Patrick's Blog

Christmas is a comin'...

2007-10-22T02:37:00.000-04:00

Hello all. I was surfin' YouTube for clips, and found this one from the Christmas episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. For those of you who do not know about the show, it was an NBC show last season that was absolutely great and smart.

This clip just cracked me up at the time, and still does. I hope you enjoy

God is Good

2007-08-28T00:47:00.000-04:00

God is Good.

This past Friday night, I was driving home with my three boys from a Royal Rangers event, when something went "POP" under my car hood. At first, I thought it was a tire. But when nothing went flat, I started to worry. Luckily, we did make it home before the car started giving way. When I checked under the hood, all I could tell was there was an aweful lot of fluid coating my engine, but I wasn't sure what type of fluid it was.

That was it. My last straw.....

Over the past 6 months, the place I worked for over 6 years decided to just close down the office I was working in, and let everyone go (roughly 100 people). Since this time, it seems like everything in my home has chosen now to break down and fall apart as well. The air conditioning quit working, my kitchen stove decided it didn't want to heat anymore, my fridge quit working (a day after the stove went kaput!). Many other things had chosen to quit working at this time as well.

Through it all, I have prayed and trusted that God would not give me more that I could take. God has been so good to me and my family. We have been going to a church for the past year that has basically turned my life more towards God and his calling more than any church has for a long time. I've been closer to God more this year than probably at any other time in my life. I was actually TITHING for the first time (this shocked my wife too).

....Everything around me is falling apart. Now the car up and dies on me. I can't take anymore. This is the last straw. As I was standing across from my wife uttering these feeling of frustration, the peace of God came over me, and reminded me again that I belonged to him, and He would not let me go.

Saturday morning, I went out to get a look at the engine, and found a heater hose had exploded. Although I had to move some things out of the way to get to it, it was a pretty easy fix, even for a novice like me. And it only cost me about $25 to fix.

God is Good.

The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. Psalm 145:13c

Christian MySpace Alternative - Faithfreaks.com - Social Networking

2007-08-25T00:02:00.000-04:00

Christian MySpace Alternative - Faithfreaks.com - Social Networking

I just wanted to pass on this new site that is going like gangbusters. Many of my friends at church told me about FaithFreaks.com. It's actually pretty cool (coming from someone who was "anti-MySpace"). The link above is to my page. You can check it out. If you join, and then decide it's not for you, you can delete your account. Pretty cool.

JonesFamilyHomepage.com

2007-08-14T23:38:00.000-04:00

OK. Quick question for you. Are you looking for the JonesFamilyHomepage.com website? Well, you have sorta found it, but not really.

I have redesigned our family homepage, which is still located at www.JonesFamilyHomepage.com. It would appear that you have bookmarked the jonesfamblog.blogspot.com site, which is where you were redirected to before.

Please reset your bookmark to point to Jonesfamilyhomepage.com, and you won't miss anything. I plan to keep this site as my personal blog, which is also being linked from our homepage, so you won't miss a thing here either.

YouTube - Who Am I Casting Crowns

2007-07-26T17:13:00.000-04:00

YouTube - Who Am I Casting Crowns

Found this on YouTube, and just had to share it.

Greetings from Edisto Beach SC!

2007-07-16T10:28:00.001-04:00

After two grueling days in the van with cranky kids and just plain getting sick of being 6 inches from everyone else, we finally made it to South Carolina and Edisto Beach. YEAH!!!! We arrived Sunday evening, got checked in, and almost immediately headed for the beach. As late as it was, I figured it was to just go look at it, but I was mistaken apparently. As it turned out, it was the perfect solution for being cooped up in a van for two days. Now the fun part of vacation can begin.

A Day at the Jones Academy

2007-07-11T02:17:00.000-04:00

I finally cleaned off the camera of all the pictures and videos, and found this one that I just had to share. It will be added to the video library soon, but you can see the video now here. Enjoy.

TrotwoodOhio.net

2007-06-06T11:15:00.000-04:00

Hello all,

Just wanted to post an update to let you all know what I've been up to lately. I'm actually in the process of redesigning my TrotwoodOhio.net website. It's totally new and has lots of cool stuff, like a community calendar, discussion forums, and a game room (the boys really like that part).

Check it out and let me know what you think. Membership to log into the site is free if you'd like to join (you don't really have to live in Trotwood to join).

Journal Gazette | 05/10/2007 | Buckeyes gather to keep education options

2007-05-11T19:24:00.000-04:00

Journal Gazette | 05/10/2007 | Buckeyes gather to keep education options

Check out this link. Debbie and the kids, along with many of our friends, went to the Ohio School Choice rally in Columbus on Wednesday. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette was there and the picture on their website is of the kids. (picture above, but you can go if you want)

Also check out this link: http://www.myschoolmychoice.org/video/070509WCMH.wmv

It's a news report from Channel 4 Columbus about the rally, and the kids show up several times it this as well.

Great Lakes Regional Speed Stacks Tournament

2007-03-28T12:52:00.000-04:00

Hidy ho, good neighbors!

The kids participated in the first Regional Super Stacks competition this side of the Mississippi on Saturday. The relay team (in the video) came in 4th place in the Head-to-Head relays. Not bad for only practicing 5 times as a team. Enjoy!

You need Windows Media Player to view the movie. Also note that the file is about 90 Mb large, so anyone still using dial up internet will need to be patient while this file downloads (over an hour on a slow connection, most likely)

Click here to access the movie directly, or you can get to it from the "Videos and Slideshow" link on the right.

Patrick

Bible verse

2007-03-12T23:18:00.000-04:00

In my bible study today, I was struck by this verse, and thought I'd share. For those of us who struggle at times with what we should do, this pretty much says it all...

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. -2 Peter 1:5-7

Extreme Makeover

2007-02-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

Extreme Makeover

Hello all. I had to post this, as Debbie and the girls are quite excited about this.

The girls decided that they wanted to redo their bedroom, as we had decided to by them bunk beds after the new year. So this past weekend, Debbie and I did an "Extreme Makeover" on the girls bedroom, and turned it into a Princess room. Pictures are posted of the transformation in the photo album (or click the link above). Not too many wide angles to see, as the room isn't quite large enough to get a wide view, but you get the idea.

Update - February 2007

2007-02-03T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hello all, and a Happy New year to one and all. I know it's been a while since I've updated anything, so I thought I'd send a shout out to let all know how things are going.

2006 was a good year overall. Joey became our first "double-digit" child, as on December 17, Joey turned 10 years old. 10 YEARS OLD! Do you know what this means? It means it's only a mere 6 years before he starts begging me for the keys to the family roadster! I'm not sure I can deal with this. The last 6 years went by way too quickly.

I'm not sure how many of you have heard of what I'm about to tell you about, but the Jones children think that this is the best and coolest thing to do. Currently all three boys are involved in what is known as "Speed Stacking". Now for those of you who have never heard of this phenomenon, Speed Stacking is a competitive event in which participants try to stack cups as fast as they can. These are no ordinary cups either. It is a necessity to buy the cups regulated by the Speed Stacking association, along with the proper mat in order to stack your cups on, as well as a timing device to time just how fast you can stack and unstack the cups. There are many other accessories that are available to assist you in your Speed Stacking abilities.

{Pausing to allow you all to stop laughing before continuing}

Yes. I am telling you the truth. Apparently this is the latest thing for kids. The boys really get into this. They are currently working to get registered for the regional competition, which is taking place in Miamisburg in April. Kids and parents will be coming from all over the midwest to compete. The boys are in a group of their friends (who got them interested in this). They are very excited.

Not to leave out the girls, they are doing fine as well. They are enjoying all the fun stuff that girls enjoy. They were very excited at Christmas, when they got several new dress-up costumes and jewelry, as well as new ballet outfits and slippers. They enjoy being girls.

We adults are fairing well, as well. As of the end of January, Xerox has taken the opportunity to close down the helpdesk that I (Patrick) have been employed with for 6 years. It was a bitter-sweet goodbye for everyone. This has given me the opportunity (read: kick in the pants) to get my business going. I'm doing what I've been doing for Xerox, plus some hands-on customer relations: Computer repair and support. I figure with the severence package from Xerox, I've got about 3 months to "make it or break it". My plans are to make it, as I'm tired of making money for others. It's time to make it for myself. If interested in my business, please check out my website at http://www.TrotwoodComputers.com. Referrals are always welcome :)

I guess that's about it for now. Be on the lookout for new pictures posted in the Photo Album. I should have some new stuff up soon. TTFN!

Strader Drive

2006-07-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

Hello all. I wanted to post this for fun. I found some really cool software that creates panoramic pictures from multiple other pics, so I decided to test it on our street! I thought it was pretty cool.

Summer is going great guns around here. Debbie and the kids just got back from a week in Lake Cumberland, KY camping with our good friends, the Witters. They had to come back, so Joey could go away for a week. He's going to be gone for a week in Missouri for the national Royal Rangers outing. This is his first time away ALONE! AND HE HASN'T CALLED!!! There must be something wrong, right??? Or maybe he is just enjoying being away to have some fun. Either way, I'm not having fun :'(

"New" Old Photos

2006-06-19T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hello all!

Things are going pretty good here on the old homestead. Caleb and Gregory just finished up their baseball for the season. They did ok when they were able to play this season (Lots of Rainouts!), but they lost back to back games in the tournament. They played their hearts out, so I was proud of them.

For those of you that have been following us outside the homepage, we are still using only one vehicle. We should be able to get the car fixed in the next several weeks. It's been hard on Debbie going without regular transportation at her disposal, and I thank all of our friends for being so good to us in the meantime. We love you all.

Anyway, I was recently clearing out some old boxes and found some old photo albums that came from my Mom's. I decided to scan them in and for the heck of it put them in the photo album. The first group I've got up is from 1979 and 1980 it appears (which would have made me about 11-12). Family will enjoy the old pics, and friends will have something to hang over my head now (HA HA!)

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day Performance by Kid's Choir at CLC

Click above for the latest video! Joey, Caleb, Sean Gregory, and Jeannah sang with the Kid's Choir for Mothers Day at CLC (our church). Enjoy the performance!

(Note: you will need the latest RealPlayer to play video)

Get Firefox now

2006-04-17T08:30:00.000-04:00

Found this, and just had to share: Mainly for all you Internet Explorer users out there....

Happy New Year!

2006-01-03T00:04:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas season. With the new year here, I decided I'd better get 2005 all wrapped up.

New Pictures are posted! I've got Spring and Summer 2005 posted on the photo album, with the rest of 2005 hopefully coming soon.

www.FreedomStone.com

2005-11-15T13:35:00.000-05:00

Found this site thanks to a friend. T-Shirts for sale. I just love the print

� Two Hams and a Stegosaur

2005-08-16T12:06:00.000-04:00

Around the World with AiGÂs Ken Ham � Blog Archive � Two Hams and a Stegosaur

Monday, Debbie and I were privileged to be a part of a video production for the Answers in Genesis Ministry at the new Creation Museum being built in Northern Kentucky. They have posted some pictures from the event on their website, and guess who got caught! (Hint: Check out picture No. 2)

It was quite a day, and they gave us some really cool stuff for participating (not to mention my favorite, a free dinner :).

Welcome to 247PolkaHeaven.com

2005-07-14T15:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to 247PolkaHeaven.com

Jeannah has been telling us for weeks that she wants to have a "Polka Party". I found this site to help her out with her party plans, and just had to share.

Nothin' better than a good Polka!

Down, but not OUT!

2005-07-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

Hello all,

You may have noticed that the website has been down for a while. As it turns out, our cable modem got "Zapped" during a lightning storm a couple of weeks ago. It took us over a week to get a new one. After we were back online, we discovered that our DNS service was out (that's the service that points "JonesFamilyHomepage.com" to our server. This not only knocked out our website, but also our email. So if you sent us something that was returned, have no fear. Just send it again.

But we are finally back online!! It's good to be home(page)...

New Bathroom Pics

2005-06-12T22:10:00.000-04:00

Ryleigh's 3rd Birthday

2005-03-06T08:57:00.000-05:00

Ryleigh's 3rd Birthday

I'm on a Roll!!! New pictures available in the photo album from February and Ryleigh's birthday party pics!

New Pictures!

2005-03-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

I knew this new website would get me motivated. New pictures are in the Photo album from this past December. And it only took me a year and a half!

Check the link on the right for the Photo Album.

Save Toby

2005-02-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

Savetoby.com

I just had to post this as a link. For those of us who aspire to find their goldmine on the internet, this guy may just be our inspiration. Enjoy.

New Postings coming!

2005-02-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

Hello all. I have setup this new blog for our website. Hopefully I'll be posting more often and adding new stuff more often because of it. I hope you enjoy :)