Baby shower Pics are up

Thanks, Mark & Betty. As you can see, Mark got his parting shot in with Emily about the superior SEC athletic program. You can see other pictures from the baby shower if you click on the photo albums to the right.

There are also some pictures in that album from the church picnic last week.

Goodbyes & a New Haircut

Its been a number of years since I actually shaved my head, and I seem to recall a period of adjustment, normally including a slight sunburn. I decided I would get this out of the way before I am in the midst of the adjustments of learning to be in the military. Yesterday afternoon, I went ahead and buzzed my hair very short. Sorry I don't have a picture, but with packing, its just not happening.

I'm sitting here this morning waiting on movers to come and box up our household. Emily has left for work (She works until Friday.). This is what I hate. I don't like waiting. I've stayed busy for a couple of weeks because it keeps my mind occupied.

The church had a baby shower for us on Sunday. They were extremely generous. The church gave me a gift certificate to the Army Exchange to begin getting uniforms in a couple of weeks. The day was hard. Preparing to preach Sunday morning was more nerve wracking than my trial sermon or first Sunday at the church. I really wasn't sure I would make it through the sermon through the song portion of the service. This week is still difficult. We've done most of what we can. Now we're watching the movers and saying goodbye again to friends and church members as they stop by and call this week.

I think I better tie the dog. He has become signficantly more aggressive since Em's pregnancy began. He may not extend proper hospitality to the movers, so I need to get him on a tie cable.

God is good.

Humor Me

I've admitted in a previous post that sonogram pictures are exciting for parents, grandparents, and that's about it. If you don't care about sonogram pictures, check back next week.

My Mother called me this morning asking why I hadn't put these on the blog yet. Emily's appointment was yesterday afternoon, and life is kind of hectic right now. I thought posting them within 24 hours was great. Apparently, I was wrong yet again.

In case you can't read the increadibly small writing on the actual picture. The top picture is a view of the baby's face. You can sort of see the a nose. The second picture shows his hand. I know we have already shown a picture of his hand, but they didn't take as many pictures this time. The third picture is a profile shot.

One thing does not bode well for the young man (and they still seem very sure that the baby is a young man). As you've seen in pictures of me on this blog (or observed for yourself if you who know my family), large ears are a common trait. Aparently, his ears are the large enough to grab. He seems to constantly be pulling on his ears during sonograms. They probably would be large enough without the help.

Anyway, the doctor said he is around 1.5 pounds right now. The heartbeat looked good. They easily saw all four chambers of the heart.

Its finally over!

Well, I officially have graduated from seminary. Last Friday was the ceremony. I think the morning was a great example of irony. My wife and parents insisted that I participate in the ceremony. With moving, finishing up at the church, and everything else going on I wanted to skip the ceremony. The morning was damp and very chilly for the time of year. You may notice that emily is wearing an overcoat in the picture. Since I had a massive black robe on, I felt perfectly comfortable throughout the ceremony. My family, on the other hand, spent the time shivering.

On a serious note, the ceremony was really good. No one acted like an idiot. Families actually held their applause until everyone was finished. The ceremony stayed at about two hours. When I was in youth ministry, I went to a lot of graduations. They never had any of those qualities.

Jekyll & Hyde

Since this blog is about what goes no in my life, I'm going to tell you about my round of golf yesterday. Most of you who check this probably aren't that interested in my golf game. You can stop reading if that is you, but I'm going to write it anyway.

I played golf yesterday with one of the members of my church. This is the first time I've been out this year, and the only other time I've played since early last fall was at Christmas. The front nine was every bit as bad as you would expect. Over nine wholes, I think I had seven penalty strokes. The only time I hit a fairway from the tee box was with a seven iron (sharp dog-leg). I had a 60 at the turn. Now, I'll never be a good golfer, but this is a really embarassing score even by my standards.

The second half of the round, was a completely different story. I only had one penalty stroke on the back nine, and still bogeyd that hole. I shot a 43 on the back. Chip shots rolled close. Drives were at least close to the fairway. I have no idea what happened. While my total score is still really bad, I take comfort in a few things. First of all, I improved. Secondly, its an honest score. I didn't adjust lies, take mulligans, or take gimmies longer than 12 inches. Thirdly, I actually putted well (which never happens to me).

Everything but the Ceremony

As of this morning, I have taken my last final exam. My M.Div. is now complete. I'm assuming that somehow I didn't fail the class (which would be a mathmatical stretch). Next Friday, I'll sit through graduation, and that should make it official. My parents are coming up for graduation.

On the non-school front there is not a lot that is new. The baby is moving a lot now. We'll have another sonogram in two weeks. Tonight, Emily is supposed to meet with a woman that has recently moved here from Ft Hood. One of our church members put her in contact with us. She will be able to help Emily know the neighborhoods to avoid when looking for a house, good places to eat, and all that stuff.

OK, I need to clean the kitchen.

Long Day

Well, we made the dreaded announcement Sunday morning. It was a really sad morning. I woke up at 2:30 am, and never got back to sleep. I did make it through the announcement with crying. There were a lot of tears afterwards. The afternoon was spent at a funeral and talking with one of my church members with whom I've become close friends. The great part of the day was after church that evening. Emily and I had the opportunity to sit and talk with a couple that has been attending the church. They will be joining the church next week.

Today I went by to visit a couple of the senior adults I regularly visit. Suprisingly, they had not heard that we were leaving. They were gracious and encouraging. They were exactly what I needed today.

OK, enough of the serious talk. I need to do something productive (like watch House)