Christmas Eve 2009

Today started as most of mine do. That means getting up, getting dressed and heading out to the office. I made my normal stop at McDonald's for a cup of coffee. Yes, I do get the "senior citizens" price of $.56. Hey, it's a benefit to being the insurance agent for the owner.

Anyway after working until lunch Donna, Will and I headed to T-town to spend time with Donna's mom and sister. This is all good, but let me tell you why today has been so much fun. Yep, fun. No, it wasn't the heavy rain or 30mph winds we had. It was the view of Christmas through my sons eyes.

My six year old, Will has been so excited. Folks, I mean excited. Oh, he knows that Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ. He realizes (and even help me deliver toys to 100 +/- kids on Wed) that helping others is the spirit of this season. However, he is 6. That means he can't wait to wake up on Christmas morning and see what he got from Santa. That's ok..

We tracked Santa tonight on the computer. Will loved it! When Santa got to Peru he decided that he better try to go to sleep. What excitement. It takes me back to days long ago. When things seemed so much simpler. Your biggest worry was which toy to play with first. Those kind of days.

It was nice to see. For a moment he took me away from the grind of our daily lives where paying bills and meeting obligations rule. Thanks Will. Thanks for being a wonderful little boy who still has the innocence that all 6 year olds should display.

See you tomorrow morning!

Tiger Woods

I want to reference you back to my June 18, 2008, post where I got on Tiger for using the Lord's name in vain on multiple occasions during a big tournament. I referenced the fact that the commentators kept talking about his "self-control." I took opposition to it due to his foul language and thought he should use more self-control over his mouth.

Well, it's not just his mouth that he needs to use self-control with. Ok, I will not go there. But give me a break. 5, 6, 7, 8, etc...affairs. You have to be kidding. He has only been married a few years.

Ok, before you get on me let say that 1) we are all sinners that depend on the grace of Christ for forgiveness and 2) we still sin daily. However, making a mistake or transgression is one thing (certainly not recommended in my home if you want to live), but 8 or 9 is another thing. Folks, there is a problem here for this married father of 2 little ones.

What got him to this position? Well, lets talk about that. Here are a few on my list:

1. Not looking to Christ, but buddah for guidance. Holy Spirit convicts me regularly for mistakes. Does anyone know what ol' buddah does?

2. Love of power. It's a seductive mistress that leads you to believe you are entitled to certain things.

3. Love of money. Scripture warns us about the difficulties many have with the $. Again, nothing is out of your reach.

4. Maybe he should be surrounded by people that care for him and not just what he can do for them. Hey, a true friend would pull you aside and try to knock sense into you. Wouldn't they?

5. Travel with your family. Be the family man you want to seem to be.

No, not judging. Just stating facts folks. This young man needs some guidance from someone other than those that have been giving him an example thus far. Wouldn't you agree? Bet he wishes tonight he had never met any of those women.

Can he be forgiven? Absolutely! All he has to do is humble himself before the Lord and ask. Christ still forgives. I'm one that needs it daily.

What an influence he could be if he got to this point. Pray for him.

Oh, I'm still a Phil fan.

Christmas 2009

Christmas is a special time at our house. It is special for many reasons. First, and most important is that we celebrate the birth of Christ. We feel like Christ is the most special gift that will ever be given and although December 25 may not be the exact birth date, it is the day that we set aside to worship and celebrate His coming to us as a human. A day that forever changed us all, whether you accept him or not.

We as a family believe the God man did come to give us a path to eternal life.

As a family we do enjoy many other aspects of Christmas (as man-made as they may be). Some of these others reasons we enjoy the season are:

1) Time with family and friends.

2) Colorful lightning on many homes (Will absolutely loves them. He just wishes Pop would slow down a little when driving by the homes).

3) Nativity scenes (Donna and Will both really enjoy the scene depicting the manger scene).

4) Christmas trees and greenery in our home.

5) Presents (I know, this is bad. However, when you have a 6 year old this is big.).

I don't know how you will spend your Christmas. You may make the choice to ignore the obvious (as alot of our society tries to do) that this holiday is built around the Christ-child. However, what a glorious time when you realize that Christ came to give us life, a life filled with a peace that only he can give. He also gives us joy. Joy that allows you to enjoy all the other things I have listed that go along with this time of year.

Tonight our church adult choir had the annual Christmas Cantata. It was awesome! Beautiful music that reminded me just how special this time of year can be. Although each of us to some extent gets caught up in the materialism of Christmas we can still have those moments where we just reflect and realize what blessings we have been given. No, not trampolines, basketball goals or diamond rings. The blessings of seeing a 6 month old play baby Jesus. Seeing your mom and dad holding your son as they hear the songs of this season. The realization that someone needed to hear these offerings of praise through song really bad.

You get the picture.

Hey, this year just stop for a few moments. Realize that life was designed by God the Father to worship the Son. Other than the obvious how can we worship? Well, scripture tells us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. In other words, just love your fellow man. Give our of your abundance to those that need help. This time of year, if no other, should be when we realize that Christ has called us to that duty.

From the Brown's we wish you a very merry CHRISTmas and a wonderful 2010.

Happy 6th Birthday Will

I know these pics are not big enough for you to see this truck real good. However, take a second look. Look real close. Folks, this is a cake! You heard me correctly, a cake.

Will still loves Monster Jam, so we were able to convince Tina Long to create this original creation. Isn't it absolutely awesome? You should have seen Wills eyes when we went to pick it up before his party. They were like silver dollars. The only problem is that Will didn't want to cut the cake. We had to convince him that you must cut the cake. I must admit it was hard to let anyone cut the cake.

Tina is absolutely the most talented person you will meet. She can paint, draw and obviously make anything into the shape of a cake. Oh, let me give a shout out to Breck (her husband). I think he was her understudy/assistant.

We did actually have a skating party on Saturday. It was great. We had alot of fun. Will's birthday was actually Friday, but we spent the whole weekend celebrating.

Happy Birthday baby boy. I love you.

Thanksgiving 2009

Wow, where has this year gone? I mean it seems like only yesterday we were kicking this year off. 2009 seems to have been quicker than most. Maybe I am just getting older. Maybe life is busier. Whatever the case the year has flown.

As I look back to this year at this Thanksgiving time of I have to pause and thank God for the following:

1. No matter how bad this economy has been God continues to be faithful and provide. Christ is faithful to his word. He forgives! Aren't we glad?
2. My beautiful wife and son (who turns 6 on Friday).
3. My family.
4. My church family.
5. Good health. I guess I think of this now more as I age.
6. The community we live in filled with friends.
7. The USA. Say what you want, but this is the greatest country in world.

These are just a few, but I think you get the point. If you stop and think about the things God has blessed you with each of us could fill up a page.

I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. May God continue bless you.

Get the Christmas decorations out, because we are 25 days and counting.

Halloween 2009

Halloween was a blast! Will went dressed up in a Grave Digger (the monster truck) costume. Yes, he still loves those big jacked up trucks. He must get that from his mother.

We went down to Chapel Hill for their fall festival. It was full of games and activities for the kids along with fire trucks and cake walks. Hey, Donna won a cake. Chocolate. We didn't know who made it, so I stayed away. You know, you can never be too careful about where your food comes from.

After the church we went to my sister, Debra's house. There we went with her daughter, Chloe (and Deb's husband, John) and my brother, Tony's family trick-or-treating through their neighborhood. Will loaded up on candy and absolutely had the time of his 5 year old life. This was his first real time to go door to door and if this year was any indication we will be going back.

I hope you guys all had a great time.

Sunday afternoon fun

Yesterday afternoon after church Will and I decided to play in the woods. We started our "adventure" as he called it by going for a hike. We were able to walk through the woods that surround out home and make it to a really nice lake that is just a short distance to the south. The lake is owned by some neighbors whose family owns thousands of acres in the county. Just so happens that they live close to us and own all the land around us. Good for us that they will not think about parting with any.

Will and I climbed over and under trees, limbs, thorns, etc... He had a great time.

Well, as I used to spend my afternoons as a kid doing I thought we should build a shelter. You know, man vs. wild style.

The photo above doesn't show what took Will and I over an hour to make. Thanks to all the magnolia trees in our area the shelter came together great and it looked pretty good. Good enough that we had to go get Donna to make her way out and see our project.

I really enjoyed this time with Will. As kids we spent many an hour building forts behind the house with my cousins. Good memories. Better that I got to spend them with my little boy.

Tide Homecoming 2009

Saturday was Alabama's homecoming. The game didn't begin until 6:45p, so we got to the quad around 3p. This gave us plenty of time to let Will and his buddy, Daniel (Big D) play. There were blow up jumping activities all over and for a "small " fee you could play your heart out. That is exactly what the boys did.

We got lucky and happened to walk up on Big Al as we were coming onto the quad. We were able to get a quick photo with him. Will was excited. He always looks for Big Al from the stands, but I don't think he has ever gotten that close to him at a game (maybe we bumped into him at a basketball game one time). Anyway, he was pumped and it was exciting.

After playing for a while we headed over to just see people and get ready for the band to march towards the stadium. Donna was able to get Will's pic taken with a majorette that is from Fayette (we have 5 or so Bama majorettes from Fayette). We were front row when everyone went by and we were able to say hello to several the the Fayette girls when they went by. Will got a thrill out of that as well.

We made our way to the stadium after that and got ready to freeze. It was cool, but we came prepared with jackets and blankets. As soon as we got to our section the boys wanted hot chocolate and something to eat. So, I got everyone a hot chocolate ($3 per paper cup) and the boys a personal pan pizza ($8). These games are so family friendly. Hey, that was just the start. I think we ended up having to get nachos, cokes, etc..... Don't ask about the $.

Well, Bama pulled out another victory to push our season to 7-0. Good start. Hey, but as Coach Saban says, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish." Man, I love that guy!

Roll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you ready for some football?

Are you ready for some football?????

It is the time of the year we as a family love, football season. Bama opened up with Virginia Tech a couple of Saturdays ago in Atlanta. VICTORY!!!!!!!! We opened at home this past Saturday against Florida International University. I mean, the mighty Florida International. VICTORY!!!

Bama is currently ranked 4th in the country with another mighty team coming to T-town this Saturday, North Texas. 11:20a kickoff, so atleast we will be home early. Should be an easy win.

Roll Tide !!!!!!!

Zoo Time

Donna, Will, Daniel (Will's buddy for kindergarten) and myself had a fun day at the zoo a couple of Saturdays ago. Let me give you a play by play.

Friday afternoon:

I get home from work and I am met with Donna and the boys ready to go. I mean they are ready to roll. We are heading up to Birmingham to spend the night, so we can get an early start on Saturday.

See, we are going to B'ham because there was a 60% chance of rain in Memphis. We were going to head to the Memphis zoo, but didn't due to the rain forecast. Only 20% chance in B'ham.

Well, we leave Fayette and head out. We stop in Tuscaloosa to eat. Boy's choice.............IHOP. You heard me right. IHOP. I know they have great breakfast, but unless you want pancakes for supper don't eat your evening meal there. No sushi, no fillet Mignon, no applewood smoked pork chops. However, they do have beef tips and onions.

Folks, I am not above anything, but beef tips. Oh how my poor stomach felt. Now, for Pop (my dad) or Paw Paw (Donna's dad) the beef tips would have been just right. I guess I just don't have the steel liner they have.

Anyway, on to B'ham we go where we stayed at the Drury Inn. Nice hotel. The boys loved the roof and jumping from bed to bed. We even had Speed channel and got to watch monster trucks. However, there was a family reunion being held at the hotel and lets just say we couldn't get within a mile of the free breakfast the next morning.

Saturday:

The boys woke up ready to go. We did have to go to The Cracker Barrel to eat due to the reunion. That was ok. No, it wasn't just because the food was good. It had more to do with the rain that was pouring down. You heard me. The 20% turned into 100% by the time I woke up.

Yep, it rained all day long. We did make it to the zoo. We had a great time!!!! Saw all kinds of interesting animals. Even got to see the turtles, well let's just say they were trying to expand there family. Plenty of snakes, tigers, monkeys, etc..... We had a great time. We just got soaked.

Well, let me correct that. I got soaked. I pushed the boys from place to place in a covered double stroller and Donna had an umbrella. Me, I just had speed on my side. Watch out or I will run over you.

Actually, the boys did get a little wet, so we stripped them down at a Shell station in Mountain Brook and changed their clothes. Donna, dry as a bone. Hey, Daddy's do what they have to in order to have fun.

I can't wait to go back...............well, as long as it is dry.

Will's New Pets

Well, we have additional pets to add to Buzz the dog and CoCo the cat. You guessed it, Goldfish. We have 2 new goldfish. There names are Tigers and Nemo 3. Nemo 1 and 2 bit the dust real quick and met the great swirl of the toilet bowl.

You know, I figure the goldfish were easier than a python or any other snake that Will is wanting and the house is not big enough for a giraffe.

Any guess on how long these fish live?

Happy B'day Donna!

Picture 2: Donna and Will. The happy couple. He loves his mama.

Picture 1: This is the $45 cake Grams had for Donna (Tony got his own $45 cake) Sunday.

Well, Donna hits 38 on Tuesday the 18th. Wow, she is really putting on the years. Me, I am holding at 29 for the last 9 years. She sure looks alot younger than me.

Will and I are blessed to have a wife/mother that loves us like Donna. She takes care of us along with everyone else. I hope she has many more happy b'days that we can celebrate together as a family.

Happy Birthday Donna!

Will starts school

Well, as you can see by this photo Will was less than thrilled that he had to start school today. He loved open house Monday night, but this morning his enthusiasm was not quite as high. Hey, the kid loves his mom.

Donna actually took him in this morning. Yes, there were some tears along the way and when he got to his class. However, his teacher got him and within just a few moments he was the Will we all know and love. With his normal social personality he was showing off his drawings to any of our friend teachers that just "happened" to drop by his classroom.

A special thanks to Heather Whitley and Lana Langley. They kept us posted during the day on his status. Apparently after the initial shock he was fine and had a fantastic day.

Donna picked him up and brought him to the office after school. He had many stories and even declared tonight that he "loved" school.

You know, Donna and I really prayed that Will would get the right teacher. There were a couple that were going out just days after school starts with maternity leaves and that would be hard. Others that we thought would academically challenge Will ( I will give his mom credit that she has done an excellent job preparing him for k in regards to reading, writing, words, etc...). However, God knew what he needed. We really didn't know Ms. McConnell. I thought I knew everybody in this town, but I did not know her. Well, she is a BLESSING! Her personality is one that seems to be very caring and loving to the children.

Thank you Ms. McConnell. Will needed you this a.m. and you were there for him. We look forward to a great year.

Oh, for the record I would say that Donna did better than I did today with Will starting school. Hey, he is my only child and I am an emotional guy.

NYC

Yankee Stadium

Coney Island rides

China Town section

Nathans Hotdogw (original stand) on Coney Island

Empire St. building

Wall St. Bull

St. Pauls Church (near WTC)

I took a trip this weekend up to New York my friend, Chuck to catch a Yankees game. I have always wanted to go watch the Yanks play, so for our 15th Annv Donna gave me tickets to the Yankees vs. Red Sox. What a trip!

Chuck and I left Friday morning and went up. Friday we spent the day just going all over the city on the subway. NYC is a big grid and relatively easy to find your way around if you know where you want to go. Subway trains run everywhere and they are a very inexpensive way to move around this huge city.

Friday night we went to Coney Island to watch a minor league baseball team play. It was so cool. Coney Island is neat. We saw the original Nathans hot dogs stand. Remember, this is where the July 4 hotdog contest is held.

Saturday we went all over the city. Fun times. Just looking and checking out a few things I wanted to see that I had not seen on a prior visit. Beautiful Episcopal and Catholic cathedrals. Absolutely beautiful!

Saturday night was the highlight. We headed over the Yankee Stadium. Awesome! Everything I thought it would be. Imagine if you are an Alabama/Auburn fan. Well, the atmosphere outside the stadium is like gameday in Tuscaloosa. This whole area is dedicated to the Yankees. The people are probably a little more into the game then UA vs. AU. You read correctly. This Yankee fans are radical. I mean radical. Plus, their vocabulary is probably a little more spicy than the average UA vs. AU fan. Hard to believe, but true.

Well, great trip. Alot of fun. Will says that he is going next summer. Maybe. My next goal is to watch the Yankees vs. Mets.

See you at the park.

Panama City Beach Bound

We decided to take another trip to the beach this summer. Instead of taking the routine trip to Gulf Shores, we made a detour and go to Panama City Beach. This is where I spent many of summer trip when I was a kid.

Each summer for many years we would take our camper to PCB. We had great fun on Miracle Strip and at Shipwreck Island. I can also remember the church trips with the youth group to Laguna Beach church camp.

Wow, it has been 20 years since I had gone.

When we pulled into town we went by the old block hotel like camp known as Laguna Beach Christian Camp. What great memories it brought back of a time that was alot less complicated. Hanging out with my youth group and of course trying to meet girls from some far away place (like Mississippi, or Georgia). I know, not that far away. Well, it was for us.

LB also brought back the memory of my sisters first youth group trip when she left her bags in the back of my dad's truck. This was a time before cell, so daddy had to fly through Tuscaloosa and catch us on the south end of town near Duncanville. It also brought back all the kids that were there that are not here any longer (Chris Jacobs and Barry Hicks). Fun times learning and playing. I would work for weeks to try and save $30 to take with me as spending money.

We stayed at the Splash while in PCB. Neat condo that is designed for the family. There were waterslides and other water features on the property. Certainly something that was right up Will's alley.

Mom and Pop went with us. I think Pop enjoyed eating at some of his old favorites like Captain Anderson's. We also visited PCB 1st Baptist Sunday morning for church. This is where we would attend as kids while on vacation. Yes, in our family you go to church even on vacation. Don't leave the SON out of your summer.

Donna, Will and I rented a jet ski one day. While cutting up we spotted a sea turtle. Of course, Donna wouldn't let us get too close. You know, it may knock us off the jet ski and we would all certainly be eaten. Hey, that's what moms are for.

We had a great time and squeezed the most out of our trip. We didn't leave until 5p on Wed and pulled back into Fayette around midnight. Work the next day came early, but it was worth it.

I can't wait until our next trip to the "Emerald Shores."

Mr. Bill's Farm

You are seeing correctly. Will is feeding deer and racoon's. Only in the country.

The other night we paid a visit to a friend that lives here in town. He has more wildlife than the B'ham Zoo. Lama, buffalo, miniature horses, cows, ducks, peacocks, deer and even racoon's. Animals everywhere.

Will and I have made many visits before. This particular night was extra special because we got to feed the new family of coons that had taken up residence on the farm. They loved the bread we gave them and literally came right up to us. NO, we didn't try to feed from our hands. We are smarter than that. They are wild animals. However, we did have a great time.

Thanks Mr. Bill for the personal tour and the ride around the farm seeing the sites. Will (and me) had a great time.

Tractor Pull 2009

Hey, what are a couple of country boys suppose to do? You guessed it, we go to the tractor pull. You heard me correct. Will and I went to the tractor pull this past Saturday.

We enjoyed watching the pull. There were alot of powerful tractors that ranged from the brand new to the very, very old. It was neat seeing the old tractors that had been fixed up to pull. I mean some were 50 years old.

You will notice that with all good sporting events (is tractor pulling a sport?) the best part is the concession stand. The pic above shows the "John Deere" green ice cream that Will ate.

We stayed a couple of hours and saw a bunch of our friends. Good time with my son on a Saturday.

Fishing!

Will and I enjoy fishing during the summer. Many nights you will find us spending a few minutes at my buddy, Chuck Langley's pond. He lives just five minutes from our house, so Will and I can run over and fish for a few minutes. Great father and son time.

These photos were taken last week when Will, myself and Chuck were wetting a line. Chuck and I were talking when Will hooked this bass. 1 or 1 1/2 lb bass. We looked up as Will set the line and then reeled the bass in all by himself. Maybe he is going to be more of an outdoors man than his dad. Oh, for you fisherman reading this it was a slimy plastic lizard that Will was throwing on the ol' Zebco 33.

Thanks Chuck for letting Will and I fish. We also appreciate you stocking this pond with alot of hungry Florida Bass.

God Bless America!

Yep, that is Will and Buzz by the flag. We had a great 4th of July here at the Brown's. Donna's dad and my family made the trip from Coker and Northport to hang out with us. We spent the day playing in the pool and soaking up a few rays.

I will give Will credit for his show of patriotism. Towards the end of our day he got the entire family together around the flag. You guessed it, we said the pledge. He did good. It was great and no, Donna didn't have her camera handy.

We really want Will to realize how blessed he is to live here in the USA and that it is by the grace of God that we are Americans.

Happy 4th to each of you. Stop today and take a few moments to remember just how lucky you are to be an American. Also, thank God for the blessings you enjoy with this freedom we have.

USA! USA! USA! USA!

TCHS Class of 89!

Donna and I had our 20th high school reunion this weekend. It started Friday night with a casual get-together then moved to a Saturday family day and ended up Saturday night at North River Yacht Club with another time of food/fun.

Overall, I thought it was a great time. The family day was more of our speed and it was fun. Nice to see faces that I have not seen in 10-20 years. Literally! Wow, time does go by so fast.

Although we still see ourselves still as those kids of 1989 it was obvious that we were not. In fact, many had kids 18, 19, 20 years old. Now that does make me fell "less young."

Ok, I did learn a few things from this weekend. Here goes:

1. My wife is still gorgeous and may have even gotten prettier since she graduated. Seriously, she still stuns me. I know, you think I am just kissing up. Nope, just the facts.

Actually, it was obvious that for the most part the gals aged better than us boys. Alot of guys missing their hair and gaining a gut. Hey, for the record I still have my hair and not much of a gut................yet.

2. I don't look as much like my graduation picture as I thought.

3. Amazing how many of these Northport kids now live in all parts of the country. We had folks from L.A., Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, etc.. Many of us have not moved out of state, but no longer reside in Northport-Tuscaloosa. Huntsville, Mobile, Birmingham, Selma and yes, Fayette.

Funny how life moves us around as we live, work and play.

Great weekend and nice to see my buddies from years ago. We laughed and joked. Yes, a few old stories came up. I think that is what reunions are all about.

You know, I thought the 10 year was a time of "all about me" attitudes. 20 seemed to have changed into a "look at my family" attitude. I guess that comes with age and maturity.

We're so bad, we're so fine, we're the Class of 89!

Will's New Bike

That's our little man. He got him a new bike. Still has the training wheels, but we are working to remove them. As you notice this bike is designed to look like a motorcycle. He likes it because it makes him feel like he is on a motor.

Yes, we have even seet up a ramp for him to do tricks. Those are his words. At this point the tricks consist of riding over the ramp at low speed. Hey, he will get there. We just need a little work.

Don't worry folks, Will still says that he is going to be a monster truck driver.

Indians - 5/6 year old coach pitch

Korey, Khiry and Will

Tom and Will

Indians team

INDIANS Team

Well, we have completed our 5/6 year old coach pitch league for the summer. We had a great time and a pretty good team. The Indians finished 5 wins and 6 losses. Ok, I realize that we were not the best, but we were a very competitive team. Also, we were probably the youngest team in the league with 3 6 year olds and 8 5 year olds. Me along with my assistants all have 5 year old boys, so next year we should be a team to contend.

Will had a pretty good year. He hit the ball pretty good all year and played center field for us. He enjoyed the team and had a great time just being around the other kids. His most favorite part was after the game when he got a Coke and usually a frozen pickle juice.

I know, frozen pickle juice? Folks, the kids at the park love this stuff. It is simply what I wrote. The sell the big pickles then freeze the juice. Kids buy this stuff up at 50 cents a pop.

Hey, isn't that what ball is all about? Cokes and pickle juice?

Will's buddies Tom, Korey and Khiry were all on the team again this year.

Oh, I didn't mention what a help Donna was in the dugout. She was dugout coach along with a few other moms. That may be the toughest job. Thanks Donna!

Like we said all year long.............. 1 - 2 - 3 ....Indians!