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.

Life Goes On...

It's always tough when elections don't turn out like you'd like for them to.  But life goes on, and judging by the expression on Lincoln's face, he seems to be okay with it at this time.

He's been spending much of his play-time sitting up.  He plays a little bit while on his back, but he really prefers to be up and looking around/shoving toys in his mouth.  He's been quite the all-star little baby lately and a pleasure to be around.

Eleciton 2008 & Politics

We've talked about keeping this blog from becoming bogged down in politics, and I intend to keep it that way. However, if you're interested in my thoughts on the Presidential election of 2008, visit XEKE.com and you'll find my column, President Obama: A New Era in American Politics.  I'll only mention here that Jenn and I emerged from the Carter years, and it appears that Lincoln will emerge from the Obama years.  Great.

Three straight Daddy Days

This is the third Saturday in a row that Jenn has worked and that means three Saturdays in a row that I've spent with Lincoln in the morning hours. It's been pretty crazy to see how each Saturday has been a little bit different as Lincoln's grown and his attention span and tastes have morphed. This morning we played on the Exersaucer, I had him laughing for a while, and we read the first part of Mary Poppins from Jenn's old Disney books. As I've mentioned previously, he's loving those stories.  After he wakes up from his nap and eats, we're going shopping!  Lincoln loves to go to the store.

Yesterday I posted a video of Lincoln eating his cereal, and the video quality wasn't that great. I've boosted the quality (it's still not exactly Hi-Def, but it is an improvement) and if you haven't seen it yet, you'll have to check it out.

[If you've followed this blog from the beginning, you know that Jenn and I avoid getting too political here. I've got a space for that over at XEKE.com where you can go if you'd like to read my (our) social and political thoughts.  You can choose to go there or to avoid it.  This space is reserved for family news for our extended family and friends.  However, Jenn and I are quite convicted about the upcoming election, and the piece of information that absolutely sealed it for us can be found here.  Say what you want about the source of the web page, but the information on it cannot be denied.  It's more than a single issue, it's a world view.  As for politics and our blog, we'll leave it at this.]

A new website has been added to the favorites here.  Last night I received a friend request from Matt Powers, an old friend from high school.  Matt and his wife Emily were friends of mine at CVCA, and while we haven't kept up with each other in many years, I'll always remember them calling me at Lipscomb from Cedarville on weekend nights (Emily had free segments on her calling card) during our first semester of our freshman year.  TRES wasn't yet in full swing, and keeping up with friends was at a premium.  Matt and Emily got married after that semester (I was in their wedding!), and life went on for all of us, but I'm appreciative of that friendship to this day.

We're going over to Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug's house this evening and Jenn is making some kind of stuffed chicken dish.  We're all looking forward to it, and to the OSU/Wisconsin game after dinner.  Will OSU lay another egg on national television?  Or will this be Terrell Pryor's real break-out game?

Lincoln's up... I've got to go.

Tuesday at the zoo

Jenn and Laura took a trip to the zoo today. Jenn's trip to Mary (our nurse midwife) yesterday was good, no bad news, but Jenn's word to describe the progress that we were looking for was, "Nothin'." So we're waiting. It's times like this that illustrate very powerfully how not in control we are of our circumstances.  So Lincoln's got to come sometime, right?  Apparently God and Lincoln have another schedule.

So I saw Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed on Saturday evening.  EXCELLENT movie.  I wrote my thoughts about it at XEKE.com.  I won't go into all of the details here, but it is well worth your time and your money to see it.  (If for no other reason than to financially support a movie with JudeoChristian sympathies rather than secular/humanist/etc. messages.)  I don't know that the movie will change anybody's mind, but it does get plenty of issues on the table that were not going to be exposed any other way.  Go see it.

Lincoln is Upside Down

Jenn had another appointment with her midwife today and we've determined that Lincoln has turned upside down. Things are looking pretty good. She also learned that we'll most likely have Mary for his delivery. Mary has been a wonderful nurse for us through Jenn's couple of issues and especially during her bout with the kidney stone. For the past couple of weeks, we've been talking between the two of us that we really want to have Mary around when Lincoln comes, and it looks like that might just be the case!

Out West, we were very happy to learn that Haley's procedure went as planned and that she's recovering well. We're praying for you, Haley!

I also learned today that Zach (my partner in crime at XEKE.com) won his election in yesterday's contest for Summit County Central Committee. This is a very good thing for the Summit County Republican Party because the current leadership is corrupt, and needs to be removed. Zach and many of the other Central Committee winners are ready to make that change when the group gets together in the spring time.

I've caved in. . .

So for the longest time I've avoided starting a blog.  It wasn't on plane with never drinking coffee or getting a tattoo, two things I promised myself long ago I'd never do, and now don't seem that bad to me, but I've gone this long so why start now. . .  Anyway. . .  I figured that with Lincoln coming, it would be good to have a place to post pictures, videos and thoughts and stories for family and friends, so here it is.

Another reason I never wanted to start a blog is because I thought, "Who wants to read what I have to say?  The people I can talk to don't really even want to know all of my opinions."  But then I wrote a column for XEKE.com that got picked up by a guy in Atlanta, and I discovered that not only would folks read my opinions when they were asked, they would, every now and then, be voluntarily passed along to others as worthwhile.  So maybe that'll happen on occasion here.

Who knows how often I'll actually update this.  When Lincoln comes, I'll surely share more with you.

Thanks for stopping by.