Why David Runnels Is My Friend...

David Runnels recently went to the National Youth Worker Convention in Atlanta. As a joke, I challenged David to get a picture with "Fatty," the enigmatic bass player and younger-brother-but-bigger-than-everybody from one of the Wright family's favorite bands...Family Force Five.
I didn't think David could pull it off, but he did:

If you'll notice, that's drummer and other brother, "Crouton," leaning out of the shot so that David could specifically honor my request.

Retreat Recap

Remember the video confessionals I used to do? It sure would be cool if I did one on my weekend gig...

But I'm not. We're getting "texty" with this one, gang.

THE SETUP
Blake and were schedule to meet at 1pm to load up and head to Grapeland. At some point Thursday night, Blake got extremely sick, ran high, hallucination-inducing fever and ended up crashing at his mom's house rather than do a preliminary load-in. Through a series of circumstances beyond our control, Blake and I didn't leave town until 3. (It was fine. Kids weren't scheduled to arrive until 8:30.) On the road, we discover that the camp is working under an either/or policy regarding sound. They thought we were bringing a whole sound system and thereby weren't too hip on letting us hook up our stuff with theirs. However, once we arrived, we worked it out. It took us forever to setup, mostly due to the camp's sound system, but I'm sure Blake's fever wasn't helping. We still had plenty of time to rehearse, eat, shower and dress accordingly for the night's event.

THE SETS
Friday Night
How Great Thou Art (New Baloche version; rocked nicely, but the kids weren't digging it.)
O Praise Him (Jackpot. They knew it and loved it, despite the fact that we dared do it different from how Mr. Crowder intended.)
Dancing Generation (Great song that I'm destined to hate. I spent 6 months trying to kill "Promises" from our set only to find that "Dancing Generation" is the rocker that will not die. It's probably a good thing that it's a well-written tune.)
Sermon by Runks. (I've worked with Runks before, but I have to say his teaching this past weekend was excellent. He preached with a new passion and refreshing humility.)
You Gave Sight (The boys had yet to play Ross King's weird attempt at alt-country worship, but it came off really nice. Never got to big, but worked.)
All The Freed (A TWB song. Don't think they dug it.)

Saturday Morning
Salvation Is Here (I love playing United's only good song.)
All The Freed (Another try. No go.)
Dancing Generation (Loved it.)
Unchanging (This song was made for the delay wizardy for Adam Fischer. We owned this jam.)

Saturday Night
Our God Saves (Baloche who? Another jam succinctly pwned by Todd's posse.) Why am I getting increasingly arrogant?
Unchanging (Beautiful drum transition by Blake. Worked, worked, worked.)
Part of Your Story (Came off without a hitch, although I was a bit concerned at how loud they sang right off the bat. Has someone been playing this song in the Houston area? I swear they knew it already.)
Salvation Is Here, slow jam. (My, my, my. We did this thing slow last month at a gig and it was the most fun thing I've played in a while. I'm not crazy about recording covers, but the slowed version of this one just might make it on the next Todd Wright record.)

Sunday Morning
Dancing Generation (Dancing and shouting on Sunday morning...I love this job.)
Our God Saves (2nd time, they knew it cold and were all about it.)
Part of Your Story (They seemed to dig it. Personally, I thought the arrangement should have been different, but I hated to mess with it on the 2nd time they were hearing it.)
Tasting Forgiveness (The best Robbie Seay song that nobody knows about. Little more alt-country flair from Adam and nice backing vocals by Kyle Grimes.)

NOTES:
1. Frontier Camp - great food, great recreation / horrible showers.
2. From here on out, Blake goes as either drums or sound. Not both. never again. I nearly killed this kid.
3. I don't care how cool hoodies are, wearing them in East Texas humidity is just plain foolish.
4. The lack of merch was killing me. I could have moved some discs...
5. I'm old and not nearly as cool as I tend to think.

Observations...

1. If you're in a band and you wear cowboy shirts, you better respect the shirt. Bring some steel or fiddle or something that proves to me that you're the real deal and not just tragically hip.


2. Why do girls fronting pop-punk bands all sound the same?


3. Dear American Church - countdown videos are LAME.


4. I don't think church should look like (or better) than a rock concert.

Maybe some of you retail-savvy folks can help me out on this one:

When I shop at CVS and I take my items up to the register, they ask me if I have a CVS card. Every time. They ask everybody this every time somebody steps up to the register.

When I reply, "No, I don't have a CVS card," they go ahead and input a store card number and give me the discount regardless.

Why? If they want me to have a card, why do they give me the card-benefit for free? I'm working on a few different theories:

1. Everything in the store is automatically priced high so that customers feel that they got a real discount.

2. The card's real benefit is the earning of points or cash or some other accumulating item, so giving me a discount really isn't the point. This way, I'm paying what they want me to pay and not accumulating all sorts of other benefits and blessings.

3. It's psychological - they want me to think that the clerk did me a "solid." They want me to feel like CVS does a great job of doing favors JUST for me. (But I hear them asking everybody in line, so that shoots that theory out of the water...)

Why all the games, CVS?

Tuesday Tavin

Remember a while back when I mentioned that I wanted a Zune and a bunch of you wanna-be-hipsters got all rude with me?

Have you heard this?
----------------------------------
"According to online retailers PriceGrabber, Shopping.com, and uber-auctioneer eBay, the Zune player (in both its old Zune 30 guise and new Zune 80 duds) was the second-most purchased item on the web on Black Friday.

"Placing silver right behind the Wii system (which led wish lists for the second year in a row), this could be seen as a huge win for the visibility of Microsoft's digital offerings and the viability of the Zune as an adequate alternative to the iPod behemoth.

"The popularity of the player is credited in part to the affordability of the brown Zune and its new software update. So far, none of the credit is going to the Zune's 'squirting' abilities.

"Other top gadgets noted by the retailers included the Maestro 3100, TomTom ONE, and Garmin's StreetPilot c550 GPS devices, Guitar Hero III, Microsoft's Office 2004 Student and Teacher edition, and a few Canon cameras.

"But before Gates, Allard, and Co. start planning a party, it must be noted that Amazon and other individual company stores (such as Apple's) are not part of these numbers. So we'll wait until all the numbers come in before we crown true Black Friday and Cyber Monday champions– either way, no media player will come anywhere close to the Wii.

"Other Black Friday notes: People spent about $272 million online on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., and $531 million total on Black Friday. Outside the online world, the early estimate of Black Friday purchases is about 20 billion dollars. "

HT: wired.com
------------------------------------------------
Okay, Mac nerds, this is the part where you all start whining...

I normally don't make it a practice to listen to Oprah or Rosie very often, but they're both bragging on this thing, called Flip Video.
Anybody heard of this thing?
From what I've read it's super easy to shoot and edit...

If you know something, holla.

ARE YOU READY?

The master has arrived.
If everything goes as planned, artwork will be done by the end of the week, and everything will mailed next Monday.

Let's see what this little record can do...

MY FRIDAY...

Finley woke up just before midnight. I was heading to bed, so I picked her up and rocked her for a few minutes until she fell back asleep. Kristen was schedule to get up really early to brave the biggest day in the shopping year, so I hated for her to have to get up.l

Somewhere in between three and four, Finley woke up again, with fever. We know she's not been feeling well, so it wasn't a shock. Kristen got her out of bed while I got some Tylenol. We gave her some juice and the medicine, then I laid on the living room couch while Krist got Finley back to sleep.

Kristen got up early to get ready. Jonah woke up, too, and ended up in bed with me. Then began an hour or so of alternate sleeping/arguing about getting up. Finally, Jonah and I got up around 6:30 I think. While he watched SpongeBob, I slept on the couch. I woke up to the phone ringing at 7:45. Krist was calling to check on Finley and didn't seem pleased at all that I had been sleeping and not checking on our sick daughter.

Finley woke up about ten minutes later. Jonah had secured himself an apple from the kitchen and Finley was in desperate need of her morning cup. After that, I picked up the house a little while the kids played and watched cartoons.

Krist called at 10:30 and asked me to start getting the kids ready. She got back at 11 and we headed to her grandmother's for a leftover Thanksgiving meal along with Kristen's parents. We ate and hung out with family until about 2. We headed home, put Finley down for a nap and Jonah worked a little on the computer. While he did, Krist and I cleaned up a bit, lounged in front of the TV for awhile and tried to get the house more presentable.

My Mom called around 3 and wanted to stop by, so we asked her to stop by a convenience store down the road for some much needed "dairies." (In our house, "dairies" refers to sweets...candy bars, Little Debbie snack cakes, that sort of thing.) Mom showed up with a sack full of dairies and then shortly after my Dad showed up. We watched a little Top Gear on the BBC. (LOVE that show) and then my parents headed home.

Dropped the kids off at my grandparents while Krist and I ran into town to pick up a desk from her parents and return some stuff they had loaned up (drill, bad-t0-the-bone vacuum cleaner, etc.) Got the desk, got home, picked up kids, unloaded desk. Then Kristen made bacon and eggs for supper.

After supper, bathed the kids and then fought for an hour to get them to sleep. It was Finley's first night in a "big-girl" bed, and a very hyper older brother didn't help things out very much. Eventually, Jonah crashed in our bed while Finley finally calmed down once moved back to her previous sleeping arrangements. Krist and I had plans to setup the Christmas tree, but after the two little ones went to sleep we looked up to find in was 9:00. So, I guess that means the tree will get done tomorrow!

Hit the treadmill for a little bit, listened through some upcoming sets and some tracks from the new Steven Curtis record. (Some great, some not.) Grabbed a shower, ate a little bedtime snack and went to bed.

(Oh, am I blogging machine or what?)

RLC #1

A lot of you will remember me mentioning this free graphics website for churches. It's a great site for guys like me - guys who can't design worth a flip.
My buddy Rob is a great designer. His work continually impresses with me with its balance of creativity and simplicity.
I recently went back and looked at the graphics Robert uploaded and discovered that his work has been downloaded a total of 670 times.
Congrats, Rob! Keep it up!

Thank you, Jeff Williford, for showing me this:

Movie Trivia (Don't use IMDB)

Young Guns 2 / Pat Garrett

Who played him?

Setlists...Part 2

Now, you might have noticed that I mentioned that I burn CDs for my team on Tuesday. Sometimes, I'll try to get CDs to my team on Tuesday or Wednesday, but for the most part, I'm actually work one to two weeks ahead. This allows me to hand CDs to my team immediately after service on Sunday. That way, they pop the discs in their car on the way home and go download charts whenever they want.

Sometimes, I'm two weeks ahead of time and sometimes I'm just planning the sets week to week, but if at all possible, I think working ahead of time is the absolute best way to operate.

WHY PLAN AHEAD?

Most worship leaders that I know are pretty good. Most of them can roll up onstage, strap on a guitar and pretty much fake their way through a set. The only problem is that most people can't. That's why I believe planning sets ahead of time is so important for many churches. Naturally, a worship leader has to know his or her team and plan accordingly, but in my opinion, planning ahead is almost always a good thing.

Planning ahead communicates a couple of things to my team.

1. It communicates to the people who serve under me that I have given serious thought to what it is that we do on a given Sunday morning. It says to them that I have used my position wisely and have organized my time so that I can give them plenty of time to feel comfortable with the tunes.


2. It communicates trust - my folks can come into a set knowing that I've thought it through, and that if anything goes wrong, I can negotiate the hard places because I've mentally walked through the songs numerous times.

Planning ahead makes my sets better.

1. I'm willing to admit that most of what I'm saying is highly dependent on my specific church and team, but I can honestly say that planning ahead makes my sets come off better. When I plan ahead, my team has given the songs some forethought. (My team is comprised of busy people - they're not dedicating hours and hours to practice, but I can guarantee you that they've mentally walked through the songs and thought about what they're going to play and how they're going to approach each section.)


2. Planning ahead also prevents me from doing the same thing and over and over each week - I'm much less likely to fall into using the same transition if I'm devoting time each week to assess and plan.

Planning ahead also protects my time.

1. Since planning ahead almost always improves the quality of my sets, my bosses respect my time when I'm working on the songlists.


2. Planning ahead works great especially when a hard work-week hits. Being a week or two ahead gives the "out" in case I have to devote time to some emergency project that's come up. I don't like to do it too much, but when I have to change my schedule, the planning ahead really makes it much easier.

If you're not planning sets ahead of time, you really ought to give it a try. I think you'll find it's a rewarding discipline to practice.

Setlists...Part 1

As a staff member of a church, my job is multi-faceted. At any given time, I'm expected to know first-hand how to edit video, fix any and all computer/audio/video equipment, play any song out of the hymn book, plan sermons, stick to a budget, be on-call and generally perform other feats of similiar magic.

While there's something cooking in my head about the role of "full-time" staff members, that's not really the focus of this particular blog, which happens to be the first article-esque thing I've written in some time.

I've tried very hard to protect the one aspect of my job that can so easily get pushed aside - the preparation of what we call "setlists," which essentially means the songs we're playing on a given Sunday. Knowing how difficult it is to make time for set building, I can certainly sympathize with the worship leaders I know who struggle to find time to give a set the time it deserves. Here's what I think - and how I do - sets.



SET DAY
I must have "set day." For me, "set day" is Tuesday, and while set building certainly doesn't take all day, I usually love Tuesday because I know I've got a full day to think through different options. Here's how it usually works.

1. At some point Tuesday morning, I'll start writing down ideas. Our service follows a relatively consistent order, so I pretty much know where all the songs are going to go. Typically during in this time, I'll have a few specific things on my mind.

• The first, most important thing I'm going to consider is the thematic push of the service. On almost every week, I'll know at least the scripture text we'll be using. If I've been very involved in sermon planning, I might also know what sort of specific direction the sermon is going. Regardless, I try to think of tunes we know that are going to support the ideas presented in the scripture.


• I'd love it if every song worked perfectly with scripture, but that ends up being quite a search, especially for those of us leading services that are singing more "modern" songs.


• My preference is that at least 2 of our songs line up closely with the text. I like to think we can survive with just 1, but to me, that feels a bit off, as if we just threw in a themed song to keep up appearances.

2. I'll start writing out sets, thinking about transitions (musical, spoken, otherwise.) At this point, I'll start thinking about new songs. If I've taught something new in the previous couple of weeks, I'll see if I can keep it in the set. Occasionally, I'll find a new song that works great with our theme and will try to organize the set so that it builds to that song. (Where the song comes off more like a supporting "solo" to emphasize a point.) It usually takes me two or three tries to find a setlist I like, but once I do, I get to work.

3. I then will open our "praiseteam" page on the church's website where I'll link chord charts and mp3s for our band members. I'll also then burn 5 or 6 CDs for the band. I'd love it if I could only do ONE of those things, but I find my band is way more prepared when I provide multiple ways to access the songs during the week.

For me, "set day" is the highlight of my week. Truth be told, it's often the one day I feel like I'm getting to what I actually set out to do with my life.

So...do YOU have a "set day?"

Regardless of your feelings on U2, there is no way any sane human being can ignore the work of genius that was The Joshua Tree.

And the new 2oth Anniversary version kicks tail.

This Sunday, November 25th 2007

Todd Wright preaches.

+ + +

Tuesday Tavin

Just A Little Theory I Have...

Wives...

I don't care how sweet your husband is. I don't care how much he loves you, the kids, the holidays and life in general. I don't care if he smiles and acts like it's the most awesome thing in the world...

But there isn't a man on earth who actually enjoys Christmas decorations.

By the way, where did we get the idea to pack breakables in newspaper? Is that really going to help? Is it really going to keep stuff from breaking?

Personal Opinion Warning

AMAZING GRACE DOESN'T NEED A NEW CHORUS.

Listening To:

This doesn't bode well for my songwriting, gang.

YIKES

Cash Advance Loans

Survey...

This blog is the intellectual property of Todd Wright and thereby protected from infringement, duplication and misrepresentation in any form. (Clay)

Finally saw it and loved it.

Loved it, I tell you.

Tuesday With Clay (A Tale Of Robbery)

Every Tuesday morning, I have breakfast with Clay Walker, my good friend. On the way to breakfast this morning, I saw a guy doing some work on the side of the road and the individual was wearing a Bluetooth headset. I thought to myself...I'm going to blog about this. And I fashioned it in my head. My imagined blog would feature a picture of a guy with a headset read:

Is it just me or do we all automatically hate this guy?

An hour later, Clay and I are in our local Chick-Fil-A and I see a guy with a Bluetooth headset come in. Clay isn't facing the door, so I start saying, "I have this blog idea." But, before I can tell him, Clay sees the guy. Clay then exclaims, "I'm gonna' blog about this."

I say, "No, man, that's what I was telling you..." and I share what I wanted my blog was going to say. Clay didn't seem to be listening and kept saying "I'm gonna' blog this - I'm gonna' blog this - I'm gonna' blog this," so as a courtesy, I told him to blog his idea.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this:
www.claytonwalker.blogspot.com.

Now, we all make jokes about Clay stealing materials and he's always so quick to defend himself. Well, not today. I humbly ask each and every one of you to go Clay's blog and post this comment word-for-word.

"You stole this blog from Todd, and that is not cool."

Help me show this man for what he is.

Tuesday Tavin

Great line from one of my favorite songwriters, Greg Brown:

"Tell me what in the is a fella' supposed to do
When a car cost what a house used to
And a house is a pile of chipboard, paint and debt..."

I'm watching an epidsode of"Punk'd" with my wife, (tt featured Hugh Jackman, and Kristen Wright is ALL about Hugh Jackman, gang,) and Kristen says something like:

"It seems like they only do this stuff to nice people."

I think she's right. On this particular episode, they "punk'd" Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman and Rihanna. Of course, they all were very freaked out...but for the most part behaved themselves in a kind and respectful manner with the supposed authorities.

Then I started thinking about who would be the worst, most dangerous and violent people to "punk."

Can you imagine if Ashton "punk'd" Mickey Rourke? That would be awesome!

So...who do you think would be the Worst Punk Ever?

24

Alpha Zule Tango Niner...

I have managed to break free of the camp...

My captors are relentless in their torture, but solace will come...

We should have internet by the middle of next week...I should be able to blog freely about my imprisonment in the world that is MOVING...

Look forward to hearing tales of multiple vomit episodes, blood-stained carpet and a giant elk head...

Until then...pray for me...

TODD OUT.

How I Think It Goes (A one-act play)

The following post is significantly "regional" in nature. Those of you unfamiliar with the Lufkin area won't care all that much, and I apologize. I realize that my blog is becoming more and more famous with each day and soon, I won't be able to post as many local-themed items, so I better do it while I can.

--------------------------------------------------

WHAT I THINK HAPPENS IN THE MONTHLY MEETING OF THE EAST TEXAS YOUTH MINISTERS NETWORK:

Youth Pastor 1
Hey, everybody. Let's go ahead and get started. We really need to get started on planning this next big community event. What do we want to do?

Youth Pastor 2
I'm thinking, let's hire a band and bring in a speaker.

Youth Pastor 1
Yes.
I like that idea a lot. A band and a speaker.

Youth Pastor 3
Have we done that before?

Youth Pastor 2
What?

Youth Pastor 3
The band and speaker thing...haven't we done that for the last, I don't know, thirteen years?

Youth Pastor 1
No, no. Two years ago we hired a ventriloquist.

Youth Pastor 4
No, we didn't.

Youth Pastor 2
We didn't?

Youth Pastor 4
We wanted to, but then we decided to go with a band and a speaker.

Youth Pastor 1
Oh, yeah. That was awesome.

Youth Pastor 2
So, we're doing band and a speaker?

Youth Pastor 3
Yeah. Let's do that. Who can we get?

Youth Pastor 1
Well, we need somebody really well-known and very successful and also affordable.

Youth Pastor 2
And they've gotta' do songs we know.

Youth Pastor 3
Right. We don't want them teaching a bunch of new songs.

Youth Pastor 4
It's going to be hard to find somebody famous who's still be cheap.

Youth Pastor 1
What about Crowder?

Youth Pastor 4
Crowder costs $14,000. We don't even spend that much in a whole year.

Youth Pastor 1
So, Crowder's out?

Youth Pastor 4
Unless you've got $14,000 we don't know about.

Youth Pastor 1
My kids love Crowder.

Youth Pastor 2
I know. Mine too. Did you see him do that Guitar Hero thing?

Youth Pastor 3
Dude, it was so awesome...I mean, like, kids know that stuff, you know?

Youth Pastor 1
Nobody better than Crowder.

Youth Pastor 2
It was so funny, man, they talked about Mario Brothers

Youth Pastor 3
(Laughing)
That was so cool, man.

Youth Pastor 1
That settles it, let's get Crowder.

Youth Pastor 4
You can't.

Youth Pastor 1
Why not?

Youth Pastor 4
HE'S TOO EXPENSIVE. Didn't we just talk about this?

Youth Pastor 2
I vote for Crowder.

Youth Pastor 3
I vote for Crowder! Me too!

Youth Pastor 1
Great idea, guys. Let's get Crowder!

Youth Pastor 4
That's it. I'm becoming a worship leader.

Tuesday Tavin

Everybody Into The Bunker!

Oh, man...Christians are going crazy over this one. The Harry Potter thing was nothing compared to what this movie is stirring up.

Heard of it? Thoughts?

THE WHY...

I think that we've come a long way.
I think that worship leaders, and specifically young worship leaders, have got a lot going for them.

We have better, quicker access to music resources (downloads, charts, tutorials, etc.,) and in many cases, those same resources are extremely affordable or even free.

We have a much better relationship with the worship industry. (Don't, okay? I know you want to get loud about the 'worship industry' phrase, but don't.) Now, more than ever, record labels seem to be making a concentrated effort to empower those who are gifted in the arts to skillfully serve the church universal.

We've got more opportunities to participate in worship. While everybody likes to talk a ton about the seeker-sensitive vs. emergent, or traditional vs. contemporary, or contemplative vs. celebratory, etc., it also means that there are a lot more "gigs" out there than before.

But I think we're struggling, too. I think in all of this quest for excellence, most of us worship leaders are still leading with some faulty philosophies of worship.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about "the why." I'm not talking about the reason for worship or the reason I work in a church.

Actually, I'm talking about our tendencies as worship leaders (typically ego-centric, insecure little kids hiding behind guitars, keyboards and microphone stands) to blindly and randomly throw junk into our setlists without asking "why?"

I'll get practical here. My friend Justin Romack is one of the best drummers I know. I love to play with him. He's also my good friend...one of my best friends, in fact. Justin is also a very talented programmer, and the more he gigs, the more he's asked to provide loops, samples and synths for worship.

Personally, I love loops. I love hearing them, and as a musician, I love using them onstage.

But I've noticed that when I use loops in worship, they usually have very little or no effect. In fact, the crowds I play typically don't even act like they're aware that a loop is even going. They don't clap along like they do on all those Passion and United and Integrity albums and they certainly don't mention anything to me after we play like, "Man, that loop was so cool" or "what was that drum thing y'all did?"

You see, I've got to start asking the "why." I've got to start deciding if I'm using loops (or any other musical element) because I dig them as a musician or because that element is going to enhance worship for my crowd.

I'm not saying that loops are bad or that they don't work. I am saying that I'm so quick to throw them in a set without even thinking whether or not my people are going to like it or be blessed by it or if it might aid the overall push of the song.

I'm using loops as one example of course, but I think this "why" issue is something I'm going to have to really spend some time on. It's quite a tightrope we walk as musicians - balancing the desire to be excellent and to stretch ourselves musically against the needs of our specific people. Guys and gals who don't serve in the local church don't have to deal with this. But you and I do.

I'm not slamming worship leaders who travel, because I believe that those folks are serving the church in unique and visible way. But we've got to stop emulating and start pastoring. We've to be willing to play a tune way more boring that we'd like if that's what the song needs. We've got to be comfortable with doing a cover differently than the CD version. We've got to ask ourselves...I've got to ask myself...."Why am I doing this thing at this place?"

For those of you who've worked with loops, do they work? Are they impacting your people? I'd love to hear some success stories about the programming factor in a live worship setting. What other trends are now popping up in worship music that might need a little "why" work?

Jerry and Larry

23

Can You Say "Guy Movie?"

Will you see it?

My Friday

Since we've been living with my in-laws, Finley's been sleeping very very little. Like three-hours-a-night "little." We've been trying to figure out the best place and way for her to go to bed each night and thankfully, by Thursday, we got a handle on her schedule.

Finley woke up at 5:30. It was my "turn," so I got up and brought her into the living room. When we came through the kitchen, my mother-in-law was already up. (Kristen's dad had left to hunt before 5, and my mother-in-law, who the kids call "Sugar," was still up.) Finley drank her morning cup of milk and then headed immediately for the large bathroom down the hall. I followed her, not knowing what was going on. Apparently, Sugar was back there getting ready and Finley was more interested in sitting with Grandma than with Dad. Sugar and Finley watched the Wiggles while Dad went online to check out "Bee Movie," which we were thinking about going to see later in the day.

Sugar headed to Wal-Mart at around 6:30 while Finley began her morning ritual of climbing on every single piece of furniture as she watched the Teletubbies. (Yes, Wiggles and Teletubbies in a one-hour time period. I may never recover.)

Jonah woke up just before 7am. I thought Kristen might be almost done sleeping, but as I walked past our room to get Jonah, I heard MASSIVE LOUD CRAZY SNORING emanating from my betrothed. Rather than risk her wrath, I decided to let her keep sleeping. Eventually, Sugar showed up with donuts, so I woke Kristen up. While the family devoured donuts, I grabbed and extra hour or so of sweet sleep. Who says Dad can't sleep in on his days off?

Once we all were up, we began the dance - who was showering when, deciding if somebody had already dressed Finley, making plans for the day. We made plans for lunch before Krist and her mom headed out to get a haircut.

I got dressed and tried to occupy the children awhile. (I like to "occupy" the children by allowing Finley watch hours of cartoons and letting Jonah play dozens of levels of Gamecube. Does that make me a bad father? No. It makes me a very smart father.)

We headed out about 11:15 and ran by the movie theater to check "Bee Movie" times before meeting the girls for lunch. We had lunch at Cheddar's then headed home for Finley's nap.

After Finley was down, Jonah chilled out while I....wait...what did I do? Oh, yeah. I slept. It was awesome. Kristen and her mom got back around 3 and dragged me out of bed. Jonah and I got ready and headed out to see "Bee Movie" at 4:30. It was great; when it was over, Jonah exclaimed, "I didn't have a favorite part, Dad. I loved all of it!"

We got back home around 6:15, ate some supper, bathed, read books and got both kids asleep eventually. At some point during the supper/bathing/books/bedtime ritual, Kristen looks over at me and says, "Oh. The carpet folks are coming tomorrow morning. We have to go rip up carpet at the new house tonight." I'd like to tell you that I smiled joyfully and responded as any upstanding, Godly, hard-working husband and father would in a similiar situation.

But that would be a lie. I got grouchy for just a minute, but Krist stopped me before I could really get going. In a voice that truly expressed the stress and agony of moving and still not being "moved," she said, "Please don't get mad about this." So I didn't. We drove out to the new house, but my parents weren't there, so we started looking for a tool or two to get the carpet up. Nothing. Finally, I grabbed one of their Ginsu knives and put it to the test. A few slices, and forty minutes later, the carpet and pad were in a dusty, nasty pile in the backyard.

My mom showed up during the job, so we talked a bit with her, then headed home. We stopped and filled up Sugar's car, then got back to the house. Kristen watched TV and bathed while I exercised. I got in, took a shower, finished this blog, and then went to bed.

SHIRTS I WANT TO BUY...

So...anybody got a vote?

Something You Might Not Know

My dad was a deer hunter.
Big time.
I didn't enjoy hunting all that much, but I did go with him whenever I could, just to spend time with him. (I stopped hunting at around 15, when I killed an 18-point buck on the last Saturday of deer season.)

Even though I didn't enjoy killing things, I did like camping, eating junk food and spending time with my dad. At around age 10, I found something else I loved about the outdoors.

Archery.

My dad was, of course, a bowhunter, and at a sports show one year, I won a very nice compound bow. I started going with my dad to weekly bow tournaments and occasionally, I fared okay. Trophies didn't matter, though, I just thought shooting a bow was cool.

Since we've living with my in-laws while waiting to move in to the new house, I've been perusing my father-in-law's hunting magazines. Imagine my surprise to find that compound bows don't look like they used to.
They look like this:

When I first saw it, I figured I was seeing a new bowhunting prototype, but it turns out that most of them look like this now.
While I am thouroughly impressed by the overall futuristic nature of this precision killing machine, it does seem a far cry from the simple little wooden weapons in those history-book-drawings-of-Indians, doesn't it?

So, did any of YOU know that bows look like this now?
Do any of you care?

Why Are Beer Commercials So Funny?