So I lied... Sort of

I know I just said that I was not going to talk about the reception we had after my son's dedication. And for the most part I am sticking to that. But I just got my pictures out of my camera so I wanted to share them with you. Here are a few of my favorites...

It is probably not a widely-known thing, but snails love to live in my agapanthus plants. Of course, kids know this. These kids are well on their way to collecting over 100 snails that will later be used for flinging across the street, stepping on and other grody things

Every once in a while a kid is blessed with an insane ability to perform a task. This is my Godson and he can catch anything. Yes, anything. Geese? Done. Lizards? Done. Crickets? Done. I truly believe there is not a thing on this planet that this boy cannot catch. This is him with an unusually large cricket. Which he caught. In my yard.

Whose got attitude? I've got attitude. So what if I'm two? I am the coolest two year old around.

This is a friend of my wife (the older one) whom my wife has known since she was six. The baby she is holding is her and husband's newest addition. This is their second child and second daughter. Hey, a few more kids and maybe they can be like my wife and I. Hmmm? Three more? C'mon, you guys can do it.

This is my brother and my sister. Not much to say, except it is a rare event to get them in the same frame together and get them on film (or in this case, on disk).

This is my 11 year old niece. She is my very first niece (my sister's daughter). She has brand new braces. Can you tell?

My second niece and my fourth neice. The older one is my sister's second daughter, the younger one is my brother's second daughter. Aren't they cute? I thought so.

OK, no more pictures. My wife and I need rest. So does this blog. If the keys on my keyboard hurt nearly as much as my fingers and wrists, then we all need a nice long rest.

Goodnight.

Dedicated (like a boy, not a server)

Today was "Dedicating the boy at church" day. Those of you that know me (or that read this) know that I can be clearly described as at least two things: a devout Christian and a committed geek. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Those that know me really well may use a few, more colorful monikers to describe me, but let's try to stay clear of that discussion until the kids go to sleep. ;)] That being said, I couldn't pass up the chance at a title like today's.

Dedicating a boy
So this morning, at the 11:00 AM service at Jubilee Christian Center (no I didn't design the site, though I would love the chance) we dedicated our son to the Lord. This is a tradition in the Judeo Christian faith dating back to the Jews and their dedication of the children to God in the Temple with the child was eight days old. Jesus Himself was dedicated (not to be confused with baptized) at the age of eight days old. So, following in His footsteps, we do the same.

In fact, as I told the church this morning, that all of our four daughters had been dedicated on a Jubille stage. It was kinda neat, so I thought I would share a few photos of the event.

A Family Affair: All of us in one picture

Yet again, all together. All very tired. All wanting to not take any more pictures.

So enjoy the pictures. I would tell you all about our reception, but I would spend hours with all of the things that my wife and I had to go through to get our house ready for a party. That's tiring me out just thinking about it.

The Reester Bunny strikes hard

None of us are safe from the wiles of the Reester Bunny. You know him. That brownish looking creature that wreaks havoc every year near the Jewish feast of Passover. Oh sure, he looks cute and cuddly, complete with the pink sugary bows and pastel colored eggs in his basket. But boy howdy, this little critter packs a punch.

The case of the missing Rapunzel
Not to be outdone by the sugar-hyped Easter bunny, the mysterious stealer of little things girlie managed his way back into our kids' collection of very small, but very cute, toys today. Authorities at first suspected it was possibly the handy work of the sticky fingered toy taker. However, after an exhaustive investigation and doll-hunt for the missing Rapunzel, she was discovered behind the microwave cart in the dark corner of the kitchen.

Needless to say, there was much rejoicing and clapping of hands.

The case of the missing train of thought
Now this one caught us all off guard. You would think that with a family of seven (predominantly children) living in a house there would be all sorts of juicy news to write about. And there is. Except that the stealer of things thought related has apparently caught a ride on my train of thought and took it to the nearest hidden place. Oh well, as soon as that train returns to the station I will try to think of something to write about. Until then, from the mouth of my five year old...

"Moe".

What is that sound?

We (when I say we I mean my wife) were making dinner last night as I began to hear this weird sizzling/spraying/flowing sound. I asked my wife if she heard it as she said it was the sound of the french fries in the oven sizzling on our Pampered Chef baking stone. Paying no mind to this I carried on about my business of eating the wonderful dinner that we... er, my wife... prepared.

As I was cleaning up after dinner I began to notice that the sound was not changing even though the french fries had been taken out of the oven. Looking a little deeper (as most professional problem solvers do) I opened the cabinet to the side of the oven and saw water all over the place as the sound got louder. Then I noticed it.

Apparently the people that lived in this house before had a refrigerator that had the little water filler doohickey on the door. And when they moved, instead of taking the hose connection from the water supply line under the sink with them, the capped it... at the end of the 10 foot hose.

After some amount of time anyone with half an ounce of common sense would know that plastic would harden and become unstable. And so it did. Yesterday. In my cabinet.

The good news is that Home Depot is open at 8:00 PM. The bad news is, of the 300 some odd parts they have for plumbing component, the one piece of equipment I needed was the one that was not scheduled to come into the store for a week and a half. Well, then... what is there to say of such a thing? THANK GOD FOR MCGIVER!

After quickly scanning the little baggies of brass fitting and fixtures I found what I needed to engineer me a fix. And thank God for that. Without those pieces we... er, I... would not have been able to dishes this morning.

PS You want this story from the perspective of a 10 year old (a new 10 year old, at that!)? Read about it at Sarah's Blog.