finite speck

When my kids do things they shouldn't. When they whine. When they throw a tantrum. It is very easy for me to stand up and talk down to them. As if what they are doing is specifically against me. I take it personal way too much. When really it's not. It's not against me at all. It's against God. My wife reminded me the other day very lovingly. You need to calm down and just talk to them. Don't be short with them. And getting down on their level (on my knees) and looking them in the eyes. They can sense the tone in my voice and raising my voice or talking brash doesn't make them want to obey. It makes them want to hold even firmer to their position of defiance. But, at the moment when I'm frustrated and I've asked them to do something and they've said, "No.", it's hard to get low and talk to them. This is something I want to get better at. Because I don't want my kids to be scared of me. I want them to talk to me and ultimately

Do you make a list at the beginning of the week? Do you make a list at the beginning of each day? What goes on your list? How do you decide what's number one? What most important? Would anyone else place importance on the same things that you do? At the end of the week will the things or people that you put first on your list or on your list be what was best? How do you know? Do you ask God that He would help direct your list? Is sharing the gospel on your list? If so, where is it on your list? I was challenged by all of this, this past weekend. Not just how or if I make a list, but also what's at the top of my list when I do make a list. I would say sharing the gospel has never been on the top of my list and I don't know that it's ever really been on a list of mine at all. As my life gets busier, or it seems that way, with kids, my wife, job and family... I see the importance of prioritizing what's important and keeping lists. I also want to prioritize my lis

Marco? Polo. I remember this game as a kid on the swim team, but I just learned in the last couple days that there's an app called Marco Polo and it's actually one I could see myself using. I'm not sure exactly how yet, but it's pretty fun. My brother-in-law asked us to join a group for their family and so far it's pretty random. Like my father-in-law saying things like, "I don't really get this thing." and, "I think I'm getting the hang of this now." But the idea of a video walkie-talkie is pretty cool. I could see setting up small groups to keep people informed could be really valuable. Not sure if it's designed in a way that a business could use it or not since you have to have a phone or email address in order to ask someone to join and then that person has to install the app on their phone. Marco Polo app

Water in the basement. A sick kid. An unplanned task you need to do. The unexpected. How do you handle it? Do you complain? I believe that God has a purpose in everything that happens to each of us. Good or bad. What we have planned or what unexpectedly comes up. Even though I believe this my actions don't portray this in the hard moments. I get stressed out and try to handle it all myself. I tend to think that no one else has experienced it or has it as hard as me at the moment. I rarely think at the moment to ask God for help. When those things come up that are unexpected, know that God is not surprised and has even allowed it to happen for His good purposes.

Trying to figure out branded clothing is a huge challenge. We have a brand that I believe people will wear, but then you have to figure out what they would want to wear our brand on. What color? What style? What brand? What are people willing to pay for it? Then there's not only the challenge of these things, but we have internal employees that all have opinions on clothing as well. They're not the customer... or are they? How do we develop branded clothing that everyone is talking about and wants? Not because it's free, but because it's something they want to wear. They'd actually even pay to have it to wear. That's what I hope to solve this year. We've done anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 articles of branded clothing in a year through our clothing program and I'd like to see us get closer to that 20,000 or more again. We think that one way we'll be able to make this happen is by giving our dealers the ability to co-brand with our brand. Putting t

Easter morning. We're all ready for church and planning to be there on time. We get within about 5 minutes of church and as I'm looking in the rearview mirror I see my son begin to spew all over himself in his car seat. Well, we didn't make it to church on time. Had to make a pit stop at the gas station for a car seat clean out and an outfit change. I'm sure we were entertaining to watch as my wife held Baer with no pants on and I pulled the car seat and began wiping everything down with wipes. Eventually, an older lady came by and offered me a pack wet wipes which I gladly accepted. She said it looked like I could use a few extra! I'm thankful for people that are willing to step out of their comfort zone and offer a little help. You never know what a few wipes could do for somebody's day. We ended up making it to church, but my son and I didn't make it into the service.

Today is April 20th. Our baby is due May 24th. We have 35 days (less probably) until baby Mac is here. And we hope to have our kitchen done before he comes. I have 2 cabinets to still prime and put 2 coats of paint on. Plus, trim to sand, prime and paint. We have to decide on door handles and get them ordered. All of this needs to be done before next weekend. We also need to get venting installed for our microwave. And we want to prime and paint the ceiling so we can install a couple more lights in the kitchen area. And if we can get all that done we also want to have the tile backsplash put up too. 35 days... we'll see if we can make it all happen. The clock is ticking.

We were on a high last night when we got home after selling our old house! We were celebrating with our kids by having corn dogs and were planning to have a relaxing evening at our new house... until I went downstairs to put some stuff away and realized my socks were all wet. We have a totally finished basement and the thought of flooding in the basement with all of the stuff we had down there brought on panic. It was a scramble to start moving stuff, breaking out wet vacs and trying to keep up with the water that the sump pump was not moving out of the house. And I had no idea how to get the pump to work properly. The other issue was it was 5PM and most plumbers are done for the day. So, now I'm trying to get a plumber to come and my pregnant wife and I are trying to shop vac up water and keep our little kids entertained upstairs until a plumber comes to assess the situation and get it fixed. It was a nightmare, BUT it could have been way worse. Sitting here this morning wri

Today is the closing day. This afternoon we hand over the keys to our old house to a new owner. And man does it feel good to know we will only have one home again. Everything in one place. No more trips from one house to other only to forget to bring some of the tools left at the other house. To be able to start really settling in at the new house. We were thankful to not have the pressure of selling our old house prior to buying our new house, but we're glad the back and forth over the last 4 months is over. So long Peoria, hello Morton.

Why do we make our bed if we are going to unmake it every day anyway? Is there value in making your bed? Does it make you a better human? As more of a particular (type A) personality I like having the bed made. It just makes a room feel cleaner. And I prefer getting into a bed that's been made at night, versus having to rearrange the sheets before getting back into bed. That's just me though... my wife is the opposite. But, yesterday the bed was made. I'm usually up in the morning before my wife, hence I don't get to make the call on this decision. Thanks for making the bed babe! A quick search on Google reveals that there's a lot of opinions on why, but not much I skimmed is super convincing one way or the other. Most of the articles tend to lean toward making your bed, being more productive, getting tasks done from the start of the day. But, one article talked about not making your bed because of all of the dust mites that typically are in a bed and by makin

Last night we went through our old house one more time to pack up the things that were still left there. I've been living in that house since 2012. Longer than I've lived anywhere else since living with my parents in Kentucky. It was bittersweet. We had a wonderful block we lived on with some really sweet neighbors. Tom and Laura Wallenfang and Josh and Rachel Carlson have been great neighbors and our kids have enjoyed playing with their kids. It's a surreal feeling when you leave a house you've been in a for a while and you walk through it for the last time with nothing left in it, when there have been so many memories made in it. And the person moving into the house has no idea of any of those memories. The only memory the new person has is that of liking the home the few times they've walked through it.

We're about ready to have our third kid in 5 weeks or so. I'm starting to mentally prepare myself for getting less sleep again. But, wouldn't it be nice if the baby would just sleep through the night, or at least 6 hours or so? I stumbled across this product called the snoo a few weeks ago, which is a bassinette with some high tech built into that sense if your child is crying and begins rocking and making white noise in order to calm the baby and get the baby back to sleep. It sounds like it works really well from the reviews I've read. The biggest barrier is probably cost. The cost to buy one is $1295, but you can also rent them for about $98 a month ($3 a day). If snoo would move a new baby from not sleeping to actually sleeping for 6 to 8 hours I think it would totally be worth the rental cost. I like how this company has latched onto a real problem for parents with a new baby. Sleep. It's a real problem and they have a solution.

I can't seem to select a profile picture that my wife likes. I look too nerdy in the one I have now and before that, I think I may have been too smiley. How much thought do you put into selecting a profile picture for social media? How often do you change your picture? I think mine stayed the same for about 5 years until I just changed it a few weeks ago... it's not something I think about a lot, but after we had a photo taken at work I thought it would be a good time to change it up. A quick search has plenty of pointers on choosing a profile photo and the consistent themes are showing your face, smiling, and using the same photo on all platforms your on.

"I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction 'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try I can't get no, I can't get no" The Rolling Stones "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:11 Just reminded that nothing in this world can or ever will fully satisfy. There are moments of satisfaction, but not lasting moments. There is only one who will forever satisfy. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:35

One of the largest investors in our parent company was at our office last week and at the end of the meetings, the one thing he asked for from our general manager was if he could get some Precision Planting stickers. Stickers. What is it about them that's so universal? Doesn't matter if you're a little kid or CEO of a large organization, humans like them. Not every sticker though... it seems as though there needs to be some sort of connection to what's on the sticker. A brand, a mantra, a character. Stickers came up a while ago within our company and I kind of brushed it aside, but within the last 2 years, I've fully embraced the sticker. They're low cost, easy to get professionally made, and very few people will ever turn down a sticker. Looking for a good place to get quality stickers made? Check out Sticker Mule , they make awesome stuff.

I talked to a co-worker that's getting ready to leave our company and has started his own window cleaning business, called Tristar Window Cleaning. He gets marketing. And he wants to keep learning more about it. He just started his company last fall and is already seen by his customers as larger than he is. He has a professional looking logo, a website, branded clothing, and a branded vehicle... and he does amazing work cleaning windows. He's learning that it's all about the customer. Connecting with the customer and that what's the most rewarding for him. Plus, he already is seeing how a good review from an existing customer on his work speaks volumes for his business as others read the reviews to help them make a decision on what window cleaning service to go with. Looking for a window cleaner for your business? Tristar is all about exceptional service and the cleanest windows you can get in the area. Tristar Window Cleaning

Why is it that universally we don't like to get in front of a camera and start talking? Why do we get nervous? Why does our heart race? Why do we forget what we know we want to say? Why is it that a camera can do these things to us? It's the fight or flight response that's natural to all of us. It's how your body reacts when it perceives it's in danger. And the danger in front of the camera is really the fear of the unknown of what will happen when it goes out into the world. Here's a good article breaking it all down. Stage Fright When We Turn on the Camera

The whole process of selling or purchasing a home is different than most other purchases you make. The buyer has a set starting number. Then the seller typically comes in with a number lower than the asking price. All the numbers are hopefully based on whatever is defined as the area/neighborhood. Then the seller can come back dropping their number down some, to which the buyer can come back and raise their number some. Eventually, they meet somewhere in the middle. Then you throw in the real estate agents which are like advisors and the actual negotiators in the deal and it gets a little crazy. The process is not simple. It's complicated. Why does it have to be this way? Maybe because there's a lot of risk on both sides. The risk for the seller if they have to continue to hold on to the home, the risk for the buyer if they end up buying a place that has a lot of unforeseen work that needs to be done. What if you couldn't do any countering? Buy the house at the price

Do you ask for feedback? Or do you just run with it? How do you know your instinct is right in making a decision? Do you value other people's opinions? Or do you believe you have enough information to move forward on your own? Do you have time to ask for other people's feedback? These are all great questions to be asking as you go through the process of pushing something out into the world. I'm thinking specifically about marketing, but this could apply to more than marketing. Getting feedback can be tough. Asking the right people can be even tougher, but I believe getting some feedback and truly listening to the feedback is important in trying to make work better. It takes time... your time and someone else's time. So, make sure you ask the right questions. Make sure you thank them for their time. Make others believe that they are being heard. After all, that's what you're saying you want when you ask for feedback. As I type on my blog I noticed there&#

Should my kids at some point start having chores? Should they receive some sort of payment for doing them? I remember having to make sure and empty the garbage, take out the trash, and mow the yard as some of my jobs growing up and I got an allowance each week for doing the chores. Every year my allowance increased based on my age, but I'm not sure if the jobs necessarily increased. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and his family gives each kid an extra chore every year... kind of a birthday present I guess. And the reward is screen time, no money. For some of their kids, it works well. For others not much.