a good day...

First things first. Since I posted a bit about my dread last night of the experience, I have to give kudos to my local Social Security office for today. I got there early, got a good number in line, and was very pleasantly surprised to be called probably within 10 minutes of them opening up. I did have a little scare as the first person who had called my number informed me she couldn't do a card for a foreign born citizen, but she in fact handled it very nicely and got me to the person who could immediately. He was very nice, got all my info, and had me on my way in a very reasonable amount of time. As I said, it was really a good experience overall. The strangest part of it all for me was how much it felt like being back in the embassy in Guatemala with the room of just chairs and the 'windows' along one side where they do the work. It even had the presidential and vice-pres portraits hanging in there, though not as big as the ones in the embassy.

Then, tonight was a special moment for me. I rocked my little boy to sleep. When we started bedtime, he really wanted mommy, but big sis was needing some mommy time too and we try to keep that pretty balanced. Often we can do it all together, but tonight wasn't one of those nights he had the patience for reading sis's longer books. So after he got okay with only having daddy, we read and snuggled and I put him in bed as usual, only he really didn't want to get in the bed. (Insert a mini-fit here). However, all it took was to pick him up. He held me so tight with his head on my shoulder as I held him just as tight, and that is what he wanted tonight to relax. After a bit of standing rocking, I sat down with him to rock, and within a few minutes, he wanted to be held more like a baby and that is how he went to sleep tonight... I must say I had a big smile as I laid him down. He usually never wants to even be held like a baby like that (esp. by me), and to fall asleep in my arms like that, was cool.

If I don't post again for a while...

come looking for me... I'm stuck in line at the Soc. Sec. office. Just kidding...(hopefully). Anyway, sorry to have been absent for a while. It was a busy week and we had company. Tomorrow morning I'm going to try and get little man's stuff done though, so we can file our taxes. Should be fun, right??? -Got to get to bed. -T

I have the greatest kids...

Daddy day today went great. My kids are awesome. It was fun to spend the day with them 'just us'. Mommy seems to have survived the day as well.

There was very little conflict amongst the siblings (thank goodness they were well rested today), and our boy let mommy go without too much fuss. Even better, he was thrilled to see her again when she returned home, and didn't hold it against her. We really had so much fun. It was a beautiful day, so we played outside a good bit, and they even let me squeeze in 1 load of laundry. I also braved a quick trip to the grocery store for some milk and bread type items. The original destination had been the library, but it was closed for Good Friday so we took care of a necessary errand. (I also picked up ice cream at the store to reward mommy at the end of the day.)

Here are a few pics of the day. Probably my greatest feat was actually fixing A's hair and putting a bow in it. It's what she wanted, so I gave it a try. It doesn't look great in the pics, but compared to how she usually winds up when I fix it and considering she's swinging in most of the pics, I was happy.

Prayer request?

I know all you supermoms out there will laugh, but tomorrow is my first 'daddy day' with both kids, as I have the day off, but mommy has to go back to work. I'll be fine, but it will be the boy's first day without mommy around, so that may be trickier than normal. Hopefully they'll be patient with me as I seek to maintain patience with them. The mommy report from today is that patience wasn't running terribly high in the kiddos. Hopefully, I'll be able to tire them out before they tire me out. In order to do that though, I must go to bed. Have a great night and thanks for your prayers and sweet words about my wife's grandmother on her blog. She really was a wonderful lady. If my children and grandchildren have half the love and respect for me that her family (me included) had for her, I will have done something right.
Goodnight.

More Randomness...

If you love Christian Rock, you owe some thanks to Larry Norman, whether you know it or not. He passed away several weeks ago. I heard a tribute on the radio then. They played quite a few songs. This song is from like 1972 or so I think, but I thought it was interesting how similar so much of it seems to today's news.

The Great American Novel

Larry Norman

i was born and raised an orphanin a land that once was free

in a land that poured its love out on the moon

and i grew up in the shadows

of your silos filled with grain

but you never helped to fill my empty spoon

and when i was ten you murdered law

with courtroom politics

and you learned to make a lie sound just like truth

but i know you better now

and i don't fall for all your tricks

and you've lost the one advantage of my youth

you kill a black man at midnight

just for talking to your daughter

then you make his wife your mistress

and you leave her without water

and the sheet you wear upon your face

is the sheet your children sleep on

at every meal you say a prayer

you don't believe but still you keep on

and your money says in God we trust

but it's against the law to pray in school

you say we beat the russians to the moon

and i say you starved your children to do it

you are far across the ocean

but the war is not your own

and while you're winning theirs

you're gonna lose the one at home

do you really think the only way

to bring about the peace

is to sacrifice your children

and kill all your enemies

the politicians all make speeches

while the news men all take note

and they exagerate the issues

as they shove them down our throats

is it really up to them

whether this country sinks or floats

well i wonder who would lead us

if none of us would vote

well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped

from whispering through the fence

you know every move i make

or is that just coincidence

well you try to make my way of life

a little less like jail

if i promise to make tapes and slides

and send them through the mail

and your money says in God we trust

but it's against the law to pray in school

you say we beat the russians to the moon

and i say you starved your children to do it

you say all men are equal all men are brothers

then why are the rich more equal than others

don't ask me for the answer i've only got one

that a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son

Some random thoughts...

Time hasn't been exactly readily available for blogging, and for a few of the things I want to blog on, the timing just isn't right.

Since that's the case, I'll point you to some interesting things I've read lately. I like to read this blog: http://blog.al.com/forthelove/. Sometimes it's fairly random, but she also has some real gems from time to time. One of them lately was this one: A hitchhiker's miracle. I recommend following her link to the whole essay if it still works. Learning to accept (and even ask for) kindness from others is something I'll admit I struggle with.

I'll recommend her columns, too. If you can find her thoughts on Lent, they were good. Also, there was one about hiding from the hard times in life.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by. Sorry to send you elsewhere. I'll make time soon. In the meantime, if you enjoy the above blogger or have any thoughts about these articles, I'd be interested to hear what you thought.

Toodles...

On a lighter note...

Here's some pics from the past weekend visiting Granny and Grandpa.

Our boy enjoyed having some room to run. We have a nice yard here, but not that big and there's no fence there.

Mommy and I were trying to keep up.

Our girl always has to visit 'the jungle' with Grandpa.
Art projects with Granny.

Taking care of the baby doll.

If you're still reading...

Thanks. I appreciate it. I really do. It's you all that helped me persevere through this. I knew posting what I felt like I had to last time would turn some away. I did randomly notice tonight that one link to my page from another one got removed. No hard feelings. I understand, though it did strike me more than I thought it might. However, I do believe at least one change related to my letter has already been made, so that's a start.

As to the family here, it's still a wild ride. Sickness seems to be rampant everywhere near us these days, and it seems we've fallen prey to some degree. See my wife's blog for details there. Otherwise though, we're still getting adjusted, but doing pretty well.

I'm praying for each of you still waiting on your children. I hope they are home soon. The pictures are cute on all your blogs. I do read them often to check on you all. Those who have yours home, I am still praying for adjustments for you, and love seeing your pics, too. I also pray all the parasites go away!!! It seems like that has plagued many if not most of the new arrivals including ours lately.

Really, if there is anything I can do ever for any of you, just let me know. So many have supported me, I want to make sure I give back whenever I can. -T