Good morning,

I just sank myself into one of the leather couches at Meridee’s in Franklin to write my weekly blog for our new website. This will be week one. I decided to call it Meridee’s Mondays because this is where you’ll find both Jennifer and I several mornings a week working and staying “connected”.

The weather is officially turning here in Tennessee. There are more leaves on the ground now than on the trees and the mornings are more chilly. Our dog Schnicklefritz eats his breakfast on the screenporch and this morning there was a bite in the damp air as I gave him his food. He doesn’t seem to mind, it just makes him more hyper which just makes the rest of us more irritated.

I’ve been reading Donald Miller’s new book in where he tells a story about a friend of his who journaled almost everything that happened in his daily life. This friend believed that an experience that wasn’t remembered may as well have not happened at all. So here’s a few things that I don’t want to forget from this past Holiday weekend…

On Thursday morning we went to our friends Carl and Heather’s house for Thanksgiving breakfast. After a quick bite Hutch got down to play with the other kids. He was the oldest boy, which is rare for him, and he loved every minute of it. Carl turned the parade on at ten and we watched the horrible lipsyncing for a while and then drove home to watch Disney’s “Up” by the fire and eat Jennifer’s favorite Honey Baked sliced turkey sandwiches. After a rest we headed to Thankgiving dinner at the Belbecks, another family from our church. There were fourty people there and they made us all feel welcome. Before dinner Sadie-Claire and I noticed the homemade hand-dipped chocolate covered marshmellows sitting on the cabinet beside the table and we both spoiled our dinners with them. After dinner I had ten more and had to ask for Tums. Then we sat in the living room and sang worship songs and said what we are thankful for. Hutch stood and said he was thankful for his Mama, Daddy, Sadie, his dog Fritz, and his hermit crab. His hermit crab died two weeks ago while we were in California. He still hasn’t noticed the crab cage being gone. That’s how well he fed him. I’m surprised the crab made it as long as he did. A few months ago Sadie kicked the crab cage down the stairs spilling it’s contents everywhere. The crab made a sprint for the front door but only got a few feet.

On Friday we headed out to look for deals on a new camera. As I was coming out of our bathroom Sadie-Claire came around the corner and I said, “Sadie, your look beautiful!” Then I asked, “How do I look?” She replied, “You look dressed.” We only made it a few hours until the kids melted down from being so tired and Jennifer and I melted down from the kids melting down. We spend the rest of the day hanging out at home.

Saturday was a better day. We hit the Franklin Farmer’s Market in the morning and the kids got their faivorite muffins. Then we went to Target to continue the camera search. The kids ran around the store beating each other with foam swords and annoying the other customers who didn’t have kids and appearently never were kids themselves. We went home for lunch and played ball outside for a while. In the afternoon Sadie-Claire and I took a nap while Jennifer went to the mall and Hutch helped our Jewish neighbor put up his Christmas lights.

Yesterday (Sunday) we went to church and actually got there on time. We kept the kids with us in worship because they almost always end up with colds when they go to the nursery and their classes. It was great having them with us and Jennifer and I both agreed that we want them to worship with us more often. It was so sweet to hold them while we sang. After lunch at Hutch’s favorite pizza place with the Belbecks and Ice Cream at Maggie Moo’s, Jennifer took Sadie-Claire home and I met my neighbor friend Kent and his son and we went into town for the Titan’s game. A friend of mine who plays for the opposing team had give me some free tickets. On the way, Kent and I talked about our Jewish neighbor with the Christmas lights and how he is always in the street playing with the kids and how I call him Super Dad. We also talked about Kent’s Mom who is suffering from terminal cancer and how we both hate cancer. After two quarter’s in the nosebleed section it rained a little and a few folks in the expensive seats left the game so we acted rich and walked to the front row and took their seats. The kids were in awe and the Titan’s won on the last play. Sixty thousand people cheered as Kent and I smiled at each other and relished the thought that we got to see it for free. As we walked back Kent’s truck the kids played football and pretended they were big and Kent and I thanked God for a cool memory.