The Amazing Bed-Head

Wow - Julia's hair is getting long! She's got enough now for pig-tails and especially enough for some amazing bed hair! When she gets up in the morning after pig-tails the day before and her on style of sleeping (borderline gymnastic) the effect is wild. The look defies gravity and gives the distinct impression that she has been frozen in time mid-air while jumping on the bed ... or papa. Cute!

A Yearning for Country Life

I'm more than thankful for the healthy dose of country life that my brothers and I got. We had the opportunity in Arkansas to run out into the pastures and get lost for the whole day on our own doing country kid stuff. We made forts, slid down washouts in the side of a gravel pit, climbed trees, poked at the curiosities that crossed our path and generally got real dirty doing it. Those were great days.

Growing up in Suburbia wasn't bad, mind you, but in retrospect, there is something about kids that is just drawn to the wild places. Even at home in Rosenberg, we spent a huge amount of our play time at 'the ditch' - a large drainage ditch that ran behind our neighbor hood. We explored the undeveloped fields and climbed any tree that we could find outside of someone's yard.

My recent fishing trip with Isaac gave me a rare glimpse into that part of a child's heart. He didn't want to fish long. Not with friends to run with, hills to conquer and all the excitement of exploring. There is not a lot of that to be done in our neighborhood. Our parks are groomed, fenced and all the play equipment appropriately smoothed and padded. It is a safer world but the kids know there is more. I think that might be why they are drawn to the wild places. And really, I don't think it's just the kids.

Ice Cream Cuteness

We had a quick meal at Freddy's Frozen Custards the other day, and, of course, we had to have a custard to finish our meal with! Julia dove in with no concept of how much ice cream belongs on a spoon at one time. We all got a laugh, but man she was cute! You have to see this picture - click it for the full effect!

The First Eggnog of the Season

My wife and I have a lot of things in common. Love of eggnog is not one of those. I really love it! It is sweet, smooth and instantly reminds me of the holidays. Cheryl, on the other hand regards it much more like a cup of chilled snot. We'll just have to keep praying for her on that one.

Meanwhile, I had occasion to be in WalMart the other day and what do you know? The eggnog was out! They are already gearing up for the season. I didn't buy any ... but I did consider it.

Just Me and My Daughter

Sadly, besides being off to work, even when I'm home, there are bills to pay, side jobs to finish and house work to be done. I often enjoy my children in snatches of time. A tussle here. A hug and kiss there. But, I don't often get to totally devote myself to my children and give them the most tangible symbol of love that there is ... time. Tonight was not like that, though.

I had the best time with Julia tonight. Cheryl and I have a new arrangement for Wednesdays. She takes Isaac to Awanas at 6:15 and then meets one of the young women in our college/career ministry friend for some girl time and fellowship. I get one-on-one time with my daughter.

Tonight, I had 2 hours and, to be honest, wasn't quite sure what we'd do with it. But she did. She wanted to sit on my knees while I ate. Then she wanted a piggy back ride. Then we played on the couch. Then we played piano. Our evening ended brushing our teeth together and reading stories. No fits, no fussing. Just a great evening with my daughter.

Cabinet Trim Done

This just a quick update on a project I've been working on - Julia's Toy Cabinet. If you want to go back to the original post, you'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about. I finished the trim and the bulk of the sanding yesterday. The cabinet now is ready for paint! The back is not shown because it won't go on until after the whole thing is painted, literally the last step.

The trim has been a fun part of the job. After milling a long piece of rough cut poplar down to 1½" by ¾", I needed to put a profile on it - shape it to be prettier. I set my great little Porter-Cable Router in my homemade router table and chucked up a small ogee bit (pictured). I ran the wood past the bit on both sides to give myself a good size piece of molding. Yesterday, I used my table saw to cut the angles and get the molding ready to go on. After glueing and nailing them on, the holes and gaps were puttied. Later I sanded the whole thing down and it looks good. Here are a few detail pics:

Letting the Country Boy Out

Isaac had such a blast this Saturday. If you haven't seen the previous post or the video at the end of it, go there first. As soon as we arrived he wanted to be a part of everything! He and Matt's boys (our friends from church) were off and running before we even got to the creek.

Isaac wanted to fish initially and even got to catch one. I had to cast for him, but as soon as the worm hit the water, a fish hit it! Isaac worked the reel himself pulled it in - a baby channel cat about the length of my hand!Perfect size for him.

Soon, though, he and the boys decided to do some exploring. They mostly stayed in sight but you could tell he was having a blast doing what little boys are wired to do. They climbed up the banks holding roots, poked around the bushed and inspected anything they could find. For a time they got out of sight past the bank. Later Matt and I would learn that they had found a deer blind and had even climbed up in it (about 20' up a shaky ladder!)

I did give Isaac a stern warning about not straying and never doing that without Papa around
but in my heart I was secretly a proud papa. Proud of my adventurous, fearless boy. I was excited, too. Excited to see him getting to taste the wide open spaces. There are no such creek beds in Isaac's neck of the woods and straying out the front door is far more dangerous than anything he got into there in the woods.

My brothers and I tasted it in Arkansas at the farm. We even found our wild places in the ditch that ran behind our neighborhood and in the empty lots that still had trees that could be climbed. I'm sure that Isaac will find his own. I'm also sure that I'll enjoy the little taste of my own childhood that I'll get from watching him!

Fishing Fun

Since high school, I've not really pursued fishing as a hobby. I've either been distracted by other hobbies or just not had much of an opportunity for one reason or another. But, recently it seems as though God has ordained that I'll be doing a bit more fishing. I believe Isaac is a big part of this new ordination, too. Fishing is just such a great family thing to do! You get to spend time together and it is a fun relaxing environment. God's hand in all this was to create the opportunity.

Sure, I admit that at any time, I could've rounded up the gear and started fishing the local rivers. But that just doesn't appeal to me. It usually means going to some crowded public area or using a boat (that we don't have). So what changed? A friend at church who was already generously letting me come out to use some woodworking tools suggested I bring Isaac back for some fishing! We took him up on it today!

Isaac and I picked up some fishing equipment at the local Academy including a new "Spider Man Reel" for his first Reel of his own. We loaded up this morning and headed out to our friends' place. The day couldn't have been more beautiful. The air was cool and the fish were biting! Isaac had a blast being a 'country kid' for the morning... but that is another blog! I did carry the video camera with me and I've attached the video below!

October Already? ... 2007 Already?

Wow, life is speeding up every day. I've hit that point where I'm remembering things from 10 years ago like they were yesterday. All my friends talk about it. Oddly enough though, kids talk about it too! I overheard a high school student saying something to the same effect the other day! It can only be explained by acceleration. We're moving faster and faster every day.

Maybe it is because we are running out of new things. Maybe we only really register time when we're learning or experiencing something new. That doesn't explain how fast my kiddos are growing, though! That's all new and it is just roaring by.

I noted to Cheryl the other day that I'm starting to "get" what a mid-life crisis is about. You start putting stuff off in college thinking "I just need to get established". Then its "just need a job", "a promotion", "a wife...family..." and suddenly you're staring at a looming 40th birthday. It stops you for a sec - just long enough for those dreams and ambitions you've been trailing along to hit you square in the back of the head. When they do, you've got a conflict. You've never dismissed them, but you have outgrown many of them. Now you've got to reconcile them. So what has it taught me? Live your dreams or dismiss them but don't drag them along unfulfilled.