Erin called me at work today to see if I'd heard that the US has leveled against Ghana.... as I was asking her to explain how they scored she went silent..... then she told me that Ghana had been awarded a PK for no apparent reason... and I knew the US was finished.
When I got home from work guess what was waiting for me? My US Soccer Hat had arrived in the mail! I wore it as I watched the game on our DVR in disbelief..... I thought we were the better side against Italy, and I thought we were the better side against Ghana.... if Reyna doesn't jack his knee... then Dempsey's goal puts us up 1-0. If McBride was standing three feet in any direction, Beasley's goal puts us ahead against Italy....oh well.... I guess all the fair weather fans can go back to feigning an interest in the 768 game-long baseball season. There's still a lot that interests me in this cup..... and I guess I'm back to supporting Italia.....
Erin's first exam is tomorrow... she's been learning about parasites and random neurological disorders.....amongst other things. The other day I came upstairs and she was watching a lecture on various STD's which made me nauseous.
My Mom & Dad went to a family reunion this past weekend in OR for the Umbriaco side of the family. I was quite sad to miss it as I haven't seen many Umbriaco's lately. It's always nice to be around family....even family you've never met.
I've been thinking about this quote a lot lately:
“The gospel always comes to people in cultural robes. There is no such thing as a ‘pure’ gospel, isolated from culture”-- (David J. Bosch. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. 1991:297)
Specifically how this relates to Lord's Day Worship..... and contextualization of the Gospel in the way it's presented in song, Word, and sacrament....
I wonder if that statement is true. I suppose I'd need the full excerpt to really evaluate it but it has me thinking of this paradox: The Gospel is transcendent v the Gospel is imminent; The Gospel transcends culture v the Gospel is received in 'cultural robes.'
Where is the balance in that tension? Is it a cop-out to say that because the Gospel comes to us in cultural robes that there is no transcendent way of communicating it (I'm thinking here of the Lord's Day context)? Is it a cop-out to say that it really does come in cultural robes as though it were an unavoidable conclusion? And therefore the cultural robes limit the audience?
I think to some degree this 'contextualization' discussion (though profitable) has become a shelter for us to run to when we need things to make sense. When pragmatics overwhelms our faith in the Holy Spirit - contextualization becomes our friend. It makes us OK with the fact that we only reach people who look like we do, because our gospel is robed in our culture. It seems to me that Christ crucified means the same thing regardless of the time period in which it's received, and that Abraham believed God's promise concerning the Seed and that it was credited to him as righteousness is still the Gospel.... we all come to faith in the same way. I think the real 'contextualization of the Gospel' happens post conversion as the Spirit provides a context and lense for interpretation. I think there is a transcendent way to speak the Gospel to all mankind regardless of their culture..... and I'm sick of being bound by this 'I can only reach people like me mentality.'
Wasn't it the Christ who said 'Love your neighbor as yourself?' I don't recall any qualifiers in the Holy Writ regarding loving neighbors who you identify with culturally...... nor do I remember reading anything about it being more effective for neighbors of similar cultural identity to love each other. The Kingdom transcends culture. How are we announcing the Kingdom with this 'oh well... I don't identify so perhaps someone else can reach them more effectively' mentality?
Are the answers holy mysteries we're just not meant to grasp? I doubt it........ I think we've just lost sight of the Holy City and all our means of contextualization are referenced to the city that passes away.
Ps. 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
I'm not sure if this post will make much sense to the readers.... but it's late (12:45 AM) I'm trying to stay up with Erin tonight so she will have energy to study.....
This blog is brought to by the letter 'p.'
Friday, June 23, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Happy Birthday Battlecat!
Sat. June 10th was Battlecat's 1st Birthday (and my 25th....),
We celebrated with new toys, tummy scratches, and long walks. We gave Battlecat a soccer ball toy with 4 ropes for tugging attached to the ball. The ball contained a noisemaker, so whenever she bit the center of it, an announcer's voice could be heard saying "He shoots.... He SCORES! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" It's pretty awesome... any time Battlecat bit that part of the ball she'd freak out....she'd dance around and bark... and then as soon as the voice stopped, she went back to chewing the ball!
We celebrated with new toys, tummy scratches, and long walks. We gave Battlecat a soccer ball toy with 4 ropes for tugging attached to the ball. The ball contained a noisemaker, so whenever she bit the center of it, an announcer's voice could be heard saying "He shoots.... He SCORES! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" It's pretty awesome... any time Battlecat bit that part of the ball she'd freak out....she'd dance around and bark... and then as soon as the voice stopped, she went back to chewing the ball!
After we celebrated Battlecat's birthday, Erin and I went with some friends to Doneraki's. Doneraki's is a Mexican restaurant here in Houston. When I was here 3 yrs ago for an internship, my friend Hieu (on my right in the picture) and I would eat there all the time. It was close to where he lived, and the menu's stated that it is the "Most Authentic" Mexican Restaurant.... who can pass that up?
Anyway, we were all at the restaurant eating and hanging out... and this mariachi band comes out and starts playing for a large group near us in the restaurant..... after they are done playing... Hieu disappears to 'go to the bathroom.' Shortly after his return I was swarmed, and the next thing I new, I was wearing a sombrero and I had whip cream on my face from the spoonful of dessert the waiter served me... while I was still stunned from the donning of the 300 lb. sombrero.
We had a great time at the restaurant and then went back to our place for cake and ice cream. A couple others came over and we sat around and talked while Battlecat entertained all with wit, charm, and soccer ball.
Today Jason (also pictured above with his wife Julia) taught Battlecat to catch a tennis ball in her mouth. Battlecat's previous experience with balls mostly involves chewing them to pieces.... sometimes we'll throw it, and she'll go and pick it up.... but she never brings it back... she just gets bored and walks off..... but now we've got a new move to work on.
Erin has finals starting on Friday and then she's officially a 2nd Year Med Student!!!!!!!!!!
We're going to Belize for a week after she finishes and we're really excited. We're staying in an amazing hotel (www.ramons.com) and will post pictures of our trip sometime before December.
Other than that... I am freaking out about the World Cup.... tomorrow I'll be quite distracted in the morning.... go USA, and go Italia!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Family Visits & The Flight of Battlecat
Long time no post...... sorry..... we've had some visitors and things have been quite busy.
My parents came to visit the 2nd weekend of the month! They got in Thurs. night and left Sunday night (their flight wasn't scheduled to leave until after 9 which is quite late for my mom!).
When they got in, we went to eat at Golden Corral - as is the tradition of my people. On Friday Erin went to get her haircut with my mom while my dad and I hung out at Borders and read books.... My dad was flipping through Horton's Intro to Covenant Theology and I was reading Knoll's Scandal of the Evangelical Mind! After haircuts and dinner, we went to an Astros game... it was Astros - Rockies... my mom was rooting for the Rockies..... the game was pretty blah until the 6th or 7th when I donned my rally cap and the Astros went on a 6 run tear in response. My mom (who was rooting for the Rockies) was mortified that I rallied the Astros with my Denver Broncos hat..... I fear that I am something of a Colorado traitor to her......
The Astros have sucked since that game so perhaps God (who is a Broncos fan) is punishing me for abandoning a Denver-based team in their time of need.....
On Saturday we went to IKEA in the morning and to NASA and Kemah (www.kemahboardwalk.com) in the evening. We ate at a restaurant called The Aquarium which has a lot of....get this.... fish tanks in the restaurant. There were some pretty cool sharks and eels. On Sunday we went to Kaleo and then paid our homage to Katy Mills.... the largest outlet mall around.
Apparently Continental had some issues leaving on time as they were waiting for travelers coming in from the port in Galveston after arriving late from a cruise... my parents didn't get back to Layton until 3 am.....
I really miss my parents! My mom - who is petrified when approached by anything with more than two legs was excellent with Battlecat.... she petted her and never once was she (my mom) compelled to dive onto the couch in fear! My dad got me an early birthday gift - The Mel Brooks Collection on DVD!!!!!! We got to watch cool movies together including The Blues Brothers. My parents also got Erin and I an armoire as a house-warming present. The cool thing about the armoire is that my dad and I got to put it together.... and we like putting things together and watching cool movies (cool movie is defined as any movie that my mom would deem as inane or otherwise contributing to the death of my brain cells). As an aside I did watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights two times in a row the other day!
Two weeks after my parents came, Joshnita came for Memorial Day weekend. Josh arrived Friday morning and after lunch, he and I dug up our backyard. We loaded our garbage can and wagon with grass and dirt and smoothed out the rest.... we tried to get some dirt bags to even out the backyard the next day and quickly realized that we needed a truck to do the job.... perhaps I will get that done this weekend if it stops raining.
On Saturday we went to Nasa and the Aquarium restaurant in Kemah (sound familiar..... there's not a whole lot going on in Houston.....). The strange thing about the Saturday adventure was that there was nobody at the Aquarium....... two weeks before we waited for at least an hour and a half to be seated but this time we walked in and were seated immediately.....Erin and I had bought three tickets to a water park to use for the weekend... we'd planned to go Sunday but alas... it was raining so after church we went to the Galleria..... the Galleria is a huge mall right near our house.... and again..... there was hardly anybody there... the whole thing was kind of eery..... After the Galleria we took Erin home to study and Joshnita and I went to see X-Men 3.... which was an OK action flick, but I really enjoyed the first two better.....
On Monday Joshnita and I went to look at cars... we looked at Cobalts, Corrolas, and the Yaris which we were both impressed with! Then we went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the musuem of natural science (www.bodyworlds.com). This is an exhibit of real human bodies..... an anatomical exhibit... there was only time where I really felt compelled to vomit......it involved a trapeze. We also got free tickets to the Ur exhibit.... Ur is where Abraham (you know... Father Abraham.... he had many sons... and many sons had Father Abraham.... I am one of them.... and so are you... so let's all praise the Lord ________ insert motion). Unfortunately the Ur exhibit was more like a pottery collection...which I guess is cool if you're into that... I was hoping for a bit more history......anyway we rushed through it to get Joshnita to the airport for his 5:30 flight.
After we dropped Josh off we were on our way home when he called to say that his flight had been delayed.... to 9:30..... so we decided to go back and pick him up to take him to dinner..... unfortunately the airline wouldn't let Josh leave.... they made it sound like at any moment they were going to pull an aircraft from the hangers and head to SLC.... Erin and I got temporary gate passes and had dinner with Josh inside the airport. After we got done with dinner (around 8) the departure board said the flight had been delayed another hour.... Erin called the airline and the told her that the flight which was taking Josh to SLC wasn't going to arrive in Houston until 10:27 if it left on time..... so there's no way the flight would leave by 10:30..... so we decided to try to get Josh on standby for the 9:05 at another gate..... we went to board the tram to the next game only to find out that the tram was temporarily out of service.....
Long story short... Erin and I enjoyed 4 hours at George Bush Intercontinental with Josh and he was able to get on the 9:05 and arrived in SLC around 11:30.......
The Flight of Battlecat.....
Battlecat has been growing in her rebellious efforts......she seems to be incapable of heeding the command: Come. She will sit from a mile away but if you tell her to come she just runs..... Erin and I have been letting her roam free on our gated street so she can frolic, eat wood chips, and poop! Two days ago I was walking out the door to pick up some groceries when Battlecat met me at the door looking quite distraught. She pleaded with me to go outside.... and I acquiesed. Battlecat ran to the end of the street..... I went to the end of the street and she bolted to the front of the street... coincident with her sprint, our neighbors were loading stuff into their trucks outside the gate.... Battlecat seized the moment and ran into the street.... I followed her....walking so as not to make her think I was giving chase... she ran up to another man with a dog and stayed there barking and hopping until I arrived and she bolted down another street and into a cul de sac. There are two homes with no fence dividing the backyards..... after 10 min of chasing her from one side of the backyard to the other I enlisted the help of a man who was at the used car dealership across the street.... the plan: to chase Battlecat from one side and have her cornered by my accomplice. Unfortunately Battlecat realized she was cornered and sprinted past me before I could pounce. Back up the street she went..... by this time Erin had decided to come see where we were.... and Battlecat went right up to her.........must be a chick thing....
This morning Battlecat tipped Erin's study table over as she was goofing around and Erins cereal tipped onto her laptop.....bummer #1.
Erin called me on the way home from school while she was on the train.... and that's the last place she remembered having her phone. So Erin is having a sad day..... we're hopeful that someone turned her phone into a train operator. When I got home from work, her laptop seemed to be in working order (other than some sticky keys....).
Well.....I will post several pictures this weekend....
That's all for now.
My parents came to visit the 2nd weekend of the month! They got in Thurs. night and left Sunday night (their flight wasn't scheduled to leave until after 9 which is quite late for my mom!).
When they got in, we went to eat at Golden Corral - as is the tradition of my people. On Friday Erin went to get her haircut with my mom while my dad and I hung out at Borders and read books.... My dad was flipping through Horton's Intro to Covenant Theology and I was reading Knoll's Scandal of the Evangelical Mind! After haircuts and dinner, we went to an Astros game... it was Astros - Rockies... my mom was rooting for the Rockies..... the game was pretty blah until the 6th or 7th when I donned my rally cap and the Astros went on a 6 run tear in response. My mom (who was rooting for the Rockies) was mortified that I rallied the Astros with my Denver Broncos hat..... I fear that I am something of a Colorado traitor to her......
The Astros have sucked since that game so perhaps God (who is a Broncos fan) is punishing me for abandoning a Denver-based team in their time of need.....
On Saturday we went to IKEA in the morning and to NASA and Kemah (www.kemahboardwalk.com) in the evening. We ate at a restaurant called The Aquarium which has a lot of....get this.... fish tanks in the restaurant. There were some pretty cool sharks and eels. On Sunday we went to Kaleo and then paid our homage to Katy Mills.... the largest outlet mall around.
Apparently Continental had some issues leaving on time as they were waiting for travelers coming in from the port in Galveston after arriving late from a cruise... my parents didn't get back to Layton until 3 am.....
I really miss my parents! My mom - who is petrified when approached by anything with more than two legs was excellent with Battlecat.... she petted her and never once was she (my mom) compelled to dive onto the couch in fear! My dad got me an early birthday gift - The Mel Brooks Collection on DVD!!!!!! We got to watch cool movies together including The Blues Brothers. My parents also got Erin and I an armoire as a house-warming present. The cool thing about the armoire is that my dad and I got to put it together.... and we like putting things together and watching cool movies (cool movie is defined as any movie that my mom would deem as inane or otherwise contributing to the death of my brain cells). As an aside I did watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights two times in a row the other day!
Two weeks after my parents came, Joshnita came for Memorial Day weekend. Josh arrived Friday morning and after lunch, he and I dug up our backyard. We loaded our garbage can and wagon with grass and dirt and smoothed out the rest.... we tried to get some dirt bags to even out the backyard the next day and quickly realized that we needed a truck to do the job.... perhaps I will get that done this weekend if it stops raining.
On Saturday we went to Nasa and the Aquarium restaurant in Kemah (sound familiar..... there's not a whole lot going on in Houston.....). The strange thing about the Saturday adventure was that there was nobody at the Aquarium....... two weeks before we waited for at least an hour and a half to be seated but this time we walked in and were seated immediately.....Erin and I had bought three tickets to a water park to use for the weekend... we'd planned to go Sunday but alas... it was raining so after church we went to the Galleria..... the Galleria is a huge mall right near our house.... and again..... there was hardly anybody there... the whole thing was kind of eery..... After the Galleria we took Erin home to study and Joshnita and I went to see X-Men 3.... which was an OK action flick, but I really enjoyed the first two better.....
On Monday Joshnita and I went to look at cars... we looked at Cobalts, Corrolas, and the Yaris which we were both impressed with! Then we went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the musuem of natural science (www.bodyworlds.com). This is an exhibit of real human bodies..... an anatomical exhibit... there was only time where I really felt compelled to vomit......it involved a trapeze. We also got free tickets to the Ur exhibit.... Ur is where Abraham (you know... Father Abraham.... he had many sons... and many sons had Father Abraham.... I am one of them.... and so are you... so let's all praise the Lord ________ insert motion). Unfortunately the Ur exhibit was more like a pottery collection...which I guess is cool if you're into that... I was hoping for a bit more history......anyway we rushed through it to get Joshnita to the airport for his 5:30 flight.
After we dropped Josh off we were on our way home when he called to say that his flight had been delayed.... to 9:30..... so we decided to go back and pick him up to take him to dinner..... unfortunately the airline wouldn't let Josh leave.... they made it sound like at any moment they were going to pull an aircraft from the hangers and head to SLC.... Erin and I got temporary gate passes and had dinner with Josh inside the airport. After we got done with dinner (around 8) the departure board said the flight had been delayed another hour.... Erin called the airline and the told her that the flight which was taking Josh to SLC wasn't going to arrive in Houston until 10:27 if it left on time..... so there's no way the flight would leave by 10:30..... so we decided to try to get Josh on standby for the 9:05 at another gate..... we went to board the tram to the next game only to find out that the tram was temporarily out of service.....
Long story short... Erin and I enjoyed 4 hours at George Bush Intercontinental with Josh and he was able to get on the 9:05 and arrived in SLC around 11:30.......
The Flight of Battlecat.....
Battlecat has been growing in her rebellious efforts......she seems to be incapable of heeding the command: Come. She will sit from a mile away but if you tell her to come she just runs..... Erin and I have been letting her roam free on our gated street so she can frolic, eat wood chips, and poop! Two days ago I was walking out the door to pick up some groceries when Battlecat met me at the door looking quite distraught. She pleaded with me to go outside.... and I acquiesed. Battlecat ran to the end of the street..... I went to the end of the street and she bolted to the front of the street... coincident with her sprint, our neighbors were loading stuff into their trucks outside the gate.... Battlecat seized the moment and ran into the street.... I followed her....walking so as not to make her think I was giving chase... she ran up to another man with a dog and stayed there barking and hopping until I arrived and she bolted down another street and into a cul de sac. There are two homes with no fence dividing the backyards..... after 10 min of chasing her from one side of the backyard to the other I enlisted the help of a man who was at the used car dealership across the street.... the plan: to chase Battlecat from one side and have her cornered by my accomplice. Unfortunately Battlecat realized she was cornered and sprinted past me before I could pounce. Back up the street she went..... by this time Erin had decided to come see where we were.... and Battlecat went right up to her.........must be a chick thing....
This morning Battlecat tipped Erin's study table over as she was goofing around and Erins cereal tipped onto her laptop.....bummer #1.
Erin called me on the way home from school while she was on the train.... and that's the last place she remembered having her phone. So Erin is having a sad day..... we're hopeful that someone turned her phone into a train operator. When I got home from work, her laptop seemed to be in working order (other than some sticky keys....).
Well.....I will post several pictures this weekend....
That's all for now.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Erin: Before & After
I've dropped off the e-map.... sorry for being a bad updater/commenter.......
Chris - I swear I will catch you on IM soon....
I also resolve to blog about my parents visit (we had an awesome time!)
But for now - Erin:
Before......
After her haircut.... 10 in. to locks of love!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Sorry, no brown rice on Sunday
Erin in front of a sign at the capitol.....
The office of Terry Tottenham
This is a statue to honor the 'confederate dead' at the state capitol. There's no mention of the union here... I'm not even sure I saw anything about the United States.... just Texas and the confederacy.....here's hoping TX leaves the union and we get dual citizenship.
Jess and Erin in front of the capitol
The bar area at the Hula Hut where we spent an hour and half consuming 5 or so bowls of chips and queso.....mmmmmm.......
Jess and a cannon.
The view from the Tottenham's backyard... amazing.... notice the topography
Jess, her mom, and my Erin.
And now.... a real post:
So.... we went to Austin to visit Erin's college roomie: Jessica (she and Alamo need a blog) Tottenham! Jess is a staff worker for Young Life in SLC. Jess has an amazing opportunity to start a Capernaum Club ministry in SLC to disadvantaged youth (http://www.younglife.org/Pages/Capernaum.htm).
Jess was in town to update some of her TX based ministry supporters about her work with Young Life and the new opportunities doing Capernaum. A little known fact about Jessica Tottenham is that she was born right here in Houston! Who knew? Another fact about Jess is that her passion for all things TX is sort of justified... at least when it comes to Austin.
Austin is beautiful..... Houston is this flat concrete jungle...... Austin has rolling hills...everything is green... there's lots of crazy hippies and really cool confederate memorabilia.... oh and ton of bats that live under a bridge. Austin is home to the main campus of UT, Amy's Ice Cream (which is.... dare I say it.... more glorious than the Midvale Cold Stone...) and the Tottenham's.
Erin and I stayed with Jess and her family at their amazing home. Her oldest sister Joe was in town with her twin boys who were very shy and silly. I really admire their life... they sleep for like 10 hrs, get up... eat.... poop their pants... wait 'till someone changes them.... go back to sleep... and repeat.... it's amazing!
Speaking of pooping your pants... I heard a life-changing story from a source that shall remain nameless.....
A friend had gone to a bachelor party in the great state of TX.... and this was their activity for the evening:
Everyone put on a pair of depends.... took some ex-lax, and wrestled the night away.... last man to poop his pants wins! What a glorious way to spend your last night as a bachelor!!!!!!
Here's a quick list of guys I'd like to wrestle and poop my pants with:
1) My Dad - who introduced me to professional wrestling (Old School Wrestlemania Videos - we used to get big bags of popcorn and watch Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant go at it!), Mel Brooks, and the Broncos, and just about everything else that makes me manly!
2) Jonathan Hays - Jonathan would be too funny..... he embraces his.... physique and the physical comedy of him pooping himself would be too much to handle.
3) Sean Patrick - I dare not speculate on what his wrestling outfit might look like... I just hope it's made of mesh
4) Gep/Dittmer/Schwarz/Ari: My college roomies from the crack house and el caliente apts! We watched wrestling pay per views together.... .Kyle and I retook Physics because we played wrestling so much.... Ari gets special bonus points for his luche libre qualities (he can reverse a powerbomb - although he's a little guy... so his poop would not be as explosive)
The next dude to get married.... PLEASE consider this for your bachelor party, and consider inviting me!
OK.... back to Austin....
So the first night there was Jess' Donor Dessert....... one of her neighbors made a ton of desserts from scratch... espresso brownies, strawberry cheesecake thingies.... chocolate cake..... it was AWESOME.... all natural ingredients too for those of you Whole Foods types....
It was cool to meet all the sweet people who showed up!
On Saturday we made our obligatory pilgrimage to the State Capitol! Everyone who crosses the state line needs to visit the State Capitol. It is beautiful.... we found out why Six Flags (the theme park) is called Six Flags..... we found out that God & TX are inextricably linked, and we saluted the soldiers who fought valiantly for the confederacy......and I mounted a cannon.....
After the capitol, we went around the campus of UT which was quite impressive....the soccer stadium is huge! After we drove around the stadium we went to the Hula Hut for lunch.
The wait at the Hula Hut was an hour and half... which fortunately is just the right amount of time to sit in the bar area with some chips and queso and people watch the crazy texans! (It would be redundant to say crazy inebriated texans... as all texans are by legal mandate inebriated after 1 PM) By the time we ate we were full from the chips... but the Hula Hut was awesome... right on a river/lake thing.... you can boat right to the restaurant!
After lunch we went back home and chilled out while I watched the NFL Draft..... I can't comment here on my NFL Draft thoughts..... it would distract from my focus on Austin, and pooping.
Saturday night we went to dinner at this sub shop called Thundersomething.... It was like 8PM and this joint closed at 9.... which for some reason meant they'd shut off everything that could be used to heat anything in the building..... like a sandwhich or meat.... etc. But that didn't dissuade us. When we got to the counter I was filled with glee... the young, potentially stoned, sales attendant had a full color tattoo of several characters from He-Man! I promptly told him about my dog named Battlecat to which he replied something incoherent...... I was soooooo let down by his lack of enthusiasm... perhaps he was hallucinating when he got the tattoo?
So we followed the subs with some Amy's Ice Cream and then saw Thank You for Smoking.... I'm always up for satire and thought the movie was quite funny... although I could have done with about 600 less f-bombs per sentence.
On Sunday we went to Johnny Rob's church - Redeemer Presbyterian. The sermon was awesome... a little Luke 24 meets Genesis 3... I dug it! They had an intense organ player which was cool. After service we went to lunch at this Chinese joint.....
The server came to take our order, and I requested brown rice.... to which he replied... We don't serve brown rice on Sundays......
I'm not sure what that means..... I was too amazed to ask why not......
After lunch Erin and I had to leave the beautiful land of Austin and head back to Houston.... and though we were excited to see Battlecat and eat at Dairy Queen on the way.... we were quite sad to leave behind hills and Tottenhams.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
With Apologies.....
Fear not faithful blog readers, a new post is coming soon...... one that will chronicle our adventures in Austin with our hostess Jessica Tottenham!
A mini-update concerning the adoption of a sister for Battlecat...... we looked at three dogs and took Battlecat to play with them.... but couldn't decide on one for her. Erin's spring break week was spent waiting at the house for workers to do warranty updates on our house - waiting around for workers to show up when you could be doing all sorts of other things = bummer.
And now a picture to quench your thirst......
A mini-update concerning the adoption of a sister for Battlecat...... we looked at three dogs and took Battlecat to play with them.... but couldn't decide on one for her. Erin's spring break week was spent waiting at the house for workers to do warranty updates on our house - waiting around for workers to show up when you could be doing all sorts of other things = bummer.
And now a picture to quench your thirst......
Sunday, April 23, 2006
A revolution in home hair-cutting
Kudos to those who know the subject reference....
The purpose of this mini-post is to exhort all my readers to join me on the mini-blog revolution {This mini blog revolution was started by Lazlo the Destroyer (aka Danny Maland).}
Here's how it works: Hop on over to Chris Snow's blog (http://www.csnow.blogspot.com)
and leave your own completely random mini blog as a comment on the most recent post.... fear not - as Chris only updates once a millenia there is no chance of you commenting on the wrong post....
Viva la mini-blogolution!
If this does not seem revolutionary to you: there is a chance that you might be lame.....
The purpose of this mini-post is to exhort all my readers to join me on the mini-blog revolution {This mini blog revolution was started by Lazlo the Destroyer (aka Danny Maland).}
Here's how it works: Hop on over to Chris Snow's blog (http://www.csnow.blogspot.com)
and leave your own completely random mini blog as a comment on the most recent post.... fear not - as Chris only updates once a millenia there is no chance of you commenting on the wrong post....
Viva la mini-blogolution!
If this does not seem revolutionary to you: there is a chance that you might be lame.....
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Last week of Battle-Training
As students across America are preparing for their final exams, so too - our daughter is finishing her first (only?) session of class. Battlecat Umbriaco is the star pupil. Everyone in class comments on how well behaved she is (hopefully this will re-assure my mom before she comes out to visit!) and she listens to directions quite well - of course if Battlecat is left alone all day while Erin and I are at work/school she is a bit ferocious, but that is to be expected... she is aptly named. Now - some pictures of Battlecat establishing her dominion over the living room.
Note the ridge down the center of her back - this appears when she is in Battle-Mode. Battlecat stands watch in every window she can get her paws in! She is truly a faithful security system.
Also of note are her bulging battle-biceps which she employs in conjunction with her mouth when we play tug o' battle war (one of her favorite games). After she is done chewing a toy she likes to play tug o' war with the leftover scraps! She is quite silly but we appreciate her frugality.... in fact her favorite treat these days is an ice-cube... any time she hears us getting ice she comes running. Ice-cubes are well within our budget.
Battlecat practices the art of war.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Blast from the Past
Here's some pictures from the vault:
(R): Sean & Rachael (M): Us (L) J-rad & Amie & the lovely Jessica Tottenham is being held up. We're going to see Jess in Austin in a couple of weeks!
This is a picture of Erin & I opening wedding presents after we got back fom our honeymoon.
Here's a picture of our kitchen when we first moved in. This past weekend we helped a couple (Jason & Julia) move into their new house and I don't envy the long days of unpacking ahead of them....
Here's a picture of Battlecat & I in better days..... in recent times (read last night) Battlecat has been far more ferocious... she woke us up @ 3:45 am barking at a cat perched on our fence outside.... she wouldn't stop barking.... uggh... didn't get back to sleep until 4:30ish. Also in recent times the beard has taken a vacation.... Erin thinks it's too scratchy - so it's the goatee for awhile... but hopefully the beard will be back... I think shaving everday is scratchy.
(R): Sean & Rachael (M): Us (L) J-rad & Amie & the lovely Jessica Tottenham is being held up. We're going to see Jess in Austin in a couple of weeks!
This is a picture of Erin & I opening wedding presents after we got back fom our honeymoon.
Here's a picture of our kitchen when we first moved in. This past weekend we helped a couple (Jason & Julia) move into their new house and I don't envy the long days of unpacking ahead of them....
Here's a picture of Battlecat & I in better days..... in recent times (read last night) Battlecat has been far more ferocious... she woke us up @ 3:45 am barking at a cat perched on our fence outside.... she wouldn't stop barking.... uggh... didn't get back to sleep until 4:30ish. Also in recent times the beard has taken a vacation.... Erin thinks it's too scratchy - so it's the goatee for awhile... but hopefully the beard will be back... I think shaving everday is scratchy.Upcoming Events:
1) Erin has tests all next week
2) We are going to adopt a sister for Battlecat after her tests are finished!
3) We're going to visit Jess in Austin
4) My parents are coming to visit the second weekend in May!
Currently Reading:
I've had to shelf OP's Christ of the Covenants for now....I keep trying to read it at the gym... bad move... you have a rad voice OP - but you're too academic to read on the stair-thingy.... I've been reading Spurgeon at the gym and he's a lot easier to handle.
Christ and Culture - This is my train book along with Blink (a recommend from my work-friend Katy!) Right now I'm reading about the Christ against Culture view, and this (along with Covenant's Ancient Church History course) has confirmed my view that Tertullian was straight up wack.....
Grudem's Systematic - slowly but surely....
Newly Acquired: Horton's Intro to Covenant Theology (I'll probably have to read this one to better understand my boy OP). Roland Allen's Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or ours (next on tap for the train reading). Bavink's Reformed Dogmatics Vol2 (Thanks Dru!)....
Blue Like Jazz has been recommended by like 6000 individuals so I guess that will be my next gym read.... it sounds like a book I could be into whilst at the gym....
That is all....
peace out.
-jake
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
1-2-3-4 Sumpin' New
Battlecat has gone insane - there is no controlling her: she is off the proverbial hook.
In other news - Erin and I went to the D Webb/ Sandra McCracken show this past Sunday with our neighbors, Joel, and Hieu!
Sandra is amazing and she played some beautiful arrangements - Derek threw down some requests and then played straight through Mockingbird w/ Sandra. Great show - I really appreciate Derek's music because he is saying something to the culture other than 'Jesus is super duper....' If the reality of the incarnate Son of God doesn't compel us to act than it is no reality for us....
Anyway - I'm going to pass out.... too tired.... Battlecat has been keeping us up very late.... must sleep.
In other news - Erin and I went to the D Webb/ Sandra McCracken show this past Sunday with our neighbors, Joel, and Hieu!
Sandra is amazing and she played some beautiful arrangements - Derek threw down some requests and then played straight through Mockingbird w/ Sandra. Great show - I really appreciate Derek's music because he is saying something to the culture other than 'Jesus is super duper....' If the reality of the incarnate Son of God doesn't compel us to act than it is no reality for us....
Anyway - I'm going to pass out.... too tired.... Battlecat has been keeping us up very late.... must sleep.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The Wedding of Sticky & Christina
Sticky and I walking in.....
Los Umbriacos
Dos Umbriacos
Me & my sis
Two happy Rudnickis
Mas Umbriacos
Amy's fiancee John is the one on the left
Parents etc.
Sticky making the magic happen.Monday, March 27, 2006
Tale of Two Cities
Long couple of weeks......
Erin and I had to drive to Dallas (the day after Grandpa passed) so we could catch a flight to the SLC the next morning (incidentally it was $800 less per person to fly out of Dallas....). The drive to Dallas worked out well as it meant that we got to see Brandy Patrick on back to back weekends... but I was also able to spend time with mi amore - Corey Duncan (and his wife was there also...) Corey and I stayed up until 3 and then we got up at 6 to go to the airport.
We drove up to Green River with Juanita and Joshnita and spent Friday evening at the family viewing and rosary service..... (I've not been to mass in sometime and when it came time for the 'Our Father' I realized a little too late that the "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever" isn't recited....)
We spent alot of time with all of Erin's various relatives which was a lot of fun! We stayed Sat. night in a room with Jenny and Richie and their dog, Harley. On Sunday Juanita, Erin and I decided to go up to the gravesite (the funeral was on Saturday - thanks Mom & Dad, and Rud's for coming up). Right at was rounded a bend in front of the cemetery Juanita lets out a yelp..... "It's a bear!"
Allow me to post a visual comparison of the animal she saw and the animal she thought she saw:
A Polar Bear:
Erin and I had to drive to Dallas (the day after Grandpa passed) so we could catch a flight to the SLC the next morning (incidentally it was $800 less per person to fly out of Dallas....). The drive to Dallas worked out well as it meant that we got to see Brandy Patrick on back to back weekends... but I was also able to spend time with mi amore - Corey Duncan (and his wife was there also...) Corey and I stayed up until 3 and then we got up at 6 to go to the airport.
We drove up to Green River with Juanita and Joshnita and spent Friday evening at the family viewing and rosary service..... (I've not been to mass in sometime and when it came time for the 'Our Father' I realized a little too late that the "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever" isn't recited....)
We spent alot of time with all of Erin's various relatives which was a lot of fun! We stayed Sat. night in a room with Jenny and Richie and their dog, Harley. On Sunday Juanita, Erin and I decided to go up to the gravesite (the funeral was on Saturday - thanks Mom & Dad, and Rud's for coming up). Right at was rounded a bend in front of the cemetery Juanita lets out a yelp..... "It's a bear!"
Allow me to post a visual comparison of the animal she saw and the animal she thought she saw:
A Polar Bear:
Actually it was a sheep:
But that's an honest mistake! So we had a good time joking about Juanita's 'Polar Bear.'
When Erin and I got back to Dallas on Tuesday - Marylin met us at the airport (DFW is an amazing airport BTW) and brought us back to Brandy's. We said to Brandy for a minute and got on the road.... we got back to Houston around 11:30 PM - went to work Wed and Thursday and Friday morning we flew to Chicago for Sticky's wedding where I had the honor of serving as best man!
I was going to post some wedding pictures but blogger is having upload issues.... weak blogger.... not strong.
Tomorrow: wedding pics.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
For Joe.
Earlier today Erin and I got the news that her grandfather Joe 'Ross' Vigil passed away after a 2-month struggle to recover from a massive stroke. I knew Joe as a story-teller. Every time I saw him - he had a story.... about eating horse meat when he served in the military or catching a train to Denver for a Broncos game.... from a fishing yarn to nights of jitterbug dancing with his wife - the man was overflowing with memories. As I sit here I'm unsure of how to react. Death is where the rubber meets the road for faith.... as much as humanity is concerned with our purpose here on Earth - I think we're all driven by the question of what happens when we die - and as Christians if there's no hope in death then we are irrelevant. We have nothing to say if we can't say death is ultimately beautiful.
We are all created as image bearers of the One God and from birth until our last breath - every scar and crinkle of our visage is reflective of something wholly other. That God would take on flesh and die gives us hope. That God is so consumed by zeal for His Holiness that He would put to death His Son for our sins is beautiful - and that we are offered hope of life eternal with Him because of the Son is something altogether other.... I don't have a word for that. So there is beauty in the passing of a saint - out of this world to a place where there is no suffering - just the radiance of a broken lamb in a forever healed body.
For a man who's stories I'd only 5 years to hear - now with the Story everlasting:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit brother, Amen.
Goodbye Grandpa.
Monday, March 13, 2006
The Stella Link
Jonathan and Sarah had a baby..... Tiffany and Nolan just had number two..... pretty much every human I went to high school with has had a baby..... so what is keeping us from having one.....
This thought occurred to me yesterday as Erin and I read the news that Sarah had given birth...... but as I thought about it some more I just didn't think I could live with the guilt.
Can you imagine the pyschological trauma this child would suffer? How could I ever look my child in the face and explain that this person that Erin and I brought into the world was born.... in Texas?
They issue you three things upon birth in Texas:
1) Birth Certificate
2) Concealed Weapons Permit
3) Gift certificate for http://www.texasjacks.com/
Even if we moved when the child was very young - I don't think they can ever fully repress the memories of Texas. The child would always fight an overwhelming desire to listen to country music... Erin and I have already begun intensive shock therapy to convince ourselves that we're actually in Deleware..... how could we do this to a child?
Alas, poor Battlecat is showing many symptoms of a dog who is clearly aware of where she is from..... She keeps bringing home flyers for this place:
http://www.trayerscowdogs.com/index.html
If I ever post a picture of Battlecat in this kind of a get up.... you'll know that Erin and I have reached the breaking point....
This thought occurred to me yesterday as Erin and I read the news that Sarah had given birth...... but as I thought about it some more I just didn't think I could live with the guilt.
Can you imagine the pyschological trauma this child would suffer? How could I ever look my child in the face and explain that this person that Erin and I brought into the world was born.... in Texas?
They issue you three things upon birth in Texas:
1) Birth Certificate
2) Concealed Weapons Permit
3) Gift certificate for http://www.texasjacks.com/
Even if we moved when the child was very young - I don't think they can ever fully repress the memories of Texas. The child would always fight an overwhelming desire to listen to country music... Erin and I have already begun intensive shock therapy to convince ourselves that we're actually in Deleware..... how could we do this to a child?
Alas, poor Battlecat is showing many symptoms of a dog who is clearly aware of where she is from..... She keeps bringing home flyers for this place:
http://www.trayerscowdogs.com/index.html
If I ever post a picture of Battlecat in this kind of a get up.... you'll know that Erin and I have reached the breaking point....
On an entirely different note: Erin and I were up in Ft. Worth where we consumed many ribs with Brandy, Marylin, Doug, (assorted canines & stuffed armadillos) and Sean and Rachel who were in town for spring break!
This weekend the Duncans are visiting the fair state of TX so we're looking forward to seeing them..... and the next weekend.... the wedding of Chicago Sticky.
That is all for now
Monday, March 06, 2006
Update
Here's Erin's Birthday Present!
Erin and I sitting on her new piano bench
Erin and Brandy gettin' their craft on
Brandy w/ Battlecat on the Love Sac (note blanket protecting Brandy's skin from touching suede!)
Battlecat in her natural habitat
Battlecat hanging out on the futonLong time no post..... my bad. Things have been crazy here lately: Erin has been sick - since she's been sick she had to miss some school which stressed her out.... stress + sick = sad. Sad Erin received some sad news and flew back to SLC today to be with her grandfather who, after suffering a major stroke in January, has taken a turn for the worse. All of that is a lot to handle for her....
We were stoked to have Brandy with us before Erin got sick.... Brandy was quite ingenuitive with her sewing endeavors engineering a spindle out of several DVDs and a pencil. We also discovered Lee's Burgers and More. Lee is this older Asian dude who runs a burger/chinese food joint a couple blocks from our house. Lee's special: 1/3 lbs. Burger, Fries, and a Drink: $3.29..... amazing! The other food revelation was: General Joe's located in the Fiesta down the street. This too is amazing. Erin and I have grieved being apart from Chop Suey Luey's and the Chinese Food place in Smith's on 9th and 9th.... General Joe's has helped me cope.... cheap Chinese - the General Joe's Combo also less than $4!
Random Thoughts:
1) Broncos cutting Mike Anderson = weak.
2) The Utes Men's B-Ball Team sucks worse than I've ever seen them suck..... which sucks. No march madness makes me sad.
3) Houston 1836 changed their name to Houston Dynamo
4) Erin and I are stoked for the new Hays addition!
Please pray for Erin and her family.
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