Good Timing

As those of you with digital watches are no doubt already aware, today was February 28th. Today was the day that Joseph was supposed to be born. But what does he know? I'm so glad Someone smarter than him (and me) is running things.

I'm thankful that...

• Joseph was born right smack in the middle of the month...The last and first weeks of the month are always super busy for me, whereas the middles of the month are merely busy.
• In fact, I had just finished a big project the afternoon before he was born. I had jokingly told her, "I'm going to go up and finish this project, and then you can have the baby." I guess she took me seriously, which is a mistake that happens more often than you might think.
• He was born just in time for his aunt (not to be confused with his beetle) to arrive and help out. And see him, of course.
• He was born before Mary went completely crazy. She's always been a little crazy. :)
• The quiver is filling up. My question is, are we almost full, half full, or still almost empty? Hmmmm. I guess if I was going to battle, I'd want a whole lot more than five arrows with which to engage the enemy.
• And, on a totally different note, that James is here to keep us on our proverbial toes. During his schooling this morning, he was required to sound out and pronounce the following word: a-n. "a-a-a-a-a-a-a-n-n-n-n-n...Oh, I know what that is, it says 'cabbage'. What!?

So, yeah, I guess His timing is pretty much right on target.

It won't be long now...

The Reverend Pastor Uncle Neil started a new series today, on the so-called "last days", and we sang some good stuff...

He is coming, surely coming, for His promise cannot fail;

And the scoffers shall behold Him, and before Him they shall quail!

He is coming, quickly coming! But His coming we shall greet:

We have waited for His advent, and have listened for His feet.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found,

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

Hark! the bursts of acclamation!

Hark! these loud triumphant chords!

Jesus takes the highest station,

Oh, what joy the sight affords!

If not today, for sure tomorrow.

Bumper Sticker of the Day

So, today, I saw a humorous line on a bumper sticker:

This car climbed Mt. Everest.

The funny part, though, notwithstanding the obvious incongruities of the sticker's verbage, was that said sticker was found on the bumper of a tiny, decrepit, little, red, small Honda Civic that was at least 10 years old.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Psalm 133:1

Why I love being a parent:


Last Friday evening, James left with my parents, who were on their way out to New York to visit our mutual ancestors. They came back Sunday evening. So, Jonathon played by himself all weekend.

But upon James' return...

Jonathon ran up to him as soon as he came in the door and said, "James, I missed you very much."

"I missed you too, Jonathon. I want to play with you."

"Yeah! Come over here and look at this!"

And much happy play followed after.


Priceless.

Joseph

Surprise! Again!

Well, I guess God had another surprise up His sleeve for this week:

Joseph Zachary, born two weeks early, this morning at 8:09 AM.

He weighed in at 7 lbs even, and measured in at 19 inches.

Joseph - Healthy and alert.
Mary - Alive and Tired.

More updates if and when time permits.

Surprise!

Today, I surprised Mary. I told her I was pregnant with our sixth child. Ha, ha! Not really, although that would be quite the surprise, even to both of us.

For Christmas, the students gave us a coupon for an evening of toddler / child / baby -sitting, which, unbeknownst to Mary until about 4:45 this afternoon, we redeemed today. Furthermore, during aforesaid holiday season, we came into the lawful possession of two (2) gift cards for Longhorn's. So, we went for dinner to the Longhorn's Steakhouse tonight and consumed a great deal of food. We had appetizers, drinks, bread, main dishes, and the Most Delicious Dessert in the Entire Universe - fried strawberry cheesecake. I do not think I shall need to eat anything until Saturday.

And speaking of Saturday, the other surprise is that Mary and I went out last evening (twice in the same week!) and ordered new living room furniture. A furniture store almost in the area quite fortuitously scheduled a Going Out of Business Sale in which they reduced many of their prices by 25 to 50%. So we went to sample their offerings.

We were quickly spotted by a very helpful salesleach, who told us everything we ever wanted to know about things we had mostly never thought of before ("Is your son a tattoo artist, too?"). But we bravely waded through the tsunami of options and, like two determined, responsible, and mature adults, carefully considering the pros and cons of every piece of furniture in the store, finally reached a compromise with a three-piece set that neither of us liked. Actually, we do like it, and all I have to say is, I'm glad its not red. :)

Now, faced with the alternative ("We can schedule a delivery on the second Tuesday of June, 2009 between the hours of 1:30 and 2:00 pm. Will you be home?"), we opted to pick up the furniture ourselves (or, myself) and so we should have it, Lord willing, by the end of this week.

And I think that's enough surprises for one week.

The Week in Review

Has it really been a week? I guess so. Let's see if we can remember the highlights.

• I did my taxes this week. Took all of two evenings to compile, research, and e-file. I realized last week that for the past 10 years or so, I've prepared my taxes the first weekend of February with disturbing consistency. I guess I had more important things to do last weekend. But when you're getting a check (or, preferrably, a deposit) from Uncle Samuel, there's no point in waiting longer than necessary, right? At any rate, I say its about time for the FairTax.
• I exchanged approximately 37 e-mails with the Customer No-Service Department of a company that rhymes with Glockbuster. I have an online rental account with said company and my last bill was wrong. Uh, oh. You might think you can hoodwink the old lady down the street, Mr. Glockbuster, but not me. I'm on to your game! I'm not really that cynical, but neither am I interested in being over-charged. So I set about to set it straight. And, after almost a week, they came to see more clearly the way of salvation. I almost wanted the problem to remain unresolved because the No-Service Specialists used very flowery and genuflect-ary language. "I appreciate the time you spent to notify us..." "It is really my pleasure being of service to you..." "...feel free to e-mail me and I would glady attend to all of your concerns..." "Please accept my deepest and most sincere apologies..." "Thank you so much for your patience and understanding..." "We have the mental capacity of maple syrup..."
• On Thursday, I traveled (with my oldest son) out to the land of my ancestry to visit my grandfather and his wife, who Jonathon insisted upon calling "Your Mother." "Where is your Mother, Grandpa?" "Uh, well, she's been dead for about 70 years." We were in the area for just about 24 hours. Grandpa had his hip replaced recently and Grandma had surgery to remove a tumor from her brain, so they aren't exactly keeping up with their golf handicap if you know what I mean. But we had good visits with them (he's at home trying to do the bachelor thing and she was still in the hospital), and they appear to be doing better.
• On the way out on Thursday, Jonathon and I stopped at the Hogback Mountain overlook in Vermont to eat our lunch. When Jonathon first saw the view, he exclaimed, "Wow, this is amazing...I can see everything from up here! We are on top of the world and I can see another planet." And then he was quiet and said reverently, "I can almost hear God." "Those people down there can't hear Him," he said, pointing down to the valley, "but I can almost hear God." Someday, kid. The rest of the trip, he kept raving about the big, huge, giant mountain hills.

So, there you have it - all the news from our neck of Lake Woebegon. Oh, and I do remember sleeping a few times in there.

Vacation!

Mary and I are in the midst of a much needed break. Wednesday evening, the four oldest children were sent to their grandparents' house (their winter home in Maine). The grandparents have been increasingly gracious (even as the number of "happy grandkids" increases) to do this for the occasional weekend from time to time, and it has been a tremendous blessing every time.

So, we are happily ensconced at a popular residence in an undisclosed location, though I will say, after having driven around yesterday, I think I could go up to the tip-top of said popular residence (as opposed to dwelling in the cellar), raise upon my tip-toes, and have a sweeping panorama of the entire state.

Anyway, we have enjoyed some undisrupted sleep, games and fellowship with some friends (who, by some stroke of Providential genius, also happen to be in said popular residence), and having a waiter at a local restaurant who talked like Uncle Fazio. We also enjoyed some "shopping" trips yesterday to look at Furniture And Various Household Items That Women Love To Look At For Hours At A Time Without Stopping. When I say "we" in that last sentence, I don't necessarily mean both of us, and when I say "enjoy", I use that term loosely. But its all good.

Ciao.