just one of the girls

I noticed something strange when I took our car to Pep Boys for an oil change: all but one of the magazines seemed out of place. They had Women's Health, People, Home and Garden, etc, and then one lonely car magazine. I wondered to myself, "Why would they have a bunch of ladies magazines at a car place?" Then it occurred to me. There are probably a higher percentage of women that bring their cars in for oil changes than men. In fact, based on the magazines, they must estimate that 95% of their clientele will be women. I guess I'm just another one of the ladies, unable (or at least unwilling) to change the oil in the car.

In all fairness and to my credit, I have changed the oil in my car one time. But, not to my credit, I didn't like getting my hands all dirty. So yeah, I'm just one of the girls. Quickly, someone pamper me.

knowing is only supposed to be half the battle

I grew up a huge fan of G.I. Joe. I wouldn't call myself an expert on all things G.I. Joe, though. I might have before I went to see the movie, which I thought was great. I learned after the movie, while waiting for Sarah to use the restroom, that the movie was apparently no good, because it didn't line up with the comics that were written well after the show aired. I know that this kid knew what he was talking about, because although he wasn't alive when the original cartoon aired and may never have seen it, he had a jacket on with the Cobra logo on the back. So if he says that anyone that liked that movie just doesn't know anything about G.I. Joe, I have take him seriously. Basically, my G.I. Joe experience was limited to watching the cartoon, creating war horses out of my sister's My Little Ponies for my action figures to ride, and pretending to be Snake Eyes by putting on sunglasses and swinging a stick around like a sword. Oh, and learning that knowing was half the battle.

Sometimes I feel like knowing is all the battle for me, though. You would think after all these awesome Public Service Announcements that were made that I would know better, but I don't seem to. I always want to know what's next, and I want to know right away. I don't have peace many times, because I'm too worried about what's going to happen next. I just need to know, and once I do, I can do whatever it is. Knowing is the battle. I'm there now. I don't know what's going to happen next, and it freaks me out a little. I know that God knows what we need, and He knows when we need it, but I keep laying in bed reminding Him. A lot of times, when I pray about it, I end up apologizing for telling God what He already knows. I end up with peace by the end of every time I pray, but I go back to worrying at some point during the day. Maybe letting me be antsy is God's way of making me pray more, because I know I don't do it often enough.

Every time I pray lately, I feel like God puts two Scriptures on my heart. I already alluded to one: when teaching His disciples about prayer, Jesus said in Matthew 6:7 that God knows what we need before we even ask Him. The end of Matthew 6 is the other thing I feel God is pressing on me. I'm worrying about something that I cannot control, because it is controlled by God. I need to stop worrying, because it isn't doing me any good and it never will. If worrying worked, I would start worrying about adding a cubit to my height.

So hopefully I'll know soon where we are headed, and knowing will only be half the battle. In fact, we will know very shortly about the church we're hoping for most, so if you would continue praying about that, we would appreciate it. And, please, for the last time, please do not hide in old refrigerators! Learn a lesson from Cherie beginning HERE and finish it up HERE.

who's your roy orbison?

My dad and I are very much alike, but we are also so different. Maybe the fact that there's almost 35 years between us has something to do with that. It occurred to me the other day that Jakob will view some of my likes the same way I view some of my dad's likes: he'll agree with some, he'll be indifferent about others, but possibly he'll see some of my likes as lame.
I grew up watching movies with Stallone, Schwarzneggar, and Chuck Norris. I watch similar movies today, but I have a higher standard for the acting at this point. So I agree with my dad's liking of action movies like this.

My favorite athletes of all time are guys like Steve Yzerman, Barry Sanders, and Bill Laimbeer. My dad likes Dave Bing, Dave Debuccher (sp? sounds like Da' Butcher). These names mean little to me, other than I know my dad really likes the guys. I'm indifferent about them. I realized that as great as my favorite athletes are, Jakob will think, "I'm sure they were good, but they wouldn't be able to compete with (insert his favorites or the most dominate players in 15 years). He probably won't care much about them.

What breaks my heart is that Jakob will one day view the music I love the way I viewed Roy Orbison growing up: lame. My dad loves the guy. He would sing along with him (as best as a tone deaf, monotone guy could) in the car, and Dan and I would make fun of the songs when talking to our friends. One day, Jakob will get together with one of his friends or cousins and make fun of the Supertones, because they are my Roy Orbison. They're outdated, out of style, and always on in my car, because I love them. Oh, Jakob, why would you make fun of the Supertones? Why do you have to break your dad's heart?

Who's your Roy Orbison? What do you think your kids will make fun of you for when they get older (or what are they making fun of you for now)?

happy anniversary, Sarah!

I still love Sarah just the same as I did when I married her eight years ago, and yet I love her differently. I say I love her more now, but when I think about it, you probably can't quantify love. You love or you don't. So I don't really love her more than I used to, it's just been proven. I know more about her, and so I love more things about her.

If you asked me what I loved most about her over the years, my answers would probably have varied. I know that the way she treated me had a pretty long reign as the number one reason, but it's been replaced (and not just because she beats me up now, either). I laid in bed next to her last night, reading as she slept, and it occurred to me that things had changed. I now love her, above all other reasons, because she is who I want to raise Jakob. They say having a kid changes a person, but I hope it doesn't in her case. Jakob would be just fine having a mom exactly like Sarah already is.

Here's a run down of our anniversary plans:

• Cheesecake in bed. It's like breakfast in bed, only less healthy and more delicious.
• Baby appointment
• 3 hour drive to Lansing, which will probably take us 5 hours.
• Dinner at Sarah's favorite restaurant: P.F. Chang's, which she knows nothing about right now. She'll know when we get there.
  
• 2 more hours to Grand Rapids, which could be 3 or 4 depending on how much water she has at dinner
  
• Pass out quickly from exhaustion upon arrival

In case you didn't know, I'm really happy about being married to Sarah. She's the best around (nothing's gonna ever keep her down)...and I love her.

Happy anniversary, Sarah. And happy birthday, Grandpa! And happy birthday tomorrow, Jeff!

top 10 reasons why I'm glad we're having a son

When we first learned that Sarah was pregnant, I was hoping that we'd have a little girl. Come to think of it, though, I only had two reasons I wanted a little girl: one, she would probably be a daddy's girl; and, two, she would probably look a lot like Sarah who was a cute baby, little girl, teenager, and adult. Now that I've known for a while that we are having a son, I've had time to think of all the great reasons a dad would want a son. Here are my top 10. I'm not sure they're in proper order. To be honest, all of these reasons are great, and they could be in any order.





10. Being boyish is acceptable. No one says, "you know, your son's kind of a tomboy."

9. I'll never have to sit with him while he cries about the weird cramps and bleeding he's
experiencing.

8. I won't have to worry about boys. I was a boy, and I know what they are thinking.

7. The bride's family pays for the wedding. My son will not be a bride.

6. I can walk around the house in my underwear forever!

5. I'll never worry about him leaving the house dressed one way, and then changing into
something skankier when he's out the door.

4. Hannah Montana (or whoever takes her mantle) will never be watched in my home.

3. There's a very good chance that he'll be just like me.

2. He'll cause so much trouble for Sarah that I'll be under the radar and get away with more.

1. I won't have to go shopping for make-up, girls underwear, pads, dresses, etc.