Lots of Things...

Well, much has happened since my last post. Silas has passed the 5 month mark, Halloween came and went with incredible creativity on the part of my wonderful wife and kids, and I also have a new job!

Funny how long it takes a man to settle down and find a career sometimes. I've always worked, but pretty much just because I like to eat and so does my family. Anyway God has blessed me with a career in an industry that I find exciting, challenging, and... well, just what I did not know I was looking for. I am now a "Roofing Professional" as the maintenance, service and, repair manager at my new company. I'm very grateful and absolutely love it.

Brianna brought home two excellent report cards, Cody and Meyson are doing very well Homeschooling, Carson is smarter than all of us, and Memphis has us all learning ASL. Silas is growing and learning everyday. She sits up, she laughs, she watches everything, and goes wild in her jumparoo. I could spend hours and thousands of words detailing how proud I am of each one of our kids. I will spare you that, however, and direct you to the infinitely more entertaining Blog of my Wife.

ASL: American Sign Language. We are learning. Not fast enough, but learning. It is fun, being able to speak to one another across crowded rooms, in noisy or quiet places, even sharing jokes at times. We take a class, as a family, once weekly at the local deaf services center. Some are more excited to learn than others but all in all, I believe we are doing well. Some of you no doubt are wondering; why? Well...

Memphis has been diagnosed with Verbal Apraxia. Basically something gets lost in translation between what he wants to say and the cute noises he actually makes. Suppose you wanted to make a fist and ended up with the "Hook 'em Horns" sign instead(heaven forbid). This is the frusration Memphis deals with when trying to communicate verbally with anyone. Enter the ASL experiment. It works! His frustration, and ours, has been greatly decreased. We look at it as a blessing and opportunity. A new language opens up all kinds of new things. I do not think the kids understand what a gift this will be to them later in life.

One last note. Our beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders are ranked #2 in the nation for the first time ever! It has been alot of fun for Megan and myself to cheer them on.

GO TECH!

A Night at the Ballet

On Saturday, Cody performed in her ballet school's annual recital and, of course, we went as a family to watch and support her. She was terrific! Her class' performance was brief as she is only in level 1; we are very proud anyway.
I had the great pleasure of being seated between my two girls, Brianna and Carson.
It turned out to be a night of pure beauty for all of us. Megan, glowing with both pride and pregnancy, was holding Cody's bouquet as we all watched the different levels perform. After one of the company's more intense dances, Bri' turned to me and said "that was awesome". I had to agree.
I have never considered myself a fan of ballet, yet...I feel I may have been won over by the beauty of it all. It is not that the dancers themselves were beautiful, which most of them are, I believe it is the fluidity and the delicate balance between the music and the movements on stage. I have to admit some of the dances almost moved me to tears. Why is that? You might say I am just a big baby, and my wife will probably agree. Really, I was spellbound and amazed by what this incredible body God gave us is capable of.

I am not a dancer. I am sure some have even considered calling the doctor when they have seen me try. I do appreciate dancing though. These days everyone is enthralled with "Dancing With the Stars"; and yes, I have even taken a few ballroom dancing lessons and enjoyed it very much. Ballet is now one of my favorite forms of dance, from a spectators point of view.
The dancers tell an intricate story with no words to muddle things up. Most of the perfomances were choreographed by the dancers themselves and one was dedicated, appropriately so as it was Mothers' Day eve, to the choreographer's Mom. It was called "Reach For Me" and I definately felt the story of a mother reaching out to her child.

The greatest perfomance of the night for me though, was during one of the more advanced "company" pieces, when Carson let herself be swept away by the music and proceeded with her very own ballet in the seat. At first I was torn between telling Carson to stop and watch what was on stage or watching her. To my own benefit, I chose the latter. Seated next to me Carson, eyes closed, perfomed wth her head and arms some of the "moves" seen on stage that night.
It was beautiful.

Accolades

I am so proud of my family! Each and every one. I'll start with my wife. Megan is a wonderful photographer as you'll see on her blog where she has posted our latest family pictures. She took all of them herself and...well, I'm just proud. Last week she made the best Eggs Benedict I've ever tasted, even making the hollandaise sauce from scratch. I am indeed a lucky man! Megan does all of this and puts up with me while being 29 weeks pregnant.
Thank you Lord for my wife!

Meyson, the 14 year old, is the oldest. He has a great heart and is probably the best big brother anyone could wish for. Watching his patience and actual joy, in playing with the smaller ones is...well; a great joy. Meyson is becoming a fantastic artist, has a quick (sometimes too quick) wit, and is a classic rock connoisseur. To my great pleasure, he also enjoys reggae.

Brianna is the singer. She left this week to perform with the National OAKE Children's Choir. Brianna was very excited, as she has never before flown in an airplane or stayed in a 5 star hotel. She has worked very hard for this and even earned a substantial scholarship to do it. Brianna, also is an A student.

Cody is the ballerina. She performed in our city's performance of The Nutcracker last Christmas and already has a part next year. She is very attentive to her younger siblings and wants to serve anyone who is sick (especially Mom) breakfast in bed, or at least bring them a snack. Cody may just have the most infectious laugh on the planet.

Carson. Carson is the smartest, sweetest, most exasperating, beautiful 3 year old in the world. She speaks with adult words and phrases and may understand their context better than I do. Her smile and fluttering eyelashes have totally wrapped daddy around her finger. Carson is another musical connoisseur, recognizing many songs within the first 3 notes. She also rapidly notices different versions of the same song, and of course...has preferences.

Memphis, my little boy. He is amazing. Precocious and wild. His eyes and playfulness light up the darkest of my days, inspire many smiles and much incredulous head shaking. He is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear and his "blankie". Memphis loves being outside and wrestling and jumping off of things. He loves to climb things and be thrown in the air. He is Memphis...'nuff said!

We have one more on the way. I'm proud of this one too, even if we have opted not to know if it is a boy or girl until birth. The baby is growing strong, kicking (sorry Megan), and causing great excitement in our home.

I could go on and on and each one of these, deserve their own blog and much much more but for now, I'll just say; I am blessed. And grateful.

Packing bags

I've got to pack my kids' bags! No, they're not really going anywhere in particular yet...but soon, eventually they will face this journey of life on thier own. In a limited time (18 yrs or so) my wife and I are supposed to prepare them for the trip.
As I have traveled, I've learned how devestating any journey can be if you don't bring the right stuff...or the airline loses your luggage. With Meyson being fourteen I wonder if there is time enough to fit it all in. I didn't come up with this metaphor(or is it analogy?) on my own. I heard the parenting process put this way in a sermon somewhere and it stuck. Boy, did it ever stick! I guess it is because I've spent so much time traveling over the last two or so years.
As with any trip, I guess I should start with a list of appropriate items to take... right? So here goes:

The list(so far)

Responsibility

A Warm Coat

Good Decision Making Skills

Comfortable Shoes

Faith

Honesty

Clean Underwear

Love of Life

Dreams

Mouthwash?

Strong Self Worth

Love

Organizational Skills

Clothes

A Hat

The Knowledge that no Matter What; I love them.

"Meyson, Brianna, Cody, Carson, Memphis,..Baby on the way; Know this:

I LOVE YOU!"

The Ability to Find JOY Everyday...

I don't know maybe I'm making too much of this...but, it is our job right? As parents, to help them prepare for their own journey, their own life? Don't get me wrong here. I know that they will stumble, fall, and sometimes, flat out fail. But I think the better their bags are packed, the less they'll have to search for who they are and what they want and what they need...