Dear Wife, Just in case you thought I forgot…

With Mother’s Day just passing the thought came over me, I wonder if OTB really knows how much she means to me as a wife. I am sure if just based off my actions…she doesn’t. So I have decided to recommit myself to showing her. The smartphone is a wonderful tool and it has the ability to schedule recurring reminders that tell me to send my wife a creative note that will make her smile or just feel appreciated.

Maybe one day I will send one at JUST THE RIGHT TIME…

To save one of my daughters from get THAT LOOK! Or turn her day around…Just When She Needs It!

Great…That is what I will do. I will make the effort to find creative ways to express to my wife 3-5 times a day how much she means to me and our family. That there is no way possible this ship would float without her steering it away from the rocks when I am not paying attention.

As a husband I really need my wife and I believe that she needs to hear how sometimes her greatness is taken for granted…

It only happens because you have been great for so long. We only met the summer before high school…I’m Sayin!

So this is a small note to say that just in case you thought I forgot….

I didn’t.

I didn’t forget all those times when you held me up via a long distance phone call…(without touching me)

I didn’t forget how all those times I was having a rough day all I needed to do was hear your voice.

I didn’t forget how you supported me when no one else did…not even my family.

Because you knew and you trusted Him to keep His word.

And He did and you did and your obedience will be forever rewarded.

So thanks and I love you! And I will continue to tell you all day, every day.

Just in case you thought I forgot.

ODC

My Lead Daughter Makes Homeschooling History! #42

My 12 year old has kept me up all night but believe it or not there is good and bad to the story. The bad part is I am loosing sleep and have to do this commute in the morning. The good part is I can not stop thinking about how proud I am that she is celebrating her 12th Birthday by MAKING HISTORY and I can’t stop crying!!!
My daughter has achieved something that only I could dream of doing. She has received a Mega-Memory Master Medal with Classical Conversations Homeschooling Group. In order to earn this prestigous honor a student has to be able to recite the answer to every question from every subject for 3 cycles of the educational curriculum. Translation: 3 years worth of work at one time…OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD!

And the hard part for me is just remembering the subjects. Let’s see if I can do it. OK. Geography, History Timeline, Math, Science, English Grammar and oh noooo…Latin (whew) I think I remembered them all, but I am sure if I did not my wife will be posting to let me know.

So this is why my leading daughter (I like that better than oldest) deserves to receive a super special SHOUT OUT on this May 7th as we celebrate her turning 12 but also doing something that only 1 person in History had done before this year and with her Medal she becomes the 1st Brown Mega-Memory Master Medalist! She also has been an example to her sister, Logan, who successfully completed her 2nd year as a Memory Master and I am sure will be chasing her record next year.

Go Christian or as I now call her: “Jackie Robinson”

Your wonderful mother (who is steering this history making homeschooling ship) are Sooo proud of you for placing a goal in front of you and smashing it!

Happy 12th and Happy 1st!!

ODC

Temptation The Movie: “Let’s Get the Party Started!”

So FINALLY, there is a chance to get to a Tyler Perry movie in the the most important first week and I could not wait. Making sure to get out of the office on time. Leaving at 5:01 for a 6:30pm showing and sure enough, needing every minute to get through that Washington, DC traffic…UGH…2013 opening day baseball. Surely, selecting the theatre that is directly past the Nationals traffic would be the thing to do. But since they were picked by Sports Illustrated and ESPN to win the World Series this year, I guess getting used to them blocking up traffic. I think I saw Brett Brocki yelling from the top of a limo at the Channel 8 New Crew too! (Some things are never surprising) Maybe they will get to block it in an organized way….You know…with a PARADE!!! I went from day one to the parade.

Sorry, that is how my mind works sometimes.

Well, anywho. Arriving just in time to pay for my ticket electronically and walk past everyone waiting in line and have my ticket taken by the guy who was workng the cash booth was a sweet deal. I know I am not the avid movie goer but why do people not use the machine to purchase their tickets? Someone please comment and let me know what is better about waiting in line.

So being able to shoot around one line was definetly a highlight for Mr. Impatient…only to wish there was a way to make my own popcorn and drink. Especially since my popcorn rivals any movie theatre when home with the G-Unit. Normally doing a huge bucket of popcorn and a soft drink doesn’t appeal to my but not being a frequent visitor leads me to believe I have to enjoy the entire blockbuster experience. The only challenge is that the line at the concession stand is super long and though there are 19 screens only two lanes are open. I guess they thought everyone would not be coming until later. Maybe they were aware of the traffic and scheduled everyone to come in for the 7:30 viewing of Temptation, by the marketing genius, Tyler Perry.

Well, eventually my popcorn and drink were aquired and was even able to actually have the manager hold it for me while I visited the restroom. Didn’t want any need to leave this show and miss a very important scene and be lost the rest of the film.

So I am in and the film starts and there she is KIM KARDASHIAN!!! And if you want to know how she did in her debut with Tyler Perry, she was a great actress. The only challenge is she was not really acting. She was playing herself. A fashion hungry, nametag pushing girlfriend who like dresses so TIGHT you are not able to breathe and cringes at the sight of a woman in flats. Seems normal enough for her to pull off.

Then there is the eye candy for the women. Yes, going directly to the gym trying to compete with Lance, who in the first hour shows his chest and abs 4 times and I am not sure of the other guys name(some reviewer I am huh) but he has a nice chest as well and was showing it on his runs through the park.

Then there was Vanessa Williams, with a bad French accent, who owns a millionare matchmaking service. Brandy, who works in a pharmacy(took everything for me not to type drug store) and the star young lady who I don’t know her name either(there I go again) who is married to Lance and is as dry as they come.

Now for the layout of the land for this magnificent plot. A one bedroom studio apartment and the matchmaking office.

There you have the first hour of the film Temptation! The slowest, dryest first hour of a blockbuster movie ever.

Someone needs to tell Tyler Perry to put the energy that he puts into marketing a movie into actually making it worth pushing. You do not have an hour to get my attention. I walked out and got my money back. And that was my excitement for the night, because the manager said I was 4 minutes past her cutoff. (another post on that, but you all know I got my money)

Don’t worry. I will go see it with my wife so I can give you a full review, but I just had to show you by starting slow in my post that you have to GET THE PARTY STARTED MR PERRY!! People don’t like things dragging out and that is what Temptation does.

DRAG. I rate the first hour a 0 on a scale of 1-10. Oh, my bad, it did motivate me to put down my popcorn and drink and hit the gym and for that it gets a 2.

More where this came from…

ODC

In my opinion, he needs to stick to stage plays. That way when there are errors in production we can’t rewind the videos and catch it.

How do we save our boys??

Earlier today I attended a church service that involved the baptism of about 17 individuals. The 17 included adults, teenagers and pre-teens. Surprisingly enough there were several men in the group and that alone was unusual, but quite refreshing to see. There were a few young men that caught my eye today and I believe their stories can give us a few tools to possibly help save our young boys.
I was lucky enough to sit directly behind a young man named Clifton who was one of those baptised on this day and noticed he had such a pleasant demeanor and attitude. He was accompanied to the service by what I believed to be his mother and grandmother. I did not verify this personal information but was sure there were no men in his party. Clifton looked to be between 8 & 10 years old.
There was another gentleman who caught my attention and his name was Trebreyon and he was accompanied by his father, mother, 2 aunts and 2 male cousins ages 19 & 16. Though I did not verify the spelling of his name I did verify the members of his family and the ages of the young male family members.
These two young men, Clifton and Trebreyon, are 5-7 years apart but both carry such an innocence about them. I watched Clifton as he was starting to become cold during the service after being dunked in the baptismal pool. He leaned over and whispered to his mother and she allowed him to lay comfortably under her arm. But it is not uncommon for a young boy near 8-10 to still have his innocence and even with his support system not including any men on this day…..I WILL BE PRAYING FOR LITTLE CLIFTON. THAT HE DOESN’T GET CAUGHT HAVING TO BE “THE MAN’ BEFORE TIME BECAUSE OF A LACK OF A MALE PRESENCE.
Mr. Trebreyon, on the other hand, was outside in the lobby after service and had no idea that I was watching him. He was a little bored with the adult conversation that takes place after church services and made his way over to a window. A window that had a lip just above what his outstretched arms could reach. He stood there…looked up…and decided he would not allow the window to conquer him. So he reached up and was able to just get his fingers over the lip and pull himself up. Now this is a teenager around 14 and this church service takes place in a school and it is not going to fall down or anything. So those of you wondering that…take a deep breath. But what I noticed was a teenager who was still holding on to his innocence. When I was that age, I would have been more concerned with girls and what they were doing. In church or not! If we really keep it all the way REAL! So being the father of 4 beautiful young ladies, it was an awesome experience to see that Mr. Trebreyon’s support system is spending the time to cultivate a young man who is concerned more with the business of God and not the streets. His innocence parallel that of Clifton, who was 5 years his junior. I was able to speak to his parents after service and tell them.

JOB WELL DONE! KEEP BEING AN ACTIVE PRESENCE, BECAUSE THEIR INNOCENCE IS BASED ON OUR INVESTMENT OF TIME AND ALL THEY WANT IS OUR TIME!

ODC

7 Things I want to leave my kids…

My daughters mean the world to me. If you ask them who my favorite person is they will tell you very quickly, “He likes Mommy the best!” And that is true, but at least they all know they are tied for 2nd. At least that is what I say they disagree and two of them actually believe they are in 2nd place and one is to young to really think it is possible that anyone comes before her and then one just knows she is THE BOMB and her dad just needs to understand that and get over his opinion. But there are 7 treasures I would like to leave my kids when I am gone.

The first of the 7 things I would like to leave my kids is a SERVANTS HEART. We have lived in Georgia for almost 7 years and have had less than a year when we have not opened our home up to someone who needed us. Not many people would be open to this sort of thing and none of the people have actually been “family” but we realize more and more each day that some are not born “family” but become that via their actions. And I believe we are demonstrating how to get the most out of life by being servants of God’s people.

The second of 7 things I would like to leave my kids is a HAPPY MOTHER. I have been praying more lately about my spirit so I can not stress my wife out and allow her to be happy with her life and husband so if something happens to me she already knows I only want jokes and everyone to make their Top 7 things I will remember about ODC list and post them on the site.

Number 3 on the 7 things I want to leave my kids is this blog, my facebook page and my Twitter account. I love my girls and you all know that but I love the idea of them being able to go on my social media accounts to do the remember when stuff. I think it will be emotional but they will be like my dad really loved us.

Number 4 of the 7 things I want to leave my kids is a love for swimming. We all know most kids that look like mine [short ] CAN’T SWIM! I have kept these girls in the pool so much they have NO FEAR of the water. I actually get upset when we are doing our 90 day straight pool run and they don’t clean the house and we can’t swim when I get home. I’m so disappointed.

Number 5 on the list of 7 things I want to leave my kids is Real Estate. My goal is to provide them with a home when they turn 21. I want them to be able to do whatever they want. Move into it or sell it and join the NYC Ballet and travel. Or rent it out and move to Iowa and turn flips. I better get busy.

Number 6 on the list of 7 things I want to leave my kids is the best example of what a loving husband looks like and how that can transform the entire scope of your family. I feel when I am able to accomplish this when something doesn’t sound right, THEY WILL KNOW AND WILL NOT GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT!

Number 7 on the list of 7 things I want to leave my kids is a Spiritual Foundation that will carry them into their own relationship with Our Father. I love my kids but they already know they can’t get there via their parents. The results of their lives will be determined by THEIR OBEDIENCE.

Thanks for hanging out with me,

ODC

7 Things girls do…

So I have 4 daughters and everyone who meets me thinks I am trying for a boy. I won’t go there because I did that blog post already.

I really enjoy my daughters and I would just like to share 7 of the reasons why:

Number 7 on the list of THings girls do: Girls love to walk to the side of the bed with a question for the parent that is most likely to say, “Yes.”

Number 6 on the list of things girls do: Girls love to sit in the space that someone else in the family only left on the couch for 2 seconds and get upset when you think they should move.

Number 5 on the list of things girls do: Girls always ask for a kiss but then wipe it off.

Number 4 on the list of things girls do: Girls love to watch their parents kiss only to say, “EWWWWWWWWW”

Number 3 on the list of things girls do: Girls only want to learn how to bake sweets so when you tell them they can’t have any sweets they blame everything on working on a homeschool cooking assignment.

Number 2 on the list of things girls do: Girls run to the door and knock you down then climb all over you, which makes you feel like leaving them all day in an effort to provide is ALL WORTH IT!

Number 1 on the list of things girls do: Girls watch their mother and want to be just like them. So be careful to select a loving, caring servant who understands her commitment was to God first and they have a wonderful example right in the home with them to follow.

Thanks for stopping,

ODC

Having daughters taught me how to LOVE MY WIFE

Like most adults males, I was single and knew it all! Graduated from college when the statistics said I wouldn’t.

My mom was a divorced parent….ya know.

And was actually able to accomplish that task with less than $500 in student loan debt due to an athletic scholarship. Left college without having credit debt or being evicted from an apartment. So, when you start thinking about marriage…you have no idea what is ahead of you! All I knew was I felt ready for marriage. Not sure if this readiness was from my age pushing 30 or my mom staring at me with that….(Waiting on you buddy) (I STILL don’t have any grandkids look)

But little did I know that it was not the getting married but having children AFTER getting married that would be the best practice I would ever get for learning how to LOVE my wife.

The Bible tells us to Love our wives like Christ loved the church and I believe that having children and loving the sweetness off them helped to prepare me to turn and look at my wife and see that I could step up my game in that arena.

I am soo grateful for my daughters (so far) and today I am especially grateful that I my relationship with them has allowed me to sharpen my skills in the area of LOVE.

Yes, having children teaches you have to LOVE & APPRECIATE your wife!!

And daily, they get better and so does my LOVE & APPRECIATION for her.

I LOVE YOU PRETTY LADY! YOU ARE AWESOME!

ODC

One Reason Apple Technology is Great but…

 

 

 

 

 

I am so amazed and grateful when my daughters call me on Facetime and I can see their faces.  It is a great tool that is actually amazing, especially when riding with a friend on the highway and am able to speak and see them for miles with minimal issues.

But nothing compares to holding, squeezing and at some points during travel I will even take yelling (if I can get it within the same room)

Nothing compares to hugging my girls and kissing all over them and having them try to get away.

Not even Facetime.

ODC

The Ultimate Compliment

Each day when I return home from the office I am greeted by screaming little girls who like to attach themselves to my legs and squeeze me until my blood stops circulating through my body.  I enjoy the love and have recently taken a liking to a 20% increase in this love on the daddy-a-thon squeeze fest!!!

This week my wife and I have taken the responsibility of caring for an extra daughter. Someone who has pleasantly gotten lost in our home this week. No we have not lost someone’s child in our home but going from 4 girls ages 11, 9, 7 & 2(almost 3) to (insert 4 year old girl) has not been a huge deal. The humor in this is the 4 year old calls me Mrs. Mike and I have been giving her the biggest hugs since she was born.  Every time I would see her I would make the biggest deal and she really liked it…I could tell!  It did not get me out of the Mrs. category but OH WELL!  It’s makes it easier when it is time for her to visit us.  She is not only not afraid of me but looks forward to seeing me.  (That’s a switch)

In an effort to assist another family in our community, who is experiencing an infant daughter, who is only weeks old, having major surgery we have taken the 4 year old in until further notice.  (I need to let the parents know that is until I notify them that they can not have her back) You know it is one of those situations where a child can not be in ICU and the sister may be there for a while. And even when she gets out they are gonna need rest….Right?

And yes I have dumped most of the responsibilities on my wife but did use my day off to care for my 2(almost 3 year old) and the 4 year old all day.  And yes I have an even larger respect for my wonderful wife.

But the fact that people trust us with their children is THE ULTIMATE COMPLIMENT and it happens pretty often. I think it is more because my wife lives here but like with most things I am surely to take ALL the credit. (Not really…but Really)

It really means something to my family to be able to support our community and help this family out.  My daughters are all stepping up in support of this family as well. This is a great time in our community. Especially, in a time of need that involves a sick child, which is something we have never experienced.

It is times like this that make us believe we are doing something right in our marriage and with raising our family.  We are thankful and prayerful that everything works out and we can have the baby come visit one day when she is big enough to read this blog post and run and squeeze my leg with the rest of the crew.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

ODC

Year 2012 In Review: Life After…The Microwave

I wish that I could say that we ditched our microwave because we knew how unhealthy the dangerous the radiation was, sounds good, but that’s not the truth. I real story was that we were participating in a 21 Day liquid fast with our church, the Soul Factory, in January of this year. During that time, the microwave stopped working. It didn’t seem extremely significant at the time, since we weren’t using it, even though we were still preparing meals for the G-Unit. Once we completed the fast, it was time to make a decision.

Our microwave was the built-in type, if it wasn’t, I’m sure we would have just made a quick trip to the local Target to replace it. We really thought about whether or not we wanted to keep using something that we knew wasn’t totally safe; especially as it relates to food.

We decided to get a toaster/convection oven. I can honestly say that we haven’t missed a beat. Instead of microwave popcorn (also not the best option) we cook popcorn on the stove, we warm up leftovers, make toast, and do almost everything we did using the microwave in the toaster oven. The food seems to stay hot longer, and although it’s not as fast, I haven’t noticed any significant more time preparing our meals.

G2 (9 years old) made this comment today, “I’m kinda sad that we don’t have a microwave, but I’m glad we’re healthy”. This made me smile.

Do you use a toaster oven instead of microwave? I would love to hear about your experience.

ODB (not to be confused with the Wu-Tang member, RIP)