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...

Why yes, my kids are adorable...

I might be a tad biased when I say this, but my family is the most awesomest ever. If you need visual proof, check out this post at my wife's seldom-updated blog...

Christmas at the J house!

Well , the internet has slowed to a crawl, no doubt waiting for pictures of my family opening gifts on Christmas morning. The anticipation, it is palpable. ("Palpable" means "so intense as to be almost able to be felt physically," for those of you who went to Brethren High.) Since I don't want to let my legion of internet fans down, here are some pics.



This is actually Christmas eve, and the girls are ready to go over to Grandma and Papa's house.














This is Christmas morning. The kids are exhausted because we got them up at 5:30 in the morning to go to Julotta. But they can't wait to open presents...

















Here's Santa with his favorite elf. If you're wondering, my hat says Feliz Navidad! (That means Merry Christmas for those of you who learned Spanish in Mrs. Worchester's class.)












Here's DisneyGirl with one of her precious gifts. Personally, I think SHE'S the precious gift, but I might be biased...
















Here's the traditional candy free-for-all, that comes after we open all the presents. It's usually followed by the traditional Christmas sugar rush...












Then comes the traditional Christmas sugar-induced stupor. ("Stupor" means "an acute lack of mental alertness brought on, e.g. by shock or lack of sleep," for those of you that went to BCHS.")












What did I get for Christmas? Well, here are my four favorite gifts. And I couldn't be happier...

The best part about Christmas...

My family went to a Julotta service early this morning. It's a great tradition that the Mighty Mrs. J and I have developed over lo these many years of marriage. We get the kids up in their pajamas, and we all pile into the van and drive to the church house. Singing starts at 6 am, and it's a great time of worship.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I was really moved by one Christmas carol, Angels from the Realms of Glory. Especially this verse:

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear.

What a great picture of how Jesus is the fulfillment of all we look for--our hope, our deliverance, our life. That is the best part of the Christmas story for me.

Except maybe for this. thanks, Mighty Mrs. J!

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!

Christmas at the in-laws!

tonight we are celebrating Christmas eve at the Mighty Mrs. J's parents' house. Here's a pic of Little MacGyver and his PaPa...

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!