Life in the Burbs

Our Thanksgiving trip to Texas had to finally end, and we arrived home today. The drive home went pretty well, but there were a few more rough spots than there were on the trip down. For entertainment, we have been relying on videos I have saved on my computer. We keep it charged with an AC adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Well, the adapter died about an hour from our hotel last night, and the boys were not happy about it one bit. In my world, I can rationalize that the battery died and the thing that charged the battery isn’t working, so it’s perfectly reasonable to go without Elmo for an hour until we get to the hotel. In a toddler’s world, the video was working one minute and not working the next, and they want it back with no explanations or rationalizations. Needless to say, within minutes I pulled over and got the other laptop out of my bag so they boys could watch the rest of their video. Thank goodness Gina married a geek who happens to have 2 laptops.

Let me explain briefly that Sam and Nate don’t watch a lot of videos. We usually let them watch one 30-minute video per day, and it’s usually while Gina is working on dinner. However, long road trips are a different story altogether. I can’t speak from experience, since my childhood was during the time before car seats and my parents let my sister and I play in the back seat untethered. So, I have to use my imagination when I think about how boring car seats must be. There is really only so much a toddler can do in a car seat before he starts to lose patience. And when our toddlers lose patience, they yell and scream, which means Gina and I will lose our minds shortly thereafter. So, on long road trips videos are a good way to break the monotony of being strapped in a car seat like Hannibal Lecter.

Overall, the trip was great and the boys traveled like little champs. We loved spending time with family and friends, and we are already talking about our next trip in May. I included a couple of great shots from our last days in Texas.

Notice the cowboy boots!

On our last night in Dallas, Granddad took the boys to ride a special Christmas train, which is actually in a guy’s backyard. It’s really quite amazing and was a lot of work to construct. Sam loved the train and took 2 rides. Nate … well, he screamed and the driver had to stop the train to let him off. He did, however, love watching it go around and around while sitting with me on the ground. I was happy with that, too.

Sam and Nate got to see their cousins on the Kelly side again today when we stopped in to the Great Wolf Lodge on our way back to Garland. We can’t wait until the boys are a little older so we can take them here to swim and do all the other activities.

Later that day, Gina’s friend Lisa came to the house with her little girl Ruby. She is a couple of months older than the boys, and they had fun playing together while Gina and Lisa visited. When she left, she was able to sneak a good-bye kiss from each of them. Don’t let Sam or Nate tell you they didn’t like it. They both tried to sneak another one before she left.

The word “thankful” hardly seems adequate to capture all that I have felt the last few days. I guess I am recalling  my experiences as a teacher, when I would encourage my students to list all the people and stuff in their lives that they were thankful for. I’m not criticizing that perspective on thankfullness, but it goes much deeper than that for me.

More than anything, my spirit resonates with an awareness that every single blessing in my life has come from a much greater source, and I didn’t do anything to earn any of it. I am so tempted to walk through life with the attitude that, “I live a good life, therefore …” The truth is, God is committed to capturing my heart completely, restoring it wholly and using it solely for His Kingdom. That’s all He wants, and everything good He has given me is an expression of His love, not my merit.

So, as I celebrate Thanksgiving, I am overwhelmed that the God of the universe would reach into my heart and sing me a love song. It just seems like a few short years ago that I was kind of wandering aimless through life with all kinds of questions about how my story would develop. I have a beautiful wife, two unbelievable twin boys who amaze me everyday, a loving and supportive family, and the opportunity to pursue the career I have always dreamed of. I don’t deserve it, so the best way I can think of to show my gratitude is to breathe it all in fully and give the glory back to the Author of this adventure.

Gina and I had been a little uncertain over how the boys were going to do on the trip to Texas this Thanksgiving. They have not done so well on previous 12-hour road trips, so we were expecting there to be a few meltdowns along the way. Well, they surprised us once again by handling the whole trip like champs. By the time we got to MaMa’s house on Saturday afternoon, they were totally recharged and ready for action. We had a nice lunch at Golden Corral, then we spent the rest of the day playing and visiting at the house. MaMa had to go back to her rehab facility for the night, so I drove her there and we settled in for the night. Gina and the boys went to bed, and I watched the Texas v. Kansas football game.

We are now in Dallas and we’ve had a great time so far. Gina and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by going to the Melting Pot for dinner on Sunday night. It was unbelievably delicious, and we once again ate way more than we could hold. We are looking forward to seeing the other set of great-grandparents on Wednesday, then more family on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Here are few more pics of our stop in Shreveport.

Now Deion Sanders and I have one thing in common … we’re both Primetime! I was recently interviewed for a news story about the shortage of male teachers in elementary schools. It turned out pretty good, and thankfully I made enough intelligible comments to get included in the story at all. You can watch the news story below.

As many of you know, my sister’s daughter Ella has a rare skin disease called Epidermolysis bullosa, which means her skin is very fragile and gets injured easily. Katie and Joe are awesome parents and have been amazing in their care and maintenance of Ella’s “boo boos.” On top this, Ella is a toddler and has learned to express her dissatisfaction with things she doesn’t like, such as going to the doctor. Well, these two circumstances met each other head on today when Ella heavily resisted getting an important eye exam she really needs. My sister is asking for prayer for the next appointment, which is next Wednesday (11/25) at 8:45. Specifically, she would like prayer for Ella to be calm and cooperative. You can read more about Ella on her blog: teamjoella.blogspot.com. Your prayers mean a lot to Joe and Katie, and to our entire family.

Sam and Nate got to enjoy what might be their last blast at Washington Park this week before the cold weather rolls in. They met their favorite friend Nina for a play date last week, and based on the forecast it may have been one of the last “outdoor” days for awhile. Nina’s dad is a professor at UIS, just like me, and they live about 2 blocks away from us. We’ve had a fun time getting to know this family, and we look forward to doing more fun things with them this winter. As you can see from the first photo, Gina is releasing her inner Ansel Adams with some creative shots.

I have some fun videos from last week I’ve been meaning to post. The boys have loved the extended summer and the ability to get outside and play. It’s way more fun than being stuck inside, and probably better for them.

Sam and Nate play in a huge pile of leaves with mommy and Auntie Flo.

Nate is showing all the baseball scouts out there how he brings the lumber. His next new word will be “Homerun!”

Sam slides into a big pile of leaves that magically appeared at the bottom of his slide. I swear, I had nothing to do with this.

Sam and Nate decided to take a quick romp in some leaves after church. We didn’t even bother changing their clothes.

This weekend we were visited by our good friend Flo, who was in the same PhD program with Gina at UVA. She is now living in Omaha, NE, so she made the 6 hour drive to see us for a couple of days. She has been with us every step of the way since the boys were born, and she was a lifesaver in the early months when she would bring us dinner once or twice a week. Now it was our turn to show her some of Springfield’s unique culinary offerings (i.e., The Horseshoe).

Flo is in a post-doc position at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, so she and I were able to compare stories about being in a new place at an unfamiliar university. Our respective schools are quite different, but there are some similarities in our experiences. Gina drove her to see my campus on Saturday afternoon, and she was quite impressed with everything.

Gina and Flo went out on Saturday to have lunch and look around town while I stayed home with the boys. We spent most of the day outside. The boys played with their toys while I raked leaves. Before I bagged the leaves, Sam and Nate played in them for awhile. When Gina and Flo got home they dragged their mom into the leaves too. After a delicious Horseshoe dinner, we put the boys to bed and then celebrated Flo’s birthday (a little on the early side–the actual day is Tuesday). We wrapped up the evening by watching The Office and Modern Family on Hulu through our TV. We went to church this morning and had lunch at IHOP, then Flo had to head back to Omaha. Her friend is watching Henry, Flo’s dog, and she wanted to get back at a decent hour.

We had a great weekend with our friend, and we look forward to more visitors. I wanted to throw this last photo in for laughs. Sam is modeling his PJs that don’t really fit, which obviously has no affect on his mood.

Who’s the creep in the background filming his kid raking leaves?

Please, Auntie Flo, don’t go back to Nebraska!

Project Runway

The picture says it all.