I'm sure any parent will tell you the same thing, but . . . . . .

A- I think I have the cutest kids in the world. They just absolutely could melt the polar ice caps with their smiles and when Beckham is really being mischevious (while it gets old really really quick), I have to admit, he is the cutest little boy!!!

B- I can't believe how much more I find myself loving them every day. Which puts into perspective how much God loves us. Kind of blows you away as a parent, adult, whatever. And just blows my mind how many layers of love I feel like life keeps peeling back. It's kinda cool. Okay, enough deep thoughts for one post right!

So, as of my last post, the ONE thing I've been looking forward to all year is looking in great jeopardy. I'm really really really really NOT happy about it at all, but I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it either. Metallica may not get to happen b/c I may have to go sit in a meeting and take notes in ATL the next day and I can't get an early flight outta here in time. Did I mention how freakin bummed I am????

Other than that, not a lot going on. Work is going. I don't know if I'd say it's going great, but it's going and I'm extremely thankful to have a job. The kids are growing and like I said, every day seems to be an adventure. Buddy is doing well, although I must admit, I feel extremely guilty about the lack of time I get to spend with him. He's the most wonderful animal and is so sweet and loving and playful and he deserves soooo much more, but after work, a long drive home and time with the wife and kids, I'm afraid he gets the shaft on most days. I really try to give him attention, but he doesn't always get it. I do love him though and he is the BEST!!!

Now onto what I'm really excited about. Football and in another month basketball and hockey!!!! Woo Hoo. I think I watched like 10 games over the long weekend and it was GREAT!!!! Oh and in another two weeks, good tv or what's left of it anyways comes back. Have I mentioned how much I love the fall?? Well I do and I'm so glad it's here!!!!!

10 Things N'Stuff

First, Chris Daughtry's new cd is really really really really good. I guess this means I have both of his, Kelly's first and last and David Cook's. Oh and Josh Gracin's first which was pretty good. I know I know, Carrie Underwoods are all good too and she's hot, but alas, I have none of hers. Anyways, it's really good. I've been listening to it since it came out and I enjoy it.

Second, apparently mowing and/or edging the yard is not just a pick it up and do it thing. Apparently all my years of doing it have actaully developed my mad yard improving skillz. Nuff said, don't wanna get in any more trouble than I already will.

Third, our company is moving offices from Grapevine to Las Colinas. Major bummer and yet not so much. I LOVE that part of town and to work in a real office building again will be kinda cool. However the drive is going to s.u.c.k. and I'm losing my office to go back to cubicle world. MAJOR BUMMER.

Fourth, kids are cool. Beckham is quite a bossypants right now, but at the same time, he's sooooooo much fun and I couldn't be prouder of him. Kerr Bear as I call her is really starting to get a personality and she's pretty cute too. I cannot put into words how thankful I am for both of them and for the Lord giving me healthy kids. I have come across sooooo many situations since I've had my own of people who are dealing with situations that to be blunt freakin suck!! My heart and prayers always go out to those families and to be quite honest, there clinging to the Lord is truly remarkable to read about and hear about. I am always challenged and amazed at how people deal with it. Anyways, I am truly truly truly truly thankful for my childrens health. If there is anything in this world that I am most thankful for, that is it!!

Fifth, Transformers 2 = AWESOME, The Hangover = AWESOME, Harry Potter = AWESOME.

Sixth, Metallica - September 29th = SUPER PUMPED and Blink 182 & All American Rejects the week before. WOO HOO!!!!!!

Seventh, read the entire book The Shack on a plane back from Philly about a month ago. It really turned into an experience. Not sure how it changed my life, but I think it did. That's a whole other blog post. Maybe soon.

Eighth, I try not to be cocky about it, but being a Florida Gator fan right now sure is fun and I feel really good about this year again. Plus having a leader like Tebow is just AWESOME. What a guy. And if you think I'm just part of the love fest with him, that's not it at all. He's truly a messenger from God and it's cool to watch it.

Ninth, I need a vacation really really really really really really bad.

Tenth, until next time . . . . . . . . . .

List's N'Stuff

I know. I know. I haven't posted anything in like a year. It's kinda been busy. If anyone actually ever reads this, I'd be shocked anyways. And besides since I last posted I think twitter has taken over the world . . . youtwitfaces!!! (To be honest, I completely do not understand this craze. It seems ridiculous to just post thoughts or activities) Weird.

However, I did read a blog and thought this was interesting. I love lists. Especially if I've never really thought about them. So here ya go:

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Pappasitos
2. Silver Fox
3. Ruth Chris
4. Brooklyn's
5. Maggiano's
6. P.F. Changs
7. Scotty P's
8. Little Ceasars

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. My son's smiling face and open arms.
2. My daughter starting to crawl and communicate.
3. My kids being gone and my wife and I alone in the house to do married people stuff :)
4. A nice relaxing vacation just me and my wife somewhere.
5. Our anniversary every year cause we eat some good mmm mmm food!!
6. My house being clean and more up to date.
7. A nice sunny day when I can take my dog swimming again.
8. Transformers 2

8 Things I'm Scared Of:
1. Loneliness
2. Spiders
3. Taking off.
4. Dying
5. Not trusting God in ALL situations.
6. Losing my family.
7. Losing my dog.
8. Losing my job.

8 Things I Wish For:
1. Health
2. A gagilliontrilliion money trees that each produce that much money.
3. A nap every day. Preferrably two.
4. Steak that actually makes you lose weight and tastes even better.
5. Someone to come do my landscaping for me.
6. The lamborghini I got to drive a couple weeks ago.
7. No more children.
8. Children to go to bed early and stay there so my wife and I aren't so tired by the time we "go to bed". :)

8 Things I Watch on TV:
1. ESPN
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. The Office
4. Chuck
5. Legend of the Seeker
6. HGTV
7. There just isn't
8. much good tv anymore. (What a SHAME!!)

And there, you have it. Some fun lists. Although, I highly highly doubt anyone reads this anymore. Ha!!

In The Spirit of Thanksgiving

Hello everyone, I haven't posted in quite a while so there is quite a bit to catch everyone up on. However in the spirit of Thanksgiving I thought I would post all the things I'm thankful for which should get everyone caught up.

I'm super thankful for my beautiful wife. I probably don't tell her this enough but I really love her. She's everything I could've ever asked for in a wife. She's supportive, not a nag, hot, loving and gives me really cute kids. Oh and by the way, she's preggo for those who might not know. Kerrington Elizabeth is due in March some time right around Ben (my youngest brothers wedding).

Each day, I find that I love my son more and more and more. Yesterday we celebrated his second b-day and Angela and I both agree that it was probably our favorite day yet as his parents. We had so much fun watching him open his presents and play with all his cousins. You could just tell that he was thouroughly enjoying himself. It's crazy how much smarter he gets everyday. He just continues to amaze with what he picks up.

I'm thankful for heavy metal and rock & roll. This past summer I got to see Metallica in concert for the 4th time and it was great. Most people think I'm weird, but I fall asleep to Metallica. Their guitar riffs and melodies are very very relaxing to me. The rest of it wasn't all that great, but seeing Metallica again made it worth the wait. Also, since I love playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero, I get to enjoy the new Metallica that way as well. I must say their latest album was AWESOME !!!! I listened to it almost twice a day for a month.

There are many other things that I'm thankful for but these were the only ones I had pictures of. Ha!! Although let me just say, I'm still loving my job. It is truly a blessing to not hate getting up every morning to go to work. So thank you Lord for that!!! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!!

Things Are Going Well

Hey loyal fans . . . . ha. Things are going well here. I love love love my new job. It is sooooo refreshing to know that you can enjoy going to work each day and enjoy the people you have to be with. I had 2 of those people at my last job for 7 years and that was it, so it is GRRREAT to be where I am. I'm soooo thankful God gave me a fresh start.

Other than that it's been a pretty nothing summer. We went to Breckenridge Colorado for the 4th with my dad's whole family and that was okay. I would say it was a vacation and it certainly wasn't restful in the least, but it was nice just to go somewhere. I actually rode a bike 20 miles to and from another town through the mountains one day. I know probably none of you belive me and that's fine, but my skin is still peeling to prove it !!!!

Below are a couple pics from the last couple months. Hopefully I can post more soon, cause I know we've taken more, I just can't find them.




This is 4 generations of Faris's right there. Kinda cool.



Beckham really likes lawn mowers. Sometimes he'll just sit in his swing in the backyard and watch. I thought I'd let him help. Practice makes perfect right ???



He just gets cuter and cuter every day. We've talked about getting him a haircut but it's just too cute.



This isn't really his scowl, but trust me, he has a really good one.

It's Been A While

So I think I told everyone, but for those that I didn't I started a new job almost a month ago. WooHoo!!! It's been going well. It's slow going b/c it's the slow part of the year for this company and there isn't just a lot going out the door, but it gives me a chance to get to know people and the company so that when it revs up again in September, I'll be rockin & rollin!!!

After so many years of being at a job that was sooooo terrible, it has been soooooo refreshing to be in a place where my boss is AWESOME and I seem wanted. Which in turn obviously makes it much easier for me, to try and look for ways to go the extra mile and help out. I think I'm really going to enjoy this place and this side of the industry.

For those who don't know, ExhibitGroup/Giltspur is an exhibit/marketing house. We build tradeshow booths and help with pre, during and post show marketing. If any of you are the least bit interested, here is our website . . . . www.viad.com.

Anyways, here's some pictures of my office, which I am soooooo pumped about, b/c I've been in cubicle world forever !!!!

My office came with tons of shelf space so that was kind of cool!!

I had to put my surfboard somewhere since it never got seen at home.

My all o'sports will be a work in progress as I find odds & ends of my favorite sports teams. Check back soon, for my office warming present to myself.

And finally I love love love super hero's and the movie Transformers!!! So this is me being the kid who never wants to grow up. HaHa.

WoWzErS !!! It's Been KaRazy !!!!

So Thursday a week ago today, we think either our house got hit by lightning or at the very least we had a power surge. B/c it took out most of our breakers and I was on the computer and I saw white lightning (not the car) jump from the mouse through my fingers. It was kinda crazy. For sure though, it fried our circuit board in our garage door opener.

Any ways, fast forward to this Monday - I went and bought a new garage door opener and began to put it together myself. As anybody who has done this before, garage door openers can be quite challenging. So my dad surprised me and came and helped thanks dad!! I had it all put together before he arrived so all we had to do was get it up. Long story short after only about 2 hours, which is pretty good if you ask me, we got it up and working. Monday - Check.

Tuesday - I woke up about 6 a.m. and had this pain and thought at first I must have pulled something. But shortly I realized this was something else. I have never felt pain like this in my life. I have since been told, that this pain for a man is very comparable to women's pain in childbirth . . . Yup you guessed it, I had a kidney stone. I won't lie, I cried and moaned all the way to the hospital. I even threw up out the car window on the way it hurt so bad. The funny part is, as I was hurling and making ridiculous noises, I hear my son laughing in the back. I turn around and he's laughing at me b/c of the noises I was making. It actually made me smile to know my son was still so innocent, that he thought daddy was entertaining him. Ha. Well, long story short, I was able to pass it very quickly but I still got to have some medicine that apparently they give cancer patients on chemo, so needless to say I was pretty loopy that day and the next. But let me just tell all you guys out there, if you ever get the chance to choose whether or not to go through having a kidney stone, let me promise you it is not worth it. Man it hurts !!!

You say, it's already been a pretty crazy week, well that's just the first 2 days, although, my story, does get better. So yesterday Wednesday - I GOT MY JOB OFFER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can I even put enough exclamation points in there?? For those of you who know me, I've been praying about this for yeaaaaaarrrrrrrrrssssss. And it finally happened. Although it's kinda funny, I have to take a drug test and for all the weeks of my life I had to have kidney stones and take some powerful stuff, it's kinda funny timing. Anyways, it's working for ExhibitGroup Giltspur. They are an exhibit company that is nationwide. I'll be here in their Dallas office. Actually it's Grapevine. I'm getting to work with a guy I went to college with. I didn't know him really well, but I did know him. We got to hang out in Chicago at this past KBIS show a little bit. Also, my boss is a Christian, so I'm really really excited about that as well. And did I mention that I'm sooooooooo excited!!!!!!! More details to come on that, I'm sure.

And to today Thursday - Today I turn 29. I think 28 kinda felt like it had been a boring year for me, so it crammed as much in the last three days as it could. Ha. Well, needless to say, it's been one of more karazy weeks!!