household chores, but mainly just relaxed. I made homemade tortillas for some yummy quesadillas.

Unwrapped

2008-12-25T12:39:00.002-07:00

Aaahhhh. Santa has come and gone. I think Christie heard him hit our house about 12:30 last night. We found out that Norad tracks Santa. It is pretty stinking cool. For kids (and adults) that waiver on their belief of Jolly Ole Saint Nick, rock steady proof of his existence is available through the fact that one of our sharpest government agencies is able to track his every move. Josh's "curiosity" was quickly remedied with tracking Santa's progress through Norad.

Last night we had potato soup that Christie made. Wow, it was awesome. For dessert we had homemade vanilla and peppermint ice cream from Nate and Tiffany (our next door neighbor). We sat around and enjoyed each other's company. It was nice and relaxing.

This morning the kids tore through the gifts from us and the rest of the family and are off in their own portions of the house playing with the new goodies. Christie and I got Jake got an air soft "sniper rifle". This is not his first one, but this thing is the toughest and coolest one he has ever had. Oddly, we watched A Christmas Story last night and I had to remind him "that he will shoot his eye out". Do not worry though! It will not be his eye he shoots out, but our dog better run. Run, Desi, Run!

The kids got a Wii from the grandparents and I am sure for the next week we will all be Wii Zombies. It is very cool and will get lots of use. Is it wrong to have an XBox 360, a Wii, an old XBox, and an old PS all set up on different TVs in four different rooms? I love the technology and enjoy the games, but I also ponder what we have become and where we are going.

Maci was inundated with Dora stuff, Melia swamped with Elmo items, Josh with Spider Man and Transformers, and Caleigh with Hannah Montana and HSM. All their favorite stuff.

Now off to cook dinner. In the words of one of my favorite authors, the beloved Dr Suess, we will be eating "roast beast".

Merry Christmas y'all....

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

From our family to you and yours...

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

BTW...for all of you back in Wisconsin...we do not have snow on the ground, tomorrow will be a high of 47 with sunshine, and nobody in this house is really complaining!

Dad and Becky over for Christmas

2008-12-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

My dad and sister came to our house to celebrate Christmas and Caleigh's 9th birthday. They just left this morning, and a good time was had by all. The most interesting events? Maci and I both had the stomach flu while they were here. Oh yeah...

Melia opened a baby doll and was really excited about it. My sister made the comment that the baby doll was the ugliest baby that she had ever seen. Josh being quick on his feet and sharp with the wit for a 6 year old responded to my 34 year old sister that "she looks just like you". Quick on the wit...slow on the descretion that 6 year old is.

Anyhoo...all had a good time and we were sad to see them go.

Holiday Party at our house last weekend

2008-12-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

Having just been in the cul de sac for three weeks, we have quickly discovered that we live in a wonderful little community of 5 houses that contain great neighbors. They rock! It feels like one of those movies where you move into a neighborhood and everybody is too nice and neighborly. Later in the movie? Well we have all seen what happens. Thinking about it, it may end up being our house that will produce the dead bodies in the furnace (see The Burbs). We are just a little strange you know. Anyway, I have already had help from my neighbors on hanging lights and such, sat out with them talking and having fun, played full court basketball, and have helped them with some of their tasks. We have had numerous visits and gifts from our little community in such a short time. In return we thought we should have them over for a holiday party. Yes...we threw a party after having moved in just 3 weeks before. Long story short, it was a great time, everybody showed up and we played games and talked late into the night. We feel pretty fortunate to have "happened" into such a cool place.

Along with the adults, we had 12 kids in our house (of course 5 were ours). The older girls played dress up with Maci and Melia (in the front with Caleigh between them). Here is a pic showcasing their handiwork. Aren't they adorable?

Moved

2008-12-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

We have now been in Colorado for almost a month. To me it seems like we just got here and for some other family members it seems like we are pretty well entrenched here already. Most of the crud that goes with a move halfway across the US has now settled down...and we hit Christmas. We are frantically finishing up Christmas shopping and decorating, which is not normal for us. We figure that we will start the blog as a way for family and friends to keep up with the happenings of our little piece of life here in Colorado. Feel free to comment away as we look forward to hearing from all of you.