Reading Material

Lincoln has always been into books, seemingly from the womb. Lydia has only recently shown more than a passing interest in books. What fun to watch from our parents' perspective is what books they're each into.

Lincoln found an old book of mine that is a cartoon representation of anatomy and physiology. He's learned about red blood cells, white blood cells, how the voice box works, how the eating machine works, how we feel different temperatures and textures, etc.
Lydia has been requesting on a nightly basis a booklet that we got at the lamb farm a couple of weeks ago. It talks about the importance of farmers and ranchers to our nation and lifestyle, and is more or less a booklet of agricultural statistics. I like it, but it's hard to believe how much Lydia likes it. There's not action, no story line, and no characters, but she's riveted by it. Might we have a budding FFA?

Bear

We finally got Bear to pose for a photograph. He's proven to be an important part of the Gates Family.I've been playing around with close-ups. The place I really want to do this is in the National Park nearby, but until the weather gets nicer, Lincoln's toys and books will have to do. The books on the left are the old Disney books from the Mullen side of the family. There just aren't books like these on the market today, for a variety of reasons. But Jenn and I enjoy them as much, if not more so, than Lincoln.Lydia looked really cute in the outfit from Auntie Em.And finally, I've found that it's quite tough to get a good photograph of Lydia smiling because whenever she's happy she doesn't hold still. So this is about as close as I can get right now.

Reading with Grandma Laura & Football with Grandfather (pa) Dave

I'll sneak this photo in just before we leave. Lincoln is officially warmed up to Grandma Laura and Grandfather Dave. All it took was a book.
Lincoln calls Grandfather Dave "Pa," just like he does Grandpa Doug, so he may be taking away the "Grandfather" title and giving him "Pa." In any event, Lincoln has enjoyed his time with Pa Dave in this classic Ohio fall weather.

Funny Little Things

Nothing really big at the Gates Home, just some small things that are funny, interesting, and thought-provoking.

Lincoln is getting funnier by the day. One of the funny things he's been doing is, after I've laid him down for a nap or for bed-time, he'll stay awake for a while, then bang on his crib really loud. It almost sounds like he still has his cast on. Then, when I go into his room to lay him down or move him to the middle of the crib, he just starts laughing at me. I find myself just having to leave the room because the more I try to keep him from standing up again, the more he laughs... and if I give into the top temptation of the moment (to laugh at him), then he'll laugh even more, and this isn't the behavior I'm trying to re-enforce.

When Jenn goes to check on him, he falls down really fast to make it look like he wasn't standing up. What a stinker!

Work has been interesting for Jenn lately. There have been a number of events at the clinic that just aren't right or normal, and it has caused her to think about her employment there. I'm not giving any secrets away here... she's already had a conversation about this with the practice owner. She really enjoys her clients, but with some of the weirdness lately... it's just causing her to think long and hard about stuff. When you think about it, keep Jenn in your prayers.

Life has been kind of coasting at our place for the past week or so. That's kind of a good thing. It's also given us some time to think about our commitments for the upcoming fall and beyond. I'm meeting with the middle school minister at HCC tomorrow to discuss volunteering for him. It looks as though I'll be a small group leader, but I'll find out for sure tomorrow. It's been a while since I've given my time to a particular ministry at church beyond spending some time on our Adult Bible Fellowship's leadership team (the last time was when Jenn and I worked with the Kindergartners on Wednesday evenings) and I've really felt a calling to give my time to student ministry. Why middle school? I'm not sure... they had a need, and I need to serve, so it seemed right. I also had a couple of small experiences helping out with the middle school ministry that I've written about before.

And speaking of the ABF, there's been a decent amount of transition over the past year-plus, and that's taken it's toll on us, mentally speaking. Currently, we've got a great group of couples that seem to want to cultivate a good, meaningful, substantive community at church. We've also got a new teacher on the way, so on one hand there's a certain level of excitement, but on the other, there's a certain level of weariness given the amount of transition, specifically with friends coming and going. So I'm doing my best to leave it up to the LORD. ABF starts back up in late-August or early-September, I'm not sure which yet, and that ought to be a good time.

I'm in the middle of a very good book right now: Money, Greed & God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem, by Jay Richards. This is the first authentically Christian defense of capitalism, and so far, he's hitting the ball out of the park. It's a good follow-up to Atlas Shrugged (at least it is for me), because Ayn Rand is an atheist, and while I loved (really, really, really loved) Atlas Shrugged, there were some sticking points for me as a Christian. I remember in several parts of Atlas thinking, "Now, how can I reconcile this with my being a Christian." While a few areas of Rand's philosophy (Objectivism) are clearly not compatible with Christianity (e.g. one's highest moral calling is one's own happiness), Richards points out that the overall view of capitalism that Rand describes and espouses isn't just benign on the Christianity front, but is actually the preferred economic system... it's not about greed, but about creating an environment for entrepreneurs to think and risk and grow. Only in capitalism, Richards argues, can wealth be created, and wealth creation is the only solution to poverty.

Jenn's reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Don't hold your breath for a book review.

Managing just fine

Lincoln hasn't spent a minute feeling sorry for himself. He's been a man on the move despite his cast, and because he's got an anchor attached to his leg, he gets tired of moving more easily, so when he's decided he's had enough of moving, he just sits in one place and plays very nicely.

Jenn's been working her way through the Twilight series for the third or fourth time. She says it's the best series of novels she's ever read. I finished Atlas Shrugged last week, and it was an amazing novel. Written in the '50's, Ayn Rand, the author, darn near wrote about our current events 60 years ago. But more than that, she told a story that verbalized the moral foundation for capitalism and detailed the segment of society that vilifies and attempts to punish the successful. Rand touches on science, government, business, farming, art, industry and medicine, claiming that one's pursuit of success in their chosen field is not only in their own best interest, but is also in the best interest of society. Taking from one's success to supplement the failure of another is immoral, and Rand points out why. The premise: John Galt, a brilliant engineer, decides he's not going to follow the new CEO's plan of compensation: to each according to his needs, from each according to his ability. And as the government takes over more and more of the private sector, more and more industrialists join Galt. You can probably guess what then happens to the nation, and just like governments of all time, they make the wrong decisions, and things spiral downward. Will the industrialists return to save the nation? Will the bureaucrats loosen their grip on an ailing economy? How much taxation can a business owner stand before he decides to give up? It's a long read, but a wonderful one.

So now I'm on to Tom Sawyer, which is quite the shift in gears. I've been laughing out loud through the first couple of chapters.

The Indians stink, and despite injuries, I'll still argue that it's time for change at the top. The Indians stunk before Grady and the others got hurt. Speaking of Cleveland sports, there's a Cavs rumor that looks pretty cool. LeBron to Yao?

Right now we're watching The Odd Couple... a funny flick.