Zacchaeus!

Things are just busy. Nothing terribly urgent, but Jenn and I just have lots of little things going on. I feel bad that I haven't been current with photos lately, but finding the time to upload photos when Lincoln and Lydia are doing their things when they're awake, and Jenn and I are keeping up with things when they're asleep is pretty tough.

Work has picked up again following a slow period. Our experience fits with the stories our clients have told us about their own businesses (mechanics, florists, insurance, etc.): uncertainty is ruling the day. Nobody knows what's going to happen in the coming months where taxes are concerned, where hiring is concerned, and where business expansion is concerned. We have areas where we'd like to expand, but if our capital to expand is taken by the expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts, that's not good for anyone. So all in all, we're thankful that business has been somewhat steady right now.
As for the national news since I last posted, Jenn and I were glad to see the increased number of capitalists in the House, the Senate, the Governors' mansions, and the state legislatures. (Did you see that there was a net gain of 680 state legislative seats? Wow.) I say all of this at the risk of insinuating to one or two of our readers (you know who you are... wink, wink) that our faith is in the Republican Party. It is not. As long as we have the opportunity to have a small say in whether or not we live under a government that will mind its own business or stick its nose in ours, we'll opt for the former.

Moving on, Jenn and I have been very humbled and thankful for the amount of friends from our ABF that have committed to bring us meals over the past week and next several weeks. Especially for Jenn, it's such a huge help to not have to prepare dinner. One family brought us an authentic Korean meal on Monday (they're from South Korea!) and it was fantastic! And last night our ABF leaders brought us a great Italian meal with a Cherry Pie. Guess who said after dessert, "I need more of that!"
One of the neat phases Lincoln is in right now is that he's enjoying when we sign songs before bed time. There are about 5 songs in the rotation. The one that he knows forward and backward and sings along with me is "Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man." He does a great job!

He's also enjoying the International Children's Story Bible. This is the Bible that includes my illustration of the Nativity Scene that I drew when I was 11 or so. He's so into reading these stories that last night when he was being disobedient, I said, "Because you are disobeying Daddy, we are only going to read one story tonight."

He replied, "Two stories."

I said sternly, "One story."

Then he leaned his head a bit and said, "One story and three Bible stories."

Thankfully Jenn and I had decided a while ago that reading from the Story Bible was considered one story no matter how many individual stories we read from it. I can't deny him Bible stories, can I?

Lincoln, Potty Training & World Cup

We've been working on preparing Lydia's room. Jenn ordered a nice, comfortable chair that goes with her new bedding, and she found some great stickers to apply to the wall that give the room a very neat, very cute feeling.

Potty training is actually going very, very well. Beginning on Wednesday he has been going pants-less in the house, and he's been doing a very good job of running to the potty now when he needs to go. He hasn't had a Number 2 accident on the floor, and he's only having a couple of Number 1 accidents, and mostly because it catches him by surprise at times. And when this does occur, he stops himself very quickly and runs to the potty. He's loving the M&Ms!

Today Jenn put him in his big-boy underpants, and that worked well for a while. He had a small accident in them, but what can we expect from the first day in big-boy underpants?! We're very proud of his progress.

Lincoln's also loving the warmer weather and the fact that I'm watering some areas of the lawn. He's made a game of chasing the hose around, and that prompted me to hook up his water toy:Gretel's training is clicking along very well. I think she's officially house trained, which means that she did this faster than Bridget. She's got a long way to go to get to Bridget's standard overall, but she's on her way.
On a completely separate note, Jenn was making some oven fries this evening for dinner (which were fantastic, BTW) and was commenting that the recipe called for them to be in the oven for a total of 15 minutes, which was far shorter than the amount of time that they actually needed to be in the oven. She then went on to say that "just once, I'd like for a recipe to have an accurate time." Have you had this problem? It seems fairly common, though I can't figure out why cooks and publishers continue to print clearly inaccurate information.

I couldn't let this post finish without commenting on the horrendous officiating during the World Cup matches today. The referee of the Germany/Serbia match lacked common sense to the fullest extent. And the referee of the U.S./Slovenia match should be relieved of all officiating duties for the rest of his life. He ought to be required to make a public statement detailing his call while standing in front of a high-def monitor to point out he foul that he saw but that the rest of the world did not see. Sports fans have long used the phrase, "We were robbed!" But today the United States soccer team was literally robbed of a goal. They should not have put themselves in the position to need that third goal, but neither should a referee make such an egregious error on the world's biggest stage. The man is simply unfit to perform in international soccer competition.The other topic about the World Cup that amuses me is the term "Democratic People's Republic of North Korea." There is nothing Democratic nor Republican within the borders of North Korea. Their crack-pot dictator has repeatedly shown that he is not capable of particpating in modern society, and this is just in the sports arena... I haven't even mentioned his attack on a South Korean ship or the starving of his own people or the execution by firing squad of a man whose crime was making international phone calls. Finally, according to Voice of the Martyrs, "North Korea is the worst perpetrator of persecution against Christians in the world." Knowing what goes on in North Korea at first makes me angry, and then I'm prompted to pray for those who are being persecuted, and for those doing the persecution.

Dec. 21

I was bouncing around on Flikr earlier today and I stumbled across photographs from last Christmas. My how things change in a year.

Lincoln enjoys sitting in Grandpa Doug's chair in his new Christmas sweater-vest from Grandma Paulette.

Sunday was Donati Family Christmas. We began a new tradition this year. Rather thang going all-out on presents for each other, each family chooses a charity or a need to which to make a donation in the name of the Donati Family. It was a very nice Christmas, with family contributions made to provide healthy goats to families in need in Laos; to provide assistence for women below the poverty line in Erie county, PA, to receive job training and follow-up; to provide mosquito nets for the needy in Africa; to provide bee colonies to produce honey for sale and pollenating capabilities for the needy in Central America; and to provide needed resources for the Salvation Army of Nashville and middle Tennessee. The focus was more on providing for needs, which was exactly what Jesus did for us in Bethlehem 2,009 years ago and on Calvary 1,976 years ago. We also had lots of good food! The Donati Family was disappointed that Lincoln was away, but I told them that he'll be in Ohio next Christmas and for future Christmases as well.

And getting back to Lincoln, Jenn took him for his first haircut last week. I'm still waiting on the photos to share with you, but she said he did very well. He got to sit in a racecar and that he actually liked it. Yesterday she took him to an event in Scottsdale where Winnie the Pooh was, and he walked right up to Pooh to say, "Hi."

The flight out to Phoenix was tough, Jenn said. Lincoln didn't want to sleep in his seat, and with the long day, he got tired after a while. On top of that, he threw up just as they turned into the driveway at Grandpa Dave and Grandma Laura's house. Uuuggghh. Jenn began feeling sick before the trip, and it's taking her a while to get back to feeling good again.

But he recovered well the next day, I understand. He's had a bunch of marshmallows from his Grandpa Dave, he's starting to put two words together with consistency, and he's making Jenn laugh lots. I can't wait to get out there and see him again.

The Browns won yesterday!!! Josh Cribbs ran two kick-offs back for touchdowns (100 & 103 yards, an NFL record) and Jerome Harrison ran the ball for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns, the third best rushing day in NFL history. There's no hope of playoffs this year, but I thought I'd make mention of this unbelievable day as a bit of a historical marker. Also, I pretty much called the Browns quarterback situation back in the preseason, and I'd like to get out in front of the following issue. I haven't consumed a lot of sports media lately, so I don't know if anyone else has come out saying this, but I'd like to make a case for Josh Cribbs for NFL MVP. He won't win it because the Browns are lousy, but there's not a player in the league who is more valuable than Josh Cribbs. Not Peyton Manning, not Brett Favre, not Drew Brees. Josh Cribbs does it all. Literally. And he ought to be named the league MVP this season.


I'm having a hard time letting this blog post pass without commenting on the dark day that this will be marked as in American history. However, I've made attempts to keep this blog from getting political. With only a few lapses, I've stuck to this plan, and I intend to do so today, because I've got a lot to say. However, if you are interested in my thoughts about what has transpired today in the Senate, click here to visit my column at XEKE.com. Keep in mind that by clicking on the link, you are actively choosing to enter my mind and read my thoughts, and I am not forcing my opinions upon you. Enjoy.

Say NO to Gov't Health Care

I was in quite the blogging mood in July, but lately I've not been into it as much. It's also hard to take photos of Lincoln right now because (a) he's walking all over the place, and (b) when I get the camera out now he makes a bee-line for me making focusing pretty difficult.

Also, I'm pretty fired up about about the Health Care debate and this isn't really the place to air it all out. I ask that you inform yourself about the Health Care bill as it is written and then contact your Congressman and let them know what you think. Also, visit Drudge to see not only that Americans are not happy with their government but also what our politicians have to say about American citizens (concerned citizens are Nazis, mobs, etc.). We're living in a unique time.

The real story in Honduras

The world media has been doing a poor job of reporting the actual events in Honduras. The real story can be found by doing some actual investigating, as this blogger has done.

(read my updated comments)

(latest from 7/23/09)