The Kids

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Child rearing is serious business!
My advice is, if you think your ready, think again.
There is no such thing as being ready to be a parent.
Children are the reason your parents look the way they do.

My wife and I have four children between us and we love them all.
We do our level best to look out for them, to teach them,
to nurture them, and to love them, and they fight us every single step of the way.

Here on some notes on our kids!

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Trystan
Talented, Intelligent, and Obstinate!
Child most likely to provoke a war, probably a holy war.
One hundred and sixty pounds with a three hundred pound mouth about sums it up.
The self proclaimed Geek King and Founder of Trystianity*
(*the worship of himself, includes a kind of floating holiday called Trystmas, and the giving of presents . . to him.)
Trystan is currently singing, learning to play the guitar, and working on original music with his band.

Jessica
Strong, Smart, and Temperamental!
Recently returned after a prolonged estrangement from me.
Child most likely to drive to across the county, on a whim.
Jessica enjoys music, cars, and all kinds of games.
Jessica is very much into the local music scene and likes to go to local, small venue, concerts.
She spends a lot of time thinking about the kind of car she'd like to own and what "mods" she'd like on it.
While she also enjoys video and board games, she really likes renaissance style, live action role playing games.
Since coming back to our home Jessica has been very helpful and responsible.
Now if only she would learn to have a little more patience; with life, with me, and most of all with herself.

Talia
Talented, Clever, and Stubborn!
Child most likely to bite off more than she can chew. Also most likely to fall asleep in her clothes.
Talia practices a unique form of vegetarianism designed primarily to annoy her mother.
Basically she won't eat anything that has a face or that might be good for her.
Talia can be very caring but she needs to learn that growing up is all about taking responsibility and making difficult choices.

Nicholas
Funny, Clever, and Reckless!
Also recently returned after a long estrangement.
Child most likely to break something, probably his own neck.
Nick enjoys skateboarding, video games, and music.
The other thing Nick really enjoys is a good laugh.
Since returning to our home Nick has been like a completely different person.
He's doing well at school, helping around the house, and has been thoughtful and considerate in general.
While delighted with all this, his mother and I really wish we could get him to take better care of himself.

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Some quotes and thoughts on kids and parenting:

"Our earth is degenerate in these latter days; bribery and corruption are common;
children no longer obey their parents; and the end of the world is evidently approaching."
- Assyrian clay tablet 2800 B.C.

"Just because I don't CARE doesn't mean I don't understand!"
- Homer Simpson

"When you're eighteen you're out the door!"
- Homer Simpson

"Human beings are the only creatures on earth
that allow their children to come back home."
- Bill Cosby

"Few things are more satisfying than seeing your own children
have teenagers of their own."
- Doug Larson

"Being a mother isn't simply a matter of having children.
To think that is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician."
- Sydney Harris

"The most important thing a father can do for his children
is to love their mother."
- Henry Ward Beecher

"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths,
but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."
- Anne Frank

"I talk and talk and talk, and I haven't taught people in 50 years
what my father taught by example in one week."
- Mario Cuomo

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
to have a thankless child! ''
- William Shakespeare, King Lear