Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009 will always be remembered for snow. Yes, SNOW! The midwest was hit hit by a winter storm on Christmas Eve and this included Oklahoma and Texas. We had arrived on the 23rd in Oklahoma so we were safely in Oklahoma when the snow rolled in but it was evident that our planned return to Dallas on Christmas Eve night might be in jeopardy. And, in fact it was. We decided to spend another night in Oklahoma which proved to be a wise decision.

The boys Christmas will be remembered as the Christmas they got their Nintendo DSs. They also got a new microphone, piano bench, WII Lego Star Wars, scooters, Toy Story Woody and Toy Story Buz Lightyear and new bedding for their rooms.

It was a special Christmas because it was a white Christmas and we got to spend it with our family.

Christmas Services

We have been attending our church for over 10 years and I have to say my favorite service is always our Christmas service. I don't think we have missed one but I could be wrong. We usually schedule our Christmas travels to make sure we don't leave without attending the service.

Every service ends the same way and that is with everyone lighting a candle and singing Christmas carols. It is an amazing sight to see the sanctuary full of people and lit by only candles.

We just got home from the service this year and I am already excited about next year.

Memories

I am off this week for Christmas so I started a project of turning all the DV8 tapes we have into DVDs. In order to do this you have to play the tape through the camera and burn it to DVD. This has led us to watching some of the very first tapes we made of the boys and has brought back a lot of memories. I will always be thankful for all the video and pictures we have taken because I would have forgotten a lot.

But, two things are apparent. First we sure were a lot younger looking back then and second, our house sure was a lot cleaner. As we moved from one boy to adding a second boy, more gray hairs appeared and more toys were scattered through out. It sure is nice to have a messy house.

Getting a Haircut

I take the boys to a traditional barber shop where 99.9% of their customers are males. When you go there everyone knows each other and it is a bunch of men sitting around talking sports and hunting. It is great fun.

Today I took Chase and as we are driving up I asked him who he wanted to cut his hair. Ms. Johnann is who normally does it and she is Todd's wife. She and Todd are the owners of the shop. Todd is a bit of a haircut artist and you can never go wrong with him cutting your hair plus he is great with kids. But, Shelley really likes the way Johnann cuts Chase's hair and Johnann really likes Chase.

So his response to my question was he wanting Mr. Todd to cut his hair.

Me - Ms. Johnann is available and Mommy really likes how she cuts your hair.
Chase - But will she be funny?

Why Do I Watch Sports?

Why do I watch sports? It just drives me crazy. The Cowboys only frustrate me and after a great season, TCU only gets the Fiesta Bowl. I just need to give it up but I can't. It is my crack..

Dear God

Dear God,
Thank you for all your blessings. You have blessed me with an incredible wife, the two most special boys, good health, a roof over our head and food on our table.

With all these blessings why am I looking for more? I feel you have more planned for me and I am missing it. Lord, please make your plan for me clear and if I'm still not seeing it, please give me confirmation and leave me with no doubt.

If where I am is where you want me then praise to you for that. But, if I am missing it because of fear or an unwillingness please open my mind and heart to your desires.

In Jesus name
Amen

Sleeping Arrangements

I have probably posted about this in the past but the sleeping arrangements in our house are very fluid. Where someone goes to bed doesn't mean that is where they will wake up.

Shelley and I might go to bed together but I will wake up on the couch and she will wake up in one of the boys' rooms. Lately, Chase has been coming in and sleeping with me and Shelley has been moving to the couch. Chase says he likes to "sleep with Daddy."

I like sleeping with Chase as well because he is a cuddler and is the only one who let's me touch him when I sleep. These are memories that I hope I can burn into my brain.

Thanksgiving 2009

This was one of the best Thanksgivings in a long time. First I took the entire week off and it has been very relaxing. We went up to Oklahoma and spent Thanksgiving with Shelley's family where the food is incredible and plentiful. Also, my mother came down and also made the trip to Oklahoma. I think she enjoyed her time there as well. And finally, the Cowboys won!

The Change Continues

One of the greatest and saddest things about raising children is watching them grow and change. It is very cool to watch but I often find myself wondering where my little boys went.

Seth has really changed in the last few weeks. First, he has developed a big interest in history, U.S. war history to be more precise. I've started recording anything I can find on the History channel that relates to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI or WWII.

He has also just started practicing the piano on his own. Without notice he will go in and start playing where before we had to bribe, beg, plead and threaten to get him to practice. And reading has become a new obsession. He is now just getting books and going into his room and starts reading.

What could be next, picking up his toys? No way, that is just crazy talk.

Father Son Retreat

Seth and I had our 2nd Father/Son Retreat this weekend at Allaso Ranch.

This is a weekend we both have been looking forward to and it lived up to our expectations. We had a great time just being together and walking. The only thing missing was the smallest Dowdle but he gets to join us next year.

We bonded and I really enjoyed the time together. I just enjoyed walking through the woods with him and he really enjoyed taking a canoe out onto the lake.

We are ready to go back and next year will be real interesting as Chase will get to experience it for the first time.

Blogging

I am going to make a new effort at blogging again. I'm going to try and keep it simple and avoid worrying if it is interesting.

When they get older

I have been a real slacker on blogging and I'm going to try and improve.

Here is part of a comment Chase made to me.

"daddy when I get older, and if you are still alive..."

I was so moved by this. :-)

I've Got To Go Pee Pee

"I've got to go pee pee." Those are words that seem to come out of no where from Chase's mouth and it often seems to be at the most inconvenient times.

One evening Seth and Chase and I went to the UPS depot to pick up a package that we missed the delivery. We had been in line for 30 minutes and were finally next when I heard "I've got to go pee pee." This statement is also expressed rarely loudly and in a very urgent manner. It is also followed by a quick grab to his lower regions with both hands and a very stressed expression on his face. History tells us that time is of the essence and not to dilly dally. At this particular incident at UPS I quickly looked around and saw no public restroom. I also assessed the line behind us and knew if I got out of line, we were going to have another 30 minute wait. So, I began a high stakes gamble with time. Fortunately, I won the gamble and was able to get out to the parking lot where Chase was able to hose down my tire.

Today, we went to a movie and had made it right to the end. We were coming to the exciting conclusion when the words "I've got to go pee pee" echoed through the theatre. Again, I assessed the situation and knew if we left we couldn't get back in time so another gamble with time was undertook and again I won. I know my luck is about to run out.

Anniversary and Birthday

Facebook and Twitter are taking the majority of my social networking efforts but that is for another post.

This weekend was a busy weekend and will always be. The middle of June will always be occupied by Shelley and mine anniversary and Chase's birthday.

I surprised Shelley and took her away for a night at the Gaylord Texan and dinner. We had a great time and it was nice to get away.

Sunday was Chase's 4th birthday and we had a family party and an afternoon at Bedford Splash.

I can't believe that I have been married 10 years and have a 4 year old.

Chase was extremely excited about this birthday. For some reason, being 4 had a special place in his heart and he wanted to tell everyone about it. He enjoyed all of the attention. Last year his birthday party, while special because it was celebrated on the beach, I think he felt a little shorted because it was just us and Shelley's mom.

I think Shelley and Chase enjoyed their special weekend.

My Kindergartner (or soon to be former Kindergartner)

This past Friday was Seth's Kindergarten year end program.

It started off as each student went on stage and said what they liked about Kindergarten. I watched Seth through the video camera and was just taken by how grown up he looked. He approached the mike and said his favorite part was their play "How Does Your Garden Grow?"

They then all sang as a group, and since Shelley was able to get there early, we sat close enough that I could distinguish his voice from all the other kids. I sat there and listened and could hear the slight lisp that he has since he had just lost his second tooth that morning.

A slide show ran that captured all the pictures from the year. I looked through the crowd and at all the teachers and tears were running down everyone's face.

Our babies weren't babies anymore.

Seth,
I love you and you will always be my baby.

Dad

No More Red Drink Store?

Ever since Seth was about 2, something we have done and was always seen as something special, was going to QuikTrip together. Anytime we did something together, it often included a stop at QuikTrip so that Seth could get their strawberry banana Freezoni. (This is like an Icee.) This tradition has expanded to include Chase but his drink of choice is often either white cherry or blue rasberry.

Seth dubbed his favorite drink as a "red drink" and Chase has since followed suit calling his a "blue drink." Well, this then meant that QT was the "red drink" store, and for the last 4 years it has always been referred to in our house as the "red drink" store.

Well, another sad step in growing up occurred yesterday when Seth announced that he was going to start calling it QuikTrip instead of the "red drink store." This made me sad because it was just another sign that I can't keep them from growing up.

A conversation I overheard

Today we started scraping the wallpaper off of our walls in our bathroom. I was on a ladder with my back to the boys and they started having this conversation.

Chase - I want to go on the ladder.
Seth - When you are a grown man you can do whatever you want.
Chase - Like what?
Seth - You can do things on the ladder and you never have to go to your room.

Seth's Prayer

Last night Seth told us a prayer he says before he goes poo poo.

"God, please don't let it hurt."

Awkward Moment

Tonight Seth and I went to dinner together and when we were leaving the restaurant Seth looked over at a restaurant across the way and asked what it was called. I paused for a second as I looked at the sign, trying to figure out my response. Thinking of no good one, I just decided to answer the question.

"Hooters," I responded.

"That is a funny name for a restaurant," he replied.

Then on the drive home he kept repeating it, "Hooters, Hooters, Hooters...."

I just hope he gets it out of his system before school on Monday.

Loose Tooth

Yesterday while I was in a meeting, Shelley called my cell phone. The unusual thing is she left a voice mail, which she rarely does. This usually means it is important and I need to call her back.

When I got out of the meeting and was able to hear the message, I heard an excited plea to call them back.

I called back and Shelley said Seth had some big news to tell me. He excitedly told me that he had a loose tooth, his first. We are all very excited but I am sad as well. It is official; my little boy is going to continue growing up.

It Was A God Thing

This weekend our church has a community outreach program call Love Your Neighbor going on. We are participating in a variety of community service type projects and just doing random acts of kindness.

Chase had his first soccer game this morning and I was going to have to take him by myself while Shelley and Seth went to an apartment complex to pass out Easter baskets and conduct an Easter egg hunt. The forecast was for it to be bitterly cold so Shelley suggested I take some hot chocolate to the game and pass it out. It fit perfectly into the theme of our weekend but WAY out of my comfort zone.

Chase and I were the first to arrive from our team at the game and it was bitterly cold. We got there just as the game in front of us was ending and the families were leaving. Just then a man walked up to me with 2 containers of hot chocolate left over from the first game and offered them to me for our team.

So, God was not going to let me sit in my comfort zone and there I was passing out hot chocolate. :-)

Littering

The other night we were in the parking lot at church and I was trying to get the boys unloaded from the car. Chase had fallen asleep so I was carrying him and was in the process of helping Seth down from the truck when the wind blew a piece of paper out of the car. I asked Seth to track it down when we had this exchange.

Seth: Why?
Me: We don't want to litter.

Seth captured the piece of paper.

Seth: What is littering?
Me: It is when we throw trash down on the ground.
Seth: Is it illegal?
Me: Yes.
Seth: What can happen?
Me: They can make us pay a fine but also God doesn't like it either.
Seth: But God saw the wind blow it out. He knows it was an accident.

I then had to explain that it was only littering if you left the trash on the ground...

Shelley, I love you because..

You took a chance on me.
You brought me to Christ.
You gave me the 2 most precious sons.
You make me laugh.
You are beautiful.
You have a wonderful heart
You put up with me.
You are spunky
You are willing to do anything for our family.
You have a great sense of humor.
You love Elvis
You go to birthday parties
You are my everything..

12 Years Ago Today Was The Start of the Journey

The title of my blog is "The Journey of a Happily Married Man with Two Kids." Well, this journey started 12 years ago today. On February 16, 1997, I had my first date with Shelley.

This was a very dark time of my life and I had no idea what this date would turn into. I was going through a divorce with the one I thought was my "soul mate." I thought I had the perfect life until about 4 months previous when she said "I want a divorce." I still remember hearing those words and just dropping to my knees. I felt like my life was over at that point.

At this point in my life I wasn't a Christian and didn't have a relationship with Jesus. I felt that you just needed to be a good person and going to church was what people did to make themselves feel better.

But I remember clearly one evening having a "discussion" in our kitchen. I was trying to convince her that we needed to try and save our marriage and I suddenly had a question pop in my head, "What does God think about this?" We had gotten married in a church by a preacher and in front of God but up to this point that was just because that was how you were supposed to do it. Now I found myself wondering what God would think if we broke those promises we had made in front of him.

This was the first crack in my heart that was opened to let God in. Now I didn't drop to my knees and accept Jesus at that point. The truth is it took me several years but this was the beginning.

Shelley and I went on our first date a few months later and I was taken by her beauty, intelligence, sense of humor and "spunkiness." But I was just looking for someone to keep me company and help take away some of my lonliness, it wasn't supposed to last.

Shelley was a Christian but had drifted so we were two lost souls. We weren't right for each other but we were filling a need each of us had. I believe this gave God the time he needed to work in our lives.

Through a series of events, Shelley found our church and started attending. I started going but it was just so I could be with her. Shelley resumed her walk and then started working on me.

When we got married we were "unequally yoked." I agree with everyone that this is a recipe for a disaster and it was almost for us. We were on a path of potential divorce until two things happened. The first and most important was that I accepted Christ as my Savior. I will always be thankful to Shelley and her persistance along with Ed Young and Fellowship Church. The second thing that happened is we started going to a Christian counselor.

Today we have an awesome marriage, two wonderful boys and are growing in our walk with Jesus. And this journey all started 12 years ago today.

My Incredible Wife

On this Valentines Day I am so thankful for my incredible wife. I don't have the words to describe her but it can't be said any better than in Proverbs 31: 10 -31.

10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Valentines

This morning Seth made me a Valentine card. A little later he came up to me and asked where it was.

I told him it was on my dresser so I could take it to work with me.

Seth - Are you taking it to work with you tomorrow?
Me - Not tomorrow, I have to go to San Diego today and won't be in the office until Tuesday.

A little later he brought me another valentine and said:

Seth - Here is a Valentine you can take to San Diego so you won't forget me.

That made me melt and I just gave him a big hug and told him I will never forget him.

My Hugger

Last night I gave Chase a kiss on his forehead and he immediately wiped it off as he always does when someone kisses him.

Chase - I don't like kisses
Me - Well, what do you like?
Chase - I like hugs!


This is true. He has always liked hugs and he is a very good hugger.

Happy Birthday, Seth

Today my oldest turns 6.

Happy birthday, Seth!

Mr. Mom

We have had a tragic event occur this weekend; Shelley got sick. This has disrupted our entire house and thrown me into the role of Mr. Mom. While I feel I have filled the role well, it isn't one I want to have for an extended period of time.

I had birthday party duty on Saturday and that is one duty I have always tried to avoid. Now my resolve is even greater. After 2 hours at Pump It Up with 20+ 5 year olds and not getting home until 10 pm, I am certain this is not a spiritual gift I have.

Shelley also says I am lacking the spiritual gift of nurture but I will leave that to her to post about.

I also got to take them to a play date with some other boys, so it was just me and two other mothers.

Please pray for Shelley's return to health.

The Brady Bunch

We have all discovered a new show in our house, The Brady Bunch. The boys love it and have fallen victim to the catchiness of the theme song. They can be heard singing it all day long.

Now, for me it is also a new show despite seeing it hundreds of times. Now when I watch it I am seeing it from the perspective of the parents instead of the kids. Now, I see it all different as I watch their parenting techniques wishing it was as easy as they make it appear.

My Favorite Things

The Sound of Music has been a big player in our house. I can't count how many times that movie has played.

When I think of some of my favorite things, the list can be numerous but always on that list is Peanut Butter. (There is a funny story about peanut butter from when Shelley and I were first together and how she found out she didn't know me as well as she thought)

Well, anyway, this salmonella and peanut butter issue is making me think more about how much I eat peanut butter. I love it and it is often my default "flavor" when it comes to things. In fact this morning I realized my cereal was peanut butter puffs and I just chose to eat it anyway. Pray for me...

Heard around the House

Chase has become fascinated with the YouVersion app (bible) on my IPhone.
While sitting on my lap playing with my IPhone and YouVersion he announced, "I want an IPhone".

It was cute to hear the words "IPhone" come out of a 3 year old's mouth and I realized it probably wouldn't be too long before he actually had an IPhone.

Heard in the Car

Tonight on our way home Chase said, "I see a tasi."

Seth - "what is a tasi?"

Chase - "it's a yellow car." (a taxi)

No Green Beans

We tried a different restaurant after church, a Tex Mex restaurant. Our boys can be particular about their restaurants so I expected this one wasn't going to be a hit, but one can eat at Chili's only so often.

We often eat at another homestyle cooking restaurant that offers 2 sides with every meal. So, tonight when Seth's order of chicken fingers arrived, he exclaimed with glee, "They didn't bring me green beans!"

And now we have a new favorite restaurant because they don't bring green beans.

How Old Am I?

Last night Shelley and I went out to eat at Ruth's Chris courtesy of a couple of gift cards Shelley received from a co-worker.

Neither of us had been to this particular steak house, and I had some preconceived ideas about this restaurant for no particular reason. When we got there it was nicer than I had expected, and Shelley and I were both impressed by the fact that they offered her a black napkin since she was wearing black slacks.

This was a particular courtesy that I had never experienced at any other restaurant.

As Shelley and continued to talk about this little bit of extra service I suddenly felt like that 16 year old going on his first date to a "nice" restaurant and having to act like I knew how to crack open the king crab legs I had ordered but in reality I had no idea.

I then snapped back to reality and realized I am still 42 but it was nice feeling 16 again.