Abby pic

This is one of my favorite pics of Abby.  I love you!

Kamiak Butte hike... It's bright!

Apparently, there were two cow moose just one hundred yards east of us. We didn't try too hard too find them because moose have a reputation for being ornery.

Kamiak Butte hike

Kamiak Butte hike

Kamiak Butte hike

Cookie Thief...

Abby caught the miscreant in the middle with his hand in the cookie jar... literally.

Though not a recreation of the larcenous felony, I thought this photo would identify the criminal appropriately.

CJ and NBA great, Bob Lanier...

 Christina got to have her pic taken with NBA great, Bob Lanier.  Nice job sis, but even better job on the baby bump!  You are looking GOOD!  (Apparently, she got to meet with NFL legend Tony Dorsett too, but I haven't seen any proof yet.)

Great football play (why I love football)...

Having played football for a number of years, I have come to appreciate it as the consummate team sport.  10 guys block for one guy so that the one guy can get the glory and make all 10 winners.  Self-sacrifice is essential to the game.  Ask any football player who has ever thrown a block.  Very few other sports require this ethos.

Running back Marshawn Lynch's touchdown on Sunday for the Seattle Seahawks epitomized this idea behind the sport of football.  Every single player for the Seahawks either made a block, gave an extra effort, or made an extra block down the field to help him.  Marshawn himself ran through a number of would-be tackles and gave an incredible effort.  Heck, even the quarterback got down field and tried to block for the running back.

Watch it by clicking here.

Cousins at Christmas

Angelina Ballerina

WSU vs. UO

Friel court, Pullman, WA

Gunnar-isms and Zane talk.

Gunnar (our first son and second born) is three and has always been very verbal.  It's not uncommon for this sweet-tempered little gent to launch into a soliloquy on something he's seen from his back seat or something he recently did.  However, his notion of time and ability to express events past and future are not extensive.  Examples:

"Daddy, you were a little kid yesterday, but now you are big [and bald]..."
"Last week, I was a baby, but now I'm big.  Zane is a baby."
"Daddy, when it's my birthday tomorrow, I want a Transformer and a Buzz Light Year."

Zane (our second son and third born) is 15 months and is just learning to talk.  Unlike Gunnar at this age, most of Zane's desires and wants get expressed through screaming/yelling.  He is our little caveman with the constant runny nose who would rather grunt than say "please".  However, he is starting to try and he seems to try hardest to make words when food is involved.  Examples for the reader to discern:

"Peeez..."  (this one's a gimme.)
"Kew-keee" (his first real word besides ma-ma or da-da.)
"I hep" (said while picking up the broom, his favorite toy.)
"Tee-tee!" (Zane's black lap companion whenever he is in his high chair.)

More to come...

The walk to work...

... A balmy 22 F today.

Affluence, iPhones, and new tech...

If you read this blog on occasion, you will know that I am guilty of putting preachy blog posts on here from time to time, from various sources around the net.  Yes, this is probably another one of those, but I think it provides a great perspective on technology, sin, and the new media.  Click on the paragraph below to read all of it.

Jesus is the Lord of history, and this is why we don't need to be afraid of Twitter. Or Facebook. Or teenagers typing with their thumbs. Jesus is the Lord of history, which is why we don't need to worry about Google making us stupid.

Don't mistake me. Google does make many of us stupid, but only in the same way that libraries have made us stupid for many centuries. Libraries make a handful of people really wise, and provide many others with artificial props for their footnotes.

Everywhere the human race goes, it drags a bell curve around with it. We put on airs because of where we are on the existing curve (or we feel bad because of where we are on it), but we fail to recognize that a blue collar auto mechanic today is working with sophisticated electronics that would have completely stumped Aristotle on one of his good days. One half of all medical doctors graduated in the lower half of their class, right?

We live in a time of tremendous innovation, development, and apparent chaos. There are many opportunities to worry about it all, and so I want to lay my cards on the table, and talk about why I am excited about the future. This is going to sound funny, but I am excited about the future because I am a postmillennialist. And I am a postmillennialist because I am a Calvinist who believes that the sovereign God over all things is truly, inexhaustibly, and fiercely good. He keeps His promises...

Who should you share your problems with?

Click here to read an excellent post about the problem of being too open and honest with others beyond your wife, husband, or family.  Quite thought provoking.

Carousel in Salem, OR... Signe, Gunnar, Poppa