Happy New Year

I wish everyone a prosperous new year as we say goodbye to 2008. It was a tough year for all of us and hopefully 09 will be better. There were some historic moments, as in the election of the first black President, Barack Obama. Our nation still is racially divided, however this election did bring more of us together as a people. It also marks the end of the Bush era (09 End of an Error), which personally could not have come soon enough.

Regardless, my family has been blessed with everything we could have asked for. I pray for everyone to have a great New Year and God bless.

Weekend Highlights

Miami Dolphins, AFC East Champions!!!!!!! What a game and what a way to finish the regular season. Next up, a second meeting with the Baltimore Ravens. On the flip side, it was a very frustrating Saturday night watching my beloved Canes blow another game. Jacory Harris played well but showed his inexperience late in the game and those mistakes cost UM the game. However, I was happy to see the team play better overall and we certainly have something to look forward to in the 09 season. 

This weekend was a little quiet, after the holiday and getting ready for the new year to come. The kids spent most of the time playing outside and with their new toys from Christmas. My wife and I just spent time at home, trying to recover from a few long days prepping for Christmas eve and the following morning. I have been fighting a cold the whole week and finally am beginning to feel better. Today we went to the 10:30 service and listened to the latest message in the Anthems series. Afterwards, we went home and I ended up having to work for a few hours and missed almost the entire first half of the Fins game but that is the way my profession is at times. 

Miami Dolphins.... WOW

I don't know what else to say. This is a season that cannot be explained. It is so good to have a winning team again, I don't know what to do with myself. The fins are in first place and now face the J-E-T-S, who have nearly choked their way out of the playoffs. This is going to be an awesome game. Pennington returns to face his old team and show them that they made a mistake in releasing him and allowing him to come to Miami. I expect nothing but the best from the Jets here, their season and some of their jobs are on the line now. I will be disappointed if they lose but in reality they have exceeded all expectations. It would be a storybook ending to have Chad end the Jets season and gang green can watch the Fins in the playoffs. Yes... PLAYOFFS!!!! Who could honestlly have said that at the beginning of the year.

Fantasy Football Champion!!!!!

Yes, I can officially say that I have won a league championship. It came down to last night's game, with my team having DeAngelo Williams and Brandon Jacobs going and seven touchdown later.... I was up for good. I still have two players in the Monday night game (Rogers and Hester) but I can wear the crown proudly. I never thought I had a chance after week one, losing my first pick (Brady) for the season but I managed to fight my way to the top. This is my first winning season ever in fantasy football. I am now hooked and will be playing in multiple leagues next season.

Sad news...

Today is exactly four months since my father's passing. Unfortunately we received some more bad news with regards to my father-in-law, Claudio. He has been having some health problems but has made major changes to his life to combat these problems. However, his kidneys are failing and he will now require dialysis beginning sometime next year. My prayers go out to my wife and my in-laws that God will help heal him and ensure that he will be a part of our family for years to come. I know that death is a part of life but it will hurt me more to see my wife and mother-in-law suffer in the same manner as my family has. May God bless our family in this time of need and bring His healing hands. 

Fantasy Football Championship

Thanks to the Philly D, I am in the championship game. I will be taking on my lifelong friend, Vince and him team which has beaten me TWICE already. I know that there will be plenty of trash talking on both sides and we are both so competitive that a loss will be unacceptable.  This upcoming weekend will be very interesting and one that I will watch with MUCH anticipation.

Miami Dolphins... 9 -5 ?!?!?! Weekend Highlights

I cannot believe this season and how good it feels to see my team playing meaningful games at the end of the year. It has been a long time coming and the feeling is surreal. However, their wins do leave much to be desired. The play calling and dreadful offense today almost cost them. I know Pennington does a wonderful job of managing the offense but the lack of down field throws will catch up to this team. Yes, there was a deep pass to the TE today but that was an anomaly and something we don't see enough of. Next week it is a trip to cold KC and a date at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs lost another close game, losing again in the Fourth quarter of their game. I am hoping that loss demoralizes them to the point that Miami can come in and take them out of the game early.

In my fantasy league, I am in the playoffs for the first time. I was first for most of the season, but a late losing streak cost me the top seed. I am in a tough battle right now and it will come down to the Monday night game where I have the Philly D. 

This weekend, my family and I spent our weekend at home going through the kids toys and donating the toys they truly no longer play with. At night, my wife and I watched "The Dark Knight" and all I can say is WOW. It was a very good movie, long and somewhat disturbing for me. I have never seen the "Joker" portrayed as such a sadistic killer. I was shocked and it took some time to get adjusted to his persona. We did also watch "Get Smart" and I really enjoyed it. It was hilarious and very well done. Both movies were great and I can't wait to watch the next one, "Tropic Thunder". 

Christmas time.....is near

It's getting closer to my favorite holiday, Christmas. I spent my childhood with little to no celebration of this holiday. Now that I am a father, I make sure that my children enjoy this time and savor every moment of their lives. My wife and I put up our tree and I decorated the outside of our house. It is alot of work but to see the joy in my kids eyes when the lights are on is worth it. I cannot say this year will be complete as I still do miss my father, however I know he is watching over me and will always be a part of me.

This year will also be different as we usually spend Christmas Eve at my sister-in-law's house but they will be away this time around. During this time, all of the kids (and there are quite a few of them in the house) open their presents and then it becomes mass chaos. Paper flying everywhere, kids playing with their new gifts and us parents trying to keep the peace. I can't say I will miss that part but it has been a family tradition and a part of me will miss it. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Family trip to Kansas City, MO

What a trip. I am still tired and trying to recover. My family flew to KC to spend time with my brother and his family for the Thanksgiving holiday. I was able to spend time with my mom and brother and reminisce about my dad. It was cold to mild for most of our time there, but we still bundled up whenever we stepped out. 

Some highlights were me and my wife, along with my brother and his wife going out to dinner to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. 

We took the kids to an indoor gym on two seperate occasions and went to their indoor pool while my brother and I pretended we were teenagers again trying to play some basketball. We even had the audacity to play a two on two with two teens there and somehow we managed to escape with a victory. 

One of the last nights we were there, we went into the KC downtown area and rode on a horse drawn carraige around the city during a very cold but beautiful night. Both families were present and we all had a good time riding around, enjoying the sights. 

We even got to see SNOW!!!! I have never been in snow, neither have the kids and on the day we were returning to Miami, it began to snow. What a sight! I was shocked and just stared outside as I admired to snowflakes falling to the ground. The kids were so happy to see the snow and poor Jr wanted to make a snowball, unfortunately there wasn't enough snow yet to do that. Maybe next time!! My wife took some great pictures of us in the snow. 

It was a great trip, however the trip home was an adventure. The "beautiful" snow really complicated things. Our flight out was delayed almost two hours and we had to catch a connecting flight in Atlanta, with only a 45 min window. We missed our flight and had to wait in ATL for another two hours and had to take a different flight into Fort Lauderdale Airport instead of MIA. That flight was delayed over 30 minutes and we did not get home until 2:30 AM. The kids were sleeping, I was very moody and we were all exhausted. Even worse was that our luggage would still arrive at MIA the following morning and I had to go pick it up.

We all had a good time but next time it is direct flights only for this family!!!!! It was hard for my wife and daughter. Juliana gave my wife fits while in the plane. I didn't help with my grouchiness  during the last leg home. I don't understand why they make the rows so small on the plane. The airlines must realize that taller people cannot sit comfortably in these seats, especially when the person in front of you leans their seat back. I wanted to cry and I felt like a sardine in a can. Thank God I am not claustrophobic, otherwise it would have been impossible to sit still. Anyway, I am sorry my love for my poor attitude. Being tired is no excuse to get angry with you and I hope you can forgive me for my lack of patience with these types of situations.