Have we become a society that just loves to argue? What happened to the ability to just have a discussion without getting personal? Without becoming angry? Is this what we are teaching our children?
For weeks I have been sitting in Jones AT&T stadium watching Texas Tech....Every week there is some idiot in the crowd that does 1 of 2 things....
1. They boo a kid who caused a little controversy a few years ago every time he catches a pass....This is a 21 year old kid that is HELPING our team win and we boo him? I am curious as to how many people were booing him after he made some crucial catches during last nights HUGE victory???? Have we forgetten what sportsmanship is?
2. Every game the coaches at Tech (and around the country) make a decision that the crowd doesn't agree with....it is during these times that I sit a listen for the idiot fan who says something along the line of "Leach wouldn't have done that"....Let it go Raiders...He is gone....I wonder if the guy behind me from the K-state game was cussing Coach Tubberville last night the same way he was during the K-state game....
See my problem with these people are two fold...
1. It doesn't teach your children anything positive...Leach is gone and is not coming back... I understand that hurts some people but it is what it is...There is no reason to teach your children that it is ok to not respect the coaches authority...It teaches them that it is ok to hold on to grudges...It doesn't teach them that sometimes a process takes time....and this leads me to point number 2
2. Before you speak, learn what you are speaking about....For all you Tubberville haters out there, Leach never beat OU at home....Understand that this is a young team...Understand that it takes time to build something...there are few people in life that have the ability to just win....It doesn't work that way...you start off learning how to count and that leads to you being able to do advanced math problems...
The future is bright for the Red Raiders....We are young, we are getting fast, we play hard, we make mistakes...we learn from them...we line up every Saturday and play...and we are reaping the benifits of a great coaching staff...I understand your passion, I really do...but come one guys, lets get behind this team and look forward to what is happening...your kids will learn from this.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Strange feelings
I dont know what is wrong with me today. I have this feeling that my head is spinning around all over the place. I am not sure what is going on. I dont like this feeling at all. I have been quick tempered and just really annyoned by little things. I guess it's because I have been sick and not been able to run. On a positive note I am out of school this week and enjoying just relaxing. Starting back up on monday.
The boys did really well when their parents left. We were nervous about taking a step back and it didn't happen. I'm ready for them to get back to their normal settings of Athens. I just hope that they return to a home in stead of a house, a family instead of parents ect....
The boys did really well when their parents left. We were nervous about taking a step back and it didn't happen. I'm ready for them to get back to their normal settings of Athens. I just hope that they return to a home in stead of a house, a family instead of parents ect....
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Great win and Terrible losses
This was a great weekend....My mother, sister, brother, sister inlaw, nephew, niece and nephews girlfriend came into town. I haven't seen some of them in a long time. It was great for the boys to see their parents, and it was wonderful for Randall and April to see the boys. They arrived Friday evening and we hung out until late that night. Saturday we drove around Tech and showed them the college ect...It was at Tech that we decided to go watch Tech vs K-state. The selfish side of me really wanted to go watch the game, but I didn't want to take time away from Randall and April from seeing the boys. We compromised. Candi, Rebecca, Bobby, Amber and I went to the game while mom, Randall and April stayed home with the kids.
We screamed, we yelled and we watched a great game as Tech fell to K-state in a tight ball game....While at the game we kept up with the Rangers who won game six and advanced to the World series. As bad as it was watching the Raiders lose, it was awesome watching the Rangers win. It was a great great win....The loss, as bad as it was isn't the terrible loss I'm talking about in the title....
Friday night when everyone came here we hung out outside for a long time. Rebecca and Mehkya went to the Taylor Swift concert so they missed out. It was at a specific time when I remember I started thinking about what this blog is going to be about....
The sun was going down and everyone was outside throwing the football, shooting hoops ( I won), running around, riding bikes, flinging the kids around and having a great time. I remember standing on the porch watching everyone play and my happiness turned to sadness for a split second.....
It is amazing what stubbornness and pride will do to a family. For years my sister and I have allowed these two disastrous character traits ruin parts of our lives. As I was watching from the porch watching everyone play, watching Candi swing Kennedy around and Kennedy begging Candi to do it again. Playing hoops with Bobby and Randal l( I won) and talking trash like we were kids...Meeting Amber and seeing her interact with the kids. Watching Hannah play with Kennedy and the boys. Seeing the joy in April's face as she played with the boys and Kennedy....My heart broke for a moment....Stubbornness and Pride made us miss many years of this...treating each other unfairly, talking about each other behind our backs...judging each other....doing all of these things instead of picking up the phone and saying "hey lets work this out"....Why is this bothering me?
Because I really enjoy my family. Sure we have had our faults and we have driven each other crazy...but we are a fun family....We are loud, we are out spoken, we laugh a lot...we are crazy and have crazy stories...why is it so easy to forget about all the good times and focus on the bad? I dont know, but for some reason we did....As I sat there and took all of this in I thought about how many opportunities we missed getting together and laughing as a family, interacting as a family, and truly being there for each other. I thought about all the missed opportunities we have had to take family trips to the lake, to the river, to vegas, to anywhere we wanted to go because of stubbornness and pride. I thought about how I missed the chance to get to know my nephews when they were younger and how those missed opportunities could have impacted their lives...made them better men...I thought about how I should have been there for my sister through trying times she had been through....but instead I decided to not pick up the phone and break the ice.....I thought about my poor mother and how she must feel that her kids were fighting and not acting like kids....I looked at her face the other night and I saw joy for the first time in a long time...watching her watch all of her kids and grand kids act like a family must have been a wonderful sight and WE have denied her of that because of stubbornness and pride.....how foolish we are! So here is my apology....
To Candi....I'm sorry for being stubborn...I'm sorry for judging and not being there for you when you need someone to talk to about anything...I'm sorry that I wasn't a better uncle to your kids and am sorry that I have kept my kids from you for all these years. I'm sorry that Mehkya and Kennedy haven't been able to learn from you and that I have failed to allow Rebecca to get to know you and build a relationship with you...I guess I always thought my prayers would be enough and failed to open up the lines of communication.....From the bottom of my heart I am sorry.
To Randall...I'm sorry for not being there for you when you were young. For not making sure you were following the right path...
To April...I'm sorry that I allowed Randall to act foolish. I should have been a better example.
To Patrick and Bobby...I'm sorry I wasn't a better Uncle. I'm sorry that because of my failures as a brother, I failed you as an uncle...I'm sorry I wasn't able to be an influence in your lives...I want the both of you to know that I have always thought about you, prayed for you and will be here if you ever need anything....
To Hannah...I'm sorry I haven't allowed my girls to get to know their cousin.....Mehkya looks up to you and I know you will make her proud.....that you will be a great example for her...
To Mom....I'm sorry that my stubbornness and pride and caused you so much family pain...that it took years away from seeing all of us grow together...These years can't be made up, but I truly pray that we try....
To Rebecca, Mehkya and Kennedy....I'm sorry I failed to allow you to get to know this side of my family. To Mehkya I'm sorry I didn't allow you to visit Candi and Hannah...I hope that we can make up this time.
We have all failed each other and this stubbornness and pride needs to be reversed. We need each other because 1 year turns to 10 and 10 turns to 20 ect....before we know it we will be grown and the only thing we will be able to look back on are the good times....it's time to make these years the best....
To be continued...
We screamed, we yelled and we watched a great game as Tech fell to K-state in a tight ball game....While at the game we kept up with the Rangers who won game six and advanced to the World series. As bad as it was watching the Raiders lose, it was awesome watching the Rangers win. It was a great great win....The loss, as bad as it was isn't the terrible loss I'm talking about in the title....
Friday night when everyone came here we hung out outside for a long time. Rebecca and Mehkya went to the Taylor Swift concert so they missed out. It was at a specific time when I remember I started thinking about what this blog is going to be about....
The sun was going down and everyone was outside throwing the football, shooting hoops ( I won), running around, riding bikes, flinging the kids around and having a great time. I remember standing on the porch watching everyone play and my happiness turned to sadness for a split second.....
It is amazing what stubbornness and pride will do to a family. For years my sister and I have allowed these two disastrous character traits ruin parts of our lives. As I was watching from the porch watching everyone play, watching Candi swing Kennedy around and Kennedy begging Candi to do it again. Playing hoops with Bobby and Randal l( I won) and talking trash like we were kids...Meeting Amber and seeing her interact with the kids. Watching Hannah play with Kennedy and the boys. Seeing the joy in April's face as she played with the boys and Kennedy....My heart broke for a moment....Stubbornness and Pride made us miss many years of this...treating each other unfairly, talking about each other behind our backs...judging each other....doing all of these things instead of picking up the phone and saying "hey lets work this out"....Why is this bothering me?
Because I really enjoy my family. Sure we have had our faults and we have driven each other crazy...but we are a fun family....We are loud, we are out spoken, we laugh a lot...we are crazy and have crazy stories...why is it so easy to forget about all the good times and focus on the bad? I dont know, but for some reason we did....As I sat there and took all of this in I thought about how many opportunities we missed getting together and laughing as a family, interacting as a family, and truly being there for each other. I thought about all the missed opportunities we have had to take family trips to the lake, to the river, to vegas, to anywhere we wanted to go because of stubbornness and pride. I thought about how I missed the chance to get to know my nephews when they were younger and how those missed opportunities could have impacted their lives...made them better men...I thought about how I should have been there for my sister through trying times she had been through....but instead I decided to not pick up the phone and break the ice.....I thought about my poor mother and how she must feel that her kids were fighting and not acting like kids....I looked at her face the other night and I saw joy for the first time in a long time...watching her watch all of her kids and grand kids act like a family must have been a wonderful sight and WE have denied her of that because of stubbornness and pride.....how foolish we are! So here is my apology....
To Candi....I'm sorry for being stubborn...I'm sorry for judging and not being there for you when you need someone to talk to about anything...I'm sorry that I wasn't a better uncle to your kids and am sorry that I have kept my kids from you for all these years. I'm sorry that Mehkya and Kennedy haven't been able to learn from you and that I have failed to allow Rebecca to get to know you and build a relationship with you...I guess I always thought my prayers would be enough and failed to open up the lines of communication.....From the bottom of my heart I am sorry.
To Randall...I'm sorry for not being there for you when you were young. For not making sure you were following the right path...
To April...I'm sorry that I allowed Randall to act foolish. I should have been a better example.
To Patrick and Bobby...I'm sorry I wasn't a better Uncle. I'm sorry that because of my failures as a brother, I failed you as an uncle...I'm sorry I wasn't able to be an influence in your lives...I want the both of you to know that I have always thought about you, prayed for you and will be here if you ever need anything....
To Hannah...I'm sorry I haven't allowed my girls to get to know their cousin.....Mehkya looks up to you and I know you will make her proud.....that you will be a great example for her...
To Mom....I'm sorry that my stubbornness and pride and caused you so much family pain...that it took years away from seeing all of us grow together...These years can't be made up, but I truly pray that we try....
To Rebecca, Mehkya and Kennedy....I'm sorry I failed to allow you to get to know this side of my family. To Mehkya I'm sorry I didn't allow you to visit Candi and Hannah...I hope that we can make up this time.
We have all failed each other and this stubbornness and pride needs to be reversed. We need each other because 1 year turns to 10 and 10 turns to 20 ect....before we know it we will be grown and the only thing we will be able to look back on are the good times....it's time to make these years the best....
To be continued...
Sunday, October 9, 2011
I'm a Fanatic
I'm a fanatic just like many Americans. Every Saturday or Sunday during football season, I am sitting on my couch or in a stadium seat watching my beloved teams battled. During baseball season I watch as many games as I can. Friday nights I find a High School stadium and root for the home team. I cried when the Mavericks won their first NBA championship. I am a fanatic.....
But many people take the term fanatic to an extreme. Our priorities in America are out of whack. We are fanatical when our teams win or lose. We scream at the t.v. when our teams do well, and cuss at the t.v. when they do bad. We blame the losses on the refs, the coach, or the other team cheating. We write nasty notes on opposing players twitter pages when they hurt someone on our team. We create violence when our teams lose, we make babies when our teams win.....
Today I read a post on Twitter that got me thinking of this. A local sports reporter named Ryan Hyatt said it well..... "You" didn't lose to #TAMU tonight. The team you root for did, the school you went to did, but you didn't. Only the players an coaches and a few folks that'll lose their jobs if Tech loses more did. It's ok to get passionate, but keep some perspective. Take all your energy about today and make sure it equals what you put into your kid's education"
I think Mr Hyatt hit the nail on the head. My loss is when my 8 year old brings home a 60 on her spelling test because I failed to review her words with her the week before. How many times have you shown the same passion when your kid brings home a great grade? How many times have you show that same enthusiasm when your kid learns a new life lesson? America is out of focus. We are so concerned about what the latest celebrity is doing that we fail to pay attention to what our kids are doing. We are so caught up in making sure our sons are the next Montana that we forget that we can raise them to be the next Lincoln or Steve Jobs.
How do I know that we are out of whack? On my days off I work at a high school...Every day I ask the kids what they want to be when they get older. Many of them say a professional (pick a sport). My favorite is the 5'3 110lb senior white kid who doesn't play HS basketball that wants to play in the NBA...I just giggle inside. I was one of them at one time and I am not saying it cannot happen. I'm just curious as to what is being taught at home? I love when the response is "I want to be a Dr. or a Teacher or join the military". It makes me feel as if there is still hope.
It's ok to be a fanatic...I think it is healthy to show kids your passions...We need teach them to be just as passionate about making good grades....We just have to do a better job at showing them that life is not all about touchdowns and RBI's...That the real world is tough and an education can carry you a long way....
If I've learned anything by fostering these two boys is this....I dont want them to be famous NFL players....If they grow into that it would be awesome....I want them to want to learn...to get an education....to realize that life is more than yelling at a t.v. screen....
But many people take the term fanatic to an extreme. Our priorities in America are out of whack. We are fanatical when our teams win or lose. We scream at the t.v. when our teams do well, and cuss at the t.v. when they do bad. We blame the losses on the refs, the coach, or the other team cheating. We write nasty notes on opposing players twitter pages when they hurt someone on our team. We create violence when our teams lose, we make babies when our teams win.....
Today I read a post on Twitter that got me thinking of this. A local sports reporter named Ryan Hyatt said it well..... "You" didn't lose to #TAMU tonight. The team you root for did, the school you went to did, but you didn't. Only the players an coaches and a few folks that'll lose their jobs if Tech loses more did. It's ok to get passionate, but keep some perspective. Take all your energy about today and make sure it equals what you put into your kid's education"
I think Mr Hyatt hit the nail on the head. My loss is when my 8 year old brings home a 60 on her spelling test because I failed to review her words with her the week before. How many times have you shown the same passion when your kid brings home a great grade? How many times have you show that same enthusiasm when your kid learns a new life lesson? America is out of focus. We are so concerned about what the latest celebrity is doing that we fail to pay attention to what our kids are doing. We are so caught up in making sure our sons are the next Montana that we forget that we can raise them to be the next Lincoln or Steve Jobs.
How do I know that we are out of whack? On my days off I work at a high school...Every day I ask the kids what they want to be when they get older. Many of them say a professional (pick a sport). My favorite is the 5'3 110lb senior white kid who doesn't play HS basketball that wants to play in the NBA...I just giggle inside. I was one of them at one time and I am not saying it cannot happen. I'm just curious as to what is being taught at home? I love when the response is "I want to be a Dr. or a Teacher or join the military". It makes me feel as if there is still hope.
It's ok to be a fanatic...I think it is healthy to show kids your passions...We need teach them to be just as passionate about making good grades....We just have to do a better job at showing them that life is not all about touchdowns and RBI's...That the real world is tough and an education can carry you a long way....
If I've learned anything by fostering these two boys is this....I dont want them to be famous NFL players....If they grow into that it would be awesome....I want them to want to learn...to get an education....to realize that life is more than yelling at a t.v. screen....
Thursday, October 6, 2011
life upside down
I have a 5 page paper that I have procrastinated on.....It is due on Sunday night and my plan was to work on it all day today and finish it up tomorrow.....Well life throws you curves.
My alarm went off at 515 and I tried to get out of bed to do my daily cardio...It just wasn't happening. I felt like crap....I did make it to the gym to lift and do a little cardio later in the morning but it was a mistake. I got home and my condition worsened. I spent all day neglecting my paper while coughing up a lung....and I dont feel any better tonight.
Tonight when we got home, I decided to teach the kids how to do head stands...Isn't that one of those tricks you just know how to do? I guess not....Needless to say it did not go very well but we had a good time. To be honest it was pretty amusing....none of them got it down tonight but we will keep trying....
My alarm went off at 515 and I tried to get out of bed to do my daily cardio...It just wasn't happening. I felt like crap....I did make it to the gym to lift and do a little cardio later in the morning but it was a mistake. I got home and my condition worsened. I spent all day neglecting my paper while coughing up a lung....and I dont feel any better tonight.
Tonight when we got home, I decided to teach the kids how to do head stands...Isn't that one of those tricks you just know how to do? I guess not....Needless to say it did not go very well but we had a good time. To be honest it was pretty amusing....none of them got it down tonight but we will keep trying....
well after multiple attempts I decided it was time to show these youngsters how it is done old school style....after I made sure Rebecca didn't catch my bald spot in the photo of course!
notice there is one person missing in the photos. We are still trying to figure out how to reach Cam...Lots of praise when he does well.....time out when he doesn't
To be continued....
Monday, October 3, 2011
Big Brothers Love
I can whoop my brother...There ya go I said it...People don't know that I have a mean streak because I can control it very well. But I can whoop my younger brother for sure....The way I see it is I will get him upset so that he would fight angry....then I would take advantage of his emotions and take him out. Yeah I'm confident that I can whoop my brother....(maybe I should have a few times)
Why am I blogging about this? I just got off the phone from him and we jib jabbed about who could whoop who...It was the first time in a very long time that I didn't want to whoop him after being on the phone....
Here is the deal. He is going through a ton right now...boys living with us, paying rent, and trying to get his life straight, working on his marriage ect....Normally when I speak with him he gets my blood boiling. Not tonight...for the first time in a very long time I honestly feel as if he is making strides towards being who God wants him to be. There is a situation he is in right now that I would handle so differently than he has...I would be furious and cause a seen...he is handling it like an adult...
He said something profound to me tonight. I was thinking when they all came down here we would go see Tech play. I told him today that it would be 30 bucks a ticket and he said he would get back with me....To my surprise he called tonight and told me the game was a bad idea because he wanted to spend quality time with the boys and not waste the money not being able to interact with them at a game! Randall I really feel you are making strides and I am proud of you...Keep it up...
We had a rough day around the Rhodes house. Kj was in a bad mood this morning and usually that means she doesn't feel well. Cayden got his football taken away from him for kicking it in the house and that put him in a bad mood. I got a call at noon saying Kj was sick so we had to go to the doctor. I got home and cooked dinner and I started feeling bad....Thanks goodness for Rebecca. She helped a lot with the kids tonight and had a good time playing with the boys before bed....
Until tomorrow....
Why am I blogging about this? I just got off the phone from him and we jib jabbed about who could whoop who...It was the first time in a very long time that I didn't want to whoop him after being on the phone....
Here is the deal. He is going through a ton right now...boys living with us, paying rent, and trying to get his life straight, working on his marriage ect....Normally when I speak with him he gets my blood boiling. Not tonight...for the first time in a very long time I honestly feel as if he is making strides towards being who God wants him to be. There is a situation he is in right now that I would handle so differently than he has...I would be furious and cause a seen...he is handling it like an adult...
He said something profound to me tonight. I was thinking when they all came down here we would go see Tech play. I told him today that it would be 30 bucks a ticket and he said he would get back with me....To my surprise he called tonight and told me the game was a bad idea because he wanted to spend quality time with the boys and not waste the money not being able to interact with them at a game! Randall I really feel you are making strides and I am proud of you...Keep it up...
We had a rough day around the Rhodes house. Kj was in a bad mood this morning and usually that means she doesn't feel well. Cayden got his football taken away from him for kicking it in the house and that put him in a bad mood. I got a call at noon saying Kj was sick so we had to go to the doctor. I got home and cooked dinner and I started feeling bad....Thanks goodness for Rebecca. She helped a lot with the kids tonight and had a good time playing with the boys before bed....
Until tomorrow....
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The fats of life
Sometimes 24 hours away from home seems like forever! We had a pretty slow shift and when we do time just drags on and on.
Last night Rebecca braved the great west Texas corn maze with all four kids. It's a big maze made in a corn field. She said they had a great time but it wore them all out.
Ok to my blog...
For some reason I have the ability to gain and lose weight very easily. I am the type of person that if I look at a piece of cake I gain weight. If I eat real clean and workout hard I drop weight. If I workout hard but do not eat clean then I maintain and if I eat like crap and do not workout I gain weight. It is kind of like my spiritual life.
If I am in the word, I feel better about myself. I shed my sinful pounds and lose the sinful weight. If I am not in the word, I get spiritually fat and feel very out of shape. If I'm in the word but not living by it, I just kind of maintain....
I'm running my second marathon of the year in Dec. I have been training but not hard and I have been eating like crap. That is where I am spiritually right now. I long to be in the word and to be walking strong. To run the race to the best of my ability....but I haven't been training the right way. Time to start training the right way in both my spiritual life and physical life...
The main way we discipline the kids is by putting them in time out or with their nose in the corner. Well Kennedy REALLY wants to put her nose in the corner. She has been faking being bad so that she we will put her in the corner but we don't fall for it....Well tonight Cam and Kennedy got a little rough and we put Cam in the corner. I thought it was only fair that since Kennedy was playing rough as well she should have to put her nose in the corner....At first she acted sad...like she knew she was in trouble....Then she got the big smile on her face and ran to the corner laughing....She stuck her nose in the corner with pride! It was pretty cute...
To be continued....
Last night Rebecca braved the great west Texas corn maze with all four kids. It's a big maze made in a corn field. She said they had a great time but it wore them all out.
Ok to my blog...
For some reason I have the ability to gain and lose weight very easily. I am the type of person that if I look at a piece of cake I gain weight. If I eat real clean and workout hard I drop weight. If I workout hard but do not eat clean then I maintain and if I eat like crap and do not workout I gain weight. It is kind of like my spiritual life.
If I am in the word, I feel better about myself. I shed my sinful pounds and lose the sinful weight. If I am not in the word, I get spiritually fat and feel very out of shape. If I'm in the word but not living by it, I just kind of maintain....
I'm running my second marathon of the year in Dec. I have been training but not hard and I have been eating like crap. That is where I am spiritually right now. I long to be in the word and to be walking strong. To run the race to the best of my ability....but I haven't been training the right way. Time to start training the right way in both my spiritual life and physical life...
To be continued....
Saturday, October 1, 2011
I will never be a track coach
Well I learned today that if you tell a kid to pace himself in a race......he will pace himself out of the race!
Today was the 1mile fun run for Mehkya and Cayden. I had told them to make sure they paced, so that they wouldn't be burned out at the end. Well watch the video and it will explain what I mean. I wish they would listen that well when we tell them to clean their rooms.
I'm very proud of both of them. Running teaches you a lot about yourself. It is very easy to slack off or quit. These two kids did not quit and that is all I can ask for.
We went to the Frenship game last night. It was a fun family night for us all. Frenship won and that always makes us happy. We hung out today after the race and watched Tech win...Next week A&M comes to town. Should be an interesting game. Enjoy the videos.
Today was the 1mile fun run for Mehkya and Cayden. I had told them to make sure they paced, so that they wouldn't be burned out at the end. Well watch the video and it will explain what I mean. I wish they would listen that well when we tell them to clean their rooms.
I'm very proud of both of them. Running teaches you a lot about yourself. It is very easy to slack off or quit. These two kids did not quit and that is all I can ask for.
We went to the Frenship game last night. It was a fun family night for us all. Frenship won and that always makes us happy. We hung out today after the race and watched Tech win...Next week A&M comes to town. Should be an interesting game. Enjoy the videos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)