Cousins

I have good memories of the times we spent with our cousins growing up. Holidays and summers were filled with trips to visit relatives in New York, West Virginia, and even California. And it's nice to continue to keep in touch with relatives via the marvels of Facebook and blogging (Quinn and Sandy are cousins).

And now Kieran has his own set of cousins to visit and make memories with (although it would be great for him to meet my cousins someday, too!).

Dirk, Teel, and Dane

Dirk with Kieran

Kieran and Teel

Heather and Kieran

Trent with K-dawg

Kieran loves his cousins!

You know you live in a holler when . . .

. . . your neighbor has more appliances sitting outside his house than he does inside his house.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours!
We trust you're enjoying a personal relationship
with the Creator of the universe
who came to earth
to be the Savior of mankind.

With love from Seth, Stacia, and Kieran

You know you live in a holler when . . .

. . . your neighbor comes out to take a picture of the flooded creek with a circa-1980s Polaroid camera and promises to give you copies if the pictures turn out ok.

Bath Time

Here's a naked baby video of Kieran taking his bath (Seth is the giver of baths) for all the Kieran afficionados in the crowd.

And I thought I was verbose . . .

The Golden Bull Awards for 2008 have been announced. Golden Bulls are dispensed annually by the Plain English Campaign, an organization quartered in England but with members in more than 80 countries. Describing itself as "an independent pressure group fighting for public information to be written in plain English," the Campaign presents awards for what it considers the best and worst examples of English.

And the winner is this little gem from the Financial Services team at McGill University in Montreal:

Our collective success rests with our commitment to service excellence and ongoing process improvement. As such, there will be an increased focus in two pivotal areas, namely: Systems Infrastructure & Communications and Controls & Compliance. This new structure will positively impact the delivery of day-to-day functions for our students and professors thanks to the continuous improvement cycle that will be generated by the new structure. This cycle will inherently deliver an incessant flow of process and systems assessment, improvement, and communication with the related development, distribution, and implementation of necessary tools, education, and support. This will in turn maximize user comprehension and increase overall efficiency.

Sure to stir up controversy

This post is for the Calvinists in the crowd (non-TULIP-lovers can stop reading now :o). Enjoy (or not).

Doctor visit update

Seth's sister Mimi with Kieran

Kieran weighed 7 lbs 8 oz at last week's doctor visit. Because that was on the low end of what he should have gained by now, the doctor was a bit concerned about the spitting up and wanted to see him again in a week. So, this week we (or rather, I) worked on keeping him upright during and for half-hour after his feedings (fun to do in the middle of the night). That seemed to help minimize his reguritations. We also bought a baby scale for our own peace of mind.

At today's follow-up appointment, the nurse reported that he weighed 7 lbs 7 oz, which surprised me. The doctor suggested weighing him again after seeing him and telling me to keep doing what I've been doing. At that weighing, he was 8 lbs 7 oz. Apparently, the nurse had misread the scale during the first weighing. However, when I brought him home and weighed him on our scale, he was 7 .8 lbs. So now I'm confused--how much does this kid weigh anyway?

At any rate, with this visit, the doctor seemed to think we were on the right track and wants us to stop by on Friday for another weigh-in. But I think he's ruled out pyloric stenosis or any other major disease or malady, thankfully.

Oops

Frost sent me this article. As she said, "Talk about a cut-throat business!"

An actor has almost died after slashing his throat on stage with a real knife instead of a blunt prop knife.

Daniel Hoevels, 30, was performing in Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart, about Mary Queen of Scots at Vienna's Burgtheater in Austria at the weekend.Hoevels's character was to commit suicide in the drama, a scene that was to be acted out with a blunt stage weapon. But he had been given a real blade instead, London's Telegraph said.

He collapsed with blood pouring from his neck, and the audience members started applauding what they thought were the spectacular special effects, the Telegraph said. It was only when Hoevels failed to get up to take a bow that they realised something was wrong, it said.

Police were investigating the incident as a possible murder attempt, and would not rule out the possibility a jealous rival might have switched the blades. Police were told the knife was bought at a local store, and were investigating whether props
staff forgot to blunt the blade, the Telegraph said.

"The knife even still had the price tag on it," a police investigator said. The actor had emergency treatment at a local hospital. "If Hoevels had hit an artery or cut only slightly deeper, he would have died on stage," a doctor said. Remarkably, Hoevels returned to the stage the next night with a bandage on his neck.

TBI

I applaud the UFC for for hosting a Fight for the Troops night to raise donations for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. But am I the ony one who notices the irony that men who bash in the brains of their opponents are fighting to raise money for those vets suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury?

He doesn't stand a chance

(Warning: This post contains an obligatory naked baby picture for which Kieran will hate me when he's older.)

As I've mentioned before, I'm a hypochondriac. Sadly, I'm afraid this tendency hasn't decreased when it comes to my son. He's been spitting up more lately, and a search on the web produced a diagnosis of infant reflux. So I called the doctor today and set up an appointment for tomorrow at 4 pm. (I'm sure he's fine, but I'll also be able to get an updated weight and length measurement while I'm there.)

If that's not enough, when I told Seth about the appointment, he said, "Ask him about the bald spot and dry skin on his scalp, and also the hernia he might have under his bellybutton."



Poor kid. He just doesn't stand a chance. He'll be diagnosing himself by the time he's a year old.

What was that?

I found this amusing assortment of quotes by celebrities on the ABCNews site. They made me laugh.

"I love religion. I remember whenever the book "The Da Vinci Code" came out, the Discovery Channel did this three-night piece on it that I TiVoed and then watched eight times."
- Jessica Simpson in 2009, Marie Claire magazine

"When I pictured heroin, I pictured some crazy crackhead with no shoes under a bridge. You never think that is going to be you. And it never was me. I was never under a bridge, and I always had shoes."
- Nicole Richie, 2007, Nylon magazine

"I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2003, in an interview with radio host Sean Hannerty during the California gubernatorial campaign

"So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?"
-Christina Aguilera, 2000, to the cast of "Saturday Night Live" backstage

"All of a sudden you're like the Bin Laden of America. Osama bin Laden is the only one who knows what I'm going through."
-R. Kelly, 2003, after a court hearing on charges of child pornography

"I think the 'Clueless' movie was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness."
-Alicia Silverstone, 2000 to the Sunday Telegraph. She was nominated for Britain's annual Foot in Mouth award, honoring the celebrity who makes the most baffling verbal statement.

"I get to go overseas places, like Canada."'
-Britney Spears in 1999, to the Toronto Star, when asked about the perks of fame

"I can't really remember the names of the clubs that we went to."
-- Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece in 1994 to Sports Illustrated

"It's really hard to maintain a one-on-one relationship if the other person is not going to allow me to be with other people."
-Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, 1989, Rolling Stone

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."
- Dan Quayle, Sept. 15, 1988 during a press conference in Moore, Okla., in answer to a question on the Holocaust

Chicken Update

The other day, Seth and I were talking about what we wanted for Christmas this year. I (again) mentioned that I'd like chickens (since I haven't yet received the chickens I wanted for giving birth to our son).

"But I thought you were getting chickens for having the baby."

"Yes, but I haven't yet received them, have I? This way, it's like you're buying me two presents for the price of one--a baby gift and a Christmas gift. It makes them much cheaper. I could even throw my birthday present into the mix. You'd be set until our anniversary next year."

They're coming -- oh yes, the chickens are coming. I can hear their faint cluck-clucking just around the corner. Soon free range eggs will be mine to eat (and also mine to collect, since I've promised Seth that I would, in fact, take care of the chickens, rather than passing that chore off to him as he seems to think I will do).

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving was a few days ago, I realize, however giving thanks should be a year-round activity, should it not? So, here's my non-inclusive list of what I'm thankful for.

Our sweet (when he's not crying his eyes out in the middle of the night) baby. Thanks, Aunt Bethany, for the cute dinosaur costume!






A husband who loves the Lord and who can cook, clean, change diapers, and take care of baby with the best of them. I'm also thankful that he makes me laugh and doesn't take life too seriously.

Families (my family and Seth's family) who love the Lord and accept God's Word as their authority.

Most of all, however, I'm thankful that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paying the penalty for my sins, and rose again, conquering death on my behalf--not because of who I am or what I've done, but because He chose to save this sinner out of His great grace and mercy. Eternal life with the Creator of the universe -- for that, I'm eternally thankful.