It's been while

Work and life have gotten busy.

Football season for Christopher and Caleb is finally over. I have pictures and updates to post.

The only update that I have is that I'm weighing in at 227...

What's the secret? Strict 1100 - 1300 calories/day...followed by a 2 hour work out.

Pictures and all soon!

Tons of updates...

Life has been VERY busy. I have TONS of updates. Instead of putting them in multiple posts, I'm going to put them all in this one. So... hold on to your mouse and get ready.

The Riverchase Middle School Panthers the Mighty GREEN and GOLD lost again. The coach reverted to his old habits of substitute players in during the last 2 minutes of the game. The game was closer tho I think they only lost by 8 or 12 points. Next Thursday is Homecoming... please pray that they win... it's HOMECOMING.

Calebs team, the Yellowjackets played Saturday. For the first time in 3 games, they actually tied!!! I had taken some really good pictures, but ended up accidently erasing them when we went to visit Mom and Dad.

Mom and Dad are doing well. I took a TON of pictures of Mom and Dad. It was really kind of funny because EVERY picture I took of Mom she had her eyes closed. Dad's and I had the opportunity to do some yardwork together. He taught me how to use a tiller and I tilled the ground where the LAST tree lost to a Hurricane was. We also went into the garden area and planted some greens.

Since Danae, Joshua and Caleb all have birthdays in the month of September, Mom purchased a Birthday cake and we had a little party. That was very sweet!

Emily, Dedrick and Danae got there later on in the day and we had a really good opportunity to hang out for a little while.

The final update???

I am SLIMMING DOWN. For your consideration, I offer the following 2 pictures... The first picture is of me around April. I'm wearing a shirt that is unbuttoned with a black tee-shirt underneath. The shirt is unbuttoned because I cannot button it. That's right, the shirt is so tight that the buttons and the flaps don't even touch eachother. The second picture is of me wearing the shirt... buttoned... with room to spare.

Sometime next week I'll share my weightloss secrets.

Enjoy these pictures:

New Milestones

I have crossed the 240 barrier!!!

When I started my "lifestyle changes" (eating habits and excercising) I was at 248.
I am now at 240... I haven't crossed the threshhold, but I am at 240... fully clothed... in work attire.... with my leather shoes... and belt... and... cell phone...

Worldwind events.

My weeks tend to blur together sometimes... if you ever want to know why?

Here's basically my week since Thursday. For starters, the 9th grade team played first - which meant the 8th grade team (Christopher's team) didn't start until 9pm. We didn't get home until after 11.

The game was more of the same, with some subtle difference. They played the Bumpus Bucs. The Bumpus Bucs are the middle school team for the Hoover Bucs which are currently ranked #1 in the country. We got off to a really good start with an onside kick - a recovery - and a touchdown ... all in 37 seconds.

We lost... again... making the record 0-4. On the positive side, the coach played more players.

Christopher played kickoff return and defensive end.

It was kind of funny. The coach put in the 2nd string and they were holding their own... they were containing - no big gains... then he put the starters back in, and they scored in 2 play... I have 3 words coach... WATCH THE TAPES!

The picture is of Christopher - performing some good outside containment on defence.

Fast forward to Saturday Morning.

Caleb had a football game Saturday morning. One of his primary jobs was to rush the quaterback. In upwards football, you can place a player 10 yards out who gets to rush the quaterback once the play has started.

These 2 pictures demonstrate Calebs closing speed. In the fist picture, he has planted his right leg... in the second picture he's planted his left leg in order to stop. Thay makes his strides around 5 yards... I don't know about you, but I'm impressed...

Then... to wrap things up - the twins had their 10th birthday party this evening.

Did I say 10? They're 10 already?


Their party was at a place called Pump-It-Up.

You basically gt a room that has inflatables. You can invite 1 - 20 kids for the same flat rate, then you get a party room for your party.

For an hour and a half the kiddies run around, playing dodge ball, running, jumping bouncing... I get tired just thinking about it.

To wrap up the weekend, we have Church in the morining, then a family get together at the church in the evening.

Never a dull moment.

Workout updates

I started working out on 9/12/2005.

My basic workout consists of 60 minutes of cardio, followed by ab work and upper body sculpting.

The terrible thing about our society is that it teaches the expectation of dramatic results. If you watch a program like "Celebrity Fit Club" or "The Biggest Loser" you see people that lose 5 to 9 pounds in a week.

I was talking with Patti about it and she really stressed "slow and consistant" is the way to go.

The "problem" is that my working out simply makes me feel better. My posture is better, I stand taller - I look slimmer.

The last time I worked out for 3 months and dropped 35 pounds. I really didn't notice that I had lost - except the fact that I could get into a couple pairs of pants that I couldn't get into anymore.

I have "before" pictures... I'm not posting pictures until I reach my after goals.

I see the results... and that's a good thing.

Sports update

I AM NOT an overindulgent sports parent, but I am going to make an appointment to talk with Christopher's coach.

Christopher's coach plays the same 11 players on offense and defence.

As a result, the guys that sit the bench are losing interest, the parents of the kids that sit the bench and the kids that play are getting upset and overall morale is tanking.

I want to sit down with him and talk with him regarding what TEAM means and team development.

We can lose just as easily playing all 32 as we can playing 11.

The team that we played hadn't scored a touchdown in like 9 games.... here's the score... of the third loss on the season.















To wrap our sporting activities of the week, Caleb had his flag football game today. The league is really small, so the 4th, 5th and 6th graders play on the same team. Likewise, there are only 2 teams, so every week, they play the same group of people.

Caleb had a blast as usual














And to wrap things up... Joshua is on the A/B honor roll... so congratulations to all!!!

Stick-to-it-tiveness

Well... I'm 3 days into my new workout regimine.

Currently my workout schedule is to bike 5 miles, walk a mile, work my abs, then upper body.

I try to do some variety so it's not always the same thing. I can honestly say that I feel good!

I cut 2 minutes off my mile today. I'm not trying to win any awards or train like I did when I played soccer. My basic pace is about 3 miles/hour - which is a 20 minute mile. Today, I did a sub 18 minute mile.

I really don't mind the excercise so much - it's the dietary changes that are killing me.

I've reduced my caloric intake - but the hardest thing of all is cutting out the miscellaneous carbs... I am a notorious snacker, and there's nothing more frustrating than working out then negating it by eating a whole pie.

Okay, I'm not currently eating a whole pie, but I've done it in the past.

I need to choose a weigh-in day and stick with it. Since I'm mentioning it now, I may as well make it Wednesday.

First, I would like to officially state that at my heaviest, I weighed 265.
I am currently at 245 and shrinking.

Wish me luck.

Joshua's new calling...

Joshua was asked if he wanted to play flag football... he decided that he wanted to take this year off and not play.

We got to the first game and he decided that he wanted to plug in.

Joshua came running across the field and said, "Mom, Dad! I get to get the football and dry it off and take it out in between plays!"

It really turned out to be Joshua standing around with the guys from First Baptist Pelham talking about flag football. He had fun.

When it was all over, they gave him a free water from the concession stand... He was a happy camper.

I'm fatter... I mean flattered...

In February of this year I took "FAT PICTURES" - that's pictures of me with my shirt off so I could see the rools of flab that have taken over my once muscular body. Shortly thereafter, I concluded that I could layer my clothes and hide the layers of flab.

It was my intention to start working out in February so that when we all got together for Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary, I could show off all the progress we made.

What is that old statement that people make? The one about best intentions going awry???

Anyway, I have a new goal. My new goal is to be fit and trim by the time the 25th reunion comes around.

There... I've said it. I've put it in print... in black and white even...

I started my dietary changes today and I even worked out.

From time to time I'll make updated regarding my progress.

Wish me luck.

Upward Flag Football

Today was the Jamboree for the Upward Football league. After only 2 practices, the boys had the opportunity to play 2 quarters of football. It was really kind of interesting because they had not yet had the opportunity to play with flags yet.

This was also the first time that they played on a lined field. It was a day of first, I suppose.

Caleb had a lot of fun.

Just 8 more games to go...

Riverchase plays Homewood

Last night was another looooooooooong night of football. Christopher got in on a few more plays this week. In all honesty, the Homewood school was bigger and better coached. That's the end of my comentary for the day... another loss.

Upward Flag Football

Caleb and Joshua were asked if they wanted to play flag football through a program called Upward. Upward is a Christian Athletic program that a lot of churches do around here for 1st through 7th grade. We generally participate through the one at Pelham First Baptist Church.

The teams are small, everyone gets to play the same amount of time, the emphasis is on teaching the funamentals of the game, and there's a Bible study that occurs during each game. It's a really neat concept.

Joshua decided that he didn't want to play this season, so Caleb is carrying the Woodard torch this season.

Attached is a picture of Caleb running the tires at todays practice.

First game of the season...

Christopher had his first football game of the season last year.

On Thursdays, the 7th and 8th grade teams play.

The 7th grade team looked very good. They were well coached, executed flawlessly.

The 8th grade team looked like a bunch of disoriented 5th graders.

A lot of parents were upset because the coaches aren't substituting.

They also were making very questionable play calls. For all you football fans out there, here's a summary of the play calling...

Every 3rd and long, run a reverse to the strong side. (Ummmm yeah).

Every 2nd down, run up the middle.

No passing game at all... and the same players kept making the same mistakes over... and over.

We don't mind losing, if everyone gets to play. We can lose playing everyone as well as we can playing the same 11 players on both offense and defense.

I was a little excited that Christopher got to get in to play. I grabbed my camera and tried to snap the above picture. I missed my target a little and all you can see is his life leg. I circled it in the above picture.

I think Christopher got in in the 4th quarter for 2 plays... which was more than we can say for some of the other players.

First game results?

Hurricane Katrina

The good news is... we survived. We lost a few tree limbs, a lot of leaf clean up and schools are cancelled today.

Just wanted to let you know that we were all okay.

I may post a picture or 2 this afternoon.

Life and Death

I was in Atlanta this weekend to run a meeting with my team.

It was a long day with a lot of heated discussions regarding the proper course of action for several items in our team. I don't particularly care for heated discussions because life is too short and when it all comes down to it it's only work.

Donthell Hall tends to be the most vocal of all the team members with really strong opinions regarding what our proper course of action should be.

During our conversation at lunch Don was fairly excited about taking a trip to Tennessee this weekend to take his sone back to school.

On their way to the college, there was a blow out resulting in a car crash and Don's death. His son is in the hospital with a bruised lung.

My prayers are with his family.

Football Parents

Parents really take football very seriously here in the south.

I was just reflecting on watching the jamboree last Monday. As we were watching the game, one of the mom's was getting frustrated over the fact that her son wasn't getting enough play time. She started screaming at the top of her lungs:

"Put #72 in so he can hit somebody... Put #72 in so he can hit somebody"

When her son didn't get in, she turned on our own team...

What did she say next?

As the quarter-back was rolling right out of the pocket she yelled:

"Stay in the pocket... who do you think you are? Michael d*** Vick????"

It's going to be a looooooooong season.

Family fun time...

One of the local schools had a Jamboree on Monday. A Jamboree is basically where multiple schools are invited for the first inter-school scrimmage of the year.

This year, Christopher's team played Briarwood Christian Academy and Clay Chalkville.

In the middle of the picture, under the umbrella are Joshua, Christopher and Aretha.

Christopher got to play team captain the first game, which was cool.
The Riverchase Panthers (Christopher's team) won their first game against Briarwood and lost against Clay Chalkville.

The highlight of the evening was a touchdown block that Christopher made on a reverse allowing our running back to score a touchdown. He was pretty excited about it.


Christopher, is #60 and can be seen here running off the field after winning the coin toss.

Bad transportation week.

This was a baaaaad week for transportation in my household. It started on Saturday when I went on my morning bike ride with Caleb.

It was a good ride, we did maybe 3 miles, then a half mile away from the house, my rear derailer broke, tossed up into the spokes and siezed my rear tire.

Delightful.

THEN... on the way home today, while driving 70 miles an hour down the highway, the brakes and power steering on the van decided to stop working.

Delightful.

Baaaad week for transportation.

I'm okay. I was able to pump the brakes and stop. But the van is currently sitting on the side of the highway... exit 242... highway 65... south.

Delightful.

What about Bob???

The big question is... what's going on in my life? My life is actually fairly simple. I wake up in the morning, get ready and go to work. After work, I come home, help the kiddies with their homework, cook dinner and then try to relax... Life is really kind of good and simple. The way that I like it.

In all honesty, I've been working in Informatoin Technology since I was 17 years old. 2 years from now marks my 20th anniversary working in this field... and I think I'm ready for a change.

Lately, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I'm trying to decide if I want to go back to school, if so, what I want to do. The only thing that I know for sure is that I'm ready for a career change.

When I first entered the "computer world" - it was a well formed world. You could know it all and truly be an expert. Now, there are a lot of sub par solutions and people don't treat it like the art form that it is... I'll hop off my soap box.

So, the question is - "what am I thinking about doing in my second career?"

I was thinking about becoming a musician - but that would involve travell... and something called skill. I'm not "bad" - but I'm not good enough for that.

I do run a recording studio on the side - but I sow my recording talents into small ministries... I walk them through the copyright process, help them make a press kit, help them record and package high quality CDs so they can support their ministry.

There's a philosophy that says "enjoy what you do and the money will follow" - I'm in the process of trying to figure out what this is for me.

The good news is... I have time.

Could it possibly be???

As many of you know, Aretha, my wife was a stay at home Mom until the Joshua, Caleb and Christopher went to school. When the twins started kindergarden, she went back to college to study accounting.

After many years of hard work, she graduated last May and entered the work world.

Over the past year, she's been temping with AccountTemps and another company - this is primarily because all the companies are looking for people with 2 or 3 years worth of experience.

Over the last 4 months she's been working with a company downtown that actually has liked her a lot. It's a small company and a great opportunity to really learn the ins-and-outs of accounting.

With this temp agency that's she's working with now, you have to work at least 600 hours before the company can hire you... if they want to. Aretha hit the 600 hour mark a couple of weeks ago.

The problem is, the company hadn't made her an offer yet.

We had a lot of discussions between the 2 of us regarding what a good "stay" offer is and what a "walking out the door" offer was and when/whether she should go to the management there and ask what the status is.

Well, yesterday, Aretha took that step. She went into the head guys office and asked him if they were going to extend her an offer to make her permanent.

His response was... "I thought you already were!"

The ball is rolling... we'll see what happens.

Green and Gold Game

In the south, the priorities are God, Football and Family. On Saturday we had the first of many looooooooooong football related outings.

Pelham Highschool has a new head football coach. He has decided that he wants everyone that plays football in the Pelham/Helena area to run his offence. Starting with the Pee-Wees.

Saturday was the first annual Green and Gold games. It started at 10am with the 65 pound boys playing and ended up around 9pm that night with the high school playing.

Christopher plays on the 8th grade team. The coaches asked that the 9th graders show up in time to watch their 7th grade counterparts play.

The 7th grade game was called on account of lightning. We actually waited for 2 hours for the weather to pass. Then the 8th grade boys had the opportunity to play. First scrimmage... under the lights... in the rain.

Delightful.

Christopher played defensive end. He was in on 2 tackles... he's getting better.

Over already???

This image is from Christophers 13th Birthday Party.

It amazed me how much parental involvement is expected today. When I was younger, there were far fewer activities to participate in, less ALL DAY television programming targetted at kids, fewer video games... and I think we were smarter... (just kidding).

Anyway, we had a middle school picnic yesterday at Oak Mountain State Park. This was a time for the 6th, 7th and 8th graders to get together to meet eachother and welcome in the the 6th graders. An opportunity for the parents to connect with eachother and meet the staff who is going to be working with the kiddies.

It was a regular family event. We even played family games. Joshua got to have his head covered in shaving cream and have cheetoes tossed it him, I won the egg toss... I had a good team mate. We would have kept going, except I fumbled the egg on a 30 yard toss and dropped it at my feet.

Joshua and Caleb ran into the lake at Oak Mountain and got to ride home in their underwear... ah... memories.

Team 45

This is Joshua's picture from the first day of school lst year.

Well, It's Sunday.

If you want to know more about the church that I attend, look over in the links section. You'll see a link for Mountain Top Community Church. You'll always know what's going on in our local church by looking there.

Today is "Promotion Sunday." This is the Sunday where the children progress to their next class.

Christopher is still going to be with the middle schoolers, since he's in 8th grade. The BIG CHANGE is going to be Joshua and Caleb. Joshua and Caleb are moving to Team 45.

Team 45 is the name if the ministry that deals with 4th and 5th graders. It's actually a fairly big step. They have their own T-shirts and it's a big change from where they were before.

A good friend of mine Richard Scott is one of the leaders there, so he'll keep a good eye on them for me...

First game of the season...

This is Joshua's picture from the first day of school this year.

Christopher had his first game of the school year today. It was the Green and Gold inner-squad scrimmage. In the south, Football is #2 on the list. #1 is God and #3 is Family.

This was a DAY of football, starting with the 65 pound division starting in the morning and ending with Varsity playing under the lights in the evening.

Christopher plays on the 8th grade team. In a show of solidarity, the coaching staff asked that the 8th graders show up to watch the 7th graders game.

The 7th graders probably got to play for 6 minutes before the game was called on account of lightning.

Did that end the day? Of course not... the teams retreated to the field house to waite it out. It thundered, it lightninged, it rained... and the show went on. Christopher's team had the opportunity to play - which was cool, although it was late. I think they were scheduled to play around 5pm, but they didn't hit the field until almost 7pm.

If this is any indicator, it's going to be a looooooooong year.

The big question is... how did Christopher do?

The team played a 20 minute game. He was in for maybe 4 or 5 plays which is better than last year. He played defensive end, and was in on 2 tackles. 1 was a solo tackle that everyone else joined in on after he made the stop.

Last year was his first year playing. This year, he's making a lot of improvements. He's getting off the ball faster too.

I'm not one of those over indulgant parents that will scream and yell and all that. This is something that he enjoys doing and something that he must do for himself.

Pictures to follow soon.

Let the games begin!!!

This image is of Caleb on the first day of school this year.

Christopher has his first football game of the year today. It's the Green and Gold inner squad scrimmage. It should be interesting. I'm going to be out there with my camera. Hopefully I'll be able to snag a picture or 2.

In Alabama they love some football. The games started early this morning with the 1st - 6th graders playing. Christopher has to be there to watch the 7th graders play, and then they play the hour after that.

We're not going to stay to see the high schoolers play tho...

Christopher has a friend staying over tonight. Brandon and Christopher were friends in elementary school then they moved to Helena. When we bought our house, we moved to less than half a mile away.

Let the games begin

For starters, this picture is of Caleb. It was from the first day of school last year.

One of the things that happens with each school year is the beginning of activities. Well, that's not totally true. Christopher has had football practice year round, because in Alabama they love themselves some football.

Caleb and Christopher are both playing football this year. Christopher is playing for his junior high 8th grade team and Caleb is playing flag football through the Upward program at First Baptist Church in Pelham.

Joshua has decided that he's going to sit out this season - he'll probably be back for basketball season.

I'll have to post pictures so you can see what these guys look like once they're all geared up. Should be fun.

Anyway, it's Friday, the end of the first week of school. Everyone is easing into their schedules again. I'll try to keep things up to date, but things move kind of fast paced here.

School started yesterday

It was amazing... people actually woke up on time.
Aretha made waffles for breakfast.
The busses ran on time.
The whole day ran like clockwork.
I went into the office early, Aretha stayed to make sure everyone got off to school well. I was able to get home in time to see the twins get off the bus.

Life... is good.

I decided to redo the pictures since they overlapped, so I pulled them out and decided to start with Christopher's pictures.

First day of school...

Summer went by very quickly. It seams like just yesterday that the boys got out of school.

Anyway, kids grow up so fast. It seams just like yesterday Christopher was in 4th grade, and now he's an 8th grader and almost as tall as Aretha.

The twins are going to be in 4th grade this year. Their 10th birthday is next month. AMAZING.

Anyway, tomorrow is the first day of school. I'm posting pictures of them from last years first day of school.