updates ... kind'a... from april (with captions)

well... here are some pics from april. it was a good month. these first couple of pictures are from one of my favorite days i've had with my girls. they got skates from santa in december (when else...?) and had been working hard on learning how to skate. so ... grandmommie and grandaddie had an afternoon with Cooper... while cindy and i had a good time with the girls. it was so fun! lolo is the faster of the two... but she didn't really skate! she runs and then coasts!aubrey is the more graceful of the two. she has pretty good form, too. overly cautious and less of a risk taker... what can i say, she's a first-born!
then, probably my favorite part of the day. through out the winter we read "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" from the chronicles of narnia by cs lewis. it was awesome. so many times the girls would stop and want to talk about it. their imagination was picturing all the fauns, centaurs, and faces of peter, edmund, susan and lucy. lolo once told me "i'm imagining all of this in my head"! she loved every bit of it. so did sissy.


so... after we rollerskated, we sat down and watched the movie. it was incredible. i loved it. maybe because they sat with me most of the time (it's actually kinda scary in parts...). but we loved it. actually thought several times throughout that day ... "man, i wish this day would never end." it was awesome. lolo got to dress up as gigi for her "book character day" at aca. awesome school. fun day. great girl.

coop likes to sit in his high chair. he can't sit up completely on his own by now... but he's working on it. maybe that's why he enjoys his high chair.

yumm ... he's pretty good at eating, except that he still expects a full bottle afterwards.
here we are having "diny dino time". coop is having some treatments due to bronchialitis... or something like that. anyways. here's where the doctor wants us to spend 2 hours of our day... he does ok most of the time. he's a good boy.

big sis couldnt resist putting a tutu on little bro. needless to say, i couldn't wait for that moment to be over...
coopie likes his bumbo... for a little bit... then he's done with that. he's a little big for it now.


the girls are great with him. they love to lay next to him and compete for his attention. their favorite thing to do is to get him to chuckle or scream... it's pretty funny.

food for thought...

last year's youth group theme was rEVOLution (the way it is spelled in this clip... and yes, i came up with it before these jokers did)...
but, this poses some interesting thoughts, that are neither republican or democrat. i'd like to suggest an interesting book "The Irressistible REVOLUTION", by Shane Claiborne. a must read. his newest book (on my to read list) is "Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals". So, anyways... check that out.
i'm not saying i agree with everything in this video... just check it out. i agree with a lot of it.



because of the lack of blog entries with pictures of our kids... and the prominence of youtube appearences on our blog... cindy will be taking over the blogging and i'll be a guest contributor...

stop the machine...

i keep thinking of this song. the past few days have been hectic, crazy, unstopable...

family fun... toddler's truth...

over the past two weeks, my family has been enamoured and annoyed with two of our new friends. we met them on easter sunday. to be honest, one watch is not enough... and sharing the video with others just makes it funnier and funnier.

lolo and aubrey love to re-enact the video over and over and over. they love to say the word "charlie" and "hurt" and "bit" with an accent. it's pretty funny.

then two hours later when we're trying to get ready for bed and they're still saying it ... it gets old. but the next day it's funny again.

here's lolo's interpretation:

gary burns, our neighbor, returned to me the youth group's wooden podium which he had repaired for us. when they saw it after school today, aubrey and lolo wanted to play church today. so we took the Lord's supper about 5 times. aubrey did read some scriptures, lolo and aubrey led songs, i led some with my guitar, we ate bread sticks for the "body", aubrey asked questions regarding the scriptures that she read. it was actually pretty cool. i got to explain what we thought about when we took the Lord's supper. and yes... we still had some behavior problems afterwards. it was fun, and real at the same time. i explained to them that we weren't really playing church, we were actually worshiping just like we do on sunday mornings (insert confused look here).

anyways, during the worship time, lolo took the magnadoodle and wrote a message. i thought to myself... "isn't this the message God is trying to give every sunday?" (and everyday for that matter...). here's God's message for you:

so... enjoy God's word to you today. print out the picture and put it somewhere that you can always remember it... daily. THAT is God's message to you. all the time.

pieces of march

cooper's swing and bouncyseat have both been running low on batteries. my guess is that that it scares cooper because he yells at it and kind of looks disturbed. it's pretty funny actually. with out the batteries the music kinda' slures the music reminds me of a "horror circus" with freaky clowns. anyways.... pretty funny and erie to listen too...

yes... i chose the shirts. we hang out on fridays together and have a good time.

he's starting to hold his head up... so layin' with dad on the bed is doable now. here he's chillin'.

the girls love when sooper cooper jumps in bed with them in the morning to wake them up... or at night for some good night kisses.

soccer season has started. there's lolo (#7) gettin into the action. today aubrey got hit pretty hard in the chest and came out the rest of the game... and lolo's game got called because of lightning... bummer for both.

hmmm... meat. atta' boy!

little drawing... bigger picture...

i've been meaning to write this post for the past 2 months. it has grown in my mind as a picture. i've erased parts. i've redrawn parts. i've discovered new parts that i could have never imagined. and still i know it falls short of the bigger picture that i believe it's pointing to. i know it's too long... but i had to get this out, even though i know i won't put it all down right, or in the right order.
i'll try to explain it this way. at the end of some of my daughters' disney princess movies (well, i guess they are coopers now, too... yikes) they have these little "how the movie was made". especially in the older ones made in the '50s and even 80's, they show the drawings that walt was going by. the discarded sketches, the rewrites, the originals and the final products of the art work. they even show the live models that come in for some of the parts. one of our favorites to watch the "behind the scenes stuff" is "the wizzard of oz".
ok, to the story...

i look forward to basketball season every year. not college or nba... but church league. yeah, that's right. we're a decent collection of players. we play in the upper league and do well. some seasons, we've lost more than we've won. but we mostly seem to be in the hunt for the season title. about 2 and 1/2 months ago i hurt my leg. my first muscle pull i've ever had, and the jokes about being 35 just kept rolling in.

here's the interesting part. i realized pretty quick that this wasn't a cramp or just a little something. i couldn't believe it had happened. i was frustrated, but at the same time i knew that it was out of my control. i didn't want to miss any games, and at the same time i felt resigned to my fate. first game that i had to miss i wasn't exactly at peace. maybe numb and feeling stuck was a good way to put it. the reality that i was living in was that every step that i took hurt me. until somebody finally gave me one of those velcro on walking casts, i just kept on aggravating my calf.

i tried to carry on my normal routine. it affected the way that i was able to work with my family, move around at my job (i got hurt the weekend before the winterfest trip with our youth group - lots of walking and 1 two hour mosh pit). the soft cast really didn't draw much attention to itself, so some people didn't even notice. when they did, people wanted to hear the whole story, some people just wanted to small talk about it...

sharing it with people became an interesting part of my day. do i give them the short "i hurt it playing ball" or do i go down the line to ward off questions by telling them the long story, including how long it will last (which i'll get to in a moment). of course, sharing it also meant that i was going to hear some trite comment about "not being a teenager anymore", "being too old", or a bad joke. there were also sincere... "i'm sorry" and "i hope you feel better" and "bummer" comments. and my all time favorite "everything happens for a reason" (i could have choked a couple of people for that one). now, you need to know that i've said both types of comments to others, so i'm not judging the comments, just reporting them.

the summer of 2008 is going to include a wilderness trek trip. i remember back at the beginning of february thinking to myself "i don't know if i'm going to be able to make that trip", and "how long will this last?". i didn't want to look too far ahead. i had a very raw reminder every time i stretched in the middle of the night and flexed my calf muscle accidentally, or even stepped funny with the walking cast, that i was in pain and something wasn't working right. i had kind of resigned myself to the fact that this is the way it's going to be. some people told me 4-6 weeks (coaches and trainers that i know), others said 2 weeks, others said it could be a tear, which could mean months (maybe 3). wow, i really should have gone to the doctor, but why pay someone for something i just wanted to go away, and that with me doing the minimum of icing and wrapping and elevating several times a day (along with resting it), it should go away... right? so i was caught wondering ... which was kind of a scary/frustating place to be. i wanted an answer, not a "you'll know when it feels better" answer. i needed something concrete.

the pain: well, i'd be lying if i told you i didn't do my limit most of the days on ibuprophen (sp?). i was even tempted by my left over vicatin (now that's the good stuff - except that it renders me useless to useful to the rest of the world...). the begining stages was a ice pick stabbing me any time i pushed my foot down. i conjured up some funny ways of walking. at the most unexpected times i would do something not realizing it and re-activate that sharp pain. wow, it was sharp! but most of the time is was a nag. there was an underlying pain that was driving me nuts (kind of like a high pitch ring that annoys the heck out of ya), and would sometimes make me twitch... which would hurt.
i just seemed to be in a dark tunnel. i couldn't see light at the end of my calf injury. i was stuck being this person that was hurt. yes, i was able to function pretty well at work, and at home. but i needed my leg for both work and family life. it was a constant pain... and a reminder that i was missing out on something i loved dearly, playing basketball with my friends. i had some guilt, thinking i was letting my friends down on the team, too. maybe i had done something wrong that made this happen to me? did i not stretch? was i focused to much on a noon basketball game and God stepped in and took it away? so i had a bunch of weird feelings about the whole thing.

after 2 weeks it got old and at the same time i kind of grew into the mental role of "this is how it's going to be..." my leg was pretty swollen still. i began to experiment with just trying to walk in a straight line on my treadmill... slowly. so i took the cast off and tried some more the next day. during the 3rd week, i slowly began jogging on it. some steps i'd feel a tweek in it... most i didn't.
on my first game back, i warmed it up, stretched it out, warmed it up, stretched it out, and ran on my heel most of the night. after 5 minutes of being in, kory got me a pass on a fast break and i jumped with both legs for my shot... and "snag" i felt it. i think i even yelped a little bit. but i landed and kept on going (albeit on my heel without pushing off very much). my leg was noticeably swollen after the game, and the "high pitch" pain was there for a few more weeks... and i continued to ice, rest, stretch...

i'm thankful for the ones around me that shared with me what helped them. certain stretches. lending me $300 walking boots for free. encouraging me get better. helping me strap on the ice onto my leg. still making me feel like part of the team even whe i wasn't contributing... i just kept showing up (a whole other great lesson) even though i wasn't able to play.

i've got several friends who have been going through life, just as i have, and snagged on something (loss of a child, loss of a friend, multiple miscarriages - by one couple, one miscarriage - which is one too many, loss of a parent or family member, family split, ...). it causes pain, and yet they have to go on with life, feeling altered. feeling no control. feeling pain. feeling frustrated. feeling the "dark tunnel". feeling the "i'm missing out on something i love" feeling. feeling the uncertainty of "will it ever be back to normal" or "will i ever be normal". i've never directly experienced it. i feel as if i've tried to understand, love, care for, give God space to heal them, be used by God to help heal, that i still didn't understand. i've still said trite things. i've tried to show the lighter side or brighter side. i've settled for the short answer, not allowing or wanting to let others open up, feeling safe about doing so. i've wondered "when will they 'get over "it"?' " not in a mean way, but truly wondering. i've tried to talk about the light at the end of the tunnel, having not been there before.

i feel like God showed me the sketches ... while others have had to live through the full color and sounds of the movie, the real life hard experience. i feel like i've see the "preview to a movie that i never want to see", and still realize at the same time that friends and loved ones are living in or have lived through the movie. you know, it's also kind of like when i said an "ice pick stabbing me in the leg", what does that really mean? why would i choose those words? none of us have ever experienced "that". again, words fall short of being able to explain what we go through. it just give us a picture of something we think would feel that way to the one we're explaining it to. i believe that so many times our friends and loved ones try to tell us what they are going through, and words will never quite be able to explain, convey, give life to the feelings that are shaping them, changing their life. in some cases the "sharpness" of the pain goes away and they live with the "high pitch ring" that sometimes makes them still twich... and hurt. rusty caldwell has told me some stories of the importance of just being there for his friends in mourning, because there isn't anything to say. there are some great lessons about being a community to each other.

i do believe in a God whose redemption He is working in our lives includes healing our wounds. i do believe in a spiritual reality that God's Spirit brings comfort into our darkest hour. i do believe that there is hope of life after death in a place that is absence of the corruption of this world's pain, sin, germ. i believe that God is close to the broken hearted. i believe God cries every tear that satan brings into our lives along with us. i can see Him say "this is not how it was supposed to be!" this is not what He wanted... but He's passionate about restoring this world to Himself. and yet He seeks to comfort and restore ... "to prepare a banquet in the presence of our enemies" (ps 23) because He is greater than the one in the world.

i do not always know how God wants to bring His kingdom's reign into this broken world. i do know that God wants to reign in my heart. he want's to be my hope. he has promised never to forsake us. he has left us with fellow journeymen. he has sent the Comforter and Counselor. we are not alone, and yet we do not always understand what each other is going through. we are called to love, not fix, each other. helping and fixing are two very different things.

so, for those of you going through the dark tunnel, i hope you see the light soon. for some it will be closer than others. for those who can't see the light yet, just keep showing up everyday. i don't know when the light will come... i'm sure you'll still hurt in ways you can't even describe to most people. just know that you are not alone. find someone you can share your story with. you may have to remind them you don't want to be fixed... you just want to be with someone. remember... you are not alone, even in the dark tunnel. you probably won't be exactly the same as it was before. but some day you will walk again, you will run again, you will enjoy it again. i don't know when, but i know it's true.

i hope you made it all the way through. i hope this helps you. helped me to write it. an interesting part that i seem to forget to tell people (i've only told this story 2 or 3 times to others, because it's been on my mind and i had to let it out) is that i still feel "it". i played in 5 basketball games this weekend (in a tournament). as i showered and cleaned the back of my leg, it wasn't swollen... but i did still feel "it". i was able to do an activity at the rate that some people cannot do. still, the back of my leg feels tingly (sp?) and numb. i never notice it or think much about it till i touch it. it doesn't hurt. but "it" is there. i remember how it hurt and i'm greatful that i'm able to play now. not to the extent of "feeling the pain all over again" or "feeling like i'm in the tunnel again". i just know "it" is there and that "it" is some how a part of me, even if i don't feel "it" or think of "it" all the time anymore. i noticed that pretty quickly on after i was able to start walking, running and playing again. "it" is still there. i wonder how long "it" will be with me?

He lives...

thanks to all of you who let God use your musical talents to tell the story or our Redeemer... He lives and i was reminded of that today at Alpine through a song.

i hope i can remind others that i've been redeemed and that they are or can be redeemed because of a passionate and merciful God who created this world to glorify Himself and have a relationship with mankind.

if this video is not available anymore, the song is by nicole c mullen and an alternate video (produced by a church or person) that has a slide show with the original song is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQfKoCzn3Eg . yes, the original is better.

love letters...

one of my favorite parts of my girls growing up is to watch there intellect explode... it's almost as if you can see the wheels start to turn, the sparks to fly, you know, add in your own cliche'.

lolo's reading skills took off right after thanksgiving. it is so awesome to watch her enjoy doing it. today on the way to school she told me she knows how to make the "thu" sound. i said how. she said with a "t" and "h".

wow, brenda has really done great with her. now she's started writing and making up spellings for words. it's pretty cool and she loves it!

so, none other than "super blue girl", as she named herself the other night, has written her mom and i some love notes. i'm sure we'll treasure the all our lives.

so... super blue girl wrote her mom a note... and her mom loved it!i guess one of her favorite cartoons is "word girl". that might be where she's getting the idea to expand her vocabulary and use letters to make words.

here's the letter i got yesterday when i got home from work. how do you like this one? wow. that's all i can say. it's so funny, but i love to play mad with her and ask where's my love letter... so...

today on the way to school she wrote me one on her magnadoodle. i gave her my answer which is on the top left. she wrote the whole thing, so i guess this is a case when the "c" sounds like an "s".

my girls are awesome. and i love my "super blue girl" no matter what she writes...

hacked off...

cindy's been on me for a couple of weeks now to get my hair cut. she doesn't want me to go back to cuts galore. but hey, $8 for a hair cut aint bad. especially when the ladies in there have husbands that sport the mullet. this means that they respect and know how to handle the mullet. no scoffing, snickering, or teasing. kristen has cut my hair for 3 years. last 2 or 3 times i went up there, she was on a break or off those days. i called last week and she no longer works there. bad. bad day.

but no. cindy said that the past two times they've jacked my hair. what?! anyways, so today i gave procuts a try. i walk in there and they are playing "talk dirty to me" my poison or motley crue - can't remember. but the point is surely they'll know what to do with a mullet. no. incompetent overpaid haircutters. i paid 12.99 and left a $1 tip (hopefully the lady will use it to take another correspondence course on hair cutting).

she asked exactly what i wanted. she did exactly what i said. but in the back she took well... more than i said. totally blew off what i said when i corrected her (when she jumped in and tried to complete my sentence for me), i wasn't rude. in fact we were laughing in friendly conversation. we were friendly all along. i just couldn't tell what her freakin' fingers were doing back there.



here's a pic of me and coop this week. just hangin. look how happy i was. look how happy my son was. look how natural the kentucky waterfall looks on the back of my head.




here's cindy and i at thanksgiving. it's short... but it's still there. see, i'm happy in this picture. so is cindy.

but here it is. redonculous.

How do I get through one night without you

If I had to live without you

What kind of life would that be

Oh I, I need you in my arms

Need you to hold

You're my world, my heart, my soul

If you ever leave

Baby you would take away everything good in my life

And tell me now

How do I live without you

I want to knowHow do I breathe without you

If you ever go

How do I ever, ever survive

How do IHow do I Oh, how do I live

Without you, there'd be no sun in my sky

There would be no love in my life

There'd be no world left for me

And I, oh Baby, I don't know what I would do

I'd be lost if I lost youIf you ever leave

Baby you would take away everything real in my life

And tell me nowHow do I live without you I want to know

How do I breathe without youIf you ever go

How do I ever, ever survive

How do IHow do I

Oh, how do I live Please tell me baby

How do I go onIf you ever leave

Baby you would take away everything

Need you with me

Baby don't you know that you're everything good in my life

And tell me now...How do I live without you I want to know ... How do I breathe without you If you ever go.... How do I ever, ever survive... How do I How do I Oh, how do I live how do I live without you how do I live without you baby how do I live...

something i probably failed to mention on my blog post earlier is the fact that i'm a native from alabama and now i live in east texas. in alabama, the mullet is a way of life! just look at the profile and shape of our state!

need to do...

i've sworn for a while that i was going to write several posts... and never do.
basket ball season review.
injury lessons learned.
american idol thought.
and there were atleast 2 more that i can't remember. so i'll keep this list running. i'm sure all 2 of you are going to check back hourly to find out if i've posted it. but hopefully this will remind me to do so.

coop and co.

here are some pics from the past 2 or 3 weeks. hopefully we'll start getting some soccer pictures up soon... season starts on saturday!

a couple of weeks ago, we got a call from becky telling us that she had a friend with 3 extra tickets to see the "hannah montana and miley cyrus best of both worlds concert", and that that night was the last showing of the 3D concert. wow. so... we jumped on it. they went. the theatre was half full. it's still at the theatre today. the girls loved it. we usually don't do crazy stuff like that, but, it worked out, and it was fun for cindy and the girls. here they are about to leave, with their hm shirts and belt (aubrey). confession: i love hannah montana. miley cyrus is hillarious, milly and rico give the show the interesting twist! i can't believe i just wrote that... cindy and i are just scared about miley's album that she'll do in a few years (when she tries to prove she's not just a little girl anymore, and they way she'll dress, and most importantly, what our girls will say and think about it..., so we're trying to be cautious).
a couple of days later... the girls woke up early one saturday (7 a.m.) and cindy and i stayed in bed till about (9 a.m.)... coop stayed in his room pretty happy, too... when we came out this is what we found. super girl and iceberg girl. (they had been watching "word girl" on tv... another family favorite).

aubrey and lolo also got ahold of the camera later that day and took some pics and vids of themselves playing the instruments they got for christmas... i really don't know if i should even try to say anything about this picture... except that the guitar is upside down... she's probably singing some chris tomlin or something. maybe not. maybe one of her own songs...
this sunday afternoon they were playing cowboy and cowgirl. lolo's idea of looking like a cowboy included the "backward jeans"... i love my girls. they are crazy!coop loves his bath time... it's getting out he doesn't always love. this pic must be before the cool air hits him. you have a 50-50 chance after he gets unwrapped from the towell!

coop loves him som' naps...!

coop is showing off a bib and smiling. he usually lights up when he sees his mama. especially fridays when she goes to work for a day.
last night we had picture time for the naked (ok, acceptably naked) giganticous. this kid has cellulite all over his body, ... fer real! he actually skipped about 1 hour of his grumpy night time last night and talked talked talked to mama on the couch. it was a lot of fun... we usually have a good time when the girls go to bed and it's just us and coopie. but we usually don't get to get a full hour of "happy time". yes, we have fun when the girls are up. but it's just fun to spend time and talk and focus on one monkey. uhh... yes, he has a full diaper.
coop got to go to the park yesterday for the first time. cindy and coop walked, me and the girls played soccer, rode scooters, and roller skated (i pull them or walk with them). our neighborhood park is pretty cool. our girls love it and it's a good walking distance for us... but we drove. it was pretty windy, but we had fun. and cooper seemed to get the first significant amount of sun on his skin.

my friend shelby anders...

here's shelby... couldn't imagine him going to A&M and not popping up sometime or other... ha! well, if I know shelby, they had to edit out the "faith talk" that is a part of his story. he's become active in the Aggies For Christ, as well as attending as many aggie sporting events as he can, and studying some from time to time. too bad they are missing the best part of his story - the part where God does something amazing and makes this video possible.

shelby came through the youth group for three years and graduated in 2006. i remembering hearing that he was going to die. i remember praying alone and with other guys (alex howard, lil' bill, beau, blake, secord, drew, clay, and others) at taco bueno or the butcher shop just asking for God to stop that "uncertain sickness" and heal our brother. i remember alex howard calling me late one night and saying "the doctors say the desease has stopped spreading!" God is extending his life. i'm greatful to God... i love my brother shelby... even if he is confused when it comes to football teams!

turn it up man...

last night corey challenged us to take the opportunities that God gives us everyday. meaning actually look for the opportunities... we ended up talking about point of grace's new song, and bevin already had it posted on her blog. on the way home, klove was playing it (88.7) and lolo was singing it. it was fun, cool, good. so here it is.



what if the only thing that mattered was accepting God's love, loving God, and treating others around you with love... oh, wait, it is...

sweet bammy

last week we made the trek to birmingham, al, and back in 3 days. we were actually gone from longview for less than 60 hours. 22-24 of those hours were in the minivan. we took two cars for all 11 of us.
as much as i hate long blog entries... they are kinda' cleansing for me. i could make a couple of analogies and applications there, but i won't. i'll put the pics first

no sense on travelling for 12 hours on i-20 with out stopping at a cracker barrell! here we are in jackson, ms.

aubrey fround this really cool pen. i gave them $5 a piece to spend in the shop. this pen was $2.99... it was really eye catching and sparkly. i really was proud of her pick. she even had that little girl look in her eye... "i've found a treasure, and it's the most beautiful thing i've ever found" look. i look at this picture and just think how beautiful aubrey is... she has that "wide eyed wonder" beautiful look.

so we asked the lady behind the counter to hold the pen until we finished eating. we ate and began to look on how to spend the rest of her $2... and then she found "bob". that's when she made the "i've found the cutest toy in the world and i want to snuggle with it for the rest of my life" look. (dad's of daughters understand exactly what i'm talking about).

so this blue little baloon stuffed with flour was her new "love". i tried to convince her what a great deal the pen was... but no besides "dad, we can't have pens at school". so bob travelled with us the rest of the way, and the treasured pen did not... lolo found lot's of stuff... and ended up picking a "hearing-aid" type of thing to hear accross the room. she said: "that way i'll know what you and mommy are saying"... i said when? "when your telling secrets", i had to laugh. i love that girl so much! ok, both of them!

fun with caleb and becky... "i want to sit by caleb" "no, i got here first"... and so it goes.
rockin' chairs, checkers, family, and... bob.

nasty weather is combated with notebooks, naps, and a few dvd's. we don't let them watch it all the time because it turns them into zombies. plus, they have the right to stare out the window into the endless trees, it helped me to grow up and be a responsible human. it'll help them.
roll tide. truck stop. cheap hat. mullet in the mirror. roll tide!

stop hurting him... he hates it!

grandmommie and lolo at the funeral home. it was a good day.

chrispy, becky, my cousin paul neill with caleb.

my mom wanted to know... "where did you get that sportscoat?" i do have one, in case anyone else was wondering. but it just for emergencies (along with slacks and ties). aubrey and lolo laughed at my "wingtip" shoes and said... "those look like paw paw's". i couldn't agree more... just like my paw paw's (ralls neill).

as we carried granny's casket and sat at the graveside... i couldn't help but wonder "wow, people have been doing this to/for their loved ones for thousands of years... we're just a drop in the bucket... a small piece of the story..."

granny and paw paw's head stone.

my mom and her two brothers (r to l): david, mom, larry.

ya snooze ya looze... this is the documentation of my long hours behind the wheel. and the long hours of sleep put in by others. except for aubrey... she hung with me. actually i wanted to drive. we were all caughing and getting colds in our van... so sleep was needed.

and the comedy relief comes from... again...

whatchu lookin at...?" cindy kept laughing ... like really laughing and amy and i asked what was going on. turns out coopie-doop was making some pretty crazy faces...

cooper was a trooper. for real. he did really good ... we were so blessed on that one! did i mention that we were in the car for 22-24 hrs... of 60 hours?

the sky was beautiful and scary at the same time... these pictures don't do justice to God's creation... and i can't find the words to describe them any better either.

I'm typing this from the back seat of our Grand Caravan. We're returning from my Granny's funeral, her big promotion. I guess I' ve been a little more aware of the "Three Dials" (Three Relational Dials in each of our lives: relationship with God, relationship with our parents, and relationships with those outside our house) in my own life recently. A memory that comes to mind that involves my Granny and Paw Paw is driving accross Argentina to get to the beautiful Andes mountains in the mid 80's. We visited several destinations near the resort of Bariloche. I remember riding in our station wagon (green Ford Falcon), in the very back - this is before the advent of the "third seat". So me and my sisters took turns sitting between my grandparents and laying down in the back (yes, you remember, NO SEATBELTS), playing cards, singing along to "cassettes" of Elvis, and other oldies that my parents liked, and we liked, too. Paw Paw would tell us stories, Granny wanted to hear us sing, we made up songs, and we sweated the whole way with out air conditioning. We got on each others nerves, we pulled up to hotels and motels without reservations or print outs of their ammenities.I remember Paw Paw's big hands coming together to pray for meals. I remember Granny marvelling at the glacier God had created. I remember a lot of time of talking. I remember discovering the world around me. I remember my parents seeming to enjoy our time together. I remember getting to sit up front with Dad from time to time talking about the trip what we did and were going to do.It's now 2008, and we've managed to squeeze a 9 hour trip into 12 hours. Cooper is sleeping. Cindy and Amy (my older sister) are in the front seat listening to the iPod. I'm typing on my laptop, and charging my phone. My daughters are watching videos on our portable DVD player. It's a different world, and I'm more aware than ever of the importance of Cindy's and my task to be parents. The experience of going to the Andes mountains was impactful. But this experience is tied to the relationship with my parents, sisters, grandparents, and the Mitchells (a missionary family that caravaned with us). I don't remember one single "God-Talk" I had with Paw Paw on that trip, but I remember a Godly example. I remember a Godly man, who loved God and treated the people around him with love and respect. My parents made a point to travel with people who would be Godly influences in our lives. We had other great trips with my family, and they all have those characteristics: Godly parents, Godly friends, Godly perspective that I was exposed to. The experiences were tied to those relationships. The experiences were the secondary attraction, the relationships are what made those trips in my childhood so special.

Side bars: 1) On our way to Birmingham on Tuesday, we left town at 8 a.m. after we passed through Bossier City, Aubrey asked the eternal question: "Are we almost there Daddy?" "Err, uh... no baby, pull out one of your books... we've got a long ways to go..." (10 and 1/2 more hours it turns out!)

2) As we left the Beautiful state of Alabama on Wednesday, I told the girls to pause the movie and we had a mandatory singing of "Sweet Home Alabama" with Lynyd on the iPod. One chorus into it my girls wanted to know if I would turn it off so they could get back to "Stuart Little 3"... Wow, I have a long way to go as a parent. But I'm not giving up...

3) As we're walking to the graveside, Aubrey tells my dad, "grandaddy, people only have two really sad days in our lives"... after a dramatic pause, she finishes her statement..." day when our dad dies and the day when our mommy dies".

4) Aubrey and LoLo also said to me: Daddy, when you get to heaven, if you haven't been good, God pushes you down to hell. Wow... i didn't rush to correct any theological errors there... but we're definitely working on that one, i don't want to get "pushed down to hell" do you?