Easter weekend was one of these weekends that I wish could have gone on forever.  Time spent with family and just laughing, hanging out and enjoying the weather.  My cousin Brandy and her neice (my second cousin) had a birthday party over Easter weekend that was full of bounce houses, cake, presents and all the fun stuff that goes along with birthdays.  Chloe (pictured here) got all kinds of gifts.  She sure didn’t like me being a part of her opening gifts though.  You should have seen some of the looks I got for being right in the middle of the opening of presents.

It’s times like these than make me so thankful for family and the small joys that life brings. How was your Easter weekend?  Do you and your family have any traditions that you follow?

Mainly from a personal perspective.  Spending time with friends and staying plugged in have been two of the hardest things the past few weeks.  And I because of how busy I have been, I haven’t been back here to make an updates on what is going.

Thanksgiving is upon is in the next few days and something that I am truly Thankful for this season is my family and friends.  I haven’t been home in sometime and I’m excited to see my friends and family back home.  I think I have realized the past few days how much I truly have been working to stay on top of everything going on, that I am longing for the contact with friends and family back home – just to relax and hang out.

What are some things that you are thankful for this thanksgiving?

Now that I got that taken care of, I need to get to the gym.  My friend Chris also posted a blog post about needing to get back in shape.  I really need to make this a priority again.  Gold Gym. here I come.

The only time that I have seen my mom and step-dad in a church was at the death of my grandfather. And I haven’t seen them in one since. My mom has talked about going to church before but hasn’t ever made anything of it since talking about it. This Easter was no different. I always ask my parents and my brothers if they want to come, but I get the same answer every year. My brother Mike is one of those guys that knows he should go, feels like he should go and even talks about why we get together as a family for Easter. But he never goes.

I’m not saying you have to go to church to know what Easter is about it. I’m just saying that being at church on Easter Sunday, for me, is a huge reminder of what Christ did for our sins. The fact that he rose from the dead. The candy, baskets, bunnies, and colored eggs are in no way the meaning of Easter. (although I look forward to the peanut butter cup eggs EVERY year).

So this year was just like all the others. I go to church in the morning and then the rest of the family gets together at my parents house for lunch and we hang out and laugh and enjoy the company of each other. Has it become just another reason for us together each year? I hope not.

It’s been awhile since I have been to a funeral. It’s been awhile since it was someone that was really close to me. My grandfather was a wonderful man. The funeral was yesterday in Boerne, Texas where he was born and raised (as was I). At the service, it was said that he was a teacher and leader and he couldn’t have been summed up more perfectly. He was a wonderful teacher to all of the grandkids, my dad and ants and uncle. All of the people that he came into contact with were deeply affect by his death this past week. The picture above is a pic taken when I was wee lad. This is a picture of me, my dad, my grandfather and my great-grandfather. My grandfather is holding me in this pic. I was a little under 1 year old.

It’s really something that I am still trying to work through. It’s been a rough few days but as always it was so good to see my family and just be with them again. I loved my grandfather deeply and it broke my heart to see so many of us truly affected by his death. He will be greatly missed.