Category Archives: Thankfulness

WITFV23: My Church

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When I was about 5 years old, our family began attending church in Olathe, KS, switching from the congregation we were going to in Mission. Being 5 years old, I don’t remember it all that much, but I do know thatI still attend the same congregation today that I did 23 years ago.

When I was young, I forged friendships and relationships in that congregation that are still strong today and my family has been warmly accepted as a member of that church.

Alli and I had the opportunity to plan the Thanksgiving Eve service this evening and we were so thankful for the turnout and support that we received. It was a great experience for us in planning the service, but I really believe that the service was a good experience for all. I’m so thankful that we have a place where we can worship and that, in this country, we are free to worship as we feel best.

WITFV22: Freedom

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OK, before this sounds like a complete cliche, I want to say that I am so thankful that I live in a country where views and opinions can be expressed so freely and that there is not outright persecution for beliefs (although it may seem that way sometimes).

Today, I’m thankful not only for the freedom that we are provided in this country, but those who fight for that freedom every day overseas. Turmoil surrounds us and we oftentimes forget that there are people all over the world that are in the center of that turmoil, struggling to make sure that our interests and our freedom is protected.

I’m also thankful that we have been so blessed as to allow Alli the freedom to pursue her dream as an artist. It’s not always easy, but I have to say that it has been a blessing on both of us for her to be able to pursue her dream full time.

I’m thankful that we have that freedom and that she can do that.

WITFV21: The Chiefs

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The game yesterday was a big relief. The Chiefs did exactly what they were supposed to do and spanked the terrible Houston Texans. Larry Johnson was huge and I expect to see him restructure his contract in the off-season when Priest decides to retire.

Trent Green looked good. Tony Gonzalez had almost 100 yards receiving. Even so, my home team has a really tough schedule until the end of the year. (Nothing like the Colts, which is almost a complete cakewalk except for the Seahawks and the Chargers… It’s funny how the NFL makes schedules.)

I’ve been a Chiefs fan ever since I understood football. I remember the great Chiefs teams of the 1990′s with Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith and the like. It’s been a rough last few years and this might not even be the year for them, but they do have some great young players (Jared Allen, Larry Johnson) and I love watching them.

I tend to get pretty into the games, but that’s only because I love them.

WITFV20: Friends

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Not my friends, but the TV show, Friends. I don’t care if that makes me sentimental, but I loved that show and I still love it. I just purchased Season 10, completing our set of all of the seasons. Here’s a list of my top 5 episodes:

  • The One with the Rumor (Brad Pitt Episode)
  • The One with the Prom Video (I’m a softie for Ross and Rachel)
  • The One Where No One is Ready
  • The One Where Ross Says Rachel
  • The One with the Embryos (Lightning Round)

Such a great show. I think that by the end, I was one of the only people who always wanted Ross and Rachel to be together. That whole thing with Joey…that was just lame.

But Friends represented a time of life to me. Alli and I always watched the show together (once we started dating) and it became a point of conversation. It was a cultural phenomenon, much like Seinfeld, except it was on TV longer and it had a point.

Great show. Good laughs. Good times.

WITFV19: My Family

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I have a great family.

It’s a rarity to have a fully-functioning family like I do, but I have been blessed and for that I am thankful. I have a hard-working father who has always strived to do nothing but provide the best for his family. I have an understanding and caring mother who really raised us well and has always been a great friend to me. And I have an awesome brother who would lie down in traffic for me or any of his friends, he’s THAT LOYAL.

For a lot of people, this would be plenty to be thankful for, but not only do I have all this, but I also have incredible in-laws. And not only are they great, but Alli’s family and mine GET ALONG, which is even more incredible.

During this time of year, there’s nothing that I’m more thankful for than my family.

WITFV18: My Friends

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I have been blessed with incredible friends throughout my life. Some of them I was born into because our parents were friends. Others I found along the way.

Oftentimes, men find it difficult to have really good friends. We all have “buddies”, but sometimes true “friends” are a rarity because male-to-male relationships are so difficult. I don’t know what it is about those that make them so difficult, but I have been blessed with great friendships.

When I was 3, we moved from Iowa back to Kansas and we shortly started attending church in Olathe, KS. One of the things that I loved about going to church back in the day was the friends that I had there. When we started attending, I had a bunch of built-in friends, a group of guys who were either my age or within one year of my age and that group was probably about 8 strong at the time. Over time, amazingly NO ONE moved away.

Our friendship grew and we became closer friends. It helped that our friendship was based in a church relationship and all of our parents became friends as well (if they weren’t already). Almost none of us went to the same schools. But as we got older, our friendships got closer because we began to play on a club volleyball team together. While our team probably could have been better with other players outside of our group, the way we had it was the way we wanted it and what happened was remarkable. Almost all of us went off to the same college that all of our parents had attended and continued to play volleyball competitively.

After graduation (at different times), things seemed weird. We all still kept in close touch (some more than others), but our lives were changing as we made the adjustment into adulthood. One-by-one, we began getting married (standing in each other’s weddings was fun) and settling down, not surprisingly in the same areas where we had all grown up.

As we have all gotten settled, our friendships have changed, but not for the worse, more for the better. All of us have spouses and they have been added to the mix. Our conversation subjects have gotten more grown up (sometimes) and we all seem much more responsible (at least most of the time).

The one thing that hasn’t changed over time is that we can count on each other. Our friendship will last even if there are those of us that move away. I’m glad for that. These aren’t really my friends, they are my extended family, and I’m thankful for all of them. You know who you are.

WITFV17: Good Books

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I wish that I had more time to read.

There are a lot of really good books out there, some I’ve read, others I have not. Currently, I’m reading Ogilvy on Advertising, a funny take on the world of advertising as told by one of the true pioneers and geniuses of the industry, David Ogilvy, a founder of one of the largest advertising companies in the world.

OK, so here is a list of my desert-island top 5 books:

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

I get in reading moods. If I find a book that I like, I won’t stop reading until I’m done. I read The Da Vinci Code in 3 days, I read Angels & Demons in 4…good page-turning books. When I was a sophomore in college, my family took a trip to Europe and since I can’t sleep on planes, I read the whole time on the way over there. And on the train. And in our down time. And on the way back. By the time I returned to the U.S., I had finished 7 books. That’s right, SEVEN. We were gone for just over 2 weeks.

So I’m thankful for good books.

WITFV16: JJ Abrams

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Seriously, is there a better television show creator out there?

The networks are littered with derivative cop and lawyer shows (how many different CSI’s and Law & Order’s do we need?) save my two favorite shows on TV, LOST and Alias. The constant between the two shows: creator, Mr. J.J. Abrams.

Previously known only for his creation of the dramedy, Felicity, Abrams has been all over the news lately with the runaway success of Lost, which was easily last year’s best show (others might argue that Desperate Housewives could vie for that title, but this is my blog). I was a big fan of Mr. Abrams when I was introduced to the show Alias a few years back. He has great vision for plot lines along long story arcs (did you know that Lost was originally pitched as an eight-year show?) and what makes his shows great is not their creepiness (Lost’s numbers or Alias’s creepy 500-year-old Italian prophets), but his ability to make all of his characters interesting. They have a realness (even if the actors playing them don’t…cough cough Michelle Rodriguez.. cough cough) and the dialogue is so natural that even though the liklihood of there being a crazy creepy hatch on a deserted island, you believe that the characters are real and that is how they would respond in that situation.

The same goes for Alias. Now, obviously, I don’t know much about covert operations of the CIA (they wouldn’t be that covert if I did, would they?), but, I imagine that Sydney Bristow is an extremely believable character, even if some of the stuff that happens to her is ridiculous (season finale last year, hellOOOOO). I’m actually really looking forward to his take on Mission Impossible 3. I don’t envy him for having to work with the Crazy Couch Jumper, but I am looking forward to the movie.

Most importantly, I think that the emergence of shows like Lost has allowed decent SCRIPTED shows to return to prominence on our TV screens. I do love The Apprentice, but reality TV in general is pretty tired. For that, I am eternally thankful.

WITFV15: Our House

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Alli and I happened upon our house and this development by a freak accident. We were just driving around Olathe and found this random street at the back of a subdivision that was filled with new houses and lots. It was separate from the other subdivision and from what we could tell, the houses looked nice.

They were. It was really difficult for us to find any other house that gave us as much for the money as this one. We moved pretty quickly (maybe quicker than we should have, but we were only a year into our marriage…we didn’t know much).

We were able to customize this house as much as we thought to at the time (but would have done more had we thought about it more) and we got a great house. I have two favorite parts of this house:

  1. The master bedroom. It’s HUGE. because our house is a front-to-back split, the master sits above the garage, which is nice since we have a really big garage. So our master suite gives us a lot of room and a great bathroom and closet.
  2. The basement/movie room. This became our movie room once we bought our big screen TV (before we even had furniture to go in the room). We spend more waking time in this room than any other in the house and we love it. It’s cozy and decorated with all sorts of movie posters and memorabilia. And it has comfy couches and a great TV.

Some might say we live out in the country and I agree…it is far, but we have very good highway access and we are only about 25 minutes from my work, give or take 5-7 minutes based on the Olathe lights.

We enjoy being in our house and we are very thankful to have a roof over our head.