life of the godfAther

Gabi's first video

2008-11-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

Back Home! Hot Boudin!

2008-07-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

Just got back from australia. you know you're back in louisiana when you stop to get gas and see this on the Exxon sign. (look underneath the prices!)

Michael Griffis' Twin?

2008-07-02T05:23:00.001-07:00

Epic is here!!!

2008-06-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

the latest worship cd from healing place church is finally here. EPIC!! you gotta hear this thing...it's incredible, you can buy it on itunes(keyword:healingplacechurch) or on our website, or at the church. make sure you grab a few of these babies. you will not be disappointed. great job guys!!!!

Lance and the gang

2008-06-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

this is me, Kari, and the gang on fathers day at hpc. (that's not a cut out!)

more stuff

2008-06-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

i was in a car wharehouse and came across this beauty. cat chow car(say that 3 times fast). anyway, lot's going on. getting ready to go to summer camp in less than a week. i just turned 31...and i feel no different. father's day is this weekend....(surprise video in church....don't miss it)...you know HPC delivers on the humor. also this monday is my 7th anniversary. whew! also i got guitar hero for my birthday from Kari....pretty much the coolest wife on the planet!!!

twitterized

2008-04-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

i have twitter. click this link to follow it.

CLICK HERE!

MOVED TO ANNEX

2008-04-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

due to inclement(spelling?) weather, we'll be moving the mens conference to the annex for tonights meeting. we'll be using both auditoriums so we'll have plenty of space. get there early, grab a seat and a snack, and get ready for some awesome time.

INFO!

Healing Place Mens Conference

2008-04-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

dudes, men's conference is coming up tomorrow. i'm pretty fired up. check out cooking for Christ throwing some ribs on the grill. .these are the ribs we're serving Friday night...they are starting to cook them now!!!! get ready.

Easter week

2008-03-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

here are a few images of my week leading up to Easter. enjoy!

(alex just before punching and biting someone)

(anna riding in her new "big-girl" car seat on the way to school)

(christian knocking down some eggs "over medium" while keeping his skull protected)

(me nearly miserable while toting cameron the "meathead" around the mall....can you feel my back hurting?)

giant faith man

2008-03-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

this is one of my favorite videos we've done. it makes very little sense. basic premise..."what if?"

a sad day

2008-03-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

today i did something i never thought i'd do. my wife kari and i have 4 kids. anyone with 4 or more kids knows that transportation for the whole family can be a bit tricky. we have a minivan and you should see us in it. wall to wall people..no more room for anything....a tiny cargo area behind the back seat and that's it. today i dropped off our mazda mpv at hollingsworth mazda to have a luggage rack installed. that's right....it's a sad day. i'll be that guy driving down the interstate, with a huge cargo carrier on top, moving enough wind to power a small city. i can't believe we actually grew out of a regular minivan and now we have to put our junk on top of the vehicle. that truly is sad. not sure if we're just too big for a minivan or if we have too much stuff. picture after the break!

giant baby!!

2008-03-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

Look at the size of this baby! he's mine. that's right. can you guess his age and/or weight?

Mud Fight!

2008-02-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

wow, i ran across this picture of me and my childhood best friend, alejandro icaza. we found a construction site during a rainstorm and the rest is history. this makes me want to turn the hose on at the new healing place church arena and declare a "fun day". somehow i don't think the construction workers would find that amuzing. Can you guess the year?

Nobody doesn't like Mary Lee

2008-02-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite things to do on monday mornings is to take anna to school and make a quick stop over at mary lee donuts. here's me,christian and alex this past monday throwing back some fresh donutty goodness. there is no question in my mind that mary lee has the best donuts in the world...there have been other impostors over the years but no one comes close to the fat content, sugary sweetness, and overall globaliciousness of a fresh, hot mary lee glazed donut. i know this is an emotionally charged topic eliciting all types of crazy reactions. so who is your favorite donut? and what type? i'm a mary lee plain glazed man.

Arrangements for Amy Stockstill

2008-02-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a post from Pastor Dino's blog.

As I posted earlier, tomorrow night we are going to cancel all our services at the HPC_Highland campus (Life U, Refuge, Pathfinders) and instead, we’ll meet at Bethany South for prayer at 6pm and we’ll join them for a special service at 6:30pm - showing our support for the Stockstills and the whole Bethany family.

Funeral arrangements are as follows: Thursday 10am-Noon visitation, followed by funeral services at Bethany’s North Campus.

I encourage you to be a part of tomorrow night’s services and if you are able, be there for Thursday’s services as well - and continue to uplift Pastor Joel in prayer.

Pray for Amy

2008-02-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

No Life University this wednesday night! we will instead be meeting as a church at the Bethany South Campus at 6pm for prayer then we will join with them in their midweek service at 6:30. this applies to life u, refuge, and pathfinders. again, we are taking a break from HPC services this wednesday night and joining with the Stockstill family and Bethany to pray for Amy. please join us if at all possible and GET THE WORD OUT!!! if you know anyone that regularly attends life u or is planning to attend this week, please let them know we are having service at Bethany. click here for directions. i hope to see you there.

Finally!!!

2007-12-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

i have to thank my man T-squirrel "the guide" Straight for putting me on this monster runt of a 4 point(180lb). first shot in the woods taken with my new Thompson Center proHunter .280, first time to ever see a buck in the woods, first buck ever killed. this little fellow made the mistake of thinking he could daily eat at one of my best friends food plots. no telling how many times he went in there and ate food he didn't earn and didn't plant. he slipped out behind me at about 40yds, 6:40am...steady, aim, fire...one shot....BROWN ON THE GROUND!!! well sort of....it was not the best shot, no exit wound, no blood trail. to be honest i never would have found him except he ran and fell about 20 yds from where timmy was hunting. again, thanks squirrelio! many more to fall, my freezer is not yet full. anyone want to go hunting?

new pellet gun

2007-11-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

First victim with my Gamo pellet rifle...1200 fps. i took that squirrel in my backyard as you can see. many more have fallen since this one. and yes that is a silencer on the end of my rifle!

we're back home

2007-11-27T17:20:00.000-08:00

it's nice to be home from the hospital, especially considering we were there over thanksgiving! this is a shot of Cameron from this morning...what a stud. and there is another pick of me taking the other 3 to cabelas to look at all the dead animals. notice the bear with the goat in its mouth at the top left. not anna's favorite one!

Cameron Matthew LeBlanc

2007-11-21T01:52:00.000-08:00

he's finally here! 7lbs, 14oz and 3 weeks early...on Nov 21, 2007 @ 3:33am.

quick update

2007-11-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

we are in the hospital being "observed" overnight. not sure if this is the real thing or not...but the baby could come at any minute. i love the fact that my sister is a nurse here...it's makes the experience a little better. Now for a little humor while we wait in the hospital. last year at this time i traveled with pastor dino and chad daniel to italy then to russia to speak at a pastors conference. this is me and chad on the flight from Moscow to Kemerovo along with pastor yuri, whom we just met. i'm not sure what he thinks of us. check out some old school silent comedy. Classic awkward!

the answer

2007-11-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

How about a 1980 Spirit AMX, made by AMC(american motors corporation) a little known independent car company...went out of business in the 80's. and the picture was taken in Alabama at a gas station.

take a wild guess!!!

2007-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

See if you can guess the type of car this is as well as the U.S. state I took this picture in. yes, i took this picture!!

Healing Place TV

2007-09-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

i spent a little time tonight perusing our new healing place tv site. i was blown away as usual. kudos to song and tobelina...great job guys. this thing is bigger than us. you oughta check it out...it's way cool.

stuff

2007-09-03T20:56:00.001-07:00

this is a stuff post....meaning, lots of stuff is going on.

i went to cambodia, it was awesome. i sold my house, was homeless for a week, bought a new house. painted floor to ceiling in one room, cabinets, and painted another room. the new house is awesome but still needs a lot of work. we love it. a lot more space. especially since we are having a 3rd boy. i think we have a name picked out but we are not telling yet since we're not sure. still more painting, new floors and finish an upstairs bedroom(big project!!!) plus somehow kari fell in the church parking lot and busted up her ankle...it's pretty sad looking...she gets out of her minivan, toting 3 children, pregnant with another and sporting one of those big ankle boots. my baby needs a medal. how bout dinner at flemmings? sounds good to me. well i'm tired and this is a big week. one way, hpc experience and pastor gary clark from Hillsong London is in this weekend....plus check out what's coming up!!!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

2007-05-12T04:53:00.001-07:00

New Baby!

2007-04-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

well it's official. kari and i are going to have another baby. we will find out the due date next week. i'm nervous and excited all at the same time.

(just a couple days after we found out, eating at the Eiffel Tower restaurant)

Look to the altars!

2007-04-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

what an amazing weekend! i'm sitting at my house alone with worship music blaring (kari and the kids went to visit her parents in New Iberia) thinking about the amount of people that heard the Gospel just at HPC over the last few days. i watched as people raised their hands when asked..."are you ready to be saved? admit you are a sinner, believe in Jesus" i watched as they came to the altars with tears running down their faces...the tears that come from a broken heart that is being touched by God, a heart that is sorry for its sin, a heart that has finally found what it's been searching for, the loving embrace of a Holy and Merciful God. right there in front of my face, i watched people make the most important desicion of their lives. i watched God's plan work again and again and again. His search and rescue plan still works. hundreds of people recognized that they are in sin, that their lives are broken, and most of all that they need a savior, a healer, a restorer....they need Jesus! and they found Him! what greater work is there? what greater life is there?...to all my friends who work at the church in a technical role who have ever wondered why you're doing what your doing, does is really matter...just look to the altars, it mattered. to all the volunteers who greeted, picked up trash, helped people find the nursery, worked the parking lot, smiled at someone, vaccumed, painted, built something, ushered....look to the altars, your loving service mattered. to the HPC staff...the worlds greatest staff...hundreds of names were written in the Book of Life...think about that for a minute. souls who once made their home in a Godless hell, are now destined for eternity with Jesus Christ. there is no greater cause than that. to rescue the perishing! Thank you God. I can't wait to see all that God will do.

easter

2007-04-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

just a couple cool thoughts from good friday.

1. my second son, Alexander, started crawling today....i was so fired up that i was here to see it and i actually got it on camera. watching your children grow, progress, develop is truly one of the great gifts of parenting.

2. last night about 75 people gathered at the annex to watch the passion and pray and worship. it was awesome. i crashed at about 1am but one thing stands out. as Jesus was scourged and whipped, my heart could only say one thing...."by His stripes, by His stripes....we are healed". what a thought.

3. the harvest never waits. whether we are ready or not, the harvest comes and ends. we can't tell it when to start, we can't make it last longer. it doesn't go on vacation, or wait for our lives to be perfect. like water flows to the lowest point, the harvest advances unrelenting, the only question is will the laborers be ready? ...in just a few hours we'll have our first Easter service....as well as churches around the world...will we be ready for the harvest?

RESUE THE PERISHING!

invention

2007-02-12T19:45:00.000-08:00

for those of you who've been regularly checking my blog and haven't been finding any new information...i have a perfectly good explanation. no, it's not been pure laziness. i've actually been working on an invention. i've been working on a device that will automatically read my mind and post new blog entries with pictures. of course i've had no luck seeing as how i haven't even started the thought phase of the project. so after 3 months of thinking about starting thinking about it...i've scrapped the project alltogether and reserved myself to actually having to type my messages. i hope to be back on track soon with pics and funny stories about my life. check back soon.

Home Again!!!

2006-12-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

the title is exactly like it sounds. after returning home from my trip, it was necessary for Kari to have surgery. so this week we went to the hospital to fix her up. she had a nodule on her thyroid that the doctors were concerned about. i will spare you the pictures and video (believe me i have some)...but it's good to finally be back home again. kari is recovering well. Kari's parents helped a ton with the kids, in fact anna and christian are in new iberia right now...so at the house it's just alexander and my baby Kari. it's funny how a situation like this will force you to look in the face of your own selfishness. caring for the baby and Kari has been extremely refreshing...i'm so used to running so fast, i've been forced to slow down, not shave, wait for a meal, and jump out of my seat when someone needs something. it's not that i've ever had a problem with serving, it's just that me and kari seem to have slipped into roles...and she's such a servant, she takes care of most everyone's immediate needs. these past couple days have been tough for Kari but great for me. it's good to stay grounded....remember that the greatest will be the least.....that to serve is to be like Christ...that we ought not to think more highly of ourselves than we are...that if we'll humble ourselves in His sight, He will lift us up. sometimes we all get a case of "arrogant-self serve-moody christian-take myself too seriously-itus"...and we need a dose of serving/humble pie. enjoy the pic, we took this on monday before the surgery.

p.s. look for some jeep upgrades, i'm working on a couple things.

finally home

2006-11-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

it's hard to sum up our trip to italy/sicily/russia. it was awesome in some ways and hard in others. italy and sicily were beautiful, yet to stand in the colosseum where 1000's of our brothers and sisters where murdered was quite difficult and sobering. that part was rough. it was also nice to be in the cold weather in kemerovo, russia and to finally visit after years of hearing about the work going on there....yet once you see the cold, and the difficult situation of most people, it's hard to even eat or pray without thinking that somewhere in russia, i have a brother or sister in Christ who will go to bed hungry or lonely or sick or poor tonight...all this while i sit in the comfort of my warm house stocked with healthy food enjoying all the comforts afforded by the gracious favor of being born in America. so while i'm grateful to God for His abounding grace to me, i'm broken hearted over my selfishness, the condition of my brothers and sisters, and my general spirit of apathy toward Christ and his children. i cannot say enough about the church in Kemerovo. they are wonderful people, Godly, humble, and kind. they need our prayers and our support. 2 scriptures come to mind.

Eph 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Matt 25:37-40
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[f] you were doing it to me!’

What will you do?

enjoy the pics...(chad and ps., i had a blast)

life

2006-10-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

just a couple pics from life the last few weeks.(kari doesn't let me take pics of her but soon you'll see more) I believe we are truly blessed. God has been good to us. Alexander smiled at me for the first time this week so i was pretty pumped...and although i'm careful not to place my security in the acceptance or approval of children, it was unbelievable to be smiled at. i often think of how God is jealous of the affection of our hearts. about how much our attention and undivided devotion is a blessing to Him( and of course deserved) anyway, i love my kids and my wife. pray for us, we are "navigating" through some adversity right now..physically. pray for miracles and healing.

band practice

2006-10-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

this is what me and christian did this past thursday night during band practice. a little OJT.

Enjoy...and comment!!!

2006-09-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

bluetooth and chiggers

2006-08-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

so this post could be called "the stupid things I do"...but for now let's get to it. i've been out of sorts ever since i switched form the treo 650 to the motorolla Q. thought of grandeur(spelling?) and networking...now fleeting and lost in the sea of smartphone to mac sync inability. that's right, i get this new Q phone and it's great, but i fail to recognize that it won't sync with my computer, a mac. but just last night, i found the missing sync. finally the software is released that will forever bond my phone with my computer so i bought it and synced it....crud, now i either have duplicates of every single appointment over the next 10 years or the ones that were entered in my phone are now deleted. it's funny how quickly that the little techy thing that is meant to make my life easier and more connected will now end up costing me a week to fix.

so what is this picure about? well, last monday me and christian decided to head off in the woods and pioneer a little. you can probably tell by the title where this is going. when we came out of the woods i said, hey let's wrestle in the grass. then we took a picture to remember this brief initiation. every part of my body that touched grass was completely covered in chigger bites...huge red itchy bumps. for a week i had to use anti-itch lotion just to sleep. next time we may just play a video game.

count the cost

2006-08-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

i've always believed that you should count the cost before you do anything...whether or not that translates into my everyday life is a different story. in fact, those words are from Jesus as it pertains to following Him. pretty heavy stuff. anyway, like i said before you should always count the cost before big decisions, committments, purchases, etc... how many times have i gotten myself into something, or over committed myself only to think to myself....you got it. anyway, kari and i found this great new recipe for flank steak sandwich. sounds delicious!! the only problem is that it can be hard to find flank steak and since it's a tough cut of meat, even harder to find one that's tenderized. well after a week i finally found one at albertsons and i was excited. the butcher showed it to me and i of course asked him to tenderize it then once he re-wrapped it i happily strode to the check out lane with my new cut of meat. upon checking out i noticed the price...$17!!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! now don't forget, i'm the guy that avoids eating at restaurants that require tips and i always order water...to save money. anyway....i was like, holy cow, a $17 flank steak from the store, and i can't take it back, i've had it tenderized. crud! oh well, the moral is, count the cost before you bring the meat home!

Kids finally home

2006-08-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

is this not the most awesome thing ever? anna and christian just love little alexander. here's a pic of them holding him. i love this...our growing little family.

1st day home

2006-08-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

i have to admit. i'm not nearly as freaked as i thought about having a 3rd child. i fully expected to be "outnumbered" and feel overwhelmed but to tell you the truth..having Alexander feels as natural as driving my jeep. we got home today and it was nice and quiet...thanks to kari's parents keeping Anna and Christian for a couple days(thanks mimi and poppy). we can't wait to see them, they've been gone since friday and all they've been talking about is the new baby. 1st day home was great. i made lunch and 2 diff people brought us supper. i've got a couple errands to run tomorrow but mostly just getting adjusted to adding another person to our house. that's weird to think...kari's parents have 3 childrens, the Rizzo's have 3 children, lots of grown-ups i know have 3 children...now we have 3 children!!! holy cow..it feels so official and ...old. anyway, here are a couple pics of my little man at home. he's a stud. thank you Jesus for another beautiful and healthy baby. what a gift.

Alexander is here!!!

2006-08-13T03:54:00.000-07:00

the moment has arrived! Alexander Paul LeBlanc. 6lbs 14 oz. 4:56am. we're completely exhausted(kari more than me) but glad that Alexander is healthy and full of blonde hair.

baby on the way

2006-08-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

ok, so we're in the hospital. it's currently 9:12pm. and we're getting ready to have the baby. i'm pretty fired up...although i'm already a little tired. kari just had the epidural..she is much happier now. this is our 3rd child but i have to tell you i'm just as excited as the first. i suppose we're a little nervous too. our family is growing and now we're outnumbered. we're officially entering the "better be worth it cause otherwise i'm not leaving the house" phase. the boys will share a room and we have no plan of ever upgrading our house. at this point i see more bunk beds, and trundels, ultimate storage systems(thank you neil jackson) and room sharing in the future. oh well...hopefully i'll post a picture of alexander when he arrives.

old habits die hard

2006-07-29T05:33:00.000-07:00

just in case you were wondering about me, here's a little pic of me at work on Thursday morning. community coffee, mud, rubber boots, jeeps, ipods....that's my flow. not the pamper night. anyway, we have a lot coming up. we've been bustin it at the office to finish some really cool graphics and videos. you'll see them soon. the main thing though is that kari and i are just a couple weeks from the arrival of Alexander Paul. we can't wait....everything is ready here at the house and he is all the kids talk about. it's really funny to hear a 2 year old try and say alexander.....it sounds more like agazanner. funny stuff.

pamper night

2006-07-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

ok...so i've been doggin the ladies about lately about all their chick events. i've been talking about having a guys night with guns, mud, red meat....you know the rest. in all fairness, i figured it might be good to stop by the pamper night and see what's really going on. so here is my rehash of the night:

i pull up and there are cars parked everywhere...the lots are full and so are the driving lanes, with parked cars that is(ahem!!) anyway, nothing i've ever been through could have prepared me for what i was about to experience. it was like a sea of estrogen...but not normal estrogen...estrogen that is being pampered...almost like estrogen on steroids(parden the pun). then there was the smell. now don't get me wrong. the smell was pleasant. but it's not like going to a mens event where there is a single strong odor... STINK! it was more like every possible pleasant smell from every bath and body and department store and hair salon, and foot place all combined into one homogenous odor...overloading the olfactory senses. it was something else. and then there were the looks. "what in the world are you doing here?" one lady stopped me and said..."aren't you the wrong sex to be here?" i was like..."you know it"...a couple pics and i'll be outta here. it was wild...and don't even get me started on the food table. just demolished. those chocolate fountains never stood a chance. all joking aside... it was a great event for our ladies and Delynn and the gang did a great job putting on a high class event. i even tried a bit to get in touch with my feminine side...it didn't work! enjoy the pics.

a few thoughts

2006-07-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

first of all...this is the way a jeep should look. i've been having a little too much fun since the rain started. i promised HPC that we would have a mens pamper night...sort of, complete with mud riding, guns, red meat, and war paint. i guess i got ahead of myself...perhaps i was just scouting some new areas. by the way, if anyone knows anyplace (good and legal) to go mud riding..like an old pasture or crawfish pond...email me. maybe we can start a new life group. mud riding, then a bible study and prayer time to help cope with getting stuck or breaking some expensive part.

now this is a little inside joke...but here is another picture of me and "bobbie" hanging in the control room. notice the computer in the back ground. ha h ah ah ah ha ha ha h ah ha ha h ah ah ha ha ha. if you don't "get it" just enjoy the pic of bobbie hating that i'm taking another picture of him up close.

A/C!!!

2006-07-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

well, it's finally here. (no, not the baby) we've been sweating it out in the annex for some time and everyone has been great about it. but due to the hard work of some folks at HPC and the generosity of Bernhard Bros., today we were finally able to install our new a/c unit at the annex. this should keeps the folks in the 9am service from freezing and the 11am from cooking. thanks again. now i know i haven't blogged much lately but you know how it is when you get in from a long trip. a lot to do and a lot to catch up with. kari and i are really getting pumped about the new baby. just a few short weeks and we'll be outnumbered. i hear that it's the 3rd one that pushes you over the edge. we'll see. i preached at life u this past wed. night and let me tell you, i was nervous again...i think that's probably a good thing. never want to see an opportunity like that as trivial. thanks pastor dino. also tonight i get another great opportunity to speak at new beginnings. i think it's going to be awesome and i'm looking forward to it. see you later. oh, here are a few pics of the a/c being installed.

back up and over

2006-07-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

(yes...can you believe it? i took that picture)

i'm finally home and still recovering from jet-lag. in my opinion it's worse coming home. i didn't blog from Australia mainly cause i was tired and didn't feel like it...if you want to look at a picture gallery i suggest you check out www.dinorizzo.com. that's where most of my pics are located...just look for the posts about the conference. anyway, it was great, the people were great...i met some new friends that i hope i'll see again and saw some old ones...here they are....Danae, Larry, Jonathan, joey, dorine(spelling) alberto, morton(the viking), vanessa, wayne, cindy, amy, christie(spelling) and a bunch of others..you guys rock. the church is great...and by the way, if you've ever seen the dvd's of Hillsong worship, their church services are about the same. anyway, i'm glad to be home. i badly missed kari and the kids...soon i'll be releasing the name of our new son. more later.

tons of stuff.

2006-06-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

i've got a lot going on right now so this post will be a hodge-podge of info. ok, the latest on the triathlon...last night i bumped up my 1-mile run to nearly 2 1/2 miles, through a wooded-like area, in the dark, using a headlamp (pat latuso...eat your heart out) following a long way behind my team-mate "bobbie". i think i almost died... and it took me 24 min...but i must say, never in my life, even when i was running in the Air Force, have i run over 2 miles so that was a huge mile-stone in my mind...ok, next topic. tonight i spoke at awards night for HPC baseball, but on the way there I was starving so i took a break from training and purchased a .99 cent dbl cheeseburger from McDonalds driv-thru. when i pulled up to the window to grab the burger, while making the exchange, the window girl (she looked like she was about 12 years old) dropped my burger on the ground. now i was in my jeep, so that's about a 5 foot drop. i opened my door, reached down and grabbed the bag. i looked through the window at the girl as if to say...."so, you wanna offer me another"..she looks at me and says, "oh, do you want a different bag now?" i was like...you know..this is gonna end up in my blog anyway, thanks for the material, no sense in complaining...see ya. last but not least...tonight i spoke at the HPC awards night...let me just tell you...little kids scare the mess out of me. it was great though...but still....other peoples dirty little kids scare me...just kidding..but seriously.

i'm leaving for australia in just 2 days. i am major pumped! for years i have wanted to make to the land down under and i finally have an opportunity. it's a working trip but it's australia just the same.

Pray for Kari, i'm out a week and that baby is riding loooooow

Road to Triathlon

2006-06-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

this is my boy always trying to dress like me. it's bad enough he looks just like me but now he's always wanting to dress like me like me as well. i have to admit though, i don't mind one bit. you may ask, "Lance, why are you dressed that way in the first place?" ok, on a more serious note. for a long time i've talked about doing some type of adventure race or triathlon but i've never committed to just do it. not exactly sure why, maybe i didn't think i could finish. anyway, i finally decided to do an adventure race coming up this september...it's sort of like a triathlon except it's running for 5 miles, canoeing for about 4, and biking for 10. i've never done anything quite like this so i've started my training early and i plan on updating the blog on my progress from time to time. here is the first update. tuesday night i ran my first mile. i figured i could run it like i was back in the military so i started with a pretty quick pace. after the first half mile i thought i was going to die. i plopped through the next quarter mile and walked the last portion. i even got passed by a lady walking (she's recovering from having a baby). i finished in just a hair under 16 minutes. pretty terrible considering i used to blaze through a 2-mile race in just over 12 min. this is not going well. anyway, this picture was taken just before my run on thursday night. i was sore and tired but decided to run anyway. only this time i slowed down just a little, stretched a bit longer and paced myself. i ran the entire mile and finished in about 8 1/2 minutes. quite an improvement.

(i'll be updating you all on corporate sponsorship opportunities later)...just let me know if you want your companies name to appear on Team HPC's race gear.

ANNIVERSARY FRIDAY...5 YEARS!!!

2006-06-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

we made it...5 years, and almost 3 kids. kari's been awesome, putting up with me, caring for the kids, working part time, and did i mention dealing with me? anyway, this is a special day and i wanted to go over the top. the week started with perfume, a mackin' watch, Mikimoto pearls from Lee Michaels, a dozen roses, and a filet from Flemings (best steak in town...hands down). everything was perfect...i love you kari.

P.S. also here are a few pics from earlier in the day when dave, adam and i crashed the golf tourny.

29...fatter, slower, and weaker!

2006-06-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

my 29th birthday has come and gone. and to tell you the truth, it was great. i've never been the type to feel diff because of a birthday or get depressed or sad cause i'm getting older. my depression sets in when i try and do a push up and nearly burst a blood vessel in my forehead...then my elbow locks up and I end up needing some sort of surgery...that's when i feel old. not because of a birthday. it's like i always say, you're not getting older...you're getting fatter, slower, and weaker. anyway, my father-in-law arranged for someone in the NISD to open the police firing range sunday afternoon so we went and shot about 5 or 600 rounds...it was great (i love my glock .45)..then kari made some of lori latuso's famous strawberry cake and we all got fatter. family, friends, food and guns...a perfect redneck birthday.

p.s. this is for all the parents out there. christian is exactly 2 1/2 years old. yesterday, he decided all on his own that he wanted to be potty trained. so...he is now potty trained and we did nothing!

Here are a few pics from my pizza party last friday c/o Colleen.

pppffftttt!!

2006-06-09T05:24:00.000-07:00

so you've probably noticed by now that i hate shaving, which is usually why i'm working the scruffy look...plus kari prefers the ole 5 o'clock shadow. for me shaving is like that time of the week when you have to take out the garbage.....simply necessary to keep from building to large a pile of trash. i just don't like it which is why i only shave about once a week and with trimmers (never a blade). however, my disdain for shaving affords me some neat opportunities. about every other week i get bored with the normal accoutrement of scrufffiness that is adorning my face and i decide to get creative. so i usually shave some type of hyper-masculine hyper-redneck flow into my beard which usually has me looking something like a wrestler/p-ville/lost in the 70's/movie star wanna be. i sport it around the house for about an hour or so with a sort of "bout to bust out laughing" type grin until kari gives me the look. of course under my grin i'm trying to convince her that this is my new "look". i then of course go shave it off, fun over. sometimes if i'm feeling really saucey, i'll leave a mustache and wear it to work for a couple hours the next day. but today is different. my birthday is in 2 days and i've been granted 1 more year in my 20's, plus i don't have any important appointments today so i've decided to sport this "Irish immigrant/wrestler" look. and yes, i'm wearing the shirt you think i'm wearing. Now before you judge me and say, "man, he has way too much time on his hands", just stop and think. it's not that i have too much time on my hands, it's that i'm obsessed with sqeezing every ounce of joy possible out of every moment i have. i want you to ask yourself this question..."is it okay to pass gas in public and then find it funny?" of course not! but i'm not going to let that stop me from getting a giggle when i have the good fortune of hearing the sound of someones relief and i definately won't miss an opportunity to stoop to a level that robs me of just a little dignity...reminding me clearly once again, don't take yourself so seriously. Pppfftttt!!!

vitals

2006-06-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

ok, so we've had our share of problems with our live webcast as well as our on-demand sermons...and by problems, i mean it hasn't worked at all lately and our entire archive of past sermons somehow disappeared! thank God we kept a back up. so if you've tried to log in lately and been unable to do so, i appologize...but in our defense, the world of web and online-ness is a crazy crazy world and it's confusing(at least it is to me) and a quite unpredictable...in fact, when one thinks of all the steps that a video must go through to end up on your computer( cameras, camera control, switcher, techy-looking tv gear, computer encoder, cat-5 cable, power lines, local hub, more hubs, more power lines, modem, cat 5, router, computer and decoder, ahhhhh bliss, it's on your screen) it's a miracle the blasted video, or internet for that matter ever works at all...i mean Al Gore invented the thing for cryin-out-loud!!! anyway, it's fixed. today, thanks to brother josh, we switched to a company to host our videos called vital stream, a very reputable company and we are expecting significantly less problems...in fact as we speak, it's 10:22pm and fazha is testing the system at his house...should be up and running for wed night service, but definately by the weekend...Praise Him!!! BUT DON'T QUOTE ME!!! as i was writing that, josh chimed in and IT'S WORKING!!! but like i said, don't quote me...the internet is a crazy crazy world. vital stream pwns!!!!

politics

2006-05-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

you know...the other day i was reading through some different blogs and news sites when it dawned on me...I never really post anything of intelligence or of controversy. it was then that i decided that ole Lance really does have some opinions about things...and although i may not talk about them here much, i may in fact have something to add to all the topics out there. i decided that i would post a series of blogs about politically charged topics like, abortion, racism, immigration, the "war on terror", our president, religion and a series of other issues. while i may not be able to solve all the problems, perhaps(thanks for giving me that word to use in every day language....Dr. Bob) i can say something of value that will change someones life...that is until i ran across this beauty you see below. it reminded me of what i'm supposed to do and what it is that i'm good at. finding the stuff in this crazy world that brings a smile to my face and hopefully to others....to look at a pile of dog poo..in my front yard...some one elses dog...and not get mad...but actually laugh at how funny it is that there is dog poo in my yard and it really stinks..and that's funny...knowing in a few weeks that a little spot in my yard will be greener than the rest of the yard. when i stop laughing at dog poo...then there is a real issue for me. it means i've stopped finding ways to find joy in everyday life...and to recognize God's creativity all around..and His humor. it means i've started taking myself way too seriously...which by the way is a major fun killer. don't get me wrong...life is not all about having fun or self gratification...but didn't God create us for HIs pleasure...that means He wants to enjoy us...to recieve Glory...that tells me that God enjoys his creation or at least He wants to. anyway, this car speaks to me everyday when i drive by on my way home and to work...it screams..."Stop taking yourself so seriously....chill out...enjoy God...and His creation!!!!" so listen to the car as he speaks...and pay careful attention to the windshield. you gotta love that marketing..."cold a/c"...with busted out windows...HA!!!!

my week

2006-05-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

this sums up my week. all comments welcome.

my life

2006-05-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

check out this aquarium...my uncle hooked me up with this 150 gallon beast. i saw it at his house and being a fish lover i just had to have it. i suppose i didn't realize just how enourmous it really is...you should all come by, it stands about 5 and half feet off the ground...anyway, if anyone out there has a clue how to set up a custom built, swimming-pool-like filter, saltwater, ginormous aquarium...please hook a brother up. and here's another cool pic and story. this past week, kari and i took about 4 or 5 days of vacation. since our 3rd child (due in august..name to be released) is a boy, we decided to get bunk beds for christian's room. what you see there, i built myself...well, assembled...but correctly, on the first try, and without using directions..that's the first time in my life that has happened. the Lord is truly moving..if you want to see examples of my normal level of carpentry work, come look at the shelves i built in the utility room. well, it's late and kari and i are just starting to watch Narnia for the first time, no doubt i'll have red eyes tomorrow.

walk the line...in D.C.

2006-05-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

ok..i know what you're thinking...i post way to many pics. there is a good reason...if i put a pic then i don't have to explain everything... so get over it. it's all about laziness...but this week laziness went bye bye. we've been in D.C for a couple days at the buzz conference hosted by National Community Church. it was great..we made new friends and connected with some old ones. i'd love to come back and hang out with them and attend a service....and drink more coffee at ebenezers. but back to what this post is all about....there is one thing i don't like about dc. all the walking...man, my rear end is killing me. all the walking, and sweat, and heat..yeah you guessed...sweat+heat+friction=chaffing. i can't wait to get home and sit on my butt in the a/c and only walk from my house to my jeep and from my jeep to the office. walking is for neanderthals..you know the guys that used to club their wives. anyway, enjoy some pics of me in dc....and a few specials of dan....

(btw...we ate at my favorite restaurant in the world..brazilian steakhouse...if you don't know what that is then you don't deserve to appreciate how awesome the picture below is)

Finally home

2006-04-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

it was a long trip but well worth it. however, i am extremely glad to be home and see kari and the kids. i'm enjoying this saturday with nothing to do. so here is a glance back at our last day in vegas. robert and i found ourselves touring the Wynn hotel...it's quite amazing..from awesome bathrooms to a ferrari dealership, this hotel has everything. just glad to be home..bye bye las vegas.

Last night in vegas

2006-04-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

well the trip is finally over but there is still plenty to see. this guy was playing electric guitar on roller blades...awesome..

check out this burrito...it's the largest i've ever seen..........

and as you can see, robert polished the whole thing off!

and last but not least...tonight we went to the Bellagio to see "O" (cirque de soleil) it was freakin awesome..followed by a tour of the hotel...check out this bootlegged pic of the ceiling of "O" and a chocolate fountain...!

Crash

2006-04-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Breakfast buffet plus a tip $17
Mountain dew and some advil $5
Cirque De Soliel Thursday night $94
Crashing into this delivery truck then being let off without even being questioned....priceless!!!

Yes you are seeing right...that is Robyn Leach from "lifestyles of the rich and famous"

This is the guy that is designing the technical aspect of our new facility. Dave Cooper rocks!!!

live in vegas

2006-04-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

here i am in vegas..at NAB and let me tell you...it's total sensory overload. we're doing a bunch of research for the church and it's over 3 million square feet of the most awesome tech stuff you've ever seen. there are over 100,000 people at the convention this year. i'm going crazy..everything is expensive and you know what a tight wad i am...
a sandwhich $15
a cab ride $10 for about 2 miles
tickets to celine dion are over $100
snapping a picture of robert who strapped himself to this bed for the heck of it...priceless(enjoy the pics)

me and my boy

2006-04-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

today has been a great day..chilling and doing nothing. this is christian looking cool. by the way, i went up to st. francisville to do a little mud riding and tooling around and you'll never guess what i saw. way off in the woods, there was lady weedeating her yard....in a bikini. i thought about stopping to take a picture..but even i have my limits, plus i didn't want to get shot.

easter

2006-04-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

well, easter is over..and it was one incredible service. i will post some pics later...today i'm resting. easter was yesterday, but today HPC is still HPC. gotta keep moving forward. someone is still in need.

We're Moving!!!!!

2006-04-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

i'm moving my blog..very shortly you will no longer find my blog at www.golteef.blogspot.com...you will have to look here to find it!

WWW.THEREALGODFATHER.COM!!!

WACKENHUT

2006-03-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

ok, so i've been traveling a lot lately. i just returned from west palm beach last night, although i must add that i never even saw the beach while we were there. we learned a bunch and had a ton of fun of course...and you'll never guess who showed up....george w. bush. it was amazing, he had the entire room laughing. nice to be home for a while...oh yeah, the cd/dvd is finally done...yeeeehaawwww!!! now all we can do is wait for the first shipment to come in. WACKENHUT!!!!!

nashville trip

2006-03-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

i went to nashville with j-dog and the gang to finish the cd project. it was fast and fun. we found some interesting things and the cd sounds incredible. i actually have a copy and all you suckas will just have to wait. i don't like you that much....anyway, nashville is a cool city and we spent most of our time getting lost. here are some pics in the plane, studio, mall, and with some interesting paraphernlia(spelling?)...enjoy...also, i know i got a little picture happy but i just bought this sweet little

camera

at walmart for 199 with a 1gb card...it works great so from here on out...look for great photos.

sneek peak

2006-03-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

just a few short weeks and "wonder of the world" cd/dvd will be released. everyone has worked extremely hard on this project and it is looking and sounding incredible. of course the artwork and dvd are not complete but i thought i'd share a little glimpes of the look with my faithful readers. it releases april 8th....get it.

redneck cleaning

2006-03-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

okay, a little back story. thank God for camera phones. tonight, we were eating a little fried rice and of course christian made a huge mess, spilling rice all over himself. this is normal, what ensued next is not. kari, unable to bear the thought that when christian stood up in the chair he would be spilling rice all over the floor, actually got the vacuum cleaner and, well....the picture says it all. i was so happy to have my handy little camera phone to capture this priceless moment in time. long live rednecks.

fast times at huge-rear high

2006-03-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

that settles it. the body i dreamed of having is just that...a dream. you know the one that's cut from rock, can push a stalled dump truck through a busy intersection without breakin a sweat, the one that makes people stare and say, "whatever, he must not have a job!". you know the body i'm talking about. the kind that sinks in water, frightens even wild animals, and glows in the dark. yeah, a hot body. well those days are officially over. my friends have known it for years. it's not that i've been in denial about my current body status, it's just that there was always this glimmer of hope that despite 28 years of fat-boy habit, somehow my personal desires would change and i would actually start to like working out. that hope is dead. i recently bought my dream tv...a Samsung 42" DLP rear-projection hi-def TV. it is awesome. i plan on watching it all the time. i can already tell my butt is starting to get wider and i don't care. life is great.

falling to pieces

2006-02-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

i have realized something very important this week. i've had an epiphany of sorts. the type of moment where you realize everything you thought you ever knew or understood about life is wrong and you've been living this huge lie. deceived by your own stupidity, wallowing around in a freakish sort of dumbness and misunderstanding. do you want to know what it is? no it is not a realization about family, priorities, relationships, or suddenly noticing there's not enough money in my 401k....or the fact that i don't have a 401k. it's nothing like that....it's much, much deeper and more difficult to solve. the root goes down a long, long way. this is what i have realized: women make the world go round. that's it. 2 women run my life. my wife and my assistant mollie. both of which are out of town this week and i am falling to pieces! someone help.

guess who?

2006-02-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

LSU routs MIAMI!!!

2005-12-31T08:28:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! who ever expected LSU to smack around Miami the way they did last night in a 40-3 hoedown with the hurricanes. it was awesome to watch. sorry dup. of course Thug U, true to character, took their frustrations off the field in a little "tunnel brawl". i would expect no less from the canes. the godfAther has spoken!

lance and benny

2005-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

i'm just sitting in my office, doing some work on my laptop, chillin with ole benny...it's friday, lsu plays miami, i have a full belly, and benny's on tv..what a great day....oh yeah, i'm going hiking at Tunica HIlls in the morning...hopefully i'll take some pics and share them with all you people.

nice ad

2005-11-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

deep wood

2005-11-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

from deep within the woods on our first "out of town" vacation in a couple years, christian is officially introduce to pain and suffering. we were outside about 3 min before he sustained this wound...he bled like a stuck pick, but he hardly made a sound..what a man...he's got good genes. anyway, the "cabin in the woods" idea was a bust...we stayed about 12 hours before we were bored out of our minds...and left. happy trails!

sneek peek

2005-11-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

i know i haven't been blogging much latetly but i have a perfectly good excuse. the last 2 months have been busy as crap. and now....as you can see..just a sneek peek of the latest project that team hpc has been working on. of course you're not seeing the final. i'm saving that for those who purchase the book. by the way, congrats on the grandslam dino, you did a great job. kari told me she was crying as she read your heart about hurting and lost people. i'm going on vacation this week and i'm very excited abou it. i don't even know where i'm going yet...disney world is not out of the picture yet.
a few thankyou's for the last month:
toby..for the cd project..it was killer
todd...all of your stage designs rock
thong song...for not killing me at midnight when i wouldn't give up on the cover
earl...for the church credit card..heh heh
dino and delynn...for trusting a college dropout/military reject with some of their most precious projects..what a risk!
boss man....always pulling it together even at the last minute
robert.....for making me laugh..and making freakin awesome videos
mollie...for trying desperately to read my mind
dup...for being my ace boon coon...i can always count on you
...all you other fools can kiss it..don't be offended you weren't mentioned....i still love you

i'm a dork

2005-11-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

the title says it all. walk into my office and you're bound to notice at least one of two things...me ranting and raving about the cd project, things costing too much, what's for lunch....or "the display" i suppose it represents all the things that are odd about me..the "soul play" poster, napoleon dynamite, murphey the mini gorilla(with no hands) the only thing missing is my fake dookie. everyday i look at that display, the slight reflection of my inner self....and this thought comes to mind..boy, i'm a dork.

emily...the radio hobbit

2005-10-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

that's emily morrow inside that little box. they say necessity is the mother of all invetion...well, we don't have an easily accessible sound booth to do recordings in a hurry so we had to improvise. this is a funny picture of emily recording a radio spot on monday afternoon to advertise for fall fest....alliteration aside, it looked very funny there in the edit suite.

fosters...australian for beeyuh

2005-10-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

tonight was our one way worship night with the hillsong gang. mad props to those guys for being super humble and super fired up for Christ. they get the subway cookie award for most spirit. it was a great night overall, and i learned a lot by just watching them. sometimes it takes a foreigner to make you realize how awesome our God is and how worthy He is of our praise. now it's time to tear down all those pretty lights you see in the picture.

all washed up

2005-10-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

after 2 years of crappy service, i finally saved up enough money to replace our dishwasher..here i'm putting the final touches on it while the kids try and help. you gotta love it when the kids try and help you fix things. they mainly just jump up and down on my stomach and laugh while i wire the bottom of the dishwasher right next to a water source. safety first!

Christian LeBlanc salons

2005-10-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

that's me cutting christian's hair. i'm pretty terrible at it but in time i could get better...as i'm typing this i hear kari yelling in the background.."Christian just peepeed on the floor"..that's awesome! i took today off and it was great...i slept late, went shopping, and ate spaghetti and meatballs at de'angelo's....not too shabby for a thursday. back at work in the morning....we have a long weekend coming up...the hillsong gang is here...better practice my accent...some people at hpc have already perfected it(inside joke) heh heh

a tall order

2005-10-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

today we recorded the rest of the cd project...it was great. as it turns out, there is no better way to celebrate than with a portion of "mile-high" chocolate cake from The Village(care of my dog, Pete Rizzo) as you can see, this is the largest piece of chocolate cake on the planet and i am a happy man..took me 3 days to finish it off. amen, cd project is 1/8th over....release is next april...crap!

ingredients

2005-10-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

it's friday night and i'm doing exactly what i should be doing. riding the carousel with my two kids. been so busy lately i haven't been able to do this sort of thing as much as i'd like but kari and i and the kids had a blast at the mall doing nothing...hmmmm...these moments are like ingredients, the stuff life is made of... heh heh

dirty shirt

2005-10-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

i'll just bet you want a picture of the actual recording night...ha..you must not know me well yet. i found jay's shirt to be quite funny so that's what makes it here. all in all, the night went quite well(minus me ranting and raving over the lights during the first song) anyone with a comm. unit will remember...especially chris craft. one more night to go...the chili's i ate after the recording is doing a number on the my innards..better run.

muppets go to hpc?

2005-10-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

now i've seen it all....muppets leading worship at hpc. i suppose wendell(the lighting nazi) is trying something new..anyway, the last week or so has been awesome...crazy busy, but great as we get ready for the cd recording in just 2 days. i can't wait..crazy stuff...i know that you never know what to expect at hpc but i never expected this.

happy birthday dup

2005-10-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

it was brad's birthday friday so we mowed it down lebanese style at albasha. i can hardly imagine what it's like to be that old. happy birthday dup and congrats on being a proud new poppa. p.s. you would have loved the sat night service when your fav. in-law shared the good news with the entire church. here's to many long years with family we love..heh heh

That's not a toilet robert

2005-10-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

we're getting close to the cd recording and the sanctuary is buzzing with action. installing lights, new stage, new carpet, extra camera people, and what's this?...robert, in a rare moment...embarrassing himself. while trying to relieve his tired feet, he attempted to sit on this piece of truss, but not before it fell over then he became lodged as you can see...like a deer caught in headlights...so is Dr. Bob once again at the mercy of my camera phone. i look forward to many moments to come.

Brain ball

2005-10-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

this is a game called "brain ball". there are 2 people competing and each is on the opposite side of the table. the goal is to move the ball across the table and cross your opponents goal line. to do so, a special device is attached to your head that measures your brain activity and whoever is the most calm moves the ball toward the opponent and therefore wins. I lost this game. ----if this is where the future is going, i'm in big trouble.

Esau?

2005-09-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

as my family and i get ready for hurricane rita......i can't stop thinking about how hairy this dude's back is. holy crap. seriously, this is the hairiest back i've ever seen in person. it's nice to know that even in times of struggle and adversity, if you look hard enough, there's always a hairy back out there to make you laugh.

crash landing

2005-09-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

holy cow!!! i just watched a jet blue plane perform an emergency landing....it was crazy...knowing that i was watching---live----i can't imagine how the people on the plane must have felt at that moment...anyway, they landed just fine but it was quite a rush....also...what's up with this hurricane seaon? Rita is one big strong motha..! we gotta pray for everyone along the gulf coast.
have i mentioned that jim cantore(spelling?) from the weather channel is a MASSIVE TOOL. sorry dog, you're just a huge dork....but then again, so are the other correspondents....oh yeah, here's an even bigger tool......Orlando Salinas from Fox News....holy crap. that guy drives me nuts.

blog?

2005-09-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

well, i can't believe i joined the crowd. i've been a huge critic of blogs mainly because there are so many...and most are just not that interesting. i can assure you that this one will prove to be the same...so do yourself a favor and don't read on. there is always the chance that you could become strangely addicted to my perspective on life. this could be disastrous for you, your family, and your friends. in any case...enjoy my life.