By watching Weird Al's 11 minute epic video: Trapper In The Drive-Thru.
It's a rich and glorious tribute to the domestic details of the nuptial life.

Labels: fun

I'm excited that I am still learning things. I sometimes feared that growing older would bring an inevitability of calcification. Years are going by faster, and it is easier sleep through them.

One of the idea that has loomed in my thinking over the last few years (perhaps I should said Biblical principle) is that the truth will set you free. I don't believe that we really grasp this. Most of us are not very free.

We are bound by all kinds of things. Some seem trivial; I am not free to eat certain dishes because I have a thing against mushrooms. Others are more grave; I don't express who I really am because I want others like me, or worse, I build up a pretense. I am not free to be what I am because I am bound by fear of what others think.

I noticed a change in myself. It snuck up on me, but I am happy it is here. My first indication was when I was cutting up an apple. Five years ago I would have been meticulous (and wasteful) in giving the bruised spots wide berth. Now, I just eat the apple. That might seem like laziness, or apathy, or something else ignoble. The net result is freedom. Before I had a fear of eating "the bad part".

I'm not saying to eat rotten fruit. That's dumb. But I was straining at gnats.

The implications stretches further. I used to be more hesitant, when talking to new friends, in expressing my God's role in my life. I would avoid saying things like "Last Sunday at church..." or "My pastor said something interesting...". I would avoid it until I felt like I had established the relationship. Why? Because I had a fear of how I would appear to those whom I just met.

Freedom and liberation doesn't mean 'lack of boundaries'. That's modern misconception. It means having the space to be what we really are. Fear holds us captive, but love brings its on set of boundaries. Love's limits are chosen however, and they enrich and embolden. But that's a thought for another post.

"Perfect love casts out fear ..."

Labels: thoughts

Sandra came down with strep throat earlier this week. I think the symptoms started Tuesday night. My mother came into town to help with children (thanks Mom!) and Sandra slept a lot.

Her birthday is today and she had originally planned a Girls Night Out for Thursday, but it was postponed until today because of her illness (I was fearful that she still wouldn't be up it).

Many things were scheduled for today, but it did not go as planned. Adah had a fever this morning and we missed The Double G Birthday Bash. :-( Adah was very sad, but luckily grandparents were here to pick up the slack.

Sandra really wanted some crawfish, so I made a cameo at the Crawfish Bawl to pick her up a couple of pounds. I know that strep isn't supposed to affect the brain, so maybe it was the Cajun spices...

Labels: birthday, sandra

Coosh's Bayou Rouge has become my office away from the office. I'm sure most readers visiting this blog already frequent the restaurant, but if you don't then you should go by and visit Coosh.

This Saturday, in addition to being Sandra's birthday, is also the 6th Annual Crawfish Bawl. There will be tons of boiled crawfish from noon to 5pm. Also, there will be live music provided by Zydeco Zoo and sweet collectible t-shirts from GoTeez.

Labels: invitation, promotion

It's 10:37 pm on Sunday night. I'm sitting at my dining table. Most of the lights in the house are off. There are two candles burning on the kitchen bar. Adah had asked me to blow them out a few minutes ago. (Fire is her latest fear.)

I heard her crying in her room about 9:55 pm. Talk about breaking a daddy's heart, you find your little girl sitting up in bed and crying because she wet the sheets. She wants to be held and at this point in life, I don't care if I get urine all over my clothes. Ranen begins to stir. I think that maybe he heard Adah crying. Sorry, Ranen you have to wait a few minutes.

Sandra is at a Bible study, so I'm on my own with this one. I take Adah to bathroom and clean her up. She is shivering with cold (and it always seems to take forever to get hot water in that sink!). I wrap her in a towel. Luckily, several pairs of clean panties (as well as clean sheets) were in the drier. None were in her wardrobe.

I brought her into the dimly lit living room (the one with the candles) and set her on the couch while I changed her bed linens. She just sat there, zoned out with sleepiness, and sucking her thumb. I had her back in bed by 10:10 pm. Ranen's turn.

He too is sitting up in his crib, and stops crying immediately after I pick him. I bring him into the kitchen and give him a little cup of soy milk. He drinks it with a passion. His hair is so soft, and he grips me hard with both arms.

Sometimes Sandra will bring Ranen to me in the mornings, while I am still in bed. The bed that he was born on. I'll wake up to him crawling and laughing and flopping down on top of his Da, and I will recall how I once sat on that same bed, tears streaming, undone, praying with moanings that cannot be uttered for God to let my son live.

Ranen's name is derived from the Hebrew word meaning "to cry out". His first cry on his first night, just over a year ago, was pure bliss. I committed then, that night, to always cherish his cry. It is hard sometimes, when a little boy ought be sleeping, for a father to cherish his son's grumpy, cranky crying.

Ranen drank his soy milk and snuggled up on my shoulder. I sang a verse or two of Jesus Loves Me (which has become an incredibly meaningful song to me). I told him that I was going to put him back in his crib. He nestled down and tucked arms and legs under himself. All without a whimper.

Labels: adah, life, ranen

First, I've had a few people ask if it is okay to comment on our posts. The answer is "Yes, please". We really enjoy reading the comments.

And now for a brief overview of life:

It's Saturday evening, everyone is in the backyard. Sandra is planting (she spent the bulk of the afternoon playing with dirt). Adah is playing and Ranen is toddling. Of course, I'm inside typing a blog post and peeking at them through the sliding glass door.

We attended Madeleine's Poo Poo Party at Tom Brown today. (I will let you think about what that might mean.) The kids had a blast and we played a full 24 holes of disc golf. It was a good time with friends.

Our business has really picked up. The first couple of months were tight, and we had to dig into some savings. While my income is still unpredictable, I no longer feel the stress-inducing crunch of "are we going to have to borrow money from friends or family this month". I will say that running my own business is hard. I do not enjoy the administrative work. Nevertheless, I do not think that I will be able to work for someone else again (there would have to be a strong alignment of values for it to happen). Overall, I'm really excited about where our company is going. I feel that God is bringing about professional circumstances that are the beginning of things I've always wanted to do. (For example, I am getting to develop educational games.) In addition, there is the possibility that we may even have to turn down some work.

Our home life is still somewhat disarrayed. All of my mental facilities have been bent toward the business. Even though all the big work in the master bathroom is done, the shower and tub are still not usable because of little things. In addition, it feels like something is always breaking (home ownership is great!) However, I feel like we've just turned a corner. Before I had neither time nor money to spare on household matters, but at least I'm beginning to have a little money.

Ah yes, the infuriating Volkswagen: I charged my battery again with Vance's charger (his works) and I have learned to drive it with a hole in the carburetor. Yes, my mileage is miserable. Still, my attitude about it all is much improved.

In closing, la vita è bella. We enjoy our home, cherish our children, relish our friends. Our only complaint is that it is not longer.

Labels: life