Time Between Times

The time period between Christmas and New Years is always a wierd time. We are never sure when to take down the tree, what to do with out time, etc. Today we went over to the hospital in St. Louis to visit a friend. She is such a trooper! Hmmm.. what else is going on? Not much. I (Ryan) hung a big wall of dry-wall the last two days. Feeling a little sore from that. Amy went to the doctor's office yesterday. The baby is doing fine. Amy's belly measured right, and the baby's heart beat was normal. We are believing for good health for both Amy and the baby. We still have not picked out a name yet. Amy is leading heavily towards "Ruthie." However, I have known people named "Ruth" before who, shall I just say, that I didn't enjoy their company. My first choice would have been Gabrielle, but that was probably just my fascination with this character from an old (and bad) sci-fi show. Of course, "Ruthie" probably comes from Amy's favorite show. At any rate, this child is probably going to be named after a tv charater. Is that wierd?

Pictures at Grandpa's

Here are a few more pictures! Feel free to leave comments down at the bottom.

1083 People

This is the post I was trying to post yesterday, but the computer simply would not work! Again... technology!

Today is Christmas day! A lot I could probably write about. We had a wonderful time opening gifts with Cassidy this morning. We decided to not do the Santa Clause tale with her. Basically, if she picks that up on her own, we will not tell her any different unless she asks. However, we have read the story of Saint Nicholas to her, and I think that even at three she understands. Some people asked her this year if Santa was going to bring her gifts. She just looked at them funny, and said, “No, Mommy and Daddy are getting me gifts.” Before we opened gifts this morning, we read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. We explained to Cassidy that the reason we give gifts is celebrate the birth of Jesus, who was God’s greatest gift to mankind. Not sure she understands it all now, but she will.

On Friday night we went to the Christmas program at Orchardville. Wow! There were 1083 people there! They had people outside parking cars! We got there about 15 minutes early, and were almost not able to sit together. We could not find two seats next to each other. Finally, some people in a whole role scooted down so we could set together when they realized we were sitting apart. The program was amazing. I still can hardly believe what this church can do. I am glad to be part of it. Only wish it were closer.

What else is going on? Not much really. Finished up the semester. Glad to have these days off. When I think about all the time I get to spend with my family, I am really glad I went into education. That is about it. To anyone who is reading this, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

More Tech Problem and Narnia!

Well, I had another fit with technology again today. Wouldn’t you know it, on the last day of the Sunday school class, we were not able to get the screen projector to work. I put the disk in, had it set, and once we were ready, it simply did not work. So I restarted the program, and still nothing. The program kept telling me it was not responding, and asking me if I wanted to send an error report. What a deal!

In other events, we watched The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe last Sunday night. It was great! I read that book when I was younger, and even then was able to see the symbolism. Now, I saw it so much more. The part that really stuck with me was when the kid betrayed his family for sweets. I had to wonder, is that what it is like when we sin? Are we, in a sense, betraying The Kingdom of God for nothing more than a moment of pleasure? If we could see it from the outside, from God’s point of view, it would be much the same I do believe.

On the way home, Amy and I had a very good discussion about the movie. I have a very unique view on life, as some of you may know. I tend to think that the very fact that we are able to image something, somehow, some way, proves that it is possible. Let me give an example. Years ago, Gene Rodenberry created a show called Star Trek. In the original series, Captain Kirk often uses what looks a lot like today’s cell phone to call the Enterprise (i.e. “Scotty, beam me up!”). I could go on and on proving this, but my point here is that, is it in some way possible, that a land something like Narnia really exists. Not just in our imagination, but for real. Perhaps in another dimension, perhaps in a parallel universe. Maybe it is somewhat like what Heaven will be like. I know this sounds strange, but maybe, just maybe, there are real Centaurs, and real Fauns. And real creatures that we cannot even dream of. Watching that movie, I had the same feeling I that I got when I first read the book…the feeling that I had perhaps been to that place…a long, long time ago. Maybe, if it were possible, a time before I was born. The feeling that…I belonged in that place. That it was my real home, and someday I would return. I kno

Technology...gotta love it!

Here is a an ultrasound picture of our new baby. Amy is due in March. And another picture of Cassidy and me (Ryan) in the snow. We had lots of snow, but it is all melting off today.

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. For the most part, this is true. However, all too often we find that instead of owning our little technological toys, they, in fact, own us. Case in point; A friend of mine teaches a Sunday School class (hi Fred). He has asked me to help out with running the screen projector and DVD he uses. Without fail, every Sunday morning we are faced with a seemingly insurmountable task of fixing a new technological problem. Sometimes it is a button that we neglected to turn on, sometimes one we forgot to turn off. Sometimes a cable is not all the way plugged into the back of the computer. Sometimes the computer must be restarted, sometimes it won’t read the disk, and nearly always, the little black box has to be turned back ON to turn out the lights at the end (and I always think, “why don’t they go off when I turn the box off the first time?”). On the other hand, technology produced this wonderful scull-like picture of my our new baby above. Wow, I hope she looks better than that when she gets here. I'm sure she will!


Hmmm..what else is going on. Went to lunch with my cousin Chris on Friday—one of the better parts about teaching is that you get “snow days.” Yeah! And we had a wonderful time with our friends Bobby and Janice at lunch today. And tonight, we are going to see "The Lion the Wich and the Wardrobe." I read that book when I was like 9 or 10. Looking forward to seeing the movie! That’s about all in our world!

Winter Has Arrived

Well, I must say it is down right COLD outside. Brrrr. So, what is going on with us? Well, today I taught Sunday School at church. My good friend Fred was celebrating his anniversary today, so he asked me to fill in. Now the class that he teaches is really interesting! He is doing a seven part study of the Christian Virtues as outlined by C.S. Lewis. However, he is using The Andy Griffith Show to bring about the study of the virtues (along with Scripture, of course). I was really afraid that the program was not going to work today, and it almost didn’t. In the end, it worked out fine, and everyone said it was good. Here is something we made up to help with the virtues:

People (Prudence)
Talk (Temperance)
Just (Justice)
For (Fortitude)
Fun (Faith)
Happiness and (Hope)
Conversation (Charity)

Last night our good friends Bobby and Janice came over. We had a delightful time. Other than that, not a lot is going on. We played a lot with Cassidy today. She wants to play all the time. I’m getting to the point that I am getting bothered by this, but then Bobby reminded me of a song called, “Cats in the Cradle.” In the song, a guy puts off playing with his son. He is always too busy to take the time, and keeps telling him, “maybe tomorrow.” One day, he realizes his son is now grown, and he wishes he would come to visit him. The boy grew up to be just like him, and can’t find the time to visit his dad. It is a rather sad song, but it makes you think about making the most of every moment.

This, in turn, reminded me of a poem by Eugene Field written a long time ago. For anyone reading this who has children, I think it might help you to understand the brevity of life.

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
"And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place---
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there.