Friday, March 19, 2010

Glimpses.


        Attorney by day, diaper changer by night.

     Depa came to visit!

Pout for the camera. Work it girl!

This one goes out to all the moms!

I grew up with a stay at home mom.

I now see just how much of a true job it was for her to raise all 5 of us. 

I watch Eva half the day on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and all day on Friday. As I write this, Eva is "crying herself to sleep" attempting to take a nap. We had to skip nap time today, so that Eva's parents could have food to eat for dinner tonight. First challenge in shopping alone, what do you do with the baby when your car seat won't fit into the Costco shopping cart? I consider baby bjorning her, but I couldn't stomach being looked at as "that guy" at the warehouse, so I decided to put the entire seat in the cart. Lost between loaves of bread, yogurt, tenderloins and dried fruit, Eva was smiling and entertaining all the shoppers. 

Side note: In my single days I used to think puppies were the best way to pick up chicks ... I now have an entirely new philosophy. BABIES! Every female I pass looks at me with puppy dog eyes as they consider my plight as a lone dad just trying to get by :) I'll need to milk this attention sometime soon!

Back to parenting ... I got all the grocery shopping done, but still hadn't eaten lunch. By the time I got home, it was Eva's turn to eat. She eats. I put the groceries away. I attempt to clean the kitchen. Put her down for a nap. Attempt to eat lunch. She cries. Attempt to watch a show. She cries. Decide to blog. She cries. She cries. Finally get up to quiet her only to find her turned upside down, hitting the buttons on her mobile turning it on and off. Corrie calls. She is on her way home.

Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, I am free at last!

(She decides to fall asleep)







Wednesday, March 3, 2010

In search of the wildflower

For some inspiration as you read: Tom Petty's Wildflowers

Last Sunday, Corrie had the bright (or not so bright) idea of going to see the San Diego wildflowers in the Anza Borrego desert. We've always talked about making an attempt to see them, but whenever we think of it, the flowers have already bloomed. There's really only about a weekend or two in the entire year that you can see these elusive flowers ... kind of like attempting to find a chupacabra or Corrie's cell phone.

After a 2 1/2 hour drive with a restless baby in the backseat, we arrived at our destination. Only to see ... a desert. The weather was nice and the landscape breathtaking, but the flowers were hiding from us.

The previous weekend, Corrie and I got to attend a conference themed around issues of justice and the role of the Church. Corrie and I used to think we were incompatible because she wanted to be an attorney and I wanted to be a pastor. Little did we know how these two professions could work hand in hand to help bring about eternal change in the world. Confronted with issues of inequality, oppression, violence and abuse, the world is in desperate need of genuine justice. For things to be made right. Corrie and I have been given much in regards to education and opportunities (thank mom and dad!). Inspired by the life of Christ, we want to serve the least of these as a crime fighting justice league.

If you're reading this, you have been give the same invitation to join this league. Opportunities are all around us. We simply need to take the small steps.

While we didn't find the flowers, Corrie and I had an adventurous time driving, talking, off roading, nearly running out of gas and eating world famous Julian apple pie. Pursuing justice is a lot like searching for these flowers. Our hope and vision for what could be motivates us, but the end result is not in our hands. We simply have to make ourselves available and embark on the journey.

Our journey continues this weekend at our church's annual SOMA Conference. My mom (who will now be mentioned as Depa on this blog, the weird Grandma nickname given by my nephew Luke ... thank you Luke for creating a lifetime of non-sensical explanations for the rest of our lives!) is coming down to watch Eva, so we're really excited about that.