This season will also bring us Adaline’s birthday, she’ll be 3 years old in 6 weeks! Totally crazy, I know. As my grandpa would say, ‘Time stops for no one’.

As the political, economic and social climate is ripe for change this new season, I encourage everyone to be in prayer for our leaders, both local and federal. Please pray for the Church, that we would be doing our job and praying for God to do a great work in His followers, that we would be an example of love to our country and the world.

Also, if you think of it, be in prayer of our pastor’s neice- a 5 year old girl with terminal brain cancer, she was just given less than 3 months prognosis and is asking the church to pray for his brother and their family, and God’s ultimate healing. It’s touched Jason and I particularily hard because of our own sweet Chloe who is also 5. If you think of it, please say a prayer for little Ava and her family.

Until next time, Godspeed.

This summer has brought a few Vacation Bible Schools for Chloe, the introduction of structured school for Adaline, and plenty of time in the pool and at the beach.   By the end of the month most of us will be back in school and will be wondering what we did with all of our free time. Chloe is not a fan of school, so we worked hard to convince her that Bible school is not the same as pre-school.  I’m not sure that she was convinced until the first day.  It think it helped that her team color was her favorite color, and they won the team competition.

It’s been a lot of fun watching the girls grow closer this summer.  I never would have dreamed that they would develop this bond at such an early age.  I guess I figured the age difference would keep them further apart.  Chloe now “accidentally” wakes up Ade once she gets to the 2 hour mark during nap time, and Ade eventually ends up in bed with Chloe at some point during the night.  I suppose this might be natural with all children, but it has been a wonderful experience to observe it as a parent

Our summer travels this year have been to Siesta Key, Naples, and Michigan.  Last week the girls left me home for the annual summer trip to Michigan.  There was a lot of girl time between my girls, Nana (my mom), Grandma (my mother-in-law), and Nini (Aunt Kristin) which I’m told was a wonderful experience by all.  Sheryl and I have already started talking about when our girls can go up to Michigan on their own.  I flew alone with Justin for my first flight, so given the flying experience of our girls, I’m sure they’ll do fine when the time comes.

What I’m really looking forward to is our Anniversary Trip this year to Charleston.  It will be a welcomed relief to get away for a few days, and Charleston is a city that we have never made the time for during previous road trips.  The fall will hopefully bring some colors, and cooler temperatures. If you have any recommendations for our time there, pass them on.

Enjoy your last month of summer, and catch a firefly for me.

Today is father’s day, and I have to start out with just saying how thankful I am to have such an amazing family.  I believe my new favorite picture has to be the one above, somewhat because it’s the first posed family shot we have taken in awhile, but mostly because it really says to me – “pay attention, love is everywhere you look, but it’s most dear in the ones near you.”

This summer has been a complete blast at our house.  Chloe loves being out of school, Ade loves Chloe being out of school, and we are really enjoying spending time together as a family.  Yeah work is slow, we have no idea what path we are on, and what the future holds for us, but we will not be able to say that we didn’t enjoy the time that God has given us together this year.  In my entire career, I have never not traveled away from the family for this long of a time period, and I truly did not know what I was missing.  Probably the most interesting and enlightening change in our house lately is that our girls really enjoy playing together.  It’s been a long time coming now, but I finally feel that I can stop put down the referee uniform and really watch my girls play together.

Chloe has begun taking Gymnastics again this spring and a few weeks back we were able to go watch a performance.  I believe that the trampoline is still her favorite event in the circuit, mostly because this is the only event that no matter what the instruction is, she does what she wants to do.  It’s  a real joy to watch her enjoy the sport, and it comes with medals!

Finally I’ll end this post with a review.  Our kids are getting older and we enjoy that so many people have started to tell us that a certain one of our daughters is really starting to look more and more like one of us.  The amusing part is that rarely are these comments consistent.  To only help the confusion I’ve pulled out a few photos from my photo album, from Sheryl’s shoe box, and some current pictures of our girls.  What do you think?

I hope that all the dad’s enjoyed father’s day this year.  Give your dad an extra hug for me this year.

~*hugs*~

It seems that summer has finally made it to Central Florida.  Seems like it took a bit longer then normal to arrive this year.  My approach to beating the heat this year is a mix of reverse acclimation in addition to zen hypnosis.  In case you want to try the same approach, this accomplished by sitting in a very hot office and repeating to your self “I love the heat” repetitiously.  Your milege may vary.

At the beginning of April our little Chloe turned 5.  I know it’s not news to any other parent out there, but it really is amazing how fast the time goes by.  Chloe is of course a sweetheart, and I feel so blessed to have her as a daughter.  Chloe ended up having more of a birthday week then a an actual birthday.  The humorous side affect was that she lost track of when she actually did turn 5.  Once her birthday had actually passed, it took me a few days to actually convince her that she was finally 5.

In the middle of April we marked the first year of my dad’s passing.  Here is a great photo that was taken of him and our Chloe at my brothers wedding.  We have quite a few photos, but I think this is my favorite one with him and Chloe.

Around this same time we went down to West Palm beach to celebrate my grandfather’s 80th birthday.  His goal was to ride his bike for 20 miles on his 80th birthday.  I was happy that he let us leave at 9 in the morning instead of his usual start time of 4 am.  It was an honor to be a part of the ride and we had a wonderful time celebrating.

Lastly this month we (and by we, I mean mostly Sheryl) put on a Road Rally for our friends.  I still need to finish collecting the photos from the teams that participated, but it was a great night.  I’ll see if I can get them up soon.

Tomorrow we head out to the beach for the first time this year to celebrate Mother’s Day.  As I explained to Chloe just a few days back, while most people have a belly button, everyone has a mother.

~Bless

Probably the only thing that hasn’t been fun this year has been the weather.  It know it’s been cold everywhere, and I’m not about to complain about the Florida winter compared to what others have dealt with, however the only reason I can deal with the heat of the summer is for the mild winter.  I sure hope this summer is cooler then last year.

On to the fun…

We’ve been really picking up the party planning this year.  Probably the best one was our James Bond themed Valentine’s day party.  While we do have pictures, I can’t show them to you without a consent form, and even with that, I would have to kill you afterwords.  It’s tough to top the annual Christmas party, but I believe we have tallied the votes, and the Bond Party is definitely at the top of the short list.

The kids have been slowly adjusting to Sheryl working.  I think that it’s getting better, but every once in awhile I think that we start over again.  I’m really grateful that Chloe enjoys school, or we might have more of an issue.  Her recent progress report said that she is a ‘gentle spirit’.  For anyone that knows our Chloe, this is a perfect phrase to describe her.  Ade has also started school recently and seems to really enjoy it.  Somehow she always naps for them, but she doesn’t seem very interested in napping at home.  My guess is that the kids in her class last a little longer at the game ‘chase’ then I do.  The kids latest hobby is mini-golfing.  Most of the time they golf with Sheryl, but I’ve been a few times, and it’s so funny to watch them.  Adaline get’s a hole in one every time, it’s just an eventual hole in one.

My personal highlight of the first quarter of this year has to be the mancation that I took with a group of friends up to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  While it was colder then Florida, the snow on the mountains was breath taking.  We had ton of fun, pitted our wits (and lives) against the side of an iced over mountain, and didn’t get into any lasting trouble with the law or our wives.  If you haven’t had a chance to get away with a few friends lately, I highly encourage you to put a little effort into it and make it happen.  With the right group of friends, and the right environment, your life will be impacted, and you’ll have memories that will last a lifetime.

We are looking forward to the summer, and I’m hoping that it will warm up soon, as I can’t wait to get my bike out of the shed.

Tudalu! — check out our photos from the last few months here.

I am summoned by her Majesty to play catch now, or is it to go potty?

To start, Ade has a very special message for you.  It’s a little bit late, but it’s still cute.

For Christmas, we had quite a bit of family travel to Orlando to help us celebrate both Christmas and New Years and we loved having everyone close.  This allowed for Fluffer  (our bird) to become more comfortable with people, and I also learned how much counterpace there is in our main floor bathroom.  Probably the best part about the season was waving good-bye to 2009.  Not that we didn’t appreciate the time that we had, it’s just that there wasn’t a lot to smile about in 2009 so we have high expectations for 2010.   The pictures from Christmas have been posted here.

Some of my friends know that I had named 2009 – ‘Alive in 2009’.  The title seems a bit inappropriate now, but the point was to encourage myself to fully live in the moment and set-aside specific time to have adventures that I had never had before.  Although we did some planning, nothing really got off the ground.  At the risk of setting myself up for another year of failure, I’m officially naming 2010 – ‘Not Dead in Twenty Ten’.  So if you have ideas for how we (me and at least you) can shake things up in 2010, then send me a note.  Chances are, I’m all in and I’ll welcome your help in leaving 2009 behind.

I’ve decided to set goals for 2010 in order to aid with making progress in the new year.  Although there are a lot of recommendations to make these public for accountability, I’m not sure that I have matured to that level.  If you are in a similar situation and would like to raise the game a bit with a little personal accountability then let me know and we can make it work.

Finally, in case you don’t follow me on twitter, I have launched Twitter accounts for the girls as well as photo blogs with their own domains.  I actually think that I like tweeting for them more then for me, so at a minimum I entertain myself.  If you are interested here are the details:

Chloe:
@ChloeAnnB
ChloeBoyd.com

Adaline:
@AdalineB
AdalineBoyd.com

Enjoy the winter months, I hope that if you don’t like the cold, then it warms up soon.  TTFN!

]]> http://www.jasonandsheryl.com/?feed=rss2&p=554 2 http://www.jasonandsheryl.com/?p=520 http://www.jasonandsheryl.com/?p=520#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:29:03 +0000 jason http://www.jasonandsheryl.com/?p=520

Since the last post our life has experienced quite a few milestones as Sheryl alluded to in her Transitions post.  It’s really kind of crazy how this type of thing tends to come in such waves.

I have to give a hearty thanks to Jeff, Rob, Cesar, and James  for giving up an entire Saturday to help me move all of our “stuff” and more then a little “crap”.  It doesn’t matter how many times you hear it, you really don’t know how many items you have accumulated until you have to move it all.  Sheryl and I did take the opportunity to edit some of our belongings so now the challenge will be to keep the inventory down for the next move.

Third, we are still whispering this, but I believe that our little Adaline is potty trained.  We had a few false starts, and it took us a bit to get the reward system down, but there has been a lot of success over the past couple weeks  so we are proclaiming victory, albeit softly.  Next up is getting her to keep her clothes on when we are at home.

Please have a very Merry Christmas and remember to cherish and love those that you are able to share it with.  Every year, and every holiday is a gift.  Be sure to open it slowly, be fully present for every moment, and leave nothing taken for granted.   To you and yours – Happy Christmas.

Anyways, here is my attempt to resurrect my thoughts.

We have been in transition for almost 2 years now, trying to figure out what next season of life that change is bringing to us.  This year has been difficult for all of us in the family and as the year draws to a close, reflection is in order.  God has been reworking us in His own ways, and certainly not how we would have wanted, but that’s not how it usually works anyway.

I’m reminded of my daughter’s book, ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go!’ by Dr. Suess.  It is amazing how random books can speak to your situation.  In the book, the author tells the wanderer (and indirectly the reader) that throughout life you will face ups and downs, cruel and kind people, and situations that will throw you for a loop.  Then there’s the Waiting Place, where people are just waiting…

‘Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite, or waiting around for Friday nights or waiting, perhaps for their Uncle Jake, or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.  Everyone is just waiting.

The next page continues with, ‘NO! That’s not for you! Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.’  My personality would always fight this stage of waiting with abhorance and total disdain- what ‘lazy’ people would sit around and wait?!

I’ve been in seasons of waiting and transition before, although, it didn’t seem to be this long.  Preparing to move to West Palm Beach from Michigan in 1995 was through tremendous pain and loss, and knowing a need to completely start life over- a blank slate.  Right now though, we wait for change and circumstances that we don’t see yet.  It can be extremely difficult and yet beautiful at the same time, a total paradox.  You find yourself in a place you don’t want to be, and yet know that things are being worked in you that are needed, and somehow better than before.  You want to hate where you are at, but can’t, because you’re becoming a better person through it.  No one likes trials, but especially with all that has happened in the past 2 years, I can only muster hope that the purpose is for God’s glory.

My birthday is this Sunday, which also marks one year from my grandmother passing away, and today marks 6 months for Tom, my father-in-law’s passing as well.  Loss and grief can be crippling at times and also so human, indescribable pain and yet feeling as humans have felt for thousands of years- this is part of life, whether we like it or not.

You certainly don’t have to like difficult times, but you can try to make the most of them.  I wish I could write this and tell you that I’ve handled this season of change with a grateful attitude and smile on my face, but that would be a total lie.  Some days are good, and some days I’m just barely hanging on.  Again, how many of us can claim memories of the same?  Somehow the art of being human includes all of these emotions.  Is it beautiful?  I suppose on the artist and the viewer’s interpretation.  Out of great pain and suffering can come tremendous courage and strength one never knew they had.

In the meantime, the Waiting Room is my temporary place of rest.  I say ‘rest’ because somehow, it is a place of rest and reflection and growth- at least right now.  For seeds to be planted deep.  For tears and loneliness.  Isolation and no answers.  It is winter here- (and I don’t mean a Florida winter, a NORTHERN winter).

But I’ve seen Spring.  It does come.  And It is very beautiful.  The sun does come up again, even after a long, long, gray, winter.

I personally love to read a good literary series.  Some of my favorites have been (in no particular order):

• The Dune Series
• Harry Potter
• The Lord of the Rings
• Ender’s Game
• His Dark Materials

What’s missing?  Which one (or something outside this list) is in your opinion the best one?  I’m looking to start a new “fun” series so I would love to get a few suggestions.

Shalom.