My Family

Sarah...

My lovely wife. She's amazing. The best Wife and Mom that has ever lived. She puts up with my crap and makes me a better man. I love her to infinity and beyond! We met through a friend and sat up all night on new years eve of 2006 talking. That morning we went to walmart to buy breakfast for everyone at the house and the rest is history. I knew from that night on that she was going to be my wife. We got married on May 23rd, 2008 and have been chuggin our way through life together ever since. I wouldnt change a thing! Love you Sar!

Lincoln...

My son! He's incredible. He's going to grow up to be the best man ever. I pray every day that he exceeds me in every way, that he grows up to be an amazing man of God and an amazing husband/father. Being a Dad is so fun!

oh... p.s. he's a cowboy!

Hoss...

This is my dog Hoss. He's the best dog that has ever lived. Perfect in every way. If you think I'm being overkill ask anyone who has met him! Sarah and I got him when we lived in Atlanta for fear that someone would get him to fight him because Atlanta has a massive dog fighting problem. He is an American Staffordshire Terrier and he's my dude!

Mitzi...

Well... Mitzi is a little crazy. About as Mutt as they get. But we love her. Sarah and I got her just before we got married so she's got some sentimental value. She has to wear a bark collar because for a long time she thought she had to bark to breathe, and we like our sanity...

Beyond here there be dragons...

You may be wondering why I chose this name for my blog. You may not care at all. None the less I would like to explain myself because I think this phrase and the history behind it is awesome.

When world map makers back in the day reached the end of what was explored land they stopped, fearing the unexplored and just wrote "Beyond here there be dragons". Now for an explorer that had to be intimidating. I can see it now...

" Captain we're about to cross into the unknown! What should we do!?"

" Uh... well... one of three things will happen here,

1) We'll drop off the face of the planet and die.

2) We'll cross into dragon territory, be eaten and burned alive... and also die.

3) We may discover some new land and live and become famous!

"So Captain what is it you want me to do!?"

"OOOOONNNNWWWWAAAARRRRRDDDDD!!!!!!!"

"Crap..."

I just think it would be amazing to be that brave. To absolutely have no idea whats past a certain point. No discovery channel, national geographic, or person saying "It's ok its just more land and more water! Lots of amazing things to discover! Go for it!" It's crazy to me.

People could do that and I have a hard time settling in a new job or being comfortable with new people some times!? What's wrong with me!? Where's the sense of courage!? Adventure!?

One of my new goals in life is to constantly try new things and put myself out of my comfort zone. So if your going on an adventure drag me along!

Onward!

P.s. Speaking of dragons, if you have never seen the movie Rein of fire you should! One of my favorites!

Iron sharpens Iron

So I'm having one of those days where I don't want to be around anyone. I have one of these about bi-weekly. I don't believe I'm the only one who does either. Probably anyone who is in any kind of close knit community or is just a social person in general feels this way at one point or another. I'm kind of a mental processor. So I'm ok for hours just keeping to myself doing whatever I feel like doing and not caring about anyone else. I am a selfish bastard.

I say all this because this has been a recurring thing for me for the past couple years since I've had a desire for community. I realize daily that I am more selfish than I previously thought. I sincerely believe God has called us to be intentional in our relationships with one another. It's not an easy thing by any means. It takes a daily "dying to self" kinda mentality. It is a sacrifice of sorts. I tend to disgust myself when I realize why I'm frustrated at situations and the answer turns out to be that I'm just not getting what I want, or worse that I'm not willing to serve others. Selfish... I'll admit it... I R SELL FISH!

It's said that anything worth having is worth fighting for. Even if what you are fighting is your own selfish self. Community is amazing. We were created to be up in each others business. If you don't believe that you are either way way way different than anyone I know well. Or you are fooling your self and are in for a rude awakening.

Community is the main reason we moved to Norwood. There is a community here based around the Vineyard Central church. Some people involved, some not. But all realized in one capacity or another, we need each other. We have so many people we love dearly within walking distance of our backyard (and we do like to randomly show up at each others houses unannounced without knocking haha). It has caused Sarah (wife) and myself to grow immensely. Iron sharpens Iron. We are truly blessed by everyone around us.

So all this to say. I am being taught a lesson in selflessness and/or community. It sucks but is the best thing for me and my family.

I'll leave you with this....

What were they thinking???

Just a few things...

So I have a few things to say...

First and foremost to the lady that screamed out her window at my rolled up car window today trying to tell me that I was driving too slow in the fast lane, you should lay off the steroids or whatever it is that makes you an insane chunk of human flesh. Do it for me... for the children... for the world.. thank you.

Secondly to all parents, love your children and spend time with them... it makes me really sad to see kids neglected by perfectly able bodied parents.

Thirdly... I have been really inspired to build things and focus on my art lately... not sure why. But its been pretty sweet. I'll be posting some pictures soon of things I'm working on.

That's pretty much it for now. I'm tired and am going to bed.

Goodnight! Thanks for reading! And I'll leave you with this!

Baby love

So our computer was jacked up real bad for a long time so I had no desire to do anything on here. But now (thanks to Elan Technologies in Northside) I have a functioning computer! There is a lot of things that have changed in the past year. Some of which include...

*Moving to a new house in Norwood (which we love)

*Going through three jobs (to get to the incredible job I have now)

*My two year wedding anniversary (my wife is amazing)

*And Becoming a FREAKING DAD!!!

More to come...