The simple things

Papa's at Johnny's

No explanation required. OH HAPPY DAY!  Meatballs. 

There's a great Woman Inside You!

OK awesome Grandaughters, this one is for you!  (If you are over 20, go do laundry or clean something).

I always told Adrienne (and my boys) that you can be ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE.  The only thing stopping you is you.  If your dream is big enough the facts don't count.

Many great people shaped our country, I.e., Washington, Lincoln, MLK, and oh we can't leave out John Wayne.  But were there amazing women?

Sooooo, here's a little assignment.  Who was the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor, what is the Medal of Honor and why did she receive it?  I love amazing stories about people, cant wait to see what yours will be!  NOTE:  Outsmarting Jeremy doesn't count! 

You can work as a team, families do that, help Ryla and Addie, we'll give Rosie an honorable mention.

I love him

Friends

Perfect

Perfect smiles on perfect faces...

Iphone 5... $500

Hair brush... $5

YouTube... Free

The confidence needed to stand up in front of people using the hairbrush as a microphone and rock the song playing on YouTube... Incredibly beautifully priceless

The Art of Raising Girls....

As life happens to pass by we need to take certain things into consideration.  It so happens that 5 girls live in this house.  One man also lives in our house.  Together we make it a home but the truth of the matter is that our home is ran by a tiny 4 chick army that we created ourselves.  This ultimately means that we are constantly subjected to the random life lessons that all girls must at some point learn.  Emberlee is crossing girl territory currently in to tweenager territory.  She is 11 and easing into makeup, hair, and all the things that girls do.   I think this is awesome.  It is quite neat to see her transforming from a child into a young woman.  However, Jeremy may have another view of things.  In recent months he has been subjected to the trials of Emberlee.  Most recently, hair extensions.  He now understands the pain of being beautiful.  Literally.....  He has had his toenails painted blue.  His fingernails painted in the middle of Wal-Mart.  He has had tea parties. He had a blond strip in his hair for awhile when Penelope tested a new hair color on him.  He may have even worn a tutu at one point or another. The point of this is that he handles it all with a smile on his face.  No

 matter how silly of an idea the girls come up with he really has no problem just going along with it.  He endures the pain, the embarassment, and the girly-ness with a big grin on his face.  The girls run to him when they are curious about something and he is always willing to answer their questions without hesitation.  Most people wouldn't take the time or tolerate these things but he does and honestly I am pretty sure he enjoys it.  I am quite thankful that he is this way.  One reason is because through all of these things he does with them he is developing bonds and memories that will last a lifetime.  The other reason is that I am subjected to less of the girl's "experiments".  Those hair extensions are brutal to put in!!

My Career

I was fortunate in my career to have many exciting opportunities.  I think it is important to develop academically (college) and technically (within your career discipline).  Diversity in education is also important. Many people continue on the same narrow focus, a broader scope opens your eyes to a bigger world and prepares you for any opportunity that may come along.

My journey certainly prepared me for the unique daily challenges at GE Global Research.  I have met some amazing people and have seen things that will change the world in the near future.  I had a picture taken next to the portrait of Thomas Edison, I'm leaning on his desk.  It all started here as a small farm working out of a garage.  If you click on the link in the website you can see all the locations Global Research is around the world.  Except for a couple I have been to all of those locations.  www.geglobalresearch.com

Obviously I went for work helping people in India, China, Brazil, etc in emergency response, code compliance and just generally keeping their world safe.  But I have grown culturally too.  It is amazing to work with people from other countries, to share in their culture and yes, eat great food!

My wish for my Granddaughters is research, research, research; never quit learning.  Appreciate all cultures, know that they care like we do.  The sign in the Shanghai Fire Museum is exactly the same about American firefighters.

Fishing

We went fishing.... it was fun...

Will winter ever end?

We had a nice couple of days. Tuesday was sunny and in the low 50's; just beautiful. Today, YUCK!  Rain then sleet then 8" - 12" or more of snow. Where are the robins?

I'm not ready for this...

Well she graduates in just a couple of months....

It's way to cold

I'm writing this in my little sisters cafeteria and mom told me I should write something so here it is. IT IS TOO COLD TO BE IN TEXAS. At first it was cold then warm now the lo-was 32 right at freezing serously Mother Nature just no stop being cold

Superstars!!!

Superstar Emberlee!! Waiting for Addie Mae to perform on the stage. You could say we are the paparazzi!!

I'm mom

My first post

Picnic lunch

Just made the day up as we went.  It is very rewarding to not make plans, the day climaxed in an impromptu picnic of crawfish at the park on a beautiful day and sno-cones!

Picnic lunch

Just made the day up as we went.  It is very rewarding to not make plans, the day climaxed in an impromptu picnic of crawfish at the park on a beautiful day and sno-cones!

Happy Places

Sitting at Johnny's in Downtown Schenectady enjoying a Peroni and waiting to be seated for an amazing homemade Italian meal. Papa loves his meatballs!  Our Italian heritage brings forth one thought, family. It is so important. You would normally think food, but that still goes under the family category. There is nothing like everyone in the kitchen talking, loving, carrying on. Hopefully when I come back we can all get together and do that!  Miss my kids!

Patience

While working in the garage a couple of days ago, I was visiting with my oldest daughter.  She asked me how I have so much patience.  I've been told most of my life that I am and would be a patient man, but I don't guess I've ever really thought much about it  I've always just shrugged and said I guess so.  Leave it to the voice of a child (albeit nearly an adult child) to actually make me consider.  I told her that it took experience, but not just any type, it takes a certain type of hard experience.  We kinda discussed patience and her lack of it, and how she thinks she inherited that trait from her momma.  The conversation then took the path of any conversation held between two individuals who have ADD, and other subjects came up and she ran off to work on I'm not sure what and I continued on the wiring.  Now the point behind this long winded typical Jeremy tale isn't that I enjoyed chatting with her, which I do, but is instead that I believe I did her a disservice.  There is so much more to my patience than just experiences learned the hard way.  There are many types of people in the world, about 4.5 billion different types.  Everyone with varying levels of various attributes.  In regards to this attribute, patience, some are born with immense amounts of patience some maybe not so much.  That patience changes with time however, and with experience.  But most importantly with love, nothing compares with the patience you develop with people you care about.  It adds to what patience you naturally have.  It allows your world to be fulfilled in a way you never could expect as you watch those you love learn to spread their wings, no matter their age.  It takes patience to love with all that you have, Christie may be impatient to an extent, but with me she has the patience of a stone, and believe me it takes patience to deal with me.  You must have patience when you watch your children learn on their own, through their own experiences, because in the end those lessons are the best.  You must have patience when the person you love is having a bad day, because having patience and love is the only way to brighten their day.  You must have patience to spread your own wings and fly, and that kind of patience can only be learned by loving yourself and those that are most important to you.  Not just hard mistakes.  So there you are Penelope, the reason I am so patient is that it comes naturally and that I love, not only your mother but all of my daughters, and I have learned, not just the hard way but the happy way as well.

-Jeremy 

Getting married!!

Woohoo!!! That it all..!!

Fishing

Fishing is one of my favorite things to do second to art especially at the lake to bad it's 2 hours away but you know it is pretty fun so um yea that's all 

   -Emmi 

Little girls, Big world

Little Girls, Big World

As a mother of girls I think about what they will become when they leave my care and set out to make their mark on the world.  Penelope is about to take that flight and leave the nest.  While I face this moment with great trepidation I am also excited about what she will accomplish as she embarks on her new adventures.  These little girls...they will always be my little girls are facing a world that is much different than when I was younger.  It is filled with great things as well as dangerous things.  I hope I instill in them all the magical qualities of womanhood to conquer their fears and become all they want to be.  In raising children we are never absolutely sure we are doing the right thing and the right time.  We can only hope that the decisions we make leave lasting impressions on the young minds we are shaping.  As parents spend time teaching them all the little life lessons we learned from.  We also know to stand back and let life teach them the lesson that comes better from personal experience.  All in all, these girls face a big world but each of them will have the ability to make all their dreams reality.  I cannot wait....oh hold on....I can wait!  I can wait and savor all these little moments that make up the journey of life to see what they ultimately become.  Little girls taking on a big world...what could be more magical?  

What's in a name?

So throughout my life i have had many labels to pick me out of a crowd. The most common today is "Chief" and i find it amusing that hundreds if not thousands know me by that name, but I cant remember theirs!

I was thinking about this and thought I would share what they all mean to me.

Ricky - A very close circle which includes my Mother and Grandparents.  My sister calls me Rick.  The first thing that comes to mind is love of family.

Rich - A wider circle of friends. I think of comradery.

"TOP" (What the military calls the First Sergeant) - Service to others, caring for your troops, discipline and commitment.

Chief - Protector. Keeping my firefighters and community safe.

Uncle - Amazing nieces and nephews that I always can't wait to see.

Brother - I have three awesome brothers and a sister, we are there for each other.

Dad - My greatest accomplishment and source of pride. Hopes that they will do better than I.  People probably get tired of me bragging about my two daughters and three sons. But I am so proud of the men and women they have become.

Papa - 220 lbs of firefighter who has been to hell and back, solid as a rock through unspeakable events and 5 beautiful girls can turn me into a bucket of mush by a mere glance.  The feeling is pure joy and love.  

Manners manners where are my manners

I have forgotten my manners.  I am Junior.   Just junior, there's not much to me, my given name is Jeremy John Kasko, I'm 29, a career firefighter, and generally a Jack of all trades, master of none.  No degrees or any letters behind my name but that doesn't bother me quite so much as it probably should, because one day they will be there.  I love my family and all of my girls.  In the not so distant future Christie and I will be getting married (mainly worded as such because I am having difficulty spelling fiancé... It just doesn't look right) and am incredibly excited.  Other than that feel free to ask :)

-Junior

Some times we get reminded of the important things by a perfect stranger...

Today started off....well a little off.  It was the second day in a row that I woke up with some insane back pain and a bad case of sciatica.  Needless to say I was not in the best of moods when I headed out to the doctor's office and then to work.  Doc confirmed sciatica and was a little worried about the numbness now involved in it (I'll get that checked out later).  I received a steroid shot and some Toradol and after a couple of hours I felt better. 

In the last few days the garage opener died and so did the washing machine so while Jeremy fixed the garage I headed out to buy a washing machine.  At Lowe's the sales dude was helping an elderly lady while I perused some pretty fancy washers.  I decided on my purchase and tried my best to wait patiently...but I am not so good at this.  Other shoppers that came after me were waiting so we began to chit chat and before long (about 20 minutes) we were friends and laughing and joking with each other.  When it became my turn I quickly proceed to my transaction and headed up to customer service to arrange pick up for later that day.  I was standing in line there and waiting (again) when the sales dude came up to me and just reached out and hugged me.  Normally only special people are allowed in the Christie Bubble but he was insistent and I think he needed it.  He thanked me for entertaining the other four waiting customers while he handled a very indecisive (but loaded) customer and not allowing everyone to get impatient with him.  Apparently once I left they had a conversation about my smile and how it eased the annoyance of waiting.  This made me smile bigger and remember that in any situation we should make attempts to engage our environment and try to make it better for those involved. I hugged him back and he hurried back to his department. 

I then departed for WalMart (the place where evil dwells).  We needed groceries or the children were going to have to eat two small puppies for dinner...and maybe rat food.  When I walked in the normally cheerful old walmart greeter just kind of mumbled his greeting.  So, me being annoyingly gregarious said, "Good Afternoon, How are you?"  and I stopped and waiting for his response.  This is part of this fairly common greeting that we forget these days.  He told me he was okay.  So I told him, "That's Awesome!!" and went and retrieved my much needed groceries.  On my way out I asked him if he was still doing ok.  He said, "No! I am doing awesome.  I was blessed by your smile today!"  He had a huge grin.  It probably matched mine.  This time it was me who gave the huge hug.  He needed it.  It made me happy.  It made me remember that my smile can change the world and that I will never let the world take my smile away.  You never know when someone else needs it.

Quotes

Me

This is me I am 11 years old and I am the middle child i am in 5th grade

The importance of Family

A bit of my family history. This is my grandmother. She had a great part in shaping me into the strong independent woman I am today.

Betty Jean Drake

June 29, 1924- Sept 4, 2012

She was a prominent Orange business woman, who with her husband Earl, owned and operated One Hour Park Avenue Cleaners for many years. Betty, in her youth, was a wonderful nurse. She earned her nursing degree from Charleston General Hospital School of Nursing. As polio raged in America in the 1940′s, 4 cases developed in Orange. Nurse Elizabeth Kenny, (“Sister Kenny”) of Australia, who was played by Rosalind Russell in the movie about her life, had worked out a system of treatment for polio which was very controversial at the time. She advocated massage to “reawaken” paralyzed muscles. She traveled to America to teach at the University of West Virginia where Betty was one of her students.

There were only two nurses in this area who were trained to treat polio. They were also trained to operate the iron lung that breathed for polio patients. In case of electrical outage, the iron lung had to be pumped by hand and many times Betty or the late Ruby Coffin, did the job of operating the giant machine. One would pump for 2 hours and then the other would take over, sometimes through the night. Through the years, Betty used her nursing skills to help many patients, neighbors, friends and strangers.

A loving, fun and generous wife, mother, and grandmother she was bright and talented and an outstanding volunteer in the community. She was actively involved in her children’s activities throughout their school years and worked vigorously in the PTA. She was a patriot and dearly loved her country. She was also a hard working child advocate for the State of Texas and was part of Gov. Mark White’s Council of Volunteers. She gained a reputation as a dynamic speaker and lay expert in child abuse/neglect, child pornography and family violence.

She was allowed into Texas prisons in order to interview prisoners to learn their histories and the reasons they were abusers and found that 80% had been abused themselves. In 1982 she was featured in a two page story about her work and the Houston Post wrote a half page article on her in the fall of 1982. At her insistence, U.S. Senator John Tower of Texas sponsored a bill passed in the Senate proclaiming the week of June 6-12 that year as “National Child Abuse Prevention week”.

To encourage the success of public awareness in ’84-86, Texas Gov. Mark White awarded her, as a member of the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs”, working on behalf of children, a grant of $14,500.00. She was on the Governor’s Coordination Committee to Facilitate Organ Transplants. She was also a proud member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels and many other worthy organizations.  She is also a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas charged with remembering Texas treasures.

Family, time, and a bigger smaller world

Christie came up with the idea for this blog, she is pretty fantastic with the ideas she has and the drive to bring and hold family close.  Between us we have a huge family, both extended and immediate, and in time where I know it is unlikely, I would love to see every member from our families represented here, in this place.  Some people we don't know well or at all, and in time maybe, hopefully that will be rectified.  Hopefully it won't just be a picture and a name, but instead a tightening of familial bonds.  For a large portion of us, we aren't very good at expressing verbally, but with ink and paper, or in this case a keyboard and screen our wings are spread.  For others it's through art and photography where we find our voices, or videos.  This is a wonderful place to express who we are and what we have been through and are going through, because with this all of these mediums are accessible.  The world has grown smaller with advances in technology, but it has also grown so immensely large.  With technology we are able to go so much further with such celerity that it is easy to forget to look back at where we were and where we came from.  With such a small world we have family so far flung that the old traditions of family reunions and gatherings are quite unrealistic, with family not just all over a county or state, but all over the country and world.  So here we can all meet and all gather in one place, even if not in person and catch up and progress and meet.  I sincerely hope to see everyone participate, and look forward to reading, viewing, and listening to your world.

-Jeremy or Junior or Hey that guy, yeah you... I generally respond to whatever floats your tree or plants your boat 

Tree of Life