The Driveway Phenomenon

For the three years we lived in California, never once did we, or did we see our neighbors hanging out in our (their) driveways or garages. But since we've moved into our new house, in a very small town northwest of Oklahoma City (Piedmont), we've probably sat in our lawn chairs in our driveway (or garage) at least once a week. And we're not the only ones in our neighborhood to enjoy this "driveway phenonemon" ... it seems everyone else in our neighborhood does too. Carter rides his big wheel or little car around the driveway and we sit, with sodas in hand, and watch him for hours. We love this newfound "hobby" and are getting ready for our little town's 4th of July Festival tonight ... and we'll be able to watch the fireworks show form our chairs in our driveway. I love small-town living!

A Glimpse Into The Future

My parents are in town for the weekend and they brought my 4-year-old nephew with them. It didn't take long for Steph and I to realize, after seeing Carter and Jasper playing together, that this is going to be our life in two years (with a little girl in the mix too)! I'm not sure we have the energy for this ... but still, I sure am looking forward to it. We just got back from Incredible Pizza (Chuch E. Cheese's on steroids) and now it's time for a nap.

Tancing With Our Son

Our 20-month old son loves music and he loves to dance. He enjoys solo dancing - bouncing to the rhythm, but also loves to dance with his mama and dada. And believe me when I say that it's probably our favorite thing too. And this morning, right before coming into the office, I got to start my day dancing with my son. I was in our bedroom and he came running in, made his way over to our alarm clock, punched the button and turned on the music. He then pointed up at me and in his sweet baby voice, said, "Tance." "Tancing", as he refers to it means that I pick him up, he places his head on my shoulder, and we sway to the beat for as long as he can lay still. It's the best time, especially since Carter is such a busy boy and never just "cuddles" with us. My wife and I charish our tancing times with him ... and to start the day tancing with my son ... well, there could be no better way to start a day.

Maybe today, for just a moment, we can all turn on our favorite song, close our eyes, and picture ourselves in the arms of our Loving Father, God ... place our head on His Shoulder, and tance with Him.

Picnic In The Van

It's been raining in Oklahoma City everyday now for about two weeks. Today, my wife had planned on taking our son to the playland in the mall. I was going to meet them there for lunch and watch with my wife as our son dominated the playland. But as with every other day the past two weeks - it was raining - raining hard. So my wife called me and told me that they had packed a lunch and were going to pick me up from the office and we were going to have a picnic in our minivan. And that is exactly what we did - we had a picninc in our van. It was a blast. We have removed a seat for easy "in and out" access with our son so he had plenty of space today to climb around the van and make us laugh out loud numerous times. I can't wait until we get to picnic in our van again.

*** Minivan Disclaimer: Anytime I mention that we own a minivan my wife likes me to mention that it is not by choice that we own a minivan - but that there seem to be no other vehicles smaller than a tank that can accommodate three car seats (we have a 20-month old and my wife is 7 months pregnant with twins).