Life

We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving and the start of Christmas. But as we get into the crazy times of the holidays, I wonder, what are you giving to others? And I don’t mean toys and Starbucks giftcards (always a nice gift by the way), but are you giving of your time this year? Are you giving to charities?

Let’s be honest for a moment, our economy is not doing well.  That is just a basic and simple fact and who suffers from that? Yes, those that have lost their jobs, but so does the church, charities, etc. So, this year, my family is doing something different. I have finally hit my point of being frustrated with the Christmas season and all of the giving to give. Not this year. This year, we are giving to others. We are buying gifts for 4 families this year from the Angel tree at church. We are giving to the Ronald McDonald House, the one that my niece stayed at for a week and they supported my sister and brother in law for that week and helped them get through a time of uncertainty. We are giving to St. Jude, because today, we have two wonderful and healthy little boys and if there is ever a problem with them, I’m packing up and taking them there.

So what are you giving this year? Are you giving your family crappy gifts that are either given to someone else or worse, thrown away? This year, I challenge you to do something different. Step outside of your comfort zone and give to someone else in need. If you have been blessed this past year with a job and food on your table and a roof over your head, then help someone that has not been so lucky.

Here is the St. Jude’s video, I defy you to watch it without getting a little teary eyed. Giving is a wonderful thing, and can give more sanctification than giving a family member a tie. So, give. Give because you can and you want to.

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Have you ever taken a trip and as you were coming back home, you realized that it would be x number of months before you next trip? Well, it happened to us and somewhere along the way, we started changing our plans.

Instead of taking a trip and coming home to nothing planned, we started planning our next trip before we left for the first trip. Makes sense, right?

Well, changing our thought process changed our thinking on trips too. Now, as we returned home yesterday from a long weekend, we were not focused on returning to work, instead we were focused on our next trip. Where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.

Sometimes, it is all about the next trip in life.

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As the cleanup begins from Hurricane Sandy, I am reminded of how lucky we truly are.  We were very fortunate to come away with only water damage and never lost power. As I watched the storm on the news make landfall and effect other parts of the east coast, I begin to realize that even though we were put out because of the storm, we could have experienced much more damage than we did.

So tonight, as you eat dinner, watch tv, enjoy a shower, take a moment and think about those that were effected by Hurricane Sandy and what they are going through.

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I was thinking about my days in Texas and how when a hurricane would approach, our supplies were: Beer, propane for the grill, ice, meat and ammo (just in case). Now with Hurricane Sandy heading this way, my planning changed for preparations.

This time, it was less beer, more food for the boys. Amazing how your priorities change.

So as Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast, be safe and be smart.

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I remember growing up as a child and always trying to find the coolest costume for Halloween. But usually, I ended up dressing as a solider the majority of the time because it was easy to do. This year, we decided to take the boys to our old church for trunk or treat. The boys were dressed as monsters from the movie, Monsters, Inc. And I have to say, that for the first time that they dressed up as characters, they did a great job.

Remember to be safe with your kids this year at Halloween. There are a lot of pranks going on and there seems to be more and more people getting into trouble this time of year.

 

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Part of growing up and learning about life, is that sometimes you lose. Whether it is an argument, sports, etc.

Some days, life really stinks. I know that as a baseball fan, the way that the Yankees played really made me scratch my head. I’ve never seen a more overrated and under achieving team before in my entire life. And at the end of a 4 game sweep, I just tell my kids that sometimes you lose, just like the Yankees did.

Life isn’t going to always be fair. But if you work hard, do what is right and always be true to both yourself and your family and friends, I believe that you don’t quite lose as much.

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Stop. Take a moment to think about all of the interruptions that you experience in a day. Phone calls. Text Messages. Emails. And the list goes on.

But what do you do about those interruptions as it pertains to your children? Do you let those interruptions come between you and the time that you have with your kids? I am guilty of it.  As are probably most. Our society has become so dependent on technology, that it is hard to break away from it. We are trained to check our email every 5 minutes. We know that by certain sounds, a new text message has come through or email.

But what is more important, checking your phone or playing with your kids? And it should be an easy answer, right? But is it?

I am challenging both myself and my wife, to put down the phones when we come home and just be with the boys. I am challenging myself, to stop checking email every 5 minutes or responding to text messages, work and friends can wait. Nothing is that life pressing and if it is, they will call back.  I realized last night that I am too connected and yes, I am a Web Developer and I am saying that I am too connected to technology. Funny right? Well, it isn’t and here is why. When I am focused on responding to emails or text messages, those are minutes that I am not playing with my kids, showing them how to throw a ball or play with blocks.  I don’t want to miss a single moment and I feel that I am allowing too many interruptions to do just that.

So starting today. When I get home, my phone goes on the night stand until the boys go to bed.  And the boys get my undivided attention and no more interruptions.

Check out this website – The Quiet Place and just relax for a minute.

Are you allowing interruptions in your life to stand in the way of your kids?

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I am asked all the time, so when the kids do not sleep, what do you do? Luckily for us, this has been a few and far between problem. Usually, one boy will wake up and the other will sleep. Last night, was an odd night. They both woke up at 12:45am and neither wanted to go back to sleep. So what do I do when the kids do not sleep? I took them downstairs, we all had some milk, we had some soft classical music playing and we played. This last for 2 hours, but at the end of the day, even though I had less sleep than I wanted, I got to spend 2 hours with the boys.  We played, we laughed, we rocked, we laughed more, we played more and we had fun. Was it the ideal time? No, but I am grateful that I had 2 hours of uninterrupted time with them. Even if it was at 2am.

So what do you do when the do not sleep?

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I’m going to get nailed for this post, but oh well, here goes. Trophies. I hate them and here is why I have a problem with giving them out to children playing sports.

Kids today are growing up and thinking that if you try your best, then everyone gets trophies. Wrong. I understand kids playing t-ball, teach the fundamentals and do not keep score, but there comes a point in time that kids need to learn that there are winners and there are losers and at the end of the game, that trophies are not handed out for doing your best. Kids need to understand that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes, it rains the game out. Point being, we can not always win every game. And we sure as heck do not get trophies as we grow up and go through life for trying hard.

My nephew called the other day to tell me that he got a hit in his t-ball game. And that was awesome. I was so proud of him and I wish that I could have been there to see him run the bases, because when he called me, I could tell how happy he was. And he told me how they all lined up at the end of the game and congratulated the other team. So when I asked who won, there was a long pause. So I asked which team scored the most runs? Again, a long pause. So, I asked if everyone got trophies and they did and he was so happy.

I get it, trophies symbolize something to little kids, a since of accomplishment. But it also sets the bar low too, because in life, we have to work harder than the other person to rise throughout the company and move ahead.  We need to teach kids that it is OK to work hard, that it is OK to put in the extra time at practice to get ahead. By just saying that everyone is getting trophies, it just says that everyone is at the same level and the are not. I have two sons, I am guessing that one is going to be better at baseball than the other.  I do not know for sure, but that is just my guess. But I am going to tell them how when I was a kid, I hit 200 balls a day, year round. And I would shoot 100 free throws a day, year round. Or I would run to stay in shape, year round. I did not want to be average, I wanted to start at either short stop or third base for my baseball team and I did. I wanted to be either the Point Guard or the Shoot Guard and I wanted to be the one that the coach would point to at the end of the game when the score was tied, to take the winning shot and I was. Hard work pushed me to the next level, not getting a trophy and it has continued throughout my work career as well.

So, today, after lunch and I do my job, I think that I am going to ask if we can all get trophies, because we all showed up today. Good job us!

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Tonight, as you play with your children, put them to bed for the night, hold them a little closer. I found out tonight that a friend from high school’s 13 year old son was tragically killed in an accident yesterday. There are no words that can be said to make up for their loss. There are no words or actions that will bring their son back. And there is no explanation.

We are not promised tomorrow or even the next 10 minutes here on Earth, so treasure each and every minute. As I am sure that my friend would give anything for 5 more minutes with his son. So tonight, as I watched my sons climb up the stairs for bed, I held them a little closer tonight and kissed them a few more times before turning out the lights and saying goodnight.

What would you do differently tonight, if tonight was your last night on Earth or your children’s last night? Would you play longer with them? Would you hold them closer and tell them how much you love them a few more times?

Tonight, my heart breaks for a family, that would give anything for one more night with their son.

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