jakemiller

baseball

 

 

tickets to the game... $12

fruit cup and ice cream (in tiny little helmets, of course)... $6

running the bases after the game... free

souvenir baseball... $5

taking my son to his first baseball game... priceless

proud dad

okay, indulge me for a minute...

every parent loves to hear compliments about their kids. obviously i'm partial, but i think our son logan is the greatest kid on the planet. and if you're a parent, you probably think the same thing about your kid(s)... and you should. 

it brings kristi and i so much joy when others enjoy spending time around logan. he's a happy kid, and there's no doubt he's a people person... he gets that from his mom. 

so... because i'm a dad who unashamedly likes to brag about his kid, i was really happy to read what our friends had to say about their time with logan the other night. 

being a good boy for the babysitters... just one of the many reasons that i'm a very proud dad.

john mayer // paramore

 

kristi and i descended on charlotte, nc last night to catch john mayer and paramore in concert. it was a little bit of an extended anniversary celebration for us, and we had an amazing time. i'm serious... if you're a fan of great music and you haven't seen john mayer live, you owe it to yourself to see him. 

this was the third time i've seen him live, but it's been about 4 years since i last saw him. a lot has changed. he is absolutely sick with a guitar. i mean he sings great and all, but i seriously don't know the last time i was that entertained just simply watching someone play. for the best picture of what i'm talking about, check out his new live cd "where the light is".

paramore was the opener. they're a long time favorite of ours, too. definitely a little different than john mayer... kind of a punk/pop feel with a female lead singer... but wow... she can flat bring it. they put on a really high energy show that was worth the price of admission alone. 

mayer's set list looked like this:

bigger than my body (heavier things), belief (continuum)

i don't trust myself with loving you (continuum) 

crossroads (cover - eric clapton/cream)

wheel (heavier things), free falling (cover - tom petty & the heartbreakers)

good love is on the way (try - john mayer trio), mercy (cover - duffy)

vultures (continuum), find another you (continuum)

stitched up (cover - herbie hancock), no such thing (room for squares)

why georgia (room for squares), waiting on the world to change (continuum)

gravity (continuum)

encore:

who did you think i was (try - john mayer trio), boy in the bubble (cover - paul simon)

say ("the bucket list" soundtrack)

all in all, it was a great night. i love kristi and i'm so thankful we share so many of the same interests. we have so much fun together. of course... staying out until the middle of the night is definitely not something we're used to doing anymore, but we had a great time. and besides... i think it's healthy to act like you're still 21 every now and then...

six

six years ago today, i managed to convince the most amazing woman on the planet to be my wife. i'm not really sure what she was thinking when she said "i do"... but i am forever grateful that she did. 

six years later, i am more in love with her than i have ever been. she is my best friend and i'm so lucky to be spending my life with her.

happy anniversary, sweetheart. there's nobody else i'd rather have by my side.

the chapman's

if you want to see a beautiful example of what it means to have faith and hope in the face of tragedy, then you need to take some time to watch this video...

(video embedded... if you're in an rss feed you may need to click here to view)

several months ago, the family of steven curtis chapman suffered a tragic loss when their five year-old daughter, maria, was accidentally struck and killed in the driveway of their nashville home by a vehicle being driven by their seventeen year-old son, will.

maria was one of three orphaned children that the chapman family had adopted. the chapman's are enormous advocates for child adoption and created a foundation, shaohannah's hope, that helps prospective parents overcome the financial barriers associated with adoption.

in the wake of this tragedy, and the attention that it has brought, they've chosen to deflect the attention off of them and toward shaohannah's hope. their hope is that this attention will continue to raise awareness about adoption and bring God's call for the church to care for orphans to the forefront.

in addition to this interview on good morning america, steven has also written an article for cnn concerning care for orphans and will be appearing on larry king live tonight (august 7th).

weekend update

here's what's been going on in my world over the past 7 days...

• we had a great week @ the beach! it went by way too quickly.
• litchfield has become our favorite place to go to the beach. 
• logan is officially a beach lover. it took him a day or so to warm up to the ocean, but we convinced him that nemo was in there waiting for him to come play and he was good to go. 
• i eat entirely too much when we're on vacation. about 10% of it is healthy.
• steered clear of a few jellyfish in the water... while holding logan. that was interesting.
• i managed to avoid getting sunburned @ the beach, i think for the first time ever. 
• did manage to get sunburned while cutting my grass yesterday. go figure. 
• have you ever taken a bath in cold water w/ vinegar? yeah, me neither... until last night. it was a "home remedy" for sunburn... and it stinkin' worked! sunburn = gone. i was shocked. and yes, i was burned that bad. 
• have you gotten john mayer's new live cd? you should. it's fantastic.
• i'm now the proud owner of an iphone. seriously, how did i manage before i had this thing? 
• i think i still smell like vinegar...
• as i type this, there is a preseason nfl game on. that can only mean one thing... it's almost fantasy football time!
• speaking of the nfl... i'm sorry, but i'm so over brett favre. enough is enough, dude. 

alright, that's all for now...

vacation

it's time to unplug for a little while. we're heading out of town in the morning for a week at the beach... and we can't wait to get there! this will be our first "real" vacation as a family of three so, needless to say, we're really excited.

i'm looking forward to no schedule and no agenda. i'm not planning on doing much in the way of emailing or blogging... and i'm not even sure i'll turn my phone on unless it's an emergency.

i'll try and find some time to at least turn on my computer long enough to post an update in a couple of days. until then...

on the road again

i love driving. and it's a good thing, because i've spent an awful lot of time in my car lately. city to city, interstate to interstate... going all kinds of places for all kinds of reasons. this week and next week are more of the same.

today, i spent the day in florence doing some contract work for a friend of mine. tomorrow, i'll spend the day in atlanta with ryan working on some things for theAMP before meeting up with casey for dinner a little later. although i should point out that when i say "later", i actually mean 5:00... because for some reason, casey likes to eat with the senior citizens. regardless, it will be great hanging out with them again. just like old times.

then, this weekend we're heading to the beach. thanks to the generosity of an anonymous someone (and it's killing me to know who... is it you?) kristi, logan and i will be relaxing on the beach for a week. no agenda. no schedule. just me and my two favorite people in the entire world, enjoying every minute of each other. i can't wait.

i'm one.

today my blog turned a year old.

it really doesn't seem like it's been a year since i posted this and kicked things off. crazy. at the time, i had no idea what to expect. i had no idea what to write about, or why anyone would care to read it.

i'm so glad i made the jump. it's become a place for me to externalize some thoughts and ideas, share a little about my family, give people a glimpse into my life, and any other randomness that comes along. 

the fact that people actually follow along blows my mind. i really have no idea why you do... but thanks!

to my knowledge, i've never included any reader stats in a post before. i've never wanted that to be my motivation for blogging. but, if there's ever a time to throw 'em out there... i guess this is it. just don't start calling me a stat ho.

here's the rundown from my first year of blogging...

• i've posted 245 times, or an average of just under 5 posts per week.
• 324 of you have left a comment on a post. 
• 28,002 unique visitors have stopped in for a look.
• this blog has an average of 77 visits per day.
• 61 of you subscribe to my rss feed. 
• technorati tells me that my blog is currently ranked 142,905 (out of 112 million) with an authority of 49. i'm really not even sure what that means...

so that's that. year one is in the books. for those of you who have been along for the ride, you've seen some ups and downs, that's for sure. thanks for reading. it really means a lot that you take a few minutes every now and then to check in and see what i'm up to.

here's to year two!

things have changed

over the weekend, kristi and i made a really tough decision. arguably the toughest decision we've ever had to make. after three weeks of preparation for my new job in charleston, we decided to turn down the offer and stay in greenville. this morning, i called my boss to let him know that i wouldn't be taking the job.

from the outside looking in, i can understand why this will come as a shock to many of you. honestly, it's a little bit of a shock to me, too. over the course of the last three weeks, kristi and i have agonized about this decision. while were so excited about the move, and while we couldn't deny that the way it all came together was clearly from God... at the end of the day, something just wasn't right. 

as we searched for a place to live, as we got to know the city a little better, as we dreamt about what the future held... something was just off. it just seemed like we were forcing it. it was literally as if we were taking the box that contained our wants and desires, and we were trying to force God's will inside of it. i don't know if you've ever felt that way. if you have, you know exactly what i'm talking about. if not, you probably think i'm crazy.

bottom line... i can't explain how or why, but deep down, in my gut, i knew it was a mistake to go. and so did kristi.

my boss has been well aware of our feelings, and we've talked a lot about it over the last 6 or 7 days. obviously, he is disappointed that this isn't going to work out. so am i. i'm grateful to have been given this opportunity. it really means a lot to me, and it was terribly hard for me to walk away from, but i know we're doing the right thing.

i don't think i expect anyone to really understand this choice. a lot of me doesn't understand it either. why would i turn down a great job in a city that we would love to live in? how can i walk away from what, three weeks ago, seemed so right? why would God open this door if it wasn't the right thing to do? how is staying in greenville with no job the better alternative? i have no idea. it just is. and yes, it is a huge risk.

this is one of the biggest steps of faith i've ever taken. i have no idea what's on the other side of this and it scares the crap out of me. 

i'll let you know when i figure it out...

checking in

with everything that's going on right now, blogging has taken a back seat. it'll most likely be that way until things settle down for us and we get moved. hopefully that will be around this time next weekend. 

i'll update as often as i can. in the meantime, here are a few odds and ends from our world over the past week...

• it looks like we've found a place to live!
• we're heading back down to charleston tomorrow and hope to finalize the details in the next day or so. i'll post an update as soon as we know something.
  
• we'll be calling this place home for the first half of this week. 
• we'll (hopefully) be packing and moving the last half of this week. 
• my start date has been pushed back a couple of weeks. this is a huge blessing because it allows us to finalize our living arrangements and take our time packing up the house.
• anybody want to help us move?
• we'll be taking logan out to the beach for the very first time this week.
• i'm so excited to see how he reacts to the ocean. hopefully he'll love the beach as much as we do. if not, he's in trouble because it's getting ready to be in his backyard. 
• there are a few people coming to look at our house this week. please keep praying that someone would buy our house... soon! 

one last thing... i want to thank everyone for the encouraging emails and phone calls over the past week. it's honestly been overwhelming hearing from so many of you. i'm sorry it took me a little while to get back to everyone. you've been so encouraging to us over the past couple of months as we've been seeking God's direction. words can't express how much we appreciate your support, encouragement and prayers. we are truly blessed with great friends and great family. thank you! 

great news!

the job search is over! we're moving to charleston, sc!

after eight weeks of waiting and praying for God to show us what's next, it looks like we finally know.

i am going back into the business world to my former profession of civil engineering. i've accepted a position with florence & hutcheson as the regional office manager for their new office in charleston.

words can't express how excited kristi and i are to be moving to charleston. it's the city where i went to college, and a city that kristi and i love to visit. and, it's a city that we have always thought we would love to live in.

i'll be unpacking some of the details over the next couple of weeks on the blog. i'll also answer the question that i've already been asked, and will no doubt continue to be asked... "what about full-time ministry?". for now, i just wanted to pass along the news.

i would also like to thank everyone for their encouragement and prayers over the last two months as we've sought God's will for our lives.  stay tuned...

happy father's day

i love my dad. i've always been really close with him, and i'm so thankful for that. growing up, he was my hero. in many respects, he still is. so much of who he is shaped who i am.

they say the older you get, the more you become like your parents. they're right.

as i've gotten older, our father/son relationship has developed into more of a friendship. and, even though we disagree at times... he's still my dad. he's still the one i measure myself against. he's still the one i look to for approval. even as a 30 year old with a child of my own.

happy father's day, dad. if i end up being half as good a father to my children as you have been to me, i will count it a success.

i don't mind

what stops a usually wide-open, non-stop, can't keep up with him on my best day 17 month-old?

a fever of nearly 104.

poor kid... he's pitiful. 

although, as a dad who unashamedly loves to snuggle with his kid (and mostly gets the courtesy hug these days) as you can see from the picture... 

i don't mind him being sick one bit.

unless he throws up on me. then we have issues.

and we call mommy.

road trip

kristi, logan and i heading out for a little weekend road trip.  some good friends of ours recently moved to chattanooga, tn and have invited us to come up for a few days to get away and hang out.  

so, i'm going to be putting the job search on hold for a few days so i can grab some much needed down time.

i've got a couple of updates and a few other things rolling around in my brain that i want to unload on the blog, so be on the lookout for that early next week.

have a great weekend everybody!