2. heading up to raft the Ocoee river in Tennessee with Callie’s family tomorrow. i’m freaking excited. the only problem that i’ve thought of is there is no way for me to take my new camera with us on the raft so i can take pictures. dang.

3. Callie has been feeling a little sick the past couple of days. nothing major. just a normal cold – sore throat, stuffy nose, cough. well, we got her some medicine last night for it and this morning, my throat was a little scratchy. i took some of that nasty junk we bought for her and haven’t had a problem all day. i hope it stays that way.

4. IMPACT is wrapping up today. IMPACT has been one of my favorite camps to participate in for the past few years. it’s a strange group up there. most everyone only sees each other for one week out of the summer, but every year you come back, new people are there and everyone is one big happy family. i know that sounds really cheesy but that’s what it is. if you don’t like it, scram.

however, this year, i wasn’t able to go to IMPACT. i felt like staying home and working at my job and being with my wife and being able to afford the new house we just moved into was slightly more important than being at IMPACT. i really did miss it this week, but i know that everyone that was there had a great time and was able to “impact” some students for Jesus – you can bet your life on it!

for some reason, i think its hilarious when the comment has absolutely nothing to do with the blog post. reprinted from yesterday’s comments…

1. My Amazing Weight Loss Story says:

   May 28, 2009 at 8:02 pm  (Edit)

   Thanks for posting, I really liked your newest post. I think you should post more frequently, you obviously have talent for blogging!

so here’s my suggestion. if you’re going to spam a blog and comment on a particular post, try to make it not seem like spam. seriously. take some initiative, do some leg work, and don’t be obvious you’re spam.

2. IMPACT student camp is next week and i’m slightly bummed i’m not going to be there. however, since Callie and i moved into our new house, it’s a little more important to me to continue working and making money so we can keep our house, than to not get paid and be kicked out of our house. i know… jacked up priorities. forgive me.

3. in case you haven’t heard, my birthday is next week. birthdays are fun. i enjoy them. especially mine. next weekend all of Callie’s family is going white water rafting on the Ocoee River and i’m going too. i freakin love WWR! i’m probably approaching my 9th or 10th time on the Ocoee River but every time i go is a blast! if you’re planning a rafting trip this summer, check out High Country Adventures. these guys are the best! and i mean that.

4. other birthday ideas: i really like this Baltimore Orioles logo. i don’t know why. i guess the oriole looks “cute”. i’d dig a hat with this guy on there. also yesterday i found this – the WWE Royal Rumble Complete Anthology Vol 1-4. 20 years of Royal Rumble pay-per-views on DVD. every match, every over-the-top-rope battle royale. that would sure bring back some memories from my childhood when we used to have people over after church on Sunday nights and order the pay-per-views. those were great days. church, lunch, nap, church, wrestling, bed. man, i miss those days. Callie doesn’t like wrestling. i bet if someone bought me that, she’d put it on ebay and get money for it while i was at work. 

2. Callie and i purchased a new digital camera last night. the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS. so far, so good. it’s actually a pretty nice camera. it ain’t real fancy but it will do well for the level of photography that we’ll be taking.

3. i’m super pumped up for a few days at the beach! i think the last time i went to the beach for anything was about three years ago. and i used to go to the beach all the time! we would go for student camp and mission tour every summer and it was freakin sweet! but since i haven’t been doing student ministry lately, i haven’t had an excuse to go to the beach. so, needless to say, i’m excited to go.

4. this Monday is Memorial Day. i know there are a lot of individuals who have lost loved ones that have died defending our great country and the rights that we as Americans take hold of and take for granted. take some time on Monday to remember those who have fallen while defending our nation and pray for those who will be remembering the lives of their loved ones on Monday.  

(oh, by the way… my birthday is in 11 days. here’s something else that i would like for my birthday. thank you. the end.)

1. Callie was walking back to her car at KSU today when she saw another car trying to pull into the parking space next to her car and hit her car. wonderful. Callie said that it only scraped off some paint and it didn’t look dented or anything. the other driver said they would pay for it (i hope they do) so it looks as if we’ll be going to get some estimates this weekend.

2. cut the grass at the new hotness (my house – we’re trying not to use the air conditioning, so i’m calling it the “new hotness”. after the newness wears off, i’m not sure what i’ll call it. i’m taking suggestions) for the first time last night. i only made it halfway from the road to my house in the front yard. now instead of my yard looking overgrown and unkempt, it looks unfinished. i’m not sure which one is worse.

3. looking forward to next weekend. my buddy Michael (or Grayson, or the artist formally known as Michael, whatever you want to call him) is getting married in Navarre Beach and Callie and i are going. i’m so stoked. Michael and Karah’s wedding is Saturday night so after we get there friday, we can spend all day Saturday and all day Sunday on the beach. and the best part? pops is payin for the hotel room! BONUS!

4. got a little something special planned for this weekend, but i can’t say what it is because i don’t really know who reads this blog. i’m almost thinking about doing a roll call and asking those of you that read my blog to leave your name in the comment section so i can see who does read my blog. but then i may get depressed because it wouldn’t be as many people as i thought that read it, so on second thought – let’s not and say we did. perfect! 

2. i think the Hawks/Cavalliers series is over. i know it’s only been two games, but i don’t think anybody can beat Cleveland. they’re too good.

3. i’m turning into quite the handyman around the house. in the past week i’ve hung a mirror, changed out a thermostat, build a bookcase, set up wireless internet and fixed our heating and air conditioning system. i’m feeling pretty good about my efforts. now, i’ve just got to find time between the non-stop incessant rain to cut my grass.

4. Mother’s Day is Sunday. don’t forget. you’ve still got time to do something nice for yo momma!

2. umm… awkward.

3. this is pretty awesome.

4. my current feelings about sports. ready? go > i hope the Hawks do good. they killed Miami in game 1 but then almost couldn’t find their way to the court in game 2. i want to see them do well. they’ve sucked for the longest time and it’s good for them to play to sell-out crowds. the Braves need to pick it up. they started the season off great but have slacked off since the Marlins came to town. i mean, seriously? you beat the Nationals 1-0 off a bases loaded walk in the 9th? step it up. and do it now. the NFL Draft is this weekend and it was good to see that the Falcons picked up Tony Gonzalez yesterday. now, we won’t have to draft a tight end. i hope they make smart decisions this weekend. it looks like Matthew Stafford may be the first pick in the draft. i’m not sure that the Detroit Lions (who got new unis and a new logo this week) are making a smart decision. it makes sense to take the best player in the draft if you’ve got the first pick, but if you can’t protect a quarterback and don’t have a running back or receivers (with the exception of Calvin Johnson) that he can get the ball to, why would you take a quarterback? (not even to mention, a quarterback who declared early – bad move on Stafford’s part) however, it is good to see a UGA player (and possibly two) go extremely early in the draft – even though it appears that Miami’s streak of having a player taken in the first round will come to an end this year. heck, you may not even see a Miami player taken until day 2 of the draft. cornerback Bruce Johnson is Miami’s one and only hope of having a player selected on the first day. and, chances are, he won’t probably be selected within the first two rounds. 

i can’t wait for College Football season.

2. thankfully, the lawfirm did not get hit with the “conflickr” virus or however you spell it. it was supposed to hit on Wednesday but we took the necessary steps and got everybody updated and protected on Tuesday. THAT was a long day…

3. tomorrow, i’m sending off two friends of mine on the Appalachian Trail. i’m getting picked up at 6:45am and we’re driving up to the start. then, after they are off hiking, i’m driving the truck back. i’m praying that the roads will agree with me tomorrow on the way back and there won’t be much trouble. i’ll get just enough alone time driving back that i’ll be glad to see my wife when i get home.

4. Callie and i went and met with our lender for our house this week. so far, so good. we should be on track to close by the end of April or beginning of May. once we get in there, we’ll have to do some painting so i’m thinking about buying this.

2. softball season starts back this upcoming Tuesday night and i’m pretty jacked up about it. we had “practice” last night which reall just constitutes all of us taking turns hitting while everyone else fields. i have a bruise on my hand this morning from catching a ball at first last night. i don’t know who threw it but i didn’t catch it in the pocket like you’re supposed to (obviously). first game is Tuesday night at 8:30.

3. heading out of town tomorrow for a quick day trip. i can’t say anything else about the trip because  you never know who reads your blog. so i’m not going to say any more about my quick one-day trip out of town. check out my twitter tomorrow for updates.

4. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! this Sunday at Freedom we’re continuing our “Let’s Get it On” series and we’re talking about dealing with conflict in marriage. it should be a great day – especially coming off of the Sex Challenge this week. i expect to see many happy, smiling couples on Sunday morning.

Freedom Rocks from Freedom Media on Vimeo

2. i downloaded Safari 4 for Windows and Mac this week and have been testing them both out. i’m not real sure what i think about it yet, but i do know that i like the “Top Sites” thing. i love that about Google Chrome too.  i’m also trying out PeopleBrowsr. it allows you to connect a lot of different social networking sites and see them all in one window. you can create groups for Twitter much like TweetDeck and it automatically updates so you don’t have to keep hitting “refresh” to download new tweets. it incorporates facebook as well, but i didn’t really find that to be all that helpful.

3. house hunting update: we have found a few houses that we like. we looked at one earlier this week but the sun had already gone down and there was no electricity in the house so we’re going back tonight to check that one out again with a little more daylight. we’ve also got our eye on another house that looks very nice. we’re going to see that one on Sunday after church. we were going to see one last night but when we pulled up to the house, it looked like the garage was going to fall over and the garage didn’t have all of it’s windows. we did not go in. i just keep telling myself that it’s a process…

4.  this Sunday at Freedom begins our “Let’s Get It On” series. we’re going to be talking through the book of Song of Solomon and it is going to be a great series for people who are married, people who want to be married, or people who are alive. if you’re breathing, this is a series for you! this week is all about attraction. don’t miss out – 10:30am. Barber Middle School.