Thursday, January 10, 2002
Dielle IM'ed me to state she's not feeling well. Fever/chills, headache, stomach upset and head and body discomfort. Seems like a flu bug or something. She said Joshua is not feeling well either. They are both going on a mild diet of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast (BRAT). Here's hoping they both kick whatever it is by the weekend. Dielle wants to get together this weekend for some "strategy". I think we will work on getting our stuff together for the mortgage loan application, too. We might as well get that ball rolling.
All the kids have their first Upward Basketball game this week. That should be exciting. Esther was a little timid about running out onto the court when her name was called, but she said she would do it on game day. They are doing it up with the strobe lights and smoke this year, along with the Rockets-type music. Basketball has been a good thing for all the kids. They seem to be more confident and assertive with it. Joshua is holding back a little bit, I think, but he will do fine. His timidity is due in part to the newness of the game. He will be more confident as he comes to understand how the game is played.
All the kids have their first Upward Basketball game this week. That should be exciting. Esther was a little timid about running out onto the court when her name was called, but she said she would do it on game day. They are doing it up with the strobe lights and smoke this year, along with the Rockets-type music. Basketball has been a good thing for all the kids. They seem to be more confident and assertive with it. Joshua is holding back a little bit, I think, but he will do fine. His timidity is due in part to the newness of the game. He will be more confident as he comes to understand how the game is played.
Monday, January 14, 2002
It was a short weekend. Spent most of Saturday at the gymnasium watching the kids play basketball. They all did very well. It made me proud to be a daddy. It's obvious that they are working on the fundamentals (dribbling, passing, etc.) more than plays and setups. Joshua played full court, which was a little more than I think he expected. He seemed pretty tired after the game. All of the kids slept like rocks Saturday night.
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
Goodness. I haven't posted anything in almost exactly a month. Guess I better get inspired.
This weekend I get to go purchase my Canon EOS Rebel 2000 camera! I am so excited! It is my birthday present from Dielle and the kids. The only thing I'm afraid of is the possibility that I will burn up a huge amount of money developing film. Maybe I need to give myself a 2 roll a week allowance or something. There is a sense that I am going to suddenly go crazy and start photographing everything in sight, as though I won't be able to control the creative passion that is stirring within me. I am anticipating the catharsis of artistic expression to be a bit narcotic the first few weeks. Hope I don't get addicted.
All of the kids are doing well in basketball. Esther is the only one who hasn't yet scored a basket. I'm not sure if she's all that concerned about it, though. She seems to enjoy running around the court with the girls, with no regard for what is actually occurring. The Upward Basketball program is more about participation and less about competition, so I'm not too bothered by it. There is that competitive edge in me that wants to see her score.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I'm trying to do something special for Dielle this week. I will probably buy the requisite roses and candy (Godiva?) for Dielle this year, but more than anything I am confounded by how to express to her in concise terms how much she means to me. There is probably no good way to do that, but I can try. She is a remarkable woman, and I've never felt more blessed than I do this year to be married to her. Thank you, God, for Your unspeakable goodness!
This weekend I get to go purchase my Canon EOS Rebel 2000 camera! I am so excited! It is my birthday present from Dielle and the kids. The only thing I'm afraid of is the possibility that I will burn up a huge amount of money developing film. Maybe I need to give myself a 2 roll a week allowance or something. There is a sense that I am going to suddenly go crazy and start photographing everything in sight, as though I won't be able to control the creative passion that is stirring within me. I am anticipating the catharsis of artistic expression to be a bit narcotic the first few weeks. Hope I don't get addicted.
All of the kids are doing well in basketball. Esther is the only one who hasn't yet scored a basket. I'm not sure if she's all that concerned about it, though. She seems to enjoy running around the court with the girls, with no regard for what is actually occurring. The Upward Basketball program is more about participation and less about competition, so I'm not too bothered by it. There is that competitive edge in me that wants to see her score.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I'm trying to do something special for Dielle this week. I will probably buy the requisite roses and candy (Godiva?) for Dielle this year, but more than anything I am confounded by how to express to her in concise terms how much she means to me. There is probably no good way to do that, but I can try. She is a remarkable woman, and I've never felt more blessed than I do this year to be married to her. Thank you, God, for Your unspeakable goodness!
Yesterday I had some interesting conversations on Delphi about Lord of the Rings. A lot of Christians are up in arms about the movie, claiming it contains demonic overtones. My personal opinion is that the overtones are there to demonstrate the presence of evil, not condone it. J.R.R. Tolkien was a literary genius, in my opinion. I've admired him from the first time I laid eyes on The Hobbit.
Exercise regimen is going well. I'm back on the wagon for another 6 weeks. It will be interesting to see what my body decides to do in terms of burning fat. I'm thinking of going on a 6 week/2 week cycle of strict diet and exercise/lax diet and little exercise to see if I can keep my metabolism wondering what's going on. My goal is 225 by my birthday, though that may be a little too aggressive. We shall see.
Exercise regimen is going well. I'm back on the wagon for another 6 weeks. It will be interesting to see what my body decides to do in terms of burning fat. I'm thinking of going on a 6 week/2 week cycle of strict diet and exercise/lax diet and little exercise to see if I can keep my metabolism wondering what's going on. My goal is 225 by my birthday, though that may be a little too aggressive. We shall see.
Tuesday, May 28, 2002
This weekend was Memorial Day. Tragically, we didn't do anything
memorial.
Friday night I had a "Daddy date" with the girls. We went to GattiTown and spent too much money on video games. They had a blast eating pizza and we rode the carousel about a gazillion times. Actually, we deduced it was about five times, but for a macho man like me that is enough. We spent our Gatti-points at the Gatti-store and came away with about $2.50 of Gatti-junk and candy. I think from now on I'm going to save my Gatti-points until I can buy the PlayStation, then sell it in the parking lot for $50. That will be fun.
Saturday was another un-memorable day, with the exception of the purchase of three Sauder Heritage Hills Dark Cherry Library bookcases. These were available from my local Lowe's hardware store for $99.82. How fantastically affordable can you get? I spent the rest of the day assembling two of the three Sauder Heritage Hills Dark Cherry Library bookcases, averaging one and a half hours per. In all seriousness, they look extremely nice in our living room, and we've been able to pick up the stacks of books that have accumulated around the house and organize them. It was nice to see my "old" book collection, especially the 1870s series poetry books. They are sitting next to the Reader's Digest Best Loved Classics collection. New old literature.
Sunday was more of the same. We basically treaded lightly after church, spent most of the day in "quiet time" which was composed of me napping, Dielle trying to rest while the kids played, etc. Somewhere in the mix was the assembly of the third and final Sauder Heritage Hills Dark Cherry Library bookcase. Finished the day with a glass or two of 1999 Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon and a couple hours worth of Age of Empires 2 with the kids kibbutzing.
Monday we puttered around the house, cleaning and neating up an already orderly house. Seems like the purchase of the bookcases lit a fire under the boys. They suddenly took to spontaneously cleaning and neating up. Maybe it was the paint fumes from the week before. Who knows. We were anticipating a call from the Parrish family to possibly go to Seabrook and sail, but that never materialized. About noon I checked voicemail to discover that Chris had called to say their schedule was swamped, and that if we went it would be an extremely spontaneous thing. Neither Dielle or I were feeling spontaneous, so we figured if the call came we would bow out.
The afternoon was a grilling fiesta, with me nursing a couple Shiner Summer Stocks (a nice wheat and barley mix) on the patio babysitting hamburgers, chicken breasts, green beens and mushrooms, and topping it all off with a grilled dessert: baked apples with creme freche and ripe bing cherries. I tossed a packet of hickory chips on the coals and got some really nice smoke for the chicken. The burgers were a little dry but very tasty. We dined al fresco under the canopy. Dielle made a rather complex potato salad to accompany the repast.
Romantic moment: there is something about sitting in the shade with the smell of hickory wafting about, a full stomach and half a glass of beer with the sunlight coming through it "just so" that cannot be rivalled. Especially when your wife is sitting across the table smiling, your children are peaceful and there is little to worry about. After cleanup we went for a walk in the arboreteum. I watched the kids so Dielle could get a good solid walk in. The kids played on the "mountains" and abused the porch swing quite adequately. I thought I would get some time for journalling, but it didn't happen.
It wasn't memorable, but it was fun.
My camera is still in the shop for cleaning/repair since we took it to the beach in April. It acquired some sand and some "spots" that were not favorable on the viewfinder. The pictures that came out didn't have any problems, so I'm reasonably sure it is in the viewing portion of the camera and not the part that does the exposing. I'm itching to get it back and start shooting again. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.
Random thought: why is it that people who work hard at not being an inconvenience to people are so irritating?
Friday night I had a "Daddy date" with the girls. We went to GattiTown and spent too much money on video games. They had a blast eating pizza and we rode the carousel about a gazillion times. Actually, we deduced it was about five times, but for a macho man like me that is enough. We spent our Gatti-points at the Gatti-store and came away with about $2.50 of Gatti-junk and candy. I think from now on I'm going to save my Gatti-points until I can buy the PlayStation, then sell it in the parking lot for $50. That will be fun.
Saturday was another un-memorable day, with the exception of the purchase of three Sauder Heritage Hills Dark Cherry Library bookcases. These were available from my local Lowe's hardware store for $99.82. How fantastically affordable can you get? I spent the rest of the day assembling two of the three Sauder Heritage Hills Dark Cherry Library bookcases, averaging one and a half hours per. In all seriousness, they look extremely nice in our living room, and we've been able to pick up the stacks of books that have accumulated around the house and organize them. It was nice to see my "old" book collection, especially the 1870s series poetry books. They are sitting next to the Reader's Digest Best Loved Classics collection. New old literature.
Sunday was more of the same. We basically treaded lightly after church, spent most of the day in "quiet time" which was composed of me napping, Dielle trying to rest while the kids played, etc. Somewhere in the mix was the assembly of the third and final Sauder Heritage Hills Dark Cherry Library bookcase. Finished the day with a glass or two of 1999 Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon and a couple hours worth of Age of Empires 2 with the kids kibbutzing.
Monday we puttered around the house, cleaning and neating up an already orderly house. Seems like the purchase of the bookcases lit a fire under the boys. They suddenly took to spontaneously cleaning and neating up. Maybe it was the paint fumes from the week before. Who knows. We were anticipating a call from the Parrish family to possibly go to Seabrook and sail, but that never materialized. About noon I checked voicemail to discover that Chris had called to say their schedule was swamped, and that if we went it would be an extremely spontaneous thing. Neither Dielle or I were feeling spontaneous, so we figured if the call came we would bow out.
The afternoon was a grilling fiesta, with me nursing a couple Shiner Summer Stocks (a nice wheat and barley mix) on the patio babysitting hamburgers, chicken breasts, green beens and mushrooms, and topping it all off with a grilled dessert: baked apples with creme freche and ripe bing cherries. I tossed a packet of hickory chips on the coals and got some really nice smoke for the chicken. The burgers were a little dry but very tasty. We dined al fresco under the canopy. Dielle made a rather complex potato salad to accompany the repast.
Romantic moment: there is something about sitting in the shade with the smell of hickory wafting about, a full stomach and half a glass of beer with the sunlight coming through it "just so" that cannot be rivalled. Especially when your wife is sitting across the table smiling, your children are peaceful and there is little to worry about. After cleanup we went for a walk in the arboreteum. I watched the kids so Dielle could get a good solid walk in. The kids played on the "mountains" and abused the porch swing quite adequately. I thought I would get some time for journalling, but it didn't happen.
It wasn't memorable, but it was fun.
My camera is still in the shop for cleaning/repair since we took it to the beach in April. It acquired some sand and some "spots" that were not favorable on the viewfinder. The pictures that came out didn't have any problems, so I'm reasonably sure it is in the viewing portion of the camera and not the part that does the exposing. I'm itching to get it back and start shooting again. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.
Random thought: why is it that people who work hard at not being an inconvenience to people are so irritating?
Thursday, May 30, 2002
Last night I came home with a vengeance. I think the various emotional junk that's been circling the drain finally reached critical mass. I decided there was going to be some order around the house, doggone it, and so after supper I called the family together for a meeting of the minds.
Granted, ever since we got the bookshelves there has been a considerable and noticeable change in the tenor of our abode. But there is still that bit of sibling rivalry that I think is propogated by a lack of organization and structure. So I put some framework in place to help that along. I built a responsibility matrix for the kids to each play a role in the meals, kitchen, home and outside chores. Everyone is on a revolving schedule to make some contribution to the success of our family.
The kids' response was exciting. They seem to understand the adage: "It is better to maintain than to re-obtain." I stressed the point that if we all did our jobs regularly, they would be easy to do. They all appreciated that fact, especially when they put themselves in the position of the unwitting "victim" of neglect.
Dielle was extremely appreciative and excited about this. It will probably take a couple weeks to get everyone in the instinctive swing of it, but in the long run it will be worth it. She is aware of the help it will be to her in caring for the house and doing some of the other administrative things that she needs to do to keep schoolwork on track, etc.
During our family meeting, Isaiah presented a poem he wrote during his homework time entitled "The Robin". Esther also wrote one about a kitten. Isaiah's poem was very expressive and from the robin's point of view ("High aloft fly and fly, in pools I see the deep blue sky, a happy bird I am."). He had to look up the word "aloft" to explain what it meant, but it was very interesting to hear him explain the poem. After a conversation with him, we concluded that the robin used a man's voice to explain to humans what he sees in his world. Joshua is working on a composition discussing our activity on our spring vacation trip to Lake Sommerville.
By the end of this week I hope to have a framework for school, chores and recreation in place. Dielle and I are also going to re-visit the weekly allowance issue.
Maybe we will get some sailing in this weekend. The winds have been down the last few sunny days, and the windy days have been rainy. The kids are going to be building schooners at Home Depot this weekend during a craft workshop.
Granted, ever since we got the bookshelves there has been a considerable and noticeable change in the tenor of our abode. But there is still that bit of sibling rivalry that I think is propogated by a lack of organization and structure. So I put some framework in place to help that along. I built a responsibility matrix for the kids to each play a role in the meals, kitchen, home and outside chores. Everyone is on a revolving schedule to make some contribution to the success of our family.
The kids' response was exciting. They seem to understand the adage: "It is better to maintain than to re-obtain." I stressed the point that if we all did our jobs regularly, they would be easy to do. They all appreciated that fact, especially when they put themselves in the position of the unwitting "victim" of neglect.
Dielle was extremely appreciative and excited about this. It will probably take a couple weeks to get everyone in the instinctive swing of it, but in the long run it will be worth it. She is aware of the help it will be to her in caring for the house and doing some of the other administrative things that she needs to do to keep schoolwork on track, etc.
During our family meeting, Isaiah presented a poem he wrote during his homework time entitled "The Robin". Esther also wrote one about a kitten. Isaiah's poem was very expressive and from the robin's point of view ("High aloft fly and fly, in pools I see the deep blue sky, a happy bird I am."). He had to look up the word "aloft" to explain what it meant, but it was very interesting to hear him explain the poem. After a conversation with him, we concluded that the robin used a man's voice to explain to humans what he sees in his world. Joshua is working on a composition discussing our activity on our spring vacation trip to Lake Sommerville.
By the end of this week I hope to have a framework for school, chores and recreation in place. Dielle and I are also going to re-visit the weekly allowance issue.
Maybe we will get some sailing in this weekend. The winds have been down the last few sunny days, and the windy days have been rainy. The kids are going to be building schooners at Home Depot this weekend during a craft workshop.
Tuesday, June 11, 2002
Present Mercy Status is: 
