Excellent Illustration

One of my favorite blogs I read on a regular basis is one by Steve McVey. He is a bible teacher and author with a fantastic perspective about what living a grace-filled life can look like. His most recent post has a really neat illustration about the many "flavors" of followers we can find in the church. Enjoy!

http://gracewalkministries.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-flavor-is-gods-church.html

Feeling like a Father

I am sitting here in the hospital while my wife and newborn son are snoozing away and recovering physically from his birth just four days ago. That is hard to believe. Just four days ago, I was sitting in my office thinking of how brilliant my plan to bring my fourth child into the world was. Just four days ago, I was contemplating how I could make Micah assimilate as quickly as possible to the Collins family life. Four days ago, I was thinking about....well, me. My experience in parenthood (or at least the stages that I have seen so far) has been quite the eye opening lesson. With the birth of each of my children, I have a series of mini-panic attacks that plague me with worry, frustration, and exhaustion. What's most interesting to me is that this has happened with all four children. Even though I have sat in this very same position thinking these very same things, I still toss and turn at night (it doesn't help that the beds for Fathers in hospital rooms are designed for punishment) doubting my ability to care for the life that sleeps peacefully just a few feet from me. It has always subsided. Always. But if I were to cotinue having children, this feeling would never change. It would always be waiting for me in the back pocket of all of the incredible joy and relief that comes with the birth of a child.

This little boy sleeping next to me has no idea who he is. He has no idea who I or Christy is. He doesn't even know where he is. He was not given the choice to be born into our family. The Lord just simply made sure that he has made it safely thus far. Micah's brain is working overtime trying to grow enough to understand a little more than he did the day before. He has no idea that he is going to need proper food, shelter, clothing, and education to survive in the world. His mother and I are there to provide that for him. But what happens when I doubt my ability to empty more of myself into his life? How in the world can I raise four children to be caring, content adults who lead rewarding and satisfying lives?

God's blessings stretch me out. They pull me to a place that is not comfortable but still rewarding. Yes, children are a blessing. My children are a blessing to me. But a blessing from the Lord is not always something that makes your life easy. It's not always something that looks like happiness on a clear day. His best blessings are the ones that pull us almost to our breaking point. They are the ones the blind us to what is familiar but show us something we have never seen before.

The Best Laid Plans...

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Well, do you? Well I don't know. My best guess is that it has something to do with greener grass, power corruption, and making a horse drink water.

All joking aside, He's Here! He's Here! Yes, Micah Martin Autry Collins was born Wednesday August 18, 2010 11:05 PM wieghing in at 7 lbs 8 oz and measuring 21 inches long. That is our second lightest baby but the longest at birth. If you really want the most detailed account of the birth, you should check out my hot mess wife's blog; http://hotmessmomma.blogspot.com/.

I do have some great little pictures including the first one of our new family all together. Enjoy.

Come out, come out little Micah!

So, Christy and I went to the doctor this afternoon to check on Micah Watch 2010 and we were encouraged to hear that Christy is still 4 cm but the doctor is comfortable with inducing labor soon. We decided on this Thursday around noon. She will start on antibiotics since she tested positive for Strep. B (you don't really want to know and I am not really that sure that I could explain it). She will then get another dose of medicine around 4 or 5 and then the Doc will break her water and start administering a drug called Pitocin. This basically makes her start having contractions.

This is going to be a first for us as all other labors started naturally. However, we are comfortable since she is already dilated and this is her fourth pregnancy. You better keep your eyes open 'cause this labor is going to be like driving through College Station, TX, very short and there might be a smell. Oooooooh snap! Did you see how I got that dig on my Aggie friends there? Did you? It must be close to football season cause I am getting a little snarky about the college rivalries.

Anyway, we are both super pumped and ready to meet the little guy. Hopefully my next post will be filled with pictures of the new friend. Cheers.

Recently...

I decided that I would finally take the time to update this blog to let all of the masses know about our recent adventures. First of all, our trip to New York went very well. As excpected the kids did all that we asked of them and more. We were so glad to make the trip and best of all, there were no scares of Christy going into labor! The old Caravan also did very well under the circumstances. We had to get an oil change and two new tires on our way back but we did not have any other issues. We also found that of the seven states that we drove through, Ohio was surprisinlgy the most annoying state to get through. Six hours! I wasn't sure that we were going to actually make it to Pennsylvania. But we did. I told Christy several times throughout the trip that if we could do this we could do anything. 3,000 miles, 3 young kids, 1 dodge caravan. We did it.

We are also preparing ourselves for the arrival of little Micah. And by preparing, I mean washing off our old bassonnet and sort of organizing baby clothes. Christy had an appointment today with here doctor and she has actually progressed to 4 cm! For those of you who aren't familiar with this measurement, it indicates the lengh of the cerv.... Nevermind, I really don't think that you want to know. Regardless, it tells us that when labor "starts" we only have 6 more cm to go before she pushes him out. We will be certain to keep everybody posted via text and phone calls.

I am anxiously awaiting next Thursday for when our children return to school at Trinity School of Texas. Getting back into a routine this fall will do everybody some good and hopefully our family can adjust quickly to our new addition and keep running our little race towards the end of the year.

That's all for now. I can hopefully add blogging more regularly into my Fall routine.

Article

Okay, so I know this is not a post detailing our fantstic trip to New York a few weeks ago. But I promise to make that a reality by the end of the week. I couldn't pass up the chance to share this great little artical on marraige by two very funny people. Enjoy...

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24970292&gt1=32023

Screamin' like a Banshee

We went to visit our good friends in Katy, TX this past weekend and when we started the drive down I looked at my wife and I made her a solemn vow. The vow was this; "I will not scream at my kids all weekend." You might think that this is a small feat. "C'mon, Nathan! Your kids are cute and so well behaved and so sweet. I can't understand why it would be difficult to not yell at them." The problem with this statement is that it assumes that my children are the cause of my all too frequent outbursts. This just is not true. They actually do very little that deserves a sharp tone.

My outbursts are my inability to handle the junk that I bring home from my day. When I walk through the door at my house, you can literally see these things clinging to me like a soaking wet winter coat. It's really hard to admit this because I put on the facade of a really nice, easy going father when I am around others but when it is just us, I explode all too often. I can see my kids learning from it as well. They are more likely to raise their voice when dealing with each other or others.

So far, it is going well. I have to remember, though, that I do not have to be perfect to be a good father. What my children need is to know who I am and what I value the most. I would like to encourage other Father's out there to just continue doing what you are doing and setting an example for your children that teaches love, concern for others, and obedience to the Lord.

The Summer So Far...

Bad Blogger! Bad! No Biscuit! See now those who read my blog can feel better now that I have been punished for not updating in a really really long time. So, here we are with the summer in full swing. We have finished moving and unpacking. Well, there is one room that isn't completely finished yet but we do not use it that often so I can just ignore it for the time being. I have posted pictures for those interested and if you are not, then too bad.

The kids are fully involved in their summer ballet classes and swim lessons so there will be much time spent outside. They are already becoming very tan and I am worried about people saying to me..."Show me her papers!!!" (Too far?) Anyway, Christy is doing a pretty fantastic job of keeping up with all of this. How she doesn't go completely insane without large doses of illegal narcotics is beyond me. We have even managed a couple of date nights since the summer started as well! I know, right? We have gotten to the point where we are each others sanity and the time alone keeps us grounded and real.

This is also the summer of fun trips. We have already been to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, TX and had a great time. In the words of Ferris Bueller, "If you have the means, I do suggest you pick on up, it is SO choice!" As I write this we are visiting good friends from College in Cleburne, TX. We are having a pretty good time with it. Next weekend is for visiting friends in the Houston area and our enormous and scary trip to New York is less than a month away! As of now, we are planning on one stop somewhere in Tennessee to sleep. Yeah....we'll see how this turns out.

The last thing to speak of is that a couple of things that we thought were set to go for next year after Micah's arrival are actually thrown in the air. That leaves us with our old friends, the question marks. We are going to trust the Lord on this and see what His plans are ....cause...we...got....nothin'.

Till' Next Time!

Ummmm....Can't Think of Anything Clever

Hello everybody. I am thankful that I have the time today to give updates on what is going on in the Collins household. Here we go.

The first news is…It’s a boy! Yes, sir. What we have here is a bona fide, real life human male child. The 20-week sonogram appointment was last week and we were very pleased to see that young Micah Martin Autrey Collins is growing big and strong and right on schedule. We were also able to get a 4D sonogram of him. We were not about to do this for the other children and I have to say that it is pretty neat. I will post a picture soon. Micah will have two middle names (just like the other kids). Micah is a name from the bible that Christy and I both really like. Martin is my older brother’s middle name and both of my grandmothers’ maiden names. As for Autrey, I am not entirely certain but I know it is a last name on Christy’s Father’s side somewhere. So, there it is. This young man will be bringing up the rear and my prayer for him is that he appreciates his place among the children and that he grows up knowing how much he is loved.

Now it is time for the next round of news. We are moving! Don’t worry. We are staying in Longview but we are relocating to a new house. Since the news hit us about our upcoming blessed event, we have realized that our current abode of 1600 square feet is not quite big enough for this clan. The challenge here was to find a larger space for the same amount of money. Okay, you can stop laughing now. We were able to find a house with about 450 more square feet for a little less than we are paying now! That is amazing, right? The landlord seems to be very kind and has been reasonable while working out details. The house is 3 Bedrooms and 2 Bath. There is no garage but the owner is planning on have a carport with storage constructed. We are moving off of our current busy street to another street that is four lanes but a small fraction of the traffic. There are slight concerns, though. The back yard is not fenced in and it isn’t exactly in a defined neighborhood. I don’t think that safety is going to be an issue but we will have to wait and see how everything shakes out. The owner also owns a large piece of land behind that house that is entirely fenced in and he has given us permission to use it at our leisure for swing sets, toys, etc.

I also wanted to give an update on our travels this summer. In three weeks we are taking a trip to New Braunfels, TX to visit the Schlitterbahn Water Park. We are going with Christy’s entire family and it promises to be a complete blast. Schlitterbahn is routinely voted the best water park in the U.S. and if you have not gone, it is certainly worth the long drive. I will let you know how it goes! Our only trip in June is to Cleburne, TX to visit some friends from college and their two young sons. We can’t wait to see them! July is just going to be nuts. Christy’s parents are taking their annual pilgrimage to Port Aransas, TX to spend the week before the Fourth of July in the timeshare they have had for 27 years now. I have had the pleasure of spending the last 7 years with them there and I am glad to say our children will grow up very familiar with this place. We plan on joining them for a couple of days. Christy’s paternal grandparents have a timeshare in the same building at the same time. Fun is had by all. Then there is the crazy trip to New York I have already told you about. That is going to in the middle of the month. We are just going to have to see how that goes! Oh, by the way we are also celebrating our 7th anniversary and my 28th birthday that month. I can’t believe it!

Date Night with 'Date Night'

The spousal unit and I had the rare chance to sneak away Friday night to take in a picture show. I also shamefully admit we used our precious date time to....go to the grocery store. There, I said it. It was actually a really nice time to turn something that is usually a tedious chore into a fun little event. Wandering the aisles of the Longview Walmart cracking jokes and embarrassing ourselves was pretty much a great time.

I will now bless you with my review of the movie we saw, 'Date Night'. This one was pretty fantastic. The concern for me beforehand was Tina Fey and Steve Carrell not being believable as a married couple. They both seem like such akward people in the normal roles they play. The akwardness could be too much. However, they both did a great job and their chemistry was quite excellent. Christy and I both found ourselves laughing pretty hard through the whole thing. It moved very quickly and it was never boring. Also, I would suggest 16-17 plus as far as age group. The language wasn't too bad and it wasn't as raunchy as 'The Hangover' but it had its moments. Do not take grandma to this one.

That's all for now!

The Downside

So, feeling a little down today. Not really sure why. I feel grateful and blessed for the life I lead. There are many in the world who have so little but I couldn't tell you it is because I feel like I am missing something. I guess that I get like this every now and then. I wish that I could pretend that I do not get all down in the dumps sometimes, but I do.

Enough whining. We had Noah's birthday party and it went off extremely well. The weather cooperated nicely and only one of my children was bitten by a strange dog. Do not fear, the dog was tagged and it did not draw any blood, although the child in question was quite shaken. I want to give you a chance to guess at who had the confrontation with the little furry beast. Do I even need to say her name? Yes, it was Ava. If you have read this blog at all you know that she is probably the most accident prone of the bunch. She definitely gets that from yours truly. The dog seemed pretty tame at first and was mainly interested in getting scraps of Chick-Fil-A nuggets and birthday cake off of the ground. However, the fact that there was no owner in sight should have set off an alarm in my head. After the incident I ran the dog off and made sure Ava was okay. I was a little more than ticked off that this dog's owner (There was a house backing up to the park with no fence around the back yard. The dog ran inside this house via a doggie door) thought it would be okay to just let the dog roam free as if this city park was their private back yard. Dont' get me wrong. I love dogs. I think they are great. But any dog parents reading this post need to know that you can't let you dog run around unsupervised. Even if little fluffy has never been aggressive to anyone or anything in the past, it is still an animal and will defend itself if it feels threatened. I refrained from going and knocking on the door of the house to give the owners an earful as we were trying to wrap the party up and the dog was not coming back after I chased it off. I considered the event closed. I did however learn that anytime we run into a dog we don't know with the owner not present, I will just make sure he/she knows we are not going to be messed with. The dog owner's were not the only ones at fault in this situation.

After the party we got a chance to go to Allen (North of Dallas) to see a friends new baby. The kids went with Mom and Dad to spend the night and we got a night off to oooh and ahhh at a new little one. I can't believe how small they are when they are first born. We had an early wake up call the next morning to swing by Tyler and make it to church by 9:30 in the A.M. This gave me an opportunity to do something I love. That is, to be out on the open road before sunrise and watch the landscape slowly light up as the day approaches. It really was very peaceful and a great way to start a Sunday. We had lunch with friends after church and then Christy got some girl time shopping and we hosted the youth groups weekly bible study at our house that evening.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. We got to hang out with a lot of folks and our kids had a pretty good time too. I guess that's all for now. 'Till next time...

The Odyssey

I mentioned in a couple of posts ago that we are going to be making a long trip this summer. I have decided that it is time to divulge more information. My older brother is getting married this summer to a girl from West New York State. So that means that their wedding is going to be in a small town in the area. You might be thinking that this is not that big of a deal. Just jump on a plane and drive in from Pittsburg, Erie, or Buffalo. Since Christy is preggars we are not going to make the trip via plane for fear of mid-flight delivery. That onle leaves us with one option...Driving!!! Oh yes, I said it, that's right. We are going to load up the Caravan make the trip the way God intended; on the open road.

Let me first say, yes I know that we are absolutely out of our minds. But Christy and I have a motto; we either do things together or not at all. If we are afraid of have the baby during that time frame, then why would I go by myself? This is probably an immature way to look at this situation but we do not want to let fear of the unknown keep us from a potentially really neat experience.

I have included a picture that will give you an idea of how long this is actually going to take us.




According to our wise friends at Google Maps the drive is 1,220 miles with about 20 hours of driving time. That is a realy long time to be on the road. However, our approach is going to be like any other big project we take on. All we will do is take one step at a time. We will give ourselves 2-3 days to get up there and 2-3 days to get back. This vacation is going to be about the trip as much as it will be about the destination. The more I think about it, the more excited and nervous I get about it.


There will be many stories to tell of, I am sure, but I am hoping to get some great material for the blog which will in turn be entertaining for you readers. I am thinking about pitching a reality show to FOX, ABC, CBS, or NBC about the trip. We can call it, "Crazy fools drag their enormous family across the country". We could have all sorts of weird challenges which will make us wrestle Alligators or evangelize to members of a nudist colony.


I plan to keep the blog updated during the trip so everybody can follow along. This is going to be fun....

What the....???

So, last week, I was home alone with my kids and they were spending a little quality time with our favorite babysitter, the television. I was milling around the house and I noticed an interesting scene on the screen. The munchkins were watching a show called "Ni-Hoa, Chai Lan" and there really are no words to describe what I saw. The girls, however, seemed to think that what was happening was a normal progression of events. I will let you decide. Beware, you may become extremely confused and may have the urge to find your nearest retailer and purchase as many children's toys as possible.

Home on the Range

In our attempt to claw our way to a debt-free existence, Christy and I have resolved to not buy a house until all creditors are paid with the exception of the lovely people (American Education Services) that lent us the money to go to school. That leaves us in the sometimes scary realm of renting. When we first moved to Longview last July, we learned that the rental market in Longview is very competitive with houses being filled left and right. We are very grateful to say that we found a really great house that fit our immediate needs very well. Our landlords are a fantastic couple that have been a joy to work with. Of course, our immediate needs last July did not include the arrival of the last of our little clan. The house is 1500 square feet with a fairly small living space that gets crowded when more than two adults are present. We are also facing a main road in town that is pretty busy. Do not get me wrong, I very much enjoy getting the surround sound of every ambulance and fire engine that goes by at 2 a.m. but a quieter neighborhood would be slightly more comfortable. We are not going to move unless the house is at least 2,000 square feet, in our price range, and in a quieter neighborhood. We are okay with staying here because we can make it work.

Thus begins our search. The most recent little nugget of fun on this expedition was when we traveled 7 miles north on Gilmer road to look at a place in the "country". We took a couple of turns down increasingly bumpier roads and eventually found our way to the end of the street that our desitination was supposed to be on. The road was a dead end, or so we thought. We had turned around when Christy noticed an older woman on a riding mower trying to chase us down. The had to have been in her sixties but in light blue jeans, T-Shirt, gray hair up in a bun on the top of her head, and a very stylish black leather purse. Now, put yourself in our shoes. We are driving around and have no idea where we are with our children asleep in the car and our possible murderer is chasing us on a 15 year old Honda mower. Well, you can probably tell that since I am alive and making this blog entry, she was not a murderer. She was actually there to show us the house on behalf of her son who is in the army. The house, we found out, was hidden down an old gravel driveway at the end of the road we were on. The house was plenty big but that is about the only good thing I could say about it. I think I still have the funky smell in my skin somehow. The carpet was all sorts of different colors and the angry and old Fangorn forest from the Lord of the Rings was behind the house. Needless to say it was a "Negative, Ghost Rider" on that option.

The good part about all of it is that is the worst experience we have had, by far. I know that we are going to be fine but it is at least fun to report all of the crazy stuff that we see while we go on this adventure.

On a different note, I need to say that the Collins family is going to be very well traveled this summer and our legendary mini-van is going to be put to the test on a special trip in particular. I will go into detail soon but it is safe to say that we are going to be on the road for a long, long time. Until then...

St. Benedict of Nursia

The Rector at our church is leading a Lenten study called Soup, Salad, and Spirituality. The idea is that participants partake of Soup, Salad, and of course Spirituality. We are doing a study of The Rule of St. Benedict. At first, you might say, why is there a 'rule' of St. Benedict and why do I need to follow it? I mean, look at his picture...

I mean, this guy looks like the love child of Martin Short and the Bald Sicillian from The Princess Bride. If you disagree, take a gander at these pictures and come to your own conclusions.

Please don't get me wrong. I am sure that forked beards and a single line of hair going around the back of your head drove the ladies nuts back in the day, but c'mon, man!

When you get past this guy's dashing good looks you find out he was a true man of faith. His teachings became the foundation of monastic living. However, we are learning that you don't have to live in a monastary to pursue fulfilling spirituality. Spirituality for me is defined as how your faith influences your attitude and behavior. I do not want to get into a faith vs. works arguement but I have found that my faith is deeper when I do attempt to align my actions in a way that leads me closer to God. When viewed from the outside, monks seem like prisoners held down by strict rules and regulations. But if you look at why their lives are structured the way they are, they have the more freedom than most because they have relinquised control of their lives to the Lord.

Just some of my thoughts while on my journey towards Easter...

New Blog

So, Christy has started another blog. She is trying to be more disciplined about making meals at home instead of eating out or fast food and this is a way that she can hold herself accountable. She reviews every recipie she uses and gives what it cost to make and how it was recieved by the troups: Me, Elisa (Age 4), Ava (Age 2), and Noah (Age 11 mos.). Here is the url

http://supperforsix.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Kohl's Store Display - 1, Ava - 0

The first day of spring break was quite an eventful one at the Collins'. Christy's Mom, Terry, and her younger sister and brother, Tracy and Jimmy, have been in town visiting for spring break. They all verntured out shopping with the kids yesterday afternoon and at Kohl's, Ava decided that a metal display case was looking at her funny so she had to go show it who was boss. This is a paraphrase of what took place:

Ava "Are you lookin' at me? Are you looking at ME?!?"

Metal Display Case "..."

Ava "Ahhhh, I see how it is! You think you're cool. Just sittin' there holdin' stuff, displaying great deals, two for one terry cloth bath robes, Hillary Duff footwear 30% off. I don't see why you gotta look at me like that!"

Metal Display Case "..."

Ava "See, now you're disrespectin' me! That's too bad 'cause now I'm gonna have to cut you!"

(At this point, Ava pounces forward like a jungle cat, but the inanimate display proves to be too nimble and quick for the young fighter. It is all over too quickly)

This is all happening while Christy and the rest are minding their own business. They hear the something that sounds like a rabid monkey and a feral cat fighting inside a metal garbage can. Once they get to her, Ava is bleeding like crazy from her forehead and then the insanity ensues. The poor store manager, who is now freaking out because everybody seems to have Brian Loncar, the Strong Arm of the Law, on speed dial whenever something bad happens encourages everybody to move to the back of the store so as not to cause a scene. They get her forehead to stop bleeding and then they take her to the hospital.

This...my friends is the result...

The store manager did agree that in case we ever came back, he was just going to transfer that particular display to another store. He said it has always caused trouble. Tripping the elderly, making babies cry, and of course provoking 2 year olds to fistacuffs. Anyway, she is recovering nicely and the stitches will come out next Monday.

Reconciliation of a Penitent

In my particular denomination (Episcopal), reconciliation of a penitent is one of the seven sacraments that are to be administered by the clergy of our church. The other six are Holy Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, Ordination, and Confirmation. This particular sacrament is one that I have yet to really take part in. Every Sunday as part of our service, we all kneel and say a general confession of sins and ask the Lord's forgiveness. This corporate confession is where most of us can bring our wrongdoings before God. Sometimes, however there are specific things that we might need to confess. There is an order of service in the Book of Common Prayer that can be followed where we can specifically ask for God's forgiveness. The neat thing about this is that we are not required to do this to earn his forgiveness. We already have it. However, God asks us to seek forgiveness because above all it is good for us and He loves us.

For some, Lent is a time of penitence and repentance and for others it is just about giving up chocolate, alcohol, or coffee. And for some, this season means nothing particular at all except for getting ready for spring. This year, I am learning about the freedom that comes from discipline and submitting to the authority of God. Specifically, Christy and I have constructed our financial life based on justification, rationalization, and to put it bluntly; selfishness. Most of the financial aspects of our marriage has been about us and not about the future of our entire family. We both love our children fiercely but we have been blind to the part of our lives that can do them serious harm in the future.

However, we know that there is freedom in seeking God's forgiveness and repenting of this behavior. We also know that it is the Lord's will for us to use our finances to bless our children and leave them a legacy of character, responsibility, and stewardship. We are going to be dealing with some of the consequences of our decisions for the next few years but I know that this pales in comparison to the peace of knowing that we are submitting ourselves to God.

New Title and Other Musings

So, the name change of the blog might come as a shock because the previous name was so completely awesome that it literally shook the foundations of the earth. However, when it comes to envelopes I prefer to leave the pushing to somebody else. At least I lived on the wild side for a little while!

The weekend was pretty good. We got some cleaning done and did a little bit of hanging out. The weather was really great so we got the kids outside to let them thaw out from the cold weather we have had the past few months. I think that we all look like a family of vampires with pale skin and bloodshot eyes after being inside for such a long time. Hopefully we can begin the re-humanizing process over the next couple of weeks. Until then I will have to make sure we steer clear of wooden stakes and garlic.

We are in the third week of Lent and for the first time I feel that I am getting a good grasp on what the entire purpose of the season is. Easter is a big deal. I mean, a really big deal. It's like the birth of a child or the death of a loved one. If you spend any time thinking about it, you can realize the implications are far more reaching than birth or death. I think that is why we need so much time preparing for it. How can we appreciate the vastness of the victory unless we spend some time thinking about what has been defeated? If we go down into the valley of our own shortcomings and meditate on struggle we can have a much deeper appreciation for the top of the mountain. The air feels cleaner, the sun warmer, and the view more breath-taking.

Sorry for the serious post but I guess this is what has been on my mind.

The Weekenders

Once again I find myself on the precipice of another weekend. We do not have too much planned. This is mainly true because plans usually lead to the consumption of goods or services. The consumption of goods and services mean that something of value must be traded. In our economy, federal reserve notes (or as I like to call them, federal I-don't-have-any notes) are used as currency which hold value. Unfortunately, my winning smile, charm, and incredible good looks do have the same value as the aforementioned notes. So, we are stuck only participating in activities which do not require what is more commonly known as money.

This is quite alright. Since a majority of my family (3 kids, 2 adults; they have a "super" majority) has no real or grasp of currency as it relates to the American and world economy, then we will just let them take the lead. I know that their lack of understanding is real because I see them have more fun with a 10 cent balloon than the $75 Disney Princess Musical Vanity complete with keyboard, mirror, and hairbrush that doubles as a microphone. Since the weather is supposed to be nice, we will probably spend some time in our back yard where all three of my children will proceed to have the very best time covering themselves in dirt and playing with all the great toys that we have in the back.

I can definitely learn something from them. Their experience is truly in the here and now. They do not have the ability to worry about tomorrow or what happened yesterday. Most of us adults can honestly say that there are very few times where we can just be in the moment and appreciate it for what it is. It is just a moment that we can never have back. It is something to be taken, appreciated, and then locked into our memories where our recollection is like looking at an old Polaroid taken years ago where the faces are blurry and the small details are difficult to discern.

Anyway, enough deep thoughts for now. Maybe next time I can bring a little more funny to the table. By the way, this Sunday is the third Sunday in Lent. Take some time to think about the tremendous sacrifices that Christ made while on earth on your and my behalf. Walk humbly with God through this season to prepare your heart for the great mystery of Easter.

Wow, I really create vacuum at this...

(My mom always told me to never say "sucks". She would make my brothers and I say "creates vacuum" instead. The point to that rule, I think was that it was way uncool to say "creates vacuum" so we just wouldn't say anything at all.)

My post today is about how truly terrible my blog is. It has been 5 1/2 months since my last post! I will not give up however. My purpose is true!

So the meat of my post is that Christy and I are expecting our fourth child in August! This is not necessarily planned but not much of our lives are. Christy calls our approach to life "granola" but I prefer to call it "all-natural-organic-with-no-preservatives-added". The high fructose corn-syrup of modern family planning is just too much for our brains to handle. We are however ending our book series, "Spawn d'Collins" after this last installment. The first three books have been funny, horrifying, and emotionally touching all at the same time but the word processor will be permanently "shut-down" upon the safe arrival of the final copy of book 4 from the Publisher. (I could get a little more graphic but I do want people to keep reading.)

I have to admit that the idea of another little person added to the brood made me feel very tired at first. I am now finding myself very excited about meeting the new one and getting him/her into the flow of our strange but loving little family. Christy is doing better with the news as well. Although she has shared concerns about all of her body being in tact after the blessed event occurs. I can't say that I blame her. After this is all over she will have been pregnant for 72% of the past five years. I married a truly incredible woman.

Well, that's all for now. I leave you now with these thoughts,

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blesssed is the man whose quiver is full of them." -Solomon