Sleeping or Walking?

Peter has always been our heavy sleeper, which is one reason we plan to have the baby share a room with him. We know that middle-of-the-night crying won't phase him much. One time last year he slept right through a battery change in the smoke alarm in his bedroom. We had the light on, alarm beeping, furniture moving around... and he didn't move a muscle. Funny boy!

So imagine our surprise last night when we found his door open and bed vacant. Then we noticed Clara's door was wide open and her light was on. Okay, what's with the p.m. party? You guys know it's bedtime. We thought the kids must have been having a late night pow-wow without permission, and now Peter must be hiding somewhere.

Upon further investigation we found Clara half-way sleeping in her bed and Peter was nowhere in sight. We checked all the usual hiding places...still no Peter. We asked Clara, "Why is your light on? Where's Peter?" She told us that he came in her room to get a diaper and now he's gone. What in the world? He hasn't worn diapers for years! John immediately searched the entire house, including all doors and windows, and discovered Peter fast asleep in the basement. He was sitting straight up on the couch in his favorite spot. The remote was sitting right next to him on the cushion. If you didn't notice his closed eyes, you would have thought he was watching TV. Priceless!

The creepy thing to me is how elaborate his movements were. He left his room, went into Clara's in search of something, talked to her, walked through the main floor, down the stairs, and into his final position. All without any sense of awareness! This morning I asked him if he remembered anything and he had no clue! I realize that sleepwalking is a common occurrence among young children (especially heavy sleepers), and I'm thankful for his safety in this instance. But from now on I think we'll keep a closer eye out for midnight shenanigans!

Party Time!

Peter had a great birthday celebration this year! We started the party on Saturday with a gym & swim birthday at the Kids Body Shop. Peter and 11 of his buddies (boys only, even though he wanted to invite Alexa really bad) enjoyed pirate cake, presents, swimming, and free play in the gym. What a blast!

His pirate cake. Aaaarg!

The fantastic 12. What an operation!


At first everyone in the pool grabbed a bucket or container. It was the hugest water fight ever! They did start to slow down after a while, so the pirate jumped in and took a turn at the fun. It was hilarious to see all those boys trying to sink the pirate. They were certainly persistent!

After swimming we moved into the gym. They went wild playing on the rings, trampoline, foam pit, bars, beams, etc. What a great party with great friends!

Then on Monday night we had a family party at home. Peter planned the menu: Valentino's pizza, Pringles, pop, cupcakes, and Edy's Dibs. Yummy! (By the way, you should really try Dibs. They're a great treat!)

Grandma, Grandpa, Daniel, Molly, and Micah joined us for fun and presents. At the end of the day Peter said, "I like my birthday WAY better than Christmas because I get to have all the presents!" I love the honesty of a child! He is so uninhibited and expressive at this age. What a treasure!

We are so thankful for these memories made, and especially for our precious Peter boy--6 years old!

Bon-Voyage Friends...

What happens to your imaginary friends when you outgrow them? According to Peter, they go on a 1000-year vacation on the other side of the world!

Last week we asked Peter about his beloved friends, Jogger (the 100-year old man who likes to run a lot), Kanada (specifically a girl, spelled with a “K”), Diver, and Baseball. We hadn’t heard from them in quite some time. These friends have been through thick and thin with us over the years. They had birthdays on our family calendar--we even had a birthday party for Jogger a few years ago, complete with a personalized cake and family members in attendance! (Peter realized that no one in the family had a June birthday, so why not Jogger?) In a way I really miss them. But it’s also fun to move on to new adventures now. And who knows? Maybe Clara will have a new friend soon…time will tell.

In the meantime I hope Jogger, Kanada, Diver, and Baseball don't get captured on the high seas by Peter's latest birthday buddy:

Peter's birthday pirate...aarrrrg!

A Great Day!

I (Sarah) have recently been visiting the doctor every 2 weeks to check the progress of my pregnancy. Here's a brief overview of my visit today:

Blood pressure holding steady? Yes
Protein spilling/Kidneys failing? No
Any swelling/dizziness/blurred vision? No

By Ultrasound:
Is the baby growing? Yes
Is his heartbeat strong? Yes
Is the fluid level optimal? Yes
Is the placenta working? Yes

Is there anything at all wrong or worthy of concern? NO!!!! Every time I go to a check-up I can't stop praising God for health and wellness and vitality--and a precious new son (AKA "Baby Ratatouille" according to our kids). We are so blessed!

To add to the sweetness of the day, my sister surprised me with a great phone call--I love you Jessica! (Sorry, again, for thinking that you were the Romanians at first...Wrong Number)! And then when I came home there was a package on the porch. It's the new crib sheets for the baby's bed! What a perfect way to celebrate this great day!

Those Crazy Romanians

An odd thing happened at our house last Tuesday. It started for me around two in the afternoon. I was working (kind of) when I received a call from Sarah. She was kind of freaked out and was telling me about some calls that she was getting. She told me that twice already that day, starting around noon and again at two, she received about four or five back to back calls from some man on the phone. Each call would show up differently on our caller ID, but mostly as Unknown Name and Number. She couldn’t understand what this man was saying and she said she heard another woman’s voice in the background. It seemed to her like a telemarketing office, but she wasn’t sure. She asked me what she should do. Being the good husband I am I told her she was overreacting and that if she was worried she should call the telephone company. Being the good wife she listened to what I said and called the phone company. A little while later I received another call from Sarah, saying she received more calls. She also said she contacted the phone company. They were of course extremely helpful and told her to fill out the do not call registry again, and said for $4.50 a call they could trace the calls and build a file for prosecution. I sure am glad this company boasts about their excellent customer service (off topic). We decided to wait it out and see if it continued….it did. I got home around 6 that night and just before dinner we started to get the calls again. This time I answered the phone. “Hello….Hello” no answer “Who is this?” then a reply in terrible English “Hello”. This game was repeated for a little while, and then the caller hung up. This continued for the next two of the five total calls. On the fourth and fifth call I broke out my linguistic skill on the caller. “No solicito” “Wrongo Numero”. The calls then stopped for about an hour and started up again. After the first call, I went right to Bablefish and got a few translations to try out on them. I got “Wrong Number do not call” translated in Spanish, French, German and Italian. The next four calls I busted out the Babletalk on them, and hoped they would understand. This didn’t stop it, so I used Bablefish again to threaten the caller. Did you know that Police has the same base in about every language…..call police, policia, etc… At this point I was pretty annoyed and called the phone company myself. I actually did get someone who was helpful and he took a couple of numbers I did have on caller ID and traced to country code to....Romania. Unfortunately I didn’t get the Romanian translation on the web. Later that evening, the calls came again, but this time a woman responded. Had better English than the male, but not enough to have a conversation with. Through our “conversing” she asked for her brother, or called me her brother, I’m still unsure. I told her that I am not her brother, that I don’t have a brother (kind of a lie, sorry Wes, Josh, Dan, Micah and Nate), and to stop calling or I will call policia. This was around 9 that night. I am happy to report that the Romanians are leaving us alone for now and we haven’t had any other incidents. I didn’t realize I would be so offended, or that I could be so harassed by a stalker. Not that it was ever real high on my list, but I don’t ever want to visit Romania.

Milestones

Lots has been happening this week in our family. We have so much to be thankful for:

Peter…
-Read his first full-length book, “Go, Dogs, Go!”
-Took his first excursion train ride.
-Went to his first Halloween party without Mom & Dad.


Clara…
-Danced to the Nutcracker for the first time.
-Took her first excursion train ride.
-Got her first layered haircut—very cute!


Baby Brother (Little Whoever)…
-Weighs 12 ounces, and is 20 weeks old. We’re halfway there!
-Got a GREAT report at his check-up this week. We can’t stop praising God for His goodness and protection!


In the midst of my (Sarah’s) overwhelming happiness flow a few tears…how quickly they are growing and changing! How much longer will Peter delight in the simple pleasures of childhood, like the music box Grandma gave him that plays when you turn the crank? And how sweet it is to hear Clara speak her emerging language, “Look at we pumpkins!” How blessed we are to be expecting a baby boy, and how precious when Peter and Clara talk about their new brother! I am overwhelmed with gratitude and love.

Wacky October

Beware the month of October when your name is Sarah:

1. My credit card info was stolen. Some nasty thugs in Canada are walking around trying to spend my money.

2. I was rear-ended in the parking lot at Peter's school.

3. The Kindergarten Halloween party will be over, relieving me of my party-planning duties. Wouldn't you know every other class had a long list of willing volunteers--mine had none? Isn't it fun to solicit help from busy (or uninterested) parents? One happens to be the mom who rear-ended me. Awkward!

I'm praying for good days ahead...

It's a Boy!

Well, the word is out. We're having a baby BOY! We are all really thrilled! Peter is so excited about having a brother, and Clara doesn't quite get it yet. I told her she's having a brother and she looked at me like, "Peter's my brother, crazy!" As long as she can give the baby a pacifier I think she'll be fine. She already repeatedly gives my belly a pacifier each day. Good practice!

Everything else looks very good so far. We're still watching my blood pressure, but the baby is growing and thriving and I am having no symptoms of complications at this time. I'll start going for check-ups every 2 weeks now, just to keep a close eye on our progress. I am so thankful for a good doctor and a great report!

I now have doctor's orders to rest as much as possible and eat a very low sodium diet. We'll see if I can rise to the challenge! I urge you to read your food labels this week and see if you are eating less than 1500mg of sodium each day. Did you know that even milk has sodium? It's a near impossibility to eat anything out of a box and stay under the daily limit. Looks like I'll be eating lots of produce for a while. I'm glad to take the challenge--it's for a very worthy cause!

Now onto the name debate...we have 4 1/2 months to agree!

Oh Boy! Or Girl?

It's official. We're having a baby! (I know, you are aware of that already, but it's been hard for me to admit it in writing until now). Stay tuned tomorrow for the NEWS! We will go for an ultrasound in the morning to check the health of the baby, and to (hopefully) see who it is! Peter votes for a boy and Clara wants a girl. John and I are convinced that it's a boy--no concrete reason, just a sense. We'll see!

Bittersweet Sports Weekend

This weekend was a tale of two sports Baseball=Good and Football=Bad.

Football - Sat night was terrible, and I am sure you know why. Is it too much to ask our 6'2" and 6'0' corners to cover two 6'6" tight ends who run like the wind, have soft hands, and a quarterback on fire? Surely it is Cosgrove's fault (this comment is only a little tounge in cheek). But really something does have to be done. Sunday wasn't any better as both the Saints and Seahawks lost. Hopefully the tide is turning for these teams.

Baseball - What a great weekend. The Red Sox swept their series with the Angels and are going to the ALCS. And there is only one thing that approaches a Red Sox win, and that is a Yankees lost. It was a beautiful thing tonight to watch them lose and get knocked out of the post-season. I also feel a great off season coming with Steinbrener already making threats. I would love to see them losing Torre, Posada, A-Rod, Rivera and Clemens. The primary reason a boy from Grand Island became a Red Sox fan was because of the Rocket and it pains me to see him in pinstripes. Some might say that they have a lot of young talent, and that is true, but so did some of those teams that Mattingly was a part of in the Eighties. Lets hope he brings that same attitiude with him.

Go Sox!

How Many?

For my paternal grandparents it was 4, maternal grandparents 5. For Sarah’s maternal grandparents it was 5. My family was 3 and Sarah’s was 4. So how many children should a family have? I don’t know, but since our news, I have been thinking about this topic off an on.

One thing that comes up when I think of this is Psalm 127: 3-5: “Children are a heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. As arrows in a soldier's hand, so are the sons of the young. Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.”

Am I making this a tougher question than it really is? Here are some of the things I think about with respect to this verse. Today we are not trying to: populate a nation, create an army, or build a labor force. Generally, your wife isn’t dying at a young age due to pregnancy complications and the mortality rate of children is thankfully very low (at least in the US). What I guess I am trying to say is that there used to be a need to have many children, but is that need still there? Where do you draw the line? Sarah and I are really blessed. We are so thankful that she has a choice to stay home with our kids, we have food on our table and a roof over our heads. But if we had many more, would I still be able to provide for my family? Is that what it is all about, dependent on affluence? I don’t have the answers, some say that you will know when enough is enough. I thought enough might be at two, but was open to the calling of the Lord. The Lord called, and I will answer. Will He call again????

"Sheriff Pete"

Sarah's Lament...

What does it feel like to send my child out into the world? It's like having my own heart walking around outside of my body, outside of my protection, exposed to the elements...whatever may come.

Kindergarten has been a learning curve for all of us. So far I have proven myself to be a little slow at this whole deal. For example, the Friday before the first Husker game every single soul in the school was wearing red...except Peter! How in the world am I supposed to know about the Friday spirit-day tradition? I faithfully read every word in the weekly newsletter so we don't miss a thing. Peter came home that day and said, "There sure were a lot of people wearing Huskers today. Even Mrs. Jaworski [his teacher] was wearing red." He notices, and he cares about fitting in. I spent the next week shopping for Huskers shirts in every variety--short-sleeved in "Blackshirts" black and classic red, and a long-sleeved red one for cooler weather. I'll admit I went a little overboard, but my son will not go without Friday spirit again!

Rewind several weeks to our back-to-school shopping adventure. Here's the dilemma: Do we buy a character backpack (like Spiderman or Batman) or a more subdued, big-kid one? Surely these kindergartners are way too cool for "babyish" character gear now. We'll go with the safe, army-green camo number with cool reflector strips across the back pocket. Peter came shopping with me and chose it himself. He donned it with pride and looked like a big kid! And what did we find when we arrived the first day of school? We were surrounded by every character known to man: Spiderman, Batman, SpongeBob, Princesses, Dora, High School Musical...You name it, they're wearing it! Peter was one of the few with a "regular" backpack. He eventually took notice, but didn't seem to mind. The consolation? He really does like his backpack. And he told me he has the coolest lunchbox in his class--a Hot Wheels blue one. Whew! I guess it's all about mixing and matching.

So now we are learning. Read every newsletter, network with others to figure out the system, and watch out for Fridays. I think I can do this! Until this morning...

It's another Friday. Watch out for spirit day! The Millard newsletter declared today as "Dress Western Day" in celebration of River City Round-Up. All the kids and staff will dress up, and the cafeteria will serve a special BBQ meal for lunch. I was on top of this one! Peter definitely needed a good cowboy hat. I asked him earlier this week what kind he wanted, and he said, "I want one that's a 'real' one." I didn't know exactly what that means to him, but I thought I could take my best guess at the store. So I chose an authentic-looking black one with a leather strap on it. Then I saw the cheap-o straw one with a Sheriff star on it, and decided to buy that one too. Might as well have a choice, and then Clara can use the one he doesn't want. I also found this great Sheriff's badge--a gold star--that says, "Sheriff Pete" on it. Top it all off with a red bandanna and he looks like a classic! (Okay, so I'm getting a little crazy about this assignment too).

So this morning he got all dressed up (adorable!) and checked himself out in the mirror. He was excited to show his ensemble to his friends at school. John had the day off, so he walked Sheriff Pete to school (a rare occasion), and as they walked down the sidewalk together, Peter held his Dad's hand. What a precious sight! On their route to school they started noticing the other kids were not wearing cowboy hats. Maybe they just forgot or will put theirs on later? Peter still wanted to wear his. "It's cool," he said. When they got to the crosswalk near the school there were more kids without hats. This was looking more and more suspicious! John asked the crossing guard teacher if this was indeed Western Day, and she said, "We usually dress up, but they didn't announce it yesterday." Great! Peter still wanted to keep his outfit on, so he continued toward the school. As he began walking down the final hill, he turned around and looked back at his dad. John went down the hill to meet him and when he got there Peter sheepishly said, "Dad, I want to take it all off!" No one else was dressed up at all, and he wasn't going to be the rodeo clown today. Poor boy! John lovingly helped Peter tuck away his prized cowboy gear in his backpack, and sent him on his way. In one crushing scene our precious Sheriff Pete went from enthusiasm to embarrassment. Peter, please forgive me for imposing this embarrassment on you. I would never have intended for this to happen! I guess we all have a bit more of life to learn...

As for now, my heart aches just a little each day as I send and re-send Peter out into the world. And really, if this is the worst of the world through his eyes, then his life is pretty sweet after all. I'm learning a lot about my own insecurities as I strive to get kindergarten right. I'll count this as one more lesson learned--about myself as a mother.

And, by the way, we may or may not participate in the next Spirit Day. I guess it's not the most important thing after all.

Clara, A Woman of Character

Hi Everyone...This is Sarah, finally trying my hand at this new-fangled blogging!

I recently caught the end of a TV show featuring the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Clara was with me and sat beside me to watch the pretty girls dance. As they were getting ready to take the field for their preformance Clara said, "Ha, ha! Their underwears!" She had noticed those classic teensy-weensy white shorts and thought they looked like underwear. I immediately laughed and affirmed her observation....They are completely like undies (minus the chunky belt, of course)! She didn't miss a beat a few minutes later when they started to dance, "I see those bottom. They funny!" Again she noticed the immodest uniforms in action. I couldn't stop laughing! And then I thought about the lesson learned. I was thinking she would enjoy the pretty girls dancing, while all the while she was distracted by the girls dancing in their underwear with their bottoms showing! I can only imagine the vast affect these women have had on our culture and the "modesty" gague in so many families. I'm so sorry I even let her see it! I hope and pray that her fresh eyes of discernment will not become clouded over time...

Lesson #1 Do not watch the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Lesson #2 Consult Clara, a 2-year-old woman of character, when grappling with questions of modesty

An Interesting Solicitation

Warning: The views expressed in this blog may be considered inflammatory toward certain people groups. Reader discretion is advised.

I received a call from Lakeside Hospital yesterday evening. For those of you who do not know, Lakeside is the newest hospital in the Alegent health system and opened a couple of years ago. They pride themselves on being state of the art, and providing a “entirely new approach to health care”. The very nice woman on the other line started out by saying that this was not a billing call, or for any other emergency (thank the Lord), but wanted to talk about a campaign they were having. This in and of itself is not surprising, and I figured it was a wellness campaign of some sort. Well I was wrong. The very nice women proceeded to explain that the new hospital was going through some renovations to expand the rooms in its cardiac care unit, blah, blah, blah. She then asked me if I would be willing to support their cause and donate $50 per quarter for the next 3 years ($600 for those of you who don’t like math). This took me a little off guard, but I replied no. The very nice woman then asked for $25 per quarter, with the same answer. Finally the very nice woman asked if I would make a one time contribution. Same answer. This was about the time where I was getting ready to go off on the very nice lady, but then the very nice lady asked the perfect lead in question…Why? This was great. For those of you who don’t know there are three industries that leave a bad taste in my mouth: Health Care (sorry Katie), Insurance (specifically health, but sorry anyway Dave, Carey and Kate), and Law (sorry Dan). For those of you thinking Politics that is a close fourth, but hasn’t made my list yet. This is not to say that everyone involved in these industries are bad, I know that is not the case, but this is my chance as a blogger to write in broad strokes across subjects that I really don’t know all the intimate details. What I do know is that almost every time I have to deal with someone in these industries, I come away angry….not good. Back to the story, I proceed to tell the very nice lady that I think it is wrong that they are trying to solicit money from known patients and that the outrageous amounts of money that they charge people for using their facility should be enough to cover all of their expenses including the expansion of their own hospital….in so many words. Of course I did this all with God’s love in mind….well not really, but I wish I had. All of you know that I am a pretty calm person so you know that I didn’t go off on the very nice lady too much, but I was direct and the very nice lady understood my position when the conversation ended. We both wished each other a good night, and that was that.

By the way check out pictures from this labor day weekend here.

Labor Day/Family Olympics

This Labor Day weekend was a blast. We headed to North Platte to visit my family and stayed with my brother. We got a late start on Friday night because I had to attend a retirement party of a co-worker of mine. I felt bad for Sarah, she sat in a quiet car trying to let the kids sleep, and I was listening to Tony Kornheiser on my Ipod. Side note....I don't think there is anyone more entertaining to me that Tony. I could listen to that guy for hours without getting bored (or sleepy). Maybe I will blog on the T K man from DC town at a later date. Anyway, we got into town around 12:30 a.m., put the kids to bed and hit the hay ourselves. The next morning Sarah got a tour of their new home, I mowed the yard (about 3/4-1 acre) did basic party preparations, etc.... Sounds like a lot of fun doesn't it? Well it was, I like to keep busy, and it was a good time to hang out. Everyone showed up at about 1:00. We watched the first half of the Husker game on a fuzzy channel (which was okay, and kind of reminded me of times before we had cable....I am spoiled). At half time of the game we began the Family Olympics. There were four teams: My family, my brothers, my sisters, and my sister in laws parents and grandmother. There were a number of events and points for win place and show. Each family member had to sign up for different events up to a maximum of five. The games were: Horseshoes, Golf (chipping), Badminton, Bocce, Soccer, Old Maid, UNO, Hi Ho Cherry'O, Let's go Fishing, Scrabble, and team events of a relay and Paper Tower (build a tower as high as you can with 10 sheets of printer paper with no tape). It should go without saying that my family dominated! But that wasn't the fun part, and isn't what was important. You see, although it is fun to win, and fun to tease, it is even more fun to see the reaction of the rest of my family. I have a very competitive family, and times like these bring us closer together. We can talk and communicate much better when we are doing something than when we are doing nothing. I think that is why I get uncomfortable in social settings, because nothing is getting done. I am a doer and feel better doing. I suppose some would say that is no way to relate, and that you cannot get to deep issues that way. That is fine for them, but we can get to plenty of issues this way too. The MVP of the Olympics was Sarah. She won 4 of the 5 individual events that she entered. Peter did great getting a first place, a couple of seconds, and a third. And I didn't do too bad myself. We scored points in every event entered and took home the trophy. Yes there was a trophy and a trophy presentation with acceptance speech. I wish we could have video tapped it for you all. It was a great moment for my family and me. Peter loved the trophy and wanted to hold it. He almost didn't question that it was for Girls Basketball. We came home late Sunday night around 12:30 a.m. again. Monday was a resting day with the whole family taking good long naps. In all I couldn't have asked for a better long weekend.

Step Out and Serve

Wow....I guess it has been a while since the last post. A lot has happened in the last 2 plus weeks. On August 26th our church participated in an outreach called Step Out and Serve. This was a really cool event. About 20 churches in the area participated and did community services for various organizations. The group I was with did some work on the Turning Point campus. Turning Point serves as a base for many Christian Organizations in the Omaha area. Some of these include the Omaha Street School and Release Ministries. This campus was huge! It was located on the old Nebraska School for the Deaf and is absolutely gorgeous. On a side note, I think that North Omaha is a really pretty area. I love the huge trees and hills. I have always been drawn toward there....I think it probably has something to do with my Grandparents. Anyway, the size of the campus also provided a great opportunity to do a wide variety of tasks. I was lucky enough to get put on gutter duty. They were replacing the gutters on an older house on the property and the real expert needed some help, and my services were requested. This was interesting work. We did seamless gutters, and it was neat to see what goes into that type of project. I guess I didn't think of it, but there is a lot of little details that need to be observed to make sure the gutter will look good and work properly. I did okay with the work. My tin snip skill left a little to be desired, and that tool belt sure does cause you to sway a little more on the extension ladders. But I managed to hold my own. I think I will continue to count cars for the railroad though. Toward the end of the day we also cut down a huge tree on their property that was dying. I have never seen a clearer example of how many hands make light work as I did on that part of the project. I think it was because the job was pretty self-explanatory. Big tree gets cut down. The men with the chain saws cut big tree into little pieces. Other workers move little pieces into a pile. Clean up twigs. It didn't take a foreman or supervisor to get us whipped into shape and put on the straight and narrow. We had about ten guys, and from first cut to a stump left took about a half hour to 45 min. What I took away from the day the most was how God truly put it on the hearts of these people to serve. There were probably 45-60 people on campus, and maybe it was only the people I was with, but I didn't hear one complaint. We all served with joy and a greater purpose. That is much different than my day job.

Simply (insert task here) to add (insert item here) to your blog

I don't profess to be the most technical person. However I do feel somewhat confident in working with computers, software, and some programming languages. I can whip out some pretty sweet VB apps. Write some smokin hot SQL quereys. Also, unlike a lot of the myths about men, I can even read and follow instructions. So would you think that using a very user freindly blogging program wouldn't be a problem? You might think that, but I have had nothing but problems in working with Blogger, especially with our pictures. Anytime I want to add something I get this annoying saving message at the top of my page element box. Sometimes it really does save it and sometimes it doesn't. Call me old fashioned, but if something/someone says its doing one thing and does another I really get annoyed. But for lack of interest in finding something better, and not being able to beat the price of this program, I think I will stick it out with blogger.

So here is the question of the day. We are trying to link pictures inside our post. You can see the success that we have had in one of our previous posts. We have fixed the head tilt problem, and can post a picture upright....yeah us. But, how do you experts get your photos inside the text of the post? We can post our pictures like a 4th grader at the bottom of each post (no offense to any 4th grader reading). We try to use the add immage button, but it either doesn't like the embeded HTML or the web link. So I'm askin for help from my peeps.

By the way, here is a picture of Peter on his first day of school.

Peter is in Real School

Peter is in Kindergarten. His first day of school was Monday. I took the morning off and Sarah, Clara and I walked him to school. It was really fun on the walk to school; Peter was walking so slowly, so I knew he was nervous. As outgoing as he is, he always approaches new situations with caution. He got into his teachers line and just stood there. Sarah tried to give him a hug and he stayed stiff, feeling out of place. A little later I gave him a hug and he hugged back. So Sarah tried again and met with success. I think that was important to her. Sarah and I were both pretty strong at the school. We both only teared up once. However during the weekend it was a totally different story. Sarah can post and tell you how her weekend went, but I balled like a little baby all weekend. This was my baby that is going to his job. He will not have a break from responsibility until he is old, maybe never. I have a hard time with that. Like most parents I think he has a loving personality and is so strong, but we have always been with him to protect our treasure. We have been trying to instill good values in him and training him to survive in this world. Now we have to truly let God do His thing when we aren't there. I think this is a lesson that I am not ready to learn. Well with His blessing I will have two more chances to figure this out.

Leadership Summit

It has been 10 days since my last post, and I hope this doesn't become habit. There was a lot going on this past weekend, and early this week. Last weekend was the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. For those of you who don't know, this is an annual event at Willow Creek Church in Chicago that is simulcast all over the country. They attract some of the greatest leaders and educators in the world to help educate the people on leadership philosophy, the power of leadership, etc... Anyway, this is a great event that I look forward to each year, it charges my batteries.

One of the speakers was Colin Powell. I have always respected the presence that he commands. Big news to all that I don't know the guy, but he is someone that I find myself respecting and wanting to get to know more about. He spoke on his "Powell Principles" and hearing him speak wanted me to find out more about him. In the next few months I will try to follow up on that desire. Although I really enjoy the academic aspect of leadership, and I think you can be taught leadership principles. I think you can get the most from someone who has lived the role. The problem with that is that there are a lot of good leaders, but they don't know how to communicate what they do. I found with Powell, he was an effective communicator too.

Another of the speakers was Michael Porter. He is world renown for his teachings on strategy and is a Harvard professor. I was very excited to hear his session. Last year they had another Harvard professor speak and he stole the show. I have to say I was thoroughly disappointed with his session. This conference is geared more toward a church leader (although applicable to all leaders). Porter knew this and tried to tailor his discussion accordingly, but it was a miserable failure. His overriding theme was that a church is spread to thin when it comes to offering services to people in need. He said that churches should only focus on their strengths and everything else should be redirected to another program which provides the same social aide. On the surface I agree with him, but the reason this was a bust is because he doesn't understand the role of the Christian Church and its programs. The church doesn't do these things only to be socially responsible and to provide a better world for all. The church does this to help people who may not have a personal relationship with Christ. Example: A church sponsors the Royal Family Kids Camp at $250 per person. The YMCA offers a camp at $50 per person. Porter would say use the Y camp and you get 4 times more output. But what he doesn't know is that the RFKC is sharing the gospel with the children and the counselors are showing them a love that they might not get at the Y camp. There are other details, but you get my point.

Additional items:
Impressed with Carly Fiorina (former HP CEO) and some of the things she said about leadership. Felt a little uneasy about other things she said though.

Have a healthy respect for Jimmy Carter. Don't necessarily agree with his politics or things he has done, but he does have some good leadership philosophies, and is a strong believer.

Overall, great conference, great people, great learning, great experience.

The Club

This weekend I used a guest pass to go to Lifetime Fitness with Sarah and the kids. This place was pretty awesome. It is set up like a resort, and you can do a number of things there that you can't do at any regular gym. The primary reason for joining was the pools. They have both an indoor and outdoor pool, and both pools have two waterslides that you can use. The deepest they get is 3'6", which is perfect for children. The pass was for 2 days. On Friday night we only swam. You should see Clara swimming in the pool. We put a life jacket on her (which she was extremely resistant to at first) and she paddles around the place asking for you to go far away so she can swim to you. One of the more amusing things about it is she keeps saying "my muscles" as if she is getting a total work out, which I bet she is. Peter is a fish and swims around without a life jacket. He does awesome, and next year will be the perfect height for the water. Anyway, it was a blast. The second day in addition to the swimming I got to work out with Sarah. That was fun and reminded me of before Peter was born....good memories. I am glad that they can go and have fun. Surprising as it may appear, I want to make fitness a priority in our lives. You may be asking yourself why I need a guest pass to attend the club where my family are members, and after going I want to be a member. However, the accountant in me wins out, and I cannot justify the expense when I can use the facility we have at the UP for free. What a party pooper.

On a side note, I was looking at this blog and it appears kind of dull. I will have to spice it up with some pictures in the near future.

It's Moving Time

This weekend and early part of the week has been all about moving for me. First, I get to help the Myatt family (sad...see below). Then I get to help my brother Wes move to North Platte (NP). This was a happy move because now they are much closer to us then they were in Yuma, AZ.

Anyway, Monday night Peter and I left the women home for some mans time to help my brother and his family move into a new home in NP. On the way we stopped in Grand Island (GI) to play some softball on my sister's co-ed team, and stay the night before finishing the drive to NP. This was a blast! It was the first time all of us had played on the same team, and I really enjoyed myself. I think Peter had a good time too. He watched for a little bit, but then ran around the rest of the game with some kids on a soccer field next to the softball diamond. It was a good night...I can't place the reason why though. Was it because I was with my family, or was it because I was in GI? Maybe I will think about it and use that for the subject of another post.

The next day we continued on to NP and started the move. My dad was there, and it was good to see him. I don't get to see him that often, and it was good to catch up a little bit. Wes had all of their stuff in a storage shed about 2 miles from his house. We had one pick up one van and two SUVs. The whole move took about 5 trips and 4 hours. The house is nice. It is a 3 bedroom ranch with a huge garage and two storage sheds. I can’t remember how big the lot is, but I think it is over an acre. Just the feel of it reminds me of Wes.

Peter played with Matthew all day and had a blast. On the trip back to Omaha, I let Peter sit in the front seat, and we looked to see how many different license plates we could see. He thought he was sooooo big. It was precious. He got out the map of Nebraska, and I was helping him to find where we were and where we are going. Even though he can't read he can make out the letters and is starting to put them together. That trip home was a really special time.

So although the trip was exhausting, and I had my doubts about doing it in the middle of the week, it was definitely worth it.

The Myatt Family Farewell

Today was a pretty sad day for us at church. The Myatt family will leave for Chicago on Monday so Bill can pursue his doctorate at Loyola. I am happy for them, this is what they have wanted since they came to Omaha. Although Bill was a great pastor, I think at his heart he is a teacher. We have had a lot of friends and family leave us while we were a family, but for some reason this one seems different. I think it is because we have been through so much during the time they were in Omaha. Today our senior pastor did a I remember six years ago speach....well I remember six years ago too. Six years ago I remember going through the membership class at Brookside, and the Myatt's were in that class. I remember soon after being in the same small group talking about the struggles of marriage and how we can grow as couples. We have shared the joy for each other as our families have exploded in size from a total of four to a total of ten. We have had some parties that I'll never forget (matresses and watermelon). We have also been through struggles together like the split in our church, the leaving of other freinds, and the destruction of families. I never knew Bill as well as I would have liked, although I love him just the same. The thing that I think I will miss most is the relationship that Sarah had with Melanie. We all changed so much in the last six years, but that is for the best. We had time to grow with each other and to grow in our relationship with the Lord. I love those guys and they will be dearly missed.

Still Testing

I am sure this blogging thing will get easier. I am trying to work with photos now. Everyone has Flickr, but I will be the odd one and go with Picasa. By the way, does anyone know how to rotate photos? Peter looks pretty cool, but I don't want to turn my head to see.

First Time Blogging

It seems as though we are getting on this bandwagon late, but I though that it would be interesting to join in the blogosphere. I have enjoyed catching up on everyone's lives over my lunch hour and I know that Sarah likes to stay involved while at home. As we age and our family increases in size we have had the opportunity to develop relationships with a large number of people. Unfortunately we have not been able to keep up with all of these relationships as both our family and friends get spread across NE, the US and the World.

The purpose of this blog is to keep people informed on basic life events in the Caruso family and to relay general musings and complaints (primarily from me) on subjects that matter to us. If you get annoyed with improper use of the English language, posts about our children and their events, prompt daily blogging, or sometimes mindless ramblings of a Seinfeldesque nature you probably won't like this blog. But if you like us in person, you will probably be interested in what we have to say.

With that....welcome to our Blog.