Life’s Little Moments

It was back to work this week for me, but what a weekend to look back on! I find myself full of gratitude with each day.

Turkey Day Miracle?

We stayed home on Thanksgiving. I put the turkey in the oven about noon, knowing it would be done around 4:00pm. I made a pot of coffee and sat down to watch the Lions game. They dominated the first half. The Bears sure showed up in the second half. It looked like we were heading for another Thanksgiving loss.

If you didn’t see the final two minutes of the game – you need to. I was floored. I truly do not know how we won that game!

When the clock wound down to :00, I couldn’t believe it. They cut to players on the field who were stumped as well. I was speechless. Honestly, though, that kind of loss was commonplace for the Lions a few years ago. It seemed like we always found a way to lose. It was almost odd to see it happen to someone else.

It was an ugly win, but it was a win. It makes this Lions fan proud to celebrate the many milestones this year!

Watching Jameson Williams hurdle the Bears players on the field was simply amazing!

Gingerbread

Nana invited the kids over on Friday to make Gingerbread houses. I’ve never done this in my life. It was fun to watch them decorate them. I think most of the candy went in their mouth instead of on the houses!

Works of art!!

Their cousins joined in when they got there. They all had so much fun.

Wild Lights!

We took the kids to the Detroit Zoo for the Wild Lights event later that night. I’m always impressed at the displays each year.

The kids loved every minute of it!

I won’t lie, it was cold! We try to do this early to miss the cold, but this year was probably the coldest year yet.

These animals are spectacular. I wish my camera took better pictures. Some of the shots I tried to take blurred. I can’t seem to figure out the “night vision” feature.

The kids were loving the “glow” stuff.

And they had this wall of lights with flowers on it. As the kids moved their hands across it, it played music, like bells.

We don’t have many traditions, but I truly love this one.

Catching Up … With Santa?

Saturday night, an old friend surprised his family by traveling to Michigan from Wyoming. It had been over 10 years since I have seen him. The last time he was in town, we were unable to hook up. This time, he reached out to me and asked to message some of our friends to arrange a visit.

We found a burger place and planned on being there around 5. Not every one was able to make it, which was sad. But we really had a great time catching up. Since I saw him last, he has grown out his beard and looks like Santa! I kidded him and told him I forgot my list.

The visit was a couple hours filled with laughter and stories. I had the kids at my mother in law’s and he had to head out to to his dad’s birthday party, so the party broke up all too quickly. Hopefully, it won’t be so long between visits and we can get the rest of the crew next time.

What a motley crew!

A great weekend to be sure!!

Football and Family

Ashamed to be a Fan

Like most guys, I’m a football fan. I’m also a very lucky football fan, as my wife loves to watch football, too! For my readers who don’t know, I live in Michigan. The good news is that we have a professional NFL team here. The bad news is that the team is the Detroit Lions. In the 50 years I have been on this earth the Lions have played in 14 playoff games (mostly Wildcard games) and have only won 1 game. Since 1944, only 5 NFL teams have had the embarrassing privilege of going 0-16 in a season – the Lions did it in 2008.

Every year, for as long as I can remember, football fans in Michigan cry “Same old Lions!” after every game. No matter what, they always seem to find a way to lose!

I was surprised to turn on the game in the 3rd quarter Sunday and find that they were actually beating the Chicago Bears 23-6. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, the commentators on TV had to flash up some stats that recounted just how many times the Lions have blown leads and lost in the 4th quarter. It happened again on Sunday.

In the fourth quarter, Chicago scored 21 points to come from behind and beat the Lions. With 6 seconds left in the game, D’Andre Swift dropped the potential game winning TD! It was just sickening!

When this happened, all I could think of was that scene in one of the Naked Gun movies with everyone facepalming:

I am left to wonder if I will ever see the Lions in the Super Bowl, let alone WIN it! Until then, I will continue to watch “the same old Lions”……

Not sure who Robustoman is, but he nails it with this drawing/logo!

The Kids

Since last blogging, our little princess hit another milestone: She is 7 months old!

She’s almost 17 pounds, is sitting up by herself, has two teeth , and is eating real food. She will be crawling before we know it. She truly could be a model, as she has so many wonderful facial expressions. Today, while eating peaches, she was puckering up like she took a bite out of a lemon or something!

I was especially happy this weekend as both boys were over to visit. I made breakfast for all of us, we walked the neighborhood, and had some good conversation. My oldest boy is working a lot of hours, so it was nice to have all of my kids together for the day. Wish I had gotten more pictures, but I was able to snap this one –

Big brothers and their sister

Someone once said, ” In a society that has you counting money, pounds, calories, and steps, be a rebel and count your blessings instead.” Another said, “When you count your blessings, you realize you are doing just fine.”

While I may not be blessed with a winning football team, I certainly have been blessed with three amazing children and one amazing wife!