New Opportunities

There is something to be said for new opportunities. It's fascinating to watch the wheels turning in the beautiful mind of our little mr. fixit guy. He loves tools and while at one of his favorite stores (O O O O'reillys) I picked up a little screw driver which fits perfectly in his cute little hands. I decided to give him a new opportunity to take out a screw from his bedroom door and Voila! It was a victorious moment to see the expression on mr. fixit's face when he successfully removed a screw from the door with his screw driver. Great job little buddy!!

We have to understand that when our lives are not necessarily going exactly like we want, that there may be some new opportunities lurking around the corner. If we can give ourselves a little bit of encouragement (David said there were times that he encouraged himself) we will see a familiar expression come over our faces when we successfully complete the task that is given to us.

I know God's Grace has been shining on me all of my life and especially over the past few years. He has graciously picked up my crumbled world and set me feet on a solid rock. There a song in my innermost being that is bursting from heart and I cannot help but feel that something amazing is about to happen again in my life.

The great thing about being a child of the King is that there are always new opportunities just around the corner.

Sometimes it just may call for a little expertise and elbow grease but in the end, the expression of success is worth it all!

Superheroes are so cool!

Terrie and I love taking Noah to the park. It's a beautiful thing to watch our son have so much fun. Of course, while I was using my one-handed-camera-taking-powers to take this snapshot, our beautiful super hero, who at the moment loves pretending to be Captain America, is hiding inside the playground climbing gym waiting for me to come find him.

Noah and I both use several aliases.. usually when we first get to the park, i transform into a gorilla that is focused on chasing noah/superhero all thru the playground, until he recognizes that he should use some of his super powers. usually he remembers to use his pretend blow-darts to shoot at me (from indiana jones - raiders of the lost ark). then he immediately goes into shooting me with his pretend bow and arrow (green arrow superhero) then he transforms into a superhero he calls "the green lantern" which in his imaginative reality is really the "hulk".

Yesterday we were walking from the parking lot to the playground and he said, when we got to the playground he was going to be Captain America so I asked him who could I be.. and he said, uh.. you can be spiderman.. so i quickly used my hand with fingers gesture to shoot an imaginative spiderweb on him and he thru up his hands on his face and said ugh.. as though he had something on him.

Some of his top favorite things to do are: pulling our shirts off, poking out his chest (like the big russian guy in (indiana jones - lost ark - airplane scene) and wrestling on his bed, racing me down the walkway in front of our apartment, chasing me with his pretend blow darts and bow and arrow, hooking things up with a chain or rope on the back of the truck, playing kickball in our pj's down the hallway, but i think when it's all said and done, his all time favorite is digging in the dirt. it seems that imagination pours from him when he sits down to play in the dirt. it's a beautiful thing!

Good Morning Angels...

After every Sunday service, we have a routine of spending a few minutes of quality time in the park area just outside the church building. On the short walk to where we hang out, Noah will definitely choose his weapon of the day (any nice stick will do for a good sword or gun). In this picture, his taking a break from a recent sword fight with me and trying to finish off his sucker that he got from children's church.

There's no lovin' like good lovin' and nothing better than sitting in the beautiful warm sunshine with some high-quality hugs from our little tough guy.

I truly believe that God wants to give us great things just as we want to give our children great things. I am persuaded that God truly forgives His children and has greater things in store for us than we could ever imagine.

Truck Chemistry

This truck has been an icon in Noah's life and i suppose it will always be in the family. Since he was born, we would take rides down a little side dirt road and then we used it to pull a hayride for his 3rd birthday. He loves that he can see much better from his carseat and  looking in his rearview mirror to see big trucks as they get ready to pass.

It's been a platform for his imagination to create all kinds of things. Sometimes it's his workshop and he'll play with some tools and and loves lugging on a big iron chain and using the hooks on the tailgate. Give him a rope or a couple of tie-downs and he will tie up everything in the back. Occasionally we have nerf sword fights and shootouts from the back of the truck.

It's amazing to watch him explore in the front of the truck and pretend to drive. I can't begin to tell all the funny things i've heard him say in our truck adventures but recently we were getting in the truck and he said the truck had a smell but he couldn't figure out what it was. I told him the truck was old and an old truck sometimes smells old. He said, hm..

As I was clicking his carseat together, I said, you know, this truck was born in 1990 and I was born in 1963... so I'm older than this truck. He paused for a few minutes while i cranked the truck and was about to pull out of the parking lot when he said, Dad... your not old ;-)

Good Morning Sonshine!

It's a beautiful thing to dream about the people we love but even a greater thing to be awaken by one of those angels.

A couple of mornings ago, I opened my eyes to see Noah standing at the edge of my bed, with his little hand gently patting the top of my head. I eased out of bed (2:30am) for an after-midnight snack.

He said, "dad i'm hungry", so I scooped him up and we headed to the kitchen and he ate a peanut butter sandwich, a cup of apple sauce, and drank a glass of milk. It was certainly a series of magical moments as I turned off the lights and tucked him back into bed. So now you see just how beautiful my dreams are every morning ;-)

God's Has Great Plans!

I can feel God preparing something great for me and the ones I care about. God will never let us out-give Him. His plans for us are always greater than we can imagine. Terrie and I read the Bible every night before going to sleep and I read the story about a man who almost thought his way out of a miracle. Naaman was a man that needed a miracle and was sent to see the man of God. He was told by a servant of the man of God to go wash in the river Jordan. Naaman said, "I THOUGHT" the man of God would have come to the door and stretched out his hands over me for me to instantly receive my miracle but instead he sends a servant. Then he said, "I THOUGHT" he would have told me to go wash in a river with cleaner water instead of the muddy Jordan. So he had decided to go back home without his miracle until some of his servants talked him into doing what the prophet said. So he went down to Jordan and dipped seven times and when he came up out of the water on the seventh time, he received his miracle.

God's plan to bless us may not come in the way we think but it WILL come to those who will serve and wait on God. I am happy with my life and excited to know that God is with me!

It's Been a Wonderful Year!

God has truly blessed me over the past year. Looking back over my life, I can see the presence of God's miracles all over it. I love keeping a journal and do pretty good for a while but it's been a year since i've posted in this one.

My life has turned several pages since the last time I made a post. Noah got to come stay with me full-time over the summer and we swam almost everyday in the pool. It was amazing to spend the summer with him, watching him as he learned how to swim. (no more floaties).

Then Terrie and I had a beautiful wedding on the beach in August. We spent our honeymoon on a 7-day cruise to Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel. It was my first cruise and I can't wait to take another one! It feels so good to have Terrie and Noah with me all the time!

I started a new position at the University as an Instructional Designer and it has truly moved my work skills to a new level. My job allows me to create and design the online courses at the University. I'm working with some great people and learning a ton of new things in Dreamweaver and Camtasia.

I just finished up my capstone project for my master's degree in Human Environmental Sciences with a specialization in Interactive Technology. My project was focused in designing accessible web elements that are ADA compliant. My graduation date is this December 2012! YES!!