Orlando 2008 - Day 7

Since this is our last day we decided to take it easy. We slept in a little (8am) and then went back to the mall. Truth be told, I don't like to try clothes on in the store because it's just too much work. Well...when we got back to the Kramer pad Heather ask me to try on the clothes I bough and it appears that my slacks were high water slacks. I didn't see that on the label. While we were at the mall returning clothes I decided to check out another store. Again I found some amazing deals on dress shirts. I was very excited about dress shirts for about $10 ( I am so cheap). Again I didn't try them on because you have to take out 2 thousand little pins just to get the shirt unfolded. I hated it. Besides I knew my size right? When got back to the Kramer pad from returning clothes, Heather says you should try on those shirts. I thought, I'll humor her and show her how right I am so I tried the shirts on. You guessed it. Two of the shirts were too small. I messed the part on the package that said "fitted" shirt. In case you don't know, Jaycob is not the fitted type. I know it goes without saying but we're going back to the mall tonight before we go to dinner. The rule is I can not buy anything else.

We're leaving at 4am tomorrow morning. I can't believe it's coming to an end! Maybe we should plan 2 vacations every year? Yea....maybe when I get a second job or clone myself. I am just glad we had this chance to get away and renew our connection as a family and let our bodies rest. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. We're already thinking about where we're going next year! I can't wait.

Orlando 2008 - Day 6

Since we hit the east coast (Daytona Beach) and discovered the mess of the riptide, we decided to hit the west coast to see if it was any better. We traveled through Tampa to get to clear water beach florida. It was a totally amazing sight. I felt rested just by looking at the soft, white and warm beach. It was exactly what we were looking for. We were SO pumped! We decided to eat lunch at a local seafood joint just up the strip. Because I am a grown man and all we decided to have some gator as our appetizer. It was delicious! Most people who know me, know that I am half-mexican because I can eat some mexican food, but fish is something I just endure. This was one of those meals where I decided to step out a little. The fish was a little better than I have had back in Arkansas so I dove into the scallops. I wish I wouldn't have done that! They weren't any better. I thought Heather or Lily was going to have to give me air or something. It was nasty! I am now sure that scallops will not be in heaven. After I recovered, we got an umbrella (with chairs), swam in the ocean, collected sea shells and slept a little. It was the most serene place ever. I am going to say it was the most beautiful I had ever been to. We then drove back to the Kramer pad, cleaned up and went to another mall. It was a super-sized fun day for the Kramer family.

Orlando 2008 - Day 5

We decided that we would officially declare this day as "Hammock Wednesday", meaning that we wouldn't do anything but rest (hence the hammock). Isn't that wonderful? I wish we could have more days like this back home. We really just took the day to rest and spend quality time together as a family. If you know the Kramer's you know we don;t like stress, anxiety or drama and we especially don't bring those things with us on vacation. We try to get away from that junk. That's the reason we don't map out our vacations or formulate an itinerary or feel pressured to go, go, go. We have two goals when we go on vacation: (1) rest (2) connect as a family. Those are our priorities and everything is optional. That's why we declared Hammock Wednesday - we needed to rest and connect. We spent the morning time by the heated pool and the afternoon shopping at another great outlet (shopping is therapy for Heather). What an enjoyable day with my amazing two girls. I am living the dream! I have the best family an the planet. God is too good to me.

Orlando 2008 - Day 4

Since we have an early riser (our sweet Lily Kate) Heather and I have been taking turns sleeping in and getting up with her. We all just rested until about lunch time and went over to Downtown Disney to walk around, shop and eat (the most important of the the three. We eat at the Rainforest Cafe. It was a super cool deal because Lily's eyes would almost pop out of her head when the animals came down and made noise. It was lots of fun for her. After stuffing our guts we tried to walk it off by shopping but since we're not loaded we left empty handed. It was another sweet memory for the Kramer family. After we got home and fed Lily we took her swimming in our heated pool. She had a blast. I can't wait for you to see the pics.

Orlando 2008 - Day 3

It's Monday and we're taking a trip to Daytona Beach. We're pretty pumped about getting to walk on the beach and toss some good shrimp down. I remembered a great restaurant call Bubba Gumbs where that's all they serve is shrimp. When we arrived (around 2pm) we went straight to Bubba Gumps and dove into some of the best shrimp I have had. The only weird deal was before we could pay and head down to the beach pigeons took over our table. I guess they have to eat too. We went straight to the board walk to discover that there was no beach. The riptide was so high that it actually pushed the water up to the boardwalk it was super crazy. Never mind the windy conditions and the crazy high water, it was Lily's fist time in the ocean. She seemed to love it. I can't wait to up load her pics in her happening swimming suit (we didn't bring the cable to up load the pics. sry). Later we drove back to Orlando to do some shopping at the Prime Outlet Malls. We both found some really good deals. Needless to say, Lily was spent by this time so we took here home and ordered us a pizza. It was a crazy,fun and adventurous day for the Kramer family.

Orlando 2008 - Day 2

Little did we know what the second day of our oasis getaway had in store for us. We slept in! I am loving that part all by it self. We should have just stayed in bed all day. We agreed to "view the timeshare model" for a nice gift. Our guide (Ricardo) was a really nice guy and seemed to be different from all the other timeshare guys. He took us to celebration city - a little elitist community built busy Disney. Everything there was extremely beautiful and amazingly elegant. The have their own schools, hospital, police station/fire department, etc. This was a town specifically designed for the people full $$$. Richardo took us to eat at one of celebration city's four restaurants. It was amazingly good. Prolly the best meal I have had in a long time. Then I noticed that about 3/4 of the restaurant was made up of people who agreed to tour the timeshare model too. I then got a little uneasy about what was to follow.

Richardo took us through the model and gave us the big spiel, and then point blank asked us if we would be interested. I knew this my time to say absolutely not. I didn't want our nice guide to get the impression that we were on the fence so I said we don't have money - it's not happening. He sat us down and continued to pour it on and repeated the question 2 more time and then went in for more reinforcements. I forgot to mention that after Richardo discovered I was a pastor he never stopped talking about God. He went in and brought back a local pastor to try to push the matter. Again I said no,no,no and no but this pastor guy said, "what's the issue?" I said it's all about the money. He then took us on a trip by saying you need to get your church to help you. I thought to myself, is this guy for real? It was dirty but he's got to make a living right. We got out of there as fast as possible! Again we ran out to find some dinner to make up for a tough day.

Orlando 2008 - Day 1

The summer has been a very wild ride for the Kramer family. We have been anticipating this break from the fast pace race we call life so several months now. We were a little worried about Lily flying at 5 months but she did better than we did. She slept during both flights. All was going too well; we arrived in Orlando with no trouble, we got our rental wagon for the week and we were off in search for our phat pad when it happened. We were following our mapquest directions but we didn't see our exit anywhere. After three toll (2 of which we didn't have the cash for) I realized that we were lost. It was a bad deal because I (Jaycob) NEVER get lost. It was that I decided to toss the mapquest deal and do it like a grown man (we stopped and asked for direction). After arriving at our destination and getting checked in all was well. We loved our pad for the week. It's amazing! I'll have to upload the pictures later. We then decided it was time to find dinner. We had no idea where we were so we just made a right at the light. I then saw the signage that let me know we were entering the Disney camp and exited quickly because I knew we were going the wrong direction. I made a left at the light but must have missed the sign that said "one-way". We were going the wrong way on a one-way street. I noticed that the two lanes we divided by a pretty grassy island so I was looking for a break to cross over to the other lane. It was right then that I noticed the huge Disney charter bus coming right for us! I did the only thing I knew to do in this situation: I jumped the curb and cut through that pretty grassy island, pulled a quick u-turn, got back on the freeway and cleaned my seat. What a way to start the vacation. Well after that deal, I got my way and went to Lobster Fest; where I got fat from the buffet of lobster. What an adventurous day with the family!

A Fantastic Father's Day

I was taken by surprise yesterday. I was not expecting the amazing rush of emotions I felt when my amazing wife and beautiful daughter appreciated me. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that my dad hasn't been apart of my life (not to be ugly but we live miles apart); so I have never wished anyone a happy father's day. I have never been on the other end of the stick and have never made someone feel the way I felt. The whole thing is so brand spanking new to me. I mean I have had birthdays and other celebrations where I was the focus of the party but there's something surreal about being hoisted up and called a great father. My heart is running over with pride and passion for my sweet family. They are my life! They have become apart of who I am - heart, mind and soul. It's a great honor to carry the title of father (and husband). God is so good!

OMG! Lily is 7 weeks!

It's been a little while since I've posted but things have just happened SO fast! Let's see...where do I begin...oh yeah, after our 7 days/6 nights stay at the Baptist Inn we brought Lily home on a monitor (heart rate and breathing). We really didn't need the monitor but since we're great parent's (we wanted sleep) we thought it would be brilliant to bring an insane noise making device. We visited our pediatrician the following week and discovered there is a difference in milliliters, ounces and pounds. We learned we would have to ram-rod the milk down Lily's sweet little mouth. She had to gain! She was born at 6lbs; she left the hospital at 5lbs 8ozs; at our 1st pediatrician appt she was 5lbs 11ozs (not good); at our 2nd pediatrician appt she was 6lbs .5ozs (not good enough); at our 3rd pediatrician appt she was 7lbs 1.5 ozs (that was the money weight). Finally we're done with this business of stressing over her weight but now we have graduated to the not pooping step. We're really excited about this stage....uummm no! We just hate to see her struggle and fuss about the pooping deal. Who knew something so minor and natural could cause someone pain? There you go. Lily is now 8lbs and loving her daddy (and mommy). We're totally blessed to have such a jewel in our family. God has been so very good to us. It's our prayer that God's reputation would be greater as a result of her life. More pics are coming soon!

Home With Lily

Lily has been home for almost 2 weeks now and we're still pinching ourselves. We can't believe this beautiful baby girl is ours. Yes, her routine consists of 3 major activities: eating, pooping and sleeping ( not in that order) but we're still astonished by her presence. I have often heard, and taught, that we possess intrinsic value with God. That is , that we have to do nothing to make God love us; He just does. We don't have to look a certain way, speak a certain language or be born into a certain family for God to love us. He loves us because we came from Him - we are created in His image. That's intrinsic value. I never really got that until Lily was born. The moment I laid eyes on her I feel in love with her. It wasn't because of the way she looked or something she did, I feel in love with her solely because she's my daughter. I love that. In a moment my worldview changed . I'll never be the same.

Filling Up The Empty Space

Last night some of Heather's friends and family gave her a shower. I just thought I tapped into the inner circle of woman-hood when I discovered the whole baby shower deal; but who would have guessed you could have more than one shower? I am digging the whole deal. After we stored the gifts from both showers, I began to thank God for providing all of Lily's gifts. I was seriously thinking I would have to get another job to fill up the empty wall space, floor space, dresser space and closet space. I say that kinda jokingly but I have an overwhelming desire to provide the best for my family. Not because it's my job or that I am obligated to, but because it's family and they desire my best. In that moment I realized that, that's part of the whole parenting deal. I suddenly had a great deal of respect for every parent I had ever known. Yes part of the parenting deal involves providing, food, clothes and shelter, but more than that it's all about ownership. God has given me an opportunity to be a husband and a father, but I am the only person on the planet who gets to decide what kinda husband and father I will be. I own my decisions. I own my decision to be a husband first, father second and a student pastor third. I am extremely proud of my family and I want them to be proud of me. I have one chance to get it right and I am not going to blow it.

Super-Sized Baby Shower

Heather and I were seriously blown away with a huge baby shower at our church (Faith Baptist Church - http://www.faithnlr.org/). It was a super cool deal. I haven't been introduced to the secret society of wedding showers and baby showers. It's kinda like the secrecy & silence found in a fraternity or the masonic lodge. I had no idea these kinda things happened when people have kids. It's a super cool deal. We were overwhelmed with tons of shoes, clothes, blankets, hygiene items, and much more. I cannot think of another thing we need, but I bet there's something we haven't thought of. I am getting kinda excited about seeing Lily use all the cool things people got for her.

30 Weeks

It's so hard to fathom that Lily will be here and she'll be here REAL soon. Yes the room is painted, the crib is put together and the pictures are hung but I am not sure I am prepared for her arrival. I love the idea of having a little girl and hearing someone call me daddy but the responsibility is so great. I know...I know...you're never prepared to be parents but I would at least like to have some idea of what to expect. God is good and I know He'll lead us through the phase of our life. We prayed about being parents, having a healthy pregnancy and that she's under 10 lbs (not really) and God has responded to our requests. God is faithful and He can be trusted.