This One is Easy!

It's been about two months since my last blog entry. They have been eventful and great and have flown by so quickly. So, in the spirit of fun, light-hearted enjoyment, Id like to take this opportunity to express my joy and love for my family…so here goes nothin’!
I absolutely love my family.

Joe Joe is, as you know, our oldest. He will be 10 next month and already has the personality of a 14/15 year old. This is such a great age. He has such a great sense of humor, still wants to share his experiences and loves spending time with his family. This is a phase that I hope lasts forever. Unfortunately, I know better. All to often, the kids get to early teenage ears and shut down all communications with their parents. This cannot happen….fingers crossed. Here lately, the two of us have been slipping away to the skate park every Saturday morning. It has been such a joy watch him go through a certain sequence of events, repeatedly, each Saturday. This is how it normally goes; He sees someone else at the park perform a move or a trick, gets excited about how cool it looks, expresses an interest in doing it himself, and like clockwork, tries over and over again to do said trick until eventually, he does just that. It may take 5 minutes to accomplish. Other times, it takes the better part of our session. But, each and every time, Joe Joe accomplishes that which he sets his mind to. There have been a few instances where he got pretty bruised up in the process, but even then, he pushes through and ultimately prevails. What a wonderful exercise in conquering ones fears. And the great thing is, it happens multiple times in a short span of time. I am sure that this will translate into a strong, driven, unstoppable force within my son and am so excited to watch it spread throughout his life like wildfire. I am so dang proud of him.
Emma is our precious little princess of a daughter who can do no wrong in my eyes. Although I am quite hard on her at times, I am truly proud of her sincere, kind-heated disposition. I could spend hours just watching her exist. She and her little friends take turns hosting little play dates at each other’s homes. I love watching the roles that they all assume. It is great to see them each take turns running the show so to speak. They are so polite to each other. Emma loves to put little outfits together for school and needs no help doing so. I look forward to each morning, wondering what outfit she will come downstairs in. Every single time, she hits a home run! She is so kind to all those she comes in contact with. I have never known a 7 year old with such drive to please their parents. She goes out of her way to make her mama happy, which in turn, brings my such joy. I love this stage in her life as well. I am not looking forward to the days when she goes through all the stereotypical hormonal mood swings. I want her to stay in this phase forever. This way, she will always be mine. I don’t want her to ever leave.
Little Ryan is our youngest. He is 4 years old and, I swear, this child has the attitude and wit of someone twice his age. He is on this kick lately, where, rather than answer a question positively, he clicks his mouth twice, winks. And snaps his fingers, ending it with a finger point at ya, as if to say, “you got it dad!” When hes not playing his little video games, he is absolutely tormenting the two tiny dogs we have in the house. I hafta tell this child at least twice a day to get away from the dogs and leave them alone. That being said, Ry Ry is a such a little angel in so many ways. He can look at you in a way that can dispel and frustration you may have had with I'm just moments before. He is still the child that climbs into bed with us on a nightly basis, claiming that he cant sleep. This doesn’t bother me in the least. Knowing that he is our last baby, I find that I have more patience with him than I had with the other two children in the past.
April, my wonderful wife. Where do I begin? If I could spend every waking hour with this precious being, I so would! She truly makes want to be a better person, each and every day. She is the source of much inspiration and drive for me in my life. It is her presence in my life that absolutely drives me to work harder at everything I do. It is April who makes me want to continue on this path of life, reaching every day, for the next level of success in whatever capacity that may be. She has this unbelievable ability to make everyone she comes in contact with, smile ear to ear. I marvel at the way she holds peoples attention throughout the night, regardless of the venue. I have watched her transform an otherwise mediocre evening, into a long lasting night to remember. I have lost count of the times my wife has surprised me with an small token of her love for me and, no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to even come close to repaying all those wonderful memories…but I will always try to do so.
That’s gonna do it for me this evening. Bottom line is that I love my family and am in a truly happy time in my life. I look forward to the continual betterment of our lives and know that it is the people within my life that will be the source of that betterment. …