Fall is Glorious

I haven't written in a while but I today I just feel like I need to. Almost like it would be good for me to just write. So I think I am going to write about my favorite time of the year - FALL. Fall has always been my favorite season but in the last few years it has become BY FAR (abs) my favorite season. My reasons:

1. I love the cooler temperatures ranging from a little above freezing to the high 50's and low 60's.
2. I love the full moons and multi-colored trees.
3. I love football.
4. I love cider.
5. My favorite Holiday is in the Fall - Thanksgiving.
6. I love the new beginning that fall seems to bring me.
7. I love playoff baseball.
8. I love taking the girls around the neighborhood for trick or treating.
9. I love the sense of satisfaction I feel when the leaves are raked.
10. I love fires with friends on a chilly night.

I always feel more alive in autumn. As if I have this clearer vision of God, life, and my purpose on earth. I realize for others it is summer, spring, or for you real sick people - winter. But I love the seasons and how the earth changes and in some way how we change with it. The seasons roll on and the years continue to add up and I am learning more and more to create that space in life to enjoy the little things God brings our way. As Gretchen tells me, "to enjoy the little things." During the fall, I see more of these "little things" and all these little things begin to add up into a collection of memories to draw from for the not so good seasons in life. Below are some "little thing memories" for me from so far this fall.

Coffee, Chopped, & Myrtle Beach

This morning I am drinking a sample cup of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew (or better known as instant coffee). Honestly...better than I expected but I believe I will continue on being a staple American and prefer brewed coffee. Maybe it is just in my head but it isn't the same. The taste isn't bad but the texture and finish of each sip just feels...well instant. For camping or other extreme circumstances where coffee is needed I would prefer this over other instant coffees but never will you hear me say, "You know what, don't go through the hassle of grinding up those fresh beans and brewing a glorious pot of coffee. Just boil up some water, pour that pouter into the cup, and stir. It tastes much better."

Over the lean summer months of television viewing my family and I have DVR'd on more than one occasion the show CHOPPED on the Food Network. The basic premise is you begin with four chefs. The first timed round is the appetizer. They have a set amount of time to take three random ingredients and turn it into an appetizer for the three judges. The judges critique the chefs based on presentation, creativity, and taste. The bottom appetizer is "chopped" and they move on to the entree round. Following this round someone else is "chopped" until there are two chefs left for the dessert round. Following the dessert round the final competitor is chopped and one person is left as the "chopped" champion. This past Friday night the girls (Isabelle & Tori) competed in a Chopped challenge where Mace and I were the judges. Gretchen took pictures so I will allow her the privilege of telling you exactly what happened on her blog. Lets just say I had more than enough sugar intake on Friday.

Heading to Myrtle Beach next Sunday for a week with my sister Katie's family. We have been talking about this trip for like 3-4 years and it is finally going to happen. The girls have never seen the ocean yet so it will be a wonderful trip (except for the 2600 miles in the van driving there and back!!!).

Summer - 2009

With college football beginning late last week and today being Labor Day, I say goodbye to summer. I know officially we have a few more weeks but after Labor Day it always feels like fall for me. Personally, I don't mind. I love fall. It is my favorite season of the year - the beautiful colors of trees, football, apple cider, Thanksgiving (my favorite Holiday), sweatshirts, etc. But before I get ahead of myself looking to the future, I thought I would say goodbye to June, July, and August. Here are some of my favorite moments from the summer:

Annapolis, MD - A beautiful little gem of a city we stumbled upon while visiting D.C.

Sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with my family and looking at the lights of D.C.

Reconnecting with friends in Clarks Summit, PA.

Norwich, NY - Great conversations with Woody Evans and Eric Beavers over a fire along with an amazing lunch in the cabin porch. Oh...and I milked a cow.

Columbus, Ohio - To me, the most beautiful place in the world because I love the people that live there.

Grand Ole Creamery - The coconut chip ice cream is amazing!

Iowa State Fair - It took me 15 years of knowing Gretchen and her family but I finally made it to the greatest fair in the U.S.

GC Shooting Clinic - I love giving back to our community and I love teaching basketball. It was a great joy to have our good friends the Chapmans with us for a week as well.

MN Visits - My sister Penny and her family came for a visit. We went to the zoo and dug through Taco John's trash together. Raymond Lines made an unexpected visit to the cities. It was a real blessing to have him here for a few days. There were also various visits from the Iowa Staffords/Frys/Baker clan.

So goodbye summer and hello fall. The seasons continue to roll and the collection of memories are getting greater. I am blessed by God to know Him and His children He intersected my life with.

Banana Butt

I still love Banana Butt Cheerios but I am on a different kick currently - HONEY KIX. And just in case you're wondering they are still "Kid-Tested, Mother-Approved!"

I highly recommend them.

A great cause

Last year my friend Dan Occhiogrosso dribbled (yes I wrote "dribbled"...a basketball) the New York City Marathon to raise funds and awareness for aids orphans in South Africa. Since the time of the NYC race other runners have dribbled various races ranging from 5k's to other full marathons. Each runner raised funds and awareness for a social injustice that they are passionate about. This group of people are networked together by the name Dribble The World. Now Ashley Ten Kate will dribble the NYC half-marathon with the goal of ending sex slave trafficking. I encourage you to at least check out this LINK to watch a video on sex slave trafficking and see how you can potentially be involved.

On a personal note, I need to quit making excuses and dribble a race in the next 18 months. I have a few charities in mind that I would like to raise funds for. Anyone want to commit to a race with me? I know of a certain couple in NC that have been training hard.

Happy Birthday Gretchen

My beautiful wife celebrates her birthday today (along with Eric). The picture above sums up one of the million reasons why I love Gretchen - she constantly puts everyone else ahead of her. She finds more joy in someone else's good fortune than any good thing that happens to her. She is a steady reminder for me of Jesus' words - "He who wants to be great will be a servant of all".

This is what I wrote in her birthday card:

I celebrate beauty when I look in your eyes

I celebrate joy as I hear you laugh

I celebrate peaceful feelings in your loving embrace

I celebrate kindness every time you serve

I celebrate goodness every September 20

I celebrate life when we go on adventures

I celebrate creativity as I read your thoughts

I celebrate you for in you I see God

I celebrate God because He created You

Happy Birthday Babe!

Touching Teets

Most are aware my family and I have been gone for about 3 weeks traveling out east to PA, NY, D.C., and Ohio. We shared many adventures with friends and family but nothing compares cross-culturally to my hands touching a cow's...well you know - look at the title. This is my good buddy Adam Evans. But I know him as Woody.



Woody grew up on a farm and as of about six weeks ago he became a farmer by trade. So Woody is used to cow poop, milking, checking to see if animals are in heat, etc. Me...not so much. I grew up on the west side of Columbus where the only animals I saw regularly were dogs and cats. So while I was at Woody's in Norwich he wanted me to experience a bit of his daily chores...mainly milking the cows. I, of course, had no idea what this process was like so Woody decided to use my fingers as the training object. We had a good laugh.



Here is the real lesson that took place the morning of the chores:



Here are the steps:

1. Clean off the teets with this special cleaning agent. You just dip the teets in the stuff (no touching the teets yet).
2. Wipe off the teets with a paper towel (still no hand to teet touching).
3. Squeeze some milk out of the teets to make sure it is OK (now the first touch).
4. Hook the teets up to the vacuuming agent (pictures above) for the milking.

Now when people found out the machine actually milks the cows they questioned my true milking experience. They thought I had to manually milk the cows to get credit. Whether a machine or I milk the cows is not the issue for me. It was that first touch of the cows private area. Come on! Look at those things!



So don't devalue my milking chores. I, for the first time, became intimate with a cow for the sake of milk. This was a major moment in my city boy life. I must confess it felt good as Woody and I stood at the edge of the barn and looked out on that beautiful upstate NY countryside after doing a little work. There is something about farm life. Not sure I am the man to claim farming as a profession, but doing some chores every now and again with a great friend is something I welcome.

And the milk was great. That's right - I had milk straight from the cow. It was thick and glorious. I even made Gretchen try it. And for those of you that know Gretchen - that is an accomplishment. She won't even drink milk from the grocery store.