Elsie Mae Update

We thought we would post some recent photos of Elsie. Since we don't have any kids, and none on the way (this month at least - shew), we thought these pics would explain a little of what we have going on these days...

Introducing Elsie Mae Gerken

We would like to introduce the latest addition to the Gerken family... Elsie.

She came home from Kingston tonight after work. We had planned to bring her home on Friday evening, but the breeder said she was ready to go any day now. How could I look at Leah's big blue eyes and tell her "no"...

Elsie slept most of the way home, used the restroom in the grass when we arrived at the condo, ate 3/4 of her bowl of food, then used the potty again outside (a #2 that would make most any dad proud of their children). She is now sound asleep in her crate, and not a wimper in 45 minutes. She is going to be a fantastic dog! We can't wait for you all to meet her.

Next up... our first full night!

The Gerkens

p.s. Married life is fantastic.

The soon-to-bes...

Leah and I are getting married in 24 short days. We are very excited and ready to begin a new book in our lives. Isn't she lovely? Yep.

I've been blessed in ways I never thought possible.

In wedding etiquette news...

Upon application of the marriage license, Groom is to hold Bride's engagement ring as collateral until the wedding date.

You heard it here first. And since I posted it on the internet, it MUST be true!

AG

1Q07

I have recently found myself looking back at the first quarter of 2007 (geez, we're almost 25% done? Sorry, that's a pessimistic approach...we have 75% left!) It's been interesting to me how life just seems to evolve. How we can find ourselves at one point in our life, and at what seems like a bat of the eye, we're somewhere quite different. I believe most people really only see that transformation take place if they take the time to look back, otherwise they'll miss it (when I say "they," I mean "me" specifically). More times than not, it is a change that develops gradually.

Only six months ago I started this blog (A Backcountry Blog), and though I would love to keep it catered to that aspect of my life to share with the "masses" (which seems to be only a handful of faithful readers), I'm finding it has become more difficult these days. Not that I regret the recent change at all...I just find it interesting. I guess, simply, passions can change. Maybe it's even time to change the blog name...

Instead of Saturday's hitting the hiking trail, or Sunday's fly-fishing above the Institute at Tremont, I find myself trailing my new mower behind the truck and servicing my 3 regular (and NEW) accounts, and several friends/family who are giving me some practice on their yards. How did I get here anyways? I'm not quite sure, but it wasn't by chance.

Even right now, I take inventory of what is going on, and I get an overwhelming sense of being...well, just flat overwhelmed. I won't bore you (my faithful) with the details, but I find myself trying to commit full-time to my 40-hour-a-week job, my fledgling business, and my faith, while trying to build and maintain relationships with my friends/family (both old and new), and recently, "the girl."

The latter, to which I absolutely love (she borderline hates) to ask, "what did you learn today?" Right now, asking myself that question each day is one of the barometers I've found that helps me get up in the morning and hit the next day's trail. Even more profound for me, I've found that hearing what others say they've learned helps quite a bit as well. Typically, the answers (if at all) are very simple, but dig a little deeper, and there's always nuggets to be found.

I really have no idea of what I'm trying to say, if anything at all, except I hope you learned something new today. Rest assured that you did. I will...

Retreat

I spent the weekend with some friends at Windy Gap, a Young Life property located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We arrived in the rain around 7p on Friday night to register and find our cabin for the weekend. After some beautiful weather last week, a cold front had moved in that had plans of staying around for the duration.

Fish off.

Well, not that fishing would not have been possible, but the desire to freeze while standing waist-deep in water became, well, not desireable.

Instead, we filled our free time at Windy Gap with some basketball, coffee, frisbee-golf, ping pong, NCAA score updates, pool, and some all-around great fellowship. Based on these activities, I hold the following "truths to be self-evident":

1. I can dunk a basketball (on an 8-foot goal)
2. Throwing a frisbee makes my arm hurt to no end (even today)
3. I laugh in my sleep (weird)
4. Ping Pong is my new love (I just ordered a paddle online...again, weird)
5. I'm not as young as I think I am

Overall, we had a great time. I was able to spend some quality time hanging out with some of my closest friends, which life has scripted to be fairly few and far between the past couple years (first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby carriages - yes, carriages is plural). You get the picture.

Throw in a Sweet Sixteen appearance by our Volunteers, and life is good.

Go Vols. I'll hang up and listen to your comments.

"Ex" Marks the Spot

On the left is a picture of the newest "unofficial" addition to The Gerken Family. Yep, she's a real beauty that I adopted through an auction on eBay this morning. I have yet to actually transfer funds (pending some info from seller), hence the "unofficialness." That said, my end of the bargain will be upheld in the next couple of days in order to bring her to a new home in Knoxville from Cincinatti.

She embodies many years of dreaming, but only one short year of revelation. What is the revelation you ask?..."Adam, you don't have to 're-invent the wheel,' only make it more round" (or "rounder" as one might say where I grew up). That's my goal right now. To take something (in this case, lawn care) and take it to a level that exceeds current expecations in East Tennessee.

Yes, I'm a rookie, and I will most definitely make mistakes. These experiences will assuredly be stepping stones to growth in the field (no pun intended). Like a bad haircut, "it will grow back" (trust me, that is NOT going to be my slogan).

What is all of this exactly? Well, it's capitalism at the core. Freedom. Sole. Entrepreneurship. Beautiful.

How can you help? Well, since you asked...

1. Become a new client (seriously, no pressure). Besides your direct business, the finest thing would be your word-of-mouth. But, don't just take my word for it, find out for yourself.

2. Name my mower. The winning name will ultimately receive 100 shares of my IPO when I "go big." Don't believe it? Try me. Ha.

3. Pray.

Finally, I'm thankful for some encouragement I heard earlier today from my buddy David, "Within 5 years, I expect to see your logo under the jumbotron at Neyland Stadium."

With that in mind, I'm looking forward to getting the footers of this venture in place to build skyward.