they took the bait

if only I had put a tracking device inside!

when we moved to this house about 3 years ago, my dad gave me his old lawnmower. it was the heaviest mower I had ever encountered. I think the deck was cast iron or something. and it had a funky custom-built aluminum chute to redirect the grass clippings away from your shins. it didnt run well, but being a honda, we had hopes of getting it going. alas, I calculated the cost of getting it fixed was about the same as that of getting a new one.

so when we got the new one not long ago (thanks dad), the old one was evicted from the shed and left out in the yard. and then we get this rash of thefts in the neighborhood, so we were a little worried about the contents of our shed, and at the same time I was hoping that they'd take the old one.

yesterday we realized that they did indeed take the bait. I'm sure the thieves didnt realize the mower was for crap, but I bet they figured out quickly that it's rather heavy. they probably didnt know they were doing me a favor. and hopefully they're satisfied that they've relieved us of all valuable mowing equipment.

great-grandpa

this past weekend Caleb finally got to meet his great-grandpa and step-great-grandma. there are a few pictures here. we enjoyed the new aquarium together and had a nice time here at home. they lived in Florida until recently, and having moved near Nashville made it possible for us to finally get together. it's always fun to see Caleb take to folks so readily, and this weekend he seemed to prefer hanging out with the guys. he had no problem snuggling with great-grandpa, as well as playing with toys and reading books. and we could tell that great-grandpa was quite proud of Caleb, which isnt too surprising, as he's always telling us that he's proud of us and is constantly praying for us.

it's interesting (to me at least) how my attitude has changed about my grandfather over the years. they lived in the same town as we did growing up, so we got to hang out quite a bit. he was (and still is) something of a lay-preacher, never hesitating to bust out a mini sermon on whoever will listen. I think I learned to become immune to and perhaps a little embarrassed of these little episodes, not that they were particularly loud or forceful. it's just that being in the Dutch-Reformed tradition, you just didnt exhibit your faith that way. in fact, you didnt talk about it much at all. but you did go to church at every opportunity and get involved a whole lot, which was good. but talking about stuff, that's not our thing for some reason.

which makes me glad I married out of our subculture. Michelle isnt like this, in fact, she's quite the opposite, which has been great for me. talking about your faith and what it means in our lives is a big part of it all (as well as getting involved in people's lives and the work of the church, etc). so I've come to appreciate grandpa's heart even though his methods still might be a little chaffing. and I only relatively recently learned that grandpa wasnt always quite the upright, faithful man we know now (to put it mildly), and his preachy ways were quite the turnaround from hard living (I only know vague things of the past, as I've never personally known him any different).

so I hear him go on about how things are so bad these days (and nearly laugh inside due to the cliche of it), and I suppose he's right, but I tire of the judging-the-world stuff, and I've read enough books to know that back in his day (or any day) it was just as bad as today.

but I love how he's got the old man's attitude of "I'm checking out soon, so I'm not holding back on what I think is important." I love that he's not afraid to directly encourage us to pray and to keep the faith. we surely could use more of that. yet I hope that when I'm old and uninhibited like that, I'll not only encourage folks that way, but be humble enough to admit my mistakes and help folks learn from them. even still, I now realize I can learn a lot from grandpa. funny how your elders seem to get exponentially wiser as you age.

sneak preview

we had a great weekend with family, as my parents as well as my grandfather and his wife came into town. it was the first time Caleb got to meet his great-grandpa, so we had a very nice time together. pictures and more about that later.

after everyone left, we were all a bit tired and cranky but we were still a ways from bedtime. there's nothing like getting out of the house to help everyone deal with fussiness, so we were off to the church picnic at the park. it was a beautiful day for hanging out, though the weather was a bit odd, with a constant yet warm breeze. so we got to hang out with the Wells family, among others.

Michelle also got to hold our newest neighbor, as you can see here. (DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT OUR NEW BABY.) this is Lauren, who was born a little while ago, but she was quite early, so she's just now about newborn size. as you can imagine, holding such a tiny little girl was quite an eye-opener for what is to come for us very soon (due in less than 2 months, in fact). Caleb was quite interested in the baby and reached out to touch her leg. well at first it was more like hitting (but not too hard), so we reminded him to "be gentle" (we've been practicing this with the dog with moderate success). he caught on pretty quickly, so we're hopeful he'll treat his little sister well.

the baby started crying, and Caleb wanted mama too and Michelle was a tad overwhelmed at the very real prospect of having 2 needy kids. but we try to remember we had similar thoughts about having just 1 not long ago, and God blessed us and took care of us.

here's a slide show of some of the other picnic pics. I've been trying out flikr again, although they've been having recent outtages. I dont want to abandon our family site, but their "uploadr" makes things very easy. other weekend stories and pics coming soon.

old friends, new blogs

old Covenant folks might be interested in checking out Kat (Gulick) Haase's new family photoblog. oh and Leah has started one too.

glory

much like I sometimes wish I was better at fixing stuff, I often wish I was a better gardener. yet just as my attempts at being handy do actually come out OK now and then, I have just enough success at growing things to keep me happy. in this case, it's the morning glories out front, which are actually volunteers (as in they came up on their own from last year's crop, not as in "go vols!").

morning glories are my favorite flowers. last year (or was it the year before?) I planted some along the fence (which didnt do well due to lack of soil and sunlight), near the street sign (which did great, but were pulled down by city maintenance folks), and near the corner of the house (which did OK). this year I had every intention of planting more, but never got around to it, which is pretty much the story of the garden this time around. some of the stuff I planted this year has done ok, only to be forgotten and left to rot. oops.

anyway, the bed on the corner of our house is often rather overgrown. in fact, nearly all vegetation around our house is often overgrown. I guess on weekends I prioritize hanging out with the family over pulling weeds. tough choice, but there are tradeoffs. so the front bed was getting out of hand, with stuff crawling up the corner and onto the porch (which alone could be the subject of a series of entries, and perhaps might be someday). Michelle wanted me to pull down the weeds, but I thought I spied morning glory leaves in there, so I decided to let it be. sure, it did look a little hick with kudzuesqe vines everywhere, but my laziness and hope for glory held me back.

so after more than a few weeks of overgrowth (it took over our porch bench), the pointy flower buds started to appear. so for the past couple weeks I'm treated to deep purple, light purple, and magenta glories as I leave for work each morning. when I come home they're all gone, but the new buds are getting ready for the next day. glory to God for such beauty, which was given to us more out of my neglect than my hard work.

the art of breadmaker repair

we love our breadmaker as much as one ought to be allowed to love a small appliance. this is especially true since nearly all store-bought bread has sugar in it, which Michelle can't have, so we make our own whole wheat bread. and to make it even more earthy-cool, we use fresh-ground flour thanks to some friends. these days we go through about 2 loaves a week.

so it was with much frustration last night that I discovered that the machine wasnt working (this was after I added all the ingredients to the pan). the electronics and such were fine, and I could hear the motor turning, but nothing was happening. yuck. I dont really feel like spending $200 on a replacement. I figured a gear or belt had slipped, and since I didnt have much to lose, I decided to try my hand at breadmaker repair.

unlike folks like my dad and grandfather and former roommates, I'm not very good at fixing stuff. feeling a head cold coming on, I took a swig of drambuie and stack of cookies for clarity and luck, and brought the dead machine into the living room so I could at least watch the Phillies lose while I tinkered.

I can take things apart easily enough. getting things back together in working order is another matter. unfortunately I had to take pretty much everything apart (besides the motor) to get at the problem, and it was indeed a slipped belt, which was partially off the wheel and jammed up in the works (notice all the technical details here). so I coaxed it back on. now the hard part: can I get it back together, and will it work? here are the guts before I put it all back:

fortunately it wasnt too hard to put it back together. only once did I do things in the wrong order and have to redo it. surprisingly, all the screws were accounted for, although everything is a little askew. but amazingly, it came together. now the moment of truth: will it work?

glory be, it did indeed fire up on the first try! so I took a celebratory swig of drambuie, with a few more cookies, and let the bread bake through the night.

for bear: be good clips

we went to the be good tanyas show the other night, and since Bear couldnt make it, I took a couple little video clips. I only wish I had remembered to take the video before the last song. but here they are: clip 1 and clip 2. the picture quality is pretty bad, but the audio isnt terrible.

it was a nice night and a good show...mellow good times, as we used to say. it was a little strange to have a lack of a lead instrument for most of the songs, but they held it together well, not really interested in flashy musicianship. yet it was nice when the one with the banjo picked up the hollow-body guitar and brought in more melody for some of the songs. I did enjoy the mellow banjo, which wasnt quite claw-hammer and not quite bluegrass, and without a resonator. we have a similar banjo on the wall at home, so perhaps I'll take it down and try to learn a few chords again.

indelible grace - free concert

on Sept 30, Indelible Grace will be giving a concert at Covenant. this is apparently part of the Neal Conference, which also includes RC Sproul and Jerry Bridges. no details on their site yet, but there are apparently chapel talks and evening sessions on some topic or other.

but I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing Indelible Grace, as I've appreciated their work ever since Michelle's dad gave us their original album. in a nutshell, as far as I understand it, their mission is to take old hymns and set them to new tunes (or at times just modernizing the old tunes). at times they rock out a bit, but it's mostly modern folky kinda stuff, which I really like. and their site has all the lyrics and chord sheets and whatnot, so we've been able to do more than a few of their tunes for church.

so if you're into such things, perhaps we'll see you there, unless you'd like to babysit for the sweetest kid around?

tricks video

after a couple REALLY fussy days (due to 3 teeth coming in, and perhaps his mosquito bites), Caleb had a couple blessedly happy days this week. it's so much fun to chase him around the house and just have a good time laughing together. we also like to have him do his latest tricks ("where's the baby?", "how big...", "give a kiss") which he has fun with. so here's a little video: Windows | Mac

oh and check out his new shirt over on mama's blog.

me too

the latest that's been going around:

10 years ago. first semester of college. getting to know my roommate, loving life on the hall, falling madly in like with the first girl who paid attention to me.

5 years ago. just celebrated our 1st anniversary. living upstairs at the Cross's house, working for Jeff and/or myself on a pretty cool website. just got our first digital camera.

1 year ago. loving and adjusting to life with a new baby. in a daze from lack of sleep. discovering the magic of the paci.

Yesterday. worked on a cool new carpet website. took care of and played with Caleb while mama napped in the evening. practiced songs we're playing in church soon. stayed up too late watching baseball.

5 snacks I enjoy. cookies (big 60, walmart generic variety pack), apples, Newcastle, moose tracks, more Newcastle.

5 songs I know all the words to. Come Thou Fount, All For Jesus, Old MacDonald, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Poor Heart

5 things I’d do with $100 million. give most of it away, pay off debts, take care of family, attempt to live simply.

5 places I’d run away to. wherever Michelle is, Vermont, the Florida keys, Scotland, St. Somewhere.

5 things I’d never wear. I think this is a question for the ladies? I really dont think about it too much, so the wife is my wardrobe police at times.

5 favorite TV shows. TV is bad for you, but: major league baseball (especially the marlins, but I'll settle for the braves, or other NL action), college basketball, college football, trading spaces (a little while ago), alias (at one time, but not anymore)

5 biggest joys. life in Jesus, Michelle, Caleb, baby girl on the way, being in a great community

5 favorite toys. building blocks, legos (I love having a kid so I can play with toys again!), digital camera, camcorder (on the way), this blog.

5 people I want to pass this on to. michelle, bear, joe, mom, dave

google blog search

check it out.

anywhere is home

our little band has been playing more often for church, which I've certainly enjoyed. and we're growing again, adding another Joe, who is multi-talented with multiple instruments. we're backing him on an old appalachian hymn called "Anywhere is Home." I've included the text below, and you can hear a cheesy midi of the tune here. of course we've countrified it a bit, and even got Jim to play by ear (being from the read-it-off-the-page camp is a little tough in our group). having Joe and Joe on the vocals is quite nice, and I get to add some flavor with the mando. yum.

next time we'll do Jesus Everlasting King in the Indelible Grace style, with me on lead vocals. I'm never particularly comfortable singing lead, but with at least 2 guys harmonizing and a whole bunch of instruments (guitar(s), banjo, bass, hand drum, possible mando), it should sound pretty good.

Joe mentioned that the words to Anywhere is Home ring true in light of many who have lost their homes in the recent disaster. so here's the text to the old hymn, which was undoubtedly sung by shape-singers in the hills not far from here.

Earthly wealth and fame may never come to me,
And a palace fair here mine may never be;
But let come what may, if Christ for me doth care,
Anywhere is home, if He is only there.

Refrain:
Anywhere is home, let come and go what may;
Anywhere I roam, He keeps me all the way;
So for His dear sake, my cross I’ll meekly bear;
Anywhere is home, if Christ, my Lord, is there.

Oh, I’m tossed about and driven by the foe,
Sad within, without, wherever I may go;
But I press along, still looking up in prayer,
For it’s home, sweet home, if Christ is only there.

I will labor on till I am called away,
Till the morn shall dawn of that eternal day,
Looking unto Him who keeps me in His care;
Anywhere is home, if Christ, my Lord, is there.

laini's gonna kill me...

...but this little video (~5MB, QT) is too funny to not share it with the entire world. but I'm just the messenger here, as Rich took the video while we were all together recently, and passed it along to me. apparently he gave her the opportunity to ensure this clip wouldnt see the light of day, but I guess she wasnt willing to meet his demands? I'm sure she'll try to get a certain someone to take this post down too. so Laini, dont hate me for too long please. all in good fun, right?

speaking of, I posted some of the pics from our time together with everyone last week, which can be found here. we also went to the Passage again yesterday, which Caleb absolutely loves. the only drawback is that it's a bit loud, so we may check out the gentle waters on the other side of the big fish tank.

and finally, there's nothing so sweet as a sleeping baby...

work news

a few tidbits from the work front:

congrats to Matt (our half of the amazing design duo known as the Cooley brothers) and Andrea on the birth of their daughter Remie Camille. we love babies around here. lots of babies. and we're next.

congrats to fellow chattablogger Mike, who will be our new project manager. most of us have known Mike for a while. I'm not sure if this is good thing or not, but I'm pretty sure he'll be a good fit around here, as long as he can put up with our quirks. his predecessor Andrea (and her husband) will soon be going with Action Ministries to Zambia to help with HIV/AIDS ministry. they're still raising support, so leave a comment if you would like more info.

a little while ago we finally launched a new site for Tuftco. dig the retro. who would have thought carpet machines and stuff could look so cool? Matt's awesome.

and speaking of carpet, we finally redid the site for FloorSim, which is our nifty carpet simulation stuff. and very soon we'll officially launch the latest site we did using FloorSim technology, which kept us all busy for a while. if you're into commercial carpet (and who isnt?), it's pretty nice. in short, Ed rocks, and I get to help.

and our old friend, co-worker, and now telecommuter Jacob is coming into town for a while next week, so it'll be good to catch up and hang out, epecially at next week's Nightfall show, featuring the Be Good Tanyas. and we finally get to see what his kids look like these days! you'd think he'd do a photoblog or something (hint, hint)

bible study resources?

somehow I've ended up leading our guy's Bible study on Philippians. not being gifted with natural leadership skills (at least not the "normal" ones), it is only by God's purpose and grace that I'm doing this.

so I recently started digging in a bit. we're using Ferguson's Let's Study Philippians as a general guide, and it's quite helpful. I was wondering if anyone knows of good Bible study resources online? here's what I've found so far, especially stuff for Philippians.

Bible Gateway (as well as other online Bibles of course) - good for looking up and comparing various passages in various versions.
Calvin's commentaries
Blue Letter Bible - lots of commentaries here, but I dont know who some of these folks are.
Piper's sermons
Spurgeon's sermons
Henry's Commentary

This is certainly a lot to work with, and very nice that I dont need to buy all the books. Any other Reformed-type resources out there?

for the dog-lovers out there

say a little prayer for our dog Katie (although I'm not sure about the theology of praying for pets, but I suppose if God looks after the sparrows, He looks after our woocher too). anyway, her tiny posterior has got some gross issues, and she's moping and limping around the house. hopefully it's no big deal, as we hate to see her suffer, and we really cant afford vet bills right now. soon we shall see.

new pics and the latests

havent felt much like blogging lately, as it seems to trivial compared to the suffering and chaos down south b/c of the hurricane. as a lifetime hurricane watcher, I was filled with dread when I saw 175mph on the screen last weekend. we're so glad Jeannette and family were already out of harms way, and pray for all those who still are. the blame-game so rampant in every media form makes me ill. do we not realize the unprecedented and enormous complexity of all this? not that I'm particularly interested in political debate, but cant we wait at least a little while before we pass judgements?

anyway, I've put some recent pics up on the family site. many of the pics have been in this space already. since this little family blog is for posterity as much as anything else, let's see if I can remember some of the latest stuff about Caleb: