On the 4th of July, our family enjoyed an evening on the riverfront and a front row seat to a phenomenal display of fireworks. Last year we viewed fireworks at Mt Rushmore on the 4th and to my surprise, little ol’ Peoria may very well have matched if not exceeded Mt Rushmore. There was one firework in particular that was fired off several times that literally filled the sky. It set off golden sparkle trails that looked like a giant weeping willow tree. It was literally breathtaking. And those in combination with many others provided a sense of wonderment and gratitude. As I set there I couldn’t help but think that all of this was totally unnecessary.

For quite a few years now, parents have gone above and beyond to help little Johnny and little Suzie get a leg up on all the other kids out there. It has led to non-stop schedule juggling, weariness, and more than a few extra dollars spent along the way - all in the name […]

Today’s the birthday of the most important woman in my life… my wife, Lesley. This summer represents 20 years since we met and in September we will celebrate our 19th anniversary.
Lesley has never been big on birthdays, so each year we go to one of the summer blockbusters that always come out around her […]

Tonight is Junior Prom at Richwoods and Zach is heading off to the prom with a lovely young lady named Destiny.  Zach and his posse of guys (BMW as they call themselves) are all dressed up, and at least they have someplace to go.  After all the obligatory pictures both at the […]

We had an interesting development over the weekend. Both of our teenage boys went to see the same movie… with different sets of friends.  Being VERY independent of each other, it’s rare that they ever choose the same thing.  What made this so ironic is that they were hanging with entirely different sets of friends […]

Back on 3/15 I blogged a bit about a tornado that just missed my mother and step-father’s home in S.C. Apparently, their particular area was the hardest hit in the county, which makes it all the more amazing their home didn’t get destroyed. They had many people come out to help with the […]

It’s late Saturday afternoon and I just got a call from my mom in South Carolina (click the picture for a better view of where) that they survived a near miss from a series of tornados that broke out in GA, SC, and other parts of the South in the U.S. today. They were […]

Well, we awoke this morning to sounds of joy within the Doebler household. The words of hope and joy that dance in every child’s mind during the winter months of the school year came true today…”NO SCHOOL“. Before we moved here from South Carolina, Zach & Brandon were so excited about coming to […]