Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s Thursday morning, the parade is on TV; I’m drinking coffee at the kitchen table, typing on my new(ish) Apple computer, and looking out into a frost covered backyard.  I talk to God a lot about what I’m thankful for, and every day our kids’ nighttime prayer includes thanking Him for what He’s blessed us with.  We realize that nothing we have is ours, and material stuff isn’t important.  It’s Jesus, our family and friends, and our relationships with all of them that are important.  So today, I’d like to list a few items that I am personally thankful for.

1)  Salvation:  I take comfort in the knowledge that God cared about me so much that He provided a way for me to be forgiven from my sins, and live with Him forever.

2)  Lael:  My wife is my best friend, and we’ve gone through some difficult situations in our lives together as a couple.  In all those things, she was right there for me, and I’m thankful for her.

3)  My Kids:  You know, kids are not easy to raise (case in point, a crying two year old in the other room makes it tough to concentrate right now), but the reward is great.  I have had to grow up so much after having children.  Lael and my priorities have changed, and now our focus is on raising our children.  I’ve changed for the better because I have children.

4)  Friends and Family:  You guys rock!

5)  Bryce:  Our second child was born with a heart defect that required open heart surgery.  This was the most difficult and scary part of my life.  Thinking I could lose my little guy was a source of anxiety for quite awhile.  We did have peace, knowing that God had all things under His control, but it wasn’t easy to deal with the possibility of complications before, during, and after surgery.  I’m thankful for a successful surgery, and a little boy that’s been healed.  He’s such an adventurous little guy, and I’m glad he’s better.

6)  Food:  I love food, and it’s a source of joy in my life.  Haha!

To all that may feel as though they don’t have anything they can be thankful for, just look around.  There is always something we can take joy in.

Awesome Canadian Meteor Videos

Two Videos

Very cool!

Well…I’m a Mac

I got a good deal on a used Mac, and since I had a buyer for one of our laptops, I took the deal.  I’m running a Powerbook G4 laptop, and I’m loving it so far.  The screen is 17″, huge for a laptop, and it’s super thin.  It has Leopard installed (the latest build of OS X), so the latest features and eye candy is here.  I really like the layout of the desktop, and some things I thought were drawbacks (the inability to maximize a window to FULL screen, weird option keys, no backspace key), are actually positives (easier to multitask, more functions in a single keyboard, and the ability to use one key for delete and backspace).  The operating system seems rock solid, and I have enjoyed learning how it works so far.  I am looking forward to making music, videos, and editing photos on it.  I was shocked at how easily it network will all my Windows hardware.  The only issue I have is I haven’t been able to get my printer to work over the network.  It sends the data, but nothing prints.  Odd….

Anyway, I think I may like this better than our Windows Vista lappy.

A Blast From the Past

This is an old video me and a bunch of my youth group buddies did.  It’s a Cops Spoof.

Enjoy, and keep the comments from being too harsh. 

Part One

Part Two

Ultrasound Update

We had an ultrasound today, and it went great.  We convinced the tech to do a 4d ultrasound (no, it doesn’t map spacetime, the 4th dimension).  We’ve never had one done, so this was a first.  The tech finds the baby’s face, then presses a button and the system scans through the stomach, placenta, and baby.  It then renders a 3d model of that section of Lael’s abdomen.  If there is sufficient fluid in front of the baby’s head, the image is easy to see.  There is a little cutting away of the placenta data done, and the baby’s profile is revealed.  Here are the pictures that we were given.

General Updates

Things are going well for the Nafziger family.  Brielle is doing great at her potty training, and hasn’t had a #2 in her diaper for a LONG time (months).  She is in underwear most of the day, and will wake up dry from her naps on a much more regular basis.  This is encouraging.  She will go to the bathroom on her own, so hopefully soon the every couple of days accidents (wetting a bit) will stop, and we can work on overnights.

Bryce has two teeth top and bottom in (4 total), and is cutting a new molar.  He’s able to say (recognizably) cracker, food, water, God, doggy, and dad.  I’m sure there are more words, but those are the ones I can think of right now.  He can sign please, more, and the most important word, touchdown!  He’s been walking like a champ, and can climb up onto things now.  (Brielle’s bed, a box a blocks, couches if he tries really hard and has a little help).  His personality is starting to show, and he’s much more interactive, but plays on his own well too.

Lael is all baby.  Our new little girl is moving a LOT now, and you can easily see her doing her gymnastics routine at all hours of the day.  We are having our (hopefully) last ultrasound tomorrow, and will be trying to get one of the new 4d high resolution ultrasounds.  These show more features of the baby, and when compared to photographs of the born baby, are an accurate representation of the final features, assuming they get a good shot!  I’m looking forward to that.

I’m not pregnant, I know my words and have all of my teeth, and can potty all by myself.  There’s not much to say other than I’m enjoying my active role as a dad/husband, church guy, and worker.

The house still hasn’t sold.  We had our first showing in months last week, but no offer.  The bedroom was too small for their daughter’s heirloom bed set.  We’re still being patient and trusting God that He’ll send along the right people in His timing.  If we haven’t sold yet, there must be a reason.

Here’s a great picture of our family.  If you’d like to send it to modeling agencies, feel free. 

Michael Crichton Has Died

One of my favorite authors has died from his battle with cancer.

Author and filmmaker Michael Crichton penned thrilling novels that, for me, were tough to put down.  His most recent books tackled such controversial subjects as global warming and genetic research.  Many of his books have become movies, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each book and movie of his I’ve seen and read.  Jurassic Park is a classic.  ER is one of the longest running medical shows on TV.  He’ll be missed by this reader!

Please read his Wikipedia entry for more information on his life and accomplishments.

Video of Brielle and Bryce Playing in Leaves

New Vid…

Something to take our minds off of the election.

done

Video of Bryce Falling Asleep While Eating

Neither of our children have ever done this.

Hilarious!!

done

More Fun w/Photoshop & New Poll

I took this photo with my phone while at a friend’s family farm.  I LOVED the antique phone booth, and just took about 10 minutes to mess around with it in Photoshop.  The original is the sideways pic.