Annie woke me up at 7:00 AM this morning and said, "Happy Birthday! I think I am going into labor." The contractions seemed to be steady for the greater part of the next hour, and I had packed the car to be ready to go the hospital. By 8:00 the contractions had slowed and became milder. We all ate breakfast and waited for them to pick back up. With no signs of action on the horizon I headed out for a run hoping to return and go to the hospital. Since that time the contractions have been about Read More

I often do not write about things that are going on because they do not seem to deserve an entire post. At the same time I often want to mention these very things and see what others might have to say. My goal is to resolve the tension in which I only blog those things that a general audience would be really interested in, while commonly having thoughts about posts that I know will interest a certain few. My new solution to the problem is the classic game-show lightning round, hopefully a new Read More

On July 8th we were driving home from one of our hospital appointments in Charlottesville, VA (about 1.5 hours from where we are currently staying) and we were trying to figure out the details of having a baby that far away. We were trying to figure out when we would go to C-ville. We were trying to figure out where we would stay during the likely surgery. We were trying to figure out where we would stay during the recovery time. We were trying to figure out how we would make sure Haley and Read More

Annie did a nice job explaining some of the possibilities that lie ahead for "3G". Since I tend to think in pictures I thought I would post a diagram of one of the procedural possibilities that may be used to help 3G's heart function. If you are praying for 3G, pray that everything related to the right side of her heart would grow. Amazingly, in the event that the right side does not reach an adequate size, it is possible to use the left ventricle to do all the pumping and re-route everything to Read More

Got this article from a friend and thought some of you might enjoy it. It is a list of the Top Ten Lowest Paying college degrees. Very entertaining!Here is #3:3. Theology (starting annual salary: $34,800; mid-career annual salary: $51,500)This is the perfect example of a degree earned by someone who's "not in it for the money": people who choose to study theology often feel they're pursuing a higher calling (and often feel a strong desire to do good in the world, no matter the cost). Read More

As I was winding down the evening I thought I would take a peak at some old pictures of my favorite sweetheart before I fade off into never-never-land. I also thought it would be a fun way to celebrate the run up to her birthday next Tuesday. This picture was especially cute. Read More

I realize many have already seen this, but I wanted to post it for posterity's sake. Pronouncing the name of the current volcano in Iceland is far from easy and the newscasters were in over there heads for the week that the volcano was such a big news story. Here is a highlight reel for those who have missed it. And while you watch, remember that we have spent a little more than a year trying to pronounce words just like that. Well maybe not exactly, but you get the picture. Read More

There continues to be no sign of the volcano here in Reykjavik. On and off I have heard that we could experience some falling ash toward the end of the week if the wind changes. It's hard to tell what will happen really.In the meantime there have been some breathtaking photos taken during the night as the lightning fires in the midst of the cloud coming out of the center. You can see some of the pictures for yourself here. Read More