Jessie, Daddy, and morning hair.





Update coming soon...I promise.

Ok, so....
Yes! We're still alive.
The one thing I hate about sucking so bad at blogging, is trying to catch up since it's always months between my posts.
I'll go for the crash course update, and if anyone wants further details...you probably have my email address or phone number.

Here's the breakdown.
*Summer started.
*Summer was fun.
*Jessie Rose beat up her first kid in the church nursery. (true)
*Jessie Rose learned to read. (true? maybe not.)
*Summer ended.
*Jessie Rose got teeth.
*Jessie Rose discovered the joy and freedom that comes with traveling on 2 extremities instead of 4.
*First birthday party = first birthday cake!
*Back to school for Mrs. Norvell.
*Will's "real" job got a little overwhelming when the church doubled in size in 1 week (thanks to about 150 college kids who now refer to us as "the cool church" whatever that means. I think it's my spikey hair.)

There, that wasn't so bad.
Here are some visual highlights. (mostly of JRose, because I know that's all you guys really want to see)

So I've gotten progressively worse at this blog thing.

Contrary to what some might believe, our new church has significantly altered our life, and more specifically – my time. Though the work is time consuming (often consuming the weee hours of the morning in order to have experience the concentration needed to finish my stuff) and non-stop, I still LOVE what we’re doing. Our church body has grown at a pace we never really anticipated. We’re only starting our 3rd month of services, and we’re already having around 160 folks. It’s been fun to have to scramble at the last minute to set up more chairs. I’ve been rather convicted over the past few weeks at my ability to limit God and His work. I knew He told us to do this, but I guess I didn’t fully believe the magnitude at which He would do it.
This church, and my daughter, have become a very interesting parallel. I’ve always known that babies grow up. I’ve always known that the Lord would bless this church. Somehow though, I think I missed out on some of the joy of both those things. It seems that I spend more time these days overwhelmed by these progressions, that I’m not quite grasping them fully. Until today.
Over the past week, Dave (our pastor, and one of my best friends) and I spent the majority of our lives writing what basically became a 27 page “book” about The Vista Community Church. We have our first real membership class this weekend, and this “book” will be what each member receives. It contains basically everything you need to know about The Vista. Beliefs, theology, ministries, history…the whole deal. I realized very clearly over the process of ironing all these things out, that this deal is MUCH bigger than me. I grew more excited with each page, at what the Lord is doing and has done in the life of this Community. I woke up today, after putting the finishing touches on yesterday, to a new realization that the Lord is amazing and ACTIVE. He’s doing SO much more than I could ever comprehend or see. The Vista Community Church is only beginning, and we have so much more to look forward to!
Just like the church, my daughter, and the Lords work in her life, is blowing me away today. Everything about Jessie Rose is SO alive! She’s crawling around so fast we can’t keep up with her. She’s TOTALLY curious about everything. Constantly grabbing and reaching…constantly! Today, I just sat back and watched. I’ve been so overcome with how fast she’s grown, that I don’t think I’ve watched near enough lately. So this morning, for about 30 minutes, I just stared. She played. She sang (lalalalalala). She crawled. She held things up and looked at them for long enough that I almost cried. She’s SO grown up. Yes, I know “grown up” is pretty relative, but in this case, for me, it’s a BIG deal. My daughter is growing into an amazing little girl. The Lord is working in her, and preparing her for LIFE! What a blessing to see!
I’m pretty sure that when all of our “life changes” this past year started to shape up, I got a little frustrated. It all just seemed like so much – so fast. Today, it’s so beautiful and amazing. What a gracious and loving King, and what a beautiful Kingdom. How great to simply be a part!

Of course I have to add pics...

A few of Jessie Rose and her new favorite things...














Note: Jessie Rose in no way
endorses Sprite, or any other
soft drink product.

And no...she didn't ever REALLY drink it.

We had to cancel our Vista church service this morning because of icy roads. I think it was the first time in years that I've not been in church, and really genuinely missed it. At least this morning felt different than any prior non-church-ed day. I think I always had a "guilty" feeling when I spent the a.m. portion of my Sunday outside a church building, but it was never a feeling that extended into the p.m.. I gave the church "hours" the emptiness (sometimes literally) they deserved, and then went about a normal afternoon "guilt"-free. (I will totally acknowledge however, that the aforementioned "guilty" feeling never existed when I missed a service that took place as scheduled in the p.m. portion of my day. Does anyone miss Sunday night church?)

This would have been our 4th official gathering of The Vista Community Church - Bell County. I can confidently say that this is the most excited, and passionate I have ever been about ministry or church. We gather in a local elementary school, along with about 125 folks, and feast at the table of Christian community. We've already experienced quite a few truly amazing things as a family, including a few folks who have given their lives to Christ. Each week is a new adventure for me, generally preceded by a long sleepless night, because I can't wait. It's like Christmas eve all over again. Only this time I'm looking forward to something other than getting more G.I. Joes.

We love our new church family. We missed them today.

But boy did we have fun playing!

I'll break from my sappy, typical daddy sentiments tonight, to share something much less serious.

I like movies. I probably watch far too many of them. Sometimes I feel like I’ve missed so much by not seeing as many as I could. This clash really screws things up for me at times.

I started thinking tonight about a few of my favorite movie moments. Some of my all time favorite movie moments aren’t even found in my all time favorite movies. Sometimes, I just find myself really enjoying a snippet of a movie, and that’s what tonight is about.

A tribute to Will’s Great Movie Moments…(in no particular order)

There's just a few. Don't knock 'em. Go find your own!

One of the major perks of my new job is that I get to office in my home. This affords me a cherished opportunity that most men will never experience full time. I get to be Mr. Mom.

My mornings as Mr. Mom have shown themselves to be nothing short of amazing. JRose and I spend each morning just hanging out, watching cop shows, playing with toys, singing, you know, typical baby stuff. Some of the best parts of the mornings though are much more sweet and quiet. The 2 highlights of my morning are nap time and bottle breakfast.

There's nothing like taking a nap with this girl. No matter where she starts on the bed, she'll always end up snuggled right next to me. It's always a joy to hear her little squeeks and grunts as she sleeps, and then to feel her grab at my beard when she's waking up. Beauty, pure beauty.

Probably my favorite time though, is bottle time. I always set Jessie up in my big chair when I go to get her bottle. She hasn't quite mastered the art of staying upright yet, so usually when I come back, she's slightly tilted over against the armrest. Always smiling. And man, once she see's that bottle, you'd think she was about to explode. She starts wiggling and chattering like crazy. She can't wait to get to that milk. It's always been fun to get to sit over her, holding the bottle and listen to her gulp. She'll always stop 2 or 3 time to smile and talk to me so that I'm well aware of her appreciation. Something different has been happening lately though. Something I'm not quite sure I'm ready for yet.

She not only doesn't need my help holding her own bottle, but now she flat out doesn't want it. She'll snatch that thing right out of my hand.

Next thing I know, she'll be snatching for the keys to my car.

Here we go...

Daddy loves his girl.

I DIG LISTS!

Thanks to my brother, I’ve answered a few questions here for your reading pleasure. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about me!

Four jobs I've had:

1. West Texas Roofer – I, like my “less-chubby” brother endured the West Texas heat for this one. We often left the roof once temperatures topped 120. I actually enjoyed this job. I particularly enjoyed watching the “adult” White brothers throw each other off their parent’s roof while fighting like 10 year old boys.
2. UPS truck loader – I did this one year so that Santa would still visit my wife.
3. American Eagle Outfitters – I spent a few years here before it became the tramp-factory I now only buy my boxers from.
4. Commercial Painter – If you live in an apartment in Lewisville, TX, you might have me to thank for your beautifully painted walls.

Four movies I'd watch on repeat:

1. Tin Cup – What can I say, I love golf.
2. Bottle Rocket – No need for explanation.
3. Walk the Line - Cash. Can't get enough.
4. Lord of the Rings – Any and ALL.

Four TV shows I love:

1. (I’ll just copy my brother here) Random 1: If you ignore everything else I write here, go to this website and make every effort to watch this show. I can't think of a better use of your television.
2. My Name is Earl – I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a TV show as much.
3. Law and Order – ANY of them
4. CSI – between this and #3 show, I think one day I’ll be able to pull off the PERFECT crime!

Four vacation spots I'd love to frequent:

1. Cloudcroft NM. – We have some friends who run a beautiful BnB here. Check it out @ www.waterfalllodge.com
2. Pretty much anywhere in Colorado.
3. Anywhere that I can use a rifle to shoot a deer or one of its relatives.
4. Salt Lake City, Utah

Four websites I visit daily:

1. FoxNews
2. The Craigslist
3. Ebay
4. www.thevistacommunity.com – Just to pinch myself and make sure it’s true.


Four foods I lust for (I dunno about lust, but...)

1. Joe Allen’s Steakhouse Ribeye (Abilene, TX.)
2. Sarton’s Platter Service (Beaumont, TX)
3. My wife’s chicken and dumplings
4. Mamacita’s chips and salsa/green sauce (Kerrville is the best one)

Four changes to my house:

I guess in order to list these, I'd have to actually have a “MY house”. But, just for kicks...

1. I'd add a full on recording studio.
2. Cigar lounge complete with walk in humidor.
3. I’d like my own simulated golf cage from Golfsmith.
4. I’d enjoy having my house surrounded with about 200 acres that many monster whitetail bucks call home.

Four beers I like:

1. I was born with a tragic allergy to 2 main beer ingredients, so I don’t get to like beer at all.


Four tags (which apparently is where I pawn this off on some other suckers):

1. Pez – The most interesting guy I know
2. Erin Gerlt
3. Michael Stone – If you even read this page enough to find this…
4. You, whoever you are.