All I See Is Beauty

This is my wife. Today, August 18th we have been married 16 years. She will hate this picture (she hates every picture) but maybe it is my fault, because I can't see anything but beauty in her.

When I first saw her, I was very much attracted to her. I didn't know her yet, but I wanted to. When I found out she did not know the Lord, I had to be patient, because I knew if I got involved, I would stay involved. I wanted this relationship so bad, but I wanted it to please God. He blessed me. All I see is what God has given me. A beautiful, confident, gifted woman of God!

I had faith she would come to know the Lord and she did. When I got to know her, it was obvious to me that this was the one. She makes me better...she makes me want to be better...I have to be the best for her. She has always encouraged my walk with the Lord. When I have failed in my spiritual leading, she has reminded me to lead. When I have made mistakes, she was always waiting for me to learn and grow from what I had done. Whenever I am weak, she is picking up the slack. We work!

Tammy, I love you so much. As a "completely NON-metro sexual" I should be embarrassed to say this...I am tearing up, BUT I am not embarrassed. I am not embarrassed to cry with you or for you. I am not embarrassed to take on someone or something for you. I am not embarrassed ever to call you my wife and best friend. I am not embarrassed to try harder and to admit I am wrong for you.

Happy Anniversary! I love you Tammy! I am so looking forward to hitting 50 years with you!

Dad and Book Update

Thought I'd let you all know that my Dad went home today. They released him a day early. They felt he is doing very well. He feels much better. He is Still a little week and does not have a great appetite, but he is home. I think they are wanting to come down here to Medford this weekend to get away and check up on work around their house here. Praise the Lord for his quick healing!

The book I've been reading this week for "Reading Rainbow" was put on hold for a couple of days during all the events with my Dad, but I will be picking back up tomorrow and should have a review by Sunday. So far it has been very challenging...in a good way. It's not hard to read, but what is written is taking a lot to digest. I am really enjoying it. Check back for the review.

Eugene, Oregon...Go Ducks!

So, now that we can breathe in a little, we enjoyed a relaxing day here in Eugene, Oregon. My wife and I lived her for 2 1/2 years and my folks have been here for 17. My dad has been the Senior Pastor of First baptist Church since the fall of 1990. Which puts his retirement into perspective. He's been here for a while and it has been a wonderful place for him to end his Pastoral career.

So Eugene is a College town. University of Oregon is here and we happen to be huge Ducks fans. We've gone through a tough time here the last couple of years with the football program, but the basketball team did just fine this year. I actually really enjoy this town. Lots of boutique shops and restaurants and lots of culture for Oregon. Of course with that culture comes some interesting people. This is a huge missions field here. Eugene is one of the least churched areas of Oregon. About 6-8%. Incredible isn't it.

Anyway, my Son is the biggest Duck fan of all. We are staying at a hotel next to the hospital which is adjacent to the University, so we took some time walking him around today. This is where he wants to go to school. We had a great time with my brother and family and my Mom as well.

Dad is doing well, but is anxious to go home now. They probably aren't going to release him untill Friday. He was feeling a little worse this afternoon, but that is expected with all he went through today. He just wants to be well and gets down easily when things aren't moving fast enough. Of course Dad and Mom are planning to travel down to Medford to be in our neighborhood this Sunday once he's out so they can start moving furniture into their house down there...We'll see!

So, I thought I'd leave you with pictures from today. Thanks everyone for continued prayers and encouragement!

Nice view behind the hotel.


Ducks of course!


I am not sure I should be offended by this


My boy at the University gates


Checking out construction on Hayward field. Home of Prefontaine and the US Track and Field trials.


Home of the Final 8 basketball team. MacArthur Court


I took this pic last fall when my boy and I went to a football game. I am sure he'd want the pic posted here. He loves him some Duck football.


We walked through the cemetery on campus. Most of the people here passed away in the late 1800's or early 1900's. I would love to know some of the stories. There is a family buried here. Both children under the age of 1 and Mom died in the same year a couple of months a part. Dad is buried there with a cement slab that just reads Father and no other story. I would love to know the story. This one caught my attention as well.


Remember "Animal House"? This is one of the homes used in the movie. Yup, it was filmed here. the main house from the movie is long gone. It was demolished years ago.


My Dad's church owns two houses on campus a Sorority (The Trinity House) and a Fraternity (The AO House). Very cool. This is the AO House (Alpha and Omega).


We had dinner with the whole family (minus Dad of course) at Pearl Street Ice Cream Parlor (originally a Farrell's). I love this place. Greasy burgers, BLT's, Huge fries and Ice Cream to die for. My daughter and I shared this.


This is as far as we got!

Post Surgery Update

Well, I think we have some good news today. They performed the angiogram on my Dad at about 7:30 this morning. We were told about 1 1/2-2 hours. To my surprise about an hour in, I went down to his room to grab my Mom her sweater and my Dad was there in his room awake and alert. It concerned me a bit that the surgery went so fast. Once I got back to the waiting room, the doctor was there talking to my Mom.

When my Dad had his bypass surgery, they did 5 bypasses. They new within a short amount of time that 2 of the bypasses had not taken. Our main concern in this process today was that the other 3 were failing as well. The doctor let us know that all 3 are in perfect condition. He noticed a lot of vasculitis in the original veins, which was expected. Lupus can attack the veins and scar them and they clog. The doctor was very confident that my Dad's heart is strong and he is not concerned at all of any heart damage or heart attack possibilities. The pain my Dad has been experiencing is caused mostly by the vasculitis. They are going to begin a process of daily pain management and lifestyle changes that should help my Dad be comfortable and allow him to live well for years to come.

There is so much positive in what happened today. I believe that God has answered my prayers of some good years for my Dad and Mom to retire. Also, I believe that my Dad will be well and able to leave the church here with a couple good weeks of teaching and leadership before he goes.

Thank you for everything you all are doing. the emails, calls, comments and most of all prayers have been heard loud and clear and I am grateful to you and to our God who heals and loves his children.

I will post later today and tomorrow with any updates!

More Info On My Dad

Many of you have been checking the blog for updates and I thank you. I apologize that this comes late in the evening, but some very good friends of ours, here in Eugene took us out to a great dinner. Excellent food and excellent company...Thanks Jeff and Amy!

We spent some time with my Dad this afternoon and we were there when the doctor stopped by so we were able to hear first hand what is happening and how he is doing. When we go there HE LOOKED GREAT! Tammy was here last week and at that time my Dad was looking and doing horrible. The new antibiotics have taken his temperature down to the 99 degree range. Better than the 104 temp he was dealing with for a couple of days. The doctor said that his X-rays look about the same, but he was happy with that. He would be concerned if had gotten worse, but he did not expect there to be a noticeable difference even if he was getting better. It takes time to clear Pneumonia. The doctor said my Dad has a lot against him (lupus, low immune system, medications that actually hinder him getting better quickly), but he is doing well. He is probably about 50% better. They are going ahead with the angiogram first thing in the morning. He will be in surgery at 7:45. They are expecting the surgery to take about an hour. I will do my best to post info as soon as I get it tomorrow.

Thank you SO MUCH for all your prayers. We are so grateful to have friends as all of you!

Update and Next Book

I just want to say thank you all so much! I just sounded southern...maybe I shouldn't frequent Mandy's blog so much :). I really do appreciate all the thoughtful calls emails and comments regarding my Dad. I was overwhelmed at church this morning. So many of you care and it shows. Thank You!

We have a long way to go, but he was doing a little better today. The doctor's gave him a new antibiotic and they felt that X-rays showed it was helping with the Pneumonia. We will head up in the morning to be with them for the Angiogram surgery on Tuesday. My mom is doing well. She worked at church all weekend. I know my Dad misses being able to be on stage teaching the church he is about to retire from. It is something he loves to do and does well. If any of you would like to hear him preach, you can check out the his latest teaching here.

In the midst of everything going on, I do not want to take a break from the amazing reading journey God has me on. I began a new book last night for the "Reading Rainbow". "The Dangerous Act of Worship" by Mark Labberton will be this weeks book. I saw this reviewed over here. It looked like something I really need to dig into after coming off the book I read last week.

So, thank you for the prayers. It is amazing to know that my Dad is being lifted up. Literally all over the world. I will post tomorrow with updates.


edit-that's a crap load of links...hopefully they are beneficial for you.

I'm Asking For Prayer

Some of you have followed along on either my blog or my wife's blog. If you have you know that my Dad has had a rough year health wise. He has been fighting an extreme case of Lupus. It has taken it's toll on him. Today he went back into the hospital. About 2 weeks ago he had a massive seizure caused by his fight with lupus. During his seizure, he aspirated and now is fighting pneumonia. We heard from my mom tonight that he is not well. The doctor's are concerned as he is needing to have an angiogram done as soon as possible to possibly put stints in to alleviate stress on his heart due to the damage lupus has caused to his arteries. Things have been progressing downhill over the last couple of months and I don't like to think negatively, but things are not getting better. The doctor's are concerned he will make it through the angiogram, because his system is so weak. They need to get him in on either Monday or Tuesday and the pneumonia is holding them back. He is 6 weeks from retirement, brought on by his health. I don't have a specific to pray for, just that as God leads us through this time that we would be patient, sensitive to His Spirit and that we would know how to provide for my Dad and my Mom in all of it.

Baby Leino

I was looking through my blog reader today and I read a post by NewBoxes. After reading his post I immediately went over to check out the blog he referred me to.

There is a blog for Baby Leino. Issac Leino is a little guy that was born to loving parents in February of this year and he went home to be with the Lord this last Sunday evening. Issac was born with many medical issues and his parents decided to create a blog archiving his journey. As I read through post after post, I was impacted, saddened, in awe and most of all encouraged by this little family that found such hope and faith in God through this journey. And seeing the response to the blog, God has used them to impact 1000's.

When you have a chance read through Isaac's journey. It will bless you

Marriage Meme

Some of you may be saying...What the heck is a meme? I know I did the first time I saw it. Simply, a Meme is a series of questions passed around from blog to blog. There are a whole lot of other definitions to it, but we will leave it at that.

So my wife and I have a friend named Mandy. She tagged us yesterday to participate in this meme. Mandy is a worship leader a a church in New England. She is attending seminary. She authors two blogs, one personal and one that highlights the discussion regarding blended worship. Mandy asked me yesterday how I have time to read books...back at you :)

Anyway, I am to tell you 8 things about my marriage. I am sure these will be quite profound and littered with depth and wisdom...or not.

1) I am married to my dream girl. I dated a few girls through my high school years. One I was very serious about. And let me preface, they were all wonderful women. When I met Tammy, and got to know her I had found everything I was looking for. I didn't even know I was looking for it. When she and I got together, God blessed me. She makes me a better person.
(I could probably stop right here, but I will continue on :)

2)Tammy and I met at church. When she walked in (remember this was 1989), she was an LA Gear ad. She wore a tank top with a high cut jean jacket, a jean mini skirt and LA Gear high tops. I melted.

3) Our first official date was in a car driving back from JesusFest in Riverside. We then went to In-N-Out and had dinner at like 1AM, after that we headed to her and her rommates apartment and stayed up all night talking.

4) We were engaged after 5 weeks of dating. I was not the one who "popped" the question. But my answer was yes! We didn't marry for another 10 months.

5) Our favorite thing to do is to enjoy Friday mornings together. I have Friday's off. During the school year when the kids are gone, we have nothing to focus on but ourselves. We may window shop, run errands or grab our computers and go down to the local WiFi coffee shop and relax. We may not even talk much, we just love to be together.

6) The best vacation we ever had was to Hawaii. One year we had a tax refund that allowed us to go to Waikiki and spend a week there. That was one of the most relaxing things we have ever done together. We have been back since with the whole family (In-laws included). it was amazing...but not as relaxing. It is my goal to spend our 25th there.

7) We will be married 16 years on the 18th. I our 16 years of marriages we have lived in 5 apartments and 6 houses. That is ridiculous!

8) The greatest thing about our marriage is that we are best friends. i have never once wanted to hang out with someone more than my wife. We love to talk, think through ideas, we are both dreamers, we both have a passion for our gifts and our relationship with God, we have amazing children that bless us every day and we love who God is making us into. Love ya Tam!

Sex camp...WHAT?!?!

So most of you know (Thanks Tam), that my son and I went camping the last couple of days. We had a chance to stay up at our churches new camp facility at Howard Prairie Lake. What a beautiful setting. This picture is the view from the beach at the camp. This is a side story, but our church has signed a lease with the county to operate the facility as a church camp. It needs a ton of work, but it is fun to see what has already been done. It should be officially operational by next Summer.

The staff at church were giving me a hard time, because they new the intent of the this trip. The plan was to talk with my son about the "birds and the bees". Pastor Ron affectionately entitled this trip "Sex Camp". I am not sure I can go with that one :)

Anyway, I wasn't at all nervous about talking to my son about this, but I definitely wanted to be appropriate and had questions of how much info is enough. I am not going to go into details on this post, but I think it is safe to say that the info I did give was more than enough. He responded numerous times with, "that's not right", "ewwww" and my favorite..."this is awkward". If you ask him, I am sure he would tell you the same, but I am thankful that he respected the talk and listened well.

Pastor Tim (Who was up at camp working while we were there, He is in charge of seeing the camp through), graced us with his presence at our evening smore-out. He was also kind enough to extend the talk my son and I were having. While we were sitting there, I asked my son to tell Tim what we had talked about. after he explained it the best he could, Tim made the statement, "so you understand the Bee-thing now". My son looked confused, so Tim went on. "You know how a bee sticks his stinger in you to sting you and when the bee pulls away the stinger tears off and then the bee dies? Well that is what happens." THANKS TIM! I think at that point my son officially freaked out. He still is asking me if Tim was serious.

I am not sure what to say???

Deep Thoughts From My Son

I am so tired. I can't get into a normal schedule this week. All the late nights last week have screwed up my sleep patterns. We have been at my parents house the last 4 nights painting. That's exhausting. I am so sick of paint. I have paint all over me and I am too tired to pick it off.

We are going to bed and my son just walks in. He is really good at whining at night. Remember, this kid is 10 and he still whines, but only at night. For some reason, when the clock hits 9 PM he comes down with all sorts of ailments, every muscle in his body starts to hurt and he can't stop coughing. So he is standing here by the bed talking to his Mom and he is whining, cause the movie we just watched made him a little scared. We just watched "The Last Mimzy". Cute kids movie...not at all scary, seriously. His mom is trying to offer suggestions to help him sleep. Maybe a light on? He then replies with "I can't sleep with the light on, because at night, the light is too stimulating and it makes me pee".

I don't know what else to say...

My Son and a Video Camera

This is what happens when a 9 year old gets a hold of a video camera!

It's a Baby Girl!

My brother and sister in law are now proud parents to a little girl. She was born yesterday at 1PM. She was 6lbs 6oz and 18 1/2 inches. We visited last night and she is adorable. She is really strong too. She wiggled right out of the blanket wrap I had her in. Her little brother Elliot helped give her a bath yesterday. Very cute!

Kid Pics!

Alright I've picked 2 of my favorite pics. I promised my daughter that I would redeem them by putting something "nicer" on the site.

Here ya go...They are pretty dang cute!

Pics of the Family

My daughter made it clear to me today that we need some "nicer" pictures on the blog. So tomorrow we will be taking some time to go through some "nicer" pictures of the kids for you. I will post them up here to prove that my kids can look "nicer".

By the way, I love to hear my daughter sing and play her guitar. She is in her room right now playing and singing the song "Captivate Us" by Watermark. Amazing song...amazing daughter. God has really gifted her. It will be fun to see how she lets God use her gifting. If you didn't know, she leads worship for our Junior high group at TRF. My son has been drumming with the KIDS church team as well. I love to see them doing what they love, to serve God.

Ok...so I am proud of my kids! "nicer" pics will be up tomorrow.

HAPPY 4th!

More Fun With iPhoto

I was looking around my computer tonight and I noticed these pics. I think without me knowing, my kids have been messing around with iPhoto. I was literally laughing out loud! I am still shedding a tear in hysterics over a couple of these! My kids are killing me.