little steps

just wanted to let the world know that our little girl took her first step this afternoon. sophi requested that we not post any video from this historic day. she said, "the revolution will not be televised..."

all bundled up

this has been one of the coldest winters i can remember and the little sophster has taken it like a trooper. looks like we may have turned the corner on the cold stuff (40 degrees today). just a little vid of our girl prepared to brave the elements (listen closely and you'll hear amy mention the temperature).

sorry if you were looking for something deep/spiritual today, management opted for cute. but if you look hard enough, you could probably find some life lesson in this.

(insert catchy title here)

i began my new job a few weeks back and if it weren't for those darn confidentiality rules i could post some of the funniest stories of all time. almost makes me wish i had one more round at spencer lake camp this summer to tell some of these as world famous bed time stories. if you've ever heard one of my stories... these put those to shame (except for the one security story but that's a whole rabbit trail not worth going down).

for valentine's day i received a few small things from my ladies: a notebook (for deep thoughts - just in case) from sophi and from amy i got the world's most awesome hardest gummy bears (they rule) and sufjan stevens, greetings from michigan: the great lakes state. amazing. stop what you are doing and itunes it immediately. if for no other reason, to celebrate/mourn my great home state. thanks to brad for the recommendation.

currently listening to

in case you're dying to know...

norah jones - not too late
sufjan stevens - The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras From Illinios Album
u2 - actung baby
gomez - how we operate
amos lee - supply and demand
linkin park & jay z - collision course
new kentucky quarter - carry it around

since they haven't hooked up our cable yet, we're doing lots of deep catalog listening lately. no tv for the past week and a half... i don't know how brad does it. (no television tax. one more reason why the states are far superior)

on language and laziness

about a week ago i was leaving the local grocery store when one of those community bulletin signs caught my attention. you know the ones right by the exit door that are usually covered with middle school drama advertisements. this one flyer had bold print that read "learn english". a good thing to know if you are living in the midwest. later that day i had to run to that store again, and on the way out i saw that flyer again... only this time i took the time to read the rest of the details.

the entire advertisement was in... ENGLISH. (stop... think about it) now, i know the people giving the lessons were coming from a good place, but don't you think they missed an important fact.

the more i roll this one around in my head, the more i am convinced that we most often fail to see life from outside our bubbles. the givens to us are rarely givens to others. especially in faith circles. maybe it's just being lazy, maybe it's because we don't spend enough time with those who live day to day outside our circle. maybe it's because we still think in terms of circles and in and out. here's to living incarnationally... uh, real life with real people, not just those who know my language.

new places

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_WaZkTSwUk



i've decided that one of the unexpected hazards of a new home comes from above. that's right, hanging lights. having hit my head no less than ten times on this stupid light, one would think i would duck... one would be wrong.

just a few quick pics of our new basecamp here in oshkosh.

we're in

we're in. 25 below zero windchill? no problem...

just to worn out to come up with anything clever for the post...i do want to say thanks to everyone who came out and pitched in to help us move the past few days. we would still be packing if it weren't for you. thank you.