1/27/2006

We have a seal living with us. Yes, you read that right a SEAL. The seal is just a baby, about 15 months old and weighs about 24 pounds right now though I am sure he will get much bigger. He is a really cute seal but the noises he makes are down right scary at times. The kids have been asking for a pet for awhile but who would have ever thought we would have a Seal.
Okay I am not crazy, we really don't have a Seal living with us but Tyler sounds like one right now. He woke us up last night around 1:00am with a cough that you would have thought was a barking Seal. It totally freaked me out, I have never heard anything like that and then to make it worse he was having a hard time breathing. Not a fun feeling when your child is struggling to breath. I don't know why but the word "croup" entered my mind. None of the kids have had it, but I have heard about it from other people. So I immediately got on the internet and read about it and the symptoms were exactly what he had- a cough that sounds like a seal barking and trouble breathing. They suggested to steam up the bathroom via the shower and stand in there with him, so I proceed to do that. Tyler just kept looking at me and looking at the shower and then looking at me again, like "what in the world are we doing". Sure enough this seemed to help a lot and while I was doing that Daryl was setting up the vaporizer in his room. We stuck him back in bed and listened to him a cough every now and then for about the next 30 minutes and then he was sound asleep and breathing relatively well. Of course it took me a while to calm myself down and fall back to sleep.
The doctor confirmed today that it is croup and Tyler got a shot of steroids and within an hour he seemed much better for now. I guess we will know for sure tonight whether the Seal will return or if he has returned to his Seal friends.
(Oh and then to top things off the doctor also told me that Allison might have a blown ear drum, WHAT???)

1/23/2006

"Mainlining" Ministry

main·lin·ing (slang) To inject (a drug, such as heroin) directly into a major vein. To inject a drug intravenously.

Now that we've have had our dictionary lesson for the day, allow me to explain.

Those of you that know me well, know that this year got off to a rocky start at work. In fact, ever since the middle of December things have been slipping and sliding out of control. Just when things start to look up, you better look down because the cliff is right in front of you.

So how do most people handle times like these? Anxiety? Depression? Anger? Drugs/Alcohol? All of the above?

Obviously, these reactions accomplish nothing. And I do a fairly good job avoiding them, though the struggle is still there. But lately I have found another defense mechanism. A little tool focombatingng the ills of this world. It's called ministry. And I can't tell you how calming and reassuring it is to spend time doing something you love while at the same time making it easier for people to "experience" the gospel.

For the past few years I have been part of the Web Communications team at Granger Community Church. And for the past few months I have been involved in projects that are as fun as they are educational for me. The first project involves harnessing the power of RSS technology (look forward to some cool things on the GCCwired.com website in the near future).

And the second project is that of developing flash movies for use on the website. I have used this product since it was Macromedia Flash 4 believe it or not! And the recent deployment (Macromedia Flash 8) has only increased my love for the product and the possibilities that exist therein.

[Aside from the most important things in my life - God/Wife/Family/Friends]

Doing ministry has kept me afloat when everything else around me is up in the air, crashing or on some level falling apart.

I truly believe God uses ministry opportunities to grow us up. And this is definitely true in my case. I'm mainlining ministry and I'm not getting help for it!

1/17/2006

Excuse the Dust...

Apologies all around! We are currently moving our website to a new hosting company and so for the next 24 to 48 hours some of the graphics, video clips and flash movies will not be showing up. They are taking a short break and making the transition to their new home.

Thank you for your time and patience...

1/15/2006

Let's Make a Deal

As many of you know Allison has sucked her fingers since I can remember. I remember as a baby trying to get her to use a pacifier and she would have nothing to do with it and I could never understand why until she found her fingers. So she has sucked her pinky and ring finger on her left hand for probably 5 years. In the last few months I have been talking with her about not sucking her fingers anymore and she will say okay I won't do it, but then she gets tired or gets sad about something and in they go. I even tried the whole you can have a toy if you stop sucking them and again the same thing. It would last about 2 hours and it was done.
Then on Friday she comes to me and says "mom, I'm not going to suck my fingers anymore". I thought okay and then she proceeded to ask how many days she had to go without sucking her fingers in order to get a toy. I told her she had to go 10 days and then when those 10 days were up she could pick out a toy. She jumped right on that and asked to make a calendar, which she made on her own. She took a picture she had colored and drew 10 boxes on it. The whole time she is doing this I am thinking okay this will last for about 2 hours and it will be all over. Well believe it or not it has now been 2 full days and the fingers have not gone in the mouth at all. We have even had some moments where it would have been prime finger sucking moments before, but she has restrained.
I think we may have struck a deal, now I hope we can afford the toy she wants.

1/14/2006

Testing. Testing. 1-2-3







Just a test to see if our digital camera would do sepia tone and me testing my abilities in Macromedia Flash 8 (blur transition). Allison kindly agreed to sit for the impromptu picture...

1/08/2006

Be Still

I just finished reading a book that Jami gave me. She introduced me to the author Karen Kingsbury and I have now read One Tuesday Morning and Beyond Tuesday Morning. What great books. She is a Christian author and these two books looked at how 9-11 affected two different families, though they were not true stories. I am not going to tell you too much about the books, because I don't want to give anything away if you have not read them yet. Karen does a great job at telling a story and also teaching you biblical principles as you read.

It is just amazing to me how God teaches you things when you least expect it. Normally when I read a book it is all about the story, but this time it was different. This week has not been fun for Daryl and I and there has been a lot going on and a lot of questioning God about his purposes and why we are in the situation we are and what we are supposed to be learning. I have been praying all week that God will guide us and help us to understand where He is taking us through these struggles. As I am finishing this book two things keep coming up and start to stick out to me, the first being "Be still and know that I am God" and the second being "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live". God has been showing me that through this He is right there beside us telling us to choose His ways through the blessings and the curses.

1/02/2006

I Live In The Boondocks!

Ever feel like you're a second class citizen - forced to live in a part of the country that fails to offer the best this old world has to offer? I recently ate at Qdoba Mexican Grill in St. Joseph, MI (much smaller community with much less to offer - go figure...) and what an amazing culinary experience! I can't begin to tell you how good it was. All I can say is, "I live in the Boondocks..."

In fact I went to the Qdoba website and emailed them just to let them know about this gross injustice! And, I'm proud of the fact that this is not the first time I have done this. Earlier in my life (actually just last year sometime) I got on the official website for Caribou Coffee and let them know just how inappropriate it was for them to have stores scattered throughout the country, but nowhere near my home!!! Now don't get me wrong - I love Starbucks Coffee - but a guy has to have some variety in his life (clarification for Tammy: I'm just talking about coffee and stuff like that...).

It wasn't until today that I realized there is a Seattle's Best Coffee in town. Actually it's in the Notre Dame Bookstore (I think) so probably not the most convenient place to get coffee on the way to work...

I know what you're thinking...this is probably a 6 on the BWRS! Just crabbing - anyone care?

1/01/2006

e|"dis"Harmony

So is it just me, or does eHarmony.com just rub you the wrong way? I mean really! Here is (supposedly) how it works:

You fill out a questionnaire (Personality Profile) that identifies the 29 Key Dimensions of Compatibility.

Once that is completed, your profile is matched to those closely matching yours and amazingly enough - you should have met your lifelong partner!

Here it is in their own words:
It is Possible to Find your Soul Mate...
Isn't it time you experienced the joy of falling in love with someone who sees you, loves you, and accepts you for who you are? This is the kind of joy that comes from true compatibility. And true compatibility is what forms the basis for every relationship at eHarmony.
See what I'm getting at? No? Then let me get to the point: Opposites attract!!!

Hasn't this been the suggested course of action for as long as we can remember? And the last time I checked it was true! Most relationships I see working are those where God is the Head of Household (HOH for those Big Brother addicts out there...) and where one spouse compliments the other in areas of deficiency. In other words they are opposite in a lot of areas!!!

So what do you think? Am I totally off my rocker here? Am I missing something? Does the eHarmony mainframe account for this apparent "glitch" in the compatibility system? My assumption is, "No!" It appears to me that eHarmony feels compatibility is to be attained on all levels and held sacred. And if this is true, I fear there are millions of people being set up for failure!

In fact, we may look back on this little experiment and see the divorce rate keeping pace with new eHarmony applications...