Buddy's 4th Birthday

Daniel the Buddy turned 4 a few weeks ago. He's such a delight. I can't even think of him without having the corners of my mouth turn up a little bit. He's just full of energy, enthusiasm, and a little bit of impish fire. I love this guy.


Here are a few photos to share of Daniel over the past few months.

Swimming at Brooke & Erin's pool

Teasing somebody! He quite frequently has something up his sleeve...

At Pump It Up for someone else's birthday party

Planting a dead fish in the corn in Daddy's garden (Hannah's suggestion for the ultimate resting place for her recently deceased pet fish, Goldie, after reading about the Pilgrims).

Talking, talking, talking! I think he's telling me about boating with Daddy.

Playing pretend. He received this great train engineer costume from Granny and Grandpa for his birthday. He is so thrilled to have something really "cool" to wear to play dress-up with Hannah! He LOVES trains.

Happy Birthday, my Daniel. God has shined His face upon you, and you are a delight to your mommy and daddy. We love you!!!

Ouch!

In an earlier post I had mentioned my dad's recent struggle with Parkinson's Disease (PD), and subsequent depression. I am happy to report that he is over the hump, and is stabilized as to both. He is also not experiencing the same leg pain. After many doctor visits, they have finally determined that...he was overexercising. I didn't know exercise could be a problem. People with PD are supposed to exercise regularly! At any rate, now that he's not working out so vigorously, he's doing well. God is so good. Thank you for your prayers.

But don't stop praying yet.

Now he's broken his back! Poor Dad. When he restarted the last PD medication, it was one that makes him very very sleepy. So sleepy that he pretty much had to take the entire week off of work, just to acclimate his body. One morning about 3 weeks ago now, he woke up in the morning to take his next medication. He went into the kitchen to get some water and then passed out. Along the way, he landed on his tailbone on the tile floor and gained two compression fractures in his lower back.

What I can't understand is why it took nearly 3 weeks to diagnose the problem. He has been enduring a lot of pain, and we've all been told (and believed) that this was just a bad muscle strain. Hmmmm....Compression fractures call for a different treatment that muscle strain too, by the way.

For his part, I will say that he's not complaining. I think he's just happy to know what is wrong, so he can know what to do about it.

At any rate, please keep him in your prayers still.

Milestones

This weekend we celebrated two major milestones. My beautiful mother turned 60 on Saturday, and my parents celebrated their 40th wedding annivesary on Sunday. (In case you're wondering about the proximity of the dates, my mother did not want to be a teenage bride, so they waited to get married until the day after she turned 20!)

As part of the celebration, I wanted some "mom-time," so I suggested that we go to the spa. You have to know that my mom NEVER goes to a spa, or really pampers herself in any way, so I was pleasantly surprised when she was interested and excited. She wanted just a manicure to make her nails pretty, especially in light of her wrist surgery this week and the giant cast on her wrist, and I wanted a pedicure - because I can't reach my toes right now.

When we got there the ladies were all excited that my mom was there on her birthday and gave her the extra special treatment. When she revealed to all of us that the last time she had had a manicure was 40 years ago this weekend before her wedding, we all sighed and they really rolled out the red carpet treatment. She ended up with 10 lovely LONG nails! I was happy to just have a pedicure and watch her be spoiled.

When we got home, Daniel examined our fingers and toes and was quite concerned with my toes. I got a French pedicure, but the lady was feeling artistic, and painted a few little white flowers while she was at it. Daniel was really interested, and figured this is what you DO on birthdays, and then announced that when it is his birthday he will paint trains on his toes... Hmmm....

Yesterday we celebrated my parents 40th wedding anniversary. (We had earlier celebrated in July, when all of us went to the lake for a week, but this was the "official" weekend.) It seemed strange to me that just my parents, my brother, and my Nana having dinner. If they had been feeling up to it, and I wasn't so pregnantly huge, I would like to have given them a big party. It's funny that you have a big wedding at the beginning of your marriage, with lots of guests to support and honor you. And then you make it FORTY years, and you celebrate with a small family dinner party. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

I'm so grateful for my parents. My mother is so selfless. Even with her arm in a cast, she's trying to do things for me so I don't go into labor! My parents' marriage is an inspiration to both Peter and me. Forty years is - well, longer than I've been alive!

Congratulations, Mom and Dad, on your first 40 years together, and 60 years of life. I love you!

Update on Dad

Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who have been praying for my dad. He is improving a little bit each day. By last weekend he was "himself" again, although the pain and Parkinson's symptoms have yet to be worked out.

Thanks also for the emails and calls to check on him and us. Just knowing that others are thinking and praying for him makes such a difference. You just don't feel alone! Please keep it up. I'll keep updating...

The Dark Valley

On Sunday our pastor was gone, and one of the ruling elders spoke about being a healthy church. One of the things he mentioned was that we need to be "real" with each other, and share what is really going on in our hearts.

What we're dealing with right now is my dad's health. I can't tell you how hard it is to see him suffer with Parkinson's Disease, and the accompanying clinical depression. One day he's the same dad that I grew up with, and the next is another story.

Last week he began having such severe side effects from one of his medications that something had to change. It must have been too much of a change, because he is really having a tough time.

Today Hannah and I were reading in a book called Little Pilgrim's Progress. It is the same story as Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, but it is told as if the main character were a child. Today Christian made his way through The Dark Valley (also known in the adult's book as The Valley of the Shadow of Death). Of course, Christian has to enter the valley just after he's finished battling the villian called Self, so it is night and very dark. He can't see ahead and one on side of a very rocky and narrow path are cliffs, and the other side a marsh. Above him there are rocks that appear to be closing in over his head. He hears voices saying disturbing things, and he isn't even sure if he heard them or he's saying them himself. At one point he hears a band of the Wicked Prince's soldiers coming right at him and he thinks it must be the end - but then they turn off the path and he never meets them. Christian gets no rest that night, but he walks bravely through the darkness praying all the while that the king will watch over him, remembering what he had read in the King's book "He shall give his angels charge over thee."

This is what my dad is experiencing right now. This dark valley is one of a hopelessness and feeling physical pain, in addition to his regular Parkinson's symptoms, and a sudden drop in Seratonin - sudden (and hopefully temporary) depression. Yesterday I spent the day working with him, and by the end of the day I was weeping. It is so, so hard to see him suffering!

But there is hope. You see, if we had not the watchful eye of our beloved King Jesus watching over him (and the rest of us as we try to help), we would be really and truly hopeless.

And so I ask you my friends, to please keep my dad, Russ, in your prayers. The doctor today said that they will be adjusting one medication at a time - for a week at a time, until they find the right balance. Medically, there is no quick fix. We are trusting that this is just a speedbump in his and our lives right now, and that in the end it may be all for the better - for it draws us nearer to our Savior. Please pray for strength for my mom too, as she is his helpmeet in every way. I need strength too, to support them and fill in the gaps as best as I can - and I'm having a baby soon too.

Back in the story of Little Pilgrim, Christian is alone, but then we read the following:

"And now little Christian was comforted in his loneliness by hearing the voice of a pilgrim who was repeating aloud some of the beautiful words that were written in the King's Book. It was too dark for him to see who the pilgrim was, but he hoped that it might be Faithful and that he would soon be able to overtake him. At last he called out to him, but although Faithful heard Christian speak, he did not know who might be wishing to stop him, so he made no answer. Still, little Christian knew that he was there, and he felt less frightened than when he had thought he was alone."

Will you be that person?

You Know You're Pregnant When...

You are round enough that you wear your shorts backwards all day long and don't even notice until the end of the day.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world | Gerard Baker - Times Online

I don't know how many of you saw Gerard Baker's He ventured forth to bring light to the world. This is funny stuff.

Creating Competition in the Transportation Energy Sector

I think I mentioned a few days ago that we heard Gal Luft speak at our local Lincoln Day Dinner. The basic gist of his speech (which he previously gave to a Senate Committee) can be found here: http://www.iags.org/LUFT_Senate_HSGA_072208.pdf

The Melting Pot

Seeing the pan on the stove and supposing that my wife had already filled it with water, I turned it on so that the water would be boiling by the time I had the corn ready to put into it. Coming inside a few minutes later, I found Debra and her Aunt Lisa staring at a pan that had melted onto the stove. There was a bunch of molten stainless steel (or whatever it is made of). Never seen that one before. Memo to self: always check to make sure there is something in the pot before turning on the burner.

Here is one of the pieces of molten stainless steel after it cooled.

Flex Fuel Vehicles

We went to the Lincoln Dinner last night and they brought in a fascinating speaker--Gal Luft. His topic was energy independence and he is an advisor to John McCain on that subject. In researching the topic a little more, I came across the article linked to the title. The article was written in 2004 and predicted a run-up in petroleum prices (that we are seeing now), and analyzed alternatives to petroleum. Fascinating stuff.

Baptism Analogy, by Hannah

This weekend we had the pleasure of witnessing the baptism of our dear friends' daughter, Gabriella. Gabriella is 2 years old, and as we are new Presbyterians, we thought it would be best to talk about baptism at home first, since our children were more familiar with the Baptistic tradition of believer's baptism by immersion.

After careful thought and many questions, Hannah summarized her thoughts with a breakfast analogy:

"Baby baptism has sprinkling, like putting cinnamon on your toast. Believer's baptism means going all the way under the water, like a tea bag getting dunked."

At least she got the tip of the iceberg.

Vacation!

Here are some of my favorite shots from our recent vacation to Donner Lake. We were celebrating my parents' 40th wedding anniversary (a little early). Congratulations, Mom and Dad, and thanks for sharing your vacation with all of us! We had such an awesome time, and hope you did too.