Pastorcision

As I type this, there are 30 middle-school students 100 yards from here having a dance party/pool party.  I can hear only the bass lines.

Natalie is sleeping.  That's peaceful.  And boring.  The best part of the day is when we play smiling games.  She's got a beautiful smile.

I'm tired, but I have to go hang out with some pastors this evening.  Shoot the breeze.  Talk about the latest.  You know, schmooze.

Justin and Angie are working up a baby right now.  I'll have more to say about that later.  Until then, I'm off to pastorcise.

Peace.

Natalie

The most important thing since the invention of inventing has happened:  Natalie.

Seriously, having a child is pretty awesome.  Many things have prevented me from maintaining my online identity through blogging, the facebooks, email, and technobiology - not the least of which has been the birth of my daughter - Natalie Grace.

"They" are right when they tell you that having a child changes your life.  They are wrong when they say that because of all of the lifestyle changes that you'll be forced to make.  Seriously, I was a pretty boring guy to begin with.  My lifestyle has not changed dramatically.  My worldview has changed!  That's the difference.  "They" are right when they say it for that reason.

Natalie is almost two months old.  She'll be eight weeks old tomorrow, which is an amazing thing.  Eight weeks is like nothing most times.  Not a lot can happen in eight weeks.  In the world of infants, however, eight weeks is like a lifetime.  Maybe babies live in dog years.  She is like a different person from the time she was born until now.  Seriously, check out these pictures:

In the first picture, she hadn't even grown her arms yet!  Now, she has arms, smiles on purpose, types blogs, interacts with people . . . it's amazing!  Seriously, she's grown up so much already.  It's fun to watch.

Jenn, Natalie, and I are at camp all summer this summer.  It's good for camp, and sort of good for us.  It keeps me from traveling as much during the summer, which means I get to spend a lot more time with the girls.  On the other hand, it is difficult being away from all of our "stuff."  Many of the conveniences of life are much less . . . convenient when you aren't with your stuff.

I bought an awesome new guitar a couple of weeks ago.  I'm brushing up my skills - in part so that I can play songs at worships and campfires this summer.  In part because I've always wanted to be a better guitar player than I am.  Spending a bunch of money on a guitar should help motivate me to practice and improve.

Also . . . the cat is gone.  I removed the exclamation point from that sentence out of respect for my wife and dog, who are not as happy as I am about this development.  They have mixed feelings - relief that the baby-bottle eating, pack-n-play sleeping, mobile chewing, inside-the-house pooping cat is gone . . . mixed with a sadness because they liked the cat.  Sometimes.  But, with all the crazy stuff he was doing with the baby's belongings, he had to go.  Now he's gone.

So, that's the reader's digest version of what's happening with me.  I'll try to do more of this now.  I enjoy doing it, so I need to find the time.  Until then . . .

no need to be afraid

So, I’m back to the old blog-o-the-month.  So much has happened since I last updated you.  I will have to begin at the beginning.

Soon after my last blog post, Jenn and I joined with other Christians around the world to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  Remarkably, we all did it on the same day – December 25^th.  I think we’re going to do that on the same day next year, if you want to join us.

I got some pretty awesome presents!  Some highlights included baby-related items such as a Detroit Tigers receiving blanket, pacifier and sippy-cups.  Jointly, Jenn and I got our crib and changing table from my parents, which was pretty awesome.  I got Jenn a new iPod and a bunch of other stuff.  All in all, Christmas was an awesome time.  I love Christmas.

Jenn’s brother and sister-in-law came to our house for Christmas, and they brought their newborn baby, Avery with them!  She was (and I suspect, still is) absolutely adorable.  We really enjoyed meeting her and look forward to spending more time with her soon.  Evidence of her cuteness follows:

 Also, my brother and sister-in-law came down to Florida for the holidays.  They stayed with my parents, but we were able to spend some time with them, which was very nice.  We went to a local Mexican restaurant called Los Vallarta.  In our rural locale, that is pronounced with hard l’s all around.  Fun stuff.

So, FINALLY, the day after Christmas, Jenn and I had our 20-week sonogram, at which point we were able to watch the baby on the baby.  He/she was doing baby stuff, and was all like, “Hey!  Look at me.  I’m a baby and stuff.”  Not a very good vocabulary, but who can blame him/her.  He/she’s -20 weeks old.  Also at that appointment, we were given a whole bunch of ultrasound photos, some of which were creepy, others were pretty cool.  I have included some of the more remarkable photos below.

 After the ultrasound, lots of other stuff happened, and then it was today.  I’ll catch you up on the details later, but it is now time for me to get to work.  Talk to you later.

crap

Well, it seems that I'm blogging monthly. Here I am, almost 1 month to the day.

On Wednesday, Jenn and I went to the doctor again. It was a pretty uneventful visit, in terms of new happenings. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, which is a pretty cool experience. I mean, we've all heard a heartbeat before, so that's not a real show-stopper. Then I think about the fact that we don't know the baby's gender, name, physical features - we're talking about a fetus, here - but we're hearing a heartbeat just like our own. A little faster. But a real heartbeat. Pretty neat.

We go back to the doctor next week for the halfway checkup. We're halfway through the pregnancy - closer to birth than we are to conception. Crazy! And very exciting. We've been registering for baby shower stuff, buying little things here and there . . . that's a lot of fun. It's this whole new thing, so we're pumped up about cribs and strollers and stuff.

So, we've decided not to find out the baby's gender. EVERYONE expects us to find out, because they want to know. They've forgotten that we're the baby's parents, and don't yet realize that they can have their own babies if they want to know genders and pick names. I'll explain the birds-and-bees of it later. The way we look at it is this: if we find out the gender, we will tell other people. If other people know the gender, they'll only buy pink or blue items (we prefer variety). Also, as soon as the gender is known, people move on to names, "Have you picked names yet?"

FYI - we haven't picked names yet. Also, we won't tell you the names once we've picked them. That way we don't have to see or hear your reactions to the names we choose. Your input is not necessary, but thank you for your interest.

Now that I've preemptively scolded you, I feel guilty like I'm George Bush. Let's move on.

So, at this appointment, we'll have a major ultrasound which should be very cool. We've already been told that the baby does not have above-normal likelihood of genetic defect. The ultrasound will be our most detailed one yet. We'll look at the baby from lots of angles and stuff. Hopefully he/she will be active again like last time. That was fun. They'll also let us bring a VHS tape and they'll record the ultrasound for us. That'll be really cool!

Aside from baby stuff, I've just been getting ready for Christmas. I did most of my shopping yesterday. I love putting the presents under the tree. It looks so festive! I saved some shopping for this Sunday (worst possible shopping day, I know). My brother is coming into town and we're going to make a shopping trip on Sunday, so I saved a few stocking-stuffers, etc.

Also, my brother-in-law and his wife and NEWBORN are coming into town this Sunday. Avery Rebecca Jones was born about a week ago and she's coming with her mom and dad to our house for Christmas! We're very excited about it. It's just too bad that her parents will have to sleep on the floor. We already got rid of our spare room bed when we emptied the baby's new room.

After Christmas, it's off to Minneapolis for New Year's with the Musolfs. Maggie is getting so big and she's unbelievably cute! We'll ring in the New Year with the Musolfs and Rimbos, then back to home, work, school, and the Spring recruiting season. Crap.

superhero

Well, I never fail to disappoint. I hinted at a post after the October doctor's visit, but did not deliver on that. Since that post, we've been to two doctor's appointments and we're marching steadily toward parenthood.

I have a lot to update you all on (all one of you). Many things have happened since my last post, so I'll try to be brief when possible; however, I must warn you that I've amassed a couple of interesting stories in the recent past.

As previously mentioned, Jenn visited the doctor again in October and had a second ultrasound. This one was pretty awesome! The thing that most people find exciting is the baby's heartbeat, to which we were able to listen. That was pretty cool. Nothing drives home the point quite like hearing your child's heartbeat. The only thing better than that was WATCHING the baby on the screen. See, at the first ultrasound we were able to look at the baby (the size of a seed or small nut, with no real shape). This time, the baby was moving all over the place! The kid's like an acrobat! That was an awesome experience. They don't give us video yet, so we got a still photo. Here it is:

So, that's my child on October 25, 2007. Pretty awesome. As noted in the previous post, huge head! Obviously, you can start to make out features - arms, legs, etc. Amazing stuff. There'll be more soon.

So, the week after the doctor's appointment, I traveled to Ohio for the annual Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Conference, which is always a good time. I flew into Columbus on Halloween and rented a car, so I could drive to a tiny little town. In this town was Mohican State Park. If you've ever been to a state park before, you know that it isn't a place you want to be on Halloween in Ohio. This place was different. Basically, this was a really nice hotel, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere, Ohio. A nice time was had, and I became a superhero.

Then I went - what? Oh, you want to hear about my superpowers? So be it.

On Friday afternoon, November 2nd, I went to the fitness center at the hotel (I do that now) and followed my workout with a cool-off in the hotel pool. CJ was there (you might know him - big red-bearded fellow) and we swam with his son Logan, who is cute. This is where the story goes all Peter Parker on you, and I get "bit" by a "radioactive spider." As we prepare to leave the pool area, out of the corner of my eye, I see a hotel key card. Upside down. With a key ring attached to it. Not every hotel key card has such a key ring, so I knew that this was no ordinary key card. In that moment, I had a choice. I could ignore the key card, and all of the potential that accompanies the mystery, or I could embrace that potential and suffer under the responsibility of possessing something that no mortal should - a master key to the entire hotel.

Indeed, the key that I picked up on that Friday would open any door in the hotel - all guest rooms, utility closets, offices . . . everything. It immediately dawned on me that I must wield this power with great care, for as any superhero knows - with great power comes great responsibility. So, with CJ as my Robin (I know, I'm mixing stuff but Spiderman didn't have a well-known sidekick for use in this metaphor), I spent 24 hours discerning the proper use of my powers. Finally, it became clear - we had to pull a massive prank on someone.

So, on Saturday night during dinner, we entered the room of an acquaintance (names have been omitted, to protect the innocent) and removed all of the hotel furniture from that room. We placed that furniture in a nearby sitting area, moving the sitting furniture into the guest room. We escaped undetected. Hours later, another room had been victimized in a nearly identical way and we realized that we had set off a sequence of events that we had not expected. Our victims had "retaliated" against the wrong people! It was beautiful. We couldn't have scripted it better.

Eventually, someone rolled over on us (students - always keep your secrets close) and we were found out. We were tried in a court of our peers, and it was quite a funny scene. A good time was had by all. You should all learn the lesson - when awesome power is bestowed upon you, you must use that power for good, as I did, but engaging in wacky hijinks. Only good things can happen.

That brings us to November 4, when the conference ended and I traveled back to Tampa with a sore throat, dry skin and chapped lips. Blasted cold, dry weather. It took me two weeks to get rid of that sore throat.

I took the whole next week off of work. I hardly did anything at all. I spent 1 day "relaxing" and finishing a homework assignment. The next 4 days were spent in the library: 4-7 hours each day in the library researching and writing. In those 4 days, I completed one paper. I should have completed 2, which is why I'm procrastinating now, when I should be writing another paper.

More time passed and we came to yesterday's doctor's appointment. This one was pretty cool, too. There are two doctors at this practice. We usually see the female doctor, who is very . . . clinical. She kind of rushes through the appointments, quickly answers questions, leaving me feeling like my question hasn't actually been answered. This time, we saw the male doctor. You're required to see each of them at lest once, so that whoever delivers the baby is someone familiar to you. This guy was really nice. He spent time getting to know us, answered questions in detail, he even showed us how to feel the baby in Jenn's belly. He was cool. This time, we didn't get an ultrasound, but we did listen to the heartbeat again. He moved the thingy (that's the technical term) and let us listen to the difference between Jenn's heartbeat and the baby's - two very distinct pulses. It was really cool! I think we'll try to start seeing him from now on.

Finally, we watched Knocked Up last night. I did not expect that movie to be good, but I was wrong. It was VERY funny. And timely for us. If you haven't seen it, you should do so. I thought it was hilarious, and so will you.

Now, its Thanksgiving morning - HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We'll be off to my parents' house later this morning, watching football and eating food. Tomorrow, Jenn will go shopping and I'll try to finish the paper that I've been putting off. For information past that, you'll have to read the next post.

Blessings.

soda?

Well, I return to the blog today after a weekend middle-school retreat. What a time that was. You know, at these retreats I usually begin to crash at about 1:00pm on Saturday. I now realize that was the case even when I was a youth participant in these types of things. I hit the wall from exhaustion, which is a part of it. The other part is that 1:00pm is about the first time of most retreats when you have any kind of "free-time." When that free-time comes, I don't know what to do with it. I'm working. My friends and family aren't there. Free-time sucks.

Anyway, I had that kind of weekend, then took Monday off to study. I drove to the gas station to get a soda (read: "pop"), when I discovered that I could get ANY SIZE fountain drink I wanted, AND a sleeve of 10 cookies for $.99. Follow me on this - The 22 oz. fountain drink, the 32 oz. fountain drink OR (no-brainer) the 44 oz. fountain drink for the same price! Throw in the cookies and I can't pass that up. So, I get a 44 oz. Pepsi and a sleeve of Aunt Millie's Peanut Butter Cream sandwich cookies and head to the Pasco County Library - New River Branch, so I could study without distractions. Little did I know that the library is not open at 11:00am on a Monday.

WHY ISN'T THE LIBRARY OPEN AT 11:00AM ON A MONDAY!!!!????!?!??!?!!?

I can't imagine any reason why the library would not be open on the first occasion that I have ever had to visit it. On the other hand, there are tax reductions on the horizon, and while that $50 annual savings might be noticed in my financial picture, the person who loses his/her job because of it will probably notice more than I do. AND I WON'T GET TO STUDY AT 11:00AM ON A MONDAY!

So, I studied at home. I managed alright, though I felt silly for going to the gas station for soda and cookies so I could sit at my kitchen table with a laptop. Weird.

Anyway, I had an exam on Monday, which seemed to go alright. I'm not sure if the quantity of my answers was good enough for my "way-too-smart-for-you" professor who's lived her entire life under the shelter of the academic world, but I guess we'll find out next week. I have another exam tonight and I expect it to go well.

In other news, Jenn is still having a baby and she's going to let me share it when it comes out. We were supposed to have had a doctor's appointment on Monday, but she had a work thing come up and we rescheduled for sometime next week. I'll try to report back after that. There isn't much other baby news at this point. According to babycenter.com, the baby's fingers are now separated, it has no tail (bummer) and has an enormous (comparatively) forehead to accommodate the massive brain inside. It takes after me. :)

Not much else to blog on today, but after the next doctor's appointment, I hope to have all kinds of insight and wisdom to impart. If not, I'll post a bunch of pointless garbage about declining public services and relate it to current policy issues.

the next post

So, I mustered all of one post during the month of September. Now, here we are deep into October and I'm working on my first post of the month. I intend to be more faithful as October progresses.

To begin with, in my last post I alluded to more information on which I could have updated you. At that time, I was not releasing all of the available information, but I suppose now's as good a time as any to make my announcement through imagery:

Yes, it's true. That's a picture of my unborn child. A scary thought, perhaps, for many of you. On the other hand, we're really excited about it. Congratulations and cash gifts can be mailed directly to our home.

So, as this whole process has been unfolding, it has become more and more clear to me that I am actually going to be a father and that it will be happening in the near future. In fact, I find it surreal that we're trying to figure out what to do with the baby's things. We've gotten gifts from family already, but don't have a room for the baby yet, so we've got baby toys and pacifiers on the kitchen table. What do we do with them?

There are thousands of issues, and in my infinite practicality I'm working through all of the logistical headaches - legal questions, money, bedrooms, etc. I have a hard time resisting all of that. But occasionally (certainly not often), I am able to turn that off and focus on the more amazing feature of all this - I'm going to have a baby. I know that sounds weird, but when I say "have," I don't mean "give birth to." I mean "have." As in:

"Do you have any children?" - somebody.

"Yes, I have a baby." - me.

I'll have lots of baby-related things to talk about in the coming days/weeks/months, so I won't give it all away at once. I'll just leave it at this: I am very excited, my lovely wife is very excited, and we'll try to keep you posted on what's going on with us.