Oh my gosh!  Have any of you checked out the new iMac?  Totally killer!  Larger hard drive space, more memory, quad-core processor, 27″ display, higher than HD resolution, smart touch mouse, I can just go on and on!  Check out Apple’s video!

What exactly IS a good marriage?  So many times, my wife and I have been told, “you guys really have it”, or “those guys really love each other”.  Even the statements, “you guys make me sick”, come to us from time and again.

Am I an expert on having a good marriage?  No, certainly not.  But, I do want to give you my thoughts about it.

So, the first thing that is a good marriage is love.  I’m not talking about liking each other alot, or being able to put up with each other’s bad habits, or annoyances, but real love.

So, just what is “love”?  This is where the English language fails us.  We use that word far too often, and too often, for the wrong feelings.  I do NOT love my wife, like I love my children.  I do NOT love my children, like I love my pets.  I do NOT love my pets, like I love going camping in Autumn.

So, how exactly do I differentiate each type of love, from one another, in the English language?  By not always using that word by itself.  For most people, they use the word “love” in a casual and routine sentence.  “I gotta go to work, dear…. love you”.  “Okay, I call you later tonight…. love you…bye”.  These are routine sayings, that said enough, become more habit, than a declaration of your feelings.  For the times that you DO want to differentiate, I learned from my wife…. which is:  During the times where she wants to really declare her affection toward me, she says, “I Adore You”.  Granted, that doesn’t mean the same thing as love, but I take it like it does, and THAT is what matters.  She knows that, which is why she continues to say it.  If there is a word that works for you, then use it.  It’s the meaning you give behind it that matters.  And as long as you both understand, then that meaning can go a long way.

How do I define “marriage” love?  Everyone defines it differently, but I define it as, “When someone else’s feelings, passions, and well-being trumps your own” (to be honest, I think I heard that from Ashton Kutcher).  When you decide that someone else means more to you, than yourself, that’s LOVE.

One way to declare your love, is not just say it, casually.  Do it.  Do things that show your affection.  Often times, when Tammy goes outside to let the dogs out, she will just lean against the deck railing.  I will just simply come up behind her, and hold her in my arms.  That means alot more than just walking by the door and say, “I love you”, and walk away.

I also made her a dinner one night when she was very sick.  I added a couple of roses on the plate from our rose bush.  Now, she doesn’t really like flowers, but a smile rose to her face when I brought it out to her.  That smile meant more to me at that moment, than my own feelings and well-being.

You can also declare your affection in front of the public.  Facebook nice things about your loved one, in front of everyone.  Show everyone that you truly are grateful for that person to be in your life.  Hold hands, and hug each other in public places.  Sometimes, I’m appalled at some people that completely change their appearance or actions when going out in public alone or together.  In some cases, people take off their wedding rings.  That, to me, tells me they don’t love them.  Even a friend of mine did that.  I stopped hanging out with them afterwards, and told them why, when they asked.

One last thing I have to say about your marriage, is listen to each other.  Learn from each other.  I am still learning from Tammy to be more creative and more open to family outings, and she is still learning from me to let some things go, and not to worry so much.  Communication is key!  It may be awkward, and uncomfortable at first, if you have never talked about things before, but push through it!  It will be worth it in the long run!  I promise.

If you don’t love your partner, then let them go.  Nothing is worse than to be trapped in an un-healthy relationship, for both parties involved.

I’ve also seen a couple that disrespects each other ALOT in public.  Making fun of, or poking fun at the other spouse.  At first, I thought they were just going through an argument, but then, they joked with each other, smiled, and then another negative comment.

I’ve also seen one spouse allow their children to disrespect the other parent, and laugh about it.  I have to ask myself, “Do they really love each other, or just put up with one another for the children’s sake”.  Far too many families “put up” with one another for their children.  While I’m not saying this is wrong (I really do not know.  I have personal opinions about this, but I’ll leave that for another time), I wonder how great of a life do those people really have.

There is also one other type of couple.  This is the couple that truly do love each other, but fail to show it or talk about it.  It’s these couples, that have the most potential, but fail to see it due to lack of action.  It saddens my heart to see those couples fall apart, simply because they didn’t know how, or chose not to show it.

I do not just “love” Tammy.  I am “in love” with her.  Everything about her.  Love is an amazing emotion and gift that we, as human beings, sometimes take for granted.  Love is indefinate.  It has no ends; no boundries.  It can continue to grow.  No one can EVER take her place, and no one can EVER tell me different.  Our trust, love, and respect are endless for each other.  I know this, because we always talk about it.

I am always reminding her, that I love her more now than ever.  But the amazing gift means, tomorrow, that love will be that much greater.  I love her more now, than I did last week, or last month, or last year.

There is not a SINGLE THING that I would rather do alone, than to share it with her.  Everything I do, I want to share with her.  Sometimes, that doesn’t always happen, but it doesn’t mean I would RATHER do it.  If given a choice, I would have her right there beside me, in EVERYTHING I do.  I would have taken her to Sweden with me, each time I go, if we could afford the plane ticket!

Sharing is the greatest gift on earth, that you can give to your partner.  Tammy talks to me all the time, and THAT communication alone, is worth it’s weight in gold.

So, have I really defined a “good marriage”?  No, and no person ever can.  It’s up to you to define whats good or not.  However, if you really want me to give you some advice (i.e. if you are REALLY wanting help with your marriage and you don’t have the time/money to see a counselor), then turn to the Holy Bible.  The New Testement book, Corinthians, talks ALL about how to handle your marriage and children.  It is where Paul talks to the church of Corinth, and explains to them what they are doing wrong, and gives guidance on what God believes a marriage should be.

You can even go to a book store, (Christian book stores have the best selection), and choose a Marriage Study Workbook, on the book of Corinthians.

Do I have a perfect marriage?  Certainly not, and I don’t want it to be.  It’s the small disagreements and challenges that make us appreciate each other more, after everything is said and done.

To my wife, I say this:

“I cannot tell you how grateful and lucky I am, for the good Lord Almighty to bring my life to you.  You truly are my rock that I can depend on.  You allow me to break through my “grounded logic”, and see the creative imagination of life, that flows passed me.  Sometimes, I get wrapped up in work, or task, I life starts passing me by.  You allow me to see what life truly is about, and show me how to appreciate it.

I do not just love you, Tammy Jean Paxson.  I am in love with you.  It is NOT a question of how long I will love you, but rather, how long I can live TO love you!

You are my everything, and there is not a place in this earthly world, that I would EVER think otherwise!

As you would say, I Adore you, and everything about you!!”

Okay, so I’m definately behind the times, but I’m just now getting into the Twitter things.

If you would like to follow my tweets, then you can either choose the “Follow My Tweets” button on the right side of my blog, or click here to go to my Twitter Page.

Cheers!

All,

Thank you guys so much for your prayers, donations, and information. Everyone one of you is very special, and we cannot tell you how appreciative we are.

We are still needing more donations, prayers, and information! You can follow up on this website, as that’s where I will keep updating everyone.

http://granny.thepaxson5.org

We have a list of acknowledgements, and other items.

Thanks so much!
God Bless!!!

Many are asking questions about what’s going on with us.  I figured I’d write a single post, to just let everyone know.  First, a bit of history.

6 months ago, Tammy’s grandparents moved in with us.  We had the room, and the desire to help.  So, we setup the downstairs bedroom, bathroom, and living room to be theirs.

Why did they want help?  Well, Tammy’s grandmother (aka ‘Granny’) has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Osteoporosis, and Severe Arthritis.  She’s stuck in a wheelchair, and can do very little by herself.  Luckily, Tammy’s grandfather was still helping with alot, such as helping her to the bathroom, showers, etc.  Tammy took care of the cleaning, laundry, dinners, medical, and other odds and ends.

Approximately 4 weeks ago, Granny fell and broke her left hip.  Not only did this cause extra pain and bills, but delayed her shoulder replacement surgery that was scheduled for that following week.  Here is where the problem started.

After surgery, she was placed in physical therapy and rehab.  After 1 week, her husband of 53 years didn’t want to pay for it and decided she was fine (my opinion).  He checked her out from Adam’s Place, and took her home.   Unfortunately, she never healed, and Grandpa had to keep helping her more now than ever (lifting her to the bathroom, etc, because she couldn’t even stand).  This caused him great resentment.  His grumpiness and wellbeing was affecting everyone, including himself.  Arguments and no communication kept getting worse.

Last weekend, he left (after 53 years of marriage) to California, leaving her with nothing.  He took their only transportation that they bought after selling their house.  It was the only thing she can ride in with her wheelchair.  He took the transportation, his income, and love away from her.  She is devistated.  Not only did the man of her life leave after 53 years, he left her alone, hurt, and almost useless.

We have no way of getting her around because Tammy doesn’t have the strength to lift her, and I’m at work all day.

Right now, we have some major challenges ahead.  We are trying to raise enough money for a van to transport her and her wheelchair, a hospital bed, building a wheelchair ramp from the back deck, and surgery at the end of the month for her shoulder replacement.

Currently, we had to check her back in to Adam’s Place since she never healed from her hip replacement.  Hopefully, physical therapy will take care of that!

Tammy and I are still very strong willed and dedicated to each other, and to our family, but the stress is starting to wear thin.  Please pray for us!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small), or have any ideas that we may not know yet, let my wife Tammy know.  You can contact her at

tj <<at>> thepaxson5 <<dot>> org.

God Bless!

–Aaron

It’s no secret who my favorite Nascar driver is. He led 86 out of 160 laps and nailed every single pit!

I’ll tell you what, I literally jumped out of my chair and yelled when Busch tried to block and spun out on the last lap!

I feel bad for the guy. He was just trying to block, like anyone else. It just was too late.

Whatta race!!!!!!

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html

I just found a fantastic TED video that is a little bit old (2008) but is incredibly powerful.  For those of you that do not know what TED is, it’s Technology, Entertainment, Design.  Basically, fantastic talks from leaders around the world.

Specifically, from TED2008 conference, I watched a video from Benjamin Zander, who is both a conductor and fantastic motivational speaker.  He uses his love for classical music to move and inspire others to be leaders.

In this video, not only does he attempt to lure you in with his classical music, he promises that you will learn to love and understand classical music by the end of the video.  At the very least, you become enthralled in his passion for motivating others.

I encourage EVERYONE to watch the video.  It’s approx 20 mins.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html

We recently had a water leak in our Kitchen. I saw the drain hose of the dishwasher leaking under the kitchen sink. It was only a small one (when I saw it), so I fixed the leak, threw a couple of towels down, and called it a night.

The next day, our kitchen floor starting bowing up. I pulled up the vinyl flooring and found the underlayment completely soaked. I pulled that up, to see our subfloor also wet.

EEEEGADD!!! We called in the specialists to see how bad the damage is. It was about a 10′ X 5′ area (50 square feet!), not including the damage under the cabinets and stove.

So, we called the experts in to dry everything up. Come to find out, they ripped up the entire floor!

This is a test entry from Journler, a Mac-based Journal-Entry system, including audio, video, text, and notebook entries.

Very cool!

–Aaron

Okay, for those who do not know, I got my nipple’s pierced 3 years ago.  I know, I know… but I did.  I actually kinda liked it (no, not in the masochistic kind of way… THAT CRAP HURT!), but like tatoos, it’s neat and addicting.

Anyway, after 3 years, I finally took them out.  Not because I didn’t like them anymore, they just would never heal!  I’m always banging them against things.  If I’m moving furniture, under the car, whatever, they were always in the way.

So there you have it.  For those that didn’t know… I had them… for those that did, … not anymore.

Happy New Year!