Knowing Bob - Item Three

This classic photo is entitled "Peeing in the Grand Canyon"!  It's a posed (promise) shot from a youth Mission trip to the Navaho Nation in New Mexico several years ago where we added a few fun days at the end and went to the Grand Canyon.  Matt, Paul, Daniel, Ben, Casey and I were just messing around but it always reminds me of the great guys that come up through Youth over the years. I keep in touch with some of these guys and others I just hear snippets about from parents or Facebook posts.

This is probably not the pic to put in a presentation to advertise for mission trips, but it is a fav by me. 
There have been many trips with youth over the years, and I definitely believe in the need for students to leave their comfort zones and be challenged in their beliefs in new settings. That's a part of how they grow.

Knowing Bob - Item Two

Next top special item sitting on my desk it a picture of my kids.



This was from Easter a couple years back. You can tell because Daniel still has the "poof" hairstyle.  We were trying to get a nice picture and they kept messing around and I snapped this black and white shot and loved it.  This shows them in their normal goofiness and I love them for it. 

With Daniel away at college we don't get the four together as much, but Daniel surprised us last night by stopping by for about five minutes on the way from Harrisonburg to VA Beach for a Young Life retreat and to see him hugging on his brothers made my week.

So here's to Daniel, Rachel, Nicholas and Patrick.

Knowing Bob - Item One

As I have not blogged in quite a while, I will start today the new and ever so exciting blog series entitled "Knowing Bob."  

In "Knowing Bob", you will learn insights into me via the items on my desk.  Things you always wanted to know but were too scared to ask.  Things you will read about and then will always be scared to know me.  

Here is the global view first:

And the item of the day?   A picture of Lisa and I.

Lisa and I have been married 21 years as of this past July 14th.   July 14 is Bastille Day (which marks the storming of the French fortress-prison) but don't get any ideas that I think of marriage as a prison.   Not at all.  Quite the opposite.   Being with Lisa has enabled me to widen my experiences.   I am a real introvert and if I followed my tendencies, I would probably usually be sitting at home.   Yet Lisa takes me along with her in life and I have learned to enjoy trying the new (as long as the new does not include food.)  Now, I sometimes even venture out alone!

In the picture, we are on a cruise somewhere (Bahamas maybe) and this is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, thus it is sitting on my desk.  If you look carefully, you will see that my arm is around her but my fingers are pointing out.  If you glanced through pictures of us together for the first 2 decades of our marriage, you will see my hand up in quite a few of them.   The reason is that I get nervous when I get my picture taken and my hand just automatically pats Lisa's shoulder, therefore often giving me the flapping look.  In recent years, Lisa has taken to quietly yet fiercely whispering to me before the photo is snapped to keep my hands still!

A beautiful picture of a wonderful couple!  I love you Lisa!