Falling in Love with Shadows...

It's weird, that time around 14 wks when the nurse shows you where the stomach, legs, end eyes have started forming. The more jeans Maria can't fit into, the more costly the doctor gets, the more formed the fetus becomes...the more real life is.

Interesting fact: If the fetus continued the growth rate all pregnancy that it is currently in, baby would weigh 1.5 tons at birth.

Jer

Then there was three...

If you haven't heard yet, we're expecting a new baby come October. Being a rookie dad, a lot of this is new to me. The insatiable desire for ice cream, Moe's quesadillas, & B. Antonios pizza I'll never understand.

Anyway, I don't remember how but I ran into a video of Alexander Tsiaras showing off some technology, it helped make things more real for me and I wanted to share. Kinda graphic, but life is...click HERE to watch it.

we are truly amazing.
jer.

Excruciating Pain...

Listening to BOTT radio the other day i ran into an interesting conversation on the word excruciating.


ex·cru·ci·at·ing  (k-skrsh-tng) (adj.)

 1. Intensely painful; agonizing.

2. Very intense or extreme: wrote with excruciating precision.

What i found interesting was the root and origin of the word.
"Ex" is the latin root for "out of"
Latin definition of "Cruciere" is "cross" and "to torture"

English word excruciating found it's origins from the experience of those that died by crucifixion. With all the Tylenol, Advil, and morphine available today, it's easy to never experience excruciating pain. Pain that makes you pass out. Pain that hurts physically, mentally, and emotionally. Christ wasn't the first or last person crucified, but He was the only one that did it for the sins of mankind.

The pain Christ endured is sobering to think about and hard to relate too.

Beating the Winter Blues...

My sis recently wrote about winter doldrums and escaping them.

One immediate suggestion: Younger brothers basketball game.


Necessities:

- Cardboard cut-outs of younger siblings face
- Camera...apparently for taking group shots of the sisters
- Nephews
- Other siblings to make sure nephews don't eat skittles and M&M's found under the bleachers
- Sticky wire to fasten to cardboard cut-out

Free Tip Friday: Fatherly Hugs.

Hey guys, want to know how to get a hug from your father?? Give him fresh pork cracklins. Hugs are usually accompanied with phrases such as:

"Don't tell your mother."
or
"Good thing my cholesterol report was tip top last week."
 

Tale of two fishes...

I didn't use to like fishing. 

Now I do. 

Probably the best thing about fishing is you're never quite sure what's coming up out of the water.

July '11 i caught a 34" pike on vacation in Michigan. 

January '12 i caught a sailfish off coast of Ft. Lauderdale. 

Amazingly enough, we got both on video.

Some pics too.

Pike

 

Sailfish

 

Rooting for the Underdog

Many of us enjoy rooting for underdogs. David against Goliath. That small school playing cross-town rival huge school. Notre Dame in the national championship...

Tonight's underdog: Team Orange.

After a dismal start, several strategy changes, smoke & mirror tactics, and turning opponents against each other...Team Orange mounts a come-from-behind victory. Crowd goes wild. Confetti flies. Champagne corks pop. And everyone is encouraged to come again, only if they enjoy losing.