Big pie


A friend at the school sent a pie home with us today.  It was pumpkin, so I was pretty excited about it... But then I saw the pie!  Now I am really excited about it!

impressionable

I was talking in class the other day and strayed into a mini-soapbox-rant about effort and grades.  (I couldn't be a teacher if I didn't do that every so often.)  I was saying something about how those students who are doing well were really working for it, as opposed to those students who were not doing well...  There is actually quite a bit more to this speech, so please don't take me out of context...

When I reached my first lull in my rant, one of my students, with a smile on his face, says, "...maybe we could take some extra points off the top of those high grade students and give them to those students who don't have as many points.  In my neighborhood, that's called fair."

He's a sophomore.

New Quote

Here is a new quote.  I love it.  I just love it.  It says so much.  I think that I can attribute it to John Wayne, but I haven't googled it yet to find out for sure.

"Stupid should hurt."

Love it.

Mail Goggles

Just to make sure you think twice before that e-mail.  (Or maybe to make sure you're thinking...)

Mail Goggles by Gmail

[HT: Sunday School Thoughts]

On Target for Halloween

I am passing along this post: Some thoughts about costumes on Halloween.

I have always liked Halloween.  I have several good memories associated with this holiday, but I had to agree with the tone of this particular post.

Internet

My linksys wireless router just died today. Why? I have always been good to it. It hasn't been mistreated in anyway. It just quit working.

So, I have been without internet all day. This is bad for a guy who does 90% of his work on the internet.

I know this guy!

This guy goes to my church.  I didn't even know that he went anywhere else to do his dramatic scripture recitation thing.



[HT: Rebecca Writes]

New Piano

I never thought that I would be able to own a piano.  I just never thought that I could afford one.

Well, my lovely wife found an awesome deal on Craigslist and informed me on Wednesday that I would be driving to get a piano on Saturday.  I was a little nervous about trying to pick a piano up and set it in my truck.  I didn't have a trailer that I could borrow and I didn't have any people that I could haul with me to get this thing, but my wife said that we were going.

Sounded like a good opportunity for me to point out that this particular furniture mover had never been able to purchase any straps for his old truck.  There was no way I was hauling a piano in the back of my truck without it being securely strapped down.  The accounting committee in my house (also known as my lovely wife) granted permission for the strap purchase.

The piano moving bill passed, along with my little bit of pork barreling, (didn't know what that was until this week ) and so we all piled into the cab of the truck and took off this morning.  After a McDonald's stop, an air pressure in the tires stop, and a bathroom stop, we arrived!

There weren't any problems in the transit or the delivery, and (with a little help from my friend Lee) before I knew it, there was a lovely piano sitting in my living room.  Just another in the long list of things that God has blessed us with.

Sorry for the poor quality of picture, it was taken with my phone and the lighting was bad.  I just can't believe that we got it for $125!

Follow me...

If you go to the sidebar, you can become a "follower" of this blog.  What does that mean?  I haven't got a clue.

Debatable

I listened to the entire VP debate.  It was really interesting.

I think that this is the first time that I have really listened to a debate.  I have heard debates before, but I don't think that I have ever really listened.  It was really intriguing. 

There is so much that I could say about it, but the thing that bothered me the most was the disagreements over the basic facts (like voting records).  In my mind, that wouldn't be debatable.  Facts are facts.  They are black and white.  We can't really debate a voting record, because it is... well, a record.  

I was wrong.  Those two kept going back and forth over who voted for what.  Now, I can agree that we could debate the meanings behind why someone would vote a certain way, but I kept hearing differing numbers and statistics, I didn't know what to believe.  Those disagreements were never truly settled. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a staff to find the truth for me.

A Weird 27

I have to say, this was a weird one.  The number 27... The first number on the moon?

FOUR!

Alright. I waited to post this on the blog, but here you go:

Number four is on the way.  I didn't have an available scanner, so I snapped this shot with my phone, but you can see the little bud.

To answer your question, No.  I didn't plan this.  Yes, I am happy (how couldn't I be?)  Yes, my wife has had morning (and afternoon and evening and night) sickness for several weeks now.  Yes.  I am tired, but not regretful.  Yes,  I am hoping for a girl.  Yes, I am holding back some of my excitement because of our most recent experience, but that hesitation is quickly fading.  It almost faded away when I saw the heartbeat last week.  This shot is from this week.  Yes, I am 36 years old.  Yes.  I am already wondering how this will affect my future.  And Yes.  I love it.

Isn't it amazing how you can love your child before you even see it?  From the moment you see that little flutter on the monitor.  Actually even before that, because it precedes technology.  Even if I couldn't see it on a little screen.  Even if we didn't even have that CVS pregnancy test, it wouldn't have mattered.  I loved it from the moment my wife said, "You know, I have felt this way before.  I am pretty sure I am pregnant."

It is my child.  And it is a child.  And I did call it number 4.  (Read about number 3 here and some other thoughts here .)  I know that this child has no rights in this country right now (not even those most basic of human rights: the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness).  So I am thankful for a wife who will protect his/her rights.  I am thankful that my economic status has no bearing on whether or not this child should have the right to live.  I am just praying for continued health for this (already existing) baby and health for my wife as she carries this life.

My wife's doctor asked her about some tests that she could take.  One of them would let her know about different potential genetic problems that the baby could be born with.  She asked the doctor whether or not it would affect anything that they would do during the pregnancy or delivery.  He said no.  So, she said, "Why would I need to know?"  The implied answer was the question of keeping the baby.

If I had a problem with one of my other children, could I get rid of one of them.  I am not well off financially, should I eliminate one of the problems.  Does that make it OK?  I thought I was done having children, can I just say "no" now?  I mean, I am really not ready for all of this (again).

Of all the philosophies that are at work in America, I find this lack of concern over the weakest and the smallest of our residents to be the most appalling.

So, I post this particular blog post to announce new "harmless" life.  I pray (and ask you that know me to pray) that God will protect it and continue to form it in my wife's womb.  I look forward to the day she (he?) is born.  I anxiously await the day I get to meet her for the first time.  And the years I will have discovering her  personality and likes and dislikes.

 I hope to make her laugh.