Category: Daily Life

Last night my wife and I debated the strength of domed buildings. I watched a History Channel special touting their perfect design. But when engineered wrong they crumble.

CNN.com reports "Section of Superdome roof opens up."

I just sat at a 4 way stop waiting for the light to change

And so it begins…

I feel very bad for the people of New Orleans. I lived in Kenner (2 miles north of the New Orleans International Airport) for 4.5 years. I love New Orleans and its going to be obliterated.

Student: I am easily distracted.
Master: A man with no vision cannot focus.

So CNN just said "anyone east of the hurricane’s (Katrina) path could lose power for up to 5 days." That’s a stressful statement when the vampires have been sucking you dry, you’re behind on deadlines, and the cupboards are going bare.

Time flies by so quickly. We find our ruts, our routines and our habits.

I want to point out this picture again because it is a favorite of mine and when I posted it this past Thursday I failed to mention that it is one of the only two wedding photos that Cathy and I have.

Cathy and I were married at Gatlinburg’s Ye Ol’ Tyme Photo Boothe. After I proposed, we couldn’t wait. We both had already done the church wedding before. We had the marriage license. And everything felt right. Noah was too young to understand. Tommy would not have understood. But Sarah needed to be included so she was brought along. In hindsight perhaps Noah should have gone too.

We triple checked the legality of the Gatlinburg wedding chapels and drove on up. I forget how we decided which one to use but we certainly chose a fun one. We perused different styles of attire and finally arrived at the image we desired. We slipped into the clothing which was then velcro’d behind our backs. The sleeves were rolled up and secured for an appropriate look. We slipped into a back room where the proprietor performed the ceremony and pronounced us married. Then we went to the front of the store and had our pictures made and with copies for the extended family we pranced out into the real world to begin a most wonderful life together!

Student: When will my wounds mend?
Master: Healing is not a passive activity.

• …because we survived the camping trip.
• …because I came home with only 2 seed ticks.
• …because I can hug my wife again.
• …because my baby coo’d and chattered and was happy to see me; and I held him.
• …because my puppy exuberantly welcomed us home.
• …because I was able to give a little to another child and mother.
• …because I was able to teach some boys how to whistle with an acorn.
• …because both my boys did things on their own that made me proud.
• …because my boys learned how to stomp a milk carton to make it explode with a deafening pop and I wasn’t the one that taught them!

Breakfast. Mmm

Boys opted out of chapel. Homebound.

Tommy joins the rest of camp for the lowering of the flag announcements and dinner

The boys have learned the stomping the milk carton trick. Expect phone calls from the school.

Another tired child says he slept only 3 hours.

Tired but very helpful child watches flag ceremony.

I was up at 2am and again at 4 and rose at 6:30. Night was calm and uneventful. Time to raise the boys.