I. Love. Lists. (and jackets).

So here's another list:

1) Last Friday Christy and I celebrated TEN YEARS of marriage.  Ten whole years! Can you believe it!?!  I can't...time has flown by so quickly...I celebrated my 30th b-day and 10 year anniversary in the matter of the same 6 days.  Wow. So after ten years, I do have something to say to the 11.5 people that read this thing: 

INVEST IN YOUR MARRIAGE.

Having a good marriage is not a cake walk.  Maintaining a good marriage is like maintaining a car.  What happens if you never maintain your vehicle? It eventually breaks down, costs a lot to fix, and/or breaks beyond repair. A good marriage will not last if it's ignored.  You need to work on it.  You need to put in the right kind of fuel.  You need to get new tires and brakes every once and a while...and other miscellaneous car terminology goes here.  Carberator.  Spark Plugs.  Clutch.  Ummm...

Like anything that is good in life, it takes hard work and ongoing commitment.  Don't expect that you can use cruise control in your relationship with your spouse.  It doesn't work, GUARANTEED.

So this past week my parents were generous enough to come down and spend five days with our boys so Christy and I could get out of town and be together.  We went to Vegas and stayed for four nights in a few different hotels (Venetian, Bellagio, and Trump International to be exact) and got to eat out at tasty restaurants and see the Cirque Du Soleil LOVE show featuring music from The Beatles.  We saved up money for several months for the trip, and we knew it was going to be expensive, but it was WORTH it.  It was a solid investment into our relationship as friends and spouses.  And although we could never afford to do something like that every year,  it was a blast!  Take the time and money to INVEST in your marriage--and not just once every ten years--do it often!  It's totally worth it.

2) Christmas came early this year for Nathaniel & Noah:
Since my parents were here the whole week, they decided to give the kids their Christmas present early and get an 11' trampoline for our backyard.  The kids LOVE it...
But that's not all...they also laid sod in the backyard, along with 1/2 ton of pea gravel and a clubhouse made out of a refrigerator box for the boys.  N & N must have been in heaven all week...Our backyard was previously a pile of dirt with a strange brick patio in the middle of it, and now it's a magical place of jumpiness.  Noah keeps asking for just a feeeeeeeeeewwwwwww more minutes???!?

3) Ah shoot.  I ran out of things on my list. 

This week my wife and I celebrate 10 years of being married.  Yahoo!

Looking back, it sure seems like time has flown by...it certainly doesn't feel like I've been married for ten years...

BUT then I start thinking back to the late 90s and I realize that it WAS a long time ago that I was in college and playing piano for the Covina High School choirs, or that I was teaching my first year at Mother Lode Christian School...those things feel like EONS ago.  So I guess it has been a long time!

Well, I really have to say congrats to my wife for putting up with me for this long.  I am NOT the easiest guy to live with; she has endured my stubbornness and crankiness. 

She deserves a medal or something.

Bottom line people--marriage is hard work, but there's nothing else like it in the world and it's well worth it the effort.
If you're married, don't forget to keep working on it.  You don't just go into cruise control after the honeymoon--you still need to put in some EFFORT.  Make your spouse feel loved and cherished.  Keep learning about each other.  Have patience, be humble, and be forgiving.

You can do it!

LOVE.

You Are So Old from Travis Cottrell on Vimeo.

This weekend I will pass a milestone birthday: 20....wait, 30...Whoops...GEEZ...I can't even type it...

...which means only one thing: My parents are getting reeeeeeeeeallly old!

Well, here's the truth--as much as I have made a big deal about turning 30, I'm not really sad about it.  Only a little. 
My twenties have been good to me, and I've learned a lot of great life lessons in the past ten years that I will share with you now (in true bloggity form) and in no particular order:

1) You Don't Know All That You Think You Know

When I got out of college, I pretty much thought I knew it all.  I was pompous, haughty, and often frustrated with others that weren't on the same "let's hurry up and change the world right NOW" path as I was.  I was an idiot.  Just ask poor Michael Roberson who had to deal with me that year...The more time that went by, the more I realized I didn't know jack squat about life.  Even now, I continue to find this the case---the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know anything. 

2) Husband and Father Are Job Number #1

It is hard being a good husband (I know, because I stink at it most of the time) and it's HARD being a good dad (again, working on it) but these are the most important roles I will ever play in my life.  It's possibly the hardest thing ANY guy will ever do...which is why so many fail.  But in all of my dealings as a pastor or friend over the past ten years, I've noticed that the bulk of issues that individuals deal with in their lives stem from bad dads and or bad marriages.   I know I'm being super general here--and I'm trying to be--but let me just say this: I've grown keenly aware that the way I treat my wife and kids RIGHT NOW will impact them forever.  Believe me, I've already seen my greatest weaknesses personified in my sons, and it scares me...

3) Relationships Matter Most

It doesn't matter what you know.  Who are your friends?  How is your family? (Wow, that sounds trite when I read it back...but I really do believe it's true.  You can tell a lot about a person by what kind of company they keep).

The most profound moment on The Office takes place during an episode titled, "Business School".  In this episode, Ryan hurts Michael's feelings by saying--in front of his whole class at business school--that the paper business will be obsolete in 5 years.  Michael gets mad and storms out of the classroom...later on in the episode, just when you think he's going to fire Ryan, he says something deeply profound to this young salesman.  He says, "It's about people, Ryan--people.  And people never go out of business."
Tru dat, fools. 

If you want to improve your life, work on your relationships with others.

4) Shutup and Listen

I don't ever learn anything when I'm the one doing the talking.  It pays to listen to those older and wiser than you.  Also, I'm not a big fan of interrupting.  Sometimes you just need to shut up and listen.

5) Laziness Doesn't Put Food on the Table

Work hard, peeps, otherwise you're going to go hungry.  Gone are the days of the cushy jobs with big salaries.  Nobody can afford that anymore.  You're going to have to earn your keep.  So work hard.

I think I might have some more in me, but I fear I'm starting to sound like a Tony Robbins book on tape or something.
Ugh.

In closing, let me say this:
Thank you to all that have been a friend in the past 10 years.  I'm grateful for you and the role you've played during my twenties.  Let the next decade be even more glorious!
Hoorah!

If you've ever doubted the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, I'm here to tell you folks...
IT'S FOR REAL.

This is what happens when you accidentally leave your carved pumpkins sitting on the studio porch when you fly to Nashville for 9 days then drive to San Diego for 2...then come back home...

Nathaniel loves babies.  He's adorable when he gets around them...so sweet and tender. 

We spent a day in Alabama visiting Dustin and Joli (and Ryli and Silas and Baby Malachi), and Nathaniel OUT OF THE BLUE comes up to me while we're paying for lunch at the Cracker Barrel--and this is the conversation that transpired:

"Dad, can you get your stuff back?"

"What stuff?"

"Your stuff.  Can you get your stuff back?"

"Nathaniel, what are you talking about? What stuff?"

"Your baby stuff.  I WANT A BABY SISTER!!"

(shocked and awed)
"No, honey.  NO."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Just want to post a few pics for your enjoyment:

At the Burbank airport on the way to Nashville.

Rhythm Recording day at Ocean Way, Studio B

My sweet, sweet family on Day 3 of recording.

Aren't we a handsome bunch?

Some of the kids singing on Day 3

Day 4 of recording: drama and solos

Kids on Day 4

Nathaniel getting ready to read a drama part for the play.  This was his little cubby for the day.

Noah, Silas, Nathaniel, & Ryli in Alabama

We'll be home in a couple of days! See you all soon

People are having babies left and right. 

A week or so ago, Christy's brother's wife had a baby.

We visited some people this morning that had a newborn.

And our friend Melody had a baby on Saturday.

We showed the kids a picture of Melody's newborn and Noah turns to Christy and says, "WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WITHOUT A BABY!!"

HAHAHA!

No Noah.  YOU'RE the baby.  Except now you're 6 years old.  And we're DONE having babies.  Forever.

Sorry, bud.

I can't think of any more efficient and proper way to do this except to make a list.  So here goes nothin...

1) Melody and Chris had their baby today.  Congrats to baby Bennett!  He'll always be Humperdink Holz to me...we're sad to not be there to support them in this new part of their life.  But I guess there's always next weekend...

2) Scott Douglas got married today.  I'm SO sorry that I missed your wedding, Scott.  You are a dear friend and I am bummed to not share this happy day with you and your new bride.  Many blessings on you both, I'm so happy you found each other!

3) I have successfully not eaten sweets for several months now, and I've shed 25 lbs as a result of my discipline.  After going a few months STRICTLY not eating desserts, I resolved to eat one every now and again on special occasions--birthdays, meals with others where it would be socially awkward to decline, and so on...but it seems like this week there has been a "special occasion" every freaking day.    Not that I want to be obsessive about it, I just don't want to "fall off the wagon" (so to speak).  I feel much better when I'm NOT habitually eating sweets--physically and mentally.  It makes a huge difference in my blood sugar when I consume something with the simple carbs/sugars.  I can feel the sugar rush and drop.  It's no fun and something I don't want to be in my life on a regular basis.  I need to be a taaaaaad more disciplined this coming week...

4) Our Nasvhille trip is going SMASHINGLY.  I cannot wait for you all to hear the tracks.  Our experience here is coming to a close, but it has been more awesome than we could have imagined.  We feel tremendously blessed and honored to be doing this...

5) For some reason, I forgot to pack socks.  I have no white socks, no black socks...no NOTHING, except the ones I was wearing.  I was going to buy some more, but I've been busy in the studio, so I've worn the same pair like 20 times in a row...I guess their going to be my "lucky socks" from now on.  I'll only wear then to Nashville.  HAHA.  No really, I need to get some today.  The Great Sock Debacle of 2009 needs to end.  Now.

We're headed out in just minutes...
I guarantee we'll face the inevitable questions from Christy...

Did I forget to unplug the curling iron?
Did we leave the stove on?
Is the front door locked?

No, No, and Yes.  It's alllllll good...

I feel like we've been packing and preparing for this trip for YEARS, so I definitely feel ready...

I even called ahead to confirm car rental and hotel reservations. 

We could barely sleep last night.
SO EXCITED!!