Welcome to the neighborhood

Hey everybody. There's a new kid on the blog-block. Case is a friend of mine, who happens to have a small predatory animal (aka teething son) a little older than my own Liler'E. He recently started blogging, and so far I've enjoyed his humor. Here are some excerpts.

On failed attempts at reverse psychology:

#7) "Chase, here's the sharpies, there's the dining room wall. Go be Picaso."
#4) "Is that the furthest you can pull the tissue paper off the roll?
Go for it! Pretend you're in Cirque du Soleil."
#1) "Go play hide and seek with Mommy & Daddy's passports."

On being ignored by Queen Elizabeth:

It was a neat experience to see a famous person so close up, and it really made Kani's day. I enjoyed it too...the only true royalty that I'd ever been close to before was Andy Rooney on 43rd & 7th Ave.

On his year-old son's ability to track down food:

You see...he's kind of like those raptors in Jurassic Park. He plans. He remembers.

On the New England Patriots:

Football heroes should never come from a region of the United States whose main contribution to society is baked beans & Marky Mark prancing around in his underoos.

Be a good neighbor. Drop by and say hi. Tell him Euphrony sent you. And he won't turn away some brownies or a plate of cookies, either.

Do something . . .

from Whittaker Woman

from Ethos

from Shaun

from BooMama

from David Kuo

Do something . . . for $32

Do something . . . for $1

Do something . . . for $35

Do something . . . for $7

A pebble can start a rock slide. A straw breaks the camel's back. A dollar - a bottle of coke - provides drinking water to one man in Africa for a year. $1! Don't change the world - change a life.

Please, do something!

Tags: Compassion International, Blood:Water Mission, World Vision, Mocha Club, Uganda, Photos, Blogging

Humility (and a quote)

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am teaching a class on Sunday morning at our church. It has been interesting, thus far. If anything, the class has grown slightly over the last six weeks, leaving me amazed that anyone would voluntarily stay in a class I teach that long.

This last Sunday the subject was humility. One of the points I raised was the subtle difference between seeking to learn humility in our lives and being forced to learn humility through our arrogance. I also questioned them on Moses, the most humble man on earth at the time, and how a person of humility could be a good leader.

I shared this quote, from G.K. Chesterton, and I'll leave you with it:

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed.

What do you think of Chesterton's thought's on humility misplaced?

Tags: Chesterton, Humility, Quote, Teaching

Musical Guilty Pleasure: The Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree. They perform in robes. (Okay, now they perform in a pseudo-militaristic uniform.) Their lead singer, Tim DeLaughter, is a bit spastic and has a grating voice. But I still like listening to their music. Call me strange, but not before you listen to them yourself.

A group of 23 (more or less) eclectic musicians, playing something of a cross between classical, choral, jazz, rock, and random musical styles. Some harp, some violin, some guitar, some percussion, a little brass and a dancing choir. About as odd as it gets - but somehow still fun.

Enjoy!

Tags: Polyphonic Spree, Guilty Pleasure

Deep Thought for the Weekend

I'll have a couple of music posts up on Monday; until then I thought I would leave you with a deep thought that recently occurred to me while watching The Incredibles:

You know, I bet that Elastigirl had a really easy time during childbirth. I'm just saying.

Women, you should appreciate this the most.

Tags: The Incredibles, Childbirth, Elastigirl

Rhyming Game

(Lil'E) I know! Let's play the rhyming game! Let's rhyme duck.

(Euphrony tenses, fearful of the possible letter combinations and preparing to control his own reactions should they arise.)

(Lil'E) duck . . . luck . . . muck . . . stuck . . .

(And so we go, every day. The anticipation of one particular rhyme is killing me.)

Pray for some friends

But the Union University campus was perhaps hardest hit.

Candra Pennington, a senior, told CNN there were 15 students in her dorm when the warning sirens went off.

"We went to look at the weather and we realized we couldn't get the door open," she said. "We had to get all 15 girls in the bathroom. As we were closing the bathroom door, the debris, the windows were shattering in with us, the ceiling began to fall on us. We were able to get the door shut just in time to keep ourselves safe from all of the debris that fell out into the room.

Classes have been canceled for two weeks to allow for cleanup.
(from CNN's coverage)

This is from the aftermath of a series of savage storms to strike Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Arkansas last night. The women's dorms at Union University were destroyed by the tornado. Some of Mrs. E and my best friends live in Jackson, Tennessee - she teaches at Union. I talked to him briefly this morning: their house took some roof damage, and the attic window was blown out. They have no electricity and the phone lines are down; but they do have gas for heating (very good, since it is in the 40s there this morning). Overall, he tells me that they are the people in good shape right now - others there were much harder hit.

Please, pray for my friends, and for the people affected by last nights storms. Erin (who won Kat's captcha contest) also teaches at Union, so pray for her and her husband, as well.

Tags: Tornado, Severe Weather, Jackson, Tennessee, Union University, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky

Things I learned last night

Here are three things I learned last night:

1. I'm a total loser: After helping tuck the kids in bed last night, I decided that I really needed some me time. I told Mrs. E that I was going to catch a late movie. I went to see The Bucket List - it was a pretty good movie. It stars Morgan Freeman, playing a man facing his impending mortality, and Jack Nicholson, playing Jack Nicholson. I was the only person in the theater. The only person. I feel like such a loser; but I don't really care, because at least it was an undisturbed viewing of the movie.


2. Never trust my children at bedtime: As I said, I tucked in the kids before leaving. Liler'E I put in bed around 8:00. He is Mrs. E's child: when he is tired you better get him in bed. Lay him in his bed and he'll sit up, watch you go and maybe cry a little, and then he'll jackknife. Literally, he folds over at the waist, head between his feet, and zonks out. He'll find a more comfortable position later. When I got home from the movie, Mrs. E was getting him back in bed after he woke up coughing (he's never really gotten over that bout of RSV he had at Christmas), but that didn't take long. Lil'E, on the other hand, is my child. I tucked her in bed around 8:45 and told her to go to sleep. When I got home, at midnight, Mrs. E was laying Liler'E back in bed and realized she heard sounds coming from Lil'E's room. Peeking in, she found that Lil'E had not, in fact, gone to sleep but had been playing quietly in her room for the last three hours. Did I mention that it was midnight? Did I mention that I did (okay, do) the same thing? Never trust my child to go to sleep at bedtime. Ever.


3. At bedtime, you can never have too many snugglies: Lil'E taught me this, too. One snugglie is not enough. In fact, two rarely fills the bill. At times, we wonder how Lil'E finds room to sleep on her bed with so many stuffed animals collected in such a small space. But, judging from the peaceful, content look on her (finally!) sleeping face, you really can't have too many.

So, what did you learn yesterday? Anything? Nothing - why not?

Tags: The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sleep, Bedtime

Happy Birthday, Mrs. E!

Some years ago (just how many, I won't say) a little girl was born. As she grew, she learned many things: how to have a soft heart toward people, how to act and direct plays, how to teach others (and hold a class in line), how to love children, even how to love a fool like me. Today is her special day, and since I have a soapbox I'm going to use it.

I love you, Mrs. E! Happy Birthday!

You are the better part of my life, and without you many of the things and memories I hold dearest would never have come to be. We've had rough times and we've had good times; our friendship endures through it all. My heart jumps every time I look in your direction. I cannot imagine a better mother for our children. Nor can I imagine a better mate for my life. I wouldn't want anyone else to beat me at Skip-Bo, my Skip-Bo Queen. I love to hear you laugh at my inane jokes, even if you call them cheesy. And I love to see your smile when something makes you happy.

Today is your birthday. We may not have big plans, just a family outing tonight, but know that you are in my heart and you are my love.

Ouch!

Mr. Adams, this hits a little too close to home.

Tags: Dilbert