This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Oct
27
2010
Now it is time for another PSALM.
The boys got a Lego Star Wars set for their birthdays, and this is how the set looks and what it does (except for the green plate – we had that already).
This is the Clone Walker Battle Pack 8014. See the walker in action! Watch it move!
(It’s a big file, so you might have to click to view it. That way it doesn’t slow down the whole blog)
Oct
26
2010
Gamma said his first sentence yesterday: “Throw hat”
My wife called me from the store. She said when she went to get him out of his car seat, he threw his hat and then said “throw hat”. He wasn’t mad – he just wanted to throw his hat.
Contrast that with Beta’s first sentence multi-word phrase: “Momma’s spoon“.
He might not have had the apostrophe and ‘s’ in there, but he meant it. We were at the dinner table. He picked up my wife’s silverware, held up the spoon, and said “Momma spoon”.
There was no throwing involved.
And Alpha? No one can remember his first sentence. He was very good with his speech from the beginning. And maybe we, as new parents, didn’t know to remember the transition from single words to multiple words.
In case you’re wondering, the first words for each were:
Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
Exodus 4:3
Oct
25
2010
Some of you may recall last week’s post about the bid for tree removal.
We were going to have a tree felled because it was
If it fell, it would have crushed one end of the garage (where all my tools are, and storage boxes – no cars are in the garage) and knocked out the power (leaving live power lines on my yard). That’s why we wanted to hire professionals, and that’s why it was going to be a few hundred dollars (what with the bucket truck and all).
Here’s how it looked before (a few years ago, but you get the idea):
Oct
20
2010
We have a troublesome tree, so I asked some tree service how much it would be to get rid of it.
Here is their bid:
What it says is
“Take down and put on ground $400” and
“Remove tree $300”
What they meant to say is that it will be $400 to take it down and then another $300 to remove the debris.
What I think should be written is this:
“Take down and put on ground $400” and
“Remove felled tree $300”
Otherwise, I could say that I don’t want them to put the tree on the ground – just remove it. Then I would pay only $300.
But, unfortunately, I learned earlier this week that mistakes or misunderstandings in quotes and bids are not legally binding.
So I can’t take them up on their offer to remove the tree without taking it down first.
Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.
2 Kings 3:19
Oct
19
2010
I’m a little late with this, but that shouldn’t matter.
Alpha brought home some things he did in school. Because children’s drawings are so fun, I thought I’d share them with you. The first two are from his booklet titled “September Poems”.
I like this one because the person isn’t just sitting on the crocodile – he’s sitting on a chair on the crocodile.
My favorite part of this is the song. Alpha read into what Jack and Jill would be doing while they were on their trip. And, apparently, they like to sing.
My favorite part of this drawing is that he was given the picture to color, and he drew the surroundings too.
He knows enough to know that plants don’t just float in the air. You can’t just leave those shamrocks by themselves – they need earth below them. And whoever drew the original staggered them, so Alpha has the ground rise and fall so that each shamrock has what it needs.
This was a counting booklet – the first page had one shamrock, the second had two, etc. In the interest of time and non-redundancy, I omitted the other pages.
Then Israel sang this song:”Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
Numbers 21:17
Oct
18
2010
I was enjoying my lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings last week, when my pleasant experience was interrupted by bad English.
No, not the band. Bad English in this case was a poorly-written menu.
Look at the phrase “alcoholic free lemonades”. Initially I was going to point out that your lemonade will not contain any drunk guys. And that’s still a valid point. I would prefer the term “alcohol-free lemonades” or “non-alcoholic lemonades”.
But “alcoholic free lemonade”? At least put a hyphen in there and make it “alcoholic-free lemonades”. As it is, it implies that if you are drunk, you get a free lemonade.
And it was at that point, when I was pondering the thought of free drinks for alcoholics, that I noticed there was a charge for the upgrade.
A-ha! The drink isn’t free – it costs you $0.75.
But wait – here’s your bonus section, it’s like two posts in one – it’s not really $0.75. It’s not even 75 cents. It is 0.75¢: 3/4 of a cent.
Noooooo! Menu writers of the world, please learn the difference between dollars and cents!!!
Otherwise, some wiseguy is going to come into your restaurant, give you a penny, and ask for a side salad. And legally, he’s right. You are offering (advertising) a side salad for .99¢
And you must fulfill the terms of your advertisements.
Look, I can substitute Buffalo Chips for half a penny.
I think boycotting BWW would be the wrong action here. I think the right action would be that everyone should go there and take advantage of their offers.
Bring a copy of the Federal Trade Commission Act which states that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, just in case they complain that they really meant whole cents not decimal cents.
Go to BWW and demand a side salad for 99/100 of a penny.
And ask for change.
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:5
Oct
15
2010
We got a Publishers Clearing House mailing today.
What caught my attention was the “stamp” that said “DO NOT DISREGARD”.
I will certainly not disregard this mailing, dear Publishers Clearing House.
I will regard it with caution.
I will regard it with suspicion.
And then I will discard it.
But I will not disregard it.
But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.
Judges 11:28
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