Samson smiles

My son smiles & laughs at some of the craziest things:

* the ceiling fan in our dining room will always get a big smile out of him
* the monkey clock in his room - he enthusiastically laughs and throws himself backwards in joy
(it is imperative to hold on to him firmly whenever he catches a glimpse of the monkey clock)
* the bottom of our hanging plant in the kitchen - that's worth a grin too

Some of the things he smiles at that aren't so crazy - Mom, Dad, Grandma, and the frog mobile hanging over his crib.

P.S. I just heard my wife singing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall." I think it's time for Dad to intervene. :o)

Accounting Hat

I've always valued other skills more than mine i.e. the grass is always greener. I'm skilled at accounting but I don't like being identified that way because of the stereotype. And just so you know, I don't have a pen protector in my shirt pocket. And, I'm a messy person at home. So there, does that break the accountant stereotype?

Accounting has always come easy to me so I've sat back and did little with it outside of work. Lately, I've picked up some of my old accounting books and find that I kind of groove on re-learning some of those old concepts I rarely get to use at work. I really want to get better at being an accountant and make it more of a career. I'm realizing again that God wired me to enjoy classifying numbers.

So, I'm trying on my accounting hat again and I like the fit. Go figure.

Droolly sleeves

My wife showed me a new way to carry our little guy who's now almost three months old. He lays on my arm with his head cradled on the inside of my elbow. With my hand, I hold him steady.

He seems to love this position. It gives him a look down at the world rather than being on his back looking up all the time. I like it because I can easily carry him around with one arm and it works my bicep a little.

Just as he's learned to love this new position, he's also learned to drool. So, anytime I hold him like this, my sleeve gets soaked in drool. That's a very small price to pay.

What a lady!

Tomorrow will be 2 years since I got married to this great lady I like to affectionately call Wonder Woman.

You don't know someone very well until you live intimately with them. Being married has given me that experience. I can honestly say, my love and admiration for her have grown in these past 2 years.

Watching her bloom in different ways has been beautiful. I've loved seeing her grace in dealing with 9 months of pregnancy and then being a new mom. She's doing just great.

I couldn't ask for a better wife. I'm a very blessed man.

Religious Sunbeams

More great quotes to chew on from the April issue of The Sun:

"If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated." Voltaire

"There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham." Anna Sewell

"People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them." Dave Barry

"Nowadays, the common wisdom is to celebrate diversity - as long as you don't point out that people are different." Colin Quinn

The Dave Barry quote hits home for me. I was mostly taught how to win people over to my faith, not much about listening to them. What if I could have asked questions and had a dialogue instead? It probably would have more effective in the long run.

Slow Down

I find it's easy to be freaked out with all the changes going on at work. Today I was convinced emotionally that I was going to be fired even thought intellectually I saw that as very unlikely.

And, once again, my emotions were proved to be totally wrong. Funny how our emotions can get ahead of us.

Last week when the changes were all being announced, I wrote my journal to process all the thoughts and feelings. I sensed God saying that I needed to slow down. That was what I needed to hear because obssessing about the circumstances doesn't help.

So, the word for today is slow down.