Shane & Ellen Blog

Happy Valentines Day

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:01:23 -0500

Lincoln 8.5 months old
Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and a special shout out to Grandpa Kirtes..."Happy Birthday!"

A Day In The Life

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 20:35:01 -0500

Lincoln's felt under the weather lately. Fortunately school's been canceled for two days now, so that means I can keep Linc at home. I took some video and put together a little something to remember our 'snow' day together. Enjoy!

Nothing like a good belly laugh.

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:49:26 -0500

Favorite Hodgepodge Meal

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:28:03 -0500

If we were going to the electric chair and we were going to pick our last meal here is what we would pick.

Ellen:
Appetizer: Hummus from Nova
Main Course: Hound Dogs Pizza
Dessert: Any cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory
Drink: Cherry Vanilla Pepsi from Sonic

Shane:
Appetizer: Macaroni & Cheese from J Alexanders
Main Course: My moms Spaghetti, Pizza - either from Mellow Mushroom or Hound Dogs
Dessert: Either blueberry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, or Oreo Cheesecake ice cream from Graeters.
Drink: Belini Tea from The Olive Garden

Christmas Highlights (slow loader)

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:18:55 -0500

This year for Christmas, Ellen, Lincoln and I all went to Dallas to visit my family. Along with my family and extended family, Ellen’s family came as well. We had a terrific time together. We ate, played games, ate, opened gifts, ate, and had a great time getting to know each other better. It’s fun to see how Lincoln makes everyone smile and gave us all another excuse to be together.

Through the weekend Ellen and Ieft our cameras laying around and found lots of great pictures on our cameras when the weekend was over. The video below shows some of the highlights.

...Son, if you’re reading this and its 2025, I’m sorry about the Santa outfit. Make Nana explain herself.

May take a second to load...

Larger video can be downloaded from http://gallery.me.com/satucker#100048

What's the big deal?

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 22:47:18 -0500

About 9 years ago I had my wisdom teeth removed. The bottom left could not be pulled so it was shattered and then the pieces were taken out. Unfortunately, some pieces were left behind and have recently been surfacing through my gums. The little rotten pieces were touching my healthy pieces and causing trouble so they had to be removed again.

So, all of that to say, what’s the big deal with narcotics? Today, I have been on vicodin and I have not Idea what the big deal is. Why do people get addicted? No offense to anyone reading that needs (or wants) to “escape” from reality, but this alternate reality is not a draw to me at all. The change in perceptions, the drowsiness, the fact that I’ve been asleep for for the majority of the time is not how I wan to be remembered.

On a more positive note. It’s awesome to wake up on my couch to my wife methodically changing my ice packs, my gauze and bringing me the right combinations of pills at the appropriate times. What a wonderful woman.

Gentlemen, if you’re reading this and you don’t have an Ellen Tucker in your life, I highly recommend you get one.

This year I'm thankful for...

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:12:33 -0500

The best thing about my thanksgiving was when the diapers reached maximum density and then failed to hold the goods. The next best thing to absorb the additional goods was Grandpa’s belly.

Coupon Coupon Coupon

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:47:55 -0500

I've been attempting to save us some money by "couponing." If you're unfamiliar with this term, it's the act of stressing yourself to the point of pulling hair out (your own or the person who gets in your way) all in the name of finding a great deal. I started this new venture this summer, but only this week did I walk away feeling like I accomplished a goal I never thought possible. I "saved" more than I spent. Let me break it down for you...

Savings with store promotions, manufacturer's coupons, and "non-coupon savings": $104.11
Total bill at the end of it all: $87.05.
Hours spent on the computer tracking down the best deals and coupons and physically clipping coupons from the newspaper: 3ish
Hours spent in the grocery store, wandering the aisles, reading and rereading the fine print on the coupon AND DOING MATH: 2

Annoyed with how much time I've had to put into this, but a little proud of myself too, I wonder if I will put myself through this again. I can't help but think, "Surely this gets easier." Maybe I'm just in denial.

Either way, I've put this receipt on the fridge for all to see and marvel...figuratively and literally.

Had an Idea

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:15:35 -0400

The other day I was in a conversation with a friend, we were talking about temptations that cause us to stumble over and over again. We were both able to recall the first time we “gave in” to some of those temptations and were wondering the benefit of being able to go back and change that single moment. After a short discussion we decided that there may or may not be any benefit of changing those moments, but ultimately, they temptations would come back around.

Temptation is inevitable and while there is wisdom in trying to avoid temptation, we also need to be in prayer to prepare ourselves for those moments of temptation that will happen again.

So... Ellen and I have decided that we are going to create a scripture book that we can read to Lincoln as we are putting him to bed. We’re thinking that each page will include a scripture at the top of the page, an explanation of why that scripture was chosen on the middle of the page, and then a short prayer for that scripture/temptation at the bottom.

We would love your help. Any suggestions for scriptures that you have used or that you think would be great to get into Lincoln’s heart and head early?

Lincoln Snoring

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:31:56 -0400

This morning mom decided to sleep a little longer so Lincoln and I went downstairs to burn off some energy. As you can see, Lincoln burned more than he was prepared for.

Listen VERY closely to hear the snore.