Terrific birthday gift

I cannot believe that I failed to mention a terrific birthday gift that I received from my dear wife. She surprised me with the gift during a scavenger hunt through her parent's house in Ft. Worth. At the end of this little adventure waited two floor tickets for the Switchfoot/Relient K Appetite for Construction Tour.

The concert was the very same week as my comprehensive exams, yet I was not going to miss this opportunity for the world. We were joined by my good friend Josh and his fiance Kati. This tour was the fourth time that I had seen Relient K in concert and the first time that I have seen Switchfoot. Relient K is always awesome in concert. They can blend a tight, professional performance yet never abandon the garage band feel. I truly believe that they are one of the most talented bands in mainstream music today.

To get a sample of their greatness, here they are performing a cover of a Beach Boy classic.




Switchfoot was also amazing. I always believed that The Beautiful Letdown was an amazing album but admittedly I was never very big on them. But, things are changing after their very entertaining set. Below is the acoustic version of their biggest hit.

What would we do without Microsoft Word?

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of." -- Burt Bacharach.

Those busy doctors

"A man goes to the doctor and the doctor said that he has 'bad' and 'worse' news for him. He says, 'Well, what is the bad news, Doc?' The doctor responds 'You only have 24 hours to live.' The patient then inquires 'Well, what is the worse news?' The doctor says, 'I forgot to call you yesterday.'" -- Daniel Whitney

The Depreciation of Marriage

Marriage is receiving a bad rap these days. When Lydia and I announced our engagement, certain friends were quick to offer their congratulations yet followed these formalities up with concerns. These questions were well-founded and were mainly asked for curiosity sake, such as: "What about school?" "Are your families okay with this?" "Will you be receiving pre-marital counseling?" and so on. After answering these concerns of our close friends they were quick to announce their excitement for our nuptials and were there to support us on our wedding day.

There were others, however, that loved to insert their unsolicited opinion and stand on their soap boxes to declare that our intentions were foolish. (The majority of these individuals incidentally [which were a small faction to begin with] openly scoff at the notion of marriage by indulging in all the benefits that the institution entails but without the formal commitments.) However, I do not necessarily hold these opinions against them. We are inundated with a culture who sees marriage as an oppressive captivity symbolized by the proverbial ball and chain. Just consider two cinema releases in the year 2007 alone: Chris Rock's I Think I Love My Wife and Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? If I had to guess, both of these films probably ended with a reconciliation between the astranged partners and it ended "happily ever after". However, the fact that these "comedies" grossed over $67 million bearing such titles is a testamony within itself.

I insisted that these naysayers who were susceptible to this negative culture did not know what they were talking about for Lydia and I had a secret weapon. That is, a marriage that would be founded in Christ. However, scattered statistics have been reported to say that Christians get divorced at a higher rate than atheists and agnostics. However, this is not surprising when the majority of the population claim to be Christians but have never walked inside the doors of a church, let alone harbor a covenant relationship with Christ.

I could not agree more that marriage is a serious commitment and that it should not be taken lightly. If you can not sense an overwhelming spirit of self-sacrifice within your intended, you may want to strongly consider the prospect of marriage. If you are the type that constantly argues, "I like me and I am not going to change" then marriage is not right for you. You must change this attitude before you can ever consider. The Beatles may have it right when they say All you need is love but it is imperative for that love to be grounded in Christ. Period.

Marriage is not something to be feared, but respected. I just wish someone told me earlier how great it truly is. Words cannot express the fun that Lydia and I are having. Even brushing one's teeth is a new experience with the love of your life by your side. You may argue, "Ha! You are in the honeymoon stage. Things will change when you hit that first major dip" and you may be right. However, Lydia and I strive to be under the obedience of Christ and agree to live with each other in an understanding way. We will be ready for those dips for our house is built on the solid foundation. This makes all the difference.

Reading all of the Dr. Phil books in the world cannot save a marriage. Only one book can.

Quote by our Pastor

"Nobody watches soaps because of the good acting."

[Laughter]

"They watch it because it feels a void in their life of romance and relationships that they don't have. You may say, 'Ha! I would never do that.' TV, in general, fills that void for you. You get your emotional fulfillment from either lusting after or crying with people that don't even exist."

-- 11/25/2007 sermon by Chris Riser

Oh, the joy of capitalism

Before Lydia and I traveled to the Dirty South, we decided to see what all of the Black Friday buzz was about. In need of a new camera, we decided to take advantage of one of Wal-Mart's 5AM sales. We knew that it was going to be unlike the everyday run to Wal-Mart for bread and milk, we did not know that it was going to be an absolute madhouse.

We woke up at 4AM hoping to beat some of the Black Friday traffic. When walking in the parking lot to Wal-Mart we noticed that people were actually running into the store. (I, personally, do not care if they were selling Apple Iphones for .99, I would not demote myself to running into a department store.) While Lydia and I were strolling in the parking lot, my beautiful bride was almost clipped by an SUV rushing for a parking space.

The scene inside was just as ridiculous. It appeared that these people really believed that Christmas happiness could be won if they muscled themselves towards the better deals. Lydia and I easily secured what we went in for, browsed the store a bit, observed human nature at its worst, and left for breakfast.

Now, do not get me wrong. As a morning person, I see nothing wrong with getting up early and enjoying some good deals. I was, however, disgusted by much of the greed that was present in the store. There is something wrong when human beings are herded down aisles like a bunch of cattle and when one accidentally gets elbowed an apology is no where to be found because common courtesy may slow one down from buying that printer/scanner combo.

As a capitalist, I say 'good for Wal-Mart' for creating a sale that many of its shoppers enjoy. As a human being, I say 'shame on you' for my fellow Americans' clear display of greed. A sale on Dvd camcorders is no excuse to abandon all civility.

Tour de South

Lydia and I have done our fair share of traveling during the month of November. According to my quick calculations, we have flown and driven around 3050 miles during this month. Of course all of this excessive traveling was due to very important events to in my new family.

The first round of traveling (Knoxville-Charlotte-Fort Worth-Lubbock-Fort Worth-Charlotte-Knoxville) was due to the long awaited marriage of Lydia's brother Donald to his college sweetheart Danielle. As weddings are often makeshift family reunions, it was great meeting some of Lydia's family/friends that I have never met before. It was a great trip but we are finding it more and more difficult to say goodbye to Steve and Mo. In fact, the highlight of the trip was seeing Steve--former tennis player of the Air Force Academy--playing my Nintendo Wii. It was hilarious seeing him run all over the living room chasing the 3D ball. What a blast!

--

The second round of travelling was our annual (I think a tradition is officially forming here) post-Thanksgiving Day trip to Atlanta to visit Lydia's Uncle Don and her Aunt Lisa. On each trip to visit one of my many in-laws it feels like I am becoming more and more apart of the Freggens/Skidmore families. I brought the Nintendo Wii along on this trip as well and Don's four children (Marjorie, Drew, Boyd, and Max) loved it. I am beginning to think that my new family only loves me for my Nintendo. Unfortunately, Lydia and I did not take pictures of this particular visit, but I did post pictures from Thanksgiving 2006.

Lydia and I are becoming quite the nation-trotters, so you may want to watch out for us in a town near you.

Honeymoon quote

On the way to our destination...

"A cotton museum?! That would be really cool!...No, wait a minute. That would actually be quite boring." --Kevin

Dolly Evans/Breaking-and-entering--A typical Friday evening

This evening Lydia and I had a delightful time in each other's company. With her sporadic work schedule and my hectic academic calendar, it has been awhile since she and I got to spend some quality time together. Yet, as mentioned, we remedied this problem last evening. After having an amazing dinner (cooked by Lydia) of beef stew and Waldorf salad, we spent time with our pets. Well, they are not actually our pets, as those who have visited us can confirm. They are our neighbors' two dogs: Dolly--a golden retriever--and Rocket a Gordon Settler. Though it is always questionable to show favoritism towards a family member, Lydia and I have both confirmed that Dolly is our favorite. (Rocket is a beautiful dog and all, but she is just a bit socially awkward.) Here is a picture of Dolly on our porch, and the picture below it reveals her one true passion--a game of fetch. Dolly loves to jump off the side of our mountain in pursuit of her ball. She is a great companion up here on the mountain.

As the third picture can confirm, there was an unpleasant interruption to our evening. It appears that our bathroom door became locked and we had no way of unlocking it without climbing into a two story window. Thankfully, our bathroom window was unlocked or this would have been the beginning of an unpleasant, bathroom-less weekend.

After the bathroom door fiasco, Lydia and I took a brief stroll around our neighborhood. The fall colors are setting in and this amplifies the beauty of Shadow Mountain. Lydia and I not only saw a reminder of fall, but also Halloween. On our travels we saw a lone bat flying above our heads. Lydia, who evidently appreciates all of Creation, called the bat "cute"--which, reportedly, she is the only woman to call a flying rodent as such.


I know that many of the individuals reading this are doing so because Lydia and I began our "advertising campaign" to promote our blog. If this is true, we want to welcome you to our home on the web. As you probably read in an earlier post, I consider myself to be rather techno-savvy when it comes to these types of things, so please allow me to make a recommendation. There is a terrific program on the web called Google Reader. This fantastic program not only bookmarks all of the blogs and other RSS embeded websites that you frequently read, but gives notifications when we (or your other favorite websites) update our blogs. In the words of Google, "It is like an Inbox for the Internet." I strongly suggest that you check it out.

Quote by Kevin

"There is nothing like a little NPR to set the mood."

The Joys of Newleywed-ness...

It's been slightly over two months since I married the most amazing man I've ever known. I am daily astounded by new things learned and old things reinforced. Probably one of the most remarkable has been our ability to invite the other into a complete other world thus far unexperienced.

Case in point is the technology with which I have up to this point surrounded myself with. To say it has been minimal is a slight, if not severe, understatement. For example, this past summer, I used part of my Maryville College gift certificate to actually buy myself a portable cd player--you know, the kind with the clip that fastens on to the elastic of your jogging shorts only to pull them down around your ankles while you're actually jogging. No matter that I didn't really use my money to buy it or that it was drastically on sale. These contraptions are a thing of the past--they've gone the way of 8-tracks (which I'm not even old enough to remember) and cassette tapes (of which our first was dc Talk Heavenbound). Fortunately for me, Kevin stepped in and saved me from myself by buying an MP3 player for my graduation present. It's smaller than my cell phone, and, once I have a full tutorial on how to work it, I'm sure I will go nowhere without it. As it now stands, I'm surviving off the songs Kevin so graciously has put on there for me.



Furthermore, I would never in my wildest dreams have thought I would keep a journal that other people would read. I have kept a journal consistently since I was in second grade, and, I might add, at that time it was quite a humorous journal. Regardless to have my new husband suggest we engage in an activity that sounds more like galoshes slogging through mud than it does a divulging of the interior of one's heart took me aback. It could be fun; it could be useful; it could be a kick into the current century that I've been lacking all my life.

I'm grateful for my husband for many reason--not the least of which that he's very technology oriented. I'm looking forward to what this blog holds for us.....

Now, if we could just figure out to set up those dang fire alarms! ;)

Inside jokes

Every family has those inside jokes, yet I am surprised how quickly they form. Lydia and I have been married for a total of two months and already we have dozens of inside jokes. One relates to the picture on the right. Lydia and I have been obsessing over this puzzle game known as Chuzzle Deluxe with these fury little monsters known as Chuzzles. According to Lydia, whenever I wake up in the morning my hair reminds her of these little beasts. You be the judge.

Dinner and a movie

Tonight we capped off Celebrate Lydia's Birthday Week with dinner at Sullivan's and the film Ratatouille at the Dollar Theater. We were delighted by the film and we both gave it a B+.



Here we are twirling our French mustaches in celebration of the film.

A career in the music industry

Is it just me or is everyone in the music industry switching labels? One of Lydia's favorite bands (Jars of Clay) and one of my favorite bands (Caedmon's Call) are all jumping ship on their big name record labels. This means that there have been several spots to open up on the record label rosters.

That is why I am announcing my entrance to the music career. I am thinking about being one of those corny white rappers. You know, the John Reuben and KJ-52 variety. Lydia and I already decided my new stage pseudonym-- KoKo Puhfz.

I know, I know, you are probably thinking that this is a trademark infringement. Not so! Mr. Eminem already taught the world that you can be named after a trademarked, sugar-coated food item and a misspelling can protect you from a trademark infringement.

Here is the cover for my first CD: KoKo Puhfz and the Die-puhr Posse: Duh Way Dat We Ur.

Happy Birthday, Lydia!

On Sunday Lydia turned 24 years old. (Thus, marks the annual period where she is numerically three years older than me.) Regretfully, she has been a bit sick lately. Yet, I hope these gifts will cheer her up.


Red Herrings & White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day by Albert Jack
This book was written to reveal the origins of those idioms that we use every day. I think there is something for everyone in this book. Lydia is quite the wordsmith and I am quite the history nerd, so I think this is a gift that we can both enjoy.







Home Improvement: Season 6

While Lydia and I have our dessert after dinner, we love to kick back and watch boxsets. (Why pay $30 a month for cable when you can have an entire television season for the same amount?) Though some fail to find the humor within the Taylor family, we are not among them. Home Improvement has got to be one of the best family shows ever created. So, I got her 24 more episodes of "Hidy-Ho good neighbor" and "I am Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor."


Dinner

Since she was feeling down on Sunday, Thursday night I am taking her to one of her favorite restaurants. After all, you don't turn 24 every year.

Our new church

After weeks of prayer and several visits to area congregations, we were led to an excellent church in which we are very happy with. We are now attending Grace Community Church in downtown Maryville. This was the first major decision that we had to make as a married couple and by far one of the most important. We are amazed at the depth and reverence that our fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ analyze the Word.

We encourage you to visit the website and check out a sermon by our pastor, Chris Riser. His sermons are encouraging, uplifting, but most importantly challenging. You are sure to hear us talk about this church a lot more in the future.

Contact information

Contact us:

Kevin: KevinLFowler@gmail.com

Lydia: LydiaGrace107@gmail.com

Coming soon!

Check back here really soon for our blog!

We will have a journal filled with thoughts, blurbs, and (probably what you came her for) wedding pictures. Just give us a little time!