Big Day for Charlie!

Today was a big day for Charlie. He rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time and he has discovered that he can scream really loud in a high pitched tone.

I was laying in the floor teaching Charlie how to position himself to make a complete rotation this morning. He did not show much interest in what I was saying or how I placed his arms. A few hours later I went up to my bedroom to get a pair of socks and when I returned he was 3/4 of the way turned. I started calling for Jamie before Charlie completed his roll. If she missed his first roll over I would have to keep it a secret until she witnessed it then I would have to act surprised. That would be to hard to keep a secret.

After hearing multiple whispered calls of "Psss....pssss!...hey! Come here...Babe! Hurry!" Jamie finally made her way into the living room to see a surprised baby pop his head up like "What just happened? Everything is right side up?" Mommy cried, I laughed and Charlie was still in shock showing off his stellar army crawl that took him no where.

Later in the evening we were at my mothers house and several other relatives joined us for dinner. We were in the living room when Charlie and my two cousins caught a case of the giggles. Charlie let out his typical Santa Clause style laugh which suddenly turned into a hysterical screeching laugh. At first I thought that it was Addison, but to my surprise it was Charlie. He was so excited that he was screeching away like a baby hawk. We might have to reduce the amount of time that he watches Animal Planet.

The surprise and hilarity of his screeching caused the girls to laugh even harder which created an absolute giggle fest in the house. More laughing, more screeching, and some more laughing. All of a sudden it wasn't funny any more. Charlie scared himself and decided that the fun was over. It was past his bedtime.

Everyday is filled with something new. My little baby will be crawling soon. A little sooner than I want him to. Before I know it he will be climbing up walls and furniture. I don't think that I am ready for that. He has figured out how to get Mommy and Daddy to buy him toys, but I will save that story for tomorrow.

When it rains, it pours!

Take a look at the life that you currently have. Look at the physical material around you. Think about the people in your life that you think will always be there. Think about the roof over your head, the clothes on your back and the food on your table. Have you ever taken a moment to think about these things before, or do you just take them for granted?

I did not think about these every day "gifts" until I hit rock bottom. I lost my grandfather, lost my job, couldn't have a baby and didn't feel like doing anything. I began asking why. This search led me no where. I was looking for answers, not solutions. I could not turn my head around to look forward because I was stuck looing back. Everyday was a struggle. I felt that I had no chance of ever recovering and the rest of my life was going to be a string of terrible events.

After many months of searching for answers I finally discovered the problem. I was searching for the wrong thing and looking in all of the wrong places. I realized that I needed to find the solutions to the problems that were in front of me and I could only find those answers deep inside of my heart and mind that was being guided by the Lord. Once I began my new search I started to find what I needed.

First I started with the feelings that I had about my grandfathers passing. I was angry, sad and full of sorrow that he was not around anymore. I began to reflect on the lessons that he had taught me through out my life. When I was young I did not realize that he was teaching me lessons that would stick with me. He taught us how to be better people through his actions. He always wore a smile and made you laugh. No one was a stranger to him. He was a family man and always put his family first. Especially his grandchildren. As I reflected on his life I could hear him saying "Get up off of your butt and keep moving forward. There ain't no use in crying over me." A little piece of me began to come back. I hope that I can be half of the man that he was.

I then had to deal with the loss of a great job. I was immediately employeed at another job, but I felt like I had just let everything that I had worked for slip through my fingers. I guess that it was God's plan to send me somewhere that I could find the messages that I needed to hear. I was surrounded by people that were deep into the word of God and they were always sharing the message. This helped me to understand my purpose and what I needed to do to live a better life and bring my blessings to fruitation.

The hardest time in my life was understanding why my wife and I were not able to produce a child. We visited doctors and specialists, but we forgot to consult with the man upstairs. He led us in the direction we needed to travel to prepare ourselves and our home for our child. Shortly after giving everything that we had to God, we bagan to receive our blessings one after another.

Not only did we receive blessings, but the people around us began to be blessed with what they needed also. The blessings are still continuing today and I thank God for all that he has done in my life and for the people in my life.

I may sound like a broken record, but repetition is the key to success, you have to get back up and move forward when something knocks you down. Do not take the people, your job and everything that you have for granted. It may not be there tomorrow.

Live today like it is your last, be kind to others and dig your ditches to catch the water.

Sleeper Spell!

Yesterday was a fun day with the family. Charlie, Jamie and I visited the Creation Museum. Charlie was enthralled by all of the sights and sounds. He is obviously not old enough to understand the message, but it was fun to see his excitement. My mother and 4 year old cousin accompanied us on the trip. My cousin, Addison, was more interested in the fountains and fish than anything else. She did say that she wanted to ride the giant Pterodactyl that was hanging from the ceiling in the entry way.

It is always neat to see Charlie experiencing a new place and new people. He has his eyes wide open and his head spins around like an owl on the hunt. I wonder what is going through his mind. He loves the attention that he receives from the people around him and he always puts on a show of "cuteness". His personality is going to be a great mix between mine and Jamie's. He lays back chilled out and has sudden out burst of laughing and talking when he wants attention. It's just too bad that no one loves the poor kid. Yeah, Right!

I can not wait until we can start making trips to other places such as the zoo, science museum, aquarium, etc... I have a feeling that when Charlie can start talking we are going to have an animated story teller on our hands. I can already tell that he is a little sponge just soaking up every bit of information that he can. I can hear him now, in an accelerated voice "Grandma, there were dinosaurs, ROAR, scared me, fish in water, ice cream. hahaha. It was fun at the atwareum. Will you take me?" Oh Lord! I have no idea what I have created.

The best part of the whole day was when Jamie came down stairs and found Charlie and I fast asleep at 10:40am. When Charlie wakes up with Mommy at 6:30 in the morning, he thinks it is time to play. When he gets up with Daddy at 6:30 in the morning he knows that it is time to let Daddy take a nap. Jamie asked, "Has he been asleep this whole time?" I replied, "Yes, why?" She exclaimed, "He never does that for me!" My reply, "Well, I just put him in the swing and he goes back to sleep." (Charlie grins at Jamie) I guess that I have a sleeper spell and no it is not medically induced.

God uses Facebook!

I was scrolling through Facebook today and came across many powerful messages that seemed to be directed at me. Some messages are just what people have on their minds, but today was different. I have several friends that spread the word of God on a daily bases and most days I enjoy the message, but it does not feel like it is directed towards me. Today was different.

Many things have been weighing on my mind about what my purpose is, where I am supposed to be in my life and what I need to do carry out God's plan for me. One message stood out and seemed to hit home. The message was, "Be more responsive to God today. Act on what HE is asking, telling you to do!" It may seem like a general message to everyone that reads it, but it has a very strong connection to my life. I have been putting off a few things in my life that I need to complete. Medic re-certification for one.

I have also been considering several other changes in my life. I believe that God places certain people in our life to direct these messages to us at the right moments in our life. He wants us to think about our options and decide what we need to do, but then He tells us when it is time to act. You must prepare your life and yourself for the task at hand prior to carrying out the mission. I have said it before and I will say it again, dig your ditches. This is the strongest message that I have heard in a long time. It applies to everything that you are planning to do. You can ask for favor all day long, but if you are not ready to receive your blessing, it may not come.

God can do anything, but you have to remember that he is our Father. He will not do everything for you. You have to learn on your own so that one day you can guide others and teach them. He will give you the tools and the knowledge that you need and he will give you the strength and the courage to overcome obstacles. He will show you the path(s) to follow and you have to choose the best one. Some paths may be lit, but most will be dark. You will find many unknowns, but you will not know the reward unless you have faith that you are being guided and protected.

Live each day to the fullest, love one another and follow the signs. You will be rewarded and find your purpose. Trust your heart and your mind and you can overcome anything.

Roly Poly!

Charlie has been making an effort to roll from his back to his belly. He has not figured out how to position his arm to allow him to go all of the way over yet, but he wants to. He keeps spinning in circles and kicking as hard as he can to get his body going. He also has quite a temper when he is not successful. The first couple of tries made him giggle because he discovered something new, but then it was on! If he could not make the full rotation he would growl and get mad. He kicked like he was dropped in the middle of the ocean and had to get to land.

I made a few attempts to help him position his arm, but I did not want to get too involved so that he could learn on his own. I think that by the end of the day today or tomorrow I will be getting a call from Jamie saying that he made it all of the way over. Once he completes one full rollover, I have a feeling that we will be in trouble. He has pulled his knees up when doing tummy time and he is as strong as an ox in the upper body. I think that it is only a matter of a few short weeks before he is crawling.

It is so neat to watch Charlie learn something new everyday. His toys are now enemies. He grabs them with every intention of ripping or chewing there heads off. It might be time to officially baby-proof the house? Hopefully he does not bite into an electrical cord like I did. His new wake up call has been lifting up his feet and slamming them into the mattress. From the room beneath his room it sounds like a someone stomping on the floor. He is a strong little baby. He is not that little. When you rock him, his legs hang over the arm rest and our glider is pretty wide.

The last time that I measured him was about 2 weeks ago and he was 25 inches long! I think that puts him in the 75th percentile for length! Have I spawned a giant? I think so. He is going to be 6 feet tall in the 5th grade looking down at me and asking for lunch money. I have not met too many babies that have strength that is comparable to his either. He can slow the blood flow to your finger by squeezing it. His favorite game is "keep Daddy from dressing me". I try to put a shirt on him and he will use all of his might to ensure that I can not put his arm through his sleeve. He laughs as I try to pull his arm away from his body.

We are going to have our hands full soon. Our Roly Poly is about to be mobile! Look out world and stuffed animals! Charlie is about to show his destructive power when he gets a hold of you.

Acronym Nation!

Take a look around. How many lols, omgs and wtfs do you see. A few? Now check your text messages. Oh yeah, there are a lot, unless of course you are prim and proper and use full words and sentences while texting. I know that I do not. I find it amazing how we speak, type, write and text in several different languages.

If we were standing face to face right now, you would say, "You speak much differently than you write." That is a true statement. I also text very differently than how I speak and write. My job entails sending a lot of emails to customers. The emails sent early in the morning are typically more fluid and read very nicely. Towards the end of the day they tend to become very "texty". lol. I get in a hurry for no reason and tend to start getting more lazy and the quality of my writing and thought process begins it's downward spiral.

Has texting made us lazy and affected how we write? Have we become so used to using acronyms that we do not remember how to write a complete sentence? I would hate to be a literature teacher that had to correct papers. I am sure that it can be very frustrating. If there are any literature teachers reading this, let me know what you think about this topic. Has text affected how your students write their papers?

As I am writing this I can't help but think about how communication has changed over the centuries. The Romans sent a page to deliver a message. The civil war soldiers wrote in a diary. WWI soldiers sent messenger pigeons with notes. Vietnam soldiers used giant cell phones. Now you can facebook the entire world from the middle of the desert. lol. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. We also write much differently than we did from just a few hundred years ago.

Think about some of the letters that you hear on the History channel from people in the 1800s. They sound very romantic and literate. Now we don't write letters. We send text, emails or skype. I can not remember the last time that I actually wrote or typed a letter to someone. It was probably when I was in elementary school before the internet really took off and cellphones were huge bricks that were connected to a 20 pound bag full of electronics.

I hope that our youth understands that texting is a separate language from proper English. I really hope that Webster does not declare texting acronyms as words of the English language. I am sure that wikipedia has already added them. WTF is happening to our world? lol. j/k

More Time to Blog!

I enjoy writing this blog and hearing all of the feedback that I receive. Blogging everyday can be difficult at times. I have a crazy work schedule and finding the time to write can be difficult. I also have trouble finding ideas to write about. I don't focus on a particular topic. I just write about whatever is on my mind and most of the time my mind is blank.

I am calling on my readers to help me out. Please send me ideas to blog about. What do you like to read? I know that a lot of you like to read about Charlie and our everyday life, but I can only write so much before I feel like I am just repeating myself.

Please follow this blog and leave comments. You may also subscribe to our Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHoppyShow/videos

Check out our website www.thehoppyshow.com I Have not updated the site in a while so I would appreciate feedback on that also. Let us know what you would like to see.

Thank You for your support.

Mothers!

God gave us mothers so that we would always have someone to encourage us to chase our dreams. Your mother is always your biggest fan even though they embarrass the heck out of you with their 14 buttons on their light up sweater at your sporting events. They are there to comfort us in times of need, feed us when we are hungry and to kick you in the butt when you need it.

Your mother is the person that you turn to when you need answers. She loves you unconditionally and always has your back. She will give you what you need and try to give you everything you want.

I am my mothers only child and I may seem spoiled some times, but I am really just showered with concentrated love. Hey, that's a pretty good line!?!

I have been putting off taking my last class for my medic re-licensure until this morning when my mother called me out of the blue to inform me that I will be taking the class. She knows how much I enjoyed being a paramedic and she knows how much time and money I invested to obtain my certification. She might even show up to the class with her buttons on her light up sweater to cheer me on.

Thank you Mom for that call this morning. I really needed the motivation that you gave me.

Eventually mothers become grandmothers and the whole game changes. Grandchildren get what they WANT, not just what they need from Grandma. I saw something on Facebook the other day that said, "Saw it... Liked it...told Grandma...Got it!" How true it is.

To all of you mothers and grandmothers out there, thank you for service.