Childhood

I'm only 27.
Well.. today I'm only 27, I was 26 yesterday. But the gap between the adult and the child in me is growing at a rapid rate, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm just beginning to notice that I'm relating less to children than I used to. It annoys me to hear them whine or cry because I'm pretty sure they don't have a good reason. It makes me angry when I see them trying to manipulate and lie to get out of a bad situation, because that's not how you're supposed to handle bad situations.

Do I have anything worth whining over?

Do I ever feel the need to lie?

And it's those questions that reconnect me with my inner whiny, lier.




With that said, I need to make it very clear that the children I spent this weekend with were neither whiny nor manipulative. They were incredibly well behaved. Being around them just reminded me how most kids are not.

I make it sound like a have a disdain for children, which I think Ruth will attest that I don't. I love kids, and I can't wait to have some of our own. This weekend I just realized that for the past few years I've been struggling to grow up and become a man. I've been trying to become a responsible, trustworthy, God-fearing, leader to protect and love my wife.

But in the process, I started listening to NPR's Fresh Air, and This American Life! I enjoy the newspaper and for more than just the funny pages! Going to bed at 9:oopm is a special treat! I like a hot cup of coffee more than ice cream. I try to make it home in time for live political debates instead of Batman.

For goodness sake I like debating the real estate market and interest rates!



Alright, let's not get carried away, I do make video games and draw comics for a living. I do own a pet mantis, and I do have a pet lizard arriving in the mail tomorrow for my birthday.

I was just making an observation. It's good to grow up.

It's also good to remember where you've been, and what it was like while you were there.




Which brings me to - context! (yeah!)
Ruth's friends Michelle and Masaya came for a visit this weekend and brought along their 4 girls under the age of 5. It was full house, and kind of brought me face to face with my lack of fatherly skill. I think I'll be a good father, there's just a few things I need to learn - like when you pick up a 4 month old baby from behind she doesn't know that I'm not her Mom. It was great for Ruth and I to observe how Michelle and Masaya make this busy family work. They do great, and we all actually had quite a bit of fun.

We went to the zoo on Saturday. I love the zoo.







Here's the thing about the zoo - the animals are always sleeping...



whoops! That's the other zoo.

So what I realized is; Zoo's are pretty much retirement homes for animals. What would you do if someone approached you and asked if you'd like to be fed the rest of your life without having to work for it. Free room and board. Free food. Friends. Medical care. Daily visits. Sounds like Florida to me.

And this looks like and old man who doesn't recognize me and can't find his pants...



Despite the clarity, there is actually a solid piece of plexiglass between me and that old man in this shot.





It cracks me up that this bird needs a name tag.



Here are some random pics of the other zoo animals in their natural habitat.






Thanks for the visit guys! God's blessing on you and your family! We will pray for His hand in your life.

Spring purchase

Ruth and I have been in this house now for a year. As all home owners know, there are a list of projects to undertake once you move into an old house. Sometimes even a new house. There are just always things you want to change. Well one of the things we wanted to change the most - we finally changed this week. It's the second largest amount of money we've spent on the place so far.

Can anyone guess what I'm standing on in this picture?



Our trip to Europe. That's what I'm standing on.



This is a picture from our inspection before we actually owned the house. As you can see, the driveway was the buck toothed grin of this beautiful bride. We loved her, but she sure needed some dental work.

Paving is pricey! And if you want it done right, you need to come up with a good game plan...



We actually agreed on what we wanted, but were just unsure of how it would look. Plus we were putting our flower beds into the hands of two guys with steel toe boots and a dump truck and a back hoe. It was scary.




I wish I could have sat around at home and watched them tear my front yard up into little chunks, but I was busy at work trying to pay for it all. Praise God for the jobs and money that gave us the ability to do this. It sure is nice to make big improvements like this. I left for work on Thursday and the driveway was just gravel. I came home and it looked like this...



Nice! That house has a beautiful black smile. It's an odd thought to think that paving our driveway adds value to our neighbors houses too. They totally owe us!

It was hard to spend all that money thinking of all the other things we could have done with it, like fly to Europe. D'oh! Oh well. But then as I was observing the pile of old asphalt that was ripped up, I had a Solomon moment; There's nothing really new under the sun. The sun rises and sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

And maybe this pile of black junk was once someone else's trip to Europe. Now it's headed to the dump.

The A-Team!

There's a number of weddings we need to hit this summer/spring. The first one of the year is the A-teams wedding. That's Aaron and Annie Patterson. They met at our community group, and dated for roughly a year or so before they decided to take the plunge.




I'm a little late on this post. They've been married for two weeks already. I also took very few pictures. I felt the need to take this wedding "off" and just enjoy being there. But it was hard to resist the dance shots. Especially our good friend Richard getting down.




Classical YMCA shot. We had a good time.





Congratulations Aaron and Annie! Ah...as if they're reading. They're on the beach in Hawaii.

The Triple Door

Ruths parents are in town for the week. Ruth and I decided to take them to one of our favorite music venues; The Triple Door, to see one of our favorite artists; Rosie Thomas. We didn't realize that Denison Witmer would be singing with her too. Denison is an excellent song writer that I've followed for a couple years.




The set up for the Triple Door is basically dinner tables facing a stage. So you eat and drink while you watch the show. It's a great atmosphere, great food, and usually good music.



To hear the song that got me hooked on Denison Witmer, go here: http://www.myspace.com/denisonwitmer and listen to the song Los Angeles



There are several songs Ruth and I love by Rosie. To hear some, go here http://www.myspace.com/rosiethomasmusic

Take a shot...

Sometimes you just gotta take a shot.

There are a few huge decisions in life that you could wrestle over for years. Choosing your career is one. You want to keep doors open but you don't want to pass up good opportunities. Getting married is another biggy. You're choosing the person you're going to spend your whole life with. There are endless reasons to spend the rest of your days trying to make the best possible decision. I suppose that's why some people get caught in perpetual states of education, looking for the best career, or endless cycles of relationships, looking for the perfect spouse.

There's something to be said for just taking a shot. Just saying, " I'm going to make my decision now." I'm not talking about making rushed or ill-informed decisions. I'm just talking about putting your foot down. Drawing the line. Stepping into the unkown.

Aaron and Annie are doing that next week. They're getting married. So last weekend, we men celebrated Aaron's decision by taking a few shots with him. So we piled into a 15 person van and started early...



We shot guns...






We shot hoops...



We shot pucks...



We shot virtual enemies...



We shot pool...




And then we just shot the breeze...




Later on in the evening we shot shots, but I don't have any pictures of that. It was a really good time with brothers and friends. I thank God for these guys. I can't wait until more of them get married so we can do it again. Congratulations to Aaron and Annie! I'm sure I'll have pictures of that in a couple weeks.

What's in Your Wallet?

Last week while I was sitting at my favorite coffee shoppe I decided it was high time to clean out my wallet. You could guess that I was bored. Or you could just know the truth. I like to clean things. Since I wasn't at home the only thing readily available to clean was my wallet.

While cleaning my wallet I had a deep thought. What if someone had handed that wallet to me ten years ago and let me go through it, allowing me to get a sneak peak at my future. What would I have thought?

The first card I pulled out was my health care card. Lifewise. What?! No more Care Card? Has all the talk predicting the fate of the Canadian medical system come true? No more universal healthcare? Perish the thought! Hmmm...the upper right corner has a business name. That must be where I work. Or maybe where my spouse works. I hope it's not where my parents work. I'd hate to be a dependent at twenty....something. The card does have my maiden name on it. That's strange, I guess I'm not married yet. That's not part of the ever agonized over 'plan'. Back to the business name...I've never heard of it. I've actually never even heard of the WORD that names the business. If you haven't figured it out I'm refusing to name where I work online. I've always been paranoid. That hasn't changed.

The next card I found was my car insurance card. Geico. Hmmm...not ICBC. This is getting fishy. Has Canada privatized everything? This card has Royden's name on it too. Awesome. Things must have worked out between us. But there's that pesky maiden name again. Are we living together?! Have we given up the faith?! This CAN'T be right.

AAA Card. I must still own a crappy car. Not BCAA, just plain AAA. I must live in Alberta. That makes sense since they'd be the first to privatize everything. Hey...I think that Geico card said I drive a Jetta. That makes me laugh since I drive one now. I hope it's not the same one!

Funny money. Well, at least I don't live in Alberta.

Washington State Driver's Licence. I look pretty. No, really...I do. I know that sounds like I'm conceited. I guess sometimes I am. I have pretty days, and ugly days. I have an exceptionally good picture of myself on my licence. In fact it may be the best picture ever taken of me. I would gladly show it to you if asked. I'd have another moment of pride upon noting that my weight has hardly changed since high school. That'll come in handy for that 10 year reunion;). Washington eh? Well, last year mom and dad took Royden and I there and we had fun. I don't know how we'll ever drive there but at least we'll be close to Tooth and Nail!

There are a handful of other cards in my wallet, some of which would have likely provoked false pride...my professional licence. Others would have provoked laughter...a Montana Ranch business card with the name 'Nate' on it. (sorry Nathan, I'm used to it but still can't call you that:). Of course my greencard would have cleared up the whole 'losing my religion and living in sin' thing.

So here's my question to you: What's in your wallet?