A little appreciation goes a long way.....

Today I thought that I wouldn't have anything to write about. I was kind of bummed that my day was slipping away from me and there was really nothing to write about. I thought I would have to resort to complaining about my ongoing headache. God had mercy on me and gave me something to write about...and I am finding the topic endlessly amusing. God really does have a sense of humor.

Tim is a behind-the-scenes kind of man. He really hates any kind of attention given to him at all....particularly public attention. He is also a very industrious and giving man....doesn't mind doing the unpleasant jobs. His most recent "unpleasant" job has been to replace something like 7 toilets at our church. Yuck is the only thing that I think of. I'm not sure how old those toilets were....but they have been there for as long as I have attended that church....and I won't even go into how long that has been!

One would think that replacing toilets would be one of those behind-the-scene moments in life. Like...who would really care to find out who replaced them and then thank them for doing it. Let me just tell you....you would be surprised at the amount of appreciation a good flushing toilet can generate, let alone seven! Last week, Caden came home from school with a Thank You card from his first grade class.....a thank you to Tim for replacing the toilets. It was so cute. It had this cute (???) smiling toilet on the front and all the kids had signed it. Caden was so proud to give his dad this card. Tim seemed pleased...hmmmm. His only question to me was: "Okay...who gave them my name?"

::::::shrug:::::: Wasn't me!! (whew)

You would think that would be enough!! But...NOPE!! Caden climbs into the van today, grumbling much like his dad does: "Man...now the 2nd graders and the 5th graders had to make dad a card." (He was the delivery boy and he wasn't the most pleased about that.) Sure enough, in Caden's backpack, there were two more cards thanking Tim for replacing the toilets.

The 5th grade class had each drawn a picture of a toilet (there is only 5 kids), and signed their name to their pictures. On the inside of the card, they each signed it and some said a little thank you of their own. The corker for me was this one: "Thank you for our new toilets. You made a difference. James." Yep, Tim, you made a difference in this young man's life.....Great job.

The second grade class really went over the top. They wrote and illustrated a story about the new toilets. All in honor of Tim. Ain't that sweet? It just cracks me up. The appreciation just keeps on flowing. I can only imagine Tim's face when he sees these new "offerings" of appreciation. Too funny. The story that the 2nd grade class wrote is short...so I think I will just close with that. Enjoy! Too bad you can't see the pictures!!!

Attack Of the Terrible Toilets: written and illustrated by The Second Grade Class

There once were four stinky old toilets at Mitch-Sherwood. One day they refused to swallow pooh. Instead, the coughed it up. (note by illustrator: I like the new toilets better.)

Until one day a nice man came to teach them a lesson. Because of their behavior, Tim gave them a one way ticket to the dump.

Tim brought back four new, shiny toilets. Their names were Shiny, Annika, Max and Goldy.

The whole school loved them once they were installed. The only problem was the girl toilets were in the boys' bathroom and vice versa.

Then magically overnight they switched places (and brains!) We're so grateful for our new potty buddies: Shiny, Annika, Max and Goldy. (Thank you, Mr. Brandt!)