Beezer & Christmas Gifts

The past couple of days Bryan had been BEGGING to open up his Christmas gifts...during lunch yesterday he said, "Could I open them up at 12:01am, 'cause technically that's Christmas Eve??" Okay...

So last night that's what we did...and he was pumped! He got some new clothes (and yes, he is into the clothes scene and he actually wanted them!)But his last gift was the crème-de-le crème...and we of course sent him on a bit of a scavenger hunt to find it.

It stated with an envelope…”go to the freezer”…another clue, “go to…” you get the idea?? One clue led him to go to his e-mail to find the next one! So after about 6-7 clues and still no “present” the last clue simply said, “Go to your room!”

So Bryan is sitting in his room…the next thing you hear is the Cingular jingle (cell phone!) It’s hidden in a box…he sees the phone and answers it…and I said “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” He didn’t realize that the phone was his! It was awesome! He was completely surprised and we caught part of it on the camera.

I love my son…I love watching his excitement. I’m grateful that this Christmas he is healthy and healed from all the junk that was going on with him last year!

Tonight we’ll go to our Christmas Eve service at church…it’s always a warm service filled with scripture reading and singing. Afterwards we’ll be making the trek back up to the ‘Ville to spend a few days with family.

I LOVE Christmas time! I love every part of it…the lights, sounds, and smells…I love simply being with my family and friends. I love the fact that God loved me so much that He sent His son Jesus so that I could live with Him forever. That story never gets old…it’s my life…it’s the reason why I live. Merry Christmas everybody!

New blogger on the map

If you didn't know, my lovely wife Hollybird has started blogging...you can go here to check it out.


She's pretty awesome! Merry Christmas!

Hollybird's B-day and Holiday Weekend

This past Sunday, December 16th was the day of birth of the LOVE of my life. Holly turned the ripe ole' age of 35. Yep, I "robbed" the cradle just a bit (I'm almost 40). Instead of just one day of celebration, we made it the entire weekend.

Friday night Bryan and I took Bird to Yamamoto (a great hibachi grill). We filled up on veggies, rice, shrimp, chicken, etc. Mmmmmmmmm....

Afterward we braved the Fayette Mall...and you know it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We finished out our Christmas shopping and just enjoyed walking around.

A new tradition that we started several years ago was to go look at the lights at the Kentucky Horse Park. Not only do they have some cool lights, but a petting zoo, some very narley train displays.

One particular train set just mesmerized all of us...it was new to us. It was one of those displays that just made you feel good. We stood there for at least 30-minutes playing "I Spy." Pics are below!

UnChristian

Have you ever read a book that really challenges you...I mean one that shakes you up and causes the beginning of a paradigm shift in your life?? I've finally finished reading UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. I'm not a real fast reader like my wife Holly...it may take me months to get through a book (like this one!). But for some reason while reading this book I found myself doing a lot of cross referencing of scripture passages and reading other articles about certain chapters. I've found myself engaging in conversations with others about the main crux of this book...What a new generation thinks about Christianity.

The next couple of blogs, I'm going to jot down some quotes that really struck me upside my head:

-One obvious reason why Christians acquire a hypocritical image in America...our lives don't match our beliefs. Our lifestyles and perspectives are no different from those of anyone around us.

-Among outsiders (those looking at Christianity from the outside in), 84% say they personally know at least one committed Christian. Yet 15% thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm. This gap speaks volumes.

-Living with integrity starts with being transparent.

-The perception of hypocrisy also emerges when we start fighting the "culture war" - meaning we attack people's behavioral patterns rather than love them as people.

-Young people are also more likely to believe one can live a meaningful life without accepting Jesus Christ.

-We often seem like spiritual headhunters!

Any thoughts?? Anyone else read this book??

Benedict Petrino?

This is the actual letter that Bobby Petrino left in the locker to let his team know that he was leaving. NO CLASS...what a way to leave.

Revenge!

A year ago this weekend, Holly and I awoke from a very refreshing night of sleep, ready to spend the day in celebration of her day of birth. It was a cold Saturday morning; Bryan was with my in-laws, so Holly and I had the entire day for just us.

As a walked into the kitchen I noticed something white whipping around our deck outside...as I looked closer, I saw that we had been TP'd. So then I'm thinking...if that's in the back, there's no telling what the front looks like! I open the front door and my eyes beheld an array of pranking on our new home. At least 20-25 rolls of toilet paper were used...about 150 forks were firmly planted in our yard. Our cars were wrapped tightly as well. Not only was it cold, but it had rained just enough to make everything extra messy! Urrgghhhhhh...I thought to myself.

Being a youth minister for 18 years, I've had my fair share of being pranked and believe me it's a strange way of your youth (or youth leaders!) letting you know how much you are loved. And this particular "trashing" of the house was done very well! My neighbor was dumbfounded as to why people would do such a thing...as I was trying explain everything to him...he did loan me his ladder because I had to get up on my ROOF to take down the TP.

This past Wednesday night I took revenge on one of the culprits...I'd been saving these packing peanuts for about 4 months. Ahhhh it was sweet! I think one of my better "get backs." Kudos to b-rose for being a good sport (you still owe me a pair of shoes...New Balance size 11 please)...thanks to "others" who had helped!

And by the way...Adam, you are next (when you arrive home from serving God overseas...I'm showing you grace for now!)

I'll have some fun with this!

Fellow Star Wars GEEKS...this one is for us! Ever wondered what R2D2 was saying?? Wanna hear your name or for that matter any phrase said by the little 'twerp droid'?

Go here and may the force be with you.

Stoked!

I'm stoked about this movie coming out next year! Anybody have any favorite "quotes" from the previous three??

-"Snakes, why did it have to be snakes."

Million Dollar Talent...Nickel Head!

As you know I'm a big fan of the Louisville Cardinals. I grew up in Louisville and have always been a fan. I try to be a faithful fan through thick and thin...believe me there's been plenty of 'tough' years!

Lots of talented players have come and gone...every now and then you get a player that has incredible God given talent, but totally waste it. Enter in Derrick Character! Rick Pitino has been quoted saying that this guy is one of the most talented players he's ever seen...problem...he's got a nickel head! All because he doesn't want to follow the rules...simple rules like a curfew! The story is here...it's sad and frustrating. Glad to hear that the entire team agrees with the punishment even though it could punish them as a team.

Come on Derrick...get with it!

PS...Michael Vick would get the 20 million dollar talent...nickel head award too!

Dad and Lad Night

Tonight Holly is going to Shelbyville to speak to a womens ministry...so that leaves us men to fin for ourselves tonight. So that means it's going to be a DAD and LAD night.

"Dad and Lad" night/days started back when Bryan was in Kindergarten. He went half days...so every Friday (which is my day off) I would pick him up from school, and we would go doing something together...thus the name 'dad and lad'.

This tradition still carries on today, even with him being eleven. The things we do have changed over the years, but believe me, it's all about the time together. Here are a few things that we've done over the years:
-Gatti Town & video games (LOTS of these!)
-Lowes to look at tools, weed eaters, and lawn mowers
-movies
-restaurants (Moe's, McDonalds, Chinese to name a few)
-Barnes and Noble bookstore (our haven!)
-concerts (last year went to Evansville to see Toby Mac)
-Video game nights at the house
-Dicks Sporting Goods
-Circuit City to look at the tv's and play the video games
-Malls

So tonight we are planning on dinner at Moe's...and then on to Barnes and Noble to look at books and listen to music. We'll probably get something at Starbucks while we are there!

I love Bryan...he brings us much joy in life, just because he's Bryan.

What is up with college football?

DANG!! What a crazy year in college football. It all started with Michigan getting beat by Appy State...throughout the year anyone who was #1 or in the the top ten were getting dinked! USC, Florida, Kentucky beating LS-who?, West Virginia coughing up the Big East title game to Pittsburgh last night. What is in the water on college campuses???

Okay...little trivia...what was the BIGGEST upset this year in college football?? Sorry to say it's not Appalachian State beating Michigan!! SO what is it??