Light Cubes

Just a few shots of our most recent stage design. I think it turned out pretty sweet. :-)

To Romey

Romey:

Today I ran a marathon for you. While this may not be something you blog about, it's important enough, from my standpoint, to let you in my head a little bit. I know you can't read this right now, or understand it if I told you, but you'll get a chance to read it someday.

When I started running four years ago, I had no idea I would be running marathons. In fact, I walked over a mile of the 3.1 in my first 5k. I never thought I would be a runner. After miles and miles logged and several pairs of running shoes purchased, I would consider myself a runner. I ran my first half-marathon in May of 2010. That one was for me. I completed something that was well worth the time and effort. Plus, I had a medal to hang around my head to say I accomplished it!! I ran my second half-marathon the following September in honor of your mother. She has been the rock for our family, but she's also the rock that keeps me running. I run and she doesn't stop pushing me to dig deeper and push harder. This past May, I ran my first full marathon and that one was also for me. I needed to say I could do it. Today, however, I ran it for you.

Let me explain the importance of today. 30 days ago, I sprained my ankle in a pick-up game of soccer. 30 days ago, I couldn't put any weight on my ankle and I was convinced I wasn't running today's marathon. Even when I could start walking, the pain was incredibly significant and resulted in me wearing a brace on a daily basis. I really thought I was done. Spraining your ankle one time is bad enough, but this was the third time I've sprained this ankle. I really wanted to run and planning to make it happen, knowing in the back of my mind that it may not happen this time around. You know what, your mother pushed me. She pushed me through my physical therapy and pushed me to "suck it up" even when it hurt really badly. I'm so thankful she did.

While I was running today, I thought of you. Here's why. There are going to be times in your life where you are going to face obstacles. These obstacles will leave you with two choices. You can allow the obstacle to stand in your way and keep you from your goal, or you can turn that obstacle into an opportunity to let God give you the strength, wisdom, direction and skill set to accomplish your goal. This choice remains completely up to you. These opportunities will help mold and shape you into the man that God wants from you. I ran today, in pain almost the entire 26.2 miles, but I knew I was given an opportunity to run and I couldn't let my ankle serve as an obstacle. It was important for me to persevere through my limitations and reach the finish line. I want you to learn the value of perseverence in every aspect of the word. I learned so many valuable lessons today (future blog) and I can't wait to share them with you.

I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on each of the lessons, but I wanted you to know that I ran for you. There are going to be so many things that I do for you in your life, but today was dedicated to you, Romey.

I love you...

Dada

Amazed

Wow!! It's been an incredible past few days. In fact, as I'm writing, I'm completely amazed by the way things are falling into place. Sometimes it's difficult to look through the fog of life, but when it clears, you realize the beauty that stands before you. Well, that's what is happening for my family right now.

Recently, Courtney and I have realized the need to look for a bigger home. I love our condo, and have ever since I moved in five years ago. Despite all the issues getting into it, (different story. I'll tell you later if you're interested) it's been a wonderful home. This is the home where Courtney and I started our marriage. This is the home Romey began his life. This is where everything has started. I'm a sentimental kind of guy (cue sappy love music), so there's a lot of reasons for me to want to always stay here. But, it's just not realistic. One of the nice features of our condo is the two outside storage units. Until three months ago, we've always had room in those units. The one unit holds boxes. So, we have been filling boxes with stuff (clothes, toys, seasonal stuff, etc) and placing them in this unit. Three months ago, I placed the last possible box in this unit, closed the door, and told Courtney it was time to look for a bigger place. As much as I love our home, we had outgrown it.

For the past couple of months, we have been looking through various forms. We spent time on our computer, our phones, driving around neighborhoods and talking to friends. Finally, we called Melissa, our realtor. (btw, she's the best realtor ever and you should use her) We sat down with her and sketched out a plan of where to look. Since Courtney teaches in Kettering, we truly felt that was where we should look first. We had expanded our search initially, but finally settled on looking through Kettering. In the last couple of weeks, I'm not sure how many homes Courtney and Melissa went through because I was at work most of the time, but I do know we had a stack of papers with 70+ homes listed on them. It was a little overwhelming at first, but again, Courtney did most of the searching. Each time she found a house that she really like, she would let me know and we would go see it again later that day. After a couple weeks, we found one. There were so many nice things about this house. Brand new wood floors, refinished kitchen, tiled entry way, a four seasons room with a 12' ceiling, and several other really nice features. We loved it. So, we went back a couple of times to really look at it. We even talked about making an offer on it. So, I thought we were done. However, I had this thought that we should look at a few more. I'm not sure why that feeling came, but it did. I didn't expect Courtney to be in favor of that thought, but she graciously agreed. This was a Thursday afternoon. With Melissa going out of town for a few days, the next time we would go out would be Sunday.

The nice thing about this house was it's location. We would be five minutes away from everything (work, grocery, highway, etc.) The street seemed very quiet which would probably change once a certain one year old would move into the neighborhood. Because we really liked the neighborhood, I decided to look around this house to see what else was out there. Searching online can have its ups and downs because it's hard to be certain of what we could get. Anyway, there was another house that intrigued me. This house appeared in my search, but it wasn't one of the original 70. The reason, this house was out of our price range. It wasn't too high, but it was still out our range. I asked Melissa if we could see this house even knowing it probably wasn't an option for us. Not wanting to get our hopes up, we loved this house. This house had beautiful landscaping in the front and back yards, a kitchen and a dining room, a family and a living room, 3 bedrooms, 2 and a half bathrooms, an unfinished basement, and a four seasons room. With all these nice features, we knew it was going to be a stretch. After some time of prayer and processing, we decided to make an offer on this house on Monday evening. We knew what we could afford and that it would take a miracle for the sellers to accept our offer. We also knew that if the sellers decided to counter offer, we wouldn't be able to manage it. So, this was a one time offer and we were hoping things would work out for us.

I was extremely nervous on Tuesday as we waited to here back on our offer. I wanted to be excited because we knew that if God wanted us to have this house, we would get it. We also knew that if something else was set aside for us, this deal would not go through. While this was a good place to be, it was hard to focus all day on Tuesday. I tried to distract myself with work since there is plenty to do. Finally, around 2:00, Melissa called me. The sellers had accepted our offer. I was blown away. In tears, I called Courtney to share the good news with her. We knew God had been behind this the whole way and we were getting to experience His love through this experience. With a house, now we needed to find someone to rent our condo.

For the past two weeks, we've been advertising our condo within our circle of friends. While we hadn't received any hits, we knew we still had options available to us through online advertisements and various contacts through the church. Honestly, it would be really nice to sell our condo, but it's not realistic considering the state of the market right now. We're not in a position to lose a lot of money on it and keeping it doesn't mess with what we can buy as long as we have someone renting it. We had someone talking to Courtney via Facebook regarding renting our condo, but sometimes conversations don't lead anywhere. The girl that Courtney was talking to is moving back to Ohio in September. Her husband is in the military and they need a place to live when they get here. We thought it might happen, but it's good to know everything is lined up. Well, everything is now lined up. On Wednesday evening, this girl confirmed she wanted to rent our place starting the first weekend of October. Considering we are closing on the new house the third week of September, the timing is perfect. When you see things like that this fall into place, it's completely obvious that God is working in our lives.

Within 48 hours, God put each puzzle piece into place to work this out for us. It's unbelievable to see everything work out in ways that completely blow my mind. It's in these moments I realize how minute my existence truly is, yet how important I remain to God. I know I don't deserve the blessings that are given to me, but God continues to bless me. As we look to what God wants to do with us, sometimes it's not clear. However, I know I can rest in His unending faithfulness as I desire to live my life for Him. I truly believe He has plans for us in this new home. As we anticipate this next step on our journey, I can't wait to experience what God has in store.

-Just my thoughts...

365 Days

In my previous post, I wrote about this time last year. It really got me thinking even more. You've seen the movies and television shows where the family goes into a total panic as they head to the hospital, often forgetting the luggage or the soon to be mother... Our experience was nothing like that. So, let's go down memory lane...

It was a normal Wednesday. I was in the office early and Courtney had a doctor's appointment. Courtney called, and she was in tears. She was sure the doctor was going to suggest she be induced. You see, we had already spent a couple hours in the hospital on Monday. 1 minute contractions, 5 minutes apart. We thought we were moving forward with this whole thing. Now it was Wednesday, so we were assuming we were going to hear some news. Courtney was anxious to meet her little boy, but she was more motivated to be done with this thing we call pregnancy. She and I both struggle with patience. Besides, Romey was supposed to be born on the 6th, and he was supposed to come early. Now it's the 7th and the doctor doesn't even hint at inducing. So, this tearful phone call was completely understandable. Even though we knew it wasn't time yet, it was still hard.

So, the day went on like any other Wednesday. My schedule was a little light that day, so I spent a lot of time at my desk. I don't remember sitting and waiting for a phone call, but I'm sure I had some of those thoughts running through my head. I did make one trip home at lunch to bring her a "non-exercise" birthing ball. :-) I'm not sure if those things work, but every room in the hospital has one. Anyway, after work, I decided to take Courtney out for dinner since it had been a stressful day. We went to Archer's Tavern, a local restaurant owned by a member of our church. A friend of ours had told us that this restaurant was getting slow. We had never experienced that any time we had been there, but I thought it would be interesting to time them. I know it's kind of a weird thing to do, but I was intrigued. Sometime during dinner, Courtney started feeling contractions again. We were a little skeptical since we had just gone through this two days before. We noticed her contractions were about 1 minute in length and about 7 minutes apart. This didn't seem like anything to worry about, so we continued with our dinner. By the way, the service was speedy and the dinner was quite good.

After dinner, Courtney wanted to walk around for a little bit and she was planning on going to a birthday party the following day and needed to buy a gift for her friend. So, we went to the Greene. While we were walking around, Courtney asked me to time her contractions again. This time they were 5 minutes apart, but she was feeling fine. We spent about an hour at the Greene and then she started feeling like she needed to sit down. I decided it was best to just go home. It wasn't too hot, but being in the air-conditioned house would probably feel a little better.

Once we got back to the house, Courtney wanted to take a nap. I got her a glass of water and decided to take the dog on a walk. I kept feeling we needed to go to the hospital. But, I wanted her to make that call. While I was outside, I called her parents and told them what was going on. Since they live 6 hours away, I thought it best for them to get on the road and come down. Courtney doesn't want to ever inconvenience anyone, so if she had known what I was doing, it would not have worked out well for me. :-) Upon returning to the house, I could tell Courtney was in a lot of pain. I suggested we go to the hospital, but I understood why she was hesitant. By this time, she was about 3 minutes between contractions, so I was able to convince her. By the time we got to the hospital, around 8:00, we had called/texted family members to let them know what was going on. We had packed our bags two weeks prior, so everything was ready to go. Things were calm, but slightly unnerving as we were anticipating what was to come.

Once at the hospital, Courtney was checked out and then told that nothing had changed since the morning so we should go home... not the words an expectant mother wants to hear. I knew how disappointed she was, so I asked the nurse what her opinion was of the situation. I could tell she was hesitant to send us home, but that's what the doctor had said through a phone call. I was totally afraid of Courtney going into labor while I was driving her home. In my mind, leaving wasn't an option. The nurse agree to keep us for a while, but suggest we go on a walk. So, we spent the next three hours walking the narrow hallways of Kettering Hospital.

Finally, around 11:30, Courtney was checked out again and we were told we were going to be admitted. That was such a relief. At this time, Courtney's parents were about two hours into their trip after they had taken care of their dog and house. My parents only live about an hour away, so travel time wasn't the issue for them. Once settled in the delivery room, it was a nice change of pace and scenery. Being after midnight, Courtney was exhausted. Now it was a waiting game for us. To complicate things a little bit, we had a photographer coming to take pictures. (If you ever need a birthing photographer, Melissa Dorner was awesome for us and we highly recommend her... a little plug). Communicating with everyone was my job while Courtney tried to get some rest.

Rest didn't happen for long because Romey decided he was tired of waiting too. :-)When Courtney's parents and the photographer arrived, Courtney was able to completely relax. I woke my parents up around 4:30 and told them they might want to start driving down to see us. Time was ticking and Romey was on his way!! The nurse, Sue, was busy taking care of many things as well as taking care of another couple down the hall. Night time delivery rooms are a little quiet and have a smaller staff. But, she was wonderful. With Romey on his way, it was time for Courtney to get down to business and me to do whatever I was told. With the doctor running late, I was assigned to way more than I was expecting. In fact, I had every intention of staying north of the equator. Sue had different plans for me. Plus, she kept telling us how beautiful Romey's hair was and she couldn't wait for us to see it. When Sue starting pacing in and out of the room, I began to get a little nervous too. With the doctor not there, things could get complicated. Finally, the doctor arrived, sat down and finalized the prepping. I think he sat down for a total of two minutes before our little bundle of joy had taken his first breath here on earth. In what seems like a total blur, Romey was in our arms by 6:30 Thursday. It was totally unbelievable. In less than 12 hours, we had been to the hospital and had our baby. Wow!!

Exhausted, even Romey wanted to fall asleep right away. It had been a long night. While I don't remember the course of the next couple of hours, I do remember being totally blown away over the fact that I was now a father. I still struggle with that realization at times, but life with him is wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Romey has now been in our lives a mere 365 days. Each day brings new challenges, but it also brings more love. Romey will be 1 year old tomorrow and I'm looking forward to each new day I have with him.

-Just my thoughts...

This time last year...

The other day, my wife and I were just talking about "this time last year." Such a wild thought. This time last year, she and I were only responsible for ourselves. This time last year, we were counting down the days until the arrival of our little boy. This time last year, we were expecting the baby to come early (listening to doctors on that kind of messed us up). This time last year, life as we now know it was different. But, it's not as different as we were expecting.

The whole time Courtney was pregnant, people kept telling us that life was going to change. As workout fanatics, we were told our schedules would not allow time for extra stuff. As runners, we were told we wouldn't have time to run for hours at a time. As a couple, we were told we would say good-bye to date night. There were a lot of things told to us that we wrestled through as a family. Before Romey's birth, we decided we would not allow a child to change "us."

Obviously, our schedule has changed a little bit. Romey keeps a different sleeping schedule. Romey determines a lot of what we do or do not do. However, we still keep our priorities. We still workout. We've both done P90X and Insanity. We still run. Since Romey's birth, Courtney has run a half-marathon and I have run a half and a full. We still have date night. We bring Romey with us. We've gone to Chick-Fil-A so many times with him, he now says, "yummy, yummy, yummy" when we pull into the parking lot. We haven't changed. We've brought him into our lives and had him adapt to us.

Are there trying times? Of course, but that doesn't change who we are or what we do. We still run errands together. We still go shopping together. We still go running together. Romey sits in his stroller that is now labelled 13.1 on one side and 26.2 on the other. We watch TV together. We pay bills together. We go to church together. We schedule our "dates" on my busy nights to still have time together. We still make each other a priority. We understand there will be interruptions. We understand that sometimes we're going to have to go home early because he's tired. We understand that we have to order more food because he's still hungry. We undersand that we have to be adaptable. However, we know even more that he has to be adaptable. We don't change for him, he's learning to adjust to us.

I must say, we are very blessed to have such a calm baby. Romey is an absolute joy and so easy. He stays very flexible to our ever changing schedule. This time last year, we could not have imagined such a wonderful life. Things haven't been perfect. Jobs haven't been perfect. Our relationship hasn't been perfect. However, things truly are great. I have a wonderful family, a wonderful wife, and a wonderful son. This time last year, I had no idea that I was going to be so incredibly blessed.

-Just my thoughts...

Lonely Week

Since Friday afternoon, I've been "home alone". Courtney and Romey have been in western New York with Courtney's family and I have stayed home to do some "minor" repairs. It's now Thursday, and these minor repairs are still not complete. Throw work into this picture, and that does explain why it's not all finished. Courtney and I are thinking about selling our condo this summer. In fact, we'd love to be able to sell it and move into a house with a yard. But, in order for all of that to happen, we need to make sure everything is updated. About four years ago, my father and I put wood laminate in the house. Over this time, there have been some pieces that have taken some damage. So, I spent four days pulling up pieces and putting new ones down. I thought I was finished with this on Monday, but then I found two more pieces that were broken. So, up came the whole floor and then down it went again. I finally finished the floor Tuesday night. Last night, I started touching up the bathroom. While doing that, I realized it needed a fresh coat of paint. So, I'm hoping to finish the painting tonight. Working every day has slowed the process a little, but staying up late has helped. Factor in the dog sitting against freshly painted trim and that explains part of the lateness of the work day. Plus, being a sports junkie, having the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final on tv has slowed the process as well. :-)

However, what I've learned this week is I'm not equipped to live without Courtney. Could I do it? Well, I've made it so far... but it's not pretty. I've done one load of dishes, but they're still sitting in the dishwasher while the sink remains full of dirty ones. I've washed a load of clothes and dried a load of clothes, but they're still sitting where I left them. The floors have not been vacuumed or swept and are covered with saw dust. I haven't made the bed since Friday. I have tools everywhere. In fact, my once orgainized storage unit is packed with tools just tossed into it so I can get the door closed. The table is cluttered with mail and various other odds and ends. I'm sure there are other things out of place, but I'm not able to think of everything. It's crazy how horrible everything is right now. It's only been one week!! You have to understand. Our condo NEVER looks like this. Courtney always has the house in a position to have friends over. I know I can invited someone over for dinner on any night and not have to worry about the condition of the house. Obviously, I'm not the reason our house looks nice. While I am working on other things right now, I'm not wired in a way to focus on multiple areas. Courtney can multi-task in any situation and always does everything with excellence. When she gets home on Sunday, the house will be back to normal, but it will still need Courtney's touch to make it home.

-Just my thougths...

My Counselor

The last couple of days, I've spent my mornings running. During these runs, I've had the opportunity to listen to Francis Chan's "Forgotten God." As I've been listening, I've been convicted of how I take for granted the Holy Spirit. While I realize the Holy Spirit is with me, I don't think I realize the gift that is here with me. When Jesus said another Counselor is coming to take His place, I should recognize the significance of that statement. If Jesus, in the human form, says it's better to have the Holy Spirit than to have Him here on earth, then I really am not taking full advantage of the Spirit's role in my life. I have the privilege of allowing the Spirit to govern my life and to guide me, and Jesus says it's better than having Him here in the flesh. So, what am I missing? Obviously, I don't realize the greatness that I have counseling me. I know I don't take advantage of that opportunity. God has provided me with someone who can give advice and direction, and I know it comes in perfect truth. No other advisor in the world can make such a bold statement. And, this Counselor is God and was sent to dwell in me. Yet, with that opportunity afforded to me, I still have somehow missed this along the way. I've missed it because I'm stubborn and want to rely on my own strengths and gifts instead of seeking help. It's my humanity that always gets in the way, and ultimately, my pride. Until I learn to die to self, I'll never learn how experience the Holy Spirit in the way God has planned for me. I'm trying to learn. I'm trying to do better. I must be more intentional about this on a daily basis.

- Just my thoughts...