Cleaning out his old emails, Darren found one I wrote him in 2003. We had two toddlers at the time. Addie's idea of playing was to dump water onto the carpet and stomp in it, or to insist that her blocks be stacked EXACTLY THE RIGHT WAY. Stuart routinely got into our loose change and scattered coins across the carpet. Both woke up entirely too early every morning, happy to greet the day.
It was an intense time of parenting. But we still managed to keep our romance alive:
From: Sara
To: Darren
Subject: For my husband...
How do I love you?
How can I tell you?
The breadth of my love is as toys,
Spread 'round upon the carpet,
Everpresent.
Thus is my love for you.
The height of my love is as alphabet blocks,
Stacked one upon another,
Unvarying.
Thus is my love for you.
The depth of my love is as water,
Poured out day by day on the floor,
Neverending.
Thus is my love for you.
My love is eager,
As one laughing at dawn.
My love is joyful,
As one dancing upon coins.
As numerous as Cheerios,
Are my grateful thanks that you are mine.
-- SJ
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Cellular Help
Cell phones love to be helpful. They sing when you get a call, bleedle when you get a text, and hang over your thumb suggesting words for you while you text back. But you've got to double-check exactly what a cell phone thinks you should communicate.
* I texted Darren from the doctor's office once: "Daph and Pip both have car infections."
* Once when my friend Amanda was coming over, I realized I was out of paper plates. But the cell phone, showing disturbing political leanings, wanted me to ask, "Do you have any paper slaves?"
* Our babysitter asked me to text her when I got home, since it looked like I'd be driving into a storm. I wrote to reassure her that there hadn't been much of a storm to speak of. The cell phone was in a more surreal mood and suggested instead: "Not enough pain to warrant an umbrella."
* For one of the best gift ideas ever, Jessica sent me a random assortment of magazines. Included was "Food&Wine," and she said I should try a recipe from it because she interned with them. I replied that I would. But my cell phone was feeling poetic, so what it wanted me to say was, "I'll try something from done&wind and let you know how it turns out."
Of course I'm grateful for the cell phone's help, because it means I don't have to press each key three times to get one letter. Besides, at least it gives me something to blog about.
Or, as the phone suggested (obviously thinking I should find a more active hobby), something clog about.
-- SJ
* I texted Darren from the doctor's office once: "Daph and Pip both have car infections."
* Once when my friend Amanda was coming over, I realized I was out of paper plates. But the cell phone, showing disturbing political leanings, wanted me to ask, "Do you have any paper slaves?"
* Our babysitter asked me to text her when I got home, since it looked like I'd be driving into a storm. I wrote to reassure her that there hadn't been much of a storm to speak of. The cell phone was in a more surreal mood and suggested instead: "Not enough pain to warrant an umbrella."
* For one of the best gift ideas ever, Jessica sent me a random assortment of magazines. Included was "Food&Wine," and she said I should try a recipe from it because she interned with them. I replied that I would. But my cell phone was feeling poetic, so what it wanted me to say was, "I'll try something from done&wind and let you know how it turns out."
Of course I'm grateful for the cell phone's help, because it means I don't have to press each key three times to get one letter. Besides, at least it gives me something to blog about.
Or, as the phone suggested (obviously thinking I should find a more active hobby), something clog about.
-- SJ
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Song for the Irreverent Songbook 6
Daphne has learned all three verses to "Away in a Manger," so we've heard it many, many times since Christmas. And after you've heard it for the fifty-seventh time, you just can't suppress the ideas that come to you.
Away in a manger,
No crib for a bed!
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky
Look down where he lay.
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the...
HEY!
The cattle are lowing
The poor baby wakes.
Lucky for them, though,
No crying he makes.
Hey, shepherds, you're noisy
Could you keep it down?
Or little Lord Jesus
Will wake up the town.
-- SJ
Away in a manger,
No crib for a bed!
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky
Look down where he lay.
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the...
HEY!
The cattle are lowing
The poor baby wakes.
Lucky for them, though,
No crying he makes.
Hey, shepherds, you're noisy
Could you keep it down?
Or little Lord Jesus
Will wake up the town.
-- SJ
Friday, April 15, 2011
7 Quick Takes, April 15, 2011
Jennifer at Conversion Diary, who hosts 7 Quick Takes, has some pretty funny ones today. Go see them!
1. Palm Sunday is coming. Our pastor describes it as a "schizophrenic service." We start off with a joyous parade waving palm branches, and then the rest of the service is focused on the crucifixion. Prayer would be appreciated, as I'm preaching. Fr. Tim asked me to, saying, "We really need a good, precise and short sermon and I know you can do this." Well, I can do the short, anyway :)
2. For Lent, I gave up fiction reading. I am really looking forward to Easter - I have a list of books all ready to go :) However, it has been good to read outside my standard fantasy/theology mix. I just finished a book about a fascinating man named Ibn Battuta. Ibn Battuta was a Muslim traveler during the 1300s who was born in northwest Africa. He went on hajj to Mecca in his early 20s and didn't come home for almost 30 years. He traveled across north Africa, Syria, Turkey, southern Russia, Arabia, Irag, India, and some into China, and then came home and wrote a book about it. The book about him was interesting, but now I want to find the original and hear from Ibn Battuta himself.
3. Peter Jackson is making "The Hobbit" into a movie. Well, two movies actually. This is good! The video he released yesterday is a great look into the beginning of filming. I can't wait!!
4. The Los Angeles City Council is hosting a public hearing on their daytime curfew next Monday, and I'm going out to testify against it and present the perspective of homeschoolers (two of home we're representing in a lawsuit due to their unlawful arrest under the curfew).
5. A haiku written as a text message from church Tuesday night, waiting to see if anyone would show up for Stations of the Cross:
Looking out at rain
Falling down on pear blossoms.
No one is coming.
6. Daphne likes cheese pizza with no pepperoni. Stuart likes lots of pepperoni. So yesterday for lunch, Sara got a pizza with half cheese and half pepperoni. She handed out the first slice to everyone, but then focused on Phillip. So when it came time for seconds, Daphne grabbed a pepperoni slice and began carefully removing every last vestige of meat.
Sara: Daphne, why don't you just take the cheese piece?! That's why I got it half and half.
Stuart, in a helpful whine: Yeah, Daphne, why did you do that?
Sara: Stuart, you're not one to talk. You're holding a cheese piece.
Stuart: Oh.
7. I have a hot date tonight. Hurray for babysitters! Hurray for friend-of-wife-since-6th-grade who sent money to make it possible!!
--DJ
1. Palm Sunday is coming. Our pastor describes it as a "schizophrenic service." We start off with a joyous parade waving palm branches, and then the rest of the service is focused on the crucifixion. Prayer would be appreciated, as I'm preaching. Fr. Tim asked me to, saying, "We really need a good, precise and short sermon and I know you can do this." Well, I can do the short, anyway :)
2. For Lent, I gave up fiction reading. I am really looking forward to Easter - I have a list of books all ready to go :) However, it has been good to read outside my standard fantasy/theology mix. I just finished a book about a fascinating man named Ibn Battuta. Ibn Battuta was a Muslim traveler during the 1300s who was born in northwest Africa. He went on hajj to Mecca in his early 20s and didn't come home for almost 30 years. He traveled across north Africa, Syria, Turkey, southern Russia, Arabia, Irag, India, and some into China, and then came home and wrote a book about it. The book about him was interesting, but now I want to find the original and hear from Ibn Battuta himself.
3. Peter Jackson is making "The Hobbit" into a movie. Well, two movies actually. This is good! The video he released yesterday is a great look into the beginning of filming. I can't wait!!
4. The Los Angeles City Council is hosting a public hearing on their daytime curfew next Monday, and I'm going out to testify against it and present the perspective of homeschoolers (two of home we're representing in a lawsuit due to their unlawful arrest under the curfew).
5. A haiku written as a text message from church Tuesday night, waiting to see if anyone would show up for Stations of the Cross:
Looking out at rain
Falling down on pear blossoms.
No one is coming.
6. Daphne likes cheese pizza with no pepperoni. Stuart likes lots of pepperoni. So yesterday for lunch, Sara got a pizza with half cheese and half pepperoni. She handed out the first slice to everyone, but then focused on Phillip. So when it came time for seconds, Daphne grabbed a pepperoni slice and began carefully removing every last vestige of meat.
Sara: Daphne, why don't you just take the cheese piece?! That's why I got it half and half.
Stuart, in a helpful whine: Yeah, Daphne, why did you do that?
Sara: Stuart, you're not one to talk. You're holding a cheese piece.
Stuart: Oh.
7. I have a hot date tonight. Hurray for babysitters! Hurray for friend-of-wife-since-6th-grade who sent money to make it possible!!
--DJ
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Mundania 29
Addie has been wanting me to write a blog post. Her request came in the form of hints: bringing my netbook to me while I'm sitting on the porch watching the little ones play on the driveway; opening up a new blog box and typing in the title; suggesting that it's been a long time since I've written a post called "Kid Bits."
She's been so anxious for me to write because she wants to read about their recent artistry with chalk. She, Mollie, and Stuart mixed sidewalk chalk with water to "make cosmetics." Mollie assigned herself the role of "maker" and designated Stuart the "mixer." Addie was the only one brave enough to try the new line of makeup, though. She painted her cheeks pink, her eyelids blue, and under her eyes lime green. She looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
***
Addie's budding fashion sense also includes wanting red hair. By "red" I mean "as in stop signs." I told her that when she's older (and can pay for it), she can get her hair colored at a salon. She doesn't see why we have to go through all that trouble: there's food coloring in the cabinet, right? I finally agreed that when we color eggs next week, she can dip some of her hair into the color to see how it looks... and how easily it doesn't wash out.
***
All Daphne wears all day, every day are leotards. She's collected two or three hand-me-downs and named them: Regular Pink, Dark Pink, Light Pink. She refers to them as "she," as in, "I looked for Regular Pink and I found her in the bathroom!"
Yesterday, a box full of clothes arrived from from Nana. Among the beautiful new shirts and dresses and shorts, there were three new leotards.
Daphne is delighted with the expansion of her wardrobe.
***
For school, I assigned Addie and Stuart to write sentences with pairs of homophones (words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings). Their schoolwork is absolutely in character. Addie wrote four sentences:
1. Sally found a pin and a pen.
2. Joe put a sail on sale.
3. "I found a 2!" "Hey, me too!"
4. The wind blew under a blue sky.
Stuart wrote one sentence, in all caps, no spaces between his words because he was thinking too fast:
A pale maid had a pail on a horse that was hoarse and they saw a farmer whose genes forbade him to wear jeans and he went with them and the horse stepped on a broken window pane which caused him much pain.
***
As Stuart posted, we've ventured into the world of Dungeons&Dragons. The basic game is much more innocuous than its reputation suggests. As a fighter, wizard, rogue, and cleric (with her pet kitty, Daphne), we've battled a few goblins and a dragon. Darren has run the two games we've played, which means he can't do much as a character, so I'm going to be the Dungeonmaster next time. My cleric is pretty useless in battle anyway, but that's because I'm more interested in naming her, writing her background, and coming up with her religious symbols.
It probably goes without saying that the whole family is geeking out over this game.
***
Phillip says one recognizable word these days: "Da-da!" Life isn't fair.
-- SJ
She's been so anxious for me to write because she wants to read about their recent artistry with chalk. She, Mollie, and Stuart mixed sidewalk chalk with water to "make cosmetics." Mollie assigned herself the role of "maker" and designated Stuart the "mixer." Addie was the only one brave enough to try the new line of makeup, though. She painted her cheeks pink, her eyelids blue, and under her eyes lime green. She looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
***
Addie's budding fashion sense also includes wanting red hair. By "red" I mean "as in stop signs." I told her that when she's older (and can pay for it), she can get her hair colored at a salon. She doesn't see why we have to go through all that trouble: there's food coloring in the cabinet, right? I finally agreed that when we color eggs next week, she can dip some of her hair into the color to see how it looks... and how easily it doesn't wash out.
***
All Daphne wears all day, every day are leotards. She's collected two or three hand-me-downs and named them: Regular Pink, Dark Pink, Light Pink. She refers to them as "she," as in, "I looked for Regular Pink and I found her in the bathroom!"
Yesterday, a box full of clothes arrived from from Nana. Among the beautiful new shirts and dresses and shorts, there were three new leotards.
Daphne is delighted with the expansion of her wardrobe.
***
For school, I assigned Addie and Stuart to write sentences with pairs of homophones (words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings). Their schoolwork is absolutely in character. Addie wrote four sentences:
1. Sally found a pin and a pen.
2. Joe put a sail on sale.
3. "I found a 2!" "Hey, me too!"
4. The wind blew under a blue sky.
Stuart wrote one sentence, in all caps, no spaces between his words because he was thinking too fast:
A pale maid had a pail on a horse that was hoarse and they saw a farmer whose genes forbade him to wear jeans and he went with them and the horse stepped on a broken window pane which caused him much pain.
***
As Stuart posted, we've ventured into the world of Dungeons&Dragons. The basic game is much more innocuous than its reputation suggests. As a fighter, wizard, rogue, and cleric (with her pet kitty, Daphne), we've battled a few goblins and a dragon. Darren has run the two games we've played, which means he can't do much as a character, so I'm going to be the Dungeonmaster next time. My cleric is pretty useless in battle anyway, but that's because I'm more interested in naming her, writing her background, and coming up with her religious symbols.
It probably goes without saying that the whole family is geeking out over this game.
***
Phillip says one recognizable word these days: "Da-da!" Life isn't fair.
-- SJ
Friday, April 08, 2011
7 Quick Takes, April 8, 2011
Here's the link to the main round-up of these Quick Takes.
1. It's been a fun week at work. We've been working on a case down in Mississippi where a judge, for no apparent reason and with no case pending, issued a court order on his own motion to 5 attendance officers, directing them to provide him with the names and addresses of all homeschoolers in the counties under his jurisdiction.
HSLDA filed an emergency stay with the Mississippi Supreme Court, and yesterday the stay was granted. The court ordered Judge Joe Dale Walker to respond by April 18, "specifically addressing the issue of under what authority the March 23, 2011 order was issued." Um, yeah, we're all interested in knowing that.
2. So is the US gearing up for actions in Yemen now too? The administration's rhetoric about evil government versus wonderful protestors is sounding a whole lot like our anti-Gaddafi statements a few weeks ago. Click here for an interesting discussion. At least Saleh doesn't sound as intransigent as Libya's leader.
3. An interesting case just got handed down in the Seventh Circuit. Jones v. Clark, 630 F.3d 677, for you legal types. Christina Jones, a meter-reader for ComEd (the power company in the Chicago area), was going around checking meter readings, using binoculars if the fence gates were locked or if there was a dog guarding the yard. She was black, the town is over 97% white. A "concerned citizen" called the police. When the police arrived, he found Christina dressed in ComEd gear - hat, shirt, pants, vest, all with the ComEd logo. She gave the policeman 2 photo IDs showing that she was with ComEd, and she showed him her binoculars and explained what she used them for.
Then she started to leave, and the officer said, "What's the rush?" He then asked for her date of birth and indicated that she was not yet free to go. Jones explained that she had a lot more work to do before the day's end, and then called her supervisor on her cell phone.
Another officer arrived, screamed at her that she hadn't given them enough information, knocked the cell phone out of her hand, handcuffed her, and threw her against the car. The two officers then arrested her for obstructing a police officer and took her down to the station for booking. In her later lawsuit against them, the officers claimed that there was no constitutional violation, because they had reasonable suspicion that Jones was involved in criminal activity and probable cause to arrest her.
Both the district court and now the Circuit Court ruled that, based on these facts, the officers had a "fatal flaw" in their argument - they could not point to a single circumstance that led them to believe that Jones was engaged in criminal activity. It's not a crime to read electrical meters with binoculars.
So now I guess we can add MRWB (meter reading while black) to DWB. And I'm thinking Ms. Jones is going to get a nice hefty settlement check from the Braidwood Police.
4. I subscribe to Worship Leader magazine and thoroughly enjoy it every month. One of my favorite features is Song Discovery - they send me a CD every month with 10-15 songs on it. Mostly new ones, or new covers of old songs. The last one had a wonderful update by Casting Crowns of an old classic. Click here for "Glorious Day." I really like what they've done with it.
5. We watched "How to Train Your Dragon" this last week. That is a thoroughly enjoyable movie! Now I wish I'd seen it in the theater - the flying scenes must have been stunning. After it finished, Addie and Stuart ran off to pretend (one of their favorite pastimes). Sara pointed out that they were far more interested in pretending to be the dragons rather than the Vikings. Well, yeah! I mean, who wouldn't want to pretend to be a dragon rather than a person? :)
6. I'm addicted to Tor's site. They post way too frequently for me to get as much work done as I should.
7. Brown marmorated stink bugs are evil. And disgusting. And ugly. And starting to show up in my office again.
And that's it! Have a wonderful weekend.
1. It's been a fun week at work. We've been working on a case down in Mississippi where a judge, for no apparent reason and with no case pending, issued a court order on his own motion to 5 attendance officers, directing them to provide him with the names and addresses of all homeschoolers in the counties under his jurisdiction.
HSLDA filed an emergency stay with the Mississippi Supreme Court, and yesterday the stay was granted. The court ordered Judge Joe Dale Walker to respond by April 18, "specifically addressing the issue of under what authority the March 23, 2011 order was issued." Um, yeah, we're all interested in knowing that.
2. So is the US gearing up for actions in Yemen now too? The administration's rhetoric about evil government versus wonderful protestors is sounding a whole lot like our anti-Gaddafi statements a few weeks ago. Click here for an interesting discussion. At least Saleh doesn't sound as intransigent as Libya's leader.
3. An interesting case just got handed down in the Seventh Circuit. Jones v. Clark, 630 F.3d 677, for you legal types. Christina Jones, a meter-reader for ComEd (the power company in the Chicago area), was going around checking meter readings, using binoculars if the fence gates were locked or if there was a dog guarding the yard. She was black, the town is over 97% white. A "concerned citizen" called the police. When the police arrived, he found Christina dressed in ComEd gear - hat, shirt, pants, vest, all with the ComEd logo. She gave the policeman 2 photo IDs showing that she was with ComEd, and she showed him her binoculars and explained what she used them for.
Then she started to leave, and the officer said, "What's the rush?" He then asked for her date of birth and indicated that she was not yet free to go. Jones explained that she had a lot more work to do before the day's end, and then called her supervisor on her cell phone.
Another officer arrived, screamed at her that she hadn't given them enough information, knocked the cell phone out of her hand, handcuffed her, and threw her against the car. The two officers then arrested her for obstructing a police officer and took her down to the station for booking. In her later lawsuit against them, the officers claimed that there was no constitutional violation, because they had reasonable suspicion that Jones was involved in criminal activity and probable cause to arrest her.
Both the district court and now the Circuit Court ruled that, based on these facts, the officers had a "fatal flaw" in their argument - they could not point to a single circumstance that led them to believe that Jones was engaged in criminal activity. It's not a crime to read electrical meters with binoculars.
So now I guess we can add MRWB (meter reading while black) to DWB. And I'm thinking Ms. Jones is going to get a nice hefty settlement check from the Braidwood Police.
4. I subscribe to Worship Leader magazine and thoroughly enjoy it every month. One of my favorite features is Song Discovery - they send me a CD every month with 10-15 songs on it. Mostly new ones, or new covers of old songs. The last one had a wonderful update by Casting Crowns of an old classic. Click here for "Glorious Day." I really like what they've done with it.
5. We watched "How to Train Your Dragon" this last week. That is a thoroughly enjoyable movie! Now I wish I'd seen it in the theater - the flying scenes must have been stunning. After it finished, Addie and Stuart ran off to pretend (one of their favorite pastimes). Sara pointed out that they were far more interested in pretending to be the dragons rather than the Vikings. Well, yeah! I mean, who wouldn't want to pretend to be a dragon rather than a person? :)
6. I'm addicted to Tor's site. They post way too frequently for me to get as much work done as I should.
7. Brown marmorated stink bugs are evil. And disgusting. And ugly. And starting to show up in my office again.
And that's it! Have a wonderful weekend.
Friday, April 01, 2011
7 Quick Takes, April 1, 2011
If you're here, you probably know the drill with 7 Quick Takes. Hop on over to Conversion Diary for the full list!
1. There was a fascinating article on GetReligion this week about the precipitous drop in the number of nuns in America. One of the major reasons cited is the lack of support from parents, especially since most American families have so few children. The comments on the article are interesting, as they tease out some other aspects of the drop. Since Addie and Stuart regularly read this blog, this message is for them: Kids, if one or more of you decide to be a monk or nun, Daddy would be over-the-moon happy.
2. Addie asked me the other day on the way out the door if a case she had read about in one of the numerous books she has on the go was real. Yes, Addie, Hazelwood is a real case, and it really does say that school principals have the right to censor school newspapers. If you want to discuss it, I'd love to sit down and talk.
3. We are having an episcopal visit this weekend. Our bishop will be in town for dinner Sunday, when the clergy adults from our parish will eat together, and then there is a working meeting all day Monday for the clergy and Bishop Mike. I'd appreciate prayer, as I'm really looking forward to brainstorming and seeing if there is some way we can grow the church past its current 34 members. I'm getting tired of being a small church.
4. Two random websites that I love going to: Gene Veith is a Lutheran who is in leadership at Patrick Henry College. He always has great discussions on his blog, everything from baseball to current political events to the glories of Lutheran theology. Also, Dn. Lawrence Klimecki, a Catholic deacon whose art I really love.
5. Probably many of you have seen the rather breathless articles announcing the discovery of early Christian manuscripts in Jordan. This post from PaleoBabble pretty much sums up my feelings about the books: something seriously doesn't smell right.
6. Our office got hit by April Fool's Day pranksters today. All of the name signs outside our office doors got switched around. I switched gender, and Mike Farris got promoted to be me for the day :)
7. I found this out 20 minutes earlier than I usually would have, because my office has been increasing in messiness, so I came in early and cleaned off one of my two desks. I'll hit the other one later today.
And that's it. Happy Friday!
--DJ
1. There was a fascinating article on GetReligion this week about the precipitous drop in the number of nuns in America. One of the major reasons cited is the lack of support from parents, especially since most American families have so few children. The comments on the article are interesting, as they tease out some other aspects of the drop. Since Addie and Stuart regularly read this blog, this message is for them: Kids, if one or more of you decide to be a monk or nun, Daddy would be over-the-moon happy.
2. Addie asked me the other day on the way out the door if a case she had read about in one of the numerous books she has on the go was real. Yes, Addie, Hazelwood is a real case, and it really does say that school principals have the right to censor school newspapers. If you want to discuss it, I'd love to sit down and talk.
3. We are having an episcopal visit this weekend. Our bishop will be in town for dinner Sunday, when the clergy adults from our parish will eat together, and then there is a working meeting all day Monday for the clergy and Bishop Mike. I'd appreciate prayer, as I'm really looking forward to brainstorming and seeing if there is some way we can grow the church past its current 34 members. I'm getting tired of being a small church.
4. Two random websites that I love going to: Gene Veith is a Lutheran who is in leadership at Patrick Henry College. He always has great discussions on his blog, everything from baseball to current political events to the glories of Lutheran theology. Also, Dn. Lawrence Klimecki, a Catholic deacon whose art I really love.
5. Probably many of you have seen the rather breathless articles announcing the discovery of early Christian manuscripts in Jordan. This post from PaleoBabble pretty much sums up my feelings about the books: something seriously doesn't smell right.
6. Our office got hit by April Fool's Day pranksters today. All of the name signs outside our office doors got switched around. I switched gender, and Mike Farris got promoted to be me for the day :)
7. I found this out 20 minutes earlier than I usually would have, because my office has been increasing in messiness, so I came in early and cleaned off one of my two desks. I'll hit the other one later today.
And that's it. Happy Friday!
--DJ
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