Joshua: master artist

I have no talent at drawing...period. Never have, and never will. My son, on the other hand, appears to have a knack for the fine arts.

You'll notice that this first piece resembles the High Baroque style complete with the striking quality of movement as well as allegorical and religious themes. Notice how Cindy (the one with the baby inside her stomach) appears to be floating effortlessly through mid-air. Josh insists that he was hoping to capture an angelic theme when drawing his mommy.

Now the second piece tends to be more reminiscent of the Neoclassicists, whose works are created by unbroken lines, interrupted by neither light nor by shadow; a sense of order prevails everywhere- evidenced by Josh's prescribed placement of his family members. Note that the artist chose to narcissisticly place himself at the center of the canvass. A simple sign of confidence.




Finally, this last picture undoubtedly depicts the characteristics of Expressionism. Having studied this period in preschool last week, Josh attempts to represents both emotions and feelings throughout. To express these emotions, distorted figures are often depicted. However, after careful observation, one can clearly see that this is simply a picture of Spider Man.

Home at Last!

Well...we made it. I got Cindy and Sarah home today around 5:30 this evening. The docs told Cindy that her incision looked great, so after they pulled her staples this afternoon (which, as Cindy said, hurt like #$%@), we were all set to come home.

Sarah slept the entire ride home, and didn't wake up until Grandpa Eubank had come over to see her, who has been out of town all week on business- needless to say, he was very anxious to see his 5th grandchild!

So far, so good. Although, it's been rather comical with the dog, Maggie. She has been very reluctant to go by Sarah, and has kind of pouted since we've been home. I'm guessing Maggie senses that she has slipped a notch on the totem pole.

We're looking forward to having Josh back home tomorrow. After hanging out with Cindy's folks for the past few days, I would imagine that he'll be very excited to be back home and see his new sister...it will be interesting to see how long it takes until the jealousy factor sets in.

I'm going to run over to the store tomorrow morning and buy a bassinet for the family room downstairs...this should make it a little easier on Cindy so that she doesn't have to tackle the stairs so often when it's time for the princess to take her naps during the day.

Have a I mentioned how beautiful Ms. Sarah Kay is?

Day 3...

After dropping Marie off to school this morning, I headed on over to Akron General around 8:30. Sarah and Cindy were "lounging" in the bed having breakfast...that is, Sarah was having breakfast. Sarah is doing remarkably well with nursing and appears to have quite the appetite. The game plan is to try her out on some formula this weekend, and hopefully be able to give Cindy a break a few times a day. Not to mention, it will give me a chance to actually do something outside of diaper patrol!

We had a real nice visit with Kenton this afternoon. It really was the first time Cindy has had a chance to talk with him, and after our visit, I think she now realizes why the group has become such a special part in my life. We're both really hoping that Kenton will be able to do the baby presentation at church for us later this spring/ early in the summer.

I went home around 3:30 to pick Marie up and then headed back to the hospital around 5:00...only to enjoy visits with Mom, Aunt Anne, Terri, Dan, and the boys. Marie went to a play this evening with her cousins, and Cindy, Sarah, and I enjoyed the Cavs game together...ok, I'm not expecting anyone to really believe that...Cindy was taking her shower, Sarah was snoozing in my arms, and I pretty much watched the 2nd half by myself.

Sarah was getting kind of fussy later in the evening, but the nurse came in and said they needed to do a weight check and give her a bath. When she came back to the room, both Cindy and I were amazed at how calm/ alert she was...by far, the longest that she has stayed awake in her young life. We'll have to keep the bath idea in mind when we bring her home and in the rare event that she becomes fussy (ha, ha)...we can toss her in the tub!

I'm really hoping that Cindy and Sarah can come home tomorrow...Sunday at the very latest. Not to mention, we both are missing Josh, who is hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa down in Marietta for a few days.

And now starring...
Sarah Kay

Where to begin? I'll start with the standard answers to questions that everyone asks. Sarah was born early Wed. morning, weighing around 8 1/2 pounds and a bit over 20 inches. (Now for guys, that's sufficient information, but when you talk with the ladies- like my wife- this "rounded off" response just drives them crazy!)


It was nice to have the C-section scheduled, giving Cindy an opportunity to have a pretty good night's rest at home/ good dinner before heading on over to Akron General for the 10:00 A.M. appointment...and just about an hour later, little Sarah arrived- God, she's beautiful!


Cindy has done remarkably well so far. She was up and around today, took a few short walks down to the nursery and back, and is eating fairly regular meals- that is if you categorize hospital food as a "meal". It still, though, is pretty painful for her to get in/out of the bed with the staples in her stomach- a definite ouch!


As for Sarah, she had a great day. She slept a whole lot, ate about 6 different times, and cried just a little to make it seem absolutely adorable. I know, though, that the day will be coming very soon when her little coo/ cry will resonate through the house at an alarming high pitched volume. Actually the only time she was really peeved off at us was when the nurse brought her in from the nursery last night around 3:00 A.M. for her feeding. The look on her face was something like, "Do you have any idea what time it is? Don't you guys sleep around here?"- I certainly agreed with her- it was a short feeding for both mom and baby.

Josh and Marie were both very excited when they first got to see their new little sister. Josh, upon his entrance to the room, pronounced to Cindy and I- "It came out, Mommy!"- just in case Cindy hadn't noticed. Marie literally began to cry when I came into the waiting room and told her she had a little sister. Both the kids are going to be great with Sarah. I just can't wait to get every one home this weekend. Three kids...three blessings...one incredible spouse...I'm a very lucky guy!

Cave of Magic...

One of my students showed me this today, and I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me 3-4 times before I discovered the "magic" behind this trick...see how you do- Cave of Magic

So long, Stang!

I'm now entering the "mini-van" era of my life...just in time for my 39th birthday, no less.

I always dreamed of driving a Mustang, and three years ago, I traded in my Nissan truck for a 2003 cobalt blue 2 door coupe Mustang. It's a pretty cool car, and I have loved driving it for the past three years.

Last weekend, however, it "dawned" on me (ok, so I was fighting it, because it dawned on Cindy the day I bought the car!) that this isn't really a family car...between Josh's booster seat, the baby's infant car seat, Marie and Cindy...you get the idea.

The Dodge Caravan that we're going to get this week is pretty nice...the kids love it, and it will make for a much more comfortable family outing. Marie loves the fact that she now won't have to squeeze in between the baby and her 4-year old brother- every 11 year old's dream car ride, I'm sure. (the van seats 7 adults, comfortably)

I'm going to try and get rid of the Stang sometime this month...anybody out there want it? Really, it's a great "family car"!- that is, if you have a family of oompa-loompas.

My Little Leprechauns

Becoming a Contagious Christian- This is a cool book! We're reading this for our ABF class, and I just got through the first couple of chapters. The author Bill Hybels relates a number of different anecdotes and stories in chapter 1, but conveys one very simple message: Everyone matters to God!!!

Chapter one discusses Christ's well known Prodigal Son parable. As Hibel points out, Jesus told three stories in a row in Luke 15 to hammer down the point that yes, everyone matters to God...and even those whom we may be quick to "write off" are precious in the eyes of God. To quote Hibel, "you have never locked eyes with another human being who isn't valuable to God." Wow, talk about a potential guilt trip!

This got me to thinking. I have this student who has struggled all year long...D's and F's. I shamefully admit that I've thought more than once that this kid is just taking up space and isn't worth my time because he never does his homework and obviously doesn't care about his education at all. We had a heart to heart today. I decided to make him my "Lenten project" and come hell or high water...this kid is going to pass my class. We set up an "arrangement" where he is to report to me each day for "study hall", and as I told him, we'll do the work together. This young man is going to get to know The Great Gatsby real well over the next few weeks...lucky him!

Chapter 2's focus could be paraphrased as Mission Impossible..."God loves to stretch us beyond our comfort zones and challenge us to take risks..." Talking about my faith with close friends at church and work is easy...it's when you're called upon to reach out to those folks who are outside of our "circle" of friends/ acquaintances- that's when it can become quite a challenge...the disgruntled co-worker, the obnoxious next door neighbor, the pain in the butt student in the classroom, you get the picture...I have always struggled with this in my life. Mission Impossible- No...but it can be awfully difficult at times and even complicate our lives.

But, as Hybels points out, just about anything that is important to us (our marriage, children, owning a house, maintaining a friendship, etc...) usually complicates our lives...but are they worth it? Of course!

A Day with Josh...

Cindy's been feeling pretty cruddy all day, Marie is with her mom today, so it was Josh and I hanging out together...

• 6:30 rise...I got to teach this kid the fine art of sleeping in on the weekends!
• 7:00 Josh is absolutely enamored with the fact that there is another Josh in the Bible. We've read the battle of Jericho a number of times in his Children's Bible, and this morning we watched Josh and the Big Wall- Vegetales flick. Honestly, it's pretty entertaining w/ some catchy tunes.
• 8:00 Scramble Eggs and toast- a staple for this guy
• 9:30 Karate! It's been funny lately because as much as Josh loves this class and listens pretty well, he's also equally attracted to this little five year old girl who is his partner for some of the drills. A regular little Romeo...
• 11:30 lunch and yard work. Actually, Josh played on his swingset while I raked the backyard. It was a pretty nice day ( a little drizzle), but it's hard to complain when you get a 50 degree day on March 11th.
• 2:00- naptime. I was looking forward to this since 6:30 because I was going to lay down too; however, I didn't get everything done outside so I forfeited the coveted siesta.
• 5:00 dinnertime...Cindy wasn't up to eating tonight, so Josh and I had a gourmet dinner of chicken and Jo Jo's. I didn't feel like cooking tonight, and Josh picked the menu. Didn't argue.
• 6:00 Josh snuggled up next to Cindy while I took the dog on her walk. Maggie's been pouting lately because after her vet appointment the other day, she was pronounced rather fat...so she's been eating this diet dog food this week...and she's not been amused.
• 7:00 bathtime. Josh proceeded to name all his body parts, and I do mean all, to make sure that I got everything washed for him. He's such a boy!
• 7:30 Banana Split time/ Sinbad movie. The kid's face is coated with chocolate as I'm looking over at him right now. I'm guessing he enjoyed his dessert. This is a great animated kid's film w/ Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
• 9:00 Hasn't come yet, but Josh will be off to bed after a few stories- I'm guessing Josh and the Battle of Jericho and Green Eggs and Ham...
• A good day...simple, but good.

A day at the hospital...

So I get this phone call at work around 12:30 from Cindy that I should meet her at Akron General soon...her doctor told her that if the baby doesn't respond well to induced contractions, they may end up performing a C-section this afternoon.

Nine hours later, I'm back home...poor Cindy is spending the night at the hospital, and we're still probably about 1 1/2 weeks away from baby-day...I'm exhausted, and I imagine Cindy is beyond that. The afternoon began with giving Cindy Petosin (sp?) to bring about contractions to see how the baby would respond. The problem arose after they shut off the I-V...the contractions continued...and continued...for 5 plus hours. To error on the side of caution, the folks at Akron General decided that they wanted Cindy to spend the night and monitor her and baby until the morning.

Josh wanted to know where mommy was, and Marie was full of questions- especially now since she is going through sex ed at school. The dog wanted a walk, and I haven't eaten since noon...But, the Cavs just won a thrilling game at the buzzer, so I'm hoping that this may be a good omen for tomorrow!

I'm going to bed...

Lesson Learned...

Cindy and I are about two weeks away from "baby-day"...and I have every intention of learning from my prior experience with Josh to do things a bit differently this time around...

1. Bring an Alaskan parka...I absolutely froze to death in the hospital- which is incredibly ironic because Cindy is the one who is always cold, but evidently delivery tends to warm you up a bit...who'd thunk?
2. Grab some food before checking in the hospital...I remember after they gave Cindy the epidural that she was not permitted to eat anything...I, however, was not given the same instructions. Trust me when I tell you that it's not wise to try and inconspicuously eat a deli sandwich while your poor wife is munching on ice chips and going through labor pains
3. Take off my rings...I still have indentations in my ring finger from when Cindy was grabbing on a few times.
4. Don't complain about the uncomfortable chairs in the delivery room- didn't go over well at all!
5. Hold off on taking pictures until after the baby is born. I thought it would be nice to have memories of the entire episode from beginning to end...Cindy, however, wasn't feeling overly photogenic...there were a few times when I thought she might jump out of bed and toss the camera out the window.
6. Cherish every moment. Going through an experience like this with the one you love is simply indescribable...absolutely one of the greatest blessings that we are given in life!