Cold day for a horsey ride.

The boys stayed over at grandma/pa's house and strolled over to the stables and rode the horses around the arena.

Color changing card trick.

I had to share this one....

Can you see the color change?

Thoughts on Marriage

My mom sent me an email today that was rather cute. It was 9 and 10 year olds' opinion on dating and marriage. It got me curious to know what my boys would say to these same questions, so I conducted some interviews:

Question #1
How do you decide who you want to marry?

Jake: "Well, she needs to be nice, sweet, likes me, and I like her back. Oh, and it'd be nice if she was pretty."
Chris: "I don't want to get married"

Question #2
What is the right age to get married?
Jake: "20 - it's a good age. And really, you should only know half of the stuff about each other before you're married. You learn the deep stuff AFTER you get married!"
Chris: "18 - because I just picked a number"

Question #3
What do you do on a date?
Jake: "You eat, talk, and have fun with each other."
Chris: "I don't know...I've never been on a date!"

Question #4
When is it okay to kiss?
Jake: "You can kiss a little before you're engaged, and a little more after you're engaged."
Chris: "Never!"

Question #5
Is it better to be single, or married?
Jake: "Married. That way you're not alone and you have someone to cook food for you so you don't have to eat out of cans."
Chris: "Single. You get to do whatever you want, whenever you want."

Question #6
How do you make a marriage work?
Jake: "Try not to fight, like the same stuff, decide on things equally, and let your kids know what's going on sometimes."
Chris: "How should I know?! I'm not getting married!"


I had to laugh at these responses, just because Chris is so adamant about not getting married. One of these days, I'm going to video tape him saying so....that way I have something fun to play at his wedding!

I'm impressed with Jake's wisdom. For such a young guy, he seems to have a good idea of what type of character it takes to be in a healthy relationship. I found him not wanting to eat out of cans quite humorous though! I really hope his wife is a good cook!

Job Update

I've had a few people ask me how my new job is going. I figured it might be a good idea to post something on here about it, since I haven't really written anything since starting. It's going well, and I've learned a lot about myself in these last 8 weeks.

My position started off with a bang. I was overwhelmed by compliments and promises of how I was going to make the office run smoother. Then things died down a bit, and I got a bit bored for a few weeks. During this time, I realized how much I like to be in control. I was really frustrated with myself, because I had to keep asking questions, and my bosses didn't seem to want to let me run with things and improve on processes. I felt like I was bugging them more than I was helping them. I went in with the thoughts that I would improve all of their processes, and instead, I was bored to tears with the fact that I had to follow their processes. My bosses aren't as technically advanced as I am, and I had to "dumb" myself down a bit to fit into their protocols.

I really feel that this was a blessing to me, in spite of my frustrations. During that short 6 week period, I really examined myself and my personality. I always pegged myself as a "follower" and I've learned that I'm more of a leader than I realized. I found out that I like to be in control, and I have a hard time asking for help. I found out that I'm pretty confident in my abilities. And I learned that there are times you just have to take a leap of faith in what you feel is God's calling, and let Him do the rest.

Years ago, our pastor talked about a time when he had a job that he didn't enjoy. He really felt through that time that God was calling him to work "As unto the Lord". To do his best, even when nobody was watching. That sermon has been brought to mind quite a bit recently, and I've done my best to take it to heart. I'm doing my best to work with excellence, even when it's doing something simple.

Over the last 2 weeks, I've felt a real breakthrough at work. I have been able to communicate with my bosses my heart to serve them. They've made several comments recently, that they feel confident in my abilities, and they feel that I really want to help them. Now that I know their processes more (and I've learned a TON about the dental industry), I'm able to start implementing ideas to streamline and improve. They're asking for my help more and more, and are giving me more responsibilies.

I have been really blessed, recently, by an act of confidence in me by my bosses. There is a large dental convention that takes place in Baltimore every year. My bosses haven't been able to go for years, due to a lack of staffing that they could trust to run the office. Well, they've made their reservations, booked their flights, and bought their convention tickets. They feel confident that I can run the office by myself for 3 days at the end of the month. I'm thankful that they feel this confidence in me, and I'm praying for God's favor as well. I really want to bless them with coming back to a smooth operation.

I took this job for several reasons. The main reason is to, hopefully, earn enough income that eventually Michael can feel the freedom to take his photography to a deeper level. I am so blessed by this gift that God has given Michael, that I will do what ever I can to support his development and walk in photography. Another reason I took the job was I felt I was over worked and underpaid at my previous position. Although I didn't expect to struggle with the lack of responsibility, it has been a nice change of pace to not be as stressed about work. I took this job to help out my bosses as well. I saw a need, and felt that I could be part of their solution. I've learned that God had a reason that I didn't see at first as well. He wanted to teach me about the creation I am in Him. While this is a life long lesson, I'm thankful for the revelations He's given me over these past few weeks, and I pray that I will continue to walk in those revelations....changing actions and habits that need changed, and strengthening and developing His gifts in me along the way.

Toothless

Chris lost his first upper tooth tonight.