Family

If you are looking for me, I am out of town with the most amazing woman on the planet.

Don’t worry about calling.  I probably won’t answer!

I really cannot believe that Anniston is 2 years old today!  It really blows my mind!!

For those of you that don’t know, she had quite the grand entrance into the world.  Below are some links, that I posted on my old blog, 2 years ago:

Here’s the birth announcement.

Here’s a post about how God provided for us in a huge way!

Here’s the post about getting to take her home when she was 2 months old.

Then:

Now:

God is amazing!!

1.  Thanks to this guy and this guy, Brayden thinks that everything is a guitar or drums.

2.  When I grow up, I want to be Michael Phelps.

3.  One of my friends from college is coming in town this weekend.  It’ll be a lot of fun to hang out.

4.  I still want to know which superpower you would choose.  Click here to vote.

5.  Sunday is going to be a HUGE  GINORMOUS day in the life of Freedom Church.  Be there and bring lots of people with you!

6.  Going to the Giants|Braves game tonight.  Not sure who I hope will win, I hate both teams passionately.

7.  Anniston’s birthday party is tomorrow.  It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years.  (More to come about this this weekend!)

8.  Lots of family will be here.  My house will be packed!

9.  I just saw a new LL Cool J video.  He’s been around forever!!

10. Here’s the latest Lollis injury.  People are going to start believing that we beat our kids…

Here’s what’s on my mind early on Thursday morning:

1.  Today is my last day on Jury Duty.  If you hear someone screaming between the hours of 4 and 5, it will probably be my scream of jubilee!

2.  Please pray for my mother-in-law, Brenda, today.  She is having shoulder replacement surgery.  It will be a long and painful recovery process for her.

3.  My family is in SC until Saturday.  What the heck am I going to do here all by myself?  Any ideas?

4.  I had a great meeting with Michael and Anthony from Oakleaf yesterday.  They have been really helpful to us!

5.  Every single muscle in my body aches due to the new P90x workout that I am doing.  The level of accountability is very high because everyone in the office is doing it too.  It is the most intense thing I have ever done.

6.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing at Freedom Church.  The cool part is that the best is yet to come!

(Dad, I know you’ll probably never read this since you are on a cruise, but I thought I would write it anyway.)

Father’s Day always causes me to remember back to Christmas break of my 3rd grade year.  That was the year that my mom met the man that she has been married to for almost 25 years.  It as a difficult adjustment for me because I had seen my mom go through some bad relationships and I had no desire to see her hurt again.  I was very protective of her and, as a result, didn’t want to give anyone much of a chance.

Looking back, I am so grateful for the way that my dad has loved my mom and our family.  He entered our lives in a very pivotal time and through lots of circumstances, God has used him to help develop us all into the people that we are today.  It wasn’t easy, but certainly worth it! 

I have witnessed how difficult it can be to ‘blend’ a family.  I can honestly say that he has done a great job and always treated us fairly.

Dad – I love you and am grateful for the leadership you have provided for our family.  Thanks for showing me what it means to work hard, love your family, and love God.  I respect you more than I could ever convey with words.  Enjoy your trip!

7 years ago today, I married the most incredible woman on the planet.  Like Jesus, everyday with Joni is sweeter than the day before. (Did I just work in a hymn reference?)

Seriously, she is more than I deserve.  I am the luckiest man alive!!

Joni – I love you and look forward to 142 more years together!

Mothers’ Day is almost here.  Rush to the store.  Grab a card and a gift….quickly!

I wanted to take a moment to thank my mom for being so incredible.  When I think about her, I think about one word…SACRIFICE!  She has modeled this since I was a kid.  She ALWAYS puts other people ahead of herself.  She is currently helping to take care of 3 people that are in their last days.  She has put her life on hold to make their lives as comfortable as possible.

I could list examples for days of how she has taught me to put others first.  She has sacrificed a lot.  I owe much of who I am to her.   I am so grateful for the sacrifices she has made in her life to give me the best life possible.  It causes me to want to do the same for my kids.

Mom – I love you and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to spend this Mothers’ Day weekend with you. 

Joni just left to go to S.C. for a wedding.  That leaves me here with Brayden and Anniston for the next two days.  I’m pumped about spending time with them.  However, I’m sure that today is going to make me appreciate my wife on a whole new level:)

The good news is my parents and my sister are coming to the rescue tonight.  Should be a fun weekend!