it’s just a little thing really, but i love the time we spend together when i’m taking them to school each morning. it’s just a little window, but it’s the start of a new day and always filled with interesting moments! really enjoyed an outing that all of us went on yesterday evening wandering around campus, exploring, carter on his bike, max on his trike (sort of!)
8/26 skipping a meeting and finding out from others who attended it was a good call!
8/27 great visit and lunch with a friend
8/28 lazy morning, my little guy’s excitement and joyful spirit when he wakes up
8/29 wonderful music at church with a host of wonderful musicians, spending time with ann and the boys just having fun
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” – Helen Keller
i’m still reading the several books listed earlier, but also read last night a book that i really enjoyed:
New directions in altered books, by Gabe Cyr
8/20 that moment when the whole family is back together again at home after a day in different directions
8/21 carter’s excitement about an art project that he came up with and executed on his own, the feeling of pride and joy in his excitement, experimentation, and creativity; also excitement and wonder at an art project that ann and i are planning together; finding wonderful little treasures at a junk store
8/22 noticing little things in music, delightful phrases, unexpected harmonies
8/23 the excitement of the first day of school for everyone, working hard to accomplish a goal at work
8/24 lots of positive feedback on a project at work and feeling successful, lots of positive feedback on my weightloss, being in the same room with my love and just feeling her presence
8/25 beautiful music (Blackberry Winter, the world’s only work for mountain dulcimer and orchestra composed in 1996 by Conni Ellisor), a cloudy morning with a reluctant sun (especially since it’s been up to 106 this week), and a mysterious breeze that suggested Fall really will come one day.
“learn to pause or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.”
-Doug King
even though i’ve done this since adding to my goals, i’m leaving it here because i’ll always want to visit santa fe again and again and again. it’s a magical, beautiful place
8/12 lunch with a friend at the place with the most diverse eating crowd in the entire city!
8/13 unexpected lunch with ann and carter (who i don’t normally get to see during the work day)
8/14 an early morning trip to the farmer’s market before any of the rest of the family was even awake!
8/15 exciting new possibilities, a babysitter, and a relaxing, laughter-filled evening with my sweetie
8/16 good news at my weigh-in (still losing weight!)
8/17 watching my seven year old be independent, able to entertain himself, and be a great helper during a luncheon at the library, and noticing that he is confident, flexible, and helpful
8/18 time spent with my two year old, even though he’s home sick :-(
8/19 a text message from my sweetie that makes me smile, meeting carter’s second grade teacher and thinking about the new chapter ahead for him
from a recent sermon:
“How would I describe myself? We define ourselves by what we do and our relationships. As we get older, both of these slip away.”
from Thomas Troeger’s hymn Too Splendid for Speech:
Too splendid for speech but ripe for a song:
the wonders of God to whom we belong!
What tune can we sing? What rich chords can we play
to honor the potter who formed us from clay?
We’ll catch the soft sounds that sift through the breeze,
We’ll hum with the whales that hum in the seas.
The waters that tickle the earth into Spring
will teach us the lilting new life we could sing.
The earth is God’d flute, God’s cello and chime,
the Wind draws the notes. The seasons keep time.
At dusk and at night, from the sunrise past noon,
God’s playing and singing a ravishing tune.
The swell of earth’s praise will build to a blast
of trumpets and drums when God comes at last
to hear if our live,s like the heavens above
are filled with the music of justice and love.
Alert to your notes that dance in the heart,
we promise, O God, that we’ll sing our part
and pray that the song which your song shall inspire
will lead every nation to join in your choir.
snippets i particularly like from the hymns of Terry York:
“help us then rejoice in challenge…help us see Divine potential in each challenge.” (from God Our Father, You Have Led Us)
”...worthy of all the glad songs we can sing” (from Worthy of Worship)
“give us love with no exceptions…through us let your peace prevail” (from God Who Made Us, Christ Who Calls Us)
from Alan Raines, director of choirs at Baylor during a recent seminar:
“The choir won’t be engaged if we aren’t.”
“If you don’t know the score, you can’t teach it.”
“Diction is about the sound of EVERY part of every word.”
“Teach first, conduct second.”
“Equip your choir with the skills to succeed.”
“Every rehearsal we must teach how to read.”
“The key to success is the piece you select. Don’t set the choir up for failure.”
“The only limitation on the choir is you.”
other Marva Dawn quotes from a recent conference:
“Worshipping collectively is for the unity of the people and the encouragement of the body.”
“No other religion [speaking of Christianity] in the world focuses on grace.”
“The point of worship is NOT evangelism.”
“As church musicians, we must be clear in our role. The role of church music is to help us think about God and God’s nature. It is not about taste, it is not about us.”
“There is a difference is giving directions and being the way.”
from a lecture by Marva Dawn, speaking of worship:
“It’s not just an activity, it’s a way of life.”
another quote from my two year old, when he realized we were getting dressed to go swimming:
“i need my baby soup!”
from my two year old, Max. an “adaptation” of something Woody from the movie Toy Story says:
“hoohah, cowboy!” :-)
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked.”
collected from an NYPL tweet from the book “How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth)” by Henry Alford
“drinking coffee is a great way to build community.” (from a LutheranWorldRelief tweet)
still reading “in search of stones” and also reading “square foot gardening”
yesterday ann took carter (our seven year old) to six flags and they were gone all day and went right to bed when they got home, so i didn’t really get to spend any time with carter, but i like that ann spent the whole day with him and they had a good time. the time i spent with our little guy (2 years old) was a lot of fun. he wanted to read so many books and is intrigued and concerned about the seedier characters in stories, particularly ones in stories from the bible for some reason- namely joseph’s “not nice brothers” (who stole his nice coat, threw him in a hole, and then sold him to the gypsies!) and then the “bad king” from whom Moses’ mother was trying to protect him. He’s also very intrigued by the story of Joshua (and the falling of the city of Jericho). he wants to read that story over and over (and over and over!) and loves the song about it. he was dancing his heart out last night to that song (see video in the “happiness” post).
watching our two year old dance like it’s the best part of living (http://qik.com/video/10533667)
a day trip tradition that ann and our 7 year old take together each year
seeing all the members of my family in the morning
an encouraging word from a colleague this morning on the way into work about my weight loss
discovering new books i want to read
and this quote:
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked.” (from the book How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still On This Earth).
after technically achieving this goal at the grocery store and it not going well and thinking “i never want to go grocery shopping with them again!” (ages 7 and 2), i realized i wanted to change the experience and clear my negative, short-tempered cloud. before max the little one went to bed, i just soaked up the adorableness, liveliness, wonder that he always exudes (even when he’s into everything an being a handful). and it makes me smile and makes me know love.
after max went to bed, ann and i played a game with carter and it felt really good to spend time with him with him having to share the spotlight with little brother or without plans getting derailed because of little brother. i loved the moments filled with laughter and fun. he’s a really good kid. they both are. i want to focus on that and what they bring to life and the time we share together and not get sidetracked by the little petty disturbances. thanks to ann for helping me see this…even if she didn’t realize she was doing that last night. she’s a wonderful teacher, friend, co-parent, and partner.
a calendar date that makes a nifty pattern
weighing in this morning and finding out that i lost 3 pounds since last week for a total of 30 lbs since starting my program.
a realization:
while at work today i thought about why someone i work with hadn’t noticed something i thought they should and realizing, “oh, that’s because they only notice things that irritate them.” and then it hit me…what a terrible way to be remembered or way to operate in life. the happiness moment is thinking about how i want to make sure that’s not how i operate. will i choose to notice the positive things? will i make that part of who i am and how i relate? the whole moment felt really lightning rod-ish and that makes me happy to have a revelation about how/who i CAN be and choosing good.
a calendar date that makes a nifty pattern
weighing in this morning and finding out that i lost 3 pounds since last week for a total of 30 lbs since starting my program.
with a cup of coffee and a book while the family sleeps
M. Scott Peck’s “In Search of Stones” (really good)
Jonathan Bender’s “Lego: A Love Story” (not so impressed)
Books about building ponds and streams and patios and walkways
next on the horizon…
Square Foot Gardening
Super Freakonomics
Ayelet Waldman’s “Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace”
Kate Braestrup’s “Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir”
21. an energizing and recharging conference
22. dinner with friends we haven’t seen in a while
23. putting a msg on google cal with an sms msg reminder to send my sweetie a surprise msg!
24. working on a big backyard project
25. working together on our southwest garden
26. feeling a sense of accomplishment on the project
27. my wonderful wife and boys
28. time spent working on our relationship
29. looking forward to our trip to the beach!
30. all of us together (as we drive to the beach) and seeing family
31. building a sand castle with carter
1. spending time with my amazing and beautiful wife
2. an early morning on the beach looking for shells and finding a hermit crab. also finally getting back to our home after a late night drive.
3. lunch with a friend to talk about new possibilities
4. surviving too many meetings at work! :-)
5. a new staff member starting and lunch with the whole gang
6. another great lunch with another great friend who brings fresh and wise perspective
7. morning with the family with no real plans. a trip to the water garden place to think about the next backyard project, reflecting (much later!) on not being short-tempered, sonic drinks on a super hot day!, having an upstairs A/C unit when the downstairs one failed!
8. a quiet sunday afternoon, some of the fam sleeping, a chance to reflect and enjoy the quiet…and did i mention having a working upstairs A/C unit? ;-)
