Patience: A Lesson In Joy

Advent Conspiracy

Church Group Attacks Christmas Commercialism

This makes me smile. What makes me smile even more is that our church is part of the Advent Conspiracy movement.

Well, for those of you who are interested, my boss resigned and/or was fired today.

My head is spinning, but it might mean that I have the opportunity to focus solely on research. I know the Lord will take care of me, and I can only hope that this is what He has in mind for me. We'll see, but until then, I'd been lying if I said I wasn't terribly anxious.

Geek in Training

While I try not to have too many expectations of who I expect Harper to be when he grows up, I can't help but hope that he is a geek. Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, any of the math or sciences would be lovely. The best I can do is to encourage critical thinking, and give him educational toys.

Have I gone too far?

The Pros and Cons of Air Travel

Pros:

Making a two day trip in 5 hours.

I don't have to drive.

Airports are fun.

Can feed Harper without stopping.

Cons:

Small seats.

Expensive food.

Being stuck in a big metal tube with dozens of people for 5 hours in the middle of flu season.

My poor baby is sick.

My poor Tom is sick.

I am sick.

Thanksgiving Joys

Mom added this slide show to her blog, and I felt it was fitting, as we spent Thanksgiving in Omaha. Credit goes to Mom for all the pictures.

And I thought stupidity couldn't sink any lower.

And then I saw this product on Amazon.com:

Quick! Our Apartment is Infested... With Bookworms!

In my "What to Expect" book, there is a little blurb on how to stimulate your child though toys and games. It says that children Harper's age won't listen to stories, but that they will enjoy the bright colors of picture books. We find with Harper this is half true. He loves his board books, mostly to chew on. His "toy box" (a small square basket) is more than half filled with little board books we have been given or collected. I even found little 3 inch books that are perfect for his hands.

But he doesn't just enjoy the board books. We read chapter books to him, with occasionaly pictures. While his attention may wane after just a few pages, he will sometimes listen to a whole chapter. Tom is currently reading the Wind in the Willows to him, and I am reading the Mouse and the Motorcycle.

We don't do this because we are trying to creat a genius baby. We don't sit down with flashcards and try to teach him to read, or enroll him in classes so that he'll be doing calculus by age twelve. In this day and age, reading is often viewed as arachaic. Why would you read when you could watch tv or listen to your mp3 player? I want Harper to be a reader. It is wonderful and increasingly rare.