Conversations with Cooper - Part 10

Cooper: Why do we have horse vepeet?
Allison and me: Huh?
Cooper: Why do we have to horse vepeet?
Allison and me: We don't understand what you mean? What is horse vepeet?
Cooper: You know. When you horse vepeet to a party.
Allison and me: (After laughing hysterically) You mean R.S.V.P.

Kids are so funny!

Additional Benefits to Exercise

Allison and I both started running a long time ago. I started running when she was in law school and she started running when we lived in Lexington. We have both continued to run consistently ever since, and really enjoy running together. When she was pregnant with Cooper she took a break from running, but picked up back up after he was born. We have increased the amount we run and have both ran several half marathons.

One of the best investments we made in preparation for having a baby was the purchase of a good jogging stroller. We have taken Cooper running in the stroller since he was born. I can't begin to count the number of miles that our stroller has on it. It has held up well and we continue to use it today. Over the last several months, however, Cooper has become more and more interested in running. When we take him on a run in the stroller he often objects and says he wants to run along with us. Usually we can convince him to ride for most of the run and get out and run occasionally. I have the feeling that those days are numbered.

A few months ago Cooper brought home a sheet to sign up for the ING Kids Rock Nashville. One day while talking about the race Cooper told us that he wanted to participate. We explained to him that he would have to run several times prior to the race and then the race would be the day after "mom's race." He seemed really excited and reminded me several times that he wanted to do the race and made sure that I signed him up.

Sunday afternoon we went on our first run together. Cooper and I stretched and took off running. I had determined we would run a half mile and then stop to see how he felt. We did that, he rested for a few minutes and declared that he was ready to go again. We talked a little about how long a marathon was and I explained to him that he has to run 25.7 miles prior to his race and that he will run the remaining half mile on race day. Upon hearing this he told me that he thought he could run all 25 miles at once! We had a great time and I was really proud of him. Not only did he run the entire half mile to begin, he rested for about 5 minutes and then ran the second half mile faster than he ran the first.

It appears to me that one of the potential benefits to consistently exercising is that your children may grow up to enjoy and engage in regular exercise. We all know about the childhood obesity problem that exists in America today. I am hoping that by exposing Cooper to running and exercise generally at a young age will encourage him to live an active, healthy lifestyle. We are starting to see some of this in Cooper, especially over the last several months.

Good Friends

Allison and I are blessed with many good friends. Friends we work with, friends we go to church with, friends we grew up with, and the list can go on and on. Some of our best friends, the Becks, came to visit last week. Because they live in Baton Rouge and we live in Nashville, our time together is usually limited to a few visits each year. Each time we get to visit with them, however, I'm reminded of how much their family means to our family.

The picture above is of all of our kids. When we first met the Becks they had been married almost a year and we had been married about 5 months. As you can tell, our families have grown and changed over the past 11+ years. I'm thankful for the time we got to spend with them this past week and even more thankful for their friendship over the years.

The More Things Change...

Our pastor is preaching through the Bible chronologically during 2013. As a church we are reading through the passages each week that Mark will preach on the following Sunday. This week's Scripture is Exodus 5-28.

Part of Wednesday's reading was Exodus 16. At this point the Israelites hadn't been out of Egypt for 2 months. And already they are complaining. While they are mainly complaining about being hungry, they are also complaining about being out of Egypt. 

"If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!" Exodus 16:3

That's right, complaining about not being slaves any more. Because they "sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread [they] wanted." But you know what? How often do we do this? How often do we have a good thing going and simply wish we had what we were used to? We get so used to being comfortable that we aren't willing to be stretched, even if in the long run it will be a much better situation?

Most people are resistant to change. We want what's comfortable. God doesn't promise comfortable. He commands us to make disciples. And that can be messy. And uncomfortable. And much tougher than sitting on the sidelines. Let's get off of the sidelines and start making disciples. Even if that means we don't get sit by pots of meat and eat all the bread we want. Because you never know, there may be all the manna you need right around the corner.

Here We Go Again

I think this is about the 10th time I've "started over," but I'm going to make another run at this blog. I have the passion to be a good and consistent writer. Being a numbers guy, that's weird, but I'm going to try again. For those that stumble across this, thanks and stay with me. I'm not promising it will be good writing, but I am going to try my best for it to be consistent. Until next time...

Why I Love Her

A while back I read a post on the Refine Us blog about why you fell in love with your spouse. The premise of the post was about not dwelling on the things that bother you about your spouse, rather, focusing on the things that caused you to fall in love with him/her. The post got me thinking about making a list. In the post the person that Justin was talking to was only focusing on what bothered him about his spouse. In doing this, it was helping to deteriorate his marriage.

Let me be clear, we are not having marital problems. Also, I am not making this list because I need to take my focus off of what bothers me. I simply thought making a list could be a good exercise for any of us that are married to be reminded why we fell in love with our spouse.

God has certainly blessed me with a wonderful woman who chose to marry me. I can't imagine my life without her and I don't tell her nearly enough how much I appreciate her and love her. Smalls, thanks for the last 11+ years of marriage. You are far more than anything I could ever ask for.

- she loves Jesus
- her kindness towards others
- she rarely has a bad day
- she loves me unconditionally- she has a great smile
- she loves college football
- she's not afraid to tell me how it is, or how it should be
- she's a great mom (obviously this didn't make me fall in love with her, but it's an added bonus)

Your turn. What are some reasons why you fell in love with your spouse?

Election Day 2012

Today is election day. I have heard it said over the last several months that this is the most important election in our lifetime. I bet that will be said for every election for the rest of my lifetime. Mainly because as long as, for all intents and purposes, there's a two party system, the others side is going to think it's imperative that their candidate win.

No matter which way you lean or which party/candidate you hope will win, make sure your voice is heard by getting out and voting. There are many countries around the world in which some or all of the people aren't allowed to vote. And, there are a lot of men and women that have sacrificed a lot in order for us to have the privilege to vote.

We also need to be in prayer for our leaders, no matter which side wins. These men and women are making daily decisions that, directly or indirectly, affect our lives everyday. Please join me in praying for our leaders today and everyday and they make decisions that affect our country.

And, in my opinion, if you don't vote then you don't have any right to complain.