Update time...

We just spent a great week in Colorado, hanging out with my aunt and cousins. We left this morning, and we are spending the night in Albuquerque. Nice hotel, questionable pool cleanliness...but that's another issue altogether.

As for the baby update, we are supposed to meet him in Phoenix on Wednesday. The social worker is working out the details, but it looks like we'll be able to spend some time with him. He won't be coming home with us on this trip because there is still court work to be done. But that part could be wrapped up in a few weeks, and we'll have a new member of the family!

Interesting side note: while we were relaxing at the hotel pool tonight with the kids, we met a guy who is also staying here. We started talking, and it turns out that he was in town on business, but he lives and is on staff at a church in the same Phoenix suburb where we will be meeting the baby. He was very encouraging. He prayed for us, right in the hot tub! It was a great church service, amongst the bubbles.

Please keep praying! I'll keep you posted...

Veterans Day...

To everyone who served, and the families who waited, hoping they would make it back home, thank you. My family is free to work, play, and worship because of what you did.

Here's a story of one of these heroes: John Ripley

Ripley passed away recently, but we are richer because he was here.


His words at the end are profound. "When you know you're not going to make it, a wonderful thing happens. You stop being cluttered by the feeling that you're going to save your butt."

I wonder how different I would live if I really understood that I'm only here for a short time, and no one here gets out alive...

Clean bill of health!

I haven't said a lot about it, because it's a mostly a private matter. But Toddler Houdini had some health problems last year, and she had to go through more tests than you can imagine just so her doctors could figure out what was going on. It wasn't a fun time for any of us.

Well, the doctors didn't find any major problems with her, and her problems haven't returned for over a year. Today she had a follow-up appointment with one of the specialists she saw last year. This doctor decided that she was fine, and discharged her. TH doesn't have to go back!


One truth keeps showing up, going through our kids' adoptions, and with this health scare. The truth is: you only have a short time with the people you love. Don't waste it being angry and doing stupid things. I know I've thought a lot about how things could have turned out for her, and I don't want to waste a second of the time we have together.

Her mom and I are just happy and thankful that God has blessed all of us with good health for our precious little girl...

DisneyGirl turns 5!!!

Today is a special day in the J house. It's DisneyGirl's 5th birthday! We're all exhausted from the mighty Mrs. J being gone a lot the last 2 weeks. (Her mom was in the hospital. She passed away yesterday. Pray for her and the family.) So we decided to just order pizza, and watch a movie together. (Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, if you're wondering.) (Oh, and Pizza Hut.)


Here she is just before her second birthday, waving from a train in Colorado. (The train isn't moving. We won't let the kids ride on trains alone until they're 7.) She was so excited that day, running around the train museum. She is one kid who is always ready for adventure...








...and here she is tonight, as I brought out her birthday present. She is so much fun, and she is so thankful when she gets something.












Here she is with her present, a big pink scooter. Just like her brother (except that his is red). She drove it around the room for a few minutes until it fell and made a big dent in our floor. I think it's a toy for outside. I'm sure we'll be out riding first thing in the morning.













Here's a note to my sweet girl, who I'm sure will be reading this before too long: DisneyGirl, you are a special, precious gift to your mommy and daddy. Every day, we are thankful that God allows us to live with such a special girl. You have a heart filled with joy, wonder, and imagination, and you fill our days with fun and adventure. Remember: God loves you more than you'll ever know, and we are so happy and proud to have you as our daughter!

We went to the zoo, zoo, zoo (another one)...

Last week the Mighty Mrs. J was off for Easter Spring break. (Of course, the college she teaches at can't call it Easter break anymore, because Easter is very offensive.) So we spent one of the days at a favorite place for us: the San Diego zoo. It's about a 2 hour drive, but the kids love to go there. OK, I love it too, but let's say we went for the kids' sake.

Here are Little Macgyver and DisneyGirl trying to figure out where the snakes are:















Little MacGyver did some crazy dancing:
















Toddler Houdini likes animals--when they keep their distance:
















Here are DisneyGirl and Toddler Houdini dancing in the aviary:



And here are my 4 precious blessings, all together:















We had a great time. And the best part is the kids slept almost the entire way home! Oh, blessed peace!

Finally over...

A quick note for those of you were praying for us because the funeral for Mighty Mrs. J's aunt was this morning.

The service went well. It seemed like God used us to minister to folks who are hurting right now. Then everyone came to our house for lunch. It was fun listening to J's family, swapping old family stories. I'm glad we were able to do what we did.

And I'm always amazed how God uses really small gestures in our lives, like hosting lunch at our house, to bless other people.

I also learned something important: apparently, it's wildly inappropriate to pass the offering plate during a funeral. I won't make that mistake again...

A blog recommendation...

Occasionally, I try to pass along a blog I've found that I find especially enjoyable or interesting. I say "occasionally" because, let's be honest, there are a lot of blogs that are a total waste of bandwidth. And most of the rest of them are trying to recruit you into a multi-level marketing scheme.

But there are some real gems in the blog universe (blogverse?). One of them is First Born Son, where Omar writes on matters of faith and life from a unique perspective. His father is a Muslim from Iraq; his mother is a Christian from Texas. He is a Methodist minister living in the South (I forget exactly where). Out of that mix of cultures and values comes some deep insights about some of the most important issues that Americans, and especially Christians, face.

Do I agree with everything Omar says? Of course not. (I don't agree with anyone all the time.) But I have all kinds of respect for people who take their faith seriously, and want to live out their beliefs, not just believe them.

So go check out his blog, and while you're there, remember: say hi, play nice, and try not to break anything...

Great truth in an old song...

I've been thinking lately about how I need to hear the story of God's outlandish love for me over and over, because I forget so easily. It reminded me of the old hymn, " I Love to Tell the Story," especially this verse:

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

I think it was Luther who said that the gospel comes to us as an outsider, where the law is written in our hearts. We have to be continually reminded of the reality of the gospel, because it's foreign to us. I know I forget far too often. And really, there's no message more important...

Here's a great version of the old hymn, done by Emmylou Harris and Robert Duvall:

The world's smartest boy!

I need to make an announcement. Everyone, please read carefully. This is very important, so I need your complete attention.

Here it is: my son is the smartest boy in the world. (And very handsome, too.) How do I know he's the smartest boy in the world? A lot of reasons, but right now I'll show you what he just put together:

It's a big puzzle of the solar system...and he put it together all by himself! Not bad for a just-turned 6-year-old.












Here's the proud, happy boy with his creation. Your dad is very proud of you, son!

Thoughts on God's second chances...

On her always-thoughtful blog, Emily had a great post about her ambivalent feelings toward getting involved with kids in a local orphanage. (She's in the Ukraine, for folks who don't know.) She seemed afraid that she would use these kids, take their love and affection, and use them to heal her own emotional wounds.

Her post reminded me of feelings that I've fought with most of my life. (By the way, the rest of this post isn't about Emily's post. It's about my reaction to her post. She speaks very well for herself.) I've spent way too much time and energy keeping people at arm's length. My defense against people getting too close? Humor (or the attempting of humor, at least). And avoidance. Especially in my twenties, when I found it really hard to be around people, except for a close circle of friends. During that time in my life, I would have full-blown panic attacks whenever I was in social situations.

It took me forever to get my bachelor's degree. The panic attacks were one reason why it took so long. I would register for classes, then not be able to walk into class. I mean, I wouldn't be physically able to move my body into the classroom. It's bizarre. I understand that. But it's how I lived for a long time.

I know now that the panic attacks were part of my twisted brain's desire to protect me from getting hurt. And so were all the other ways that I kept people from getting too close. But the results were not at all what I wanted--missed opportunities for jobs and relationships, wrong beliefs about myself and the people around me. And I think I did use some people for my advantage.

The good news? Those awful panic attacks are mostly gone. And I don't fear letting people see me for who I am. God has brought me a long way. (I still have a long way to go!) And my life is better than ever. Even more important, I see how great life is, and I can appreciate it. Soon, I'll post a little about what and who God used to put me in a different place...

The saddest day of the year???

My friend Michelle wrote a bit about the fact that some experts say that January 21 is the most depressing day of the year. I don't know if that is true, but it might be. I know I've been feeling a little post-New Year's drag.

I know in my case, it's not weather-related, because I'm in almost-always beautiful southern California. Some of it is physical, because I've been spending a lot of time inside recently. I don't think being locked in an tiny office for hours at a time is really conducive to good spirits.

Much of it is probably emotional and spiritual. When I'm working on a project, I tend to get wrapped up in it. And I neglect everything outside work and family. That means I don't call my friends back. Praying goes right out the window. I don't contact my family that lives in another state. Then of course I feel bad about my failures as a friend, child of God, and relative. That makes my mood even worse.

Yes, it is a lot of fun being me.

The good thing is that all of these things can be changed. I can only go down this road so long before I've got to make a u-turn. I think the turn is coming soon.

Sorry there's no wacky comedy today. And no kid pics either. I'm sure I'll be back to normal festivities within a couple of days...

New year's resolutions...

Since some of my friends are doing resolutions (see here and here), I thought I'd jump in. Even though my record at following through on them is not great (I still can't ride one of these, and I never made the opening-day roster of this team.)

Here's a few off the top of my head:

1. Stop using cliches, like"off the top of my head,"
2. Have fewer expectations of myself and my kids, and embrace even our mistakes,
3. Spend less money on me, and more on people who really have needs,
4. Take God seriously, but not too seriously,
5. Keep regular contact with good friends,
6. Take better care of myself, since I have kids now who'd like me to stick around,
7. Be thankful every second for the girl who had the bad judgement to marry me,
8. Spend less time griping and more time being thankful,
9. Use the internet for important things, like keeping in touch with people I care about,
10. Not use the internet for less important things, like this,
11. To live out this phrase: man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever. Heavy on the glorifying, heavy on the enjoying.
12. Make sure no one who ever lived in the Arkansas governor's mansion is elected president...

Oscar Peterson, R.I.P.

One of my favorite musicians died 2 days ago. Oscar Peterson was an amazing pianist who always blew me away with his technical ability and his passion for music. He really was one of the best of the last century.

I could try to describe how great he was, but here's a little bit of the man himself from 1977:



He'll be missed, but we have tons of recordings from every part of his career to remind us of his genius.

Thanks, Oscar!

Happy birthday, Little MacGyver...

Today is Little MacGyver's 6th birthday! Yes, he's a Christmas Eve baby. His birthday can be overshadowed a bit by this guy. But we usually have a party for him the week before or the week after, to separate his special day from Jesus' special day.

But we did have a special birthday breakfast this morning. And of course, I took pictures!


Here he is, waiting for his favorite breakfast (bacon and johnny cakes). Notice he has the family celebration plate that we use on birthday days.


The girls are less concerned with birthdays and more worried about getting breakfast served soon!












Here he is with one gift--a set of books called The Magic Treehouse. He has the first book in the series as an audiobook, and he loves it. He listens to it every night while he goes to sleep.









This was his big gift--his very own, kid-sized guitar! He's been playing it all day. I've got to say, teaching your son some simple guitar chords is a great feeling!









I assume that at some point Little MacGyver will read this, just to check up on what his old man is doing.

So here's a note to you, son. You are the best son a father could ever have. I am so proud of the boy you've become, and I look forward to seeing the man you'll be. You are one of God's great blessings to your mom and me. I know you'll be a great blessing to all the people you touch through your life. Two things I want you to be sure of in this crazy life: 1) God loves you more than you'll ever imagine, and 2) your dad is totally proud of you, always.

Happy birthday, my crazy boy!

More thoughts on God's promises...

I've been thinking a lot about the quote I put up here yesterday. I've been especially captured by the fact that God essentially puts His reputation as God on the line when He makes a promise to us. When the Bible says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus," that's God declaring as a fact what He will accomplish in each of His children.

What does all this mean for us? Well, the handsome and talented Joel over at Grace Roots talked about one result: namely, we have no room for boasting. It's all God's work from beginning to end, and He will accomplish what He sets out to do.

Still more to come...

What am I thankful for?

I'm completely turkey-laden, so normally I would skip posting for the night. But I've gotten this far on the NaBloPoMo, and I won't give up now. So here are 2 things I'm very thankful for:

1. My terrific family, of course. They are a constant source of love and joy for me, no matter what's going on. They are teaching me what it means to really love someone else.

2. Recently, I've realized that I have several friends who have a special gift: they still believe that God can use them to make a difference in this world. Most of them don't have a web site or blog I can link up to. (At least one does.) I used to believe that about myself, but I lost it a while back. I'm not happy about it. I'm glad I know people who still have that faith, and my prayer is that God will continue to use them in greater ways as days go on. I'm thankful God put them in my path.

And, in case you're wondering, there will be a bunch of turkey/kid pics as soon as I download them off the camera...

Stuff I'm thankful for...

Well, it's close to Thanksgiving, at least here in the US. I know up in America's Hat, you've already celebrated the holiday. But heres something I'm thankful for: my dog. Specifically, my dog Maxine. She's the one who just cost us enough to pay for a used car. I took her to the vet again today, and she looks like we're going to survive.

How affluent are we in the US? So affluent that our vet wouldn't even consider that we wouldn't want to pay so much to save the dog. There was no question. And, we were able to pay it without going broke. Is it right to spend that much on a dog? Probably not, but once we already owed it, we had no choice.

Anyway, the point is I'm thankful that our dog is OK. And I thankful that we're so blessed that we can afford an occasional outrageous bill...

What happened to Thanksgiving?

I was in my local Walmart this past Saturday, and I couldn't believe it. They had their Christmas stuff going up! I mean, it's barely November, and we're beating the Christmas horse to death already?

I understand that Walmart is all about making money. And I understand that Christmas is the money-making holiday for most stores. But I really find it all pretty disturbing.

There's one thing I find especially disturbing: did we forget that there's a holiday between Halloween and Christmas? Last I checked, Thanksgiving was in there somewhere. But there was no sign of Thanksgiving in the store. I'm assuming that they just wanted to make room for more Christmas stuff, and that they'll put more Thanksgiving things up as we get closer to the holiday.

But something tells me there is more at work than just maximizing profit. I think Thanksgiving is slipping a bit in popularity and importance. We're not a very thankful society. That's odd, because we are in the most materially rich country that's ever existed. Yet we're less happy and thankful than ever.

Maybe we're just accustomed to having what we want, and we think we deserve to get whatever we want. When you live expecting things to be given to you, you lose the idea what you get is a gift. That makes you less thankful I think.

That also makes me wonder about whether I'm raising my children to be thankful. I've got to think more about this...

(In case you're wondering, the post has nothing to do with the picture. I included the picture because Michelle wants to see more pics of the kids. Always happy to oblige...)