As I sat and  looked at my little girl, it hit me like it so often does.  I was amazed at how big she is getting.  Before long she will join the ranks of my older girls.  It doesn’t take long.

This afternoon I met with a man who has cancer.  As I think back on my conversation with him, as I reflect on this little moment with my baby girl, I am reminded once again of the value of relationship.

Life is intended to be lived with others.  It’s little moments like these that have a way of reminding us of what really is important. People matter.  Relationships matter.  Taking the time to appreciate even the simple things in life have a way of making us realize the frailty of life and how fleeting it is.  Make the most of the life you have been given.

Take the time today to appreciate the relationships you have and the memories you are making. You will be glad you did.  I know I am.

As my wife tried to negotiate with Eden on who had clean up duty, etched in my mind for at least tonight are the words of my 5 year old daughter,  ”Its hard to put on the bed sheet.”  And so what do we do?  We put on the bed sheet and we cherish the memories and the time we have together with our children.

On Monday we pretty much discovered that we own and drive a one terrain vehicle.  Our 12 passenger Chevy Express does not like the snow and does not do well in it.  While I am grateful to have avoided any collisions or meetings with the ditch, I do know not to venture out in the snow.  I miss our Suburban.

I am surprised by how many people don’t pay attention and just drive through high traffic areas without giving much thought to the idea that they didn’t have a green light or for that matter any kind of light.  When the power is out, shouldn’t drivers be more careful and not less?  Good question I know.  Doesn’t it default to a 4 way stop situation?  I could be wrong…

My wife had the quote of the day on Monday.  After being in our one terrain vehicle with me, and after being out in the cold she concluded…”I like the snow from the view of my window and warm home.”  For her, why go out if you don’t have too.

The past 2 days have been especially cold.  It is not even winter yet!

We have a family in our church experiencing the elements.  No power.  They are living in their 70 degree living room where they slept last night with 3 cats, 1 dog, 1 bird, and two fish – one big happy family while the rest of the house was 49.  Kudos to Rick and Debbie for making the best of their situation.

And lastly…I have much to be Thankful for, what about you?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sometimes all we need is  a little push to get us going.  Who is someone you can give a little encouraging push to?

Way to go Jaden!!  In our family at least…Amy is the potty trainer and I am the bike riding trainer.  I like it that way, even though Amy has been trying to convince me otherwise!

First, we outgrew the 2 door sports car.  I enjoyed our 5 speed Chevy Cavalier even if it wasn’t a Corvet.  Then we outgrew the minivan.  Just recently we outgrew the Suburban.  While we are in no way approaching the need for a bus – I do like our new family wagon.  Yes, I have officially gotten over the sporty feel of the Suburban and am now driving a 12 passenger Chevy Express.  We are now officially “one of those families.”

“As one of those families” I am blessed and honored to be the dad of 7 amazing children.  As I have often said and will say again, I am one blessed man!  Jesus has been very good to me and my family.

Kudos to big families!

Last week Luke and I went on a 11-12 mile hike and spent the night at Packwood Lake.  We had a wonderful time being out in the woods enjoying the wonders of creation and spending time with 7 other great guys.  I will list some of the highlights to our hike below.  They are not listed in any particular order in case you were wondering.

>Bathroom time in an outhouse

>Jumping off a bridge into breath taking cold water

>Amazing views of the lake and Mount Rainier

>Mice getting into my pack, eating my bagel and leaving a nice mess for me to pick up

>Spending time with my brother and his sons

>Hanging with my son Luke -he is one amazing 7 year old.  We had a lot of fun together

>Luke almost jumping off the bridge…I’m glad he didn’t

>Catching crawdads – it took me back to my  early camping days

Never been hiking?  I highly recommend it! As good as it would be to do it alone…it is even better when you can share it with others.  I would love to hear of a fun experience that you have recently shared with someone else.

Only in Oklahoma:

Pok Chop is a menu item.  Up here in the northwest we call them Pork Chops.

Every shower head I have ever used (of which are not many) I have had to bend way down to wash my hair.  I wonder why they don’t mount them any higher?  A good question I must say.

The toilets, at least in the girl’s bathrooms at the airport, have automatic toilet cover dispensers.  How cool is that?  Now I found this out from a good source – my wife.  She took a picture with her phone and I have still not seen it.  I will have to ask her about it later.

Lastly, they are not overly concerned about another terrorist attack.  My friend who lives in Oklahoma City said that he was recently able to take his son up to the top of the Chase building and nobody said anything to him about his purpose or about the backpack that he was wearing.  Here in Washington – most major companies are practically on lock down.  They are secure areas and it involves a process to get in, and once you do, you have to carry a visitor’s pass and they are going to want to know where you are at all times.  And this from a state (WA) that has never been bombed?  Anyways…just an interesting thought.  Quite possibly Oklahoma is a little more laid back than we are here in the northwest.  Maybe it’s the rain .

We loved our time in Oklahoma.  The people and the experience was great.  We especially loved the downtown area of Oklahoma City called Bricktown.

Do you have any Only in Oklahoma experiences?

Now this is the part where I invite your nice suggestions.  Do you have any?  For example, one person suggested a stretch Suburban.  Are you thinking the same thing that I am thinking?  Nice.  What a great idea!

I am prepared to have fun with this one.  No really, I am!  Let them come.  Just remember that they are just suggestions.  Therefore you cannot get mad if we do not use them.  Room suggestions?  Vehicle suggestions?  Name suggestions?  Other suggestions?

Now this is the conversation part.  Tell me about your week.  Don’t be mad if you didn’t make it to Costco or to the park.  How has it been?