Happy Birthday Noli!!

March 30, 2009

Well another year has come and gone and my middlin' baby is turning four years old tomorrow!!  It is truly unbelievable how fast time goes.  Sometimes it's hard to remember what life is like without my kids or how we even got here (well...I know how we got here, obviously).  It's fun to reminisce and look back over the past few years and think about how our family has changed and how our family has changed us.

I remember before Evie was born asking my wife, "What if our baby doesn't like me?  What if I'm just no good at being a Dad?"  I was legitimately terrified - I think it was one of the first times in my life, in recent memory, when I felt completely inadequate and unprepared.

Thankfully Lex and I make a darn good team and we've both proven to be pretty good at this family thing, if I do say so myself.  We keep each other together especially when the other is about to fly apart.  The amazing thing about kids is that they love you anyway - if you're putting forth any effort at all they think the world of you because really you are their world, at least for the first few years.  

Noli - she's my little buddy and I'm a sucker for her (for all my girls really).  For some reason she really likes to hang-out with me.  Doesn't really matter where we're going, she wants to tag along.  Sometimes she asks me to take her to work with me to which I honestly reply, "Trust me, you wouldn't have fun there."

This is the first time her birthday has fallen on Easter, but it's neat and I'll tell you why.  Being a Father has given me more insight than I would have anticipated into the true essence of Love and in fact into the nature of God.  

As I was preparing for Noli's birthday, buying presents and decorating, I can't help but want to lavish her with gifts, good things and all the things she enjoys.  It's not out of obligation, guilt or a desire to give her the latest gizmos.  Rather it's a natural outpouring of my love - a tangible demonstration of how much I love her.  It doesn't matter how much my kids drive me crazy...just tonight Noli darn well drove me mad...doesn't matter, I just want her to feel special and blessed.  I want that for all my girls and hopefully not just on their birthdays - I hope they know how much I love them and how much I want  good things for them.

Sometimes I have a hard time comprehending or accepting that God feels that way about me...about us.  I'm fine...things are going well enough.  Isn't that good enough?  I don't want or need more.  But that doesn't stop God from wanting to pour out more blessings, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  Not because he has to, not because of anything I've done to deserve it.  Just because that's his nature and he loves us.  Life and life to the full (over-filling) can be ours.

Kids are wonderful - I love my girls.  I hope my little buddy has a wonderful birthday!!

Almost Good Friday

Tomorrow is Good Friday.  For those of you who may not have heard the story, it is the day Christians remember how Jesus was crucified for our sins. I have always felt a bit strange calling this holiday good, because it represents something so grisly and sad. Jesus, the perfect representation of God as man dying for our sins so that we no longer need to pay for them with blood, how sad for him. But so great for us! 


The hardest part about being a Christian today is the often inaccurate connotations that come with; ultra-conservative, homophobic, stupid, and perhaps worst of all judgemental. Of course there are Christians who have views like that, which is not in line with Biblical teaching, but so do many other people who are not Christian. We're not all Confederate flag wavers, I even vote Green Party (okay I used to vote Green party in college now I'm more of a Liberal).

Being a Christian gives me hope for life beyond this world and help and true life (life to the full) while in this world.  I become better when I attend church, do bible studies, tithe, and read my bible (although I'm not perfect at any of these I'm being refined - it's no longer I that liveth...). The Bible instructs me that my life's goal should not be to strive for things that are fleeting or unimportant, which makes it easier to pass on life's trappings (most of the time).  Philippians 4:11 - Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learnt, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content. 

Of course I have had negative experiences in the Christian community too; something I share with many people who have left the church. Looking back I see that those times really refined me and my family's beliefs and practises. Even though at the time it seemed arbitrary and pointless on the other side of pain comes great clarity and certainty.

 If there are any people reading this that are wondering what life is like being a Christian, I would encourage you to check out your local church this Friday and see for yourself if we indeed live up to our reputation. I hope you will be pleasantly surprised. 

Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Olden Days

I was cruising around on Youtube when I found this gem. Its about life in the Appalachian mountains in the 1930's. I've always romanticised that part of America and this vintage video just encourages my notions about what life used to be like there. The size of the families there are really quite amazing. I especially like the idea of growing up living and staying in the community you were born in. Three generations and your whole extended family working towards a goal. I know in our society its often, and especially in my case, not attainable (Brantford Ontario doesn't need many consultants, and I sure do like Ottawa).

The video is aptly titled The Children Must Learn. They are as hopeful and concerned about their kids education as we are now.   Enjoy the video!

Happy Friday: It's Movie Night!!

Watched This is 40 tonight with my lil' woman while mowing down on some chips and cola.  Great Friday night if you ask me.  Here's what I think of the movie...

It did not meet our expectations, but I liked it none-the-less.  As a sort of sequel to Knocked Up, I think I was expecting the same sort of tone and instead it was much more toned down of a movie.  At certain points it seemed as if it was trying to be a drama of some sort.  It didn't have any real highs, no real lows, and it was a bit of a mish-mash of stories, ideas and characters.  In that sense it was very much like life.  It also did not have a real neat ending where all (or any of) the loose ends were tied up - which in my mind was a good thing.

It's tough to know what the film-makers intentions were.  Were these choices that Apatow made in order to reflect what family life is like.  It often is messy, chaotic and ambiguous.  It's full of rich, complex, dynamic relationships that are very much in progress.  Was this a case of Apatow marrying form to content?  Perhaps it was - in which case well done.

Or it might have been a case of a writer trying to fit too many things into one film without having a clear direction or through-line on which to structure his story and characters around.  It did lack a conventional story arc (not necessarily a bad thing) and I'm not sure the characters changed a whole lot from beginning to end...which again is perhaps a little like real life.

At times the film seemed a little too raw or real, and could have used some more comic relief.  There were definitely scenes where I was nodding my head thinking, yeah - that's fatherhood, and realized that I'm an old 33 years.

I enjoyed it.  Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are fun to watch as always.  Jason Segel is great whether he is the lead in a movie or simply pitching-in as support as in This is 40.  And Megan Fox...well what you can say about her?  She did her thing and did it well.

Overall I found this one entertaining even if it was not raucously brilliant.  I enjoyed it and it made me think about myself as a husband and father and how well I'm doing in that regard.

Is this an instant comedy classic?  I don't think so but I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars as a good, solid renter.

Grandmas Rockin' Eve

 It was my mother in laws birthday party last night so to celebrate we did the traditional family party which obviously included lots of Lego, fairy costumes, big kids in suits, moms in sweat pants, and of course a dance party to finish. Sadly because tis the season of Lent not everyone got to enjoy the brownie cake at the party, with some abstaining, some eating just a teeny bit, and some eating hurriedly in a corner (myself in the corner) so as not to make others jealous. All in all it was a very nice evening, with some good memories  made for the kiddies. Thanks Bonnie for being such a good Grandmother to my little girls, and the rest of the wee ones in our family. Happy Birthday. 

I think the parties over now,,,

I Miss March Break

Well March break just ended but I'm already sad that school is starting again. I know that's not the best attitude for a parent but because my kids, and I hope their teacher, is not going to read this I can be honest and say that school is not that much fun. Its no fun for parents either. Its the same nervous feelings the same social dynamics the same pressures for adults, as it is for kids, albeit on a much smaller scale and in the knowledge that once you graduate you can blessedly leave the school world behind, that is until you have KIDS.

Obviously there are some really cool things about school these days; my kid can now speak more french than me (not a very difficult task but still), and she does seem to get a little more grown up by going everyday. Even here in Ontario where teachers strikes are constantly looming, her school does seem to be a more positive place than what I remember school to be. And Evie's little social group is still innocent enough it its happenings that its fun to watch and hear about (maybe not so much in the teen years). I should really try to enjoy it more now because I'm pretty sure it gets a heck of a lot harder later on.

Oh well summers not that far off, so lets just getter done. Mir is ready for summer.

Top Ten Things Ireland Has Given the World

In honour of St. Patrick's Day, I have created the following subjective and by no means authoritative list of the top ten things Ireland has given the world (enjoy):

10.  Owen Nolan - an Irish hockey player?  Gotta have him on the list (even though he grew up in Ontario).

9.  U2 - Greatest Rock Band in the World.  Perhaps that's a self-given title, nevertheless from the name (like The Edge), the classics, the personalities and humanitarian efforts, their stage presence is  undeniable - and to them all the world is truly a stage.

8.  Speaking of the stage:  Daniel Day Lewis; Kenneth Branagh; Geraldine Fitzgerald; George Bernard Shaw - okay I cheated by putting a number of drama personalities...I could have put more.

       

7.  C.S. Lewis - genius, enough said.

6.  Color Photography - Changed the way we see the world.

5. Chocolate Milk - mmmmm, just ask my girls how delightful chocolate milk is.

4.  Guinness - mmmm, just ask me...

3.  Cure for Leprosy - I don't think any comment or justification is needed.

2.  Portable Defibrillator - Many lives brought back from the brink of the hereafter thanks to this.

1.  The Irish Accent - just the sound of their song like accent has been known to jump-start a few hearts through the ages.