baby shower

our good friends cilla and jason are having TWINS after trying for some time now just as we did and we are so excited for them. jeanette along with a long list of other ladies hosted a baby shower for them this weekend at our house and there was a HUGE turn out! whenever me and carson left to go over to her dad's house there were at least 50 people or so. they evidently had a lot of fun and even more importantly jason and cilla really racked up on a lot of stuff. and, the great thing is, they still have 2 more showers being thrown by other people! they're going to need all the stuff they can get. we're finding out more and more every day how much STUFF these little munchkins need. if you know cilla and jason and want to send them a gift shoot me an email or contact me through myspace and i'll tell you how to get a hold of them or get you an address to send it to them at. if you know them then you know how much of a blessing they are to everyone they touch and it's always nice to be able to be a blessing back to people like that who always give so much to everyone else. like i said, just shoot me an email or contact me through myspace and i'll tell you how to contact them...if for nothing else to even tell them congratulations. my email is mattdogg80@hotmail.com

3 Day Weekend

you really can't beat self-employment. when it's easter weekend and you want to take 3 days off; you just do it. there's not much like having a job that allows you to work hard and play harder and reap all the benefits. well, i think i'm gonna go hop in bed and try to get as much sleep as possible because we have a lot of playing to do this weekend!

gym

that's right, we finally did it. after talking about it since we got married 8 years ago we finally joined the gym. i have to say that it was totally worth it too. i feel so much more energy and healthier. i even had a friend of mine at an award's banquet last friday ask me if i had lost some weight. and the answer is no...i just re-proportioned a good bit of it. i've been working out at least 3 days a week or more and so has jeanette and she joined a yoga class that she loves. this is defintely one of the best things that we could have ever done. we've spent countless dollars on insuring that we become unhealthy and it's finally time that we start combatting that with something. we go april 1st to do a body comp and full work up to find out how healthy or unhealthy we really are. i'm anxious to see how the results to that turn out.

unhealthy

i am noticing more and more how unhealthy i am getting. i am so out of shape and i eat the most horrible things. don't get me wrong, i'm not one of these crazed health fanatics that run around hugging trees and condemning all who eat fast food to a firey eternity. all that being said, it is still very obvious to me how horribly i eat and don't exercise at all. this has really been bugging me lately as i have gone to put on an old shirt or pair of pants or shorts that i love but haven't worn in a long time only to find them too tight to even come close to buttoning. i have a closet full of perfectly good dress shirts that i can't wear a tie with anymore because i can't get the top button to even touch the other side of the shirt. i think we're going to join the gym this weekend. i've got to do something before this gets out of hand.

house

we have been married for 8 years now and have always wanted our own house but, are just now in a position to be able to start putting back money to save for one. i think it's a little ironic that we're at the point in life where most people are too strapped to put anything back for something like that, having 2 young babies and all. that's kind of the way God has always worked things out with us though. he seems to give us the biggest blessings when we least expect them, or when we think it's impossible to make happen. we would like to be trying to get in a house around this time next year or so. i've always wanted a really big extravagant house but, after thinking it over for a while i would much rather have a normal house and have enough put back to be able to retire at age 50 or so. as soon as i go get my securities license this year i'm going to set up a couple of retirement funds for us so that we can be able to do just that. hot springs village sounds like a good little retirement spot don't ya think?

taxes

it's that time of year again, and i still haven't done my taxes yet. i have tried and tried to get somewhere to do them and haven't been able to. you would think that this would be the year that i would have been waiting in line to get them done; i have 2 new children and a wife that didn't work last year. man, i hope that this is going to be a good return. has anyone else taken care of this yet or are you procrastinating too? let me know, i want to hear about it.

jet lag

i got home from jackson, ms friday evening around 5:30pm. it was great to finally be home but man i was so tired all weekend. it seemed like every time that i sat down i would fall asleep. sunday afternoon nett was going to wal-mart (which i hate doing) and i jumped up to go with her on my own free will because i thought that i was fixing to pass out! finally after getting up and around i snapped out of it but man, i rarely get that tired from doing seemingly nothing. i think i'm fixing to go take a nap now before i go to bed...

coming home

i leave tomorrow to go back home. i've been in jackson all week and i really miss nett and the boys. i feel like i'm missing out on so much being gone. i know it's only a week, but a week seems like a year! and what really sucks is there is supposedly a chance of winter precipitation in dallas and texarkana tomorrow. i really hope that doesn't delay me getting home because i don't think that i could endure being gone any longer. not to mention that carson's birthday party is saturday at noon and there is no way in the world that i am going to miss that! well, i'm going to get a shower and get to bed so i can be fully rested tomorrow. pray for my trip home so that i will make it there safe and in a timely manner.

jackson

i leave sunday morning to fly out for another week of training. i'll be in jackson, ms this time. it's really tough being far away from home when you have 2 babies under a year old. especially when the name of the town that you're going to is a constant reminder of what is back home waiting on you. i can't wait to be done with this part of my training so i can be home. i shouldn't have to leave for training again for about another 6 months or so. on a positive note though, i couldn't love my job anymore than i do right now. not only do i work for a great company but, their rates pretty much blow everyone else out of the water so that makes it easy to get new business. i hope they are able to keep it this way.

training

i'm in waco, tx this week for training with farm bureau. it's going to be really hard being away from nett and the boys, but it will definitely pay off in the long run we know. it just doesn't make it easier being away from them for this long. oh well, i guess i need to get off of here so i can get back to kicking my roommate's butt in madden 08...what, you didn't think i would come all the way down here and not bring my xbox 360 did you???PPPSSSHHHHH, please!

going back to work

i've been off work since last friday when jackson was born and having the time off has been nice to spend with nett and the babies but, i have to say that being a full-time parent is much harder than ANY job i've ever had and is especially harder than the one that i have now. my hat goes off to any parent who is able to make the sacrifice to stay at home with their children while they're young. it is definitely not the easy thing to do. being home for these 9 days gives me an even more profound sense of respect for what my wife and so many other parents do every day. so, here's to YOU stay at home parent; keep on keepin on, because i'm a firm believer that what you're doing right now for your children will pay off in the long run.

wasted

man, i'm so stinkin tired right now. i don't remember the last time i actually slept good. i'll get some pics of jackson up on my myspace in the next day or so. this having 2 under 11 months thing while mommy is still sore from surgery is very taxing. just another 6 weeks or so and she'll be back in full swing again. can't wait to have her back to normal. for those of you men who don't think your wife does very much, let her have surgery and be out of commission for 6 weeks. oh well, i'm laying in bed right now so i might as well take advantage of it. good night.

10 MORE HOURS!!!

in about 10 more hours we will be in an O.R. having a c-section to get little baby Jackson Perry out. it's amazing to think that it was only about 3 years ago that i had pretty much given up on ever being able to have kids, and here we are having 2 in the year 2007, only 10 1/2 months apart. if anyone ever tried to tell me that there wasn't a God i would only be able to shake my head because i know that i wake up and kiss living proof of God every morning before i leave for work. i live an amazing life; a beautiful wife, 2 incredible little boys and a career that empowers me to enjoy every second of it. i can never stop saying it...i truly am "Living the Dream"

company "puke-mas" party

wednesday we had our district meeting for Farm Bureau Insurance out at lake fork. there were close to a couple of hundred people there and it was really a lot of fun. we left at about 1pm that afternoon and i had a really bad headache and of course no one had any tylenol. we ended up getting there around 3pm and i had been absolutely miserable the whole trip. as we were pulling into the country club the road got really curvy and i just knew that i was going to puke any second. when we stopped i got out of the truck and took off to the woods across the parking lot. luckily, the fresh air helped out a lot and i dodged a bullet.

we went in to the party and everything was set up like a casino and we got to play for a chance to win prizes and money. it was really a lot of fun. we ended up leaving about 7pm that night and they all offered for me to ride in the front seat of the truck, and i gladly accepted. there was a point on the ride back that i could actually feel my face moving with every curve in the road. it was then that i realized that this was not going to end well. finally it came, i started tapping on the dash as i took off my seat belt and leapt out of the truck as fast as i could. my mouth was already half-way full by the time i hit the ground and then it began to flow like a flood. as i finished i looked up and realized that every agent in the county was staring at me puking on the side of the road. so, to relieve the awkward tension i let out a loud "WWWWOOOOOOOO, YEAH!!!". and then the endless ribbing and poking fun began, my manager told me that i would forever be remembered as the guy who puked on his first district meeting trip. it's a good thing i don't embarrass easily about that kind of thing or i would have had to ride home in the back of the truck. i'll just chalk it up as another funny story that i have to tell at our next district christmas party.

got a truck

i forgot to mention that about 6 weeks ago my dad called me and said that he was driving to texarkana to get me to negotiate a deal for him on a new truck (since i had some extensive experience in and around the car business). so, i was like "cool, no problem"...i actually like doing that because i'm very comfortable with it whereas most people are a little out of their element doing that sort of thing. anyhow, to my surprise, my dad gave me his old truck instead of trading it in! and i in turn, gave my little ford aspire to someone who needed a better car and that person gave their car to someone who didn't have a car at all.

some people wonder why i have this fascination with giving cars away as opposed to trading them in or selling them. i have to say that the fascination started about 7 years ago when 2 good friends of ours, brock and auny gill, gave us a car. i have been determined to pass on that blessing that i received in my time of need to others every chance i get. i'll tell you more about that next time.

sorry

yeah, sorry D. you're not the only one who has told me that. it's just been crazy busy starting a new career and having a little baby with another one on the way. i'll keep y'all more updated that i have. well, i gotta get my stuff ironed and get ready for work.

18 Days to go

for those of you who are wondering, i just started my new job as a Farm Bureau Insurance Agent today and it was great. i can tell that this is going to be a job that fits me. but, the real story right now is that in 18 days we will be having our 2nd baby this year!!! that's right, carson was born on january 29th and jackson will be born on december 21st of the same year. we can't wait to bring him home, these past 10 months with carson have been amazing and i can't imagine what it's going to be like having 2 baby boys around. we are getting ready to embark on what are the best years of our life thus far...

thanks for your prayers

thanks for all of your prayers, i passed the test and will be contracting with Farm Bureau of Texas as a full General Lines Agent. i'll try to keep y'all better updated on how things are going. THANKS AGAIN!!!

great opportunity

well, i know that i don't keep up with this as much as i would like to but having an 8 month old baby and another one on the way that will be here in 2 months will definitely keep you busy. but, i had to get on here and let anyone know who checks this from time to time that i have encountered a new HUGE opportunity. i have just completed the interview process to become a Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent!!! now, all that i have to do is go and pass my test to get my Texas Property and Casualty License so that i can sell car insurance and homeowners insurance and i will be set to go. i just scheduled my test a little while ago and i will be going to take my test this friday (10-19-07) at 2pmCST. that's the day before my birthday so please be praying that i will pass it. if everything fell PERFECT i could be contracted with them as early as 11-1-07 but, if the Texas Department of Insurance doesn't get everything back to us in time then the latest i will start will be 12-1-07. I'M SO EXCITED SO PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!!!

washing cars

i just finished washing jeanette's car and it really needed it. this is something that i've hated doing since i was a kid but, just like back, i still have someone that didn't give me a choice in the matter. those drive through car washes just aren't the same thing as a good hand wash. i had planned on doing my truck today but, man it is way too hot to be out there any longer. well, it's time to go play with carson!