January 13 – “Stubborn Stump”

Today was the day we tuned up the chain saw and attacked the remains of the big old tree in our front yard.  In was Tuesday, though, so we took Mom out to Luby's first.  That's been our routine for several years, so we wanted to get back to it since Mom is with us again.  Nathan and April joined us, since Nathan was going to help with the tree.  We even went by Starbucks and saw Kel after we ate.  And at the end of the day we saw the rest of Kel's family.  Micah had a doctor's appointment and Chris kept Jachin.  After spending a few days in Mansfield, that pretty much rounded out our family time. The tree event went pretty well at first.  Nathan cut manageable slices and I carried them – or dragged them - to the street.  April sat on a piece of the stump and Mom sat in the car.  Chris took pictures (of course).  The pile was pretty high when we got to the stump itself – the part that was still in the ground.  April made a quick WalMart run for us to get some sharp chains and a tow rope.  That's when it got interesting – and kind of fun.  It's also when the girls left.  We cut strips into the stump like we were slicing a piece of pie.  In fact, part of it was so rotten that it cut like a piece of chocolate cream pie at Luby's.  When we got some cuts made, we then strapped it to the back of the Explorer and pulled it down.  Well, sometimes it didn't come down so easy and we had to cut some more.  And some more.  And some more.  And some more.  But when it took, it sure felt good to see that big ol' hunk of tree crash to the ground.  And then we moved on to the next hunk.  Chris called at 4:00 to tell us it was quitting time, but we were almost done.  All we had was one more pillar of tree standing.  We could do this.    Well, we started all right, but for some reason the blade kept veering to the left – all on its own.  We tried several different approaches, including Nathan holding his tongue a different way.  We cut smaller and smaller chunks out, but we couldn't get it to stay straight.  Finally we changed the chain again, filled up with gas and oil, and cranked it up.  And it didn't start.  We cranked it again and again, but I guess it heard Chris' call about quitting time.  It refused to start again.   So we left that one tower of wood standing and headed for home.   Now we have shifted into baby gear again.  Nathan and April found out they have to be at the hospital at 5:15 in the morning.  She is to be induced and Baby Cailyn will make her appearance sometime tomorrow.  I'm not sure when we'll get back to that tower of wood, but some things are just more important than others.   Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."   Father, help me keep my priorities straight.  Amen.