Living in the USA

Black Belt Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:06:00 +0000

It has been over 2 years since Camille started Taekwondo and the moment came Saturday to test for her black belt. The testing started with Physical Training including most in one minute of push-ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts, front kicks, side kicks and straight leg kicks. Camille went on to show her Red Belt Form which is the video below. Then there was self-defense ground grappling, sparring and finally the dreaded board breaking.

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:46:00 +0000

Happy Fourth of July!

Mission: paint house & seal deck

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:03:00 +0000

The house exterior paint, after only six years, was faded rather badly. We bought this 32' ladder with leveler legs and started painting. This ladder is huge but still doesn't reach the top of the house. We'll have to hire someone to finish that part, because this is as high as I'm willing to go anyhow. The ladder is tricky to handle as it is. I can't imagine anything higher. We also started refinishing the deck with a clear sealer.

Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 25 May 2008 17:49:00 +0000

Lily and Camille at Sylas and Maddy's ice cream parlor.

Camille and Annie having Nutella crêpes.

Ben Stein interviewed on Faith and Family

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:06:00 +0000

Ben Stein interviews on Richard Land's show.
Click here for the mp3.

Expelled

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:19:00 +0000

I went to see Ben Stein's Expelled No Intelligence Allowed Friday night. Contrary to the Kansas City Star review (not surprisingly negative and only given one star), the movie does a great job of exposing the dividing wall between those who embrace researching the validity of Intelligent Design (ID) and those who are protecting the failed theory of evolution. There is no doubt that teachers, journalists or those in government positions will loose their jobs if they even mention the idea that ID might have some credence. If you doubt it, try it. This type of censorship attitude is reminiscent of communist East Berlin which imagery is used throughout the documentary.

Ben Stein is not a comedian here. I found him rather solemn, sarcastic of course. He uses funny cleverly placed spots from old movies or cartoons to ridicule or emphasize his numerous interviews. On the ID side: William Dembski, Guillermo Gonzales are just a few among the many scholars. There are those who got fired or shunned for daring to mention "ID" in a positive or even neutral manner. Another blogger mentions a few of those names "Cambridge physicist John Polkinghorne; Oxford mathematician and philosopher John Lennox; journalist Pamela Winnick, who has received hate mail for covering the issue; and biologist Caroline Crocker, who was fired from George Mason University for discussing intelligent design in the classroom." On the pro-Darwin side we find Richard Dawkins and the skeptic Michael Shermer among many others. Their statements are rather telling. Dawkins actually says, design couldn't be from God, but because of its obvious complexity it could be coming from an intelligence from outer space. Hello Houston, come again?!

I truly enjoyed watching the computer generated cell moving about our bodies which the attached clip shows only a small portion of. Some wonder why God hides himself. After watching the complexity of the cell, does he really hide? I always tell Camille and Gabe that God is too big to fit into something as physically small as a body like ours. However we do see God's presence when we look into the complexity of the human cell and that's only the physical. The complexity of the human soul, which I believe leads the process like an orchestra is directed by a maestro, would even be more amazing.

For more information about the movie, you can download the Leaders Guide from the Expelled website.

2008 April Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:29:00 +0000

From April 2008 To...

Regional Taekwondo A Tournament in Kansas City. Camille won third place in eXtreme Martial Arts (XMA) and Fourth place in Forms. We had some audio problems that we'll have resolved next time though I don't believe that affected her place. There were some tough competitors in XMA. It was a lot of fun to watch. I'll include some videos of the other girls competing with Camille.

Gabe won second place in forms and third place in sparring.
Taekwondo provides a way for the kids to set goals and achieve them, moving from one belt to the next.

Tournaments are a way for Camille and Gabe to play the game, just as basketball players practice and play against other teams to see how good they are and improve their own game. After the tournament, Camille and Gabe set the goal to be more flexible and do the split both ways comfortably, so that their kicks would be higher and more controlled.

After the tournament we tried a Red Robin restaurant which has incredible burgers, cooked to your taste (I like mine rare and they were able to do that). Then we went to see Nims' Island at the movies. It was a good show about courage and living your own life, not the life of some person on TV or in People magazine.

From April 2008 To...

Cats

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:28:00 +0000

From Cats

We took Camille to see Cats this afternoon. It was quite a production. The cats jumped off the stage and ventured in the first few rows so Camille got to see them real close. She thought Rum Tum Tugger sounded like Elvis and was really cool. There was a bit of a sexual overtone to his demeanor though, but after all he's supposed to be an animal (not that humans don't behave that way). Camille loved the way the cats were doing back-hand springs and flips.

French Breakfast in OP

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:48:00 +0000

Andi and I love to have breakfast (when we can, which is not very often) at this French Bakery in Overland Park called Artisan Français. The Patissier is French. It's the best French Bakery in Kansas City. I probably eat way too many pastries when I'm there. We (I) had a croissant, an almond croissant (my favorite), a tordu (the twisted bread with chocolate chips) and a pain au chocolat (a square croissant with a bar of chocolate in the middle). Overall it's a delicious breakfast!

Artisan Français
6759 W. 119th St
Overland Park, KS 66209
913-345-1699
www.artisanfrancais.com

The Cat in the Hat

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:55:00 +0000

From The Cat in th...

Camille dresses up as the Cat in the Hat for a reading at school.

Bowling in the USA

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:10:00 +0000

From Bowling USA

We celebrated Camille and Gabe's high grades at school by bowling today after church. Camille received a couple Applebee's free meals for getting 100% on her State math and reading pre-assessments at school. Gabe is far beyond his grade level in reading, so we took advantage of the free lunch and then played three games of bowling. Gabe gets easily frustrated when he does not win, and Camille likes to remind him that he is not winning. Areas we'll keep focusing on.

Igloo

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:45:00 +0000

From Igloo

Coming back to Kansas City from our trip to Battle Creek, MI we were greeted by lots of snow. Gabe and his friend Carter built an igloo big enough to have lunch in. This was a rudimentary igloo built by just packing snow on top of a five gallon bucket and digging out the inside. It was noticeably warmer and quieter in the small igloo we built. Watch the video. I'd love to go hiking with the family on snow shoes and camp in an igloo we built ourselves for the night. That will have to be added to the wishlist for now. For "correct" igloo making visit Grand Shelters.

Christmas Day 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:35:00 +0000

From Christmas Day...

We celebrated Christ's birth at Grandma Jane's church where this beautiful crêche was displayed. We opened presents with the family on Christmas Day. More pictures from Christmas Day 2007.

Battle Creek, MI

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 04:23:00 +0000

From Battle Creek, MI

Andi, Grandma Jane and Aunt Suzie. More family pictures from Battle Creek, MI.

Chelsea's wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 02:23:00 +0000

From Chelsea's Wed...

Our reason for taking this trip was to attend Chelsea's wedding (Andi's cousin) in Battle Creek, MI and to visit with Andi's grandma and relatives. We are always fond of Grandma Jane's and Aunt Suzie's hospitality. We had a great time dancing with the family the night of the wedding. Gabe was adopted by the marine corps (groom is a marine) and tried hard to catch the garter (good thing he didn't I'm thinking). More pictures from Chelsea's wedding.

Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:05:00 +0000

From Chicago, IL

We traveled to Battle Creek, MI to attend Chelsea's wedding (Andi's cousin) and see Andi's Grandma Jane. Before getting there, we stayed in Chicago at a hotel called the W Lakeshore. We walked to the Sears tower the first night there and truly enjoyed walking in the Chicago streets at night.

View Larger Map

We had dinner in a rather disappointing overpriced unsatisfying Chinese restaurant. The next morning we had breakfast at a safer Panera's and rode the El. It was the first time the kids rode in a subway. We took the afternoon to visit Shedd's aquarium. We all loved the dolphins, baluga whales and the penguins. Gabe loved the Komodo dragon. See more pictures from Chicago, IL.

Gates BAR-B-Q

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:07:00 +0000

Decided to go to Gates Bar-B-Q for lunch today. Gates is a well known barbecue place in Kansas City with six different locations. I work near the one in Leawood and I thought I'd document the experience.

There is nothing fancy about the building or the furnishings, but this is the type of establishment that gives Kansas City Barbecue a good name. The staff greets you with a loud "Hi, How may I help you?" with a bit of attitude and you sense that you better be quick about placing your order.

Famous is their sauce and spices which they sell at the counter.

I placed my order for a burnt end sandwich, large cut fries (I mean large), coleslaw and barbecue beans. That is actually way too much food for one and could be split for two.

Took it to go and ate it at work between taking ups.

The whole thing was delicious.

The ticket was a bit high setting me back $15.

Regionals

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:52:00 +0000

Camille (red decided) and Gabe (camo decided) each win second place in forms. Gabe also got third place in sparring.

11172007_Regional Tournament

The Golden Compass

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:50:00 +0000

This post stems from an email I received. You may want to read the email below first.

Maybe I'm just late to the party on this one. I received the email from a Christian friend and I usually don't fwd these types of emails but (they always say that, but they do), since this involves children and we are in the middle of a war of ideas and all...

This is about an English author and a new Hollywood children flick based on his books.

The comments by the author mentioned on Snopes caught my attention: "My books are about killing God." I thought, well that's a statement worth looking into, perhaps worth passing on to other Christian soldiers. Children book authors usually aren't that vocal. I thought I'd learn more about this guy. Turns out he says his books aren't aimed at children. Of course.

On his website http://www.philip-pullman.com the author replies to the question: "Do you believe in God?" in saying " I don't know whether there's a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it's perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don't know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away. Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it's because he's ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they're responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I'd want nothing to do with them."

OK, normal atheist stuff so far. I can't believe in something that I do not see or can't prove with my five senses. It's fascinating to me how Pullman confuses his readers' minds with the way he uses the term "dæmon." Maybe it's the French in me and I don't understand how else the term is used in the English language. Read on and you tell me.

"Dæmons" are seemingly part of his fictional fantasy (or reality). About Dæmons he says: "I don't want to say anything about them which will give away some of the plot of the final book, but I will say that the dæmons is that part of you that helps you grow towards wisdom." Wow, what a strange choice of words even for a fantasy world. I guess a child could easily decipher through that. Dæmons - wisdom, you know a good word association when you see one.

Wait, maybe this is not just fantasy, he further claims: "readers have told me that the dæmons, which at first seem so utterly fantastic, soon become so familiar and essential a part of each character that they, the readers, feel as if they've got a dæmon themselves. And my point is that they have, that we all have. It's an aspect of our personality that we often overlook, but it's there. That's what I mean by realism: I was using the fantastical elements to say something that I thought was true about us and about our lives."

Without reading the material he is saying that dæmons are part of the human make-up and they help you grow towards wisdom. I cringe. He is onto something though I'll give him that.

Oh I get it now - among his motives for writing are "#1 Money, #2 to make his name known and #3 the sheer pleasure of craftsmanship: the endlessly absorbing delight of making things" he says. There you have it, another narcissistic talent brought to a theatre near you and your family Dec. 7th. After all, in a world where God does not exist, who cares about the impact his writings have on his readers, however old they are. Who cares about using our creative talents to promote true ideas for a greater cause than ourselves. Let's make the world an even more confusing place as long as our tubby empty-selves are satisfied to the brim.

And then you have Hollywood, throwing millions at this "œuvre d'art." This all makes me want to speak French. Darn, I love Nicole Kidman as an actress though. I'm really torn on this one. Might have to go see it so I can criticize it better. Nah, get behind me, dæmon! That would be too much wisdom.

Franck
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor.10:3-5

Happy Halloween from America!

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:14:00 +0000

I haven't listened to Hank Hanegraaff for some time, since my car radio has been dead for quite a few years now but I remember agreeing with his perspective on Halloween. This year his organization's website has a couple paragraphs on his take on the matter.

Today is "all Hallows Eve," or you are probably familiar with the term Halloween. Every Halloween we get so many questions about Halloween. People want to know whether they should participate in Halloween, accommodate Halloween, or whether we, as Christians, ought to vigorously denounce Halloween. To answer those questions it's always helpful to have a little history or perspective on Halloween. A lot of people don't even know where Halloween came from.

If you look the background of Halloween, it's rooted in the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain. The Druids believed that on the eve of Samhain the veil between the present world and the world beyond was pierced, releasing demons, witches, and hobgoblins en mass to harass the living. In order to make themselves immune from attack people would disguise themselves as witches, devils, and ghouls to attempt to ward off evil spirits. They would also carve grotesque-looking faces on gourds illuminated with candles, and they would try to placate the spirits with a variety of treats.

I think we can also learn a lot from the early Christians and how they responded to Halloween, because on October 31st, the eve prior to All Saints Day, they would designate this day as a spiritually edifying holy day on which to proclaim the supremacy of the gospel over the superstition of ghosts. So, "all Hallows Eve," from which the word Halloween is derived, was an attempt, an overt attempt on the part of Christianity, to overwhelm the tradition of ghouls with the truth of the Gospel.

Today Halloween is predominately pagan, but there still is a silver lining. Like our forefathers, we can choose to celebrate "all Hallows Eve" by focusing on heroes of the faith who were willing to stand for truth no matter what the cost. We might also use today as an occasion to introduce our children to great classics or to the quintessential victory over ghouls and demons and death which is found in 1 Corinthians 15, the great chapter on resurrection. You ought to read that chapter today with your children before they go to bed, because in the end the trick is to treat Halloween as a strategic opportunity rather than seeing it as a time of Satanic oppression. If you want more information there's a Perspective I did. It's called "Halloween: Oppression or Opportunity."

Me, I just love KitKats, especially free ones. But my lovely wife tells me not to steal Gabe's or Camille's while they're asleep because they love them too. So I've had to resort to mini Milky Ways and Twixes.

Pumpkin Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:26:00 +0000

We went out to DeSoto, KS to play outside and found this pumpkin patch. Kids rode the hayride and pet some farm animals. We bought a pumpkin. Life is fun in America when the seasons change. The trees are starting to turn beautiful colors. I smell the fresh air and I love being here. More pics:

Pumpkin Patch

Camille's Bug Project

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:48:00 +0000

Regional Taekwondo Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:47:00 +0000

Camille and Gabe competed in a Taekwondo tournament this weekend. Gabe did very well with a strong form and awesome sparring (Gabe is on the right in red gear, against a kid a few inches taller than him, as you can see here). Camille won first place in forms.

More Photos:

Regional Taekwondo Tournament

Dessert Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:01:00 +0000

Have you ever participated in a dessert competition? That was the theme of our family night. The competitors each had to make a dessert for someone else and come up with a cool name for it. These were the results:

Tie for first place: "The Camillinator" concocted by none other than Camille - a delicious blend of cookies and French silk ice cream, and Gabe's "Magic in the Middle" - a fantastic croissant with Nutella in the center.

Second place was Andi's "Black and White Delight" - marshmallows dipped in Nutella (an obvious staple in our household).

Third was the "Cookasnooch Brownie" made by Daddy - a gooey brownie surrounded by chocolate cookie crumbs.

Fun and delicious!

Red belt testing

noreply@blogger.com (Franck Barfety) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:16:00 +0000

Camille tests for her red belt. She worked real hard this past couple of months to take this test. She is a red belt, after that there is a black recommended and then the hard trained for black belt. ATA