It's Good to be Home

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Shane's See His Parents Again

Shane got to see his parents again for the first time since Christmas! Carrie and I walked in to Grandma and Grandpa's around 10:45ish.

Shane was sitting on the couch. Thomas the Train was playing on the TV, and Shane was watching "Green Garbage Trucks" on the iPad in his lap. With the biggest grin on his face, Shane looked up at me and went "AAAAHHHHH!!!"

Seriously! He went "AAAAHHHH!!!"

I think he was pre-protesting for fear I was going to take away the iPad! (I'm anti-more than half-an-hour with the thing).

Once Shane realized I wasn't going to put the electronics away, he eagerly showed Carrie and I what he was watching. Then he stood up, grabbed Carrie's hand, and started to run off with her. Shane must have realized that I wasn't following, because he ran back, grabbed my hand, and dragged me over to Mommy. He missed us.

Shane and I ended up running around the house for the next 30-60 minutes until I had a sweat going. I would hold Shane under his armpits, he would drop to a frog squat, and then he'd Daddy assisted leap high into the air all over the house. Whenever my lower back would start to feel it, I'd stop the bouncing and slide Shane up and down across the wood floors (They're so much more 'slidey' than carpet).

The boy, Carrie, and Grandpa have all laid down for naps. Grandma keeps telling me what a joy it's been to have Shane running around. It always makes a parent's heart swell up to hear that sort of praise about their child!

Travel Time

Carrie and I are hopping out of bed and going to the airport for an early o'clock flight.

My wife is a packing machine. Last night, she put everything in it's place and it all fit just right.

Anyway, our flight leaves at 8 AM. We'll be back on our way to see Shane again soon enough.

Go Big Red!

My ADHD senses have been tingling while Carrie and I have been in Orlando. 

I keep seeing people from Nebraska. You know they're from Nebraska, because they always have a Big Red N somewhere on their clothes. 

But why are they all in Orlando? 

Next, I spotted a poster of a Nebraska football player outside the movie theater. Very suspicious...

It turns out the Bowl they're playing is in Orlando.

I shouted a "Go Big Red!" to a family we walked by in a strip mall. They laughed and waved back. It looked like they were looking for a place to eat, so I quipped "You won't find a Runza here!" The father laughed and  replied "Or a Valentino's!"

You won't get it unless you've been to Nebraska. I had to call my Grandma afterwards, because it made me think of her in Lincoln.

Go Big Red!

Still Vacationing

We're still on vacation. If you're my wife's friend on Facebook, you can see all sorts of pictures of our adventures.

Thursday, we went to Sea World and had sushi for dinner (inspired by Sea World, perhaps?). Friday, we went to Busch Gardens Tampa and did not have monkey or zebra for dinner. My wife told me it was "not funny!" when I asked if any of the park restaurants had zebra steaks. I admit, I like to say things that cause a reaction from my wife. The trick is not to overdo it (I'm still working on that).

If you're not my wife's friend on Facebook, here are a few of my favorites:

Vacation

Carrie and I made it safely to Florida and we've begun our vacation. I didn't really want to leave Shane, but Carrie made some good points. We haven't been on vacay since an earthquake hit Busch Gardens, and her parents wanted some Shane time.

Plus, Carrie's dad retired this year and had a bunch of airline points that would expire. We got our airfare for free! Thank you, Grandpa!

Day one was spent at IHOP and the Hobbit. There was beggar outside of IHOP who was asking for cash. I offered to take him inside for pancakes, but he declined. He told me he was looking to provide food for his whole family. I countered that I'd buy him a stack of twenty pancakes for take-out if he wanted. Once again, he declined. I told him if he changed his mind he could say 'Hi' when we headed out, but he never took me up on the offer. It was a sobering Christmas note. I saw someone under a bridge and another man sitting out behind a Burger King while we were driving.

The Hobbit was a great movie for a duology. I'm not so sure how it will do as a trilogy. Carrie started humming to the music and could tell what races/references were about to be made based on the scores alone. I enjoyed myself even if I did check my cell phone for the time every now and then.

My biggest (spoiler free) complaints were: A) The goblin king voice, B) Gollum's slaying of the goblin was a bit more grotesque than I liked (but damn, does the actor who plays Gollum do a great job), and C) three movies? Really?

I guess I'll have to wait and see. I enjoyed this one, so maybe Peter Jackson will silence all the skeptics.

Aside from those adventures, life has been much more mundane. Carrie dropped off to sleep around 9 last night. I played some of the new XCOM (Patrick's Christmas present) and goofed off until I crawled in to bed at an amazing 12:00 (the last time I stayed up that late, I was waiting for Dan to come back from NY and fix the A/C). We're totally living the crazy life, aren't we?

We slept in until 8 glorious AM the next morning. Egads! Carrie must really need her rest, because she's already taking a nap! This is more of a rest and recharge trip than an adventure so far. I'll make my wife get out and about more tonight. In the meantime, I think I'll break out my Bible and do some reading. Reading in general is another activity I never seem to have time for anymore, but this is vacation! It's time to do the unexpected and READ!

PS - Shane sounds like he's doing great and eating lots of different things at Grandma and Grandpa's. Everyone has different child talents (like Nana's endless enthusiasm and excitability). It appears Grandma's special talent is to get Shane to eat a wide variety of steamed and grilled vegetables, meats, and cheeses that he rejects from us. Grandpa has access to tons of trains, so he's a Shane favorite as well!

Merry Christmas Eve to All!

Kevin Sorbo posted this on his Facebook page. He's apparently got a blog, too. It sounds like he's gone through some tough times medically and his father passed away, but his faith in Christ is still strong.

I may have to go watch a couple of Hercules episodes now.

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.
Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or a home.
He didn’t go to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.
He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.
He had no credentials but Himself.
He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
One of them denied Him.
He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.”

Nighty-Night

Every night, Shane and I have our little routine.

I start to turn off the lights downstairs. If the TV is on, the volume is turned down low. Shane then does one of two things. He will A) walk over to me and asks for his 'baba' or B) run around in a burst of energy to  try and convince me he's not tired.

Either way, it's bed time.

I pick Shane up and his head plops onto my shoulder. We say our goodbyes to Mommy and head up the stairs. After a quick stop in Shane's room to turn on his night light, we plop down in a the hallway chair to drink our goodnight bottle.

The goal is to slow down.

I breathe deep. I tussle Shane's hair gently. Normally, we sit quietly for a minute or two.

Then I sing.

Every night, I sing the same tune. It's the same tune I remember my mom singing as a child when she would march up the stairs to enforce bedtime.

Nighty-night, Nighty-night, 
It's your bedtime, Shane.
You're my boy, Mama's joy,
You're our boy and we love you.

Go to bed, Go to bed,
Go to bed son of mine.
Drink your milk, close your eyes,
and dream of the sun-rise.

I love you. Mom loves you.
We love you, Shane.
Rest your head, Drift to sleep
and Nighty-night, night, night.

And nighty-night, night, niiiiight.

I've sung this tune since Shane was a little baby. The words change off and on, but I've basically settled on three verses.

The routine varies more from this point on. Sometimes Shane is already starting to doze and it's a quick put down in his bed. Other times, it takes a while. Sometimes we sit quietly until he finishes. Sometimes I say a psalm or a quick prayer.

Whenever Shane does finish, I put the bottle down and he turns to lay on my chest. I slowly rub his back and hold him for a while. I always want him to feel loved. I don't want to lay him down too quickly. Admittedly, I don't want him to fall fully asleep on me either. The goal is for him to learn to put himself to sleep, so I just get him really comfortable, feeling loved, and then I deposit him in his bed.

I kiss my son goodnight, I tell him I love him and that I'll see him in the morning.

If he's awake, he'll protest when I shut the door. Other times, he falls asleep so quickly I don't hear a peep.

And that's our bed time routine.

'Skins win!

It was a ton of fun watching the game with my family today. Go 'Skins!

Then, the excitement continued when Dallas forced OT against the Saints.

The elation continued when the Saints won. 1) I like Drew Brees.  2) The 'Skins are going to the playoffs RGIII's first year at the rate things are going! They went from 3-6 and Coach Shanahan talking about 'next year' to potentially winning their division.

It's the beginning of a new era of less losing! The fact that family was all around made everything even more exciting.

And that's it. I'm pooped.

Outlook

No matter what happens in this world, I believe God is responsible.