I realize my wife usually posts on this blog and I sit and listen, but I couldn't help myself. I feel far to blessed to not share a few thoughts after the holidays. I also want to take his short opportunity to tell my wife (sleeping next to me at this very moment) how much I adore, appreciate, and admire everything about her and ALL that she does. She really is the beginning and the end for me and my life...

Looking back on 2009, there are a couple of things that I've realized. One, life is going by way to quickly. Two, My children, my family, and my faith mean everything to me. And Three, You can't measure life's greatest blessings through ordinary means...

Let me take a minute and provide a little personal insight into my thoughts. When I think about my life going by too quickly, it makes me realize how precious EVERY moment I get to spend in this life really is. There are no second chances, experiences come and go every second. Am I living in the moment? Tonight I got home pretty late and Liz came running out to the car crying because she missed me so much and was worried about me. I didn't think about it much at the time, but I realize now how blessed I am to be loved like that. With unassuming and unwaivering love. I NEVER want to take moments like this for granted. This year, I will strive to take in those breathtaking moments that compose this brief symphony we call life. I will be striving to get every drop of love out of my life and those around me.


When I say my children, my family, and my faith mean everything to me, images flood my mind of the future, of the past, and of the present. I think about my little Jackson, Chloe, and Ella running up to me yelling DADDY, while squeezing my legs so tight, and telling me how much they missed me while I was at work or school. I think about the moments I've spent praying for compassion, understanding, patience, and true happiness. Most of all, I think about the promises I've made to Liz and the person she deserves. Looking at her now, I know the man I want to be, the things I want to do, and the life I want to live. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to have spent these years with someone so perfect, someone so kind, so willing to give, and someone with so much potential. She is an inspiration to me. I only hope and pray that I can somehow live my life well enough to deserve her love and time that she so freely gives.


How much money you have, the schools you went to, the house you live in, and the friends you have, these are all ways people measure success, knowledge, power, and prestige. But, when I think about the real blessings I've seen in my life, none of these things come to mind. This is what I mean when I say you can't measure life's greatest blessings through ordinary means. A little over a year ago we almost lost Ella because of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). She almost died in my arms that night. I can still hear Liz screaming and see the way Ella just collapsed motionless in my arms. When Jackson was a couple of months old he went into cardiac arrest, stopped breathing, and almost left Liz and I here alone because of his heart condition (Aortic Stenosis). I remember these moments like they were yesterday. I remember everything about them, every thought, action, and feeling. Thinking about these brief moments instantly brings everything else into prespective. Life isn't about living to be a hundred with all the money in the world. Life for me is getting to live each day with my family and the knowledge that we can be together forever.


Hopefully this year I can get a little closer to becoming to person I really want to be. I just wanted to tell you how much I love you Liz!