Praises

This week at church the message was about glorifying God and being thankful for all he has done. This isn't the first time I have heard a message on the power of praise so here are some things I am praising God for today.

1. You sent your Son to die for me.
2. Shelley
3. Seth
4. Chase
5. Shelley's theme of family this year and how much of our family we have seen.
6. My job
7. Having a roof over our head
8. Our wonderful church
9. Good friends
10 Our health
11. I don't have to worry about where our next meal will come from.
12. I'm home this morning with my boys.

Friends

I was sitting behind the boys when the picture above was taken. As soon as it was taken I thought about one of those coming of age movies where they start out showing a picture of a bunch of boys when they were kids and then you flash forward to them all graduating high school together. I wonder where all of these little boys will be in 10 years?


In the picture from left to right - Nolan Givens,Cole Ladrew, Isaiah Brogan, Cameron Bitz, Alex Ladrew and Seth

These made me chuckle

End of another week

It's Friday and we are approaching the end of another week. This week was marked with the boys attending Vacation Bible School at Compass Christian Church in Colleyville. They both had a good time but Chase had a few rough spots.

First we had the incident of the black eye which didn't turn into a black eye but it was still a nasty little cut. Then last night as a wrap up to the week the kids got to try and dunk the pastors in a dunk tank. Seth was successful in his attempt but our little perfectionist, Chase, was not. And this "failure" crushed his spirit and we had ten minutes of tears.

So, the challenge is how do we make the most of his desire to be the best but still allow him to fail?

The rest of the week included the first week of Cowboy training camp and the Rangers took 2 of 3 from Oakland extending their lead in the west to 8.5 games and their magic number is 53 (lowest in baseball).

Black Eye

Last night while the boys were at VBS I got a text from Chase's VBS teacher that said:

"Chase got a booboo but he's laughing & smiling. Want me to send ya a pic?"

I replied "No that is ok. Thanks!" figuring it wasn't that big of deal.

She replied - "OK. Got bumped in the face & his glasses cut his cheek. But he's tough! :-)"

Well, when we saw him I was taken a little bit back and I know Shelley was because he had a nice little gash in his cheek under his eye.

I am not sure what it will look like this morning but we prepared him that he might have a black eye. We then had to explain that a "black eye" was just a bruise around the eye and his eye wouldn't be black.

I'll post a picture when I get one.

Exhausted

I woke up this morning feeling really tired. So tired that I decided to "sleep in" and not go running. But, even after "sleeping in", I was really tired this morning. Just dragging...

Well, I got in the car to go to work, looked at the clock at it said 5:00 am and not 6:00 am. I paused, tried to process that bit of information, looked at my watch and was really confused. Some how I had got up an hour earlier than I thought.

So, now I am sitting in the living room about to rest my eyes for 50 minutes before going to work. I am really losing it..

July 28 2010

What to blog about?

I've taken my blog private so I can utilize this blog more as a journal and document more personal information that either Shelley and I or the boys will find interesting some day.

So, what to blog about? I don't know...

The boys are going to vacation bible school at Compass Christian Church in Colleyville. This is their third VBS this summer. I never went to a VBS and they have gone to 3 just this summer. I wonder if they will have fond memories of these events?


The Rangers have an 8.5 game lead in the West. Will they make the playoffs?

Cowboys have started training camp and the talk of the camp is their first round draft choice, Dez Bryant.

My job is still a struggle and is not fulfilling. My prayers continue to be to find my true purpose and do something with meaning.

Parenting

This is just a note to myself to remember how hard this parenting thing is. I don't want to look back and think, "oh, it wasn't that hard."

It seems Shelley and I are never on our A game together. When one is over reacting the other is the calm in the storm. We never seem to be rationale together. :-)

I wonder what Seth and Chase will remember from their childhoods? It might be their bi-polar parents.

Sleeping with Chase

Last night was another night when Chase came into our room to sleep. Shelley got up and went to his room, leaving just the two of us. Sleeping with Chase is an adventure and I feel sorry for his little wife some day. He is all over the bed and for most of the night I have his foot in my ribs. But, then his little hand will reach out and we will hold hands and that makes it all worth while.

I just try and burn that memory in my mind because I know it won't last forever.

Family Secrets

We have had one family secret since the boys were born. It really isn't a secret but we have never talked to the boys about it because they weren't old enough. Well, that all ended yesterday.

The secret has been that I was married prior to Shelley. We have held off on telling the boys until we thought they would better understand. Lately, they have been asking more about divorce and marriage because they have some friends who have parents that have been divorced. Shelley and I felt it was time because we never want to deceive our boys.

So, last night we turned off the t.v. and gathered everyone in the living room. I was pretty nervous and wasn't really sure how I was going to start the conversation. I explained to them that I had been married previously and they both took it well.

Chase was more focused on his legos but Seth did ask some questions. He asked what her name was, where she lived and why we got divorced. I answered all his questions best I could and he seemed satisified and was anxious to start watching Stars Wars Episode I. A boy must keep his priorities.

Thinking About Going Private

I have had this blog for 5 years and my activity on it has been sporadic. I once was very active and monitored the number of hits I was getting. Now, I have no idea if anyone reads this.

So, I am thinking about turning it into a private blog. If you read this and would like to continue reading it, please email me at jefftdowdle@gmail.com and I will give you access.

California Vacation

This year our family vacation was truly a FAMILY vacation. We flew to San Jose, California with Shelley's mom and one of her aunts. We arrived and visted with two of Shelley's cousins that live in California, her aunt and uncle who live there and another cousin from Oklahoma who also flew out.

The trip consisted of us flying into California on Saturday, spending the night at Shelley's cousin Shannon's house. Then on Sunday, the four of us plus Shelley's mom and aunt Kathy drove the pacific coast highway to Santa Paula, California. We spent the night there and then got up and on Monday visited the Reagan and Nixon presidential libraries.

We arrived in San Diego at a house we had rented that was about 5000 sq foot and beautiful. Monday evening the rest of Shelley's family arrived. Her 3 cousins, 2 spouses and 5 kids. In total there was 16 of us.

Tuesday we got up and took a bus tour of San Diego and then toured the USS Midway. We ended Tuesday with a tour of the Harbor.

Wednesday was the San Diego Zoo, a miniature railroad museum and a hands on science museum.

Thursday was Legoland.

Friday was packing, cleaning the house, a children's museum and the flight home.

We saw a lot of nice things, stayed in a beautiful home, had beautiful weather but the best part for me was spending time with Shelley's family and getting to know her California cousins better. I also loved watching my boys play with their cousins and getting to know their family as well.

Happy Birthday Chase!

Happy birthday Chase!

Good information to have

Chase was in our bed and I was patting his bottom.

He said, "you know I fart every time you do that."

That was good to know.

Coaching Baseball

Out of default I have become the coach for Chase's baseball team. I have 11 five and six year olds and I have to tell you, it is tough. Getting them to listen and do what I say is not easy if not impossible.

I seem to spend all my time just trying to corral them it seems.

But, I hope somehow this will create a memory for Chase that he finds special.

Seth's Baptism

Tonight was a big night in our household. Tonight at church Seth was baptized with about 25 other kids. It was a month ago on April 22nd prior to going to bed that Seth asked Jesus into his heart.

We were so excited about his decision but he was a little nervous about the baptism. Tonight prior you could tell he was nervous but by the time for the baptism he was excited. Seth was excited to have Pastor Dave O'donnell baptize him. Pastor Dave has been his kindergarten and 1st grade pastor and Seth really respects him.

We had a group of friends and family which included Marilyn, Chris, Valerie and April there to cheer him on. He enjoyed the attention.

For me it was very moving and prior there were several times I was about to cry with joy. I am so proud of him and this decision he made.

Family

The past few days have been dedicated to family.

Friday I got to go on a field trip with Seth's class to the Fort Worth Zoo. We were able to spend the day together and we really enjoyed our time together. I am always impressed by what an awesome little boy he is. I was a chaperone over him and another little boy. While the other little boy wasn't much trouble, he did have a tendancy to go in his own direction. Seth was great because I would send him after him and he was a great help with my chaperone duties.

Then this past weekend we had a family reunion for my Mom's side of the family. This was an event that would never have taken place with out the hard work and deligence of Shelley. This was her party and she did a great job.

The reunion was about 3 hours from us so I got to enjoy a road trip with my family. I have discovered that I love taking road trips with my family.

Saturday was spent at the reunion and I saw people who I had not seen in about 8 years. Again, when I see my boys in an environment with other kids, I realize that they are very special.

I could go on about all the details of the reunion but just say it was a lot of fun and I hope we can do another one.

Praises!

Seth prayed and asked Jesus into his heart last night!

Sight Words

There was a note from Seth's teacher that he is moving on to 2nd grade sight words. Also they expect them to be reading at a level of I by the end of the first grade. Seth is already at a level J.

Way to go Seth !

Quotes from Chase

At Baseball practice - "Daddy, why in baseball is running called hustle?"

On the way home and listening to a praise song on the radio - "Daddy, they are singing about God and praising him. That's a good thing."