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I noticed over the last few days, the boys have been counting a lot more. In fact, Baby B actually said ocho for the number 8 in Spanish. So I thought that I would start testing them and getting them to count even more.

It is amazing how creating a quick game on the fly will spark their thinking.  So while sitting at dinner, I started asking the boys to count out the number of crackers that they wanted and then they had to count them as they ate them. They jumped all over that one. So after dinner, we counted the number of steps from the floor to the top of the steps. They both got stumped on #12, but I don’t think that it is too bad to count from 1 – 12 before the age of 3.

So, now that we’ve started counting more and they have been doing it a lot on their own as well, just counting little things that they see on the floor and around them. It is just amazing to see them grow and pickup new things each day. Making a little game out of it and getting really excited when they get the numbers right has proven to be really important.

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Murphy’s Law, if it can happen or go wrong, it will.  And if it does go wrong, it usually goes wrong in a bad way.

Now, there are two ways to look at this, glass half empty or half full.

Last night I got an email from my CPA saying that we owed a considerable amount this year. Now, I write this and I’m waiting on confirmation back from him on a few things, so the number should go down some. BUT, my first thought was holy crap, how are we going to pull this off? Half empty. First thought was not that we were fortunate enough to get raises give more money last year, etc. It was how are we are going to pay this off? I went to bed worried. I went to bed thinking how we could shave off of our budget to cover this?

I woke up this morning, stressed out. I woke up concerned. But I woke up.

I woke up to hearing Baby A calling my name. Not screaming, but saying “It’s morning Daddy!”

We’ve been blessed beyond belief. We have been able to save, build a little of an emergency fund, which we will have to use some of it more than likely to pay off the tax bill. But we’ve been blessed. And as I was making coffee for me and a cup of Apple Juice for Baby A, as Baby B and my wife slept, I realized that sure, Murphy’s Law likes to hit at really bad times. Sure, I could use that extra money that I’ll be paying to the government each month to pay down credit cards. But maybe this is a chance for us to get creative? Maybe this is a time that I pickup a few extra websites and make a little side money? Maybe now, we are in a better place financially and can look at Murphy’s Law as a slight speed bump in the road of life, as opposed to the doom and gloom that we once did.

I’m choosing to look today at Murphy’s Law as a glass full of stuff, that from time to time, we just have to deal with.

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If you don’t know who Adreian Payne is, then you are missing an AMAZING story. Here is a college kid, with a lot of potential and an even bigger heart.

Just take a moment and you’ll realize that in life, Adreian Payne isn’t just a talented basketball player, he is a good person that that is changing the life of this little girl.

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Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (1 Corinthians 13:4) How many times have you heard that bible verse, especially at weddings?

Well, it is something that my wife and I talked a lot about this weekend on our quick mountain getaway. We talked about how it isn’t easy being parents and working full time. We talked about how tired we are. We talked about how we need to do more for each other and put the others needs as a higher priority. But, one really important thing, was about being patient. It is so easy to be short with the ones you love the most, because they will always love you. But being patient and being kind to them, even when you don’t want to be, is really hard.

This morning, around 3:00 am the boys woke up and were ready to play. I was cranky, I was tired and I just wanted to sleep. I was not as patient as I needed to be, but in the middle of trying to get the boys calmed down and downstairs, I reminded my wife, that love is patient, even in times like these.

Read the full verse 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Bible Gateway

My wife sent me a text earlier to thank me and to tell me how much she appreciated getting up with the boys this morning, and send ended the text very appropriated that Love is patient, Love is kind. I can’t wait to get home today and play with the boys and spend time with my wife.

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Sometimes you just need a quiet weekend getaway to unwind and recharge the batteries. And that is what my wife and I are doing. Dropping the kids off with my wife’s dad and hitting the road. Heading to the mountains for a long weekend.

Have a great weekend and try to make time for you and your spouse and take a long weekend getaway. It is worth it.

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Words that I hate saying more than anything else. Baby A woke up throwing up and Mommy had him uncontrolled. I made it 15 minutes into my commute when I got the text message, “Mommy is sick, please come back home.”

Turn around. Was able to get all of my meetings rescheduled and started sending emails to staff that I would be out of the office today. Got my wife to bed. Started getting the boys ready, changed, and then Baby A threw up all over me. And in that moment, he looks at me and apologizes and says that he is sorry that his tummy doesn’t feel good. Bless his heart.

I got him cleaned and changed, unloaded the diswasher and then reloaded it again. This could be a really long day, I hate it when Mommy is sick.

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Every year, my wife and I take a day and spend it doing our tax prep for our CPA. This year, no different, except 1 big thing, our household income went up by $1,000.00, we paid off 2 credit cards off and WE GAVE MORE TO CHARITY by $1,000.00. Why is that huge? Because my wife and I share 1 huge belief, that is that we are blessed beyond belief.

Not only that, we double our donations to Goodwill. Again, helping others. We are on the road to living like no one else, so that we can give like no one else. We have really been focused this year with paying down debt and in looking at what we gave, adding the small amount of extra income, paying off debt, etc. it was a good year. Even if we have to pay a little this year, it looks like we are on the right track.

In looking at all the tax prep that we’ve done, I think that the conversation with the CPA this year will be more of what we can change for next year to even get us to our end goal faster.

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The first of many posts on this topic, but I love March Madness. I’ve been known to blow off events for March Madness. This is the time where games matter more than every before.

Upsets have already happened and non better than the Mercer vs. Dook game. That to me was the most important upset, all other upsets are just gravy, but that one was huge.

This weekend is going to consist of Basketball, wings and beer. More to come, but I love basketball.

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It is that time again, the dreaded Tax Season. I really don’t know, other than some CPAs that enjoy tax season. For most, they just try to do what is right and pay what they owe. Some like to try to get as big of a return back as possible, but for me I like to break even.

So with that, you have less than 1 month before taxes are due. Plan ahead, if you are doing your taxes yourself, see what changes have been made to the tax codes. If you are like me and can’t be bothered or even comprehend the tax codes, pay a good CPA, in the end it is worth the money.

I’ve been in constant contact with my CPA for the past several months, ensuring that we had everything together, but more importantly, I’ve really focused for the last year on giving more. I really want to plan on giving more and more each year. My family has been incredibly blessed and there are a lot of suffering families out there, so if we can give to the Food Bank, to a local charity that the money will be given to help others, then that is what I want to do. So for 2014, I’ve increased our giving by $100 in our monthly budget, this does not include the $40 a month that I give through automatic withdraw in my paycheck bi-weekly.

As we pay down debt and move closer to those magic words of being DEBT FREE, we will increase our giving. Because there is no greater feeling, than helping someone else.

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Ok, enough is enough. Seriously parents, this isn’t cool and in the end will back fire of you. I saw this video, ok, I saw the first 10 – 15 seconds of this video and I was embarrassed. Parents, stop embarrassing your kids.

This isn’t cool and is only going to tear your children down at some point, because they will find out that you recorded them throwing a fit or getting upset.  Here is a crazy idea, let’s build our kids up and help them have a strong self esteem. I’ve read time and time again that people find video funny. What is funny? Watching a kid cry? Watching a kid get upset because the player that he looked up to is no longer on his favorite team and the whole time, the father is egging it on.

But, and this is pretty cool, the person that stepped up, was Steve Smith, now with the Baltimore Ravens. There isn’t much known thus far about the meeting that will take place between Smith and this young boy, but regardless of what happens, Smith is doing the right thing.

Parents it is our responsibility to raise our children to see themselves as what they can become, not their failures or moments of getting upset. Steve Smith, thank you for taking time out of your life and your day, to comfort a child.

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