mute ramblings.

more art

2008-02-04T21:59:00.001-08:00

Madison calls this piece, "Piggy" She brought it home today. I think it's her finest work yet.

She made this for Brenda. As she describes it, our family is inside while the storm is raging outside. The white circle on the ground is a puddle, and the yellowish brushstroke near it is a birds nest that fell in the rain.

san diego zoo, seaworld, groundhog day

2008-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

the kids petting the dog from that dog show at sea world.

this has got to be one of the greatest jobs in the world.

scotty's first solo trip down the long slide. Brenda says he is more adventurous when he is with pops.

showing good form....

starting to lose his balance....

and wiping out on the landing.

he popped right back up though, and was ready for more. That's my boy.

the groundhog saw maddy's shadow, then it saw his own shadow. another 6 weeks of winter, if you can call it that in SoCal.

almost christmas

2007-12-19T19:20:00.001-08:00

ensenada cruise

2007-12-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

disneyland, and other shots of miscellany

2007-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

halloween festivities were in full gear.

breakfast, before the trip to disneyland.

scotty enjoyed this pumpkin patch as we passed it on the shuttle.

Madison understood the pumpkin themed Goofy, but still asked, "Why are his eyes yellow?" Mmmm. Good question.

Paying homage.

Disneyland's best kept dining secret....Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante. Sandwiched between Frontierland and Tomorrowland, we eat here just about everytime. It's reasonably priced (for disneyland), and always quiet. On a somewhat busy day, we had this patio to ourselves.

I love Disneyland's attention to detail. This soothing display was behind our table.

This ornate fountain was to our left.

Disneyland®: The First 50 Magical Years- is a show on Main Street that we checked out for the first time. The lobby had some interesting displays. Here are Walt's original design ideas for Disneyland. Originally, the park was going to be built in Burbank or Griffith Park. Burbank....maybe. Griffith Park...sheer craziness.

the plan for Griffith Park.

The original model used in planning the park. Thankfully, in Anaheim.

The skeleton model of Space Mountain.

Scotty was the happiest about this ball that we bought for him.

He held the ball all day.

at home, and still holding the ball.

scotty bear

2007-10-19T17:17:00.001-07:00

another trip to the arboretum

2007-10-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

scotty checking out the peacocks.

river, madison, and dakota

Madison having a snow white moment.

climbing trees.

art

2007-09-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

sawdust art festival, laguna beach.

madison's taking art classes . Here she is with her first completed work of art. She has named it, "Fishy"

"Fishy"

the cousins visit.

2007-08-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

some pics i found on the cutting room floor.

2007-08-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

2007-07-29T23:14:00.000-07:00

scotty

13 months.

random pictures from the past 3 months, give or take.

2007-07-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Celebrating her birthday with her sunday school class. Madison is the one with the glasses.

Sometimes Disneyland isn't the happiest place on earth.

She was unusually anxious before the teacup ride got going.

But once we started spinning, both she and her cousin had a blast.

toontown

movie night with some friends

2007-07-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

Despite their reputation, we found the Simpsons great company. They were strangely quiet, and mostly well-behaved.

road trip to san francisco

2007-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

madison and her favorite aunt.

the redwood valley railway was fun, even 7 months later.

he's been "walking" for 2 weeks now.

the paddleboats at the golden gate park were fun. she couldn't stop smiling.

we stayed at my aunt's pad. it was mtv cribs-ish.

the pool was especially sweet.

and the smile that melts me.

2007-06-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

scotty's going to be walking anyday now.

enjoying herself.

bringing joy to others.

creating joy.

scotty's first birthday

2007-06-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Disneyland to celebrate Scotty's first birthday. Every trip to Disneyland begins, and ends, with the shuttle ride.

Brenda and Madison are in the pink teacup.

Entering 'it's a small world'

Scotty loved the ride so much, he kept looking back at journey's end.

I'm sure the fairy godmother actress is a nice person, but her English accent was horrendous. She sounded like Ahnold.

She was smoldering with silent jeolousy when Tigger failed to notice her.

But all was forgiven when Tigger came over.

2007-06-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

He told the boy that although he was huerfano still he must cease his wanderings and make for himself some place in the world because to wander in this way would become for him a passion and by this passion he would become estranged from men and so ultimately from himself. He said that the world could only be known as it existed in men's hearts. For while it seemed a place which contained men it was in reality a place contained within them and therefore to know it one must live with men and not simply pass among them.

Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing

running with madison

2007-06-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

2007-05-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

Please come back to LA. Please.

2007-05-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

"He said that the souls of horses mirror the souls of men more closely than men suppose and that horses also love war. Men say they only learn this but he said that no creature can learn that which his heart has no shape to hold."

Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

air scotty

2007-05-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

scotty has a serious obsession with balls, which makes me think my hopes of a basketball scholarship are not too farfetched. Here he is working on his dribbling/passing/shooting skills.

Madison's birthday party

2007-05-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Madison had a birthday party today! She is now 4 years old.
We went to pick up her birthday cake before the party. As the clip from my cell phone will show, she was ecstatic beyond the power of words to convey.

The highlight of the day was when the kids sang happy birthday to madison. The still photos don't do justice to her coy expression as they sang. Where's a video camera when you need one?

2007-05-04T13:28:00.001-07:00

this is why we call him the 2 handed eating machine.

peacocks.

2007-05-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

went to the park to check out the peacocks

strutting his stuff.

the arboretum had an alice-in-wonderland feel to it

"I hear ducks!"

"I found them!"

"There's so many of them!"

"Look! Turtles!"

2007-05-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

the elders and our families went to capistrano beach for a retreat.

overcast and rocky. in a word, beautiful.

the 5 million dollar house we stayed in.

getting connected to the One.

the ocean view from the living room.

2007-04-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

her favorite bedtime story.

his first steps, albeit assisted with an age appropriate walker.

2007-04-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

Low lie the bounding heart, the teeming brain

'Til, sent from God, they mount to God again.

-Henry Montague Butler

2007-04-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

The rule has been disproved

The stone it has been moved

The grave is now a groove

All debts are removed

Oh can’t you see what love has done?

What it’s done to me

-windows in the skies

2007-04-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.”

-George Bernard Shaw

haircuts

2007-04-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

pre-haircut

post-haircut

pre-haircut

post-haircut

2007-04-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

"Too low they build who build beneath the stars"

-- Edward Young

2007-03-28T23:37:00.000-07:00

Madison's friends came to play.

2007-03-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

Madison's piggy bank.

Madison painted this bird feeder.

Madison

Freddy

2007-03-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

"Have you seen my friend Freddy?"

"There he is!"

"Freddy, where are you going?"

"Freddy, come back!"

Maybe Freddy will come back if I leave him some food.

scotty loves being outdoors.

2007-03-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

still.

2007-03-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

just bought a camera, and I spent today trying to break it in.

my utmost for his highest march 15

2007-03-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

"The discipline of dismay is an essential lesson which a disciple must learn. The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obediance and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong."

But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy."

2007-03-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

She loves painting and flowers.

The head tilt, the confidence in her brushstroke, the humble respect for her craft are all self taught.

Surely, these are the marks of artistic genius.

At 10:36am, she was jumping off a couch armrest.

2007-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

the little guy likes open spaces.

He's always on the lookout for fun things to do.

A natural curiosity about all things technological is robustly encouraged by his father.
(In other words, the young padowan is going to make a fine playstation partner one day.)

thoughts of the road, on the road.

2007-03-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

madison's first driving lesson. That's the mouth she makes when she is deep in concentration.

On the way back home, Madison said, "Daddy, the sky is trying to make a rainbow."

2007-02-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

The future Martha Stewart (hopefully without the prison time)

The little guy doing his crawling thing

Madison and Scotty in their "boat"

2007-02-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

When I no more can stir my soul to move, and life is but the ashes of a fire.

When I can but remember that my heart once used to live and love, long and aspire ---

wake in me boundless desire.

-- George Mac Donald

2007-02-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. "

~Abraham Lincoln

2007-02-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

-- Frederick Buechner

the cousins

2007-02-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

watching dora together

running together

checking out anemone together

fighting over turf

beings friends

homebodies.

2007-02-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

napkins are so overated.

Maddy was bummed out it was raining.

Then she saw a red robin fly by.

scotty, 7 months

2007-02-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

the jfk presidential library.

2007-02-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post these pictures of our visit to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum while we were still in Boston.

2007-02-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

Batter my heart, three-person'd God
by John Donne

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to'another due,
Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

new york

2007-02-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

Keeping up with her cousins for 3 days wore Madison out. Here she is catching up on some much needed sleep while enroute to New York.

She didn't miss much. This is basically what it looked like the whole way to New York.

Madison's first meeting with cousin John when both are ambulatory.

Sizing each other up.

Madison enjoyed reading books to her younger cousin.

Madison was transfixed by her aunt's storytelling.

2007-01-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

- Paulo Coelho

more shots from boston

2007-01-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

hanging out with the cousins

hanging out with the old canine.

My weakness. There are no dunkin donuts on the west coast. People are too pompous to eat donuts. Our loss.

You just gained 2 pounds looking at these donuts.

Haggling to delay her bedtime. Her cousins taught her the phrase, "just 5 more minutes." Grrr.

boston acquarium

2007-01-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

Madison working hard at finding nemo.

Madison was bothered by the fact that seals eat cute fish.

She made friends with a turtle.

She was into the starfish.

This stingray and blowfish hung out together the whole time. They were the only fish to swim clockwise. I was told the stingray's popularity took a dive after the steve irwin incident. The blowfish's stock was never high to begin with.

Why do they all swim counter-clockwise?

day trip to downtown boston

2007-01-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

On our first full day in Boston, it was bitterly cold. This was going to be Madison's first time on a train. Ok, it was only the metro. Here is what we saw as we awaited the train to take us downtown.

Catching a transfer in downtown boston.

The sights and sounds of the metro were exhilirating.

travels with madison, day 1

2007-01-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Maddy's been wanting to visit her cousins on the east coast. Budget-wise, that meant we had to take a divide and conquer approach.

Brenda and Scotty held up the fort in LA.

Maddy and I jetblued it to boston on day 1.

my utmost for his highest, sept 19

2007-01-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

"The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow- but only a voice saying, "Follow Me."

-oswald chambers

genesis 28:16

2007-01-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."

travels on the east coast

2007-01-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

Boston. New York. These places are so un-LA, and so refreshing to my spirit. Standby for some photos when we get home. I pulled these pictures off the web - 'snapshots', if you will, of some sights we saw.

Madison's first train ride was on the Boston metro.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
Sobering.
And inspiring.

The Charles River.
I wanted to run the banks. It was 15 degrees. I couldn't bring myself to do it and wussed out.

the big apple. This city has a groove all it's own.

I went to a conference.

Dr King's last sermon, the night before his assassination

2007-01-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

"Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator — that something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.
If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell him not to mention where I went to school.

I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness."

2007-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

a place for everything, and everything in it's place.

2007-01-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

Madison enjoys arranging things. Here she has carefully set up her Pooh guys to watch over her as she sleeps.

It took her about 7 minutes to get the characters and blocks just so.

She also enjoys arranging the fridge magnets.

Some more orderings...

Something about the way she hung these purses sums up Maddy in a nutshell. I can't explain why, but this picture is all Madison.

And here she is getting her ducks in a row.

tour de school track.

2007-01-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

During halftime of the Giants/Eagles game, Madison and I went to the nearby track to put her tricycling skills to the test.

It wasn't easy pedalling in the dirt, but the little one was a trooper.

When she tired of pedalling, she went to tricycling freddy flintstone style.

Then she went to what she loves, which is running.

She always laughs when she runs.

2007-01-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'"

- Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and Sub-2:12 marathoner

happy new year

2007-01-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

2006-12-31T19:33:00.000-08:00

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more."

Steve Prefontaine

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian

life captured one frame at a time

2006-12-31T09:08:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about getting a decent camera. To see if I have a nose for taking pictures. And maybe start a photo blog.
Some photos that have inspired me.

christmas at home

2006-12-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

The little guy is really starting to crawl.

christmas 2006

2006-12-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

Madison played Mary at our church's Christmas production that Brenda helped put together.

Scotty and Maddy hanging out before the opening of the presents.

2006-12-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

happiness is an empty diner and ice cream

2006-12-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

how to ask for candy....step by step

2006-12-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

1) Stand quietly next to pops with candy in front of face. Do not say anything.

2) Transition to verbal request, spoken softly with many sidelong glances.

3) After the request is made, look through bangs with beseeching eyes.

4) I call this Madison's "je-ne-sais-quois / aw-shucks"combination. It is highly effective.

5) The sad puppy eyes seals the deal 9 times out of 10.

success.

similarities between little scotty and the great communicator

2006-12-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

Scotty's pleasant disposition has drawn a number of comparisons with celebrities.

Bob Barker is one I hear Scotty likened to often.

The gipper is another name that comes up.

the newsweek interview....and why Stallone's angst still inspires me.

2006-12-16T01:18:00.000-08:00

Stallone:"It nags me that I took the easy way instead of the high road," he says. "But everyone makes mistakes. I look around at people my age, and I can see it in their eyes—a kind of bittersweet reflection: 'I didn't live the life that I wanted, and now I've got all this stuff I want to say, but nobody wants to hear it.' I was feeling that, and if you don't get it out, it can become a beast that tears you apart."

You see billionaires who have everything, yet inside they're still the same lonely, insecure people," Stallone says. "You think you've got it all figured out, but then you turn 60 and there's still this little hole inside you. You realize, we're always going to be somewhat half full."

of mice and men and the hats we wear.

2006-12-07T21:23:00.000-08:00

took Maddy on our monthly trip to disneyland to give Brenda and baby a break.

the matterhorn was being renovated.

Madison's favorite ride at Disneyland is the teacup ride.

Her next favorite ride is "It's a small world"

The inside of "It's a small world" was revamped for Christmas.

Asian dolls representin'

I took this picture surreptitiously while in line. The family on the left is wearing what I call, The Blast Shield Hat. Sometimes I call it the Stormtrooper Helmet. In the last year, this type of hat has become very popular among the Asian community.

Moments after taking the photo, the Hispanic lady next to them asked the man where she could buy a Stormtrooper helmet.

The gravitas of the moment struck me almost instantly, as I realized I was witnessing the crossing over of one cultural phenomena into another culture. It was a momentous occasion in history. I feel unworthy, but duty bound, to record this event for posterity.

My world was rocked again as I was disembarking my "it's a small world" boat.
I believe this is the first recorded photo of white people wearing the Blast Shield hat.

welcome to this world, chris

2006-12-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

your family has been waiting a long time to see you.

madison and the indoor playground

2006-11-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

maddy and i went to check out the new indoor playground at the mall.
This structure was 3 storeys high, with room for adults to climb with their kids.

Another shot of the behemoth.

And a view from the 2nd level. We were the only ones there.

A room full of nerf balls in a corner section of the 2nd level.

This sloped net bridge made her nervous.

Getting braver, but in the end we climbed it together piggy back style. She kept saying, "Good camel, good camel."

After some time, she was trompsing like a maniac through net bridges all by herself.

She loved these slides.

scotty

2006-11-27T20:42:00.000-08:00

some more pictures of the little guy. He is the most even keeled baby I know. He is almost always smiling or laughing. Madison loves the little fella to pieces. As do the parents.

thanksgiving 2006

2006-11-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

The visit up north was small in scale but huge in terms of enjoyment. Took in the sights. Felt the pulse of a different city. Synchronized to the vibe that is San Francisco.

The day after Thanksgiving we went to Chinatown. The restaurant under the lighted white sign is where we ate. It was very popular judging by the people waiting an hour for a table. We walked straight in and my uncle schmoozed the owner of the restaurant, and had a table in under 3 minutes. My uncle's got some serious juice in Chinatown.

My uncle and aunt carving up the bird. My uncle comes from a long line of professional chefs, and has it in his blood to treat the art of cooking with respect. If his Gilligan's island hat helps him get his cooking mojo on, who am I to judge?

Madison enjoyed her ride on the Redwood Valley Railway. It was a ten minute ride on a track carved into a beautiful mountain redwood forest.

A shot of the 'train' as we chugged along. It made me think of that scene in Return of the Jedi when the ewoks and Han Solo were flying through the redwoods, except we were moving much slower. There are other differences, to be sure.

Madison about to board the train. We were mere inches away from a tragic 'refridgerator man' incident that would have been traumatizing to all parties involved.

Choo chooin through the forest with her favorite aunt.

While the ladies were using the outhouse, I climbed an embankment behind the men's outhouse, and was surprised to find this vista. Not the Grand Canyon, but the unexpected view of sheer expanse of land and ocean was breathtaking, proving again that the best things in life are found off the beaten path.

brenda

2006-11-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

her grace

her love

her compassion

her smarts

her spiritual thirst

her beauty

....my best friend

and the open road beckoneth.

2006-11-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

family road trip coming up shortly. We can't wait to take in the sights and sounds of sf.

milt

2006-11-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had dinner with an old friend and his wife, a friend I haven't seen in over nine years. Almost a decade. It makes me feel old to have friendships that can be interrupted by a decade. But I digress....back to the topic of this post, which is old friends. And more specifically, my friend Milton Chen.

I don't know why I do this, but it is my knee-jerk reaction when first meeting old friends - I spend the first five minutes with all 5 senses at full bore, trying to get a read on how life has fared for my friend. It is always the non-verbals that I key in on - the way he walks, the way he takes in his surroundings, his interaction with strangers, but most of all, I guess I'm looking for that certain light burning in a persons eyes. I want to know if a person is truly living life, or just taking up space and breathing up oxygen.

I knew in 7 seconds flat that Milt was truly alive. That whatever he had been through in the past decade, the good and bad of it, was fuel to feed a spiritual drive. I also knew that the hand of God was on his life. I don't know how I knew. I just knew that I knew. We sat down for dinner (Outback- nice cheese fries, if you ever go) and just picked up our friendship right where we had left it in the last century and on the other side of the world.

Milt (and his lovely wife Tiffany) moved to LA to become the youth pastor at Hollywood Presbyterian Church. This is a world famous church, that was the church home to legends of the faith like Henrietta Mears, Bill Bright, Billy Graham, Lloyd Ogilvie, and now Milton Chen. He beat out hundreds of other applicants. We're talking about applicants with history at the church, with educational degrees up the wazoo, with mega church references, with spiritual pedigree, people that are household names in Christian ministry circles. And then comes Milt, the dark horse with an inner city ministry in Houston. Now he is using the same desk that Henrietta Mears used when she discipled Bill Bright and Billy Graham, the same desk she used to draw up plans for Forest Home. Time for some pictures.

Lloyd Ogilvie http://www.2preslex.org/PACE05.HTM
billy
bill bright http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bright
henrietta mears http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/mighty/portraits/henrietta_mears_213642.html

milton and tiffany. http://www.hollywoodpres.org/chen.htm

random pictures I took on my cell phone

2006-11-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

having fun at the mall
getting a haircut. I forgot to take before and after shots.
chilling out watching dora
who could resist this face?

madison's favorite song

2006-11-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

jack johnson is madison's favorite singer. She is always asking to listen to him, and she will sit mesmerized for up to 30 minutes listening to him. The first time she asked for me to play him by name, she was only two and a half years old. This is her favorite song.

..and while we're at it, here's another one for your listening pleasure.

two kinds of bliss......

2006-11-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

"just been fed" bliss......

sleeping bliss.

2006-11-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

Madison at her pre-school's Storybook character day.

The lady wearing the green outfit with wings is the new teacher assistant. It was her first day at work.

Her face says it all.

she's got mad hops and mad speed

2006-10-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

This girl ran before she knew how to walk. I have seen her run a half mile at a decent clip without stopping. She ran her first quarter mile when she was only two and a half years old. She could probably run one mile non stop now (she's three and a half). Maybe we'll see tomorrow.
All that to say this....could we have a child prodigy on hand? I have held the view that in every kid is a full-ride college scholarship in something, be it academic, athletic, musical. I'm no expert, but I know you have to start them out young.

Is running her ticket to a full scholarship?

tiger and earl

michelle and pops

madison and mike

Scotty's birth.

2006-10-29T22:14:00.000-08:00

I was waiting for the moment Scotty first opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a somewhat large and jiggly arm.

welcome to this world, Scotty.

...and the first time Madison laid eyes on her brother.

She adores the little guy.

introducing scotty...

2006-10-29T08:42:00.000-08:00

Madison

2006-10-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a cuter girl?

she is usually camera-shy. a pretty new dress changed all that.

this is the tree that she likes me to chase her around.

how do you start a blog?

2006-10-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm new at this. This being my first blog, I feel the need to say something profound on my first entry.
Nothing comes to mind.
I'll be posting pictures of my 2 kids here so you can track their development and share in their discoveries. I love my family. Thanks for being interested enough to tune in.

Am I supposed to sign off this entry with my name, or do I just end it?