Googly Eyes, our Newest Tank Addition

This is Googly Eyes, our orangespot prawn goby. He's something, ain't he? He's pretty little and he always stays on the bottom. Raoul, our fish guy, gave us a deal on him. He's supposed to filter the sand in the tank and get food that way, but I have yet to see him doing that. I guess I should call to make sure that's normal. So, anyway, here is just one more glimpse into our life and our newest pet, Googly Eyes the Goby.

Afghanistan

Well, I am almost there. Yes, I know - I'm in Afghanistan, however I still am not at my home for a year. The air is filled with a crazy amounts of particals and smoke, but the mountains are beautiful (when you can see them). The food is hit or miss and the accomodations are better than one should expect in the middle of a war-torn country. More than anything, though, I miss my family and the sooner I get busy with work the sooner that becomes the one thing that constantly invades my daily thoughts. Wish me well as I cope and pray through this tough time. I think of friends and family often, and you can rest assured that you are in my prayers as well.

In Him,
David

A little Fire Fun!

In school even! Elizabeth was near tears when she realized I was going to teach them about fire. Funny since she's always begging for a fire in the fireplace so she can roast marshmallows. She calmed down when I used two of her favorite things to demonstrate the lesson: birthday candles and clay.
The book we were studying was explaining that fire must have three things to exist. Does anyone know what they are? I only knew two of the three. They are 1. Heat 2. Air 3. Fuel
So we did an experiment with 3 birthday candles, each of them stuck fast into a ball of clay. I lit them, one at a time, and the kids got to extinguish them by removing the heat, air or fuel.
I let Elizabeth squirt the first with water, to extinguish the Heat. Andrew then got to cover the second candle with a glass jar to suffocate it. The third? We just let it burn until the entire candle was gone! It only took about 10 minutes.
Andrew loved it. I've scheduled a field trip to the Fire Station across from our neighborhood for Monday. I'm looking forward to it. And I drew a very bad picture of our home to demonstrate and discuss fire escape options. In the process, I realized that we only have 2 smoke detectors in the whole house (master bedroom, and hall). Does anybody know how difficult/expensive it is to get some more of those?

Kyrgyzstan

It's pretty amazing how many consonants and how few vowels they can fit into a 3-syllable word. I'm tired and sick and sore from some immunizations, but other than that - everything's great. I'll post more later as I get closer to my actual home for a year.

In Him,
David

Guten Tag

Yes, I am in Germany right now. I'm waiting to board for our next leg on this yearlong journey in the making. So far the flights have been OK. I've eaten four times in 10 hours and my indigestion is getting the better of me - thank goodness I have an aisle seat! We've had several movies and several more to come.

I still think wifi is just about the coolest thing in the world - just an hour ago I video-chatted with Rachel and all the kids (even Hannah put in her $.02). They are well, but I miss them tons already - and it's only been 3 days!

We stopped over in Iceland and I watched a pretty amazing video that presented many of Iceland's amazing landscape and regions. What was more impressive than the movie was the projector. I have no doubt it was a very high-end DLP as the image was easily a 30-40 foot diagonal image and the clarity was unbelievable! It made me eager to save and prepare to drop some change on an upgraded model for our home after I get back.

Well, that's enough for now. I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to posting again!
God Bless!

A Psalm for me, now.

Psalm 91:14-16

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Lying in bed alone far from home, these words comfort me. It will be at least seven months before I see Rachel and the kids again as well as the rest of my family and friends, but I am determined to not shaken by the duration ahead. Soon I will begin a very long journey to my home away from home for the next year and these words (along with many more I hope to devour) must stay on my heart and mind every minute as new and unique challenges present themselves.

I almost must continually remind myself the same thing that Larry Boy had to remind himself in his tussle with the Bad Apple - that I can't do it alone. God has put a support system that is unrivaled to comfort, encourage, bless, and support Rachel and me during this time that He wants us to use. He also wants us to communicate regularly with Him about what we are going through mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and so on.

So yes, the words of that Psalm comfort me - but in reality, I'm not alone tonight. I am surrounded by His presence and the prayers of a countless army of spiritual warriors standing in the gap for me and my family, and I am thankful.

In Him,
David

Ultrasounds

These things are rock solid! I mean, really, how cool is it that we can lather a belly up with slimy-goo, stick a puck on the belly and see what's inside? Awesome! Just yesterday we saw our fourth baby, barely a peanut right now but well on it's way to growing into another baby, ready to face the world on/about September of this year. The kids got to watch this time and it didn't require much in the way of corrective supervision - they were mesmerized! The only thing I don't understand is why clinics can charge so much for a 4-D ultrasound (the nicer one's). Just to flip a switch on the exact same machine to go from 2-D to 4-D, you have to fork over $150. I'm thinking about having Rachel get one for this baby just to see what happens. Maybe the room starts spinning and dancers come out of the walls to usher in your purchase of this technology. Or, maybe they strap you in to a cradle that gently sways as you "fly" through an IMAX-size image of your innards. Whatever it is - it's got to be really good to fork out 150 clams. Besides, the 2-D is already remarkable enough and didn't cost me a dime!

A prayer (um, sort of)

Thank you, Lord, for inspiring people to invent things like sliced bread, chainsaws and fire. This time, however, you've really outdone yourself.

Universal remotes have existed for quite some time. The Harmony 550 is not a universal remote. It is a universal consciousness.

It lights up when I enter the room (like my dogs, except smarter), it picks me up when I am down, and I think it pays my bills, too (or maybe that's Obama). I think it accidentally launched a space shuttle the other day.

Seriously, folks, believe da hype--Harmony is foe reals, yo. So, thank you God for my new remote; and thank you for inspiring your wise and willing vessel, David, to buy it for me for Christmas.

Disney Trip: the long and short of it

Has it really almost been a whole month???? Well, as the subject indicates, this entry is a quick down and dirty on our recent trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth" (strange, I always thought that was our home on a Sunday afternoon). Anyway, here is the BLUF (Bottom line, up front)
1. Montgomery, AL to Orlando, FL via Williamston, NC - definitely a lot of driving! Over 2000 to be more precise. 2. Met with BFF and his wife after a long time! 3. M&G with Third Day and a great concert to boot in Williamston, NC. 4. Savannah, GA for lunch on River Street at a sweet Greek dive. 5. Character breakfast followed by a morning long puke session, courtesy Andrew and a bug (Monday was a wash for the kids - they stayed with Mom and Dad while David and Rachel hit Epcot for some "alone" time) 6. D&R take on the big kid attractions sans kiddos at Hollywood Studios - The American Idol Experience rocked my world! 7. Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table turned many heads and I'm pretty sure Cinderella wants to adopt Elizabeth. 8. Mom and Dad fly home, so D&R take kids to Hollywood Studios - E loved the Playhouse Disney and A was all about the Lights, Motors, Action stunt show. 9. "Digging" for bones at Dinoland in the Animal Kingdom rounded out an already long day. 10. The Safari Jeep ride almost knocked all of us out of the truck in the Animal Kingdom. 11. Andrew wanted off Test Track at Epcot and loved Soarin' - the fact he did either was a miracle!

12. One last day in the Magic Kingdom resulted in David and Hannah getting new outfits after a "blow-out" as well as an awesome dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern.13. A chance encounter with a long-time friend and her hubby at the hotel was a great way to start a return trip home.

14. We stopped in Tampa, FL to meet with Third Day fan club extraordinaire, Debbie, to thank her for the M&Gs and to introduce her to our family.

15. Finally home, we had a great time and gained memories too numerous to list here. God bless you all!