Recent Visitors

Jen Heugel (Ella's first babysitter) and Andrew (Ella's first little boy friend).

Stephanie and Brenna Van Cleave

Try them. But them?

Vistakon (the maker of Acuvue contact lenses) is owned by Johnson & Johnson (a family company). J&J is worth 168 billion dollars. Apparently the recession has forced them to cut their proofreading department. I saw this online ad yesterday:

How to Raise a Christian Hedonist, part 4

Last night we covered the second part of Brian Chesemore's parenting seminars. We only made it through the first half. For background, you can find the first message (Biblical Principles of Parenting) here. You can also download the outline (pdf) from that message here.

MEDIA: Training, Discipline, and the Rod (Brian Chesemore)
NOTES: Training, Discipleship, and the Rod (pdf)
SUMMARY: Chesemore offers several helpful thoughts on how to lovingly mold our child's character through a careful, considerate training process.
QUESTIONS:

• What's the difference between a principle and a practice?
• Why is an understanding of the gospel so important to a proper foundation and motivation for training our children?
• What are some areas that Chesemore said we should focus our training?
• How is a child's behavior related to his heart?
• How are you setting your child(ren) up for success in areas of training?
  

The ABCs of Iowa :: IJKL

What Iowa things come to mind for the letters I, J, K, and L?
Click the word "comments" below to help out.

(what's this about?)

Jack's First Corn on the Cob

Look-a-likes

Ella and Jack at approximately the same age

Ella & Grandma

While the gamers were having it out, Ella enjoyed going for a walk with her Grandma.

She also had fun jumping off the landscaping.

2009 Celebrity Tennis Showdown

I've posted about celebrity tennis before. Yesterday we were invited to the Mattern house to challenge the greatest yard gamer in the universe.

Melissa took on The Master first.

She looked sporty and played some of the best celebrity tennis of her life ...

but was forced to drink the bitter cup of defeat.
Dave's good. Really good. And really merciless.

While Melissa was getting lambasted, I enjoyed some raw corn on the cob.
This is how an Iowan carbo-loads before any big event.

Then came my turn to face the giant. We battled for nearly an hour and a half. In the end, I emerged with the most wins. I felt great, despite his reminder that he had just had cataract surgery a few days earlier, and may have leg and finger surgeries in the coming weeks. I don't care. I'll take a win any way I can.

The trophy presentation

6-1, 7-9, 6-3

First Summersault

Ella's happy and she knows it.

The ABCs of Iowa :: EFGH

What Iowa things come to mind for the letters E, F, G, and H?
Click the word "comments" below to help out.

(what's this about?)

A Day at the Zoo: Part 2

Ella, Jack, and I enjoyed a day at the zoo on Friday with my friend Liz and her son Joel. Ella loved the "kitties" (tigers) the best. She had a hard time leaving each animal though and would throw a little tantrum when I tried to get her to go on to the next animal. Here is a photo of her in time out by the sea lions. She didn't want to leave the tunnel where you look at the prairie dogs. I had a photo of all the kids in their strollers, but the photo didn't turn out. Thanks Liz for taking us and for your patience! We had a good time.

A Day at the Zoo

Ella Sharing her Pickle

We had fun at Palmer's Deli last night with some couples and their kids from our small group. Ella ordered a big pickle. Todd was lucky she was willing to share.

The ABCs of Iowa :: ABCD

What Iowa things come to mind for the letters A, B, C, and D?
Click the word "comments" below to help out.

(what's this about?)

The ABC's of Iowa :: Intro

We need a little help.

Josh won the video contest, so I owe him a book. Instead of buying him a book, he thought it would be a neat idea to have us make a photo book for his family. We agreed, but are trying to take it to another level.

We want to create a childrens book that will teach his kids about us, Iowa, and the alphabet at the same time. I'll be posting a few letters each week and would appreciate your input on which Iowa terms you think would be best for those particular letters. You don't need to live in Iowa to help out.

So please take a second, click on the word "comments" below each post, and type whatever comes to mind for that day's letters.

Thanks for the help!

One Year Ago

Ella's diaper was loading.

Need a Laugh?

Here are a couple of hilarious videos posted by Z this week:

Awesome Wedding Entrance


Information Overload Syndrome

5 Things: How to Tell a Story

1. The story ought to have a point. Not (necessarily) a lesson or a moral, but a point. Give your audience something to repeat to others.
2. Beginnings are important.
3. The story must be told in short, breathable sections no matter how long it is.
4. Points specific to audio/video:

• avoid dependent clauses
• be conversational

5. Have fun discovering and telling the story

(HT: Josh)

Ella with Mommy and Daddy

Mommy and Ella

I love having a girl! I painted my toenails this afternoon and Ella wanted her toes pretty too. So I gave it a try and she stayed really still and loved it. She loves showing off her pretty toes.

More Family Photos

5 Things: High Technology

1. Consider the ant

2. Go to the moon with Google

3. No two raindrops are alike

4. Yale courses now available for free on iTunes U (link connects to iTunes)

5. The Scweeb

NW Iowa: Hiking the Hannibal Waterman

During our last morning in northwest Iowa, my dad and I got up early (8am) and went for a hike at the Hannibal Waterman Wildlife Area.

This is my dad ... he can't find his hat (tied to his neck).

On the ride back home, we spotted a few turkey vultures perched on an old barn.