Family Vacation and Faith's Birthday

We hit the road last week enjoying Utah's summer adventure town, Moab, and then down to the Jemez mountains near Santa Fe for a couple days of camping with friends. Along the way, Faith turned five!

Just north of Moab is the Arches National Park; the shaded Sand Dune arch is tucked away inside a slot canyon and was the favorite place in the park to play.


The balanced rocks have inspired countless Road Runner cartoons.


They've also inspired some man-made rock-balancing.


I took the older children on a half-day white water rafting trip down the Colorado River. Here's Eli and Grace embarking.


Isaiah enters the river with a little more flair.


After Moab, we continued heading south for some camping; along the way we stopped at Four Corners for the traditional photo.


That evening we ascended into the Jemez Mountains (about 8,000 ft) and enjoyed friendship and fellowship with our church family from Albuquerque.


They even remembered Faith's birthday and presented her with a cake; but she's still a bit shy and tried to hide from the attention in my shirt.


Birthday presents have a way of drawing her out though.


It was a great trip and wonderful to see our friends in New Mexico again.

Gobble Gobble Ping Pong Day

The turkey is putting me to sleep early tonight, but before I give out I wanted to mention we had a great Thanksgiving. A total of 14 people spent most of the day at our house either playing games or preparing a great meal.

We staged a ping pong tournament, played chess, dodgeball-freezetag, and Isaiah's favorite, Stratego. Then we feasted! It was a great day!

Misfires from the Christmas photo shoot

I enjoy posting embarrasing pictures of the family on the blog. It's my payback for having to wear the matching red sweater in public.

Here are some of the photos that won't make it on the Christmas card this year.

Looks like Zeke has gone back to the bottle.


Who knew that Faith really likes throwing leaves?


The most uncomfortable photo I've ever posed for. I'm half the man I was.

Fall and Winter all in one weekend

It was a nice 65 degrees in the city but only 35 degrees on Sandia peak, which means we were able to enjoy the best of both seasons this weekend.

Pumpkin carving in the backyard.


And fun in the snow in the mountains.

McCall's Land and Cattle Company

Every fall we head to McCall's just east of the East Mountains.

A pumpkin a person.


Atop the tower of hay.


A forehead shot? Actually it's a fivehead.


If that last shot was corny, this one is really bad...

Balloon Fiesta 2009

We had a great time at the Special Shapes Rodeo tonight.


Faith joined the Dark Side.




This year's Christmas Card photo?




Tweety and friends after dark.



THE BUS ride there and back was a huge time saver and the kids loved it. The Park & Ride is definitely the way to go!

Fall in New Mexico

Kristin took the kids to the state fair again this year. The best thing there is the McDonald's farm and trying to figure out why the prize chicken is the best when it looks just like the rest of the chickens. Another strange thing is some of the acts (dancing pigs, white tigers) are the same that we saw in Georgia over 5 years ago. What a strange career it must be to go from state fair to state fair telling the same jokes and doing the same routine over and over!

Eli and I also hiked the La Luz trail this weekend; that's the trail that goes up to Sandia peak. We started at the lower tram, took the connector to the La Luz and then ended at the upper tram and rode it down. It's about 10 miles hiking all in all. He did well despite the long distance and still recovering from a cold.

Next stop, Balloon Fiesta!

Family Camp

Our church joined the other PCA churches of Northern New Mexico (and Durango, CO) for the 9th annual family camp in the beautiful Jemez mountains.

The third best thing about Heaven (if you're a boy)

In family worship last night the kids had some questions about what Heaven would be like.

I excitedly brought up some of the greatest things about the world to come. "There's no sin, no pain", but before I could mention the ultimate benefit of Heaven, my oldest son interrupted, bursting out with this, "And there's no bathtubs!"

That caused the other boys' eyes to grow large with wonder and expectation. I expect Eli is now working on his next song, "Amazing love how can it be, no need for bathtubs in Heaven for me!"

They're back!

Kristin and Isaiah returned from Florida last night (direct flight!) after celebrating her grandfather's 90th birthday.

Grandfather Morey presented us with a self-published memoir of his life. It's very well done and a great way to pass on to the younger generations life in the early 1900s, his service in WWII, and how much things have changed. Another grandfather, who lived to 103, also left behind extensive memoirs of his life. What valuable insights and lessons learned these hold!

Mom's gone until when?

Oh No! Kristin and Isaiah left this morning for Florida! It's just me and the fearsome four until Monday!

I predict these 4 days will be a mix of Survivor and Home Alone.

"My wife and children are killing me" and it's the best thing that could happen

This is an excellent post for fathers and those who love them. It's an excerpt from Andrew Peach's post at First Things's On the Square blog.

Most fathers-to-be suppose that their old ego-centered lives will continue more or less unabated after the child arrives. With the exception of a few more obstacles and demands on their time, their involvement with their children is envisioned as being something manageable and marginal. Nothing like a complete transformation—an abrupt end to their former life—really enters men’s minds.

But then the onslaught begins, and a man begins to realize that these people, his wife and children, are literally and perhaps even intentionally killing his old self. All around him everything is changing, without any signs of ever reverting back to the way they used to be. Into the indefinite future, nearly every hour of his days threatens to be filled with activities that, as a single-person or even a childless husband, he never would have chosen. Due to the continual interruptions of sleep, he is always mildly fatigued; due to long-term financial concerns, he is cautious in spending, forsaking old consumer habits and personal indulgences; he finds his wife equally exhausted and preoccupied with the children; connections with former friends start to slip away; traveling with his children is like traveling third class in Bulgaria, to quote H.L. Mencken; and the changes go on and on. In short, he discovers, in a terrifying realization, what Dostoevsky proclaimed long ago: “[A]ctive love is a harsh and fearful reality compared with love in dreams.” Fatherhood is just not what he bargained for.

Yet, through the exhaustion, financial stress, screaming, and general chaos, there enters in at times, mysteriously and unexpectedly, deep contentment and gratitude. It is not the pleasure or amusement of high school or college but rather the honor and nobility of sacrifice and commitment, like that felt by a soldier. What happens to his children now happens to him; his life, though awhirl with the trivial concerns of children, is more serious than it ever was before. Everything he does, from bringing home a paycheck to painting a bedroom, has a new end and, hence, a greater significance. The joys and sorrows of his children are now his joys and sorrows; the stakes of his life have risen. And if he is faithful to his calling, he might come to find that, against nearly all prior expectations, he never wants to return to the way things used to be.

You can read the whole thing here.

Graduation Celebration

I commend my wife for another fine year schooling the children. Besides a little help from me, we were also assisted this year by RGES (1 day of classes per week for Eli) and Oak Grove (2 days per week for Grace and Isaiah). Next year we plan to continue with RGES for Eli and Grace.

To celebrate the end of the school year (we finished yesterday) we did Charles E. Cheese, Chick-Fil-A, a park, and then the library for a fresh supply of books. We finished the day off with a free dinner at the Officer's Club. It was family night and they had a kid's buffet, a clown, games, and prizes. Faith was excited to win!



Kristin also had the bright idea of having the children set goals for this summer. We hope that provides some good motivation for all of us.

Bye Bye Barry

Barry was an old friend. Kristin bought it with babysitter money when she was in college. The odometer reading: 10 miles. Today it was towed away with about 160K miles. In 18 years that car (which never broke down on us) made lots of memories: our honeymoon drive to Destin, cross-country drives to 7 assignments, driving on the flightline of McGuire AFB, a back seat full of kids, trying to get over the East Mountains of New Mexico, getting hit by a truck on the driver's side, getting hit by a cop car on the passenger's side, wishing the car was visible to the naked eye or at least had air bags, etc. Bye, bye Barry; hello Bubba (our very visible Suburban).

Talking heads

Zeke: Trips to the commissary (the base grocery store) with the young children are usually difficult, but yesterday it was a little humorous. Zeke had a song in his head that he couldn't contain and so sang (the 4 words of it he knows, over and over, at the very top of his lungs) for much of the time. It was kinda like a one-man mariachi band rolling down the aisles. Several strangers took time to comment.

Faith's contrarian ways continue unabated. She pitched a fit in the commissary in order to pressure Kristin to buy a box of Dora cereal. That was last week. Every morning when we offer it to her, she screams and sometimes even runs out of the room! On a bright note, she may have a promising future as a drill sergeant. Twice recently when Zeke is down for a nap, she has come to Kristin and sternly said, "You should get on the treadmill!"

Isaiah continues to pad his lead in the daily word count department. Kristin noticed last night that he began talking to her while he was in the car, even before she got in! The monologue continued all the way to practice and back without intermission. Having a talker in the family is a hoot! Is this a birth-order thing--is the third child usually the talkative one?

Since Grace and Eli sometimes read these posts, I won't embarass them...here.

A name for our home

Some people, usually the wealthy ones, name their homes. Those that do this usually pick some feature of their home or life that is unique to their setting and use that as the name for their estate. When we lived in Georgia we knew a man and his wife that had a mansion on a large lot, I can't remember what they called their place but it was something like the Cedar Cottage.

Last night after battling strong-willed children from the moment I got home until the last one was in bed, the namesake for our little place came to me. We live at Fort Defiance.

Time Zones

Transitions: from the beer fridge to the milk fridge, from the sports car to the van, from carefree to responsibility, from fresh-faced to bald-head, from death to life, from grace to grace.

P.S. That's a picture of how much milk we go through in a week.
P.P.S. According to blogger, this is post #1,000; who would have thought I'd still be doing this?

The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear

There is a phase of parenting where it's beneficial for mom and dad to both have a blind eye and a deaf ear. (I'm indebted to Spurgeon for this insight).

This is not the case when children are very young, like my near-two year old son. Then parents, if they are to avoid busted lips and wearing out their welcome at the ER, need not only keen eyes and sharp ears but the power to see into the future (ex: "unless I barricade the bathtub, he will climb in it fully dressed, soak himself, and then run like a crazed dog throughout the house").

But my subject is older children and my meaning is expressed in plain language by Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes (7:21): "Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee." The margin says, "Give not thy heart to all words that are spoken"--do not take them to heart or let them weigh with you, do not notice them, or act as if you heard them."

Thinking of the conflicts that arise in my household with older children, I find Spurgeon's words (which I will adapt to my subject) very useful.

You will find that even those who live with you are not always singing your praises, and that when you have displeased your most faithful children, they have, in the heat of the moment, spoken fierce words which it would be better for you not to have heard. Who has not, under temporary irritation, said that of another which he has afterwards regretted? It is the part of the generous to treat passionate words as if they had never been uttered. When a man is in an angry mood it is wise to walk away from him, and leave off strife before it be meddled with; and if we are compelled to hear hasty language, we must endeavor to obliterate it from the memory, and say with David, "But I, as a deaf man, heard not. I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs." Tacitus describes a wise man as saying to one that railed at him, "You are lord of your tongue, but I am also master of my ears"--you may say what you please, but I will only hear what I choose.

Likewise, turn a blind eye to sights that can be overlooked without detriment to the whole family. After 1,000 reminders to keep a clean room, a 1001th will only exasperate your relationship. It is time to gaze with the blind eye and use the good eye to look for better opportunities in the future.

Blessed are the peacemakers, and one sure way of peacemaking is to let the fire of contention alone. Neither fan it, nor stir it, nor add fuel to it, but let it go out of itself. Parent older chlidren with one blind eye and one deaf ear.

Back on the blog-wagon again

Blogging fell off for a while. Too many new books to look through! Here are some pictures of what we've been up to since the last post.


We got a good price on a ping pong table at an After-Christmas sale.











I was promoted.
















The two older boys are enjoying the Upward basketball league.

Happy New Year!