1. 3 years ago 
   New blog post on my newly designed blog
2. 3 years ago 

   Calling Younger Dads

   I’m sure by the time you made it to my tiny piece of the web you have heard about the revolution and the summit. DadRevolution.com was launched this morning and word is spreading fast about the Modern Media Man conference coming to Atlanta in September.

   But what you haven’t heard is this: age doesn’t matter in the year of the Dad! That’s right. I am hoping that more younger fathers will decide to “man up” and realize how ROCKIN it is to be a dad! And learn to be more than meets the eye. I want to see more younger fathers standing up and becoming more engaged with their children and learning that it’s okay to play a much bigger roll in their childrens’ lives. 

   I myself am a 27 year old father of 2 (as you have noticed pictured in earlier posts). And I have decided to let more of the light of my children shine on me and “man up” and fully embrace how ROCKIN it really is to be “daddy”.

3. 3 years ago 

   Poor Man’s Birthday Gift - A Letter to my Wife

   23 years ago, in a small mountain town in southwest Virginia, a little girl was born. A little girl with bright blue eyes and almost no hair lol. 
   
   23 years later, she is now my wife, and the mother of our 2 adorable kiddos.
   
   To My Wife:
   
   “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” - Charles Dickens
   
   We have been through many times together. Many great times filled with smiles and laughter. Joyous times celebrated with friends and family. Down times with arguments, disagreements, and harsh words spoken out of anger. The highs of a new born marriage and new born children, and the lows of trying to make ends meet and get things done.
   
   Through all these times, my love for you has never wavered or fallen. My hopes for you have still remained the same after 5 years of being together. And I know, you don’t hear it enough from me, but you are the best wife anyone could ever ask for and I am forever grateful that you chose me to spend your life with.
   
   You are everything to me. My strength in times of weakness, my hope in times of despair, and my crutch in times of faithlessness. 
   
   The love you show for me is a love that could never be matched by another. The kind of love that leaves me feeling weak at the knees and unable to speak. The kind of love I can only hope to match.
   
   The 5 years we have spent together have been the greatest 5 years anyone could ever have. Through good times and the bad times you have been my love, and my best friend. 
   
   I know there are times that I don’t show my love to you, that I have spoken words of anger, and times that I have left you doubting me, and for these times I am deeply sorry, and ask for your forgiveness. 
   
   And on your birthday I want to take the time to say thank you. Thank you for always being here for me and always being my support for you are always my rock to stand on. Thank you for kind words and tough words of truth for they make me stronger. Thank you for your unfaltering love for it always lifts me up. Thank you for your greatness in motherhood for it is essential for my children to know their mother and know the great love she has for them.
   
   I love you without end, without a second thought, without limits. I love you now and till the end of time. You are my love, my light and my world. 
   
   Happy Birthday April!

4. 3 years ago 

   You Say You Want a Revolution?

   This morning something totally ROCKIN happened : The Dad Revolution was launched. A group of dads who have started the movement to change the image of what it is to be “daddy”. Fathers coming together to break the mold created by the typical “TVDad” image portrayed in media and tv and show that there are plenty of fathers out there who can change a diaper, make great clothing choices for their kids, take care of and nurture their kids, just like their female counterparts. Here is my take on what is going on.

   Let me first state this: I am in NO WAY against the writes of women and mothers. I am not here to put them down or take away from the glory they deserve. We all know we wouldn’t be here without a mother. Maybe that’s why we have Mother’s Day (just saying). And I can easily acknowledge that my wife generally knows more about what’s up with our two kiddos more than I do. But let’s not let that mean that I know nothing. The reason behind the revolution in the first place.

   I consider myself a “decent” father. My children stay fed, they are healthy, learning in leaps and bounds, and they know they are loved. I view my role as father like this: It is my responsibility to make sure my children (and my wife) have the basic necessities of life. It is my responsibility to make sure I do everything in my power to provide for them in any way possible. It is up to me to make sure my children know how much their father loves them, and to be here when they are hurt and to uplift them in times of triumph. 

   I am here to share the parenting responsibilities with my wife, to be an equal member of the parenting team when it comes to the care of our children. I am here for bedtime, naptime, bath time, play time, outside time, inside time. 

   I think it is important for dads who are engaged with their children and in their role as a father to embrace the awesomeness that is “dadhood” and show the world that we are not just merely men who work and father babies. We are daddies. We are committed to our children, to being the best  daddy we can be, and to showing the world that “parenting” isn’t just for mommy anymore.

   I am very proud to be a father to my two wonderful, beautiful, smart, messy, funny, annoying, sometimes smelly children. And I am very proud of the fact that I can take care of when mommy is gone. Proud that nothing gets broken or smeared everywhere. Proud that we spend a lot of time laughing and playing and eating junk food when mommy is gone. Proud of the fact that my children know I am their daddy and that daddy is always here for them.

   Proud fathers, join us. Show the world that we do know what we are doing, that we do love our children with a love that cannot be outlived or outdone. That we are involved fathers who take joy in the daily grind of dadhood and at the end of the day, realize that it was all worth it, and worth doing again tomorrow. 

5. 3 years ago  from bookmarklet

   Rise Against - Swing Life Away (via RiseAgainstVEVO)

6. 3 years ago 
   "

   Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up?
   Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck?
   Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost?

   I’ll show you mine if you show me yours first
   Let’s compare scars, I’ll tell you whose is worse
   Let’s unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

   We live on front porches and swing life away,
   We get by just fine here on minimum wage
   If love is a labor I’ll slave till the end,
   I won’t cross these streets until you hold my hand

   I’ve been here so long, I think that it’s time to move
   The winter’s so cold, summer’s over too soon
   Let’s pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

   I’ve got some friends, some that I hardly know
   But we’ve had some times, I wouldn’t trade for the world
   We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

   We live on front porches and swing life away,
   We get by just fine here on minimum wage
   If love is a labor I’ll slave till the end,
   I won’t cross these streets until you hold my hand….until you hold my hand

   I’ll show you mine if you show me yours first
   Let’s compare scars, I’ll tell you whose is worse
   Let’s unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

   We live on front porches and swing life away,
   We get by just fine here on minimum wage
   If love is a labor I’ll slave till the end,
   I won’t cross these streets until you hold my hand

   "
   - “Swing Life Away” - Rise Against
7. Notes: 2 / 3 years ago 

   Being Someone Great - Hopes for my Children

   All fathers have their own fears for their children when they are born. 

   Mine were the fear they wouldn’t love me, the fear they were 

   “breakable” and the most defining fear for me : The fear they would 

   end up just like me. Not  physically, but in the sense of who they would 

   become later on in life.

   My reasoning behind this fear: I am 27 years old, a college dropout, 

   working at Applebees making only 75 cents more than  I did when I 

   started 2 1/2 years ago. I have no clue what I would want to do if I went 

   back to school because I honestly don’t know what I would be good at. I 

   am constantly trying to be a mediator in a battle of paycheck vs bills 

   every 2 weeks.

   Not the best way to be living, although don’t get me wrong, I know I am 

   a lot better off than a lot of people, and I’ve been a lot lower in my own 

   life to be able to still appreciate things like a roof, a shower, and of 

   course having my family near me. 

   I know when I die, most people won’t remember my name, or where I 

   have worked, or even what I was most known for. I do hope people will 

   remember what kind of spirit I had (if they think it’s a kind one) and what 

   I did in my life for other people.

   For my children, though, I do not want them to grow up and have to 

   struggle. I do not want them to have to know the frustration, the stress, 

   and the strain on life that exists in the world. I want them to go on to 

   much better things than I have in my life.

   I don’t wish for them to be famous movies stars, athletes, or musicians. 

   I don’t wish for them to have a large bank account that affords them the 

   riches they will never need. But I wish for their greatness.

   Greatness defined : When my children have grown old and passed, I 

   want people to remember them. I want them to have been people of 

   integrity, people of immeasurable kindness, people of unshakable 

   conviction. I want people to stand around and remember them as 

   people who always put family first and did what they had to for their 

   family. I want them to be known the world around for their acts of love 

   and their words of truth. 

   I want them to shine I light on the world that will never fade, never grow 

   dim, and never be unseen. I want them to shower the world with a love 

   that can be felt by all and a greatness that can really be admired. Not for 

    their worth, or talents, or products.

   I sometimes feel I have failed my children in that I haven’t lived my life 

   like this, and thus I have a fear they will end up like me. I feel that my 

   inabilities and instablilties will not show them a life of “greatness” like I 

   spoke of earlier. I pray for the strength to change myself to live with 

   this greatness for the hopes that my children will one day be great. 

8. Notes: 1 / 3 years ago 

   Just a reminder to myself of why I do what I do

9. 3 years ago 

   My Convo With Caleb

   Me: Hey Caleb!

   Caleb: SOCCER MONSTER!!! (maniacal laugh)

   Me: Caleb!

   Caleb: SOCCER MONSTER!!!

   Me: HEY CALEB!!!

   Caleb: WHAT?!?!

   Me: I love you

   Caleb: SOCCER MONSTER!!!

   I love this kiddo!
10. Notes: 1 / 3 years ago 
    

    What spring is all about

     

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