oh what a relief it is

Becky and I received a gift certificate for 2 free massages as a present this past Christmas. We'd put if off and finally needed to redeem them before they expired and I ended up going in this morning.

I think one of the reasons that I put it off was because I felt funny about going. I'd never received a professional massage before, but something about it just felt un-manly. Guys who get massages are models or big wig executives or the big wig executive of a modeling agency. Maybe i felt a bit like getting a massage meant that i had to admit weakness because I couldn't handle the stress in my life on my own. I think you see where this is going...

It was great. Really relaxing; just what i needed. I got a full back/shoulder/neck treatment.

Butykos Chiropractic in Dearborn Heights. You should go. Very professional, not shady or awkward in any way.

day 2

I finally got linked to the hospitals wireless network ( i had to uninstall mcafee). computers are great and dumb.

anywho... day number two has gone well. We've had a few visitors, but we've also had plenty of time for just the 3 of us. Ashlyn is sooo cute and she sleeps, eats, and poops like a pro.

Becky is doing great as well. It's been a more painful day, but day 2 is always the worst day following a c-section [day 1 you're still on the stronger meds, later days allow time for more healing]. We did have a little excitement today when our entire floor was asked to move into the hallways because of a tornado warning. We sat there for about 15 minutes in the most uncomfortable chairs they could find.

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us and prayed for us during this pregnancy. We love you and hope you get a chance to see us all soon.

Ashlyn Ann Teal

Time: 8:16am
Weight: 7lbs. 14oz
Length: 21in
Hair: Really Dark
Eyes: Beautiful

Mom is doing great, baby is great too! She's very quiet, but i'm sure that'll change soon when there are 2 other LOUD voices to compete with.

you can find more pictures on my facebook.


p.s.
Sorry it's taken so long to get the pix online, i can't seen to connect with the hospital's wireless network.

the final countdown

ba da ba buh, ba da ba bum ba, .... (you know you're singing it)

We are about 22 hours away from the birth of our baby girl and I couldn't be more excited. It's going to be great; and challenging! But i think there's often a direct correlation in life that an increasing amount of challenge corresponds with increasing amounts of greatness.

It appears that the hospital rooms have wifi, so be watching for the baby pictures and info sometime tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for all your prayers.

tub time

Wow, time has really flown by since my last post. We're only a few days away from having our new baby girl and we've been preparing the house like crazy. Just a couple of days ago I was home alone with the boys and I was washing dishes in the kitchen while Evan and Aaron were playing together in the other room.

I was really happy because they were playing well together and i was able to get alot done. As i was finishing up i thought to myself 'i wonder what they're up to?'




They were busy moving half of their toys into the bath tub (and they would have brought over the rest if i hadn't have stopped them). I love how happy they are about their antics.

A little bit of mischief, but not too much mess; you gotta let your kids get away with something:)

you say tomatoe, i say salmonella

I am not a fan of vegetables. And by "not a fan" i mean that i hardly eat them at all. part of me wishes i did; for health reasons, yes, but mostly because in social settings i'd be able to avoid the "why aren't you eating your salad?" conversation. I'm not really embarrassed about it, it's just annoying to constantly have to explain my food peculiarities and then making people feel like they need to accommodate my food preferences if they have me over for dinner. So it gives me a small amount of joy to see that tomatoes have become a threat to our national security (threat level red).

It personally gives me even greater joy because my mom has a tomatoe story that has become part of our family lore (i'm sure your family has those types of stories). It is a "try new foods" lecture that is recited with predictable regularity. The short version is as follows:

As a child my mom disliked tomatoes. One day she saw her cousins eating raw tomatoes in the same manner that one usually eats an apple. Watching the juice drip down their chins (a key element to the story), my mom decided to retry the forbidden fruit. She discovered that she does like tomatoes and the rest is history (to be recounted ceaselessly).

Now i can just picture salmonella dripping down their chins and i'll never be tempted to eat a new food again.

Just did my duty

I'm sure you've been eagerly anticipating the outcome of my jury duty; we'll here's what happened...

I managed to actually wake up at 6:40 and was on the road by 7:00. Traffic wasn't too bad driving downtown, but with the major reconstruction of I-75 the detour added a bit of time. I was able to get to the "Jurors Lobby" about 5 minutes early and the waiting game began. I waited in that room with about 150 other people (i was surprised how many people were there) until 8:15 when they showed an orientation video. Then about every 1/2 hour they would call list of about 20 names who were then led to the various courtrooms for juror selection. My name was read at about 10:30 and i proceeded to the 8th floor of the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice (the Honorable Judge Hathaway presiding). I waited in the hallway outside the courtroom for 1 minute and the Deputy Sheriff told us that the trial had been resolved (someone made a deal) and we could all return to the jury lobby. After another hour of waiting, they read my name with about 40 others and told us we could go home. That was it.

I was disappointed that I didn't get to go further, as i said in my previous post, i think that serving on a jury would be really exciting. However I was really glad that I didn't get caught up in a lengthy trial with only 3 weeks until the new baby girl.

Have any of you readers gotten further than that?

just doin my duty

I have jury duty tomorrow. I was able to get out of it several years ago because i was in grad school at the time (students are exempt). But there's no escaping it this time around and I can't help but have split feelings about serving tomorrow.

On the one hand, it's my civic duty and an opportunity to be a part of the judicial system of our country. I am interested in the legal system and I think that being a part of a jury would be a really interesting. As a Christian and former member of the university discipline process i am intrigued and challenged by the balance of justice and mercy. I would be proud to be a part of making a difference in our community.

On the other hand, i really don't want to drive into downtown detroit and sit in a jury lobby all day. no cell phone, no laptop, no pda, no portable video games; what do they think this is...1980? I don't want give up a full day just to sit around and be told "thanks, but you're not needed". Plus, i've got to get up at the crack 'o dawn (6:40... in the AM!)

I can guess that I won't be allowed to blog about the specifics of whatever happens, but maybe I'll be able be able to share something of the process.