Dutch, Reformed

'Woman Meets Child Born Out of Rape, Given Up for Adoption 77 Years Ago'

2012-01-28T20:02:00.000-06:00

You'll need some tissues, but you'll want to read this.

I Can't Get Enough ...

2012-01-27T01:05:00.006-06:00

of these eyelashes.

Liberal Apoplexy Watch

2012-01-24T23:25:00.001-06:00

The National Rifle Association recently sponsored an event in Oklahoma at which 30 boys and girls, all of whom are educated at home by their parents and some of whom were wearing camouflage, gathered at a remote, privately owned rural location to learn how to shoot rifles and hunt with a bow and arrow.

Stargazing

2012-01-23T11:41:00.000-06:00

On Saturday night a friend of Brandon's brought a couple of his telescopes over and gave us all a homeschool astronomy lesson. I wasn't sure what to expect, and was surprised by how big the telescope was.

We all learned quite a bit and were amazed at all we were able to see, including Venus and Jupiter. We even saw three of Jupiter's moons, as well as an eclipse of Jupiter. We also saw the Andromeda Galaxy, which is 2.5 million light-years away, and the Messier 81, a galaxy which is 12 million light-years away! It's hard to wrap my mind around how far that is. It's also amazing that God created such a vast universe and yet he knows the number of hairs on our head.

It was a great night and a fun homeschool lesson. Thanks Mike!

Weekend Pictures

2012-01-23T10:18:00.001-06:00

My three sons:

Bath time:

Learning about the heart during Friday science lab:

Lillie and Oliver:

Saturday with Ollie:

Saturday Morning with Ollie

2012-01-21T13:16:00.000-06:00

Again, with apologies to Folgers, I'm going to have to insist that the best part of waking up is Ollie in your bed. Especially when he says, "Dadda, dadda -- pardon me while I yawn -- dadda, dadda, dadda ..."

Then it was off to Panera, and then we're getting a bit drowsy in the cavernous environs of a home-improvement store.

Any day with Oliver is a good day.

Getting a Workout

2012-01-20T11:11:00.000-06:00

There was a time when I went to the YMCA nearly every morning, when it was still dark outside and the house was still sound asleep. Needless to say, that hasn't happened in a while. But I can promise you it's a lot better waking up to Oliver than to an elliptical machine. And these days I get my workout in other ways.

I get to carry around this chunky boy all day:

Ollie + car seat = 32.5 pounds:

Coming In a Disappointing 3,751,351 Out of 3,751,351

2012-01-19T20:52:00.000-06:00

The bad news is that the left-wing Oklahoma Observer, in its current issue, pronounces me "the Worst Person of the Year in Oklahoma."

The good news is that, to quote Jerry Seinfeld, "I don't know how official any of these rankings really are."

Doughnuts

2012-01-18T23:50:00.004-06:00

Jack Henry has been reading Homer Price.

Which means he has been thinking about doughnuts -- a lot.

So this morning, when he asked if we could go "real quick" and get doughnuts for breakfast, how could I refuse?

Sorry, Oliver. You'll have to wait until you're a little older before you can have a doughnut.

Christmas Break Pictures (Better Late Than Never)

2012-01-17T22:55:00.000-06:00

The Christmas decorations have been down for a few weeks now, the tree has been picked up from the curb, and the lights are all tucked away in the attic for next year. We are back to our pre-Christmas routine: school, ballet, and basketball. We took a long Christmas break -- stopping school a week earlier than we usually do -- and I had lots of big plans and good intentions. I had planned to give the house a thorough cleaning out and give away and throw out junk that had accumulated. I had lots of little household fix-it projects that needed to be done. I wanted to do more Christmas baking and crafts. And I wanted to be finished with everything so that in the week or so leading up to Christmas we could slow down -- watch movies, play games, sit in the glow of the tree, and drink hot chocolate. Well, how does the verse go? "Man makes plans, but God directs his steps."

I didn't really get any of my household projects done. And the Christmas baking and crafts -- didn't do much of that either. And as far as slowing down goes ... well, we have four kids in the house and one in college so even when we're not busy with school and activities there is still a lot going on. And the fact that I'm writing this Christmas post three weeks after Christmas shows just how behind I am. But that's OK. We had a good Christmas break. It was Oliver's first Christmas, and instead of cleaning out closets and doing things that I "needed" to do, I enjoyed our last "first Christmas." It only comes once and it's gone in a blink.

Here are lots of pictures of our break that I meant to post throughout December:

Jack Henry was a shepherd in our church's Christmas pageant. There are lots of things I love about our church. One of them is that our choir leader can put on a beautiful program with all the kids and only have two rehearsals.

My dad has come down for many years between Thanksgiving and Christmas to help the kids hang our Christmas lights. This is a huge blessing and also almost always includes a trip to Ron's Hamburgers for lunch.

The Christmas after Anne Marie died, my dad brought this nativity scene that he had made. I won't ever forget that Christmas -- in the midst of our deep sadness there were bright spots as well. Every year when I put this out I remember.

We spent lots of Christmas break just sitting around watching Oliver, getting excited over every little thing he did -- like chewing on his toes!

We played with him on the bed ...

... and snuggled him while he slept.

And we loved having Lincoln home for almost a month.

Jack Henry was hoping for snow this year, but we had lots of mild days and we enjoyed being outside.

Lille and Oliver cuddled up together while we visited grandparents in Bartlesville.

Oliver loved seeing his Aunt Christy -- she's used to big, chunky babies.

Oliver also had fun exploring the ranch.

And of course we didn't forget our sweet baby girl. While I was out and about I would see things I wanted to get her for Christmas -- little girl dresses and bows, and cute little things to stick in her stocking. The tears seemed to come often this Christmas -- sometimes when I least expected it, sometimes when I rocked Oliver, sometimes late at night while I was wrapping gifts. I missed her and kept thinking, "If only ..."

My favorite thing about Christmas break was just all of us being together.

Getting His Beauty Sleep

2012-01-15T13:54:00.000-06:00

After Jack Henry's basketball games on Saturday, Brandon and I took Oliver out for a walk.

He started out smiling and happy, squealing and kicking in his stroller.

As we bumped along the sidewalk, the rhythm of the stroller wheels started to make him drowsy.

And he started to become still and quiet. And he got drowsier ...

and drowsier ...

and drowsier.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his eyes open.

Finally he fell sound asleep.

Sweet dreams, Oliver.

'Head Start Simply Does Not Work'

2012-01-13T21:53:00.001-06:00

As even liberal Time magazine columnist Joe Klein acknowledges. Hater.

6 Months

2012-01-08T23:56:00.002-06:00

It is almost midnight and I'm sitting in bed with you curled up next to me and I'm thinking what I always think on your monthly birthday: I can't believe the time goes by so fast. You are already six months old. One half of a year. These six months have flown by, yet we have soaked up and enjoyed every minute with you. One person left a comment on this blog saying you were "a dream." I love that description because, yes, you are a dream.

You are still smiling all the time and are so happy. And you are also still chunky, weighing in at 20 lbs. 5 oz. Your new thing you've learned to do this month is roll. You roll over and over across the floor. You have also started to eat Gerber puffs and Cheerios and have had bites of banana and applesauce. You like your ExerSaucer and your new walker, but mostly you like to be held. Every night at bedtime I rock you to sleep and if you cry when I put you in bed then I scoop you up and rock you some more. When Lincoln was a baby someone told me that I shouldn't do that because he wouldn't learn to fall asleep on his own, but I did it anyway and also did it with Lillie, Mary Margaret, and Jack Henry. And I will keep doing it with you because I know how fast time goes by and that one day you will be too big to rock and I'll be wishing I could rock you just one more time.

Happy six months, Oliver!

Making a Memorable Thunder Game Even More Memorable

2012-01-08T23:54:00.002-06:00

Twice this weekend I was able to sit courtside at a Thunder game -- Friday night with nine-year-old Jack Henry and then tonight with my uncle Bill. What I loved the most was the way people went out of their way Friday night to make the experience memorable for Jack Henry. Two examples come to mind.

James Harden

I'm thinking that 22-year-old Thunder guard James Harden remembers what it's like to be a kid, since it wasn't all that long ago that he was one. Actually, you could tell by the way he was horsing around with Eric Maynor in the pregame shootaround Friday night that he's still a kid at heart.

Jack Henry and I were in our seats watching the players warm up, and Harden came over and playfully threw Jack Henry a bounce pass. Jack Henry threw it back to him. Harden turned again toward the basket as if to resume shooting, and then (without looking) threw Jack Henry another bounce pass -- almost as if to see if the boy was still paying attention. It was -- how to put this? -- very cool. Heck, it was very cool for me, and of course it was off the charts for a starstruck nine-year-old. Then a few minutes later came the multisensory extravaganza known as player introductions. The music was blaring, spotlights were jumping around, flames were shooting up, players were dancing around and high-fiving each other. In the middle of all this mayhem, Harden came over to Jack Henry again and gave him a high-five (actually, it was more of a low-five).

Consider me a James Harden fan.

I'm also a fan of Kevin Durant's mother (Wanda Pratt) and grandmother (Barbara Davis), who did something nice for Jack Henry. After player introductions Durant always comes over to kiss his mom and acknowledge his other family members and friends. As you can see from these photos I was able to snap tonight, Bill's seats are right next to Team Durant.

Friday night during a timeout, Thunder employees where throwing frisbees into the crowd. Each frisbee entitled its owner to a free pizza. It was loud in the arena, of course, as lots of fans were clamoring for a free pizza. One of the guys flinging the frisbees was on the court right in front of us, and Durant's mother and grandmother were waving their arms and shouting at him, pointing to Jack Henry. Their efforts were successful, and Jack Henry got the frisbee.

So thanks to KD's mom and grandma for their kindness to Jack Henry -- all without even knowing what a big KD fan he is:

UPDATE: Thanks to James Harden for the retweet, and to all the new readers for visiting the site.

Oklahoma's Bipartisan Spending Spree Continues

2012-01-07T20:23:00.000-06:00

OCPA has the story here.

Casual Cruelty, Colossal Cluelessness

2012-01-06T01:14:00.000-06:00

"It tells you something about the culture in which we live," Peter Wehner writes, "that in some quarters those who routinely champion abortion, even partial-birth abortion, are viewed as enlightened and morally sophisticated while those grieving the loss of their son, whom they took home for a night before burying, are mercilessly mocked."

Homeschool Experience Shaped K-State Quarterback

2012-01-05T23:50:00.001-06:00

"It was a huge blessing," Collin Klein says. "I wouldn’t trade it."

(And, by the way, what's the deal with all these homeschoolers who can dunk?)

Tax Policy Should Reward Child-Rearing

2012-01-02T23:50:00.000-06:00

David P. Goldman (the online columnist Spengler) is rapidly becoming one of my favorite columnists and authors. "An American-born polymath," one biographical note says, Goldman is a "music theorist, financial analyst, literary critic, historian, and geopolitical strategist -- and the author of one of the most widely read columns on the Internet." Herbert E. Meyer, Special Assistant to the CIA Director and Vice Chairman of the CIA's National Intelligence Council during the Reagan administration, says "David P. Goldman's 'Spengler' columns provide more insight than the CIA, MI6, and the Mossad combined."

I'm reading Goldman's latest book, How Civilizations Die (And Why Islam Is Dying Too), and I highly recommend it. He writes:

The average cost of raising an American child to age 17 is $222,360, according to a 2010 survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's more than four years of after-tax income for the median American family, not counting university. Put it another way: a single child will cost nearly 30 percent of the median family's spending power over the first 17 years. Young families go into debt to raise children and pay the debts off when the children are grown. ...

Without other people's children, to be sure, the childless singles would starve in old age, because there would be no one to pay the taxes that fund their benefits. But nothing in the social safety net discourages free riding on other people's child rearing.

As I alluded to in a column in The Oklahoman ("Traditional Family Key to Economic Health"), I believe public policy should discourage this free riding. This is one of the reasons I plan to vote for Rick Santorum, who believes we should, as one scholar puts it, use "tax policy as pro-family, pro-natalism social policy."

Thunderstruck

2012-01-01T16:57:00.000-06:00

Lincoln received the mother of all high-school graduation gifts (courtesy of his great uncle), and last night was the big night:

Accompanying Lincoln to the New Year's Eve game was his ~~college buddy~~ ... ~~girlfriend~~ ... ~~dear old dad~~ ... nine-year-old brother. And what a great game to attend -- dunks galore, and every time Daequan Cook buried a three Jack Henry would jump out of his seat with clenched fists outstretched overhead (he was visible on TV throughout the game, sitting courtside next to Kevin Durant's mother and other members of KD's inner circle, one of whom invited Lincoln to KD's house after the game, which is another story altogether that you'll have to get Lincoln to tell you).

Jack Henry says up close the players were big ("they were really big -- especially Ibaka" and "Kevin Durant isn't as skinny as I thought") and they were fast ("Russell Westbrook was all over the place"). He loved being close enough to hear the players talk to each other on defense. During a timeout, a referee even handed him the basketball:

In short, the boys had a great time. They even saw Durant make two free throws, which looked something like this:

Christmas All Week Long

2011-12-30T10:04:00.000-06:00

We've been celebrating Christmas all week long -- first at our house in Edmond and then with cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles in Bartlesville.

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

Christmas in Bartlesville

Ollie Rancher

2011-12-29T22:58:00.000-06:00

Creative Daycare Solutions

2011-12-29T20:39:00.000-06:00

"In the past six months, two child-care programs in or near downtown Tulsa have closed, leaving few options for parents working nearby," Sara Plummer reports in the Tulsa World. "Options for downtown child care have shrunk in the past decade from more than 10 centers to just a few."

Fortunately, options exist:

Scenes from Bartlesville

2011-12-28T18:21:00.000-06:00

Never Seen Anything Like It

2011-12-27T22:24:00.002-06:00

Does Santa Fill State Coffers?

2011-12-26T01:01:00.000-06:00

Or does that money come from somewhere else?