Our First Rodeo

We went to the Ft. Worth Rodeo this past weekend with my cousin Jennifer Sue and her hubby Jesse. I thought it was really cool. First up was the actual rodeo. 2 hours of riding horses and roping cows. Gracie and the boys got bored. I actually liked it.

From the time she saw the cotton candy, Gracie wanted it. But we got there at 10 AM and would not give it to her until after lunch.

So, after the rodeo, we went to the petting zoo. Actually, everyone except dad and Max went to the petting zoo. Dad and Max went to the roller coaster.

He didn't know what to really think about it while we were riding, but he didn't cry. He didn't get scared. He just gripped the bar really tight. He was pretty happy when it was over.

By this time, we were 3 hours in (at least) and ready to eat. Plus, there were LOTS of people there and we were tired of fighting the crowds. And Gracie still wanted cotton candy. So, we had to get something to eat.

After lunch, we walked around the barns. Saw goats and baby piglets and baby ducks sliding down slides and baby chickens hatching from eggs. By that time, I was tired of pushing the double stroller through all the crowds and I was really ready to go. But we promised Gracie cotton candy. Steph and Jennifer found the candy apples on the way.

Then, Gracie finally got her cotton candy.

And then it was time to go.

Goodbye to a great Cearley

On Sunday morning, January 16, we got a call from my dad giving us the news that our Grandaddy Mervyn had passed away. It was a long and tough road for him over the past 4-5 years, and his heart just couldn't keep it up any longer. We think he passed in his sleep, in peace and pain-free.

The day before was a blessed day, one that was filled with joy and love. My dad and Jeff and Nancy and grandmother spent the entire day with grandad, at his home, watching football, talking, laughing and carrying on just like any normal day. We are so thankful that he was able to spend his last day like that, with family, truly doing what he wanted to be doing in his favorite place of all - home.

We all drove up there for the funeral - 8 hours in the car with the kids wasn't as bad as we thought it would be - and stayed a couple of days. It was hard, for sure, seeing grandad like that, the first time in a few years. I was really disappointed that I hadn't taken the boys up to see him because he'd been asking me ever since they were born. We had planned to go up there this weekend for my grandmother's birthday (Friday). He just didn't make it until then. That will be one of my BIG regrets for the rest of my life.

It's a lesson in not being selfish. I'd always thought that it was such a long trip and that the kids would be a nightmare in the car for that long, but in the grand scheme of things, it would have been nothing (and really was nothing).

It was so nice to see all the family. We hadn't seen everyone in so long. It's just not right to let that much time slip away without seeing each other. We will make it a point to see everyone on that side of the family that we can see as often as we can. Mike & Jenny and Jennifer & Jesse just live an hour away from us in Coppell, so there's no excuse.

Grandaddy was THE Cearley man that I knew all my life. There are so many things about him that I have in my bones and all I can do is thank him for what makes me up and do the best I can to do it all right. I love you, Grandaddy.

My Take on Leadership

Another one of my work posts. Every Friday, I write a series called Friday's 4-1-1, where I point out 4 of the best things I saw/of note during the week, followed by the the best of the best ("Uh-huh") and then the not-so-best ("Duh"). This was was titled Friday's 4-1-1, Leadership Style.

My daughter is 2 classes into taking ballet class and as a 5 year old, it’s less about the finer points of ballet and more about dressing up in tutus and dancing around the room with all the other little girls. She also has 2 younger brothers – twins, 2 1/2 years old – who do everything that she does, except participate in ballet, of course (although my wife has a hard time keeping them contained during this class.) We talk to her often about being a leader, particularly when the boys are rowdy and/or rough and/or tazmanian devils and when she chooses to be a leader, she doesn’t add to the mayhem, she helps stop it. This whole thing occurs many times during the week and sometimes she wants to be a leader and sometimes, she just wants to be a 5 year-old causing ruccus with her brothers.



Well, the moment of note, here in this story, happened a couple of nights ago in her ballet class. The teacher was trying to get all the girls to stand in an orderly fashion – in 1st Position – so they could practice moves one-at-a-time across the dance floor. Well, half of the class was bouncing off the walls, playing on the mats, and half of the class was running around the class, and my daughter was in the middle. And in this moment, she was confused because she was listening to the teacher, but what she was seeing out of one eye was mat playing, and out of the other eye was running around, and she didn’t know what to do. But in that one moment, she chose to be a leader and do what the teacher was asking, and wouldn’t you know it – one by one, the girls saw what she was doing and stopped what they were doing and got in 1st Position right behind her and there was a semblance of order restored to the class.


It just made my week. I think any parent, when you experience something like that, is overcome with a sense of pride and accomplishment. It really is great. But you know, it breaks being a leader down to a few simple components and that’s what I want to focus on in today’s Friday 4-1-1.


1. Choices in Moments - the littlest moments in our lives are often the ones that have the biggest impact. They define us more than we realize. In each of those moments, we have a choice to either lead or follow. I don’t believe that you always have to lead or you always have to follow, but there is always an active choice to make in those moments.


2. Leaders Model – it’s one thing to talk, it’s another thing to do. I’m a huge proponent of modeling and to me, there is no better way to exemplify leadership. Actions are key. How you act in those moments, when you make those choices, is just as important as the choices themselves. I always think that I have 100 eyes on me at all times. And then I ask myself, “what is it that they are seeing? And is that something I’m proud of?”


3. Active Awareness – I think the best leaders are aware of their decisions, their actions, and the consequences of both all the time. They might not know how everything is going to end up based on that one decision in that one moment in time, but they sure are aware of the immediate impact.


4. Nothing More Important than Grace – there is a right way to be a leader and a wrong way. Same can be said about being a follower. And in my opinion, it has nothing to do with skill. It’s all about grace. Being graceful in any situation, to me, is what separates great from good.


“Uh-huh” – this week, my team at work had a leadership moment. They were faced with something and in that moment when they had to decide how they were going to react and then act, they chose to band together and lead. And by choosing to do that individually, the team became united and really showed what leading is all about. They put the team above each of themselves. That’s another key to leading – selflessness. It makes you stronger.

“Duh” – leading is not all serious all the time, it’s meant to be fun. It’s OK to play on mats and run around the room. People can learn a lot from that, too. It shows that there is joy in your life and that you’re a person. And in the end, all leaders are just people.


This week, my daughter, and then my team, reminded me of how simple it is to be a leader. It’s not something that you have to work all your life to do. It can happen right now, in this very moment.

So, go on now.

A Joyous Start to the New Year

So, first post of the year on the 9th - could be worse I suppose.  I had every intention of posting on the 1st, then the 2nd, then it all got away from me.  It's felt like 9 weeks since the beginning of the year, not 9 days.

ccb ghd - I stepped away from the computer, and Miss Gracie wanted to start poking on the keyboard, so this is her contribution, "ccb ghd."

We sat down to talk about our resolutions on New Years Day and it was actually a short reflection time and conversation.  The resolutions are pretty simple - continue being wise about our money, spend more time with our kids, and make smart decisions.  Finding a church home is high on the list, too.

Our Christmas decorations are still up - 9 days into the New Year - and work is a killer - just a week back - but we have experienced some nice joys in this brand new year.

Gracie started ballerina class this past Thursday.  Santa brought her a ballerina outfit and lined up classes for her, paving the way for the first ever organized class-of-the-arts for any of the kids.  Although it was hard to get any pictures of her in action, wrangling th boys, too, Steph was able to capture the moment before the class.

And as you can see, by the running - or dancing - off to the right, she was pretty active in her first class.

When I got home from work that night, she did a performance for me and she knew all the moves.  Instead of her running around doing free-form dancing (like she's always done), she actually had a little structure this time.  Alot of structure, really.  She picked it up real good for a first timer.  I think she's going to be a wonderful dancer.

Then, today, we experienced our first snow of the season.  It's something that we knew about late last week and anticipated all weekend.  It was supposed to rain all night last night and then get cold enough to turn to snow by the morning.  We all woke up like it was Christmas morning, wanting to run to the window and see snow on the ground.  But all we saw was rain.  It just wasn't cold enough.

After church, we walked out and there it was!  So, the kids wanted to do nothing but play in it, but there really wasn't enough on the ground to do anything other than get them real wet.  It kept snowing though, and after nap (at least Gracie's nap), there was plenty.  Steph took her over to the Schwarte's (Alecia was put on bedrest this past week and hasn't been a very good patient - Steph went over to keep her company and make sure she didn't do anything.)  The kids played in the backyard and built snowmen.

(That's Jackson and Katie along with Gracie.)  Steph even bundled up to help.

I love that Gracie can experience snow like this - even if it is just a little - while she's young.  That's one thing that we miss about New York - exposing our kids to things like snow.  All the other stuff, not so much.

Steph's Nouna is coming in town next week, so all in all, it's shaping up to be quite a beginning of the year.  I just pray that we're as blessed this year as we have been in the past.

One Final One in 2010

There have been posts that I've written for my work blog that I have posted here. Few and far between, but I recently wrote one that I wanted to share here. Here you go, as it was written on my work blog:

For the next 15 days, I’m going to participate in Reverb 10. It’s an open online initiative that encourages participants to reflect on this year and manifest what’s next. It’s an opportunity to retreat and consider the reverberations of your year past, and those that you’d like to create in the year ahead. We’re connected by the belief that sharing our stories has the power to change us.

Today’s Prompt – FUTURE SELF: Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead?

The first thing that popped into my head this morning after reading today’s prompt was Desiderata. It’s a favorite of mine. There are so many things that are right in line with my thinking and beliefs – it just speaks to me. I always find it refreshing when I look back over it periodically, and what I find is that it always grounds my perspective. Do you have something like this that keeps you grounded?
Today’s prompt calls me to write my own version of Desiderata. So, here you go, the advice for myself….
——–
Maintain and grow the relationships you’ve built up over the past year and pay special attention to your long-lasting relationships. Those need just as much nurturing as new relationships, sometimes even more. Know that those who you can call friends are special and not to be taken for granted or advantage of. You are only part of this. Do your job. Nurturing is active. It’s not a passive exercise. And it’s not a standard message & click.

Aim to be kind to all those you come into contact with. For most of those people, you’ll only have that one moment in time to leave your impact on them. Make it a positive one.

Breathe. Before speaking. Collect your thoughts. Stand in your power.

Knowledge is precious. In everything, you have an opportunity to teach or learn. Recognize this and as much as you can, do one or the other. You are doing a disservice to you and those around you if you do not.

Be gracious.

Slow down. Smell the roses, even when there are no roses to smell. The machine that you’re a part of is a magnificent one and it will keep running if you take a moment to recognize where you are and how you got there. Without looking around, you will not see the beauty in what you’re responsible for. Do not rest, though, because the machine keeps running. And there is always someone else who thinks they can keep it running faster, better, more efficient, and more powerful than you.

Take care of your business always. Commitments are made to be kept. They’re tied to your word. Don’t minimize those words because they’re important. Follow them up with action. Consistent. Persistent. Relentless. This is critical.

The world is a balancing act and your world is no different. Know your limits and boundaries. Your sacrifices have consequences, big and small. You must be OK with them.

Don’t lose sight of your passions or your dreams. Both are unique to you and once they’re gone, it’s almost impossible to get them back. Keep them burning however you need to – write, read, talk, create – this flame cannot go out.

Remember that faith enables real magic to happen. Continue pushing and taking risks and know that you can’t control everything. Sometimes shutting your eyes is all you can do to let everything take its course.

Most of all, do not forget that life is a joy, even though it most often feels like job. Don’t take yourself so seriously. You are a speck. Laugh. Smile. Pay attention to others doing the same.

And know, in your heart, that all will be good.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve and we're in bed at 11:10. It's late.

We spent the evening with the Schwarte's. They're so great. I love having close friends who are in the same life-stage as us, living a minute a way from our house, and wanting to spent special times with us like New Year's Eve.

It sure was nice. We have lots to be thankful for this year. We can only hope that 2011 is as good to us as 2010 was.

And maybe I'll blog more.

Christmastime, pt. 6

One of the best moments of Christmas was on Christmas morning. She slept in our same room, on a palette beside our bed, and when we woke up, she said, "Momma, you know what the best part about Christmas is?"

Momma: "What?"

Gracie: "The best part about Christmas is that Jesus was born."

:)

Christmastime, pt. 5

The kids were good this year and Santa was kind to them. Even though we weren't in our house, he knew where to deliver the presents in The Woodlands (thanks to a note Gracie left for him the day we left). In The Woodlands, he brought Gracie the pair of Chuck Taylors (purple) that she asked for, plus Candyland, and all of the great things (like candy) in her stocking. He brought the boys a set of toy cars from Cars. And stockings, of course.

But that wasn't all.

When we got back to Wylie, what did we see? That Santa left a few things in our house, too! For Gracie, he left a real-life ballarina outfit and a note about the new dance classes he arranged for her. And for the boys, bikes!! Yikes!

Santa is a great Santa, for sure. Especially when little boys and girls are good.

Christmastime, pt. 4

We are blessed. For sure. The fact that our kids are able to receive so many gifts and we're able to give is something that quite a few people don't have. Our kids got so many great things. Our friends and family gave generously. We can only hope to teach our kids what it means to give in that way much more than it is to receive things. We're blessed enough to where we don't need anything. We need to turn that around much more than we already do and give to others who are truly in need. We talked to both sides of our family about pooling our money together and going in for families/causes who really need it. I want to do this. Next year, since we're going to be starting a brand new tradition with staying here, as a family, I really want us to be purposeful about giving. I want that to be what our kids think about when they think of Christmas.

Christmastime, pt. 3

It's crazy how much the boys are talking now. Complete sentences. Max is clearer than Nick, but they're both putting sentences together.

Max's thing is that he says, "uh, uh" before most of the words. So, it's something like this, "I uh uh show you uh uh the girl uh uh turned the light off."

Nick's thing is that he growls. He's got an ever-present pirate voice.

Over the past two weeks, this development has been rapid. It's fun.