Agree or Disagree, and Commit!

It's Time We Come Together as Americans
As many of you know, I am a self proclaimed Republican... not that I feel a sense of loyalty to any particular individual within the party, but I do feel a deep connection to the idea of conservative values and limited government. Not that I think it matters, but in the interest of full disclosure I will simply state that in the last presidential election I voted for Senator McCain.

That said, I feel very strongly that it's time for an "Agree or Disagree... and Commit" moment in America! No matter what our individual choice for president may have been, we as American's have a responsibility now that the election is over, to set our personal agenda/feelings aside and do everything within our ability to help make President Obama successful. And, while success can be defined on many levels, ultimately, success will be measured by our ability as a nation to put differences aside and work together to bring this great country back to its status as a place where great things are achieved.

This idea of agreeing or disagreeing and committing is not original to me, nor do I take any credit for it. I have heard mention of the concept on two different occasions, the last one being from a company executive (his name escapes me at the moment). He speaks of the necessity that exists in organizations for people to engage in meaningful debate on the front end of a decision, and then once said decision has been made to support it as if it were yours all along. Who knows... if we will come together as a people during the next 4 years, working toward a common goal, we just may be able to realize the dreams of years past and progress this great country to a level the likes of which we have not yet seen.

And Time Fly's By...

The latest from the Big Easy
It seems as though every time I close my eyes, another month passes me by and I'm still in New Orleans. For those of you who don't know, I've been working Monday - Thursday in New Orleans since the begining of May. The project that I'm working on involves running a PMO (Project Management Office) here (I'm actually sitting in a Delta Crown Room in NOLA right now waiting for the weather in Atlanta to clear up).

(Satellite Picture of Current Weather Conditions)

I'm working with a great team which is nice, but there's nothing like being home with Diana and the boys. I definitely miss being in Atlanta. There's no place like home.

This last week Kobie broke his arm playing at Jamie and Gina's house. As the story goes, he was sliding down a slide and Cole got in his way and he fell. Diana took him to the doctors office where they took and x-ray and figured out that he has a buckle fracture about a half an inch from the end of his bone by his thumb. Today he got his first cast (waterproof and red) and tomorrow for his birthday I think we're going to take him to the waterpark which should be interesting given his current state.

I have a lot to catch everyone up on, but this is all you're going to get for now. Hasta...

-Corey

Long time no speak...

It's hard to stay away for such a long time... but I managed to do it anyway.

What's up team??? Life is good and moving along. This isn't going to be long, just checking in since I haven't posted in a while.

The boys and Diana are doing well. Kobie is in the process of taking CRCT tests this week at school. Cole is trying Diana's patience and creating general chaos wherever he goes.

Diana is as wonderful as ever.

Will check back soon...

Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord...

So this is just a quick note to remind everyone (because so many people have discovered my blog) just how fragile life is...

Last Friday Diana went into work early, and consequently left work early to pick up the boys. I got pulled into a proposal and ended up working until about 10pm that night. I talked to Diana when she got off work, let her know what was going on,told her to take the boys to get dinner and I would either catch up with them or see her at home later.

As Diana wasn't feeling up to a night on the town with the boys, they went home and ordered pizza. I got home around 11 that night, neither of us thinking much about how events had unfolded (other than that work had gotten in the way of some much cherished/needed/appreciated family time).

The next day I received a call from a member of our ward. She asked about us and how we had survived the storm from the night before (we had received some rain but that was it). Come to find out a tornado had touched down not too far from where we live that Friday night.

A home that was damaged by the tornado (about 5 minutes from our house)

Upon first inspection one might think we were simply lucky... I would say that we were protected.

The miracle of the whole thing is that had Diana not been scheduled to go into work early, had I not had to work late, had she not decided to stay in with the boys and have a picnic on the living room floor, we (or they) would have been coming home from dinner at the same time the tornado hit, and we (or they) would have been driving through the exact area that was damaged.

One of the grocery stores we frequent had one of its air conditioning units pulled off the roof

I know that the Lord protected our little family Friday night.

It's great to know that he loves us enough to, at times, make us go into work early, or leave late, make us stay in with the kids, or do things that may not seem ideal.

At times we tell our children to do things they don't like, and against which they sometimes fight. It's nice to know that Heavenly Father is not only omniscient, but as Elder Maxwell puts it, he is also omni-loving, and gives us some of the same experiences that we give our children...

In Case You Missed It, Here's The Replay...

I love this picture...

So life began quite some time ago, but I'll pick up the story where I begin to remember things. As a result of a decision made long before I can remember, I spent much of my life here:

4131 E. Cleveland Ave.

Life was so simple then. No mortgage to worry about, no bills to pay and no field to plow... (job to work, whatever). I don't remember much of life then, but I do remember planting the pine tree in the front yard that withstood so much toilet paper, unleashed so much shrapnel (you haven't seen anything until you've seen a pine cone launched from the starboard port of a lawnmower), and served as a mental oasis from the sandy desert at the end of the street.

Elementary school supplied first crushes (class mates and teachers alike) and learning opportunities (Principal Gaydosh is a better detective than you ever gave him credit for).

Life in Junior High was filled with even more crushes, my first experience with passing out, Big Virginians and pizza with ketchup, Rodney King, MC Hammer pants, bus paper fights, Vanilla Ice, after school dances, the origin of my hatred for the smell of beets, and Cadillac hood ornaments.

Then came Las Vegas High School... who knew life was so much fun.

After two years serving a mission in Houston, I met my amazing wife, and life has unfolded from there.

We got married, got pregnant, survived our first Christmas, survived the birth of Kobie, bought our first house...

Ahhh Robin Tree... how peaceful it was...

Life was grand...

Kobie supplied many a laugh... such a cute boy.

Then along came Cole...

And we finally began to understand just how nice (and how limited) sleep can be.

And now we're in Georgia... and we couldn't be happier (it's amazing what a cookie can do to your attitude).

Life is wonderful!