Reuben, Lil Bill & Billy Ray

Last week the biggest problem I had to solve was how to stay cool in the hot sun. I know, u feel sorry for me.

Well, it seems the Dominican Republic had a solution called a "cool tub". Not to be confused with a hot tub.

I met some interesting people in the cool tub. I don't know their names but I will can tell u what I called em. One guy looked just like Reuben Studdard from American idol so I called him Reuben. Another guy was from Poland and his friend was from the Ukraine so that's how I referred to them. The last guy had a striking resemblance to the cartoon character based on Bill Cosby called Lil Bill, so we called him Lil Bill.

We were all having a great time in our new cool tub community then Reuben realized everyone had a name except me. Since I don't resemble anyone famous so they were struggling, but then Reuben made the parallel to my facial hair "soul patch" and the facial hair of Billy Ray Cyrus. That is all it took, from then on, every time I saw my new cool tub friends, they called me "Billy Ray".

My point: people love community. It doesn't take long to connect with people and create memories but it does take an intentional effort. I will never see these people again but they will be forever in my memory. I don't even know their real names but I will always remember our cool tub community.

To create great memories, you don't have to share a cool tub of water full of who knows what - but u do have to share life.

Beautiful

At first glance u may think I am talking about the women in this pic, and although they are beautiful, I am not talking about their appearance.

These 3 have developed a friendship that is rare these days. The topics they discuss, the things they do together, the favors they do are nothing short of beautiful.

Nothing is ever a problem if it is helping one another. They share life experiences, workouts and even late night chocolate.

I love watching this beautiful friendship grow but unfortunately one of them is moving to another state. Even tho they won't be together everyday or even in the same state after tonight, they still have something beautiful - friendship!

My point: they have a great friendship because they invested into it. They worked out together, they laughed (A LOT) and they cried together. That's what friends do, whatever it takes. .

This is a great reminder to us as we enter into a new year, invest into relationships because NOTHING is more beautiful than friendships.

bra shopping

Well, Hannah is 4 years old so I took her bra shopping. What else should we have done?

This little beauty comes out of nowhere with some pretty funny stuff. We were in a store the other day and she picked this little purple bra up and said "look, this is to cover my pippies".

Even though it isn't quite time to take her bra shopping, it does make you appreciate time. I really enjoy hanging with my girls. As I look back, it seems like just yesterday that Shayna was 4 (she is now 13). Pretty soon Shayna will be graduating HS and we will be bra shopping for Raegan...

My point: Time goes by so fast. We need to make sure that we are taking every opportunity to enjoy the journey.

Life with 4 females in the house is ALWAYS interesting but I have learned a few things:

1. I never leave the toilet seat up.

2. There is always going to be drama

3. There will probably never be a time that they are all in a great mood at the same time

4. I am a VERY blessed man.

Happy Birthday Hannah. We will go bra shopping soon my dear...

st.patrick

Ok, so I gotta admit that this is one of those days that I have no idea why we "celebrate" it. I am sure there is some great historical reason and it is very significant to some but quite honestly I just never got into the day where the color green takes center stage - until 6 years ago...

6 years ago on St. Patrick's day, my life changed for the good. I met this red haired bombshell that took my breath away. She became my best friend then my wife. She is still my best friend and now I get the honor of sharing my life with her. For that reason, I now "celebrate" St. Patrick's day.

My point: everyday can have a special meaning if you let it. Some will definitely be more special than others but be intentional about making memories.

To my wife: Happy 6 years of knowing me. It has been an amazing journey so far and I know it will only get better.

eggstravaganza

Today was C3's 2nd annual Easter eggstravaganza. We stuffed candy in about 15,000 plastic eggs. It took a lot of people to make this thing work.

The weather didn't help us much this year. Last week we had more snow than we had all year and this week rained like crazy. We had planned to break our field into 6 age groups but because of the standing water on our fields, we were only able to use 3 fields.

We had to make adjustments based on the weather. We had to go to plan "B". We were able to smoothly go to plan "B" because we had a well thought out plan "A". Without a solid plan "A", plan "B" would've been impossible. A great team, made all the necessary, last minute changes without others even noticing.

My point: we need to have a plan for every day. We can make adjustments to our plan if needed but if we wait to plan, most of the time we don't. We need to know where we are going in order to get there. If we have to make a detour, it is easier to do because we are still trying to get to the same place.

That is Raegan's first pic with the bunny. Raegan can proudly say she has a picture with the worlds dumbest bunny. (it was worse in person...)

frosty the snowblob

This has to be one of the most ridiculous snow creations I have ever seen. It is supposed to be a snowman but somehow I think it better resembles a snowblob.

I am sure you can't see the detail that went into creating this but the buttons are made of mulch and the arms are pieces of lumber. There are very fine & specific details that went into the creation of this "blob" of a figure. There are also countless hours of quality time with loved ones that went into this mammoth of a snow mound .

My friend and his kids made this snowblob. They played outside in the snow for hours building a fort and this snow creation. The snow served as another opportunity to spend quality time with his children. They created a lot more than a snowblob and a fort, they created memories.

My point: be intentional about finding opportunities to create things with your loved ones. In the process you will create the most precious thing of all - memories.

I will not disclose the name of the tall, skinny bald man that made this snowblob but his initials are Konan Stephens... "Good job buddy"

4 years

Here is a picture of me and Deni on our wedding day. I still have a hard time believing I got someone that hot.

4 years ago I married an amazing woman. It is hard to believe that it has been that long and yet it seems longer too... go figure. There are times that it seems like the days FLY by but then there are the stressful times that seem to drag and drag. We have been through a lot in our 4 years and I can honestly say it has been worth it.

My point: Time goes by so fast. Enjoy it. Life is too short to gripe and moan over every little petty thing. Embrace the good times and face the hard ones head on - TOGETHER. Either way, the day will pass and tomorrow will be better. If you say that everyday, you will eventually be right.

I am writing this around 8:00pm. So as I reflect back on our wedding day I am now remembering what we were doing right about now... Good guess (wink, wink)

remember

I had the privilege of doing a wedding of a friend and former student from when I was a youth pastor. This guy actually sang at my wedding. It made me think of some really great memories... Any time I do a wedding it makes me remember my own. What an amazing day with many of my loved ones there to share our special day.

I also love to do pre-wedding conversations (most people call it counseling). When I talk to the couple before they get married I ask specific questions. I love hearing "the story" about how they met, first kiss, the proposal, why they want to get married, what are some things they love about the other...? This is all done in conversation. I watch the couple as they talk. I can get a pretty good idea of whether they are shooting some fluff or if they are genuinely in love.

Based on the conversation, I offer them some of my observations (again, some call it counseling). I feel obligated to share my insight and inform them of some potential red flags I may see. They are at least aware and we can come up with ways to make sure they do not become major obstacles to their relationship.

I love having my wife with me when we have the pre-marital conversation. I love hearing her insight but more than anything I love the conversations we have afterwards. We can't help but talk about when we would stay up for hours and just talk. Or IM late into the night. One of my favorite topics is the first kiss. I will never forget that...

I love being in love and I love being reminded of why and how we first fell in love. I know we have our anniversary but I get to use everyone elses weddings to remember ours. I think it is good sometimes to just break out the old videos and look over the pictures. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day activities, kids, work, housework... We need to be intentional about taking time to remember.

My point: We have a memory for a reason - use it. Whether it is your anniversary, a song that takes you back or a totally random thought, take time to pause long enough to remember what was special about that time.

Take some time this week to talk about when you were just dating. Start some conversations with "remember when..." and see what happens. I would love to hear the stories. Maybe you can ask someone else to hear their story. Watch them light up when the feelings start coming back once they begin to "remember".