Jr High Shop Class Ingenuity

Last night I woke Miranda and the kids up @ 11pm. I had no idea the power saw could be heard in the back of the house – besides, it was just 2 quick cuts. . .well. . . that was a mistake. Anyway, we’re leaving tomorrow for a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama for vacation. The Mathews (mostly Patti) love the beach and try to take a trip every year. However, it’s been a few years since we’ve had so many births recently.

We will be in the car with two kids under 2 for at least 8 hours. We are gonna need all the help we can get to keep them from crying (or at least distract them enough so they don’t realize they’re strapped into a car seat for that long.) I decided that there was no need to buy a portable DVD player (mostly ’cause I’m cheap) when we have our laptop, so the quest began. How could I set up the laptop in the car for Kasen to watch movies/tv shows/cartoons from itunes? I already have a converter so I can plug in the computer and the audio link could be run through the Aux input. All I needed was a little tabletop. Here’s where my old Jr High Shop Class ingenuity kicked in. Here’s a pic of what I ended up with. It’ll work this time, but maybe next time I should invest in a headrest monitor.

I even arranged for the shelf to be taken out when not in use.

Without the Shelf
Without the Shelf

With the Shelf
With the Shelf
Finished Product
Finished Product

Evidence

Kasen placed his toy phone in our REAL phone charger.
Kasen placed his toy phone in our REAL phone charger.

Here’s a quick pic I thought I’d share of the kinds of things Miranda and I find around the house. It’s truly evidence that you have a 20 month old in your house when you see things like this.

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20%

Well, I’ve lost 10 of what now has become a 50lb goal. That’s 20%!! Pretty good for just 4 weeks of effort. At this rate, (I know the rate will slow down) I will reach my goal by the beginning of October! Of course the real goal is health and that means I’ll never reach the end of these efforts. This is a lifestyle change, not just a diet or exercise program.

All in all, I must say, it really hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be. I’m sure there will be more ups and downs, but . . . the whole thing really seems like something I can do. I’m sure that when I stop losing weight, some of the motivation will be gone, but. . . well, who knows.

This week during our small group I got a call from my doctor. He had just received the results from my blood test. He prescribed a cholesterol lowering medication that I’m gonna have to take once a day. That’s no fun, but if that’s what it takes for me to be healthy and live so that I can do God’s work, then it’s certainly worth it. Maybe I’ll be able to get off the medication once I get into shape?!?!?!

Here’s the pics for this week:

Week 1 - 240lbs
Week 1 - 240lbs - Yuck!
Week 4 - 230lbs
Week 4 – 230lbs

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Precious Cargo

Here are a couple of pics I had to post. I guess it’s that proud father thing coming out of me.precious-cargoprecious-cargo2

Here’s more pics.

I know you’re sick of them all, but I still gotta put them up. Sorry I haven’t written in a while, I’m working on papers for class and everything is due Tuesday night. Maybe I’ll find some time after that. Anyway, here are some more pics. (Thanks Kye Han!!) I especially enjoy the one where Kasen got to be Jesus ’cause my mom and dad were Mary and Joseph when I was a baby too. Mary_joseph_and_jesus

Here’s one of me as Jesus from December 1969.Jesus

Some more of Kasen.Mother_and_child

Mommys_wish_listFirst_slide

All Smiles

Smile_4Kasen sure is happy, but he’s not near as happy as Miranda and I are about having him in our lives! Miranda took this one last night with our new camera and surprised me by sending it to me while I was at work. Fun stuff!!