Start of 2012

Well, we started out the year with my swearing in to the Euharlee City Council!

Donna, Mimi, Bailey, Griffin, My Mom, and My Dad all came out for the event.

It was really uneventful, but it was very cool! I continue to be humbled and excited for this opportunity!

Steve Worthington and I being sworn in together by City Attorney, Boyd Pettit.

School is back in. Both kids received their report cards. Grif with all A's and Bailey with only one B that she assures me she will bring up to an A!!

Bailey has got me hooked on a book series called The Hunger Games. It is incredible and hard to put down! Which isn't too good when I have plenty to be doing!! Ha.

We have been out of town for New Year's and will be glad to be back in church this Sunday! I get to lead the children's music upstairs!

Happy New Year everyone!!

C

CHRISTmas 2011

Anything hotter than a woman firing a pistol??

Well, what a Christmas!! We had a blast, ate too much, and opened too many presents! It was absolutely perfect! We are blessed!
Grif, Donna and I went out to the firing range for a couple of hours yesterday and shot my new pistol! Very smooth shooting gun! I. Love. It.!!! Donna did incredible with that gift!
Grif got a new bike and a BB pistol that he has almost already worn out! LOL. Bailey got so many clothes and just dance 3! (That I will NEVER play!!)
It was a most memorable Christmas!
God is good!
C

Merry Christmas!!

It has truly been a busy season!! It always is. We have been going here to there. Exacerbated by my 86 year old neighbor being in the hospital for a while and now being moved to a nursing home. I don't know if he will be my neighbor again! Sad, sad situation.
Griffin and Bailey both had a B in classes for the first half of school that they have brought up, so hopefully straight A's for both by the end of the school year! Grif is playing basketball and having a blast. It is his first year in "rec" ball instead of Trinity so the competition is a lot higher.
Janet and Henry are on their way from Cleveland for CHRISTmas and I can't wait to see Hank and meet the new baby (Guyton).
January 3 will be the day I am sworn in to the Euharlee City Council. I am very excited. The very first night I will be voting on a 1.4 million dollar budget! Welcome to politics, right?
I already know what Donna is getting me for CHRISTmas and my 40th birthday (combo gift!!) and I am as excited as I have ever been about a gift!
That pretty much sums it up for now.....
Work outs are still going well, etc....
Merry CHRISTmas to all!!
C

Don't you LOVE December?

Way too many things going on to touch on them all!!
Donna and I left Thursday night after the Cville Christmas parade for a long weekend to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary! We had an amazing time in Birmingham Christmas shopping and just being together away from the normal daily routine! We got to ride down Friday morning to Tuscaloosa, to watch her high school play for and WIN the State Championship in 4a Alabama football at Bryant-Denny stadium. Pretty cool!
We spent the rest of the weekend shopping and well, that's all I can talk about.....
I am the luckiest guy in all the world! Donna is an incredible wife, mother, teacher, friend..... and I loved getting to spend that time celebrating with her!!
C

Overwhelmed

I won!! God is good! The people of Euharlee gave me the most votes in the election and I am amazed! I can't wait to get started. There is a lot to do!


We had a great day of waving and sign holding at the precinct. A lot of folks stopped and talked to us. Lorraine sat with me for most of the day and then Donna came up there after work. I got to talk to Councilman Eubanks and Councilman Worthington a lot over the course of the day as well! It was just a blast! Of course, if you know me, you already know how much I love campaigning! It was a great campaign and a great way to culminate it!


At 7 pm, we all removed our signs, and went up to the front door of city hall with 15 or so people who wanted to know the results! When the city manager taped the slips of paper from the voting machines to the front door, a few people went up there, but I stayed back. I heard someone congratulate Councilman Worthington and then I heard someone mention my name!!! I was excited. Donna and I walked up there and she tallied the three totals from the three voting machines and I had gotten the most votes! Overwhelmed is an understatement! We left and went over to Elizabeth Street to see the vote certified and look at the absentee results, and when all was said and done, I had 206 votes of the 338 people that voted! Right at 61%!! Donna and I were pumped and went out to dinner to celebrate!! It was an amazing night that I doubt I will ever forget!!


C

What a blast!!

The campaigning is over and now all that is left to do is set up the poll tonight with signs and stand out in front of the polls on Tuesday! Voting day is almost here and I am excited. After last year, I have no confidence in how everything will turn out, but I am hopeful! I am thankful for all the people that have supported me! It is truly humbling!
There is something so cool about knocking on doors to introduce yourself and discuss issues relevant to your community with people. The things you find, while knocking on doors could be made into a book! Some people don't want to be bothered, which is understandable! But, when you knock on a door and the person that answers it has a genuine love for the community and wants to ask you questions and give feedback, it becomes well worth the effort! I know a lot of people running for office, don't do that anymore and rely on signs and ads, but I think that type of conversations and involvement is sorely needed in our communities today!
Anyway, thank you to my neighbors in Euharlee that have allowed me in your homes to talk about our city! I will do my best if elected, and that, is my one and only campaign promise!
More frequent posts after the busyness of a campaign is over!
C

Fall happenings

Hurricane Irene brought much needed rain to Georgia and with it ushered in some lower fall-like temperatures! I love it! I love all the seasons, which is one of the reasons I love living in GA! We get a full dose of all 4 seasons! My favorite seems to be the change though! The week or two between the seasons that you get the hint of whats to come, while still enjoying the last little bit of the former! That is where we find ourselves in GA right now. Crispness in the AM like fall, with warm afternoons like summer! It makes me happy! God knew what he was doing, didn't he?
School is in full swing and the kids are doing good, not great yet, but it is coming! Bailey's softball schedule is winding down, and while she hasn't gotten all the playing time she would like, or any mound time, she is getting to see what it takes to play at a varsity high school level! I hope that inspires her to work hard during travel ball season! Grif's start at football hasn't been a bang either. He is afraid of the contact right now! I think he will get over that and I think he will start to love football, but the jury is still out??!?!? Both kids have a class that they are struggling with as of now, but like I said, that will change!
Donna's classes seem to be going well, and B12 shots will hopefully help with energy levels. I would love to tell you that we are all up in a romantic season in our lives, but I would be lying. The daily grind tends to get in the way of that along with nightly trips to some ball field, we rarely even eat at the same time. I am hoping that to some degree, the daily grind, will hold some romance! Maybe, the daily struggles fought through together add a lot to a marriage!
**Big Announcement**
I am running for Euharlee City Council!!
I qualified last week, and am looking forward to meeting people that I have yet to meet and working on the city council. I have always loved politics, and would love an opportunity to be part of lasting solutions for our rapidly growing city! I ought to be fun! I covet your prayers and support!
C