How To Play Tenor Sax Like John Coltrane

In case you're wondering, here it is in one easy lesson. Just play the notes as they appear on your screen and you'll be playing just like Coltrane!

Da

The pic of Hannah that's on Cathy's cell phone wallpaper
Hannah has been making sounds that could be interpreted as pre-speech for some time, especially when she's fussing for a bottle. For example, I remember distinctly hearing a single "Da" once when she was crying back in early February, although it was probably a random syllable that just came out... I've heard "Ma" that way a couple of times as well. But in the past month or two she's been doing a lot more cooing and making sounds... most of the time she needs to be in a good mood and it can take a little coaxing, but she'll sometimes give us an "Ohhh!" or a gurgle or three, especially if we Oh and gurgle at her first! Anyway, the picture at the right is kind of what she looks like when she's about to talk. She kind of sticks her chin out and sometimes even raises her eyebrows. It is SOOOO CUTE! (Sorry about the slobber glisten on the photo... that's not part of talking. That's part of being a baby. )

Easter Kitties Maintain Focus

Some kittehs get on a train of thought that you can't derail, even two days after Easter is already over:

Someone else wants in on that Easter action

(You're a day late and a dollar short, kitty cat... Easter was yesterday!)

Happy Easter 2008

Mikey got this dinosaur at the Grace Church Eggstravaganza 2008. I snapped this picture of the menacing fellow while I waited for Mikey to finish collecting his second basket of candy. Mikey named him "Paddy" after I explained that although most people call this kind of dinosaur a Brontosaurus, the actual name of this kind of critter is Apatosaurus (you learn all kinds of useless stuff when your daddy is a bookish nerd... maybe Mikey will get this as his $1,000,000 question on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire one day). Anyway, "Paddy" is short for "Apatosaurus," although since Mikey got him/her the day before St. Paddy's Day gives it even more appropriateness.

Happy Easter!

Mikey's First Soccer Game

Today was a big day for Mikey! His soccer team has been practicing for several weeks, and today they had their first game! But before that, we went to Lowe's for today's Build and Grow Clinic... he build a "Goofy Golf" game; it's kind of a personal-sized version of the windmill hole that you see at most mini-golf courses (see it in the pictures). Papaw Jones always goes with us. The Lowe's projects are simple and fun... they don't take a lot of time and they're perfect for a kid Mikey's age. We finished that project up, and then we went home and got ready for the game!

Mikey's team is the "Thunderbolts" team in the Foot Action Soccer league. All of the Foot Action Soccer games are played in an area behind Lewis & Clark Middle School, which is a perfect place for it, although the parking is a moderately long walk. They played a team that was really well-trained, the Bulldogs... our kids did their best, and they did a great job, but ultimately they were outplayed. HOWEVER: Mikey did an EXCELLENT job on defense! Both of his coaches made a point to seek us out afterward and brag on him. Several times during the game Mikey got the ball moving back toward the right goal when the other team almost had a score. I took quite a few more pictures during the game... take a look at the rest of them!

Why?

Why did it have to be a friend
Who chose to betray the Lord?
Why did he use a kiss to show them?
That's not what a kiss is for.

Only a friend can betray a friend,
A stranger has nothing to gain.
And only a friend comes close enough
To ever cause so much pain.

And why did there have to be a thorny
Crown pressed upon His head?
It should have been a royal one
Made of jewels and gold instead.

It had to be a crown of thorns
Because in this life that we live
For all who seek to love, A thorn
is all the world has to give.

And why did it have to be
A heavy cross He was made to bear?
And why did they nail His feet and hands?
When his love would have held Him there.

It was a cross for on a cross
A thief was supposed to pay.
And Jesus had come into the world
To steal every heart away.

Yes, Jesus had come into the world
To steal every heart away.

from The Life by Michael Card
Listen

Us At Volunteer Banquet

In the process of looking for pictures of the Eggstravaganza, I found the pictures of the Grace Church Volunteers Banquet!


Michael & Cathy at Grace Church Volunteer Banquet - March 9, 2008

If you are a member of Grace Church but do not volunteer or haven't been to an annual banquet yet... volunteer in service to God, but the banquet is a really nice thank-you! You get to relax and visit with the people you've worked shoulder-to-shoulder with all year, and you even get to cheer for your department (some of which cheer louder than others... for example - Youth department volunteers: "YAY!!!!!!!" Offering counter volunteers: "(yay?)" ) Anyway, it's loads of fun and the food is generally really tasty.

Eggstravaganza 2008

Can you find Mikey in the blue jacket?On Palm Sunday we had our annual "Eggstravaganza" at Grace Church (see official pictures here). The little kids' choir that Cathy and I have been directing (five mighty singers for the Lord!) sang a couple of songs (namely "Lord, I Lift Your Name On High" and "Father, I Adore You") and then we had the "Easter Egg Hunt", which in practice is more like an "Easter Candy Footrace". They throw a bunch of candy out on the baseball field behind the church and let the kids go crazy! It was a lot of fun... Mikey always has a blast! He was one of the first to get out to the field from the auditorium, and as you can see in the picture to the right, he got out into the candy area pretty quickly when they said "go!" Can you find him? (Click here to go to Flickr if you can't... mouse over the picture and you'll spot him easily!) And if you visit this blog on Easter, you'll get to meet the new critter friend he made when he ran out on the field!

Unfortunately, because Hannah was still recovering from her procedure, she and Cathy didn't make it out. Maybe looking at the pictures will help Cathy feel more like she was there!

Max wants to come in
and go crazy!

He's gainin' on you so you better look alive.

He's busy revvin' up a powerful Mach 5:

Bunway Airlines

I've found out how the Easter Bunny gets his eggs and candy to all the good children in the world in one night:

Baby Fest 2008

"Tomorrow," I said. Yeah, right.

Anyway, so the day after Winter Jam we went to the Baby Fest & Family Expo at the UMAC. One of our main reasons for going was that they were having a "cutest baby" contest, and we were POSITIVE that we have the cutest baby! (Several hundred... thousand? ...other people were convinced otherwise!) We got there and got in line for the contest, and Hannah looked like she looks here. In fact, she looked basically that way until we woke her up for the judging, at which time she spit up on Daddy and then gave the judges her grouchy-face. A few of the judges tried to cheer her up... a couple of them gave her a grouchy-face back! Fine, Ms. Simon Cowell, just BE that way!! Anyway, seeing as how it was the cutest baby contest and not the sleepiest or crabbiest baby contest, we didn't bother to hang around for the announcement of the winners. We did walk around the hall, though... it was the regular "baby expo" kind of stuff. There were portrait studios and brainy toy stores and clothes resale shops, the whole nine yards. Even Babies Я Us was there, with the weirdest baby swing I've ever seen. (Yes, I agree that I'm awesome for getting that backwards "R" on there.) So we walked around and saw everything, Hannah sleeping the whole time and Mikey complaining for part of it... until he saw the giant blowup obstacle course from the place that wants to rent you a Jupiter Jump for your kid's birthday. So he coursed and coursed, and all was right with the world.

Cathy and I entered every door prize we saw... and just about every table had one. And we actually BOTH won something! Cathy won tickets to the Blue Man Group concert on Mikey's birthday (so if he wants to go, it'll be a mommy and Mikey birthday date and Daddy will get to spend the evening with Hannah), and I won a $75 gift basket from Babies Я Us!

(Incidentally... I snapped the above picture afterward as we were waiting in line to get some refreshments at the concession stand.)

Hannah's Day at St. John

Yesterday Hannah spent the day at Saint John Medical Center, not because she was sick (she wasn't and isn't) but because we wanted to make sure that the squeaky sound she makes when she breathes wasn't anything to worry about. The procedure is called a tracheoscopy; essentially they run a small tube with a camera on the end of it right down her nose and through her breathing passages so they can examine them without having to cut her open at all. The assumption was still that she had laryngomalacia, which is essentially harmless, but this procedure would help us be sure.

We got there at 9am sharp and got checked in, and they took us right down to the pediatric ICU department where the doctor could perform the procedure. Their plan was to get a quick IV going and feed her some anesthetic through that. That was their plan. What's that about the "best-laid plans of mice and men"? Include PICU nurses in that list of plan layers... after the two best nurses at starting IVs in the whole hospital both failed several times to get her started (she's pretty strong for a baby and she was struggling) the doctor actually came in and tried it himself. After one or two false starts, the doctor managed to get one started, but then because Hannah was sweating from all the fighting she had been doing, the tape came loose and they lost that IV as well. Ultimately they decided to give her the anesthetic through a regular shot and not try to poke her again with an IV. To their credit, even though they poked her probably nine or ten times, I don't think any of the sites they tried to start the IV bruised up after. (I think the nurses were pretty embarrassed that they couldn't get it going... one of them kept telling me "we ALWAYS get it in one try!" and when the doctor ordered the shot for Hannah, they each tried to order one for themselves too. )

Anyway, they gave her the shot and then shooed me and Cathy out of the room, which was what we had been told already they were going to do. By noon they were all done with the scope, and the doctor came in and told us the results... it was indeed laryngomalacia and there were no growths or anything that shouldn't be there. Lifelong singer Cathy was ecstatic to hear that Hannah's vocal cords looked great. (I could have told her that... Hannah was crying pretty good when they poked her for the IVs, but you should hear her when she thinks we're slacking off on getting her a bottle!) We also learned that she had continued to wiggle so much that they had to dose her again to keep her still! Tough kid, that one! She was, to all appearances, back to normal by 3 or 4 or so, but we stayed until about 7 so Hannah could get two doses of a steroid that the doctor wanted her to get after the procedure.

That was yesterday, Thursday. Today Hannah had a spell where she was struggling to breathe, which is not an unexpected possible side effect of the tube (the air passage has been irritated by the presence of the tube and so there can be some swelling). We were told yesterday by the doctor to let him know if this happened and he would get us some medicine, so Cathy went down to his office and Hannah got some medicine to keep the swelling down for a few days; after that she should be just fine.

Only problem is, this medicine makes her a little cranky. It happens like this: she's perfectly calm and happy for a while, then all of a sudden she's like I'M GONNA BLOW!! I'M GONNA BLOW!! all wild-eyed and psycho for a few minutes. She fusses and fusses and then it's over. Again, we were warned that the meds might make her fussy, so everything from start to finish, with the exception of that initial IV that never happened, has basically been by the book. I told Cathy on the way home from the hospital last night... clearly she and I don't know how to make frail babies. Mikey's always been a tough cookie, too.

Winter Jam 2008

Last Friday we went to Winter Jam at the Mabee Center. It's the third Winter Jam we've been at, and the second one at Mabee Center. This year it had the distinction of being the only time I've ever seen Mabee Center full to capacity. There couldn't have been more than 100 seats in the whole place, floor to ceiling including the area directly behind the stage, without people in them. I know they turned people away... don't know HOW MANY they turned away, though.

We got there before the doors opened at 6:00 for the 7:00 concert... I don't remember exactly when we showed up, but it must have been something like 5:30pm. We had already had a big afternoon because Hannah had an appointment with a specialist about her squeaking; our doctor recommended that we go ahead and take her to the specialist just to make sure it wasn't something that would cause problems later (she has to go in and have a scope put up her nose next week to check it out... I'm sure I'll blog that when it happens. Should be nicely traumatic for everyone involved! )

Anyway, we were there between 5 and 6, and there were already three lines that stretched all the way across the parking lot! We wound up between the auditorium and the Praying Hands, almost on the grass. It was crazy!

So they opened the doors sometime around 6pm (I don't know exactly when because we were so far from the doors that I couldn't have seen 'em without a telescope!) and we eventually made it in shortly before the show started. We got seats actually to the side and a little to the rear of the stage, right over the vocalists' right shoulders and in the nosebleed seats. By the way... one reason that this event packs people in is because the price is only $10 at the door, which is an insane bargain because there are SO MANY groups on the program! We heard Mandisa, NewSong, Skillet, BarlowGirl, and MercyMe (what was this, the CamelCase tour or what?) for thirty bucks for the three of us. That's INCREDIBLE. And honestly, this year there wasn't a group I wouldn't pay full price to hear a concert from just them! (Well, I'm not that much of a MercyMe fan, but they're a big draw anyway, so they count.)

Mandisa was awesome. She sang 3-4 songs, all of the ones we wanted to hear (I believe she did "Only The World" and "Shackes" and "God Speaking" and... that may have been it) and was just excellent. I have to say, Mandisa is probably the best thing to ever come out of American Idol, and I say that as someone who really likes Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard and George Huff and even Daughtry. Mandisa sings songs about life being really hard, sometimes almost to the level of hopeless, but he voice is so hopeful that you can't help but be cheered up, even when she's singing stuff like "Been a hard one, been a bad one, been a tough one, been a sad one/It's been one of those days that keeps chipping away at my heart/Nothing new here, It's what I do here/Its a stereotypical day in the life/I'm surrounded by all of the pain and the strife..."

So Mandisa was awesome. I believe NewSong performed next... for a group that I couldn't have named one single song of theirs, they sure sang a lot of songs I knew. When they sang the chorus of "Arise, My Love" I could feel the presence of God so strongly... it was awesome. But there were some boys sitting behind us that had one thing on their mind. Every once in a while one of them would say, in his adolescent my-voice-has-almost-changed croak, "Skillet!"

Whispers In The Dark lyricsAnd so it was: Skillet. They ROCKED! They were my favorite of the night. They even had a couple of towers of fire that went off every time they sang the word "NO!" in "Whispers in the Dark" The flame went from the stage nearly to the roof, and every time it fired we could feel it where we were, up in the top seats. ROCK AND ROOOOOOL!

Don't let me forget... we got to hear one song from new group Connersvine (I believe it was "Live For You") although Hunter Smith from the Indianapolis Colts wasn't there because his wife had just had a baby so it was technically only 1/2 of Connersvine, but oh well. It's a nice song.

BarlowGirl was good as always... very loud, and it's great for teenage and tween girls to see young ladies publicly living out their faith. Of course, once or twice behind us I heard "Skillet! " but you know... give the boys a break. They wanted more Skillet.

Cathy went for snacks and Mikey fell asleep during BarlowGirl. The teenage girl sitting next to us (not someone we knew) was laughing that Mikey could sleep during "Average Girl" (AKA "No more dating, I'm just waiting..."), but I wasn't surprised. My brother fell asleep at the wheel once as a teenager listening to Whitecross. It can happen.

So we left a few songs into MercyMe. Mikey was really tired, and there was another reason but I've been sworn to secrecy. Mwa ha ha! Suffice it to say that something was missing and we left the concert to go find it. hehe

Besides... who can hold a candle to: "Skillet! "?

Tomorrow (or thereabouts): our adventures the next day at the Baby Fest & Family Expo!