Doh!

So, since we became a one-car family, I've driven myself to work only a handful of times, including today.

After a very busy, productive day at work, my brain was fried.

That was obvious when, as a coworker was driving me home, we passed the parking lot and I noticed a familiar car. It was silver and it looked like...hey, that's my car! Yep, I had asked for a ride even though I'd driven myself.

Thankfully I was able to stop him in time and I didn't get home and have C wondering where the car was. Phew! That would've been awkward.

This Post Brought To You By The Letters IRS

God is very unabashed in the ways He provides for us.

A couple of months ago after getting our return back, Uncle Sam sent us a letter telling us that he didn't think he gave us enough money back, instructing us to fill out an Earned Income Credit form and wait 8 weeks.

Well, I had forgotten all about this until we got our mail on Saturday with another check from the IRS!

And of course our minds race to what we can get with this money:
a larger, more cushiony area rug for the play room so kids don't leave with broken teeth or cracked skulls
a better desk unit to reduce clutter
etc.

But what does God want us to do? There are many good things we could do with that money. There are a few better things. But there is only one best thing. And that's the hard part. In our adult life, most of our decisions are between good and evil, because we understand those things. Now it's a struggle between good, better and best.

Thanks Uncle Sam. And thanks be to Jehovah Jireh, who provides in many creative ways.

The Little Things

I know it's a common saying, but it really is the little things that make a difference.

Like coming home to M running full-force into me with all her love.

Finding several books on my side of the bed.

Seeing M's cute pink rainboots strewn about the floor.

M waking me up from my fake slumber with sweet kisses.

S responding to peekaboo with her great smiles and giggle.

Being awake while listening to C sound asleep.

Family Tradition

We are back from the 2007 Family Reunion. We had a blast while we were there, but not so much on the road trip to and from. Here is my take from the events that transpired.

Sunday 22nd:
We travel 12 hours from Round Rock to Garden City, Kansas. M only took a 30 minute nap and, although taken by the portable DVD player, wakes up S from her naps several times. (Thanks to the W's for the player. It would've been much worse without.) The GPS system that Nana borrowed tells us a weird way to get to our hotel, bringing us to the first 6-way stop I've ever seen. You think you sit through incredibly long lights, try getting to the intersection of that puppy just after your direction just turned red. Uh-huh. That's what I thought. Upon exiting the car at the motel, my nostrils are offended by the smell of cattle feces. Little did I know it would be a full week before I smelled the fresh air of Texas. The Motel 8 in Garden City was cheap and I didn't care because it was just one night. Wow! You really do get what you pay for. Our toddler had black feet after spending a few minutes on the carpet. Yuck. She had the hardest time getting to and staying asleep that night. Sheesh!

Monday 23rd:
More time in the car. We spend another fun-filled 8 hours in the car that are an almost exact replicate of Sunday. After dumping our stuff at the Inn, we head over to Uncle Paul and Aunt Mary's house (hereafter known as The Hub), where most of the loitering occurred during the week. After a couple of hours hanging at their place, we headed back to the hotel for baths and bed. Getting to sleep was only marginally easier. Oh, and it took us coming to Nebraska for our first 100° day this year. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take the rain.

Tuesday 24th:
Things are in full swing as more relatives get into town. We lunch briefly at Great Gramma and Grampa Adams' house, leaving for naps before most of the folks arrived. We all got a little sleep before we headed back to The Hub for dinner and more family.

Wednesday 25th:
I hustle two of C's cousins at pool before lunch. Like riding a bike. Everybody comes over to The Hub. And by everybody, I mean upwards of 90 people. No joke. The details are a little sketchy, but we hung out with the fam some more. By this time Mallory was having lots of fun palling around with cousin Quinlan. They had lots of fun together. Thankfully she wasn't around while he skinny dipped in the pool.

Thursday 26th:
The day that will simply be called "Who's Your Daddy?" Day. According to Family Reunion Tradition, one afternoon all the guys go out and shoot guns. Now, I will preface this section by saying that it's been a good 10 years, if not more, since I shot guns with my Stepdad and his kids. So, it's not just shooting guns. It's a full-on competition with winners and losers brackets. First up is the .22 pistol competition. Five bowling pins were set up for each contestant with 10 shots in the magazine. I took out cousin Jesse 6-2. Next they called me over for shotguns. And not just shotguns...skeet shooting. Here's what the guys said "It's real easy. Just line the bead up and lead it a bit and aim a little low." Pshaw! Right! Having never used a shotgun, let alone aiming at skeet, I tell my partner that I will make him look good. The system was a primary shooter and the cleanup. I missed all 5 of mine and the one he didn't hit. I whimpered on back to the .22 rifle competition where I calmly hit 6 out of 7. Not enough to win, but quite respectable. Then came the .22 pistol winners bracket. I was against Sterling, a man who's been around guns most of his life. The first round we tied by knocking down 3 of 5 pins. The first tiebreaker it took us both three shots to knock down two pins, with my second pin being felled by my last bullet. In the second tiebreaker, Sterling had knocked down his pin. Down to my last shot, I coolly took out my pin. In the final tiebreaker, one more pin was set up with one shot. I let 'er rip and won on a technicality because my pin fell before his. Nevertheless, I was crowned ShootFest 2007 Pistol Champion. Special thanks to Uncle Paul for the cool trophy. What a guy! I know it's a little blurry, but I don't care. It's my trophy and I'll post if I want to.
Then I got called back to skeet for the losers bracket. I wouldn't say I was embarrassed by the outcome of the initial round since I met my expectations: not hitting a darned thing. On my primary shooting, I again missed all five. HOWEVER, when cousin Dar missed a shot, I lined her up and hewed her in twain (see Bible: Samuel). There was much rejoicing in the land. Mighty Casey did not strike out! A miracle it was. Definitely not skill. But a hit nonetheless. The only thing I didn't do right was sunscreen. Oh yeah. Not pretty folks. Bright red face, neck and arms.

That night was the big family dinner at the gym in Uncle Paul & Aunt Mary's church. Well, the guys set up a basketball goal and, you know me, I couldn't resist joining them, even though I was in my sandals. Not to brag, but I scored four of my team's eight points. The piece de resistance was Grampa Adams singing hymns while little Trinity danced nearby. It was priceless. A very joyful noise to his Creator.



Friday 27th:
M is really big into trains right now. Uncle Tim happens to be an engineer and he was kind enough to take us to the train-yard and show her a train. Not only that, but she got to honk the horn and ring the bell. Needless to say Uncle Tim is her favorite uncle.

We kind of recooped on Friday and didn't do much of anything. Although I did a whole lot of avoiding having to help fix the sprinkler. Phew!

Saturday 28th:
I make the executive decision that we're driving through the night. I didn't want to spend any more time in the car with Mallory awake than I had to. Sorry, the truth hurts. We go back through Garden City, KS and its 6-way stoplight, through Oklahoma and stopped at Canadian, TX for dinner. Strange, I know. We ate at the Cattle Exchange Restaurant. This would've just been a blip on the map had it not been for this staring me in the face as I entered the restroom to wash my hands:
Gotta love Texas!

Sunday 29th:
With the help of Nana keeping me awake, we pull in around 5AM, drag our tired bodies to bed and sleep a little. Well, M and I slept till around 10:30. C got up with S for a couple of hours in between. I mowed the lawn before it rain again and we just took the rest of the day off.

I had a blast with everybody. I'd go back next year in a heartbeat if it weren't for that drive. But anyhoo, thanks to Uncle Paul & Aunt Mary for being the hosts with the most. And thank God we're home.

Random Notes

One of the things that I enjoy is during suppertime when S is eating her sweet potatoes or carrots, and she just stares at me. It's kind of a blank stare. She's not smiling. She's not pouting. Just looking me in the eyes, as if to make sure that I'm still watching her. Those beautiful blue eyes peering into mine.

No work for a week! Hurray! It's going to be nice having the week off from work. I know you'll think I'm nuts, but, probably around Saturday I'll be ready to come back and get back into the swing of things. It has nothing to do with the arduous journey back home. I like that structure. That routine. And my friends at work. My boss, Jefe, was out this week with a vacation of his own, and it'll make it two weeks without seeing him. That and there's that Spades game the four of us have to finish. Both teams sit at 480, with 7 bags. It was a good back-and-forther.

Yes, the trip to Nebraska is finally upon us. The goal is to leave tomorrow by 8AM. You're probably wondering to yourself, "R, what are you doing up at 11:15 if you want to leave at 8?" All that last minute packing. We probably would've already been in bed had it not been for that pesky Fernando Ortega concert we were at. I'd say the race for the most angelic voice is neck-and-neck between him and Andrea Bocelli. Not only was he great to hear in person, he was quite humorous, with the concert being like a big family reunion he happened to be playing at.

So, a long day ahead of us tomorrow, with at least 12 hours in the car. Please pray for all of us. A special thanks to TW for allowing us to borrow their portable DVD player. I'm sure it will be a life-saver. Or two.

See you next week.

The Great Debate

C and I have gone toe-to-toe about what a locust is.

I have always called those noisy little critters that leave their brown shells on everything locusts.

C has advised me that these are in fact cicadas.

I have remained firmly entrenched in the locust contingent.

But she recently called me out about the fact that even though that's what I've called it all my life, that doesn't necessarily mean I am correct. It is not a matter of opinion, but of fact.

Today I finally did a little search and saw what Wikipedia says about cicadas: "Cicadas are sometimes called 'locusts', although they are unrelated to true locusts, which are a kind of grasshopper."

And so I bow my head in defeat, proclaiming to the world that my wife bested me in this scientific debate. Congratulations Babe. You were right and I was wrong.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drown my sorrows in a sea of homemade peanut butter cookies.

Pet Peeve

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

What is the second-to-last number in the sequence?






If you guessed 8, you are incorrect. If nine is the last number in the sequence, then 8 is next-to-last. Seven would therefore be second-to-last since it is two places away from the last in the sequence.

Got it?

Glad we had this talk.

Parenting Pitfalls

These things that I'll talk about are some things that I've learned, and am trying to unlearn, from the generations that came before us. Our culture has taught us, quite wrongly at times, ways of discipline that, while maybe immediately effective, generally produce no long-term heart change within a child. As parents, and especially fathers, we must struggle to maintain a correct attitude. How does our Father treat us when we disobey? How can we, I, make the best decisions when disciplining our, my, children. I will use masculine pronouns when referring to a singular parent or child. If you think it's sexist, then you have a problem.

1. I'm Bigger Than You
This style is generally undertaken by fathers, who, when repeatedly bombarded with whiny, willfully disobedient children, threaten the child into capitulating. Notice that I didn't say obeying, because true obedience is doing the right thing at the right time with the right motive. This isn't acquiescence or placation. Typically the child does what he is supposed to do because of a fear of punishment, not because it's the right thing to do.

2. The Escalator
This type tends to fall hand-in-hand with I'm Bigger Than You, but often precedes it. Usually this tactic is implemented when one, or many, calm overtures are made to encourage the child to obey. At first, it probably will be many, but as time goes on, in a long car ride perhaps, these pleas become fewer and farther between. You try to stay calm at first, but doggone it, that kid will not obey. And as time elapses, the disobedience becomes louder and/or encompasses more things. So you getting louder. And it goes back and forth until one of the parties gives up. The main problem with this pitfall is that once you get to a certain point, what used to be loud, is no longer such, but normal. Therefore, to get the same effect, you have to get louder and louder until you have no effect at all, except to deafen ears.

3. Let Them Be Kids (a.k.a. Let's Just Be Friends)
'He's just a kid.' 'Aw, he didn't mean to hurt nobody.' Well, actually, he did and it's up to him to restore the relationship/toy/valuable. This is especially dangerous because it's no discipline at all. The parent is so worried about not wanting to offend the child, or wanting his child to "like" him, he doesn't concern himself with the aftermath, namely the destructive force his child will become as he nears adulthood. This parent typically does not tell the child no or make him take responsibility for his actions. This is most grievous since as an adult you are legally responsible for your actions. Now, thanks to the ACLU and other litigious persons, one can go out of his way to be stupid or malevolent and get the benefit of other irresponsible jurors like himself to award him millions of dollars. They should be shot and hanged shortly after him. This tendency absolutely disgusts me. It sets an ugly precedent and leads down a very slippery slope. You can blame these people for all the rising healthcare costs and good doctors going out of business because their insurance premiums are sky-high. Getting back to the original point, in the end this parent is not a friend, but a joke. The kid knows when he says jump, dad will ask how high. Wanting "what's best" for junior isn't good for anyone, let alone best. A lifetime of crime or failed jobs/relationships may await his child because he doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. Or he cannot work within the boundaries set before him in the "real world".

4. The Absentee
This is akin to Let's Just Be Friends, but is more insidious because, although the parent is physically in the picture, he is mentally checked out. He knows his child should take responsibility for his actions, but hey, he just got home from a long day at work and doesn't really feel like being bothered. I mean, isn't that why mom stays home all day? I'm here to bring home the bacon, mow the lawn, take out the trash and try not to make too much of a mess as to be a nuisance to mom. This parent doesn't make excuses for the child. He ignores the child. And you have a young man desperately trying to please his father. The fortunate realize what's going on with the old man. The unfortunate try Solomon's route of women, spirituality and Mammon. Others try the Hank route--Jr. or Sr., take your pick--and turn to the bottle or drugs. Some end up so depressed they commit suicide.

5. My Baby
This parent doesn't know when to let go and is a distant cousin of Let's Just Be Friends. Instead of letting the child make mistakes and experience the consequences, this parent tries to shield the child. This can take the form of simply not letting the kid do/see/listen to anything that can "harm" him or not giving him opportunities to grow by making his own decisions. While well-meaning, this parent inhibits the life experiences that might have made his child better suited for marriage/fatherhood/corporate world. This pitfall fosters resentment between parent and child.

6. One Size Fits All
Unfortunately, no it doesn't. You can have four children and they all have different temperaments. While one child may only need a stern word, another will need a spanking to reinforce the rule. Still another might need several spankings an hour because he is so strong-willed, and like Ol' Blue Eyes, he'll do it his way. Don't foist one parenting style on all your children because chances are it will only be effective on one. And possibly, what worked for Johnny yesterday might not work in a few days/weeks/years.

7. The Busy Bee
Most parents want their children to do well at something. However, in the quest to find out what that something is, they're too busy hauling the kids to and from school, band practice, and soccer practice to actually develop relationships with them. Doubly doomed is the child with parents from East Asia, where the pressure is on to have kids in school on Saturdays learning a language and the violin/piano. These children aren't so much kids as employees. The extreme cases turn into vicarious living. The other side to this coin is the dad that is too busy at work to spend time with his kids. Just listen to Henry Chapin's song Cat's in the Cradle.

Now, don't be fooled. One can be all of these for long periods of time or even short stints. It is something that all parents, dads and moms, will struggle with throughout their parenting lives.

Moreover, don't be fooled. While these behaviors promote mimicry or extremism in many cases, children are resilient and can excel despite the parenting model shown them. Oftentimes there will be one parent, or a mentor, that can provide guidance to the young person on how to appropriately parent.

So what?

How can we avoid/curtail these behaviors as parents? Here are some suggestions. Caveat: I'm not particularly good at these things all the time. That huge sucking sound you just heard was the millions of people who don't read my blog simultaneously gasping in dumbfoundedness. Yeah, I like that word. Just made it up.

1. Pray
It sounds simple enough, but when practiced without ceasing, can yield a more gentle, quite spirit. This is especially important to begin your day with. This will set the tone for the day. It prepares you for the possible struggle ahead and helps you focus on the Source of your strength.

2. Read The Word
Read it topically. Read it straight through. Read it chronologically. Read it for the Names of God. Read it for the promises. Read it for its historicity. Just read it! If you have a commitment to His Word, He will be faithful to show you truth. (Note: I'm not talking about truths as in finding what's true for you, but absolute Truth, because it's true for everyone.)

3. Got Friends?
It may come as a complete shock to you, but you are not the only one going through your situation. Chances are their are couples around you fighting the same battles you are. Use them to your advantage. Pray together. Weep together. Have fun together. If you don't get out, you'll go out of your melon.

4. Focus On Your Marriage
Men, do yourselves a favor and make sure your wife has "adult time" with other women. Whether it's watching the kids for the night or at a party. Your gray hairs are an investment in her joy and sanity. This also takes the form of discussing parenting styles. This can happen before the kids arrive, but the refining fire of parenting will fine-tune your skills. This also means not disagreeing/fighting in front of the kids. If you don't agree with your spouse on an issue, defer to her in the moment, then go and talk about it later. Chances are you misunderstood because you missed something or were too fed up to think straight.

5. Study Your Children
If you make a habit of knowing your kid, you will become an expert and understand what makes him tick and what will truly motivate him to obey. It can be an encouraging word. Whatever it is, do it and do it often to show him that you care about him enough to know him. Remember that mistakes will happen, but can be a learning tool to give you insight into your child.

6. XXXOOO
Be generous with your hugs and kisses. You simply cannot give these out enough.

7. Stop
Instead of shuttling your kids between different activities, pare it down to one thing a semester. If you find you don't have enough time with your children after that, cut out some TV. I know this anecdote has been said many, many times, but it bears repeating: No father on his deathbed ever wished he had spent more time at work/with his buddies.

By no means am I an expert at this parenting thing. These are just some things I've learned along the way, and some are wisdom handed down from those who have gone before.

Hang in there. Remember that it might just be a phase, and that phase won't last. You aren't the only one. And even if you're the perfect parent, your kid can still turn out "wrong". So don't beat yourself up.

Sadie Laughing Video

Getting out of my way

Romans 12:3 tells us “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

There have been many times in the past few weeks where I have thought more highly of myself than I ought. I do a lot of things around the house; I won’t enumerate. Sometimes in the midst of one of these tasks I’ll think to myself of how I keep this house running. I start to feel like I am pulling more than my weight around here. But as soon as I do, I am reminded of how much C does. I recently remembered how an old Sunday school teacher told us that marriage isn’t 50-50...it’s 100-100. If I focus on doing “my fifty percent” then I’ll become bitter that C isn’t doing “her fifty,” when in reality she does more than her fair share. But if I understand that I am responsible for all of the things in my life, then I will notice there is quite a bit of overlap. That shows you how selfish man can be and how quickly selfishness can destroy a marriage. It also shows how a spiritual gift/love language can become distorted. When I focus on the things I’m doing instead of who I’m doing them for, I begin to resent the person I’m doing it for. And it’s not as though I’m even focusing on the right person that I should be doing these acts for. I shouldn’t focus on doing things for C, but for the glory of God, as Colossians 3:23, 24 say “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

So I need to remember Who I am doing these things for and to take care of my gift. If I don’t use it properly, it will begin to atrophy, and then it will be of no use.

The Week in Review

I think we'll go in reverse order.

The FDA showed up yesterday. There's been a quiet uneasiness in the air. The auditor found at least one thing today, but it was something we caught several months ago and fixed ourselves, but there was still a lot of tension. Our QA staff deserves a nice long break after this. And so does our CEO. Not that she'll take any break since she lives and breathes our company. And I know this will sound weird, but it just didn't feel like Friday to me. Perhaps it's because the auditor was supposed to come on Tuesday, but had to postpone. It was just an odd week at work.

My buddy Mike (a.k.a. Sarge) was in town and he came by to hang out last night. It was good to catch up. That's one of the amazing things about having soul bonds with other men. Even though we haven't seen each other in at least two years, we can be real with each other like it was back in college. He enjoyed seeing us and the girls and I hope he left encouraged in the Lord.

Uncle N came down on Wednesday since he had some red tape to work through with the state regarding his doctor's license. Thankfully he brought his dogs CJ and Abby. Last weekend M was dialing on her play phone and one time said "Hi Uncle N. How are your doggies doing?" I think he enjoyed loving on his nieces. And M enjoyed loving on CJ and Abby. The funny thing is that she isn't big enough, so she still runs away when they come to give her kisses.



The biggest news this week is that M is potty training. She started off getting it down half the time, but the last three days she's only had one accident. So she's having a lot of colored marshmallows for her success. She has been close for a while, but hasn't been really into it until this week. C has done a great job with her and I know she's a little relieved that we're finally getting to this point.

Sadie has had a silly week. She's been making a bunch of funny faces and grunting a lot. I'll let you check out C's blog for most of those photos, but I had to show you that my daughter has learned the air guitar.

That's it for me tonight. We'll hopefully get some good sleep in. We've been crazy and haven't gone to bed before 10:30 most nights this week.

It's supposed to be another rainy weekend here in Round Rock. I wish that God would space it out a little bit, but I'm not complaining. I'd much rather have to cut my grass once a week than have to water it every couple of days so it doesn't die.

Stay dry.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to me.

C let me sleep in till 8, at which time M woke up. While I was asleep C was busy making some yummy chocolate chip muffins. I also got a sweet card from my Babe and one from my Honey and Darlin'. Those are my nicknames for M and S. They put their handprints on it and M put some fun stickers and scribbled on it for me. It's definitely going on my instrument tomorrow.

After church we went to Nana's apartment to have lunch with her and Mamá & Pop-Pop. Nana made an exquisite roast with potatoes and carrots. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. After Mallory woke up from her nap she was in a funky mood. But I coaxed her into sitting on the chair with me and I got her night-nights and pink blanket and we had some good snuggle time.
Then we went to Nana's pool and had some fun swimming, splashing and jumping. It was starting to sprinkle about the time that S was ready to go home, so we packed up and headed to the casa, giving plenty of hugs and kisses before we left.

When we got home, we had some family time before we took baths. Sadie was in an especially giggly mood and we were able to get some fun videos on the camera. We also had some fun daddy daughter time.

All in all, my best Father's Day ever.

Thank you girls for making this day so special.

Love,

Daddy

School's out for summer!

Too bad work ain't!

June has and will be an interesting month. The main reason is that the FDA will be here next week to do a site inspection and going through our records. Now, most of us are pretty seasoned vets at audits since there were a slew of them this year, especially Big Pharma in March. However, they don't have the power to shut your doors like the Feds do. For those of you who haven't been through an audit, I'll give you a brief overview.
1. The Audit team arrives and holds a brief meeting, w/ a schedule for their visit.
2. They take a tour of the facility--show and tell--and ask questions, usually wrapping up by lunch.
3. After lunch they dig into paperwork for the bulk of the remainder of their visit.
4. An audit boils down to two things:
A) Do you have procedures for what you're doing?, and
B) Are you following your procedures?
5. They'll do a wrap-up with the managers and send a formal report a couple of weeks later, which, if there are recommendations or deficiencies, we'll have a couple of weeks to respond with how we've fixed things or plan to fix them.

I feel fairly confident that we are on the right path to being FDA-compliant, but you never know. Our client sent an independent auditor to see how we're doing with things. He was able to bring up some things that we haven't thought of that we can put in place before next week.

But since our QA (Quality Assurance) department is scurrying around making sure all our ducks are in a row, our throughput has been scuttled. The thing is, we're exceedingly busy with several new products that we haven't tested before. And QC (Quality Control) is also R&D. It's been hard to keep up with all the work. Actually, I personally have hope our QA department won't be wound as tight as a Major League baseball. This week they were at what I like to call 'Def Con 5'. They had their doors shut and kept calling people in to make corrections. I didn't even try to make them laugh. They might've bit my head clean off. I shudder to think what next week will be like. Is there a Def Con 10? I think it might be invented.

Stay cool...if you can.

De Plane Boss! De Plane!

No, I'm not talking Fantasy Island, although that was a really fun show to watch back in the '80s. Too bad TV isn't what it used to be. That was back when it was truly must see.

Anyhow, God has given our little M very keen senses, including sight. There can be a plane at its peak altitude 10 miles away, but she sees that little trail of atmosphere and knows there is a plane in the sky. And she will point out each one she sees.

But do you remember the day the planes stopped? I do. I was on the bus to campus. We were sitting at the light at MLK and I-35 and a fellow passenger ends his cell phone conversation by announcing that a plane just hit the World Trade Center. Like probably most Americans, I told him "Ha Ha. Very funny. That's not something to joke about." But he was serious. I had worked in the EHS building during the summer and knew the President had a TV in his office, which was only a block away from where the bus left off at the Stadium. It was no joke. A minute after I get to the office the second plane hits. It was such a surreal day. It was the only thing people could talk about in class. The professor acknowledged it and then quickly got on with the day's lesson. But when I got home, I just sat in front of the TV and the computer, watching the horrific reality that we were not safe. I mean, terrorism happens in Africa, Europe and Asia. Not the US. How do the Israelis do it? Bombings, fire-fights, and kidnappings week in and week out. The part of the aftermath that had the most gravity with me was for weeks there were no planes in the sky. And living around 5 miles from ABIA, that's something that you notice quickly.

But will M ever understand that moment? Unfortunately, I think she will. There will come a day when a guy with pictures and schematics of Mansfield Dam and the Frost Bank Tower slip past a diligent patrolman and back to his cell to plot their insidious attack. She will be touched by terrorism. But will she have a President that will take a stand, albeit a tenuous, unilateral stand, against our enemies? Sure W hasn't had the best foreign policy, but would Al Gore or Flip-Flop Kerry have had the stones to do what he did? I faced some fairly harsh treatment by some guys while I was an RA at Texas, but nothing compared to the vitriol that President Bush receives, even daily. Only time will tell Bush's legacy, but I say "Thank You President Bush" for doing what you believed God was calling you to do. Remember that you are not the only one going through such trials, but you have a Friend who sticks closer than a brother, who has been tempted and tried in every way, but was without sin. Keep your eyes on Him, and you will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

God bless America.

And if that Mockingbird don't sing...

...Daddy will be a very happy man.

Seriously though! There is a mockingbird that makes its dwelling 100 yards south of our house and has the loudest pipes this side of the Morten Meyerson Symphony Center. (I got to play there two times in high school. Awesome acoustics!) Anyway, it must be mentally handicapped, because it usually sings each night from 1-6 in the morning, at which time the other birds take their cue from the rising sun. I mean, it just goes through its repertoire non-stop. It will usually do anywhere from 3 to 12 repititions before moving on to the next one. All I know is that it can't sing without permission from its Creator. He's obliged me a few times by closing its mouth long enough for us to get back to deep sleep. I don't want it dead...just silent.

Starting Over

It's been a veeeerrrry long time since I blogged last. Not that many people read this, but still, there is at least two people who will read it.

As I'm sitting here, my almost-5-month old is having a hard time falling asleep and my two-year old is having another one of those days. Tonight we chose to take on the food battle. I know. The AAP says not to make food a battle. Well sometimes parent intuition supersedes some very well educated and experienced doctors and practitioners.

It's been this way for some time now. At least two weeks, and possibly three or four. M chose to throw her paci away and we rewarded with a swing set. Reward is a rather loose term since we were going to get one anyway to put in the play area we made in the back yard. But ever since, going to sleep has been a struggle. There are nights when she does quite well. And there are nights when it takes an hour and a half for her to finally nod off. C and I take turns lying beside her bed on the floor so she'll stay calm enough to fall asleep.

That's not to make you think it's been all bad. She has made some excellent choices and given us those morsels of toddler truth that make you smile and thank the Creator for allowing you to be a part of this process. Saturday, upon handing her her juice, I said "Knock yourself out kid!" She retorts: "I'm not a kid; I'm a girl." Well said. And a week before that I was changing her after she woke up. I put my head beside hers on the changing pad and she said resolutely "No Daddy. This is my changing pad." And one thing that never gets old is coming home from work and my little blonde ball of energy running at me, ecstaticly saying "Daddy's home!" and asking me "Have a good day at work Daddy?"

S is just a little bundle of love. It's awesome that she knows I'm Daddy. When I get home and give her a kiss and tell her that Daddy loves her she beams with an incredible love, seemingly at once telling me without words that she loves her Daddy and her Daddy loves her. She's not doing things at quite the pace M was, which is fine by us. We'll chalk that up to not having our every-waking-moment devotion that M obtained as the first-born. However, she is keeping pace on the measurables and the not-so-measurable "gallons-o'-drool".

God bless C. No really. If I had to stay home with the girls the way they are when I get home, we'd all be much worse off. Cl says it's some hormone that men lack. It's somewhat easy to take a hard line on some things with M when I'm not around her 12 hours a day, and it's amazing the patience, energy and guile that C exhibits daily to keep this house running. There are no commendations known to man to reward what she does for us. And I know that she enjoys it most of the time because that's what she's wanted to do since she was little. But to put up with the whining and willful disobedience that much? I'd barely last a day. We had a great Mother's Day. We were able to dedicate S at church two years after dedicating M. It was a blessing to have family there and at our home. Uncle N came down from Fort Worth, as well as Grampa, Opa & Gramma. Nana, Mamá and Papá came. What stunned us was when Aunt B, Uncle S and cousin Bob came to our house afterward. I don't think stunned quite describes it though. Flabbergasted more likely. But overwhelmingly pleased nonetheless. A quick note on the baby dedication: It is dedicating us as parents and the church to raise our daughter to know Christ as Lord and Savior. It does not bring her salvation, nor is it a baptism, since baptism is an outward expression of the choice of salvific faith in Christ.

Work has been back and forth, as most of you can understand. I'm in a lull with incoming work, so I've been filling my time updating methods & SOPs and trying to be productive with my time. I'm on a two-game win streak in Scrabble for those of you wondering. The FDA will be coming soon, so it's a little frantic around the building, but not too bad.

The thing I'm struggling with is feeling entitled to, when coming home from work, not having to deal with whiny, crying kids. It's wrong on at least two levels. You want me to enumerate? Okay.
1. Cheryl doesn't get a break.
2. That's part of the package deal with having kids.
But it's hard sometimes to come home from a grueling day at work and have to immediately put on the happy face and be the best husband and father I can be. Part of it is laziness. Another part is selfishness. But it would be an extreme disservice to C if I did that. I know that at least understanding this is half the battle. That if I was either ignoring it or just plain ignorant (that's ignert in the South), then I would be sunk, unable to at least be thinking and praying about it. And so it is that God is pruning me during this season of life to be the man He wants me to be. And that's just it: a season. This too shall pass.

That's it for now. Time to go spend time with my Babe.

Long Overdue

I'll just jump right in because there's so much to cover.

Longhorns:
Disappointing the last two weeks. But at least I can make fun of my Aggie coworkers for at least a few more years of coach Fran mediocrity.
I hope Colt heals to where he's 100% for the bowl game. FIRE GREG DAVIS!! Okay, I didn't watch the whole game so I can't speak for the entirety, but how can our offense score only 7 points against that defense? It all started on that horrible call on fourth-and-short at the end of our first drive. Why in the world would you run Melton off-tackle or stretch like that? You've got three big men in the middle of the line and a lineman at running back and you run that play? Maybe with Jamal Charles and a pulling guard, but certainly not Melton. That gave the boys in maroon hope, and that little sliver was all they needed to think they could play with us. And we couldn't stop the option.
And I don't mean to bust or hate on Gene Chizik, but if he's this big defensive guru, how come our secondary was a train wreck all year with Sportscenter DBs? I guess it all comes down to the CEO, er, head coach.
I think Bob Stoops at OU should be Big XII Coach of the Year and in the running for national awards.

House:
The last three weekends before Thanksgiving were full of yardwork in the back. There's still a lot left to do, but it's looking a lot more manageable. Just several more bushes and small trees that need dug up. Sheesh.
Saturday was a busy day. Put up the tree. Hung the outside lights. Trimmed the oak tree in the front. Washed the cars. Put some stuff up in the attic. Hung two shelves in M's room. C organized the garage.

Work:
It's going okay. TNG (The New Guy) is slowly improving and desire to improve and be the best he can be. Things are crazy busy right now with the end of the month hitting us. There are so many things I need/want to get to, but can't right now because TNG isn't ready. That's a little frustrating. The thing that complicates all of this is when Sadie is born, because I'll take 5-7 days off for paternity leave and I'll need someone to cover my remaining three duties while I'm gone.

Weather:
There's nothing like Spring in November, is there? There's supposedly a norther coming in tomorrow night that'll give us 50s for the highs...until Tuesday. I feel sorry for M and S. We got snow once every ten years up in Fort Worth. And since we had snow on Valentine's '04, they'll be nine and seven and then 19 and 17 the next two times it snows. Poor girls.

Thanksgiving:
It went well. The 4-hour drive to Fort Worth was quite bearable. M did very well. Kudos to C for thinking of some park time before the ride began. C had hyped up the trip to Uncle N's and his dogs and cats to the point that when M awoke when we arrived, with her eyes barely open she said "Un-sa Nay-Nay. Doggies." with as much energy as she could muster. Nana, Pop-Pop, MaMá and Aunt B arrived about 90 minutes after we did. We had a very pleasant time visiting with everyone in large part because there wasn't the looming anxiety about Papa W.
We had a good time, and an even better night's rest, at Grandma and Opa's. We went to the park three times. We even saw Aunt C, Uncle S and Cousin D right before they left, so that was nice.
We only got to spend an hour with Grampa over his lunch break, but it was still good to see him.
The trip back home was quick and fun. M didn't fall asleep until after Belton, mainly because she kept herself awake hoping to see Christmas lights as we went along. She'd say "More Pitmas" after a while of not seeing them.

M:
A lot of her latest cute things I've mentioned. She continues to string together words to form small sentences and she tries to say almost any word you give her, including gangsta--she was walking around the kitchen with one pant leg hiked up.
Eating continues to be a challenge, but we might have stumbled onto something tonight: give her a choice between the meal or something she dislikes more and she'll choose the meal. We'll keep trying that one to see if it works.
I think she is really starting to get the whole S thing because, not only does she go in the nursery and point to things and say "S's", but she's getting extra clingy to C. I just worry about the whole Mommy and Daddy are going to the hospital and Nana's going to stay with you and you won't get to see them for a while.

S:
Still growing. Still kicking and flailing away in Momma's tummy, much to her displeasure. Her due date is December 31st, so we're about 5 weeks away. It's been a lot different with her than M. I guess it's because the newness is gone. We didn't go to Bradley classes, so we're trying to bone up on that. We already, thankfully, have most of the things we need, so we're not out shopping. We kind of know what to expect as far as labor and delivery go and I think we'll be much more relaxed about getting to the hospital this time. But we're still both very excited about this new addition to our family, wondering who she's going to look like--Mommy, Daddy or M. Oh, and I've already called her M a couple of times. I'm not even 30 yet. I can't be doing roll call!!

C:
She's doing very good. She has been very blessed this time around in that all her symptoms are so much less than with M. Her main problem has been side pain. That and the whole getting up 10 times a night to pee thing. We're both really hoping that S will come before the 23rd or on the 31st so Dr. B-G can deliver her since she wasn't able to deliver M. Thank you ahead of time for all you who will bring us meals. That was a huge blessing when M came and we look forward to it again.
I couldn't be more proud of and thankful for her. She continues to amaze me with the energy she has to devote to me after a day full of M and cooking dinner almost every night. I am truly blessed with a great woman. Proverbs 31 has nothing on her.

I'm sure I missed something, but I'm sure it'll come to me. Not that I'll have time to post.

Take care and God bless.

The End of an Era

One of the fun things about M is how she is so close to pronouncing things right, but doesn't quite get there. My favorite has been her attempts to say "Sit up," which, until recently, sounded like "shaw bup." The best part would be when she drew it out, as in "shaaaaaaaaaw bup." Always brought a smile to my face, and it still does when I think about it.

Right now she is giving some of the best hugs known to man. She wraps her arms around your neck and pulls tightly close to you. As Barry White used to say, although in a much different context, "I can't get enough of your love babe!" She will also ask to do "eh kisses" and we'll proceed to rub noses. That never gets old.

It is pretty close to 6 weeks left before S is set to arrive. December 31st seems a lot further away than that, but with Thanksgiving only two weeks away, it's much closer than I'd like it to be. But I know C is ready to get her out. Both Momma and baby have been quite healthy throughout this pregnancy, with C's symptoms and pains noticeably better than with M.

Well, the new guy at work has been here for three weeks now. I'd liken it to parenting, in that, many times I just want to step in and do things for him so we'll get things done faster, and, more importantly, "on time", but that will just stunt his growth and will be bad for both of us, because I'll get frustrated and he won't be able to learn. He's right on the cusp of letting him fly on his own, but there's still a few things that aren't sinking in, and I wonder if he needs a different perspective than what I can give him to get those fundamentals down.

On the home-front, things are going fairly well. We had a very productive day last Saturday around the house, and tomorrow should be more of the same with yard-work. One thing that I have been a little worried about is finances. There are a lot of one- or two-time-a-year expenditures that are happening all at the same time and it's going to be really tight through the middle of next year. Well, we are blessed at our church to have the wisdom of Dr. Chris Thurman, who has just finished a series based on his book The Lies We Believe. I am noticing that one of the lies that I have been believing is : I am a bad husband/father if we go into debt. Last night after C and I prayed about this, I had a dream. Now, a disclaimer must be stated: although God still works through dreams, this one won't come true. So, C and I were at a restaurant and received the worst service, even to the point our entrees did not come out. I asked to speak to the manager and she said they don't usually give meal vouchers for poor service. However, there was something she could do and proceeded to take a $1000 bill and a $3750 bill and hand it to us, at which point I started crying because I was so grateful that God had provided in such a miraculous way. Yeah, a $3750 bill. Told you it won't come true. But I think He did work through that crazy dream in reminding me that He will provide our daily bread. What that looks like is up to Him. It may not mean a cushy retirement or even staying out of debt all our lives--which would be a miracle for most Americans--or a pantry-full, but wants me to have an even deeper and fuller sense of trust in Him. No doubt, He has provided miraculously for us in the past, and I know He will continue to do so. Hopefully I will remember to be thankful and give Him the glory.

So, that's pretty much me in a nutshell. The Longhorns are trucking along. I am very excited about the Colt McCoy era at Texas. It'll take a lot to get us back to the title game, but even if we don't make it, we are headed in the right direction. Thanks to Rutgers, though for taking care of Louisville last night. One less hurdle.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

R

The Week That Was...and is to come

Decent week at work.
Despite my best efforts to do nothing, I got a lot of stuff done today.
It's T minus 2 weeks until the new guy gets here.
Of course the best part about work is lunch.
We had some very spirited Spades games this week.
Today had to have been the most impressive of all.
D$ and I were partners and we were up against Chuck and Jefe.
Some brief stats from the last six hands that were played, spanning one and a partial game:
4 successful 10-for-200 hands
3 of those were me and Money
4 successful nils
1 of which was mine.
The most exciting 10-for-200 hand was when Chuck had already taken 3 tricks and there were 7 left. And D$ and I needed all seven. Fast forward to the last four tricks. I was holding the Ace and 8 of spades, the Queen of Hearts and a low Diamond. I knew either Jefe or D$ had the King. I had a gut feeling Jefe had it, so I threw my Ace and landed his King. I threw the diamond, which D$ trumped with a spade. He then threw a club and I spaded it. For the last hand I threw my Queen of Hearts. Jefe and Chuck threw the Queens of Diamonds and Clubs and D$ had a trash card. We'd made it! An exhilarating hand!

On the home front:
I have been using the "I love you" sign to M since she was born. She started using it back this week. She's just closing her hand, but we all know what it means. And although she's an ornery little thing sometimes, there are those moments that you hold onto. Like when I get home and she runs at me with all her might and I pick her up and give her hugs and kisses. Or when she's so tired and I pick her up and she gives me a big hug around the neck. We've been going out on the deck most nights and she'll get her wiffle balls and roll them down to me. Just so. Very precisely. Every time. She can count to 5 with a little help on four. M has been transitioning pretty well to her big girl bed. We've been putting her down for naps, but haven't made the leap to the overnight yet. And she's been eating better. But those pesky teeth still haven't broken through yet.

C and I are settling back into our routine of no social engagements for a couple of weeks, then cram two weeks worth of things into one week. This is said week. Tuesday night was Bible study. Last night we picked up furniture from the Os. (Thanks so much to JC for letting us borrow his pickup.) Tonight I did yard work in preparation for the garage sale tomorrow morning. And Sunday we have a leadership meeting during church, lunch with the K&J G and then a birthday party for West Kouri. Phew! Oh yeah...there's a little scrimmage tomorrow at 2:30 called the Red River Rivalry. Don't know if you've heard of it. A school from Austin, TX and one from Norman, OK. More on that in a bit.
Do you remember August when everything was hitting us all at once. Well, this week our AC was on the fritz and needing fixing. And today our garage door opener stopped working. Sheesh. Thankfully God has provided amazingly for us. And He only promises us our daily bread. Nothing beyond that. That one has stuck with me since Matt M pointed it out a few years ago before a flag football game.

Momma and baby are doing well. We think we've got the name now, but we'll probably not finalize anything until we see her. Everything is progressing well. C hasn't had many problems with her sciatica or nausea, but they creep up every once in a while.

Sports:
Now, if I was an immature male, I would probably say that OU SUCKS! But I'm not. I done growed up. I was telling my boys this week that our D is probably going to give up near thirty points, especially since Robison is dinged up from that Iowa State leg whip and our secondary is more porous than a sieve, even though we've got some great playmakers. HEY SECONDARY COACH. HOW 'BOUT BUMPING THEM AT THE LINE?! That's that side of the ball. Now if Greg Davis WOULD GROW A PAIR and let Colt actually be a man instead of a mouse, we actually might win this game. It's either going to be Texas 17 - OU 31 or Texas 38 - OU 31. There's no in between. That's been Greg Davis' m.o. since he's been at Texas. At some point, you have to understand that these problems we're having this year come from the top. THAT MEANS YOU MACK! I know you've won your Big XII and BCS Championships, but you still have work to do.

Okay, that's pretty much it for tonight.
Take it easy, God bless and Hook 'em Horns.

A Long Time Coming

"Hi. My name is R..."
"Hello R."
"...and I have neglected my blog for almost a month."
"That's okay. We've all done it."

There's a lot to cover folks. So let's get to it. In no particular order...

Football:
My Horns lost to OSU at home. Horrible play-calling by Greg Davis. What little confidence Colt had from those two first-half drives was scuttled by the "Let's hold down the margin of defeat" attitude that plagued us for so many years during the Mack Brown Administration. Our secondary got exposed. They didn't bump at the line like I told them to and we paid dearly for it. Tarell Brown wouldn't have been much help. Chizik really lost some luster with me after that performance. I think Colt will become a top-notch QB in the next few seasons. I mused that we should make the field soggy to minimize OSU's speed. That came to fruition this past weekend against Penn State. Oh well. That's what they get for not listening to me. I'm actually a little scared about the OU game. Not that they have a defense either. I'm not saying we're gonna lose; just scared.

A hardy "Get Well Soon" goes out to the Blonde Blunder that is Chris Simms. I'm sure he's happy knowing that he has a bosom buddy with my boy Sarge; or should I say a spleen buddy. In all seriousness though, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. To take all the garbage we gave him at UT and not whine about it shows you his character. Here's wishing him a speedy recovery.

Work:
Well, it could be worse, right? There's this one drug product that our company bulk manufactures and we've had lots of problems with it. A good Doctor that has spent many years dealing with this compound class once said to my lab manager "I hate XYZ!" Needless to say, this last batch ran into a large problem yesterday and put us behind schedule. Well, not put us behind schedule, but the GMP group. It's just that QC is essentially the last stop and most of the blame and vitriol gets thrown our way. It doesn't matter that the folks upstream have done all the getting behind. It's up to us to get it out three days ago, and when there are problems, and inevitable if something is 'RUSH' or 'BACKORDER' it has problems, the question is "What's the holdup?" and the answer is "QC." And it seems that 90% of the prodcuts coming into QC are rush or backorder. And there's this cute little trend starting of not one, but two bright green BACKORDER stickers.

But things are looking up. The first reason is that we are in the process of interviewing candidates to take over part of what I'm doing. Let's review the hats that Ryan wears at work:
1. Running/Maintaining 3 Gas Chromatographs (GCs)
2. Running/Maintaining 2 Gas Chromatograph - Mass Spectrometers (GCMSs)
3. Sampling of GMP raw materials
4. Sending Outsourced Analyticals.
Most of our instruments are purchased from Agilent and you can see what a GC looks like in the upper lefthand corner of their Gas Chromatography page.
The candidate we will hire will take over Hat #1...which will free me up to do special projects. Don't get me wrong. It'll be nice to have someone take that over for me. The thing is, it really hasn't been busy enough to need that 2nd person. I've been able to handle this workload for the most part and I think I've done more than a bang-up job of it. But when I get our new hire trained, whenever they do hire someone, I will be foisting Hat #4 on that person as well. Devious, I know, but that's what happens to the rook.

The second thing I'm happy about it that I just finished the annual OQ (Operational Qualification) on GCMS#2. It takes two days if everything goes right. Well, last Friday something went wrong. Terribly wrong. There are these things called filaments in the Mass Spec that provide the electrons to make things happen. Well, one broke. And it's best to replace both filaments, not just one. So I rush-ordered some filaments and got them yesterday morning. In the meantime I cleaned the ion source and put in a new column, so everything is pretty much brand spankin' new. And it passed with flying colors today!! What a relief. Especially since last year's calibration expires in four days. I know, I know. It's hard to kick the habit, but I excel under pressure.

Third, I won Scrabble today. Ended quite a drought. We―me, Red, D$ and G-Ray―all have comparable vocabularies, so the saying has been "Whoever draws well, wins." Except the prior three weeks I've drawn two 7-letter words during the course of play, but had nowhere to play them. So it's been frustrating to me, and the game has lost some of its luster. Today I didn't draw exceedlingly well, but I managed to get 'nettled'. I tried to play it twice and the combo word was challenged and I lost my turn. Brian throws out an innocent enough word in 'rice' on the line above the bottom. During D$'s turn I see him staring at the top-right corner of the board, where he ends up playing. G-Ray thinks about throwing back, but wants to get some points in hopes of drawing a consonant to make his 7-letter word. He plays in a different part of the board, and I get 83 points for 'nettled', 're' and 'id'. It's all academic from there folks.

And there's usually Spades going down the rest of the week, which is tons of fun. It gives us two things to look forward to each day instead of one, because it gives us a break from all the muck and mire of the day.

Last, but first in priority, Family:
C looks so beautiful carrying our next daughter. We still haven't completely decided on her name, but we've been calling her Abby for the past month-ish. She just has this glow about her that you'll only understand if your wife or a close friend is pregnant. I'm vehemently hoping that the December 31st due date holds up so we can get our tax break. It's the little things in life. Thanks to all the wonderful ladies who come to playgroup and especially to MP, TO and AF, who are flexible to make playdates on the fly. I appreciate y'all just as much as C does.

M's vocabulary has just exploded. She tries to say almost every word we give her. One of my daily duties that has come with C's ever-expanding belly is bath-time. It's been loads of fun as we have made our own routines. Whenever we're heading out of the bathroom she has to turn the light off. And when we get into her bedroom, she turns the fan and light on. Momma was giving her a bath the other night and didn't know this and M made sure that she got to do the lights and fan. She's been trying to pick up water with her fists and eat it. She's into going down the slide on her belly. Tonight she climbed up into the cradle in our room. She's been getting better at using soft hands with us and with friends. Mealtime has gotten a little better, too. But it's still hard to realize that her diet will balance out over the course of a month.

Gramma and Opa came down this past weekend and we had a fun time with them. M showed them she knew the sign for W (Opa's name) and said Opa and Gramma repeatedly. Tonight she stood at the window saying "Gramma. Gramma. Gramma." They also helped us do some housework, which we are very grateful for.

Well, that about sums it up. If you can call it a sum. I know there are many things I've forgotten, but this'll have to do.

I hope you have a great rest of the week.

God bless,

R