Hmmmm...

With the advent of facebook I have been thinking about shutting this thing down. I rarely blog and my readership is next to nothing. The original intent was to document our adoption of Emma regardless if anyone read it or not. It was a way for me to be able to think out loud amongst a community of people who were also going through the same ups and owns of an adoption. People like Trisha and Cheri inspired me to start blogging. Those two were so good at what they did and they were able to post on a regular and the quality of their posts kept the bar high. With me I was more laxed and not as vigilant. So I am thinking of letting this blog go. Maybe I'll keep it up but I find myself on facebook more often as it is less taxing and lets me post in one sentence incriments as opposed to paragraphs at a time. Ahhh...For the time being I will leave this be and post on occasion but that might be it. Hopefully I can find a use for this space. Maybe something will occur and I will get riled up...or maybe I'll post a one sentence blurbs on facebook instead. Any thoughts? Till then find me on facebook and friend me and Tera. I'm the one holding the chocolate covered bacon. Mmmm....bacon

Merry Christmas Everyone

Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost for His Highest for Dec. 25: His Birth and our New Birth

"'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name "Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us"'"(Matthew 1:23).

"His Birth in History. 'That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God' (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside.

"Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of — He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate — God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord's birth was an advent — the appearance of God in human form.

"His Birth in Me. 'My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you …' (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a 'Bethlehem' for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth.

"'You must be born again' (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that 'Christ is formed' in me. And once 'Christ is formed' in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.

"God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ."

Oswald Chambers also wrote:

"The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.

"Let's bless Jesus Christ this Christmas and in the coming year by surrendering our lives fully to Him and acknowledging that the most important time of every day is the time we spend with Him."

God Bless you all on this very important day.

Peace.

Jason

Quick post

These pictures are about a year apart, the bottom picture was taken a few days ago. Do you think she has grown a bit? Yeah, me too.

hey

Happy Thanksgiving!

These past few weeks have been havoc at home. Mostly no-fun unscheduled stuff. The brunt of it is hopefully over and I will be sparing you the details.
We are gearing up for Christmas this week. Stuff like putting up the tree and figuring out what we are going to do with the extra wreath we have. I am working too much since both my jobs are greatly affected my the holidays. I did get to head to the garage and fire up the snowblower today which was awesome. Unfortunately there was no snow on the ground. I just went out there to make sure that it starts up since I haven't had it running since last March.
I haven't been on here for a few weeks and that makes me a bad blogger. I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving and I hope that it is spent with the ones you love.
Blessings.

Jason

No Surprise

Barak is president. This comes as no surprise. Start praying for him and the administration he chooses. He is going to have to make some hard choices. I feel these will be very interesting times ahead of us. How interesting? I don't know. What do I know. It's just a hunch.
Anyhoo... Fall is upon us and we Minnesotans are bracing for some snow this week. Not much and it probably won't stick but it'll be the first.
As for the daily/weekly happenings check Tera's blog. I have been too busy lately to maintain this blog.
But before I go I would like to share a couple of sites this week.

Both these families have daughters who have been diagnosed with cancer. These little ones have been on my heart as of late. Please visit their site/blog and let them know you are praying for them.

http://ferrickfamilypromise.blogspot.com/

http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/


Thank you

Revamped and updated

Thanks to Tera for updating my blog. It's been over a month and I figure I should post. Since then we went on a family trip and Emma turned 2. First the trip. We went to Bayfield Wisconsin. I think that in all the years we have been there this has to have been the warmest one yet. Normally the mornings have a hard frost which was absent this year. It was still beautiful nonetheless. The greatest thing about the trip this year is that we had Emma with us. She had such a good time and was so well behaved despite the long trips in the truck. Tera and I love going to Bayfield and we look forward to going with Emma in the years to come.

The week before Bayfield we celebrated Emma's 2nd birthday. Since her birthday was during the trip we decided to have her party the week prior. We had pizza which is Emma's favorite food. The cake was great, the cupcakes were awesome (thanks T) and Emma had a ball. The theme was The Backyardigans and Uniqua was the "special guest".

This is Uniqua. This was was before her moment in the spotlight.

This is Emma saying "goodbye" to Uniqua.

This is Uniqua's "guts" all over the yard after Emma, Grace and Isabel threw down on Uniqua.

Emma turning 2 was a really big thing for me as her dad. Since her first 7 months of life were spent in Guatemala my parental clock feels to be off by about the same amount of time. This has made her 2nd birthday seem to have come up much too quickly. She has developed by leaps and bounds in the last year. Last year she learned to walk the week she turned 1. This year Tera and I are chasing her around the house. She is constantly talking letting us know all the names of people she knows. Calling out for grandma and grandma. And singing. Lots and lots of singing. Specifically, songs the Laurie Berkner Band which has caused me to sing the very same songs. What can I do? They are well written songs and they're super catchy and super fun.
Till next time.

Stuff, Stuff and more Stuff

Since I last posted we have been busy, busy. I won't bore you with the details. So here is the fun stuff. I am starting the fall clean up. I will probably wait until after Emma's birthday to put the patio furniture away.
We went to the Minnesota State Fair. I'm not going to get into the details of what I ate but I will tell you that one of the new foods this year was called "Pig Lickers". Basically this was apple wood smoked bacon that is covered in chocolate and sea salt. This is an indicator of how health conscience state fairs can be. By the way, it tasted good. Real good.
For me the highlight of the fair was when I took Emma on the carousel. I could have done that all day. She was all smiles and giggles the entire time.
Speaking of giggles. Emma was on the bed in our bedroom the other day playing and I decided to head to the closet to change shirts. As I was between shirts I heard a little giggle behind me. Emma was looking at me without a shirt on and she started laughing. I took this as Emma telling Pops to lay off the state fair food and consider a few sit ups or push ups or something-ups. Aargh.
For now we are slowly preparing for Emma's upcoming birthday and then our annual family trip this October. Finally the temps are falling and my beloved Autumn is on it's way. In the wise words of Napoleon Dynamite: "Yeessss..."

With Great Sadness

Tera's grandmother passed away this week. It was quite unexpected. She was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Everyone really misses her. Please pray for the family during this time of sadness and loss of this very beloved and special lady.

Jet Bridge-1 Jason- 0

I was at work at the airport on Friday and I was walking beneath the jet bridge that led to the jet I was working on. As I emerged from underneath the jet bridge I raised up (too early) and laid my noggin into the bottom of the bridge. I fell, bled, received 8 stitches and a pretty nice bump on my head to boot. Good times.

Fun with phones...

This week was rough one as far as work goes... I'll delve into what happened at a later time.

On to other things. I put off buying a cell phone until we started the adoption process. When we did buy one I opted for the entry level phone. No bells or whistles. When the contract ended I chose to buy a new one. This one was more souped up than the last. Like most people I have become accustomed to owning a phone and I now have a dozen reasons why I need one verses want one.
It was a hot today here in Minnesota. Other than going out for a walk with Emma we stayed in most of the day. So Emma and I started to play around with my phone. Here are the results:

Making ends meet...

Some things change...some things stay the same. Back when were in the process of adopting Emma we decided it would be a good idea if I got a part time job at the airline. Flight benefits and a little extra money definitely helped the cause. The work was physical and the hours were brutal. At that time on a weekly basis I was working an average of 80 hours a week. This lasted for approximately 9 months. A couple of months before Emma came home I resigned from the airline job so I could fully take on the responsibilities of fatherhood. That was back in the spring '07. Fast forward to July of 2008. The economy and a couple of other things to boot has put us in a position where I had to go and get a part time job. Guess where. Yep, the airport. It has called me back. I started my training a week and a half ago and just finished it up last Saturday. 160 hours in 11 days (this was just the training part at the airport along with my other job, I'm not working those kind of hours now...lest you think I'm neglecting my family.) The training is done and I am working my new schedule as well as my regular full time job. I think my dad is the most excited out of anyone seeing as he's retired and is able to take full advantage of my flight benefits.
I am hoping that I can take Tera and Emma with me on a short trip somewhere at some point. Maybe out east, west, north or south? Who knows. Any suggestions? Have a nice week.

J

It would be nice if... (plus some other miscellaneous junk)

... Ididn't have to work so much and could stay home more
...I had a machine that would interpret everything that Emma says, then again I might not want to know what she is saying because she is probably chastising me and that cute little look that she is giving me is actually the stink eye.
...one job was enough. Arrgh.
...we were in Grand Marais www.grandmarais.com
...were at either the Westin or Antigua, Guatemala.
...fruity candy (which is a huge weakness for me) and chocolate wasn't so bad for me.
...gas wasn't almost $4 a gallon...goodbye SUV, hello 4 cylinder car.
...Emma's growing would slow down, she is growing up too fast.
...we could go out to eat at the following places in the following cities:
Fogo de Chao (Mpls) http://fogodechao.com/
Fatt Matt's BBQ (Atlanta) http://www.fatmattsribshack.com/
The Varsity (Atlanta) http://www.thevarsity.com/index.php
The Little Dipper (Wilmington, NC) http://www.littledipperfondue.com/
You get the picture. I like food.

Books I'm reading (not necessarily to myself):
Don't Waste Your Life (John Piper)
Moo, Baa, La, La, La (Sandra Boynton)
Authentic Christianity (Ray C. Steadman)
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you see? (Bill Martin)
A Pig is Big (Douglas Florian)
Hugs (Pennie Kid)

Movies I have recently seen worth mentioning:
Juno
Charlie Wilson's War
The Golden Compass (I mention this one to say that it stinks, so don't see it.)
Vantage Point (still watching it)
Jumper
Bucket List
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (not the first time I have seen it and it won't be the last)
Men in Black (again)

Before I go, thanks Anne and Lynn for your kind comments.

j

This is sad...

I know that my blog is lame. How do I know that? Two people visited my blog today and I was one of them. Boo-hoo...

Late...

Late on the blog this week. I would have done it late on Tuesday but Tera and I watched Charlie Wilson's War. Tera didn't like it but I did. I like movies about stuff like that. History and the like. Later on I watched Cloverfield. It was like an American version of Godzilla but the monster in Cloverfield was way more scary. I suppose it is wrong to compare the Cloverfield monster which is pretty much a CGI effect to Godzilla which is a guy in a rubber and plaster lizard costume destroying mini scale versions on Tokyo. I liked the concept of Cloverfield and the fact that the movie left plenty of unanswered questions which probably means that there will be a sequel. This week I'm fixin' to tear down and rebuild a new fence and gate. This is so Emma doesn't run off too far. I will most likely blog either Monday or Tuesday.
Before I go I would like to say farewell to my co-worker Mike who passed away this week after a brief battle with cancer. He had many friends and for good reason, he was one of those people who didn't say anything cross about anyone. He was an upbeat and jovial guy and he is going to be missed by a lot of people. The upside of it all was that our loss was his gain, He was a believer in Jesus Christ and had the assurance that when he passed that he would be with Christ that very day. What an awesome thing. We will miss you Mike.

Yesterday's post...

Concerning yesterdays post, I went a bit longer than usual. I was up for 32 hours without sleep. I'll do that sometimes. It's amazing what you can get done when you don't sleep. Come to think of it I did forget to say a few things yesterday...

Emma's Homecoming anniversary: He Said

The Call: This was the part of the adoption that drove me the most insane. We had already received one previo so waiting for the call to let us know that we had exited PGN made my "spidey sense" all the more intense. Every time Tera called me when I was at the airport or at work or if there was a message on the answering machine I would get this sick feeling in my gut. And when the eight week mark had approached I was hovering around the phone waiting for "the call". So of course the call came when I was in the garage goofing off. Tera called out the back door to the garage and said "Guess what?" I began to cry immediately. I'm not ashamed. I was so waiting for this call. All Tera and I wanted was to be with Emma. And this was the call that told us that it was going to be ok.
Emma's rotavirus, our family reunited and our stay at the Westin: Tera had left for Guatemala about a month or so prior to my departure for Guatemala. We felt it would help Emma's transition if Tera and Emma were together as soon as possible. So Tera and Emma moved to Antigua while I remained at home in Minneapolis preparing the house and tying up loose ends. I missed them terribly but we were able to see each other often via Skype. Things were going well until Emma became very ill with Rota virus. This really was really hard for Tera and I felt so bad that I couldn't be there for her and Emma. Emma's health had deteriorated so quickly but Tera was on her toes and handled it like a seasoned veteran. Way to go T! Sadly, Emma did end up in the hospital but to the credit of a couple of "angels" in Tera's corner she was able to provide everything that Emma needed so that her recovery was as fast as possible. Thanks to those who helped Tera and Emma. We decided that it would be best that Tera and Emma go back to Guatemala city as soon as Emma was well enough to go. The girls arrived on a Friday and I arrived that following Sunday. I was so excited to see them both. Tera and Emma happened to be in the lobby when I arrived at the hotel. Emma looked tired. She had a harrowing week and I could tell. But she looked beautiful nonetheless. I could tell Tera was exasperated. I immediately began to make sure to take over everything that I could so Tera could kick back and enjoy her stay. One night we stayed in, ordered pizza and caught up all the events in Guatemala and back home. About 3am that next morning I woke up feeling not so great. I thought nothing of it. Lack of sleep, maybe not enough water. So much had happened in a few days so maybe it was beginning to catch up with me so I headed back to bed. We woke up at around 7 that morning and headed for the sacred Westin breakfast buffet. I couldn't eat a thing. I just sat there with no appetite. I felt drained. It was as if I never went to bed. I couldn't stand for more than 10 minutes, all I wanted to do is lay down, and it kept getting worse. Much to Tera's frustration I slept most of the afternoon. I would be frustrated if I were her. Here I was sleeping the entire first day I am there. I was supposed to take over take over so Tera could let her hair down and relax after a most hectic week. But something wasn't right. And at about 5pm that night it was obvious. VERY obvious. So I began to "purge my soul" for the next 3 hours or so. It got to the point where there were discussions with our agency about whether or not I would be able to even make it to our Embassy date. I couldn't believe it. Months of paperwork, politics, PGN and a ton of other stuff I can't think of right now and I might not make it to the appointment that I had longed for for months. I was determined to go. So Tera being of sober mind (and sick of being the only one who isn't sick along with being the family nurse by default) she had the front desk call for a doctor. To make a long story short. One shot, one black out, one bump on my head, one last "purging" and a healthy dose of cipro and I was well enough to go with Tera and Emma to our appointment at the US Embassy. The remaining days in Guatemala were so sweet. We just hung out as a family taking in all that had happened and that we were together as a family.
Our departure and arrival home: This part went really well. It was a bit of a tornado as far as the running around but it was very sobering for me. We were leaving Guatemala with Emma. For the first time we didn't leave Guatemala alone. I was so relieved but kinda sad at the same time. Much of my feelings about that day are still unprocessed and probably a bit private for now. I hope that you will understand. Sometimes there are no words. Emma slept for most of the flight. The flight was long...12 hours from beginning to end. We arrived at our gate at almost midnight on the night of June 9th. Much of our family was there to meet us. It was surreal. Everyone was so nice. I think that I seemed a bit aloof. Maybe even despondent. I just needed to stand aside and quietly take it all in. I felt like crying. It was a mountain of feelings for me to feel that day. It was an awesome day. Tera had experienced way more on this trip than I did. I couldn't imagine what was going on in her mind when we arrived at the airport. But I did have a clue. I could see it in her eyes. Though very tired I knew she was full of joy. We got home and laid Emma in her crib at about 3am. I can't remember falling asleep. I'm sure it happened at light speed or close to it.


The "Day After" and some "Then & Now": One again I am at a loss for words. I fall asleep at 3 in the morning and then 4 hours later I am awakened by the beautiful sound of a baby's voice in the next room. Surreal. It was an awesome day. Very family oriented.

I can't think of our lives without Emma. She is such a blessing from the Lord. The last year has quickly disappeared. So much has happened.
Emma has drawn things from deep within me that only Daddy's little Girl could do. I find myself often reflecting about what Tera and I have experienced up to this point and there is so much ahead of us. We are grateful. We are blessed. I admit that I allowed fear to overwhelm me at times. I feared the things that many families that are currently in process are going through. In relative terms Emma's adoption went fairly smooth. Sadly there are those who have and are still experiencing massive woes throughout. Please do not forget these families and the children whose lives are at stake. Till next week. Adios.

lame post

We are sitting in our newly (mostly) finished family room watching the movie Juno that I got from a local RedBox. We are in for a week of rain and I have plenty of odds and ends to do so that is the plan. Nothing too big... pretty quiet... but busy at the same time. No big whoop. Speaking of big, here are a couple pictures of things that are big. Big iPod earbuds and a big cow.

I'm back...and I'm glad I don't live in Sierra Leone

Think of what it would be like to pay over $18 for just one gallon of gas...sheesh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_usage_and_pricing

I'm back after a month of slacking off... I am gonna try to do a once a week thing so lets see how that goes. Briefly, things have been well. As the summer approaches things at work are slowing down so I am trying to get more things done around the home. Emma and Tera are doing well as you can see over at Tera's blog.
A year ago Tera and Emma were together in Antigua and I was back home in Minnesota waiting for our embassy date to be issued so that I would join them both. It surreal to know that our daughter has been here at home with us for almost a year now.
Now for a walk down memory lane: Here is a pic of Emma from Feb.07 when she was still with her foster family in Guatemala. See you next week.

Why I haven' blogged and why I love Minnesota...

I haven't blogged for various reasons. Mainly because I am lazy. I have been busy doing projects so when I sit down I just wanna surf the web or stare into space. There is quite a bit to talk about so I will get blog sooner than later.
On another note this is why I love Minnesota. I grilled for dinner today. I think it hit the high 70's a couple times this week. Great huh? There is snow in the forecast for Friday. Nice. I'm ready for the warmer weather but I do like the variety.

Bucket Head

I'm watching Munich right now. The events that this movie is based on occurred a year before I was born. I knew about the massacre in Munich but not the operations that were carried out by Israel afterwards. I am enjoying the movie but the topic is not for the faint of heart. I would recommend it but it's not for young children.
I have been busy...as usual. My friend Shane came over this week to help me with a bit of a flooring dilemma that has plagued me for some time. I have to say that it turned out to be a success. Thanks Shane. You get a gold star by your name. I started painting our basement so that should be done fairly soon along with the unscheduled bathroom updating I had to begin a couple weeks ago (long story).
Emma is another story. She has never been one to wear a hat. If I put a hat on her head she will normally take it off and toss it aside. But not anymore. I discovered that if you get the right hat then she will readily accept it.
Disclaimer: This is not a real KFC bucket. Thus no grease. It was a toy bucket that had toy pieces of chicken and biscuits and stuff.

Exhibit A:Need I say that this little angel has won my heart?

J