Lessons From Pre-School Photos

The following photos of Lainey at pre-school today reminded me of things that make life great:

A fun, comfy spot to rest

A good book to read

A friend to sit next to and read with

A friend to learn with and play with

Friends to sing and dance with

Don't be fooled.
These are very important for all of us to remember, especially for myself.

Lainey's First Day of Pre-School

Lainey is attending the same preschool that Lydia attended, which is next door to the PDO she has been attending. It would appear the familiarity of already knowing a lot about the school and her teacher (which was Lydia's for 2 years) made the transition virtually painless for Lainey.

Time flies...

Photo: Lydia on 14MAR14

Today Lydia was the Door Holder at school.
She loves being a helper.
I love her for that and so much more.

Thanksgiving Turkey Dance 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present the 2013 rendition of the world famous Turkey Dance!




This is a Walker family tradition.
The routine varies slightly year to year and the turkey gets a little larger each year.
Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Good to Give Thanks

Lydia Sings "It's Good to Give Thanks"

Lydia sang this song with her pre-school classmates to start Zion Lutheran's Saturday evening service tonight. Five years ago at basically the same time Lisa and I were eating mostaccioli at Sarah and Matt's house, watched Iron Man and drove the whole way home talking about how the baby inside was going crazy and flipping all around. We thought we might be headed to the hospital that night. Lisa had contractions basically all night and the next day we finally made our way to the hospital (via a trip to Sam's and then the doctor's office).

It is good to give thanks.
I am thankful to God for this wonderful little girl who is growing up so quickly...

Photos: Baby Boy Ultrasound at 37 weeks

With Lydia and Lainey, we never had an ultrasound this late in the pregnancy.
As Lisa said in the doctor's office, "It kind of feels like we are cheating" by getting to see him sooner.
Well, since we're going to be meeting this little guy sooner than later, I'd like to let you cheat as well.

Oh, and for those of you inquisitive types, he was estimated to be weighing 8lbs at this point and somewhere in the 39 week range - so he looks to be big and healthy.

Click on any image to see the larger size.

Update: For some reason, this post has been getting a bunch of views lately. For those of you who somehow found your way here - "Welcome!"  If you'd leave a comment as to what you were searching for that led you here, that would help ease my curiosity a bit. If you were looking for adorable pictures of my little boy at 37 weeks, then I guess you came to the right place. God is good and Marshall is still healthy and growing like a weed.   :)

Valentine's Day Recap

Valentine's Day has come and gone again.
Hopefully your day was better than this little guy's:


Our Valentine's Day was spent with me working, Lisa keeping the girls entertained with numerous Holiday activities and a night spent at home for all of us. We exchanged cards after dinner and just enjoyed being together. That seems appropriate for this day.

Three Disciples and a Stooge

A couple of nights ago, according to our nightly bedtime routine for the girls, we were reading the story of when Jesus called the first disciples in Luke 5. You'll recall that Jesus climbs into Peter's boat and tells the men to catch some fish by casting in a certain area. Peter explains the fruitless time they had already spent that morning not catching any fish and yet declares "at your word I will let down the nets." After doing so, they catch so many fish that they need help to haul it in. This event leads to Peter, James and John leaving their boats and becoming the first disciples of Jesus Christ.

At the end of the story, we reviewed it by asking the girls a couple of questions.
One of the questions was "Who decided to stop fishing and follow Jesus?"
Lydia responded "Peter... John... and... Curly!"

 I could immediately hear Curly Howard responding to Jesus request to lower the nets: "Soitenly!"

Photo: Lydia on 04FEB13

They grow up so quickly...

Photo: Lydia on 28JAN13

In a few years this might concern me.
For now though, it makes me very happy.

Celebration of Lights 2012

On Tuesday evening, Lisa and girls met me for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. After dinner we drove out to O'Fallon for the Celebration of Lights. We had never gone to this event, but had heard that the light displays are quite amazing, once you get through the long line of cars waiting to enter the park. Well, on this night it was for pedestrians only, with no vehicles allowed in the park. We waited in a line of vehicles waiting to enter a parking lot, where we finally parked at one of the churches that was running shuttles to the entrance.

As we approached the line for the buses I was certain it would take us an hour to even get on a bus. Lisa and the girls wandered over to a tent and grabbed some free hot chocolate as I held our place in line. There were three lines waiting for the buses and each bus that pulled up went to a different line to pick up passengers. The first two buses pulled up to the other groups and as we awaited the next bus for our group I heard that they were only filling the buses halfway, as the bus would then drive down the road to another church to pick up more people. I started counting people in line ahead of us and figured we were about 30th in line. I guessed that each bus could hold 60 people, so I was worried we would not be able to get on the next bus and that we would have to wait for 4 more buses.

The next bus arrived and as we walked up towards the door, the volunteer was obviously counting people. She was moving to stop me in my place when she realized that the 4 of us were together and let us pass before stopping the next person. We climbed on the bus and moved towards the back, with Lydia sitting with me and Lainey with Lisa. The girls had never been on a big bus before, so it was all very exciting to them. Our bus made its way down the street in the line of cars and then proceeded to pass the entrance of the event to get to the next location. We pulled into the other church parking lot and picked up 4 people. I admit to being a little but frustrated at this point.There's no real reason why they shouldn't have filled the bus at our pickup point, but we were on the bus so it didn't really matter.

We finally arrived at the entrance and made our way through the line to pay our entrance fee. As we walked along the road, the number of lights strung from the trees on both sides was incredible. The entire roadside was lined with trees over 20 feet tall that were all colored in lights. Periodically, there were little scenes erected by various volunteer groups. The girls particularly enjoyed the scenes with characters they recognized (Sesame Street, Angry Birds, Toy Story). About halfway through our walk the fireworks display starting. This frightened Lainey, but Lydia was absolutely mesmerized at the beginning. A few minutes into the display, there were numerous successive loud explosions which pushed Lainey over the edge and dimmed Lydia's excitement. Thankfully, the fireworks did not continue for too long and we were able to continue on.

At the point where Lydia was really getting ready to want to leave we came upon a volunteer who was handing out lollipops. Some of you may know that our girls love lollipops and get them every week as we leave church. This perfectly timed event propelled us through the rest of the walk. At this point it was past the girls normal bedtime and we knew we were pushing into dangerous meltdown territory. Near the end we came upon a line of people waiting to enter a tent to see Santa Claus. I grabbed Lydia, walked around the line, picked her up and leaned into the tent door so she could catch a glimpse of Kris Kringle. She was pretty excited about that. I didn't even bother trying to do so with Lainey because she seemed content in her stroller at that point and she is terrified of the big elf.

After that brief excursion, we ran into our friends the Lortons, who were hustling their way to the finish as well. The girls were happy to see Owen and Jackson (baby Harrison was all covered up), but it is safe to say that all the kids were beyond tired at this point. We made our way out of the entrance and opted to walk the 1/3 of a mile back to the church, instead of waiting in the long line for the bus. This proved to be a smart decision. Upon arriving back at the church, we took a restroom break before loading back into the car. This was also a wise decision.

I dropped Lisa off with the other car at BWWs and on the way home I talked to the girls about their day and the lights we had seen. We all said "Hello" to the Mid Rivers Cow and Lydia said "That cow is always dressing up different." I had the girls Christmas music playing and I was singing along with it. Shortly thereafter Lainey was quiet. I figured she might have fallen asleep. A few minutes later I realized I hadn't heard Lydia singing in a while. I peeked back to find her all slouched over across the middle of the back sleep, sound asleep. When we arrived home I carried Lydia to bed and Lisa grabbed Lainey. Lydia awoke briefly as I took her coat off, but she was exhausted. Lisa came into the room and Lydia mumbled "Night night".

Lisa and I both agree that it was a fun night, but that we had walked along the edge of meltdown several times. If either of the girls had started crying I am doubtful that our memory of the experience would be so positive, but as it turned out, we all had a wonderful time. I am not sure that we will do it again anytime soon - we might attempt to view the lights through the car next time. All in all, it was a great evening out with the family.

Photos of Our Baby Boy

He isn't due to arrive until March of next year, but here are the photos from yesterday's ultrasound. The doctor's said everything looks perfect, and he is measuring about 5 days larger than average.

It's truly amazing the level of detail you can now see in the images. We looked at both legs, arms, hands and feet. We were able to count his fingers, see both nostrils and checked the compartments of his heart. We also verified that he is receiving good blood flow from the umbilical cord and that his stomach, kidneys and lungs are all exactly as they should be. Absolutely amazing.

Click on any of the images for a larger view. 

Our Baby's footprint is 3.74cm long.

This profile view shows us his nose, mouth, hand and knee.

In this profile view, he had pulled his legs over his head and was holding onto them with his hands.

In this 3D image, our boy is laying on his left side, with both his hands under his head. (I sleep this way too.)

Hears a 3D view of our little boys face.

The Fall and God's Love

Lydia's preschool teacher has a blog that she updates every day with lots of photos and updates on what they are learning and doing. This was how today's blog began:

Proud.
Humbled.
Blessed beyond measure.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

An Evening Well Spent

This past week, the temperatures in St. Louis dropped and it felt like fall was upon us. Saturday night we returned home from a day trip to visit Lisa's grandparents in Greenville, IL, which is where we held our wedding one week shy of 8 years ago. This was one of those trips where the time spent with the relatives is wonderful, but the hour plus car ride there and back proved exhausting, as our girls just seemed to be unsettled and wanting to whine and argue a lot.

We enjoyed dinner of grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup on the patio in our backyard and then I lit the fire pit for the first time this season and the first time at the new house. We roasted some marshmallows with the girls and made s'mores, and then proceeded to bath-time and bedtime for the girls.

Lisa and I returned to the fire pit and sat around it for an hour, as the small fire slowly died. I spent most of the time talking, as Lisa had asked me a question that I evidently had more to say about then I would have guessed. So there we sat, wrapped in blankets in our chairs, holding hands and enjoying our environment and one another's company until the embers began to fade and the temperature finally forced us inside.

It's an extreme understatement to say that we have been blessed.
We have two beautiful, healthy little girls that bring so much joy into our lives, as well as to others.
We enjoy our time with both of our families and live close to both sides that it is convenient.
We live in a wonderful home that we are thrilled beyond belief to raise our family in.
We lack for nothing and have more than we need.
We are blessed.

I thank God for all these blessings and more
I am so glad that I can sit with my wife in the cool of the evening, share a moment of conversation with her in our wonderful backyard, enjoy being in each other's presence and know that  there are many people who cannot honestly say that.
I am blessed.

What Kind of Shower?

I woke up feeling really groggy this morning.
Lydia and Lainey were getting ready to eat breakfast and Lisa was getting ready to go out for a run, when I said "I am going to take the world's longest shower". Prior to heading toward the bathroom, I joined the girls at the table to pray at breakfast time.

Lydia agreed to pray for us and this was her prayer:
"Dear Jesus, thank you that Mommy's running, Daddy's taking the worst shower and for our food. Amen."

As it turns out, my shower was neither what I had stated nor what Lydia had stated.

But it was better than this poor kids shower:

400 Meter Dash in 4 Minutes

This video killed me with encouragement.
Watch the video, then read the story of Matt W's triumphant race.

Cold and Sweet

Last week, Lisa and I took the girls to Doozles, a local frozen yogurt joint. Lydia quickly understood what we were waiting for after we placed our order and paid for it. Lainey, on the other hand, didn't understand what we were waiting around for.

Within moments of receiving our order, Lydia was shoveling the m&m covered soft serve into her mouth. Lainey wandered over to Lisa and Lisa asked her if she wanted some ice cream. As Lainey was licking the spoon, Lisa told her, "It's cold and sweet." Lainey walked around the table to where I was sitting, looked me in the eye and declared "Cold and sweet!". As I was getting a spoonful for her, she grew impatient and worried and began to almost cry out "cold and sweet!" It was very cute and very sad at the same time.

From that moment on, Lainey was determined to get as much "cold and sweet" as possible. Swinging between the cry for more and the joy of the taste, Lainey utilized the same words repeatedly, with different intonations and very different meanings.

A few evenings later, we each had a little bowl of ice cream at home. Lainey recognized what it was and instantly exclaimed "Cold and sweet!". She continued this cute little mantra with each bite.

The next morning, I was following Lainey down the hall and she entered the kitchen and said "cold and sweet". I stopped by our fridge and asked her what she meant. She turned around, walked past the fridge, past me and walked straight to the kitchen trash can. She pointed at the top of the contents and proclaimed "cold and sweet!". Sure enough, right at the top of the trash pile was an empty ice cream container.

It's mind-boggling to see how she is beginning to connect words with items, and is able to remember those words when the item is presented to her differently.

It's good to know that we are teaching her how to identify the important things in life.
"Cold and sweet!"

Questions About the KONY 2012 Campaign

A couple of brief thoughts on the KONY 2012 campaign:


- If people (myself included) proclaimed the Gospel as vocally as they promote a viral campaign, it would truly change the world.

- Social awareness may grow through social media, but it doesn't change the situation unless people actually put hands and feet to the problem.

- A well produced video can create a lot of noise on the web, but can it really bring about change?

- If an organization is willing to promote certain things as fact in such a way that is misleading, do you really want to give them your money?

- What happens if all these people donate to the charity and later find out that their money never impacted the life of a child in Uganda/Africa/anywhere?

- It is appropriate and responsible to question the motives behind such a movement and to use the past history of that organization to determine your involvement in promoting or donating to an organization.

---

If you want to help children in Africa, there are plenty of ways through various charities that are more efficient at getting the money to impact children, more transparent in their operation and more Bible-based in their approach.

A few charities worth considering:
WorldVision
Compassion International
Save the Children
Blood Water Mission


If you want to know why I think some of these things, do some research. Below are a few articles I found helpful.

Challies: KONY 2012

KONY 2012: A Survivor's Perspective

Kony 2012: Why I’m Opposed To The Campaign

Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)

On KONY 2012: I wanted to stay as far away as possible...


The REDDIT comments are quite intriguing

The Present State of American Affairs

Today's quotes come from the section entitled "THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS":

The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair of a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent—of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. 'Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now.

And:

Besides, what have we to do with setting the world at defiance? Our plan is commerce, and that, well attended to, will secure us the peace and friendship of all Europe; because, it is the interest of all Europe to have America a FREE PORT.

And finally:

As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that THIS GOVERNMENT is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them meanly and pitifully.

- All quotes are from Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"

This is the second post in a series of my favorite portions of Thomas Paine's book "Common Sense". It is a worthwhile read and is available free from Amazon for download to Kindle or other device.

Release the Beast

Over a month ago, Lisa started talking to Lydia about Halloween.
When asked what she wanted to dress up as, Lydia responded with "Belle" (Beauty and the Beast)
Then she followed that up quickly with "And daddy's going to be the Beast!"

And that is how we ended up being the Disney themed family this Halloween. Lisa reused a Snow White outfit she made and wore in high school and Lainey was dressed as a dwarf (wearing a gnome outfit that we purchased on clearance last year).

After walking the 2 nearest blocks, we headed back to our neighbors house where we sat around their fire-pit, handed out candy and talked. We all had a great time and Lydia made a candy killing.

"Tale as old as time..."