The Christmas Story - Nuzum Style

Christmas Spirit

This is a great story. Check it out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

H to the O

DAD-GUM!

I think he's watched Cars a few too many times...

Foiled again...

I want pancakes!

Strange Happenings

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture (I shot this with my phone). It went on like this until I removed the cap to look for the alien/snake/giant insect/baby cow that was trying to escape. Whatever it was, it was fast! As soon as I removed the cap...it was gone. Kooky.

Ella and Caleb Variety Show

Look out Osmonds....here come the Nuzums

Ella video

Hi Dad!

She is here!  After all the delays and slow progression it only took 3 pushes over 12 minutes for Ella to join us.  6 pounds 7 ounces.  21 inches long (longer than both of her brothers).  

Despite 4 wraps of the cord around her neck (a site none of the nurses or OB had seen before) Ella is doing well.  Tonya is doing great as well.

  

The waiting...

No, not the group.  I'm referring to us.  Ella still has us waiting.  Contractions started at about 5:00 this morning.  As of 7:20 tonight she's still only dilated to 5 cm.  The obstetrician has decided to start oxytocin.  Hopefully, things move forward a little faster once the drugs start working.

Whoa!

Front Page of Charlotte Observer

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/191882.html

My new addiction

If you're busy, don't click it. If you have anything to do in the next 2 hours, don't click it. If you're afraid of losing your eyesight from staring at the computer for too long, don't click it.

This is my new time-wasting-guilty-pleasure. This might be the greatest blog on the internet. No, I'm not kidding. Remember, you've been warned!

http://stuffchristianslike.net

The artist formerly known as...

Here is the trailer for our next series at Elevation.  We've been informed that it will be PG-13.  I love going to a church that isn't afraid to tell the truth, no matter what.

Daniel is FULL!

We officially concluded the fast this evening at 6:00. More about how we celebrated later. Today was the final sermon in our series entitled The Gospel at Elevation. I won't steal all of Pastor Furtick's thunder, but I can't continue this post without sharing this number with you...903. That's not our attendance or the amount of money in the plate or the number of times someone coughed during the sermon. Nine hundred three decisions for Christ in the past three weeks! WOW! Praise Jesus. You can read more about it here.

In the interest of full disclosure...I have to admit that Tonya and I did break the fast for 1 meal on Friday evening. As you read, it was our 10 year anniversary - so we decided to forego the fast for 1 meal and celebrate. (If anyone wants to debate the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law - bring it!) We successfully got our grub on at Bonefish. If you have one of these near you, I highly recommend it. The Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer is phenomenal - and I hate seafood - so you know it's good.

Saturday we were back to the fast. We went up to Concord and ordered Josh and Caleb's new furniture. Then we stopped at Concord Mills so Tonya could buy some "hospital clothes" in preparation for Ella's arrival. (I have to digress here to pat myself on the back. Early in my married life, this would have resulted in an argument. Why do you need "hospital clothes?" They give you clothes to wear...you don't even have to bring your own. It is illogical to buy special clothes for a situation where clothes are provided for free! Serenity now! These days, I'll admit that I still have a fleeting thought or two along these lines...but I've learned 1) mommy deserves it, period and 2) keep your mouth shut when you think things like this.) So, we sat and ate our brown-bag-DanielFast-approved lunch in the parking lot before heading inside. We took care of business and then thought about spending a bit of time brousing through a few more stores...and then the melt downs started...which means it's time to go. So we left.

Then comes Sunday. The final day. Day 21. The day I was convinced would never arrive. I made it through lunch without much of a problem. But then, it became very difficult. I only had 3 or 4 hours to go. But church was over...the series was over...the whole objective behind us fasting corporately had been realized. Why would it matter? And then I was remined, ever so gently, by the Holy Spirit that the real benefit of the fast was my relationship with God. Maybe I need to keep fasting...so I can get that into my head.

Our small group has been planning a feast/celebration in honor of the fast and all that God has done in our church and our lives over the past few weeks. Everyone was asked to bring meat for grilling and a dessert. We brought apple-chicken sausage (it's much better tasting than it sounds - really!) and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...which I made...this afternoon...without licking the beater or the spatula or the bowl or eating a single cookie. Howdaya like me now?

After our discussion of our experiences during the DanielFast, we fired up the grill and started eating. It was like manna from heaven. Pictured below is a very full, very satisfied, very blessed small group.

10 years

200 people packed into an auditorium meant to comfortably seat 150...in early September...in Grand Prairie, TX. At least we had the ceremony at 7:00 PM so it wouldn't be hot. :) (For those who may be reading who are not familiar the climate in Dallas in September - that was a joke. DFW is 300 square miles of cement seemingly situated 7 feet above the mantle of the Earth - which, by the way, is approximatley 5400 degrees Farenheit).

Well, 9 cars, 2 apartments, 1 rent house, 1 "great deal" on a foreclosure house, 4 pregnancies, 2 8/9 children, 1 dog, ? fish (all drains lead to the ocean!), 3 cities, 4 churches, 10 less than satisfying Cowboys seasons, 1 how-did-we-survive-that wreck, 1 head rolled up in a car window (ungh!), 4 years of pharmacy school, 2 years of residency, 4 years of starting a pharmacy school, 347 viewings of Cars and 1 year of homeschooling later...God is still good.

I am absolutely the most blessed man on this planet. I am so amazingly undeserving of the undescribable blessing that my wife and children are to me. I don't know why he has given all that he has to me, but I am humbled and eternally thankful for every up and down and huh? and WOW! of the past ten years.

Tonya: I love you. I am a better everything because of you.

Josh: Daddy is so proud of you.

Caleb: Hi Boo-Boo. Please come down from there. No, I didn't say climb higher...Caleb...No, don't you even think about jump....how did you not break both of your legs? OK, we can go eat, again.

Ella: I know you're not here yet, but please don't take advantage of Daddy.

Bandit: Hush! No bark! And please start bringing your ball all the way to me. This 3/4:1/4 thing we've been doing is remarkably ineffecient and, frankly, it sucks for me.

Thanks also to the 3 or 4 of you who trouble yourself to read this blog. Thanks for praying for us and supporting us and letting us sleep in your homes and hanging out with us through the years. We love you and pray for God's rich blessing and favor on your lives.

Whole buncha DanielFasting

Well, I had every intention of documenting each day of this, but things got busy at work. Rest assured that we've continued the fast each day since the last post. We are nearing the end and that is producing mixed feelings. On one hand, I nearly chased down a rabbit in the back yard today. I'm afraid that I might wake up having chewed off one of my fingers. I miss meat! On the other hand, we've seen God do some amazing things since the leadership and volunteers began the fast nearly three weeks ago. It's also been a miraculous experience in terms of my personal relationship with him. Makes me want to keep fasting.

In addition, the process has given me a new understanding and empathy for people with an addiction. I know...and I agree - it's not the same. But it has been so difficult to have the only thing separating me from a meat/dairy/caffeine/sugar relapse be my free will. I can't imagine having to give up nicotine or alcohol or, worse, some illicit substance that I had developed a physiologic addiction to.

Lastly, for today, if you've ever been angry or disappointed with God, carve out an hour and watch this. It's life changing.

DanielFast - Day 11

We've successfully navigated beyond the half-way mark. I'd like to say it is getting easier, but it isn't. More tolerable, yes; easier, no. The headaches are back with a vengeance. Especially today. I did manage to make it through the entire day with no emails from restaurants...so that was a plus. HOWEVER....tonight was the first student bible study at school. And they brought all the 'fixins' for tacos. It was just wrong...all that taco meat and cheese and flour tortillas. I enjoyed watching everyone enjoy their tacos (he says with just a hint of sarcasm). One of the students is a fellow Elevator and she is DanielFasting also - so we comiserated with one another before and after bible study. Then, on the way home I had to stop at HT for some chips to go with my salsa (no, not seltzer, salsa!).

Tonight at dinner we (we being Tonya) experimented a bit based loosely on a suggestion from another Elevator. Lettuce, spinach, corn, black beans, crushed tortilla chips and a lime/cilantro dressing. It was pretty good. It went nicely with my salsa (people like to....OK, I'll stop)

Today was John 11. Great chapter - lots of applicable things here. The verse that has made me think the most is the end of verse 44. Just after Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus says, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." I have to admit that I pimped this off of Larry Brey, but the question just floored me. What grave clothes are you still wearing? The story of Lazarus shows Jesus' power over death, his ability to resurrect us. Just like he did all of us who have confessed that we believe in him. Yet I can't help but think about all the "stuff" I continue to drag behind me from my past...hate, guilt, pride, anger, etc...my grave clothes. It's so simple. TAKE THEM OFF! He has released me from ALL of it by dying in my place. Hallelujah!

There are like 10 more things I could write about here, but I just have to point to the back and forth in verses 11-14. It's borderline comical. I can almost picture Jesus whispering under his breath, "Lazarus is dead, (you moron!)..."

DanielFast - Day 10

So, my wife thought it would be funny to forward an email containing pictures of food from Macaroni Grill...including a coupon for free desert. She's just sooo funny! Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Breakfast and lunch were, well, you know. For dinner we sampled the black bean soup with polenta. It was quite good! Had me some more chips and salsa as well. Yummy.

We're rapidly nearing the half-way point. (It's actually tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, not that I'm counting the seconds or anything) It's been a humbling and challenging experience. I can't imagine completely abstaining from food during a real fast.

Today we read John 10. In verse 10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Lord Jesus, whether I'm materially rich or poor, I pray for the full life that you have promised to those who seek you.

DanielFast - Day 9

The cravings....I feel like a crack addict or something. So many times today I was tempted to reward myself with a diet Pepsi. Especially after receiving coupons via email from Lone Star Steakhouse and Qdoba today. I just have to laugh.

Tonya came through again today. I was really busy all day and my Kashi cereal for breakfast and PBnJ for lunch didn't go very far. I came home to a fresh bowl of homemade salsa (people like to say salsa!). Major dopamine release. It's the best salsa in the world!

Today was John 9. The entire chapter speaks to spiritual blindness. I like verse 3. It's very comforting to be reminded that God is in control of everything.

DanielFast - Day 8

Today has been the most difficult day, by far. I find that interesting given that the Elevation blog world is lit up with posts and twitter about the weekend. Maybe we're on to something here....maybe satan doesn't like it...so he taunts me with 24 million fast food restaurants to and from work...and an office full of diet pepsi...and a stocked vending machine begging for the mountain of change in my office...and ads on TV every 1.5 minutes for pizza or steak or pretty much everything except tofu stir-fry...and maybe I say GET THEE BEHIND ME! You're blocking my view of Jesus.

Today's menu did have a new item. Breakfast and lunch were similar to days past, but at dinner we ventured down the road of tofu. My only experience with tofu is the Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Deborah molds the tofu into the shape of a turkey and serves it on Thanksgiving. So, you could say I had some preconceived ideas about how it was going to taste. All things considered, it wasn't too bad. It really doesn't taste like anything, but the consistency was a bit....different. I'm grateful to have a wife that is supporting this effort. She's made it infinitely easier than it could have been.

Today was John 8. The first part of the chapter is John's recording of the woman accused of adultery. (In the flesh, I really wish we knew what Jesus wrote in the sand) Verse 11 gives me hope. Lord Jesus, you are my hope.

DanielFast Days 5-7

Nothing remarkably exciting in terms of food over the past few days. Pretty much more of the same. I did have to break the fast a bit on Friday and Saturday as I was in Hilton Head, SC at a conference (3 of my meals were included in the registration). I did the best I could to maintain it, but with permission from Tonya I did have to deviate here and there. I'm back at it again today.

More important than any of that is the news I just received from my small group leader ... 400+ salvations today! Praise God! Certainly none of these people got saved as a result of any of our individual or collective efforts over the past week. But God has definitely heard the cry of our heart for Charlotte and responded in a big way today. Hallelujah!

Sidenote: During a very creative, artistic display during the service, the worship band sang this...live! Bass drum and all! It was awesome!

Early signs of ingenuity

What?! I told you I was hungry...

DanielFast - Day 4

It's definitely getting easier...with the exception of 2 things. First: I am desperate for a glass of tea or a diet Pepsi . Just something with flavor. Ugh! That's one of my rewards after I lecture: come back to my office and crack open a freezing cold diet Pepsi. Now: a plastic cup full of room temperature water. Second: I want something sweet! I can't remember ever going this long without sugar. I am having serious withdrawal. I am craving it!

Today's menu:

Breakfast: oatmeal with apple stuff and cinnamon; OJ; water

Lunch: all natural PB-n-J, banana, water

Dinner: Salad with homemade dressing and croutons, spaghetti with homemade "sauce", homemade whole wheat bread with pesto (sans parmessan); water

Today was John 4. Verse 48 is Jesus' response to a man who is begging Jesus to come and heal his son. Jesus says, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders...you will never believe." Makes me wonder how many times I've asked God to prove himself to me despite all I've read and seen and experienced, despite His grace and mercy. Lord Jesus, we praise you for your word and for the miraculous healings that you are still doing in all of us.

DanielFast - Day 3

Tonya went to the store today to pick up some items for the fast and returned to tell me some cool stories. One of the items she was looking for was vegetable stock to make some beans or soup or something. All brands, all sizes...gone! Natural peanut butter...gone! Elevators are shuttin' the place down! There are so many DanielFasters running around the Charlotte area that they can't keep the shelves stocked. Praise God! What an honor it is to be part of a church that gets it.

Today's menu:

Breakfast: more oatmeal, this time I put some natural applesauce stuff on it, helped a lot; OJ

Lunch: Natural PB-n-J on homemade bread; pink lady apple; water

Snack: leftover chips-n-salsa

Dinner: rice and beans and polenta; water

Today we read out of John 3. The verse that sticks out to me is verse 30. John the Baptist is responding to people telling him that Jesus is becoming more popular than he is. John says, "He must become greater; I must become less." Wow! There is a lot packed into that one sentence. You could pattern your entire life after that one sentence. Lord Jesus, help me to live a life whose focus is to make you famous.

DanielFast - Day 2

Today was a bit more challenging. The caffeine headache officially set in yesterday...although I've had worse during previous stretches of going caffeine free. Plus, I was so busy at work that I didn't have time to eat all of my already limited amount of food at lunch. So, I came home ravenous. Enter my superhero wife. Homemade salsa (people like to say salsa!), organic white corn chips and homemade whole wheat tortillas. I walked in the door and it was on! Between Caleb and I we consumed half of the bag of chips before "dinner" even got started. Talk about comfort food. :) OK, so here's the food rundown for Day 2.

Breakfast: same oatmeal as yesterday plus some raisins (didn't help much) and more OJ

Lunch: leftover pasta and tomatoes from the night before; water

Dinner: chips, salsa, whole wheat tortillas, homemade refried beans (out of dried pintos); water


Today we read John 2. A few things stood out to me today. In verse 4 Jesus is replying to Mary after she tells Him that they are out of wine at the wedding. He says, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come." This reminded me of God's timing. I may be doing exactly what God wants me to do, but if I'm doing it at the wrong time (i.e. rushing in when God tells me to wait) it most likely won't turn out the way God intended. The other verse that stands out is Jesus telling of his death and resurrection 3 years before it happens in verse 19. "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days." No one knew what he was talking about at the time, but John goes on a few verses later to describe how after the resurrection the disciples remembered Jesus saying this and it increased their faith. That's just cool! Jesus knew the impact of this one statement 3 years before it actually had an impact. It makes me think of all the limitations I put on God and how, at times, I try to keep him at arms length instead of just putting it ALL on the table and letting Him use it for His glory. Lord Jesus, help me to reach and recognize my tipping point - for your glory.

DanielFast - Day 1b

We've just completed our first 24 hours. I think I lost 18 pounds. Here's a rundown of what I enjoyed at my meals today:

Breakfast: steel cut oatmeal (prepared with water) "enhanced" with honey and cinnamon; 100% juice OJ (no sugar added)

Lunch: natural peanut butter on homemade yeastless (i.e. unleavened) whole wheat bread "enhanced" with honey and a banana; pink lady apple; water

Dinner: whole wheat pasta with diced tomatoes, salad with homemade whole wheat croutons and homemade dressing, green beans, homemade whole wheat bruschetta; water

Overall, today hasn't been too bad. I'm going to have to experiment a bit with the oatmeal to make it a bit more tolerable. Also, putting a banana on a sandwich 5 hours before you eat it - bad idea. Probably the hardest thing today was not raiding my stash of granola bars or the refrigerator full of diet Pepsi in my office.

As I mentioned below, we're reading the book of John corporately as we fast and move through the new sermon series. Today was John 1. My favorite verse and prayer out of this chapter is from John 1:51 ... "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Lord Jesus, I pray that the heavens would open over Charlotte!

DanielFast - Day 1

The What
Tonya and I will begin participating in the DanielFast at Elevation tonight. The short version of the story is: we don't get to eat anything "American." No meat, dairy, caffeine, or products with added sugar. While I have made significant progress in improving my overall diet from my twice daily Taco Bell runs of years ago, I'm far from being voted mayor of Boulder, CO. So, this is going to be tough...which I guess is the point.

The Why
We're entering into a new season at church and we're anticipating that God is going to move mightily. (There have been so many miraculous things happen at this church...the salvations, the attendance, the baptisms, a new campus in uptown Charlotte...its just hard to imagine with my finite mind how much more HE could possibly do. I can't wait to witness it...) In order to prepare ourselves for our part in what is about to happen, the church is entering into this time of corporate study, prayer and "fasting." The new series for which we are all preparing starts next Sunday and concludes September 8th. I'll try to keep everyone updated with the happenings at church and all the crazy stuff I'm about to eat over the next 3 weeks. Who knows...maybe I'll look like this when it's over.

Classic Scene Friday

What's amazing about this is that I distinctly remember seeing this live the first time it was played on TV in 1985...and I remember the names of 90% of the artists who performed. Great...now I'm depressed. :)

Our Gifted Child

Caleb has recently been trying many new things. We're very proud of him for taking the initiative to constantly challenge and improve himself. For example, here is Caleb trying to teach himself to eat and drink with his eyes closed - just in case he ends up losing his vision. He has also been practicing walking around the house and putting letters in his Fridge Phonics toys with his eyes closed. Way to go, son!

He has also been trying to learn to sleep on a regular mattress in preparation for Baby Girl Nuzum's arrival (yes, I know, we really should give that poor child a name). As you can see, the first attempt was only moderately successful. At least he's not completely under the crib.

Lastly, as many of you have witnessed, Caleb is notorious for putting platefuls of food in his mouth at one time (provided said food has a glycemic index of 9 million or greater). Well, just in case this practice causes him to grow a second mouth, he has been practicing this new double-cup method of drinking. I feel like we should gather around him and chant "go, go, go, go, go, go, go......"

Yep, the gene pool is deep in this house.

Classic Scene Friday

Fun (& a little work) in Chi-Town

OK...the work part is boring, but I have been doing some work. So on to the fun stuff.

Saturday:
Cruised to Chicago in style after a free upgrade to first class. Sweet! Checked-in to the hotel and then headed out to dinner at Bice. Company was much better than the food, but it was OK.

Sunday:
Headed across the street to the AMC theater and grabbed the last 3 tickets to the 3:15 showing of Dark Knight...at 12:00! We got in line (& we weren't first) at 2:00. It was WELL worth it in my opinion. Best Batman movie to date...and definitely the darkest. Headed out for tapas at Emilio's. Food was great!

Today:
Grabbed a cab down to the Art Institute of Chicago. Had several Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh on display. The coolest part was getting to see these in person:

















After the museum, we walked the magnificent mile on Michigan Ave and grabbed some Chicago style pizza at Giordano's. After rolling back to the hotel, a few of us headed out to find the subway and made our way to the Whitesox - Rangers game at U.S. Cellular Field. We were treated to a Josh Hamilton homerun and a Rangers win.

I miss my family desperately, but it's been a good trip.

Classic Scene Friday

Sparkleberry Ink

You've probably heard of Miami Ink and L.A. Ink. Feast your eyes on the artistry of the NC interpretation of the tattoo.

Classic Scene Friday

I'm getting old-er

I can't believe it. My "little" sister turns 30 today. Reminds me of a funny story related to:

And it doesn't seem that long ago that we looked like this:















Happy birthday, Kel. Big brother loves you!

Classic Scene Friday

Like I said before, the "scenes" only have to be classic to me. I'm sure at least Matt and my sister will get a kick out of it. Happy 4th!

Blessed beyond measure

What a blessing they are to me, to us. What a blessing they are to each other. I am amazed by God's ability to reveal Himself to us through raising and knowing these boys, my sons.

It's Here...

...and it ROCKS! Dig it!

Classic Scene Friday

Colossians 3 - Part I

In the grammy award winning words of the Newsboys..."It's just a Spirit thing..." I'll fill in the details later. For now, read this.

Classic Scene Friday

The Terrible Twos

I think God puposely reserves children like this one for #2 (or 3 or 4). Otherwise, the concept of siblings may go extinct. Total destruction time was 27.5 seconds. Clean up took a bit longer.

Psalm 24

It all belongs to God. All of it. My life, my time, my money, my stuff. ALL of it - His. He has simply allowed me the opportunity and responsibility of being a good steward with what He has given me. Psalm 24 says the Earth is the Lord's, and everything in it... None of it belongs to me. God has really been working me over in regard to this principle. He brought it to me during DOMINATE and again during Break Out - particularly in regard to finances. So many times I've rebelled against God because I needed something, or wanted something or felt like we should buy or save for "this" despite God telling us to contribute to "that."

Recently, we've seen a bit of an unusual surplus in our finances. The economic stimulus check and a few payments for things I've written or presentations I've given all showed up within a few weeks of each other. After tithing, we immediately dug out the list of items and projects we've been wanting to address but haven't had the disposable income to fund. So, while searching hundreds of websites for children's furniture and deciding what gifts to get for this relative and that - I continually felt the impression to just wait. But we need - just wait....but the baby - just wait...but our trip to Texas - just wait...but next February my TV - are you kidding?

In the midst of waiting, God revealed to us why we were waiting. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it has been to see God provide for multiple unforeseen expenses with this money. Things that would normally have required us to dip into the savings - taken care of. No adjustment of the budget or scrambling to come up with extra cash or temptation to whip out the credit card and worry about it later. He provided - completely.

God always has a plan. I think sometimes we just have to learn to stay out of the way so he can put it into motion - perfectly.

Classic Scene Friday

Classic Scene Friday

Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Y Chromosome

Part I.

There seems to be something coded on the Y chromosome that is missing from its counterpart, X. Some combination of base pairs that makes guys do things or find joy in things that women find ridiculous, disgusting or juvenile. For example, Tuesday we put our minivan in the shop and secured a rental car while it was being worked on. Since I was in charge of this exchange, I got to pick the vehicle we would be using until the van is ready. As I'm sitting across the desk from rental car guy while he types away in an attempt to find my vehicle...my mind begins to wander. I begin to daydream about what type of car I'll get - maybe they're renting Ferrari's for $30 a day now! That's would be ridiculous -but maybe he'll offer a convertible Mustang or a 350Z - it could happen! The rental car guy starts speaking and brings me out of my daze. He offered me the "free" upgrades and said I could get a Chevy Impala or a NISSAN PATHFINDER. Now, no sane XY individual who finds himself in this situation is thinking, "Oh, yes! I was hoping for the Impala!" So, obviously I took the Pathfinder...and put into the contract that I was the only one driving. :)

Part II.

After driving said Pathfinder for a day or so, I noticed a unique feature on the beefy man car that I've not seen on a vehicle previously. It has a meter on the dash that tells you how much farther you can drive before you run out of gas. In the photo below it says "dte" which I assume stands for distance to empty.

According to this, I can drive 56 miles before expecting the testosterone mobile to run out of gas. For decades now, the XYs have been in a battle with that little red arm. "How far below 'E' can I go before the tank is really empty?" Now they've digitized the red arm - enabling it to taunt us with each passing mile, saying, "I DARE you to drive more than 56 miles before filling up!" I have no choice but to accept this challenge. The Y in me demands it. I must push "dte" into the negative numbers. I have to know if it really means I only have 56 miles left. If I back down from this challenge, I may as well be a rational XX.

P.S. Yes, there is a Seinfeld clip about this, but I couldn't find it on YouTube

P.P.S. If any of you happen to be driving by the hospital in Monroe on Friday morning and see someone walking down the road away from a stranded black Pathfinder...it's definitely not me.

Sweet Fancy Moses

Chad rebuts.

Classic Scene Friday

My friend Chad has been quoted as saying he wishes he could dance. I wonder if this is what he meant.

Wild Kingdom (aka Wingate)

So, I'm up here at school working on an article that was due like 2 weeks ago (someone please teach me to say NO!). I decided I needed some calories to thrust my brain back into work mode - so out of the office I go toward the only food within walking distance....Mickey D's. (ironically my article is about diabetes....hmmm) As I bound down the stairs I plant both hands firmly on the horizontal bar that opens the door only to feel an odd sensation under my right hand....

...as I feel this thing under my hand, my brain immediately begins to assess the situation and hypothesize what it might be. Before my eyes can slash down to see what it actually is, I think to myself - someone has played a practical joke on me and put some substance on the door handle - ketchup? (catsup for you weirdos), glue maybe? I immediately surmise that it is not now nor was this thing ever any type of liquid. Then I postulate that maybe it was just a piece of tape that found its way to the door handle. Finally my eyes catch up with my brain and I look down to find this guy resting on the door handle right under my hand...

Wingate Door Monster

...how he got there, I have no idea. But he successfully scared the .....well, lets just say I jumped back and insulted his heritage a few times before regaining my composure. I then escorted my friend back outside where he belongs and continued on my mission.

I need to interject here and add that I have been up here alone all day...not a soul in sight due to the holiday - so I'm a little more "jumpy" than I otherwise would be. Also, I'm a little on edge after reading this post from the Creative Pastor at Elevation.

Sweet Tunes

This guy leads worship at a sister church down in Anderson, SC. Our worship team has rocked a few of his songs the past few weeks. I downloaded his CD from iTunes about a week ago. I can't turn it off! Dig it.

Classic Scene Friday

Trip to DC

Just returned from a conference just outside of DC in Lansdowne, VA. I flew into Dulles where they have these odd-looking shuttles or "mobile lounges" that you can ride from one part of the airport to another.

I experienced quite a number of other firsts on this trip. It was my first visit to DC...although I shouldn't really count it b/c I didn't get to do many of the typical DC things secondary to being "locked" in this nuclear fall-out shelter type building. It was the most bizarre building I've ever been in. It is solid concrete and most of it is underground. I got lost inside the building 3 times the first day I was there. My colleagues and I did finally escape Wednesday evening. We took a cab to the... (I have to digress here and ask if anyone has ever had a cab ride that didn't make them car sick and/or wonder if they'd make it to their destination alive. You'd think people who drive for a living would be competent at driving.) We took a cab to the metro station and orange-and-green-lined over to Nationals Park for a Washington Nationals game.

The metro was my first experience on a real subway system. The ride in wasn't too bad...other than prolonging the nausea I developed in the cab. The ride out of DC lived up to all of my preconceived notions about riding a subway. It was PACKED! Many, many people invading my personal space. It was also my first baseball game at Nationals Park. The Nationals are terrible - reminded me of the hundreds of Rangers games I went to back in the day.

Things that were not firsts on this trip: horrible cab rides (see above), difficulty sleeping away from home - especially without the wife and kids, and the ability of every airport in the world to make people who are probably otherwise sane and rational to become ridiculously impatient and irrational. It is astounding to watch people transistion to Mr. Hyde over the smallest inconvenience. I'm glad to be home!

Jedi Master Indeed!

Greatness! I couldn't wait until Friday to post this...thanks Phillip

Baby Names

We're struggling with names...so I'm reaching out to the blogosphere for help. I'll list a few that we've warmed up to, but we're open to suggestions.

Lauren Ruth
Avery Elise
Avery Grace
Erin ...
Claire ...

Classic Scene Friday

The Greatest Fashion Faux Pas in History

I stopped off at a department store to grab a couple new dress shirts on the way home from work tonight. I don't normally become enraged over clothing for sale in a store, but tonight...that changed. Maybe the day I had today set me up for my internal tirade this afternoon, not sure. What I encountered is something that I have long found distasteful, but normally would just shake my head in disapproval and move on. Today, it just set me off. Who actually buys these things? Personally, I would equilibrate the item I observed today to things like the male unitard...it just shouldn't happen! I submit for your disapproval - the short sleeve dress shirt/tie combo.

Classic Scene Friday

Weekend "Away"

We hit the Wachovia over the weekend. We had a great time! Tonya's parents flew in last Thursday to watch the boys. So, on Friday afternoon, we took off for our weekend away...a whole twenty miles away. Friday evening we had dinner reservations at The Palm. Neither of us had been there before, but we had heard great things about it. The rumors were true...the food was delicious! (although I still think their steak is better!) After dinner we attempted to walk off a bit of our dinner before grabbing some desert to go. We both joked about how weird it was to hold each other's hand while walking around. I had the Dutch Apple Caramel Streusel. Tonya had the Which Chocoloate Raspberry Truffle.

Saturday we slept until 9:00 AM! Neither of us could remember the last time we slept that late. We barely made it down to breakfast in time. We then caught our shuttle over to Quail Hollow. We decided to follow Vijay Singh and Geoff Ogilvy the first day. I had a great time further introducing Tonya to the world of golf and, of course, just getting to spend time with her. No Treo, no laptop, no kids, no insanely jealous dog...just us. And about 350,000 of our closest friends and golf professionals. Saturday night we were beat from walking the entire course. So we headed out for a casual evening at CPK. We sat outside on the patio - the weather was perfect! We enjoyed some good food and spent a lot of time talking...without being interrupted. It was glorious!

Sunday we met the Peeks and the boys at church. Furtick tore it up, again! After church we grabbed some souffles at Panera and then it was back to golf for us. Sunday we decided to park on a hole and watch a few groups come by and then migrate to another hole. We hung out at # 1 and watched all the big names go by. It was really neat to see Couples, Furyk, Mickelson and the like come strolling past. After the lead group finished, we made our way to a few other holes to watch for a while. We eventually found some bleacher seats at # 17 tee and watched a few groups come through. Finally, we found some seats at #18 green and watched everyone, including Kim, finish their rounds.

Special thanks to Dudley and Sherree for braving the skies to take care of the boys. I'll have to write later in the week about all the... "stuff" they bought for the boys and developing girl.

Extra special thanks to my smokin' hot wife for submitting to my self-indulgent definition of a romantic weekend away. I enjoyed every second and I am looking forward to the next time we'll get to do something like this...in 2011.

Classic Scene Friday

I've decided that a new theme for the blog would be to post a classic moment from a TV show or movie...classic to me anyway. Enjoy this week's installment!

My favorite scene from The Office

Addendum: the original video is no longer available. Sorry for the quality of this one.

For those not familiar with The Office, the show typically starts with a 1-2 minute interaction between Jim and Dwight. The scenes may or may not have anything to do with the plot of the rest of the episode, but they're always hilarious. Enjoy!

Elevation Church

I know many of you have heard me rant and rave about the great things God is doing at our church ...but I have to do it some more. It is truly miraculous to watch what is going on in the lives of the people here, including me. It has never been so obvious to me that I am right in the middle of something God is orchestrating. I feel like I'm living in biblical times...watching things like this, this, this or this happen on a weekly basis. (Don't worry, I'm not going Benny Hinn or Branch Davidian on you. But I guess you could say I drank the kool-aid.) I've bought in 100%, becuase there is no explanation other than God. Not to mention, Joshua (scroll down to "Quest") loves it and the music is ridiculously good!

Thank you, Lord, for bringing us to Charlotte to be a part of this!

En Fuego!

To celebrate yesterday's good news we gave mom the night off and went out to dinner. Somehow (wink, wink) we ended up at OTB. The pictures below provide evidence for how effective I am as a dad - he refuses to eat them without salsa. That's my boy!

It's a Girl!

Introducing Li'l T #1. Tonya and I are both shocked; we were both so sure she was a he. We're in a bit of a daze...thinking of all the things that will be different this time around. Thankfully, all measurements and such are completely normal and we're on target for a September 25th due date. Thank you, Lord, for protecting our little girl.

The funniest reaction so far has to be Joshua. It went something like this...

[Obstetrician enters room after ultrasound is complete.]

OB: So, Joshua, what did you learn today?

Joshua: [blank stare at mom and dad]

OB: What did you see on the little black and white screen?

Joshua: a baby

OB: a baby...what kind of baby?

Joshua: a girl

OB: What do you think about that?

Joshua: I wanted a brother!

Praise Reports

We have seen 2 students give their lives to Christ in the past few weeks. Joy and I have been praying for God to work through our efforts with our student chapter of CPFI. Praise God for His mercy and grace.

Our friends, the Morrises, have continued to improve at a miraculous rate. Please remain in prayer for them.

Content Update

Updates have been made to the blog. It' s beginning to take shape and I'm discovering how much I don't know about "computers" - HTML coding and the like. I guess I have a new project. Hopefully we can use this to keep everyone up to date with Li'l D #3.

1st Trip to Chicago

I'm heading to Chicago in July and I'll be staying at the Sheraton on Lake Michigan with my friend Chris. We may even try to sneak in a round here.

Their creativity didn't stop with checkers...

http://view.break.com/487616 - Watch more free videos

#1

I guess the future of this blog is not so bright...since I couldn't even come up with a catchy title for the post. Hopefully what "they" say about the first day being the hardest is true and things will get better.

Please continue to pray for our friends the Morrises. You can follow their progress here.