Mosaic of Life

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T15:04:00.007Z

I figured since I finally put up the Christmas post that was sitting around unpublished I should post something new too. And, it just so happens to be St. Patrick's Day (my second-favorite holiday) so hope your celebrations go well whether or not you are Irish like me.

February-March has been a fun time for the Bairds. February is full of birthdays in our family (8 I think!) with Micah's grandma Nina celebrating her 80th with a great family gathering and this year was also a big one for my brother Shawn. We celebrated his 30th in style, hockey style, that is. It was the first Penguins game for me if you can believe that, and the first hockey game for my sis Kelly and her boyfriend Noel. Lil Kelly technically attended a hockey game last March in Chicago (in utero), but this was quite a treat for her, cheering the Penguins next to her Uncle Shawn while sporting her new Sidney Crosby jersey. The Philadelphia Flyers fans were something else--I had never experienced anything like that before, but they were great to lil Kelly, saying that she was still too little to boo at and that she still had time to switch sides so they liked her. After the game we went to the home of the original Philly Cheesesteak and shopping in a kilt store in downtown Phoenixville where Uncle Shawn bought Kelly her leprechaun, Mr. Finnegan, King of the Leprechauns. We even got to see Uncle Shawn in action, playing his bass guitar at church before catching our flight home.

At the beginning of this month I kicked off a celebration of Irish food. I made several Irish dishes, including Guiness stew, champ, Irish soda bread, and a lighter dish, turkey hash. For my birthday celebration we had Zach, Katie, and our friend Kyle try out some of the dishes and Micah learned how to pour the perfect black & tan and my favorite, a snake bite (hard cider & Harp). We also had homemade shamrock shakes for dessert along with the delicious strawberry birthday cake that Kelly and Micah baked for me. Needless to say, it wasn't a light dinner, but a lot of fun! Micah had arranged for a great night on the town (Yellow Springs) the day before as part of my present, we walked from our babysitters' house (thanks again Lainie and Bev!) to the Winds Cafe, a great restaurant that brought out my inner "foodie", and then to the Little Art Theater for a movie! Yay! Btw, we saw "The Wrestler" and while we rather would have seen the Watchmen or Slumdog Millionaire, that's what was playing and we did enjoy the film. Is he a great husband or what?!

She still doesn't have any teeth, but Kelly is cruising--walking while holding on to furniture, our hands or while pushing her toys around the room. She is also creeping (crawling on all fours) everywhere and keeps trying to get out of the house. So I bought a new stroller for a steal on ebay and we have been out and about in the neighborhood, enjoying the nice, if erractic weather.

Micah and I wrote a children's book just for her, starring her--Kelly's First Halloween Adventure. We took advantage of all the costumed Kelly photos (could you tell that Halloween is my #1 favorite holiday?) to put them together in a cute story form for a special keepsake. Micah came up with the story and photo spread and I edited it and we published it as a photobook on Shutterfly.com. It just arrived yesterday and it is just perfect! I think she'll love it for years to come. Some of you might be in there, Demkos, Curets, Esways, Shevitz's, Bairds, Aichele's, Colleen, ...um I think that's it, without looking to be sure...if you want to check it out you can see it at kellyrhiannonbaird.shutterfly.com

Our biggest news is that it is finally official! Micah has taken the job at Children's Hospital in Akron. We are planning to move up there sometime this summer! It will be a busy spring/summer for us as we get ready for the move, celebrate Micah's birthday on Easter, Kelly's first birthday on Cinco de Mayo, and both of Micah's graduations (Pediatrics and Rehab).

Well, that's what's new with us. What's new with you?

P.S. If you are not on our email list for photo and blog updates and want to be, or you know of someone else, drop me a line! I email out cute pics of Kelly every week or so. She is getting sooo big!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T03:08:00.005Z

(Baby's first real snow)

(Our tiny reindeer enjoys a carrot snack before heading to the Live Nativity to visit the other animals)

Merry Christmas! It goes without saying that 2008 has been the best year yet for Micah and I. Kelly Rhiannon is now 7 and a half months old and has just begun to crawl. She loves her rubber duckies and plays with them in and out of the bathtub. She even takes some of them on the road, whether on vacation or to Grandma's house.

Welcome newest Bairds!

2008-12-04T21:44:00.000Z

Laura finally did it! She had to show off and go even longer than I did with one baby. Jonas Elijah (green hat) and Lilah Rose (yellow) were born on Tuesday! Kelly has 2 new cousins to play with!

Kelly's first cold--for real this time!

2008-12-04T21:13:00.000Z

Baby and I are home sick with respective colds. She has had cold-like symptoms associated with teething, but this is the real thing. I think that her cough is keeping her from getting enough rest because she fell asleep in her high chair this morning, poor thing! We play in the bathroom a lot to get some steam therapy, but Momma is TIRED! Everytime I try to take a nap, she wakes up from hers. We need to coordinate them better! LOL! Hopefully, since we've been sick since Sunday-ish we should be getting better soon!

First Thanksgiving!

2008-12-04T21:02:00.000Z

We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving Holiday! We had our turkey day on Friday when the majority of the family could get together at Grandma and Grandpa Baird's. Colleen flew up from Virginia and Grandma Nina came from Boardman. Josh and Laura could only join us via webcam from Louisiana since Laura was due any day with the mystery twin cousins! On the menu for Kelly was sweet potatoes (her favorite!) and mashed potatoes. After dinner we cleaned her up in the bath where she was joined by her older cousins Silas and Sophie! We celebrated Sophie's first birthday on Saturday with a really fun Minnie Mouse-themed party. On Sunday we went to church with Grandma and played with Bella, Jackson and Alex after a pancake brunch. It was a great first Thanksgiving and we are thankful for the blessing of friends and family like you!

Gods and Gold-The Mayan Exhibit

2008-12-04T19:43:00.000Z

Our favorite museum was the Museum of Man. Downstairs they had an awesome Mayan exhibit and we saw real crystal skulls and learned about their history. So Kelly the Museum girl may grow up to be little miss Indiana Jones!

Balboa Park

2008-12-04T19:37:00.000Z

Momma and baby play peek-a-boo inthe Japanese Friendship Gardens and look at pretty koi in the fish pond.

California Dreamin'

2008-12-04T18:32:00.001Z

The Baird family went on another adventure together, this time travelling cross-country by airplane to sunny San Diego, CA. Micah attended a conference for one of his specialties and did some networking about possible jobs for after residency. Baby and I explored San Diego while he was in class. We especially enjoyed Balboa Park with its many museums (the trolley driver called her "Kelly the Museum Girl")

and Japanese garden and Coronado Beach. Micah joined us for Old Town (think: Mexican Williamsburg) and the Zoo (the same trolley driver changed her nickname to "Kelly the Zoo Baby"). Kelly is a great traveller--on the plane, cabs and bus and she makes friends everywhere she goes with her big beautiful brown eyes and winning smile. We hope that she always enjoys travelling this much!

Kelly Rhiannon's First Boo Day

2008-11-06T02:04:00.006Z

Hope you all had a happy Halloweek! Here's a pictoral overview of Kelly's costumes. We decided to go with the standard "animal, vegetable, mineral" categories for variety. Enjoy!

ANIMAL...

pink bunny

white bunny

black cat

VEGETABLE...

pumpkin

strawberry hat

carrot

MINERAL....

Super Baby = baby of steel

New Baby Tips that Really Helped

2008-10-30T01:23:00.004Z

Here's a couple of things that we did with our little girl that I thought were worth passing along:

Save all instructions! I keep a drawer (really a trundle storage box that rolls under her crib and is hidden by the dust ruffle) for all instruction manuals, proof of purchase, important packaging for all of Kelly's stuff. I know where to look when I need to find something baby related and if I need to take something back or consign it (worth more with packaging) I still have it.

I hid a $20 bill in the lining of my diaper bag for emergencies.

I use a drawstring mesh lingerie bag to keep baby socks together in the washer and dryer. I hang it by the string on the hamper and put socks in it everyday. Keeps the washer and dryer from eating them!

I started during pregnancy to stock up on essential supplies--I know most moms do this with baby supplies like diapers during their nesting phase, but I'm not sure if everyone stocks up on things like detergent, TP, tooth paste, etc. Mostly I started doing it because I have to drive pretty far to get to my nearest Trader Joes, but I found it easier to keep a stockpile in the garage on an old bookshelf than to have to explain to a tired husband or helpful friend, what to buy and where to get it.

When I need to shower we have bathroom funtime. I started putting Kelly in her bouncy chair and later in her exersaucer and she plays just on the otherside of the curtain so I know if she's cranky to hurry up!

The Great Blackout of '08

2008-10-30T00:58:00.004Z

(Cellphone picture of Baby Kelly by candlelight)

I've been meaning for some time now to post about the crazy time we had back in September. It seems so long ago, it happened before all of this depressing economy stuff (Now's the time to get "Financial Peace" today! http://www.daveramsey.com/) and election hoopla and I guess that family life in general makes time do funny things! Anyway, thanks to Hurricane Ike we were part of the worst power outage in 30 years! Driving home from church on Sunday I had to fight wind gusts of up to 75 miles an hour! It was weird because the sky was clear and the sun was bright, but the winds were just brutal. I pulled into our little one car garage and started to unload little Kelly. By the time I went to close the garage door, the power had gone out. I went inside and Micah, who had just returned from work and had turned on the Wii to play some video games while waiting for us to get home, said, "The power is out." We didn't think much of it and went on with our day, eating cold cuts for lunch and reading and playing with the baby. I was still thinking that I had a church board meeting to go to that evening and decided to take a nap. When I woke up I noticed that the little tree just outside our patio door was bent almost hortizontal to the ground and there were big waves on the surface of our pond. The power was still out and the meeting was cancelled since there was no power at the church. One of the highways was closed due to large trees on the road and 500,000 customers were without power in the Cincinnati area. We learned all of this thanks to Micah's smart phone that had internet access and we started to worry that the power wasn't going to come back on before dark.

Well, all together we were without power for 56 hours. The wind warped our garage door enough that I couldn't get it open--we thought that the locking mechanism was jammed and I was without transportation or access to a cell phone charger, making for a pretty miserable Monday. Kelly was the least phased by the outage (the only changes for her were that she had to switch to disposable diapers and we had to find her a battery powered night light) but she chose this stressful time to do some heavy-duty teething! Micah got home really late to a pretty desperate Momma and baby. We had to practically empty our fridge and go searching the area stores that had power for food, medicine for a teething baby and batteries. Our power finally came back on while we were away having a blackout bonfire and Zach and Katie's. It was exciting to drive home and see lights on in neighborhood closer and closer to home until we finally spotted our window from the road! We did a electric slide of joy! We quickly did laundry so that Micah could attend a work conference in Atlanta and about two hours after I dropped him off at the airport we lost power again! Luckily it came on again at 3 AM! We will always remember this crazy time! Hopefully we will be better prepared for future natural disasters. (Momma is stocking up on camping and emergency supplies!)

Pictures lots of pictures!

2008-10-19T01:40:00.007Z

Here is a brief list of things that have happened in the last several weeks (in random order):

1. Dressed Kelly up in rabbit costume
2. Jim, Annie, Garrett, and Drew came to visit (in costume!)
3. Dressed Kelly up in carrot costume
4. Kelly went to regional assembly in Columbus
5. Dressed Kelly up in a cat costume
6. Kelly rolled over and over again and over again (she's traveling now . . .)
7. Kelly went to the Renaissance Fair

Here are some pictures to enjoy! More costumes to come . . .

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

P.S. click on the title of the post to see all our pictures on picasaweb!

Kelly health update

2008-09-12T01:56:00.001Z

It seems that her cold-like symptoms were short lived, but her fussiness is not. The doctor saw a tooth starting to come in and we think that instead of her first cold, its probably more likely that she is teething instead. Yea, score one for the germaphobe team!

2008-09-11T19:38:00.000Z

first cold

2008-09-11T18:39:00.003Z

As you may have already heard, Kelly did well on her 4 month checkup at the pediatricians, who not coincidentally, is our doctor too (yea Med-peds docs!). Dr. Hardin said that she is tall and thin (70th and 50th percentiles) and he laughs everytime he tells us what her headsize percentile is (75th, btw) because we usually make a remark about being a Baird (with gi-normous heads). Ironically enough, the very next day she started showing signs of catching her very first cold--lots of snot, crankier than usual, snugglier than usual, didn't sleep through the night, a slightly raised temp (but not a fever). Dr. Daddy thinks its a cold. I've always been a germaphobe --it was a good survival tactic during the days that we didn't have health insurance as kids and never knew if our parents would take us to the hospital or not--so it is hard to admit defeat when the telltale signs of an infection manifest. I work so hard at not getting sick in the first place--and have a pretty decent success rate to prove it--but once we get sick I just try to ride it out as comfortably as possible. So anyway, this cold seems pretty mild so far although the sleepless night that we had gave me quite a headache!

In other news, Micah finished editing the birth video and Katie, Zach and Silas got to screen the premiere! So if you want to see it, come on over!

Gaelic Storm Concert

2008-07-29T21:15:00.008Z

This was the 7th year that Micah and I attended the Dayton Celtic Festival to hear our favorite band Gaelic Storm. It was Kelly Rhiannon's first time and boy, was it a good one. Anyone who knows us well knows that we love all things Celtic. Kelly's name reflects her ancestral heritage: Irish (Kelly), Welsh (Rhiannon is a Welsh goddess whose story is told in the Mabinogion) and of course her Scottish Clan name, Baird (my maternal Grandfather is also Scottish though the Kelsos are lowland Scots who don't have a Tartan the way that the Highlanders do). Gaelic Storm is without a doubt our favorite Celtic band--though they have a distinct world music sound (think didgeridoos!) in addition to the traditional Irish & Scottish style. If you've seen the movie Titanic (and who hasn't?) then you've seen Gaelic Storm. They got their big break as the band playing the music in the ship's hold during the steerage-class dance scene. Gaelic Storm is significant for the Baird Family as a whole because they are they ones who gave us our family theme song, "Swimmin' in the Sea."

Here's the lyrics:

When I was five
We’d get up at four
And drive on down to the Cornwall shore
Our holidays had come at last
They came real slow and went by fast
Just one week, that’s all we had
Then back to work went mom and dad
Happy to be swimmin’ in the sea

The seagulls yell
You’re getting near
We’d waited patiently all year
And we hadn’t slept a wink all night
White faces in the morning light
I see the sea my sister cried
The seaside we’d soon be beside
Happy to be swimmin’ in the sea

Now it was cold
And rainin’ too
We’d stay all day
Till our lips turned blue
Only a week
It wasn’t fair
We’re on holiday, holiday, holiday
And we don’t care!

In every pool
Stranded by the tide
Clams and fishes under seaweed hide
We’d catch them all in a fishing net
As close to heaven as a kid could get
We’d dream of smugglers and pirate ships
Lunch was ice cream and a bag of chips
Happy to be swimmin’ in the sea

Now to kid of five
That rocky shore
Was a magical place full of tales and lore
Now the seagulls call once more to me
Hey come on back to the Cornish Sea
Now by the water by the foam
Just one more week and I’m going home
Happy to be swimmin’ in the sea

Just reading these lyrics makes me ready for vacation--good thing it is less than two weeks away! Last year I got up the courage to actually talk to the band while getting their autographs (yes, it really is true, I am very shy!). The year before that I had to get up the courage just to stand in line with Micah to get an autograph, but froze up and didn't know what to say to them! Anyway, last year they sang "Swimmin' in the Sea" and when they got to the line about smugglers and pirate ships, the whole band yelled out "Arr!" It's kind of a family joke, or should I say plague of bad pirate jokes, and we were thrilled when they did this in concert. So I says to them, I says, "You guys sing our family theme song." And Steve Twigger (the guy who wrote and does the lead vocals on this song) says, "Oh yeah, which one?" And I says, "Swimmin' In the Sea." And Ryan (the drummer) says, "That's because they're pirates!" Would the Baird family make good pirates? I don't know, you tell me.

Anyway this year it was hot and sunny and the band didn't sing "Swimmin' in the Sea", probably because they had too much to play from their newer albums, but it was a great concert. We got in the autograph line to get our copy of their latest album (What's the Rumpus?) and my brand new "Kelly's Wellies" T-shirt signed and they let us take Kelly's picture with Jessie (the fiddle player) and Paddy (lead singer). After all she is their youngest fan! FYI: My favorite song on the new album is called 'The Night I Punched Russell Crowe." Based on a true story, it is hilarious! You can listen to it on their MySpace page. Can you imagine Paddy (pictured above) in a fist fight with "the Gladiator" himself? There's a music video contest on youtube for this song. Check it out if you need a laugh.

Other highlights from the festival:

This is the first year that we didn't buy Welsh cookies (aka Welsh cakes)...the reason, we made them ourselves the other day! This is the first time that Micah (our resident cookie monster and thus cookie baker) has made one of my favorite childhood treats. Here' s a description for those who have never had the pleasure of eating Welsh cookies: they are firm mini pancakes studded with black currants that you cook on the griddle. Usually the festival is the only time we have these cookies. Micah made tons of them last week and we just finished them off the other day.

Kelly added to her wardrobe a pretty Irish onesie embroidered with a celtic knot version of a shamrock and a T-shirt that says, "My Daddy Wears a Kilt".

All in all it's been a great first three months--that's right Kelly Rhiannon is 3 months old now! She has friends who are younger than her (Catherine and Cole) so she is no longer the littlest baby around! Hope life is as sweet for all of you as it is for us. Love,
Becky

My Baby's Eyes

2008-06-30T17:51:00.002Z

Saturday was another first--Kelly's first tears! Talk about a heartbreaking sight. I kissed them away (after excitedly showing them to Micah) and they were so salty! The joys of motherhood are not lost on me I must say. Kelly's eyes are mysterious. I was so surprised to see how dark they were when she was born. I always assumed, I guess, that they would be light colored like everyone in my family. My sibs and I all have light color-shifting eyes. They can be green, blue, hazel, aqua (Shawn) or even ringed with darker colors (Bill). Of course I loved her dark brown eyes as soon as I saw them--they were Micah's tender brown eyes. But after 3 weeks or so Kelly's eyes started to lighten up--still brown but definitely a light brown almost tan. Now, who knows! They can be midnight blue, dark green, light brown, or most of the time, an indistinct gray. It will be interesting to see if they "choose" a color and stick to it or continue to change throughout her life in the Shevitz way. Right now they are a perfect blend of Momma and Daddy's eyes--dark like Daddy's and "Chameleon" like Momma's. (Remember that Micah proposed to me in a song that he wrote called "Chameleon Eyes") Today they seem green/hazel. What color do you think they are?

You know you're a Dave Ramsey fan if...

2008-06-29T00:25:00.000Z

…you go shopping for a new purse, and it HAS TO BE a shape to work with your envelopes.

--ha ha! too true!

Fun with Stuffed animals

2008-06-24T17:43:00.000Z

I just HAD TO post this pic--Momma had too much fun with all of baby's stuffed animals the other day, a la E.T.

Seven Weeks Old!

2008-06-23T17:07:00.004Z

I can't believe that our little one is already seven weeks old, although as a congregation member commented to me yesterday, it feels like I have always known Kelly Rhiannon. I've been meaning to actually write in this blog--instead of only posting pictures with captions. It's a little easier to do now that Kelly has started to grow out of her cranky phase. She still prefers to be held at all times and be included in everything Micah and I do, but she cries less when she is put down and will even nap a little in the evenings alone in her bassinette!

So what's going on in the Baird household? Well, we have had a lot of visitors recently, but things have calmed down a bit. I am working from home part-time (except for Sundays of course--it's hard to preach from home!) so I get to spend lots of time with Kelly. I had to learn how to type with a sleeping baby balanced on my lap. I purchased an instructional video and Kelly had her first baby massage! She seems to really love this special time with Momma AND Daddy (he learned how to do it too).

We are all enjoying the nice summer weather in our little condo by the pond. Our neglected herb garden had gotten pretty overgrown since we've been too busy to cut back our perennial lemon balm, sage and chocolate mint (anyone want some?) and our crazy non-flowering wisteria so we spent the non-rainy part of Saturday outside working in the garden.

Friday night we joined Uncle Zach, Aunt Katie and Silas for some zydeco music in the park after a nice dinner celebrating Micah finishing his "Grand Rounds" presentation on arthrogryposis. If you don't know what arthrogryposis is you can ask Micah who has a 45 minute presentation on the congenital disorder, or you can ask me, Kelly and the bunnies--we've all heard it twice. While Micah was practicing it the other night Frodo made himself comfy right in front of Micah for the whole presentation and our little wild bunny (who we named "El-ahrairah" after the primordial rabbit trickster in Watership Down) listened from the patio--so he had quite an audience.

Speaking of wildlife, Frodo had a little visitor the other night. I was going to the kitchen to get something out of the medicine cabinet when I spied a huge black cricket in the kitchen sitting next to our bunny. If he was chirping, we didn't notice because there is a cricket that lives in our garden that we can hear from our bedroom window. When I tried to capture the cricket, it attempted to hide under Frodo! Eventually I caught it and escorted it back outside!

The biggest change around here in the last few weeks was the addition of WiiFit to our lives. Micah had been searching for a store that still had one in stock for a few weeks when he heard from an employee at our local Meijer's that they would be getting a shipment in at 5:30 on a Sunday morning. Micah woke up early (even I don't get up that early for church!) and headed to the car when he spied a neighbor across the street carrying a WiiFit box. He asked her where she got it and learned that the Meijer's did indeed receive the shipment and that although there were 30 units at 6 am, there were only a few left. He raced down the street and got one of the last three! WiiFit, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is a fitness video game that you play on the Nintendo Wii with a balance board. It lets us do yoga, strength exercises, step aerobics and balance games and it weighs us and charts our progress. I try to do it most days (when the baby lets me)--especially once I learned that the baby likes to do the step aerobics with me. I'm sure that the extra 10 pounds helps me burn more calories! I was also impressed at how good Micah is getting at Yoga--his favorite pose is the Tree. The Wii video game system also lets us challenge our brothers and sisters to a Mariocart race or a Dr. Mario game no matter if they live in Northern Ohio or Louisiana.

We celebrated our 6th anniversary yesterday. Micah and I have known each other for almost 12 years! So much has changed but so much has stayed the same! We still love mashed potatoes and he still surprises me with roses, but this year our baby Kelly joined us at the table, which was decked out with our wedding china and crystal. The menu this year included grilled lamb kabobs, mashed potatoes with boursin cheese, grilled asparagus and our favorite chianti. For dessert Micah made dark chocolate cookies with sour cherries from his new Martha Stewart Cookie cookbook (his first father's day present). Yes, we are "foodies" and we went all out cooking for our anniversary though the meal was NOT WeightWatcher's friendly--it was really delicious!

Well that's all for now.

Our baby and her bunny quilt

2008-06-12T01:41:00.000Z

Our baby loves her newest quilt (Thanks Annie D!) with black and white bunnies!

Our homemade mobile

2008-06-12T01:29:00.002Z

Finally I got around to posting a pic of the mobile we made for Kelly's room. I painted the wooden shapes shimmery pastel colors on one side (to match her room) and high contrast B&W patterns on the other to stimulate her visual development. Micah had to bend the wires for me since I had pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome. The characters on the lower right are Kelly's name in Chinese.

hair!

2008-06-03T17:53:00.000Z

We think that her first word will either be "hair" (because that's what everyone says when they see her), or "hiccoughs" since that's how she spends most of her awake time!

here she is

2008-06-03T17:44:00.000Z

The Best Cinco de Mayo Ever!

2008-05-17T16:01:00.003Z

Our lovely little girl has finally arrived! We are overjoyed! Kelly was born at 9:18 am on Monday, May 5th. She weighed 7 lbs and 9 ounces and officially measured 20 and 3/4 inches though we suspect that they were measuring an inch of her hair! She has sooo much of it! She has her Daddy's hair and eye color and toes and her Momma's fingers, nose and pouty mouth. We are in love!

2008-04-19T01:02:00.000Z

Kelly's first Hockey Game
Blackhawks vs Hurricanes

here's the crib

2008-04-19T00:47:00.000Z

here's another belly pic

2008-04-19T00:31:00.000Z

pic of me and my belly

2008-04-19T00:29:00.000Z

the other baby painting

2008-04-19T00:27:00.000Z

Here's the other painting, inspired by the first card we got from family members after the news was out that we were pregnant.

One of my paintings for the baby's room

2008-04-17T17:14:00.000Z

Here's one of a set of paintings that I did for the baby's room. Actually it was a collaboration between Micah and me. I sketched the green camp chair (made dear to our hearts because of Camp Christian) and Micah nabbed my sketchbook and drew our bunny Frodo laying on it. We liked the design so I made it into a painting. I'll have to post the other painting too, though it's not quite as original as this one.

Micah's 30th Birthday Dinner

2008-04-15T01:50:00.001Z

Micah was joined by some family, friends, and colleagues for his birthday celebration! We retired to our place after eating great Cactus Pear Tex-Mex for some Bonbonerie opera cream torte (yum!), New Orleans beer (ABITA), and wii playing!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-25T16:23:00.000Z

Hi everyone, long time, no post! Life around here has been wonderful, but even with working at home I haven't had a lot of time to post. The bunnies are doing well and they are going to have a little sister soon! When Sam sits on my lap, her heartbeat makes the baby kick. Our little Kelly loves to hear her Daddy read Harry Potter every night--good thing she can't understand what he's reading--we'll have to switch to less scary stuff when she is born. But Daddy's different character accents are fun to hear.

Best Wishes for 2008!

Camp Christian Talent Show Song

2007-08-20T20:46:00.000Z

Ah, Magnetic Springs...

I am going to really miss Advance Conference now that I am too old to go back. Here's the lyrics to the song that Micah and I sang at the Talent Show on Friday. I wrote them to go along with the tune "Such Great Heights" by Iron & Wine. It's dedicated to everyone who "graduated" from Advance Conference in 2007.

P.S. If you don't know what "Lake Snoopy" is or "Camp Christian" and words "chipped beef" do nothing for you --you really should find a way to get to Camp now!

I'm thinking it's a sign
that the film clips after lunch
are sacred images
and when we watch they're perfectly aligned.

And I think it's not just luck
that God himself...[err] herself, God self? [Start line over]
that God herself did call us here to learn and grow and play
like Chi Rho campers gone amok.

And true, it may seem like a stretch,
but it's thoughts like this that catch my troubled head
when I'm so scared of next year missing you to death.

And when we're back there in our homes
for several weeks or years
and when we scan our memories
I hope we've taken some action...
[shout] Lights, camera....ACTION!

You will see us waving from Lake Snoopy.
"Go home now!" you'll say.
But everything is perfect at Camp Christian.
We're home now, so we'll stay.

And he [point to Micah] tried his best to say
this all on the P.A. but the persistent beeping [BOOP]
sounded loud so you weren't listening.

Now we think it's time for change
though you young folks think we're strange;
We want to be Advance Conferees
until we're a hundred and thirty-three!

You will see us waving from Lake Snoopy.
"Go home now!" you'll say.
But everything is perfect at Camp Christian.
We're home now, so we'll stay.

Waterfalls in Chile

2006-03-08T20:15:00.000Z

Last night's The Amazing Race reminded me of the waterfall at the Shalom Center in Chile where we swam and climbed all over the rocks--no repelling though--we had to climb back up the mountain the hard way!

You know it's summer in Chile when we have great produce here in the wintertime!

Do you have "Financial Peace"?

2006-03-01T22:22:00.000Z

Do you stress about money and debt?
Does the thought of never letting money ruin your life again seem impossible? Don't listen to the get rich quick schemes--but true peace of mind (think "debt-free!!!!") is possible, it just takes some education and a lot of hard work (the kind our grandparents and great grandparents knew all about).
My husband and I joined Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University--a local church holds the classes--and we are on the road to financial responsibility. Check out his website--its full of common sense (but little practiced) strategies for dumping debt, making a budget, and building wealth.
https://www.financialpeace.com/

Make Mine Chocolate!

2006-03-01T16:42:00.000Z

It's that time of year again--a special Ash Wednesday Message to everybody thinking of purchasing a pet rabbit for Easter.

Each year, unwanted, former Easter rabbits fill local rabbit rescues and humane societies. Help spread the word that rabbits are NOT disposable pets.
Before you bring a pet rabbit into your home at Easter, please consider these facts:

• Rabbits are NOT low-maintenance pets! They require as much work as a dog or cat.
• Rabbits can live 8 to 10 years, sometimes longer.
• The necessary spay or neuter can cost $100 or more, and rabbits require routine veterinary care.
• Rabbits are not cuddly — they can become frightened when held!
• Pet rabbits cannot be set “free” — it’s a death sentence.

This Easter, why not make it a CHOCOLATE bunny or a cuddly stuffed toy instead? Let’s make it a Happy Easter for bunnies, too.
www.makeminechocolate.org

If you still have your heart set on a real bunny check out your bunny compatability at this informative interactive site--http://www.makeminechocolate.org/learning.htm Take the "Is a rabbit right for you?" quiz and be sure to click on the ?'s to see the cool interactive educational features!

2006-01-25T20:03:00.000Z

Yikes my hair is gone!

2006-01-25T20:01:00.000Z

A couple of weekends ago I donated a foot of my hair to Lock of Love. I'm still in shock but it is cute and fun I must say!

my most recnet mosaic--a sunflower clock--Micah's Christmas present

2006-01-07T00:29:00.000Z

Another Christmas present--the Willow Tree nativity

2006-01-07T00:28:00.000Z

Awesome tea set I got for Christmas

2006-01-07T00:17:00.000Z

My sister said it is the Sleepy Hollow set from Teavanna--thanks

I got this game for Christmas

2005-12-28T19:34:00.000Z

I really like it--it's Fluxx (from Looney Labs the makers of FLUXX no wonder!) meets Dominos and it's pretty--SWEET!
The best rule--player with the longest hair goes first--that's always me!

Friends don't let friends buy Monopoly

2005-12-28T19:04:00.000Z

Here's a story sent to me from GROUP's newsletter for Junior High/Middle school youth group leaders. Since I enjoy games and my husband is obsessed with them, I thought I would share the goodness around, The orignal story can be found here. I actually haven't played any of these games though I have considered purchasing them. Actually, I can't stand Monopoly. My parents used to tourture us with it over and over again. I would add other games to the list including Killer Bunnies, Settlers of Catan, Lost Cities, Landlock, Frog Juice, Aquarius, Loot, Pit, Fluxx, Apples to Apples and Cranium.

FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS BUY MONOPOLY
Let me ask you a few questions. (1) Do you own a copy of Monopoly? (Yes, any variations, including Simpsons, Star Wars, and Dogs count.) (2) When was the last time you played it? (3) Did you enjoy yourself? I’m willing to bet that for most of you the answers were: (1) Yes, (2) It’s been a while, and (3) Nope. If your youth group is anything like mine, they love to play games, and during the winter break you may even have a game night. I’m here to stop you from making the mistake of bringing games such as Sorry, Life, and Monotony…oops, I mean Monopoly to your game nights. There are hundreds of great, replayable, interesting, and fun games out there—you just don’t know about them.

My story begins in Germany, where, instead of sitting around and watching TV, many families sit around and play games together. This has resulted in thousands of games being designed and played over the years. Eventually, some of these games were translated into English and brought over to the States. In the past few years more and more of them have made their way over the pond, where they’ve got a loyal, if small, following.
In order to show you why these games are better than the stuff you’ll find on Target’s shelves, let’s look at the mechanics of Monopoly. You roll dice, and whatever random number comes up, you move that many spaces. Then when you land on a space, you have two choices: If someone else owns the space, you pay them money, and if it’s not owned and you have enough money, you buy it. Lather; rinse; repeat. Is it any wonder this is rarely pulled off the shelf? Is it any wonder video games are so popular? It is a wonder why people continue to buy this year after year. Most of the “Euro games” don’t even have dice, and they leave the choices up to you. And if more than one person wants to do the same thing, you may have to bid for the privilege.
Don Perini, a professor of youth ministry at Cornerstone University and designer of the game Lynch Mob, says “These games are a mix of strategy and social interaction, and they’re an excellent tool to get your students to interact—especially if they have problems in that area.” Lynch Mob, available at www.gogameaddicts.com, is a great game to play with a large group of kids. The group is trying to figure out who among you are criminals, and each person has a role to play. Lots of interaction and bluffing with this one.
I’m a big proponent of game nights. They provide social interaction, bonding, an opportunity to use your creativity and imagination, and laughter. Let’s just make sure we’re playing games that are actually…good. Here are some ideas.

Ticket to Ride—If you only pick up one game on the list, make it this one. A colorful board and easy-to-learn rules make this one deserving of the Game of the Year award it won in Germany. If I don’t bring this to every family function, my sister has threatened to disown me.

Shadows Over Camelot—This one is interesting in that you’re cooperating as King Arthur’s knights to accomplish various quests before Camelot is overrun by evil…but one of the knights may be a traitor. If you can’t work that into a biblical discussion starter, you’re just not trying.

The Ark of the Covenant—This is a biblical version of another popular game (Carcassonne), that’s actually better than the original.Pirate’s Cove—Okay, the girls in your group may not care about pirates unless one of them is Johnny Depp, but the guys in your group will love this one. You spend your time bluffing about which island to travel to and plunder. If two or more players pick the same island…a battle on the high seas!

Manila—Essentially a game of wagers, where you’re shipping goods, pirating ships, repairing ships, and outflanking your opponents.All of these games can be purchased from TimeWellSpent.org, a Denver-based online company run by a really nice Christian couple. Dave will even recommend games for you based on your likes and dislikes. If you’re a closet gamer, or you’re thinking about taking a dip in the pool of geekiness, email me at sfirestone@group.com. I’d love to compare favorite games and give you other recommendations.

Hippie Jim--a Bagley Hall Resident

2005-12-17T00:41:00.000Z

Those were the days!

2005-12-17T00:39:00.000Z

Once upon a time I lived in the old Cleveland Browns training Center--a paradise called Bagley Hall. This pic is blackmail against my brother Shawn (pictured with me) who is a rabid Steelers fan. He almost disowned me when I moved in there!

Narnia Is awesome--go see the movie!

2005-12-17T00:14:00.000Z

My window--sans birds (they flew away)

2005-12-16T23:46:00.000Z

Totalled!

2005-12-16T23:38:00.001Z

The pictures of our crashed car don't do it justice!

2005-12-16T23:38:00.000Z

Favorite Christmas Movies

2005-12-16T22:35:00.000Z

What's your favorite Christmas movie? I have a new favorite this year, actually I saw it last year around Christmas time. It joins the classics on my top Eleven Christmas Movie list:

11. It's a Wonderful Life
10. A Christmas Carol
9. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
8. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
7. Elf
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original animated one!)
5. A Christmas Story ("You'll shoot your eye out!" "Fra-gi-le--it's Italian!")
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas
3. Nightmare Before Christmas (though I also watch it at Halloween)
2. Rent (though I've only seen the musical so far)

and finally....
1. Love Actually (a silly name, I know--it comes from an awkward line by the narrator at the beginning "Love actually is all around.")
This movie has my dream cast--Colin Firth (I should have added Bridget Jones' Diary to the list), Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Liam Nesson, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Billy Bob Thorton, and Mr. Bean, umm.. I mean Rowan Atkinson. And I love the rest of the cast as well--I'll look forward to their work in the future--Bill Nighy (the rocker Billy Mack), Martine McCutchon (Natalie the PM's bumbling but sweet catering director), JoAnna Page (the porno stand-in actress who chats it up with John, played by Martin Freeman), Kris Marshall (the sex-deprived Colin), plus the really cute kid star, Thomas Sangster (Sam). The film is made up of many mini-stories which all have something to teach us about love. The official website actually names them: love rocks on, love is elementary, love American style, love unspoken, love lasts a lifetime, love is awkward, love and politics, love as a second language, and love at work. See the movie!

New car!

2005-12-08T05:05:00.000Z

A new-to-us 2004 Dodge Stratus and our car shopping is over sooner than expected

Christmas shopping

2005-12-06T21:50:00.000Z

I'm helping 27 children gain access to life saving medical care and my friends and family get beautiful and practical gifts to boot! What are you giving this holiday season? Check out the Child Health Store which benefits Mercycorps or their other affliliates:

Shop where it matters! The GreaterGood store is where your shopping makes a difference. A portion of the purchase price of each item you buy goes to your choice of these important causes:
The Hunger Site funds food for the world's hungry.
The Breast Cancer Site funds mammograms for women in need.
The Child Health Site funds basic health services for children around the world.
The Literacy Site funds new books for children in need.
The Rainforest Site funds preservation of endangered rainforest habitat.
The Animal Rescue Site funds food for abandoned animals in shelters and sanctuaries.

Drive Safe! We were in an accident Thanksgiving Weekend

2005-12-06T21:14:00.000Z

posted by my husband, Micah B.
On Saturday I fell victim to a rushed holiday driver. I was driving home from Thanksgiving. Apparently going to slow in the left lane, when a pickup dragging a large trailer decided to pass me on the right. Well, apparently he forgot he was dragging a trailer because he got back over into the left lane way too soon, forcing me onto the shoulder. I slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel left to avoid him. The tail of my car decided to keep going forward and so I spun accross the highway, bumped off a guardrail and landed in the trees. The rear and driver side windows shattered, there was glass everywhere. I was encouraged by the number of people who stopped. There were 5-6 people there to help us within minutes. I was pretty shaken up. No injuries though, just alot of adrenalin. Then the ambulance and fire truck came. Finally the police and state troopers showed up. Then they stood on the side of the highway for 45 minutes and argued about whose jurisdiction we were in. Unbelievable! The local officer accused me of unnecessarily calling for an ambulance (which I didn't do). He put us in the back of his cruiser and then got out to argue with the statie some more. Finally we got out of his cruiser and into the troopers car. What a mess! Fortunately, my wife and I are both ok. I can't say as much for the car (or the trees for that matter). Still waiting to see if progressive decides to total it. Of course, the truck driver kept going. I have a hard time believing he/she didn't see me spin out. On the other hand, it is clear he/she wasn't paying much attention. Anyway, I have some pics that I will post later today.
Be careful out there!

Visit my bunny blog and see the pictures

2005-11-21T21:30:00.000Z

The best fair trade Guatemalan Coffee

2005-11-21T20:16:00.000Z

Bunny Fight--good thing there's a gate between us!

2005-11-21T18:09:00.000Z

Liturgical Painting Project

2005-11-21T17:31:00.000Z

Christ the King/Thanksgiving banner painted during the 11/19/2005 "Connections" worship service at Central Christian Church, Kettering, OH

This is my first attempt at "liturgical painting." I was asked to paint images during the "Connections" worship service. I decided to do it from the back, behind a screen made out of a bed sheet hung on a sturdy wooden frame, made by Lynn and Merle (two wonderful guys from my church). I sketched the images in a light colored crayon, making sure the wax was heavy in placed I didn't want dye to bleed through. Then I mixed up several colors of Rit dye (the stuff used to tie-dye) and pushed the dye into the fabric with foam brushes. The result was that the images appeared to the congregation at a slight delay as the dye seeped in from the back. Some of the lines even seemed to appear simultaneously.

I owe a debt to someone from Seminary for teaching me this technique, though I don't remember who it is at the moment. I saw them do it with the parables of the lost coin and the lost sheep during a chapel service. It has been a couple of years and I had to experiment a little to get it right.

The themes of this piece are Thanksgiving, Christ the King and seeing through the eyes of our heart (Ephesians 1). I started with the images in the lower right hand corner--the material things that we usually to give God thanks for at Thanksgiving--food, money, home and family. Then I painted the heart in the center, leaving a space that suggested an eye--and began to paint symbols of the immaterial blessings that we can only appreciate through the eyes of our heart--prayer, the teachings of the Lord, Communion with God, the cross, the Holy Spirit, community and the Church. I finshed by filling in the portrait of Christ the King around the heart--making it the sacred heart and adding the crown just as the minister started talking about it being Christ the King Sunday (Actually Saturday night!).

The view in this picture is from the back so it is reversed. I plan to finish it by turing it around, trimming and hemming it into a banner and using paint markers to fill in the stained glass effects and write the words "GIVE THANKS" in the top corner blank spaces.

Fasting before Thanksgiving

2005-11-17T19:05:00.000Z

We have one week left to go before Thanksgiving...
OXFAM International asked us to skip one meal today and donate the money we would have spent to feed the hungry--I'm glad to do it, I'm just happy they didn't ask me to forego my Thanksgiving meal! They sent me this thank you:

Dear Rebecca,
Thank you for joining the thousands who'll be Skipping a Meal for Oxfam on November 17th. Through this simple act you'll be showing how deeply you care about the 850 million people who are chronically hungry, for whom every day is a day of hunger. For more information visit the Oxfam America's website at www.oxfamamerica.org .

I used to fast regularly when I was in college--it was my spiritual time away from everything and a great source of discipline in my life. Now I fast in solidarity with those who have no other choice. If I am hungry I need only to get up and get food. My pantry and cupboards are filled with it... I pass dozens of stores, restaurants, and fast food joints on my way to and from work or school... I even have the luxury of shopping daily to get the freshest and healthiest food to prepare delicious meals for my husband and myself. Even my pets are well fed with a variety of fresh vegetables, hay and nutritious food.

I took a quiz today at http://www.myfootprint.org/ and found that it would take 5.7 planets for everyone on earth to live as I do. And although I have been taught the evils of overpopulation, I cannot be so greedy as to say that the problem is all those other people--the problem is me! I am living carelessly beyond my means, both financially (I don't need Financial Peace University to know that!) and environmentally. Most Americans are. But we are in denial and we expect things to only get better for us. In fact we have an insatiable desire for more and more. I know people who actually feel sorry for those who are content in their current lifestyle and who sacrifice materialism for the happiness of helping others. What's to feel sorry for?

One thing that we can all do this year is to curtail our extravagant Holiday spending. Giving Fair Trade gifts or even better donations to important causes in honor of your loved one is a great way to help provide for the freezing earthquake victims in Pakistan, the hungry mudslide survivors in Guatemala (the true "Surviors" unlike the ones in the TV show), or help rebuild homes for the poor citizens of the Gulf Coast. Check out http://www.thehungersite.com for some fabulous gifts and giving opportunities. You can also click the button on their site (amd all of their MercyCorps partners) and their sponsors donate food, medical care, mammograms, etc. Drinking fair trade coffee is another way you can help everyday. I drink Juan Anna Cafe--I promise you it is the best whole bean coffee you can get for the price (17 ounces for $7!). And the money goes directly to support the San Lucas Toliman community in Guatemala.

Today's myth in art: Rhiannon

2005-11-03T20:43:00.000Z

Quote of the Day--description of a pisces

2005-10-06T19:23:00.000Z

“All I ever wanted in life was to make a difference, be worshipped like a god, conquer the universe, travel the world, meet interesting people, find the missing link, fight the good fight, live for the moment, seize each day, make a fortune, know what really matters, end world hunger, vanquish the dragon, be super popular but too cool to care, be master of my own fate, embrace my destiny, feel as much as I can feel, give too much, and love everything.”

Quote of the Day--Channing's Symphony

2005-10-03T19:12:00.000Z

To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich;
to listen to stars & birds, babes & sages, with an open heart;
to study hard;
to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never;
in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common...
This is my Symphony.

--William Henry Channing

My latest masterpiece

2005-10-03T16:18:00.000Z

Mosaic of "Winged Isis" on Mirror in Italian vitreous glass tile, stained glass, and mirror tile. I just finished it last week.

2005-09-27T03:42:00.000Z

House Rabbit Society

Introduction

2005-09-08T19:45:00.000Z

Since I spend my free time making mosaics out of various pieces of broken glass--it occurs to me pretty often that all the bits of my life come together in a similar fashion. On their own they may not seem to go together, but they are all just a part of the bigger pattern that is me!

Ministry, art, medicine, nature, Celtic music, mytholgy, massage, rabbits...I'm a pretty eccentric person, and I see no signs of becoming normal anytime soon!

So welcome to my blog. We'll see what becomes of it!

Peace,
clearbrook

2005-09-08T17:14:00.000Z

Samwise and Frodo