Adam celebrates his 16th Birthday

Adam celebrated his birthday with cake and ice cream followed by the customary opening of presents... hey... that's not Adam.

Who opened Adam's presents while Matt expressed his disgust?

Senior Night for Carmen

It is really hard to believe that it was just a little over six years ago that Carmen started her first volleyball season for Southern Middle School as a sixth grader.

Over those years, she has played on eleven different teams and I have many memories as a spectator of each team. As I look at the group of people in the picture, I can't help but think of all the things these girls and their families experienced together. Here are some of my favorite volleyball memories:

• Watching Robyn's ability to serve and hit as a tiny little sixth grader.
• Observing a large diversity of skills and intensity in the tiny BAVA 13-1 team. I can still picture little Brianna, Carmen, Jessica and Robyn doing wall sits and jumping on bleachers at the YMCA practices.
  
• Watching Carmen, Allie, and Jessica play together on the BAVA 14-2 team
• Watching Carmen, Allie and Rachel do very well for Southern Middle in the city tournament as 8th graders. Lindi and Jackie were both active in organizing summer workouts before the season. Cassie played a large role as cheerleader from the bench to loosen up the serious 8th graders.
  
• Watching Robyn, Abi, Hannah [not pictured but not forgotten] and Laura advance as district champions.
• Watching Carmen, Rachel and Casey have the best record of any of the eleven different teams that Carmen played on. Janet and Jackie were involved in getting that team to the gym and warmed up before the games. ( Freshman TCHS 13 Wins -3 Losses )
  
• Watching Laura, Robyn, Abi, Allie and Rachel play together as a team at the beginning of a season to finish second in the Apollo Summer Slam.
  
• Spending time with the Sisks and Jones while Casey, Rachel and Carmen suffered through a long season for TEVA 16-3.
• Watching Carmen sit down on the Dunbar bleachers, take off her shoes, active ankles and knee pads then pack them into her bag as she had done a thousand times before.

Orchard is down to two trees

When Keith and I were eating lots of fruits and vegetables and growing very fast, I think that Dad had sixteen dwarf fruit trees including pears, cherries, and all sorts of apples.

This year, as Dad approaches his 84th birthday, he only has two trees in his orchard. While I was back in Indiana for my high school class reunion, Goshen's First Friday, and Mom and Dad's 51st wedding anniversary, I got the rare chance to take a photograph of the tree before Dad picked from the top of a 13 foot step ladder.

This one was loaded down with more apples than I've ever seen on such a small tree.

I talked with Dad a few weeks after the picture and he told me that he was able to pick 13 bushel from this tree.

I was able to take three monster onions, a bunch of green tomatoes for Jackie to fry, a box of fresh snappy potatoes, and a second box of ripe red tomatoes.

We ate well in Kentucky the following week, but we missed the chance for fresh apples.

Becca's 8th Grade Volleyball Night

I was just picking Becca and Anna up from volleyball practice at LTMS the other night when I came to the realization that I wouldn't be doing that much anymore.

This is Becca's last year of Middle School which means that it is the last year that I will be picking anyone up or going to games at any of the Middle Schools around town that I have been going to for the last seven years.

I was feeling old and forgetful or distracted with my workaholic nature until Becca shared that "8th Grade Night" for volleyball is what triggered the same realization for her.

The volleyball game went very long with both the A team and B team needing three games to beat a very tough Bryan Station Traditional Magnet School team. It was a good night to see the team play together well and leave the gym with a victory.

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Yoder

It was a weekend full of driving for all of us to be able to see Kevin Yoder marry Bethany Etsinger but it was well worth it. It was good to see all the nine Etsinger grandchildren together in one place celebrating life.

Their pastor tearfully charged them to remember the characteristics of a loving relationship listed in Colossians 3:12 by describing "radical" ways to recognize and develop each characteristic.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Later, at the reception, as I listened to some of the older grandchildren coach Ben, Adam and Carmen about college choices by sharing some hilarious stories, I couldn't help but think back to a time when none of the grandchildren were married.


As of August 15th, 2009, most of these grandchildren are now married. With great grandchildren, this 2001 photograph has expanded from nine to sixteen people.

Run. Run for your Life

I'm wondering if God is wanting me to start exercising after three separate messages to run in twenty four hours:

• A friend sent me a link to the Brave Hearted Gospel yesterday and suggested that the "Run" video was the most convicting to him. Watch it!
• Kent selected a set of worship songs this morning that featured "Run into the Marvelous Light"
• Mike spoke about religion being born the minute that Adam and Eve ran from God to hide.

President Obama Visits Wakarusa

President Obama visits Wakarusa - More The Indianapolis Star Galleries

View this gallery at The Indianapolis Star: President Obama visits Wakarusa

Carmen is choosing a university

We just spent the last two days visiting universities for Carmen to attend next year.

She has already done quite a bit of research and narrowed her search to 18 and then to 12 before she started visiting schools with Jackie last month.

This week we were able to eliminated two. We started with three on the list, but after driving through Indiana Wesleyan's campus, we may have added on. More research is needed.

Becca stayed at the neighbors house so that she could go to volleyball practice and enjoyed a little bit of freedom during the day while we were gone.

I asked Becca if she were ready for us to take Carmen on a trip next year and not bring her back and I got no response. I don't think any of us are ready for that next year or even prepared to think about it too hard today.

It seems like just yesterday that she was our only child scooting around in the nursery at church.

The Snowball

I'm reading a book about the making of Warren Buffet. Like all of us, Warren is a product of his genetics and the patterns formed by his environment.

The book is very entertaining and I can definitely understand the tendency to focus on something and not let go. Warren started collecting a few snowflakes of money as a child and young man and has not stopped rolling his snowball throughout his adulthood.

I've only read the first nine chapters. I hope for Warren's sake that by the end of the book he realizes just how insignificant his snowball is in the whole scheme of things. If he can see his snowball as insignificant, then surely any of us can agree that our net worth is zero without Jesus Christ.

Another interesting fact about Warren was his interest in solving mysteries with mathematics and numbers. He loved finding patterns, as do I, and tended to jump to ridiculous conclusions just for the sake of adventure. As do I.

Warren was raised by a stock broker during a depression while I was raised by a factory worker during a recession and energy crisis. Warren had examples of extreme optimists and pessimists that helped him to choose what was valuable to him and how to make decisions. I think we all have those influences modeled for us, but Warren's are very colorful and historic.

Electric Motors Corp. at the center of local green summit - The Elkhart Truth - Elkhart, IN

Electric Motors Corp. at the center of local green summit - The Elkhart Truth - Elkhart, IN

Good example of integrating existing technologies to produce something of higher value.

Speaking to the crush of media, Cashen emphasized he wants to create partnerships with different companies who will supply technology and parts to his manufacturing operation. To date, EMC is working with Gulf Stream Coach in Nappanee and Livernois Vehicle Development in Michigan. Also, Cashen said he is negotiating with General Motors to see, as he put it, what products and divisions are in their trash that he might use.

"Integration of technology is an easier step and it's closer to what this community does on a daily basis," Cashen said, explaining EMC will not be developing components and products that are already available. "We integrate technology that has been heretofore supplied to us, meaning the Elkhart community incorporate, from the Detroit area through the automotive industry."

Hot, Flat and Crowded

On a rainy fourth of July, I finally finished Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman.

I was interested in the book for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The World is Flat". The second reason, and most important one, is that I am a human being that was charged with taking care of this earth by my creator.

I've been trying to be more efficient my whole life and hate the idea of consuming things. It is a vain chasing of the wind.

Thomas brings to light several examples that make you laugh because they are so ridiculous and several examples that make you cry because they are so shameful and embarrassing. As I was carrying this book around for several months, I got lots of polarized comments from people in elevators, people on the beach or wherever else I found myself reading it.

The end of a baseball career

It all started ten years ago when Adam decided to play T-ball at Shadybrook park.

He had so much fun playing T-ball that his older sister joined the team the following year before she moved on to softball.

Adam's next step was Veteran's park coach pitch Rookie league. They had a team that lost the championship game by a few runs and developed friendships that would spill over into other sports down the road.

As all the boys developed at different rates to different final sizes, speeds and strengths, it has been a joy to watch them rotate from team to team.

My favorite year to watch one of Adam's teams was his final season as a Pirate in the Cal Ripken minor league. This team know how to have fun winning.

In Adam's final Babe Ruth season as a Twin, he can definitely measure his maturity and struggles on the baseball field side by side with the rest of life.


Baseball in Lexington is an enjoyable but demanding lifestyle and I am glad that Adam had a chance to complete all the city has to offer in this sport.

Ben's Open House

Ben graduated from NorthWood High School this year. It was good to see many friends who had children that graduated with Ben.

It was also really good to see Ben's whole family there together. Peter and Stephanie just moved back to Nappanee and are settling in. Peter is the youth leader for Living Gospel church.

Bud and Vickie did a great job of decorating the garage with all of Ben's 4H and sports awards.

At the open house, Jackie cut the cake and put it on plates for three hours while I was the photographer.

It was a gorgeous day. Much better than Bethany's was four years ago. Most of the guests recalled that day when a tornado warning and strong winds force an emergency shutdown that included stuffing guests and a 30 foot canopy into a 20 foot garage.

The most photographed subject for Bethany's wedding shower and Ben's open house was Charlie Mattern. Here Charlie is developing some stick skills after watching Adam play for half an hour. It will be a while until Charlie can fill Adam's flip flops, but he has a head start on Lacrosse.

Ego Lessons from Chappy ( Iron Eagle )

When the kids were young, they watched Iron Eagle over and over. Their whole generation grew up viewing people in authority as default thinkers that never challenged the status quo.

The lessons that Adam learned from this movie now meet reality in High School... OK, I have to take some of the blame as well for the DNA that I gave him and the thinking patterns that I have demonstrated to him.

Please read the following script while imagining the following substitutions:

• Chapman is me doing my best Louis Gossett, Jr imitation
• General is Jackie wavering between pardoning her son from prison while considering the safeness of just visiting him there everyday.
• Mr. Masters is young Adam Eby
  
• Air Force Academy is replaced with Lexington Catholic High School.

Chapman: "Begging the General's pardon, I urge you to reevaluate that decision. Letting this boy loose, would be a big mistake. He already has demonstrated his inability to keep his big mouth shut. I would suggest sending him to an instituion, that can order him to keep that big mouth shut."

General: "Are you saying, we should confine this boy to some kind of penal facility?

Chapman: "As a matter of speaking yes sir, you see sir,.. Mr. Masters has applied to the Air Force Academy an institution well-suited for this kind of treatment, eh, unfortunately his application has some.. resistance. I was wondering if you could eh.."

Technically, Adam has not applied to Lexington Catholic, but it still sounds like a great idea for a young man that struggles with positional authority and can not keep his big mouth shut. He may find Lexington Catholic more challenging than IB at Tates Creek, he already does plenty of creative thinking, activity and social service.

Jackie is working on helping Adam understand his limitations as the middle child by making him read about birth order and I'm trying to get him to spend some time upgrading his PC from Windows XP to Ubunto instead of watching TV.

If he can just change his birth order, he might be a good leader some day.

I also think memorizing Romans 12 would be good. The whole chapter is applicable to life's problems whether you want to lead as a middle child or make friends as an oldest child.

If anyone else has any suggestions, we are grasping at straws.