Here are some recent pics of Eli. One is with our new puppy, Max, and a couple at the end were from Halloween, when he was dressed as a little bear. The last pic shows his big cheesy grin he’s been doing lately.

Eli’s first attempt at eating some real food. We didn’t have the camera out for the first few bites, and so we missed the funny faces he was making. But we did get him cheesing it up for the camera! (September 26, 2009)

TV On The Radio “Dear Science” ~ You know how there’s a lot of music you really like, but every once in a while you come across something that really hits you, and it grows on you more and more every time you listen to it, until you’re listening to it like every other day, and you don’t ever seem to get tired of it, and it just puts you in a great mood every time you listen to it, and you become sure that this album will be one of those that sticks with you for the rest of your life? Well, I’m a couple years late with this one, but that’s what this album has been for me for the last month or two. This may be TV On The Radio’s most accessible album to date, but that does not take anything away from the groups creativity and originality. Most definitely one of my top 10 favorites of the decade! In my book, this is a 5 star album!

Derek Webb “Stockholm Syndrom” ~ Derek Webb has been a favorite of mine since the early days of Caedmon’s Call. Since he broke away from that band to pursue his solo career, he has really challenged me in my faith through his lyrics, interviews and writings. Not one to make the same album twice, Derek likes to step into different musical territory with each album, and Stockholm Syndrome is his greatest re-invention of himself yet. In simple terms, it’s an electronic album with live drums and a little acoustic guitar. I was a little thrown off at first, but it didn’t take many listens to realize that Stockholm Syndrome is possibly the strongest album of Webb’s career thus far. The music is fun and the lyrics are deep. Always one to be controversial, taking people of the church out of their comfort zone, this album, like every one before it, is bold with it’s message, and challenges us, as Christians, to look at ourselves in the mirror and check our motives, as well as our attitudes to see if we truly are living and loving in the way Christ called us to do.

MUTEMATH “Armistice” ~ I was very excited to hear what MuteMath would be serving up for their follow up to 2006’s Self Titled release. I loved that album, and I expected that the band would go on to do great things in the future. I had come to expect excellence from this band. When the single “Spotlight” came out, I was disappointed, as it seemed the band had taken a stride toward mediocre. Still, I had great hopes that the album to follow would not disappoint. – Now, after several listens, I think that MuteMath have put out a really good album. It’s driven by well written drum and percussion parts, which has been a huge staple in MuteMath’s sound. Many of the melody’s and lyrics are strong, and they have stayed fairly true to their sound while trying to tweak it a little. I still feel like the album as a whole is a step toward mediocre, however there are several very strong songs that build the integrity of the album, especially, Clipping, Pins & Needles, Odds & Armistice. In the end, MuteMath have made a very enjoyable album that does not quite meet the expectations set by its predecessor. It’s not exceptional, but it is good, it does stand on its own, and it will be great live.

Today, Amy put a mirror in front of Eli. It’s the first time he has really tried to watch himself and interact with the image he sees. It was so fun! It’s a few minutes long, but it just gets better as you watch. Best part is around 2 minutes and following.

This is the Slideshow we made for Missy’s Funeral.

Most of you know that my sister, Missy, has been battling cancer for about 4 years now. She put up a good fight, going through chemo, radiation and many other alternatives to fighting the disease. The over the last year, Missy’s health has been rapidly going downhill. She passed away July 18, 2009 at about 7:30 am. We had such a wonderful time with her the evening before. Her whole family was with her, singing songs and talking. Missy was ready to go that night. She had such a peace about it. She slipped away in her sleep, which we’re very thankful for. It is hard to lose her, but it’s very comforting to know she is in heaven and that she no longer has to suffer. We had a beautiful funeral service for her on July 22nd. Missy will be very missed. Thank you all so much for all the comments, love and support. Here are some pictures in remembrance of Missy.

These pictures are from May 2009, Eli’s first visit to Michigan to meet the family. He was 2 months old. You can click the pictures to see them full size.

Eli had quite a busy day today! We spent the morning at the beach, where he slept most of the time. We discovered that the stroller will roll pretty well on the damp sand near the water, so we walked up and down the beach with him a while while he slept in the stroller, safely hidden from the sun. The temperature at the beach was very nice this morning; not too hot.

We left the beach around noon and headed home. Eli was in a very good mood and very giggly all afternoon. Amy had to leave at 1:00 to go work at the Hilton for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Eli & I had the rest of the day to ourselves. At one point, he kept moving his arms and legs a lot (we’ve referred to these motions as his karate in the past). So I started doing karate chops with him. I was getting very animated with it, and he was laughing very hard at me! It was so much fun. It reminded me of the other day when we were in the grocery store and he just started laughing for no known reason.

After Eli had taken a nap, we went into town. I had to stop by the church for about 15 minutes and wrap up my prep work for Sunday. Then we stopped by Target for a short time. Eli was awake and in a good mood this whole time. We then went downtown for a while. We walked up and down the boardwalk and front street for a good couple hrs.  There were lots of people around. The 4th of July is a busy day in downtown Wilmington. Mark Loudermilk eventually called me. He said he and the family were seated on the boardwalk just outside the Hilton (where Amy was working). So Eli & I went to join them. It worked out very well, because Amy was able to come out and join us for the fireworks show. Eli loved the fireworks! We covered his ears so he wouldn’t be too upset about the loud noise. He watched the fireworks the whole time. He wasn’t smiling and he wasn’t upset. He just seemed very interested in them. He didn’t really take his eyes off the sky the whole time. He just sat there and watched.

All in all, it was a really good day. It’s actually been a really good week! Amy, Eli & myself went to FUSE; the first summer camp that our church has designed and run ourselves. It was at Awanita Valley, a camp in the mountains. I went with the production team to setup our stage for the services they would have. We stayed in a little cabin with Mark & Emily Folland and their kids. It was nice to get to know them better.

I’ve included a few pictures. The first is of us watching fireworks tonight, and the others are from FUSE.