Boys will be boys

Here's an interesting parody ad I saw on the back of a magazine I received for free.  Now, I don't have a boy, and I've never raised a boy, but it seems to me that boys should be allowed (maybe even encouraged?) to get hurt often.  That is, boys should be allowed to be boys, so when they are done being boys, they will be men.

Just some Christmas pics

Going backwards through time, these pics are from the extended family Christmas celebration at our house, a visit from Aunty Nay Nay, the immediate family Christmas celebration at our house, and the extended family Christmas celebration at the Welling's house.  Okay!

I had a feeling...

I don't recall the circumstances, but I remember thinking recently that little Stella might be interested in the same sorts of things that I am...wishful thinking, maybe.  More to the point, I had a feeling she would turn out to be theologically astute.  Just a feeling, really; I can't put my finger on anything that might amount to a reason leading to that conclusion.  In any event, here's a photo, completely unstaged (honestly), that I think lends itself in the direction of confirming my feelings on the matter. 

Pics of the Pumpkin Patch

Over the weekend, we traveled to Grand Prairie to celebrate a double header: Papa's birthday and Uncle JJ's fiance's birthday. While there, we also did a little harvest celebrating as well. Avoiding the obvious questions about "harvest celebrating" for folks who get there "produce" from an "aisle" where it "rains" out of little nozzles every 15 minutes or so, lets move on to the pics. That is, after all, why you are here.
But first, I should tell you what you are about to see. There were pumpkins (large ones, small ones, orange ones, green bumpy ones, on the ground, in buckets, in troughs etc.), tractors, a hay maze (which made for a confusing day for that man whose last name was, apparently, Mays: anyone at the patch: "Hay maze!" Mr. Mays: "Hey what?!"), a corn maze, (which made for a confusing day for the Native Americans present, for whom "corn maize" is redundant), a playground, and lots of people. It was a beautiful day, so there are many pics. Here ya go:

Did I wake up in 1938?

This report was waiting for me this morning when I sat down at the computer to catch up on some obscure theological debate.

"Villagers in Peru are struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite crashes nearby..."

"Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor..."

"Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned..."

No kidding! Doesn't anyone remember what happened after the last meteorite? Well, the top unscrewed and these egg-shaped craft came walking out and zapped all the onlookers with spraying sparks, for starters. Then they started collecting people and draining the life out of them for use in some kind of extra-terrestrial garden project...whatever it was, it was not good for the people involved.

Peruvian Villagers: after your headaches wear off, but before the egg-craft come out, I want you to run up and sneeze or cough toward the meteor. The creatures inside have not be vaccinated, so if you can get them sick with the cold or flu, they'll die. I'm serious; this is what happened last time.

A number of things to know...

Here they are, not in any kind of order, except right to left and top to bottom:

1. d. reeves design house is trotting along. On the back of our products, we mention something about how d. reeves design house is also our house: our dining room is our production facility. "Now this is cute and all, but surely that's all it is; we know you have some kind of rented space in a warehouse or something." Nope, and below is a pic to prove it. That's us, in our dining room. What you can't see is the dining table for all the 4"x6.5" albums stacked on top of it.


2. We recently joined our local YMCA. I am reminded of a quip one of my professors at OSU loved to rehearse: "Why do we call it the 'Y'? You don't have to be young, and it isn't just for males, and membership is not restricted to Christians...we should call it the 'A'. Anyway, the girls positively love swimming at the Y; take a look:


3. Stella had not been gaining weight the way all the inanimate, laminated charts expected her to. So Diane started a rigorous 3000 calorie/day diet. By the by, I have also been on a 3000 calorie/day diet, but it is more accidental than prescribed, and seems to be producing something that looks like a pregnant belly...no pictures to prove this, but who would look?
In any event, Diane's increased diet is working and Stella is gaining weight now like a champ, and a heavy weight one at that. Here she is standing:


Also, since mommy needs to eat more, Stella decided she (Stella) would help out with the cooking. In lieu of chef's hat, she donned a pair of bloomers. We think its pretty convincing:


4. Emma is doing well as well. Much of her day is given to telling stories about all the interesting things she and her baby do. Ironically, those things are nearly identical to the things that Mommy does with her. She is also exploring all the things her body can do. Lately, she will stand atop her potty (lid closed), crouch down, then spring into the air while making a complex swishing sound (with her mouth). Think of one of the action/martial arts sequences in The Matrix; though she's not seen it, she's pretending it.
Here's a picture of Emma's most recent exploration. I think she thought she was caving.


5. Podcasting is free, and apparently they'll let just anybody do it. Just kidding; here is a link to the sermon podcasts of a good friend of mine who is the pastor of a church in Greenville, Texas. And since I have pictures for all the rest, here's one of Greg. No, he has never been arrested, and he is not as dorky as he looks.