Pet Peeves

Not necessary in any order.............each one just seems to suck the life out of me.......

1. Very bright red lipstick
2. The smell of maple syrup on kids' hands after they have just eaten pancakes.....even a bath doesn't knock it out.
3. Unnecessary traffic
4. Speaking or waving to someone and getting absolutely no form of acknowledgement.
5. The smell of Acquanet hairspray (don't even know if it is still around, but if it is on someone's dome, I will smell it and start dry heaving.)
6. Cheetos finger stains
7. The heel of your sock not being in the right spot, thus hanging over the side of your shoe.
8. Unecessary phone chat.
9. Unecessary whining.
10. Not showing up on time.
11. The people in front of you at the drive thru ATM that feel a need to camp out in the drive lane AFTER they have received their cash.
12. Trying to get 3 kids in their car seats when your crunched for time.
13. Wandering aimlessly in a mall with no objective.
14. The decision to replace the Texas Rangers red uniforms with blue.
15. When people double-park their cars because they think that they are so much more important than you will ever be.
16. The mall parker who will wait 4 minutes and hold up one-way traffic for a parking spot 4 stalls closer to the entrance. Do they not realize that they will be walking all throughout the mall?
17. An appetizer tray consisting of only cold seafood.
18. Trying to find my car keys, wallet, and cell phone when I am running out the door ( a daily occurrence for me).
19. A t-shirt that rides really high on your neck.
20. A foodserver at a restaurant who doesn't "get it"....i.e, you have to ask for drink refills, they don't check on your food, they don't bring you that side of ranch that you asked for 8 times...

For those that know me well, I know that you can probably add to this list. Feel free to add them in!

A Day For The Memory Bank

I love my kids so much that I can't explain it. So often we hear our elders reminding us with young children, "they'll be grown before you know it - enjoy every minute" or "you look up and they will be gone".........I know this to be true, but this ridiculously fast paced world makes it so incredibly hard to "stop" and treasure each moment.

Today, Taylor went to work with me. She has been wanting to come to work with me for the whole summer. We did it once last year and it was great. Today was one of the best days of my worklife. Memories were made that will never fade. I truly believe that she thinks that everyday in my world 1) everyone is nice in the commercial real estate industry and wants to buy a building from me, 2) you get hot chocolate at Starbucks first thing in the morning, 3) eat at your favorite restaurant for lunch, 3) get ice cream mid-day, and 4) play on the computer at the office. Neverthess, I think it was good for her to be with Daddy for a day.

Today and tonight I truly treasured the moments with my children. Being with Taylor today, and snuggling with Colton and Lexi until they were asleep tonight and thinking about how special it was during that moment...........you literally can't get any better than that.

Notes on being Thirtysomething

This blog goes out to the people that read my blog............all 3 of you.

Today I woke up and I was middle aged.............all of the sudden. Some reasons I feel this way:

Grey hairs are popping up (slowly mind you, but they are surfacing).
My nose hair grows faster than the hair on my head.
Staying home has become the preferred option.
I have seen 2 movies at the theatre in the past yr.
I think a lot about life insurance, 401Ks, private school vs. public school, begonias vs. geraniums, etc.
I have read "Goodnight Moon" over 10 million times.
I get "yes sir'd" by the young punk working the check out line at the grocery store.
The music that I hear on "classic rock stations" isn't classic to me....it's still quite fresh.
I yell at young punks to "SLOW DOWN" when they drive down our street uncautiously.
Studying my family tree is appealing to me.
Studying about WWII is apealing to me.
I am becoming my Dad............which is not a bad thing by the way.
Our wedding photos look very dated.
Craig Fisher's glasses that he wore in college make me giggle out loud when I see a picture of them............man, them critters were big, Fish.
I think I pulled a hamstring mulching my flowerbeds the other day.

A strange revelation

Remember when you were a kid, and you got hurt, and your Daddy held you so close and tight, and the pain suddenly subsided within seconds? There was no place like being in Daddy's arms when I was hurt. There was nothing stronger than Daddy's arms and being close on his chest with tears running down my cheek. It felt like nothing could permeate my Dad's loving grip on me. Tonight, two of my kids came crying to me with various hurts most likely due to falling on Barbie or dropping a Rescue Hero on a tiny toe....................... and I held them close and I suddenly noticed the cries and tears stopped within seconds.............could it be that my kids feel the same way about me? Me, the worrier..........the one that needs to be reminded that God is in control on a daily basis?.............pretty incredible, but I know it to be true. I am thankful today that I am a Daddy to the 3 most precious children I have ever known. I am thankful that my chest causes their tears to stop. I can't wait for them to experience the comfort and peace that comes from their Heavenly Daddy's arms.

Goodbye to our best friend...........Maverick

It happened so fast and unexpectedly. Maverick, the Doggett family dog - a Welsh Corgi - herniated a disc in his back. He became instantly paralyzed from the waist down. He lost control of his bladder as a result of the damage. From the waist up, he was fine, aside from the obvious pain. For 24 hours, he moved as a seal dragging his lower body on the ground. We prayed that he would pop up on his back legs the next morning..........he did not. The vet said that the damage had been done, and that the best thing for Maverick would be to put him down.

Karen and I felt led that we needed to use this as a teaching moment for our 3 precious children instead of trying to sweep it under the rug.................God had a reason for this. As we often witness, God often uses difficult times to do his best work. We told our kids (ages 6,3, and 2) that they needed to say goodbye to "Mavy" one more time because he was going to the Doggie doctor and would probably not be coming back home because he is so sick. To our astonishment, no one cried. Instead, they asked alot of questions about life and death. We talked about it openly and honestly.

When they walked up to Maverick for the last time, he desperately drug his little body towards them for some love from them. Maverick could actually smile (anyone in our family can verify this!) He smiled at them, and they told him that they loved him and would miss him so much. Then, they simply took turns patting him and petting him as he lovingly smiled back. Taylor and Lexi, our two girls, said goodbye to him one last time, and turned and walked away. Then, something happened that I will never forget. Our son, Colton, began to walk away too, then stopped. There was not a sound in the air except for some birds in the background. He walked back to Mav and began to pet and pat him one last time. He kissed him on his little white spot on his head and then he and Maverick just stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity.
It then struck me...........the unconditional love of a dog, and the innocence of a child starring face to face at each other - two of God's incredible gifts to man.

Karen and I took Maverick to the vet together. We held him in our arms together as he went limp in our arms never to wake up again. It was so incredibly hard, but we are so glad that we were there together with him to the very end. We will never forget that moment.......ever.

Today, the story of Maverick makes us so grateful to God for our children's health. Karen and I have thought often of Brian and Jamie Hackney and Brent and Paige McCall the past few days. These are families of incredible faith that have lost much more than a loved pet.............one of their precious children. Their faith is an amazing example for all.

Maverick, we will miss your soft ears, your sweet "lickens", your mischevious nature, your nonstop desire to go on walks, and waking up nose to nose with you in the morning. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

There is a first for everything

I am posting this first entry for several reasons, but the main one is to make a certain 3 individuals laugh out loud and probably applaude simply by seeing that this site has been established. I will be subscribing to the "less is more" philosophy - i.e. it may be weeks before another entry is posted.

Boys, I guess I am in.