Susannah update

If you recently read about Susannah from my site, here is a great update. Pray for her today as she is having open heart surgery.

Susannah was added to the Irwin family recently by way of China. She has some severe health and heart issues, but she seems to be a tough kiddo!

Threats I have recently made....

1) I threatened to kill JB with a Chinese throwing star to the neck. ***

2) I echoed the above threat to Dloy.

3) I threatened to work the entire day as Christopher Walken….its Cra----Zy.

4) Become a storm trooper. (See picture above.)

***Sadly, this threat arose from the beautiful story of a man rescuing starfish by returning them to the ocean one at a time. Like many of our conversations, it digressed into threats of physical violence and ninja-like behavior.

I don't run the gov't...

But, if I did...

I am not sure what I would do at this point. Either road is going to be rough. Do we float $700,000,000,000 to corporations and de-value the money that is already out there? Or, do we just take our lumps and ride the wave down hoping for a return?

I once had a bad phone call to make to give someone really bad news. I went to lunch with JB and Dloy instead and had to make the call when I came back. I was miserable the whole time and still had to make the call. (I actually enjoyed the meal part because I think we ate sushi. I really like crunchy rolls with tons of wasabi/soy sauce to dip.) (If Damon was around at the time, we probably also went to get ice cream.) The point is this: if you have a situation, you gotta deal with it at some point. It does not go away.

America has over-financed everything for 80 years. I know it sucks. When the government says they want to buy illiquid assets with our money, please know what that means. The assets are OUR bad credit. The assets are illiquid because no one will buy them. If no one buys your aunt's tea set at your garage sale, I bet you can figure out why....it is not worth anything.

(I have a music degree and would not loan you money if you could not pay it back. What is up with these moronic Harvard MBA's that purposely loaned money to every person in America?)

When President Bush (who contributed GREATLY to this problem by spending like a teenager at the mall) says the tax payers will be paid back by re-selling these illiquid assets, he means that you can make money by buying your aunt's worthless tea set and re-selling it to someone else.
Aren't the illiquid assets for sale right now? I'm not really smart, but I am somewhat smart.

I also don't expect my savings to be worth nearly as much a month from now.

(I really like sushi and ice cream.)

Ella Kate mowing....

We put our kids to work early in life so they can earn their keep.
With EK's appetite, she is going to have to edge too....

There is No Gas

The link below made me laugh for a long time. It is comic genius!

http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2008/09/inside_the_metro_bunker.php

My three favorite quotes:
"Williamson County...I HATE Williamson County."
"Vince Young totally hates it here, and I don't blame him."
"Its OK, we will move to Dickson."

Disclaimer: I have a twisted sense of humor. If you are a child, Baptist or my mom don't click that link. (You better click the link...)

And we are off....

We enjoyed three quarters. Ethan was surprised to find out that there
was an NFL game at the same place where he got his "delicious and
refreshing" slushee. (His words.)

Titans game redux

Ethan and I made a guys' trip to the game today. First five minutes..."Daddy, I am ready to go home."

His favorite things up to halftime:
1) Ice cream (no brainer)
2) The Coke bottle shaped trash cans (background)

Fantastical - ness

I have some real problems. For instance, I like for all my items to be neatly stacked. I eat my food one item at a time. I order the same thing at the same restaurants each time (thanks, Lenny's!) I count my teeth over and over again (surprisingly, it never changes.) I bounce my legs when sitting down due to anxious energy. I brush my teeth so hard the enamel is virtually gone. I avoid getting a haircut for months at a time. I am frugal...quite frugal. I avoid relationships. I ate ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together as a child. I can play handbells. I type 80 words per minute. (If you want to challenge my typing skills, bring your A game. I will crush you like a piece of Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch.)

I make up silly songs built from random phrases spoken by my dear wife. I pick my fingernails. I love my green 1997 Toyota Camry and hope it lasts another 10 years. I listen to Willie Nelson. I can exponentially multiply 2 for hours. I smoke the crack rock. (I made that up.) I have a ridiculously unhealthy diet based on sweets and brownies. I have a bump on my head next to a matching indention. I was once pants-ed in front of my youth group. My shirt sleeve length is disproportionately long as compared to my neck and waist size.

Anyway, I may have overstated my point....

I was reminded of my sickness(es) today by my reaction to the newest addition to our family. I had a euphoric response to an exciting new friend....the Hoover S3765-040 WindTunnel Electronic Bagless Canister Vacuum. I am pumped because I love cleanliness! I know I am crazy, and I am thrilled....

This vacuum is awesome. If you do not like super-vacuums, I am sad for you.

Pray for the Irwin Family

Please take a few minutes to pray for the Irwin family. They met their daughter in China recently but found her very ill. They are working hard to get her out of the country and need God to work in some big ways.....

http://roomforatleastonemore.blogspot.com/

Thanks,
Shawn

Well said....

I work for a really smart guy who often says things in just the right way. After he asked about our week, the funeral and our adventures with the hurricane, I poorly explained to him what an amazing outpouring of kindness and support we received from hundreds of friends and family. He summed it up perfectly...."You are a wealthy man, Shawn." Well said, DW. It has nothing to do with money, and we are extremely wealthy. :)

-Shawn

Our trip...

Heather says it best here.

Update

It is done....Dad's funeral completed around 3:15 today and graveside followed. It was a great service. Aaron did a terrific job of presenting the gospel and challenging everyone to be certain of their relationship with Christ.

If you have not heard, there is a hurricane in the Gulf. Guess where our kids were yesterday/this morning? Yes, in Nederland....on the coast. Kathy, Heather's mom, packed them up and came back up to her mom's house where we had originally met her. Kathy gets an MVP award for trekking through evacuation traffic with three kids. God took care of them, and two of the three fell asleep during the delays. We drove against traffic which was a long line of cars on the evac route. We received a large number of looks that said, "Hey, you are driving he wrong way." :) We are currently safe and sound in their lake home with Kathy, our family and John/Anne Grethe/Amilie (my brother.)

My Mom, ever the stubborn individual, decided to head home which is about 15 miles from the coast. Now you know where I get my hard-headed personality.

We have been remarkably blessed through-out this whole situation. If you have read this blog in the past, you know that my friend Shannon is one of my favorite people in the world. (Again, not ahead of Conan but close.) He drove 300 miles to be at the funeral. Good friends are hard to find, but you know when you have them. People have financially blessed us, fed us, provided beds for us, cared for us....well, the list goes on.

My Dad's killer is still on the loose. From what we have been told, the Sherriff is working in conjunction with the TX Rangers to continue the manhunt. (No, Walker is not on the team.) I now realize that I am living in an episode of CSI: Miami and not my normal life.

I will sleep more soundly tonight than I have in a very long time. Good night now....

The journey continues....

God has provided for our family in more ways than I count tonight. One
important way....

My dad's pastor did not feel like he could do the service because they
had become such close friends. One of my best friends from junior/
senior high school, Aaron, now pastors a church 20 minutes from my
dad's hometown. He is doing the service, and H and I are staying with
him and his wonderful family tonight. Huge blessing for several
reasons. (H will tell you that one of them is a "nasty nice"
situation. More to come there....)

There are not enough "thank you's" to go around for each of you. Thank
you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. The funeral
will be difficult tomorrow, but it is true that you are much stronger
with your family and friends around you.

Dad's obituary is below....

http://www.timeformemory.com/fh_obituary.cfm?obitid=30326&fhid=425

-Shawn

Sent from my iPhone

Thanks...

God,
Thank you for sleeping kids, Steak & Shake, good gas mileage and a
wife that thinks of everything.

Hanks Family update

Thank each of you for your calls, emails and messages. They have been very encouraging and appreciated. It is really true that the knowledge that people are praying and thinking of you lifts your spirits...

My Dad was shot and killed last night. He was shot through his living room window for no reason by a random nut. It is the strangest situation with little explanation. We have continued to pray that God will be glorified in some way through a situation that defies all logic. Hopefully, that is when God works best....

Please continue to pray for our family as we deal with the legal aspects, funeral, grieving process and all things that come with such a sad, unexpected death. My Dad loved to live and laugh. He would crack a joke at any moment (and often worst moments.) I learned that skill from him. We will work hard to remember the fun and happiness. Along with the rest of us, Dad was a work in progress, but, thankfully, God is always faithful to pursue us until he has us.

Please pray for:
My Mom, Gay, as she deals with the loss
My brother, John and his wife/daughter, as they travel from Norway
My sister, Sabrina and hubby/four kiddos, as they travel from NC
My brother, Tony and his wife, as they deal with the situation
Our family as we work through how to talk to the kiddos and answer the inevitable questions

God will be work through this whole situation. Those are not simply words that you say when things like this happen. It really is true. Sometimes it seems too good to be true, but it really is....

-Shawn

Go Titans Go!

Great seats, great afternoon....

Ivey Cake

We took the whole family to grand opening of Ivey Baird's new cool bakery - Ivey Cake. If you are in downtown Franklin, you need to check it out. She is connected to The Mercantile.

Ivey is the Hanks family's baker of choice and has provided all cakes, cupcakes, muffins, etc for our important, high-society functions. (Ok, children's birthday parties.) I ate ONLY one cupcake (or more)....

Funny....

Heather often reminds me that guys are simply mean to each other. Frankly, she is right, and every guy I know deserves it...

JB and I have these IM discussions almost hourly at work. It really does make the day much more fun. (He is dumb.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[13:55] JB: john is trying to send about 200 emails from his mac by BCC'ing them but getting error... do you have to separate addresses by somethign other than a comma when sending on the mac ?

[13:56] ME: that is normally it...just a comma

[13:57] JB: cool, thanks for your complete uselessness. i'm actually dumber having read your chat. Please unsend it to me and I will try my best to unreceive it.

[13:58] ME: jb, i had no idea that john was as dumb as you. I assumed you were a genetic abnormality and that your sibilngs know how to send electronic correspondence. Shall I have my mom, 61, call him to walk him thru it? Maybe you could conference in if you figure out how to use that black buttony thing on your desk.

[14:00] JB: we showed you!