Kessler's Favorite Whiskey

What better way to stay warm on a cold, snowy day than with a smooth as silk American blend.

From The Bowels My Brain

Periodically I will post a batch of unrelated thoughts. I'm calling this "From The Bowels Of My Brain", which may not be accurate because the thoughts originated in my mind, but I like the alliteration and the fact that I can use the word "bowels" without talking about poop.Well, I just ruined that.

Here we go.

>> I was attracted to Walgreen's because of their $2.99 Milk sale. I spent $9.84. Drugstore sales work.

>> The vast majority of shoes sold in America are ugly.

>> I just realized recently that the sound of snapping your fingers comes, not from friction, but from your middle finger banging against the base of your thumb. Don't act like you've thought about that before. Or maybe I'm just dumb.

>> If we wash our bodies and our dishes with warm water, why don't we wash our teeth with it?

>> The ONLY thing you can talk about with a stranger on an elevator is the weather.

>> If I had a nickel for every time I've heard the phrase "Eight to fifteen inches of snow is expected in the Triad", I'd be five cents richer.

>> "Congratufreakinlations" autocompletes on my phone. Maybe I should come up with a better congratulatory phrase.

>> Brett Favre is 40.

>> It is not possible to not watch "The Fugitive" if you stumble upon it on TV.

>> One of the least fulfilling experiences a human can have: Holding back a sneeze.

>> One of the benefits of having a kid is that it gives you a chance to blog about something other than, "Today I stared at spreadsheets and PowerPoint Presentations while surround by gray fabric for 9 hours. Then I came home."

>> Babies are dumber than dogs. #fact

>> Never doubt meteorologists.

>> Eating ice cream with a fork is a better experience than eating it with a spoon.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this post to the first person who drank the white fluid that comes out of a cow's teat.

Sister On Haiti

Sister Abby with her boyfriend, Allan

My sister is a 2nd grade teacher in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. She walks through dirt (and mud) streets to school each morning. The power goes out in the whole town on a daily basis. Meat for sale sits on tables, uncovered, in the street. Many kids she interacts with have no toys, few clothes, and limited food options. Thus, she has a unique perspective on the disaster in Haiti.

She posted to her blog the other day about Haiti and I thought it was worth sharing here.

Snippet:

"...I just cannot imagine everything I know being taken from me, my family killed/injured, my home demolished, my city streets un-walkable, the hospital ruined, no power, no water….and the list continues. and I certainly cannot imagine a city/town having to recover from destruction like that, or the disease that is going to follow such a terrible disaster. I tried to imagine if something like that happened in Copan, what would the people do? It breaks my heart to think that the people in Haiti are similar to the people in Copan in terms of wealth, and just the devastation and long, long road that is ahead of them. I have questioned the Lord a lot this week on why this happened to Haiti? One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. They already had SO little…and why this now? It just doesn’t make sense. But today, I was journaling and the Lord just reminded me that He is exactly that…the Lord. and He is in control. He knows those people. He feels for those people. He loves those people so incredibly much..."

Kessler Is Home

WARNING: If you don't like to see pictures of babies hooked up to medical machines, then don't look below. (Ashley's note)
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The last four days have taught us a lot and given us perspective as to just how blessed we are. When you first find out you're having a kid, everyone asks if you want a boy or a girl. The clichéd answer is, "So long as it's a healthy baby." I avoided saying that, though it was true. You envision your life with a baby and the baby growing just how you did and how a lot of others have. But you also realize that things don't always go how you envision them. We know several parents who've had children with debilitating ailments from skin disease to brain tumors. After these past four days, I can say, "I can imagine what that would be like," but that's all it would be, imagining. There was never really a moment where I thought there was a likely chance for long-term issues resulting from Kessler's sickness. For that, I'm thankful.

Last Sunday night, Kessler came down with a minor cold, or so we thought. He became more congested to the point he was having trouble breathing by Thursday night. Friday morning, we took him to the doc where his oxygen saturation was found to be low. Off to Baptist Hospital we went where they did a chest x-ray, a deep nasal suction, and a couple other tests. They said it was RSV, a respiratory infection that is risky for infants, and admitted Kessler for monitoring. Later that day, his breathing worsened and his oxygen saturation briefly dipped to 55%. A cannula was then placed in his nose to provide a steady stream of O_2.

After a few apneic spells, the doctors thought it best for him to move to an area of more acute care where he could be monitored closely. This also would help a concerned mother rest more easily.

His thick congestion continued to make it difficult for him to breathe throughout the night. So much of the guy's energy had to be focused on breathing that he was unable to sleep or eat. To get him some energy, they had to start an IV in his little arm. You'll see the heavy duty wrap and medicine cup to keep him from ripping out the IV.

Friday night was his roughest night. He had trouble sleeping and didn't eat for almost 24 hours. As a parent, you're toeing the line of trusting God and worrying. I laid in the room the whole night, most of the time praying for him to calm and get some rest and for some of his congestion to clear. His stomach was empty. He was exhausted. Yet he couldn't rest, because he couldn't breathe. For a four or five hour stretch he would spit out his pacifier, cry, and fight to breathe through the thick mucous. I would get up and dip his pacifier in some sucrose and put it back in his mouth to soothe him. This worked for a bit until he got worked up again because of the congestion. Every 45 minutes the nurse would come in to deep suction his nose; running a plastic tube down each nostril to help clear the junk. Let's just say Kessler didn't like that too much. But, it helped. And gradually he got better. He got a little rest. We were able to hold him. Saturday, we moved to a regular Pediatric room. He was in better shape, but still needed oxygen and the IV and was still having trouble eating. Sunday came around. He rested more. He ate. He breathed. They stopped the deep suction. He ate some more. And slept some more. And breathed easier. And so did his parents. Around 6pm Sunday night, the feisty boy decided he didn't want the cannula in his nostrils any longer. So I watched his oxygen saturation level and it remained at 100%! He had no fever. He had turned the corner. Ash had stepped out to get a snack and I called her to celebrate. This was the best news we had gotten in quite some time, and somewhat unexpected as well.

The medical staff monitored him for another 18 hours and he maintained his solid vital stats. Now, we're home and he's gone from a taped-up, medicine-cup-on-hand, IV-in-vein, hard-to-breathe, uncomfortable little boy to a cute, colla-poppin' little boy more like the Kessler you see below.

Thank you for your prayers and concern. An easy-breathing Kessler just spent the last 2 hours asleep on my chest - one of the best feelings in the world.

Unintentional Comedy

Some people love unintended comedy. It's not really my thing, but this is THE standard for unintended comedy. So, I had to share.

This scene is from a movie called "Undefeatable".

Gotta love the internet.

HT: The Cavin

Picturing The Decade

The NY Times consistently delivers interesting graphics. You have to spend some time with them and this one is no exception. But imagine how many words it would take to communicate everything in this graphic.

It's fun to look through all this and remember the past decade.

Our New Little Family

More to come...

Baby In A Commercialized Christmas-Related Outfit

It continues to strike me as odd how we put these little humans in outfits and take pictures of them like they're some exhibit. Maybe I'll get used to it someday.

But for now, I do think this pic of Kessler in a Christmas outfit is pretty darn cute.

More to come...

Willpower and New Year's Resolution(s)

Spreading resolutions out over time is the best approach.

Excerpt from a fascinating article on willpower and decision making:

"Willpower, like a bicep, can only exert itself so long before it gives out; it's an extremely limited mental resource.

Given its limitations, New Year's resolutions are exactly the wrong way to change our behavior. It makes no sense to try to quit smoking and lose weight at the same time, or to clean the apartment and give up wine in the same month. Instead, we should respect the feebleness of self-control, and spread our resolutions out over the entire year. Human routines are stubborn things, which helps explain why 88% of all resolutions end in failure, according to a 2007 survey of over 3,000 people conducted by the British psychologist Richard Wiseman. Bad habits are hard to break—and they're impossible to break if we try to break them all at once."

HT: Heath Brothers

Our Greatest Gift This Christmas

On Christmas morning we went to Ashley's parents' house to open gifts and grub on some good grub. This year we decided to just do gifts for those who've yet to graduate from High School. So, it was odd when Heather, Ashley's sister, started passing around matching boxes to each of us.

We waited for everyone to get a box, counted to 3, and dug in. Inside my box was a simple card which read, "You will be a recipient of a new niece!" Confused at how Heather and Gardner would already know the sex of their new daughter, I quickly racked my brain. The light bulb went off and then Heather blurted out the great news. "We're adopting a baby girl from Uganda!" Cheers went up and tears flowed (mainly from Ashley's eyes).

Many circumstances came together to lead them to this point, but the video below of an orphan meeting her new family was a big contributor and you can see why.

Bottom line: Another parentless child will be rescued and we couldn't be happier about it.

James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress...

Snow In Winston-Salem

I tweeted last Tuesday, "Don't be an amateur scientist." Thursday, I didn't heed my own advice.

I don't generally keep up with the weather forecast unless I have outdoor activities planned. So last Thursday when everyone started talking about snow coming to Winston-Salem, it was the first I had heard about it. Then, I dismissed it. They were talking about 3-5 inches of snow falling in a city that was currently 54° and sunny. Even though I made a B+ in Dr. Viney Aneja's Meteorology class in college, I know almost nothing about weather (other than the fact that it NEVER snows in Winston-Salem when the Meteorologists say it will).

Even though I know almost nothing about weather or the reasons for the forecast for snow, I presumed none such snow would settle on the ground. I was being an amateur scientist, similar to those who "choose a surgeon based on the carpeting in his office and a politician by his hair cut."

I was wrong.

Visit To The Doc

Kessler had his 2 week check-up today - 3 days early. He's almost back to his birth weight! With newborns you're able to notice tiny changes, what seems like, every hour. He's becoming more and more alert. He continues to sleep and eat well. We are so blessed and thankful. We continue to love him and love being parents. Wednesday was the first time someone said, "Oh, you're Kessler's dad." It was an odd and satisfying feeling.

These are 2 photos taken at our appointment (from my phone):

Hopefully this is an estimation of his future height, but it's probably just the pounds and ounces of his weight.

This is him being alert.

Just Calm Down

At my office, a common phrase you'll hear is, "Just calm down!" It'll be said, humorously, after someone is dramatizing a situation; personal or business related.

Newsweek ran an online retrospective of the past decade. One of the features was overblown fears. The top overblown fears of the aughts were things like Y2K, shoe bombs, web predators, and Anthrax, among others.

What can we learn from this? Don't watch the news and "just calm down!"

Kessler's First Week In Photos

You can hover over the album and click the paper icon for captions.

The Ref Punched The Cotton Candy Guy

Bill Simmons, ESPN's The Sports Guy, has a section in his weekly column called, "GREAT CALL OF THE WEEK." Sometimes, it's sports related. Other times it's not. This week's made me smile.

"I took my 4-year-old daughter to the Clippers-Magic game Tuesday. Every Clips game turns her off on the NBA just a little bit more. After all, dead crowds and sloppy basketball isn't exactly a hook. She spends most of her time rooting for the cotton candy guy to walk by, asking if various players have "permanent tattoos" and listening to people in our section yell at the refs and Mike Dunleavy. Not the best way to develop a fledgling NBA fan.

In the second quarter, one official made a horrible call against the Clips that got a groan from our section. The guy behind us even screamed "Donaghy!!!!" My daughter was confused. "Why did he scream that?" (I explained that Donaghy was the name of a really bad ref.) "Is that Donaghy right there?" (No.) "Why was he a bad ref?" (Because he just was.) "But why?" (Now I'm debating whether to dive into the Donaghy scandal, ultimately deciding to repeat that he was just bad.) "Daddy, I want to know why Donaghy was bad."

Needing an answer she would understand, I fibbed and told her Donaghy was a bad ref because he punched the cotton candy guy once. She couldn't believe it. "He punched the cotton candy guy?" (Yup. And nobody got to eat cotton candy for the whole game.) "Are you making this up?" (Nope. That's what happened.) "Well, he's a very bad ref," she decided. "You shouldn't punch the cotton candy guy." (I agree.) And with that, she let it go and started watching the game again. Telling white lies to your kids so they'll finally be quiet -- that's my Great Call of the Week."

Kessler In Living Color

KESSLER STATON HILL
Born 12.7.2009 @ 10:12am
Weight: Average
Height: Average
Eyes: Bluish gray
Hair: Light brown
Middle name pronounced: State ən

A little over 24 hours has passed since Kessler was born. It's been quite special; the whole process, really.

Much of what there is to say regarding the birth process and meeting your offspring has been said in many ways and in many places, so it seems trite to even attempt to put it into words. Here are some of the things that impacted me most:

Ashley's patience, focus, and effort - Males, be very thankful you don't have to carry a baby in your belly and push a baby out of it. Ashley did it with a calmness and grace that quintupled my love for her. Since, she has only continued. Her intelligence and precision give me a confidence that my son is being cared for as well as possible. I'll now stop gushing about my wife, so you can go vomit. But, just know she's extraordinary.

Family and friend's care - Through the wonders of email, facebook, twitter, and mobile computing I was able to share updates on the process of Kessler's arrival. The overwhelming response of facebook comments, @replies on twitter, texts and emails was encouraging and a welcome distraction from the waiting. As soon as he was born, I snapped a quick pic with my phone. I posted it to twitter which then fed into my facebook page for many to see. In the 24 hours since, it's been viewed about 290 times! Also, many were praying. My faith was strengthened and I trust the prayers impacted both the outcome and our feelings throughout.

Kessler's great Aunt - Ashley's sister and true best friend, Heather, was a tremendous blessing to both of us. She came to our house and decorated for Christmas (with Russ's help too) on Saturday while Ashley and I were at the hospital. She came to the hospital and sat with Ashley for many hours on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and all of Sunday. She came back to the hospital and was with us through the early parts of labor; staying up basically all of Sunday night. All this, to encourage and love her sister (and me), resulting in a rare bonding experience.

Many other things had a great impact on me. Some just aren't fit to print on a public blog. The whole process was incredible; too extraordinary to even believe.

Our first night as parents went well. We opted to try to keep him in the room and if we couldn't sleep, we'd let the Nursery take care of him. Well, he slept unless he was eating, so we kept him in the room. Yes, I pounded on wood after I typed that.

We have loved holding him and just looking at him. Objectively, he is a cute baby. Subjectively, he's the cutest baby in the world. No one has been able to confidently say he looks like either of his parents. He's a great dude and I expect his greatness to only increase as he ages. He is not a fan of any sports teams. He does not have a favorite color and he is not potty proficient.

We love him.

It's Never Quite Worth What You Give Up To Get It

"Like an Indian casino or a tank of unleaded it's never quite worth what you give up to get it."

We are in the midst of the most progressive time in music, perhaps since the '60s. The standards of what music is and how it is distributed seem limitless. If you're a music lover, it's a good time to be alive.

This summer, limits were pushed again as Derek Webb released his controversial album, Stockholm Syndrome. First, there was the release. His music label wouldn't allow him to release the full album primarily because of one track that communicated some provocative ideas with some choice language. So, Derek began to promote his album on his own with an Alternate Reality Game that led fans on a search for "stems" of different songs that were left all over the country. He set up secret websites, had a strange RSS feed, used Twitter to fake people out and offer clues, and even had passwords at various points. Overall, the experiment was compelling, drumming up anticipation for Stockholm Syndrome. Then, there was the content. "Stockholm Syndrome" is the psychological diagnosis given to hostages who, over time, become loyal to their captors. One could surmise that to Derek the term is analogous with those of us who continue to hate rather than abandon our prejudice. Webb's usual thought-provoking, incisive commentary is ramped up even more, with each song containing a lyric, or ten, that make you say, "Hmmm." His word choice forces the listener to listen, rather than passively let the music play. It's participative.

A few weeks ago I was able to see him play live in Charlotte. The electonic synth and skittering beats made for quite an enjoyable show.

This is his visually interesting video for the controversial track, and best song on the album, "What Matters More".

Go visit his store to download the full album for just $7.99. It will definitely be worth what you give up to get it.

29 Weeks

This past weekend, we led Work Crew for Forsyth County Young Life at Windy Gap. Ashley was the "boss" and had worked hard for about 24 hours of the weekend when this was taken. I like this woman.

TerryandEllen.com

Terry and Ellen, 2 great, long-time friends, are now married and expecting. They have a great blog where they chronicle life through words and things that speak a thousand words. Several weeks ago, we got to head down to Charlotte to celebrate. Aside from the ending of an epic cornhole World Series, it was a fun night. The 2 pregos - and former college roommates - are in the middle.

23 Week Photo

We're at 27 weeks now, but we took this photo at 23 weeks, so I thought I'd share. Lil' Kessler is growing and Ashley is feeling great.