desperate for food

Yet another adventure of a stay at home Dad...

The other day Laurel got called in to work for the afternoon. They were short handed and we were short funded, so it seemed like a win win situation for everyone involved. I was on a very important phone call and it was time for Laurel to leave for work, so she put a movie on for the kids, knowing that I would be up soon to check on them. Well the call took a little longer than I had planned and I was getting a little nervous because the kids were being so quiet and apparently well behaved. I was hoping that they weren't coloring on the walls or something even worse.

When I got off the phone, I called Laurel to touch base with her on a couple of things, as I headed up the stairs to the kitchen. She informed me that she had made me a sandwich for lunch (which I had missed) and she had left it on the kitchen table. At this point in the conversation, I had already peeked into the living room, very pleased that there was no sign of coloring on the walls. I had also looked for my sandwich, but couldn't locate it, so I asked Laurel again where she had put it for me. She said on the table. I explained that all I saw on the table was a plate with a partially eaten sandwich and what was left of it was somewhat mangled. It looked like one of the kids leftovers that they hadn't finished.

I discovered in a moment that both things were actually true. This was in fact my sandwich, but it had now been reduced to simply the leftovers after Rose had finished with it. She looked up at me with a happy face and announced "Aarrr...I bite it!" How can you argue with a cute face like that?

rose bowl parade

In my last post, I mentioned that my status is now officially listed as "missionary". As such, I am working on raising the financial support needed so I can serve here in NE Ohio. With the economy currently being a little less than desirable, this is a somewhat slow process as you might imagine.

Since my current support level is way below that of the poverty line and my kids like to eat every day, Laurel is currently picking up about 2 days a week with her nursing job and I am staying at home on those two days to take care of the kids. It is somewhat of a challenge for me because I'm not really cut out to be a "stay at home Dad" but it is also a joy to get to spend extra time with the kids while they are small. In addition to pulling my hair out on some days, I also laugh and smile a lot at the things that they do and the memories we are making.

One smile I got last week was from the "rose bowl parade" which took place in our living room. As you can see in the picture below, Rose grabbed a bowl from the kitchen, put it on her head and proceeded to parade around the house humming a happy tune.

missed the boat again

Laurel and I flew to Savannah, Georgia this past weekend to be commissioned as missionaries through the North American Mission Board. (This is part of the process we're going through as we plant a new church in Canal Fulton, Ohio). We stayed at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort which was across the river from the hisoric riverfront of Savannah. We had a beautiful view from our room and the motel was one of the nicest that we have ever stayed in.

























Numerous times during our stay we took the free water taxi across to the other side to eat in one of the many local restaurants or to explore the historic district of Savannah.

It ran on a schedule (more or less) and we enjoyed it as part of our overall experience. However it became a little frustrating to us on Monday when we went down to get on the water taxi and cross over to the other side for lunch. We walked out the door only to discover that the water taxi was already pulling away, a minute or two ahead of scheule. Since it takes about 30 minutes for it to make one complete trip (there are a total of three stops) we decided to go pack the rest of our stuff, check out early and check our bags at the front desk. Then we would catch the next taxi across the river, have lunch, and head straight to the airport when we got back to the motel.

All went according to plan until we headed out to catch the water taxi again to go across and have lunch. You guessed it. We missed the boat again! It was just pulling away, once again a minute or two ahead of schedule. So we headed to the airport early and had lunch there with another couple from our group before flying to Atlanta and making our connection to continue our trip home. Thankfully we did NOT miss our flight (they were on schedule).

more is not always better

No matter how old I get, there are still lessons to be learned. One particular lesson that I am learning recently is that more is not always better. This is a common misconception among most people today.

Here is my case in point. A year or so ago, John got a box of crayons. It's not a box of 8 or 12 or even 24. I'm talking about the box of 96 crayons with the built in sharpener on the back. This is for those children who are really serious about coloring. And it comes in really handy during those moments where you need burnt umber or chartreuse. At the time we got John the box of crayons it seemed like a good idea. But here-in lies the problem.

Rose is a few weeks short of being 2 and she does not fully comprehend that crayons are for paper. No, in her mind, crayons were created to draw all over any empty space that you might encounter. The wall, the table, the floor, and most recently the front of the microwave in our downstairs kitchenette.

What I'm realizing is that it is nearly impossible to keep track of 96 crayons. Just when you think you have them all safely stored away, she finds a stray one and decorates something with it. I'm pretty sure I could keep track of 8 crayons...maybe even 12. And you can make a decent picture with those basic colors, right? The sky is blue, the grass is green, the trees are brown. In this case, maybe simple is good.

forward thinking

John is at that stage where he is always thinking, and always thinking up new things. For example, the other night, he was playing with his legos before dinner and built this...

What do you mean "what is it"? You can't tell? It's a mobile cell phone tower. This is the very thing that will make it possible in the future for you to never miss another call because you're in a remote area, or drop a call because of a weak signal or a dead spot. "Can you hear me now" will be a thing of the past. All because of John who is a forward thinker.

Now, I know what you're thinking. It's a little large to hook on behind your car, and a little too high to go under the underpasses on the highway. There's always at least one sceptic in every crowd. But are you forgetting that the first computer took up an entire city block? Now you can fit one in your pocket. Keep in mind that this is just the first prototype. The design will keep being tweaked and redesigned over time. And before you know it, everyone will have one. And you'll be able to say that you knew John when....

two words...sticker back

Rose isn't quite talking in full sentences yet (after all she's not quite 2 yet) but she is definately talking. She communicates in broken sentences making all of her wants and wishes known. She's so darn cute and polite (always saying please and thank you) that it's hard not to give in to her every request. Rose stopped by my office (in our basement) yesterday, as she often does when she's in the area, just to say hello and give Daddy a hug. When she came in yesterday, she pointed to my pad of post it notes and said "sticker". She repeated this a few times, until I ripped off the top note, which had a phone number I no longer needed, and handed it to Rose. To which she replied, "no...back!" She wanted me to stick it on her back, which is what they do in the church nursery and at the YMCA when she's in childcare. She wore the post it on her back until it was time for her nap, and then I peeled it off without being detected and snuggled her into her crib to drift off to dreamland.

snow fun

The first words out of John's mouth when he got up this morning at 7:30am were "can we go sledding?" He has been waiting for enough snow to go sledding ever since the first flake fell a couple of months ago. But until today, we hadn't gotten more than an inch or so at a time. Never enough for sledding...

In addition to sledding (and shoveling our long driveway) we also made snow angels and a big honkin' snowman. Then when we came back inside, we all had a cup of hot cocoa. Today was one of those days that good old fashioned family memories are made of.

Two days ago (on Thursday) on the other hand was not one of those days. I took Rose to the YMCA for her parent/baby swim class only to discover that I had forgotten my swimsuit. I left the "Y" and went to the grocery store and then back home...only to discover when I got home that I had left my groceries at the store. I guess it's a good thing that I don't have dentures or a hair piece yet, or I probably wouldn't be able to remember where I left those either.

Hopefully the kids will still have a few more fun days and good memories with Dad before they have to put me in the nursing home.