Monday, April 20, 2009

Birthday Redux

This morning I ran to WalMart and bought some cupcakes so that Jeannette and I could take them to Melody's class for her birthday.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Happy Birthday to You, Dear Melody


Today was MelodyJoy's 4th birthday and so we had a great little party for her. Four of her friends came, two from her class at school and two from the family that watches Melody on Tuesday mornings for Jeannette. We went with a butterfly theme, with the cake Jeannette made as the centerpiece . . .



Jeannette had a number of activities planned, being the good preschool teacher that she is. We had big balloons that the girls could hit and bounce and torment the big boys with.





We also played a variation on Duck Duck Goose, which we called Caterpillar Caterpillar Butterfly!




The girls also had a blast with the "parachute" that Jeannette brought home from school for the party . . .



The cake and ice cream were a big hit, of course . . .


. . . as were the presents, featuring Barbies, play jewelry and, later, books, clothes, and (believe it or not) baseball equipment.










Vid of the balloons . . .

. . . the cake and candles . . .

. . . a new Barbie!

. . . and running through the chute . . .

Thursday, April 16, 2009

"Their Passions a Quotation"

Last night I attended a bi-monthly student-led worship service called "Focus" here at Lincoln Christian College & Seminary. The speaker shared one thought that kind of stuck with me. He quoted Oscar Wilde as saying:

"Most people are other people.
Their thoughts are someone else's opinions,
their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

You can almost hear the disdain in Wilde's voice, saying that "most people" are unoriginal and incomplete. But last night's speaker made an interesting point . . . as Christians, it should be a compliment for someone to say that our lives are a mimicry and our passions a quotation, so long as they have seen that the one we are mimicking is Jesus Christ.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Quote of the Week


“Christians shouldn’t just be known for being ‘pro-life’ . . . . Instead, we need to embrace a more holistic definition of Christ’s love and example. We need to be ‘whole-life.’ Whole-life means living out Jesus’ example in our world today—fighting injustice, promoting life, being good stewards of our natural and financial resources, and showing God’s love in a tangible way.”

- Cameron Strang, “What it means to be whole-life,” Relevant, Nov/Dec 2008, p. 8

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Memories

Today, after a really good service at Blackhawk Ministries and a great dinner of barbequed porkchops, we had a little Easter egg hunt. Phillip and Jordan hid eggs late last night for us . . .


Jeannette and I wanted to have a little gift for everyone so we went to the Disney Store last night, after a stop at TCBY, and bought everyone a shirt for our (still to be finalized but now looking more probable) trip to Disney World . . .



In keeping with our annual custom, dating back to our Kentucky days, Phillip and Jordan hid some eggs on top of the ceiling fan . . .


Jameson explained to Melody that the way to get them down is to turn the fan on and let them spin off. They were pretty well stuck up there this time, though, and we had to turn the fan on high to get them to fly off . . .


We decided that since Jameson's not yet a teenager, we should have him hunt for eggs, too. The green ones were for him and his brothers stuck them in some unusual places, like the fireplace . . .



Saturday, April 11, 2009

Close Up


A Trip to Wisconsin

After several days on campus last week, we all went up to Janesville to see Grandpa and Grandma Vinje. Grandpa got all the good pictures--that's his thing--but here are a few that we took . . .



We made a quick trip to the city park a mile or so from their home on Saturday, before Sunday's threat of snow . . .



Jameson got a litte "attention" from his grandfather . . .


And this is my favorite picture from the weekend . . .

The Fam Comes to Lincoln

Last week, during their spring break, the family came to see me in Lincoln. They stayed in the dorm with me and Jordan and Phillip even took time to look at the college as prospective students.

Jordan and Phillip staked out a dorm room on the second floor. MelodyJoy likes sleeping in the "big bed" with Jameson on the top bunk in the second bedroom of the apartment. After visiting me, she always gives Jeannette about sleeping in her tiny bed at home.



One night, we had dinner with my boss and his family. Brian takes his barbecuing very seriously.

The boys played Guitar Hero with their kids, Ryder and Rylee. The picture below is of Ryder and Jameson.

Jeannette also kept very busy while she was on campus, rearranging my apartment, painting, hanging a new shower curtain, hanging pictures in my office . . . I'm sure I'll find where she moved everything soon. Oh, and she and the boys moved the dorm's big screen TV into my living room, which is kind of cool.

Photos from Melody's Gymnastics Class