Thomas Umstattd Jr.

My Russian Home

This is the elevator that goes up to our flat. It can hold up to three people or two people and a backpack. Its great for building community. This is the entry way of our flat. Every time you enter a house you take off your coat and shoes and put on house slippers. Each Russian home providers house slippers for guests. This practice keeps the floors very clean a stark contrast to the streets which...

I am Going to Russia!

Married people often tell me how they miss the freedom they had when they were single. Well I am single and I have done very little with this supposed freedom. Well no more. Russia Antioch Belton is sending me to Russia from Feb 25 through March 25. I will be working with Mir a Russian charity that serves orphans. I will be shooting a documentary, building websites, fixing computers, teaching about...

100th Post & Happy New Year

Hello everyone. Today marks my 100th post. WooHoo! Thank you for all of your feedback and support. Out of the 100 posts I have received over 230 comments. There would be no point to this blog if you were not here to read it. Thank you. Goodbye 2008 2008 was a difficult year in many ways. Many things died this year. Ron Paul’s hopes to win the primary, Brook Audio, and my Grandfather among others. Hello...

Bob Reinhart, Inventor of Captain Crunch, Dies at Age 84

Robert Rountree Reinhart was born July 30, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois and started working at Quaker Oats at the age of 17  to escape the great depression. After returning from World War II he went back work maintaining Quaker equipment. But his blue collar was not to last. The guys in the white lab coats were puzzled over how to fix a machine for making puffed rice. Bob overheard them talking about...

What I’ve Been Working On

I just wanted to share an update on some of the cool projects I have been working on. New Business I now setup websites for Author’s and businesses. Many of them are paying to much for golden handcuff sites. Others have no site at all. What I like about WordPress is that my clients can update the site as easily as they can ask me to do it for them. They like this too because they can keep their...

An Upate on My Dad

Before I begin, I just wanted to thank all of you for your comments, prayers and emails. You have made this season a lot easier than it could have been. You have demonstrated our need for the body of Christ. It has now been almost three weeks since my dad’s heart operation. He just seems a lot healthier now that his heart is getting 25% more blood. But, I can tell he doesn’t have as much...

My Dad’s Heart Attack

As a child I thought of my parents as infallible and immortal. I remember the first time I saw my mom drop something in the kitchen. I was shocked. Moms don’t drop wet plates! Dad’s don’t get heart attacks! But they do. They unfortunately do. Well, we found out on Monday that my dad had a heart attack. I realized at that time how much and how often I take my dad for granted. I learned...

The Kristi Question

Today is the 3 year anniversary of my run in with an Big Rig truck on I-35. I thought this would be a good time to repost some of my thoughts after that wreck. There are more photos on Facebook. The van after the wreck. Why did God spare me and Mark when He did not spare Kristi in her car wreck last week?I pondered this question as I read my Bible this morning. I read a character overview of the...