Driving Around

As a parent I have come to learn that nothing stays the same. When Chase was an infant and it was bedtime, he would just go to sleep. Very easy. Now that he has become a toddler we have had to resort to driving around the neighborhood to get him to fall asleep. There might be a better way but this worked with Seth so we are just sticking with what we know best.

It usually starts sometime after 7 pm when we will notice that he is getting cranky. We will ask him if he wants to go for a ride and he will excitely shake is head up and down in the affirmative.

I have a loop that takes about 10 minutes to complete. Sometimes he is asleep before we leave the neighborhood but it usually takes one to two trips around. But, my favorite part of the process is when we arrive home. I have to gently remove his limp body from the car seat and carry him into the house. Holding him close and feeling his head resting on my shoulder is a feeling I can't describe.

I imagine I only have a few months remaining before he is too big for this so I am trying to savor each trip.

A great speech by Newt

Newt gave a great speech at National Review Institute Conservative Summit. Watch it here.

The fast is over

Today we ended our 21 day fast. While I am glad it is over, I will definitely do this again. This fast was an amazing experience and it did several things for me.

1. It brought me closer to God. I spent a lot of time reading his Word and praying. I turned to Him more often and I spent more time focusing on him.

2. It brought Shelley and I closer together as we had to lean on each other and encourage one another.

3. It brought new foods and a different way of eating entire our life.

When the fast ended I thought I would treat myself to several things but after having some pizza I realized I really just wanted to maintain a diet very similar to the fast diet but maybe include a little meat and bread. I think this fast has developed some new habits for me as well.

Happy Birthday Seth

Tomorrow when I wake up I will be the father of a 4 year old. It seems like yesterday when I heard the doctor say, "it looks like we are going to have a baby today." Now, you wouldn't have thought this would have been a surprise since Shelley was 37 weeks pregnant and we were already scheduled to be induced the next day, but it was. We hadn't even brought Shelley's bags with us to the hospital. Those next few hours are burned into my brain I will never forget how scared we were.

Well, it is 4 years later and God has truly blessed us. I can't imagine how he could have blessed us anymore but he did when he blessed us with Chase.

I have had the last 365 days to prepare to have a 4 year old but it is still hard to believe. He has grown up so much in the last year and we no longer have our baby but instead we have a young boy.

Happy Birthday Seth

Playing in the park

Last night we took the boys to a local park and the experience was really special for me. I'm not sure what made it different but it was. It may have been just the screams of joy and the laughter coming from the boys that seemed to be even more intense than usual. Or, it might have been the fact that they were running around in their recently purchased cowboy hats and looked incredibly cute. Or, it might have been watching two brothers really play together and enjoying each other. Or, it might have been watching both boys accomplish some physical skills that they had never done before. It was neat to see their confidence in their own abilities grow.

I don't know what it was but last night will be one of those memories that I will cherish.

Cowboys Hire Garrett

The Cowboys hire Jason Garrett but his role is still undetermined. He may be the offensive coordinator or the head coach. The Dolphins put a time limit on how long the Cowboys could talk to Garrett so they were forced to hire him before they had found their new head coach.

I am excited about this hire and I wouldn't even be opposed to him being the head coach. I think he is going to be an up and coming young star and I think he will be a great influence on Tony Romo.

Blogger Block

I have "Blogger Block". I can't come up with a single thing to write about so I thought I would write about not having anything to write about.

I am not lacking subjects. I could write about the fast I am on, my floundering job search, the Cowboys, the fact that Seth is about to turn 4, or this crazy company that makes Dunder-Mifflin look normal.

Hopefully, just writing something will break the block...

He's Gone

Bill Parcells has resigned/retired and I am a little surprised. Everything I was hearing seemed to indicate that he would return. Now, the question is who will be the next coach and there are plenty of names floating around.

Names That Interest Me
1. Jeff Fisher
2. Bill Cowher
3. Bob Stoops

Names That Don't Interest Me
1. Norv Turner
2. Charlie Weis
3. Houston Nutt

Other names mentioned that I am indifferent towards.

1. Les Miles
2. Pete Carroll
3. Wade Phillips

Seth's Priorities

Tonight when we were putting Seth to bed this was his prayer;

God is great, God is good
Thank you for Mommy and Daddy
and Grandmama
and Nana
and Lightening McQueen
and Thomas the Tank Engine
and bears

Will He Stay or Will He Go

The big question in Cowboy Country is whether Bill Parcells is going to return to coach another season or not. I have no idea what his decision might be and I'm not even sure what I want it to be.

I wouldn't be opposed to a change and a fresh approach but I'm not sure who the next head coach would be. There aren't any candidates that I know of that excite me. As I watched the Bears and Saints play I was regretful that we weren't able to keep Sean Payton so he could be the heir apparent.

If Bill stays he will have to get a new defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. I guess I will have to just wait and see. If the Cowboys can get their coaching situation solidified and they can have a good draft, I think they will be in a position to be a contender in 2007.

246 Hours to Go

I have been fasting for 258 hours and have 246 hours to go so I am now past halfway. Yippee! If you have been wondering what my menu looks like, here is a typical day on the Daniel Fast.

Breakfast - half a cup of Quaker Oats mixed with apple sauce and blueberries for a little flavor and textur and a glass of orange juice.

Mid-morning snack - Apple and a bottle of apple juice

The remaining of the day I just snack. I usually have another apple, a banana, a couple of boxes of raisans, peanuts and about 3 cups of carrots and celery.

Dinner - This is the tough meal. We usually are just having salad, green beans, corn, new potatoes, baked potato, grilled squash are examples of some of the items we have been eating. Also, brown rice and red beans has also been a favorite.

This is basically what I have been eating for the last 10 days plus gallons of waters.

Dress Code

I have always hated dressing up and would prefer to hang out in jeans or shorts. About 6 years ago when people of a like mind rose to a position of authority at my job, we changed the dress code to jeans. This has worked well for the last 6 years and everyone considered it a perk. Well, as I have documented previously, my position of authority has eroded and I have lost the dress code battle and I hate it and I'm not alone.

Another person who shares the same opinion as me regarding business dress is Mark Cuban and he wrote this post describing his thoughts on dressing up at work. I wish everyone in the business world read this.

For Kelli

This morning I was thinking about how much money I am saving while being on this fast. I haven't purchased a Diet Coke or been to a vending machine in nine days. I then read this post from Sarah at In the Midst of It.

If you have an extra $1.50 please think about making a donation.

Slowing Time Down

As I have gotten older it seems that time is speeding up. And, now that I have children, it seems like the years are flying by. Somehow I have a 4 year old and an eighteen month old.

But, I have now found the way to slow time down, go on a 21 day fast. I am 7 days into the fast and it feels like I have been at it a month. All is well, and I am actually enjoying the fast at a certain level and it has really made me connect more with God and that is what it is all about.

But, I sure do miss bread...

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I was in Orlando Friday and Saturday attending the SHOT Show and I was scheduled to fly back Saturday night. That was until I got a text message at 10:30 AM on Saturday from American Airlines saying my flight had been cancelled.

Dallas/Fort Worth has been in the middle of a winter storm that includes freezing rain and American felt it necessary to cancel all flights from Orlando to Dallas on Saturday. After being on hold for about 30 minutes with American I finally got to speak to an agent who informed me that they could get me back to Dallas on Tuesday. I think my exact response was "TUESDAY?"

She then checked flights out of Tampa which is 80 miles from Orlando and the answer was the same. I then asked if she could move me to another airline. She checked and found that Continental had a flight going out but she didn't know if it had been cancelled or not but she would check. After waiting for another 10 minutes she came back with a flight from Continental to Houston and then from Houston to Dallas. I quickly called a cab and headed to the airport.

At the airport, I waited in line for 40 minutes and then spent another 40 minutes working with the Continental agent. During this time, the flight from Houston to Dallas got cancelled, I was put on a 9 am flight the next day from Houston to Dallas, I then got bumped from that flight and put on a 7:15 pm flight Friday night to Dallas. Whew! I was already exhausted at this point and my journey was just beginning.

I spent the next 7 hours hiking through airports, waiting, sitting and just wishing to be home. I knew I could get to Houston without a problem but I didn't have much confidence that the Houston to Dallas flight would go out. But, I had already decided I would rent a car as a last resort and drive from Houston to Dallas.

Well, the flight did go out on schedule and I was finally in my bed by 9:30 pm. After all of this I have a greater appreciation for Steve Martin's character Neal Page in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles who all he wanted to do was get home for Thanksgiving and be with his family.

Changes

My sixth post on Dadbloggers is now available.

Read it here.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!

Now that I am a father I have a greater appreciation for what she did for my brother and me. The other day, after a long day with the boys, Shelley commented that my mom would have extra jewels in her crown in heaven for raising two boys. She also did this mostly by herself, which amazes me.

Fast Update

It has now been 66 hours since I started the fast and I am happy to say my caffeine headache has finally gone away. Praises for that. I am finding that my energy level is a little low and I have not been able to get out of bed the past few days to go work out. I hope my energy level returns to normal soon.

Sarah, the wife of one of our pastors, wrote a wonderful post on her blog that describes exactly what I have experienced. Read it here.

21 Day Fast

Shelley and I are starting on a 21 Day Daniel Fast along with our church. A Daniel Fast is one that is basically water, fruits, vegatables and nuts. Things that are not allowed are all meat, poultry, fish, dairy, sugars, caffeine, bread, fried foods and carbonate drinks.

The first day is water only so right now we are both very hungry. Tomorrow we will be able to start eating but again only fruits and vegetables.

The food part won't be too difficult for me, it will be going without Diet Coke for 3 weeks.

If you want to know why we are fasting, go here.

Pray for us.

Cowboys 20, Seahawks 21

It has taken me nearly 24 hours to get to the point where I could write about this loss.

I'm not sure what to think of this season. At the beginning everyone was predicting they were either an 8-8 or 9-7 team and that is what they were. But, after about two thirds of the season, they were being considered the best team in the NFC. And then, they last 3 of the last 4 in the regular season and lost their first game in the playoffs.

But, here are a few thoughts on the season.

1. I think we found our quarterback of the future in Romo despite how he finished the season. I think he has something.
2. Bobby Carpenter, our first round draft choice from last year, started showing something at the end of the season. He may not be the bust we thought.
3. Will Bill Parcells come back?
4. Will T.O. be back? I don't think the T.O. experiment went great but it could have been a lot worse.
5. There still seems to be considerable concern with the defense and I imagine this next draft will be dedicated to the defense again.

I think this team is heading in the correct direction but there are still a lot of questions.

I am the always hopeful and here is to next season.

Three Lions

We have a set of plastic animals that includes 2 tigers, 2 giraffes, 2 elephants and 2 lions. Over the last week or so, Seth has been insisting that there are actually 3 lions. We've had these animals for awhile and didn't actually purchase them but Shelley was pretty sure there were only 2 lions. After all, there are only 2 of the other animals so why would there be an extra lion. She has been debating this fact with Seth, but he has been insistent that there are three lions.

Seth has an incredible memory and I have found that if he is insistent on something there is a good chance it happened. I even jokingly said to Shelley that she better not argue with him.

Well, guess what we found last night. Yep, the third lion.

Another on going debate has been between Shelley's Aunt Kathy and Seth regarding the source of snow. Kathy has this crazy idea that snow comes from the sky but Seth insists that snow comes up from the ground.

I wonder when the science community is going to announce their new finding that snow actually comes up from the ground?

On an unrelated topic regarding our youngest, the 18 month old who thinks he is three, he has decided yesterday he is ready to be potty trained. Yesterday he sat on the potty twice. I guess I better go print out some college applications, I'm sure that is next.

Waiting on God

I am struggling because I am wanting things to happen in my life and I find that God doesn't seem to want to move on my timeline.

I read each morning Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for the Highest and today he says

There are times when you cannont understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait.

Waiting is so hard...

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 27:14

New LiveToShoot.Com Logo

We have settled on a new logo for our new venture, www.livetoshoot.com. Tell us what you think.

If you have checked out our website, go here and also check out our blog here.

We are in the process of making changes to these sites so be patient.

Two Weeks in Wisconsin

Today I got to see an uncle who I haven't see in many years. He is my father's older brother and just one of the nicest people you will ever find. He will do anything for anybody, and I remember as a kid he and his wife always had somebody staying with them because that person had no place to go. He adopted a daughter not because he wanted another child but because her family didn't want her. He has often been taken advantage of but that has never stopped him from reaching out to the next needy soul.

Well, when I found out he was in town and I was going to get to see him, it made me think back to 2 weeks when I was ten and I went to stay with him and my aunt. I'm not sure why, but those 2 weeks stick out as one of my fondest childhood memories. I'm sure my counselor would have fun with this one but I think it is just because I learned some pretty interesting things during those two weeks.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle during that time. I often have thoughts of getting a motorcycle when I think back to how fun it was riding that little Honda XR75.

I learned the wonder of peanut butter toast. I had never had peanut butter on toast before those two weeks and in the words of my son, "it changed my life." I have passed this little delicacy on to my kids and they love it as much as I do.

I learned that in the north a "Soda" is actually what I called "Pop" or "Coke" and didn't have ice cream in it. I sure was disappointed.

I learned I liked squash. Not sure why that sticks out but they had a garden and they seemed to eat a lot of squash.

And finally, I learned I liked Mountain Dew. Another strange first for me and something not many people know about me today. But since those two weeks, Mountain Dew has been one of my favorite drinks and today if my beloved Diet Coke isn't available and they have Mountain Dew, I'm going for the Mountain Dew.

I really enjoyed seeing my Uncle today.

Vacation

I posted several days ago that I would be taking the longest vacation I have ever taken. Well, it is coming to an end and I have to go to work tomorrow and I am extremely sad.

I have had the best time being home with my family and getting an opportunity to play with my boys. This has taught me how important it is for me to take time off and spend time with my family. We have taken walks, played in the park, got to visit with family members and many other things. Shelley and I even got to see a movie, Rocky Balboa. This was the second movie in 30 days we got to see.

I plan on taking more time off in 2007. Now, it might not be a vacation but simply unemployment but I know I will enjoy the time with my family.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, I hope everyone has a blessed 2007.

I am going to pose some questions to myself regarding what will happen in 2007.

1. What amazing things will God do in my life?
2. Is Seth riding his bicycle?
3. Is Chase potty trained?
4. Where am I working and do I enjoy it?
5. What will become of my livetoshoot.com venture.
6. What new interests do the boys have?
7. What is something new that I will learn?
8. Is Thomas the Tank Engine still a major player in our household?
9. Did Newt Gingrich announce he will run for President?

I will be editing this post with new questions as I think of them.