Official Notice of Resignation

Based on the recent discover that our children eat more when the Lourcey's cook dinner, Ashley and I hereby indefinitely resign from cooking meals for our children. Yes, that's right. Yesterday, Rob and Emily Lourcey brought us an absolutely fabulous dinner - a Turkey meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes, and green beans. And we could not believe how much the kids ate of it. You have to understand, dinner at our house is not a very pleasant event. It usually consists of threats, bribes, and out right force-feeding to nourish the children. Well, you should have seen how many piles (yes, piles) of green beans Abigail ate yesterday. And Nate, he ate all of his meat and potatoes. He's always picky about what he eats, but last night he just gobbled it all up. So, we officially resign.

Thank you, Lourcey's for loving us like you did yesterday. And most of all for getting our kids to eat. That was quite a feat! And quite a feast! We love you guys!

Friday is here!

I love Fridays. In fact, I think it would be safe to say that everyone in my house loves Fridays. We love 'em for two main reasons 1. Every Friday is pizza night, & 2. Friday means Daddy doesn't go to work until Tuesday. Friday means goodbye work week, and hello weekend! While I do enjoy my job, I am very glad that for three days out of the week I do not have to wake up at 2:45 am. I personally look forward to spending the days hanging out with the fam, going to parks, knocking out some honey-do projects, staying up late with Ashley, and reuniting with my church family on Sunday morning. In fact, one of our weekend projects has just begun. Stay tuned for more!

Pray for Micah

Keep little Micah in your prayers. We just found out today that he has a mild ear infection. Mommy is at the pharmacy right now. Pray for Mommy, too, as she deals with caring for a sick family while she is sick herself. Don't quite know how she does it.

Super Bowl Picks

I pick the Indianapolis Colts facing the Minnesota Vikings. I'd love to see Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in a SuperBowl showdown.

First things first though, Colts have to get through the Jets. The Jets seem to be underrated. But in playing the game against the Colts there can be no mistakes on either team's part. Both teams could make mistakes, but from a quarterback perspective, who would be more likely to make a mistake, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, or 10-year seasoned veteran Peyton Manning? It should be quite a game, but I think the Colts will end up with the win.

And in other news...

This will be quite a festive year for us, to say the least. This month we celebrate Micah's first birthday. February is Abigail's 4th birthday (that one is hard to believe!). March is Nate's 3rd birthday. April is not only tax month, but my little brother Andrew is getting married. May brings our 7 anniversary!!! (Oh yeah, we have big plans!) June is calm. My big brother Skip is getting married in July. August is uneventful at the moment except it marks my 5th year with WalMart DC 6091. September is my birthday. October is October. November is another trip to the beach for Thanksgiving. And December is Ashley's BIG 30!!! Wow. And somewhere in there we plan on getting some sleep.

Andrew just informed us that he has signed the lease on his new apartment where he and Sarah will call home. I'm so excited for both of them. I'm excited to see what God will teach them as they journey through life together.

Had the best talk with Skip the other day about the engagement. We haven't ever had a talk like that. It was one of those good talks. You know what I mean?

Well, in other news...we are all sick somehow right now. Everyone has snot. Me, my sinus' hurt, but that's about it. As long as I don't bend over I'm good. Or lay down. Which may be difficult here in a couple of hours. I have found one of the best things for sleeping with a cold, though. It's a vapor plug that plugs in just like an air freshener. Except this thing puts out Sudafed instead of Gardenia. Now that's some good stuff! It's better than Nyquil because I actually can hear my alarm clock when it goes off when I use the vapor plug. I think it's called Sudacare.

Ashley just has the mommies. You know, the heinz 57 variety of sickness that comes from getting what all the kids have. That on top of the normal aches, pains, and frustrations of keeping up with three toddlers and one big baby. Yet, amazingly enough, dinner was awesome, the house looks great, and she is as radiant as ever. How she does it will forever remain a mystery.

Poor little Micah has a fever. He just has random fits of fussiness, so we know he's hurting. I'm hoping his ears aren't infected. The girls are out grocery shopping while us boys are doing our favorite things: playing choo choos and playing on the computer. So I'll probably put Micah down for bed early. If I didn't think he'd wake up at 6 am, I'd put him in bed right now. He's ready.

I love my life.

Glimpse of the future?

Well, while I was at work, my kids were busy growing up. They had quite a treat today. Neighbor Debbie drives a school bus for Wake County and she brought her bus home today just so Nate and Abigail could see it and go for a little trip. They were absolutely excited about it! Ms. Debbie picked them up at the driveway. They had their bookbags on and they were ready to roll.

They cruised the neighborhood across the street and then she let them back off at the house. That is, not until after they had a chance to sit behind the controls and push a few buttons. They had a blast! It was definitely a memory they'll never forget. Ashley said today that she bets no other homeschool gets their own private bus service! (Since we don't have the kids in preschool at this time, Ashley has been working with them, and has done a fantastic job!)

Checking off the to-do list

What a beautiful Monday today was! It felt like Spring already. Certainly a great day for some good manual labor. We have formulated a Master To Do list with all the projects that need to get done around here. We do that so when we get a free day we pick a project and try to knock it out. I should be able to wrap up today's project tomorrow after work. I'll let you know what it is when it is finished. Maybe I'll even get crazy and post some pictures of it. Maybe.

One thing's for sure, I won't have any trouble going to bed early tonight. I still work weekday first shift which begins at 4 am - crazy, I know, but hey, it's work! And for that I'm thankful.

Ashley made the best pot roast tonight. Annnnd I ate way too much. Even though she didn't say it, I think she wanted more for leftovers. What was she thinking? Okay, so there's a little bit left.

Nathaniel was so excited about a gift neighbor Debbie gave him today. Ashley and the kids got to spend some good front porch time with her and the dogs Trixie and Chloe. Well, every time they are with Ms. Debbie she always has some kind of treat for the kids. Today was no exception. For Abigail it was a beautiful china doll. For the boys it was some clothes. BUT not just any clothes! Nathaniel was so excited when she gave him his new Lightning McQueen long sleeve shirt. When he got it he lit up and asked Mommy if he could put it on right there. Being that it was a little bit chilly she told him he would have to wait until he got home. So Nate being Nate, he said, "Ooo, can we go home right now!" While his statement may sound simple or minor to some, this really was a big deal. Nathaniel never wants to leave Ms. Debbie's house. So for him to want to run home right away he must have been really excited. It's okay, Ms. Debbie, Nate really does love you more than Lightning McQueen!

Well, typing is coming slowly now. Time to turn out the lights. The kids have a big adventure tomorrow. A first. Maybe we'll get some good pictures and share it with you all!

Hope Does Not Disappoint

Compare Romans 5:1-11 with Hebrews 10:19-25. Here you will find why apart from the gospel there is no lasting hope. But because of what Christ did on the cross we can have hope in all things!

Sunday Reflections

It doesn't get any better than this. My bride sitting next to me on the half-torn up free couch we got off craigslist, as she organizes a new batch of freshly clipped coupons. A nice warm cup of joe with hazelnut and an extra drop of sugar. Life is just not the same as it was just a year ago or so. The kids are all in bed after an exciting afternoon of watching CARS and playing with the big blue ball before heading off to bed. Poor Micah, he couldn't make it to bed without at least one big bump on the head. This time because big brother fell on him. Yeah, life just isn't the same.

It's nice to not have to worry about working tomorrow, or any Monday for that matter. We usually find something to fill up the Saturdays and Mondays with, though. Like a paycheck, the time is eagerly anticipated, but completely spoken for and alloted before you really even get to enjoy it.

(As Ashley gasps in frustration as she just discovered a coupon she wish she had with her earlier.)

I love my home. The couch I alluded to earlier is really not in bad shape. That is, if you can get past the chunks of fabric missing here and there. It is a new project. We are trying our hands in the reupholstering industry. Something everyone should attempt at least once in his life. The mental picture is beautiful, but getting from A to B might be quite challenging. Stay posted for the results. Maybe you'll get the results before my next birthday.

New Year's Resolution

Blog more often.