happy holidays

Who knew I could actually post three times in 5 minutes (give or take)?

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday (I know i'm a bit late). I hope everyone had a wonderful time with friends and family. Looking forward to catching up with each of you to hear the wonderful stories of how everything went.

Most importantly - I hope you got all the presents you wanted - that's what it's all about right?

trinity

Who knew we'd have a challenge for best cuddler in the family?

Apparently Trinity thinks she is one of us and really gets jealous if we are all on the couch together and she doesn't get to climb up with us. Here is an example of how she likes to invade our personal space.

christmas 2010

Who knew Christmas could wait until after 9AM to start?!?!?!?

I think we officially have an older kid now - Tay didn't wake up until after 9AM...then we made some breakfast and read the Christmas story (slowly) before opening anything. Tay didn't say a word, didn't try to rush it or anything. I'm always amazed by her personality, she is great.

Here are some pictures of the morning. It was pretty fun and we really enjoy being around each other.

Our happy kid...don't you just love the new hat???

Trinity just has to be in the middle of everything.

Still a few under the tree...

Part way through the opening presents event.

Our classic picture of J (I think we have a similar picture every year).

Taylor and Trinity trying to get burried in wrapping paper.

Nadia - so excited we could barely contain her.

The awesome chocolate pudding pie J made...nice...

Primal thoughts

Who knew reading a book could actually be fun...and could actually challenge you to change?

I have been reading the book Primal by Mark Batterson over the last week or so. I know I have posted a few times about how excited I was to get the chance to read this book...so I figured I better post some thoughts to live up to all of my hype.

As christians, we sometimes get caught up looking for the next big and new idea to grow - which is a fantastic exercise as long as it isn't at the expense of our core responsibilities. The older I get, the more I'm starting to cling to the basics, and this book did an amazing job of reminding me about how my walk started. It is amazing how quickly we can lose focus and jump on the latest bandwagon passing by with the latest fad about how to learn, be better at something, or simply improve ourselves without actually doing any work. Problem is, a lot of the time we don't need change, we need to be focused on what we are already doing.

Quick summary for those of you that will tune out with more than a few paragraphs - it's a great book and really challenged me to rethink life and how I'm walking through it. The back to basics reminder and the way it has lead me back to the beginning has been very refreshing. I'm looking forward to where this can take me and I'm sure you will all be a part of that journey (since I tend to blog my thoughts from time to time). If you are interested in picking up a copy (which I would recommend), info is listed below for where and how. Now, for a few more thoughts on this book...

I can't tell you how many times in my life I have thought that I just needed to read another book, or study another concept about spiritual disciplines, how to be a better christian, or whatever. I'm definitely in the camp that says the more you study and read, the better off you are. Problem with that thinking is you can fall into the pit where you never put into practice what you learn. Guess that's why employers want a candidate that not only has the degree, but also has experience - you learn so much more when you put into practice what you learn. For me going through school, the classes with the biggest impact on me were the ones where the teacher was able to teach from experience, and not only a book. I'm sure living my life that way would have a bigger impact on me and those around me if I could really work to understand and put into practice all the stuff I have read. Mark talks about this and how we tend to equate spiritual growth and maturity to knowledge acquisition and education, but head knowledge never has been the true test - we learn more and do less. At the end of the day, it's our actions that define us.

Since my attention span can wander quickly, I tend to lose focus from time to time - and this book really challenged me to rethink some of my strategy walking through life. One of the things Mark talked about was how to read scripture. One of his comments was that the bible isn't meant to be read reactively, it's meant to be prayed proactively. This is a definite paradigm shift in thinking for me - I have always read it to find meaning to what has already happened in my life. Thinking about it the way he proposed is a completely new concept to me. There have been many times when I have thought, "How cool would it be to have that kind of patience (or fill in the blank)?" My new goal is to be direct in my prayer - to specifically pray for what I would like in my life and watch him deliver to his promises.

Mark also talks about not conforming to what we think we should be - but to be ourselves and dare to be different. I think we get in trouble when we try to be some one we aren't - it's so much easier for people to see through us when we are pretending. Funny thing is, who we are is what people love about us. The differences and simple nuances we each possess are what makes life fun, and make each of us interesting - being ourselves is something I think we should all be challenged to do on a regular basis. To not have a work Kevin, and a different Kevin that shows up at home, on weekends, with friends, etc - to just be me all the time in every situation...sounds a lot less confusing and tiring to me.

Finally, this quote was one of my favorites in the book - "Loving is learning more and more about the one you love." How true is this? How many relationships get stale once you think you know everything about the other person? I have been married for 11 years now and I have a lot more to learn about my wife. It's the journey and the curiosity I have to get to know her more and more that keeps me motivated to try to find out new things about her all the time. I'm always amazed when I find something new about her I hadn't figured out before. Lucky for me (and not for her), I'm a guy and it will take me a lifetime to get to know her...and by then I'll forget the stuff I learned now so I can start all over again. This is the same concept in my relationship with God - I could study a lifetime and not even scratch the surface of who he is - but how much fun is it to work to learn more and more each day? Primal did a wonderful job of giving practical tips and ways to start and continue down this path.

If you are interested in this book, you are in luck - it's now on the shelves, or you can order it online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookschristian.com. I definitely recommend this book and would love to chat about this more with any of you interested - you know how much I love sitting at a coffee shop talking. It's almost January...sounds like a great book to start your year off with.

On a side note, you should check out the coffee house NCC runs in DC - pretty amazing place. It's called Ebenezers and all of the profits go directly to missions...crazy.

how many days?

Who knew I could be this close to Christmas and still not realize it?

Today J and I spent some time finishing our Christmas shopping - how nice was that? It is definitely a great feeling to be close to being completed with it since we have only 5 days until it's here. It was also great to be able to spend some time with my wife as well and we honestly just had a lot of fun goofing off and having fun shopping for others (plus she bought me a Starbucks coffee - very special treat for sure).

Tomorrow is a big day - Christmas play at church so we will be at both services. I'll get pictures up here once I get them. Going to be a long day, but a fun one for sure.

On Friday, Taylor informed us she was able to get into the Skating Station free with her ID card (her middle school was able to get in for free - nice huh?). So, being the amazingly awesome and fantastic parents we are, we took Tay and Emma to go roller skating after play practice - so we were there from 9PM until almost midnight. It was fun and there were other friends from her school there as well. Originally, I wasn't going to skate (it has been many, many years after all), but I decided to strap on the skates and give it a go. It was Taylor's first time on skates and she did good - we did many laps holding hands. In high school, a friend and I went skating almost every weekend and I loved it. I must admit I was pretty nervous getting out there, but it took all of 10 seconds to get back into the groove...and I had a blast. It really was fun watching Taylor enjoying something I love so much. We are already planning our next skating trip and are thinking it would be fun to bring other friends - so all of you out there interested in trying to skate again, let us know. My goal next time we go is to get J out there - and it will be easier if we have other friends out there giving it a go like we are.

All in all, it's been a great weekend - and it's only Saturday night...can't wait for the Holiday when I get an extended weekend!

skating show

Who knew watching an ice skating show could be so much fun???

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Lake's ice skating show last week and had a lot of fun. It's pretty amazing how great those kids are on ice - I know I couldn't do much of what they are doing - and making it look easy. It was fun to get to hang with all of Lake's family as well. Here is a pic of Tay and Lake at the show (notice Lake's cool ice skating sweatshirt and Tay's new coat).

event pics

Who knew I could still have that song in my head after 3 days??? (see post below)

Here are some pictures from the Sunday event...

saving the day

Who knew how much of an impact the Taurus could have?

People often ask me what I did while I was in Chicago launching the Taurus. Apparently, I was saving Christmas...

mixed feelings

Who knew I could survive a surprise party...barely...?

I have to admit, it's rare that we are surprised, but we got blown away today. We were supposed to have lunch with some friends at their house - we were thinking of a low key, fun time for a few hours. We were definitely looking forward to it and Jaimie even made a special dessert for it.

Then we walked in...and that all changed...

There were a million (give or take) of our friends there for a surprise party to celebrate, well, us. Go figure. Who does that? It's not even like we are all that special anyway...we are just who we are and I guess today we learned that was enough. Laura had arranged this and had a bunch of our friends come together just to give us a pep rally. After having a great lunch, everyone came together in the same room and Laura had people say things they loved about us.

Let me give you a little insight into me - being the center of attention is never something I enjoy. I'm a big fan of doing things in the background, not getting much attention, and just going on with my day. I have come to realize that is one of the main reasons I'm not a big fan of my birthday - too much direct attention on me. Anyway...

So, being in a room with all of our friends directly talking about what they love about us was humbling to say the least. It was amazing to realize how many amazing people we know - friends that would give up their Sunday afternoon to come together just for us. At the end of everyone sharing, one of our friends actually made a song about and for us. It was amazing to hear the impact we have had - and I must admit I love being a Hartman - being Jaimie's husband and Taylor's dad. They truly are amazing and being in their family is nothing short of fantastic.

I can't thank each of you enough. As I said today, we are who we are because you guys bring out the best in us and help us to be who we are. Thank you Laura and family for hosting the event and even thinking to put it together. Thank you Nadia for helping to compile the list of people to invite. Thank you to all of the people that came - I'm still in a state of shock.

As just a little taste of our afternoon, here is the song they sang for us today. The person singing is our friend Darel (who has 2 of the cutest girls ever that play a really mean game of hide and seek).

early christmas

Who knew getting a homework assignment could be exciting?

I just received my copy of Primal (the book by Mark Batterson) yesterday and I'm pretty pumped. The goal is to have the book read within the next week or so and post my thoughts about what it says. As we all know and love my thoughts, this is pretty exciting for me. I will do my best not to be biased even though he is married to my cousin - but I'm truly hoping this starts a wave of people getting interested in the book and reading it also.

Going to take a bit of focus to get through the book that quickly - I have a lot going on right now since apparently Christmas is only 2 weeks away??? Where did that come from? I remember as a kid I knew it was coming from 5 months away...and now I barely realize it by Christmas Eve. Guess that's just another sign I must accept that I'm getting old (or older?).

If you want to get a preview of what I'm going to be reading, you can check out Mark's blog - he has put up some teasers on a few of the chapters over the last week or so.

If you're like, "Kevin, how can I get a copy of the book to read along with you at the same time right now as you are reading it today or tonight cause I'm so excited I can't contain myself or wait for you to report back" then you can go here to pick up a copy. Looks like they are still offering some discounts for pre-orders.

We all know this is a big step for me to prove I can still read...here goes...

how much is too much?

Who knew you could actually wish with all of your heart for your work cell phone to break?

Work has been a little crazy for me lately to say the least, but one day last week was just ridiculous. Around 5:45PM I decided to count how many hits I had on my work phone that day (including a few calls home, voicemail checks, etc)...any guesses?????

87

From 7:30AM - 5:45PM...that's a bit nuts...no wonder I don't have any words left when I get home at night.

who is god for anyway?

Who knew my fundamental beliefs could get challenged again and again? Guess that's why we walk slowly through this life instead of fast forwarding.

Mark put up a post on Thanksgiving that kind of made me think a bit. He started with Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, then who can be against us?" It's another one of those truths I have always believed, but not sure I have always believed IN. I knew the words, deep down I believed what they said, but not sure I really lived my life as if I truly believed in those words - or honestly thought that was the case as I walked through my day.

Here is his post:

"If God is for us then who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

You + God = a majority. If God is on your side, there is nothing you cannot overcome. Why? Because we are more than conquerors through Christ. That is reality. That isn't optimism. It's biblical realism.

If you know that God is for you, then no challenge is too great, no problem is too big, no obstacle cannot be overcome. But most of us doubt this fundamental truth. And I believe it's one of our root spiritual problems. We aren't sure if God is really for us or against us because we allow the guilt we feel over sins committed to infect our feelings. We think God feels about us the way we feel about ourselves! We need to sanctify our feelings.

You need to settle this once and for all. God is for you. God is on your side. God is in your corner. His intentions toward you are always good. Here's an amazing promise in Psalm 84:11:

"No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right."

Where to go from here? Is God really for me? Is he really in my corner? How can I feel that he is really there for me when Murphy's Law seems to always prevail and win out? I think that makes a big difference - knowing deep down he is really for me.

I'm working on this part of my life, trying to feel as though God doesn't have it out for me. Like in the movie Bruce Almighty - where he says he feels like an ant and God is the mean kid with the magnifying glass burning him with the sun. At the end of the day, I know he is for me - there have been too many times in my life when he has come through for me to completely doubt this fact.

I think my outlook on life would be so much better, and much more clear if I believed he was always looking out for my best interests, trying to keep me on the right path and working for me at every turn. Honestly, if he isn't in my corner, then who is? Who am I relying on when the stuff hits the fan? Me? That's more scary than really believing he is there for me, and loving me, and working towards keeping me safe and happy.

If he is for me, no one can be against me. I just hope all those against me know that...

primal book tour

Who knew my blog could get picked to write a book review????

Mark Batterson has written a new book called Primal. He was offering a few free advanced copies from the publisher for people that would read it and post a review of the book on their blog. It was for the first few people that signed up (don't remember how many). So I thought, "Why not sign up and see what happens?"

I got an e-mail last week saying I was going to get a copy of the book and I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to read it, it will be the first book of Mark's I've read so I'm really looking forward to it.

Book should be in hand next week and I'll start posting as I read through it. Here is a little info on the book - for more information you can go to the link on the word "Primal" above - you can even read the first chapter if you want to get a first look.

Let me know what you think as I post info...

Here is a quick book summary:

"Our generation needs a new reformation but it won’t be born of a new discovery. It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient, something primal. The next reformation won’t be led by a single person or defined by a single event. It will be led by millions of reformers who are simply great at the Great Commandment."

thanksgiving

Who knew hard work could pay off?

Well, let's be honest, J and Ann did most of the work - but Thanksgiving was a success. We had Ann, Adam and Ann's father (Conrad) over for the day and had a blast! We had a ton of food - some provided by us and some brought by Ann and family (actually, they brought a ton of stuff!). We had fun hanging out, eating, playing Trivial Pursuit on the Wii (teams were Ann, J, and Nadia vs. Conrad and I vs. Adam and Taylor). Guess who won? Yup, Adam and Taylor...go figure. We also watched the movie Elf while eating dessert - what a great day.

It is hard being so far away from family - growing up Thanksgiving was always a huge event with a ton of family - so not having any family here is tough. We were invited to go to Cheri's for the day (which would have been a lot of fun), but with everything else we had going on this weekend, it just didn't work out. It was a lot of fun being able to have Ann, Adam and Conrad over for sure.

Here are some pictures of the event...it was also Ann's birthday about a week ago so J made a cake for her to celebrate.

perspective

Who knew leaves could turn into hours of fun? Where I see hours of hard work I really don't want to do, Taylor can see hours of fun and imagination.

One of my favorite things in the world growing up was jumping in piles of leaves. I remember raking them over and over again to keep the pile growing full before jumping in, rolling around, and digging through them. This core fun is something I've shared with Taylor - every year since we've had the house, we have made piles and jumped in them just for fun. Of course, after that, I have to stay and finish raking, and picking them up (with the help of J of course).

This year was a little different. Taylor and her friend got the jump on raking the leaves. One day they were hanging out and Tay came up and said, "Is it ok if we rake the leaves in the front yard?" Of course we let them, and here is what they came up with...

Round 2

Who knew Taylor could be cute even with a dirty face and a hump on her back?

Here are some other pics of her play...

Igor

Igor in deep thought

Mr. Hyde

Igor and Luna - the story tellers

Count Dracula

Vampire slayer crew - Dr. Van Helsing, Lucy (his daughter), Jonathan Renfield (his slayer in training), and Mina (Lucy's friend)

Dracula and his 3 brides

Dr. Jekyl and Mary - cutest on-stage couple ever!

The Director - Mr. Rob

Tay's Play

Who knew Igor could steal the show?

Once again, we are the parents of the star of the show...and it's kind of fun being that parent.  Taylor did an amazing job again this time as Igor - which was a tough part to play.  She did an wonderful job and we couldn't be more proud.  We survived through 5 shows in 3 days...pictures of the weekend below.

Thank you to all of the people that came to see the show - it always means a lot to Taylor to have people in the crowd watching her...and it means a lot to us as well.

Ann and Adam

Eddie, Kristina, and Abram

Wroxy, Tay and 'Luna' (Emma - who was the other main character in the show)

Cast Party Cake

Lake, Tate, and Laura took us out for dinner after the Saturday show - we went to Haabs

Not pictured, but showed up to watch were Nadia, Amy, and Emma (a different Emma than was in the show).

4 down...1 to go...

Who knew Taylor's play would be getting press coverage?

So it turns out YYT is getting more and more famous.  Ypsilanti Citizen sent a reporter out to the show on Friday.  You can see his short article and some pictures of the play at this link.  The pictures he took are also posted below in the video slide show.  Taylor is the one in all brown (looks like she's wearing a brown blanket).

Play is going well so far - and they are really coming together.  I would have to say this is the funniest play out of all of them so far.  Taylor is doing wonderfully and all of the other actors and actresses are also performing well.  It's great to see all of the hard work pay off.  I'll post pictures once I get some.

stoopid pelican

Who knew pelicans could cause millions of dollars of damage to one car?

Not sure if I feel sorry for this guy or not...just saw this on yahoo...

LA MARQUE, Texas – A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston. The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.

The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist. The motorist dropped his cell phone, reached to pick it up and veered off the road and into the salt marsh. The car was half-submerged in the brine about 20 feet from the road when police arrived.

Gilchrist said he doesn't know if the car was salvageable, but in his words, "Salt water isn't good for anything." He says the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured.

A 2006 Bugatti Veyron was recently offered for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., for $1.25 million.

ouch

Who knew Dilbert could be funny and make you cry at the same time?

This one hit a little too close to home...I think I'm the chump they are refering to as the 'others.'



After 2 nights of long practices, making costumes, and finalizing sets, Taylor's show starts at 10AM today and runs all weekend long. Even last night at the last rehearsal before the show opens, there were still at least 3-4 kids not there because they were sick. It was tough running through the show without key people there and I think they are going to try to find people to fill a few roles today...we'll see how it goes. The good news is that it's still a pretty funny show and I can't wait to see it. They always seem to pull it off in the end, so here's to hoping...

coolest aunt

Who knew having Nadia around would actually pay off? (Just kidding Nadia, you know I love you!)

Taylor has been sick since Sunday (she's getting better, phew) and Monday was the worst day by far. I think she ate an animal cracker, 1/4 of a push up and 1/3 of a vitamin water all day. She slept most of the day and was just generally wiped out. She was being a good sport about it though.

It turns out, Duff from the show Ace of Cakes was in town on Monday doing a book signing - and it was a popular signature to get - you actually had to have a wrist band to get in line and they only had a limited amount. Taylor (and all of us actually) really enjoy that show and she thinks Duff is hilarious...so we knew she would have loved the chance to meet him, but there was no way with her being so sick. This is the part of the story where we introduce the hero...Nadia.

I got a text page from Nadia Monday afternoon telling me that Duff was in town and she was going to try to get over there for a signature...but they only had 100 wrist bands left and she was still at work (see, I'm building suspense). She recruited her friend Jeremy to run down and get a wrist band (since he works downtown A2).

So...



"Hey Taylor" at the top and then he signed mid-page - the signature on the bottom is his brother who co-authored the book with him. How cool is that??? Nadia also told some great stories about Duff and she was able to see him for a while at Borders - even saw them filming for the show...

It was a very bright spot in a tough day for Taylor...way to come out swinging Aunt Nadia...

Twisted Tales of Terror

Who knew I'd be promoting theatre?

Taylor's latest play is this weekend - and she was cast as Igor (another big role for her). She has been working really hard to learn all of her lines and get the acting down as well. We are very proud indeed and looking forward to seeing her in her 4th play. All the info is below if anyone would like to come watch.

She actually got the flu this weekend and was home sick from school yesterday - of course it's the final week of practice so she had to miss last night and possibly tonight as well - I'm sure everyone is stressed to have her missing. She is starting to feel better today though so we are hoping she will be back in her role again soon.

losing sight

Who knew clichés really could get you through life?

Over the last few months, I think I've lost some of my mental vision. I'm having trouble seeing through the fog of life and it's really been bogging me down. During this time, my biggest pet peeve was when people would throw out a cliché to answer my problems, or make me feel better.

"Don't worry, it will all work out in the end."

"You know, the sun will come out tomorrow."

"It could always be worse."

My reactions were always a bit negative when I got that kind of feedback. Thinking to myself, "Yeah, I'm sure it will work out in the end – but when is the end????" "I'm sure the sun will come out tomorrow, but it will just be lighting another terrible and busy day." "I'm sure it could always be worse – but that doesn't mean this is any less painful."

The problem with my reactions above (so I'm starting to figure out) is that I've lost sight of the meaning – and I stopped believing. At church this weekend, they talked about having beliefs vs. believing in something. I think I've always had beliefs, but have not always believed in them.

It's easy to stand up and say you believe in something – going green, budgeting your money, loving your wife, etc – but it's something totally different to stand up and change your life to match your beliefs. How many of us believe in saving the earth? We would say it's a good idea to use less, to waste less, and stop harming the world. But how many times have I used a plastic bag anyway, or simply thrown away a battery, or used disposable things when I could have re-used something else? I'm starting to realize (and maybe I'm the only one on this train) that just having beliefs about something isn't enough – it needs to go deeper – it needs to change who you are to the core. If it doesn't, it's not worth believing in anyway.

I'm figuring out now that if I truly believed, those clichés people are throwing out should give me hope, should help me through my day and should actually make me feel better. If I truly believed it would all work out in the end, shouldn't that give me the strength to keep pushing through today knowing it would all work out eventually? I'm realizing now that the clichés are there to provide one thing – hope. I think I've truly been without hope for a long time. Deep down I had beliefs – I knew everything would work out in the end – but I didn't let it change me, and I didn't really hold onto it. When people are saying, "Don't worry, it will all work out in the end" – what they are really trying to tell me is, "Keep going, keep pushing through – have hope and be encouraged that your fight will not be for nothing." It's a much longer sentence though so I can see why that hasn't caught on yet.

At the end of the day, having hope is what keeps us getting up each day and pushing through life – hope of experiencing the simple things in life (like my morning cup of coffee), hope that some one will notice us and say hello (always nice to be noticed), hope that when we have completed another trip through whatever events we have scheduled we will be able to look back and see the good points in the day.

Hope is important and an ingredient in life that isn't optional. I think I've finally started to turn the corner like the picture at the beginning…I've gone from NO Hope to KNOW Hope…the K and the W make all the difference.

Go Vikings

Who knew just adding Brett Favre would make this season double the fun?

Not only are we winning a lot of games - we are also really throwing packer land into disarray (sorry to all the packer fans out there - it's nice to finally have MN beat you guys though). I though this picture from a fan at the Vikings vs. Packers game on Sunday was great...

I know why they are fired up and I don't blame them...but I also know why I'm soooo excited...I think it's cause we are 7-1.