I love that my baby becomes more and more alert to us and her surroundings. She puts her hands up when she is done eating; we say, “All Done?” and she does it again… and woe to him or her who might ask Caroline if she wants to eat after putting her hands up.
She waves at everyone these days… She cries when I leave (I’m sure this will get old at some point)… She sort of imitates our noises. it is just awesome…
We have family everywhere, and I don’t think they check the blog, but they should have these pictures…
Despite the fact that I used to live in the mountains I think I am more of a beach fellow. I don’t die a little inside if I haven’t been to the beach that year, but I do like the ocean a lot.
I think this is one of thoe questions like, “If you could fly or be invisible which would you choose?”
Our vacation was very nice. I read my first Phillip Roth book, played in he sand with my baby (ocean was too cold her her), we rode bikes, it was very relaxing to not e-mail, use my cell phone, keep up with the tournament, or even study. If Rachel and I could have kept our allergies at bay it would have been bliss instead of ‘very nice’…
Caroline liked it very much, and didn’t get sick…
So, here is my daughter after her first cupcake… 
I remember the day I wrote my last blog very clearly, even though we are one day shy of a month removed.
Life is tricky and weird and goofy, and some days I want no part of it. By ‘it’, I simply mean the difficulty of being near so many people and them being near me. I suppose many have the opposite problem with life: not enough people, connection, or whatever in their life… Ahhhhh the human condition in all it’s dualistic splendor!
Sunday (the 18th) is Caroline’s Brithday, but we celebrated today (Saturday) because of our vacation schedule – and because Sundays are terrible for the naps.
As you can see, she enjoyed demolishing her cupcake (You should’ve seen the cupcakes… mom out-did herself). The latest numbers have it that 40-68% of said cupcake was in fact consumed by Caroline. The rest was scattered to the wind, the bath she entered directly following the cupcake, her carefully-smocked dress, and to Ron (our dog).
If you have a Spring Break enjoy it, if you don’t make sure you do nothing for some ofthe weekend – that pesky 4th commandment and all…
I struggle with fear. Many of my friends do not think that I do, and i hope that I do not respond to life in a fearful manner. Regardless of those issues, I feel fearful right now. I have no idea if it is for a good reason or not, but my hands are shaking a little and my stomach feels very queasy…
On a better note, I do love my daughter, and as this picture indicates: she loves me!
So, a friend of mine has a really smart child. I mean, he’s just over two and speaks in sentences, he get’s context, it’s crazy. Anyway, the other day they are at the dinner table and my friend and his wife are asking the boy (we’ll call him Charlie, because that is his name) questions to keep him entertained while they finish their dinner.
His dad, Robbie, (running out of questions) asks him, “Hey Charlie, what’s 3 times 6?” Charlie says, “Eighteen.” Robbie and his wife look at each in astonishment, then Robbie thinks for a second, and asks Charlie, “Hey Charlie, what’s 4 times 6?” Charlie answers, “Eighteen!”
While I’m certain that that is a good illustration of something I haven’t yet dtermined what it is. So, I just keep tellingthe story because I like it.
And I blog because I like blogging.
And I post pictures of my daughter because she is awesome.
There are some pictures that don’t exist electronically that you will just love…
So, my question is: Why do we need answers so badly? I can think of so many things about God that are hard to reconcile (trinity, suffering, 2 bizillion denomination – course that isn’t really about God is it) and I wonder why it is so complex. I heard a professor talking about the date of Genesis One, and he dodged it by asking us if we thought the author of Genesis was attempting to answer that question…
I myself, having heard that before, was not so much moved. But, I wonder if the same things that bother so many people (or at least they say they do – as I get older it REALLY just seems like everyone is wounded and they have other things they talk about) are some of the very things God left vague to keep us in awe; to keep us constantly trying to reconcile some of the coolest things about ourselves, him, and this very strange world. Probably too many infinitives and prepositions in that sentence…
What a picture though right!
How in the world could I not post this picture???
I have a question that has nothing to do with my messy baby, or the fact that mom gives her prunes periodically to… well… Um, if you don’t know what prunes do, check on Wikipedia or something…
Why is it that everyone, when you ask for more time for friendship, a good cause, or whatever all of a sudden is shockingly broke, busy, and exhausted? Is it a priority thing? Is it true? Is it partly true?
Thoughts???
I know the second one is my favorite excuse, and I usually use my wife and baby as excuses… When the tired one hits I usually fall back on, “Am I really tired or are my prioroities mixed up?” (because I am thinking that I am tried because i didn’t do something (like read, watch a movie, some work, hang out with my baby, wash my car) for a series of reasons…) Oh yes, I will use double Parentheses if I need to!
You?
My wife and baby are in memphis visiting family (and fleeing the 85 foot tall tree we are having cut down), and so you might think this post is about that. It is not.
I am simply amazed by the ways we (and by ‘we’ I mean myself) put ourselves out there. I have a podcast, a blog, a facebook, a myspace, an e-mail address, and an AIM name. I have GREAT reasons for each one: podcast – Mike asked me to do one, and I can’t refuse Mike anything. Blog – lately, it is my excuse to put pictures of my daughter all over the place. Facebook – I’m a youth pastor, I can comunicate with 100 kids in three minutes using Facebook. Myspace – there are friends who only use Myspace, and that is the only way to read their blogs. E-mail – I have sent over 5000 e-mails since I came to work for Greentree. AIM – I have had blzrscool for 13 years now!
Anyway, I am amazed at how we put ourselves out there (often different selves for different venues), and yet we are still so lonely. Chap Clark said (to 700 Jr. high kids) that loneliness is the human condition. I think he is right, and when I think about how lonely most people (and myself many days) are, my heart is broken.
I wonder if the great irony is going to be all this technology pushing us back into human contact because it is such a great need in all of our lives. I wonder if the lesser irony, everyone sitting at coffeeshops typing away with their headphones on, will ever strike anyone like it does me…
Thoughts?
Seasonal Affective Disorder; many people are somewhat affected by this. It is simply when the weather changes afffect your mood; for good or for ill. Today I feel close to depressed. It is, in fact, gloomy outside. I am about to transition jobs and am less able than usual to flee to the idol of productivity. I was hoping to just sit and read my Bible when I got to my coffee shop (from whence come all podcasts and most blogs because of their coveted high speed connection). I haven’t don’t that yet.
My great friend Mike Higgins has a cliche’ riddled paragraph about attitude on his desk. Lloyd Dobbler thinks similarly, “Why can’t you just decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood?” Webel has always fought to be controlled by anything, which seems like the antithesis of most people I know who are just looking for an excuse to act tired, etc. Isn’t everyone tired and busy though?
I just wonder how much I am supposed to fight? How much am I just supposed to roll with it and look forward to tomorrow, hurt as few people as possible in the process? Or should I seach out what the real problem is and address it?
Pictures like this make me wonder how I could ever be in a bad mood…
(My wife and baby)
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