The Hughes Blog

Finally an Update

2009-03-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a few updates: Lauren will be going to UT Southwestern PA School in May, we are buying a house in Frisco, Beau and Kimberly are pregnant, and we have been married over 5 months! More updates and pics to follow. For now here are some pics from our trip to Chicago in the fall to visit Pope and Carrie.

Pics at the Cloud Gate in Millenium Park, also known as "The Bean"

Waitin on the bus. It was cold.

Out on the town.

Lauren in front of a giant Christmas tree at a mall on Michigan Ave.

Honeymoon Pics

2008-10-08T14:47:00.001-07:00

Having Fun in Puerto Vallarta

2008-09-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Yes we are blogging on our Honeymoon, its fun with the amount of relaxing downtime we have. Yesterday we hung out in the Hotel, and today we did an outdoor adventure that included riding in a speedboat, riding a mule up a mountain, ziplining, repelling down a waterfall, ziplining into a river, and crossing suspension bridges. Here are some pics, enjoy! We miss yoiu and love you all!

This is the view at night from our hotel room...it is amazing!!!

1 Week til Completion

2008-09-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Reading the title of this blog you may be thinking "Weird". You may be misunderstanding the way I use completion. I am using it to reference completion of me. Once I am married to Lauren next week I will be complete. Sounds cheesy I know, but it is so true, spiritually, God is going to unite me to the woman that he created to complete me. Next Friday I will be one with my beautiful wife, whom I cannot wait to marry.

Looking back over my blog I laugh at the journey, all the things I have written over the past year or so, and hearing the change in my own words during that same time also. The growth that I have experienced over the past year is amazing, and none of it is my work. To try and boast in where I am today and what is happening in our lives next Friday would be to take credit for something that in my dreams I couldn't have forseen or planned for, something far too beautiful for me to have any part in creating. Lauren is such an amazing woman of God, and has the most amazing heart, I am thankful every second that I have her in my life, and that I get to marry her. I am so excited to become her husband.

Now for an update. We have finished just about everything. Tomorrow we move all my furniture into our apartment (well technically still just Lauren's apartment until next Friday), and I will be sleeping on my roomates couch in Plano, living out of a suitcase. We really don't have anything left to finish. We finished our Village pre-marital counseling a couple of weeks ago, got our marriage license last week, turned in all the numbers to the reception site, and now we just have to wait.

It's really hard to describe the excitement and anticipation I am feeling. I liken it to waiting for Christmas, already knowing the awesome present you will get on Christmas Day, but having to wait to open it. Except in this case it is the greatest gift of my life, and she will be walking towards me in a week. WOOHOO! After that we will also get to change the name of the blog to "The Hughes Blog".

Here is a pic of Lauren and I with Tim and Alicia Williamson last week at Tim's sister ,Lindsy's wedding. Tim is a groomsman in our wedding and their son Mark is one of our ringbearers. I also need to give a shout out to Mark since he is turning 3 today! Happy Birthday Mark Garrett!!

On a prayers answered note, my brother Beau is coming back from Sudan, Africa, today after being there for 18 days. We missed you brother, welcome home.

10 Weeks!

2008-07-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, 10 weeks today I will have a wonderful wife. I am so excited. We sent out invitations last week and have already gotten back some RSVPs!! We also finished registering, picked out food for the reception, and booked the Honeymoon (I am keeping it a secret from Lauren so it will be a suprise). The food that we will be having at the reception is heavy hour'douvres consisting of Southwestern Meatballs, Crabcakes, Chicken Kabobs, and Fruit and Cheese & Veggie Trays. We tasted some of it last week it will be amazing!

I can't wait to marry Lauren, she is such and amazing woman and we grow closer every day whether it is through a new adventure, sharing old stories about friends, or even conflict!! September 26th can't come soon enough!

Here are some pics of Lauren and I with my parents at my buddy Shane's wedding back in May. Long time ago I know! Check out Big Gary's handlebar mustache. Awesome.

Koo-wa-ee

2008-07-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's me Eric. My future bride has asked me to update the blog and so I will and it will be awesome. Our trip was amazing. Here are some of the highlights:

Lauren & her sister Katie at the airport

Me and Lauren doing her "serious face" pose on the plane.

The Family on a short hike on the first day on the North end of the Na'Pali Coast

Me and a seal that I killed with my bare hands. Hahaha. Seriously, I used a knife. Ok really it is a Monk Seal, which are endangered seals that like to pass out on the beach

Lauren and I on our 8 mile hike

In front of a 300 foot waterfall that we hiked 4 miles through jungle and on cliffs to see

Lauren's Mom and I were the only 2 that got in the pool created by the waterfall and swam out underneath it. FREEZING water

Lauren and I at the Trailhead after the hike

Bob & Johnisue at the trailhead

Lauren and her Mom at the "Happy Talk Lounge". This was the little lounge at the resort next to our Condo. They had a Jazz night that we went to

Bob & Johnisue

Lauren & Me

Lauren and her dad on the cattamaran that we took up along the Na'Pali coastline. The ride back they were on that net hanging on for dear life due to the wind and the chppy seas! It was hilarious!

Me being an awesome snorkeler

Lauren and I in front of another waterfall that we kayaked and then hiked to. We didn't get any other kayak pictures because it was raining, but we found an awesome rope swing that we all swung on and jumped off into the Waimea River.

The whole family after our helicopter tour of the Island. It was amazing and truly the only way to see the entire island as most of it, including rivers and waterfalls, is privately owned by 1 family and/or undeveloped and only reachable by hiking, boat or helipcopter.

Lauren in front of a blowhole on the South Shore

Lauren and I on our zipline adventure

Lauren and Katie

The Wilken Fam and future Hughes Fam

Me being awesome at ziplining

Lauren and Katie at the Luau

Lauren and Me doing the "romantic walk at the Luau" pose. Adorable.

Me and the almost Mrs.

Right before we left for the airport. ): Lauren looks beautiful like always and I have spot sunburns. (chin, nose, forehead) That's how I roll

We loved Kauai and would go back in a heartbeat. It is truly an amazing place and I don't see how there could be a more beautiful island on earth.

Wishing I was back in Kauai

2008-06-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

We got back from paradise yesterday at around noon. As you have probably figured out by now, we didn't update the blog while we are there. While I was sitting in the condo I realized I had two choices...I could update the blog, or I could sit on the porch and look at this...

(I am talking about looking at eric...although the view wasn't bad either!)

...but don't worry, a good update is coming. Unfortunately I am still recovering from the time change and lack of sleep on Saturday night, so you won't get an update right now. Maybe I can convince Eric to do it...we will see. To sum it up for now, it was an absolutely amazing trip. We had a great time with my family and enjoyed a lot of different adventures. For now I will leave you with this picture...

You can be jealous!!!

GOING TO HAWAII

2008-06-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow we are headed off to Hawaii...I am SOOO excited. We leave tomorrow afternoon with my family and we get back on Sunday the 29th. We will be staying in a condo and we will have internet access. So if we get around to it and want to make you all really jealous we will update while we are gone. Hope everyone has a great week!!!

KATIE GRADUATED!!!

2008-06-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to my sister, Katie. Yesterday, June 8th, at 4:00 Katie graduated from Flower Mound High school. The ceremony was wonderful and she looked gorgeous in her cap and gown. CONGRATULATIONS KATIE, WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!! - Lauren

Katie - You are awesome! Super slow is not a High Schooler any more!! Congrats!!
- Eric

I am a bad blogger

2008-06-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

So I always thought that once I started blogging I would be way more consistant than the bloggers that I have stalked in the past. Turns out I was wrong. Today I am writing because I received an e-mail from my dad...the subject said "U need to update your blog" and that was all. So here is an update...

Life has been good. Work is work, nothing too exciting going on there. Wedding planning is consuming most of my time but I am definately enjoying most of it. Wedding season has officially started. Eric and I traveled to Lubbock last weekend for our friends Shane and Heather's wedding. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and we had a great time. The crazy story behind this wedding is that Shane and Eric grew up together and were room-mates in Lubbock for a while. And, Heather and I played softball together growing up and then went to the same college to play our freshman year. Needless to say, we were all pretty surprised when we found out about the connection we all had.

Eric's birthday was wednesday June 4th...thats right the big 29!!!! He had a pretty busy day at work but we were still able to go to Studio Movie Grill to get dinner and catch a movie.

I couldn't resist...Eric's mom sent this picture out in an e-mail on his birthday...ISN'T HE JUST SOOO CUTE?!?!

So thats it for now, sorry its so random. I will try to be better, but no promises!!!

The Fiance

2008-05-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, so this is my (Eric) first post since proposing to Lauren on Camelback. About time huh? I had the ring for about a month before the proposal. It was truly a test in patience for me to keep that secret from Lauren and a lot of other people, especially Lauren. I think every day leading up to our trip I wanted to propose to her, I just really didn't want to wait, but I feel that God had laid out his perfect timing in front of me, and he had not led me wrong yet, and so I trusted him, and things worked out more than perfect. It was truly amazing, and when I say I am blessed to be engaged to a woman like Lauren, that is an understatement. I know I have said before she is wonderful and amazing, but while re-reading my past posts I noticed that I hadn't explained why I think she is so amazing and feel so blessed.

Allow me to tell you a little about my future wife:
For the past 4 months Lauren has been working full-time, taking classes 4 nights a week to prepare to go to PA school, planning a bachelorette party for her friend Jaylynn, and since April 12, planning her own wedding. Tonight she finished one of her classes and got an "A" in it, and she finishes the other class tomorrow evening, and Lord willing she will get another "A". She has been sick, worn, out, exhausted, etc and yet her discipline, her faith, and her perseverance have gotten her to this point. All the while she has been a daily encouragement to me, her family, and the people around her. She does so many things for so many people, and many times they don't even notice her generosity, yet she keeps on doing it. She holds herself to a standard that I couldn't imagine measuring up to, and yet even in that she is modest and she knows that everything she has is a blessing to her from God, and from Christ alone she gets her strength.

Every single day I thank Christ that Lauren is a part of my life, and most days have to pinch myself when I think about spending the rest of my life with her. I think of those days in Boston when the Lord kept tugging on my heart, said come to Dallas, work here at this gym, go to this class at 5:30am, and then right there in front of me was my future wife, who he had been preparing for me since she was a little girl. Wow is all I can say. If you all knew the prayers and conversations I had leading to my moving here and after I moved here, and all of the things that had to happen for us to be in that class, on that day, directly across from each other doing step ups on a wooden bench at 5:30 in the morning, you couldn't deny that it was all God at work. To call our meeting a coincidence would be to try and take some credit for God's plans that, had I thought on for eternity, I could not have topped.

I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next.

I am officially a blogger!!!

2008-04-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

I am so excited...my first blog ever!!! Since Eric and I are on the road to becoming a "WE" he has decided to let me join his blog! Now we can share stories from both of our points of view, that is if he doesn't decide to quit blogging. I have a lot of learning to do so it might be a little rough in the beginning.

Where to begin...

This weekend was the most amazing weekend of my life. It all began on Friday afternoon when Eric picked me up from work and we headed for the airport. I was so excited to take a break from the busy schedule that I have been keeping and to get to spend time with him (there hasn't been a whole lot of that lately). On the airplane we talked about how excited we were to be going to Arizona to spend time together, for Eric to meet my Aunt Sally, and to see David compete in his first Ironman. On Friday night we went to dinner with Aunt Sally at a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant with wonderful food.

Between the traveling and the two hour time change we were pretty exhausted so shortly after we got back to the house we called it a night.

Saturday morning we woke up fairly early so that we could head out to hike up Camelback Mountain. I have hiked Camelback a few times with my family so this was a MUST DO for our trip and I am sure that I had been telling Eric how wonderful it was for months. After driving around for what seemed like FOREVER (I can only imagine how Eric must felt) we found parking and headed toward the trail. Immediately I remembered how tough the hike was going to be! After about an hour of Eric practically dragging me up the mountain we reached the top. We found a little spot that was away from all of the other people at the top and sat down on a rock. At this point I was getting a little grumpy...ok maybe a lot (we are going to blame that on the blood sugar, but who really knows!!) so Eric got out the cliff bars we had brought and we ate those while talking and enjoying the view. When it was time to head back down the mountain Eric went to have a woman take a picture of us with the amazing view. In the middle of taking pictures he reached his hand into his pocket and he got down on one knee!!!! At this point the next few minutes are somewhat of a blur...I heard the word love a few times and definitely something about the rest of my life...and then LAUREN MARIE WILKEN, WILL YOU MARRY ME. OF course I said YES!!! After a few minutes of being caught up in the moment and overwhelmed with joy I realized that the whole time this woman had been taking pictures because Eric had let her in on the whole thing! These are some wonderful memories that we will for sure never forget!

After that we spent a while on the top of the mountain calling family and a few friends before heading back down. The whole way down I wanted to shout to everyone "We just got in engaged!!!" but I think that we made it down with me only telling a few people!

The rest of the day couldn't have gotten anymore wonderful. After stopping at my Aunts house to tell her and talking to a couple of my cousins on the phone Eric pulled out another surprise. He made me a scrapbook (yes thats right, went to scrapbook warehouse and everything!!) with pages full of all of the major events in our life together so far. I knew that he was incredibly sweet and romantic...but seriously, he had saved everything that we had done and remembered very special dates like the day we met, our first date, our first trip...you get the picture. If only I could be that sweet, I will work on it. Next we headed off to the Biltmore Hotel where we had the most wonderful massages. We spent the rest of the day at the hotel laying by the pool and sipping on "margs/ritas" (Eric calls them "margs" I call them "ritas", you choose) and pina coladas.

Saturday night we got all fancied up and headed to dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant called El Chorro. The atmosphere was amazing with beautiful lighting and a band playing all night out under the stars. When we arrived we were surprised with a card from our waitress. The card was from our amazing friends the Burnetts, congratulating us on our engagement. Then she told us that they wanted to buy us a bottle of champagne and dessert to celebrate...they are sooo wonderful, we are blessed to have such great friends in our lives.

As we sat and ate we talked a lot about how we didn't want the night to end and how great the day had been. Before we left Eric dedicated a song to me and we danced. As we headed back to the house I couldn't stop smiling ( I don't think I stopped the whole weekend). Here I was sitting next to the man that I am going to be with for the rest of my life...and he is AMAZING!!!

Sunday morning we spent some time at the house with Sally just hanging out then we got ready and headed to Tempe to cheer on our friend David. We met up with David's fiance Nikki, his friend Andrew, and David's mom and dad. This was sooo fun because I got to show off my ring to a group of people for the first time!!! :) We spent the next 5-6 hours shaking with excitement and anticipation to see David run by again and to watch him cross the finish line. As he finished the Ironman at about 8:00pm it was all I could do to keep myself together. I was so inspired by the discipline and determination that it took to get David to the race and the strength that he had physically, emotionally, and spiritually to get him through the brutal conditions of the race day.
DAVID WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU...YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!!

After a short dinner Sunday night we headed back to Scottsdale to get some sleep.

Monday morning Eric and I got up and headed back to Phoenix to hike up Squaw Peak before our trip was over. This was a much different climb than Camelback, but still very difficult.

After hiking we went back to Sally's house, got cleaned up and headed to the airport to come home, but the surprises weren't over...

When we arrived back in Dallas I was told that I had one more surprise waiting for me and even though I tried VERY hard to get it out of him, Eric kept the secret in as we headed towards Plano. We passed by my apartment complex on the tollway and came to a stop in front of Maggiano's Restaurant...a nice Italian restaurant that Eric and I have had a couple of nice dates. Already I am excited because I am hungry and I am thinking that this will be the perfect way to end the trip, a quiet dinner to recap all of the wonderful weekend...BOY WAS I WRONG!!

We were taken to the back of the restaurant and when I turned the corner my family and Eric's family were sitting at a huge table waiting for us. Immediately I was filled with emotions. Our families are such a huge part of our lives and to be able to celebrate with them all together was so wonderful. The rest of dinner was hardly quiet as I learned even more about all of the planning that Eric had done to make this fairy tale weekend fall into place. I was either laughing or smiling throughout the entire dinner...so much that I had to massage my cheeks because they hurt so bad. I have been so blessed and I feel spoiled to have such wonderful parents and an amazing sister and because of this I was sure that another family could never come into our lives and compare. I was definitely proved wrong on Monday night and as we laughed and talked, I thought that God has truly given me the most wonderful gift, another family who matches up with mine and whos love for each other and the Lord inspires me and lifts me up every time I think about them. Mom, Dad, Katie, Beau, Kimberly, Mama Hughes, and Big G...I love you all so much, thank you for being there to celebrate our amazing engagement with us!

SO, to sum up...I have the most AMAZING fiance ever!!! He worked so hard to make this whole weekend so wonderful for me. I know that this is just a glimpse of what the future holds for us together as a couple and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

Eric I love you so much...thank you for all of the wonderful memories so far and the many more to come! :)

We are engaged!!

2008-04-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

So, I asked Lauren to marry me on Saturday atop Camelback Mountain and she said yes! It was the greatest day of my life. I am so blessed to have her, and I cherish every moment I spend with her.

Lauren will also be contributing to the blog now, which I will henceforth refer to as "our" blog. God Bless!

Mavs Game

2008-03-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I went to the Mavs game a week ago with Beau and Kimbo. We had a blast. I love my Bro and his wife so much. They love the Lord and Beau has been such an influence and a mentor to me, especially these past few months since I moved back to Texas. We are so blessed to get to hang out with them.

I am also blessed to have a woman like Lauren in my life. She is so amazing and is a blessing to me every day, even when I don't get to see her. Her Faith, her determination, her Love, and her joy in life have rubbed off on me constantly since the first day we hung out. I love her so much and being around her has made me a better man and definitely helped bring me closer to the Lord. I can't explain enough how much of a blessing it is to have her walking next to me. I love you Lauren.

Hello March Madness

2008-03-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

So, aside from preparing to dominate my March Madness Bracket Challenges, a lot has been going on. Lauren and I got to go to a couple of Mavs games last week, one with the Martins who hooked us up with some amazing tickets, and the other with Beau and Kimbo where we sat on the VERY last row, backs against the wall, nose bleed seats. They actually weren't that bad. I don't know if Lauren watched either game though, the ladies chatted during both games. We had a blast at both games though, and Dirk beat J-Ho in both as well. In your face J-ho. (;

The weekend before Lauren and I joined her parents on a trip down to the Ft Worth Stockyards via the Tarantula Train from Grapevine. Bob and I were both under the impression there would be an awesome steam engine involved. There was no steam, and it seemed like there was no engine, as we chugged along around 15mph the whole way. No joke. The Stockyards were cool though, and i got to have a beer at Billy Bob's at 4 in the afternoon. I had a lot of fun.

I will post some pictures of our adventures when I get them, and look out for upcoming pictures from Easter and our trip to Arizona to relax and watch our good friend David race in the Arizona Ironman. Peace Out!

February

2008-02-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, this month has flown by. My last post was actually Lauren writing so here is finally an update from me. Things are great here in Plano. Couldn't be better. Work is steady and busy and Lauren and I are wonderful. We had a fun trip to Burnet, TX at the beginning of the month. I got to meet and hang out with a lot of Lauren's friends from HS and College which I really enjoyed. What a great crew they are. The cabin we stayed at was amazing too.

I don't have much more to write tonight, I am tired from taking a spin class this evening, but I just wanted to post an update and some new pics from our trip to Burnet. Hope this finds everyone well, God Bless.

Notice how I am doing the wrong pose.

The Woman I Love

2008-02-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

So, I though for this post I would let my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, extra-awesome girlfriend Lauren share some thoughts. I took them from her Facebook profile so I hope she doesn't mind!

"So I thought yesterday that I might start blogging. I had so much to say and so much to be thankful for and I wanted to share that with the world. And then I remembered that I am busy and that even though it sounds like fun I don't think that I am ready to let blogging consume my life...yet! But I do want to give a tribute to the amazing men in my life.
For those of you who don't know me, or those that do...I am not a huge fan of V-day. But yesterday, when I got home from work I got two of the best V-day surprises ever. The first was a little gift from my dad hanging on the door. Every year for as long as I can remember my dad has gotten me socks for Valentines Day. When I talked with my mom yesterday she told me that he had been upset the night before because he didn't know how he was going to get over to my apartment to give me my gift because he had a busy day. Although I am sure he had a very busy day and much more important things to be doing he found a way to make it to my apartment to give me my socks. I am so blessed to have a father who loves me unconditionally and who schedules his whole day around making mine.
My second surprise was from Eric (of course). When I walked into my bedroom I walked into a bed full of goodies. There were flowers, chocolates and a cute valentines stuffed animal…but best of all there was a letter. He started the letter on January 28th and had written a little more each day since. On each day he wrote what had happened on that particular day to remind him how much he loves me. It is so amazing to see in writing how much he truly respects, appreciates, and loves me. I am so thankful and blessed to have such an amazing man of God in my life. Without anything else, that letter made my Valentines Day the best one ever. Eric I am so grateful for you!
Although I feel that we should all strive to make our loved ones feel loved and cherished everyday, this Valentines was a great one! It is easy to take advantage of the wonderful gifts that God has given, but yesterday God helped me to realize that I don’t deserve any of this. The unconditional love that I am shown by men like my dad and Eric doesn’t even compare to the unconditional love that God has for me.

I think, if we have Valentines Day in heaven…I hope it’s a lot like yesterday…or better yet, maybe everyday will be like yesterday! :)"

Man, I am so blessed and thankful to have her as a part of my life. God is awesome.

'Rents and Grand-Rents

2008-01-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

So my parents came to town last weekend to talk to their builder in Anna, TX. That's right, Big G and Karen will be moving to the Metroplex in 2009. It is exciting and the house will be awesome. Big G drove Lauren and I by the property which is right next to my Grandparents house, out on a nice 7 or 8 acres. There is a fantastic view from where my parents house will sit, it will make for some amazing sunsets and fun times out at the "Big H Ranch" as my Dad has called it.

Afterwards we went and ate with everyone, and Kimbo and Beau met us, at The Jalepeno Tree. This was the WORST mexican food I have ever had. I would liken it to Lone Wolf Cafe in Lubbock or bad Taco Bell. It was bad, all disguised in a nice place with a very good ambiance. (sp?) We had a great time though and afterwards went and hung out in Denton with Kim-Beau, Karen, and Big G. I got to hang up curtains, yay. Here are some pics from the evening.

Lauren and Me

Karen and Big G

Beau, Me and Grandaddy Richard

The whole gang

The Hughes Boys and Grandaddy

The whole group again

Lauren and I with Beau and Kimbo

Being Sick

2008-01-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

So I missed my first day of work as a Trainer today, at home sick, it was a lot of fun. Ok, I was being sarcastic, it sucked. I slept 80% of the day and then got up and studied and now I am heading back to sleep so I can try and get up for a 6:30 client tomorrow morning. Yuck.

I also wanted to say that I am blessed that I have an amazing girlfriend. Lauren brought me food and medicine tonight, risking getting sick just to come take care of me. She is so wonderful.

Not much else is going on here in Plano. Just working and living life. Hope this finds you all well. God bless.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2008 here already. 2007 was such a blessed year for me and I am so thankful for everything good and bad that happened last year. I am so excited for what God has in store for me in 2008, assuming I listen to him like I want to. Just as Matt recommended Sunday my question for 2008 is "How?". I know what goals I have, the way I want to be, the person I want to be, but HOW do I do that??? Humility is hard to come by and pride manifests itself in many different and ugly ways, and usually keeps us from getting to the How questions and keeps us stuck at WHAT. I am taking a lot of this from Matt's sermon, but for Christians the WHAT should ultimately be increased Godliness, and here are 3 ways to train for Godliness:

1) Spiritual Disciplines: reading scriptures, praying, quiet time, etc.
2) Fellowship: Doing life with one another in the body of Christ, walking closely with fellow believers.
3) Biblical Counseling: Personal introspections

I have already started my training in the the first 2 of the 3, God has blessed me by providing me with a great group of guys to start walking with in my HomeGroup who live and work near me, and workout at my gym, and I have a wonderful girlfriend who loves the Lord. I also have a renewed interest in reading and I have been finding more time to pray, read the scriptures and read other books helping me understand and learn more about Jesus everyday.

I am extremely excited about beginning the third way of training this weekend, at the Village's Celebrate Recovery Step Study. I am excited but also know that the next few months of unpacking all the baggage in my soul is going to be difficult and force me to look deep into my heart and bring up some very painful parts of my past. I hope to be able to share more of my issues with you and hopefully God will use me to encourage people who read my blog.

So, this year when you make your resolutions and figure out "what", sit down and map out "How".

To listen to Village sermons go to this link: http://www.thevillagechurch.net/resources/sermons.html

Friends Visit

2007-12-31T11:59:00.001-08:00

Awhile back my best friends Pope and Ben came in from Boston and Austin. Pope brought along his lady friend Carrie. Lauren took most of the pics, Here is the result:

Enough

2007-12-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

I wrote this awhile back when I was having a rough night, and the thing is that it applies on the good days just as much as it does on the bad. Here is what I wrote.

"It's funny how Faith in Christ works. I recently heard a sermon where the gospel in our hearts was likened to coins in a vending machine. Sometimes the coins get stuck, and don't drop to the place they are supposed to drop. Same with the Gospel sometimes, the words come in and get stuck in our heads, not finding their way to the place they are supposed to reach, our hearts. I know I for one struggle with this. Knowing something in your mind but it takes time to reach your heart. For example I know that God is more than enough for me and is everything I need, but why do I get down sometimes and look for satisfaction or approval from somewhere or something other than Christ? I wish I knew. I just pray that I continue to wrestle with this until the Gospel finally drops in my heart and I "get it". I pray that I feel in my heart what I know in my mind, that Jesus Christ is more than enough for me and can fulfill any want and need that I ever have had or ever will have. I hope if you are feeling the same thing that this will be an encouragement to you. I pray that the Gospel and complete Faith in Christ, that he is enough, will drop into your heart."

Holiday in the Park

2007-12-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

Lauren, Jennifer, and I went to Six Flags a couple of weeks ago. We had a blast. Of course I didn't ride any of the big rides, but did enjoy Runaway Mountain, The Bobsled, and has a blast taking these pictures. Lauren and Jennifer rode the Titan and said the Superman: Tower of Fear was awesome. Here are some of the pics we took dressed up.

All I want for Christmas

2007-12-07T23:07:00.000-08:00

Its that time of the year, except its not really. I don't consider 75 Christmas weather. But, in any case there are trees up at the Hughes casa in Lubbock, the 3 Amigos apt in Plano, and Lauren's pad in North Dallas. Visibly more decorations at the 2 other than my place, but hey, 3 guys living together, what do you expect. Al is suprisingly the most excited about Christmas here. He bought stockings for the 3 of us and Lauren and wrote our names on them, and has also hung up a singing Santa on our door. Crazy, right? Isn't that CRAZY ted?

So Lauren and I went to see Big Gary and Karen and the great city of Lubbock last weekend. We had a great time but ate too much junk, and I think I ate maybe a gallon of queso from my favorite mexican food place of all time, Lujan's. So good. It was fun showing Lauren all the old hangouts: Chimy's, Crickets, Wal-Mart. I know right, thats about all there is there. We did get to go visit Tech campus and we also went to the Carol of Lights, which was my first time to see it. Really a neat experience but we almost froze to death. We also helped decorate my parents tree since my Mom has a torn ACL and my dad has been out of commission for a couple of months now with a bad back and now an over prescribed medication that has caused him some issues. We wno't get into it here. Just know Big G is on the road to a full recovery. Here is a picture of Lauren and I in front of the tree, us with Big G, and one of the Hughes family sans KimBeau.

We made some Christmas cookies tonight which was a blast! Lauren's were much better decorated than mine, although I did have a couple of good ones. Sorry no pics as of yet, aaaaand we may or may not have eaten some of the more festively decorated ones. Have no fear, we will make more and take pictures next time!!

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. It will be my first one to get to spend with my family in 2 years, since last year's trip from Boston got cancelled. I also have new people in my life I am excited to share the holiday most importantly celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus. Happy Holidays to all, and God Bless.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight"

Turkey Time

2007-11-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

Slapsgiving.............sorry, Thanksgiving is almost here. Inside joke for those "HIMYM" watchers out there.

So it has been awhile. What is new with me?? I moved into a new apt with James and Al, 2 co-workers, both trainers. Moving weekend was exciting, which also included running in a 5K in Flower Mound with Lauren and her family. I really had a great time but needed a nap afterwards for sure. I now have a more steady internet connection now that I won't be mooching it from my neighbors unsecured networks, I have my own network!! Finally.

Work is still going well. Again God is great and has blessed me with some wonderful clients, although I may have too many at this point. I am supposed to be selling training for other trainers but with 13 and 14 hour days sometimes training 10 people in a day, it doesn't leave much room to prospect and look for new business.

I know I keep mentioning this, but I am also the happiest I have ever been in my adult life. My relationship with Christ is growing stronger, although somedays it feels like 2 steps forward 1 step back, just because I am a screw up. I have Lauren in my life, which is a big part of my happiness. I also really enjoy my job. I have never been this content as an adult. The pessimist in me feels that I should be expecting something bad to happen, you know like you usually do on a day that is going perfectly, but the optimist in me believes that things are going well for a reason and none of it is chance. Again, I am a blessed guy.

Basketball season has started too. The Mavs are doing well again, the Celtics are killing people, along with the Pats, and this past weekend the Red Raiders creamed Boomer Sooner. Ownage.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving also! Even though I am sad I don't get to run in the Turkey Trot with Lauren I do get to spend Thanksgiving with her in Flower Mound, and hopefully get to hang out with Beau and Kimbo too. It's been too long since the last double date. Maybe Kimbo will teach us to speak spanish like she does.

On a different note, my Dad is still having issues with his back and psiatic nerve, as well as spells of dizziness and blacking out. Please please please pray for him. My mom is also having some troubles with her knee, which she kept hidden from everyone for the past several months, which bothers me. I'm worried about my parents and will keep praying for healing for them. I am looking forward to our trip to Lubbock next weekend. Hopefully they will be mobile enough to hang out and do some things around town, maybe the parade of lights on Tech campus.

Hopefully they will feel well enough to go to Lujan's too. If not I will definitely be picking it up to go for the 4 of us. Best Tex Mex Ever.

Well my blog reader, I hope you are doing well and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
I will try and post some pics of the new apartment next time. Its really a sweet place.

God Bless.

Highlights of the past 2 weeks.....

2007-10-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Let's see:

1) Could barely walk after my tri and my knee still hurts. Thank goodness for co-workers that know how to fix me.

2) Lunch with my new pal David at Blue Goose, great mexican food. Excellent queso and a killer brunch selection. I highly recommend. Next time I will try the 'ritas.

3) Bought Transformers the Movie. Yes this is a highlight, I was a Transformers freak as a child and the movie was awesome. Ask anybody.

4) Sox won the ALCS in 7 games and will now demolish the Rockies in the WS. TOo bad I moved right before all this is going down AND the Pats may have the greatest NFL team of all time. Brady and Moss are ridic and my boy Wes Welker is killing people too.

5) Bowling with the work crew. Too bad I suck at bowling.

6) Dinner and Grey's with Lauren. Can't stand George or Meredith. Private Practice is getting better.

7) Dinner and a movie with Lauren. "Gone Baby Gone", set in Dorchester, MA. I felt like I was back in Boston after I walked out of that movie. Great movie BTW, strong language, but very well done. Directed by Ben Affleck.

8) Grilled or baked salmon 3 nights in a row. Seriously? Yes, thank you Sams. Excellent salmon on the cheap.

9) Finally finding (I think) a small group to go to.

10) Finally dropping below 10% bodyfat. According to Lloyd's 7 site skin fold test, anyway.

11) Did I mention Salmon?

12) A nice little Saturday coming up. Maybe a some go carts, the driving range, a bike ride, dinner and a movie at the park. I don't know yet, will there be enough time??

13) Pope and Carrie coming to town in 10 days, and going to a the Mavs season opener and maybe a Spazmatice show with them too.

Lowlights:

1) Texas Tech football. Period.

2) Sore glutes, hips, piriformis, knees, and back. Aye caramba!

3) Being at work at 5am every day. Wow that's early. Good thing the clients are awesome or I would fire them.

4) Texas Tech football. So bad they are listed twice.

5) Beau having something come up and not being able to hang with his big bro.

Tri Time

2007-10-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

We did it, Lauren and I survived the innagural US Open Triathlon. Yes, even though it took me 2 hours and 33 minutes, I did survive. The swim (800M) plus the first transition took me about 40 minutes. Lauren kicked butt and finished the whole Tri in 2 hours and 17 minutes(I think that’s right). Yep, she owned me, and you know what, I am really proud of her. I know that in the spring she’s gonna break 2 hours on a sprint Tri and probably kick butt at the Olympic Distance (no pressure Lauren.) I am glad we did the Tri though. It was a lot of fun training and preparing for it, and finishing an event like that gives you a great sense of accomplishment, because Lord know I wanted to quit about every 20 meters in the choppy, nasty water of Joe Pool Lake. But I didn’t. And I’m not nieve enough to think that I did any part of that race without help from above. I spent half of the bus ride from Reunion Arena to Joe Pool praying for the strength to finish the race. Lauren thought I was so nervous that I was sick. For those of you that don’t know, my calves cramped up really bad Thursday night and I could barely even walk on Friday and was still a little gimpy on Saturday. I was seriously worried I would cramp up in the water and have to be pulled ashore by a rescue boat. No way I made it through that race without some divine strength. My calves didn’t cramp up once during the whole 2.5 hours. Now my quads and hamstrings, that’s another story. You think maybe I was a little dehydrated?

Overall it was a great experience. Once I loosened up on the run I probably finished my last mile in about 7 minutes. Afterwards we enjoyed an awesome mexican food lunch (thank you Bob and Johnny), and then napped the rest of the afternoon and went to church and had a big fat burger with bbq sauce and cheddar cheese. Guess it was ok to eat since I burned over 2600 calories during the tri, plus whatever I burned in the hours immediately following. Probably 3500+ within 5 hours. Crazy.

Another fun part of the weekend was that my friend Mike Pelaggi (Holla!!) was in town from Beantown, aka Boston, aka Dedham. We got to meet out Friday night for some beeahs at Pete’s Piano Bar. Fun times. Good to see Mike but poor choice of pre-event carb loading. I think you are supposed to carb load on pasta, not on Miller Light. My bad. Also probably shouldn’t have had around 2 bags of chips with guacamole, salsa, and cheese dip on Saturday during the Tech/A&M game (WRECK EM), hours before the Tri. Nice work Eric, you are a genius. Anyways, it was great to see Mike and hang out. Too bad we didn’t get to go to the Pats/Cowboys game with him like we had originally wanted to do. Probably best since it was a struggle to get up off the couch Sunday after the Tri. At least the Pats won.

So, a busy weekend, but an awesome one. I am attaching a pic from after the Tri. Enjoy!

Finally an update......

2007-10-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

So, I know you all have been wondering what I have been up to. Well, alot actually. I just got back from a long weekend that included hanging out in downtown Dallas with old friends, attending the Village Membership class, attending the Youth Group's Fall Retreat, FOCUS, down in Cleburne, or Glen Rose TX to be more exact, working 8 hours today, and getting lost in between Dallas and Ft Worth, which is not half as cool as getting lost in between the moon and New York City. For those of you that are young, that last reference was to a song in the 80's by Christopher Cross, it was on the "Arthur" soundtrack and very popular. Overall a very eventful weekend, plus Tech and A&M won (don't ask, yes I support them now in a small capacity).

So, overall life is fantastic. I thank God every day for the people he has placed in my life here and also for bringing me here. I am also thankful for the times he kicks me in my balls and shows me how jacked up I am and things I need to work on. Which is ok, because I understand that life full of him is life full of joy, and that whatever happens to me, if I am following him and in his will, then he will take care of me. Make sense? I love how he showed me my pride today, let me simmer, blow up, and cool back down and then spoke through someone else on why he lets things happen to me, and that just makes me love him more. I think I almost broke my fist today punching the ceiling of my truck i was so mad, and for those that know me, I don't really get mad like that often at all. He even hinted at his plan to break me and let me blow up the night before when I was at the youth retreat and opened up my bible and saw some old passages in 2 Corinthians that I had highlighted several years ago, 12:7-10

"To keep me from becoming conceited because if these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord ti take it away from me, but he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG."

Man, how hope I can be that faithful, and that blessed to constantly be insulted, put through hardships, and difficult times. Only so that I can more fully see how much I need Jesus in my life and be more passionate about him and build a stronger relationship with him. I also need to boast in my weaknesses more like the fact that I am a prideful, vain, insecure, and lustful person. I will totally own up to all of that and say that without more of Jesus in my life that list will just keep getting longer and longer, but with more of him it will become shorter as I grow in Christian maturity.

Why? Well, if you believe that verse, then in my weakness Jesus will make me strong, make my ways right, and in that I will glorify God and see life as he has it planned for me, which is more promising that any other alternative, because it will be eternal.

Wow, off on a tangent there some, but that's how I feel and time and time again it is revealed to me through numerous avenues. Just can't argue it anymore, and I don't want to.

So, other things in my life, well I have been seeing someone a little over a month now and she is truly amazing. I am just blessed and overjoyed to have a sister in Christ and a friend first and foremost in the person I am dating. I am really happy.

Work is good, I got promoted to the sales team at the end of my first full month, which I think is very good, and my schedule is full to the point that I am having to try and drop some clients so that I have more time to go out and find new business for our other trainers. I am moving into a new apartment in November, same complex, next building over. That is kind of exciting, but also sucks since I just moved in.

My Dad has been in the hospital recently with a sciatic nerve acting up, which really scared me. To know that your family is sick and hurt and there is nothing you can do is really humbling. Thankfully all is ok for now and he should be out in a day or 2. Big G will be ok.

One last thing, the US Open Triathlon is this coming weekend, which Lauren and I are both competing in. If you pray, please pray we both finish and especially that I survive the 800M swim that precedes the 40K bike ride and 5K run. Or if you see me, just shoot me. It would be less painful. Seriously though I am really excited for the race and can't wait. It's gonna be wicked pissah. Don't ask.

Until my next update, which will hopefully be after next weekend and accompanied by some pics of me kicking some tail, take care and God bless.

Lovin' Life

2007-08-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying that I am the happiest I have been in several years. I love my job and my co-workers, I love the area I am living in, I have met a couple of wonderful people that I have been hanging out with, and I am involved in a Christian community and going to a Church that is helping me draw closer to Jesus every day. Not to say I don't struggle with certain things still, cause we all do, but I am blessed to be where I am now and think that the best is yet to come.

I signed up for a Triathalon today, the Toyota US Open Triathalon on October 14th, sponsored by my company, Lifetime Fitness. Of course I am only competing in the sprint distance, but I am very excited. I also have an AWESOME training partner and as hard and as much as I have been working out and training, I am having a BLAST doing it. I just hope my swimming improves so I don't drown! I think once we get our schedule down and start hitting the pool more it will get better. Hopefully racetime I will have lost a few pounds and be at about 8% bodyfat too, which will help me run a little faster and not kill my knees.

I also sold my first training package at work yesterday, 24 sessions. Now all I need is a couple more of those packages to hit my personal goal for the month. Anyone want to buy a polar watch and/or some metabolic tests? Let me know if you do!

One last thing I am pumped about is getting to see Randy Rogers next weekend in Lewisville. He's been my favortite Country singer for awhile now and I haven't seen him in concert yet, that will change next Saturday.

Back in Texas

2007-08-14T18:50:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been a couple of weeks. I finally made it back down to Texas after a long 2 days of driving, one of which was 21 hours straight from Canton, OH to Plano, TX. Talk about a haul. Big Gary did take over for me for about 30 min so I could get a quick power nap in, so props to him for that. I was so glad to get to spend time with my Dad, he's such a great guy, hilarious, and one of my best friends. We had some fun times at the NFL Hall of Fame and on the congested highways of Oklahoma at 3am. Traffic jams at 3am suck by the way, as does the Oklahoma highway system. Bassakwards Sooners.

I started my job as a personal trainer for Lifetime Fitness in Plano this week, had my first client at 6am on Monday and again tomorrow at 6am, followed up by a 5:30am workout class on Thursday. Talk about a long first week! I love it though. To be able to help people transform themselves through hard work is such an awesome thing. I also get to witness to people every day, and build relationships with new people everyday. I am so thankful God opened so many doors to help me get down here to pursue my passion. I'm blessed way more thank I deserve. I get to do what I love everyday and get paid for it. Plus my coworkers are awesome and incedibly supportive. I'm lucky to have landed at such a great place.

I'm also excited about this weekend. My good friend Christa is getting married in Lubbock and I get to be an "ursher" in her wedding. A little Ludacris humor there for ya. Anyways, for a long time I didn't want to go to Lubbock under any circumstances, and now I look forward to going back to visit every time, and especially this time. I'm so happy for Christa and Chris, both great people who deserve one another.

Another thing I am excited about is getting to work with the youth group at The Village. I will be working with the 9th grade boys every Sunday night, and the entire High School group on Wednesday nights. I love working with kids, and pray that I can be a good mentor to them each and every week. I also fully expect them to be like the youth at City View and think that, because I am a little more muscular, that them punching, kicking, elbowing, and slapping me doesn't hurt. It does. Kids.... I am also working to start a home group here in the Plano/Frisco area. All I have to do is find 4 or 5 other people that want to meet each week and I am set! Easier said than done.

Anyway, I am busy and happy, and excited about where the Lord is leading me next. Until next time, HUGHES OUT!

Back to Texas

2007-07-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

So, I had a pretty crazy weekend, capped off with a day of tailgating at Country Fest in the Gillet Stadium parking lot. It was wild to say the least, good grillin, good beer and friends, and a few fights. Wild time.

So the big news with me is that I am moving back to texas this weekend. Plano to be exact, just North of Dallas. I am pursuing my passion, which is fitness, and i will be a personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness. Timing on th job and the move all worked out perfectly and I couldn't be more excited to finally be doing something that I love and not just doing something that I can do and that I am good at. I will also be close to my brother and sister-in-law, and The Village, which I am so excited and looking forward to become a regular part of. A sense of community is something that I have sorely missed over the past few years.

So, give me a shout if you ever get to the Plano area, and keep checking back to see how the move goes and hear all about my new job. It is an exciting time for me.

Pre

2007-07-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

One of the great things that has come out of me living in Boston has been a renewed interest in reading. Recently I have been like a sponge, from business books, books by Christian authors, to inspirational books, and personal training manuals. Its been great. Right now I'm reading a biography of Steve Prefontaine.

For those of you that haven't heard of "Pre", he was a middle distance runner in the late 60s and early 70s for the University of Oregon and for the US in the Olympics. This guy was amazing. His life was cut short though, he died in a car crash around the age of 25. I don't think he EVER lost a meet in college, sometime running 2 events on the same day and setting college and American recods in both. Think of running in the 5 mile, winning and setting a collegiate record, then turning around and doing the same thing in the 3 mile. All this still under 22 yrs old, which is young for distance runners. This guy was also insanely famous for a runner. Think Michael Johnson at his most famous times 10. His coach at Oregon was Bill Bowerman who co-founded Nike. Pre was one of the first people to ever wear Nikes and help populartize them when they first started.

One of the things that keeps coming up is how determined and competitive this guy was. He had the determination of Lance Armstrong without having gone through the adversity that Lance did. I mean think about it, Lance was great before his battle with cancer, but because of the strength and determination that overcoming cancer gave him he became one of the greatest athletes of all-time. Would he have been as great if he hadn't had that adversity to overcome and make him stronger and more determined? Personally I don't think he would have. Pre had that type of determination because he knew he had a gift, and felt that not using that gift to its fullest was a waste. He always ran in the front, not drafting off of other runnners which is the norm. He felt that giving anything less than everything he had every race was chickenshit.

His legacy is still around today, Nike has a whole freakin line of Pre clothes, and every up and coming track superstar is always compared to Pre, who I think still holds a ton of HS and College and even American records. I highly recommend that you, my blog fans, check the book out. Just type prefontaine into amazon or something.

Man, what an inspiration. To have that drive every day, think how different life would be. Crazy. I love reading this kind of stuff because it motivates me to not waste my gifts. It reminds me of the parable about the Servants and the Talents in Matthew 25 (I think thats right). We all have gifts and we are meant to use them to their fuillest, anything less is a waste.

On another note we won our semifinal game in my YMCA league tonight, so we are in the finals next week. Yours truly was ballin with around 14 points, 8-10 boards, and 4-5 assists. Usually I am fine to sit back, have fun, not worry about doing anything more than board and play D, but tonight I decided to be AWESOME instead. True story. Although I think I strained my calf a little so I gotta rest that baby before next week. Even studs like me get hurt sometimes. I can't wait for the 'Ship next week though!

Speaking of awesome: Transformers. Go see it. I am trying to convince my friend Tim to name his second son Optimus Prime. I think it is a very dignified and respectable name. I mean, he's only a sentient robot that helped save the world from the Decepticons, I think the least Tim could do is honor the man, errrr robot, whatever.

Here's a pic of Pope, Carrie, Hailey and me at the Sox game.

Hello

2007-07-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

So, this is my blog. I guess I started blogging a little back in my myspace days, before I deleted my profile. This will be where I share my thoughts, some pics, quotes, jokes, who knows. We shall see. It will be a work in progress, much like me. I think my bro and seom other friends of mine have blogs on here somewhere, so I will try to add them to my friends list.

A little about me. I'm 28, single, living right now in the great city of Boston, MA, working in Sales for an IT company called EMC. I have learned a lot in the 10 months I have been in Boston, and grown a lot as well, as an adult and spiritually. Sometimes you head down a path and it takes to to a completely different place than you expected. Somewhere that wasn't even on the map when you took that first step, but in the end it is where you were headed all along.

I have wonderful family, my parents Gary (Big G) and Karen, still married after 29 years, and living in Lubbock. Also my little brother Beau and his new wife, Kimbo, who live in Highland Village, soon to move to Denton where Beau will be the campus Pastor for The Village Church: Denton Campus. Beau, Kimbo, and my parents are so wonderful and support me more than I deserve, and all serve as examples to me daily. I can't wait to get to spend more time with them in the future.

I am a Christian, and working every day to build a stronger relationship with Jesus, from whom everything I am and have comes from. I am thankful everyday for the gifts in my life. Right now I am reading some great books by CS Lewis, John Eldredge, and the book of Matthew. Lewis is a tough read and works your mind, Eldredge plays to the heart and reminds you how exciting our story is. They sort of contrast one another but both build different areas of my spiritual walk. Great authors. I am also a big fan of John Piper and love to podcast sermons from the Village Church http://www.thevillagechurch.net/podcast/index.html (my brother preached 2 weeks ago, "Remebering the Gospel", it was awesome.)

I love sports and fitness, and being active, when my lazy TV watching side doesn't get the better of me. I am a Certfied Personal Trainer with the Nat'l Strength & Conditioning Assoc, and have some plans to put that thing to good use, as well as get a few more certifications. Its fascinating to learn how much the human body is capable of, and how to continually challenge it and push it to the limit, which is what I try to do everytime I train. I can't describe the rush and sense of accomplishment I get after a killer session.

So, that's a little about me. I am also a pretty goofy, sarcastic guy, so some of that will probably come out in what I write, if I keep this thing up! Thanks for stopping by my little spot on the web. I will put up some pics and stuff when I figure out how to. God bless.