Friday, October 31, 2008
Technical Difficulties
I am having some trouble uploading pics from our Halloween festivities using our new Picasa program. Please check back tomorrow! They'll be worth it -- 2 cuties pies will be all over this blog!
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Vote Is In!
There are just a few days left until Halloween is here! We are all ready to head to my sisters to go Trick-or-Treating this year. Both boys have their costumes ready and I can't wait to take pictures of them! Last year, Jak was a teddy bear and he was barely walking! I have pictures of him sitting in the grass looking at the big kids running around and this year he'll be one of the big kids! Time flies when you're having fun, and that, we are.
We got pretzels and fruit snacks duty this year to hand out to the little ones; Tracy has candy duty for the big kids. I'm gonna make sure we get lots of both! For Jak, of course...
As for the costume vote: A whopping 80% voted on the Frog for Jak-man! As I said before, he picked out which one he wanted to wear when I tried them on him, but I just wanted to see what you all thought. Both were cute, weren't they? Stay tuned to find out what he chose, and see the real live Halloween pics right here!
Happy Halloween to you all!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Big Vote 2008
Obama? McCain? Chicken? Frog? So many decisions this year.
Well, the Presidential one was quite easy for me, but I need a little bit of help with what Jak should be for Halloween.
Do you like the Funky Chicken?
Well, the Presidential one was quite easy for me, but I need a little bit of help with what Jak should be for Halloween.
Do you like the Funky Chicken?
Or do you like the Froggy Legs?
Vote now and may the best man, er, animal win!
Disclaimer: Jak will actually choose and I'm not telling which one he's leaning towards, but I thought it'd be fun to see what you all think! Leave me a note after you vote!
Warm Fuzzies, et al.
I am sitting here in my living room, enjoying the the beautiful sun shining through the picture window. It was quite chilly this morning, and I wondered if our Fall was already over and Old Man Winter was quickly approaching. But now, the sun is back out and it feels so good. I'm so cozy I could sit here all day and soak in the heat and brightness from the sun as it cascades over the room; it's so inviting right now. I've got my Fall decorations out and I'm feeling all homey. If you know me at all, you know that Fall is by far, my favorite season. So, I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside right now and could stay in this place all day long. Ahh, the house, the clean rooms, the quiet hum of the laundry machines, the candle burning, the--
--back to reality. The kids are sleeping and they'll soon be up! Blog fast! Blog fast!
OK, so if you scroll down a bit you'll notice that Jak spoke his first 3 word sentence just a few hours ago. This is a big deal for us! He is talking all the time and we've heard 2 word sentences like, "Bye, Daddy.", "Help, Mommy.", "Hug Baby.", and my favorite, "All Done!". But we are in all new territory today! As much as I love all the baby stages, I am looking forward to being able to have conversations with my little buddy!
Jak also has a daily routine of bringing out every single stuffed animal that he owns, along with ones that he doesn't own (his brother's), and putting them in the living room. One by one, he brings them out, and throws them into a pile. I don't much mind this daily occurrence because it he enjoys it (read: frees up Mommy to quick do something around the house!). Yesterday, as we were getting ready for lunch and naps, I told him to put his animals away. He refused. I told him again. "No." Then I told him that his animals had to take a nap so he needed to put them away. Eagerly, one by one, the animals went back to his room and settled in for their nap.
Who knew a simple spin on words would work wonders and avoid an all out meltdown?
As for John-boy, he went to the Dr. yesterday for his 4 month check--up. 4 months, people! Where does the time go???
The report was good, just as I figured. He is weighing in at 19.12 pounds! Yep, you read that right, almost 20 pounds. The Dr. said I have amazing breast milk. Well, what can I say? Pretty soon I'm gonna have amazing biceps too! This kid is h-e-a-v-y! He's 27 inches long, too. So, he's in the 98.97 percentile for weight and 94 percentile for height. I'm going to have to start pushing the recruiters away from our house soon if he keeps this up!
I also have some exciting-to-me news that I will share with you, but not for about 8-10 weeks yet. Since a previous post I wrote caused quite the stir among some family folks, I will spare you some suspense and let you know that no, I'm not pregnant. At least not that I know of. And if I am and don't know it yet, then forget the exciting news in 8-10 weeks because it'll be put to the back-burner until God knows when.
That's it for now. I'm off to wash the floor. More on that later.
--back to reality. The kids are sleeping and they'll soon be up! Blog fast! Blog fast!
OK, so if you scroll down a bit you'll notice that Jak spoke his first 3 word sentence just a few hours ago. This is a big deal for us! He is talking all the time and we've heard 2 word sentences like, "Bye, Daddy.", "Help, Mommy.", "Hug Baby.", and my favorite, "All Done!". But we are in all new territory today! As much as I love all the baby stages, I am looking forward to being able to have conversations with my little buddy!
Jak also has a daily routine of bringing out every single stuffed animal that he owns, along with ones that he doesn't own (his brother's), and putting them in the living room. One by one, he brings them out, and throws them into a pile. I don't much mind this daily occurrence because it he enjoys it (read: frees up Mommy to quick do something around the house!). Yesterday, as we were getting ready for lunch and naps, I told him to put his animals away. He refused. I told him again. "No." Then I told him that his animals had to take a nap so he needed to put them away. Eagerly, one by one, the animals went back to his room and settled in for their nap.
Who knew a simple spin on words would work wonders and avoid an all out meltdown?
As for John-boy, he went to the Dr. yesterday for his 4 month check--up. 4 months, people! Where does the time go???
The report was good, just as I figured. He is weighing in at 19.12 pounds! Yep, you read that right, almost 20 pounds. The Dr. said I have amazing breast milk. Well, what can I say? Pretty soon I'm gonna have amazing biceps too! This kid is h-e-a-v-y! He's 27 inches long, too. So, he's in the 98.97 percentile for weight and 94 percentile for height. I'm going to have to start pushing the recruiters away from our house soon if he keeps this up!
I also have some exciting-to-me news that I will share with you, but not for about 8-10 weeks yet. Since a previous post I wrote caused quite the stir among some family folks, I will spare you some suspense and let you know that no, I'm not pregnant. At least not that I know of. And if I am and don't know it yet, then forget the exciting news in 8-10 weeks because it'll be put to the back-burner until God knows when.
That's it for now. I'm off to wash the floor. More on that later.
What's It Gonna Take? The 'Me vs. We' War
I thought I'd share a BreakPoint Commentary that I heard today, from Chuck Colson. I like to listen to him because many of his commentaries encourage me to think beyond the surface of current issues and look deeper at the impact that these issues have on people all over the world.
"On Monday, the House of Representatives surprised its leaders, the administration, and, most of all, the financial community by rejecting the agreed-upon financial rescue plan. The bill will be debated again tomorrow.
Two-thirds of all Republicans and two-fifths of all Democrats voted against the plan, with predictable results. The markets tanked around the world. We saw a record 777-point drop in the Dow Jones and the worst one-day loss in the S&P 500 since the 1930s. The market recovered somewhat yesterday, but the credit crisis remains.
The explanation of why 228 representatives risked a meltdown in financial markets could be expressed in another set of numbers: Phone calls and emails from their constituents opposed the measure by a 100-to-1 margin.
Now to be sure, some, like my friend Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana, opposed the rescue measure on principle. But many who voted against the bill merely reflected the will of their constituents, who wondered why their money should be used to take other people off the hook.
A very telling poll revealed that 25 percent of those polled favored the measure, 25 percent had no opinion, and the rest opposed it, largely on the grounds that it didn’t affect them or wasn’t their fault. And given what we saw on the television news, for once I believe the polls. The typical man-on-the-street interview went something like this: “The bailout won’t help me! You bet I’m against it.”
Frankly, I was appalled. I can’t help but think that these results illustrate how far we’ve gone down the path of viewing all politics and all of life as “what’s in it for me.”
As many have tried to explain, what is happening on Wall Street affects what happens on Main Street. As I record this, millions of Americans, living far from Manhattan, are measurably poorer as a result of what has been happening in financial markets.
So instead of asking “how is the common good best served?” we look to our own interest, even at the risk of a “decade of little or no economic growth” and a meltdown of the global financial system.
It isn’t only our lack of concern of the common good that disturbs me. It’s also our lack of accountability. I spoke with a very intelligent young banker recently who told me that he encounters it all the time. During his time in risk management, he never heard anybody in foreclosure say, “I made a mistake taking that mortgage. It was too big.”
Instead of acknowledging their accountability—their responsibility to pay the debt—they just shrugged it off, merely mailing the key back to the mortgage holder. Contrast that with a biblical sense of responsibility, of paying your debts.
But this isn’t just about finances. No great civilization has ever been built, or maintained, on the basis “what’s in it for me?” That idea cannot demand, much less inspire, the necessary sacrifices to keep a civilization great, or even healthy—there’s nothing to aspire to apart from fleeting self-satisfaction.
As I said, I respect the principled opposition to the rescue plan by some members. But the fate of the economy is hanging in the balance. If the American people can’t look beyond the “me” and see the “we” with this much at stake, then much more than our retirement funds and our bank accounts are at risk."
"On Monday, the House of Representatives surprised its leaders, the administration, and, most of all, the financial community by rejecting the agreed-upon financial rescue plan. The bill will be debated again tomorrow.
Two-thirds of all Republicans and two-fifths of all Democrats voted against the plan, with predictable results. The markets tanked around the world. We saw a record 777-point drop in the Dow Jones and the worst one-day loss in the S&P 500 since the 1930s. The market recovered somewhat yesterday, but the credit crisis remains.
The explanation of why 228 representatives risked a meltdown in financial markets could be expressed in another set of numbers: Phone calls and emails from their constituents opposed the measure by a 100-to-1 margin.
Now to be sure, some, like my friend Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana, opposed the rescue measure on principle. But many who voted against the bill merely reflected the will of their constituents, who wondered why their money should be used to take other people off the hook.
A very telling poll revealed that 25 percent of those polled favored the measure, 25 percent had no opinion, and the rest opposed it, largely on the grounds that it didn’t affect them or wasn’t their fault. And given what we saw on the television news, for once I believe the polls. The typical man-on-the-street interview went something like this: “The bailout won’t help me! You bet I’m against it.”
Frankly, I was appalled. I can’t help but think that these results illustrate how far we’ve gone down the path of viewing all politics and all of life as “what’s in it for me.”
As many have tried to explain, what is happening on Wall Street affects what happens on Main Street. As I record this, millions of Americans, living far from Manhattan, are measurably poorer as a result of what has been happening in financial markets.
So instead of asking “how is the common good best served?” we look to our own interest, even at the risk of a “decade of little or no economic growth” and a meltdown of the global financial system.
It isn’t only our lack of concern of the common good that disturbs me. It’s also our lack of accountability. I spoke with a very intelligent young banker recently who told me that he encounters it all the time. During his time in risk management, he never heard anybody in foreclosure say, “I made a mistake taking that mortgage. It was too big.”
Instead of acknowledging their accountability—their responsibility to pay the debt—they just shrugged it off, merely mailing the key back to the mortgage holder. Contrast that with a biblical sense of responsibility, of paying your debts.
But this isn’t just about finances. No great civilization has ever been built, or maintained, on the basis “what’s in it for me?” That idea cannot demand, much less inspire, the necessary sacrifices to keep a civilization great, or even healthy—there’s nothing to aspire to apart from fleeting self-satisfaction.
As I said, I respect the principled opposition to the rescue plan by some members. But the fate of the economy is hanging in the balance. If the American people can’t look beyond the “me” and see the “we” with this much at stake, then much more than our retirement funds and our bank accounts are at risk."
WOW!
Jak just said his first 3 word sentence: "Mommy eat cake!"
Hmm...is it that obvious that I like cake?! Don't answer that.
Actually, it was he who was eating the cake, not me. He was just offering to share. 'Atta boy!
Hmm...is it that obvious that I like cake?! Don't answer that.
Actually, it was he who was eating the cake, not me. He was just offering to share. 'Atta boy!
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