I hope you have enjoyed the Holidays, and plan a purposeful 2008. Here are some of my highlights from this past week:

1. Cancelling plane tickets and spending time at home with my family.
2. Working on Everlie's room (pictures soon).
3. Taking Benny to the Des Peres Lodge, where he ran through the water geysers and was a tough guy in the wave pool.
4. Christmas Morning with Geri and Benny. I don't know who banged the drums more...Benny or Daddy.
5. Knocking out many things on our family To Do list.
6. Finishing the Kite Runner (what a great book). Geri was amazed that I actually read fiction.
7. Holding Jessie Gill at church. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, and for whatever reason went over to Laura during the sermon to give her a break. I truly admire their family. Not too many are willing to take care of babies that have many medical challenges and aren't long for this world like Jessie. I think he is a beautiful little boy that can touch lives if you let him.
8. Downloading this song. Hey, sometimes I like Top 40. Sean Kingston has an interesting past. While he is only 17, he probably feels a bit older. As a young kid he spent 21 days living in his Mom's car while she was incarcerated, and managed to start a nice singing career despite some obvious setbacks. Other than these facts, he and Fergie sound great together.

A Pirate Looks At 61 (with another drummer)

Jimmy Buffett turned 61 today. If he's looking to replace Robert Greenidge (trivia answer to the Coral Reefer drummer), here's your man!

Aside from the current child labor laws...he's got the look (what band doesn't want a drummer sporting a diaper and onesie), the charisma, the "it" factor. More importantly, the skills. He will also make the audience clap.

Mission Accomplished

This evening we laid low, having MiMi (ie: Amanda) over for dinner, then watching It's A Wonderful Life (while Benny obsessed over the DVD version of Frosty The Snowman...over and over, again). I ended up the evening putting together this sweet little drum set from Costco (despite it's missing a few parts), and watching a Rick Warren Christmas Special on TV, while everyone was snug in their beds waiting for Santa.

Oh yeah...Santa ate the cookies at 12:09am. Santa raved about the Sugar Cookies, but was very ambivilent about the Pillsbury Ginger Snaps. Although Santa understands that beggars can't be choosers, he politely requested Sugar Cookies and Snickerdoodles next year.

After reading Eric McPherson's most recent post (click on his blog to the right), I do understand how the actions of little kids can send you to the moon.

Thursday morning our wonderful son gleefully played with the running faucet in our bathroom. Usually not a big deal, but I was in the shower and didn't notice that the faucet was pointed outside the sink. I had to send him away....Geri has this thing about disciplining when displaying anger...I then mopped up our floor, then went downstairs. Our babysitter was wondering why water was dripping through the kitchen ceiling/wall. Again, not to display anger...I slouched my way to work, stinging from this issue and the fact that he took a marker to my headrest and door panel on the way to Avion's house the previous night.

Reminds me of Seinfeld....Serenity Now.......

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....our boy loves building snowmen, making snowballs, throwing snowballs, and finally tearinig down snowmen. What can I say...maybe we should move back to the mtns.

This other picture was taken at Mur's house on Thanksgiving. I have a beautiful family. I can't wait until the 4 of us can actually be in the same picture.

Sensing the coming snows, Benny squeezes in one last mulching before heading inside. It's never too late to earn some brownie points for Santa.

Oklahoma At 70 MPH

Call me crazy (some do, and I know who you are!). I think Oklahoma is pretty. Here are a few snaps from the highway between Enid and Woodward. You know what else is a welcome sight in Oklahoma? Ted's Cafe Escondido. St Louis is nice, but the Mexican food is slim pickens...with the exception of Pueblo Solis. Teds Rules!

I was weak and buckled under spousal pressure. We "upgraded" to a pre-lit tree...before Christmas. Somehow 25% off doesn't seem like the bargain it should be. In the end, marital harmony is worth more than the 75% post-Christmas deep discount. Benny's ornery-ness wasn't providing much familial harmony, though (pictures 2,3)...unless you enjoy seeing your kids break ornaments, overturn chairs, run around with huge strands of bells and beads...Heaven help us with 2 babes.

Marital harmony or not...I refuse to get rid of the epic Beavis & Butthead ornaments. Call me crazy. I'm still miffed at having to give up my favorite green sweater years ago. My battle line has been drawn.

Interview With God

First it was Naked Benny With Cowboy Boots. Next it was Benny With MaMa's High Heels. Now the latest bribe picture is Flower Child Benny. It's nice having a goofy kid. Hopefully he will grow up and think it's nice to have goofy-picture taking parents. He really has no choice. I'll always look for the photo-op's.

Our sweet girlie girl

How do you love someone you have never met??? It's simple when you adopt.

When it was official that Everlie was going to be part of our family, we were told the initial pictures were the only ones we would see. Since we aren't getting her before Christmas, I'll consider this a nice little gift.

Yep, we're in love!

I've managed to do some marginally interesting things in my sporting life...
Climbing several mtns, Twice completing the 12 Miles Of Hell Mtn Bike Race at Ft Sill, OK (usually 14-17 miles of pure riding hell. I only threw up once during both years), Cliff jumping on skis at Taos (bent skis), Jumping off a cliff into the Arkansas River just upstream from the Royal Gorge (big time wedgie), Going FULL speed on GS skis in tuck position straight down Lower Valley View at Steamboat (briefly thought I would die), playing golf with George Mark (briefly thought I would die), playing basketball with Barry (briefly thought I would die)....

This cool video tops anything I've ever thought of doing.

The Waiting

"The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart..."

Tom Petty is one of those singers that (if you are a child of the 80's) you can hear one of his songs and start singing the lyrics without problem. The above lyric is part of a song (The Waiting) that reminds me of our life right now. We have a daughter in Seoul. We stare at 2 photos that literally might represent 1/250th of a second of her life, within those snapshots. We are waiting to see her and hold her. That's the hardest part.

Meanwhile, I think about the waiting we did before getting Benny. The frustration disappears when you hold your child in your arms. Of course, since I'm flying to Seoul to pick her up (at some unknown date)...there might be a bit of frustration creeping back in, given 15 hours on a plane is tough enough without kids.

Here are a few random pictures. They might serve a purpose later on in life to remind us what life was like when we only had one child in the house.

Sometimes I have to use my cellphone to capture funny moments on the spot. Quite often Benny makes goofy faces and gestures. This is one of them. Sorry about the pic quality.

Look who's coming to dinner

Suppose you are hosting a dinner for 5. Who would you invite (Other than Jesus...that's too much of a slam dunk). Here are todays guests in no particular order:

1. Bono. Great music. Has a passion for just causes. Seems interesting in general.
2. My Mothers Father, when he was in his early 20's. I never got to really meet him.
3. Gerald Ford. Adopted. Athlete. Statesman. A former client was one of his bodyguards..said he was a genuine and honorable fellow.
4. Dick Winters. Band of Brothers veteran. Leadership under pressure.

Any other takers?

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A few weekends ago Benny and I tagged along with the Robinsons for a wonderful hike. Check out their link on the right side for some more pics. I'm looking forward to the day Benny and I can hike in Colorful Colorado.

Benny sure loves his Grandad. Is there anyone else more uniquely qualified to teach Benny about the Sooners 74, 75 and 85 championship seasons...or about great baseball stories from the past. I think not!



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Here are random thoughts from this week:
1. When did smokers start thinking that throwing their cigarette butts on the sidewalk does not constitute as littering?
2. Some TV evangelists make me queezy. Among those are P Popoff If it were my call...Miracle Water would at least have infused vitamins.

3. Why are the Broncos stinking? Last Monday, I grew weary of the Brett Favre love-fest...but grew a healthy respect for Donald Driver's personal story. I am glad STL networks did not televise the Detroit game from yesterday. There's always next week, as they say. I predict an upset in KC.
4. Never let your child run around naked after their bath....when they have montezuma's revenge. Do not clean up the resulting mess with a solvent. It leaves a stain in the carpet.

What a handsome boy...who happens to love anything related to CARS. Benny's Aunt LaLa supplied him with some more noisemakers, filling the house with the sounds of Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater.

WATCH THIS

If you could assemble your final speech to friends, co-workers, relatives....how would it sound? What would it's content and message be? In the dark of night, do you wonder if the life you are living is all it can be? I'm not tryinig to get into a deep theological discussion. Just checking your gut! In the final analysis, I do not want to leave anything "on the table". I'd call it Intentional Living (to steal a phrase from a radio show I listen to). Since seeing this air on Oprah...I have made an intentional effort to change issues in my life that keep me from experiencing a full life, as it was intended.

This is Randy Pausch. He has a wife and 3 kids, and a tenured position with Carnegie Mellon University...many blessings to look forward to in life:


If you want to be amazed beyond this video, click on the "Touch A Life Blog" to the right.

Final "Ultrasound"

OK, until we pick her up, this is the only other picture we will be getting of Everlie.

According to our agency, her medical situation has greatly improved. She is now over 9 lbs, no detection of murmur, and other tests so far are normal. On her charts, the doctor even commented that she is cute. Of course we agree.

Benny loves playing with Gracie and Jonah.

I must have heard this 10 times yesterday, in transit to and from Phoenix. This is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. Listen to the lyrics. It has quite a spiritual tone, I think.

We'll send more info about our little girl...
Meanwhile, Benny continues to crack us up on a daily basis.

Here's an interesting site that somehow links you up with the Presidential Candidate that aligns closest to your opinions.

I guess I need to look at Tom Tankredo


Choose Your Commander In Chief

NOW THAT''S A GREAT ULTRASOUND!!!

God has a great sense of humor. Just look at topic #1 from the previous post. "Oh ye of little faith" comes to mind.

Here is the daughter we didn't know we had (as of a week ago). She was a preemie, and was born in Seoul, on June, 11.

Random Thoughts:

1. We picked Benny up 23 months and 3 days ago. I'm curious as to when we pick up #2. Trust me, it's still a long ways off.

2. I ran across a good quote: "Any fool can count the seeds of an apple. Only God can count the apples within the seed"

3. How about Floyd Landis? Guilty or Not? A Hero Lost

4. Current Books: The Good Life by Chuck Colson / How To Have More Than Enough & Financial Peace Workbook by Dave Ramsey.

5. What I'm Listening To: Literally Now: U2 "All That You Can't Leave Behind" on ITunes. Usually In The Car: Christian Radio.

6. Mike Runcie led a great talk along with some awesome singing on Sunday. McKnight has some pipes! Remember the CFS Dinner this Friday at 7pm. Most people think of children, when mentioning CFS. A valuable component they offer is Individual and Family Counseling. We have an acquaintence out of state who was a community leader, Christian, Father, Husband...who killed himself recently. It makes me wonder if effective Christian counseling could have helped him.

Games People Play

I CANNOT tell you how many times we kept telling Benny to stay away from Charlie's doggie door in Detroit. It is hard to discipline when you're laughing.

As I sat down for a haircut last week....the only thing that kept me from falling asleep was an old episode of The Match Game with Gene Rayburn. (Remind me what Charles Nelson Riley did other than this?) That was probably my favorite growing up. As my tastes began to refine with maturity, my next-favorite was a little-known show on MTV called Remote Control. There were some hilarious skits from Adam Sandler, Dennis Leary and Colin Quinn. Not to mention a little stage presence from Kari Wuhrer. What about your favorite game shows. Got any? When I was a kid, I also like the show that had appx 25 different sized, gift-wrapped boxes on stage. I remember the contestants picked one and unwrapped it.....the name and rules escape me.

The Motor City

And yet the Cope family discovers another beautiful place. The Detroit metro area, of all places. We finally got a chance to visit the Carters, and Emily, their sweet baby.

We started off Saturday by hearing a loud "boom" from their neighbors cannon. Evidently each year at Labor Day, their neighbor feeds the neighborhood with pancakes and the fixins. What a great culdesac to live in. We also visited an orchard, and a beautiful park complete with sandy beaches (off of 26 Mile Road), and drove approximately 14 hours to church on Sunday (just kidding).

All in all, we really enjoyed just hanging out with J & A. Benny loved the doggy door, and got in trouble several times for climbing in/out of the house. I also squeezed in a great book about when Scott O'Grady got shot down over Bosnia. Right now I am trying to finish The Good Life (Charles Colson). So far I recommend it.

Best friends Benny and Grace play on the Faust Park carousel at Jillians birthday party. While they certainly love each other, we will not be moving to Arkansas anytime soon to perform their marriage ceremony. Check out This Crazy Arkansas Law

If you want to take a beautiful ride, drive the Going-To-The-Sun road. This is a 52 mile stretch of asphalt that winds up and down Glacier National Park. On our trip, we saw some beautiful scenery, drove through a "touristy" bear park (complete with Grizzleys and Black Bears...very cool), smelled some forest fires, met some friendly folks, and threw hundreds of rocks in rivers and streams. The boys in our family loved this activity the best. Like Texas, everything in Montana seems big. The lowpoint on the trip was having to sit behind a couple that was totally making out in front of us, on our last flight back.

If you think this applies only to kids...watch, think, dwell, let it pierce your heart, and resolve for a closer walk.

Benny doing the lesser-known Guatemalan River Dance, complete with fake tapping.

A day in the park

First there was Tuesdays With Maury. Now there is Mondays With Benny.


A Slugger In Waiting

The Big Grin Of A Swing Addict


Benny Gives Jonah His Affection

Benny and Grace celebrate Independence Day by beating on a tree. From their banter, it is their personal pinata full of candy and clowns.

BE LIKE JOHNNY

I was visiting with our new employee yesterday, and stressed that my vision for the business is to simply help people. Of course there are more facets to my vision, but at the end of the day I want to be value added and make a difference. Not only in business, but life.

Follow this link and think about your life's vision.

http://www.stservicemovie.com


This would probably be a good link to follow as well:

http://www.natureofsuccessmovie.com

Fresh off a business trip to Atlantic Beach, NC, we discovered this as a beautiful area with extremely friendly folks. This being said, I think the Carolinas represents Mecca for fishing shirts and tattoos. Once again, Benny proved his love for sandcastles, surf and squishing bugs. Hopefully he'll take to the mountains in the same fashion.

Here are a few pictures from our family trip to Rosemary Beach, FL. We got back over a week ago, but I dropped our camera in the ocean-so it took awhile to get the pictures printed at Walgreen. This has shaped up to be a busy summer-be it work or not-we'll be hitting North Carolina, Omaha, Arizona and Montana. There might be more along the way. With work being busy, and needing to be gone..no rest for the weary.

Here's whats up: Benny knows his ABC's and can count to 10. We are doing some minor construction in the house and his allergies are kicking up. Luckily I played golf with his pediatrician on Saturday, who suggested Children's Claritin--1/2 tablet. His nose pretty much dried up, etc...however, he is acting like he's on speed. This was also confirmed by my Sunday School sources. Just like when we gave him Codeine...Benny is hopping off the walls. I love him just the same, but come on..take a nap, please!

Last night I was rocking him and he said "Love You Daddy". That is my highlight for the week. There's something quite reassuring when you receive unsolicited affection from your child, don't you think. Even if it is limited to 3 words.

Bennys' Mama was in Boston this week, and managed to catch up with some Colorado/California friends on the same trip. She was excited to rekindle the friendships and conversations.

This weekend, we rec'd the Holt International monthly magazine. It is hard to think of having another child in the house, but I am really looking forward to this process for our little girl from Korea. I don't even know if she is born, but we have faith that God has planned our family from the beginning. Because of this, I do not worry about the details. Infant/Young Girl/Sibling Group/Special Needs Child.....it does not matter to me one iota. He is in control. After all, Benny was originally supposed to be a Korean Girl...and look what God blessed us with...our sweet Latino! There was a touching article in the magazine of a little girl in a Korean orphanage that was needing her Forever Family. By the end of the article, I was ready to hop a flight and pick her up.


This week is going to be busy, but come next week, I know for a fact that Benny is looking forward to seeing Decker, Drew, Jessica, Carly and Abby...among others.

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Books on my stand:

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Power Of Positive Living by Norman Vincent Peale
The Mens Study Bible

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Ed, that was a stellar class today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

For a good laugh, check out The Onion every once in a while.

www.theonion.com


In The Know: Our Troops In Iraq

OK Cards fans, what do you think of this article? Is there a LaRussa / Hancock connection?

J A Adande is a very good writer who has written some thiings that is sure to rub some the wrong way.

When this season comes to a close, I'm wondering if the most talked about sweep, is the one that was swept under the rug.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-adande6may06,1,5294710,full.column?coll=la-utilities-sports

Just Friday I was wondering what became of Roger Clemens. Did he just fly under the radar, only to reenter into our minds down the road when he's elegible for the Hall of Fame? I saw him pitch at the Metrodome in the very early 90's, and was amazed at how fast he burned that speedball. He was called The Rocket for a reason. I then saw him pitch a few years ago in STL. Full circle I guess.

As my mind began to wander, I was hypothesizing in my pea-brain as to which team he would "retire" with. The Red Sox...naaah. The Astros.....why? .....but I beg to ask...who wouldn't want to finish out a good career donning the pinstripes? Be honest with yourself, now! This is the stuff of legends. Almost every kids dream!

And speaking of burning...isn't there only one owner crazy enough to burn that large a pile of money ($28 Million) on top of a sinking ship like the Yankees? Not bad for a part-time gig. With a paycheck like this, he can definitely afford to buy some nice tickets to this years' World Series. I seriously doubt he'll be participating.

Have you ever seen "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel. With the exception of "Adoption Stories", this is my pick for absolute best television show.

In 2002 I participated in a great Men's class at the Littleton C of C. We focused on John Eldredge's book, Wild At Heart. I loved this class for not only the content, but for the cross-section of men that participated. One such guy in the class struck a chord with me. Not of familiarity, but of "wow, what a great story". This guy (which shall remain anonamous) told about his severe longing as a young man, to get his fathers approval. His journey led him to the Bering Sea for a few seasons of fishing. This was his attempt to prove his manliness and (I guess) worthiness of being a son worth bragging about. He said it was dirty, dangerous and disgusting work. I don't know if his brief vocation proved anything to his Dad, but examining each episode sure made a believer out of me. There is certainly something interesting about all of these guys in boats working off Alaska's shorelines.

As I began to watch "Deadliest Catch" since the first season, I have tried to look into the guys that are showcased and wonder where they are coming from. What are their inner demons. Who are they trying to run from, or get approval from. Like many of us there are guys with addictions, anger problems, relationship problems. Some even have seemingly healthy family lives-just trying to provide a good living.

Something in an episode this season, a few weeks back, made me look at myself. One of the rougher-type captains was observing a deck-hand from a nearby ship. This deck-hand was hanging off the side of the huge boat trying to chain the Crab Pots down, to keep them from shifting in the 20' waves. The deckhand suddenly disappeared into the water. The observant captain IMMEDIATELY made a call to his crew of "Man Overboard". In the frigid waters of the Bering Sea, a few minutes will make the difference between life and death. His crew put on their dry suits and immediately began combing the waves for the fallen sailor. Amidst the buffeting waves they found him in a nick of time, and hauled him on deck. He wasn't out of the "water" yet. The effects of hypothermia can take it's toll even after being plucked out from the cold sea. The sailer was instructed to strip down and cover up with heavy blankets. His legs couldn't hardly stand the short walk to the galley. Once it was apparent the kid was safe, the captain came by. The captain is a rough guy. They embraced long and hard-not the awkward way you might think that 2 strangers would. This was a sincere bearhug. For you see...the last guy they plucked from the sea years earlier was already dead. As the tape was rolling. the saved sailer kept saying "Thank You" and "You saved my Life". He even asked for paper towels to dry his head. Because of his thankful tears, the towel never made it to his hair. In his gratitude, he forgot how cold he was. He was thankful for to his savior, to the point of tears.

This was a great episode, but one that got me thinking about Jesus. There's a great sermon somewhere in this episode. This sailor was able to thank and physically hug his savior. The one that plucked him out from certain death. Seeing this episode made me think that I really need to grow spiritually. Ever since watching this, I need to visualize Jesus as the sea captain that was willing to pluck me out of the cold waves. This episode has made me think more seriously about the term "personal savior". Make a mind to watch this episode. You might have similar thoughts.

Sorry for the highly infrequent posts. Life has taken me on the fast lane.

Things of note:

In a shade of brilliance Benny's MaMa convinced him of trading his NuNu's (pacifiers) for a fish. We went to Petco, asked a kid about the best fish for a little boy. Of course the answer....goldfish. "They live a really long time", he said. So we bagged the fish, bought the required stuff, and paid for his new pets. MaMa told Benny to give the lady at the register the NuNu's. He did, and promptly hugged the bag of fish all the way home. This was last Monday. Fast forward to Wednesday. Coming back from church, we discovered that the "really long time" must have been 2 days. And now there is one. Benny hasn't even noticed.

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Benny has his neurons firing. He is counting and starting to say the ABC's. The other day he counted to 7. He is also expanding his vocabulary something fierce.

Hailing from the plains of Kansas, he certainly became a great general. The more I read about him, I appreciate his words:
--
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

Dwight D. Eisenhower
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How far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without?

Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow.

Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Here are a few verses I have been dwelling on:

Ephesians 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of ALL your crops

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10 years ago last month I moved out to Colorado. Geri followed me out after we got married. My excuse was simple. I had to be near the mountains. There was an itch in my soul needing to be scratched. Now that we have moved away, I find myself being pulled back to visit for an entirely different reason. We managed to befriend some great people out there. Sure the mountains are nice, but you can't have a relationship with a mound of dirt and rocks.

For someone who has confessed in the past not to like change, I think change is a good thing. For starters migrating from OK to CO to MO has brought about many good friendships. I like to think about our friend Edith in OKC. She died not long after our wedding, but she was a great friend to us despite a significant age gap. I also think about Barbara in Golden. She was the friend of a funny lady (Tootie), who started bringing her to church. She was divorced (I think), retired, and a bit rough around the edges. Her and Tootie lived at the trailer park down the road. She had a love for golf and had a great laugh. I believe she had cancer, but that didn't quash her spirit. The most important part of her story is that she became a Christian not too long before she passed away. We still have a driver she gave to Geri. I'm sure it saw better days when Barb was playing with it. This brings me back to Tootie. She was funny without even knowing it. Geri remembers her saying: "I don't know why they started calling me "Tootie"...when I was a kid, I had a dog named Tootie!".

We don't have plans on moving, but here is our family motto:

If you hate where you came from, you won't like where you are going.

The Math Adds Up

6 Eggs + 6 Dishes + 6 Spoons + 6 Different Colors = 6 Broken Easter Eggs + 1 Happy Boy