thankfulnesses

a few of the many things that I'm thankful for:

a wife who is my best friend, who is a great mama, and loves me far more than I deserve; a son who is greater than I ever imagined; a daughter who I'll meet very soon; oh and the cutest and snuggliest dog ever.

an extended family that is so normal it's strange, where the only occasional complaint we have is over-love (just kidding grandma).

a job that's challenging, interesting, satisfying, fun, casual, comfortable and cool, as well as providing funds well enough to take care of our needs, but not too much as to make us complacent.

a house that's a cozy haven for our little family that we're filling up fast; that's across the street from good friends and neighbors; that's in the middle of a great little neighborhood; that has a heater that's still working after 30+ years.

a church that is just like family, where we can worship God together; where we are loved and served and able to love and serve in return; where I get to spend time with the greatest Sunday School kids around; where they let me play music too.

friends that will and have done anything we might ask, some of which I get to see 6 or 7 days a week, where we can work, live and worship in community as our families grow up together.

music that is fun and interesting to play, is often worshipful and always enjoyable, and some great folks to sing and play it with

a God who loves me no matter what because of Jesus, who has given us all things things and so much more, who deserves all our thanks and praise.

the teal mobile rides on

the old saturn -- which came to me via blogland from Katie, who got it from Bear -- passed emissions inspection! I had no idea how it would do, since it's got 183K on it, although the engine has never given me any problems. so once again thanks to Katie and Joel for their generosity, and thanks to God for answering my little prayers to keep that thing on the road. oh and if you're in the area, check out Katie's gallery show this Friday evening at Hollis Gallery.

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.

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.

shipping error

what do you do when a certain client that's an excellent commercial carpet company happens to accidentally ship you a small stack of modular carpet samples? even though when you were testing the system you put "TEST" and "DO NOT SHIP" everywhere? well, realizing from past experience they're not interested in getting them back, you stick them together to form a very nice play-area rug, that's what. yes, the job has many perks indeed.

health report, vaykay pics

my minor surgery stuff went well. thanks to all who offered well-wishes and prayers. I've yet to eat solid foods, so I havent tested my newly-enlarged esophogus, so tomorrow we'll see how successful it truly was. apparently I have something with my stomach that's not quite right, so I get acid reflux just at the bottom of my throat, which causes swelling and whatnot, thus making it difficult to swallow. so the dr wants me on meds to keep the acid down. I'm not keen on popping pills, so we'll see if it helps. I may just continue to live with it? but hopefully the enlargement procedure has done the trick for a while.

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I've posted batches of pics of our summer adventures in Delaware and Vermont. hopefully soon I'll tell a few stories about our time in VT, but it pretty much boils down to relaxing family times by, in and on the lake.

no more st. elmo bus?

according to the chattanoogan, the powers-that-be are considering discontinuing bus service to our neighborhood. if you'll notice, cutting us off will be the biggest cost-saver on their list.

in some ways, it's understandable, since the few times that I've taken the bus, there were only 1 or 2 other passengers. I've never seen a bus near us at anywhere near capacity. but if my junker gives up the ghost, there goes a viable option to get to work. fortunately I can bum a ride from various folks (as long as I'm willing to put up with their timetables).

but what about the folks who use the bus as their only option to get to work?

and how dang ugly could their site possibly get?. rumor has it there's a really nice new site in the works (give ya 3 guesses where it might be found), but you know how bureaucracies go.

but now for some good news for the hood: apparently bi-lo will be buying-lo our winn-dixie! hooray!

esophageal dilation

I am eating my usual lunch (lunchmeat and cheese on homemade whole wheat, topped with garden veggies) wondering if this might be the last time I have to try to force the food down with lots of water. could this be the last time I have to worry about the food getting stuck about halfway down?

I've had this problem for at least 10 years, but I've learned to live with it. it's not usually a big deal, but now and then something will get stuck. people tend to freak out, because they think I'm choking, but it's well past the airway intersection. all it does is make me uncomfortable and prevent me from eating or drinking anything else until I can force it down or bring it back up. on average, I think it causes such an issue maybe once a month, but I've always got to be careful.

so tomorrow I'm going in for an esophageal dilation. hopefully it'll do the trick, and I will no longer fear apples, steak, chicken or bread.

determined

this weekend was the annual st. elmo yard sale extravaganza. last year we scored some cool stuff for the baby's room, and this year we scored yet more nice stuff for the kids. the highlight is definitely the slide for the yard. mama also got some really nice prego shirts.

we didnt think Caleb would be ready for the slide until he started walking and toddling around. but I took him outside when mama was napping, and he of course was interested in it. so he crawled over and started going up the slide. he was instantly determined to reach the top, and with just a little help he made it up, quite proud of himself. he also negotiated the stairs without much problem. so after mama got up from her nap, we had him repeat the performance, and he was quite photogenic, hamming it up for the camera. more pictures here.

the other day michelle was talking with a friend who mentioned that she was reading what her mom wrote about her when she was a baby. apparently something about liking animals and staring off into the distance, both of which she still does and probably always will.

so it got me to thinking: will the traits that Caleb is now exhibiting be with him for the rest of his days? if so, I'd have to say that he is and will be quite determined. when he sees something he wants to get or do, he'll keep at it until it's done. not quite stubborn (yet), but definitely determined. if he's well fed and changed and whatnot, he has a surprising amount of resolve, without breaking down into whines and tears. climbing up the slide is just the latest example, as is reaching after a toy on the wrong side of the baby gate. since he's our first, I have no idea if this is routine baby behaviour?

there are surely good and bad things about having this trait as he grows. he'll probably figure out how to escape his crib all too soon. someday he'll probably spot a squirrel and climb to the very top of the magnolia without a second thought. hopefully he'll figure out how to get down too.

blogland, babies, prizes

so we got this thing in the mail. typical junk mail from a local car dealer, with a scratch-card prize winning thingy. so Michelle took it in to see if she could score a prize, and it showed up as a $1000 "on line shopping spree." woohoo!!! they told her to come back today to claim the prize, but they were rather short on details. we were hesitantly dreaming of a new digital camcorder, flat panel monitor, maybe even a new compy? well, it turns out it was a load of crap (surprise, surprise). the "spree" is only for www.selectyourgifts.com, which only sells cheap crap and charges more for shipping and handling than it's worth. but if you'd like to help yourself, feel free to log in with ID: KS97252 PW: 8665. if you'd like some magazines for $5 a year, or maybe a desktop waterfall for $7, go crazy.

oh and this is from the same car dealer that a friend of ours had quite an interesting experience with, involving police and lawyers and such. yuck. needless to say, we wont be shopping there for our transportation needs.

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congratulations to Katie and Joel on the birth of their new daughter Eden. such a cutie! the pictures make me hope for a little girl, but we'd love to have 2 boys to be able to grow up together. november seems far away, but I'm sure it'll come rather quickly. michelle's almost through the first trimester, and she's been feeling better lately. she even busted out the old sewing machine last nite.

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many thanks to Josiah and crew for the improvements to the chattablogs site. initially I wasnt too keen on some of the changes (being generally afraid of change). the new logo is cool, and I especially like the fact that on the list you can click on the entry or the blog main page. very nice. I'm still not sure about the pink, but I'll get over it. it's forced me to make the individual entry pages a little nicer too. hooray for coptix. best cheap hosting in town.

stumped

while we were at church, the furniture fairies showed up at our house. much to our bewilderment, we now have a very nice set of apparently home-made lawn seating, as well as a cool table with a clover design. we honestly have no idea where this came from and who may have left it. if some of our friends know, they at least arent telling yet. so we're stumped. any ideas? anyone?

conclusion

my prayers were answered. I cranked the tunes, tuned out everyone and everything but this project, and plowed through the work much faster than expected. there is still much to be done this week, but considering there was nothing to look at 24 hours ago, much progress was made.

even if the kid is screaming and the wife is undone from a long day, there's nothing like coming home after such a day. especially when there's one last Newcastle in the fridge.

on the other hand

Buddy and Julie Miller are awfully good for the soul. I mean, how can you stay stuck on yourself with songs like these? (especially if you know the back story). cranking it loud and making good progress at work helps too.

the streak is over

through no fault of my own, I havent been sick since the very end of 1999. I've had some sniffles and whatnot, but not enough to keep me from going to work. maybe it was the apple/orange a day thing. or all the Newcastle my dad keeps bringing over. but the streak is now over. I've got some nasty stomach flu thing (or perhaps it was those old strawberries?), and I cant keep much down. I've had water and gatorade and one piece of toast stay down. (sorry if this is TMI). I dont have much to lose, so hopefully this will pass soon, not to mention the backlog at work. michelle's feeling icky too (but not as bad) and the baby decided that today would be shrieking day. lovely. so please pray for us. thanks.

less taxes

as Fuller has pointed out, we've found an answer to the age old question: how do I pay less taxes? answer: have babies!!! it's really quite simple. more kids = less taxes. and when you get the grandparents to buy all the junk you need, you can come out ahead quite nicely. we've usually owed at least a little come tax time, but this year we got a decent refund. and some of our friends have so many kids the govt is pretty much paying them. so get to it.

commute

thanks to josiah for pointing out the cool new satellite feature of google maps. just for kicks, here's a view of my daily commute. living in St. Elmo and working downtown is indeed grand.

avoid graco

I'm sure we have some Graco baby gear products, as they are one of the bigger names, and get generally good reviews (unlike Safety 1st, which seems to put out nothing but crap). but if I can help it, we'll never buy another Graco product again. I can understand making a product and having it be accidentally dangerous, but covering up the fact that it's dangerous is unforgivable. once again, covering up the mistake is worse than the mistake itself. check out the news.

back

we've arrived safely home after a family-filled weekend in PA. the flights home were mostly on time, but Caleb didnt enjoy the ups and downs so much this time. but overall it went quite well. details and pics later.

travel note from today: if you're sitting in an exit row, and that exit row has 50% more leg room than the row behind you, and the row behind you is occupied by 2 adults averaging 6'1", and these adults are also carrying an infant, it might be considered rude to have your seat back THE ENTIRE TIME. but if said infant is kicking your seat and/or screaming in your ear for much of the journey, then perhaps you're getting what you deserve.

mando baby

there are very few major things in my mind that I really want Caleb to be or do as he grows up. the first and infinitely most important is that he'll grow to be a Christian. God has many promises for him as a covenant child, but I know that only He knows if Caleb will be with Him forever. so we pray and try to faithfully raise him up.

on the far-less-important scale, I do hope that Caleb grows to be musical in some form. it would be so much fun to be able to sing and play with him as he grows up and we both grow old. he's got something of a musical heritage, as all his grandparents are or were quite involved with church choirs and such, and his mama and I both enjoy singing and playing (quite inexpertly) our various instruments.

when he's in his jumper, I'll often get out the guitar or mandolin and play some songs for him, which he seems to enjoy. I dont want to be the overbearing dad that hopes to see his own dreams of musical greatness realized in his son, but I certainly want to teach him to appreciate and enjoy music, and even better, use it to serve others.

so here we are at his first mandolin lesson. he seems to be catching on rather quickly.

district 7: who to vote for?

any good ideas who we should vote for? our top 2 choices are rico and peterson. both happen to live within a few blocks of us, so that's a plus. we've had a bit of interaction with rico, and he's a pleasant family man, but a conversation we had with him a few years ago revealed a closed mind towards recently immigrated hispanics (he's 2nd or 3rd generation himself). so we're not so sure about him, but on the plus side, he's a local small business owner, and I work for a local small business myself.

and then there's peterson. according to what I've read, he'd probably make a good councilman, but I'm dissappointed that he apparently hasnt returned any surveys put out by places like the chattanooga chamber. he's at least got a website, but he didnt bother to finish it. is this what I can expect from him as my representative? at least he's got a somewhat funny slogan.

seems like either would be less of a schmoozer than taylor (our outgoing councilman). any ideas who might be better?

happy b-day huns

happy birthday to Michelle, my beautiful wife, best friend and lover. her first b-day as a mama too!

we were both glad that her b-day landed on a Saturday this year, as we had a great day together. her first gift came from Caleb, who slept in til 9:30, thus allowing us to sleep a while and get in a nice breakfast together too. during the day we started this year's gardening. Michelle is starting some seeds inside, and I planted some sugar peas and snow peas outside. in the evening we dropped the baby off at a friends house, and went to the Acropolis for a good dinner (but bad service) and the new Rave theatre to catch "In Good Company," which we both enjoyed.

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it was bound to happen sometime: Caleb has his first cold. it's actually quite minor, but he's got enough congestion in his head to keep him from sleeping and eating well. apparently eating and breathing from the same hole is an aquired skill. he's not doing too badly with it, but it definitely slows him down. the funny thing is he's actually quite happy today...like he doesnt even know that he's sick. now we're armed with saline drops and vapo-rub and a friend's humidifier, so hopefully he'll sleep better tonight. we both forgot the joys of late-night baby-tending, so last night made us that much more thankful for all the nights he has been sleeping.

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this morning we also exchanged our simple valentines and gifts (candy for me, fashion accessory for her). having a sick baby and exhausted wife makes me thankful for the gift of love that brings us together, even if it's a hard day. as we like to remind eachother: "we love because He first loved us"

rodent's revenge

I've previously chronicled our battles with rodents under and (at times) in our house. we havent had any sightings recently, but we've heard their gnawing now and then, so I set out some more poison not long ago. in case you dont know, typical rat poison causes the beasts to be really really thirsty as it basically melts their insides, sending them to the end they deserve. usually they head for the sewer to die, or occassionally they'll end up in a bucket or something.

apparently one of our our local vermin was too lazy to head for the sewer, and not finding any other refreshment handy, it decided to chew through our 3/4" PVC water line. I made this discovery not long after hearing an unsettling rush under the house. it had chewed at the corner first 90 degree joint coming from the supply line and opened up just a small yet powerful spray. crap.

almost every time I decend into our "crawl space" I'm amazed that our house is still standing and relatively functional. the maze of PVC would be amusing if it wasnt so frighteningly jury-rigged. I dont claim that I would do it much better, but I think I would at least enlist the right help. ah the joys of an old house whose previous owners were slackers.

anyway, off to the hardware store for fresh PVC glue, and an hour or so later, everything is patched up. many thanks to Jeff Hall for teaching me how to do PVC work a few years ago.

my butt got entirely too cold from sitting in the muddy puddle, my back still twinges a bit from hunching over and hacksawing the old joint off, but it's back together and drying now. we'll see if it holds together when I turn the water back on.

sunday school

after a semester hiatus due to adjusting to life with Caleb, I'm back with the sunday school kids, and I got to jump right in to the fun yesterday. an hour before we were to begin, the lead teacher called to say she was sick, and would I please take the class today? fun!

2 years ago I signed on to help with the 4 and 5 year olds. basically I was crowd control while Abby worked her magic. I learned a ton just watching her teach the kids, and she was good and kind enough to include me in some of the teaching as a caught on. amazingly, the kids loved me! and I loved them too. Abby had to move on, so I took the lead the next year, sharing the duties with Jenny. it was the same group of kids, so I felt very comfortable with them. I just pray that they learned more of Jesus' love that year.

but when Caleb came, I took some time off, not knowing how life would go. so Jessica took the lead, with Jenny helping too. but now Jenny is off to grad school, so it was perfect timing for me to jump back in as a helper. mostly the same kids, just a bit older of course. the wild card is that now Jessica is in charge and I have no idea how she runs the class, but I'm sure she does great.

anyway, the call came in for me to be in charge on my first day back. in charge and probably alone with a bunch of kids who happen to generally like me, but who also know that they can get away with stuff with me (I'm not very authoritarian, unfortunately). I figured I'd bring the guitar, read a Bible story, do a memory verse, and bust out the crayons and paper when all else failed.

thankfully Karen volunteered to help out, and all went rather well. there were 7 kids. we sang some songs, and that went predictably mediocre. as a big group our kids sing OK, but in smaller groups its pretty weak. I dunno if it's a presbyterian thing or what? but after a while most of them were singing and thankfully I even knew the chords for the one request I had (Jesus Loves the Little Children). then Karen read about John the Baptist.

and then we did my favorite part: the memory verse. I wasnt sure if the kids somehow would be "too old" for the somewhat silly fun we would used to have with the verses. I think Abby started doing fun voices as we repeated the verse back and forth, and the kids really get into it, especially the LOUD voices. but thankfully they're still into it and we said Malachi 3:1 back and forth in normal, baby, marching, quiet, REALLY quiet, and LOUD voices. and somewhere in there I did my best to explain what the verse actually means.

anyway, no especially poignant or touching moments, but I pray that the kids learned more of God's love in our time together. sometimes it's just crowd control, and especially when there's no plan or curriculum I tend to focus on just surviving the hour. so pray for me and Jessica and the kids, that we'd all know and love Jesus more.

broken

I want to live a life of brokenness in front of our kid(s). brokenness and also put-back-together-by-graceness. I want Caleb to know that we dont have it all together, that we really do need Jesus for everything. of course saying that is pretty easy.

last night we had a chance to actually live it. Michelle had a rough day. one of the worst in a while. her fibro has been flaring pretty badly, and Caleb seems to be teething, so he's not too happy either. he was crying as she tried to feed him, and as she handed him to me, pretty much at her end, she started sobbing. Caleb immediately took notice and just looked at her quietly. I think he knew something was up. she didnt want him to see her in this state, which is quite natural. but we stood there, Caleb looking quitely, mama crying, daddy holding him close and shedding some tears too.

he's learning so much, watching and living with us amid the struggle. how we deal with this will surely help shape who he is. I just pray that we'll point him to Jesus, and not make him think we can get through it on our own.

settle down

the holidays were great, but I'm glad that we're back to "normal" life. relatively regular days and schedules, no travels, just living life.

work is starting the year out busy, which is a good thing, and I need to get a site started and finished this week. should be a little crazy, but I do better when there's pressure. and the office should be a little quieter, as one of our number will be mostly working from home to look after his kid.

I got 2 settlers expansion packs for christmas: 5&6 player expansion, as well as cities & knights. so who wants their butts kicked? for many of yall out there, I happen to be your settlers granddaddy, so to speak, as we taught quite a few folks around here (we caught the fever from trippy). so let me know if you want to get in on the expansion too. we played with the monahans and perkins the other night, and it was a good time. very cool to have 5 great kids among us too. gotta love isaac's LONG hair. so cool.

the new year brings some thoughts of doing things differently and/or better. more scripture. more music. more love. and more sunday school kids! yes, I'll be hanging out with the kids again, and I'm quite excited. we'll see how much they've changed in the 6 months since I've seen them last.

mellow birthday

back in the day of cabin life, we coined the phrase "mellow good times" and that's definitely what my birthday was like this year.

last year I was anything but mellow, brimming with the excitement of a baby on the way and telling the whole family about it all. but now I got to live out the dreams that kept us up and excited this time last year.

it would have been nice to sleep in and snuggle with the wife and the pup, but the hungry munchkin was calling at 6:30. he ate quite well, which is always satisfying, and we had some good morning time together, making me regret my grumblings at having to wake up earlier than usual. and since mama had to run some errands, I got to feed him his cereal in the mid-morning, which is always an adventure (with me at least).

(an aside: for the first time this week I got a brief glimpse into what it means to be a fulltime mama. michelle and my mom were out getting their christmas manicures (a gift from santa), and I had to get the baby ready in time to drive out to meet everyone for lunch. trying to get him fed and cleaned and dressed (cutely) AND me relatively cleaned and dressed and out the door on time was an eye-opener. my usual extended time with him (weekends) doesnt involve deadlines. so to the mamas out there: I have a new respect, and sense of patience)

anyway, today I also got to do one of my favorite activities: take care of my wife. sometimes it's just enjoyable to serve her in the small things (like make the chicken salad and dressing).

as a bonus, Dan and Kat (Gulick) Haase stopped by. as Kat can relate to many of Michelle's health issues, we had a good conversation about such things, as well as general life stuff. Kat always asks good questions. and as a birthday present of sorts, she told me she made a huge mistake in not hiring me to be an RA back in the day. this bit of info is quite gratifying of course (as I was quite dissappointed at the time), but we all agreed that it was clearly God's providence (I wouldnt have edited the school paper, which indirectly led to web stuff a little while later). even cooler, she told me why I didnt get the job: I was too cynical at the time! who, me?! yeah, I had it pretty bad for a while, and I credit Michelle for lifting me out of that muck. as evidence of continued progress: I quit listening to NPR and now listen to Moody Broadcasting. this is of course a subject for its own entry sometime.

at dinner time we looked at the nearly barren fridge. I grabbed a birthday newcastle (thanks dad!) and longed for a pizza. we never order pizza, as Michelle cant eat it. but I think talking about covenant stuff made me long for a mr. t's pizza. I seldom directly express my desires to michelle, so when I said "you know what I would like?" I could have asked for pretty much anything and she would have got it done somehow. but a medium pinapple-and-ham only takes about $6.88, so it wasnt too hard to get it done. that and another newcastle. yum.

after some snuggling and uno, I finished the book I've been reading this week. I feel like I havent read a book through in a while. I determined this week to really relax as much as possible, and of course my mom and dad made it quite possible. so I read my new book that I bought on a whim (thanks to a gift card) and quite enjoyed it (perhaps not as much as promised on the cover, but still enjoyable).

and now I blog. that's part of relaxing these days too. when we travel or get birthday phonecalls or whatnot, I'm always surprised to learn of all the folks who check in on us here. lurkers (those who read but dont make your presence known), feel free to comment.

so here goes another birthday, and really I've got the best present ever on the other side of this wall: a beautiful, wonderful son, who is so great I can hardly believe it, and his mama who is so much a part of me I cant remember who I was without her. what's that verse about God blessing us more than we can imagine? He really has.

christmas digest

lots of goings on in the past week. here's the reader's digest version, in no particular order. fully annotated and uncondensed version may arrive later. maybe not. initial pictures here.

travel
besides not eating, not sleeping, and generally disliking being in his car seat, Caleb traveled quite well. he didnt quite scream...more like sqeaking, which turned into crying. the trip to NC usually takes 7.5 hours. it took us 10 to get there and 9 to come back. not too bad, but not great.

the dog
katie was, once again, a superpup. my parents have a "no dogs" policy (my dad is allergic), but an exception was granted for our tiny non-shedding woocher. she did great, and my dad spoiled her, even tho he cant pet her.

presents
as usual, there were many presents spread around. for us big kids, lots of music, games, clothes, and candy/cookies/tea. for the little one, lots of toys and clothes and books (no candy yet). many thanks to all the givers. I think we need to declare a moratorium on toys for a while, as he's received lots of cool toys that will suit him this time next year and the even the next.

grandparents
Caleb was the pride and joy of both grandma and grandpa w. he got to tour both of their workplaces, where they were all aglow with the excitement of showing off the cutest kid on record. if we had a nickel for each time we heard "so this is the boy from all the pictures..."

birthday
today is my 28th birthday. so far I've enjoyed a good morning with my son, had a nice breakfast with my wife, and opened some presents (one each from the music/games/clothes/candy categories). some old friends will stop by later, and otherwise I think we'll enjoy a nice day home together.

christmas letter 2004

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all. Exactly a year ago we learned that we were going to have a baby, and now Caleb is four months old! It has been an exciting and amazing year as we’ve been carried through this wild ride of parenthood. God has blessed us in many ways, and we’d like to take a moment to remember just how good He’s been to us.

Of course for the first half of the year we busied ourselves preparing for Caleb’s arrival. We are so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement from you, our family and friends, and we’re very grateful for all the material needs for the baby. As Caleb grew inside of Michelle, we wondered if she would ever stop feeling sick, and how her chronic health issues would work out through her pregnancy. Thankfully, the sickness subsided, and so did most of her usual aches and pains.

As the weather warmed we enjoyed our little garden as we counted down the days until August. We read all the books and took all the classes that we could, waiting for the day we would hold our little boy. We prepared his room with lots of sewing and painting and whatnot, dreaming of playing with him in his own room. July seemed to last forever, and on the very last day, good news came: Michelle’s sister had twin boys, and we hoped our little boy would come soon too.

After all our waiting and praying and a long labor, Caleb Robert Wiegers arrived on August 11. He was and is the most beautiful baby we’ve ever seen, and we’re simply overwhelmed at how much of a blessing he is. At first he wasn’t a very good eater, but now he’s doing great. We’re especially thankful for an entire year of nothing but good health reports for Caleb.

Now we’re loving life as parents. We’re so thankful for a happy baby and we enjoy him so much every day. He’s very tall and skinny, and he’s made friends with the dog already. Just today he ate his first solid food (rice cereal), and he’s quite excited about his first Christmas at Grandma Wiegers house. Michelle is home fulltime with Caleb, and loves her new role as Mama. Bob is still enjoying being a website programmer at a small company in downtown Chattanooga, and each day can’t wait to come home to be with the family.

We pray that we’ll be faithful to God’s calling for us. We especially pray that Caleb will know and love Jesus as he grows up, and ask that you will pray this with us. He is one of many covenant children recently born in our small church, and he was baptized on October 24. We’re so thankful for such a supportive church family, and for God’s faithfulness to us all.

We’re so glad that we’re in a small group with some friends who are also parents with young children, trying to learn what it means to shepherd our kids. Also, Michelle has been mentoring a college student, and she has been learning so much of God’s grace because of it, and it’s so good to see her being used to bless others.

We’re looking forward to Michelle’s brother’s wedding this spring, as we’re so excited for Brad and Renee, and Caleb is also excited about getting to meet most of the extended family, so we’ll see some of yall soon!

We haven’t been without trials and struggles this year, but we thank God for His care for us in this time of such overwhelming changes. As we think on what it means that God would come live with us and in us, and come as such a little baby, we are once again amazed at His love. We pray that you will know more and more of Jesus love this year.

We update our website with pictures, videos and stories quite often, so please visit www.wiegersfamily.com when you’re able. And we would love to have you come meet Caleb here in Chattanooga! Please pray for us and let us know how we might pray for you. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Love,
Bob, Michelle and Caleb

late

I dont usually put in late hours at work. I guess I'm spoiled. but tonite it's me and the bossman, trying to crank out a multifaceted site before we all leave town. I miss my son desparately. I last saw him 13 hours ago. apparently he had a good day. but dot-net has humbled me again. just when I think I'm catching on, I spend 2 hours trying to track down a problem. and the end result was a bit of code that said "?,*" instead of "?" argh. now I know. and we've made good progress. and I'm hyped on Coke, which is a rarity for me.

the day after tomorrow we leave for grandma's and we're all going a little nuts with anticipation. will everything fit in the car? will there be snow on the way to chapel hill? will the munchkin travel well? will michelle travel well? will katie travel well? God knows (and I dont mean that flippantly) and He'll get us there.

busy

tis the season to be very busy. lots to finish up at work before taking off for the rest of the year, and lots to pack up for the road trip. one more christmas party too.

for the latest cuteness, go here to check out Caleb's first solid food experience. he likes it!

I'll be posting our Christmas letter soon, and we may blog from grandma's house. until then, Merry Christmas!

snow!

or at least flurries! yes, that's right...actual snowflakes falling from the actual sky here in chatty. of course it's only itty-bitty flurries, but it's better than nothing.

I grew up in south florida (just south of hurricane central this year), so snow to me (even a little bit) is a big deal. my first winter at covenant was the big blizzard/ice-storm of 96, and it was a beautiful, wonderful thing. ever since then I've been mostly dissappointed in the winter precipitation here in town, but I guess you dont get a "storm of the century" all that often.

apparently we average 4.4 inches of snow per year, with january maxing out at a whopping 1.8 inches. and unfortunately st. elmo seems to be warmer than the rest of the city, but if we got all 4.4 inches at once, I'd be one happy camper.

so here's hoping we get more than flurries and paper snowflakes (as displayed by auntie sarah) this year.

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speaking of snowflakes (this is for you jeannette), this is why the interweb is so darn cool: make-a-flake!. takes a second to figure out how to make it work, but definitely a lot of fun. here's mine:

tis the season

we love the holidays, but it keeps us rather busy. and work is busy too. but we're never too busy to take pictures of caleb, who, amazingly enough, is getting even cuter. here's proof:

more here

many congratulations to and prayers for Jeannette, as she and Chris are expecting their first baby this summer! yay for babies!!! I keep trying to convince michelle that we should have another soon, but all in good time I'm sure.

we've found a very cool Christmas tradition thing from the FamilyLife people. they had a good deal on it too, and we think it'll be great to help teach the kid(s) about what Christmas is really all about. so check out the adorenaments.

wanted man

I recently received an unsolicited offer to work for another company. I was pretty intrigued, since it's a good company with good folks, and good money too. I really do enjoy it around here, so I was having a hard time making a decision. do I pull up roots and start over just for a few extra bucks?

but we could pay off our debts a lot sooner, and, priceless as he is, baby stuff isnt always cheap. but the folks here made it pretty easy, essentially matching the offer I had received, with assurances that a raise was just about to come anyway.

after 3 years, I feel like I'm finally hitting my stride here, and I'm even catching on to the new stuff we're doing. in a lot of ways, I'm a slow learner when it comes to programming, but I think I'm a good worker bee once I catch on. I'm just glad that God provides for all our needs, and many of our wants, through the work that I can do.

so it's good to confirm that this is where I belong now. perhaps its more of a function of lack of quality help here in town, but it's nice to be wanted, and it's especially nice to be able to provide for the fam at a place I enjoy.

the new view

michelle loves fall. she loves getting out the sweaters and jeans. she loves sipping tea by the fireplace. she loves snuggling under the covers. and she loves the fall colors. but it seems like we get nice fall colors about as often as we get good snowfall around here...maybe once every 5 years or so.

but now that our tree has been chopped down, we get a nice view of the mountain. at sunrise, the colors are all lit up with a red glow, giving a few minutes of deep fall colors. so here's our new view:

I suspect this is about as good as it's going to get for us this year. the first time I woke up and saw these hues, I immediately called michelle over so we could enjoy it together. I think I prefer spring, but since she loves fall, so do I.

cyclops

this is the story of how I learned not to be vain, or at least not to care so much about my appearance. it starts way back before I was born, so bear with me.

I was born with only one functioning eye. nobody knew this until about I was 3 months old, when my mom noticed it didnt look quite right. even now, I dont think anyone knows exactly why it's this way. I remember hearing something vauge about it being underdeveloped, and my brain shutting it down, and there's a cataract to boot. and it's over-sensitive to light, so it's always squinting. weird, I know. and to top it all off, it's "lazy," meaning it (blindly) looks down and to the northeast. not that *I* notice this, since when I look in the mirror, my functioning eye is the one looking back at me.

anyway, when I was just a tyke, they took me to the specialist in NYC, and left praising the skies that I "only" had a blind eye. it's amazing what perspective you gain when most of the other patients in the waiting room have brain damage of some sort. so I grew up smashing the right side of my body into all manner of walls and corners. in fact I still run into a door frame now and then. and dont ask me to play baseball or catch a fly or go to a 3D movie.

I survived growing up one-eyed without too many scars, until I got to highschool. my parents had always told me that if I wanted to get the lazy eye corrected, that they would do what they could. but I never realized how I looked to everyone else, and for most of my years, I didnt care. obliviousness is sometimes the best policy.

but then I got a job at a rotisserie chicken place. and one fine day, a customer came in, and he (I think he was a he) had a lazy eye too. and I thought he looked kinda funny. I think it took the better part of the day for me to realize that *I* looked just like that guy! do people think I look funny too? ugh, the horrors of adolescence.

so I decided to take my parents up on their offer (mistake #1). so we went to the eye doctor, and he said he'd fix me up right. he even said he saw a slight abnormality in my good eye, and he'd fix that one too (mistake #2). basically what he did was pop my eyes out, snip off the muscles that point them in the right direction, and re-attatch them so they'd look forward correctly. remember that this was only to correct the laziness of my eye, and not to restore the sight. even if that was possible, I know I wouldnt want it.

the procedure went well and I came home with bloody eyes and a huge headache and an intense desire for darkness. a family friend brought me a get-well present, which involved lots of skittles, which I immediately downed (mistake #3). the problem is that I dont react well to anaesthesia. I basically throw up for a day or so afterward. so up came the skittles. and (this is a little gross) all the heaving caused tremendous pressure on my wounded eyeballs, so there was blood flowing from my throbbing eyes as I threw up. over and over. I think this is about the time I started to realize I made a mistake.

besides this initial fun, the recovery went pretty well. the lazy eye was corrected! my vanity was satisfied. but time passed, and old righty was determined to be lazy, and alas, 3 months later, he was back to where he started. this pretty much solidified the feeling that this was a mistake. thankfully (somehow) insurance covered the cost, so at least I didnt put my folks in the poor house.

so I started to embrace my one-eyed-ness. I signed all my drawings and doodles as "cyclops." I named my little business "cylcops web development" -- an eye for design. I try to disarm people's initial uncomfortableness with a little joke if I can. I humor little kids, who get confused as to which eye to address, by covering righty with my hand. and I do my best to not care so much about my outward appearance, because this is how God made me, and this is how I am. and apparently I was at least not ugly enough to scare away my wife, who loves me just as I am, and laughs with me at all my weirdnesses.

lessons that came at a bloody price.

endings

first of all, check out this entry from Michelle. a classic story. catacombs alums, pay close attention. Michelle's having a blast with the blog, and we're both loving it.

and now, some endings to some previous stories:

the big ol' tree that fell in our yard:
EPB finally came and cut down the other half that was threatening our neighbors and the general public. and they left (literally) tons of wood in our yard. but brush collection to the rescue! they helped themselves (with their front-end loader) to all the wood. our tax dollars at work. there's actually still a 6-foot "stump" left, and they came back to take it down, but for some reason I like it there, so I told them not to worry. hopefully we'll put some birdhouses on it. anyway, we're very thankful we didnt have to pay the $1000 to take the tree down. and now we have a great view of lookout mountain, just in time for fall.

the bald spot on the back of my head:
the good news -- the hair is growing in again! the bad news -- it's blond. weird. but I'm told that it's darkening. thankfully I dont really care how weird I look. someday soon I'll go into the story about how I really learned this painful lesson. it involves vanity, eye surgury and vomit. later.

our 5th anniversary:
this was August 28th, which was just about the hardest parenting day we had. so we didnt do much to celebrate. but I did make michelle a "mother's necklace." inspired by the "mother's ring" concept (a band with birthstones of each family member), I wanted to give her a necklace with each of our birthstones involved somehow. I knew that Katie does jewelry, so she sent me to a good beading website and gave me some advice on how to put it together. so I chose the jeweled beads and chain and tried to make it work. but I broke the chain trying to get the beads on, and besides, one of the beads was messed up and wouldnt go on, broken chain or not. but I found an old chain and made it work with 2 of the 3, and then very recently we got a different chain and finally convinced the 3rd bead to cooperate. here you can see the results, and we're all very pleased. thanks katie!

baby formula:
caleb's on soy still and doing quite well. but dang that stuff is expensive. always looking for a bargain, and never with too much pride, michelle asked our nurse if we could have a case of it, since we know they get literally truckloads of the stuff to give away (to get as many kids as possible hooked on it of course). and the nurse said something like: sure, we'll keep you supplied, we'll even CALL YOU when we get a shipment. wow! it sure seems like she intends to keep us well-supplied, which is a huge blessing.

ending pending:
we were hoping to refinance our house to take advantage of lower rates, but it's not working out. very frustrating. we're praying that it will work out somehow, b/c if it does we could save quite a bit per month.

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these are all not-so-huge things in our little lives, but God has chosen to bless us in all of them. when the crappy days come (and they do), His faithfulness in even the little things lifts us up.

weather

it is november. I am wearing my chacos. the A/C is on. this is NOT florida. ugh.

my hopes for a decent snowfall this winter have already taken a hit.

counting

yes, I'm still tired. my brother-in-law had the following insights on sleep-deprivation (via AIM): "Coping with sleep deprivation is a lot like stopping a drinking habit. You are so used to the routine of sleep that you start to think you need it to survive. When you can't do it anymore, first you go through withdrawl, then anger, then frustration, and eventually transcendent."

I think I'm in the middle of the frustration stage. and now I realize better why some of my friends are addicted to coke (as in cola) and/or coffee. anyway, I think I should count some blessings here, small and large, to remind myself how good we really have it:

- our old 19" flat screen monitor, once left for dead and minutes from being thrown out, works again. and it's a beautiful thing.
- we re-arranged our living room with the help of Michelle's dad. and it is very nice. hopefully we'll have a new desk for the corner soon.
- we have the cutest and funniest dog ever. sure she's 2nd fiddle now, but we still love her. or like her. whatever.
- our parents are such a blessing. they love Caleb to pieces, and they get along great with eachother too. they're not perfect by any means, but the heritage of faith from our families is a rare and awesome gift.
- we've recently started a "small group" with some other families in our church. more on that later.
- Caleb is STILL the cutest kid ever. and now that he's on soy, he's much happier too.

final garden report

I havent tended the garden since july or so, but still we get fruit. overall this year has been a good garden year, and it probably would have been even better had I taken the time to water, weed and spray in the mid and late season. but alas, the bugs and heat and baby preparations kept me away.

but we still get cherry tomatoes and a few other tomatoes as well, and the peppers are doing ok, although we dont really use them. the cantaloupes did ok, but were a disappointment. we got a grand total of 3, and they didnt taste any better than store-bought. the cukes did well early on, but they got bug-eaten after a while, and didnt have enough sun to get really productive. the squash were all total failures again, thanks to the vine-borer. the peppers did ok, although we didnt have very many, but we dont eat very many, so no complaints.

the first crop of tomatoes was great, except for the "mr. stripeys" which rotted before they were ripe, and therefore got renamed "mr. crappies." the bugs and fungus and whatnot got to most of the other tomato plants by mid season, excepting the superstar of our garden: the cherry tomato. this plant was and is simply awesome. it may be because it got the most sun, but it grew up 6 feet and over 5 more feet, and it would give a handful of tomatoes each day all season long, and it's still going strong. we actually had 2 types of cherry, and they were radically different. this one vined like crazy. if I ignored it for a week, I would come back in with a dozen or so, perfect for snacking. another good tomato plant was the "lemon boys" and they're still doing ok. by now the few other plants that are still producing get some sort of rot or fungus before the fruit is ripe. oh well.

we'll see if we have time, interest and energy for gardening next year. I get into it in the spring, but neglect it in the summer, but we've still done ok. it would be nice to have more sun, but I dont want to wish the giant trees down on our house. I'll definitely at least try more cherry and lemon tomatoes next year. who knows? maybe caleb will enjoy gardening too.

Relaxing good times, while we can

As y'all know Bob and I have been ready for this baby to come for the last couple of weeks. I often say things like, "maybe tonight," and Bob usually responds,"maybe next week." I'm hopeful, he's a little more realistic. But we've been having some good down time together over the last week which I'm so thankful for.

This past Thursday night we went out to dinner at the Chop House, thanks to Bob's mom, and it was so yummy. Then Friday we went to see The Bourne Supremcay. We both liked it, but weren't necessarily wowed by it. Saturday we went swimming, which is such a wonderful thing this late in pregnancy. When I got out of the pool I realized how huge I really am as the weight dropped on me like a bomb. We had some fun talks, dreaming about what our family will be like and what we'll be like as parents.

I've also been taking lots of walks to keep things moving in the right direction. Bob has been able to join me some mornings and a couple of evenings. One evening this past week I ran into an old Hispanic friend from my Esperanza days and was thrown back into speaking Spanish. That was fun, except when he asked if I was carrying twins! I don't think I look THAT huge.

We've also gotten to cook some together. Well its been more like I get this crazy idea of what I want to eat in my head and can't be satisfied until I'm eating it. For example, we were returning from Linda's Fruit Stand on Saturday and I saw a sign that said "Car Wash and Fish Fry." Instantly I had to go home and have a fish fry of our own. Now we never eat fried food, and I don't believe I've ever made fried fish, but it was so yummy. Then Sunday I had it in my head I wanted biscuits and gravy, you know the white sausage gravy, very southern. And I plunged in again cooking something I never thought I would in my life. Bob said it will be my fault if we raise a southern boy because of all this southern food.

Anyway, this brings me to last night. We decided to go see The Terminal out at Northgate, the 5:45 show. When we got there we found out we had the wrong times and that the next show wasn't till 7. Well my imediate response was to pout because my plans for our nice night had gotten changed. So I was all frustrated, because when I make plans, I like them to go through, not too much of a control freak am I? Well it turned out for the best, as God's timing always does. We ended up driving to Chester Frost Park to just chill for a little while by the water. I really don't think there is a more beautiful place to relax in Chattanooga than out at Chester Frost. The breeze was going and Bob got the blanket and pillows out of the car so I could lay down to rest a little bit while he went off to skip some stones in the water. It was more than pleasant and just the kind of breath of fresh air I think we both needed. So after 45 minutes or so we made our way back to the theater to see the movie. It wasn't as good as I was expecting, because I usually love Tom Hanks, just average. But we had a wonderful evening and had to recognize that if the baby had come early this week like we hoped, we never would have gotten the chance to relax by the water.

So we are so thankful for the wonderful times we've had together over this past week. It really reminds me of when we were first married and spent so much time together just by ourselves. I know this time is a gift. God knows when our little boy will come (I still hope for sooner than later!) but until he does, we hope to have some more good times together.

hole in my head

I went to the doctor today to inquire about the strange bald spot on my head. to prove once again how small this town is, I knew the doctor from my days at greyfriar's. vaguely recognizing his name, I picked him out of the insurance company's list because he was the closest to downtown. when I heard his voice from the other side of the door, I knew it was the slightly odd guy that always came in with his wife and friend, always got the same bagel made the same way, and the same pot of tea. and if you're reading this Erik and/or Gypsy, he asked about you, and I gave him a good report.

anyway, my spot is no big deal. apparently an obscure condition that only rears its head during times of stress. and since the hair is growing back, we'll see if it clears up on its own. I'm just thankful I've got the small-spot version, since it apparently can kill all of your hair in certain cases. if I want, I can opt to have some local shots to kill what's killing the hair, but we'll see. it may be related to a bad thyroid, and I've got family history of that, so I'll have a blood test done to check it out.

I'm very thankful it's nothing serious, and I dont mind too much looking a little stranger than usual. hopefully it'll clear up, but until then, down with vanity.

pests

seems like if it's not one thing...

the rats have been long gone, so we're thankful for that. but the latest mini-plague is the wasps. since our porch ceiling isnt finished, it's an ideal spot for wasps to build their nests, and I havent been paying enough attention to their doings. so we had, count 'em: five (5) wasp nests on our porch, one pretty tiny, one the size of a grapefruit.

until yesterday they left us alone, and we all led a peaceful, ignorant coexsistance. but something about how michelle closed the door yesterday set them astir. before she knew what was happening, she felt a seering pain in her ankle and looked up to see a dozen angry wasps. she tried to evade them, but being 9 months pregnant, she's not too quick on her feat. thankfully they let her go with only one sting.

but she was sent into hysterics. fortunately she got ahold of her mom on the phone, who talked her down very nicely. it didnt really start hurting til evening when her foot started to swell, but she has some usual pregnancy swelling anyway. some benadryl helped her sleep and take down the swelling, so all seems to be well now.

except for the wasps. I sprayed and knocked down all five nests. there's wasp carnage all over the porch now. pests be warned.

misc

it's been a good holiday weekend. some relatively random thoughts:

we had fun at the "pops in the park" but were surprised how short the fireworks show was. it was about 7 minutes. although it was pretty much non-stop during those minutes, it ended quite abruptly. it was good to hang out with the stavens there, who are finally back in town.

we can't help but throw a little party now and then. on Sunday we had many of the usual folks over, including the stavens, who hopefully will become part of the usuals. I made salsa from garden tomatos and jalepenos, and it was mmm-mmm good. so was michelle's spinach dip, and sarah's blackberry pie. we also played cranium, danced with sparklers, and watched a very nice fireworks show from our street. we're not sure if it was it Rock City or perhaps fairyland, but it was a better show than at the park.

we found our Settlers pieces!!! they were hiding behind some books on our shelf. our theory is that back during Cabin Matey Thanksgiving, the girls were sick of the boys playing the game all the time, so they hid the pieces and didnt bother to tell us. at least I found them before I ordered new ones.

soon we'll go to our last Bradley childbirth class. we've enjoyed getting to know some of our classmates, and hopefully we can keep in touch with a little listserv I've set up for us. we've learned a ton, but only God knows how it will all work out. we'll see in about a month!!

simple

my favorite simple pleasure these days starts with stepping out my back door in the morning. of course the ground has been almost always wet for the past couple weeks, and usually the air too. I go out to survey the garden, which has been loving the rain, but not loving the lack of sun. most of our tomato plants are doing ok, but there isn't all that much fruit. the exception to this is our cherry tomato plant, which is about 9 feet tall right now. and the tomatos have been ripening at a rate of about 2 a day. and therein lies the simplest of pleasures each morning: I pluck and eat a freshly ripe cherry tomato. no bothering with washing. no nothing. just pure yummy goodness.

take the wife

on Michelle's mom's recommendation, we went to see "The Notebook" last night. if you're up for a tear-jerking love story, take the wife (or other loved one) to go see this one. apparently some critics think it's cheesy, but I thought it was pretty good overall, if you dont mind a few stock love story conceits. well maybe more than a few. I especially appreciated the depiction of true love as a lifetime of dedication and service.

gmail and garden

a friend hooked me up with a gmail account (in beta it's by referral only), so now I can refer others. if anybody wants an account, lemme know. I currently have 5 referrals available. folks are apparently selling referrals on ebay, which I consider too close to ill-gotten gain to try. although I did sell a dell coupon a couple times.

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the garden is coming along! we had our first tomato this morning (a cherry, that we split, so there wasnt a whole lot of nourishment, but it sure was yummy). and there's a good amount of cucumbers on the vine. there's a few bell peppers and the jalepenos are just about ready. there's also a couple yellow squash coming along and a little bitty cantaloupe. and of course there's a bunch of various green tomatos ripening, although some of the tomato plants are getting attacked by fungus or something, as well as the usual bugs. it's all a good bit of work, but it's starting to become quite worth it. and I think I'm even enjoying the process too.

the Hs

we had a hard time sleeping last night. as we laid there awake, we realized that most of our troubles began with an H: heartburn, hyperness, heat, humidity, hormones and one more that I cant remember right now. but thankfully we were rescued by another: humor. we're just very good at making eachother laugh, especially when we're tired. I am so very thankful that Michelle gets slap-happy and silly when she's exhausted, because I don't dig on crankiness so much.

in other news, we made great progress in the baby's room this weekend. Michelle and Matt finished re-covering the yardsale chair, and it looks awesome. I finished painting the little shelf and dresser, and they look great in the room together. the remaining major projects include hanging a shelf, and rewiring and installing a ceiling fan.

we visited Women's East for a tour yesterday. seeing the place where we're likely to have labor and delivery of the baby made everything a bit more real (and contributed to the hyperness referenced above). the due date is 2 months from today, so we still have some time, but it's going by fast.

fish mail

this is easily one of the best pieces of mail I've received in a long time. pictures of the adventure here.

a little while ago Zachary and his mom were on a walk though the neighborhood, and they decided to stop by. while Michelle and Heather chatted about gardens and babies and whatnot, Z and I played on our various musical instruments. he doesnt remember, but he played on one of those drum things when he was probably 6 months old. and he was responsible for us wanting to have kids early on. then he started teething, and we lived just up the stairs. it didn't take long for us to find our own little house.

anyway, we ended up playing a little game involving magnetic fishing pole things and little metal-stomached fish with opening and closing mouths. he loved it.

so that got us on the subject of fishing, where he mentioned he'd never been fishing before. so I promised him that I'd take him sometime soon. I brought out my flyfishing gear as he looked and learned in awe. and every time I saw him thereafter, he'd ask when we're going. I told him there was a perfect place to go: a little pond in the backyard of a friend at church. in a short while we were off, just me and my favorite 5-year-old.

he's a pretty quiet kid, which is probably why I like him so much, as I'm that way myself. but on the way to the pond, he was positively hyper. talking non-stop about stuff only preschoolers can think of. I was cracking up most of the way there.

we arrived and I set up the gear on the little 8 foot dock. all I have is flyfishing gear anymore, so I just brought one rod to share. I tied up the fly, flipped it out on the water and twitched it a little, hoping for some willing sunfish. it didnt take long when we had a little guy on, and I gave Z the honor of hauling him in. pictures taken, scales touched (only a little), we released him back into the wild.

during an hour or so we hauled in a grand total of 5 little sunfish, and he was very satisfied. being a 5-year-old, he also played our little fish game too, while I tried to coax a big one in. all I ended up achieving was feeding some flies to the trees.

much to my delight, the evening passed without incident, although we had a very close call. as he looked in the box for a new fly to try, he ended up dumping the whole thing in the pond. my dad tied most of them, and there's about 30 in that box, and I figured they were all gone. but the box landed UP! and it floated! he never knew what might have been.

maybe next time we'll work on the basics of casting or something. or we'll just haul a few more little fish in to admire and set free.

facts vs. thoughts

somehow I'm in the habit of reporting facts about what's going on, as opposed to my thoughts on those facts. I dont think I like that, but onward with some more facts:

we had a good long weekend. on Friday we had dinner and games with a couple from our Bradley prenatal class. it was fun to get to know them a bit better and teach them Settlers. their kid is due pretty much the same time ours is, so it's always good to have a mini support group kinda thing too.

saturday was the St. Elmo yard sale, and we scored big this year. Michelle went out to find the bargains, and she came back with a cool little rocker/recliner for the baby's room (that we'll be re-covering), a nice little bookshelf for the baby's room, a boppy pillow, a nice baby sling, and a really nice set of wooden toy trucks. grand total for all this: $18. of course so far we've spent over $30 for the material and paint for spiffing up the furnature, but that's the way it goes. Michelle is especially excited about the chair.

saturday morning also found me cranking out the church newsletter. I assume people read it, but there are very few people willing to help with writing, so it gets frustrating. but it takes me back to my old student newspaper days, so I suppose the process is nostalgic. hopefully it builds up our church body a bit.

sunday we went to church and rested, and it was very good.

memorial day started somewhat strangely with a storm and lengthy power outage. from 3am to 10am we were with out power. thankfully the storm brought in a cold front (or is it the other way around?) so we were able to remain cool as we slept in late. it's strange to realize how much we rely on electricity, but it was nice to have everything quiet. we spent all day with the computer off, and it was very nice. I primed the bookself for painting, and I also sanded down my old dresser so we can prime and paint that too.

then we had a cookout across the street at the Petersons with most of the crew from work. good food. good times. lots of kids and a couple on the way.

so that's what we did this weekend.

happy ending

God has answered our prayers!

the power company is going to remove the tree in our back yard, so we don't have to! it was going to cost us at least $850 to take down the remaining half of the rotten tree, so that's definitely good news. plus about half of our garden will get a lot more afternoon sun. so will the western half of our house, but oh well. we're doubly thankful that not only nothing and no one got hurt when the first part came down, but also we dont have to pay for the rest.

there was a time not long ago when I would have stressed to no end about this, so I'm also thankful that God has brought us peace over impending financial stress. I used to SAY I trusted Him, but more and more He's making those words come true. He really does take care of us.

I need a ride

can I bum a ride off anyone living in St. Elmo and working downtown?

soon we will be a one-car family again. for most of the past year I've been driving Joe Staven's little truck while he's been out of the country. soon he will be back, so no more trucky for me. Michelle needs our car for a couple days out of the week, so I'll probably ride the bus those days. I live really close to most of the guys here at work, but unfortunately they dont keep very regular schedules. I thought about biking, but since I have only one functioning eye, I'm pretty convinced I'd get killed out there.

so, would anyone like some gas money?

the tree incident

we've got a few pretty big trees in our back yard. one is a giant hackberry in the back corner that was in two main sections (the operative word here is "was"). one section leaned out over the intersection of 53rd and Virginia Ave. after a brief yet strong storm yesterday afternoon, this half came creaking and crashing down onto the street, snapping a secondary electrical wire and crushing a section of our fence.

thankfully, no one got crushed or electrocuted or otherwise maimed. our neighbor behind us (who owns mojo burrito) heard it coming down, and in his jolly way, gave out a big old "I told you so." he had a pretty clear view of the rotted out trunk, so he knew it was going to come down sooner or later.

there was lots of sparks flying from the electrical line, and all manner of trucks came out to clean up the mess. this of course delighted Dave's 3-year-old, who's pretty much obsessed with fire trucks and whatnot. anyway, all the mess was quickly and expertly cleaned up long before I got home.

unfortunately, there yet remains a north half of the tree, and there's no telling how rotten it may be. and since it's pretty much right over our neighbor's house and car, it really needs to come down. so far the low bid from the tree guys is $850. one of them said the remaining tree is about 6 tons! we're praying that the electrical company will take care of it since there is a secondary line underneath the tree. apparently they're sending someone out, so we shall see.

there are a few pictures here if you wanna see. more to come if and when I get the time to take and post a few more.

things to see

I've put up quite a few new pictures on the family site. there's the baby shower, some more flowers, some garden progress, and a few baby preparations. enjoy.

I'm a winner

Ed and I went to a micro$oft geek meeting at the convention center today. let's see if I can remember what the guy talked about: application blocks for .net, visual studio 2005, sql server 2005, and reporting services for sql server. most of this somewhat pertains to my job. enough to stick around all four hours at least. another motivation was the door prizes. the grand prize: a nifty pocket pc (think palm pilot if you dont know what that is). and guess who won? yes indeed. I won! thanks to whoever had ticket #47 for not sticking around, and thanks to Ed for getting in line in front of me when we checked in. the last shall be first...

since I have no use for such a neato toy, it's going straight to eBay. I actually don't have it yet (they're shipping it to me) so I dont know what model it is, but it's worth at least $150 retail, if not $500 or more if it's a recent one. I've entertained the idea of getting something cool like a camcorder, but alas, it will most likely go into savings for mundane stuff like doctor bills.

to top it off: free food and beer afterwards. sometimes it pays to run with the geeks.

5 years ago

about five years ago I graduated from college. I remember a few details. it was at the Memorial Auditorium. Cal Thomas spoke. I got my diploma: cum laude in English. hugged lots of people. said lots of goodbyes. afterwards we ate at Sticky Fingers. my parents gave me a nice brief case (just like my dad's) and a cool pocket watch. unfortunately I seldom use either now.

all I knew about what was ahead was that I was getting married within a year and working at Greyfriar's fulltime. I had some aspirations about writing for the newspaper or a publication of some sort. which I realized in the form of the intial issues of the Chattanooga Outlook. I was the "senior editor" which means the guy who puts in 40 hours a week once a month while still holding down a day job. that didn't last long.

at the time, I was a little frustrated at myself for such a pile of school debt and few marketable skills to pay it off. but I truly loved college -- I feel like I finally came into my own, or something like that. I definitely learned to think and learn better, but I think I've lost much of that already, most likely due to lack of use. either way, God definitely grew me up a bit.

in July we changed our wedding date from February to August -- one of the best decisions we ever made. I dreamed of starting a family, though I still wondered how I'd provide for us. God knew. I ended up doing websites and whatnot. go figure.

5 years later, we're about to have our first baby. we've been through a lot of crap (mostly in the form of disease and debt), and God has been faithful.

garden ready

we've got pretty much all the plants for this year in the ground. at least we're determined not to spend more money on plants this year...now comes the time and effort. we thought we were going to try less this year, but the temptation seems to get the best of us. so we've got 14 tomato plants of various kinds, 8 cukes (all the same kind), 5 peppers, 3 squash, 3 cantalope, 2 basil, a row of snow peas (that's been growing for a while now), and for color and (supposed) help with pests, a bunch of marigolds. oh and I planted some seeds of swiss chard (a celery type thing) and they're coming up. everything else was bought as a plant (mostly the $1 size). we've got a photo section on our site to track the progress of things. already it's fun to see he progress of the snow peas. now to fend off the slugs and bugs. the aphids are already on the attack, but we seem to be holding the slugs mostly at bay.

we're headed to PA soon for our baby shower with family and old friends. please pray for michelle's health and strength (and mine too for that matter) as we are driving the long journey. seems like there's going to be lots of fanfare and hoopla. fun.

chaco weather

I'm usually not big on fashion or coolness, but I certainly do love my chacos. now that the 80s are here (temps, not decade), they will seldom leave my feet, thanks to casual dresscodes at work and church. usually I couldnt afford such luxuries, but since we do rockcreek.com we got a good deal.

I love my chacos, and my chacos love me.

morning routine

I wonder how much our routines of daily life will change once the kid arrives.

these days the alarm goes off at 6:30, and we snooze and snuggle until just before 7, when the wmbw guy tells us about the weather. sometimes we chuckle at his wacky banter with the traffic guy. we're easily amused.

the dog hears us stirring and does her little pogo dance, begging either to be let out or allowed on the bed. if she's relatively clean and we're feeling lazy we'll let her come up and snuggle. otherwise I get up and let her out and start the breakfast routine.

until it got warm, michelle would have oatmeal every day, but not before her morning throwup. as she gets out of bed, I get ready for her, fetching the throwup bowl and her chair (it's a wheeled office chair that's often at the computer). when the retching begins (sometimes it takes a little while to start up), it's my cue to start the oatmeal in the microwave (2 minutes, stir, 1 minute, stir, 1 minute, stir, 30 seconds, serve with salt and soy butter). while that goes, I load or unload the dishwasher as needed, pausing to let the dog in. after the oatmeal is delivered, it's time to microwave 2 pieces of bacon that I cooked earlier in the week.

then I fill my bowl with generic cheerios or raisin bran (with a couple of pieces to the dog) and we sit and eat together, sometimes chatting a little, maybe making eachother laugh with our weird sillynesses.

when the food is gone and vitamins and whatnot consumed, we read a chapter or so from the Bible, pray together a little while, and maybe sing a song or two. this part is a relatively recent addition to the routine, and it's a very good thing. somehow it starts the day out right.

my thoughts then turn to getting ready for work as Michelle takes a shower or goes on a morning walk or takes a nap (pregnancy and fibro make for good excuses for naps any time of the day). so I make my sandwich (turkey and cheese on wheat from the breadmaker) or perhaps gather leftovers, check email and the headlines, and try to be out the door by 8:45 or so with a goodbye kiss (for Michelle) and pat on the head (for the dog).

for some reason I feel guilty if I get into work after 9, but noone else seems to care as long as the work gets done.

how much of this will change when our boy is on the scene? I have no idea. hopefully at least michelle wont be throwing up.

4th and Broad

the intersection of 4th and Broad here in chattanooga has a special place in my heart, for I've been employed here more often than not. my senior year in college I worked parttime for greyfriars, which, upon graduation, turned into fulltime for the balance of the year. lots of good memories, but I did get tired of it.

then I went to work for jeff back when coptix was cross computer consulting. I will ever be thankful to him for getting me my start in web stuff.

but in a little while I was back on the block, working for 3HD. I even did double duty one summer, working for greyfriars (6am to 9am) and 3HD (9-5) to help pay off the credit cards. but that was a bit much.

6 months ago we moved offices, but it was only a few hundred feet north, closer to the intersection. and the intersection itself is looking much better: the haney building has been leveled, and 4th is two-way with trees and whatnot.

so here's a shot of the corner, as well as one of the back porch here at the new office. for the record, points of interest in the photo: creative discovery museum, bellsouth park (go lookouts!), a couple hotels, and the back of the bijou theater.

(click photos for larger)

tv turnoff week

yesterday I found an article about the evils of tv, which reminded me of the annual tv turnoff week. lots of (admittedly one-sided) info on their site.

tv

during my freshman year of college I did a research paper on how TV affects our brains -- not necessarly the content (which is bad enough), but the medium. I leaned heavily on the Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, which I highly recommend to anyone interested.

today on the cnn site, I found this article about the link of TV and ADD in little kids. basically is says it fries their helpless little brains.

for a long time I had a disdain for the devil's box, but we've had one in the house for over a year now (thru our computer, thanks to a groovy ati video card from jake). we watched lots of home-improvement type shows for a while, as well as wheel-of-fortune, but now all we really look at is alias, baby story, and a bit of sports now and then.

but we're hoping to avoid turning to the digital babysitter when our kid comes along. it's got to be a big temptation, since it certainly mesmerizes. but at what cost?

"this is your brain...this is your brain on tv....any questions?"

eternal sunshine

just saw "eternal sunshine..." and thoroughly enjoyed it. the memory-loss plot device was very well done, and the editing and such did a good job of leaving me just somewhat confused for a while. I really liked the somewhat subtle yet wacky sense of humor throughout, and the flourish of love left me very satisfied. unless you're offended by the f-word (which must be the primary reason it earned an R rating), I highly reccommend it.

blackwatch

blackwatch is the name of the hall I lived on my first 3 years at covenant. it's a scottish thing. and it was a great place to live in community with some great guys. I will forever be grateful for my friendships with roommates Andy, Greg and Dave, and many others too. and the folks I live near and work with these days happen to have lived there before we did, so it's kinda like a fraternity, but without so much greek letters and beer.

thanks to crabby, you can now get a glimpse into the world of blackwatch on a vintage turn-of-the-century website. so check it out. there are some, er, interesting pics of me and others there, so enjoy. and thanks to crabby.

down with awkwardness

I love the word 'awkward' because it looks, well, awkward.

anyway, on to our story. Kara Griffith stopped by this weekend. this usually would be quite an awkward time, but since she was with her fiance, it was quite a fun time chatting and whatnot. she and Chris (Patterson -- even if you knew Kara, you wouldn't know him: they met at IU) are great together. they're getting married in May and will likely settle somewhere around in the Delaware/Maryland area. he's finishing up his law degree (tho he'll be working for the govt, not as a lawyer), and she's done with her doctorate except for the dissertation.

as you may guess or may know, Kara and I have something of a strange history. we were pretty good friends freshman year, as I hung out with a bunch of the girls on 4th South (one of which ensnared me for a typical 1st semester "relationship", but that's a story for another day). we took lots of classes together. she even talked me into co-editing the school newspaper for a semester. she left for oxford for a semester, leaving me the newspaper and some wild emotions. just as she was leaving, I nearly fell in love with her, or at least something like that. I got myself in a world of confusion in a short period of time. it's a story longer than even this, but I ended up with Michelle in the end.

so of course it was awkward amung us for a while. but now we're glad not only for the end of awkwardness, but especially for Kara and Chris.

my trip to egypt

pardon the really bad pun. we sometimes call going to the chiropractor (aka chiro) a trip to egypt. *groan*

anyway, I woke up with a sharp twinge in my back yesterday morning. and it didnt go away last nite. probably due to various stresses (rats, kid, changing health plan) and the fact I'm not getting any younger and do no excercise whatsoever.

so I ended up at the chiro and apparently I adjusted well. I might have been scared a bit, but I've witnessed Michelle's adjustments in the past, so I knew what I was getting into. I fully trust Dr. Travers, as he's saved our life in many ways (he pointed us to the treatment that is healing Michelle's fibromyalgia), but it wasnt the quick fix I hoped for. nor was it cheap (adding to stress, unfortunately).

I've realized the delicate balance that is our life depends on my nearly perfect health (for the past 4+ years at least). just when we get settled into a new budget and routine, this kind of thing comes up. I guess it's God's way of keeping us on our toes, or rather knees, where we belong.

Bob 1, Rats 0

To celebrate the arrival of spring, we killed a rat last night.

It turns out the mystery creature I referenced earlier was indeed a rat, and hopefully there was only one. He was apparently living in the wall behind the fridge, which doesn't have a baseboard for some reason (I'll remedy that very soon). We had noticed that the dog was eating her food much faster than usual this past week. Since she never overeats, I always fill her dish whenever she empties it, but the other night I decided to let her wait til morning for more food. This also coincided with a newly cleaned kitchen, which hadn't happened in a while.

The container in which we keep the dog food has a cracked corner, which I sealed with a piece of duct tape a while ago. Incidentially, this is the same container from which I ate many many pretzles as I grew up. So in the morning I noticed that the tape on the corner of the container was all chewed off. Immediately I knew there were rodents afoot.

After a bit of investigation, I discovered droppings and dog food behind the fridge, and I knew this was no small mouse. Thankfully Dave had brought over some rat traps the other day (I was planning on using them in the attic for the squirrel), so after cleaning out the nest of grocery bags and leaves, I set the trap with some peanut butter (hydrogenated, just in case he licked it all off, then hopefully he'd die of a coronary in a few years) and bits of dog food. I even thought to wall off the trap with some boxes so we wouldn't break the dog's face or paws.

At about 11:30 we heard a THWACK and a bit of thrashing around. And I knew I'd won at least the first round. There he was, the vermin from the pit of the sewer, freshly dead with its head pinned to the board. I was a bit disgusted at his size, as his body was a good 6 inches and he was quite plump. I don't mind the thought of a little mouse in the house, but something that big, creeping around my kitchen, carrying who-knows-what diseases and whatnot, nearly able to take down my dog in a fight (she's about 7 pounds) -- that's just gross.

Score one for the good guys.

covenant chattalum gathering

free food, hanging out with the mayor, mini-homestaying kinda thing at the chattanoogan (hotel, not website) tomorrow nite. anyone else going?

squirrels in the attic

it's man vs. pests around here. there are squirrels in the attic and something under the house too, as well as starlings in the eves of the unfinished porch.

the squirrels are the worst. not only can we hear them munching on the rafters, but if they choose to munch on the wrong wire or two, this 96 year old place could be reduced to ashes. a couple weeks ago I went up to check it out. found the nest. they apparently like old bird nests. found a dead adolescent squirrel wrapped up in an old curtain or something. I doubt it was a burial shroud; most likely it got caught in its poorly-chosen nest material. very nasty.

I tried to devise a plan for sealing up their entry ways, but since the porch ceiling remains unfinished, it's a bit overwhelming. nevertheless, I boarded up 2 of the most obvious spots today, and it went quite well, which is unusual for me when it comes to fix-it kinda stuff.

the bug guy who visits once a month at work told me that moth balls would help keep them at bay. so our dining room smelled like grandma's attic all weekend, and the squirrels didnt seem to mind. I removed a squirrel nest in the porch eves (startling the squirrel, who I think moved to the eves when he discovered a squirrel corpse in his old nest), and I dumped a bunch of moth balls up there. the starlings were grateful that I evicted the squirrel, and they promptly dumped the moth balls on the porch and sidewalks.

and I still dont know what's under the house.

garden time again

we got a late start last year, so we're hoping to get a jump on it this year. and our first salvo is some snow peas. we got them to grow in the fall, but we got exactly one pea pod for the harvest (and it was quite tasty, by the way). time to try again, so we set up the trellis and planted the seeds, just in time for a bit of cooler weather, which snow peas seem to like (hence the name).

we got hammered by the slugs and other creepy-crawlies last year, so we're going to go on the offensive this time. also next up is planting some lettuce and spinach, and once it's a little warmer we'll start with the tomatoes and cukes. we'll do some herbs again, but I think we're skipping the squash and peppers, since they did so poorly last year. Michelle is especially excited about trying some cantalopes too.

badass coffee

there's a new coffee shop downtown, at the corner or 3rd and Market. The location is bad enough. The name is worse: Bad Ass Coffee. Apparently it's a chain of sorts. And apparently it's a Hawaii thing. They claim to serve 100% Kona coffee. I'd be interested to know if that's really true.

Apparently the franchisee has no idea what kind of place this town is. Two words: Bible Belt. About half the population will not go in to that shop simply because of the name. The cheesy Hawaiian decor is nearly as offensive as well. And if you know that corner, not only is it a 1/2 block from Greyfriar's (and Panera for that matter), it's just a bad corner for a place that depends on walk-up customers.

Bad Ass? Half Ass? Dumb Ass? Yikes.

passionless

for quite a while we weren't sure if we wanted to see it or not, but we finally decided to go see The Passion this afternoon. but it was sold out. apparently a church group or something bought it all up. duh.

so we ended up at the Hunter museum, just in time for the last hour of Jeff Morton's exhibit. the nice lady at the counter pointed out they have a 2-for-1 coupon, so we both got in for $5. we enjoyed our quick trip through american art.

I was expecting more stuff from Jeff, but we really liked what we saw. granted, we would have had little idea what he was trying to get at if it wasn't for the paragraph pinned to the wall. but still, it's very cool stuff. somehow it's made even cooler by the fact that we hung out a bit this morning when he came to get his (super smart and cute) kid from sunday school.

my favorite stuff in the museum was the photography, and my favorite photograph was "running white deer" by Paul Caponigro. maybe I prefer photographs b/c I like to do a bit of photography myself, or at least I did for a while. maybe it's b/c it tends to be more straitforward? I often feel like I don't "get" art, but that doesnt bother me much anymore.

spring is coming!

We are so excited that spring is on the way. Soon after I gave up hope seeing any real snowfall this winter, I was ready for flowers and warm afternoons. Here's our first arrival: a daffodil I planted along the front walk. I'm still captivated by daffodils and irises especially.

In other news, Michelle and the baby had another checkup, and all is quite well. We'll hear results for the bloodtests soon, but all the signs are good so far. It hardly seems real. Michelle has begun nesting, as she's making a quilt and other baby room stuff. She's quite a seamstress. We're still worried about her back being strong enough to have a good pregnancy and delivery, but the fibro meds are slowly working, and the chiro reports that it's getting better. We just need to trust God that He'll take care of us.

He's certainly taking care of our financial needs. I've had a few side jobs lately, and all of them have come and found me. I hate sales, so it's a blessing not to have to pursue work. These aren't lucrative jobs, but it helps pay the bills, and especially the credit cards. We're praying that we'll pay off the MasterCard soon (which would take a miracle) but meanwhile we're loving the 0% interest!

Andy, Lynn and Gideon stopped by last night. Gid is so freakin cute I can hardly stand it. I can only hope our kid is half as cute and cool as he is. They're going to NY for the summer for an internship with IBM (I think). Apparently Andy's going to start a blog over on atlblogs, so be on the lookout.

obsessions

this is a working list of stuff on which I have been fixated at one time or another:

mandolin
homestarrunner.com
literary theory
legos
bela fleck / victor wooten
midtown madness 2
nickel creek / chris thile
bass guitar
wolfenstein
michelle
fish / fishing
coffee
john 15
email
photography
baby

passion

in case you haven't seen it, the newsweek article about "the passion" is worth a read. the author takes a mostly secular historical criticism kinda stance, but is generally balanced within his viewpoint. if that makes sense.

I'm wondering if there will be a sequel? according to the article, the resurrection is briefly depicted at the end of the movie, so that answers the biggest question I had. even still, the time after the crucifixion to the resurrection and ascention would make for a fine film too.

I've been praying that the film and the reaction to it will spark a real revival. I think that we'll "look upon the one we have pierced" and we'll never be the same. our culture is so visual, I believe it's gonna make an impact like little else can, especially considering how film is the art of the people, or something like that. I bet the antisemitism accusations will fall away like the foolishness they are.

I'm surpised how little our chattablogging community has discussed this. we'll see what happens.

for the record

according to the "disc" personality survey I just took, this is my personality, with the highest scoring traits first:

Supportive (empathetic, patient, even-paced / complacent, compromising, afraid to confront)
Reserved (modest, quiet, practical / distant, curt, pessimistic )
Adaptive (pliable, conforming, tactful / passive, avoiding, sensitive)
and I'm also somewhat Conscientious, but not very much.

and for the record, once again the disc assessment nailed me. clearly, I'm not a man's man. but that's ok. I think.

good movie, good beer

good movie - Cold Comfort Farm - wry, smart, brit, funny. and strange.

good beer - Morimoto Hazelnut - thanks for bringing this fine brew to the