Blue Like Jazz

I recently finished a re-read of one of my favorite books. I first read it a couple years ago. It is a truly amazing book and I highly recommend it. Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz is one of the most important books I have ever read. Miller's writing and storytelling abilities are both moving and convicting. Read this book!

NE 5th

I was exploring an area just east of downtown OKC and came across an older neighborhood that has seen better days. I liked the character of the old, abandoned buildings and wondered about what the neighborhood must have been like years ago when it was alive and vibrant.

OSU Tree

Each year, lucky Cowboy fans get a visit to their house by Pistol Pete on Christmas Day. Good OSU fans awake to find special OSU ornaments and Eskimo Joes clothing under their trees. In honor of this visit, we have a special, beautiful Oklahoma State themed Christmas tree in our living room.

Christmas

Here are a couple of pictures from Christmas this year. More to come soon!

Chickasha Light Festival

Here are a couple pics taken tonight in the freezing cold weather in Chickasha. We take our youth group to see the lights each year and always have lots of fun!

Graffiti

Here is some cool looking graffiti I saw in a train yard a couple days ago. I had to be sneaky and quick to get to in and snap a couple of shots and get out.

7 Things

Amanda "tagged" me to fill this out, so just to be cordial, I guess I will do it.

7 Things I plan to do before I die: Try to grow more "Christ-like' every day, work daily to be a better husband, father, and friend, be a foster parent, travel travel travel, become better at handling money, get in phenomenal shape, become great at photography, buy a trampoline--I have a top 50 list somewhere, so this is just a sampling.

7 Things I do now: try to spend as much time as possible with my family, read the Bible daily, Youth Ministry, mountain bike, get outdoors, listen to music, take pictures

7 things I won't do: skydive, listen to most country music, eat nasty olives, fill out surveys (except this time), pull out the shower drain to remove disgusting built up hair, I'm sure there are plenty of other things, but I am drawing blanks right now

7 Things that attract me in the opposite sex: I'm so attracted to my wife I can't even think of any answers to this question.

7 Celebrities that I admire: hmmmm, Rob Bell and David Crowder--not really "celebrities" I guess, but I admire their work, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Lance Armstrong, Angelina Jolie, Bill Murray

7 Favorite foods: Sushi, Chinese food from Stillwater, pizza, burgers, Clif bars, Fruit, Gyros

Alley

This is a random picture I took outside the Lama Temple in Beijing this summer. Something about the space just grabbed my eye.

Seals

When we were in San Francisco this past October, we made sure to stop by and see the seals at Pier 39. They were smelly and loud, but a cool site to see.

Christmas Play

Tonight was our church's Christmas play, and of course, our boys were awesome in their roles!

Random

Here is a picture I took of a student in our youth group on our fall retreat. This was another shot where the shutter was left open long enough to create the effects you see.

Random

Here are two pictures my friend Randy took of me on our youth group retreat to Lake Tenkiller. I took a three foot long stick that was lit on one end and just tried to make as many revolutions as possible before the shutter closed. The shutter was open for right at about ten seconds on each of these shots.

Stew in a Shoe

On my youth group's recent fall retreat to Lake Tenkiller, we played a game called "Stew in a Shoe." Two contestants squared off to see who could eat the most straight out of the can stew from a shoe. Both contestants did a great job and ate a lot of cold, nasty looking stew. Here's a picture of what remained. Anyone hungry?

Tooth on the Loose

The boys and I were staging a big time, all out, knock down wrestling match on the bed upon my return from the youth fall retreat, when C-Rok realized his loose tooth was missing. When I asked him if he knew where it was, he told me he was "going to have to poop it out." Uncertain as to whether or not he had actually swallowed it, I began the search. Fortunately, it did not take long to find. I was not at all looking forward to him asking me to come investigate the toilet bowl throughout the week. He was pretty pumped to lose his first tooth.

Inflation has hit the Tooth Fairy hard. We used to get a quarter. Big C lost his first tooth a couple years ago and wagered a guess that the Tooth Fairy would bring him $100.00. We let him know that the current going rate with the Tooth Fairy was $1.00. Last time a tooth was lost in our house we forget to have the Tooth Fairy come and Big C was pretty shocked and puzzled to find out his tooth was still present. We better not mess this up for C-Rok tonight!

Edna Fahle

Today would have been the 63rd birthday of Jana's mom, Edna Fahle. I only new Edna for about a month before cancer took her life, but it was easy to see what an amazing person she was. I could just tell what a generous, caring, loving person she was in that brief time I knew her. I see those wonderful traits everyday in my beautiful wife--Jana is a very generous person, cares deeply for others and their needs, and has an abundance of love to share with others, just as her mother and father raised her to be. I know that Edna would be so very proud of Jana and all the things she is doing and has accomplished. She would be so proud of Jana for working so hard to get her masters degree. She would be so proud of Jana for being such a great wife and mother. And she would be proud of the strong Christian witness Jana lives daily. Jana's mom has been gone for 10 years now, but the wonderful memories of her live on in the hearts and minds of those who knew her. Happy Birthday Edna!

Coldplay Concert

So my awesome wife got Coldplay tickets for me for my birthday this year. We had an absolute blast at the concert. Coldplay was freaking amazing live. As much as I loved the Jack Johnson concert in KC in August, this show topped it. Jana snapped some shots with the stunning camera on board her cell phone. She's been asking for a nice digital camera that she can carry around in her purse or pocket--sure would have been nice to have at the Coldplay concert! So, this year for Christmas, she is def getting a digital camera (then I can steal it from her and throw it in my camera bag).

Cell Phone Service

Here is a funny advertisement for cell phone service that I found on a wall in a small town in China. Who needs celebrity endorsements for their business when you have great stuff like this.