Hot Pockets!

Found this video by a very funny comedian, Jim Gaffigan about Hot Pockets. I laughed so hard I got the best ab workout I've had in a while. Enjoy!

Gospel Meeting

I haven't written in about a week because last weekend I was in Raleigh, NC for a wedding. I flew back into Jacksonville on Sunday morning for the start of our Gospel Meeting. It ran Sunday and every night through last night. Needless to say we have been super busy, not to mention worn out. The Gospel Meeting went very well. We had Bro. Lovell C. Hayes from Jackson, TN. That man can preach the word, and do it plainly and easy to understand. He was pretty humorous and definitely got his point across. If you want to hear any of the lessons or see his Power Point lessons, just visit our church website here.

Are You Ready For Some Football???

Yeah, so last night I was able to attend the Monday Night Football game seeing the Jacksonville Jaguars play the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Indianapolis Colts. I ended up having to go alone, but I didn't mind too much since I really wanted to go. I purchased my ticket after I got there (from a scalper) about 90 minutes before kickoff. Those guys are unbelievable by the way. I wanted to punch one of them in the face. They are VERY aggresive and basically will harass you if you don't buy a ticket from them. Anyways I ended up with a pretty good seat and enjoyed the game even though the Jags didn't put up much of a fight. Just a few observations about the game and then you can see the pics and video below.

This game was won on the line and the Jags were outplayed on both the defensive and offensive line. They weren't able to get pressure on Manning, and if you don't do that, he will pic you apart. Manning threw one amazing pass at the end of the 3rd quarter that he literally threaded between 3 defenders. I know Brady has great numbers this year and has won multiple Super Bowls, but I would take Manning over him as my QB any day. The Jags are a decent team, but lack playmakers at QB and WR. I just don't see them doing much until they upgrade at those positions and maybe on the offensive line as well. Oh well, enjoy the pics and video below.







Here is the video of the Jags taking the field

It Was A Good Day...

Well I can surely say that today was a very good day. We started out this morning by going up to the church to do some door knocking for our upcoming gospel meeting. We handed out around 300 flyers in the neighborhood around the church. After that we went and picked up some lunch and went back to the apartment. We dropped off Mommy because she wasn't feeling too good and Will and I went to the park to play some ball. I bought him a t ball set along with the bowling set I bought last night (it was buy 1 get 1 free at Toys R Us last night). So we went out on an actual little league field and he hit the ball and ran around the bases every time he hit it. Needless to say he was worn out about an hour later. We came home and took a nap and watched the Miami-FSU game. I will admit, I didn't think my team would win, but they came out on top 37-29. That's what I call a good day. Complete with working for the Lord, spending time with my family, and cheering my team on to victory!

Bowling Night

So Tammy hasn't been feeling too good as of late because she is pregnant again. With Will, she really wasn't sick hardly at all. With this one, however, she has been feeling sick quite a bit. Some would say that's a sign it's a girl, but I don't know about that. Anyways, Will and I decided to have some fun and have "guys night" since Mommy didn't feel good. So, after going to the playground, we went to Toys R Us and picked up a little bowling set. Needless to say, he had fun knocking down the pins over and over again. I shot a little video footage of it...

Miami Game

So a few weeks ago (I know I'm a little behind in posting) I took Tammy down to the Orange Bowl in Miami for her first Miami home game. She had been to a Miami game before on the road, but never one down there. That was part of my motivation, the other part was because this is Miami's last year in the OB. We were buying seats once we got to the stadium, so I was willing to pay a good bit to get good seats so she would have a good experience. Well, my Grandfather, Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin all came with us. This is especially signifigant because my Grandfather is in a wheelchair and therefore has to sit in the handicap section. We ended up being able to all sit with him, which meant our tickets were cheaper than they would have been anywhere else in the stadium ($25 per). We were also on the front row of the closed in section of the end zone. Needless to say, we had great seats for this game. Not to mention Miami played and beat Texas A&M, who was ranked at the time. Here are some video clips I shot while there. Enjoy!


This is a video of Miami's Offensive Line working out before the game. See how close we were!


This is the team coming out on the field through the smoke.


This is Graig Cooper (RB) scoring the first TD of the game. That's my cousin Jonathan holding his hands up and then flashing the "U" at a camera man close by.

Jags Game and Old Friends

This past Thursday night, Tammy and I happened upon some tickets to the Jaguars final preseason game vs. the Redskins. We sort of got them 3rd hand. At any rate, it was our first Jags game and Tammy's first NFL game. I took some pictures while there, including a couple of Santana Moss, who played at Da U. Here's the funny part, we went with a couple of other friends from church, although they had tickets in a different part of the stadium. In the second half we went to sit with them because they had an almost entire row empty. I look up about 2 rows behind me and see a guy I first met at Leadership Camp in the early 90's, went to Faulkner with my freshman year, and haven't seen in several years. What a small world! His name is Dale Pratt and he is in the last photo.

Jaguars Practice

Last night, Tammy, Will, and I went to the Jacksonville Suns game with a group from church. It had come to my attention that the Jaguars would be holding their last practice open to the public at the same time as the game. So, we worked out a little compromise and went to the Jaguars practice for 30 or 45 minutes, and then over to the baseball game. I took some pics of the players as they came out to practice. Only the important ones of course. Well here they are, enjoy!



Byron Leftwich - QB #7



Ernest Wilford - WR #19




Marcus Stroud - DT #99



Matt Jones - WR #18



Maurice Jones-Drew - RB #32



Mike Shula - QB Coach



Rasheed Mathis - CB #27



Reggie Nelson - S #25



QB's Practicing - Guy in the blue is the head coach, Jack Del Rio. Guy on the left in the white top is Mike Shula, QB coach and former head coach of Univ. of Alabama

Celtic Woman

Okay, so anyone who knows me, really knows me, knows that I love music. I can remember growing up always walking around with earphones on my head. Now, my music taste has changed very much from high school to college to single adulthood to family man. I listen to music that I guess I would have listened to before, I just would have never admitted it. I like artists like Alison Krauss and Michael Buble.

Long story short, my wife and I were flipping around the other night and stopped on some channel that was showing a concert. There were 5 women singing and the song that they were singing was "Over the Rainbow" which we all know from the Wizard of Oz. I stopped to listen and was mesmerized by their rendition of this song. I kept it there to continue to listen and continued to be amazed. I love music that makes me relaxed and that is exactly what this did as I layed there in bed watching. We checked the TV Guide channel and found out that we were watching a concert by a group called "Celtic Woman" and they were promoting their album "A New Journey".

So my wife and I were out Saturday night and we stopped by Best Buy and picked up the album. I was not disappointed. Man, it's great. Let me encourage you to pick up this CD if you think you might like it. You will not be disappointed. If you want a sample, go to amazon.com and you can hear :30 second samples. My favorite of the CD so far is their version of "Beyond the Sea". They also do "Scarborough Fair" which is a classic. Let me recommend this and encourage you to check it out.

Chris Farley Reincarnated????

Do you believe in reincarnation? I didn't until I saw this photo. Could this be the reincarnation of the deceased Chris Farley? You be the judge.

Vanilla Ice Will

Alright, who doesn't love some Ice, Ice, Baby? I still remember being in the 9th grade when this song came out. It never gets old. Everytime I hear it on the radio I have to turn it up. There is a station here in Jacksonville that plays a good mix of 80's, 90's, and today's music, and they will play this song fairly often. Anyways, it came on one evening while in the car and Will was getting down to it. I pulled out my phone and shot this video (that's why the quality is so poor). Enjoy!

Hikefest V

This past weekend I was priviledged to attend Hikefest V with the guys. This was a special hike for 2 reasons. First, because we crossed the GA/NC state line and completed the Georgia portion of the AT. Second, because now being away from these guys (living in a different town) it was that much more meaningful to get to spend a weekend with them. I took some pictures while up there (not as many as I should have). I just wanted to post them and share with all who may want to see.


Here is a picture of Chuck and Adam at one of our first stops.



This is just a picture of what the trail looks like as you are walking along. Many people ask about the danger of wandering off the trail or getting lost. As you can see, it is very clearly marked and you have to purposely wander off to get lost.



The next 3 pictures are at the GA/NC state line. The first is the sign, the second is us taking a break, and the third is Sonny trying to push Miller off a rock.





The next 2 pictures are of Bly Gap. The cool thing about it is the tree. It's one of the coolest things that you will see on the GA portion of the AT.




The final picture is one of the most beautiful and breath taking views you will ever see. This is one of the things that makes the toughest hikes worth it. When you are pushing yourself to get to the top of a mountain, when you are tired and hurting, you finally arrive and this is what you see. How can anyone see this and not be amazed at the power of God?

Will's Animal Sounds

I finally figured out how to do this video thing on the blog. Tammy shot this video of him about a week ago making his animal sounds. Just a head's up, for the elephant he puts his hand in the air acting as the elephant's trunk. For the penguin, he moves back and forth saying, "Waddle, waddle, waddle, waddle". Anyways, enjoy.

Now That's A Cracker...

We spent this past weekend in Orlando, FL for the Lads to Leaders Convention. Let me begin by saying that compared to the last 8 years, this was a walk in the park. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with some of the members of Lake Forest. We got to be around them in a different setting, which is good for getting to know people better. One of the most memorable parts of the weekend was going to a buffet there in the hotel. Tammy decided to get Will a cracker, because all kids love crackers. But this was no ordinary cracker. It was rival to the crackers used for the Lord's Supper on Sunday, only much bigger. Anyways, here are the pics so you can see for yourself.

New Jobby Job in Jacksonville

I know I haven't posted in over 2 months, but I've been really busy with moving, the new job, etc. I guess I'll post and tell you a little of our first 2 months in Jacksonville. Sorry I have no pictures to go along with it. I usually like to have at least one, guess I'm a visual kind of guy. Oh well.

Moving down here was an adventure. We managed to barely cram everything from our 3 bedroom, 2 bath house into the largest U-Haul we could get. It stormed on us the entire way down, but we made it. We had lots of help from the guys at church when we moved in, and the ladies made us dinner. The only problem was, the complex didn't have the certificate of occupancy for our unit (it was a new unit), so we had to move into a temp apartment for a week, and then to the other. They paid movers to do it for us the second time though, and gave us 2 free months rent. Definatley worth the inconvience.

Will is adjusting well. I figured he would. Nothing phases him. As long as Mom & Dad are here, he is fine. We live in a nice part of town, among a lot of restaurants, shops, and a mall. We also live about 10-15 minutes from the beach, which Tammy is happy about. Will loves walking on the beach bare foot and splashing in the water as it comes over his feet. To see pictures of this, click on the link to her blog to the right of this post.

The job itself is going well, although I have a new respect for the position. I know the common joke is that preachers don't do anything, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It is one of the most mentally and emotionally demanding jobs out there. I have to prepare 4 lessons a week, with all of the reading, studying, research, and practice that goes into it. I also do a bulletin article every week, make visits, calls, and write letters. It's definately taking some getting used to. I have to settle into a routine. I heard one preacher tell me he never presents a lesson that he just prepared that week. Well, I have no choice. I'm new at this and I haven't had time to get ahead yet. I guess that will come.

I have made some good friends down here as well. There are several younger couples about our age. 1 other couple has a little boy a few months older than Will. Another couple is expecting, and another couple shouldn't be too far behind. There is another young couple that is moving down here that I am pretty sure will place membership. They have a little boy also about Will's age. So, when we all get through having kids, we could wind up with about 10 or so little ones. That's great for a smaller congregation like ours. (BTW, we have about 175 members). We try to hang out together periodically. The guys go play bball every so often and we are about to start up church league softball. Tammy has started a girls team up for the first time at Lake Forest.

I also bought a new car. I really like it and I will get to show it up in Montgomery this weekend and next week as we go up there for the lectureship. I really miss all my Montgomery friends, but I am enjoying the new work as well. Hope to post more often. Next time I'll have pics.