i'm still here

i've got so much to blog about that it's crazy. most of it doesn't matter anymore, so i'll probably just try to keep up rather than catch up. basically, the holidays were what they should be for us as a family - a good bit of time spent together, too much food eaten and plenty of working around the house (including a trading spaces-rivaling tranformation of our dining room starting at 5:30p one day and being done before midnight - complete with two coats of paint on the walls, new curtains, new covers on the seats, and new table layout...) ahhh... the holidays.

there were also a couple opportunities for some reality checks. my grandma's death was one - her life was full and she's clearly in God's presence now, so the loss was ours, not hers. but not having had many family members pass away in my lifetime (she's only the third in my first-cousins and closer family in my lifetime) - i'm not a pro at dealing with it. weird feelings to have to deal with. thank God for a great wife who has been there herself with all that. she's amazing.

the other reality check for us came just a few days ago when one of my daughter's friends dropped rhodes (one of my almost-two-year old twins) on his head in our kitchen (linoleum floor). i wasn't home, but my wife was. everything turns out fine, but we didn't know that then. scared? for sure. understanding anew that life is fragile? absolutely. grateful for all my family more today than yesterday? oh yeah.

it amazes me when i consider how many times every day God spares us from tragedy - most of the time us not even knowing about it. i'm just glad he does. thank you, God. thank you, God.

more to come. just wanted y'all to know i'm not gone from the land of blogging.

oh yeah - geaux tigers. sorry 'canes - hahahahahahahahahaha F-O-R-T-Y to 3. ellllessssssuuuuuuu.