This morning I took my son to the orthodontist. They have this great deal for kids called orthobucks. Every time they go they get 6 of them. Sometimes they get extras for good brushing or early arrival, etc. When they refer someone they get 100 orthobucks. This can be spent on all sorts of things they have there from cars, to games, to GI Joes, to gift cards. Well, if you refer someone you also get your name put in the hat every 6 months. At the end of the six months they draw a name for a big prize.
When we walked in today the receptionist said, "Karston, I have something for you." She went in the back and came out with a black Wii!! I told him he has my genes. Haha. I love winning things. And now Karston won something big. He was so excited. They took several pictures of him and he has been super excited to tell anyone who wants to listen.
He told me on the way home that he wanted to do one of 3 things with it. 1) Sell it and give all the money to bringing his siblings home. 2) Sell it and give half of it to bringing his siblings home and the other half to spend on something fun. or 3) Sell it and spend it on something fun. (we already have a Wii that we bought after the Craigslist deal went sour) I suggested he get something fun with it, but I also don't want to rob him of giving either. I imagine we will land somewhere on both things. I love his heart! My kids are so much a part of this whole process and as a family we all talk about it and pray about it every single day. We long for our children to all be together! As of today we have been on the waiting list for 6 months, 3 weeks and 2 days.
That being said. If you are in the market for a Wii and were planning on spending the money anyway, want to buy ours? It comes with Wii sports and Wii Resort. Let me know!
I spent this weekend with a group of awesome middle schoolers from Washington. We headed up to Mt. Baker and I was the speaker for their retreat. This is the age group that I worked with for 8 years at Salem Alliance Church! I love these people. They are so fun and full of energy and love life.
Besides the regular retreat stuff we went to Mt. Baker to go tubing in the snow. This was a great tubing hill. There were easily 150-200 people there. It was basically I giant bowl with people using every part of it to tube. I suggested we make a train (not the safest idea, but almost always the funnest). So we did several trains. Then, as is typical, I had to step it up. I suggested we make a multi-layered sideways train. Am I getting too old? I think not. Although I did take a pretty good beating. Check out this video.
Then we decided to build a little jump and have someone jump over me. See? I'm not too old. This was after I got my face smashed in! I am not sure if my nose is broken or not. It is swollen and red. It hurts when I eat, sneeze, smile, flare my nostrils, etc. Haha.
Today we are continuing the creative writing exercises the huffingtonpost.com talked about recently. Today's exercise is this: Open the dictionary to a random page. Find a word that you do not know how to define. Write an imaginary definition for it. Repeat.
So here we go. And the first word... Metamerism - n. - a large egg-like object found inside of large quantities of horse dung often used in villages found in Guatemala to cure osteoporosis. It is believed the calcium found inside will fill the calcium deficiencies.
Ichnite - n. - inside part of bark found when ripped off birch trees. Used by the Malayan tribe to start fires with out flint or heat.
Now it's your turn. Grab a dictionary or go here. Then make up a definition in the comment section.
This week I thought it would be fun to do some writing exercises I found in the huffingtonpost.com. Why don't you join me and try it out. Here is the link for what the exercises are and then we will try a different one out each day. Today's exercise is 7x7x7x7.
Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf. Open it up to page 7. Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a poem that begins with that sentence and limit it in length to 7 lines.
The book I grabbed was "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy. (21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time). The 7th sentence actually is the second one on the 8th page, so I am going with that, as there were only 5 sentences on page 7. The sentence is, "Here is a great rule for success: think on paper." Here we go.
Here is a great rule for success: think on paper.
Without it your thoughts may become vapor.
Quickly write it down.
Or else you may frown.
Do it now, don't regret,
What needs to be done don't you let
Or else you might soon just forget.
There you go. Now it's your turn. Go ahead. Try it. Do this exercise in the comment section below. Let's get our creative juices flowing together.
Do you remember when you were a kid and you jumped rope? It was so fun, wasn't it? Or perhaps as an adult you did it to get ready for a boxing match against a Russian who you were not sure was human. Whatever the case, there is something that jumping up and down while swinging a rope around you that is exhilarating. When I lived in San Francisco in 5th grade we used to do double dutch all the time during recess. This is basically where there are two people with two jump ropes and they spin the ropes in opposite directions. Then you jump in and try not to get tripped up in the rope. The really cool kids would be able to do tricks inside of the double dutch ropes. That was pretty awesome. I remember those days well.
A few years ago my kids starting going to jump rope club. Who knew? They would go before school started and they would learn how to jump rope. There were different things you had to do in order to pass to the next level. Each level would have varying degrees of difficulty when it came to what tricks you would do. Once you passed so many levels you were invited to be part of the Jumping Stars. This is a prestigious deal. Kynzi was in it when she was at Clearlake and then Karston got in last year.
They work on routines put to music and then preform. They do our local parade and half time shows at basketball games at colleges and universities and high schools around our city. Tonight they were at Willamette University doing the half time show at the girls basketball game. It's pretty awesome to watch. The part I don't like, is both of my kids are WAY better than I am at jumping rope now. Haha. I actually love it too. This is just the beginning of me "getting old" as they start beating me at more things and I no longer "let" them win. Hmmmm...this is a weird place to be in life.
Today I took a trip to Seaside with some friends. In the non-winter months this is a happening tourist spot. Many people come here for spring break and it is the finish line for the Hood to Coast relay race. We decided to go out for a bite to eat and I needed to stop in the candy store to do some shopping for my mom. We ate at a great place called Dundees. They cut their own chicken tenders there and they are sooo delicious!
After we went next door to an ice cream place and they have a particularly interesting section on their menu. They fry a whole bunch of different things. Because there were 5 of us we decided to get the party platter. While that order was in we went next door to the candy shop. My mom wanted European black licorice and they sell it at this store. Of course, I loaded up too because it is soooo stinkin' good. No, it's not like twizzlers or red vines or even Australian licorice.
I got my stash and everyone else got their salt water taffy and other fun candy and we headed back over to indulge in our fried "food" order. We sat down to a plate with fried pop-tart, fried HoHo, fried Twinkie, fried Oreo, fried cinnamon roll, fried cookie dough and fried Snickers bar. Least favorite? Fried Oreo. Favorite? It was a tie between cinnamon roll, cookie dough and Twinkie. Snickers pulled a very close second. Naturally we all paid for this bodily transgression later, but it was worth it for one time. It's not something I recommend you choose as a meal everyday.
What's the strangest thing you have ever had that was fried?
I love playing games! All sorts of games. Card games, board games, etc. Probably what I love most about it is the interaction with other people. Whether it's with my family or with friends or a combination there of I just love games. Tonight I got to play a new game called "What's Yours Like?"
This is a fun game. When you play a game with a group of people who like to play games it’s fun, but you throw in a game that you are pretty much guaranteed to laugh at and it raises the level of fun so much more. This is just such a game.
The basic concept is this: you are given a word or phrase and everyone around the circle will describe “what theirs is like” without giving too easy of a description. The person guessing writes down all the clues until they get it right. Once they get it right they count up how many clues they needed and that it their total points for the round. So you want the least amount of points as possible.
Here is an example: The word was "Trunk." Some of the clues given: Mine is broken; mine is large; mine has books in it; mine has a spare; etc. It seems really easy until you are the one who is guessing. It is a ton of fun and we laughed like crazy. Looking for a good group game? Try this one out.
Today we honor the day my bride, the love of my life, Jeanne-Ann's birthday. I love this woman so much it's crazy. I have gotten myself worked up before thinking how hard life would be without her. Not a thought I ponder much on. The other side of that, the side with how amazing life is as a result of her, I do ponder often. Much of it is the little things. If you are in love, you know what I mean. The longer we know each other the more amazing those things become too.
I love to laugh with Jeanne-Ann. She makes me laugh a lot. She is fun. She is sneaky. She loves to play tricks. I love when she has tried to pull something over on me and I realize it. That laugh. That is awesome! She gets a lot of that from her dad, which I love. I love how we both cried at the Christmas Eve service when we it hit us, separately, that we never thought we would get to Christmas without having the referrals of our children. I love how she prays for me to respond to certain things and I do. I love that she buys bagels from our favorite local bagel shop and then cuts the whole bag of bagels for me ahead of time. I love what a great teacher she is. This year she is full time and it is a lot of work, but she knows that it is helping to bring our babies home and that makes it worth it. I love that she loves the more difficult kids.
I love how she loves on our kids. She is soooo good with them. She is an incredible mother. God created her well for that role. We talk about strategies in raising our kids and she is constantly coming up with new things for us to be doing or not doing that make so much sense. Candy day, for example, is genius. On Saturdays our kids can eat all the candy they want. The rest of the week it's (pretty much) off limits. As a result, they don't eat a ton of candy on Saturday either. Summer Soda is another great idea. We don't drink a ton of soda in the house and in the summer she makes it special on certain days. Not that they don't have soda throughout the year, it just makes it special. Part of that is building memories. We talk a lot about that. We want our kids to have great memories of growing up. We want them to remember how "we would always do..." More than remembering "that one time." The special occasions are VERY important, but the consistent stuff is huge. That is important to her...and it is important to me.
The way she loves me is amazing. I learn from her every day. I want to love like she loves. I want to care like she cares. She helps balance me so well. I would love to be out every night with people. If we could have a party like we had last night every night I would get so pumped about it. She is very different from me. In that respect she would love if we hung out at home and just did family stuff. As a result, we "compromise" and end up being better for it. She knows I need to be with people, but she also knows I need to chill and slow down and just be for a while. My soul needs that too.
I seriously don't know what I would do without Jeanne-Ann in my life. My life is better because of her. Every part. My day is different because she is in my life. I breathe better because of her. I smile bigger because of her. I love deeper because of her.
So, I celebrate and honor you today babe. I thank God and your parents from bringing you to this world! Happy birthday My Love!
I love getting together with friends and family. I LOVE IT! It is one of my favorite things to do. My soul sings when I am with people. Tonight we gathered to celebrate. Celebrate a team who went undefeated. Celebrate a team who represents our state. Celebrate fun. Celebrate competition. And we did. We ate, we laughed, we cheered, we screamed, we moaned, we cried, we yelled. A range of emotions. It was really fun. Although we lost, we had a total blast. I love that.
These are people I love to hang with!
As far as the loss...I am not complaining that we lost, I am just frustrated about the way it was finished. I realize that what I am about to say is about a strategy, but it's not a strategy that I like. In baseball they do an intentional walk when they are afraid of the batter. I can't stand it. Ever. Even when my Red Sox do it I yell at the screen. In basketball, when they throw around the ball until the shot clock forces them to shoot it, I go nuts. It's so irritating. Tonight, the last 2 minutes was filled with that junk. The fear that if they went for it Oregon would come back and win it with another touchdown and 2 point conversion. A legitimate fear.
There. I said it. I'm done. Congrats Auburn. Thanx for a great year University of Oregon. It was a fun ride. See you this fall!
I am so pumped about our home team, University of Oregon, going to the BCS championships! I want to give you a little history. I haven't always been a Duck. I've only lived in Oregon since late 1996. Even after I came here I thought it was silly how many people were divided between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. I couldn't even keep the schools straight for years. I was invited to watch the Beavers play up in the Withnell's club seats and had an awesome time enjoying the food and the game from afar.
After that I had a bit of a dry spell until a few years later I was invited to go see a Duck game. I could not believe how LOUD it was. I had never been to a sporting event at any level that got even close to that volume! It was unbelievable. I have been to MANY sporting events in my life. At so many different levels. Mostly professional sports. Being a youth pastor in Atlanta I was often taken along or given tickets to take someone with me to see the Braves, the Falcons and the Hawks. I went to a LOT of games. NOTHING compares to going to Autzen stadium.
I have been invited to several games over the years, but it wasn't until my son Karston was 4 that I took him and we lasted almost an entire quarter that things stuck. You see, as much as he complained and was tired and didn't like the noise, as soon as we saw anyone wearing green and yellow after that day he would yell, "Look Pappa, a Duck fan!" He was hooked. The next year we went and made it almost a full half game! Karston was hooked...and so was I. Karston started asking for Duck gear. Now, he wears probably 85% Duck stuff out of all that he wears.
This season I have been fortunate to get to go to a whole bunch of the 12-0 games thanks to a friend of a friend. I have done some other posts about some of those experiences.
The other night Jimmy Fallon premiered his BCS Ducks power ballad video. This is amazing.
This year the show Sing-Off came back on the air again. It is an a Capella competition. The singers on this show are incredible. One group that was on this show was from the University of Oregon. They are amazing. They recorded this song and it's so fun! Check it out.
Well, I did not think we would be here, but we are here none the less. Today, just one day after Ethiopian Christmas, we celebrate 6 months on the waiting list. It may not seem like something that you would celebrate, but the thing is, every day we get closer to getting our referral. And every day that we get closer to getting our referral is a day we get closer to getting to meet our babies! That excites me!
Next week my sister and bro-in-law head over to pick up their twins and then in 5 weeks Josh and Bex (whom we are celebrating with) take off to pick up their daughter. It is good to have others "pave the way" for you as you go along this journey. There are a ton of other bloggy friends we have out there who we get to learn from and vicariously experience their journeys too. So glad for that.
Will this be our month? It better be! Karston prayed the other night that we would get our call in the next 5 months. I said, "5 MONTHS!!???!?" He just laughed.
Today, Christmas is celebrated in Ethiopia. I know that seems weird to most readers of this blog, but it's true. They use the Coptic calendar, which is also known as the Alexandrian calendar. So not only is is Christmas today, but it is 2003 there!
Wikipedia says this about it:
The Coptic year is the extension of the ancient Egyptian civil year, retaining its subdivision into the three seasons, four months each. The three seasons are commemorated by special prayers in the Coptic Liturgy. This calendar is still in use all over Egypt by farmers to keep track of the various agricultural seasons. The Coptic calendar has 13 months, 12 of 30 days each and one intercalary month at the end of the year of 5 days in length, except in leap years when the month is 6 days. The year starts on 29 August in the Julian Calendar or on the 30th in the year before (Julian) Leap Years. The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the Julian Calendar so that the extra month always has six days in the year before a Julian Leap Year.
From ehow.com
The word Ganna is used interchangeably with the word Christmas to mean the birth of Christ (leddat). A common way to refer to the holiday is "ye ganna baal".
So offices are closed today and we will not hear from our agency as a result. What I am praying is that during this celebration there is someone holding my children and loving them, whomever and where ever they are. We pray for you every single day and long for your arrival into our lives my sweet ones. We celebrate today with you.
January 12 - Haiti Earthquake
This was absolutely heart breaking to watch. The stories and the tragedy. There were some great stories that came out of it. It was amazing to see how many people came to the aide of this country. The hearts of the world were turned toward giving and serving. Also, adoption came to the forefront of many news stories.
January 27 - iPad
I loved the Jimmy Fallon line, "Millions of people today finally found out why they were so excited about the iPad." or something like that. After the jokes settled down it turns out Apple has changed the face of technology again. I don't have one...yet. I did win one, but took the money instead so we could put it towards our adoption. Honestly, that was a tiny bit difficult.
February 12-28 - Olympics
I love the Olympics! We typically get people together to watch the opening ceremonies. There is so much to see. We got so into the spirit that last minute we took a drive to Vacnouver, B.C. and joined in the festivities as a family. We even met some Olympic athletes from Russia AND Norway! That was a great experience for us as a family! (Yes Matt, I claimed Norway, Germany and the U.S. as my countries in the medal count)
April 20 - BP Oil Spill
This was crazy to see. It was hard to watch the underwater cameras showing how much was constantly pouring out and then seeing how it has affected our waters and shores. It was also strange to see Kevin Costner come in and try to fix the problem. (then Stephen Baldwin sued Costner because he was part of the process and felt duped into selling his shares).
May 23 - Lost Finale
I loved this show. I stuck with it from the first episode to the last. It took so many twists and turns that it made me crazy at times. I have to say I really enjoyed the ending. It did not answer all the questions, but it "made me feel good." I watched it with my friend Scot. We snuck out of a conference we were in to watch it and then enjoyed drawing lots of scenes from the show while we were back at the conference.
June 7 - iPhone 4
After tons of information was leaked because someone "found" one at a bar and sold it there was so much hype we all went crazy. Yes, I stood in line to get mine. I sold my old iPhone was able to pay for the new one. No, my line wait was not super long comparatively. I pre-ordered mine and was able to get through the line in about 45 or so.
June 11 - July 11 - World Cup
Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to take their first World Cup! It was great to catch a bunch of games and highlight throughout the month. I even snuck in a few highlights when I was at LIFE conference!
October 13 - Chilean Miners
Again, what a crazy story this was. To see the world's attention focused on this group of men who were stuck down in the mine. After nearly 70 days, 33 miners were freed. It was crazy to watch as it was live.
November 8 - Conan O'Brien
After a long battle with NBC and Jay Leno Conan returned. I am not so interested in the show, but I surely was interested in the whole battle and all the stuff going on. What a strange turn of events. Conan did some awesome stuff to promote his new show including a giant orange blimp and 24 live webcam right before the show started. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it.
December 5 - Oregon Ducks
They beat the Beavers in the Civil War and head to the BCS Championship with a 12-0 record! I was fortunate enough to go to several games this season and see some pretty amazing football. I am super excited for this final game and hoping we do as well or better than our average for the year! GO DUCKS!
December 24 - First Lady Tracks Santa
As kids called NORAD to find out where Santa was at over 1,200 volunteers answered the phones including Michelle Obama. It was fun to watch it online as they were able to track where he was at. Crazy how amazing our technology is these days. What a time we live in. He was spotted in "Newberb, OR" which is actually Newberg. Oops.
I love this year in review video! It's so stinkin' good.
The beginning of the year started us off with our acceptance of this process. We were told there would plenty of "hurry up and wait" moments throughout the whole process. They sure were right. (actually end of '09, but the beginning of the year)
* Eating Sushi in Japan - ewww (link to a blog post of this?)
I wanted so badly to like sushi and when I had a day in Japan I thought I should probably try some sushi when I was in Japan. I have not had good experiences here n the States. Then I tried it there. It was AWFUL!!! I almost threw up in the restaurant.
I got to do the upfront fun stuff before the main sessions started and it was so much fun. Alongside with my co-host Kate, we got to do a flash mob dance at a baseball game with 7,000 people! Check out the video that shows we got on TV too!
* LIFE Conference - breaking the world record of rock, paper, scissors
We broke the world record and it was so fun. 7,000 plus people participated in this and it was crazy to watch all of them take their turns and narrow down to our final 2.
* Getting on the list (July 8)
We were at LIFE when we got the word that our dossier (paperwork) landed in Ethiopia. When we shared it with a group of people there was this intern, Nate, who shared with Jeanne-Ann and I that he was adopted and how amazing that has been for him. We bawled as he shared his story. So good!
* Camping with my son This was a trip that I will probably never forget. We still talk about it and how awesome ever piece was. It was seriously significant for the both of us.
* Taking my kids fishing We got to go several times this year. Although we have not done super well with catching anything, it's still much fun. I think this summer I need to take them to Detroit Lake.
* Our Trip to Vancouver for the Olympics A last minute trip that literally we decided the morning of to do. Meeting Russian and Norwegian Olympic athletes was so cool!
We played so many games and just hung out and laughed. I LOVED that! TWO WEEKS!! I need more of that. We all need more of that. Phase 10 rocked our faces off!
I love movies! Largely because I love story. That's why I love TV and music. I love story. Tell a good story and draw me in. I am typically not the guy who tries to figure out what the mystery is about before it is actually revealed in the story. Why? Because I like to be drawn in and fully entertained as I am engrossed in the story.
I am glad Regal has a "frequent movie goer" pass. It's nice to get free stuff after I spend all that money on those movies. The nice thing is we do have a $3 theater and $5 Tuesdays at Cinebarre. Oh, and Costco saves you money at Regal and so do those Entertainment books. There were some really great movies this year. Again, I want to say that these are movies I enjoyed, but they are not for everyone. You have to make your own decisions as to what you watch. I often read reviews and insight on pluggedinonline.com
in no particular order...
Top 10 Movies I Saw * Despicable Me - a very funny and touching story that ultimately is a story about adoption.
* Tron Legacy - I loved the original movie and was pretty excited to get to see it again as they remade this movie. It was cool that Jeff Bridges reprised his character from the original.
* Toy Story 3 - I am constantly amazed at the ability of Pixar to write great stories, especially when it is a sequel...and the 3rd film! Great flick!
* Inception - CRAZY mind bender! I keep a top in my pocket just incase. It was seriously intense.
* Iron Man 2 - this was just pure blow em up fun.
* The Karate Kid - I had really low expectations for this film. I could not imagine a 12 year old boy taking on the same role that Daniel-san had. Jaden Smith surprised and impressed me. I also liked Jackie Chan's character and their relationship.
* Chronicles of Narnia The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - I loved the C.S. Lewis books and it sure is fun to watch them come to life on the big screen. Saw this one in 3D!
* Knight and Day - although pretty unbelievable this was a fun ride.
* Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - another unique story humanizing owls. A story of courage, family, friendship and betrayal.
* Babies - although I feel like the American woman tried too hard to be "European" this interesting little documentary about the early life of 4 babies from around the world was a unique film to me.
I love watching youtube videos. I love when I see amazing art and I love laughing. There is plenty of both on this list. Again, I do not condone all these videos as some have subject matter that may not be my favorite. Auto-tuning made it a couple of times on this list. I really want to learn how to do this. If I do, it will end up at some of our events. Anyone out there know how to auto tune a video with music like that? I could use a step by step.
OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version
Double Rainbow (minus the bleep)
David Crowder Band - Shine (SMS)
Best Eyewitness - PG video. You have been warned.
Dynamite - Taio Cruz - A Cappella Cover - Just Voice and Mouth - Mike Tompkins
It's New Years. There are TONS of Top 10 Lists out there. I thought it would be fun to do my own top lists this week. To start off the week right I decided to do my favorite songs of the year. These are songs that made me dance while I was driving, sing at the top of my lungs and/or fill my soul. I love these songs. I don't necessarily love the artists or what they all stand for, but I do love the lyrics and the tune/beats. They are in random order.
Ke$ha - Tik Tok (oh wait...that's on my OTHER list)
Uncle Kracker - Smile
This song has one of my all time favorite lines.
"Cooler than the flipside of my pillow." Which, thanx to my friend Colby Martin, is a quote from a sportscaster.
There you go. My fav songs of 2010. There are a few that didn't make it to the list, but I am keeping it to 10.
What would you add to this list?
PS. Facebook readers, want to watch the videos? Go here.
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
I am super quick with a sarcastic quip. Get me in the ring with the titled sarcastic king and I would give him a run for his money. It's a trait I picked up in high school or college. If it was high school, it was refined and perfected in college. You could actually major in sarcasm at my school. Most of the basketball team had it as their major and it was with this crew that I honed my skill.
I remember the time I was at my first meeting with a group of guys who we were going to meet wekly with. It was an accountability/encouragement type of group. Some of these guys I knew, some I met for the first time that night. At the time, not everyone had a cell phone, and in through the door walks Chris who was on the phone. My friend Todd made some sarcastic remark and I jumped right in. When we officially started our group Chris started by saying, "I don't know what everyone else is expecting from this group, but sarcasm is everywhere in my life and I don't want it to be part of this group. When I walked in I was talking to a student who was hurting and you (looking at me) made some sarcastic remark. If that's what this group is going to be about then I don't want to be a part of it." I felt like the BIGGEST LOSER! I apologized and our group started right in and we never uttered a sarcastic remark from that point on.
It was a really good thing for me. I needed that. I have seen sarcasm tear people down and hurt them tremendously. Usually my sarcasm has been directed at friends and in a way that I know that we all are OK.
Words are powerful. They can change the life of the person you give them to. Will those words be words that push someone in a direction of encouragement or will you hurt them deeply? Sometimes even just a hello and a smile can change someones day.
This year, I am planning on continuing to reign in my tongue. I have been on a journey to lessen the language of sarcasm for several years now and I want to continue that journey.
I want to be someone who builds other people up. I want to be known for my words of encouragement. I don't want to see someones eyes drop because of something I say. So 2011...here I come.
