finite speck

Yesterday I went on a walk with our youngest for about an hour to just let my wife rest while the other two kids were sleeping. I walked on some roads I hadn't ever walked on before. But, right at the very end of the walk, I saw this animal walking through a big open grassy area only a block from our house. It looked like a dog, but as we got closer I realized it was a large fox. So, like most people anymore when you see something you don't normally see you whip out your phone and start taking pictures or a video to document it and share it with other people. I think it's about the closest that I've ever been to a fox out in the "wild".

So you're going to interview someone for a job. What kind of questions do you ask? Obviously, the interviewee needs to have a certain skill set in order to do their job, but beyond that how do you get at their personality, their motivators, what they would be like to work with? I think where I'm landing is you want to ask questions like... "Tell me a time where you failed at your job. What was it like? What did you do?" or "What are things that you value in a team culture?" Asking questions that are personal in nature and get to how they interpret a question versus something that is leading and seems to maybe have a right and wrong answer. Ultimately you don't want the person you're interviewing to just give you answers that you want to hear, because that's going to blow up later if it's not true for them.

I've written about this before. I'm a task-oriented person. I can easily find value in accomplishing a task. And I don't think that getting tasks done is a bad thing. The challenge for me is taking a break from tasks and spending time with people. Many times when I come home and if I look around I start to see tasks that I'd like to get accomplished. The yard needs to get mowed. The ceiling needs to get repainted. I should put the rest of the things in the garage away. I'd like to reorganize a closet. Or I want to pick up things in the basement. My list gets long really quickly. It's challenging for me. If it get it that mode it's easy for me to keep going and after accomplishing one task and I want to do another one. But, going back to spending time with people, my wife has helped me see the huge value in people... much more than tasks. People have an eternal soul, something that a task will never have. And I want to make sure that I keep that in mind a

When something is brand new there's an element that's exciting about it, but there's also an element about that new thing that's scary as well. What made me think of this was my son last night as he went to a new kids program at a local church in our area. He's two and half, but he understood that he was going to a place that his sister had been a few times before and he knew it was similar to the nursery at the church we go to. He knew he would have teachers, but he didn't know exactly what it would be like. He was excited to go. When we talked about it throughout the day he wanted to make sure that he got to go. He asked questions about it. When we got there there was excitement about getting to go to this new program. But, once we got my son into the room he got scared. He started crying. He wanted me to hold him. What happened? The room wasn't that different from other rooms he had been in before in nursery. But, there wasn't anyone in the room h

How many apps do you have on your phone? Do you know? How many should you have? I have 127 apps, plus the apps that came on my iPhone from Apple. That's a lot of apps. I'm surprised actually. There are only 4 screens that all of those apps fit in I believe. Do I use all of those apps regularly? No. Which apps do I use the most? Which ones are my go-to apps when I'm "bored"? Typically it's Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter first. Then Marco Polo if there's something new that someone's shared... or I might check my personal email to just see if there's something I need to respond to. I might then go the stock app, or my banking app. The other apps that I've gravitated more to have been around habits or points. Like Virgin Pulse where I receive money for reporting information on my health or the Habit app where I can keep track of things like whether I blogged today or anything else that I deem as important to keep track of. So what's my

The worst part of vacation is going back to work and having 100s of emails to catch up on. I've been dreading it. So yesterday I got in at normal time and started cranking away at it. I've still got over 200 to go through as of this morning, but I made some progress. I don't know if I've complained about email before on this blog, but I wish there was a better way to handle email. To clean it up. To prioritize it. A way that was so smart that email knew if it was something I had any interest in or not. That is was smart enough to prioritize my email based on what had to be taken care of and what didn't. I don't know if email will ever get there. It seems like a long way off. Maybe there's something that's already out there, but it seems like it will have to be a totally new system. I've been using Spark because I liked how it worked and it seemed like maybe it would save me a little more time. But, I'm not sure that it's any better than G

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express & Suites on our way home from Gulf Shores this past weekend and when I walked in the lobby I was surprised to see my name on a whiteboard. "Guest of the day Alex N." is what it read. So, I said why is my name on the whiteboard? What does "Guest of the Day" mean? So I found out the staff has an app and everyday anyone who is an IHG member gets put in to be randomly selected to be the guest of the day. Not all hotels do this, but they do it to try and get more people to become members as well as to get good reviews. At least that's what the lady at the front desk told me. I think it's a great idea though. Coming in after a day of travel with little kids and seeing your name on a board with guest of the day, getting some extra points and an upgrade to a nicer room where all welcome perks to being an IHG member. I'll take it. Thanks, Holiday Inn Express & Suites! The other thing that I'd never seen before

My mom turns 69 today. So thankful for her life. I can't imagine how different it would have been to be born in a rural area in the 1950s. As I sit here in our condo with most of our family, my sisters, parents, and our kids it is so different in 2019 than 1950. I'm thankful for the faith of my mom and her care for our families. I'm thankful for her prayers for me and our family. I know that she prays for us every day... there is no doubt in my mind. Also thankful for the marriage of my parents. They are in their late 60s and still devoted to one another. Again 2019 is a lot different than 1950 in America, where there is now much less commitment to marriage and even the attempt to redefine what marriage even is. I'm thankful for the way that my mom shared the gospel with us as kids through her life and reading God's word.

This morning we found out we had ants in our condo. And not just in the condo, but in a couple of the beds. Earlier this week my son had what kind of looked like a couple of small bites a couple different places on his body. Then this morning my sister showed us some bites in a similar spot that looked basically the same. We found out that they were the ants that were in their beds. Ants bite in bed. Who knew. So, we opened up the covers and my sister's bed had a probably a dozen running around under the sheets. After that, I did a Walmart run for some ant bait and ant spray. You never know what you'll wake up to in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow morning no one wakes up with any new bites on them.

Why does a vacation with little kids feel more like a marathon? We're halfway through right now and each day is so good, but also at times it's a lot of work... Spit up all over you, changing poopy underwear/swim diapers, tired kids that go to bed later and get up earlier, some of the biggest smiles I've ever seen, some of the cutest laughs, some of the saddest cries, learning to swim better, fun conversation late at night, wanting to get up early to have some good alone time but struggling to make it happen later in the week, walking on the beach,... It really has been a good trip. So thankful that we can do it with our kids and my sisters' families and our parents. And yes, it is a gradual wear down over the week. Like our General Manager says at my office, "It's not a vacation, it's a trip." It's work, but it's worth it. And somehow with young kids, you still survive.

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses Well... I had written some good stuff and it didn't save. argh... But, basically, I was reminded of this quote when I watched my son experience the ocean on his feet for the first time. He had the biggest smile on his face yesterday and it made me think that I could have never convinced of him of the joy of that moment by talking about it. He had to experience it. And similarly, but not exactly, we can't hardly imagine the joy that is offered to us through Christ. We are far too easily pleased by the pleasures of this world. Help me know what is meant by a h

It's the second day of our vacation, but the first day where we're actually at our destination. We're staying in a condo with 3 full baths and 7 beds I think. We have my family of 5, my sisters' of 5, and my parents here right now and it's tight. But, it's also quiet right now at 6:45am. I'm just waiting to hear the pitter-patter of little feet coming down the stairs, but for now, I'm enjoying the quiet time. I'm about to grab a coffee. It's a fight to get up on vacation with 3 little kids when one is a baby so you also got interrupted sleep and the other 2 didn't wind down until about 10pm. It's worth it though once you're up and it's quiet and you can read, or relax a little before the day really starts... God help me in this week to love my wife, kids, and family well. To think of others, not myself. To talk about you and to grow in relationship. Help to use the quiet times well.

What makes a good host? We're staying at my sister's for a night and they are great hosts. You can tell they do it based on how they have things set up. My wife and I stayed in their guest room and even though we didn't need it, they had snacks in the room and new toothbrushes in the bathroom. It feels almost like a nice hotel or bed and breakfast, but better. My sister also knew our family gets up early and so she had donuts sitting out and a note letting us know where everything was for breakfast. I think when you think of what makes a good host. In my opinion, a good host makes you feel at home in their home.

What to write? After being up since 2am this morning and driving for about 10 hours and it now being 9pm I'm not sure. I've listened to maybe 5 different podcasts, made multiple fast food stops, and to top it off after we got to my sister's place my son pooped his pants... twice. My wife and I are wiped tonight and ready for some rest. Thank God for rest. That he designed us to be able to be refreshed after exhausting days and wake up renewed. Looking forward to tomorrow.

It's always tough for me to get out of the office on time the day before vacation... But, today I had a doctor appointment at 2:05pm, so there was a push to get out on time. You can't be late for a doctor appointment. So, it was still a push to get things done before I left and there were still things that came up even on my way to the doctor, but I made it out on time and I'm sitting in the waiting room right now after my appointment waiting to have my labs done. In less than 12 hours we'll be on the road heading down to Gulf Shores. I'm ready. We'll see how a week with 12 kids and 6 adults goes. It's two kids to each adult and the oldest kid is probably about 10. Gonna be a wild week! Hopefully we a couple hours of relaxation.

Monday morning the local Morton Pumpkin Festival parade was 6 days away and I saw people beginning to put out chairs, ropes, tape, and anything else to reserve their spot along the road for watching the parade. This year I even saw a lawn chair with jumper cables attached to it and the jumper cables attached to another chair reserving someone's spots along the parade route. These people in the town of Morton are crazy about making sure they have a place along the parade route to watch the parade.

Well, I said I'd help switch out some light fixtures. And I'm still working on switching out some light fixtures. So far I've been over, switching out light fixtures 3 different days I believe. It's not something that's super hard, but you do run into issues like not having the right screw, losing a small piece, or the fixture after hanging it not being the one that your mother-in-law likes. I'm glad I'm able to help and it really doesn't bother me, but like just about any house project I've ever worked on, and this is no exception, it always takes longer than you think. Because the unexpected always ends up happening.

Yesterday at church there was a family that came in and sat a couple rows in front of us. The youngest son had his button-up shirt on totally inside out. And as I saw it, I thought to myself maybe I should offer to help him go somewhere to get it fixed. A couple minutes later I saw him leave with his older sister and then they came back and his shirt was fixed. Maybe this seems like a silly story and I myself am wondering why it got my attention yesterday. I think part of it is that this family lost their dad earlier this year. And also that this young boy has down syndrome. I'm sure that this year has been challenging. A shirt that was put on inside out isn't that big of a deal in comparison to the things they've faced in this past year. Should I have offered to help him with his shirt? Maybe instead of worrying about his shirt I should have just introduced my family to this family and been friendly after the service. The other thing that stood out with this sister

Our life is much more documented even if we are blogging, journaling, podcasting, or doing something else on a daily basis... We have years of emails (most likely), we have years of calendar events (unless they automatically get deleted), we have many things digitally that people used to not have. We have years and years of photos on our phones and/or online. We may forget in our heads, but a lot we can go back to. I was trying to remember how things were for me about 10 years ago. And they were a lot different. I was working at a large agency in Chicago on TV commercials and I was dating a girl up there. I had a ton of free time and did basically whatever I wanted. Fast-forward 10 years and I'm married to a different girl from central Illinois, living in central Illinois, have 3 kids under the age of 5, working for an agricultural company and living in a small town that I was born in of around 15,000 people. Now, I don't have a lot of free time and definitely, don't ge

I'm sitting in our living room and kitchen space this morning and it's mostly empty except for a couple couches and a recliner that need to get moved. We have a couple guys coming to redo the finish of our ceiling. I'm sure they're not excited about doing it, but they're redoing it. They do really good work and we had them do a ton of plaster and drywall work at our old house. But, in this instance, they took a short cut and tried to feather in some texture on the ceiling where we had knocked out a couple walls and it's very noticeable right now. I called them up and asked if they'd come to take a look at it after we'd painted the ceiling. They did. And they agreed that it didn't look very good. So, we're going through the redo right now for the next two days. Hopefully, it looks way better this time. Oh, and instead of taking a short cut again... this time they're going to do the entire ceiling, so it all looks the same. Sometimes shor

Solve interesting problems. I heard this in a podcast by Seth Godin yesterday in reference to how to we help our kids succeed. And I think there's a lot to it. I'll summarize by saying that the thought is most of the learning that goes on in academia is memorizing things that have an answer that is easy to just look up and doesn't necessarily help in figuring out a solution. There's just one answer and the teacher knows what it is. Seth's point was, give your kids problems where the answer isn't clear. Even where there might not be a best answer, but a lot of good answers and they need to be proved out. Where your kids can fail. It got me thinking, that even with my young kids I need to give them things where the project isn't just all prescribed for them, but they have the freedom to try different ways of doing it... so they learn. I tried this out last night and asked my daughter to come up with a way to count down the days until we leave for our tri

3 days ago we had our biggest sales week ever and also our biggest one day of sales ever and I had no idea until I got back into the office on Tuesday. I was kind of surprised to not have heard anything about it, but the sales totals came together at midnight on Friday (I was fast asleep) and it was Labor Day weekend, so I wasn't back in the office until Tuesday. Plus, I didn't check email over the weekend. But, what would have changed had I known earlier? There would have been some excitement. I would have wanted to tell someone about it. I'm glad I got to hear the awesome company results. I'm glad I also didn't stay up super late. And I'm actually kind of glad that I got to hear it from someone else and was surprised... it made the event of hearing the news a little more fun than just looking it up myself.

"Dad, do you know what you're doing?", my daughter said. I stopped what I was doing and looked at my little 4-year-old girl, shocked that I heard those words come out of her mouth. And I can't remember exactly what I said next, but I think it was something like... "Josie you should never say that to a man when he's working on a house project." My next thought was where did she pick that up from? I know I've heard my mother-in-law say it before and I think I've heard my wife say it before too. But I never expected my four-year-old would already be saying it. Did I look like I didn't know what I was doing as I was hanging a new light fixture? What is it about someone questioning us when we're doing something that just gets us? I know pride plays a big role and when I know what I'm doing (I've done it before) it's even tougher to hear. I think part of it is in the questioning of knowing what you're doing that hints at m

Well, I spent a good 30 minutes just scrolling the social slot machine after I got up and kicking myself now because my kids are up and I didn't make time to write. I can so quickly get sucked into the infinite scroll and really not gain much of anything at all. Motorcycle stunt driver video, photos from some random talented photographer, recipe videos, the list goes on and on and at the end a lot of times there's really very little gained. What if instead of the infinite social scroll on the social slot machines we worked on work that our families could benefit from? What if we instead thought about how we could lead our families well? I know I don't spend an exorbitant amount of time on my phone, roughly an hour a day, and much of that is probably social media, but what if I got that hour back and instead dedicated that to leading my family spiritually?

I got a thumbs up from my wife yesterday. Multiple times. And I've got to say it feels good. A couple days ago she had talked about cutting down a bush in the backyard that was just taking up space. So, yesterday I borrowed my father-in-law's chainsaw and cut it down. While I was working on it a couple different times my wife popped her head out the window and gave me a thumbs up and said, "Looks good." And I agree. It feels like we a lot more yard with the large bush cut down. So what's my point? Give somebody a thumbs up. Give someone encouragement. I know not it's not everybody's thing to like encouragement... or a thumbs up, but I believe most people appreciate it.