P.S. Go Steelers!
Friday, January 30
It's been too long...
I have been saving up content... I have plenty of it. But because I'm off to a men's retreat this weekend, I leave you with a few photos.
P.S. Go Steelers!
P.S. Go Steelers!
Monday, January 19
Patty Emo's visit
Lena's sister flew out from Pennsylvania to visit all of her nieces and nephews (but really to meet Karis and support Lena). The details of what we did are kind of fuzzy now, but...
- she took care of Karis so we could have a break (and get Lena on the motorcycle for the first time since Karis was born)
- she helped us find ways to put her to sleep, and
- she went for a walk with us all on the trail by our house
Back on the Bike
The last time I rode on the motorcycle with Derek was when I was six month pregnant. That was the point when my riding jacket was a bit snug and I had to put it away. I've been looking forward to getting back on the bike for a nice ride. I enjoy being outside, with my arms wrapped around my husband, and in silence with just me and my thoughts and tons of things to look at.
We got back on the bike for our usual ride down Santiago Canyon. Karis did great inside the tank bag. No, we wouldn't take her on the bike. We left her at home with my sister. Thanks sis for watching our baby so we could go on a ride!
Friday, January 16
Connecting with old friends... not much compares to it
A buddy with whom I used to work back in the mid- to late-nineties called tonight. [Boy, don't I sound old?] It was really enjoyable catching up.
We last talked probably close to two years ago. Tonight's call was hearty... meaty. Not a lot of fluff about how we used to do this or used to do that. It was a call where you pick up right where you left off the last time.
We were able to be real with each other. That's the value of true friendship (and family)... being able to be yourself in the good times and the tough times and feeling the love all the same. And, being loved through the changes in each others lives.
Anyhow, hope all of you reading this can experience similar. If it hasn't happened lately to you, pick up that phone....
Peace to my brother (you know who you are). Please lift him in prayer as a lot of things are being thrown at him right now... similar to Job.
We last talked probably close to two years ago. Tonight's call was hearty... meaty. Not a lot of fluff about how we used to do this or used to do that. It was a call where you pick up right where you left off the last time.
We were able to be real with each other. That's the value of true friendship (and family)... being able to be yourself in the good times and the tough times and feeling the love all the same. And, being loved through the changes in each others lives.
Anyhow, hope all of you reading this can experience similar. If it hasn't happened lately to you, pick up that phone....
Peace to my brother (you know who you are). Please lift him in prayer as a lot of things are being thrown at him right now... similar to Job.
Tuesday, January 13
Bath Time
Last night Karis couldn't keep her milk down, so I gave her a bath first thing in the morning. Later that afternoon, she spit up on herself. Then her diaper leaked and all the urine soiled her shirt and pants. Her diaper was dry. Really, is there a point to bathing her??
Enjoying the water
Karis spotted a cute baby in the mirror
Drying off
When being nice goes bad...
Posting by Derek
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you find someone or something in need of help AND you can actually help?
Tonight I was reminded of a time I tried to help a hermit crab that had ventured far from the ocean water. I was with Lena on our honeymoon. We were taking a late night stroll along a sidewalk... one of us saw the hermit crab. He was a good distance from the sand and even further from the water. Good distance in hermit crab walking distance that is.
Being the chivalrous guy I am, I decided to help the hermit crab. Nice, right? We're about 10-15 yards inside the wall between the sand and the sidewalk. The wall is 2-3 feet tall. The beach stretches pretty far (again, in hermit crab distance). I brave my intense fear of creatures with more than four legs and reach down to pick him up.
In retrospect, the nicest thing to do would have been to carry him to the wall and gently set him down in the sand. My fear may have gotten the best of my judgment as I decided to toss the hermit crab instead of gently setting him down. He has a protective shell, right? In my haste, I let go a little late (or maybe he held on too long!) and instead of a soft landing in the sand, he forcefully hit the wall.
Lena was in tears... laughing mostly (some sadness for the hermit crab) at the irony and my suspect decision making.
Well, once again, I found myself in a situation to help a creature. I must have learned from experience. She spotted a cricket in the house yesterday. I finally saw him out of the corner of my eye this evening. I grabbed an empty cookie tin and a magazine. I was able to cover him with the tin without crushing him. I even slid the magazine beneath the tin without injuring him. I decided to let him go outside of our 2nd story apartment. Once outside, I decided that letting him go upstairs would leave too great an opportunity to sneak back inside our place. He'd be better off on the ground level. I spied some bushes down below. That's be a good place for him to get his new start, yeah? I thought it would, so I turned the tin rightside up (and heard the cricket fall to the bottom of the tin) removed the magazine that had now become the "lid" and in one giant heave sent the cricket flying in the air to land one story below in the bush. As if the height wasn't bad enough, I heard him hit the sidewalk. I suppose he wasn't nearly as aerodynamic as I though. He has a pretty good skelton... I'm hoping he survived the flight.
Don't worry... I won't be nice to my daughter.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you find someone or something in need of help AND you can actually help?
Tonight I was reminded of a time I tried to help a hermit crab that had ventured far from the ocean water. I was with Lena on our honeymoon. We were taking a late night stroll along a sidewalk... one of us saw the hermit crab. He was a good distance from the sand and even further from the water. Good distance in hermit crab walking distance that is.
Being the chivalrous guy I am, I decided to help the hermit crab. Nice, right? We're about 10-15 yards inside the wall between the sand and the sidewalk. The wall is 2-3 feet tall. The beach stretches pretty far (again, in hermit crab distance). I brave my intense fear of creatures with more than four legs and reach down to pick him up.
In retrospect, the nicest thing to do would have been to carry him to the wall and gently set him down in the sand. My fear may have gotten the best of my judgment as I decided to toss the hermit crab instead of gently setting him down. He has a protective shell, right? In my haste, I let go a little late (or maybe he held on too long!) and instead of a soft landing in the sand, he forcefully hit the wall.
Lena was in tears... laughing mostly (some sadness for the hermit crab) at the irony and my suspect decision making.
Well, once again, I found myself in a situation to help a creature. I must have learned from experience. She spotted a cricket in the house yesterday. I finally saw him out of the corner of my eye this evening. I grabbed an empty cookie tin and a magazine. I was able to cover him with the tin without crushing him. I even slid the magazine beneath the tin without injuring him. I decided to let him go outside of our 2nd story apartment. Once outside, I decided that letting him go upstairs would leave too great an opportunity to sneak back inside our place. He'd be better off on the ground level. I spied some bushes down below. That's be a good place for him to get his new start, yeah? I thought it would, so I turned the tin rightside up (and heard the cricket fall to the bottom of the tin) removed the magazine that had now become the "lid" and in one giant heave sent the cricket flying in the air to land one story below in the bush. As if the height wasn't bad enough, I heard him hit the sidewalk. I suppose he wasn't nearly as aerodynamic as I though. He has a pretty good skelton... I'm hoping he survived the flight.
Don't worry... I won't be nice to my daughter.
Monday, January 12
Feelings of complete and utter ineptitude
Those are exactly the feeling I was having today at 1:32 PM. Lena mentioned yesterday (and I quote her), "I'm going to the mall tomorrow with or without you." What I heard was, "...whether you like it or not." She kept her word. She left today with or without me. But the latter was much more accurate.
This may have been the first time Karis and I were alone. Armed with two 2-ounce bottles of milk and a failed practice run with a bottle earlier in the week (Karis looked at me as if to say, "Daddy, why are you trying to feed me... and with this fake thing?"), I thought I was ready for the opportunity to feed her. She was asleep in the bedroom when mom left. I heard her moan and then some quick cries... and it wasn't long until she was showing off her lungs.
The time it took for me to warm up the bottle felt like an eternity. She continued screaming at the top of her lungs until the bottle hit her lips. Oh, to be a parent hearing your child cry and being unable to help is not a good feeling.
I hope that it gets easier and quicker each time.
Shaken, but okay... Derek
This may have been the first time Karis and I were alone. Armed with two 2-ounce bottles of milk and a failed practice run with a bottle earlier in the week (Karis looked at me as if to say, "Daddy, why are you trying to feed me... and with this fake thing?"), I thought I was ready for the opportunity to feed her. She was asleep in the bedroom when mom left. I heard her moan and then some quick cries... and it wasn't long until she was showing off her lungs.
The time it took for me to warm up the bottle felt like an eternity. She continued screaming at the top of her lungs until the bottle hit her lips. Oh, to be a parent hearing your child cry and being unable to help is not a good feeling.
I hope that it gets easier and quicker each time.
Shaken, but okay... Derek
Sunday, January 11
I love the innocence of kids
I ran across a reminder note to post a blog about a conversation I had back in mid-January. It was meaningful... unique enough to post... but it was lost in the fatherhood adjustment and general busyness of life. I suppose like many other "I should have posted" posts. But I wrote a note on this one... that's the only reason I am remembering to write about it.
That being said, it has been a little while and the details have become a bit fuzzy. Anyhow, I have been trying to keep in touch with the guys I built into for their two years of Junior High. They're now Freshman in High School. I had an opportunity to watch one of the guys run some quarterback drills with the starting Senior from his school. That story in itself is pretty cool... this Senior kid, on his own, has decided invest into this Freshman. The Senior has several football scholarship offers from which to choose (good schools with good programs, too). This Freshman guy has a lot of athletic talent. But he is also a very gifted leader. It was a blessing to spend two years with him.
While sitting on the side of the field this particular hot, Sunday afternoon I decided to sit with this guy's little brother... I think he's 9. I had seen him on occasion when big brother was getting dropped off during those two years, but never spent time with him. He didn't readily remember me. He was playing a handheld video game (something I used to greatly enjoy). He was good at including me by explaining what he was doing and how hard it was and the strategies involved. Out of the blue he asks, "Are you a Christian?" It caught me off guard. I responded "Yes" to which he said, "Good. So am I." Then he immediately began working his magic on the handheld game.
I am amazed by his... innocence I guess. He had no inhibitions at asking. I thought it was incredible. In retrospect, I wish I would have asked him what it meant to him to be a "Christian." Back to my amazement, I wish I was more bold as he is. I have been burned in the past by a friend (I was severely chewed out by simply inviting him to church; yes, too bad for him but it still left a bad taste in my mouth). He won't know what an encouragement he was to me, but I hope to keep that experience in my mind to prompt me to be a little braver in my conversations with people whose beliefs I do not know.
That being said, it has been a little while and the details have become a bit fuzzy. Anyhow, I have been trying to keep in touch with the guys I built into for their two years of Junior High. They're now Freshman in High School. I had an opportunity to watch one of the guys run some quarterback drills with the starting Senior from his school. That story in itself is pretty cool... this Senior kid, on his own, has decided invest into this Freshman. The Senior has several football scholarship offers from which to choose (good schools with good programs, too). This Freshman guy has a lot of athletic talent. But he is also a very gifted leader. It was a blessing to spend two years with him.
While sitting on the side of the field this particular hot, Sunday afternoon I decided to sit with this guy's little brother... I think he's 9. I had seen him on occasion when big brother was getting dropped off during those two years, but never spent time with him. He didn't readily remember me. He was playing a handheld video game (something I used to greatly enjoy). He was good at including me by explaining what he was doing and how hard it was and the strategies involved. Out of the blue he asks, "Are you a Christian?" It caught me off guard. I responded "Yes" to which he said, "Good. So am I." Then he immediately began working his magic on the handheld game.
I am amazed by his... innocence I guess. He had no inhibitions at asking. I thought it was incredible. In retrospect, I wish I would have asked him what it meant to him to be a "Christian." Back to my amazement, I wish I was more bold as he is. I have been burned in the past by a friend (I was severely chewed out by simply inviting him to church; yes, too bad for him but it still left a bad taste in my mouth). He won't know what an encouragement he was to me, but I hope to keep that experience in my mind to prompt me to be a little braver in my conversations with people whose beliefs I do not know.
Friday, January 9
Spousal envy...
Lena had finished feeding Karis and she was still upset. I heard her crying and, denying the many failed attempts to calm her that were swirling in my mind, I decided to go and "save" Lena.
Lena gave me a strange look... and rightfully so. When have I ever succeeded in calming Karis? Wasn't it I - who would give up after trying all types of methods and holding Karis just like Lena does - that would hand Karis over to Lena and watch her do the exact same thing I had done but with painfully (for Derek) good results? [Yes, it always befuddles me. But, Lena does spend far more time with Karis. She is the sole provider of her food (although we just started with bottles). She has a more ergonomically desirable body for a baby. And, she has the mother's touch. Why should I care that I'm 0 for infinity for calming Karis.] With my horrible record, I understand Lena's disposition.
Today was my day. I don't know how... I don't know why... but I DID IT!!!!! Praise God. One time, that's all I need to keep me going for the time being.
Lena gave me a strange look... and rightfully so. When have I ever succeeded in calming Karis? Wasn't it I - who would give up after trying all types of methods and holding Karis just like Lena does - that would hand Karis over to Lena and watch her do the exact same thing I had done but with painfully (for Derek) good results? [Yes, it always befuddles me. But, Lena does spend far more time with Karis. She is the sole provider of her food (although we just started with bottles). She has a more ergonomically desirable body for a baby. And, she has the mother's touch. Why should I care that I'm 0 for infinity for calming Karis.] With my horrible record, I understand Lena's disposition.
Today was my day. I don't know how... I don't know why... but I DID IT!!!!! Praise God. One time, that's all I need to keep me going for the time being.
Wednesday, January 7
Tuesday, January 6
Thursday, January 1
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