Wow. Almost a month since I last posted here. From end of April until mid-May right before we moved, I posted nearly every day. Not sure what happened, but I am going to do better. And I have lots of things to update you on. I will be your daily break from Michael Jackson estate drama.
We officially closed on our home today. Originally scheduled for May 19th, but the paperwork had gotten delayed several weeks due to some government agency backlog. Our buyers actually moved in at the end of May and have been paying rent to us until we closed. Got everything notarized this afternoon and then put into the FedEx overnight delivery to the title company.
This is the official closure on our time in Springfield. Of course, our friendships made there will remain and continue, but we have truly moved on. Shannon and I were talking in the car today that we actually did it. We dreamed and prayed for a a few years about moving to the Gulf and near a beach area, and we have done it. No turning back now nor do we want to. This is an exciting time. I don’t know how long this season of life will have us here, but for as long as God has does have us here, we will enjoy it and strive to do His will.
Last night Randy Johnson won his 300th game in MLB. Johnson has long credited some advice from Nolan Ryan the and then Texas Rangers pitching coach Tom House with changing his delivery and taking him from a fast but wild pitcher to a fast pitcher with excellent control. After this meeting, he went on to win 5 Cy Young awards and become one of the great pitchers of all time.
I found an old video clip of this session with Johnson getting these pitching lessons. It is amazing on several fronts. One, that someone was there to record it. This was 1992 in the pre-YouTube/pre-cameras everywhere days. Two, Ryan and House worked for the Rangers but Johnson pitched for the Seattle Mariners. Still, they saw someone who could use some help even though they were on opposing sides. Three, Johnson was willing to listen and make changes. Lots of good advice out there, but people often choose to ignore it out of pride or other poor motives.
While the subject matter (i.e. baseball) is not a critical issue in our lives, the spirit and attitude displayed by Ryan, House and Johnson are ones we should have in our lives. We need to look to help others, even if their gain could hinder some of our potential material pursuits. Also, we need to be of humble hearts to take advice and instruction.
Last week we got Jacob his first bike. It of course has training wheels, but he does really good on it. When Shannon and the kids go to the pool, he always wants to ride his bike there. Here is a link to the slideshow gallery of his first ride.
Microsoft opened their new search engine, Bing, over the weekend. I thought I would try it out and search for “kyle meadors”. The first result was not my home page or one the articles I have written nor any of the projects which with I have been associated.
Instead, it was a MySpace page called “?theihatekylemeadorsproject”. No, I am not kidding. That is its name. Try it, I’ll wait.
The “Kyle Meadors” in question is some other drummer dude. I did not even bother to read much more than that. I am going back to Google.
On a late Saturday night, we are getting things ready to go to church tomorrow. Will probably visit FBC of Gulf Shores tomorrow. I do want to give two quick shout outs to two people of whom I am very proud. First, my sister is out of the country in Peru on a mission trip with her church. They come back next week, but I am so proud of her in living out the Great Commission to minister to those around the world.
Second, my wife has been super mom this week. She has given the kids a great week of fun, made super meals every night, kept the house up and worked in getting us moved in. I am very, very proud of her and realize how blessed I am to have her as my wife.
Shannon inherited a small grand piano from her parents. It was the same piano that she practiced on as a child as she learned how to play piano. Since her parent’s death, my parents have been gracious enough to keep the piano as we did not have room for it in our Springfield home.
Our new home in Orange Beach has the layout which allows us to have a piano. Today Modern Piano Moving company delivered our piano. I took pictures of the sequence of the movers taking the piano out from the truck and then into our home. It was quite impressive to watch just two men move a 800 lbs. grand piano. Also some real cute photos of Shannon and Ava at the piano.
Today was our first full day in OB, and it was lovely. It was especially wonderful as it was our 7th wedding anniversary. I am truly blessed to have Shannon. She is an amazing wife and my best friend.
Shannon and Jacob went to the beach for about 2 hours today and had a blast. The whole family later went to our community pool and had a good time there. Ava is really taking to the water in terms of not be scared of it and enjoying playing in the water. Later, we met our friend (and my realtor agent) Steve Smith and his family for ice cream. Just a really nice day.
Tomorrow the real world comes crashing back down. No matter if you live near the beach or not, work is still work.
Made it in to Orange Beach last night. Unloaded today. Will leave tomorrow to pick up kids and spend night at my parents.
Next week when we recover a bit I will share more. Little too tired now to type much. But I do want to say we are absolutely thrilled to be here. I can’t believe - we are actually here!