Charlie is 4!!!

Well, after a week and a half worth of celebrating, Charlie finally turned four!  It's so much fun to see how excited kids get and to remember the joy in birthdays.  It seems as you get older, birthdays tend to be more of a reflection on life, not enough celebration.  As the kids get older, each year is my favorite, but I'll miss the ages they were.  

Charlie had plenty of John Deere celebrations filled with multiple deserts and remote controls!  Happy Birthday Little Buddy!!!

Papa's Pumpkins!

Really, I promise.  I do try to post more.  Hopefully once I get my iPhone, that will help.  

This past weekend we went down to Brown County to visit family and pick some pumpkins along the way.  It was much needed family time.  Of course I just happened to have my camera so I snagged a few shots.  My little pumpkins are so cute!  AJ and his shirt are the feature for this post.

It's been a while!

I know. I know. It's been a while since my last post. If you've spoken to us over the last few weeks, then you know what's been going on. We're trying to get settled and bring peace back into our lives.

I came across these shots of Libby I took when we went on a "Photo Date" the end of June. Rebecca picked out this hat and it was perfect. This six year old looks beautiful, yet shows attitude at the same time. The good looks are obviously from me and we all know where she got the attitude from! (Okay, so it's switched around.)

Anyway, here are some of the shots of my little girl. She survived her first week of first grade already! Man, I'm getting old!

Learning to Fall

The other week Charlie and I converted his sister's Dora bike into a man's bike...John Deere!  I must admit I'm pretty impressed with the paint job and how a few stickers off an old toy can be given new life.  

Well, Charlie was anxious to ride so he jumped on the next day and took off down the sidewalk.  I was impressed to see him riding up and down as if he had done it for years...until...he hit the edge of the grass and fell over.  I got him to get back on pretty easily, but he continued to fall a few times and became more hesitant.  Then I realized something...I taught him to get on and ride, but never took the time to teach him to fall.

In life, we need to learn how to fall.  It's often when we fall that we are able to get back up and soar to new heights.  I take this opportunity with my children to tell them how we're going to fall a lot in life and it's important that we know how to get back up and try again.  

Finally, after holding the bike in the grass and tipping him over till he learned to put his foot down and catch himself as he was falling, whenever Charlie falls now he calls out with a big smile "Papa, I put my foot out!"  Now he knows how to fall.  

Happy Father's Day

How could I not post about Father's Day on my Papa Blog?  I'd like to say that it was a special day, and it was; however, every day is like Father's Day for me at my household.  My beautiful wife always takes care of me and sacrifices so much for our family.  The kids always greet me with singing a song called "Papa's Are Special".  

Father's Day is something that I'm only able to celebrate because of the ones that have made it all possible.  Thank you Rebecca, Libby, Charlie, and AJ for giving me the honor of being called a Papa. 

Happy Father's Day to you all and to my fathers in Heaven, my dad and my Lord Jesus.

American Idol's Jason Castro Has NOTHING On Us!

So by now, you've probably all seen and heard Jason Castro play the Ukulele on American Idol.  Not too shabby, but wait a few years till Libby is the winner of American Idol Season 27 and she thanks all the little people (ie. ME) for their support.  Last week we finished up a brief month of Ukulele lessons downtown Noblesville at The Wild.  It was great papa/daughter date time together.  We even got to keep the Ukes!  Supposedly we learned how to play a few songs?  My goal this year is to learn a Jack Johnson song from beginning to end.  It's gonna be awhile. =)

The Next Jackson 5!

Look out Donny & Marie!

So, I slam it down like this...right?

Faith, Family, & Football

There are three things in my life that are a huge part of who I am: Faith, Family, & Football. Sometimes I don't always prioritize them in the order they should be. I recently made a difficult decision that shows I try to practice what I preach. Over the past few months, Charlie has been waking up and immediately asking Momma "Where's Papa at?" She gives the usual response of "Charlie, where's Papa?" And he responds back "At work with the kids."

During the day, I call home to catch up on their day and see how things are going. Libby is usually at school, AJ is usually being held for the 6th hour straight, and Charlie gets on the phone and asks "Papa, when are you going to be home?" This boy is starving for me! I feel such great love from my kids!

My typical work day in the fall would consist of teaching, then coaching football, coming home when it's dark out for a brief visit with my wife and kids before bed, and working on some photography business. Because I have some students multiple periods throughout their day, I spend more time with someone else's kids than I do my own! Something was wrong with that!

Following my priorities, I'm obeying my faith in what I believe God wants me to do as I spend more time with my family by resigning from coaching football for a few years. Instead of investing that time with someone else's kids, I'm going to go home and play catch with my own!

What priorities are you trying to keep straight in your life?