Growin' Up Gregory

Have you ever noticed that some of the best things in life feel a little silly the first time we try them? This has hit me in several ways. Some of my funny firsts include: Iced Coffee: The 1st time I ever tasted it, Britt gave me a sip of hers, and it was really, really good. But one day when I hit a pothole and the ice in my cup shook, Thomas asked what that sound was - and I literally began laughing at myself when I had to say that it was the ice in my coffee. I still drink it pretty much daily and tell myself that I'm getting extra-hydrated from the ice! Yoga: The 1st time I did it, I was embarrassed for myself, my yoga mat, and everybody else in the room (no, I did not wear yoga pants). But I do consistently tell people about the health benefits of yoga and stretch regularly. Selfies: As you can see from the pic, I'm still not good at them. And I don't like taking pictures of myself for the main fact that they destroy the misconception I have in my mind of wha...

There are many foods that require one main ingredient that if it's missing, the entire entrée is just lacking.  It requires each ingredient to make it special and to set it off, but there's typically that one ingredient that truly makes it.  And leaving that main ingredient out can sometimes be disastrous.  Take the morning I turned my coffee pot on after attending a concert and as I poured from our stainless steel pot, I noticed that there one major thing lacking - COFFEE!  That hot water just didn't have the same kick. When we try to play sports without the right equipment, some things can be substituted while others simply cannot.  Thomas and I have propped up old wooden pallets in the yard to substitute as soccer goals, but we have to have a ball (the main ingredient) to kick.  And when businesses or companies are evaluating potential employees, they are reviewing resumes for certain requirements.  They want to see your education, your experience...

How many of us who either have, or have raised, small children, remember those early morning walks through the house.  The sun hasn't risen yet and there are still no lights on.  You're tip-toeing through the house because you want to enjoy a few minutes of silence and hopefully a cup of coffee before your tornado of a toddler wakes up.  Then as you round the corner to enter the kitchen it happens - you step on something that feels at the time like broken glass on top of hot coals with jagged metal stuck in there somehow as well.  In all reality it's probably a leggo or some other small toy, but man that hurts! I think that happens to us in real life as well.  Even when we are in the safety of God's will, trusting His guidance, following His path, just like walking through the general safety of our own homes - sometimes we step on a stone.  Perhaps there is a trial that we didn't see coming, or we didn't want to face.  Sometimes we are reluctant to a...

Wow, what a Thanksgiving week it's been for 2017!  Monday morning started with a scheduled C-section for Aubree, followed by numerous visitors, days and nights of sleeping for 2 hours at a time, countless prayers, coming home, and finally Thanksgiving with our families on Thursday.  I can proudly say that I have an amazing family, both immediate and extended.  But I must humbly admit that a large part of the reason I am who I am today is because of all of these people.  It's crazy as we stood around yesterday reflecting in my head on a memory and impact that each person there has had on my life.  Sometimes we tend to take family for granted and allow them to slip from being a high priority to falling behind friends, success, and wealth.  But our family has literally done it all for us over the past few days.  They have watched Thomas, cleaned, cooked, brought food, prayed, called, texted, delivered coffee (that I was without for 2 days), and made adjus...