Eating Snow

Carissa really wanted to play in the snow. Turns out she wanted to eat it.

We also saw these planes flying over. 

And just for fun, this is what happens when you don't check your exposure compensation (+1.33). 

Christmas Excitement

Carissa opened presents Christmas morning from her mom and me. She was really excited to get this present, a Dora guitar. It was the only thing she asked Santa for this year.

You can find more photos from Christmas on Facebook here. If we're not friends yet, we should be :)

White Christmas

Like many of you (but not all) we have the treat of a white Christmas this year. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Songs

...and a special message at the end :)

(video)

Holding Bella

Christina and I are officially off work through Jan 3 so we spent the day at home working on some things. It was nice enough to spend some time outside. And that involved holding Bella a lot.

I took this using a lens I rented for the holidays from BorrowLenses. I've got a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 AF-S for five weeks. Cheap lens this time around. I'll go for the big stuff next time.

Playing in the Snow

The day wasn't without it's "fun" moments though. She decided to surprise me with snow to the face (and my camera).

The Cowgirl

Carissa started running around the house tonight saying "I'm a cowgirl! I'm a cowgirl!"

Too bad she had the wrong 'hat' on. And yes, it's underwear on her head. Very similar to the swim diaper before.

Sunday Lunch

We had lunch yesterday at Colton's here in Rolla. They opened today officially. Lunch was great and Carissa loved the bread and peanuts. I'm sure we'll be back soon.

Rolla Christmas Parade

We went to Rolla's Christmas Parade this morning. Carissa enjoyed it but was really excited to see Santa at the end. She's waving at him here.

Thanksgiving Snow

We traveled to Marshfield, MO today to have lunch with my mom's side of the family. It started snowing right as we got there so we went out later to throw snow at each other. Carissa played until her fingers hurt too much.

Beads

Carissa has learned some of the finer things of life from her mom. She loves to play with her beads while Christina creates some of her own jewelry. It's pretty amazing to watch a 2 year-old thread beads on a small wire, all by herself.

Getting Camera Shy

The days of Carissa loving to have her picture taken have left us for now.

Behind the Spoon

Carissa was just being silly with her spoon.

Making Friends

Christina had an open house at school this evening and Carissa and I stopped by. She quickly made friends with one of Christina's coworker's little boy. She would dance around in front of him and then decided to crawl just like he was. He, of course, was enamored with her the whole time.

Welcome Bella

We have a new dog named Bella. She is about five pounds and a year old. Carissa is absolutely in love with her. More pictures to come later.

Smokey Sunset

Those aren't clouds in the sky. That's smoke coming from a wildfire at Fort Leonard Wood. Earlier this morning the haze across town made me think I was in L.A.

Remembering Halloween

Here's a look back at past Halloween costumes:

1st Halloween:

2nd Halloween: 

3rd Halloween:

Halloween Downtown

We walked around downtown this evening with Christina's brother's family. Carissa wore her "Annie" wig just for the picture.

Green Lake Sunrise

I'm here at Green Lake, WI for our annual Midwest Pastor's Retreat. It is beautiful and cold up here. I was up this cloudy morning to see the sunrise. The wind is gusting up around 50-60mph so the lake looks like an ocean at times.

Sunday Dress

A few shots of Carissa's dress she wore to church this morning:

Playing in the Bath

Carissa has discovered how water drips from her in the bath tub. She notices the funniest details. On this particular night, she couldn't part from her pacifier.

Parent Tip #47

In an emergency, a swim diaper can be used as a stocking cap.

*disclaimer: it is a clean diaper

Fun With Leaves

Carissa enjoyed herself in some leaves I raked together the other day.

Carissa wanted the camera and took this photo of me. She's getting better :) 

Pumpkin Patch

*blog note* -- If you haven't noticed, I was a little burned out on blogging after blogging so much about my dad's situation in Africa and the aftermath. I'll be catching up on a few things that happened this month. Thanks for sticking with me.

Carissa's preschool went to a pumpkin patch this last week and I went along.

This is her and me on the horse-drawn wagon ride. She tried talking to the horses the whole ride. 

The Hole in One

Found this sweet video that we made on a family trip to Branson this past spring. 

Ice Cream Cone

We went to South Central Creamery this afternoon and Carissa needed a cone just like mommy's. She enjoyed it thoroughly.

Marshmallows

Carissa enjoyed out weenie roast Saturday night so much, she wanted to make a fire again. She'll say "I love fire." So, we had some friends over and roasted some marshmallows, another favorite of Carissa's.

Swinging

We spent the day in Licking with Christina's family and Carissa was showing off her swinging skills.

Dinner at Benton

Last night we had dinner at Benton Square to celebrate Christina's mom's birthday. Christina's brother's family and Aunt Jean (her Granny's twin sister) came down too and was giving Carissa some love during dinner. It was a pretty fun night. Happy birthday Mimi!

Carissa at Dewitt Pond

Carissa was with me the other night when I went out to Newburg. Her hair gets a bit crazy at the end of the day and when she's outside in the humidity. She had fun though. We looked for "ducks and turtles", but we didn't see any.

Sunset in Newburg

I went out tonight to check on a camp site that friends and I frequented during college by DeWitt Pond, outside of Newburg. Unfortunately, the Forest Service has quit maintaining it so it's overgrown and not usable. Caught a beautiful sunset though.

Fall Is Almost Here

The cooler weather is drawing Carissa outside for hours on a nightly basis now. She was playing around with me the other day and was trying to tickle me while taking pictures.

Dad and Brain Surgery

So, there has been a lot going on this week. Dad had another angiogram on Tuesday and the doctors did see an very small aneurysm they wanted to fix. So, Friday morning dad will undergo brain surgery. They plan to take him to pre-op around 6am and the surgery will be at least 4 hours. Dad will be in ICU for a day or so and then in the hospital recovering for up to a week. Please be praying with us tomorrow morning for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.

(Photo courtesy of dad's coworker, James)

**UPDATE** SEP 10 8:30AM
Heard from mom this morning that they delayed the surgery for a few hours to rule out some shoulder pain dad was having from being anything more serious. I'll try and update here throughout the day. Thank you again for continuing to pray with us.

**UPDATE** SEP 11 2:15PM
I'm currently sitting in the Neuro ICU with my dad. He doses off every once in a while. He is doing great today after having surgery yesterday afternoon. He is up in a recliner today and has quite an appetite. He even asked for a chocolate malt with his lunch (and the nurses gave the okay). Hopefully, he'll be out of the ICU by the end of the weekend and out of the hospital by the end of the week. He got some recovery ahead of him. Please continue to pray with us for a quick(er) and healthy recovery. Thanks!

**UPDATE** SEP 12 8:15PM
Dad is out of the ICU and into a normal recovery room. He is very excited to be out of there and can't wait to get released to go home. I check back tomorrow for a room # or telephone # to my dad. Thanks for your continued prayers.

**UPDATE** SEP 13 10:25PM
Got to visit with my dad a bit today and Carissa finally got to see him too. He was doing well enough they're even letting him start getting out of him room on his own (with a wheel chair at this point). We went down to the lobby to watch Carissa throw some coins in the water fountain together. My parents and the doctor are shooting to get released by Thursday. Please be praying that can happen. Until then, feel free to call my dad (I think they transfer calls from 11am-8pm) 314-362-5460 and ask for Room #10575.

**UPDATE** SEP 17 7:15AM
Dad was released and was home by last night. We are so excited and praise God that his recovery had gone so well and so quickly. He still has some time at home that he is supposed to rest but he and mom were both ready to get out of the hospital. It was only a week ago today that he had his surgery. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Right Turn Clyde

We've spent several of our weekend evenings the past few months hanging out at Benton Square, a new restaurant here in Rolla, watching a friend of ours play with his band. Last night was a beautiful night to spend outside with some live music.

Welcome Home

A great crowd of friends and co-workers were waiting today when we got to my parents house. Mom and Dad are so glad to be home. Please continue to be praying for them as they'll be traveling to St. Louis the first of the week for a doctor's appointment. A special thank you to their Southridge family and my dad's co-workers from MODOT for coming to welcome them home.

Here's a quick message from my parents:

"Larry and I do not have the words to express fully our thanks to all who have helped during this "adventure" in our lives.  We are overwhelmed by God's love and tender care demonstrated by our community of friends and family.  We want to give God the glory by thanking each of you for playing your part in helping us.  Prayers, cards, chores, pet-sitting, phone calls, and the many other acts of kindness will never be forgotten.  We are so blessed with the wonderful friends and family that we've been given. We love you all!"

They're On Their Way

Mom and Dad are on their way. We can't wait to see them in the morning. 

He's Been Released!

My dad was released from the hospital today. Praise Jesus! They got a good report from the angiogram and have a follow-up appointment scheduled in several days. Hopefully then, they can find out when they can come home. Mom and Dad are both very excited to be have him out of the hospital. They are hoping to spend his birthday in a few days at lion park nearby Johannesburg.

**UPDATE** AUG 20 8:00AM
Mom and dad continue to enjoy their time together now that he is out of the hospital. The were planning a day around town today and then a trip to the lion park tomorrow on my dad's birthday. Monday is his follow-up appointment so please pray with us that they will release him to fly home.

**UPDATE** AUG 26 8:50AM
There hasn't been much to update on the past several days. Dad continues to do well and they are attempting to find interesting things to do to keep themselves busy. They had a blast at the lions park for dad's birthday. He got bumped from his follow-up appointment and they aren't sure when it will be rescheduled right now. So they continue to wait. Please pray for patience and perseverance for them. They obviously want dad to get as healthy as possible before they fly home, but they badly miss everyone and want to be home as soon as possible.

**UPDATE** AUG 27 2:35PM
Dad has an follow-up appointment for Monday, after he was bumped from his appointment last Monday.  Sunday will mark six weeks that they've been gone and Tuesday will mark five weeks since he had the aneurysm. Needless to say, they are ready to come home. They are praying this weekend (and asking us to joint them) that the doctor would declare my dad fit-to-fly on Monday. Please do join us in that prayer.

**UPDATE** SEP 1 8:00AM
It's official. My parents will be home Thursday morning! They leave Johannesburg tonight (about 1pm our time) and get to St. Louis the next morning. Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement and financial support. Please continue to prayer for safe flights and an easy adjustment back to life here.

The Orb Booger

I don't usually post pictures of myself but I suppose I should to be fair to my wife. But this orb booger is weird.