Wish I Could Claim It

Amy is away for the weekend with her mom's group, which means I have the girls all to myself. It should be a great time for them. I wish I could say I came up with the idea, but how about if I just take partial credit for letting her go?

Now, let's see, what's for dinner? Waffles are easy.

Captions Game

Welcome to the captions game. Take a look and come up with a caption or three.

Check It Off The List

—Completed an assignment for a Philosophy class, complete with my choice of words: non-sequitur, apophatic philosophy, axiom and surd. Where else can you quote Descartes, Einstein, Ecclesiastes and C.S. Lewis, and throw in an avalanche and the 1755 Lisbon earhquake as examples? I love this stuff.
—Made a John Mayer station on Pandora.com. Free music of your choice is awesome.
—Talked with my younger brother. Ten years difference; still chasing after God; everything is yours if you are God's.
—Regrouted and caulked our bathroom tub. For a perfectionist, this takes longer than it sounds like it should.
—Wrote a busy schedule for tomorrow ... including playing drums at IHOP.
—Played with my girls. Some of the best times of my life.
—Encouraged Amy to buy makeup—the once a year purchase. [UPDATE: For all the confused guys, it's skin care, not makeup. The difference is makeup is what you paint on (which can either be good for your skin or bad for your skin), skin care is the in between stuff like cleanser, toner (whatthe?), astringent (again, whatthe?), eye cream and the like.] How many husbands actually do this? Gentlemen, three questions for you: what do you want her to look like in twenty years, or fifty? And how much is her self-confidence worth to your relationship? Lastly, how many things do you spend money on that can last an entire year? The cheap stuff makes you paint it on heavier each year to cover the damage being continually done. But the better stuff continually reveals the beauty residing in her. This isn't “slather it on so you look good,” this is taking care of your body while drawing out inherent beauty. Like most people, I am moved by beauty, but Amy ... oh, she compels greatness in every area of my soul more than the passing of the moon compels the greatness of daybreak.
—Bartered for fair wage at a part-time job.
—Worried that Kayla knows more about Starbucks than about shapes and colors.
—Listened to a little Marc Broussard.
—Caught the mouse. Amy stayed on the couch and screamed while I chased it down the hallway, both of us slipping on the wood floors like a cartoon, and finally caught it under a spaghetti strainer. Easier to see that he's still there with a strainer. Slipped a glue trap under and waited for him to get stuck. You'll have to imagine the rest. RIP.
—Discussed with Amy when and how to approach a fellow Christian friend about their foray (if there is such a thing) into homosexuality.
—Stayed up too late for my busy day tomorrow.
—Got an iced peppermint mocha. Good stuff. Iced is great for spring or summer, hot is great for autumn and winter. It's the do-it-all drink for each season.

House For Sale

Does anyone want to buy our house? Spread the word: we are selling and moving to Washington state sometime in the middle of May or so. We will sell or rent, we just need to figure it out soon so we can plan Olivia's surgery and a few other details.

More to come, but the short version is we are getting ready to have our fourth child in under three-and-a-half years, so when Amy's family said they might be interested in helping out a little bit, it was music to our ears.

Olivia's Procedure

Everything went quite well. She was swollen due to the IVs and anesthesia they used, but once she woke up she was flailing around like normal and really happy.

They told us they will be able to completely repair her heart with the better of the two surgeries, meaning she will be normal when it is all finished. They are not completely sure of the surgery date yet, but we should know within a few weeks.

It's A Boy!

Yes, one and all, we are having a boy! The sonogram was conclusive. Thanks for playing "Guess the gender".

Olivia

Olivia is having a cardiac catheterization today. Basically, they cut into her leg and insert a tube in her femoral artery to run a bunch of tests on her heart, like testing the various pressures between each valve and the volume they are pumping, as well as a 3D diagram of the chambers, aortas, etc. They are trying to figure out which kind of surgery she can have and how soon.

There are two types of surgery being considered. The first type will completely repair the hole in her heart so she will be "normal"; it's the best type she can have at the moment. The second type won't repair the hole, it will just reroute all the bloodflow so it will go in the top and out the bottom to the rest of the body, instead of making a figure eight while using both sides of her heart (one big chamber instead of two).

Amy and Olivia are at the hospital and I am at home with the girls since we couldn't nab a babysitter in time. One of us may have to stay overnight if they don't release her, but since it is a straightforward procedure, we're hoping to bring her home this evening.

We want to give a shout out to Lindsey, Olivia's nurse at St. Luke's. She was amazing. She wrote us yesterday to see how we all were doing ... she's just that kind of person.

We'll let you know how it turns out today. Thanks for all your prayers for Olivia.

We Know What We're Having

Amy went to the doctor's office today and had a sonogram. Sign in with your guesses and we'll let you know who is right. Keep in mind, we have all girls ... so what are our statistical chances? Hmmm. Lots to think about.

Ode to a Mouse

It's been three weeks now; you're superior, I'll admit.
I've seen you and heard you, but you won't take a hit.
With each trap we've tried, whether glue or spring-type
You've dined at Chez Farmer's on PB and cheese—so ripe.

I remember the time you ran down our hall
Kayla was scared, but you were having a ball.
Rumor has it you hide in toasters, like bread.
I start mine each morning in hopes you'll turn up dead.

You gnaw and scratch and run within the walls.
Remodeling—with a flame-thrower—I feel is my call.
With one last attempt, some PB on glue,
The sticky buffet at Chez Farmer's awaits the frustrating shrew.