New Family Picture

Christmas Letter/Update 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! This is my first official blog. I hope I will join Paul in his blogging efforts in the new year!

Our year started with the birth of Isaiah in January. My third c-section is definitely not an experience I want to re-live ever. I will spare the details, as most of you have heard them ad nauseum. However, as you can see, all’s well that ends well!

February brought a week and a half stay in the ER with Isaiah as he had RSV and Influenza A. While we were there, Cedar Rapids endured a serious ice storm that knocked out power to almost everyone, including the hospital. There wasn’t an empty bed in the hospital and all the doctors and nurses were sleeping in the halls. It was certainly interesting. Thankfully, Isaiah made a full recovery.

March brought two “falling off the bunk bed and subsequent trip to the ER.” incidents (so that’s why they put warning labels on bunk beds). Asher started it the first night – by the time I got to the e.r. he was totally fine. Gabe ”"fell out” the next night. This time we waited to go to the e.r. and he actually had his first concussion. Thankfully, that was the end of e.r. trips for the year (at least for the boys)!

When summer came, the boys took their first motorcycle ride (inward freaking out on my part).




We had a wonderful time playing outside, enjoying our neighborhood and local parks. The following picture shows just how dirty and tired two boys can get after a long day at Pinicon Ridge State Park:


After last year’s re-do of our front garden – thanks to my dear friend Susan, I continued with my new found love of gardening. I can’t wait to tear into more projects next spring.


We took several trips to local beaches and pools. We also enjoyed a trip to the zoo in Madison where Asher fed the goats and Gabe shocked us all by throwing water bottles at the tapirs. We also enjoyed summer visits from family.

Gabe with his cousin Noah

Grandma Cindy and Isaiah

Asher feeding the goats

Family picture at Eagle Point Park in Dubuque

Visit from my "Texas" cousins

This fall, we finished up a lot of household projects. We also enjoyed our second annual trip to the pumpkin patch in Manchester and we raked and raked and raked. Our first swing set joined the sandbox in the back yard.

I start a new venture in February as an independent fashion consultant for CAbi (Carol Anderson by Invitation). Yes, it’s yet another mlm venture. Thankfully, it’s new to Eastern Iowa and I am one of the only reps in the area. If all works out, it will combine my love of fashion (it’s gorgeous - girls!) and my organizational/office skills without interfering with our family life. I fly to Nashville in January for training. It will be my first time on a plane! Check me out at www.elizabethsmith.cabionline.com.

Here’s Paul’s update:

I started a new position at Rockwell in February and have been really enjoying it this year. I have found a place I could see myself staying in for a long time. I write software for flight displays and computers for military helicopters. I took one graduate course online through the Summer and took both Spring and Fall off. I have to stop taking breaks or I’ll never finish with it. My third course of ten begins in January.

My big project this year was a chimney replacement from the roof up. The old one came down quickly, but the new one went up very slowly. I learned a lot and hopefully will have a lasting result for my labor. I “cheated” and veneered it with rough manufactured stone. Luckily on an old Craftsman style home the imperfections are part of the character. I think I may have to get a little more detail-oriented as I begin our bathroom remodeling, though. I found the demolition part way too exciting, and I’m bummed that I have to put away the sledgehammer now and get out the tape measure.


Now an individual update on the kids:

Gabriel:

Gabe turned five this year in March with a party at the bowling alley.

Gabe learned to ride a bike without training wheels this year and is good at it. Really good.

We think he might have a bmx future. That kind of scares mom a little bit. I had to endure a couple weeks of taking walks with him while he rode his bike as though he was a remote-controlled toy being controlled by some unseen person. I have no idea where he came up with that. He crashed at least a dozen times. He, along with Asher, had a lot of fun playing with the neighbor kids outside – everyday! Gabe also started kindergarten this fall. I totally freaked out about the pressure and responsibility a week before we were to start, but it has been a good experience so far. He is reading phonetically and behaving better since he has productive things to work on. He is also taking supplemental classes through the Marion Homeschool Program and has had really had a good time. One of our highlights this fall was a trip to see the orchestra as they put on a program for youth every fall. Gabe really loved that. Gabe’s other favorite activity is attending Awana at a local church. They play games and learn Bible verses - which he has excelled at.

Asher:



Asher just turned three….more like finally turned three.

Asher is all boy, yet very cuddly at the same time. We wake up most mornings finding that he has snuck into our room and is sleeping at the foot of our bed. He really keeps up with his big brother and they are generally obsessed with the same things – guns, swords, guns, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, guns and of late, spiderman.

One of our favorite Asher stories happened one warm night this summer. Asher snuck outside right before bed time in only his diaper. I watched from his bedroom window as he skipped along the driveway towards the front of our house and the garden. As he neared the flowers, I called out to him in a very deep voice, “Asher, get in the house. It’s time for bed.” Asher came screaming and running into the house exclaiming “The flowers are talking to me.” Despite my telling him contrary, he still thinks the flowers talked to him. I think that’s why I caught him watering the flowers several times this summer and telling the flowers in a sing-song voice that everything is going to be okay and to enjoy their “milky.”

Isaiah:

Isaiah has changed the most of our three boys, and is taking on his own personality.

Like Paul says, Isaiah has two moods – happy or whiny- with no in between. He has definitely been the most high maintenance baby so far. He loves his mommy time! His looks remind us a lot Gabe as a baby… See:

Isaiah

Gabe

And, then we realize he also looks like Asher. Maybe it should be "My three identical sons...":

Asher

Right now, Isaiah has four teeth and has been crawling for a couple of months now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is walking soon. Of course, he says “da dee” constantly and adores Paul just like the other two did at this age. He is finally eating table food, and he loves it. Next summer should be the one when we have to chase him everywhere!

I hope your year has been as joyful and blessed as ours!!!!

Love – Paul, Elizabeth, Gabriel, Asher and Isaiah

Bathroom Demo part 2

After you watch this, I'll have you know I had that tub out in no time. The doubter and naysayer watched me stand it up and walk it out of the room, slide it to the basement stairs on a towel, and then drag it down the steps. Someday when somebody with some pipes stops by I'll get them to help me take it out the basement door. Getting the new one (which is older and roughly as heavy as the old one) up the basement steps to the bathroom might be interesting.

Asher's first motorcycle ride - Our First Blog Video!

So I just wanted to try a quick little clip to start with, and kept it really low resolution because I didn't know I could go to 20MB on Blogger until just this moment. It is easy, though, so we will have some good high-res stuff coming soon. I have two hours of footage from this year to import to the PC and edit. Since I have a really basic PC it takes FOREVER! This video stuff is making me itch for 2GB of dual-channel DDR and a nice video card.

Think mommy might be tired yet?

One man's junk...

Isaiah shows one of his two moods

Gabe and Asher Compete for Neighbor Girl

Not Halloween, but could have been....

Gabe is apparently doing his best Sean Penn here and Asher may have just come home from a weekend renaissance festival.

Gabriel Dreams of Ninja Turtles

Bathroom Demolition

The main floor bathroom has been gutted. All cabinets went first by sledgehammer, then wall and floor tiles. Yesterday I got the toilet, sink, and tub out and took all the plaster off the outside wall to prepare for the new window framing. Pictures will be posted soon. We bought an aluminum-clad wood double-hung window and a clawfoot tub. The floor will be tile, the walls likely beadboard and wallpaper, and the ceiling may be tin or faux tin tiles. We'll have a pedestal sink and a dresser and mirror. I plan to do all new plumbing with PEX tubing throughout the house. So far the only "real fun" part was taking the old tub out. I took it down the basement steps myself and just barely kept from having to ride it down into the chimney foundation.

DSL Arrives Tomorrow

We have been hooked on the cheap stuff for a long time. When I locked in $4.95/mo dial-up eight years ago I never figured I'd be on it for so long. It was nice on the budget, but it is time to move on. 7Mbps DSL through Qwest begins tomorrow and I can't wait. I will update all the pictures on the blog and (with help from Matt Farrand) also try to put up some video clips of the kids. Maybe I can get them to behave for ten seconds in front of our Christmas tree or something.

Gabriel is Reading Little Sentences

Gabe has been working on his Alpha Phonics Primer for about a month now and is on lesson 6. He is now able to sound out two and three letter words that have "a" in them. He has been reading sentences like "Dan has an ax." He seems to be doing all right. When we are out running errands he is always trying to sound out words on signs. Asher is trying his hardest to learn them too so he can keep up with big brother. He recognizes most of the letters, which is better than Gabe could do before his third birthday.

Gabe's 8 Mile Ride

I took Gabriel and Asher on a bike ride on a trail we hadn't been on before. Asher rode in the trailer but Gabe brought his bike for a change. I tols him to let me know when he wanted to turn around and go back, but he was too excited about the ride to say anything for four miles. We turned and made it back, but he was very tired at the end. His legs were a bit sore the next day, but he was okay. I was pretty surprised that he could do that on his little 16 inch bike.

Isaiah - Two teeth, four words, standing

Isaiah now has two bottom teeth that make his smile very goofy and funny. He says "ma" "da" "baba" and sometimes "Gabe." He pulls himself up on things and can stand while just holding on with one hand. He loves to bounce to music. He'll be starting to walk long before his first birthday it seems. He's not worried about his slow army crawl because he's focused on walking ASAP to catch up with his brothers.

ATV drivers

Gabe and Asher recently got to drive a new toy over at Grandpa Smith's - an electric ATV. Gabriel drove it pretty well once he got used to it, and Asher did okay with some help at the slow speed (5mph). They drove up and down the street with cousin Noah for a couple hours. Noah is three and drove very well. At times all three of them were on at once. They had a lot of fun.

Elizabeth would like to get the kids one of those electric cars, but I am hesitant. Gabe already bikes faster than they go, so he'd be bored of it quickly. I'd also hate to see any damage come from it and the design flaws in the things are obvious. The electric motor torque is very strong and the takeoff is dangerous if they are unprepared. Common sense would tell you to put switches on the handgrips to be sure the kids are holding on before power can be applied to the motor. Instead the things have a pedal throttle right where you get on and off at (with no power switch handy). A slow-start circuit for the motor could make this a lot more suitable for kids. I'm reminded of the time as a kid when someone floored an electric golf cart while one of my buddies was climbing in - he was thrown for a backflip.

Isaiah is crawling and talking

Isaiah started saying "dada" several weeks ago. We doubted he really understood it until about two weeks ago when he began only using it when talking to me. Then he added "mama" and "baba." He babbles constantly now and plays with toys on the floor. He does the same sidewinder army crawl that Gabe did, but he is showing signs of getting on his knees to crawl soon. He is eating cereal everyday and likes it now. For some reason he has been crying a lot lately and sleeping less. Hopefully it is teething that is bothering him. Hopefully it ends soon.

Preparing for Gabriel's Kindergarten Year

We are starting to realize we need to lay out our plans for Gabe's kindergarten year of school. We don't really think kindergarten is a big deal since it was instituted under false pretenses and assumptions, and isn't compulsory in Iowa yet, but we will teach him some basic things. He will probably have an hour or two each day dedicated to it. We are setting up a table and chair in our office for him so he can shut the door if necessary.

The overall method we will use for these first few years is memorization of facts. Kids memorize well and need to have a lot of facts before they worry about linking them together with reasoning, logic, etc. Everything will be presented as a set of facts to know and remember. Later we will introduce reasoning, logic, and argument. This is the classical method of education.

We plan to spend a lot of time on phonics. He will learn to read more slowly this way than if he learned the look-say memorization method, but it will pay off in the long run. Phonetic reading increases the vocabulary from around 2000 words to 20,000 words over word memorization and allows for a deeper understanding of the construction and etymology of words. This is why it has been used everywhere in the world for all of time except for public schools in the U.S for the last 20-30 years. This is why the U.S. has the smartest 4th graders around and terrible 12th graders - the cheating methods look good at first but limit future growth. If he learns his phonetic sounds this year very well that will be enough. Elizabeth has a book and audio tapes to go through for this during Asher's nap time.

We also plan to spend a lot of time brainwashing the poor kid with the Bible. He will learn to answer the questions in a children's catechism that comes from the Westminster Confession. He will learn many Bible stories and be quizzed on them. This will be done in the evening with dad.

Mathematics for kindergarten will include learning number magnitudes (playing cards), time and money, etc. A lot of games will be used to spark interest in this. Next year we will find a workbook but this year just games and dad's personal tutoring in the evening.

Finally, Gabe needs a lot of work on drawing, coloring, writing letters, etc. He hasn't spent much time on this yet and has a long way to go. We hope to see him writing out the alphabet legibly and drawing basic shapes and figures well by the end of the year. Elizabeth will work on this with him during Asher's nap time.

Elizabeth's latest hospital stay

Elizabeth was in the hospital last week with a kidney infection for several days. Her vomiting and pain were really bad for a couple days and the recovery has been slow and gradual. Luckily we had some help with meals and watching the kids. This week she is doing her best becuase I am finishing up an ISU distance graduate class and catching up at work. She is about 80% and the kids are about 120% trouble and energy. We're going to need our anniversary date this coming weekend to relax. 8 years. 3 boys....

Gabe Goes to the Dentist

Gabriel went to the dentist yesterday for his first checkup and cleaning. They took him back there without me. Being a conservative in an increasing overbearing nanny state, I assume they were getting him alone to ask him if he feels safe at home and check him for marks. Anyway, he did very well and had no cavities. He was very proud of the sticker and toy they gave him, and Asher threw a fit of jealousy over them. It was still a much better experience than we expected, though. Gabe is growing up. It probably didn't hurt that he thought the dental assistant was cute, either.

Gabriel On Two Wheels!

Gabe recently began riding a bicycle. He required almost no help at all. He was focused on learning so that he could keep up with his friends in the neighborhood. I pushed him around a few times on his bike and he did pretty well. Then a couple days later we find out that he had been riding the neighbor's bike unassisted. Their bike was a little smaller so he kept riding it for about a week. Then we got him to try his own again and he took off. He rides up and down the sidewalk and manages to go around Asher, who tries to keep up on a little plastic trike, without a problem. I think next year when Isaiah is old enough to allow us to start riding as a family again we will get Gabriel a bike that attaches to mine so he can help pull the other two in the trailer. That will be a long chain of stuff going down the trail.

if(weather == good) kids.location = outside;

The weather is nice and the kids have disappeared. We have to drag them into the house for meals kicking and screaming. The TV set is lonely. Every evening they have to go to the neighbor's house with the big yard and nice swingset and load their toys up to come home. The next day they drag everything back over there. Parenting is becoming easier and the kids are healthier. Now we just need hammocks for mom and dad.

Our PC went up in smoke

I've done that which I hoped never to do - bought a PC with Windows Vista on it. Our eMachines went up in smoke after 2.5 years. We needed something quick and cheap. I didn't feel like going through the effort of converting to the Mini Mac. There's a familiarity with Windows that's hard to give up and we own a lot of expensive software for Windows already. Visula Studio .Net and Office 2003 are quite expensive and I got them from UI before graduating for $20 because of their super student deals with Microsoft. I do have Linux on the PC, too, but Juno doesn't support it and I only really like it for writing code.

I found Vista to be absolutely obnoxious for about an hour. The first bootup took forever and the annoying notifications and menus were all on by default. I just went bit by bit and turned everything back to the "Classic" mode so that it basically looks just like XP now. Everything is a little flashier and prettier, but I can't see anything that really changed functionally yet. Everything is roughly where it used to be.

Anyway, we got a Compaq for $325 that has a 120GB SATA HD, 512MB PC4200 DDR2 (soon to be 1.5GB for $40 more), DVD burner with Lightscribe, an open PCI express slot, 3.33 GHz Celeron, and my old 80GB IDE HD with XP and Linux and all our important files. All it really needs to become a good home PC is a nice video card for that PCI express slot.

Off with the Awning - Off with the Chimney!

I got Spring Fever last weekend and tore the steel 8'x4' awning off of the front of our house. It was warping the roof, leaking, and rotting the wood. In its place will be a facia board with a painted steel gutter. I did this in preparation for removal of our brick chimney - at least the four feet of it above the roofline. It has been removed now and I am beginning to build up the new one. It will be concrete block covered with stone veneer that matches the front of our house. That will look way better than the brick did. The quotes we got for the work were astronomical, and I'm finding that it is more due to the hard labor than extreme skill required. It saves me money and trips to the gym.

New Pictures of Isaiah

See the new pictures of Isaiah taken tonight below. Soon we will be doing some of all three together, but tonight was Zayza's night alone. We went to a newer place at Lindale Mall and they had the pictures ready to go an hour after the sitting. The email was in our inbox when we got home. That's a lot nicer than having to go back a week later for a pick-up.

Planning Gabriel's Education

We recently submitted an open-enrollment application to put Gabriel into the Marion Homeschooling Assistance Program. He will begin in the fall and have a few visits throughout the school year with one of their teachers. We expect to buy the Covenant Homeschooling Kindergarten curriculum this month to prepare for the fall. It is a full curriculum with a lesson schedule. It focuses heavily on phonics for the first few years, and also includes math, science, and Bible courses. We are excited about getting it in and starting to figure out what his first year is going to look like. I think it will be pretty straightforward and only require an hour or two of each weekday. It will be nice to have the planner so that we don't have to put everything together from scratch.

Isaiah is home

Elizabeth brought Isaiah home this morning. What a relief. We have missed both of them at home for days now. When she brought him in I was leaving for work, but it was so nice to see him sleeping peacefully without any tubes, probes, or wires. He'll be very happy to sleep at home again.

The Storm

We got an ice storm yesterday that took out power to almost all of Marion and Cedar Rapids. Elizabeth and Isaiah were at the hospital on generators and I had the kids at her parents' house to visit family. We stayed the night at their house, but our house in CR was on one of the only streets in that area with power.

I went out on some generator service calls with Elizabeth's dad Bob, who owns an electrical business. It was fun to go 4WD'ing through the ice and snow and get some people powered up. One of the people was an invalid with in-home care who would've had to have been moved to the already hospitals by ambulance if we didn't get his power on.

Isaiah improving

Isaiah is improving a lot. He got a lot of sleep yesterday and in the evening was smiling and acting pretty normal. It sounds like he may be coming home tomorrow.

Isaiah Goes to NICU

After 36 hours home, Isaiah's congestion was no longer in his nose, but now in his chest. We took him to the doctor and they immediately put him in the NICU. His respiratory rate was high. After a night of nearly constant breathing treatments and steroids he was not much better. Then yesterday he improved a bit with some rest and more breathing treatments. Today he is in a regular room and hopefully he will be home in a couple days. It is much more difficult to have Elizabeth in the hospital with him now that there are two older ones that need to be watched. I took the rest of my available vacation from work this week and also got help from grandparents on both sides of the family. The older boys miss their mom a lot. What a rough week for all of us! Hopefully we will never endure this again.

Isaiah has RSV

We took Isaiah in to Mercy Hospital Sunday night because he was getting pretty congested in his chest and sinuses. We couldn't get anything our of his nose, but he was having trouble breathing. They were able to clear him out pretty well at the hospital and he is fine, but they kept him overnight and also last night. I think they'll be back home today. I have been home with the boys taking vacation from work. It hasn't been much of a vacation, but it could be worse. The kids got their first whiff of spring coming yesterday as they played outside in 35 degree weather. They are starting to talk about bikes and scooters now. I'm thinking a little about mine, too.

Home improvement season approaches....

Here we are at three weeks after Isaiah's birth. Paul's back at work and going like crazy. Extra hours at the fulltime job plus some hours at the sidejob. We are planning our major home improvements for the year now. Gabriel and Asher are adjusting well and life is rolling along again. When the nice weather comes they will start getting outside more and all will be well.

We are hoping to hire some of the work done, but we need a roof-to-cap chimney rebuild right away. We are also considering a backyard overhaul including a retaining wall at the back alley, privacy fence along the back, picket fence along the sides, leveling, running drainage from our downspouts to the alley, and sod. Then we'd have a bigger nicer backyard for playing that wouldn't let them sneak away. Then I have to finish installing basement windows and paint the north side of the house. After that we start discussing main floor bathroom remodeling and basement finishing for the fall or next year. Fun, fun, fun....

Thank-you for prayers, gifts, meals

We would like to thank everyone who prayed for us, brought us meals, or gave Isaiah a gift. The meals really helped us to get through Elizabeth's recovery. We've had a very enjoyable couple weeks since his birth. The only trouble we've had at all was that Asher tested positive last night for RSV. He had some croupe and a fever, but he seems to be recovering quickly. Hopefully Isaiah stays free of it. Now that we know about it we are keeping them apart as much as possible.

Home with Isaiah

We have settled in at home for a few days now. I still have another week off of work while Elizabeth recovers. We have been getting meals from family and church friends, and that has been much appreciated. I can cook a little, but I have enough other things to do that it is nice not to have to.

Today I bought blank CD's to start mailing the video of baby out. I am posting some new pics we just got developed today as well.

Everything is going very well. Baby slept almost the whole night last night already. We have been lucky with that on all three boys. He never cries for more than a minute and that is rare. He is a hungry little guy, though. He nurses a lot.

Isaiah is Born !!!

Isaiah was born at 8:07am this morning. He is 8lbs6oz and 21" long. He has dad and Gabriel's olive skin, and his face is a mixture of both families. He has been mostly alert and calm. He is very healthy.

Elizabeth took more time to get closed up than expected and had some trouble with getting too cold. Her scar tissue was a bit of a problem and the early word from the doctor is that we should consider this one to be our last. She is fine now, but that delayed the first nursing and kept us in the recovery room longer. We are now in our room and mom and baby are both asleep.

We have plenty of pictures and video to share. I'll have some pics posted in a couple of days. I'll have a Video CD ready to send out shorty after that for inerested friends and family.

In Defense of Internment

This book by Michelle Malkin was written primarily to promote what most people call "racial profiling" in the war on terror. Most conservatives have no problem with authorities paying more attention to 20 year old Mohammeds at the airport than Ethel the elderly white woman. Whenever this issue has been discussed over the last several years, though, it seems that liberals always manage to bring up Japanese internment in WWII. It is the infallible trump card, like McCarthyism, which Ann Coulter spends an entire book on for the same reason. It is supposed to be universally accepted by all modern people that internment was based purely on racial prejudice and had no possible justification. So, in order to have a discussion on this topic, Michelle wrote a well-researched book on internment in WWII, and shows that everything we learned about it is wrong. The Japanese had a major network of spies on the west coast and Hawaii. They planned for significant help from the Japanese on Hawaii. They put together the effective Pearl Harbor attack using intelligence gathered from Japanese on Hawaii. The internment was a simple relocation of the people away from the west coast. We did not torture them in concentration camps or force hard labor on them. We simply needed to move them to the middle of the continental U.S. for national security reasons. I'm just getting into the main course of this book, so I'll have to fill in more details later. I got this book from the public library. It is controversial, highly recommended, and will make you think and question many of the things you've learned.

D-Day

Well, here we are at the hospital preparing for Elizabeth to have the C-section. Mercy hospital is by far the "other" hospital after St. Luke's in everyone's perception, but we find it to be nice and quiet. There are three of twenty rooms occupied in the recently remodeled birthplace. The nurses read your history and bother to get to know you pretty well. It's very nice.

We left the boys at Elizabeth's parents' house last night. That was not fun. We were trying to get home to get some sleep, but we also wanted to stay until they fell asleep. They were whining and crying and getting out of bed. Finally, Elizabeth's dad went down to keep them company in the basement bedroom and that seemed to be going well when we left.

I'm about to search for some coffee and get into scrubs. I've got the video camera battery charging and my borrowed Tablet PC is obviously online and working. Elizabeth has been flipping channels since her IV was put in. I have been reading Michelle Malkin's In Defense of Internment.

The Night Before Zayza

Lord willing, Isaiah will be born at 7:30am tomorrow. His brothers are staying tonight at Elizabeth's parents since we will have to be at Mercy hospital at 5am. Asher has successfully nicknamed him Zayza already using the talent for nicknaming passed down from his father. We will be posting pictures several days afterwards since we scan photos taken on film still. We will edit a short video to burn to Video CD as well if any friends or family are interested.

Third Carseat

We just bought a new carseat since our old one was in rough shape. We expected to put Gabriel in the rear bench seat in his booster since he can operate the seat belt latch on his own now. Then Asher and Isaiah would go in the middle row buckets, right? Then each one can be easily accessed from outside the van using the sliding doors on each side. Well, it looks like that doesn't work so well anymore. The new carseat has a handle that protrudes farther than the old one, and it is illegal to leave it up and not fold it back while driving. In order to fit it into that middle bench, the front passenger seat has to be so far forward that it would be uncomfortable for most adults. This carseat stuff is getting ridiculous. We have one of the largest minivans on the road and we still have space problems? The only reasonable solution looks to me like removing one of the middle row benches. This allows easier access to the rear bench where Gabriel and Isaiah will go. Then Asher will be in the lone middle row bucket.

This is typical liberalism at work. They want gas to be $4 per gallon so that we will be forced economically to conserve it and use alternatives. They want everyone to ride a moped or drive a Prius. At the same time, however, they legislate Big Brother laws that require monstrous carseats for babies and cumbersome boosters for kids until they are old enough to drive themselves. You'd think that in this technological age there would be superior performing carseats that would be smaller than the old ones. You'd also think rear seat access in cars would have improved. So here we are with Big Brother trying to figure out why we won't drive our families around in 1/2 scale cars with carseats that barely fit through doorways. Maybe the real problem is that liberals rarely have more than one kid, and they drive their Lincoln Navigators to their tree-hugger rallies anyway.

America Alone

I was the first person in Cedar Rapids to check out America Alone by Mark Steyn from the public library. I made them dig it out of their back room where it was waiting to be shelved for the first time. It is a very popular book amongst conservatives right now. His understanding of the overall social and political movements at work in the world is very good. The book is a bit depressing, yet witty and funny too. He discusses the dying welfare states, dying liberalism, and the conservatives who will be left to fight Islamofascism on their own. America's friends of the past are dead societies already infiltrated by the enemy. We must stand alone and fight or be conquered siliently through a multicultural acceptance of an intolerant and violent religion. My grandchildren may wake up every morning to a call to prayer towards Mecca. They may be safe on the streets only in Muslim attire. They may be killed for their profession of Christianity. Looking at Europe today we see it isn't so far off here unless our course changes significantly. Mark Steyn's analysis of this worldwide battle for future existence is excellent. Check it out.

King David

Gabriel and Asher have taken well to their Bible stories. We read to them every night before bed from a Children's Bible that gives the main stories at a level just slightly above Gabriel's comprehension. Asher just picks out phrases and enjoys the sound to fall asleep to. They also have a movie they watch about David. They are obsessed with it. All day long the only thing they like to talk about is David killing the lion, David killing Goliath, and Saul throwing spears at David. They swing their homemade slings and swords around and fight all the time. It is amazing how quickly they learn the stories. Of course, the most interesting ones right now are the ones with weapons or animals.

New position for Paul!

I received the offer and accepted it. My boss is agreeing to a Feb 5th transition date, which will likely be right when I get back from my week and a half of vacation watching Gabe and Asher while mom nurses baby and regains strength.

I am reading up on t6he Ada programming language right away to prepare for the move. I'll be going from a nasty steel production warehouse from the sixties into a new single-story office building with huge windows. That will be nice. I'll be around a lot of other engineers my age and will just have a much nicer environment. Exciting!

New position for Paul?

I interviewed for another position within Rockwell Collins today and am very excited about it. It is a software engineering position. If hired, I will be writing test software for Rockwell Collins government systems products such as cockpit displays. The job requires hardware knowledge, which is most of my background, and is a low-level software position with some application writing. I will get to use some C, but most of the software will be written in Ada. I have never used Ada, so I am reading up on it now. It is only used by flight critical applications for the most part. It is very readable and structured. I am really looking forward to this opportunity, and based on how the interview went today, I think I'm going to get it.

Two weeks until baby time

Boy number three is scheduled to be born by C-section on the 24th. We are pretty sure he will named Isaiah. Asher has already nicknamed him Zayza. Gabe is looking forward to having a baby brother around. It will be a major adjustment for Asher, but he will be good just by imitating Gabe.

Elizabeth is ready to get this boy out. She has had contractions every evening lately and she is not very comfortable.