It's been awhile...

Where have I been? Holy Cow! Seriously? If there is one thing that I have neglected, it has definitely been this blog. Sorry folks...

It is New Year's Eve Eve today. No, that is not a typo. Today is the Eve to New Year's Eve. I am thinking about making today a holiday. Whatcha think? Speaking of holidays, Christmas has come and gone! So hard to believe. I still call it Christmas and will always call it Christmas. What about you? None of this Politically Correct nonsense when it comes to Christmas. You cannot take Christ out of Christmas. I'm sorry. You just cannot. If you do, then all you have left is Mas. Which means 'more'? Huh, kinda funny. Isn't that the world we live in. Isn't that the desire of our 'flesh.' More. We always want more. We are never ever satisfied. I love Proverbs 27:20 which says, 'Death and Destruction are never satisfied and neither are the eyes of man.' Never Satisfied! Especially when we keep taking Christ out of things! Can you not see it?

Christmas for us was really great. Low key. Chill. We spent Christmas in Killeen. That was after I kidnapped my wife and took her on a surprise overnight for our 1 year anniversary. I know. I know. I am such a stud. Thank You. Thank You. Here are a few pics from our Christmas Eve / morning together.

Taylor and Kylee's dog, Princeton


Mom & Dad in-law (Paul &Tami)


Kylee (Taylor's Sister) & Princeton


Jensen (Taylor's Brother) & Hilary

Taylor and me

I tell you what, it sure is a blessing to get along with one's in-laws. I can't imagine what it would be like to not get along with Taylor's folks. I am so thankful. I am sure there will always be tough times, but all in all, it is really wonderful and for that I feel blessed.

We don't have any New Year's plans this year. Thankfully. I think New Year's is the most over rated holiday out there and here are the reasons why:

1. It gives many people another opportunity to be stupid.

2. I can barely stay up that late.

3. And if I could stay up that late, isn't it just the same ol' ball drop in NYC from years past, but with the newest singer of today and the such?

4. We don't even have network television at our house.

5. Our neighborhood kids put on a firework show each year and I am worried that my dry grass is going to catch on fire. I run my sprinklers during the day every December 31st.

6. When you really boil it down, it's just another day. And for that I am VERY Thankful! We should be having this kind of celebration each and every day. I am for that!

I guess that is all for the year 2008. It's been a marvelous year for us. We are grateful for little things like our health, home, family and friens. To some they are little, but to us they really are everything!

Thanks for being our friends and for loving us well this year ...

The ONLY thing that counts...

This is my first Blog in December!!! Yippeeeeeee... Can you believe that it is Decembe already? In just 20 days, Taylor and I will have been married for 1 year! Holy Crudola... I cannot believe that it has been a year already. Where has the year gone? Now I understand when parents talk about their kids growing up so very fast. I like the country song that talks about life speeding by. It's called 'Don't Blink.' I think that is true. Are we cherishing this day? Are we cherishing this moment?

Taylor and I had my entire family to our house last Tuesday. There were 12 of us in all. My parents, two brothers and their wives and girls. It was a real treat to have them all in our home. We had a glorious meal. Dove Poppers (this is dove breasts with a jalepeno peppers and an onion wrapped in bacon and grilled! as well as beef and chicken fajitas. It was marvelous! All were well fed.

On Wednesday, we caravanned to Port Aransas, Texas, to spend our Thanksgiving on the beach! And OH what a joy it was!!! We used one of my dear friends' beach homes from Wednesday - Saturday. It was the perfect fit for our family. We ate great food. Enjoy each others' company and had wonderful conversation. We even spent a couple of days at the beach! I got in the water both days and so did all 4 of my nieces! Such a joy.

On Thanksgiving, we went over to the Shelton's and spent most of the day eating and enjoying each other on Padre Island. This was one of the most unique Thanksgivings that we have ever had, but probably my favorite so far!

I was reading in Galatians 5 this morning and Paul writes this, 'the ONLY thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love!' How are you doing on that? How are you loving those around you? How did you love your family over Thanksgiving? If not so good, Christmas is right around the corner if you are needing to redeem yourself!

It feels good to be back in the blogging world. I hope you were Thankful for Thanksgiving! If you were not, then you probably missed the entire boat!

Because High Schoolers are Worth IT!