we want to congratulate our friends drew and heather for becoming part of the card carrying parent crew. their daugther was born this past weekend with much love and rejoicing. you can read more about their story here: http://betterthangeordi.blogspot.com/.
so isaac went on his first flight this weekend. we went up to norcal where annie and i met and lived for 5 years. we had to take enough gear to make our own iraq invasion, but such a fun trip, got to see lots of cool people and enjoy relaxing. here are the pictures:
he did a little yoga on the flight up
oi! too much yoga. nap time!
lunch with jeanne at barone's
some of the old menlo crew at starbucks
"whoa, hold up! do i see scones?"
me, justin, and the toy mom bought me from cheeky monkey
the deggleman ladies in the house
mike and bonnie
the vanides family
the montgomery lads in restoration hardware
the family in palo alto
this is the book isaac picked out on our trip. mommy says just b/c we are padres fans doesn't mean we cannot be kind to our friends to the north.
our fabulous hosts for the weekend, jeanne and mark. they treated us to a wonderful weekend away.
kate knows that tye-dye is perfectly acceptable attire
loungin'....
jeanne, annie and isaac. you ever see a more smiley crew?
by far the most dramatic part of the trip was the shuttle ride back to the parking lot. no joke, the guy was in some serious sort of hurry, diaper bags flying off strollers and parents holding on for dear life.
so our son absolutely rules. yesterday he went under for the third time in nearly 7 and a half months. the doctor installed a sesame seed sized drainage tube in his left ear to help relieve fluid that apparently had built up over the past several months. essentially the procedure insures that he is getting proper auditory stimulus so his speech can develop normally.
isaac's attitude through the whole process has been nothing short of amazing. every time he goes in for something like this he is the same smiley and winsome boy that he is during happy hour at chevy's. nurses and doctors alike comment on how cute he is, and make return visits just to see him again.
i don't believe he makes a tremendously deliberate choice about his demeanor, but rather it is largely a reflection of the way his mom calmly takes it all in stride, even if she is freaking out on the inside. if there were a scholarship for outstanding moms (which as far as i am concerned there should be), annie would have a full ride to the ivy league school of her choice. she is nothing short of brilliant, balancing a slew of doctor's visits, tutoring, masters level classes and a husband who sometimes picks his toe jam while they watch movies.
given how freaking cool my family is, it is easy to recognize the goodness of God. every time we get encouraging news from the doctor, or receive unexpected help from any number of sources, or my wife shows up with a bagel from panera, i can easily affirm "God is good." and yet God's goodness has very little to do with the fact that things, by and large, have gone the way i want them to.
had isaac been born with a trisomy condition, or not been born at all, or if any of our news up to this point not been so great, it would not diminish the goodness of God. the fact that it has been so easy actually makes it easier to forget. often things born of adversity and refined by suffering are far more precious, way less likely to be lost in all the other stuff of life. in our convenience, we must work to hold onto this awareness.
below is a video of a family who grasps this reality on a very deep level. i must warn you, watch it in a safe place, for it will almost certainly make you cry. may we all celebrate life, and the goodness of God, as they do.
you come home and your wife tells you he fell off the couch, and he wasn't really that upset about it. he cried for a sec, more scared than anything, but as soon as annie picked him up he was fine. a little scratch on his nose, the first of hundreds i am sure, but no worse for the wear. i mean, this kid has had surgery, so taking a digger off the couch ain't nothing. annie's friend adrienne compares it to a car that has already gotten its first dent and after that you aren't so worried about it. he is an absolute fighter which is awesome, i just hope that if we are ever lucky enough to have daughters that they will be this tough.
ps. no, annie did not take a picture before picking him up. she picked him up, comforted him, and then recreated the scene by putting him back on the floor.
life has been moving a pretty breakneck pace lately. isaac turns 7 months this friday, and somehow i am not entirely surprised, for since january i have been teaching bible at a local christian school as well as doing ministry stuff. it has been strangely empowering b/c i no longer have time to sit around and think about all the things i am not doing, instead i simply have to focus on the next task. although i don't feel like i am there yet, i see how this can easily become an unhealthy pattern, never slowing down enough to actually have to think about the person you are becoming.
one chance i had to slow down recently was at a conference in san diego a couple weeks ago. the seminar was mainly comprised of contemplative practices, including extended time in silence and prayer. (by extended time i mean 20 minutes at most lest you think i am trading san diego for some lonely desert.)
during one of these times the facilitator asked us to consider something God might be calling us to receive. for some reason i felt like he was asking me to receive my son's love. granted he was only 6 months at the time, but i felt that in some very tangible ways he was loving me: the way he smiles when i go to get him in the morning, the way his eyes follow me across the room as i get ready for work, the way he kicks his legs in excitement when i get home.
annie has always been very good at helping translate these things for me, but that night i had a distinct sense of it for myself. i came home late, eager to receive this gift, to be open to the blessing of my son. the following morning i greeted him warmly and waited to be showered with the fuzzies. it was soon after i realized there is a subtle yet tremendous difference between receiving and expecting.
he wasn't cruel or anything, but he certainly wasn't gushing either. he was simply isaac that morning. i was briefly disappointed before i understood i was expectant, wanting him to love me so i could receive it, not simply open to receiving whatever it was that he had to offer. i tried to back off a bit, to open my hands to reality, instead of wrapping them around some unmet desire. this is going to take some practice, and maybe even a little time in a desert.
grandma chris came to play. i showed her some of my latest moves...rolling over and such.
this is my dad before the junior highers got a hold of his clippers.
this is him after. he said it was for a good cause.
my antibiotics started to kick in and i returned to my usual happy self.
grauntie bonnie and gloria took me to my new favorite toy store. i couldn't keep my hands off of all the cars and books. gloria said i could keep this book. don't worry, i think she bought it.
7 months!
we celebrated isaac's 7 month birthday with our friends, taylor anne and sydney.
isaac thinks this trick is the best.
isaac's first garage sale.
isaac's friend hayden, came over for a bit.
joe flew in from georgia to be the speaker for a camp in mexico this week. it's always great to see old friends.
anytime he sees us eating he thinks it's his meal time too.
grammy let isaac take his first drink from a cup.
grandma chris came to play. i showed her some of my latest moves...rolling over and such.
this is my dad before the junior highers got a hold of his clippers.
this is him after. he said it was for a good cause.
my antibiotics started to kick in and i returned to my usual happy self.
grauntie bonnie and gloria took me to my new favorite toy store. i couldn't keep my hands off of all the cars and books. gloria said i could keep this book. don't worry, i think she bought it. 
went to dinner at judi and ryan's, but i wasn't myself. mom and dad should have known i was getting sick.
"lexi, you want a hug and kiss?"
this whole play date thing is kind of fun.
it's official, i am sick again! let's hope these antibiotics help.
aunt beth came to play.
