my new fav blog

Who knew reading blogs could actually challenge you as well as entertain you?

So it turns out I have some pretty amazing cousins (I know, who knew a guy like me could have cool relatives?). I have a few of my cousins out on the east coast and one of them is married to the pastor of a pretty cool church called National Community Church in DC. They have 5 sites that link into one main church (one of them even meets in a coffee house - totally jealous). Anyway, the head pastor is Mark Batterson and he is married to my cousin Laura. Another cousin of mine (Joel) is also on staff there as the campus pastor. Pretty crazy huh?

Enough of the background, onto the point...it turns out Mark has a blog. I think in this day and age most pastors do. I started reading his and I must admit I am really enjoying it. Most of his posts are short and too the point - which works well for me since I rarely have the attention span to read the long posts - I probably wouldn't even last through my last post about 'time.'

I can't even pick a favorite at this point - there have been many that have really hit home, or been just what I needed to hear. He even put up a post about the Minnesota Vikings last second win (he is from Minnesota and Wisconsin after all). Doesn't get much better than that.

If you have 2 minutes, and want to check out a blog that talks about stuff other than what I did yesterday, his is a pretty good read...

Time

Who knew time was so important?

What a weekend...I have had so many examples of what time can do it's simply ridiculous. Let's start with Saturday - it was our first basketball game for the team I play/coach (well, I'm in charge of the paperwork at least). I wasn't able to play last season since I was in Chicago and they won the championship - so we are trying to defend the title this season.

It turned out our first game was against the team we beat in the championship game - so we were playing them twice in a row. They are a very good team and it was an extremely physical game (with maybe a little bit of trash talking). It went back and forth and was a close game the entire time. It looked as though they had pulled off the win - they were up with 12.5 seconds left on the clock and were shooting free throws. We pulled down the rebound, and got it to one of our guards who was quickly triple teamed. He was able to see another open player and passed it out. That player wound up finding one of our best shooters in the corner wide open - I could hear the opposing teams bench collectively hold their breath when he caught the ball and squared up to the hoop. He let it go...clock was winding down...swish...we went nuts! 2.0 seconds left on the clock...we were able to hold them off and won the game. Phew. Tough way to start the season, but ok since we pulled it off. I love this team.

Next, I watched the Michigan and also the Minnesota Gophers football games - both went down to the fourth quarter for them to win. Michigan needed a final drive with little time left to win the game. I know, crazy.

On Sunday, I watched a little bit of the Vikings game - and it went down to the fourth quarter as well. Bret Favre had 1:35 (I think) left with no timeouts - he drove the team 80 yards and threw a 28 yard TD with 2 seconds left in the game...insane. The Lions also won late in the fourth quarter and was down to a defensive stand at the end of the game to hold onto the win - first win for the Lions since 2007...funny how important time is - and funny how a little time can go a long way.

So, that was 5 games this weekend that went down to the wire - and in a rare coincidence, all my teams won on those last minute plays.

Time also helps people forget - just think, about a year ago, all we heard was how bad Michigan was and how many records had been set for having such a terrible season. About a month ago everyone was talking about how bad coach Rodriguez was - for overworking his team, for losing, and on and on. Now, at 4-0 (already more wins than all of last year), I haven't heard a negative thing about him in a month. Funny how quickly we forget - jump on the bandwagon, it's driving by. I'm excited about it, bowl game here we come. Last year was very hard.

Time also affects other things (not just sports - who knew?). After being home for almost 2 months now, I'm starting to forget what it was like to ever be gone. Even the hardest things we go through in life seem to get easier to deal with as time goes on. Some things we never get over, or recover completely, but time always seems to help.

Time is a funny thing - always seems to go slow when we want it to go fast, or fast when we need it to go slow. Ever been looking forward to something - like a vacation, a holiday, or whatever? Before you know it, it's over and done - it's in your past already. If we don't pay attention to what's going on around us, we simply miss too much. I'm starting to learn to be better about paying attention to the moments I'm in - whether good or bad. I'm trying to live in each moment as it goes by (so many movies out there try to get you to figure this out).

No one can tell us about this - it's something we have to discover for ourselves. I'm a fan of it though - trying to enjoy each moment as it passes. Even now, just sitting here goofing off on the computer, watching a little TV, drinking a decaf coffee with J sitting next to me...no place I'd rather be.

Anyway, try it - I dare you. Try paying attention to each moment as it slips by you during your day. Don't try to watch the clock, or see the minutes tick away - but simply try to be aware of your surroundings and what is happening or going through your mind. After a while, it can be kind of fun (once you get used to being alone with yourself at times).

Good luck, time really is important.

Proof

Who knew kids could look older in pictures than in real life?

Here is a picture of Tay right before her first day of middle school. Getting older by the second. So far, everything has been going very well. We had an open house last week and were able to meet all of her teachers. It was a nice night.

She is also in another play coming up in November - currently practicing 2-3 times per week. Sounds like a pretty big role again so we are excited about it. More on that to come I'm sure.

Sunshine

Who knew a moonroof, good music, and some sun could make a long day melt away?

I'm not going to lie, one of the things I love about my job is getting to drive vehicles that I don't own (and couldn't afford). I know, tough job, but some one has to do it.

Onto more important things - like our double header softball game last night - yes true double header against the same team and we played at 9 and 10PM...late night for sure. Since Tay is getting up so early, we needed her to get to bed so I stayed home for the first game to make sure she was ok, then went for the second game. Of course, the one game I don't get there for I miss one of the greatest things in our entire season. Jaimie had a monster hit and the ump even gave her the game ball for the first game (he's pretty cool and it's the same guy for every game we play so we kind of get to know him a little). She had 2 RBI's in the first game and had another hit to get me home from third base in the second game. We were tied late in the game and she got a hit to get me home to take the lead. That's a pretty clutch hitter if you ask me.

We started playing for fun - and this has been a complete success. We have some really encouraging and great people on the team and we are having a blast. We have 4 games left (2 more weeks) and I'm hoping to survive. So far I've only hurt a knuckle on my catching hand (going to have to handle recovery for that after the season), pulled a hamstring (last night - but I still scored another run), and suffered some minor bumps, bruises and sore muscles. I think I say all of that just to prove that I'm getting old. I've had way too many reminders of that lately to say the least.

Taylor is still doing well in middle school...so we are excited about that. She starts theater practice tonight so she's starting to get busy again. Had her first homework last night as well. All downhill from here right?

Sigh...

Who knew 8 hours could last a lifetime?

Well, just got a call from Tay - and I can stand down red alert. The day went really well apparently (other than the fact they didn't get their locker assignments yet - tomorrow I guess). Sounds like it was really a good day and she had a great time - including the walk home after school.

Just thought I'd get an update out there...

Middle School

Who knew going to middle school could be harder on the parents than the kid?

So it's official, Taylor is in middle school as I write this - the bell rings at 7:38AM. I know, what's up with the early start time? Since I've been home, I haven't had to go into work as early (mostly because I'm slacking). Today, after hitting snooze a time or two Taylor actually came in and woke us up. It's sad when she is getting up before me and it's not cause I'm sleeping in on Saturday. Going to take some adjusting on my part to seeing people in the morning - I'm used to being the only one up most days (although I do bump into Nadia from time to time).

Sounds like it was an interesting start to the day, so J and I are going to be really waiting for the end of the day report with high anticipation. Wish us luck in making it through the day...

More to come I'm sure...

Tay's Birthday

Who knew a few bouncy things, a field to run in and a bunch of balls to kick at me equals hours of fun for Tay and her friends?

Yes, I'm old.  I now have an 11 year old - and she is starting middle school next week...sigh.  We had a birthday party for her a few weeks ago and are firm believers in the destination birthday.  You go there, have a bunch of fun and make a mess - then leave and say thank you on the way out.  It is helpful for many reasons - 1) You don't have to set up anything.  2) You don't have to provide entertainment (it's included in the price of admission).  3) You don't have to clean up.  4) When it's over - you leave - they can't 'accidently' come late to pick up their kids because you get kicked out of the room and have to go!  Brilliant.

We have been to a few different places over Tay's lifetime - Jungle Java (twice), the zoo, and now High Velocity Sports - twice.  We love that place.  They reserve one of the indoor soccer fields and set up 3 inflatable bouncy things.  One is a huge slide (the Titanic that is sinking below) - you crawl up the long ladder in the middle and there are 2 slides - one on each side - to come down.  Then there is your classic moonwalk (big bouncy room) and the third one is a maze/fun house with things to crawl through and then a slide at the end.  It's great.  The other fun thing about this place is that if and when they get bored with bouncing for a while, there is also a soccer net, a full field to run around in, and a bunch of different things to play with.

We played soccer (which consisted of me in the net and all the kids kicking balls at me trying to get it past me), dodge ball (totally fun considering some of the balls are as big as the kids were), baseball, football - you name it.

We also get a room for food -  they provide snacks, drinks and pizza - then we had cake, opened presents and sang.  Since we were the only birthday there that day, they let us have extra time in the inflatables - it was a blast!  Technically, I'm too big to get in there - but that didn't stop me.  The kids loved having me in the moonwalk because when I was bouncing around, they were flying everywhere...good times.

Here are some pictures from the event...

Blog Template

Who knew picking the right template could be such a tough job?

For anyone that has been following this lately (which probably isn't many - like Amy said in her last post - I don't update this very often), you probably noticed that this is my third template in the last week or so. I'm not sure I'm sold on this one either - although it seems like I'm getting closer.

Please bear with me as I keep changing my mind on a regular basis...I'm kind of sick of updating my blog roll everytime I change my mind as well - so I'll get the roll back up there after I decide on a final template...

Thanks for your patience...

Softball

Who knew team sports could be fun?

So Jaimie convinced me to play on a softball team Laura put together. We are playing in a rec league and are playing for fun (which is good for me since the last time I played was never). Our team is call softserve (this is a slow pitch league) and our logo is:


That logo is on our t-shirts and everything - they are orange shirts with yellow writing (I'll see if I can get a picture of it up here eventually). We play double headers each week on Monday nights and have played 2 weeks so far (yes, that's 4 games for you math majors). The first week was a lot of fun, but you could tell we were all really nervous since we haven't played. The second week went much better and we had a lot of fun - even though we lost both games.

The highlight of the night was this amazing play by our catcher - yes, the catcher was Jaimie! One of the guys on the other team had a really great hit - he was running around the bases trying to stretch it into a homerun. In a thrilling play at home plate, J tagged out the runner ending the inning. It was awesome. It looked something like this from where I was standing.

(maybe not exactly like this - he didn't slide - and J didn't have all the gear on)

Then I was doing this in the outfield after the play (and so was Jaimie at home plate). I was so proud of her for catching the throw from first base with a runner barreling down on her, and then to have the presence of mind to tag him out - incredible.

All in all, it has been really fun. We have this week off for Labor Day so that helps. I injured my catching hand in the first week and it has a long way to go before it won't hurt anymore - although that didn't stop me from playing this week. The extra week off will be very helpful I'm sure.

Anyway, just thought I'd brag about my amazing wife a little...