The End of an Era

An Investment in the Future

Today, I went to Rachel's orthodontist for the initial consult.  This is where they tell you what they are going to do to her teeth, how long it will take, and how much it will cost you.  Then they look at you and smile their big, white, toothy smiles and say, "It's an investment in your child's future."

Well, our investment in Rachel's future is going to be $2,900 for Phase 1.  I don't know how much it will be for Phase 2 and I'm not sure how many phases we can expect, but that is one big investment.  

On the drive home I got to thinking.  How is this an investment?  We will not see any return on that money.  It's not like in 60-70 years she will be able to sell them on ebay for a nice profit.  In fact, she won't even be able to trade them in on new ones later.  I guess the only thing we will get out of this investment will be to see her big, white, toothy smile when all this is over.  And, the more I think about it, that's a pretty good return on our money.

sadness

Marley and Me is a sad movie.  Micah and I watched it together and cried like babies.  We were full of sadness.

Lately...

Just got back from Orange Beach.  Still dealing with the effects of the sun.  Bad sunburn....it hurts so good.  Had a root canal this morning and physical therapy on my shoulder after that.  Now I am getting ready to preach Sunday night.  Last Sunday I preached at Olla FBC.  Good crowd and good time.  No response to message though.  

Rachel is going to a birthday party sleepover tonight.  Heather is working.  Micah and I rented "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" to watch tonight while the ladies are away.  

Micah's favorite saying at the time, "You know what I don't get..."

Rachel's favorite saying at the time, "I'm bored. What are we doing tonight?"

I'm ready for school to start back for the kids.  A week off is enough.  I am looking forward to taking classes as well.  NOBTS here I come...well...if I can afford it.  Rachel is going to the orthodontist now.  

I have rediscovered my love for chef-boy-r-dee ravioli.  It is great.  I might could eat them everyday for a week.

I want some TOMS shoes.  You should check them out.  For every pair you buy, TOMS donates a pair to a needy kid.  One for one.  Pretty cool huh?  

That's all for now.  

Spelling B...E...E...

This morning Rachel was in the spelling bee at Doyle Elementary.  We were very proud of her for making it into the finals.  I think in the end nerves got the best of her.  She was in front of close to 500 people including all the 4-6 graders at her school.  We are very proud of her and her accomplishments at school this year.

Treasure Hunting: My GPS, a geocache, and God

Yesterday, I took the day off to spend it with my wife.  We needed time to be alone and make some decisions together.  So we headed out to spend the day at Tickfaw State Park to go geocaching.  

For you who may be unaware, geocaching is a global GPS and online treasure hunting game.  Basically, you go online to find the coordinates of a cache.  Once you get the location you use a GPS to go to the place and then hunt for the cache which is usually hidden very cleverly.  

In Tickfaw State Park there are at least 4 caches hidden.  So Heather and I decided to spend the day hunting them down.  This was also a great opportunity to spend some much needed time together without children and other distractions.  Recently, our family has been faced with some weighty decisions.  Heather and I needed to talk, pray, and determine the best direction for our family.  As we walked around the park hunting the cache treasures, I was struck with the realization that I was doing the same thing with God.  I was just wondering around hoping I would stumble across God's direction for my life and the life of my family.

Then God spoke.  God doesn't hide Himself and His will from me.  In fact, just the opposite.  God wants me to know what He wants for me.  I don't have to go "geocaching" or "easter egg hunting" in order to find God's will.  I just have to stop and listen.  Not only will He tell me what to do and where to go, He will tell me the costs of following Him.

Just like hunting those caches...some of them would warn you that there was poison ivy or water and to be prepared.  God will warn you ahead of time what the cost of following Him will be. 

At the end of the day, we found 3 of the 4 caches we hunted for and we found the next step for our family in many areas of life.  Not because of the hunt, but because we stopped and listened to God speak.  

Micah is playing t-ball

Micah is playing t-ball again this year.  You can check out his team's blog to see pictures and keep up with what they are doing.  The website is geauxindians.blogspot.com.