Waiting is the hardest part...

We had 2 great showers in the past week and have been extremely blessed by everyone’s generosity!  This weekend we spent a lot of time arranging Caleb’s room and making it look “cute”.  It was a lot of fun but now that the room is almost all ready I find myself getting impatient.  I am drawn to his room and just stand there or pace, looking for things to do, praying for Caleb and just generally wanting him to be here.  I think I could just stand there, in his empty room, for hours.  I know Sarah has a lot more reasons to want him here than I do so I can’t imagine how she feels.  It’s been so exciting to see everything come together as we get ready for his arrival in 7 weeks or so.  

Work Shower

A preview of the nursery

Simplify your life

I found this on twitter via @derekwebb from a blog called Apartment Therapy.  I know nothing of the blog but thought this post was good (I especially like the term "absofrickinglutely"):

In the spirit of keeping it short and sweet, here are five quick suggestions for simplifying your life:
1. When deciding whether or not to do something (or buy something) if the answer is not "Absofrickinglutely!" then let the answer be a definitive, "No." I read this in a book recently, and it has been life-changing. Do you want to volunteer for the school annual fund this year? Well, I guess I should, but....STOP! The answer is no. Do you want to help the first grade bake cookies for Valentine's Day? Absofrickinlutely! You get the idea?
2. Purge, Purge, Purge. I think there are at least one zillion sayings that roughly translate to the less you own, the less that owns you. Grab a bag and purge. A bag a day for 30 days? Sure. And when you are tempted to buy something new, see #1 (Do you absofrickinlutely have to have it?)
3. Set limits to your availability and access to technology. My personal rule is that I log off at 7:30pm every night. No texts, no emails, no internet after that point. That way, I can relax without interruption and spend time with my family. Set limits to checking your email, too. A couple times a day (or a few more depending on your needs.) Otherwise, you can seriously spend your entire day checking your email and sending texts. I also recommend a technology fast every once in awhile. (Talk about feeling healthy and refreshed!)
4. Outsource, delegate, repeat. No one can do it all. (Unless of course, you can, in which case, can you call me so that I can delegate some tasks to you?) Hire a neighbor's cash-thirsty teenager to help with some household chores. Try to find room in your budget to outsource the most time-consuming things on your list.
5. Set your sights on new experiences, not new things. Experiences, more than material things, are what make humans the happiest. Perhaps rather than creating a wish list that includes new "things" (which will require packaging, un-packaging, using, storing, cleaning, upkeep, etc.) think about setting your heart's desire on new experiences. A backpacking trip. A new yoga class. A massage. A night with the TV turned off, cell phones on mute, laptops closed, playing backgammon with loved ones. Simply sublime.

New Year's Trip

Over New Year’s weekend we visited a college friend of mine in Ohio.  We had a blast hanging out with him (Matt) and his wife (Kristan) and their two kids (Jaxson and Paisley).  We had so much fun catching up with them and even got a little snow.  We took a vacation day on Tuesday so that we could stay an extra day and boy am I glad we did.  Turns out on Monday there was a 30 car pile-up in the snow in West Virginia on the route we would have taken home and the snow and black ice was terrible.  While we still had some snow (see the picture below) it wasn’t for long stretches and we made it home, amazingly, without seeing a single accident or having any traffic.  What an answer to prayer.  Here are some pictures from our trip:

Paisley going for a ride on Lucy

We did some work on the water heater and Jaxson watches from the Basement

Jaxson playing with Paisley's toy

Lucy enjoyed the extra attention

Snow!

Had some white out snow on the way home (not much though)

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my wonderful, beautiful wife of 7 years and 6 months.

10 weeks

As 2 of our friends from church bring home newly adopted twins it hit me...in 10 weeks that will be me and Sarah.  Well not with twins...but the thought of bringing just one home is stressful enough for me :).  10 weeks...that's nothing.  Yikes.
In the meantime though we have 10 weeks to spend with our many friends who have had babies in the last year and gather as much information as we can!

Congrats to Jonathan and Rachel on bringing home Chloe and Mercy! Can't wait to meet them.

Literary Observation

I've been doing a lot of reading lately.  Mostly fiction. I enjoy fiction as a way to unwind after work.  Nothing against non-fiction but it requires a much more active reading style which I don't always have the will power for by the end of the day.  Anyway...the fiction books I've been reading lately have brought to my mind something that a friend told me once.  Oddly enough it was during our premarital counseling.  I don't remember how we got on the topic but we were talking about Harry Potter and Dave (the guy who was counseling us) said that his issue with HP was not the magic but rather the prevailing theme that Adults are inept and incompetent where the children are fully capable of rising to the challenge, defying death, breaking rules and saving the world.  Lately I've read some pretty popular fiction stories which all involve adolescent kids who end up saving the world, usually through not listening to their elder's advice.  The Hunger Games trilogy, the Harry Potter series, the "I Am Number 4" series, all have that similar concept.  I know the idea of a young protagonist who disobeys rules is hardly new (Tom Sawyer, A Separate Piece, Chronicles of Narnia) it seems like the concept has been glorified recently.  I confess it's been awhile since I've read the older novels listed but it seems there were consequences for breaking the rules that aren't there in more recent stories.  I haven't fully thought through all of this, I just find it interesting, so feel free to comment on your thoughts

As a side note for my birthday I received a Kindle touch from my parents.  If anyone is on the fence about buying one of these I'd strongly recommend it.  It's so nice to be able to carry this little thing around and have access to so many books.  It reads like paper so my eyes can take a break from the computer screen and its evil pixels! And I can rent books from the library (limited selection but the option is there).

And just b/c it makes the blog more fun here is a trailer for the Hunger Games movie coming out next year...

Quote I like

So I stumbled upon this blog called "Talk to Strangers Blog" about a guy who's trying a "Project" where he talks to complete strangers.  I haven't gotten far in it and as a warning there is some language but it's an interesting concept.  I did like the following quote though...

The old me liked elevators because most people obey a certain protocol of willful ignoring. No one says anything because no one wants to talk to people in an elevator. It’s peaceful. I wish someone would change the protocol that says when you pass a co-worker walking the opposite direction in the hallway you have to say “hi.” It’s a stupid custom. It’s just a waste of time and doesn’t accomplish anything. Do you think Vulcans say hi to each other when they walk past each other on their space ships? It’s not logical. For some reason, elevators went the other way from hallways and people know to keep their mouths shut in elevators. Sometimes you get a chatty UPS guy or Water Delivery Man who addresses the whole elevator with a “How’s everyone doing today?” like he’s going to pass around a hat like a homeless guy on a New York subway, but nine times out of ten it’s quiet.

I think it's great.  And I totally agree with the "hi" in hallways thing.  I've been sitting in the cube next to you for the last 7.5 hours.  Why do I need to say "hi" when we pass as you're coming out of the bathroom and I'm going in...
Anyway.  I hope you enjoyed.  I know Sarah appreciated the Star Trek reference :)