Old Dog, New Trick

We bought Luke some bathtub crayons several months ago and he has been working his fingers to the bone, coming up with some truly good drawings.
But this is his greatest achievement.
I didn't really pay attention when he announced that he was going to draw the dog, it didn't sound too far out of his league, I was pretty surprised when he asked me to check it out. It was a perfect rendition of "Old Yeller"
"Wait a minute Dad, we forgot summin'", he dug through the cup of crayons and pulled out the red,"Here we go", he muttered as he added his final flourish.
"Finished."
I sat amazed. What do you say to such genius? What words could sum up my flood of emotions? The smile on his face showed no embarrassment, no shame of his art, laid bare for the whole house to see.
But the artist stood waiting, expectant, pleading for a critique of the masterpiece from his harshest of judges yet biggest fan.
"So, what is that?", I asked, pointing at the bright red appendages.
"That is he,, uh", suddenly he realized that he knew what they "were" and yet didn't have the vocabulary to tell me exactly what he had depicted so perfectly.
"Those are, he uh", he gazed down at his own, in hopes that the word would be written across his belly or perhaps his "Willie Nelson" might sing out the word he so desperately searched for. A smile began to creep across his face as he brought his eyes up to meet mine," Those are he NUTS!"
We smiled at each other for a moment before he covered his mouth and laughed. This is what being a boy is all about.

An anatomically correct dog! I wonder how old Picasso was before he rendered his first nude? I bet he was older than 3! Honestly, "Old Yeller" don't look too pleased that he is left "hangin' in the wind". Red-eyed dogs are scary.

These two faces are "Max & Ruby" according to Luke.

This is Our Mission

New (and some slightly old) Pics

What I Have Done For The Last 4 Days

My favorite game ever. There is just something special about online games. Getting to meet (and blow to giblet gravy) people from all over the world and just have a good time. I would be a sucker for any of the online roleplaying games but they require LOTS of game time before you can really achieve anything grand. TF2 allows you to jump in and go at it, whether you want to play 10 minutes or 2 hours.
Mandy and I have been sick since Wednesday night so we had to let Luke spend the night at CC's house Thursday and Friday night. I believe that a played for over 15 hours in 3 days (and nights since my throat was on fire, I couldn't sleep) in between naps and a trip to the emergency room for Mandy's migraine.
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!

This guy looks just like Ken Smith at church. He is the most intimidating man I have ever met, and yet, the nicest guy you will ever meet.

Out to Save the World

Luke, Eli and Sam at our church's Hallelujah Festival. The streets should be safe with this Power Ranger and two Spidermen!

Putting his mark on Memphis

The highlight of our trip to Memphis was Luke having to "go" while we were leaving Beale Street. I'm sure this isn't the first time this particular area of a parking lot has been urinated on. We were the ONLY people with a child and the only ones not drinking. Beale Street is like a giant outdoor bar with lots of different music.
(Chris) Like a seasoned bum, Luke didn't have any problem dropping trow on Beale street to "Strain the Potatoes".
Hopefully he didn't get the "pee shivers".

Luke at Graceland

Kathy mentioned in her comment that Luke looks like me so I thought I would post a pic of me at his age for comparison. I'm a little chubbier but still very similar.(side note, Eli has my eyes!)

Luke turns 3!

Here's Luke on the morning of his 3rd birthday. The biggest achievement with this "coming of age" has been potty training! Hooray, no more stinky pullups!!

Luke at the park

Prank Time

I am on a posting frenzy right now. Enjoy!

Story Time!

Luke wanted to tell a story for mom on camera. This is the cautionary tale of "T-Rexy Boomy Doony", a Dinosaur who apparently doesn't wash his car.

Marshmallow Madness!

People have been asking me why I haven't posted a new video in a while.
This video is my response. A full fledged 2 year old is like a F5 tornado bearing down on sanityville.
In hindsight, maybe marshmallows weren't the best snack idea. I thought it would be a cool treat. At least the video is funny.

MUSIC!

Our good friends (and soon to be former Pastor,,,, AAARRGGHH!) has their own blog now. Ashleigh showed it to me today and I was envious of her add-ons.
I just had to add a music player! I went through and found something that each of us (me, Mandy, and Luke) like and a few that we all like. Maybe one day I will explain where all of these songs fit in our lives. Can you guess who loves the "Fish Heads" song?

       

Iron and Wine

Yeah, this is my favorite "band". Just listen.

This is why I love youtube. One of the Engineers at work sent me a slide show of this amazing crystal cave. I've always been a bit of a rock collector (that is why I love my job) but this was just over the top type crystals. These are the largest formations in the world. Pretty amazing stuff. I guess we will be planning a vacation to Chihuahua, Mexico soon.