Parish the Thought

Let it snow...

2012-01-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

Haven't had any snow to speak of this whole season...until last night. 6"-8" in the last 8 hours. I think it's done for now, but the wind (ie-drifts) could make things interesting. Owen helped me clear the snow off the driveway--and by "help" I mean he did his own thing while I cleared the snow off the driveway :-)

Owen's birthday party

2012-01-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

Had a fun time hosting Owen's 3rd birthday party at Lifequest FC tonight. Will post pics soon.

play buddies

2012-01-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

bouncing baby girl

2012-01-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

oven mits

2012-01-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

sock monkeys

2012-01-08T16:04:00.000-08:00

smart cycle

2012-01-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

My two front teeth

2012-01-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

swingset

2012-01-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve present

2012-01-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

future baller

2012-01-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning 1

2012-01-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

mya's first word

2012-01-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

owen's christmas song

2012-01-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

having a ball

2012-01-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

ready for battle

2012-01-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well, now that that's over...

2011-12-26T15:14:00.000-08:00

Been a long stretch of time w/o an update, which usually means one of two things: 1) nothing's going on worth writing about, or 2) there's too much going on to write about at the time. Assume the latter of the two in this case.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Days have come and gone. We did a lot of the usual things again--family gatherings, visiting friends, decorating the house, eating good food, playing with the kids, seeing Santa Claus, going to Christmas Eve service. It's just that now we're doing them as a family of four.

It's special having Mya on board for her first holiday season. She's such an easy going kid that it didn't really feel like much extra work having her with us. It's like she's always been a part of our family (which, for her, is true).

It's also been fun (mostly) watching Owen this season too, as he's now almost three years old, trying to make sense out of all of the festivities around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've felt especially strong this year about teaching him that he has a birthday, but Christmas is not it. Christmas is Jesus' birthday. You can't slow down the gift giving I guess, but I want him to learn early on that Christmas isn't about him, it's about the other people in his life (and the world, for that matter) who love him and whom he loves.

One anecdote, though. I asked Owen how we should celebrate Jesus' birthday. Without hesitation, he chimed back, "CAKE!" So we had cake for Jesus' birthday yesterday. A simple gesture (and really good velvet cake, btw), but one I hope will stick around for a few years in our family.

For today, we're enjoying a few new toys given to us by those who love us. Happy New Year!

PS--check out some new pics in the slideshow.

new game

2011-11-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

the best 42 seconds of my day

2011-11-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

old video catch up 4

2011-11-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

old video catch up 3

2011-11-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

old video catch up 2

2011-11-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

old video catch up 1

2011-11-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

that was easy

2011-10-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

owen's prayer pt 2

2011-10-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

wide awake

2011-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

anything's an instrument

2011-10-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

bouncing good time

2011-10-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Catch up vids...first Fourth

2011-10-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Told you I was way behind...

Last one for today...

2011-10-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

I just took this one last night. I have more to post as time allows.

When she smiles

2011-10-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

Alphabet duet

2011-10-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Floor time

2011-10-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Owen's prayer

2011-10-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Conan

2011-10-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Big brother

2011-10-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

car wash

2011-10-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

video 3

2011-10-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

video 2

2011-10-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

www.jasonstrickling.blogspot.com

video catch up

2011-10-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have been very remiss in not posting more video since Mya's arrival. I've been taking it, just not finding the time to post it. I realized this morning that I will probably never FIND the time--not at the rate I'm going anyway--so I'm MAKING time this week to try and catch up.

Enjoy...

Pic of the Day

2011-10-14T22:19:00.001-07:00

It's official...Mya's a Strickling for good! Happy Gotcha Day kiddo!

Mya's gotcha day

2011-10-14T08:11:00.001-07:00

First things first...I'm trying a new format for the blog.

Next, and more importantly, today we head up to Spokane to finalize Mya's adoption. Hard to believe it's been 5 months since we got the news we were going to be parents again. We feel very blessed and are so thankful for the support of so many good friends and family.

We're kicking around the idea of an informal "Gotcha Day" celebration at some point in the near future, but we haven't nailed down anything definite. We'll keep you posted.

Oh yeah, since my last post, we had a chance to spend a week at the Oregon Coast. Will post pics when I get a few spare minutes.

Also, in case I don't get around to posting again soon, Lana's taking me (or I'm taking her, depending on whom you ask) to watch the Cougs play Stanford on Saturday. At least I'll get to see a Heisman candidate play...

Better late

2011-09-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

I keep waiting for the heavens to open, for even 1/2 hour of space during the day (before I run out of gas) to sit and catch up on this thing. Unfortunately, I believe the kids are conspiring against this, as they are literally teaming up and timing their nap times exactly opposite each other.

So if I have to quit this post mid-sentence, you'll know why.

Other than that, let's see...summer's come and gone. I believe today will be the last day in the 90s for us. We mostly stayed home this summer, still adjusting to having Mya in our home. Hard to believe she's already 4 months old. Growing like a weed...16 lbs. and 25 in. long already. Owen hasn't seemed threatened by her at all and is very interested in her--probably a little too interested. The kid has no sense of personal space! Luckily, he hasn't hurt her (or himself, for that matter) in his playfulness.

Lana made it through a stressful summer at work with massive layoffs. 80% of her team is losing their job next week. I do not envy them, or her.

I guess we did make it out of town earlier this month up to some friends' condo at Lake Chelan for Labor Day weekend. That was nice, but new for us as a family of four. On the way home, we agreed we needed a different automobile that allowed one of us to sit in between car seats. Luckily, our neighbor was selling his old Expedition, so we bought it and sold the Suzuki we were driving.

We're planning a trip to the Oregon coast in a couple weeks. That will be our "summer vacation" for this year I'm afraid. We still have some adoption expenses hanging out there, so no big trips in our immediate future. Although I'll take the Oregon coast anyday.

I'm sure there's more, but it's all blurring together right now. Lana went up to Spokane for a girls' weekend with a friend, so I've been on duty for the past day and 1/2. I'm still teaching my spin class, but that has all but negated any outdoor riding for me. I literally can't remember my last ride. So sad.

Guess that's all for now. I'll write more as I remember.

New post coming soon

2011-09-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...too long since my last post. I'll try and do a summer wrap-up soon. In the mean time, enjoy the new slideshow pics.

Pic of the weekend

2011-07-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

I took Owen down to the boat races this weekend (Friday morning to be exact). He got in free, of course, and I bought a pit pass to get in and see these amazing machines up close. While taking it all in, a photographer from the local paper snapped a shot of us. It didn't make the paper, but it did end up on their website...

Checkin' in

2011-07-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick check in...Mya's adoption process moving very slowly but surely. We anticipate termination of parental rights sometime in the next month; after that the courts will decide when the finalization hearing is. We may or may not have to attend this, though it was a very tangible way with Owen to celebrate his adoption. We'll see...

Other than that, enjoying a pretty mild summer. Mya's got a weird case of thrush that keeps hanging on, but she doesn't seem any worse for the wear. She got her 2-month vaccinations yesterday and did great with those. She's up to 12 lbs. now (born at 6 lbs. 15 oz.). Imagine if you or I grew at that rate...yikes!

It was great to have my mom and dad come out for a brief visit a few weeks ago. Although I didn't feel the need to plan every single moment, we did manage to tick off 9 of the 10 "bucket list" items I mentioned in my last post. Already looking forward to the next time!

Owen has been enjoying Mya's presence in the house...perhaps a bit too much. He's so interested in her that he hardly will play with his own toys these days. We're also working to get him potty trained, a slow process for sure. Grammy Jo brought over some fun sticker charts last night to help incentivize our little pooper. We'll see.

O did manage to learn his yes-the-oven-is-hot lesson earlier this week as he grabbed one of the 400 degree oven racks in between baking pizzas the other night. HUGE blister on his hand, and lots of crying when it happened, but burn cream, gauze, and his "glove" covering seem to be working their magic.

I've enjoyed being home this month as I've been able to watch every stage of the Tour de France, something I've never been able to do for one reason or another. Tomorrow is supposed to be epic. Me, I get tired just watching them!

Lana's still plugging away at work, though the imminent Hanford layoffs that will be rolling out August 1st have everyone out there a little nervous. Honestly, we just don't know how it's all going to shake out for us. Even if she isn't laid off, it's going to be stressful for those who are left behind to carry on the workload.

On a happier note, Lana and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe we've been together for 10 years now, or as we like to say, "Foh-EH-vah" :-)

Father's Day

2011-06-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a good Father's Day at the Strickling house as far as I'm concerned. Church this morning, dinner out at my favorite Mexican restaurant, nap time, and a little quality park time with my family this evening.

I guess time's been rolling right along here these past few weeks. Lana and I both made it through her first week back at work. Winding up our celebrations for a couple weeks anyway. Still waiting for the weather to perk up though.

Led worship at our church's district men's retreat this weekend, then came home and went to our friends' annual luau they throw in their backyard. Even made the paper this year (go to http://www.tricityherald.com/ to look at the photo gallery).

Looks like my folks will be heading out this way in a couple weeks' time to visit, which will be great. I'm looking forward to hosting them, getting to spend time with them as we do a lot of our normal stuff around here. I've put together a small bucket list for the 5 days they'll be here...

hike Badger Mountain

have breakfast with Pop at the Coffee Nook

play at the park...any park

watch fireworks

go to a baseball game

go swimming at our neighborhood pool

go to Viera's for doughnuts

go to church

chill

I may think of things to add to the list between now and when they get here, but this seems like a pretty good start.

This coming weekend is our annual purge/yard sale. Come on out and buy our junk! I'll also be singing at a funeral on Saturday, preaching down in Milton-Freewater on Sunday, and going to the dentist on Monday. Guess which one of these things I'm not looking forward to...

First family pic

2011-06-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

It only took us a month, but we finally got our new family picture taken...

Pic of the Day

2011-06-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yes he does...

Thursday

2011-06-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update since my last post...team Strickling is adjusting to being a party of four. Baby Mya's doing great, eating like a horse, getting cuter by the day. Owen is very affectionate with her and is at worst a little too interested in her. Lana's had a few weeks off from work, which has been nice. Next week I fly solo though. Pray for me...and them :-)

Mya's adoption is not totally final yet. It's more of a waiting game right now, as we had to publish for the birthfather. That takes a good 30 days. I'll keep you posted. Feels like a formality more than anything right now.

We had lots of Lana's family in this week to celebrate our neice Kaiheisha's HS graduation from Hanford High. She's off to New Mexico this fall to play college soccer down there.

I celebrated my 39th birthday this week with a 39-mile bike ride. What in the world am I going to do when I'm in my 80s?

All for now.

Loving proof

2011-05-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

These are the moments...

read 2 your kids

2011-05-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

never too early to start...

just the girls

2011-05-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

girl time...

q n a with mom

2011-05-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

a word from Lan...

First encounters

2011-05-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Owen and Mya getting acquainted...

mya 1 wk ago

2011-05-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

our first day w/ mya...

Carousel fun

2011-05-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

From our recent trip to Ohio...

home

2011-05-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's good to be home. We got back yesterday afternoon, and though we'd only been gone a couple of days, Lan and I both felt as if we'd been away much longer. Luckily Owen was asleep when we arrived, which gave us a little chance to unpack and settle in.

Big thanks to Jan, Greg, and Grammy for watching our little man for the few days we were in Spokane. Apparently, he didn't miss us too much, which is the best compliment we could receive. Once awake, he seemed to know right away who Mya was, and even called her by name I think.

Obviously, there'll be some adjustment for all, Owen particularly as he figures out what it means to have another/younger kid--a girl no less--in the house, vying for the attention that's been solely his up to this point.

Honestly, since I know him better, I like hanging out with him when everyone else is fussing over Mya. I actually have to watch that I don't neglect spending time with Mya or shirk my duties in looking after her.

Going to church was great today. Lan kept baby at home, while Owen and I ventured out. I quit counting "congratulations" when I ran out of fingers; it was very affirming. I know so many have been in our corner these last several years, but it's nice to physically be with them and hear and feel their support first hand. It keeps my faith alive.

Anyway, enjoy. I'll try and post some pics and a video or two before too long.

day 3

2011-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Friday was a roller coaster of sorts. From an initial phone conversation in the morning, we were thinking we might be staying in Spokane through Sunday, which we were open to. However, after meeting up with our birth mom for dinner last night, we felt confident in moving our departure date back to Saturday (today).

We did venture out a little in the afternoon with Mya and walk around down by the riverfront, that is until she puked up all over her outfit :-) At least it was good to get outside a little. This hotel room is starting to feel a little small.

I know it may seem a little complicated, and a moving target to boot. Bottom line is we want to give our birth mom the time she needs and deserves to see the baby and sort through the emotions of her decision AFTER having the baby (apparently women's hormones do some weird things after having a baby...I have to take other's word on that). In all that, it's super crucial that we be available to her during that time (ie-in town). It's no big deal for us to stay if it helps her.

We are planning to head back up here some time this week so we can bring Owen to meet everybody, and so we can meet the birth mom's boyfriend. Hard to believe it's going to be Memorial weekend already.

We're bummed to be missing out on the Inland Empire Century Ride today, but there's always next year, right?

See you soon.

Day 2

2011-05-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

Took it easy this morning after a not-so-great night of sleep. Found out pretty early in the day that birth mom and Mya were to be released from the hospital today, though we didn't exactly know what time.

Lan got a text at about 11:30 saying everybody was ready to leave the hospital. We dropped what we were doing and headed to the hospital.

Now, for those who wonder how all this works, Mya was under our birthmom's care until she left the hospital. We were in the room, though, and accompanied the family to the entrance of the hospital. Then literally, right outside the hospital, in a fairly unceremonious moment, our birth mom leaned down, kissed Mya and whispered "I love you", hugged Lana, and handed Mya over to us.

Granted, we're staying here in town for at least a couple more days, so it's not like this is the last time we'll be seeing each other. It's just odd to me how surreal it all seems as it's unfolding, how largely unemotional, how...regular. Guess you have to be there.

Anyway, after we had Mya, our day was pretty scripted for us. We holed up for most of the day and just got settled in. Mya slept a lot but didn't eat very much. We're staying attentive to this right now, 'cause she needs to eat. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

I posted pics on Facebook. I'll try to put a few on here as well.

Mya: day 1

2011-05-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

Quite the eventful day yesterday...after receiving a call Tuesday night that our birthmom was having labor induced that night, we made arrangements to head up to Spokane yesterday. We weren't sure when the baby would be born, so we decided to stop in to our adoption office and just "check in".

Good thing, because we got some good counsel as to how to proceed these next few days:

Rule 1: lay low. We're more like visitors this time around. Once the baby's born, she'll stay in the room with the birthmom. The birthmom can call/text/invite us up at anytime (and we should go when she does :-)

Rule 2: plan to stay in Spokane a few days after the baby is born. This gives all parties involved a chance to adjust and gives the birthmom access to us/Mya so it doesn't feel like we're dining and dashing. We had to do this with Owen due to waiting on paperwork allowing us to cross state lines with him. This time around we GET to.

So that's what we're doing. We got to spend plenty of good quality time with Mya, birthmom, and her family yesterday, but we also had time to get a hotel within walking distance in downtown Spokane. We did some shopping, had dinner, and walked down by the falls and the river (which is raging right now, btw...pretty cool).

It's a good bit like being on call, which actually is ok with us. Mya will most likely be in the hospital for another day or so after the birthmom is released (today), just to keep an eye on her. After that, she should be released into our custody.

At that point, she'll stay with us here at the hotel for probably just one night. We're guessing we'll be heading back to Tri-Cities by Saturday, but that's just a guess. We're just taking things a day at a time, slow and steady.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, well-wishes, encouragement, support, etc. It really does mean the world.

Small world

2011-05-16T12:24:00.001-07:00

So I'm at the gym this morning, right about the same time the Tri-City Fever football team is at the gym. The team has been doing very well this season, so I've tried to make a point to encourage the coach when I see him there.

Today was no exception, except today I was wearing my Anderson University hoodie. Before I got a word out, coach Shackleford said, "Hey, where'd you get that Anderson sweatshirt?"

"I went there," I said.

"No kidding! So did I!" he said. "When?"

"Well, I spent most of the 90's there, between undergrad and grad school. You?"

"I was there from '95-'99. Met my wife there."

So here we are, 3,000 miles away from our alma mater. We were on campus at the same time in the 90's, though I swear I NEVER remember seeing him. Didn't spend much time on sports during my college years either, though. What are the odds?

Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.

Busy, but worth it

2011-05-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

I'm very sorry for not posting sooner; things have been a little hectic around our house the past couple weeks. A quick update, but big news for us.

I took Owen back with me for a quick visit to Ohio last week. Upon touching down in Cleveland, I got a text message from Lan saying that a birthmother who was looking at our profile had in fact picked us. We had completed our paperwork only about 2 weeks before, but had received a call the very next day from our coordinator asking if she could "show" us to this mom. We agreed, but a week + went by without hearing anything back. We assumed she had gone another direction.

She hadn't.

So we're ecstatic. She's having a baby girl. And her due date is tomorrow. That's right--tomorrow. Did I mention things have been a little hectic around here? While Owen and I were gone, Lana went and visited with the birthmom, I stocked up on Ohio State baby gear, Lana's been sorting through clothes and baby paraphenalia, I repainted the nursery. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

We've been so blessed, however, to have great family and friends who have mobilized and surrounded us (and really overwhelmed us) with love and support. Several of Lana's friends turned what was supposed to be a "girls' night out" last weekend into an impromptu baby shower. This little girl's closet is already filling up fast!

We believe in good gossip. If you read this, feel free to pass along the news to folks you think may care. Saves us a little work.

Oh, and her name will be Mya. Mya Rose Strickling. Be looking for pictures soon.

According to Jim

2011-04-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like OSU Buckeye football head coach Jim Tressel has become the sports media whipping boy this week, as the NCAA has made their formal allegations against him for lying to keep inelligible football players on the field.

As a Buckeye (ie--from Ohio), I'm of course embarrassed by all this. Forget a 5-game suspension; I think Tressel should resign immediately before he is fired. While he's at it, he should probably just go ahead and move to Michigan and complete his betrayal.

See, here's the thing--Tressel didn't just "allegedly" violate NCAA ethics, he ACTUALLY violated a trust with the state of Ohio. Buckeye Nation is bigger than one man. Always has been. It's about unity as a state around one team, it's about loyalty to the institution. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's THE Ohio State University, and it's something all Buckeyes are proud of.

I'm 3,000 miles away from home these days, but I hope OSU fans are rallying right now, not around Jim Tressel, but around the Ohio State Buckeyes. As far as I'm concerned, goodbye Mr. Tressel. GO BUCKS!!!

Unless, of course, OSU mishandles the whole affair. Then forget what I said.

Easter reflections

2011-04-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

8:30pm. Lana's watching Shrek 2, Owen's asleep (and has been for 2 hours after skipping lunch and his afternoon nap), and I'm looking back on the past 6 weeks sans Facebook (my forbidden Lenten vice...except for Sundays, of course).

Overall, I have felt a sort of recalibration for the road ahead. Strange how changing one "normal" routine for a couple weeks forces a little deeper reflection about why we do what we do. I'm not sure going without totally revolutionized my life. I did miss some of the connection with friends and family that FB affords me in the moment, but w/o it, I also had the time and good fortune to book a flight back home--better than IM'ing anyday. And I didn't die. It's the kind of "experiment" that's truly good for the soul...clears the airwaves.

Easter at church was CRAZY today...rough estimates are 1,600 people...6 services (via 3 venues). We beta tested an AMPED service today and packed the room both hours--pretty clear beta test. Overall, a very good day.

But now that the Church's Super Bowl is over, it's on to what's next, which for our family is a second adoption. We've got all our paperwork in, and our portfolio is being shown over the weekend to a birthmom due in late May. Not sure when we'll know anything, but it should be sometime this week. I'll keep you posted.

I'll also try to post more pics/video, though I don't think I've taken very much the past few weeks. Waiting for the weather to perk up on a more regular basis.

See you Monday.

Wake up call

2011-04-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

www.jasonstrickling.blogspot.com

Musical prodigy?

2011-04-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

www.jasonstrickling.blogspot.com

Gotcha Day

2011-04-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

It's 2:15pm. Owen's just gone down for a nap, or as we say it here, "run to fail". Today is his "gotcha day", or the anniversary of his official adoption into our family. Although he still doesn't understand it all, he does get that it's a special day that affords him the opportunity to go out to eat with Mom, Dad, and Grammy. At lunch, he asked if there was "birthday cake", so at least he thinks it's on par with his birthday...and it is. It's fun to go back and look at the pictures and videos from those early days. In many ways, he's still the same little boy, and in so many others he is a completely different kid. His verbal and athletic skills are way beyond what I ever thought they'd be at this point in the game. Anyway, it's just fun to sit back, soak in the moment, and thank God for the opportunity to raise him. If you want, just for kicks you can watch a brief video from "the day"... http://jasonstrickling.blogspot.com/2009/04/its-officialand-quick.html

Happy camper

2011-04-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

www.jasonstrickling.blogspot.com

Diggin' it

2011-04-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

www.jasonstrickling.blogspot.com

winter video 1

2011-03-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Thank God that's over

2011-03-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

I hate winter. There's just no other way to put it. To me, there is no redeeming quality to living with more dark, more cold, and more time indoors than any other time of the year. My parents recently commented on my apparent hiatus from this blog, and I too found it curious too that with what one would think was so much more time around inside, I didn't feel the need to post anything until the past few days.

This only confirms my original thought. The only thing winter is good for is getting through it to get back to the other good three seasons. The mental power I would normally devote to creativity has been coerced into helping the survival part of my brain function (ok, I don't have the science to prove this, but I'm pretty sure that's what was going on).

Honestly, I can't even really tell you what we've been doing since Thanksgiving. I'm sure there was Christmas, New Years, a couple birthdays, MLK Day, and Valentine's. Lana's been working; I've been keeping busy enough. Owen's, well, Owen. But trust me, it's all been about biding time 'til we got our daylight back (for which I'm most grateful, by the way).

Sure we still have to wear our jackets when we go out, but at least we can go out...'til 7pm...in the light. Sure it's still cold at night, but we're asleep, so who cares, right? Soon enough we'll be trading our sweaters for shorts and our socks for sandals (this will actually come first for me). Easter's just around the corner, then it's both feet on the gas 'til the first frost of November. Bring it.

So with that said, I look forward to posting again, both inspiring commentary such as this and the occasional cute kid video (I have been taking a few of those).

I should also mention that we hope to be including a second cute kid to this site this year, as we're beginning the adoption process again. Lots of paperwork yet to complete, but we've at least committed to the process again. That, I promise you, will be worth writing about...if the weather's ever crummy enough to stay inside over the next six months.

New content coming

2011-03-18T20:36:00.001-07:00

Just about ready to get off my keester and start using this site again. Will start with some home video; trying to add pictures to the slideshow also.

I gave up Facebook for Lent, so this is all I have :-)

Let It Snow, final cut

2010-11-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow, part 4

2010-11-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow, part 3

2010-11-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow, part 2

2010-11-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow, part 1

2010-11-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

DST

2010-11-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

It's 6:40am. I've been up since 5 something, not by choice, but because a) my bladder has a say, and b) Owen has not adjusted to DST AND the 3-hour time difference between EST and PST (we were in Ohio last week).

I used to get up early all the time--by choice, before kids. Summer's definitely the best: light by 5am, cool, quiet. Lately, though, I've slipped into the habit of sleeping in 'til Owen wakes up, which is more in the 7:30-8am time frame (except, of course, for today).

I guess either way, sleep is the goal, but I don't really feel as though I'm doing that very well lately. I seem to be having more trouble getting to sleep, then going back to sleep if I do wake up during the night. I suppose the one saving grace is "having" to take naps with Owen. Moronically, he fights nap time, while I, on the other hand, embrace it. But I can't count on these times to always fill in the gaps.

I don't remember where I was going with this; I guess the thought of entering a season of dark mornings and darker (and longer) evenings is not my favorite by a long shot. If there is such a thing as Seasonal Affect Disorder, I have it. But my need for daylight is equally matched by the desire for a few moments each day where Owen's asleep and I'm not and have the slightest bit of energy and interest in being productive.

Guess I can dream about that last part. Right now, it's off to play with trucks and dinosaurs.

new game

2010-09-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

if I could freeze time...

2010-09-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

recent home video 3

2010-09-08T23:11:00.000-07:00

recent home video 2

2010-09-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

recent home video 1

2010-09-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

new pics

2010-08-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Check out the proofs from Owen's photo shoot yesterday. He's not exactly the easiest subject to photograph, but he's still pretty darn cute!

jumparound

2010-08-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Post-Ohio

2010-07-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I've let another month go by without posting. So sue me.

Let's see, what's been going on? I took Owen with me to a youth camp last month for a week. He seemed to have a pretty good time hanging out with the jr and sr high schoolers, and we only had to visit the camp nurse once (swing 1, Owen 0).

After that, we kicked it at home and waited for summer to show up (took its sweet time this year). Before you know it, it was time to head back to Ohio for a week-long family visit. We had a great visit, although Owen never did adjust to the time change...and managed to injure himself again (door corner 1, Owen 0).

Along with visiting family, Lana and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary by going on a hot-air balloon ride, a memory-making experience for sure. Also, we attended my 20th high school reunion, a surreal occasion to be sure. Since I don't live close to my classmates, this was about the only chance to catch up face to face with most of them. It was particularly good to strike up conversation with folks I never even really knew or talked to in high school. I'm so glad my social skills have improved over the past two decades!

We had a family reunion while back in Ohio, but I missed most of it because my son needed a nap. How lame is that? I told them to go ahead without me, which they did.

This week we've tried to get back into our PNW groove, though we haven't been sitting still too much. Lana's been laying bark mulch around the house; I'm getting ready to take Owen to another camp for a couple days (this time, we'll be hanging out at a Sr. Adult camp--vida loca, I know).

In between, we've been eating too much good food, swimming at the neighborhood pool, enjoying the peaceful early mornings, watching movies, and just soaking up summer.

No promises about any next updates. Might have something to do with another adoption (people are calling us now...stay tuned).

Trying to get back into the saddle

2010-06-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

I must admit I've had a hard time jumping back into writing after such a long time off. It really is hard to believe almost 2 months has ticked by since our little "baby drama" this spring. It's not that there hasn't been anything to write about; quite the opposite, we've been plenty busy, but I haven't been motivated to take the time to write. I suppose there was a grieving period of sorts after we gave baby Riley back, but after that, it was simply back to our routines. Lana's been busy at work, and Owen is keeping me constantly occupied at home through the week. The in between moments have felt more like pit stops than journaling opportunities. I know, excuses excuses...

But here I am, all that is behind. Since late April we filled our time with lots of time at the playground, a week-long trip to Montana to visit the in-laws, and waiting for spring to turn into summer. Our little man is as mobile and daring as ever--climbing, running, falling (a lot), interacting with other kids, "asserting" himself, and basically turning what's left of my hair gray. I have tried to take lots of pictures and video along the way, and, thanks to the beauty of digital cameras, a few have actually turned out OK. I'll continue to post many of them on this site and Facebook.

As summer rolls around, I'm still finding my way along as Mr. Mom. The challenges of keeping up the house are what they are--laundry, cleaning, meals, vacuuming, etc.--but the real adjustment continues to be inner. I realize that the longer I'm out of full-time employment outside the home, the harder it will be to re-enter it at a personally acceptable level w/o some sort of some performance-enhancing educational stimulus (ie-going back to school), even if it's in pastoral ministry. For now, I still have my credentials and am "filling gaps" at CCC, but as I watch us grow, I'm still not sure how I might best integrate back into the staff when I see our staffing needs moving toward other more pressing needs.

Add to it the fact that we're still interested in adopting again, a move that will most certainly involve either my stepping back completely from work OR will involve more daycare (something I am still not comfortable with at this point). Bottom line: I'm not really interested in going back to work full time any time soon. But would I? Should I? Can't say right now. Won't say 'til it comes down to it. For now, I'll settle for turning up around the office when I can, telecommuting, and being available to help out however I can.

In the near future, that means helping out with VBS, leading worship at youth camp, performing a wedding or two, follow-up pastoral phone calls, an occasional parishioner visit (sans Owen), singing on worship team, and contributing creative ideas as we continue to modify and remodel our church building.

The days are long right now--it's light by 5am. Over the past few weekends, I've enjoyed beating the sun up and getting out for some long rides (OK, long for me...40-ish miles a trip). To some, this might seem more like masochism, but for me it's cathartic. Come with me sometime and I'll show you why. I do miss not getting out more, but I suppose those days are over for a little while. I'll take what I can get for now and hope I haven't gained too much weight between now and when Owen starts school.

Speaking of school, my 20-year high school reunion is this summer, something I'm surprisingly excited about. I'll save my thoughts on that for another entry.

the lone ranger

2010-06-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

first horse ride

2010-06-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

new trick

2010-06-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

WWF--'Wen Wrestling Federation

2010-06-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

playtime

2010-06-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Video catch up 1

2010-06-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

New pics

2010-06-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been taking a break from posting, which is a mistake because it takes twice as long to catch back up. New photos are to the left, with some new video to post this week as well. Heck, I may even write something!

Ours for a time

2010-04-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

By now, some of you have learned that our adoption plans have once again fallen through, this time, we fear, for good. On Thursday, our lawyer received several "nasty-grams" from the birthfather's attorney, who was apparently indignant that we were still petitioning for adoption in light of his client's previous correspondence, in which the birthfather had expressed his intent to contest. He also sent documents verifying his intention to appear at in court on the birthfather's behalf if it came to it. This, for us, was the final straw.

Ironically, though, just one week earlier, no one was as surprised as we were to even be petitioning--with temporary custody of the newborn. At the time, we chose not to discuss the details behind our change of heart, but now that we've officially recused ourselves, we feel free to round out the picture for you.

Baby Rylie was born on Friday, April 9th. The birthmother called us later that day with the good news, and we visited them at the hospital the next day. At that time, we were shocked to learned that the birthfather had been arrested the night before--the very same day his child was born. Nice, huh?

We also learned that his own grandmother was allegedly the one who had him arrested. As we heard it, she had come into town after learning of the birth of her great-granddaughter, at her went to her daughter's house to stay the night, and found that her grandson had already broken into the house, destroyed property, and had contributed to the delinquency of minors by supplying several underage drinkers with alcohol (allegedly he too was drunk). I guess the grandmother wanted him to go to rehab for alcohol-related issues and was prepared to let him sit in jail if he didn't (way to go, Grandma!).

As if this were not enough, we were also surprised to learn the birthfather was unemployed and was "couch surfing" (ie-homeless). Perfect conditions to raise a child, right? Additionally, his grandmother, mother, and father were all in favor of adoption and to our knowledge were not footing the bill for an attorney at all (we're still not sure who is).

Worst of all, we began to believe that the birthfather and the birthmom's estranged husband--both of whom are being represented by the same attorney--had established some sort of "bromance" and were actually working together to put the screws to the birthmom. Strange as it sounds, it's even feasible that the "ex" is helping the birthfather out with attorney costs to gain leverage in his own custody case with the birthmom (they have a 2-year-old together).

Needless to say, Lana and I left the hospital dumbfounded. What did all this mean for us? Would the birthfather's arrest wake him up to his delusion of parenting with no plan? Would anyone be able to talk some sense into this kid? Was it enough to take him completely out of the picture where this adoption was concerned? Would we stand a better chance in court in light of any of this new information? We didn't know. We only knew we needed to call our lawyer again the following Monday and ask, which we did.

Based on our legal counsel at that time, we decided to re-engage in the process by at least obtaining power of attorney and temporary custody of baby Rylie. You know that part of the story. We picked the baby up last Saturday and took care of her until today.

For as heart-breaking as it was to learn that the birthfather was as determined as ever to get his way, we knew what we had to do. We called the birthmom last night, let her know what was going on (again), and made arrangements to give her back today. The "return" at 2pm today was as unceremonious as the meeting the preceeding Saturday. No Hallmark moments, no 11th-hour change of heart from the birthfather.

In many ways, the whole experience seems surreal right now. We're definitely grieving the loss of this opportunity for us, but we're equally sad for a birthmom who, thanks to a homeless, jobless sperm donor, is essentially being forced to parent a second child--especially when all she wanted for her baby was to place her with us through adoption.

In all this drama, the truth is clear: dissappointment happens. That's life. But life moves on. Lana and I will be fine (though Lan could probably use a hug next time you see her). Thanks to all of you for riding the roller coaster with us and encouraging us to keep the faith. We love you.

So far so good

2010-04-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning, 7:45am. We made it through the weekend just fine. We arranged with our birthmom to pick baby Rylie up on Saturday afternoon. After so much build up so fast, I'll be the first to admit I was a little nervous, but pretty unemotional about the whole thing. Lana, on the other hand, was "freaking out" at the surreality of the whole experience. To her credit, she hid it really well and saved her tears until after we parted ways (luckily, too, those feelings had passed for her by morning).

The "exchange" itself was fairly quick and devoid of fanfare or Hallmark moments. I did notice the birthmom sneak behind the car with the baby carrier for a few moments, re-emerging with redder eyes than before. We'll be in pretty regular contact with her over the next few weeks, though, so hopefully any sadness she's feeling during this limbo period can be esuaged with little "baby fixes" along the way.

The plan at this point is really simple: take care of this baby as if she were our own until the birthfather is served papers and either a) signs off or b) formally contests the adoption. Time frame? About 3 weeks is our guess.

I still don't know if it was spontaneous or not, but soon after we got home, Lana's mom and sisters et al began to arrive to help welcome Rylie to our house. Either way, it was very meaningful to have everyone there to offer love and support. After all, that's what families do, eh? They all took turns passing her around and keeping Owen occupied for a little while.

Speaking of Owen...he's been interesting to watch these first few days. I expected him to be a little too aggressive at first (grabbing, slapping, pulling, poking, scratching) which he was. But after a few quick interventions/reprimands, he's been largely disinterested, though a bit more vocal and crankier lately (we're chalking that up to the lingering effects of the last ear infection). The biggest thing we notice is how much better he is when we continue to give him attention and not take it from him to give to a complete stranger. It's something we've always heard and could grasp conceptually, but seeing it actually happen makes it all the more true.

Rylie took it easy on us this first day and a half, sleeping like a lion for most of the time. We do suspect, however, that she's got her days and nights a little mixed up still, since she was at her best between the hours of 2am-4am this morning.

We had planned all along to bring her to church with us yesterday morning. I should have brought a camera, though, to capture the reactions of people who thought we were "out of the hunt", or had missed that part and thought the adoption went through sans drama. I swear some people looked right past the baby carrier I was holding, thinking it was Owen in there (thank God it wasn't!). Anyway, it was great to be able to share her with so many people who have been praying for us all along. If you're one of those people, you should know how much that means to Lan and me.

Fortunately for all of us, Lan is able to take quite a bit of time off this week to help us settle in. I'm so glad to have her for my team mate and hope these next few week's uncertainties will be less anxiety-producing with her companionship and support.

Please feel free to email, call, or stop by if you have any questions. We are choosing to leave legal details off the web for privacy reasons, but will be happy to share what we can informally with you.

Again, all our love to you. Stay tuned.

Where we stand

2010-04-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

Forgive us for the radio silence this past week, but some things have taken place this week we couldn't really talk about until some of the details unfolded. As of our last post, we had called the birthmom and backed away from the adoption.

However, her baby was born the very next day; we visited them in the hospital on Saturday, at which point some "game-changing" info about the birthfather came to light. I can't go into detail about that here, but regardless, we left the hospital feeling as though the door we thought was closed had actually swung back open a bit.

So we called our attorney on Monday to seek advice as to whether or not to "jump back in" to this adoption situation. Nothing's guaranteed, but we felt we needed to give this whole thing another shot. So we've obtained power of attorney over this child and will gain temporary custody of her tomorrow. She may stay with us for a couple weeks, or be ours to raise, we're just not sure. But we're going to at least take this next step and see what happens.

More later.

How else do we say it?

2010-04-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

We got a call from our lawyer on Thursday morning saying the birthfather's attorney had called him late Wednesday evening and confirmed that the birthfather would contest any attempt at our adopting the baby (who, by the way, is making her entrance into the world this weekend).

For as much as we didn't want to hear it, it was the confirmation we needed to make the difficult decision to back out of this adoption. Bottom line, if the birthfather wants to contest, he has every right to, and we likely couldn't beat him in court if we tried to. This is now between the birthmother and birthfather to settle.

We called the birthmom last night to break the news to her. Man, did that suck. She seemed very understanding, but I honestly can't imagine how she's feeling. Just as many of you all have been praying for God's will, that's what we're praying for this 19-year-old woman. We offered to call next week after the baby's born, just to check in on them. We've also left the door open with her, should anything change in the coming months.

So, disappointment? Yes. Relief? Sort of. It's hard to live with so much uncertainty. Even when the news is bad, it's better to have it--that way we can move forward.

And there's a lot to move forward for. Owen's "gotcha day" is tomorrow, so we'll start by celebrating the miracle we've already received in the form of this 15-month-old mighty might. All for now.

As always, thanks for the love. Maybe next time, eh?

It's Friday, but Sunday's coming...

2010-04-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we got a call from our lawyer's office saying that our birthfather has indeed "lawyered up"--now the conversations must all take place between attorneys. On the down side, this means that either the birthfather (or someone close to him) is willing to commit financially to a custody fight. If it comes to that, we will back out and let the biological parents settle it themselves, since there is about a zero chance we would win if we were to fight.

On a positive note, though, we're told that the birthfather's attorney is "pro-adoption" and may be able to educate our birthfather on impending realities like child support and costly, time-consuming custody battles for which he may only end up with some visitation rights. However, my sense is that whoever is footing the bill for a lawyer won't be talked out of it easily, which leaves us with a few options:

We walk now, cut our losses, and begin again, perhaps through an adoption agency
We throw caution to the wind and fight for custody
We stay in the game until the custody hearing and see what unfolds

We're going with option three for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that we already accepted the birthmom's invitation to be her baby's adoptive family before we knew the birthfather was serious about contesting. Maybe I'm old school, but where I come from, a person's word still counts for something, even if it's a bit of an inconvenience to keep it. It's called CHARACTER, and it seems like now's as good a time as any to show some.

Plus, who knows, this may all work out in our favor. Lan and I have agreed to at least petition for custody of the child from after her birth 'til the hearing--about a month's time. Again, if we decide to back out at that point to avoid a legal battle, we'll still be keeping our word, though it may be a bit more difficult emotionally after having the baby for a month.

But for now, we wait. It's Good Friday, so unless this baby gets born this weekend, we're anticipating a few days of radio silence. I told a friend yesterday, "I know God doesn't owe me any miracles, so I'm not asking for one. But should he decide to send one our way, I wouldn't turn it down."

Here's to hope. Happy Easter.